The Iron Blockade, also referred to as the Blockade of the Anoat sector, unfolded within the Anoat sector during the Galactic Civil War. Its origins trace back to the aftermath of the Battle of Endor, a pivotal event marked by the death of the Galactic Emperor Palpatine and the annihilation of the DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station by the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Amidst the Imperial defeat at Endor and the Empire's insistence that reports of the Emperor's demise were merely Rebel falsehoods, Imperial Governor Ubrik Adelhard initiated a complete lockdown of the Anoat sector, thereby shielding its inhabitants from war updates and the knowledge of Palpatine's death. This lockdown spurred resistance factions sympathetic to the Rebel Alliance to instigate an uprising against the Empire within the sector.
In 4 ABY, the Alliance to Restore the Republic orchestrated a substantial attack on Endor, aiming to obliterate the DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station and eliminate Darth Sidious, the sovereign of the Galactic Empire. The Rebel offensive achieved its objectives: the Death Star was decimated, the Emperor met his end, and Sidious's primary enforcer, Darth Vader, also perished after sacrificing Sidious to safeguard his offspring, Luke Skywalker.
Following the Battle of Endor, information regarding the Emperor's death and the destruction of the Death Star II began to spread throughout the galaxy, including holographic depictions of the Death Star's ruin. These reports incited widespread civilian celebrations on planets like Tatooine, Bespin, Naboo, and Coruscant. Upon learning of the Emperor's demise, Governor Ubrik Adelhard of the Anoat sector imposed a lockdown on his sector, denouncing the reports of the Emperor's death as treasonous fabrications. The Rebel Alliance was positioned beyond the blockade, rendering them unable to provide assistance to those trapped within.
The blockade posed a threat to the galaxy at large, given that the Anoat sector was a significant supplier of tibanna gas. Consequently, the sector's lockdown would impede much of the galaxy from acquiring [fuel](/article/fuel]. Recognizing the danger the blockade presented to the nascent New Republic, Rebel General Landonis Balthazar Calrissian, formerly the Baron Administrator of Cloud City, took note of the severity.
The blockade persisted for several months, compelling inhabitants of local planets like Burnin Konn to rely on crime syndicates and the black market to secure essential food and supplies. This scarcity fueled a substantial demand for smuggled goods. However, privateer organizations such as the Trade Spine League were unable to deliver shipments from outside the sector due to the blockade. Shortpaw, the leader of the Trade Spine League, considered the abandoned Hutt jewel world Mataou as a potential weak point in the blockade. As a result, he directed his forces to probe Mataou's Imperial sensor network in search of a vulnerability.
In the absence of the Rebel Alliance, a coalition of smugglers, bounty hunters, assassins, gangsters, and civilians transformed into resistance fighters, leading an uprising against the sector's Imperial forces. This uprising was sparked by a pair of sibling criminals from Burnin Konn who stumbled upon a transmission from Leia Organa announcing the Emperor's death. Calrissian later spearheaded the liberation of Cloud City, although Adelhard evaded capture and the blockade remained in effect.
The siblings facilitated a tenuous alliance between the Ivax Syndicate, the Noble Court, and the Kouhun, aided by the Trade Spine League, to oppose Adelhard and his Imperial forces. During an attempt to abduct Adelhard's second-in-command, Commander Bragh, one of the siblings conspired with the Ivax Syndicate to betray the other alliance members. This betrayal led to the imprisonment of the leader of the Noble Court and several high-ranking Kouhun members. In an effort to repair the alliance, the other sibling contacted Rebel Alliance members trapped within the system and, with their assistance, located their imprisoned allies.
Subsequently, the Rebel Alliance broadcast Leia Organa's transmission throughout the Anoat sector, triggering riots in Delphon, Council, and Burnin Konn. These riots facilitated the rescue of prisoners from the Crypt, a prison facility situated on the moon Pujool. This rescue restored relations among the allies, prompting the Ivax Syndicate, the Noble Court, the Kouhun, and the Trade Spine League to scout locations for a joint base of operations to dismantle the blockade. According to the Galactic Explorer's Guide, Lobot played a crucial role in breaking the blockade.
The Smuggler successfully identified a weak point in the blockade, and their associate Beilert Valance acquired the route on Burnin Konn. Valance and the Alliance assembled an attack force and launched an assault on Adelhard's flagship, the Scepter. However, Reyna Oskure of the Acolytes of the Beyond seized control of Adelhard's fleet, promising to lift the blockade with the intention of relocating the fleet to Jakku for the impending battle. Two days later, Adelhard returned, regaining command of his forces and coalition, with the aim of attacking the Battle of Jakku to annihilate both the Empire and the New Republic.
The Iron Blockade serves as the central conflict in the Kabam mobile game Star Wars: Uprising, launched on September 10, 2015. This conflict forms a narrative bridge connecting the events of the films Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. The game's premature cancellation in November 2016 resulted in an abrupt conclusion, leaving the storyline of the Iron Blockade unresolved. The narrative was ultimately concluded in Star Wars: Battle of Jakku, a comic maxiseries authored by Alex Segura.