Liberation of Gial Ackbar In the first year of the Galactic Civil War between the Galactic Empire and the newly - formed Alliance to Restore the Republic , the Alliance attempted to capture Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin in the Eriadu system . Though they were unable to capture Tarkin , Alliance forces rescued his Mon Calamari slave Gial Ackbar , a man who went on to become the Alliance ' s most influential military leader in its history . Prelude . When word that Grand Moff Tarkin would be traveling with Bevel Lemelisk to the first Death Star reached the Rebel Alliance , they launched an operation to capture the pair . The Rebels planned to assault a group of " Lambda " - class T - 4a shuttles , including Tarkin ' s shuttle , that were en route to Nebulon - B frigate " Vehemence " in the Eriadu system . The battle . In order to make it more difficult for Tarkin to be discovered in the event of an ambush , five " Lambda " - class shuttles were to take the trip from Eriadu to the Death Star , with Tarkin and Lemelisk riding one with the call sign Epsilon 5 . The shuttles were escorted by six TIE Fighters , three each from Alpha and Beta squadrons . However , Tarkin deliberately arranged not to travel with a full compliment of guards because he felt it allowed him to move unhindered and avoided drawing attention to the Death Star ' s location . The shuttles departed from the Eriadu Governor ' s Palace , with Ackbar piloting the Epsilon 5 , and Tarkin and Lemelisk beside him in the passenger seats . As the shuttles approached the " Vehemence " , three BTL Y - wing starfighter s from Red Squadron launched into the system and began their attack , escorted by several X - wings . The starfighters engaged and destroyed the TIEs , while the Y - wings opened fire on the escort shuttles with their laser cannons . Tarkin ordered Ackbar to take evasive action . Instead , he calmly shut down the shuttle ' s shields , with the intention of allowing the ship to be destroyed , killing Tarkin and Lemelisk along with himself . Red Three identified Epsilon 5 and determined Tarkin was aboard , and the Y - wings fired precision shots that struck the rear of the shuttle and sent it spinning uncontrollably . Ackbar taunted Tarkin and informed him he was going deliberately allow their death out of revenge for all the pain Tarkin had caused him and others of his species . Tarkin and Lemelisk fled to an escape pod , purposely leaving Ackbar to his likely death . They launched the pod , which shot away spinning violently into space , and activated a distress signal . The pod was only intended for one occupant , so the two were uncomfortable and suffered minor injuries from the flight , with Lemelisk breaking his nose . Meanwhile , the Y - wings continued firing on Epsilon 5 until it was disabled . Once the shuttle was disabled , " Hasti " entered the system from hyperspace and arrives with the commando unit , with two Y - wings from Blue Squadron providing escort . The " Vehemence " launched nine additional TIE fighters – three each from Alpha , Beta and Gamma squadrons – to engage the Rebel starfighters , and the Red Squadron Y - wings joined Blue Squadron in engaging the TIEs and providing cover for " Hasti " . The " Hasti " successfully boarded Epsilon 5 , where they discovered Ackbar still alive , but found that Tarkin and Lemelisk had escaped . The two Imperials watched the shuttle get boarded and expressed surprise that they would bother rescuing Ackbar , who Tarkin regarded as a " worthless alien . " Before the Rebels could turn their attention to Tarkin ' s escape pod , Admiral Conan Antonio Motti arrived in the system with his flagship Star Destroyer , which was the " Steel Talon " at the time , despite Tarkin not having requested his assistance for the escort . The Star Destroyer began firing its turbolasers at the Rebel forces , which prevented them from pursuing and capturing the escape pod . Once Ackbar was safely removed from the Epsilon 5 , the Y - wings opened fired on the shuttle again and destroyed it . The Rebels then went into hyperspace and fled the system , leaving Motti ' s Star Destroyer to rescue Tarkin and Lemelisk . Aftermath . The rescue of Ackbar and his knowledge of the Death Star overshadowed the Alliance ' s failure at Eriadu , and he was returned to his people as Admiral of the Mon Calamari fleet . Like many planetary resistance groups , the Mon Calamari were initially cautious with the Alliance to Restore the Republic , but Ackbar provided unofficial support and gave tacit approval of the decision by some Mon Calamari to pledge their starships to Mon Mothma ' s cause . Because of the historical importance of Ackbar ' s rescue and recruitment into the Rebel Alliance , it was made into a simulation for BTL Y - wing starfighter s , a simulation that Keyan Farlander briefly took part in . Behind the scenes . The liberation of Ackbar was first described in the 1987 first edition of " The Star Wars Sourcebook " , which established that Ackbar was Grand Moff Tarkin ' s slave and was rescued when an elite Rebel force attacked Tarkin ' s shuttle as it embarked to the Death Star . The location where this conflict took place was not identified in that book . The battle itself was first featured in the 1994 " Collector ' s CD - ROM " edition of the LucasArts computer game " " , which it was the last of six " historical missions " that could be played with the Y - wing star - fighter . This battle was later featured again in the 1995 novel " Darksaber " by Kevin J . Anderson . In that book , which was set in 12 ABY , Bevel Lemelisk recalled the event through a flashback . It was this book that first established the setting of the Eriadu system , which was later reaffirmed in the books " The Essential Guide to Characters " ( 1995 ) , and " The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons " ( 1998 ) . A separate , conflicting account of Ackbar ' s liberation was described in the 2006 LucasArts computer game " " , in which Ackbar is rescued from one of Tarkin ' s research stations orbiting the planet Corulag . However , this version of the event is not considered canon , as Ackbar ' s having been rescued during an assassination attempt against Tarkin has been upheld in several " Star Wars " reference books , including " The New Essential Guide to Characters " ( 2002 ) , " The New Essential Chronology " ( 2005 ) , and " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " ( 2008 ) .