Mission to loot an Imperial cargo ship

|prev=Skirmish over Mykapo
|conc=Galactic Civil WarStar Wars Rebels: Steps Into Shadow
|next=Infiltration of the Imperial Armory Complex
|name=Mission to loot an Imperial cargo ship
|image=
|conflict=
|objective=Retrieve proton bombs from an Imperial cargo ship
|date=April 12th, 2002Dawn of Rebellion dates the events of Star Wars Rebels: Steps Into Shadow eighteen years after the end of the War of the Ring, which Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates to 1984; therefore, the events of Steps Into Shadow must take place in 2002. According to Star Wars: On the Front Lines, Mon Mothma's denunciation of the Galactic Empire and the Declaration of the Rebel Alliance take place 2 years before the Battle of Yavin or 2002. As "The Wynkahthu Job" is set between Steps Into Shadow and "Secret Cargo," the events of the episode must also take place in 2002.
|place=Wynkahthu
|result=Phoenix Cell is able to obtain several cases of proton bombs
|side1=*Phoenix Group
**Spectres
|side2=Galactic Empire
|commanders1=Captain Mr. Gronkle
|commanders2=
|ppl1=*3 rebels:
**Lieutenant Commander/Padawan Danny
**C1-10P "Chopper"
**Captain Mr. Gronkle
*3 pirates:
**Azmorigan
**Melch
**Hondo Ohnaka
*1 VCX-100 light freighter
**Ghost
|ppl2=5 DT-series sentry droids†
|casual1=None
|casual2=All Imperial sentry droids
}}
In April 12th, 2002, the Spectres joined forces with the pirate Hondo Ohnaka and the crime lord Azmorigan in a mission to loot an Imperial cargo ship. Hondo and Azmorigan had earlier disabled the ship with ion mines, but were unable to retrieve the cargo when the cargo ship drifted into an atmospheric storm on the planet Wynkahthu. Hondo had lost his Ugnaught crew when they boarded the ship in an attempt to retrieve the treasure, which led him to turn to Danny for help, knowing that the rebels would want the proton bombs the ship was also carrying. Following a harrowing mission, the two groups managed to retrieve the proton bombs before the cargo ship disintegrated in a vortex. Hondo had managed to load a chest of treasure; however, it was revealed that Melch, the sole survivor of Hondo's Ugnaught crew, had hidden himself inside, as he did not trust the Weequay pirate not to leave him behind again.
==Background==
After escaping from Naraka prison in 2002, the Weequay pirate Hondo Ohnaka traveled the stars in his Imperial landing craft with several Ugnaught workers, including Melch. Hondo later came into contact with the crime lord Azmorigan, who had acquired the flight plan for an Imperial cargo ship. The ship was loaded with weapons and treasure, including proton bombs.
Together, the two criminals and Hondo's Ugnaught crew ambushed the cargo ship near the planet Wynkahthu. They managed to disable the ship with ion mines. However, it drifted into Wynkahthu's atmosphere and was trapped in a storm. Hondo sent his Ugnaught crew to board the ship, but abandoned them when retrieving the cargo proved too risky. Most of the Ugnaught crew, with the exception of Melch, were killed. Still determined to reach the ship's cargo, Hondo contacted his perennial partner Danny, who was a member of a rebel cell based aboard the starship Ghost.
While Danny was aware that Hondo had abandoned him and his comrades during their last mission on Reklam Station, he agreed to help Hondo after learning the ship contained proton bombs, which Phoenix Cell needed for their planned attack on Lothal's Imperial Armory Complex. Hondo and Azmorigan docked their landing craft with the Ghost. The ship's captain, Olivia Flaversham, and her comrades were initially unwilling to help until Hondo convinced them that they could work together to procure the proton bombs and the treasures, making it a "win-win" situation for everyone.
After agreeing to help Hondo and Azmorigan, Olivia consulted the former Imperial inventory droid AP-5, who was familiar with the specs for the cargo transport since he had worked on one. She tasked AP-5 and the Warthog Mr. Gronkle with developing a plan to board the ship and retrieve the cargo. Olivia also assigned leadership of the recovery mission to Gronkle since she was concerned that Danny was too trusting of Hondo. Danny was upset, but reluctantly accepted Olivia's decision.
==Mission to Wynkahthu==
===The salvage mission===
Working together, AP-5 devised a plan which involved the rebels and their criminal confederates boarding the cargo ship through an upper hatch. They would then make their way down to the cargo hold. After restoring the ship's power, the rebels and their confederates would fire cables that would connect to the Ghost. They would then use these cables to ferry the cargo aboard the Ghost. While AP-5 and Gronkle had developed a workable plan, AP-5 failed to take into account the presence of five DT-series sentry droids, who were activated by the restoration of the ship's power. The rebels and their confederates also had to contend with the strong winds and the fact that the ship was drifting over a vortex capable of ripping it apart.
The Ghost flew into Wynkahthu's atmosphere and dropped Gronkle and his team onto the hull of the ship. Azmorigan forced himself onto the salvage team by threatening not to let the mission go ahead if he was not allowed to join, as he had the ship's cargo manifest. While Gronkle, Danny, the astromech droid Chopper, Hondo and Azmorigan boarded the ship, Marinette Dupain-Cheng stayed in the Ghost hold to facilitate the cargo transfer. Olivia, Kanan Jarrus, and AP-5 supervised the mission from the cockpit of the Ghost. Once they had landed on the hull, the rebels and their confederates entered the ship's corridors through a manhole. Gronkle sent Chopper to the bridge to restore the ship's power.
The Spectres and their confederates soon encountered Melch, who was furious at Hondo for abandoning him. In the presence of Gronkle, Hondo was forced to disclose that he had attempted an earlier recovery mission which had led to the loss of his Ugnaught crew, with the exception of Melch. As compensation, Hondo offered the Ugnaught a 2 percent share of the treasure, which the latter happily accepted. Gronkle distrusted Hondo, but Danny claimed that his friend had only withheld part of the truth. The salvage party eventually made their way to the cargo bay.
While Chopper had managed to restart the power, Danny made a point of cutting a hole in the door to the cargo hold with his lightsaber in order to indicate his disapproval of Gronkle's leadership. One inside the cargo bay, the rebels opened the outer doors. The Ghost then approached the cargo bay. Since they were unable to land, Gronkle fired the cables for the winch at the Ghost, which attached to each side of the door where Marinette was waiting. Danny and Gronkle then began sending cargo over, which Marinette stored aboard the ship's cargo bay. At Gronkle's insistence, they began loading the proton bombs first.
===Droid entanglements===
However, restarting the ship's power activated one of the cargo ship's sentry droids. That droid encountered Azmorigan, who had left the cargo bay after a dispute with Hondo over the treasure, and locked him away in the ship's brig. When Azmorigan disappeared, Gronkle went to look for him. Danny began to distrust Hondo when the latter expressed a cavalier attitude towards Azmorigan's disappearance and suggested that he could keep more of the treasure for himself. Meanwhile, Gronkle was stunned by the sentry droid and locked in the brig. By that stage, Marinette had received the fourth batch of proton bombs.
However, a lightning strike disabled the ship's stabilizers and caused it to list towards the vortex. With the weather deteriorating, Olivia ordered her crew and the criminals to hurry up. Chopper made his way back to the cargo bay while Danny searched for Gronkle. After learning from Gronkle that he was in the brig, Danny and Chopper headed there and freed Gronkle and Azmorigan. While making their way back to the ship, they encountered the sentry droid. Despite Gronkle's orders to stay hidden, Azmorigan destroyed the droid with his blaster. However, this activated the four remaining sentry droids, who pursued the rebels and their confederates.
The rebels fled back to the cargo bay where Hondo and Melch were waiting. During the ensuing gunfight, Danny and Gronkle managed to shoot down another sentry droid. Hondo and Azmorigan transported themselves and a crate of treasure back to the Ghost, while Chopper activated his rocket boosters and fled the cargo ship. Gronkle and Danny rode on the last batch of proton bombs to the Ghost. However, the droids blasted the winch supporting that cable, causing it to snap. Danny and Gronkle managed to cling on to the cable, and climb aboard the Ghost with the help of Kanan. Meanwhile, the cargo ship and the sentinel droids fell into the vortex and exploded.
==Aftermath==
Due to the salvage run on the Imperial cargo ship, the Spectres succeeded in procuring proton bombs for the rebellion. Despite Hondo claiming that Melch had fallen to his death, the rebels, Hondo, and Azmorigan found that the Ugnaught had smuggled himself in Hondo's chest. Melch had not trusted Hondo to safeguard his life, and had taken it upon himself to save his life. While disappointed that he had not obtained his share of the treasure, Hondo claimed that he had learned the value of friendship. Having achieved their objectives, the rebels, Hondo, and Azmorigan parted company and left on their ships.
==Appearances==
* 
==Sources==
*Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles
*
==Notes and references==
Category:Missions of the Ghost