A skirmish on Kothlis erupted following the acquisition of classified Imperial construction schematics during a raid targeting the freighter Suprosa. Rebel Alliance forces extracted a computer core containing the Death Star II plans from the freighter, transporting it to a secure Bothan Spynet location on the colony world of Kothlis. Bounty hunters subsequently attacked the location, and despite the capture of rebel Commander Luke Skywalker, the data core was successfully smuggled away. The core was then transferred to the CR90 corvette called the Razor. Conflict ensued over the planet's skies when the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Motivator appeared and seized the Razor. Rebel reinforcements then arrived and obliterated the Star Destroyer, resulting in its crash onto the planet's surface, with the corvette still inside its hangar. A commando operation was then launched to recover the data, and even though surviving Imperial troops were deployed to defend the wreckage, Crix Madine's commandos secured the data before the reactor reached critical failure.
Following the loss of their base on Hoth in 3 ABY, the Rebel Alliance's fight against the Galactic Empire was becoming increasingly desperate. Rumors started circulating within Alliance High Command regarding the construction of a larger, more powerful Death Star superweapon. The Bothan Spynet received intelligence from the criminal syndicate Black Sun indicating that the Death Star II plans were being secretly transported aboard a freighter known as the Suprosa. The Alliance had also achieved a victory by destroying the Super Star Destroyer Vengeance during the Battle of Nocto, albeit with significant losses, including several B-Wing starfighters. In 3.5 ABY, Commander Luke Skywalker, accompanied by smuggler Dash Rendar, journeyed to Bothawui to meet with their contact, Koth Melan, in order to train the Bothan's Blue Squadron for the purpose of intercepting the freighter. Due to an opening, Rebel pilot Ace Azzameen was assigned to the raid. The Rebels successfully intercepted the heavily armed freighter, sustaining the loss of six ships during the operation. Skywalker disabled the freighter, allowing Rendar to board and retrieve the data core containing the plans. Subsequently, the plans were transported to the Bothan colony of Kothlis.
As Bothan technicians began the process of decoding the data within a Bothan Spynet safehouse located on the planet, Imperial forces managed to trace the computer's location to Kothlis. Just as a Bothan technician neared completion of the computer core's decoding, the safehouse's entrance was breached by an explosion. A team of bounty hunters, motivated by the bounty on Skywalker's head, launched an assault on the building. Amidst the exchange of fire within the storehouse, Melan was struck down by blaster fire, while Skywalker defended himself using his lightsaber. A Bothan seized the computer and fled the scene, while Luke was captured by the Barabel named Skahtul. Despite the chaos, the technicians succeeded in evacuating the data core.
The data was successfully transported to the CR90 corvette Razor orbiting Kothlis. As the freighter was en route to rendezvous with the Alliance Fleet, the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Motivator emerged from hyperspace and deployed its complement of TIE fighters and interceptors, managing to ensnare the Razor within a tractor beam.
At that moment, Rebel reinforcements, scheduled to rendezvous with the corvette, exited hyperspace. Rogue Squadron, consisting of three B-wing starfighters, four T-65B X-wing starfighters, and three RZ-1 A-wing interceptors, escorted the medical frigate Redemption. Upon spotting the Star Destroyer, Rogue Leader Wedge Antilles ordered his wingmen into combat, instructing them to focus their attacks on the Destroyer's shield generators. He also directed the X-wing and A-wing groups to engage the TIE fighters.
During the engagement, Rogue Squadron observed a Lambda-class shuttle preparing to dock with the Motivator. Wedge Antilles promptly destroyed the shuttle before retrieving a supply of advanced proton bombs.
The rogues engaged in skirmishes with the TIE starfighters, and Antilles neutralized the ion cannons targeting the Redemption. The captain reported that the frigate was under attack, prompting Antilles to order the Rogues to prioritize the frigate's protection at all costs. He also inflicted further damage on the Destroyer. Pressing the attack, he destroyed the bridge deflector shields and the reactor. The Motivator then began maneuvering into a position to jump to hyperspace with the Razor still within its hangar bay, but Antilles intercepted on a collision course and destroyed the command deck.
The Star Destroyer then began a slow descent towards the planet's surface as Rogue Squadron strafed the ship. Antilles suggested contacting Alliance command for support, emphasizing the need to deploy ground forces to the planet's surface.
Upon the Star Destroyer's crash landing, the surviving crew established defensive positions. An Alliance GR-75 transport carrying Crix Madine and a company of commandos subsequently arrived to secure the Razor's computer core. As three of Rogue Squadron's X-wing starfighters escorted the transport to the crash site, Madine requested their support. The transport came under fire from several TIE squadrons. The rebels were surprised to discover that a portion of the Star Destroyer's ground forces had survived the crash. Madine, upon discovering that the Motivator's core temperature was rising, indicating an imminent critical failure, was forced to land the transport on the nearby beach, unwilling to risk approaching the doomed Star Destroyer.
Still-operational AT-ATs and AT-PTs blasted their way through the Star Destroyer's hull and began to engage the rebel transport. The transport deployed three T-47 airspeeders, and Rogue Squadron landed and switched craft. They then employed their harpoon and tow cables to immobilize the AT-ATs, focusing on the lead walker positioned in the shallowest water.
During the battle, Wedge Antilles noticed an object within a small opening in the remains of the Motivator's command bridge. He briefly disengaged from the battle and retrieved a supply of homing proton torpedoes.
While Rogue Squadron provided covering fire and targeted the armored vehicles, Madine and his commandos engaged in a firefight with stormtroopers and their E-web blaster emplacements. Antilles and the rogues then switched to four BTL-A4 Y-wing starfighters at the transport and began bombing the AT-PTs approaching under the surf.
After neutralizing any remaining functional batteries and destroying the Imperial armor, Rogue Squadron covered Madine's advance to the Star Destroyer. Madine informed Antilles when the last of the walkers were destroyed. The ground troops followed the Rogues' instructions during their assault. Eventually, Madine reported spotting weak points in the Star Destroyer's hull, prompting Rogue Squadron to bomb the weak points to provide him and his men with entry to the Star Destroyer.
Madine and the commandos successfully retrieved the data from the Razor, and the transport took off and circled around, and the surviving commandos boarded the transport as it landed. The rebels fled Kothlis while Rogue Squadron engaged pursuing TIE fighters. The information—the Death Star II plans—was later delivered to Alliance leader Mon Mothma.
The information extracted from the data core, combined with intelligence gathered by Rebel agent Tay Vanis, convinced the Alliance High Command of the existence of the new Imperial battlestation. Alliance High Command ordered the fleet to disperse in search of further information. Skywalker later managed to evade the bounty hunters by utilizing his Force powers, and joined forces with Lando Calrissian. The Alliance subsequently launched an attack on the under-construction battlestation. Although the capture of the plans was part of a trap set by Emperor Palpatine, the battle resulted in his demise, the redemption of Darth Vader, and the destruction of the superweapon.
The battle of Kothlis was first depicted in 1995 within Star Wars: TIE Fighter Collector's CD-ROM during the mission titled 'Strike on Kothlis', where the Empire captures Kothlis II, a space station orbiting Kothlis. Its next appearance was in 1996 as part of the Shadows of the Empire multimedia project. A quote from that chapter of the novel references THX-1138. There exist conflicting accounts regarding the capture of the Razor. The battle as described above reflects the storyline presented in the 2001 video game Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader across two consecutive missions: Razor Rendezvous and Vengeance on Kothlis. In the 1999 video game Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance, the narrative differs slightly, though the outcome remains the same. This article adheres to the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader version, as it represents the later source and was featured in the art book Star Wars Art: Visions.
The surviving Bothan spies escape Kothlis aboard Fey'lya's Pride, carrying the stolen Imperial computer to Kothlis II. Around this time, Darth Vader's Death Squadron arrives and initiates its attack on Kothlis II, where the computer is transferred to the Razor. Under covering fire from Liberty the Razor makes it safely to hyperspace.
While en route to its rendezvous with the Independence, the Razor comes under attack by an Imperial pursuit group. The corvette is eventually captured by the Avenger, but managed to launch an escape pod which is picked up by the civilian Dreadnaught Mercury. Mercury escaped to hyperspace to rendezvous with the Independence. While transferring the escape pod to the Independence the Avenger and the Executor emerge from hyperspace and begin their attack. The Mercury and Independence manage to escape once more and thus finally securing the Death Star II plans in the hands of the Alliance.
In Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader, any damage inflicted upon the Star Destroyer in the first mission carries over to the subsequent mission. This article assumes the player destroyed the ion cannons to protect the Redemption. At the end of the mission, the player can deliver the coup-de-grace on the Motivator by performing a kamikaze run on the ship, the requirements of the mission stated the player can still get a Gold Medal if they only lose one life, and the Rebel Strike Official Nintendo Strategy Guide suggests that the player does so to finish the mission with a Gold Medal. This article assumes the player did not do so, as Antilles canonically survives, and respawns are a game mechanic. If the player destroys the Star Destroyer before the Razor goes into the hangar bay, it can be seen floating in space in the ending cutscene, although it canonically falls to the surface with the Motivator.
In the second mission, the player must protect the commandos. They can have casualties but not too many, although the mission will fail if the transport gets destroyed. The default craft for the first mission is the B-wing, and the default craft for the start of the second mission is the X-wing. There are two separate tech upgrades to be found in the missions. Finding them fulfills the bonus objectives.