The Galactic Empire had a prison installation on a planetoid near the Maw. The detention center was placed under complete secrecy, although rumors relating to its existence persisted.
A map of the facility
The Imperial prison facility in the Maw contained various facilities within the compound, including the main prison buildings, a weapons storage building, communication relays to nearby Star Destroyers, and several two landing platforms, including one for tankers. Those facilities and more were also connected via a repulsorlift railway system that also held the facility together. The communication relays, placed at the far corner of the facility, consisted of seven towers. An environmental dome was placed in the installation between the weapons storage and the relays. Magma spots were also seen on the surface.
It was heavily armed with various turbolaser turrets that acted as guard towers as well as various AT-PT walkers. Guard towers were placed near the prison building as well as the weapons storage facility. Another group was near a landing platform.
Other than the turbolaser turrets, the facility also was constantly guarded by TIE Fighters and TIE Interceptors both inside and in the outside perimeter. In addition, a shield was placed in the outer perimeter of the facility, although it needed the generators to be fully functional, as otherwise, if three projectors were disabled, the hole will be large enough for a small fighter squadron to penetrate the field.
Antilles flying near a relay tower.
After the Rebel Alliance loss at the Battle of Hoth, several Rebel personnel, including Karie Neth, had been found and captured on the frigid planet, sent to the installation.
Some time after the battle, Rebel general Carlist Rieekan, suspecting its presence in the Maw, sent Wedge Antilles and Rogue Squadron to investigate, and disable the shield projectors. Upon arrival in the asteroid field, they ended up discovered by a fleet of Imperial tankers, so they were forced to hold them off while also disabling a number of the shield projectors enough to sufficiently disable the shield and grant them entry. Approaching the prison, they were contacted by Karie Neth requesting their assistance in helping her and several of the prisoners escape from the facility. Neth transferred the target data to them. First, they needed to eliminate the guard towers guarding the prison building so she and a few of the other escaped prisoners could release the rest. After that was accomplished, they then requested that Rogue Squadron destroy the guard towers for the weapons storage building so they could raid its weapons stock.
Antilles bombed one of the environmental domes and recovered advanced cluster missile technology.
Upon accomplishing it, Rogue Squadron was then tasked with destroying the communications relays to prevent the alarm from being sent to the Star Destroyers patrols. Afterwards, they destroyed the guard towers around the rail system to ensure that the repulsorlift train that the prisoners hijacked could make it to the platform. Finally, the prisoners commandeered a Sentinel-class shuttle and then entered hyperspace, detonating explosives that they planted around the rail system, destroying the facility.
The prison installation appears in the 2001 video game Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader. The mission in which it appears is also included in the game's sequel, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike, in the co-op version of Rogue Squadron II. The base also houses a vehicular upgrade, and this article assumes the player collected it.
The prison also serves as a location for a Versus Mode match in Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike.
- Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide
- Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide