Rescue of Tseebo

"The secrets in his head must be damaging to the Empire. We'll need to smuggle him off Lothal."

- Kanan Jarrus, regarding Tseebo

During their insurgency against the Galactic Empire, the rebel crew of the Ghost rescued Tseebo, an employee in the Imperial Information Office, after the Rodian defected from the Empire with vital Imperial information. The rescue mission, which occurred approximately four to five years before the Battle of Yavin, took place during the Empire Day festivities marking the fifteenth anniversary of the Proclamation of the New Order. After discovering Tseebo in the home that once belonged to the family of rebel crew member and Padawan Ezra Bridger, the rebels found that the Rodian had information about Imperial troop movements, production schedules, and a five year plan for the Empire's development in the Outer Rim Territories. The rebels knew that such information could be vital for their rebellion against the Empire and, with Tseebo in tow, stole an Imperial Troop Transport for use in escaping from Capital City; the city was under lockdown after the rebels bombed an Empire Day parade.

The rebels were pursued out of the city by Agent Kallus of the Imperial Security Bureau, who, along with Imperials across Lothal, had been searching for Tseebo after his disappearance. They eluded the ISB Agent and escaped onto their ship, the Ghost, whose pilot and captain, Hera Syndulla, rescued her crew from the Imperial pursuit. The Ghost flew into orbit while being chased by a squadron of TIE/LN starfighters, including a TIE Advanced v1 fighter flown by the Jedi hunter known as the Inquisitor. The Ghost escaped but the Inquisitor was able to shoot a tracking device onto their attack shuttle, the Phantom. Upon realizing that the tracking device was on their ship, the rebels decided to split up. Bridger and his Jedi teacher, Kanan Jarrus, would head for the Fort Anaxes asteroid base aboard the Phantom to lure the Inquisitor away from Tseebo. Meanwhile, Syndulla would rendezvous with Ahsoka Tano, Syndulla's contact within a larger rebel movement who operated under the codename "Fulcrum."

While Syndulla safely delivered Tseebo to Fulcrum, Jarrus and Bridger engaged the Inquisitor in a lightsaber duel on Fort Anaxes. The Inquisitor nearly killed Jarrus, but, in a moment of fear, Bridger unknowingly called upon the dark side of the Force to summon a giant fyrnock creature that lived in the abandoned military base. The Inquisitor was distracted by the menacing creature, giving the two Jedi a chance to safely escape and return to the Ghost. Bridger's use of the dark side left him shaken, and Jarrus soon brought him to a Jedi Temple on Lothal in order to ensure that the Padawan was ready to be trained as a Jedi.

Prelude
"Imperial specs on the new TIEs and new T-8 disruptors; schedules of troop movements, tactics, and strategies. Half of it's encrypted, but it looks like there's a five-year plan for Lothal and every other world in the Outer Rim."

- Sabine Wren, revealing information contained in Tseebo's headpiece

During the Age of the Empire, the Galactic Empire took control of the Outer Rim world of Lothal. Two of the planet's citizens, Ephraim and Mira Bridger, sent out rebellious transmissions advocating against Imperial rule on Lothal. Tseebo, a friend of the Bridgers, encouraged them to stop, but they did not heed his concerns and the Empire captured the Bridgers. Feeling the weight of his guilt for being unable to protect his friends or their son, Ezra Bridger, who ended up living alone on the streets of Lothal, Tseebo volunteered to be outfitted with an AJ^6 cyborg construct, a cybernetic device attached to the backside of his head that was designed to increase productivity. Fifteen years after the Empire's rise to power, Tseebo uploaded Imperial secrets into the headpiece and defected from the Empire, hiding out in the Bridgers' old home on Lothal. He intended to use the secrets to make up for failing his friends, and the information he received in the headpiece overwhelmed his mind. The Empire knew that the secrets in his head were critical, and they searched for Tseebo across Lothal in the hopes of finding him.

By that time, Ezra Bridger had become Jedi Padawan and a member of a crew of rebels who operated against the Empire on Lothal. During the Empire Day celebrations marking the fifteenth anniversary of the Proclamation of the New Order, the Empire held a parade in Capital City, bringing out many military vehicles, officers, and soldiers, including an experimental TIE Advanced v1 starfighter. The rebels set a thermal detonator on the fighter and destroyed it, a high profile attack that led the Empire to sent out a heavy military force to find them. The rebels fled into the streets of Lothal, pursued by such forces as Imperial stormtroopers, Agent Kallus of the Imperial Security Bureau, and the Jedi hunter known as the Inquisitor.

Bridger led two of his fellow crewmates&mdash;rebel leader Kanan Jarrus and Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren&mdash;to his old home to use as a safehouse. It was there that they discovered Tseebo hiding from the Empire. Bridger was not pleased to see his parents' old friend, as the Rodian was a reminder of what he had lost. Wren examined the headpiece that Tseebo wore and discovered extensive Imperial records, including information about new weapons and starfighters, military schedules and strategies, as well as a five-year plan for the Empire's development in the Outer Rim Territories. Jarrus knew that the information could prove vital to their rebellion against the Empire, so the rebels decided to get Tseebo off of Lothal and bring him somewhere safe.

Aftermath
"Ezra, when we were on that asteroid, you made a dangerous connection through the Force. Now I have to know that you... are ready."

- Jarrus tells his Padawan that he is worried about the boy's training

Bridger's experience on Fort Anaxes left him shaken, having never dealt with the consequences of the dark side before. He kept to himself at first, but eventually rejoined the normal activities of the crew. Jarrus, however, remained concerned over his Padawan's dark indulgences on the asteroid and needed to ensure that the boy was ready to continue on the Jedi path. He discovered that there was a Jedi Temple on Lothal and brought Bridger to the ancient Jedi structure, where the Padawan was sent in alone in order to face the fears that led him to briefly flirt with the dark side of the Force.

Inside the Jedi Temple, Bridger encountered visions of the Inquisitor killing his friends, who he had come to regard as his new family. Through confronting visions of the Inquisitor, Bridger realized that he was not afraid of dying, but rather was afraid of losing those he cared about and once again being abandoned. Upon this realization, the Inquisitor disappeared. Bridger soon heard the voice of Yoda, the Grand Master of the Jedi Order who had survived the Jedi Purge. Yoda guided Bridger through the remainder of the Jedi Temple while also communing with Jarrus, revealing that he had not been able to see the rebel leader through the Force until Jarrus had taken Bridger as his Padawan. Yoda likewise helped Jarrus face his own doubts and fears, including his sense of inadequacy as a Jedi teacher.

Yoda led Bridger until a chamber deep in the Jedi Temple, asking the boy why he wanted to become a Jedi. The Padawan, at first, felt a sense of anger towards the Empire and a desire to punish them for the injustices they had committed against him and the galaxy, but he admitted that the true reason he wanted to become a Jedi was to help others, just as his friends did. Yoda told him that despite the difficult path that laid before him, Bridger had it within himself to become a Jedi. The boy was granted a kyber crystal, a right of passage for a Jedi, which he used to create his own lightsaber.

Appearances

 * Ezra's Duel with Danger
 * Ezra's Duel with Danger
 * Ezra's Duel with Danger
 * Ezra's Duel with Danger