Laakteen Depot, a pirate stronghold transformed into the Rebel Alliance's nearest base to Fondor, was situated just off the Giju Run hyperlane within the Colonies region. This occurred early in the Galactic Civil War against the Galactic Empire. It took the Rebellion almost a year of conflict to secure Laakteen Depot, a victory achieved through the combined efforts of Kufra Ahara, an exceptional starship mechanic, and the Sanjin Green Hawks.
A mere six months following the Battle of Yavin and the loss of the Empire's Death Star battle station, the Super Star Destroyer Executor obliterated Laakteen Depot during its inaugural mission. This act was a deliberate display of Imperial military power. Darth Vader, the Dark Lord, aimed to use the destruction of the Rebel base with his newly commissioned warship to impress upon the galaxy the unyielding dominance of the Empire.
Located on the planetoid known as Laakteen, near the Giju Run hyperlane within the [Colonies](/article/colonies-legends] region, was the outpost of Laakteen Depot. This base was comprised of several interconnected domed structures. By the time of the Galactic Civil War, when under the control of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, Laakteen Depot was equipped with a defense shield and at least one substantial gun emplacement.
The construction of Laakteen Depot dates back to approximately 53 BBY, about twenty years prior to Palpatine's rise to the position of Supreme Chancellor within the Galactic Republic. Around that time, the Depot was the site of an incident involving the Bando Gora, a criminal cult devoted to the Force, who plotted to murder the humanoid Iram Radique. Artagan Truax, a member of the cult, betrayed the Bando Gora and rescued Radique. Radique later established himself as a secret arms dealer within the Cog Hive Seven prison, providing Truax with protection from the Bando Gora's vengeance.
As the Galactic Civil War between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance commenced, Laakteen Depot was being used as a pirate haven. Sometime before the Battle of Yavin, the Rebellion seized Laakteen Depot after a nearly year-long struggle. The modifications implemented by Murachaun Kufra Ahara, a skilled starship mechanic, aided the Sanjin Green Hawks in capturing the outpost. It then became the Rebellion's closest military base to the planet Fondor, a world renowned for housing some of the galaxy's most prominent shipyards.
In 0.5 ABY, a half year following the Battle of Yavin, the Fondor Shipyards finished constructing the Empire's new Super Star Destroyer, the Executor, which also served as the personal flagship for Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith. During the warship's initial voyage, Vader formally inaugurated the Executor by obliterating Laakteen Depot, the Rebellion's nearest installation, in a massive show of force.
The destruction of Laakteen Depot held both political and military significance. Vader's intention was to demonstrate to both the Rebels and the wider galaxy that the Alliance's triumph over the Empire's Death Star battle station at the Battle of Yavin was merely a fluke, and that the Executor was an unstoppable force. In their final moments, as the Executor's assault breached the base's defense shield, the Rebels at Laakteen Depot desperately transmitted a warning to the main Rebel base on the moon Yavin 4, alerting them to Vader's approaching warship. This forced the Rebellion to urgently evacuate their Yavin headquarters.
The first appearance of Laakteen Depot was in the Revenge of the Jedi comic strip, authored by Archie Goodwin and illustrated by Al Williamson. Revenge of the Jedi was originally distributed by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate as a newspaper serial comic spanning from November 1982 to January 1983. The narratives within depicted the events that transpired between the films Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope and Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. In the comic, Laakteen Depot serves the purpose of showcasing the operational readiness and formidable power of the Executor, Darth Vader's newly completed Super Star Destroyer.
Subsequent source material introduced several continuity discrepancies concerning Laakteen Depot. The 2000 publication A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, Third Edition, Revised and Expanded erroneously states that Laakteen Depot was a Rebel Alliance outpost around the time of the Battle of Endor, while the 2005 inaugural issue of the Star Wars: The Official Figurine Collection magazine claims that Darth Vader destroyed Laakteen Depot before the Battle of Yavin. Furthermore, The Official Star Wars Fact File 47 attributes the Executor's maiden voyage and the destruction of Laakteen Depot to Admiral Amise Griff, an Imperial character who plays a significant role in the storyline, but does not command the Executor during its maiden voyage in the Revenge of the Jedi comic strip. Lastly, both the 2009 reference book The Essential Atlas and the 2014 novel Maul: Lockdown incorrectly spell the name as "Lakteen."