Battle of Endor

"Today is a day of celebration. We have triumphed over villainy and oppression and have given our Alliance&mdash;and the galaxy beyond it&mdash;a chance to breathe and cheer for the progress in reclaiming our freedom from an Empire that robbed us of it."

- Admiral Gial Ackbar, after the Battle of Endor

The Battle of Endor was the climactic battle that took place during the Galactic Civil War between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire in the Endor system. It saw the destruction of the Death Star II and the deaths of both Darth Vader and Emperor Sheev Palpatine, as well as many major Imperial officers.

A large scale operation from the Rebel Alliance, it was fought on three theatres concurrently. The first was on the forested moon of Endor where a Rebel strike team, led by General Han Solo, assaulted the shield generator protecting the Death Star II and sought to destroy it so as to deactivate the deflector shield surrounding the apparently non-operational battle station. Above Endor, the Alliance Fleet, to be commandeered by Admiral Gial Ackbar on the command ship Home One, would engage the Imperial Navy to create a perimeter for a starfighter attack, led by General Lando Calrissian on the Millennium Falcon, into the superstructure to destroy its reactor core. Finally, although not initially planned by the Alliance High Command, Rebel Commander and aspiring Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker faced his father Darth Vader in combat aboard the Death Star's Throne Room, in order to kill the Emperor and end his reign.

Although the Imperial forces initially held the advantage during the battle, for the Alliance had fallen into Palpatine's trap, the Sith Lord underestimated the Rebellion when its ground strike team joined forces with the many Ewok tribes who lived on the moon and managed to destroy the shield generator. Similarly, Palpatine misjudged Skywalker's resolve not to fall into the dark side of the Force, as well as his apprentice's love for his son. Indeed, Vader betrayed him to save Skywalker and cast Palpatine into the reactor core below them—killing his master, but also fatally wounding himself in the process, as the Emperor turned his powers against him and damaged his life-supporting armor.

Not too long after, Rebel Red Squadron leader Wedge Antilles and Gold Leader General Calrissian entered the Death Star and destroyed its core, starting a chain explosion that would consume the superweapon after Skywalker abandoned the station. As he brought his father's body to the moon below to arrange a funeral for his father in solitude, the Rebel Alliance landed on the forest and began to celebrate the death of the Emperor and Darth Vader, and the decisive blow they had landed on the Galactic Empire. Many planets throughout the galaxy did the same, only to be repressed by Imperial authorities in the case of the festivities on the Imperial capital, Coruscant.

In the aftermath of the battle, the Alliance worked relentlessly to defeat all remaining Imperial remnants, as the assault on the Imperial outpost at the far side of Endor signalled the war was not over yet. Even so, the Alliance began its transition into the New Republic, just as the scattered Imperial remnants struggled to mantain unity. One such attempt would come months later, with a emergency summit on Akiva to organize the short-lived Imperial Future Council, dissolved during the Battle of Akiva, won by the ships of the New Republic Starfleet. Another conflict, the Battle of Jakku, would occur a year and four days after the Battle of Endor. Only then the Empire negotiated a treaty with the Republic, in which remaining Imperial vessels located in the Core and Inner Rim were forced to remain within predetermined boundaries.

Prelude
"The Emperor has made a critical error and the time for our attack has come."

- Mon Mothma

Unlike the Battle of Yavin, the last major battle between the Alliance to Restore the Republic and the Galactic Empire, which had taken place on the ice world of Hoth, had resulted in a disastrous defeat for the Alliance. As they lost the recently-established Echo Base, it forced the Alliance High Command to break the Alliance Fleet into small task forces that would constantly jump from one star system to another, to prevent another defeat for Imperial propagandists to celebrate.

Several months later, the Bothan spynet intercepted information that revealed the Empire was building a second Death Star in orbit over the forest moon of Endor. Thanks to the Bothan spies, the Alliance also learned that the Emperor himself was to oversee the final construction stages of that as-of-then non-operational Death Star, overseen by Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod. Unbeknownst to them, the Emperor, secretly a Dark Lord of the Sith known as Darth Sidious, had foreseen this, and used the event to his advantage; he allowed the Alliance to obtain incomplete information (as the battle station was, in fact, operational) in order to lure the rebellion into a trap.

A week later after the intelligence report reached Rebel Command, its leader, Chancellor Mon Mothma organized a top-clearance meeting on Zastiga to relay this information to the other Rebel leaders. Alongside Admiral Gial Ackbar, commander of the Alliance Fleet, and General Cracken, the chief of Alliance Intelligence, Mothma informed a number of top admirals and generals (such as Admirals Nantz and Massa, and Generals Veertag and Tantor), Shrike leader Caluan Ematt, as well as the rest of the Alliance High Command—General Carlist Rieekan, General Crix Madine, and Princess Leia Organa. After swearing all the Rebel leaders to secrecy, Mothma adjourned the meeting for the next day. After reviewing their strategic options, they decided that their warships would buy time for their starfighters to enter the unfinished superstructure to destroy its exposed reactor core. They would, as well, send a strike team of commandos from Madine's Special Forces to destroy the deflector shield generator protecting the superweapon—though they yet had to secure an Imperial transport to do so. They also decided to use the Sanctuary Pipeline, an hyperspace route that would allow them to go from Sullust directly into the Endor system.

However, their need to destroy the battle station as soon as possible, and the time it would take to gather the scattered fleet without the Empire discovering their intentions, forced them to make a distraction maneuver to allow enough capital ships and starfighters to assemble near Sullust. It was Organa who devised Operation Yellow Moon in order to deceive the Empire into thinking that they were on a recruiting mission on the Corva sector. Successful in their endeavor, not only did Organa's team destroy the Shieldmaiden, they also stole the Lambda-class T-4a shuttle Tydirium, which would prove essential to the infiltration mission to the Endor moon.

Simultaneously, many Imperial vessels gathered in the Hudalla system, including Star Destroyers, attack cruises, light cruisers and more. As a display of the Emperor's power, the assembly intended to attract Rebel attention and confirm the Emperor's arrival to Endor. Indeed, Admiral Ackbar sent Corona Squadron to observe the Imperial ships and obtain as much data as possible, and although the Alliance squadron engaged in a dogfight against TIE/LN starfighters and they lost Corona Three (Smikes), their Imperial pursuers let them escape to inform Rebel Command of the assembly, to make them believe that the Imperial Starfleet was dispersed.

By the time the fleet was nearly assembled, and Han Solo was rescued from Jabba Desilijic Tiure on Tatooine, most leading commanders for the operation had already been chosen, and High Command only needed to debrief all wing leaders and major players of their roles in the upcoming battle. While Ackbar would command the Fleet's efforts, the one leading the starfighter attack as Gold Leader would be General Lando Calrissian. For the leadership of the ground assault team, taking over from the recently-deceased Major Lokmarcha, General Solo volunteered, intending to take out the SLD-26 planetary shield generator. He also lent his prized ship, the Millennium Falcon, to Calrissian for the upcoming battle before leaving the gathering on the Tydirium.

After his arrival at the Death Star, and in spite of reports about the Rebel fleet massing near Sullust, the Emperor had his apprentice and servant, Darth Vader, send the Imperial fleet protecting his project to the far side of Endor, to stay there until called for. He also had Vader go to their main command ship, Vader's own Executor-class Star Dreadnought, Executor, to await further orders.

The ground assault
"An entire legion of my best troops await them."

- Emperor Palpatine

Departing for the Endor system, General Solo's strike team consisted of the Pathfinders, among whom Tuck and Sergeant Kes Dameron served, whereas his command crew for the Imperial shuttle consisted of Leia Organa, Chewbacca, and Commander Luke Skywalker and his droids, R2-D2 and C-3PO. As they entered Endor's orbit, they were faced by Executor and two Imperial-class Star Destroyers, and Solo requested that the deflector shield be deactivated and transmitted the clearance code for shield passage as ordered by a flight controller, under the watchful eye of Admiral Firmus Piett. As the Rebels awaited for the codes to be worth the price they had paid, Vader sensed the presence of his son, Luke Skywalker, aboard the shuttle and allowed them to land on the moon.

Agreeing to use comlinks only as a last resort to avoid alerting the Empire to their presence, the Rebel landing party made their way through the forest, but they were soon spotted by four Imperial scouts troopers, who made use of 74-Z speeder bikes. Although Solo and Chewbaca took out two of them, Skywalker and Organa were forced to pursue the remaining two and two other troopers with the speeder bikes. During the pursuit, however, Organa was separated from the group and (after taking out another two scouts) brought to Bright Tree Village by the Ewok Wicket W. Warrick, prompting Solo to split the strike team. While the Pathfinder squad made their way to the shield generator ahead of them, Solo, Skywalker, Chewbacca and the two droids searched for Organa before going to the rendezvous point.

At the time, Vader returned before his master to report the arrival of the Rebel shuttle and Skywalker's presence in it. Although suspicious of Vader's impartiality regarding his son, the Emperor allowed Vader to go to the moon, claiming Skywalker would go to him, and that then, Vader was to bring Skywalker before him so that he could turn the young man to the dark side of the Force.

During their search for the princess, the group soon fell into an Ewok trap and was captured to become a banquet in C-3PO's honor back at Bright Tree Village, as the primitive species believed the protocol droid to be a god. However, skillful use of the Force allowed Skywalker to trick the Ewoks into believing C-3PO would unleash his "magic" over them if they did not release them at once. After reuniting with Organa, and now considered as their guests, the village in full listened to a story by C-3PO, who used his translator skills to speak Ewokese and communicate with the tribe. During the narration, C-3PO told the Ewoks of all that had led to their presence in their forest—his and R2-D2's service to the Galactic Republic, R2-D2's work during the Clone Wars, the Jedi Order's demise at the betrayal of the clone army, the birth of Palpatine's Empire and the end of freedom, the gradual birth of the Alliance and the message of a boy across the worlds that ignited a spark of rebellion, Organa's mission to Tatooine, the droids' purchase by Skywalker, their encounter with Obi-Wan Kenobi and meeting with Solo and Chewbacca, the destruction of Alderaan by the first Death Star, the princess' rescue and the Battle of Yavin, the Rebel defeat at Hoth, the Millennium Falcon’s escape to Cloud City and Skywalker's fateful duel against Vader. Finally, C-3PO told the Ewoks that the Emperor had constructed another planet-killing "metal moon" above them.

After finishing the story at night, the head of the Council of Elders, Chief Chirpa, discussed with his two best hunters, Teebo and Asha Fahn, with input from their shaman, Logray. Though Logray believed they should not interfere for the safety of the tribe, Chirpa decided to aid the rebels, and thanks to Teebo and Asha's support, he was able to overrule Logray and announce that they would help the Rebel group, now members of their tribe. With C-3PO translating, Solo and the Ewoks agreed to set out for the shield generator first thing in the morning, but also to obtain fresh supplies and give their weapons back.

At the same time, Skywalker chose to leave the village, as he had sensed during C-3PO's narration that Vader had landed on the moon. Aware that he could not hide from his father, he revealed to Organa that he was her brother, and Vader was their father. Skywalker then left her to face the Sith lord in combat alone. Subsequently, he turned himself over to a Imperial patrol in the woods. They proceeded to transport their prisoner on an All Terrain Armored Transport to the shield generator base, where he was greeted by Vader after his landing with the shuttle ST 321. After a short conversation in which Skywalker attempted to turn Vader to the light side, the Sith lord had Skywalker sent to the Death Star above. Meanwhile, the Imperial officer who escorted Skywalker went onto conduct a further search of the area for other rebels.

Unbeknownst to both the Rebel team and the Empire, in the middle of the night, the Ewoks held a council of war in Bright Tree Village. Recalling the tribe members killed and the villages that were destroyed by the Empire, Chirpa convinced the village to take arms against the Empire, as did Asha, whereas Romba said it involved all Ewok tribes. In the end, Chirpa sent a messengers off through the forest to explain it all to the leaders of other tribes, and ask for their help.

The morning after, when the Rebels awoke, they found the village nearly deserted, as those who were able to fight had left to prepare the battlefield under the leadership of Chirpa, Teebo and Asha. A few Ewoks—Romba, Wicket, and Paploo—remained there to help them find the easiest way to the rendezvous point, where Solo presented the Ewoks to the Pathfinders before going to a bit of high ground to get a first look at the military base and shield generator that he had promised to destroy, just as ST 321 departed, transporting Skywalker and Vader to the Death Star. Upon finding how heavily guarded the main entrance was, the Ewoks showed General Solo an alternate entrance, guarded only by a few Imperial soldiers.

At the front of the entrance, Paploo stole an speeder bike to distract most of the guards. Led by General Solo, members of the Rebel strike team entered the bunker with intentions of planting the explosive charges to destroy the shield generator. However, as planned by the Emperor, an entire legion of his best troops awaited them, and flushed the strike team out of the bunker and held them at gunpoint. Unable to destroy the base in time, the arriving Alliance Fleet above was forced to engage the Imperial forces for longer than expected. Soon, however, the Ewok forces entered the fray; as they provided a successful distraction for the Rebel strike team, they also inflicted many casualties among the Imperial ground forces.

During the confrontation, the Imperial forces scattered to fight the Ewoks, leaving the strike team to take up positions on each side of the bunker. As the door code was changed, Solo and Organa attempted to have R2-D2 open it, but a stormtrooper shot the droid, temporarily disabling him and leaving Solo to manually try and open the doors. Unbeknowst to them, Zabrak bounty hunter Jas Emari targetted Leia Organa; however, she decided against it, even though the Imperial bounty on her head was very high.

The space battle
"Admiral! We have enemy ships in sector 47!''" "''It's a trap!"

- A Mon Calamari captain and Admiral Ackbar

Ready to lead the planned attack on the second Death Star, Admiral Ackbar, from the bridge of the MC80 star cruiser Home One, initiated the countdown to enter the Sanctuary Pipeline, and ordered all groups to assume attack coordinates. On his mark, the entire fleet jumped into hyperspace to arrive at the Endor system—all, except for Mon Mothma's ship, which after a moment, she ordered to take her to a safe hiding place to await news of the impending battle.

High above the moon, the fleet reverted to realspace with General Calrissian leading the charge aboard the Millennium Falcon, alongside his co-pilot Nien Nunb, and their gunners Lieutenant Blount and General Cracken. Using the comlink, Calrissian had all wing commanders of his strike force report in: Red Leader (Wedge Antilles), Gray Leader, and Green Leader (Arvel Crynyd). Upon their leaders' orders, all starfighter squadrons locked their S-foils in attack position to initiate the attack on the Death Star. However, as Nunb realized there were no readings about the deflector shield, and their transmission likely were being jammed, Calrissian broke off the attack as he correctly surmised the shield was still up, and the leading Falcon and T-65B X-wing fighters peeled away just before hitting the shield.

On the Home One, Ackbar ordered the capital ship to take evasive action, and that Green Squadron sticked close to holding sector MV-Seven, when one of his controllers informed him of the appearance of enemy ships in sector 47. As calculated by the Emperor, the Imperial fleet on the other side of Endor, composed by more than eleven Star Destroyers and possibly the largest flotilla of Star Destroyers ever assembled, shooted out from their hiding place behind the moon, each one unleashing a swarm of TIE fighters, including TIE/LN starfighters, TIE bombers and TIE Interceptors against the Alliance Fleet. At the same time, the starfighter wings on rearguard mission (like Blade Squadron) had orders to cancel their mission and were reassigned to attack the Imperial fleet.

After Calrissian destroyed three TIE fighter with the help of his crew and an incredibly risky maneuver, the Falcon barely avoided the stray fire from three TIE fighters chasing Antilles' X-wing across their path. After Calrissian's heads-up, Antilles ordered Red Two (Sila Kott) and Red Three to pull in, when another two TIEs came in, and Antilles ordered his accompanying fighters to cut to the left, while he took out the TIE leader. At the same time, the Falcon destroyed two other TIEs, but Antilles noticed the remaining three of the group headed for EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate Redemption. Antilles then knocked out the leader, but not before two X-wings were shot down and the Falcon took a brutal hit to its forward deflectors, and still more TIE fighters bombarded the frigate until the hull started to crack.

It was then that Calrissian ordered all fighter squadrons to accelerate to attack speed and follow him to the encounter of the Executor, in order to draw Imperial fire off their cruisers. The remainder of the Alliance Starfighter Corps and a horde of TIE fighters that rushed to meet their attack collided in a furious cloud of ships, laser bolts, and proton torpedoes, flying in, out, around and sometimes into the Star Destroyers, and mostly producing minor victories for the rebellion. However, the Destroyers themselves would not use their countless cannons to pick off the Rebel fighters, with rare exceptions. The commander of the Executor had the ship maneuvered slightly away from the battle to have a clear shot at the Alliance cruisers, including Ackbar's command ship. However, on the Emperor's orders, Executor was to keep the Alliance Fleet from escaping only, although neither its commander or Admiral Piett knew why, and were eager to join the fight.

Aboard the Vigilance, Admiral Rae Sloane ordered Sapphire Leader Maus Monare to reposition their TIE fighters in a perimeter defense and had his controllers send targeting solutions to the turbolaser crews. Assuming a defensive posture, she complied with Piett's fleet-wide orders to hold the line and keep the Alliance fleet from escaping, aware that it was part of their Emperor's plan. Above them, interdictor cruisers awaited in position to block the Rebels' retreat.

On Blade Leader (Adon Fox)'s orders, his A/SF-01 B-wing squadron and RZ-1 A-wing interceptor escorts headed for Darth Vader's former flagship, Devastator, only for the Imperial cruiser to deploy two dozen TIE Interceptors, commandeered by TIE commander Gradd. In their audacity, even as several B-wings were shot down, the squadron managed to engaged the TIEs in close proximity to Admiral Jhared Montferrat's Devastator. Moments later, both the Rebel and the Imperial fleets understood the extent of the Emperor's design—Palpatine, in the presence of Vader and Skywalker, ordered the Death Star's commander, Tiaan Jerjerrod, to fire when ready. Despite his reluctance, Jerjerrod gave the order, and the Alliance witnessed the firepower of the fully armed and operational Death Star when the Rebel star cruiser Liberty was destroyed by its superlaser.

Taken aback by the attack, and with ships unable to repel firepower of that magnitude, Ackbar issued the order to prepare their retreat. However, General Calrissian convinced the Mon Calamari to continue the fight, and protect the cruisers by moving them as close as they could to the Star Destroyers, and engage them at point-blank range, hoping the Death Star wouldn't dare shoot into its own fleet. Despite the disadvantage, the Alliance forces managed to achieve a few victories—including the destruction of an Imperial-class Destroyer's shield generator dome, although it came at the cost of Red Five (Grizz Frix)'s life. Gray Squadron's Gray Three (Ekelarc Yong), whose craft was crippled by TIE/LN starfighters, was able to aim his craft toward the bridge of a nearby Imperial Star Destroyer.

Green Squadron worked to damage the Executor on Crynyd's orders; against eight TIE fighters, they lost Green Six as they took down two enemy ships. Corona Squadron's leader, the Contessa, as well as Corona Two (Yendor), Corona Four (Thane Kyrell), and Corona Five (Kendy Idele), worked to damage the Star Destroyer Subjugator. Kyrell and Idele, former Imperial pilots, used their knowledge of the Imperial vessel's schematics and fired at the exact spots to hit, taking one of the Star Destroyer's engines, before engaging other TIE starfighters.

Under the watchful eye of Emarr Ottkreg, Sloane suspected something was amiss when her executive officer Nymos Lyle pointed out that the Rebel fleet was not retreating despite the Death Star's attacks. She asked Lieutenant Habbel to keep her appraised of the Endor garrison. Concurrently, the Vigilance’s Sapphire Squadron skirmished with Rebel fighters and went to intercept a trio of Rebel CR90 corvettes that had survived the passage between the Rebel and Imperial lines. As their laser cannon fired continual barrages at the same point of the Vigilance’s protective shields, Sapphire Squadron complied with its orders to engage the targets and fire at will, destroying the corvettes with help of the Vigilance’s turbolasers. Meanwhile, Commander Ciena Ree took her TIE interceptor up over the main bridge area of the Annihilator, and cleared the top of the Star Destroyer.

Demise of the Sith
"Your overconfidence is your weakness.''" "''Your faith in your friends is yours!"

- Luke Skywalker and Emperor Palpatine

Escorted by Vader, Commander Skywalker was brought to the Emperor's throne room in an attempt to turn him to the dark side, shortly before the Alliance Fleet arrived. After telekinetically releasing Skywalker from his binders, the Emperor dismissed his protectors, the Royal Guard, and revealed the extent of his plan to destroy the Alliance. Aware of his Skywalker's anger and hate, the Emperor tempted Skywalker to give in to his emotions and strike him down with his lightsaber.

In spite of his initial refusal to yield to the Emperor's temptations, when faced with the imminent destruction of the Rebel fleet and the loss of his friends, Luke allowed himself to be coerced into fighting. Skywalker engaged his father in a fierce duel within the darkened confines of the throne room; eventually drawing upon his anger to overwhelm and disarm the Dark Lord, following a threat made by Vader to turn Skywalker's sister, Organa, to the dark side in Luke's stead. With one final, vicious strike of Skywalker's blade, Vader's cybernetic right hand was severed, taking his lightsaber with it as it fell into the depths below. Realizing what he would become if he killed his father and claimed his place at Sidious' side, Skywalker threw aside his lightsaber and declared himself a Jedi, as his father had been once before him.

Seeing his refusal to give in to his demands to kill Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith decided to torture and kill the Jedi Knight using his Force lightning. Upon his son's plea for help, Vader grabbed the Emperor with what was left of his arms and lifted his master high in the air, lumbering toward the reactor shaft. Angered by his apprentice's betrayal, Sidious turned a yet more powerful lightning attack on Vader; in his hatred, his only thought was to cause Vader more pain, even though he could still have used his powers to save himself. At the cost of the Emperor heavily damaging his life-supporting armor, Vader hurled his master down into the reactor. By killing the Emperor and ending his reign, the redeemed Anakin Skywalker fulfilled his destiny by restoring balance to the Force.

Final actions
"The shield is down! Commence attack on the Death Star's main reactor.''" "''We're on our way. Red Group, Gold Group, all fighters follow me!"

- Admiral Ackbar and General Calrissian

In the space battle, following the death of Blade One, Blade Squadron's leader was targeted by Gradd and proceeded to maneuver evasively just as Gradd fired his laser cannons; taking heavy damage, Fox executed a roll, taking Gradd by surprise as Fox killed him. Unable to continue, Fox gave the order to his group that if they made it past the fighter screen of the Devastator, they were to execute the primary mission. As Braylen Stramm (Blade Two) became acting commander, and Fanty (Blade Four) peeled out of formation, Gina Moonsong (Blade Three) went onto unleash proton torpedoes on the weak points of the Devastator’s navigational shielding, destroying its hyperdrive and primary generators, and causing the ship to undergo systematic demolition.

Like the Devastator, the Pride of Tarlandia had been heavily damaged and not responding to hails, while both the Vehement and the Tector-class Star Destroyer Harbinger had been destroyed. As for the Vigilance, although three bow deflector generators and one dorsal unit had been damaged, the auxiliary units had kicked in, and the shields had held, while Sapphire Squadron had lost six pilots. Admiral Sloane then had her crew prepare navigational and firing solutions for two different scenarios—either a mop-up operation to disable or destroy the remaining Rebel ships, or pursuit of the nearest concentration of enemy ships should the Rebel fleet break off the attack and flee.

On the moon below, while the Ewok forces continued to fight the Imperials, Chewbacca, Widdle and Wunka hijacked a All Terrain Scout Transport, after taking its drivers out, Blanaid and Major Newland, and made their way to the bunker. After Organa was injured by a stormtrooper, they arrived and Solo used the vehicle's video comlink to impersonate an Imperial and trick the bunker personnel into thinking the Rebels had been routed and were fleeing into the woods. Claiming they needed reinforcements to continue the pursuit, the base commander opened the door and sent a squad, which was promptly captured by the Rebels. General Solo and his men then placed the explosives and destroyed the shield generator.

High above the exploding generator, Ackbar announced the shield's deactivation and order the start of the attack on the Death Star's main reactor. As Stramm informed Ackbar that Calrissian's path was clear after the Devastator’s destruction, he had all surviving units of his group to pull into formation (himself, Moonsong and Fanty), and the squadron went onto help the other fighter wings in their attack against the battle station. Another B-wing pilot, Ten Numb as Blue Five, helped in the assault. On Crynyd's orders, his squadron's members—Green Four, Seven, and Three—protected the Millennium Falcon on its attack run to enter the Death Star. Complying with its original mission, Corona Squadron also protected the Falcon and its accompanying squadrons as it made its way to the battle station.

Seizing the opportunity, General Calrissian called for the remaining fighters from Red Group and Gold Squadron to follow him into the Death Star's superstructure to destroy its reactor core. Leading the charge was Red Leader Wedge Antilles, followed by A-wing pilot Jake Farrell, the Millennium Falcon, and another A-wing. The sole Y-wing starfighter pilot to enter, Norra Wexley, and another X-wing were behind them, pursued by several TIE fighters. As Calrissian's strike force flew through the station's unfinished ventilation shafts, an Imperial pilot shot down one of the X-wings, and Calrissian ordered the rest of the group to split off and head to the surface. As they drew away some of the pursuing TIE fighters, he and Antilles made their way to the core. Simultaneously, Admiral Sloane forbade Flight Leader Monare from entering the Death Star and recalled all Sapphire Squadron fighters.

The assault caused the entire Death Star to jolt wildly, prompting Skywalker to recover his lightsaber, drag his father back to the elevator, and use his memory to find the floor of the docking bay where Vader's shuttle, ST 231, had deposited him hours earlier. After reaching the right floor, Skywalker discovered the Death Star to be in a state of chaos, as troopers, officers, underlings, and construction workers scrambled in every direction. Some raced to repair the damage, some raced to defend the station, and some were expecting the call to evacuate. Skywalker managed to bring his father's body to the shuttle unopposed. Vader would die soon afterwards, but not before confirming his son's assertion that there was still good in him.

To buy Calrissian's group more time, Ackbar ordered to concentrate all fire on the Executor, and the Rebel cruisers closed on the ship, hammering it with fire from every direction. The Star Dreadnought soon lost its bridge deflector shields; Admiral Piett then ordered the ship to intensify its forward batteries. Although the Executor’s gunners destroyed another Rebel X-wing, they also damaged Arvel Crynyd's fighter. Commander Ree tried to stop him from crashing—but was unable to get it in her sights because of its speed and distance away from her —, and the Rebel pilot's damaged A-wing starfighter plummeted into the Executor’s bridge, killing Piett and the bridge crew. The Vigilance moved to flank position on the Executor, as Sloane was aware it would become the fulcrum of not only the battle but also the balance of power in the entire Outer Rim, which meant the flagship had to be defended with every Imperial asset available.

However, it was too late as the loss of its bridge caused the Executor to lose its main power and control, and to smash into the Death Star. Then, as she was informed that the Death Star's chain of command had been fragmented without the Emperor's input, the now ranking Admiral Sloane told her Communications Officer, Ives, to order the surviving captains to recall their TIEs and form up on the Vigilance. Commander Ree complied with the order, but also protected her fellow comrades on their damaged TIEs.

Inside the Death Star, Calrissian and Wedge Antilles soon reached the the main reactor. Antilles fired proton torpedoes at the battle station's power regulator on the side tower, destroying it, prompting Ackbar to order the Alliance Fleet to move away from the Death Star. As the Alliance Fleet broke off their assault on the Imperial line and accelerated away from the Death Star, Sloane killed Ottkreg so that he would not interfere with what was to happen next. Calrissian followed Antilles by launching concussion missiles at the reactor core, causing a chain reaction that would destroy the entire battle station. Receiving orders from Home One, the remainder of Green Squadron and Yellow Squadron were to intercept Imperial launches from the collapsing battle station. Of them, Green Four Shara Bey attempted to shoot down Commander Skywalker's ST 231 shuttle until he identified himself. She then desisted and proceeded to cover him from several TIEs.

At the same time, both the Imperial and Rebel fleets alike moved away from the Death Star, the Millennium Falcon outran the explosion enveloping the battle station and narrowly escaped as the unfinished superweapon's destruction, litting Endor's early evening sky. As per her second programmed scenario, Admiral Sloane had coordinates sent to all Imperial ships and ordered them to jump immediately to the Annaj system, effective ending the battle.

Aftermath
"This is Leia Organa, last princess of Alderaan, former member of the Galactic Senate, and a leader in the Alliance to Restore the Republic. I have a message for the galaxy. Emperor Palpatine&mdash;the greatest tyrant civilization has ever known, responsible for death and suffering beyond measure&mdash;is dead. He and a second Death Star battle station were destroyed by Alliance forces earlier today. This does not mark the end of the Empire. The fight will continue. But you must take this opportunity. Join us in the foundation of a new Republic to be shaped by the will of the governed. Claim your freedom and your future. Help is on the way."

- Leia Organa's holographic transmission to the Anoat sector in the wake of the Battle of Endor

In the immediate aftermath of the battle, Organa revealed to General Solo that Luke Skywalker was her brother, and they and the Pathfinders organized a rendezvous at Bright Tree Village. Above them, Rebel pilots docked their starfighters in the fleet's capital ships or landed on the planet below, but also counted the casualties suffered, and sent their wounded to the medical frigates. Although General Crix Madine was worried of an Imperial counterattack, personnel was shuttled down to the moon, where both the Alliance and the Ewok tribes celebrated their victory through the night. In solitude, Commander Skywalker cremated his father's armor in a funeral pyre, but then joined the celebration with his sister and friends, and reported to the Alliance that both the Emperor and Vader had indeed died during the battle.

During the celebrations on Endor, ISB Loyalty Officer Sinjir Rath Velus, who had been stationed at the Endor base, was forced by the battle to reconsider his life and abandon his post, for which the Imperial records had his name listed among the casualties at Endor. He would kill a Rebel Pathfinder and steal his clothes and identity, only to briefly encounter Jas Emari. At some point, during a short and to-the-point ceremony held on a flight deck, an admiral spoke of duty, sacrifice and heroism, before proceeding to award a Medal of Bravery to all B-wing pilots who had survived the battle—after which all the ceremony participants headed back to their duty stations; all leave were as of then cancelled.

The festivities would extend to other parts of the galaxy, as the Alliance sent word of the battle's outcome and the Emperor's death, and sent out mass communications claiming to be the new power in the galaxy. That same day, Organa sent out a holographic transmission to places such as the Anoat sector, relaying the news of the Empire's defeat and urging citizens to take up arms against the remaining Imperial forces. Anti-Imperial protests erupted on several worlds such as Bespin, Tatooine, Naboo and and even the Imperial capital of Coruscant. Imperial authorities reacted to the protests, sparking riots such as one in Coruscant's Monument Plaza, during which Emperor Palpatine's statue was toppled by Coruscanti citizens.

The next morning, General Solo led an assault to take out a group of Imperial holdouts on the far side of the Endor. After capturing the base, they found numerous communication records and plans regarding the Imperial post-Endor plans.

Concurrently, Imperial Governor Adelhard instituted a Iron Blockade of the Anoat sector and implemented a disinformation campaign in an attempt to mask the Emperor's death and the Empire's defeat at Endor. Adelhard's Purge Troopers were instrumental in instituting his protocols, for any citizens with knowledge of the Emperor's fall&mdash;along with their friends, families, and any other associated parties&mdash;were systematically tracked down, quarantined, and killed. It was not until approximately two months after the Battle of Endor, that a young smuggler managed to uncover an Imperial record of Organa's transmission. The Imperial Starfleet would regroup to plan the next assault and name the next emperor in the wake of the Palpatine's demise. Coruscant remained in turmoil, and Grand Vizier Mas Amedda tried to keep the Empire together even as other forces threatened to tear it apart: namely, the chain of command had been broken.

Indeed, Imperial officers were uncertain which person they served, due to frequent declarations of a new emperor. Yet no one figure was able to consolidate power; instead, these would-be emperors forced Imperial soldiers under their command to fight one another for their ambition, even as the war against the Alliance continued.

Twenty days after the battle's conclusion, after successful Rebel campaigns like the Beltire Liberation and the Battle of Cawa City, an Imperial contingency plan was issued posthumously by Emperor Palpatine—Operation: Cinder, a retaliation maneuver for the Imperial defeat on Endor that called for the scouring of Palpatine's homeworld, Naboo, with the use of climate disruption arrays, as well as attacks against at least a dozen other worlds, including Burnin Konn, Cadovant, Abednedo, and Commenor. Lasting over two months, the Alliance continued operations against the Empire to protect these planets. Naboo itself, as the Emperor's home planet, became a rallying point for Imperial sympathizers, and one of the most contested spots in the galaxy. Following a battle during Operation: Cinder, the Empire sent troops to invade the Mid Rim planet three times (although unsuccesfully) during the Naboo Sieges.

However, thanks to their victory on Endor, the Alliance reorganized itself into the New Republic and continued to wage war against the Empire, fighting to reclaim the Core Worlds. At the same time, it established their authority on worlds of their own, and entire systems were now safe for its agents, where they were no longer hunted. Though the transition had been uneven (and Mothma, Organa, Sondiv Sella, and other top officials could not establish total stability), the provisional Galactic Senate contained only representatives chosen by the will of the people, and the first laws they had passed had righted the worst wrongs of the Empire. Resources were directed towards both the New Republic military and mass cleanups of polluted worlds, as well as reparations for the species enslaved during Imperial rule.

The Empire, meanwhile, splintered into various factions, some of which the New Republic believed had retreated to the Outer Rim to prepare a major offensive against their enemies. Indeed, the heads of the everal major Imperial factions secretly came together on the world of Akiva, assembling part of their troops and starships to determine the future of the Empire.

Summoned by Admiral Rae Sloane, General Jylia Shale, self-appointed Grand Moff Valco Pandion, former Emperor's adviser Yupe Tashu and Imperial banker Arsin Crassus attended the meeting to form the shortl-lived Imperial Future Council. However, the intervention of Captain Wedge Antilles, as well as joint work of Norra Wexley, her son Temmin, his droid Mister Bones, Sinjir Rath Velus, and Jas Emari brought war to Akiva, summoning the New Republic Starfleet to defeat the Empire once again during the Battle of Akiva. Unbeknownst to the Republic, it had been arranged by the Imperial fleet admiral, the Ravager's commander, who had done so as to cull and eliminate the faction leaders, ending part of the Empire's internal warring.

Imperial operations would come to an apparent standby a year and four days after the Battle on Endor. During the Battle of Jakku, the Empire suffered another defeat in the largest battle since Endor. After Jakku, the Empire attempted no further large-scale offensives and negotiated a treaty with the Republic, in which remaining Imperial vessels located in the Core and Inner Rim were forced to remain within predetermined boundaries. Although there was speculation of an imminent Imperial surrender was imminent, the Empire was readying itself for the next stage of the war. Having developed a long-term strategy, the Imperial remnant coalesced as a united front again, hiding in the Queluhan Nebula.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Galactic Defense
 * Lost Stars
 * The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight
 * Star Wars: Battle Pod
 * Star Wars Battlefront
 * Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
 * Return of the Jedi Read-Along Storybook and CD
 * Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side!
 * "The Levers of Power"—The Rise of the Empire
 * Star Wars: Shattered Empire, Part I
 * Star Wars: Shattered Empire, Part II
 * Star Wars: Shattered Empire, Part IV
 * Aftermath
 * Star Wars: Uprising
 * Star Wars: Uprising

Non-canon appearances

 * Epic Yarns: Return of the Jedi