Ambush at Xobome 6
- "In the meantime, we can assume that the bomb that stuck us here also sent out a signal to whoever planted it. Meaning they'll be coming soon. If it was a hyperspace communication and they were signaling the Implacable, the Star Destroyer could be here in another couple of hours. We could make a blind jump to deep space or the nearest star to get away from them, but that'll probably end up killing us; we don't have enough fuel to do any significant exploration. Anybody have any ideas?"
- ―Wedge Antilles to Wraith Squadron
The Ambush at Xobome 6 was an event during the Galactic Civil War; where the modified Corellian corvette Night Caller, a ship that belonged to Warlord Zsinj's forces, was ambushed and captured by Wraith Squadron in the Xobome system.
Background
- "Demolitions."
"Yes, Control."
"What do you think hit us?" - ―Wedge Antilles and Kell Tainer
After escaping from the Battle of Folor, Wraith Squadron and the Narra jumped into hyperspace en route to Doldrums, where they planned to reunite with the other evacuees. However, they were pulled out of hyperspace by Empion mines deposited by a support ship of Admiral Apwar Trigit. The mines shorted out their starfighters and astromech droids. It also erased all of their navigational data, which prevented them from leaving the system. Faced with this dilemma, Wedge Antilles ordered the squadron to land on Xobome 6 to make repairs.
The Ambush
- "Yes, sir. I think this plan is marginally better than dying of asphyxiation or starvation out in empty space, and it has the virtue of novelty. Implacable couldn't anticipate we'd do it. Only crazy people could anticipate we'd do it."
- ―Wes Janson agreeing to the plan
Surmising that the ship would return once again to check its trap, the Wraiths managed to convince Wedge Antilles that they could board the enemy ship by using parts from the broken X-wings. Kell Tainer and Cubber Daine constructed a small vessel they named the Lunatic out of Ton Phanan's damaged X-wing. They outfitted it with thrusters, a stripped down laser cannon and an astromech droid to help the navigation. Their plan was to hide a pilot inside the smuggling compartment and have the Imperial ship tractor it in. Once inside, the pilot would access one of the ship's terminals and send a rescue request to the New Republic. Voort saBinring volunteered to the be intruder due to his Gamorrean physiology, which would better insulate him from the cold.
The enemy ship that appeared turned out to be a modified Corellian corvette, designated Night Caller. It towed the Lunatic into its hold while also launching a pair of TIE Fighters to scout the area. The other Wraiths were lying in wait on a nearby asteroid field where they easily destroyed both TIE's. Aboard the Night Caller, saBinring emerged from the smuggling compartment and managed to subdue the stormtroopers guarding the area. He then fired his cannon into the hold ceiling and climbed his way to the ship's bridge; where he demanded and received the bridge crew's surrender. He later learned that the ship's captain, Zurel Darillian was killed by the shot he made to the ceiling.
Aftermath
- "Captain Voort saBinring of the New Republic corvette Night Caller hailing Wraith Squadron. Wraith Squadron, come in."
- ―Voort saBinring after capturing the Night Caller
Due to the quick capture of the Night Caller, the ship's crew were not able to send a distress signal. This meant that Zsinj's forces were not aware of the ship's capture. Based on this, Antilles decided on his own initiative that they would pretend to be the ship's crew and perform all it's missions with the intent of finding a way to deal a critical blow to Zsinj.
Appearances
- X-Wing: Wraith Squadron (First appearance)