A conflict in space unfolded between the Alliance aimed at restoring the Republic and the Galactic Empire within the Graveyard, which consisted of the remnants of Alderaan following its destruction by the Death Star. This event transpired around 0.5 ABY during the Galactic Civil War. Soon after the destruction of the Death Star at the Battle of Yavin, a Rebel fleet, primarily composed of Renegade Squadron—a newly formed Alliance squadron of smugglers and criminals—sought to acquire a highly valuable data holocron thought to have survived Alderaan's annihilation. The Alliance fleet, led by Han Solo, thought the holocron held the keys to the perfect locations for a new Alliance base. Similarly, the Empire desired the holocron for their purposes. Upon entering the system, Solo's fleet encountered an Imperial fleet and the bounty hunter Boba Fett, who had been employed by the Empire to capture the holocron.
Following a brief engagement between the opposing forces, the Renegades successfully located and secured the data holocron. Subsequently, Fett, piloting his starfighter, Slave I, attempted to seize the holocron by engaging the Rebels in aerial combat. The Rebels triumphed over the bounty hunter and destroyed the gravity well projectors on an Imperial Interdictor Star Destroyer, which was preventing the Alliance fleet from leaving the system. The Alliance then withdrew from the system and later utilized the holocron to discover the graveyard planet of Boz Pity, where they established a new base.
Not long after the Yavin Evacuation during 0.5 ABY, Han Solo and Commander Col Serra, a pair of former smugglers who had become Rebel officers, learned from Mon Calamari Admiral Gial Ackbar about a data holocron made by Viceroy Bail Organa of Alderaan. This holocron was created before the first Death Star destroyed Alderaan, and it contained information regarding potential locations for a new Alliance base. After the Alliance's forced retreat from Yavin 4 and its Rebel base, the Rebellion urgently needed a new central hub. Thus, the Alliance prioritized the holocron's recovery. The holocron was known to be encased in phrik, a rare and exceptionally strong metallic compound, leading Ackbar to believe it might have survived Alderaan's destruction.
In response, Ackbar instructed Solo to lead a small fleet, including Renegade Squadron, the Alliance's recently formed unit of smugglers and criminals, to the Graveyard, the asteroid remains of Alderaan. Solo's command included a Mon Calamari Star Cruiser, two EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigates, several starfighter squadrons, and his ship, the Millennium Falcon. Unbeknownst to the Rebels, the Empire had also learned about the holocron's existence and location, dispatching their fleet to the Alderaan system. As a backup, the Empire hired Boba Fett to secure the holocron if their forces failed.
Upon the Alliance fleet's arrival from hyperspace, they found an Imperial fleet, consisting of an Interdictor Star Destroyer and two Victory II-class frigates, already present. The Interdictor launched half a squadron of TIE fighters, prompting Col Serra to order a Renegade Squadron member to intercept them using an X-wing starfighter. After a brief dogfight, the six TIE fighters were destroyed. However, both sides continued launching starfighters, intensifying the conflict.
As the battle grew, Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca, launched the Millennium Falcon from the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser to find and retrieve the holocron. Solo instructed his Renegades to continue fighting the Imperials as a diversion. However, three TIE interceptors pursued and damaged the Falcon. The Renegades destroyed the interceptors, and Solo informed his team that he had located the holocron, but the Falcon was too damaged to retrieve it. Solo then ordered Renegade Squadron to retrieve the holocron from the Graveyard, which they did.
After the Renegades acquired the holocron, Boba Fett arrived from hyperspace and pursued them in his starship, Slave I. Realizing the Empire was about to lose the holocron to the Rebels, Fett radioed the Renegades, stating his intention to take the holocron. Recognizing Fett as a greater threat than the Imperials, Col Serra ordered Renegade Squadron to prevent the bounty hunter from obtaining the holocron. The Renegades engaged Fett, inflicting enough damage on Slave I to force his retreat to hyperspace. The Imperials were then forced to retrieve the holocron themselves.
With Fett gone, the Renegades needed to destroy the Imperial Interdictor's gravity well projectors to jump back into hyperspace, so Serra ordered the Rebel forces to attack the battleship. The Renegades eventually destroyed the gravity well projectors, clearing the way for Han Solo to lead his fleet out of the Graveyard and the system.
Following the damage sustained in the Alderaan system, Han Solo and Renegade Squadron were ordered to Ord Mantell for repairs. There, the Renegades were attacked by the droid bounty hunter IG-88 and Imperial forces. After a short battle, the Renegades defeated the Imperial forces and retreated.
With the holocron in Rebel hands, Ackbar decided to personally examine potential planets on the holocron's list. Ackbar and a small scouting party traveled to the graveyard world of Boz Pity in the Outer Rim, and after scouting the planet, he decided it would make an ideal spot for a new base. Nonetheless, the Mon Calamari sought to examine other options and took a smaller scouting party with him to Saleucami, another planet on the list. However, when they exited hyperspace over Saleucami, they were ambushed by Boba Fett. Fett was able to defeat the Rebels and captured Ackbar and a number of other survivors. Fett then sold Ackbar to the Imperials and presented the other survivors to the Hutt Cartel on the planet Tatooine.
The Graveyard battle first and only appeared in the video game Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron, which details Renegade Squadron's battles during the Galactic Civil War. The battle is the second level in the game's campaign.
Because the battle occurs soon after the Battle of Yavin, the A-wing starfighters in this battle might be the R-22 Spearhead, the A-wing's predecessor. However, there is no official explanation.