Assault on Yavin 4

"Our victory on Yavin 4 today will be the first large step in the rebirth of a new and even stronger Empire."

- Vice Admiral Gilad Pellaeon

The battle for Yavin 4, during the Galactic Civil War in 12 ABY, saw Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum defeat Admiral Daala and Vice Admiral Pellaeon's assault force.

The battle
Prior to the battle, Kyp Durron and Dorsk 81 arrived back at the Praxeum to warn of Daala's assault fleet. They hardly had time to prepare, and, within moments, Pellaeon had arrived with a fleet of seventeen Star Destroyers with orders to destroy the Praxeum. Daala was only hours behind the vanguard fleet in her mighty, jet-black Super Star Destroyer, Knight Hammer.

Despite Luke Skywalker being absent, the Jedi Knights defended against the larger enemy force valiantly. Kyp, Dorsk 81, Kam Solusar, Tionne and the many other Jedi trainees would fight individual battles with the Imperial forces. However, they realized that they could not hold out forever against such a massive force. Having gathered for a last stand at the Great Temple, Dorsk 81 suggested to his fellow Jedi that they combine their Force powers similar to what they had done with the spirit of the Dark Lord Exar Kun.



Having cited Yoda's famous quote that "size matters not", he suggested targeting the orbiting Imperial fleet. The Jedi then channeled their combined Force powers using Dorsk 81 as a conduit. This produced a powerful blast that drove Pellaeon's entire fleet from Yavin IV. Unfortunately, the surge of power was too great for Dorsk 81's body to stand, and he died as martyr for the Jedi Knights. When Knight Hammer arrived for the second assault wave, Daala could not locate Pellaeon's fleet. Undeterred, she launched yet another assault wave bombarding the jungles of Yavin IV from space.

At that time, the Millennium Falcon arrived with Luke and Callista Ming. While Han, Chewbacca and Leia stayed on the Falcon to join on the attack on Knight Hammer, Luke and Callista landed on Yavin IV to join the Jedi trainees in the defense of the Praxeum. Despite still bereft of her Force powers, Callista proved a good fighter. As the Jedi continued their defense in the burning jungles, Callista became separated from Luke.

Seeing her chance to do something great, Callista hijacked a TIE Bomber and flew towards Knight Hammer. Having bluffed her way onboard the massive starship, she landed in one of the rear docking bays, near the starship's massive engine systems where thirty other unused TIE Bombers sat idle. She then aimed the fighters toward the adjacent engine banks, setting them to fire their missile payload. All that was left was to ensure that the Imperial Leader went down with her ship. Callista headed toward the bridge, and to Daala.

Meanwhile, both sides had reinforcements: a task force under Admiral Ackbar arrived to aid the Jedi, and twenty Crimson Command star destroyers under Colonel Cronus to support Daala.

As Callista had hoped, the charges exploded and set off a chain reaction that ripped out Knight Hammer's engine chambers, crippling the ship. The ship was dragged by the immense gravity of the gas giant Yavin Prime. A shocked Daala was helpless to prevent the destruction of her flagship and her only hope was to reach Pellaeon's fleet.

Having ordered an immediate mass evacuation, Daala rushed to the executive command pods to escape where she was confronted by a lightsaber-wielding Callista. The ancient Jedi's growing anger allowed her to tap into the dark side, though she desperately tried to hold back since she had promised Skywalker never to fall. Her hope of stopping Daala met with failure, however, as the warlord incapacitated her with a stun blast, and escaped the dying Knight Hammer.

Meanwhile on Yavin IV, Luke realized that Callista was not with him and suddenly realized through the Force that she was onboard Knight Hammer and had regained her Force abilities. He then looked up and saw Knight Hammer plunge into the gas giant Yavin, burning as swarms of escape pods flew in all directions. He later learned that Callista had managed to escape from the burning wreck on one of the escape pods. However, instead of returning to Luke and the Praxeum, she escaped into hyperspace vowing never to return until she had learned how to control her anger.

Aftermath
On the fringes of the Yavin system, Pellaeon regrouped his crippled fleet and retrieved as many of the Knight Hammer's escape pods as possible. Having rescued Daala, his fleet escaped into hyperspace before any New Republic reinforcements could arrive. With her plans foiled, Daala resigned her rank, handed command of her forces over to Pellaeon, and retired.

Appearances

 * Darksaber
 * Jedi Academy: Leviathan
 * Young Jedi Knights: Shards of Alderaan
 * The Unifying Force