Battle of the Phu system

The Battle of Phu took place around 22 BBY during a Galactic Republic patrol of the Phu system by Jedi General Ares Nune and Clone Commander Kite. The Confederate superweapon, the Subjugator-class heavy cruiser Malevolence, was also in the system under the command of General Grievous, and quickly eradicated Nune's fleet of three Venator-class Star Destroyers with its ion cannons. Following the attack, High Jedi General Plo Koon took a task force of several Venator cruisers to find and destroy the Confederate weapon.

Prelude
"I compiled all the reports, seeing if there's any pattern so we can find whatever it is the Seppies are doing out here.''" "Well done, Snips." "Not well enough. It's just too random''."

- Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker, on tracking the Confederate weapon's strike points

Around 22 BBY during the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Confederacy built a superweapon, the Subjugator-class heavy cruiser Malevolence, capable of destroying numerous Republic fleets with its ion cannons. The cannons neutralized all power to their targets, leaving the targets defenseless and vulnerable without the ability of deflector shields. The Confederacy soon began to use the Malevolence in numerous strikes on Republic task forces that left no survivors. The Jedi High Council became increasingly worried with the losses, and the unpredictable attacks drove fear across the citizens of the Republic.



Eradication of Nune's forces
"Commander Kite, all hands to escape pods! Abandon ship! Abandon ship! Abandon ship!"

- Ares Nune

Jedi General Ares Nune and Clone Commander Kite took three Venator-class Star Destroyers&mdash;including the Laudable, Nune's flagship &mdash;on a regular patrol of the Phu system. However, the Malevolence was also in the system, under command of the Confederate General Grievous. The cyborg general immediately ordered the Malevolence ' s ion cannons to fire. As the Laudable ' s shields were destroyed from the wave, Nune ordered Commander Kite to organize an evacuation of the cruisers via escape pods. However, the Malevolence moved in and destroyed the Venators before anyone could escape.

Aftermath
"Finding it is one thing. Finding a way to stop it is another."

- Mace Windu on the Confederate superweapon

The defeat of Nune's fleet was reported in the news, to the increasing worry of the citizens of the Republic. Following the report of the loss, Masters Yoda, Mace Windu and Plo Koon of the Jedi Council met with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine in his office on the galactic capital of Coruscant. Koon volunteered to find and destroy the "mystery weapon," as the Malevolence had been dubbed. Aboard the Venator-class cruiser Triumphant, Koon tracked the Confederate weapon to the Abregado system.

Behind the scenes
The battle was featured in The Clone Wars web comic The Clone Wars: Shakedown, released on October 2, 2008 and leading into "Rising Malevolence," an episode featured in the October 3, 2008 premiere of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series on Cartoon Network. The episode featured the debut of the characters Ares Nune and Clone Commander Kite, but ironically, they also met their fate in the same issue. The battle also marked one of the many strikes of the Confederate "mystery weapon" that was later identified as the Malevolence. The battle was also mentioned in the HoloNet News report A Galaxy Divided, released on October 2 as part of an ongoing podcast featuring The Clone Wars series, released on StarWars.com and iTunes.

Appearances

 * The Clone Wars: Shakedown
 * HoloNet News — A Galaxy Divided

Notes and references
Schlacht im Phu-System Batalla de Phu