2295, The Last Calm Before the Storm
May 17, 11 BBY.
Sixty-three days had passed since the Galactic Empire began its siege of Balmorra. The Trade Federation ultimately failed to meet Tang Xiao's demand that they hold out for the full final two months—seventy days—and declared unconditional surrender with seven days still remaining.
Forty days before that, the Neimoidian homeworld—Neimoidia—had already been utterly consumed by flames. Nearly one billion Neimoidians died under the Galactic Empire's siege and Orbital Bombardment. The planet that had nurtured one of the Milky Way Galaxy's wealthiest races had now become a completely lifeless dead zone.
Following the Trade Federation's surrender, the Galactic Empire's forces marched onto Balmorra and took complete control of one of the Core Worlds' largest industrial centers.
Yet what fell into the Galactic Empire's hands was no longer the industrial hub that had supported the Trade Federation's immense volume of business, but a devastated field of ruins.
In the Battle of Balmorra, the Trade Federation deployed nearly all of its battle droids. The total number of battle droids of every model stationed in defensive positions across the planet's surface reached 11 billion!
After conducting limited Orbital Bombardment at the outset, imperial fleet commander Darth Vader immediately launched a ground invasion, hoping to preserve as many of the planet's factories as possible. But the Galactic Empire's landing forces were assaulted by a sea of battle droids!
Nearly every Imperial army position was struck by hundreds of millions of battle droids. There was no end in sight to the droids' formations—they covered the mountains and plains, everywhere one looked!
Because weapon supplies could not be guaranteed, most B-1 battle droids had been left unarmed. But with a battle droid's power output, even a blow from an iron fist was a deadly threat!
In the