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"I seek to understand why they remain loyal to the Jedi. When we are finished understanding, we will use that knowledge to carve the heart from this rebellion. The people of Vaklin will awaken from the nightmare that was the Jedi Order and in the daylight of the new Empire, they will forget their heroes ever existed."
―Darth Vader to Major Oniye Namada[2]

The Vaklin insurgency was a conflict that took place in 19 BBY on Vaklin between forces of the Galactic Empire and Vaklin insurgents. Darth Vader defeated and killed three Jedi, including Cho'na Bene.

Background[]

"Way folks here see it, the Jedi recruited from Vaklin fo centuries. Saved the best of us from the mines and the rust yards - even if our kids never come back, we could always watch'em on the Holonet. Plus what they did for us during the Clone Wars."
Djon to Major Namada[2]
Jedi statues Vaklin

Jedi statues in Vaklin Zenith.

In 19 BBY, Imperial forces invaded the planet Vaklin as part of the Great Jedi Purge. Indeed, Vaklin was a world deeply-seated in pro-Jedi tradition. When the Empire asserted its control over the planet, Jedi Knight Cho'na Bene and two fellows, a Jedi Master and his apprentice, instigated an insurgency against the Empire. With the populace actively working against the Empire, Darth Vader was dispatched to turn the people against the Jedi and put down the insurrection.

The insurgency[]

"I offer you compliments on your battling! Let us together turn our dead to smoke, and drink of the tranquility urn. For now there can be peace! Perhaps not?"
Cho'na Bene to Darth Vader[2]
ChonaBeneStormtroopers-TheTyrantsFist1

Cho'na Bene attacks stormtroopers.

Following his arrival on the planet, Darth Vader was successful in killing the Jedi Master who aided Bene. His apprentice was captured four days later and imprisoned in the Imperial command center. Despite these early successes, the conflict soon bogged down. During the two next weeks, Imperial forces were harassed by the insurgents and Cho'na Bene. While Vader and clone stormtroopers kept patrolling the planet, Major Oniye Namada of the Imperial Security Bureau investigated the infiltration of the insurgents among the population. The Sith Lord did not manage to crush the insurgency and Namada was not successful in gaining the population's trust. In the last ambush, many 501st Legion stormtroopers were killed in the Howling Ruins.

Vaklin insurgents in jail

Darth Vader repelled Vaklin insurgents in the Imperial command center.

Soon after the attack in the Ruins, the insurgents struck the Imperial command center in order to liberate the Jedi Knight. A mouse droid bomb exploded in the base, allowing the rebels to enter the detention center. However, all were killed by Vader, including the Jedi prisoner who revealed the location of Cho'na Bene before his death. Furious, Vader decided to bombard the main population center to submit the planet, but Emperor Palpatine refused the loss of Vaklin's population and resources.

Forced to develop a new strategy, Darth Vader required the assistance of Major Namada to understand why the population remained so loyal to the Jedi. The Sith Lord planned to erase the Jedi remembrance of the population. Oniye Namada organized the systematic destruction of everything related with the Jedi Order on Vaklin.

Temple of Imperfect Repose

Vader approaches the Temple of Imperfect Repose.

Jedi statues in Vaklin Zenith were razed, the Northward Park was burned, and the site of a Clone Wars battle was cleaned. Imperial forces introduced themselves as protectors for the population and an education center was built to enroll the Vaklin youth in the Empire.

Meanwhile, Darth Vader continued his hunt for Cho'na Bene in the Temple of Imperfect Repose. In the temple, he killed the Tuk'ata Nobilis creatures living inside and the Temple's steward. The structure was later completely destroyed in an orbital bombardment.

ChonaBeneExecution-TheTyrantsFist2

Cho'na Bene is publicly executed.

Vader eventually found Cho'na Bene in the caverns beneath the temple. The Sith and the Jedi briefly dueled until Bene became ill from a lethal dosage of azetal gas present in the caves. Vader remained immunized thanks to his armor. At the end, the Sith Lord did not execute the Jedi, but allowed him to escape the temple ruins. Cho'na Bene managed to arrive in Vaklin Zenith, but only to be shot and killed in the city square by Oniye Namada after the once loving citizens turned their back on helping him.

Aftermath[]

"Their hero was humiliated - they'll look back on him with embarrassment. No new stories, no urban legends. The Jedi's days here are done."
―Major Namada[3]

With the death of Cho'na Bene, the Vaklin population lost its faith in the Jedi. This execution and the established propaganda allowed the Empire to convince people that the Jedi were not heroes. Afterwards, the insurgency quickly vanished. Emperor Palpatine was pleased by this outcome and the opinion reversal on Vaklin was intended to be an example for the continuation of the Great Jedi Purge.

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

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