Battle of the Emperor ' s Citadel The Battle of the Emperor ' s Citadel , or the Battle of Byss , was a battle between the New Republic and the Galactic Empire in 10 ABY at the reborn Emperor Palpatine ' s throne world of Byss . Following the Empire ' s truce with the Balmorrans which resulted in the export of the new state - of - the - art X - 1 Viper droids , the insurgent New Republic had intercepted the shipment onboard the Star Hauler " Reliance " . The Rebel commandos then inserted themselves inside the war droids . Upon landing on Byss , the X - 1 Vipers quickly overpowered their Imperial guards at the spaceport before making their way down through the streets of the Imperial capital . They eliminated all opposition including various walker types and gunships . At the Emperor ' s Citadel , they took on and wiped out the Emperor ' s complement of walkers and turbolaser emplacements . However , the tide of the battle change when the clone Emperor Palpatine ordered his two top Dark Side Elite to unleashed monstrous Sithspawn known as Chrysalide Rancors . These monsters took on the X - 1 Vipers , tearing them apart and scattering the Rebels . Luckily , the surviving Rebels were rescued by a group of smuggler ships led by Salla Zend . They then escaped into hyperspace , fleeing the battle . In retaliation for the Rebel attack on his citadels and their successful escape , Palpatine ordered the launch of the first projectile against the New Republic base on Pinnacle Moon . Details . Pre - battle . After the Battle of Balmorra , Governor Beltane negotiated a truce with the Empire and sent a shipment of the new molecularly - shielded X - 1 Viper droids onboard the Imperial Star Hauler " Reliance " . However , Beltane secretly sympathized with the New Republic and arranged for the Rebels to intercept the shipment en route to Byss . The plan was for the New Republic to use the droids to target the six top Imperial command posts . The plan worked at first and the Rebels intercepted the " Reliance " and captured the X - 1 Viper droids . Rebel commandos were then placed inside the droids . Though the X - 1 Vipers were programmed to make their own decisions , Beltane modified them for supervised combat and manual override . The mission was led by Lando Calrissian along with the famous droids C - 3PO and R2 - D2 . The early attack . Upon arriving on Byss , the X - 1 Vipers sprung into action and attacked the Imperial forces . After crushing resistance from stormtroopers and tanks , the X - 1 Vipers made their way to the Emperor ' s Citadel . In the streets of the capital , the molecular - shielded automatons confronted and destroyed many various walker types , XR - 85 tank droid s , and DP20 frigate s . Next , upon arriving outside the Citadel , they faced resistance from the most advanced turbolasers in use by the Empire . Meanwhile , the reborn Palpatine — who had been touring his new superweapon , the Galaxy Gun — ordered his new Executor , Xecr Nist , and his second in command , Tedryn - Sha , to unleash his alchemically altered Chrysalide Rancors . On the ground , the X - 1 Vipers confronted the Emperor ' s contingent of walkers , and easily destroyed them by absorbing enemy fire through the use of their advanced molecular shield s and then turning the energy against the Imperial forces . They then began tearing the turbolaser emplacements . The Chrysalides arrive . Unfortunately , turbolifts carrying the Chrysalides appeared and then unleashed their deadly cargo on the Rebels . The Chrysalides proved a match for the X - 1 Vipers and quickly reduced the once deadly force to little more than scrap metal . Several of the New Republic commandos were killed by blaster fire or the sharp jaws of these monstrous beasts . However , some of the Rebel occupants , including Lando , Wedge and the droids , managed to escape . With the surviving Rebels concentrated around the Imperial citadel , the Imperial authorities sealed all roads to the Citadel under orders of the Emperor to allow the Chrysalides to feast on the remaining Rebels and the wreckage of the Vipers . Smugglers to the rescue . Meanwhile , at the cantina Byss Bistro , Salla Zend — who had transported the Rebels to Byss — and several other smugglers and freighter crews decided to help their Rebel allies . Unfortunately , they encountered an Imperial roadblock at the cargo terminal . However , as they fought the Imperial troops , three freighters — " Starhook Ten " , " Bespin Bandit " and " Hyperspace Marauder " — raced to the Emperor ' s Citadel . These vessels were armed with illegal weapons and modified shields . Upon arriving , they rescued the surviving Rebels and fought the Chrysalides . A well aimed ion burst from " Bespin Bandit " and " Starhook Ten " destroyed a Chrysalide . However , one of the Sithspawn managed to grab " Starhook Ten " , though R2 - D2 confronted it and sent the monster crashing down on the main citadel defense turbolaser . The three freighters bypassed the Galaxy Gun . However , the Emperor allowed them to escape into hyperspace . Aftermath . In retaliation for the Rebel attack on his citadels and the escape of the surviving Rebels into hyperspace along with a group of smugglers , Palpatine ordered the launch of the first projectile against the New Republic base on Pinnacle Moon . Within hours , Pinnacle Moon had been wiped off the face of the galaxy . However , due to the presence of spies in Byss itself , the New Republic forces along with some of the native Ixll s managed to escape the doomed moon in a fleet of transports . Behind the scenes . The Battle of the Emperor ' s Citadel first appeared in the issue " " of the " Dark Empire II " series of comics . The battle was conceived and written by authors Tom Veitch , illustrated and colored by colorist Cam Kennedy . Veith used this battle to further develop the role of Wedge Antilles and Lando Calrissian in the story plot , while introducing new elements into the canon ical Expanded Universe — the chrysalide rancors and the world - destroying Galaxy Gun . The Battle of the Emperor ' s Citadel would eventually be featured in the " Dark Empire II " audio drama , which witnessed the skirmish take on a whole new personality through the voice acting of John Cygan ( Antilles ) and Jim Ward ( C - 3PO ) . However , the audio drama version differs from the original comic " Dark Empire II " in regards to several aspects of the chronology of events in the battle . In the audio drama , before being initiated , Nist , together with Tedryn - Sha , leads an inspection of the " Reliance " that is carrying X - 1 Viper droids to Byss . In " Dark Empire II " , this task is performed by an Imperial officer and two stormtroopers . Also , in the audio drama , Nist plays a much larger role in the ensuing battle on Byss . Together with Tedryn - Sha , he commands the defense of the planet from the Citadel and contacts Palpatine — who is still inspecting the Galaxy Gun — to inform him of the Rebel attack . In the comic , both Nist and Sha are still on the shuttle with Palpatine during the battle .