The Vetine Operation involved Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker and Lieutenant Shara Bey of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. It took place on the planet Vetine in 4 ABY, specifically three months following the Battle of Endor. They aimed to infiltrate an Imperial base and recover the last pieces of the Great Tree, which had been located at the center of the Jedi Temple before Darth Sidious declared himself Emperor and transformed the Jedi Temple into the Imperial Palace.
Accompanied by the astromech droid R2-D2, they journeyed to Vetine. Bey impersonated Commander Alecia Beck from the Imperial Security Bureau. Using the guise of a surprise inspection, "Beck" and her companions were granted access to the base and briefly toured by its commander, Commandant Hurron. However, Hurron was aware of Bey's deception and set a trap for them in the research laboratory where the tree fragments were stored. After successfully retrieving the tree, Skywalker and Bey fought their way out, resulting in the deaths of Commandant Hurron and numerous stormtroopers. Post-mission, Skywalker kept one tree fragment and gifted the other to Bey and her husband, Kes Dameron, who planted it outside their new home on Yavin 4 after retiring from the Rebel Alliance.
During the Galactic Civil War, specifically twenty days following the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, the Rebel Alliance Special Forces team known as the Pathfinders conducted a raid against an Imperial Security Bureau black site located at the Wretch of Tayron within the Outer Rim Territories. This successful raid enabled the rebel protocol droid C-3PO to bypass Imperial encryption and gain entry to the ISB's computer network at the base. Consequently, the Rebel Alliance acquired vital intelligence regarding Imperial operations, including Operation: Cinder—an Imperial initiative designed to render numerous worlds uninhabitable following the Emperor's death. This information also included clearance codes belonging to Commander Alecia Beck, an operative within the Imperial Security Bureau.
Luke Skywalker, a Jedi Knight serving the Rebel Alliance, devised a plan three months after the Battle of Endor, in 4 ABY, to travel to the planet Vetine. His goal was to recover remnants of the Great Tree that once stood within the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. This ancient tree had resided in a courtyard inside the temple before Darth Sidious declared himself Emperor and converted the Jedi Temple into the Imperial Palace. The only remaining fragments were housed in a research laboratory within an Imperial base on Vetine, accessible only to the Emperor himself and the base's commander, Commandant Hurron. Skywalker chose to utilize a stolen Imperial shuttle, the Antarra, for the mission and enlisted Lieutenant Shara Bey of Green Squadron as his co-pilot. Accompanying them was Skywalker's astromech droid, R2-D2.
During their journey to Vetine, Skywalker provided Bey with an Imperial officer's uniform and revealed her role: to impersonate Commander Beck using the clearance codes acquired from the Wretch of Tayron. He mentioned the mission's objective was to retrieve something the Emperor had stolen, without specifying what. The Antarra arrived and transmitted its clearance codes, securing permission to land outside the base. Bey, posing as Commander Beck, and Skywalker, acting as her bodyguard, were greeted by Commandant Hurron. Bey asserted she was there to conduct a surprise inspection. Hurron, aware of Bey's true identity—Beck was missing her left eye—feigned ignorance and escorted Bey, Skywalker, and R2-D2 into the facility.
Inside, Hurron explained that laboratory security had been heightened post-Battle of Endor. Access to the laboratory containing the tree remnants was restricted to himself and the deceased Emperor, a restriction he claimed to have never understood—until Bey's arrival, admitting he knew she was not Commander Beck. Upon entering the laboratory, Skywalker discovered two remaining fragments. Hurron's stormtroopers aimed at the rebels, questioning why they would risk breaking in for "twigs." Skywalker revealed their origin as part of the Jedi Temple tree, using the Force to repel Hurron and the stormtroopers. R2-D2 released Skywalker's lightsaber, enabling Skywalker to fend off the Imperial forces while Bey and the astromech retrieved the tree fragments. The droid deactivated the containment field, and Bey caught the fragments before they fell.
The Rebels fought through the laboratory and into the halls, facing stormtroopers firing a blaster cannon. Skywalker severed the cannon with his lightsaber and eliminated the stormtroopers, allowing the rebels to reach the landing pad. Outside, Hurron ordered his forces to cease blaster fire, as Skywalker was deflecting the shots, and instead deploy thermal detonators. Skywalker used the Force to return the thermal detonators to the Imperials, resulting in a massive explosion that killed Hurron and his stormtroopers. The rebels then boarded the Antarra and departed Vetine.
Following the Vetine operation, Bey concluded her service to the Rebel Alliance. Her husband, Sergeant Kes Dameron, had previously retired, and Bey desired to spend more time with him and their son, Poe. Skywalker kept one tree fragment but gifted the unexpected second fragment to Bey and her family, wishing to ensure it found a suitable home. Bey and her family settled in a colony on Yavin 4, where she and Dameron planted the tree outside their home.
The Vetine mission was first depicted in Shattered Empire 4, a 2015 Marvel comic book written by Greg Rucka and illustrated by Marco Checchetto. Rucka chose the Jedi Temple tree, previously featured in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, as the mission's objective because he wanted Luke Skywalker to pursue a Jedi artifact that was more than just a "holocron."