Star Wars : Rebel Assault II : The Hidden Empire Star Wars : Rebel Assault II : The Hidden Empire is a 1995 video game . It is the sequel to " " . Plot summary . After the destruction of the Death Star , Darth Vader has begun developing a new secret weapon for the Galactic Empire . Meanwhile , in the Rebel Alliance , some rumors of " ghost ship s " attacking Rebel patrols have spread among the ranks . Rebel pilot Kirby with his wingman , Rookie One , receive a distress call from a Corellian Transport , while attacked by TIE Fighters . The pilot had crucial information about the Galactic Empire ' s new project . After the first wave of TIEs , laser shots come from nowhere and shoot Kirby down . Rookie One is left alone and lands on the planet Dreighton where he goes to rescue the captured transport and escape with it . Back at Pinnacle Base , Admiral Gial Ackbar helps the pilots understand the message from the freighter . In the Corellian Transport ' s records , the Alliance learn about a secret Imperial mining facility in the asteroid Belt of Arah and a squadron of X - wings moves to destroy it . During that mission , the X - Wing squadron discovers that the Empire was not simply mining ore , but is instead supplying rare metals required to manufacture a stealth version of the TIE Fighter ; the new V38 " Phantom " equipped with a cloaking device invented by Grand Admiral Sarn , allowing them to move through space neither spotted on sensors nor by any pilot until they were ready to strike . After destroying the facility , Maarek is killed along with Rookie One ' s wingman . Rookie One narrowly escapes into hyperspace . Back at Pinnacle Base , Admiral Ackbar comes up with a plan for 2 people to infiltrate the facility building the Phantom P - 38s at Imdaar Alpha . Rookie One takes a crash course in TIE piloting from Admiral Krane . Then , they head out to the jump point . Rookie One teams up with Ru Murleen on the planet Imdaar . They fly to an Imperial Landing Platform on the far side of the swamp on Swoop Bikes . Disguised as stormtroopers , they infiltrate the Super Star Destroyer " Terror " . Stealing a TIE Phantom , they manage to destroy both the " Terror " and the TIE Phantom manufacturing plant . Though they were able to return the stolen TIE Phantom to a nearby base , the Rebellion was unable to take advantage of the stealth technology , after a self - destruct destroyed their stolen ship . Levels . ( And their Beginner Mode Codes ) : Production . This part of the series contained mostly original filming with actors and stunts , while the scenery and the space scenes were 3D - rendered . According to LucasArts ' magazine " The Adventurer " , this game was the first media ( apart from " " ) to incorporate live - action actors and footage in the " Star Wars " universe since the " " . In what would foreshadow the filming style of the prequel trilogy , the actors were mainly shot against bluescreens . Most of the environment seen in " Rebel Assault II " was computer generated ; not even the cockpits of the starfighters were constructed sets . Instead , the actors were placed on a bobbing seat - like construct and filmed , while the cockpit ( including the proper ship movement ) was added in post - production . The stormtrooper armor , weapons , helmets and suits , and Darth Vader ' s costume worn by the actors were not made specifically for the game , but were the actual props seen in the original trilogy . They were taken from the archive storage of Lucasfilm Ltd . , and worn for the first time in 18 years . Canonicity . While " " had one portion of gameplay ( Rookie One ' s trench run ) deemed as S - canon , its sequel avoided any such difficulties by having a completely original plot . Rookie One ' s recollections of some of the events of the first two levels of the game appeared in " Excerpts from the Journal of a Rebel Pilot " , published in " Star Wars Insider 27 " , while the TIE Phantom has been thence adopted to other sources , and described by " Star Wars Insider 66 " . The game also established the player Rookie One as a male , something its predecessor had left open . He commands ships not appearing in the previous game , like a YT - 1300 light freighter , a B - wing starfighter and a BTL Y - wing starfighter , and encounters new opponents , like TIE / IN interceptors .