The AX system had been surveyed by scouts as well as droids millennia before the Battle of Yavin, but it remained lifeless and unexploitable during the years of the Republic. It was during the time of the Empire and the Civil War when the Rebellion noticed that the system was both near the sector capital of Dakshee, as well as the sector's frontier to Haldeen and the Kliap sectors, so it would make an ideal location for a secret relay station for transmitting both to the capital, and other Rebel bases.
According to the Intelligence its purpose was to transmit intelligence and psyprop. In reality AX-456 was one of the stations disseminating information, stories and coverage of the Empire's atrocities, showing the truth to the Imperial citizens, and gaining sympathy and support.
In 1 BBY the Rebels started constructing the base while most of the world and personnel were underground. While they were half complete, Imperial probe droids scouted the activitiesa. By two weeks later, the installations were complete.
The comm center was wiped out by Imperial stormtroopers led by Kyle Katarn. It was here that the cadet Katarn first met Jan Ors and spared her life. Four hundred thirty-six Rebels, and all but six of a platoon of stormtroopers, died in the fighting. Although Katarn's troops suffered heavy casualties, and Katarn himself was seriously wounded, he emerged victorious and was celebrated as an Imperial hero. During his graduation ceremony at the Imperial Military Academy at Cliffside, Katarn was awarded the Medal of Valor by Jerec for his actions during the Battle of AX-456.
The surface had a comm dish and a landing pad while most of the base was underground. Constructed hastily, the installations had a raw, improvised look.
The entrance of the base was a boxlike standard prefab structure, a massive affair built to withstand meteorite hits. The door was set into quick-drying permacrete, and unlocked by a number pad. Next to it was an obvious camera, as well as a hidden tiny pinhead lens. The metallic door led to two airlocks, the second being a backup in case the first was destroyed by a meteor. The first room after the locks opened to an underground corridor dug by a mole miner, branching to other passages. A businesslike rough-hewn corridor, covered by an electronic , printouts and equipment racks, branched off to a cafeteria and cavelike storage rooms, up to a door leading to the Comm Room, full of monitors and related gear.
Along with the personnel, the corridors were populated by several droids and other machinery: crawlers, heavy-duty construction droids, spidery , A-types, and R2 units.