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Free Ryloth Movement

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This article is aboutthe resistance group against theGalactic Empire. You may be looking fortheTwi'lek Resistance against theConfederacy of Independent Systems, or other uses of the term "Ryloth".

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Free Ryloth Movement

General information

Military unit type

Resistance movement^[1]
Rebel cell^[2]

Organizational information

Commanding officer(s)

General Cham Syndulla^[3]

Headquarters

Ryloth^[1]

Location(s)

Historical information

Notable battles

Formed from

Twi'lek Resistance^[1]

Date founded

c.19 BBY^[9]

"For a free Ryloth!"

―Free Ryloth Movement battle-cry^[1]

TheFree Ryloth Movement (FRM), was a resistance movement led byTwi'lek Cham Syndulla during the reign of theGalactic Empire. The Free Ryloth Movement sought to rid theirhome planet ofRyloth from Imperial occupation, fighting back against the Empire to do so. Later, the Free Ryloth Movement joined forces with theSpectres toremove aQuasar Fire-class cruiser carrier that was bombarding Ryloth. Eventually, the Free Ryloth Movement attracted the attention of the Imperial strategistGrand Admiral Thrawn who studied Twi'lek culture, art, and philosophy and devised tactics that led to the fall ofTann Province.

Description[]

"We've been acting like a tiny band of terrorists for years—"
"Freedom fighters."
"Freedom fighters. But we have ships, hundreds of soldiers, heavy weapons."

―Isval and Cham Syndulla^[1]

The Free Ryloth Movement^[10] was a guerrilla force led by the formerTwi'lek Resistance leaderCham Syndulla. The organization consisted of hundreds of guerrilla fighters that Cham had personally recruited and trained. While most wereTwi'leks, the Free Ryloth Movement was also known to include non-Twi'leks. In addition, the Free Ryloth Movement had many contacts and informants scattered throughout theRyloth system, several hidden bases, and hoarded materiel. Due to the numerical and military superiority of theGalactic Empire'smilitary garrison, the Free Ryloth Movement carried out hit-and-run guerrilla attacks. In addition, Free Ryloth operatives also stole Imperial weapons shipments and freighters from places as far flung as theYaga Minor shipyards. Some known military assets of the Free Ryloth Movement includedspace mines,vulture droids,^[1]rocket launchers, andblurrg steeds.^[4]

History[]

Origins[]

The Free Ryloth Movement was founded shortly after theformation of the Galactic Empire^[5] in19 BBY.^[11] Former members of the Twi'lek Resistance led byGobi Glie, a trustedlieutenant ofGeneral Cham Syndulla, were suspicious of the new galactic government's motives, for reasons including the failure to fulfill a promise made by the Empire's predecessor, theGalactic Republic, to withdrawRepublic Military forces fromRyloth in the wake of the end of theClone Wars. Cham, who had grown tired of war and did not want his daughterHera to live the kind of life he had led, initially cooperated with the Empire, as he believed that his dream of a free and safe Ryloth was close at hand. However, Glie was not the only one of Cham's allies to be suspicious of the Empire, as his wifeEleni began covertly gathering intel on the Empire's activities on Ryloth, which they were tight-lipped about.^[5]

The Empire also refused to leave Ryloth due to its valuablespice resources. Imperial forces occupied the planet and imposed aprotectorate. While Ryloth was nominally independent and was still represented in theImperial Senate by the collaborationistSenator Orn Free Taa, the Empire dominated the planet. In response, Cham formed the Free Ryloth Movement to restore his planet's independence through armed resistance.^[1]

Cham's gambit[]

In14 BBY,^[11] the Free Ryloth Movement had developed into a well-armed and motivated resistancearmy that was backed by a network of informants, hidden bases, and storehouses. The rebels launched several raids against Imperial forces which led to thedeaths of dozens of Imperial military personnel on Ryloth and disrupted the planet's spice trade. Cham's movement was aided byColonel Belkor Dray, an ambitiousImperial officer who supplied intelligence to Cham in order to discredit the rulingMoff Delian Mors. Cham's subordinates includedPok andIsval; with the former stealing Imperialships and equipment and the latter recruiting Twi'lek escorts into the movement and assaulting Imperial personnel.^[1]

After Pok was killed byEmperor Palpatine's enforcerDarth Vader while attempting toescape with a stolen shipment of weapons from theYaga Minor shipyards, Cham decided to shift from "half-measures" towards taking stronger action against the Empire. Viewing the Free Ryloth rebels as a growing threat, the Emperor organized a visit to Ryloth. He was accompanied by Vader, Taa, and his staff. The delegation traveled on theImperial Star DestroyerPerilous. As planned, a Free Ryloth operative among Taa's staff leaked information about the upcoming visit to Cham. The rebel leader saw it as a perfect opportunity not only to attack the Empire but also to decapitate its leadership; thus leading to the Empire's fragmentation.^[1]

Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader were targets of the Free Ryloth Movement in 14 BBY.

Without disclosing the full details of the mission, Cham contacted Belkor and solicited his help for themission. Both agreed to use the Free Ryloth attack as an opportunity to discredit Mors. Putting their plans into action, the Free Ryloth Movement planted space mines around Ryloth. As planned, thePerilous struck the mines and sustained damaged. From the safety of his hidden base, Cham then dispatched vulturedroids to attack theStar Destroyer. After battering the Star Destroyer, Belkor arranged for hundreds of Free Ryloth operatives including Isval to board the Star Destroyer disguised as maintenance crew. The Free Ryloth boarders inflicted heavy damage on thePerilous and killed numerous Imperial personnel. However, they were unable to prevent Palpatine and Vader from escaping inshuttle.^[1]

The Free Ryloth operatives gave chase but were unable to stop the twoSith Lords from escaping intoRyloth's equatorial forest. Mors dispatched Imperial forces to rescue theSith Lords. While taking part in the rescue efforts, Dray leaked information to Cham and arranged for Isval's party to bomb the ImperialEquatorial Communications Hub; damaging its main satellite and imposing a communications blackout. In an effort to confuse the Imperials, Dray also sowed disinformation claiming that Mors was atraitor. Isval and Cham led teams of Free Ryloth fighters to pursue the two Sith Lords and their remainingRoyal Guards while braving dangerous predators such asgutkurrs andlyleks. After the two Sith Lords slaughtered an entire hive of lyleks, the Free Ryloth forces tracked their quarry down to a remotevillage inhabited by formerslaves.^[1]

Meanwhile, Mors discovered Dray's treason and managed to win back control of the Imperial forces taking part in the rescue. In an attempt to hide his links to Cham, Dray tried to orderV-wing fighters to bomb both Cham's forces and the Twi'lek village the Sith Lords were hiding in. However, Mors ordered the V-wings to shoot Dray's ship out of the sky. Dray's death deprived Cham of hisspy in the Imperial government. Still, Cham and Isval decided to proceed with their assault on the village. However, Mors's forces arrived in time to rescue the Emperor and Vader, who proved more than a match for the Twi'leks. The Free Ryloth forces suffered heavy casualties that day and Cham was forced to retreat. Under the Emperor's orders, Vader executed Isval, the Free Rylothprisoners, and the entire village to leave no survivors.^[1]

Over a year after that event, members of the Empire such as Moff Delian Mors presumed that the Free Ryloth Movement had been broken and destroyed by the Emperor himself during that attack.^[12]

Working with the Rebellion[]

In3 BBY,^[13] the Free Ryloth Movement continued its insurgency against the Empire. In response, Imperial forces deployedQuasar Fire-class cruiser-carrier to Ryloth. The carrier was used to houseTIE bombers that ranbombing sorties against the Free Ryloth Movement. This undermined the effectiveness and morale of Cham's rebel forces. Cham found unlikely help in the form of his daughter Hera, who had joined the burgeoning Rebellion as a captain inPhoenix Squadron.Father and daughter had parted company after disagreeing about the Free Ryloth Movement's place in the Rebellion. While Cham was primarily concerned with Ryloth's freedom, Hera believed that their homeworld's freedom was linked to the growinggalactic-wideRebellion against the Empire. Unable to resolve their differences, Hera had left Ryloth with herastromech droid Chopper and become the leader of theSpectres, who were a small cell allied withPhoenix Cell.^[2]

The Free Ryloth Movement captured and made use of a Nu-class attack shuttle. — The Free Ryloth Movement captured and made use of aNu-class attack shuttle.

Cham and his followers, Gobi andNuma, met with Hera and her team aboard theVCX-100 light freighterGhost. While Cham wanted to destroy the Imperialcarrier in order to demonstrate the strength of the Free Ryloth Movement, Hera convinced her father to help them steal it for the Phoenix rebels; who needed a new carrier for theirstarfighters. Cham reluctantly agreed to help and the two rebel teamsmanaged to board the ship using a stolen TIE bomber. However, once they were aboard, Cham and his teamstunned Hera and her rebels. The Free Ryloth rebels then proceeded with their original mission to destroy the carrier. However, Hera and her team managed to break free of their restraints. AfterSabine Wren andGarazeb Orrelios captured and disarmed Glie and Numa in the munitions rack, Hera managed to convince her father to put aside their differences and to work together.^[2]

After father and daughter reconciled, the Free Ryloth rebels and Hera's crew joined forces to prevent the Imperials from recapturing the carrier. During the fighting, the two rebel groups also managed to shoot down anArquitens-class command cruiser. The sight of the burninglight cruiser descending into Ryloth'satmosphere was witnessed by many Twi'leks. This had the effect of emboldening the Free Ryloth Movement and their supporters. The joint cooperation of the two rebel cells in stealing the carrier led Cham to establish a relationship with Hera's rebel cell and the rebellion. As a result, the Free Ryloth Movement found new allies in the form of the rebellion.^[2]

In2 BBY,^[14] a new Imperialcommander Grand Admiral Thrawn was dispatched to Ryloth. TheChiss Imperialofficer studied the Twi'lekspecies' art, culture, philosophy, and history, and he was able to devise successful tactics against the Free Ryloth rebels. Working withCaptain Slavin, Thrawn expelled the Free Ryloth forces from theTann Province, which was the ancestral home of theSyndulla clan. Cham was forced to flee hisfamily home and left behind several priceless heirlooms, including their familyKalikori. While Hera and theGhost crew were conducting a supply run, they learned about the Imperial advances in the Tann Province.^[4]

Cham, along with Numa and Glie, joined forces with Hera's cell in amission to recover theKalikori from the Imperials. While Hera,Ezra Bridger, and Chopper traveled to the Syndulla house, Cham, Numa, Glie, and the other Spectres attacked Imperial forces in a nearby ravine. Hera and Bridger were captured by Thrawn, who added the Kalikori to his art collection. Thrawn then transferred command to Slavin, who contacted Cham and offered to free his daughter and Bridger if he would surrender himself to the Empire. In secret, Slavin planned to capture all of the rebels. However, Hera circumvented Slavin's plan by using Chopper to plant explosives throughout her own home. The two rebel cells then took advantage of the chaos to escape in theGhost. Thrawn was impressed by his opponents' ingenuity and refused to shoot them down on the grounds that they had earned their victory.^[4]

During thePasa Novo campaign, the Free Ryloth Campaign loaned out some of its tacticians, including master strategistKaasha Bateen, to aid its allies atPasa Novo. There, Bateen met smugglerLandonis Balthazar Calrissian, whom she developed feelings for. Bateen later took part in theBattle on Baltro, where she again saw Calrissian.^[8]

Victory[]

"We are a free world now. Thanks to the Twi'lek resistance. Thanks to Cham Syndulla. And thanks to the likes of you, too."

―Tekku Aylay to Yendor^[15]

By5 ABY,^[16] Imperial forces abandoned all of their bases on Ryloth in a wake of a string of defeats against theNew Republic, the government established by the Rebel Alliance. Free Ryloth rebels saw the Imperial retreat as a vindication of Cham's long struggle against the Empire. The rebel fighterYendor Brethen became Ryloth'semissary to the New Republic.^[15] Ryloth subsequently became an independent world but maintained relations with the New Republic.^[17] Brethen also went onto lead theRyloth Defense Authority, a Rylothmilitia group that was philosophically descended from the Free Ryloth Movement. When theFirst Order threatened the galaxy at the dawn of anew war, the RDA would find itself fighting against the regime during anew battle of Ryloth, much as the FRM had fought against the Empire.^[18]