Battle of Kiros/Legends

"It's all this&hellip;destruction, master. The Togruta are my people. To watch their way of life, all they built over generations laid to waste in one day isn't easy."

- Ahsoka Tano

During the Clone Wars, the Togrutan colony planet of Kiros was contested by the Confederacy of Independent Systems and the Galactic Republic. Around 21 BBY, the Republic received word that Kiros&mdash;which had remained neutral throughout the course of the war&mdash;was being invaded by Confederate forces. The Republic sent help to the Togruta. However, by the time the Republic troops arrived, the Confederacy had already occupied Kiros's capital and secretly transferred the entire population of Kiros to the planet Zygerria, where they were to be sold as slaves. The Republic forces&mdash;led by High Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi General Anakin Skywalker&mdash;fought through the capital, only to discover that the whole planet's population had disappeared.

The Separatist commander, Xerius Ugg, revealed that he had planted thermal bombs throughout the capital and demanded the Republic troops surrender, or he would detonate them. Hoping to buy some time for Skywalker to find the explosives, Kenobi engaged Ugg in a duel. After Skywalker and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano had successfully disarmed the bombs, Ugg still refused to surrender, and Kenobi was forced to kill him. Looking for some information regarding the missing population of Kiros, the Jedi analyzed Ugg's transmitter records, which indicated that the commander had been talking to someone in the Zygerria system. With Kiros liberated, the Jedi set off to gain more intelligence from Zygerrian slavers.

Prelude
During the Clone Wars, around 21 BBY, the Togrutan colony world of Kiros's preference for neutrality from both the Confederacy of Independent Systems and the Galactic Republic was shattered when the Confederacy decided to invade the world. Having learned of the upcoming attack, the Togrutan leader, Governor Roshti, contacted Jedi Master Yoda and informed him of the invasion. Yoda promised to send help and asked Roshti not to trust the Confederate leader, Count Dooku, who was personally leading the Separatist forces.

As Roshti and Yoda were finishing their communication, the Confederate troops arrived by way of C-9979 landing craft vessels. Upon landing, Dooku disembarked from the Zygerrian slave ship Tecora, alongside an AAT driver battle droid, a T-series tactical droid, and the ship's owner, the Zygerrian Darts D'Nar. Meeting the Governor, Dooku assured Roshti that the presence of his forces on the planet was not an invasion, but rather a peaceful occupation for the protection of the people of Kiros. Dooku proceeded to offer a sanctuary for Roshti's people for the rest of the conflict, to which Roshti had no other choice but to agree. However, instead of being spirited to a sanctuary, the Togruta were rounded and secretly transferred to the planet Zygerria, where they were to be sold as slaves at an auction held by the Zygerrian queen, Miraj Scintel. Kiros itself was occupied by the Separatist Droid Army, and D'Nar, as a Confederate commander, was placed in charge of the battle droids.

The battle
Ten planetary rotations later, the Republic forces finally arrived, led by High General Obi-Wan Kenobi, General Anakin Skywalker, Captain CT-7567&mdash;nicknamed "Rex"&mdash;and Skywalker's Padawan, Commander Ahsoka Tano. The Jedi and Rex led the ground assault on Kiros's capital. Riding BARC speeders, they managed to destroy many B1 battle droids and B2 super battle droids before they were confronted by several Armored Assault Tanks. Rex, however, was able to destroy them with a well-placed shot from a missile launcher. The city's north quadrant was quickly secured, and the Jedi reached the Separatist headquarters as Commander CC-2224 and Ghost Company approached from the south with minimal resistance. Kenobi then noticed that, throughout the whole battle, none of the Kiros inhabitants had been seen, and shared his thoughts with Skywalker and Tano.

As Kenobi started to contemplate the problem, he received word that the Separatist headquarters had been surrounded and that the holed-up enemy commander had requested to talk with "the Negotiator," a nickname Kenobi had earned for his diplomatic skills. Kenobi agreed and went to the Separatist headquarters alone, although he left his comlink activated so that Skywalker could hear the entire conversation. When Kenobi entered the main room of Ugg's headquarters, he saw the commander talking to someone via a holoprojector and assuring the man on the hologram that he would soon win the battle. When Kenobi asked Ugg how he would plan to do it, the Besalisk finally noticed the Jedi, switching off his holoprojector and revealing that he had planted thermal bombs throughout the city; Ugg was intent on activating them if the Republic refused to surrender.

Having heard Ugg's plans through Kenobi's comlink, Skywalker and Tano immediately assigned Skywalker's astromech droid, R2-D2, to locate the bombs with his scanners. Meanwhile, Kenobi tried to gain time by negotiating with Ugg. He told the Separatist commander that he could not surrender until he was sure that the Togruta were safe, and to this end, he offered Ugg to settle their dispute with a duel. Should Kenobi win, Ugg would take him to the Togruta, but if Ugg emerged as the winner, Kenobi would order his troops to surrender. Ugg agreed on the condition to fight the traditional way, without weapons. While they fought, Skywalker and Tano defused the bombs with the help of Rex, who provided covering fire from the roof tops. As Skywalker and Rex protected her from enemy fire, Tano used her lightsaber to sever the connection between each bomb and its detonator.

At one point during Kenobi's and Ugg's fight, a B1 battle droid tried to warn his commander about Skywalker's and Tano's actions via the commander's holoprojector. Kenobi, however, crushed the projector with the Force before the droid could finish, thus buying more time for Skywalker. Soon, however, another droid came in and interrupted the fight to tell Ugg that the Jedi were disarming the bombs. Having heard that, Ugg rushed to trigger the bombs, hoping that at least one of them would explode. However, the only bomb that did so was the one planted in Ugg's own ship. Kenobi offered Ugg one last chance to surrender, but the Separatist commander refused and attacked him. Kenobi then grabbed Ugg and threw him out the window. Ugg fell from the great height of his headquarters and received heavy injuries upon hitting the ground, although he remained alive for some time. Kenobi tried to ask him about the Togruta once again, but the Besalisk refused to reveal anything and died.

Aftermath
With the Separatist commander dead and all droid forces destroyed, Kiros was liberated. However, the Republic still did not know what had happened to the population of the world, and the planetary bio-scan initiated by Admiral Wullf Yularen only revealed that the Togruta were not on the planet. Kenobi then analyzed records copied from Ugg's transmitter and noticed that the late commander had frequently made contact with someone in the Zygerria system, well known for its reputation as a system of slave traders. Using this clue, the Jedi decided to infiltrate the system, proceeding to the remains of the Shi'kar homeworld in order to gain more intelligence from Zygerrian slavers who passed through that sector. Meanwhile, the Separatists falsified the Jedi Order's reputation by spreading propaganda that the entire population of Kiros had been killed by the Republic during their assault.

Behind the scenes
The Battle of Kiros was depicted in the comic Star Wars: The Clone Wars 1: Slaves of the Republic - Chapter 1: The Mystery of Kiros, written by Henry Gilroy and illustrated by Scott Hepburn. It was mentioned several times in the subsequent issues of the Slaves of the Republic story arc of The Clone Wars comic series.

Differences
In the comics, there is Commander Xerius Ugg; V-19 Torrent starfighters engage Vulture droid starfighters; among Confederate forces, there is only 1 sniper droideka as well as B2 super battle droids and regular droidekas. Dooku told Roshti that the Separatists had learned that the Republic was planning to establish a stronghold on Kiros in order to attack nearby colonies. In the comics, Dooku arrives on Punworcca 116-class interstellar sloop. Nineteen rotations pass in the comics.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars 1: Slaves of the Republic - Chapter 1: The Mystery of Kiros
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars 2: Slaves of the Republic - Chapter 2: Slave Traders of Zygerria
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars 4: Slaves of the Republic - Chapter 4: Auction of a Million Souls
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars 6: Slaves of the Republic - Chapter 6: Escape from Kadavo