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"Anakin, I'm going to need some help."
"Where are you?"
"[…] I'm hit!"
―Obi-Wan Kenobi informs Anakin Skywalker that his ship has been damaged by Asajj Ventress's fanblade fighter[4]

The Ginivex-class fanblade starfighter, also known as the Ginivex series and the Geonosian fanblade starfighter, was a model of starfighter manufactured by Huppla Pasa Tisc Shipwrights Collective. It was flown by Sith apprentice and Separatist commander Asajj Ventress during the Clone Wars against the Galactic Republic. The ship was equipped with a solar sail, which granted it greater speed and shielding at the cost of allowing other ships' sensors to more easily detect the fighter.

Only six fanblade fighters were made for Ventress, one of which she flew during a mission to the planet Cato Neimoidia in 22 BBY. During the mission, Ventress left the starfighter hovering at the end of a sewage tunnel while she confronted the Jedi Anakin Skywalker and Mill Alibeth, eventually grabbing Alibeth and leaping a board the starfighter with her. Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi then damaged the vessel with his lightsaber, forcing Ventress to jump inside the sinking vessel as Skywalker saved Alibeth. In 20 BBY, Ventress encountered Skywalker again when she used a fanblade starfighter to unsuccessfully try and extract the treacherous Republic senator Zast Tri'vak from the MPO-1400 Purgill-class star cruiser Halcyon.

Ventress also used one of the starfighters in the Battle of Sullust in the same year. After destroying the Star Destroyer Resolute with her craft, Ventress engaged Kenobi and Skywalker, although she was forced to crash in the Separatist command ship's hangar. Despite her master, Count Dooku, turning on Ventress and ordering her remaining forces to destroy the flagship, Ventress escaped aboard her damaged fanblade fighter before the cruiser's destruction.

Characteristics[]

Design and equipment[]

Fanblade cockpit

The cockpit of a Ginivex-class fanblade starfighter

Manufactured by the Geonosian-run Huppla Pasa Tisc Shipwrights Collective and constructed on the[1] Outer Rim planet[6] Geonosis, the Ginivex-class fanblade starfighter[7]—alternatively known as the Ginivex-class fighter, the Ginivex series,[3] Geonosian fanblade starfighter[8] or fanblade fighter[2]—was a Confederacy of Independent Systems starfighter that was 13.05 meters[1] (42 feet, 11 inches) long,[2] 2.25 meters wide, 14.40 meters high with sail deployed,[3] and could reach 1,250 kilometers per hour (777 miles per hour).[2] It was equipped with life support systems, air scoop thrusters,[1] a class 1 hyperdrive, and a deflector shield generator.[2]

Based on Sith Lord and Confederate Head of State Count Dooku's Punworcca 116-class interstellar sloop, and thus easily recognizable,[3] the fanblade fighter's fuselage was gray in color with the cockpit situated at the front and encased in a glass dome, which was either left clear[4] or colored red,[9] that provided the pilot a wide field of vision. The hull of the fighter was small, as it was designed for a single occupant.[3] The glass of the cockpit was hinged to allow the pilot to exit[10] or enter the craft.[9] Within the cockpit was a single seat for the pilot as well as a number of screens used to display information on enemy starships. The fighter was flown with the use of a yoke, in the center of which was a targeting computer. The yoke could also display holographic transmissions, which were colored red.[4]

Crimson blade[]

Ginivex-profile

The Ginivex had a crimson red solar sail similar to shield projection technology.

The ship was equipped with a large, vertically aligned solar sail, which appeared as a translucent red semicircle and connected to a retractable boom,[1] which could be folded inward for when the craft was in flight or landing. The fanblade fighter was also equipped with a backup sail, which could be deployed in place of the primary one.[2] Engineers from Huppla Pasa Tisc Shipwrights Collective created an updated sail for Ventress' fighter after Dooku requested a solar sail for his personal vessel. Similar to deflector shield projection technology, the solar sail on the Ginivex-class formed a fan of energy that captured radiation from the surrounding area and redirected it to the starfighter's shield systems, weapons, and engines.[3]

Despite the sail having no impact on the starfighter's performance and its ability to be unaffected by most weapons, an ion weapon could force the solar sail to recharge and then redeploy. The sail had to be deactivated in atmospheric flight and before a hyperspace jump as a safety measure, since the structures that held the sail were not rugged enough. Differentiating it from other starfighters, and most starships, was the crimson solar sail fan that meant that the fighter could be easily spotted. Although it was obtrusive, the effect of the ebullient blade on opponents outweighed the starfighter's lack of stealth.[3] At each tip of the solar sail was a laser cannon, which would rotate to face forward when the sail was retracted.[2] The cannons could aim independently and in combination to cover a full range of 360 degrees. Their firepower was capable of piercing the hull of a Venator-class Star Destroyer.[3]

Role[]

A rare[1] and expensive ship,[6] the starfighter combat-capable[4] Ginivex-class fanblade fighter was incredibly fast thanks to its solar sail.[2] The sail, when deployed, would better spread the ship's deflector shield pattern,[1] thereby strengthening its shielding, although the resulting energy output made the starfighter more detectable by other vessels' sensors.[2] When flown by a Force-user, the fighter could perform turns and flips, which showcased the joint capability of the craft and its pilot.[1]

History[]

Mission to Cato Neimoidia[]

"Wait. Stay behind me. Something's not right. I think I've seen that ship before."
―Anakin Skywalker spots Ventress's fanblade starfighter[11]
Mission-to-Cato-Neimoidia-final

Asajj Ventress's Ginivex-class fanblade starfighter was damaged during a confrontation with Jedi Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi on Cato Neimoidia.

Only six Ginivex-class fanblade starfighters were constructed for Asajj Ventress,[2] a Force-sensitive Dathomirian loyal to the Sith who was apprenticed to Count Dooku.[5] A commander in the Confederacy of Independent Systems as well,[4] Ventress brought one of her fanblade fighters with her to the planet Cato Neimoidia during the Clone Wars[11] in 22 BBY,[12] while acting as a Separatist emissary in the investigation of the bombing of the Cadesura district of the city of Zarra.[11]

Ventress framed the Galactic Republic's emissary, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, for the bombing, and after he was rescued from the Neimoidian authorities by his allies Anakin Skywalker, Mill Alibeth, and R2-D2, she used the craft to cut off their attempt to escape Cato Neimoidia. Ventress positioned the fighter hovering above a great drop outside an outlet to one of Zarra's sewer tunnels, which Skywalker, Alibeth, and R2-D2 were moving through. After Skywalker sensed the starfighter, which he noted seemed familiar despite him at first being confused by the design, Ventress used one of its blaster cannons to collapse the duracrete tunnel exit. The Sith then confronted Skywalker in the darkened tunnel, but after the Jedi bested Ventress in a duel, she grabbed Alibeth and jumped through an opening Skywalker had made in the rubble at the tunnel exit.[11]

Landing on her craft with her captive caused the hovering vessel to dip slightly with the impact, sinking into the fog beneath it for a few moments before stabilizing. This was enough to distract Ventress, and Skywalker used the distraction to pull Alibeth from the Sith's grasp using the Force. Before he could pull her back safely to ground, Ventress stood atop the fanblade's cockpit and also began pulling on Alibeth with the Force, leaving the girl hovering in midair over a great drop between the ship and the sewer. Kenobi, who had arrived above the sewer, then threw his lightsaber down at the vital parts of the starfighter's hull, piercing it and causing a puff of smoke and then a short burst of flame to emerge from the craft. As key systems failed, the fanblade starfighter gradually began to descend, forcing Ventress to release Alibeth and let Skywalker pull her to safety. The Sith then scrambled inside the cockpit as the vessel gained more downward momentum, allowing the Jedi to escape and flee from Cato Neimoidia.[11]

Hunting an artifact[]

"I can feel its energy… Kashyyyk… no… it was there… but… yes… perhaps…"
―Asajj Ventress senses the presence of the artifact on Naboo[10]
HS5-Ventress-departs

After sensing the item she seeks is on Naboo, Asajj Ventress departs from the Moon of Staggec aboard one of her Ginivex-class fighters.

After she successfully captured Republic Command Center Outpost 716, Ventress was dispatched by Dooku to find a Jedi artifact, which he promised they could use to overthrow his own Sith Master, Darth Sidious. Pointed to the ruins of a Jedi Temple on the Moon of Staggec in the Outer Rim, Ventress arrived aboard one of her Ginivex-class fanblade starfighters and landed in a town outside of the temple. However, she found nothing within but traces of the object's presence in the Force. Returning to her fighter, she was ambushed by waiting Republic clone troopers, who had been informed of her location by Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine,[10] secretly Sidious himself.[6] Ventress quickly cut the clones down with her twin lightsabers.[10]

Ventress departed the moon aboard her Ginivex after sensing the artifact was on[10] the planet[11] Naboo in the Mid Rim Territories, where she journeyed aboard her Ginivex.[10] Ventress traveled to[10] the Naboo capital[6] of Theed, landing her starfighter slightly outside the city before venturing in. Within, she found Kenobi and Skywalker were present and attempted to grab a Wookiee doll from a Gungan child: Ventress sensed the artifact was within the doll,[10] where it had been hidden by the Wookiee Senator Yarua.[13] After escaping Skywalker and Kenobi, Ventress decided against stealing the doll from the child upon realizing Dooku did not truly value her. Ventress thus departed Naboo aboard her starfighter and used it to return to Dooku's solar sailer, where she claimed she had failed to find the artifact, much to Dooku's anger.[10]

Halcyon escape[]

"Is that the proximity alarm I hear?"
"Er… it was nothing, sir. Just a glitch."
"Okay. Carry on."
―The crew of the Halcyon dismiss the arrival of Ventress in her fanblade starfighter[9]
VentressSpaceJump-Halcyon3

Asajj Ventress leapt from the Halcyon into the cockpit of her fanblade starfighter.

In 20 BBY,[14] Ventress used a fanblade starfighter to board the Halcyon, an MPO-1400 Purgill-class star cruiser operated by the Hutts, while trying to extract the treacherous Republic Senator Zast Tri'vak. The cruiser's proximity alarm sounded when she entered its hangar, but it was dismissed as a glitch; however, Skywalker, who was on board with Senator Padmé Amidala to keep an eye on Tri'vak, sensed her arrival. The pair ended up dueling once again, but Tri'vak ultimately offered to betray both the Republic and the Separatists to the Hutts, causing Ventress to kill him.[9]

Having remotely activated the fanblade starfighter to open its cockpit hatch and leave the Halcyon's hangar, Ventress then used her lightsabers to shatter one of the Halcyon's viewports and leap into the vacuum of space, where her starfighter was waiting for her. As Skywalker sealed the breach, Ventress escaped in her fighter.[9]

Battle of Sullust[]

"I've got her."
―Anakin Skywalker prepares to fire at Asajj Ventress's fanblade fighter during the Battle of Sullust[4]

In the same year,[15] Ventress flew one of her fanblade fighters,[4] the Banshee,[16] against the Republic during the Battle of Sullust. With the aid of two groups of droid tri-fighters from her fleet, Ventress took aim at[4] Skywalker's flagship, the Resolute,[2] dealing substantial damage to the Star Destroyer's bridge[4] and resulting in the cruiser's destruction.[17]

BattleOfSullust-VentressAttack

Asajj Ventress pilots one of her fanblade fighters during the Battle of Sullust.

Ventress and her tri-fighters then targeted Kenobi and Skywalker themselves, both of whom were piloting their Jedi starfighters. After the Dathomirian damaged Kenobi's craft with her fanblade fighter's lower laser cannon, the two Jedi split up, leaving Skywalker to contend with the droid starfighters while Ventress gave chase to Kenobi. As the Jedi Master approached the Separatist flagship, Ventress scored a second shot on Kenobi's ship, forcing him to head for the command ship's main hangar in order to land. Ventress stayed on Kenobi's tail, but she was intercepted by Skywalker, who damaged the hull of the Banshee and forced her to crash in the hangar.[4]

Ventress betrayed[]

"You have failed me for the last time. You are no longer my apprentice. And now, you shall die."
―Dooku, speaking through a hologram projected by the fanblade fighter's communication systems[4]
Fanblade-wreck Raider

The Raider retrieves the wreckage of Asajj Ventress's fanblade fighter.

With her ship aslant in the hangar with a disabled solar sail, Ventress communicated with Dooku via hologram in the fighter's cockpit, requesting the Count's assistance. Dooku, however, informed her that she had failed him and was no longer his apprentice. Embittered, Ventress emerged from the cockpit and briefly dueled Kenobi and Skywalker as Dooku ordered the remaining Separatist forces to destroy the flagship. After a Hyena-class Droid Bomber crashed into the hangar and exploded, Kenobi, Skywalker, and Ventress each returned to their own craft and narrowly escaped before the command ship's total destruction.[4]

Following the battle, Ventress was found adrift and unconscious aboard her fanblade fighter[4]—sustained by its life support systems[1]—by a crew of scavengers, who brought the ship aboard their salvage freighter,[4] the Raider.[18] Her fighter's resilience was the cause for Ventress' survival.[3] After placing the fighter in the freighter's hold, the crew removed the cockpit dome and revitalized Ventress, who used the Force to strangle them soon after. With her fanblade fighter still aboard, Ventress took control of the Raider and piloted it to[4] her homeworld of Dathomir.[5]

Behind the scenes[]

Appearance[]

"Master, are you all right?"
"I am now. With your help and Master Ma'kis, we can blow that witch out of the stars."
―Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker, preparing to chase Asajj Ventress's fanblade fighter in a deleted scene for "Nightsisters"[19]
Fanblade cockpitTCW

Concept art of the fanblade fighter's cockpit

The Ginivex-class fanblade starfighter first appeared in the new Star Wars canon in "Nightsisters,"[4] the twelfth episode of the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars' third season, which premiered on January 7, 2011.[17] The starfighter was originally made for the Star Wars Legends animated television micro-series Star Wars: Clone Wars, where it first appeared in "Chapter 7" of the show,[20] which first aired on November 17, 2003.[21] Mike Chen—the author of the 2022 novel Brotherhood, in which Ventress and one of her Ginivex-class starfighters appear[11]—wrote his interactions between Anakin Skywalker and Ventress as if the Clone Wars micro series was still canon, simply assuming that Skywalker never saw Ventress's face during their first meeting.[22] To hint that they have encountered each other before, Skywalker is noted to recognize her fanblade starfighter.[23]

As the design for Asajj Ventress herself originated from unused concept art made for the[24] 2002 prequel trilogy film,[25] Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, that depicted a warrior reminiscent of Japan's samurai, Star Wars: Clone Wars Art Director Paul Rudish looked to that nation for inspiration on Ventress's starfighter. Rudish based the ship's[24] distinctive shape[17] on the sensu, a type of Japanese folding fan.[24]

One of Ventress's Ginivex-class fanblade starfighters would later be included on a Ventress-themed variant cover for Doctor Aphra (2020) 35, which is set for release on August 23, 2023. The cover was drawn by Giuseppe Camuncoli and depicts a fanblade flying nearby the B'omarr Order Monastery of[26] the Wild Space planet Teth, which was used by Ventress early in the Clone Wars in a Separatist plot to frame the Jedi Order in the kidnapping of Rotta the Huttlet.[27]

Naming and contradictions[]

Fanblade

The Ginivex-class starfighter in Star Wars: Clone Wars

In Legends, the ship was identified as the Ginivex-class starfighter as well as the Geonosian fanblade starfighter in the now-defunct StarWars.com Databank.[24] In the accompanying StarWars.com Episode Guide for "Nightsisters," the craft was canonically referred to as the Geonosian fanblade starfighter,[28] and the 2017 canon reference book Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia provided the name Ginivex-class fanblade starfighter.[7]

A deleted scene for "Nightsisters" has Ahsoka Tano,[19] Anakin Skywalker's Jedi apprentice,[29] disable Ventress's fanblade fighter during the Battle of Sullust; however, Tano is absent from the final episode, and Skywalker sends Ventress crashing instead.[19] While the fighter's cockpit is completely clear in "Nightsisters,"[4] the rendering of the fanblade fighter seen in Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia shows the ship's cockpit window as tinted red,[7] and the comic Halcyon Legacy 3[9]—which was released on May 11, 2022, written by Ethan Sacks, and illustrated by Will Sliney[30]—depicted the ship with a red cockpit.[9] The 2018 reference book Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles, written by Landry Q. Walker, gives the fanblade fighter's length as 13.1 meters,[2] while nineteenth issue of the Star Wars: Build Your Own X-Wing magazine, published later that year,[1] and the Star Wars Encyclopedia booklet "Republic and Separatist Ships (2),"[3] published on January 28, 2022,[31] lists the fighter's length as 13.05 meters.[3] As the latter sources were published more recently,[1][3] this article defers to their measurements.

Appearances[]

Sources[]

Notes and references[]

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  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 Star Wars Build Your Own X-Wing logo small Star Wars: Build Your Own X-Wing 19 (Starfighter Aces: Asajj Ventress)
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles
  3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 AltayaCite "Republic and Separatist Ships (2)" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
  4. 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 TCW mini logo Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Nightsisters"
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 StarWars-DatabankII Asajj Ventress in the Databank (backup link)
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Rise of the Separatists
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia
  8. StarWars The Clone Wars Episode Guide: Nightsisters on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 Halcyon Legacy 3
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 Hyperspace Stories 5
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 Brotherhood
  12. Star Wars: Timelines dates the events of Brotherhood to 22 BBY.
  13. Hyperspace Stories 1
  14. Star Wars: Timelines dates the flashback events of Halcyon Legacy 3 to 20 BBY.
  15. Star Wars: Timelines
  16. Star Wars Villainous: Power of the Dark Side
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 StarWars The Clone Wars Episode Guide: Nightsisters on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
  18. StarWars "Nightsisters" Trivia Gallery on StarWars.com (backup link) (Slide 12)
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 <TODO: Checklist: 10 Unlikely Unleashed Figures>
  20. CloneWarsLogoMini Star Wars: Clone Wars — "Chapter 7"
  21. TVcom logo Star Wars: Clone Wars - Season 1, Episode 7: Chapter VII on TV.com (backup link)
  22. TwitterLogo Mike Chen (@mikechenwriter) on Twitter (June 28, 2023): "Note that my Anakin/Ventress encounter at the end of the book is written to work with Genddy! Anakin says he's seen her ship before and Ventress knows who he is. This assumes that Yavin was dark, fast, and rainy, so Anakin knows he was attacked on Yavin but not by who." (backup link)
  23. TwitterLogo Mike Chen (@mikechenwriter) on Twitter (June 28, 2023): "Anakin says he recognizes her ship and he's dealt with Dooku's agents before. Ventress just laughs at him and clearly knows who he is. We didn't want too much more expo to bog the story down but those are the clues." (backup link)
  24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 Databank title Geonosian fanblade starfighter in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
  25. Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
  26. StarWars SWCE 2023: Marvel Reveals Star Wars: Dark Droids Horror Event and More on StarWars.com (backup link)
  27. Star Wars: The Clone Wars film
  28. StarWars "Nightsisters" Trivia Gallery on StarWars.com (backup link) (Slide 8)
  29. StarWars-DatabankII Anakin Skywalker in the Databank (backup link)
  30. MarvelLogo Star Wars: The Halcyon Legacy (2022) #3 on Marvel Comics' official website (backup link)
  31. Altaya-Logo Official Star Wars Encyclopedia on Altaya's official fr website (backup link)
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