Battle of Churnis

Battle of Churnis
Date	Year 14 Day 319 — Year 15 Day 165
Location	Churnis sector
Result	Decisive Imperial victory
Belligerents
Zann Consortium The Sith Order Triumvirate Coalition Freelancers and Mercenaries	The Mercenary Guild Galactic Empire
Commanders and Leaders
Lord Myn Kuat Crime Lord Ximaro Jix President Xakic Jix Fleet Admiral Igorod Krakatoa	Moff Wummer Malephar Senior Captain James Hudson Colonel Akai Ai Lord Director Sigmund von Ismay
Strength
Zann Consortium Defilers Dark Star Hellions Mercenary Guild traitors 4th Triumvirate Fleet	1st Imperial Fleet 1st Imperial Legion
Casualties and Losses
Influence in sector diminished Igorod Krakatoa† (Triumvirate Coalition) Borivoj Goerke† (Freelancer)	Sector temporarily compromised Mercenary Guild disbanded

The Battle of Churnis, also known as Operation Minsk, was a minor battle sparked by discord in the Mercenary Guild, set to the background of the ongoing Galactic Civil War. Several governments and organisations vied for control over the Churnis sector, most notably the Galactic Empire and Zann Consortium. Although the conflict for control of the Mercenary Guild began much earlier, it reached a boiling point in late Year 14 when the ousted leader of the Guild, the rogue Sith Lord Myn Kuat, approached the criminal Ximaro Jix to enlist the Zann Consortium's aid in his plans for revenge.

Conflict Origins

Sigmund von Ismay was planted in the Mercenary Guild by Imperial Intelligence months prior to the battle in an attempt to remove the self-proclaimed warlord Myn Kuat from power and replace him with the pro-Imperial Prince Pietre Henimun. When eventually Kuat retired and named Henimun his successor, the Guild was steered away from the Galactic Alliance and sought rapprochement with the Imperial Union. Although retiring of his own volition, Kuat believed he could retain control over his former protégé and was angered when he was cut off from the Guild entirely.

Prelude

The fallen warlord met with his friend Ximaro Jix, crime lord of the Zann Consortium, to plot his revenge against the Mercenary Guild and reclaim the Churnis sector. Kuat provided them with codes to shut down the power grids of several planets in the sector and called on members of the Guild still loyal to him to grant the Defilers of the Zann Consortium access to the planetary shields that had been constructed to prevent Kuat's return. The movement to seize control of the Guild from the inside was headed by its Lord Ambassador Gavin Gorsceu and Dain Thurith, mercenary and former member of the Guild.

Once the Defilers had passed the planetary shields and caused a blackout throughout the entire sector, chaos ensued and the Guild lost control over the majority of planets. Sigmund von Ismay responded swiftly by contacting the Galactic Empire and requesting their assistance in fending off the attacks and regaining control. The Empire dispatched the 1st Imperial Fleet under the command of Senior Captain James Hudson. Meanwhile, Gorsceu convened with Ximaro Jix to plan the coming battle. Both Ismay and Gorsceu attempted to influence Prince Henimun to either cooperate with the Empire or send the Imperial fleet away. The former eventually succeeded and the Guild combined forces with the Galactic Empire.

The Battle

Unable to trust the leadership of the Guild which was made up of many still loyal to Myn Kuat, all but Henimun and von Ismay were relieved from command and had their administrative powers revoked. Moff Wummer Malephar was granted temporary control of the sector and the 1st Imperial Fleet succesfully halted the advance of the Consortium's ground forces. Several cities had fallen under Zann control and amidst the confusion, several corporations and paramilitary organisations had laid claim to slabs of ground on some of the less developed planets in the sector.

To assist in violent confrontations with the enemy, the 1st Imperial Legion was deployed as well with Colonel Akai Ai as its commanding officer. Ximaro Jix's brother Xakic brought in several officers of his swoop gang, the Dark Star Hellions to assist in disrupting the local populace and gain a larger foothold on the planet surfaces. Despite several confrontations, no officers on either side were injured, although many construction crews were arrested or perished in the crossfire.

Meanwhile, the mercenary organisation Sun Guard was contracted by Imperial defector Borijov Goerke in an attempt to help him take over a planet. The leader of Sun Guard was Dain Thurith, who had covertly been working with the Zann Consortium since the beginning of the conflict. When one of Sun Guard's officers was arrested by the Galactic Empire during their assignment, Thurith approached Imperial Intelligence and offered to betray Goerke in exchange for the release of his officer. Director Elvira Falston of Imperial Intelligence agreed and had Goerke arrested and placed on trial for treason.

The battle eventually came to a standstill and the Zann Consortium abandoned the sector, citing their goal of sewing chaos had been accomplished and they never intended to try gain control of the sector in the first place. Deeds to slabs of ground on Farahiyn were gifted to the Oniworld corporation, which was led by Felidae Takeda, son of the New Republican Juraki Takeda who had been executed by the Galactic Empire several years before. They eagerly took the opportunity to expand their business, although the legitimacy of their claim was never acknowledged by the Empire.

Recognizing the futility of waging a war against the Empire, Oniworld sold the deeds to the Triumvirate Coalition. A special team consisting of five naval officers was dispatched by the Coalition to seize control of Farahiyn. Although the Coalition claimed the operation was a partial success with three of the four proposed objectives accomplished, the commanding officer of the Triumvirate Navy and leader of the operation was subdued in battle by Lieutenant Emillio Peares of the Imperial Army and taken into custody by Special Agent Banquo Knox of Imperial Intelligence.

Aftermath

Negotiations between the Galactic Empire and Pietre Henimun resulted in the Empire being granted full control of the sector in exchange for a substantial amount of credits. Henimun retired from the public life and Sigmund von Ismay controlled the Mercenary Guild for several weeks until it was decided to disband the organisation. The Galactic Empire set out to find new governors for the sector as it fell outside their claimed territory and offered no strategic advantage in the war against the Galactic Alliance.

Myn Kuat founded his Sith Order during the course of the battle, setting the stage for further conflict with the Galactic Empire, the Order of the Sith in particular.

The Zann Consortium failed to gain control of any planet in the Churnis sector but is believed to have profited greatly from the sales of deeds to slabs of land.

Participants

Leadership

Conspirator Leadership			Zann Consortium Leadership		Triumvirate Coalition Taskforce
Myn Kuat Warlord Independent	Gavin Gorsceu Lord Ambassador Mercenary Guild	Dain Thurith Defiler (Undercover) Sun Guard	Ximaro Jix Crime Lord Zann Consortium	Xakic Jix President Dark Star Hellions	Igorod Krakatoa Fleet Admiral Triumvirate Coalition

Mercenary Guild Leadership		Imperial Leadership
Pietre Henimun Prince Mercenary Guild	Sigmund von Ismay Lord Director Mercenary Guild	Wummer Malephar Moff Coruscant Oversector	James Hudson Senior Captain Imperial Navy	Akai Ai Colonel Imperial Army

Chronology

• Year 14 Day 153: Myn Kuat steps down as leader of the Mercenary Guild and is replaced by Prince Pietre Henimun.
• Year 14 Day 319: Conspirators in the Mercenary Guild grant access to Zann Consortium agents who disable the power grids, resulting in loss of control over several planets.
• Year 14 Day 340: The First Imperial Fleet is deployed to the Churnis sector, signalling the start of Operation Minsk.
• Year 14 Day 342: A cult declaring itself the true Sith Order is founded by Myn Kuat.
• Year 14 Day 363: The First Imperial Legion joins Operation Minsk.
• Year 15 Day 4: Fleet Admiral Igorod Krakatoa‏ of Triumvirate Coalition is detained by First Lieutenant Emillio Peares of the Galactic Empire.
• Year 15 Day 165: Moff Wummer Malephar declares an end to Operation Minsk and claims victory for the Galactic Empire.