Maelstrom ( warship ) Maelstrom was a Galactic Republic warship which served in the Clone Wars . Characteristics . The " Maelstrom " was a relatively large capital ship , and part of the Maelstrom - class battle cruiser line . The ship had a winged spaceframe , suggesting a dagger - hulled Star Destroyer design . She had a bank of main engines at the stern , and powerful bow thrusters , designed for use during atmospheric entry and planetary landing — although this was a role that she was rarely called on to perform . " Maelstrom " was described as a cruiser — sometimes a battle cruiser or command cruiser — and was capable of leading a small fleet . Although she could also be referred to as a gunship , this term was applied to at least some small cruisers , such as the contemporary " Carrack " - class light cruiser . Her known service history is confined to the closing stages of the Clone Wars , when she was commanded by a Jedi General with a crew seemingly composed entirely of clone troopers , making it likely that she belonged to one of the new dagger - hulled warship classes associated with the Grand Army of the Republic . Weapons carried by the " Maelstrom " included a powerful turbolaser battery , capable of devastating planetary bombardment , and also proton torpedo tubes : as many as one hundred torpedoes could be fired in a single salvo . A powerful tractor beam array , capable of grappling other large capital ships , was positioned on the dorsal hull , just above the bow , in an emplacement that also carried the forward turbolaser battery . Hangar bays ran along the length of the hull , normally sealed by external hatches , from which the cruiser ' s starfighters could be deployed , and which also contained other small vessels , such as the commanding officer ' s personal starfighter , and a hyperdrive - equipped combat shuttle , the " Squall " . Internally , the docking complex was built around a large main hangar , with subsidiary bays connected by turbolift , such as the secondary shuttle bays where the " Squall " was docked . The " Maelstrom " was clearly capable of deploying ground troops for surface assaults , but the ground force she carried may not have been large . Her primary missions seem to have been space combat and orbital bombardment and the only infantry unit explicitly mentioned in her crew is a squad of elite ARC troopers , assigned as the Jedi General ' s personal guard . Gunships with clone pilots formed part of the fleet led by " Maelstrom " at the Battle of Kromus , possibly LAAT / i troop transports , but perhaps space - combat blastboats like the Skipray , or even small capital ships . History . When the Jedi Masters and Padawans of the Almas Academy were ordered to the front line during the Clone Wars , the " Maelstrom " was sent to the Cularin system to collect them . A number of the senior Jedi took the Right of Denial , resigning their status rather than serve in a war , leaving Jedi Master Darrus Jeht as the ranking member of the Order among those who boarded the " Maelstrom " and left the system . While the other Jedi were deployed to various military postings , Jeht took command of the " Maelstrom " and a fleet of smaller warships , assuming the rank of Jedi General in the Grand Army of the Republic , and possibly also the position of captain aboard the cruiser itself . Battle of Kromus . After a few months of combat , " Maelstrom " was ordered to the Kro ' eval system , where the Confederacy of Independent Systems were developing a superweapon platform known as Starkiller . In the opening stages of the battle , Jeht used a feint to draw away the defending CIS fleet , so that " Maelstrom " could enter orbit above Kromus unopposed , and bombard the Separatist facility on the surface , where the Starkiller was being constructed . At this point , however , the crew of the cruiser discovered that the data on Kromus had been swapped with the neighboring planet , Kromol . Rather than a facility on an uninhabited rock , the shipyard was in a city of two million people on a planet with a population of 1 . 3 billion . When the ship ' s sensors registered the Starkiller lifting off from the surface , Jeht gave the order to fire . The destruction of the superweapon obliterated the city and its population in less than a minute , and triggered a cataclysm that engulfed Kromus , igniting the atmosphere and shattering the crust , and ultimately killing more than a billion sentients . The " Maelstrom " and her fleet were recalled to Coruscant in order for General Jeht to account for his actions . This , he discovered , consisted of only a private interview with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine , who surprised Jeht by praising his resolve and his ability to take difficult decisions . Flattered , but somewhat confused , Jeht took his flagship back to Cularin , to consult with the other Masters of the Almas Academy . Battle of Cularin . Subsequently , the " Maelstrom " continued to serve on the front line , with Jeht continuing to be impressed by the accuracy and insight of Palpatine ' s leadership , but still plagued by memories of the destruction of Kromus . On the 22nd of Fifth Month , 19 BBY , the cruiser was ordered to attack the CIS mining planet of Corlax 4 . The primary objective of the mission was to bombard the planet itself , and wipe out its civilian population of three hundred million : the destruction of the orbital processing facilities and the defending fleet were secondary goals . As the " Maelstrom " prepared for the attack , however , General Jeht learned that the Academy on Almas had been wiped out , and he ordered the cruiser to return to Cularin , inwardly relieved by the decision to defy his orders , but puzzled to learn that the ship was being trailed by a cruiser - sized sensor ghost . At this point , Palpatine issued Order 66 , initiating the destruction of the Jedi Order . Alerted through the Force by the death of his friend Aayla Secura , General Jeht defeated an ambush by his own ARC troopers , and managed to disrupt long - range communications aboard the " Maelstrom " , preventing the rest of the crew discovering the situation , and thus retaining command . " Maelstrom " returned to the Cularin system , where she encountered the Republic cruisers " Primal " and " Undaunted " , destroying a flotilla of Jedi ships above Almas . Jeht managed to persuade his crew that the cruisers had been taken over by Separatist forces , and defeated them both , only for another ship to drop out of hyperspace on the edge of the system . This was the sensor ghost from Corlax 4 , the " Shadowblade " — apparently the same Starkiller superweapon that they had thought they had destroyed at Kromus . Jeht realized how completely he had been manipulated and betrayed , and learned that the " Shadowblade " was heading for Cularin , presumably with the intention of wiping out the planet . He ordered the " Maelstrom " to pursue the " Shadowblade " through the system ' s asteroid belt , but her turbolasers were out of action after the battle with the cruisers , and her engines were damaged . After attempts to ram the enemy ship and attack it with torpedoes failed , the " Maelstrom " used its powerful bow tractor beam to capture the " Shadowblade " , dragging into one of the space - time rifts that threaded the Cularin system . In an instant , both ships disappeared from that point in time . Behind the scenes . The " Maelstrom " appears in Wizards of the Coast ' s " Living Force ( RPG ) " saga .