The mission to free Wookiee prisoners was an operation undertaken by the rebels who were based on and around the planet Lothal in the fifth year before the Battle of Yavin. The rebels learned what they believed was the location of the Wookiees, who had been enslaved by the Galactic Empire, and attempted to rescue the Wookiees aboard Freighter 651, a Gozanti-class cruiser. Unknown to the rebels, however, was that they had walked into a trap set by Agent Kallus of the Imperial Security Bureau. They soon realized the Wookiees were not aboard the vessel, and the rebels were forced to flee from Kallus and his forces. During the escape, one of the rebels, Ezra Bridger, was captured, forcing the rest of the crew to later return and rescue him. While a prisoner, Bridger learned that the Wookiees w