The conflict known as the Battle for the Red Reaper represented a critical moment during the Cold War that transpired between the newly emerged Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic. Red Reaper, the Sith Dreadnaught, served as the flagship for the zealous and racially motivated Darth Ikoral. He was a highly regarded and respected figure within Sith society before the Sith Empire's return. Driven by the belief that his race's superiority stemmed from its untainted bloodline, Ikoral embarked on a quest to locate surviving members of the pure-blooded Sith race, remnants from the Great Hyperspace War. Upon his return to the galaxy, the Sith Lord initiated a fanatical campaign against those he deemed impure, attacking both Imperial and Republic settlements. This drew the attention of the Dark Council and the Jedi Order, prompting both galactic powers to dispatch strike teams to Chandrila, Ikoral's next planned target.
A century prior to the battle, Darth Ikoral held a position of great influence within the Sith Empire. As a member of the Order of Ragnos and a recipient of the Emperor's Blessing, he was widely regarded as a hero by many Imperial citizens. Being a pureblood Sith, Ikoral's lineage was traced all the way back to the time of King Adas. His pride in his heritage fueled his conviction that his species embodied the ideal and purest form of sentient life in the galaxy and the only race worthy to ascend in power within the Sith Order.
Seventy years before the conflict, Ikoral expressed strong disapproval of the Empire's racial integration, where citizens freely mingled with alien species from across the galaxy. Seeking a way to restore the Empire's purity, he persuaded the Dark Council to authorize an expedition to find the remaining pureblooded Sith who had either been left behind during the Emperor's withdrawal from the previous Empire's territory or had fled Korriban long before the Republic's massacre during the Great Hyperspace War. The council consented, and Ikoral departed on the Red Reaper. After many years of absence, Ikoral was presumed dead, honored as a martyr, and celebrated throughout the Empire. Upon his return to the known galaxy in a sector of space containing the planet Rhinnal, Ikoral initiated his crusade against the impure by raiding the Jedi Enclave on the planet's surface.
Nineteen hours before the battle, the Jedi Council lost contact with the enclave on Rhinnal. In response, they dispatched the Republic patrol frigate Toron Voq to investigate. The crew discovered a violent massacre of the enclave's inhabitants. As the ship's captain reported the findings, a massive Sith warship appeared and destroyed the Toron Voq, a calculated move, as noted by Master Satele Shan, designed to provoke the Republic into war.
Three hours before the battle, the Red Reaper reappeared in the Bormea sector. On the footsteps of Lord Senu's fortress, Ikoral deployed his newly formed army of pureblood Sith to eradicate the alien Sith Lord, declaring such beings unworthy of the Sith Order. Ikoral appeared to have succeeded in his quest to find remnants of his people, as evidenced by Lord Senu's final words. The attacking army consisted primarily of purebloods clad in antiquated and savage armor from the Sith's past.
The Dark Council distanced themselves from Ikoral's unprovoked assault. Seeking to uphold the Treaty of Coruscant, they swiftly denounced the long-lost Sith Lord as a heretic and mobilized their elite strike team to quell his crusade of galactic cleansing. The Republic, observing the Red Reaper's course towards Chandrila, a crucial agricultural world for their supply production, dispatched their own elite strike force to intercept and safeguard the planet and the billions dependent on its vast food production facilities.
Upon reaching Chandrila, the strike team discovered the Red Reaper already docked with the planet's orbital station. As the dreadnaught engaged with three Ajuur-class heavy cruisers and an unidentified class of warship, the strike team managed to infiltrate the station using a Plug-6 heavy fighter.
Once inside, the strike team encountered an ongoing battle between Chandrilan Security Forces and the Reaper's crew. The overwhelmed Chandrilans struggled to repel the onslaught of Sith warriors and reapers pouring through the primary airlock. Only with the strike team's assistance were they able to push back the enemy forces and secure the planetary orbital station.
With the primary airlock secured, the strike team proceeded to enter the Red Reaper. Upon stepping onto the ancient warship, they were confronted by the amethyst glow of two lightsabers. Lord Kherus, a male pureblood Sith Lord discovered by Darth Ikoral, had taken six hostages from the orbital station's occupants and positioned them kneeling before the ship's entrance. The strike team engaged Kherus amidst the crimson shielded cages of the cargo deck. As a disciple of Komok-Da, a weapon master of the ancient Sith Empire, Kherus possessed exceptional swordsmanship skills that proved devastating when unleashed. Throughout the battle, the hostages served not only as a display of ruthlessness but also as a source of power for the embattled Sith Lord. Despite Kherus's empowerment from the soul-drained hostages, the strike team emerged victorious, ending the fight and rescuing the surviving hostages from a soulless demise.
As the strike team ventured deeper into the dreadnaught, they encountered significant resistance from Ikoral's army of purification and reaper droids. Undeterred, they continued their journey through the ship's cargo bays, navigating a maze of munition stockpiles, towering Imperial walkers, Sith artifacts, and narrow tunnels. At the end of the complex network of corridors, the strike team located and utilized an elevator that transported them to the command deck. As their ascent slowed and the doors opened, they found their intended target. The bridge of the ship, where they could seize control of the ancient dreadnaught, was guarded by a massive war droid, defense turrets, and the entire bridge crew.
The bridge and its crew were inaccessible to the strike team, protected by the massive prototype war droid SV-3 Eradicator. The droid was surrounded by six mysterious and indestructible Sith power sources that amplified its weapons when properly aligned. Emboldened by their previous victory, the strike team engaged the prototype droid in combat, ensuring that its power sources remained misaligned. The team successfully destroyed the droid and swiftly dealt with the bridge crew. As they attempted to commandeer the Red Reaper using the command console, Darth Ikoral overrode their efforts and seized control of his flagship from a console located in his meditation chamber.
Determined to complete their mission, the strike team ventured further into the ship's depths to locate Ikoral's meditation chamber. Once again, they navigated the ship's narrow hallways, engaging in brief skirmishes with Ikoral's staunch crusaders, eventually discovering the Sith Sanctum. Adorned with Sith artifacts and emblazoned Sith imagery, the sanctum served as a home for mystics and disciples of Ikoral's crusade. The sanctum also housed a cryogenics lab, where hundreds of cryotubes contained the pureblooded race that Ikoral had sought and discovered throughout his endeavors.
Beyond the sanctum, after traversing an imposing metal precipice, the strike team found themselves within the Sith Lord's meditation chamber. At the center of the cylindrical, crimson-tinged room awaited the Sith Lord Ikoral. As the strike team advanced past ancient columns and Sith banners at the entrance, Ikoral engaged them. Outnumbered and under attack, Ikoral unleashed a wave of concussive force that scattered the strike team. The isolated Sith Lord summoned his sleeping chosen, pureblooded Sith of unquestionable purity, while simultaneously unleashing a barrage of Force lightning upon his attackers. The strike team retreated, using Ikoral's chosen as shields against his relentless assault. As the last of Ikoral's chosen perished from their master's own attack, the strike team resumed their offensive. Once again alone, Ikoral channeled the Sith knowledge he had amassed during his quests and repeatedly strengthened himself throughout the ensuing battle. However, it was to no avail, as the strike team quickly rallied and defeated him before he could gather enough power to overcome them.
With the Sith Lord defeated, the strike team seized control of the ship and directed it towards their capital world.
The death of Darth Ikoral and his designation as a heretic strengthened the views of Imperial citizens who believed that racial purity was an outdated concept. They argued that for the Empire to survive the impending war, all beings with the skill and dedication to serve the Order should be treated equally, regardless of their race.
Meanwhile, the Republic successfully maintained its status quo, preserving the food production centers on Chandrila and sustaining only minor casualties.
The Battle for the Red Reaper is featured as the Flashpoint: Red Reaper in the video game Star Wars: The Old Republic. During the flashpoint, players can choose to leave the cryogenic tanks and their contents undisturbed (light side option), release the contents of the cryogenic tanks (light side option), or destroy the contents of the cryogenic tanks (dark side option).
The flashpoint is accessible to both factions in the game, meaning the victory conditions are not canon and the aftermath of the battle is limited to secondary observations. If an Imperial player completes the flashpoint, the Empire's policy of xenophobia is weakened, the wealth of knowledge aboard the Reaper is captured, and the Treaty of Coruscant remains intact. If a Republic player completes the flashpoint, the Galactic Republic captures the Red Reaper and the decades of knowledge it contains.
The in-game map within the flashpoint indicates that the instance is named Crimson Vengeance. It is unknown whether this was the original title of the flashpoint and remains speculative.