The skirmish that occurred at Outpost D-34 transpired during the era of the Galactic Civil War in the year 3 ABY. This conflict culminated in the capture of Rebel insurgents who were secretly aboard the vessel known as Onece 3.
In the wake of the Rebel's defeat that recently occurred on the planet of Hoth, an increase in freighter activity was observed within the Javin sector. Imperial Intelligence grew suspicious of a potential connection and hypothesized that the Rebels intended to navigate through this particular checkpoint. One of their pilots, Maarek Stele, who had been stationed in the sector following the demise of Admiral Mordon, would subsequently validate this hypothesis.
Two distinct groups of ships approached, freighter squadron Onece and stormtrooper transport squadron Dayta, both requesting authorization to traverse the sector. As Maarek Stele commenced his inspection of the vessels, beginning with the transports, he discovered civilian workers. He then proceeded to examine the freighters, uncovering Rebels concealed within the freighter Onece 3, while the remaining freighters contained Foodstuffs. He promptly alerted his superiors, leading to the dispatch of transports from Sigma to neutralize and seize the aforementioned freighter.
As Sigma group and Stele engaged the freighter, Rebel Shuttles materialized, attempting to intervene and rescue the Rebels from capture. Their efforts proved futile, as Stele had already managed to weaken the shields and inflict minor hull damage upon Onece 3 by the time they arrived. Transport Sigma successfully disabled Onece 3, forcing it to halt, and Sigma 1 boarded the vessel to secure it, while Sigma 2 returned to base. Stele engaged both shuttle groups Roe and Escro and destroyed them all. Subsequently, the freighter was boarded, seized, and redirected to an Imperial shipyard, where the captured Rebels would undergo interrogation. The remaining freighters within the convoy, carrying cargo consistent with their declared manifests, were granted passage and subsequently entered Hyperspace en route to undisclosed destinations. Another convoy that arrived was Container Transport group Taloos and YT-1300 group Yander. Both carried legal cargoes and were allowed to pass.
The captured freighter held ten individuals, some of whom exhibited Mugaari sympathies. Imperial Intelligence anticipated gaining further insight into Rebel operations within the sector through the captured prisoners. Admiral Flanken and Major Thorbo assumed responsibility for interrogating the prisoners, seeking to uncover the location of Rebel bases and their strategic plans, employing an Interrogation droid to extract all available information. Stele drew parallels to his own experience as a Bordali prisoner, but believed that the Rebels deserved their fate.
Furthermore, Alliance forces in the area, upon learning of the failed smuggling attempt, concluded that if they were unable to smuggle their forces out of the sector, they might be compelled to fight their way out. This decision would ultimately precipitate the First Battle of Javin.
The Skirmish at Outpost D-34 makes its initial appearance in the PC game Star Wars: TIE Fighter released in 1994. Specifically, it is featured as Battle 1, mission 1 within the game. Detailed information regarding Stele's specific actions can be found in TIE Fighter: The Official Strategy Guide.
The storyline of the mission is based on the "medium" difficulty setting. If the player selects the hard difficulty setting, the first shuttle group is replaced by Ravtin and Escort shuttle group Tough. Additionally, a stormtrooper transport named Glich appears, which must be destroyed as a "bonus" objective. The strategy guide acknowledges the presence of Transport Glich.