The battle near Airam Platform was a space battle between the Alliance to Restore the Republic and the Galactic Empire. It took place in deep space, likely within or very close to the Airam sector in the Outer Rim Territories, when Imperial Assault Gunboats attempted to disable the Rebel CR90 corvette Intrepid near Airam Platform, where rebel and Airam representatives were meeting.
The battle
The Empire, under the impression that the Rebel Alliance's ambassador to the Airam was an important enemy leader worthy of capture and interrogation, mustered a strike force of Alpha-class Xg-1 Star Wings, better known as Assault Gunboats, to attack and disable the Intrepid as it departed Airam Platform. The Airam reacted coolly, only warning the Empire that if they passed within range of the XQ1 Platform, they would be fired on. They dispatched Shiv Squadron, a group of R-41 Starchasers, to patrol the perimeter of the Airam station.
While the Airam looked on, the rebel VIP escort of T-65 X-wing starfighters from Green Squadron sprang into action. They attempted to destroy the Assault Gunboats before they could disable the Intrepid, as the rebel ambassador knew that the Airam had a Muurian transport with a repair crew aboard based out of Airam Platform in case the ship was heavily damaged. However, it was felt that the Airam would disrespect and never join the Alliance if they had to intervene in such a way. Meanwhile, the small Imperial force of Gamma-class ATR-6 assault transports from flight group Omega entered the area shortly after the Assault Gunboats, which had exited hyperspace a considerable distance from Airam Platform, began making their attack runs. Once they entered the system, they became the rebels' primary targets.
A handful of A-wing interceptors from Gold Squadron were apparently on standby near the battle zone, as the rebels had the option of calling for them to join the fight as reinforcements. Similarly, the Empire had several additional Assault Gunboats nearby that could hyperjump into the area if needed.
Behind the scenes
As players can participate in the mission "Ambush of Rebel Leader at Airam Platform" in the computer game Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter on either the Rebel or the Imperial side, both sides have conflicting mission objectives, and victory is not essential to access the next set of missions, the battle itself is considered canon but the canon outcome is unknown.
The ships listed in this article are those found in the battle Operation: Clean Sweep, using the default craft assigned to the player.
This combat engagement apparently predated both the battle Balance of Power in the Airam Sector, which is featured in the expansion pack to X-wing vs. TIE Fighter, and the campaigns Spreading the Rebellion and Imperial Task Force Vengeance, all of which largely take place in the Airam sector.
Appearances
Notes and references
- ↑ The game Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter and its expansion Balance of Power Campaigns do not provide any information about their timeline other than it takes place during the Galactic Civil War between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance (2 BBY ― 4 ABY). Nevertheless, some clues permit to place the game and its expansion around 3 ABY. X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter shows the Empire making extensive use of TIE/ad starfighters. The previous game of the series, Star Wars: TIE Fighter, established that the TIE/ad starfighter was introduced during the Sepan campaign (which is set in 3 ABY per the reasoning here). We can conclude that the game is set between 3 ABY and 4 ABY. Moreover, the most advanced Imperial starfighters from Star Wars: TIE Fighter (the TIE/d "Defender" starfighter and the Missile Boat) were not present in X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, suggesting that the game takes place before their introduction, also dated to 3 ABY as the entire TIE Fighter game is set in 3 ABY (per the reasoning here).