Amaxine Space Station

Characteristics

This ancient space station, residing in the galaxy, was structured around a central spherical form, encompassed by a series of rings. Its location was within a particular star system, orbiting a star that was in the process of dying. The station was equipped with multiple hyperspace relays, designed to traverse hyperspace and arrive at designated locations.

Role

The purpose of the station's construction by the Amaxine warriors was to aid and enable their military endeavors.

History

Ancient history

The Amaxine warriors, who were responsible for the station's creation, chose to abandon it. This decision came after the station suffered an infestation by the Drengir, a hazardous sentient plant species intrinsically aligned with the dark side of the Force. Later on, the Sith intervened, performing a sealing ritual to contain the Drengir within the station.

High Republic Era

During the period known as the High Republic Era, several starships, including one carrying Jedi Masters Cohmac Vitus and Orla Jareni, Jedi Knight Dez Rydan, together with Padawan Reath Silas, found themselves marooned at the station. This occurred in the aftermath of the catastrophic Great Hyperspace Disaster. During their time there, Rydan sustained injuries and inadvertently traveled through one of the station's hyperspace relays, leading his companions to presume his death. Upon discovering the Sith statues, the Jedi removed them, transporting them back to the Jedi Temple located on Coruscant, unknowingly triggering the awakening of the Drengir.

Upon their return to the station, the Jedi managed to lull the plants back into dormancy. However, they were compelled to reawaken the Drengir when Nihil marauders arrived, intending to utilize the station for their violent raids. Ultimately, Silas took decisive action, destroying the station's hyperspace pods after successfully rescuing Rydan. This action also resulted in the expulsion of the Drengir and the majority of the Nihil aboard into the vastness of space. Despite this, the Great Progenitor managed to survive. Furthermore, the disturbance of her slumber had a ripple effect, awakening Drengir across the Outer Rim, thereby initiating a crisis that persisted until the assault on Mulita.

Imperial Era

In the period between 3 ABY and 4 ABY, during Lady Qi'ra's attempt to annihilate the Sith while acting as the leader of the criminal organization Crimson Dawn, her associate, known as "The Archivist," relocated the Fermata Cage to the station. This was done to enable the Cage to feed on the station's dark side energy. The Archivist's assessment proved correct, as the Cage began to consume the Drengir plants, accumulating the necessary energy to unlock itself. The surge of power emanating from this event alerted Galactic Emperor Darth Sidious and his Sith apprentice Darth Vader, both of whom traced the disturbance in the Force to the station aboard the Executor, supported by a contingent of Imperial Star Destroyers.

The two Sith were under the impression that an ancient Sith Lord was confined within the Cage. However, Qi'ra's true intention was to lure them in, trapping them inside. Qi'ra's Dawn Fleet then arrived in the system and engaged the Star Dreadnought to provide the Archivist with the required time. Simultaneously, the Dawn's starfighters defended against the Imperial TIEs. Nevertheless, the Emperor and Darth Vader proceeded to land on the station aboard the Emperor's Lambda-class T-4a shuttle, accompanied by royal guards and death troopers, and engaged the Dawn's forces.

The Spark Eternal, which had taken possession of the body of the archaeologist Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra, arrived at the station and was received by Qi'ra. Vader and Sidious advanced deeper into the station, where they encountered the Spark. Vader swiftly dealt with the situation, using the Force push to eject the Spark from Aphra. Having navigated through the ongoing battle, Sana Starros' crew intervened to rescue Aphra from the Spark when it attempted to repossess her. As the two Sith approached the unlocked Fermata Cage, Qi'ra and the Archivist, observing from their respective ships, initiated the final phase of their plan to imprison the Sith duo. However, the Knights of Ren entered the system and launched an attack on the station, causing the Cage to collapse as a demonstration of their allegiance to the Sith.

The resulting shockwave from the collapse devastated the Dawn fleet, which the Empire then targeted. Qi'ra issued a retreat order. Subsequently, the Knights boarded the station to meet with the Sith. Sidious subjected them to torture using Force lightning but assured them that they would serve him. Meanwhile, the Spark sought refuge in a disc that had been left behind by the Fermata Cage, where it concealed itself within a KX-series security droid, assisting Imperial personnel in cleaning up the station under Palpatine's orders.

New Republic Era

Due to Sidious's knowledge of the station's existence, it later served as the base of operations for Snoke, the Supreme Leader of the First Order and a puppet of Sidious. This occurred during the time of the New Republic. While Snoke resided at the space station, Ben Solo, who had destroyed the Jedi Temple of Luke Skywalker after mistakenly believing he had killed Luke Skywalker, journeyed to the station for a meeting with Snoke.

Behind the scenes

The initial appearance of the Amaxine Space Station was in the 2019 comic book issue titled The Rise of Kylo Ren 1, which formed part of the comic book miniseries Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren. This series was authored by Charles Soule and featured illustrations by Will Sliney. According to Soule, the station was originally conceived for that specific comic, rather than being developed during the planning stages of the multimedia project known as Star Wars: The High Republic. Soule credited Claudia Gray with the idea of incorporating the station into her 2021 novel, The High Republic: Into the Dark, which marked the first instance of it being identified as the Amaxine station.