Phoenix Nest, also called Phoenix Home and originally known as the Liberator, functioned as a mobile operational hub for the Galactic Empire. From this Imperial light carrier, the Empire periodically launched bombers against the planet Ryloth. However, three years prior to the Battle of Yavin, the Spectres, working alongside Cham Syndulla of the Free Ryloth Movement, seized the vessel to bolster the burgeoning rebellion.
Now integrated into the growing rebel fleet, the carrier became the home base for the A-wings of Phoenix Cell. Sabine Wren, a rebel, gave it a new paint job to reflect its allegiance. Later, the cruiser-carrier, along with the rest of the Phoenix rebel fleet, faced an attack from Imperial forces commanded by Admiral Kassius Konstantine. Subsequently, the cruiser-carrier served as a temporary haven for the Spectres' starship, the Ghost, which had returned with fuel supplies stolen from Horizon Base. Following the receipt of intelligence from the inventory droid AP-5 about an Imperial trap in the Yost system, Commander Jun Sato and Phoenix Leader Hera Syndulla ordered the ship to flee, along with the rest of the rebel fleet, to the planet Atollon.
Six months later, Commander Sato mobilized the fleet to support Ezra Bridger's team during a reconnaissance mission at Reklam Station. The team successfully landed their newly acquired BTL-A4 Y-wing assault starfighter/bombers on board the carrier. With everyone accounted for, the fleet made its way back to Chopper Base. The carrier met its end during the Battle of Atollon, where Commander Sato deliberately crashed it into an Interdictor-class heavy cruiser, creating an opportunity for Ezra Bridger to escape the system.
In the year three before the Battle of Yavin, the Galactic Empire stationed this light carrier at Ryloth. There, it served as a mobile platform for TIE bombers which were used to bombard the surface of Ryloth.
Commander Jun Sato, the leader of Phoenix Cell, suggested to Phoenix Leader Captain Hera Syndulla and the Spectres that they should steal the ship, with assistance from the Free Ryloth Movement. Syndulla then contacted General Cham Syndulla, the leader of the movement and her father, to coordinate the theft. The Spectres and Syndulla's team then collaborated on a plan to infiltrate the carrier. However, Cham initially wanted to destroy the carrier as a message to his Twi'lek people, but ultimately agreed to his daughter's plan to steal it.
Using a stolen TIE bomber, Syndulla's team and the Spectres managed to board the carrier during a bombing run. They then feigned an attack by a pair of A-wings to request an emergency landing. Following their staged crash landing, Sabine Wren discovered that Syndulla and his team intended to destroy the carrier using detonators. Syndulla proceeded to restrain his daughter, while Gobi Glie and Numa stunned the remaining Spectres. Nevertheless, the Spectres regained consciousness and continued their mission to seize the carrier.
While Wren and Garazeb Orrelios subdued Gobi and Numa, Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger, and Hera made their way to the carrier's bridge. There, Bridger employed a mind trick to compel the carrier's commander to order the crew to abandon ship. Hera then attempted to initiate a jump to hyperspace, but her father had disabled the hyperdrive. However, Syndulla was eventually convinced by his daughter to allow the rebellion to use the carrier against the Empire. Together, the Spectres and Syndulla's team manned the carrier's turbolaser batteries to fend off a shuttle carrying Imperial troops attempting to retake the ship, and subsequently against the returning TIE bombers.
The bombers inflicted minor damage on the carrier, causing it to lose its stabilizers and nearly plummet into Ryloth's atmosphere. However, both Syndullas managed to stabilize the ship. Subsequently, the carrier was confronted by an Arquitens-class command cruiser. While Chopper repaired the hyperdrive, Syndulla, Bridger, and Wren devised a plan to prevent the light cruiser from thwarting their escape. They loaded an unmanned TIE bomber with explosives and sent it on a collision course with the pursuing vessel. Once the bomber was in close proximity to the light cruiser, Syndulla destroyed it with a turbolaser blast, and the resulting explosion ignited the light cruiser's forward magazine compartment. After the light cruiser crashed into Ryloth's atmosphere in flames, the carrier jumped to hyperspace and rendezvoused with Phoenix Squadron.
The carrier then became the new flagship of Phoenix Squadron, renamed Phoenix Nest. To signify its new allegiance, the carrier received a decorative paint scheme of orange and yellow markings on its hull. However, Phoenix Nest lacked sufficient fuel to reach Berzite's moon within the Yost system. The Spectres then acquired the necessary fuel from the Imperial Depot at Horizon Base. Subsequently, Phoenix Nest and the rest of the fleet came under attack by the Imperial Navy under the command of Admiral Kassius Konstantine. Despite facing challenges, the Ghost managed to refuel the Phoenix Nest. At the last minute, Chopper and AP-5 informed them about the ambush in the Yost system and suggested that Atollon would be a more secure location. With the carrier fully fueled, the fleet jumped to their new destination.
Phoenix Nest then provided the Ghost with power generators for the new base.
Six months later, during the mission to Reklam Station, the carrier arrived above Yarma to facilitate the transport of stolen BTL-A4 Y-wing assault starfighter/bombers. After the Y-wings landed, the carrier jumped to hyperspace. Following the successful completion of Operation Handoff, the carrier traveled to Dantooine to demonstrate Phoenix Squadron's support for Senator Mon Mothma's Declaration of the Rebel Alliance.
During the Battle of Atollon in 2 BBY, the carrier served as a command ship alongside General Jan Dodonna's Nebulon-B frigate Vanguard. As the battle intensified and the rebels suffered heavy losses, Commander Jun Sato made the decision to sacrifice himself and the carrier to create an opening. Sato ordered the evacuation of Phoenix Nest, except for two pilots who volunteered to remain with their commander, before ramming the ship into Kassius Konstantine's Interdictor, resulting in the destruction of both vessels. In doing so, Sato enabled Lieutenant Commander Ezra Bridger to jump to hyperspace and request reinforcements from Clan Wren, who arrived to provide support and assist in the escape of some rebel forces.
The carrier is featured in the Star Wars Rebels animated television series, making its debut in the episode "Homecoming."