Liberation of Erso The Liberation of Erso was a mission mounted by the Alliance to Restore the Republic in 0 BBY to rescue Jyn Erso , daughter of renowned Imperial scientist Galen Erso , from Imperial custody so she could assist them in their search for the Death Star . The mission followed reports from Alliance Intelligence that Galen Erso was building a superweapon for the Galactic Empire and that an Imperial cargo pilot , Bodhi Rook , defected on Jedha and had information about Erso ' s weapon and whereabouts . The Alliance hoped to use Jyn to gain access to her old friend Saw Gerrera , an extremist leader , after Rook had been captured by his Partisans on Jedha . Sergeant Ruescott Melshi led Extraction Team Bravo to Imperial Detention Center & Labor Camp LEG - 817 on Wobani , where Jyn was held in Imperial custody . They overpowered the stormtrooper guards and rescued Jyn , who initially tried to escape from the Alliance as well before being subdued by K - 2SO , a reprogrammed Imperial security droid . The Alliance forces left Wobani but were forced to take refuge in an asteroid field after being pursued by Imperial forces , though Alliance reinforcements soon arrived to assist them . Jyn was taken to the Alliance headquarters on Yavin 4 and conscripted into service , ultimately giving up her life to steal the Death Star plans during the Battle of Scarif so the Alliance could destroy the battle station . Prelude . In 0 BBY , Alliance Intelligence received information from Tivik , a Rebel Alliance operative who had infiltrated the extremist group known as the Partisans on the holy moon of Jedha , saying that an Imperial cargo pilot , Bodhi Rook , defected from the Galactic Empire . According to Tivik , who passed this information onto Captain Cassian Andor on the Ring of Kafrene , the pilot carried information from renowned Imperial scientist Galen Erso about an Imperial superweapon — the Death Star — that Galen had built to be capable of destroying entire planet s . Rook , sent to Jedha by Galen himself , was in the custody of Partisan leader Saw Gerrera , whom Galen wanted the information given to . The Alliance determined that the best course of action was to locate Galen ' s estranged daughter , Jyn Erso , so she could get them access to Gerrera and his base and find the information needed to stop the alleged superweapon . Gerrera , who had broken ties with the Rebel Alliance , was an old friend of the Erso family , and Jyn herself was once a member of his militia . Alliance Intelligence confirmed that Jyn was a prison er at Imperial Detention Center & Labor Camp LEG - 817 on Wobani , where she — under the alias of Liana Hallik — was serving her sixth month of a twenty - year sentence for various crimes against the Empire . Despite significant disagreement amongst Alliance commanders , a rescue mission was approved by Senator Mon Mothma , the leader of the Rebel Alliance . General Davits Draven approved the formation of a rapid response team , Extraction Team Bravo , to be led by Sergeant Ruescott Melshi of Alliance Special Forces . The Liberation . Extraction Team Bravo timed its arrival at the prison camp so they could extract Jyn when she was being transported on a worker ' s convoy . Upon their arrival , they attacked the transport that Jyn was being held on and a pair of Bravo Team soldiers neutralized the two stormtrooper s who were guarding the prisoners inside . This allowed Sergeant Melshi the opportunity to safely enter the transport , where he verified Jyn ' s identity . With his exfiltration target in site , Melshi released her from her restraints and told her that this was a rescue mission . Melshi became distracted by one of the other prisoner s , giving Jyn an opportunity to try to escape on her own . She attacked Melshi and headed for the entryway , where she punched a second soldier . She grabbed a shovel from the side wall of the transport and used it to strike Melshi and the third Team Bravo trooper . She ran outside the transport but she was knocked to the ground by K - 2SO , a reprogrammed Imperial security droid . K - 2SO told her not to resist , as this was a rescue operation . The extraction team left the planet with Jyn in tow . As they were leaving , however , their starfighter , " Bravo One " , encountered an issue with its navigational system and was unable to make the jump into hyperspace . The team proceeded to take refuge in a nearby asteroid field , from where they sent out a priority transmission to all available Rebel vessels to request assistance . A X - wing squadron , Red Flight , answered the call and arrived to save them from incoming Imperial forces , including a Star Destroyer and several TIE fighters . Aftermath . Jyn was taken to the Alliance headquarters on Yavin 4 , where she was taken before Senator Mothma , General Draven , and Captain Andor . She was informed of her father ' s involvement in constructing a superweapon and given the option to either help the Alliance find Gerrera on Jedha or be thrown back into prison . In exchange for helping , she would receive a clean slate from the Alliance . Jyn agreed and met with Gerrera on Jedha , where she found a recording from her father that revealed he had built a fatal flaw into the Death Star , the Empire ' s planet - killing battle station . The only way to discover the flaw would be to steal the Death Star plans from the Citadel Tower on Scarif . Believing itself outmatched against the Empire and its battle station , the Alliance initially refused to send its forces to Scarif . In defiance of orders , Jyn and Andor led a team called Rogue One to steal the plans from Scarif . Upon learning of their actions , the Alliance High Command sent its forces to join the Battle of Scarif . Rogue One successfully stole the plans and transmitted them to the Alliance Fleet , but at the cost of their entire team once the Death Star fired on the planet . The Alliance analyzed the plans and used them to destroy the Death Star during the Battle of Yavin , just as they had hoped to do when they freed Jyn from custody . Behind the scenes . The first footage of the Liberation of Erso was shown in the second trailer for " " , released on October 13 , 2016 . The space portion of the rescue first appeared in the " Star Wars Battlefront : Rogue One : X - wing VR Mission " downloadable content that was released on December 6 , 2016 for PlayStation 4 VR .