Bal ' demnic Bal ' demnic was an ocean planet adorned with rocky tropical islands in the Bak ' rofsen system of the Auril sector , located within the Outer Rim Territories . The hostility of its native Kon ' me species , together with its extremely harsh climate , discouraged most people from ever visiting the planet , despite the beauty of its giant rock cliffs , pristine beaches , and vast azure oceans . It was mostly of interest to cartographers , xenobiologist s , and fisherfolk , until knowledge of the planet ' s rich deposits of cortosis ore fell into the hands of Sith Lords Darth Tenebrous and Darth Plagueis . After Plagueis killed his master Tenebrous on the planet , and later acquired mining rights to a large portion of the main continent , Bal ' demnic did not figure into pan - galactic politics until the Clone Wars . The Confederacy of Independent Systems moved in to invade and mine Bal ' demnic of its cortosis to bolster their own war effort . However , the Kon ' me eventually rose up against the invaders , just as they were about to be liberated by the Galactic Republic . As a result , the natives drove off both the Republic and the Confederacy , although the former maintained a significant naval presence in the system following the battle . Description . Located in the Bak ' rofsen system , which was in turn found within the Outer Rim Territories ' Auril sector , Bal ' demnic was considered a planet of stark yet rugged beauty . Mostly covered by ocean , the world was pockmarked with small tropical beach islands , a small primary continent , and a northern polar ice cap . To an unwitting observer , the planet was an aesthetic paradise . Vast azure oceans glistened in the sun , crashing white on the shorelines of land masses tiny and large . High cliffs and narrow rock formations towered through the white mists of the rough seas . Pristine beaches of both white and black sands rested at the bottom of gargantuan canyons . But the scorching climate kept any would - be holiday maker well away . Bal ' demnic held a noxious atmosphere , and seismic events often rocked the planet and changed the landscape . Hawk - bats took shelter in crystalline caves often found just below the coastal rocky surface . Bloodthirsty insects flew in swarms along the dry treeless terrain . Great winds whistled through the cliffs , and heavy rains surged in the wet seasons of the planet ' s long year . The native Kon ' me had razed much of the planet ' s forests for building materials and firewood , leaving only inaccessible vegetation found on steep sided gorge walls . The planet ' s primary city contained Kon ' meas Spaceport , perched at the top of high cliffs overlooking the ocean . Shorelines were dotted with beachside dwellings , the high class living in glistening bubble - like structures embedded within the high cliffs . The low class fashioned simple thatched huts on the beaches . Late in the planet ' s history , veins of rich cortosis ore were discovered in the planet ' s surface — a property that made Bal ' demnic a point of contention during the pan - galactic Clone Wars . History . Murder of a Sith Master . In 67 BBY , Subtext Mining provided Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Tenebrous with secret intelligence revealing large deposits of cortosis ore within the planet ' s crust . Tenebrous acted on the new information personally , traveling to Bal ' demnic with his apprentice , Darth Plagueis . Tenebrous ascribed special significance to the mission , believing that two Sith Lords mining cortosis at the apex of the Rule of Two era amounted to the “ closing of a circle , ” a circle that had began with Darth Bane , starting on the path toward darkness in the Apatros cortosis mines a millennium earlier . In a crystalline cave , Tenebrous commanded Subtext ' s M - 2 mining probe droid to verify the secret mining survey team ' s claims . During the process , the M - 2 unit ceased taking orders from the Sith Lord , and proceeded to drill in the direction of a highly combustible pocket of lethane gas . Tenebrous sensed great danger and fled the cave with his apprentice . Before they were able to reach the surface , the Sith Lords were overcome by the large explosion caused by the M - 2 unit ' s breach of the lethane pocket . The surrounding cavern ceiling collapsed , and both Master and Apprentice used the Force to prevent large slabs of rock falling on them and their ship . With Tenebrous distracted , Plagueis realized that the fear his Master had sensed earlier was his own death - at his apprentice ' s hands . With the Force , Plagueis sent the levitated slabs crashing down on Tenebrous , crushing him almost to death , and damaging his ship . After a brief exchange of words , Plagueis snapped his Master ' s neck . Tenebrous ' remains would be undisturbed for decades , possibly centuries , after his death . Over a long sleepless night , Plagueis traveled on foot utilizing a Force speed technique to cover hundreds of kilometers to Kon ' meas Spaceport . There he stowed aboard the " Woebegone " , whose crew he killed whilst in transit , and took the ship to Muunilinst . A most valuable resource . On his return to Muunilinst , Plagueis entrusted Larsh Hill to purchase large amounts of Bal ' demnic land and acquire mining rights for the cortosis - addled mainland . Despite killing his master , Plagueis sought to avenge Tenebrous ' betrayal at the hands of Subtext Mining . Under the Sith Lord ' s deathly interrogation , the Gossam owners of Subtext revealed to Plagueis unprecedented natural reserves of plasma on the planet Naboo . In essence , the Sith duo ' s mining survey on Bal ' demnic revealed a far greater discovery that would shape the future of the galaxy - - Darth Plagueis meeting young Palpatine . At some point over the next two decades , a secret mining operation on Bal ' demnic was established . Some of the processed ore was used in the manufacture of cortosis shield s . Darth Sidious supplied a shield to the Yinchorri , to be used against the Jedi during the Yinchorri Uprising of 33 BBY . The shield from Bal ' demnic ' s ore proved to be most effective , factoring into the deaths of two Jedi during the raid : Jude Rozess and Tieren Nie - Tan . The battle for cortosis . During the Outer Rim Sieges , the Confederacy saw the occupation of Bal ' demnic and its cortosis as vital to the war effort . Fitting in with their campaign to direct Republic forces away from the Core , the Confederacy descended upon the ocean world during the third year of the Clone Wars . The invading force ordered the native Kon ' me to either allow cortosis mining operations to begin , or be destroyed . The upper - class cliff - dwelling Kon ' me consented to Confederate occupation , and allowed the operations to begin . In spite of this , the beachfront Kon ' me were outraged , and began to develop small pockets of resistance against the invaders . Confederacy transmissions relevant to the Bal ' demnic situation were eventually intercepted by the Republic . Jedi Master Mace Windu realized the potential danger of a Confederate hold on Bal ' demnic ' s cortosis reserves — as a result , the Jedi Council dispatched a task force led by Jedi Knights Halagad Ventor and Sha Koon to investigate and sabotage the Confederate operation . The Republic force , however , found Bal ' demnic in chaos . The Kon ' me had risen up and cast off the yoke of Confederate rule , using high - tech weaponry that had been smuggled to them by war profiteers . With mounted weaponry in their bubble - like cliff dwellings , the Kon ' me were pitted against the combined armor of the Confederate droids . The Confederacy , in turn , dispatched OG - 9 homing spider droids to overrun the Kon ' me positions . When Ventor and Koon ' s clone troopers landed , the situation only escalated , resulting in the natives firing on all offworlders , regardless of affiliation . Due to the unusual and unfamiliar island terrain , both the Confederate and Republic forces retreated . With the Confederacy no longer able to harvest the cortosis , the Republic left an orbital fleet above Bal ' demnic to dissuade any further incursions from their adversaries . The planet was mentioned by the Golden Emperor of Prekaz , in his commentary on the state of the galactic economy . The Emperor ' s quote was later included as an epigraph in Doctor Gabrel Treon writings on House Praji for the Byblos Journal of Historical Science , entitled " " . Inhabitants . The reptilian Kon ' me were the only known sentient species native to Bal ' demnic . Their disposition was notorious offworld for being abrasive and isolationist , and they had a class - structure illustrated by location of residence . For instance , the upper - class Kon ' me resided in more opulent structures within the beachside cliff walls than their lower - class counterparts . The cliff - dwelling Kon ' me made planetary decisions , such as the acceptance of a Confederate occupation during the Clone Wars , whereas the lower - class was destined to bear the brunt of such decisions . As a result , a rift grew between the two classes during the war , with the beach - dwellers establishing a resistance against the Confederates that their upper - class counterparts had welcomed . Many offworlders visited Bal ' demnic for trading purposes ; mostly non - Humans from neighboring star systems , Hutt Space , the far reaches of the Perlemian Trade Route and some hailing from as far as the Core Worlds . Behind the scenes . Bal ' demnic first appeared in " Chapter 22 , " an episode of " " . It was shown fleetingly in a montage of Confederacy of Independent Systems invasions across the galaxy . It was later named , and elaborated on by Arthur Papadam , under the pseudonym " Arf Maul " , through StarWars . com ' s feature , " What ' s The Story ? " Papadam derived the name " Bal ' demnic " from the word " condemn , " while also making it similar to " demonic , " suggesting that the planet ' s inhabitants were not as innocent as they might have appeared . The first syllable , " Bal , " was derived from one of Papadam ' s friend ' s nicknames : " B ' daniel . " In his entry , Papadam also connected the planet to various other disparate elements from the Expanded Universe , including Halagad Ventor from West End Games ' " Domain of Evil " adventure supplement , and Sha Koon from " " , an arc from the " " comic line . In addition to this , Papadam placed Bal ' demnic in the Auril sector as he wished to reference the planet Khuiumin IV , as a way of paying homage to one of his favorite " Star Wars " games , " " . Papadam ' s placement stemmed from the belief ( later disproved in " The Essential Atlas " ) that Khuiumin was also located in the Auril sector ; however , he cut his reference to Khuiumin from the final entry . Following that , the planet received its own entries in " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " and " " in 2008 . The planet also gained brief attention from sources such as 2009 ' s article " Tinker , Tailor , Soldier , Praji " by Nathan O ' Keefe and the same year ' s " The Essential Atlas " by Daniel Wallace and Jason Fry . The Atlas confirmed that the Battle of Bal ' demnic occurred during the third year of the Clone Wars , and provided the coordinates for Bal ' demnic on the galactic map . Bal ' demnic was referenced by Abel G . Peña in his final draft of " " , but was cut out of the final release . Papadam ' s writings were largely elaborated upon in the 2012 novel " Darth Plagueis " by James Luceno , and the supplemental article " The Tenebrous Way " by Matthew Stover and " " by Daniel Wallace . Luceno established Bal ' demnic as the location of the death of Darth Tenebrous at the hands of his apprentice , Darth Plagueis . The planet ' s geography and history were greatly expanded on in Luceno ' s novel , also setting in motion events that led to the Battle of Bal ' demnic during the Clone Wars . Later that year , Bal ' demnic was included in illustrations of the galactic map for the first time by Modi in " The Essential Guide to Warfare " . Here , Bal ' demnic is shown to be in the far top - right corner of grid coordinate R7 , in very close proximity to Ossus , Belderone and Trogan .