Iron Blockade

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The Iron Blockade, also known as the Blockade of the Anoat sector, was a conflict that took place throughout the Anoat sector during the Galactic Civil War. It began in the aftermath of the Battle of Endor, which saw the death of the Emperor Palpatine and the destruction of the DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station at the hands of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. In the midst of the Empire's defeat at Endor and the regimes's insistence that news of the Emperor's death was rebel propaganda, Imperial Governor Ubrik Adelhard locked down the entire Anoat sector, isolating his citizens from any reports from the ongoing war and knowledge of the Emperor's death. The lockdown led to resistance fighters sympathetic to the Rebel Alliance leading an uprising against the Empire in the sector.

Prelude

In 4 ABY,^[5] the Alliance to Restore the Republic launched the massive attack on Endor in an attempt to destroy the DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station and kill Darth Sidious, the ruler of the Galactic Empire. The Rebel attack was a success; the Death Star was destroyed, the Emperor was killed, and Sidious' chief enforcer, Darth Vader, also perished after killing Sidious to save his son, Luke Skywalker.^[1]

The blockade

Lockdown begins

After the Battle of Endor, reports of the Emperor's death and the destruction of the Death Star II began to circulate across the galaxy, including holographic images of the Death Star's destruction.^[4] Some of these reports led to mass civilian celebrations on worlds such as Tatooine, Bespin, Naboo, and Coruscant.^[1] Upon realizing that the Emperor had been killed, Governor Ubrik Adelhard^[6] of the Anoat sector locked down his sector and claimed that the reports of the Emperor's demise were treasonous lies.^[4]

Rebel campaign

Hours after the Rebellion's victory at the Battle of Endor, a B-wing and X-wing squadron was destroyed in the Anoat sector by Adelhard's forces. A single pilot, Rynn Zenat escaped the confrontation and was able to rendezvous with Rebel forces still stationed at Endor where she informed Rebel leadership about Adelhard's plan to restore the empire.^[8]

The burgeoning new Republic was faced with the threat of facing offensives from two meaningful imperial cadres; Adelhard's Imperial remnant and Counselor to the Empire Gallius Rax. Lacking the resources to defeat Adelhard without support, the New Republic created a small undercover team to assess the situation, try to help the Republic forces still in the sector and engage if needed.^[9]

The attempt to enter the Iron Blockade was a failure. The explosive-laden rebel freighter was intercepted by the Spice Runners of Kijimi, who had allied themselves with Adelhard's coalition. Gang Leader Zeva Bliss believed it served the Spice Runners to foment chaos.^[9] Using the freighter's explosives, the assessment team was able to deal significant damage to the Spice Runner fleet but were ultimately captured and imprisoned on Adelhard's Star Destroyer.^[14]

Luke Skywalker traveled to the Anoat Sector to rescue the captured assessment team.^[14] On board the Scepter, Skywalker battled stormtroopers, commander Bragh, and dark side mystic Reyna Oskure.^[15] Skywalker also linked up with the captured assessment team and republic pilot Preeti Delmin, who had previously been freed from their cells by embedded New Republic spy Kith Alaytia.^[14]

Meanwhile, Leia Organa and New Republic spymaster Calder Behrens recruited General Landonis Balthazar Calrissian to save the Republic agents battling onboard the Scepter. Calrissian had served as the Baron Administrator of Cloud City and understood the danger the blockade posed to the fledging New Republic.^[13] He rushed to the Anoat sector with a fleet of New Republic ships to confront Adelhard directly.^[15]

During the ensuing battle, Skywalker dueled Adelhard and managed to escape onboard a commandeered Spice Runner ship with the five rescued prisoners. Adelhard survived his encounter with Skywalker but was humiliated by his loss. Initially hesitant to accept aid from Oskare and her Acolytes of the Beyond, Adelhard determined it was time to embrace the dark side of the force.^[15]

Life under blockade

The Rebel Alliance was on the other side of the blockade and was unable to assist those trapped inside.^[4] The blockade lasted for months on end, forcing citizens of local worlds like Burnin Konn to turn to crime bosses and the black market to obtain the food and supplies they needed to survive. The shortage sparked a substantial demand for smuggled goods. Still, privateer organizations like the Trade Spine League were unable to fly in shipments from outside the sector due to the blockade. Shortpaw, the leader of the Trade Spine League, believed that the abandoned Hutt jewel world Mataou was a potential weak point in the blockade, and he consequently had his forces probe Mataou's Imperial sensor network to pinpoint a vulnerability.^[6]

In the absence of the Rebel Alliance, a group of smugglers, bounty hunters, assassins, gangsters, and civilians became resistance fighters. They led an uprising against the sector's Imperial forces. The uprising coalesced around a pair of sibling criminals from Burnin Konn who stumbled upon a transmission from Leia Organa announcing the Emperor's death.^[4] Calrissian later led the liberation of Cloud City,^[16] though Adelhard evaded captive^[17] and the blockade remained.^[6]

The pair brokered an uneasy alliance between the Ivax Syndicate, the Noble Court, and the Kouhun with assistance from the Trade Spine League against Adelhard and the Imperial forces under his command. During an attempt to kidnap Adelhard's second-in-command, Commander Bragh, one of the siblings colluded with the Ivax Syndicate to betray the other alliance members. The betrayal resulted in the imprisonment of the leader of the Noble Court and several high-ranking Kouhun members. In an attempt to mend the alliance, the other sibling contacted members of the Rebel Alliance trapped in the system and, with their help, found the location of their imprisoned allies.^[6]

Rebel incursion

The Rebel Alliance then broadcast Leia Organa's transmission to the entire Anoat sector, causing riots in Delphon, Council, and Burnin Konn. The riot allowed for the rescue of prisoners from the Crypt, a prison facility located on the moon Pujool. The resulting rescue mended relations among the allies, leading the Ivax Syndicate, the Noble Court, the Kouhun, and the Trade Spine League to scout locations for a joint base of operations to break the blockade.^[6] According to the Galactic Explorer's Guide, Lobot played a key role in breaking the blockade.^[18]

The Smuggler managed to find a weak point in the blockade and their associate Beilert Valance acquired the route on Burnin Konn. Valance and the Alliance assembled an attack force and launched an attack on Adelhard's flagship the Scepter. However, the Acolyte of the Beyond Reyna Oskure took control of Adelhard's fleet and promised to disband the blockade, truthfully intending to move the fleet to Jakku for the coming battle.^[7] Two days later, Adelhard returned and reassumed control over his forces and coalition,^[19] intending to attack the Battle of Jakku to destroy both the Empire and New Republic.^[20]

Behind the scenes

The Iron Blockade is the main conflict of the Kabam mobile game Star Wars: Uprising, which was released on September 10, 2015.^[4] The conflict is part of the story bridge between the events of the films Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens.^[21] The premature cancellation of the game in November of 2016 led to an abrupt ending, leaving the storyline of the Iron Blockade unresolved. The story was ultimately concluded in Star Wars: Battle of Jakku, a comic maxiseries by Alex Segura.^[7]

Appearances

• Star Wars Battlefront II
• Lost Stars (and audiobook) (Indirect mention only)
• Battle of Jakku — Insurgency Rising 1
• "The Rising" — Battle of Jakku — Insurgency Rising 1
• The Princess and the Scoundrel (and audiobook) (Mentioned only)
• Battle of Jakku — Insurgency Rising 2
• Battle of Jakku — Insurgency Rising 3
• Battle of Jakku — Insurgency Rising 4
• Star Wars: Uprising (First pictured)
• Aftermath (and audiobook) (First appearance)
• Shadow Fall: An Alphabet Squadron Novel (and audiobook) (Mentioned only)
• Battle of Jakku — Republic Under Siege 1 (First identified as Blockade of the Anoat sector)
• Battle of Jakku — Republic Under Siege 2 (Indirect mention only)
• Battle of Jakku — Republic Under Siege 3
• Battle of Jakku — Republic Under Siege 4
• Battle of Jakku — Last Stand 1 (In flashback(s))
• Victory's Price: An Alphabet Squadron Novel (and audiobook) (Indirect mention only)
• Aftermath: Empire's End (and audiobook) (Mentioned only)

Sources

• Star Wars Helmet Collection: Boushh Databank A-Z: Cut Lawquane–Lothal
• Star Wars: Uprising Puts You in a Whole New Galaxy on StarWars.com (backup link) (First mentioned) (Indirect mention only)
• Star Wars Helmet Collection: 4-LOM Highlights of the Saga: Escaping Cloud City
• Star Wars Propaganda: A History of Persuasive Art in the Galaxy
• Star Wars Helmet Collection: Jek Porkins Databank A-Z: Zabrak–Zillo Beast
• Star Wars: Scum and Villainy: Case Files on the Galaxy's Most Notorious
• Star Wars: The Galactic Explorer's Guide
• "The Battle of Endor and the Fall of the Empire" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
• Star Wars: Timelines
• Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire
• Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
• Free Comic Book Day 2025: Star Wars 1 (Indirect mention only)

Notes and references