The rebellion

"Back in the early days, before the Rebellion formally existed, a lot of guerrillas got their hands dirty doing things no one else wanted to do&mdash;or even think about. The Alliance would never have existed without them, Princess. Those men and women were my mentors&mdash;I've spent my entire career trying to live up to their example."

- Major Lokmarcha of the Rebel Alliance, to Princess Leia Organa

The rebellion was a loose network of rebel cells that operated across the galaxy in opposition to the rule of the Galactic Empire several years prior to the Battle of Yavin. The task of the rebellion was to restore the Galactic Republic and obliterate the Empire, led by the menacing Darth Sidious. These cells, which were scattered and had limited communication with one another, were led in secret by Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan and former Padawan Ahsoka Tano. Tano gave missions to the cells under the codename "Fulcrum" to hide her identity. The cells came together to help rescue Kanan Jarrus, one of the leaders of a cell that operated on the planet Lothal. The rebellion was a precursor to the more organized Alliance to Restore the Republic.

Description
"We weren't supposed to meet. That way, if captured, we couldn't reveal the other rebels to the Empire."

- Hera Syndulla

The rebellion was a network of rebel cells operated across the galaxy, with various cells working in opposition to the Galactic Empire. The rebellion was led by Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan and former Padawan Ahsoka Tano. In many cases, members of these cells were not aware of a larger rebel movement, nor did they know there were other cells. The rebellion was designed to operate in this fashion in the interest of self-preservation; if any rebels were caught by the Empire, they would not have any information about the rebellion to give to the Empire. The rebellion did, however, maintain communication with each cell, with Tano feeding missions to the cells under the codename "Fulcrum." These cells included the crew of the Ghost, which operated on and around the Outer Rim planet Lothal; and the Phoenix rebel cell, led by Commander Jun Sato, which included a group of RZ-1 A-wing interceptors collectively known as Phoenix Squadorn, at least five CR90 corvettes and a Pelta-class frigate named Phoenix Home, which was used as a command ship. Following the destruction of Phoenix Home, Commander Sato shifted to a new command ship: a CR90 corvette called the Liberator.

Origins
"Why did you come here?''" "''Because of you, and your apprentice. Many in this system and beyond have heard your message. You gave them hope in their darkest times. We didn't want that hope to die."

- Kanan Jarrus and Ahsoka Tano

The rebellion was loosely formed some time after the end of the Clone Wars, in which Supreme Chancellor Palpatine&mdash;secretly Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith&mdash;declared himself Emperor and transformed the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire. The rebellion, led by Organa and Tano, found rebel cells throughout the galaxy and secretly worked to feed them missions to undertake against the Empire. Five years before the Battle of Yavin, the crew of the Ghost came to Organa's attention after they successfully stopped an arms deal involving illegal T-7 ion disruptor rifles. Organa had sent his two droids, R2-D2 and C-3PO, to handle the weapons, and the droids encountered the Ghost crew. Artoo recorded much of his time with the crew and, once they were returned to Organa, presented the senator with his recordings. After the encounter, the crew received missions from Tano, operating as Fulcrum, though only the owner of the Ghost, Hera Syndulla, knew Fulcrum's identity or any information about the rebellion.

New allies and challenges
"Welcome to the rebellion!"

- Kanan Jarrus, to Fenn Rau

Some time later, the leader of the Ghost crew, the Jedi Kanan Jarrus, was captured by the Empire. His capture came about after the crew infiltrated Lothal's Imperial Communications Center in order to send out a message of hope to the planet's citizens. The attempt was successful and the message was broadcast to Lothal and to many other planets, drawing the attention of both Tano and the Imperial government. Knowing that the cell could be endangered, Tano urged Syndulla to take her crew into hiding. Tano believed that it was the best way to keep Ezra Bridger, Jarrus' Padawan, safe, as he was a source of hope. Jarrus, meanwhile, was taken aboard the Sovereign, the personal Star Destroyer of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. The Empire had learned about the rebellion and hoped to extract information about it from Jarrus, but Jarrus had no information to give them.

Despite Tano's warnings, the crew of the Ghost set out to rescue Jarrus. They infiltrated the Sovereign when it was in orbit of Mustafar, and the crew's droid, C1-10P, contacted "Fulcrum" for assistance. Knowing the importance that the Ghost crew had because of their Jedi crew members, Tano organized a fleet of CR90 corvettes, made up of members of other cells, and brought them to Mustafar, where they helped the Lothal crew escape&mdash;with Jarrus in tow. Once the crew was reunited aboard the Ghost, Tano revealed herself as Fulcrum and told the rest of the crew that they were part of a larger rebel movement.

Following Kanan's rescue, the rebellion suffered a setback when the Phoenix rebel cell was attacked by Imperial forces led by Darth Vader. The crew of the Ghost, who had recently joined the rebellion, had embarked on a mission to rescue a defecting Imperial Minister named Maketh Tua. That mission failed and the rebels barely escaped with their lives in a stolen Imperial shuttle. However, Vader had installed a tracking device on the shuttle which he used to locate the Phoenix fleet. Vader's TIE Advanced starfighter destroyed the Phoenix flagship Phoenix Home and several A-wing starfighters. The remaining rebel ships including the Ghost narrowly escaped Vader's Star Destroyers.

Evading the Empire
In the wake of the near-destruction of the Phoenix cell, the rebellion faced a shortage of bases for their forces. Ahsoka Tano sent the crew of the Ghost to make contact with her old friend, the former Clone Captain Rex. The Ghost rebels traveled to the desert planet of Seelos where they succeeded in making contact with Rex and two other Clone Commanders. In exchange for participating in a hunt for joopas, Rex supplied Kanan with a list of abandoned bases that the rebels could use. After fighting off an Imperial attack led by Agent Kallus, Rex agreed to join the Rebellion.

Using Rex's information, the rebellion gained access to a list of abandoned Republic military bases and facilities. During a mission to salvage medical supplies from an abandoned medical station, several members of the Ghost encountered two Inquisitors known as the Seventh Sister and the Fifth Brother. Following the mission, Hera and Kanan compiled a report on the encounter with the Inquisitors for Commander Sato. At some point, the rebel network's Phoenix cell established a presence on the planet Garel. On one occasion, Commander Sato dispatched members of the network to find energy cells to help the people of the frozen planet Rinn, who were experiencing an energy crisis. With the help of Ezra and Chopper, the rebel network gained access to five power generators from the criminals Hondo Ohnaka and Cikatro Vizago.

Later, the Phoenix rebels delivered relief supplies to the famine-stricken planet Ibaar, which was being blockaded by an Imperial fleet. The Empire had doubled the Ibaarians' work quotas and reduced their rations, creating a famine which threatened the most vulnerable Ibaarians. The first attempt failed and ended with the destruction of the CR90 corvette transporting the supplies. Still, the rebel network persisted and the rebels succeeded in breaking through the blockade with the help of a Blade Wing prototype starfighter, which destroyed one of the Imperial light cruisers. This enabled the crew of the Ghost to deliver supplies to the Ibaarian resistance, which subsequently distributed the supplies. In addition, the resistance gained a new ally in the form of the Mon Calamari engineer Quarrie, who agreed to helped the rebel network produce more B-wing starfighters.

Two crew members of the Ghost including Sabine and Chopper later helped courier the GNK-series power droid EG-86 to several other members of the rebel network on Havoc Outpost, which included the astromech droid R2-D2. EG-86 carried information that was vital to the rebellion. For this mission, the rebels were helped by the Black Sun bounty hunter Ketsu Onyo, who helped them escape an Imperial light cruiser. Later, Commander Sato obtained a new command ship: a CR90 corvette called the Liberator. While searching for a missing patrol in the Del Zennis system, Commander Sato, Ezra, and several other rebels were captured by an Imperial Interdictor, a prototype warship equipped with gravity well projectors capable of dragging ships out of hyperspace. In response, Kanan along with Rex and Chopper staged a rescue mission which ended with the destruction of the Interdictor; dealing a serious blow to Imperial forces.

The rebel network also continued searching for a permanent hidden base that was far from populated worlds. Lacking a permanent base, the Phoenix rebel cell hid in several spaceports scattered across the planet Garel. The Phoenix rebel cell was later forced to flee Garel after the Empire learned of the rebel presence there and sent a fleet to crush them. While most of the rebel ships including the Ghost and Commando Sato's command ship Liberator succeeded in jumping into hyperspace, at least one was shot down.

Following the losses on Garel, Senator Organa sent his adopted daughter Princess Leia Organa to deliver three Hammerhead corvettes to the Rebellion. Since the Alderaanians could not be seen directly supporting the Phoenix rebels, Bail arranged for Leia to deliver the vessels to Lothal, an Imperial-occupied world. There, the rebels would "steal" the ships. However, the local Imperial commander Yogar Lyste had fitted the Hammerhead corvettes with gravity locks. With the help of the former Lothalian Governor Ryder Azadi, Leia and the crew of the Ghost managed to steal the vessel during a skirmish with Imperial forces on Lothal. Thus, the rebels succeeded in delivering the Hammerhead corvettes to the rebel fleet.

With the Empire hunting down the rebels throughout the Outer Rim Territories, the rebels decided to create a new route through the Lothal sector. Sabine identified the Concord Dawn system as a viable route that the rebels could use. The system was home to the Journeyman Protectors, a Mandalorian faction that was led by Fenn Rau, a former veteran of the Clone Wars. Commander Sato sent Phoenix Leader Hera and Sabine on a mission to negotiate safe passage through the Concord Dawn system with Rau. However, Rau had already aligned the Protectors with the Empire and attacked Hera's mission; seriously wounding Hera and killing at least one Phoenix Squadron pilot. In retaliation, Sabine and Kanan infiltrated the Protectors' camp on the third moon of Concord Dawn and destroyed their Fang fighters. The rebels also managed to capture Rau, who agreed to give the rebels safe passage through the Concord Dawn system in return for keeping his capture a secret from the Empire.

As part of the rebel network, the crew of the Ghost took part in a mission to rescue two Lasat refugees at Nixus Hub 218. These Lasat refugees, the former Lasan High Honor Guard Gron and the mystic Chava, were searching for the legendary Lasat refuge of Lira San. The rebels agreed to assist their quest and traveled to Lira San's purported location in Wild Space. After braving a collapsed star cluster and Imperial pursuers, Zeb agreed to fulfill an ancient Lasat prophecy by allowing the Force to guide his bo-rifle and the Ghost safely through the maelstrom. Due to their efforts, the rebels managed to rediscover Lira San, which was revealed to be the original Lasat homeworld. After dropping Gron and Chava on Lira San, the crew of the Ghost returned into the known galaxy.

As Phoenix Squadron began losing more pilots and starfighters in subsequent engagements with the Empire, the crew of the Ghost plotted to steal a Quasar Fire-class cruiser-carrier above Ryloth, to house their fighters, and collaborated with the Free Ryloth movement led by Cham Syndulla, Hera's estranged father. However, Syndulla, singlemindedly obsessed with Ryloth's freedom above the greater galaxy, turned on the Ghost crew and attempted to destroy the carrier as a rallying point for all Ryloth. The Ghost crew recovered and, after seizing control of the carrier, Hera managed to convince her father to believe in the rebellion's cause. Together, the Ghost crew and Ryloth rebels destroyed an Imperial light cruiser, before taking the carrier back to the fleet, achieving both factions' objectives.

During a mission to an Imperial construction module above Geonosis, the rebel Zeb and the Imperial Security Bureau Agent Kallus became stranded on the ice moon of Bahryn. Despite their adversity, the two joined forces to survive the cold and wild beasts. As a result, Kallus gained a better understanding and respect for his rebel opponents. As a result, Kallus became part of a network of rebel informants known as Fulcrum.

Chopper Base
Several months later, Kanan and Ezra's efforts to help the rebellion find a new site for a base were hampered by two Inquisitors known as the Fifth Brother and the Seventh Sister. Ezra and Kanan had traveled to Oosalon but were attacked by the two Inquisitors. Despite escaping the Inquisitors, the rebels were forced to abandon the idea of setting up a base on Oosalon. Kanan's concerns that the Jedis' struggle against the Inquisitor was hampering their efforts to aid the rebellion led him, Ezra, and Ahsoka Tano to travel to the Jedi Temple on Lothal to seek answers from Master Yoda.

The rebellion's Phoenix cell later identified Berzite's moon in the Yost system as a prospective rebel base. Lacking sufficient fuel to travel there, the crew of the Ghost raided the Imperial fuel depot at Horizon Base at the advice of Sabine's friend Ketsu Onyo. Despite obtaining the fuel, the rebel astromech droid Chopper was separated but managed to befriend a maltreated Imperial inventory droid named AP-5. Together, they managed to hijack an Imperial cargo ship. Meanwhile, the rebel fleet came under attack from Imperial forces led by Admiral Kassius Konstantine. The other crew of the Ghost returned in time to unload the fuel, which allowed the rebel fleet's fighter carrier to refuel. AP-5 and Chopper then managed to warn Hera and Commander Sato that the Empire had set a trap in the Yost system. AP-5 managed to send them the coordinates for Atollon, a planet which lacked an Imperial presence. Using AP-5's information, the rebel fleet traveled to the safe haven.

Following the discovery of Atollon, the Phoenix cell established a base on the planet called Chopper Base. While the rebel fleet remained in orbit, several personnel were assigned to the base. Operations to establish the base were spearheaded by the former Clone Captain Rex and Phoenix Leader Syndulla. While the rebels encountered opposition from a nest of krykna, Syndulla managed to rectify the situation by erecting several sensor markers around the base. Shortly later, Kanan and Ezra departed with Tano on a quest to the planet Malachor. On Malachor, Bridger encountered an individual who referred to himself only as "Old Master," who enlisted Bridger to assist him in claiming a Sith holocron within the depths of the Sith Temple on the planet's surface. During the mission, Kanan and Tano recognized him as being the former Sith Lord Maul. The mission to Malachor was ultimately a failure, Tano being lost and Jarrus having been blinded in a duel against Maul. Upon their return to Chopper Base, they continued working on growing and expanding the rebellion.

The rebellion grows
"If we could steal a squadron's worth...''" "''They would be key to building a strike fleet."

- Hera Syndulla and Jun Sato discussing an objective in building a proper fleet

Two years before the Battle of Yavin, the Phoenix cell gained intelligence that the Imperial scrapyard Reklam Station was dismantling thousands of Y-wing starfighters from the Weequay pirate Hondo Ohnaka. Following a dangerous mission to Reklam Station, the rebels managed to steal five Y-wings which were immediately transferred to General Jan Dodonna's unit. In addition, the Phoenix cell gained the attention of the Imperial strategist Grand Admiral Thrawn who embarked on a campaign to hunt down and destroy the rebellion. Prior to that, Thrawn was promoted for wiping out the rebel presence in the Batonn sector. While Agent Kallus was concerned about the high civilian casualties, Governor Arihnda Pryce justified Thrawn's actions on the ground that there were no more rebels there.

Later, Maul attacked the crew of a Hammerhead corvette and lured the crew of the Ghost into a trap. Maul forced Kanan and Ezra to deliver Kanan's holocron and the Sith holocrons in return for sparing his friends. Following a struggle, Kanan managed to free the other rebels and convince Ezra to resist Maul. However, Maul escaped. A rebel convoy later attempted to deliver food supplies to the planet Teralov. However, they were ambushed and destroyed by an Imperial force. Following the convoy incident, Sabine infiltrated the elite Skystrike Academy after learning that several Imperial cadets wanted to defect to the rebellion. As a result of the mission, the rebellion gained two new pilots in the form of Wedge Antilles and Derek Klivian.

The hand of Thrawn
"War. It's all you've ever known, isn't it? You were so young when you survived the Clone War. No wonder you are equipped in spirit to fight us like you do. War is in your blood. I study the art of war. Work to perfect it. But you...You were forged by it."

- Thrawn to Hera

As the rebellion continued to grow, the organization gradually became more and more of a threat to the Galactic Empire. With Imperial forces now under the direct command of the Seventh Fleet's commander, Grand Admiral Thrawn, who had since studied the tactics utilized by the rebellion, they carried out a series of successful attacks against the Rebellion, focusing on the Free Ryloth movement.

During this time, the Spectres undertook a mission to deliver supplies to Cham Syndulla's Free Ryloth Movement. During the course of their mission, they learned that Imperial forces under Thrawn had made military advances in the Tann province. Despite a failed attempt to recover Hera Syndulla's mother's Kalikori heirloom, the rebels managed to escape an attempt by Captain Slavin to capture them.

After that, the former Clone Captain Rex and the Spectres undertook a salvaging mission to recover proton bombs from a wrecked Separatist supply ship on Agamar. There, they encountered a Separatist holdout led by the super tactical droid Kalani. Following a brief conflict, the two sides joined forces to escape Imperial forces. Despite becoming allies with the rebels, Kalani thought that the rebellion had a 1% chance of success against the Empire and departed for parts unknown.

The Imperial Viceroy Gar Saxon, a subordinate to Thrawn, eventually discovered that the rebels were using the Concord Dawn system in order to avoid Imperial sector patrols. Saxon destroyed the Protectors encampment on the third moon of Concord Dawn in an attempt to lure Fenn Rau back. With the permission of the Phoenix rebel leadership, Rau returned with Sabine, Ezra, and Chopper to investigate. After escaping, Rau decided to join the rebellion.

After Commander Sato received information that the Empire was planning to impose martial law on the planet Mykapo, he dispatched Phoenix Leader Syndulla and elements of Phoenix Squadron to evacuate rebel sympathizers. Upon arriving, the flotilla encountered a light freighter, which was engaged in a dogfight with an Imperial advance patrol. Joining forces, the two rebel cells destroyed the TIE fighters and a Gozanti cruiser. As it turned out, the vessel was captained by Commander Sato's own nephew, Mart Mattin, and was crewed by a ragtag group of young insurgents calling themselves the Iron Squadron.

Thrawn, aware of the Rebel presence in the Mykapo system, dispatched an Imperial light cruiser to assess the situation, placing it under the command of Admiral Kassius Konstantine in order to test the officer's questionable capabilities. The admiral was successful in crippling the Iron Squadron's freighter, prompting the crew with the exception of Mattin to escape aboard the Phantom II with the Spectres. The Spectres and the other Iron Squadron members soon returned with reinforcements from Phoenix Squadron to rescue Mattin. During the skirmish, Konstantine's cruiser was badly damaged and most of his forces were destroyed. The rebels fled into lightspeed just as the Chimaera arrived in the system.

Later, the Weequay pirate Hondo and his Jablogian business partner Azmorigan managed to convince the Spectres to help them steal cargo from an Imperial cargo ship by pointing to the presence of proton bombs, a commodity desired by the rebellion. Following a joint mission undertaken by Ezra, Kanan, Chopper and Ryder Azadi's Rebel cell, the rebels discovered that Grand Admiral Thrawn was developing a new starfighter equipped with deflector shields. Kanan and Hera feared that this new starfighter posed a threat to the rebellion's survival.

Using the information stolen by Chopper, Ezra, and Kanan, Hera planned a strike on the Lothal Imperial factory. She then briefed her crew, Rex, and the Phoenix Squadron. Hera gave orders to deploy a small unit and for Ezra to conduct reconnaissance work on Imperial military positions. Before they could proceed with the mission, Ezra succumbed to a dark side vision created by Maul. While Hera and the rest of the Phoenix Squadron proceeded with their mission, Ezra, Kanan, and Sabine followed Maul to Dathomir where they discovered that the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi held the key to destroying the Sith.

Rebel Command later dispatched Saw Gerrera and a team of his Partisans to investigate the apparent disappearance of the Geonosian species. After losing contact with Saw, Senator Bail Organa dispatched the Spectres and Rex to find Saw and complete his mission. The rebels found Saw, recovered a deflector core, and encountered the Geonosian Klik-Klak; who was the guardian of a Geonosian queen egg. While fleeing from Imperial forces into the depths of Geonosis, the rebels discovered evidence that the Empire had perpetrated genocide against the Geonosian species. The rebellion used images of the poison canisters to sway more systems into joining them.

Grand Admiral Thrawn later dispatched several E-XD infiltrator droids to search the Outer Rim for rebel bases. However, Kallus used the rebel identity Fulcrum to warn Zeb about the threat. As a result, Zeb and his fellow rebels Chopper and AP-5 managed to stop the infiltrator droid EXD-9 from infiltrating Chopper Base. They then turned E-XD9 into an improvised bomb that destroyed a Star Destroyer. Despite their efforts, Thrawn was able to narrow the search for the rebel base to 94 systems.

Kanan, Fenn Rau, and Hera later discussed the matter of the Darksaber, an ancient Mandalorian symbol of power and leadership. They saw Sabine Wren as a potential leader who could rally the Mandalorians over to the rebel cause. Hera believed that the Mandalorians could help the rebellion attack the Imperial presence on Lothal. Despite her self-doubt and fears, Sabine agreed to train with the Darksaber under the tutelage of Kanan and Ezra. After completing her training, Sabine along with Kanan, Fenn Rau, Ezra, and Chopper traveled to the Clan Wren domain on the planet Krownest to convince her mother Countess Ursa Wren to support the rebellion. Ursa tried to sell Kanan and Ezra along with the Darksaber to the Imperial Viceroy Gar Saxon but changed sides after Saxon tried to exterminate Clan Wren. Sabine defeated Saxon in combat and regained the respect of her clan. Saxon's death triggered a power vacuum on Mandalore. Despite becoming tacit allies of the rebellion, Ursa decided not to commit her clan's forces to the rebellion since they were still preoccupied with Mandalore's power vacuum.

After the rebellion received intelligence that Grand Admiral Thrawn was monitoring the rogue ISB Agent Kallus' Fulcrum signals, members of the Spectres and Rex took part in a mission to rescue Kallus. As part of the mission, Ezra, Chopper, and AP-5 allowed their Star Commuter 2000 shuttle to be captured by Lieutenant Yogar Lyste's Imperial light cruiser. Rex and Kanan then flew the stolen Imperial landing craft TY992 to rendezvous with Ezra and the droids. The mission was complicated when Thrawn summoned Kallus and Lyste for a meeting aboard his Imperial Star Destroyer Chimaera. During the course of the mission, the rebels and Kallus joined forces to delete Chopper Base's location from Thrawn's star chart and to rendezvous with Rex and Kanan. Kallus opted not to flee wit h the rebels and instead framed Lyste as Fulcrum. Despite Kallus' actions, Thrawn realized that Kallus was indeed Fulcrum but allowed him to continue operating in order to further his hunt for Chopper Base.

Military
The rebellion was served by many military leaders including Jun Sato, Cham Syndulla and many more. They received information from the Fulcrum agents and from Rebel intelligence, they also had the Rebel fleet composed of many ships from multiple rebel cells.

Behind the scenes
The rebellion was first introduced in the animated television series Star Wars Rebels, a show that will chart the formation of the Rebel Alliance. The show's first season focused entirely on the crew of the Ghost, but the first hints of a wider rebel movement were given in the episodes "Droids in Distress" and "Out of Darkness." The rebellion itself was first depicted in the first-season finale, "Fire Across the Galaxy," and is a part of the show's second and third season.