Battle of Devaron

A battle took place at Devaron during the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and both the Confederacy of Independent Systems and Trade Federation. The Separatist and Federation fleet was led by the Duros bounty hunter Cad Bane on behalf of the Sith, who abducted the Jedi Master Bolla Ropal, whom he wanted to unlock the holocron that Bane had stolen from the Jedi Temple so the device could read the kyber memory crystal in Ropal's possession. Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan Ahsoka Tano, sent after Bane, arrived in the Devaron system aboard the Resolute shortly after Ropal's abduction.
While the frigates escorting Bane's flagship were destroyed by the attacking Venator-class Star Destroyer, Bane tortured Ropal to death in an unsuccessful attempt to force him to open the stolen Jedi holocron. When Skywalker, Tano and Clone Captain Rex executed an impromptu boarding of Bane's flagship to capture him, the bounty hunter changed his plans, managing to capture Tano to force Skywalker to open the holocron. Subsequently, Bane's flagship was destroyed, with the Jedi presuming Bane to have been killed by clone trooper Denal, and the holocron lost. However, Bane had actually killed Denal and used his armor to get onboard the escape shuttle, subsequently escaping the Resolute and prompting another hunt for him.
==Prelude==
In 21 BBY, during the galaxy-spanning Clone Wars, Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious hired the Duros bounty hunter Cad Bane to infiltrate the Jedi Temple on Coruscant in order to steal a Jedi holocron. Knowing the difficulty of such a job, Bane hired Clawdite bounty hunter Cato Parasitti to serve as an inside woman on the job to assist him and his techno-service droid Todo 360. Jedi Grand Master Yoda foresaw that there would be intruders within the temple, but the Jedi assumed that any intruders would be after military intelligence from the communication centre. While Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his former apprentice Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker kept a lookout, Skywalker's Padawan Ahsoka Tano was on guard duty at the Archives, assigned as a punishment for disobeying orders to retreat during the First Battle of Felucia.
Parasitti, shapeshifted into the form of Ord Enisence, a Skrilling Jedi Master whose recent death was still unknown to the Jedi Order, easily gained access to the Temple and entered the archives. A bored Tano eagerly offered "Enisence" her help, but Parasitti ended up brusquely ordering her to leave in an attempt to be left alone. After Parasitti had accessed a computer terminal, she guided Bane and Todo through a weak point in the Temple's deflector shields and through the vents to the entrance to the Holocron Vault. Informed by Yoda that the intruders were present, Kenobi and Skywalker set out to track Bane while the Temple was placed under lockdown. Chief librarian Jocasta Nu, spotting "Enisence" at the computer, attempted to inform the impostor about the lockdown, but Parasitti, taking the old woman by surprise, knocked her unconscious and shifted into her form. As Skywalker and Kenobi closed in on Bane's position, the bounty hunter was attempting to hack open the door to the vault. Parasitti was attempting to assist Bane when she was discovered by Tano, who swiftly realized she was dealing with an impostor and subdued the shapeshifter after a brief scuffle.
With no more help forthcoming, Bane had Todo cut a hole in the wall and head for the communication centre, while he placed a small explosive on the door control. Blowing up the controls, Bane was able to open the vault door. When Kenobi and Skywalker emerged from the vents in the Vault hallway, they saw the hole cut by Todo and followed, not noticing the partially open vault door. Bane then blew up Todo with a bomb he had planted in the droid earlier after the droid had reached the communication centre. Stealing a holocron, Bane then snuck out of the Temple without being caught. Only after Bane had escaped did the Jedi realize the burglary's true motive. Parasitti, angry about being left behind by Bane, informed the Jedi that Rodian Jedi Master Bolla Ropal was the Duros' next target. The Jedi were alarmed, as Ropal was the keeper of the kyber memory crystal, which contained a list of every Force-sensitive child known to the Order and could only be read by a holocron. Skywalker and Tano set out in pursuit of the bounty hunter.
==The battle==
In order to capture Ropal, who was commanding clone forces on the planet Devaron, Sidious, who was secretly in charge of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, ordered Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray to give Bane command of a fleet of five Munificent-class star frigates. Bane's forces arrived in the Devaron system and conducted an assault on the Galactic Republic outpost where the Rodian Jedi was stationed, capturing him. The remaining forces at the outpost were under heavy attack.
In hot pursuit of the bounty hunter, Skywalker arrived in the system aboard his flagship, the Resolute, accompanied by Tano. The Jedi learned from a clone trooper on the planet below that Ropal had been taken and that there was no possibility of evacuating the forces remaining there, after which the transmitter was destroyed at the source. Skywalker ordered Admiral Wullf Yularen to attack Bane's fleet. The swift attack quickly brought down the frigates escorting Bane's flagship, followed by fire that crippled the hyperdrive of the remaining frigate, preventing Bane from escaping. The bounty hunter paid the attack little heed, however, as in the detention block he had battle droids torture Ropal to try and induce him to open the stolen holocron. Ropal refused, and when Bane continued the interrogation, ignoring the presiding droid's warnings that the Jedi Master could not take much more, the Rodian died. Turning his attention to the Republic attackers, Bane noted that whatever Jedi was commanding the enemy Venator-class Star Destroyer was clearly a bold strategist, and came up with a new plan for opening the holocron.
Skywalker resolved to board Bane's frigate and retrieve Master Ropal, despite Yularen, Tano and Clone Captain Rex's skepticism since the Resolute was not carrying boarding craft, as their initial plan had been to land on the surface. Noting the All Terrain Tactical Enforcers stored in the hangar bay, Skywalker came up with a plan to use them as impromptu boarding craft. While Yularen remained incredulous, Tano and Rex quickly came around, and they boarded three walkers with three brigades of clone troopers. The walkers were then dropped onto Bane's crippled starship from above, with Skywalker and Tano wearing spacesuits. A brief firefight with enemy vulture droids and battle droids atop the frigate ensued, but the Republic forces quickly gained entry to the frigate. As Skywalker and his team made their way to the frigate's bridge, Bane had the droid bridge crew slave all of the ship's functions to his wrist computer, before escaping into the ventilation just before the Jedi and clones arrived.
==Appearances==
* 
*
*
* 
==Sources==
*
*
* 
*
*Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles
*Star Wars: Alien Archive 
*Collapse of the Republic
*
*
*Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
*
*
==Notes and references==
Category:Battles of Devaron
Category:Battles of the Clone Wars