During the early years of the Galactic Empire, the Alderaanian noble Lady Alya Aldrete operated a smuggler fleet in the Core Worlds and Deep Core regions. Her smugglers infiltrated restricted Imperial worlds and transported illicit goods whilst also gathering information and operating an intelligence network that spanned the galaxy. Circa 17 BBY, Aldrete allied her group with the Alderaanian Resistance rebel movement and assembled her forces into an armada for an attack on an under-construction Super Star Destroyer prototype in the Beshqek system. The smugglers and Alderaanian rebels successfully destroyed the Star Destroyer, achieving a major victory against the Empire.
During the reign of the Galactic Empire, the Alderaanian noble Lady Alya Aldrete commanded a fleet of criminals, pirates and smugglers that operated in the Core Worlds and Deep Core regions of the galaxy. The group was adept at acquiring security clearances necessary for reaching restricted worlds occupied by the Galactic Empire in the Deep Core, allowing the criminals to smuggle illegal goods to highly secure Imperial strongholds in the region. The smugglers hauled illicit goods ranging from stolen artworks to spice, though their operation extended beyond just transporting contraband. Acting as spies and observers, the smugglers covertly gathered information for Aldrete, operating an information network that spanned the galaxy.
The armada was comprised of an assorted group of ragtag and aged starships, including modified bulk haulers, tramp freighters, capital ships dating from the time of the Clone Wars galactic conflict, and at least one modified Corellian Gunship. In spite of their worn appearance, the vessels comprised an effective fighting force, operated by some of the galaxy's most proficient pilots. Among the crews of the ships were slicers proficient in the modification of transmitters and IFF transponders.
Lady Alya Aldrete
The smuggler fleet was assembled by Lady Aldrete during the early years of the Imperial Period. The armada operated within the Empire's Deep Core heartlands while remaining under the radar of the Imperial regime, and Aldrete used the network to map reliable hyperlanes and gather information. The group's reach extended from the planet Alderaan to the world of Empress Teta and their infiltration of the Deep Core region exceeded that of the noted Bothan Spynet espionage organization. To mask her smuggler operation and deter any potential Imperial Intelligence investigations into, Aldrete cultivated a public persona as a spoilt celebrity heiress with a wide media following.
Circa 17 BBY, Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan sought the assistance Aldrete and her smuggler contacts with infiltrating the Imperial-occupied Deep Core world Prakith to rescue the captive Jedi Master Denia. Aldrete agreed to provide Organa's agents with security clearances for travel to Prakith and she pledged the support of her fleet to supporting the senator's Alderaanian Resistance rebel movement with combating an Imperial operation to construct a prototype Super Star Destroyer warship.
After Aldrete sent out a call for her fleet to mobilize, her whole forces gathered at a rendezvous point next to large gas cloud in the restricted Deep Core Security Zone. The smugglers brought with them fresh intelligence regarding the Super Star Destroyer, revealing to Aldrete that the gargantuan warship was weeks away from completion. The smuggler fleet was supplemented by the remaining vessels of an Alderaanian Resistance battle group shattered in an Imperial attack several months earlier, and number of starfighters from both groups were assembled to form the unit Blue Squadron. Aldrete took personal command of a Corellian Gunship designated as her flagship and devised with Organa a plan of attack to raid the prototype's construction site in orbit of the planet Byss.
The smuggler armada departed for Byss and engaged the supporting Imperial fleet protecting the prototype as part of a ruse to draw out the defensive forces while agents of the rebels disabled the prototype Star Destroyer. The smuggler ships feigned a retreat to draw the defending fleet away but were intercepted by an Imperial interdiction vessel. The prototype Star Destroyer then microjumped into the midst of the battle, barraging the smuggler forces and forcing Aldrete's fleet to assume a defensive formation. While the smugglers overcame the Imperial interdiction ship, Blue Squadron flew inside the prototype and detonated its reactor, resulting in the destruction of the Star Destroyer. The smuggler fleet then departed Byss and fled into hyperspace , having achieved one of the first major victories of a resistance group against the Imperial regime.
The smuggler fleet featured within in Dawn of Defiance campaign, a roleplaying series set within Star Wars Legends continuity and published on Wizards.com by Wizards of the Coast. The armada was first mentioned in Dawn of Defiance: Gamemaster Primer, an outline of the Dawn of Defiance campaign written by Rodney Thompson and released on October 4, 2007, The fleet was subsequently referenced in The Gem of Alderaan, the eighth Dawn of Defiance module written by Gary M. Sarli and published on February 5 2009, Later that year, the fleet also featured in the final instalment of the series, Jaws of the Sarlacc by Rodney Thompson, released on October 28, 2009.