Battle of Belderone (Galactic Civil War)

The Battle of Belderone occurred after Darth Vader's Star Destroyer came in orbit of Belderone to investigate Rebel unrest in the neighboring system of Kulthis.
==Battle==
The Rebels landed on Belderone to prepare for an impending attack on Kulthis, under the ruse of trading with the planet. Their arrival caused the citizens to gather around their ship the Millennium Falcon, and two citizens, Flint and Barney, saw Luke Skywalker's lightsaber clipped to his belt and deduced that he was a Jedi. They finally asked if he was a Jedi Knight. Not wanting to blow his cover, Luke said the lightsaber was given to him by a friend of his father's. The group was later given a place to stay at a tavern. An unknown spy of General Andrid revealed their location to him, and three agents were sent to capture Skywalker. The Rebels dodged the blaster fire while moving Zana away from the crossfire. They eventually defeated the Imperials. When Vader learned that Andrid knew Skywalker's location and had kept it secret from him, he killed Andrid using Force Choke.
Vader, due to Andrid's ego, rushed his plan to capture Skywalker and defeat the Rebels by deploying a squad of AT-AT walkers fresh from the factory's assembly line to destroy the neighboring village in a test run, then be picked up by bulk cruisers and used to attack Kulthis. Luke alerted the Rebels on Kulthis about the Empire's presence on Belderone. As a result the Rebel leaders sent a wing of T-65 X-wings and Snowspeeders to take down the walkers before they destroyed the village and the Rebel base. Luke's X-wing was shot down and forced to land on a walker; a second walker was preparing to shoot the downed fighter but was intercepted by another walker captured by Lando Calrissian and Leia Organa. Most of the AT-ATs were captured or destroyed, although one walker made it to the village and trampled over Zana's Diner with Zana inside.
==Aftermath==
The battle was a Rebel victory, but Flint, grieving over his mother's death, joined the Empire.
==Appearances==
*Star Wars Annual (1977) 3 
*Star Wars (1977) 92 
==Sources==
*The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
==Notes and references==
Category:Battles of Belderone
Category:Battles of the Galactic Civil War