Raid on an Imperial supply convoy In 5 BBY , Hera Syndulla , Kanan Jarrus , and their C1 astromech droid Chopper raided an Imperial supply convoy . As they made their escape , they were pursued by four TIE / ln space superiority starfighter s . The rebels managed to destroy each of the TIEs , successfully completing their mission . Prelude . Following the end of the Clone Wars , Emperor Palpatine transformed the Galactic Republic into the first Galactic Empire . Over the years , opposition towards the Empire manifested in the form of a growing rebellion consisting of various cells and factions . One of these cells were the Lothal rebels , a group led by the Twi ' lek pilot Hera Syndulla and the former Jedi Padawan Kanan Jarrus which operated from the VCX - 100 light freighter " Ghost " . They engaged in several operations including raiding Imperial facilities and supply convoys . The Raid . In 5 BBY , the " Ghost " raided an Imperial supply convoy . During the raid , the rebel crew consisted of Hera , Kanan , and the astromech droid Chopper . Following the raid , the " Ghost " was pursued by four TIE fighters . While Kanan manned the " Ghost " turret cannon , Hera piloted the ship . In the ensuing dogfight , the TIEs gained the upper hand over the " Ghost " and managed to inflict damage on the ship ' s deflector shield . As the pursuit progressed , Kanan managed to shoot down two of the TIE fighters . While Chopper complied with Hera ' s orders to repair them , the TIEs continued their assault and managed to knock out the " Ghost " communication system . Unable to contact Kanan , Hera ordered Chopper to cease repairing the shields and restore the ship ' s communications . Chopper exited the cockpit and informed Kanan that he was working on the ship ' s communication system . However , Kanan contradicted Hera ' s orders by telling the droid to repair the shields and to tell Hera to " fly better . " Chopper then returned to the cockpit and relayed Kanan ' s message to Hera . Annoyed with Kanan , Hera decided to take the dogfight into her own hands . She managed to turn the ship around and shoot down one of the two remaining TIE fighters . Hera then ordered Chopper to tell Kanan to take out the last remaining TIE . However , by this stage , Chopper was frustrated with following contradictory orders and instead decided to take matters into his own hands . The astromech droid made his way to the " Ghost " auxiliary ship " Phantom " and used the " Phantom " laser cannon s to destroy the last remaining TIE fighter . Aftermath . Following the dogfight , Kanan and Hera complimented each other for destroying three of the TIE fighters . When Chopper entered the " Ghost " cockpit , the two rebels thanked the droid for taking out the last TIE . As the " Ghost " entered hyperspace , Hera instructed Chopper to repair the ship ' s deflector shields and communication systems . By surviving this dogfight , the " Ghost " and her crew were able to continue resisting the Empire . Behind the scenes . The raid served as the basis for the plot of the " Star Wars Rebels " three - minute shot , " The Machine in the Ghost " , which premiered both online and on Disney XD on August 11 , 2014 . This short was later adapted in other " Rebels " spinoff material including the young readers book " Chopper Saves the Day " and a short story in Michael Kogge ' s chapter book " Rise of the Rebels " .