Mission to Ryloth

In 14 BBY, the Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine—secretly Darth Sidious—undertook a secret mission to quell the growing rebellion on Ryloth known as the Free Ryloth Movement and to root out a traitor within the Imperial ranks. Seeking to lure the Free Ryloth rebels out of hiding, Sidious and his Sith apprentice Darth Vader traveled to Ryloth aboard Vader's flagship, the Imperial Star Destroyer Perilous. Officially, their trip was a state visit by Ryloth's Senator Orn Free Taa, who had returned to shore up support for the Empire on his home world.
After learning of the Emperor and Lord Vader's visit, the Free Ryloth movement's leader Cham Syndulla decided to assassinate the Emperor and Lord Vader in order to overthrow the Empire. He was aided by the double agent Imperial Colonel Belkor Dray, who sought the opportunity to use the crisis to discredit his rival Moff Delian Mors. Using Clone Wars droid starfighters and space mines, the Free Ryloth rebels managed to destroy the Perilous. However, they failed to kill either the Emperor, Lord Vader, or Moff Mors. The Sith Lords crash-landed on Ryloth and managed to stay ahead of the Free Ryloth rebels.
Meanwhile, Moff Mors learned about Belkor's conspiracy and reasserted control over the Imperial forces on Ryloth. After killing an entire lylek horde, the two Sith Lords managed to reach a local Twi'lek village. Cham and Belkor closed in on the Sith Lords. In an attempt to hide his dealings with Cham, Belkor attempted to use his V-wing starfighters to bomb both the village and Cham's forces. However, Moff Mors took command of Belkor's fighters and used them to kill the renegade Imperial. Cham and his forces launched their attack on the village but were neutralized by Mors' forces. Despite his failed plot, Cham managed to escape and continue the Ryloth Insurgency.
==Prelude==
===The Ryloth insurgency===
During the Clone Wars, the Separatists invaded and occupied the Twi'lek homeowrld of Ryloth. The planet was liberated by a joint coalition consisting of the Jedi Order, the Galactic Republic and Cham Syndulla's Twi'lek Resistance. The Republic subsequently occupied Ryloth. After the Republic was succeeded by the Galactic Empire, the Empire imposed a protectorate on Ryloth. While Ryloth was nominally independent and represented in the Imperial Senate by Senator Orn Free Taa, real power rested in the hands of Moff Delian Mors, the planetary governor.
The Empire exploited Ryloth for its spice resources. Eventually, a resistance movement known as the Free Ryloth Movement developed under the leadership of Cham Syndulla. By 14 BBY, Cham had succeeded in training hundreds of resistance fighters. He also cultivated a network of friendly contacts and informants across the Ryloth system, established bases, and hoarded material and weapons including several Clone Wars–era Vulture droids and Droid tri-fighters.
In the years leading up to 14 BBY, Cham launched several raids against the Imperials, which killed dozens of Imperial personnel and disrupted the planet's spice trade. Cham was also helped by Colonel Belkor Dray, Moff Mors' second-in-command, who resented his boss. In an attempt to discredit Mors, Belkor supplied the Free Ryloth movement with intelligence on Imperial movements and shipments. Cham also had another spy among Senator Orn Free Taa's staff.
One of Cham's lieutenants Pok and his team successfully hijacked an Imperial weapons shipment at the Yaga Minor shipyards. They managed to escape into hyperspace but were pursued by Darth Vader and a squadron of V-wing starfighters. Despite making multiple jumps, Pok was unable to outrun his Imperial pursuers. Before he could rendezvous with Cham's ship, Vader caught up with the hijacked transport and killed Pok and his team. Following Pok's death, Cham decided to shift from "half-measures" and take stronger action against the Imperial occupiers.
===Laying a trap===
Following the Yaga Minor incident, Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine and his Sith apprentice Darth Vader came to suspect that a spy was leaking information to the Free Ryloth movement. In an attempt to ferret out the spy, the Emperor organized a secret visit to Ryloth. He and Lord Vader would be visiting the planet along with Senator Orn Free Taa, whose official mission was to rally support for the Empire. The Emperor also instructed Vader to inform Moff Mors that Senator Orn Free Taa would be undertaking a state visit to Ryloth aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer Perilous.
As the Emperor had anticipated, a spy among Senator Orn Free Taa's staff leaked intelligence that the two Sith Lords would be visiting Cham Syndulla in ten days. After consulting his lieutenant Isval, Cham decided to contact Colonel Belkor Dray to ascertain that it was not a trap. During the meeting, Belkor indicated he was aware of Orn Free Taa's visit but was ignorant about Palpatine and Vader's visit. Belkor also tried to break his relationship with Cham by threatening to reveal the Free Ryloth movement's hidden bases. However, Cham outflanked him by threatening to reveal all records of their meetings should he betray them. In the end, Belkor agreed to supply intelligence to the Ryloth rebels in return for using Free Taa's assassination to discredit Mors and boost his own character.
Based on the meeting, Cham decided that it was safe for the Free Ryloth movement to proceed with his ambitious plan to assassinate the Emperor and Lord Vader. Cham hoped to bring about the collapse of the Empire through the Emperor's death. For the next nine days, Cham and his fellow rebels including Isval, Gobi Glie, Xira, and Kallon spent their time planning for the assault on the Perilous at an underground base on Ryloth's third moon. Their assault force included a swarm of Clone Wars-era Vulture droids, Buzz droids, space mines, droid tri-fighters, and strike teams disguised as repair crew. Cham was able to assemble the strike force in the margins of the Ryloth system because Colonel Belkor had diverted patrol craft and flight clearances away from the periphery under the pretext that Imperial resources were limited.
==The mission==
===Ambushing the Perilous===
Ten days after Cham received intelligence about the Emperor and Vader's visit, the Perilous exited hyperspace in the Ryloth system. Captain Luitt informed Vader and the Emperor that they had entered a space mine field. The Star Destroyer's deflector shields protected the Perilous from damage. Unable to retreat since they were surrounded by mines on all sides, Vader ordered Captain Luitt to dispatch the Star Destroyer's V-wing starfighters and to double the power to the forward shields. In response, Cham ordered Kallon to activated two dozen modified mines which set up a counter-grid that drained the Star Destroyer's shields.
Kallon's modified mines drained the Perilous shields. When the Imperials discovered this, Vader convinced Captain Luitt to let him lead the V-wings to take out the modified mines. With the Perilous trapped and its shields depleted, the Free Ryloth movement deployed several hundred vulture droids from a nearby asteroid field. While Vader led the V-wings in combat, Palpatine remained aboard to watch the battle unfold. Vader and his V-wings quickly found themselves outnumbered by the Vulture droids and the V-wings. The Perilous hull also sustained damage from the mines.
With the Imperial fighters overwhelmed, Gobi launched a wave of vulture droids carrying hundreds of buzz droids, which were capable of dismantling starships. These vulture droids proceeded to ram the Perilous in an effort to deliver their cargo. Vader and his fellow pilots fought valiantly and managed to shoot down many Vulture droids but were unable to hold back the tide. Using the dark side of the Force, Vader ripped apart a wave of vulture droids, causing the droid fighters and their buzz droids to collide and explode in space. While the V-wings formed a perimeter around the Perilous, Vader returned aboard the stricken Star Destroyer to rejoin his master.
Meanwhile, Isval and a strike team of fighters waited aboard disguised repair ships ready to board the Perilous disguised as repair crew. Upon learning of the attack, Colonel Belkor feigned shock to both his superior Moff Mors and his subordinates. Belkor also learned from Moff Mors that the Emperor and Vader were aboard the Perilous. Belkor dispatched repair ships and fighter escorts to aid the Perilous. He then contacted Cham and learned that the Twi'lek rebel leader's true plan was to kill the Emperor and Vader. Cham forced Belkor to continue with the plan and instructed him to do nothing more than supervise the repair and rescue missions and report for anything suspicious. Unknown to Belkor, the repair ships were carrying Free Ryloth boarding parties.
===Boarding the Perilous===
After Belkor sent a distress signal calling for repair ships to board the Perilous, the Free Ryloth movement launched the second phase of their attack. Three Free Ryloth boarding teams including Isval's Repair Eighty-Three joined a fleet of Imperial and Rylothian repair ships which departed from Ryloth into space. Isval commanded a team that included Faylin, Drim, Crost, and Eshgo. The repair teams discovered that the Star Destroyer was badly damaged and was leaking flames from dozens of onboard fires. Imperial and Twi'lek fire suppression ships began spraying suppression foam on the Perilous. Isval and her team managed to gain permission to land aboard the Perilous by claiming to be a specialist team that would assist with the engine compartment.
Upon boarding Bay 266R, Isval and her repair team were escorted by a Lieutenant Grolt down a turbolift that led to the engine compartment. On the way, Isval shot Grolt in the head with her concealed blaster and hid him inside their antigrav pallet. Isval's team then made their way past two Imperial officers to the hyperdrive chamber. The boarders found their path blocked by four stormtroopers, who were guarding the hyperdrive chamber. Isval tried to convince the stormtroopers to let them through when Grolt's comlink began beeping. As a result, the stormtroopers drew their arms and Isval and her team were forced to kill them as well.
Meanwhile, Darth Vader returned to the bridge of the Perilous. Overcome by rage, he used the Force to levitate and Force choke Senator Orn Free Taa. After throttling Taa, he hurled the Twi'lek to the floor and reported that there was a traitor among his staff. When Captain Luitt asked whether Taa was a traitor, the Emperor reiterated that one of Taa's staffers was a spy. Taa apologized and vowed to help them root our the traitor. The Emperor ordered Luitt to restrict the senator's staff to their quarters and to deny them access to communications equipment and computer terminals. The Emperor then warned a sniveling Taa that the Empire would have to impose harsher measures on Ryloth in light of the insurgency.
After hearing reports of a firefight on Deck Seventeen, Darth Vader realized that the attack by the droid fighters had been a ruse. He ordered Captain Luitt to order the security teams to kill every Ryloth repair team on board. When Luitt protested that there were almost a hundred teams, the Emperor responded that one hundred teams was a manageable number. Meanwhile, Isval and her team forced their way into the hyperdrive chamber and killed the tech officers and engineers inside. They then proceeded to plant explosives and barricaded themselves inside.
Vader led a team of stormtroopers to the hyperdrive chamber. On the way, he killed a Twi'lek repair team and one of the Free Ryloth decoy teams with his lightsaber. Vader used his lightsaber to force his way into the chamber. However, Isvak and her team managed to attach twelve charges to the hyperdrive and its adjacent field amplifiers before fleeing through the opposite door. Realizing that there was only 27 minutes before the bombs exploded, Vader ordered Captain Luitt to order an immediate evacuation of the Perilous. With Vader in pursuit, Isval and her team hid inside a pallet while their human team member Faylin pushed the transport.
The Ryloth rebels managed to find an escort boat but Vader caught up with them. Seeking revenge for Pok's death, Isval fired at the Sith Lord but her comrade Eshgo dragged her aboard. They managed to disengage the docking clamp before Vader could force his way aboard the escort boat. Vader and the Emperor escaped the stricken Perilous aboard a shuttle. By that stage, Senator Taa had also fled the Star Destroyer.
===Hunting the Sith===
After the Emperor and Vader escaped on a shuttle, Isval contacted Cham and convinced him to continue with their plan to kill the two Sith Lords in order to show that the Empire was vulnerable. As part of Isval's plan, Kallon would deploy two dozen droid tri-fighters to distract the V-wings so that Isval's team count hunt down and destroy the Emperor and Vader. Cham agreed to contact Belkor and get him to transmit the ship ID of the Emperor and Vader. Seeking a chance to assassinate his rival Moff Mors, Belkor transmitted both the ship IDs for the Emperor's shuttle and Mors's transport. He claimed that he was not sure which shuttle was carrying the Emperor and Vader.
Both the Sith Lords' shuttle and Isval's escort boat survived the Perilous explosion, which devastated the surrounding space. Back on Ryloth, Colonel Belkor delayed rescue efforts in order to give Cham's rebels a chance to take out Vader, the Emperor, and Mors. Isval's escape boat opened fire on Mors's transport. Mors survived the attack but her pilot Breehld was killed. Isval and Eshgo's escort boat managed to track down Vader and the Emperor's shuttle in the dense debris field. While Vader's shuttle was unarmed, the Sith Lord managed to use the dark side to Force-choke her. The two ships collided and Vader's shuttle crash-landed on the surface of Ryloth.
The Emperor and Vader survived the crash but the pilots and two of the Emperor's Royal Guards perished during the landing. The Emperor ordered the captain of the Royal Guards to kill a wounded comrade. Beside the two Sith Lords and the captain, the other survivor was Sergeant Erstin Deez, a non-clone member of the Royal Guard. The Emperor and Vader resolved to pass the tests that lay ahead or die trying.
Following the destruction of the Perilous, Imperial forces on Ryloth were preoccupied with rescuing survivors of the stricken Star Destroyer. Many escape pods had landed all over the planet's western hemisphere and Ryloth's nearest moon. Imperial authorities were inundated with thousands of distress signals. Meanwhile, Isval and Faylin managed to regain control of their spinning escort boat but Eshgo was killed during the collision. Two other fighters Drim and Grost were killed when the ship's rear compartment was burned during re-entry. Putting aside her grief, Isval and her crew vowed to continue their hunt and tracked down the trajectory of Vader's shuttle.
Cham led a small fleet of a dozen Twi'lek rebel ships towards Ryloth. During the journey, he contacted Isval and learned that she and Faylin were tracking down the crash site of Vader's shuttle. Cham directed four of his ships towards the trajectory of Vader's shuttle. In order to disrupt the Imperial communication network, Cham instructed Belkor to order the garrison stationed at the Equatorial Communications Hub to lower their shields under the pretext of receiving an escort ship carrying wounded VIPs from the Perilous. After some arguing, Cham transmitted the coordinates of Mors' ship as well. Cham and his remaining ships then headed to their Eastern Base to regroup.
Under Cham's orders, Isval and Faylin used their escort boat's guns to bombard the Equatorial Communications Hub, damaging several satellites and created a communications blackout in the region. Meanwhile, the Twi'lek fighter Nordon and his team landed on the planet and began their search for Vader and the Emperor's shuttle. Two of Cham's rebel freighters eventually found the Sith Lords and their guards trudging through Ryloth's equatorial forest. Following a brief skirmish, Vader and the Emperor used their Force powers and lightsabers to deflect the two freighters' firepower back at their crew, causing them to crash their ships in the forests. However, the Imperials were unable to contact reinforcements due to the communications blackout.
===Rising stakes===
Meanwhile, Moff Mors regained control of her ship and flew to the damaged Equatorial Communications Hub. There, she met with the base's commander Major Steen Borkas and discussed her suspicions that Colonel Belkor Dray was colluding with Cham's rebels to assassinate the Emperor and Lord Vader. Borkas confirmed that he had received a questionable order from the Imperial communications center to lower the base's shields in order to receive the escort boat that had attacked base. Mors took charge of the Imperial efforts to search for the Emperor and Vader. While Captain Narrin supervised the efforts to repair the communication station, Mors and Major Borkas led thirty men in her shuttle and a transport to search for the Sith Lords.
Elsewhere, Isval's escort boat regrouped with Cham's ship at a wide clearing. After burying the dead, Cham's forces headed into Ryloth's equatorial forests where they found that their comrade Nordon's ship had crashed in the forest. While exploring the crash site, the rebels came under attack from a swarm of insectoid gutkurrs. The Twi'leks managed to return to the clearing under the cover of gunfire but four rebels were killed by the predators. Having spent most of the Free Ryloth movement's resources during the attack on the Perilous, Cham and Isval resolved to kill the Emperor and Lord Vader in order to free Ryloth and spark a galaxy-wide rebellion.
Meanwhile, Belkor assembled a team of six V-wing pilots under the pretext of search for the Emperor and Vader. He misled his men into believing that Moff Mors was part of the conspiracy that brought down the Perilous. After contacting Captain Narrin, Belkor learned that Mors and Borkas were leading a search party to find the Emperor and Vader. Belkor flew in a search-and-rescue recon craft with his pilot Ophim to the coordinates where Cham thought the Sith Lords had gone down. Elsewhere in the Equatorial forest, the Sith Lords and their Royal Guards were pursued by a horde of insectoid lylek predators. The Sith and their Royal Guard bodyguards used their weapons to fend off the creatures. They fled into a tunnel which led to the lyleks' nests. The Emperor and Vader decided to kill the horde in order to fight their way out.
Continuing their hunt, Cham and his rebels discovered Vader and the Emperor's wrecked shuttle. They found the bodies of two pilots and a Royal Guard. Meanwhile, Belkor and his pilot Ophim searched the skies for Mor's ship but instead sighted Cham's ships in the distance. While pretending to order Cham and his rebels to surrender, Belkor tricked Ophim into vacating the pilot's seat. To hide his dealings with Cham, Belkor then distracted Ophim and killed him by shooting him in the back of the head. Belkor then contacted Cham and queried about the Emperor's shuttle. Cham informed him that Vader and the Emperor had survived the crash.
Belkor chastised Cham for failing to kill Mors in space. He rightfully feared that she had discovered his role in the conspiracy. Belkor and Cham agreed to use Belkor's six V-wings to shoot down Mors' ship. Following some arguing, the two reached an agreement that Cham would give Belkor the coordinates for the Emperor and Vader. As a last resort, Belkor reluctantly agreed to use his V-wings to bomb the Emperor and Vader only if Cham needed them. Cham agreed to help Belkor reach Mors if he helped them to kill the Sith Lords. As night fell, the Free Ryloth movement, Moff Mors' forces, and the renegade Belkor continued their searches for Vader and the Emperor.
While Cham's forces followed the trail left by the lylek horde, the Sith Lords and their Royal Guards fought a fierce struggle against the lylek nest. Following a savage battle, Vader managed to kill the lylek queen. The Royal Guard Sergeant Deez survived the battle but the clone captain was killed during the struggle. The Sith Lords then used their Force powers to clear their passage through a blocked tunnel. This caused an explosion which was detected by Kallon's ship. After realizing the danger that the Sith Lords posed, Cham ordered his men not to approach the Emperor and Vader.
===The conspiracy unravels===
After emerging from the lylek nest, the Sith Lords encountered an adolescent Twi'lek girl named Drua. The Emperor ordered Sergeant Deez to kill her but Vader convinced his master that she could lead them to her village where they could re-establish contact with Imperial forces. The Emperor reluctantly agreed but warned Vader that he had doomed her and her village. Meanwhile, Cham and Isva's forces continued their trek through the equatorial forest, taking care to avoid the ravine since it was full of lylek corpses which would attract other predators. Goll's scouting team sighted the Imperials with Drua.
At the village, the Emperor and Vader posed as lost travelers named Krataa and Irluuk, the ancient Sith words for death and fate. While befriending the Twi'lek villagers including Drua's grandfather Mala, Vader repaired an ancient communications device. The Imperial visitors' presence attracted the interest of the local villagers, who gathered at the villager center to watch Vader repairing the communications device; unaware of their true identity. After Cham and his lieutenants discovered that the Sith had reached an isolated village, they realized that their mission was complicated by the presence of civilians.
Meanwhile, Moff Mors and Major Borkas encountered one of Belkor's V-wing pilots, Wing Leader Arim Meensa. Mors managed to convince Meensa not to shoot them down by emphasizing that they were searching for Lord Vader and the Emperor. After convincing Meensa of Belkor's treason, Mors instructed him and his fellow fliers to send her the coordinates for Vader and the Emperor and to ignore Belkor's orders to attack. As Cham's forces converged on Drua's Village, he ordered Kallon to begin an organize retreat of the Free Ryloth forces to the mountains and to ensure the dispersal of their remaining people and materiel. Cham wanted to preempt the impending Imperial crackdown on Ryloth should his plot to assassinate the Emperor and Vader fail.
After Vader repaired the communications device, Sergeant Deez contacted Moff Mors. Since the Emperor and Vader were in danger, Mors instructed him to remove their from their current location and to send her their new coordinates. Meanwhile, a guilt-ridden Belkor decided to destroy both the Sith Lords and Cham's forces in one strike. He transmitted the coordinates of the Twi'lek village to Wing Leader Meensa; unaware that he was now working for Mors. After Belkor informed the Imperials that communications had been restored, Cham ordered Belkor to send his V-wings to strike Drua's Village. Still believing that he commanded the V-wings, Belkor turned on Cham and revealed his plan to bomb both the rebels and the village with the Emperor and Vader.
===Showdown at Drua's Village===
In order to prevent the villages from being killed, Cham's rebels fired warning shots. The villages fled into a nearby shaft but Vader, the Emperor, and Sergeant Deeze remained in the village center. Meanwhile, Belkor's recon ship encountered Moff Mors' shuttle and transport, which were now accompanied by Belkor's former V-wings. Following a brief confrontation, Mors ordered the V-wings to open fire on Belkor's ship to punish the traitorous Colonel for colluding with the rebels and causing the deaths of hundreds of Imperial personnel. Cham and Isval witnessed Belkor's ship crashing and realized that Belkor had failed.
Unable to launch an airstrike on the village, Cham's forces decided to launch a ground assault. Before they could proceed, they were outflanked by Moff Mors, who landed her two ships on either side of the Twi'lek forces in the quarry. The Free Ryloth rebels were caught by stormtroopers on both sides and many were killed. Mors' V-wings also aided the assault by swooping above the village, unnerving the rebel forces. Mors reinforcements were aided by Vader, who entered the quarry and killed several Twi'leks with his lightsaber.
Vader rushed towards Cham and his team, who tried unsuccessfully to ward off the Sith Lord with their blasters. While Isval held back the Imperials, Cham and Goll escaped aboard their ship with their human pilot Faylin. Cham retreated in order to further the survival of the Free Ryloth movement and because he had a daughter named Hera Syndulla. As they fled, the V-wings began strafing the scattered Free Ryloth forces in the quarry. Vader cornered Isval and Force choked her.
==Aftermath==
After Cham Syndulla had fled into hiding, the Emperor's forces executed the surviving Free Ryloth troops. The Emperor and Vader confronted Isval, who expressed defiance towards her Imperial captors. Following a brief exchange, Darth Vader decapitated Isval with his lightsaber. The Emperor then ordered his apprentice to kill Drua and the other villagers in order to kill any witnesses to the recent events.
Despite the defeat of his plot to assassinate the Emperor and Lord Vader, the Free Ryloth movement continued their resistance struggle against the Empire under a more grizzled Cham Syndulla. Cham's daughter Hera eventually left her father to join the rebellion, disagreeing with the elder Syndulla's focus on Ryloth to the exclusion of the galaxy. In 3 BBY, Hera returned to Ryloth with her rebel cell, the Spectres, and joined forces with Cham's cell to steal a Quasar Fire-class cruiser-carrier for Phoenix Cell. As a result, Cham abandoned his isolationist stance and became an ally of the rebellion.
The following year, the Empire dispatched Grand Admiral Thrawn to deal with the Free Ryloth movement. Using his knowledge of Twi'lek art, history, and culture, Thrawn led Imperial forces to victory in the Tann Province. After Thrawn captured Hera and Ezra Bridger, Captain Slavin attempted to use them as a leverage to force Cham to surrender. However, Slavin's plot was foiled by Hera with the help of her C1-series astromech droid Chopper. Cham's efforts for a free Ryloth were ultimately realized when the Empire abandoned the planet in 5 ABY, a year after the cataclysmic Battle of Endor.Aftermath: Life Debt
==Behind the scenes==
The Mission to Ryloth serves as the main plot of Paul S. Kemp's 2015 novel Lords of the Sith. The conflict is told from multiple points of view including Darth Vader, the Free Ryloth leader Cham Syndulla, his lieutenant Isval, Moff Delian Mors, and Colonel Belkor Dray. While Star Wars: Galactic Atlas places the events of the novel Lords of the Sith, including the mission, in 14 BBY,Star Wars: Galactic Atlas the Biography Gallery of Orn Free Taa's Databank entry places it eight years after the end of the Clone Wars.
==Appearances==
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*Lords of the Sith 
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==Sources==
*Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
*Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – The Official Collector's Edition
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*Dawn of Rebellion 
*Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition
*Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition 
*The Star Wars Book 
*Star Wars: Dawn of Rebellion: The Visual Guide 
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*Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire
*Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
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==Notes and references==
Category:Battles of the Ryloth Insurgency
Category:Missions to Ryloth