The Imperial Research and Prison Facility was a research research and prison installation operated by the Galactic Empire and was located on the planet of Dathomir during the Galactic Civil War. It was the epicenter of the Blackwing virus outbreak on Dathomir.
The Imperial Research and Prison Facility was located on the remote planet Dathomir. It was operated by the Galactic Empire to conduct secret and dangerous scientific research during the Galactic Civil War between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance.
The facility consisted in two parts: the prison and the research center. It was organized in several buildings located in a large courtyard, large enough to land shuttles, and surrounded by tall defensife wall. The largest building served as the prison and had a similar design as the Dathomir Imperial Prison located in another region of the planet. Another building allowed access to the underground bunker that contained the research facility. The research center was made of several laboratories located on two underground levels. The deepest level was connected to a cave where lived a giant rancor.
Security personnel of the Imperial Research and Prison Facility included Captain Lenders Ennada, Lieutenants Flinn Boster, Arwen Zherooh and Jecht Eris, stormtroopers TK-217, BT-413, DS-378, TK-108, FR-351, GT-643, KD-121 and HX-138. Other staff included Inquisitor Klex Fulgor, prison guards Torkin Doha and Derin Hans, creature handlers Tyris Santorini and Yerkys Neir, and maintenance worker Pit Cornburr.
Prior to the Battle of Yavin, Darth Vader recovered a sample of the long-lost Blackwing virus and commissioned the Imperial Biological Weapons Division to re-engineer the virus and turn it into a bioweapon. His objective was to use the virus to create super soldiers. The project was secretly carried aboard the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Vector. However, in 1 BBY, the virus was accidentally unleashed aboard the Vector and in the prison barge Purge, killing and turning all of the personnel into dreadful undeads. After the Vector incident, the project was not canceled but relocated to the Imperial Research and Prison Facility on Dathomir. The Empire recruited high profile scientists from all around the galaxy to participate in the project. Dr. Griffax Jin served as chief virologist. Other scientists included Dr. Pram Dramango, Dr. Stane Tritan, Dr. Nomi Rhane, Dr. Piodas Ray, Dr. Tare Sal, Dr. Ziris Enz, Marpo Glenfik, Skrat Horle, and Tyla Gallamby.
A group of undead stormtroopers in the Imperial Research and Prison Facility.
However, in 1 ABY, an accident happened in the research facility and the virus escaped containment. The virus killed most of the people in the area and turned them into flesh-craving undead creatures. Almost the entire the staff of the Imperial Research and Prison Facility became zombies but a small group, including TK-217, Marpo Glenfik, Dr. Pram Dramango, Dr. Stane Tritan and Dr. Nomi Rhane, survived the outbreak and barricaded themselves in a room of the research facility. At the surface, a small contingent of immune stormtroopers, including GT-643, KD-121 and HX-138, established a small camp for the survivors present in the area: Inquisitor Fulgor, the former prisoner Zsu Val, the technician Sogan Varga, and the mechanic Nils Cridmeen.
In place of sterilizing the area through an orbital bombardment, the Empire promptly established a Quarantine Zone around the Imperial Research and Prison Facility to contain the infection. Darth Vader dispatched Captain Piett to recruit volunteers in order to enter the quarantine zone and obtain an original sample of the Blackwing virus in the research center. In the meantime, both the Rebel Alliance and the Black Sun managed to steal Imperial authorization for the Quarantine Zone and Han Solo and Guri sent their own agents to find the virus before the Empire.
Spacers fighting the undead rancor.
The spacers traveled through the Quarantine Zone and arrived safely at the Imperial Research and Prison Facility. There, they obtained the support of HX-138 and Inquisitor Fulgor to get access to the research center. Once in the underground facility, they were attacked by the most violent and powerful undead creatures. They even had to fight a giant undead rancor in the depths of the Facility. Finally, they found Dr. Griffax Jin, the Imperial chief virologist, who had survived the outbreak. However, the man was infected by the virus and soon turned into a zombie and attacked the spacers. After the scientist was definitely killed, the spacers managed to get a sample of the virus in the lab. The spacers later encountered Dr. Nomi Rhane's group of survivor and helped them to shut down the facility ventilation in order to stop the spread of the virus outside the research center. The survivors and the spacer then used an emergency escape ladder to leave the facility. Once arriving at the surface, in the courtyard of the Imperial Research and Prison Facility, they were indeed attacked by the undeads. The spacers escorted the survivors to Camp Epsilon nearby, where a group of refugees and a functional Lambda-class shuttle were awaiting them. The survivors from the research facility, the spacers and the refugees of Camp Epsilon eventually escaped the Quarantine Zone together in the shuttle.
The Imperial Research and Prison Facility was a non-player character in the 2003 video game Star Wars Galaxies, a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game developed by Sony Online Entertainment and published by LucasArts, prior to its closure on December 15, 2011. The Imperial Research and Prison Facility was added to the game with the "Game Update 14," a.k.a. the "Death Troopers" update, released on October 12, 2009.