Battle of Fresia

"Time to retire those old Z-95s! These X-wings can handle anything the Empire can throw at us!"

- Captain Raymus Antilles

The Battle of Fresia was a decisive engagement early in the Galactic Civil War that marked the beginning of the use of X-wing starfighters by the Alliance to Restore the Republic.

Prelude
"There's no alarm on any Imperial comm channel. We're clear. Move out, team."

- Captain Raymus Antilles, upon reaching Fresia with the Alliance task force.

When dissident Incom Corporation scientists provided the Alliance with the location of four prototype X-wing starfighters on Fresia, a Rebel task force was dispatched with the mission of retrieving them. Unanticipated complications arose when the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Tyranny was discovered in orbit around the planet.

An operation had to be conducted to lure the Tyranny back to its station at the Kuat shipyards, resulting in the First Battle of Kuat. Even after the success of that operation, the Alliance would still have an obstacle in getting to Fresia in the form of a defense network of sentry drones which were deployed by the Tyranny before it left the Fre'ji system. This final Imperial defensive measure would be circumvented when the Rebels were able to steal landing codes from an Imperial uplink station on Wayland. This was accomplished during the Battle of Wayland by a ground force escorting the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO. R2-D2 was able to register Alliance ships as attendees in the Incom nationalization ceremony. This allowed them to obtain clearance for landing upon reaching Fresia.

A convoy carrying Rebel pilots had to travel through the Imperial controlled territory around Fresia to reach the X-wing storage area. The ploy to register the ships at Wayland succeeded, and the Alliance task force was cleared for landing without having to engage the Imperial Navy in orbit.

Battle


"I reached the X-wing; Beginning power up sequence&hellip; Abort! Abort launch sequence! I'm detecting anti-aircraft turrets all over the area!''" "''They're going to get destroyed out there! Take out those anti-aircraft turrets!"

- A Rebel pilot and Captain Raymus Antilles, alarmed upon the discovery of some concealed anti-aircraft turrets during the Battle of Fresia.

The Incom facility holding the X-wings was located on a sandy archipelago, and the Alliance task force deployed in the south. The Rebels quickly punched through the Imperial garrison, which was completely taken by surprise. A heavy turbolaser defended the facility approach from the southeast, but the Rebels were able to trek through shallow waters to the western entrance of the facility, which was much more lightly defended.

After deploying more troops and calling in a Y-wing bombing run on the Imperial base, the Alliance launched a full attack. The base power generator was soon destroyed, after which the rest of the Imperial facility quickly followed suit, with an Imperial officer academy and command center also being destroyed. Also, a small force of tanks and infantry were deployed to defend the area between the turbolaser towers and the landing zone. As the Rebel pilots reached the location of the X-wing prototypes, a final effort was made by the Imperial forces to stop them with the landing of multiple AT-ST walkers and TIE maulers and the revealment of some previously hidden anti-aircraft turrets, but these reinforcements were quickly overwhelmed by the Rebel ground forces and the Rebel pilots were able to blast off from Fresia and escape along with the rest of the Rebel task force.

Aftermath


"The Incom T-65 X-wing is the fighter that killed the Death Star. An almost perfect balance of speed, maneuverability, and defensive shielding make it the fighter of choice for Rogue Squadron."

- General Carlist Rieekan

The X-wing prototypes obtained from Fresia would lead the Alliance to the full production of X-wing starfighters, a design that would go on to serve with distinction throughout the rest of the Galactic Civil War and beyond. The X-wing would soon get its first opportunity to prove its worth at the Battle of Turkana, where it was able to defeat prototype Imperial TIE/In starfighters of similar performance. Indeed, much of the later success of the Rebellion would be due to this superb fighter, eventually becoming the starfighter of choice for elite pilots such as Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles.

Behind the scenes
Some have speculated that the raid on the Incom facility depicted in the comic, Darklighter, is the Battle of Fresia. However, it is far more likely this was a later mission to acquire more X-wings. The planet is never named in Darklighter. There are many more of the craft in the comic, and more than once it is implied that Incom is past the development stage and has started to manufacture the craft, while in Star Wars: Empire at War there are only four prototypes in existence. Though, oddly, there are five in the illustration of the battle in The New Essential Chronology. There is also far less resistance in the comic.

In Empire at War, after the battle is won Captain Antilles wants to liberate Fresia and rid it of Imperial control. However, Mon Mothma countermands this decision, stating that it would present too much of a target to the Empire and endanger the citizens of Fresia. Despite this, the player can still opt to take control over the planet (and do so easily, as the planet is completely unguarded at this point). Also R2-D2 and C-3PO can participate if the survivors of task force of the Battle of Wayland join the assault force of Fresia.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Empire at War