In 1032 BBY, during the era of the New Sith Wars, a devastating conflict unfolded on the planet of Skarpos. This clash resulted in immense casualties across three distinct factions, all manipulated by the influence of the Sith artifact known as the Helm of Ieldis. Prior to this, the Sith Lord Odion had wrested control of Skarpos from his rival, Malakite, who governed the Sith domain called the Menagerie. The Grumani sector had dissolved into internal strife after the fall of the Chagras Hegemony following the demise of its leader, Chagras. Competing Sith Lords engaged in constant power struggles. Subsequent to the Invasion of Sarrassia, Jedi Knight Kerra Holt, undercover as the Novitiate acolyte "Mercy," discovered the location of the Helm of Ieldis on Skarpos. This Helm, a Sith relic crafted by Ieldis before the Great Hyperspace War, possessed the power to transform sentients into merciless killers through the dark side of the Force.
Mercy and her Novitiate team were transported back to Skarpos, specifically to the Sith garrison at Morbollon Mesa, by General Beld Yulan. Malakite's forces then initiated a counter-offensive on Skarpos, aiming to reclaim the planet. Their forces included a substantial army of winged Night-Soarers, utilized to transport his infantry. This battle was then complicated by the arrival of a third party, the Sith Lord Daiman, who also sought to claim the Helm for his own purposes. Amidst this chaos, Odion himself arrived aboard a shuttle with the intention of seizing the Helm before his rivals could secure it. He revealed Kerra's true identity and exploited her emotional pain to manipulate enemy forces into attacking each other, thereby causing chaos among Malakite and Daiman's troops.
During the Republic Dark Age, many of the outer territories were under the control of various Sith leaders, notably the Grumani sector. Following the downfall of the Chagras Hegemony in 1040 BBY, the sector was thrown into disorder as Sith Lords vied for control. After the Battle of Darkknell in 1032 BBY, the Sith Lord Odion commenced an invasion of Skarpos, a desolate desert world within the Menagerie, a spatial region dominated by the opposing Sith Lord Malakite. Despite sustaining significant losses, Odion's forces successfully captured the planet.
Odion also resumed Project Pandemonium, aiming to recover the Helm of Ieldis, an ancient Sith artifact created before the Great Hyperspace War. The Sith Lord Ieldis had studied the root causes of conflict and designed the helm to incite sentient beings into murderous rampages. The project stalled in 1039 BBY when the research team vanished on Sarrassia, then controlled by the Sith Lord Ayanos Bactra. This team included the Aquilarian couple Aron and Mercia Holt, who were the parents of the Jedi Knight Kerra Holt. Driven to find her parents, Kerra infiltrated the Odionate organization, posing as a young Sith Novitiate known as "Mercy."
The fall of the Bactranate allowed Odion to restart Project Pandemonium, and his forces, under General Beld Yulan, invaded and occupied Sarrassia. Mercia was part of a Novitiate task force led by Doyan, who quickly secured Mount Diligence, a sacred site defended by Grumani Hierophants. After suppressing the remaining resistance, the team discovered a network of underground tunnels leading to an underground temple. There, Kerra encountered her family friend Aunt Zoojoo and learned that her parents had moved the Helm to Skarpos.
Determined to learn what happened to her parents and to thwart Odion's plans, "Mercy" pretended loyalty to Odion and revealed this information to Yulan. Following a transit stop at Vanahame, Doyan and his team of Novitiates were dispatched back to Skarpos. They established a fortified camp at the base of Morbollon Mesa, a large mountain riddled with tunnels. Based on Zoojoo's information, "Mercy" correctly deduced that the Helm of Ieldis was hidden within the Morbollan Mesa. As a protective measure, Yulan deployed anti-air artillery around the mesa.
Refusing to accept the loss of one of his planets, Lord Malakite began preparations for a counterattack. His fleet transported an army of reinforcements to Skarpos, including a large contingent of Night-Soarers, winged, bipedal beings from Tyluun. These Night-Soarers were used to transport his Mutate infantry to Morbollon Mesa. Due to his aversion to technology, Malakite often relied on overwhelming numbers to defeat opponents with superior technology. Malakite showed little concern for the lives of his troops and was willing to accept high casualties as part of his strategy.
In response, Yulan deployed his anti-air artillery, which inflicted heavy losses on Malakite's landing forces. Meanwhile, Doyan and "Mercy" prepared to explore the mesa. Using binoculars, "Mercy" spotted a small opening on the outer wall, located several hundred meters above the Odionate camp. Amidst the siege, a fleet of warships under the command of the Sith Lord Daiman arrived at the Morbollan Mesa. Daiman, Odion's estranged younger brother, also sought to claim the Helm of Ieldis for himself. He had previously assisted the Jedi Knight Kerra in infiltrating the Odionate, as they shared a common enemy in Odion.
Using his electrobinoculars, Yulan saw Daiman leading his forces from an orbital battle platform. Yulan also identified the Kubaz Novitiate Glenk, who had disappeared on Sarrassia. Glenk was secretly an agent of Daiman, who had infiltrated Odion's Novitiates to monitor Kerra. From Glenk, Daiman learned about Odion's Project Pandemonium and aimed to gain an advantage over his rivals by wielding the Helm himself. He ordered his troops to eliminate Odion's garrison and Malakite's forces if they interfered.
Yulan instructed Mercy and the other Novitiates to locate the Helm while his artillery and infantry defended against Malakite's Mutate forces and Daiman's ground troops. Mercy, Doyan, and three other Novitiates traveled to the cave opening in the Morbollon Mesa on a skiff. On the way, they fought off attacks from several Night-Soarers. They soon reached the opening, and Mercy jumped into the cave, discovering Grumani stonework on its walls. All the Novitiates sensed the dark side energy emanating from the Helm. Before her comrades could join her, "Mercy" used her red Sith lightsaber to damage the skiff's engine, causing it to crash. Doyan and the other Novitiates managed to hold on and expressed their anger at "Mercy's" betrayal, vowing to find her.
Meanwhile, Kerra activated her green Jedi lightsaber and entered the cave. She entered a hallway where she found her mother Mercia's satchel. Hoping they were still alive, Kerra entered a chamber only to find a mound of rocks and earth. She was quickly struck from behind with Force lightning by Odion, who had arrived on a personal shuttle. He exposed "Mercy" as Kerra and revealed that he had already taken the Helm. Odion disarmed Kerra, took her captive, and bound her. He was then joined by his Novitiates and General Yulan, and they ascended to the top of the Mesa, taking Kerra with them. At the top, Yulan's soldiers explored the underground caves and tunnels while Odion's sages confirmed that the relic was indeed the Helm of Ieldis.
Odion revealed that he had sensed Kerra's presence since she joined the Odion. However, he intentionally allowed her to lead him to the Helm. He also revealed more details about the events on Aquilaris Minor ten years prior: he had captured her parents, Aron and Mercia Holt, because of their research on the Helm of Ieldis. Odion also revealed that the Claimer Wayman had been monitoring Kerra's whereabouts and reporting back to him. Despite his success, Odion expressed frustration that he did not know how to operate the Helm. Meanwhile, Yulan and his troops emerged from the cave, reporting that they found camping supplies and two human skeletons crushed during an explosion. Yulan also discovered a heirloom belonging to Aron and Mercia, confirming their deaths. This discovery plunged Kerra into grief and anguish, which triggered the Helm of Ieldis. Odion then used the Helm to convert Kerra's grief into dark side energy to drive his enemies into a homicidal frenzy.
At that moment, two of Malakite's Mutate warriors riding dragon steeds encountered Odion and his group, intending to kill him and claim his hide as a trophy for their Master. Instead, Odion used the Helm to force the warriors and their steeds to turn on each other and kill themselves. Addressing Kerra, Odion explained that the Helm had brainwashed them into accepting his nihilistic view that the only way to end their pain was through bloodshed and death. Odion then ordered Yulan to evacuate his best troops aboard their shuttle, as he was about to deploy the Helm against the three armies below the mesa.
The Helm of Ieldis immediately affected the three armies, driving all the combatants into a homicidal rage. By forcing his opponents to kill each other, Odion hoped to become the sole ruler of the Universe. Within minutes, the combatants descended into a murderous rampage, indiscriminately killing their comrades. Daiman narrowly survived an assassination attempt by Glenk. In the ensuing fight, Daiman defeated Glenk and struck him with Force lightning, causing him to fall to his death below the Morbollon Mesa. With their armies in disarray, Odion's rivals, Daiman and Malakite, were forced to flee the battle while they could still resist the Helm's power. Under the influence of the Helm, the three armies annihilated each other.
In conclusion, the Second Battle of Skarpos was a pyrrhic victory for Odion. While he successfully tested the Helm of Ieldis on the armies of Daiman and Malakite with devastating results, the Helm also destroyed his entire army, except for General Yulan and his troops exploring the Mesa, the Novitiates, and Kerra. When Yulan expressed concerns about sacrificing his entire force, Odion dismissed them, stating that their deaths were inevitable and that the Helm had simply sped up the process. Odion then set course for Vanahame, intending to exploit the anguish of the captive orphans within the cloister there.