21 BBY, January 20. Fourth Civilization-controlled territory, Modell Sector, prison planet Thonner.
At the edge of a desert in the planet's southern hemisphere stood an expansive experimental base. Its outer perimeter was enclosed by barbed wire, and hundreds of B-1 battle droids patrolled the entry checkpoints day and night.
The signs hanging on the wire bore a stark warning: "Property of the Dawn Star Planet Engineering Department. Unauthorized Entry Strictly Prohibited!" Behind them were hazard symbols warning of high voltage, nuclear energy, biological and chemical dangers, and more.
Occasionally, animal carcasses could be seen nearby. Some had wandered in by mistake, while others had been electrocuted by the high-voltage wire or gunned down by B-1 battle droids. No one cleaned them up. They were left exposed to sun and rain, many reduced to ghastly white bones, lending the experimental base an eerie and terrifying air.
Inside the base, several thousand researchers had been divided into over a hundred technical teams, each carrying out its research at a frantic pace.
In one laboratory, researchers were fitting a prisoner with a mechanized exoskeleton. It was clear that the exoskeleton had numerous mounting points and could be equipped with a large number of external attachments.
This was why the base had been built on the prison planet Thonner: prisoners could be used directly for testing. Although most weapons tests were not particularly dangerous, absolute safety could never be guaranteed. Besides, if they passed the weapons trials, these prisoners would have a chance to enter the Beast Legion and receive priority access once the weapons were issued. Naturally, many prisoners were willing to participate.
Once the installation was complete, the prisoner began operating the exoskeleton under the researchers' guidance, performing various movements. At first, every motion was completed perfectly. Then the researchers ordered him