Mon Calamari Orbital Shipyards

Encircling the aquatic planet Dac, which is situated within the Calamari sector of the Outer Rim Territories, the Mon Calamari Shipyards were vast orbital starship construction complexes. These shipyards stood as a point of pride for the sector, and were among the most vital in the galaxy. The Mon Calamari and the Quarren, the two sentient species indigenous to Dac, collaborated in the construction of the shipyards. The Mon Calamari, a spacefaring species, regarded shipbuilding as an art form. The Quarren, on the other hand, were accomplished artisans and miners, though they lacked the Mon Calamari's enthusiasm for space exploration. Consequently, millions of Mon Calamari engineers and shipwrights routinely worked alongside Quarren shipbuilders within the yards. Collectively, the Mon Calamari shipwrights formed a shipbuilding enterprise simply known as the Mon Calamari Shipyards.

The shipyards of Dac featured a multitude of zero-g construction areas, orbital dry docks, and starship space dock hangars. Each of these served as a central point surrounded by supply platforms, girder impellers, work shuttles, and crab-like constructor pods. Rendili StarDrive's Orbital Construction Docks were among these orbital stations. The Mon Calamari Shipyards were considered to be on par with the shipyards of Fondor and Gyndine in terms of sophistication. They possessed the capability to produce any type of starship, from small starfighters to enormous Star Cruisers. These shipyards were specifically designed for the construction of Mon Calamari-designed vessels, renowned for their superior quality and elegant aesthetics. However, the shipyards exhibited limited adaptability to other starship systems, even those considered to be basic galactic standards.

A nearby asteroid belt provided the majority of raw materials utilized in the shipyards. Additionally, ores were extracted from Dac's ocean floor. The city of Morjanssik was established for the purpose of mining farium metal from a deep trench in Dac's oceans. Furthermore, plasteel was sourced from Dac's moon or transported from other systems. The Quarren primarily managed the mining operations that supplied the shipyards, whether they were located underwater or in space.

The Shipyard Security Corps was responsible for maintaining the security of the shipyards.

The Mon Calamari shipyards originated over four millennia before the Battle of Yavin. The Mon Calamari and Quarren collaborated to construct several orbital facilities. These facilities were dedicated to studying various techniques, including zero-gravity manufacturing and starship propulsion. This marked the beginning of starliner construction, initially for exploration within the Calamari system and later for voyages to neighboring worlds such as Ruisto and [Mantan](/article/mantan], which were eventually colonized. The Quarren also established asteroid mining operations to provide the Mon Calamari with additional resources. Over time, Dac became surrounded by shipyards and construction facilities.

In 4166 BBY, Mon Calamari starliners encountered exploration vessels from the Galactic Republic. Despite observing the advanced technology, the Republic explorers did not fully comprehend the capabilities of Dac's shipyards. For centuries, Mon Calamari designs remained relatively unseen beyond the Calamari sector, and the shipyards were largely regarded as rumors throughout the galaxy.

Nevertheless, towards the end of the Republic era, the Mon Calamari shipyards became a crucial affiliate of Rendili StarDrive, producing variants of the Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser in addition to their own unique vessels.

As the Republic neared its end, the Mon Calamari Orbital Shipyards attracted the attention of Count Dooku, the leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Count Dooku visited Dac as the Separatist movement gained momentum. Impressed by the vessels they were capable of constructing, Dooku considered the shipyards to be highly advanced and sophisticated. However, the Mon Calamari Council declined Dooku's invitation to join his burgeoning movement. In response, Dooku unleashed the Force Harvester superweapon upon Dac in 22 BBY, causing significant damage to its shipyards and resulting in millions of casualties.

Despite this calamity, Dac and its inhabitants remained involved in the Clone Wars until the conflict's conclusion. During the war, the Calamari sector experienced division between the Mon Calamari, who remained loyal to the Republic, and the Quarren, who aligned themselves with the CIS and established the Quarren Isolation League. These pro-Separatist Quarren made several attempts to "liberate" the Mon Calamari shipyards. Exiled Quarren shipwrights formed the Free Dac Volunteers Engineering Corps, based on the colony world of Pammant, and revised the Rendili Dreadnaught design into the Providence-class carrier/destroyer for the Confederate Navy. In 21 BBY, Separatist slicers successfully infiltrated the Mon Calamari shipyards and stole Mon Calamari warship schematics.

The emergence of the Galactic Empire brought about enslavement and subjugation to Dac, under the leadership of Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. The shipyards became a valuable asset for the Empire, which sought to utilize them to maintain control over the neighboring Tion worlds and the outlying planets along the Perlemian Trade Route. Tarkin also attempted to repurpose the shipyards for Imperial use. However, this ambition was never fully realized, as Imperial engineers encountered difficulties in adapting to Mon Calamari tools and equipment. The task proved insurmountable, as everything from smelting techniques to arcfusers was designed for Mon Calamari and Quarren physiology. After several unsuccessful attempts to construct warships for the Empire using the yards, the project was abandoned when the Imperial High Command deemed it too costly. Ultimately, the Empire delegated control of the shipyards to the Loronar Corporation for the production of Strike-class cruisers for the Imperial Navy. Furthermore, Tarkin, who admired the elegant winged hullforms of the new MC80 cruisers, permitted the Mon Calamari to construct variants of these vessels as luxurious starliners for Galaxy Tours and Kaliida & Rimward. The Mon Calamari shipwrights later repaid him by developing every component of these new liners as a prototype for future warships.

In 1 BBY, during the Galactic Civil War, the Mon Calamari and Quarren successfully overthrew their Imperial oppressors. This victory became a symbol of hope for other planets, and a formidable force of Rebel warships entered the Calamari system to assist in the defense of the planet and its shipyards. The Mon Calamari joined the Rebel Alliance, and the Mon Calamari Starship Construction Facilities became the first and only shipyard capable of producing capital ships for the Rebellion. The shipyards began converting their massive starliners into combat-ready warships and initiated the construction of new, more powerful cruiser models. The Mon Calamari Star Cruisers, led by Mon Calamari Admiral Ackbar, became the backbone of the Alliance Fleet. Thanks to the dedicated Mon Calamari workers, the yards were capable to produce one corvette or one frigate each month, or one cruiser every six months. By the time of the Battle of Endor, the Mon Calamari Shipyards had produced eight new MC80 cruisers and nearly 50 escort ships, a remarkable achievement considering that a significant portion of the shipyard resources were allocated to starfighter construction.

In 3 ABY, the Shipyard Security Corps intervened in Docking Facility 7K to prevent Ral Shawgrim, a traitorous Alliance technician, from defecting to the Galactic Empire with sensitive data pertaining to the X-wing starfighter.

Following the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance transitioned into the New Republic. The Mon Calamari Shipyards continued to be a major producer of warships. Benefiting from substantial New Republic funding, the shipyards doubled their production annually, eventually accounting for five percent of the entire New Republic budget. In response, the Mon Calamari shipwrights designed increasingly formidable battleships for the New Republic Defense Fleet.

In 10 ABY, the Mon Calamari Orbital Shipyards sustained significant damage during the assault by the Empire's formidable World Devastators. Nearly all the ships in the docks, with the exception of the MC90 Star Cruiser_ Startide_, were destroyed. One year later, the shipyards were targeted by Imperial Admiral Daala. Although the Calamari Defense Force was tricked into leaving the shipyards undefended in order to protect Reef Home City, Admiral Ackbar prevented the yards from being destroyed.

At the time of the Corellian Crisis in 18 ABY, a large portion of the New Republic Defense Fleet had been dispatched to the Mon Calamari Shipyards for repairs.

During the Yuuzhan Vong War, the shipyards served as a critical resource for the New Republic. As the New Republic military bolstered its forces in response to the invasion, the yards continued to produce powerful warships. Even after being cut off from the rest of the New Republic when the Yuuzhan Vong breached the Perlemian Trade Route, the shipyards maintained production, dispatching new units to the front lines via clandestine hyperspace routes.

Following the Fall of Coruscant, Dac and its shipyards became an even more vital asset as the government relocated to the water world. As the New Republic began its reorganization into the Galactic Alliance, the shipyards worked tirelessly to replenish and replace losses sustained earlier in the war. In the war's final stages, the Mon Calamari and their shipyards were celebrated as a symbol of idealism and resolve in the face of adversity. With most of the galaxy's major shipbuilding worlds under Yuuzhan Vong control, the Mon Calamari shipyards were among the most important manufacturing assets available to the Galactic Alliance.

By the time of the Second Imperial Civil War, the Mon Calamari Orbital Shipyards had expanded into a ring of interconnected space stations large enough to completely encircle the planet, similar to the Kuat Drive Yards Orbital Array. After the Galactic Alliance's defeat during the Sith–Imperial War, the Mon Calamari system and its shipyards fell under the control of Darth Krayt's new Galactic Empire. The shipyards were entirely repurposed for the production of Imperial military vessels, becoming one of the primary sources of Imperial Star Destroyers. Furthermore, Mon Calamari engineers were compelled to improve Imperial warship designs, leading to the development of the Imperious-class Star Destroyer.

In 137 ABY, the first prototype of the Imperious-class Star Destroyer, the Imperious, was nearing completion at the Mon Calamari Shipyards. There, the Empire used it as bait to lure the Galactic Alliance Remnant into a trap and destroy Admiral Gar Stazi's main Alliance fleet. However, the Alliance uncovered the trap before the battle. The Alliance Fleet and the shipyard's defense system (which had been hacked by Rogue Squadron) decimated the Imperial Outer Rim Third Fleet. Meanwhile, a group of stormtroopers, who were actually Alliance troops under the command of ex-stormtrooper Hondo Karr, seized the Imperious. As the battle concluded, the shipyards were devastated when Captain Jaius Yorub rammed the Alliance flagship Indomitable into them, destroying a third of the yards and damaging another quarter. The stolen Imperious was successfully delivered to one of the Remnant's bases.

In retaliation for the loss of the Imperious and the Mon Calamari Shipyards, Darth Krayt ordered the massacre of Dac's entire population. Furthermore, the shipyards were shut down, as Mon Calamari shipwrights were among the victims of the genocide.

Following the defeat of Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire and the One Sith in 138 ABY, a pirate syndicate led by the rogue Sith Darth Luft took control of the remnants of the abandoned Mon Calamari Orbital Shipyards. Subsequently, a large number of Quarren and Mon Calamari were enticed back to Dac under the false pretense that the planet was undergoing "renewal". Instead, these unfortunate individuals were enslaved by the pirates, who forced them to construct a fleet of starships.

However, the Quarren Tikin and the Mon Calamari Luen encountered Jao Assam, an Imperial Knight, and Ania Solo, a junk dealer, who learned of their plight and promptly informed the Galactic Federation Triumvirate authorities on Coruscant about the pirates and their slaving operation. Later, Darth Luft murdered Tikin, and his death sparked a slave uprising by the Quarren and Mon Calamari, who united to rebel against the pirates. This uprising coincided with an attack by the Galactic Triumvirate, led by Admiral Stazi and the Imperial Knight Yalta Val, who liberated the slaves and apprehended the pirates. Jao Assam killed Darth Luft himself during a duel. The Quarren and Mon Calamari then settled in the space station, which Admiral Stazi had flooded with water to provide a comfortable environment for the former slaves.