The Mission to Almaran was a Rebel strike-reconnaissance mission during the Galactic Civil War in order to gauge the strength of the Imperial Task Force Vengeance and eliminate Imperial warhead supplies.
Arrival
Knowing the trajectory of the Imperial fleet, Alliance High Command dispatched Rogue Squadron in A-wing starfighters to an Imperial rallying point in the Almaran system. The Rogues arrived early, but they did not have to wait long before their first marks came out of hyperspace.
Scanning the fleet
There was lot of work awaiting the Rogues: six BFF-1 bulk freighters, a Strike-class cruiser and a Nebulon-B2 frigate were among the first wave to drop out of hyperspace. Each vessel had to be scanned and identified for Alliance Intelligence, and all cargo ships found to be carrying warheads were to be destroyed.
Surprisingly, little reaction came from the Imperial side, even when the A-wings started to wreak havoc on their munitions freighters. The Rogues managed to take down two bulk freighters, a cargo ferry, two modular conveyors, and even a modified Corellian corvette, all carrying valuable warheads, while scanning all other vessels in the area as well.
One by one, more Imperial ships dropped out of hyperspace, getting gradually bigger, until even the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Vengeance herself had arrived and allowed Rogue Squadron to finish its task.
Aftermath
The intelligence gathered on this mission proved valuable for Alliance High Command, which decided the time to strike had come. Calamari Cruiser Liberty would soon be dispatched to raid the task force in order to draw ships away from them, and into a trap.
Appearances
- Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter: Balance of Power Campaigns (First appearance)
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).