The Kyln was an interstellar prison facility run by the Nova Corps to hold convicts. Four outlaws, Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot, were imprisoned here after being captured by the Nova Corps on Xandar. Gamora informed the others that the Collector was her employer, not Ronan the Accuser, and the four agreed to split the payment for the Orb if they could escape.
Drax the Destroyer, an inmate, wanted revenge on Ronan for the death of his family. Since Gamora was a known associate of Ronan, Drax attempted to kill her; however, Star-Lord convinced him that Ronan would come for her and that keeping her alive was a better option.
Rocket Raccoon, Star-Lord, Gamora, and Groot formed a plan to escape. He told each person what he needed; Gamora was to get a guard's arm band and Quill said he would procure a fellow inmate's prosthetic leg. While Rocket was discussing the prison's power source, Groot, without warning, extended himself and pulled it out as Drax watched. As Rocket had predicted, Groot's removal of the power source caused the Kyln to switch to emergency power. Star-Lord and Gamora went to their self-appointed tasks. As Groot attempted to hold off the drones, Rocket came to his aid and, with a weapon given to him by Drax, Rocket and group managed to hold them off.
Meanwhile, Gamora managed to painfully extract a security band from one of the guards while Quill collected the other prisoner's prosthetic leg at the cost of 30 000 Units. With all the items needed, the group entered the watch tower. When Quill put the leg down, Rocket revealed it was just a cruel joke, much to Quill's anger. As the guards began to fire at the watchtower, Rocket, using the security band and a Quarnyx Battery, managed to shut off all the gravity outside the watchtower and use the drones to get the group out of the prison area.
As the group collected their belongings, Quill noticed the guard did not put his Walkman back and went to retrieve it, taking the Orb with him to make sure the others didn't leave without him. After retrieving it, Quill found his way back to the Milano and the group departed.
Not long after their escape, Ronan and his Sakaaran forces invaded the Kyln in their search for Gamora and the Orb. Many prisoners and guards were killed, and others were interrogated for information about Gamora's whereabouts. Nebula received word of an incoming Nova Corps fleet sent to retake the prison. To ensure that there was no chance of anyone at the prison informing the Nova Corps of his objective, Ronan ordered Nebula to 'cleanse' the place before they left, which presumably entailed killing all the remaining prisoners and guards.
Inside the Kyln