Mission to Fondor (Galactic Civil War)

A mission to the planet Fondor took place during the Yavin blockade, as part of the Galactic Civil War. Luke Skywalker managed to acquire the plans of the Executor from the Empire. The mission was the first encounter between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.
==Prelude==
After the Battle of Yavin, Admiral Amise Griff served Supreme Commander Darth Vader as an agent provocateur on the industrial planet of Fondor, a role in which he proved successful. The planet was the location of the Fondor Shipyards, where the Dark Lord's new flagship, the Super Star Destroyer Executor was nearing completion. Admiral Griff infiltrated a cell of traitorous Imperial admirals involved in the Executor construction, regularly reporting on them to the Lord Vader. The officers were not very sympathetically inclined towards the Rebel Alliance, but were growing frustrated of Vader's unique position in the Imperial naval pyramid. By feigning he too shared their disdain of Vader and helping them organizing their operations successfully, Griff eventually became the conspirators' leader.
As the blockade of Yavin 4 was lasting more time than initially expected, the traitorous officers decided to create a plot to humiliate the Sith Lord, by offering the schematics of Vader's new flagship, the Executor, to the Rebels. They then sent a drone craft to the Rebels besieged on Yavin 4 with that offer. Although the Rebels suspected a trap, Luke Skywalker volunteered to carry the mission to Fondor.
==The mission==
Luke Skywalker thus traveled to Fondor in a civilian craft with the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO. When they arrived in the Fondor system, Skywalker was contacted by Admiral Griff, still posing as an ally of the Reion. The officer helped the young man to access the planet and met him at the surface. During the first discussions, Griff lured Skywalker and convinced him that the Rebels could also sabotage the Executor before its completion. As Admiral Griff realized the identity of the Rebel agent, he conceived a new plan to trap the Rebel hero. His idea was to organize a meeting between Skywalker and the conspirators in order to directly incriminate the traitorous officers and capture the Rebel hero as well. Vader agreed with Griff's plan and decided to personally supervise the operation.
Luke Skywalker then met the Imperial officers in Fondor's underground steam tubes. As Vader was deploying stormtroopers in the area, Skywalker felt his powerful dark presence through the Force. The young man decided to cancel the meeting but the traitorous officers refused to consider his warnings. When Imperial troops finally attacked, Skywalker therefore avoided capture while all conspirators were arrested. Thanks to the intervention of Tanith Shire, a young Fondorian woman and Rebel sympathizer, who blinded the stormtroopers by liberating steam in the tunnels, the young Rebel managed to escape the Fondor's underground steam tubes.
==Aftermath==
Luke Skywalker, R2-D2, C-3PO and Tanith Shire eventually left the Fondor system in a stolen drone barge, bringing the Executor schematics with them. Admiral Griff's operation was a complete failure since Skywalker escaped with the plans. On the other hand, Darth Vader was very troubled after feeling the presence of his son for the first time. The Sith Lord understood that Obi-Wan Kenobi might have trained a Jedi apprentice and this could be more dangerous for the Empire than anything else.
==Behind the scenes==
Although it is represented on the cover of the 1992 reprint, Classic Star Wars 4, Luke Skywalker doesn't confront Darth Vader in a lightsaber duel.
==Appearances==
*"Darth Vader Strikes" 
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*A New Hope: The Life of Luke Skywalker 
==Sources==
*Star Wars Encyclopedia
*The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons
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*The New Essential Chronology
*The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
*The Essential Atlas
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*Millennium Falcon Owner's Workshop Manual 
==Notes and references==
Category:Battles of Fondor
Category:Missions of the Galactic Civil War