Skirmish over Lothal

The title of this article is conjectural. Although this article is based on canonical information, the actual name of this subject is pure conjecture.

In 5 BBY, a skirmish occurred over the plains of the Outer Rim planet Lothal between the VCX-100 light freighter known as the Ghost and a TIE fighter flown by decorated pilot Baron Valen Rudor of the Galactic Empire. The Ghost downed Rudor's TIE fighter, leaving him to crash in Lothal's open plains on the outskirts of Capital City.

After the crash, Rudor and his fighter were discovered by Ezra Bridger, a young orphan who had been on the ground to witness the firefight taking place overhead. Bridger helped a trapped Rudor open the stuck cockpit hatch and in return, ungrateful for the boy's help, Rudor chastised Bridger for touching his ship. Bridger repaid the pilot's rebuke by stealing several components from the TIE fighter, including the pilot's helmet, to sell on the black market. Rudor used the fighter's still-functioning weapons to open fire on the boy, but Bridger was able to unknowingly use the Force to evade him and incapacitate the downed pilot. Not long after, Bridger encountered the very rebels who had shot Rudor down, joined their crew, and began training as a Jedi.

Prelude

By 5 BBY, the Outer Rim planet of Lothal had become a hotbed of rebel activity as the Spectres, the rebel crew of the VCX-100 light freighter known as the Ghost, carried out operations against the Galactic Empire and its presence on the agrarian world.^[1] Around that same time, decorated Imperial Starfighter Pilot and Baron of the Empire Valen Rudor transferred to Lothal in order to test new products manufactured there for the Imperial Navy. Rudor's presence on Lothal was used in Imperial HoloNet News propaganda reports,^[4] and he,^[3] too, encountered the Spectres during the course of their operations, with Rudor even coming to direct blows with the Lasat warrior and Spectre Garazeb Orrelios.^[5]

The skirmish

In 5 BBY,^[1] the Ghost and a TIE fighter flown by Baron Rudor engaged in aerial combat over the plains of Lothal. Near^[2] LothalNet comm tower E-272,^[6] the two dueling vessels emerged from cloud cover while exchanging laser cannon fire. The Ghost, pursued by the TIE, fired a number of shots that struck the following TIE fighter, which spiraled out of control and crashed into the plains below. Rudor survived the crash-landing, while the Ghost flew away.^[2]

The skirmish was witnessed by Ezra Bridger,^[2] a young orphan who lived in the comms tower near Lothal's Capital City and who was—unknown to^[7] himself^[1] at the time—Force-sensitive.^[7] While walking home,^[8] Bridger heard a loud sound^[9] and looked to the sky to see clouds light up from laser fire before the ships emerged from their cover,^[2] and from there he saw the battle conclude somewhat differently. From his vantage point, the Ghost—which he described as a diamond-shaped freighter—was pursued by the TIE fighter^[10] and took damage to its shields^[8] before looping back around the TIE and then firing the shot that downed the starfighter. Bridger felt the ground shake as the TIE fighter slammed into the plains, having barely cleared a hill before crashing.^[10] He was also impressed that the freighter prevailed at all; in his experience, people fighting the Empire and winning was something that never happened on Lothal.^[6]

Aftermath

Stealing from the wreckage

Despite his negative feelings toward the Empire and the TIE fighter itself,^[9] Bridger felt an instinct telling him he should seek out the downed craft and that he was somehow connected to it.^[10] He found the burning wreckage slammed into a field and badly mangled, with one of the fighter's two wings ripped off.^[2] With no sign that anyone else had noticed the crash and hoping he had come across an opportunity to steal military-grade hardware to sell on the black market,^[10] Bridger ran into the wreckage and toward the cockpit.^[2] At first, he did not notice anyone inside the ship, so he climbed aboard and swung toward the cracked canopy to look inside, knowing he could fetch a reward if he rescued a surviving Imperial pilot.^[10]

Bridger slammed on the cockpit window and called for the pilot, who, after stirring, demanded Bridger get his hands off the craft as it was property of the Empire. Although Bridger hated helping Imperials, he nonetheless climbed the top of the cockpit and pried it open. Rather than thanking the boy, an ungrateful^[2] and angry^[9] Rudor claimed that he did not need Bridger's help as he was an officer of the Imperial Navy^[2] and, in his mind, he was better than Bridger.^[9] The boy jumped into the cockpit and began distracting Rudor with questions and misleading suggestions that the pilot was stuck on parts of the damaged ship—all a ruse to steal parts from the cockpit^[2] and teach Rudor a lesson for his behavior.^[9] Among the items Bridger stole were a transceiver calibration plug, what he believed was a diagnostic uplink port switch, and a confidential document naming Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla as known rebels^[6]—and who, unknown to Bridger at the time,^[10] were part of the crew of the Ghost.^[7] Ultimately, it was not the best haul Bridger had ever taken in, but he had fun stealing from Rudor.^[6]

Bridger vs Rudor

Bridger also grabbed the pilot's helmet before jumping out of the cockpit, admitting that he was not there to help but to steal parts to sell on the black market.^[2] He hoped that the earnings would buy him a soft bed and multiple fancy dinners.^[10] As he ran away, Rudor grew angrier^[9] and aimed the TIE's still-functioning laser cannons at him and fired. Sensing his instincts—guided by the Force—telling him to move, Bridger dodged the blasts quickly and proceeded to evade more laser fire, dropping the TIE pilot's helmet along the way. Bridger fired a few blasts from his energy slingshot toward the cockpit and, although missing the first several,^[2] landed a shot that nicked the edge of the canopy and ricocheted into the back of Rudor's head,^[10] stunning him into unconsciousness.^[2]

With the pilot incapacitated, Bridger found the stolen helmet, put it on his head, and mimicked Rudor by saying that it was property of Ezra Bridger. He gave a half-hearted salute and "thank you" back toward the wrecked TIE fighter and its pilot.^[8] Wearing the helmet did nothing to change Bridger's opinion of the Empire^[9] and, as he left the scene of the crash, his mind wandered back to the freighter that had downed the TIE fighter. He wondered if he would ever find out who was flying that ship or why they attracted Rudor's attention in the first place, but he had a feeling he would see the ship again.^[8] He decided to stay out of sight for the next few hours as he waited for the Empire to retrieve Rudor and the crashed TIE.^[6]

A rebellious future

Shortly after the skirmish,^[1] Bridger met and joined the crew of the Ghost, began training as a Jedi, and became part of the growing rebellion against the Empire.^[7] After joining the crew that same year,^[12] he wrote about the skirmish and his encounter with Rudor in his Rebel Journal, in which he included a sketch of the battle, recounted his dealing with the pilot, and documented the haul he took from the TIE fighter.^[6] Furthermore, the aftermath of the skirmish was not Bridger's last encounter with Rudor. The two later saw each other again^[11] in 1 BBY,^[1] by which time the Empire's occupation of Lothal had deepened, while Bridger was on a mission with Mandalorian and fellow rebel Sabine Wren to steal a prototype TIE/D Defender Elite from the Empire on Lothal.^[11] Having been several years since their encounter^[1] at the downed TIE,^[2] Rudor found Bridger only vaguely familiar.^[11]

Behind the scenes

The skirmish over Lothal was the catalyst for the plot of the Star Wars Rebels animated television short "Property of Ezra Bridger,"^[2] which premiered on September 1, 2014 as part of the show's first season.^[13] Footage from the skirmish was first revealed on February 17, 2014 in a pair of teaser trailers, "Spark" and "Ignite," promoting the series ahead of its release.^[14][15] The event's first appearance was in three books released on August 5, 2014:^[16][17][18] the junior novel Ezra's Gamble by Ryder Windham,^[8] the young readers book Ezra and the Pilot by Jennifer Heddle,^[9] and the chapter book Rise of the Rebels by Michael Kogge.^[10] Rise of the Rebels and Ezra's Gamble both portrayed the skirmish from Bridger's point of view and depicted the Ghost moving to the rear of Rudor's TIE fighter to shoot at it from behind,^[8][10] whereas "Property of Ezra Bridger" depicted it firing its rear cannons while in front of the TIE fighter.^[2]

Appearances

• Ezra's Gamble (First appearance, simultaneous with Ezra and the Pilot and Rise of the Rebels)
• Rise of the Rebels
• Star Wars Rebels — "Property of Ezra Bridger"
• Property of Ezra Bridger storybook
• Ezra and the Pilot
• Star Wars Rebels — "The Occupation" (Indirect mention only)

Sources

• "Spark" Teaser | Star Wars Rebels on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link) (Posted on StarWars.com) (First mentioned, simultaneous with Ignite - Teaser | Star Wars Rebels on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link) (Posted on StarWars.com))
• Ignite - Teaser | Star Wars Rebels on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link) (Posted on StarWars.com)
• Rebel Journal by Ezra Bridger
• "The Art of Rebels" — Star Wars Insider 153 (reprinted in The Best of Star Wars Insider Volume 2)
• "Star Wars Rebels Recounted" — Star Wars Insider 156 (reprinted in Special Edition 2016)
• Ultimate Star Wars
• Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition
• Star Wars: Timelines (Indirect mention only)
• Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy

Notes and references