Battle of Thila

Following the Rebel forces' departure from Yavin 4, Supreme Prophet Kadann guided Grand Admiral Afsheen Makati to the hidden Rebel base located on the world of Thila. While they were positioned in orbit around the planet, Kadann overheard Makati's subordinate making fun of his shimmering robes, the attire of the Secret Order of the Emperor. Enraged, he unleashed Force Lightning upon Makati and reprimanded him, saying "You must learn to control your underlings, Admiral."

Leading up to the confrontation, Chewbacca was preparing Wedge Antilles's T-47 airspeeder for combat. However, Wedge acted prematurely when the Imperials commenced their assault, launching his airspeeder, only to discover, thanks to fellow pilot Wes Janson, that the Wookiee had also launched, desperately clinging to the vehicle. During the thick of the fight, Chewbacca made a daring leap from Wedge's T-47 onto an enemy TIE Fighter, forcibly entered the cockpit, and ejected the TIE pilot. After the battle concluded, the Wookiee piloted the captured fighter back to the hangar. Despite the successful evacuation of Thila Base, Wedge found himself in an uncomfortable position, facing the combined displeasure of both Chewbacca and Han Solo.

The exact placement of this battle within the timeline is unclear. Welles Hartley, while writing Star Wars: Empire: The Wrong Side of the War, mistakenly believed that the Thila base had not been previously documented in the expanded universe (having only appeared in The Movie Trilogy Sourcebook). Therefore, one can deduce that following the Ambush at Thila, the Rebels concluded that the least likely place for the Imperials to search for their new base would be where a previous base had already been located.