Battle of Koros Major (Great Hyperspace War)

The Battle of Koros Major was a battle fought during the Great Hyperspace War between the army of Koros and the Sith Empire. In 5,000 BBY, Dark Lord of the Sith Naga Sadow gathered an invasion force and launched an attack on the Galactic Republic. Led by Sith apprentice Gav Daragon, a native of the planet Koros Major, the Sith sent part of the force conquer the Koros system, in a two-pronged attack focused on Koros Major and Kirrek. The Koros military, led by Empress Teta and Vontaige, one of her top advisors and generals, had a diminished fleet due to a recent war, but still believed that they could provide a good accounting of themselves. During the battle on Koros Major, Gav Daragon decided to take a dropship down to the main area of battle in the city of Cinnagar, to find his sister Jori Daragon, who he had not seen in a long time. While looking for her with his company of Massassi guards, Daraogn had an altercation with a former acquaintance, Aarrba the Hutt, which resulted in the Hutt's death. Jori Daragon arrived at that moment and confronted her brother about the Hutt's death, and overcome with emotion, Gav fled. Gav Daragon abandoned the battle soon afterward to attack Sadow and end the war, and without their commander, the Sith lost the battle.

Prelude
In 5,000 BBY, two hyperspace explorers, Gav and Jori Daragon, on the run from creditors on Koros Major, fled into the Unknown Regions in their ship Starbreaker 12. There, they stumbled upon the long-isolated Sith Empire, which was in the midst of a power struggle between two aspiring Dark Lords of the Sith, the expansionist Naga Sadow and the politically conservative Ludo Kressh. During a battle between Sadow and Kressh, Sadow allowed Jori Daragon to escape in the Starbreaker 12&mdash;though not before planting a tracking device on the hull of the ship. Jori Daragon returned to the Koros system and warned Empress Teta, ruler of the system, about the Sith threat. Although the Galactic Senate did not believe these forebodings, Empress Teta quickly began preparing for war. These preparations were soon vindicated, as a large Sith force was amassed by Naga Sadow and entered Galactic Republic space. The conflict that would come to be known as the Great Hyperspace War was soon ignited, as Sadow launched a full-scale attack on the Republic capital of Coruscant.

Shortly after the attack on Coruscant, a large part of the Sith force, led by now-Sith apprentice Gav Daragon, gathered in the Koros system. A meeting was held in Teta's palace, where Teta appointed Vontaige, one of her top advisors and generals, to help lead her forces against the Sith on Koros Major. The Koros military were determined to defend the world with their blood, and launched their battleships; although many of the fleet's warships were destroyed or damaged in the recent Koros Unification Wars, Teta believed that they could still make a good accounting of themselves. The Koros military began taking up defensive positions inside the capital city of Cinnagar, and even Teta herself began preparing for battle, donning a heavy suit of battle armor and wielding a large lance. Jori Daragon also armed herself, being given a lightsaber from Jedi Padawan Odan-Urr.

The battle
The Sith fleet promptly began bombing the planet, sending civilians in Cinnagar into a panic. Numerous dropships, containing Massassi warriors and Sith war behemoths, were launched toward the planet's surface. To counter this, the Koros military utilized anti-aircraft guns against the incoming ships, although these shots were often wild and some nearly hit residential homes and businesses. Meanwhile, Gav Daragon despite the objections of his subordinates, decided to go down onto the surface of Koros Major in a dropship, taking some Massassi guards along with him. Daragon told them that he intended to try and shut down the city's defenses, which would facilitate a near-bloodless victory. However, Daragon had an ulterior motive; he wanted to see what had become of his sister Jori. Daragon landed near Aarrba's Repair Dock, owned by a Hutt named Aarrba, an old acquaintance of the Daragon family. However, when Daragon attempted to ask Aarrba where his sister was, the Hutt merely spat in his face. Interpreting this as an attack, Daragon's Massassi guards stabbed the Hutt in his abdomen; mortally wounded, the Hutt rolled off his hoversled and crushed the Massassi.

Jori Daragon arrived on the scene at that moment, and seeing the dead body of Aarrba, blamed her brother Gav for the Hutt's death. In a rage, Jori activated her lightsaber, slaying the lone remaining Massassi guard. With tears in her eyes, Jori Daragon confronted Gav about Aarrba's death; overcome with emotion, Gav Daragon fled the scene. Daragon returned to his flagship, and abandoned the battlefield of Koros Major to confront Naga Sadow. Without their commander, the Sith force was defeated by Teta and the Koros military.

Aftermath
Jori Daragon later led Teta's fleet to find Gav Daragon, who had found himself in a predicament; he had become trapped aboard Sadow's empty Sith Meditation Sphere. Daragon gave the Koros forces the location of the Sith Empire, but soon afterward, Sadow reappeared and triggered a secret weapon to destroy a nearby star, Primus Goluud. The ensuing explosion killed Daragon. Sadow returned to the Sith Empire defeated; his forces had been handed defeats at Koros Major, Coruscant, and Kirrek, ending any hope of Sith conquer. Teta's forces followed him to the Sith Empire and defeated him in the Second Battle of Korriban, forcing the Dark Lord of the Sith to fake his death and flee to the faraway moon of Yavin 4. The city of Cinnagar was greatly damaged in the battle, but by 3,996 BBY the city had been fully rebuilt and was flourishing.

Behind the scenes
The Battle of Koros Major was an event that first appeared in Tales of the Jedi: The Fall of the Sith Empire, a story arc of the comic book series Tales of the Jedi, written by Kevin J. Anderson and released in 1996. The leadup to the battle and much of the action was featured in the arc's third issue, First Encounter, with closure given to the saga of the Daragons during the battle being given in the fourth issue, The Dogs of War. In these appearances, the battle was illustrated by Dario Carrasco, Jr.

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi: The Fall of the Sith Empire 3: First Encounter
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Fall of the Sith Empire 4: The Dogs of War
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Fall of the Sith Empire 5: End of an Empire

Notes and references
Schlacht von Koros Major (5000 VSY) Koros Majorin taistelu