Action at Mustafar

Four years before the Battle of Yavin, Lothal-based Rebel Kanan Jarrus was captured by agents of the Galactic Empire while leading an operation to hijack an Imperial communications tower. He was taken into custody and interrogated by the Inquisitor, ISB Agent Kallus and Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, but even torture failed to extract the information the Imperial officers sought. He was therefore sent on Tarkin's flagship Star Destroyer, the Sovereign, to Mustafar for more intensive interrogation.

To save their captive leader, the rebel crew of the Ghost launched a mission to rescue Kanan Jarrus. Disobeying orders from their Rebel Alliance contact Fulcrum, the Rebels stole an Imperial Gozanti class cruiser, and used it to transport a TIE fighter they had earlier captured, now unfortunately repainted in Sabine Wren's distinctive art style. Leaving their own ship, the Ghost, behind, the Rebels approached Mustafar in the stolen cruiser, only to find the Sovereign surrounded by an armada of Star Destroyers in orbit of the fiery world. Once Ezra Bridger had established via the Force that Kanan was indeed still alive and still held on the Sovereign, the repainted TIE was dispatched and flown by remote to join a passing TIE squadron that was entering the Sovereign's main hangar. Once inside, the colourful TIE transmitted a massive electro-magnetic pulse that disabled the entire Star Destroyer. This done, the Rebels docked their stolen cruiser with the larger ship and boarded it to locate and rescue Kanan, leaving the droid C1-10P aka Chopper in charge of the getaway ship.

Grand Moff Tarkin had however anticipated a rescue attempt and had prepared for this eventuality. Even as Ezra located and rescued Kanan form his cell, the other Star Destroyers in the armada dispatched reinforcements to the Sovereign by shuttle, and seeing these, the unreliable droid C1-10P took the stolen Gozanti cruiser away from disabled Star Destroyer and the armada, effectively cutting off the Rebels' escape. While Sabine, Hera Syndulla and Garazeb Orrelios fought their way to the hangar bay to make their escape in the repainted TIE fighter, having heard from Ezra that he and Kanan were also making their escape, Ezra and Kanan came face to face with the Inquisitor in the Star Destroyer's engineering section. They proceeded to battle the Inquisitor, ultimately defeating him, and then made their escape in his advanced TIE fighter as the Sovereign began to explode and descend into Mustafar's atmosphere, its systems badly damaged by the lightsaber duel between the two Jedi and the Inquisitor. Tarkin was advised to abandon the stricken Star Destroyer and did so also.

But the Rebels' escape was complicated by the unexpected absence of the stolen Gozanti cruiser, without which they could not make the jump to Hyperspace and safety. The two stolen TIEs were attacked by an enormous swarm of Imperial fighters, and by the turbo-lasers of the nearby Star Destroyers, but to the Rebels' great relief Chopper quickly returned in the Gozanti cruiser, unexpectedly bringing with him the Ghost and three distinctly-marked CR-90 corvettes, secretly provided by Alderaanian senator Bail Organa and Rebel Alliance operative Fulcrum. These unexpected reinforcements provided cover while the two stolen TIEs docked with Chopper's cruiser, and the entire Rebel assault force made the jump to light speed, leaving the Imperial orbital armada in disarray. The rescue was thus a success, the Rebels having suffered no casualties other than some superficial wounds. The operation marked a turning point in the development of the Rebel Alliance, the protocols keeping the various Rebel cells around the galaxy secret from one another being changed in the aftermath of the conflict.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal
 * Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal
 * Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal