The moniker "Shadow Arsenal" designated a significant collection of superweapons that the Galactic Republic engineered near the conclusion of the Great Galactic War. Colonel Laren Omas of the Republic Special Forces Division spearheaded the project, drawing upon his involvement in weapons research initiatives. He assembled some of the galaxy's most brilliant scientific minds, with Doctor Nasan Godera at their helm. Their objective was to conceive warheads capable of inflicting utter annihilation upon the resurrected Sith Empire.
Despite Dr. Godera's initial reservations, Colonel Omas successfully oversaw the development of a cache of interplanetary missiles. Each missile was equipped with a cloaking device and possessed the destructive force to devastate entire continents. The hope was that the Arsenal would serve as the ultimate deterrent to future wars, a weapon so formidable that it would be impossible to ignore or defend against. However, internal strife began to plague the development team and following Colonel Omas's death on Hoth, the program was terminated, and the scientists dispersed. Nevertheless, Dr. Godera secretly continued constructing the Arsenal on Quesh until he fully grasped the devastating potential of the finished product.
The completed weapons were revealed to be indiscriminate instruments of catastrophe, capable of causing millions of civilian casualties in addition to their intended targets. This realization convinced Dr. Godera that he had overstepped the mark on this project, leading him to abandon the Shadow Arsenal on Quesh. The program's outcome prompted Dr. Godera to revise his weapon development philosophy, focusing on creating devices designed for imprisonment, guarding, or selectively targeting adversaries.
During the era of the Cold War, Ardun Kothe leveraged the resources and operatives of the Republic Strategic Information Service to pinpoint the location of the Shadow Arsenal. This endeavor involved the recruitment of Cipher Nine, seemingly defecting, and the utilization of this Imperial Agent to retrieve the lost weapon codes from Colonel Omas's shuttle on Hoth. With the codes in hand, Kothe intended to deliver a crippling blow to the Sith Empire by employing the warheads to obliterate Kaas City, thereby ending the conflict with the Sith Empire. However, Nine, aided by Watcher X, overcame the brainwashing program and eliminated Kothe's team. Before the agent could secure the arsenal for the Empire, Hunter, another member of Kothe's team secretly aligned with the Star Cabal, orchestrated an Imperial bombing raid, preventing the arsenal from falling into the hands of either galactic power.