In 2 BBY, Wedge Antilles and Derek "Hobbie" Klivian, both cadets in the Imperial forces, successfully fled Skystrike Academy. They were aided by Sabine Wren and other rebels belonging to Phoenix Cell. This escape was set in motion after Antilles, Klivian, and Rake Gahree voiced their support for the rebellion opposing the Galactic Empire. This information reached Phoenix Squadron through Agent Alexsandr Kallus of the Imperial Security Bureau, who was secretly a rebel informant known as Fulcrum. Phoenix Squadron then assigned Wren, herself a former Imperial cadet, the task of infiltrating Skystrike Academy and contacting the potential defectors.
Wren gained entry to the facility, while Kanan Jarrus, a Jedi Knight, and Ezra Bridger, his Padawan and Lieutenant Commander, awaited a signal to assist in extracting the cadets. The mission faced complications when Arihnda Pryce, the Governor of the Lothal sector, arrived alongside Agent Kallus to capture the defecting cadets. During the initial escape attempt, Rake Gahree was killed, and Wren and the cadets were captured. However, Wren managed to free herself and the others, navigating through the facility with Kallus's discreet assistance. The Jedi then rescued Wren and the cadets, bringing them back to Chopper Base on Atollon, where Antilles and Klivian joined Phoenix Squadron. Both would later fight for the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War, with Antilles becoming a renowned pilot in both the Rebel Alliance and the New Republic.
Near Teralov in 2 BBY, Imperial forces launched an attack on a rebel convoy. Ignoring the rebels' pleas for mercy, the Imperials committed a massacre. Simultaneously, at the prestigious Skystrike Academy, three Imperial cadets – Wedge Antilles, Hobbie, and Rake Gahree – became disillusioned and resolved to defect from the Empire. They transmitted a message through a rebel agent known as Fulcrum, who forwarded it to Phoenix Cell. Unbeknownst to the Spectres and Phoenix Squadron, Fulcrum was actually Agent Alexsandr Kallus of the Imperial Security Bureau. Kallus, once a long-standing enemy of the Spectres, had developed sympathy for the rebellion following an encounter with Garazeb Orrelios on the Geonosian moon of Bahryn.
Hera Syndulla, the Phoenix Leader, reeling from the loss of the rebel convoy, tasked Sabine Wren, a Mandalorian and former Imperial cadet, with infiltrating Skystrike Academy to extract the cadets. AP-5, a former Imperial RA-7 protocol droid, created false identification for Sabine, who assumed the identity of Ria Talla. Kanan Jarrus, a Jedi Knight, his apprentice Ezra Bridger, and the astromech droid Chopper were assigned to transport Sabine to the Academy and await her extraction.
Sabine successfully infiltrated Skystrike Academy without significant issues. During a simulator training session, she met Wedge, and they quickly became friends. Both Sabine and Wedge shared concerns about the Academy's curriculum, which encouraged cadets to show no mercy and to fire upon unarmed, surrendering transports. Later, Sabine overheard Wedge, Hobbie, and Rake secretly discussing the message they had sent, confirming that they were the intended defectors. While alone with Wedge, Sabine revealed her identity as a rebel agent, assuring him that the rebellion had received their transmission. She instructed Wedge and his friends to prepare for immediate departure.
The arrival of Governor Arihnda Pryce and Agent Kallus, who had received information about the defectors, complicated Sabine's plan to extract the cadets. Governor Pryce ordered Goran, the flight instructor, to lock down the Academy while Agent Kallus interrogated the cadets. When Kallus's investigation yielded no evidence of defectors, Governor Pryce and Instructor Goran devised a trap, ordering the cadets to participate in a mock combat exercise in space. Pryce had secretly installed kill switches on the TIE fighters the cadets would be piloting.
Sabine and the cadets seized the opportunity to escape, attempting to rendezvous with Ezra's CR90 corvette. However, Governor Pryce activated the kill switches, causing the solar collector panels of the four cadets' TIE fighters to detach, leaving them stranded in space. She then dispatched Captain Vult Skerris and three TIE interceptors into the fray. Skerris destroyed Rake's TIE fighter before attacking Ezra's corvette, causing significant hull damage. Despite Ezra's objections, Kanan and Chopper withdrew the corvette from the engagement.
Sabine, Wedge, and Hobbie were brought before Governor Pryce, who demanded to know the identity of the rebel agent. To protect Wedge from torture, Sabine identified herself as the rebel agent. Wedge, concerned about Sabine, inadvertently revealed her real name while he and Hobbie were being led out of the cell. While Pryce prepared to interrogate Sabine, Kallus led the other cadets into a holding cell. After identifying Sabine as a former Imperial cadet and claiming she had come "home," Pryce ordered her stormtroopers to secure Sabine to the torture device. However, Sabine broke free and engaged Pryce in a physical fight. Despite Pryce's resistance, Sabine knocked her out by pushing her into the path of the torture device's stinger.
Sabine then proceeded to Wedge and Hobbie's holding cell. After incapacitating two stormtrooper sentries, she freed the two cadets. Together, they fled down a corridor, evading stormtroopers and blast doors. They encountered Agent Kallus, who, to Sabine's surprise and suspicion, aided their escape by directing them to Hangar Bay 24. He explained his actions by asking Sabine to tell her Lasat friend Garazeb Orrelios that they were now even. Due to Kallus's history with the Spectres, Sabine didn't suspect that he might be Fulcrum, as Zeb had not shared the events of Bahryn with the others. The trio managed to commandeer a TIE bomber, chosen for its durability, and fled into the atmosphere outside Skystrike Academy.
Captain Skerris pursued the cadets in his TIE Interceptor, damaging the slow-moving bomber. Fortunately, Ezra's CR90 corvette picked up Sabine and the cadets. After safely evacuating aboard the corvette, the rebels and the defecting cadets escaped into hyperspace.
At Chopper Base on Atollon, Sabine introduced Wedge and Hobbie to her commanding officer, Commander Jun Sato. When Wedge inquired about the rebellion's need for pilots, Sato confirmed this and welcomed the two young men into the rebellion. Wedge and Hobbie both became rebel pilots, and Wedge, in particular, became a renowned war hero, fighting against both Death Stars.
The Spectres and Phoenix Squadron didn't discover Kallus's identity as Fulcrum until later, when Kanan, Ezra, and Chopper infiltrated the Imperial Armory Complex on Lothal. When Kanan and Ezra informed the rest of the team about Kallus's assistance, they were shocked and suspicious. Zeb was equally surprised, realizing he had "accidentally" recruited the ISB agent, and was forced to admit that Kallus had been on Bahryn. Hera, suspecting Kallus of playing a long game, decided to proceed with caution with their new ally.
Sabine's experience with kill switches proved valuable later, during the Spectres' mission to Lothal the following year. She and Ezra ended up stealing the prototype TIE/D Defender Elite, which was equipped with a kill switch as an anti-theft measure. While deactivating the starfighter's homing beacon, Sabine discovered the switch and immediately advised Ezra, who was piloting, to land. When the switch was activated, the crash was less severe because the Elite was already landing, allowing Ezra and Sabine to escape with the fighter's flight data recorder and hyperdrive.
Wedge later recounted his experience many years after the battle of Endor to Vanguard Five aboard the Temperance before taking over ISD Victorum. He and Lindon Javes have in common- Flying for the Empire then defected to the rebellion. Wedge tells him that defecting is the smartest move he ever made and wished his friends would do the same.
The escape from Skystrike Academy was initially depicted in "The Antilles Extraction," an episode of Star Wars Rebels that premiered on Disney XD on October 8, 2016.