Battle of the Rata Nebula

The Battle of the Rata Nebula was a showdown between the Chiss Empire and the Solasi Confederacy preluding the Great Alliance War. It took place in the Rata Nebula where a large Chiss military base and academy was located. It was planned to be a surprise attack against the Chiss but the Solasi fleet was detected before it entered the system. It was a very large battle and showed the galaxy what the Great Alliance War was going to be like.

Origins
The Solasi Confederacy had been fed up with the Chiss Empire keep taking bits of territory from them. They planned an attack against the Chiss Empire at its military heart. This military base in the Rata Nebula was the place where the Chiss were striking at the Confederacy. They put the famous Admiral Quir up to the challenge to attack the Chiss Empire. Quir had lots of experiance but it did not match the experiance of the Chiss leader Stran nor the Grand Admiral, Bres'tikk'egora.

Invading Chiss Space
Quir planned to leave the heart of the Solasi Confederacy early and make it to Chiss space by night. His fleet, which was outnumbered by the Chiss fleet, and his grand army, which had two hundred thousand more troops, flew through hyperspace towards the Chiss Empire military base. Little did they know that the Chiss new they were coming and were setting up the defenses.

The Solasi fleet exited hyperspace to meet the Chiss fleet in extreme action. They did not know what to do when their surprise attack was not a surprise at all. Admiral Quir had not expected this and did not plan for what might happen if everything didn't go according to plan. The Chiss, however, had both their leader and their Grand Admiral present because they were inspecting the military base for the upcoming war. When they were informed of the incoming enemy forces, Stikke had immediately given orders. Those orders had decided the outcome of the battle, too.

Space Battle
The battle above the military base planet had erupted quickly. Ships were scattered on each side and it was a matter of just destroying the nearest one without hitting your own. Solasi bombers had cleared areas on the planet for landing; they also bombed key military parts of the planet.

While the bombers were making countless runs, the Chiss fleet was engaging the Solasi fleet under the command of Grand Admiral Bres'tikk'egora. The leader of the forces on the ground, and leader of the Chiss Empire, Stran, had told Stikke to hold the position and don't let any ships down to the planet. Stikke vowed to uphold Stran's wishes, even ordering suicide runs for those without ammunition or bombs left. They even had two cruisers fly into an enemy capital ship to destroy, succeeding in the atrocity. But several enemy ships still made it to the ground, most going to the other side of the planet.

Ground Battle
470,000 Solasi soldiers made it to the planet to face the enemy force of 400,000 battle-ready Chis troops. Only 7,000 made it out alive. Stran had much knowledge of battles on planets but Admiral Quir did not. Stran exploited that weakness. However, the Solasi troops seemed to have been gaining the upper hand against the Chiss Empire. Stran had found out that the leader of both battles for the Confederacy was giving the orders from his flagship far from either battle. Stran ordered Stikke to send three capital ships and five cruisers after it. They destroyed the leader and that is where the battle when sour for the Solasi Confederacy.

After the death of Quir, the Solasi fleet and army were without a leader and confused on what to do. Most of them ran while the most loyal fought to the death. The Chiss Empire ripped apart anyone, no matter whether they were surrendering, injured, or fighting. It was an atrocity at best. The Chiss Empire ended up winning the battle and they made rivals with the Solasi Confederacy, for that is who they would be battling the entire war.

Aftermath
The Battle of the Rata Nebula would be an example of what the entire Great Alliance War would be like. The galaxy was atonished at the battle, even the Mand'alor Empire who were allies of the Chiss; the Republic used the battle to sway minds against the Triple Tsad. It proved to be great propaganda, too.