Massacre at Bothawui

The Massacre at Bothawui was an Imperial attempt to enforce its dominance over the galaxy by making Bothawui an example. Hale Stormstopper, a 16-year-old Admiral in the Imperial Navy, led the attack with his newly-created Hyper Star Destroyer (officially a Dark Storm-class Star Destroyer), the Dark Storm. It had enough firepower to completely destroy the capital of Bothawui, Drev'starn. Not only was the city destroyed, it was also liquefied and vaporized.

Orders
"Your first assignment, Admiral Stormstopper, is to attack a Rebel base located in the city of Drev'starn in Bothawui."

- Darth Krayt giving orders to Admiral Hale Stormstopper

Darth Krayt's orders were clear: destroy the city of Drev'starn. He told Hale Stormstopper that the city was a military base that was crawling with Rebel soldiers. Krayt said that there were up to 10 million Rebel troops on the surface, and that there was no way that the Empire could possibly invade. Therefore, an aerospace attack was in order. The more troops Admiral Stormstopper could kill, said Krayt, the easier it would be for the Empire to conquer.

However, there was an ulterior motive behind Krayt's orders. A political activist lived on Bothawui and was supposedly hiding in Drev'starn at the time the orders were given. Krayt did not care how many civilians were killed as long as this activist, Jak Fey'lya, was killed with them.

Battle
"Hold your fire! We're all civilians down here!" "Nice try, Rebel scum."

- A Bothan official and Admiral Stormstopper conversing on a comlink

A relatively small strike force launched to Bothawui. There were only four ships, but the four ships were collectively known as the Death Force Four. The group consisted of Admiral Stormstopper's Dark Storm, Tif Fel's Contaminator, Rak Fel's Dominator, and Lacin Je'Mirr's Corrupter. After a brief conversation with Bothan officials on the ground, Admiral Stormstopper received a report that the commandos had succeeded in bringing down the planetary shield. His force subsequently attacked.

Admiral Stormstopper's group faced token resistance via ground-based turbolasers; however, these were quickly dispatched. He then brought the entire ship directly above Drev'starn, eclipsing the sun. Then, he rained death upon the citizens. The long-range turbolasers were hot enough, fast enough, and frequent enough to melt everything in Drev'starn--and then vaporize it.

Aftermath
"Sir, a small shuttle escaped during the fight." "Obviously a military transport bringing an officer or two out of there. Why did you not alert me of this when it happened?" "It didn't seem important."

- An unnamed Imperial officer and Admiral Stormstopper

"The Empire, a huge, galactic war machine, sent its four deadliest ships to obliterate a city of 6 million. We can only wonder why anyone would do such a terrible deed."

- An anchor for an underground news network

6 million Bothans were killed in the devastation. Drev'starn and the area of a hundred thousand square kilometers around it were completely vaporized. However, a rumor surfaced that Jak Fey'lya was the intended target. Darth Krayt denied this report to everyone except for Admiral Stormstopper. The admiral's anguish and guilt over this terrible deed led him, Rak Fel, and Lacin Je'Mirr to rise up against the Empire and defect. After finding Dash Dustrider and forming the New Rebel Alliance, the three were shocked when it was revealed that Jak Fey'lya was alive, having escaped Bothawui with Dustrider in a small shuttle.

Hale Stormstopper would later be tried by the Republic for this attack and was found guilty. He would later appeal this decision and, after a 12-hour jury deliberation, had the original decision overturned.

This battle was considered by many historians to be the turning point in which the Empire began its downturn.