One of the more rare lightsaber variants in the Brotherhood, the lightsaber pike, less commonly-known as the lightsaber lance, has traditionally seen extremely limited usage among Force users aligned with Antei's rulers due to limited training sources and the difficulty in wielding such an item. In coordination with Darth Ashen's decision to resurrect the Grand Master's Royal Guard, the first Fist of the Brotherhood Ma`ar-Tyrius Ga-Tir used training techniques from his homeworld of Kalee and methods learned from select Holocrons to make the weapon available to highly skilled Guardsmen. Fist Fremoc Pepoi continued to refine these teachings and make the weapon a staple of skilled warriors, in keeping with Emperor Palpatine's Guardsmen of old.
History
The earliest confirmed appearance of the lightsaber pike, or rather, it's predecessor the long-handle lightsaber or lightsaber cane, is in the hands of the starwars:Sith Lord Darth Chratis. He used the weapon to great effect, killing several rival Sith and Jedi with it prior to and during the Great Galactic War. After his death at the hands of his Apprentice Eldon Ax, the weapon would be used many times by less-famous Jedi and Sith, though its next reputable appearance would be in the hands of the blind Jedi Master Zao, who used it often as a walking stick but was lethal in its usage despite his handicap.
Aside from Zao, additional Jedi seen in the saber cane's usage were Master Yarael Poof and Jedi Knight Kazdan Paratus. While the former used the weapon to fit his tall stature, the hilt of which was only somewhat longer than that of a standard weapon, we see the first true emergence of the saber pike with Paratus; following Order 66 and the fall of the Jedi Order, the maddened Aleena took his weapon to Raxus Prime. There, using the pike alongside mechanical limbs to increase his reach and mobility, he became a formidable opponent until his death at the hands of Starkiller. Though the Jedi was quite insane at the time of his demise, he wielded the weapon to lethal effect and was a challenge for Vader's Apprentice to defeat.
Future usage of the lightsaber pike would be restricted almost entirely to the Emperor's Royal Guard following the death of Paratus. Starkiller would encounter certain Senate Guards, several Royal Guards, and even members of the elusive Shadow Guard in his journeys. After his death, the Royal Guard and its Sovereign Protectors would continue to sporadically use such equipment until the fall of the Empire and the death of Palpatine in 4 ABY. After this, knowledge of such weapons would widely disappear throughout the galaxy, though some very limited usage among the Jedi Order founded by Vader's son might have occurred.
Knowledge of such weaponry in the Dark Jedi Brotherhood was very limited from its earliest days, even before its Exodus from the Emperor's Hammer. What little was known was reserved to certain Dark Lords who learned at length from holocron gatekeepers and individual Dark Jedi who became self-taught after extrapolating double-blade fighting techniques. Even so, these individuals never reached the full lethality of earlier practitioners of such weapons short of phrik alloy or other lightsaber-resistant compounds in the hilts. By Dark Council policies, such weapons were quickly discovered, confiscated, and/or destroyed before anyone rose to prominence. Thus, for much of the Brotherhood's existence, saber pikes would remain the rare luxury of a select and secretive few.
By the time of Darth Sarin's dissolution of the original Grand Master's Royal Guard in 26 ABY, the weapon had all but disappeared from the Brotherhood's ranks. Aside from a few Dark Jedi whose species traditionally practiced polearm combat, few could even wield a pike proficiently, let alone an exotic weapon like the saber pike. Following Lord Sarin's demise in a duel against Omancor Crask during the Unification, his successor, Darth Ashen, saw fit to re-instate the Guard. At its head, he placed Ma`ar-Tyrius Ga-Tir, a skilled and deadly Kaleesh possessed of many lethal combat techniques. Ga-Tir's charge was simple; he was to forge a Guard worthy of the Lion of Tarthos and all future leaders of the Star Chamber.
The Kaleesh's initial training was simple, yet brutal - many cadets died in the earliest stages. Those who remained became proficient with the lightsaber, though the force pike also saw a resurgence as a result of the masked humanoid's proficiency with polearms. Seeing both of the weapons take such a hold over his Guardsmen, Ga-Tir, or Smoke as he was known, designed a lightsaber pike worthy of his Guardsmen. After presenting it to Lord Ashen, who approved of its usage, he instated the saber pike as both a deadly weapon and a rite of passage - only those at or above the Eighth Echelon of the Guard could wield such a devastating object. His successor, Fremoc Pepoi, would see the weapon's training refined even further, and today it exists as weapon and symbol, proof of the worthiest of the Grand Master's elite guards.
Recently, certain talented Dark Jedi fighting within the Antei Combat Center have been seen to adopt the saber pike. Taking instruction from Guardsmen or Elders, these warriors have reached such levels of skill as to become lethal with the weapon outside of Royal Guard jurisdiction. All the same, they are subject to the same laws and specifications as Guardsmen who wield the weapon.
Specifications
The lightsaber pike utilized by the Dark Jedi Brotherhood is built around an extrapolated "emitter barrel" concept - the entirety of the saber's workings are mounted into the end of the weapon, inside a twelve-inch section of hilt that holds all of the weapon's controls. Should the haft ever be severed by a saber blade, this twelve-inch hilt would still be perfectly functional as a lightsaber blade, provided its adherents were well-versed in close-quarters combat.
The saber's crystals are often chosen by the specific Guardsman, who uses components and a lens designed to produce a thicker, wider blade. The emitter matrix is designed to produce a short, two-foot blade; while not as long as some saber blades, combined with the knowledge of a Form such as Juyo or Shien, the blade was more than long enough when combined with the weapon's obvious and devastating reach advantages. The pike's power cell is located as close to the emitter matrix as possible, while a modified form of pommel cap offers several inches of insulated hilt beyond the functional twelve to minimize any chance of the weapon being bisected and rendered useless.
While the hilt is assembled by the Guardsman in question, its parts are manufactured according to strict Dark Council specifications; often, if a Guardsman has not the time or mechanical skill to do this, one of the manufacturing centers used to make armory lightsabers will be utilized via special order to create them. This does not happen often, though, as the weapon is quite rare and its user typically well-versed in its workings.
Because of the fact that makers only need to follow the specifications of the Dark Council, pikes often arise composed of various metals, crystals, and lenses. So long as these perform within the guidelines of the Council and do not contain lightsaber-resistant materials, they can be made of virtually anything. Some rare examples have been seen that were largely constructed of polished wood, while others follow the general guidelines of using a metal like durasteel.
Acquisition
Lightsaber pikes can be acquired by Dark Jedi for dossier display and usage through two methods:
- Reach rank 8 in the GMRG.
- Reach an undetermined rank in the ACC.
Skills Required
A member can only use this weapon if they have mastered Juyo or Shien, though masters of these Forms are known to add influences from other doctrines to their respective styles.
Concept Origin and Design
- GMRG revival and resulting awards decided upon by Grand Master Muz Ashen and Fist Ma`ar-Tyrius Ga-Tir.
- Lightsaber Pike article originally created by Fist Fremoc Pepoi.
- Article revamp done by Kal di Plagia Vorrac.
- Article content subject to change or removal by the Dark Council, any changes in GMRG or ACC policy, and in compliance with DJBWiki policy.