Mission to Zhar The Mission to Zhar was a mission on the part of the Rebel Alliance to retrieve Imperial shuttle " Tydirium " in 4 ABY . Prelude . After they had captured the Death Star II plans from the freighter " Suprosa " , the Alliance tasked a team of Bothan spies to infiltrate the Death Star operation and discover what information they could . After a daring rescue operation to retrieve the Bothans on their return , the Alliance discovered enough information to begin their plans . Key to the strategy was obtaining the necessary codes to enter the Endor system , fortunately for them , the Alliance had learned of an Imperial shuttle that carried the codes they needed . They set in motion an audacious plan to steal the shuttle from a heavily guarded Imperial outpost The mission . The starship tasked with this dangerous operation was the Mon Calamari Cruiser " Liberty " , who had among her ranks a pilot whose talents were perfect for the operation . This pilot was Ace Azzameen , whose experience flying freighters , particularly in dangerous situations , was unparalleled among " Liberty " pilots . Leaving " Liberty " in his customized YT - 1300 , the " Sabra " , Ace set out for the Zhar system , with a team of commandos onboard . Before he could enter the system itself , Ace had to pass through the Imperial Customs Golan III station at the edge of the system . After transmitting a false ship ' s manifest that the Alliance had provided , there followed an agonizing wait as the manifest was verified , all the while Ace had to use all of his piloting ability to avoid getting to close to the patrolling TIE / LN starfighter s while " remaining casual . " Eventually , the " Sabra " was given clearance to proceed . To Ace ' s surprise , just as he was preparing to make a brief hyperjump in - system , the " Imperial I " - class Star Destroyer " Inexorable " arrived . Ace made the jump quickly , before " Inexorable " could identify him , and his true cargo . When Ace arrived in - system , he found the Imperial outpost , Outpost 327 , to be surrounded by a huge amount of TIE Fighters , freighters and cargo containers . Again , Ace found himself having to avoid the Imperial fighters as he made his way to Outpost 327 ' s hangar , where the " Tydirium " was docked . Ace succeeded , despite a near fatal mistake by the facility ' s commander , who failed to recognize the " Sabra " on his roster for several minutes . The mission was further complicated by events after " Sabra " docked . The commando team was slow in getting the " Tydirium " ready for launch , causing " Sabra " to be docked far longer than " Fiery Dawn " , the next freighter of schedule was happy with , this caused Ace ' s co - pilot , Emkay , considerable consternation as he made excuses in an attempt to keep the command center sending a team down . Just as the commandos were finished , the outpost ' s commander sent out and order to seize and detain the " Sabra " . Their time up , Ace blasted his way out of the hangar and called in Rogue Squadron . The TIE Fighters swarmed the Rebels , in an attempt to stop them . Meanwhile , TIE / sa bombers were scrambled to intercept the " Tydirium " . However , Ace was able to stop them and allow the " Tydirium " to escape into hyperspace , a few seconds later , Ace and Rogue Squadron followed . Aftermath . However , the Empire somehow retrieved the shuttle sometime later , possibly intercepting the ship before it reached the Rebel fleet . As a result , she was re - captured by Wedge Antilles during the Mission to Prefsbelt IV . Alliance General Han Solo was able to use the " Tydirium " to infiltrate the Endor system along with his commandos , prompting the Battle of Endor . Behind the scenes . The games " " and " " , the only two sources to detail the shuttle ' s capture , give conflicting information . Leland Chee has confirmed that both happened , and " Mission to Zhar " came first . In the book " " , it is stated that the codes were retrieved by Ace at Zhar , but the shuttle itself was stolen by Wedge Antilles during the mission on Prefsbelt IV .