| abstract | - The principle underlying the shockball was based on the fact that the Sith Star was both the capital and the military and civilian command hub of the Empire. Its destruction, without some backup system, could cripple the Empire's response system in a single exchange. Tariun Sakaros designed the shockball to counter this weakness, enabling his sister Rin to command all military forces and the Order of Keltrayu from any location. The shockball had a biometric system which would respond only to the specific biorhythms of the Sovereign. Aside from providing military coordination, the Sovereign could also use the shockball to issue a HoloNet address to the public or summon all surviving Centurions of the Order of Keltrayu to a location. The shockball was carried near Rin at all times whenever she was off the Star, by an officer of at least O4 rank (a Naval or Royal Starfighter Corps Lieutenant Commander, or a Royal Army Major). Rin originally intended for one of her Royal Guards to carry the shockball, but was persuaded that her Guards needed to have their hands free at all times to use their lightsabers, and it would hardly be militarily wise for them to set the shockball down to do so. The officer carrying the shockball rotated every twelve standard hours, and the responsibility rotated among the three branches of service. Royal Intelligence and the Prefect of the Order of Keltrayu prepared the shockball's information every day; the Prefect was responsible for maintaining the database of all Centurions, while Intelligence could track everything else. The shockball's full name had nothing to do with heat, but was instead a reference to a Class-A thermal detonator.
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