Raid on the Suprosa

The Raid on the Suprosa was a battle in the Galactic Civil War in which the Death Star II plans were secured.

Prelude
The Imperial freighter Suprosa was carrying secret Imperial construction data from Coruscant to Bothawui under an XTS contract, under the guise of hauling fertilizer. Black Sun leader Prince Xizor leaked information concerning the construction project to the Bothan Spynet, who learned of the freighter's schedule. Spynet leader Koth Melan then turned the information over to the Rebel Alliance through Luke Skywalker and Dash Rendar.

The battle
Striking from a hidden Rebel outpost on Bothawui, twelve Blue Squadron BTL-S3 Y-wings, piloted by Bothan pilots and Alliance pilot Ace Azzameen, led by Skywalker, Rendar, and Melan, ambushed the ship as it exited hyperspace. Suprosa responded by firing a single diamond boron missile which Rendar hit, but failed to destroy. The missile hit four Bothan Y-wings, destroying them. Six Y-wings were lost in total during the battle.

After concentrated fire brought down the Suprosa's engines, The freighter's pilot surrendered, and Rendar and Melan, leading a team of Bothans, boarded the ship in the Outrider to capture the supercomputer, which was later determined to be holding the location and plans of the Second Death Star.

Infiltration
Rendar ripped through inner defenses and into the hangar. A Loader droid, normally used for moving supplies through Imperial hangars, recognized Rendar as a hostile and used its spring-loaded arms against Rendar.

Rendar blasted the droid down, and opened the hangar, allowing Luke Skywalker and Koth Melan to land in the ship and secure the plans.

Imperial Ambush
After capturing the plans, Koth Melan told Skywalker that the computer was being encrypted and protected by a self destruct device, and that a special Bothan encryption team on Kothlis would be able to access its contents. However, while en route to Kothlis, the party was attacked by the Immobilizer 418 cruiser Claw and the Victory I-class Star Destroyer Hunter. However, the Claw was driven off by Blue Squadron, and the Rebels managed to arrive at Kothlis.

Aftermath
"Many Bothans died to bring us this information."

- Mon Mothma, before the Battle of Endor

Although clearly a Rebel victory, the battle was a trap laid by Black Sun and Palpatine. The Imperial data carried by the freighter were the plans to the second Death Star. The plans were, in truth, outdated, and the second Death Star was fully operational, unlike what the schematics read. With the success of the battle, the Alliance had gained trust in the crime lord Xizor.

The plans were moved to Kothlis, where Koth Melan and Bothan technicians helped decode the data. A bounty hunter raid, led by Skahtul, captured Skywalker and killed Melan. The plans managed to reach the CR90 corvette Razor over the planet, which was attacked by Darth Vader aboard the Executor, supported by the Avenger, who had come to Kothlis to collect Skywalker as well as to make it appear as if the Empire was genuinely concerned with the loss of the plans, initiating the Battle of Kothlis.

Behind the scenes
In the book Shadows of the Empire, Luke is credited with disabling Suprosa by himself, whereas in the video game, Star Wars: X-wing Alliance, Ace is the one that incapacitates the freighter. For this article, both are assumed to be correct, with Ace keeping the ship from firing its weapons again, and Luke disabling the ship's engines. It is important to note however that according to the SOTE novel, there was not enough time to notify Rebel command of the "Endor Project" plans being transferred on the Suprosa. Therefore there is no mention of Ace. The novel implies that other than Luke Skywalker and Dash Rendar, all of the other pilots present were Bothans.

Appearances

 * Shadows of the Empire novel
 * Shadows of the Empire comic
 * Star Wars: X-wing Alliance
 * The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi