During the Zaarin insurrection, forces loyal to the Imperial regime were successful in their seizure of the XQ6 Platform which was a Research facility located within the Parmel system.
Demetrius Zaarin, who held the rank of Grand Admiral, had prepared fallback strategies to employ against the Empire after his failed attempt to abduct Palpatine. Following his successful destruction of the Empire's TIE Advanced production facilities in the Omar system, he then shifted his attention to depriving the Empire of its control over the research and technology related to the TIE Defender, aiming to secure any possible advantage against the Empire.
Recognizing the potential for a positive feedback loop, where the Rebel Alliance could benefit from the situation and potentially stage a resurgence, which Zaarin could then exploit, the Empire dispatched a strike force, under the command of Maarek Stele, to thwart Zaarin's attempt to seize the Research platform. The Secret Order also contacted Stele, instructing him to disable as many escaping vessels as possible, as they sought to eliminate any leaks and moles associated with Zaarin.
Stele and his wingman engaged Zaarin's TIE/sa bombers upon arrival. Meanwhile, one of Zaarin's cargo ferries, named Sakin, docked with a container and initiated a jump to Hyperspace. Stele, determined to prevent further escapes, broke away from the engagement and destroyed the remaining cargo ferries. Subsequently, he proceeded to disable all Shuttles carrying officers, technicians, and other personnel. Shortly thereafter, Utility Tugs departed the station under suspicious circumstances, prompting Stele to eliminate them as a precautionary measure.
Soon after, the Ton-Falk-class escort carrier Jitte arrived to bolster the station's defenses. The Jitte launched TIE Fighters that had been enhanced with Shields and missile launchers. Despite these improvements, they proved insufficient, as Stele destroyed all of the TIE Fighters. Concurrently, Assault transports arrived and launched Heavy rockets at the Jitte, aiding Stele in its destruction. The transports then shifted their focus to the platform, and with Stele's assistance, disabled it to allow for the deployment of a Stormtroopers contingent to secure it. Once the operation was concluded, the Star Destroyer Adarga arrived and began deploying Heavy Lifter group Pacho to dock with the containers, and Stormtrooper transports Omicron to dock with the disabled shuttles.
Suddenly, a Rebel A-wing appeared, and Stele was ordered to intercept it. Following this, four more A-wings arrived, followed by four X-wings and four B-wings. Stele and his wingmen successfully shot down all of the Rebel starfighters.
Following the conclusion of the battle, all of the captured shuttles, transports, Heavy lifters, and TIE Defenders, although battle-worn, were safely transported to the Adarga's hangar. However, they were aware that Zaarin's retaliation was imminent. Meanwhile, the Secret Order immediately began interrogating the captured prisoners.
The battle was originally featured in the 1994 LucasArts video game Star Wars: TIE Fighter, where players assume the role of Maarek Stele. The mission "Capture Platform," which is the first mission in the game's ninth campaign tour, "T/D Technology," depicts this engagement.
This article is written assuming that all "Primary", "Secondary", and most, if not all, "Bonus" objectives have been completed. It also assumes that one Cargo Ferry, Sakin 1, successfully escaped into hyperspace. However, it is possible to destroy all Cargo ferries before they can escape.