Chandrilan Massacre

The Chandrilan Massacre was an event that took place in 14 ABY during the height of the Imperial Blitzkrieg on the recently conquered world of Chandrila.

After months of planning, Admiral Danik Kreldin launched the Imperial Blitzkrieg, setting in motion a vicious sweep across the galaxy to seize territory from the New Republic. Chandrila was one of the first planets to be targetted by Kreldin's fleet. The Third Battle of Chandrila swift and decisive: Republic defenders fled after only six hours of combat. The world was left for the Empire to take.

After a short and successful ground campaign Chandrila was under complete control. As the Imperial fleet moved on to secure more territory in the Blitzkrieg, Chandrila was left with a moderate defense fleet responsible for holding the planet in case of a counter-attack by the Republic. A full-scale counter-attack never did occur, but as the months drew on, locals on the planet banded together to form resistance groups against the Empire. Outgunned, these groups, while distracting and damaging to the Imperial efforts on Chandrila, were unable to fully overthrow the Imperial presence. The Republic, still reeling from the on-going Blitzkrieg, saw an opportunity to halt the Imperial offensive by assisting the growing insurgency on Chandrila.

Strike teams led by Republic commandos infiltrated the planet several times, each time bringing more men, equipment and supplies to aid the insurgency. Talon Karrde lent his aid to the insurgents by bringing in arms. Eventually Karrde was contacted by Leia Organa-Solo, who requested to go along with Karrde in a mission to rescue refugees on Chandrila, wishing for transport off the planet.

The Empire was growing tired of the insurgency which continued to harass Imperial assets on the planet. Kreldin returned to Chandrila during a break in the Blitzkrieg to personally deal with the insurgency. From the bridge of the HIMS Conqueror, Kreldin ordered the insurgents to lay down their arms in twenty-four hours, otherwise he would order the orbital bombardment of Hanna City. As Kreldin prepared to execute the orbital bombardment, no surrender came from the insurgents. Moments before Kreldin ordered the attack, he was contacted by Warlord Darth Malign, who ordered Kreldin to stand-down and cease his bombardment. Reluctantly, Kreldin complied, though he knew he suffered a blow to his reputation for not going through with his threat. Intent on crushing the insurgents at all costs and saving face, Kreldin planned his next move.

The Wild Karrde infiltrated Chandrila several days later, towing Leia and Karrde along in the mission to aid the insurgents and rescue refugees. Two Imperial Intelligence agents, while walking through Hanna City, spotted Karrde with two of his guards. The agents called in for backup while giving persuit, killing one of Karrde's guards. Karrde, however, and the other guard managed to escape back to the Wild Karrde. The agents quickly reported their discovery to Admiral Kreldin, who ordered a task force to hunt down the Wild Karrde and capture the smuggler king.

After hours of searching the nearby area, the Wild Karrde was spotted by TIE Interceptor patrols and Kreldin ordered the Imperial occuption troops to move in on the area. Taking forty refugees with him, Karrde holed himself and his the refugees up aboard his ship, refusing to surrender. The Wild Karrde blasted itself from the planet while the TIE Interceptors gave persuit. In orbit Kreldin ordered his fleet to shoot down the ship. But with the aid of Leia Organa-Solo, utilizing her weak yet effective Jedi techniques, the Wild Karrde was able to blow past the Imperial blockade and jump to hyperspace, taking the forty refugees with them.

Kreldin learned of the refugees who escaped, and the next day rallied four hundred civilians in the town square in Hanna City. With an IGNews team broadcasting the entire event, Kreldin proclaimed that for every refugee taken by the Republic, he would execute ten "insurgents" in retaliation. In live view of the entire galaxy, Kreldin gave the order and Stormtroopers opened fire into the square, executing all four hundred innocent civilians instantly. Kreldin declared this would be the fate of all the insurgents should they not lay down their arms, and the broadcast ended.

The Republic condemned Kreldin and the Empire for their actions on Chandrila, and declared Kreldin to be a war criminal. The event riled further hatred of the Empire on the planet, and insurgent attacks increased. Luke Skywalker would eventually join the insurgents in combatting the Imperial forces, detailed in the Chandrilan Suppressions.