Stark Hyperspace War The Stark Hyperspace War , also known as the Stark War , Stark Conflict , Stark Combine Conflict , and the Stark Hyperspace Conflict , was a small regional military conflict that took place in 44 BBY and was fought almost entirely in the Qotile system . The Galactic Republic , with the aid of the Jedi , fought against the Stark Commercial Combine , a group of pirates , mercenaries , bounty hunters , and assassins united under the charismatic leadership of fellow pirate Iaco Stark . The Combine had received some aid from the Trade Federation and the bacta - supplying company , Xucphra . The entire affair was orchestrated by Darth Sidious as part of his larger scheme to control the galaxy . Beginning with a few pirate raids in the Outer Rim , the crisis was to be solved by peaceful negotiations handled by Republic diplomats under the supervision of Senator Finis Valorum and the Jedi , headed by Jedi Master Tyvokka . The conflict , however , soon escalated into a full scale war , through the aggressions of militarist ic Senator Ranulph Tarkin , and the actions of both the Stark Combine and the Trade Federation . The entire war was fought in five decisive battles that took place on or around the planet Troiken , except for one special mission that took place on the planet Thyferra . Near the end of the war and after being threatened by his own co - directors at the Combine , Iaco Stark decided to defect and to aid the Republic in bringing a swift end to the conflict . The war had some far - reaching consequences for the Republic . Major figures such as Jedi Council member Tyvokka and Senator Ranulph Tarkin were killed , and their key positions had to be filled . The conflict saw the bounty hunter Bossk begin his career ; Nute Gunray of the Trade Federation went on to become Viceroy ; and Finis Valorum won the elections for chancery , becoming Supreme Chancellor . Background . Iaco Stark was a smuggler who was active in the Outer Rim . He stole the goods traded by the large business conglomerates and sold them at a large enough price to maintain a profit , but less than the Trade Federation charged , thus making him into a hero to the people of the Outer Rim . The charismatic and visionary Stark managed to convince large groups of smugglers , pirates , mercenaries , bounty hunters , and assassins to join his already - large fleet , forming a group called the Stark Commercial Combine or Stark Collective . Aided by four co - directors ( Boor - Daa , Tam Gozon , Lom Portom , and Trodos ) and under the watch of the flagship " Raptor " , Stark forged the Collective into a force strong enough to challenge the military and political authority held by both the Trade Federation and the Galactic Republic in the Outer Rim . An alliance between such rogues on the scale of the Combine had never been seen before . Although it was his preying on their commerce that had brought him to power , Stark did not wish to attack the Trade Federation . Instead , he made a deal with the leader of the Federation , Hask , as well as Adol Bel , the leader of the important bacta - supplying company , Xucphra . Armed with his own vision , their combined economic and military might , and the Combine ' s newly - developed navicomputer virus , Stark was able to sway Hask and Bel to his idea : the toppling of the Republic through the control of its bacta and the neutralizing of its space forces . The crisis begins . Shortly afterwards on the planet Thyferra , a Xucphra - owned alazhi processing plant — vital to the creation of bacta — exploded . As Thyferra was the only source of both the bacta healing gel and the alazhi bacteria used to make it , and Xucphra was the leading bacta producer on Thyferra , bacta suddenly became amazingly and critically scarce . The price of bacta skyrocketed , and then rose again as bacta hoarding proliferated . The ships of the Stark Collective " raided " the cargo ships of the Trade Federation , stealing bacta in a ruse known only to themselves and selling the healing fluid to the people of the Outer Rim in what still amounted to a very handsome profit . The Combine ' s standing up to the tyrannical Federation and ineffective Republic , and their delivery of the vital bacta at much lower prices than what the Federation could manage , made Stark even more of a hero than he already was to the oppressed people of the Outer Rim . Deliberation and deceit . In the Galactic Senate , the Federation ' s representative , Minister Nute Gunray ( who possibly did not know of the alliance between the Federation and the Collective ) demanded that the Senate allow the Federation to increase the size of its battle droid military as a means of self - defense . Senator Ranulph Tarkin , leader of the militarist faction , used the opportunity to demand that the Republic recreate the Republic Army and Navy that had been eliminated in the Ruusan Reformation . However , the even - headed Senator Finis Valorum suggested that the Republic , Federation , and Combine settle their differences through diplomacy . Stark agreed , as did the body of the Senate , which chose Valorum and Gunray to be its representatives . The meeting , it was decided , would be held on the Combine world of Troiken , although only the appointed delegates knew of its location . The Senate requested that a team of Jedi protectors and diplomats accompany its delegation to Troiken . Senator Valorum approached the Jedi Council to inform them of the mission , causing Master Tyvokka — known for his powers of intuition and a singular ability to sense the future — to suspect the true nature of the " shortage . " Valorum insisted that evidence be found before any action be taken against Xucphra or the Federation , and so , under the advice of Tyvokka , the Council ordered Jedi Knight Tholme and his Padawan , Quinlan Vos , to go to Thyferra , despite the misgivings of Grand Master Yoda about Vos ' s inner darkness . Tyvokka selected his own former Padawan , Plo Koon , as well as Qui - Gon Jinn and Obi - Wan Kenobi , to accompany him to Troiken ; Adi Gallia also joined the task force after Valorum requested her presence , the two having enjoyed a long , close - working relationship . Elsewhere on Coruscant , another meeting was taking place . As part of his militarist campaign , Senator Tarkin had assembled a paramilitary force from the regional defense forces of planets sympathetic to his cause , and had entered into an agreement with Minister Gunray . Despite some reluctance at meeting ' s end , Gunray did provide Tarkin with the location of the conference world — but only after the senator threatened to release information to the Senate on Gunray ' s various clandestine ( and highly dubious ) business activities . Tarkin ' s goal in smashing the Combine was to weaken the position of anti - militarists such as Valorum while highlighting the militarists as the new dominant force in the Senate . He also planned on having the Senate declare his paramilitary force the new official Republic Army and Navy , which he hoped would naturally lead to him becoming the leader of the Republic . Tarkin , however , unknowingly lacked the element of surprise : for the Combine ' s spies , possibly through Federation contacts , had learned of the existence of Tarkin ' s fleet , and his plans for its use . As the Jedi and Senate diplomatic teams were dispatched to Thyferra and Troiken , Tarkin readied his fleet for battle , and Stark planned the destruction of all three . Combat operations . First Battle of Qotile . The Jedi and Republic negotiators arrived on Troiken , meeting with Stark and his Combine co - directors . Once the inaugural meeting began , Gunray activated a homing beacon on his mechno - chair , transmitting the coordinates of the meeting - place to Tarkin ' s fleet . Tarkin ordered the ships to enter hyperspace , intending to attack the summit and kill both the Combine ' s leadership and the Republic ' s entourage . No sooner had the Combine ' s leadership been seated than Tyvokka suggested that they skip the formalities and get to what Stark intended to be the real solution . Stark agreed , and his men drew their weapons on the Republic negotiators , using the pretext of Gunray ' s treachery . Stark revealed his knowledge of Tarkin ' s fleet — as well as the fact that he had piggybacked his navcomputer virus on Gunray ' s signal , incapacitating the navigational computers of Tarkin ' s ships . Many emerged from hyperspace in areas that would destroy them ( such as near stars or black holes ) , others emerged in realspace safely but far off course , and only a fraction — including Tarkin ' s flagship " Invincible " — made it to the Qotile system , where they immediately came under fire from the Combine ships that outnumbered them . Although Valorum protested that he knew nothing of Tarkin ' s unsanctioned plans , Stark would hear none of it , insisting that the Republic team surrender . Tyvokka , realizing that his suspicions were true , literally turned the tables on Stark ' s men , with the Jedi springing into action . Under Qui - Gon Jinn ' s advice , the panicked Gunray ordered his security droids to " kill them all . " But the droids opened fire on both Stark ' s men " and " the Jedi , mortally wounding Tyvokka and forcing the Jedi to destroy the droids while Stark and his co - directors escaped . The Jedi and their charges quickly made their way back to their Consular cruiser while they still could ( Gunray ' s transport having been destroyed just before their escape ) , retreating to Mount Avos . Tyvokka died en route , ordering Adi Gallia to protect Valorum to ensure a peaceful solution , Plo Koon to rally Tarkin ' s troops lest the Senate surrender ( as well as to join the Jedi Council as Tyvokka had hoped ) , and Jinn to seek a way to override the computer virus . En route , Plo Koon used his telepathic abilities to scare off the Stark fighter following them . Upon arrival at Avos , their damaged Consular exploded . Overhead , less than one fourth of Tarkin ' s fleet remained . After the " Invincible " suffered critical damage and Tarkin received a message from Valorum informing him of their retreat location , Tarkin ordered his crews to abandon their ships and aim their escape pods for Mount Avos . The fighting ships of Tarkin ' s fleet surrounded the troop carriers while their crews left , before being evacuated themselves . The " Invincible " was destroyed just after Tarkin and his staff evacuated , the burning hulk impacting near Avos , as the Jedi and soldiers began to regroup inside the mountain ' s abandoned spice mines . Mission to Thyferra . As the ill - fated summit on Troiken began , Tholme and Quinlan Vos arrived on Thyferra , scouting the site of the Xucphra Plant explosion and encountering security droids programmed to kill any interlopers . Destroying the droids , the two encountered a secret meeting between Xucphra ' s Bel and the Federation ' s Hask , learning of the secret deal between them and Stark that had caused the bacta shortage and war in the first place . Evading hunter / killer droid s and a sewer ' s tunnel grinder , Tholme and Vos made their way onto a Federation bacta freighter . The ship was " seized " by the Combine and rerouted to Troiken where , in an attempt to deny such an advantage to their enemy , the Jedi caused the freighter to explode . The war continues . Following the regrouping inside Mount Avos , the Combine began bombarding the mountain with artillery fire . Inside the cave , a survey by Jace Dallin , Tarkin ' s aide and second - in - command , revealed that while the cave had plenty of water , the soldiers only had ten days worth of food , limited medical supplies , and no bacta . Tarkin and Gunray opted for surrender , while Valorum and Koon favored a continued resistance . Koon was able , via his telepathic skill , to gain access to Stark ' s mind while the Combine ' s co - directors were in meeting , all unhappy with the outcome of the first battle . Stark assured them that the situation , while not what they had anticipated , was not a bad one : Tarkin ' s forces were trapped in Mount Avos , the Republic still had no bacta , and by now the navicomputer virus had spread throughout many of the Republic ' s ships , crippling interstellar commerce and transport . Anticipating a swift surrender of both Tarkin ' s force and the Senate , Stark managed to convince his lieutenants to continue with the plan , and prepared for a frontal assault on the mountain . Koon heard this however and , armed with this knowledge , the Republic force was able to put up a stiff resistance . After Tarkin ' s troops were saved at the last minute by the Jedi , Stark changed tactics , deciding to stop attacking and maintain a siege , in order to starve the Republic soldiers out . Koon again used his telepathy to learn of this strategy while tending to the wounded soldiers , an action that helped convince many ( Humans " all " , chosen by Tarkin , who was steeped in humanocentric prejudices ) that there was no difference between aliens and Humans . In light of Koon ' s newly acquired information , it was decided that Gallia and the negotiators ' Judicial Forces pilot would take Valorum and Gunray back to Coruscant to convince the Senate not to surrender ; Tarkin was offered the chance to go but refused , viewing it as an attempt by Koon to steal his command . As Dallin launched a diversionary attack , the pilot , Gallia , the senators , and Jinn and Kenobi left Mount Avos through a side tunnel , heading towards the Combine headquarters on a captured speeder . Reaching the spaceport just as Tholme and Vos destroyed the captured bacta freighter , the team returning to Coruscant stole one of the Combine ' s spacecraft and took off , while the four remaining Jedi met up and returned to Avos . There , Vos and Kenobi began a friendship that would last for years as they encountered a cavern containing thousands of challat eater s , carnivorous insects that would eat sentients alive ; initially evading the creatures by creating rounded Force shields through what Vos called a ' Force blow ' , the two boys were only saved thanks to the intervention of Tholme , Jinn and Koon , who , once the padawans were safely behind them , called upon the Force to seal off the challat eater cave from the rest of the encampment . At the same time , a native Xexto named Billibango joined the Republic force , offering vital information about the mountain and its mines . Meanwhile , upon arriving at Coruscant ' s outer fringes from hyperspace , a booby - trap suddenly activated in the Stark shuttle , killing the Judicial pilot and blowing up the ship , the remaining three making it off in escape pods just in time . Rescued by Coruscant Security , Gallia briefed the Jedi Council while Valorum addressed the Senate . Although the senator single - handedly convinced the Senate not to surrender to Stark , it refused to send any aid to Troiken ; the replacing of trade ships ' navicomputers took priority , and Tarkin ' s fleet had been an unsanctioned vigilante force . Combine agents on Coruscant reported this to Troiken , where a second assault on Mount Avos had been repulsed by Tarkin ' s men . Koon was able to learn of the Senate ' s decision through his telepathic link to Stark ' s mind . Tarkin again wished to surrender , but Koon had another idea . Joining with the powers of the other Jedi in gathered meditation , he was able to reach his young niece , Sha Koon , a Jedi learner at the Temple on Coruscant . Through her , the Jedi Council was able to establish a two - way communication with the Jedi on Troiken , who briefed them on the situation there . Koon and Oppo Rancisis , communicating telepathically from disparate parts of the galaxy , then developed a plan . Koon had entered Stark ' s mind and informed him of the unenviable situation he was in , and offered him amnesty in return for cooperation in ending the war . Stark agreed . It was decided that a Jedi strike force would be sent to Troiken ; Jinn and Tholme would acquire the patch to the navicomputer virus from the Combine ' s command vessel " Raptor " and broadcast it to the Jedi ' s ships . As the Senate would not offer the use of any Judicial Forces ships , Gallia and Mace Windu approached the Trade Federation minister Nute Gunray . Through a combination of pointing out that it was in the best interests of the Federation to destroy the pirate Collective , and threats of incriminating disclosures to the Senate ( i . e . , revealing the Federation ' s role in fomenting the bacta crisis ) unless he complied , the Jedi persuaded the Federation minister to take action : Gunray managed to arrange for the Jedi ' s use of a large Trade Federation fleet . The stage was now set for the end of the Stark Hyperspace War . The fighting ends . Stark ' s co - directors were unwilling to continue to tolerate what they saw as his bumbling leadership , and were on the verge of killing him , when he told them that he had an ally on the inside of the Republic stronghold of Mount Avos — neglecting to point out , however , the nature of that alliance : that his ally was Jedi Knight Plo Koon , who had convinced Stark via telepathy to defect . Meanwhile , Nute Gunray and the Trade Federation had given the Jedi Council the use of a fleet of freighters and C - 9979 landing craft . Oppo Rancisis was on the bridge of the command ship where his use of battle meditation would be most effective , while Saesee Tiin prepared to command the two Jedi fighter groups , Red and Blue Squadrons . Windu , Gallia , and fellow Master Eeth Koth also accompanied the force . Although outnumbered by the Combine fleet , they trusted that their better training , resolve , and use of the Force would carry the battle . On Troiken , Tholme and Vos infiltrated the Combine ' s command ship , " Raptor " , in preparation for broadcasting the patch to the Combine ' s crippling navcomputer virus , while Jinn and Kenobi infiltrated the Combine ' s headquarters to acquire the patch itself . Jinn and Kenobi encountered trouble , however , as the protocol droid in charge of the patch required a password to release it . The password was soon supplied by Stark himself , who arrived with two of his co - directors — both of whom ( Boor - Daa and Tam Gozon ) he killed in front of the Jedi . Having telepathically received from Jedi Knight Plo Koon a promise of amnesty with his cooperation , Stark ( having long since realized his cause was a lost one ) supplied the password and then helped the two Jedi pacify the command center . Overhead , Tholme and Vos transmitted the patch to the Trade Federation fleet , with Vos additionally reversing the controls of the shield generators of the " Raptor " , setting them to instead lower when ordered to raise . The Jedi then fought their way off the ship on one of its fighters as the Jedi force arrived en masse in the Qotile system . At Mount Avos , the Republic force retreated out a back entrance while the Combine forces swarmed in from the front . Koon planned to seal both entrances once the Republic soldiers had evacuated , thus trapping the Combine soldiers harmlessly inside the mine . The plan failed however when , determined to kill off both the Jedi who had stolen his glory and the enemy he had been unable to vanquish , Tarkin stole the last detonator charge and used it to open the challat eater cave to a devouring of all forces within the caves , killing himself in the blast while securing for himself a self - styled immortality as the " Hero of Troiken " — the man who indeed destroyed the Stark Combine and won the war in one fell swoop of self - sacrifice . Koon managed to escape just in time , using the Force to seal the mine , unfortunately trapping the majority of the Combine soldiers inside the insect - infested mine , where they were eaten alive . As the " Raptor " was destroyed overhead , the few surviving ground forces of the Combine surrendered , ending both the Fifth Battle of Qotile and the Stark Hyperspace War . Aftermath . As the war was fought during a bacta scarcity , Stark War veterans suffered higher death rates than were expected , and many of the survivors bore the scars and injuries they received fighting for the rest of their lives . Tarkin ' s soldiers were entitled by the Republic government to wear a flag pin ( presumably of the Republic insignia ) on their clothing , signifying that they were Stark veterans . The Stark Veteran Assembly was also formed , as a congregation and advocate group for Republic veterans of the war . The war also proved to be a training ground for pirates , mercenaries , and terrorists , many of whom put the martial skills they learned in the war to their own uses afterwards . The most notable examples were the militant wing of the Nebula Front and the bounty hunter Bossk , who got his first bounty by hunting down a deserter from the war . The deaths of Tyvokka and Ranulph Tarkin opened empty seats on the Jedi Council and Galactic Senate , respectively . The former was filled by Tyvokka ' s former apprentice Plo Koon , who was promoted to Jedi Master and given Tyvokka ' s seat on the Jedi Council after leading the Republic to victory in the Fifth Battle of Qotile . In the Senate , Eriadu ' s new representative was Ranulph ' s relative , Shayla Paige - Tarkin . In 40 BBY , Valorum would become Supreme Chancellor , thanks to heavy support by the Tarkin family . In exchange , Valorum would declare Ranulph the " Hero of Troiken " , leading to a public perception of Valorum ' s reliance on the Eriadu - based Tarkins , and a swift rise through the Republic power structure for Ranulph ' s cousin , Wilhuff Tarkin . Iaco Stark ' s Combine was destroyed , and he eventually joined the Commerce Guild as an apparently legitimate businessman . Nute Gunray would be made Viceroy of the Trade Federation , partially due to his " vision " in having Federation ships allotted for Jedi use at the end of the war , but he forever denied seeing a Jedi in action . The war was a major impetus for those who advocated both the formation of a standing Republic military and greater Republic control of outlying sectors and their commerce — views that were thereafter championed by the SVA . Behind the scenes . Origins . The Stark Hyperspace War was first mentioned in the " " , where Plo Koon was described as " a veteran of the Hyperspace Wars . " As at that time the only " Hyperspace War " was the Great Hyperspace War of 5000 years earlier , the Stark Hyperspace War was developed to explain the discrepancy . Timeline placement . 2005 ' s " The New Essential Chronology " originally placed the Stark Hyperspace War in 44 BBY . 2010 ' s " " also states that " " takes place 30 BBY . Mace Windu states within the story itself that the event took place " fourteen " years prior , placing the flashbacks to the conflict itself in 44 BBY . 2009 ' s " The Essential Atlas " erroneously shifted the event two years earlier , to 46 BBY with the error again being repeated in " The Essential Guide to Warfare " . Chronologically the placement in 46 BBY is impossible as Obi - Wan Kenobi does not become Qui - Gon Jinn ' s apprentice until 44 BBY as outlined in the " Jedi Apprentice " series ; the timeline of which was locked - down to 44 BBY by 2012 ' s " The Essential Reader ' s Companion " . Obi - Wan has also not constructed his lightsaber until 44 BBY . As " The Essential Reader ' s Companion " is the most recent publication , this article assumes that its dating , which reflects the original in - story dating for the conflict , is correct .