Tauntaza, a Galactic Empire Governor stationed on Gabredor III, constructed a mobile stronghold known by several names: Tauntaza's fortress, Tauntaza's facility, and the death machine. This fortress, situated on the planet, possessed the capability to draw life energy from planets and transform it into a usable power source. Though she had associated herself with the Crimson Dawn syndicate, Tauntaza was acting under the direction of Emperor Palpatine in the fortress's construction, a project that cost billions of credits.
After fleeing to her fortress, Tauntaza activated the device, initiating the draining of the planet's life force which resulted in a massive sandstorm. The droid ZED-6-7 calculated that the entire planet would become a desert within forty-eight hours. Aboard his flagship, the Executor, Vader instructed Admiral Firmus Piett to attack the fortress; however, the shields, powered by the planet's life energy, withstood the assault. Vader then approached the facility and used an astromech droid carrying his lightsaber to infiltrate the fortress's underbelly, disabling the extractor and creating an entry point. Despite recommendations from her crew to evacuate, the governor instead connected her armor to the facility's energy tanks in an attempt to use its power against Vader. Although Vader destroyed the facility, Tauntaza escaped, and Vader discovered her allegiance to the Emperor.
Later, the Alliance to Restore the Republic recovered Tauntaza's fortress. A group led by a general relocated it to an uninhabited planet in the Outer Rim with the intention of repairing and utilizing it for their own purposes. However, Vader, who had since joined Administrator Sly Moore's Schism Imperial, a group of Imperials, including Tauntaza, dissatisfied with the Emperor, reclaimed the facility alongside the former governor and his own cyborg M.A.R. Corps. Vader and Tauntaza commanded the machine's crew to activate it, eliminating the nearby rebels, before announcing their intention to continue repairing the facility.