Twilight/Legends

The Twilight was a G9 Rigger freighter that was originally used by Hutt crime lord Ziro Desilijic Tiure as a spice freighter during the Clone Wars. Later in the Battle of Teth, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, used it to take Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure's son back to his home planet of Tatooine, but were shot down over the planet and were forced to crash-land the ship. After they abandoned it, the ship was scavenged by Jawas, and Skywalker later returned and reclaimed it. The ship's appearance of age caused it to be nicknamed the Grease Bucket and the Bucket of Bolts by Tano and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, respectively.

After it had been reclaimed, the Twilight was later used by Skywalker in several missions during the coming events in the war. These included Skywalker and Kenobi's rescue of Galactic Senator Padmé Amidala aboard the Confederacy warship Malevolence during the Battle of Kaliida Shoals, as well as Skywalker and Tano's mission to destroy a Confederacy listening post. Additionally, Skywalker and Kenobi took the freighter to Florrum to confirm that Sith Lord and Confederacy Head of State Count Dooku had been captured by pirates, in order for a deal to be struck between the pirates and the Galactic Republic, and the two Jedi later used the Twilight to find an antidote for the deadly Blue Shadow Virus on the planet Iego.

Characteristics
"Get aboard and prime the engines...assuming it has engines."

- Anakin Skywalker



The Twilight had one big main wing and one retractable second wing, which was placed under the main wing and was approximately half the size of the main wing. The retractable wing was called a Tal Nami Freighter Swing Wing, which gave the craft extra maneuverability. It was also equipped with one heavy blaster cannon. Another smaller retractable wing was placed above the main wing equipped with a double heavy blaster cannon. If needed the wing would go in the upright position to allow the blasters to be fired. The cockpit was positioned between the main wing and the main engine, and its design bore similarities to the later Imperial Lambda-class T-4a shuttle. Astromech droid R2-D2 traveled inside this cockpit with the ship's captain, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. Just next to the cockpit, the main wing housed two small, secondary engines. Despite these similarities, it was of Corellian manufacture.

The ship was armed with three heavy blasters, located on struts around the ship, and also had a rotating laser cannon mounted on the main wing, with periscope controls. The Twilight had a small hangar in its rear, big enough to fit Skywalker's starfighter. The hangar was otherwise used as a cargo hold and was equipped with a magnetic field to allow outer space transfer of goods. A tow cable was placed to winch in heavy containers. The ship also had a boarding ramp underneath the vessel, which acted as the main entrance to the ship. The hangar door could also be used as an exit and entrance to the ship.

Spice freighter
Not designed as a starfighter, the Twilight had been used to smuggle illegal spice by Hutt crime lord Ziro Desilijic Tiure, and was an aging freighter by the time of the Clone Wars, the galaxy-wide conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Because of its origins, the ship was not able to hold its own in space superiority battles.

A new owner
"Looks like we'll have to take this bucket of bolts all the way to Tatooine!"

- Anakin Skywalker

The Twilight was on the planet Teth when Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, sought medical assistance for Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure's son, Rotta. It was being loaded by B1 battle droids and was being prepared for departure; nevertheless, Skywalker and Tano destroyed the battle droids and attempted to take off. At first, the engines refused to start, but the Jedi attempted to take it to the nearest Republic cruiser. The sky fight above Teth prevented them from landing on the cruiser, so they were forced to take the ship directly to Tatooine. With the help of a medical droid hologram and medicine, Rotta was saved from near death.

Upon arriving in the Tatooine system, Skywalker diverted power to the front shields instead of the rear. The Twilight was ambushed by two Porax-38 starfighters piloted by IG-100 MagnaGuards, ironically attacking from the now-unprotected rear. Astromech droid R2-D2 unlocked the weapon systems and was able to destroy both fighters, but extensive damage to the craft caused it to crash-land into the atmosphere. After the four abandoned the ship through the rear door, Jawas came by to salvage it. Skywalker later reclaimed the Twilight and modified it to update its age-induced shortcomings, including making it quicker and more agile for quicker maneuvers.

The Malevolence


Skywalker and Tano used the Twilight to rescue Jedi Master Plo Koon after his fleet was destroyed by a "secret" Confederacy weapon. Skywalker and Tano came upon Koon and several clone troopers in an escape pod, the only survivors of the battle. However, the crew was forced to shut down the ship's systems, including astromech droid R2-D2, as an enormous battleship approached; alerting the warship to their presence would surely mean certain doom. However, the medical droid tending to the clones was missed. The group managed to get away and avoided the wave from the ship's ion cannons by quickly jumping to hyperspace, taking their knowledge of the deadly weapon with them.

Skywalker, Tano and Shadow Squadron went to the Bormus Testing Facility in the Twilight, shortly after Skywalker was unable to acquire BTL-B Y-wing starfighters through official means. After Shadow Squadron took the fighters back to the Venator-class Star Destroyer Resolute, Skywalker led them through the Kaliida Nebula to engage the Malevolence, which General Grievous was planning on using to destroy an Outer Rim medical center. After sustaining losses, Skywalker and what remained of his squadron were able to severely damage the battleship's ion cannons, preventing the destruction of the station.

The Twilight was later used to rescue Senator Padmé Amidala from the extensively damaged Malevolence after Grievous captured her during the Battle of Kaliida Shoals, as the cyborg general sought to flee from the attacking Republic Venator cruisers. Skywalker and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi took the Twilight and docked at the emergency airlock below the bridge, seeing as the droids were "too busy repairing the ship to notice them." After the Jedi rescued Amidala, the Twilight returned to the fleet, managing to evade Grievous in his fighter and several Vulture droids. Thanks to sabotage by Skywalker, the Malevolence was destroyed, colliding with the nearby Dead moon of Antar.



Battle of Bothawui and aftermath
After defeating Grievous over the planet Bothawui, Skywalker and Tano took the Twilight to find a missing Artoo, who had disappeared after Skywalker's Delta-7B starfighter was damaged. Skywalker docked the Twilight on the nearby scavenger ship salvaging the battlefield, hoping that the ship had picked up Artoo, but was unsuccessful in locating him, who in fact had been arranged to be sold to Grievous by the ship's captain, Trandoshan scavenger Gha Nachkt.

After Skywalker headed away in his fighter to scout ahead with replacement astromech droid R3-S6, his tracking beacon was accidentally activated, and Tano and Clone Captain Rex proceeded to rescue him in the Twilight from several Munificent-class frigates that had arrived under command of Grievous.

Mission to Skytop Station
"Great. There's the Twilight, now where's everyone else?"

- Anakin Skywalker



After the group received a transmission from R2-D2, they tracked the droid to Skytop Station, where Skywalker and Tano took a team of clone troopers to destroy the Confederacy listening post. During the mission, Skywalker headed off to rescue Artoo, while Tano and the clones set explosive charges to destroy the station. However, Grievous attacked Tano and the clones, and Tano, accompanied by R3, engaged Grievous alone, while Rex and Sergeant Denal planted the rest of the charges.

Skywalker succeeded in rescuing Artoo, and returned to the hangar bay where he signaled the Twilight for the evacuation. The pilot brought the Twilight into the hangar and met with Skywalker and Artoo. However, after R3, Rex and Denal arrived, Skywalker learned of Tano's single combat against Grievous. Before they could rescue her, R3 revealed himself to be a spy and traitor, closing the hangar door and all entrances, and sealing the Republic forces inside the station. The droid also activated three Vulture droids, and several B2 super battle droids arrived, engaging Skywalker and the clones in combat. Tano arrived, and after Artoo opened the hangar door from an outside platform (and also destroyed R3 in a duel), the Jedi and the clones fled the exploding station in the Twilight.

Capturing Dooku


The Twilight was used as a ploy to get Skywalker onboard Sith Lord and Confederacy Head of State Count Dooku's Munificent-class frigate to locate and capture the elusive Sith Lord. Kenobi came to assist Skywalker, and they were able to follow an escaping Dooku, but both parties crash-landed on Vanqor. Dooku was captured by the Weequay Hondo Ohnaka's pirate gang, and was taken to Florrum, while Skywalker and Kenobi were rescued by Tano. When Skywalker and Kenobi were dispatched to confirm that Dooku was in the captivity of the pirates, in order for a deal to be struck between the pirates and the Republic for the transfer of Dooku's captivity, the Jedi took the Twilight to the pirates' stronghold.

Skywalker and Kenobi were captured by the pirates as well, who were additionally seeking to capture the two Jedi for ransom. The Jedi were forced to strike an uneasy alliance with Dooku, who later escaped separately. The two Jedi spared Ohnaka, showing wisdom in not arresting him in spite simply for capturing them. Skywalker and Kenobi left the planet on the Twilight with Representative Jar Jar Binks, Commander Stone and a few members of the Coruscant Guard, who had originally been sent to negotiate the deal concerning Dooku with the pirates.

Curing the Blue Shadow Virus


When Tano, Senator Padmé Amidala and several clones were infected with the deadly Blue Shadow Virus shortly after a raid on Confederacy-allied Dr. Nuvo Vindi's laboratory on Naboo, Skywalker and Kenobi took the Twilight to Iego to find an antidote known as Reeksa weed. There, they learned from Jaybo Hood that "Drol", the "phantom ruler" of Iego, was preventing the inhabitants from leaving the planet. After finding the Reeksa weed and attempting to leave the planet, the Jedi discovered that "Drol" was actually an energy field, installed by the Separatists when they invaded the system. The Jedi took a few of Hood's reprogrammed Vulture droids and were able to destroy the energy field, liberating the planet and allowing the inhabitants to leave whenever they chose. Skywalker and Kenobi returned to Naboo, where they were able to give their infected friends the antidote in time.

Behind the scenes
The Twilight first appeared in Star Wars media in the 2008 Star Wars: The Clone Wars film and its novelization, and appears multiple times in the television series, upon which the movie was based.

Confusing enough, the Twilight ' s laser fire alternates colors multiple times. In the Star Wars: The Clone Wars film, the blasts are red, as well as in the television series episode "Downfall of a Droid", while in the episodes "Destroy Malevolence" and "Mystery of a Thousand Moons", the laser fire is blue.

Fans have speculated on the origins of the Twilight since images of the ship first appeared at the 2007 Celebration IV convention. Its behind-the-scenes design origins, however, only stretch back to Episode III. The Clone Wars film and television series' director, Dave Filoni, describes the Twilight as being taken from some of Erik Tiemens' abandoned designs for a firefighting ship.

There is an older connection the Twilight holds that dates back all the way to 1977 to the original Star Wars. As a beat-up old spice freighter, the Twilight is the kernel of truth of Uncle Owen Lars's lie to Luke Skywalker about his father: Anakin Skywalker was indeed a navigator on a spice freighter, from a certain point of view.

Non-canon appearances

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 * Spinning isn't Always a Good Trick
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 * A droid in the hand is worth