Yavin system/Legends

"The system is called Yavin on our charts, Dark Lord... It appears perfect&mdash;isolated, uninhabited. We will never be found."

- A Sith navigator to Naga Sadow

The Yavin system was a three-planet star system in the Outer Rim Territories that contained the gas giant Yavin Prime and its twenty-six moons; only three of which were habitable: Yavin 4, Yavin 8, and Yavin 13. Discovered by Galactic Republic scouts during the Expansionist Era, this overall inhospitable star system went down in history millennia later during the Galactic Civil War, when it hosted the famous Battle of Yavin. In the decades following the end of the Civil War and the collapse of the Galactic Empire, the Yavin system was passed down from hand to hand, conquered by remnant Imperial warlords, recaptured by the New Republic and colonized by the extra-galactic invaders known as the Yuuzhan Vong.

Despite its reputedly inhospitable environment, the Yavin system was home to at least four sapient native species, namely the Melodies, the Gerbs, the Sliths, and a race of humanoids that was wiped out by the Galactic Empire. Additionally, Yavin 4 became an adopted home for several other species, including the Critokians, the Massassi Sith, and some Humans.

Description
"The fourth moon appears habitable, Dark Lord... Covered with jungle... lush with life."

- A Sith navigator

The Yavin system was part of the Gordian Reach, a sector of the Outer Rim Territories. It consisted of a medium-sized orange star with three worlds orbiting it. The closest to the sun, Fiddanl, was a barren planet covered with mercury seas and instable landmasses. The second orbit was occupied by Stroiketcy, a captured comet, and the last planet in the system was Yavin Prime, a red gas giant.

While none of the planets were habitable, twenty-six moons orbited Yavin Prime, the largest three of which were hospitable. Yavin 4 hosted a great variety of flora and fauna in tropical jungles, Yavin 8 was covered in tundras and mountains, while Yavin 13's terrain consisted mostly of rocky plains and deserts. Throughout history, a number of space stations were also established within the boundaries of the system, most of them orbiting around the gas giant.

Although not a part of it, a dense, purple nebula was also located in the vicinity of the Yavin system. This interstellar cloud was christened "Shadow of the Alliance" during the Galactic Civil War, a major conflict fought between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance.

Despite its generally inhospitable conditions, the Yavin system hosted at least four native sentient species. The lagomorph Gerbs and the serpentine Slith hailed from Yavin 13, while the eighth moon hosted aquatic humanoids known as the Melodies, and yet another bipedal species. The latter went extinct with the rise of the Galactic Emperor Palpatine, who grew disgusted by the Yavin 8 natives and ordered that they be wiped out.

Ancient history
"A secret place&hellip; for a new start."

- Naga Sadow on Yavin 4

The first known colonists in the Yavin system belonged to the Rakata's Infinite Empire around 30,000 BBY. However, a deadly plague spread among the Rakata in 25,200 BBY, and their Empire fractured. The system then fell into oblivion and was only rediscovered during the Expansionist Era, which started after the establishment of the Galactic Republic in 25,053 BBY. As was customary at the time, the name Yavin was given to both the star and the major world in the system. The first exploration report deemed the system unfit for Human colonization and probably devoid of any lifeform, let alone intelligent life. Upon entering the system, the early scouts noticed an orange sun nearing the term of its middle-age cycle. The explorers thought they needed look no further, so they left the system after a brief cursory examination of the planets and moons.

Because of its alleged inhospitality, the Yavin system remained a brief footnote in the planetary registries of the Republic for centuries, but Yavin 4 became a Sith stronghold around 5000 BBY, when the Sith Lord Naga Sadow went into self-imposed exile following his defeat at the second battle of Korriban.

Headquarters of a Rebel Alliance
"You would prefer another target, a military target? Then name the system! I grow tired of asking this so it will be the last time: Where is the rebel base?"

- Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin to Princess Leia Organa

However, the Yavin system remained largely unknown and uncharted until millennia later, when the Rebel Alliance set up a major base in the fourth moon of Yavin Prime. Even at the height of the Galactic Civil War, the system did not appear on many astrogation charts, since it was far from the Core Worlds and major hyperlanes. With the establishment of the Alliance's headquarters on Yavin 4, the star system became the site of the Battle of Yavin, during which several Rebel pilots destroyed the Empire's first Death Star.

Following the destruction of their superweapon, the Empire launched a number of small raids at the Rebel base on Yavin 4, which prompted the Alliance to evacuate the moon to escape retaliation. The Empire officially restricted Yavin 4 space to Imperial traffic, maintaining a heavy military presence that had been maintained within the Yavin system for the remainder of the war.

A system changing hands
In the aftermath of the death of Emperor Palpatine in 4 ABY, the Galactic Empire shattered into several competing factions. At the same time, the Rebel Alliance reorganized into the New Republic, a democratic government the function of which was to replace the Empire. Between 4 and 8 ABY, the Yavin system remained under the control of the Zsinj, former Grand Moff of the Quelii Oversector and leader of his own faction. Following Zsinj's death, his former rival and fellow Imperial Treuten Teradoc sought to acquire the Grand Moff's former worlds. However, Teradoc soon found himself caught in a war with Gial Ackbar of the New Republic, and Teren Rogriss&mdash;another Imperial who wanted to conquer Zsinj's territory. Teradoc was forced to retreat to the Deep Core. The Yavin system then fell under the rule of Thrawn, one of the twelve original Grand Admirals of the Empire, and was now part of Thrawn's confederation. One year later, with Thrawn's death, the confederation collapsed, and the system was eventually recovered by the New Republic.

Between 26 and 27 ABY, the Yavin system was attacked by the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong, a race of technology-hating non-Humans. The system fell under the control of the invaders and became a part of the Yuuzhan Vong empire. However, two years later, the Empire was destroyed when the Galactic Alliance retook its former capital planet of Coruscant and killed the Vong's Supreme Overlord Shimrra Jamaane. By 137 ABY, the system was affiliated with Darth Krayt's Sith Empire.

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy