star wars clone wars RPG

A millennium-old vendetta

The origins of the Clone Wars dated back to the time of the Old Republic,[61] which reigned over a millennium prior to the war. That era marked a dark age in galactic history,[1] as the Sith battled their ancient enemies, the Jedi, for control of the galaxy.[62] The Sith suffered from infighting,[63] which ultimately led to their defeat at the hands of the Jedi, but although the Jedi believed they had vanquished their foes,[60] the Sith had merely retreated into hiding. Darth Bane, the last surviving Dark Lord of the Sith, founded a philosophy known as the Rule of Two, which dictated that the entire Sith Order would be comprised solely of a master and an apprentice.[63] Operating in the shadows, the Sith accumulated power and influence in preparation for the endgame of their grand plan: galactic domination and revenge against the Jedi.[8] From the remnants of the Old Republic, a modern Galactic Republic was formed. For the first time, a Galactic Senate afforded political representation to hundreds of worlds and star systems. The Old Republic's armed forces were disbanded,[1] leading the Jedi Order to assume a peacekeeping role within the Republic, serving at the behest of the Senate and its Supreme Chancellor.[60] Over time, the Senate incurred notoriety for its stagnant bureaucracy and corruption,[64] and rifts emerged as the central Core Worlds—including the Republic's capital, Coruscant—became reputed for their willingness to exploit the resources of the outlying Outer Rim Territories.[1] Adding to the morass of bureaucracy and inaction was the fact that corporate blocs such as the Trade Federation, the InterGalactic Banking Clan, and the Techno Union were granted Senate representation alongside the Republic's member worlds.[53] Nearly a thousand years into the Republic's reign,[15] Darth Sidious became the ruling Dark Lord of the Sith after betraying and murdering his master Darth Plagueis. Sidious planned to continue the Siths' revenge plot by using his Sith persona and alter ego Sheev Palpatine. His double identity would allow him to deceive and eventually destroy the Galactic Republic and Jedi. In order to infiltrate the Republic, Palpatine became the senator of his home planet Naboo. As the senator of Naboo, he devised a complex scheme to unseat the incumbent Supreme Chancellor, Finis Valorum, and install himself as the Republic's next head of state: as the Republic became embroiled in a dispute over the taxation of trade routes, Sidious secretly allied himself with Nute Gunray, the Viceroy of the Trade Federation, and ordered the Trade Federation to blockade his homeworld of Naboo. When the Senate's characteristic stagnation proved ineffectual at overturning the Invasion of Naboo, Palpatine manipulated and deceived Queen Padmé Amidala of Naboo into calling for a Vote of No Confidence in Valorum's leadership. The Senate thereafter elected Palpatine as Valorum's successor, and the Jedi Order aided the Royal Naboo Security Forces in ending the blockade, though not before the Sith revealed themselves in the form of Darth Maul, Sidious' current apprentice. Maul was defeated by the Jedi Knights and presumed dead, leading the Jedi High Council to suspect the existence of a second Sith Lord.[60] Now the Supreme Chancellor, Palpatine was seen as a crusading reformer in the face of the Republic's failings, while three of those major failings—the maze of bureaucracy, the lack of any formal military, and weak central power—were showcased to the galaxy at large. Additionally, thanks to the Invasion of Naboo, Palpatine was able to vilify galactic corporations, which helped lead to the Separatist government. Though an open war was still ten years away, the fight for Naboo had served as the first spark of the Clone Wars in a number of ways.

the creation of the clone wars

Sidious found a replacement for Maul in Count Dooku, a former Jedi Master who had left the Order and become integral to the Sith plan for galactic conquest. Sidious and Dooku, the latter of whom adopted the name Darth Tyranus, plotted to manipulate the Republic into a sham war with an opposing state. The Jedi would be forced to serve as generals for a Republic army of soldiers,[15] who would eventually serve as their executioners. Furthermore, the conflict would destabilize the Republic and render it vulnerable to the Sith takeover.[8] Prior to the Invasion of Naboo, the Jedi High Council dismissed one of its members, Master Sifo-Dyas, due to his unorthodox belief that the Republic would need to raise an army for a full-scale conflict that he had foreseen.[59] Undeterred, Sifo-Dyas contacted the Kaminoans, a species reputed for its cloning industry, and ordered the production of a clone army on behalf of the Republic. In so doing, Sifo-Dyas circumvented both the Senate and the High Council, purporting to have the support of the former.[15] When the Sith discovered the existence of the clone army, they went to extreme lengths to hijack the project. At the time, then-Chancellor Valorum asked Sifo-Dyas to oversee confidential negotiations between the Republic and the Pyke Syndicate, a rising spice cartel that had begun to dominate the Coruscant Underworld. Unaware of Valorum's request, the High Council separately dispatched Sifo-Dyas to resolve a tribal dispute on the planet Felucia.[59] Sifo-Dyas never reached Felucia, and the resulting events became enmeshed in a web of subterfuge that took the Jedi Order many years to unravel. Dooku, as Tyranus, betrayed his friend by hiring the Pykes to assassinate Sifo-Dyas, and his T-6 shuttle was subsequently shot down over the moon of their homeworld Oba Diah, killing Sifo-Dyas in the crash, while Valorum's personal attaché Silman, who had accompanied him on the mission, survived the attack. The Pykes delivered Sifo-Dyas's corpse to Tyranus, but covertly kept Silman hostage as potential leverage in the future. The Jedi Order, meanwhile, believed Sifo-Dyas to have died on Felucia after he failed to negotiate peace between the local tribes. After seizing control of the cloning project, the Sith selected the renowned bounty hunter Jango Fett as the genetic template for their army.[15] Chief Medical Scientist Nala Se served as one of the project's main engineers.[37] On the Kaminoan home-world of Kamino, Fett provided both genetic samples and training for his so-called clone troopers, who were subjected to growth acceleration and thereby aged at twice the normal rate of humans. As a result, the first generation of troops was ready within a decade of Sifo-Dyas's original order.[15] Sifo-Dyas wanted an inhibitor chip implanted in the brain of each Clone, as a safeguard against rogue Jedi. However, Dooku and Sidious retooled the chips in order to ensure the Jedi's destruction. Posing as a Jedi, Dooku presented the chip to the Kaminoan scientists and deceived them into believing the chips were designed to preclude aggression within each subject, as well as that Sifo-Dyas had ordered the installation of the chips[65] as a countermeasure against betrayal from rogue Jedi.[37]In truth, the chips would force each clone to comply with Protocol 66, a directive for the soldiers to execute their Jedi commanders for being perceived traitors to the Republic.[65] Thus, the Sith would be able to massacre the entire Jedi Order via its subordinate soldiers.

Separatist Crisis

Eight years after the Invasion of Naboo, a pan-galactic Confederacy of Independent Systems began to take shape when Count Dooku commandeered a HoloNet relay station in the Raxus system and berated the Republic with condemning rhetoric. Over the next two years,[1] a Separatist Crisis arose when thousands of star systems seceded from the Republic and flocked to the Confederacy.[64][66] The Separatist Crisis sent the Republic into a frenzy, particularly as Dooku repeatedly spurned Palpatine's public requests for negotiation.[1] The Republic Senate soon became divided over the passage of a Military Creation Act. Advocates of the bill argued that the Republic required a military force to defend itself from the Separatists, whereas others such as now-Senator Padmé Amidala believed that the measure would provoke full-scale civil war between the Republic and the Confederacy. Such a war became increasingly inevitable,[15] with the Sith Lords poised to lead both sides of the approaching conflict that would tear the galaxy asunder.[8] Fearful that such meetings would grant the CIS state legitimacy, the Republic Senate also declared it illegal under[53] the Republic Senate non-communication law[39] for Republic representatives to meet with Separatists in formal talks.[53] By 22 BBY,[12] the Sith had nearly completed preparations for open conflict between the Republic and the Confederacy. Nominally the Confederacy functioned as a democracy,[66] and delegates from its myriad member worlds formed a Separatist Senate,[53] though in truth it was ruled by the Sith.[8] At the same time, the galaxy's major corporations pledged their support and resources to the Confederacy, and their leaders thereby earned seats on Dooku's Separatist Council.[15] Its members included Chairman San Hill of the InterGalactic Banking Clan, Foreman Wat Tambor of the Techno Union, Magistrate Passel Argente of the Corporate Alliance, Presidente Shu Mai of the Commerce Guild, and Archduke Poggle the Lesser of the Geonosian hives, as well as Senators Po Nudo of Ando and Tikkes of Mon Cala.[67][14] Nute Gunray's condition for joining the Separatist Council was that Amidala be killed in revenge for her humiliating defeat of him at the Battle of Naboo. Jango Fett and his associate, Zam Wesell, undertook the bounty that Gunray subsequently issued on Amidala. Just before the Senate's vote on the Military Creation Act, Wesell mounted an unsuccessful attempt on Amidala's life, resulting in the High Council designating Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan, Anakin Skywalker—both of whom had been instrumental in the Republic's victory at the Battle of Naboo—as Amidala's personal bodyguards. Wesell's second attempt on Amidala's life similarly failed, and Fett used a Kamino saberdart to execute Wesell before Kenobi and Skywalker could extract information from her. Nevertheless, Kenobi identified the saberdart's connection to Kamino, and was alarmed when his research revealed that the planet had been erased from the Jedi Archives. With the help of Grand Master Yoda, he pinpointed Kamino's location above the galactic plane, just south of the Rishi Maze, and traveled there as part of his investigation into Amidala's assailant. When Kenobi arrived at Kamino's capital of Tipoca City, Prime Minister Lama Su greeted him and revealed the existence of the clone army. By this time, 200,000 troopers were ready for deployment, with a million more soldiers nearing completion of their training. A shocked Kenobi reported his discovery to the High Council, which ordered him to detain Fett and bring him to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant for questioning. Fett escaped from Tipoca City with his son, an unaltered clone whom he named Boba, and fled to[15] the Confederate capital of Geonosis.[68] Kenobi tracked the Fetts and, after engaging in a starfighter dogfight that led them to believe him dead, followed them to the planetary surface. There, he discovered that the Geonosians were manufacturing millions of battle droids in their droid foundries. He also witnessed a meeting between Dooku and the Separatist Council, discovering that they were preparing to merge their resources into a Separatist Droid Army. The Geonosians thereafter captured Kenobi, though not before he sent a message to Skywalker.[15] Skywalker was with Amidala on the nearby world of Tatooine and relayed Kenobi's message to Coruscant, where Palpatine and the High Council heard the news that the commerce guilds had joined the Confederacy. Against the Council's orders, Amidala and Skywalker rushed to rescue Kenobi on Geonosis. While Kenobi was in his custody, Dooku claimed that the entire Republic was under the sway of a Dark Lord of the Sith named Darth Sidious, and tried to persuade Kenobi to help him destroy the Sith. Kenobi refused, and after Amidala and Skywalker were similarly captured, the Geonosians sentenced all three of them to execution in[15] the Petranaki Arena.[14] Despite Kenobi's report that the Confederacy was raising an army, Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan and other members of the Senate still believed that the Military Creation Act would not be passed in time to contend with the Separatists. Consequently, Junior Representative Jar Jar Binks of Naboo motioned that the Senate grant emergency powers to Palpatine, who could then use his newfound authority to formally approve the creation of a Grand Army of the Republic. Though Palpatine promised to relinquish his emergency powers once the crisis had passed,[15] that was never to be the case.[8] While Master Yoda traveled to Kamino to marshal the clone troopers for the Grand Army, Master Mace Windu assembled an assault team[15] of 212 Jedi,[69] drawn from the Masters of the High Council and the Order's ranks of Knights and Padawans, to save Kenobi from imprisonment on Geonosis. The galaxy teetered on the brink of civil war.

the war:Year one

The Battle of Geonosis[22] commenced when Windu and his Jedi strike team infiltrated the Petranaki arena to save Amidala, Kenobi, and Skywalker from gladiatorial combat with three beasts: an acklay, a nexu, and a reek. While the Geonosian spectators fled the arena, Dooku unleashed a massive infantry of B1 battle droids, B2 super battle droids, and droidekas against the Jedi. During the ensuing ground battle,[15] Council member Coleman Trebor[70] came within seconds of ending the conflict when he nearly managed to kill Dooku, but Jango Fett gunned him down before he could do so. Windu thereafter beheaded Fett, an act that would earn him the ire of his son, Boba. Within a short span, only Amidala, Kenobi, Skywalker, Windu, and a fraction of their Jedi allies were still standing. With his battle droids encircling the ring of survivors, Dooku demanded their unconditional surrender, but Windu refused to allow himself and his comrades to become hostages.[15] Just as Windu and the other survivors were about to be executed, Yoda swept in with reinforcements, the Grand Army of the Republic:[15] 192,000 clone troopers[68] aboard Acclamator-class transgalactic military assault ships, with LAAT/i gunships ferrying them into the Petranaki arena to defend and extract the surviving Jedi. Amidala, Kenobi, Skywalker, Windu, and the other surviving Jedi withdrew from the arena aboard Yoda's gunships and rushed to Geonosis's red sand plains, where a ground campaign was taking shape. Jedi such as Aayla Secura, Kit Fisto, and many others immediately accepted command positions and led the clone troopers into battle against the Separatist Droid Army, working to decimate the enemy infantry and prevent the Techno Union's Hardcell transports from escaping. While Yoda proceeded to the Republic's forward command center, Windu oversaw an assembly area,[15] where Clone Commander Ponds[71][72] handed him command of five special commando units.[15] Colonel Meebur Gascon and other top strategists from Republic High Command advised the Grand Army on its battlefield tactics.[73] A frenetic offensive ensued, as the Republic's All Terrain Tactical Enforcers went head-to-head with the Separatists' IG-227 Hailfire-class droid tanks and OG-9 homing spider droids. Yoda ordered the Grand Army's Self-Propelled Heavy Artillery Turbolaser walkers to ground a number of Trade Federation core ships before they could escape. On the ground, the Jedi and their clone troopers were forced to contend with the enemy battle droids and DSD1 dwarf spider droids, but they made gradual headway against the Separatists. Overwhelmed by the Republic's assault, Dooku and the Separatist Council ordered a retreat. Poggle the Lesser entrusted Dooku with the Geonosians' plans to the Ultimate Weapon, and Dooku headed for a remote hangar where his Punworcca 116-class interstellar sloop was docked. En route to the hangar, Dooku crossed paths with Amidala, Kenobi, and Skywalker and they gave chase aboard their LAAT/i gunship. When Dooku's escort of Nantex-class territorial defense starfighters retaliated, Amidala was dislodged from the gunship, while Kenobi and Skywalker pursued the Count. When Kenobi and Skywalker reached the hangar, Dooku defeated them in a lightsaber duel, injuring Kenobi and severing Skywalker's right forearm. The duel continued when Yoda, Dooku's former Jedi Master, arrived and proved more than a challenge for the Sith Lord. Dooku was able to escape only by collapsing a pillar on top of Kenobi and Skywalker, forcing Yoda to choose between pressing his attack and saving his fellow Jedi. Amidala arrived at the hangar with another gunship, but she and her squad of clone troopers were unable to shoot down Dooku's solar sailer. Although Dooku and the Separatist Council had escaped with their forces, the Republic declared victory in the Battle of Geonosis.[15] Dooku secretly traveled to Coruscant, where he met with Darth Sidious and reported that the intergalactic conflict which they had worked to instigate was finally underway. Though Kenobi believed that the clone troopers had been instrumental to the Republic's victory on Geonosis, Yoda knew that it was not a victory: The Clone Wars had begun. From Coruscant, the Republic deployed tens of thousands of clone troopers and a fleet of warships and assault craft, which formed the Republic Navy, as part of its war machine.[15] The Confederacy, meanwhile, moved its capital from Geonosis[68] to the planet Raxus Secundus, which served as the headquarters of the Separatist Senate.

Conflict spreads

As the Clone Wars engulfed world after world across the galaxy incredibly quickly, Amidala's handmaiden Dormé suspected the Confederacy had its forces lying in wait on the impression the events on Geonosis would end in a Separatist triumph, only for the Republic's own forces to be able to confront the CIS.[75] Windu also suspected the Separatists were moving to establish a foothold in the Outer Rim and then move inwards to the Core, eventually having enough strength to strike at Coruscant itself. As such, the Republic was forced to move forces into the Rim to prevent the Confederacy from completing a foothold that they could push in with.[76] The Jedi were forced to relinquish their traditional roles as peacekeepers[74] in favor of military commands within the Grand Army of the Republic. Knights and Masters accepted the new rank of Jedi General. Even Padawans contributed to the Republic's war effort, serving as Jedi Commanders on the battlefield[22] at the suggestion of Palpatine.[77] Among the newly promoted Jedi Generals was Anakin Skywalker, whom the Jedi High Council elevated to Knighthood.[22] Unbeknownst to his colleagues, Skywalker had secretly married Padmé Amidala following the Battle of Geonosis,[15] a relationship that would have repercussions for the entire war.[8] Amidala and Skywalker were also involved in a mission to Nooroyo between the Battle of Geonosis and their wedding, during which they escaped Gunray's forces when the Viceroy arrived for in person negotiations over Nooroyo's spice export.[75] To satisfy the Republic's increased demand for troops, Kamino continued its production and training of clone troopers. In turn, the Republic Navy blockaded Kamino,[78] and the Grand Army established a network of listening posts to monitor Separatist activity in the vicinity.[79] Due to the death of Jango Fett, the Kaminoan scientists stretched the preexisting samples of his DNA in order to decant more clones. The Jedi High Council selected one of its members, Master Shaak Ti, to oversee the training of clone cadets in Kamino's Tipoca City, assisted by contracted mercenaries such as Bric and El-Les to help supervise the clones' combat instruction.[78] The clones quickly started to show signs of individuality, which only improved their effectiveness. The Republic attracted both internal and external criticism for its use of clone troopers, whom some viewed as slaves to the Jedi.[20][80] One trooper deserted from the Grand Army after the Confederacy annihilated his unit; he fled to the planet Saleucami, where he took the name Cut Lawquane with a family.[81] On the other hand, the Separatist citizenry took pride in the fact that officers in the Confederacy military were willing participants, while its armed forces mainly sacrificed expendable battle droids for their cause.[20] At the same time, the Confederate populace was insulated from reports of war crimes that were committed in its name. The primary cause of the carnage was General Grievous,[82] a cyborg warlord from Kalee who oversaw the Droid Army.[14] In addition to Grievous, Dooku recruited another agent as his lieutenant and emissary:[83] Asajj Ventress, a slave-turned-Jedi from Dathomir who fell to the dark side of the Force and became Dooku's apprentice.[30] Though Grievous and Ventress developed a long-standing rivalry,[29] both were motivated by a deep-seated hatred for the Jedi Order.[20][28] Grievous and Ventress made a habit of claiming as trophies the lightsabers of their fallen Jedi victims, and Dooku collected the pilfered weapons in his palace on Serenno. Ventress acquired one such lightsaber from Jedi Master Tholme, whom she bested in combat during a major campaign. She elected to slay Tholme rather than accept his surrender.[20] The outbreak of the Clone Wars shifted the balance of power on numerous worlds. Since the Separatist Crisis, a schism had fractured the Gotal population of Antar 4, with the Confederacy backing terrorist groups to combat the moon's Republic loyalists. The loyalists remained in power until shortly after the Battle of Geonosis, when the Confederacy conquered Antar 4, and the moon briefly served as a headquarters for Dooku. While millions of Gotal refugees fled to their colony world of Atzerri, an influx of Koorivar, Gossams, and other Confederate-allied species immigrated to Antar 4. The resulting political crisis on the moon gave rise to one of the Republic's first resistance cells. Gotal and Koorivar loyalists executed numerous acts of sabotage against the Separatist regime, with the Republic covertly sponsoring their guerrilla campaign. Despite their efforts, the Confederacy retained control of Antar 4 throughout the war. Early in the Clone Wars,[84] the Confederacy seized the Outer Rim world of Lola Sayu,[14] the site of the infamous Republic prison known as the Citadel. The Citadel had been constructed five centuries earlier to hold Jedi who turned against the Republic. The Separatists converted the facility into a prisoner-of-war camp, using it to house Republic captives.[84] The Separatists also invaded Millius Prime, one of the thousand moons of the remote planet Iego, and drove away its inhabitants, the peaceful Angels. The Separatists established military sites on both Iego and Millius Prime, but later withdrew from the system. Before departing, they seeded Iego's asteroid field with a security grid of laser emitters that trapped its residents on the surface.

various battles

With the war spread across the galaxy, many planets and parts of space were left to become battlegrounds,[87] creating numerous fronts.[86] With the conflict's nature as a galaxy-wide war, many such fronts could all be active at the same time.[87] Over the course of the Clone Wars, planets swept up in the conflict included Akiva, where a Confederate droid factory turned the planet into a battlefield between the Jedi and the Separatists;[88] and Sedratis, which hosted the Battle of Sedratis. During the latter campaign, Jedi ace pilots Skywalker and Huulik proved instrumental in securing a Republic victory over the Confederacy's droid starfighter forces.[89] During the war, a number of manufacturers converted freighters and transports into combat vessels. New vehicles loaded with weapons were also made.[14] During the conflict, because repair facilities were often heavily damaged during battles, Nomad starships would arrive in star systems after the fleets had departed and the fighting was over. The Nomads would help the local population with repairs to compensate for the damaged facilities. The Wookiees fought for the Republic in several systems. At one point, a battle was fought in the Crombach Nebula, during which Jedi Master Wom-Nii Gnaden's NTB-630 naval bomber collided with a Munificent-class star frigate.[92] One Confederate officer, the husband of Separatist Senator Mina Bonteri, was slain while defending a new base on the planet Aargonar from Republic forces.[53] During a space battle at one point, clone pilot Sicko piloted a LAAT/i gunship towards a force of vulture droid starfighters, allowing the gunship's crew to take out many of the droids.[93] Under the command of General Darrus Jeht, the Maelstrom-class battle cruiser named the Maelstrom served with distinction at the Battle of Kromus and later the Battle of Cularin.[94] The Humbarine sector saw heavy fighting during the war, with its capital planet Humbarine suffering a Separatist bombardment at one point.

Diversion at Christophsis

n the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Geonosis, Grievous and the Separatist Droid Army wrested control of the galaxy's major hyperspace lanes, isolating the Republic from the bulk of its Grand Army.[22] Encircled by the Confederacy[96] and with their forces spread thin, the Jedi Generals were unable to gain traction in the Outer Rim Territories, especially as worlds continued to flock to the Confederacy.[22] As the next phase of the Clone Wars began,[96] the Hutt Clan—which controlled Hutt Space with its network of supply routes reaching to the Outer Rim—became a coveted ally for both the Republic and the Confederacy. In a bid to secure the Hutts' supply routes for the Separatists, Dooku hatched a plot to kidnap Rotta, the son of Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure, and frame the Jedi Order for the crime. Dooku collaborated with Jabba's uncle Ziro, who hoped to depose his nephew as leader of the Hutt Clan. The first stage of Dooku's plan required that the Jedi's attention be diverted elsewhere; to that end, Dooku ordered his forces to conquer Christophsis,[22] a crystalline Outer Rim world valued for its location and resources,[97] and also the site of a Republic relief effort overseen by Senator Bail Organa. The Confederate Admiral Trench blockaded Christophsis with a massive detachment from the Confederacy navy, while Separatist ground forces subjugated the planet's inhabitants.[54] After a number of native Christophsians mounted a futile defense of their homeworld, they requested aid from the Jedi High Council.[80] Jedi Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, alongside Admiral Wullf Yularen, were dispatched with a task force to rescue Organa and the besieged Christophsians. Although their fleet of Venator-class Star Destroyers was unable to penetrate Trench's immense blockade of warships, Skywalker and Yularen used an experimental stealth ship to outmaneuver Trench and obliterate his flagship, the Invincible[54] (although Trench narrowly survived his dreadnought's vaporization and later returned to active duty[98]). Having broken through the blockade, Skywalker and Yularen delivered the much-needed relief supplies to Organa's refugee camp on the surface, while Kenobi exploited the hole in the Confederate armada to overwhelm the opposing fleet[54] long enough to land a Republic invasion force on the planet. The Separatists likewise fortified their ground troops with reinforcements, concealing their true numbers from the Republic.[80] By this time, Dooku had dispatched Asajj Ventress to Christophsis to further hamper the Republic's progress. As Kenobi and Skywalker planned to ambush the battle droid forces in a major city plaza, a spy within the Republic ranks, Clone Sergeant Slick, apprised the Separatists of the Jedi's attack plan. Slick's actions transformed a potential Republic victory into a retreat, and Kenobi and Skywalker withdrew their men to the Republic's base. Suspecting the existence of an informant, Kenobi and Skywalker departed to gather information behind enemy lines, while Clone Commander Cody and Clone Captain Rex personally launched an investigation into the source of the intelligence leak. After they exposed Slick as the spy, he bombed the Republic's weapons depot, leading Rex and Cody to mobilize a swift manhunt. They arrested Slick and sent him to lock-up, though the damage was already done. Most of the Republic's arsenal was reduced to wreckage, with only a quartet of AV-7 Anti-vehicle Artillery Cannons surviving his sabotage.[80] At the Confederate headquarters, Kenobi and Skywalker encountered Ventress and engaged her in a lightsaber duel,[22] which she used to buy time for Slick's sabotage.[99] Both Jedi halted their attack once they witnessed the sheer size of the Separatists' landing force. After Kenobi and Skywalker escaped back to their base, General Whorm Loathsom assumed command of the droid infantry and commenced an assault on the city, while Ventress left to execute the next phase of Dooku's plan:[80] kidnapping Rotta the Huttlet. She traveled to Tatooine aboard her personal starship, the Trident, and spirited Rotta away from his homeworld.[22] In addition to Slick's sabotage of their weapons depot,[80] the Republic forces lost their naval support when the Separatists' orbital defenses ousted Yularen and his fleet from the Christoph system. Though they were severely outnumbered, Kenobi, Skywalker, and their clone soldiers managed to repel Loathsom's infantry from the city. Octuptarra tri-droids lent their support to the Separatists' second wave, but the AV-7 Anti-vehicle Cannons halted the advance of Loathsom's rearguard of Armored Assault Tanks. Meanwhile, believing that renegades had kidnapped Rotta, Jabba contacted Sheev Palpatine to request the Republic's assistance in rescuing his son. Since Kenobi and Skywalker were the only Jedi available for such a task, Yoda dispatched a messenger to Christophsis to recall the two Jedi Generals from the battlefront. The messenger was Skywalker's new Padawan learner, Ahsoka Tano.[22] Christophsismeeting Yoda arrives on Christophsis to relay new orders to Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Ahsoka Tano. Yularen briefly returned to Christophsis aboard his flagship, the Resolute, to send Tano to the planetary surface aboard a shuttle, then withdrew to rendezvous with reinforcements from the Republic Navy. Tano reached Kenobi and Skywalker just as they were preparing defenses for the next droid attack. Due to the continued lack of support from the Republic Navy, Kenobi and Skywalker remained trapped on-world with their troops, unable to comply with Yoda's order to return to Coruscant. Loathsom mounted another strike on the Republic forces, this time utilizing a mobile deflector shield to maintain a perimeter just beyond his advancing droid troops. The shield rendered the AV-7 Anti-vehicle Cannons useless, forcing the Jedi and clones to devise another strategy.[22] While Kenobi and Rex scrambled their men in a last-ditch defense of the city, and Kenobi feigned surrender to buy time for Skywalker and Tano to infiltrate the Separatist lines and destroy the shield generator, exposing droids to renewed barrages from the AV-7 Anti-Vehicle Cannons, and forcing Loathsom to capitulate. The Republic victory coincided with the arrival of naval reinforcements led by Yularen and Yoda, who smashed the Separatist blockade and drove it into retreat. Even as Yularen's fleet deployed infantry reinforcements to aid the invasion force in securing Christophsis, much of the planet remained in ruins.[22] The Republic, meanwhile, imprisoned Loathsom on Coruscant for treason.

alliance with the hutt clan

Ventress brought the captive Rotta to an abandoned B'omarr Order Monastery on the jungle planet Teth,[14] located in Wild Space, and fortified the site with two full battalions of battle droids. After a scouting team of Republic Advanced Recon Force Scout Troopers tracked Rotta to Teth, Skywalker and Tano proceeded there with Captain Rex and[22] Torrent Company,[100] Rex's command unit within the Grand Army's famed 501st Legion,[101] to rescue the Huttlet. Kenobi, meanwhile, entered into negotiations with Jabba, who granted the Republic a single planetary rotation to save Rotta and return him safely to Tatooine.[22] As the monastery sat perched atop a cliff, Skywalker, Tano, and Torrent Company were forced to mount a vertical assault, relying on ascension cables and a pair of AT-TE walkers to reach the fortress at the summit. Though they lost one of their AT-TE walkers and endured numerous casualties, the Jedi and clones broke through the Separatist droid defenses and retrieved Rotta from the monastery's detention level. However, Tano discovered that Rotta was severely ill, jeopardizing their chances of delivering him to Tatooine alive. Skywalker suspected Dooku's involvement in the kidnapping, given that both the Republic and the Confederacy sought an alliance with the Hutt Clan.[22] Unbeknownst to the Jedi, Ventress used the protocol droid 4-A7 to record Skywalker and Tano as they retrieved Rotta. Ventress transmitted the holorecording to Dooku, who presented it to Jabba as evidence that the Jedi were responsible for Rotta's abduction. After persuading Jabba to consider joining the Confederacy, Dooku ordered Ventress to recover Rotta so that they could claim credit for his rescue. Marshaling her assault force of battle droids, Ventress mounted a counter-strike on the monastery, swiftly crushing the Republic's last AT-TE walker and remaining assault craft. With no means of escape, Rex, Skywalker, and Tano barricaded themselves inside the monastery's antechamber with Rotta and Torrent Company. While Rex remained behind with Torrent Company to hold off Ventress and her droid infantry, Skywalker and Tano departed with Rotta to find a secondary exit from the monastery.[22] Despite their best efforts, Rex and his men were vastly outnumbered, and the battle droids slew all of them save for Rex and five other troopers. The droids held the clone survivors prisoner in the compound's eastern courtyard. Nonetheless, it was not long before Kenobi arrived at Teth with Commander Cody and a detachment of reinforcements. After punching through the Separatists' aerial squadrons of vulture droid starfighters, Cody and his soldiers reached the monastery aboard LAAT/i gunships. They and Kenobi provided support for Rex and the survivors of Torrent Company, while Skywalker and Tano narrowly evaded Ventress and escaped with Rotta on board an old spice freighter called the Twilight. When Kenobi entered the monastery in search of Skywalker, he instead crossed lightsabers with Ventress. Upon learning that Skywalker had escaped with Rotta, Ventress broke off from her duel with Kenobi and fled the battlefield. Meanwhile, Skywalker and Tano piloted the Twilight into orbit of Teth, where Wullf Yularen and his Venator-class Star Destroyer were battling a Confederate armada of Munificent-class star frigates. As the Jedi tried to board Yularen's Star Destroyer, a trio of vulture droids firebombed the cruiser's main hangar. Unable to dock with Yularen's flagship, Skywalker and Tano headed directly to Tatooine aboard the Twilight.[22] Dooku was not pleased to learn from Ventress that the Jedi had extracted Rotta from Teth, but he continued to manipulate Jabba and the Hutt Clan towards joining the Confederacy. During a holographic report to Dooku, Ventress falsely stated that Skywalker had murdered Rotta before leaving for Tatooine. Using this deception, Dooku convinced Jabba that the Jedi Order intended to eradicate the Hutt Clan. Dooku thus departed from Jabba's Palace to personally kill Rotta, which would ensure he was never reunited with his father.[22] On Coruscant, Padmé Amidala received word of the Jedi's ongoing efforts to return Rotta to Tatooine. Consequently, she became determined to convince Jabba of the truth and broker the Republic's treaty with the Hutt Clan. Because Jabba was refusing all communication with the Republic, Amidala visited Ziro the Hutt, who lived in a palace on Coruscant. After Ziro rebuffed her attempt to reopen dialogue between the Hutts and the Republic, Amidala lingered around the palace and witnessed Ziro contact Dooku via hologram. Dooku informed Ziro that thanks to the Sith's web of deceit, Jabba would kill the Jedi when they arrived at his palace on Tatooine, after which the Republic would be forced to arrest Jabba. Accordingly, Ziro would be able to seize his nephew's control of the Hutt Clan. However, Ziro discovered Amidala eavesdropping on the conversation, and on Dooku's advice, he incarcerated Amidala within his palace.[22] As Skywalker and Tano arrived over Tatooine with Rotta aboard the Twilight, a pair of Confederate Rogue-class Porax-38 starfighters assaulted their freighter, causing them to crash-land in the Dune Sea. While Skywalker diverted Dooku's attention by engaging him in a lightsaber duel, Tano proceeded with Rotta to Jabba's Palace, but a trio of IG-100 MagnaGuards intercepted her outside the compound. Skywalker abandoned his confrontation with Dooku to rescue Tano, but he incorrectly assumed that she was already at Jabba's Palace. Skywalker thus arrived there ahead of his Padawan—much to the ire of Jabba, who still believed that Skywalker had slaughtered his son. With help from Skywalker's astromech droid R2-D2, Tano defeated her MagnaGuard assailants and reunited Rotta with his father. In spite of the Jedi's efforts, Jabba remained determined to execute Skywalker and Tano, and he ordered his bounty hunters to do so. Back on Coruscant, Amidala was able to send word of her capture to the Republic via her protocol droid, C-3PO.[22] Clone Commander Fox[102] immediately responded with a squad of clone shock troopers from the Coruscant Guard, and they raided Ziro's Palace to rescue her. Once Fox and his soldiers had arrested Ziro, Amidala used Ziro's personal holoprojector to contact Jabba, who received her message just as he was about to have Skywalker and Tano killed. Jabba was incensed to learn of Dooku and Ziro's conspiracy to unseat him, but he agreed to end all hostilities with the Jedi. Jabba subsequently signed a treaty with the Republic and granted the Grand Army its exclusive, long-awaited access to Hutt Space's supply routes. At the same time, Kenobi finished securing the Republic's victory on Teth and headed to Tatooine with Yoda, so that they could formalize the treaty with Jabba.[22] The Republic's alliance with the Hutt Clan resulted in a major setback for the Confederacy. Yet, Darth Sidious remained unconcerned, downplaying the impact of the Jedi's victory after Dooku apprised him of the news.[22] Nonetheless, the treaty also posed problems for the Republic, as making formal treaties with the Hutts ended up legitimizing their businesses,[103] which the treaty also allowed to spread into the Mid Rim.[104] Beyond the cartel lawyers masterfully editing the proposed treaties to give the Hutts unmitigated access to Republic intel,[103] the treaty also saw the Hutts confirm that their organizations would stay out of the war and only work as non-combatants, while the Republic was forced to promise it would not bring the fighting into Hutt territory despite having secured their cooperation[104] and hyperlanes.[22] The Republic incarcerated Ziro within the Judiciary Central Detention Center on Coruscant, and his lengthy sentence caused him to develop a deep resentment toward Amidala.

The war reaches Ryloth

The Twi'lek homeworld of Ryloth became the next major battlefront of the Clone Wars when the Techno Union invaded the planet,[23] aiming to pillage its wealth and resources.[45] The Separatist navy installed a blockade of battleships in orbit of Ryloth, while the Separatist Droid Army subjected the civilian population to a brutal occupation. Besides losing a number of cities and transport hubs, the Twi'leks were cut off from food and relief supplies and thus began to starve. In response, political activist Cham Syndulla founded[105] a Twi'lek Resistance[106] to combat the Confederate occupation. Jedi General Ima-Gun Di, Clone Captain Keeli, and their unit of soldiers provided aid to Syndulla and his freedom fighters. As open warfare engulfed Ryloth, the Separatist blockade eliminated Admiral Dao's Republic fleet, severing the Republic's supply lines to Ryloth and trapping Di, Syndulla, and their men in a canyon alongside many Twi'lek families.[105] With Ryloth in dire need of aid, the Jedi High Council prepared a shipment of food and medical supplies for the Twi'leks. Yet, because the Republic's Pelta-class frigates did not have enough range to reach Ryloth, the High Council selected the planet Toydaria as a suitable staging ground for the blockade runners. Complicating matters was the fact that Toydaria had declared neutrality in the war. As a result, the High Council asked Senator Bail Organa to oversee negotiations on Toydaria, alongside Jar Jar Binks. However, the Separatist navy intercepted the transmission between Organa and the High Council. Dooku thus dispatched Senator Lott Dod of the Trade Federation to thwart Organa's diplomatic efforts with King Katuunko, the monarch of the Toydarians.[105] Thanks to Dod's intervention, Katuunko publicly declined to have Toydaria sponsor the Republic's humanitarian shipment to Ryloth. However, Katuunko privately agreed to let Organa transfer his supplies from Toydaria to Ryloth. To prevent the Trade Federation from learning of the subterfuge, Binks distracted Dod and his staff at a formal banquet that night, while Organa oversaw the shipment's departure from Toydaria. By that time, the Separatist Droid Army had nearly overrun the Republic's defenses on Ryloth. Di, Keeli, and their men sacrificed their lives so that Syndulla and his comrades could escape from the canyon with their families. Shortly thereafter, the Republic's trio of Pelta-class frigates penetrated the Confederate blockade and deployed their relief supplies to the Twi'leks. Nevertheless, the Grand Army's inability to provide further military support to the Twi'lek Resistance eroded Syndulla's faith in the Republic.[105] Without reinforcements from the Republic, only Syndulla and his Twi'lek Resistance stood against the Separatist occupation of Ryloth. The Twi'leks suffered heavily in a confrontation with the Droid Army, and the Separatists forced the freedom fighters to surrender and disarm themselves. Still, the droid infantry continued to massacre the Twi'lek fighters, leading them to carve out hideouts in the shells of downed Confederate C-9979 landing craft. Syndulla and his rebels resorted to executing a guerrilla campaign, periodically eliminating battle droid patrols in the region. For the time being, the Twi'leks were left to wage the ongoing Battle of Ryloth on their own. Organa and Binks's determination to help the Twi'leks of Ryloth convinced Katuunko to consider bringing Toydaria into the Republic.[105] Since the Jedi Order hoped to establish a supply base in the Toydaria system, Master Yoda sought a meeting with Katuunko on the coral moon of Rugosa. However, Dooku learned of the rendezvous and sent Asajj Ventress to negotiate with the Toydarian Royal Delegation on behalf of the Confederacy. After a pair of Confederate Munificent-class star frigates intercepted his Republic frigate, Yoda reached the surface of Rugosa in an escape pod alongside his three-man detail from the Coruscant Guard: Lieutenant Thire and troopers Jek and Rys.[83] To circumvent a political debate with Yoda, Ventress proposed a contest. She would send her best troops to capture Yoda, who would face the challenge of evading apprehension. Katuunko, accordingly, would consider aligning Toydaria with the side of the victor. Although Katuunko was loath to subject Yoda to such a trial, Yoda accepted Ventress's terms and promised to arrive at their location by nightfall. Though they gravely lacked an advantage in numbers, Yoda and his troopers prevailed over Ventress's battalion of battle droids, even after she reneged on her agreement with Katuunko—first by ordering her droids to shoot to kill, and later by deploying droidekas as reinforcements.[83] When Katuunko informed Dooku of his desire to join the Republic, Dooku commanded his apprentice to assassinate Katuunko. Yoda and his men arrived just in time to save Katuunko, with Yoda using the Force to halt Ventress's lightsabers in mid-air, just centimeters from Katuunko's throat. Instead of surrendering, Ventress distracted Yoda by detonating pre-planted explosives near Katuunko's starship, the Thief's Eye. While Yoda's focus was consumed with telekinetically redirecting the incoming rubble, Ventress took the opportunity to escape aboard her solar sailer. In the wake of Yoda's victory, Katuunko formally pledged Toydaria's support to the Republic and agreed to host a base in his system. He and his delegation thereafter departed from Rugosa alongside Yoda and his soldiers.

Lore

Rise of the Malevolence "This mystery weapon has struck in a dozen systems, and disappeared without a trace." "We cannot afford to lose any more ships, my friends." ―Mace Windu and Sheev Palpatine[24] Blue Glass Arrow Main article: Malevolence Campaign Battle of Abregado Grievous's flagship, the Malevolence, tears through Plo Koon's flotilla in the Abregado system. The Confederacy military wasted no time in developing new projects for its war machine. One result was the Malevolence,[24] a colossal Subjugator-class heavy cruiser[14] that became the prized flagship of General Grievous. The Malevolence's maiden voyage cut a swath through Republic territory, striking in several star systems and annihilating all of the Republic ships that it encountered. Key to the battleship's success were its dual ion cannons, which disabled enemy starships' deflector shields and the rest of their onboard systems, thereby leaving the targets vulnerable to heavy turbolaser fire. Because the Malevolence left behind no witnesses, the Republic citizenry dubbed the unidentified threat Grievous's "mystery weapon," sowing fear throughout the Republic.[24] The Jedi High Council soon sent one of its members, General Plo Koon, to hunt down Grievous's weapon. Koon and his flotilla of three Venator-class Star Destroyers tracked the Malevolence to the Abregado system, where Dooku and Grievous were overseeing the heavy cruiser's testing. The result of the ensuing battle was identical to those of its predecessors: the Malevolence disabled Koon's cruisers with an ion wave, then tore apart the defenseless craft using its array of turbolasers. Most of the remaining personnel who fled aboard escape pods were killed when Grievous sent teams of B1-series rocket battle droids aboard Droch-class boarding ships after them.[24] Both Chancellor Palpatine and the Jedi Council were reluctant to spare resources on a search for survivors of Koon's fleet. However, Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano—whose fleet was stationed in the nearby Bith system—took it upon themselves to do so. When they reached the Abregado system aboard the Twilight, the only remaining survivors were Koon and Clone Commander Wolffe, along with Clone Sergeant Sinker and trooper Boost of the 104th Battalion's Wolfpack squad. Skywalker and Tano rescued Koon and the clones, and they escaped from the system aboard the Twilight, narrowly avoiding becoming the Malevolence's next victims. Dooku was greatly displeased by Grievous's failure to prevent their escape.[24] With the veil over Grievous's mystery weapon lifted, the Senate commissioned Skywalker and the Republic Navy's Shadow Squadron of Y-wing starfighter pilots to eradicate the Malevolence. After the Malevolence attacked a Republic medical convoy in the Ryndellia system, Skywalker correctly deduced that Grievous's next target was the Kaliida Shoals Medical Center, a classified Outer Rim facility that was treating over 60,000 wounded clone troopers. Using a smugglers' shortcut known as the Balmorra Run, Skywalker, Tano, Koon, and Shadow Squadron barely beat the Malevolence to the Republic medcenter, which sat on the fringes of the Kaliida Nebula. While Shadow Squadron initiated its assault on the Malevolence, Doctor Nala Se and the rest of her staff began evacuating the medcenter with the help of the Naboo. Yet, they were unable to clear out all of the patients before the Malevolence completed its targeting cycle.[107] Battle of Kaliida Shadow Squadron intercepts the Malevolence before it can destroy the Kaliida Shoals Medical Center. Shadow Squadron's initial attack on the Malevolence claimed the lives of almost half of the unit's twelve-pilot roster. On account of those casualties, Skywalker heeded Tano and Koon's recommendation to abandon their original target of the Malevolence's bridge. Instead, they concentrated their assault on the heavy cruiser's starboard ion cannon. Their proton torpedoes inflicted enough damage to cause the ion cannon to overload when Grievous tried to fire it upon the medcenter. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Wullf Yularen thereafter arrived with a three-cruiser fleet of Star Destroyers, and promptly opened fire on the Malevolence. With both the ion cannons and the hyperdrive disabled, Grievous was forced to order the Malevolence to retreat, setting course for Confederate space.[107] The Separatists dispatched a fleet of reinforcements to aid the beleaguered Malevolence, but Jedi General Luminara Unduli[108] and her own fleet[109] intercepted them before they could reach the Kaliida Nebula. Even without those reinforcements, the Malevolence was able to hold its own, since its enormous size enabled it to withstand the Republic fleet's barrage of cannonades. Nevertheless, Dooku and Darth Sidious arranged a trap for Padmé Amidala, sending her to the Kaliida Nebula under the premise of negotiating a treaty between the Republic and the InterGalactic Banking Clan. When Amidala arrived, Grievous pulled her H-type Nubian yacht aboard the Malevolence via a tractor beam, aiming to take the esteemed senator hostage so as to secure safe passage for the Malevolence. The tactic worked as Dooku had predicted, with Skywalker ordering the Republic fleet's gunnery teams to stand down in order to protect his wife.[108] While Koon, Tano, and Yularen remained behind to command the fleet, Skywalker and Kenobi mounted a rescue mission to save Amidala. After using the Twilight to dock with the Malevolence, they rendezvoused with Amidala, who had destroyed her H-type Nubian yacht to delay Grievous. Amidala and Skywalker proceeded to the bridge, where they hot-wired the Malevolence's navigation computer to secretly input a new destination. Kenobi attempted to sabotage the battleship's hyperdrive, but Grievous intercepted him and chased him to the ship's internal rail jet, where Kenobi broke off from their duel. He, Amidala, and Skywalker escaped from the Malevolence aboard the Twilight, but Grievous pursued with a squadron of vulture droids.[108] It was not long before Skywalker's sabotage came to light. Instead of jumping to hyperspace, the Malevolence collided with a nearby moon. Disgraced, Grievous fled from the battlefield aboard his personal starship, Soulless One. Thanks to that turn of events, the Republic claimed victory in[108] the Battle of the Kaliida Nebula,[14] ending the threat of the Malevolence.[108] A few months later, Unduli would come face-to-face with Grievous on Nadiem out in the Outer Rim.[109] In the mean time, however, Grievous would largely manage to stay out of the Republic's sight, being spotted in the Balmorra system but then remaining off the Republic's radar for weeks.[79] War for resources Blue Glass Arrow Main article: Battle of Khorm As the conflict ground on, it became apparent the Clone Wars was also a war for resources, given the economic toll using clone troopers and battle droids was. As such, economically important worlds became home to multiple battles.[110] The planet of Ukio had left the Republic during the Separatist Crisis,[96] but it was[110] reclaimed[96] by the Republic during the war; due to its usefulness as a granary, Ukio was of interest to both sides. Meanwhile, Atraken and Khorm were also sought by the Republic and CIS, as they both were home to natural mineral resources.[110] The Battle of Khorm was fought at some point after the Battle of Abregado.[14] General Skywalker and Clone Commander Wolffe led the Republic in the battle,[111] while Asajj Ventress was present for the Separatists. During a close encounter between the two,[112] Wolffe lost his right eye to Ventress,[111] which forced him to wear a cybernetic replacement.[14] Battle over Rishi Station "All right, listen up. There's only one target of interest in this sector: Kamino. It's the closest thing we clones have to a home. Today we fight for more than the Republic. Today, we fight for all our brothers back home. Understood?" "Sir, yes, sir!" ―Rex and rookie soldiers Echo, Fives, and Hevy on defending Rishi Station — (audio) Listen (file info)[79] Blue Glass Arrow Main article: Defense of Rishi Station Over the following weeks, the intelligence-gathering arms of the Republic and Confederate war machines became sources of contention. When Grievous targeted Kamino, he knew that the Grand Army's system of listening posts in the vicinity could impede his efforts. To that end, Grievous dispatched a stealth team of BX-series droid commandos to silence Rishi Station, a Republic outpost located on a barren moon in the Rishi system. Under the cover of a meteor shower, the droid commandos landed on the moon and raided Rishi Station, killing most of the facility's garrison. Sergeant O'Niner, the station's lead officer, was among the casualties. The droids then hot-wired the station's all-clear signal, preventing the Republic Navy from learning that Grievous and his fleet were approaching Kamino by way of the Rishi system. In addition, Asajj Ventress infiltrated Kamino's defenses and served as a spy for Grievous, completing the preparations for his invasion. All of this occurred while the Mud Jumpers of the Republic's 224th were involved in a separate campaign on the planet Mimban.[79] Rookies2 Commander Cody, Hevy, and Fives defend Rishi Station from Grievous's second wave of droid infantry. In the aftermath of the Separatists' takeover of Rishi Station, Commander Cody and Captain Rex arrived there on a scheduled inspection of the base and were warned of the danger by a flare used by the remaining Clones. After the droid commandos destroyed their shuttle,[79] the Obex,[113] Cody and Rex fled from the outpost. They soon encountered the remaining survivors of the earlier attack: troopers Echo, Hevy, and Fives. Though the rookie soldiers had barely seen any combat action, Cody and Rex rallied them to retake Rishi Station, and they managed to overpower the squad of droid commandos. Yet, their victory was short-lived. Upon losing contact with the droid commandos, Grievous deployed troop reinforcements to ensure that Rishi Station remained under his control.[79] With time running out, Rex decided that instead of trying to disable the all-clear signal, they should destroy Rishi Station. Though Rex's plan was the nuclear option, the cessation of the beacon would alert the Republic fleet to Grievous's invasion. To destroy Rishi Station, Echo suggested the idea of using the outpost's supply of liquid tibanna, a highly explosive fuel that served as a heat source during the moon's long winter. While Cody, Fives, and Hevy defended the station's main entrance from the incoming battle droids, Rex and Echo linked a trio of[79] PLNK-series power droids,[68] which contained the liquid tibanna, to a detonation system. When Rex encountered problems with the detonator's handset, Hevy remained behind to repair it, while his comrades escaped to the crags beneath the station. However, Hevy was unable to repair the remote, so he chose to manually activate the explosives.[79] Thanks to Hevy's sacrifice, the destruction of Rishi Station disabled the alert beacon. Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Wullf Yularen subsequently arrived in the Rishi system with a Republic fleet. Knowing his armada lacked the tactical advantage, Grievous conceded defeat and withdrew his forces from the system. After the battle, Kenobi and Skywalker honored Echo and Fives for their efforts, as well as the late Hevy for his sacrifice. Furthermore, Rex inducted Echo and Fives into the 501st Legion.[79] Intelligence and counterintelligence Kenobi: "Our intelligence has confirmed that Grievous's spies have been intercepting our transmissions." Tano: "He must have some sort of secret listening post out there somewhere." Skywalker: "That would explain how he's been able to ambush our fleets." Kenobi: "Split up your squadrons, Anakin. Find that base and destroy it." ―Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, and Anakin Skywalker[25] Blue Glass Arrow Main article: Skytop Station campaign

the clone wars

The Clone Wars (22–19 BBY) was a galaxy-spanning conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, which had seceded from the Republic. Also referred to as the Clone War, it was named after the clone troopers used by the Grand Army of the Republic against the Separatist Droid Army. With both being fielded in enormous numbers by each respective side, they were the largest military forces in galactic history, and fighting between them swept through the galaxy for three, nearly four, years. Prior to the conflict, Darth Sidious, under his alter ego Sheev Palpatine, had spent years amassing political power, eventually rising to become the Republic's Supreme Chancellor. Through his Sith apprentice Count Dooku, he sparked the Separatist Crisis, causing thousands of Republic star systems to secede and form a new government as the Confederacy, with Dooku as its Head of State. Beginning with the First Battle of Geonosis, the conflict quickly spread throughout the galaxy with both sides scoring significant victories. At different points in the war it seemed that either side was likely to triumph over the other. At the war's outset, both sides vied for control of major hyperspace lanes to gain strategic advantage. That particular struggle ended with a Republic victory when Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, secured an alliance between the Republic and the Hutt Clan. Battles, skirmishes, raids and other actions continued for the next two years, with notable battles occurring on Ryloth, Felucia, Malastare, and Kamino. During this time, the Separatists developed various super weapons, including more traditional weapons such as the ion cannons of the battleship Malevolence, as well as biological weapons such as a variant of the Blue Shadow Virus. Meanwhile, the Republic launched several key offensives, including the Second Battle of Geonosis, which obliterated Geonosis' battle droid foundries, and a failed Jedi-led operation to capture Supreme Commander of the Droid Army General Grievous at Saleucami. Amidst the escalating conflict, many planets—including Mandalore and other members of the Council of Neutral Systems—struggled to maintain their neutrality, but found it difficult to escape the carnage. Over a year into the war, Republic Senator Padmé Amidala and Separatist Senator Mina Bonteri collaborated on an initiative to end the fighting. However, their collaboration ended after Dooku and Grievous' bombing of the Republic capital on Coruscant. Later, a peace conference on Mandalore also failed to resolve the conflict. With no end in sight, the Jedi worked with local militaries, including Mon Cala's military and Naboo's Gungan Grand Army, and covertly trained an insurgent rebel cell to retake Onderon from Separatists occupation. Similarly, the Confederacy relied upon factions such as the Umbaran Militia and the Zygerrian Slave Empire. Furthermore, a proxy war materialized when Mother Talzin and her son, the now rogue Sith Lord Maul, strove to exact their revenge on both the Sith and the Jedi.