Please bear with a question from casual players far removed from the latest meta and wave XIV!

My son and I played Mission 3 "Dark Whispers" from the first core set for the first time and our game raised questions about possible outcomes. To test run the mission before moving on to 100-point squads, we played it as per the instructions with two satellite tokens, Red Squadron Pilot with Proton Torpedoes and R2-F2, Black Squadron Pilot with Determination and Obsidian Squadron Pilot. To remind, this is the mission where the Imperials seek to 'scan' the satellite tokens by overlapping them. For an Imperial victory, all satellite tokens must have been scanned and at least one Imperial ship that scanned a satellite token must flee the play area via the Imperial edge. For a Rebel victory, all Imperial ships must be destroyed or all satellite tokens returned to supply. If an Imperial ship has 'scanned' a satellite token, it is placed on the Imperial scanning ship's card. If that Imperial ship is destroyed, the Rebels return its scanned satellite token to supply.

In our game, Black Squadron Pilot scanned satellite token #1 and was subsequently destroyed by Red Squadron Pilot, thereby returning satellite token #1 to supply. Obsidian Squadron Pilot scanned satellite token #2 and successfully fled the play area via the Imperial edge. The Mission Objectives seem fairly clear that the Imperials won the round because one Imperial ship, which had scanned a satellite token, was able to flee the play area via the Imperial edge. That said, the Mission Objectives are silent about a partial return of scanned satellite tokens to supply. To put it another way, if the game were played with 100-point squadrons and 4 satellite tokens (as per the instructions), as long as one Imperial ship that had scanned one satellite token was able to flee, the Rebels lose -- even if they succeeded in destroying all other Imperial ships and returning all other satellite tokens to supply! We initially thought that the possibility of Rebel reinforcements would tilt this Mission in the Rebels' favor, but now we're not so sure. Perspectives from more experienced players would be appreciated.

I don't have the actual mission handy right now, but based on your description, it sounds like the requirements are fairly clear for victory conditions:

• Rebel Victory - Achieve one of the following:
  • Destroy all Imperial ships
  • Return all satellites tokens to supply.
• Imperial Victory - Achieve both of the following:
  • Scan all satellites
  • Flee the Imperial board edge with at least one satellite token

As far as what happens to the leftover satellites, there's no requirements. They can be scanned and still on ships, or returned to the token supply; as long as they were scanned at least once, and not still on the table, the mission can be completed by the Imperials.

To that end, both sides have a clear path to victory: The Imperials need to scan the satellites then run like heck, while the rebels need to defend the satellites from being scanned. If (as a Rebel player) you run a blockade and prevent the Imperials from getting close, you can prevent the scans. Even defending a single satellite from being scanned is enough. As the Imperials, you have to scan every satellite; there's no getting around that requirement. That said, if you can do so, all you need to do is run for your lives.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I have now listened to The Shuttle Tydirium podcast 39, which covered this mission in detail. While the Shuttle Tydirium crew didn't rate Mission 3's design highly, we've had fun playing it repeatedly with larger squads and 4+ satellite tokens.