Hetzal Prime, often shortened to Hetzal, was a planet situated within the Hetzal system, located in the Outer Rim Territories. During the High Republic Era, this planet and its associated system fell under the jurisdiction of the Galactic Republic, boasting a total population of forty billion individuals. It was commonly stated that Hetzal's diverse environments could support the cultivation of any crop found throughout the galaxy. During this time, Hetzal Prime and its fellow celestial bodies faced a dire threat from anomalies originating in hyperspace. Jedi Master Avar Kriss, who led the joint Galactic Republic and Jedi Order efforts to safeguard the system, later earned the title "Hero of Hetzal."
Serving as the primary world in the Hetzal system within the Outer Rim Territories, Hetzal had two inhabited moons in orbit: the Fruited and the Rooted. The entire system was dedicated to agricultural pursuits, exporting food to various regions within the Outer Rim and select areas of the Inner Rim. During the High Republic Era, the planet embarked on an ambitious endeavor to cultivate bacta, a novel substance with the potential to revolutionize medical practices, within plants.
Hetzal Prime, home to billions, was characterized by a landscape dotted with rivers, lakes, and expansive golden fields where crops like honeyfruit, kingberries, ice melons, and other produce thrived. Reflecting the system's dedication to maximizing agricultural output, buildings and structures across the planet featured cropland-covered roofs and fruit vines, while rivers and lakes were utilized for the cultivation of algae and waterweeds. Given Hetzal's capacity to support the growth of virtually any crop in the galaxy, coupled with its three suns providing extended growing seasons, harvester droids were perpetually engaged in harvesting a diverse array of crops.
Hetzal Prime was the original home of the well-known gill-singer named Illoria Daze. The Hetzal's security division was responsible for its defense.
In the year 232 BBY, the catastrophic Great Hyperspace Disaster unfolded, triggered by the sudden emergence of debris from the starship Legacy Run from hyperspace, placing it on a collision course with the heavily populated planet and its moons. The Hetzalian government, led by Minister Zeffren Ecka, was compelled to issue an evacuation order spanning the entire system and to seek assistance from Coruscant, the capital of the Galactic Republic.
Numerous vessels from the Republic and the Jedi Order offered aid in the evacuation efforts and in destroying numerous fragments of the Legacy Run's wreckage, thereby averting significant loss of life. However, despite the heroic efforts of the rescue teams, a small fragment emerging from hyperspace struck Hetzal Prime's surface. This fragment impacted the ocean, obliterating thousands of square kilometers of algae farms and releasing vast quantities of water vapor into the atmosphere. A massive tsunami surged towards the coastline, resulting in hundreds of fatalities.
In 229 BBY, the creation of the Stormwall resulted in Hetzal being confined within the Occlusion Zone. This situation necessitated the Republic to reallocate harvests from other planets to prevent a water and food supply crisis across the Mid Rim Territories.
Given the symbolic significance Hetzal had acquired for the Republic following the Great Disaster, Marchion Ro made the decision to occupy the planet and establish it as the primary base of operations for the Nihil. To achieve this, a substantial fortress was constructed upon the ruins of the former parliamentary building. The fortress was constructed using debris, with its walls and chambers fashioned from components of destroyed spacecraft. Atop the fortress stood a colossal metallic representation of the Eye of the Nihil. The metal used to create the Eye figure was sourced from the remnants of the Legacy Run, the vessel responsible for the Great Disaster.
The Nihil's occupation of Hetzal brought about significant changes to its agricultural operations, which were essential for maintaining control over the Occlusion Zone. The agricultural workforce on Hetzal was subjected to increased productivity demands: workers, constantly monitored by Nihil guards, labored in the fields alongside menial droids, harvesting crops and loading them into large metallic containers. The presence of the Nihil guards ensured that every grain of produce was accounted for, with harsh consequences for those who failed to meet their quotas. At one point the local workforce rose up standing against the Nihil opression. However the uprising was brutally quelled, reducing the available workforce by almost twenty percent. By tightly controlling Hetzal's agriculture, the Nihil were able to regulate the distribution of grain shipments throughout the Occlusion Zone, starving planets that refused to pledge allegiance to the Nihil or pay the demanded tributes.
Sometime after the Nihil fortress was erected on Hetzal, Avar Kriss returned to the planet. With the assistance of her pilot, Belin, and Jedi Master Porter Engle, she successfully rescued Rhil Dairo, a journalist who had been coerced into serving as the spokesperson for the Nihil while imprisoned within Marchion Ro's fortress.
Aguirre City served as the capital city of Hetzal Prime. During the Great Disaster, the Ministerial Residence within Aguirre City housed the Hetzalian government.