Rescue mission to Vandos

"He was relentless in his pursuit and personally killed countless troopers and Jedi."

- Flynn Kybo, describing General Grievous

In 20 BBY, the Mission to Vandos occurred on the planet Vandos during the Clone Wars. In an attempt to lure several Jedi into a dug-out cave on Vandos, the Confederate General Grievous kidnapped the Anx Ambassador Quiyyen and confined him within the cave. After learning about the kidnapping, as well as a Confederate invasion fleet arriving in the Vandos system, the Jedi Council sent a team, led by Jedi Master T'chooka D'oon, to Vandos to rescue Quiyyen. During the mission, D'oon was accompanied by his Padawan, Flynn Kybo, Jedi Master Jmmaar, and a group of clone troopers. As they entered the cave, Kybo learned that they had fallen into a trap as they were confronted by Grievous and his super battle droid force. Even though Grievous killed Jmmaar and many clone troopers, the cyborg General was unable to guard the captive Quiyyen. After Kybo rescued the Ambassador, D'oon's team prepared to retreat to their landed gunship outside the cave. To give his team more time to board the transport, D'oon distracted Grievous, though the cyborg General quickly killed the Jedi Master. The fallen Jedi Master's team, however, left Vandos with Quiyyen.

Prelude
In 20 BBY, the Confederate General Grievous, a known Jedi hunter during the Clone Wars, established a plan to lure several Jedi into a dug-out cave on the planet Vandos. In order to attract their attention, Grievous kidnapped the Anx Ambassador Quiyyen and imprisoned him in the cave on Vandos. While the Jedi knew nothing of Grievous' trap, the organization learned about the kidnapping, as well as information about a Confederate invasion fleet arriving in the Vandos system. In order to rescue the Ambassador, the Jedi dispatched Jedi Masters T'chooka D'oon and Jmmaar; D'oon's Padawan, Flynn Kybo; and a group of clone troopers.

The battle
"The rescue mission to Vandos was to be simple&mdash;to land ahead of the approaching Separatist invasion fleet and bring out Ambassador Quiyyen. We found instead a large force of battle droids awaiting us. The Ambassador was the bait for the trap."

- Jedi Padawan Flynn Kybo, on the rescue of Quiyyen

Believing that there was indeed an approaching Confederate invasion fleet, D'oon's team needed to land on Vandos and rescue Ambassador Quiyyen before the fleet arrived. Once the team landed their LAAT/i gunship near the cave, they departed the vessel and surprisingly faced a group of super battle droids. Kybo realized that they had fallen into a trap and Quiyyen was the bait that brought them there. Grievous, who was leading the droids, told the super battle droids to not let the Jedi escape alive. During the onslaught, Grievous killed Jmmaar and many clone troopers.

Kybo, however, found Quiyyen and brought him safely toward the Jedi group. With the Anx Ambassador in their possession, the team raced toward their gunship. As they proceeded to board their transport, the super battle droids continued to fire their blaster cannons at the Jedi team. Seeing that his team needed more time to board the gunship, D'oon turned his attention toward the approaching Grievous and engaged the cyborg General into a lightsaber duel. Kybo watched as Grievous made short work of D'oon with his lightsaber, an event that would stay fresh in Kybo's mind. With the group aboard the gunship, they departed Vandos and headed for the planet Coruscant.

Aftermath
After the mission, Kybo was present in the Jedi Temple and entered a meeting with the Jedi High Council. Because of the death of his master, as well as many other Jedi, Kybo wanted to seek revenge against Grievous. Instead of military action to seek out Grievous, Kybo asked Jedi Masters Yoda and Mace Windu if he could organize a small group of Jedi and target the cyborg General, an act that was frowned upon by both Windu and Yoda. Behind their backs, Kybo disobeyed their advice and went ahead and sought out Jedi that were interested. This action would later drive Kybo to his death as he eventually engaged Grievous in a lightsaber duel on the moon Belsus. He was killed when an explosion caught him by surprise.

Behind the scenes
The Mission to Vandos first appeared in the 2005 comic, Star Wars: General Grievous 1, which was written by Chuck Dixon and published by Dark Horse Comics. The short story Unknown Soldier: The Story of General Grievous briefly mentioned the battle, as did entries in the 2008 The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: General Grievous 1
 * Star Wars: General Grievous 4