Battle of Kadavo/Legends

"My people will be forever indebted to the Jedi Order, Master Yoda.''" "''Done our duty, we have. Unfortunate it is, the suffering your people endured."

- Governor Roshti and Jedi Master Yoda, after the Jedi's liberation of Roshti's people

A battle was fought circa 21 BBY on the planet Kadavo during the Clone Wars. Having occupied the Togruta's colony world of Kiros, the Confederacy of Independent Systems secretly transferred the world's entire population to the planet Zygerria, where the Togruta were to be sold as slaves at an auction. A Galactic Republic task force led by High Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi General Anakin Skywalker, and Skywalker's Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, liberated Kiros and discovered links leading to Zygerria. The Jedi and Clone Captain CT-7567 soon infiltrated the auction and tried to rescue the Togruta but were captured by the Zygerrians and enslaved.

Skywalker and his Padawan, however, escaped from the Zygerrians and headed for Kadavo to rescue Kenobi, CT-7567, and the Togruta, who had been transferred to the Zygerrian Labor Processing Hub on the planet. Fearing that the liberation of the slaves could prove him a liar&mdash;as he had spread word that the Jedi had eradicated Kiros's population&mdash;the Confederate leader Count Dooku sent his assassin, Asajj Ventress, alongside General Grievous, to kill everyone at the Kadavo facility.

After both the Republic and the Confederate forces arrived at Kadavo, a battle ensued on and above the planet. While Grievous's fleet battled the Republic Venator-class Star Destroyers, Ventress led a squadron of Hyena-class bombers to destroy the Labor Processing Hub. Hoping that the Separatists would spare him if he killed the Togruta himself, the facility head&mdash;the Keeper&mdash;tried to dump the slaves into the lava but was prevented from doing so by Kenobi and CT-7567. Soon, Republic reinforcements arrived, forcing the Confederate fleet to retreat. Ventress, however, chose to continue the fight alone and made a last ditch attempt to kill the Jedi with her starship, the Trident, but was repelled by the Republic V-19 Torrent starfighters. Having won the battle, the Republic returned the people of Kiros back to their home.

Prelude
"If the population of Kiros is liberated, I will be proven a liar, after spreading word it was the Jedi who destroyed those people. Our path is clear&mdash;''" "''Yes, Master. To preserve your name, those slaves must die."

- Count Dooku and Asajj Ventress

Circa 21 BBY during the Clone Wars, the Confederacy of Independent Systems occupied the Togrutan colony world of Kiros and secretly transferred its entire population to the planet Zygerria, where they were to be sold as slaves at an auction held by the Zygerrian Queen Miraj Scintel. A Galactic Republic task force led by High Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi General Anakin Skywalker, and Skywalker's Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, liberated Kiros and found clues that led them to Zygerria. Meanwhile, to impair the reputation of the Jedi Order, the Confederate leader Count Dooku spread word that during the battle on Kiros, the Jedi had eradicated the entire planet's population.

Soon, posing as slave traders, Skywalker, Kenobi, Tano and Captain CT-7567&mdash;nicknamed "Rex"&mdash;infiltrated the auction and tried to rescue the Togruta but ended up being caught by the Zygerrians and becoming slaves themselves. While Skywalker was left in service of Queen Scintel, Tano was imprisoned on Zygerria, and Kenobi and Rex were transferred along with the Togruta to the Zygerrian Labor Processing Hub on the planet Kadavo. Commanded by a Zygerrian known as the Keeper, the processing facility was kept aloft above a pool of lava by several powerful repulsorlifts and four cables attached to its sides.

On Kadavo, the Keeper tried to break Kenobi's will by dropping several Togruta into the lava and promising to do the same with the Jedi should he attempt to rebel. Unwilling to put the innocent in danger, Kenobi and Rex were eventually forced to submit to the Keeper after the Zygerrian guards began punishing the Togruta for Kenobi's defiance. Skywalker and Tano soon escaped from Zygerria and headed for Kadavo to rescue Kenobi and the Togruta.

Fearing that the liberation of the Togrutan people would reveal his deceit, Dooku sent his assassin, Asajj Ventress, and General Grievous to kill everyone on Kadavo, thus destroying all evidence of Dooku's lie. Meanwhile, Kenobi told the Togruta about Kiros's liberation and explained to them that to survive, they needed to obey the Keeper. The latter soon recognized the slaves' obedience as "hope" and&mdash;seeing Kenobi's actions as a cultivation of revolution&mdash;contacted Queen Scintel for permission to execute the Jedi. He received no response, however, as she had been slain by Dooku for her refusal to kill Skywalker.

The battle
"It's not possible. This is a betrayal&mdash;"

- The Keeper, on the Separatist attack

Back on Kadavo, the Keeper summoned both Kenobi and Rex to the facility's command center and told the two about his intention to dispose of them. While the Keeper communicated with Kenobi and Rex, the Republic forces, consisting of several Venator-class Star Destroyers, arrived at Kadavo. Backed by a squad of clone troopers, Skywalker and Tano boarded a Zygerrian transport and used it to reach the hub, which was guarded by a group of B1 battle droids and B2 super battle droids. The battle droids&mdash;who thought that the transport was delivering new slaves&mdash;were caught off guard with the Jedi and clones' appearance, and were quickly destroyed before they could react to the threat. Reaching the hub, Skywalker and Tano activated their lightsabers and started cutting through the facility's blast doors. Seeing this on his survey monitors, the Keeper positioned the Togrutan slaves on a platform above the lava pool and threatened to dump them to their deaths unless Skywalker surrendered.

Desperate to rescue the slaves, Skywalker ignored the Keeper's threats and continued cutting into the facility. Soon, the Separatist forces arrived and engaged the Republic task force above the planet. Leading several Hyena-class bombers, Ventress&mdash;in her starship, the Trident&mdash;attacked the Republic Shadow Squadron, killing several pilots, including Shadow Three and Shadow Five. While General Grievous' fleet fought the Republic forces, Ventress and the Hyena-class bombers headed toward the Labor Processing Hub, intent on destroying it. Believing that the Confederacy had come to aid him, the Keeper once again demanded Skywalker's surrender. Knowing that Separatist forces had just arrived, Skywalker reluctantly agreed.

After Skywalker admitted his defeat, however, the bombers proceeded to attack the hub, destroying one of its supporting cables. As a result of this, the whole facility began to incline, causing several Togruta slaves to lose their balance and fall into the lava. Having witnessed the bombers attacking the hub, the Keeper realized that Dooku's intention was to kill the slaves. In hopes that the Confederate forces would spare the Zygerrians if they disposed of the Togruta themselves, the Keeper tried to activate a mechanism that would dump the remaining slaves into the lava as well. Kenobi and Rex decided that it was time to react and attacked the Zygerrians that were guarding them, subduing the Keeper and preventing him from exterminating the population of Kiros. Kenobi then damaged the dumping mechanism, but the Togruta still remained in danger on a platform above the lava pool.

In the meantime, more Republic forces arrived at Kadavo, forcing General Grievous and his fleet to retreat and leave Ventress on her own. As the bombers initiated another attack on the facility, Skywalker ordered the clone troopers to open fire. One blaster shot hit an enemy bomber's proton bomb, causing the explosive to detonate and sparking a chain reaction that destroyed most of the bombers. Distraught, Ventress requested more Hyena-class fighters from Grievous, but the general declined and informed her of his retreat. With the rest of the Confederate forces fleeing, Ventress remained to battle the Republic alone. Meanwhile, Kenobi and Rex rendezvoused with Skywalker and told him of the danger that the Togruta were in. Having noticed Skywalker's transport, Kenobi quickly formulated a plan to rescue the slaves. Positioning the vessel immediately below the Togruta, the Jedi assembled on the ship's roof and used the Force to levitate the slaves onto the transport.

At that moment, Ventress's Trident took an attack run on the Jedi's ship. After the Jedi deflected her shots with their lightsabers, Ventress clamped her ship onto the transport and started using her ship's claws to attack the Republic forces. Rex tried to destroy the Trident with his missile launcher, while Skywalker and Kenobi fought back with their lightsabers, but neither tactic worked, and Ventress continued to attack the Jedi, eventually cornering them. As she was preparing to kill the Jedi, however, a group of V-19 Torrent starfighters, led by High General Plo Koon, attacked the Trident and forced Ventress to retreat.

Aftermath
"Our vision of a world without weapons has failed miserably. In this galaxy, we must walk the path of warriors whether we wish to or not."

- Roshti

With the battle over, the Republic utilized LAAT/i gunships to evacuate the Togruta and secure the captured Keeper. The Republic then planted explosive charges throughout the facility to destroy it. Before the explosives were triggered, however, the Republic troops were informed that Supreme Chancellor Palpatine had requested them to leave the Labor Processing Hub intact for later use. Realizing that the facility could only be used for one purpose&mdash;to house slaves&mdash;the Jedi decided to disobey Palpatine's order and destroyed it.

The Republic helped the Togruta return to Kiros. To protect the colony against another possible invasion, the Republic stationed a garrison of clone troopers on the planet. The Togruta, however, felt that the clones' presence might not be enough to protect them and decided to change their peaceful way of life, arming themselves and receiving education on weaponry from the Republic troops.

Behind the scenes
The Battle of Kadavo was depicted in the 2009 comic book Star Wars: The Clone Wars 6: Slaves of the Republic - Chapter 6: Escape from Kadavo, written by Henry Gilroy and illustrated by Scott Hepburn. The battle served as a conclusion to the Slaves of the Republic story arc of The Clone Wars comic series.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars 6: Slaves of the Republic - Chapter 6: Escape from Kadavo
 * Escape from Kadavo