Battle of N'zoth

In the year 16 ABY, Nil Spaar, the Yevethan Darama, initiated communication with the New Republic, the dominant governing body in the neighboring Core Worlds. Spaar journeyed to Coruscant, the capital, ostensibly to pursue peaceful coexistence, but in reality, he sought to create confusion and disruption preceding their planned Great Purge of all non-Yevetha within the Koornacht Cluster. Spaar exploited the Republic's limited knowledge of the Yevetha and Chief of State Leia Organa Solo's intention to find an ally against the Imperial Remnant, attempting to capitalize on Solo's compassion for species oppressed by the Empire.

Following the destruction of a Republic survey vessel by a Yevethan patrol, Spaar instigated a series of political maneuvers that plunged the Republic government into turmoil. With the New Republic forced to withdraw its forces from the Cluster, Spaar returned to N'zoth and initiated the Great Purge against all non-Yevethan colonies in the region. Due to the Cluster's isolated location and the divisions within the New Republic bureaucracy, Leia was unable to rally sufficient support for military intervention.

However, two events shifted the general sentiment within the Republic. First, the Plat Mallar Tapes, Grannan pilot Plat Mallar's account of the Purge, swayed public opinion in favor of retribution against the Yevetha. Second, the fleet shuttle Tampion was seized during a reconnaissance mission within the Cluster's boundaries. Among the passengers were General Han Solo—Leia's husband and the father of three young children—and Lieutenant Barth.

The Viceroy continued his schemes against the Republic, falsely claiming allegiance to the fictional Grand Imperial Union. Spaar attempted to use Solo as leverage, demanding that he persuade Leia to permanently withdraw from the Koornacht Cluster. When Solo refused, the Darama murdered Barth in front of him. After the Battle of ILC-905 resulted in the destruction of a Yevethan shipyard and several thrustships, Spaar personally assaulted Solo in a recorded transmission to the New Republic, tersely demanding their immediate departure from Koornacht.

Unfortunately for the Dushkan League, this latter event galvanized and enraged both the New Republic leadership and the public, who then committed to supporting military action against the League. Faced with a difficult decision, Organa Solo chose not to order a surrender or withdrawal, but instead issued an official declaration of war against the Yevetha. The New Republic then prepared for a crucial confrontation, dispatching the Fifth Fleet to engage the Yevetha fleet.

Solo was later rescued by a group of Wookiees led by Chewbacca, who boarded the Pride of Yevetha and proceeded to the detention cells. The Wookiees accepted assistance from a Fallanassi prisoner on board, who employed her illusions to conceal the group and facilitate the escape of the remaining prisoners. Spaar's breederies were damaged during the escape, enraging the darama. Spaar's anger intensified upon learning that Organa Solo had chosen to fight.

The full might of the New Republic Fifth Battle Group materialized in orbit above N'zoth. Preceding the main fleet were several reconnaissance stasis probes deployed by Alpha Blue and the Navy. These probes surveyed the extent of the Yevethan military fleet in preparation for the impending battle. However, Dar Bille, the Primate, had received advance warning of the probes and ordered the fleet to prepare.

As the Yevethan and Republic fleets converged in the surrounding space, Bille directed the interdictor Splendor of Yevetha to the vanguard of the fleet to safeguard the flagship Super Star Destroyer Pride of Yevetha—formerly known as Intimidator. Tho Voota, the Proctor of Defense, commanded the Pride of Yevetha and its escort vessels. In an attempt to reason with the Yevetha, General Etahn A'baht, the New Republic commander, demanded that the Yevetha relinquish all occupied territory and liberate all hostages.

As expected, Spaar rejected these demands and unleashed a torrent of verbal insults at his adversaries in an attempt to provoke them. However, the Yevetha were struck by an unexpected blow. Imperial prisoners from the Yevethan Uprising of 4 ABY had been assigned to the ships of the Yevethan fleet to support the war effort. For over a decade, these prisoners had been held as skilled slave laborers for Yevethan military projects on the moon Pa'aal.

Over time, Sil Sorannan emerged as the de facto leader of his fellow Imperial prisoners, forming a clandestine command group known as Camp Pa'aal Squadron, plotting to strike against their Yevethan captors when the opportune moment arose. Throughout those years, Sorannan and his shadow command adopted the Yevethan strategy of feigning collaboration with the enemy until the time was right to turn the tables on them. They had secretly installed a slave circuit in the Imperial-designed warships of the Dushkan League.

With the Yevetha preoccupied with the New Republic, the moment had arrived. At the outset of the battle, Sorannan and 512 other former Imperial prisoners crewed the Pride of Yevetha. While Nil Spaar verbally denounced his enemies, the Imperials launched their uprising, utilizing the slave circuits to seize control of the Imperial starships in Yevethan possession. Armed with blasters and the element of surprise, the Imperials quickly gained the advantage over the Yevetha.

From the bridge of Intimidator, Sorannan informed the New Republic that he and Camp Pa'aal Squadron were rejoining the Empire, and the fleet entered hyperspace bound for the Deep Core. Although the Imperials and the New Republic remained officially enemies, the Imperials harbored less affection for the Yevetha and were pleased to contribute to their defeat. En route to their destination, Sorannan ensured that Nil Spaar was ejected into hyperspace aboard an escape pod as retribution for his atrocities. As the escape pod lacked a hyperdrive, Nil Spaar was trapped in hyperspace, unable to revert to realspace—left to perish.

Thanks to the actions of Camp Pa'aal Squadron, the New Republic now outnumbered the Yevetha five to one. Prior to the withdrawal of the Imperial ships, the Republic held only a three-to-one advantage over the enemy. All that remained were 44 Aramadia-class thrustships and their D-type fighters. This left the Yevetha without a centralized fleet and without a commander.

Despite the odds, the Yevetha fleet continued to fight, but without Spaar and the Black Fleet, they were unable to overcome the New Republic. Despite A'baht's efforts to broadcast a second appeal for surrender to the individual commanders, the Yevetha maintained their offensive. Fortunately for the New Republic, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, who had been absent throughout the conflict searching for his mother with a Force-user named Akanah, finally reappeared, accompanied by the Fallanassi Force Adepts.

The Fallanassi assisted the New Republic, employing their Force powers to create illusions of a Republic phantom fleet from the flagship Intrepid. This disrupted much of the coordination with other Yevethan warships in the Koornacht Cluster. The Republic's ships severely defeated the Yevethan fleet, largely due to the data gathered by the Republic at the preceding Battle of ILC-905.

Three thrustships opened fire on the phantom elements of Task Force Token but inflicted no casualties. However, several Fallanassi on the Yevethan vessels perished while maintaining the illusion that hostages remained onboard. In reality, all the hostages had been evacuated. These Fallanassi were killed during the ensuing fighting. Skywalker and Wialu sensed their deaths through the Force.

With the Yevetha preoccupied with the phantom ships, A'baht launched several RZ-1 A-wing interceptors against the D-type fighter escorts. The Yevetha eventually saw through the illusion when Wialu, a senior Fallanassi creating the illusions, could not sustain the strain, causing the illusions to dissipate. The thrustships' superior deflector shields and spherical symmetry allowed them to absorb significant damage and focus their firepower on a smaller area, unlike the triangular and oval symmetry of the Republic vessels. However, the New Republic compensated for this with numerical superiority.

The Star Destroyer Yakez was destroyed when a pair of enemy warships overwhelmed her shields, causing the detonation of the forward batteries and ripping the starship apart. Six other warships ‒ Aboukir, Banshee, Fulminant, Garland Thunderhead and Werra ‒ were destroyed, while the Endurance-class fleet carrier Ballarat was heavily damaged, destroying several nearby starfighters. While stationed aboard the cruiser Mandjur, Plat Mallar flew his shuttle on three rescue missions to save pilots, recovering one alive and two dead.

Afterward, Mallar boarded the X-wing of his commanding officer, Captain Tegett (who was incapacitated), and joined the battle, ultimately sacrificing his life by ramming a Yevethan ship that intended to ram Mandjur. His final act saved hundreds of lives, just as his desperate flight from Polneye ensured that other worlds near Koornacht would not have to fear a second Great Purge. Near the end, the remaining thrustships launched fighters on kamikaze missions, damaging a number of Republic vessels. Despite the heavy losses, the New Republic fleet destroyed the entire Yevethan fleet present at the battle, bringing the Black Fleet Crisis to an end.

Following the complete military defeat of the Dushkan League, the New Republic disarmed the Yevetha and maintained them under close surveillance. The duration of the New Republic's close watch over the Yevetha remains unclear, but active patrols were withdrawn by at least 25 ABY. However, no one actually entered the N'zoth system during that decade, during which the Yevetha amassed an even larger force than the Black Fleet, consisting of thousands of Aramadia-class thrustships.

During the Yuuzhan Vong War (25 ABY – 30 ABY), the Galantos Guard entered into an agreement with the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong invaders. In exchange for what the Galantos believed to be protection from the extragalactic invaders, they informed the Yuuzhan Vong of the brutal Yevetha and the potential threat they posed. Heeding this warning, the Yuuzhan Vong invaded the N'zoth system.

The details of the battle may remain unknown, but if the Yevethan and Yuuzhan Vong tactics are any indication, the Yuuzhan Vong destroyed every single ship in the system and unleashed a devastating orbital bombardment on N'zoth that transformed the planet into a molten wasteland. At the conclusion of the conflict, the Yevetha were either extinct or severely endangered.

Upon arriving at Byss, the men of Camp Pa'aal Squadron discovered the planet's destruction by the Galaxy Gun in 11 ABY. Lacking a clear authority, the remnants of Black Sword Command dispersed. Most of the warships defected to the New Republic, while four Victory-class Star Destroyers joined the Imperial Deep Core warlords.

Meanwhile, two Imperial-class Star Destroyers and the experimental warship EX-F joined Gilad Pellaeon's Imperial Remnant in the Outer Rim. However, the EX-F met its end during the climactic Battle of Anx Minor. The Intimidator departed for the Unknown Regions. In 21 ABY, she was discovered wrecked and adrift near the Unknown Regions, with no definitive explanation as to what she had encountered.