Battle of Kessel (Black Sun Insurgency)

Following the death of Prince Xizor in a skirmish above Coruscant in 3 ABY, the criminal organization Black Sun had diminished in power due to internal conflicts and maintained a discreet presence for many years. They eventually came under the leadership of Czethros, who harbored ambitions of galactic dominance. A key element of his strategy to overthrow the ruling New Republic involved establishing covert cells within influential positions in politics, economics, and the military.

These sleeper agents were also placed on Kessel, the spice mining planet managed by Sullustan Chief Administrator Nien Nunb. Among these agents were Second Administrator Torvon and Kymn. During an attempt to assassinate Nien Nunb in the carbon-freezing sector of the processing plant, Torvon was killed instead.

Meanwhile, at the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4, Anja Gallandro, an andris spice addict, escaped the moon aboard the transport Lightning Rod to recover a hidden stash of andris beneath the ice caps of the ocean world Dac. Consequently, her Jedi companions Zekk, Jacen, Jaina, Tenel Ka, Lowbacca, and his translator droid Em Teedee pursued her on the transport Rock Dragon. During this pursuit, they arrived at Kessel, where Jaina, Lowbacca, and M-TD remained to assist Nien Nunb after learning of the failed assassination and the growing unrest among his workers.

On a typical workday at the spice mines, a sizable cargo transport from Ord Mantell arrived under the guise of delivering new office equipment, including food supplies, recharge packs, and atmospheric enrichment generators. Upon docking, the captain emerged from an exit hatch and greeted Nien Nunb, feigning recognition. He announced that he had brought a special surprise for him and instructed Nunb to watch as he opened the cargo doors.

Upon opening, the "surprise" was revealed: a contingent of armed mercenaries. They surged out of the cargo bay, firing their weapons into the air, creating widespread chaos and confusion. Even Kymn brandished his weapon and shot a guard near the communications array. The Black Sun sleeper agents joined the mercenaries in overwhelming the loyal workers and guards. Black Sun swiftly seized control of the facility with minimal resistance, and Nien Nunb was taken prisoner.

However, Jaina, Lowie, and Em Teedee managed to avoid capture and could only observe as Czethros himself arrived and rallied his forces. Overconfident, he declared that Kessel would serve as his new base of operations, from which Black Sun would launch rapid strikes against the New Republic.

He also mentioned that he would utilize the planet's sophisticated transmitter to send messages to the infiltrators in the key governmental positions in the New Republic, ordering them to strike. Though small in number, their revolution would happen so quickly and so widespread that it would topple the New Republic. Following the coup, Nunb and his loyal followers were incarcerated at what remained of the Imperial slave barracks while many other workers and a few hapless cargo pilots were kept within force fields.

While concealed within the spice mines, the Jedi employed Em Teedee to infiltrate the facility's computer systems, triggering the fire-retardant and sewage containment systems to target Czethros and his subordinates, creating a temporary distraction. Later, when Kymn and two other henchmen entered a turbolift, Em Teedee used an urgent clean-and-refurbish authorization code to immobilize it.

While hiding in an empty atmosphere factory, the Jedi decided that their primary mission was to sabotage Czethros's transmitter which he intended to use to send a signal to the Black Sun sleeper cells scattered across the galaxy. First, they needed explosives to blow it up. Second, they needed someone to plant the explosives. Em Teedee was selected for the job because his small size made it hard for him to be detected and he could hover.

During their exploration of the control rooms in the mine labyrinth, they found two packaged cylinders containing explosives small enough for Em Teedee's microrepulsorjets to carry. They attached these to the droid's casing using a special quick-release knot. The Jedi also encountered the alien smuggler and Black Sun lieutenant Lilmit who fled into his ship to hide from both the Jedi and Czethros.

Continuing with the mission, Em Teedee flew with the explosives towards the transmitter's vast dish and attached the explosives to its central control point. When the miniature droid was within a hundred meters of the transmitter and its guards, the transmitter exploded, thus ruining Czethros's plans to send out a transmission to the sleeper cells scattered across the galaxy.

Having accomplished that, the Jedi and Em Teedee went to free Nien Nunb and the other prisoners. On the way, they used their Force powers to overwhelm one of the mercenaries. With the prisoners freed, Nien Nunb and his workers rushed to the main armory and control chamber, where they armed themselves to retake Kessel from Czethros. In the control chamber, Nunb and Lowie keyed in commands into the computers there that blocked access to Czethros and his henchmen.

During the fighting, Nunb lured the treacherous Kymn, the captain of the cargo cruiser and their troops into a deep section of the mines and then sealed them with heavy plasteel barricades, keeping them out of trouble until the authorities arrived to arrest them.

Now all that was left was Czethros himself. Seeing that his plot had failed, he fled to the main cargo bay where he tried to persuade Lilmit to help him escape Kessel. However, Lilmit declined long enough for Jaina, Lowie, Nien Nunb and Kessel security troops to arrive. However, Czethros managed to escape on a turbolift down into the carbon-freezing facility. However, they still pursued him. Refusing to surrender and not wanting to be captured alive, Czethros fell into a vat of carbonite where he was flash-frozen as Han Solo had been decades earlier.

Subsequently, Leia Organa Solo, the Chief of State, authorized the thawing and interrogation of Czethros. This led to the New Republic exposing the Black Sun sleeper cells within key governmental positions throughout the galaxy, effectively dismantling Black Sun for over a century.