During the era of the Galactic Civil War, as chronicled in Legends, the Rebel Alliance Fleet found itself in a brief conflict against an Imperial Strike-class medium cruiser. This confrontation occurred at Haven, the secret deep-space meeting location for the Rebellion, and happened after the Battle of Hoth. Having been forced to abandon their Hoth base due to the Empire's overwhelming power, the surviving Rebels linked up with what remained of their fleet far beyond the Galactic Rim, a place they thought was beyond the Empire's reach. The Rebel Alliance, severely weakened, desperately needed a safe place and time to recover from their heavy losses. Luke Skywalker, the Jedi, also sought refuge with the fleet, recuperating from his recent lightsaber duel against the Dark Lord Darth Vader in Cloud City on Bespin.
Despite Haven's isolation, the Imperial Strike cruiser unexpectedly stumbled upon the Alliance Fleet. The Rebels acted swiftly, jamming the Strike cruiser's communications. Wedge Antilles and the skilled pilots of Rogue Squadron were dispatched to eliminate the enemy vessel before it could transmit their location. Flying their X-wing starfighters, the Rogues easily dealt with the Strike cruiser's TIE fighter support before destroying the cruiser itself with a barrage of proton torpedoes. However, with their secret location now exposed, the fleet quickly dispersed and returned towards the galactic plane in search of a new sanctuary.
The Battle of Hoth, which occurred in 3 ABY, marked the most significant battlefield defeat for the Rebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War. The Galactic Empire's overwhelming force drove the Rebellion from their headquarters on the ice planet. The Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader, was personally trying to capture his Rebel son, the emerging Jedi Luke Skywalker. Despite the significant losses suffered at Hoth, the Alliance leadership managed to escape and regroup with the Alliance Fleet at a secret deep-space rendezvous point far beyond the Galactic Rim, known as Haven.
Simultaneously, Vader orchestrated the Imperial takeover of Cloud City on Bespin, leading to the capture of Rebels Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa. However, the Dark Lord's scheme failed to capture his intended target, Skywalker, who escaped Bespin with Organa and their new ally Lando Calrissian after a fierce lightsaber duel with Vader. In this battle, the young Jedi lost his right hand. The defeated Rebel heroes eventually made their way to the Alliance Fleet at the rendezvous point. Calrissian soon departed aboard the starship Millennium Falcon in search of Solo, whom Vader had handed over to the bounty hunter Boba Fett to be delivered to the crime lord Jabba the Hutt. Skywalker, Organa, and Calrissian ultimately planned to meet on the planet Tatooine, where they anticipated Fett's arrival to meet with Jabba.
Haven was situated above the galactic plane, far from any [stars](/article/star-legends], in a location the Rebels believed was beyond the Empire's tracking capabilities. The journey to the rendezvous point was fraught with danger, requiring the Alliance Fleet to ascend out of the galaxy's gravity well. Many ships were unable to withstand such a journey, and further losses were expected. The Rebellion's willingness to take such a risk highlighted their desperation but also demonstrated their commitment to regrouping and continuing the fight. However, victory over the Empire seemed impossible for the fleet's weakened remnants, and the tides of war offered the battered Rebels little time to recover their strength.
Only a few hours after Lando Calrissian's departure from Haven, the Rebels faced another crisis. The unexpected arrival of an Imperial Strike-class medium cruiser forced the Alliance Fleet to quickly intercept the hostile intruder. While the rendezvous point was indeed remote, the Rebel armada detected a significant anomaly on their scanners, and the Imperial vessel had stumbled upon their location by chance. Luke Skywalker, still recovering from emergency prosthetic limb replacement surgery aboard the medical frigate Redemption, was eager to get into his T-65 X-wing starfighter and help defend the fleet. However, Leia Organa and the droids C-3PO and R2-D2 convinced him to rest. Furthermore, his X-wing was undergoing maintenance, making the point irrelevant.
Nonetheless, the fleet still had the elite pilots of Rogue Squadron, who had recently arrived at Haven after their involvement at Hoth. The fleet had a numerical advantage over the Strike cruiser, including the frigate Redemption, two CR90 corvettes, three GR-75 medium transports, BTL Y-wing starfighters, and various other vessels, in addition to Rogue Squadron's six X-wings. However, this advantage was meaningless if the Imperials reported their location. A Rebel commander, directing the skirmish from one of the fleet's medium transports, emphasized to Commander Wedge Antilles of Rogue Squadron via comm the urgent need to eliminate the Strike cruiser before it could escape.
As Rogue Squadron approached the Imperial warship, Antilles instructed Rogue Five to sweep wide while the rest of his pilots stayed close to him. The Strike cruiser quickly launched nine TIE/LN starfighters. Its commander ordered his pilot to transmit their coordinates to Darth Vader, reporting the discovery of the Rebel fleet. However, the Rebels had already initiated jamming measures, preventing the Imperials from sending any transmissions. The Rebel commander's medium transport initiated the skirmish by destroying one of the approaching TIE fighters with its laser cannon, and a dogfight ensued between Rogue Squadron and the remaining eight Imperial fighters.
The TIEs broke formation after their initial pass, giving the Rebel fighters an advantage and allowing them to control the engagement. Antilles' pilots easily overcame their Imperial adversaries, except for Rogue Three, who allowed two TIEs to get behind him. One of the pursuing TIEs hit Rogue Three's engines, but Rogue Two intervened, destroying one of the TIE's solar panels with laser fire. The damaged Imperial fighter crashed into its wingman, destroying both in a fiery explosion.
With all the TIEs eliminated, the Strike cruiser attempted to escape, leading to a chase between the Rebels and the fleeing Imperial vessel, which possessed dangerous knowledge of the Alliance Fleet's location. The Strike cruiser diverted all power to its rear shields as it fled, deflecting fire from the Rebel commander's pursuing medium transport. However, this shielding configuration left the Strike cruiser's bow vulnerable, making it an easy target for Rogue Squadron. Rogue Five, who had been ordered by Antilles to sweep around the combat zone at the start of the engagement, launched a frontal assault. The Rogues destroyed the Strike cruiser with a barrage of proton torpedoes.
Rogue Squadron successfully destroyed the Strike cruiser and its TIE fighter escort without suffering any major losses. However, the Alliance Fleet's secrecy had been compromised. As a precaution, the Rebel commander changed the fleet's course, and the armada dispersed and began heading back towards the galactic plane. The commander informed Leia Organa via viewscreen aboard the Redemption that this decision might delay her plans to meet Lando Calrissian on Tatooine. However, the princess understood that the fleet's safety was more important than her personal desires and reasoned that Luke Skywalker needed the extra time to recover from his encounter with Darth Vader.
A report of the Alliance Fleet's possible location did reach Vader, who intended to pursue the lead in his ongoing search for Skywalker. However, Emperor Palpatine had other plans for him. The Emperor ordered Vader to return to the Imperial throneworld of Coruscant to negotiate shipping agreements with Prince Xizor of the Black Sun crime syndicate as part of the Empire's secret construction of the second Death Star battle station.
The skirmish at Haven was featured as the opening sequence in the first issue of the Dark Horse comic book series Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, written by John Wagner and illustrated by Kilian Plunkett. The first issue was released on May 7, 1996.
During the comic's development, Lucasfilm Licensing editor Allan Kausch instructed Wagner to include and then remove a Strike cruiser from the Imperial forces in the battle, based on the first draft of issue 1. Kausch pointed out that TIE fighters lack hyperdrives, making it impossible for them to reach the Alliance Fleet's location without a capital ship carrier. Additionally, Kausch requested that the line "Ready photon torpedoes!" be changed to "Ready weapons!" in the first draft.