Battle for the Eclipse

The Second Battle of Kuat was a three-way battle between the Zann Consortium, the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire over the planet Kuat, a headquarters for many shipbuilding yards.

Background
Tyber Zann arrived with a fleet in the Kuat system intent on taking advantage of the chaos following the Battle of Endor and the steady disintegration of the Galactic Empire, by boarding the Eclipse-class Star Dreadnought and accessing secret information stored in its vaults.

The battle
"What the... Super Star Destroyer incoming sir!"

- A Consortium thug

The Consortium fleet encountered a Rebel fleet wanting to raid the system to destabilize the Empire's fleet production. The Consortium agreed on a temporary truce with the Alliance in order to destroy three Cardan-class space stations. The rebel's initial fleet consisted of 4 MC80 cruisers, 2 mark II Assault Frigates, 2 Nebulon B frigates, 3 Corellian gunships, 1 CR90 corvette, the Millennium Falcon, and a large number of fighters. They brought in more ships as reinforcements were needed. However, this truce was broken when Zann's forces double-crossed the rebels and captured the Eclipse, as the rebels sought to destroy it.

Although they were confronted with both a Rebel fleet and the local Imperial defense fleet, the Consortium pushed onwards, all the while performing an infiltration and takeover of the half-complete Eclipse.

Utilizing the semi-stable superlaser cannon of the Eclipse, Zann's forces gained the upper hand. However, after a few shots, the superlaser broke down. This was followed immediately by the arrival of Admiral Gaarn, who commanded the Star Dreadnought Annihilator. At this point, it seemed as though the fight would swing in the Empire's favor. However, the Consortium brought in more reinforcements, and eventually managed to destroy the Annihilator. Shortly afterward, the Consortium team aboard the Eclipse managed to repair the superlaser, used it to mop up the rest of the Imperials and Rebels.

The Consortium emerged victorious in the end, but at the cost of many lives and ships on all three sides.

Aftermath
Having found information about Palpatine's vaults in the Eclipse's databanks, Zann decided to abandon the vessel, as it was too big a target for the Galactic Empire and Rebel Alliance to ignore. Tyber announced his plans to spread his organization galaxy-wide using the credits in the vaults.

Behind the scenes
Several players witnessed the destruction of the Millennium Falcon in this battle, though this contradicts canon since the ship appears in many EU stories taking place in post-Galactic Civil War eras. Some apparently see it jump away into hyperspace, which would explain this contradiction. However, as it is possible to kill Darth Vader in one of the missions, this can simply be assumed to be gameplay. In Galactic Conquest mode of the game, a hero's "death" is not permanent, and the hero will be made available again after a set period of time, so the in-game destruction of the Falcon need not be indicative of the ship's actual destruction.

It is possible to bring IG-88A into the battle in the Forces of Corruption campaign, even though the battle takes place after the Battle of Endor, where IG-88A perished on board the Death Star.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption

Schlacht von Kuat (4 NSY)