Battle of Var-Shaa

After the Battle of Endor during the Galactic Civil War, which pitted the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire, the Rebel Alliance reorganized itself into the New Republic. Around that time, the Rebel Alliance had already initiated an attack on at least one Imperial shipyard, namely Fondor Station, during the Attack on Fondor.

A naval force from the New Republic Defense Fleet, which included an MC75 Star Cruiser, an MC80 Liberty Type Heavy Star Cruiser, an MC95E Star Cruiser, an EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate, a pair of CR90 corvettes, a pair of GR-75 medium transports, and squadrons of T-65B X-wing starfighters, RZ-1 A-wing interceptors, and BTL-A4 Y-wing assault starfighter/bombers, commenced an attack against the Var-Shaa Imperial Dockyard positioned in orbit around Var-Shaa. The Imperial II-class Star Destroyer named Overseer responded to the assault and mounted a defense of the station. Titan Squadron, which was assigned to the Overseer, was also deployed to try and protect the dockyard.

Throughout the engagement, other Imperial units joined in the defense of the dockyards, including at least one Raider-class corvette and numerous TIE fighter series starships, specifically TIE/ln space superiority starfighters and TIE/sa bombers. However, the Republic forces had caught the Empire by surprise, leading to a state of relative unpreparedness for conflict compared to their opponents. Consequently, as the battle progressed, it became clear that the Republic was on the verge of victory, having eliminated a substantial number of TIE fighters and at least one Raider corvette. In contrast, while the Empire inflicted heavy losses, at least two CR90 corvettes, several starfighters, and all three of the Mon Cala ships remained operational.

Ultimately, as Titan Leader, Captain Varko Grey, led a squadron of TIE Fighters on an attack targeting the New Republic capital ships, the dockyard was consumed by fiery explosions, also destroying an Imperial I-class Star Destroyer that was docked at the space station. Commander Terisa Kerrill of the Overseer gave the order for Titan Leader Grey to abort the attack and return to the Overseer, which was preparing to enter hyperspace and retreat. Although the New Republic achieved victory, the raid resulted in significant casualties.

Before they could reach the Overseer, Titan Three, who was piloting a TIE bomber, came under attack from three A-wings. Fearing for their life, Titan Three requested assistance from any available member of their squadron. Grey, adhering to the principle of not leaving anyone behind, responded to intercept, defying Kerrill's orders. As the enemy interceptors closed in on Titan Three, Grey's TIE interceptor unleashed a barrage that destroyed two of the A-wings and forced the third to disengage. The two TIEs hurried towards the Overseer, seemingly safe from enemies, only for an X-wing to detonate the TIE bomber's ammunition pod, killing Titan Three and damaging Grey's Interceptor with the resulting debris.

After recovering from a violent spin, Grey redirected all power to his engines, navigating through the battle debris to dock in the hangar. Unfortunately for him, the Overseer jumped to lightspeed just as he was approaching it. Grey was left behind and forced to conceal himself among the debris with his damaged TIE. Only one X-wing, the same one that destroyed Titan Three, was searching the area. When the distance was right, Grey fired and escaped towards the surface while the X-wing broke off to evade.

Varko Grey descended towards the surface amidst the debris, pursued by the New Republic pilot. The New Republic pilot fired a missile after missing several shots. Grey executed evasive maneuvers, rolling and weaving, but to no avail. With the missile closing in, he deployed a countermeasure to redirect it back at the X-wing, forcing the enemy pilot to fire and destroy the missile. Varko then realized that the damage from Titan Three's wreckage was spreading to other parts of his hull. Knowing he had limited time, Grey engaged in a dogfight. With Taim & Bak laserfire whizzing past him, he maneuvered into the surrounding clouds before drifting back towards the X-wing and returning fire. The two raced towards each other, exchanging volleys that they both avoided. However, as Grey emerged from the clouds, he fired precise shots that destroyed the astromech droid behind the pilot, which surprised and angered him. Seizing the opportunity to escape, Grey descended below the cloud level towards the plateau-filled landscape of Var-Shaa. However, debris from the battle continued to fall from the sky, wreaking havoc on the landscape. And, much to the squadron leader's dismay, the X-wing pilot continued the chase, undeterred.

Seeking refuge from the rain of fire, Grey plunged into a canyon, with X-wing volleys still tracing past him. The Republic pilot also dodged the falling debris and followed Grey into the canyon, relentlessly pursuing him. The pilot used the tighter space to his advantage in maneuvering, and one of his shots pierced Grey's cockpit, forcing the interceptor pilot to remove his helmet. Now critically damaged, Grey used his superior agility to his advantage, drifting into a split in the canyon. The less agile X-wing was forced to take the other path. As they flew side by side, the New Republic pilot taunted Grey: "The war's over, Imp." The canyon opened up to a river, and the Republic pilot immediately opened fire again. However, Grey, knowing that he would soon be shot down, improvised using the environment, drifting in a way that caused the water to rise up like a wall. The pilot accelerated to continue the chase, only to be met by this wall of water, which stalled his engines and sent him towards a small plateau in the middle of the river. Realizing his mistake, the New Republic pilot tried to pull up, but it was too late—the X-wing crashed against the plateau and disintegrated into flaming pieces before crashing into the river. Grey's TIE interceptor, worn from both the battle in orbit and the dogfight on the surface, lost power and crashed into the sea.

As the afternoon air blew and sunset shined; Varko Grey was safe and beached. He considered the words "War is over, Imp," as he looks over the wreckage. A radio through his helmet called to him, "Come in. Calling Titan Leader." Varko picked up his helmet and stood up, stating that the war was not over for him, as the search party consisting of two TIE fighters, one TIE Reaper, and one TIE bomber came in to pick him up.

The strike on Var-Shaa was first depicted in the CG short film "Hunted" as part of the promotional efforts for the 2020 video game Star Wars: Squadrons. In one particular scene, an MC95 Star Cruiser is shown rather than the MC95E Star Cruiser that appeared in several scenes.