Trench

"I smell fear, and it smells good."

- Trench

Trench was a Harch Admiral and naval commander who survived a number of presumed deaths throughout his career. Hailing from Secundus Ando, he acquitted himself in engagements with the Galactic Republic, all the while savoring the terror he struck in his enemies. Years after his purported death at the Battle of Malastare Narrows, he resurfaced during the Clone Wars, becoming a key officer in the navy of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. From the dreadnought Invincible he oversaw the Confederate blockade of Christophsis, which brought him into conflict with a Republic battle group led by Jedi Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker along with an old foe, Admiral Wullf Yularen. When Skywalker and Yularen attempted to use an experimental stealth ship to breach the blockade, Trench began a deadly game of cat and mouse with them. Though Skywalker outwitted him by redirecting a volley of proton torpedoes at the Invincible, Trench managed to survive his flagship's demise.

During the Battle of Ringo Vinda, Trench captured clone trooper Tup&mdash;who had mysteriously gunned down Jedi General Tiplar&mdash;and tried to send the clone to Separatist leader Count Dooku for examination, though a Republic team intervened and rescued Tup. In another campaign, Trench besieged the Republic shipyards at Anaxes for weeks on end, exploiting the Techno Union's secret access to a Republic strategy algorithm. Even as the tide of battle began to turn, Trench remained intent on annihilating the Jedi and their clone infantry. Though he activated a bomb beneath the assembly complex on Anaxes, Skywalker infiltrated Trench's flagship and forced the admiral to divulge the sequence to disarm the device. When Trench tried to retaliate, Skywalker drove his lightsaber through his chest, inflicting a death that even the hardened Harch could not escape.

Early life
Trench was a remarkably tough male Harch from Secundus Ando, Trench saw service in multiple battles throughout his military career, mostly in cruiser-to-cruiser action. In many of these battles he would fight against forces utilizing cloaked starships, defeating them through the use of tracking torpedoes fixed on the vessels' magnetic signatures.

Trench would eventually rise to command a corporate fleet that blockaded the planet Malastare. Trench was able to hold his lines against a Republic fleet led by Wullf Yularen sent to break the blockade, tearing their ships apart. However, a Jedi-led taskforce commanded by Master Kep-She was able to defeat Trench, vaporizing his flagship and seemingly killing him in the process. In reality, however, Trench survived the battle with the help of the Harch's hardy biology as well as a damaged pressure suit.

Reemergence
"Turn back now. Retreat while you can, for I am your doom."

- Trench

Trench, along with his tactical droid, TI-99, were then sent to Christophsis to assist General Loathsom and Count Dooku's assassin, Asajj Ventress in seizing the planet for the Confederacy, and blockading the planet to tighten their grip of the system. There, he commanded the blockade from his flagship, the Invincible, to prevent Senator Bail Organa and other republic relief forces from being resupplied. Trench then held his lines against Jedi General Anakin Skywalker's fleet. Trench then watched as the Republic fleet retreated by the moon and had his force recharge their cannons.

Trench grew impatient with the Republic fleet. To put pressure on the Republic fleet to attack, Trench sent his Hyena bombers to attack Organa's refugee camp. When the Republic fleet did not attack, Trench sensed that something odd was happening. Trench then spotted a cloaked ship moving to attack him. Trench and his crew were then able to raise the Invincible's thermal shields. Trench fired torpedoes at the stealth ship, but missed. Trench then ordered a volley of lasers to be fired at it, and since no shots landed, Trench was able to deduce that the pilot was a Jedi, not a clone.

Trench sent a message to Skywalker, telling him that he has dealt with cloaked ships before. He also gloated that Christophsis would join the Separatist Alliance. Trench also told Skywalker to retreat, for he was his doom. Trench waited for Skywalker to attack. After Skywalker attacked, Trench was able to track the ships magnetic signature. Trench then ordered tracking torpedoes to be fired, despite having to lower his shields. At first, Trench's tactic worked. However, he noticed that Skywalker was leading the torpedoes back to the Invincible's bridge. Trench tried to raise his shields, to no avail. Trench accepted his fate, but was able to survive once again. However, he lost his left eye and several of his appendages.

Cyborg
Trench, alongside the super tactical droid Kraken, later commanded the Separatist forces on the space station at Ringo Vinda against Jedi Generals Tiplee, Tiplar, Skywalker, and their clone forces. As the Republic came close to breaking his lines, Trench witnessed one of the clone troopers kill General Tiplar. Trench's observation for minor details proved vital as it allowed Sidious and his apprentice, Count Dooku to create a cover-up before the Jedi Order could discover the existence of Protocol 66 prematurely. Trench described to Count Dooku his observations, telling him that the clone looked "like he was in a trance of some kind." Trench then had Kraken capture and deliver the clone to Dooku, despite the Republic's blockade. After successfully kidnapping of the clone trooper "Tup," the Count applauded the Harch's success, Trench then tasked Kraken to personally escort the captured Clone to Dooku himself. However, the mission failed as the Republic recaptured Tup and Kraken was decapitated by Anakin Skywalker. Following the recapture of Tup, the Republic eventually withdrew its forces from Ringo Vinda.

Death
Later in the Clone Wars, Trench, now on the offensive, commanded the Confederate forces during the battle for the Republic's vital shipyards on Anaxes in a campaign which lasted for several months. Trench used his own tactical acumen, as well as using the Republic’s strategy algorithms against them using the Techno Union's test subject on Skako Minor, a captured ARC trooper named "Echo." Trench was killed by Skywalker after Clone Force 99 and Echo boarded his ship as Trench primed a bomb planted on the planet surface. Echo was able to decipher all but the final sequence for the bomb, forcing Anakin Skywalker to ambush Trench and threaten his life for the final sequence for the detonation code. While Anakin was preoccupied giving Jedi General Mace Windu the final sequence, Trench took advantage of the Jedi's distraction by electrocuting him. This action prompted Anakin to retaliate, thrusting his lightsaber and delivering the final blow to the Harch Admiral. As Trench writhed in agony on the floor, Anakin acquired the self destruct detonator of the flagship and indifferently bid the admiral a final farewell as he departed. As Clone Force 99 escaped, they planted remote detonators along the corridors, and activated them after leaving the ship, vaporizing Trench's body along with several of his ships.

Legacy
Although Trench's flagship, the Invincible, was destroyed by Anakin Skywalker in a cloaked stealth ship during the Battle of Christophsis, some of the flagship's modules were salvaged and used to modify a Separatist dreadnought owned by Berch Teller's rebel cell to attack the Empire's Sentinel Base in 14 BBY.

Personality and traits
Trench was a fearsome Harch admiral who was far larger than the average member of his species, as the arachnids seldom grew to such size due their exoskeletons not being able to bear the weight of the fur.

Trench became a terror on the battlefield, as he held no mercy or remorse toward his opponents. He was a well-decorated military genius and his aggressive tactics and maneuvers in combat made him responsible for the destruction of many Republic fleets. His skill in hunting cloaked ships through the use of tracking magnetic signatures was also noted and recorded in the Republic Intelligence record, which was studied during the blockade of Christophsis by Admiral Yularen.

Trench prided himself for having won many victories in the war, resulting in him developing an overconfident personality and often boasting about outsmarting his opponents. Trench often viewed his battles like a game and would often cajole and taunt his enemies as he made his moves, before leading them into a vulnerable position where he could eliminate them. However, his overconfidence nearly led to his own demise at the hands of Anakin Skywalker when he made an uncharacteristic oversight which left himself vulnerable to incoming missiles. Even when his death appeared imminent, Trench did not panic or show distress; he simply accepted his fate.

Following his defeat, Trench was immediately fitted with "top-of-the-line" cybernetics making up half of his limbs and face to ensure his quick return to service. Trench, learning from his mistakes of lowering his guard, carried an electrostaff-cane variant as well as one of his cybernetic arms being equipped with an electronet which he used against Skywalker prior to his demise.

Trench's First Ship
Trench's first flagship was part of a corporate fleet which was present at the Battle of Malastare Narrows where Trench blockaded the planet and engaged Wullf Yularen's republic fleet which was successful until a Jedi-led task force intervened and sabotaged his campaign. It was believed that he had gone down with his ship, but this was later proven false at the Battle of Christophsis in 19 BBY.

The Invincible
The Invincible served as the Harch commander's first command ship after his reemergence where it blockaded the planet of Christophsis, offering a great range of attacks and it was said that the cruiser could blockade a planet on its own. Unlike the stock variant of a Separatist dreadnought; Trench's was well-equipped with heavy deflector and thermal shields which allowed for a powerful defense. However, Trench underestimated the opposing commander, Jedi Anakin Skywalker, resulting in him losing the upper hand and Anakin taking advantage of the Admiral's temper by redirecting Trench's projectiles to the bridge of his ship.

Trench's Flagship (Anaxes) - (Invincible II)
Trench's Flagship (Anaxes) was commanded by Trench during the Battle of Anaxes.

Behind the scenes
Admiral Trench was created for the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series and made his first appearance in the second season of the series "Cat and Mouse" and voiced by Dee Bradley Baker also known for voicing the Clone troopers in the series.

Trench was confirmed to have survived in "Cat and Mouse" and make his return in the series in the sixth season episode "The Unknown", where Trench is alive with half his body consisting of cybernetics. Additionally, Clone Wars writer Brent Friedman confirmed on his Twitter account that he wrote a four-part episode arc that wasn't published that featured Trench. The episode arc, was screened at Celebration Anaheim Star Wars convention as story reel form apart of The Clone Wars Legacy project in 2015, which would have featured the return and death of Admiral Trench. The episodes were later released on StarWars.com.

Appearances

 * Tarkin
 * Tarkin
 * Tarkin
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 * Tarkin