Liberation of Kashyyyk

Following the conclusion of the Clone Wars, the newly formed Galactic Empire seized control of the planet Kashyyyk and subjected the indigenous Wookiee species to enslavement. Viewing the Wookiees as mere beasts, the Empire stripped them of their sentient status. This xenophobic regime enslaved the Wookiees not due to any genuine threat they posed, but rather because their formidable physical attributes made them ideal for arduous labor in harsh environments. The Empire also rechristened the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk as "Imperial territory G5-623."

During the Age of the Empire, the Wookiees were forced to harvest Kashyyyk's wroshyr trees for their valuable timber, as well as cultivate crops to sustain the Imperial Military. In addition to logging wroshyr trees, Wookiee laborers were also tasked with extracting mineral deposits found on the fungal nodes attached to these trees. These nodes contained wroshite, a durable, crystalline material used in the production of Imperial energy weapons. Large numbers of Wookiees were also transported across the galaxy to serve as slave labor in mines and to construct massive projects like the Death Stars. Furthermore, the Empire exploited Wookiees as test subjects for experimental weaponry and medical treatments.

The Imperial captors also compelled Wookiees to breed, aiming to expand their slave labor force. To maintain control, all Wookiees on Kashyyyk were fitted with inhibitor chips attached to the back of their skulls, which inflicted excruciating pain or death upon any act of defiance. Certain Imperials, such as Grand Moff Lozen Tolruck, even engaged in Wookiee hunting as a form of entertainment. Exploiting the Wookiees' strong familial bonds, Tolruck and his subordinate Commandant Theodane Sardo ensured compliance by threatening harm to their family units. Numerous Wookiees were forced to reside and work in Imperial labor camps, including Camp Sardo.

While the majority of Wookiees were enslaved, a number of free Wookiees existed beyond their homeworld, including the rebel co-pilot Chewbacca, the freighter captain Lohgarra, and the bounty hunter Krrsantan. Following the Battle of Endor, the Empire was compelled to redeploy forces stationed on Kashyyyk due to the rising threat of the New Republic, the government established by the Rebel Alliance. Imperial territory G5-623 then became an isolated, yet self-sustaining, Imperial holdout under Grand Moff Tolruck, who continued to propagate the belief that Emperor Palpatine had not perished aboard the second Death Star.

Although the New Republic was too engaged elsewhere to commit significant resources to Kashyyyk, the rebel smuggler Han Solo and Chewbacca initiated a risky operation to liberate the planet, acting on information received from his smuggling contact, Imra. Subsequently, Han and Chewbacca assembled a force of smugglers and Wookiees at Warrin Station. However, this information was revealed to be an Imperial trap intended to capture Han and Chewbacca, both prominent figures in the Rebellion. Han managed to escape, but Chewie was captured. Two months into his campaign to liberate Kashyyyk, Han Solo searched the Outer Rim for Chewbacca. While communicating with his wife Leia Organa via hologram, Han was attacked. Concerned for her husband's well-being, Leia enlisted the aid of Lieutenant Norra Wexley, a starfighter pilot in the New Republic, to rescue Han.

For this undertaking, Norra and her Captain Wedge Antilles journeyed to the edge of Wild Space aboard the MK-4 freighter Moth. By tracing the coordinates of the Millennium Falcon, the two pilots discovered a debris field in the vicinity. Nevertheless, Wedge maintained that the Falcon had survived due to its reputation for resilience. Before they could proceed, Norra and Wedge's ship encountered Commander Valent's Imperial Star Destroyer, the Scythe. They evaded the ship using an Eimalgan Turn, but were pursued by TIE fighters. Though their hyperdrive was damaged, the rebels were rescued by two New Republic warships commanded by Commodore Kyrsta Agate.

Commodore Agate's Alderaanian escort frigate, the Sunspire, and the Starhawk-class battleship Concord overwhelmed the Imperial forces and rescued Norra and Wedge. Back on Chandrila, Norra resigned from her commission as a New Republic officer after Fleet Admiral Ackbar ordered her to abandon her mission to find Han. Norra considered Han and Leia to be heroes of the Rebellion who had played a crucial role in the Battle of Endor, and refused to abandon Han. Free from her military obligations, Norra assembled a team composed of her son Temmin Wexley, his B1-series battle droid Mister Bones, the former Imperial loyalty officer Sinjir Rath Velus, the Zabrak bounty hunter Jas Emari, and the New Republic soldier Jom Barell to rescue Han and Chewbacca.

After Han Solo learned that Chewbacca was being held in an automated prison on Kashyyyk called Ashmead's Lock, he traveled to the planet Irudiru, the home of the Imperial Siniteen architect Golas Aram. Norra and her team also traveled to Irudiru after Sinjir received a tip from the imprisoned Imperial Adviser Yupe Tashu. Joining forces, the rebels broke into Aram's fortified residence and compelled the Siniteen to divulge all he knew about the prison.

Executing their plan, Han and Norra's rebel group traveled on the Millennium Falcon and Jas Emari's SS-54 assault ship Halo to Kashyyyk. They discovered the planet blockaded by a pair of Star Destroyers, several battleships, shuttles, and TIE fighters. When contacted by the Imperial Star Destroyer Dominion, Norra and Sinjir transmitted a special Imperial work code, claiming they had been dispatched to repair the facilities at Ashmead's Lock.

Using the coordinates provided by Aram, the rebels forced their way into the automated prison. They quickly encountered the prison's automated computer system SOL-GDA, which demanded the security passcode. Unable to provide the password, the rebels were attacked by several droids. Following a struggle, Jas and Han, at Temmin's urging, disabled SOL-GDA by severing the cable connecting the computer to its power source: the prisoners, who were being held in stasis and used as organic generators.

Norra and her rebel companions then proceeded to free the prisoners, including her husband and Temmin's father Brentin Lore Wexley and the Wookiee Chewbacca. Unbeknownst to the rebels, Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax was monitoring signals from Ashmead's Lock. Anticipating that the New Republic would eventually discover the prison, Rax had previously arranged for the Ashmead's Lock prisoners to be fitted with bio-chips. He intended for the liberated prisoners to assassinate the New Republic's leadership during the upcoming Imperial–Republic peace talks being held on Chandrila.

Oblivious to Rax's scheme, the Galactic Senate on Chandrila accepted Sloane's offer for peace talks. To avoid provoking the Empire, Chancellor Mothma forbade New Republic forces from making any official incursions into Kashyyyk. As a concession to Princess Leia, Mothma agreed to raise the issue of Kashyyyk's liberation with Sloane. While Leia considered the freedom of the Wookiees non-negotiable, she reluctantly agreed, while still awaiting the return of her husband Han and Chewie.

While Norra, Temmin, and Bones returned to Chandrila with the liberated prisoners, Han, Chewie, Sinjir, Jas, and Jom remained behind to continue their mission to liberate Kashyyyk. After capturing an Imperial command station on the far side of Kashyyyk, Jom and his Wookiee ground team attempted to seize an Imperial shuttle platform that would allow them to reach Grand Moff Lozen Tolruck's island fortress. Jom's Wookiee companions escaped, but he was captured by the Imperials. In an attempt to extract information, the Imperials gouged out one of his eyes.

Sinjir attempted to free Jom by infiltrating Grand Moff Tolruck's palace disguised as Imperial Navy Lieutenant Jorrin Turnbull, purportedly sent on behalf of Grand Admiral Rae Sloane. However, Tolruck quickly recognized Jom as an intruder and incapacitated him by plunging a Kishakk blade into his calf. While Sinjir distracted Tolruck, Han Solo, Jas Emari, Chewie, and their Wookiee team destroyed the Imperial deflector shield generator at Camp Sardo, near the Wookiee city of Awrathakka. Unaware of the rebel presence, Grand Moff Tolruck visited Jom and Sinjir in his fortress. There, Sinjir was forced to fight the Imperial aide Odair Bel-Opis for the amusement of the Grand Moff and his men.

After Odair defeated Sinjir, Tolruck demanded to know why the former Imperial had come to his "lair." Sinjir replied that he had come for his control module, which controlled the chips in each of the Wookiees on Kashyyyk. Tolruck kept the control module on his person, but Sinjir revealed that he had smuggled a hyperwave transceiver spike inside the heel of his boot. This hacked into the control module and disabled the inhibitor chips on the enslaved Wookiees throughout Kashyyyk.

Having endured decades of abuse, murder, beatings, and enslavement by the Empire, the Wookiees immediately revolted en masse upon realizing the inhibitor chips were offline, attacking Imperial personnel across Kashyyyk. Wookiees of all ages and sizes seized weapons, fought against Imperial personnel, and either commandeered gun turrets or even tore them from their moorings.

Back at Camp Sardo, Han and Chewie's team were attacked by a Low-altitude Imperial transport, which killed the Wookiee fighter Harrgun. However, Chewbacca managed to shoot one of the forest troopers aboard with his bowcaster. Jas then shot down the LAIT gunship with her slugthrower. Han's team were also joined by the former Wookie slave Greybok, his Weequay companion Hatchet, and the Quarren Palabar, who had escaped from an Imperial slave mine on Sevarcos. Before Sinjir and Jom could be killed, the Wookiee slaves attacked the Imperials, and the two freed themselves while a Wookiee tore Odair apart.

Within minutes, the Wookiees had secured Camp Sardo and toppled the AT-ST walkers. Jas piloted her gunship Halo over the battle and strafed the Imperial AT-AT walkers and LAIT gunships. Despite the revolt in Camp Sardo, many of the settlements were still contained by suppression fields. However, the newly freed Wookiees were able to take over their prisons. Back at Sardo's island fortress, Sinjir and Jom confronted Grand Moff Tolruck in his throne room. However, Tolruck responded that he had ordered the orbiting Imperial fleet to bombard Kashyyyk. Tolruck was subsequently killed by his Wookiee servant Cracktooth as revenge for her maltreatment.

Unbeknownst to the Imperials and Han's team, the freelance New Republic slicer Conder Kyl had a probe droid monitoring Imperial fleet movements and traffic in the Kashyyyk system. This probe droid transmitted footage of three Imperial Star Destroyers moving into position to bombard Kashyyyk from space. The probe droid also intercepted comm traffic of Grand Moff Tolruck ordering Rear Admiral Urian Orlan to bombard the planet in response to the Wookiee slave revolt. The Star Destroyers started to both fire on settlements with their turbolasers and drop "propulsion bombs" from their massive bays. Conder informed Leia and Chancellor Mon Mothma, who dispatched a fleet to Kashyyyk.

The Imperial orbital bombardment caused damage to Kashyyyk's surface. After evacuating the liberated Wookiees into the excavated root systems of the wroyshyr tree above Camp Sardo, Han and his team undertook a mission to infiltrate the Imperial Star Destroyer Dominion in order to stop the bombardment. The rebels smuggled large webweaver spiders aboard their transport, and these were unleashed when the unsuspecting Imperials boarded the transport. The spiders then proceeded to massacre the personnel in the Dominion's hangar, including Admiral Orlan. Jas then landed her ship Halo inside the Star Destroyer and joined the attack. The rebels managed to fight their way through the Star Destroyer but were captured by stormtroopers.

Han and his team were brought before Vice Admiral Domm Korgale, who intended to use his prisoners as a bargaining chip to get a seat on Gallius Rax's Shadow Council. Before Korgale could proceed with his plans, Leia arrived on the Millennium Falcon with Wedge's Phantom Squadron following in suit. Korgale ordered the Dominion and her sister Star Destroyers Vitiator and Neutralizer to destroy the "paltry" New Republic attackers. However, Fleet Admiral Ackbar arrived on the MC80A Home One Type Heavy Star Cruiser Home One and ordered their surrender.

Chewbacca and his rebel comrades broke free and attacked Korgale and his men. After Korgale fled, Han and his team took control of the Dominion's bridge and used the Star Destroyer to destroy the Vitiator, splitting the ship in half. As a result, the Neutralizer's crew surrendered to the New Republic. With the Imperial fleet defeated, Han and his wife Leia reunited in the Dominion's hangar bay.

In the wake of the New Republic's liberation of Kashyyyk, Chewbacca spearheaded Wookiee teams to assess the damage inflicted by the Imperial orbital bombardment and to subdue remaining Imperial resistance on the planet. The battle's outcome effectively rendered Chancellor Mothma's proposal to negotiate with Grand Admiral Sloane regarding Kashyyyk's liberation irrelevant. Due to their shared trials, Han Solo and Chewbacca reaffirmed their bond. Having fulfilled his life debt to Han, Chewie remained on Kashyyyk with his family.

Despite the surrender of Tolruck's ships, Wookiee and New Republic forces continued to conduct mopping-up operations against Imperial holdouts on Kashyyyk. One such holdout was a child labor camp located on the slopes of Mount Arayakyak, near a defoliated jungle. While Commandant Dessard and his men managed to reassert their authority over the Wookiee children through shock-lances and blasters, they were demoralized by the disabling of the inhibitor chips. One Wookiee slave named Lumpawaroo attempted an escape but was cornered by Dessard and his men. However, Dessard's forces were wiped out by a joint Wookiee and New Republic force, including Chewbacca and Greybok. Waroo experienced an emotional reunion with his father.

Despite the events on Kashyyyk, the New Republic's victory was overshadowed by reports that the Ashmead Lock's prisoners had involuntarily attacked New Republic leaders during the Liberation Day celebrations on Chandrila's Hanna City. This set the stage for the Battle of Jakku, which ended the Galactic Civil War in favor of the New Republic. Despite her role in liberating Kashyyyk, Princess Leia's actions made her unpopular with the Senate for a while.

In addition, disciplinary action was taken against elements of the New Republic military which had participated in Kashyyyk outside of the official chain of command. While Phantom Squadron was publicly praised, the unit was disbanded and many of its pilots were relegated to desk jobs. One Phantom pilot even resigned out of frustration. However, the squadron was re-established just shortly before the Battle of Jakku. Jom Barell was also dismissed from the New Republic Special Forces but managed to rejoin the unit and see action on Jakku.

The liberation of Kashyyyk was first referenced in Chuck Wendig's 2015 novel Aftermath. The battle was subsequently depicted in Wendig's 2016 novel Aftermath: Life Debt.