Mission to loot an Imperial cargo ship In 2 BBY , the Spectres joined forces with the pirate Hondo Ohnaka and the crime lord Azmorigan in a mission to loot an Imperial cargo ship . Hondo and Azmorigan had earlier disabled the ship with ion mine s , but were unable to retrieve the cargo when the cargo ship drifted into the atmospheric storms on the planet Wynkahthu . Hondo had lost his Ugnaught crew when they boarded the ship in an attempt to retrieve the treasure , which led him to turn to Ezra for help , knowing that the rebels would want the proton bomb s the ship was also carrying . Following a harrowing mission , the two groups managed to retrieve the proton bombs before the cargo ship disintegrated in a vortex . Hondo had managed to load a chest of treasure ; however , it was revealed that Melch , the sole survivor of Hondo ' s Ugnaught crew , had hidden himself inside , as he did not trust the Weequay pirate not to leave him behind again . Background . After escaping from Naraka prison in 2 BBY , the Weequay pirate Hondo Ohnaka traveled the star s in his Imperial landing craft with several Ugnaught workers , including Melch . Hondo later came into contact with the crime lord Azmorigan , who had acquired the flight plan for an Imperial cargo ship . The ship was loaded with weapons and treasure , including proton bomb s . Together , the two criminals and Hondo ' s Ugnaught crew ambushed the cargo ship near the planet Wynkahthu . They managed to disable the ship with ion mine s . However , it drifted into Wynkahthu ' s atmosphere and was trapped in a storm . Hondo sent his Ugnaught crew to board the ship , but abandoned them when retrieving the cargo proved too risky . Most of the Ugnaught crew , with the exception of Melch , were killed . Still determined to reach the ship ' s cargo , Hondo contacted his perennial partner Ezra Bridger , who was a member of a rebel cell based aboard the starship " Ghost " . While Ezra was aware that Hondo had abandoned him and his comrades during their last mission on Reklam Station , he agreed to help Hondo after learning the ship contained proton bombs , which Phoenix Cell needed for their planned attack on Lothal ' s Imperial Armory Complex . Hondo and Azmorigan docked their landing craft with the " Ghost " . The ship ' s captain , Hera Syndulla , and her comrades were initially unwilling to help until Hondo convinced them that they could work together to procure the proton bombs and the treasures , making it a " win - win " situation for everyone . After agreeing to help Hondo and Azmorigan , Hera consulted the former Imperial inventory droid AP - 5 , who was familiar with the specs for the cargo transport since he had worked on one . She tasked AP - 5 and the Lasat Garazeb Orrelios with developing a plan to board the ship and retrieve the cargo . Hera also assigned leadership of the recovery mission to Zeb since she was concerned that Ezra was too trusting of Hondo . Ezra was upset , but reluctantly accepted Hera ' s decision . Mission to Wynkahthu . The salvage mission . Working together , AP - 5 devised a plan which involved the rebels and their criminal confederates boarding the cargo ship through an upper hatch . They would then make their way down to the cargo hold . After restoring the ship ' s power , the rebels and their confederates would fire cables that would connect to the " Ghost " . They would then use these cables to ferry the cargo aboard the " Ghost " . While AP - 5 and Zeb had developed a workable plan , AP - 5 failed to take into account the presence of five Imperial sentry droid s , who were activated by the restoration of the ship ' s power . The rebels and their confederates also had to contend with the strong winds and the fact that the ship was drifting over a vortex capable of ripping it apart . The " Ghost " flew into Wynkahthu ' s atmosphere and dropped Zeb and his team onto the hull of the ship . Azmorigan forced himself onto the salvage team by threatening not to let the mission go ahead if he was not allowed to join , as he had the ship ' s cargo manifest . While Zeb , Ezra , the astromech droid Chopper , Hondo and Azmorigan boarded the ship , Sabine Wren stayed in the " Ghost " hold to facilitate the cargo transfer . Hera , Kanan Jarrus , and AP - 5 supervised the mission from the cockpit of the " Ghost " . Once they had landed on the hull , the rebels and their confederates entered the ship ' s corridors through a manhole . Zeb sent Chopper to the bridge to restore the ship ' s power . The Spectres and their confederates soon encountered Melch , who was furious at Hondo for abandoning him . In the presence of Zeb , Hondo was forced to disclose that he had attempted an earlier recovery mission which had led to the loss of his Ugnaught crew , with the exception of Melch . As compensation , Hondo offered the Ugnaught a 2 percent share of the treasure , which the latter happily accepted . Zeb distrusted Hondo , but Ezra claimed that his friend had only withheld part of the truth . The salvage party eventually made their way to the cargo bay . While Chopper had managed to restart the power , Ezra made a point of cutting a hole in the door to the cargo hold with his lightsaber in order to indicate his disapproval of Zeb ' s leadership . One inside the cargo bay , the rebels opened the outer doors . The " Ghost " then approached the cargo bay . Since they were unable to land , Zeb fired the cables for the winch at the " Ghost " , which attached to each side of the door where Sabine was waiting . Ezra and Zeb then began sending cargo over , which Sabine stored aboard the ship ' s cargo bay . At Zeb ' s insistence , they began loading the proton bombs first . Droid entanglements . However , restarting the ship ' s power activated one of the cargo ship ' s sentry droids . That droid encountered Azmorigan , who had left the cargo bay after a dispute with Hondo over the treasure , and locked him away in the ship ' s brig . When Azmorigan disappeared , Zeb went to look for him . Ezra began to distrust Hondo when the latter expressed a cavalier attitude towards Azmorigan ' s disappearance and suggested that he could keep more of the treasure for himself . Meanwhile , Zeb was stun ned by the sentry droid and locked in the brig . By that stage , Sabine had received the fourth batch of proton bombs . However , a lightning strike disabled the ship ' s stabilizers and caused it to list towards the vortex . With the weather deteriorating , Hera ordered her crew and the criminals to hurry up . Chopper made his way back to the cargo bay while Ezra searched for Zeb . After learning from Zeb that he was in the brig , Ezra and Chopper headed there and freed Zeb and Azmorigan . While making their way back to the ship , they encountered the sentry droid . Despite Zeb ' s orders to stay hidden , Azmorigan destroyed the droid with his blaster . However , this activated the four remaining sentry droids , who pursued the rebels and their confederates . The rebels fled back to the cargo bay where Hondo and Melch were waiting . During the ensuing gunfight , Ezra and Zeb managed to shoot down another sentry droid . Hondo and Azmorigan transported themselves and a crate of treasure back to the " Ghost " , while Chopper activated his rocket booster s and fled the cargo ship . Zeb and Ezra rode on the last batch of proton bombs to the " Ghost " . However , the droids blasted the winch supporting that cable , causing it to snap . Ezra and Zeb managed to cling on to the cable , and climb aboard the " Ghost " with the help of Kanan . Meanwhile , the cargo ship and the sentinel droids fell into the vortex and exploded . Aftermath . Due to the salvage run on the Imperial cargo ship , the Spectres succeeded in procuring proton bombs for the rebellion . Despite Hondo claiming that Melch had fallen to his death , the rebels , Hondo , and Azmorigan found that the Ugnaught had smuggled himself in Hondo ' s chest . Melch had not trusted Hondo to safeguard his life , and had taken it upon himself to save his life . While disappointed that he had not obtained his share of the treasure , Hondo claimed that he had learned the value of friendship . Having achieved their objectives , the rebels , Hondo , and Azmorigan parted company and left on their ships .