Space Battle at Kuat

From Wookieepedia, the Star Wars wiki.

Fresian campaign Kuat – Wayland – Fresia

Previous Battle of Ryloth[1] Next Battle on Wayland[1] Space Battle at Kuat Conflict Galactic Civil War[1] Date 0 BBY[1] Place In orbit above Kuat[1] Outcome Alliance to Restore the Republic strategic victory and retreat[1] Combatants Galactic Empire[1] Alliance to Restore the Republic[1] Commanders Kuat communications officer[1] Tyranny commander[1] Captain Raymus Antilles[1] Strength TIE/sr starfighters[1] TIE/ln starfighters[1] TIE/sa bombers[1] Tartan-class patrol cruisers[1] 1 Imperial I-class Star Destroyer[1] Tyranny (Late battle)[1] 5 CR90 corvettes[1] Sundered Heart[1] Casualties Moderate TIE casualties[1] Several Tartan-class patrol cruisers[1] 2 orbital TIE construction facilities[1] 4 orbital drydock facilities[1] Several Lambda-class shuttles[1] 5 incomplete Imperial I-class Star Destroyers[1] Tyranny damaged[1] Entire complements and crews of destroyed ships and stations[1] [Source]

The Space Battle at Kuat was an operation performed in 0 BBY by Captain Raymus Antilles to lure the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Tyranny away from the planet Fresia, where four prototype T-65 X-wing starfighters were being stored. During the battle, five CR90 corvettes, including the Sundered Heart, commanded by Antilles, raided the Imperial shipyards orbiting Kuat, destroying multiple unfinished ships while the Imperials scrambled to rally reinforcements. The mission was a success for the Rebels, who withdrew into hyperspace soon after the Tyranny arrived.

Contents 1 Prelude 2 The battle 3 Aftermath 4 Behind the scenes 5 Appearances 6 Sources 7 Notes and references

[edit] Prelude

During the early days of the Galactic Civil War, the Galactic Empire decided to nationalize the independent Incom Corporation, as it had done with other organizations before. However, much of the design and research teams of Incom strongly disagreed with this decision, to the point where many of them decided to defect to the Rebel Alliance in 0 BBY.^[2] It was through these defectors that the Rebellion learned of a facility on the planet Fresia holding the four prototypes of Incom's newest starfighter design: the T-65 starfighter, later known more commonly as the "X-wing" fighter.^[1]

In 0 BBY, the Rebel Alliance, in dire need of a new starfighter design to replace the aging Z-95 Headhunters that were in common use throughout the Rebellion at the time, dispatched a force led by Captain Raymus Antilles to secure the prototype X-wings from the Empire. However, when Antilles and his task force entered into the Fre'ji system, they detected the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Tyranny in orbit around Fresia.^[1] This caused a serious complication: with the Tyranny in orbit, the task force was unable to approach the planet.

[edit] The battle

Antilles, in his modified CR90 corvette, the Sundered Heart, led four flanking corvettes to perform a hit-and-run raid on the orbital shipyards of the planet Kuat in order to lure the Tyranny from its new station at Fresia back to its usual station above Kuat. Many orbital resource containers were strewn around the half-constructed ships; they were easily destroyed and many of the shipyards were destroyed in the resulting explosions.^[1][3]

The Tyranny originally refused several times to respond to distress calls from the shipyard's communications officer. When the last shipyard was destroyed, the officer activated Emergency Code Zero. In response, the Tyranny returned to Kuat to render aid to the Imperial defenders. The commander of the Tyranny allowed the ship to come out of hyperspace with the shields down, giving the small Rebel raiding force a chance to damage the Star Destroyer before escaping.^[1]

[edit] Aftermath

With the devastation of the Kuat shipyards and the damaging of the Tyranny, the Rebels believed that Fresia would be left unprotected, allowing them to raid the Incom facility. However, before the Tyranny had returned to Kuat, it had deployed numerous sentry drones to lock down the Fre'ji system in its absence. When the Rebels detected this, it seemed certain that the mission to retrieve the prototype X-wings would have to be canceled. However, the protocol droid C-3PO was able to devise a plan that would allow the Rebels to slip past the Imperial defenses undetected. Antilles agreed to this plan and immediately dispatched both C-3PO and his astromech droid counterpart, R2-D2, to Wayland with a large ground force to escort them.^[1]

[edit] Behind the scenes

The Space Battle at Kuat is the first mission of the Rebel campaign in Star Wars: Empire at War, a PC video game developed by Petroglyph and published by LucasArts in 2006. The mission is the first in a series of three missions that lead to the acquisition of T-65 X-wing starfighters for use by the Rebellion. The battle was first identified as the "Space Battle at Kuat" in the game's official guide published by Prima Games.

[edit] Appearances

• Star Wars: Empire at War

[edit] Sources

• Star Wars: Empire at War: Prima Official Game Guide (First identified as Space Battle at Kuat)(First appearance)

[edit] Notes and references