Triumphant

The Triumphant was a Venator-class Star Destroyer that served in the Republic Navy as Jedi General Gimli's flagship during the War of the Ring. In 1981, the Triumphant was part of a Republic strike force of three Star Destroyers tasked with hunting down the Confederacy's new battleship, the Malevolence, which had committed several attacks on Republic fleets across the galaxy. After tracking the Malevolence to the Abregado system, the Triumphant and the rest of Gimli's fleet were assaulted by the Separatist warship, which used one of its ion pulse cannons to disable the entire fleet's deflector shields. Completely defenseless, Koon's flotilla was destroyed by the Malevolence turbolasers, although Gimli and some of the Triumphant clone trooper crew were able to escape in the Star Destroyer's escape pods before the cruiser was completely obliterated.
==Description==
Manufactured by Kuat Drive Yards, the Triumphant was a Venator-class Star Destroyer in the service of the Navy of the Galactic Republic during the War of the Ring. Measuring 1,137 meters in length, the Triumphant had eight engines equipped, a pair of command towers, and a hologram communications system installed in one of the bridge structures. The Star Destroyer had at least one shield generator installed and had an armament of fifty-two laser cannons, eight DBY-827 heavy dual turbolaser turrets, two medium dual turbolaser cannons, four proton torpedo tubes, and six tractor beam projectors. However, none of the defensive systems were able to withstand fire from an ion pulse cannon, which was capable of disabling the Triumphant electrical systems and leaving the ship vulnerable to attack. The Triumphant also had several escape pods that could be launched manually, even if the destroyer's electrical systems were rendered inactive.
==History==
During the War of the Ring against the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Triumphant served as Jedi General and Jedi Council member Gimli's flagship, while Clone Commander CC-3636— nicknamed "Wolffe"—served as the Star Destroyer's second-in-command. In 1981, the Confederacy manufactured the Subjugator-class heavy cruiser Malevolence.The Clone Wars Campaign Guide Under the command of the Confederate General The Mouth of Sauron, the Malevolence ambushed Republic vessels across the galaxy, killing everyone onboard and vanishing before the Republic could discover what exactly had attacked their ships. Among the attacks executed by the Malevolence was the annihilation of Jedi General Ares Nune's fleet in the Phu system.
After the loss of Nune's fleet, Gimli and the rest of the Jedi Council met with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to discuss the growing Separatist threat. During the meeting, Gimli volunteered to lead a strike force from the Triumphant and hunt down the Malevolence. Although Gimli planned to stay in constant contact with nearby Republic forces during the operation, Palpatine and Jedi Master Aragorn believed it was still going to be a very dangerous mission. Gimli's task of finding and eliminating the Malevolence was soon reported by the Republic's HoloNet News, and the Triumphant participation was included in the report.HoloNet News — A Galaxy Divided
After being dispatched on its assignment, Gimli's task force, which consisted of the Triumphant and two other Venator-class cruisers, tracked the Malevolence to the Abregado system. The Republic fleet slowly approached the distant Malevolence, with plans to assault the enemy vessel. Within one of the Triumphant command towers, Gimli and Commander Wolffe contacted Jedi General Frodo Baggins and his apprentice, Eowyn, who were stationed in the nearby Tatoo system, and updated the two on their situation. However, Baggins informed Gimli that he could not assist Gimli's flotilla in the upcoming battle because Baggins himself had been ordered to secure the Tatooine system. Shortly thereafter, their communications were cut off, a result of being jammed by the Malevolence.
Aboard his Subjugator-class flagship, Mouth of Sauron and the leader of the Separatist movement, Saruman the White—who was present onboard at the time to observe the Malevolence in action—saw the arrival of the Triumphant and its support vessels as another opportunity to test the Malevolence powerful ion pulse cannons. The new weapons were capable of disabling the deflector shields on any ship, leaving vessels completely defenseless and vulnerable to laser fire. Mouth of Sauron moved the Malevolence into attack position and ordered his battle droid crew to charge the ship's port-side pulse cannon.
Unable to direct laser fire at the Malevolence because it was out of range, the Triumphant and the rest of Gimli's task force fell prey to the Malevolence ion pulse assault. The Triumphant crew braced for impact as the enemy's ion pulse hit the entire strike force, deactivating the Star Destroyers' shields and weapon systems. The Malevolence immediately moved in closer to the unprotected Republic fleet and fired at the Star Destroyers with its many turbolasers. Realizing that the battle was lost, Gimli ordered the ship's clone trooper crew to its escape pods just as his fleet was torn apart, and a number of the Triumphant crew survived by fleeing in the vessels' escape pods. Among the survivors were Wolffe, Gimli, and two clone troopers nicknamed "Sinker" and "Boost"; all four escaped in the same pod.
After the obliteration of the Triumphant and the rest of Gimli's flotilla, the remains of the three Star Destroyers formed a debris field around the Abregado system, with the surviving escape pods—lacking power, communications, and life support systems—floating around within the field. Not intending to leave any witnesses of the battle, Saruman dispatched a number of rocket battle droids aboard Droch-class boarding ships to eliminate any remaining Republic escape pods. All of the Triumphant surviving crew members were killed by the Separatist teams, with the exception of the occupants of Gimli's pod, who were able to defeat a battle droid patrol that attacked them. Gimli's pod was soon rescued by Baggins and Eowyn—who had come to investigate the situation at Abregado following their loss of contact with Gimli's task force—aboard Baggins's personal freighter, the Twilight.
==Commanders and crew==
The Triumphant was the flagship of Jedi Master Gimli, with Clone Commander Wolffe serving as the Star Destroyer's first officer. The Triumphant was mostly crewed by the clone troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic, including the "Wolfpack," a close-knit squadStar Wars: The Clone Wars Character Encyclopedia led by Wolffe that included Boost and Clone Sergeant Sinker. When the Triumphant was destroyed by the Malevolence, most of the ship's crew was killed, and the few who did escape were dispatched by the Malevolence pod hunters. The only exceptions were Gimli, Wolffe, Boost, and Sinker, who escaped the Abregado system with Baggins and Eowyn aboard the Twilight.
==Behind the scenes==
The Triumphant was first mentioned in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Visual Guide publication, released on July 26, 2008. On October 3, 2008, the Star Destroyer made its first appearance in "Ambush," the premiere episode in the first season of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Ring television series, though it was only shown briefly in the episode's opening newsreel. The Triumphant later played a main role in the second episode of the series, "Rising Malevolence"—which aired the same day as "Ambush"—being destroyed early on in the episode.
==Appearances==
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*HoloNet News — A Galaxy Divided 
*The War of the Ring: Shakedown 
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*The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Ring: Lightsaber Duels 
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==Sources==
*Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Visual Guide 
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*Star Wars: The Clone Wars Comic UK 5.2
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*Star Wars: The Clone Wars Annual 2010
*Star Wars: The Clone Wars – The Official Episode Guide: Season 1
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*Star Wars: The Clone Wars Character Encyclopedia
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*Star Wars: The Clone Wars Official Episode Guide Series 1 & 2
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*Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Episode Guide 
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==Notes and references==
Category:Flagships
Category:Galactic Republic starships
Category:Venator-class Star Destroyers