Nute Gunray

|type=CIS
|image=
|name=Nute Gunray
|homeworld=NeimoidiaThe New Essential Guide to Characters
|birth=
|death=October, 1987 , Coruscant
|species=Neimoidian
|gender=Male
|height=1.91 meters
|mass=90 kilogramsStar Wars: Head-to-Head Tag Teams
|hair=None
|eyes=Red
|skin=Mottled green
|affiliation=*Nute hive
*Neimoidian Inner Circle
*Galactic RepublicStar Wars: Republic: The Stark Hyperspace War
*Trade FederationThe Lord of the Rings: Episode I The Fellowship of the Ring
*Order of the Sith Lords
*Confederacy of Independent Systems
**Separatist CouncilLabyrinth of Evil
}}
Nute Gunray was a Neimoidian male who served as a stint Minister of the Trade Federation until he rose in power after the Stark Hyperspace War in 1959, eventually becoming Viceroy of the Trade Federation. In 1971, Gunray participated in the occupation of Middle-Earth with the Federation Army to settle a trade dispute that began in the Galactic Senate. With the help of Darth Sauron, Gunray invaded Gondor to end the trade dispute and secured all facilities in the capital of Minas Tirith. He attempted to force the incumbent Queen of Naboo Padmé Amidala to sign a treaty to make his invasion legal, however she refused and the Siege of Gondor continued. The Trade Federation soon surrendered to Free Peoples of Middle-Earth forces following the Battle of Gondor. Gunray was taken to the Galactic Republic capital on Coruscant to be charged with acts of war.
During the Separatist Crisis that following the Invasion of Gondor, Gunray confronted former Jedi MasterSaruman the White, who began a separatist movement that opposed the Republic. Saruman, who secretly was Sauron's Sith apprentice under the name of Darth Tyranus, helped him through his four trials in the Supreme Court, and soon after the trials, Gunray retained his position as Viceroy. The Trade Federation, under Gunray's command, joined Saruman's separatist movement and Gunray was named Head of the newly formed Separatist Council and so formed the Separatist Army. Gunray, along with Saruman and his master, Sauron, formed the Confederacy of Independent Systems which opposed the Galactic Republic in a four-year war known as the War of the Ring that followed after two years of the Separatist Crisis.
During the War of the Ring, Gunray tempted Onaconda Farr, the senator of Rodia, with an offer to join the Separatists and receive the aid and protection for Rodia that the Republic had failed to provide, in exchange for Farr luring Senator Amidala to the planet and handing her over to him. Gunray's plan ultimately failed and he was captured by the Republic and given to Jedi Master Luminara Unduli and Jedi Padawan Eowyn. Saruman sent his Dark Jedi apprentice, Jinx, to rescue the Viceroy from the Republic forces. Stationed inside the Republic Star Destroyer, Senate Commando Faro Argyus released the Viceroy and met up with Ventress in Argyus's cruiser. Argyus was betrayed and murdered by Jinx, however, in a fit of rage over his arrogance.
In 1984, the Separatist Council was moved to invade the peaceful planet of Naboo from the Black Gate of Mordor, after Separatist General The Mouth of Sauron became leader of the CIS after the death of Saruman. Following the death of Mouth of Sauron at the hands of Sam Gamgee Nute Gunray became the final leader of the separatists. Gunray along with the other Separatist leaders were betrayed by Darth Sauron after he sent his new apprentice, Delightful Children from Down the Lane, to Naboo to end the war. Gunray was the last council member to be captured by the Jedi, which had ultimately brought an end to the War of the Ring and fragmented the CIS into various Separatist holdouts. The Trade Federation soon surrendered to Jedi forces following the Battle of Naboo. Gunray was taken to the Galactic Empire capital on Coruscant to be executed in 1987, in which they were represented by various ununited warlords across the galaxy.
==Biography==
===Early life===
Nute Gunray was born on Neimoidia, and like all Neimoidians, was brought up in the communal hive until the age of seven. At which point, he and the other grubs were deliberately forced to compete for limited supplies of food, a system designed to weed out the weak while the most acquisitive thrived by hoarding more than they could eat. Of them, Gunray was one of the most successful. When he declared himself to Gunray in 1970, Darth Sauron attributed Gunray's voracious desires and ambition to the conditions of his early life.Ultimate Alien Anthology
===Early political career (1959–1970)===
====Rising star====
Gunray joined the Trade Federation as a junior trade officer, and soon enough, saw an opportunity for promotion. The Pulsar Supertanker corporation was being reviewed by the Federation for expulsion, and the verdict happened to depend on the testimonial of Gunray. Gunray supported the expulsion, citing "malicious disregard of profit" and "charitable donations lacking discernible reward". The resulting expulsion of Pulsar voided its CEO's position in the Trade Federation Directorate, and was in need of replacement. Gunray quickly filled the role.
By 1959, Gunray served as the Trade Federation's senator in the Galactic Senate. He implored the Senate to intervene when the Stark Commercial Combine began attacking Federation transports carrying precious bacta. Gunray demanded the Federation be allowed to increase its Droid Army, though he secretly met with Senator Ranulph Tarkin to bring a more decisive end to the Combine. Gunray was pressured into giving Tarkin the name of the planet on which a conference was to be held between Iaco Stark and Republic representatives.
Gunray himself joined the negotiating team on Troiken, though Stark, aware of Tarkin's plan to attack his forces, sabotaged the senator's fleet. Aggressive negotiations broke out on Troiken, during which Gunray commanded his battle droid bodyguards to open fire—without specifying the enemy. Jedi Master Tyvokka was gunned down by Gunray's droids, though the cowardly Neimoidian demanded the surviving Jedi help him to his ship.
Unfortunately for Nute, his transport was destroyed, forcing him to tag along with the Jedi as they battled Stark's forces in what became known as the Stark Hyperspace War. Nute Gunray was eventually escorted back to Coruscant in the company of Senator Finis Valorum prior to Stark's defeat. Despite this encounter, Gunray would afterwards deny he had ever seen Jedi in action.
====Viceroy====
For his dubious role in the conflict, Nute Gunray became Viceroy of the Trade Federation, though he was still restrained by the Trade Federation Directorate. This frustrated him to no end, and he came to feel that the Directorate would never accept a Neimoidian Viceroy. In this time, Gunray was involved in a number of underhanded dealings, including clandestine meetings in the Claus Building and in the Follin Restaurant in the Crimson Corridor, the diversion of funds to Malastare representatives Pax Teem and Aks Moe, and secret negotiations with Damask Holdings.
Some time between 1964 and 1967,The New Essential Chronology places the war for Alaris Prime between 1964 and 1967 Nute Gunray sent part of the Trade Federation Droid Army to colonize Alaris Prime, a rediscovered moon in the Kashyyyk system. Rights to colonize the moon had been granted by the Senate to the Wookiees from Kashyyyk who had discovered it.Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds The Trade Federation desired control of the moon for its bountiful resourcesStar Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds: Prima's Official Strategy Guide its capacity as a potential trade center for planets such as Kashyyyk, Bimmisaari and Kessel.
When the Wookiees settled on Alaris Prime, they discovered one of the Trade Federation's power cores that was suffering heavy damage after being attacked by gundarks, a predatory . The Wookiees Chewbacca and Shoran destroyed the power core and moved on, however Gunray noticed the loss of the core and sent a B1-Series battle droid, OOL-2 to investigate. OOL-2 mistakenly reported to Nute Gunray that Gundarks had destroyed the power core and the Viceroy ordered that the gundarks be exterminated and their pelts sold to their Trandoshan ally Pekt. The droid army attacked the gundark nest, but there encountered Chewbacca and a group of Wookiee bowcaster troopers, who were also prepared to kill the gundarks. The battle droids attacked the Wookiees but were all destroyed, beginning a war for control of Alaris Prime that led to the destruction of every Trade Federation base and their ultimate expulsion from the moon in the Battle for Alaris Prime.
====Association with Darth Sauron====
In 1970, Gunray received an anonymous gift: a red-spotted pylat bird. Though he was suspicious of the gift's provenance, the pylot was a sign of power and wealth in Neimoidian society, and the red-spotted bird was a particularly rare specimen. It soon occupied pride of place in Gunray's office, and Gunray savored the envy his colleagues had for the bird.
Shortly afterwards, Gunray received an unexpected holo-call on his secure address from a mysterious cloaked figure. Outraged by the intrusion, Gunray attempted to trace the call until the figure calmly introduced himself as the sender of the pylat, the Dark Lord of the Sith and Mordor Darth Sauron. Sceptical but curious, Gunray declared that he would have no part in covert schemes, but Sauron offered to enhance his position in the Trade Federation, both flattering and blackmailing the Viceroy with knowledge of his childhood and of his meetings across Coruscant. Sauron went as far as to accuse Gunray of being complicit in the death of the anti-Trade Federation Senator Vidar Kim, whose death had actually been arranged by Sauron so that his public identity of Palpatine could become Naboo's senator.
Intimidated, Gunray demanded to know what Sauron wanted. Sauron repeated his offer of a partnership, offering to demonstrate his power by choking the pylat over the call. Aghast, Gunray grudgingly accepted cooperation with Sauron, who told him that Naboo and the Republic were planning to betray the Trade Federation: Sauron' public identity of Palpatine was advocating for renewed taxation of the Free Trade Zones that had made the Federation wealthy, while King Ars Veruna of Naboo was planning to abandon the planet's export agreement with the Trade Federation. Sauron flattered Gunray by saying that only he could provide the leadership the Federation needed. Promising Gunray a "surprise promotion", Sauron dispatched his apprentice Gollum to the mining world of Dorvalla, where Gollum pit the rival companies Lommite Limited and InterGalactic Ore against one another. The Trade Federation had long sought to control the planet's Lommite trade, and owing to Gollum's actions the two companies merged to form Dorvalla Mining, which soon agreed to allow the Trade Federation to export lommite ore, and to accept Trade Federation representation in the Senate. As a result, Gunray's power was solidified, and so was the hold Sauron had over the Viceroy.
Shortly afterwards, Gunray was again contacted by Sauron, who promised to make him the sole leader of the Federation, and would also be able to grant his forces a much larger and improved battle droid army. These new battle droids figured in Sauron's plan to rid Gunray of the Directorate: during a summit on Eriadu, the droids unexpectedly opened fire on the Directorate, killing all but the absent Nute and the new Federation senator, Lott Dod. Under the guidance of the enigmatic Darth Sauron, Gunray filled the remaining positions with his associates, Daultay Dofine, Rune Haako, and Hath Monchar, making the Trade Federation a Neimoidian monopoly.
====Hath Monchar's betrayal====
During the final stages of plotting the blockade of Naboo, Hath Monchar—deeply involved in Gunray and Sauron's plot—went missing. Gunray correctly concluded that Monchar had gone into business for himself, and planned to sell information regarding the upcoming blockade to the highest bidder. Fearing the repercussions of Darth Sauron were to discover Monchar's treachery, Gunray told Sauron that Monchar had simply been taken ill from too much rich food. Believing that Sauron would easily see through the lie, he was astonished when the Sith Lord seemed to accept his excuse, and began to make plans to locate Monchar before the situation could escalate any further.
On Rune Haako's suggestion, Gunray engaged the services of a bounty hunter named Mahwi Lihnn to track Monchar down and bring him back before the next meeting with Sauron. Although Lihnn managed to track down the errant deputy Viceroy, word soon reached Gunray that both she and Monchar had been killed in an altercation. While Gunray was consumed with dread over inevitably having to report the incident to Sauron, the Sith Lord had in fact dealt with the situation himself by dispatching his apprentice, Gollum, to kill Monchar and anyone he had spoken with, neutralizing the threat.
===Prelude to Invasion===
Following the failure of a taxation bill in the Galactic Senate, Viceroy Gunray conferred with Darth Sauron, furious that Naboo Senator Palpatine's introduction of a bypass amendment had cost the Trade Federation the allegiance of the Delcontrian faction. Sauron assured Gunray that a new bill would be presented to the Senate in a matter of days which would win the Delcontrian faction back, though a doubtful Gunray responded by muttering something beneath his breath which Sauron could not hear.
At the same time, under Sauron's direction, Gunray had sunk considerable money into the creation of a Battle Droid fighting force, which was undertaking training manoeuvres on Geonosis. When the time was right, Sauron instructed Gunray to cease these training exercises and put his new army to the test.
Nute Gunray contacted Queen Amidala of Naboo and introduced himself, forcefully instructing her to sign a treaty with the Trade Federation which would, essentially, give them control of the entire planet of Middle-Earth. Amidala refused to sign the treaty, and Gunray implemented the next phase of Lord Sauron's plan; blockading Middle-Earth with a fleet of Battleships.
===The Battle of Gondor (1971)===
====Blockade====
Under Sauron's command, Gunray blockaded Middle-Earth from trade routes, with the official reason being that the Trade Federation was disgruntled by Outer Rim trade route taxation. Chancellor Valorum dispatched two ambassadors to talk with Gunray on the tower of Mordor Minas Morgul, and he was shocked to discover that the ambassadors were in fact Jedi Master Boromir and his Padawan, Sam Gamgee. He swiftly contacted Sauron, at which point Daultay Dofine expressed his concerns about the plan. Sauron angrily ordered that Dofine be kept out of his sight. Dofine hurried away, frightened by the Sith Lord.
After Sauron ordered Gunray to begin the invasion of Gondor, Gunray was skeptical, as he was concerned over the legality of actually invading Middle-Earth. Sauron assured the Viceroy he would "make it legal." Sauron then told Gunray, upon being inquired as to what to do with the Jedi, to kill them, and Gunray destroyed their ship and released toxic gas into the conference chamber. However, the two Jedi managed to escape, but Gunray decided to keep this secret from Sauron for the time being. Gunray was smug when talking with Queen Amidala, telling her he knew nothing of any ambassadors. Amidala told Gunray he had gone too far before ending the transmission. Gunray secretly knew she was right, but insisted it was too late to back out, and then promptly ordered that they immediately black out all communication arrays on the planet.
====The invasion====
The invasion was well-organized, and Cair Andros fully conquered within three days. Gunray ordered OOM-9 to find the Jedi, but the droids were unable to. Viceroy Gunray and Rune Haako entered Cair Andros with their troops and Gunray received word from OOM-9 that they had captured Queen Amidala. Gunray proudly proclaimed victory and marched into the city.
The outraged Governor Sio Bibble demanded how Gunray planned to explain this invasion to the Galactic Senate, to which Gunray replied he and the Queen would a sign a treaty to legitimize the occupation. The Queen quickly told the Viceroy she would not cooperate, but Gunray was not impressed, informing her that the suffering of her people would persuade her to see his point of view. The Queen was marched off to a detention camp, but on her way there was rescued by Sam and Boromir, who managed to get her off Cair Andros and the river Anduin. Gunray was now forced to inform Sauron, who was not pleased with this latest turn of events. Sauron revealed his apprentice to the shocked Gunray and Haako, and told him that Gollum would find the Queen.
====Occupation====
Gunray quickly secured the city of Osgiliath, with only the Gondorian warriors eluding him. He set himself up in the Queen's palace in Theed of Naboo, taunting Governor Bibble from his mechno-chair. He soon grew tired of the Governor's protests however, and informed him he would die much sooner than his people. After unsuccessfully pleading for intervention by the Old Republic Senate, Amidala called for the expulsion of Chancellor Valorum, who was unable to out-talk Senator Lott Dod. A new chancery election was called for, and Naboo's own Senator Palpatine was ultimately elected the new Chancellor.
Despite the ouster of Valorum, the Galactic Senate still would not take action, and Amidala returned home, vowing to liberate Gondor or die trying. Gunray reported his success to Sauron, who was pleased, he told the Viceroy that his apprentice Gollum was coming to the volcanic mountain of Mount Doom to kill the hobbits. As Gollum reported, Gunray detected the Queen's ship and tracked it to the forests on Ithilien. He reported this to Sauron, who was wary of the Queen's more aggressive motives. Gunray next detected the assembled army of Gungans in the swamps and dispatched OOM-9 and a large majority of his army to crush them, dismissing them as primitives.
====Defeat====
Gunray remained in the throne room with Rune Haako. Gollum left to deal with Sam Gamgee and Frodo Baggins as Gunray became concerned the battle was taking place far too close to him. The Queen was able to work her way into the palace, before being captured and marched before the Viceroy. Gunray ordered her to sign the treaty, but the Queen's disguised handmaiden appeared, confusing him. He ordered his droids after Sabé, the Queen's decoy, believing her to be the real Queen. This was Gunray's fatal mistake. The real Queen used the distraction to take out Gunray's guards and held him and Haako at gunpoint. Gunray was not worried at first, because he thought his droids would break through to rescue him. But his hopes of rescue were shattered when a young hobbit named Peregrin Took destroyed the Droid Control Ship, deactivating his army. With his forces destroyed and Gollum believed to be killed by Frodo Baggins, Gunray and Haako were captured and sent back to Coruscant to stand trial for their crimes.
===Separatist Crisis===
After four trials in the Republic Supreme Court, Gunray still maintained control over the Trade Federation, although several of his associates were killed in the Invasion of Gondor. Gunray never publicly revealed the involvement of Darth Sauron in the blockade of Middle-Earth, partly out of fear, but also because Gunray felt that Sauron had not abandoned him completely, and was working to ensure nothing ever came of the many trials that Gunray and his chief officer's went through.
During this time, Gunray was alleged to be having an affair with Lora Besh, who, in 1981, just before the start of the War of the Ring, released an unauthorized biography of Gunray, entitled Gunray On Top. It spent at least several months as a top-ten bestseller, and its sales may have increased due to its subject's involvement in the war.HoloNet News Vol. 531 47
During his final trial by the Republic, Viceroy Gunray was approached by Saruman the White, and, in a moment of weakness, he revealed the existence of Sauron to the former Jedi—who promised to bring the matter before the Jedi Council. Gunray decided to join the Confederacy of Independent Systems, which wished to secede from the Galactic Republic, although he had one demand: that Senator Amidala be killed as revenge for his capture ten years prior. The leader of the Confederacy, Saruman the White, had promised him this, so he hired a bounty hunter named Jango Fett to kill the senator with his bounty hunter companion, Zam Wesell. Much to Gunray's dismay, they both failed, and Jango silenced Zam's attempt to name her client by shooting her with a saberdart.
===War of the Ring (1981–1984)===
====Beginnings on Isengard====
Sam Gamgee tracked Jango through the saberdart to the orc factory on Isengard and overheard Gunray's ongoing negotiations with Saruman. Though he was captured by the Uruk-Hai, Padmé Amidala and Frodo Baggins attempted to rescue him, getting themselves captured in the process. Gunray saw his chance for revenge and was delighted when the former Queen was sentenced to death and he would be there to witness it. To his fury, she escaped being killed by the nexu unleashed on her, and left the tower with the aid of over 200 Jedi and the Republic's new clone army. Gunray was barely able to flee for his own life in the melee between battle droids, orcs, Uruk-Hai, Geonosians, Jedi Knights, the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth and clone troopers.
The War of the Ring had begun, and Gunray suddenly found himself preparing his droids for war. Gunray was a businessperson, not a commander, but there was no way he could break his ties with the CIS without losing his life. He soon ended up providing the bulk of CIS funding.
Gunray soon found himself at odds with the Confederacy's new Supreme Commander, General The Mouth of Sauron. When he was first introduced to the General on Mount Doom, he thought of the Mordor General as nothing more than a droid—greatly angering Mouth of Sauron, who might have killed Gunray had Saruman not intervened. Gunray's attitude quickly changed when he witnessed the General's capabilities, and Mouth of Sauron's actions in the tower on Isengard helped Gunray and the other Separatist leaders escape the region alive. However, the two would share a mutual enmity of one another throughout the rest of the war.
Soon after the war had begun, Saruman revealed himself as a Sith, with his master as none other than Darth Sauron. Nute Gunray was frustrated that he had once again found himself in service to forces over which he had no control whatsoever.
Due to the stress of war, the wrinkles on Gunray's face became more severe than most Neimoidians.
====Rodia and capture====
A short time after the Battle of Isengard, the swamp planet of Rodia was attacked by pirates. Desperate, Rodia's senator, Onaconda Farr, looked to Nute Gunray for help. He agreed to supply Rodia's citizens with the needed food, shelter and other everyday materials in return for one small favor: to kidnap fellow Senator Padmé Amidala, with whom the Viceroy still held a grudge. Farr was a close family friend of Naboo's former Queen, and called her to Rodia under the pretext of aiding the Rodian people.
Amidala came with her personal protocol droid, C-3PO and incumbent Gungan representative from Naboo, Jar Jar Binks. Eventually, she and C-3PO were captured and imprisoned by Gunray and his battle droids, but Jar Jar interrupted his plans by disguising himself in Frodo Baggins's Jedi cloak and running into the battle, along with the help of a Kwazel Maw he had nicknamed "Bogey". Gunray attempted to flee the ensuing chaos, but found his battle droids being destroyed one by one. Eventually, Farr turned against the Viceroy, and Gunray found himself held at gunpoint by both Amidala and Farr. Soon, clone troopers arrived on Rodia and arrested the Viceroy.
Gunray was whisked upon the Tranquility, a Jedi Cruiser with Luminara Unduli, Eowyn, Commander Gree, Captain Faro Argyus, and the latter's squadron of Senate Commandos. He was to be taken to Minas Tirith, where he would stand trial for the fifth time in his life. Gunray attempted to hold out under Jedi interrogation, but after being threatened by Eowyn, he reconsidered and offered to negotiate a bargain. He soon withdrew the offer when Separatist droids boarded the ship, and Jinx arrived in the detention area and set him free—once free, Gunray locked Eowyn in her cell and gloated over her predicament. His victory, however, was short-lived when Jinx was forced to flee after reinforcements arrived led by Unduli, and Gunray found himself back inside his own cell.
After diverting Eowyn, and making sure she joined Unduli in battling Jinx, Captain Argyus revealed to Gree he was with the Separatists and killed the commandos—letting Gunray out of his cell once again. As Argyus faced off with Gree, Nute saw that Gree had the upper hand, sneaked up behind the clone and knocked him unconscious with a blaster rifle. Gunray, Argyus, and Jinx managed to escape the crippled vessel, but when Argyus stated he had done the most work in saving Gunray, intending to claim credit for the rescue to Saruman, Jinx promptly murdered the boastful Commando for the insult, after which Gunray told Jinx he had always had a 'good feeling' about her. Gunray later assisted Saruman in a plot to lure Jedi Master Legolas and his former Padawan, Jedi Knight Nahdar Vebb, to the Mordor leader General Mouth of Sauron's castle on the moon of Vassek; they arrived under the pretense that Gunray was there, but instead engaged the Mordor general himself.
====Assisting Mezmaron====
Darth Sauron later ordered Gunray to dispatch reinforcements to assist bounty hunter Mezmaron at Devaron. Mezmaron had stolen a Jedi Holocron which contained vital information which Sauron desired. Gunray sent a Trade Federation escort of Munificent-class frigates to safeguard Mezmaron's escape from Devaron, but was furious when he discovered that Mezmaron had lost four of his ships in battle with the Republic. Though Mezmaron assured Gunray that Sauron would compensate him for the loss of his fleet, Gunray demanded that Mezmaron transmit him the data from the Holocron, but Mezmaron had been unable to open it thus far.
Much to Gunray's shock, Mezmaron let Jedi board his ship, and then successfully forced Jedi Frodo Baggins to open the Holocron in exchange for his Padawan's life. Mezmaron reported his success to Gunray, and the Viceroy offered to send him a rescue ship in exchange for the data from the Holocron—but Mezmaron remained far too cagey to accept Gunray's offer, and made his own escape as the last ship in Gunray's borrowed fleet was destroyed.
====Invasion of Rohan====
In 1984, near the end of the War of the Ring, Gunray attempted to convince the Wookiee royal families of Kashyyyk to join the Confederacy. The royal families, acting through a council dominated by King Grakchawwaa, were on the verge of agreeing to join the Confederacy out of self preservation—but General Mouth of Sauron, having grown impatient, ordered Gunray to deploy droids to "persuade" the Wookiees to join the Separatists. Gunray did not agree with this move, but deployed the droids anyway. Unfortunately, this resulted in the death of Grakchawwaa's son, Prince Rikummee. In anger, Grakchawwaa allied himself with the Republic, forcing the Separatists to launch a massive invasion of Helm's Deep in the closing days of the war.Deep Forest
====The Fall of Minas Morgul====
As the Republic launched an offensive to claim Mordor from Separatist control, General Mouth of Sauron ordered the members of the Separatist Council to rendezvous with him in the dark tower of Barad-Dur. Gunray, however, was determined to return to his private citadel on Minas Morgul and evacuate his many treasures and keepsakes before they fell into the hands of the Republic. After being pursued by Jedi Knights Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee, Gunray narrowly escaped Minas Morgul, but did not have time to load all of his belongings onto his shuttle.
After safely escaping, Gunray suddenly realized his Mechno-Chair was not aboard his ship. The chair contained a hyperwave transceiver given to him fourteen years ago by Darth Sauron, and Gunray worried that the Republic might tamper with the chair. Unable to set the self-destruct, he and Rune Haako hastily sent a signal for the chair to arm itself, hoping it would force Republic forces to destroy the chair before they could learn anything from it. Gunray reflected upon the loss of Minas Morgul soon after, fearing it was a tragedy not just for the Trade Federation, but for the entire Neimoidian species. By this point, Gunray had began to grow weary of the war, and privately feared that all was lost as he and his allies were driven from the Core.
In order to give General Mouth of Sauron the impression that he had been chased from the core, Gunray opted to use standard Hyperspace lanes, rather than the secret Trade Federation hyperlanes. The Mouth of Sauron saw through the deception, and castigated the Viceroy by deliberately firing upon his Droid escort. Gunray realized the General had seen through his ruse, but elected not to raise the matter with Saruman, fearing he would stand by Mouth of Sauron's actions.
After meeting with Mouth of Sauron and the rest of the council, Gunray learned that Mouth of Sauron planned to keep the council together for the foreseeable future and find them a new safe harbour in the Mid Rim. Mouth of Sauron informed the Council that he would contact them in the usual manner; which, for Gunray, meant via his Mechno-Chair. Fearing the consequences if he told Mouth of Sauron he had let the chair fall into the hands of the Republic, Gunray decided to remain quiet.
Sometime later, Gunray was contacted by Shu Mai, who asked if he wished to join her in a convoy while they travelled to Belderone, the safe harbour Mouth of Sauron had promised the Council. Gunray declined her request, but played along, pretending he had been informed of this already and could waste no time in travelling to Belderone himself. In an attempt to cover his tracks, Gunray contacted Mouth of Sauron and angrily demanded to know why he had not been informed of this personally, though Mouth of Sauron maintained that he had tried contacting the Viceroy several times.Reversal of Fortune
In fact, Republic forces had used Gunray's captured Mechno-Chair to intercept Mouth of Sauron's transmission, alerting them to the General's plan to attack Belderone and allowing them to stage a surprise attack. Gunray was soon confronted by Mouth of Sauron, who stormed into his private chambers. The Viceroy stood his ground, but the General seized him by the throat, quickly learning the truth of what had happened from the terrified Gunray. Ultimately Saruman and Darth Sauron found a way to use Gunray's blunder as means to accelerate the final stages of the Grand Plan and Gunray was spared the wrath of Mouth of Sauron and his Sith masters.
====Exile on Naboo====
Gunray and the Separatist Council were later relocated to the Black Gate of Mordor, where Gunray and the others watched Sauron's attack on Minas Tirith via the HoloNet, for the first time, Gunray began to believe that he had underestimated the Mordor General, and joined the rest of the council in celebration.
Gunray's celebration was short-lived, as news soon reached the Council that Saruman had been killed and the Separatist forces defeated. Following this devastating loss, the Council bemoaned their current situation as many came to believe the war was lost. Gunray told his fellow Council members that, as the leadership council, they should be the ones giving the orders now, not Mouth of Sauron.
When the General arrived to meet with them, Gunray openly challenged Mouth of Sauron before the council, noting the General's failure at Minas Tirith, the escape of Chancellor Palpatine and the death of Saruman, but he was dismissed by the General.
===Defeat, death and legacy===
Shortly after, he and the rest of the Separatist Council were moved to Naboo by General Mouth of Sauron at Darth Sauron's command, and Mouth of Sauron himself was killed a short time later. As the head of the Council, Nute Gunray now found himself the leader of the remaining Confederate forces. He and the Council were contacted once more by Darth Sauron, who told the Viceroy he had done well, and promised that his new apprentice, Delightful Children from Down the Lane, would arrive on Naboo to "take care" of him. Meanwhile, Naboo forces under Amidala and her Jedi allies would infiltrate Theed and capture the Viceroy. Naboo forces would also capture the hangar bay at the royal palace and use their N-1 starfighters to destroy the Droid Control Ship, incapacitating the droid army. After receiving reports that the Gungan Grand Army was marshalling outside Theed, Gunray dismissed them as primitives and asked for Lord Sauron' permission to wipe them out. At Sauron's urging, Gunray sent the majority of his droid army to wipe out the Gungan forces. During the Battle of Naboo, Gunray believed himself to be away from the fighting the within the Theed Royal Palace. With the bulk of the droid army preoccupied with the Gungans, Padme Amidala and her Jedi allies were able to infiltrate the Palace and secure the N-1 starfighters, which proceeded to launch a starfighter strike on the Vuutun Palaa. While Master Sam Gamgee and former Jedi Padawan Eowyn and Padme took on Frodo in a lightsaber duel, the Jedi's forces fought their way through the Royal Palace.
Gunray's droidekas managed to capture Legolas and Tauriel and some their party and brought them into the throne room, where a triumphant Gunray reiterated his demand that they sign a treaty with the Confederacy. However, the Queen's disguised handmaiden arrived in the throne room with reinforcements, confusing Gunray and his battle droids. Gunray ordered his droids to pursue the decoy Queen, dividing his forces, and the real Queen used the opportunity disable Gunray's remaining droids and take the Viceroy and Haako captive. Meanwhile in space, Peregrin Took destroyed the Droid Control Ship with a missile fired from his starfighter. This effectively disabled the entire Separatist droid army; turning the tide of the battle decisively in favor of the Naboo, the Jedi and their Gungan allies. Elsewhere, Amidala managed to seemingly injured Frodo by losing his Elder Wand and his ring but lost her own life, who succumbed to injuries inflicted by Frodo Baggins with the power of the dark side. With the defeat of the Confederacy, Viceroy Gunray and Haako were held prisoner by the Naboo and then transported to Coruscant to be executed for their crimes on Naboo.
He was briefly succeeded as Viceroy of the Trade Federation by fellow Neimoidian Sentepeth Findos, the final holder of the position, who reluctantly surrendered the Federation's assets to the new Galactic Empire.Republic HoloNet News Special Inaugural Edition 16:5:241
==Personality and traits==
As Viceroy of the Trade Federation, Nute Gunray was cunning, deceitful, greedy and willing to kill for his financial benefit. He was an avaricious and calculating business leader who was primarily concerned with maximizing profits and his own well-being. He had no qualms about exploiting innocent people for the love of money—rather, he encouraged it. Gunray was skilled in the political arena, often discouraging an opponent with a series of baseless, condescending assurances. These skills carried over to his role as Federation Viceroy, where he was constantly in the position of having to pacify an employee, client or opponent. Gunray was also a highly successful businessman, his talents in this field catching the attention of Darth Sauron.
Gunray was openly fearful of Darth Sauron, but was frequently forced to place his fate in the Sith's hands. Early in their relationship, working with Sauron yielded great rewards for Gunray, though by the end of the War of the Ring, he had come to regret ever allying with the Sith and placing himself under their control. His personality grated against General Mouth of Sauron, who, unlike Gunray, was a vicious, strategically-minded military commander with a sense of authority. Gunray, in turn, despised Mouth of Sauron, and believed the General to be unstable and arrogant.
Although frequently perceived as a coward, Gunray was willing to get his own hands dirty if he was threatened, and delighted in exacting revenge upon those he felt had wronged him in some way; this was especially true in the case of his unhealthy obsession with killing Padmé Amidala. While often perceived as villainous, Gunray was not any different from his Neimoidian peers, whose culture was entirely devoid of the notion of morality that motivated other species.Secrets of Naboo However, he was at least pragmatic enough to realize if he broke the law, he would suffer for it, as evidenced by his skepticism towards Darth Sauron's order that he have the Trade Federation invade Gondor due to the likelihood of such an action being illegal.
Gunray wore a large headdress as a symbol of his power, and forbade his colleagues from wearing a taller piece, even instituting regular measuring contests to enforce his own ego. Gunray was highly acquisitive, and kept a vast trove of treasures and keepsakes in the vaults of his private redoubt on Cato Neimoidia. Amongst his collection were robes and miters, resplendent jewelry, priceless works of art. Gunray was particularly fond of Hutt artwork, as he greatly admired the species for their business skill, power, and success. He also purchased his personal mecho-chair to emulate their repulsor-thrones.
==Behind the scenes==
Nute Gunray was played by Silas Carson, who also played Neimoidian Senator Lott Dod, and Republic Lieutenant Williams in all three episodes of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Carson, when portraying the character, voiced him with a Thai accent. He was played by voice-actor Phil Proctor in the game Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, by Tom Kenny in the The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Ring TV series, by David W. Collins in The Lord of the Rings Episode III: Revenge of the Sith video game, and by Scott Cleverdon in The Lord of the Rings: Episode I The Fellowship of the Rings video game. Besides Palpatine, he is the only villain to appear in all three episodes of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
A scene cut from The Two Towers shows Frodo Baggins and Padmé Amidala put on trial by the Geonosians. Nute Gunray watches from the side and, when the trial goes on too long, he shouts to Poggle the Lesser: "Get on with it, carry out the sentence. I want to see her suffer!". Poggle the Lesser quickly wraps up the trial and orders his guards to take Frodo and Padmé to the execution arena. DVD
Gunray's Revenge of the Sith head piece is the only one without three points.
Nute Gunray's name had two sources from real life: The first was the Republican congressman Newt Gingrich, and the second was former president Ronald Reagan. The former source was because Lucas primarily wrote the Trade Federation members in terms of motives and characterizations in response to the 1994 Republican Revolution (which occurred eight days into Lucas's draft-writing the film), specifically then-Speaker of the House Gingrich's Contract with America,Chris Taylor. How Star Wars Conquered the Universe: The Past, Present Future of a Multibillion Dollar Franchise. New York, New York, USA: Basic Books, 2014-2015. Pp. 300-301. "Anyone sitting down to write a screenplay on November 1, 1994, as Lucas apparently did, would have been interrupted eight days into the writing process by one of the most seismic midterm in postwar American history. Republicans took the House and the Senate for the first time in 40 years. A resurgent GOP under House Speaker Newt Gingrich started pushing its tax-cutting, regulation-slashing 'Contract with America.' Democrats, whose messaging had improved since Ted Kennedy's "Star Wars" flub, started calling it a 'Contract On America.""It was perhaps no co-incidence, then, that Lucas started writing about a "Trade Federation," aided and emboldened by corrupt politicians, embroiled in some sort of dispute over the taxing of trade to the outlying star systems. We never learn what the dispute is about -- whether the Trade Federation was pro- or anti-tax. But what we know is that the name of the leader of the Trade Federation -- never actually spoken in the movie, but noted in the script from the start -- was Nute Gunray. By 1997, when the GOP Senate leader was Trent Lott, Lucas named the Trade Federation's representative in the Galactic Senate: Lott Dodd. We're a long way from the subtlety of his [George Lucas's] [North] Vietnam metaphor here." and the latter source was as a response to Reagan's SDI program being labeled as "Star Wars" without Lucas' permission.
==Appearances==
===Non-canon appearances===
*LEGO Star Wars III: The Lord of the Rings
*Path of the Jedi
*Menace of the Sith
*LEGO Star Wars: The Musketeers Saga
==Sources==
==Notes and references==
Category:Galactic Republic senators
Category:Males
Category:Neimoidians
Category:Separatist leadership
Category:Sith minions
Category:Trade Federation members
Category:Viceroys