The Battle of Iliabath, also known as the Sith Invasion of Iliabath, was a major battle initiated by Darth Malgus's Sith Empire, and marked the beginning of the Sith-Imperial Conflict. The planet was targeted for its vital fuel refineries, which were desired to resolve the fuel crisis in the Sith Empire. The battle began in orbit between the Sith and Imperial fleets. The Sith fleet had the advantage of numbers and were already prepared for potential conflict; the Imperial fleet was caught off-guard and unaware, leading to a decisive naval victory for the Sith Empire. The defense fleet did manage to get a message out to the greater Empire, warning them of the invasion.
Following the success in orbit, several garrisons defected to the Sith Empire. They were aware of the invading force's allegiance, though many joined regardless. The defectors were conscripts, disgruntled veterans and disgraced soldiers; all of which were less than pleased with Vader's Empire, and had every reason to betray them.
Background[]
Having been temporally displaced, Darth Malgus found himself and his fleet in orbit above a desolate Dromund Kaas. With nothing but the ruins of Kaas City to remind onlookers of its once great glory, Malgus found himself in a crisis. Without the resources of the Empire he knew and constructed, the fleet would eventually run dry of fuel and resources. To solve the fuel crisis, expeditions were sent out to nearby worlds to survey the state of the galaxy. The invasion of Iliabath was the result of one such expedition.
The Battle of Iliabath[]
Expecting to find a world eager to rejoin the Sith Empire, the expedition fleet instead encountered an unknown occupying force. They possessed a defense fleet of numerical inferiority, and were entirely unprepared for an invasion. The expedition used this to their advantage, and made short work of the defense fleet. No casualties were taken by the expedition, though a distress signal was sent to Coruscant before the battle was over.
With the battle in orbit won, the battle on the ground began. The expedition fleet was not equipped for a full-scale ground invasion, especially for an industrial world. Luckily, they already had allies on the surface. A number of Imperial garrisons defected to the Sith Empire, having become disillusioned with Vader's Empire. This afforded the expedition fleet time to contact the main Sith Fleet under Darth Malgus, as the main fleet would be needed to facilitate a planetary invasion.
Upon arriving, Darth Malgus gave the order to begin production of Extermination droids; fourth-degree battle droids created using Rakatan technology taken from The Foundry, created for the purpose of extermination. With these droids now being manufactured within the Harrower II-Class Dreadnoughts in orbit, and being shuttled down to the surface to aid their allies, the advantage is with the Sith Empire. Rakatan technology requires matter to create, and the most efficient way to do this is to utilize energy from a Sun. However, as the fleet is mobile, this presented a problem. Thus, every Harrower II-Class Dreadnought is equipped with a Sun Reactor to specifically supply the Foundry facilities with the necessary matter to initiate production.
With the Extermination Droids being produced faster than they were destroyed, along with their brutal efficiency, the Sith Empire was winning the day. Starfighters conducted runs on enemy ground vehicles, weapon depots and garrison bases, while two Harrower-Class Dreadnoughts acted as bases for the fightercraft, hanging in low atmospheric orbit. The Sith deployed to the surface were doing their job well, protecting their allies while unleashing their fury upon the enemy.
Aftermath[]
The battle came to an end when the Imperial forces issued a surrender, hoping to avoid death from continued conflict. Rather than take them prisoner, they were granted a choice. They could either join the Sith Empire or be prisoners. Most opted to join the Sith Empire rather than rot in a jail, though the most loyal of the garrison chose imprisonment.
The remainder of the Imperial Clone Troopers did not surrender, though were swiftly eliminated. On their own, their numbers were inferior to the combined might of the Extermination Droids and the defecting Imperials. This led to the elimination of the entire Imperial Clone Trooper force present on the planet.
Projects also began to alter the designs of the Imperial AT-ST and AT-AT Walkers. While the technology used in them was more advanced than that of the Sith Empire, they had vulnerabilities. A few of the vehicles will be kept for design alterations, though the rest were planned to be scrapped and used to create their own vehicles using existing known designs.
While the battle was won, it marked the beginning of a conflict between the Sith Empire and Vader's Empire, with word having reached Coruscant regarding their existence. A plan of action would be needed to secure the Sith Empire's place in this new, dark galaxy they find themselves in, for the forces of Vader's Empire were considerable both in size and in their technological advantage.