User:DjMack/Lola Sayu

This battle took place around 21 BBY during the Clone Wars on the volcanic world of Lola Sayu. Jedi Master Even Piell was abducted by Confederate forces while returning from an assignment in the Outer Rim Territories. He and his captain, Wilhuff Tarkin, carried vital coordinates for a set of hyperspace lanes collectively known as the Nexus Route, which connected the heart of Republic and Confederate space. Therefore, the Galactic Republic sought to free the Lannik warrior, who was incarcerated in the Citadel, a prison on the sulfurous planet Lola Sayu, specifically engineered to hold Jedi. Despite having to rely on old data from the archives, the strike team sent for the rescue&mdash;Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, the astromech droid R2-D2, reprogrammed battle droids and clone troopers&mdash;devised a plan to infiltrate the facility in a captured Separatist shuttle, freezing themselves into carbonite to evade scanners. This tricked the fleet guarding Lola Sayu into giving them permission to proceed.

Landing on a pad near the Citadel, the group&mdash;supplemented by Ahsoka Tano, who had stowed aboard without permission&mdash;proceeded to free-climb a cliff protected by electro-mines. However, their attempt to sneak in undetected failed when a clone trooper was killed by a mine, alerting the facility to their presence. The prison's commandant, Osi Sobeck, activated turrets and electric walls to stop the intruders, but the rescue team succeeded in saving Piell from torture and free his fleet officers as well.

After warding off droid commandos, the group split up, with Kenobi and some troopers creating a diversion while Skywalker and the rest of the team proceeded towards the landing pad, where a shuttle was to pick them up. Kenobi's troops were saved from capture by R2-D2 and his battle droids, but the craft sent for the rescue was destroyed by a cannon, forcing the group to hide in the caverns beneath the Citadel and call for support. Several of Piell's officers were killed by pursuing battle droids while trekking across the landscape, but R2's droid team held off the chasers long enough to allow the rest of the group to escape. However, a trio of anoobas released by Osi Sobeck tracked them down, with one of them killing Piell before being impaled by Ahsoka Tano. Following the Jedi Master's brief funeral, the team went on towards the extraction point, where they were confronted by Sobeck himself, who tried to kill Wilhuff Tarkin but was thrown into the lava before a space gunship dispatched by Admiral Coburn's rescue fleet evacuated the group.

Capture of Even Piell
"As you are aware, the Citadel is their most isolated and impenetrable detention facility. No one has ever escaped." "There's a first time for everything."

- Plo Koon and Anakin Skywalker

Around 21 BBY, a star destroyer commanded by Jedi Master Even Piell and Captain Wilhuff Tarkin was ambushed by the forces of theConfederacy of Independent Systems while en route to Coruscant, as Piell had information on the Nexus Routes, vital hyperspace coordinates valuable to both the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy. Droidekas infiltrated the command bridge, forcing Piell and his men to surrender. Prior to his capture, Piell ordered the data on tne Nexus Route to be wiped from the ship's computers, and memorized half of the data, while Tarkin memorized the other half, a failsafe in the unlikely case one of them would crack under torture. The captured crew was transferred to the installation known as "The Citadel", a heavily fortified max security prison based on Lola Sayu.

Planning the rescue mission
Word spread to the Jedi Council of Piell's capture, and a rescue team led by General Obi-Wan Kenobi, General Anakin Skywalker, Commander Cody and Captain Rex was quickly assembled. Among the team were ARC troopers Echo and Fives of Domino Squad, who were prepared for the mission through a vigorous training program on Kamino modeled after the Citadel's defensive capabilities. The operation was the pair's first following their induction into the ARC trooper ranks because of their valor during the Battle of Kamino.

Making use of outdated schematics of the facility's layout, a trio of captured Confederate battle droids, reprogrammed to serve under the command of R2-D2, the team's astromech droid, would transport the rescue team into the Citadel in a captured Class Type B escort shuttle. However, this would prove to be a challenge, as entry into Lola Sayu's airspace was guarded by Confederate checkpoints requiring a mandatory lifeform scan. To this end, General Skywalker devised a plan to freeze the rescue team in carbonite, suppressing the team's vital signs and allowing the shuttle to pass the checkpoint. In the event that the team was compromised, a backup fleet under the command of Plo Koon, Mace Windu, Adi Gallia, and Saesee Tiin was prepared to engage the enemy and extract the team by force. Following the last minute addition of Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano to the rescue team, who defied Skywalker's orders to not take part in the operation with a subtle suggestion by Plo Koon, the shuttle was deployed the operation commenced.

Breaching the citadel defenses
Skywalker's plan to avoid the lifeform scanners was a success, and the carbonite concealed the team from the life-form scanners around the planet. Given clearance by the facility's ward, Osi Sobeck, the droids land were given permission to land, but they deviated the shuttle's flight course and landed in a cavern below the Citadel. R2-D2 promptly released each team member from their carbonite blocks. Following the confusion caused by Ahsoka Tano's unexplained presence in the operation, Obi-Wan Kenobi accepted her last minute addition, and the team proceeded to the Citadel's perimeter.

The entrance to the Citadel was built into the side of a cliff; strong winds and electro-mines set on the cliff walls prevented the use of jetpacks or grappling cables, forcing the team to free-climb. The rescuers nearly made it to the top after narrowly avoiding detection by a droideka and two super battle droids, when a clone trooper lost balance and detonated a mine during his fall, alerting the Citadel warden, Osi Sobeck, to the team's presence. With the base under full alert phase, the rescue team rushed the hallways. Sobeck tried hindering the team's progress by activating turrets and using electrified walls, which killed one clone trooper. The team was successful in rescuing Master Piell, just as a torture droid was about to gouge the Jedi's only remaining out out. On their way to find Piell's naval officers and their captain, Tarkin, they were confronted by Sobeck's special unit of BX-series commando droids. The sudden rush of commando droids took the rescue team off guard and took the lives of a few clone troopers, though the surviving team managed to destroy the droid attackers and press onward to Tarkin's cell. Another commando droid on guard in Tarkin's cell was destroyed with a saber strike to the head through the cell door, before the team breached the cell and rescued the Republic officers.

Rescue of the prisoners
"It was an honor to serve under you, sir."

- A droid from R2's squadron before they sacrifice themselves in order to let the rescue team escape

The Jedi then split up into two groups. Skywalker, Tano, Fives, Echo and Rex went with Captain Tarkin and two rescued clones, while Commander Cody, Kenobi, Even Piell, and six other clones went to create a diversion. Unfortunately for the team, they didn't know that R2 had arrived and was already inside the Citadel, so Kenobi and his group were captured after falling into a trap. Osi Sobeck, the Citadel's warden, brought all the prisoners to him, and executed one of the clones, before ordering two battle droids to lock them up in the detention level. However, R2-D2 and OOM-10 rescued them from the battle droids before they got there, as Skywalker and his group went to get R2-D2 and the shuttle.

The astromech and his squad of battle droids then attempted to smuggle the team onto the shuttle, but tactical droid K2-B4 alerted the whole prison to OOM-10's reprogramming and ordered no one on board the shuttle. A firefight then ensued and Skywalker and his group arrived. Heavy weapons fire destroyed the shuttle, and killed ARC trooper Echo, leaving fellow ARC trooper Fives to grieve the loss of his brother.

The anoobas threat
With the shuttle destroyed, the group called for support from Coruscant and while waiting, hid in the caverns under the Citadel. They contacted the Jedi Council and they were told that a rescue fleet had already been dispatched to help them, but they had to go a rendezvous point so the rescue fleet could pick them up. The team then headed for the evac point. However, a trio of commando droids spotted them and opened fire, but a thermal detonator thrown by Fives destroyed them. The group continued on, but a large squad comprised of crab droids and commando droids intercepted them, pinning them against a steep cliff. R2 ordered his droids to hold the Separatists off as long as they can to ensure the safety of the others as they rappelled down the cliffside. R2's reprogrammed droids were quickly destroyed, and a shot from a commando droid caused a clone trooper and a naval officer to fall to their deaths. The surviving Republic forces retreated into a cave as five commando droids opened fire on them from atop the cliff while Skywalker and Cody covered them; Cody succeeded in destroying two of the commando droids with well placed shots from his rifle.

Meanwhile, Osi Sobeck was contacted by Confederate Head of State Count Dooku who was displeased by the turn of events. Afraid of aggravating the Count any further, Sobeck unleashed a pack of anoobas to track down the Jedi. The Jedi were alerted to the anoobas by their distinctive howling. Even Piell devised a plan to ambush them from behind by having Anakin and Obi Wan lure the hunting party to a rocky plain near the northern shore while the rest hid in a nearby cave. While the two successfully lured the hunting party away from the rest of the group, a squad of crab droids counter-ambushed the strike team, forcing Piell and Tano to hold them off while the clones and officers gave Anakin and Obi-Wan support. One clone officer sacrificed his life by shoving Captain Tarkin out of the line of fire by a STAP droid, taking the shots for himself. Tarkin responded by picking up the officer's blaster and shooting down the STAP that was responsible; the commando piloting the craft was decommissioned by R2-D2 after being flung to the ground. Obi-Wan managed to take down two STAPs by launching himself off a rock and swiping at one with his saber in mid air while landing on another one and destroying its pilot. After landing back on his feet, an anoobas attempted to lunge at him, though Kenobi's reflexes allowed him to launch the beast into the river of lava using his legs. The rest of the hunting party was cleaned up by Cody and Rex.

While the battle on the northern shore was taking place, Ahsoka Tano and Even Piell were holding their own against the wave of crab droids emerging from underneath the cliffside. However, the single surviving anoobas of the hunting party lunged at Piell while he was in the process of disabling a crab droid. The beast brutally mauled the Jedi master before being launched into the lava by a force push from Ahsoka. With his last breath, Piell disclosed the data pertaining to the Nexus to Tano before succumbing to his injuries. The Jedi Master was given a brief funeral session by his fellow survivorsbefore the team proceeded towards the rendezvous point.

Republic extraction operation
"There have not been battles like these since the days of the Old Republic." "Indeed. Good hunt."

- Saesee Tiin and Plo Koon during the space battle

The rescue fleet, led by Plo Koon and three other Jedi, Saesee Tiin, Kit Fisto and Adi Gallia, arrived near Lola Sayu, and a battle commenced. While the clone pilots fought the droid fighters in space, Plo Koon, in his LAAT/i gunship traveled down to the planet's surface, accompanied by the three Jedi Masters in their starfighters. Meanwhile, the stranded team was confronted by Osi Sobeck, who was seething with anger at his inability to get the information on the Nexus Route. About to kill Tarkin, Ahsoka stabbed Sobeck through the chest, killing him instantly. Soon, a whole battalion of crab droids arrived. But, before they could overrun the team, Plo Koon and the Jedi arrived and rescued the stranded team without additional casualties. After the rescue, Plo Koon contacted his admiral, Coburn and told him to prepare their ships to jump to hyperspace. The team managed to make it to the ship and successfully jumped into hyperspace back to Coruscant.

Aftermath
"Unfortunately war tends to distort our point of view. If we sacrifice our code, even for victory, we may lose that which is most important: our honor."

- Obi-wan Kenobi, after the Citadel Mission Upon arriving back at the Temple, they honored Piell's sacrifice and then decided to debrief the Nexus Route information. However, Tarkin was told to give the information to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine only, while Ahsoka was told by Piell to give the information to the Jedi Council only, forcing Yoda to confer with Palpatine.