Second Battle of Theed

"The Federation Army's also much larger than we thought, and much stronger. Your Highness, this is a battle I do not think that we can win."

- Captain Panaka to Queen Padmé Amidala

The Second Battle of Theed (also called the Recapture of Theed or Battle of Theed Palace) was one of three linked battles that brought an end to the Invasion of Naboo. The Battle of Grassy Plains drew the majority of Trade Federation forces away from Theed allowing Royal Naboo Security Forces to covertly enter the city and take the remaining Federation forces by surprise. The successful initial stages of this battle allowed Naboo pilots to reach and launch their N-1 starfighters from Theed Hangar which began the Naboo Space Battle.

Had any of the three battles failed in its objective, it would have had disastrous results for one of the concurrent battles. Had the Battle of Grassy Plains not served as a diversion for the Federation army, the Naboo forces may not have had the element of surprise needed to allow their pilots access to their fighters. If the battle in space hadn't successfully destroyed the droid control ship, the Gungan Grand Army would likely have been decimated by the overwhelming flood of battle droids. Ultimately though, if the Naboo security forces had failed to capture Viceroy Gunray, all three battles would have been for naught as the Trade Federation would have returned with another droid army to reconquer the planet.

Prelude
In 32 BBY, the Trade Federation invaded the planet Naboo in response to a trade dispute. The Queen, Padmé Amidala, was picked up by the two Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Amidala was taken to the capital of the Galactic Republic, Coruscant, to plead for an intervention before the Galactic Senate. When that endeavor failed, she asked to return to her people. When she arrived, she met with the other indigenous Naboo species, the Gungans, to form an alliance to retake the planet. She also gathered the surviving resistance members. In advance of their entry, Panaka ordered the resistance to secretly infiltrate the hangar and prepare their fighters for battle, as well as program the battle flight-path coordinates. A ready force of Naboo soldiers, supplemented by the two Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Captain Panaka, Padmé Amidala, astromech droid R2-D2, and Anakin Skywalker; as well as students from the Royal House of Learning who were aboard the Crescent; Dané, Galak, Arani Korden, Rorworr, Deel Surool, and Sia-Lan Wezz, used a captured Trade Federation MTT, Transport 714, to approach Theed without being detected by Trade Federation forces. The group navigated the transport to the entrance of a secret passage at the base of Theed's cliff face. The ready force disembarked, while the students remained behind to guard the transport for use as a rendezvous point in case of retreat.

Half an hour after the ready ready force had departed, the Gungans gathered and rallied their Grand Army in preparation for their diversionary battle against the Trade Federation Droid Army. In response, the Federation army sent three battle divisions to the site. One group was destroyed near the south ridge of Naboo's capital, Theed. Another division engaged a Naboo outpost and was destroyed by the Naboo-allied pirate Nym. The third division, led by the battle droid commander OOM-9 engaged the Gungan army.

The battle droid commander PDA-2 assumed control of the Trade Federations rearguard forces that remained to secure Theed. PDA-2 identified Transport 714, and, believing the vessel was damaged overrode the vehicle's controls. PDA-2 directed Transport 714 to the repair bay within Theed Hangar. The unit assigned to guard the transport notified Panaka of the change in their location, and within twenty-five minutes the transport was docked below the hanger. The unit ambushed the forces of ADO-8, a command battle droid guarding the repair bay.

Meanwhile, the infiltrating forces followed the secret passage through the Catacombs of Theed, before emerging outside of a boathouse near the Solleu River's largest waterfall, Virdugo Plunge, allowing the Queen and company to enter Theed and attempt to capture the Viceroy. Captain Panaka issued a synchronized signal over his comlink when the Queen's party began its assault.

The Battle
"I thought the battle was going to take place far from here. This is too close!"

- Viceroy Nute Gunray

Battle through the streets
"This is Lt. Sykes. All diversion forces head toward the nearest canal crossing. We'll form into teams on the other side. You have permission to blast any droid you spot."

- Lieutenant Gavyn Sykes.

The Jedi were walking along the deserted streets of Theed when they were attacked by an overzealous battle droid on a Single Trooper Aerial Platform. They reflected its laser bolts back at it, destroying the droid and causing the Platform to crash, intact. The two Jedi decided to ride it and another one they found through the streets of Theed, destroying numerous battle droids and destroyer droids before diverting onto an aquaduct and facing more battle droids. They had to destroy several gates blocking their path. The two Jedi eventually dismounted at the cliffs overlooking the waterfall.

They then proceeded to Force Jump down the cliffs until reaching a balcony, then jumping back up the other side. At the top, six Naboo pilots were being held in separate rooms, guarded by three droids each. Each droid trio was a separate type of droid&mdash;OOM security battle droids, B1 grapple droids, Flame battle droids, Grapple droidekas, destroyer droids, and B1 battle droids armed with missile launchers. The Jedi rescued five of the pilots before proceeding.

Lieutenant Gavyn Sykes, freshly returned from the south ridge, led the diversionary Gian speeders and Flash speeders into Theed across the canal. As Sykes and his wingmate Kol Kotha drove through the Theed streets, they used their Gian speeders' laser cannons to blast the droids in their way. An AAT sat at one end of a street directly facing Sykes' approach, but the Naboo pilot destroyed it as he drove forward, before destroying another one off to the side. He also engaged and destroyed two Ostracoda-class gunboats traveling through Theed on the river along with a third AAT on the other side of the river. As he continued his way through Theed, he received a transmission from Palmer, another Naboo pilot. She was leading Group 2 and her three-member Flash speeder squad had become pinned down in a plaza. Sykes acknowledged her message and went to rescue the group. He blasted through several barriers in his way, along with more droids before emerging into the plaza with Kotha and destroyed the AATs and droids attacking Palmer.

They then continued on toward their objective, the Theed Courthouse, where they planned on meeting with Group 3 and several commandos. Group 3 was delayed, so Sykes ordered them to catch up. As he and the other pilots destroyed the droids guarding the courthouse, Group 3 caught up to them. Sykes escorted the transport speeder to their objective, an armored gate blocking their way to the Theed palace. Sykes knocked out the droids while the commandoes disembarked, placed charges on the door, and escaped the blast. Sykes drove through the ruined gate and met up with Panaka. Panaka ordered him to advance slowly under the archway to a certain point, then ordered Sykes to fire on an AAT. He destroyed the tank with his opening shot, and the blast alerted the nearby Federation forces to the presence of the Naboo. His diversion complete, Sykes dismounted from his craft.

The destruction of the AAT surprised Gunray, who had expected the final battle to take place elsewhere. Under cover of the confusion, Amidala led her team into the palace. The battle raged on in the streets outside the palace, and eventually into the Theed Hangar, where the team was slowed down down by battle droids. The Naboo forces quickly cleared out the hangar, but the droids were able to alert the Federation's Command Officer; with the hangar temporarily cleared, the pilots, including Sykes, were able to to take off for the space battle. After Darth Maul appeared, the queen and her men split up, but they were then pinned down by a squad of droidekas. Anakin Skywalker, taking refuge in a N-1 starfighter, accidentally took off, destroyed the droids with the craft's far stronger laser cannon blasts, and joined the battle in space guided by the fighter's auto-pilot.

As the starfighters left the hangar, taking one casualty from an AAT hidden outside the hangar, the Jedi and Sith engaged in a duel that waged on into the Theed Generator Complex. Amidala, Panaka, and their security forces left the hangar relatively unscathed through a separate door.

Retaking of the Palace
"Your little insurrection is at an end, Your Highness. Time for you to sign the treaty and end this pointless debate in the Senate."

- Viceroy Nute Gunray

The Queen's battle continued into the Royal Palace, traveling through the ceremonial halls before beingheld back by a contingent of battle droids. She split up with her handmaiden, Sabé, who led a second squad of Naboo soldiers through the palace corridors. Amidala, Panaka, and other soldiers escaped through the window to the outside of the palace, and used their ascension guns to rise to another level.

Amidala's own group tried to break through to the throne room which their target, Viceroy Nute Gunray, had taken over. However, a squad of droidekas surrounded Amidala's soldiers and forced their apparent surrender. Just before being led away, Amidala sent a distress signal to the second squad led by Sabé. The droidekas brought the Queen's squad to the throne room, then left the area, leaving only around a dozen battle droids to accompany them into the room, where Nute Gunray and Rune Haako waited.

After being led to the throne room as captured enemies, the Queen and her protectors were not to be prisoners for long. Sabé and her team, responding to Amidala's signal, suddenly appeared and fooled Viceroy Gunray into thinking Sabé was the Queen. The battle droids were distracted just long enough for Amidala to unlock a secret compartment in the throne full of blasters and throw them to her fellow freedom fighters.

Throne room recaptured
"Now, Viceroy, we will discuss a new treaty."

- Padmé Amidala to Nute Gunray

The confused battle droids were quickly shot down and the doors to the throne room jammed, locking in the Viceroy and Haako, with Queen Amidala's pistol ready to kill at a moment's notice. The two cowardly Neimoidians did not dare make any wrong moves. Two of the most prominent leaders of the Trade Federation were now in custody. Theed had been wrested back from Federation control.

Duel in Theed
"We'll handle this."

- Qui-Gon Jinn

Meanwhile, Darth Maul engaged Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan in a furious lightsaber duel. The trio fought through a pair of blast doors connecting the hangar to the Theed Generator Complex. On a catwalk across the Complex the duel raged for a long time, Maul being a more formidable opponent than either Jedi had ever faced before; wielding his double-bladed lightsaber with vicious efficiency. However, despite Maul's seeming dominance on the battlefield, he continually gave ground over the entire battle, leading the two Jedi into a labyrinth of catwalks. Maul leapt up to another level, splitting the two Jedi when Kenobi was forced back over the ledge.

Jinn forced the Sith lord back down to the central catwalk, which met a hall with laser fields. By the time Obi-Wan caught up to the two combatants, he was imprisoned by the laser barriers. The laser barriers also separated Jinn from his Sith adversary; the Jedi meditated while Maul paced until the barriers opened. Kenobi did not catch up before the barriers closed again, responding to intermittent power outputs. This left Qui-Gon to duel alone with Maul. Despite being considered one of the best lightsaber duelists in the Jedi Order, Qui-Gon could not keep up with the Sith Lord's youth; this was coupled with the restriction of the narrow catwalk around the melting pit, which kept Qui-Gon from using his Ataru style to its full capacity. Eventually, Maul slammed the wide handle of his lightsaber into Qui-Gon's face, stunning the Jedi Master, and the merciless Sith Lord quickly took the moment to stab Qui-Gon in the chest, while Obi-Wan could only watch in horror. Finally the laser fields switched off, and Obi-Wan ran through to avenge his master's fatal blow.

Overcome with hatred, Obi-Wan lashed out on Maul and held his own in the duel. He succeeded in slicing the Sith Lord's double-bladed lightsaber hilt in half, leaving Maul with only one blade. However, the Sith Lord remained in control and eventually Force pushed Obi-Wan into the melting pit. The Jedi Padawan clung for his life on a power node and watched as Maul kicked Obi-Wan's fallen lightsaber into the pit.

As the Sith Lord taunted him with lightsaber strikes on the edge of the pit, Obi-Wan was able to relax his nerves and focus on the light side. He launched himself out of the pit, Force-guided his master's lightsaber into his hand, and landed with a single sweeping death blow.

The Sith Lord fell into the melting pit, neatly sliced in two. By then, the rest of Naboo had been liberated after the Lucrehulk-class Droid Control Ship was destroyed, shutting off control to the droid army; the Invasion of Naboo was over.

Aftemath
After the battle, Amidala visited the families of every Gungan and Naboo soldier who had been killed. Palpatine had been elected Supreme Chancellor in the meantime, replacing Finis Valorum. The next day, Palpatine arrived on Naboo with members of the Jedi High Council to oversee the arrest of Gunray and Haako. Yoda promoted Kenobi to full Jedi Knight and asigned him to train Skywalker. That evening, Qui-Gon was given a Jedi funeral. The day after, the Gungans and Naboo celebrated with a parade in Theed, complete with overflights by N-1 starfighters, N-X Police Cruisers, and NB-1S Royal Bombers.

Behind the scenes
"The Royal Naboo Security Force is trying to retake Theed while the bulk of our forces are engaged with the Gungans. You must hold the city at all costs."

- Darth Sidious briefs the player before the battle during the loading screen

This scene appeared first in materials relating to Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 1999. Later works show this battle from different angles.

In Star Wars: Episode I Jedi Power Battles, also released in 1999, the Jedi's return to Theed, along with the duel with Darth Maul, takes place over three consecutive levels. The first mission features the player(s) riding STAPs on a linear path through Theed. The second mission forces the player(s) to scale the Palace cliffs and face five rooms out of six full of various types of battle droids to rescue Security Force pilots. The third chronicles the duel with Darth Maul.

In the 2000 video game Star Wars: Battle for Naboo, in mission 14, Panaka's Diversion, the player takes the role of Lieutenant Gavyn Sykes. The default craft for the mission is the Gian speeder. The player is not tasked with destroying every droid in the level and may drive past them, although it is necessary to destroy the droids attacking Palmer's groups and the commandos, as well as a tank to finish the mission. The player is capable of triggering the next objective by blowing through the doorway instead of waiting for the commandos. After Sykes destroys a tank near the hangar and triggers the ambush, the game ends automatically regardless if the remaining tanks in the plaza haven't been destroyed.

The video game Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds (2001) features an alternate history scenario where the Gungan Grand Army liberates Theed following a total victory on the Great Grass Plains. The Gungan army enters Theed via the gates to the south and proceeds through the city, destroying the Trade Federation Fortresses blocking the way and rescuing Royal Security Force units, who join the Gungan's struggle. As the Trade Federation military buildings are destroyed, the Gungan army receives reinforcements. Lastly the Gungan army destroys the Trade Federation Monument which had been erected, freeing Naboo. The game's strategy guide walks the player trough the mission space and recommends the player group the units together under the shield.

Also released in 2001 was the video game Star Wars: Obi-Wan; the player takes the guise of the titular character. The game has a strategy guide.

In the 2004 video game Star Wars: Battlefront, this battle appears during the game's mission entitled Rebellion on Theed, although the storyline is S-canon by Leland Chee; the mission is from the point of view of the Trade Federation droid army and features a droid victory instead of the canonical Naboo victory. Darth Sidious commands the army to defend Theed, and the droids engage the Naboo Security Forces and recapture certain locations (The Office, the Palace, the Rotunda, the Embassy and the Plaza) before eliminating the Naboo soldiers. AATs and Gian speeders appear in the level and can be driven.

In the LEGO Star Wars video game, Chapters 5 and 6 of The Phantom Menace portion take place during this time period, but restylized as mute LEGO characters. The game is for two players but if only one is active the second becomes AI-controlled. In Retake the Theed Palace, the players use the figures of Jinn and Kenobi and start outside the Royal Palace. Panaka, Amidala, R2-D2 and Anakin can also be controlled. Moving into the courtyard, the players fight battle droids and destroyer droids. The players must then use the game's "force powers" to lower a ramp and ascend to the second level, where they must switch to R2-D2 and open a door. The next area features a battle-damaged background. The players must use the game's "force powers" to solve the puzzle and use one of the grapple guns to get across. The players must then stand on switches to open the next door, revealing more battle droids. After that, the players must build with LEGO studs to create a door for R2 to open, leading into a courtyard and more droids. In that area, the players rebuild a staircase and travel up it, and then fix a bridge. After the bridge they must solve a puzzle, using Skywalker to travel through a chute to open a switch to the door, letting the others into an area full of droids. Then the two Jedi characters must use their "force powers" on a puzzle to go to the next level and open the door to the Palace. The players must then move up the staircase and fight destroyer droids. The path to the next area is behind a stature, which leads to the hangar. There the players rescue six Naboo pilots scattered around the hangar by Force-jumping to their positions or using the "force" to stack platforms to jump on. When the pilots are freed, the player-controlled R2-D2 must open the main hangar door, ending the mission. The mission's opening video contradicts the movie by using a Flash speeder to ambush the AAT near the hangar instead of the Gian speeder.

In Darth Maul, Jinn and Kenobi face Darth Maul. The Sith Lord starts by Force-lifting the walkway so the Jedi can't get across the chasm. Then he engages in a sequence where the characters and he force-push items at each other. When that is done, he runs away and the players can re-place the bridge and follow. The players must then proceed down the hallway to face Maul again and follow as Maul jumps up walkways placed around a column. At the end of that is the catwalk area with a jumping puzzle. Passing through that leads the players to battle droid commanders and troops which must be defeated. Each player must then take out a destroyer droid and step on a switch to raise a platform to where Maul escaped to. After that is the laser gate room, which must be disabled by using the "force powers" to flick switches until the players reach the final area; there are only four gates instead of the canonical seven gaes. They fight Darth Maul until his hit points are reduced, then he jumps up and uses his "force powers" to toss LEGO items against the players. He does this twice until forced back onto the playing field, where the players defeat him again. The closing video then plays and features the final moments of the fight. When Maul is killed, though, his torso falls into the pit and his LEGO legs remain standing and move around.

The game's strategy guide reveals the required actions to complete the puzzles and shows all the bonus areas.

Appearances

 * The Life and Legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi
 * The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader
 * Star Wars: Obi-Wan
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace novel
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace comic
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace game
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace junior novel
 * Star Wars Episode I Journal: Anakin Skywalker
 * Star Wars Episode I Journal: Queen Amidala
 * Star Wars Episode I Journal: Darth Maul
 * Star Wars: Battle for Naboo
 * Star Wars: Episode I Jedi Power Battles
 * Star Wars: Invasion of Theed Adventure Game
 * Star Wars: Battlefront
 * Episode I: Obi-Wan Kenobi
 * Precipice
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars novel
 * The Clone Wars: Wild Space
 * Star Wars: Republic 68: Armor
 * The Last of the Jedi: Death on Naboo
 * Coruscant Nights III: Patterns of Force
 * Tatooine Ghost
 * Revelation
 * Star Wars: Republic 68: Armor
 * The Last of the Jedi: Death on Naboo
 * Coruscant Nights III: Patterns of Force
 * Tatooine Ghost
 * Revelation

Non-canon appearances

 * Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds
 * The Saga Begins
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * Old Wounds
 * Phantom Menaces

Databank entries
}}