This is shock and awe, not knock and ask nicely. I don't want an epic, high-casualty struggle for Cademimu; I want to wipe Aresh and all his followers off the planet.
—Mali Darakhan
The Battle of Cademimu V was the major engagement of the five-point Operation Liberator in the ninth month of 1,385 BBY. The Republic captured Cademimu after a grueling, six-day ground battle, as well as a shorter but equally violent naval engagement.
Stealth operations[]
Prior to launching the battle proper, Mali Darakhan deployed the 5th and 6th Platoons of the 1st Marine Force Recon Company to Cademimu to neutralize enemy defenses. The 5th was sent to sabotage Cademimu's network of anti-repulsor batteries. It experienced some success, but an entire squad sent to Cademimu's industrial Arsenal District was detected and slaughtered.
The 6th Platoon, accompanied by Jedi Knight Tirien Kal-Di, was sent to kill the Dark Vanguard contingent commanding Cademimu's defense. The platoon spent three days observing the major government centers and networking with Republic Intelligence agents and loca resistance groups. Less than two hours before the Republic fleet was scheduled to decant, the group infiltrated the Cademiman Cultural Tower. Among them, they succeeded in killing First Dorn, Fourth Besh, and Fourth Leth, but Second Aurek escaped and Third Cresh was not present, and only five Marines survived to exfiltrate along with Kal-Di.
Second Aurek blew up the building, blamed the devastation on Republic terrorists, and commanded Governor Niphus Nort to send the citizens out into the streets, hoping the ensuing pandemonium would inhibit the progress of the Republic troops he surmised were en route.
Day one[]
Republic troops attempted to land in force, but the anti-repulsor battery network forced them into narrow invasion corridors. As starfighter duels ranged through space and in the atmosphere, the greatest part of the Eighth Republic Expeditionary Fleet fought a grueling engagement with Cademimu's home fleet. Many Republic soldiers and Marines were killed when their transports were blown up trying to reach the surface.
As more Republic troops finally reached the surface, they were able to capture or destroy AR batteries, allowing even more troops to follow them. Cademimu's fortunes suffered when both surviving Vanguardians were killed the first night of the invasion—Third Cresh lost a duel with Marius Zyndec, who shot him in the head, and Second Aurek was injured after a fight with Narasi Rican, Laysa Tharzaled, and Rican's platoon, whereupon his aide Broek Nort murdered him.
Ensuing days[]
The Vanguardians' non-Forceful generals took command of the battle, but command and control was somewhat divided, allowing the Republic to isolate pockets of Modality troops and fight them individually. The naval engagement ended with the capture of the last Modality destroyer on the second day, but ground battle continued for four more days, waning in intensity, until the last surviving Modality general surrendered his command on the sixth day of battle.
Aftermath[]
Cademimu was the hardest thrust of Operation Liberator, but not the most important—Darakhan used the battle as cover to capture Agamar as well. Many thousands of Republic troops were injured or killed at Agamar, but conquering the planet allowed the Republic to exploit its production resources, including cybernetics and weapons, to support wounded personnel and replace lost materiel.