Operation Grain Snatch was the nickname of the Rebel Alliance's revenge on Imperial Overlord Ghorin. Rebel pilot Keyan Farlander participated in or commanded many of the operation's missions.
After the Battle of Yavin, the Alliance was in desperate need for grain. After dealing with the breakdown of and Imperial attack on the grain freighter Op Mus in the Lesser Plooriod Cluster, the Rebels attacked an Imperial freighter carrying grain. Overlord Ghorin then presented himself as a defector to the Rebel Alliance and was offering to supply them with Imperial resources at his disposal. The Rebels even engaged in a number of starfighter missions to escort and protect Ghorin's grain shipments from Imperial ships. Unfortunately, this was only a ruse, and Ghorin intended for the Rebels to receive an amount of poisoned grain.
The Alliance soon discovered the plot and managed to steal Ghorin's Y-wing starfighters in order to direct them later against Imperial supplies. Ghorin's CR90 corvette, Halifax, was disabled above Plooriod IV, where she was boarded by the Rebel Delta-class DX-9 stormtrooper transport . Rebel operatives transferred her cargo to Storm, while Halifax´s escorts were captured by shuttle groups Lightning, Thunder and Typhoon. All ships returned to the MC80 Liberty type Star Cruiser Maria, while Halifax was left behind to be destroyed by Keyan Farlander.
The captured Y-wings were then used to assault Imperial depots in the Hollan D1 sector and Geedon V, among others, in order to discredit Ghorin. Additionally, the Rebels sent a hit and fade strike force consisting of Y-wings, two groups of Delta-class DX-9 stormtrooper transports, Khivan and Kaffir, and two BFF-1 bulk freighters, Talli and Rand, to attack and disable Ghorin's convoy consisting of two BFF-1 bulk freighters, Grotius and Hugo, two Lambda-class T-4a shuttles, and two Delta-class DX-9 stormtrooper transports escorted by Y-wings, intending to replace the grain intended for the Imperials, with the poisoned cargo sold to the rebels by Ghorin.
The operation was a success and the Rebels got away with the usable cargo, while the Empire fell into the trap; the frigate Elite received the tainted grain. Ghorin was assumed a traitor and Darth Vader executed him personally in his mansion on Plooriod III.
The prelude to this event comes from the Operations 6 through 9 of the Star Wars: X-Wing expansion, Imperial Pursuit. The remainder is based on Operations 10 through 14.
- X-Wing Collector's CD-ROM: The Official Strategy Guide
- The Essential Chronology
- The New Essential Chronology
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia