A mission was undertaken by Red Squadron of the Rebel Alliance to the planet Dantooine. During this operation, the squadron engaged forces of the Galactic Empire concerning a defecting officer named Tycho Celchu. Celchu had secretly made contact with the Rebel Alliance to arrange his defection; however, his superiors discovered this plan, leading to his arrest at the designated extraction point.
Tycho Celchu, a TIE pilot, experienced a crisis of conscience and decided to abandon his position within the Galactic Empire after the Empire's destruction of his home planet, Alderaan, in 0 BBY. Some months later, he reached out to the Rebel Alliance and agreed to meet on Dantooine to defect.
The Rebels dispatched Red Squadron, under the leadership of Commander Luke Skywalker, to Dantooine with the objective of meeting and extracting Tycho Celchu. The mission was carried out by six starfighters - three T-65B X-wing starfighters and three BTL Y-wing starfighters. As they exited hyperspace near Dantooine, Sarkli informed the squadron about a significant Imperial presence in the vicinity. Subsequently, Tycho Celchu urgently contacted Red Squadron, advising them to abort the mission due to the Imperials discovering his defection. His TIE interceptor was shot down as he attempted to warn them. Skywalker declared to his squadron that they needed to rescue him.
Therefore, Red Squadron changed their extraction mission to a rescue operation. The strike team landed on the planet, and Skywalker and Sarkli moved forward on foot, ambushing two scout troopers nearby. Sarkli eliminated them by triggering a rockslide with his blaster. Luke Skywalker, the squadron leader, commended Sarkli before proceeding alone on a 74-Z speeder bike. Sarkli expressed his desire to accompany him, but Skywalker persuaded him to remain and guard the landing zone with the rest of the team, while providing updates to Skywalker via comlink. Upon reaching the destination, stormtroopers and storm commandos had already placed Celchu onto an APC destined for one of the landed Imperial transports, threatening that any secrets Celchu had managed to uncover while spying for the Rebels would die with him. Skywalker dismounted and ran towards an E-web emplacement. Skywalker gained control of several more E-webs as the APC moved out of their fields of fire. Heavy blaster fire from the cannons disabled the vehicle and allowed Celchu to escape.
Celchu commandeered another speeder bike, and together, the two pilots sped towards the opposite side of the canyon, guided by Celchu. TIE/sa bombers bombarded the route, resulting in the deaths of numerous strike team members, and Sarkli reported that they were under attack.
Upon reaching a fork in the road as the bombardment began, Skywalker chose the left path to retrieve some advanced lasers/blasters.
Skywalker and Celchu had to evade more Imperials and the bombers, jumping their bikes over a chasm. During their escape, Sarkli contacted them, telling them that they were under attack and to hurry out of there. Upon reaching the encampment, they found that Sarkli was the only survivor. The pilots departed the planet in the three remaining X-wings and returned to the Rebellion. When Skywalker asked who was trying to arrest Celchu, Celchu explained that they were storm commandos, elite soldiers tasked with acquiring weapons for the Empire, and reported that he had information regarding a plan to capture scientists.
Celchu provided the Alliance with information that several scientists on the planet Ralltiir wished to defect to the Alliance, but had been discovered. They were trapped in the main city, protected by only a force field. Celchu requested that the squadron help extract them before the Imperials got to them. After deciding that they should alert the Alliance to send a rescue team to Ralltiir, Luke commented that he knew of a pilot who could rescue the researchers in time. During the same engagement, another defection occurred: Rebel lieutenant Sarkli defected to the Empire.
Darth Vader informed Emperor Palpatine about Celchu's defection. However, Palpatine dismissed the significance of any information Celchu might have provided to the Rebel Alliance regarding their plan to capture scientists on Ralltiir, as they had already established a blockade around the planet.
Celchu later became a valuable member of the Rebel Alliance, serving in Rogue Squadron, the successor to Red Squadron.
This article is based upon a mission featured in the 2003 video game Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike. The mission depicts Tycho Celchu's induction into the Rebel Alliance, albeit in a more dramatized manner than previously suggested.
Chris Kroffer was the designer of the level. He took into consideration new players to the series, and he decided to make speeder bikes important in the mission because they were the fastest ground-based craft, and were popular with players.