The Yevethan Uprising, alternatively known as the Day of Retribution, was a short-lived war that occurred eight months following the Battle of Endor in the year 4 ABY. The indigenous Yevethans, located at the Black Fifteen shipyards situated above N'zoth within the isolated Koornacht Cluster, initiated a revolt against the Imperial forces stationed there. Nil Spaar, who would later become the Darama, along with other Yevethan nationalists, strategically timed their insurrection to coincide with the departure of the Imperial Black Sword Command fleet to Byss and the ongoing Galactic Civil War between the Galactic Empire and the New Republic. The Yevethans, benefiting from their superior numbers, managed to either destroy or seize a significant portion of the Imperial garrison swiftly.
During the rule of Palpatine, the Galactic Empire launched an invasion of the Koornacht Cluster, eventually gaining control of the planet N'zoth following extensive combat. The Imperials enslaved the Yevetha, subsequently positioning the Black Fleet's naval forces and associated support infrastructure, collectively referred to as the Black Sword Command, within the cluster alongside numerous shipyards. Despite their captivity, many Yevetha utilized their situation to acquire considerable knowledge of shipbuilding techniques.
The Imperial Governor of the Cluster selected several women to be pleasure slaves for his officers, while the men were given to the stormtroopers for use as target practice. The resulting mutilated corpses were then displayed at schools and sacred locations. These images were also broadcast on public information channels, which all Yevetha were compelled to watch twice daily. When subjugation proved insufficient, children were forcibly separated from their parents.
After enduring several years of Imperial occupation, the Yevetha began to plan a rebellion, with Nil Spaar of clan Spaar emerging as one of its key leaders. During his involvement, he ended minor acts of sabotage, and instead encouraged the Yevetha to gain the trust of the Empire so they could betray them later. Over time, the Black Fifteen shipyards gained a reputation as the best in the sector due to the Yevethan workers' efficiency and hard work. Eventually, after the Yevetha had the virtual run of the shipyards, Spaar had his chance.
Eight months following the Battle of Endor, which resulted in Palpatine's death and the subsequent decline of the Empire, the Yevetha identified an opportunity. The Imperial fleet at the shipyards was undermanned and poorly defended, with many ships either incomplete or damaged, creating ideal conditions for a surprise insurrection. Imperial forces in the Koornacht Cluster were being redeployed to reinforce the defense of the Core Worlds, leading to relaxed security measures. Spaar was aware of the circumstances, procedure, and schedule of the supposedly sudden Imperial departure.
As the Black Fleet was preparing to abandon the N'zoth system and the Yevetha to support Director of Imperial Intelligence and de-facto Emperor Ysanne Isard in defending the Imperial capital of Coruscant, the Imperial commander, Jian Paret, had issued an evacuation order, removing all Yevetha from Imperial ships and facilities. He considered the aliens despicable and was glad to leave the Koornacht Cluster. Paret had kept this a secret from the Yevetha, knowing the aliens would interfere if they learned of the Imperials' intent to depart.
Instead, Paret hoped that the keeping the departure secret from the Yevetha would allow a smooth withdrawal for the Imperials on the surface and give time for him to destroy the shipyards and abandoned ships so they would not fall into the enemy hands. However, Spaar was aware of this, and his engineers had altered the sensors on the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Intimidator, flagship of the fleet, so some hatches would appear to be closed when they were not.
Before the Imperials could initiate the mass killing of all slaves as well as the destruction of the shipyard itself, the Yevetha put their plans into action. Two task forces under Spaar and Dar Bille invaded the ship utilizing the rigged hatches. They then made their way towards the bridge with cold efficiency, slaying or capturing any Imperials in their path. Spaar had numerous other contingency plans in effect, including a series of bombs that would destroy the Intimidator if it activated its shields. Spaar's team easily reached the bridge of the ship and took control of the vessel, as Paret and his men were completely surprised by the Yevethan attack.
As the Imperial shuttles rose from the surface of N'zoth in transports per the Imperial orders to withdraw completely from the system, Spaar ordered the batteries on the Intimidator to destroy them. The Yevethan commandos complied, to the horror of Paret, whom Spaar executed thereafter. The Yevetha overtook the yards and captured the other ships at Black Fifteen. The Intimidator, the largest of the ships captured was renamed the Pride of Yevetha and became the flagship of the Duskhan League.
In the ensuing uprising, the Yevethans exterminated most of the garrison, colonial administration and civilian colony. When the Imperial garrison finally reached the shipyards, they found seven thousand freed Yevethan prisoners, as well as the remains of over fifteen thousand dead Imperial soldiers. Fearing the same fate, the Imperial garrison never returned.
Following the conflict, three hundred thousand Imperial personnel and civilians were taken prisoner and confined to a labor camp on Pa'aal. There, the Yevetha forced them to divulge information on hyperdrive and turbolaser technology. Due to faulty intelligence, Imperial Intelligence believed the fleet had actually been destroyed at Cal-Seti.
Fueled by extreme xenophobia, the Yevetha ensured that all non-essential captives were killed once they had fulfilled their tasks. Over the subsequent decade and a half, the Yevetha advanced their technological capabilities. They developed innovative starship shielding, gravity bombs, Aramadia-class thrustships, and D-type fighters. Furthermore, they established the Duskhan League, which expanded to encompass thirteen worlds. The Yevethan fleet was named the Black Fleet, in a twisted version of its predecessor, the Galactic Empire Black Sword Command.
During this time, many prisoners would die from ill-treatment, suicide, or were murdered by the Yevetha. Over time, Sil Sorannan became the de facto leader of his fellow Imperial prisoners and formed a secret command group, plotting to strike against their Yevethan overseers when the moment was right. Throughout those years, Sorannan and his shadow command adopted the Yevethan tactic of pretending to collaborate with the enemy until the time was right to turn the tables on them.
Politically, the Koornacht Cluster fell under the governance of the newly formed Duskhan League, the interstellar Yevethan administration. Shortly thereafter, the ambitious Yevethan leader Nil Spaar exploited his widespread popularity following the uprising to assassinate the reigning Viceroy Kiv Truun of the Duskhan League, thereby assuming the position of viceroy himself. Spaar became known as the darama, the chosen one of the Yevetha. As viceroy, his rule over the Duskhan League of all Yevethan worlds was nothing short of autocratic.
In 16 ABY, Nil Spaar initiated communications with the predominant galactic government in the neighboring Core Worlds – the New Republic. Spaar himself arrived on the capital Coruscant, supposedly to seek peaceful coexistance but actually to sow confusion and disruption prior to the planned Great Purge of all non-Yevetha in the Koornacht Cluster. Capitalizing on the Republic's limited knowledge of the Yevetha and Chief of State Leia Organa Solo's intentions to secure an ally against the Imperial Remnant, Spaar aimed to exploit Organa Solo's empathy for species oppressed by the Empire.
Following the destruction of a Republic survey ship by a Yevethan patrol, Spaar initiated several political machinations that threw the Republic government into disarray. With the New Republic forced to withdraw its forces from the Cluster, Spaar returned to N'zoth and launched the Great Purge against all non-Yevethan colonies in the region. After a heated diplomatic offensive, the New Republic moved against the Dushkan League following the testimony by Purge survivor Plat Mallar and the beating of a captive Commodore Han Solo being released on the HoloNet.
After a series of battles, the New Republic Fifth Battle Group arrived over the Duskhan League's capital of N'zoth in 17 ABY and demanded their surrender. Defiant to the last, Nil Spaar mustered a war fleet including the former Imperial vessels of the Black Fleet. For the war effort, the Imperial prisoners were dispatched to the ships of the Yevethan fleet, allowing them to put their plan into action. He himself commanded the Yevethan forces from the Super Star Destroyer Intimidator, which was crewed by 513 Imperial prisoners—including Sil Sorannan.
During the Battle of N'zoth, the Imperials used a built-in slave circuit to gain control of the Imperial starships in Yevethan hands. Armed with blasters and the element of surprise, the Imperials quickly gained the upper hand 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 for the Deep Core. En route to their destination, Sorannan saw to it that Nil Spaar was deposited into hyperspace aboard an escape pod in revenge for his atrocities. Years later, the Intimidator was found in the Unknown Regions where she was damaged beyond repair, and abandoned.