Bombardment of Haruun Kal

Prelude

Haruun Kal had previously served as a battleground during the Clone Wars, contested between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The Republic soldier contingents of Jedi General Depa Billaba had been decisively overwhelmed by the Separatist Droid Army under Commander Grievous, incurring ninety percent losses.

In 19 BBY, the Clone Wars concluded with the sudden disbanding of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the deactivation of the droid armies, and the transformation of the Republic into the Galactic Empire. Nevertheless, its immediate aftermath saw the continuation of a number of smaller conflicts, and in areas with Separatist strongholds like the Western Reaches, the Empire attempted to subdue the rebellions. On Haruun Kal, the revolt by the native Korun people was another conflict remaining from the Clone Wars, requiring the involvement of the might of the Imperial Military.

Campaign

Ground assault

In an attempt to put down the rebellion, the Empire initially deployed land troops. Imperial orbital strikes created "smoke circles" in the elevated areas of the world, burning back the jungle and creating openings for their Sentinel-class landing craft. Accompanying the stormtroopers was Imperial Navy representative Lieutenant Canonhaus, from the Quasar Fire-class cruiser-carrier Swoop. However the foot soldiers encountered difficulties almost immediately, with the local fungi disabling the shuttles and bikes within two days. Only their armored HAVw A6 Juggernauts remained functional, with their guns operational only through "obsessive cleaning."

The leader of the Imperial land troops ordered a march to a body of water thirty kilometers away. Canonhaus would recall this decision as being tactically unwise, but attributed the poor judgement to the fact that the CO had grubs of fever wasps growing in her mind. After the wasps killed her, the formation was isolated in the humid darkness of the Haruun Kal jungle. At night, they would be attacked by Korun natives from the trees using basic projectile weapons and explosives that could penetrate stormtrooper armor. Though they returned the initial attacks with disciplined and accurate fire, the Imperial land forces eventually resorted to indiscriminately leveling the jungle with their E-Web heavy repeating blaster installations. Following these skirmishes, Canonhaus would take it upon himself to verify the stormtroopers' kills, in an effort to improve morale.

Bombardment

Following the challenges faced by the ground troops, the Imperial fleet resorted to an orbital bombardment of the planet's surface, initiating Base Gamma One. Those Imperials remaining on the ground sought refuge in their Juggernauts, which were themselves submerged beneath a lake for added protection; however, the subsequent firestorm evaporated the lake. As the Juggernauts were unable to cool their air quickly enough, the heat generated from the bombardment had severe repercussions for many Imperials, causing some to suffer convulsions. Ultimately, the Empire was able to claim victory, largely due to the orbital bombardment.

Aftermath

The suppression of the rebellion significantly contributed to the formidable reputation earned by the developing Imperial Navy, despite the detrimental effect that the orbital bombardment had on the ground forces. Several years later, during the Galactic Civil War, Commander Tian Karmiya would remember Haruun Kal as a glorious victory.

As late as 3 ABY, the now-Captain Canonhaus was plagued by traumatic flashbacks to his time on Haruun Kal, including his experiences with the fever wasps and counting enemy corpses. Nevertheless, when discussing the rebellion with Karmiya, he agreed with her view of the battle as a proud moment in the history of the navy, even falsely claiming that he had helped conduct the bombardment from orbit rather than experiencing it from the surface.