- "At the Battle of Ponolapo a small rebel fleet had ambushed an Imperial convoy."
- ―Beaumont Kin, The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire
The Battle of Ponolapo was a battle of the Galactic Civil War fought by the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Between 3 ABY and 4 ABY, a small rebel fleet ambushed an Imperial convoy being escorted by the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Steadfast, killing its commanding officer, Commodore Freylon and destroying most of the convoy.
Prelude[]
- "The ships that had been pulled from service to deal with Crimson Dawn had left gaps in the Imperial fleet deployments that had still not been rebalanced."
- ―Beaumont Kin, The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire
Between 3 ABY and 4 ABY,[3] the criminal organization Crimson Dawn fought a war with the Galactic Empire. Although the Empire defeated Crimson Dawn, it had pulled ships from service to do so, leaving gaps in fleet deployments. At the same time, the Empire was fighting against the Alliance to Restore the Republic in the Galactic Civil War. Although both sides were engaging in a number of small skirmishes, both the Empire and rebels were unable to win a decisive engagement to shift the balance of power in the galaxy.[1]
Battle[]
- "Ordinarily the escorting Star Destroyer Steadfast would have been accompanied by several Gozanti or Arquitens light cruisers but, in this case, it was alone. As a result, the rebels were able to destroy most of the Imperial shipping and damage the Steadfast—even managing to kill Commodore Freylon—on the way out."
- ―Beaumont Kin, The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire
One such skirmish was the Battle of Ponolapo, which shared its name with[1] the Ponolapo system[5] and occurred between 3 ABY and 4 ABY[3] when a small rebel fleet ambushed an Imperial convoy being escorted by[1] the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer[4] Steadfast. Due to the conflict with Crimson Dawn, the Steadfast did not have its usual accompaniment of several Gozanti or Arquitens light cruisers, which allowed the rebels to destroy most of the convoy and damage the Steadfast, killing its commanding officer, Commodore Freylon.[1]
Aftermath[]
After the battle, Commodore Scaanos replaced Freylon as the commanding officer of the Steadfast. This infuriated Captain Enric Pryde, the longest serving crewmember of the Steadfast, who believed he should have received the command instead. The day after the Battle of Endor[2] in 4 ABY,[6] Pryde recalled the battle while thinking about his dislike of Scaanos. Pryde believed that Freylon's carelessness was the reason for his death at the battle.[2]
A file on the Battle of Ponolapo was located in the Rebel Alliance Archives, and information on the battle was also contained in Freylon's obituary, which was stored in the "Imperial Navy" section of the Imperial Archives. The historian Beaumont Kin referenced both files when[1] he[7] mentioned the battle in his book The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire[1] in 35 ABY.[8]
Behind the scenes[]
The Battle of Ponolapo was first mentioned in the short story "The Steadfast Soldier", written by Adam Christopher and published in the 2023 anthology From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi.[2] The story, which took place in 4 ABY,[6] established that the battle occurred at least four years before its events.[2] However, the 2024 reference book, Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, by Dr. Chris Kempshall,[1] placed the battle between Crimson Dawn's war against the Empire and the Battle of Endor, meaning it must have occurred in either 3 ABY or 4 ABY.[3] This article assumes Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire's placement of the battle is correct.
Appearances[]
- "The Steadfast Soldier" — From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi (and audiobook) (First mentioned)
Sources[]
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 Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "The Steadfast Soldier" — From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire establishes that the Battle of Ponolapo occurred after Crimson Dawn's war against the Empire, which ended during the events of Hidden Empire 5.
Hidden Empire Revealed: Charles Soule on Marvel's Next Star Wars Epic – Exclusive on StarWars.com (backup link) establishes that the events of Star Wars: Hidden Empire, including Hidden Empire 5, take place between the events of Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, which are dated to 3 ABY and 4 ABY, respectively, by Star Wars: Timelines. Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire also establishes that the battle occurred before the Battle of Endor, which is dated to 4 ABY by Star Wars: Timelines. Therefore, the battle must have occurred between those years.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1
"The First Order" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
- ↑ Star Systems of the Galaxy on StarWars.com (article) (backup link)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The events of "The Steadfast Soldier" take place the day after the Battle of Endor, which Star Wars: Timelines dates to 4 ABY. As Timelines also dates the events of Shattered Empire 1, which also take place the day after the battle, to the same year, "The Steadfast Soldier" must also take place in 4 ABY.
- ↑ Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary
- ↑ Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire states that thirty years have passed since the end of the Galactic Civil War and months have passed since the Battle of Exegol. As Star Wars: Timelines dates the end of the war to 5 ABY and the Battle of Exegol to 35 ABY, the in-universe The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire must have been published in 35 ABY.