Battle of Phaseera

"It's a suicide mission!"

- Unidentified Gloom Walker

The Battle of Phaseera was fought during the New Sith Wars between the Brotherhood of Darkness and the Galactic Republic. In 1,002 BBY, the Brotherhood set their sights on the Republic manufacturing world of Phaseera, and an elite unit, the Gloom Walkers, was sent to take out a Republic outpost that guarded a valley leading toward the Republic base camp in Phaseera's capital city. Before the Gloom Walkers moved out, one of their number, Sergeant Dessel, staged a mutiny and took control of the unit after knocking out their previous commander, Lieutenant Ulabore. Due to a seemingly impossible display of shooting by Dessel, who had been blinded by a flash canister, the Gloom Walkers succeeded in taking the outpost, paving the way for a Brotherhood victory. After the battle, word of Dessel's abilities spread, and he was taken to the Sith Academy on Korriban, where he was trained in the dark side of the Force, eventually becoming Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Bane.

Prelude
For 1,000 years, the Sith and the Galactic Republic did battle in the conflict known as the New Sith Wars. In 1,010 BBY, a former Jedi Master, Lord Kaan, reorganized the Sith into the Brotherhood of Darkness, an army over 20,000 strong. The Brotherhood of Darkness began a new campaign against the Republic, scoring many victories. In the year 1,002 BBY, the Brotherhood set their sights on the Republic manufacturing world of Phaseera. Thousands of Sith troopers, including the Gloom Walkers&mdash;a unit that had gained prestige after serving with distinction in the battles of Kashyyyk and Hsskhor&mdash;were sent to take the planet.

The battle
"When they finally give us the go, is this mission going to be a spicerun?"

- Adanar

Upon landing on Phaseera, the Sith forces holed up in a jungle on the edge of a narrow valley that was the only route into Phaseera's capital city, where the Republic army had set up a base camp. A Republic outpost was set up on a hill overlooking the valley, so that if the Sith attempted to move troops through the valley, the outpost would spot them and signal ahead to the base camp, allowing time for the Republic base to prepare its defenses before the Sith reached the base. Moreover, the outpost had three flatbed gunships, which would pose a great obstacle for the Sith if they attempted to move through the valley during the day. Seeking to counter these problems, the Gloom Walkers were tasked with going ahead of the main force and capturing the outpost before the Sith army mobilized to assault the capital. However, when the Sith commanders ordered the Gloom Walkers to take the outpost during the daytime, the Gloom Walkers objected, stating that it was a suicide mission. When the Gloom Walkers' leader, Lieutenant Ulabore, refused to reconsider the orders, one of their number, Sergeant Dessel, knocked Ulabore out and took command of the unit.

With Dessel in control, the Gloom Walkers waited until nightfall to strike at the outpost. Under cover of darkness, the Gloom Walkers moved silently through the valley, successfully evading detection by the Republic soldiers in the outpost. Upon reaching the outpost, the Gloom Walkers split into four squads, each using interference boxes to jam all transmissions within the perimeter, and surrounded the outpost. However, they were outnumbered two-to-one, and the Republic flatbed gunships were occupied and ready to wipe out the Sith troopers. Seeing no way to take the outpost without heavy losses, a frustrated Dessel attacked the gunships single-handedly, killing all of the Republic soldiers with incredible and seemingly impossible speed and precision, even after being blinded by a flash canister. This stunning display spurred the unit to assault the outpost, and three hours later the Gloom Walkers were victorious, with forty-six Republic soldiers dead and nine Gloom Walker casualties. With their outpost taken out, the Republic troops had no idea that the main Sith forces were marching through the valley toward their camp. The Republic forces were taken by surprise, and the Sith took the planet.

Aftermath
"Welcome back, Sergeant."

- Ulabore

After the Gloom Walkers&mdash;minus a contingent led by Senior Trooper Adanar, which had been left to hold the outpost&mdash;returned to their camp, they were greeted by a bruised Ulabore and a group of Sith enforcers, who brought Dessel to be court-martialed for mutiny. However, word spread about Dessel's incredible shooting while taking the outpost; evidently, Dessel's Force-sensitivity had guided him while fighting at the outpost. This led Sith Lord Kopecz to transfer Dessel to the Sith Academy on Korriban, where he was trained in the dark side of the Force. After training at the Korriban academy, Dessel would become Darth Bane, one of the most important and influential Dark Lords of the Sith in galactic history.

The the Gloom Walkers came to resent Ulabore after this event, as they had grown very fond of Dessel. Just a month later, one of the unit's troopers, Lucia, betrayed the Lieutenant when they were ambushed by Republic forces on Alaris Prime. Ulabore was killed in the battle; shot in the back by Lucia, a fact which the rest of the Gloom Walkers never reported.

Behind the scenes
The Battle of Phaseera made its first appearance in Drew Karpyshyn's 2006 novel Darth Bane: Path of Destruction. Although Path of Destruction is the battle's only appearance in Star Wars canon, the battle did receive a mention in Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force.

Appearances

 * Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
 * Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil

Notes and references
Schlacht von Phaseera Batalla de Phaseera Bitwa o Phaseerę