Battle of Alderaan

Following its resurgence to galactic prominence in 3681 BBY, the re-established Sith Empire launched a fierce campaign to invade Galactic Republic space in a bid for total control. As the Great Galactic War continued, the Sith successfully captured vast portions of the Outer Rim Territories and steadily advanced toward the Republic's key worlds located near the galaxy's center, known as the Core Worlds. Despite suffering two significant defeats on the Mid Rim planet of Bothawui in 3671 BBY, the Empire relentlessly pursued its offensive, aiming for a swift conclusion to the war. The Empire's governing Dark Council also sought retribution against the Republic for the capture of the six Sith Lords known as the Dread Masters a year prior, as their loss of power infuriated the Council. Consequently, the Core Worlds became an even more critical target, and within this region lay Alderaan, a historically peaceful and fertile planet that had long championed peace within the Republic's Galactic Senate. Alderaan was considered the embodiment of the principles upon which the Republic was founded, and it was this very reputation that made it a prime military target for opportunistic Sith commanders, who hoped to capitalize on what could potentially be a devastating blow to Republic morale.

The plan for an Imperial invasion of Alderaan was orchestrated by the Sith Lord Malgus, who had recently been granted the prestigious title of "Darth." Malgus specialized in surprise attacks and leveraged this expertise in planning the assault on Alderaan. In 3667 BBY, the Sith Lord cleverly manipulated the forces of the Republic Navy, effectively leading them to abandon the planet to address a situation light-years away—a situation that was, in reality, a fabricated diversion designed by Malgus to draw defenses away from his intended target. However, unbeknownst to the Sith, a number of Jedi—including Satele Shan,—were present on the planet to investigate reports of Imperial interference in the politics of the ruling noble families. Additionally, numerous troopers from the Republic Army, specifically the Special Forces division, were stationed on Alderaan, as the peaceful Core World served as a place of rest and medical recuperation for soldiers returning from brutal battlefronts across the Mid and Outer Rim.

With Alderaan's naval defenses strategically diverted, the Empire's forces launched a swift and brutal invasion of the planet. Before landing their vessels, the Empire initiated a devastating orbital bombardment of the world, which decimated numerous towns and filled the atmosphere with thick ash and black smoke. Darth Malgus personally led the invasion force, which comprised several thousand assault droids, hundreds of fellow Sith, a significant number of Imperial soldiers, and the Mandalorian bounty hunter and saboteur Shae Vizla. The ground forces were supported by vessels of the Imperial Navy, including Mark VI Supremacy-class starfighters and Harrower-class dreadnoughts. Upon establishing his forces on the planet, Malgus initiated a devastating campaign across the once-tranquil world. The Sith forces obliterated the local Alderaanian defense forces and proceeded to raze entire cities. Jedi Knight Aryn Leneer participated in the conflicts on the planet, alongside Knights Satele Shan, Warren Sedoru and other Jedi defenders.

Upon learning of the Empire's invasion of Alderaan, Satele Shan immediately set out to ensure the safety of the Alderaanian Queen Silara Panteer. However, upon reaching Castle Panteer, she discovered the building in ruins—the Imperials had already taken the royal family captive. The Sith held the Panteer royals hostage throughout their invasion, sparking outrage among the Alderaanian government and its people. They also targeted and brutalized House Organa, Alderaan's most pro-Republic noble family. While other Jedi attempted to resist the invaders, their efforts were easily suppressed. Jedi Knight Warren Sedoru sustained critical injuries during the fighting, while others sought refuge in ruined cities, hoping to ambush isolated enemies. After realizing that she could not protect the Queen, Satele Shan experienced a vision indicating that Jace Malcom, with whom she had previously fought, would require her assistance. She contacted the Jedi High Council on Coruscant to request reinforcements. News of the Empire's attack began to spread, and despite Republic forces rallying to strike back, it was widely believed that the battle was already lost—Alderaan had fallen to the Sith.

As Malgus continued his brutal campaign across the planet, he set his sights on Alderaan's planetary capital city and Castle Organa. While leading his forces toward the city through the Juran Mountains, the Republic forces stationed on Alderaan's surface mobilized. Until the Sith's advance on the capital, the soldiers of the Republic Military had been recovering from battle wounds and awaiting orders from their superiors. In response to Malgus's actions, they retreated into Alderaan's forests and mountain ranges, preparing to wage a guerrilla counter-campaign against the Sith invaders. While the rest of the Republic personnel on the planet focused on repelling the Sith across Alderaan, the elite Special Forces group Havoc Squad was tasked with defending the capital and Castle Organa by engaging the Imperial forces under the direct command of Darth Malgus.

Captain Jace Malcom of Havoc Squad strategically positioned his forces on a ridge overlooking the forest route through the Juran region, which Malgus's troops were expected to traverse. As the Imperials marched past the Republic's position, the trooper commander initiated the ambush by opening fire with a blaster cannon. The remaining members of Havoc Squad leaped from the ridge to join their captain in the battle against the Sith within Alderaan's forests. The troopers successfully destroyed several Mark I Imperial assault droids using thermal detonators and blaster fire. However, they were eventually confronted by Darth Malgus himself. Witnessing the Sith Lord impale one of his comrades, Captain Malcom targeted Malgus, but his initial shots proved ineffective. The captain's final cannon blast engulfed the Imperial commander in flames, causing severe damage to his face. When Malcom attempted to rush the Sith Lord and eliminate him, Malgus retaliated with Force lightning and telekinetically threw him across the battlefield.

The remaining Sith forces gained the upper hand in the skirmish, ultimately forcing the Republic soldiers into a defensive position. Havoc Squad troopers who fell behind were systematically executed by the Sith, until Satele Shan intervened, having rushed to Malcom's aid after contacting the Council. The Jedi Knight provided Havoc Squad with an opportunity to renew their attack while she engaged Sith Warriors, their war droids, and Malgus himself. The intense melee between Shan and the Sith Lord nearly concluded when Malgus disarmed his opponent and attempted to stab her with his lightsaber. However, his attack was unsuccessful as Shan managed to absorb the energy from Malgus's lightsaber, effectively catching the blade with her bare hands. While the Sith Lord attempted to breach the Jedi's defenses, Captain Malcom, who had recovered from their earlier scuffle, tackled him once again. As the two grappled, the Havoc Squad captain activated a handheld grenade, triggering an explosion that separated the combatants and inflicted severe injuries on both.

Jace Malcom lost consciousness, but Malgus quickly recovered. Despite surviving the explosion, the Sith Lord was once again attacked by Satele Shan, who used the Force to hurl him into a large rock face. As Malgus struggled against her telekinetic assault, the Jedi channeled her strength through the Force and unleashed a powerful Force Wave, striking the Sith Lord and shattering the surrounding rock. With the Imperial commander incapacitated, Republic forces continued to eliminate the Sith forces both in the forest battle and across Alderaan. Malcom later regained consciousness to find the Imperials defeated, along with many of his own men. Upon being joined by his savior Shan, the commander fired a signal flare into the sky to signify the Republic's victory. The flare was echoed by numerous others across the planet, immediately followed by the arrival of the Republic fleet, which had returned from addressing Malgus's diversion.

The return of the Republic's naval forces prompted the surviving Sith invaders to initiate a full retreat from the Alderaan theater. The severely wounded Darth Malgus was rescued from the battlefield by his subordinates and possibly the bounty hunter Shae Vizla, and was loaded onto his personal shuttle, bound for safer regions. While the Sith Lord recuperated in his escaping vessel, he sensed the presence of a Jedi in the ruins of a town destroyed by the orbital bombardment. Enraged by the failure of his invasion, Malgus resolved to take the Jedi's life in revenge. The Sith Lord instructed his pilot to reduce their speed and lower the shuttle before leaping from the airborne vessel into the streets of the devastated town. On the surface, Malgus encountered a Zabrak Jedi who had set a trap for the Sith Lord. When Malgus charged at the Zabrak, the Jedi swiftly overwhelmed him by using the Force to crush the Sith beneath the rubble of surrounding buildings. The Imperial commander survived the attack and retaliated with a flurry of lightsaber strikes that forced the Jedi into a defensive stance. Malgus realized that his target was merely baiting him into an ambush, and he used the Force to discern his plan: another Jedi was lying in wait, hoping to strike at the Sith while he was distracted. Darth Malgus responded by kicking the Zabrak into a building while seeking out the other Jedi, the Human Vorin, and crushing his windpipe. The Zabrak Jedi, enraged by the death of his comrade, charged at Malgus in a desperate attempt to defeat the Sith. Malgus easily countered the attack with a concentrated blast of Force lightning, which sent the Jedi crashing to the ground in agony. The Sith Lord executed his defeated opponent before rejoining his forces in retreat.

Despite maintaining a superior orbital position, the Imperial fleet chose not to engage the newly arrived Republic naval forces, opting instead to collect their ground forces and flee the system. With the full might of the Republic Military focused on Alderaan, the Sith were driven from the planet and the royal family was rescued from captivity.

Although Alderaan remained safe from Imperial aggression for the remainder of the war, the invasion had a profound impact on the once-peaceful planet. Alderaan's leaders, previously known for their pacifism, began to advocate aggressive military operations against the Empire in the Republic's Senate, in response to the damage inflicted on their homeworld by the Sith. This advocacy, coupled with the morale boost from Havoc Squad's victory in the Alderaanian forests, motivated the Republic Military to rally for the next several years. This momentum led to victories in the Mid Rim and the long-contested Minos Cluster in the distant Outer Rim. Jace Malcom was promoted to the rank of general following the victory at Alderaan, and in addition to collaborating with Colonel Elin Garza to expand the Special Forces Division, he began leading campaigns against the Empire. Malcom and Shan also initiated a secret romantic relationship in the days following the battle, but she ended it six months later during one of Malcom's campaigns when she discovered she was pregnant with their child and confronted Malcom about the darkness within him.

However, the Battle of Hoth two years later disrupted the Republic's recent string of victories, allowing the Empire to regain the advantage but bringing the war to a relative standstill as the Empire struggled to overcome Republic resistance. In 3654 BBY, the Dark Council grew increasingly desperate for an end to the war, particularly after the debacle on Alderaan and the loss of a blockade on the Hydian Way. Consequently, the Council called for a peace summit to convene, enabling delegates from both governments to agree on a cessation of hostilities. Alderaan was selected as the meeting place, but it ultimately served as little more than a distraction from the true objective: the Sacking of Coruscant. The Sith attack on the capital and the summit on Alderaan ultimately resulted in a peace agreement known as the Treaty of Coruscant—a document that later had severe consequences for the galaxy at large, and Alderaan in particular.

By all accounts, the Sith had emerged victorious from the Great Galactic War, and the Treaty of Coruscant represented little more than a concession of defeat for the Republic. The agreement heavily favored Imperial interests—a fact that incensed Alderaanian politicians who had adopted a hardline stance against the Sith following the Battle of Alderaan. In protest of the Republic's establishment of peace with the enemy, Gaul Panteer, the Crown Prince and senator of Alderaan, dramatically left the Senate and declared his planet an independent system. The secession received mixed reactions from the people of Alderaan, particularly given that many had expected their world to return to its peaceful ways. Bouris Ulgo of House Ulgo, a decorated Republic general and former leader of Alderaan's security forces, was dismayed to learn that the Alderaanian military would remain on high alert indefinitely, and that he would be unable to return to his farming estates while the nobles engaged in political maneuvering.

The situation spiraled into chaos following the prince's assassination. Queen Silara Panteer, a survivor of Imperial imprisonment during the battle, passed away in the following days, leaving the Alderaanian throne vacant and the Alderaanian Parliament unable to appoint a new ruling family. At this juncture, the Empire made a renewed bid for Alderaan—this time by manipulating the return of the outcast noble House Thul. The reappearance of House Thul, now little more than an Imperial puppet family, prompted Bouris Ulgo to declare himself King and demand the obedience of the other houses. Although the patriot Ulgo sought to prevent what he perceived as a new Imperial invasion, his fellow nobles were repulsed by his imposition of martial law and the execution of the remaining members of House Panteer. As the usurping House Ulgo, the Imperial-aligned Thuls, and the Republic-backed Organas vied to become the new royal family, Alderaan descended back into violence and tyranny. Over the next decade, Republic and Imperial combatants flocked to the world to attempt to influence the outcome of what became one of the bloodiest planetary civil wars in galactic history.

During this period, the personal journal of the Jedi Master Gnost-Dural was reviewed and entered into the Jedi Archives on Tython. Gnost-Dural had been aboard the Republic fleet that arrived to retake Alderaan, and as such, was able to provide a personal perspective on the battle. However, due to his distant position from the ground fighting, he was unable to accurately describe the progress of the conflict. This lack of information prompted then-Jedi Grand Master Satele Shan to add an annotation to that section of the journal to detail her involvement, as well as the efforts of Havoc Squad.

The Battle of Alderaan was conceived as a background event for LucasArts' and BioWare's massively-multiplayer online video game, Star Wars: The Old Republic. The battle was initially mentioned on the Alderaan page of the Holonet, an online feature available on Star Wars: The Old Republic's official website. The Holonet is designed to provide information regarding the history of the galaxy prior to the game's starting point. With regard to the Battle of Alderaan, the Holonet explains the reasons for the Alderaanian civil war found in the game.

The information on the battle was significantly expanded upon with the release of Hope, the second cinematic trailer for Star Wars: The Old Republic. The trailer revealed the involvement of Havoc Squad and the Jedi Order in the battle, as well as Darth Malgus—a character first introduced in the previous cinematic trailer. The trailer was narrated by a Havoc Squad captain, Jace Malcom, whose voice actor has yet to be officially confirmed. The release of Hope also confirmed the conflict's name as the "Battle of Alderaan." In March of 2011, eight months after Hope's release, BioWare senior creative writer and author of Star Wars: The Old Republic, Blood of the Empire confirmed via The Old Republic's online message boards that the unidentified Jedi female in the trailer is Satele Shan, a prominent character in the game itself.

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• Battle of Alderaan

Released on December 20, 2011, The Old Republic game provides further details regarding this conflict. As the player character explores the planet and carries out missions for either the Galactic Republic or the Sith Empire, they uncover the story of the Alderaanian Civil War, which had its origins in the Battle of Alderaan. The Journal of Master Gnost-Dural ([link text](link url)), a companion book included with collector's editions of The Old Republic, offered supplementary details about the battle. These included Satele Shan's actions leading up to Havoc Squad's assault and Gnost-Dural's involvement with the fleet. Promotional materials showcasing images of the battle were released before the game's launch. It's worth noting that these images depicted Darth Malgus wearing his characteristic jaw covering, which he only obtained after being injured by Satele Shan during the Battle of Alderaan.

Published on April 30, 2012 and authored by Ryder Windham, Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Updated and Expanded contains a history of the Great Galactic War that includes the battle. However, the caption accompanying an image of the battle contains several notable inaccuracies. The text claims that the Battle of Alderaan happened concurrently with the Sacking of Coruscant and the Alderaan peace talks, which directly contradicts information presented in The Journal of Master Gnost-Dural, The Old Republic: Deceived, and Star Wars: The Old Republic, Threat of Peace. Furthermore, Darth Malgus's involvement in both events makes this timeline impossible. The 2012 novel The Old Republic: Annihilation disclosed that Shan and Malcom formed a relationship after the battle, leading to the birth of their son Theron, but the book inaccurately dates the battle to 3670 BBY.