Skirmish aboard the Coronet/Legends

Around 22 BBY, Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker were sent to escort Duchess Satine Kryze and several senators to Coruscant so the Duchess could defend herself against the claims that she was in league with the Separatists. During the trip, the Duchess's ship was attacked by the rogue group Death Watch, aided by the Confederacy. As clone troopers searched the ship for suspicious activity, they were attacked by numerous assassin probes and probe killers, which killed the clones Mixer and Redeye. Though the probes were eventually destroyed, Skywalker and Kenobi had strong suspicions that there was a traitor aboard the ship. Using one of the probe killers, Kenobi revealed the traitor to be Senator Tal Merrik, who was in league with Death Watch. The Senator called for the aid of Pre Vizsla, who sent three Droch-class boarding ships filled with B2 super battle droids to attack the Coronet so Merrik could escape with Kryze as his hostage. In the battle that followed, the battle droids were defeated, and Merrik was killed by Skywalker.

Prelude
Despite her pacifist views, rumors began circulating that Duchess Satine Kryze, the leader of the Council of Neutral Systems, was building an army to aid the Separatists. When the Galactic Senate learned of these rumors, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi was sent to Mandalore to investigate. After a bombing in the capital city, Kenobi and the Kryze traveled to Concordia, Mandalore's moon. There, Kenobi uncovered a plot by Death Watch to overthrow the Duchess and enter Mandalore into the war on the side of the Confederacy. After Kenobi thwarted an assassination attempt against the Duchess, Anakin Skywalker and several clones were sent to Mandalore to aid Kenobi. Their mission was to bring Kryze safely to Coruscant so that she could defend herself against the false rumors surrounding her.

The probes


The clones were ordered to search the ship for any sign of suspicious activity. As they scoured the dark rooms of the cargo hold, Redeye was attacked by an assassin probe. Mixer became suspicious when he tried to contact Redeye via comlink, and received no response. However, before he could act on his suspicions, he, too was attacked.

The astromech droid R2-D2 also searched the ship with his sensors, which told him something was amiss. In response to Artoo's worry and the disappearance of two clone troopers, Captain Rex contacted the two Jedi and explained the situation. Skywalker joined the clones to help in their search. They discovered a cargo crate with the cover open and the contents missing.

As Skywalker and the clones continued to search the area, Skywalker noticed Redeye walking towards him. However, Redeye wasn't answering Skywalker's questions. When Skywalker noticed the assassin probe behind the clone, he ignited his lightsaber. The droid threw the corpse at Skywalker, who dodged the attack. He managed to sever some of the droid's legs, and the clones arrived and finished it off.



Skywalker noticed another probe making its way towards the turbolift. He warned Kenobi, who was dining with the Duchess and the Senators. Satine's guards attempted to close the lift before the droid could make it through, but they were too slow, and the probe simply threw the guards out of its way. It leaped onto the dinner table, but Kenobi ignited his lightsaber and severed two of the droid's legs before stabbing it.

Skywalker suspected there might be one probe left, and ordered the clones to look for it. When Cody noticed that the droid behind Anakin was releasing several probe killers from its innards, he shouted a warning. Skywalker and the clones began to fight the probe killers off while R2-D2 used his droid shock arm against the probes.

The defunct droid in the dining area also released probe killers. Kryze, armed with a droid deactivator, helped Kenobi fight the droids. Soon all the probes in both areas were destroyed, but Skywalker and Kenobi both knew there was a traitor aboard the ship.

Merrik's betrayal
Kenobi retrieved the ship's cargo manifest from a protocol droid to discover how the probes had gotten aboard the ship. Unfortunately, the manifest did not give a name, but the Senate stamp narrowed it down, as there were only four senators aboard the ship.

Kenobi discovered one of the smaller probe killers left alive, and used it to discover the identity of the traitor. The probe appeared hostile toward three of the senators, but remained calm when it was near Tal Merrik. Before Kenobi could arrest him, Merrik knocked the probe out of Obi-Wan's hand. In the confusion that followed, Merrik took Duchess Kryze by the throat and held a blaster pistol to her head. He fled the scene as Kenobi destroyed the probe, which was attacking Senator Onaconda Farr.



Meanwhile, Skywalker and the clones continued to search the cargo hold for any remaining probes. A probe killer attacked Cody and Rex, but it was destroyed by Artoo's shock arm. Then, the last of the larger assassin probes appeared and lunged at Rex. It landed on top of the clone, who held its razor-sharp arms away from him and managed to kick it towards the wall. Skywalker threw his lightsaber at the droid, which fell to the ground before Rex climbed atop it and fired his blaster pistols into the droid's head, destroying the droid and the killer probes inside it.

Merrik, with Kryze as his hostage, reached the Coronet's bridge. He killed the crew and pulled the ship out of hyperspace. He contacted Pre Vizsla via hologram, and Vizsla sent three boarding ships filled with B2 super battle droids towards the ship. As the droids attacked, Skywaler, the clones, and Satine's guards rushed to meet them, while Kenobi went to find Merrik and Kryze.

Kenobi found Merrik on the bridge and attempted to arrest him; however, Merrik had in his hand a remote which was set to detonate the explosives Merrik had wired to the engines. He warned Kenobi to stay back, or he would push the button and everyone aboard the ship would die. Kryze begged Kenobi to stand his ground; she would rather be captured than see everyone aboard killed. Kenobi followed at a distance as Merrik made his way to one of the boarding craft.

Elsewhere, the battle with the super battle droids was drawing to an end. The clones and Satine's guards managed to kill all but the last three, which Skywalker Force pushed against the wall. He then set off to find Obi-Wan.



Merrik reached the boarding crafts, but before he could escape with Kryze, the Duchess stepped on his foot and was able to retrieve his blaster, which she pointed at his head. Merrik, knowing that Kryze's pacifist views would prevent her from pulling the trigger, promised he would blow the ship up once he was away. He taunted Kenobi, who he said could not kill him for fear of what Kryze might think. But before Merrik could make his escape, Skywalker arrived and ignited his lightsaber through the Senator's back, instantly killing him.

Aftermath
The Coronet finally reached Coruscant in one piece. The ship's passengers were greeted by Chancellor Palpatine, who praised the Jedi for their bravery. Satine, still adamant in her pacifism, prepared to defend herself in the Senate.

Behind the scenes
While the second episode of the Mandalorian story arc of The Clone Wars, the episode featuring this skirmish, Voyage of Temptation, was the first to be produced. The holographic image of Pre Vizsla seen in this episode actually uses an earlier design than we see in the previous episode, The Mandalore Plot.