The Alliance to Restore the Republic dispatched forces to rescue Rebel pilot Biggs Darklighter after his T-65 X-wing starfighter broke down near the Cron Drift while carrying the plans to the Galactic Empire's Death Star battlestation.
In 1 BBY, the Alliance to Restore the Republic deployed stolen Imperial communications satellites near the Cron Drift in the hopes of tapping into the Imperial communications network. One of the satellites intercepted the plans to the Death Star, an armored battlestation with a superlaser capable of destroying a planet, and transmitted them to Rebel outpost AX-235.
Due to the importance of the information, the Alliance dispatched Biggs Darklighter in a T-65 X-wing starfighter to retrieve it. However, after leaving AX-235, Darklighter's X-wing broke down near the Cron Drift. The Mon Calamari Star Cruiser Independence sent three A-wings, led by Captain Keyan Farlander, to protect him while his X-wing was repaired.
Shortly after the Rebel fighters emerged from hyperspace, Imperial Assault Gunboats entered the area. While the Rebels engaged the new arrivals, Imperial Lambda-class T-4a shuttles attempted to capture the disabled X-wing. Red Three was destroyed during the battle, but the remaining R-22's were able to eliminate the last of the shuttles before it could capture the X-wing. Eventually, the Rebel Lambda-class shuttle Rescue 1 arrived, escorted by three CR90 corvettes. Rescue 1 repaired Darklighter's X-wing and the Rebels escaped into hyperspace.
Darklighter returned to the Independence for debriefing and Circarpous Sector Command began working on a plan to get the plans to Alliance High Command.
The battle first appeared in the 1993 LucasArts video game Star Wars: X-Wing, in the seventh mission of "Tour of Duty II: The Great Search", "Protect a Disabled X-wing." If the player fails to prevent Darklighter's X-wing being captured by one of the Imperial shuttles, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Intrepid arrives to retrieve it. However, Farlander's after-action report in X-Wing: The Official Strategy Guide confirms that all three shuttles were destroyed and the Intrepid did not enter the battle.
- X-Wing: The Official Strategy Guide
- X-Wing Collector's CD-ROM: The Official Strategy Guide