Operation : Sabre Strike Operation : Sabre Strike , also known as Resistance Mission 456 - VH was an operation undertaken during the cold war by Commander Poe Dameron and a crew from the Resistance that took place thirty years after the Battle of Endor . Suspecting that the New Republic Senator Erudo Ro - Kiintor was secretly colluding with the First Order via the Corporate Sector Authority , the Resistance leader General Leia Organa dispatched Poe and his comrades Iolo Arana and Karé Kun on a mission to steal Ro - Kiinto ' s private yacht " Hevurion Grace " so that the Resistance could examine his ship ' s computers for incriminating information . Poe and his comrades managed to steal the " Hevurion Grace " and narrowly escaped First Order forces . Prelude . Thirty years after the Battle of Endor , an Imperial remnant that emulated the Old Empire known as the First Order emerged in the Unknown Regions . Despite the First Order ' s repeated violations of the Galactic Concordance by acquiring advanced weapons and making raids into New Republic space , the Galactic Senate and Republic Command refused to take forceful military action against the First Order and sought to downplay the threat posed by the Imperial remnant . In response , a splinter group within the New Republic military known as the Resistance was formed to monitor the activities of the First Order . The First Order also colluded with several unscrupulous senator s like the Hevurion senior senator Erudo Ro - Kiintor . In exchange for receiving large sums from the First Order through shell and third party corporations via the Corporate Sector Authority , Ro - Kiintor delayed or derailed motions in the Senate condemning the First Order and increasing support to the New Republic Defense Fleet . The Senator ' s ship " Hevurion Grace " was also spotted in First Order space on several occasions . These dealings led General Leia Organa to suspect that Ro - Kiintor had links to important First Order figures like General Armitage Hux and Supreme Leader Snoke . Lacking hard evidence , Leia arranged for her top pilot Poe Dameron to steal the " Hevurion Grace " before Ro - Kiintor could purge the ship ' s systems . Poe ' s comrades Karé Kun and Iolo Arana volunteered to assist their former commander in the mission . To conceal the Resistance ' s involvement , the three fighters disguised themselves as members of the Irving Boys , a criminal group , and wore bulky EVA suit s . The three pilot s were also equipped with three vintage Z - 95 Headhunter starfighter s . Due to the small size of the Headhunters , the fighter pilots were unable to bring their astromech droid s along for the operation . BB - 8 was relegated fitting the starfighters ' concussion missile s with proper warheads . The raid . Stealing a starship . Poe developed a plan to intercept the " Hevurion Grace " as it was exiting hyperspace in the Uvoss system . They had to carry out the operation in eight minutes before Senator Ro - Kiintor could summon New Republic reinforcements from the nearest habited system . As planned , the " Hevurion Grace " exited hyperspace and the Resistance fighters sprung their trap immediately . Iolo ' s Headhunter managed to knock out the yacht ' s systems with a modified concussion missile . Poe then ejected out of his starfighter below the " Hevurion Grace " and managed to climb onto the yacht after undertaking a dangerous leap through zero gravity space for two minutes . While the other fighters surrounded the yacht , Poe climbed through a hatch into the " Hevurion Grace " . Making his way into the main hall , he forced Senator Ro - Kiintor , the pilot , and a servant to head into the ship ' s escape pod s at gunpoint . Having seized control of the yacht , Poe then proceeded to restart the ship ' s main engine s . By that time , three and a half minutes were left . Iolo then contacted Poe to inform him that several First Order reinforcements had arrived . The First Order had dispatched two capital ship s ( including a new " Resurgent " - class Star Destroyer ) , one Nebulon - K frigate , several assault ships , and eighteen TIE / fo space superiority fighter s to rescue Ro - Kiintor and his secret dealings . Escaping the First Order . Despite Poe ' s orders that Iolo and Kare evacuate , his comrades stayed behind to protect him from the First Order forces . While Poe repaired the ship ' s engines , the other fighters fought with the TIE fighters . Poe took the luxury yacht towards one of the Uvoss gas giant s in order to dissuade the TIEs from continuing their pursuit . When the TIEs tried to follow the " Hevurion Grace " , Iolo and Kare used their Z - 95s to shoot down nine of the pursuers by undertaking several Corellian turns . With the " Resurgent " Star Destroyer closing in on them , Poe convinced his comrades to charge at the warship before jumping into hyperspace . This was a risky maneuver since a single turbolaser blast from the Star Destroyer was capable of destroying a starfighter . Despite being pursued by TIE fighters on both sides , the yacht and the two Z - 95 Headhunters managed to fly high above the Star Destroyer and jump into hyperspace . Aftermath . Operation : Sabre Strike was a small but significant victory for the Resistance . Despite the odds against them , Poe and his companions managed to obtain the " Hevurion Grace " and its computer s . Leia complimented Poe , Kare , and Iolo for braving two Star Destroyers and one frigate and living to tell the tale . After C - 3PO examined the yacht ' s computers , the Resistance obtained irrefutable evidence of Senator Ro - Kiintor ' s dealings with the First Order . General Organa feared there were more First Order sympathizers within the Galactic Senate and that the First Order was preparing to wage war on the galaxy again . Using the information in the yacht , Leia dispatched Poe on a mission to find Lor San Tekka , an old friend whom she believed would help find her brother Luke Skywalker . Behind the scenes . Operation : Sabre Strike first appeared in Greg Rucka ' s junior novel " Before the Awakening " , which introduces the characters Finn , Rey , and Poe Dameron shortly before the events of " " .