X-wing Blue is stranded in space. Watch over him until help arrives.Admiral Gial Ackbar
The Alliance to Restore the Republic dispatched forces to rescue Rebel pilot Biggs Darklighter after his T-65 X-wing starfighter broke down near the Cron Drift while carrying the plans to the Galactic Empire's Death Star battlestation.
Prelude
In 1 BBY,[2] the Alliance to Restore the Republic deployed stolen Imperial communications satellites near the Cron Drift in the hopes of tapping into the Imperial communications network. One of the satellites intercepted the plans to the Death Star, an armored battlestation with a superlaser capable of destroying a planet, and transmitted them to Rebel outpost AX-235.[1]
Due to the importance of the information,[1] the Alliance dispatched Biggs Darklighter[3] in a T-65 X-wing starfighter to retrieve it. However, after leaving AX-235, Darklighter's X-wing broke down near the Cron Drift.[1] The Mon Calamari Star Cruiser Independence sent three[3] A-wings,[4] led by Captain Keyan Farlander,[3] to protect him while his X-wing was repaired.[1]
The battle
Shortly after the Rebel fighters emerged from hyperspace, Imperial Assault Gunboats entered the area. While the Rebels engaged the new arrivals, Imperial Lambda-class T-4a shuttles attempted to capture the disabled X-wing. Red Three was destroyed during the battle, but the remaining R-22's were able to eliminate the last of the shuttles before it could capture the X-wing. Eventually, the Rebel Lambda-class shuttle Rescue 1 arrived, escorted by three CR90 corvettes. Rescue 1 repaired Darklighter's X-wing and the Rebels escaped into hyperspace.[3]
Aftermath
"It was an adequate mission, but you didn't take advantage of the safety area near the corvettes. Their extra cannons would have made an excellent killing zone to draw the Imperial fighters into. It would also have made you a much more difficult _target to get a missile lock on."
"I lost another wingman, too."
"Yes, you did. Mission analysis suggests that Red 3 failed to rebalance shields after that first missile hit him. It wasn't your fault, captain.Lieutenant Commander Lagrane debriefs Keyan Farlander
Darklighter returned to the Independence for debriefing[3] and Circarpous Sector Command began working on a plan to get the plans to Alliance High Command.[1]
Behind the scenes
The battle first appeared in the 1993 LucasArts video game Star Wars: X-Wing, in the seventh mission of "Tour of Duty II: The Great Search", "Protect a Disabled X-wing." If the player fails to prevent Darklighter's X-wing being captured by one of the Imperial shuttles, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Intrepid arrives to retrieve it.[1] However, Farlander's after-action report in X-Wing: The Official Strategy Guide confirms that all three shuttles were destroyed and the Intrepid did not enter the battle.[3]
Appearances
- Star Wars: X-Wing (First appearance)
Sources
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 Star Wars: X-Wing
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 X-Wing: The Official Strategy Guide begins after the X-wing starfighter entered service with the Alliance to Restore the Republic, which The Essential Guide to Warfare places in 1 BBY. X-Wing: The Official Strategy Guide establishes that the capture of Leia Organa occurs at the end of Star Wars: X-Wing's second tour of duty. Organa's capture takes place on 35:3:3 under the Great ReSynchronization dating system, placing it at the beginning of 0 BBY according to the following explanation. Events in X-Wing: The Official Strategy Guide before the end of the second tour of duty therefore take place in 1 BBY.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 X-Wing Collector's CD-ROM: The Official Strategy Guide
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The RZ-1 A-wing interceptor was introduced following the Battle of Yavin according to sources released before Star Wars: X-Wing, including the Rebel Alliance Sourcebook. C-3PO: Tales of the Golden Droid and The New Essential Guide to Characters introduced the R-22 Spearhead starfighter as the basis for the A-wing's design, retconning the A-wings seen in X-Wing before the Battle of Yavin. The Written Word established "A-wing" as an informal nickname for the older starfighter among Rebel pilots.