In the Outer Rim Territories, specifically within the Hetzal system, a monitoring station was established by 232 BBY. This station was staffed by two scantechs from the Galactic Republic, named Vel Carann and Merven Getter. Their duty was to observe all starships entering and exiting the star system. The station's computers also allowed these scantechs to transmit a high-urgency, system-wide warning if necessary.
In the year 232 BBY, fragments from the freighter Legacy Run, which had been destroyed, began to appear in the Hetzal system. Carann and Getter, unaware that these swift, unidentified objects were related to the disaster, initially tracked their paths and briefly discussed what they might be. However, they soon realized the need to issue a system-wide alert and evacuate the station using its shuttle. Tragically, after sending the alert, both perished when one of the anomalies suddenly appeared nearby and collided with the station, causing a catastrophic explosion.
The Hetzal system hosted a monitoring station situated far along its orbital plane. Its location was designated as Q-16 on the Standard Galactic Grid, placing it within both the Outer Rim Territories and the Slice. This station was positioned at the outer reaches of its star system, distant from Hetzal Prime, the system's primary planet.
The monitoring station's operations deck was equipped with workstations for two scantechs. These workstations featured computers that included holoscreen monitors and keypads. The computers were programmed with subroutines designed to track and analyze the trajectories of space objects as they entered or left the system, and to evaluate the properties of those objects. The station's two crewmembers had the ability to send a high-priority alert across the system, requiring both of their authorization codes. This action would trigger an alarm on the operations deck. Furthermore, the monitoring station was equipped with a shuttle for transportation to the inner parts of the system.
By the year 232 BBY, the station served the purpose of monitoring the arrivals and departures of starships within the Hetzal system. Typically, flight plans were pre-registered. The station was staffed by two Galactic Republic scantechs: Merven Getter, a Mirialan Scantech (third-class), and Vel Carann, a Scantech (second-class), who supervised Getter's work and often read Jedi romances on a datapad at her workstation. After completing his shift, Getter, who resided on Hetzal Prime's Rooted Moon, would use the station's shuttle to travel to the local spaceport. He would then visit a nearby cantina and entertain Sella, the bartender, with tales of his experiences at the edge of the Hetzal system.
After the monitoring station underwent a system upgrade, Carann did not dedicate herself to learning the computer subroutines necessary for analyzing the properties of tracked objects. In contrast, the subroutine for tracking object trajectories had remained unchanged for approximately two years by 232 BBY.
During that year, shortly before the end of Getter's shift, he observed the sudden appearance of numerous unidentified objects moving sunward at near-lightspeed. Unbeknownst to the scantechs, these anomalies that reverted to realspace within the Hetzal system were actually debris originating from the freighter Legacy Run, which had been destroyed while in [hyperspace](/article/hyperspace].
Carann noticed Getter's surprise at these unexpected appearances, and the two scantechs began to speculate on the nature of these anomalies. Carann admitted she was unable to analyze the objects, so Getter suggested she track their trajectories instead.
Eventually, Carann and Getter both realized that many of the anomalies were on a collision course with the system's inhabited planets, with projections indicating a high number of potential casualties. Getter, understanding that the station was within the objects' path, proposed evacuation via the facility's shuttle. Carann agreed, but emphasized the need to first send a system-wide alert. After transmitting the alert, they began to evacuate. Getter suggested they send an explanatory message en route. However, at that precise moment, an anomaly materialized near the station and collided with it, causing a destructive explosion that resulted in the death of both Carann and Getter.
Later, as the alarm triggered by the alert sounded in the office of Zeffren Ecka, the Hetzal system's Minister, at the Ministerial Residence in Aguirre City, Daan, the minister's counselor, explained that the alert originated from the monitoring station. The counselor further noted that the lack of response to inquiries about the alert's cause suggested the station had been destroyed.
The Hetzal system monitoring station was conceived for the 2021 novel, Light of the Jedi, penned by Charles Soule as a component of Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia project's Phase I. Prior to the release of Light of the Jedi, the chapter featuring the monitoring station was published on StarWars.com on November 20, 2020.