Battle of Kirrek (Unification Wars)

"Your cause has failed. Your violence is overthrown. You have lost."

- Odan-Urr, during the Battle of Kirrek

The Battle of Kirrek took place in 5,000 BBY, during the Unification Wars of the Koros system. Having unified six of the seven planets in the Koros system, the political leader Empress Teta ordered a conquest of the only remaining independent world, Kirrek. However, an advance contingent of Teta's soldiers was besieged by an army of Kirrek rebels and forced to take shelter in a hastily-assembled citadel. After a month, Teta ordered a full-on military assault, led by the Jedi Memit Nadill and Odan-Urr. Using the Force power known as battle meditation, the Jedi were able to lead Teta's forces to victory, and the Koros system was unified.

Prelude
"The trade alliance benefits all worlds in this system–but these rebels prefer to live in squalor, without laws!"

- Empress Teta

In 5,000 BBY, a political leader in the Koros system named Empress Teta began a war to unify the system's seven worlds. Teta hoped to unite the worlds in mutual commerce and aid and to set up a system-wide government. Teta's forces managed to unify six of the seven worlds; the only independent planet in the Koros system remaining was Kirrek. Kirrek did not have a true organized military, only a loose assortment of pirates and rebels led by a man named Llaban.

The battle
"We've got no chance–but we can take some of them with us to our graves! Never surrender, I say! Fire on the weakest targets–kill as many as you can!"

- Unidentified member of the Kirrek army

To conquer Kirrek, the Tetan forces began by landing an advance contingent of soldiers on the planet; however, the rebel guerrilla forces fought well, trapping the Tetan soldiers within the walls of a citadel that the rebels besieged. Much-needed reinforcements were not able to reach the soldiers, as the rebels had set up a blockade in orbit and took to attacking any incoming ships. The citadel was besieged for more than a month, and the rebels responded to any attempts to assist the soldiers by slaughtering hostages. Due to the dire situation that the Tetan soldiers were in, many starship crews found the opportunity to make money by running supplies to the soldiers in their personal craft. One such ship was the Shadow Runner, operated by Hok and Timar Daragon. After more than a month, the Tetan forces added a Jedi to their ranks&mdash;Odan-Urr, a Draethos scholar who had never seen battle before. Odan-Urr joined another Jedi, Teta's personal advisor, Memit Nadill, in an attempt to break the blockade and relieve the besieged soldiers.

Although Teta feared that a full-on military assault would turn out to be a bloodbath, Odan-Urr provided a solution&mdash;an exotic Force power known as battle meditation, which could raise the morale of Teta's soldiers and make the Kirrek rebels lose the will to fight. Odan-Urr and Nadill put this power to use during the assault with great success, demoralizing the rebels and pressing them into a retreat. On the other side of the battle, the besieged soldiers were overjoyed upon sighting the Tetan forces coming to their rescue. However, the battle meditation resulted in an unexpected side-effect, releasing the last reserves of desperation in the rebels and causing them to begin firing on weaker targets in an attempt to take as many of them down before their own defeat. This caused the destruction of many supply ships coming to the aid of the Tetan soldiers, which weren't as heavily armored as the military ships. Ultimately, however, the Tetan forces were victorious, with the battle meditation saving many lives and preventing a particularly bloody battle.

Aftermath
"We've won&hellip;but it was terrible.''" "No, Odan-Urr–this could have been a bloodbath, but your battle meditation saved many lives here. Never forget that." "''Tell it to those poor souls in that supply ship&hellip;I never want to see war again."

- Odan-Urr and Memit Nadill, referring to the destroyed Shadow Runner

With the Tetan victory in the Battle of Kirrek, the seven worlds of the Koros system were united at last. Armed resistance continued for a time on Kirrek and other worlds, but the planets ultimately failed to free themselves. Teta was installed as the Empress of the whole Koros system, which was eventually renamed as the "Empress Teta system." One of the supply ships destroyed in the battle was the Shadow Runner, and after the battle, the Daragons' children, Gav and Jori Daragon, were given the Daragons' other ship, the Starbreaker 12. This would prove to be a pivotal moment in galactic history, as the Daragons would take a blind hyperspace jump in the Starbreaker 12 and discover the Sith Empire, sparking the Great Hyperspace War.

Behind the scenes
The Battle of Kirrek made its first and only appearance in Tales of the Jedi: The Golden Age of the Sith 0: Conquest and Unification, the prologue issue to the Tales of the Jedi: The Golden Age of the Sith arc. It would later be mentioned in passing in Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force and the StarWars.com Hyperspace-exclusive feature Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Praji.

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi: The Golden Age of the Sith 0: Conquest and Unification

Notes and references
Erste Schlacht von Kirrek Batalla de Kirrek (Guerras de Unificación) Pierwsza bitwa o Kirrek Kirrekin taistelu (yhdistymissodat)