Battle of Honoghr

"It was as if the sky gods had come among the gods of the land, and they too were fighting amongst themselves."

- Maitrakh Clan Khim'bar

The Battle of Honoghr took place in 20 BBY. The conflict began as a minor space battle and developed into a violent small scale ground skirmish between Galactic Republic forces and the indigenous Noghri.

The battle
The Gahenna, a Separatist starship carrying trihexalophine1138, a toxic defoliant, was en route to use the toxin on Naboo when it was intercepted by a Republic Acclamator I-class assault ship above Honoghr. Both ships were heavily damaged, drawn into the atmosphere and launched escaped pods, but the Republic cruiser was able to escape. The Separatist ship crashed into Honoghr's surface, breaking off the highest peak of a tall mountain in the process, and began to leak the forest-killing 1138. The Noghri killed all survivors and strew their armor across the temples of Honoghr.

Jedi General Rii'ke En was sent with a clone trooper to gather intelligence on the ship, toxin and ground situation. After three days they discovered the crashed ship and tracked the location of the toxin's Scientific Instrument Package (SIP) to a Rakatan temple. En reported his findings back to General Aayla Secura and was told to wait for reinforcements. The pair, however, was spotted and killed by the Noghri.

Commander Bly and a squad of his clone troopers were assigned to Aayla Secura and the group was tasked with retrieval of the SIP. Approaching the temple, the squad came under Noghri attack. Bly and Secura, the only survivors, retreated into the temple. The Noghri closed in, but were sniped by Quinlan Vos with a blaster.

The timely arrival of Vos and his official status as a traitor to the Republic made Bly wary of the Jedi, but Secura vouched for her former master, stating that she believed he was merely infiltrating Dooku's operation and had not fallen to the dark side of the Force. As a sign of his loyalty, Vos volunteered to aid them in retrieving the SIP and claimed he would report to Dooku that he had arrived after their retrieval. Bly followed Secura’s order to work with Vos, and he complied.



The trio fought their way through the temple its central vault. Using the Force, Vos translated the sigils on the vault door to determine that it was booby-trapped to fire Noghri hyperdarts if opened. While he opened the door, Secura used the Force to draw the SIP to her hand. Unable to close the door, they beat a hasty retreat through the path Vos entered. Arriving at Vos’ ship, he demanded the SIP from Secura, claiming that he needed it to gain Dooku’s trust. The pair argued, Vos claiming that he needed to earn Dooku's confidence to discover the identity of the second Sith Lord, and Secura refusing. The two entered a lightsaber duel, and Bly was knocked aside by Vos.

Eventually, Vos disarmed Secura and threatened her life. Filled with rage, Secura tried to point out Vos’ clear fall to the dark side, and insisted that he would have to kill her to gain the SIP. Vos, blinded by rage, moved for the kill when Bly shot him in the shoulder. He fired several more shots, but Aayla blocked them with her blade, allowing Vos to escape.

Aftermath
The pair returned the SIP to the Republic, but Honoghr was altered into an inhospitable, ecologically wrecked world.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Republic 68: Armor
 * Yoda: Dark Rendezvous
 * Star Wars: Republic: The Dreadnaughts of Rendili
 * Star Wars: Republic: The Siege of Saleucami
 * Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption
 * Heir to the Empire
 * Dark Force Rising