- "Very well, we will use your ship to lead a squadron of the Empire's fighters. Your knowledge of the weapon placements will help us destroy their defenses before they can fire on us. There will be no tricks, Captain Luca. I will be aboard your ship to see to it personally."
- ―Darth Vader, to Luca
The Battle of Annamar was a battle between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance in 3 ABY to stop the Rebellion's guerrilla tactics on Imperial cargo ships near the planetoid Annamar.
Prelude[]
- "One of the Empire's transgalatic supply lines is no longer secure. Imperial convoys along the Corellian Trade Spine are suffering attacks at the hands of a Rebel force. At first they were merely an annoyance. But they have grown bolder. Their attacks, more successful."
- ―Emperor Palpatine to Darth Vader
With their base hidden within an asteroid field, the Rebels made continuous attacks on Imperial ships. Wolf Squadron's successful attacks took ships and weapons from the Empire which were later used directly against the Empire.[1]
In 3 ABY, the squadron was able to steal an Imperial convoy ship carrying a vital piece of the Death Star II's weapons system. After Wolf Squadron stole the piece of the Death Star, the Empire sent multiple ships into the asteroid field to recapture the ship and the stolen unit, but no Imperial ships ever returned from the mission.[1]
The battle[]
- "You don't have to do this, you know? If you take on an entire Rebel force… you will most probably be destroyed. You can choose simply to walk away."
"No. I can't." - ―Luca and Darth Vader
Realizing that only the best pilot in the Empire could successfully retake the stolen part, the Emperor commanded Darth Vader to lead the mission to retrieve the unit. Upon reaching the asteroid field, Vader noticed a ship entering the field. Aboard was smuggler Luca on whom Vader used Force persuasion to retrieve information about his missions and the Rebel base.[1]
After receiving the details about the Rebel base from Luca, Vader used Luca's ship, the Faithless, to lead a squadron of Imperial fighters to destroy the Rebel base. Luca provided the necessary codes to avoid and destroy the Rebels' cannons in the asteroid field. As the squadron came upon Annamar, however, Luca lied to Vader about the base's outer defenses surrounding the planetoid. The Empire's starfighters were destroyed in the ambush and the Faithless was forced to crash land on Annamar.[1]
Vader forced Luca to take him to the Rebel base and later threw him aside once he had reached the base. Single-handedly, Vader destroyed the preliminary defenses of the Rebel base and, using the Force to levitate and drop a fully armed BTL Y-wing bomber, managed to annihilate the entirety of the Rebel base and Wolf Squadron.[1]
Aftermath[]
- "All that power and you just do as you're told. You're called "Lord," but you don't rule a thing. Not even yourself."
"A man in your position would be wise to watch his words."
"Or what? You'll kill me? Your Emperor wouldn't want any survivors. There's no way you'll let me live. Even if you wanted to spare me, you couldn't—because you have no will of your own, Vader. You're just a toy soldier!" - ―Luca and Darth Vader
The only survivor of the destruction was Luca, whom Vader spared as a method of proving that he still maintained a will of his own. With his mission accomplished, Vader left Luca alone on the planetoid and then returned to his ship the Executor to await new orders from the Emperor.[1]
Appearances[]
- Star Wars Adventures: The Will of Darth Vader (First appearance)