Mission to the Lothal Jedi Temple

Following the rescue of Hera Syndulla, the Spectres undertook a mission to investigate what the Galactic Empire was doing to the Lothal Jedi Temple in 1 BBY. Traveling there with the help of loth-wolves, the Spectres discovered that the Imperial Minister Veris Hydan was trying to unlock a portal that would lead to a realm known as the World Between Worlds, that would allow Galactic Emperor Darth Sidious to control the universe. Ezra Bridger and Sabine Wren infiltrated the camp. While Sabine was captured, Ezra managed to enter the World Between Worlds where he saved Ahsoka Tano. Following a brief trial involving Kanan Jarrus's death, Ezra and Ahsoka escaped the Emperor and returned to their times. Before escaping, Ezra and his fellow Spectres managed to lock the portal, which caused the Temple to sink into the ground.
==Prelude==
Following the death of Kanan Jarrus, his Padawan Ezra Bridger encountered several loth-wolves including a white alpha named "Dume." Kanan had transferred his will into "Dume" following his death. Dume had told Ezra that the Galactic Empire was doing something "terrible" to the Lothal Jedi Temple and given him a stone with symbols that correlated with the hand positions of a mural of the Force wielders outside the Temple. After consulting with his fellow Spectres, Ezra and his rebel comrades decided to embark on the mission together.
Though the Jedi Temple was located far to the north, the Spectres managed to travel by riding loth-wolves, who were capable of traveling swiftly through hyper tunnels. Upon arriving at the Lothal Jedi Temple, they discovered that the Empire and Mining Guild had set up camp outside the Temple and were in the process of excavating objects including paintings and artifacts. The Imperial excavation project was being supervised by Minister Veris Hydan, who had been ordered by the Emperor to unlock a portal leading to the World Between Worlds, a realm that could allow one to alter the course of time and control the universe.
==The mission==
===Behind enemy lines===
Due to the sensitive nature of the Imperial excavation, the Lothal Jedi Temple was guarded by stormtroopers, scout troopers, and elite Death troopers. While Hera Syndulla, Garazeb Orrelios, and Chopper watched from the perimeter, Ezra and Sabine Wren infiltrated the camp. With the help of Zeb, they incapacitated the scout troopers LS-515 and LS-412 and stole their armor. Inside the camp, Ezra and Sabine began to examine the artifacts only to be confronted by Minister Hydan, who had issued orders that no objects were to be touched. When the death trooper commander insisted on checking their numbers and clearance codes, Ezra used a Jedi mind trick to convince him otherwise.
With the help of Chopper, the Specters also intercepted a HoloNet conversation between the Emperor and Minister Hydan. Hydan informed the Emperor that his excavation team had reached the roots of the temple and uncovered a mural similar to the art from the former Jedi Temple relating to the Force wielders of Mortis: the Father, Daughter, and the Son. The Emperor charged Hydan with unlocking the temple so that he could access the conduit between the living and the dead. While Hera wanted to pull back the team, Ezra insisted on proceeding with the mission. In the end, Hera allowed Ezra and Sabine to proceed but warned them to be prepared to exit the mission.
As Minister Hydan ordered that a Mining Guild excavation driller be deployed into position, Ezra and Sabine took an interest in the mural of the Force wielders. Examining a hologram image of the stone, Sabine realized that the symbols of the stone correlated with the hand positions of the Daughter, Father, and Son. While Sabine kept watch, Ezra studied the mural in an effort to find a way to unlock the portal. Sabine was spotted by a pair of stormtroopers, who noted that she was outside a designated patrol area. They brought her to Minister Hydan, who quickly realized that she was a rebel infiltrator.
===Unlocking the Gateway===
Despite Sabine's capture, Ezra proceeded with his quest. He managed to unlock the portal by touching the Daughter's hand, which initiated a chain reaction that caused the loth-wolves in the mural to "walk" to the right. Ezra followed the loth-wolves, which formed a circular portal. Minister Hydan and several Imperial troops soon cornered Ezra but the rebel managed to escape inside the Gateway. Stormtroopers tried to follow but the Gateway sealed behind him, leaving them on the other side. Minister Hydan then turned his attention to interrogating Sabine on how to unlock the portal.
After entering the portal, Ezra found himself inside the World Between Worlds, a mystical dimension that connected all space and time. Ezra also heard the voices of various individuals from the past, present, and future including Jedi Masters Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Darth Vader. Meanwhile, Minister Hydan attempted to enlist Sabine's assistance in unlocking the portal through flattery; taking a particular interest in the changed hand and head positions of the Force wielders on the mural. When she refused to cooperate and taunted him, Hydan had one of his Death troopers slam his blaster rifle butt into her head.
Meanwhile, Hera, Zeb, and Chopper continued to monitor the situation despite losing contact with both Sabine and Ezra. At Hera's prompting, the Spectres infiltrated the camp with the objective of freeing Sabine. Hera decided to activate one of the thrusters under Hydan's mobile command center in order to create a distraction to free Sabine. Hera also tasked Zeb with discretely signaling Sabine when the thruster was ready. Chopper also kept watch over the excavation site.
===A reunion and test===
Inside the World between Worlds, Ezra encountered the convor Morai, a winged bird associated with his old friend Ahsoka Tano. He then stumbled across a portal of Tano dueling with Darth Vader at the Malachor Sith Temple during their ill-fated mission to Malachor two years earlier. As the two fought, Tano struck her lightsaber through the Malachor superweapon, causing the floor beneath to collapse. Before Tano could fall inside the chasm, Ezra pulled her to safety.
After awakening, Ezra reunited with Tano, who was grateful to both him and Morai for saving her. When Tano asked how he got here and where Kanan was, Ezra revealed that two years had passed since their last encounter on Malachor. After Ezra related Kanan's last stand and death, Tano revealed that Kanan had become one with the Cosmic Force and that he had transferred his presence into the loth-wolf known as "Dume." Believing that he could save his late master in the same way that he had saved Tano, Ezra approached a portal which showed Kanan holding back the fiery explosion during their escape from the Lothal City fuel depot.
Realizing that Kanan's sacrifice had enabled the other rebels to escape, Tano convinced the younger Jedi to honor his master's sacrifice because Kanan had found his calling in life. Ezra agreed and realized that this was his master's final lesson. After hearing some rumbling, Tano told Ezra that they had to seal the portal and return to their own times. Before they could do so, the Emperor appeared on the other side of the portal. He attempted to use Sith sorcery to capture Ezra and Ahsoka, two enemies who had eluded the Empire.
===Sealing the Portal===
Back at Hydan's mobile command center, Sabine realized that the Son served as the means for sealing the portal. When Hydan suggested that they could work together, Sabine received a coded signal in the form of knocking from Zeb. Meanwhile, Hera activated the thruster, causing the mobile command center to tilt over and fall on its top. Sabine and her rebel comrades managed to escape the falling command center before it fell on top of several crates in the landing pad. They then headed towards the portal to rescue Ezra.
Meanwhile, Ezra and Ahsoka ran from the Emperor's blue flames, which manifested in the form of tendrils. One of the tendrils caught Ezra's ankle but Ahsoka cut him free with one of her lightsabers. The two then managed to return to their portals, frustrating the Emperor's attempts to capture them. Ezra emerged from the portal just as his fellow rebels arrived. They were pursued by Imperial troops but Chopper hijacked the Mining Guild excavation driller and forced the Imperials to retreat from the portal.
At Ezra's urging, the rebels worked together to seal the portal. Under Sabine's guidance and with Zeb's help, Ezra touched the Son, who then suggested the possibility of changing the future. Ezra fell back onto Zeb, who caught him. The Father then moves his hand as the Son joined his hands and sunk with the Daughter. The rebels then escaped aboard the excavation drill as the Lothal Jedi Temple sunk into the ground, consuming Hydan in the process.
==Aftermath==
Following their escape from the Lothal Jedi Temple, Sabine drove them to safety while Ezra experienced a Force vision from Kanan, who told him that the Force would always be with him. Later, they traveled to the site where Ezra and Kanan had first entered the Temple for his Jedi Trials four years earlier. Ezra and Hera then made peace with Kanan's passing before returning to the driller. The sealing of the portal to the World between Worlds and the sinking of the Jedi Temple frustrated the Emperor's ambition to change the course of time in his quest to dominate the universe.
==Behind the scenes==
The Mission to the Lothal Jedi Temple first appeared in the Star Wars Rebels Season Four episodes "Wolves and a Door" and "A World Between Worlds," which premiered on Disney XD on February 26, 2018.
==Appearances==
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==Sources==
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*Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition 
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*Star Wars: The Secrets of the Sith 
*Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
==Notes and references==
Category:Battles of the Lothal campaign
Category:Missions of the Ghost
Category:Missions to Lothal