Battle on Wayland

"But, sir, I think my presence there won't be necessary&hellip;''" "''You can't come up with a plan and let someone else take the all the credit, Threepio."

- C-3PO and Raymus Antilles discussing the upcoming Alliance operation.

The Battle of Wayland was an early battle in the Galactic Civil War that was part of a greater Alliance operation to obtain four Incom T-65 X-wing starfighter prototypes guarded by Imperial forces stationed on Fresia.

Prelude
After a prior raid conducted to lure the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Tyranny away from Fresia, the Rebel Alliance discovered a network of sentry drones deployed in the Fre'ji system to warn the Imperial Navy in the eventuality of any attempt to disrupt the Incom Corporation nationalization ceremony.

With the aid of the protocol droid C-3PO, the Alliance was able to conceive of a plan to bypass the Imperial sentry network. The astromech droid R2-D2 would be employed to slice into an uplink station on Wayland in order to register Alliance ships into the log of attendees of the nationalization ceremony. This would allow the Rebels to reach the surface of Fresia without any interference.

Preparation
The Alliance task force deployed in a forest clearing near the uplink station. R2, C-3PO and a small force of T2-B tanks and infantry prepared to take a path up to the uplink station. They needed to get in and out as quickly as possible. The Rebellion also had a group of Y-wings on standby for the possibility of a need for a bomb drop. The preparation was critical to the outcome of the battle because the Rebels could see the uplink station from their landing point. They began to map out a plan, as the Empire was alerted to their presence.

Engagement
The Rebels quickly separated into two groups, one of infantry and one of repulsor tanks. The tanks went first and spotted one of the three Anti-Infantry Turrets keeping the station safe from invaders. As the Rebels began attacking, the sentries sent a Scout trooper in a 74-Z speeder bike to contact the Empire and begin engaging the Rebels as they hacked the turret; the Imperial sentries were quickly defeated. Soon the two Rebel groups separated, with the Tanks deploying in the south to form a blockade while the infantry defended the north-west and south-west entrances of the base.

R2-D2 plugged into the uplink station controls and began to steal the codes which would allow the Alliance Fleet to bypass the blockade around Fresia. This took some time, however, and the Empire had the opportunity to deploy additional forces. Soon a wave of three Stormtrooper squads and four AT-ST walkers landed; the Rebels called in a Y-wing bombing run to knock out the reinforcements.

As another wave of three Stormtrooper squads and four AT-ST walkers landed, a final wave of Imperials, consisting of three TIE Maulers And 3 Stormtrooper squads land as well. The Rebels, surrounded by the Empire, began a last-ditch defensive effort to stop them; the Maulers attacked but were eliminated before causing too many Rebel infantry casualties and the rebels tried to eliminate the rest, allowing R2-D2 to steal the codes from the uplink station. The Rebels then disengaged and departed Wayland under fire.

Aftermath
The landing codes stolen from Wayland were accepted as valid by the Imperial forces in orbit around Fresia, allowing the Alliance to land a ground force on Fresia and mount an operation to liberate the X-wing prototypes. These starfighters would prove be a great boon to the Rebels that would continuously serve well throughout the rest of the Galactic Civil War.

Behind the scenes
A battle being waged at Wayland conflicts with canon established in The Last Command, as the New Republic did not discover the existence of Wayland until the Thrawn campaign.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Empire at War