The Slave Pits of Lorrd were massive artificial cone-shaped pits constructed by the Myrialites towards the end of the Kanz Disorders. They were larger in diameter than the Ancient Abyss of Felucia. The Pit's architect was an unidentified female Yuuzhan Vong Shaper whose starship had strayed into the Kanz sector.
Description
The layout of the Slave Pits of Lorrd resembled the design of ancient radio telescopes. During the Imperial Period, an expert DV-9 hypothesized that the pits were a system of organic receivers or transmitters. They were used to house bio-engineered amphibious monsters that would function as living "superweapons". The weapon was said to be capable of summoning great destructive power and was under a massive door in the center of the pits.
History
Around 3670 BBY, the ruling Argazdan Regent Torphceris's grip over the Redoubt was threatened by the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic under the Lorrdian Jedi Master Mari-Elan Nora. In desperation, he betrayed his "beliefs" in Vianism by making a pact with the female Shaper who claimed to be able to create a weapon capable of summoning great destructive power.
Under her tutelage, Torphceris ordered the construction of massive pits on Lorrd through the use of Lorrdian slave labor. At the alien's insistence, the pits were constructed entirely by hand without the use of any technological implements; leading to the deaths of thousands of Lorrdian slaves. At the bottom of the pit, she created an amphibious "living superweapon capable of living for millennia.:
During the Liberation of Lorrd, several Myrialites fled to the chambers within the slave pit and disappeared; presumably eaten by the monster. Several Jedi and Republic soldiers sent to apprehend them also disappeared. Nora sensed something evil in the Pits and ordered them filled and their existence played down in official documents.
The Lorrdian playwright Pordi zet Chatc's described the construction of the Slave Pits in his play Torphceris. In that play, the Yuuzhan Vong Shaper was portrayed as a "Demonic Alien" while her Argazdan accomplices were depicted as cowards willing to surrender their beliefs for power.
During the Galactic Civil War, Tash Arranda and her Lorrdian friend Kal zet Berri ventured to the Slave Pits where they encountered the unscrupulous Doctor Raygar and the Imperial Agent Diamond who were interested in the "living superweapon". During a brief confrontation at the bottom of the Pits, the belligerents encountered the monster which attempted to kill them. However, Raygar dispatched the beast with a thermal detonator; allowing his foes to escape and also destroying any potential superweapon the Galactic Empire could have used against the Rebel Alliance.
Appearances
Death in the Slave Pits of Lorrd: A Hyperspace Exclusive on Hyperspace (article) (content obsolete and backup link not available) (First appearance)