The Battle of Dreighton stands as a catastrophic engagement that transpired near the beginning of the Clone Wars' third year.
During the Clone Wars period, a shortage of stygium crystals, a substance capable of rendering starships nearly invisible to all scanning technologies when properly energized, created difficulties for the galaxy at a crucial moment. It appeared that all sources of this crystal had been depleted.
The Separatist command, aiming to secure the galaxy's sole remaining stygium crystal source, deployed their forces to the Dreighton Nebula, specifically the planet Aeten II. Years prior, the stygium mines on Aeten II were declared unproductive, but they had now reopened, prompting both sides to race to seize them. The Republic fleet received assistance from the independent army known as the Pendarran Warriors. As these two ambitious factions clashed, forces from the Hutt Cartel and Black Sun entered the system, ultimately destroying what remained of all three fleets over a month-long conflict. It is documented that the nebula itself eventually eliminated all combatants. Notably, this is the only Clone Wars battle where none of the participants survived. There was no victor in this engagement.
Following the events at Aeten II, it was declared that no further stygium deposits existed there. The battle's aftermath also gave rise to numerous rumors about the nebula being haunted by ghost ships and the spirits of the deceased pilots, leading to the creation of the Dreighton Triangle legend. This was supported by the strange disappearances of ships that ventured into the nebula. Later, during the Imperial era, this legend proved useful in the development of the notorious TIE Phantoms, which utilized cloaking devices to achieve invisibility. Initial sightings of these ships during tests against Rebel fighters were interpreted as confirmation of the haunting legends.
The Battle of Dreighton was conceived to be briefly mentioned in Rebel Assault II for narrative purposes. Its details were later expanded upon in The New Essential Chronology. Rebel Alliance pilot Till references the battle in dialogue that takes place forty years prior to the events of Rebel Assault II (which is set in 3 ABY). This creates a conflict with the timeline established by the prequel trilogy, which places the Clone Wars between 22 BBY and 19 BBY.