The Galactic Empire's raid on the Axis safehouse,[5] identified as the rescue of Kleya Marki from the perspective of the Alliance to Restore the Republic,[6] was an operation during the Galactic Civil War[3] in 1 BBY[4] on Coruscant,[3] the Core Worlds planet that served as the capital of the Empire.[7] The Imperial raid saw ISB Tactical dispatched at the behest of ISB Supervisor Heert in an effort to capture Kleya Marki, the assistant of the recently-deceased rebel spymaster Luthen Rael, who was currently hiding in a safehouse in an apartment building on Level 5124 of the planet Coruscant. At the same time, Captain Cassian Andor of the Rebel Alliance was also attempting to extract Marki from the safehouse, alongside Ruescott Melshi and the KX-series security droid K-2SO.[3]
Prelude
Information and plans
In 1 BBY,[4] Lonni Jung met with Luthen Rael and reluctantly recalled that the Emperor's energy program was a front for a diabolical weapon, and that the events on Ghorman and Jedha were all to mask the Empire's interests in critical materials at each location for the project. He also mentioned the importance of the Imperial engineer Galen Erso. After killing Jung, Rael passed Jung's intelligence along to Kleya Marki and sent her away to deliver the message to the Rebellion, while he went back to destroy all of the secret equipment at the antiquities shop.[1]
Rael soon impaled himself with a Nautolan bleeder when ISB Supervisor Dedra Meero confronted him in the antiquities shop. Marki watched as her adoptive father's body was rushed[1] onto an Imperial ambunaut.[8] While observing a comatose Rael at Lina Soh Hospital, Meero was arrested by fellow Supervisor Heert, who was accompanied by an ISB marshal sent by Major Lio Partagaz. Soon after, Marki infiltrated the hospital to say goodbye to Rael. She disguised herself as a hospital employee and killed any Imperial who got in her way. Marki removed Rael's life support, allowing her adoptive father to pass away.[1]
Tracking Marki
After Luthen Rael's death, Marki knew it was only a matter of time before she was caught by the Imperial Security Bureau. She removed a hidden communication device from the walls of the Axis network safehouse in Tomkip Towers, sending a secret message to the Rebellion on Yavin 4. Wilmon Paak's lover, Dreena, informed him that his radio was active, prompting him to bring the device to Andor. Uncertain if the radio was malfunctioning and knowing the Alliance protocols on unauthorized transmissions, Andor and his friends watched the radio cautiously until Marki sent another message, which Andor and Paak identified as a code for final extraction. Andor, along with KX-series security droid K-2SO and Ruescott Melshi took an unauthorized mission to the planet Coruscant to rescue Marki in a U-wing, managing to get off base under the guise of a test flight and defying eighteen Rebellion orders in the process. Paak was interrogated by General Davits Draven, who was outraged to learn of Andor's destination, which put the Rebellion's base of operations at risk of being discovered by the Empire, and had Paak confined to quarters.[3]
Meanwhile, Meero was interrogated by Director Orson Krennic, who accused her of being a rebel spy after discovering she had access to files related to the Death Star filed to her by mistake and that Jung had accessed those files. Meero defended that her scavenging helped her uncover Axis' identity. She concluded that Kleya Marki likely possessed knowledge of the Death Star as well, but Krennic refused to involve her in the search. Heert returned to Lina Soh hospital to review the security footage and concluded that Marki acted alone, rather than the previously theorized three-man team he had assumed. Upon returning to ISB Central Office to report this to Krennic and Partagaz, Krennic made it clear that Marki was to be found at all costs, threatening Heert with death if he failed. Partagaz ordered a cover story that Marki was an infectious disease carrier.[3]
Knowing that Marki was too smart to use conventional means of transit, Heert visited Meero in her ISB cell, given her expertise in deducing how rebels operate, suggesting that her aid in Marki's capture might earn her a pardon. Meero recommended he check the Axis files, recalling that Anto Kreegyr had a special radio that used pulse codes. Heert then returned to antiquities shop, where an ISB technician was working on the destroyed fractal radio and was able to track Marki's location when she was communicating with Andor. In response, he organized a unit of ISB Tactical agents to arrest the rebel spy.[3]
The raid
Gharial and Team-One accompanied Supervisor Heert as they ascended to floor twenty-six of Tomkip Towers in search of Kleya Marki.
The U-Wing landed on the landing pad across from Tomkip Towers, before both Andor and Melshi disembarked and went into the building to meet Marki, while K-2SO remained behind to keep the ship running. Heert's shuttle arrived at the complex soon after and signaled Partagaz to jam all comms in the area. With Attendant Joydali manning the radio at Rael's gallery, Heert managed to pinpoint the safehouse's general location between the twenty-sixth and twenty-eighth floors. Sergeant Gharial ordered Team-Two to guard the bridge and the lobby while he, Heert and Team-One ascended the elevator to floor twenty-six. When Kaytoo discovered his comms were jammed, he walked over to the shuttle and killed the troopers stationed on board. Partagaz assumed the shuttle was suffering a technical failure. Meanwhile, Team-One arrived at the apartment on the twenty-sixth floor, surprising the elderly Human couple inside. Heert then used his scanner and determined that the safehouse was directly about them.[3]
Marki frantically relayed her information on the falsehood of Palpatine's alleged energy project and how it was connected to Ghorman, Scarif and Jedha. However, Andor was more concerned with getting her to safety than memorizing her intel. Marki was hesitant to leave for Yavin, given Rael's negative reputation amongst the Alliance leadership, and assumed she would be imprisoned, insisted that Andor would simply have to pass on her intel. They soon got into an argument over Rael remaining behind on Coruscant, with Marki defending her adoptive father, whose decision enabled them to discover the existence of the Empire's weapon. Marki ultimately relented and agreed to return to Yavin with Andor.[3]
As Heert's forces approached the safehouse, Melshi exited the apartment, while Gharial ordered him to freeze and put his hands up above his head. In response, Marki and Andor fled back inside the safehouse. Gharial ordered Melshi to make no sudden movements, but the Rebel trooper fled into the safehouse and grabbed a blaster. In response, Gharial ordered his colleague to stun them. The trooper passed Gharial a detonator, which was then thrown into the safehouse, knocking down all three rebels and leaving Marki unconscious.[2]
Marki was wounded in the Imperial assault on the safehouse.
Moments later, Gharial ordered his men to move in, but Melshi quickly recovered and shot the first Tactical trooper who stepped in the doorway, forcing the second into a corner. As the two sides exchange blind fire, Andor recovered as well and quickly checked Marki before covering her with his body as he blindly fired at his opponent. Meanwhile, with no response from the Tactical team, Partagaz desperately ordered any nearby reinforcements to intercept, though ironically all other units were spread out covering the infectious disease order he fabricated. To the surprise of the ISB, Kaytoo, armed with a blaster, walked down the hallway, killing Heert's bodyguard. The droid picked up Heert and held the Supervisor in the air as Gharial ordered the security droid to not come closer, while simultaneously firing multiple shots at Heert, killing the Supervisor. Gharial ordered his remaining trooper to flank on him, but this left him exposed as Andor killed him. Kaytoo then killed Gharial and the rest of the ISB troopers and Melshi carried the still unconscious Marki back to the U-wing, before they fled the area, bypassing a trio of LAAT/le patrol gunships sent by Partagaz.[2]
Aftermath
On Yavin 4, Andor's U-Wing arrived on Yavin 4 and tried requesting landing clearance. Given that his team's mission was unauthorized, a pair of X-Wings escorted them to the landing pad. Andor, Melshi and Kaytoo discovered General Davits Draven and several Rebel troopers were awaiting their arrival, with several armed with blasters. Despite being reprimanded for his disobedience, Andor successfully convinced Draven to bring Marki to a medic.
Andor was then brought before Alliance High Command, which was composed of Senators Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, Nower Jebel, Tynnra Pamlo and Admiral Raddus and General Draven, where he informed them of Rael's demise and their extraction of Marki; Mothma identified Marki was Rael's assistant to the council. Andor informed the Alliance High Command of all the details Marki had told him on Rael's behalf. The council, particularly Organa, Jebel and Pamlo, were unconvinced on the validity Rael's report, convinced that the ISB fed him false information. Andor passionately defended that, despite his faults, Rael had given more to the Rebellion than anymore else and insisted they investigate the Empire's superweapon. However, the council decided to wait for Generals Jan Dodonna and Antoc Merrick to return the next day to deliberate and ordered Andor confined to quarters. However, after the base received three urgent messages Andor's Partisan contact, Tivik, insisting on meeting Andor, Mothma and Draven convinced Organa to give Andor permission to go to Kafrene and meet with Tivik.[2]
Back on Coruscant, with the mission to apprehend Marki having failed, a disgraced Partagaz committed suicide to avoid suffering the Emperor's wrath. Later on, former Supervisor Dedra Meero was sent to an Imperial prison.[2]
Appearances
Star Wars: Andor — "Who Else Knows?" (First appearance)- Star Wars: Andor — "Jedha, Kyber, Erso"
Sources
- "Who Else Knows?" Episode Guide | Andor A Star Wars Story on StarWars.com (backup link)
- "Jedha, Kyber, Erso" Episode Guide | Andor A Star Wars Story on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Andor Season 2 Declassified: Farewell | Contains Spoilers Eps 10-12 on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
- Andor Explained: Episodes 10-12 - "Make It Stop", "Who Else Knows?", and "Jedha, Kyber, Erso" on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Secrets from the Set of Andor Season 2: Week 4 Trivia on StarWars.com (backup link) (First identified as rescue of Kleya Marki)
- Sergeant Benzi in the Databank (backup link) (First identified as raid on the Axis safehouse)
- Sergeant Gharial in the Databank (backup link)
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3
Star Wars: Andor — "Make It Stop"
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 Star Wars: Andor — "Jedha, Kyber, Erso"
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 3.23 3.24 3.25 3.26 3.27 3.28 3.29 3.30 Star Wars: Andor — "Who Else Knows?"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Make It Stop" dates the fourth and final three episodes of Andor Season 2 to 1 BBY.
- ↑ Sergeant Benzi in the Databank (backup link)
- ↑ Secrets from the Set of Andor Season 2: Week 4 Trivia on StarWars.com (backup link)
- ↑ Tarkin
- ↑ Imperial ambunaut in the Databank (backup link)