Battle of Christophsis/Legends

The Battle of Christophsis took place in Crystal City on the planet of Christophsis in 22 BBY during the Clone Wars. Seeking to force another world to join their cause, the Confederacy of Independent Systems invaded Christophsis, and the Galactic Republic and the Jedi High Council dispatched High Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi General Anakin Skywalker to aid the planet's inhabitants, accompanied by clone troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic. However, Clone Sergeant Slick, disgusted with the Jedi's control over his clone brothers, betrayed the Republic and began to pass inside information to the Dark Acolyte Asajj Ventress.

After penetrating the Separatist space defenses and landing on the surface, the Republic forces prepared to attack the Confederate battle droid army stationed in Crystal City. However, the Confederacy used Slick's information and ambushed the Republic, alerting the Jedi to the possibility of a traitor. Skywalker and Kenobi went to search for more information behind enemy lines, while Clone Commander CC-2224 and Clone Captain CC-7567&mdash;nicknamed "Cody" and "Rex," respectively&mdash;stayed to find the turncoat. Upon arriving at the Confederacy base, the two Jedi confronted Ventress and discovered the presence of an invasion force in far greater strength than they had originally believed. Cody and Rex uncovered Slick to be the traitor, and after he severely damaged the Republic's weapons depot, the two managed to apprehend him, and Slick was imprisoned for his crimes.

The Republic forces fought off the first wave of battle droids under the command of Confederate General Whorm Loathsom, but the Confederate forces soon returned. After Loathsom discovered that the Republic was using heavy cannons, he ordered his forces to retreat once more and set up a deflector shield to negate the Republic's artillery use. During the lapse of fighting, Skywalker's new Jedi Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, arrived on the planet in place of the Republic's expected reinforcements. The Confederate forces returned, this time advancing behind their shield, rendering the Republic's artillery useless. Skywalker and Tano proceeded to sabotage the Confederacy's shield generator, while Kenobi stayed to engage the Confederate forces. After Kenobi pretended to surrender to Loathsom, Skywalker and Tano were able to eliminate the shield; Kenobi captured Loathsom, and the Republic forces defeated the Confederacy.

Prelude
"You be listening to the voice of the Confederacy o' Independent Systems. Yer planet, it belongs to us now."

- Confederate General Whorm Loathsom, to the inhabitants of Christophsis

In 22 BBY during the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Confederacy invaded the planet of Christophsis, seeking to force another world to join their cause. The planet's native Christophsians attempted to defend themselves, but they were unable to hold out against the Confederate forces, and were overwhelmed. Confederate General Whorm Loathsom, via a massive holotransmission, stated to the inhabitants of the planet that they were under Confederate rule, and that their planetary leadership had abandoned them.

The inhabitants appealed to the Jedi High Council for help, and the Council dispatched High Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi General Anakin Skywalker to aid the planet. Skywalker and Kenobi were accompanied by a contingent of clone troopers from the Grand Army of the Republic. However, among the Republic troops was Clone Sergeant Slick who, unknown to his comrades, had developed a grudge against the Jedi, believing that in fighting in the Republic Army, he and his fellow clone brothers were acting as the Jedi's slaves. Infuriated with the corruption, Slick began to pass inside information to Dark Acolyte Asajj Ventress, who had arrived on the planet, and he was given payment for his assistance.

Arrival and ambush
After the Jedi, piloting their Aethersprite-class starfighters, won a "rare Republic victory" over the Separatist forces in the space above Christophsis, the Republic forces established a base and sent a squad of several clone troopers&mdash;under the command of Sergeant Slick&mdash;to perform a reconnaissance of the planet, in order to locate a strategical ambush point from which to attack the Confederate droid forces. Slick and his men located a strategical site: the adjacent North and South towers in Crystal City, overlooking a major plaza. As they returned to the base, the clones came across a squad of B1 battle droids attempting to clear one of the main boulevards of Christophsians. When the droids discovered a crippled man and discussed killing him, the clones intervened and eliminated the droids. However, once the clones had returned to the base, Slick secretly sent the Republic's plan to Ventress, and with the information, she and Loathsom developed a plan to ambush the Republic forces and stay a step ahead of their enemies.

Kenobi, Clone Commander CC-2224, and Slick stationed their men in the South tower, while Skywalker and Clone Captain CC-7567 were based in the parallel North tower. Kenobi's men set up several repeating blaster cannons, ready to ambush the Confederate B1 battle droids and Armored Assault Tanks as they passed through the plaza below. Unexpectedly to the Republic, the droid force split into two. In the South tower, a turbolift door opened, and B1 battle droids flooded the room, making it apparent to Kenobi that their ambush point had been compromised. Watching from the North tower, Skywalker contacted clone pilot Hawk and ordered an evacuation of the South tower.

Skywalker's men fired the grappling hooks of their blaster rifles to the adjacent South tower, sliding across the divide to assist Kenobi. The droid forces watching from the plaza opened fire, killing one of the clone troopers, but Skywalker and his men arrived to help Kenobi, and the Republic forces proceeded to the roof of the tower for the evacuation. The Jedi and clones were pursued by the droids, under command of a tactical droid. Hawk's LAAT/i gunship arrived and hovered near the roof, and the Republic forces began to board. In a last act before retreating, trooper Gus attacked the tactical droid and ripped its head off, taking the severed head onto the gunship.

CC-2224 and CC-7567&mdash;nicknamed Cody and Rex, respectively&mdash;brought the droid's cranial unit back to the Republic base. However, during a robolobotomy, the tactical droid only confirmed that the Confederacy had been aware of the Republic's plan, and the droid stopped processing before it could reveal more. When the clones reported their findings to the Jedi, Skywalker suggested that the Republic had been left vulnerable to a breach in security systems. Kenobi, however, suspected that there was a spy among the Republic forces, and that action behind enemy lines was necessary to uncover information. Before the Jedi left, Kenobi ordered Cody and Rex to keep the mission confidential and remain behind to find and apprehend the traitor.

Cody was alarmed to find an activated comlink on a nearby table soon thereafter; someone had been listening to the entire conversation. Rex noticed Slick in the hallway, but the traitor was too far away to be recognized. Once Rex called out, Slick immediately fled. Cody and Rex ran after him but lost his trail during their pursuit. Because of the arrangement of the base's halls through which the two clones had chased the eavesdropper, they deduced that he had definitely gone into the mess hall. Entering the mess hall, Cody and Rex discovered that the only people there were their clone brothers. Both returned to the base's communications center to continue investigations in the systems. Through astromech droid R2-D2, a number of external communications were discovered, taking place every few days in an irregular pattern. The wavelength was tracked to a terminal in Slick's barracks, and Cody and Rex decided to individually interrogate Slick's men.

Trap for the Jedi
Under the cover of night, the Jedi approached the Confederacy base on BARC speeders. The Jedi noticed an increasing number of battle droids observing them; because the droids were not trying to stop them, the Jedi deduced that they were heading into a trap. This prospect boosted Skywalker's confidence, believing that this was unfortunate for the Confederacy. Upon arrival at the base, Skywalker and Kenobi were greeted by the hooded figure of Dark Acolyte Asajj Ventress, and they each ignited their lightsabers on sight of each other. Ventress climbed nimbly to the top of the base's stairs, and Skywalker was the first to attack, slashing at Ventress, who drove him down to the foot of the stairs. Kenobi joined the duel and attacked Ventress as well.

Ventress fought both Skywalker and Kenobi simultaneously, and used the Force to throw a piece of crystal rubble at them, which Kenobi sliced in half. Skywalker and Kenobi drove Ventress back up the stairs and followed her into another room. Ventress summoned books off their shelves and hurtled them at her pursuers; Kenobi stopped them with the Force, and Skywalker's added assistance caused the books to fly back at Ventress. As Ventress assumed a submissive position, sitting cross-legged on the floor, the Jedi approached her to capture her. However, Ventress suddenly opened a large hole in the floor with her duel lightsabers, and Skywalker and Kenobi dropped down into the room below.

Ventress mocked the two before fleeing, and the two Jedi jumped back up into the room above and followed Ventress as she broke a window and hurtled out of it. Ventress jumped off the side of the building, and as the Jedi got closer, they discovered the full scale of the Confederate invasion forces: numerous C-9979 landing craft were landing, bringing more and more battle droids, and many were already marching in formation on the ground far below. From atop the head of a tri-droid clinging onto the side of the building, Ventress taunted the Jedi, and stated that the Confederacy was preparing to assume control of the planet.

Despite the appearance of the invasion forces, Skywalker and Kenobi continued the duel. Jumping onto the legs of the tri-droid, the Jedi severed two of the droid's legs, breaking its hold on the side of the building. Ventress jumped off the droid's head and engaged Skywalker in brief combat upon one of the droid's remaining legs, and Skywalker Force-pushed Ventress away before he stole an STAP from a B1 battle droid and escaped with Kenobi. Ventress landed on the ground, just as the tri-droid crashed to the ground behind her, and she relayed orders through a tactical droid to Loathsom, ordering the general to march on the city. Ventress departed in her ship to execute the next part of her Sith master's plan, which included turning Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure against the Jedi Order.

A traitor revealed
Meanwhile, Cody and Rex proceeded to Slick's barracks, and Slick stated he wanted to talk to his men before they were interrogated, believing that the prospect of a traitor would undermine their morale. Despite the protest from Slick, Cody and Rex began to interrogate his squad. When trooper Chopper revealed that he had been making a necklace of droid fingers, an act forbidden by war protocols, Slick put Chopper's credibility in question, as the traitor sought to ensure that he himself was not framed. Slick told Chopper that a proper investigation would commence once the Jedi returned, but Chopper lashed out at his sergeant, claiming that he had seen Slick entering the command center rather than the barracks. Slick denied the claim, but his mention of the Jedi's absence revealed himself to be the traitor, as he would not have known the Jedi were gone unless he had been eavesdropping on the meeting through the open comlink that Cody had discovered. When Cody questioned Slick, the traitor struck out at Cody and Chopper and bolted for the exit.

Cody and Rex tracked Slick to the base's gunship landing pad, but instead of finding the traitor, they discovered a primed thermal detonator. The two clones took cover shortly before numerous explosives went off, completely destroying the landing pad, the AT-TE walkers and the weapon supply depot. Slick ran into the command center and hid in the vents above the room, and Cody and Rex gave pursuit. The two engaged in a ploy to bait Slick out of the vents. Cody left his blaster on the table, while Rex appeared to leave for the south exit. Slick stole Cody's blaster and held Cody at gunpoint, but Slick was unaware that Cody had removed the ammo from his gun. Rex returned, and Slick was surrounded.

Slick stole Rex's blaster, and Cody lost his own blaster while disarming the traitor. As Slick headed for the exit, Cody knocked him down, and the two engaged in close combat before Rex pulled the traitor off Cody. However, the clone traitor head-butted Rex and dislocated the captain's leg. As Slick revealed the intentions behind his treason, he was knocked out by Cody, and Slick was locked in handcuffs. Once the Jedi returned, they were accosted by Slick, but the traitorous clone was turned in and taken to lock-up.

Confederacy counterattack
Although the Republic forces were only able to salvage the artillery guns from the destroyed weapons depot, they regrouped and prepared for an attack. Kenobi and Skywalker defeated the first wave of battle droids under Loathsom's command, and after several days, the Confederacy was forced to retreat. However, once the Republic Venator-class Star Destroyer Hunter&mdash;under command of Admiral Wullf Yularen&mdash;was dispatched for supplies and reinforcements, Loathsom launched another attack. B1 and B2 battle droids and several tri-droids advanced in the front lines, while Armored Assault Tanks followed close behind.

Despite Loathsom's surprise attack, the Jedi were able to rally their forces to beat back the droids once more, and they used the artillery guns to hold their position. Kenobi led Ghost Squadron in a charge against the battle droids, and Skywalker, Rex and Torrent Company surprised the tri-droids from above, defeating them. Loathsom once again pulled back, and it was during the following lull in fighting that a shuttle arrived from the galactic capital of Coruscant and landed in City Plaza. However, in place of the Republic's expected reinforcements was young Padawan learner Ahsoka Tano, who had been recently apprenticed by Jedi Grand Master Yoda to Skywalker, much to his surprise and alarm.

From the shuttle that had delivered Tano, the Jedi contacted Yoda through the Jedi cruiser Resolute and requested reinforcements. Skywalker and Kenobi discovered that the Jedi Council had been unaware that the Republic forces had engaged the Confederacy; the Council had also been unaware that all of the Republic supply ships dispatched to the planet had been shot down. However, the Resolute was being damaged under increasing fire from several Confederate Munificent-class frigates, and communications were soon cut, as the Resolute was forced to retreat to avoid further damage. Loathsom launched yet another attack, advancing his forces in two groups from the south and the east. Kenobi then led Alpha Squad to disrupt the advancement of the south force, while Bravo Squad was assigned to block the Separatists from the east. Kenobi and a rookie trooper charged the droids from two separate walkways and ultimately reached a tall Christophsian building.

The trooper used a thermal detonator to topple the building, making it fall and block the way for the Separatist troops. Bravo Squad, however, did not succeed in their mission and the east Confederate force advanced behind an expanding deflector shield, negating the Republic's use of long-ranged artillery. The Confederate droids and AATs were followed by tank droids. Kenobi and Rex marshaled a defense of the base, while Skywalker and Tano devised a plan to infiltrate the Confederacy-held ground and destroy the shield generator with multiple explosive charges. Skywalker and Tano hid under a large box, and once the shield and the advance droid forces passed by, the pair made their way to the generator. However, Skywalker and Tano ran into a droideka, and once defeating it, they arrived at the generator.

Kenobi and Rex attempted to use the base's heavy cannons in defense, but they confirmed that the weaponry was indeed useless against the droids' deflector shield. The shield soon passed over the Republic forces, and Kenobi led the clones to attack the droids, attempting to draw them into the buildings and gain an advantage over them. Rex's unit was ambushed and was forced to retreat. Kenobi ordered Rex to organize a defense of the cannons while he himself engaged the droids and distracted them. Rex reluctantly agreed, but as Kenobi battled the droids alone, he was soon surrounded by a squad of B2 super battle droids and DSD1 dwarf spider droids.

Despite Skywalker's warning, Tano accidentally alerted pre-planted retail droids to their presence. Tano placed the charges around the generator, and Skywalker engaged the droids but soon became overwhelmed. Tano noticed a wall behind Skywalker with a hole in the middle and brought it down with the Force, destroying the droids around her master without hurting him. Despite the fact that Tano had saved his life, Skywalker was infuriated with her recklessness, believing he could have been killed.

In order to gain time for Skywalker and Tano to eliminate the shield, Kenobi pretended to surrender to Loathsom. Kenobi was brought to a crystal table, and over a cup of tea, Kenobi patiently discussed the "terms of his surrender" with Loathsom, to the general's increasing impatience. Rex discovered that Kenobi had been captured, but he and his men continued to protect the cannons. Kenobi stated to Loathsom that if his troops were taken prisoner, they would require the proper food and supplies. Loathsom suspected he was stalling, and the general ordered two super battle droids to seize Kenobi. Loathsom demanded that Kenobi immediately call off his troops; if he refused, he would be eradicated. At that moment, Skywalker and Tano destroyed the shield generator. Kenobi, seeing the shield vanish, grabbed Loathsom around the neck. As the battle droids took aim, Loathsom ordered his troops not to attack, and the general surrendered to Kenobi. The clone artillery proceeded to annihilate the droid forces, and Loathsom was taken into Republic custody.

Returning to Christophsis in the Spirit of the Republic and several other Venator-class cruisers, as well as several Acclamator I-class assault ships, Yularen finally arrived with reinforcements, and he was able to break through the Confederate blockade, forcing the enemy armada to retreat. Yoda accompanied Yularen aboard the Spirit of the Republic to deliver orders for Skywalker and Kenobi in person. After the cruisers landed, several clone trooper units were dispatched for further reinforcements on Christophsis. An LAAT/i gunship was sent to retrieve Skywalker and Tano to bring them back to the City Plaza. In the meantime, Skywalker and Tano resolved their differences and began to form the bond of master and apprentice.

Aftermath
The battle left much of the planet destroyed, but despite the Republic's casualties, the Confederate blockade around Christophsis had been broken, and the Confederacy's occupation of the planet had been compromised. In addition, Skywalker had accepted the prospect of training an apprentice.

After Loathsom had been taken prisoner, Yoda informed Kenobi and Skywalker that crime lord Jabba the Hutt's son, Rotta, had been kidnapped by a group of renegades. Skywalker and Tano's mission would be to rescue the Huttlet, while Kenobi would enter negotiations with Jabba on his home planet of Tatooine. If Skywalker and Tano were successful, the Republic and the Jedi would gain Jabba's favor, and the crime lord would allow the Republic's clone army access to hyperspace lanes through Hutt-controlled space. Based on intelligence reports, Skywalker and Tano ventured to the planet Teth.

A holorecording was taken of the Battle of Christophsis. Edited on the planet of Alderaan, it was broadcast by HoloNet News to the Republic to further promote the valiant efforts of the Jedi.

Behind the scenes
The Battle of Christophsis appeared in the 2008 Star Wars: The Clone Wars film, as well as its novelization. As the film led into the 2008 television series of the same name, the battle was the first to be featured in the series. The battle featured both the introduction of the planet Christophsis and Skywalker's new Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, and also allowed Skywalker to assuage his hard-set beliefs against training an apprentice. The preliminary stages of the battle and the duel between Skywalker, Kenobi and Ventress appeared in the series' first season episode "The Hidden Enemy," which served as a prequel to the film. Sergeant Slick's and his men's reconnaissance of the planet appeared in the web comic Shadowed, which led into "The Hidden Enemy." In addition, the battle appeared in The Clone Wars young reader books The New Padawan and Meet Ahsoka Tano. It was later featured in the Nintendo DS version of the 2009 Republic Heroes video game.

A musical score of the battle was composed for the film by Kevin Kiner. The score was used as background music during the battle's appearance in the film, and was released in the film's soundtrack. Additionally, an edited version of the score was used during the opening scenes of "The Hidden Enemy."

The battle was originally to appear in a "flashback" episode in the first season of the television series, entitled "The New Padawan." However, after producer George Lucas decided to merge several episodes together for a theatrical release of The Clone Wars, the episode appeared in the film with several other episodes from the first season.

There were a few discrepancies between The Clone Wars novelization and film. A notable example was that the novel stated that after the battle, Yoda gave Skywalker, Tano, and Kenobi their assignments to aid in the rescue of Rotta the Huttlet while aboard a Jedi cruiser. The film features this scene on the surface of Christophsis. This article follows the latter's interpretation of events. However, there is another discrepancy between the film novelization and The Clone Wars: Wild Space&mdash;the Resolute was stated to be present in the Battle of Christophsis in the film's novelization, while Wild Space stated that it began its service in the Republic Navy after Christophsis. Until a cohesive timeline is established by Lucasfilm Ltd., this article assumes that the Resolute was present.

One of the two missions depicting the Battle of Christophsis in the Nintendo DS version of Republic Heroes greatly contradicts The Clone Wars film and television series. The mission features Senator Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker arriving at Crystal City to investigate droid activity in the sector recently lost by the Republic. Skywalker and Amidala travel through the city until they face a force field blocking their way. Master Yoda then assists them by deactivating the field, and the two continue their way, eventually confronting Count Dooku inside a Christophsian building. After a duel with Skywalker&mdash;whom Amidala assists with her blaster&mdash;Dooku retreats.

During the duel with Dooku, however, Skywalker informs the unaware Count that the Confederate General Grievous plans to obtain a superweapon from beneath an ocean of lava on the planet Mustafar. Skywalker finds out about Grievous's plans only during the Mission to Skytop Station, which takes place after the Battle of Christophsis has been already won by the Republic. Because of such confusing storyline that would take too much speculation to implement into the pre-existing story, this article assumes that the video game's mission is non-canon.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes
 * The Clone Wars: Shadowed
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars novelization
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars junior novelization
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The New Padawan
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Operation: Huttlet
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars film
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Meet Ahsoka Tano
 * The Clone Wars: Wild Space
 * The Clone Wars: Cold Snap
 * The Clone Wars: Cold Snap