Mission to Danuta

Atour Riten, a librarian, discovered the Death Star plans within the Death Star Library. He secretly transmitted a copy to the Imperial station on Danuta. A Rebel sympathizer or agent, aware of the Death Star's existence, had previously modified a maintenance droid to transmit footage of the facility to the Rebel Alliance.

The decision was made to acquire those schematics in order to identify vulnerabilities in the new Imperial superweapon. Rebel leaders determined that deploying a commando unit for the mission would entail an unacceptable risk of collateral damage to the city of Trid. Consequently, they contracted Saren and Kyle Katarn to infiltrate the facility and retrieve the plans.

Jan Ors played a key role in the defection of Kyle Katarn, a former Imperial officer, and facilitated his recruitment to the New Hope. Mon Mothma recognized an ideal opportunity to employ him as a mercenary, owing to his status as a human male, his Imperial training, and the perception that he was relatively "expendable." Katarn was assigned the Moldy Crow and dedicated his initial days to preparing for the mission and equipping the ship. Due to concerns regarding his Imperial background and his friendship with Meck Odom, Mothma also tasked Jan Ors with monitoring Katarn, ensuring his commitment to the mission, and, if necessary, assassinating him should evidence of his being a double agent emerge.

Jan Ors arrived in Trid one day before Katarn, with the purpose of surveilling him. Eventually, the Moldy Crow also landed at the Trid spaceport. With the assistance of Rel Farley, the assistant manager of the Brodsport Mining Corporation in Trid, the Alliance provided Katarn with the alias "Dan Drexel" to secure permission from the Imperials to land his freighter at the spaceport.

Katarn dedicated his first day to reconnaissance, constantly under Ors's observation. Unable to identify a viable entry point into the facility, and aware that his longtime friend and Imperial officer was stationed there, he contacted him. Katarn revealed all information about the Alliance and requested his assistance. Meck furnished Katarn with details regarding the timing of passage through the south perimeter gate, the method of entry via an air shaft, and the expected security measures within the facility. However, Ors, witnessing Katarn with Odom, became convinced that he had betrayed the mission to the Empire. She briefly contemplated killing him for the Rebel cause, but her hesitation allowed Katarn to detect her presence and explain that Officer Odom was, in fact, assisting their cause.

In preparation, Ors constructed a makeshift bomb and positioned it on the northern side of the facility, intending it to serve as a diversion for Katarn. The bomb was timed to detonate forty-five minutes after his entry into the base.

As instructed, Katarn arrived outside gate S-2 at 20:00 hours and waited until twenty-one, when Odom was scheduled to commence his duty and conduct a test on the locks. Odom was also to override the south perimeter gate's collateral security systems, which he was responsible for monitoring, thereby granting Katarn a window of opportunity to enter the gate. En route to the gate, Katarn encountered a security droid and used a rock as a distraction. Once inside the perimeter, Katarn ascended to the roof, removed the all-weather cap above an air shaft, and entered.

He descended until he observed the numeral One and activated the entry plate to open the access hatch. Capitalizing on speed and surprise, he eliminated an Imperial commando using his Bryar pistol, subsequently replacing it with the Imperial's rifle. To his left was a significant-looking door, with an operations room to his right and a hallway directly ahead. After dispatching a commando and several officers, he boarded a platform and replenished his ammunition. As more commandos and officers appeared at the far end of the hallway, Kyle decided to advance along the corridor to neutralize any potential opposition. Along the way, he acquired additional power packs and ensured that the communications center and the hall were secure.

Kyle inspected a durasteel door with illuminated panels and confirmed Meck's information: the door could only be opened with the red key. He opened the other available door, which led to a courtyard, and shot the two stormtrooper guards from behind, after some brief ethical doubt; he planned to traverse the dark courtyard, and find the turbolift to the security station where the red key would be. He decided to use his rifle on automatic to equalize the odds, shooting at stormtroopers around him, or on walkways above him. A bolt singed his shoulder, but then he felt once more the Force, which slowed time and heightened his senses; this allowed him to shoot perfectly aimed shots. Once he was clear he replaced his rifle.

Concurrently, Ors secured an escape route with the Crow by destroying the Imperial TIE Fighters at the Danuta spaceport; all but one were destroyed on the ground, guaranteeing that no fighters would pursue them.

He opened one of the pair of steel doors and more surprised Imperials emerged, whom he quickly fell; he resupplied himself with packs and took the lift to the security room. Once the platform reached the upper level, he killed officer Horst who held the red key; a surprised trooper attempted to ask for his name before falling down, and a commando on his lunch break. With the key in hand, he retraced his steps to the durasteel door.

Once there he missed a blaster bolt from a sniper above, through an upper-level window he failed to notice previously. He nailed the sniper but right then the alarm sounded; forty-five minutes after Katarn was in the base, Ors's bomb detonated, setting off five perimeter alarms, triggering searchlights, flares and security droids. Several personnel were ordered to investigate, as did Major Horst, the facility's officer-of-the-day. The alarm signified the end of Kyle's advantage of surprise.

Finally Kyle opened the security door with the red key, revealing a turbolift, and a commando waiting behind it; he would be dead if the commando hadn't made the fatal mistake of not releasing his weapon's safety, giving Kyle the moment he needed to shoot first and take the lift to a lobby. Despite Ors's diversion and lower resistance, the facility was still heavily fortified. Kyle found himself at the walkway he saw earlier from below, and more Stormtroopers coming looking at the bodies he fell earlier. The room contained a control panel which raised a wall at the downstairs hall. He decided to descend through the window instead of taking again the lift.

Ors flew by in the Crow at twenty-two hours to fire upon any personnel who were sent to investigate the perimeter disturbance. It was during this run that she destroyed the base's AT-ST and killed Horst.

In an effort to protect his accomplice's identity, Katarn intentionally wounded Odom with a precise shot that incapacitated him without causing death. After retrieving the memory matrix, Katarn rendezvoused with Ors and the Moldy Crow at the designated extraction point on the roof. They successfully escaped with the plans, which ensured the acquisition of a comprehensive blueprint of the Death Star.

Operation Skyhook achieved its objective, leading to the Battle of Yavin and the destruction of the Death Star. Red Squadron executed a trench run along the station's trench, culminating in Luke Skywalker delivering the decisive blow.

In 5 ABY, Luke Skywalker encountered Jan Ors aboard the New Hope. Mon Mothma introduced her to Luke and Leia Organa Solo, identifying her as the agent who, alongside Kyle Katarn, had stolen the plans from the laboratory. The two siblings expressed their gratitude and warmly thanked her.

The Mission to Danuta was initially featured in the demo for the video game Star Wars: Dark Forces and serves as the game's introductory level. The briefing for the level in Star Wars: Dark Forces specifies that the mission constitutes the "second phase" of Operation Skyhook. It provides no information regarding the first phase (though it likely refers to the missions of Star Wars: X-Wing) or the missions encompassed within the operation's various phases.

The mission was originally intended to take place on the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Avenger. That level was presented as an early demo, before being redesigned as it appeared in the final demo and game.

The novella Dark Forces: Soldier for the Empire expands on the background and mission itself, adding Kyle's wanderings in Trid, the contributions of Meck Odom and Jan Ors. It reveals that the exterior of the facility is much more heavily guarded, with walkers and patrol skiffs, than seen in the game, which shows only the interior of the base.

Once Kyle enters the base in the novella, the narration follows his movements inside, accurately describing the locales, rooms, doors, elevators and enemies as they appear in the game, but stays in the minimum possible actions required to get the keycard, steal the plans and escape; the gameplayer would typically explore sections which aren't mentioned in the novel, kill more Imperials, and even find hidden rooms, before completing the level.

In the novel, while briefing Katarn, Mon Mothma displays a T-shaped glowing object, explaining it is the chip contianing the schematics; in the audio dramatization the dialogue is slightly altered, and Mon Mothma says that the glowing object is the key that will lead him to the vault where the chip is kept. This contradicts the novel, and also the story itself, as in all versions Katarn takes the key from Horst.

A scenario for the Dark Forces version of the mission was created for Star Wars Miniatures, titled Destiny on Danuta; it is part of the Kyle Katarn's Tale series of scenarios.

The video game Star Wars: Lethal Alliance credits Rianna Saren with completing the Mission to Danuta and stealing the Death Star plans located there. It presents a different version of the mission than that described in the Dark Forces series. The relation between Katarn's mission and Saren's mission has not yet been clarified in official sources.