Raid on the communications tower In the fourth year before the Battle of Yavin the activities of a rebel cell operating on the Outer Rim planet Lothal drew the attention of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin , a high - ranking officer in the Galactic Empire by launching a raid on the communications tower . Having heard the stories of the rebel cell , and that their leader , Kanan Jarrus , was a Jedi , Tarkin put a plan in motion that led to the capture of Jarrus . He was captured during a rebel mission to hack into Lothal ' s Imperial Communications Center to send out a transmission to Lothal to set the record straight about their rebellion . The rebels were able to send out the signal , after Jarrus allowed himself to be captured so they could escape , but the Empire destroyed the tower to end the broadcast . Prelude . During the Age of the Empire , a rebel cell known as the " Spectres " emerged on the Outer Rim planet of Lothal . This six - member cell consisted of the Twi ' lek captain Hera Syndulla , the former Jedi Padawan Kanan Jarrus , the astromech droid Chopper , the Lasat warrior Garazeb Orrelios , the Mandalorian weapons expert Sabine Wren , and the Lothalian youth and Jedi trainee Ezra Bridger . For a period , this rebel cell disrupted Imperial operations on Lothal , assaulted Imperial personnel , and eluded numerous attempts by the local Imperial authorities to capture them . The rebel cell ' s activities eventually attracted the attention of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin , the Governor of the Outer Rim . Frustrated with his subordinates ' incompetence , Tarkin travelled to Lothal to put an end to the rebels . He questioned reports that one of the rebels Kanan was a Jedi . After executing Commandant Cumberlayne Aresko and Taskmaster Myles Grint for their incompetence , Tarkin put in motion a plan to capture the rebels . He ordered the Imperial Security Bureau Agent Kallus to dispatch probe droid s to every known location of " insurgent " activity . Raid on the Imperial communications tower . A message of hope . Meanwhile , the Spectres at the urging of Kanan decided to seize control of the Imperial Communications Center near Jalath in order to broadcast a message to the people of Lothal . The Spectres had been hurt by the betrayal of Senator - in - exile Gall Trayvis , a high profile critic of the Empire whom the rebels had exposed as an Imperial agent . The rebels were further incensed with the official Imperial propaganda on HoloNet News which depicted them as terrorists . By seizing control of the main communication tower , Kanan wanted to broadcast the rebels ' side of the story . While Hera stayed behind on the " Phantom " to provide an escape vessel , Kanan and the other four rebels Ezra , Zeb , Sabine , and Chopper would take part in the raid . Chopper ' s primary mission was to upload a data spike into the tower ' s communication system that would temporarily overload the system and allow Kanan to attach a holotransmitter to the tower in order to broadcast his message . As they were infiltrating the communication tower ' s compound , the rebels encountered and disabled one of Agent Kallus ' probe droids . Before it was disabled , however , the droid managed to transmit footage of them to Grand Moff Tarkin . Despite discovering the rebels ' location , Tarkin ordered Kallus not to take any further action since he wanted the rebels to believe that they still had the element of surprise on their side . Later that night , the rebels put their plan into action and invaded the communications tower . They managed to overpower the paltry stormtrooper garrison there with relative ease . After securing the tower , Chopper uploaded his data spike into the main tower ' s communication system . This overloaded the tower ' s system and allowed Kanan to attach a holotransmitter . Before Kanan could begin his broadcast , the other rebels sighted Imperial reinforcements approaching . Springing the trap . While the other rebels fled up the tower to rendezvous with Hera , Kanan stayed behind in order to delay the Imperials . Kanan was soon surrounded by several Imperial Troop Transport s and stormtroopers led by Agent Kallus . When Kanan refused to surrender , Kallus then sprang the trap . A patrol transport carrying the Grand Inquisitor landed above Kanan and the two Force - users engaged in a lightsaber duel . Meanwhile , the other rebels reached the top only to be cornered by another patrol transport . However , Sabine threw a grenade at the transport ; causing it to crash to the ground . Back on the ground , the Grand Inquisitor reiterated his ultimatum to Kanan . He offered to spare the lives of Kanan and his companions if they surrendered and added that someone was interesting in meeting him . Kanan however rejected the Grand Inquisitor ' s ultimatum and destroyed the elevator ' s control panel in order to delay the Imperials . Meanwhile , Hera arrived in the " Phantom " and shot down a second police gunship . She then evacuated Ezra , Sabine , Zeb , and Chopper to safety . Despite her protests , Kanan insisted on staying behind and turned himself in to the Imperials . At dawn , Grand Moff Tarkin arrived in a police gunship to meet the Jedi Kanan . However , Tarkin ' s victory was offset by news that the rebels were remotely controlling the main communications tower . In Kanan ' s absence , Ezra had taken it upon himself to broadcast a message to the people of Lothal condemning the Empire and calling for them to rise up . Having failed to stop the rebels from disseminating their propaganda , Tarkin ordered his patrol transport to destroy the main communications tower . In the presence of Kanan , he stressed that he was willing to do anything to win the war . Aftermath . Despite capturing Kanan Jarrus , Grand Moff Tarkin failed to contain the spread of the rebellion on Lothal . The destruction of the main communications tower had the effect of disrupting all offworld communications on Lothal . As a result , the Imperial government and military on Lothal was forced to rely on courier droid s to transport information to " Arquitens " - class command cruisers orbit ing the planet . After failing to break Kanan , Tarkin ordered that the Jedi be transferred for further questioning to the Mustafar system . In addition , the Empire tightened offworld travel on Lothal . Meanwhile , the Spectres grappled with the dilemma of rescuing Kanan . The rebels ' ally Fulcrum cautioned Hera not to rescue Kanan in order to avoid exposing the rebellion to the Empire . Defying Hera ' s orders , Ezra , Sabine , Zeb , and Chopper put into motion a plan to rescue their co - leader . After a tip - off from the crime lord Cikatro Vizago , the rebels used Chopper to infiltrate an Imperial light cruiser . After learning that Kanan was scheduled to be transported to Mustafar , the Spectres put into motion a plan to rescue Kanan . Behind the scenes . The raid on the communications tower first appeared in the " Star Wars Rebels " episode " Call to Action " , which premiered on February 2 , 2015 . It later appeared in Michael Kogge ' s " Battle to the End " , a chapter book adaptation of the final arc of the first season of " Star Wars Rebels " .