Star Wars Fanon
Advertisement
Legacy eraGood articleFormerly featured article


The Sith Crusade was exactly that—a crusade. The Sith came out of the Unknown Regions like a plague, like the ancient Sith, destroying everything before them. But; unlike the ancients, these Sith had a different vision for the galaxy. For them, the Crusade, all that death and slaughter, the extermination of countless species and the destruction of all those planets was just a means to an end. They didn't care what the galaxy look liked after the conflict, so long as it was theres.
Jehn Rhin

The Sith Crusade, also known simply as the Crusade to the Sith, was a conflict which took place between the years 56 ABY and 66 ABY. One of the largest engagements in galactic history, the Sith Crusade saw the rise of the Sith Order of Decreto as the greatest galactic power in the history of the galaxy. The roots of the conflict are traced back several thousand years, to the death of Naga Sadow and the ascension of Konopka to the self proclaimed title of Dark Lord of the Decreton Empire. Eventually, the revenge Konopka sought upon the Galactic Republic was realized, having trickled down through the different regimes and Dark Lords until the Sith Order's discovery on Nerezza and the ensuing battle, it saw one of the most powerful Jedi in the history of the Jedi Order corrupted towards the dark side of the Force.

Newly re-born amongst the Sith as Darth Abeonis, the new Dark Lord conquered the weakened Sith Order of Decreto, and somehow managed to bring the Sith out of the conflict stronger than before. Using Sith knowledge that he had had gained the Decreton Knights, former Jedi lead an invasion of the galaxy, starting with the Chiss Ascendancy. After the conquests of the Chiss Ascendancy and the Imperial Remnant, and several defeats at the hands of the Sith, the Galactic Alliance found itself suing for peace, and surrendering numerous planets to the Sith. Eventually however, the Sith did invade, and Darth Abeonis ushered the galaxy into the start of a new Sith age.

Darth Abeonis and his fellow Sith Lord (most of whom were former Jedi themselves) launched a series of deadly campaigns against the Alliance, wiping out numerous minor galactic powers along the way and bringing others into the Sith fold. Eventually, after a massive power shift within the Galactic Alliance, and several gargantuan engagements, the Sith and the Jedi found themselves gasping for breath from the conflict, having lost a great size of the forces in the last year. The following however, a renewed Sith invasion brought the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances to its knees, and after several more years the galactic capital of Coruscant itself was conquered. The conquest of the galactic capital, and the deaths of so many Galactic Federation personnel finally brought the Sith Crusade to an end.

History[]

Immediate origins of the Sith Crusade[]

In the year 36 ABY Jasca Ducato, a Jedi Knight—turned Sith Lord named Darth Abeonis, wreaked havoc through-out the Outer Rim. Ducato's fleet, the newly recreated Death Squadron, devastated hundreds of worlds both without, and within the Galactic Alliance, destroying the industrial and agricultural capabilities of entire sectors and further adding to the misery that had already been devastated by the Yuuzhan Vong and Swarm Wars.

For a year the Sith Lord's fleet plagued the Outer Rim, irreperably damaging the reputation of both the Galactic Alliance and the New Jedi Order. Abeonis' Death Squadron succeeded om destroying no less than three GADF fleets sent to intercept them, further solidifying the fearsome reputation the 39th had gained during Yuuzhan Vong War. Eventually however, the Jedi managed to locate The Soiyo, the flagship of the Sith Armada, and board it. A Jedi taskforce, comprising Luke Skywalker, Kyle Katarn and Katae-muri, confronted the Sith Lord and his apprentice on the bridge of The Soiyo, and after a long and intense duel managed to overpower the two Sith Lords and return them to the light. However, even though the Dark Lord—Jasca Ducato, had returned to the light the populous of the Galactic Alliance refused to fully forgive or forget the fear and suffering Darth Abeonis had put them through.

Jasca soon became a catalyst for the people of the galaxy to vent their frustration about the Jedi, and the Galactic Alliance as a whole. A year passed, and despite numerous attempts and good will missions the populous of the galaxy still feared the redeemed Jedi Knight. Soon it became apparent that, psychologically at least, Jasca was becoming fearful of betrayal and possible assassination attempts, which was leading him to become paranoid, isolated and suspicious of his fellow Jedi. The Jedi High Council, in their attempt to balance galactic interest with Jasca's own needs, decided to remove him from the galactic theater but still keep him busy.

Jasca was returned control of his old Sith flagship, The Soiyo, whilst the remainder of the 39th was incorperated into the 4th Alliance fleet. The Council then order Ducato and many of those who had joined him during his brief run as Sith Lord to explore the Unknown Regions, in an attempt to improve GFFA understanding of the area.

Discovery of the Sith[]

These ruins, they look like they've been here for thousands of years.
—Unknown Jedi Knight on Nerezza

It would not be long before the Jedi under Jasca Ducato discovered something they were not wanting to find; the Sith. Unknown to the Galactic Alliance, or the Jedi, two long lost Sith Orders had been in recent years, one being the New Sith Order of Darth Krayt, and another, a more potent force called the Sith Order of Decreto, which had been in hiding within the Unknown Regions for over 5,000 years.

These Sith were the direct successors to the last Dark Lord of the Original Sith Empire, who had, following the defeat of their Master during the Great Hyperspace War, fled into the Unknown Regions to rebuild the empire under the guidance of the Dark Lord of the Decreton Empire, Konopka. Over the centuries, the Sith had slowly built up their power and influence, and had become a formidable military force; all the mean-time remaining hidden from the galaxy as a whole, until the year 41 ABY.

Following the Battle of Nerezza, which saw the capture of Jasca Ducato and the fleeing of the then-Dark Lord Guerreiro from the pursuing Jedi, the Sith Order of Decreto found itself leaderless and weakened. For two years the Dark Lord of the Decreton Empire Lord Guerreiro was chased by the Jedi whilst holding their commanding officer—Jasca Ducato—prisoner, and in the meantime, the Sith fought amongst themselves.

Eventually the Dark Lord was killed by Ducato himself, who had once again been seduced towards the dark side of the Force. Abeonis returned to The Soiyo and used his influence to corrupt the entire crew, once again converting The Soiyo into his Sith flagship.

Now the self-proclaimed Dark Lord of the Decreton Empire, Darth Abeonis, using pure tactical genius, a knack for negotiation and the natural Sith instinct to betray slowly but surely absorbed the Sith Order of Decreto into his own personal domain, in a manner similar to Ater Phasas'a's thousands of years beforehand..

Start of hostilities[]

Csilla

Csilla, conquered capital of the Chiss Ascendancy.

It's war then…
Darth Micail

By the year 56 ABY, after years of conflict within the Unknown Regions, the entire Sith Empire had been conquered, and come out of the conflict much stronger than before. With the Sith united, Darth Abeonis' natural lust for war kicked in, and the Sith begun an invasion of the Chiss Ascendancy, and after just six months had conquered its capital and fractured the Chiss government. Despite pleas for help to the Galactic Alliance, the Chiss surrendered, but maintained armed rebellion amongst the conquered worlds. The Jedi, hearing the pleas, planned to investiage the matter but were prevented from doing so by the Chief-of-State Cal Omas.

Two more years passed, before the Sith were heard from again; this time in the form of an invasion of the Imperial Remnant. Once again, the Jedi planned to investiage the matter, but it was too late for the Imperials. In one fell swoop, the Dark Lord divided the Imperial fleet and annihilated it at the battles of Yaga Minor and Bastion. The Jedi, disappointed by their failure to assist the Imperials took solace in knowing only one thing, who their enemy was. Though none would admit it, the return of Jasca Ducato had shocked them, and the revelation that he led an entire fleet of Sith warships astounded them.

Cal Omas, desperate to avoid another war with a former Jedi, like the Confederation-Galactic Alliance War against Darth Caedus, ignored the warnings of the Jedi Order and initiated preliminary peace talks with the Sith in the hopes it would avoid an all-out war. A treaty was drawn up which saw several hundred worlds including Er'kit, Agamar, Morishim, Ord Biniir, Bimmiel, Dantooine, Dubrillion, Adumar, Telos, Dorin, Reecee and Anobis change hands and become Sith planets.

At first the method of appeasing the Sith seemed to work, and the Chief-of-State became hopeful that, at least until the Galactic Alliance could afford another war with the Sith, the two powers could co-exist peacefully; and for two years it worked. The Galactic Alliance military discreetly built up its forces with the assistance of the Jedi, but it was too little too late, and by 61 ABY it became clear to Cal Omas, Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Alliance, that the Jedi had been right all along. The Sith, who had also spent the last two years also building up their fleet, now felt that they had the strength to take on the Galactic Alliance head on.

Invasion[]

Like a firestorm across the galaxy, they'll wipe out all before them. A Sith Crusade has begun. Nothing shall stand in their way; we shall unite, or we shall fall.
—Luke Skywalker at Ossus

Shortly into the month of Kelona (the second month of the standard year), in the year 61 ABY, the Sith Order of Decreto launched an invasion of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances in eight different sectors simultaneously,conquering each one within the day. The Alliance fleet was caught completely by surprise at Belkadan, and suffered for it in the form of the death of the Supreme Commander of all Alliance Forces, Admiral Argos, and the destruction of the war factories at Balamak completely destroyed any hope of a successful counter-attack.

Devastated by the sudden invasion, subsequent deaths of so many, and the destruction of Balamak's shipyards, Cal Omas suddenly found himself being politically attacked from all sides for not taking the threat of the Sith more seriously sooner, whilst the Jedi were in fact being praised for their accurate predictions of the future. Were it not for Presidential Order 0114/F, Cal Omas assumed that his reign as Chief-of-State would have ended that very day.

Following the death of Argos at Belkadan and destruction of the Galactic Alliance fleet at Helska, the Sith invaders found themselves with a clear run straight into the heart of the Corporate Sector. Taking full advantage of this, Darth Abeonis struck hard, decimating the Alliance's dismal rearguard action, killing hundreds-of-thousands of the Galactic Alliance's defense force and capturing great swathes of the Corporate Sector.

On the planet Ruuria the Sith found themselves stalled by the native Ruurians who, proved difficult to dislodge, and eventually forced the Sith to simply decimate the planet, wiping out the entire species in the process. Despite the massacre on Ruuria, the Galactic Alliance remained unsure as to why the planet had been invaded at all, as there were no Galactic Alliance strongholds or fleets near the planet at the time.

During the third month of the year, Darth Abeonis found himself being personally needed on the front line. The Alliance garrison on Ord Radama, though cut off from reinforcements, refused to surrender and inflicted heavy casualties upon the Sith invaders. In order to assure the planet would not cause trouble when the Sith fleet had moved on, Darth Abeonis destroyed the planet's C&D network, which paved the way for an eventual conquest. Ord Radama was notable not only because it was the first time Darth Abeonis himself had become personally involved in the conflict, but it was also the first time that the Galactic Alliance encountered the Sith Knights, though it would not be the last.

Two weeks later, after a brief period of rest, the Sith invaded Korriban from Ruuria, showing the true reason for the planet's conquest. The Jedi, realizing the significance of Korriban to the Sith, were determined to hold the ancient Sith burial world, and entered into the conflict. Korriban had been under Jedi control since the fall of Galactic Empire in 7 ABY, and the Jedi knew that if the planet were to fall to the Sith, it would become a symbol of Sith power, and a massive morale booster to the Sith military. And so Korriban was attacked, and for the first time during the conflict, Jedi met Sith. The losses were terrible and after days of heavy fighting the planet fell to the invaders. Korriban was in the rightful hands of the Sith once more.

Meanwhile, not far from Korriban, the Sith prepared for another war, and subsequently invaded the Meridian Confederation, which, despite the support of the Galactic Alliance, was decimated by the Sith Lord Darth Dimicatio and her close friend Admiral Sataris Strasbourg. Darth Dimicatio, with orders from Darth Abeonis to "set an example" to any other minor galactic power that challenged the Sith, literally destroyed the capital of the Meridian Confederation; Rhen Var. Not only did this have the desired effect, as Darth Abeonis had predicted, but several hundred worlds that had previously been allied to the Galactic Alliance switched sides and joined the Sith, destroying the morale of the Alliance military in the area.

This astounding victory was welcome news amongst the Sith Council which had recently been formed under Abeonis' direction, and plans for a series of devastating attacks against the Jedi were planned for the year following, starting with the the destruction of the Jedi Academy on Dathomir.

Dathomirbattle

A Jedi and Sith duel on Dathomir.

Darth Micail, a former Jedi Knight and the first among the Sith Knights, lead an attack force of two hundred Sith Knights, in secret, to Dathomir, with instructions to wipe out each and every single Jedi on the planet. The battle was bloody and fierce, with all one-hundred and ninety Jedi on the planet killed, including their commanding officer, Jaina Solo. Following the battle Jaina Solo's widowed husband, Nathaniel Kenobi Solo, declared his "rights to vengeance" against the Sith Knight Darth Micail; who had personally killed the young Jedi Master. Time and again, Nathaniel Kenobi Solo would lead his forces in suicidal attacks against the Sith, always causing immense casualties rates on both sides.

Following their disastrous defeat at Dathomir the Jedi found themselves in serious trouble. With Dathomir, a key strategically placed planet, under Sith control, the Jedi no longer had access to the Corporate Sector which, although under Sith control, had been supplying the Jedi and the Alliance as a whole with Intelligence and tactical information. On top of that, almost two hundred Jedi had been killed on Dathomir, including the niece of the Grand Jedi Master, which severely demoralized the Jedi and limited their effectiveness on the front line.

The well-publicized death of Jaina Solo also served to further demoralize the populous of the Galactic Alliance because of her relationship to the famed General Han Solo, and her celebrity status achieved after the Confederation-Galactic Alliance War.

Slaughter[]

Despite the loss of so many at Dathomir, the Jedi were soon causing havoc for the Sith once again. Yavin IV, which had been claimed by the Sith days previously was attacked by the Jedi in an attempt to capture the Sith Knight Darth Micail. Micail predicted the ambush however, and slaughtered the Alliance garrison on the planet, also killing many of the Jedi who had come after him. Despite this second victory over the Jedi, upon hearing the news of the failed ambush on Yavin IV, the Sith Council realized that the Jedi were not as weak as previously believed, and that they could still work as an effective fighting force in the conflict.

With this new knowledge the Sith Council decided that the destruction of the Jedi would take precedence, although some on the Council disagreed, saying that the war should be finished as quickly as possible and that the Sith fleet should head straight for Coruscant. Darth Abeonis immediately rejected this idea, as he was well aware of the defensive capabilities of Coruscant, and the strength of the Galactic Aliance fleet in orbit of the planet.

Most on the Council accepted their Dark Lord's ruling, but one Darth Cannae disobeyed the Dark Lord's orders and launched his own invasion of the Galactic Alliance, heading straight for Coruscant. Darth Abeonis was enraged by Darth Cannae's actions, which had seen the Sith defeated in both the battles of Empress Teta and Bilbringi by the Jedi Jacen Solo and the Galactic Alliance Core Worlds fleet, as well as the loss of the Sith fleet under his command. Following the battle of Bilbringi Darth Cannae was removed from the front line, and the Sith Council all together.

Taking advantage of their success in the galactic core, the Jedi decided to launch another attack on Yavin IV; this time to investigate reports of increasing Sith presence on the planet. Wedge Antilles was tasked with securing control of the system in preparation for an Alliance invasion force, however things did not go as planned.

By pure chance the Sith Lord Darth Dimicatio had been stationed on Yavin IV, and her fleet had taken up orbit of the planet. When Antilles' fleet arrived they were shocked to discover this Sith fleet but quickly realized that the Sith had no-more expected them. Using this to his advantage, Antilles swarmed the ill prepared Sith warships, inflicting massive damage. Eventually the Sith began to push the Alliance fleet back, in turn inflicting heavy losses. By the time Antilles ordered a retreat over two-thirds of his fleet had been destroyed.

Following the battle over Yavin IV, the Sith took the chance to reorganize their forces and strengthen their holdings. Although they knew the Galactic Alliance would take the time given to do the same, the Sith Council felt they could afford to do this, and so ordered the forces to hold back until the new year.

When the new year finally came, the Sith were more than ready to continue their war. Admiral Sataris Strasbourg invaded the Ssi-ruuk star cluster and slaughtered the entire Ssi-ruuvi population, marking them as the second species to be effectively wiped out during the conflict. Strasbourg, became infamous amongst both his allies and enemies for his ruthlessness and ferocity, and for the fact that he left only 500,000 Ssi-ruuk alive galaxy-wide.

Greatly shocked by this action the Senate ordered the Galactic Alliance garrison on Bakura to retreat to Bespin and leave the planet to the Sith. Ill defended, Bakura quickly fell, as did the planet-state of Anoth, which became the first planet to fall to the ruthlessness of the Commander of the Home Fleet, Darth Adsec. Not wanting to lose the entire quadrant, Cal Omas ordered Admiral Ema and the 4th Alliance Fleet to secure the Corellian Trade Spine and defend it from Sith incursions. Likewise, Abeonis had ordered Admiral Strasbourg to take the Trade Spine and cut off the Senex/Juvex Sectors, in preparation for an invasion. When the two admirals met, slaughter ensued, and after six months of stalemate neither side had come out on top. Both withdrew, only a fraction of their previous strengths, although the Corellian Trade Spine would later be attacked once more, this time by Darth Adsec, who took advantage of the lack of Galactic Alliance warships in the sector.

YavinIV

The battle of Yavin IV.

For the next few months the Sith continued to push the Alliance back although at a much slower rate. First Gala fell, followed by Belderone and it soon became clear to the Jedi what the Dark Lord's intentions were; Ossus. But despite the threat posed to the Jedi capital world, before the Sith would continue their attack the Jedi saw yet another chance to discover the Sith intentions of Yavin IV.

This time, the Jedi decided that the best option would be to infiltrate the temple complex on Yavin IV with a small force of six Jedi including Ben Skywalker, the son of Luke Skywalker, as this would be the best way to discover the reason for the Sith interests on the planet. Although they returned with no knowledge as to the Sith interest of the planet Ben Skywalker and one other Jedi did return with some knowledge of great importance. It seemed that Yavin IV had become the training ground for a new class of Sith trooper, who were being specially trained to combat the Jedi. Realizing the threat the "SpecOps" posed, the Jedi knew that the Galactic Senate had to be informed of the threat; but before they could give warning to the Galactic Senate, they had to survive a more immediate threat.

The Battle of Ossus[]

Blue Glass Arrow Main article: Battle of Ossus (Sith Crusade)

With the defeat of 2nd Alliance fleet in the Cron Drift, the way was clear for the Sith invasion of Ossus. Before launching the invasion, Darth Abeonis himself made his way to the Jedi Temple on the planet, and met with the Grand Jedi Master, and his old friend, Luke Skywalker, wherein he revealed the true reason behind his going to war with the Galactic Alliance; peace. Darth Abeonis vision of a future Jedi Order under the thumb of Cal Omas had been what had spurred on Darth Abeonis' war, and now the Dark Lord offered peace in return for the removal of Omas from power. Luke contemplated the decision hard, but in the end stuck with the Chief-of-State, refusing the Dark Lord's wish. Enraged, Darth Abeonis left the Temple, and the attack begun.

Ulic-Cay

A Sith Lord strikes a Jedi Knight during a duel.

The Battle of Ossus was the most devastating battle, in terms of Jedi casualties, throughout the entire conflict. Following the battle of the Cron Drift the Jedi homeworld was on the very edge of the Decreton Empire. Fortunately for the local populous of Ossus, the Jedi had anticipated an attack on Ossus, and had ordered the evacuation of the planet. The Jedi, fearing being completely overpowered, also sent for a relief force to assist them. Skywalker knew that even if the Galactic Alliance acknowledged the request, it would take several days for the fleet to arrive.

The Sith attack followed promptly; and with devastating effectiveness and speed, the Sith captured the lightly-defended city surrounding the Temple. One the second day of the battle, the Sith attacked the Temple itself, suffering heavy casualties, but also inflicting grievous casualties on their enemy. Eventually however, with the arrival of the Galactic Alliance relief force, the Sith withdrew from Ossus, leaving the Jedi to their wounded. With his mission complete Darth Abeonis ordered the fleet to attack Dac and secure control of the Alliance 4th fleet which was stationed at the orbital shipyards.

The third year[]

The time for diplomacy is over my friend, you are my enemy now! And so it shall remain.
—Darth Abeonis to Luke Skywalker shortly before the Duel on Gand

After several years of continuous warfare, the Galactic Alliance was finding itself in desperate needs of allies. Knowing this, many in the Jedi Order volunteered themselves as ambassadors to those powers that had not yet chosen their side in the conflict. Although many minor galactic powers accepted the request for an alliance, one galactic power that hesitated was the Ottiumigos Centrality. The Sith Order of Decreto knew that the Ottiumigos Centrality controlled a highly strategic position between the Sith Empire, and the Galactic Alliance; and that whoever controlled the Centrality's space would have a significant upper hand in that quadrant. Darth Micail was tasked with conquering the sector, and eliminating the Jedi ambassador, Nathaniel Kenobi Solo.

Novus Kamino Prime, homeworld to the Kaminoans and a member planet of the Ottiumigos Centrality was chosen as the hardpoint for the invasion. The planet had a high level of diversity in terms of climate zones, with several large continents; which made a land assault particularly easy. But despite this, the Ottiumigon fleet in orbit of Novus Kamino Prime was preventing the invasion from taking place; and so Darth Micail order his fleet to attack Ottiumigos Prime, in order to draw away the Ottiumigon fleet.

The diversion was a success, and the entire Ottiumigon fleet made their way to Ottiumigos Prime. This left Nathaniel Kenobi Solo and his family, as well as a few legions of clone troopers to defend the planet. When the time for the Sith invasion arrived, the planet was easily overrun, and the Kenobi Solos' were left to defend only a small area of the capital city. Fortunately for Nathaniel and his forces however, Brashus, an associate of Nathaniel, had realized that the invasion of Ottiumigos Prime was only a distraction, and so he withdrew what forces he could from the battle there, and led them to Novus Kamino Prime.

When the Ottiumigos fleet finally arrived Nathaniel's forces found themselves with a little more room to breathe. Desperate to get his revenge on the Sith Knight who killed his wife, Nathaniel Kenobi Solo ghosted aboard the Sith flagship and engaged Darth Micail in a duel. At first Nathaniel was determined to keep to the Jedi Code, and tried to convince Micail to repent his crimes and return to the light side of the Force; but Darth Micail would not be so easily swayed. As the duel continued, the ship begin to shake violently as the two Force-wielders duelled one another, their strengths in the Force physically eating away at the ship. However, Nathaniel soon realized that even if he bested Micail and killed him, the battle would still be lost, and so he fled, ready to fight another day.

Although the battle ended with the xenocide of the Ottiumigons, Nathaniel and his family managed to escape. Taun We, Prime Minister of Novus Kamino Prime, was killed during the battle, and the planet was conquered wholly. Coupled with the Sith victory at Ottiumigos Prime, the entire sector fell into Micail's hands, and shortly after the Centrality as a whole.

After the unnecessary extermination of a third species during the conflict, Abeonis decided that the time had come for the Sith Order of Decreto to focus its entire strength on the Galactic Alliance; but in order to do so, an ally would be needed to assist in the protection of the Decreton territories that had already been conquered. The Sith Council choose the Mando'ade Alliance; as the military reputation of the new Mandalore was stuff of legend. As he begun his preparations for an invasion of Mandalore, the Dark Lord realized that the new Mandalore, Mandalore the Wise, was not prepared to see his people be exterminated like the Ottiumigos, even if it meant becoming an ally to his conquerors. With this knowledge, Darth Abeonis altered his plans so that he presented the Mandalorian leader with no other choice than to surrender.

Mandalore the Wise, or Te Dral Mand'alor, as he was known to his own people, had spent many years preparing Mandalore for an invasion, but knew that when the invasion did come, the Mandalorians would still be inadequately supplied to combat the technologically and numerically superior Sith Order of Decreto.

As Te Dral predicted, the invasion of Mandalore was long and bloody, with a fleet led by the Dark Lord himself. As The Soiyo decimated the Mandalorian fleet over the course of several days, and later the planet itself. After four days of combat, the Mandalorians were close to collapse, and Te Dral became determined to see his people survive the conflict; but Te Dral was saved the dishonor of surrendering when Abeonis offered him terms of peace. Te Dral accepted the terms, and the Mando'ade Alliance was allowed to keep its domain, as a dependent state to the Sith.

Hero's of enemies[]

Sithofficers

Sith Officers debate the oncoming mission.

With the Mando'ade Alliance's fleet helping to defend the conquered territories of the Sith Order of Decreto, Darth Abeonis had decided that the time had come to remove one of the greatest threats to his reign, the Galactic Alliance Chief-of-State Cal Omas. Deciding that the best option was assassination, Darth Abeonis choose a little known Sith Knight named Darth Wyyrlok for the mission. A proven assassin and a deadly strike, Darth Wyyrlok came highly recommended for the mission, but even so, many on the Sith Council doubted Wyyrlok's chances of success.

Wyyrlok arrived on Coruscant, with no knowledge other than the name of his target, Wyyrlok spent the next few days discretely making inquiries as the Cal Omas' location, finally picking up on a lead; an arms dealer from The Works area of Coruscant that Wyyrlok easily "persuaded" finally gave up the information he required.

Wyyrlok made his way to the remains of the Manarai Mountains where Cal Omas was reputed to be hiding. Concealing himself in the Force, Wyyrlok made it past Omas' Jedi guardians and killed the Chief-of-State in his sleep. But the mission was not over yet, as Wyyrlok was certain that the Jedi would sense Omas' death instantly, which they did. Wyyrlok made his escape, cutting down (but not killing) waves of Jedi and Coruscant Guard who were now aware of his presence, eventually finding himself a transport that could take him off Coruscant. As Wyyrlok approached the shuttle, he became disheartened to discover the way being blocked by Luke Skywalker himself.

Despite the obvious difference in strength and skill between to two, a duel ensued, and Wyyrlok soon came to the realization that every second he spent on the platform was bringing him closer to his death. Desperate to escape, Wyyrlok managed to knock Skywalker of balance long enough to escape to the transport and flee Coruscant.

Strikeback

Jedi Masters Kyle Katarn and Luke Skywalker battle three Sith Knights.

The Dark Lord's plan had worked. The Jedi were being cast as heroes for attempting to keep the Chief-of-State alive, despite their ultimate failure. Despite their attempts to keep details under wraps, it soon became public knowledge (thanks to Sith Intelligence) that Cal Omas had died in Skywalker's arms, thanking the Jedi Master for all that he had done over the years, and asking him to lead the Galactic Alliance in the war against the Sith.

A few days after the death of Cal Omas the Galactic Senate unanimously agreed to a full-scale strike against the Sith in retaliation for the assassination, despite the warnings of the Jedi Order as to the stupidity of such a plan. But despite this, the Jedi were compelled to participate in the counter-attack, as a failure to do so would mean the deaths of many more than necessary.

Luke Skywalker made his way back to Ossus and rallied to Jedi on the planet to arms. Skywalker and Kyle Katarn personally attacked a Decreto-class Super Star Destroyer in the Cron Drift. Sneaking aboard the vessel, both Skywalker and Katarn excelled in their combat prowess, leaving none before them alive in their mission to obtain the information inside the vessels computer banks.

Making their way to the main computer terminal at the center of the vessel, Luke and Kyle were ambushed by three Sith Knights, determined to kill the invading Jedi. The battle was brief, but it had drawn the attention of the entire vessel to the Jedi. The mission had become one of survival, rather than destruction. Eventually, the two Jedi managed to escape the warship, and returned to Ossus safely.

Just a day after their return to Ossus, Skywalker and Katarn received some gave news. Jacen Solo, the son of Han Solo, and Luke Skywalker's nephew had been captured by the Sith. Both the Jedi Masters knew that because of Jacen's past experiences with the dark side, any attempt at corrupting the young Jedi Master would be much easier then normal. When word finally reached Skywalker, that Jacen had indeed been corrupted once again, Luke became reclusive, and at times isolated himself from all his fellow Jedi, save his son. Luke sought solace in the presence of the Jedi-past, his fellow companions that had died during the Galactic Civil War and later conflicts and the aura of his father, looking for even the slightest slither of hope.

Anakinredeemed

Luke confront the ghost of his father.

After many days, Luke finally managed to get some sleep, and after going into a deep slumber, found himself on the Second Death Star, in the exact same position he had been almost 60 years before hand. Before him lay his dying father, still bearing the armor of the long dead Sith Lord Darth Vader; but what his father know said was starkly different from that of sixty years before hand. Luke soon realized that he was in fact still asleep, on Ossus, and that this illusion was in fact a manifestation of his greatest wanting, a slither of hope.

His father told him that in order to survive this war, Luke would have to confront his greatest enemy, the Dark Lord himself. Anakin told his son that he believed Jasca's reasons for war were not evil, even if his actions were; and that he did in fact want to save the galaxy from a threat which was yet to be revealed. When Luke questioned his father on this, the ghostly figure merely closed his eyes, and vanished.

Yodaghost

Yoda's ghostly apparition.

Luke then found himself amongst the swamps of Dagobah, with the short, solitary figure of an elderly Yoda standing before him, the bottom of his robes cloaked in mist. Much like the vision of his father beforehand, Yoda's Force apparition told Luke that he must confront the Dark Lord Abeonis and convince him to stem his advance. He told Luke not to try to physically force the Dark Lord to surrender, because his powers had grown to much even for Luke; but to emotionally drain the Sith. Only then would he be able to successfully defeat the Dark Lord.

Awaking from his slumber, Luke sat up in his bed with the new realization that he would have to confront Darth Abeonis. If he failed, than the galaxy could face a century of continuous warfare; and come out greatly weakened.

Duel on Gand[]

Blue Glass Arrow Main article: Duel on Gand

Days later, as the Sith Order of Decreto prepared to continue its campaign against the Galactic Alliance, the Dark Lord's attention was drawn to the strategically insignificant gas giant Gand, where a single human life sign was detected – Luke Skywalker's. The Dark Lord knew that he was not the only Sith to have detected the Jedi Master's presence on Gand, and that the Sith Council would be fully aware as well. If Abeonis failed to act upon the chance of killing Luke Skywalker, then he risked losing the support of the Sith Council. So, having informed the Council of his mission to kill, or possibly even corrupt Skywalker, Abeonis traveled to Gand and confronted the aging Jedi Master.

The inevitable duel ensued, and despite Skywalker being twenty-five years Abeonis' senior, the aging Jedi Master still held his own against the Dark Lord despite knowing that he could never beat the Dark Lord in the end. So, having inflicted numerous wounds upon the Dark Lord, Skywalker finally began to fall back before retreating entirely, leaving Abeonis alone in the Gand Megaplex, who called upon the SpecOps to continue the search for Skywalker.

Returning to Korriban, Abeonis informed the Sith Council of his failure to kill Skywalker, and was severely lambasted by them for it. Leaving the Council chamber, Abeonis mused upon the idea of removing the Council from existence entirely, but soon found his mind wandering. The Dark Lord knew that Skywalker's escape meant, many who did not consider Abeonis worthy of the title of Dark Lord of the Decreton Empire would soon throw in their lot.

UnknownrebelSithLord

The unidentified rebel Sith Lord.

Not two standard weeks after Abeonis' failure on Gand, his fear of rebellion was realized. Darth Iiniuria, the head of Sith Intelligence, who had only recently conquered Thyferra, had cut off all transmissions to the Sith Order of Decreto and claimed the planet as her own. Iiniuria had long been a target of suspicion for Abeonis and this latest revelation had proved him right.

Darth Abeonis chose two Sith Knights, Darth Alectasa and Darth Validus, to lead the attack on Thyferra and capture or kill Iiniuria, and within hours of being giving their orders, they had returned successfully, and with grave news. The Sith rebels had already coordinated themselves into a coherent fighting force, under the leadership of a rebel Sith Lord.

Change of luck[]

I have good news, the Senate has chosen the next Chief-of-State for the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. You, father.
—Ben Skywalker to his father Luke[src]

When news reached Coruscant of the rebellion on Thyferra, it was received with great joy. The idea of the Sith fighting amongst themselves meant that the Galactic Alliance could yet win this war. But all agreed that the Sith were still too strong to challenge without proper due care. Debating upon the choice for a replacement for Cal Omas, there was only one individual who the Senate believed capable of leading the Galactic Alliance — Luke Skywalker..

Upon hearing the news from his son, Luke and the Jedi in general found their morale greatly lifted, and the Jedi High Council set about restructuring the Galactic Alliance fleet to compensate for the losses sustained during the past three years. Skywalker, correctly assumed that the best option for the Galactic Alliance now lay in hit and run tactics; drawing the Sith fleets into various traps whilst sending small fleets of warships behind enemy lines to harass Sith supply lines and whittle away the Mando'ade fleet. Skywalker also agreed to the assault of several recently conquered Sith worlds, including Corellia and Drall, using the new tactics; which, whilst failing to reclaim the worlds, did inflict heavy casualties upon their Sith occupiers.

Learning of Skywalker's ascension to the position of Chief-of-State, Darth Abeonis found himself in an awkward position. Whilst he had wanted Skywalker to lead a strengthened Galactic Alliance, the Sith began to have a hard time compensating for the new tactics being employed by the Jedi, suffering several defeats in early 64 ABY. But even then, Skywalker’s run of good luck didn't seem to stop.

The Galactic Senate, coerced by Luke Skywalker, passed an Act allowing for members of the New Jedi Order to assume total command of entire Galactic Alliance fleets and army divisions, in a manner similar to that of the Clone Wars eighty years before. Despite the recent good fortunes for the Galactic Alliance however, Skywalker knew that Abeonis was not yet defeated. Luke sensed that Abeonis was planning something; something that could very well be disastrous for the Alliance.

It was these very thoughts that drew Skywalker's attention to his homeworld of Tatooine, where something was stirring in the ancient deserts, a whisper in the Force, but not minute enough to avoid the attention of Darth Abeonis. Skywalker knew it was important to identify the source of this Force disruption before the Sith, lest Tatooine become the next in a long line of worlds being conquered by the Sith. Determined not to let his homeworld fall, Skywalker made plans to personally travel to Tatooine, so that he could uncover the source of the disturbance, despite knowing that his newly attained position as Chief-of-state would give the Jedi Council serious reason not to allow the mission.

Mission to Tatooine[]

Blue Glass Arrow Main article: Mission to Tatooine

Confronting the Council, Luke was swiftly refused their blessing for the mission, with some even considered prohibiting Skywalker from leaving the capital, Coruscant, unless he capitulated. Skywalker negotiated long and hard, and eventually a compromise was reached. Jedi Master Saba Sebatyne was to accompany him, something Skywalker greatly appreciated.

Arriving on Tatooine, Skywalker and Sebatyne found a world greatly affected by war. In the last year, Tatooine had been relegated to a second tier world in terms of military and economical necessity and as such, had suffered drastically from having its resources redirected. Tatooine had turned into a world that despised the Galactic Alliance as much as they did the Sith, and its populous was not afraid to vent their anger. The two Jedi soon learned of a series of recent attacks of Galactic Alliance personnel, although no fatalities had been reported. Unfortunately for Skywalker and Sebatyne though, the Sith had also arrived on Tatooine and it was not long before they were engaged in combat. Sebatyne fell in combat with Darth Alectasa and Skywalker found himself forced to withdraw.

Finding refuge in a cave, Skywalker blocked the entrance with the ancient remains of a Krayt dragon. Leaning against an ancient metal statue, Luke shut his eyes and nodded off too sleep. The shimmer in the Force that he had sensed before Sebatyne's death was now stronger than ever, so strong in fact that it had shook Skywalker awake.

Skywalker jumped to his feet and spun his head around; he was staring at the large metal ornament which he had been leaning against. Nothing had changed. The shimmer in the Force was definitely in the cave, but elsewhere. Luke closed his eyes, and focused himself on the shimmer. Eyes closed, he turned his whole body to the cave's rear wall. Igniting his lightsaber, Luke thrust at the wall, and was met with a gust of air, throwing him back slightly. Opening his eyes, Skywalker was shocked to see the remains of an ancient Jedi holocron. The power being emitted from the holocron was so great, that Skywalker felt that, if he were to remain within its presence, he could actually reverse his natural aging.

Picking up the holocron, Skywalker was pulled into a galaxy of knowledge, vague references to millions of subjects swarmed through Luke's mind; the Jedi Civil War and the Infinite Empire; a mysterious world, the Emperor and an unknown alien race. Hiding the holocron in his speeder, Luke waited in the cave, sending out a message in the Force, asking for assistance.

List of battles[]

Blue Glass Arrow Main article: Timeline of the Sith Crusade

Combatants[]

Galactic Federation of Free Alliances[]

Jedi Order

Galactic Federation of Free Alliances.

The Galactic Federation of Free Alliances (and its predecessor, the New Republic) was the single largest government in the galaxy as of 61 ABY, ruling well over 80% of the known galaxy for approximately 50 years prior to the events of the Sith Crusade. With the Jedi Order acting as the supreme authority in matters of law and justice, the Alliance was led by a Chief-of-State Cal Omas, who presided over the members of the Galactic Senate. After surviving numerous wars and events, the Alliance found itself at odds with the Sith Order of Decreto, led by the former Jedi Master Jasca Ducato; along with their allies the Mando'ade Alliance, who waged a galaxy-wide war against those who stood in their way. With the events of the Sith Crusade reaching their climax in the year 65 ABY, the Dark Lord of the Decreton Empire Darth Abeonis toppled the Alliance in a combined assault on all the remaining Alliance strongholds.

Following the events of the Sith Crusade, the Galactic Alliance would experience a time of pain and distress until the eventual conquest of Coruscant in 74 ABY, although the Alliance would be survived by the Galactic Commonwealth, and later the Jedi Autocracy.

Notable figures[]

Sith Order of Decreto[]

SithOrderOfDecreto

Sith Order of Decreto.

The Sith Order of Decreto was a secret alliance of Sith Lords who were led by the Dark Lord of the Decreton Empire Darth Abeonis during the Sith Crusade. Under the seduction of Abeonis, a large number of Jedi made the decision to break away from the Jedi Order and pledge the allegiance to their formerly fellow Jedi Master. Halfway through the conflict, Abeonis' Sith received the allegiance of the Mando'ade Alliance, under the leadership of Mandalore the Wise, whose warriors would serve to guard the flanks of the Sith Empire.

Following the conquest of Coruscant in 74 ABY, the members of the Sith Order of Decreto would celebrate their conquest, and become the most powerful and influential leaders the galaxy had ever seen.

Notable figures[]

Notable figures of other factions[]

Galactic Empire

Nebulax Empire

Meridian Confederation

Mando'ade Alliance

Ottiumigos Prime

Behind the scenes[]

The events that create and surround the Sith Crusade serve as the main underlying storyline for the lives of several key characters in the Sith Order of Decreto storyline; most importantly Darth Abeonis.

The course of events, as well as the final outcome of the conflict has shifted many times throughout the course of the story with the first draft bearing next to no resemblance to the current one. For example, in the early storyline, the Sith Order of Decreto was seperate from the Decreton Empire; much like the Order of the Sith Lords and the Galactic Empire of Star Wars canon, although the author eventually decided to merge the two to make it much more similar the the Original Sith Empire from which it was formed.

The Sith Crusade draws many influences from various real-life conflicts such as the Second World War and Hundred Years' War, as well as in-universe conflicts. Although most of these similarities are on a much more detailed level, such as the Battle of Praesitlyn and the D-Day invasion of WWII.

Obviously however, the vast majority of information in this article was made up of the top of the author head, and the story is constantly evolving and developing to the present day.

Advertisement