Mission to Mustafar/Legends

"The Chancellor has given me a very important mission. The Separatists have gathered in the Mustafar system. I'm going there to end this war. Wait for me until I return&hellip; things will be different, I promise."

- Darth Vader to Padmé Amidala

In 19 BBY, Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith and Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, sent his new apprentice, Darth Vader to assassinate the remaining members of the Separatist Council on the volcanic planet Mustafar. The Council, consisting of the surviving top members of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, was a loose end in Sidious's plot to gain control of the Republic and mold it into the galaxy's first empire.

Vader willfully carried out the slaughter after trapping the council in their war room, killing each council member one by one. The bloodbath ended with the death of Nute Gunray, the Viceroy of the Trade Federation and one of the most influential members of the Council. As the violence subsided, Vader received the order to send a shut down signal to all battle droids part of the Separatist Droid Army, ending the Clone Wars that have spread across the galaxy for three years. This, coupled with the Chancellor's Declaration of a New Order at the Galactic Senate, secured Sidious's position as the Galactic Emperor of the New Order.

Before Vader was able to leave the planet, he was intercepted by his wife, Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo, who inadvertantly smuggled Vader's old master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, to Mustafar. The ensuing confusion caused Vader to accidentally wound Amidala in his rage and an epic duel between the two former companions left Vader heavily wounded and burned.

Prelude
"You have done well, Viceroy. When my new apprentice, Darth Vader, arrives, he will... take care of you."

- Darth Sidious to Nute Gunray

During the Confederacy of Independent Systems' invasion of the galactic capital, Coruscant, Count Dooku, the Head of State of the Separatist Council and the Confederacy, was executed by the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker at the urging of Palpatine, in actuality Dooku's master, Darth Sidous. Following this loss, General Grievous, the Supreme Commander of the Separatist Droid Army, assumed direct control over the Council, which at the time was based on the sinkhole planet Utapau.

Grievous's first action, under Sidious's guidance, was the Council's transfer from Utapau to Mustafar: Sidious knew of the impending offensive on Utapau led by General Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Council settled itself into the Klegger Corp Mining Facility. Around this time, an assassination attempt on Sidious led by the renowned Jedi Master Mace Windu resulted in Anakin Skywalker getting taken as Sidious's new Sith Apprentice, given the moniker Darth Vader. Vader, consumed with blind faith in Sidious's abilities to save his wife, Padme Amidala, from death, led the 501st Legion of clone troopers to the Jedi Temple to massacre the Jedi Order.

In the aftermath of the bloodbath, Sidious ordered his apprentice to go to Mustafar, where he would kill the surviving members of the Separatist Council. Sidious told Nute Gunray, the Viceroy of the Trade Federation, that his apprentice would reward them for their loyalty during the Clone Wars.

The assassinations
"Welcome, Lord Vader. We've been expecting you."

- Nute Gunray

When Darth Vader arrived at the control bunker on Mustafar, Nute Gunray, San Hill , and the other members of the council welcomed him. At the time, the Separatist leaders were demoralized by their recent defeats in the Outer Rim Sieges, the loss of Count Dooku, and their sudden withdrawal from Utapau shortly before the battle. Many of them wanted to sue for peace with the Galactic Empire (which had until recently been the Galactic Republic).

However, upon his arrival, Vader immediately closed the doors of the bunker, trapping the Separatist leaders, their aides, and several B-1 battle droids within. Engaging in a rampant killing spree, Vader destroyed the battle droids and killed the other guards before looking to his targets. The Separatist leaders attempted to flee and beg for their lives, but to no avail. Within minutes, Vader had slaughtered the entire council in a violent bloodlust&mdash;Denaria Kee, Po Nudo, Tikkes, Passel Argente, Nudo's Shi'ido, Shu Mai, Cat Miin, Poggle the Lesser, Nudo's aide, San Hill, Rute Gunnay, Rune Haako, Wat Tambor, and finally, Nute Gunray, whom he despised most of all for his attempts to kill Padmé Amidala, Vader's beloved. No sooner as he surveyed the carnage, his eyes turned a red-rimmed yellow, a trait common for a Sith, for his deep immersion in the dark side.

Aftermath
"The Separatists have been taken care of, my master.''" "''It is finished, then. You have restored peace and justice to the galaxy."

- Darth Vader and Darth Sidious

With the death of the Separatist Council, Vader received the order to end the Clone Wars by sending a shut down signal to the entire Separatist Droid Army. This action effectively ended all combat operations between the Galactic Empire and the Confederacy of Independent Systems across the galaxy.

Before Vader left the planet, his wife Padmé Amidala arrived to question him about his involvement with the massacre at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. She hadn't realized that Obi-Wan Kenobi, Vader's former master, had smuggled himself onboard her ship, and when Kenobi exposed himself to Vader, it looked as if Amidala had brought him to Mustafar. Believing himself betrayed, Vader choked his wife into unconsciousness. Kenobi also tried to reason with his former Padawan, but without success. Kenobi was forced to fight Vader. Vader was severely injured in the ensuing duel, but was rescued by Palpatine and some clone troopers. However, his condition was so critical that he was forced to become a cyborg to save his life.

After the massacre of their leaders, the Trade Federation and the Techno Union were forced to turn over their assets to the Empire, while the Corporate Alliance and the Commerce Guild quietly dissolved. The InterGalactic Banking Clan, however, survived the catastrophe, though it was much less successful than before.

Casualties

 * Nute Gunray&mdash;Viceroy of the Trade Federation
 * Wat Tambor&mdash;Foreman of the Techno Union
 * San Hill&mdash;Chairman of the InterGalactic Banking Clan
 * Poggle the Lesser&mdash;Head of Geonosian Industries, Archduke of Geonosis
 * Shu Mai&mdash;Presidente of the Commerce Guild
 * Passel Argente&mdash;Magistrate of the Corporate Alliance, Senator of the Fakir sector
 * Po Nudo&mdash;Head of the Hyper-Communications Cartel, Senator of the Dufilvian sector
 * Tikkes&mdash;Head of the Quarren Isolation League, Senator of the Calamari sector
 * Rogwa Wodrata&mdash;Senator of the Mahka sector
 * Unidentified Separatist

Aides

 * Rune Haako (Nute Gunray)
 * Rute Gunnay (Nute Gunray and Rune Haako)
 * Gilramos Libkath (Nute Gunray)
 * Denaria Kee (Passel Argente)
 * Atai (Miraj Scintel)
 * Sun Fac (Poggle the Lesser)
 * Poggle the Lesser's aides (Poggle the Lesser)
 * Aqualish senatorial aides (Po Nudo)
 * Unidentified Shi'ido aide (Po Nudo)
 * Unidentified Aqualish aide (Po Nudo)

Behind the scenes
The slaughter of the Separatist Council was first depicted in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, released in 2005.

In the Revenge of the Sith video game depicts Vader fighting his way through the mining facility after killing two aides at the landing platform, battling battle droids and Neimoidian guards. Upon reaching the war room, Vader kills Poggle the Lesser with the room's blast door and kills Wat Tambor, two unidentified Neimoidians, and Ruune Haako, who pleads for his life before dying. As Nute Gunray attempts to escape in his shuttle, Vader brings it down into the lava below.

The Revenge of the Sith novel depicts Vader as killing each of the Council members in a particularly brutal way, and responding to the Separatists' pleas for mercy with amusing one liners and witty wordplay. In particular, he responded to Nute Gunray's pleas of Sidious's promise to leave them "in peace" with "The transmission was garbled. He promised to leave you in pieces."

Appearances

 * Wat Tambor and the Quest for the Sacred Eye of the Albino Cyclops
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith comic
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith novel
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith video game
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith junior novel
 * Dark Nest III: The Swarm War