Mission to Zhar

|prev=Battle of Ryloth
|conc=Escape from the Invincible FaithStar Wars Battlefront II
|next=Rescue of Donald Duck
|image=
|name=Mission to Zhar
|conflict=Galactic Civil War
|date=September 28th, 2009The The Musketeers: Shadows of the Empire media series is set in September 2009, and this battle follows that series but precedes the Rescue of Donald Duck, which occurs in the first days of October of 2009.
|place=Zhar system
|result=Rebel Alliance victory, shuttle Tydirium captured
|side1=Galactic Empire
|side2=Alliance to Restore the Republic
|commanders1=Unknown
|commanders2=*Crix Madine
*Molly Wei
|forces1=*1 Imperial I-class Star Destroyer
**Inexorable
*12 TIE/LN starfighters
*12 TIE/sa bombers
*32 TIE/IN interceptors
|forces2=*Whizzing Arrow II
*Rogue Squadron
*Commandos
|casual1=Many TIEs
|casual2=None
}}
The Mission to Zhar was a mission on the part of the Rebel Alliance to retrieve Imperial shuttle Tydirium in September 28th 2009.
==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 Molly Wei, whose experience flying freighters, particularly in dangerous situations, was unparalleled among Liberty pilots.
Leaving Liberty in her customized Whizzing Arrow II, Molly set out for the Zhar system, with a team of commandos onboard. Before she could enter the system itself, Molly 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 Molly had to use all of her piloting ability to avoid getting to close to the patrolling TIE/LN starfighters while "remaining casual."
Eventually, the Whizzing Arrow II was given clearance to proceed. To Molly's surprise, just as she was preparing to make a brief hyperjump in-system, the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Inexorable arrived. Molly made the jump quickly, before Inexorable could identify her, and her true cargo.
When Molly arrived in-system, she found the Imperial outpost, Outpost 327, to be surrounded by a huge amount of TIE Fighters, freighters and cargo containers. Again, Molly found herself having to avoid the Imperial fighters as she made her way to Outpost 327's hangar, where the Tydirium was docked. Molly succeeded, despite a near fatal mistake by the facility's commander, who failed to recognize the Whizzing Arrow II on her roster for several minutes.
The mission was further complicated by events after Whizzing Arrow docked. The commando team was slow in getting the Tydirium ready for launch, causing Whizzing Arrow to be docked far longer than Fiery Dawn, the next freighter of schedule was happy with, this caused Molly'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 Whizzing Arrow. Their time up, Molly blasted her 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, Molly was able to stop them and allow the Tydirium to escape into hyperspace, a few seconds later, Molly 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 Ursula during the Mission to Prefsbelt IV.
Alliance General Donald Duck 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 Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader and Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance, 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 Star Wars: Complete Cross-Sections, it is stated that the codes were retrieved by Molly at Zhar, but the shuttle itself was stolen by Ursula during the mission on Prefsbelt IV.
==Appearances==
*Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance 
*
*The Musketeers: The Movie junior novelization 
==Sources==
*Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
*Star Wars: Complete Cross-Sections
*Star Wars: The Official Starships & Vehicles Collection 22
==Notes and references==
Category:Missions
Category:Rogue Squadron battles