Rescue of Yoda

In 26 BBY during the Republic Era, Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker were deployed to rescue Grand Master Yoda of the Jedi Order. Unknown to them, Yoda's kidnapping was staged by the Grand Master, Jedi Master Mace Windu, and Jedi Master Bant Eerin, as they sought to test the master and apprentice.
==Prelude==
Anakin Skywalker was a Force-sensitive human male found on the planet of Tatooine during the Invasion of Naboo in 32 BBY.Star Wars: Galactic Atlas Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn believed Skywalker was the prophesied Chosen One, an individual who was to restore balance to the Force, and wanted to train the boy, but he was killed by the Sith Lord Darth Maul during the Battle of Naboo before he had the chance. In his last moments, Jinn told his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, to train Skywalker. Kenobi agreed and was made a Jedi Knight, while Skywalker became his Padawan learner. However, by the time of 26 BBY Grand Master Yoda, Jedi Master Mace Windu, and Jedi Master Bant Eerin felt that the two needed to be tested to see if they could work together, as the Jedi Order believed that a Padawan needed to listen to their mentor, and the mentor also needed to listen to the learner.
==The test==
===False kidnapping===
The Masters' test partly involved freezing the Jedi Temple's holofeeds, preventing any investigation from using the security footage, and was launched on the same day as a failed training session they watched Skywalker take part in. Kenobi had tasked his Padawan with defending against a group of Marksman-H training remotes using a wooden training stick instead of his lightsaber, though the younger Jedi instead tried to teach Kenobi a lesson of his own by using the Force to steal his master's blade. The two argued with each other after the test, which Kenobi had increased by sending out more remotes after Skywalker destroyed the first few.
After the trio of Jedi Masters left Skywalker and Kenobi, both felt a disturbance in the Force and encountered a team of Jedi Temple Guards, one of whom revealed that there had been a break-in at the temple's storage level. Kenobi left with the guards and wanted Skywalker to stay behind, ordering him to clean up the practice gallery and put everything where it belonged, but Skywalker followed when he realized Kenobi still had his lightsaber. Reprogramming two training remotes, Skywalker rode them down a shaft to the storage room, landing in a pantry. Feeling that the disturbance was in the training stores, Skywalker entered the room and threw one of the remotes at a B1 battle droid he heard behind him. Avoiding being hit by blaster bolts, Skywalker spotted three battle droids emerge from their hiding space.
Skywalker jumped up and climbed the shelving to evade the combat droids' blaster fire before using the Force to throw a number of crates at his robotic foes, which damaged at least one unit. Continuing to avoid the droids, Skywalker searched for a weapon in nearby crates, finding blast visors in one container but electroblades in the next. The Padawan grabbed two of these blades and used them to take out the damaged battle droid, and, after Skywalker jumped into the air, the other two units took themselves out by accidentally shooting each other. However, five more droids arrived to confront the young Jedi, and his electroblades were unable to match their amount of blasters. Skywalker used the Force to push his attackers and then stole a discarded baster, but the weapon was shot out of his grasp.
He attempted to topple a shelving unit with the Force to take out the droids, but it was too heavy for his abilities. Fortunately, Kenobi and the Temple Guards arrived, and the Jedi Knight returned Skywalker's lightsaber to his Padawan. As they fought the droids, however, Skywalker had a Force vision of the Jedi Council Chamber damaged, forcing Kenobi, who had not felt any disturbance, to save him from a blaster bolt. Though Kenobi wanted to leave for the chamber together after dealing with the droids, Skywalker abandoned the current fight and left up a turbolift. Arriving at the next lift he needed to take, Skywalker saw an unconscious Temple Guard in front of the elevator's open doors. While he hoped the unconscious guard was okay, Skywalker decided to keep moving and entered the next turbolift. Unknown to Skywalker, this had been part of the test, as the "guard" was actually a disguised B1 battle droid with a concealed trap. If he had approached the unit, the B1 would have deployed a green knockout gas from his vocabulator against the Jedi.
All of the battle droids "attacking" the temple were actually a part of the Masters' test. The units were from a Techno Union batch the Jedi Order had recovered two years earlier from Chagrian smugglers. They were serving as a diversion so that, within the Council Chamber, Yoda and Eerin, who was disguised as a Temple Guard, could engage in a lightsaber duel. When Skywalker arrived in the room, Yoda was locked in the "duel" with the masked Eerin. Though the Grand Master ordered him to stay back, Skywalker entered the duel and managed to cut the "guard's" Lightsaber pike into two, but she Force pushed the Padawan into a wall. Unable to move or summon his lightsaber due to the pressure put on him, Skywalker was unable to stop four battle droids, arriving on jetpacks and with a battered freighter, from shattering the windows with their blasters.
Yoda moved in front of the fragments to protect the Padawan, rendering him unconscious and without his lightsaber. Two battle droids were able to retrieve the Jedi Master and take him to their freighter, though Skywalker was finally able to call upon his lightsaber while still being trapped to the wall. With her voice disguised by a speech scrambler, Eerin, who retrieved both halves of her pike, complimented Skywalker and claimed they would need to kill the young man, who she released from her Force grip. As Eerin escaped with Yoda aboard the freighter, Skywalker took out the battle droids and, while the jets did not initially fire, soon used one of the fallen unit's jetpacks to chase the starship. As he approached the freighter, the Padawan used his lightsaber to deflect a cannon's plasma bolts, which ricocheted off the blade and into a thruster.
This slowed the ship down, but Skywalker's stolen jetpack failed just as he could touch the craft. Losing the pack to the wind, he fell to the ground before Kenobi reached out from the Council Chamber window and caught him. As his Jedi mentor helped him into the room, Skywalker reported that Yoda had been kidnapped by a Temple Guard, so Windu, speaking to them via a full-size hologram, faked surprise. A team of Temple Guards then entered the room, bringing with them the disguised B1 that Skywalker had seen outside the turbolift. The guard commander reported that it had been a booby-trapped droid and that all guards were accounted for, meaning the kidnapper was not really one of the guardians.
Skywalker hoped the defeated battle droids would be able to help in their search for answers, and, while their receptors were fused as a fail-safe against investigators, he realized the signal confirmation module in a unit's head was a type used by the Techno Union. As Windu noted the union's senator in the Galactic Congress, Gume Saam, was not supportive of the Jedi, Kenobi suggested they instead travel to the union headquarters on the planet of Skako Minor, but Skywalker also found a non-union symbol on the droid head, indicating that they were not the group behind the attack.
===Investigation on the Wheel===
Kenobi agreed to look into the markings, though he intended to travel to Skako Minor if it was nothing. Upon taking the symbol to the Jedi Archives, Jedi Chief Librarian Jocasta Nu cross-referenced the image and found that it was the logo of the Nova Crime Syndicate, a small criminal organization based out of the Wheel space station in the Besh Gorgon system. Nu also told them about Grynask Sanberge, an Anomid who ran the syndicate. The Jedi Order had promised to stay off the Wheel, so, to keep the uneasy truce between the Force-sensitives and Baron Administrator Jaspara, Kenobi flew himself and Skywalker to a nearby planetoid, where they left their Jedi shuttle. They instead booked passage to Besh Gorgon on a public hyperbus and posed as tourists. In order to find Sanberge, Kenobi and Skywalker then went to a gaudy cantina on the space station, where the former ordered information and two mupple juices from a service droid. They were soon joined by an Ortolan named Triss Terasu, who Kenobi gave his drink and some credits to. When he refused to yield any information on Sanberge, Kenobi used a mind trick on the informant, leading him to tell the Jedi to check Ashton Stadium on the third level.
Arriving in the shockball stadium a short time later, Kenobi correctly assumed Sanberge would support the home team, Jaspara's Galactic Globetrotters, and purchased tickets for that stand. Unknown to them, this was not actually the criminal, as it was actually Windu in disguise and working as part of the test. When the "mobster" spotted them pointing in his direction, he tried to escape his two pursuers, pushing past a Lepi spectator. Skywalker tried to chase the "criminal," though he soon ran into a Whiphid and angered the large alien by accidentally knocking his doughnuts away. Kenobi tried to negotiate with the spectator by offering to buy another bag, but the Whiphid instead knocked the Jedi Knight into a doughnut dispenser droid. Skywalker, knowing he needed to avoid using his lightsaber to keep their presence on the Wheel a secret, used the Force to open the dispenser droid's head and make doughnuts shoot out.
These distracted the Whiphid by gumming up his fur and sticking to his face, giving the Jedi a chance to escape, while other spectators fumbled around them to take some of the now-free food. Kenobi and Skywalker soon found the Lepi whom "Sanberge" had knocked over, who pointed them in the direction the disguised Jedi Master had gone in. Accordingly, they followed him into the ultraspa he entered and were again pointed in his direction by its Gungan receptionist, who had tried to offer them several spa treatments. Passing a Gamorrean who then went to the mud baths, Kenobi and Skywalker found the supposed criminal armed with a scatterblaster and in a closet near the turboshowers. Skywalker deflected the blaster shot with his blade before destroying the gun. The "mobster" then claimed he had nothing to say, but Kenobi tried to use a mind trick on him.
When the "mobster" told Kenobi he was able to resist the Force power, the Jedi Knight played on the criminal's statements, saying things he agreed with to manipulate him into the mind trick. Windu played along with the ploy, pretending to have given into Kenobi's influence and telling the Jedi he had been ordered to send the droids to the Jedi Temple by a client. Pretending to not know who this was, the disguised Windu told the Jedi he had been given an audio only contact through a deep space relay. He played the audio recording for the two Jedi, which contained a modulated voice, which Skywalker realized belonged to the "Temple Guard" who had taken Yoda, ordering a squadron of battle droids be sent to Coruscant. Kenobi then had "Sanberge" give them the comlink and sent him towards the spa's hot petal treatments, as the Gungan receptionist had advised he get the treatment. Thus, Kenobi and Skywalker left for the hyperbus terminal, completely unaware that they had actually been dealing with a disguised Windu. The Jedi Master had successfully hidden his abilities and mind from the two of them, although it had been harder than he had anticipated.
===Search on Glee Anselm===
Returning to their Jedi shuttle, Skywalker connected the comlink to its main computer and decrypted it, allowing them to trace its point of origin to the Jalor system. Though the data stream revealed the message could have come from Glee Anselm, Ramitrix, or Melacon, Skywalker theorized the origin point could be Anselm by realizing water could be heard in the background of the recording. Traveling to the mostly ocean-covered planet, Skywalker and Kenobi tried to search the Force for Yoda, though Skywalker, unable to sense the old Jedi Master, instead used the shuttle's sensor array to look for thruster particles in the atmosphere.
Transferring this information to the navigation computer, they soon found the freighter that had escaped the Jedi Temple on what they assumed to be a small island. While every hatch into the vessel was sealed, Skywalker cut into the freighter while Kenobi stood guard. They entered the vessel and headed to the flight deck, but the two Jedi concluded that the ship was abandoned and found that its databanks had been erased, much like the battle droids used at the temple. Kenobi also found Yoda's Jedi cloak near the pilot's chair and used it to help him call on the Force to locate the old Force-user. This pointed Kenobi to the ocean, and, because Skywalker had previously only found one trail when scanning for thruster particles, they knew the kidnapper had not simply moved to another ship.
As they prepared to travel underwater wearing space helmets equipped with breathing apparatuses, the "island" began to shake, as they had truly landed on the back of a massive whale. Its blowhole threw the "Temple Guard's" freighter into the air, and Kenobi, the Jedi shuttle, and Skywalker were forced into the water. The Padawan avoided being hit by a sucker before Kenobi reached him, warning Skywalker to not panic. The whale rushed at the two Jedi with its mouth open, but Kenobi stopped Skywalker from using his lightsaber and instead, after the whale collided with them, used beast control. With the animal now on their side, both Jedi grabbed onto its ivory tusks, and Kenobi had the creature take them to its master, bringing the two to an underwater base grown from glowing coral. While Skywalker spotted their shuttle, now submerged and upside down nearby, Kenobi advised his apprentice worry about their ship afterwards, as a pair of aquatic battle droids armed with energy harpoons were approaching them. Skywalker, however, knowing he was not comfortable with fighting in water, used beast control on the whale to force it to fight the droids. Though Kenobi objected, citing that a Jedi was meant to guide instead of control like Skywalker had, both took advantage of the opening and turned their attention to the base.
Before his mentor had a chance to stop him, Skywalker cut into the base with his blade, flooding the room but giving them an opening. Now inside, Skywalker could feel Yoda's presence, and they found the old Jedi behind an energy field. Suspended in a large air bubble to hold back the water, the Grand Master was floating in the bubble, his eyes were closed, and his arms were bound by a thick seaweed. Kenobi ordered his Padawan to bring down the energy shield, but, having lost his bit driver when submerging, Skywalker planned on using his lightsaber to cut into the control panel. Instead, though, the Padawan sensed something was wrong and found a thermal detonator in the back of the panel, forcing him to spend more time on the work.
After he realized this, Eerin, still disguised as a fake Temple Guard, arrived and activated both halves of her lightsaber pike. Kenobi launched himself at the "guard" and dueled her, while Skywalker continued to work on the panel and, though his master was starting to tire, was soon able to access the base's main systems. This included the environmental systems, meaning he would be able to pump the water back out to sea. When the "guard" knocked Kenobi's lightsaber out of his hands, Skywalker decided to go through with this plan, and the sudden change in water level distracted Eerin. Now given an opening, Kenobi pushed her back and reclaimed his blade. With this, Kenobi and the "guard" continued the duel, but the Jedi Knight quickly outmaneuvered her.
After Eerin surrendered, Kenobi offered Skywalker the honor of finally unmasking their opponent as thanks for noticing the markings on the battle droids back at the Jedi Temple. He used the Force to remove the guard mask, revealing it had been Eerin all along. Kenobi was in disbelief, and Skywalker soon felt hurt and anger arise in his mentor, but Kenobi stated she would stand trial on Coruscant instead of giving into his anger. The three were then interrupted by "Grynask Sanberge," who used the Force to take away Kenobi and Skywalker's lightsabers before unmasking himself. Now aware that Windu had been part of the plot, Skywalker deduced the entire "kidnapping" had been a test, which Yoda soon revealed was the case from behind the energy field.
Yoda then joined them by simply removing the seaweed bonds and walking through the "force field." Kenobi was in a state of surprise, which Windu and Eerin compared to their own thoughts when they had completed the same test. Kenobi soon asked why he had not been told they were testing his Padawan, but the Masters clarified that the lesson was for both of them. Yoda stated the two of them had passed the test. He stated they would have a great future together and impact the galaxy itself. After this, Skywalker and Kenobi lifted their shuttle from the seafloor together, and, unlike the lesson with the training remotes, neither cared that the Masters were watching them.
==Aftermath==
When Kenobi and Skywalker retrieved the shuttle on Glee Anselm, they were not merely working as mentor and student, but as friends and brothers. Understanding this, Skywalker hoped their relationship would be like that forever, and, while the two could still fight or argue at times, they successfully worked together prior to and during the Clone Wars, a galactic conflict fought against the Confederacy of Independent Systems. At the end of the war, in 19 BBY, Yoda's hope that Skywalker and Kenobi would shape the galaxy came true in a way he had not wanted.
Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, truly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, turned Skywalker to the dark side of the Force. Now known as the Dark Lord Darth Vader, he turned against Kenobi and fought the man he had once viewed as a brother on the lava world of Mustafar. Though he was left to die on a lava riverbank, Vader was rescued by Sidious and placed in a life support suit. Vader became a brutal enforcer of the First Galactic Empire and killed Kenobi aboard the DS-1 Death Star Mobile Battle Station in 0 BBY. In 4 ABY, however, Vader was redeemed to the light by his son, Luke Skywalker.
==Behind the scenes==
The rescue of Yoda served as the main conflict of the 2019 children's Choose Your Destiny book Choose Your Destiny: An Obi-Wan & Anakin Adventure. Because of its nature as a Choose your Destiny book, various paths in the story lead to non-canon or optional chapters. Excluding details from those chapters can be assumed to be true within canon, this article only assumes the required paths that lead to the good ending are canon.
==Appearances==
*Choose Your Destiny: An Obi-Wan & Anakin Adventure 
==Sources==
*Star Wars: Timelines
==Notes and references==
Category:Battles in the Besh Gorgon system
Category:Battles of Glee Anselm
Category:Battles of the Jedi Temple
Category:Missions during the Republic Era
Category:Rescue missions