The Avatar Orbital Platform represented a collaborative project between the Galactic Empire and the Blackscale Clan, a group of Trandoshan slavers. Its purpose was to facilitate the transport and sale of Wookiee slaves, who were captured on Kashyyyk and the moon Alaris Prime, both located nearby.
Functioning as a slave distribution center, the Avatar Orbital Platform was a space station jointly erected by the Galactic Empire and Trandoshan slaving organizations. Prioritizing utility over aesthetics, the platform was designed to be crude yet effective. It boasted sufficient defenses to deter Rebels from disrupting the Imperial slave trade. By 4 ABY, its configuration was square, featuring the primary reactor at its center. Four airbases enabled transports to move to and from the station. Military structures provided protection for the reactor. An Imperial fortress occupied one corner, while the diagonally opposite corner housed a slave pen defended by four laser turrets. A contingent of stormtroopers and TIE fighters were also stationed onboard.
Before enslaved families were separated and dispatched to their respective owners, Avatar frequently served as their final destination together. The slaver Pekt played a vital role in the station's design. During the Galactic Civil War, the Blackscale Clan was the sole entity authorized to grant landing clearance on the platform. Nevertheless, both the Zssik Clan of Trandoshan slavers and Imperial scientists stationed on the planet Kashyyyk managed to obtain the necessary codes to dispatch operatives to the station.
In 1 ABY, Wookiee freedom fighters launched an assault on the Avatar Platform with the aim of halting the Trandoshan slaving activities. Amidst these conflicts, a group of spacers affiliated with the Zssik Clan infiltrated the station to undermine the Blackscale's slaving operations. Following a clash with the Blackscale forces on board, the spacers initiated the station's self-destruct sequence before returning to Kashyyyk. Extensive damage resulted from significant explosions, leading to the death of many individuals on board, yet the station largely remained functional and intact. Soon after, both the Blackscale Clan and Wookiee freedom fighters dispatched reinforcements to the station to persist in their struggle for control over the Avatar Platform.
During the Liberation of Kashyyyk in 4 ABY, Han Solo and Chewbacca gave chase to Moff Hindane Darcc and Pekt. After the destruction of their palace, Darcc and Pekt sought refuge on Avatar, only to be pursued by their adversaries. Solo had previously alerted the New Republic, and upon their arrival on Avatar, they were joined by Lando Calrissian aboard the Millennium Falcon and Rogue Squadron with Luke Skywalker. Following a swift engagement, the Rebels obliterated the airbases to prevent Darcc and Pekt from escaping, liberated Attichitcuk, who was enslaved alongside other Wookiees, and successfully eliminated Darcc and Pekt. Ultimately, the Rebels destroyed the primary reactor, causing the Avatar to become unstable and crash onto Kashyyyk.
The first mention of the Avatar Orbital Platform occurred within the strategy guide for the video game Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, released in 2001. The station was featured in the game's Chewbacca campaign. It reappeared in 2005's Star Wars Galaxies: Rage of the Wookiees, which served as the second expansion for Star Wars Galaxies. In both game appearances, the player's actions result in the station's destruction. However, subsequent to the station's destruction in Rage of the Wookiees—an event that precedes the Chewbacca campaign in Galactic Battlegrounds by several years—the non-player character Marium Valmont clarifies that the station was not entirely destroyed and remained "quite functional."
Within Galactic Battlegrounds, Avatar presents as a level series of open, wide-walled platforms. This design choice stemmed from the game's limitations, which prevented combat within enclosed buildings or starships. At the mission's outset, the player is allotted 10 minutes to destroy the airbases, after which they are tasked with rescuing the Wookiee prisoners, demolishing the fortress, and assassinating Darcc and Pekt. Following the destruction of the reactor, the Wookiee units escape through a scripted sequence.