Siege of Tazion

The Siege of Tazion was a three month long engagement fought in 1 ABY during Arrow Squadron's campaign to liberate the Betseeda System from the Imperial Navy. The siege was marked by intense bombing from the Star Destroyers Salient and Venom, which caused the deaths of several thousand civilians in Tazion, a serious lack of supplies and manpower, and a desperate mission to sabotage an Imperial Star Destroyer. Eventually, Arrow Squadron and Betseedan Resistance Forces were successful in repulsing the attack.

Background
After dealing Arrow Squadron a significant blow at the Battle of Myyribod, Imperial forces under the command of Admiral Jhutan Ensah looked to end the conflict in the Betseeda System. Originally believing the campaign underway was little more than an insurrection, Admiral Ensah had acted indecisively at the First Battle of Betseeda Prime and the Battle of Faan Shaarada. This had been noted by Imperial Naval Command and several strongly worded messages had been sent his way. Spurred on by both his superiors and his second in command, the young and talented Captain Yiromatu Takei, the Imperial battle fleet acted quickly and with increased vigor.

Realizing that Arrow Squadron was temporarily weakened by their surprised defeat, he moved his two Star Destroyers, the Salient and the Venom into orbit above Betseeda Prime. Without warning, the two capital ships opened fire on the capital city of Tazion. Arrow Squadron, as well as their BRF counterparts, were caught completely off guard by the brazen attack. At the same time, Admiral Ensah vowed to starve out the rebels and ordered his TIE fighter squadrons to prevent any ships, especially cargo ships, to enter or leave the planet. His strategy called for a prolonged siege. Believing the resolve of both the Rebels and the Betseeda Government would crumble in the face of such an attack, he was unyielding in his approach.

Organizing a Response
Despite being caught caught off guard by the Imperial attack, BRF forces and their allies in the Betseedan Parliament were quick to respond. With Arrow Squadron's help, they began evacuating as many civilians as possible. The city center had already been heavily damaged by the near-constant bombardment, but using commandeered craft from across the city, thousands of civilians were moved out into the relative safety of forests outside Tazion. Knowing that an attack by TIE fighters was possible at any moment, Lieutenant Tolamael Benere left three of his pilots - Sorshara Bray, Cedric Rex, and Kubala Ruwassa with the civilians at their camp. Kostan Stodl volunteered to begin training new pilots for an eventual Aerial Defense Group and Idolon Jdre, who served as the unit quartermaster, began rationing supplies and working to find whatever replacement parts were available.

In the earliest days of the siege, the Arrows flew several small sorties against attacking Imperial TIE bombers and TIE fighters. While they suffered no pilots killed, theses missions left them desperately low on both fuel and parts for repairs. Scavenging became the new normal as the Betseeda government cut their routine (and off the record) supply shipments to Arrow Squadron's base outside of Tazion.

Feeling the Pain
Halfway through the second month of the siege, Lieutenant Benere grounded all non-essential flights. Fuel supplies had reached a critical point and he could no longer field his entire compliment. In addition to these losses, a bombing run at landed a lucky blow on the Arrow's secret base. This attack destroyed eight of Arrow Squadron's astromech droids. The droids, close personal friends of many, were a tragic loss. While Jdre eventually managed to replace them with droids from a Tazion merchant, many of the R2 units needed to be reprogrammed for piloting duties.

Riots over food shortages had erupted in the refugee camps and civilians who had not fled Tazion were still being killed in bombing attacks. The situation was at critical mass. The realization that something needed to be done, and quickly, was becoming apparent.

Acting on a Plan
Eventually, Lieutenant Benere and his leadership team began to develop a possible strategy. It was dangerous, bordering on reckless, but after heated discussions, it was the only option available for breaking the siege. Needing more manpower than they possessed, it was imperative to work with the BRF units on the planet. Colonel Hooper Croix and Colonel Nez Rennoc, the leaders of the BRF were invited to the table, a final strategy was developed.

In the immediate confusion following the First Battle of Betseeda Prime, BRF forces had managed to capture a Lambda class shuttle. Using this shuttle, a plan was hatched to infiltrate the attacking Star Destroyer Salient. With codes obtained through a network of spies, a combined strike team of BRF commandos and Arrow Squadron pilots were able to infiltrate the capital ship. They attached bombs to several parts of the Star Destroyer's interior and disabled firing controls, which stopped the bombardment of Tazion.

These infiltrators were able to cause enough damage and confusion to the Salient that it bought enough time for the remaining Arrow Squadron members to launch their ships for one, desperate attack. With their resources stretched to the breaking point, each fighter was only give two proton torpedoes. As quartermaster of the group, Ide also revealed, in private, that the Arrows may not have enough fuel and spare parts for another attack.

In The Air
The remaining Arrow Squadron members not on the raid were led by Lieutenant Benere in an attack on the Venom, which had moved closer to the Salient to render assistance. The Arrows, using their few torpedoes, were able to severely damage the engines of the Venom. Admiral Jhutan Ensah, sensing that his forces were losing the upper hand ordered his TIE fighters to defend the crippled Star Destroyers long enough to organize a retreat. However, these efforts were hampered by the fact that the hangar bay doors of the Salient had been disabled by the strike team. As a result, only a few fighters from the Venom managed to engage the Arrows with no impact.

Despite sustaining heavy losses, including the death of their commanding officer, Hooper Croix, the BRF commandos and their attached Arrow members were able to flee in escape pods back to the surface of Betseeda Prime where they were located and picked up by their colleagues. The two heavily damaged Star Destroyers retreated back to their facilities at Jonquil Station, thus lifting the months long siege.

Aftermath and Impacts
The most immediate impact of the Rebel victory was the breaking of the siege. Although thousands of innocent civilians had been killed, the BRF and Arrow Squadron attack proved the two groups could work together. Supplies once again began to flow into the city and Arrow Squadron was able to repair and refit their battered ships.

On the reverse side of the conflict, the stinging defeat spelled the end of Admiral Jhutan Ensah's blundering campaign against Arrow Squadron. His Imperial supervisors, long annoyed with his lack of results recalled the Admiral to Corsucant to face questioning. His second in command, the ambitious and brutal Captain Yiromatu Takei assumed command of the beleaguered Imperial forces in the Betseeda System.

Members of Arrow Squadron at the Siege of Tazion
In the Air Aboard the Salient
 * Arrow Leader: Tolamael Benere
 * Arrow Four: Danic Polis
 * Arrow Seven: Craal Noarnn
 * Arrow Ten: Kubala Ruwassa
 * Arrow Eleven: Otan Vebb
 * Arrow Thirteen: Kostan Stodl
 * Arrow Sixteen: Yol Aak
 * Idolon Jdre
 * Udas
 * Sorshara Bray
 * Tozin X'ala
 * Cedric Rex
 * S'Hral Glaso