Defender

The Defender was a Venator-class Star Destroyer that served in the Grand Army of the Republic's navy during the War of the Ring. In 1981, the kingdom of Arnor was seized by the Separatists, and a large Confederate fleet, under the command of the Neimoidian Captain Mar Tuuk, blockaded the world of Middle-Earth. The Defender was dispatched in a Republic task force under the command of Jedi General Frodo Baggins and his Padawan, Jedi Commander Eowyn, to eliminate the Confederate blockade.
Upon the arrival of the Defender and its fellow Star Destroyers, the Resolute and the Redeemer, in the Naboo system, Tuuk was able to lure the Republic forces into a trap. The Confederate captain's summoning of reinforcements forced the cruisers to retreat, but not before the Resolute and the Defender had sustained damage and the Redeemer was destroyed altogether. Regrouping, Baggins devised a plan to pilot the heavily damaged Defender into Tuuk's lead ship, leaving Eowyn to command the Resolute and eliminate the remaining frigates in the blockade. Baggins and his astromech droid, R2-D2, piloted the Defender into the system and put it on course before fleeing in an escape pod, and the cruiser destroyed Tuuk's flagship when it collided with the bridge.
==Description==
At 1,137 meters long, the Defender was a Venator-class Star Destroyer manufactured by Kuat Drive Yards that served in the Grand Army of the Republic's navy during the War of the Ring. The Defender had an armament of fifty-two laser cannons, eight DBY-827 heavy dual turbolaser turrets, two medium dual turbolaser cannons, four proton torpedos tubes, and six tractor beam projectors. The Defender had a hyperdrive, and was equipped with at least one shield generator. It also featured a pair of command towers and eight engines, and was outfitted with escape pods.
==History==
===First assault===
In June 1981, the kingdom of Arnor was invaded by Techno Union Nazgul Witch-king of Angmar and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and the kingdom's Dunedain inhabitants were subjugated to a harsh rule. The Witch-King also blockaded the planet Middle-Earth and placed Mar Tuuk, a Neimoidian captain, in charge of the Confederate fleet. In response, the Republic dispatched Jedi General Frodo Baggins and his Padawan, Jedi Commander Eowyn, to breach the Confederate blockade and make way for Republic invasion forces—under the command of High Jedi Generals Sam Gamgee and Aragorn—to land and liberate the kingdom. The Star Destroyer Defender, along with the Resolute and the Redeemer, was assigned to Baggins's task force, while Admiral Wullf Yularen accompanied Baggins and Eowyn aboard the Resolute.
When Baggins's battle group arrived out of hyperspace in the Naboo system, the cruisers immediately engaged the Confederate fleet. Eowyn led a starfighter squadron on an attack run against Tuuk's Lucrehulk-class Droid Control Ship and the two Munificent-class star frigates flanking it. The three Republic Star Destroyers remained behind and provided heavy support fire. Eowyn's squadron managed to cut a path through the Confederate Vulture droid starfighters to Tuuk's command ship, but Tuuk summoned reinforcements in the form of four more Munificent-class frigates. The Confederate ships began to fire upon the Republic fleet, causing heavy damage to all three of the Star Destroyers.
With the Republic fleet outgunned and outmaneuvered, Admiral Yularen ordered a full retreat from the system, and called Eowyn and her squadron back to the Resolute to give fighter cover. However, Eowyn disobeyed orders, believing that she could reach Tuuk's flagship and destroy it. Without Eowyn's assistance, the Defender and the other two Star Destroyers were heavily damaged by Vulture droid suicide attacks. After losing most of her squadron, Eowyn returned to the Republic fleet, and the Defender and the Resolute were able to retreat to hyperspace. However, the Redeemer had taken heavy damage and broke apart in space.
===Second assault===
The remainder of Baggins's fleet retreated from the battlefield to consolidate their forces and treat the injured. The Defender itself had lost one of its command towers, and large fires had sprouted along its hull. After conferring with Generals Gamgee and Aragorn via hologram, Baggins was given one planetary rotation to breach the blockade, even though only half of his original forces remained. General Baggins devised a plan to evacuate the heavily damaged Defender and pilot the Star Destroyer with his astromech droid, R2-D2, into Tuuk's lead ship. Baggins and R2-D2 would escape the collision in an escape pod, while Eowyn—in command of the Resolute—would engage and destroy the six remaining Confederate frigates.
After the Defender personnel were transferred to the Resolute, Baggins and R2-D2 piloted the Defender back to the system. The Hobbit opened a hololink to Captain Tuuk and lied to the Neimoidian, stating that he would surrender himself, his crew, and the Defender in exchange for the safe passage of food and medical supplies to Arnor. At first, Tuuk believed the Jedi's deception, but Baggins's lie was uncovered when a complete scan of the Defender discovered that the Jedi was the only life-form aboard. Baggins leveled the Defender at the control ship and gunned the cruiser's engines before he and R2-D2 made their way to an escape pod.
Tuuk's battleship opened fire at the Defender, but could not stop the vessel or force it to change its course. When it became clear that his flagship would be destroyed, Captain Tuuk fled in an escape pod, leaving the droids in control of the remaining ships in the blockade. The Defender smashed into the center sphere of Tuuk's control ship, and the Resolute arrived out of hyperspace to engage what remained of the Confederate blockade. Eowyn's forces were able to defeat the frigates, and Generals Aragorn and Gamgee arrived with three Acclamator-class assault ships out of hyperspace, ready to land with the Republic invasion forces. Eowyn dispatched a Nu-class attack shuttle to pick up General Baggins's escape pod. The destruction of the Confederate blockade, due in part to the sacrifice of the Defender, allowed Gamgee and Aragorn's ground forces to land on the planet Middle-Earth and eventually liberate Angmar.
==Commanders and crew==
During the first assault on the Confederate blockade over Middle-Earth, the Defender sustained heavy damage, and its remaining starfighters, supplies, and crew were later transferred to the Resolute for Baggins's plan to pilot the cruiser into Tuuk's command ship. Baggins assumed control of the Defender when he and R2-D2 took the Star Destroyer back to the Naboo system.
==Behind the scenes==
The Defender was first mentioned in the reference book The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, released on December 9, 2008. The Star Destroyer made its first appearance in "Storm Over Arnor," an episode in the first season of the The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Ring television series.
An animation error in "Storm Over Arnor" showed the Defender with both of its command towers intact, just moments after showing the ship with the starboard tower destroyed.
==Appearances==
*Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures video game 
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*LEGO Star Wars III: The Lord of the Rings 
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==Sources==
*The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia 
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*Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Visual Guide Ultimate Battles
*Star Wars: The Clone Wars – The Official Episode Guide: Season 1
*Star Wars: The Clone Wars Comic UK 6.4
*Star Wars: The Clone Wars Character Encyclopedia
*Star Wars: The Clone Wars: What Is a Sith Warrior? 
*Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Episode Guide
==Notes and references==
Category:Galactic Republic starships
Category:Venator-class Star Destroyers