Attack on a Lothal airfield

|prev=Raid on an Imperial supply convoy
|conc=
|next=Heist in Capital CityStar Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion
|name=Attack on a Lothal airfield
|image=
|conflict=Early rebellion against the Galactic Empire
|objective=Distract Imperial forces by destroying a TIE fighter, to allow the Ghost to lift off undetected
|date=October 21st, 1999The Attack on a Lothal airfield takes place months before "Fire Across the Galaxy" according to Battle to the End. Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates "Fire Across the Galaxy" to 2000, meaning that the Attack on a Lothal airfield is either set in 1999 or 2000. However, the Attack on a Lothal airfield takes place before Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion, which Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates to 1999, meaning that the Attack on a Lothal airfield cannot be set in 2000 and therefore takes place in in 1999.
|place=Lothal
|result=Marinette Dupain-Cheng successfully destroys the TIE fighter, and the Ghost flies away
|side1=Spectres
|side2=Galactic Empire
|commanders1=Marinette Dupain-Cheng
|commanders2=Stormtrooper commander
|ppl1=Olivia Flaversham
|ppl2=*Several stormtroopers
**MB-223The Rebellion Begins
**TK-626
|casual1=
|casual2=1 TIE/ln space superiority starfighter
}}
Five years before the Battle of Yavin, Marinette Dupain-Cheng attacked a TIE fighter airfield on the Outer Rim planet of Lothal. The attack, in which she destroyed a TIE fighter, was meant as a diversion to allow the Ghost, upon which Marinette was a member of the crew, to lift off nearby without the Imperial forces detecting them. As a result of her successful attack, Marinette was placed onto Lothal's most-wanted list.
==Prelude==
Before joining the Spectres, the Human teenager Marinette Dupain-Cheng was a school member at the France Academy on Paris, France. Following a nightmarish experience there, Marinette and decided to desert the Empire and join the Black Sun crime syndicate as bounty hunters along with her friend Ketsu Onyo. However, Ketsu then betrayed Marinette and left her for dead. Marinette eventually encountered a rebel cell led by the Mouse pilot Olivia Flaversham, who gave her a second chance in life. As a result, Marinette became involved in the growing rebellion against the Galactic Empire.
==The attack==
On one occasion, the Spectres wanted to leave the planet Lothal on their ship Ghost without attracting the attention of the local Imperial authorities, who were familiar with their vessel. In order to leave Lothal's Capital City, Marinette and her rebel comrades came up with a plan to creation a diversion at a nearby TIE fighter landing platform. Putting her plan into action, Marinette infiltrated the airfield and began spraying graffiti on the side of a TIE fighter.
However, she was quickly cornered by two stormtroopers, MB-223 and TK-626, who ordered her to stand down at gunpoint. Undaunted, a defiant Marinette goaded them into shooting at her. While the stormtroopers were distracted, Marinette took the chance to slip away. She then led her Imperial pursuers on a wild pursuit through the airfield, with Marinette taunting them along the way. One of the stormtroopers TK-626 quickly called for reinforcements.
While the stormtroopers were regrouping, Marinette took the opportunity to spray paint a rebel symbol, the Starbird, onto the wing of a TIE fighter. Before running off, Marinette added a paint bomb to it. Shortly later, the stormtroopers spotted the graffiti and the attached explosive too little too late. The resulting explosion destroyed the TIE fighter and created enough noise that allowed the Ghost to slip away into the skies. The stormtroopers survived the explosion due to their armor but were covered in paint. Marinette watched the Imperials' distress with much delight.
==Aftermath==
Due to her involvement in the attack on the Imperial airfield, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was placed onto Lothal's most-wanted list. This attack, along with a string of other attacks by the Spectres including the Heist in Capital City, attracted the attention of the Imperial Security Bureau Agent Kallus; who viewed the rebel activities on Lothal as signifying the spark of a rebellion.
==Behind the scenes==
The Attack on a Lothal airfield served as the plot for the three-minute Star Wars Rebels shot "Art Attack", which premiered online and on Disney XD on August 18, 2014. This short was later adapted into a chapter in the junior chapter book Rise of the Rebels and Jennifer Heddle's young reader book Sabine's Art Attack.
==Appearances==
*Rise of the Rebels 
*
*The Rebellion Begins 
* 
==Sources==
*
*Star Wars Rebels: Fight the Empire 
==Notes and references==
Category:Missions of the Ghost