The conflict known as the Battle of the Maw occurred in 11 ABY, pitting the New Republic against the remnants of Admiral Daala's forces, including her command ship, the Gorgon, and Tol Sivron's Death Star prototype.
Before this engagement, the ancient Sith Lord Exar Kun was permanently defeated, releasing Kyp Durron from his influence. Previously, while under the Sith Lord's control, Kyp had obliterated the Cauldron Nebula and Carida. With the evil spirit vanquished, Kyp regained his senses and surrendered to Han Solo. At the New Republic Senate located on Coruscant, Chief of State Mon Mothma determined that Jedi Master Luke Skywalker would decide Kyp Durron's punishment. Skywalker decided that the Sun Crusher needed to be destroyed, and Kyp Durron would be the one to do it as atonement for the devastation he had caused. Together, they would travel to the Maw Cluster and send the superweapon into the galaxy's black holes for its final destruction.
Concurrently, with Daala's forces expelled from the Maw Installation, the New Republic dispatched a contingent to occupy it. Among the task force were the Wookiee Chewbacca—motivated by a desire to liberate the remaining Wookiee slaves at the installation—and the former Imperial scientist Qwi Xux. However, her memories remained elusive. The New Republic task force navigated the treacherous black hole cluster and eventually reached the Maw Installation.
Upon their arrival, the fleet seized the Maw Installation with only slight opposition. The Installation's personnel managed to destroy one of the New Republic's corvettes using a prototype Metal-Crystal Phase Shifter, but the fleet swiftly retaliated, destroying the section of the installation housing the MCPS, thus rendering the rest of the installation vulnerable. The Twi'lek administrator Tol Sivron commandeered the Death Star prototype and fled into space with a large portion of the Installation's staff.
After capturing the Installation, New Republic forces seized documents and unfinished projects that the scientists at the Installation had been developing for the Empire, intending to use them for the New Republic. Though Qwi Xux couldn't recall any specific details during her visit, she came to understand the true nature of the Empire she had served and realized she had been deceived. Shortly thereafter, their operations were interrupted by the arrival of Daala's flagship Gorgon—the only remaining Star Destroyer in her fleet. The other, Basilisk, was destroyed when Kyp Durron obliterated the Cauldron Nebula with the Sun Crusher in an attempt to eliminate Daala and her fleet.
Seeing the New Republic seizing the weapons discoveries at the Maw Installation, Daala was enraged because Grand Moff Tarkin had entrusted her with the station's protection. With her sole remaining Star Destroyer, Daala attacked the New Republic forces as they struggled to mount a defense. Simultaneously, Tol Sivron piloted the Death Star Prototype out of the Maw Cluster to the nearby Kessel system and employed the superweapon's super laser to destroy Kessel's Garrison Moon. However, facing coordinated resistance from Smugglers' Alliance vessels, Sivron retreated back into the Maw, as the prototype lacked TIE Fighter escorts and strategic defenses.
Oblivious to the unfolding chaos, Skywalker and Durron arrived at the Maw Cluster to fulfill their mission of destroying the Sun Crusher. Upon arrival, they witnessed the scattered New Republic forces and an asteroid field that was formerly Kessel's Garrison Moon. Rushing towards the Maw Installation, the Jedi observed the skeletal Death Star appearing in space alongside Daala's Star Destroyer. Unbeknownst to Sivron, Han Solo had managed to conceal the Millennium Falcon within the Prototype's tangled superstructure as it retreated from Kessel. Together with Lando Calrissian and Mara Jade Skywalker, Solo worked to sabotage the prototype's main reactor before Sivron could target the Maw Installation. The Falcon disengaged from the Prototype as Sivron's teams frantically tried to repair the damage to the reactor. Once the damage was repaired, Sivron ordered the station to fire upon an inactive CR90 corvette, obliterating it completely.
Meanwhile, Kyp Durron, seeking to atone for the suffering and deaths he had caused, raced back to the Sun Crusher, using it to engage the prototype, while Chewbacca led an assault on Daala's Star Destroyer. As the New Republic force evacuated the Maw Installation, Daala targeted the installation's main power reactor, causing a massive explosion that seemingly destroyed the Gorgon. However, in reality, the explosion obscured the sensors, allowing Daala to escape to the Deep Core to join the remaining Imperial forces.
Piloting the Sun Crusher, Kyp launched his two remaining resonance torpedoes at the Death Star, but was disheartened to find that the damage inflicted was insufficient to destroy or even disable the battle station. Kyp then led the prototype on a chase through the dangerous black holes of the Maw Cluster. In a final desperate move, the Jedi Knight lured the prototype too close to a black hole. As the prototype reached the point of no return, Sivron managed to score a direct superlaser hit on the Sun Crusher, overwhelming its armor and causing it to lose engine power. As both the Sun Crusher and the prototype Death Star plummeted into the bottomless abyss of the black hole, a small message pod was launched from the Sun Crusher. When the pod was recovered by Han Solo, he was amazed to discover that Durron had managed to squeeze himself into the pod, suffering numerous broken bones in the process. Kyp's survival was attributed to his innate ability to use a Jedi technique approaching suspended animation. Kyp recovered from his injuries and continued to serve as a Jedi Knight for the New Republic.