Attack on Lothal The attack on Lothal occurred during the Early rebellion against the Galactic Empire in the year 1 BBY , when the Alliance to Restore the Republic attacked the planet Lothal in an attempt to destroy the Imperial Armory Complex , where the Galactic Empire was planning on producing TIE / D Defender s . The Rebels had attempted the attack before , with the forces of two Rebel cells , Phoenix Cell and the Massassi Group , participating , but Imperial commander Grand Admiral Thrawn had anticipated the planned attack and ambushed the Rebels at their base on Atollon . Afterwards , Alliance High Command was quite reluctant to authorize a strike , before they learned that the Empire was planning on manufacturing the even more advanced TIE / D Defender Elite at their factories . In addition , the Empire had enacted Protocol 13 on Lothal , the evacuation of all Imperial personnel from the planet . As a result , Hera Syndulla was able to persuade the Rebel leadership to authorize the attack . She was promoted to General , and given command of a force of 24 fighters and bombers , a mixed group of T - 65B X - wing starfighter s and BTL - A4 Y - wing assault starfighter / bomber s . On the ground , the rest of Hera ' s team , the Spectres , as well as members of the Lothal resistance , destroyed the anti - air defenses that protected the factories . During the space battle , the Rebel force sustained a few casualties at the hands of Imperial ace Commander Vult Skerris , before Hera lured him into a trap and shot him down , triggering a chain of events that led to the destruction of a Star Destroyer . This gave Hera ' s forces the opening they needed to head for their targets . However , Thrawn had been anticipating this , and had another wave of TIE fighters at the ready . The entire strike force was shot down , several of the fighters crashing into Lothal City . Among the few survivors were Hera , her astromech droid Chopper and Mart Mattin . Hera rescued Mart from some stormtrooper s that were attempting to arrest him , but the three were shortly pursued by Rukh , Thrawn ' s assassin , who had been sent to capture the surviving rebel pilots , particularly " Captain " Syndulla , alive . The Rebel trio managed to make it to a sewer hatch , but in the process of luring away the Imperial forces guarding it , Rukh caught up , and Hera was captured as Mart and Chopper fled on her orders . Upon making it to an exit outside of the city , Mart and Chopper were met by Kanan Jarrus , who told them that although there was nothing else the two of them could do to rescue Hera , there was something he could do . Prelude . Planned attack . Lothal , a backwater Outer Rim planet , had become important to the Galactic Empire due to its mineral deposits . The rebel cell Phoenix Cell , based in the Lothal sector on the remote planet Atollon , began preparations for a strike on the Imperial Armory Complex , which churned out weapons and vehicles for the Empire ' s military . Another rebel cell , General Jan Dodonna ' s Massassi Group , one of the largest cells in the galaxy , was invited to participate in the attack . Over the course of months , the members of Phoenix Squadron , including the unit known as the Spectres , began preparations for the planned assault . Ezra Bridger , a member of the Spectres , was from Lothal , and particularly keen to liberate his homeworld . Over the past few years , since the Siege of Lothal , the Empire had placed the planet under increasingly tight security . Former Lothalian governor Ryder Azadi had formed a resistance group after escaping from prison . Azadi ' s cell supported Phoenix Squadron ' s planned attack , and assisted their intelligence - gathering efforts . In 2 BBY , around the time the Spectres broke out the pirate Hondo Ohnaka from an Imperial prison on Naraka , Lothalian Governor Arihnda Pryce , wishing to conclusively deal with the sector ' s " insurgency " after a long period of neglecting her responsibilities there , called in Grand Admiral Thrawn and his Seventh Fleet to help with the situation . Pryce felt that Thrawn , who saw a bigger picture , would be more effective than the Imperial Navy ' s ranking officer in the sector , the old - school Admiral Kassius Konstantine . Thrawn deduced that because the rebels had freed Ohnaka , they intended to steal old Y - wings from the Imperial scrapyard Reklam Station on Yarma . Pryce intercepted the rebels as they were fleeing with the starfighter s , and saw the rest of Phoenix Squadron ' s forces come to the rescue . However , Thrawn ordered her to let them escape , as he realized this was not the entire rebel fleet . He intended to wait for the entire fleet to gather before striking . Over the course of many missions , Phoenix Squadron and the Spectres acquired intelligence and weapons in preparation for the attack . The Y - wings stolen at Reklam Station , however , went to the Massassi Group instead . After discovering from a rebel agent that the Empire was building a new kind of weapon in the factories on Lothal , Kanan Jarrus , Bridger and Chopper infiltrated the complex to find out what it was . They successfully stole the plans for the TIE / D Defender , a highly advanced TIE model with deflector shield s . Not long before the two rebel units planned to strike , rebel cells across the galaxy joined forces to form the Rebel Alliance . Piece by piece . As the rebels prepared to attack Lothal , however , Thrawn gathered information to stop them . The infiltration of the Armory Complex led the Grand Admiral to his biggest clue to locating the rebels ' base : the revelation that the infiltrators had received assistance from someone in the Imperial ranks . Thrawn intended to use the spy , when they were caught , to lead him to the rebels . This spy , one of the Fulcrum agents , happened to be ISB Agent Alexsandr Kallus , a former enemy of the Spectres who had had a change of heart following an encounter with Spectres member Garazeb Orrelios on the Geonosian moon Bahryn . Kallus later tipped off Phoenix Squadron about Thrawn ' s use of E - XD infiltrator droid s to search for rebel bases , allowing Orrelios , Chopper and AP - 5 to prevent EXD - 9 from revealing Chopper Base ' s location to the Empire . The incident , however , helped Thrawn narrow down the number of planets he had to search . Some time later , the Empire intercepted one of Kallus ' Fulcrum transmissions , leading Thrawn to learn the spy ' s codename and that they were an Imperial officer . The Grand Admiral called in ISB Colonel Wullf Yularen to assist in finding the spy . The rebels , discovering that the transmission had been monitored , sent Ezra , with Chopper and AP - 5 assisting , to rescue Kallus . However , shortly after Ezra got onboard the " Arquitens " - class cruiser that Kallus and Lieutenant Yogar Lyste were stationed on , posing as a shuttle thief , Thrawn ' s flagship , the " Chimaera " , arrived . Kallus and Lyste were called onboard . Lyste , eager to impress the Grand Admiral , brought along the captured Ezra , and the droids managed to come along when AP - 5 claimed that they had a recording of the shuttle theft . In a meeting , Thrawn informed Kallus , Lyste and Admiral Konstantine of the spy and that he was close to locating the rebel base . Thrawn had also interviewed other Imperial officers , intending to entrap the spy when they tried to warn the rebels . Kallus , meanwhile , convinced Lyste that Pryce was the spy , getting him to trail her . Using a code cylinder he stole from the Lieutenant , Kallus released Ezra from the " Chimaera " brig and they infiltrated Thrawn ' s office , sending the Star Destroyer ' s clearance codes to Jarrus and Rex , the retrieval team , and erasing Atollon from Thrawn ' s holomap . Ultimately , Kallus implicated Lyste as Fulcrum , and the rebels escaped . The deception fooled Pryce and Konstantine , but Thrawn and Yularen were privately suspicious . One piece of evidence Kallus had forgotten about , the helmet Bridger had worn as part of his disguise , helped Thrawn deduce that the ISB agent was the real spy . He kept this information secret , however , for his own plans . Battle of Atollon . On the eve of the planned attack on Lothal , Thrawn arrived at Lothal City ' s Imperial Complex to warn Governor Pryce and Admiral Konstantine . Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin also attended the meeting , via hologram . Kallus was not invited , and used a mouse droid to spy on the meeting from the vents . Thrawn informed Pryce , Konstantine and Tarkin of the impending attack , and that General Dodonna ' s fleet would be assisting Phoenix Squadron . Overhearing everything , Kallus traveled to an old communications tower outside the city to transmit a warning to the rebels . There , he was ambushed by Thrawn , who used the trajectories of Kallus ' transmission and the Massassi fleet to discover the location of the rebel base . Kallus managed to get a brief message through , but was arrested by the Grand Admiral and his death trooper s . On Atollon , Phoenix Squadron and the recently - arrived Massassi Group received the warning in enough time to put their forces on alert . The arrival of the Imperial fleet forced the Rebels to scuttle their planned attack on Lothal . The Rebel ships were prevented from escaping by two Interdictor cruisers . Hera Syndulla devised a plan to create an opening for one ship , Bridger ' s " Gauntlet " , to escape the Imperial blockade and get reinforcements . She assigned Jarrus and Chopper to go with him ; however , Jarrus decided to instead try and ask the mysterious Force wielder Bendu for help . During the ensuing space battle , many Rebel ships were destroyed . Bridger ' s opening finally came when Commander Jun Sato sacrificed himself and his ship , the " Phoenix Nest " , by ramming Admiral Konstantine ' s Interdictor . Shortly after Bridger escaped , Syndulla was forced to call the retreat . In hyperspace , Bridger asked Alliance leader Mon Mothma for reinforcements , but she regretfully told him that she couldn ' t send any . Bridger decided to go to fellow Spectre , the Mandalorian Sabine Wren , and her family for help . Wren had left Phoenix Squadron some time before after reuniting with her family . She had come into possession of the Darksaber , an ancient Mandalorian weapon , and had stayed to give the weapon to the rightful leader of Mandalore . Ezra arrived on Krownest to learn from Count ess Ursa Wren that they were fighting a civil war , and had few resources to spare . Wren persuaded her mother to hear Bridger out , and Ursa allowed Wren to take some ships and any willing warriors to help the Rebels . She planned to execute a strike on the remaining Interdictor . Back on Atollon , Jarrus failed to persuade the Bendu to assist the Rebels , as he refused to take sides . Jarrus did , however , enrage the Force wielder by calling him a coward . The Rebels took shelter under Chopper Base ' s shield from Thrawn ' s orbital bombardment . After the bombardment , Thrawn led a ground assault to finish the Rebels off , as he was under orders from Tarkin to capture the commanders . Pryce was left in charge of the fleet . During the ground assault , the Bendu arrived in the form of a thunderstorm and began attacking the Imperials and Rebels with lightning . The remaining Rebel ships took off . Thrawn had his troops concentrate their fire , bringing down the Bendu , only for the mysterious Force wielder to vanish . Meanwhile , Bridger , Wren and their strike team arrived . As Fenn Rau and his Fang fighter s kept the TIE fighters occupied , Ezra , Sabine and the Wren warriors attacked one of the Interdictor ' s gravity well projector s . Eventually the projector was breached , causing the warship to explode . Onboard the " Chimaera " , a captive Kallus took advantage of Pryce ' s rage at the Interdictor ' s destruction to arrange his escape , and was picked up by the " Ghost " in an escape pod . The remaining Rebel ships fled . Prioritizing . After the battle , the surviving Rebels headed to the Rebel Alliance ' s headquarters on Yavin 4 . Jarrus , Bridger and Chopper , however , accompanied Wren back to Mandalore to help her rescue her father from the Empire . There , Wren gave the Darksaber to Bo - Katan Kryze . The four Spectres did not come to the moon until after the mission was complete . Once Bridger got to Yavin 4 , he was frustrated that the Rebellion did not seem to consider trying to help the people of Lothal again . Mothma explained to him that the Alliance could not afford to throw large portions of their resources into helping only a few planets , and that they had to see the bigger picture . Some weeks later , a message from Azadi arrived , warning that the Empire had developed a new TIE Defender on Lothal . The Spectres volunteered for the mission , which Mothma approved , having witnessed the Defender ' s threat firsthand . She warned them , however , that the Alliance would not be able to send more forces . They smuggled themselves onto Lothal aboard the " Broken Horn " , and met up with the Lothal resistance in the occupied town of Jhothal , escaping through its sewers with the help of resistance member Jai Kell . After meeting up with Azadi , the Rebels split up to rendezvous the Imperial facilities . Syndulla and Jarrus , reconnoitering Lothal City from a distance , discovered preparations indicating that the Empire intended to put the Defender Elite into mass production . Azadi took Bridger , Wren and Orrelios to a remote Imperial airfield , which his spies had identified as the location of a planned test flight of the prototype . During the recon mission , Ezra and Wren wound up stealing the prototype when Thrawn and Pryce arrived at the airfield while the two were attempting to steal the fighter ' s flight data recorder . After fleeing in the fighter and shooting down pursuing TIE Interceptors , Bridger and Wren survived the crash that ensued when the prototype Elite ' s kill switch was activated . They fled into the wilderness with the flight recorder , hiding the Elite ' s hyperdrive near the site for later recovery , to be installed on Ryder ' s UT - 60D U - wing starfighter / support craft , which did not have a working one . Ezra and Sabine reached the Rebel camp with the help of a Loth - wolf . Later , Ezra , Zeb and Jai were sent to retrieve the hyperdrive , a mission complicated by the arrival of Thrawn ' s personal assassin , Rukh . He pursued the two young men , while Zeb managed to escape with the hyperdrive in a stolen Imperial Troop Transport . Ezra and Jai evaded Rukh , but not a homing beacon he covertly planted on their speeder bike . Imperial forces arrived at the Rebel camp just after Sabine had finished installing the hyperdrive on the U - wing , and Hera and Chopper escaped in the ship , making it to Yavin 4 with the flight recorder . Jai fled on a landspeeder , and the other rebels escaped the Imperials with the help of several Loth - wolves , who brought them to a location on the other side of Lothal . The white wolf revealed that it knew Kanan ' s birth name , Caleb Dume , before departing . At Yavin 4 , the flight recorder was analyzed , and the Rebel leaders could not find any weakness in the TIE Defender Elite . It also outmatched any starfighters the Alliance fielded , and Hera argued that this meant the Rebels had to attack Lothal , to prevent the fighter from being manufactured . Mothma asked Syndulla and Chopper to step outside of the briefing room while the Alliance leaders discussed the proposal . Eventually , Mothma stepped out of the debate to inform Syndulla that , although no decision had yet been made , they had discovered that the Empire had enacted Protocol 13 , the evacuation of all Imperial personnel from an occupied planet , on Lothal . This prompted Syndulla to reenter the briefing , and she told the Rebel leaders , Bail Organa and General Dodonna , that this meant they did not have any more time to waste . She argued that doing this attack would show the Empire that the Rebellion did not intend to stand down , and explained that she had a team on Lothal ready to assist . This argument persuaded the Alliance leaders , and Mothma gave Syndulla the go - ahead to plan the attack , and she was promoted to general . When Hera regained contact with the rest of the Spectres , who had hijacked a Mining Guild ore crawler in order to gain access to a long - range transmitter , she informed them of the impending attack , so they would be ready . Bridger , especially , was thrilled that the long - planned attack on Lothal was finally going ahead . Attack . Initial strike . On the planet ' s surface , the rest of the Spectres , along with Ryder and Jai , snuck up to the air defenses installed to protect the factories , and planted explosives on them . They went undetected by the Imperials , and destroyed the turrets with no problems . Hera , commanding a squadron of T - 65B X - wing starfighter s and BTL - A4 Y - wing assault starfighter / bomber s , consisting of 24 ships in total , arrived at Lothal . Their arrival was detected by the Imperial blockade . Thrawn ordered his fighters launched , and sent his best pilot , Commander Vult Skerris , out in a Defender Elite . When Pryce contacted him about the destruction of the air defences , he reassured her that no Rebel ships would get past the blockade . Hera ordered her X - wing pilots , including Mart Mattin , Cleat and Duke , to make sure that the slower Y - wings could get through the blockade . During the attack , Skerris shot down Cleat and Duke , prompting Hera to attack him . He chased her , and in his Defender Elite had something of an advantage . However , Hera outmaneuvered him , getting him to chase her into the sights of the " Chimaera " gunners . Thrawn , realizing what kind of trap Hera was luring Skerris into , ordered the Commander to break off , but he refused as he almost had her in his sights . The Grand Admiral ordered his gunners to open fire , and the shots deactivated Hera and Skerris ' shields . Hera flew over the Star Destroyer ' s bridge and fired on its scanning array , damaging it and creating a cloud of smoke , which she flew into . She closed her fighter ' s S - foils and flew through the narrow gap . Skerris lost sight of her due to the smoke , and his fighter ' s larger profile forced him to go around the structure . Hera was waiting and fired at him , damaging the unshielded Defender Elite , ripping off two of its wings and setting Skerris spiraling out of control . He crashed into an " Arquitens " - class command cruiser , causing damage to its magazine . The cruiser began to explode , and crashed into a Star Destroyer , shearing its bridge superstructure off . Hera and her pilots took the opening , and raced for Lothal . Shot down . However , Thrawn had a second wave of fighters waiting in Lothal ' s clouds , which came in firing . The Spectres watched , horrified , from outside Lothal City as the destroyed Rebel fighters plummeted . However , at least three of the fighters managed to crash - land in the city , one of them being Hera ' s . Chopper woke her up and got her out of her fighter , but his transmitter had been damaged in the crash , preventing them from contacting the other Rebels . A civilian advised them to flee , as Imperial forces were coming , and suggested they head for the city ' s east gate . Hera and Chopper quickly hid from a searching patrol transport , before fleeing deeper into the city . The other Rebels , outside the city , eventually left , knowing that the attack was finished and that , as the plains held no cover , they could be found by the Empire if they stayed there . Kanan , however , was reluctant , as he felt he could rescue Hera . He eventually split up with the other Rebels , heading back for the capital . The others headed for their base . Thrawn , upon being informed that several Rebel fighters had managed to crash in the city , sent Rukh to hunt down the surviving Rebel pilots , specifying that he wanted them alive , if possible , particularly Captain Syndulla . As Rukh , with the assistance of Pryce ' s forces , swept the city , he captured at least one of the pilots , Secon Daree . When Pryce was informed that the Rebel Flight Leader ' s starfighter had been found in the city ' s eastern district , but the pilot and astromech were missing , Pryce ordered the district locked down and torn apart , building by building , until Hera was found . Meanwhile , Hera and Chopper were planning to sneak past an Imperial blockade when Chopper picked up a distress signal from one of the Rebels ' astromech droids . Investigating , they discovered the crash site of Mart ' s fighter . He had been cornered by stormtroopers , and , as he was injured , was being defended by his droid , R3 - A3 . The stormtroopers intended to capture R3 , as they knew how valuable his memory banks could be , and eventually shot and destroyed him to immobilize him . Witnessing this , Hera told Chopper to wait and stole a troop transport . She used the transport to rescue Mart , who acquired a blaster from one of the troopers , and the three Rebels took out the stormtroopers . Mart gave Hera permission to install R3 ' s transmitter on Chopper , as a replacement for his damaged one . After it was done , Chopper attempted to contact the other Rebels , but was unable due to Imperial jamming . Escaping the city . The three Rebels were shortly attacked by Rukh , who had detected their scent . Hera fired at him , and the three fled into the streets . Rukh pursued over the rooftops . While on the run , Mart spotted Rukh on the roofs and fired at him , leading the assassin to descend to street level and fight them . He quickly knocked out Mart , but was disarmed by Hera . However , Rukh was able to knock her to the ground and retrieve his weapon . Before he could strike Hera , he was stunned by Chopper , and Mart , who had come to , shot at him , causing Rukh to retreat back to the roofs . After Mart asked where they were going , Hera ordered Chopper to scan for the nearest sewer hatch . Upon detecting it , Chopper led the way . The Rebels continued on . Upon reaching the sewer hatch , Hera , Mart and Chopper discovered that it was guarded by two stormtroopers and an All Terrain Defense Pod . The AT - DP was standing directly on top of the hatch . Seeing a parked landspeeder in the street , Hera devised a plan to lure the walker away . Mart diverted the Imperials ' attention by walking out from cover and stating that he had heard they were looking for Rebel pilots , before proclaiming himself to be one . The stormtroopers shot at him , and Mart fired back , hitting one , before fleeing down a street , causing the other trooper and the walker to pursue . Chopper , stationed on a nearby roof , was ordered by Hera to open the hatch , and he descended to the controls , plugged in and did so . Hera took control of the landspeeder . Mart hid from the pursuing Imperials behind some crates , and took out the remaining stormtrooper by jumping him from behind . As the walker started to turn around , Mart shot at it , and Hera rammed it with the stolen landspeeder , toppling it . Mart ran for the hatch when Hera ordered him to , as she stunned the AT - DP ' s driver . He climbed in , and waited at the top of the ladder . As Hera ran for the hatch , Rukh caught up with her atop the roofs . He jumped down into the street and approached Hera from behind , prompting Mart to yell a warning . Rukh jumped Hera , and she kicked him off . The two fought , and Rukh eventually knocked Hera down . Mart was prepared to intervene , but two TX - 225 GAVr " Occupier " combat assault tank s arrived , cutting off Hera from the hatch . An Imperial gunship also arrived , and Hera ordered Mart and Chopper to leave . Mart quickly descended into the sewer , but Chopper was reluctant , hovering on his rocket booster in the opening . Hera retrieved her blaster and shot the hatch ' s controls , forcing Chopper to descend before the hatch door closed . Rukh disarmed Hera and forced her to her knees , holding his weapon to her back . The gunship landed , disgorging Governor Pryce . Hera remarked that she ' d always wanted to meet Pryce , who responded with a disparaging remark about Hera ' s " small victory " before stunning her . Aftermath . On his way back to Lothal City , Kanan was intercepted by the three Loth - wolves he had encountered earlier . He was initially angry about being delayed , as he felt that he did not have time . After their leader , the white wolf , said " Dume " , Kanan asked them what he had to do , and the wolves told him something . Mart and Chopper followed a network of painted starbird s left by the Lothal Rebels to a hatch outside the city , where they were met by Kanan . By then , it was after daybreak . The two escapees were regretful that they were unable to save Hera , and Kanan told Mart that he couldn ' t have done any more than what he already did . However , there was something that Kanan could do . The three Rebels set off on Kanan ' s speeder bike . At the Imperial Complex , Governor Pryce interrogated Hera for information about the location of the Alliance Fleet but she refused to yield anything . Unwilling to abandon their leader , the other Spectres mounted a mission to rescue General Syndulla . Ezra came up with a plan to infiltrate the Imperial Complex using Loth - bat glider s . Despite rescuing Hera , Kanan Jarrus was killed when Governor Pryce ordered her AT - AT walkers to blow up the Lothal City fuel depot in an attempt to destroy the Spectres . The destruction of the fuel depot dealt a major blow to Thrawn ' s TIE Defender initiative since it destroyed the Empire ' s fuel supply and also damaged parts of the TIE Defender factory . Thrawn , who had been visiting Coruscant to lobby the Emperor to continue supporting his project , chastised Governor Pryce for her incompetence and vowed to deal with her when he returned to Lothal . To cover up the disaster , Pryce staged a parade to celebrate the death of Kanan Jarrus , a Jedi Purge survivor . The Spectres soon learnt about the damage to the Imperial war production on Lothal and were reinvigorated . Behind the scenes . The attack on Lothal was first mentioned in " " , the season three premiere of " Star Wars Rebels " . Preparation for the planned attack served as a major plot element throughout the season , culminating in the season finale , " Zero Hour " , in which the Rebels were ambushed before they could carry it out . The attack finally occurred in the fourth season episode " Rebel Assault " .