Ipsium

Ipsium was a crystalized mineral found on the planet Ipsidon that could be mined and then refined to create a [fuel](/article/fuel] source. The mineral naturally emitted a [blue](/article/color] glow from its golden-yellow deposits. Rich veins of ipsium were located underground in caverns and near lakes, encased in fossilized quartz. It was also a highly unstable, volatile, and flammable substance, possessing power comparable to a thermal detonator. Ipsium could explode, triggering destructive chain reactions if it was improperly handled, compromised during mining, or even disturbed by minimal friction. Even though extracting it was perilous, ipsium could be safely mined using a specialized tool equipped with both a drill and a suction tube. This device would penetrate the quartz and draw the liquid crystal into a secure container.

Even when properly contained, ipsium retained enough potency to destroy stone walls, but required actions like blasterfire to ignite it. Scanning equipment could detect ipsium by identifying energy signatures whose intensity varied with proximity to the mineral. After its volatile refining process, ipsium became incredibly valuable, making it a profitable commodity for sale. It was believed that the mineral degraded over time, and extensive mining operations contributed to this degradation.

During the era of the Galactic Republic, the northern territory of Ipsidon was home to a spaceport. This spaceport served as a bustling center for the ipsium mining industry, but it was later abandoned, becoming a repository for discarded skiffs and other technologies, attracting scavengers. During the Clone Wars, which spanned from 22 BBY to 19 BBY and pitted the Republic against the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the galactic corporation known as the Techno Union established numerous mining sites and refineries on Ipsidon specifically for the purpose of extracting ipsium. Following the end of the war and the transformation of the Republic into the Galactic Empire, the Techno Union was forced to abandon its mining operations.

Prior to the Imperial Era, some individuals had established their own private mines, intending to extract ipsium for their own benefit, although some of these mines had become depleted and were deteriorating by the time the Empire came to power. Around 18 BBY, the gang leader Mokko took possession of one of the Techno Union's refineries, continuing its profitable function and renaming it Mokkotown in his own honor. Assisted by a crew of scrumrats, the extracted minerals were sold off-world, providing Mokko with [food](/article/foodstuff] supplies and income. However, the workers' wages were reduced due to claims that the ipsium ore was deteriorating. The workers were willing to serve the gangster for praise and rationed food as they contended for the position of "top earner" for sustenance. In reality, Mokko was deceiving them about the ipsium's condition, diverting the true income and supplies for his personal gain.

Around that time, Ciddarin Scaleback, a Trandoshan information broker, purchased a mine located in the planet's northern region and tasked her mercenary clone commandos of Clone Force 99 with extracting the mineral from it. Discovering minimal traces of ipsium, the crew realized that the mine had been largely depleted before Scaleback's purchase. After collecting the remaining mineral and preparing to depart Ipsidon, the crew's shuttle, the Marauder, was stolen by a young miner named Benni Baro, forcing them to journey towards a spaceport. After being forced and trapped in another mine from a storm when their ipsium had blown the entrance shut, the female clone Omega discovered vast amounts of ipsium and hoped to blast the way open, and she later received help from her squadmate Tech.

While extracting the ipsium, the two fell into an underground stream and were carried deeper into the cavern but were able to leave once fellow crewmembers Hunter and Wrecker brought their collected minerals and exploded an opening with it. Reaching the abandoned spaceport, the team unsuccessfully contacted Scaleback to retrieve them in several days, waiting for her until they traced their power droid Gonky to Mokkotown. Hoping they would retrieve their shuttle as well, the squad traveled to the refinery and found their ship was held under ray shield by the gang boss Mokko. Going against the gangster, Omega was sent to deactivate the shield while the squad reassembled the Marauder, but they found the business' profit reports revealing that the ipsium had not degraded. Although the gang boss discovered them, the workers learned about Mokko's lies and of his hoarding of the income and they ultimately killed him, allowing the miners to continue the operation with equal shares.

By 3 ABY, the [Ashiga Clan](/article/ashiga_clan] criminal syndicate transported ipsium as cargo. By that time, the mineral was considered a valuable commodity in the black market.

That year, the outlaw Kay Vess was hired by a black market merchant affiliated with the [Crimson Dawn](/article/crimson_dawn] syndicate to steal a shipment of ipsium from an Ashiga Clan [freighter](/article/freighter]. After traveling to the planet Kijimi's orbit, she successfully stole the cargo and delivered it to a nearby location for payment.

Ipsium made its debut in "The Crossing," the ninth episode of the Star Wars: The Bad Batch television series' second season, which was broadcast on February 15, 2023. The video game Star Wars Outlaws, developed by Massive Entertainment and released in 2024, features the mineral in an optional syndicate side quest available to players with good or exceptional Crimson Dawn reputation. Vess's contract to steal the ipsium shipment from the Ashiga Clan will always require it to be delivered to a nearby location in Kijimi's orbit. Successfully completing this objective will reward the player with Crimson Dawn syndicate reputation and a randomized amount of credits. As the syndicate optional quests in Outlaws can be repeated indefinitely with slightly different mission details, this article does not assume one version to be canonically superior. The game capitalizes the mineral's name as "Ipsium," but this article uses the more common capitalization introduced in The Bad Batch.