Battle of Bakura (28 ABY)

The Battle of Bakura was a full-scale battle that took place between forces of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances and the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium in 28 ABY, during the Yuuzhan Vong War. During the brief conflict, forces of the Imperium, feigning a peace treaty with Bakura, lulled the planet into a false sense of security. However, the attempted invasion was thwarted by the actions of the P'w'eck Emancipation Movement and the crew of the Millennium Falcon.

Background
"The Keeramak was the one who led us to victory over our former masters. It conceived our revolt and consolidated the aftermath. Within a year, Lwhekk was ours and the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium a thing of the past. And now, five years on, the Keeramak still guides our destiny” "Impressive, throwing off an oppressor is only the beginning of a long and difficult journey."

- Lwothin through C-3PO and Leia Organa Solo

Having suffered losses during the Second Battle of Bakura, the Ssi-ruuk had retreated to their star cluster where they would remain sequestered for years.. To prevent a second Ssi-ruuvi attack on the worlds on the edge of Wild Space, the Rebel Alliance's successor state&mdash;the New Republic&mdash;organized an invasion force for an expedition into the Ssi-Ruuvi Imperium's territory. This task force consisted of the captured Shriwirr which had been renamed Sibwarra, 12 Nebulon-B2 frigates and several escort warships. ”The Essential Chronology”

The New Republic also provided the fragmented Imperial warlords with intelligence on the Ssi-ruuk in the hopes of a securing a second joint attack on the Ssi-Ruuk. However when the New Republic fleet emerged in Ssi-ruuvi space, they discovered that the Chiss Ascendancy under Force Commander Thrawn had already launched a blistering campaign in Ssi-ruuvi territory; devastating the Imperium capital of Lwhekk and fragmenting of the Ssi-ruuvi socio-economic caste system. The Chiss had attacked in retaliation for attacks on several Chiss worlds which had seen several of their citizens enteched.

Above the wrecked Ssi-ruuvi capital world, the New Republic fleet clashed with the remnants of the Ssi-ruuvi fleet under Ivpikkis. Having reached a stalemate, the New Republic attempted to negotiate unsuccessfully with the Ssi-ruuk. With the Ssi-ruuk unable to mount another campaign for an unforseen period and with the growing conflict with the fragmented Imperial warlords looming in the horizon, Chief of State Mon Mothma ordered the withdrawal of the New Republic fleet from Ssi-ruuvi space for an attack on imperial-held Clak'dor VII.

So great was the devastation of the Chiss attack that it was not until many years later that the Ssi-ruuvi contemplated renewing their expansion. Three major events occurred in that time. One was the birth of the Keeramak&mdash;a mutant Ssi-ruu of mixed ancestry with all the colors of the different castes&mdash;an event of major significance in the Ssi-ruuvi religion. The Keeramak himself was a master strategist and politician. The Imperium’s leadership organized a faux P'w'eck slave uprising by the P'w'eck Emancipation Movement under Lwothin, positing the Keeramak as its leader in 23 ABY.

The second event in the fields of Ssi-ruuvi technology was the development of a means to preserve enteched souls for a longer period of time with distilled concentrations of algae and microscopic lifeforms. The other event was the secret takeover of the Imperium by the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong, who secretly placed made one of their own, E'thinaa, a ranking general.

Meanwhile on Bakura, when her uncle Yeorg retired from public life, Gaeriel won the election to succeed him as Prime Minister, and had the distinction of being Bakura's youngest Prime Minister. One of her main accomplishments was the establishment of the Bakuran Defense Fleet; she placed Pter Thanas, the former commander of the Imperial garrison on Bakura, in command of it. In 18 ABY, Bakura withdrew from the New Republic in protest of the misuse of its Defense Force during the attack on Centerpoint Station during the First Corellian Insurrection. Unwilling to make the same mistakes as the Old Republic which adopted a hard-nosed attitude towards the Separatist movement, the New Republic did not interfere with Bakura's decision.

E'thinaa and the Keeramak devised a new strategy for continuing the invasion. They made a secret deal with the Prime Minister of Bakura, Molierre Cundertol. In exchange for gaining “immortality” by being enteched into the body of a Human Replica Droid constructed by the company Ornadax Droid Technologies, Cundertol would betray his people to the saurian Ssi-ruuk as entechment stock. In 28 ABY, the Bakuran public and a Galactic Alliance delegation including Han Solo, Leia Organa Solo, their Jedi daughter Jaina and C-3PO were deceived into believing that the Keeramak had led a popular uprising of the lower classes which toppled the Imperium and introduced reforms including the abolishment of forced entechment.

Consecration
"The gulfs of space are not home to us and neither are the barren worlds. The worlds of fire and the worlds of ice are not home to us. Where oxygen burns and water flows, where carbon bonds and ozone protects&mdash;there we plant our roots. The seed of our species is fertile; all we require is the soil in which to plant it."

- The Keeramak closing the ceremony via translation by C-3PO

To demonize the opposition and to deflect public attention, Cundertol arranged for himself to be kidnapped by members of the anti-New Republic Freedom resistance movement under Malinza Thanas. Freedom was secretly backed by Cundertol’s deputy Blaine Harris as a means of reaching his goal of thwarting Cundertol and becoming the new Prime Minister. In order to allow a successful occupation of Bakura, Lwothin and the Keeramak arranged for Bakura to be “consecrated” during a public ceremony at a Salis D’aar podium.

In space, a Ssi-ruuvi contingent consisting of the two Sh'ner-class planetary assault carriers Errinung’ka and Firrinree and a host of P'w'eck-powered Swarm-class battle droidsarrived with the Keeramak. Unaware of the plot, the Bakuran Defense Force and the Galactic Alliance naval contingent including Jagged Fel’s Twin Suns Squadron welcomed their presence. When the Keeramak and his P’w’eck delegation arrived, the stadium was packed with thousands of Bakurans.

Due to his ability to speak and translate almost any language, C-3PO was commissioned as a translator. Meanwhile, the Keeramak used both his reputation as a liberation leader and his speech-making skills to lull the Bakuran and Alliance delegates as a means of lowering their guard. Meanwhile Jedi Knights Tahiri Veila and her Ryn companion Goure spotted Harris and his Rodian accomplice Salkeli leading the missing Jaina, Malinza and Vyram through a backdoor in the stadium.

The unscrupulous Deputy Prime Minister Harris had planned to frame Jaina by forcing her at gunpoint to trigger a remote detonator in the stadium near a row of seats where the Bakuran leadership and Alliance delegates were seated. The bomb would detonate; killing many Senators including Cundertol and creating a power vacuum which would allow Harris to assume power as Prime Minister. Harris would then claim later that Jaina had coerced the escaped Freedom operative Malinza into kidnapping him and then turning against Jaina too late when learning that she had planted a bomb. By then, it would be too late for the bomb to be defused and the ensuing explosion would kill Jaina and Malinza, leaving Harris as the sole survivor.

However, Jaina&mdash;sensing her Jedi comrade Tahiri was nearby&mdash;managed to used her Force-abilities to overpower Harris and Salkeli. She then freed Malinza and Vyram from their bonds with a flash from her lightsaber before using the Force to project a warning to her mother who was seated with the delegates. Meanwhile at the consecration ceremony, Leia received the warning of danger from Jaina and was able to alert her husband and the seated delegates to the presence of a bomb. This prompted a hasty evacuation of the seats just seconds to the detonation. While this saved the life of most of the delegates, the ensuing blast killed two senators, two guests and six guards and wounded 40 guests including Cundertol who was knocked unconscious.

Luckilly, Jaina and her companions were unharmed due to their proximity from the epicenter of the blast. Amid the rubble and burning wreckage, she came across an emotionally-shattered Tahiri who had succumbed to her Vong programming following her ordeal on Yavin IV. Jaina reasoned that she had survived because she had used a Force bubble to shield herself from the debris. Meanwhile, Bakuran rescue teams had arrived at the stadium and begun evacuating the wounded and survivors.

In response to the bombing, General Panib had declared marshall law from the Bakura-class destroyer Sentinel. Jag Fel also received reports from Captain Mayn of increased activity at Salis D'aar Spaceport where the P’w’eck ships were parked. Meanwhile, news had spread of the arrest of Harris due to his involvement in the bombing. Back at the stadium, the Keeramak and his P’w’eck entourage had survived the blast and were continuing the Consecration ceremony. Meanwhile, reinforcements in the form of three D'kee-class landing ships arrived in the skies over the wrecked shell of the former stadium.

Double Twist
However, their plan backfired when the P'w'ecks under Lwothin revolted against the Ssi-ruuvi and joined forces with the Galactic Alliance to drive away the Ssi-ruuvi. It was revealed that Bakuran Prime Minister Molierre Cundertol, the former Senator, had betrayed his planet. Despite this turn of events, Bakura chose not to join the Galactic Alliance.

Appearances

 * Force Heretic II: Refugee
 * The Unifying Force

Schlacht um Bakura (28 NSY)