Jailbreak

The Jailbreak was an event that occurred on the penal colony of Ord Vaxal in 20 BBY. It began when a chain gang in a medium-security facility subdued their guards and took over. News of their success spread quickly throughout the planet, sparking mutinies in the other prisons. Within two weeks, armies of convicts had made their way to the planet's spaceports. In response, the Republic dispatched naval forces to besiege Ord Vaxal. Since the prisoners had become too deeply entrenched on the surface, the Republic focused on preventing their escape. Ord Vaxal's spaceports were bombarded from orbit, stranding the great mass of prisoners on the planet. A period of feudal warfare followed as some prisoners set up fiefdoms based around the former prison facilities. The situation eventually settled into a tenuous peace, although the Republic maintained pickets in orbit on a rotating basis.

At some point after the situation on the surface reached an equilibrium, Palpatine decided to use Ord Vaxal as a repository of political dissidents, rebels and other criminals. Throughout the Imperial Era, condemned beings would be dumped on Ord Vaxal without regard to their fate on the surface.

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