Ambush on the Vulture's Claw/Legends

Around 22 BBY during the Clone Wars, Jedi General Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan, Jedi Commander Ahsoka Tano, undertook a mission to find Skywalker's astromech droid, R2-D2, who had recently been lost during the Galactic Republic's defense of the planet Bothawui. The Jedi were accompanied by a replacement droid, R3-S6, unaware that the droid was a spy for the Confederate General Grievous. The Jedi searched the planet's asteroid belt in the Twilight, Skywalker's personal ship, and came upon the Vulture's Claw, the freighter of the Trandoshan scavenger Gha Nachkt. However, Nachkt had already found R2-D2 and promised him to Grievous. The scavenger concealed the droid from the Jedi and showed them his wares, but after R3-S6 activated several IG-86 sentinel droids, the Jedi fought and defeated the assassin droids. The Jedi left the Vulture's Claw, remaining unaware of Nachkt's arrangement with Grievous.

Prelude
"Where's Artoo?''" "''I'm sorry, Master, he's...gone."

- Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, after the loss of R2-D2 during the Battle of Bothawui



Around 22 BBY during the Clone Wars, Galactic Republic forces under the command of Jedi General Anakin Skywalker engaged in a defense of the strategical planet of Bothawui against the Confederate General Grievous. When Grievous fled, Skywalker gave pursuit in his Delta-7B fighter, but when flying debris from the nearby Confederate frigates damaged the Jedi's starfighter, Clone Captain Rex was forced to rescue Skywalker from the planet's asteroid belt.

However, Rex was unable to save Skywalker's astromech droid, R2-D2. Skywalker was dismayed, as he had developed an attachment to the droid; as such, he had never wiped the droid's memory of secret Republic information. When High Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi learned of this, he ordered Skywalker and his Padawan, Jedi Commander Ahsoka Tano, to find the droid, as the information stored inside the droid would prove fatal in Confederate hands.

Unbeknownst to the Jedi, the Trandoshan scavenger Gha Nachkt had already salvaged the droid from the asteroid field and promised him to Grievous. As Skywalker and Tano prepared to depart from Skywalker's flagship, the Resolute, in Skywalker's personal ship, the Twilight, they were issued a replacement astromech droid, R3-S6. However, they were unaware that the droid was a spy working for Grievous, intent on removing Skywalker as an obstacle for the cyborg general.

The mission
"You're right about the hands-on experience, Gramps. Much better than the archives.''" "''Good job, but you missed one."

- Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker, shortly before the latter destroys the last sentinel droid

Entering the Bothawui asteroid belt, Skywalker and Tano came across Skywalker's damaged fighter. However, R2-D2 was missing from the fighter's astromech droid station, and Skywalker deduced that he had escaped. Tano was unable to pick up R2 on the ship's scanners, but discovered a freighter salvaging the battlefield &mdash;the Vulture's Claw, Gha Nachkt's scavenging ship. The Twilight docked to the Vulture's Claw, and the Jedi boarded the ship with R3-S6, disguising themselves as peasants. Meeting Nachkt, the scavenger lied to the Jedi, stating that he had not picked up an R-series astromech droid for a while. However, when Skywalker baited the Trandoshan with credits, the scavenger showed the Jedi into his wares, stored in the ship's cargo hold.



Entering the dimly-lit cargo hold, the Jedi walked through the room's shelves and noticed a pair of inactive IG-86 sentinel droids attached to wires. Skywalker ordered R3 to access the ship's inventory and look for R2. Skywalker heard a noise resembling R2's voice; believing that it had come from behind a door, the Jedi ordered R3 to open the hatch. However, R3 instead activated the room's lights. As Skywalker began to cut through the hatch with his lightsaber, R3 activated the sentinel droids. The assassin droids sneaked up on Tano, and she yelled out to Skywalker; Tano's master broke off from trying to cut through the door and Force-pushed the droids backward against several crates. Tano ordered R3 to shut the droids down, but before the astromech droid could deactivate them, the droids pulled off the wires keeping them attached to the ship's controls.

As the droids approached and fired their blasters at the Jedi, Skywalker and Tano deflected their shots. Both droids jumped up onto the shelves above and rained laser fire down at the two Jedi. As Master and Padawan deflected the droids' laser fire, Tano rebounded a laser shot at one of the droids, and Skywalker Force-pushed a crate out from behind another. Both droids fell back down to the ground, and one of the droids shoved a crate at Tano, causing her to fall backward. When Tano realized that the other sentinel droid was sneaking up on Skywalker, she jumped up and slashed the droid in half, saving her master. Skywalker himself cut off the head of the remaining assassin droid.

As Skywalker commented on R3's defectiveness, the astromech droid finally opened the door. The Jedi entered a hallway and stumbled across Nachkt; when Skywalker threatened the scavenger with his lightsaber, Tano convinced her master that R2 was not aboard the ship. The Jedi left with R3 and returned to the Republic fleet in the Twilight.

Aftermath
"You'll be sorry that you even came aboard my ship, Jedi. I'm about to make your life miserable."

- Gha Nachkt, shortly before contacting Grievous after the Jedi have left

After the Jedi had left, Nachkt contacted Grievous, and reported that he was en route to deliver R2-D2 at the general's rendezvous point &mdash;Skytop Station, a Confederate listening post. Returning to the Resolute, Skywalker and Tano reported their unsuccessful search to Kenobi. Kenobi deduced that R2 had been destroyed in the explosion that had claimed Skywalker's fighter, and gave Skywalker and his Padawan a new mission&mdash;Republic intelligence had confirmed the existence of a Confederate listening post, and they were to find and destroy it. Skywalker decided to personally undertake sweeps of space suspected of Confederate activity, while the rest of his forces continued along a more central path.

Behind the scenes
The mission appeared in "Downfall of a Droid," an episode in the first season of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series, as well as the young readers' book Grievous Attacks!, an adaptation of several first season episodes.

Appearances

 * ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Grievous Attacks!
 * ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Grievous Attacks!