The Battle of Malachor, a significant event in the Old Sith Wars, unfolded in 3951 BBY. It marked the culmination of both the Dark Wars and the First Jedi Purge, serving as their concluding major conflict.
Meetra Surik, along with her former subordinate Bao-Dur, were central figures in the planet's destruction. Bao-Dur, notably, was the creator of the Mass Shadow Generator, a device Surik had previously employed at the Battle of Malachor V to decimate the Mandalorian fleet.
Shortly after the Battle of Telos IV, Surik was summoned by Admiral Carth Onasi. Recognizing her as one of Revan's commanders and her ship, the Ebon Hawk, as Revan's former vessel, he tasked Surik with locating Revan and delivering a message: Carth was adhering to his directives to safeguard the Galactic Republic.
Subsequently, guided by Atris' knowledge that her mentor, the exiled Jedi and Sith Lord Kreia, had journeyed to Malachor V, Revan's last known location, Surik tracked Kreia to the planet. There, the Exile's master threatened to sacrifice herself, endangering her student through their Force bond and potentially creating a Force echo that could obliterate all life by silencing the Force. Kreia believed this would compel the galaxy's inhabitants to either resist the Force's influence or perish. On Malachor V, Kreia reassumed leadership of the Sith Triumvirate as Darth Traya, intending to use the impending battle with Surik and her followers as a final lesson for the Exile. Her ultimate goal was to eradicate both the Jedi and the Sith, paving the way for a synthesis of their ideologies and a new Jedi Order led by Meetra Surik and her disciples.
Upon reaching Malachor V, the Ebon Hawk crash-landed in a canyon, teetering above a chasm. It plunged into the abyss shortly after Meetra Surik ventured into the Trayus Academy. As Surik descended into the Academy's depths, Mira, a bounty hunter among Surik's companions, confronted and defeated Hanharr, a Wookiee she had previously encountered. Hanharr had been rescued by Kreia and subsequently became indebted to her before being dispatched to hunt Mira on Nar Shaddaa. Simultaneously, Bao-Dur's remote was activated via a pre-recorded hologram of the Zabrak. The droid remote's primary mission was to reactivate the Mass Shadow Generator, reversing the damage inflicted on Malachor V nine years prior by destroying the planet.
Within the academy, Surik confronted and eliminated all of the Sith Triumvirate's forces, advancing to face Darth Sion. During their duel, the Lord of Pain was convinced that Kreia would reinstate him as her apprentice following Surik's demise. However, despite his ability to resurrect himself using the dark side, Surik defeated Sion, revealing that Kreia was merely manipulating him to reach her. Confronted with this truth, Sion admitted his hatred for the Exile due to her beauty, relinquished his suffering, and merged with the Force.
Bao-Dur's remote successfully activated the generator using crashed Republic ships as a power source. However, G0-T0 intervened, desiring to preserve Malachor, believing it would assist him and Meetra Surik in bringing stability to the galaxy.
Following her duel with Sion, Surik encountered Kreia at the Trayus Core. After a verbal exchange, Kreia rejected Surik's offer of redemption, instead demanding that the apprentice kill the master. Kreia attacked Meetra Surik, but was defeated by her student, who severed her hand but refused to deliver the killing blow. Kreia then used the Force to telekinetically wield three purple lightsabers, attacking her student once more. Surik disabled all of the sabers, mortally wounding Kreia in the process. Satisfied with the certainty of her death, Kreia declared Surik to be her greatest pupil, and revealed to Surik the future of the worlds they visited and the fates of her companions, who Kreia said were the Lost Jedi, true Jedi who would form the basis of a new Jedi Order. Finally, Kreia presented Surik with the choice of either staying on Malachor V as a beacon for those who felt the echoes of the world as relayed by the Force to become her students, or take a ship and leave the planet to consume itself in search of Revan. Meetra Surik chose the latter option, leaving Kreia to fall to her death in the depths of Malachor V.
On the planet's surface, Bao-Dur's remote successfully activated the Mass Shadow Generator, and the damaged Ebon Hawk arrived at the collapsing Trayus Core to rescue Meetra Surik. As Surik and her companions departed, Malachor V disintegrated as it was released from the mass shadows, finally silencing the echoes of the Mandalorian Wars.
The remnants of the planet transformed into an asteroid field, and centuries later, small pockets of life were discovered among the debris.
The Battle of Malachor V was featured in the 2004 video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, developed by Obsidian Entertainment.
In an alternate, non-canoncial ending of the game, Malachor V remains intact, with the Exile remaining on the world to await further disciples there, and the death of Hanharr is not depicted.
Several scenes pertaining to this event were cut from the final version of the game. During the G0-T0 and remote battle, HK-47 was originally intended to arrive with three HK-50 droids, recruited from the HK Manufacturing Plant, to destroy G0-T0 and facilitate the remote's mission. However, this scene was omitted due to the game's tight development schedule. This was later made official in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.