Operation Handoff

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Operation Handoff

Operation Handoff was a mission undertaken by the rebels to protectSenatorMon Mothma, who publicly condemned the reign ofEmperorPalpatine, and ferry her toDantooine. These events sparked the official formation of various rebel cells into theAlliance to Restore the Republic, with a skirmish occurring in theArcheon Nebula between theGalactic Empire and the rebels ofPhoenix Cell and theMassassi Group in2 BBY, during theearly rebellion against the Empire.

Phoenix Squadron dispatchedHera Syndulla and her crew, theSpectres, who destroyed atactical infiltration pod sent to find her. They met up with Mothma'sshuttle, theChandrila Mistress, and her escorts fromGold Squadron, part of the Massassi Group of rebels. After a brief skirmish with Imperial warships, the rebel teams traveled through the Archeon Nebula using theArcheon pass, a dangeroushyperspace route they hoped would dissuade the Empire from pursuing them. They were tracked, however, by a prototypeTIE/d "Defender" Multi-Role Starfighter and itsTIE/IN interceptor escorts. The rebels managed to elude their TIE pursuers and twoStar Destroyers, commanded byGovernorArihnda Pryce andAdmiralKassius Konstantine, by firingproton torpedoes into the nebula'sgasclouds to damage the Imperial ships.

The rebels safely delivered Mothma to Dantooine, where she broadcasta speech tothe galaxy in which she declared open rebellion against the Empire. This led to the arrival of several rebel cells, which joined together to formally build the Rebel Alliance that would one day be responsible for toppling the Empire and giving rise to theNew Republic.

Prelude[]

Following the end of theClone Wars,Supreme ChancellorPalpatine proclaimed himselfEmperor and transformed theGalactic Republic in to the firstGalactic Empire. Over theyears, the Empire became progressively authoritarian and oppressive towards the galactic population.SenatorMon Mothma became a staunch critic of the Emperor's authoritarian rule in theImperial Senate. While she continued to work in the Senate, she also joined the growing galactic-wide rebellion against the Empire. As time carried on, she grew disillusioned with the Senate's failure to rein in the Empire's excesses.^[2]

Following theGhorman Massacre, Mothma delivered a speech condemning the Emperor's attacks onGhorman, in which she denounced him as a monster.^[5] As a result, she was designated a traitor by the Empire andforced to flee into hiding, with theImperial Security Bureau issuing an alert for Mon Mothma in an attempt to capture her. ISB agents also visitedCantham House on Coruscant, the location of theCantham House meetings, based on suspicions they had, and questionedLeia Organa and several others there.^[1] Following her escape, Mothma gave another speech^[6] in which she denounced the Emperor as a "lying executioner."^[2] Under orders from SenatorBail Organa,Phoenix LeaderHera Syndulla and herSpectres rebel cell were tasked with rendezvousing with Mothma's freighter and herY-wing escorts in deep space. Due to the sensitivity of the mission, the Spectres were given little information about the ship and its passengers.^[2]

While the Spectres waited aboard theGhost amidst the wreckage of two formerConfederacy navy warships, their ship was discovered by atactical infiltration pod. The pod was piloted by anE-XD-series infiltrator droid,^[2] which was part ofGrand AdmiralThrawn's program to scour thesector for rebels.^[7] Following a brief pursuit, the Spectres managed to destroy the infiltration pod but failed to prevent the infiltrator droid from contacting the Empire.^[2] Shortly later, they were joined by Mothma'sshuttle^[4] and her escort.^[2]

The skirmish[]

First attack wave[]

After Mothma'sChandrila Mistress docked with theGhost, the Spectres met with the former Senator's attachéErskin Semaj andGold LeaderCaptainJon Vander. Following a brief argument, the Spectres began refueling Mothma's Y-wing starfighters. While refueling the fifth fighter, the rebel ships came under attack from severalTIE fighters that had been dispatched by anArquitens-class command cruiser and aGozanti-class cruiser, which had both exitedhyperspace. AfterGold Two was wounded, SpectreEzra Bridger took her place and flew her Y-wing.^[2]

During the dogfight, Mon Mothma's shuttle was crippled and the former Senator and her crew were forced to abandon ship and flee aboard theGhost. Meanwhile, Ezra and Gold Squadron managed to use theirion cannons to disable the light cruiser before bombing the ship, critically damaging it. The rebels then fled into hyperspace. Since Mon Mothma wanted to travel toDantooine for an important rebel meeting, Hera agreed to take her through theArcheon pass, a dangerous route through theArcheon Nebula.^[2]

Navigating through the Archeon Nebula[]

Meanwhile, Grand Admiral Thrawn dispatchedGovernorArihnda Pryce andAdmiralKassius Konstantine to capture the rogue Senator. Thrawn's plan involved sending theTIE fighter pilotCommanderVult Skerris in the prototypeTIE Defender and two escortTIE interceptors to flush out Mon Mothma and Hera Syndulla's ships. Pryce and Konstantine, meanwhile, were travelling to the other side of the nebula in twoImperial Star Destroyers to intercept and capture theGhost, which was carrying Mothma.^[2]

Commander Skerris caught up with theGhost and her Y-wing escorts. Skerris's TIE Defender and her TIE interceptor escorts were equipped withdeflector shields that protected them from the radiation of the nebula. Skerris managed to shoot down the Y-wing fightersGold Three andGold Four. In an attempt to lose Skerris, theGhost and its three remaining Y-wing escorts pressed deeper into the Archeon pass.Garazeb Orrelios, who was manning theGhost's rear cannon, was unable to penetrate the Defender's powerful shield. Skerris then acquired a lock on theGhost, butGold Five intercepted the shots with her Y-wing, saving the freighter at the cost of her own life.^[2]

Unable to outrun the TIEs, Hera instructed her crew to shift power to their deflector screens, and brought the group in close to a forming star. One of the TIE Interceptors was destroyed by the intense heat of the protostar. The second fighter was damaged and attempted to pull back, but Zeb destroyed it with his cannon. Flying closer to the star, theGhost began to sustain hull damage from the intense heat. With his shields frying, Skerris was forced to pull back. Ezra and Jon agreed to hold off the TIE Defender while Hera took Mothma and theGhost out of the nebula.^[2]

Escaping Thrawn's snare[]

Outside the Archeon Nebula, theGhost was intercepted by Pryce and Konstantine's Star Destroyers. Pryce demanded that Mon Mothma surrender herself to the Empire. While Mothma distracted Pryce with a list of demands, Hera andChopper worked to repair the ship'shyperdrive. Pryce rejected Mothma's demands, while Konstantine activated their Star Destroyer'stractor beam projector. TheGhost was drawn towards the Star Destroyer'shangar.^[2]

Meanwhile, Ezra and Jon managed to lose the TIE Defender following a protracted chase. While Ezra led Skerris on a chase, Jon fired his ion cannon at the TIE Defender, temporarily disabling it and causing it to plunge into the nebula. The rebel Y-wings managed to escape before Skerris regained control. Ezra and Jon exited the Archeon Nebula just in time to prevent theGhost from being drawn into Pryce's Star Destroyer. Under Hera's orders, Ezra and Jon fired theirproton torpedoes into the nebula. This created an explosion which engulfed Pryce's two Star Destroyers, causing extensive damage to the Imperial ships. With the tractor beam disabled, the rebel ships jumped into hyperspace.^[2]

Aftermath[]

Main article:Declaration of the Rebel Alliance

The Spectres' actions during the skirmish in the Archeon Nebula earned them the respect of Mon Mothma, Captain Vander, and Gold Two. After arriving over Dantooine, Mon Mothma gave a broadcast urging the galaxy to rise up in rebellion against the Empire. This broadcast was witnessed by rebels across the galaxy, includingRyder Azadi andhis cell onLothal and members ofPhoenix Cell atChopper Base onAtollon. Shortly later, theGhost and its Y-wing escorts was joined by arebel fleet which exited hyperspace.^[2] This action ultimately led to the formation of theAlliance to Restore the Republic and marked the beginning of theGalactic Civil War.^[8]

Behind the scenes[]

Operation Handoff first appeared in theStar Wars RebelsSeason Three episode "Secret Cargo," which premiered onMarch 4,2017 onDisney XD. It was first identified as "Operation Handoff" inStar Wars: The Rebel Files.

Appearances[]

• Andor — "Welcome to the Rebellion"(Mentioned only)
• Star Wars Rebels — "Secret Cargo"(First appearance)
• Star Wars Rebels — "The Occupation"(Indirect mention only)

Sources[]

• Star Wars: The Rebel Files(First identified as Operation Handoff)
• Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles
• Star Wars Helmet Collection: Captain RexDatabank A-Z: Valorum–Vassek
• Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition
• Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition
• "Pilots of the Rebel Alliance" —Star Wars Encyclopedia
• Star Wars: Timelines
• Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
• Who Is Mon Mothma? onStarWars.com(backup link)(Indirect mention only)
• Archeon Nebula in theDatabank(backup link)

Notes and references[]