Skirmish in the Maw The Second Battle of the Maw was a circumstantial battle fought in 11 ABY . The Imperial forces of Admiral Natasi Daala were chasing the escaped Sun Crusher piloted by Han Solo , Chewbacca , Kyp Durron and deserting Maw Installation scientist Qwi Xux . At their point of leaving the Maw , a cluster of black holes , they encountered the mercenary force of Kessel that had been gathered to protect the planet by its administrator , Moruth Doole . The fleet of mismatched ships was chasing the " Millennium Falcon " piloted by Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian , which was fleeing into the Maw . Neither fleet was aware of the other ' s existence , and when the Star Destroyers emerged from the Maw , the undisciplined Kessel fleet attacked out of self - preservation . Prelude to the battle . Shortly before the battle , Qwi Xux had rescued the captives Han Solo and Kyp Durron from their cells in the Maw Installation , and released Chewbacca from his slave duties repairing TIE fighters . They had escaped in the Sun Crusher , a virtually indestructible vessel of unparalleled destructive capability . Unwilling to let the Sun Crusher escape her control , Admiral Daala ordered the Star Destroyer " Hydra " to block off the only safe exit from the Maw . However , due to the Quantum - crystalline armor of the small vessel , Han Solo piloted the ship directly through the bridge of the " Hydra " , causing it to lose all control and fall into one of the Maw ' s black holes , killing all aboard , although 40 TIE ' s from " Hydra " were saved . Outraged , Daala ordered a full pursuit of the Sun Crusher . Meanwhile , on the moon orbiting Kessel , Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian were investigating the disappearance of Han Solo and Chewbacca during their diplomatic mission fro the New Republic . Moruth Doole , the " de facto " administrator of the Kessel facility , had in fact ordered them to be shot them down , and imprisoned them in the spice mines . Unbeknownst to Skywalker and Calrissian , the pair had escaped with Kyp into the Maw . However , when inspecting the defensive fleet Doole had developed on the Garrison Moon , the pair found the " Millennium Falcon " and realized what had happened . They stole the ship and fled . Unfortunately , the ship ' s hyperdrive computer was disabled , forcing them to flee into the Maw . Fearing New Republic retribution , Doole ordered a full pursuit of the craft . However , the pilots didn ' t know the formations for when the whole fleet was mobilized and they converged into a disorderly mass of ships . The Battle . As Daala ' s Star Destroyers arrived out of the Maw Cluster , they ran headlong into the Kessel fleet . Some of the mercenary ships peeled sideways to escape back to Kessel , but others panicked and opened fire . Daala ordered her ships to raise their shields and open fire , speculating that it may be a trap that the New Republic had set for her . The battle itself was swift and violent . The mercenaries were unorganized and unprepared for any large - scale assault . The highly trained and drilled Imperial troops laid waste to the many various ships in the opposing fleet ; many fled the system just before and soon after engagement , fearing the power of an organized Star Destroyer fleet . The clash of these two forces granted both pursuees time to join up and escape undetected . As the New Republic envoys went to go to hyperspace , three " Carrack " - class cruisers lined up to blast the Star Destroyer " Basilisk " , while all the Star Destroyers launched their TIE / LN starfighter s . The Kessel fleet ' s Strike - class medium cruiser exploded under the combined fire of the " Manticore " and the " Basilisk " and some of its flaming hulk hit the " Basilisk " , causing its bottom to buckle and burn , although the damage wasn ' t critical . Most of the Kessel fleet was eventually defeated by Daala and the few surviving ships fled into hyperspace . The Maw fleet suffered far less casualties ; three TIE Fighter squadrons were lost and the " Basilisk " was damaged and had to be linked to the " Gorgon " ' s navicomputer before it could leave the Kessel system . Aftermath . Following the near eradication of the Kessel fleet , Daala launched her fleet into hyperspace . She eventually sought refuge in the Cauldron Nebula as a staging base to launch her guerrilla strikes against the New Republic . The first of these would be the Dantooine Massacre . The " Millennium Falcon " and Sun Crusher escaped in tandem ( the " Falcon " using coordinates from the Sun Crusher ' s navicomputer and informed the New Republic of the situation in the Maw Installation , appealing to send an investigatory force . They dispatched some ships to assess the situation on Kessel , gain access to the Installation , and free the Wookiee slaves captive there . Behind the scenes . There is a minor variance in how much of the Kessel fleet was said to have been destroyed during the battle . In " Dark Apprentice " , Commander Kratas says that two thirds of it was destroyed , but in " Champions of the Force " , Mara Jade claims that it was 90 % . Kratas ' figure is probably the more likely of the two to be correct , as he was present during the battle , whereas Jade wasn ' t .