Skirmish in the Upestis system

The Skirmish in the Upestis system occurred in 3,956 BBY, at the height of the. Taking place in the uninhabited Upestis system, the engagement began when the  Wrangler dragged a patrol of   warships out of hyperspace near the system's third. Aided by 's, the force of two , the  and Feldnar Spire, along with the twelve s of the 37th Starfighter Squadron, were able to fight off the enemy and deal enough damage to Wrangler to force a retreat.

Prelude
In the years since the successful Iridonia-Lannik Campaign, the first counteroffensive by the against the  of  and, the  was hard-pressed to assist the  in keeping the seemingly limitless forces of the Sith at bay. Included among the steps taken was assigning the young, who had mastered  during the unexpected victory at , to the  . From this vessel, escorted by the Feldnar Spire and 37th Starfighter Squadron, she was to flit about the battleplanes, lending her powers to any battles taking place nearby, in order to maximize the odds of success across the front lines.

The Sith, meanwhile, had been sending individual into Republic space, the objective being to intercept convoys of warships, troops, supplies and other war matériel, and destroy them before they could reach their destinations. One such cruiser, the formerly Republic-affiliated Wrangler then under the command of the, had been attempting to waylay shipping within , along the , however his efforts had been met with mixed success. While patrolling the systems surrounding the, Terep's vessel dragged Shan's flotilla out of.

The battle
Terep immediately ordered the launch of his vessel's four squadrons, intending to overwhelm the Republic force with his fighters alone, keeping Wrangler out of range. The Republic force responded by concentrating their fire on the vanguard of the incoming force of interceptors, while the of the 37th Squadron launched es into the middle of the enemy formation. Bolstered by the battle meditation in use by Padawan Shan, the initial wave was repulsed with heavy casualties, though two Aureks and their pilots were lost in the.

The remaining Sith ships fell back to the protection of Wrangler ' s guns, but the two Hammerhead cruisers pursued, firing everything they had at the warship. With their combined and concentrated firepower, along with additional torpedoes from the Aureks, the Republic force managed to bring down Wrangler ' s dorsal shields and puncture the hull in several places. Despite landing hits on both Republic vessels, Terep slowly realized that, even if he stayed to press the issue and succeeded in destroying his foes, the damage to his ship would be too severe. Recalling the remains of his fighter force, he ordered Wrangler to affect a retreat with all possible speed.

Aftermath
After the skirmish, Shan's flotilla returned to their regular patrol, eventually arriving at, where the Padawan was tapped for a secret mission. Terep, however, furious at the losses suffered to his squadrons and the damage done to his vessel, lost control and began killing his crew indiscriminately. This led to a general mutiny, which resulted in the former 's death. In the wake of this turn of events, some of the cruiser's surviving officers attempted to seize control for themselves, however they ended up turning on one another.

Wrangler eventually fell under the temporary command of Lieutenant Commander Josef Farfax and Lieutenant Secar Dunnigal. The two officers, who had served with the Republic Navy during the, succeeded in convincing the rest of the survivors that they were better off defecting back to the Republic. The vessel then began to interdict the Corellian Run in the hopes of drawing out a force of Republic ships to surrender to; this was ultimately successful when they encountered the Inderdictor cruiser Battleaxe, under the command of Captain Nirkk Tethet. The two ships then rendezvoused with the fleet under Forn Dodonna which, ironically, included Padawan Shan.

Behind the scenes
This battle, while not given an actual name, is mentioned several times in the novel The Last Full Measure by Sean "Goodwood" Nash, and is described by both sides. Within the narrative, the skirmish itself is less important than the events that it triggers, namely the defection of Wrangler and the redemption of its surviving crew.

Appearances

 * The Last Full Measure