Battle of Isolum (Infinity War)

The Battle of Isolum, also the breaking of the Isolum blockade, breaking of the blockade, and the blockade of Isolum, was a large battle between the Predecessors and Dark Reach in 147 ABY over the planet Isolum. The battle was triggered by Dark Reach's blockading of the planet in the aftermath of the siege of Xelos V.

Prelude
Following the siege of Xelos V, Darth Cyrus had Isolum blockaded out of distrust. The Predecessors on the other hand didn't take lightly to this, and, after failing to get a response from Darth Cyrus, prepared to break free from the blockade. Not long after, the Predecessor Navy engaged the Dark Reach Navy in orbit, led by many admirals.

The battle
With the start of the conflict above, the many commanders, under supreme leadership of Cron Aruís, opened the engagement on the ground. Gavern Maersk, commanded the Dark Reach ground force, while s Coven Harrsk and Arien Kol commanded the blockade.

Unknown to Cron, or any other Predecessor however, was that Darth Cyrus and Darth Xaviun were also present on the ground, subtly influencing the troops to fight harder, however in vain. With the Predecessor weaponry and armor being far more advanced than that of the Dark Reach hardware, the Predecessors stunningly defeated most Dark Reach ground forces with capable ease.

Likewise, in orbit, the admirals' ships were brand new, as well as only recently designed their alliance with Dark Reach. However, Dark Reach never acquired the designs, and instead would now be faced with almost certain doom against the Predecessor fleet. The Predecessor admirals were superior to anything Dark Reach could field, and were probably even better than the two top admirals, Kai Ar'Lya and Arcus Haven. Nonetheless, the Dark Reach admirals engaged the Predecessor fleet.

Back on the ground, the Predecessor commanders had pushed back the Dark Reach ground forces to their first line of defence, which was the first obstacle the Predecessors had to deal with. The Predecessors, like the Dark Reach, had dug themselves into the ground, being unable to advance without being shot at. The commanders agreed that only one strategy would work; infiltration. A small team of Predecessors would sneak around the firing arc of the Dark Reach forces, and would sabotage the dug in troopers, so that the bigger force could advance. Finally, Ceven Salueís gave the order, and the infiltration would commence.

The Predecessor fleet in the meantime was preparing to spearhead the enemy fleet, and officially break the blockade. However, the Dark Reach admirals had regrouped, instead forming a bulk of starships to prevent the Predecessors from scattering them. The Predecessor admirals picked up on this strategy, and regrouped as well, as to best counter the Dark Reach starships. Moving forward, they slowly approached the remaining ships of the Dark Reach, and opened fire.

The infiltrators, having broken the first line of defence, were now faced with an impossible task; assassinating the leadership. The Predecessor main attack force moved on to occupy the first line of defence, with a second line of defence close to it as well, even more dangerous than the first one. The Predecessor ground force was now sitting duck, having to wait for either the infiltrators to take action, or for the fleet battle to end.

In orbit, the Predecessor fleet had engaged the remainder of the Dark Reach fleet, and most of it had already been obliterated, with most crashing onto the planet. Dark Reach admirals finally came to the conclusion that they'd be better off retreating, and prepared to retreat, despite knowing that the consequences would be execution. The Dark Reach fleet retreated regardless, and the Predecessor admirals established contact with the ground force.

Darth Cyrus and Darth Xaviun had started preparing for the fight with the Predecessors themselves, having meditated for the duration of the battle. Cyrus got informed by commander Gavern Maersk that the fleet had retreated from Isolum. Cyrus was furious, but told his commander relaxed to send word to for their execution.

Cron Aruís told the admirals that they needed backup, having been pinned down for too long. The admirals brought their fleet into position, and the second line of defence was bombarded and obliterated to the point that nothing was left standing in a wide radius, allowing the Predecessor ground force to advance. The Predecessor ground force arrived at Darth Cyrus' and Darth Xaviun's locations. Cron Aruís ordered the to surrender, but Cyrus declined, with him, Xaviun and several honour guards standing prepared to engage the Predecessor ground force.

Cron ordered his men to only detain Cyrus; the rest be killed. So Darth Cyrus, Xaviun and the honour guards made a last stand, in vain, as most honour guards were killed within minutes, leaving only Xaviun and Cyrus standing to fight the Predecessors. With the costs mounting, Cron Aruís told his men to stand down, likewise, Cyrus and Xaviun would stand down.

Cron challenged Cyrus to a duel; were Cyrus to defeat Cron, he would be allowed to go free, with Xaviun. However, were Cron to defeat Cyrus, Cyrus would accept being imprisoned by the Predecessors. Cyrus agreed to these terms, confident that he would won. Unknown to him however, is that Cron was an excellent duelist, and while he didn't have a, Cron would have a Predecessor-built sword, which was light as a feather and could combat lightsabers with ease.

Cron and Cyrus engaged in the duel, in which Cyrus soon had the upper hand, using to his advantage. Cron was however faster than Cyrus, and after outmaneuvering Cyrus multiple times, Cyrus became sloppy. Cron used this to his advantage, and ultimately disarmed him and imprisoned him, as well as Xaviun. The battle of Isolum was a Predecessor victory, with the Predecessors maintaining independence from all galactic governments for a while.

Aftermath
The Federation of Free Planets got wind of the captive Darth Cyrus, and requested he would be handed to the Federation. The Predecessors declined, and hostilities began between the two.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Infinite War
 * The Essential Guide to the Infinity War
 * Dark Reach