Mission to Tarabba Prime

The Mission to Tarabba Prime was an operation by General Morgan's fleet during the early Galactic Civil War, meant to distract Imperial forces as Admiral Ackbar conducted a mission on Utapau.

Background
Wongata Kelvin, having left the 1337 N00B5 in 0 ABY to return to Utapau, led a resistance movement among the Pau'ans against the Empire. The planet was remote, and the Empire did not divert excessive resources to fighting the resistance, but it did leave garrisons of troops to intimidate the populace.

Aware that the Pau'ans could not purge the Imperials from the planet with the resources available, Wongata opted to send as much of his men to join the Rebellion as possible. The first wave of these recruits managed to escape the planet on civilian craft, but as the Imperial troops noticed the sudden flux of emigration, they soon began to monitor outgoing ships more closely, preventing safe escapes. With most of the resistance trapped on the surface of Utapau, Wongata Kelvin managed to run the small blockade in his CR90 corvette Ancient, and contacted Alliance High Command to request assistance.

Mon Mothma consulted with General Morgan regarding the tactical feasibility of retrieving the freedom fighters, and ultimately Morgan formulated a plan, which he proposed to Admiral Ackbar, which required a diversion over Tarabba Prime to lure the vessels in the Imperial blockade away from Utapau. Morgan was conscripted to lead the diversion, using Ace Squadron to defend the MC80 star cruiser Liberty.

Morgan formulated the plan to make the battle easy for Ace Squadron. If the mission was a success, Alliance High Command intended to publicize Ace Squadron's victory to increase morale for fighter pilots, which was one of the primary, although secret, functions of the squadron.

The battle
When Morgan's fleet entered the system, the Liberty made its presence known, firing on Imperial satellites and attacking patrol cruisers. The Imperial response was as expected: immediate scrambling of all available fighters and calling for reinforcements. Meanwhile, Ace Squadron guarded the Liberty from the fighters and bombers the Empire launched at the cruiser, while the Liberty itself targeted the Tartan patrol cruisers approaching the fleet.

It did not take long for Imperial reinforcements to arrive. Two Victory II-class Star Destroyers materialized along with more Tartan cruisers, aiming to overpower the Liberty, but Ace Squadron managed to hold them off long enough for Rebel reinforcements to arrive.

At this point, Ace Squadron was sent to assist Ackbar's operation on Utapau, covering the resistance forces as they were evacuated off the planet.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Ace and Commander