Fall of Theed

"Viceroy, we have captured the Queen." "Ah, victory."

- OOM-9 and Viceroy Nute Gunray

The First Battle of Theed (also known as the Siege of Theed) was a battle during the opening stages of the Invasion of Naboo in 32 BBY. After a series of quick victories, the Trade Federation OOM command battle droid OOM-9 attacked the city with a force of battle droids and Armored Assault Tanks and Heavy Energy Pummels. He went through the Royal Naboo Security Forces' defenses and fended off attacks from Gian speeders to destroy a signal jammer. Once in front of the Theed Royal Palace, he used OX9 labor droids protected by droid starfighters to construct a Neimoidian Throne as a symbol of the Federation's victory. Viceroy Nute Gunray, leader of the Trade Federation, landed soon after. Queen Padmé Amidala, her head of security Panaka, several handmaidens, and Theed's governor Sio Bibble were all captured. Gunray tried to force Queen Amidala to sign a treaty legitimizing the invasion, and when she refused Gunray ordered her and her entourage to be sent to Camp Four.

The Jedi negotiators Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, who had been the victims of a failed assassination at the hands of the Trade Federation onboard the blockade flagship, arrived in Theed along with the native Gungan Jar Jar Binks. Jinn ordered Kenobi to reach the Palace. The younger Jedi went through the streers, engaging battle droids and rescuing hostages. He then met several Naboo guards who informed him of a secret entrance to the Palace, which Kenobi entered after destroying a Single Trooper Aerial Platform. They were separated from each other when an Armored Assault Tank blew up a bridge they were trying to cross. Kenobi swam away and got back on the streets and proceeded through the garden. He was able to gain entrance to the gates of the Palace. During the battle, the two Jedi went through the city and rescued several handmaidens from B1 battle droids and destroyer droids. They also commandeered a tank. Near the Palace they fought Flame battle droids and a T4 turret droid.

Once inside the Royal Palace, Kenobi escorted the servant Asha through the Palace to the throne room. They were too late to rescue the Queen, and he had to duel three assassin droids. A guard informed them the Queen had been taken to Camp Four, and Kenobi left to look for her. The two Jedi also fought through the Palace, engaging battle droids and B1 grapple droids, and went to the throne room via a secret entrance. Once outside the Palace, Kenobi updated Jinn, who told him to regroup. Kenobi helped the Naboo guards destroy an Armored Assault Tank with ion grenades before continuing. He joined back up with Jinn and Binks, and the two rescued the Queen and her entourage from OOM security battle droids.

Jinn convinced the Queen to go to Coruscant to plead her case before the Galactic Senate. The group went to the Theed Hangar and liberated the Royal Starship which they used to escape the orbital blockade. Damage to the hyperdrive motivator forced them to take refuge on Tatooine. Before they left, Panaka ordered an evacuation of the city. Captain Kael and Lieutenant Gavyn Sykes fled the city after stealing STAP-2s, while other officers, including Palmer, were captured.

Prelude
In response to the taxation of Outer Rim Territories trade routes, the Trade Federation blockaded the planet Naboo, attempting to force Chanceller Finis Valorum's hand in the matter. The Federation's actions were guided secretly by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. After Valorum secretly dispatched two Jedi Knights to negotiate the ending of the blockade, the Federation began their invasion at the behest of Darth Sidious. The Jedi's ship was destroyed and the Federation tried to kill them with dioxis gas. The two Jedi escaped and made it down to the planet on separate C-9979 landing craft.

The Naboo radar arrays detected the Federation invasion force but the Naboo Royal Space Fighter Corps radar operators were shocked at the scale of the force. The pilots waited for the order to strike, but Queen Amidala remained convinced of a peaceful solution to the situation and did not order a response.

Capturing the city
"This is Captain Panaka. I am ordering all officers to clear the city at once. Do not engage the enemy except in self-defense. We don't want a war in our streets."

- Captain Panaka orders an evacuation. The First Battle of Theed began immediately after OOM-9, head OOM command battle droid, captured other Naboo cities before attacking the Naboo capital of Theed. Among his forces were 342 Armored Assault Tanks and 33 troop carriers. The army struck in the morning, catching the citizens of Theed unaware. As the army approached Theed, Viceroy Nute Gunray encoded transmission 0455-HBE to Sidious, informing him of their eminent victory. The Droid Army had occupied the surrounding countryside and Queen Amidala had advised her military to stand down, although the Federation expected sporadic resistance. A signal jammer prevented the Federation from sending in transports and droid starfighters.

OOM-9, in a Heavy Armored Assault Tank, personally led a battalion of elite units into Theed. His forces consisted of 8 AATs, 2 Heavy Energy Pummels, 3 Single Trooper Aerial Platforms, and 16 Heavy battle droids. They broke through the gates of Theed and advanced northeast toward the signal jammer which was located near the Theed Hangar complex, destroying two Naboo Fortresses and additional military buildings. The Royal Naboo Security Forces mustered Gian speeders and infantry forces against the Droid Army. The droid forces destroyed the signal jammer, and reinforcements arrived in the city along with OX9 labor droids. The two groups linked up and proceeded up the main boulevard to the Theed Royal Palace. The droid forces destroyed the gates blocking their path along with two additional Fortresses. When the droids occupied the palace grounds, more labor droids, along with five droid starfighters, arrived. The labor droids were ordered to construct a Neimoidian Throne. After it was completed, a pleased Gunray congratulated OOM-9 for capturing Theed.

Queen Padmé Amidala, Captain Panaka, and Theed Governor Sio Bibble were taken hostage. Many citizens from the city were rounded up into detention camps and the streets were sealed off except for patrolling Federation forces. The city was secured in a few hours. Inside the Hangar, the Naboo air traffic controllers were captured.

After arriving in the city with a Bongo by the Solleu River, both Jedi negotiators, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, tried to gain entry to the Palace.

Once in Theed, Jinn told his Padawan that he would create a diversion while Kenobi found a way into the Palace, and cautioned his Padawan to avoid entanglements. Kenobi went up the stairs near the bongo and engaged several B1 battle droids. That way did not lead to the Palace, so he returned to the Solleu and swam to the other side. He then climbed onto the streets and dispatched the two battle droids in his way, and started toward the Palace. He fought through the battle droids stationed in the streets and rescued three hostages. He also sliced his ligthsaber through the alarm systems, disabling them. At one point, he climbed up the balcony and picked up a sniper rifle to reduce the number of enemies in his way. He then moved forward across a bridge over the river. Down the street, a shield blocked one street, so he went through a door and climbed the stairs to the upper balcony. There he found another hostage; he rescued the man, who led the Jedi to a balcony to spy on more prisoners. Kenobi then moved past the nearby statue. A droid starfighter destroyed the bridge to the Palace. Stuck on the wrong side, Kenobi met two Naboo soldiers and a grenadier. They helped him find another way around and told him about a secret entrance to the Palace. Kenobi went up the stairs to the next level and saved another hostage, who warned him about nearby battle droids. Moving along the cliff to the other side, the young Jedi faced more battle droids and one of the Federation's new assassin droid. He defeated all the droids. He then took over a gun turret to destroy a Single Trooper Aerial Platform. He then jumped across the ledges, went up the stairs, and shut off the water flow to the pool. That revealed the secret stairs for him to go down into.

During the Jedis' trek through the city, the central bridge across the river was blasted apart by an Armored Assault Tank, cutting the city off from other regions. Kenobi was separated from Jinn and Binks. The Jedi were forced to cross the city to find the Queen.

Jedi in the city
"If you're going into the city alone, you're the one that needs help."

- A wounded Naboo guard to Kenobi

Kenobi jumped into the river and swam away from the tank. He climbed onboard one of the islands a nearby plaza and went onto the walkway. He then Force pushed a lever to extend the walkway. Continuing onward, he then fought a group of battle droids. A force field generator blocked his path, but Kenobi used the Force to flick a switch and lowered the dam, shorting out the generator. Walking along the path and turning left, he found himself among a firefight with more droids and two Naboo guards. After a conversation with them, he told them he was going to enter the garden, and the soldier gave the Jedi a light repeating blaster. Two Multi-Troop Transports settled over the garden and disgorged droids. Kenobi met a wounded guard, who told Kenobi the passcode to enter the gates near the palace. Kenboi then moved forward, avoiding an Armored Assault Tank in the plaza and sneaking around a battle droids and a disabled Multi-Troop Transport. Kenobi gave the password to another Palace Guard. Once through the gates, the guard charged forward but was gunned down.

Kenobi then moved through the door and into the plaza. He found the button to open the door out of the gardens, then went through it. Off in a small alley rested a droid starfighter, which self-destructed as Kenobi approached. Returning to the path, the Jedi then drained several water pools to reveal the controls to the bridge to access the plaza near the palace. He also destroyed the droids near the controls.

Kenobi crossed the bridge and climbed the stairs at the end of the walkway, which had been mined, then neared the palace gates, where another Armored Assault Tank was stationed. The Jedi avoided the laser blasts long enough to Force push the lever to open the inner gates, then went back across the tank's path to throw the switch to open the inner gates, which was hidden behind a window. Kenobi then ran through the gates into the area near the palace.

Duiring the battle, Kenobi rejoined Jinn. infiltrated Theed and fought through a city littered with more than 20 battle droids and OOM security battle droids to make it to the Royal Palace. They passed the Theed Royal Library, which had been turned into a war room for the Droid Army. Juast past the library, they faced a guantlet of missile launcher-armed droids on the balcony and six destroyer droids on the road. At one point, the Jedi commandeered an Armored Assault Tank after taking out its 3 pilot droids and used it to travel through Theed, blasting other tanks and droids. They also rescued seven handmaidens who had been captured. They disembarked from the tank near the Palace grounds. As they moved onto the palace grounds, they faced more battle droids. In front of the palace they destroyed a T4 turret droid along with Flame battle droids.

After entering the palace through the secret entrance, Kenobi found himself inside the palace kitchen, where he met the servant Asha. She told him the Palace was on lockdown, but she could crack the codes. Kenobi climbed up the fireplace to reach the next level and fought the droids in the dining room. He then hit the switch to raise the dining table up from the kitchen, which Asha rode up. She then sliced the doors for the Jedi, but held back as Kenobi fought off the battle and destroyer droids in the next room. Once all the droids were destroyed, Asha sliced the next door for him. In the next room, Kenobi was cut off by force fields. He destroyed the droids, including an assassin droid, and then shut down the force field for Asha. The codes had been changed, but she sliced the doors.

Through the next doors, the Jedi entered a firefight with Panaka and other Naboo soldiers. Asha was locked out by force fields. Together, Kenobi and the Naboo soldiers destroyed the attacking battle droids and the destroyer droid. Kenobi then unlocked the force fields, and went into the next room with a double staircase and fought more droids. Asha then unlocked the throne room. The group entered and fought three assassin droids, which burst through the windows. A Palace Guard informed them that the Queen had been taken to Camp Four to sign a treaty.

Rescuing the Queen


Kenobi contacted his Master and informed him of the situation. Jinn ordered Kenobi to meet back up. Traveling back outside of the palace, Kenobi met a a Naboo grenadier, who informed the Jedi about an Armored Assault Tank blocking the resistance. Kenobi jumped on the balcony and destroyed a grenade droid. He then took over a repeater cannon and destroyed two droids on a lower balcony which were manning more repeater cannons. Moving forward, the young Jedi disabled a force field blocking the street and then assisted several resistance members in fighting battle droids, then dropped an ion grenade on the tank, disabling it. The destruction of the tank cleared his way to the next street. Kenobi then deactivated the shield generator blocking his way, and stepped through.

Kenobi then entered a firefight with two more Naboo soldiers, a squad of battle droids, and and assassin droid. Kenobi dispatched the Federation troops before proceeding. Continuing, he defeated another assassin droid and rescued another hostage. He then met back up with Jinn, who was fighting two more assassin droids.

The two Jedi entered the palace and fought through more droids, including B1 grapple droids, destroyer droids, and OOM command battle droids. At one point they Force jumped on the outside of the walls, using the balconies to proceed to the next story. After that, they infiltrated the throne room with the help of one of the handmaidens they had rescued, who showed them a secret entrance.

Theed's officials were liberated by the two Jedi and Binks as OOM security battle droids attempted to bring them to Camp Four. Bibble and several handmaidens decided to stay while the Queen went to Coruscant to plead for help in the Galactic Senate.

On their way to enter the passage under the Palace, Kenobi and the Queen were separated from Jinn, Panaka and the others. The Queen led Kenobi away from a group of charging battle droids and into a Palace corridor. She informed him about a secret passage through the garden, and they head that way. In the garden, Kenoboi saves the Queen from a battle droid. He then pushed a statue out of the way so they can access the passage. They went up the stairs, with Kenobi dispatching another droid. The door to the passage was locked, so Kenobi Force-jumped across the broken balcony and accessed the door's control from the other side, and the two move out into the streets.

Kenobi went into an apartment and met a woman who was distraught after being separated from her son. Kenobi promised to rescue the son. The boy had hid from battle droids in a nearby building and Kenobi brought him back to his mother. The woman gave the Jedi a health pack in return. Kenobi also found a wounded Naboo guard nearby. In return for Kenobi fetching him water, the guard warned him about a nearby Armored Assault Tank. Kenobi then snuck around the balcony to flank the tank, and destroyed the battle droids in his way. The young Jedi then found a prisoner. After a brief dialogue, Kenobi freed the man, who gave the Jedi a thermal detonator. Kenobi destroyed the droids under the archway, prompting the tank to leave its position. He then returned to the Queen and led her past the tank. In the next street, they were ambushed by droids, three of which were up on a balcony. Kenobi then met an astromech droid, but told it he didn't need a droid following him, and the droid remained. Moving along, the Queen and her Jedi protector dueled more battle droids on the way to the hangar. Kenobi then went into the apartment of another woman by accident. The woman told him that the gate was locked. Kenobi then leapt onto the balcony, then crossed over the street on an overhanging vine, and opened the gate. During the battle, Kenobi had acquired a blaster, and he used it to destroy three mines on the street to allow the Queen to proceed to the river; he also destroyed more droids. Kenobi then met a fisherman, and used his boat as a stepping stone to the street. Once there, he Force-pushed a lever to lower the bridge for the Queen to pass over the river. Once across, the two were ambushed by more droids. Further down the street they faced a heavy repeating cannon. Past that, they joined a firefight with more Palace guards and faced several more groups of battle droids, along with a destroyer droid. The Queen and Kenobi then rejoined Jinn and the others in the Hangar.

At the time, the Hangar was occupied by droids. Jinn approached an OOM command battle droid and tried to talk his way past it. When the droid ordered their arrest, Jinn pulled his lightsaber and disabled it, then turned on other droids, including 3B3-1204; meanwhile Kenobi rescued several Naboo pilots who were under guard. In the ensuing firefight, one of the Palace Guards was killed. With the droid threat gone, the Queen, Panaka, her handmaidens, and the two Jedi were able to flee aboard the Royal Naboo Starship and depart from Naboo. Governor Bibble stayed behind to watch over the people of Naboo. Before they fled, Captain Panaka ordered an evacuation of the surviving security officers. Ric Olié piloted the ship out of the atmosphere before facing the Federation blockade. One of the blockade battleships fired on the Royal Starship, disabling its shields. Astromech droids were sent to repair the damage, but several were destroyed before R2-D2 fixed the shields as the starship flew past the blockade and entered hyperspace. With the hyperdrive motivator damaged, Jinn convinced the Queen to divert to Tatooine for repairs.

The members of Bravo Squadron heeded Panaka's evacuation order and fled the city. Lieutenant Gavyn Sykes fought his way through a number of droid forces, rescuing a number of captured civilians in the process, before receiving a transmission from Captain Kael, who was pinned down near the Royal Naboo Security Forces headquarters. Sykes destroyed the destroyer droids attacking Kael. Together, they destroyed or went around other battle droids and Armored Assault Tanks. Kael ordered Sykes to follow him as they moved through the plaza to escape into the swamps. Along the way, Sykes picked up a vehicular upgrade. They then arrived at a hangar protected by two tanks. Kael ordered Sykes to destroy them, and the captain realized the tanks were protecting STAP-2s. The two stole the speeders and escaped into the countryside.

Aftermath
. With the departure of the Queen and overwhelming forces, the Federation would completely control the planet. Angered at her escape, Darth Sidious sent his apprentice Darth Maul to find her and her Jedi guardians. Kael and Sykes immediately engaged additional Trade Federation forces in the nearby countryside. They went on to form a resistance movement. Several officers, Palmer among them, were were captured by the Trade Federation, but later rescued. As a result of the Trade Federation's successful invasion, the blockade fleet, with the exception of the Droid Control Ship, the Vuutun Palaa, dispersed.

Behind the scenes
"Well highness, I am here to escort you to safety."

- The dialogue issued by the player's character to Amidala upon rescuing her in an altered scene.

The First Battle of Theed appeared in 1999 with the release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and its tie-ins.

This battle also appeared in two missions in the Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace video game. The player assumes the role of Kenobi for both missions. In the first segment, Gardens of Theed, Kenobi infiltrates the city after an Armored Assault Tank destroys a bridge, blocking his path. He follows the path through the gardens and through the gate to the Royal Palace. Along the way the player interacts with Naboo guards. If the player fails to get the code from the first wounded guard, the game allows the player to follow another guard through the gate. The second segment, Escape From Theed picks up after they rescue the Queen. She and Kenobi get separated from the others and Kenobi escorts her through the city. During the mission he has the option of talking to several characters to get information and game items, although none of it is required to complete the mission. The game's Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles: Prima's Official Strategy Guide reveals the required paths.

This battle appeared during two consecutive missions in the video game Star Wars: Episode I Jedi Power Battles, released in 2000. In the first mission, the player (or players) travel through Theed, with the option of bypassing a number of droids or destroying them all to boost their points. The turret droid is the level's boss, which must be destroyed to clear the level. The second level plays out differently from its appearance in other sources. For instance, the player(s), using the avatars of the Jedi, fight various battle droids, including B1 grapple droids. It is necessary to jump up the walls of the palace on balconies to reach another portion of the level. Then, the Jedi are led through a secret passage, under a large tomb, to the palace throne room by a handmaiden they had rescued in the first level; they rescue Amidala from a four-droid escort and lead her through the palace to the hangar, where they face two Plasma battle droids. In the Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace film, the Jedi rescue Amidala and her retinue out on the streets before returning to the Theed hangar to destroy the battle droids guarding the royal starship. The game's strategy guide reveals the alternate paths along with the required paths. In 2001 the video game Star Wars: Obi-Wan was released. The game features this battle during the the third chapter; the player assumes the role of Kenobi and plays the scene over three missions: City Under Siege, Within The Palace, and A Queen in Peril. These missions contradict the movie in that Kenobi meets Captain Panaka in the Royal Palace after the latter was supposed to be captured, and the Queen is escorted by a different group of droids when she is rescued. The first segment was written with to follow the 100% completion path outlined in the game's strategy guide. Going up and facing the first group of battle droids was necessary to pick up all the game's "location markers" and is off the critical path. In the third segment, destroying the Armored Assault Tank is optional.

The preceding three games contradict each other and the Episode I film to some extent. They all feature the Jedi's arrival in Theed up to rescuing the Queen or later. This article includes all three pathways and notes specific contradictions where applicable.

This battle also served as the first mission in the 2000 video game Star Wars: Battle for Naboo, entitled Escape from Theed. The player, as Gavyn Sykes in a Flash speeder, was tasked with rescuing Kael and escaping the city. It was not necessary to destroy every droid in the level, just those attacking Kael. Finding the upgrade fulfills the bonus objective, but is not essential. Its placement during the battle is unclear, but it is before Panaka left the planet, as the opening video features his evacuation order.

In 2001 the game Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds featured this battle and the ones leading up to it. The player, in the role of OOM-9, was tasked with leading a force into Theed and destroying the signal jammer. With that objective complete, reinforcements were granted and the player must move the army to the grounds of the Royal Palace, occupying the area (marked with flags) with at least five military units. When the player has fought through to the Palace, possibly destroying military buildings, Gunray orders the construction of a "Monument," the Neimodian Throne, granting the player sufficient game rsources to do so. When the construction is complete, the mission ends. The game's strategy guide, besides walking the player through the mission locales and challenges, recommends the player destroy all Royal Security Force military buildings on the journey through Theed. When the reinforcements arrive, the game recommends sending them north to link up with the first army, instead of going west and running into additional fortresses.

In the Lego Star Wars game, the events and characters of the movie are re-stylized as the mute LEGO characters Amidala and Panaka during the game's mission Escape from Naboo; if only one player is active the other one is AI-controlled. The players must navigate through the level and use the game's telekinetic "Force power" mechanics and build new forms with LEGO studs. The level includes a number of freeplay areas which are not part of the required path. The mission starts in a courtyard and the players must immediately fight a squad of battle droids. At the end of the courtyard is an area where the grapple-carrying Naboo LEGO figures can use their grapples to move to the upper level. Up above the courtyard, the players must travel along the walkway and then jump through a window after breaking it. After that, the players must grapple up another level and destroy three battle droids. When that area is cleared, they proceed up another level by grappling and fight more droids before moving into another room. After clearing that room, the players shot then jump through another window and onto a walkway filled with battle droids. After that engagement, they follow the walkway to a closed gate, which opens when a target is shot with a blaster There they join Binks, Jinn, and Kenobi, who are fighting a group of droids. They proceed by grappling up to another level, where they drop into a walkway and face more droids. To get through the gate blocking their way, they shoot four targets. Passing through, they step on switches placed on three domes which open the tunnels underneath, and then shoot a cage to reveal the tunnel underneath, which they escape into.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Darth Plagueis
 * Star Wars: Obi-Wan
 * Star Wars Episode I Journal: Queen Amidala
 * Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace novelization
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * ''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 1
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace junior novel
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace video game
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace script facsimile
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace PhotoComic
 * Star Wars: Episode I Jedi Power Battles
 * Peril on Naboo
 * Star Wars: Invasion of Theed Adventure Game
 * Star Wars: Battle for Naboo

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * LEGO Star Wars: Darth Maul's Mission