The operation known as the Liberation of Erso, alternatively referred to as the rescue of Jyn Erso or the Wobani extraction, was a mission undertaken by the Alliance to Restore the Republic in the year 1 BBY. Its purpose was to free Jyn Erso, the daughter of the distinguished Imperial scientist Galen Erso, from Imperial imprisonment. The goal was to enlist her aid in locating the Death Star. This initiative arose following intelligence reports from the Rebel Alliance Intelligence Service, indicating that Galen Erso was constructing a superweapon for the Galactic Empire. Furthermore, an Imperial cargo pilot, Bodhi Rook, had defected on Jedha, possessing crucial information regarding Erso's weapon and his whereabouts. The Alliance strategized to leverage Jyn's connection to her former associate, Saw Gerrera, a radical leader, particularly after Rook's capture by Gerrera's Partisans on Jedha.
Sergeant Ruescott Melshi commanded Extraction Team Bravo, which was dispatched to Imperial Detention Center & Labor Camp LEG-817 situated on Wobani. Jyn Erso was being held under Imperial jurisdiction at this facility. The team successfully subdued the stormtrooper guards and liberated Jyn. Initially, Jyn attempted to evade the Alliance's grasp, but she was ultimately restrained by K-2SO, a reprogrammed Imperial security droid. Following their departure from Wobani, the Alliance forces sought refuge within an asteroid field due to pursuit by Imperial forces. However, Alliance reinforcements soon arrived, providing necessary support. Jyn was then transported to the Alliance headquarters on Yavin 4 and inducted into service. Ultimately, she sacrificed her life during the Battle of Scarif to secure the Death Star plans, enabling the Alliance to destroy the formidable battle station.
In the year 1 BBY, the Rebel Alliance Intelligence Service received intelligence from Tivik, an operative of the Rebel Alliance who had infiltrated the extremist group known as the Partisans located on the sacred moon of Jedha. The information indicated that an Imperial cargo pilot, Bodhi Rook, had deserted the Galactic Empire. Tivik relayed this information to Captain Cassian Andor during a meeting on the Ring of Kafrene. According to Tivik, the pilot carried critical data from the renowned Imperial scientist Galen Erso concerning an Imperial superweapon, specifically the Death Star. This weapon, constructed by Galen, possessed the capability to obliterate entire planets. Rook, dispatched to Jedha by Galen himself, was in the custody of Partisan leader Saw Gerrera, who was the intended recipient of this crucial information.
The Alliance concluded that the most effective strategy was to locate Galen's estranged daughter, Jyn Erso. Their aim was to leverage her connections to gain access to Gerrera and his base, thereby obtaining the necessary information to neutralize the alleged superweapon. Gerrera, who had severed ties with the Rebel Alliance, maintained a long-standing friendship with the Erso family. Jyn herself had previously been a member of his militia. Alliance Intelligence confirmed that Jyn was being held as a prisoner at Imperial Detention Center & Labor Camp LEG-817 on Wobani. There, under the assumed name of Liana Hallik, she was serving her sixth month of a twenty-year sentence for various offenses against the Empire. Despite significant disagreement among Alliance commanders, Senator Mon Mothma, the leader of the Rebel Alliance, authorized a rescue mission. General Davits Draven approved the formation of a rapid response team, designated Extraction Team Bravo, to be led by Sergeant Ruescott Melshi of Rebel Alliance Special Forces. Draven, Mothma, and Bail Organa also directed Andor to participate in the mission.
Extraction Team Bravo meticulously timed their arrival at the prison camp to coincide with Jyn's transportation aboard a HCVw A9 turbo tank. Upon reaching the site, they launched an assault on the transport vehicle holding Jyn. Two soldiers from Bravo Team successfully neutralized the two stormtroopers responsible for guarding the prisoners within the vehicle. This action created an opportunity for Sergeant Melshi to safely enter the transport and confirm Jyn's identity. Having identified his target, Melshi proceeded to release her from her restraints, informing her that they were there to execute a rescue operation.
Melshi's attention was momentarily diverted by another prisoner, which provided Jyn with an opening to attempt her own escape. She attacked Melshi and made her way towards the entryway, where she struck a second soldier. She then seized a shovel from the transport's side wall and used it to assault Melshi and a third Team Bravo trooper. As she fled from the transport, she was intercepted and subdued by K-2SO, a reprogrammed Imperial security droid, who instructed her to cooperate with the rescue operation.
The extraction team successfully evacuated the planet with Jyn in their custody. However, during their departure, their starfighter, designated Bravo One, encountered a malfunction in its navigational system, preventing it from initiating a jump to hyperspace. Consequently, the team sought refuge within a nearby asteroid field, from which they transmitted a high-priority distress signal to all available Rebel vessels, requesting immediate assistance. An X-wing squadron, known as Red Flight, responded to the distress call and intervened to protect them from the approaching Imperial forces. These forces included the Star Destroyer Tenacious, commanded by Captain Adre L'Mendi, and several TIE fighters.
Jyn was transported to the Alliance headquarters located on Yavin 4, where she was presented before Senator Mothma, General Draven, and Captain Andor. She received information regarding her father's involvement in the construction of a superweapon and was given a choice: either assist the Alliance in locating Gerrera on Jedha or be returned to prison. In exchange for her cooperation, the Alliance would grant her a clean record. Jyn accepted the offer and met with Gerrera on Jedha, where she discovered a recording from her father. This recording revealed that he had intentionally incorporated a critical vulnerability into the Death Star, the Empire's planet-destroying battle station. The only means of uncovering this vulnerability involved stealing the Death Star plans from the Citadel Tower on Scarif.
Initially, the Alliance, believing itself to be outmatched by the Empire and its powerful battle station, declined to deploy its forces to Scarif. Defying these orders, Jyn and Andor led a team known as Rogue One to infiltrate Scarif and steal the plans. Upon learning of their actions, the Alliance High Command dispatched its forces to join the Battle of Scarif. Rogue One successfully acquired the plans and transmitted them to the Alliance Fleet, but at the cost of the entire team's lives when the Death Star targeted and destroyed the planet. The Alliance then analyzed the plans and utilized them to destroy the Death Star during the Battle of Yavin, achieving the objective they had hoped for when they initially rescued Jyn from Imperial custody.
The initial footage depicting the Liberation of Erso was showcased in the second trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which was released on October 13, 2016. The space-based segment of the rescue was first presented in the Star Wars Battlefront: Rogue One: X-wing VR Mission downloadable content, released on December 6, 2016, for PlayStation 4 VR.