Emperor's plague storehouse
The Emperor's plague storehouse, a clandestine research site used by Emperor Palpatine during the Imperial era, was an unmapped asteroid located within the Deep Core. Reaching the asteroid required navigating six separate hyperspace jumps and consumed twice that many hours due to the absence of a direct route.
Description
The asteroid depot was structured as a complex network of pressurized domes, interconnected tunnels, and sealed chambers. It served as a repository for diverse biological weapons, capable of affecting a wide spectrum of species, including the notorious Krytos virus and a Human-specific virus known as the Emperor's Plague. The central hub, the primary storage area for these viruses, was densely packed with rows of cylinders and tanks. The plague storehouse also featured a number of docking bays situated on its periphery. Within several sealed chambers, the preserved remains of experimental subjects, primarily non-Humans or other adversaries of the Empire, were stored.
History
The plague storehouse once served as the headquarters for Imperial scientist Evir Derricote, the individual responsible for the creation of the Krytos virus. This bioengineered virus devastated countless alien species following the Liberation of Coruscant in 7 ABY. Before his initial demise at the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, Palpatine commanded that samples of the human-specific Emperor's Plague be secured within the concealed weapons depot. Furthermore, he ordered the deletion of the depot's coordinates from Imperial records to obscure its location. Only a select few high-ranking members of the Empire possessed knowledge of this station and its depot.
In 24 ABY, an alien scavenger by the name of Fonterrat stumbled upon the Emperor's plague storehouse. Despite the Galactic Empire's defeat, this plague warehouse persisted, still containing its stockpile of lethal diseases. He subsequently offered to sell a navicomputer module containing the plague storehouse's coordinates to Nolaa Tarkona, aware of her hatred for Humans. However, he declined to engage with her directly, suggesting she dispatch a neutral party to meet him on Kuar.
During negotiations, he provided her with a sample of the virus, which she used to seal his payment. The neutral party was revealed to be Bornan Thul, a wealthy Human merchant and shipping magnate, the owner of Bornaryn Trading. In return for the navicomputer module containing the asteroid's coordinates, Bornan paid with a time-locked case filled with credits. Bornan was then tasked with delivering it to Nolaa at a trade conference on Shumavar, but upon discovering the contents of the plague warehouse, he went into hiding.
Nolaa also captured the last surviving member of the four Imperial Royal Guards, who had led the Second Imperium's insurgency in 23 ABY, and interrogated him about the weapons depot's location in order to seize its deadly collection of biological weapons. When he refused to cooperate, she had him killed using a sample of the Emperor's Plague.
Incensed, Nolaa enlisted numerous bounty hunters to locate Thul and retrieve the navicomputer. Among these bounty hunters was Ailyn Vel, disguised as her father Boba Fett. In response, his son Raynar Thul—a Jedi trainee at the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4—along with his Jedi companions Jacen, Jaina Solo, Tenel Ka, the Wookiee Lowbacca, and his translator droid M-TD, embarked on his trail. They were later joined by Zekk. Following encounters with bounty hunters and visits to various worlds, including Mechis III and Ziost, they caught up with Bornan and learned the reason for his concealment.
Subsequently, they successfully located the asteroid depot and planted explosives within it. However, a Diversity Alliance fleet under Nolaa's command arrived. Amidst the ensuing chaos, Bornan and several Alliance members, including Nolaa herself, were infected with a multitude of deadly plagues released from shattered canisters and tanks. Bornan succumbed to a Human-specific virus and perished.
Assistance for the Jedi materialized in the form of the New Republic Defense Fleet and the Bornaryn Trading Fleet, which triumphed over the Alliance fleet during the ensuing battle. After the Jedi evacuated the asteroid depot, the combined New Republic/Bornaryn fleet obliterated the plague warehouse, thereby destroying the plagues contained within. Nolaa Tarkona escaped with the Wookiee Raabakyysh aboard her transport Rising Star, only to meet her end later on an uncharted asteroid in the Outer Rim.
Behind the scenes
The reason the warehouse contained Krytos virus samples is unknown, as it was closed off before the virus was created.