Fondor/Legends

"Admiral, we really need to do something about Fondor..."

- Darth Caedus, to Cha Niathal

Fondor was a planet famous throughout the galaxy for its extensive orbital shipyards, outclassed only by those at Corellia and Kuat. The Fondor Shipyards were associated with the Techno Union prior to the Clone Wars, and were sufficiently vast to construct Darth Vader's Executor-class Star Dreadnought. The capital city was Fondor City and later Oridin.

Early history
Fondor was located in the Freeworlds Region of the Tapani sector, a sector technically part of the Colonies but so old and well-regarded that many considered it a part of the Core Worlds. The Fondorians were baseline Human, but with no hair and purple blood. Fondor itself was completely industrialized eons ago, and its surface scabbed with excavations, factories, cooling towers, steam tunnels, and offices, all related to the planet's central role in starship construction. The planet also housed hectares of laborers' barracks for the dockworkers whose jobs were overhead. Fondor was a main market for the Besadii Hutts. During the Clone Wars Fondor sided with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, but the populace was generally unsupportive of the Separatist cause, and the planet contributed relatively little to the war effort.

The Executor project
The contract to build the Executor came somewhat unexpectedly, as Kuat Drive Yards was the manufacturer of the Imperial Star Destroyer and later instances of the Executor-class. The Empire required complete secrecy in the project, closing off all nonmilitary traffic in the system. Though the dockyard bosses were angered by the fact that they could no longer serve their commercial clients, the fact that the project took up the majority of the yard's resources&mdash;and the legendary wrath of Vader&mdash;kept them in check.

In order to efficiently move ships, the Empire created a classified route linking Fondor with the Mid Rim world of Gandeal. The Gandeal-Fondor Hyperlane remained a well kept secret decades after its forging. As an essential manufacturer of Star Destroyers, albeit unique variants, for the Galactic Empire, the shipyards became a target of the Rebel Alliance. In one instance, a prototype Star Dreadnought fitted with a cloaking device underwent construction there. Rogue Squadron penetrated the shipyards in stolen Imperial starfighters and terminated the project, preventing its completion.

Regime change
In spite of its security, Fondor was seized by the Alliance of Free Planets very soon after the Battle of Endor, giving the Alliance a key coreward shipyard and base. However, the supply of the raw materials that the shipyards demanded was briefly interrupted when Imperial Admiral Mordur persuaded Guildmaster Orrk to redirect Vandelhelm's strategic metal supplies from Fondor to himself&mdash;although Han Solo soon restored the situation and defeated the Admiral. For decades, Fondor continued to supply the New Republic with Star Destroyers and other capital ships.

In 26 ABY, the planet also became a target during the Yuuzhan Vong War, though a blast from Centerpoint Station destroyed a portion of the enemy fleet, saving Fondor at the cost of the Hapan war fleet, which was also caught in the blast. Fondor continued to supply the Galactic Alliance with starships in the war. The planet was eventually taken by the Yuuzhan Vong, but retaken near the end of the war.

Second Galactic Civil War
In 40 ABY, it became allied with Corellia in the Second Galactic Civil War, as it had been chafing under GA military restrictions, and officially left the Galactic Alliance. The planet's president at this time was Shas Vadde. Joint Chief of State Darth Caedus planned to attack the planet in order to set an example for other rebellious worlds. It then became the scene of a massive battle to retake it, with Caedus and his fleet bombarding Oridin and other urban centers. Admiral Cha Niathal established the headquarters of her faction of the Galactic Alliance on the planet afterwards. When the Second Galactic Civil War ended with the defeat of the Confederation, Fondor rejoined the Galactic Alliance.

Behind the scenes
The name Fondor possibly comes from the French word "fondre", meaning "to smelt", as the planet's shipyards smelt metal in large amounts.