Mission to Rugosa/Legends

"Retreat, you must. On the moon below is my mission. There, I must go."

- Yoda to Captain Zak

The Mission to Rugosa was an operation that took place during the Clone Wars, the conflict between the Galactic Republic, the dominant galactic government of the time, and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the faction of planetary and sectorial seeking to leave it. The Republic and the Jedi Council sought to build a base in the Outer Rim Territories, and sent Grand Master Yoda with a convoy of clone troopers to the moon of Rugosa, which Supreme Chancellor Palpatine had arranged as the meeting point with the Toydarian King Katuunko.

Upon arriving in the system, Yoda's convoy was ambushed by several Separatist Munificent-class frigates. To allow the Jedi Master to land in an escape pod, the clone officer of the convoy launched all of the pods before leaving the system. Yoda and Lieutenant Thire, as well as troopers Jek and Rys, discovered that Sith Lord and Confederacy Head of State Count Dooku had already sent a messenger, Dark Acolyte Asajj Ventress, to negotiate with Katuunko on the Confederacy's behalf. Ventress posed a challenge to the Jedi: she would send her best droid forces to capture him. If he succeeded, Katuunko would join the Republic. Should Yoda fail, however, Katuunko would join the Separatists. Despite having to defeat an entire battalion of droids, Yoda and the clones succeeded, and Ventress was forced to flee in shame.

Prelude
"Send a Jedi. I have always wanted to meet one." "Your world is close to the enemy, king. You would have me risk a Jedi with no troops?" "No, no, no. Let me propose a neutral meeting ground, shall we say...Rugosa, yes? Three days' time. The coral moon shall do."

- King Katuunko and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine

As the Clone Wars continued to rage on across the galaxy, the Galactic Republic sought to further establish a base in the Outer Rim Territories against the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine contacted the King of Toydaria, Katuunko, aboard the Thief's Eye, Katuunko's personal yacht. Palpatine asked the king to allow a base to be established in his territory, and the king agreed to engage in negotiations, and also requested that a Jedi be sent, as he had always wanted to meet one. Because of this request, a neutral site was chosen: the moon of Rugosa.

To serve as its ambassador, the Republic asked Grand Master Yoda to spearhead the diplomatic negotiations. Upon receiving his mission, Yoda left the galactic capital of Coruscant with clone troopers Lieutenant Thire, Jek and Rys.

Ambush
"I ask, how can the Jedi protect you if they can not protect themselves?"

- Count Dooku to King Katuuko



Being the first to arrive at the meeting point, Katuunko noted that the Jedi were not typically late. The Toydarian king and his guards were surprised by the appearance of two B1 battle droids and Asajj Ventress. The Dark Acolyte claimed to be an emissary for her master, and displayed a holoprojector, allowing communication to be made between Count Dooku and the king. After the initial greeting, the Count revealed that he was aware of the Republic's desire to establish a base in Toydarian space, to which Katuunko commented that the Count's spies served him well. Dooku further proclaimed the inability of the Jedi Order to protect others, as they were unable to protect themselves.

Above the moon, a Republic Consular-class frigate arrived, holding several clone troopers and Master Yoda himself. They had been hailing the Toydarian royal delegation, but had received no response. At that point, two Banking Clan frigates came out of hyperspace and began firing at the vessel, and Yoda noted that the trap had been sprung.

The clone officer of the Republic convoy was willing to abandon the mission in order to save Yoda, by returning him to Coruscant. However, the General stated that his mission was on the moon's surface, and that the convoy should flee while he took three clone troopers to the moon. The clone captain believed that such a move was crazy, as the enemy would shoot down their escape pod; Yoda countered by ordering all of the escape pods to be launched.

King Katuunko asked Dooku if the Separatist Droid Army could do better; the Count they outnumbered the Republic's clone troopers one hundred to one. However, the king countered by saying he had heard that a single Jedi was worth a hundred battle droids. Meanwhile, with all the pods launched, the Republic ship left the system. The Separatist warships attempted to shoot down the escape pods, but missed Yoda's pod.

Setting the terms
"If Master Yoda is indeed the Jedi warrior he claims to be, let him prove it. Let me send my best troops to capture him. If Yoda defeats them, join the Republic. But if my forces were to defeat Yoda, consider an alliance with the Separatists."

- Asajj Ventress places the terms of the competition



King Katuunko watched through his rangefinder as the Republic ship fled. Asajj Ventress attempted to convince the King to join the Separatists by stating that the retreat highlighted the Jedi's weakness. Further away in the jungle, Lieutenant Thire managed to patch into the king's communication system, allowing Yoda to speak to him through a holotransmission. After being introduced, the king commented that it was good to see Yoda and that he had believed Dooku had frightened him away. Yoda replied by stating that he had been delayed, as he was not aware of Dooku being invited to the negotiations, to which the king responded that the Count had invited himself.

The king also told Yoda that Dooku claimed that his forces would provide better protection then the Jedi Knights. Yoda said that such a statement was debatable. As Ventress offered a contest to convince the king on which side was superior, the Jedi Master became aware of the Dark Acolyte's presence. Ventress stated the terms were that her forces would be dispatched to capture Yoda, and if he defeated them, then the Toydarians should align with the Republic. However, if the droid forces defeated Yoda, then the king should consider joining the Separatists. Katuunko was at first opposed to such a contest, as he did not request the Jedi Master for a fight, but Yoda agreed to the terms. Once communications ended with Yoda, the king stated that Yoda had to be given a fair fight, to which Ventress agreed.

After returning to her base, the Rattataki contacted Dooku and informed him of the situation, and the Count ordered her to deal with Yoda. Ventress stated that her forces were being deployed, and cunningly stated that the Jedi was not going to get his fair fight. She dispatched the recently promoted OOM-224 with the task of leading the droid forces.

The trial
"See? See? Size is not everything, hmm? Smaller in number are we, but larger in mind."

- Yoda to Jek, Rys and Thire



The main column of Separatist forces were led by OOM-224 in his leading AAT. While the droid forces advanced into the forests, Yoda and his men made their way to the rendezvous position on a different path, as Yoda was certain that their enemies were lying in ambush for them. As the droids approached, Yoda and the clones split up. The clones engaged a squad of B1 battle droids from the south, and managed to defeat all of them. Yoda, meanwhile, was able to defeat an entire squad of droids on his own without even using his lightsaber. B2 super battle droids came to attack the clones, and the three were forced to flee.

Lieutenant Thire was hit by a rocket fired by a B2 super battle droid commander, and was wounded in the leg. Yoda appeared and aided the clones, using the Force to turn around the super battle droid commander and destroy the rest of his squad. Droidekas soon appeared, and the Republic forces fled. Yoda, clinging onto Thire's back, deflected the lasers at a nearby tall formation of land coral, causing the droids to be crushed. The four escaped to a cave to rest, where the Jedi Master imparted his wisdom on the clone troopers to further inspire their efforts.

After hearing the sounds of the approaching droids, Yoda and the clones left the cave. Yoda left the clones on a ridge above the narrow pathway through which the droids were advancing, and faced three AATs and a large number of droids alone. He destroyed all of them, along with OOM-224, leaving Katuunko laughing and Ventress angry. However, Ventress didn't give up easily. The Dark Acolye broke the terms of the deal, and secretly sent a squadron of droidekas to deal with the bothersome Jedi Master. While Yoda fought the droidekas, blocking their attacks, Thire launched the last of the rockets at an overhanging rock above the canyon, causing an avalanche to crush the droids. After observing a few baby Neebray, Yoda led the clones to the rendezvous point, stating that it was unpolite to be late.

Aftermath
"In the end, cowards are those who follow the dark side."

- Yoda, after Ventress flees



King Katuunko was greatly amused by the droids' defeat. The king informed Dooku that one Jedi was not worth a hundred battle droids, but rather a thousand, and Katuunko stated that he would be joining the Republic. The Count, seeing that his plan had failed, ordered Ventress to kill the king, stating that negotiations might go smoother with his successor. Katuunko's guards tried to stop her, but Ventress merely Force-pushed them aside, knocking them unconscious. As Ventress attacked the king with her paired lightsabers, she found herself confronted by Master Yoda, who had arrived in time to save the king. The Jedi used the Force to telekinetically stop her death blow from being struck. As her droid escorts were dispatched by the clones, Yoda disarmed Ventress. After examining her lightsabers, the Jedi returned them to her, commenting that she still had much to learn. Ventress was outnumbered, and the Republic was victorious.

In order to escape, Ventress activated pre-planted explosives and caused the hillside to collapse, forcing Yoda to stop the rocks from crushing all of them. As he did so, the Rattataki seized the opportunity and fled to her ship, quickly taking off. With the Separatist threat over, Yoda was now able to begin negotiations. The king stated that it was unnecessary, as the Jedi had already proven his worth. He declared that it would be an honor to fight on their side, pledging Toydaria's support to the Republic.

With the negotiations over, a Venator-class Star Destroyer arrived in orbit, sending down an LAAT/i gunship to pick up the victors, now that their mission was complete.

Behind the scenes
The mission was featured in the October 3, 2008 premiere of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series. It appeared in "Ambush", the first episode of Season One. The episode was originally later in the season, but aired in the series' premiere with "Rising Malevolence".

Notes and references
Mission auf Rugosa Misión a Rugosa