Deep Core

The Deep Core (also known as the Deep Galactic Core) was a small region in the galaxy, about seven thousand light years across, that hid unusual worlds. The Deep Core was home to some thirty billion of the galaxy's oldest stars, and at its center was a massive black hole surrounded by antimatter and dense clusters where stars were only a hundredth of a light year apart. In some areas they were in such close proximity, stars would collide and rip the cores from each other. Due to the gravitational pull of the vast number of stars and the prominence of dark matter concentrations, local space-time was severely warped, making hyperspace travel difficult at best. The Deep Core has held great strategic value because of its position nearby the Core Worlds, particularly in the case of the clone of Emperor Palpatine in the Dark Empire series and his stronghold of Byss.