Battle of Dreighton

The Battle of Dreighton was a disastrous battle during the start of the third year of the Clone Wars.

Background
During the time of the Clone Wars, a lack of stygium crystals, (a material that, when properly energized could render a starship invisible to almost all scans), plagued the Galaxy at an inopportune juncture. All sources of the crystal seemed to have been drained.

The battle
In hopes of gaining control of the Galaxy's only supply of stygium crystals, the Separatist high command dispatched forces to the Dreighton Nebula, specifically the planet of Aeten II, where stygium mines were years earlier declared dried. Yet now the mines had re-opened, and both sides rushed to claim them. When both ambitious forces came head to head, a month-long battle began, in which the Republic fleet was aided by the independent army known as the Pendarran Warriors.

It is known that the Nebula itself eventually annihilated all combatants.

Aftermath
Whatever occurred there, it would soon be declared that there were no more stygium caches on Aeten II. The aftermath of the battle also had many rumors about the nebula being haunted afterwards with ghost ships and the dead pilots of the battle, giving birth to the idea of the Dreighton Triangle. This was ratified by strange disappearances of ships flying in the nebula.

During the days of the Empire, this legend was useful for the making of the infamous Phantom TIEs with the cloaking devices causing them to be invisible. The early test appearances of these ships against Rebel fighters were believed to be a confirmation of those legends.

Behind the scenes
Rebel Alliance pilot Till mentions the battle in dialogue taking place forty years before the present in Rebel Assault II (which is set 3 ABY ). This clashes with the timeline established by the prequel trilogy where the Clone Wars are from 22 BBY to 19 BBY.

However, given the apparent young age of the Rebel pilot we can dismiss this as an exaggeration on his part, emphasizing the long time span that has passed since the Battle of the Dreighton Nebula.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Rebel Assault II