Great Hyperspace War

Star Wars: History Abridged

Welcome back to another post for Star Wars: History Abridged. In my last post, I summed up how the first Sith Lords arose. Once Jedi, now exiled for their beliefs, the first Sith Lords found Korriban and the Sith people. With their technology and the Sith’s raw Force power, they built a mighty interstellar empire far from the Republic’s prying eyes. However, as we all know, this wouldn’t last forever. In today’s post, I’ll be covering the first of the countless conflicts between the Jedi and Sith, the Great Hyperspace War. Buckle up, people; this is going to be a scorcher!

End of the Golden Age of the Sith

Two thousand years after the fallen Jedi came to Korriban, the Sith Empire had grown to encompass most of their region of the galaxy. Many Dark Lords rose and fell over the centuries, but eventually, power rested in the hands of the Sith Lord Marka Ragnos. While most of his people forgot about the Jedi and Republic, Ragnos was well aware of them. In addition, he was smart enough to know they’d lose a fight with them, so he forbid the Empire’s expansion. Those plans went belly-up when he died after a century of rule.

At his funeral on Korriban, two Sith Lords tried to claim the title of Dark Lord. On one side was Naga Sadow, who wanted to expand the Empire’s borders. On the other was Ludo Kressh, who wanted to keep the Sith within their borders. The two ultimately crossed blades, only stopping when the ghost of Ragnos himself appeared and basically told them to knock it off. Ragnos then warned all present that a new threat was upon them, and that the choices they made would shape the future of the Sith.

At that moment, a pair of explorers from the Republic jumped out of hyperspace on Korriban.

The Great Hyperspace War Begins

The Sith imprisoned the pair, a brother and sister, and then debated over what to do with them. That is, until Naga Sadow busted them out, framed the Republic for their escape, and took the twins to his personal fortress. There, he started training the brother in the Dark Side. When Kressh came looking for the escapees, he dealt with his forces and claimed the title of Dark Lord. While all this was happening, the sister escaped back to Republic space, not knowing that Sadow put a beacon on her ship. As a result, he was able to plot a course directly into the heart of the Republic. Thus began the Great Hyperspace War.

Utilizing Force illusions and a technique known as Battle Meditation to bolster his smaller army, Sadow led a lightning strike on the Republic. Core worlds like Coruscant suddenly became brutal battlefields. Fortunately, Sadow’s assault eventually fell apart. First, the brother of the two explorers, now Sadow’s apprentice, turned on him. Distracted, Sadow couldn’t maintain the illusions, and the Republic drove the Sith out. Thus, Naga Sadow was forced to limp back to Sith Space with what was left of his forces.

Guess who was waiting for him?

The War Ends and Republic and Jedi Screw Up

Turns out, Ludo Kressh survived and took control of the Empire while Sadow was gone. When Sadow’s fleet exited hyperspace above Korriban, Kressh declared himself the true Dark Lord. Rather than do the logical thing and unite against the Republic, the two fought each other again. Kressh was killed for good, but thanks to the ego/stupidity of both Sith Lords, the damage was done. The already battered Sith Fleet was further weakened. Then, to make things worse, the Republic Fleet showed up and steamrolled the Sith.

For Naga Sadow, there was only one option left for him: bail. He took his flagship, and his crew, and hightailed it out of the Sith Empire altogether. He would go into exile on Yavin 4, where his minions would people the temples that would make the moon famous in the future.

As for the Republic and Jedi, there’s no nice way to describe what they did next: they f***ed up. The Jedi decided to go around and destroy every trace of the Sith Empire they could find. They destroyed every scrap of culture, history, and most of the dark side artifacts they could find. The Sith that survived went into hiding, and if they didn’t hate the Republic and Jedi before, this basically cemented it into their minds forever.

Consequences

The short, but brutal, Great Hyperspace War came to an end, but its legacy would shape the galaxy for the next five thousand years. Thanks to the Jedi’s “destroy Dark Side on sight” mentality, they almost wiped out the Sith culture. Thus, the survivors would carry an eternal, and honestly, justifiable, hatred for the Republic and the Jedi.

Speaking of survivors, the Jedi missed a lot of spots. Naga Sadow, the mastermind behind the war, would escape into exile and spend the rest of his days on Yavin IV. Eventually, he put himself into stasis to await the day when a powerful Force-wielder would come to carry on the ways of the Sith. In other corners of the galaxy, remnants of the Sith Empire would survive and rebuild in secrecy. In time, their descendants would threaten the Galaxy on a scale few would ever see. However, that’s a story for another day.

As before, this is a story that I wish Disney kept within the canon. Epic battles, political intrigue and betrayal, and the stories of heroes on both sides. It’s like Game of Thrones for Star Wars here! Also, I refuse to call Korriban by its new name, Moraband. I don’t care if George Lucas likes Moraband more; it’s my preference!

May the Force Be With You!

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