Battle of Orto Plutonia/Legends

"I have led our people since before you were born. I've seen a hundred planets rise and fall through force of arms. If it's not the Separatists out there, then it is an aggressive and malevolent enemy nonetheless, and I will not let whoever it is jeopardize the security of the people of Pantora."

- Chi Cho to Riyo Chuchi

This battle took place on the planet Orto Plutonia around 22 BBY during the Clone Wars. Sometime during the war, the Galactic Republic built a station on the planet to watch for any surprise invasions around the Pantora system. Orto Plutonia's only indigenous species called the Talz attacked the base and killed stationed clone troopers. The attack, however, was not reported and remained unknown to the Republic. High Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi General Anakin Skywalker were dispatched to investigate the loss of contact with the base. The two Jedi were accompanied by two Pantoran politicians&mdash;Senator Riyo Chuchi and Chairman of the Pantoran Assembly Chi Cho. Upon noticing the frozen corpses of clone troopers within the base, Cho concluded that the Confederacy was to be blamed of the attack. However, when Clone Captain Rex told Kenobi that his scouts had spotted a droid base nearby, Kenobi, Skywalker, and the clones went to it, only to find destroyed remains of B1 battle droids. Soon, the two Jedi found a Talz settlement and met with the Talz's leader, Thi-Sen, and discussed peace between the Talz and Republic. After returning to Glid Station, the two Jedi told Cho and Chuchi of the Talz's presence on the planet. The Republic group went back to Thi-Sen to continue their peace discussion. However, for Cho, he wanted the Talz to leave the planet, as it was under his jurisdiction, and declared war against the Talz.

While Rex and his group of clone troopers went with Cho to fight the Talz, Kenobi and Skywalker remained with Chuchi. After mounting separate Freeco Bikes and BARC speeders, the Republic group was ambushed by the Talz. While many of the Talz were positioned on hills, a few Talz warriors were mounted on narglatchs on the ground. As the Talz threw spears at Cho and the clones, Rex ordered his men to assume a defensive formation. However, the Talz began to overwhelm the Republic group. Rex ordered his men to fall back, though the order was rejected by Cho. When Cho was hit by a spear, however, Rex took the injured chairman and placed him on his BARC speeder and the group of clones departed the area. Onboard a LAAT/i gunship, Kenobi, Skywalker, and Chuchi contacted the Pantoran Assembly speaker, who told them that Cho's actions were out of order, and that Chuchi was to negotiate peace between Pantora and the Talz. Their gunship, as well as other gunships, soon departed to rendezvous with the Cho and the clones. Meanwhile, Thi-Sen and the Talz continued their attack on Rex and his team. They ambushed the clone troopers in a canyon and followed them to a dead-end cliff. The gunships soon arrived and met with Rex and the remaining clone troopers. After Cho died of his injuries, Chuchi met with Thi-Sen and settled the conflict between Pantora and the Talz. The Talz were then allowed to live in peace on the planet.

Prelude
"Our moon of Pantora is the only civilization in this system. I'm the one who asked the senate to protect this planet. This wasteland belongs to us."

- Chi Cho to Riyo Chuchi

Around 22 BBY, the Galactic Republic built a station on the Pantoran world of Orto Plutonia to halt invasions around the Pantora system. Inside the base, a group of clone cold assault troopers maintained the station until native Talz attacked and killed the clones. The Talz did not attack the Republic base only, however. A nearby Confederate base became abandoned after the Talz attacked it as well. After losing contact with Glid Station, the Jedi High Council dispatched High Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi General Anakin Skywalker to Orto Plutonia to investigate the loss of communication within the base. The Jedi were also accompanied by two Pantoran politicians&mdash;Riyo Chuchi, a senator representing the planet of Pantora, and Chairman of the Pantoran Assembly Chi Cho.

Upon landing on the planet's surface onboard a LAAT/i gunship, near Glid Station, Kenobi and Skywalker met with the two politicians. Kenobi ordered Skywalker and his two droids, R2-D2 and C-3PO, to remain near the gunship, while he, a group of clones troopers, and the two Pantorans entered the station. Inside, the group saw the frozen corpses of clone troopers scattered around the command center of the base. After seeing this, Cho concluded that the Confederacy had attacked the base. Kenobi, however, denied this after seeing clone trooper helmets on top of spears stuck to the ground. After Clone Captain CC-7567, nicknamed "Rex," told Kenobi that his scouts had found a Confederate base nearby, Kenobi, Skywalker, Rex, and a group of clones went to the base, only to find it abandoned. Noticing destroyed droid heads on spears, Kenobi concluded that whoever attacked Glid Station attacked the Separatist base as well. Inside the base, the two Jedi and Rex turned on a holoprojector to watch recorded logs to find out what had attacked the base. A hologram showed a Talz warrior attacking a lone battle droid. The log was deemed useful when Rex told Kenobi and Skywalker that the droid revealed that a team of droids were investigating for activity near a southern canyon.

Kenobi and Skywalker, mounted on BARC speeders, arrived at a Talz camp. Meeting with Thi-Sen, the leader of the Talz, scribe Medcha Wanto, the two Jedi were escorted into Thi-Sen's hut. Unable to communicate with the Talz, as the Talz could not speak or understand Basic, Skywalker drew a picture depicting two individuals shaking hands as a sign for peace. Thi-Sen understood what Skywalker was trying to say, and agreed to peace. Returning to Glid Station, the two Jedi told Cho and Chuchi of the Talz's presence on the planet, and that they wanted peace. However, Cho wanted to remove the Talz, as the planet was under his control since he was the exalted ruler of Pantora. He believed the Talz were trespassers as well, though Kenobi stated that the species had been on the planet for a long time, as they did not possess space travel. Cho, however, ordered Rex to round up his men for battle, but Skywalker denied it. Skywalker told Cho that he and Kenobi had set up a meeting with Thi-Sen to discuss peace between the Talz and Pantora. Cho agreed to go with, and soon the group mounted on Freeco bkes and BARC speeders and left the station to rendezvous with Thi-Sen near the abandoned Confederate base.

After arriving near the base, Cho ordered Rex to place his men on a nearby ridge and attack when the Talz arrive. Kenobi intervened and told the chairman that there would be no attack, as the Talz only wanted peace. Entering the base, Kenobi and Skywalker greeted Thi-Sen. C-3PO translated a welcome greeting in the Talz' native language. After Thi-Sen spoke to the protocol droid, 3PO translated his words into Basic for Cho and the others to hear. Seeing that Cho was being aggressive toward the Talz, Chuchi asked if she could represent Pantora in the matter, though Cho dictated that there would be no diplomacy. The chairman told the Talz leader that he was not welcomed to stay on the planet and 3PO translated his words for Thi-Sen, which upset him and the Talz behind him. Thi-Sen's response was a warning to Cho: either he would reconsider his decision or face war, and Cho chose the latter.

After Thi-Sen and his followers angrily left the base, Cho and his two Pantoran protectors regrouped outside. Cho ordered Rex and his men to mount up and follow him. Rex questioned Cho's order to Skywalker, and the Jedi Knight told the Clone Captain that he and his men had to protect the chairman. As Cho, Rex, and his men boarded separate Freeco bikes and BARC speeders, Kenobi and Skywalker remained with Chuchi. Upset about Cho's decision, both Jedi asked Chuchi if someone could override the chairman's decision of fighting the Talz. After Chuchi revealed that the speaker of the Pantoran assembly could do so, they boarded a gunship and returned to Glid Station to make contact with him.

The battle
The group, led by Cho, rode on their separate vehicles until they came in contact with three Talz warriors riding on narglatch mounts. When they were in range, Cho ordered Rex and the other clones to open fire, though Rex denied, stating they were only their to protect him. The three Talz on their mounts soon departed the area, and Cho and the clones followed the three until more Talz warriors appeared out of the snow. The Talz began to attack Cho's team and took out a few clones in the process. Cho dictated that they were caught in the trap and ordered the clones to eliminate the Talz. Rex was forced to dismount from his Freeco Bike after he collided with a narglatch mount. Cho followed Rex's lead and dismounted. After Rex ordered his men to form a "defensive formation," the clones parked their vehicles around Rex, forming a protective circle for them to fight the Talz. Nearby, however, Thi-Sen and other Talz warriors threw spears at Cho's group. Even though Cho was being protected by his two Pantoran guards, a Talz warrior soon jumped over the clones' vehicle barricade and killed a guard with his spear. Before the warrior had the chance to kill Cho, however, the chairman's other guard took out the Talz warrior.

Thi-Sen's men on the hill continued to throw spears at the Republic group, which was quickly killing clone troopers. Soon, Thi-Sen released a group of Talz warriors on narglatch mounts to finish off the struggling Republic group. Rex shot and killed a few ambushing Talz with his hand blaster, though was unable to kill them all. He ordered Cho and his men to retreat, but the order was denied by Cho. After his last guard was killed by a spear, Cho himself was injured from a spear. A nearby Talz warrior was about toss another spear at the chairman's back, but the attack was stopped by Rex, who had mounted on a BARC speeder. The Clone Captain placed the injured Cho on his speeder and departed the area. The other clone troopers, on BARC speeders, followed Rex away from the battlefield. Noticing their retreat, Thi-Sen ordered his men to pursue the fleeing Republic group. Meanwhile, back at Glid Station, Kenobi, Skywalker, and Chuchi made contact with the speaker of the Pantoran Assembly on board a LAAT/i gunship. Through a hologram transmission, the speaker told them that Cho's actions were out of order and Chuchi was to negotiate peace between the Talz and Pantorans. With the decision made, their gunship, along with three others, left the Station to rendezvous with Cho and the clone troopers.

As Rex led his clone group through a canyon, Thi-Sen's Talz warriors, who were mounted on their narglatch mounts, ambushed the Republic group. The Talz utilized wooden clubs to knock various clones off their BARC speeders. Soon, the Republic group left the canyon and headed toward an ice bridge. The Talz continued to chase after Rex and his men and tossed spears at them from a distance. As both groups approached the ice bridge, the bridge itself collapsed. The collapse of the bridge killed two clones and also eliminated the Republic group's chance of escape. At that moment, Rex and the remainder of his team dismounted from their BARC speeders. As the line of Talz on narglatch mounts approached the Republic group, Rex ordered his team to organize through hand gestures. The clones began to fire their blasters at the Talz, and took out a few of Thi-Sen's men. Before Thi-Sen and his men reached the clones, however, the LAAT/i gunships approached the battle site and landed near Rex. Noticing the gunships, Thi-Sen's group halted their attack.

Departing their gunship, Kenobi, Skywalker, and Chuchi approached Rex. The Clone Captain told Skywalker eleven of his men are dead and the remainder are injured, which included Cho.Chuchi talked to the injured chairman, who wanted the senator to avenge him and defeat the Talz. However, after Chuchi revealed that she was to negotiate peace between the Talz and Pantorans, Cho died from his injuries. With C-3PO, Chuchi walked up to the Talz, who remained on their mounts. Thi-Sen dismounted and walked up to her. Slamming a spear to the ground as a sign for peace, as well as placing Cho's helmet on the end of the spear, Chuchi began to talk to Thi-Sen. After she finished, 3PO translated her words for Thi-Sen. Soon, Thi-Sen agreed to settle the conflict and placed his spear on the ground as well. Before departing, Chuchi told Thi-Sen that he and the Talz would live in peace on Orto Plutonia.

Aftermath
After the peaceful resolution of the battle, Thi-Sen and his Talz soldiers departed. Both Kenobi and Skywalker congratulated Chuchi in her success in ending the conflict between the Pantoran and the Talz. Along with the clones, they soon boarded the LAAT/i gunships.

Behind the scenes
The Battle of Orto Plutonia was featured in "Trespass," the fifteen episode of the first season of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series, which aired on January 30, 2009. Later in the same year, the battle was mentioned in author Jason Fry's Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Visual Guide Ultimate Battles and Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Official Episode Guide: Season 1. It also received a brief mentioning in the The Essential Atlas, which was also written by Fry, as well as author Daniel Wallace. In addition to featuring the Talz species, the episode introduced two new characters to the series, Pantoran Chairman Chi Cho and Senator Riyo Chuchi.

The battle introduced the CK-6 swoop, also known as "Freeco Bike." Cho, Chuchi, and the Freeco Bike were given Databank entries on StarWars.com.

Notes and references
Schlacht von Orto Plutonia Batalla de Orto Plutonia