Battle of Cato Neimoidia

For other uses, see Battle of Cato Neimoidia (disambiguation).

Battle of Cato Neimoidia

Combatants
Galactic Republic	Confederacy of Independent Systems Trade Federation

Commanders
High General Obi-Wan Kenobi General Anakin Skywalker General Kit Fisto Commander Jan Dodonna Marshal Commander CC-2224^[1] Commander CT-65/91-6210 Captain CT-7567^[2]	Viceroy Nute Gunray Lieutenant Sentepeth Findos

Strength
5 Jedi Clone troopers Third Systems Army 442nd Siege Battalion Squad Seven Gunboats LAAT/i gunships Self-Propelled Heavy Artillery walkers Numerous starfighters 3 Venator-class Star Destroyers LAAT gunships	B1 battle droids B2 super battle droids Droidekas NR-N99 Persuader-class droid enforcers Single Trooper Aerial Platforms Neimoidian tanks Neimoidian Home Defense Legionnaires Lucrehulk-class battleships

Casualties
2 Jedi^[3] Numerous clone divisions Numerous LAAT gunships

"All right. But you owe me one, and not for saving your skin for the tenth time."
"Ninth time. That business on Cato Neimoidia doesn't… doesn't count."

―Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi^[src]

The Battle of Cato Neimoidia, also known as the siege of Cato Neimoidia, was an attempt by the Galactic Republic to capture Nute Gunray, Viceroy of the Trade Federation and a prominent member of the Separatist Council, during the Clone Wars.

PreludeEdit

With a large Republic counterattack against the Core World gains made in Operation Durge's Lance, General Grievous had ordered all members of the Council to retreat to a rendezvous point in the Outer Rim Territories. Gunray, however, fled to the purse world, Cato Neimoidia, with a battle group of Federation warships, intending to loot his personal citadel before it fell to the Republic onslaught. Republic Intelligence obtained information as to his whereabouts, and a task force led by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker was pulled from the Outer Rim Sieges and sent to wait in ambush.

The battleEdit

"Send more droids against the Jedi Knight! Their bodies are making a pile so high that he will never be able to cross it!"

―Sentepeth Findos, desperately trying to stop Kit Fisto^[src]

A trio of Venator-class Star Destroyers commanded by Jan Dodonna engaged the Trade Federation armada in the upper atmosphere and provided air support, while the two Jedi led their army of clone troopers in an assault on the citadel, where Gunray and the Trade Federation elite were trapped. The battle raged throughout the skies of the planet’s western hemisphere, and on the peninsula upon which the viceroy’s tiered stronghold—the inspiration for the command towers of the Trade Federation Core Ships—was located.

After an initial aerial bombardment, the main clone force attacked from the northeast shore and hammered the citadel´s energy shields, but took heavy fire from turbolaser cannons in the lower ramparts. Generals Kenobi and Skywalker led a smaller force of clones through an orchard of Manax trees outside the fort, and with the help of Commander Cody and the elite Squad Seven infiltrated the fungus farms located underneath the structure. From there the Jedi accessed the upper levels and began pursuing Gunray and his entourage as they tried to reach their shuttle.

During the mission, some complications arose where Kenobi, having left his rebreathator with Skywalker earlier, accidentially inhaled a box of hallucinogenic spores that he unintentionally released from a container when deflecting blaster bolts from various droids, which affected his mental state. Cody then tried to contact Skywalker for assistance, initially confusing the latter because Kenobi and Cody's force was larger than his own and thus wouldn't have needed assistance until he realized he still had Obi-Wan's rebreathator on him and proceeded to rush towards their location. He then noticed that Kenobi was stumbling over himself from the effects of the spores, causing Skywalker to jokingly state that Kenobi created a new lightsaber form of combat. However, at the same time, it also allowed Obi-Wan to exercise his inner potential, with Skywalker being informed that Kenobi managed to wipe out fifty droids in this state, and later saving Skywalker from Gunray's Mechno-chair. Although the Neimoidian leader managed to escape, the battle still raged on in some parts of the planet.

AftermathEdit

"What was the source of the transmission?"
"Deep in the Outer Rim. Six clone pilots pursued a core ship that jumped to the sector following the Battle of Cato Neimoidia. None returned."

―Mace Windu and Dyne^[src]

Although Gunray just managed to escape, Cato Neimoidia—one of the last Separatist strongholds within the Colonies—was captured. More importantly, Republic forces captured Gunray's mechno-chair containing a message from Darth Sidious, which thus linked the Dark Lord of the Sith to the Confederacy, as well as the communication codes that the Separatist Council used to communicate with him and each other.^[4]

Skywalker and Kenobi, along with their forces, were withdrawn for use in the Outer Rim to hunt down the makers of the mechno-chair in order to track down Darth Sidious, although they ended up sidetracked due to Chancellor Palpatine's abduction by General Grievous. Obi-Wan also preferred to not count this battle as one of the times Anakin rescued him, which he reminded him after rescuing the Chancellor.

Despite the Republic victory on Cato Neimoidia, the Separatist forces were not defeated and they continued to fight off the Republic troops. Jedi Masters Plo Koon and Ferroda were later sent to the planet to coordinate mopping-up operations against continued resistance, and were killed during Order 66.