Skirmish aboard the Coronet/Legends

In 21 BBY, Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker were sent to escort Duchess Satine Kryze and several senators to Coruscant so the Duchess could defend herself against the claims that she was in league with the Confederacy of Independent Systems. During the trip, the Duchess's ship, the Coronet, was attacked by the Death Watch, which was aided by the Confederacy. As clone troopers searched the ship for anything that might threaten the Duchess, they were attacked by numerous assassin probes and probe killers, which killed the clones Mixer and Redeye. Though the probes were eventually defeated, Skywalker and Kenobi had strong suspicions that there was a traitor aboard the ship. Kenobi used one of the probe killers to reveal the traitor, by presenting the probe to each of the four senators in turn. While the probe was hostile toward three of them, but remained calm around Tal Merrik, Kenobi revealed Merrik to be the traitor. Escaping Kenobi's attempted arrest, Merrik contacted Pre Vizsla via hologram. Vizsla sent three Droch-class boarding ships filled with B2 super battle droids to attack the Coronet so Merrik could escape with Kryze as his hostage. Skywalker, the clone troopers, and Satine's guard held off the droids, while Kenobi pursued Merrik through the ship. After defeating the droids, Skywalker killed Merrik, who had threatened to destroy the ship and everyone aboard. The Coronet made it safely to Coruscant, where several more assassination attempts were made against the Duchess.
==Prelude==
In 21 BBY, during the Clone Wars, rumors began spreading that Duchess Satine Kryze, the leader of the Council of Neutral Systems, was in league with the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi was sent to Mandalore to ascertain the truth. An assassination attempt against the Duchess on the world led Kenobi and Kryze to Concordia, Mandalore's moon. There, Kenobi investigated the Death Watch hideout, and uncovered a plot by Pre Vizsla, the Governor of Concordia—and secretly the leader of the Death Watch—to overthrow the Duchess and enter the war on the side of the Confederacy. After Kenobi and Kryze narrowly escaped a confrontation with Vizsla and other members of the Death Watch, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and several clone troopers, including CC-2224, CT-7567—nicknamed "Cody" and "Rex," respectively—"Mixer," and "Redeye," were sent to Mandalore to help Kenobi escort the Duchess to Coruscant, where she could defend herself against the accusations against her in the Senate.
==The skirmish==
===The probes===
Aboard the Duchess's ship, the Coronet, the clone troopers were ordered to search for any sign of suspicious activity. As they scoured the dark rooms of the cargo hold, the clone trooper Redeye was attacked by an assassin probe. The clone Mixer became suspicious when he tried to contact his comrade via comlink and received no response. However, before he could discover what had happened, he was also attacked by a probe.
Elsewhere in the cargo hold, astromech droid R2-D2 also searched the ship with his sensors, which told him something was amiss. In response to R2's worry and the disappearance of two clone troopers, Captain Rex contacted Skywalker and Kenobi via comlink and explained the situation. While Kenobi joined Duchess Kryze and the Senators for a meal, Skywalker joined the clones. In their search for Mixer and Redeye, Skywalker and the clones discovered a cargo crate with the cover open and the contents missing. Becoming increasingly suspicious, Skywalker and the clones searched the area to find what might have been inside.
As the search continued, Skywalker noticed Redeye slowly walking toward him. However, when Skywalker asked where Redeye had been, he received no response. Skywalker then noticed an assassin probe behind the clone, and ignited his lightsaber. The droid tossed the corpse of the clone at Skywalker, though the Jedi managed to dodge the attack. He then severed some of the droid's legs, and the clones finished it off with their rifles.
Skywalker noticed another probe making its way toward the turbolift, and warned Kenobi, who was dining with the Duchess and the Senators, via comlink. Satine's guards attempted to close the lift before the droid could enter the room, but they were too slow, and the assassin probe threw the guards aside, leaping onto the dinner table. Kenobi ignited his lightsaber and severed two of the droid's legs before destroying it with a stab through its head.
Suspecting that there may be another assassin probe left in the cargo room, Skywalker ordered the clones to continue their search. When Commander Cody noticed that the destroyed assassin droid behind Skywalker was releasing several probe killers from its innards, he shouted out a warning. Skywalker and the clones began to fight the probe killers off, while R2-D2 used his droid shock arm against the probes.
The defunct droid in the dining area also released probe killers. Kryze, armed with a deactivator hold-out pistol, helped Kenobi fight the machines. Soon most of the probes in both areas were destroyed, but Skywalker and Kenobi both knew there was a traitor aboard the ship, and they were determined to discover who it was.
===Merrik's betrayal===
Skywalker retrieved the ship's cargo manifest from a protocol droid to discover how the probes had gotten aboard the ship. Unfortunately, the manifest did not give a name, but it did have a Senate stamp, which meant that one of the four senators aboard the ship was responsible for the probes.
In the dining area, Kenobi discovered one of the smaller probe killers left alive, and decided that instead of destroying it, he would use it to discover the identity of the traitor. When he presented to the probe each of the Senators in turn, the probe appeared hostile toward three of them, but remained calm when near Tal Merrik. But before Kenobi could arrest him, Merrik knocked the probe out of Obi-Wan's hand. In the confusion that followed, Merrik took Duchess Kryze by the throat and held a blaster pistol to her head. He fled the scene as Kenobi destroyed the probe, which was attacking Senator Onaconda Farr.
Meanwhile, Skywalker and the clones continued to search the cargo hold for any remaining probes. A probe killer attacked Cody and Rex, but it was destroyed by Artoo's shock arm. Then, the last of the larger assassin probes appeared and lunged at Rex. It landed on top of the clone, who held its razor-sharp arms away from him. He managed to kick the droid toward the wall, and Skywalker threw his lightsaber at it. The droid fell to the ground as Rex climbed atop it and fired his blaster pistols into its head, destroying the droid and the probe killers inside it.
Merrik, with Kryze as his hostage, reached the bridge. Killing the crew and pulling the ship out of hyperspace, Merrik contacted Pre Vizsla via hologram, who sent three Droch-class boarding ships filled with B2 super battle droids toward the Coronet. As the boarding ships connected to the Coronet hull, Skywalker, the clones, and Satine's guards rushed to meet the droids, while Kenobi went to find Merrik and Kryze.
Kenobi found Merrik on the Coronet bridge and attempted to arrest him, but Merrik had a remote, which was set to detonate the explosives Merrik had wired to the ship's engines. He warned Kenobi to stay back, or he would push the button and everyone aboard the ship would die. Kryze begged Kenobi to stand his ground; she would rather be captured than see everyone aboard killed. Merrik began to leave the bridge, and Kenobi followed at a distance as Merrik made his way to one of the boarding craft.
Elsewhere, the fight against the super battle droids continued. Skywalker, the clones, and Satine's guards managed to kill all but the last three, which Skywalker destroyed by Force pushing them against the wall. He then set off to find Kenobi.
Merrik reached the boarding craft, but before he could escape with Kryze, the Duchess stepped on his foot and was able to retrieve his blaster, which she pointed at his head. Merrik, knowing that Kryze's pacifist views would prevent her from pulling the trigger, promised he would blow the ship up once he was away. He taunted Kenobi, who he said could not kill him for fear of what Kryze might think. But before Merrik could make his escape, Skywalker arrived and ignited his lightsaber through the Senator's back, instantly killing him.
==Aftermath==
The Coronet finally reached Coruscant in one piece. The ship's passengers were greeted by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, who praised the Jedi for their bravery. Once on Coruscant, several more assassination attempts were made against the Duchess. In a session of Congress, the Senate was shown a hologram of Jerec, who asked for assistance from the Galactic Republic in the fight against the Death Watch. Persuaded by Jerec's plea, the Senate voted to occupy the Mandalore system, much to Kryze's dismay. However, the Duchess, with the help of Kenobi and Davu Golec, was able to prove that the hologram had been doctored, and the Senate rescinded their vote.
==Behind the scenes==
This skirmish first appeared in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series episode "Voyage of Temptation," the thirteenth episode of the second season of the series, which aired on Cartoon Network on February 5, 2010. While "Voyage of Temptation" is the second episode of the Mandalorian story arc, it was the first to be produced."
==Appearances==
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==Sources==
*Star Wars: The Clone Wars Comic 6.1 
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*Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Updated and Expanded
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==Notes and references==
Category:Battles of the Clone Wars