Mission to loot an Imperial cargo ship

In 2 BBY, the Spectres joined forces with the pirate Hondo Ohnaka and the crime lord Azmorigan in a mission to loot an Imperial cargo ship. Hondo and Azmorigan had earlier disabled the ship with ion mines, but were unable to retrieve the cargo when the cargo ship drifted into an atmospheric storm on the planet Wynkahthu. Hondo had lost his Ugnaught crew when they boarded the ship in an attempt to retrieve the treasure, which led him to turn to Ezra for help, knowing that the rebels would want the proton bombs the ship was also carrying. Following a harrowing mission, the two groups managed to retrieve the proton bombs before the cargo ship disintegrated in a vortex. Hondo had managed to load a chest of treasure; however, it was revealed that Melch, the sole survivor of Hondo's Ugnaught crew, had hidden himself inside, as he did not trust the Weequay pirate not to leave him behind again.
==Background==
After escaping from Naraka prisonStar Wars Rebels: Steps Into Shadow in 2 BBY, the Weequay pirate Hondo Ohnaka traveled the stars in his Imperial landing craft with several Ugnaught workers, including Melch. Hondo later came into contact with the crime lord Azmorigan, who had acquired the flight plan for an Imperial cargo ship. The ship was loaded with weapons and treasure, including proton bombs.
Together, the two criminals and Hondo's Ugnaught crew ambushed the cargo ship near the planet Wynkahthu. They managed to disable the ship with ion mines. However, it drifted into Wynkahthu's atmosphere and was trapped in a storm. Hondo sent his Ugnaught crew to board the ship, but abandoned them when retrieving the cargo proved too risky. Most of the Ugnaught crew, with the exception of Melch, were killed. Still determined to reach the ship's cargo, Hondo contacted his perennial partner Ezra Bridger, who was a member of a rebel cell based aboard the starship Ghost.
While Ezra was aware that Hondo had abandoned him and his comrades during their last mission on Reklam Station, he agreed to help Hondo after learning the ship contained proton bombs, which Phoenix Cell needed for their planned attack on Lothal's Imperial Armory Complex. Hondo and Azmorigan docked their landing craft with the Ghost. The ship's captain, Hera Syndulla, and her comrades were initially unwilling to help until Hondo convinced them that they could work together to procure the proton bombs and the treasures, making it a "win-win" situation for everyone.
After agreeing to help Hondo and Azmorigan, Hera consulted the former Imperial inventory droid AP-5, who was familiar with the specs for the cargo transport since he had worked on one. She tasked AP-5 and the Lasat Garazeb Orrelios with developing a plan to board the ship and retrieve the cargo. Hera also assigned leadership of the recovery mission to Zeb since she was concerned that Ezra was too trusting of Hondo. Ezra was upset, but reluctantly accepted Hera's decision.
==Mission to Wynkahthu==
===The salvage mission===
Working together, AP-5 devised a plan which involved the rebels and their criminal confederates boarding the cargo ship through an upper hatch. They would then make their way down to the cargo hold. After restoring the ship's power, the rebels and their confederates would fire cables that would connect to the Ghost. They would then use these cables to ferry the cargo aboard the Ghost. While AP-5 and Zeb had developed a workable plan, AP-5 failed to take into account the presence of five DT-series sentry droids, who were activated by the restoration of the ship's power. The rebels and their confederates also had to contend with the strong winds and the fact that the ship was drifting over a vortex capable of ripping it apart.
The Ghost flew into Wynkahthu's atmosphere and dropped Zeb and his team onto the hull of the ship. Azmorigan forced himself onto the salvage team by threatening not to let the mission go ahead if he was not allowed to join, as he had the ship's cargo manifest. While Zeb, Ezra, the astromech droid Chopper, Hondo and Azmorigan boarded the ship, Sabine Wren stayed in the Ghost hold to facilitate the cargo transfer. Hera, Kanan Jarrus, and AP-5 supervised the mission from the cockpit of the Ghost. Once they had landed on the hull, the rebels and their confederates entered the ship's corridors through a manhole. Zeb sent Chopper to the bridge to restore the ship's power.
The Spectres and their confederates soon encountered Melch, who was furious at Hondo for abandoning him. In the presence of Zeb, Hondo was forced to disclose that he had attempted an earlier recovery mission which had led to the loss of his Ugnaught crew, with the exception of Melch. As compensation, Hondo offered the Ugnaught a 2 percent share of the treasure, which the latter happily accepted. Zeb distrusted Hondo, but Ezra claimed that his friend had only withheld part of the truth. The salvage party eventually made their way to the cargo bay.
While Chopper had managed to restart the power, Ezra made a point of cutting a hole in the door to the cargo hold with his lightsaber in order to indicate his disapproval of Zeb's leadership. One inside the cargo bay, the rebels opened the outer doors. The Ghost then approached the cargo bay. Since they were unable to land, Zeb fired the cables for the winch at the Ghost, which attached to each side of the door where Sabine was waiting. Ezra and Zeb then began sending cargo over, which Sabine stored aboard the ship's cargo bay. At Zeb's insistence, they began loading the proton bombs first.
===Droid entanglements===
However, restarting the ship's power activated one of the cargo ship's sentry droids. That droid encountered Azmorigan, who had left the cargo bay after a dispute with Hondo over the treasure, and locked him away in the ship's brig. When Azmorigan disappeared, Zeb went to look for him. Ezra began to distrust Hondo when the latter expressed a cavalier attitude towards Azmorigan's disappearance and suggested that he could keep more of the treasure for himself. Meanwhile, Zeb was stunned by the sentry droid and locked in the brig. By that stage, Sabine had received the fourth batch of proton bombs.
However, a lightning strike disabled the ship's stabilizers and caused it to list towards the vortex. With the weather deteriorating, Hera ordered her crew and the criminals to hurry up. Chopper made his way back to the cargo bay while Ezra searched for Zeb. After learning from Zeb that he was in the brig, Ezra and Chopper headed there and freed Zeb and Azmorigan. While making their way back to the ship, they encountered the sentry droid. Despite Zeb's orders to stay hidden, Azmorigan destroyed the droid with his blaster. However, this activated the four remaining sentry droids, who pursued the rebels and their confederates.
The rebels fled back to the cargo bay where Hondo and Melch were waiting. During the ensuing gunfight, Ezra and Zeb managed to shoot down another sentry droid. Hondo and Azmorigan transported themselves and a crate of treasure back to the Ghost, while Chopper activated his rocket boosters and fled the cargo ship. Zeb and Ezra rode on the last batch of proton bombs to the Ghost. However, the droids blasted the winch supporting that cable, causing it to snap. Ezra and Zeb managed to cling on to the cable, and climb aboard the Ghost with the help of Kanan. Meanwhile, the cargo ship and the sentinel droids fell into the vortex and exploded.
==Aftermath==
Due to the salvage run on the Imperial cargo ship, the Spectres succeeded in procuring proton bombs for the rebellion. Despite Hondo claiming that Melch had fallen to his death, the rebels, Hondo, and Azmorigan found that the Ugnaught had smuggled himself in Hondo's chest. Melch had not trusted Hondo to safeguard his life, and had taken it upon himself to save his life. While disappointed that he had not obtained his share of the treasure, Hondo claimed that he had learned the value of friendship. Having achieved their objectives, the rebels, Hondo, and Azmorigan parted company and left on their ships.
==Appearances==
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==Sources==
*Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles
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*Star Wars: Timelines
*Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
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==Notes and references==
Category:Battles in the Mid Rim
Category:Missions during the Imperial Era
Category:Missions of the Ghost