“The Siege of Lothal Part 1”

Rebel operations
Not long after the events of “Fire Across the Galaxy,” in which the rebels of the planet Lothal realized they were part of a larger rebellion against the Galactic Empire, the crew of the Ghost has become part of Phoenix Squadron, a rebel cell comprised of multiple corvettes and a squadron of A-wings under the command of Commander Jun Sato. Together, they undertake a mission to steal shield generators from the Empire to help defend the fleet. The Ghost, under the command of Captain Hera Syndulla, flies with Phoenix Squadron to carry out the mission. Also involved is the fleet of rebel blockade runners. The fleet attacks a group of Imperial freighters and knocks supplies loose from one of the vessels. The Ghost secures the cargo and the fleet jumps into hyperspace upon the arrival of two Arquitens-class light cruisers.

Plan to draw the Rebels back
On Lothal, Minister Maketh Tua and Agent Kallus of the Imperial Security Bureau discuss the steps that Tua is taking so the planetary government can locate the rebels. Though Tua has increased security and instituted a planetary curfew, she correctly believes that the rebels have already left Lothal and that such draconian measures will not be effective. Kallus counters that Tarkin wants results, given that his own personal Star Destroyer had been destroyed by the Rebels. The conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Darth Vader, a Dark Lord of the Sith and the Emperor’s top enforcer, who tells her that if the rebels have left Lothal then they need to be drawn back so the Empire can find them. Tua expresses reservations, and the Dark Lord tells her that she can relay her concerns to Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, Governor of the Outer Rim Territories, who has commanded her to visit him and account for her failures. Tua is terrified, likely from the memory of Tarkin’s execution of Cumberlayne Aresko and Taskmaster Grint, who had also failed on various occasions.

The crew of the Ghost returns to the command ship, Phoenix Home, where Commander Sato commends them for their work in securing fuel for the fleet in the raid; despite intelligence reports to the contrary, however, there were no shield generators aboard the Imperial freighter. The Ghost crew’s astromech droid, C1-10P—nicknamed Chopper—arrives on in the command center carrying an urgent message. Kanan Jarrus, the crew’s leader, purposefully ignores fleet protocol and orders Chopper to play the message, but Syndulla interjects and orders Chopper to mask their signal by only using one-way visual communication. The message is a holographic transmission from Jho, the Ithorian proprietor of a rebel safe haven on Lothal, who presents Minister Tua to the rebels. Tua believes her life is in danger and asks the rebels for help in defecting from the Empire, and she offers vital Imperial information in exchange for their assistance—including the names of rebel sympathizers on Lothal and nearby star systems, as well as intelligence regarding the Empire’s true mission on Lothal, a mission ordered by the Emperor himself. There is some disagreement amongst the crew as to whether they should undertake the mission, but Ezra Bridger, Jarrus’ Padawan, insists that they help her. Jarrus, Syndulla, and Commander Ahsoka Tano all agree, and Sato approves the mission.

Jarrus leaves the command center and is followed by Syndulla, who lectures him about the breach of protocol in the command center. He is bothered by the fact that their once-ragtag crew is now involved in a military operation and wants the crew to leave the rebellion, allowing the crew to return to their previous mission of robbing from the Empire and giving to those in need. Syndulla reminds him that they are fighting a bigger fight, but Jarrus, as a survivor of the Clone Wars and the ensuing Great Jedi Purge, does not want to fight another war after what the last one did to the galaxy. Unbeknownst to either of them, Bridger has overheard this exchange.

Meanwhile, as the rebels prepare for their operation, Tua leaves her office in the Imperial complex in Capital City. Agent Kallus, suspecting her treason, orders a probe droid to follow her and record her movements.

Return to Lothal
The rebels board a Star Commuter 2000 shuttle that is docked with the rebel fleet, choosing to leave the Ghost behind under the assumption that the Empire can track it after it was involved in a battle with the Empire over the planet Mustafar. While en route to Lothal, they discuss their plan to rendezvous with Minister Tua in Lothal City, where she is scheduled to leave on a shuttle to meet with Governor Tarkin. The rebels soon arrive on Lothal, and the Star Commuter shuttle is given clearance to pass the heavy presence of Star Destroyers in orbit. Bridger notes the increased number of Star Destroyers once they land, having never seen so many Imperial warships in the skies above Lothal City in his many years of living on the planet. Garazeb Orrelios and Chopper are ordered to stay behind with the Star Commuter in case the rebels need to make a quick exit.

The crew makes their way toward the rendezvous point, where several Imperial stormtroopers are guarding the shuttle. In order to distract the stormtroopers, Jarrus assaults one of the soldiers and steals their armor, allowing him to blend in as one of the Imperials and walk right up to the landing bay. Jarrus waits in position while Syndulla, Bridger, and Sabine Wren head to the rooftops, where they can attack the Imperials from above. Tua soon arrives along with Kallus, who says that Darth Vader ordered him to escort her to the shuttle in the interest of her safety. The rebels attack the Imperial troops and Tua runs for the shuttle, followed close behind by the rebels. Once she is aboard, however, the shuttle explodes, sending the rebels flying backward. Kallus, whose probe droid is recording the entire incident due to Empire knowing the shuttle was going to explode, accuses the rebels of killing Tua. High above the landing pad, Darth Vader observes the scene; he leaves just as the rebels begin their escape from their failed rescue mission.

Fleeing from Imperial forces, the rebels board the Star Commuter 2000 after Chopper and Orrelios arrive. As the shuttle flies away, it is shot down by an All Terrain Defense Pod and crashes in the city street. In the Imperial complex, Vader receives a transmission from Agent Kallus, who reports what happened. Vader orders him to lay siege to Lothal, preventing any travel offworld in order to prevent the rebels from escaping. The Empire also sends out a report via HoloNet News about Minister Tua’s death, publicly implicating the rebels as assassins. The crew watches the report in one of their safe houses, the former home of Ezra Bridger and his missing parents. The Empire soon finds them, prompting the crew to escape just before the stormtroopers set off a thermal detonator and destroy the house.

Under the assumption that the forces in the Imperial complex will be stretched thin due to deployments searching for the rebels, the crew hatches a plan to sneak in and steal a shuttle, as to the lockdown prevents them from finding a civilian ship. Jarrus retains his stormtrooper disguise and Bridger impersonates an Imperial cadet, allowing them to enter the facility with crates containing the rest of the crew. Along the way, Ezra attempts to perform a mind trick on an officer, but fails, forcing Kanan to do it instead. Once the rebels are safely inside the complex, they make their way to the complex’s starport and find a shuttle to steal. They also find a number of military-grade shield generators, much like the ones they were searching for during the attack on the Imperial freighters, and steal them. However, before they can escape, Jarrus and Bridger both feel a sudden chill; realizing what it means, they turn to see Darth Vader entering the hangar, flanked by stormtroopers.