"This is the Empirical, master, Lord Vader's top-secret mobile laboratory." ―PROXY, to Galen Marek[src] The ISS Empirical was a mobile research laboratory, a modified cruiser that belonged to Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader. Rumored to be one of many such vessels in Vader's fleet, the Empirical housed the Dark Lord's experiments on prisoners and studies conducted on unique alien species. Top-secret, moving only between lifeless star systems in the Outer Rim Territories and escaping even the eyes of Emperor Palpatine's spy network, the vessel was crewed by a platoon of Imperial soldiers personally selected by Vader, who monitored the test subjects and eliminated those that escaped confinement before they could get off the ship.