Skirmish in the Qulun camp

Previous	Kidnapping of Barriss Offee
Next	Skirmish between the Borokii and the Januul
Skirmish in the Qulun camp
Conflict	Separatist Crisis Mission to Ansion
Date	22 BBY
Place	Qulun camp, Ansion
Outcome	Jedi victory
Combatants
Galactic Republic Jedi Order
Qulun
Commanders
Jedi Master Luminara Unduli Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi
Baiuntu,† Qulun chief
Strength
2 Jedi Masters 2 Jedi Padawans Barriss Offee Anakin Skywalker 2 Tasbir-clan outcast Alwari guides Kyakhta Bulgan 1 Gwurran Tooqui
4 Qulun sentries
Casualties
None
Baiuntu 4 Qulun sentries

Warning: This infobox is missing the following parameters: unit2, unit1

"It's said that if the return to Cuipernam of certain offworld visitors could be delayed for two parts of a breeding cycle, a great reward would be paid."

―Baiuntu, to the Jedi and their companions.

In 22 BBY, during a Jedi Order diplomatic mission to the planet Ansion, a skirmish occurred in a camp belonging to the nomadic Qulun clan. Four Jedi—Masters Luminara Unduli and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and their respective Padawans, Barriss Offee and Anakin Skywalker—were dispatched to Ansion to prevent its secession from the Republic. However, they were drugged by the Qulun chieftain Baiuntu and taken captive alongside the clanless Ansionians Kyakhta and Bulgan in an attempt to stop them from completing their mission, as Soergg the Hutt promised a reward to those who delayed the offworlders' return to Cuipernam, the planet's capital city, until after the vote for secession had taken place. The captives were soon freed by the Gwurran Tooqui, and the group promptly escaped the camp.

Prelude

"Welcome, offworlders! The Qulun bid you welcome!"

―Baiuntu, to the Jedi and their companions.

During the Separatist Crisis in 22 BBY, in which many star systems seceded from the Galactic Republic to form the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the planet Ansion became a target in a plot led by Sith Lord Darth Tyranus and Commerce Guild Presidente Shu Mai, to have it secede from the Republic.

Ansion lay at the heart of several treaties, meaning that if it seceded, many other worlds would have to follow. The Jedi Order dispatched four of its members—Jedi Masters Luminara Unduli and Obi-Wan Kenobi, along with their respective Padawans, Barriss Offee and Anakin Skywalker—on a diplomatic mission to Ansion to reach an agreement with the Unity of Community, Ansion's government. The Jedi hoped to negotiate an arrangement between the Unity of Community and the Alwari, the Ansionian nomadic tribes of the Ansion plains, to end the protracted conflict between the two dominant groups. To that end, the Jedi sought out the Borokii, the most powerful overclan of the Alwari, and they were joined in this endeavor by Kyakhta and Bulgan, two clanless Ansionian males.

It was shortly after Tooqui, a male Gwurran, joined their group, that the Jedi and their companions encountered a patrol of the Qulun, a non-traditional Alwari clan that was essentially a trading faction. Baiuntu, the clan's chief trader, invited the Jedi to join him in the Qulun camp. After Baiuntu showed them the Qulun's varied artware and allowed them to sample fragrant essences which they sold, the Jedi and their two Ansionian companions were drugged. Paluruvu, an extract containing a powerful sedative, was the deceptive catalyst that the chief trader employed to sedate both himself and his guests.

When the Jedi and their Ansionian companions awoke, Baiuntu informed them that they were being held because of a large reward promised by Bossban Soergg to those who could delay the group's return to Cuipernam until after the vote for secession had taken place. He also told them that he had destroyed their comlinks in order to keep them from informing anyone in Cuipernam of their progress with the Alwari tribes. Tooqui, however, had evaded capture, as he was not with the group at the time they were drugged. As such, he was able to shortly thereafter return to the camp and free his companions.

The skirmish

"Tooqui tell truth. Tooqui bravest of his people. The strongest, the fiercest, the wisest—"

―Tooqui, as he frees his companions.

Tooqui, having escaped the Qulun camp, agitated a local herd of native lorqual by throwing rocks at them, causing them to stampede toward the camp. Though some of the animals were stopped by sentries, the rest reached the camp. While the Qulun were distracted by the stampeding lorqual, Tooqui sneaked into the transport where the Jedi and their companions were being held and freed them using a knife belonging to Bulgan. After being freed, the Jedi engaged four nearby sentries, quickly killing them before leaving the camp to continue the search for the Borokii overclan.

Aftermath

"You idiots! Gather yourselves. Collect your wits!"

―Baiuntu, attempting to organize a pursuit of the Jedi.

While attempting to organize a pursuit of the group, Baiuntu was killed by a pack of shanhs, predatory animals native to Ansion. Shortly after escaping, the Jedi and their companions found the ruling Borokii and fought in a skirmish between the Borokii and the Januul, who were overclan rivals and traditional enemies.

Behind the scenes

The skirmish in the Qulun camp first appeared in the 2002 novel The Approaching Storm, written by Alan Dean Foster.

Appearances

• The Approaching Storm (First appearance)

Sources

• The Official Star Wars Fact File Part 42 (22 BBY 2, Dispute on Ansion)