Battle of the Phu system A battle took place in 22 BBY during a Galactic Republic patrol of the Phu system , overseen by Jedi General Ares Nune and Clone Commander Kite . The Confederate warship " Malevolence " was also in the system , under the command of General Grievous , and quickly eradicated Nune ' s fleet of three " Venator " - class Star Destroyers with its ion pulse cannon s . Following the attack , Jedi General Plo Koon led a task force of several cruisers to find and destroy the Confederate weapon . Prelude . In 22 BBY , the first year of the Clone Wars , the Confederacy of Independent Systems built a superweapon , the " Subjugator " - class heavy cruiser " Malevolence " , that was capable of destroying numerous Galactic Republic fleets with its ion pulse cannon s . The cannons neutralized all power in their targets , leaving them defenseless and vulnerable without the ability to use deflector shields to protect themselves . That , in turn , allowed the " Malevolence " to destroy its unprotected prey with its numerous turbolaser cannons . The Confederacy soon began to use the " Malevolence " in numerous strikes on Republic task forces that left no survivors . The Jedi High Council became increasingly worried with the losses , and the attacks sowed fear among the citizens of the Republic , even more so because the targets were unpredictable and did not form a pattern . The battle . Jedi General Ares Nune and Clone Commander Kite took three " Venator " - class Star Destroyers — including Nune ' s flagship , the " Laudable " — on a regular patrol of the Phu system . However , the " Malevolence " was also in the system , under the command of the Confederate General Grievous . The cyborg general immediately ordered the " Malevolence " ion cannons to fire . As the ion wave obliterated the shields of the " Laudable " , Nune ordered Commander Kite to organize an evacuation of the cruisers via escape pods . However , the " Malevolence " moved in and destroyed the vessels before Nune and his crew of clone troopers could escape . Aftermath . The defeat of Nune ' s fleet was reported in the HoloNet News , resulting in increasingly widespread concern among the Republic citizenry . A recording that was taken from the lead ship during the battle survived , and was played during the broadcast . Following the report of the loss , Jedi Masters Yoda , Mace Windu , and Plo Koon of the Jedi Council met with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine in his office on the galactic capital of Coruscant . Koon volunteered to take several " Venator " - class Star Destroyers to find and destroy the " mystery weapon , " as the " Malevolence " had been dubbed . Aboard the Star Destroyer " Triumphant " , Koon tracked the " Malevolence " to the Abregado system and engaged it in battle . Behind the scenes . The battle of the Phu system was featured in " " , which was released on October 2 , 2008 and led into " Rising " Malevolence " , " one of the episodes featured in the October 3 , 2008 premiere of the on Cartoon Network . The battle was also mentioned in the in - universe HoloNet News report " A Galaxy Divided " , an ongoing featuring " The Clone Wars " series that was also released on October 2 , via StarWars . com and .