After Ezra Bridger experienced a Force vision about the dissident Senator Gall Trayvis praising his parents Ephraim and Mira for their bravery, the Spectres learned that the Senator-in-exile would be personally visiting Lothal to give a speech at the Lothal City Capitol Building. Trayvis was popular with the rebels since he regularly gave broadcasts attacking the policies of the Galactic Empire. While Ezra believed that this news was related to his vision, Kanan was not so optimistic and suspected that the Empire had set a trap for them.
As Kanan had predicted, Trayvis' visit to Lothal was merely a ruse to trap the rebels. Seeking to put an end to the Lothal rebel cell once and for all, the Imperial Security Bureau Agent Kallus had been assembling stormtroopers for a massive operation at the Senate Building. Unknown to the rebels, Trayvis was actually an Imperial double agent who had been covertly working to undermine resistance against the Galactic Empire. This operation was part of a larger planetwide crackdown on sedition and dissent initiated by Governor Arihnda Pryce.
Suspecting that the Empire had set a trap, Garazeb Orrelios contacted Merei Spanjaf, the girlfriend of the Imperial cadet Zare Leonis, who had earlier helped Ezra to obtain an Imperial decoder from Kallus' office. However, Merei, who was preoccupied with her own problems, was unable to help them. Zare was also unable to contact them directly since the Empire was monitoring all Imperial Academy communications. Instead, Merei told them to send the astromech droid Chopper to make contact with Leonis at the Academy.
Disguised as an Imperial droid, Chopper managed to find Leonis at the Academy and passed him a handwritten note from "Dev Morgan" telling him to meet him outside the Academy that evening. As planned, Leonis met up with Bridger outside the Academy and confirmed that the Empire was massing for a massive operation at the Lothal City Capitol Building. Ezra quickly realized that the Empire was planning to trap Senator Trayvis. During their brief meeting, Bridger also learned that Leonis had been transferred to the officers' academy on Arkanis. Before Ezra could tell Leonis his true name, they were interrupted by several stormtroopers and Ezra was forced to flee.
Ezra managed to escape the Imperials and warn his fellow rebels about the trap at the Lothal City Capitol Building. While scouting the Building, the rebels realized that it was surrounded by many stormtroopers. Believing that the Empire was trying to capture Trayvis, the rebels hatched a plan to infiltrate the complex through the sewers. While Chopper stayed behind to guard the manhole, the rebels entered the sewers and split into two groups. While Ezra accompanied Hera Syndulla and Kanan, Sabine and Zeb headed in a different direction.
Agent Kallus and the stormtroopers ambush the Spectres.
Ezra, Hera, and Kanan eventually made it to the top of Senate Building where they encountered Senator Trayvis and two of his RQ protocol droids. The three rebels attempted to warn Trayvis that the Empire had set a trap but were quickly surrounded by Agent Kallus, Minister Maketh Tua, and several stormtroopers. Kallus demanded the rebels surrender and Trayvis pleaded with them to cooperate with the authorities. However, Zeb and Sabine released smoke grenades and the rebels and Travyis were able to flee into the sewers below.
Fleeing into the sewers, the Spectres and Senator Trayvis split into groups. Travyis accompanied Ezra and Hera while Kanan, Sabine, and Zeb fled in another direction. While fleeing, Trayvis deliberately slowed down in order to delay the rebels' flight; while claiming that he was overwhelmed by the stench of the sewers. When Ezra asked him whether he ever had to flee from the authorities, the Senator claimed that this was the first time he had almost been caught. Hera was however listening to Travyis' story and suspected something afoot about the Senator.
As the rebels moved deeper into the sewers, they encountered a large turbo fan. Seeking to test Travyis' loyalty, Hera gave him her unloaded blaster pistol to keep watch while she and Ezra tried to disable the fan. Travyis then took the opportunity to take the rebels prisoner at gunpoint. He promptly identified himself as an Imperial agent who tricked rebels into coming out of hiding so that they could be eliminated by the authorities. When Bridger asked him about his broadcasts, the Senator told the young rebel that his parents were fools for defying the Empire. Hera then replied that Bridger's parents disappearance was not in vain as long as others continued the struggle.
Trayvis then attempted to shoot Hera only to find that the pistol was unloaded. Hera then took the opportunity to punch the Imperial agent in the face, knocking him to the ground. After Kanan, Sabine, and Zeb arrived, Hera revealed that Trayvis was a traitor. Ezra and Kanan then used the Force to suspend the turbo fans so that the rebels could cross to the other side. By the time Kallus had arrived with reinforcements, the rebels had managed to flee back to the Ghost with Chopper.
Following the failed attempt to trap the Spectres, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin visited Lothal to deal with insurgency there. He publicly reprimanded Agent Kallus and Minister Tua in the presence of their troops for their failure to deal with the Spectres. Meanwhile, Senator Trayvis recommitted his allegiance to the Empire during a HoloNet News interview with Alton Kastle. Toeing the Imperial propaganda line, Travyis claimed that the rebels were violent fanatics who had hijacked his peaceful message.
The Empire's monopoly on news in Lothal led Kanan to hatch a plan to hijack the Imperial Communications Center at Jalath in order to broadcast their own counter-propaganda. However, Tarkin had decided to set a trap at the Jalath communications tower with the connivance of Kallus and the Grand Inquisitor. This operation succeeded in capturing Kanan but the other rebels managed to escape and take control of the communications tower. In response to Ezra's broadcast, Tarkin ordered the destruction of the communications tower to prevent the public from hearing the rebels. Following Kanan's capture, the rebels staged a mission to rescue Kanan.
The trap in the Old Republic Senate Building first appeared in the Star Wars Rebels episode "Vision of Hope," which premiered on January 26, 2015.
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