The clash known as the Battle of Darkknell unfolded in 1032 BBY, marking a pivotal moment during the Second Charge Matrica phase of the extensive New Sith Wars. This conflict saw Zodoh, a Hutt crime lord, vying for dominance against both Daiman, a Daimanate Sith Lord, and the forces of the Galactic Republic, who were represented by Jedi Knight Kerra Holt alongside Grace Command Captain Jenn Devaad. During this engagement, Zodoh laid siege to [Darkknell](/article/darkknell/legends], which served as the Daimanate's capital, and deployed his formidable fleet of Stormdrivers—massive capital ships engineered to unleash devastating artificial floods. Zodoh's strategy involved leveraging this novel superweapon to intimidate the Sith, aiming to submerge Daiman's worlds and thereby secure a foothold within the Grumani sector, a region traditionally under Sith influence.
Despite facing minimal resistance from the Daimanate's naval forces, Zodoh's fleet successfully initiated the flooding of Darkknell. However, their progress was disrupted by the intervention of Kerra and Jenn, who daringly infiltrated Zodoh's command ship, the Voracious, and managed to sabotage its data processing center. This act not only led to the destruction of the warship but also disrupted the coordinated operations of the Stormdrivers. With their leader neutralized, Daiman's forces seized the opportunity to regain control, ultimately routing Zodoh's forces. Zodoh was subsequently captured by the Sith Lord and met his end through execution, effectively quashing any ambitions the Hutt had of expanding into Sith Space.
Driven by a desire to amass greater power, the Hutt crime syndicate leader Zodoh aspired to broaden his commercial reach into the Grumani sector. This area, situated in the Outer Rim, had fallen under the control of various warring Sith Lords during the tumultuous era known as the Republic Dark Age. The weakening hold of the Galactic Republic's authority prompted the Republic to pull back a significant portion of its military assets to establish a protective perimeter around the Core Worlds and the Colonies. The prolonged conflict, spanning centuries, also contributed to a decline in interstellar trade and the functionality of the HoloNet network across much of the Galaxy. Zodoh's strategy involved coercing the Sith into submission by deploying his specialized fleet of Stormdrivers, which were designed to conjure artificial storms. His objective was to compel the Sith Lords into becoming his clients while simultaneously establishing himself as the undisputed ruler of his own sprawling space empire.
Zodoh initially targeted Aquilaris Minor, a remote and poorly defended planet within the domain of Lord Daiman's Daimanate principality. His forces swiftly overwhelmed the meager Daimanate garrison and annihilated an entire squadron from the Republic's Grace Command, which was ostensibly a paramilitary aid mission but secretly a front for Baron Lemayne's clandestine operations to saturate Sith territory with Deluge, an addictive narcotic. Subsequently, Zodoh tested his Stormdrivers on Aquilaris, successfully inundating vast portions of the planet. The potential loss of thousands of lives was averted only through the actions of Jedi Knight Kerra Holt and her local allies, Joad Kreel and Padgett, who orchestrated the evacuation of numerous Aquilarians to an underwater harvesting facility. Satisfied with the performance of his Stormdrivers, Zodoh proceeded with his plan to submerge all of Lord Daiman's planets, starting with his capital city, Darkknell.
After quelling all resistance, Zodoh intended to establish Darkknell as his capital. Having intimidated Daiman's fellow Sith Lords, he struck a bargain with them to keep Daiman's forces occupied along the borders. In exchange for their cooperation, Zodoh offered to supply them with Aquilarian seafood, marking the beginning of a "business partnership." Despite an escape attempt by Grace Command Captain Jenn Devaad, which resulted in the deaths of several crew members, damage to his flagship Voracious, and disruption of his Stormdrivers' operations, Zodoh remained resolute and ordered his fleet to set course for Darkknell. Jenn managed to reconnect with her Jedi ally Kerra on Aquilaris Minor, and together they departed for Darkknell aboard a commandeered Hutt starfighter.
Zodoh's invading forces swiftly overwhelmed Daiman's defensive fleet, which had been weakened by a purge initiated by Daiman to eliminate spice addicts from his ranks. Utilizing his flagship, the Voracious, to coordinate the Stormdriver fleet, Zodoh unleashed massive artificial floods and storms that rapidly submerged Darkknell, endangering the lives of billions of sentient beings. Despite repeated assurances to the citizens of Darkknell that everything was under control, the Sith Lord found himself powerless to prevent the storm from engulfing his cities, claiming the lives of his subjects, and even damaging his own palace. At the Sanctum Celestial in the capital city Xakrea, a helpless Uleeta could only remark that her master "seemed" to have willed the Southern Reservoir to overflow its banks. An exasperated Daiman could only lament his decision to order a full-scale purge of his armed forces. He also blamed his elder brother Odion for diverting his forces in border disputes, thus allowing Zodoh to attack his territory. Odion responded by gloating over the impending deaths of billions on Darkknell.
Subsequently, Daiman was caught in a floodwave that inundated the Sanctum Celestial, causing significant damage to its interior. Refusing to concede defeat, Daiman asserted that he possessed resources throughout the universe that would come to his aid. Help arrived from an unexpected source: his adversaries Kerra and Jenn Devaad, the sole survivor of Devil Squadron seeking vengeance for the deaths of her comrades. Their Hutt starfighter emerged from hyperspace amidst a lopsided space battle. Zodoh's Stormdrivers were already positioned above Darkknell, generating their global flood, while Daiman's defense fleet was under heavy fire from Zodoh's starfighters. Based on her time aboard the Voracious, Jenn correctly surmised that the Hutt lord's flagship housed a command center with a massive data processor responsible for coordinating the Stormdriver fleet.
They piloted the starfighter into the hangar bay of Zodoh's flagship, allowing Kerra to disembark and infiltrate the vessel. The Jedi Knight swiftly eliminated Zodoh's guards and made her way to the data processing chamber, a massive dome at the heart of the Voracious. Meanwhile, Jenn harassed Zodoh's starfighter defenses. Kerra located her target only to be ambushed by Zodoh, who had donned his armor and jetpack. Surprising her with electrical lightning, he then engaged the Jedi Knight in a duel using a Mandalorian vibroblade. To deliberately disadvantage his opponent, Zodoh deactivated the artificial gravity field and activated his jetpack.
After a one-sided battle, Zodoh had the young Jedi woman pinned in a neck hold. However, before he could deliver the killing blow, he was interrupted by Jenn's starfighter, which blasted a hole through the command dome, exposing the ship to zero gravity. The ensuing explosion triggered a series of blasts that destroyed the Voracious in a fiery inferno. Zodoh was ejected into space but survived due to his Hutt physiology, which was resilient enough to withstand zero gravity. Meanwhile, his two Jedi adversaries escaped into hyperspace and returned to Aquilaris Minor. With the destruction of the Voracious, the Stormdrivers were unable to coordinate their global storm and were presumably disabled or destroyed by Daiman's defense forces, who were able to regroup and launch a counter-attack. The remainder of Zodoh's invasion force either retreated into hyperspace or were routed by Daiman's defense force.
The Battle of Darkknell proved to be a Pyrrhic victory for Sith Lord Daiman, as well as for his Jedi opponent Kerra Holt, who together managed to overcome a common adversary. However, vast areas of Darkknell's surface were flooded and damaged during the global inundation, resulting in the drowning or displacement of many of its inhabitants. In space, an unconscious Zodoh was retrieved by Daiman's cruisers, who stripped him of his armor and brought him as a prisoner to Daiman's palace at Xakrea. In a dungeon, Zodoh was held captive within a specially designed metal cradle. Upon awakening, Zodoh initially expressed relief at his narrow escape from death, but this fleeting moment of respite quickly vanished upon realizing his confinement.
With the roles reversed, Zodoh encountered his Sith adversaries, including his nemesis Daiman. Also present via hologram were fellow Sith Lords Odion, Malakite and Arkadia Calimondra, who reveled in the change of fortunes. Zodoh attempted to plead with Daiman for his life by proposing a deal. However, Daiman was unwilling to cooperate, seeking revenge for the brief period of ignominy he endured when rendered powerless during the invasion. Daiman added that the flow of Deluge spice had ceased since his capture and mocked the Hutt crime lord by highlighting the flaws in the Stormdriver system due to their reliance on a large data processor. Nevertheless, Daiman had developed a miniature Stormdriver capable of completely dehydrating individual lifeforms, including Hutts. Dismissing Zodoh as an imperfect creation, Daiman proceeded to dehydrate Zodoh, effectively executing the Hutt crime lord and ending his imperial ambitions.
Kerra's role in the Battle of Darkknell earned her the grudging respect of her enemy Daiman. Subsequently, the two established contact and forged a secret alliance to eliminate their mutual enemy Odion, whom both shared a mutual dislike for different reasons. Kerra sought to avenge the devastation of her homeworld and to uncover the whereabouts of her parents. Meanwhile, Daiman aimed to punish Odion for indirectly aiding Zodoh during the Aquilaris campaign. With Daiman's consent, she was able to infiltrate Tergamenion disguised as a factory worker. Daiman obtained intelligence regarding the presence of an Odionate agent named Wayman, a Claimer who had infiltrated Daiman's security forces. With Daiman as her handler, Kerra posed as a Force-sensitive factory worker named "Mercy" who would make contact with Wayman and subsequently infiltrate Odion's Novitiate, his elite corps of Dark side-wielders.
The plan succeeded, and Kerra managed to infiltrate the Odionate ranks and gain entry into Odion's inner circle. Despite their brief cooperation, Kerra reiterated her disdain for Daiman's excesses and emphasized that this partnership was merely a temporary "alliance of convenience."