Battle of Vagabond's Rest

Tolamael Benere shoots down the leader of the Glaston Pirates, Ras Moltar

Hollis DeMeers - KIA

> "*Arrow Six, take your wing destroy their means of escape. It ends today.*"
> ― Lieutenant Tolamael Benere to Udas
>
>

## **Overview**

The **Battle of Vagabond's Rest** was the final battle in Arrow Squadron's mission against the Glaston Pirates . It took place above the surface of the moon Rori in 2 ABY.

### **Background**

Using intelligence gathered after the Battle of Ruaha, where the Arrows were not defeated, but had failed to make an impact on the Glaston forces, as well as the assistance of Glaston defectors, Arrow Squadron leaderships had a fairly good idea of the location of the pirate's secret base. Tolamael had struggled with his full orders - to wipe the pirates out at all costs. He had hoped their could be a different resolution, but events throughout the campaign proved otherwise.

Following their near defeat at Ruaha, Lieutenant Benere and Udas, who had filled the role left by the death of former Executive Officer Idolon Jdre, worked to develop a new strategy. Using a junked old freighter, three members of Arrow Squadron had posed as traveling musicians and allowed themselves to be captured by the pirates: Craal Noarnn, S'Hral Glaso, and Sorshara Bray. Their ship was marked with a hidden transmitter and when the pirates took their captives to a hidden, isolated base known as Vagabond's Rest, the Arrows were fairly certain that they had their mark.

Prior to the Arrow's attack, Craal was recognized by a member of the pirates, a grizzled man named Hollis DeMeers. He had seen her perform at The Mossy Rock, a cantina on Myyribod that she had helped to infiltrate during the campaign to free the Betseeda System. Instead of blowing her cover, DeMeers and his adult children approached the captured Arrow Squadron members. They wished to defect, tired of the pirates bloody ways, and were willing to fight with the Arrows against their former employers. Originally suspicious, Bray, as mission leader, ultimately agreed to believe the DeMeers family and, with their help, Bray and Noarnn escaped.

S'Hral volunteered to remain behind in case the pirates moved locations and did anything else that could be reported back to Lieutenant Benere. Once safely back at Arrow Squadron's base, the DeMeers joined Arrow Squadron, much to the objection of Kostan Stodl, who hated anything relating to pirates. Now that they had a known location and insider information on the defenses of the base, the Arrows launched their attack.

### **Trapped**

> "*Dad!*"
> ― Saffron DeMeers on witnessing her father, Hollis DeMeers being shot down
>
>

Arrow Squadron managed to catch the Glaston Pirates completely off guard. Believing their base to be hidden by a series of scanner scrambles and the wild swamps of Rori, by the time they knew the Arrows were attacking it was too late. The pirate leader, Ras Moltar, was able to mobilize several of his Z95 headhunters and engaged the Arrows above the base. He also ordered the base to be evacuated and moved his fighters to cover the retreat.

Lieutenant Benere had strict orders from Alliance High Command to finish the pirates off once and for all and he instructed half of his fights to target their ground forces and escaping transports. It was an order that upset some members of the squad, viewing the targeting of retreating pirates as nothing short of murder. However, spurned on by Hollis DeMeers himself, the Arrows took to their task.

During this phase of the battle, Lieutenant Benere and his wing engaged the pirate fighters. While they were, for the most part, far less experienced than the Alliance fighters, Arrow Squadron pilots Dapla Lydd and Callan Rychel was shot down and killed while Hollis DeMeers was shot down and killed by Moltar's chief deputy, the Twi'lek female Farina. In the dogfight that followed, Benere shot down Moltar's ship and Sorshara Bray was able to shoot down and destroy Farina's fighter. The dogfighting was particular intense as the Arrows began shooting down escaping transports.

The remaining pirate transports were all destroyed and the Arrows conducted extensive mop up operations of the pirate facility. S'Hral Glaso, who had remained behind in the pirate's brig, had managed to escape during the confusion and was recovered by his squad mates. The mission was a success, but it had cost the Arrows two pilots and the moral high ground. The decision to fire on the transports, while followed, rubbed some Arrow Squadron pilots the wrong way, most significantly Vid Paratool who was already growing jaded with the war effort.

## **Impact**

The battle marked the end of the brief, but bloody, Glaston Pirates War. Arrow Squadron had lost some pilots in the campaign, but had also gained two new pilots in the DeMeers siblings. These two would remain in the unit for many years. It also marked the end of the friendship between Paratool and Benere, which was felt by many in the unit.

Following the conclusion of the campaign, Arrow Squadron was recalled to the main Rebel Fleet and, eventually assigned to the joint task force in what became known as the Hutt Campaign.

## Members of Arrow Squadron at the Battle of Vagabond's Rest

* Arrow Leader: Tolamael Benere
* Arrow Three: Vid Paratool
* Arrow Four: Danic Polis
* Arrow Five: Sorshara Bray
* Arrow Six: Udas
* Arrow Seven: Craal Noarnn
* Arrow Eight: Tozin X'ala
* Arrow Nine: Saffron DeMeers
* Arrow Ten: Callan Rychel (KIA)
* Arrow Eleven: Nath DeMeers
* Arrow Twelve: Hollis DeMeers (KIA)
* Arrow Thirteen: Kostan Stodl
* Arrow Fifteen: Tularus Tonith
* Arrow Sixteen: Yol Aak
* Arrow Seventeen: Dapla Lydd (KIA)