Without question, there have been many, many battles throughout the course of history which changed the galaxy forever, but perhaps the most recent of them all occurred at Bakura fifteen years after the Battle of Yavin.
—Extract from 100 Battles that shaped Galactic History by Drawde Nobbig
The Second Battle of Bakura was one of the most pivotal battles of the Dark Order War. It was fought by the New Republic against the Dark Order of Korr, an Imperial Remnant faction led by the fallen Jedi Jaden Korr. After the Republic confirmed Jaden's presence on Bakura, a large fleet was sent to capture or kill the renegade. The battle began in orbit, where the Dark Order's fleet was attacked by the Republic armada. During the battle, the Republic deployed a ground army on Bakura's surface, which attacked the Imperial stronghold where Jaden was located. While the battles raged in orbit and on the ground, Jaden Korr was confronted inside the base by Darth Imperious, the apprentice of Darth Persia, a self-proclaimed Sith Lord. Persia had infiltrated the Dark Order under the guise of a Dark Jedi, hoping to usurp Jaden's rule and take control of the Order for himself. Imperious had been sent to Bakura's surface to kill Jaden, allowing Persia to continue his plans.
The Jedi Master Kyle Katarn arrived during the confrontation, having traveled to Bakura to capture his former apprentice. Katarn's appearance prompted a three-sided duel inside the stronghold, during which Imperious was incapacitated. As a result, Darth Persia, who was commanding the Imperial fleet in orbit, was unable to sense his apprentice through the Force and eventually came to the conclusion that he had been killed by Jaden. Fearing that the Dark Jedi would escape and pose a future threat to his own power, Persia ordered the fleet to execute a Base Delta Zero operation, destroying the surface of the planet. Although Imperious and Katarn both managed to escape, Jaden Korr died in the holocaust and the New Republic fleet was routed.
Prelude[]
Origins[]
The general populace of the Republic called for blood, and blood was what they would receive.
—Dagmar Morlev's thoughts
The supposed defeat of the Imperial Remnant faction known as the Disciples of Ragnos in the Battle of Korriban was initially believed to be a mere footnote in the history of the Galactic Empire. With the death of their Dark Jedi leader, Tavion Axmis, the relatively small organization was expected by the New Republic to implode with the core of their leadership gone. However, it soon was revealed that rather than collapsing, the cult had reformed into a similar faction, led by fallen Jedi Jaden Korr. Although initially obscure compared to the larger Imperial factions, the Dark Order of Korr rapidly rose to be one of the largest external threats to the New Republic. Using other, much larger Imperial insurgent fleets as a cover, Jaden's forces attacked and captured the Kuat system, which was home to some of the largest shipyards in the galaxy. During their occupation, the Dark Order took control of a large number of starships that had previously been completed at the shipyards, significantly boosting their fleet strength.
Although the shipyards were eventually destroyed and the system was lost to the New Republic, the Order had benefited in the long run. With their fleet strength greatly increased, Jaden's subordinates attacked Republic planets in the Outer Rim. Despite several successful campaigns, the Order faced internal leadership problems. Jaden's underlings were poorly coordinated in their operations, and as a result, Jaden acted more as a mediator between the organization's generals in order to keep them from fighting each other for resources. Due to Korr's lack of administrative talent, the Order was overall poorly commanded and coordinated, with many of the higher-ranking military leaders being Dark Jedi who possessed little or no strategic or tactical command ability.
Because of these factors, Jaden Korr steadily began to lose the confidence of his subordinates as the accomplishments of the more legitimate military commanders began to surpass his own. Hoping to win back lost support, Jaden engineered a terror campaign against the New Republic, targeting heavily populated worlds such as Coruscant and Taris. This campaign, code-named Operation Dark Disease, was brought about with the use of a special factory ship to rapidly deploy Imperial battle droids, known as dark troopers, onto target planet surfaces. Although initially a success, the destruction of the factory ship which the operation centered around brought a swift end to Korr's plan and diminished the support which he had gained in its first engagements. A short time after this costly failure, Jaden fled to Bakura, one of the major bases of operations for the Dark Order, where he planned his next course of action.
Many senators in the New Republic were outraged by the Dark Order's acts of terrorism and strongly encouraged the military to take immediate action. Seeing little choice but to respond to this demand, Supreme Commander Dagmar Morlev personally led a fleet to Bakura to kill Jaden, shattering his coalition apart.
Background[]
Bakura had been occupied by the Disciples of Ragnos during their campaign against the New Republic. When the cult was reformed into the Dark Order of Korr, the planet remained under the Imperial Remnant's control. When Operation Dark Disease began, Jaden Korr ordered the establishment of a planet-wide quarantine, preventing all residents from leaving, but allowing traders and businesspeople to come and go as necessary. Taxes were also raised dramatically, to provide additional funds for Operation Dark Disease. These new laws provoked a series of protests and riots which rapidly increased in violence, despite brutal retaliations by Imperial troops. Neither the additional taxes nor the quarantine were lifted after the failure of the Operation.
Intelligence information gathered in the First Battle of Bakura confirmed Jaden Korr's presence on the planet. After the defeat of Operation Dark Disease, the Dark Jedi stayed on the planet inside the main Imperial stronghold, Salis Omega, where he planned his next move against the Republic. After his defeat at Byss, he expected an attack aimed at Bakura, and ordered a fleet to the planet's orbit. Jaden put one of his most capable strategists, General Persia, in command of Bakura's defense. The General was actually Darth Persia, a self-proclaimed Sith Lord who had infiltrated the Dark Order and used his tactical and strategic prowess to score several victories against the Republic, eventually hoping to replace Jaden as leader of the Order. He was placed in overall command of the Bakura fleet, and was to be assisted by the Dark Jedi Jorus Kuun, who was in reality Persia's Sith apprentice, Darth Imperious.
The New Republic assault force, consisting of a sizable detachment of the First Republic Battlegroup, was personally commanded by Dagmar Morlev. Their primary objective was to kill Jaden Korr. Morlev had studied Jaden's background as well as what was known of his subordinates, and concluded that Jaden's death would cause his loosely-organized faction to break apart in short order. Therefore, he enlisted the help of Nym, the leader of a reputable pirate organization based at the Outer Rim world of Lok. Morlev's battle plan dictated that Nym's support fleet would stay a short distance outside Bakura's star system until called for, at which point they would distract the Imperial battlegroup with a surgical strike on their orbital space stations. Morlev would then use this diversion land a ground force on the planet which would assault Salis Omega, kill Jaden, and destroy the fortress before pulling out. After the Imperial fleet was routed, additional ground troops would be sent to systematically eliminate Imperial armies, which were expected to be in disarray with the loss of their primary base of operations on the planet.
The battle[]
The fleet engagement begins[]
After exiting hyperspace, the New Republic fleet launched advance squadrons of X-wing and A-wing starfighters, led by General Wedge Antilles. Antilles and his forces cut through the first wave of haphazardly dispatched TIE Fighters and Bombers, clearing the way for several flotillas of MC40a light cruisers and Nebulon-B frigates to attack the front line of Kerl-class battleships. The Kerls initially managed to hold the line, but soon began to take losses as more and more Republic forces came within weapon range. To prevent the Kerls from being outgunned, General Persia ordered several Star Destroyers and picket cruisers to reinforce their position. Meanwhile on Bakura's surface, the sudden arrival of the New Republic armada sparked a massive riot in the planet's capital city, Salis D'aar. Imperial troops were quickly ordered into the city to quell the uprisings.
Persia dispatched Assault Gunboats and additional TIE Interceptors to combat the Republic assault while simultaneously moving the Kerl-class Battleships and their escorting corvettes forward, attempting to push through the advance Republic capital ships. The concentration of their firepower as well as support from bombing runs claimed several MC80 cruisers and frigates. However, once the Republic Defender-class Star Destroyers reached them, the Kerls were outmatched and retreated, losing several battleships and corvettes as they withdrew. To reduce casualties, a nearby flotilla of Strike-class medium cruisers was sent to cover the battleships' retreat. They attempted to launch fighters, but General Antilles' X-wings rushed them and bombed the cruisers' hangar bays with proton rockets, destroying several Assault Gunboat squadrons before they could launch.
Dagmar's feint[]
Hoping to eliminate the Republic fleet's starfighter superiority, General Persia ordered the dispatchment of TIE Oppressor and Interceptor squadrons from his flagship, the Executor-class Star Dreadnaught Persia, to counter-attack. The Interceptors kept many of the Republic fighters occupied, allowing the TIE Oppressors to eliminate them with sustained missile fire. The Republic fleet advanced to break the fighter screen, but the TIEs had already retreated by the time they arrived. To make up for previous losses, the Defender-class Star Destroyers launched additional fighters, including B-wing and Y-wing bombers. With help from their superior fighter and bomber squadrons, Morlev's fleet pushed through another battle line of light capital ships, crippling the Strike and Enforcer-class cruisers. Retaliatory strafe runs from Assault Gunboats and TIE Interceptors were sent to harass the Republic frigates. Despite the loss of several MC90 Star Cruisers, Morlev's fleet continued to launch fighters and advanced further, gradually closing in on the main Imperial fleet. Four Imperial XQ platforms, designated Bakura Theta, Kappa, Sigma, and Upsilon, began to launch squadrons of Preybird-class fighters to reinforce their Star Destroyers' positions.
Within moments, the two fleets closed in on each other and engaged at close range. Shortly after, the support fleet commanded by Nym arrived, consisting of a group of Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers with accompanying frigates, corvettes, and starfighters. Nym personally led the pirate fighter squadrons in his own ship, the Havoc. After moving into a tight cluster, Nym's fleet began to move toward the four platforms orbiting Bakura. The Republic launched twenty Gamma-class ATR-6 assault transports and several squadrons of E-wing escort fighters to assist in the strike. Combined, they successfully broke through the Star Destroyers protecting the platforms. The assault transports circled the stations, bombarding them with their turbolaser turrets while Nym's fleet provided cover. Darth Persia ordered the fleet's eight Imperial II-class Star Destroyers and their corvettes to defend the platforms, but they were repulsed by additional Republic capital ships. The two flotillas exchanged fire, and gradually both sides began diverting more and more ships to protect or attack the platforms.
Supreme Commander Morlev's diversion tactic was a success. While the majority of the Imperial fleet was entangled in the fighting at the platforms, his flotilla of ground transports made a short hyperspace jump into the system and headed for Bakura's surface. The Imperial-class Star Destroyer Intolerant spotted this and reported the convoy's presence to General Persia, but in an unexpected move, the General ordered his fleet to ignore the transports and permit them to land on the surface. When his apprentice, Darth Imperious, asked him about this apparent tactical error, Persia declared that because the Dark Order of Korr had amassed enough of a fleet to challenge the New Republic, Jaden was simply a threat to his own power; he had allowed the Republic army to land in order to serve as a distraction for Jaden. He then dispatched Imperious
to Salis Omega, with orders to kill Jaden and take his most important possession: a dark side artifact known as the Scepter of Ragnos. The Sith apprentice obeyed his master and took a shuttle to Bakura's surface. Simultaneously, the capital city had been infiltrated by the Jedi Master Kyle Katarn, who had traveled to Bakura to capture Jaden alive.
Meanwhile, three out of the four orbital Imperial platforms had been destroyed, and the remaining one, Bakura Kappa, had been heavily damaged. Under Persia's orders, the Executor-class Star Dreadnaught then moved within weapon range of the Republic fleet and opened fire with its massive armament of turbolasers. By concentrating its guns on single targets, it quickly wore down the shields of several Republic Star Destroyers. To combat this, Morlev ordered his fleet's capital ships to move directly behind Persia's whenever possible, effectively blocking them from the Star Dreadnaught's firing arc. This caused several Star Destroyers to take friendly fire from the behemoth, while many of the Republic capital ships were protected against most of its firepower.
Riot in Salis D'aar[]
Commander, prepare your troops immediately! I've had enough of these fools. This city will pay for its defiance!
—Jaden Korr
On the surface, Imperial stormtrooper and army troops found themselves vastly outnumbered by the rebel citizens, and as a result were unable to put down the riots. Jaden Korr ordered more men outside to help, permitting them use of any amount of force necessary. Despite heavy losses, the citizens fought their way to and sabotaged one of the city's power plants, causing several sectors of the city to lose power. Although Salis Omega was unaffected due to possession of its own generators, the Imperials were thrown into disarray, with their checkpoints and anti-air turrets inoperative. Imperial troops fell back to Salis Omega to regroup. To more effectively track the citizens' movements, the base deployed several hundred Viper-class probe droids to scower the city and provide battle reconnaissance. Jaden then organized the field commanders and other officers at Salis Omega to mount a counter-attack on the rebel citizens, who were located largely around the remains of the lost power plant. Two squads of AT-PT walkers were sent along with the stormtroopers, but the rebels scattered and regrouped elsewhere. Even with armor support, the Imperial troops were unable to surround the insurgents.
While Jaden's men attempted to quell the uprisings, the New Republic transports landed two miles east of Salis Omega and deployed their ground forces, commanded by General Rogar Garret. The army consisted of six thousand ground soldiers with armor consisting of Juggernaut assault tanks, tracked T4-B assault vehicles, T2-B repulsorlift tanks, as well as Armored Personnel Carriers and MPTL-2a artillery units. Air support was provided by T-47 and V-wing airspeeders, as well as two squadrons of A-wing interceptors commanded by Colonel Lowen Chase. They moved west toward the stronghold, which was built into the side of a cliff overlooking a valley next to Salis D'aar. Outpost Salis Alpha One spotted the advancing Republic army and alerted the main base. Jaden Korr was furious that the orbital fleet could not stop the army from landing, unaware that the convoy had been deliberately ignored. Korr ordered the rest of the base's commanders to begin mobilizing their own ground forces.
All Imperial base personnel was sent to participate in the defense of the fortress. Imperial forces were still taking heavy infantry losses elsewhere in the city, despite support from Mark I droid walkers in their counter-attacks. Although the rebel citizens scattered when engaged by the battle droids, they still retreated into buildings and other choke points, forcing Imperial troops to spread their numbers thin. Before long, the stormtroopers were again forced to retreat back to Salis Omega, where they were mostly surrounded by the rebels. After regrouping, they pushed back outward again. Under covering fire from AT-ST walkers, the stormtroopers killed the surrounding attackers and moved out again. Fighting in the city persisted throughout the rest of the battle, with both sides taking significant losses.
Ground assault[]
We still have our ace in the hole, sir. If the Republic armor does break through our front lines, that's as far as they'll go.
—An Imperial artillery unit commander
General Garret's forces arrived at the valley shortly after and engaged the Imperial perimeter defenses, which consisted of two battles lines of 2-M Saber-class repulsor tanks. More of the Imperial vehicles quickly moved in to reinforce the perimeter with squads of AT-ST walkers and TX-130T fighter tanks. They held out against the T1-B and Freerunner-class tanks, but their line was promptly shattered by missile fire from HAV-A6 Juggernauts. After the perimeter was broken, the Republic deployed its infantry and engaged the Imperial army at full force. The Imperials did not had time to dig trenches for their stormtroopers, giving them an infantry disadvantage. AT-AT walkers saturated the advancing Republic lines with blaster cannon fire, killing groups of infantry. Four SPHA-T artillery units, positioned at the rear of the Imperial formation, laid waste to advancing Republic Juggernauts, possessing firepower easily capable of penetrating their armor. Republic artillery tanks, being out of range, were unable to retaliate. Hoping to stop the SPHA-Ts before they decimated their heavy armor, Colonel Chase led his A-wings in an attack on the four walkers, covered by V-wing airspeeders. They met stiff resistence from Imperial Assault Gunboats, which inflicted heavy losses on the attacking V-wings with concussion missile barages. They also took losses from fighter tanks and AT-AA walkers, the sustained fire of which largely prevented their strafing runs from dealing significant damage to the targets. Colonel Chase and his fighters were soon forced to fall back. Meanwhile, the Republic army pushed ahead. T-47 airspeeders managed to down three of the lead AT-ATs by tripping the walkers with their tow cables. Skipray Blastboat fighters were scrambled to eliminate the T-47s, but they were thwarted by V-wing airspeeder pilots, who used their superior speed to outmaneuver the slower assault fighters. Heavy fire from the Juggernauts and MPTL-2a artillery units destroyed several more heavy walkers, allowing them to directly confront the Imperial infantry and light armor. Additional AT-ATs were hastily deployed from Salis Omega to replace the lost ones. Soon, the battle began to reach a stalemate. General Garret's forces were unable to break through the walker reinforcements, but a Calamari Cruiser in orbit managed to destroy one of the SPHA-T units with precision bombardment. In the city, Imperial troops continued to take losses from rebel civilians, but did not give any ground. Chase's fighter squadrons destroyed the last SPHA-T walkers, taking advantage of their weakened defenses, and the two armies were on equal footing.
Meanwhile, Jaden Korr, who was still inside the Imperial fortress, prepared to leave, fearing that the Republic army would soon surround the base. On his way to the hangar, however, he was confronted by Darth Imperious. The Sith apprentice revealed Darth Persia's plot to usurp Jaden's rule, hoping to anger the Dark Jedi and make him easier to defeat. This tactic worked, and Korr quickly grew furious at his General's betrayal. Their exchange was inturrupted by the arrival of Kyle Katarn, who had managed to infiltrate the fortress. Katarn's arrival enraged Jaden, and a three-sided duel began shortly after. Their battle, which was uninturrupted by base personnel, eventually reached the roof of the base.
The battle's climax[]
In orbit, the New Republic fleet was beginning to falter against Imperial starfighter superiority. Despite the presence of several elite Republic fighter squadrons, they were ill-prepared for the sheer diversity of the Imperial fighter screens. Using this as an advantage, General Persia organized two wings of TIE Bombers and TIE Oppressors to target the Republic frigates and corvettes, in order to systematically diminish the enemy capital ships' defenses. Spearheaded by Scimitar Squadron under the command of Major Niles Rhymer, the bomber wings engaged Republic corvettes. Protected by cover fire from their own corvettes and frigates, the Imperial bombers, packed close together, overwhelmed the smaller Republic capital ships with sustained barrages of
proton torpedoes and rockets. Retaliatory attacks from Republic fighter squadrons proved ineffective; although the bombers were not able to efficiently evade enemy fire, squadrons of Preybird-class fighters and TIE Interceptors were dispatched to cover Rhymer's bombers, and they succeeded in warding off the attackers. With Morlev's fleet in disarray, Persia moved his Star Dreadnaught closer to the Republic Star Cruisers while simultaneously pulling back most of his capital ships toward the back of the flagship, nullifying their targets' attempts to stay out the the Dreadnaught's fire arc. Severely weakened from the battle and vulnerable with many of their frigates badly damaged from Major Rhymer's assault, the Republic fleet began to crumble.
On the bridge of the Imperial flagship, Darth Persia was unable to sense his apprentice through the Force. Fearing that Darth Imperious had been killed, allowing Jaden Korr to escape, Persia ordered his fleet to destroy the surface of the planet, a directive known as a Base Delta Zero order. Because many of Jaden's subordinates had lost confidence in his leadership ability and began to respect the more legitimate commanders, the order was obeyed. Although most of the Sith capital ships were occupied with the bombardment operation, the Star Dreadnaught Persia and the remaining Imperial-class Star Destroyers were able to hold their own against the weakened Republic starfleet. Dagmar Morlev, seeing that the battle was rapidly turning against him, ordered a full retreat.
Aftermath[]
I was still down there in my A-wing, covering our ground troops when the bombardment began. I'm not sure how to describe it. I was there in the battle one minute, all the troops and vehicles were there... and the next minute the entire valley was being engulfed in flame. I honestly don't know how I managed to get out of there in time. I never knew what hell looked like until Bakura.
—Colonel Lowen Chase after the battle
The bombardment of Bakura by Darth Persia's fleet eventually melted the crust of the entire planet, obliterating all life on the surface and rendering it totally uninhabitable. As the operation commenced, additional starfighters and bombers were launched from the capital ships' hangar bays to encircle the planet and destroy any ships attempting to leave. Only two notable vessels escaped the holocaust: the first was the Raven's Claw, the personal ship of Kyle Katarn which left with the retreating Republic fleet. The other was a Lambda-class shuttle piloted by Darth Imperious, who had managed to survive his battle with Jaden and reached one of Salis Omega's hangar bays. He also retrieved the Scepter of Ragnos at Darth Persia's request. However, because the artifact "seemed to carry misfortune for its owners", the Dark Lord kept it on board his flagship before later sending it to a storehouse on Eriadu. After the bombardment of the planet was completed, the Dark Order's fleet vacated the system, leaving behind the heavily damaged space station Bakura Kappa as the only sign of previous habitation on or around the planet. The station itself was later used as a base of operations by a small Imperial Remnant fleet, though this faction would remain obscure for some time.
No other vessels escaped Bakura's surface save for a handful of New Republic fighters, which confirmed that Jaden Korr was killed in the bombardment. Kyle Katarn reported his attempt to capture the Dark Jedi to the New Republic, which predicted that the Dark Order of Korr would fracture with Jaden's death. Although the reason for the slagging of Bakura's surface by Korr's own fleet remained a mystery, it was suspected by some members of the Republic military that one of Jaden's subordinates had indeed betrayed him in the hopes of taking his place. However, because the Order's military was poorly organized, most of the Republic officials expected the would-be successor to be unable to keep the other leaders united. The New Republic itself had taken far worse casualties than was originally anticipated, with the loss of its entire ground force as well as a significant portion of the attack fleet. This had several consequences that were not anticipated which turned out to work in the favor of Darth Persia. After the battle ended, Supreme Commander Morlev's opposition
in the New Republic Senate became emboldened and began to clamor loudly for a more relaxed, less offense-oriented policy towards the Dark Order of Korr. This was because it seemed that with Jaden's death, the entire organization would turn on itself. Dagmar, while continuing to support anti-Imperial campaigns in the Outer Rim and elsewhere, felt too overwhelmed by the loss of life at Bakura, believing that if not for his attack, the planet's surface would not have been destroyed. Because of this, he refused to lead the Republic fleet against the Dark Order at Eriadu, citing personal reasons. Instead, he commissioned Vice Admiral Adar Tallon to lead the attack.
Tallon was killed in the subsequent battle and the Republic task force's destruction caused an uproar in several Senate chambers, resulting in a temporary shutdown of the government as the conservative Chief of State, Mon Mothma, attempted to force a temporary respite of offensives against the Outer Rim, believing that the Dark Order's disintegration would unravel the last major opposition to the Republic in that area of the galaxy, making any further offensives a needless waste of resources and manpower.
As news of Bakura's immolation spread throughout the galaxy, what became known as the "15 ABY Outer Rim Panic" was fermented through the neighboring sectors, most notably the Moddell sector, the population of which feared a similar fate. Prices in the area rose rapidly as speculators, expecting the worst, began hording and shipping goods out of the sector out of fear of marauding fleets sent by the Order. Theories regarding the reason for Bakura's decimation did nothing to dampen the panic as commentators circulated many speculative rumors of possible causes, ranging from a Republic conspiracy to an attempt to contain a deadly, unknown plague. Within a week, the galactic market, already faltering from the Destruction of Kuat Shipyards and subsequent bankruptcy proceedings for KDY, began to rapidly descend as the fallout reached further across the galaxy. Fortunately, as the weeks passed, it became apparent that the Imperial Remnant was not going to continue the so-called "New Terror Campaign". The panic subsided as a result, although not before instigating a small recession in the Outer Rim which lasted for nearly a year.
Legacy[]
I struggle to understand why so many people had to die so senselessly today.
—Extract from the personal journal of Dagmar Morlev
The annihilation of all life on Bakura's surface was remembered by the galaxy at large alongside the destruction of Alderaan and other Imperial acts of genocide. The planet's devastation caused the Dark Order of Korr to be viewed with great disdain by almost the entire Imperial Remnant. Since the reason for the Base Delta Zero operation was completely unknown, most of the other Remnant factions labeled the Dark Order's leadership as a group of brutal, untrustworthy psychotics. As a result, when Darth Persia took control of the Order, the majority of the Imperial Remnant factions his forces encountered refused to assist or ally with him. This hindered the eventual growth of Persia's territory across the Outer Rim.
Jaden Korr's death created a power vacuum that allowed Darth Persia to take control of the Dark Order. Using the prestige gained from his previous military accomplishments, the Sith Lord managed to gain the support of the vast majority of the Dark Order's leaders. The only exception was a small group of Dark Jedi who were outraged by Jaden's death. These dissidents, known as the Korr Loyalists, retreated to Eriadu with their small fleet. Not long after arriving, however, the Loyalists were followed by Darth Persia's forces and crushed in the subsequent engagement there. After the loyalists were defeated, Darth Persia engineered a mass-reorganization of the Dark Order, replacing it with the Greater Sith Empire, a much more coordinated and organized government. This empire would eventually expand across the Outer Rim Territories, prolonging the Dark Order War for several more years.
As time went on, Bakura became the focus of much speculation and a great deal of analysis. Darth Persia himself never directly admitted to betraying Jaden Korr, merely stating cryptically that the destruction of Bakura was "completely, entirely necessary for the preservation of the Empire." Many people across the galaxy continued to speculate the circumstances surrounding Bakura's demise, eventually leading to the birth of dozens of well-known legends, myths, and conspiracy theories regarding the true nature of the Second Battle of Bakura. None of these were substantiated, however. Regardless, the battle became widely known as the start of the Greater Sith Empire, although the First Battle of Eriadu more accurately deserved the title. The exceeding fame and infamy of the Second Battle of Bakura also gained it ninety-sixth place in 100 Battles that shaped Galactic History, a book written by famed historian Drawde Nobbig.
Behind the scenes[]
The circumstances surrounding Jaden Korr's death were originally much different than the eventual result. MPK first planned to have Korr's death take place on Taspir III during a one-on-one fight with Kyle Katarn that was orchestrated by Darth Persia. By the end of the duel, Jaden would have lost both of his legs and one of his arms, after which the platform he was on would collapse, causing him to fall to his death in a pit of molten lava. This was intended to mirror the battle between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafar as seen in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and follow the supposed trend of the Star Wars saga repeating itself.
This was eventually changed at the suggestion of MPK's brother, who presented the idea of Darth Persia destroying the surface of a planet for the sole reason of securing Jaden's death. This sounded more interesting to MPK, who soon decided that his original idea was a little too similar to Revenge of the Sith. Before long, it was also decided that the bombardment would occur simultaneously with a battle between Imperial and Republic forces. After the basic outline of the Second Battle of Bakura was written, one of the factors which allowed Darth Persia to take control of the Dark Order was originally going to be the Sith Lord arranging for the majority of Jaden's supporters to be with him on Bakura's surface at the time of the bombardment. However, this detail was later removed because the bombardment operation was changed to be a last-resort decision on Persia's part (rather than plotted in advance), and Jaden didn't have many supporters at the time anyway.
The destruction of Bakura by an orbiting fleet to prevent Jaden's escape also mirrors Darth Malak's bombardment of Taris, which was meant to kill the Jedi Bastila Shan.