Confederacy of Independent Systems

The Confederacy of Independent Systems, also known as the Separatist Alliance and simply as the Separatists, was a government in the Outer Rim and separatist movement that stood opposed to the Galactic Republic. Refusing to comply with its excessive taxation and corruption in the Senate in the wake of the Naboo Crisis, various planetary and sectorial governments, as well as some mega-corporations, declared intentions to leave the Republic during the the Secessionist Movement.

Eventually, tensions between it and the Republic developed into war after Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Padmé Amidala were sentenced to execution on Geonosis and a group of Jedi led by Mace Windu attempted to rescue them. After the Republic revealed its clone army on Geonosis, the Separatists were forced to retreat, beginning a great war that would last for three years and tear the galaxy apart.

Background
Darth Sidious orchestrated the invasion of Naboo by the Trade Federation. This was to create a crisis in the Senate. Sidious used this to manipulate the then–Queen of the Naboo, Amidala, into calling a Vote of No Confidence against sitting Chancellor Finis Valorum. The vote passed, and in the subsequent election, Sidious&mdash;in his public persona of Palpatine was elected the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic.

Secessionist Movement
"As I explained to you earlier, I am quite convinced that ten thousand more systems will rally to our cause, with your support, gentlemen."

- Dooku, to the Separatist Council

As the exacerbating political tensions between the Core and Outer Rim systems in the Republic rose as a result of the Invasion of Naboo by the Trade Federation. This made some fear that it would gradually increase to the point where a galactic war was imminent.

Republic had grown so huge and corrupt that any attempt at change required radical thinking and extreme actions. Outlying systems that saw no benefit from being part of the Republic despite paying heavy taxes, began to rebel. This undercurrent of disgust towards Coruscant was seized by a charismatic leader under the guidance of the Sith by the Sith Lord Darth Tyranus, better known as Count Dooku. The former Jedi rallied together these worlds into a Separatist movement that saw the departure of thousands of systems from the Republic. When Dooku's alliance was secretly backed by corporate titans that offered their unlimited droid armies to the cause, the Separatists emerged as a major threat to the Republic. Rebellious activities began in outlying Republic star systems that no longer supported the Republic during the Secessionist Movement.

The new Confedaracy began to seek to create a southern Separatist sphere of influence. By bringing Yag'Dhul and Sluis Van to his side, Dooku needed to persuade the now prosperous world of Eriadu to join the Separatists, so he commandeered a HoloNet station in the Raxus system and denounced the Galactic Republic.

On the moon of Antar 4, there was a schism between pro-Galactic Republic loyalists and those who wished to align with the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The loyalists were able to retain power until after the Battle of Geonosis, the first conflict of the Clone Wars, before the moon fell to the Separatists.

The Separatist Crisis reached a heightened point as more systems pledged loyalty to Count Dooku and the Confederacy of Independent Systems and a plot to assassinate Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo was set. Amidala, who was a leading proponent of the Military Creation Act that proposed the creation of an army for the Galactic Republic, was targeted when she arrived on Coruscant for a vote on the measure. The failed attempts were carried out by bounty hunters, Zam Wesell and Jango Fett, who were hired by the Separatists.

Shortly after this, Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi went on a mission to the aquatic world of Kamino to investigate who was involved in the plot to assassinate Senator Padmé Amidala. Obi-Wan tried to arrest Jango Fett but failed to do so. Instead, the Jedi Knight tracked him to dogfight over Geonosis. Soon after he landed on Geonosis, Obi-Wan Kenobi was captured and held prisoner after finding out that the Confederacy was forming an army to undermine the Republic. Before he was imprisoned by Count Dooku, he sent a message to the Jedi Council. At Amidala's request, Skywalker attempted to rescue Kenobi, only for both of them to be captured themselves and put in the arena along with Kenobi.

Battle at the Petranaki arena
During the attempted execution of Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker and Senator Padmé Amidala at the Petranaki arena. A team of 200 Jedi was sent to the arena to rescue the trio, but were attacked by a horde of battle droids. Jango Fett was killed while trying to fight Jedi Master Mace Windu. When almost all of the Jedi were killed, Dooku gave the remaining ones a choice to lay down their arms but they declined and were about to carry on fighting when they were rescued by the newly-formed Grand Army of the Republic, starting the deadly Clone Wars.

Clone Wars
"I have good news for you, my Lord. The war has begun." "Excellent. Everything is going as planned."

- Darth Tyranus and Darth Sidious

Geonosis to Ryloth
"&laquo;The Jedi must not find our designs for the Ultimate Weapon. If they find out what we are planning to build, we're doomed.&raquo;''" "''I will take the designs with me to Coruscant. They will be much safer there&hellip;with my Master."

- Poggle the Lesser and Count Dooku

The arrival of the clones sparked the full-scale battle on Geonosis, with losses on both sides. Poggle ordered his soldiers to retreat and hide, but before he joined them, he turned over plans to the Ultimate Weapon &mdash; a secret project he had been contracted to build by the Separatists &mdash; to Count Dooku. As the battle raged on, Kenobi and Skywalker engaged and were defeated by Dooku in a lightsaber duel before being rescued by Grand Master Yoda. Dooku escaped Geonosis and the Separatists retreated, but the goal of the Sith had been fulfilled; the beginning of the Clone Wars.

Dooku then went to Coruscant, where he met his master in the Works. He informed Sidious that the War had begun, as he had planned. Dooku and his master then recruited the cyborg General Grievous to lead the droid army. At the same time, the Separatists seized control of the major hyperspace lanes following Geonosis, separating the Republic from its army. Ventress, Dooku apprentice, was sent to assist in the General Whorm Loathsom during the battle on Christophsis, which at first the Separatist were making gains, but the Republic would end up winning the battle after further reinforcements were dispatched to the planet.

On Teth, Republic forces attempted to save Rotta - the infant son of crime lord Jabba the Hutt - from the Confederacy, who planned to kill the Huttlet and put the whole blame on the Jedi Order. Their aim was to bring the Hutt Clan onto the side of the Separatists in order to access their hyperlanes. However, Jedi General Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, were able to rescue the Huttlet from Teth and took him to Tatooine.

Upon the annihilation of the Republic garrison, Ryloth had been completely occupied by the the Separatist Droid Army and Emir Wat Tambor oversaw the occupation from the city of Lessu. He sent his forces to pillage, ravage and rob the Twi'leks' villages and cities of anything valuable.

The Confedaracy used the Malevolence superweapon; which gave them the upper hand against the Republic Navy. This led to encouters over Ryndellia system, Kaliida Nebula and nearby where its destruction was finally done by the Jedi Order at the hands of Jedi General Anakin Skywalker.

Before the blockade of Pantora
Malastare was a planet that was a strategic target to the Separatists, as the Republic was also interested in these natural resources. In order to gain the fuel supply-line of the Republic and prevent Malastare from joining the Separatists, they wished to sign a treaty with the Malastare. A T-series tactical droid led the Separatists invasion force, which had almost captured Malastare. In an attempt to turn the flow of the invasion, a Republic superweapon was authorized called the electro-proton bomb, which could release an electromagnetic wave capable of disabling droids and vehicles within an explosive radius. Several Y-wing bombers and ARC-170 starfighters escorted by V-19 Torrent starfighters took off. They maneuvered over the target area and dropped the bomb, in which the ensuing explosion and electromagnetic pulse damaged and deactivated the droid army, along with several Republic vehicles.

The Galactic Republic launched a major planetary invasion of Geonosis to shut down Separatist battle droid foundries that Archduke Poggle the Lesser had built there. After their discovery on Cato Neimodia, The Republic dispatched a massive detachment of Clones to retake Geonosis and stop the production of battle droids. After establishing a landing zone at Point Rain near the factories, the Republic disabled the factories' ray shield, making way for the rest of the clone troopers to safely land.

As Poggle attempted to retake Point Rain, the main droid foundry was targeted by the Jedi, who battled the droid defenses while others sneaked into the facility via the catacombs beneath it to blow up the facility reactor. They managed to collapse the factory from the inside. Despite the Republic's destruction of other key factories, Poggle remained at large, having escaped his key foundry before its eradication and the crushing defeat for the Separatists.

The Separatists led by General Grievous and Asajj Ventress launched a daring campaign in the hope of capturing Kamino in order to eliminate the cloning facilities in Tipoca City&mdash; which would mean depriving the Republic from creating more clone troopers for their army and turning the tide of the war in the Separatists favour. However, they were repelled and driven off Kamino by the Jedi and Republic, despite heavy losses.

The Trade Federation had set up a blockade above the moon Pantora in the Pantora system in an attempt to make them join the Separatist Alliance. As part of the conspiracy to increase pressure, the daughters of the Pantoran Chairman Papanoida were kidnapped who however able to rescue both daughters and uncover the conspiracy; forcing the Trade Federation to lift the blockade.

Confederate–Republic peace initiative
"Your Republic forces have carried out a barbaric attack on our people! And among the deaths was the very sponsor of the peace accord, Senator Mina Bonteri. With her needless death, I must formally withdraw the proposal for peace offered by our Senate."

- Count Dooku

A peace initiative was created and approved by the Separatist Congress. The motion for a diplomatic end to the war was presented to the Galactic Senate of the Republic who convened an emergency debate to the discuss the true cost of the war. However, in light of a recent Confederate terrorist attack and the Canon/assassination of Separatist Senator Mina Bonteri, talks would fall apart after senators like Bail Organa, Padmé Amidale and Mon Mothma opposed these views, with Amidala stating that moral responsibility of the war also had to be considered. This triggered accusations of betrayal leading for talks to be halted

Before the Battle of Mon Cala
"Master, I need your help quickly. I am surrounded.''" "You have already lost the battle, child. I've ordered your reinforcements to return." "No! I will destroy the Jedi. I'll show you!" "''You have failed me for the last time. You are no longer my apprentice. And now, you shall die."

- Asajj Ventress is betrayed by Count Dooku during the Battle of Sullust

The fleet began a major space battle against a Republic flotilla, with Ventress personally leading the Separatists against the Republic.

However, the state of the battle would change when Dooku was charged by Darth Sidious with killing Ventress to prove his true allegiance to his Master. Dooku ordered an attempt on his apprentice's life. After recalling Ventress's reinforcements, Dooku had her units directly assaulted and destroyed her Separatist command ship. With the Confederate fleet sustaining heavy damage, Dooku ordered the recall of their armada from the Sullust.

Attack on Mahranee
"I've been monitoring your transmissions, General, and I know that this little chat is being sent to the Jedi Council. So let me make one thing perfectly clear. As long as the Republic resists me, 'innocents' will continue to die. Every death in this war lies firmly at the feet of the Jedi. And now&hellip; it is time for you and your passengers to join the ranks of the fallen."

- Dooku, to Chubor

This was a mass genocide of refugees who were escaping from their homeworld of Mahran who targeted it vast resources Mahahran people beg for help to the Jedi Order for aid. Jedi General Chubor brought a Galactic Republic task force of clone troopers but they were too late to prevent Confederate forces from laying total waste to the planet capital city. The Separatists did not wish to leave any survivors or witnesses, Count Dooku outright blamed the Jedi Order for the massacre. Forceing the Jedi Council to lead an operation finally to assassinate Dooku. While refugees alongside the Jedi and clone soldiers fell slient in one of the most dearly actions in the Clone Wars.

Defeating the Shadow Collective
"Maul! Your end is at hand!"

- General Grievous, as the attack began

Darth Sidious brought Maul to the Spire, a prison fortress controlled by the Confederacy of Independent Systems on Stygeon Prime. It was there that Sidious briefly interrogated Maul, and told Count Dooku to find out information about who and where the Shadow Collective leaders were. The goal was to make Maul believe that the Sith wanted to destroy the Shadow Collective, so he would seek out Mother Talzin. Meanwhile, Sidious was followed to Stygeon Prime by two Death Watch warriors, Rook Kast and Gar Saxon, under orders from Mandalore's Prime Minister, Almec to free Maul from the Spire.

After being freed, Maul was tracked to Zanbar by General Grievous along with a Separatist fleet. Dooku ordered Grievous not to kill Maul, simply to defeat and break his forces enough that Maul would seek out Mother Talzin's help. Grievous launched his forces towards the surface, and Maul's troops immediately began firing anti-aircraft weaponry at them. The heavy fire was not enough to repel the ships, however, so the Separatists pressed their attack and deployed all of their forces.

After the Shadow Collective lost on Zanbar, Maul attacked Dooku and Grievous over Ord Mantell which led to Maul make his way into orbit and boarded Grievous' command ship. Grievous disabled the battle droid army after Maul gave him the choice to do so or die, and the cyborg general was taken into custody. Dooku, meanwhile, had engaged and defeated the Nightbrothers in battle, before being captured by Shadow Collective forces.

Sidious and Grievous arrived to confront Maul and Talzin on Dathomir after finding out where Dooku was being held, the latter of whom had used her magick to take control of Dooku's body. This led to a lightsaber duel, in which Sidious quickly gained the upper hand against the Dooku-controlled Talzin. Talzin appeared in the flesh, returned to her physical form, and held off a Force lightning assault from Sidious and, eventually, Dooku. Talzin sacrificed her own life to allow Maul to escape, as Grievous fatally stabbed the Dathomir witch through the chest while Maul fled from Dathomir. The Separatists, meanwhile, also attacked Maul's Black Sun and Pyke Syndicate allies, leading the mercenaries to end their alliance with Maul; destroying the Shadow Collective.

Final actions
"The end of the war is near General"

- Darth Sidious to General Grievous

Towards the end of the Clone War the Jedi Council decided to assassinate Count Dooku to hasten the end of the war. It sent Quinlan Vos under the guise of a bounty hunter to recruit Ventress, who previously came close to killing Dooku and knew much about him, to aid him in the assassination. Their first attempt on Dooku ended in failure with Vos being captured. With a final plan to assassinate him during the Second battle of Christophsis ending in the death of his formal apprentice Asajj Ventress.

Meanwhile the Republic began laying sieges to many on ths Separatist strongholds in the Outer Rim Territories with battles on Cato Neimoidia, Mygeeto, Saleucami, Felucia, and Kaller.

The Separarists led by Count Dooku who had got way from the Jedi on Christophsis, launched an attack in the Core Worlds on the capital of the Galactic Republic on Coruscant with both the Republic fleets and Confederate fleets fighting over the planet. Where Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine was kidnapped by General Grievous, however two Jedi Knights were sent to rescue him on board the Invisible Hand. Once onboard and reaching the higher deck, Tyranus laid in wait and duelled the Jedi Knights, with Skywalker managing to struck down Darth Tyranus during the process at the request of Darth Sidious. After trying to escape, the Chancellor, Jedi, and R2-D2 were captured by Grievous, leading to a second duel. However, Grievous got away and escaped with the Separatist fleet withdrawing, leading the deadly war to carrying on.

Grievous fled to Utapau after the lose of Count Dooku where he hid till Clone Intelligence found his location, which led the Jedi Order to send Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi to investigate who confirm if there was a Separatist presence. While Darth Sidious ordered Grievous to send the Separatist Council to the Mustafar system, supposedly to keep them safe from the Republic who was informing the Council of the arrangements as Kenobi overheard secretly.

Meanwhile, hoping to turn the tide of the war, the Separatists mounted an attack on Kashyyyk. This was due to its status as a major navigational point which was of prime strategic importance to the Republic.

Back on Utapau, Obi Wan confronted Grievous after discovering his presence and shortly after a duel started between the two began. Clones troopers begin the fight for Utapau. Which would lead to the death of Grievous and warrant a final blow to the Separatist Alliance.

Fall of the Confedaracy
"The Separatists have been taken care of, my master.''" "''It is finished, then. You have restored peace and justice to the galaxy."

- Darth Vader and Darth Sidious

Massacre on Mustafar
"The plan has gone as you had promised, my Lord.''" "''You have done well, Viceroy. When my new apprentice, Darth Vader, arrives, he will take care of you."

- Nute Gunray and Darth Sidious

The Separatist Alliance had been defeated by the Republic just as Darth Sidious had intended; with it final loses on Kashyyyk and the Outer Rim Territories during the Sieges and the death of General Grievous ending the fighting shortly after. With Separatist still in control of it assets and reminding worlds, the Chancellor of the Republic sent his new enforcer to the deal with the last threat to his vision.

In the final act of the Sith plan; the Separatist leadership was murdered by the Sith Lord Darth Vader within their bunker within the complex on Mustafar, with Nute Gunray the last to fall, officially ending the Separatist cause and with Vader received the order to end the Clone Wars by sending a shutdown signal to the entire droid army and navy, to protect them, the remaining Separatist planets were forced to surrender to the Empire and live under Imperial rule. Which was all a pretext to amassing complete central authority over the Republic, so it could be transformed into the Frist Galactic Empire.

Subjection of Separatist worlds
"As Governor Tarkin can attest, our navy was still chasing Separatist holdouts as late as a year ago."

- Rancit, to Tarkin

After the fall of the Confederate leadership on Mustafar and the destruction of the complex during a duel after. The fledgling Empire rooted out remaining Separatist holdouts for at least four years after the Clone Wars, while criminal organizations composed of re-purposed battle droids such as the Droid Gotra operated in Coruscant's underground.

Seeking to make examples of worlds who continued to harbor secessionist tendencies,worlds like Kooriva, Murkhana and Raxus, which still hosted ex-Separatists, became a target of the Empire, with one year after the end of the Clone Wars then Moff Wilhuff Tarkin was assigned to make an example of Antar 4, a populous moon that had been a part of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Wanting to make examples of worlds who continued to harbor secessionist tendencies. Imperial forces however made no attempt to sort the Separatists from Imperial loyalists when they carried out mass arrests, executions, and massacres. This served to compel Raxus and other worlds to surrender all former Separatists to Imperial custody, or else suffer a similar demise to that of Antar 4.

The Empire would later see to the near-extermination of all life on Geonosis, a major formal Separatist world, by wipeing out most of the entire population of Geonosians using bombs and other foreign weapons.

Legacy
In the time of the Galactic Empire, it used the memory of the war to maintain order, telling the galaxy that it was the rebellious Separatists that caused the destructive Clone Wars. The term "Separatist" was used to refer generally to those still involved in forming rebellion. Separatist military equipment and technology that survived the Clone Wars continued to be in use by varying resistances and pirates that managed to obtain them for their own purpose, with some being reused and modified extensively by the Alliance to Restore the Republic, such as the IG-227 Hailfire-class droid tank and Armored Assault Tank during the Galactic Civil War.

Soon after the Empire's formation, Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader observed the construction of the Death Star, which had begun construction sometime during the Clone Wars by the Confederacy, having partially completed a framework by the time the war came to an end. With the Separatists defeated and their leaders killed, the Ultimate Weapon project was appropriated by the nascent Galactic Empire, who planned to use it to control the galaxy. 19 years later the Death Star was used to destroy the planet Alderaan, killing millions of people living there.

Military
"Our friends from the Trade Federation have pledged their support. And when their battle droids are combined with yours, we shall have an army greater than any in the galaxy. The Jedi will be overwhelmed. The Republic will agree to any demands we make."

- Count Dooku

The various commercial entities who joined under the banner of the Confederacy pledged their forces to the Separatist Army, creating one sprawling group of droids as well as organic forces, and local warriors. And was often referred to as the Droid Army. These ranged from the Trade Federation's battle droids to the security forces maintained by the Commerce Guild, InterGalactic Banking Clan and Corporate Alliance.

One of the largest contributions was by the Techno Union, which donated not only its new B2 super battle droids, but numerous foundries capable of producing thousands more droids for the Confederacy.

It also deployed much larger weapons of war during the Clone Wars. Commerce Guild OG-9 homing spider droids were a common sight on many frontlines, and tank droids, droid subfighters, and AATs provided heavy firepower.