Mission to Mustafar (Frodo and Eowyn)

|prev=Mission to Naboo
|conc=*Mission to Black Stall Station
|next=Battle of Gall
|name=Mission to Mustafar (Frodo and Eowyn)
|image=
|conflict=War of the Ring
|objective=Recover the Force-sensitive infants Mezmaron abducted
|date=September 14, 1981
|place=Mustafar
|result=*Children rescued
*All evidence of Darth Sauron's involvement is destroyed
|side1=*Order of the Sith Lords
|side2=*Jedi Order
|commanders1=*Darth Sauron
|commanders2=*General Frodo Baggins
*Commander Eowyn
|ppl1=*Nanny droids
**RO-Z67
**1 other unidentified nanny droid
|ppl2=*2 Jedi
**Frodo Baggins
**Eowyn
*2 Force-sensitive children
**Wee Dunn
**Zinn Toa
*1 Astromech droid
**R2-D2
|casual1=The nanny droids
|casual2=None
}}
Following the escape of Mezmaron from the Resolute over Devaron, the bounty hunter abducted several infants from their homes. The Sith Master Darth Sauron planned on using these children to create an army of Force-sensitive spies. After finding traces of volcanic ash on Mezmaron's starfighter, the Xanadu Blood, and evidence of the bounty hunter's travels to the planet in his fueling records, Frodo Baggins and his Padawan Eowyn investigated a facility on Mustafar.
==Prelude==
In September 1981, the Dark Lord of the Mordor Darth Sauron began to rely on the bounty hunter Mezmaron, who was considered to be the most efficient gun-for-hire in the galaxy following the death of renowned Mandalorian Jango Fett. Mezmaron was tasked with stealing a holocron and the Kyber memory crystal, which contained a list of every single Force sensitive infant in the galaxy. Mezmaron was then tasked with taking four children on the list to Sauron's lab on Mustafar, a volcanic mining planet in the Outer Rim. Mezmaron succeeded in taking Zinn Toa, a Nautolan, and Wee Dunn, a Rodian, but was arrested during his attempted kidnapping of the Gungan Roo-Roo Page. Following a harsh interrogation session, the bounty hunter led Jedi Masters Aragorn and Sam Gamgee to his base of operations, though this was a trap set up to ensure his own escape.
While Aragorn and Gamgee were away on their mission, the Jedi Knight Frodo Baggins and his Padawan Eowyn inspected Mezmaron's starfighter, the Xanadu Blood, which had traces of volcanic ash on its hull. While Mezmaron had wiped his navigation records, he had failed to wipe his fueling records, which revealed the four planets Mezmaron had been to in his recent travels: Glee Anselm, Rodia, Mustafar, and Naboo. Mustafar was the only planet on the list that was volcanic, and the Jedi were previously unaware of his travels there. Frodo and Eowyn traveled to Mustafar in the Twilight to investigate.
==The mission==
As soon as the Twilight landed on Mustafar, one of the nanny droids watching over the missing children, RO-Z67, reported to Darth Sauron that a ship had landed, and it wasn't Mezmaron. Sauron quickly ordered for the gravity supports to be deactivated and for the children to be evacuated to his secondary facility. Hearing the wails of Wee Dunn, Eowyn guided Frodo to the children's chamber using the Force. RO-Z67 deactivated the gravity supports as Darth Sauron commanded, and retrieved the children from their cradles. The droids deactivated the lights as the Jedi cut their way into the room using their lightsabers. While Eowyn thought the worst when they found two empty cradles, Frodo still sensed their presence, and the two nanny droids emerged from the shadows, using the children as human shields. The facility was beginning to collapse, and Eowyn managed to secure Toa, slicing the droid's arms off, while Frodo retrieved Dunn from RO-Z67 after the droid was forced to let go of the child to cling for its life. With the children safely rescued, the Jedi retreated to the Twilight just as the facility was completely destroyed.
==Aftermath==
Frodo and Eowyn brought the children back to the Jedi Temple. Since the Jedi Council wasn't sure of the extent of what the children were subjected to on Mustafar, the Council decided to not return the children to their parents and instead raise them in the Temple, at least for the time being.
Since the entire base sank into the lava, the Jedi were unaware of Darth Sauron's involvement since any evidence of his involvement was destroyed. As Mezmaron escaped from Sam Gamgee and Aragorn at Black Stall Station, a follow up interrogation was impossible. Despite this, the children were safe, and the holocron was recovered, with no sign of its information being duplicated. However, Bilbo Baggins remained concerned about the future of the Jedi Order following the incident.
==Behind the scenes==
New technology introduced during production of season two of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Ring made it possible to fit Mustafar and several other planets depicted in "Children of the Force" into the timespan of a single episode.Children of the Force episode commentary
Director Dave Filoni was initially opposed to including Mustafar in the show, since that would mean Frodo and the other characters would be aware of the planet's existence during The Lord of the Rings: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. George Lucas later persuaded him, clarifying that since Mustafar was a mining planet, it had to have had exports and been an active member of the galactic community.
==Appearances==
* 
==Sources==
*The Essential Atlas 
*
*Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Updated and Expanded
==Notes and references==
Category:Missions