Battle of Teth/Legends

"Kidnapped, Jabba the Hutt's son has been. Negotiate the treaty with Jabba, Obi-Wan will. Find the renegades who hold Jabba's son, your mission will be, Skywalker."

- Master Yoda informs Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker about their new mission

The Battle of Teth was a battle on the planet Teth during the Clone Wars, the conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Shortly after the Confederacy's defeat on the planet Christophsis, Jedi Order Grand Master Yoda arrived to inform Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his recently-apprenticed Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, of their new mission: to retrieve Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure's son, in order to win the crime lord's favor for safe passage through Hutt Space. Skywalker and Tano would go to the planet Teth, where the Huttlet had been located by scouts, while Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi would negotiate with Jabba on the crime lord's home planet of Tatooine.

Upon approaching the cliff-high B'omarr Monastery on Teth, Skywalker and Tano's forces were attacked by battle droids. Unable to land at the monastery, the Republic forces landed in the jungle below and commenced a vertical assault up the cliff, using two AT-TEs and the clone troopers' ascension cables. One walker and several troopers were lost to droid fire, but Skywalker and Tano succeeded and entered the monastery.

After Skywalker and Tano had retrieved the Huttlet, the Confederacy, under command of Dark Acolyte Asajj Ventress, commenced an assault of the monastery, and the Republic forces were forced to barricade themselves in the stronghold. As the Huttlet required medical attention, the two Jedi went to find a secondary exit to escape the monastery, hoping to find medical support aboard one of the Republic Venator-class cruisers over the planet, while Captain Rex stayed to command the forces.

Ventress and her forces, however, managed to enter the monastery, and all but six captive troopers, and the survivors, including Rex, were taken captive. With the help of astromech droid R2-D2, Skywalker and Tano located a rear exit, but confronted Ventress herself before escaping in a spice freighter. However, the pair was forced to continue directly to Tatooine on the ship, as the main hangar of the Spirit of the Republic was severely damaged by Vulture droid fire. Meanwhile, General Kenobi, finished with negotiations, arrived on Teth with reinforcements, in the form of Ghost Squadron and several LAAT/i gunships. Kenobi would also duel Ventress herself, before she escaped. With the added strength, the Republic forces were able to beat back the Confederacy.

Prelude
"Could you kill a child? Could you?"

- Ziro Desilijic Tiure and Count Dooku

During the Clone Wars&mdash;the galaxy-wide conflict between the Galactic Republic and the separatist planetary and sectorial governments known as the Confederacy of Independent Systems&mdash;the Confederacy captured Rotta the Huttlet, son of Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure, with secret assistance from Jabba's uncle, Ziro Desilijic Tiure. Jabba sent bounty hunters out to find his son, and also requested the help of the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order. However, the Jedi Order could only spare High General Obi-Wan Kenobi and General Anakin Skywalker, who were at the time fighting Confederacy forces on the planet Christophsis.

The bounty hunters hired by Jabba tracked Rotta to a Bo'marr Monastery on Teth; however, they were captured and decapitated, and their heads were sent back to Jabba. Republic ARF clone troopers also tracked the Huttlet to Teth. Upon the conclusion of the battle on Christophsis, General Kenobi went to Jabba on his home planet of Tatooine to negotiate on behalf of the Republic, while General Skywalker and his newly apprenticed Padawan learner, Ahsoka Tano, were given the mission to rescue Jabba's son. Following the reports, Skywalker and Tano ventured to Teth. During Kenobi's negotiations, the Jedi were given only one planetary rotation by Jabba to retrieve his son and apprehend his captors.

Skywalker and Tano arrived over Teth aboard an Acclamator-class cruiser, rendezvousing with the Republic scouts. The scouts stated that the monastery was being guarded by at least two battalions of battle droids. Furthermore, the monastery was heavily fortified, and the Republic forces would not be able to land there. Electing to commence with a ground assault, the Acclamator cruiser descended into the atmosphere. The transport deployed several LAAT/i gunships with General Skywalker, Commander Tano and Torrent Company of the 501st Legion, in addition to several LAAT/i carriers bringing two AT-TE walkers.

Ascending the cliff
"So, this is where the fun begins." "Race you to the top." "I'll give you a head start." "Your mistake!"

- Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker



As the gunships closed in on the monastery, the droids sighted the approaching Republic squadron. The droids opened fire, and Skywalker ordered the blast shields closed. The gunships were able to land, and the Republic forces piled out and started for the cliff. The droid forces spotted Tano, and concentrated their fire at her; the Republic forces responded by opening fire on the droids with the walkers. In the resulting confusion, the Jedi and troopers were able to reach the foot of the monastery mesa, taking cover in an overhang.

To get to the citadel, the clone troopers employed grappling hooks and vines to ascend the cliff, while the two AT-TE walkers used the claws in their footpads to maintain a strong hold on the vertical face. The droids countered the walkers' fire by concentrating the dwarf spider droids' fire at the walkers, sending one sliding down the cliffside. Tano defended the remaining walker by standing on its windscreen and rebounding the droid fire coming directly from above her. The climbing Republic forces were attacked by several droids on STAPs, and caused two of the walker's legs to lose their grip. Noticing the reeling walker, Skywalker immediately jumped down and eliminated the droid pilots by knocking them off one by one, and claimed the last craft for himself. Restarting his ascent, the Jedi Knight used his STAP to eliminate several dwarf spider droids on his way up, while the AT-TE walker regained its purchase on the cliff face.

Skywalker's STAP was shot down just short of the landing pad entrance to the monastery. The Jedi managed to leap the remaining distance, and destroyed the remaining droids in front of the monastery. Skywalker was assailed by several droidekas deployed from inside the monastery, but the arrival of Tano and the AT-TE walker stopped the destroyer droids before they could fire a single shot. The monastery was secured; however, Skywalker and Tano had lost over half their men before reaching the top of the cliff.

Locating the Hutt
"The droids have done their part. Now it's your turn."

- Asajj Ventress to 4A-7

After a moment of planning with Captain Rex, Skywalker and Tano entered the monastery, encountering a protocol droid. The droid claimed to be the caretaker of the monastery, and told them that the Separatists kept their prisoners in the lower levels. Little did the Jedi and cloens know that the droid was a spy working for Dark Acolyte Asajj Ventress. Ordering Rex and his men to stay at the entrance, the Jedi went deeper into the monastery to retrieve the Huttlet. Ventress and her droids were waiting, concealed elsewhere in the monastery exterior. The Dark Jedi prepared to collect the data that her master, Sith Lord Count Dooku, needed to frame the Jedi for Rotta's kidnapping.

Skywalker and Tano entered the dungeons, and were assailed by several battle droids. Tano eliminated most of them before they located the captured Huttlet. Receiving word from Rex that the monastery was secured, the Jedi realized that Rotta was sick, and required medical attention. Upon arrival in the courtyard, the Jedi placed Rotta in a backpack for easier transport, despite the Huttlet's resistance. However, they were unaware that their actions were being recorded by 4A-7. The holographic recording was transmitted to Count Dooku, who showed it to Rotta's father, Jabba, as proof that his son was in possession of the Jedi and being inhumanely treated by them. The ruse was successful, and Dooku was able to win Jabba's favor. Ventress was given a new objective: recover the Huttlet alive, so that he could be delivered to Jabba by the Confederacy, and the Separatists would win his favor and would be given access to the space lanes of Hutt Space instead of the Republic.

Confederacy counter-assault
"I'll have to call you back, Master! We're under attack. We could use a little help here, if you have the time!" "I'll get there as soon as I can. Protect the Hutt, Anakin."

- Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi



Through a holotransmission broadcasted through astromech droid R2-D2, Skywalker and Tano delivered a status report to General Kenobi. The Jedi deduced that the Confederacy was behind Rotta's abduction, and was using them to convince Jabba, and by extension, all the Hutt clans, to join their struggle against the Republic. Before the conference could continue, several C-9979 landing crafts approached the monastery, deploying Vulture droids to attack the stationed Republic forces. As the battle droids approached on foot, the Republic forces attempted to hold them back, but were forced back into the monastery, barricading themselves inside the stronghold.

The droids set up a cordon and worked to hack the door controls. Tano convinced Skywalker to look for an escape to find medical attention for the Huttlet, and Rex stayed to hold position and command the forces. The Jedi came upon an old Hutt throne room, and while R2-D2 analyzed the building schematics from a astromech droid port, the Jedi rested.

An impatient Ventress simply sliced through the door's controls with one of her lightsabers, causing it to open from a safety mechanism. The droids surged forward, and because of the Confederacy's overwhelming numbers, most of Torrent Company was defeated. Ventress ordered the droids to seal all exits, but she was suddenly attacked by Rex, who had been feigning death. The clone trooper destroyed an OOM command battle droid next to her, and Ventress deflected his blaster fire, pulled his blaster out of his hand with the Force and choked him. She demanded Skywalker's location, but receiving only defiance in response, she performed a mind trick on him and forced him to contact Skywalker.



Pit fight
Asajj Ventress, however, had doubted Rex's mental strength, and when he contacted General Skywalker, he addressed him as "Anakin" instead of his usual "General Skywalker", and the two Jedi were alerted to Ventress' presence. R2-D2 was able to find an exterior landing pad at the rear of the monastery, and the Jedi started to head toward the exit. However, before they could get far, Ventress arrived with several battle droids. Surrounded, Skywalker exchanged banter and threats with the Dark Jedi, before Artoo suddenly activated a trap door in the floor, sending all of them plunging down a long chute.

Skywalker, Tano and Ventress landed in a large, high-ceiling, round room. Skywalker immediately engaged Ventress while Tano dealt with the droids. Skywalker managed to deprive Ventress of one of her lightsabers, only to be knocked down and disarmed himself. Ventress raised her remaining blade to kill him, only to be confronted by Tano, having eliminated the droids. Ventress reclaimed her second lightsaber and turned to engage the Togruta, only to have Skywalker rejoin the fray.

As Ventress called on the Force to strengthen herself, Skywalker ordered Tano to escape with Rotta while he dealt with Ventress. However, as Tano opened a large door on the side of the room, she accidentally set loose a captive jungle rancor. As the beast attacked Skywalker and Ventress, they leaped onto the creature's back and continued the duel. Deprived of its intended prey, the creature rounded on Tano and the Huttlet. Seeing this, Skywalker slashed at the rancor's back, causing it to violently buck. A number of battle droids entered the overhead gallery, and opened fire on Skywalker as he continued to duel the Dark Jedi.

Tano attacked the rancor, stabbing it in the foot and causing it to throw the two duelists on its back off. The battle droids above were assailed by Artoo, and the rancor rounded on Tano. However, as it leaned toward her, Tano brought up her lightsaber. The rancor, its nose impaled, fell back in pain, right onto Ventress, allowing the Jedi to escape. The rancor did not remain calm for long; it leaped up in agony and clung to the ceiling as Ventress ignited her lightsaber into the creature's rear.

The tide turns
QUOTE

As Ventress renewed her pursuit of the Jedi, she received word that Republic reinforcements had arrived, in the form of the Venator-class Star Destroyer Spirit of the Republic and several groups of V-19 Torrent starfighters, led by General Obi-Wan Kenobi in his his fighter. In response, Ventress ordered all of their droid fighters to be launched. At that moment, Skywalker, Tano and R2-D2 arrived at the monastery's rear landing pad. Skywalker attempted to contact Kenobi for backup, but found that the Separatists were jamming their transmissions. Skywalker contacted Rex, which provided the remaining six captives of Torrent Company with a distraction to break free of their droid guards.

Skywalker and Tano found themselves confronted by a pair of destroyer droids, Ventress following close behind. Artoo quickly closed the landing pad door, and Ventress immediately ignited her lightsabers and began to cut through the door. The two Jedi noticed another landing pad on a nearby mesa, with a ship on it. Two dwarf spider droids began climbing up under the platform, and began to fire at the platform's supports. Skywalker jumped onto a can-cell, intending on using it to get to the nearby platform. Ventress soon joined Tano on the platform, and after a few quick blows, the young Jedi was knocned to her feet.

As Ventress demanded Skywalker's location, he appeared, having successfully gained control over the can-cell. Skywalker quickly attacked the Dark Jedi with the beast, knocking her backwards. As fire from the dwarf spider droids below brought down the platform, Tano joined her master on the creature, and they flew over to the other mesa, Artoo following with his booster jets. As Ventress got up, she was told by a battle droid that Dooku was demanding a status report. After a snide remark on the part of the droid, Ventress seized it with the Force and hurled it over the brink.

When the two Jedi reached the other landing platform, they encountered 4A-7 again. The spy droid attempted to keep up the charade of acting as the monastery caretaker, but was given away by the presence of battle droids on his freighter. The Jedi destroyed the battle droids, along with the spy droid, and boarded the freighter. The Spirit of the Republic deployed several LAAT/i gunships, containing the 212th Attack Battalion, to give aid to Torrent Company. Kenobi jumped out of his fighter and joined Rex and the Torrent Company survivors, just as Commander Cody and the reinforcements arrived. Kenobi left to search for Skywalker in the monastery while the clone troopers continued the crossfire.

Upon entering the monastery, Kenobi encountered Ventress. The Dark Jedi backed away, leaving her two super battle droid bodyguards to deal with Kenobi. The Jedi Master dispatched the droids before following Ventress. Skywalker and Tano proceeded toward the courtyard to reinforce Rex and his men, but Tano convinced Skywalker that their mandate was to keep the Huttlet alive and safe. Skywalker regretfully informed Rex that they would be unable to help him, to which he understood, and the Jedi headed to rendezvous with the Spirit of the Republic.

Kenobi vs. Ventress
"Well, now I'm impressed." "Now, you die!"

- Obi-Wan Kenobi and Asajj Ventress



As Rex and his men continued to hold up in the courtyard, Kenobi finally found Ventress, and began a fierce duel with her. During a short bout in which Kenobi was temporarily disarmed, the two continued their duel at his behest. Meanwhile, Skywalker, Tano and Rotta headed toward the Spirit of the Republic, but they were harassed by Vulture droids and the Venator cruiser itself, which believed the spice freighter to be an enemy ship. After contacting the cruiser and receiving clearance, Skywalker attempted to land the ship on board the cruiser, but the Vulture droids sprinted ahead of them and destroyed the hangar before they could land. The Jedi were forced to take the freighter directly to Tatooine; with the help of a hologram of a medical droid and medical supplements, Rotta was saved from near death.

Ventress continued to drive Kenobi back, and the Jedi leaped through a window to an rampart of the monastery. Ventress immediately pursued; however, as the Twilight made the jump to hyperspace, both she and Kenobi sensed Skywalker's absence. An agitated and enraged Ventress continued her combat with Kenobi, and the Jedi Master was able to deprive her of one of her weapons. No longer at her full strength, and weakened by Kenobi's triumph, Ventress activated a beacon and escaped aboard a Vulture droid. Without Ventress to lead them, and with their ships destroyed, the remaining droid forces were easily cleared away by the Republic forces.



Aftermath
The Twilight arrived over Tatooine and was shot down by IG-100 MagnaGuard-flown starfighters. Crash-landing in the Dune sea, the Jedi were forced to trek to Jabba's Palace on foot. Sensing Count Dooku's presence on the planet, Skywalker acted as a decoy so that Tano would be able to safely get to the palace. Skywalker confronted Dooku, while Tano battled three of the deadly MagnaGuards upon arrival in front of the palace.

Skywalker broke off from his duel and raced to Jabba's Palace, proceeding inside under the presumption that his Padawan was Jabba's prisoner, as vengeance for the Hutt crime lord's belief that his son had been killed. Tano, in reality, was still dueling the droids, and once Skywalker entered, he was ordered to be executed. Tano defeated her opponents and arrived in time, returning Jabba's son to him. Still believing that the Jedi plotted to destroy him, Jabba ordered both Master and Padawan immediately exterminated.

A timely communication from Republic Senator Padmé Amidala revealed Jabba's own uncle, Ziro Desilijic Tiure, had been allied with Count Dooku; Ziro had presumed that Jabba would kill the Jedi and be arrested for his crimes, leaving Ziro himself to take control of his nephew's criminal empire. Jabba stated that Ziro would be punished severely, and agreed to allow the Republic military safe passage through Hutt Space. Their battles won, Skywalker and Tano were retrieved by Jedi Masters Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Behind the scenes
The battle appeared in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars film, which served as the basis to the 2008 television series. The events of Rotta the Huttlet's capture were originally a three-episode story arc in the series' first season, but after producer George Lucas decided to debut the series with a theatrical release, the episodes were combined with another first season episode, entitled "The New Padawan", to form The Clone Wars movie. The battle also appeared in the young readers' book, Battle at Teth.

Two notable parts of the battle were cut from the final movie, despite being shown in the promotional material for the film: the duel in the monastery rancor pit, and Skywalker and Tano's fight with a Vulture droid on the outer platform, shortly before being confronted by Ventress. Dave Filoni later commented that he cut out the rancor sequence because rancors were already common in EU stories, like The Force Unleashed game, and he wanted to tell new stories that "feel" like Star Wars without repeating the original Star Wars itself. Both scenes were included in the "Deleted Scenes" feature of the film's DVD.

The duel did not appear in the adult novelization or the film; however, it was described in the junior novelization and The Visual Guide, which made it canonical. The fight with the Vulture droid did not appear in any publications, and is therefore non-canonical.

The battle droids encountered by Republic forces on Teth were originally supposed to bear purple markings, like the ones in Ziro's Palace. It would hint that Ziro was the one behind the kidnapping, because the droids were not typical droid army models. However, for some reason, the regular battle droid were used during the animation process.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars film
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars novelization
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Battle at Teth
 * The Clone Wars: Wild Space

Notes and references
Schlacht von Teth Batalla de Teth