Battle of Toprawa The Battle of Toprawa was an early battle in the Galactic Civil War in which the Alliance to Restore the Republic captured a large portion of the Death Star plans from the Galactic Empire . It was the first significant space battle for the fledgling Rebellion , and its first major victory . After raiding an Imperial convoy above Toprawa and capturing the plans , augmenting them with other plans from a research station on the planet ' s surface and yet others from a facility on Danuta , the Toprawa Rebels needed a way to transmit the plans off Toprawa and into the hands of the larger Rebellion . The Empire declared the planet a restricted zone , but the Rebels got their chance when Princess Leia Organa arrived in - system in the " Tantive IV " . The Toprawa Rebels seized an Imperial communications center and transmitted the plans to the Princess ' s ship while holding off Imperial ground forces . The " Tantive IV " narrowly escaped the system , with the Star Destroyer " Devastator " in pursuit , but the majority of the ground forces were killed in the process , and the others were forced into hiding . While the plans would later help the Rebellion destroy the Death Star , Toprawa was not so fortunate ; the Empire retaliated and razed the planet ' s surface , driving its inhabitants into a state of subjugation . Prelude . The Rebel Alliance learned of the existence of the Death Star — a moon - sized battlestation capable of destroying planets — from an operative on Ralltiir , a world under the jurisdiction of Lord Tion . Tion had long been making advances to Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan , and when she came to Ralltiir to rendezvous with the agent , she was forced to feign an interest in Tion in order to divert his suspicions . Tion took the opportunity to invite himself to the Organa household on Alderaan , to dine with Leia and her father Bail Organa . During dinner , Leia was able to cajole Tion into revealing that he knew of the Empire ' s secret battlestation , and that a convoy carrying the plans was soon to depart from Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin ' s headquarters . However , Leia let slip that she knew the code name " Death Star , " and Tion , who had never said that name , realized that they were in league with the Rebels . During the ensuing scuffle , Tion was killed . Bail Organa contacted the Rebellion and informed them of the convoy . Rebel operative Ta ' al Pierc had meanwhile learned that the Imperial Research Station on Toprawa was designing the control systems for a superlaser ; upon learning of the existence of the Death Star , the Rebels realized that this was its primary weapon . With all this information in hand , the Rebellion prepared to hit the convoy and capture the Death Star plans . Those chosen for the assignment knew it could well be a suicide mission , and the Rebellion was clear that the troops sent to ensure the successful capture of the plans were expendable and unlikely to be recovered . The battle . The space battle . Before heading to Coruscant to deliver the plans to the Imperial Information Center , the Imperial convoy was scheduled to stop at Toprawa to get the superlaser control plans . The Rebellion was waiting , however , and the Rebel starfighters intercepted the Imperial convoy above Toprawa . The starfighters faced tough opposition , and the spaceport began firing its ground - based emplacements , but slowly the Rebels overwhelmed the Imperial fleet . The fighters crippled the convoy and captured the Death Star plans , and one by one , the remaining Imperial ships were destroyed . One battlecruiser , with much of its crew dead , escaped the fighting into deep space , while other ships fled into Toprawa ' s atmosphere . These vessels were nonetheless destroyed , as were all escape shuttles launched from them . Some of the crashing ships inflicted damage on the city below . It was the first true space battle the Rebellion had been engaged in , and despite the heavy casualties the Rebels suffered — over one hundred lives — Toprawa was the first significant victory for the Alliance . The ground mission . When Imperial Intelligence learned of the leak , the Empire responded quickly . Declaring Toprawa a restricted system , the Imperials established a blockade , preventing any Rebels from leaving the planet with the plans . Darth Vader , who realized the plans were now in the hands of the Rebellion , set a course for the world , and the Rebels realized they needed a way to get the plans off - planet as soon as possible . When Bail Organa received word of the victory in space , he prepared to set out for Toprawa in the " Tantive IV " . In the plan the Toprawa Rebels had devised , the " Tantive IV " would enter the Toprawa system , using its diplomatic immunity as protection . When the " Tantive IV " approached the planet , the Rebels on the surface would transmit the plans . However , Leia insisted that she be the one to take the " Tantive IV " , reminding her father that as she was known for traveling on missions of mercy , her presence would raise less suspicion . Bail relented and Leia set off for Toprawa in the " Tantive IV " , commanded by Captain Raymus Antilles . The Rebels decided to capture the communications center of the Imperial Research Station . They would use its burst transmission system , capable of quickly transmitting compressed data , to send the plans to the " Tantive IV " before the Empire could jam the signal . The Rebel leader Vermilion planned to launch an assault on the research facility while Rebel agent Havet Storm infiltrated the base and took the superlaser control plans stored there . As the Rebels began their assault , intending to punch through the reception building and across a landing field to the communications center , Storm made his way through the facility by a different route . Using a password bypass that had been added to the system by the Rebel Ta ' al Pierc , Storm gave himself the security clearance he needed to go anywhere in the facility with impunity . Donning an Imperial uniform , he set off for the quarters of Facet Anamor , Executive Personnel Officer for the facility . After drugging Anamor and obtaining the schematics of the research station from her computer terminal , Storm headed to the room of Facet ' s father , Head of Research Druth Anamor . Using the password bypass , Storm downloaded the superlaser schematics onto a set of discs , then had a brief but vicious fight with the elder Anamor . Storm killed him and , his goal in hand , made his way to the communications center . The other Rebels , meanwhile , had arrived at the communications center . Red Hand Squadron , led by Commander Bria Tharen , formed a perimeter outside the center to hold off the Imperial assault while the communications technicians prepared to transmit . The Imperial forces had destroyed the Rebel spacecraft , rendering an escape impossible , but the Rebel soldiers had been instructed to hold the comm center as long as they possibly could . When Storm reached the comm center , he met Vermilion , who was carrying the discs with the rest of the plans . They were not in the clear yet , though ; as fake panels slid down all around them , the Rebels realized they were surrounded by a squad of stormtroopers led by Facet Anamor . As Anamor drew on Storm , Vermilion threw himself at her , and Anamor shot him . Storm , in turn , killed her , and without their leader , the rest of the stormtroopers fell quickly . In his dying moments , Vermilion gave Storm the frequency , 1215 , and the code word , " Skyhook " , that he would need to transmit the plans . The Toprawa plans contained information on the Death Star ' s hull and life support information , while those Storm had retrieved from the base held the designs for the superlaser . The Rebels had had other plans in motion at the same time as the Toprawa operation , and agent Kyle Katarn had obtained a third set , containing specifications on weapons emplacements and engineering details , from a facility on Danuta . Storm compressed all these plans into a single packet of data and prepared to transmit it to the " Tantive IV " , due to arrive in - system at any moment . The arrival of the " Tantive IV " . Leia Organa and Captain Antilles , meanwhile , had been devising their own plan for diverting the suspicion of the Empire when the " Tantive IV " arrived in a restricted zone . The astromech droid R2 - D2 was to be sent to the outside of the vessel , near the navicomputer sensor suite , and pretend to conduct repairs on it . If questioned by the Imperials , the " Tantive IV " would explain that their hyperdrive was malfunctioning , and they had dropped out of hyperspace to conduct repairs . R2 - D2 would remain in contact with his counterpart C - 3PO , and if the Imperials conducted scans of the droid , they would back up the " Tantive IV " alibi . As the " Tantive IV " leapt into the Toprawa system , they detected a scrambled transmission . Leia keyed in the proper code , and it resolved itself into the voice of Havet Storm telling the " Tantive IV " to prepare to copy . Storm began transmitting the plans to the vessel . Three Star Destroyers were now in orbit , though , including the " Devastator " . Even as the data was transmitting , the " Devastator " detected the signal , and Commander Nahdonnis Praji contacted the " Tantive IV " , ordering it to heave to and prepare to be searched . Scrambling for more time , Antilles told the " Devastator " of their " malfunction " and attempted to use the vessel ' s diplomatic immunity . The " Devastator " acknowledged the message and on Vader ' s command held its fire , but ordered the " Tantive IV " to hold its course and prepare for boarding . The transmission finally ended , and Antilles replied to the " Devastator " , insisting that as they were on a diplomatic mission they could not be detained . As the " Tantive IV " prepared to make the leap to hyperspace , Antilles ordered all troops to battle stations , raised shields , and began accelerating away from the planet . The " Devastator " announced that it had detected the transmission of the plans , again ordered the " Tantive IV " to heave to , and prepared to open fire . Vader ordered the Star Destroyer to shoot for minimum damage , and only moments after it began firing , the " Tantive IV " finally made the jump to hyperspace . The " Devastator " followed . Last stand . After the transmission ended , Havet Storm and the technicians planted their explosive charges and left the communications center . Only seconds after the transmission ceased , a shot from the Imperials destroyed the communications tower , leaving the Rebels on the surface ignorant as to the fate of the " Tantive IV " . Bria Tharen and Red Hand Squadron , meanwhile , continued to hold their ground . As the battle wore on and day turned into night , the communications tower was pulverized into rubble and the surrounding area littered with wrecked speeders and bodies . The Rebels knew they would not be leaving Toprawa alive , and when an HAVr A9 Floating Fortress arrived on the scene , they prepared to hold off yet another assault . In the end , all members of Red Hand Squadron were killed or committed suicide ; Tharen took a suicide pill , knowing that neither she nor any of her team could be taken alive with what they knew . Aftermath . Although the Rebels sustained significant losses due to the " Devastator " ambush , the battle was nonetheless considered the first formal Rebel Alliance victory , after a string of informal battles by various resistance groups , due to the success of the overall objective of completing the stolen Death Star plans . The " Devastator " pursued the " Tantive IV " to Tatooine and captured it , but the plans were smuggled off the ship , stored inside R2 - D2 . They were eventually brought to the Rebel base on Yavin 4 , where they allowed the Rebellion to destroy the Death Star . Toprawa did not escape the retribution of the Empire , though . The Empire razed the planet ' s cities , driving the planet into a pre - industrial state , and forced its people into subjugation as punishment . One of the many casualties of the battle was an Imperial battlecruiser that had sustained superficial damage and escaped the fight , only to have its reactors give out . The pirate Crimson Jack found it adrift in deep space and captured it , taking out what little remained of the crew . Behind the scenes . The Battle of Toprawa was created by Brian Daley in the " Star Wars Radio Drama " to expand on the very first words of the " Star Wars " saga , the opening crawl of . Despite the significance of this battle , only two sources since then , " Jedi Dawn " and " Rebel Dawn " , have shown it , with only " Jedi Dawn " explicitly showing the " first victory " itself , the space battle . " " may feature another appearance of the space battle in its opening cutscene , which consists of a montage of video clips that mirror the cutscene ' s narration . In the portion of the narration that mentions the first victory of the Rebellion , an unidentified space battle is shown . In the first story draft for " " , the Battle of Toprawa played a prominent role as the setting for the game ' s climax . During the course of the battle , the game ' s protagonist would serve as Leia ' s protector and engage in a duel with Vader ' s other secret apprentice . After the defeat of the other apprentice , the protagonist would be confronted with a choice between fighting Vader , which would allow Leia to escape , or resuming his apprenticeship , which would bring about the destruction of the Rebel Alliance . When the game ' s developers submitted their plot outline to George Lucas , he rejected the idea of setting the game just before the beginning of , removing any possibility of the battle ' s inclusion in " The Force Unleashed " . He also suggested they assign Leia a less prominent role in the storyline and he told them that he felt Vader and Palpatine would serve as better antagonists . The developers altered the storyline accordingly , resulting in the elimination of the second secret apprentice as a character , the creation of Juno Eclipse , and a confrontation between the game ' s protagonist , Vader and Palpatine aboard the first Death Star . Continuity . In the Radio Drama , the events at Toprawa were portrayed as the sole means by which the Death Star plans were acquired . However , " " gave another version of the theft of the plans , this time at the hands of Kyle Katarn on Danuta . " " retconned this discrepancy by explaining that each of these sets of plans was only part of the whole , and that the entire schematic was put together on Toprawa . The endnotes for " The New Essential Chronology " claim that the attack on the Imperial convoy is playable in the game " " . However , this is not the case . " X - wing " version of the capture of the Death Star plans and their transmission to the " Tantive IV " differs from all other depictions of these events , and the transfer of the plans does not take place at Toprawa . It is possible that as with the Danuta plans , these were only a portion , transferred separately from the plans at Toprawa . Other sources such as " " , " " , and " " give their own versions of how the plans were acquired , none of which mention the Toprawa mission . Though the opening crawl of " A New Hope " says that this was the first victory of the Rebellion , other engagements in which the Rebels won have been portrayed that take place earlier , such as the Battle of Fresia from " Star Wars : Empire at War " or the Battle of Turkana from " Star Wars : X - wing " . It is possible that the Battle of Toprawa was the first significant victory of the Rebellion . The Visual Guides , when addressing this , made sure to clarify that it meant the first formal victory of the Rebellion , citing the prior engagements as informal battles by various resistance groups . Though the Battle of Toprawa is no longer considered part of the canon and is now classified as part of " Star Wars " Legends , the battle in which the plans of the first Death Star battle station were stolen by the Rebels , known as the Battle of Scarif , was depicted in the climax of the 2016 " Star Wars " Anthology film " " . Instead of Toprawa , however , the battle took place at the planet of Scarif and instead of Havet Storm , Rebel soldiers Jyn Erso and Cassian Jeron Andor were the ones who send the plans to the " Tantive IV " .