So, I was toying with a shortly-after-Yavin intro adventure for a Ywing-group, and trying to figure out where I could send them with a resonable threat level, interesting terrain, and hooks for the second encounter I have planned.

It occured to me, then, that with a little history altertion Yavin would be good.

"When the deathstar was destroyed, rubble filled the yavin system, some falling into the gas giant and more launching into deep space. But some sections of the deathstar's kilomiter-thick habitable shell survived in Yavin orbit, without power and with blast doors sealed, and rescuing surrentered imperials became a priority for the rebelion. Many of the imperials defected on the spot- others were placed in camps on Yavin's surface. The Rebelion was already evacuating when the first ship of the much-maligned Imperial Fleet arrived- and Imperial fleet liberated the loyalists on the surface, completed SAR operations around Yavin, and left probe droids on the surface in case the rebels returned.

Rebel patrols found the probe droids and sent rookies down (in starfighters) for target practice, then left. The imperial fleet went to smash a base that didnt exist anymore, replenished the probe droids, and left. Those probe drids were killed as well.

To protect the Probe droids, the imperial fleet began to refurbish some of the death star debris into "asteroid bases", powering surviving tie hangers and barracks with portable power plants, but the bases were too small and too far apart- the rebels were able to raid the system with impunity, picking off ties and probes for minor losses in return. Some in the fleet wanted a larger presence to crush the rebel raiders, but cooler heads previled- there was nothing to protect- the rebels were only coming to kill the imperials, so the imperials left, decomissioning (and destroying) the bases as the left.

I think there is room for a low level starfighter mission or two with this as a backdrop... what do you all think?

Nice, I like it

Sounds fun, and if you're worried about "canonicity" it fits a lot closer than you think. Really only the numbers of survivors and the bases in the wreckage are unusual.

The Empire has plenty of incentive to recover whatever material and personnel they can from the Death Star, for all sorts of reasons, and there were brief but intense engagements both in space and on the ground as the Imperials attempted to eliminate the fleeing Rebels. Even the tactic of eliminating surveillance would force the Empire to respond, lest the Alliance re-occupy the base right under their collective noses.

The only thing is that the Empire doesn't really need to protect probe droids, their whole purpose is to be expendable reconnaissance platforms. Also, your players might get tired of pot-shotting the things, as they'll really only pose a threat if they catch a fighter totally unawares.

That said, the Empire may be using more sensitive equipment to search for technological salvage from the Death Star, and that does need to be guarded. And resupplied by convoys, which also need to be guarded.

Would explain why they've mounted it in orbit, rather than on the surface, too. Keeps it away from the pesky wildlife. And an intact hangar section in a stable orbit could house a squadron of TIEs and a shuttle or two, which would give your players both dogfighting opponents for skirmishes and a big target for a final attack, as well as opportunities for sabotage if they're more of the Wraith Squadron persuasion.

Something like this? (Relevant abilities in parentheses).

Mission 1: Kill probe droids wandering the system. (Piloting)

Imperials get suspicious.

Mission 2: Scramble to kill probe droids closing in on your base, backed up by a few TIEs. (Piloting)

Imperials on alert.

Mission 3: Scout for the Imperial base, dogfight TIEs. (Tech, Piloting)

Imperials on the defensive.

Mission 4A: Infiltrate and sabotage the base. (Stealth, Combat)

Mission 4B: Dogfight TIEs, destroy the base. (Tactics, Piloting)

Imperial reinforcements en route.

Mission 5: Prepare evacuation, dogfight TIEs, survive capital ship attack. (Social, Tech, Piloting, Tactics)

Same enemies, same environment, don't need to worry about the details of the Imperial recovery effort unless that's important to the story. Perhaps capture a scientist/recover data during 4A about (insert plot-hook here).