Attack on Phoenix Squadron ( 4 BBY ) An attack was carried out on Phoenix Squadron by the Sith Lord Darth Vader in 4 BBY , during the Siege of Lothal . Having concocted an elaborate trap designed to track the rebel group known as the Spectres back to their fleet , Vader launched a one - man assault on the Phoenix fleet in his TIE / Advanced starfighter , decimating the group and crippling the rebel command ship " Phoenix Home " . Due to the quick thinking of Hera Syndulla and an incidental distraction caused by Ahsoka Tano , the rebel CO and command crew managed to evacuate the crippled " Phoenix Home " , and the surviving rebels were able to retreat into hyperspace before Imperial reinforcements arrived . Prelude . On the day prior to the battle , the Spectres undertook a mission to the planet Lothal to rescue a defecting Imperial Minister named Maketh Tua . During the rescue attempt , Tua was killed and the rebels were framed for her murder by the Imperial Security Bureau Agent Kallus on the orders of Darth Vader . With their transport having been shot down , the rebels were left stranded in Lothal ' s Capital City without the support of the local populace . To compound their problems , the Galactic Empire had imposed a blockade of the planet in an effort to ferret the rebels out . Hoping to commandeer a hyperspace - capable Imperial craft , the rebels managed to infiltrate the Imperial Complex in Lothal ' s Capital City . There , they came upon an Imperial shuttle and several shield generators . Realizing that they could steal not only the shuttle but the shield generators as well , they began loading them aboard the ship when they were confronted by Darth Vader and a small group of stormtroopers . The Sith Lord lazily engaged in a duel with the group ' s two Jedi , Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger , while the stormtroopers exchanged fire with the remaining rebels . After a short time , the rebels managed to load all of the shield generators onto the shuttle and took off . Kanan and Ezra , who had realized by that point that they were nowhere near a match for Vader , broke off the fight and leapt aboard the escaping shuttle . Vader , having staged the entire affair , allowed the shuttle to leave unmolested . Unable to flee offworld without alerting the Imperial fleet , the Spectres turned to Lando Calrissian for help . While offworld , the galactic entrepreneur arranged for his droid W1 - LE to facilitate their escape by using sensor buoys to replicate their shuttle ' s signal and scatter the Imperial fleet . The Spectres managed to escape the blockade and returned to the Phoenix Cell ' s fleet in deep space . However , Vader had arranged for a tracking device to be planted aboard the shuttle with the intention of following the Spectres to Phoenix fleet . The battle . Upon rendezvousing with Phoenix fleet , the astromech droid Chopper detected a transmitter aboard the Spectres ' shuttle . Realizing that they were being tracked , the Spectres rushed aboard the rebel fleet ' s command ship " Phoenix Home " to warn Commander Jun Sato and Ahsoka Tano about the danger . Before any action could be taken however , Darth Vader emerged from hyperspace in his TIE Advanced x1 and began to rapidly close on the rebel fleet . In response , Commander Sato launched the RZ - 1 A - wing interceptor s of Phoenix Squadron . However , Vader ' s peerless piloting skills allowed him to decimate the squadron in short order . After breaking through Phoenix Squadron , Vader launched a devastating attack on " Phoenix Home " . With the rebel pilots visibly outmatched and the command ship in serious danger , the Spectres boarded their VCX - 100 light freighter " Ghost " along with Tano and attempted to render assistance to the beleaguered Phoenix Squadron . However even with the aid of the " Ghost " , the battle remained completely one - sided , and Vader continued to bombard " Phoenix Home " whilst picking off rebel fighters at his leisure . Vader quickly crippled " Phoenix Home " and eliminated most of the rebel fighter craft while essentially ignoring the " Ghost " . As he prepared for a final assault on the rebel command ship , Commander Sato begged the crew of the " Ghost " to stop him . However , the rebels were unable to land so much as a hit on Vader ' s craft as he closed in for the kill . While in pursuit , Tano sensed that the Force was strong with whoever was piloting the Imperial fighter , and decided to combine her powers with those of Kanan to probe the pilot ' s mind . As they reached out , Ezra Bridger experienced a chilling sensation similar to that which he had felt on Lothal while facing Vader , and deduced that the pilot was in fact the Sith Lord that they had encountered earlier . At the same time , Tano managed to probe Vader ' s mind enough to get a sense of his identity as her former master Anakin Skywalker , but was overwhelmed by the psychic backlash of the probe and passed out in horror . Vader too sensed the identity of the one attempting to probe him , and realized that his former Padawan was still alive . Upon learning of Tano ' s presence aboard the " Ghost " , Vader broke off his killing run at " Phoenix Home " and engaged the " Ghost " . Annihilating the few remaining rebel fighters , Vader began to pepper the " Ghost " with blaster fire in an attempt to disable it . This distraction allowed Commander Sato and the command crew of " Phoenix Home " to begin evacuating the doomed ship . As the battle neared its end , several Star Destroyer s entered the system under the command of Admiral Kassius Konstantine . Aboard the " Relentless " , Konstantine contacted Vader and requested orders . Vader informed him to move his Star Destroyers to block the escape of the " Ghost " but not to fire , as he wanted the rebels aboard it alive . With Vader and the Star Destroyers focused on the " Ghost " , Sato and his crew successfully abandoned " Phoenix Home " and evacuated the system with the remains of Phoenix fleet . As Vader continued his assault on the " Ghost " , Hera Syndulla flew the ship straight towards the Star Destroyers . On Vader ' s orders , the " Relentless " powered up its tractor beam to capture the " Ghost " as it passed between it and another Star Destroyer . Syndulla however , made it through the gap between the two Star Destroyers just before the tractor beams became active , leaving Vader to be caught rather than the " Ghost " . The " Ghost " jumped into hyperspace and due to the tractor beams , Vader was unable to pursue . Aftermath . Following their narrow escape from the Empire , the Phoenix and Spectres were forced to come to terms with the loss of their command ship and nearly all the pilots of Phoenix Squadron . Despite the odds against them , the Spectres decided to commit to aiding the rebellion . Ahsoka had by then regained consciousness and was asked by Ezra if she had any idea who Vader might be . Ahsoka , consumed with guilt and anguish at learning Anakin ' s fate , lied to Ezra and stated that she had no suspicions as to his identity . Meanwhile , Darth Sidious was pleased to learn about the discovery of Tano and believed that she would lead them to more Jedi . Under Sidious ' orders , Vader dispatched another Inquisitor to hunt the rebels down . Due to the serious losses sustained by the Phoenix fleet , Ahsoka sent the Spectres on a mission to Seelos to seek out an old friend . This old friend turned out to be the former Clone Captain " Rex " , who agreed to supply the rebels with information about Galactic Republic military bases in the Outer Rim Territories and on Mandalore . After fighting off an Imperial assault , Rex agreed to join the rebellion and accompanied the rebels back to the Phoenix fleet . Behind the scenes . The attack on the Phoenix fleet first appeared in the one - hour movie " " , which first premiered at the Celebration Anaheim on April 18 , 2015 . It was later released on Disney XD on June 20 , 2015 .