The Liberator, which briefly acted as Phoenix Home, was a CR90 corvette utilized by the Phoenix Cell in the years leading up to the Battle of Yavin. Following the destruction of the original flagship, Phoenix Home, during an attack led by Darth Vader, it became the Phoenix rebels' command ship. Because of this role, it frequently found itself in perilous situations, only narrowly avoiding capture on two occasions thanks to the intervention of the Spectres. Later, it was replaced as Phoenix Home by Phoenix Nest, an Imperial carrier that had been stolen. It was among the initial vessels to join the newly established Alliance to Restore the Republic and, ultimately, one of only three cruisers to survive the devastating Battle of Atollon.
As a CR90 corvette within the Phoenix Cell, the Liberator played a key role. Alongside two other CR90s, it participated in the rescue operation of Kanan Jarrus over Mustafar, successfully eliminating numerous TIE fighters and saving the Spectres from their predicament. Following an attack on the Phoenix fleet by Darth Vader that resulted in the destruction of their command ship Phoenix Home, Commander Jun Sato of the Phoenix Cell relocated his command to the Liberator. To distinguish it from other corvettes in the fleet, the Liberator received a blue paint scheme that covered almost its entire exterior. At one point during the conflict, while transporting Commander Sato and Ezra Bridger, the Liberator was abruptly pulled out of hyperspace by an Imperial Interdictor, an Imperial warship equipped with gravity well projectors. The Liberator was in the process of investigating the disappearance of a rebel patrol within the Del Zennis system.
After the Liberator and its crew were captured, Phoenix Leader Hera Syndulla dispatched Kanan Jarrus, Captain Rex, and Chopper to conduct a rescue mission for the ship's crew and Ezra. The rebels successfully rescued Ezra, along with Commander Sato and the rest of his crew. After retrieving Kanan and Rex from an escape pod, the Liberator attempted to jump back into hyperspace, but the gravity wells once again pulled it back. However, Chopper had previously sabotaged the Imperial Interdictor's gravity well projectors to affect all nearby ships and it also drew in the Arquitens-class command cruisers protecting the Interdictor. The subsequent collision between the Interdictor and the light cruisers disrupted the gravity field just moments before the corvette was about to impact, causing the Liberator to swerve away as the Interdictor imploded, much to the delight of its crew. The Liberator and its passengers then successfully jumped to hyperspace, rejoining the Phoenix fleet.
Lacking a permanent base, the Liberator and the remaining Phoenix rebels sought refuge within the spaceports of Garel, a planet located in the Outer Rim near Lothal. After the Empire discovered the rebel presence on Garel, the Liberator and the rest of the Phoenix fleet risked navigating the Imperial blockade to escape into space, although one of its Taylander shuttle escorts was lost to enemy fire. While attempting to flee Garel, the Liberator was ensnared in the tractor beam of the Imperial Star Destroyer Relentless. However, Hera managed to free the Liberator by ramming the Ghost into the Star Destroyer's tractor beam projector, enabling Commander Sato, his crew, and Rex to escape into hyperspace.
Later, the Liberator's conference room became the venue for a meeting involving Commander Sato, Rex, and the crew of the Ghost, where they discussed potential strategies for establishing a new hyperspace route into the Lothal sector. During this meeting, the rebels decided to dispatch a diplomatic mission to the Mandalorian Protectors, a Mandalorian faction, seeking permission for safe passage through the Concord Dawn system. This mission was led by Phoenix Leader Hera. Unfortunately, Hera's mission was attacked above Concord Dawn by Protectors, whose leader Fenn Rau had aligned himself with the Empire. Following the unsuccessful mission, Hera received medical treatment from a 2-1B surgical droid within the Liberator's medical bay.
The Liberator's conference room was the site of a debriefing attended by the rebels, with the exception of Hera. During this meeting, the rebels decided to launch a sabotage mission, led by Kanan, to destroy the Protectors' Fang fighters, which were stationed at a base on the third moon of Concord Dawn. This mission successfully destroyed the Protectors' starfighters and resulted in the capture of Rau, who agreed to grant the rebels safe passage through the Concord Dawn system in exchange for keeping his capture a secret from the Empire.
Shortly after the Concord Dawn incident, the Phoenix fleet commandeered a Quasar Fire-class cruiser-carrier from Ryloth, which then became the new Phoenix Home, though the Liberator continued to serve the fleet reliably. Together with the carrier and the trio of Hammerhead corvettes, it participated in a brief battle against Admiral Kassius Konstantine's fleet in space, successfully escaping to the isolated planet Atollon after Chopper provided the necessary coordinates.
Shortly after the establishment of Chopper Base, the Liberator transported Ezra Bridger and Kanan Jarrus on a mission to meet with another rebel transport, the Sphyrna-class Hammerhead corvette P3. Upon exiting hyperspace, they discovered that P3 had been attacked and sustained heavy damage. The Liberator moved alongside the damaged Hammerhead and docked with it, allowing Ezra and Kanan to investigate the ship and determine what had occurred. They learned from an injured rebel crewmember that a "red blade" had attacked them and that the Ghost was in danger. Returning to the Liberator, the two Jedi contacted the Ghost but were horrified to discover that the former Sith Lord Maul had already captured them, threatening to kill them unless he received the Sith holocron Ezra had taken from Malachor. After a tense negotiation, Ezra and Kanan conceded to his demands, and the Liberator transported them back to Atollon to retrieve it.
The Liberator later participated in a skirmish above the planet Mykapo. After the Ghost crew returned to the system to assist in rescuing Mart Mattin and his Iron Squadron, Commander Sato arrived late to the battle aboard the Liberator, accompanied by a pair of A-wings. The CR-90 easily overwhelmed the opposing forces, destroying a Gozanti cruiser and inflicting damage on Konstantine's light cruiser. Following the skirmish, the Liberator encountered Grand Admiral Thrawn but quickly escaped into hyperspace.
The Liberator was part of the rebel fleet that joined Mon Mothma at Dantooine following her broadcast, in which she pledged to fight until the Empire was defeated and the Republic restored.
During the Battle of Atollon, the Liberator was among the ships stationed at Atollon, engaging Thrawn's Seventh Fleet alongside vessels from the Massassi Group. After suffering significant losses, the rebels were forced to retreat in defeat. The Liberator was the only CR90 corvette to survive the engagement and, along with the Hammerhead corvettes P1 and P3, one of the only rebel cruisers to escape. After executing three successive hyperspace jumps to evade pursuit, the Liberator and the remaining rebels traveled to Yavin 4.