Covert Shroud Maneuver

The Covert Shroud Maneuver was an escape tactic developed by starship pilots to avoid being caught in a tractor beam. The maneuver called for the fleeing starship to eject a cloud of reflective particles that actually reflected the beam in various directions, allowing the starship to break free of the beam and escape. This resulted in a loop snarl in the tractor beam system, which shut the targeting system down completely.

A variant of the maneuver was a last-ditch escape or infiltration plan. It employed a smaller ship hidden inside a larger one, obscuring the true mission of the smaller vessel. When the larger ship became caught by a tractor beam, the crew set the larger ship to auto-destruct, creating a cluster of reflective pieces that confused the tractor beam targeting system. This allowed the crew to escape in the smaller ship. This maneuver was popular during the reign of the Galactic Empire because it was virtually impossible to counteract.

In 9 ABY, when Luke Skywalker used the manoeuvre to escape a trap set by Grand Admiral Thrawn, tractor beam operator Rejlii Mithel used an innovative, if ultimately ineffective, technique to attempt to recapture his ship. Mithel expected to be executed for his failure (having recently seen another officer suffer a similar fate), however Thrawn was impressed by his quick thinking and instead tasked him with developing an effective countermeasure.

The newly promoted Lieutenant Mithel determined that his solution would have been successful, had the targeting computer been able to handle the relevant sensor data and recommended that computer technicians be assigned to make the appropriate adjustments. His communique to Thrawn on the matter was intercepted by the New Republic.

10 years later, when Lando Calrissian attempted to use the gambit to escape the Star Destroyer Relentless, he was astonished when his yacht, the Lady Luck was recaptured, forcing him to surrender. The con artist Flim (masquerading as a resurrected Thrawn) informed him that they'd had plenty of time to develop a response since Skywalker's escape.

Text and facts from the “Covert Shroud Maneuver” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.