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- "Maybe it was just bad luck that he was there, or maybe we had caused enough damage for the Empire to be actively hunting us, but when that bounty hunter turned up, I knew there was trouble."
- ―Col Serra to Tionne Solusar years after the battle.
A skirmish took place in 0.5 ABY during the Galactic Civil War on the planet Ord Mantell between the Rebel Alliance and Empire. Shortly after a mission to the Graveyard, the Rebel Alliance's new elite fighting unit, Renegade Squadron, traveled to Ord Mantell to get repairs done on their transport, the Millennium Falcon, which had sustained heavy damage while fighting at the Graveyard. Co-led by ex-smugglers Han Solo and Col Serra, Renegade Squadron was relaxing at one of many cantinas on Ord Mantell while the repairs were under way when the assassin droid, IG-88, burst into the cantina and attacked the rebels, hoping to collect the bounty the Empire had put up on captured Rebels.
Although the bounty hunter droid and the local Imperial garrison, which IG-88 had notified about the Rebels presence, tried to eliminate Renegade Squadron, the Rebels were able to fight their way back to the hangar the Falcon was stationed at. The Renegades finished the repairs on the Falcon and eliminated an Imperial anti-aircraft gun keeping them trapped on Ord Mantell. After holding off the attacking Imperial garrison and defeating IG-88, Renegade Squadron was able to board the Falcon and leave Ord Mantell.
Prelude
- "My orders were to rendezvous with Han Solo on Ord Mantell for repairs, following the damage we sustained in the Alderaan System."
- ―Col Serra on why Renegade Squadron went to Ord Mantell.
Renegade Squadron on Ord Mantell.
In 0.5 ABY, during the Galactic Civil War between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance, Renegade Squadron—the Alliance's recently established elite fighting force made of spacers and other fringers—was sent on a a mission to the remains of the destroyed planet Alderaan to recover a holocron that detailed several planets that could host a new Rebel base, following the loss of their base on the moon of Yavin 4. Co-led by smugglers-turned Rebel Commanders Han Solo and Commander Col Serra, the Renegades were able to secure the holocron, stopping an Imperial fleet from capturing its valuable contents.[1]
However, during the fighting, General Solo's personal freighter, the Millennium Falcon, was badly damaged while searching for the holocron. After Renegade Squadron had retreated with the holocron, Alliance High Command ordered Solo and Renegade Squadron to the planet Ord Mantell to get repairs for the Falcon in the meantime. Because the Alliance believed that Ord Mantell was such a backwater planet with a small Imperial garrison, Renegade Squadron thought that they would be safe there. However, while the Renegades were relaxing in a cantina on Ord Mantell, the droid bounty hunter IG-88, seeking the bounty the Empire had posted for captured Rebels, found them. IG-88 burst into the cantina and started firing at the squadron, and soon enough the entire Imperial garrison was made aware of the Renegades' presence on the planet.[1]
The battle
- "Suddenly, there were Imperials everywhere. All we had to do was fight our way back to our shipyards, get the repairs done to our ship, and get off Ord Mantell before the nearest Star Destroyer squadron showed up...simple right?"
- ―Col Serra on the battle.
Renegade Squadron makes it back to the hangar as the Imperials start to attack.
As IG-88 started to attack Renegade Squadron, several stormtroopers from the Imperial garrison entered the battle too. However, the Renegades fought back, and most of squadron was able to make their back to the hangar, although one Rodian rebel was shot by IG-88. When they reached the hangar, the squadron discovered that the repairs on the Falcon had not been completed yet, and that they were temporarily trapped on Ord Mantell. Commander Serra ordered the Renegades to secure the junkyard around the hangar and to find parts there so that Solo could fix the Falcon himself. After fighting off the assaulting stormtroopers, the Rebels were able to capture the junkyard, using a T4-B heavy tank they had brought with them as support. Chewbacca, Solo's Wookiee companion and co-pilot, came charging into the battle, ordered by Solo to find parts needed for their ship.[1]
Serra told Renegade Squadron to protect Chewbacca from the assaulting stormtroopers while the Wookiee searched for the parts. The Imperials then launched a larger attack wave, along with TX-130T fighter tanks and AT-ST walkers from the nearby trading outposts, trying to kill Chewbacca before he could find the parts. The Renegades were still able to hold off the Empire's assault for several minutes, protecting Chewbacca from laser fire. Finally, Chewbacca was able to find all the parts he needed among the assorted trash, and ran back to the hangar.[1]
After Chewbacca got to the hangar with the parts, Solo informed his squadron that there was an anti-aircraft gun on the other side of the junkyard at the trading outpost, which could destroy the Falcon if they took off. Solo ordered the squadron to go disable the turret at all costs, and Renegade Squadron fought their way to the outpost, pushing past the stormtroopers defending the gun. When Renegade Squadron made it to the outpost though, however, they discovered that the anti-aircraft gun was enveloped by a deflector shield, which was strong enough to repel any attack the Renegades could make against the gun. Commander Serra was quickly able to pinpoint the location of the turret's shield generator, at the facilities junk processor, and sent Renegade Squadron to destroy it.[1]
Defeating the stormtroopers guarding the area, the Rebels blew up the generator, disabling the anti-aircraft turret's shield. The Renegades moved back to the trading outpost, and destroyed the now unprotected turret. As soon as the turret was disabled, General Solo informed his squad that the Falcon needed a new power core to be operational, and that he had located one back over at the processor plant. Serra ordered a member of Renegade Squadron to travel back to the junk processor plant and grab the core, and to bring it back to the hangar. The Rebel ran the power core back to the hangar for Solo to complete his repairs on his ship.[1]
Renegade Squadron fights IG-88 while Solo gets the Falcon ready for take off.
Solo now had all the parts need to repair the Falcon, but he still need time to fix the ships damaged systems. In the meantime, the Imperials had successfully pushed the Renegade Squadron back to the hangar and were now launching one last wave to try to halt the Rebels' retreat. Serra ordered the squadron to hold back the Imperial assault so that Solo could finish his repairs. The Renegades protected the hangar for several minutes, using their T4-B tanks as support again, and the squadron was successfully able to hold back the Imperials as the repairs were completely.[1]
However, as soon as Solo finished his repairs, IG-88 then came into the battle again, leading the remaining Imperial troops, trying to stop Renegade Squadron. Solo ordered the Renegades to destroy the droid and buy enough time for him to get the launch preps for the Falcon done. Although the bounty hunter droid used a large array of weapons against the Renegades, the rebels were able to badly damage IG-88 and push back the last stormtroopers. Solo then informed his troops that the Falcon was ready to go, and the rebels boarded the cargo ship and left Ord Mantell for good.[1]
Aftermath
The Millennium Falcon jumped to hyperspace just as a squadron of Imperial Star Destroyers jumped into the system to stop them. The remaining members of Renegade Squadron would then rendezvous with Alliance command, were they discovered that Gial Ackbar, the Alliance's Mon Calamarian Admiral, had been captured while on a scouting mission and was now in the Empire's custody. Renegade Squadron was sent to rescue Ackbar from the Imperials while the Admiral was being transported to the prison colony on Kessel.[1]
Years later, after the fall of the Empire and the rise of the New Republic, Jedi Knight Tionne Solusar would track down Col Serra and ask him about Renegade Squadron's history for her archives. Serra would tell her about many of Renegade Squadron's missions and exploits, including their run in with IG-88 on Ord Mantell.[1]
Behind the scenes
The Skirmish on Ord Mantell made its first and only appearance in the video game Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron, which recounts the various battles and exploits of Renegade Squadron during the Galactic Civil War. The battle itself makes up the third level in the game's campaign mode.
Appearances
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 1.33 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.37 1.38 Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron
- ↑ Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron places this battle after the Rebel Alliance's evacuation of Yavin 4, which takes place in 0.5 ABY, according to The New Essential Chronology.