The Heinsnake Cult represented an age-old religious organization that commanded a potent and shadowy magic. This power rivaled even that of the Dark Lords of the Sith, obscuring their perceptions. Their emblem was a verdant, decapitated snake, which the devotees would either paint or tattoo upon their chests. They maintained a temple upon a diminutive moon. The Heinsnake Cult's guiding principle was "survival doesn't require a head for the Heinsnake." Furthermore, to elude capture or ensure an enemy's demise, the cultists possessed the ability to self-destruct.
In days of old, a group of humanoids stumbled upon a mysterious moon laden with artifacts from a forgotten civilization. The newcomers unearthed a deserted city and a temple, within which were painted enigmatic petroglyphs. From these drawings, the humanoids gleaned the knowledge of how to manipulate "the Basis," a substantial energy beam extracted from the moon's core. Utilizing this beam, the inhabitants were able to improve their agricultural yields, and they also learned of its potential as a weapon. Inspired by the teachings of the petroglyphs, the colonists formulated a sinister philosophy centered around the worship of chaos and anarchy. Raw power became their singular law, and chaos was their path to ultimate freedom. Also among the petroglyphs was a prophecy, which they held as a central tenet: a black-armored warrior would one day arrive to lead their forces, poised to unleash chaos upon the entire galaxy. The drawings depicted the prophesied warrior vanquishing two snakes through decapitation, before severing the head of a third. While the first two snakes would perish, the third symbolized chaos and would endure eternally. Thus, the Heinsnake Cult was established.
By the conclusion of the Clone Wars, the cult was presumed to have vanished long ago, their temple abandoned due to unexplained "anomalies." However, the sect had endured, resurfacing shortly after the establishment of Emperor Palpatine's New Order and the extermination of the Jedi Knights in 19 BBY. During this period, the revived snake cult launched an assassination attempt against Palpatine, leading the Emperor to dispatch his second-in-command, Darth Vader, on a mission to locate the cultists. Simultaneously, one of the cultists, disguised as an engineer, sabotaged a Venator-class Star Destroyer orbiting their current refuge, an unidentified moon, by planting a homing beacon. Consequently, the Cult employed the Basis to completely annihilate the ship, though most of the crew managed to evacuate. After locating the wreckage of the Imperial vessel, Vader and his guards landed on the moon. They came across the ruined temple, where Vader was greeted by the cultists, who recognized him as the armored warrior of prophecy. The Emperor's right-hand man discovered that the cultists anticipated him to dismantle the Empire, which they viewed as the embodiment of the second snake. With the Jedi and the Empire destroyed, the cultists believed they could unleash chaos upon the universe, allowing the headless Heinsnake to reign supreme. However, Vader instead eradicated them, seizing the crystal that powered the Basis and thus sealing the moon's fate. Palpatine later revealed that he had manipulated Vader into eliminating them as a test, even orchestrating his own assassination attempt. He also mentioned that the Basis would serve as inspiration for Grand Moff Tarkin's 'project'.