Ambush at Waypoint 7

"We were in deep space. We were surrounded, with no one to help us... and with no way out. I sat and watched my friends... my brother die one by one, and the feelings of hopelessness, dread and fear that came over me were overwhelming. There was no way out... no way out..."

- Dirrax Calaan describing his experiences of the Ambush

The Ambush at Waypoint 7 was a battle which occurred at the height of the Swarm War in 36 ABY just days before the final battle at Tenupe. The ambush was a resounding victory for The Colony as they managed to destroy a Galactic Alliance frigate in addition to nearly annihilating the GA's famed Republic Squadron.

Backround
At the outbreak of the Swarm War, the Killiks had managed to capture the Victory I-class Star Destroyer Admiral Ackbar and from it had learned the location of the hyperspace lanes used by the Galactic Alliance fleet. As a result, they set up an ambush force, consisting a 3,000 meter long Shard-class capital ship along with over a hundred Dartships, at Waypoint 7 which was located along the hyperspace route.

Republic Squadron had been stationed at Nickel One in the aftermath of the coup attempt there, but, in preperation for the upcoming battle at Tenupe, Supreme Commander Gilad Pellaeon ordered Republic Squadron to join the Fifth Fleet in the Unkown Regions. During the trip to the Unkown Regions, Rep. Squadron was ordered to escort the EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate Windstreak, which was to deliver medical supplies to the Fifth Fleet.

The battle
In preperation to make their final course correction on their trip to the Unknown Regions, Republic Squadron and the Windstreak came out of hyperspace at Waypoint 7 only to be set upon by dozens of Dartships. Moments later, the massive Killik Shard-class capital ship opened up on the GA forces with an array of turbolasers, ion cannons and concussion missile launchers. The hopelessly outmanned and outgunned GA forces were doomed. In a period of only three minutes, the Windstreak and all but three of Republic Squadron's E-wings had been destroyed. The assault occurred so quickly, that the Windstreak had not even been unable to send out a distress signal, leaving the remnants of Republic Squadron without any hope of rescue.

The three surviving pilots of Republic Squadron, Commander Zhandon Narva and Lieutenants Dirrax and Nerric Calaan, tried desperately to break through the swarms of Dartships and make the jump to hyperspace. Nerric however was surrounded and, despite his brother Dirrax's best efforts, his fighter eventually succumbed to its wounds and exploded, killing Nerric. Dirrax, overcome with grief and anger, resigned himself to killing as many Dartships as he could before he himself was killed. Commander Narva however, could not allow any more of his men to be killed. He dove back after Dirrax and ordered him to withdraw. When Dirrax refused, Narva flew in the path of Dirrax's lasers, forcing Dirrax to cease fire. Dirrax finally gave in and the two pushed their engines to their limits in order to accelerate away from the Killiks. After clearing the Dartships, the two were able to jump to hyperspace and escape the ambush.

Aftermath
"What did you do?! Where the hell is my squadron?!" "... What squadron?"

- Jarton Kinsk demands to know the fate of Republic Squadron from an emotionally shaken Zhandon Narva.

After the battle, Zhandon Narva, unable to come to terms with the loss of his squadron, suffered a mental breakdown and would spend the next three years in and out of psychiatric hospitals. Dirrax Calaan, after passing a psychiatric evaluation, chose to stay in the military, much to the dismay of his parents. Dirrax became steadfastly loyal to the Galactic Alliance after the battle. He felt that by speaking ill of the Galactic Alliance, one was speaking ill of his dead brother. This fierce loyalty put him at odds with his father, Tarvin Calaan, who believed that Nerric had died for nothing. Tarvin, who felt that the Galactic Alliance had no place in the Unkown Regions to start with, would go on to hold a deep resentment toward the GA, blaming them for the unnecessary death of his son. This resentment would later lead Tarvin to join the Five Worlds in their rebellion against the Galactic Alliance four years later.

In light of the overwhelming casualties suffered during the ambush and the fact that its commanding officer had suffered a mental collapse, the Galactic Alliance chose to officially decommission the famed Republic Squadron a few days after the end of the Swarm War.

After their defeat at Tenupe and the end of the Swarm War, the Killiks abandoned Waypoint 7. Neither them nor the Galactic Alliance would ever use that hyperspace lane again.