Holocron:Featured Articles/2013/November
The Battle of Beta was a major flashpoint in the ongoing Galactic Civil War in which Emperor Uebles' Galactic Empire grappled with King Kuraine's Falleen Federation for control of the Beta system. Prior to the battle, Kuraine had enticed Vir Calder, a disgruntled Imperial Moff, to defect to his Falleen kingdom and to abscond with the Imperial Star Destroyer Shadowstone. This theft provoked the Imperial High Command to mobilize their forces and to invade the Beta system with a colossal force commanded by Grand Admiral Black Lodge. Shortly before their invasion, the Empire was contacted by Prince Tholin Dur'aak, a Falleen noble, who offered to betray Kuraine. Thus, with Dur'aak's clandestine assistance, Kuraine and his consort were slain by Sith Lords — notably Adric Simms and Thraken Solo — while aboard the Shadowstone's bridge. With Kuraine assassinated, the Empire moved to secure the Beta system. Ultimately, Lord Admiral Bisz Aldaris of the Falleen Navy could not stem the tide of invading Imperial vessels and undertook a strategic withdrawal from the system. After the battle, the Empire conducted a systematic extermination of life-forms on the planets Ul Yanin and Ulrike which resulted in disputed casualties ranging from 103 million to 1.5 billion sentients. Overall, the demise of the Falleen monarch, the fiery destruction of the Libra battle station, and the genocide of Falleen colonists made this event a defining moment in the early years of the galactic civil war. (Full article...)
