The Separatist Cause lifeboat disaster, also known as the Malastare Lifeboat Massacre, was a space lifeboat disaster in 21 BBY during the Clone Wars, following the earlier Battle of Malastare, when Imperial Intergalactic Lifeboat Service lifeboats from IILS Malastare came under fire by the Munificent-class star frigate the Separatist Cause. The lifeboats were going to the rescue of the Separatist Cause when they came under fire by the frigate due to heightened alertness from their recent battle with Republic ships. Despite the distinct markings and color of the lifeboats, misidentification and worry of another Republic attack resulted in the destruction of several lifeboats before the captain finally identified them as unarmed rescue craft.
Prelude[]
The Separatist Cause was a part of a larger Separatist fleet which was previously damaged by a Republic fleet. All the of Separatist forces were destroyed except for the Separatist Cause, which managed to escape via a hyperspace jump after being crippled by the Republic attack. The Separatist Cause managed to jump to Malastare, though its hyperdrive failed, stopping it from jumping further back to Separatist controlled space. In desperation as a last resort, the Neimoidian captain sent out a distress call, intending for other Separatist fleets to come and rescue them.
The disaster[]
Contact attempts by IILS Malastare[]
IILS Malastare detected the distress call and attempted to establish contact with the Separatist Cause. However, due to the damage suffered by the frigate, its communications array failed shortly after sending out the distress call, resulting in no way of communicating either into or out of the frigate.
After several failed attempts at communicating between IILS Malastare and the Separatist Cause, the decision was taken to send out rescue craft to the frigate in hopes of mounting a rescue of the crew. As lifeboats were dispatched to the frigate, further communication attempts were again attempted but with no success.
Lifeboats near the Separatist Cause[]
The lifeboats themselves attempted to contact the frigate as they drew nearer but were met with static. Upon seeing the damage sustained by the frigate, it was realised that the communications of the Separatist Cause had been damaged, which gave the reason of no responses to the repeated contact attempts. This caused some tension for the lifeboat crews who were worried that the Separatist Cause may mistake the lifeboats for hostile craft and shoot at them. However, it was ultimately decided that the distinctive orange color of the lifeboats and the large 'Lifeboat' written in Aurebesh on the side of the crafts would be enough for the frigate to realise that they were rescuers, and thus friendlies, rather than enemies.
Lifeboats come under fire[]
The fears of the lifeboat crews were confirmed, however, when the frigate started firing on the lifeboats as they drew into range. The cause of this was the heightened state of awareness and alert by the frigate following the destruction of its fleet and the heavy damage the Separatist Cause itself had suffered. The captain, already nervous and on edge, saw the small lifeboats and made the decision that they were Republic craft coming to finish off the ship. The frigate opened fire on the lifeboats and despite their attempts at dodging or turning away, several were hit and destroyed. Both IILS Malastare and the lifeboats themselves attempted to contact the Separatist Cause again but were still met with no reply.
Ceasing of attack[]
Eventually the captain stopped panicking after being told by one of the B1 battle droids on-board that the attacking craft were not fighting back. After further scanning and scrutiny of the oncoming craft, the captain realised his mistake and ordered the droids to stop shooting. However, many failed to comply which led to the captain himself manually disabling the remaining weapon systems of the Separatist Cause. After attempting to contact the lifeboats himself, the captain realise that his communication systems were offline and quickly set about ordering at least a temporary fix to the communications. After fixing them, he established contact with IILS Malastare and discovered the true extend of his mistake. With the weapon systems now offline, the remaining lifeboats were able to finally evacuate the remaining crew of the frigate
Aftermath[]
Immediately after the attack, word spread across the lifeboat service, quickly reaching the ears of the Galactic Senate, who swiftly publicised the massacre. Using it to their advantage, they condemned the attack and used it as propaganda against the Separatists. Whilst the Republic was being drained dry of funds by the war, they still publicly gave the lifeboat service a considerable sum of credits to replace the destroyed lifeboats.
When word of the disaster reached the Separatist Senate, they apologised publicly to the lifeboat service, attempting to minimise the fallout caused by the attack. The Trade Federation donated a large sum of credits as compensation to the service as a way of apology.
Both senates made quick decisions to pass multiple bills and laws governing shipping identification to prevent this sort of incident happening again. These laws was quickly passed and saw the lifeboat service protected from rash military decisions that may harm the crews or lifeboats.
Public support for the lifeboat service, which had previously been lower than before the war due to the service aiding both Republic and Separatist ships who encountered difficulty, saw a raise in vocal public support. Following the disaster, the public made many more, generous, donations to the service and a sharp spike in lifeboat volunteers was seen all across the galaxy.
Legacy[]
The disaster was described at the time as, "The worst lifeboat disaster to occur in living memory", with many communities coming together to mourn the losses of the lifeboatmen. A plaque was created and placed within IILS Malastare whilst a memorial was placed on Malastare itself to remember the deaths of the lifeboat crews.