Nasan Godera

Born on Balmorra in 3707 BBY as a male Human, Nasan Godera quickly gained recognition for his exceptional intellect. His abrasive manner and lack of political tact nearly derailed his scientific career before the Great Galactic War. However, with the resurgent Sith Empire's return in 3681 BBY and subsequent attacks on the Galactic Republic, Godera was recruited into the Republic Strategic Information Service, the Republic's intelligence agency. Shortly after the Battle of Alderaan in 3667 BBY, Doctor Godera was among the scientists recruited by Colonel Laren Omas of the Republic's emerging Special Forces. Omas persuaded them to design a weapon capable of stopping the Imperial threat. Over several weeks, the scientists devised a plan to construct a "Shadow Arsenal"—a collection of interplanetary missiles equipped with cloaking devices and payloads capable of continental destruction, intended as a powerful deterrent against Imperial aggression.

However, the group soon began to disintegrate, and Omas's death at the Battle of Hoth in 3665 BBY led to its official disbandment. Undeterred, Godera secretly continued building the arsenal on Quesh, a world known for adrenal production. It was only upon completion that he realized the weapon's excessive destructive potential. Recognizing the unacceptable catastrophic death toll, Godera locked the Shadow Arsenal away on Quesh, vowing that his future inventions would either imprison or selectively target enemies, or defend against attacks. After four years of studying ancient Rakata technology on the prison world of Belsavis, Godera established the Republic superweapon initiative to develop new technologies and weapons.

Godera quickly became the Chief Designer within the Republic's Advanced Development Laboratories, creating prototype technologies and collaborating with the galaxy's leading scientists. Boab Deduun became his protégé, and Godera's genius led to the creation of numerous superweapons and advanced technologies. His inventions included the Sky Torch weapon and the spy ray, a long-range surveillance device that became standard knowledge for SIS agents during the Cold War. Several superweapons—including the Planet Prison, Power Guard Enhancement System, Shock Drum, and the Death Mark laser—were developed years later from Godera's incomplete designs and research.

In 3653 BBY, the Republic was compelled to sign the Treaty of Coruscant, ending the war on the Empire's terms. This enraged Godera, whose dedication to the Empire's destruction led him to protest the Treaty. After the Galactic Senate repeatedly dismissed his warnings that the Empire would exploit their advantage, Godera left the Republic in disgust and journeyed to the ruined world of Taris. There, with the help of droid assistants, he constructed a series of underground laboratories. Over the next decade, he continued his research and experiments as the galaxy endured the tense Cold War. The droid RE-M0 became one of Godera's preferred assistants.

In 3643 BBY, Sith Lord Darth Angral declared a personal war against the Republic and the Jedi Order in response to the death of his son Tarnis at the hands of a young Jedi Knight. Tarnis had infiltrated the Republic superweapon initiative—which had been reorganized under General Var Suthra following Godera's departure to weaponize Godera's technologies—and sent all files on the Republic's weapons projects to Angral before his death. Tarnis also relayed rumors that Doctor Godera was hiding on Taris, which Imperial Intelligence confirmed, having tracked Godera's movements for some time.

Angral ordered Watcher One of Intelligence to capture the scientist with a force of Imperial soldiers. Watcher One's forces began attacking and seizing Godera's laboratories across Taris. They eventually located and captured the doctor, rendering him unconscious and taking him to Watcher One in the Imperial-occupied ruins of the Taris ChemWorks Factory. However, the interrogation was interrupted by the impending arrival of the Jedi Knight who had killed Tarnis. The Jedi had been dispatched by General Suthra to rescue Godera, tracking his biosignature with RE-M0's help. To evade the Knight, Watcher One used a holoprojector to disguise himself as a Rodian, carrying the unconscious doctor to the factory's entrance, where he tricked the arriving Jedi into letting them pass. The Imperial operative then transported Godera to a secure base deep within the ruined transport hub known as Transport Station 5.

The still-unconscious scientist was injected with a class-four truth serum, allowing the Imperials to easily extract his knowledge of advanced weaponry and technology. Upon completing the interrogation, Watcher One transmitted the data to Darth Angral just as the pursuing Jedi Knight arrived.

Still bound to the interrogation table, Godera witnessed the Knight's fight with Watcher One. The Knight allowed the defeated agent to escape and start a new life away from the Empire.

The Jedi then freed Godera, who reluctantly agreed to return to the Republic upon learning of Angral's crusade. The Knight escorted Godera back to the Republic settlement of Olaris, delivering him into the custody of Agent Fau-Kes of the SIS. Fau-Kes and his team then escorted Godera to Coruscant, where he was appointed as General Suthra's scientific advisor during the crisis with Angral.

Nasan Godera possessed a mastery of mathematics and found pleasure in mental calculations. He preferred the company of droids over organic beings.

Like many within the Republic, Godera deeply resented the Empire. His outrage at the Treaty of Coruscant led him to retire and seek refuge on Taris. However, he was willing to return once he saw that the Republic finally recognized the Empire as a threat.

Godera held an indifferent, casual perspective on life. He viewed weapons like the Shock Drum as fascinating designs, unconcerned with their potential for planetary destruction. He also shared a close friendship with General Var Suthra and had confidence in his abilities, willingly standing in the middle of a war zone on Corellia, trusting that the General's elite troops would protect him and that no one would deliberately target a museum. Sadly, this proved to be his downfall when the Sith killed him.

Nasan Godera was initially mentioned in The Old Republic—The Lost Suns 3, a comic book issue within the Lost Suns arc of the tie-in comic series for the BioWare video game Star Wars: The Old Republic. Godera later appeared in the game itself as a supporting character in the Jedi Knight class storyline, and was also frequently mentioned in the Imperial Agent storyline and other missions on Taris. The 2012 reference guide Star Wars: The Old Republic Encyclopedia provides further details on his career, and Godera received his own entry within the guide's section on the Strategic Information Service. The timeline of Doctor Godera's involvement with the Shadow Arsenal presents some inconsistencies. The Imperial Agent storyline states that the Shadow Arsenal project officially concluded with the Battle of Hoth, but incorrectly claims that the battle occurred at the end of the Great War, despite all other sources and parts of the game placing it in 3665 BBY. Therefore, this article assumes that the Shadow Arsenal dating is an error.