The Citadel

"Adaptation is the key to survival."

- Moral

"The Citadel" is the eighteenth episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series' third season. It aired on February 18, 2011.

Official description
"With help from R2-D2 and a squad of captured battle droids, an elite team of Jedi and clone troopers led by Obi-Wan and Anakin attempt to free a captive Jedi general, Even Piell, from an impenetrable prison. Despite orders to the contrary, Ahsoka Tano tags along, though she proves indispensable when the infiltration mission begins to evolve. Piell and his fleet officer, Captain Tarkin, as liberated from their cells, but now the fugitives must escape the Citadel itself."

Plot summary
At the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Master Plo Koon briefs Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and their team on their mission: to infiltrate the "impenetrable" Citadel on the separtist planet Lola Sayu to free Master Even Piell before the droids force him to give up the location of the Nexus Route. Unfortunately, the information is from the Jedi Archives and no new information has been acquired since no probe can get through for surveilance. After the briefing, Anakin's padawan Ahsoka Tano is told by her master that she will not be coming since assignment will be dangerous, since the citadel was designed to hold jedi, not ordinary criminals. In the Temple's hangar, C-3PO is greeted by R2-D2 who is, much to threepio's surprise, being followed by Battle droids. Fortunately they have been reprogrammed to follow artoo's orders during this mission. Ahsoka talks to Master Plo, who tells that it's her master's choice on whether or not she can go, but insists that it must be her choice, too. Anakin, Obi-Wan and their teams then go to have themeselves frozen in carbonite to avoid life form sensor sweeps. After they are encased, they are then loaded unto the droid's ship and are then on their way to Citadel.

When the droid's ship reaches orbit above Lola Sayu, they are interrogated about their cargo by the Citadel's warden,Osi Sobeck, and his tactial droid, K2-B4. The droids say they are carrying supplies of frozen food. The ship is then scanned for lifeforms. They pass the test and then land in cavern near the citadel. The droids unload the frozen team and Artoo then has them all thawed out. When Anakin comes to, he is surprised to see Ahsoka here. She tells Obi-Wan and Anakin that Master Plo gave her permission after they were frozen to go with them. When Cody looks at the entrance they are going to go through, he finds that the wind is too strong for jet packs and Anakin points out that the cliff has mines on it that prevents ascension cables. So Rex states they must climb it to get up there. So Obi-Wan, Anakin, Ahsoka and the rest of the team climb it. When Obi-Wan gets to the top, three droid guards are there. Unfortunately, the droid guards activate shields at the doorway, much to the frustration of Anakin. Ahsoka then sees a vent she can get through. She is able to get through the vent and deactivate the shields. Meanwhile, K2-B4 tells Sobeck that the cargo-bearing ship never landed. Meanwhile Charger falls down the cliff and sets off a mine, alerting Sobeck that the Jedi have infiltrated the citadel. As Obi-wan and Anakin's team make their way through the hall, booby traps such as guns in the wall and electrocuted walls, are tripped when they destory the camera which leads to the death of another clone, Longshot. They then find and save Master Piell before the interrogator takes out his good eye. Obi-Wan then releases Piell and gives him his lightsaber back. Anakin then asks Piell about the Nexus Route. Piell tells him that before he erased it from his ship's memory, he and his fleet captain memorized half of it each as a precaution in case Piell cracked under interrogation so that the information would useless with out the other half.

So Anakin, Ahsoka, Obi-wan, Piell and the rest of the team then head down to the other cells, just before they are ambushed by commando droids. Sobeck then activates magnets on the ceiling which, along with Anakin, takes everyone's weapon except the commando droids. Obi-Wan, Piell and Ahsoka try using the Force, but the commando droids are magnetized. The rest team try to fight them with their bear hands to no avail. Fortunately, despite Sobeck electrocuting him, Anakin grabs his lighsaber and disables the magnets. When they get their weapons back, they are able to subdue the commando droids. The Jedi and their team then find Piell's officer, Capt. Wilhuff Tarkin and other officers. Obi-Wan and Anakin then decide to spilt up, in case. Obi-Wan, Cody and Piell will create a diversion while Anakin, Ahsoka, Rex, Tarkin and ARC troopers Echo and Fives escape. Capt. Tarkin is skeptic about this plan, since they are stronger together. Master Piell agrees with Kenobi, however, and so Obi-Wan's team sets off to create the diversion. Anakin then finds a place where he cuts a hole in the wall that leads into the caverns that were in the archives.

Cast

 * Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker
 * James Arnold Taylor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Plo Koon, and Osi Sobeck
 * Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano and K2-B4
 * Dee Bradley Baker as the clone troopers and torture droid
 * Blair Bess as Even Piell
 * Matthew Wood as the battle droids and commando droids
 * Stephen Stanton as Tarkin
 * Anthony Daniels as Threepio
 * Tom Kane as narrator