Operation Yellow Moon

Following the acquisition of critical intelligence by the Bothan spynet, which was obtained and relayed to Alliance High Command, concerning the construction of a significantly advanced Death Star above the remote Outer Rim world of Endor, an urgent strategic summit was convened on the distant trade planet of Zastiga. This gathering included key figures such as General Leia Organa, Chancellor Mon Mothma, Admiral Gial Ackbar, and a host of other high-ranking commanders. The central discussion revolved around formulating the most effective strategy to neutralize the Emperor's new weapon, recognizing that failure would lead to the annihilation of the Alliance to Restore the Republic itself.

A selected group of leaders, including Organa, Mothma, Ackbar, and General Hera Syndulla, had prior knowledge of the battle station's existence, thanks to information provided by rebel pilot Luke Skywalker. Skywalker had rescued Crimson Dawn agents Jon Melton and Bevelyn, subsequently learned of the new Death Star's existence through them. Given the necessity to allow time for the Alliance Fleet to regroup, which had been dispersed following the Battle of Hoth to prevent the Empire from securing another significant propaganda victory, Organa conceived a plan to divert Imperial attention towards the Corva sector. This involved deploying hyper-transceivers to attract Imperial forces, shifting their focus away from the fleet's assembly point over Sullust. The Alliance had previously initiated Operation Starlight to consolidate the fleet, but Mothma and other rebel leaders opted to maintain its dispersal for security reasons. However, the plan to neutralize Death Star II necessitated the fleet's eventual reunification.

Organa's strategy was presented as a recruitment drive. Concerns were raised regarding the ethical implications of knowingly exposing potential recruits to significant deaths near Galaan, particularly as the Alliance intended to use compromised codes to attract Imperial attention. Aware that the Empire planned to blockade the rebellious planets of Mon Cala and Chandrila following the station's completion, intending to obliterate them in a manner reminiscent of the destruction_of_alderaan of Alderaan, Mon Mothma green lit the mission shortly afterwards, seeking to save countless more lives than those that would be lost.

With Nien Nunb, a former smuggler, at the helm of his starship, the Mellcrawler, Leia assembled a new team. This team comprised Kidi Aleri, an ex-Imperial Survey Corps signals analyst; Lokmarcha, a Dressellian commando; and Antrot, a tech specialist. Their destination was the planet Basteel, where they planned to rendezvous with Bon Yoth, a former rebel contact, to install the first transceiver. Upon landing in Eladro City, Basteel's capital on this frigid and unwelcoming world, they received reluctant assistance from Bon Yoth at his house. Given the city's subterranean nature, extensive smuggling tunnels were carved into the rock, which Bon Yoth suggested as an ideal location for the hyper-transceiver. The team successfully placed the first transceiver in a dark passageway after climbing up through his chimney, subsequently ascending to the surface. The extraction proved challenging, as Imperial TIE fighters were already patrolling the skies, forcing Nien Nunb to remain grounded as stormtroopers began inspecting ship registrations and captain's licenses. Despite these obstacles, Nien managed to evade detection using forged documents, picking up Leia and the others before they succumbed to hypothermia.

Mere hours after their escape from Basteel, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Shieldmaiden, under the command of Captain Khione, arrived in the system. The captain initiated punitive measures against the planet and its inhabitants, rounding up civilians and transporting them in binders onto waiting shuttles. The Imperials were already taking the bait, as General Airen Cracken of Rebel Alliance Intelligence Service had disseminated rumors about the operation through communication networks. Despite the moral complexities of the mission, known only to Major Lokmarcha and Leia, the team proceeded to Sesid, an ocean resort world and a hub for Imperial pharmaceutical research. After contacting Sesid Traffic Control and landing in a tourist town near the island of Thrinaka, the team donned civilian clothes, acquired a repulsorcraft boat, and headed towards a nearby volcanic island to meet their local resistance contact and install the transceiver. The contact failed to appear, and after successfully placing the beacon, the team began their return journey to the city. Nunb then informed them that the Imperials had locked down the port and that the Shieldmaiden had entered orbit. Before they could escape, Imperial stormtroopers on waveskimmers and an Imperial amphibious transport pursued them across the tropical sea, engaging in blaster fire. With their boat heavily damaged, they were rescued by their belated resistance contacts, Aurelant and his submersible vessel, the Daggadol. After introductions, the captain agreed to help them escape the system by launching them into space in one of the planet's numerous escape pods, which were strategically placed for rapid civilian evacuation in the event of a volcanic eruption. The launch of the team and several hundred others overwhelmed and distracted the Imperials, allowing Nunb to make his escape.

The following day, the team received reports of the Empire's retaliatory actions against the civilian population. The captain threatened to punish the entire planet if the whereabouts of Leia's crew were not revealed, utilizing TIE/sa bombers and rounding up citizens onto waiting transports. Upon arriving at the farming communities of Jaresh and landing outside of Jowloon, the team met their local contact, Nyessa, at the village's general store. She announced her community's intention to rebel against the Empire, which had recently occupied the planet, believing that the rebels had come to aid their revolution. After providing Leia and her team with native urdas to ride to a nearby communication's tower, the team successfully installed the third and final hyper-transceiver. Leia, now conflicted by the mission's true purpose and the villagers' inevitable deaths in their fight against the Empire, informed the team of the true nature of their enterprise. Resolved to do what was right, the team agreed to assist Nyessa and the natives in a riot against a small Imperial contingent on the planet, freeing their livestock in the process. As they blasted off into orbit, the team encountered the Shieldmaiden, which attempted to hail them and demanded their immediate surrender. Nien Nunb skillfully evaded the Shieldmaiden's tractor beams by diving under a nearby freighter, causing the Star Destroyer to capture it instead of the Mellcrawler.

While in hyperspace, Leia, troubled by knowingly leading potential recruits to their possible deaths near the gas giant Galaan through the hyper-transceivers, decided to enter the system and warn the newcomers to flee. Arriving an hour before the scheduled rendezvous, the crew planned to send a tightbeam transmission from ship to ship, enabling them to listen to her encrypted broadcast and learn the mission's true nature. As more than a dozen ships arrived, Leia managed to warn them of a potential Imperial arrival, allowing them to escape. However, the Shieldmaiden managed to capture Leia's ship and initiate interrogations on her and her crew. Major Lokmarcha, having concealed an EMP device inside his chest, activated it, disabling much of the ship's systems and allowing Leia and the rest of her team to escape, at the cost of his life. As the ship came under attack from an assortment of vessels, Leia impersonated the unconscious Captain Khione and led her 'prisoners' to the Mellcrawler. The deception was short-lived, as a stormtrooper recognized the imposter, forcing them to flee aboard the Lambda-class T-4a shuttle Tydirium. Antrot sacrificed himself by detonating the Mellcrawler, packed with unstable fertilizer from Jowloon that Nunb had hoped to sell on Sullust, creating a hole in the Star Destroyer's hull. The crew realized that the attackers were the vessels they had previously warned, who had returned to assist them. They escaped into hyperspace, destroying the Shieldmaiden just as another Star Destroyer arrived.

The operation was a resounding success for the Alliance, largely due to the bravery of Lokmarcha and Antrot; their sacrifices were essential to the mission's completion. Following the operation, Leia Organa met with Luke Skywalker on Kothlis to discuss rescuing Han Solo from Jabba's palace, based on Lando's earlier infiltration and intelligence. With the Alliance Fleet nearly assembled over Sullust and the destruction of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Shieldmaiden, the rebellion gained valuable time before its ultimate victory against the second Death Star at the Battle of Endor.

Three decades later, an older Leia Organa, now the general of the Resistance, reflected on the valuable lessons learned during the operation and included them as the first part of her long-delayed memoirs, considering it a story that all members of the Resistance should remember.