Operation Handoff Operation Handoff was a mission undertaken by the rebels to protect Senator Mon Mothma , who publicly condemned the reign of Emperor Palpatine , and ferry her to Dantooine . These events sparked the official formation of various rebel cells into the Alliance to Restore the Republic , with a skirmish occurring in the Archeon Nebula between the Galactic Empire and the rebels of Phoenix Cell and the Massassi Group in 2 BBY , during the early rebellion against the Empire . Phoenix Squadron dispatched Hera Syndulla and her crew , the Spectres , who destroyed a tactical infiltration pod sent to find her . They met up with Mothma ' s shuttle , the " Chandrila Mistress " , and her escorts from Gold Squadron , part of the Massassi Group of rebels . After a brief skirmish with Imperial warships , the rebel teams traveled through the Archeon Nebula ] using the Archeon pass , a dangerous hyperspace route they hoped would dissuade the Empire from pursuing them . They were tracked , however , by a prototype TIE / D Defender and its TIE / IN interceptor escorts . The rebels managed to elude their TIE pursuers and two Star Destroyers , commanded by Governor Arihnda Pryce and Admiral Kassius Konstantine , by firing proton torpedo es into the nebula ' s gas cloud s to damage the Imperial ships . The rebels safely delivered Mothma to Dantooine , where she broadcast a speech to the galaxy in which she declared open rebellion against the Empire . This led to the arrival of several rebel cells , which joined together to formally build the Rebel Alliance that would one day be responsible for toppling the Empire and giving rise to the New Republic . Prelude . Following the end of the Clone Wars in 19 BBY , Supreme Chancellor Palpatine proclaimed himself Emperor and transformed the Galactic Republic in to the first Galactic Empire . Over the years , the Empire became progressively authoritarian and oppressive towards the galactic population . Senator Mon Mothma became a staunch critic of the Emperor ' s authoritarian rule in the Imperial Senate . Disillusioned with the corruption of the Senate and its failure to rein in the Empire ' s excesses , Mothma resigned from the Senate and joined the growing galactic - wide rebellion against the Empire . Following the Ghorman Massacre , Mothma delivered a speech condemning the Emperor ' s attacks on Ghorman , in which she denounced him as a " lying executioner " . As a result , she was designated a traitor by the Empire and forced to flee into hiding , with the Imperial Security Bureau issuing an alert for Mon Mothma in an attempt to capture her . ISB agents also visited Cantham House on Coruscant , the location of the Cantham House meetings , based on suspicions they had , and questioned Leia Organa and several others there . Under orders from Senator Bail Organa , Phoenix Leader Hera Syndulla and her Spectres rebel cell were tasked with rendezvousing with Mon Mothma ' s freighter and her Y - wing escorts in deep space . Due to the sensitivity of the mission , the Spectres were given little information about the ship and its passengers . While the Spectres waited aboard the " Ghost " amidst the wreckage of two former Separatist navy warships , their ship was discovered by a tactical infiltration pod . The pod was piloted by an E - XD infiltrator droid , which was part of Grand Admiral Thrawn ' s program to scour the sector for rebels . Following a brief pursuit , the Spectres managed to destroy the infiltration pod but failed to prevent the infiltrator droid from contacting the Empire . Shortly later , they were joined by Mon Mothma ' s shuttle and her escort . The skirmish . First attack wave . After Mothma ' s " Chandrila Mistress " docked with the " Ghost " , the Spectres met with the former Senator ' s attaché Erskin Semaj and Gold Leader Captain Jon Vander . Following a brief argument , the Spectres began refueling Mothma ' s Y - wing starfighters . While refueling the fifth fighter , the rebel ships came under attack from several TIE fighters that had been dispatched by an " Arquitens " - class command cruiser and a " Gozanti " - class cruiser , which had both exited hyperspace . After Gold Two was wounded , Spectre Ezra Bridger took her place and flew her Y - wing . During the dogfight , Mon Mothma ' s shuttle was crippled and the former Senator and her crew were forced to abandon ship and flee aboard the " Ghost " . Meanwhile , Ezra and Gold Squadron managed to use their ion cannon s to disable the light cruiser before bombing the ship , critically damaging it . The rebels then fled into hyperspace . Since Mon Mothma wanted to travel to Dantooine for an important rebel meeting , Hera agreed to take her through the Archeon pass , a dangerous route through the Archeon Nebula . Navigating through the Archeon Nebula . Meanwhile , Grand Admiral Thrawn dispatched Governor Arihnda Pryce and Admiral Kassius Konstantine to capture the rogue Senator . Thrawn ' s plan involved sending the TIE fighter pilot Commander Vult Skerris in the prototype TIE Defender and two escort TIE interceptors to flush out Mon Mothma and Hera Syndulla ' s ships . Pryce and Konstantine , meanwhile , were travelling to the other side of the nebula in two Imperial Star Destroyers to intercept and capture the " Ghost " , which was carrying Mothma . Commander Skerris caught up with the " Ghost " and her Y - wing escorts . Skerris ' s TIE Defender and her TIE interceptor escorts were equipped with deflector shield s that protected them from the radiation of the nebula . Skerris managed to shoot down the Y - wing fighters Gold Three and Gold Four . In an attempt to lose Skerris , the " Ghost " and its three remaining Y - wing escorts pressed deeper into the Archeon pass . Garazeb Orrelios , who was manning the " Ghost " rear cannon , was unable to penetrate the Defender ' s powerful shield . Skerris then acquired a lock on the " Ghost " , but Gold Five intercepted the shots with her Y - wing , saving the freighter at the cost of her own life . Unable to outrun the TIEs , Hera instructed her crew to shift power to their deflector screens , and brought the group in close to a forming star . One of the TIE Interceptors was destroyed by the intense heat of the protostar . The second fighter was damaged and attempted to pull back , but Zeb destroyed it with his cannon . Flying closer to the star , the " Ghost " began to sustain hull damage from the intense heat . With his shields frying , Skerris was forced to pull back . Ezra and Jon agreed to hold off the TIE Defender while Hera took Mothma and the " Ghost " out of the nebula . Escaping Thrawn ' s snare . Outside the Archeon Nebula , the " Ghost " was intercepted by Pryce and Konstantine ' s Star Destroyers . Pryce demanded that Mon Mothma surrender herself to the Empire . While Mothma distracted Pryce with a list of demands , Hera and Chopper worked to repair the ship ' s hyperdrive . Pryce rejected Mothma ' s demands , while Konstantine activated their Star Destroyer ' s tractor beam projector . The " Ghost " was drawn towards the Star Destroyer ' s hangar . Meanwhile , Ezra and Jon managed to lose the TIE Defender following a protracted chase . While Ezra led Skerris on a chase , Jon fired his ion cannon at the TIE Defender , temporarily disabling it and causing it to plunge into the nebula . The rebel Y - wings managed to escape before Skerris regained control . Ezra and Jon exited the Archeon Nebula just in time to prevent the " Ghost " from being drawn into Pryce ' s Star Destroyer . Under Hera ' s orders , Ezra and Jon fired their proton torpedo es into the nebula . This created an explosion which engulfed Pryce ' s two Star Destroyers , causing extensive damage to the Imperial ships . With the tractor beam disabled , the rebel ships jumped into hyperspace . Aftermath . The Spectres ' actions during the skirmish in the Archeon Nebula earned them the respect of Mon Mothma , Captain Vander , and Gold Two . After arriving over Dantooine , Mon Mothma gave a broadcast urging the galaxy to rise up in rebellion against the Empire . This broadcast was witnessed by rebels across the galaxy , including Ryder Azadi and his cell on Lothal and members of Phoenix Cell at Chopper Base on Atollon . Shortly later , the " Ghost " and its Y - wing escorts was joined by a rebel fleet which exited hyperspace . This action ultimately led to the formation of the Alliance to Restore the Republic . Behind the scenes . Operation Handoff first appeared in the " Star Wars Rebels " Season Three episode " Secret Cargo " , which premiered on March 4 , 2017 on Disney XD . It was first identified as " Operation Handoff " in " " .