Operation Earplug

Back in 3 ABY, as the Galactic Civil War raged between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance, Imperial scouting parties operating within the Valtha Divide came across an extraordinary being. This creature, the teezl, believed to be unique, possessed remarkable capabilities as a natural hyperspace communicator, capable of instantaneously transmitting data to any receiver throughout the galaxy. Recognizing the teezl's potential to revolutionize the escalating conflict with the Alliance, the Empire assembled a secret armada – the largest Imperial fleet ever at that point – under the command of Admiral Mils Giel. Their mission: to transport the creature to Coruscant, the Imperial capital. Nevertheless, the Rebels became aware of the teezl's existence and promptly began formulating their own strategies. Convinced that the teezl's integration into the core of the Imperial war machine would spell certain doom, the Alliance established a small strike force to ensure the teezl never reached Coruscant.

The Rebel scheme to thwart the teezl's delivery, known as "Operation Earplug," heavily depended on deception and disarray. It necessitated the acquisition of four Imperial TIE starfighters to infiltrate Giel's armada. This was accomplished through an agreement with Orion Ferret, an underworld arms dealer, who provided the Alliance with four TIE fighters he had rebuilt using salvaged parts from battlefields. The mission nearly failed before it even began when Ferret betrayed Commander Luke Skywalker, Lando Calrissian, and Chewbacca upon their arrival at the space station Bazarre to complete the transaction, leaving Skywalker and Calrissian stranded on the garbage planet Patch-4. However, the Rebels overcame the betrayal, secured the TIE fighters, and returned to the primary Rebel base on the planet Arbra.

With the four starfighters fully functional and enhanced with laser cannons that had reduced range but significantly increased firepower, a team of pilots from the renowned Rogue Squadron was assembled to carry out the teezl's destruction. This "Flying Bantha Squadron" consisted of Commander Skywalker, Lieutenant Shira Brie, Alph and Captain Hanc Thorben, who had supervised the TIEs' modifications. A successful sortie against the isolated Imperial outpost on Spindrift not only demonstrated that the reconstructed TIEs could convincingly impersonate genuine Imperial fighters, but also provided the armada's route coordinates.

Flying Bantha Squadron soon obtained a set of access codes to enter the armada's formation after capturing and interrogating an Imperial pilot, setting the stage for their operation. After skillfully navigating their way into the midst of the Imperial ships, the Flying Banthas launched their attack, confusing the Imperial forces who struggled to pinpoint the source of the laser fire. Amidst the Rebels' initial volleys, an Imperial Star Destroyer commander named Major Voss ordered his crew to fire indiscriminately, plunging the armada into complete disarray. The situation worsened when Admiral Giel ordered the teezl to jam the Rebels' communications, forcing Skywalker and his comrades to fly without guidance. Nevertheless, Skywalker relied on his connection to the Force to locate Giel's flagship – the Praetor Mark II-class battlecruiser Helmsman – and used his final, powerful laser blast to obliterate the teezl's transport cage, causing significant damage to Giel's ship as well. Skywalker then narrowly escaped Imperial pursuit to jump to hyperspace, securing a victory for the Alliance.

Following their successful mission to eliminate the teezl, two members of the "Flying Banthas" returned to Arbra: Skywalker and Thorben. However, Skywalker was met not with a hero's welcome, but with the news that one of the TIEs he had shot down during the battle had contained his squadmate, Lieutenant Brie. In the aftermath of Brie's apparent death, Skywalker was briefly disgraced and relieved of his command. However, his status was reinstated after a mission to Krake Data Vault revealed that Brie had been an Imperial double agent. The two surviving modified TIEs from Operation Earplug remained in Rebel hands and continued to serve actively for years afterward. New Republic Intelligence later utilized the fighters for reconnaissance missions into the Empire following the Rebels' climactic victory at Endor.

The events of Operation Earplug unfolded over several issues of the original Marvel Comics Star Wars comic book series in 1982. The story arc was written by David Michelinie and illustrated by Walter Simonson. The name "Operation Earplug" was officially assigned later, in 2003, within Cory J. Herndon's Wizards of the Coast article titled Arbra: Sanctuary In the Storm.