Assault on Ruan

Previous	Conclave on Ossus
Concurrent	Battle of Bessimir; Battle of Metellos;
Next	Second Battle of Coruscant
Assault on Ruan
Conflict	Alsakan Crisis
Date	13,000 BBY
Place	Ruan
Outcome	Alsakan Union victory
Combatants
Alsakan Union Skeleton Guard;	Galactic Republic
Commanders
Venator Furtificus	No Republic resistance
Strength
1 Alsakan/Skeleton Guard fleet Fury; The Bella; Thug Love;	None
Casualties
None	None
Civilian casualties
	None

"Where is the Republic?"

―Venator Furtificus, leader of the Alsakan forces at Ruan^[src]

The Assault on Ruan was an Alsakan Union offensive against the Galactic Republic in 13,000 BBY, during the Alsakan Crisis. The assault followed the assassination of the Alsakan Vicar Lharra by her own handlers after she was convinced by Jedi Grand Master Banik Kelrada to end the war with the Republic. Van Tien, a member of the Alsakan Council of Elders, was chosen as the interim Alsakan leader until a new Vicar could be chosen, and Tien set out to continue the war against the Republic. He and senior Alsakan leaders agreed to launch a three-front attack against the Republic at Ruan, Bessimir, and Metellos.

The three battles were launched shortly thereafter, with Venator Furtificus and his Skeleton Guard leading the assault against Ruan. By the time the Alsakans arrived, the Galactic Republic had already detected their approach and evacuated, leaving the Alsakans unable to capture the planet with any strategic importance. They bombed the remaining Republic facilities on the planet and left, declaring victory but only by default. The Alsakans suffered heavy losses at Metallos and Bessimir, however, and it was determined that the Union had been incapable of launching a three-front assault. The failures at these three worlds led Alsakan leaders to launch an assassination attempt against Van Tien, who killed himself rather than be killed, and install a new leader. In spite of the new leadership, the Alsakans never recovered and the Republic won the war.

History[]

Prelude[]

"I shall plan the assault as soon as this meeting is over, and Ruan shall fall to our religious might."

―Venator Furtificus, having been chosen to lead the assault on Ruan^[src]

After the Alsakan Union launched the Battle of Coruscant and took control of the planet, Jedi Grand Master Banik Kelrada attempted to broker a peace between the Union and the Galactic Republic. He met with the Alsakan Vicar, Lharra, and convinced her to end the war. Her handlers, however, were committed to the war effort, and they assassinated her while still on Ossus, thereby implicating the Jedi Order in the assassination.^[2] Van Tien, a member of the Alsakan Council of Elders, became interim leader of the Alsakan Union shortly thereafter.^[3]

Once in power, Tien called together a group of high ranking Alsakans to discuss the Union's next strikes against the Republic. Although the primary goal of the Union, namely to capture and begin terraforming Coruscant to restore its natural habitat, had already been accomplished, the Republic made it clear that they would retaliate. The Union, therefore, chose to continue fighting against the Republic as well. A number of planets in the Core Worlds were proposed for Alsakan strikes, and the planets Ruan, Bessimir, and Metellos were chosen for a three-front assault against the Republic. It was also the goal of the Alsakans to later capture more Core Worlds, such as Alderaan and Corellia, to cripple the Republic. For the first strikes, it was decided that Venator Furtificus, leader of the Skeleton Guard, would lead an assault on Ruan.^[3]

Assaulting Ruan[]

"They've evacuated! There is no need for us to be here."

―Furtificus comes to realize that the Republic forces evacuated Ruan prior to his arrival^[src]

The Assault on Ruan was launched around the same time as the Battle of Bessimir and the Battle of Metellos, a strategy meant to overwhelm an already cripped Republic reeling from the loss of Coruscant. The initial plan of attack was to capture Ruan from the Republic and claim it for the Alsakan Union. Furtificus and the Skeleton Guard were given a large Alsakan fleet to accomplish the mission, a fleet that the Republic detected in approach to Ruan. Having seen the fleet coming, the Republic moved its Ruan-based fleet out of the system, and it ferried thousands of civilians along with it. This was done without the knowledge of the Skeleton Guard.^[1]

Furtificus and his forces arrived at Ruan with a smaller fleet than intended; the battles at Bessimir and Metellos were not going well for the Alsakans, so the Union redirected some of their Ruan strike force to other fronts. Upon arrival, Furtificus ordered the Skeleton Guard to commence bombing raids in areas of strategic importance. As the first wave of bomnings was being carried out, the lack of a Republic response caused Furtificus to realize that the Republic had evacuated, thereby negating the goal of capturing the planet. Furtificus chose to have his forces bomb the remainder of their targets, leaving a devastated planet behind. Their assaults allowed the Alsakans to claim victory by default, with no strategic gains against the Republic.^[1]

Aftermath[]

Although the assault on Ruan afforded the Alsakans some measure of victory, the battles at Bessimir and Metellos were decisive losses for the Alsakan Union. The Alsakans had intended to use the battles to gain further control over the Core Worlds, including gaining such worlds as Alderaan and Corellian, and ultimately criple the Republic.^[3] As a result of the losses, Van Tien faced an Showdown on the Ascendance by a group of Alsakans who came to view his leadership as incompetent; rather than be assassinated, Tien committed suicide.^[4] The fallout from the battles and Tien's reign cripped the Union, with even Coruscant being lost to the Republic—thereby reversing the only gain the Alsakans had made in the war.^[5] A cease fire between the two sides was reached after Coruscant returned to the Republic.^[6] though the war resumed and the Alsakans ultimately lost the conflict.^[7]