Invasion of Begeren

During the era of the ancient Sith Empire, the space encompassing the capital of Korriban was entirely part of the Sith domain. The planets situated within the Stygian Caldera—later recognized as the Sith Worlds—formed the central core of the Empire, with the worlds of the Esstran sector at its very center. Begeren, a terrestrial planet in the Esstran sector close to Korriban and rich in mineral wealth, belonged to the Empire. Like the capital, it was developed into a monument world intended to celebrate icons of Sith culture and history. On Begeren's cliffs, Imperial masters directed their slaves of the Grotthu class to erect enormous statues honoring Sith Warriors, alchemists, and the great philosophical minds of the Sith religion. Throughout these construction projects, 100,000 slaves lost their lives, yet the Begeren monuments stood as a testament to the Sith masters' power.

Following the end of the Great Hyperspace War in 5000 BBY, the Sith Empire was decimated, and the Galactic Republic emerged victorious. Under the direction of Supreme Chancellor Pultimo, the Republic Military launched a counterinvasion of the Sith Empire, which subsequently engulfed the Sith Worlds of the Stygian Caldera and outlying Sith colonies. On Begeren, the Sith inhabitants were forced out by Republic occupiers who claimed the world as their own before proceeding to tear down the great monuments. The Republic installed a governor to oversee the planet and a new mining industry based around selling gemstones found within the Sith statues.

Despite the Republic's triumph over the Empire, a group of Sith, guided by the enigmatic Lord Vitiate, managed to escape into the Unknown Regions and rebuild their society. In 3681 BBY, this revitalized Sith Empire emerged from hiding and initiated the Great Galactic War to reclaim their ancestral worlds and exact revenge on the Republic that had defeated them a millennium prior. After retaking Korriban and much of the Outer Rim Territories early in the conflict, the Empire turned its attention towards Begeren, preparing to invade the planet in 3678 BBY. The Imperial Military was to lead the invasion, supported by the disgraced Sith apprentice and aspiring assassin Teneb Kel. Kel had been granted a temporary reprieve by the Empire's ruling Dark Council from a punishment imposed due to transgressions committed by his Master, Calypho.

The Empire's landing on Begeren, with an army of 10,000 Imperial soldiers, plunged the world into intense warfare. Both the Imperials and the Republic suffered significant losses during the Invasion of Begeren. Nevertheless, the Empire advanced towards Begeren's capital city, the residence of the planet's Advozse Governor. Aurek Battalion spearheaded the army's siege of the city, achieving initial success. However, the Empire found itself engaged in protracted trench warfare outside the Governor's palace. Led by an Imperial commander, Aurek Battalion was pinned down in the trenches by the Republic Army's soldiers, formidable defense droids, and powerful laser turrets.

Despite enduring heavy casualties, the Imperial forces maintained their position, as their Commander had agreed to await word from Teneb Kel confirming his successful infiltration of the palace and the Governor's assassination. Kel did manage to bypass the palace's security perimeter, but the Governor fled from the assassin, seeking refuge in his blast shelter. As the army awaited the signal from the young Sith, the Republic deployed cacophanizer shells to immobilize their adversaries. This, combined with the laser turret barrage, resulted in the destruction of Aurek Battalion's Squad Three, Squad Eight, and Squad Fifteen. Although Squad Seventeen survived the onslaught, the cacophanizer shells rendered it impossible for the soldiers to move even a meter without utilizing sonic dampers. Teneb Kel's slave, the Abyssin known as Maggot, accompanied his master to Begeren, remaining with Aurek Battalion to serve as a warrior and a liaison between the Imperial Commander and the Sith. The Commander, increasingly frustrated by the lack of communication from Kel, demanded that Maggot account for his master's apparent failure. While the two argued, Republic Liberator-class starfighters flew over the battlefield, unleashing a barrage of bombs. The explosives detonated in the center of the Imperial line, decimating Aurek Battalion and killing the Commander.

Having reached the uppermost levels of the Governor's palace via grappling hook, Teneb Kel witnessed the bombing runs, but pressed on with his mission. He caught up with the Governor and his two Republic soldier escorts as they rushed towards the blast shelter, but the Advozse's protectors managed to push their charge into the bunker before Kel could complete his objective. Enraged by the Republic's destruction of Begeren's Sith heritage, Kel swiftly eliminated the Governor's two guards, employing his mastery of the Force and his double-bladed lightsaber, crushing one man's windpipe and dispatching the second with a toss of his weapon. The assassin then proceeded to cut through the shelter door and execute the unarmed Governor. With his mission accomplished, Kel contacted Imperial High Command to inform them that the palace was secure.

With the Governor dead and the capital city captured, Teneb Kel searched the battlefield for survivors. He discovered the body of his slave, Maggot, and found that the resilient Abyssin had eliminated numerous enemies and survived the Republic bombing, despite the deaths of all the Human Imperials around him. Kel assisted Maggot out of the trenches and accompanied his slave back to the Imperial command center. Upon arrival, he decreed that the Imperial soldiers who participated in the battle would be allowed to celebrate their victory, provided they did not attempt to exploit Begeren's natural resources. Kel was then approached by an Imperial major who had arrived to deliver news from the Imperial capital of Dromund Kaas.

According to the Major, the Dark Council was satisfied with Kel's performance but demanded that the young Sith return to the Sith Citadel in Kaas City to answer for the transgressions of his disgraced former Master, the Sith Lord Calypho. On Dromund Kaas, large celebrations were held in the city streets to commemorate the recent string of Imperial victories in the war, including the triumph on Begeren and Lord Nankrang's incursion into the Mid Rim. The battle also propelled the career of the Imperial soldier Bessiker, who went on to serve with distinction at the Sacking of Coruscant and the long-lasting Battle of Balmorra. Begeren, now under Imperial control, was integrated into the growing Sith dominion. Moff Harvus was appointed to govern the world, and slave pits were constructed to provide the Empire with a workforce. Later in the Great War, an anti-Imperial terrorist cell emerged within the slave population, but it dissolved when the son of two terrorists killed his parents and exposed the cell to Moff Harvus. Begeren remained under Imperial control until the Sith Lord Tytonus rebelled against the Emperor and the Dark Council by seceding from the Empire. She proclaimed herself queen of a new Sith kingdom and claimed Begeren as her throne. In response, the Dark Council excommunicated Tytonus from the Sith Order and the Empire, turning Begeren into her isolated prison. Her kingdom then collapsed when she allied herself with the rogue Sith Lord Grathan and incurred the Empire's wrath.

The initial depiction of the Invasion of Begeren appeared as the introductory environment in Star Wars: The Old Republic, Blood of the Empire, the second story arc within The Old Republic comic series. The battle was featured in the opening pages of Act 1: Shades of the Sith, released in 2010 as part of a webcomic series. Later that year, Blood of the Empire was published as a printed series, with the Invasion of Begeren reappearing in The Old Republic 4: Blood of the Empire, Part 1. With the launch of the LucasArts/BioWare video game Star Wars: The Old Republic in 2011, the Invasion of Begeren received several mentions in the in-game codex, along with historical context regarding the Begeren terrorist cell and Tytonus's revolution. The Invasion was again referenced in various contexts in the 2012 sourcebook, Star Wars: The Old Republic Encyclopedia, which officially named the battle.