Skirmish aboard the Coronet/Legends

Around 22 BBY, Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker were sent to escort Duchess Satine Kryze and several senators to Coruscant so the Duchess could defend herself against the claims that she was in league with the Confederacy of Independent Systems. During the trip, the Duchess's ship, the Coronet, was attacked by the Death Watch, which was aided by the Confederacy. As clone troopers searched the ship for anything that might threaten the Duchess, they were attacked by numerous assassin probes and probe killers, which killed the clones Mixer and Redeye. Though the probes were eventually defeated, Skywalker and Kenobi had strong suspicions that there was a traitor aboard the ship. Kenobi used one of the probe killers to reveal the traitor, by presenting the probe to each of the four senators in turn. While the probe was hostile toward three of them, but remained calm around Tal Merrik, Kenobi revealed Merrik to be the traitor. Escaping Kenobi's attempted arrest, Merrik contacted Pre Vizsla via hologram. Vizsla sent three Droch-class boarding ships filled with B2 super battle droids to attack the Coronet so Merrik could escape with Kryze as his hostage. Skywalker, the clone troopers, and Satine's guard held off the droids, while Kenobi pursued Merrik through the ship. After defeating the droids, Skywalker killed Merrik, who had threatened to destroy the ship and everyone aboard.

Prelude


Around 22 BBY, during the Clone Wars, rumors began spreading that Duchess Satine Kryze, the leader of the Council of Neutral Systems, was in league with the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi was sent to Mandalore to ascertain the truth. An assassination attempt against the Duchess on Mandalore led Kenobi and Kryze to Concordia, Mandalore's moon. There, Kenobi investigated the Death Watch hideout, and uncovered a plot by Pre Vizsla, the Governor of Concordia (and secretly the leader of the Death Watch), to overthrow the Duchess and enter the war on the side of the Confederacy. After Kenobi and Kryze narrowly escaped a confrontation with Vizsla and other members of the Death Watch, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and several clone troopers, including CC-2224, CC-7567,&mdash;nicknamed "Cody" and "Rex" respectively&mdash;"Mixer," and "Redeye," were sent to Mandalore to help Kenobi escort the Duchess to Coruscant, where she could defend herself in the Senate.

The probes
Aboard the Duchess's ship, the Coronet, the clone troopers were ordered to search for any sign of suspicious activity. As they scoured the dark rooms of the cargo hold, clone trooper Redeye was attacked by an assassin probe. The clone, Mixer, became suspicious when he tried to contact his comrade via comlink, and received no response. However, before he could act on his suspicions, he, too was attacked.

Astromech droid R2-D2 also searched the ship with his sensors, which told him something was amiss. In response to R2's worry and the disappearance of two clone troopers, Captain Rex contacted Skywalker and Kenobi via comlink and explained the situation. Skywalker joined the clones to help in their search. They discovered a cargo crate with the cover open and the contents missing.

As Skywalker and the clones continued to search the area, Skywalker noticed Redeye walking toward him. However, Redeye wasn't answering Skywalker's questions. When Skywalker noticed the assassin probe behind the clone, he ignited his lightsaber. The droid tossed the corpse of the clone at Skywalker, though, the Jedi managed to dodge the attack. In retaliation against the droid, Skywalker severed some of the droid's legs, before the clones finished it off with their rifles.

However, Skywalker noticed another probe making its way toward the turbolift. He warned Kenobi via comlink, though, Kenobi was dining with the Duchess and the senators. Satine's guards attempted to close the lift before the droid entered the room, but the probe managed to enter the room and repel the guards' attempt of stopping the droid. The probe assassin leaped onto the dinner table, though, Kenobi ignited his lightsaber and severed two of the droid's legs before stabbing it, which destroyed it.

Skywalker suspected there might be one probe left in the cargo room, and ordered the clones to search for it. When Commander Cody noticed that the destroyed assassin droid behind Skywalker was releasing several probe killers from its innards, he warned the Jedi. Utilizing their weapons, Skywalker and the clones began to fight the probe killers off, while R2-D2 used his droid shock arm against the probes.

The defunct droid in the dining area also released probe killers. Kryze, armed with a droid deactivator, helped Kenobi fight the droids. Soon most of the probes in both areas were destroyed, but Skywalker and Kenobi both knew there was a traitor aboard the ship.

Merrik's betrayal
Skywalker retrieved the ship's cargo manifest from a protocol droid to discover how the probes had gotten aboard the ship. Unfortunately, the manifest did not give a name, but it did have a Senate stamp, which meant that one of the four senators aboard the ship were responsible for the probes.

Kenobi discovered one of the smaller probe killers left alive, and used it to discover the identity of the traitor. The probe appeared hostile toward three of the senators, but remained calm when it was near Tal Merrik. Before Kenobi could arrest him, Merrik knocked the probe out of Obi-Wan's hand. In the confusion that followed, Merrik took Duchess Kryze by the throat and held a blaster pistol to her head. He fled the scene as Kenobi destroyed the probe, which was attacking Senator Onaconda Farr.

Meanwhile, Skywalker and the clones continued to search the cargo hold for any remaining probes. A probe killer attacked Cody and Rex, but it was destroyed by Artoo's shock arm. Then, the last of the larger assassin probes appeared and lunged at Rex. It landed on top of the clone, who held its razor-sharp arms away from him and managed to kick it toward the wall. Skywalker threw his lightsaber at the droid, which fell to the ground before Rex climbed atop it and fired his blaster pistols into the droid's head, destroying the droid and the killer probes inside it.

Merrik, with Kryze as his hostage, reached the Coronet's bridge. He killed the crew and pulled the ship out of hyperspace. He contacted Pre Vizsla via hologram, and Vizsla sent three boarding ships filled with B2 super battle droids toward the ship. As the droids attacked, Skywalker, the clones, and Satine's guards rushed to meet them, while Kenobi went to find Merrik and Kryze.

Kenobi found Merrik on the bridge and attempted to arrest him; however, Merrik had in his hand a remote which was set to detonate the explosives Merrik had wired to the engines. He warned Kenobi to stay back, or he would push the button and everyone aboard the ship would die. Kryze begged Kenobi to stand his ground; she would rather be captured than see everyone aboard killed. Kenobi followed at a distance as Merrik made his way to one of the boarding craft.

Elsewhere, the battle with the super battle droids was drawing to an end. The clones and Satine's guards managed to kill all but the last three, which Skywalker Force pushed against the wall. He then set off to find Kenobi.

Merrik reached the boarding crafts, but before he could escape with Kryze, the Duchess stepped on his foot and was able to retrieve his blaster, which she pointed at his head. Merrik, knowing that Kryze's pacifist views would prevent her from pulling the trigger, promised he would blow the ship up once he was away. He taunted Kenobi, who he said could not kill him for fear of what Kryze might think. But before Merrik could make his escape, Skywalker arrived and ignited his lightsaber through the Senator's back, instantly killing him.

Aftermath
The Coronet finally reached Coruscant in one piece. The ship's passengers were greeted by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, who praised the Jedi for their bravery. Once on Coruscant, several more assassination attempts were made against the Duchess. In a session of Congress, the Senate was shown a hologram of Jerec, who asked for assistance from the Galactic Republic in the fight against the Death Watch. Persuaded by Jerec's plea, the Senate voted to occupy the Mandalore system, much to Kryze's dismay. However, Kryze, with the help of Kenobi and Davu Golec, was able to prove that the hologram had been doctored, and the Senate rescinded their vote.

Behind the scenes
This skirmish first appeared in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series episode "Voyage of Temptation," the thirteenth episode of the second season of the series, which aired on Cartoon Network on February 5, 2010. While "Voyage of Temptation" is the second episode of the Mandalorian story arc, it was the first to be produced."