A Human male known as Mirkovig Hirken functioned as both the warden and administrator for the highly classified Corporate Sector prison called Stars' End. Raised within a long-standing, esteemed family on Alsakan, Hirken leveraged his familial connections after a privileged upbringing to secure a lucrative position in the Corporate Sector Authority. Within this organization, Hirken steadily advanced, ultimately achieving the rank of Viceprex within Corporate Security. By 2 BBY, he assumed control of an experimental prison initiative that would eventually become Stars' End, a facility where prisoners were maintained in a state of suspended animation.
Hirken dedicated himself entirely to Stars' End, populating it with a carefully selected group of criminals, undesirable individuals, and personal adversaries. However, the inmates' disappearances sparked inquiries from concerned family and friends. Eventually, a group that included the notorious Corellian smuggler Han Solo discovered the location and purpose of Stars' End. Solo spearheaded an infiltration of the prison, which escalated into a large-scale prison break. This event resulted in a massive power plant explosion that propelled Stars' End into space. In a desperate attempt to escape the doomed prison, Hirken tried to negotiate with Solo for assistance. However, he was ultimately shot and killed by his resentful wife, Neera.
Mirkovig Hirken, the youngest of nine siblings, was born into one of the most established families on the Core World of Alsakan. His lineage traced back to original settlers of the world aboard the Kuat Explorer prior to the era of the Old Republic. From a young age, Hirken's parents encouraged him to define a life goal and strive for leadership in his chosen field. Inspired by his ancestor Arlo Hirken, a partner of the renowned adventurer and merchant Rin Assid, Hirken gravitated towards a career in business. Consequently, he enrolled in an advanced economics program, complemented by a sophisticated education that included private tutors and exclusive finishing schools. Hirken ultimately graduated at the top of his class, and his family leveraged its extensive network to secure him a well-compensated position within the Corporate Sector Authority.
Hirken swiftly advanced to the position of Viceprex within Corporate Security. He further enhanced his social standing by marrying Neera Opatajji, the daughter of the Duke of Opatajji. Hirken's life was progressing favorably until his staff presented him with a feasibility study concerning a prototype prison facility. Hirken immediately recognized the potential of this concept to elevate him to fame and glory, and he assumed control of the project, which was designated Stars' End. Construction of the prison, envisioned as a highly confidential and secure facility where inmates were kept in stasis booths, commenced on the isolated asteroid Mytus VII. The Hirkens relocated there to directly oversee the process. The project was developed in conjunction with the Imperial Correctional Facilities Ministry, and Hirken regularly reported to the Imperial Minister of Corrections, Lady Chawkroft. While Hirken was enthusiastic about leading Stars' End, it widened the gap between him and his superficial, unhappy wife, who, despite being pleased with his success, was plagued by boredom and isolation.
One of Hirken's primary responsibilities was to compile a list of criminals, dissidents, and troublemakers to be sent to Stars' End. Granted complete autonomy in his selections, Hirken made no distinction between those who had committed crimes and those who were merely suspected of doing so. He also used this opportunity to settle personal vendettas. Hirken embraced his new role, appointing himself warden and accelerating the prison's construction schedule. The process was marred by systems failures, but Hirken expressed confidence in Stars' End in communications with Lady Chawkroft and punished those who leaked information about the construction's challenges. Ultimately, he opened the facility with only the detention tower completed and minimal progress made on the rest of the prison.
Hirken and his wife moved into Stars' End, establishing a residence atop the detention tower. Hirken was accompanied to the opening of Stars' End by a new bodyguard, Uul-Rha-Shan, a Tiss'shar gunfighter renowned in the Corporate Sector for saving a wealthy business executive from a terrorist attack on Etti IV. In his role, Hirken maintained a keen personal interest in all aspects of the station, constantly carrying a master control device that provided him with complete access to all of Stars' End's systems. In his leisure time, Hirken indulged in his hobby of staging fights between gladiator droids. His prized possession was a top-of-the-line Mark X Executioner model, which he housed in a private amphitheater within the prison.
Over the following months, thousands of individuals across the Corporate Sector who appeared on Hirken's list vanished into Stars' End, including troublemakers and revolutionaries from all walks of life. However, these disappearances did not go unnoticed. An academic named Rekkon formed a resistance group of citizens searching for their missing loved ones. Following numerous developments, including Rekkon's death at the hands of an Authority double agent, their investigation led them to Stars' End, which remained a closely guarded secret. The remaining members of Rekkon's group—Corellian smuggler Han Solo, two Trianii named Atuarre and Pakka, and a pair of droids, Blue Max and Bollux—gained entry to the prison by posing as entertainers, with Atuarre personally convincing Hirken as the troupe's leader. Hirken was particularly interested in the small droid Bollux, intending to pit it against his Mark X Executioner in the fighting arena.
The entire performance was a ruse. While Atuarre and Pakka entertained the audience with their dancing and acrobatics, Solo and Blue Max searched Stars' End for any sign of the prisoners. Eventually, Hirken realized that something was amiss and that the Trianii were stalling. However, he did not suspect a jailbreak, believing instead that the Trianii were hoping to escape without fulfilling their promise of a droid battle. The impatient Viceprex ordered Atuarre to bring Bollux, which he recognized was not a fighting droid, to the arena and eagerly initiated a fight with his Executioner. He even equipped Bollux with a blast shield to make the contest slightly fairer. However, while the diminutive Bollux stood no chance in a direct confrontation, it surprised Hirken and the onlookers by maneuvering into the Executioner's cooling circuits, causing them to overload and destroying Hirken's prized droid.
Enraged, Hirken demanded that Solo, the droid's handler and the troupe's "trick shooter," compensate him by dueling Uul-Rha-Shan. This rash decision backfired spectacularly for Hirken. The gunfight ended swiftly when Solo fired on the ancillary circuitry for Hirken's command unit, triggering a catastrophic power plant explosion that launched Stars' End from the surface of Mytus VII. In the ensuing chaos, Hirken attempted to rally the Security Police personnel under his command. Together with his wife and several others, he made his way to the lower levels of the station, hoping for rescue through one of Stars' End's airlocks. They quickly realized the gravity of the situation, as Stars' End had reached its apogee from Mytus VII and was about to crash. A desperate attempt to bargain with Solo was interrupted when Hirken was informed that an Authority assault craft had docked at the lower levels to provide reinforcements and a means of escape. Suddenly, the situation appeared to have turned in his favor.
Meanwhile, Solo and his companions worked to free Stars' End's prisoners, many of whom had emerged from stasis due to the power failure. Although their initial plan was to overwhelm Hirken and fight their way to an escape vessel, they realized that almost all the personnel from the Authority assault craft had left to rescue Hirken, leaving it vulnerable for capture. With his only escape route gone, Hirken and his forces launched a final counterattack, resulting in the deaths of Uul-Rha-Shan and many others. Hirken abandoned his wife and remaining troops to desperately plead with Solo to take him along. His pleas were cut short when his furious wife shot him in the back with a blaster pistol.
Mirkovig Hirken, a member of a distinguished and ancient family, was constantly reminded from birth that he was superior to the common populace. He was indulged, coddled, and told that his family name signified his exceptional nature and destined greatness. This upbringing molded him into a pompous, elitist social climber, driven by the ambition to realize the greatness that was his birthright. He perceived Stars' End, in which he had a profound personal investment, as his opportunity. To him, it represented his path to fame, wealth, and power. Consequently, he exhibited extreme impatience regarding the facility's construction, expediting the process and opening the prison months before it was fully operational. He was also capable of harboring grudges, using his carte blanche to imprison individuals to settle old scores, and he took great pride in the diverse collection of troublemakers he had assembled at Stars' End.
Hirken possessed natural charm and was adept at cultivating a pleasing demeanor that facilitated his networking in the boardroom. However, his marriage to Neera was devoid of love, arranged for social advancement. While Neera appreciated his achievements, she was often bored and dissatisfied, engaging in affairs with several of her husband's officers. She was particularly repulsed by Hirken's favorite pastime: collecting and staging fights between gladiator droids, a fascination he developed after witnessing a bout during a party celebrating one of his promotions. Hirken's interest in the sport bordered on the philosophical, captivated by the unceasing destruction that droids could inflict upon each other, disregarding self-preservation. Hirken's composed, paternal facade quickly dissolved when events deviated from his plans, such as when his Mark X Executioner was surprisingly defeated by Bollux.
Mirkovig Hirken made his debut in Han Solo at Stars' End, a novel penned by Brian Daley and published in 1979. Alfredo Alcala illustrated him in the story's comic adaptation. Additionally, Mike Vilardi depicted Hirken in 1993's Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook, which provided comprehensive details about his origins and background, and Chris Trevas portrayed him in 2009's The Essential Atlas. The manner of Hirken's death varies slightly between the novel and comic adaptations of Han Solo at Stars' End. While the novel portrays Hirken being shot in the back by his wife Neera, the comic depicts him dying similarly, but at the hands of Uul-Rha-Shan.