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| The Incursion
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| Information
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| Conflict: Hours after the Second Darkness operation had concluded, aliens lay siege to the Antei system, forcing the Clans to withdraw into the Shroud.
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| Date: 21 ABY
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| Location: Brotherhood Territories
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| Combatants
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Unknown alien race
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Dark Jedi Brotherhood
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| Commanders
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- Aristan Dantes
- Muz Keibatsu
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| Strength
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- Torrent of Enmity
- No Peace
- Perfect Agony
- ~70 additional Capital Ships and supporting vessels
- Thousands of warriors and pilots
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| Casualties
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- No Peace
- Nagto Mel
- Ahm Cr'od
- Mak'rah
- Thousands of aliens
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- Autarch
- Vae Victus
- Mnemosyne
- Fading Song
- Emperor's Shield
- Emperor's Sword
- Dark Prophet
- Acheron
- Dozens of Dark Jedi
- Thousands of non-Force sensitives
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| [ Source ]
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- "Show them what it means to challenge the will of the gods."
- ―Kol Amnan
The Eighth Great Jedi War, also referred to as the Incursion, Fall of Antei or Battle of Antei, is a conflict that occurred over six days in 21 ABY between the naval forces of an unknown race of Force-devoid aliens and the Dark Jedi Brotherhood. Immediately after the Second Darkness military exercise had concluded, the aliens attacked a Brotherhood fleet of combined Clan warships on the edge of the astronomical object known as the Shroud.
The initial assault was a crushing defeat for the Brotherhood that splintered the fleet and forced the Clans to flee into the Shroud to fend for themselves. Following the bloodiest battle in the Dark Brotherhood's history, and the subsequent internecine struggle, the Dark Council was forced to abandon the Antei system with Grand Master Darth Sarin initiating the Braata Option and signaling a full retreat.
History
Origins
During a journey across the galaxy, a race of aliens who appeared to be unable to touch the Force learned of a reclusive sect of Dark Siders known as the Dark Jedi Brotherhood. For unknown reasons, the alien leadership ordered the cult of Dark Jedi exterminated.
Nagto Mel, a proven Commander was assigned to locate and destroy the Brotherhood. When reports of a small naval exercise near Ziost reached Nagto, he dispatched spies who soon confirmed that a large cadre of Jeedai apostates was present. Realizing his enemy had gathered the bulk of its fleet in one location; Nagto moved his battlegroup to the area and promptly arrayed his forces in ambuscade.
Introduction to Mayhem
Due to the aliens' absence in the Force, neither their approach nor ambush was sensed until it was too late. The Second Darkness Rite of Supremacy, having just concluded, had been intended to prepare the Brotherhood for external threats. Instead, it had served only to cluster the Clans into one predefined kill-zone.
As the awards ceremony for the RoS concluded, the aliens launched their attack with fusillades of plasma fire, fighter screens, and other weapons of warfare the Brotherhood was wholly unprepared for. Much of the Dark Council and Clan Summits were aboard the Vae Victus for the ceremony which added to the chaos of the attack. As leaders scrambled to resume their posts aboard their respective ships, the enemy battlegroup closed with the Brotherhood’s badly formed line and smashed it utterly.
As the situation became untenable, Darth Sarin ordered the Clan fleets to jump away to pre-determined rally points in order to regroup. Familiar with infidel tactics, Nagto had ordered all escape vectors seeded with an unusual kind of mine. These organic gravity mines prevented the Brotherhood’s escape via hyperspace, trapping them between the Shroud and the onslaught of the alien fleet.
Despite their common enemy, the Clan's enmity and distrust of one another began to rapidly undermine the defense. Consul Braecen Kaeth of Scholae Palatinae ordered his flagship to fire on and cripple his Arconan rival’s ship, Eye of the Abyss, to delay the enemy advance so as to preserve his own forces for escape. This act would have grave consequences for the entire Brotherhood.
Left with no choice, Sarin commanded the fleets to blindly enter the Shroud in hopes that its chaotic vagaries would offer temporary cover from the unrelenting attack. At this time it was also learned that the Scholae Palatinae home-world of Judecca and the Plagueian system of Jusadih had both come under attack from what was believed to be the same enemy they now faced on the edge of the Shroud.
Realizing the extent of the danger to the Final Way and their continued existence, Sarin left Muz Ashen, then Deputy Grand Master, in command to attempt an escape to the Roche system where a secret fleet of new warships had been under construction for some time. It was the Grand Master’s hope to return with an element of this fleet and throw back the attacking forces. Aboard the Autarch, Sarin managed to evade the ambush and interdictor mines but at the cost of the Vae Victus and seemingly, his Shadow Hand.
Pride's Due
Having fled into the Shroud on uncharted vectors, the Clans were scattered and sought desperately to recover from the attack. The natural navigational impediments of the Shroud, coupled with the substantial casualties and damage, impeded the Clans’ reorganization and led to the Brotherhood’s inability to mount a cohesive defensive effort. The resulting chaos and lack of direction from the scattered Dark Council created an environment for opportunistic Clans to attempt to seize power and settle old scores.
That there was an aftermath at all following the initial alien assault (since known as the Battle at Shroud’s Edge) was largely due to the sacrificial holding action of Vae Victus commanded by Muz Keibatsu Sadow. Carrying out Sarin’s orders, Muz released the remaining Brotherhood forces covering the withdrawal and confronted Nagto Mel’s command ship, No Peace, alone. The enemy ship quickly closed with the heavily damaged Victus and finished the ship. Though all crew were lost, Muz Sadow alone survived. A prisoner of the aliens, Muz was brutally interrogated by Intendant Ahm Cr’od.
Resulting from the utterly devastating alien assault and ensuing confusion was a friendly-fire incident involving Clan Arcona. Having just retreated into the Shroud and subject to its adverse effects, the Arconan Acclamator Thanatos misidentified and destroyed the previously lamed Eye of the Abyss. This event would perpetuate the enmity between Clans and fuel the internecine conflicts that would ultimately loose the Brotherhood the Antei system.
Beyond the Veil
Sith Bloodfyre considers options with Korras' counselConcerned at the ease with which the fleets were defeated and realizing that victory would not be forthcoming for the Brotherhood, Consul Sith Bloodfyre elected to move Tarentum into a position of maximum benefit no matter the outcome. Tarentum continued repairs to their vessels while using their advanced knowledge of the Shroud to return to Antei in hopes of gaining control over the planet and commandeering whatever would be left of the Brotherhood.
Still a prisoner, Muz Keibatsu gained the means to escape in the form of a wayward TIE pilot on the outskirts of the Shroud. While being interrogated in the Embrace, Muz influenced the pilot to crash his ship into the alien command vessel while preserving the Dark Jedi’s lightsaber in a Force bubble. Guiding the weapon through the bowels of the alien ship, Muz uses it to kill Ahm Cr’od and free himself.
Furious with the Deputy Grand Master’s escape and the as-of-yet inability to eradicate the heretics, Nagto Mel ordered the balance of his fleet into the Shroud in earnest to pursue and destroy what remained of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood. Put on a time-table by his masters, Nagto is made painfully aware that if he does not complete his mission soon, the Supreme Overlord himself will come to finish the task and Nagto. To deal with the Shadow Hand loose aboard his ship, Nagto unleashed a Force-hunting beast to root out and destroy the infidel.
To the Sound of the Guns
Timeros learns of Braecen's treachery through Mejas Doto Arconan Consul Timeros learns of Braecen’s betrayal through the interrogation of a recovered Palatinae pilot. He reveals to the Arconan Summit that it was by Braecen’s order that Eye of the Abyss was intentionally disabled and left for dead in order to cover Clan Scholae Palatinae’s withdrawal. Before dying, the pilot informs Timeros that Braecen’s fleet has fled to their home-world in the Cocytus System. Timeros orders an immediate pursuit.
Clan Naga Sadow, having discovered the ion wake of a capital ship in the Shroud, calculates that the Tarentum fleet is headed for Antei with ill intent. Convinced that an entrenched Tarentum on Antei and alien aggressor at his back bodes ill for the future of his clan, Manesh Sadow maneuvers his fleet to Antei in order to intercept Bloodfyre’s forces.
Loose aboard No Peace, Muz Keibatsu kills numerous warriors sent to hunt him in a bloody battle. Nagto feels the pressure of Shimrra’s words and refocuses his crew on destroying both Muz and the infidel fleets. Clan Plagueis, on their way out-system, was ambushed by Nagto’s fleet and forced to turn back toward Antei.
Escalation
Macron is advised by Shin'ichi and Darth Vexatus about joining the battle of AnteiAt this stage of the war, the Dark Jedi Brotherhood had unraveled to the point of several Clans openly attacking one another. Above Antei, the forces of Taldryan and Tarentum collided spectacularly to decide the fate of the world below. Old grievances rose to the surface as Clan Naga Sadow saw the opportunity to punish two of its foremost rivals. Recently instated Consul Mononoke "Macron" Keibatsu-Goura ordered both Taldryan and Tarentum put under the Sadowite guns.
The situation rapidly deteriorated as Clan Plagueis, fleeing from an ambush, brought the alien fleet straight into the fray. Nagto Mel was delighted with the good fortune to have the balance of his enemy arrayed before him earnestly engaged with killing one another. Shortly after Nagto attacked, Grand Master Sarin arrived onboard Autarch flanked by four of the Brotherhood’s new Nebula-class Star Destroyers. Assessing the situation, Sarin determined that local communications were being disrupted by the enemy. Needing to order his forces and turn them against the common foe, Sarin made ready to make his way down to Antei in order to employ the massive planetary subspace transceivers.
Absent from the battle were the Clans of Arcona and Scholae Palatinae. Their private feud had led them to the Palatinae home system of Cocytus which clearly bore the signs of being ravaged by the invading aliens. The Palatinae also suffered the ambush and destruction of Emperor’s Sword by a blood-thirsty Timeros who was now running amok in the system.
Deputy Grand Master Muz Keibatsu Sadow meanwhile encountered the dreaded beast. Beheading the creature and subduing its handlers Muz, now possessed by the alternate personality Ashen, made his way to the heart of the enemy flagship.
Muz loose aboard No Peace
No Dawn
The destruction of the Brotherhood appeared imminent as reinforcements arrived at Antei in the form of second fleet of warships. Having lost confidence in Nagto to complete his mission, the alien leadership diverted a sizable task force to the heretical enclave to ensure victory. Still unable to stop the mad Dark Jedi Master aboard his own ship and knowing that he was now expected to sacrifice himself to ensure victory, Nagto initiates the evisceration protocol in an attempt to maintain his honor and that of his domain.
Having fought his way through numerous waves of warriors, Muz Keibatsu Sadow reaches his goal. No Peace is shortly thereafter destroyed by the evisceration protocol and nothing is known of the Deputy Grand Master until after the battle.
On the surface of Antei, Grand Master Sarin, Dark Prophet Kaine Mandaala, and Justicar Kir Katarn worked in concert so that Sarin could activate the planet’s subspace transceivers from the abandoned Dark Hall. Realizing the battle was lost; Sarin ordered all Brotherhood forces to cease combat actions immediately and to follow the protocols under the Braata Option. The flagship Autarch was ordered to sacrifice itself against the massive enemy Grand Cruiser Torrent of Enmity to cover the withdrawing Brotherhood forces.
Rejoining the tatters of his fleet in space, Sarin and Kaine make fleeting contact with Muz through the Force. Sarin orders Autarch’s Fist, the Autarch’s detached secondary hull, to come about and retrieve the Deputy Grand Master. Muz is found barely alive adrift in a stolen enemy starfighter. Having recovered his Shadow Hand, Sarin ordered the Fist to rendezvous with his Consuls in the Parthovian Cluster.
Sarin informs the Consuls that though abandoned; Antei will one day be retaken. The Consuls also learn that the Dark Council will continue to operate and that their cooperation will see them rewarded with brand-new warships from a secret fleet. Though wary, the Consuls agree to end the violence between them and focus on their common enemy.
Aftermath
The aftermath of the Incursion resulted in massive changes to the Clans of the Brotherhood. Although not all units recorded the hardships they endured, each were forced to reevaluate their once-lauded strength and rebuild after the Battle of Antei.
Plagueis
- Main article: [[War of Ascension|War of Ascension]]
Scholae Palatinae
- Main article: [[Reclamation of Judecca|Reclamation of Judecca]]
Taldryan
- Main article: [[Operation: Swift Justice|Operation: Swift Justice]]
Known Participants
Dark Jedi Brotherhood
Aabsdu weighs his fate against an implacable enemy
- Aristan Dantes, Dark Lord of the Sith
- Muz Keibatsu Sadow, Shadow Hand
- Aabsdu Dupar, Plagueis Consul
- Al’meda Zarco
- Braecen Kaeth, Scholae Palatinae Consul
- Duga Taldrya Arkarso, Taldryan Consul
- Jac Cotelin, Taldryan Grand Master Emeritus
- JScumm, Arcona Journeyman
- Kaine Mandaala, Herald
- Kir Taldrya Katarn, Justicar
- Korras, Tarentum Proconsul
- Manesh Sadow, Naga Sadow Consul
- Mejas Doto, Arcona Elder
- Adien Falaut, Tarentum Journeyman
- Mononoke "Macron" Keibatsu-Goura, Naga Sadow Proconsul
- Phoenix Olkyssagh Palpatine, Scholae Palatinae Proconsul
- Sai Na'Ashar Keibatsu, Naga Sadow Journeyman
- Robert Daragon, Plagueis Proconsul
- Sith Bloodfyre-Tarentae, Tarentum Consul
- Timeros Caesus Entar, Arcona Consul
- Vexatus, Naga Sadow Elder
- Vexer Thrace, Plagueis Journeyman
- Kyber, Plagueis Journeyman
- Bridlin, NPC
- Caval Gul, NPC
- Joss Malin, NPC
- Ail'en Sommetra, NPC
Alien Invasion Force
- Ahm Cr’od; Intendant (male, NPC)
- Kol Amnan; Commander, Perfect Agony (male, NPC)
- Mak’rah; Warleader (male, NPC)
- Nagto Mel; Supreme Commander, No Peace (male, NPC)
Results
Duga is advised by Grand Master Cotelin
Clan Awards
Unlike past Great Jedi Wars, all Clans faced a Fleet Reset following the Vendetta.
Champions of the War
Behind the Scenes
The Eighth Great Jedi War event was developed and created by: Sarin, Muz Ashen, Raken, Jac, Halcyon, Kir, Dalthid.
The original story for this event used the Yuuzhan Vong, an alien race from the New Jedi Order series. After Disney abolished the canon status of the NJO, the Vong were retconned out of the war's storyline.
Trivia
- The Eighth Great Jedi War was originally known as the Seventh Great Jedi War. It was later renamed when a “missing” Great Jedi War from the past was discovered and all previous wars were renumbered.