Skirmish over Mykapo

A skirmish occurred over the planet Mykapo between Phoenix Cell, the Galactic Empire, and Iron Squadron in 2 BBY. After learning that the Empire was about to launch a crackdown on dissidents on Mykapo, the Phoenix Cell and the Spectres organized an evacuation effort. They encountered an Imperial advance patrol, which was wiped out by the Iron Squadron.
While the rebels evacuated the rebel sympathizers on Mykapo, Hera Syndulla, Ezra Bridger, and Sabine Wren tried to convince Mart Mattin and his rebels to leave with them. Iron Squadron was reluctant to leave until they found themselves under attack by an Arquitens-class command cruiser led by Admiral Kassius Konstantine. With the help of the Spectres and Commander Jun Sato, Iron Squadron managed to escape into hyperspace and join the rebellion.
==Prelude==
During the Age of the Empire, a rebel cell called the Iron Squadron emerged on the planet Mykapo, led by the brother of the Phoenix Cell's commander Jun Sato. Iron Squadron also included Sato's nephew Mart Mattin, the Theelin Gooti Terez, the human Jonner Jin, and the astromech droid R3-A3, who operated from the YT-2400 light freighter Sato's Hammer. After Mattin's father was killed, the Iron Squadron lost contact with Commander Sato and continued their fight against the Galactic Empire on Mykapo alone.
In 2 BBY, the rebellion received intelligence that the Empire was planning to impose martial law on Mykapo. After receiving warning of the impending Imperial crackdown, Phoenix Squadron and the Spectres undertook an effort to evacuate rebel sympathizers. Meanwhile, the Empire dispatched a Gozanti-class cruiser and four TIE fighters as an advance patrol to Mykapo. The Imperial patrol encountered and engaged in a dogfight with Sato's Hammer.
==The mission==
===Evacuation===
Phoenix Squadron arrived above Mykapo to find Sato's Hammer under attack from Imperial fighters. Upon seeing the dogfight, Phoenix Leader Captain Hera Syndulla sent the Sphyrna-class Hammerhead corvette P2 and an A-wing escort to evacuate the rebel sympathizers from Mykapo's surface as planned. Syndulla then diverted Phoenix Two and Phoenix Three along with her own ship, the Ghost, to escort Sato's Hammer. Attempting to contact the freighter, Syndulla was answered by its captain, Mart Mattin, who claimed that the Iron Squadron didn't need assistance. Sato's Hammer then dropped several explosive cargo containers onto the Gozanti cruiser, severely damaging it and forcing it to retreat into hyperspace.
With the Imperial patrol eliminated, Spectres Kanan Jarrus and Garazeb Orrelios left to aid the planetside evacuation aboard the Ghost auxiliary ship, Phantom II, while the remaining Ghost crew docked with Sato's Hammer. Hera attempted to convince the Iron Squadron to leave the system with them, as the hyperdrive aboard Sato's Hammer had been damaged; however, Mart and his followers refused to leave Mykapo, believing that they could take on the Empire by themselves.
From Mykapo's surface, Captain Rex reported to Syndulla that they had successfully completed the evacuation of rebel sympathizers from the planet. Unable to reason with Mart, Hera returned to the Ghost, intending to depart with her crew and to leave the Iron Squadron behind. However, Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger asked to stay behind with fellow Spectres Sabine Wren and Chopper, hoping for more time to help Mart's crew repair their ship and at least have the option to escape. Hera agreed and gave them the Phantom II, but warned them to leave once Imperial reinforcements arrived.
===Escaping Mykapo===
Sabine, Chopper and R3 managed to repair Sato's Hammer hyperdrive, but were unable to fully repair the ship as Mart continued to divert power to the laser cannons and shields. After some discussion, Ezra and Sabine managed to convince Gooti and Jonner that Iron Squadron could not take on the Empire alone. Before the rebels could reason with Mart, an Imperial task force led by Admiral Kassius Konstantine arrived in the system. Konstantine had been sent by Grand Admiral Thrawn of the 7th Fleet, who wanted to test the Admiral's caliber and deemed only one Arquitens-class command cruiser and two Gozanti cruisers necessary to deal with the Iron Squadron.
Faced with the might of the Empire, Mart agreed to evacuate his crew. The two rebel cells boarded the Phantom II, but at the last moment, Mart changed his mind, sealing the airlock between the ships and taking Sato's Hammer to confront Konstantine's forces alone. The freighter was quickly overwhelmed by the cruisers' and TIE fighters' firepower, which badly damaged its engines and rendered it unable to travel. At Mart's urging, Ezra and the other rebels fled into hyperspace.
Believing that Iron Squadron's rebel allies would return, Admiral Konstantine ordered a TIE bomber to plant a magno-mine and detonator on Sato's Hammer. He also allowed Mart to send a distress transmission to his rebel comrades in order to trap the rebels. The Spectres and Iron Squadron picked up Mart's distress call aboard the Ghost. With the approval of Commander Sato and Mart's crew, Hera agreed to lead a rescue mission to Mykapo. Ezra realized that Konstantine was trying to trap them, but decided they could still outsmart the Empire.
===Rescuing Mart===
The Ghost returned to Mykapo, and Mart alerted Hera that the Imperials had attached a mine to his ship. Hera then devised a plan to release Chopper and R3 through the Ghost cargo bay to defuse the mine. Dispatched into space, the two droids managed to deactivate the detonator. Under Hera's orders, they then planted the mine on one of Sato's Hammer cargo containers. The two droids reunited with Mart while the Ghost led Konstantine's TIEs on a wild pursuit, tricking Konstantine into thinking that they had abandoned their rescue mission.
After a few runs, the Ghost returned to extract Mart, Chopper, and R3 from the derelict Sato's Hammer. However, Commander Sato arrived with the Liberator and several A-wings. Sato's forces scattered the TIE fighters and attacked Konstantine's cruiser, destroying one of its Gozanti escorts. Panicked, Konstantine called for reinforcements from Thrawn as Hera flew the Ghost towards his cruiser, carrying Sato's Hammer below. Under Konstantine's orders, a subordinate officer activated the magno-mine. At that moment, Mart released his rigged cargo pod. The pod and mine detonated above Konstantine's light cruiser, damaging it and setting it ablaze.
As the rebels fled, Thrawn arrived in his Star Destroyer, the Chimaera, and exchanged fire with their ships. After a brief exchange of words with Commander Sato, Thrawn allowed the rebels to escape into hyperspace. Thrawn then contacted Admiral Konstantine to ask if he had called for reinforcements. The admiral attempted to hide his defeat by claiming that he had driven rebel forces from Mykapo and only called to report his success. However, the Grand Admiral corrected Konstantine with the fact that he had failed to stop rebel sympathizers from fleeing the planet.
==Aftermath==
The Phoenix rebels and Iron Squadron returned to Chopper Base on the planet Atollon. There, Commander Sato reconciled with his lost nephew, thanking Hera and her crew for rescuing him. Mart and his Iron Squadron comrades then embraced and decided to join the rebellion.
==Appearances==
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==Sources==
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*Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles
*Star Wars: Timelines
*Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
==Notes and references==
Category:Battles of Mykapo
Category:Battles of the Lothal campaign