Theft of the TIE Defender Elite

The theft of the prototype TIE Defender Elite was carried out during the Galactic Civil War by the Spectres of the Alliance to Restore the Republic on Lothal around 1 BBY. Their goal was to obtain intelligence about the Galactic Empire's prototype TIE/d "Defender" Multi-Role Starfighter and, if possible, prepare to aid Ryder Azadi and the Lothal resistance group in liberating the Outer Rim planet from the Galactic Empire. The Alliance had previously planned an attack on Lothal, but they were forced to call it off when their forces were decimated by Grand Admiral Thrawn during the battle of Atollon. When Azadi sent Alliance High Command a message that the Empire had developed a new kind of TIE Defender, Mon Mothma, knowing the seriousness of the threat, authorized a mission.

They smuggled themselves onto the planet on Cikatro Vizago's starship the Broken Horn, and quickly met up with Lothal resistance member Jai Kell, who helped them escape the town of Jhothal. The next day, Azadi took Ezra Bridger, Sabine Wren and Garazeb Orrelios to stake out the remote airfield where the Defender Elite was supposed to have a test flight. After the prototype arrived, Wren and Bridger decided to steal its flight data recorder, sneaking onto the base to do so as Azadi and Orrelios kept watch. The theft was complicated by the arrival of Thrawn and Governor Arihnda Pryce, so Wren decided to steal the entire prototype. She and Bridger were pursued by TIE Interceptors, and after Bridger shot them all down, Pryce activated the prototype's kill switch, causing two of its wings to detach. It crashed on the one remaining wing. Bridger and Wren escaped into the wilderness with the flight recorder, hiding the Elite's hyperdrive near the crash site for later retrieval to install on Azadi's UT-60D U-wing starfighter/support craft. They were assisted by a Loth-wolf, which put Wren to sleep and carried the two Spectres to the hidden rebel camp.

Later, Bridger, Orrelios, and Kell were sent to retrieve the hyperdrive. At the same time, Thrawn sent his personal assassin, Rukh, to assist Governor Pryce in locating the Rebels. Upon arriving, Rukh smelled Orrelios immediately, as Lasat were no longer a common sight in the galaxy. He approached the rebels' position, and Bridger and Kell, disguised as scout troopers, attempted to stall the Noghri. He pursued the two young men, assisted by two real scout troopers, as Orrelios evaded the Imperials and escaped in a stolen troop transport. Orrelios successfully got the hyperdrive back to the camp, and Wren installed it on the U-wing. Bridger and Kell also reached the camp, unaware that Rukh had planted a homing beacon on their bike. Wren finished installing the hyperdrive as Imperial troops arrived, and Syndulla and Chopper escaped in the U-wing, successfully bringing the flight recorder to Rebel Command. Kell escaped on a landspeeder. The rest of the Spectres, and Azadi, escaped with the help of several Loth-wolves, who brought them to a location halfway across the planet.

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