Battle of Pondut

Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin, the individual in charge of research and development for the Imperial Navy's complement of starfighters, had recently finished the development of the TIE Defenders. He delivered them to Emperor Palpatine for inspection, this was despite a Rebel assault on his Research platform and the transfer site located at Vinzen Neela 5.

Zaarin then shifted his focus to new studies regarding Beam weapon technologies for use on his TIE Fighters. However, a Rebel strike force attacked his supply convoy. During the engagement, B-wings were found to be using a new type of Warhead. After disabling one of the B-wings, they discovered it was a Mag pulse warhead, made by Galactic Electronics located in the Corporate Sector. Regarding this as treason, Zaarin made the decision to seize the corporation's Station named Pondut along with all of its technology and assets.

Zaarin initially deployed Assault Gunboats called Tau. Imperial Ace Maarek Stele piloted one of these gunboats, and he was tasked with eliminating the platform's Z-95 Headhunters designated Adam, Charlie, and Delta. As the dogfight began, the Gunboats quickly gained the upper hand. During the fighting, a Stormtrooper transport called GEC U47 docked with a container and attempted to escape. However, Maarek Stele intercepted and disabled the transport before it could get away. Seeing that their starfighters were losing, a Lambda-class T-4a shuttle named Kalree, carrying VIPs, launched from the platform in an attempt to flee. Stele also disabled the shuttle. A YT-1300 light freighter called Lucky Day, carrying an arms dealer, also launched from the station, trying to jump to hyperspace, but Stele disabled it as well. Three minutes into the engagement, 3 Gamma-class ATR-6 assault transports from Omega arrived as the last of the Z-95s were destroyed. Stele also assisted the Assault transports in disabling Platform Pondut, which was difficult because the installation was heavily armed with numerous laser turrets.

After the station was disabled, two A-wings, four Y-wings equipped with Mag Pulse warheads, and a Cargo ferry named Bujiboi arrived. However, the A-wings and the Bujiboi were quickly overwhelmed when the Star Destroyer Glory](/article/glory(imperial-class)) arrived. TIE Bombers launched from the Star Destroyer and destroyed the Buhjiboi, and the four Y-wings were disabled as they attempted to acquire the warheads for themselves. Soon after, B-wings arrived to destroy the station, but Stele destroyed them all. He also ensured that the Utility tugs, U-4f91, U-4f92, U-4f93, and U-4f94, docked with the disabled Y-wings and brought them to the Glory.

The Empire considered the capture of Pondut a warning to anyone considering trading with their enemies, with the penalty being death. This also likely created tension with the corporate sector, as it was considered 'Neutral territory'.

Zaarin then resumed his research, and his Beam weapon was soon completed and installed on his starfighters. Palpatine believed that Zaarin would serve the Empire well with these advancements. However, Zaarin had other plans. Meanwhile, Stele was transferred to the Ottega system where Admiral Harkov's fleet had been discovered. Darth Vader was soon to personally supervise the operation aboard his Star Destroyer Garrett.

This skirmish is featured in the 1994 PC game Star Wars: TIE Fighter. Specifically, it is battle 6 combat 4. This article assumes that all "Primary", "Secondary" and "Bonus" objectives were successfully completed.