Destruction of Taris

"Wipe this pathetic planet from the face of the galaxy!"

- Darth Malak

The Battle of Taris, also known as the Destruction of Taris, was an event that took place during the Jedi Civil War. After destroying the Endar Spire, Darth Malak was enraged that Bastila Shan had not been captured. Malak learned that Bastila had boarded an escape pod which crashed onto the surface of the planet. Fearing her battle meditation ability, he ordered the destruction of the entire planet in an attempt to kill her. The Sith armada, which was blockading the planet, opened fire. Even though Bastila had been captured by the Black Vulkar gang, she was rescued by Revan and Carth Onasi. As the planet was being destroyed, they escaped aboard the stolen Ebon Hawk with Canderous Ordo, T3-M4, Mission Vao and Zaalbar. Once the blockade was encountered, Sith fighters began attacking the Ebon Hawk. After successfully defending itself, it was able to jump to hyperspace and flee to Dantooine. The armada continued its operation until the surface of Taris had been completely destroyed.

Prelude
In an effort to capture Bastila Shan, Darth Malak had tracked her to Taris aboard the Endar Spire. He set a trap for her and waited aboard the Leviathan. The trap was sprung and the Sith laid siege to the ship. During the battle, Bastila managed to board an escape pod which crashed onto the surface of the planet. Captain Carth Onasi and Revan were also on the Endar Spire at the time. After fending off Sith troopers and Dark Jedi who were part of the advanced boarding party, the two were able to meet up on the starboard side of the ship and use the last escape pod.

Realizing that Bastila had not been captured or killed in the destruction of the Endar Spire, Darth Malak was livid. He believed she survived a crash-landing and was somewhere on the surface of the planet. As a result he instituted an immediate blockade and quarantine of the planet, preventing all space travel to and from Taris. Bastila, however, had been captured by a swoop gang based in the Lower City called the Black Vulkars. The group offered Bastila as the prize for whomever could win the Tarisian Season Opener swoop race. Revan and Carth Onasi, with the assistance of Mission Vao and Zaalbar were able to eventually win the favor of a rival gang and take part in the race. After Revan defeated the times of all other opponents, Brejik, the leader of the Vulkars, retracted the prize. A brief fight ensued, ending in the gang leader's death and the successful rescue of Bastila.

Orbital bombardment
Malak was growing impatient with the inability to find Bastila on the planet surface. In an attempt to eliminate her completely, he ordered Admiral Saul Karath to begin an orbital bombardment of the planet. Admiral Karath replied that it would take some time to arrange the fleet and begin the operation. Karath also questioned Malak about those in the Sith military stationed throughout the ecumenopolis. Still angry, Malak ordered the preparations to begin at once and offered no care for the loss of life, regardless of allegiance. With the armada in place and ready, the bombardment began.

Still on the surface, Revan had teamed up with bounty hunter Canderous Ordo to steal the blockade passage codes from the Sith military base and then the Ebon Hawk, the flagship of Exchange crime lord Davik Kang. To steal the codes, Ordo offered a means of acquiring the droid T3-M4 from Janice Nall. Revan, with assistance of T3, successfully raided the base and acquired the passage codes. With the codes, Canderous Ordo brought Revan to the estate of Davik Kang. While attempting to steal the ship, however, Revan and Ordo were confronted by Kang and the bounty hunter Calo Nord. Kang was killed in the fight, but the bombardment had begun during their confrontation. The hangar began to collapse, causing debris to fall on Calo Nord, severely injuring and incapacitating him. Revan then boarded the Ebon Hawk and gathered all of his companions before fleeing the planet, even amidst the barrage of turbolaser fire.

Escape of the Ebon Hawk
After gathering all his companions aboard the Ebon Hawk, Carth Onasi was able to pilot the ship off the planet in spite of the ongoing bombardment of turbolaser fire. Once above Taris, however, the fleeing vessel encountered the previously existing blockade. Even though a group of Sith fighters attacked the Ebon Hawk, they were defeated and Onasi was given a window to make the jump into hyperspace. The Ebon Hawk and its crew, at Bastila's urging, fled to the Jedi Enclave on the planet Dantooine. During this escape, however, the bombardment continued.

Aftermath
"No building over two stories tall was left standing."

- Carth Onasi

The Sith fleet decimated the surface of Taris killing the majority of its citizens, though the exact number of fatalities remained unknown. The destruction was so vast that survival was unlikely for residents in the most exposed portions of the city, such as the Upper City or Middle City. It is possible that residents of the Undercity had survived the destruction, as they had left their homes before the bombardment to search for the Promised Land. Other than Revan and his companions, one notable survivor was Calo Nord. Nord was able to free himself from the debris that trapped him and flee on his ship. He would later offer his services to Malak in an attempt to hunt down Revan and Bastila.

The destruction of Taris became an important event that was discussed throughout the galaxy. Citizens of other planets, such as Dantooine wondered if the Sith would attempt such an attack there as well. Wherever Revan traveled, he encountered discussion about the event. Even among his companions, emotions ranged from shock, as exhibited by Mission Vao, to anger, as shown by Juhani, a Jedi from Taris who was off-world at the time.

The destruction of the planet also effected commerce. Taris was a still an important commercial and cultural center. One notable effect was the shortage of Tarisian ale, which would later become a potential business opportunity for Tarisian Twi'lek Griff Vao, brother of Mission Vao.

Appearances

 * Knights of the Old Republic: Commencement
 * Shadows and Light
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords