Infiltration of the Imperial Armory Complex In 2 BBY , the rebels Morad Sumar , Kanan Jarrus , Ezra Bridger , and Chopper infiltrated the Imperial Armory Complex on Lothal . Their mission coincided with an inspection led by Grand Admiral Thrawn to investigate the high rate of sabotage within the factory . Despite Morad being killed by Thrawn during a test demonstration on a 614 - AvA speeder bike , the Spectres managed to obtain the blueprints for a prototype TIE fighter . They escaped the factory with the help of the disillusioned Imperial Security Bureau Agent Kallus , who had become an informant for the rebellion . As a result of the rebel attack , Thrawn realized that the Galactic Empire had a traitor among their ranks . Prelude . During the Age of the Empire , the Galactic Empire established a major military presence on the planet Lothal . With the collaboration of Governor Arihnda Pryce , Lothal became the headquarters of the local Imperial presence in the Lothal sector . After escaping an Imperial prison in 3 BBY , the former Lothalian governor Ryder Azadi established a rebel cell based at a stone circle in Lothal ' s wilderness . This rebel cell consisted of Lothalian residents who were disaffected by the Empire ' s policies , including the farmers Morad and Marida Sumar , and the Ithorian bartender Jho . By 2 BBY , Ryder ' s resistance cell had embarked on a campaign of sabotaging Imperial vehicles at the Imperial Armory Complex , which manufactured armored walkers , 614 - AvA speeder bike s , and TIE fighters for the Imperial Military . This led to a high rate of accidents , injuries , and fatalities among Imperial military personnel . Eventually , Imperial High Command took notice of the suspiciously high rate of accidents involving vehicles manufactured at the Lothal factory and sent Grand Admiral Thrawn to investigate . Meanwhile , the rebel cell Phoenix Cell had decided to take out the Imperial Armory Complex on Lothal . Since they lacked a presence on Lothal , they contacted Ryder ' s resistance cell for help . Phoenix Squadron also received information from Fulcrum that the Empire was developing a new secret weapon at the facility . This Fulcrum agent turned out to be the disillusioned Imperial Security Bureau Agent Alexsandr Kallus , who had become sympathetic to the rebels following his encounter with the Lasat rebel Garazeb Orrelios on Bahryn . He had also helped the Mandalorian Sabine Wren escape Skystrike Academy with two defecting cadets during an undercover mission . Phoenix Leader Hera Syndulla dispatched her crewmembers Kanan Jarrus , Ezra Bridger , and Chopper to infiltrate the factory and gather intelligence on this new secret weapon . The crew of the " Ghost " rendezvoused with Ryder ' s speeder outside Capital City . After fighting off an AT - DP walker and two speeder bikes , the rebels escaped to Ryder ' s stone circle encampment in Lothal ' s wilderness . There , the rebels discussed their information and plans . The former farmer Morad , who now worked as a factory worker at the Imperial Armory Complex , agreed to help Kanan , Ezra , and Chopper infiltrate the factory . Morad informed the rebels that the Empire had tightened security around Section A2 and suspected the plans for the secret weapon were being stored there . Undercover mission . Evading the lockdown . Morad , Kanan , Ezra and Chopper infiltrated the Imperial Armory Complex disguised as factory workers and an Imperial astromech droid respectively . The rebels arrived just in time for an Imperial inspection conducted personally by Grand Admiral Thrawn himself . In the presence of Governor Arihnda Pryce , Agent Kallus , and Lieutenant Yogar Lyste , Thrawn gave a speech reprimanding the factory workers for the high rate of accidents caused by vehicles manufactured at their factory . As a deterrent , Thrawn forced Morad to demonstrate the last 614 - AvA speeder bike he had inspected . Using a simulator , Thrawn accelerated the speeder to its maximum speed . This caused the faulty engine to overheat and explode , destroying the bike and killing Morad . Following Morad ' s death , Thrawn took the opportunity to warn the workers that they would be responsible for personally testing the vehicles they built . Thrawn then ordered his subordinates to impose a lockdown on the factory and screen every worker . Kanan tried to contact Ryder to warn Hera , but found that the Imperials were jamming their signals . With a security screening underway , Kanan and Ezra realized they had to escape and got Chopper to stage a distraction by destroying a speeder bike . After escaping the security screening , the two rebels proceeded on their mission to reach Section A2 . Ezra warned Kanan that they would have to get new disguises since the workers were on lockdown . Fortuitously , they ran into a stormtrooper and scout trooper , who the two Jedi promptly knocked out and stripped of their uniforms . After losing contact with Kanan , Ezra and Morad , Ryder contacted Hera via hologram and informed her about the new Imperial officer . Hera recognized the officer as Grand Admiral Thrawn , whom she had encountered earlier on Ryloth . Ryder planned to launch a diversionary attack on the factory ' s east gate to distract Thrawn . Stealing the plans . Ezra , Kanan , and Chopper soon managed to reach Section A2 in their disguises . However , the chamber was guarded by stormtroopers who would only admit Imperial communication droid s carrying clearance codes . Thrawn had ordered anyone not carrying his personal code in Section A2 to be terminated on sight . Continuing his inspection , Thrawn forced another factory worker to admit that he had inspected an AT - DP on display . Thrawn had Agent Kallus make the walker step forward . When that walker collapsed , he ordered the man ' s arrest . Later , Thrawn was informed of the missing workers by Lieutenant Lyste , and realized that rebel infiltrators had breached the factory . Lyste also told Thrawn that the workers ' uniforms had been found , leading him to conclude that the rebels had already found new disguises . He ordered Agent Kallus to secure Section A2 . Despite Thrawn ' s stringent precautions , the " Ghost " crew managed to elude the Imperial guards by incapacitating an Imperial communication droid and stealing its clearance code . This allowed Chopper to enter the room and download the design database . Before Chopper could finish his work , Kanan and Ezra were confronted by a stormtrooper corporal and his men , who demanded to know why they were outside their perimeter . Kanan claimed that they were on guard duty . An unlikely ally . While the corporal did not buy it , Chopper emerged from the room at that moment . Ezra swiftly claimed that he and Kanan had mistaken Section A2 for Section B17 , and the three rebels walked away , only to turn a corner and find Lyste giving stormtroopers orders about establishing a lockdown . They were pursued by the corporal and his troopers as they fled in the other direction . Arriving at a bank of turbolift s , Kanan hit the call button but got no response . He suggested that things might get " messy " , but a lift opened to reveal Agent Kallus , who ordered the disguised rebels inside , supposedly to help him secure the perimeter . Inside , Kallus revealed that he knew who the rebels were . Following a brief fistfight , Kallus revealed that he was Fulcrum , managing to convince the rebels of this by using his code phrase and citing his past encounters with their comrades Zeb and Sabine . Kanan and Ezra were still suspicious , but solicited Kallus ' help in reaching a communications station so that they could transmit a signal on their comlink s to Ryder . Kallus obliged , and the rebels managed to storm a communications station and stun the stormtroopers and Imperial officer stationed there . Once there , Chopper unlocked Kanan and Ezra ' s comlinks , not needing Kallus ' offered access codes . Kanan managed to contact Ryder , who revealed that he was preparing to launch an attack on the east gate . Kallus advised the rebels to escape on an AT - DP walker in the east gate ' s hangar bay . To conceal Kallus ' dealings with the rebels , Ezra hurled the ISB agent through a glass monitor board to make it look like he had put up a fight against them . By this stage , Thrawn had studied the history and art of the crew of the " Ghost " . After linking the missing factory workers with the unregistered C1 - series astromech droid known as Chopper , Thrawn deduced that the rebels were being helped by someone within the Imperial hierarchy . Escaping the armory . At that point , Ryder and his rebel cell launched an attack on the east gate , damaging at least one Imperial Troop Transport . Reasoning that Ryder ' s forces had attacked in order to create a distraction for the rebels to escape , Thrawn decided to play the rebels ' game . In response to Ryder ' s attack , Lieutenant Lyste sent the two AT - AT walkers 271 and 414 to engage the insurgents . Thrawn allowed Lyste to dispatch reinforcements in order to lure Ezra and Kanan into a trap . The crew of the " Ghost " took the bait and rode out on the AT - DP Walker 216 under the pretext of helping the AT - ATs fight the rebel attackers . The AT - ATs asked what Walker 216 was doing at the east gate , and Ezra claimed that they were reinforcements . Studying the rebels ' escape patterns , Thrawn realized the rebels had stolen an AT - DP walker and ordered the AT - AT pilot s to destroy the walker the rebels had hijacked . Ezra managed to maneuver his walker under one of the AT - ATs . However , the AT - AT pilots aboard proceeded to use their heavy walker to crush the rebels ' smaller walker . Ezra and Kanan used their lightsabers to cut themselves and Chopper out of the doomed transport and board the AT - AT walker . After dispatching the pilots , their hijacked AT - AT walker was hit by a rocket fired by Marida , the wife of the late Morad Sumar . She and Ryder had witnessed the hijacked AT - DP exploding , and believed Kanan and Ezra to be dead . Kanan and Ezra managed to fire on and destroy the other AT - AT before their walker collapsed . Exiting the AT - AT walker , the three rebels fled with Ryder , Jho and Marida on two landspeeder s . Aftermath . Returning to Ryder ' s hideout , Ezra , Kanan , and Ryder were able to send the information from Chopper ' s memory banks to Sabine , who decrypted them . As a result , the rebels discovered that the Empire was working on a new prototype TIE Interceptor , that was equipped with a deflector shield . The rebels feared that if the Empire produced this new fighter in large numbers , it would pose a danger to the rebellion and their pilot s . Ezra and Kanan also informed Hera , Sabine , and Zeb about Kallus assisting their escape . The other Spectres were absolutely shocked , and Zeb deduced that he must have " accidentally " recruited Kallus back on Bahryn . Distrusting him , Hera decided that they would wait and see what kind of game their new ally might be playing . Back on Lothal , Thrawn discussed his suspicion with Governor Pryce and Agent Kallus that the Empire had a mole among their ranks who was assisting the rebellion . When Governor Pryce advocated questioning all Imperial personnel , Thrawn advised against a mass crackdown . Instead , he proposed setting up a trap for the informant in order to turn that individual into an Imperial " asset " . Thrawn wanted to wait for the spy to make their next move . Feigning loyalty , Kallus commended the Admiral for his " flawless " strategy . Behind the scenes . The infiltration of the Imperial Armory Complex serves as the main plot of the " Star Wars Rebels " episode " An Inside Man " , which premiered on Disney XD on December 3 , 2016 . The episode also reintroduced the TIE Defender , a starfighter which had appeared in several Star Wars Legends products .