Mission on Tandankin


The battle


In a Star Destroyer patrolling the system, Grand Moff Nivers was taken by surprise when Rogue Squadron's X-wings suddenly appeared on the skies, lasers blazing. Somehow, they had managed to get past Nivers's Star Destroyer. Nivers's stormtroopers scrambled to get to an Imperial AT-AT that Nivers had brought mainly to intimidate and subjugate the Tandankinians, but many were shot down like sitting ducks by the Rogues.

A lucky stormtrooper downs an X-wing.

A lucky stormtrooper downs an X-wing.

However, one lucky stormtrooper managed to shoot down Red Seven with his laser rifle. The trooper's luck was quickly brought to an end as was his life, because he was hit by a blaster bolt from Wedge Antilles's X-wing. The downed pilot managed to crash-land safely on a nearby hill. From this location, he discovered an Imperial landing strip where one hundred TIE Fighters were being prepared for battle. One hundred TIE Fighters would be more than Rogue Squadron could handle, but Antilles, who had been informed about this by the downed pilot, torpedoed a very tall tower adjacent to the landing strip, causing to tower to collapse on top of the TIE Fighters, destroying most of them.

Bittersweet victory


The stormtrooper runs out of luck.

The stormtrooper runs out of luck.

Shortly thereafter, Nivers and his forces surrendered and Tandankin was once more free. However, the Tandankinians were most displeased with Antilles and the squadron; the tower turned out to have been a monument that was of utmost importance to the Tandankinian culture. The locals were ready to lynch Antilles, but one of the Rebel pilots, still wearing his helmet, told them about Antilles's heroics in the Galactic Civil War and explained to them that by destroying the tower, Antilles had secured the Tandankinians their freedom.

The locals realized that the pilot was right, and gave Antilles their apologies and celebrated him as the liberator of their planet. When a child asked the pilot what his name was, he took off his helmet revealing himself to be one of the Rebellion's greatest heroes, Luke Skywalker.

Sources


  • Star Wars Encyclopedia
  • The New Essential Guide to Characters
  • The Official Star Wars Fact File118
  • The Official Star Wars Fact File126
  • The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia

Appearances

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