Battle of Korriban

Prior to the Great Hyperspace War in 5000 BBY, the world of Korriban, situated in the Outer Rim, served as the original homeworld for both the Sith species and the Sith religious order, as well as their Empire. Following their defeat in that war, the surviving Sith abandoned Korriban and fled into the Unknown Regions. There, they began to build a renewed Empire. During the Jedi Civil War, Darth Revan's Sith Empire reclaimed Korriban, utilizing it as a training center for new Sith recruits. After Revan's forces were defeated, the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order took control of Korriban, maintaining a protective presence around the planet. However, over time, the size of the fleet guarding the world was gradually reduced, leaving only a small force to watch over the planet steeped in darkness. Centuries later, the Empire that had rebuilt itself since the Great Hyperspace War returned and initiated the Great Galactic War against the Republic in 3681 BBY. Early in this new conflict, the Sith Empire launched a broad campaign aimed at securing the galaxy's Outer Rim Territories. Their initial focus was on the Tingel Arm, where the Sith Emperor had already established puppet governments on several worlds that were formerly allied with the Galactic Republic.

As a response to the Empire's aggressive actions, the Republic Navy assembled a fleet with the objective of retaking the Tingel Arm. Without a full understanding of the Empire's puppet governments, the Republic rushed headlong into the region, only to find themselves surrounded by enemy forces. Caught off guard by the boldness and intensity of the Sith advance, Republic military leaders requested every available ship in the navy to assist the fleet in the Tingel Arm. This decision left other strategically important areas of the galaxy vulnerable. Korriban was among the worlds that lost nearly all of its military defenses. The Sith, eager to reclaim their home planet, made the decision to prioritize the holy world in their campaign to conquer the galaxy.

Despite the Republic Navy's withdrawal from the world, the Jedi Order decided to maintain a small but dedicated presence on the planet in an effort to protect its dark secrets. Satele Shan, a Human Padawan, and her Zabrak Master, Kao Cen Darach, were among those tasked with guarding Korriban from a space station in orbit above the planet. They were joined by several troopers from the Republic's Republic Special Forces Division, who also assisted the Jedi as a police force in the area. In the year that the Empire returned to the known galaxy, Shan, Darach, and Corporal Jace Malcom traveled to the planet's surface to intercept a freighter that had landed without permission. There, they discovered Nico Okarr, a smuggler captain, who was attempting to purchase ancient artifacts of the old Sith Empire from Farel Wickes, a notorious grave robber. The Jedi and trooper confiscated Okarr's ship, the Redshifter, before he could escape the planet and transported him to the orbital security station. There, they were joined by a Republic trooper who assisted in taking Okarr into custody. As the four of them escorted the smuggler through the space station, Shan sensed a significant dark disturbance in the Force.

At that precise moment, an Imperial armada consisting of over thirty Sith battlecruisers emerged from hyperspace into the Horuset system, near Korriban and its space station. Utilizing hyperlanes that had been opened during the Empire's Tingel Arm campaign, the warships immediately launched numerous wings of interceptor starfighters, which began strafing runs on the Republic's station. The initial attacks inflicted substantial damage on the installation, triggering a series of explosions and fires throughout the station. Shortly thereafter, boarding parties composed of Sith troops from the Imperial Army's and assault droids landed on the station and engaged the Republic personnel stationed there.

Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, Darach determined that the defenders' top priority was to warn the Republic about the Empire's new offensive. Corporal Malcom concurred, but informed the Jedi that their shuttles would be unable to outrun the Empire's far more agile interceptors. Overhearing the conversation, the detained smuggler offered his XS stock light freighter as a means of escape, noting that it was the fastest ship in the Esstran sector. The Jedi agreed, and together with Okarr and troopers, they hurried to the station's hangar in the hopes of reaching the vessel and notifying Republic authorities of the situation. Upon reaching the hall leading into the hangar, Shan and her Master rushed ahead to clear the landing zone of Imperial troopers, while the Republic soldiers covered their rear, holding off the pursuing Imperial forces. While the two soldiers were distracted, a Sith soldier launched a missile at them, killing one and temporarily incapacitating Malcom. Witnessing this, the Captain drew his blaster pistols and quickly eliminated four of the approaching Sith troops. After regaining his senses, the Republic Corporal armed himself with a blaster chaingun and joined the smuggler in destroying two advancing assault droids.

As Imperial forces continued to advance through the station, Okarr and Malcom retreated into the hangar, sealing the entry behind them to prevent further intrusion by enemy troopers. Shan and Darach simultaneously finished eliminating the troopers who had already taken position in the hangar, allowing the four of them to regroup and examine the Redshifter, which had sustained minor damage from the station's violent shaking caused by the attacking vessels. The Captain lamented the condition of his freighter, but assured Darach that his vessel was resilient enough to take flight once more and escape the station. However, before any of the Republic defenders could board the vessel, a Fury-class Imperial interceptor landed in the hangar, and two Sith disembarked: Darth Vindican, a Sith Inquisitor Sith Pureblood, and his Human apprentice, Malgus, a Sith Warrior. Their primary objective was to prevent the Jedi and others from leaving the station to warn the Republic of the attack; the Jedi were determined to prevent the Sith from interfering in their escape. Shan and Darach engaged Malgus and Vindican in a duel, while Malcom and Okarr rushed onto the freighter to prepare for lift-off with the Captain's astromech droid, T7-O1.

On the landing bay floor, the Jedi and Sith fought fiercely, with Malgus and Shan engaging one another while their Masters dueled a short distance away. During the melee, Malgus managed to outmaneuver Shan, disarming her before delivering a powerful knee strike to her abdomen. As the young Jedi doubled over in pain, the Sith apprentice moved to finish her with an overhead lightsaber swing. Just as his weapon was about to strike Shan, Master Darach, who was engaged in combat with Vindican, broke away from his own struggle long enough to throw his lightsaber in Malgus's direction. Malgus, caught off guard, was struck by the Zabrak's lightsaber against his own. Shan used this opportunity to kick the Sith away from her and reclaim her weapon. She then attempted to attack the Sith Lord, but Vindican deflected her with a blast of Force lightning. In response, Shan's Master used the Force to push the Sith Pureblood across the hangar so that he could regroup with his Padawan.

Meanwhile, Captain Okarr managed to bring the Redshifter online and lift off from the hangar bay. Malcom descended the ship's boarding ramp in an attempt to collect the two Jedi, but was instead confronted by the two Sith, who were attempting to stop the starship with waves of Force lightning. The Corporal responded with an ineffective shot from a missile launcher before turning his attention back to the Jedi. While he called for them to join him, Shan and Darach conferred; the Zabrak informed his apprentice that their paths were about to diverge, and that she must escape on the freighter while he remained behind to hold off the Sith. The young Jedi complied and provided her Master with her own double-bladed lightsaber before leaping into the departing smuggler ship. As the freighter narrowly escaped the hangar, the Jedi Master re-engaged the two Sith. Wielding both his lightsaber and that of his apprentice, he drove the two back while expertly defending himself against their lightsaber and Force attacks.

After slashing Vindican across the face, Darach deactivated one end of Shan's weapon and continued to deliver agile strikes. Darach eventually maneuvered himself into a position that allowed him to activate Shan's weapon through the Inquisitor's abdomen, incapacitating him for the remainder of the battle. Malgus seized the opportunity to take his fallen Master's weapon and reciprocate his opponent's use of three blades with his own. Although the Zabrak attempted to prevent the apprentice's advance by hurling large chunks of debris toward Malgus, the Sith apprentice was undeterred, cutting through all obstacles with ease. Upon reaching the Jedi Master, the two engaged one another briefly, but the young Sith ultimately prevailed. Malgus cut Darach in half horizontally, killing him.

Meanwhile, Shan and Malcom used the laser cannon turrets on Okarr's freighter to destroy pursuing Imperial interceptors and fighters. After navigating through a small asteroid field, the smuggler flew the Redshifter directly toward several incoming Sith battlecruisers, narrowly avoiding collision while simultaneously evading his pursuers. The freighter inflicted considerable damage on one of the cruisers before clearing the attacking Sith fleet and jumping to hyperspace. When Malgus was informed of their escape, he confronted his wounded Master and accused him of failure. Although Vindican disagreed, the apprentice disregarded the elder Sith's words and instead seized the opportunity to kill his teacher. The planet's only other guardians—a small force of Jedi security ships—were easily overwhelmed by Sith interceptors and destroyed. The invading Sith also captured Farel Wickes as he attempted to flee the battle at Korriban, preventing the grave robber from escaping with the fortune he had earned from Okarr. Having eliminated the Republic and Jedi forces, the Empire cleared the path to the planet's surface, where the Sith once again walked in the Valley of the Dark Lords and reclaimed their ancestral homeworld.

Despite Shan's escape from the battle, the Jedi Council remained unaware of the Sith's return to Korriban for a long time. Meanwhile, the Republic continued to suffer losses in the war, facing devastating defeats in the Sluis sector, a Sith invasion of the resource-rich Minos Cluster, and a blockade of the vital Rimma Trade Route in quick succession following the assault on Korriban. In response, the Jedi Council and the Galactic Senate of the Republic convened an emergency session of congress to develop a defense plan, but the meeting resulted in political deadlock and failure. On Korriban, the Sith interrogated Farel Wickes for information about the tombs of Korriban. After weeks of torture, the once-successful grave robber succumbed to his injuries and died.

Throughout the war, the Empire transformed the arid Korriban into a stronghold for the training and education of Force-sensitives, re-establishing the world's Sith Academy and dedicating it to cultivating a new generation of followers who could continue the fight against the Republic. After participating in the capture of the planet, Malgus made several religious pilgrimages to the surface. During the first of these journeys, the Sith experienced a vision of the galaxy engulfed in flames—a sight that he interpreted as a symbol of the Republic's downfall. Korriban once again became a battlefield in 3678 BBY, when Exal Kressh, a renegade Sith apprentice, betrayed the Empire and allowed a fleet of Republic warships to launch a failed attempt to retake the planet. Following the conclusion of the Great Galactic War with the signing of the Treaty of Coruscant, Gnost-Dural, a Kel Dor Jedi Master, created a holorecord documenting the opening battles of the conflict. In the record, the Jedi Master included the fall of Korriban and the events surrounding it. The Jedi Master also kept a journal during the Great War that included a first-hand account of the Jedi's reaction upon learning that Korriban had been retaken. After becoming Grand Master of the Jedi Order, Satele Shan submitted the journal, which now included her personal reflections on the war and the fall of Korriban, to the Jedi Archives on Tython.

The Battle of Korriban was conceived as a historical element within the plot of Star Wars: The Old Republic, a video game developed by BioWare and released in 2011. The event was initially referenced on the game's website, specifically within Korriban's entry in The Holonet. The battle was first depicted in Onslaught of the Sith Empire, the sixth installment of the Galactic Timeline video series, which was published on the same website on January 22, 2010.