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New Republic era

The Recapture of Kuat was a battle in the Dark Order War in which the forces of Imperial warlord Jaden Korr overran and took control of the Kuat system in the Core Worlds.

Background[]

After he began the Dark Order War with his attack on the Jedi Praxeum, the Dark Jedi Jaden Korr and his underlings began planning their campaigns against the New Republic. However, Jaden soon realized that his fleet was not large enough to engage the Republic fleet directly. He decided that in order to remedy this, the Dark Order would need to seize control of a large industrial center. Jaden eventually concluded that Kuat, home of some of the galaxy's largest shipyards, was the best target for this goal.

The Kuat sector had been in a state of disrepair ever since the defeat of the Dark Jedi Julias Randal; the aftermath of his campaign left a considerable number of Imperial warlords spread throughout former New Republic territory. Almost the entire Republic fleet was committed to clearing Imperial presence from these areas. As a result, the Kuat sector was heavily contested, with its star systems repeatedly being captured and recaptured by Imperial and Republic forces.

Jaden decided that capturing the entire Kuat sector would not be feasible, so he settled for simply the Kuat system itself, which contained the KDY Orbital Array, an immense shipyard which encircled the entire planet of Kuat. Numerous starships were in various stages of construction at this facility and others in the system, and Jaden believed that if captured intact, the facilities could be used to quickly increase the size of his fleet.

As of the beginning of the Dark Order War, the Imperial Remnant had again been driven from the Kuat system by a New Republic battlegroup. Although victorious, the Republic forces at Kuat were left nearly crippled and isolated from reinforcements, being surrounded by heavily contested territory. Using the contested nature of the Kuat sector and the space around it to his advantage, Jaden Korr mobilized a fleet in the Tynna sector. From there, his forces used the Hydian Way, a hyperspace route which the Republic did not have effective control over, to reach Kuat.

The battle[]

Jaden's fleet exited hyperspace just inside the Kuat system. After launching fighters, the captial ships arranged themselves in a blanket formation; the front of the armada consisted of Nebulon-B frigates, Carrack-class light cruisers, and CR90 corvettes. The second row in the formation consisted of Tartan-class patrol cruisers, Nebulon-B2 frigates, Lancer-class frigates, and Assassin-class corvettes. The third row consisted of eight Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers and eleven Strike-class medium cruisers. At the back of the formation were a flotilla of Imperial-class and Victory-class Star Destroyers. This entire group was flanked by several Enforcer-class picket cruisers and Victory II-class frigates.

This armada moved through the system toward the planet Kuat and engaged perimeter defenses, mostly consisting of small laser and ion cannon turrets. As they approached the small Republic fleet, Jaden ordered a number of cruisers and corvettes to break off from the main formation and attack the smaller nearby shipyards, primarily to prevent any personnel from escaping. Most of the space stations, unmanned, put up little resistance. Meanwhile, the Imperial fleet continued to press on toward Kuat. A number of TIE Fighters and Bombers were destroyed by the Republic minefields, but the Imperial capital ships took minimal damage.

The small Republic fleet launched squadrons of Z-95 Headhunters and Y-wing starfighters to delay the Imperial advance while their capital ships prepared hyperspace calculations. They launched proton torpedoes from long range, damaging several corvettes and scattering the advancing bomber formations. To help clear the mines, Assault Gunboats were dispatched by the Star Destroyers, while the TIE Fighters and Interceptors moved forward with frigate and corvette support to engage the Republic fighters, which were soon bolstered by groups of R-41 Starchasers, T-65 X-wings, and B-wing starfighters.

Most of the mines and small laser emplacements were soon destroyed, and the Imperial fleet moved within range of the much smaller Republic force. The vessels attempted to flee, but the Imperial warships, diverting additional power to their engines, spread out from their initial formation, managing to catch up with and surround the Calamari Cruisers. Unable to escape into hyperspace, the Republic fleet was sorely outnumbered and decimated by volleys of heavy fire. A number of Imperial corvettes were lost, but the larger capital ships remained intact.

After the destruction of the Republic space forces, the Star Destroyers launched task forces of shuttles and landing craft to Kuat's Orbital Shipyard Array. Cover fire was provided by Assault Gunboats and Star Destroyers, which used ion canon fire to disable defensive turrets and hangar force fields. The boarding teams, consisting of Imperial marines, commandos, Navy troopers, and Zero-G assault stormtroopers, overwhelmed the outnumbered New Republic defenders and captured the station with low casualties.

Aftermath[]

Following the victory over the Republic occupiers, the Dark Order occupied the other shipyards throughout the Kuat system, most of which were put to capital ship production. Jaden discovered shortly after the battle that Kuat's surface was controlled by Imperial Remnant forces which had been stranded there by. Grateful for the elimination of the Republic presence, the Imperial forces on the ground allied themselves with the Dark Order and were integrated into Jaden's forces. In the meantime, the Dark Order would draw heavily on the planet's shipyards and resources to finish construction of numerous Imperial ships that were already at the yards, significantly boosting the size of its fleet.

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