Kidnapped

"Where we are going always reflects where we came from."

- Moral

"Kidnapped" is the eleventh episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series' fourth season. It aired on November 25, 2011.

Official description
"Zygerrian slavers are behind the sudden disappearance of an entire colony of people on the planet Kiros. As Anakin and Ahsoka rush to defuse a series of bombs planted by the slavers, Obi-Wan must fight with their imposing leader."

Synopsis
In the face of the imminent Separatist invasion, the Togrutan governor of Kiros decides to negotiate with Count Dooku for the welfare of his people, knowing that the assistance Yoda promises him will come too late anyway. Upon landing, Dooku hypocritically offers to transfer the Togruta into what he calls “a temporary safe haven” while his forces battle the Republic army on the planet.

Consequently, when the Republic forces under the command of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka Tano land on the surface of Kiros and explore the colony, they encounter none of the colonists. Instead, they are met by a unit of battle droids, whom they defeat easily, and penetrate the colony up to the governor’s tower, which serves as the headquarters of the Separatist occupation force’s commander, the Zygerrian Darts D'Nar. D’Nar asks for Kenobi to join him for surrender negotiations, an offer Anakin reacts very strongly to, remembering his own childhood in slavery on Tatooine. Obi-Wan sends him and Ahsoka to locate the missing colonists and, as Anakin asks Admiral Yularen to initiate a planetary bioscan, enlightens Ahsoka about his former apprentice’s painful past, a part of his life Anakin has kept secret from his own Padawan.

Unlike Obi-Wan’s highly set expectations, however, D’Nar has no intention of surrendering himself at all. Instead, he intends to take Obi-Wan captive using bombs he has planted throughout the colony and their threat against the Togrutans’ lives to try and ensure Obi-Wan’s compliance. By surreptitiously activating his wrist communicator, Obi-Wan manages to allow Anakin, Ahsoka and Cody to listen in on the conversation, and the two Jedi immediately depart on AT-RTs to find and disarm the bombs. With their usual snipping between each other, the two fight their way through the droid guards left in the city and deactivate the bombs one by one. However, the last two bombs are synchronized, rigged to go off if one of them is tampered with, and a couple of sniper droidekas give them a hard time implementing a simultaneous attempt. However, once they find out that particular model’s weakness, they are able to disarm the bombs just in time.

In the meantime, Obi-Wan exploits the ancient hatred of the Zygerrians against the Jedi to goad D’Nar into hand-to-hand combat, on terms that the loser surrenders unconditionally to the victor and to divert his attention from the disarming attempt. In order to stall time, Obi-Wan does not fight back, but when D’Nar finally learns that the Jedi have disabled his explosives, he decides to run for it, covering his escape with a bomb attached to the back of his tactical droid. Alerted by Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka arrive just in time to board D‘Nar’s escape ship, which is loaded with indigenous animals the Zygerrian intends to sale. They disable one of the ship’s engines, slowing the escape, and enter via the cargo bay, but in turn D‘Nar releases one of the larger beasts in his menagerie. While Anakin engages and eventually vanquishes it, Ahsoka sneaks to the bridge to switch off the damaged engine and captures D’Nar.

When Anakin furiously questions D’Nar about the colonists‘ whereabouts, D’Nar admits that his queen intends to use them as merchandise in a slave auction to resurrect the Zygerrians‘ ancient slavery tradition. After Yularen has confirmed that the colonists are nowhere on Kiros, the Jedi Council, suspecting Sith activity, tasks the three Jedi into finding the colonists before they meet a dreadful fate.

Cast

 * Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker and Togruta
 * Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano and Togruta
 * James Arnold Taylor as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Plo Koon
 * Nick Jameson as Darts D'Nar
 * Dee Bradley Baker as clone troopers and Togruta
 * Tom Kane as Yoda, Admiral Yularen and narrator
 * Matthew Wood as battle droids and tactical droid
 * Corey Burton as Count Dooku and Togruta
 * Ricardo Mamood Vega as Atai Molec

Behind the scenes
The episode is part of the television series' adaptation of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Slaves of the Republic comic arc.

When the Republic fleet enters orbit over the planet, it is composed of a Venator-class Star Destroyer containing Anakin and Obi-Wan, two smaller Arquitens-class light cruisers and a Consular-class cruiser (Charger c70 retrofit). However, the vessel that enters the planetary atmosphere is an Acclamator-class assault ship.