Skirmish at Vanqor/Legends

"When you're a Jedi Master, you can make the plan.''" "That's just it. How can I become a Jedi Master if I'm always getting caught?" "''At least you're a master&hellip;at getting caught."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker

This skirmish took place over and on the planet Vanqor around 22 BBY when the Galactic Republic and Jedi Order attempted to capture Confederate Head of State Count Dooku. Jedi General Anakin Skywalker allowed himself to be taken prisoner aboard Dooku's frigate while in an ice field and High Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi infiltrated the Confederate vessel when it was later in space over Vanqor, freeing his companion. The two Jedi found and confronted Dooku, but as the Republic Star Destroyer Resolute opened fire on the frigate, the Sith Lord fled from the ship in his solar sailer.

Skywalker and Kenobi stole a transport shuttle and pursued the Count, but both the Jedi and Sith's ships were damaged and forced to crash-land on Vanqor. While Dooku trapped the Jedi in a cave and managed to escape, Skywalker and Kenobi fought and defeated a gundark before accidentally releasing noxious gas while trying to unblock the exit from the cave. The two Jedi were rescued by Skywalker's Padawan, Jedi Commander Ahsoka Tano, and a clone trooper squad, when they blasted open the cavern entrance.

Prelude
"Master, we're approaching the ice field on schedule. I still say this is a dumb plan. The Separatists will never fall for it.''" "Ahsoka, those stupid battle droids will fall for anything''."

- Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker

Around 22 BBY, the Galactic Republic and Jedi Order sought to capture Confederate Head of State Count Dooku in order to bring the war to a quicker end. High Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi General Anakin Skywalker devised a plan to capture the Sith Lord: Skywalker would sneak aboard Dooku's frigate and purposely allow himself to be captured, and in order to make his ruse appear convincing, the Jedi intentionally damaged his Delta-7B starfighter with assistance from his astromech droid, R2-D2. General Skywalker then planned to be dropped off in his starfighter from his personal ship, the Twilight, in an ice field, where the Confederate frigate would find him and pull him aboard.

The operation
"For all your expertise, this is not a very smooth landing!''" "''If you'd hit that second fighter, we wouldn't be in this mess."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, during their crash-landing on Vanqor

Upon arriving in the ice field, Skywalker was deployed in his fighter. Picking up the Jedi's life-sign, the Confederate frigate's battle droid captain ordered the Jedi fighter to be towed aboard. As B1 and B2 battle droids surrounded the starfighter, Skywalker exited his ship, and, wielding a fake lightsaber, he fought the battle droids. However, a B2 super battle droid destroyed the Jedi's weapon and the droids apprehended Skywalker, placing their prisoner in one of the frigate's holding cells.

While Skywalker's Padawan, Jedi Commander Ahsoka Tano, returned with the Twilight to the cruiser, Kenobi donned a spacesuit to protect himself from the vacuum of space and infiltrated Dooku's frigate, which was in space near the planet Vanqor. Entering the ship through a hatch, the Jedi Master left his suit behind and used a burst of Force speed to sneak past a B1 battle droid manning one of the frigate's controls. Kenobi eventually located and freed Skywalker, returning his lightsaber to him, and the two Jedi found Dooku's quarters. As Skywalker and Kenobi confronted the Sith Lord, the Republic Venator-class Star Destroyer Resolute&mdash;being commanded by Tano and Clone Captain CC-7567&mdash;opened fire on Dooku's frigate. With his ship outgunned and targeted for boarding, the Confederate Head of State drooped into an escape hatch and headed to his frigate's hangar.

While Skywalker followed Dooku through the ship's interior, Kenobi left to cut the Sith Lord off in the hangar bay. Dooku shot Force lightning at Skywalker, and although the Jedi was able to deflect the bolts with his lightsaber, the glare caused Skywalker to lose sight of his quarry at a junction where the hatch took two different routes. Dooku arrived in the hangar bay and fled his frigate in his Punworcca 116-class sloop, and Kenobi entered the room in time to see the Sith Lord depart with a Vulture droid escort. The Jedi dispatched several battle droids near a Sheathipede-class transport shuttle, stole the vessel, and was soon joined by Skywalker, who had found his way to the hangar. As the hangar door began to close shut, Skywalker took control of the shuttle and piloted the vessel out of the frigate in time to avoid being trapped.

Kenobi told Tano to follow in whatever reinforcements she could find, and the Jedi Master managed to land a shot on Dooku's solar sailer, forcing the Count to crash-land on Vanqor. As the Vulture droid starfighters attacked the Jedi's stolen shuttle, Kenobi returned fire on the enemy fighters, but one of the droids hit the shuttle. The Jedi were forced to crash-land on Vanqor as well, and upon finding Dooku's ship with the Sith Lord nowhere in sight, Skywalker destroyed a homing beacon that Dooku had activated to call for help. Continuing their search for the Sith Lord, the Jedi entered a cave, sensing Dooku's presence among several other lifeforms. Using their lightsabers for illumination, Skywalker and Kenobi looked for Dooku before the Sith Lord himself began a rockfall above the two Jedi. Kenobi jumped out of the way in time, but Skywalker was trapped beneath the stalactites, and Dooku stole the Jedi's lightsaber. Leaving the cave, the Sith Lord caused an avalanche and blocked the cavern entrance with the Force.

As Skywalker freed himself from the rocks and found Kenobi, a gundark appeared and attacked Skywalker. Although Kenobi's lightsaber had been rendered defunct with its crystals knocked loose, he and Skywalker pelted rocks at the gundark with the Force, and the creature was eventually crushed. While telekinetically moving rocks to form a barrier between themselves and the fallen gundark, the two Jedi accidentally opened a fissure in the cave, releasing toxic gas that could kill them within minutes. Attempting to clear the blocked cavern entrance, Skywalker and Kenobi collapsed from the effects of the gas, but were soon saved when Tano and a squad of clone troopers&mdash;who had arrived aboard a Nu-class attack shuttle&mdash;blasted the entrance open. The explosion repelled the gas, and Skywalker and Kenobi were able to escape from the cave. With the two Jedi generals freed, Tano ordered the clone troopers to seal the entrance once more as the gundark returned.

Aftermath
"We've reestablished contact with Kenobi and Skywalker. They're in a system close to Florrum.''" "''And most eager to find Dooku, they are."

- Mace Windu and Yoda

While the Jedi had been occupied with fighting the gundark, a gang of Weequay pirates had tricked Count Dooku into traveling to the planet Florrum to escape the "dangers" that befell Vanqor after nightfall. On Florrum, the pirates managed to take the Sith Lord hostage and took him to their outpost. Contacting Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, Hondo Ohnaka&mdash;the chief of the pirate band&mdash;set Dooku's ransom at one million credits, and Senator Padmé Amidala requested that two Jedi be allowed to verify that Dooku was in the pirates' captivity so that the Republic could finally apprehend the Sith Lord. Since Skywalker and Kenobi were in a system close to Florrum, Jedi Masters Yoda and Mace Windu assigned the two to the mission, and the Jedi took the Twilight to the Outer Rim planet.

Behind the scenes
The Skirmish at Vanqor first appeared in The Clone Wars: Bait, an issue of The Clone Wars web comic series, and was also featured in "Dooku Captured," the January 2009 episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series into which the online comic led.

Appearances

 * The Clone Wars: Bait
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Captured

Notes and references
Batalla de Vanqor