The escape from the Senate was an incident during the reign of the Galactic Empire in 2 BBY that saw Senator Mon Mothma, the representative of the Core Worlds planet Chandrila and a secret organizer of the growing rebellion against the Empire, denounce Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine and flee the Imperial capital world of Coruscant.
Prelude[]
The rise of Mon Mothma[]
Senator Mon Mothma (pictured) would emerge as the central figure of the Alliance to the Restore the Republic after her years in the Senate.
Senator Mon Mothma was a human politican who represented the Core Worlds planet Chandrila as a senator in the Galactic Republic,[3] beginning her career as a teenager[4] and following the example of her politician parents. As a Loyalist who adhered to the Republic's ideals, she would find herself opposing Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine's expansion of executive power during the Clone Wars waged against the Confederacy of Independent Systems[3] from 22 BBY to 19 BBY.[5] In what would become the final weeks of the war,[4] Mothma helped organize the Cantham House meetings with likeminded Senator Bail Prestor Organa[3] in order to finalize the Petition of 2,000, which would demand Palpatine relinquish his emergency powers and work towards a ceasefire.[4] In these meetings, the conversation would turn to venues outside of the Senate, thereby planting the seeds of an eventual rebellion and leading to discussions on how to structure that rebellion.[3]
Despite the issuance of the Petition,[3] Palpatine—secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, who was working to overthrow the Republic to replace it with his own Galactic Empire—would finalize his plans and reform the Republic into his new regime in 19 BBY,[5] ending the Clone Wars with the promise of a peaceful, secure society. In the new reality that was the Imperial Era, Mothma continued her struggle to oppose Palpatine's increasingly authoritarian rule. To that end, she continued to work with Organa and also met with Partisan leader Saw Gerrera,[6] who would go onto become known as a violent rebel leader.[4] Together, the three would form the three main architects of the eventual Alliance to Restore the Republic,[7] which would one day wage war with the Empire in the name of restoring the Republic.[3]
While she had hope of resolving the battle against Palpatine's the now-Imperial Senate,[8] she helped organize paramilitary strikes against the Empire with Organa and attempted to unite those assorted rebel cells to more effectively battle the Empire, forming a group she started to call "the Alliance."[4] She also began working with an antiques dealer named Luthen Rael, helping to fund his rebel network. Despite facing difficulties in her home life with her husband Perrin Fertha[9] and daughter Leida, whom she would be forced to marry away[10] in 4 BBY[11] in order to secure funds for Rael's network,[12] Mothma continued her work in the Senate[8] and with the growing rebellion,[4] all while the Imperial Military carried out a series of actions that, to Mothma, were increasingly outrageous,[3] culminating in an incident[8] on the planet Ghorman in 2 BBY.[5]
The Ghorman crisis[]
The people of Ghorman rallied against the Galactic Empire in an event that will devolve into what is known as the "Ghorman Massacre."
Ghorman was a planet[5] in the Colonies region of the galaxy[13] that had been the site of increasing struggle between local resistance elements and the Empire.[14] As far back as 19 BBY,[15] Ghormans had protested the Empire, which resulted in the massacre of five hundred unarmed protestors on the order of Moff Wilhuff Tarkin[16] in that year.[15] In the Senate, Mothma stood as a defender of the Ghorman people[17] in the so-called Ghorman Debates[18] and the struggle against the Public Order Resentencing Directive.[16]
By 4 BBY,[11] the Empire's interest in Ghorman has been deepened thanks to the discovery of the kalkite mineral under its crust. In preparation for an invasive mining operation, the Empire plotted out the suppression of Ghorman that would remove the population and turn the galaxy against the Ghormans to provide the regime's actions with a positive public perception.[19] In secret, the Empire encouraged the Ghorman Front's local resistance efforts[14] in order to give itself an excuse to enhance its control over Ghorman.[19] The Ghorman Front also came to the attention of Rael, who hoped to use the Empire's crackdown on such a notable world as a springboard to bring about the wider, galactic rebellion.[14] In 2 BBY,[5] thousands of peaceful protestors on Ghorman began a procession against the Empire.[18] Imperial troops responded to the peaceful protests by attacking those gathered, committing an act remembered as the Ghorman Massacre.[5]
Preparing a speech[]
Word of the Ghorman Massacre reached Coruscant, the Imperial Senate, and, with it, Mothma,[1] who was outraged.[3] The senator for Ghorman, Dasi Oran, was arrested by Imperial stormtroopers. Dragged away by the troopers, Oran called out to the surrounding senators to watch what was happening to him and "remember Ghorman", shocking Mothma and fellow senator Bail Organa who were standing nearby.[1] Believing she had no other option,[3] Mothma decided to take to the Imperial Senate[4] to publicly denounce Palpatine[3] in front of the assembled legislature[4] and over the HoloNet.[3] Understanding that her career on politics would be over by then, she urged Organa to escape with her to Yavin 4 after the speech, an offer which he refused, as he believed one of them should stay behind and prepare the ground for a rebellion from the inside. However, he offered to prepare an exit plan for Mothma, tasking members of his resistance movement to smuggle her off-world. He also mentioned that a bug had been found on senator Ton's office, warning Mon to be careful while preparing the speech.[1]
Following their conversation, Mon returned to her office in the Imperial Executive Building, where her aide Erskin Semaj scanned the room for bugs, discovering one which Mothma immediately destroyed, alerting the Imperial Security Bureau. ISB Attendant Felzonis, the officer in charge of monitoring, immediately notified the Supervisor in charge, Lagret, who arrived to the ISB control room to check on the situation. Lagret contacted Exmar Kloris, Mothma's personal driver and and ISB agent, who reported that Mothma had stayed in the Executive building for the night instead of returning to the Chandrilan Embassy. As Mothma was a high-priority observation target and the ISB had been warned of paying particular attention to the Senate following the Ghorman massacre, Lagret took special interest on the situation and warned Kloris to stand by.[1]
Despite having destroyed the bug, Erskin warned Mon that the Empire could have planted more and that she should be particularly careful. Mothma thus decided to take a walk and practice her speech in the Senate plaza. While there, she was met with Luthen Rael, her rebel ally and head of the Axis network, who told her that he knew about Bail Organa's plan to extract her and that his team was already compromised. Mothma asked him how he had found her, forcing Rael to admit that Erskin had been a spy working for Axis. Feeling betrayed, Mothma started to walk away, but Rael stopped her and told her he had his own agent ready to extract her the next day; she would recognize him when he would say to her he has "friends everywhere". Mothma returned to her office, where Erskin told her he had finished scanning and removed all bugs, to which Mothma simply replied that he was fired and asked him to immediately leave the office.[1]
The escape[]
Denouncing the Emperor[]
The next day, the Senate was assembled in a special session to follow up on the events on Ghorman. Several prominent senators made speeches honoring the memories of the "imperial martyrs" and justifying the Empire's response; it had been predetermined that Mothma would not be allowed to speak. However, Erveen used her privileges as Senior Senator to yield her allotted time to Organa. He, in turn, invoked Article 17-252 which stated that, in an emergency, a Senior Senator could yield his full time to a fellow senator, who would be allowed to speak freely and without interruption. As Senator Karloo had already used the term "emergency" in his own speech, and there were no objections, Organa's argument was accepted by the Oathkeeper and Mothma was allowed to speak.[1]
In the widely transmitted statement that she aimed directly at the Emperor,[3] Mothma decried him as a monster who had taken advantage of a lack of truth in order to spread his own narrative and carry out genocide on Ghorman.[1] Mothma's speech shocked the Senate,[8] with many shouting that she was a traitor and asking for her to be silenced.[1] Mothma regarded her comments as a call-to-arms for the scattered rebel cells, hoping it would serve as a rallying cry that could bring the cells together as a formal alliance.[8] Furthermore, she knew that, by leaving the Senate, she could more effectively lead the Rebel Alliance.[4]
Immediately as Mothma was given the floor, Lagret ordered the Senate broadcasting be severed; however two techs had already locked the door to the transmission and power system as per protocol, forcing the officer in charge to have to run to the security office to retrieve the sequence key. Ultimately, the techs managed to delay him enough for the entire speech to be broadcasted, and the footage was cut just as Mothma finished her speech.[1]
On the run[]
The hunt begins[]
Cassian and Mon Mothma flee the Imperial Senate Building aboard a JPP-192 limospeeder
Mothma's speech was the moment that marked the end of her double life.[4] Mothma's comments immediately resulted in her being placed at the top of the Empire's "Most Wanted" list[3] and charged with treason,[8] with Supervisor Lagret ordering for her immediate arrest. As Mothma exited her Senate pod, she was met with Luthen Rael's agent, Cassian Andor, who was undercover as a journalist. Andor revealed his identity to her through his codephrase and the two made their way to a turbolift. Andor also told Mothma that he knew and worked with her cousin Vel Sartha on the Aldhani heist. He acknowledged how ruthless Rael could be, but insisted that if his claims about Organa's team being compromised were correct, going with him was her only option. Before they exited the turbolift, Andor pulled out his Bryar pistol and told Mothma to simply walk ahead of him, promising that he'd have her back.[1]
As Mothma and Andor exited into the main hall, they were swarmed by a group of journalists with questions on Mothma's speech. Beska and Selko, two of the three members of Bail Organa's group sent to rescue Mothma, approached them; unbeknownst to Selko, Beska has already killed the third member of the group, Charval, when he discovered her identity as an ISB operative. When Beska attempted to convince Mon Mothma they were there to help, Erskin, sensing something wrong, intervened and told Beska they did not need her help. Beska immediately pulled out her blaster pistol and forced everyone on the ground much to Selko's shock, who demanded to know what she was doing. Beska then declared this was an ISB-sanctioned arrest, advising Senate Security to contact a supervisor. Beska then ordered Andor to move away from Mon Mothma, to which Andor responded by standing his ground. Erskin then shouted that Beska was a rebel spy, and as Beska took aim at him, Andor pulled out his weapon and shot her before she could shoot Erskin, leaving the room in shock. Erskin then quickly grabbed Beska's weapon and aimed it at Selko, unsure of his loyalties. Andor too approached Selko demanding to know who he was with. Selko stated he had just met Beska and was "nobody". As Andor and Erskin planned their next move, Selko attempted to explain he was not ISB but was quickly shut down by Andor, who ordered him on the ground. Despite her protests, Andor grabbed her and forced her to follow him to the loading docks, leaving Mothma's senator cloak behind while Erskin stayed to guards Selko for a few minutes and ensure he was not ISB.[1]
As Andor and Mothma were making their way to the docks, the building was put into lockdown and surrounded by stormtroopers who blocked all exits and forced Rael and his assistant Kleya Marki, who were waiting to receive Mothma, to escape. The main entrance was also shut down, and all journalists and senators were confined inside. Andor and Mothma were forced to make a run for the open Imperial Plaza and the senate limousine pool, where they were confronted by Kloris. Upon learning his name from Mothma, Andor pretended to be an Imperial ally who had just caught the rogue Senator, catching him off-guard, before Andor shot the agent, and stole Mothma's JPP-192 limospeeder,[1] fleeing the Senate[20] and bringing her to the Axis network safehouse.[1]
Escape from Coruscant[]
An ISB citizen's notice for Mothma
Once safely in safehouse, Mothma and Erskin were handed over to the Gold Squadron, who escorted them[1] off Coruscant[4] aboard Mothma's personal shuttle Chandrila Mistress.[21] The Imperial HoloNet News would go onto report the story as an act of treason.[8] In response to Mothma's escape, the Imperial Security Bureau issued a citizen's alert calling on the galactic populous to look out for and report any information about Mothma's movements, promising further updates were forthcoming.[4]
General Cassio Tagge regarded Mothma's escape from the Imperial Senate as a dramatic affair that had opened up the possibility of the Senate revolting against Palpatine.[20] Agents of the Imperial Security Bureau made their way to Cantham House,[4] Senator Organa's private Coruscant estate,[3] to look for leads about Mothma's location. The ISB was correct to suspect those present, including Organa's daughter Leia, knew something. While the ISB did question them, they walked away without any evidence.[4]
Aftermath[]
Forming an Alliance[]
Meet up with Gold Squadron and second speech[]
- "I name the Emperor himself for ordering the brutal attacks on the people of Ghorman. Their peaceful world is one of countless systems helpless under his oppressive rule. This massacre is proof that our self-appointed Emperor is little more than a lying executioner."
- ―Mon Mothma
While Semaj believed Mothma should retreat to Chandrila, Mothma was determined to reach the planet Dantooine for a meeting that would formally establish the Rebel Alliance.[8] For the journey to Dantooine, designated Operation Handoff, the BTL Y-wing starfighters Gold Squadron[8]—a starfighter unit that attached to General Jan Dodonna's rebel cell[22]—met up with the Chandrila Mistress to serve as Mothma's escort.[4] After meeting up with Gold Squadron, Mothma delivered a further speech[23] in which she decried Palpatine as a "lying executioner" who was imposing tyranny upon thousands of star systems, directly blamed him for the Ghorman Massacre, and accused him of being an "evil" that the galaxy could not allow to stand.[8]
Meet up with the Spectres[]
During their journey, their ships moved to a pre-arranged meetup with the rebel freighter Ghost of the Phoenix Squadron as a refueling stop. However, an Imperial E-XD-series infiltrator droid had managed to transmit their location, leading to[8] an Imperial patrol[4] crippling the Chandrila Mistress. Mothma and Semaj thus boarded the Ghost and used the ship to travel to Dantooine, where Mothma issued the formal declaration of the Rebel Alliance. With that, the Alliance to Restore the Republic was officially formed.[8]
Shortly after, Mothma recieved word from her aide Hendri Underholt, who had been offered transport offworld by Semaj. While Mothma had wanted to offer Underholt that chance herself, she believed it would have been unfair due to the danger associating with her after her speech posed, but Underholt was determined to stay by Mothma. Underholt would include that correspondence and other matters relating to the escape from the Senate in The Rebel Files, a non-electronic guide to rebel history she was composing at Mothma's request.[4]
Legacy[]
In 0 BBY,[5] around the time of the dissolution of the Imperial Senate, Tagge reflected on Mothma's escape from the Senate and the standing of other rebellious senators, such as Organa. However, news of the Senate's dissolution came as a shock to Tagge, who believed it was a necessary bureaucracy and that it had held back the rebellion.[20] During the New Republic, the excavation on Durkteel uncovered The Rebel Files. Organa—who by that point was general of the Resistance—wrote in her own commentary, including in relation to the escape from the Senate.[4]
Mon Mothma's full speech[]
| Attribution: Mon Mothma[1] | |
| Fellow Senators, friends, colleagues, allies, adversaries. I stand before you this morning with a heavy heart. I’ve spent my life in this chamber. I came here as a child. And as I look around now, I realize I have almost no memories that pre-date my arrival and few bonds of affection that cleave so tightly. Through these many years, I believe I have served my constituents honorably and upheld our code of conduct. This chamber is a cauldron of opinions and we’ve certainly all had our patience and tempers tested in pursuit of our ideals. Disagree as we might, I am hopeful that those of you who know me will vouch for my credibility in the days to come. I stand this morning with a difficult message. I believe we are in crisis. The distance between what is said and what is known to be true has become an abyss. Of all the things at risk, the loss of an objective reality is perhaps the most dangerous. The death of truth is the ultimate victory of evil. When truth leaves us, when we let it slip away, when it is ripped from our hands, we become vulnerable to the appetite of whatever monster screams the loudest. This Chamber’s hold on the truth was finally lost on the Ghorman Plaza. What took place yesterday… what happened yesterday on Ghorman was unprovoked genocide! Yes! Genocide! And that truth has been exiled from this chamber! And the monster screaming the loudest? The monster we’ve helped create? The monster who will come for us all soon enough is Emperor Palpatine! | |
Behind the scenes[]
Mon Mothma's speech in The Rebel Files
Mon Mothma's escape from the Senate was first mentioned in Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide.[3] It was first identified in "Fully Operational," a short story by Beth Revis published as part of the anthology From a Certain Point of View.[20] The aftermath of the escape was depicted through the Star Wars Rebels episode "Secret Cargo," which included a hologram of Mothma giving a speech denouncing the Emperor[8] in what was originally intended to be her speech within the Senate.[23] The escape was later finally depicted within the Andor episode "Welcome to the Rebellion."[1] which featured a different speech from that what was featured in Rebels. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Tony Gilroy revealed he and writer Dan Gilroy had felt constrained by the Rebels speech and did not want to copy another creative's work. However, the two realized they could write a speech of their own and rationalize her statements in Rebels as being a message broadcast from aboard a starship after she met up with Gold Squadron.[23]
Before the release of Andor,[23] the reference book Star Wars: The Rebel Files featured[4] her speech from Rebels[8] as her Senate speech. Depicted via a news story exclusively broken by the Imperial-loyal TriNebulon News, the book featured Mothma standing beside a human and Twi'lek in the Senate. According to this source, the speech resulted in near-unanimous condemnation from her peers, with loyalist senators shouting down Mothma, but there were a few who applauded her comments, even if their applause were drowned out by the loyalists. Seemingly embattled, Mothma and her aides then departed from the Senate rotunda. Tribulon was then unable to receive comment from Mothma's office, with a representative simply saying the Senator could not be reached for comment.[4]
Appearances[]
Andor — "Welcome to the Rebellion" (First appearance)- Andor — "Jedha, Kyber, Erso" (Mentioned only)
- "Fully Operational" — From a Certain Point of View (Mentioned only) (First identified as escape from the Senate)
Sources[]
- Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide (First mentioned)
- Star Wars: The Rebel Files
- Star Wars: Scum and Villainy: Case Files on the Galaxy's Most Notorious
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.37 1.38 1.39 1.40 1.41 1.42 1.43 1.44 1.45 1.46
Andor — "Welcome to the Rebellion"
- ↑ Star Wars: The Rebel Files establishes that the escape from the Senate occurred between the Ghorman Massacre and before Operation Handoff, both of which occur in 2 BBY according to Star Wars: Timelines.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 Star Wars: The Rebel Files
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Star Wars: Timelines
- ↑ Reign of the Empire: The Mask of Fear
- ↑
Star Wars: The Mask of Fear (Reign of the Empire) on Penguin Random House's official website (backup link)
- ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 8.12 8.13 8.14
Star Wars Rebels — "Secret Cargo"
- ↑ Andor — "Aldhani"
- ↑ Andor — "Harvest"
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 The Costumes of Andor Season 2 on StarWars.com (backup link)
- ↑ Andor — "Daughter of Ferrix"
- ↑ Star Wars Galaxy Map
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Andor — "What a Festive Evening"
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Ever Been to Ghorman?" dates itself to 3 BBY and establishes the Tarkin Massacre occurred sixteen years prior, putting that event in 19 BBY.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Andor — "Ever Been to Ghorman?"
- ↑ Andor — "The Eye"
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Andor — "One Year Later"
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 "Fully Operational" — From a Certain Point of View
- ↑ Taylander shuttle in the Databank (backup link)
- ↑ "Steps Into Shadow" Trivia Gallery on StarWars.com (backup link)
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 Andor star Genevieve O'Reilly and creator break down Mon Mothma's epic Senate speech, diverging from canon by Maureen Lee Lenker on Entertainment Weekly (May 7, 2025) (backup link archived on May 7, 2025)
