Claatuvac Guild / Legends The Claatuvac Guild was an organization of Wookiee cartographers , hyperspace scouts and navigators based out of the city of Kachirho on Kashyyyk . Over the centuries , they had mapped and gathered information on a number of hyperspace routes known only to them . The Guild maintained a base in Tree Vikkilynn in Kachirho ; a sealed vault contained the guild ' s navigation data center , powered independently by a generator . The vault included data input and analysis stations as well as data stacks with information stored in indigenous manufactured HoloGrid s . During the Clone Wars , rumors of the Wookies ' knowledge of secret hyperroutes drew the Confederacy of Independent Systems to attack Kashyyyk in 19 BBY in an effort to claim the data . The Galactic Republic counterattacked to protect the Guild ' s information , but the Guild chose to dissolve itself rather than hand over their data to the new Galactic Empire . The Claatuvac data was distributed to the Guild ' s most trusted scouts who went into hiding as the Empire subjugated Kashyyyk , and it was not until the Galactic Civil War , nearly twenty years later , that a legitimate source of Claatuvac data came to light in the hands of Chewbacca . History . Early history . The Claatuvac Guild was responsible for discovering the other bodies of the Kashyyyk system , including Alaris Prime , before the Galactic Republic reached the Mytaranor sector . After Wookiee navigational prowess became known , the Claatuvac routes became the stuff of legend . Most spacers operating in the Mytaranor sector claimed to know of at least one secret Wookiee route in the region , with rumors telling of hundreds more that the Claatuvacs were honor - bound to guard with their lives . The Clone Wars . By 19 BBY , Gumbaeki was the Master of the Guild , with Chak as an apprentice . Throughout the Clone Wars , both the Republic and CIS repeatedly sent operatives to Kashyyyk and battle fleets to the region , reasoning that knowledge of the Guild ' s secret routes could provide a decisive advantage . In the final weeks of the Clone Wars , Separatist forces launched an assault on Kachirho in order to capture the Claatuvac archives and discover information on previously unknown hyperspace routes . The routes would provide a great advantage to the Confederacy of Independent Systems , especially the Trade Federation , in their quest for control of galactic trade . The Grand Army of the Republic led by Grand Master Yoda counerattacked to drive the Separatists from Kashyyyk . However , after witnessing Order 66 and the clone troopers ' execution of their Jedi officers , Gumbaeki grasped the nature of the Galactic Empire that had just been proclaimed on Coruscant . Reasoning that the Empire would burn Kashyyyk to claim the Guild ' s secrets , Gumbaeki chose to hide the Guild ' s data . Gumbaeki downloaded the contents of the Guild ' s data stacks on to miniature encrypted HoloGrid s , which were then distributed among the Guild ' s most loyal and trusted scouts and navigators , perhaps a dozen Wookiees in all . Gumbaeki then destroyed the data held in the vault in Tree Vikkilynn and made himself conspicuous in Kachirho ' s defense , giving the rest of the Guild time to escape . When the Empire entered the Claatuvac vault they found the data stacks wiped clean and their contents irrecoverable . Legacy . Kashyyyk was subjugated by the Empire shortly afterwards , and the Claatuvac stacks became the stuff of legend once again . Both Imperial and Rebel intelligence agents pursued rumors of Claatuvac data during the Galactic Civil War , but it was not until 3 ABY that a legitimate stack came to light : Chewbacca , first mate to the smuggler Han Solo , had been entrusted with a HoloGrid , and he shared this information with Solo , allowing the pair to become accomplished smugglers . In the aftermath of the Battle of Hoth , Chewbacca gave his stack to Princess Leia Organa , and the Rebel Alliance put the information to great use in its battle against the Empire .