Second Battle of Balmorra The Second Battle of Balmorra , also known simply as the Battle of Balmorra , occurred in 40 ABY as part of the Confederation ' s push toward the Core during the Second Galactic Civil War . Co - Chief of State Jacen Solo , who had adopted the persona of Darth Caedus , and Admiral Ratobo led the Galactic Alliance Fourth Fleet against Commenorian Star Destroyers and the Hutt fleet which was attempting to occupy the planet of Balmorra . Prelude . With Corellia ' s and Bothawui ' s fleets poised to move against the major Core world of Kuat , it fell to the forces of Commenor and their allies , the Hutt fleet , to take Balmorra . Following Balmorra ' s capture , the Confederation fleets planned to move en mass against Kuat before pressing forward to assault the galactic capital of Coruscant . The battle . Advance of the Fourth Fleet . By the time the Alliance ' s Fourth Fleet had begun its advance toward Balmorra , the world ' s planetary shields were being overloaded by concentrated Confederation fire . The famous Balmorran defense platforms had been crushed , and a Hutt landing force was descending toward the surface of the world . The Commenorian Star Destroyers acted as a defensive screen to keep the Alliance at bay , and managed to inflict major casualties on the Fourth Fleet as it pressed forward . As part of its defensive measures , the Confederation utilized long - range turbolaser technology , a factor which was unforeseen by the Alliance battle tacticians . As a result , Admiral Ratobo ' s men could not return fire without halting their advance . As the frigate " Zoli " detonated under the fire of the Commenorians , Admiral Ratobo ignored the orders of Chief of State Solo , who ordered the Fourth Fleet to not retreat , and turned the battered Fourth Fleet about to withdraw . In his opinion , the ponderous advance toward the lost planet was a waste of lives and resources . Darklighter ' s gamble . Nonetheless , Jacen Solo was able to persuade Ratobo not to withdraw , demonstrating his skill at battle meditation in order to restore the admiral ' s faith . Shortly afterward , concentrated fire from the Confederation ' s Star Destroyers overwhelmed the " Peacebringer " shields and destroyed it , forcing Solo to transfer command to Rear Admiral Gavin Darklighter on the " Trucemaker " . Darklighter immediately dispatched the fleet ' s starfighter squadrons to swarm the Star Destroyers , a tactic which would force the Confederation ships to stop using their long - range turbolasers , as they drew too much power away from the shields . Under attack by the Alliance starfighters , the Confederation commanders decided that they could not risk the backbone of the Commenorian fleet on the skill of its starfighter pilots , and as result the Star Destroyers began to withdraw . However , this did not aid Solo ' s ultimate plans , as he had no intention of ever saving Balmorra , and as such , the bold tactics of Gavin Darklighter had turned counter - productive . As the defensive screen continued their retreat , a wing of StealthX s , led by Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker , arrived to lead the fight against the Commenorian Star Destroyers . Once again it was an action which went against the pragmatism of Jacen Solo , for he had no interest in saving Balmorra . Having made the decision that Balmorra would fall and there was nothing he could do to prevent that , Solo decided that the Alliance ' s main goal would be to inflict such tremendous casualties on the Confederation forces present that they would be useless to their allies at the coming Battle of Kuat . It was this upcoming battle which Solo believed to be the decisive factor of the war . However , as the StealthXs continued their attacks on the Confederation Star Destroyers , the Fourth Fleet managed to break through to where the Hutt fleet had begun to launch an invasion force aimed at capturing the planet ' s surface . Hoping to save Balmorra from a Hutt occupation , Darklighter ordered his gunners to target the shuttles descending upon the planet below — however , he was shocked when Solo ordered him to wipe out the fleeing Confederation forces , thus leaving the Balmorran s to fend for themselves . Aftermath . Rationally , Solo ' s orders made sense ; following the severe damage inflicted on them as they retreated from the battle , the Commenorians and the Hutts were of little use to their allies at the Battle of Kuat . However , Solo had lost a great deal of the Fourth Fleet as well as its commander , which managed to earn him the enmity of the surviving crew members . Likewise , this battle proved to be one step further away from his familial relationships as well as the Jedi Order . Due to the decisions he continued to make , Solo continued to earn the distrust of the Order ' s leading Masters , who despised his actions — it was his ultimate decision to sacrifice Balmorra which would drive him further away from those he had once served beside . Likewise , this battle would be one of the many factors which would directly lead to the withdrawal of the Jedi from the Galactic Alliance . Behind the scenes . The Battle of Balmorra first appeared in the sixth novel of the nine - part " Legacy of the Force " , " " , written by Troy Denning and released on August 28 , 2007 .