- "My squadron, was ambushed during a bombing run over the Trenchenovu shipyards."
- ―Nath Tensent, to Yrica Quell
Six months before the Battle of Endor, the battle at Trenchenovu was fought when a squadron of BTL-A4 Y-wing assault starfighter/bombers, led by the rebel pilot Nath Tensent launched an attack on the Trenchenovu shipyards. During the bombing run, the squadron was ambushed by the 204th Imperial Fighter Wing which forced them to abandon their mission.
The Imperial-class Star Destroyer Sanction cut off the squadron's escape, forcing them to make for the other side of the shipyards. Each of Tensent's squadron died one by one until it was only Tensent and his second, Reeka. Tensent was forced to abandon his comrade, whose astromech droid had been destroyed, to flee the battle alive and retreated to the Entropian Hive for repairs.
Prelude[]
- "We'd prepped for that mission for six weeks, training until we could launch a torpedo into an Abyssin's eye socket."
- ―Nath Tensent, to Yrica Quell
Around 3 ABY,[2] over seven months before the Battle of Endor, Nath Tensent, a pilot in the Rebel Alliance, and squadron began preparing to make a bombing run on the Trenchenovu shipyards. They prepared for six weeks for the attack. The mission was a way for Tensent to earn a favor from Alliance General Lexei so that he could pick his next mission. However, in the meantime, the Galactic Empire cracked the security codes of Tensent's rebel cell and learned of the attack. For the anticipated attack, Colonel Shakara Nuress of the Empire's 204th Imperial Fighter Wing loaned a squadron of TIE/ln space superiority starfighters to the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Sanction.[1]
The attack[]
- "Pesalt tried to outmaneuver TIEs; slammed right into a support strut. Rorian limped about halfway before his engines overloaded. Ferris ejected. You can only imagine what happened to him. Me and Reeka, we were the only ones who came out the other side."
- ―Nath Tensent, to Yrica Quell
On the day of the attack, Tensent's squadron, flying BTL-A4 Y-wing assault starfighter/bombers, flew towards the shipyards for their bombing run. Just seconds before the rebel pilot Piter could release a payload, the TIE fighters of the 204th ambushed his starfighter, destroying it. Tensent and his second-in-command Reeka decided to abort the mission and had their squadron launch their payloads to throw off pursuing TIEs. Tensent's squadron pulled up, having lost the pilots Canthropali and[1] Shol Mordeaux,[3] but were cut off by the Sanction, which arrived out of hyperspace near the Trenchenovu shipyards.[1]
Tensent's squadron then split up and take cover under the shipyards and escape at the other side. As the 204th pursued the rebels, the rebel pilot Braigh broadcast over multiple frequencies, offering to sell out the rest of the Alliance to the Empire so that she could be spared. Braigh was killed regardless along with Pesalt, who crashed into the shipyards trying to outmaneuver the TIE fighters. After Rorian was killed by his overloaded engine and Ferris ejected from his Y-wing, Tensent and Reeka were the only remaining rebel pilots. The pair destroyed three TIE fighters but Reeka lost her astromech droid simultaneously. After reaching the other side of the shipyards, Tensent had to abandon his remaining comrade and escape the battle alive. Reeka, who could not make the jump to hyperspace without a droid, was then killed.[1]
Aftermath[]
- "After Trenchenovu, I limped to the Hive for repairs. Did some investigating to learn how it went so wrong. Learned a few weeks later the Imps had cracked our rebel cell's security codes—they'd been listening in for a month."
- ―Nath Tensent, to Yrica Quell
Tensent fled to the trading post Entropian Hive to repair his Y-wing. He learned of how the Empire had been listening in and had anticipated the attack. Tensent later told the story of the to the former 204th pilot Lieutenant Yrica Quell, who was recruiting him for a working group tasked with ending the fighter wing. During the attack on the 204th at the planet Pandem Nai, Tensent confronted Nuress, making her reveal the details of the fighter wing's involvement in destroying his squadron at the Trenchenovu shipyards. There, he learned that all of the 204th pilots involved had since died.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
The battle at Trenchenovu was first mentioned in the 2019 novel Alphabet Squadron, written by Alexander Freed.[1]
Appearances[]
- Alphabet Squadron (First mentioned, simultaneous with audiobook)
- Alphabet Squadron audiobook (Mentioned only)
- Shadow Fall (Mentioned only)
- Shadow Fall audiobook (Mentioned only)
- Victory's Price (Mentioned only) (First identified as battle at Trenchenovu)
- Victory's Price audiobook (Mentioned only)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 Alphabet Squadron
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Alphabet Squadron establishes that the attack on the Trenchenovu shipyards took place six months before the Battle of Endor with the planning beginning around six weeks prior to the attack itself. Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates the Battle of Endor to 4 ABY, so the battle at Trenchenovu and the planning phase beforehand must have therefore happened around 3 ABY.
- ↑ Victory's Price