Battle of Jonquil Station

Arrow Squad attacks the Star Destroyer Salient

Otan Vebb (KIA)

Kubala Ruwassa (KIA)

> "*We are going to be coming in hot, Arrows. We have the Imps backed into a corner. There is no telling how dangerous they may be. Be ready for anything.*"
> ― Lieutenant Tolamael Benere to the assembled Arrow Squadron
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## **Overview**

In what would be the final conflict between Alliance and the Imperial Forces occupying the Betseeda System, the **Battle of Jonquil Station** was the decisive battle in the Rebel Alliance campaign of liberation. Lieutenant Tolamael Benere and his Arrow Squadron successfully defeated Imperial forces under the command of Captain Takei, destroying both the Star Destroyer Salient and the Star Destroyer Venom. However, they would suffer heavy losses as Idolon Jdre, Cedric Rex, Kubala Ruwassa and Otan Vebb were all shot down and killed.

### **Background**

After parrying Captain Yiromatu Takei's attack at the Second Battle of Betseeda Prime, Lieutenant Tolamael Benere knew that he had the Empire on it's heels. Both the Star Destroyers Salient and Venom had taken serious damage during the Siege of Tazion and were currently in dry dock for maintenance. The Imperial forces had long used the abandoned Jonquil Station, a trading post from the days of the Republic, as their base of operations. Arrow Squadron's intent was to eliminate this base and cripple the Star Destroyers once and fore all.

## **The Battle Begins**

### **Charging Ahead**

The Arrows, as they did during the successful Battle of Faan Shaarada made the decision to split into two attack wings. What the Arrows did not know was that Imperial Forces had outfitted Jonquil Station with missile turrets and laser platforms. Racing out of hyperspace in order to try and catch the wounded Star Destroyer's off guard, these previously unknown defense opened up.

The Arrows had to break formation and navigate through a wave of incoming TIE fighters. As they did so, Y-Wing pilot Craal Noarnn picked up an aggressive tail. Two TIE Fighters poured heavy fire into the fighter/bomber, destroying her astromech droid and nearly crippling her ship. Vebb, a close friend of Noarnn's attempted to parry the blows. She succeeding in shooting down one of the attacking TIEs, but was shot down and killed herself by another fighter. She became the first Arrow Squadron casualty of the day, but not the last.

### **Absorbing Blows**

Vebb's death, which shocked the unit, had to quickly be processed as another wave of TIE fighter streamed from the Salient's hangar bay. Lieutenant Benere, leading an attack wing composed of Udas, Cedric Rex and Kostan Stodl made a run at the Star Destroyer Venom. Lieutenant Idolon Jdre and his wing mates Tozin X'ala, Yol Aak, and Danic Polis attack against the Salient. Vid Paratool led the remaining pilots including Sorshara Bray, Kubala Ruwassa and S'Hral Glaso in tangling with the TIE fighters and neutralizing the orbiting defense platforms around the station. Craal Noarnn, her ship heavily damaged, was ordered from the battlefield and jumped back into hyperspace.

## **Attacking the Destroyers**

### **The Venom**

Lieutenant Benere, knowing that both Destroyers had taken serious damage during the Siege of Tazion, aimed to cripple the ships once and fore all. During their attack run, Rex - Arrow Nine - was able to knock out the shield generators on the Star Destroyer. As the X-Wings banked away and circled back around to lock on with proton torpedoes, Rex's ship was hit by anti-craft fire and destroyed in a fiery explosion. He became the second Arrow to die in a matter of moments. Benere, Udas and Stodl banked around and launched another attack against the Venom's exposed hull. A series of targeted torpedoes proved to be the killing blow. The attack caused massive damage to the ship and it began to explode from the inside. Benere ordered his remaining attack wing to engage the TIE fighters and the defenses of the Salient.

### **The Salient**

Fighters under the command of Lieutenant Jdre had just as difficult task. While the Salient had taken even more damage than the Venom at the Siege of Tazion, the Destroyer was docked closely to Jonquil Station. The added fire from the platform repulsed the first two attack runs with no losses. Realizing that his attack wing was running out of time, he ordered his fighters to make a run at the Salient while he destroyed the turrets on the station. In a brilliant display of flying, Jdre managed to destroy or damage a large part of the station, buying his fighters the time and cover they needed to complete their attack run. Several missiles, as well as concentrated fire destroyed the bridge of the Salient, killing the long time adversary of the squadron, Captain Takei.

> "*Ide! No!!!!!!*"
> ― Sorshara Bray upon the death of Idolon Jdre
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As Jdre banked back to rejoin the others, his fighter came under fire from a group of incoming TIE fighters. These were the last ships to be launched from the Venom's hold before it plummeted to the surface of the moon. Jdre managed to destroy three of his attackers before a fourth and a fifth TIE fighter pinned him in a pincer move. While managed to pull them away from the others, once again giving his fellow pilots space to operate, the increased maneuverability of the TIE's proved to be the deciding factor. Jdre was shot down and killed, horrifying the entire squadron.

## **The Dogfight**

### **Holding Them Back**

Paratool, leading a small group of fighters, had been doing his best to keep wave after wave of TIE fighters from attacking the Arrows making runs at the Star Destroyer. Earning several kills, they had done their best and kept the TIE fighters at bay. Before either ship had been destroyed, Rodian pilot and veteran Arrow Kubala Ruwassa - Arrow Ten - had been shot down and killed by an Imperial pilot, marking another casualty of an already bloody engagement.

Paratool, Bray, and Glaso were reinforced by Lieutenant Benere's fighters as soon as the Venom was destroyed. Collectively, they helped fly cover for Lieutenant Jdre's group before he was killed and the Salient was knocked out of action.

With the Salient crippled and the Venom plummeting to its death, the remaining TIE's scattered. Some continued to engage the Arrows, but the majority fled the scene, fleeing to wherever the closest Imperial installation may be located. A short time later, the Salient exploded into a massive fireball, most likely the result of auto-destruction act by surviving crew members.

## **Outcome and Aftermath**

### **Immediate and Long Term**

The decision, but costly victory, served as the final blow in the Arrow's war in the Betseeda System. The Venom and the Salient, the two Star Destroyers in the sector, had been destroyed and the government on Betseeda Prime had officially joined the hostilities against the Empire.

Official Imperial resistance melted away, but their base on Myyribod remained intact. While the base was not a major threat, it offered stiff resistance and was eventually overrun by Colonel Nez Rennoc and the BRF. Myyribod itself remained mostly loyal to the Empire and a long insurrectionist campaign began on the forest world.

Arrow Squad returned to its base and mourned its dead. The engagement had been the bloodiest ever fought by the squadron; four pilots killed in action. Only days later, after learning of the Arrow's victory in the system, High Command ordered the Arrows to their next assignment in the Chommel Sector against the Glaston Pirates.

## **Members of Arrow Squadron at the Battle of Jonquil Station**

* Arrow Leader: Tolamael Benere
* Arrow Two: Idolon Jdre (KIA)
* 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: Cedric Rex (KIA)
* Arrow Ten: Kubala Ruwassa (KIA)
* Arrow Eleven: Otan Vebb (KIA)
* Arrow Thirteen: Kostan Stodl
* Arrow Fourteen: S'Hral Glaso
* Arrow Sixteen: Yol Aak