Battle of Nocto

Having significantly weakened Senn's Task Force Vengeance through a series of raids over the preceding weeks, the Alliance did not anticipate that the admiral possessed knowledge of the location of the critical Calenz shipyard.

The sudden appearance of the Super Star Destroyer Vengeance, accompanied by the Imperial Star Destroyer Rage, as they emerged from hyperspace in the Nocto system, took the Rebel forces stationed in the Airam sector completely by surprise. A navigational error on Senn's part, or perhaps imprecise intelligence regarding the facility's exact coordinates, resulted in both capital ships reverting to realspace far beyond effective weapons range. This provided the Rebels with vital time to mobilize both Rogue and Green Squadrons.

A mere handful of minutes after the launch of the starfighters, the Rage rectified Senn's strategic blunder by executing a microjump. This maneuver effectively positioned the vessel on the opposite side of Calenz, thereby forcing the Rebel starfighter squadrons to divide their forces in order to adequately defend the shipyard.

The Calamari Cruiser Liberty responded to the distress signal originating from Calenz and arrived in the system promptly enough to interpose itself between Senn's Star Dreadnought and the shipyard. However, Rogue and Green Squadrons were effectively engaged by the Imperial fighter screen, and a number of TIE/sa bombers successfully delivered their explosive payloads onto the shipyard. The Imperial attackers inflicted sufficient damage that Calenz was either severely damaged or completely destroyed before the Rebels could effectively organize a defense against the bomber formations.

Concurrently, the Super Star Destroyer launched a squadron of Gamma-class ATR-6 assault transports equipped with heavy rockets. Senn's objective was to definitively eliminate the Mon Calamari warship that had persistently hampered his sector operations.

Against overwhelming odds, Green Squadron, along with suicide attacks carried out by three allied Airam Dreadnaught-class cruisers, succeeded in disabling the Super Star Destroyer's bridge deflector shields. At that point, the Airam corvette Thunder, laden with space bombs, emerged from hyperspace with the explicit intention of ramming the Vengeance's bridge. This objective was achieved, despite the heavy damage sustained from the Star Dreadnought's gunners. The attack resulted in the death of Admiral Senn on the bridge and inflicted substantial damage upon the vessel. The suicide run left only a small amount of armor to break through for Green Squadron.

It is believed that both the Vengeance and the Rage were destroyed by Rebel forces, but the Alliance shipyard was also lost during the conflict.

The complete destruction of the remaining elements of Task Force Vengeance represented a considerable setback for the Galactic Empire. Over the preceding weeks, the Empire had suffered the loss of at least twenty-five capital ships, including most or all of their starfighter complements, as well as the reinforcement fleet dispatched to support Senn.

Due to the isolated location of the Airam sector, it was improbable that the Empire would commit another expeditionary force of significant size to subdue it. This ensured the newfound freedom of the Airam and provided a secure sanctuary for the Rebel Alliance, allowing them to reorganize and replenish their strength. However, the long-term viability of the Rebels' hard-won stronghold in the Airam sector remains uncertain, as the shipyard Calenz was considered a mission-critical asset by Alliance forces during the Battle of Nocto. It is conceivable that its destruction, coupled with the extensive damage inflicted upon the Liberty and the loss of four Airam capital ships, compelled the Rebels to withdraw and re-establish themselves elsewhere, potentially rendering the Airam campaign largely inconclusive.

Regardless, the Airam sector is not mentioned beyond the Battle of Nocto as a stronghold for either the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Empire, and the fate of the Airam Clans following these violent events remains unknown.

The definitive, canonical outcome of the Battle of Nocto is subject to debate, owing to the alternate endings presented in the two Balance of Power campaigns (one for the Empire and one for the Rebellion), which are dependent on the player's chosen faction. One interpretation suggests that all missions and cutscenes from both campaigns are canonical, and that all mission objectives were successfully achieved (in order to advance the campaign's storyline to the subsequent mission), thereby establishing the outcomes of all engagements with the exception of the Battle of Nocto. Within the game itself, either the Vengeance or the shipyard is destroyed by the player's forces, with the survival of the other being a mandatory mission objective.

Adhering to the established conventions for interpreting the other missions, this article presumes that both sides succeeded in destroying their primary targets, resulting in a draw. However, text displayed to the player upon achieving an Imperial victory explicitly states that Rogue Squadron was completely annihilated, which conflicts with established canon. Considering the destruction of the majority of the attacking force and the continued survival of Rogue Squadron, the Battle of Nocto appears to more closely resemble a Pyrrhic victory for the Rebel Alliance. Given the acknowledged strategic importance of the shipyard, it is possible that the battle resulted in a tactical stalemate, but the defeat of Task Force Vengeance by a numerically and technologically inferior Rebel/Airam fleet constitutes a strategic triumph for the Rebellion.