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- "I hope you told Master Plo not to destroy this facility until we get off of it."
"Yeah. All of us, and the slaves."
"We'll need a bigger ship." - ―Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker, as the Republic forces begin their attack
A battle was fought in 21 BBY on the planet Kadavo during the Clone Wars. Having occupied the Togruta colony world of Kiros, the Confederacy of Independent Systems secretly transferred the world's entire population to the planet Zygerria, where the Togruta were to be sold as slaves at an auction. A Galactic Republic task force led by High Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi General Anakin Skywalker, and Skywalker's Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, liberated Kiros and discovered links leading to Zygerria. The Jedi and Clone Captain CT-7567 soon infiltrated the auction and tried to rescue the Togruta but were captured by the Zygerrians and enslaved. Skywalker and his Padawan, however, escaped from the Zygerrians and headed for Kadavo to rescue Kenobi, CT-7567, and the Togruta, who had been transferred to the Zygerrian slave processing facility on the planet. While en route, the two also called for reinforcements from the Republic.
Tano and her Master arrived on the planet first on the Zygerrian slave ship Tecora and tried to break into the slave processing facility. When ordered to cease by the Zygerrian Keeper Agruss, lest the slaves be killed, Skywalker did not comply. At that moment, the reinforcements arrived, led by Admiral Barton Coburn and Jedi Master Plo Koon. Koon's Wolfpack detachment attacked the facility with LAAT/i gunships and clone Z-95 starfighters, but were halted by its ray-shielded turbolaser defenses. However, Skywalker was able to destroy the defensive towers, while Kenobi and CT-7567 rebelled and killed Agruss. As a last act before his death, the Keeper tried to throw the Togruta into the volcanic crevice below the facility, but, following a plan devised by Tano, the Republic forces evacuated them on Admiral Coburn's Arquitens-class light cruiser, the Hand of Justice. After picking up Skywalker, Kenobi, Tano, and CT-7567, the Republic strike team destroyed the slave facility.
Prelude
- "Kenobi is coming to realize, perhaps for the first time in his life, that his efforts to help others will only injure them. As plans for escape and hopes of rescue fade, the gnawing fear that he will never be able to take action will grow in Kenobi's heart. To ease the burden of his fellow slaves, defiance will become compliance. When Kenobi realizes he cannot help those around him, his spirit will break, and he will be mine!"
- ―Queen Miraj Scintel
In 21 BBY[5] during the Clone Wars, the Confederacy of Independent Systems occupied the Togrutan colony world of Kiros and secretly transferred its entire population to the planet Zygerria, where they were to be sold as slaves at an auction held by the Zygerrian Queen Miraj Scintel. A Galactic Republic task force led by High Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi General Anakin Skywalker, and Skywalker's Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, liberated Kiros and found clues that led them to Zygerria.[6]
Captain Rex and Obi-Wan Kenobi being processed on Kadavo.
Posing as slave traders, Skywalker, Kenobi, Tano and Captain CT-7567—nicknamed "Rex"—infiltrated the auction and tried to rescue the Togruta but ended up being caught by the Zygerrians and becoming slaves themselves. While Skywalker was left in service of Queen Scintel, Tano was imprisoned on Zygerria, and Kenobi and Rex were transferred along with the Togruta to the Zygerrian slave processing facility on the planet Kadavo. Commanded by the Zygerrian Keeper Agruss, the processing facility was kept aloft above a pool of lava.[1]
On Kadavo, the Keeper tried to break Kenobi's will by dropping several Togruta into the lava and promising to do the same with the other slaves should the Jedi attempt to rebel.[1] Unwilling to put the innocent in danger, Kenobi and Rex were eventually forced to submit to the Keeper after the Zygerrian guards began punishing the Togruta for Kenobi's defiance. Skywalker and Tano soon escaped from Zygerria and headed for Kadavo to rescue Kenobi and the Togruta, also summoning reinforcements commanded by Admiral Barton Coburn.[4]
The battle
- "Anakin, you must realize this is a fight you cannot win alone."
"Who said I was alone?" - ―Kenobi begging Skywalker to stand down to prevent the death of the slaves
Back on Kadavo, the Keeper was contacted by Dooku and ordered to execute his Republic prisoners. Agruss summoned both Kenobi and Rex to the facility's command center and told the two about his intention to dispose of them. While the Keeper communicated with Kenobi and Rex, Skywalker and Tano arrived on the captured Zygerrian slave ship Tecora. As the two Jedi and their astromech droid R2-D2 disembarked from the craft, heavy turbolasers that guarded the facility destroyed the Tecora. Taking cover near the facility's blast doors, Skywalker and Tano activated their lightsabers and started cutting through them. Acting on Dooku's orders, the Keeper positioned the Togrutan slaves on a platform above the lava pool and threatened to dump them to their deaths unless Skywalker surrendered. In response, Skywalker summoned his reinforcements.[4]
The Arquitens-class light cruiser Hand of Justice,[3] commanded by Admiral Coburn, descended into the planet's atmosphere. While Coburn's Venator-class Star Destroyer remained in orbit, launching LAAT/i gunships and clone Z-95 starfighters piloted by members of the Wolfpack, a clone detachment under the command of Jedi General Plo Koon. Koon himself flew his personal Delta-7B Aethersprite-class light interceptor, the Blade of Dorin. As the Wolfpack attacked the facility, the Zygerrian guards scrambled to its defense, launching their two nimble HH-87 Starhoppers into battle. The Zygerrian pilots damaged clone pilot's Warthog's craft, but General Koon outmaneuvered them and destroyed the Starhoppers. The Wolfpack then focused on destroying the defensive towers, which had already taken down one LAAT/i gunship. However, the turrets were ray-shielded, and the Republic forces were unable to inflict any damage.[4]
Skywalker and Tano break into the slave processing facility.
Meanwhile, taking advantage of the confusion, Rex and Kenobi broke free of their restraints and assaulted their Zygerrian captors, while Skywalker, Tano, and R2-D2 broke into the facility. As Kenobi and Rex continued to battle their guards, Agruss used his computer to electrify the walls of the slave pens holding the Togruta and opened the hatch beneath the pens, intent on dropping the slaves to their doom. Agruss then smashed the controls so that Kenobi could not cancel his command. Kenobi contacted Koon, informing him of the situation. In turn, Koon communicated with Skywalker, warning him that the cruiser could not descend any further to rescue the Togruta until the turrets were destroyed. Skywalker then set off to destroy the towers, while Tano went to help the slaves.[4]
Using the Force, Skywalker leaped onto one of the towers, killed its gunner, and used the weapon to destroy all other emplacements, opening the way for Admiral Coburn. However, as there was no way to bring the slaves onto the landing platform, Tano advised the Admiral to position the Hand of Justice under the facility, beneath the opened slave pens. In the meantime, Kenobi and Rex managed to defeat the remaining Zygerrian guards, leaving only Agruss. In hopes of saving his life, the Keeper reminded Kenobi of his inability to kill an unarmed man due to the Jedi Code. However, trooper Rex was not bound by the Code, and he killed Agruss with a throw of a force spear. After Admiral Coburn maneuvered his ship underneath the facility, Commander CC-3636 and the Wolfpack used jetpacks and ascension cables to help transport the slaves and Tano onto the Hand of Justice. After Skywalker, Kenobi and Rex were evacuated aboard one of the gunships, and the light cruiser carrying the Togruta left the facility, Koon ordered all gunships to open fire, and the slave processing facility was destroyed.[4]
Aftermath
- "Ahsoka, you have done a great deed for your people today."
"You're sad?"
"Well, you and the Jedi have done your best, but I do not think our people will recover from this horror anytime soon."
"I understand, but in the end, surviving this will only strengthen your people."
"Perhaps. And perhaps the people of Kiros will also join the Republic."
"I think that's a wise choice, Governor." - ―Tano and Roshti, conversing after the battle
The Zygerrian Slave Empire was dealt a crippling blow with the destruction of the slave processing facility. Shortly after the battle, aboard the Republic cruiser, the leader of the rescued slaves, Governor Roshti, thanked Tano for her service to the Togruta. Although Roshti believed that his people would not recover from the horrors they had been through soon, he admitted that Tano could be right in that those events would only make the Togruta of Kiros stronger. Roshti then told Tano that he and his people were considering joining the Republic; a notion which the Padawan supported.[4]
Behind the scenes
- "Our vision of a world without weapons has failed miserably. In this galaxy, we must walk the path of warriors whether we wish to or not."
- ―Roshti, in the comic series
The Battle of Kadavo was first depicted in the 2009 comic book The Clone Wars 6, written by Henry Gilroy and illustrated by Scott Hepburn. The battle served as a conclusion to the Slaves of the Republic story arc of The Clone Wars comic series.[7] In 2011-2012, the comic books were adapted into three episodes of The Clone Wars television series. The third episode of the arc, "Escape from Kadavo," featured the battle. However, the television episodes differed from the original storyline of the comic books in a number of ways. This article currently describes the battle as portrayed in the TV series, while the original material is presented below.[4]
The comic book series established that in order to impair the reputation of the Jedi Order, Dooku spread word that during the battle on Kiros, the Jedi had eradicated the entire planet's population.[8] When Skywalker escaped from Zygerria and headed for Kadavo, Dooku, fearing that the liberation of the Togrutan people would reveal his deceit, sent his assassin, Asajj Ventress, and General Grievous to kill everyone on Kadavo, thus destroying all evidence of Dooku's lie. Meanwhile, Kenobi told the Togruta about Kiros's liberation and explained to them that to survive, they needed to obey the Keeper. The latter soon recognized the slaves' obedience as "hope" and—seeing Kenobi's actions as a cultivation of revolution—contacted Queen Scintel for permission to execute the Jedi. He received no response, however,[7] as she had been slain by Dooku for her refusal to kill Skywalker.[9]
The Republic forces, consisting of several Venator-class Star Destroyers, soon arrived at Kadavo. Backed by a squad of clone troopers, Skywalker and Tano boarded a Zygerrian transport and used it to reach the Zygerrian Labor Processing Hub, which was guarded by a group of B1 battle droids and B2 super battle droids. The battle droids—who thought that the transport was delivering new slaves—were caught off guard with the Jedi and clones' appearance, and were quickly destroyed before they could react to the threat. Reaching the door, Skywalker started cutting his way in, but he was contacted by the Keeper and ordered to stop, or risk the slaves being killed.[7]
Desperate to rescue the slaves, Skywalker ignored the Keeper's threats and continued cutting into the facility. Soon, the Separatist forces arrived and engaged the Republic task force above the planet. Leading several Hyena-class bombers, Ventress—in her starship, the Trident—attacked the Republic Shadow Squadron, killing several pilots, including Shadow Three and Shadow Five. While General Grievous' fleet—consisting of a Separatist warship, Providence-class carrier/destroyers and Vulture droid starfighters—fought the Republic forces, Ventress and the Hyena-class bombers headed toward the Labor Processing Hub, intent on destroying it. Believing that the Confederacy had come to aid him, the Keeper once again demanded Skywalker's surrender. Knowing that Separatist forces had just arrived, Skywalker reluctantly agreed.[7]
The Hyena-class bombers attack the Zygerrian Labor Processing Hub.
After Skywalker admitted his defeat, however, the bombers proceeded to attack the hub, destroying one of the cables that held the facility above the volcanic crevice. As a result of this, the whole facility began to incline, causing several Togruta slaves to lose their balance and fall into the lava. Having witnessed the bombers attacking the hub, the Keeper realized that Dooku's intention was to kill the slaves. In hopes that the Confederate forces would spare the Zygerrians if they disposed of the Togruta themselves, the Keeper tried to activate a mechanism that would dump the remaining slaves into the lava as well. Kenobi and Rex decided that it was time to react and attacked the Zygerrians that were guarding them, subduing the Keeper and preventing him from exterminating the population of Kiros. Kenobi then damaged the dumping mechanism, but the Togruta still remained in danger on a platform above the lava pool.[7]
In the meantime, more Republic forces arrived at Kadavo, forcing General Grievous and his fleet to retreat and leave Ventress on her own. As the bombers initiated another attack on the facility, Skywalker ordered the clone troopers to open fire. One blaster shot hit an enemy bomber's proton bomb, causing the explosive to detonate and sparking a chain reaction that destroyed most of the bombers. Distraught, Ventress requested more Hyena-class fighters from Grievous, but the general declined and informed her of his retreat. With the rest of the Confederate forces fleeing, Ventress remained to battle the Republic alone. Meanwhile, Kenobi and Rex rendezvoused with Skywalker and told him of the danger that the Togruta were in. Having noticed Skywalker's transport, Kenobi quickly formulated a plan to rescue the slaves. Positioning the vessel immediately below the Togruta, the Jedi assembled on the ship's roof and used the Force to levitate the slaves onto the transport.[7]
At that moment, Ventress's Trident took an attack run on the Jedi's ship. After the Jedi deflected her shots with their lightsabers, Ventress clamped her ship onto the transport and started using her ship's claws to attack the Republic forces. Rex tried to destroy the Trident with his missile launcher, while Skywalker and Kenobi fought back with their lightsabers, but neither tactic worked, and Ventress continued to attack the Jedi, eventually cornering them. As she was preparing to kill the Jedi, however, a group of V-19 Torrent starfighters, led by Plo Koon, attacked the Trident and forced Ventress to retreat.[7]
CT-7567 trains the Togruta in the use of blasters.
With the battle over, the Republic utilized LAAT/i gunships to evacuate the Togruta and secure the captured Keeper. The Republic then planted explosive charges throughout the facility to destroy it. Before the explosives were triggered, however, the Republic troops were informed that Supreme Chancellor Palpatine had requested them to leave the Labor Processing Hub intact for later use. Realizing that the facility could only be used for one purpose—to house slaves—the Jedi decided to disobey Palpatine's order and destroyed it.[7]
The Republic helped the Togruta return to Kiros. To protect the colony against another possible invasion, the Republic stationed a garrison of clone troopers on the planet. The Togruta, however, felt that the clones' presence might not be enough to protect them and decided to change their peaceful way of life, arming themselves and receiving education on weaponry from the Republic troops.[7]
Appearances
- The Clone Wars 6 (First appearance)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Escape from Kadavo"
Sources
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars Comic UK 5.10
- "Escape from Kadavo" - The Clone Wars Episode Guide on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Updated and Expanded
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Episode Guide
- The Official Star Wars Fact File Part 7 (HEA1–2, Z-95 Headhunter)
- Admiral Coburn in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
- HH-87 Starhopper in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Kadavo in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Keeper Agruss in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Warthog in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
- The Official Star Wars Fact File Part 59 (20 BBY 32, Slaves of Zygerria)
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2
Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Slaves of the Republic"
- ↑ Star Wars Character Encyclopedia
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Episode Guide
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 4.25 4.26 4.27 4.28 4.29 4.30 4.31 4.32 4.33 4.34 4.35 4.36 4.37 4.38 4.39 4.40 4.41 4.42 4.43 4.44 Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Escape from Kadavo"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Official Star Wars Fact File Part 7 (HEA1, Z-95 Headhunter) dates "Darkness on Umbara" to late 21 BBY, while The Official Star Wars Fact File Part 57 (EVA1–2, Moralo Eval) dates "Deception" to 21 BBY. Since Star Wars: The Clone Wars Chronological Episode Order on StarWars.com (backup link) places "Escape from Kadavo" between those two episodes, it can be concluded that "Escape from Kadavo" also takes place in 21 BBY.
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Kidnapped"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 Star Wars: The Clone Wars 6
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars 2
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars 5