The Virgillian Civil War was an internal conflict fought between the revolutionary Virgillian Free Alignment and the ruling Aristocracy government of the Virgillia system from 25 BBY to approximately 4 ABY. Early in the war, an attempt by a Jedi envoy at mediation ended in the death of half the envoy, and the conflict continued through the end of the Galactic Republic and into the subsequent reign of the Galactic Empire. The Free Alignment was severely constrained by its lack of blaster technology and starships, but even when the Aristocracy aligned itself with the Empire and gained an Imperial military presence in the system, the Free Alignment was able to survive.

Soon after the beginning of the Galactic Civil War, the Rebel Alliance began supplying the Free Alignment with weaponry and ships, which turned the Virgillian conflict into a proxy war between the Alliance and the Empire. A few weeks before the end of the Virgillian Civil War, the Alliance's delivery of eight Quasar Fire-class bulk cruisers turned the tide of the war, which, when combined with the Empire's withdrawal from the system as the Galactic Civil War intensified, resulted in a Free Alignment victory shortly before the Battle of Endor. Virgillian forces later fought with the Alliance at Endor.

The war[]

Early conflict[]

The Virgillian Civil War broke out^[1] in 25 BBY^[2] in the Outer Rim Territories'^[7] Virgillia system. It pitted the Aristocracy, an autocratic government composed of Virgillian nobility, against the rebel group known as the Virgillian Free Alignment.^[1] The Free Alignment consisted principally of non-nobles, and most of the combatants on both sides were Humans. The Aristocracy confined Free Alignment activity to colony worlds within the star system. One of those worlds, Virgillia 7, was a hotbed of Free Alignment activity from the beginning of the war.^[1]

In 23 BBY,^[2] a diplomatic team of two Jedi Masters, Ludwin Katarkus and Everen Ettene, and their two Padawans, Danyawarra and Halagad Ventor, were sent to attempt to negotiate peace between the Aristocracy and the Free Alignment. However, the Jedi transport was destroyed on arrival and it was believed that all four were killed, a fact that was reported in a CoCo District Edition issue of the HoloNet News on the date 13:2:28.^[6] It was later discovered that Ventor^[8] and Danyawarra had, in fact, survived the attack.^[9]

Imperial era[]

At some point after the fall of the Galactic Republic in 19 BBY and its reorganization into the Galactic Empire,^[5] the Aristocracy aligned itself with Empire. During the Empire's galactic reign, the Aristocracy controlled all blaster technology in the Virgillia system, forcing the Alignment to fight Imperial stormtroopers with primitive armaments such as flintlocks and clubs. Nevertheless, despite such an imbalance in power, the Free Alignment still prevailed in several engagements.^[1]

Imperial soldiers at one point summarily executed the parents of the young Virgillian Tessa Manchisco, who at the time had been the leaders of the Free Alignment on Virgillia 7. When she grew up, Manchisco went on to help re-organize the Free Alignment from a group of guerrillas into a true military force. She also became one of the Free Alignment's first starfighter pilots, eventually gaining the rank of captain.^[1]

Proxy war[]

A noble defection[]

The Rebel Alliance began supplying the Free Alignment with blasters and starships at some point after the beginning of the Galactic Civil War^[1] in 2 BBY.^[7] The Imperial Navy patrolled the Virgillia system in search for any signs of either Free Alignment^[1] or Alliance operations,^[10] with the Victory-class Star Destroyer Stormwind being one of the Imperial ships used for that purpose. Several weeks before the end of the war, an Imperial informant in the system alerted the Stormwind to a possible Free Alignment camp on the forested moon of the planet Virgillia. The Stormwind's commanding officer, Captain Jarroth, sent a landing party to investigate what was in fact a refugee camp. Convinced the camp was being used as a hideout by the Free Alignment, stormtroopers subsequently tortured and killed all of its inhabitants.^[1]

The Stormwind was Imperial Navy Ensign Rannd Delckis's first posting, and his experience as part of the landing party horrified him so much that he defected to the Free Alignment soon afterward. As his parents were members of the Aristocracy, it was initially difficult for Delckis, who thus became the sole aristocratic member of the Free Alignment, to gain the trust of the rebels, but when he did not waver in the face of outright hostility from other Free Alignment members and proved himself to be highly competent in manipulating communications systems, he earned the respect of Manchisco and was allowed to serve as a communications officer. Delckis's Imperial training allowed him to both use and confuse Imperial sensors to great effect, and he was given two commendations for his work.^[1]

The tide turns[]

Weeks before the end of the war, the Alliance gave the Free Alignment eight Quasar Fire-class bulk cruisers, accompanied by Chief Navigator Monnda Tebbo. Although the Free Alignment preferred to fight its own battles and had thus refused the Alliance offer of additional troops, the Quasar Fire-class bulk cruiser Flurry was considered such an unusual ship that Tebbo was sent to advise on its use. Tebbo also instructed the Free Alignment in conducting space warfare, and those tactics were instrumental in the eventual Free Alignment victory. In gratitude, he was made an honorary Virgillian citizen and was also notable as one of the only non-Human combatants of the Virgillian Civil War.^[1]

Throughout the war, the Virgillian Free Alignment Starfleet was small and, instead of firepower, relied on unconventional tactics to win engagements. As well as the eight bulk cruisers from the Alliance, the Alignment, as of the end of the civil war, had at least twenty capital ships as well as Z-95 Headhunters, Zebra starfighters, and C-73 Tracker starfighters. The Flurry, under the command of Manchisco, served as the flagship of the Virgillian fleet, of which the Dukedoom was also a part. Near the end of the war, the Virgillians significantly upgraded their capital ships with captured Imperial technology, including weapons, shields, sensors, and computers on four of their cruiser-carriers. The Flurry also had a stolen HoloNet transceiver,^[1] although it had a slow connection speed.^[4]

As the Galactic Civil War intensified, the Imperial Military withdrew from the Virgillia system, which enabled the Free Alignment to achieve significant victories against the Aristocracy, including capturing several capital ships and technology it then used to upgrade its existing ships. The remaining Imperial vessels in the system, which were used by the Aristocracy, were outdated and, despite the Free Alignment fleet also largely consisting of antiquated ships, all Imperial ships were eventually either captured or destroyed in the last weeks of the war. Due to those victories, the Free Alignment was able to force the Aristocracy to agree to a truce^[1] shortly before the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY.^[3]

Aftermath[]

After an uneasy truce was established, the Virgillian Council was formed as the new government of the system. One of its first actions was to send a task force to join the Alliance military near^[1] the planet^[11] Sullust, where they were amassing in preparation to attack the Empire's second Death Star superweapon at Endor. Although five of the Free Alignment's cruiser-carriers had been damaged to the point of being grounded and another one remained in the system in case of retaliatory Imperial attacks, the Virgillian Council was able to populate the task force with two cruiser-carriers, including the Flurry, as well as twenty other combat capital ships. The task force went on to fight in the Bakura Incident. During that event, the Flurry was destroyed, with all hands, including the Virgillian Civil War combatants Manchisco, Delckis, Tebbo, and the pilot Valtis, being lost.^[1]

Behind the scenes[]

The Virgillian Civil War was first mentioned in the 1993 novel The Truce at Bakura by Kathy Tyers.^[4] The 1996 The Truce at Bakura Sourcebook, published by West End Games for use with Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game and set around the time of the Battle of Endor^[1] of 4 ABY,^[3] states that the Rebel Alliance had been aiding the Virgillian Free Alignment in the civil war for at least seven years, meaning that the Alliance had been in existence since around 3 BBY.^[1] Since then, other sources, such as the 2012 reference book The Essential Guide to Warfare by Jason Fry and Paul R. Urquhart, have overridden that fact by placing the formation of the Rebel Alliance in 2 BBY.^[7]

In addition, 2008's The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia erroneously claims that the Virgillian Civil War lasted seven years,^[12] despite HoloNet News Vol. 531 #45, a real-world representation of an in-universe issue of the HoloNet News^[6] written by Pablo Hidalgo and Paul Ens^[13] and published before March 10, 2002,^[14] establishing that the conflict had already begun^[6] by 25 BBY.^[2]

Appearances[]

• Virgillian Jedi Envoy Declared Lost — HoloNet News Vol. 531 #45 (content now obsolete; backup link)
• "Newest Rebels" — The Truce at Bakura Sourcebook (Mentioned only)
• The Truce at Bakura (First mentioned)
• The Truce at Bakura abridged audiobook (Mentioned only)

Sources[]

• The Truce at Bakura Sourcebook
• The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels
• Star Wars Encyclopedia
• The New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia

Notes and references[]

External links[]

• "Dusting Off the Archives: Original HoloNet News Pitch" — Fragments from the Mind's Eye — Pablo Hidalgo's StarWars.com Blog (backup link)