The Bacta War, though relatively small in scale, was a significant armed struggle that occurred in 7.5 ABY. The outcome of this war was the capture of Thyferra, a planet in the Middle Rim known for its bacta production. Subsequently, elements of the former Rogue Squadron, including pilots such as Wedge Antilles and Corran Horn, successfully retook the planet.
The events of the Bacta War unfolded following Coruscant's fall to the forces of the New Republic. This period also saw the leader of the Empire, Ysanne Isard, flee the planet aboard her Super Star Destroyer, the Lusankya. Isard deliberately unleashed a devastating virus, identified as the Krytos virus, which specifically targeted non-Human species. She understood that gaining control of Thyferra would grant her dominance over the galaxy's supply of life-saving bacta. With the Lusankya as its centerpiece, she led a fleet to Thyferra, where the Xucphra Corporation had conveniently just executed a planet-wide coup, seizing control from their rival, the Zaltin Corporation. Isard was swiftly appointed as Xucphra's Chief Operating Officer, thereby securing her ultimate authority over the galaxy's bacta resources, despite her seemingly minor role as a new company employee. Fliry Vorru, formerly a Moff, was also brought on board as Chief Financial Officer. Furthermore, Erisi Dlarit, a mole from Rogue Squadron, assumed a leadership position within the newly established Thyferran Home Defense Corps.
Rogue Squadron recognized the critical need to wrest control of Thyferra from Isard. Corran Horn was also motivated by a personal commitment: during his imprisonment on the Lusankya, he had pledged to Jan Dodonna, the renowned Rebel general and fellow prisoner, to secure their freedom. Given the Lusankya's position in orbit around Thyferra, it appeared logical to achieve two objectives simultaneously: liberate the prisoners and liberate Thyferra from Imperial control.
Regrettably, the New Republic declined to sanction such an operation, deeming Zsinj, the Warlord, as a more pressing threat. They also hesitated to authorize military action against a planet where the only disruption had been a change in corporate leadership.
Consequently, Corran Horn tendered his resignation, and the remaining members of the squadron, including their leader Wedge Antilles, followed suit. The only exception was Pash Cracken, who rejoined his former A-wing unit as a captain. Although Cracken desired to join the Rogues, Wedge requested that he remain in his current position due to political considerations. As Cracken's father headed New Republic Intelligence, Wedge understood that Pash's presence would inevitably lead to the perception that the Rogues were acting with government support.
Following their departure from the New Republic, Antilles's Rogues were obligated to vacate their headquarters. While several private citizens offered them accommodations and office space, the Rogues prioritized establishing their own secure base. Simultaneously, Captain Cracken received orders to destroy a space station orbiting Yag'Dhul, which had previously been under Warlord Zsinj's control. Ironically, the Rogues had previously targeted the station to seize much-needed bacta from Zsinj. Cracken offered the station to the Rogues, who accepted the offer and fabricated reports indicating its destruction.
Recognizing the symbolic importance of Rogue Squadron to their military strength, the New Republic promptly assembled a new, official Rogue Squadron. This new unit was equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, and the Rogues' original X-wings and other assets were classified as "broken" surplus and offered for sale ("broken" because they were all missing PL-1s, the New Republic military designation for "pilot"). Tycho Celchu successfully acquired these assets, and the Rogues' technical staff, learning of the transaction, resigned and joined him with the equipment. Meanwhile, Wedge Antilles, Corran Horn, Mirax Terrik, and Ooryl Qrygg located several hidden caches of X-wing parts and weaponry throughout the galaxy. Consequently, the squadron possessed a full complement of fighters and an abundance of spare parts. To secure funding, Celchu contributed his substantial bank accounts, which had been used in an attempt to falsely accuse him of being an Imperial spy. They also sold the remaining Z-95 Headhunters used in the capture of Coruscant, now considered historical artifacts due to their role in galactic history. Through Mirax Terrik's father, the smuggler Booster Terrik, and Talon Karrde, the squadron managed to procure the remaining equipment necessary for an assault on Thyferra. Finally, they were reinforced by a full squadron of Twi'lek pilots and their customized Chir'daki fighters (a TIE Fighter cockpit enhanced with X-Wing S-foils, engines, and laser cannons).
With assistance from Elscol Loro and Sixtus Quin, the Rogues successfully forged an alliance with the Ashern, a Vratix resistance group, and the remnants of the Zaltin corporation. These groups engaged in numerous acts of terrorism and insurgency, including infiltrating the Dlarit family's estate and publicly humiliating Erisi's father by removing his clothing in front of a camera. Simultaneously, in space, the Rogues conducted numerous hit-and-run attacks against Thyferran bacta convoys and refineries. They utilized the stolen bacta to finance their war effort and donated a significant portion to the New Republic to combat the Krytos virus. In response, Isard launched two unsuccessful ambushes against the Rogues and completely annihilated a colony on Halanit, which had accepted stolen bacta from Antilles's Rogues.
Through a combination of "hit-and-hype" raids, attrition tactics, and meticulous planning, the Rogues gradually reduced Isard's fleet of Star Destroyers. Her smaller Victory-class ship, the Corruptor, was destroyed in a failed ambush near Alderaan. In this engagement, Captain Ait Convarion's TIE squadrons (manned exclusively by members of the fledgling Thyferran military) and his ship were overwhelmed by the Rogues' superior piloting skills, coordination, and volleys of proton torpedoes. Subsequently, Antilles bribed Captain Sair Yonka of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Avarice to defect. Ultimately, the Lusankya herself was lured out, accompanied by Isard's remaining Imperial-class vessel, the Virulence, as a bodyguard, when Antilles arranged for the location of their Yag'Dhul space station to be leaked to Thyferra. There, Booster tricked Lusankya captain Joak Drysso into abandoning the Virulence and returning to Thyferra, where Antilles, the Rogues, a small fleet of freighters, and Yonka's newly christened Freedom were waiting.
The Corruptor's destruction was achieved by having a single X-Wing fighter (piloted by Wedge, Tycho, or Corran) transmit missile telemetry to the other two squadrons, enabling a coordinated and devastating barrage of torpedoes and missiles that overwhelmed the ship's shields. This was made possible by the fact that Isard's entire pool of fighter pilots consisted largely of inexperienced trainees. To bolster the attack on the Lusankya, Wedge and Booster equipped their freighter fleet with missile launchers, resulting in a simultaneous impact of eighty rounds on the Super Star Destroyer. (The launchers' aiming sensors, no longer needed, were later incorporated into Booster's bluff at Yag'Dhul.) By chance, Pash Cracken's entire A-Wing unit, comprising three squadrons, stumbled upon Booster's standoff with the Virulence. Varscha, the commanding officer, surrendered her ship, and Terrik and Cracken immediately set course to join the battle at Thyferra. Due to these combined forces and Captain Drysso's growing megalomania, the Lusankya was eventually overwhelmed and surrendered to Wedge Antilles.
On the ground, Quin, Loro, and Iella Wessiri Antilles led an assault force composed of Vratix rebels and security personnel from the Zaltin Corporation on Xucphra corporate headquarters. While their forces successfully apprehended Fliry Vorru, Isard escaped the planet in an upgraded Lambda-class shuttle, escorted by Dlarit's Elite Squadron. Elements of the Rogues, specifically Corran Horn, Tycho Celchu, and their wingmen (Gand Ooryl Qrygg and Twi'lek Nawara Ven, respectively), were assigned to intercept the shuttle. Horn personally confronted Dlarit and, with assistance from Celchu's proton torpedoes, successfully destroyed Isard's shuttle. (It would take several years for anyone to discover that Isard was not actually on board the shuttle.)
Following the battle, the Rogues discovered that their resignations had been "accidentally" misfiled, effectively making their actions an officially sanctioned New Republic mission. The Rogues were then presented with the option to rejoin the New Republic as an official unit, an offer they unanimously accepted. Their initial assignment involved gathering information regarding the Lusankya prisoners, who, as it turned out, had been relocated to other facilities months prior. (This proved to be fortuitous, as the prison section of the ship sustained a hull breach during the fighting.) Booster Terrik, unwilling to relinquish ownership of the Virulence to Airen Cracken and the New Republic, reached a compromise facilitated by Corran and Talon Karrde: he was permitted to retain the Virulence, renamed the Errant Venture, and transform it into a mobile trading post, but it was stripped of most of its weaponry. Finally, Wedge, in his capacity as the Lusankya's acting captain (a position he would eventually hold permanently), officiated the marriage of Corran and Mirax.
The bacta shortage resulting from Ysard's embargo, though brief, led to fatalities at numerous New Republic medical facilities. As late as 19 ABY, during the Caamas Document Crisis, these facilities maintained a strict policy of conserving unused bacta, even to the extent of extracting a few precious drops from a patient's ear canal after their immersion in a tank.