Second battle of Leritor During the renewed war between the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic , a three - way battle occurred above the mineral - rich planet Leritor in 3640 BBY . After losing control of Leritor in a previous engagement , the Sith Lord Darth Gravus led a fleet to the planet and engaged the Republic Navy there , leading the battle from the helm of his " Harrower " - class dreadnought " Exemplar " . However , the prototype battlecruiser " Ascendant Spear " arrived in the system under the command of Darth Karrid , Gravus ' rival in the competition for a seat on the Empire ' s ruling Dark Council , and the elder Human ordered his fleet to attack the Falleen in order to eliminate the threat she posed . Gravus ' decision allowed the Republic fleet to tear apart his own , and the " Ascendant Spear " wiped out both fleets after the " Exemplar " struck the first blow . With the death of Gravus at the end of the battle , Karrid ascended to the head of the Sphere of Technology and became a Dark Councilor . Prelude . In 3640 BBY , not long after the Sith Lord Darth Gravus successfully conquered the planet Taris during the Galactic War between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire , Gravus lost control of the mineral - rich Mid Rim world of Leritor . Determined to reclaim the planet and secure his place on the Dark Council and at the head of the Sphere of Technology , Gravus gathered a fleet of three " Terminus " - class destroyers and eighteen " Fury " - class Imperial interceptors to complement his " Harrower " - class dreadnought " Exemplar " in an attack . The battle . Under Gravus ' command , the fleet entered the Leritor system and began to engage the Republic fleet , which was led by the " Valor " - class cruiser " Mardorus " . The cruiser was supported by two " Hammerhead " - class cruisers , three " Thranta " - class corvettes , and six BT - 7 Thunderclap s served as the fleet ' s light attack craft . Upon arriving in the system , Gravus deployed the destroyers to engage the corvettes and Thunderclaps , while the " Exemplar " remained at long range and the " Fury " - class interceptors strafed the " Mardorus " and the Hammerheads . However , not long into the battle , Gravus ' rival in the competition for the Council seat Darth Karrid arrived in the " Ascendant Spear " — a powerful prototype warship that was controlled by the Sith Lord through a combination of Sith alchemy and cybernetic implants . Karrid hailed her rival as she began to approach the battle and offered her aid , but Gravus refused her offer . One of the Hammerheads disengaged from the main battle and began to attack the " Spear " with two of the BT - 7 Thunderclaps , but Karrid easily destroyed the two fighters and then the corvette . This infuriated Darth Gravus , who ordered the " Exemplar " and the rest of his fleet to change targets and attack the " Spear " . The interceptors abandoned their attacks on the " Mardorus " and the remaining Hammerhead as the " Terminus " - class destroyers ceased the assaults on the " Thranta " - class corvettes to attack the " Spear " , and the Republic took advantage of the Imperials ' confusion to quickly wipe out seven interceptors and pummel the retreating destroyers with turbolaser fire . Karrid then drove the " Spear " through the heart of the battle , surprising both fleets as the massive capital ship began to engage them at close range and causing the entire theater to dissolve into chaos . A " Thranta " - class corvette and two Thunderclaps attempted to stop the " Spear " when it engaged the " Mardorus " , and eight interceptors defended the damaged Imperial destroyers from the rest of the Republic fleet while the remaining three tried to attack the " Spear " and the last Hammerhead engaged the fleeing " Exemplar " . The Republic ' s efforts were in vain , however , as the " Spear " destroyed the " Mardorus " in a matter of seconds , but Gravus decided to take advantage of Karrid ' s preoccupation by firing on his rival . With Gravus ' attack , Karrid was then able to engage the Imperial ships without fear of a reprisal from the Dark Council , and she quickly destroyed the Republic starfighters attacking the " Spear " before turning to the Imperials . The " Exemplar " was forced to abandon the assault on the " Spear " when the pursuing Hammerhead caught up to it , and Karrid destroyed two of the attacking interceptors while the Republic corvettes destroyed one of the Imperial destroyers . She then caused the " Spear " to bank at a nearly impossible angle so that the remaining interceptors crashed into the ship ' s hull , and the Sith Lord quickly wiped out the remaining interceptors before turning the " Spear " weapons on the corvettes and destroyers . The Hammerhead attacking the " Exemplar " was the last Republic ship to fall , giving Gravus the breathing room to try and jump to hyperspace — but a calculated strike from Karrid knocked out her rival ' s engines . Ignoring his attempt to contact her , Karrid destroyed the " Exemplar " and transferred command back to Moff Lorman so that she could rest . Aftermath . With the death of Darth Gravus , Karrid was the only remaining candidate for the Dark Council seat , and the Council met several hours later in their chambers beneath the Imperial Citadel on the capital of Dromund Kaas to review the battle . Even though they recognized Karrid ' s subterfuge in killing Gravus , the other members of the Council accepted Darth Marr ' s proposal that she be rewarded with the position . Analysis by Davidge , the Imperial Minister of Logistics , showed that the loss of the Imperial fleet outweighed the resources that the Empire gained from controlling Leritor . Behind the scenes . The second battle over Leritor appears in Chapter 8 of " " , a 2012 novel by Drew Karpyshyn written as a tie - in to the video game " " . The battle features inaccurate names of several Republic and Imperial ship classes but the descriptions of the ships was enough to identify them correctly . The " Valor " - class cruiser " Mardorus " was referred to as a " " D " - class attack cruiser " , the " Thranta " - class corvettes as " CR - 12 corvettes " , and the three " Terminus " - class destroyers as " " C " - class destroyers " .