Cleansing of Serenno

Cleansing of Serenno
Date	c. 19 BBY
Place	Great Assembly House, Serenno
Outcome	Slaughter of the heads of the Great Houses of Serenno by their oldest sons
Combatants
Heads of the Great Houses
Heirs of the Great Houses
Galactic Empire
Strength
Rodas Borgin's father Orom Malvern's father A head Two other heads
Rodas Borgin Orom Malvern An heir Two other heirs
Darth Vader 3 clone stormtroopers
Casualties
All dead
None
None

"Tell me, envoy Cross—what do you know about the Cleansing of Serenno?"

―Rodas Borgin to Jahan Cross

The Cleansing of Serenno occurred shortly after the end of the Clone Wars, when Darth Vader drove the heirs of the Great Houses of Serenno to mass parricide. As a result, the Great Houses were brought in the bosom of the newly formed Galactic Empire, and Adan Dooku was appointed Count of Serenno, liege lord of all the other patricians on the planet. Most of the galactic community never knew what really happened on Serenno that day, only that the event had seen the replacement of the old heads of houses by their sons. Agent Jahan Cross of the Imperial Intelligence was one of the few to ever learn the true story of the Cleansing of Serenno, which he heard in 3 BBY from the mouth of Count Rodas Borgin, who had drawn the first blood during the massacre.

History

Prelude

"I bring you good news, my lord. The war has begun."
"Excellent. Everything is going as planned."

―Count Dooku and Darth Sidious

Dooku, Count of Serenno, helped start the Clone Wars.

In the fifth month of the year 22 BBY, a war erupted between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, a separatist union led by Count Dooku of Serenno. That conflict, known as the Clone Wars, raged on for three years, destroying the lives of many and ravaging planets. In deepest secrecy, both sides of the war were manipulated by a Sith Lord named Darth Sidious, better known as Palpatine, Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. Moreover, Dooku had been Sidious' apprentice for about ten years, under the alias of Darth Tyranus. Toward the end of the conflict in 19 BBY, Palpatine was ready to transform the Republic into a First Galactic Empire in his image. Dooku of Serenno, leader of the Confederacy and secret Sith apprentice, was sacrificed by his master during the Battle of Coruscant. He was replaced by Anakin Skywalker, a fallen Jedi Knight who ultimately became the black-armored Darth Vader.

The cleansing

"Lord Vader! This is barbaric! You never spoke of this!"
"The rest of the Galaxy suffered, so now will Serenno. The houses will be cleansed by blood."

―Adan Dooku and Darth Vader

Darth Vader turned the heirs of Serenno against their fathers.

Shortly after the end of the establishment of his Galactic Empire, the self-proclaimed Emperor Palpatine sent his new apprentice, Darth Vader, as an official representative on Serenno. The current heads of the planet's Great Houses had been summoned along with their oldest sons, and they were asked to meet Vader in the chambers of the Great Assembly House. Once the meeting had begun, the Emperor's right-hand man accused the assembled nobles of treason for having supported the Count Dooku of Serenno, who led the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars. The nobles all protested, but their shouting was to no avail.

As a way of "cleaning" the Great Houses of Serenno, Vader announced that each heir of a given house would be anointed head of the family on the condition that they killed their own father. Initially, the nobles all protested again, but the young Rodas Borgin drew the first blood by stabbing his father. Following the shock of this first murder, there was a brief moment of silence, until the heirs of the other noble houses lost all hope of getting away alive if they did not comply. Brutally, a slaughter began, with all the young nobles committing parricide in the Assembly House. When the massacre ended, the new heads of the Great Houses pledged allegiance to their liege lord, the Count of Serenno Adan Dooku. He had been spared only because he had been raised away from his homeworld for most of his childhood.

Aftermath

"That, special envoy Cross, is the truth behind the "Cleansing of Serenno.""

―Rodas Borgin

What really happened on Serenno that day was not revealed to the wider galactic community, and most people only knew that the old heads of houses had been "dismissed" in favor of their heirs. Years later, the Imperial Intelligence agent Jahan Cross was assigned to ensure that an older Rodas Borgin would be appointed as regent, since the heir of House Dooku, a boy named Bron, was only ten years old at the time. It is only when he met Borgin for the first time that Cross learned the truth about the Cleansing of Serenno.

Appearances

• Agent of the Empire – Hard Targets 1 (Indirect mention only)
• Agent of the Empire – Hard Targets 2 (First appearance) (In flashback(s))

Notes and references

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