LothalNet comm tower E-272

"I've made myself a little roost at the top of an old communications tower. These towers used to serve a purpose here. They were used to guide the few visitors who came to Lothal to the spaceports. That was before the Empire. Now the Empire controls most of the traffic in and out, and it has left these old towers empty. That's how Imperial progress works. Throw away the old. I won't let this one go to waste, though."

―Ezra Bridger^[3]

LothalNet comm tower E-272, also known as Ezra's Roost or Lothal Transmitter Tower, was a disused LothalNet communication tower located in the plains outside Lothal's Capital City. About five years before the Battle of Yavin, the young orphan Ezra Bridger used it as a hideout.

Description

LothalNet comm tower E-272 was located on the planet Lothal in the grasslands outside of Lothal City, specifically in Grid Q6 in the Western Zone. It was at one point used by LothalNet but eventually was abandoned and used by the human Ezra Bridger as a hideout,^[1] and was thus referred to as Ezra's Roost.^[4] It had a turbolift leading to the top. A circular balcony encircled the top, and inside there were several empty rooms, one of which had Bridger's bunk.^[5] He notably stored his collection of stolen Imperial helmets in the tower.^[6] He also kept a key to his old family home, which he later retrieved on Empire Day^[7] in 4 BBY.^[8]

History

Bridger used the tower as a hideout while living on Lothal as an orphan until he joined the rebel group known as the Spectres.^[1] Two years^[9] after it had been abandoned by Bridger, it was used by the rogue Imperial Security Bureau agent Alexsandr Kallus to secretly contact the Rebels using the codename Fulcrum. After learning that Grand Admiral Thrawn was aware of the planned rebel strike on Lothal, Kallus tried to use a transmitter to warn the Phoenix Cell. However, Thrawn jammed the signals and captured Kallus following a fight. Using the trajectories of Kallus' Fulcrum transmissions and General Jan Dodonna's Massassi Group, Thrawn was able to find the hidden rebel base in the Atollon system.^[10]

When the Spectres returned to Lothal^[2] in 1 BBY,^[11] Kanan Jarrus, Hera Syndulla, and Chopper conducted a long-distance reconnaissance of Lothal City from the tower. They discovered preparations at the Imperial Armory Complex indicating that the Empire planned to mass-produce the newly-developed TIE/D Defender Elite.^[2] After Syndulla had been captured by the Empire, the tower's convenient view of the capital was used for recon in preparation for her rescue.^[12]

After the liberation of Lothal, the tower was eventually restored,^[13] and Sabine Wren lived there to watch over Lothal as a promise to her missing friend Bridger.^[5] In 9 ABY,^[14] Wren watched an old recording from Bridger on her imagecaster, where Bridger reminded Wren of her mission. Wren then gazed the sky as Ahsoka Tano's shuttle and her X-wing escort approach Lothal City from the tower's balcony. Soon after, the Force-sensitive human Shin Hati and several HK-87 assassin droids attacked the tower, dueling and stabbing Sabine before escaping with the Arcana Star Map sought by Morgan Elsbeth.^[15]