Raid on Golrath Station

The Battle of Golrath was a battle between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance in 3 ABY for control of a former Alliance base, Golrath Station.

Background
After the Rebel Alliance abandoned their base on an abandoned magma smelting plant on Golrath, the Galactic Empire took control of the facility known as Golrath Station. It was later discovered by the Alliance that the bedrock that comprised the station's foundations harbored several strange characteristics. When heated, the mineral compounds absorbed ambient light rays, but when it cooled, it released those rays, playing them back in the form of a hologram. Fearing these images could reveal Alliance secrets to the Empire, Princess Leia Organa ordered an immediate assault on Golrath and the destruction of the former Rebel base.

Recently demoted Imperial Lieutenant Mils Giel discovered the rock's properties while leading a small group guarding the base and ordered a contingent of TIE fighters to defend Golrath Station if the Rebels returned.

The battle
Two starfighter groups led by Commander Luke Skywalker and Captain Hanc Thorben and comprised of X-wings and Y-wings launched from Haven Base on Arbra. Among the fighters was Princess Leia piloting a Y-wing. Upon arriving at Golrath, the Rebel fighters engaged the TIE fighters in battle above the surface, hoping to allow for infiltrators to enter the base and destroy it. Only the Princess reached the surface and entered the base. Leia headed for the reactor core, making her way past stormtroopers and coming face to face with Lieutenant Giel. Considering the Princess' death more valuable to the Empire than the information Golrath Station may have held, Giel set the base's reactor to overload. His ploy failed when Leia made her escape and was picked up by one of several Rebel fighters flying past the facility. The overload of the reactor was irreversible and Giel was forced to flee, but not before angrily firing at a passing X-wing with his blaster. Golrath Station was destroyed and the remaining Rebel fighters escaped.

Aftermath
Giel's stray blaster shot made contact with the engines of Luke Skywalker's X-wing fighter, causing enough damage to prevent Skywalker from escaping into hyperspace with the rest of the fleet. He eventually escaped the Imperial fighters and was forced to land on the planet Beheboth before finally returning to Arbra. Unknown to the Rebels at the time, Giel's vessel also sustained damage during the battle, forcing him down on Beheboth where he would be stranded for the next few years.

Appearances

 * Star Wars 65: Golrath Never Forgets
 * Star Wars 66: The Water Bandits