Battle of Foerost (Great Sith War)

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Previous: Battle of Kuar[1] Next: First Battle of Coruscant[2] Battle of Foerost Conflict: Great Sith War: Krath Holy Crusade[2] Date: 3,996 BBY[2] Place: Foerost[1] Outcome: Krath/Sith victory[1] Combatants Galactic Republic[1] Brotherhood of the Sith[1] Commanders Ulic Qel-Droma[1] Aleema Keto[1] Mandalore the Indomitable[1] Strength Republic Navy[1] Republic troops[1] Tetan attack ships[1] Chaos fighters[1] Krath troops[1] Mandalorians[1] Basilisk war droids[1] Casualties Heavy Republic casualties, including the Foerost shipyards and most personnel[1] Minimal Sith and Mandalorian losses[1]

[Source]

The Battle of Foerost was fought in 3,996 BBY during the Great Sith War, involving the Krath forces of Sith Lord Ulic Qel-Droma and the troops of Mandalore the Indomitable. Qel-Droma coveted the many ships under construction for the Galactic Republic for use in his Krath Holy Crusade, and employed his lover and Tetan elite, Aleema Keto, to create an illusion, allowing the forces to slip into the shipyards unchallenged. Once inside, the illusion was dropped, and the Krath forces, bolstered by the armies of Mandalore, stormed the facilities, managing to secure the operational codes to the newly-completed vessels. Fleet Captain Vanicus was dispatched to try and interrupt the raid with a force of Republic reinforcements, but was too late to stop the theft of over three hundred warships. However, a recording of Qel-Droma from the attack was discovered, finally leaking the secret identity of the Republic's new enemy.

Contents 1 Prelude 2 The battle 3 Aftermath 4 Behind the scenes 5 Appearances 6 Sources 7 Notes and references

[edit] Prelude

By 3,996 BBY, the shipyards maintained by the Galactic Republic at Foerost had been established as one of the oldest and most successful starship construction facilities in the galaxy. For hundreds of years, the facility had churned out warships for the Republic Navy, drawing raw materials from the surface of Foerost, an uninhabited planet. The vessels built at Foerost were prized by the Republic as some of the most advanced warships in their arsenal; more than three hundred of the ships, most either newly completed or near-complete, sat relatively unguarded in the shipyards.^[1]

Ulic Qel-Droma, fallen Jedi and new leader of the dark side Krath cult of the Empress Teta system, along with his Krath lover and Tetan elite Aleema Keto as well as his newly-sworn ally Mandalore, coveted these vessels for use in the Krath Holy Crusade he was helping to wage against the Republic. He therefore gathered his fleet, bolstered by his new ally's Mandalorian Crusaders, and had Keto work a Sith illusion, disguising the force as a single, large vessel, which they dubbed the "Golthar's Sky."^[1]

The "Golthar's Sky" made its way to the shipyards, requesting clearance to dock for repairs. Keto's illusion even fooled the monitors' sensor systems, giving the impression of a massive vessel leaving hyperspace. The dock supervisors in Tower Bravo noticed the ship's immensity, and offered to send an inspection crew out, as none of the Foerost docks could possibly hold the vessel.^[1]

[edit] The battle

At that moment, Keto dropped the illusion, revealing their fleet of Tetan attack ships. Chaos fighters swarmed out to the shipyards, making strafing runs and quickly destroying the defensive emplacements of the facility. The Mandalorians clawed their way into the modules using Basilisk war droids, and quickly stormed the control decks and operations centers. Tetan troops, equipped with jetpacks, also boarded the stations, adding to the overwhelming force of the Crusaders' attack.^[1]

The shipyards were quickly overrun, due largely to the savagery of the Mandalorians. Qel-Droma, accompanied by Keto and Mandalore, boarded the station, making his way to a control center. There, he demanded the operational codes to the newly-completed warships, killing the first person to deny knowledge of said codes in order to demonstrate the gravity of his request. The other technicians present quickly realized their predicament, and fully complied, giving the Krath leader access.^[1]

Communication was soon established with Exar Kun, Dark Lord of the Sith and Qel-Droma's master. Kun had managed to sway twenty Jedi Knights to their side of the war, which Qel-Droma found to be rather meager in comparison to the two armies and now the three hundred vessels he had acquired. The Krath leader announced to Kun his plans to attack Coruscant, the seat of galactic power. The Krath forces then pulled out, abandoning the shipyards.^[1]

[edit] Aftermath

Upon receiving news of the attack, the Republic Navy sent a fleet under the command of Captain Vanicus to try and interrupt the raid, but the reinforcements arrived too late. All of the complete and near-complete warships had been stolen, the facilities largely destroyed—the scene was a graveyard. Corpses of slain yard workers floated among the wreckage. Vanicus resolved to salvage as much as he could, and investigate the scene in the hopes of discovering the identity of the attackers.^[1]

Few rescue pods remained to be recovered, leaving very few witnesses to the raid. Searching through the control centers, Vanicus's men discovered that the attackers had damaged as much computer hardware as they could in an attempt to erase all evidence of their identity. As it had been the fourth such attack, Qel-Droma's minions knew just what they were doing. However, one file was found, recorded by the station's automated security systems. Vanicus, who had fought at the Battle of Koros Major with him, recognized Qel-Droma—the secret was out.^[1]

[edit] Behind the scenes

The events of the Battle of Foerost take place in the comic book Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War 1: Edge of the Whirlwind, which was written by author Kevin J. Anderson and drawn by artist Dario Carrasco, Jr.. Some of the characters and story elements of the issue were developed by previous Tales of the Jedi writer Tom Veitch.

[edit] Appearances

• Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War 1: Edge of the Whirlwind (First appearance)

[edit] Sources

• Chronicles of the Old Republic
• Power of the Jedi Sourcebook
• Star Wars Encyclopedia
• The Dark Side Sourcebook
• The Essential Guide to Characters
• The Essential Chronology
• The New Essential Chronology
•  Ulic Qel-Droma in the Databank

[edit] Notes and references

Battles of the Great Sith War
First Onderon · Second Onderon · Third Onderon · Empress Teta Uprising · Basilisk First Empress Teta · Deneba · Second Empress Teta · First Iron Citadel · Third Empress Teta Second Iron Citadel · Ko Vari · Dark Reaper Campaign · Kuar · Foerost · First Coruscant Second Coruscant · Kemplex IX · Ossus · Al'Har · Fourth Onderon · Yavin IV · Fourth Empress Teta