Some time after the Assault on Cymoon, Rebel spy Eneb Ray led the failed Arrth-Eno Mission, a plot to assassinate Emperor Palpatine, the ruler of the Galactic Empire. The mission was initiated after Ray infiltrated the Arrth-Eno Prison Complex on Imperial Center, also known as Coruscant, to free a group of Rebel-sympathetic senators scheduled for execution, only to learn that the Emperor himself was planning on being at the prison.
Ray received the assistance of six other Rebel spies on Coruscant, including Coleet, and they assaulted who they believed was the Emperor. In reality, it was a body double, who was killed. The plot was actually a trap by the Emperor to kill the Rebel spies on Coruscant, kill the senators, and achieve a propaganda victory against the Rebellion. The Emperor's plan was successful, and all of the spies, as well as the senators, were killed except for Ray.
Following the theft of the Death Star plans, the Emperor Palpatine dissolved the Imperial Senate, sweeping away the last remnants of the Old Republic. In the wake of the Battle of Yavin, several former Imperial senators including Nadea Tural were arrested for colluding with the Alliance to Restore the Republic. These senators were imprisoned in the Arrth-Eno Prison Complex, a fortified tower complex. Palpatine had made plans to execute all political prisoners at Arrth-Eno due to the Assault on Cymoon and all previous Alliance victories.
In 0 ABY, the Rebel Alliance maintained a network of seven spies on the galactic capital Coruscant including Eneb Ray, who posed as the Imperial tax collector Tharius Demo. After collecting intelligence on shipping and procurement in the Core sectors, Ray was assigned by Princess Leia Organa to rescue the senators, who were facing execution. Organa provided Ray with maps, relevant access codes, and a starship willing to smuggle them offworld.
Using a grappling hook, Ray climbed the prison complex. He used a grenade to break a hole in the ventilator. Traveling through the ventilation shaft, Ray ambushed a stormtrooper and knocked him out before reaching the prison cell where the senators were being held. Before Ray could evacuate the prisoners, Tural warned him that the Emperor was coming to watch their execution.
Forcing his way into the command center, Ray ambushed the prison guards and managed to convince them to unfasten their holsters and blasters. Ray also met the rebel mole Coleet, who was disguised as a prison guard. While Ray contacted Organa by hologram, Coleet ran the scrambler so that the Imperials could not trace her location. Ray informed Organa that the Emperor would be visiting the prison and told her of his plan to assassinate the Emperor.
Despite her misgivings, Organa accepted Ray's argument that they should not turn down an opportunity to kill the Emperor. She agreed to commit the rebellion's six other agents on Coruscant for this daring mission.
An hour later, the "Emperor" arrived on a repulsorlift throne accompanied by several Royal Guards and stormtroopers. He ordered the captive senators to approach only for them to reveal themselves as rebel agents. Ray and his fellow agents opened fire on the Royal Guards and stormtroopers, with casualties on both sides. Meanwhile, Coleet and the senators watched the skirmish via hologram and urged him on.
Eneb used his grappling gun to rip off the helmet of a Royal Guard, incapacitating the man in the process. Before Ray could shoot the "Emperor", his target fled on a repulsorlift platform to the landing platform above. Determined to kill the "Emperor", Ray managed to cling on with his grappling gun. Reaching the landing platform, Eneb managed to shoot the "Emperor" and two stormtroopers dead before they could reach an approaching Lambda-class shuttle.
Eneb quickly discovered that the man that he was killed was a decoy. The real Emperor arrived aboard the shuttle and taunted Ray. Still determined to complete his mission, Ray climbed aboard the gangplank and shot at the Emperor. At that point, the prison complex exploded, killing all the senators, rebel agents, prison guards, and Imperial soldiers inside. In fact, the bombing had been instigated by the Emperor as both a trap and propaganda coup.
With Ray distracted by the explosion, the Emperor assaulted him with Force lightning, causing him to fall through Coruscant's skyscrapers. Ray managed to survive using his grappling gun to cling on to a passing airspeeder.
Following the bombing of the Arrth-Eno prison complex, Palpatine addressed HoloNet and claimed that the rebels had bombed the prison in order to prevent the senators from testifying how they had been manipulated by the rebellion. The Emperor took the opportunity to frame the tragedy as a terrorist attack and vowed vengeance against the rebels.
Ray was deeply affected by the failure of the mission and realized that he had been outsmarted by the Emperor. With the mission in tatters, Ray met up with Organa's rebel contact, who turned out to be the export merchant he had saved earlier. The two then escaped offworld.
Believing that the rebellion lacked the ability to win the Galactic Civil War, Ray became an extremist and disappeared into hiding. Eneb's face was also scarred and disfigured by the Emperor's Force lightning. Seeking revenge against the Empire, Eneb mustered a force of mercenaries and IG-RM bodyguard and enforcer droids to attack Sunspot Prison and kill Imperial prisoners there. However, he was thwarted by the combined efforts of Organa, the smuggler Sana Starros, and the rogue archaeologist Chelli Lona Aphra. Eneb was taken prisoner but escaped rebel custody. More than 30 years after the failed rescue attempt, Leia Skywalker Organa Solo wished she could have the saved the senators the same way she led the Mission to rescue the survivors of Alderaan.
The Arrth-Eno Mission first appeared in the Marvel Comics story Star Wars Annual (2015) 1, which was released on December 9, 2015. It was created by Kieron Gillen, illustrated by Angel Unzueta, and colored by Paul Mounts. The Arrth-Eno mission is told through the point of view of Eneb Ray, the comic's protagonist.
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- Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire