Batonn insurgency

During the Age of the Empire, Nevil Cygni, a rebel leader operating under the alias "Nightswan," spearhead a widespread insurgency targeting the Galactic Empire. Nightswan disrupted the Empire by attacking shipments of tibanna and iridium, disrupting the supply of doonium metals and Wookiee slaves, and inciting rebellions on planets like Umbara, Cyphar, Batonn, Denash, and Sammun. Nightswan also enlisted the services of the Higher Skies Advocacy Group, led by Driller MarDapp, to gather information on high-ranking Imperial officials on Coruscant, including Moff Ghadi and Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. Higher Skies collaborated with martial arts instructor Juahir Madras to recruit senatorial bodyguards as spies.

The movements of Nightswan were being monitored by Thrawn, a rising star in the Chiss Imperial Navy, and his friend, Ensign Eli Vanto. With the support of political allies like Colonel Wullf Yularen from the Imperial Security Bureau and Arihnda Pryce, the Lothalian Governor, Thrawn and Vanto successfully exposed and thwarted several of Nightswan's plans. During this process, Vanto and Thrawn discovered evidence that the Empire was diverting large quantities of precious metals for a secret mega-project, which was later revealed to be the first Death Star. Nightswan and Thrawn eventually developed a rivalry based on outsmarting each other. In an attempt to finally defeat Admiral Thrawn, Nightswan triggered an insurgency on Batonn, a planet whose mines supplied metals for the Galactic Empire's growing military and war efforts.

On Batonn, increasing public dissatisfaction with the corrupt Governor Restos led to the formation of an insurgent movement headed by Nightswan. The Batonn insurgents had established a hidden base within the Creekpath Mining and Refining complex, located near Paeragosto City on the planet's main continent. Around 2 BBY, Batonn insurgents overwhelmed and seized control of the Imperial garrison on Scrim Island, an island situated 300 kilometers west of the main continent. They captured one hundred hostages, including Imperial Navy troopers, technicians, and some civilian workers. The Batonn insurgents gained control of the island's deflector shield, coastal defenses, and three ion cannons.

In response to the events on Scrim Island and other insurgencies within the sector, Fleet Admiral Jok Donassius convened a high-level meeting at Imperial High Command. The meeting included several Admirals such as Thrawn, Durril, and Kinshara, as well as Governor Restos, Governor Wistran of Denash, Governor Estorn of Sammun, Governor Pryce, Commander Vanto, and Colonel Yularen. Considering the Scrim hostage situation a challenge to the Empire, Fleet Admiral Donassius ordered Admiral Thrawn to immediately eliminate the rebels. When Thrawn suggested studying the island first, an impatient Donassius reassigned the mission to the more compliant Admiral Durril. Thrawn's Ninety-Sixth Task Force was instead assigned to deal with the Sammun insurgents, while Governor Kinshara's forces were sent to Denash.

Admiral Durril led the One Oh Third Task Force's attack on Scrim Island from the Imperial Star Destroyer Judicator. The Judicator and its accompanying Imperial light cruisers and frigates bombarded Scrim Island, but were unable to penetrate the deflector shield. During the attack, the insurgents alternated between firing the island's ion cannons and activating and deactivating the shields. These tactics confused Admiral Durril and his task force, preventing them from targeting the enemy cannons. The Batonn insurgents also managed to inflict damage on the Judicator and its escort ships. Instead of adapting to his opponents' tactics, Admiral Durril continued his ineffective attacks.

Simultaneously, eight small freighters departed from Scrim Island, heading towards the main continent. Seven freighters flew at a low altitude to avoid detection, while the eighth ascended into space. With Durril's portside escort ships disabled by ion damage, the Batonn insurgents unleashed their turbolaser cannon on the Judicator. The insurgents then disabled the starboard escort ships with their western ion cannon. They proceeded to use their turbolaser cannon to damage the Judicator's superstructure, weapons, and systems.

Unbeknownst to both Durril and the Batonn insurgents, Admiral Thrawn and Commander Vanto were observing the space battle from their captured smuggling freighter, the Slipknot. Exploiting a loophole in Fleet Admiral Donassius' orders, Thrawn had dispatched Commander Karyn Faro and the Ninety-Sixth Task Force to deal with the Sammun insurgents. He also deployed Captain Brento's light cruiser Shyrack to monitor the movements of the seven freighters. Posing as a smuggler named "Horatio Figg," Vanto managed to contact the insurgents under the guise of purchasing stolen Imperial weapons.

Following the insurgents' coordinates, Eli and Thrawn piloted the Slipknot into a Nomad starship. While Thrawn remained hidden aboard the freighter to plan their escape, Vanto met with the insurgent leader Nevil Cygni, who identified himself as Nightswan. Vanto discovered that Nightswan was responsible for their previous encounters with insurgents and that he had orchestrated the Battle of Scrim Island in an attempt to defeat Thrawn. Thrawn created a distraction by detonating the Slipknot's engine compartment. After gathering the necessary intelligence, the two escaped aboard a stolen freighter. Meanwhile, Captain Brento evacuated Admiral Durril's battered forces.

After learning that Thrawn had obtained intelligence on the Batonn insurgents, Donassius assigned Thrawn the task of retaking Scrim Island. Thrawn's Ninety-Sixth Task Force consisted of the Star Destroyer Chimaera, three light cruisers (Shyrack, Flensor, and Tumnor), and two frigates. Based on the intelligence he had gathered during their undercover mission, Thrawn developed a strategy to break the siege of Scrim Island. To deceive the insurgents into underestimating his forces, Thrawn ordered the three light cruisers to descend into Batonn's atmosphere. As planned, the light cruisers were hit by the insurgents' ion cannons, which disabled their primary weapons and main drives. However, their communications, secondary weapons, and auxiliary drives remained functional.

Thrawn maneuvered the light cruisers and the Chimaera to an angle that prevented the insurgents from targeting his task force. Using the light cruisers as a shield, Thrawn used the Chimaera's turbolaser crew to bombard the waters surrounding Scrim Island, creating tsunamis that overwhelmed the insurgents' ion and turbolaser cannons. As a result, the Scrim Island commander surrendered to Thrawn and deactivated the island's shields. Imperial forces captured the insurgents and freed the hostages. Following the battle, Thrawn also ordered Commander Faro to tractor the three light cruisers back into space for repairs. Vanto also reported the pacification of the Scrim Island insurgents to the galactic capital of Coruscant. While the Battle for Scrim Island had concluded, Thrawn warned that the "war for Batonn" was not yet over.

Using Captain Brento's information, Commander Vanto was able to trace the shipping vectors of the seven freighters to the Creekpath Mining and Refining complex, located near Paeragosto City on the main continent. Nightswan and his followers had retreated into the mining complex, where they established their base within the mine. They were joined by many local residents who held grievances against the Galactic Empire and its representative, Governor Restos. Since Governor Restos had requisitioned most of the city's soldiers for his personal use, the Batonn insurgents were able to peacefully seize control of the mine and take shelter beneath its DSS-02 regional shield. In response, Imperial ground forces and the Batonn Defense Force blockaded the perimeter of the shield.

While Nightswan had hoped that the Empire would withdraw from Batonn, Thrawn was determined to end the insurgency. Thrawn's command of the Creekpath complex siege was complicated by interference from the Imperial Security Bureau. In an attempt to rescue her parents, Talmoor and Elainye Pryce, Arihnda Pryce, the Governor of Lothal, convinced Colonel Wullf Yularen that she could infiltrate the mining complex and gather intelligence on the insurgents' defenses. Yularen agreed on the condition that she was accompanied by Agent Gudry, who was tasked with gathering intelligence on the insurgents' defenses and planting explosives on the deflector shield generator. This would allow Thrawn's orbiting task force to eliminate the insurgents. With Thrawn's approval, Pryce and Gudry managed to land at Paeragosto City and travel to the Creekpath mine.

Thrawn also brought the damaged light cruisers Flensor, Shyrack, and Tumnor into low orbit for repairs. The ships were surrounded by various repair barges and ships. Thrawn had arranged the light cruisers at the corners of a large equilateral triangle. While it appeared that Thrawn had left the light cruisers in a vulnerable position, he had secretly equipped the repair barges with TIE fighters borrowed from Admiral Durril. Thrawn planned to use the light cruisers as bait to lure an attack from Nightswan's forces. Thrawn's unusual strategy alarmed Colonel Yularen, but Commander Vanto reassured him that Thrawn knew what he was doing.

Meanwhile, Pryce and Gudry managed to locate Pryce's parents. Although they expressed sympathy for the insurgents, Talmoor agreed to guide Gudry into the mine, where the insurgents had established their base, under the pretense of finding Gudry's friend "Blayze Jonoo." Unbeknownst to Talmoor, this was a ruse for Gudry to gather intelligence and plant explosives. However, Pryce then broke her agreement to help Gudry and returned home to evacuate her parents. Despite being abandoned by Pryce, Gudry managed to attach explosive caps to the deflector shield and a cache of explosives. He also discovered that the insurgents possessed several police gunships and skim fighters. Gudry reported his successful mission and findings to Colonel Yularen.

Elsewhere, Thrawn contacted Nightswan and arranged to meet in a nearby field to find a peaceful resolution to the siege. As an experienced officer, Thrawn wanted to avoid causing high civilian casualties in the densely populated Creekpath mining complex. Thrawn attempted to portray the Empire as a lesser evil compared to the chaos and "evil things" in the Unknown Regions, but Nightswan was determined to overthrow the Empire in order to create a better galactic order. Thrawn then offered Nightswan a position within the Chiss Ascendancy. Despite his respect for Thrawn, Nightswan declined his offer, as he was unwilling to abandon his followers to the "tender mercies" of the Empire and Governor Restos. However, Nightswan secured a promise from Thrawn to protect the civilians of Creekpath.

Shortly afterward, Thrawn was picked up by Colonel Yularen, who reprimanded the Admiral for negotiating with the enemy. While the two were close friends, Yularen warned that such interactions could be misinterpreted as treason. When Colonel Yularen questioned him about the unusual positioning of the light cruisers, Thrawn assured him that the cruisers were in safe hands. Now that Gudry had attached the explosives to both the deflector shield and explosives, Thrawn returned to the Chimaera to resume command.

Meanwhile, a vengeful Gudry confronted Pryce before she and her parents could escape to safety. To avoid attracting attention, he demanded that she leave her parents behind if she wanted to live. Pryce refused to abandon her parents and fought with Gudry. Following a struggle, she shot him dead. Unaware of Pryce's actions, Thrawn convinced Colonel Yularen to lend him a squad of soldiers to rescue Pryce and Gudry. Thrawn also ordered the Imperial ground forces on the northern and western frontiers of the Creekpath mining complex to begin harassing the Batonn insurgents with limited fire.

Shortly afterward, a fleet of thirty insurgent starships emerged from hyperspace and approached the damaged light cruisers, intending to destroy them. Thrawn then deployed the TIE fighters hidden inside the repair barges and bombarded the enemy starships with the Chimaera's turbolaser cannon. Meanwhile on Batonn, Pryce and her parents managed to escape the insurgent picket lines to the safety of the Imperial lines. After learning that Colonel Yularen had sent a squad to find Gudry, she detonated the remote cap in the explosives cache. This triggered an explosion that devastated the mine, killing all the insurgents inside and numerous civilians.

In space, the remaining insurgent ships retreated after learning of the bombing of the Creekpath facility. Thrawn allowed the stragglers to escape in order to demoralize their compatriots. Despite the Empire's victory over the Batonn insurgents, Thrawn was displeased by the high loss of civilian lives. He ordered the ground forces to search for and rescue survivors from the ruined complex. However, the deflector shield had confined the blast within the Creekpath complex and civilian housing. Pryce's parents were horrified by what they believed to be the Empire's actions, but Pryce blamed the insurgents in an attempt to deflect her own culpability.

The bombing of the Creekpath Mining and Refining complex brought the Batonn insurgency to a close, resulting in a victory for the Galactic Empire. Despite the confirmed deaths of Nightswan and his fellow insurgents, Admiral Thrawn and Colonel Yularen were deeply concerned by the high number of civilian casualties. Governor Pryce suggested that the insurgents had captured Agent Gudry and that he had detonated the mine in an attempt to prevent his capture. Yularen was skeptical of her account, as he did not believe that Gudry would have detonated the explosives cache first. Since the explosion had destroyed much of the evidence, Yularen, Thrawn, and Commander Vanto were forced to accept Pryce's explanation. While the Imperial Senate ordered an investigation, Yularen doubted that they would find enough evidence to reconstruct the events of that night accurately.

Following the Batonn insurgency, Governor Pryce persuaded Thrawn to take credit for the victory at Batonn. She also offered to serve as his political advisor and facilitate his transfer to the influential Seventh Fleet. While Thrawn agreed to work with Governor Pryce due to her political acumen, he and Commander Vanto privately suspected that Pryce was somehow involved in the Creekpath bombing. After receiving news of the Imperial victory at Batonn, Emperor Palpatine invited Thrawn for a private audience at the Imperial Palace on Coruscant. In recognition of his accomplishments, Thrawn was promoted to the rank of Grand Admiral. During the meeting, Thrawn confirmed Nightswan and Vanto's suspicions that the Empire had been diverting metal resources for a mega-project known as the Death Star. He also encountered the enigmatic Darth Vader.

After the Batonn insurgency, Pryce petitioned Governor Wilhuff Tarkin to reassign Thrawn and the Seventh Fleet to the Lothal sector. During their conversation after the Batonn victory, Pryce had mentioned to Thrawn that the Lothal sector was experiencing an increase in rebel activity and could benefit from his attention. As a result, Thrawn was brought into conflict with the Phoenix Cell, which had established a base in that sector, and began his operations by countering their mission to Reklam Station. While the ISB Agent and rebel spy Alexsandr Kallus expressed concerns that the civilian casualties outweighed the insurgents at Batonn, Pryce justified them as being within "acceptable margins" since the rebel presence in the Batonn sector had been eliminated. The Imperial Navy would name one of its starships the Victory at Batonn.

The Batonn insurgency was initially alluded to in the Star Wars Rebels Season Three premiere, "Steps Into Shadow," which premiered at Celebration Europe on July 16, 2016. The conflict was referred to as the "victory at Batonn." It was subsequently explored in greater detail in Timothy Zahn's 2017 novel Thrawn, which serves as a Canonical origins story for Thrawn.