Battle of N ' zoth The Battle of N ' zoth was the final battle of the Black Fleet Crisis , in which the New Republic implemented Operation Strong Hand against the Yevetha . In 16 ABY , the Yevetha had attacked and massacred all non - Yevethan colonies within the Koornacht Cluster during their Great Purge . Following a heated diplomatic offensive , the New Republic moved against the Dushkan League following the testimony by Purge survivor Plat Mallar and the beating of a captive Commodore Han Solo being released on HoloNet . After a series of battles , the New Republic Fifth Battle Group arrived over the Dushkan capital N ' zoth in 17 ABY and demanded their surrender and an end to all hostilities . Defiant to the last , Nil Spaar mustered a war fleet including the former Imperial vessels of the Black Fleet . However , the surviving Imperial captives led by Sil Sorannan ' s Camp Pa ' aal Squadron used a built - in slave circuit to hijack all Imperial vessels within the Yevethan fleet including Spaar ' s flagship " Pride of Yevetha " . With the Imperial ships in hyperspace en route for Byss , the remaining Yevethan warships refused to surrender . Despite being outnumbered five to one , they fought fanatically to the last forcing the New Republic to completely destroy the enemy fleet . With Yevethan military aggression halted , the New Republic fleet withdrew from the N ' zoth system . History . Background . In 16 ABY , the Yevethan Darama Nil Spaar opened communications with the dominant galactic government in the neighboring Core Worlds – the New Republic . Spaar himself arrived on the capital Coruscant supposedly to seek peaceful co - existence but actually to sow confusion and disruption prior to their planned Great Purge of all non - Yevetha in the Koornacht Cluster . Taking advantage of the Republic ' s lack of information on the Yevetha and Chief of State Leia Organa Solo ' s plans to seek an ally against the Imperial Remnant , Spaar sought to play into Solo ' s empathy for species subjugated by the Empire . Following the destruction of a Republic survey ship by a Yevethan patrol , Spaar initiated several political machinations that threw the Republic government into disarray . With the New Republic forced to withdraw its forces from the Cluster , Spaar returned to N ' zoth and launched the Great Purge against all non - Yevethan colonies in the region . Due to the remote location of the Cluster and the division of the New Republic bureaucracy , Leia was unable to muster enough support for military intervention . However , two events changed Republic general sentiment . Firstly , Grannan pilot Plat Mallar ' s testimony of the Purge in the form of the " Plat Mallar Tapes " helped sway public opinion towards supporting retribution against the Yevetha . Secondly , the fleet shuttle " Tampion " was captured during a reconnaissance flight within the Cluster ' s borders . Among the passengers were General Han Solo — Leia ' s husband and the father of three young children — and Lieutenant Barth . The Viceroy continued his machinations against the Republic by claiming to an invoke an allegiance with the fictitious Grand Imperial Union . Attempting to use Solo as a bargaining chip , Spaar demanded that he persuade Leia to withdraw from the Koornacht Cluster permanently . When Solo refused , the Darama killed Barth right before his eyes . After the Battle of ILC - 905 destroyed a Yevethan shipyard and several thrustships , Spaar personally beat Solo in a recorded transmission to the New Republic , demanding tersely that they leave Koornacht immediately . Unfortunately for the Dushkan League , the latter incident galvanized and outraged both the New Republic leadership and public who were now committed to supporting a military intervention against the League . Organa Solo , faced with a difficult decision , chose not to order a surrender or withdrawal but instead invoked an official declaration of war on the Yevetha . The New Republic then prepared for a pivotal confrontation , and sent the Fifth Fleet to engage the Yevetha fleet . Solo would later be freed by a group of Wookiees led by Chewbacca , who boarded the " Pride of Yevetha " and made their way to the cells . The Wookiees accepted the aid of a Fallanassi prisoner on board , who used her illusions to mask the group and to help the remaining prisoners escape . Spaar ' s breederies were damaged in the escape , infuriating the " darama " . Spaar was angered even more when he learned that Organa Solo had chosen to fight . A Common Enemy . The full strength of the New Republic Fifth Battle Group arrived over the orbit of N ' zoth . Running before the main body of the fleet were several reconnaissance stasis probe s dispatched by Alpha Blue and the Navy . These stasis probes surveyed the expanses of the Yevethan military fleet in preparation for the battle . However , Primate Dar Bille had warning of the probes and ordered the fleet prepared . As the Yevethan and Republic fleets assembled in the surrounding space , Bille ordered the interdictor " Splendor of Yevetha " into position at the helm of the fleet to protect the flagship Super Star Destroyer " Pride of Yevetha " — formerly known as " Intimidator " . The Proctor of Defense Tho Voota commanded the " Pride of Yevetha " and its escort ships . In an attempt to reason with the Yevetha , the New Republic commander General Etahn A ' baht demanded that the Yevetha surrender all occupied territory and free all hostages . Predictably , Spaar rejected these conditions and unleashed a barrage of verbal insults at his opponents to provoke them . However , the Yevetha were hit from a blow that no one suspected . For the war effort , Imperial prisoners from the Yevethan Uprising of 4 ABY had been dispatched to the ships of the Yevethan fleet . For more than a decade , these prisoners had been interned as skilled slave labor for Yevethan military projects on the moon Pa ' aal . Over time , Sil Sorannan became the " de facto " leader of his fellow Imperial prisoners and formed a secret command group Camp Pa ' aal Squadron , plotting to strike against their Yevethan overseers when the moment was right . Throughout those years , Sorannan and his shadow command adopted the Yevethan tactic of pretending to collaborate with the enemy until the time was right to turn the tables on them . They had secretly installed a built - in slave circuit in the Imperial - designed warships of the Dushkan League . With the Yevetha preoccupied against the New Republic , the moment had come . At the start of the battle , Sorannan and 512 other former Imperial prisoners crewed the " Pride of Yevetha " . While Nil Spaar verbally denounced his enemies , the Imperials staged their uprising and used the slave circuits to gain control of the Imperial starships in Yevethan hands . Armed with blasters and the element of surprise , the Imperials quickly gained the upper hand over the Yevetha . From the bridge of " Intimidator " , Sorannan informed the New Republic that he and Camp Pa ' aal Squadron were rejoining the Empire , and the fleet entered hyperspace for the Deep Core . Though the Imperials and the New Republic were still officially enemies , the Imperials had less love for the Yevetha and were glad to help in their defeat . En route to their destination , Sorannan saw to it that Nil Spaar was deposited into hyperspace aboard an escape pod in revenge for his atrocities . As the escape pod lacked a hyperdrive , Nil Spaar was trapped in hyperspace , unable to revert to realspace — left for dead . The Phantom Fleet . Due to the efforts of Camp Pa ' aal Squadron , the New Republic now outnumbered the Yevetha five to one . Prior to the withdrawal of the Imperial ships , the Republic only outnumbered the enemy by three to one . All that remained now were 44 " Aramadia " - class thrustships and their D - type trifoil fighter s . This left the Yevetha without a central fleet and without a leader . Undaunted , the Yevetha fleet continued to fight , although without Spaar and the Black Fleet , they were unable to best the New Republic . Despite efforts by A ' baht to broadcast a second appeal of surrender to the individual commanders , the Yevetha continued their offensive . Fortunately for the New Republic , Jedi Master Luke Skywalker , who had been missing throughout the entire conflict to search for his mother with a Force - user named Akanah , had finally reappeared , accompanied by the Fallanassi Force Adepts . The Fallanassi aided the New Republic , using their Force powers to craft illusions of a Republic phantom fleet from the flagship " Intrepid " . This cut off much of the coordination with other Yevethan warships in the Koornacht Cluster . The Yevethan fleet was severely beaten by the Republic ' s ships , due mainly to the data gathered by the Republic at the preceding Battle of ILC - 905 . Three thrustships opened fire on the phantom elements of Task Force Token but inflicted no casualties . However , several Fallanassi on the Yevethan vessels died while remaining to create the illusion that there were still hostages onboard . In reality , all the hostages had been evacuated . These Fallanassi were killed during the ensuing fighting . Their deaths were felt by Skywalker and Wialu through the Force . With the Yevetha preoccupied with the phantom ships , A ' baht launched several RZ - 1 A - wing interceptors against the D - type fighter escorts . The Yevetha eventually penetrated the illusion when a senior Fallanassi , Wialu , who was creating the illusions , could not hold up under the strain , causing the illusions to disappear . The thrustships ' superior deflector shields and spherical symmetry allowed them to absorb considerable damage and to focus their firepower on a smaller nature as opposed to the triangular and oval symmetry of the Republic vessels . However , the New Republic made up for this in numerical superiority . The Star Destroyer " Yakez " was destroyed when a pair of enemy warships battered her shields and caused the detonation of the forward batteries , tearing the starship apart . Six other warships ‒ " Aboukir " , " Banshee " , " Fulminant " , " Garland " " Thunderhead " and " Werra " ‒ were destroyed while the " Endurance " - class fleet carrier " Ballarat " was heavily damaged , destroying several nearby starfighters . While stationed aboard the cruiser " Mandjur " , Plat Mallar flew his shuttle on three rescue trip to save pilots ; recovering a live one and two dead ones . Afterward , Mallar boarded the X - wing of his commanding officer , Captain Tegett ( who was incapacitated ) and joined the battle , eventually sacrificing his life ramming a Yevethan ship which was intending to ram " Mandjur " . His final act saved hundreds of lives , just as his desperate flight from Polneye guaranteed other worlds near Koornacht would not have to fear a second Great Purge . Near the end , the remaining thrustships launched fighters on kamikaze missions , damaging a number of Republic vessels . Despite the heavy losses , the New Republic fleet destroyed the entire Yevethan fleet present at the battle , ending the Black Fleet Crisis . Aftermath . Following the complete military defeat of the Dushkan League , the New Republic disarmed the Yevetha and kept them under close watch . It is unclear how long the New Republic ’ s close watch of the Yevetha continued , but active patrols were removed by at least 25 ABY . However , no one actually entered the N ' zoth system in that decade , during which the Yevetha built up an even larger force than the Black Fleet , consisting of thousands of " Aramadia " - class thrustships . During the Yuuzhan Vong War ( 25 ABY – 30 ABY ) , the Galantos Guard made a deal with the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong invaders . In exchange for what the Galantos believed to be protection from the extragalactic invaders , they informed the Yuuzhan Vong of the brutal Yevetha and the threat they may pose . Taking heed , the Yuuzhan Vong invaded the N ' zoth system . The details of the battle may never be known , but if the Yevethan and Yuuzhan Vong tactics say anything , the Yuuzhan Vong destroyed every single ship in the system , and unleashed a horrible orbital bombardment on N ' zoth that rendered the planet a molten wasteland . At the end of the conflict the Yevetha were either extinct or severely endangered . When the men of the Camp Pa ' aal Squadron arrived at Byss , they discovered of the planet ' s destruction by the Galaxy Gun in 11 ABY . Without a clear authority , the remnants of Black Sword Command split up . Most of the warships defected to the New Republic while four " Victory " - class Star Destroyers joined the Imperial Deep Core warlords . Meanwhile , two " Imperial " - class Star Destroyers and the experimental warship " EX - F " joined Gilad Pellaeon ' s Imperial Remnant in the Outer Rim . However , the " EX - F " would meet its destruction during the climatic Battle of Anx Minor . The " Intimidator " left for the Unknown Regions . She was discovered in 21 ABY , wrecked and adrift near the Unknown Regions , with no clear evidence as to what she had encountered .