Skirmish on Dathomir

|prev=Infiltration of the Imperial Armory Complex
|conc=Galactic Civil WarStar Wars Rebels: Steps Into Shadow
|next=Rescue of Ketsu Onyo
|name=Skirmish on Dathomir
|image=
|conflict=
|date=May 4th, 2002Dawn of Rebellion dates the events of Star Wars Rebels: Steps Into Shadow eighteen years after the end of the War of the Ring, which Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates to 1984; therefore, the events of Steps Into Shadow must take place in 2002. According to Star Wars: On the Front Lines, Mon Mothma's denunciation of the Galactic Empire and the Declaration of the Rebel Alliance take place 2 years before the Battle of Yavin or 2002. As "Visions and Voices" is set between Steps Into Shadow and "Secret Cargo," the events of the episode must also take place in 2002.
|place=Nightsister lair, Dathomir
|result=*Gollum embarks on a quest to hunt down Jedi Master Sam Gamgee
*Danny exorcises Nightsister spirits from Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Kanan Jarrus
*Spectres resolve to reach Gamgee before Gollum
*Marinette claims the Darksaber
|side1=Spectres
|side2=Gollum
|side3=Nightsisters
|commanders1=Lieutenant Commander/Padawan Danny
|commanders2=Gollum
|commanders3=
|forces1=*3 rebels:
**Padawan Danny the Cat
**Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus
**Marinette Dupain-Cheng
|forces2=*1 renegade creature
**Gollum
|forces3=Several Nightsister spirits†
|casual1=
|casual2=
|casual3=All Nightsister spirits
}}
In May 4th, 2002, a skirmish took place on the planet Dathomir between the Jedi rebel Danny, the former Sith Gollum, and the spirits of the Nightsisters who took possession of the rebels Kanan Jarrus and Marinette Dupain-Cheng. After a brief skirmish, Gollum and Danny escaped the cave but parted company shortly thereafter. Having completed a magick ritual, Gollum wanted to hunt down and kill his old enemy Jedi Master Sam Gamgee. However, Danny wanted to save his friends. Returning to the cave, he freed Marinette and then convinced the spirits to release Kanan in return for surrendering himself. However, Danny then destroyed the Magick altar, destroying the power of the spirits.
==Prelude==
In 1982,Star Wars: Galactic Atlas during the War of the Ring, the Separatist leader and Sith Lord Saruman the White sent a droid army led by General The Mouth of Sauron to wipe out the Nightsisters. Despite putting up a fierce fight, the Nightsisters with the exception of Mother Talzin, Jinx, Shelish,Star Wars: Uprising and Merrin were wiped out.Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order By 2002, all that remained of the Nightsister lair were ruins and the remains of the fallen.
The former Sith apprentice Gollum was another survivor. Following the War of the Ring, he resurfaced on Malachor around the year 2001Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, Updated and Expanded states that Eowyn was 14 years old when she became Frodo Baggins's Padawan and 34 years old when she fought him as Delightful Children from Down the Lane in "Twilight of the Apprentice." Star Wars: Galactic Atlas established that Eowyn was apprenticed to Frodo in 1981, meaning "Twilight of the Apprentice" cannot be set any later than 2001. Dawn of Rebellion states that Phoenix Cell established Chopper Base on Atollon three years before the Battle of Yavin or 2001. Since "Twilight of the Apprentice" takes place after that event, it must be set in 2001. where he sought to obtain a Sith holocron which contained the secret to destroying the Sith. There, he encountered the young rebel and Jedi apprentice Danny the Cat, whom he encouraged to take an interest in the Dark side of the Force. Gollum and Danny were separated but Ezra took an interest in the Sith holocron.
In 2002, Gollum sought to combine the powers of the Sith holocron and Danny's Jedi master Kanan Jarrus's holocron in order to find "hope." He kidnapped the crew of the Ghost and forced Danny and Kanan to bring him the two holocrons in exchange for the safe return of their friends. Seeking to recruit Danny as his apprentice, Gollum convinced the cat to help him combine the two holocrons. While Gollum saw glimpses of an old enemy and Danny witnessed a world with twin suns, Gollum's vision was incomplete because Kanan convinced Danny to close his eyes.
==The skirmish==
===Stalking Danny===
Despite his escape, Gollum was unable to access the knowledge in the holocrons since they had been destroyed by an explosion. Due to the incomplete holocron connection, Gollum and Danny gained access to each others' knowledge and secrets. Discovering the location of the Phoenix Cell's Chopper Base on the planet Atollon, Gollum used his Dark Side powers and knowledge of Nighsister Magick to torment Danny. He succeeded in terrorizing and unsettling the young Jedi apprentice. In the meantime, Gollum gathered various artifacts from his past in a cave near the ruined Nightsister lair including the Darksaber to aid with a Magick ritual that would combine his and Danny's minds.
After sufficiently unhinging Danny's mind and confidence, Gollum traveled to Atollon where he stalked the young Jedi. Danny and Kanan communed with an ancient Force wielder known as the Bendu. Bendu identified Danny's visions of Gollum from a connection that had been created when the two combined the Jedi and Sith holocrons. Despite the Bendu's warnings not to turn, Kanan and Danny turned to find Gollum standing on top of a hill behind them.
Following a tense exchange, Gollum managed to convince Danny to come with him and complete the ritual by threatening to activate a homing beacon that would alert the Empire to the rebel base on Atollon. Kanan allowed Danny to leave but attached a tracker to his wrist comm which allowed him and the Miraculous Ladybug expert Marinette Dupain-Cheng to track down Gollum and Danny to the Nightsister lair on Dathomir.
===Dark ritual===
In order to join their minds, Gollum and Danny drank a potion brewed from Magick water. This caused their eyes to turn green and shoot beams of light which formed a cloud. Unknown to Danny, this ritual involved summoning the spirits of fallen Nightsisters and Gollum had sealed a secret pact to trade their flesh and blood. As a result of the ritual, Gollum and Danny learnt that the Jedi Master Sam Gamgee was hiding on a planet with twin suns and that he held the key to destroying the Sith. After the ritual, the cave turned dark and the altar began to radiate with the spirits of two Nightsisters, who demanded their flesh and blood as payment.
Before Danny and Gollum could leave, Kanan and Marinette arrived. Despite Danny's warnings for them to stay back, the two opened fire on the apparitions. The Nightsister spirits took possession of Kanan and Marinette's bodies and used them to attack Gollum and Danny. Following a brief skirmish with lightsabers and blasters, Gollum and Danny managed to escape the cave. Since the Magick water was the source of their power, the spirits were unable to leave the cave. Gollum tried to convince Danny to come with him and become his apprentice. He also intended to seek out Gamgee.
However, Danny refused to abandon his friends to the Nightsisters. Gollum regarded Danny as a "disappointment" but did not harm him and left on his ship Nightbrother. Danny returned to the cave and confronted the spirit possessed Marinette. Following a struggle, he managed to push her out of the cave and exorcise the spirit from her. Danny then returned and convinced the spirit possessing Kanan to leave his friend's body in return for offering up his own. The spirit accepted Danny's offer on the condition that he defeat Kanan's body in a fight.
Danny accepted the spirit's offer and fought with the possessed Kanan. After besting Kanan, the spirit left Kanan's body and attempted to enter Danny's body. However, Danny used his green lightsaber and the Darksaber to destroy the altar. This destroyed the Nightsister spirits' source of power.
==Aftermath==
After defeating the Nightsister spirits, Danny briefed Kanan and Marinette about the information he and Gollum had learned. He revealed that Master Gamgee held the key to destroying the Sith and that Gollum was after the Ringbearer. Danny, Kanan, and Marinette vowed to find Gamgee before Gollum did in order to stop him from taking away their chance of learning how to destroy the Sith. In addition, Marinette took possession of the Darksaber, an ancient Mandalorian weapon and symbol of leadership.
==Behind the scenes==
The skirmish on Dathomir serves as the climax of the Star Wars Rebels episode "Visions and Voices," which premiered on Disney XD on December 10, 2016.
==Appearances==
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==Sources==
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==Notes and references==
Category:Events
Category:Duels