In the era occurring five years before the pivotal Battle of Yavin, two rebel operatives, functioning within the Outer Rim territories on the planet of Lothal, namely Ezra Bridger and Garazeb Orrelios, launched an assault upon three Imperial Troop Transports. Before this aggressive action, the pair had been dispatched by their rebel compatriot, Hera Syndulla, on a mission to acquire supplies. During this procurement endeavor, the two rebels were in pursuit of meiloorun fruits, ultimately leading them to the discovery of meilooruns that were in the possession of the Galactic Empire. Bridger made an attempt to illicitly obtain the fruits from the Empire; however, their activities were detected, resulting in a high-speed pursuit throughout the settlement of Kothal. Amidst this chase, Orrelios commandeered a TIE fighter, and the two rebels successfully made their escape aboard the stolen vessel.
Orrelios took control of the piloting duties, guiding the TIE fighter away from the settlement. The pair initially intended to return to their designated ship, the Ghost, but instead came across the Imperial Troop Transports, which were transporting three captives: Morad Sumar, an old acquaintance of Bridger's parents, along with Sumar's wife and an Aqualish individual. The rebels orchestrated a rescue operation, successfully liberating the prisoners. The three freed individuals leaped from the moving ITTs, and Bridger found himself facing a contingent of stormtroopers. Ultimately, the rebels managed to escape, also securing one of the meilooruns they had initially sought, and concealed the TIE fighter on Lothal—despite reporting to Syndulla and rebel leader Kanan Jarrus that they had destroyed it. Imperial HoloNet News later asserted that the transports were carrying innocent workers.
In the timeframe five years prior to the Battle of Yavin a faction of rebels who were working against the Galactic Empire on and around the Outer Rim planet of Lothal embarked on a mission with the purpose of stealing and, subsequently, demolishing T-7 ion disruptor rifles. The rebels were pursued by Agent Kallus of the Imperial Security Bureau, who engaged them once they had transported the weapons back to Lothal. During the confrontation, Kallus challenged Garazeb Orrelios to a one-on-one battle utilizing AB-75 bo-rifles, the designated weapon of the Lasan High Honor Guard; Orrelios, a member of the Lasat species, had previously been a member of the Honor Guard prior to the Empire's destruction of Lasan. Orrelios was nearly killed by Kallus, the individual who had previously authorized the employment of the catastrophic disruptors against the Lasat, but was rescued by fellow rebel Ezra Bridger, whose sudden application of the Force propelled Kallus through the air. The rebels managed to escape and departed aboard their vessel, the Ghost.
Bridger's actions became a point of contention between himself and Orrelios, as the boy frequently reminded his Lasat bunkmate of his life-saving intervention. While in the process of training to utilize the Force, Bridger became embroiled in an altercation with C1-10P, the C1 astromech droid also known as Chopper. Their squabble soon involved Orrelios, who had been attempting to rest. As a result, he pursued Bridger into the ship's cargo hold. Exasperated by their constant fighting, Hera Syndulla—the owner and pilot of the Ghost—instructed them to disembark from the ship, which had landed on Lothal, and embark on a supply run in the nearby settlement of Kothal. In addition to requesting that they locate everything on her supply list, Syndulla stipulated that they were not to return without acquiring at least one meiloorun fruit.
The two ventured into Kothal, where they commenced their search for the necessary supplies. Orrelios successfully located everything on the supply list, while Bridger focused on finding meiloorun. During his search, he encountered Morad Sumar, a local farmer. Sumar, a long-time friend of Bridger's parents, suggested that he consult with an offworld importer, as meilooruns did not naturally grow on Lothal. Following Bridger's departure, Sumar was approached by Imperial Supply Master Yogar Lyste, who inquired whether Sumar was willing to sell his farm; the Empire desired the land due to its proximity to a vein of ore. Sumar, who had previously rejected the Empire's offers to purchase the farm, once again declined.
Bridger observed the exchange before reuniting with Orrelios. They soon discovered a crate of meilooruns belonging to a Rodian vendor; however, the fruits had already been sold to the Empire. The two rebels trailed the stormtrooper who collected the crates and transported them to a loading area, where Bridger attempted to steal the fruits. Their actions were detected, compelling Orrelios to throw the remaining supplies at the troopers to facilitate their escape. Pursued by stormtroopers, Bridger and Orrelios fled back into the streets of Kothal before separating. Orrelios made his way to a nearby landing pad, where he hijacked a TIE fighter piloted by Baron Valen Rudor. Orrelios flew the TIE fighter over Kothal and spotted Bridger running across the rooftops while being chased by stormtroopers. Orrelios opened the TIE fighter hatch, and Bridger jumped aboard.
Once the two rebels were clear of Kothal, they contacted the Ghost to inform Syndulla and Kanan Jarrus, the leader of the rebels, about their progress. Bridger and Orrelios attempted to fabricate an excuse for their whereabouts, but Jarrus heard the TIE fighter engines and the two confessed that they had stolen the fighter. Jarrus, incensed that they could have drawn Imperial attention to the crew, ordered them to abandon the TIE fighter and return to the Ghost immediately.
As the two rebels piloted the TIE fighter towards the Ghost landing site, Supply Master Lyste led a squadron of stormtroopers and three ITTs to Sumar's farm. Upon the Imperials' arrival, Sumar reiterated that he had no intention of selling his farm. However, the Empire no longer had any interest in purchasing it. Instead, the Imperials directed the ITT guns at the farm and destroyed it. They apprehended Sumar and his wife and loaded them onto the ITTs. As the prisoners were being loaded, Bridger and Orrelios spotted the smoke emanating from the farm. Bridger realized that it was Sumar's farm, and the TIE fighter altered its course towards the farm.
The rebels detected the ITTs after the Imperials departed from the farm, and the two decided to launch a rescue operation, despite Orrelios' initial reluctance. When the fighter intercepted the transports, Orrelios contacted the lead vehicle and impersonated an Imperial Commander known as "Meiloorun." Orrelios asserted that there was rebel activity in the vicinity and requested that the transports reduce their speed, which Lyste agreed to. With the transports moving at a reduced pace, the fighter made a closer approach, enabling Bridger to jump onto one of the transports. Lyste grew suspicious upon realizing that "Commander Meiloorun" was piloting a TIE fighter, as he was aware of reports of a stolen TIE fighter. Lyste demanded that "Commander Meiloorun" provide his operating number, which Orrelios was unable to verify. Lyste deduced that Orrelios was flying the stolen TIE fighter and instructed the transports to resume their previous speed, as well as to shoot down the TIE fighter if they spotted it.
Despite the increased speed, Bridger located the prisoners and attempted to reach the control panel to unlock their cells; the cells, as well as the panel, were situated on the exterior side of the craft. Unable to reach the controls, Bridger employed the Force to activate them, causing the cell doors to open. Having freed Sumar, his wife, and an Aqualish prisoner, Bridger instructed them to jump. Despite the crafts traveling at high speeds, the three prisoners successfully executed the short jump and landed safely on the ground, as the ITTs continued to speed away.
The Imperials realized that the cells had been opened, and stormtroopers made their way onto the top of the craft to confront Bridger. He evaded their blaster fire while the ITT opened fire on the escaping prisoners, but the prisoners were shielded by Orrelios, whose TIE fighter drew the attention of the ITT gun. Bridger jumped onto another ITT and took cover behind a crate, the lid of which was blown off, revealing meilooruns inside. Utilizing the crate as cover, Bridger fired his energy slingshot at the soldiers; however, the energy blasts were unable to penetrate the stormtroopers' armor. Bridger resorted to throwing meilooruns at them; one throw knocked a stormtrooper down and, as the trooper fell, he inadvertently fired his blaster at another trooper, causing the soldier to fall overboard.
With the stormtroopers incapacitated, Bridger began collecting meilooruns from the crate. The remaining stormtrooper fired at the boy, hitting the meilooruns. Most of the meilooruns exploded from the blaster fire, but Bridger managed to retain one and jumped to another ITT. He was followed by the remaining trooper and threw the meiloorun at him, providing Bridger with a moment to take cover behind a turret. Bridger retrieved a wrench from his backpack and inserted it into the opening of the gun turret, causing the turret to explode when it attempted to fire on the TIE fighter. The resulting explosion propelled the remaining stormtrooper off of the ITT. Bridger climbed back aboard and grabbed the meiloorun, but was approached by three more stormtroopers. Orrelios opened fire on them, and the troopers jumped off of the craft. As the TIE fighter swung back around, Orrelios flew it upside down, opened the top hatch, and grabbed Bridger as the fighter flew by.
The two rebels departed from the scene of the attack, and Bridger expressed his gratitude to Orrelios for saving his life—an action that led Orrelios to declare that they were now eternally even in terms of life-saving. The Lasat also gifted Bridger, who collected Imperial helmets, with the helmet that had belonged to Baron Rudor, symbolizing their newfound friendship. The two concealed the fighter somewhere on Lothal and returned to the Ghost, where they recounted the events and claimed that they had crashed the TIE fighter. They also handed the meiloorun to Syndulla, fulfilling her initial orders. Once back on board, and having collaborated in the attack on the ITTs, the two were able to get along—although they did direct their frustration towards Chopper, whom they blamed for the situation in the first place.
Some time later, the rebels watched a HoloNet News transmission concerning the attack on the ITTs. During the transmission, Imperial propaganda asserted that the rebels had utilized the TIE fighter to attack a transport carrying innocent workers. This angered Orrelios, who knew that they had freed Sumar and the other prisoners. During this period, Bridger and his fellow rebel, Sabine Wren, embarked on a project to paint the TIE fighter. Wren, an artist, painted the TIE fighter with a multitude of colors, particularly bright yellow. She regarded it as some of her finest artwork to date.
The rebels' continued activities attracted the attention of the upper echelons of the Imperial government. Meanwhile, the rebels set out to broadcast an inspirational message to the inhabitants of Lothal, in which the crew would identify themselves as rebels fighting for their freedom. Although the transmission was broadcast, Jarrus was captured and held as a prisoner by Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, Governor of the Outer Rim Territories. The rebels undertook a mission to rescue him, which led them to Tarkin's Star Destroyer, the Sovereign, in orbit of the volcanic planet Mustafar. The crew transported the TIE fighter to Mustafar aboard a stolen Gozanti-class cruiser and filled the stolen TIE fighter with electromagnetic devices. Upon arriving at Mustafar, they dispatched it into the Sovereign, where it disabled the Star Destroyer's power. After rescuing Jarrus, Wren—along with Orrelios and Syndulla—utilized the TIE fighter to escape from the Sovereign.
Morad Sumar and Marida Sumar, at a later time, joined Ryder Azadi's rebel cell on Lothal.
The attack on the Imperial Troop Transports was first depicted in "Fighter Flight," the second episode of the first season of the animated television series Star Wars Rebels, as well as the adaptation book TIE Fighter Trouble, which was exclusively published in India. It was also referenced in the subsequent episode, "Rise of the Old Masters," as well as the chapter book adaptation of the episode "Droids in Distress." Dave Filoni, executive producer of Star Wars Rebels, explained that the episode's premise and the attack were inspired by his childhood experiences of playing with TIE fighters and placing his hero action figures inside the TIE fighter toys.
The attack marked the debut of ITTs on the show, which were based on a Kenner Products "Imperial Troop Transporters" toy that was available between the 1977 release of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope and the 1980 release of Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. The episode was initially intended to feature Minister Maketh Tua, a character who had appeared in the previous episode, "Droids in Distress," but was changed to Supply Master Lyste prior to the completion of the first draft script of the episode.