The Attack on the Jedi Temple was an assault led by a Sith Lord named Paxis, a member of the Reborn Sith Order. Jedi Knights Ganner Rhysode and Jaden Korr led the outer defense, while Master Kyle Katarn commanded the forces closer to the Temple, and Han Solo commanded the space forces.
Prelude[]
Darth Ruin, after returning from the grave, amassed his forces and led a strike on Yavin IV. Because Luke Skywalker and his wife and son were off-planet, the Jedi were at a disadvantage. Gate guard Ganner Rhysode requested the assistance of Jaden Korr and Miko Reglia in preparing the outer defenses.
The raid[]
Opening stages[]
Tenel Ka Djo led the Jedi defenses in the jungle.
The defense of the Temple was set up in several stages—Ganner Rhysode and the more powerful Knights would be the first line of defense, while Tenel Ka Djo and Chewbacca prepared several other Knights for a jungle ambush. Kyle Katarn and the other Masters set up a defense inside the Temple, and Jacen Solo took the Padawans and younglings to the secret passages underneath the Temple.
The Sith arrived in their vessels in the early morning. Their shuttles dropped down in secret, while their fighters engaged Rogue Squadron and Han Solo's warship, the Retaliation, along with Jedi pilots Jaina Solo and Damien Farrell. The shuttles landed about a kilometer from the Temple, unloading a team of mercenaries and Sith, led by Ahli Keros and Paxis. When they emerged from the shuttle, they found Ganner Rhysode awaiting them, standing alone, lightsaber drawn. Ganner shouted that the Sith would not touch the Temple while he lived.
The battle begins[]
The mercenaries opened fire on Ganner, and he deflected their blaster bolts back on them. After several of them died, Paxis ordered them to cease firing, and then his Sith followers charged Ganner, while the mercenaries went around him and headed for the Temple, led by Keros. Ganner slew each of the Sith in turn. When they were all dead save for Paxis, there was a lull in the fighting, and Ganner and Paxis spoke briefly.
Ganner charged Paxis, and the two engaged him in a fierce lightsaber duel. Ganner was injured during the fight, but he eventually slew Paxis. Then, a last shuttle landed, and Darth Ruin and several more Sith emerged. Ganner picked up Paxis' Sith sword and wielded it along with his lightsaber, and attacked Ruin, while Ruin's Sith rushed to reinforce Keros. The young Jedi was no match for the Sith Lord, however, and he was cut down.
Ganner Rhysode is killed by Darth Ruin.
Meanwhile, Keros and the mercenaries charged through the jungle, but were caught by surprise by Tenel Ka and Chewbacca and the Knights with them. Keros and Tenel Ka dueled briefly, and Keros pushed her back. Tenel Ka was surrounded by three Sith and battled them. Keros fell back and cut down several Jedi, including Reglia. Jaden told Tenel Ka to pull her forces back—they were taking too many casualties. During the fight, Chewbacca's arm was severed at the elbow, and Jaden and Tenel Ka helped him back to the Temple.
Battle outside the Temple[]
Owen Skywalker kills Ahli Keros.
The retreating Jedi reached the threshold of the Temple and turned to face their opponents. Now, Kyle Katarn and his Knights dropped on the Sith. The battle turned for several minutes, and Katarn slew many Sith. However, Ruin soon emerged from the jungle and sent Katarn flying back into the stone wall of the Temple. Tenel Ka and her Jedi fled into the jungle surrounding the Temple, leading some of the Sith off, while Jaden, Katarn, and the injured limped inside the Temple.
Tenel Ka and her followers battled the Sith, led by Keros, in the jungle. They took many casualties, but they had prepared for the fight, and were able to hold off the Sith. It was at that time that the Jade Sabre arrived on Yavin IV, and Owen Skywalker dropped into the jungle. He engaged Keros, who he had met previously. Keros at first had an upper hand on Owen, but he managed to shoot her in the chest, killing her.
Battle inside the Temple[]
Meanwhile, Ruin and his followers carved a path through the Temple, killing many Jedi. Ruin engaged Jaden and Katarn in a duel, injuring them both. Leaving them for his followers, he went farther into the Temple. His progress was stopped, however, when Luke, Mara Jade, and Ben Skywalker arrived. Luke battled Ruin, while Mara and Ben rushed to help the others. Skywalker was surprised by Ruin's power, and was forced to fall back.
Mara and Ben, meanwhile, were separated from each other when Ben was herded toward the tunnels. Ruin had ordered his followers to take Ben alive, and they had managed to keep him away from reinforcements. He was knocked out with a blow to the back of the head and captured. Mara managed to evacuate the younglings on the Sabre, however. Han Solo also sent down the Retaliation's shuttle to pick up who they could.
Aftermath[]
Ben Skywalker after being stabbed by Darth Ruin.
With the battle ending disastrously, the Jedi were forced to retreat to Coruscant. Ben Skywalker and Jacen Solo had been captured during the battle, as had Damien Farrell, who had been shot down during the space battle, and several other high-ranking Jedi Knights and Masters, such as Jaden and Katarn. When Skywalker arrived on Coruscant, he received a message from Darth Ruin. In the message, Ruin demanded that Skywalker surrender to him, and that the Jedi lay down their arms, or he would kill every Jedi in his possession—and to demonstrate, he rammed a lightsaber through Ben Skywalker's back, seemingly killing the young man. Distraught, Skywalker agreed to surrender himself. Secretly, however, he ordered his wife to prepare the Jedi to strike back against the Sith.
In the end, the battle was extremely costly for both sides. Ruin lost almost all of his followers; only eleven Sith remained. The Jedi had lost Ganner Rhysode, Ben Skywalker, Miko Reglia, Numa Rar, Jovan Drark, Daeshara'cor, and Raltharan, among others, and Kyle Katarn, Kam Solusar, Jaden Korr, Jysella Horn, Jacen Solo, Damien Farrell, Jacob Nion, and others had been captured. It was considered to be the most brutal and costly conflict in the short war between Luke's Jedi and Ruin's Sith. However, Ruin used the power of Darth Plagueis to revive Ben Skywalker and Ahli Keros, practicing to use it on himself. The revival of these two, however, was a turning point for the conflict, as both later became essential in Ruin's final defeat.