The lightsaber is an elegant weapon of a more civilized age but before it is used it still needs to be tested.
Your training is nearly over, you have travelled to the ice world of Ilum and searched within the Crystal Cave for the heart of your new lightsabre, the ‘kyber crystal’. After many long days of searching within the intimidating maze that is the Crystal Cave, a kyber crystal has called out to you. Recovering the crystal, you have rendezvoused with Hutang, the parts necessary to build the new lightsaber have been selected and the lightsaber has been constructed with your kyber crystal at its heart. But before you take your new lightsaber on its first adventure,” testing time it is”.
You and your lightsaber will meet with many trials and tribulations over the course of your adventures, but before you start you will need to make sure everything is in working order. Below are the set of basic tests that all new lightsabers need to complete before being used in the field.
Your lightsaber has been built but before it is powered on for the first time an inspection will be required to confirm that the parts have been connected correctly. If the emitter matrix has been inverted this will result at best in a short, or worst case a violent, explosion, a bad ending to an otherwise good day.
The activator needs to be robust so that it does not turn on or off as a result of a small knock, so vibration and drop testing are the order of the day. The testing cycle will need to be run twice, once with the lightsaber on and the second time with it turned off. If the activator fails this will cause major issues out in the field. The vibration and drop testing will also confirm that all parts are well constructed and no loose connections exist.
You and your lightsaber are supposed to act as one, so do your force powers work with your new lightsaber? The most basic test will be telekinesis. Are you able to summon your lightsaber? If not, check back with your Master. A more advanced test would be blocking dark side lighting attacks, this is an advanced test and should not be attempted without correct supervision, if correctly constructed your lightsaber should be able to block the lighting attack for a period of time.
If you are not able to keep a hold of your lightsaber in the heat of battle then things are not looking good. The grip selected for the handle must allow you to keep hold of it in all conditions. You must make sure that heat, cold, ice, water, dust, oil, grease or other adverse conditions do not result in you losing your grip. Dropping your lightsaber in battle is not a recommended tactic.
The blast doors are locked shut and they are the only way out, your enemies are closing in and you need to cut a new hole in the door. Take one standard blast door and start cutting, you should be able to cut through the door without depleting the power cell.
Much the same as door breaching, the lightsaber must allow the Jedi to be able to cut holes within walls and floors to aid access for rescue or escape. A full range of materials should be tested against and timing recorded for inclusion in the training manual.
You have completed your training with the practice drone and are able to deflect incoming shots, now on to the real thing. As we are dealing with real blaster fire, extreme caution must be taken, please refer to blaster fire health and safety training. If the lightsaber fails to deflect any shots then stop, failure to deflect shots is a critical failure scenario.
The first test: Basic deflection (static)
The second test: Multi shot deflection (static)
Third and final test: Shot deflection targeting
As you will be working in a range of conditions you will need to confirm that the lightsaber and you are able to operate in the following environments:
The environmental conditions should not affect the operation of the lightsaber.
Following the successful completion of the lightsaber post construction tests, a full inspection should be conducted to confirm no damage has been incurred. After a successful inspection the weapon is ready for use.
We may not be called on to test a lightsaber today (or ever) but letting your mind run free and think of all the weird and wonderful things that you may encounter in the Star Wars universe is not a bad thing. When you encounter a new change in testing do not just try the normal range of tests but step beyond the normal and have a flight of fantasy.
