Recovery of the Sealion

The Recovery of the Sealion was a battle fought during the Zaarin insurrection.
==Prelude==
Namuura Din, the commanding officer of the Imperial Victory-class Star Destroyer Zeplin, supplied both sensitive information pertaining to the true status of the Death Star II at Endor and the Missile Boat prototype, the Sealion, to the Rebel Alliance's MC80 Star Cruiser Link. Although the Link and its crew had been captured before they could notify the Rebel Alliance of the truth at Endor, the Sealion had already been shipped to a Rebel outpost. Upon deducing from an Imperial scout within the region that the Sealion had not been relocated because no ships left the station since its arrival, the Imperials arrived at the area to investigate the containers for the Sealion, and either retrieve or destroy the container to ensure the Rebels hadn't tampered with it to find out its secrets. Maarek Stele was assigned to the sole remaining Missile Boat stationed on the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Garrett, the Tau 1, to locate the Sealion container, with 5 TIE/LN starfighters from Delta Squadron providing starfighter cover for the operation, and 3 TIE/IN interceptors and 3 TIE/Advanced starfighters from Zeta and Eta squadrons, respectively, placed on reserve. Just before the operation, the Priest of the Prophets of the Dark Side told Maarek Steele that Darth Vader requested that they confirm whether the missile boat had already been disassembled by the Rebels or not, and as such, stated they would launch a craft to board the container and extract the craft after Steele identified the container containing the Sealion.
==The Battle==
When Maarek Stele left the hanger, he helped TIE fighters engage and destroy Z-95 Headhunters and R-41 Starchasers. Before long, Strike Cruiser Piimi arrived to engage the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Garrett, only to be driven off, if not destroyed. Stele helped provide starfighter cover against multiple X-wings, A-wings, B-wings and Y-wings. After dealing with the Rebel fighters, he inspected the Class-B containers Niicee to find each of them containing warheads until one of them had the missing Missile Boat. The Garrett then launched the Cargo ferry Omega 1 under escort from Stele, then boarded the container and extracted the prototype. Stele then destroyed the container.
==Aftermath==
Upon locating the Sealion, the Imperials deduced that the Sealion had not been touched by the time they found it. Nonetheless, because of both the theft and Demetrius Zaarin destroying all of the manufacturing plants for the Missile Boats via bombing, killing thousands in the process, the Emperor Palpatine recalled all surviving Missile Boats still in Imperial possession and placed them into protective storage until further notice, an order that ultimately wasn't rescinded due to his death at Endor. In part because of this, as well as Grand Admiral Thrawn requesting Stele's skills in the final battle against Zaarin at To-phalion Base, Stele was reassigned to the TIE/Advanced Alpha Squadron and sent to To-phalion Base to help Grand Admiral Thrawn hunt down Zaarin, once and for all.
==Behind the scenes==
This mission appears in the 1994 PC game Star Wars:TIE Fighter.
The primary objective of the mission was to destroy the Sealion container. However, a bonus objective could be achieved by waiting long enough after identifying it to have the Omega 1 cargo ferry retrieve the Sealion.
This article assumes completion of "Primary" and "Secondary" objectives. The "Bonus" objectives are the destruction of the Nebulon-B2 frigate Equator, the XQ4 Platform Enin'sd and the YT-1300 transport Opos.
==Appearances==
*Star Wars: TIE Fighter Collector's CD-ROM
==Sources==
*TIE Fighter Collector's CD-ROM: The Official Strategy Guide
Category:Battles of the Emperor's Will campaign