An attack on Tak Base was a minor battle of the Galactic Civil War. Its purpose was for the Galactic Empire to demonstrate the power of the new dark trooper project.
General Rom Mohc's superior knowledge of battle droids—in addition to his desire for retaliation against the destruction of the Death Star—drove him to unleash his own ultimate war droid: the dark trooper. Tak Base on Talay was the target selected for Mohc's demonstration of power, intended for Darth Vader to witness and approve.
The Arc Hammer and the Executor formed a small blockade of the planet Talay. From Executors bridge, General Rom Mohc ordered Captain Nonam to dispatch the dark troopers to assault Tak Base. The dark troopers were deployed from the Arc Hammer in hyperspace capsules, and landed to several points of the planet.
The Executor and the Arc Hammer approach Talay
The dark troopers easily pierced Tak's shields, and attacked with high precision and speed - the assault was so sudden that the Rebels had no chance to defend themselves let alone retaliate.
Captain Bok attempted an evacuation of the base with Toka's flagship, the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser Grey Damsel, and managed to escape with an unknown number of Rebels. Bok wanted to also rescue Admiral Toka from the surface, however Toka insisted that Bok leave without him and save the others. The fate of the second Mon Calamari Cruiser is unknown, but it was likely disabled before it could lift off, or it was destroyed by the blockading Executor.
Admiral Toka managed to transmit a general distress signal, however the transmission was cut short, and Toka was shot by a dark trooper.
The crew of the Grey Damsel also suffered a similar fate, for they had failed to notice that a dark trooper had slipped aboard the ship. Bok and crew were all killed by the dark trooper as the ship entered hyperspace.
The dark troopers caused total devastation of the base and its surrounding city, resulting in a massive amount of Rebel and civilian casualties. Darth Vader was most impressed with the assault, and gave Mohc full support for the project.
Admiral Toka's distress signal.
Shortly after the battle, Mon Mothma received Admiral Toka's distress signal, in addition to a communication from Imperial defector Crix Madine, revealing some information regarding the dark trooper project. She recruited Kyle Katarn to infiltrate the remains of Tak Base, in order to gather more information on the dark trooper project. After evading the Stormtroopers garrisoned there, Katarn discovered an abandoned firearm that no humanoid was capable of utilizing. The weapon was later confirmed to be one used by dark troopers, and was traced back to weapon designer Moff Rebus on Anoat.
Meanwhile, the crewless Grey Damsel reverted from hyperspace near Tatooine, and crashed on the planet's surface. The single dark trooper was responsible for causing much chaos near Mos Espa, before it was eventually destroyed by locals.
The battle first appeared as a cutscene preceding the second level of Star Wars: Dark Forces. The Arc Hammer is shown deploying drop pods which are then fired towards the Rebel planet. Afterwards, Mon Mothma shows Kyle Katarn the distress signal of Admiral Toka.
Dark Horse Comics further elaborated on the battle in "Sand Blasted," adding elements such as the Grey Damsel, Captain Bok and Captain Nonam.
- The Essential Guide to Droids
- The New Essential Guide to Characters
- The Official Star Wars Fact File33
- The New Essential Guide to Droids
- The Essential Atlas
- Strongholds of Resistance