In the year 4 BBY, the Ghost's rebellious crew embarked on a mission to assist Minister Maketh Tua in her defection from the Galactic Empire. This operation took place on the planet of Lothal, which had previously served as the team's primary area of operation. However, the endeavor failed, resulting in Imperial forces pursuing the rebels.
After the rescue of Kanan Jarrus within the Mustafar system, the Galactic Empire initiated a siege targeting the planet Lothal. Darth Vader, the second-in-command to the Emperor, intended to leverage this siege to uncover the elusive Lothal rebel cell. This cell included Hera Syndulla, the Twi'lek pilot, Kanan Jarrus, a former Jedi Padawan, Chopper, the astromech droid, Garazeb Orrelios, the Lasat warrior, Sabine Wren, the Mandalorian expert in weaponry, and Ezra Bridger, the Jedi apprentice native to Lothal. Vader, after determining the rebels had abandoned Lothal, understood the necessity of luring them back. An opportunity presented itself when Minister Maketh Tua, an Imperial official, established contact with the rebel group through Old Jho, an Ithorian working as a bartender.
Fearing potential repercussions from Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, Minister Tua proposed defecting to the rebellion, offering valuable intelligence regarding Imperial activities on Lothal in exchange. Following deliberation, the Spectres, who had by this time allied with the Phoenix Cell, consented to aid Tua in her escape from the planet. Given that their starship, the Ghost, was well-known to Imperial authorities in the area, the Spectres chose to travel to the planet aboard a Star Commuter 2000 shuttle. Their strategy involved meeting Minister Tua in Capital City during her scheduled departure on a shuttle to confer with Governor Tarkin. Unbeknownst to Tua, her actions were being monitored by an Imperial probe droid dispatched by Agent Kallus.
The Spectres successfully bypassed the Imperial blockade surrounding Lothal, initiating their plans. After securing permission to land on Lothal, the rebels made their way towards the planet's Capital City to link up with Minister Tua. While Chopper and Zeb remained on the Star Commuter shuttle to facilitate a swift departure, the remaining four rebels proceeded to their designated meeting point, which turned out to be a landing pad occupied by the shuttle. However, they discovered that the landing pad was guarded by a contingent of Imperial stormtroopers.
To gain access to the landing pad, Kanan ambushed a Stormtrooper Commander and appropriated his armor. Meanwhile, Hera, Ezra, and Sabine concealed themselves on the rooftops, preparing to engage the Imperials from an elevated position. Shortly thereafter, Minister Tua arrived with Agent Kallus in a landspeeder. Kallus had been personally assigned by Darth Vader to ensure her personal safety. Following Tua and Kallus's entry into the landing pad, accompanied by the disguised Kanan, the Spectres launched their assault. Kanan then seized the opportunity to attack Kallus and his forces.
Concurrently, the other rebels extracted Tua and made for the Imperial shuttle. Tua successfully boarded the vessel. However, before Hera could follow, a bomb detonated, destroying the shuttle and throwing both the rebels and stormtroopers backward. In the presence of an Imperial probe droid, Agent Kallus, appearing indignant, denounced the Spectres for "murdering" Minister Tua. Darth Vader, observing the skirmish at the landing pad, expressed satisfaction at the unfolding of his plan.
The Spectres' endeavor to rescue Minister Maketh Tua resulted in failure, providing a propaganda advantage to the Imperial authorities stationed on Lothal. Alton Kastle, the Imperial broadcaster, branded the rebels as "terrorists" who had assassinated a public servant, in an attempt to sway the population of Lothal against them. The Spectres attempted to escape aboard their Star Commuter Shuttle, but it was shot down by an AT-DP walker. Subsequently, the rebels sought refuge in the former Bridger household, only to be forced out by Imperial forces. With Imperial forces patrolling the streets of Capital City, the rebels resolved to infiltrate the Imperial Headquarters on Lothal.
Implementing their escape strategy, the rebels successfully infiltrated the Imperial Headquarters, discovering several deflector shield generators in the process. As they prepared to depart the compound in an Imperial shuttle, they were confronted by Darth Vader. The Sith Lord overpowered Kanan and Ezra in a lightsaber duel, but the rebels managed to escape following a fierce engagement. With the assistance of Lando Calrissian, the rebels managed to escape offworld by using sensor buoys to baffle the orbiting Imperial fleet. Unbeknownst to the Spectres, however, Vader had orchestrated their escape to use them as a means of leading the Empire to the Phoenix rebel fleet in deep space. This led the Empire to launch a devastating attack on the Phoenix fleet.
The mission on Lothal was originally featured in the one-hour television film Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal, which had its debut at Celebration Anaheim on April 18, 2015. It was later broadcast on Disney XD on June 20, 2015.