The Clone Wars: The Colossus of Destiny

The Clone Wars: The Colossus of Destiny is the fourth in a series of digest-sized Clone Wars graphic novellas. Its name was revealed in the letters section of The Clone Wars 7.
==StarWars.com summary==
Jedi Master Mace Windu leads a battle against Separatist forces for control of the planet Simocadia! While the Confederacy of Independent Systems battles for the planet's rare fuel source, and the Republic tries to repel the invaders, the rulers of Simocadia choose a different option to save the planet: awakening the Ardana Shadex, an indestructible mechanized giant that has been sleeping for centuries under the planet's surface! But awakening the colossus could cost many lives and cause more destruction than the current war. Mace Windu races against time and across a dangerous landscape to prevent his onetime friend, Prince Yojan, from causing disaster.
==Publisher's summary==
TO JEDI MASTER MACE WINDU, the planet Simocadia isn't just another world caught up in the Clone Wars; he has a long history with its people - and friendship with the planet's royal family. When a battle between the Separatists and the Republic over a rare mineral source threatens to destroy the ancient society, the rulers of Simocadia resist more assistance from the Republic. Instead, they choose another option to save their world: awakening the Ardana Shadex, an indestructible mechanized giant that has been sleeping for centuries under the planet's surface! But awakening the colossus could cost many lives and cause more destruction that the current war. Mace races against time and across a dangerous landscape to prevent disaster.
==Plot summary==
In the midst of a battle over the planet Simocadia, the order has been given for the Republic forces to withdraw. Mace Windu ignores Yoda's advice that he may be letting his feelings interfere and launches himself to the surface with a speeder bike in a sealed, missile-shaped pod. The pod punches through the bridge of a Separatist flagship as it launches, sinking the ship.
On the surface, Empress Sephani and Captain Tobin are preparing for surrender, though the Empress holds out hope that her son, Prince Yojan, will accomplish his mission. Yojan and his aide Demo, meanwhile, recover a two-pronged artifact from an archeological site.
Windu makes landfall and begins to fight through waves of battle droids to reach the palace, backed up by Ponds and his squadron of Clone Troopers. He begins to recall his history with the planet, illustrated in an old-fashioned manner and narrated from the perspective of the Mosciive people of Simocadia. Long ago, Windu has crash-landed on the planet in the midst of an invasion by another species and decided to take on the invaders all alone.
Windu and Ponds arrive at the palace in time to save the Empress from a Super Battle Droid. She reveals that Prince Yojan has joined the Separatists to build some kind of superweapon. She complains that the Republic has been greedy with the mining rights they brokered with the planet, and forbids Mace from stopping her son, believing it will only play into the endless cycle of war she had hoped to stay out of. Mace pushes past her guards and races off to stop Yojan regardless.
Before leaving the palace, Mace is stopped by Yojan's manservant Demo, who claims he is against Yojan's ultimately destructive plan. He explains that the planet was once home to a race of artisans who likely wiped themselves out with the use of massive stone colossi known as the Ardana Shadex, the weapon that Yojan seeks to revive. Demo takes Mace in a speeder to the supposed dig site, but he really leads Mace into an ambush by battle droids. Mace uses Demo as a hostage to retreat.
Mace and Demo arrive at the dig site, with Windu in a pair of decoy handcuffs. The torso of the Ardana Shadex has been unearthed, and Yojan is ready to use the artifact recovered earlier to activate it. Mace breaks out of his cuffs and duels Yojan until he is able to throw his lightsaber at the activation port on the Ardana Shadex, damaging it. Unfortunately, this puts the colossus into a berserk state, and everyone present escapes into a shuttle. Yojan helps Mace aboard, and further flashbacks reveal that after Windu was captured by the invaders, Yojan formed his own team to rescue him from the enemy camp and finish the battle.
Ponds and his men attempt to stop the Ardana Shadex from reaching the city, but it is no use. Yojan reveals that the only way to stop it is from the inside. He and Mace jump from the ship to combat it, and Yojan climbs into the interior. He is ultimately crushed after destroying it from within. Mace leaves the planet a public enemy, a far cry from the heroic farewell her first received. Back on his ship, he confesses to Yoda that the victory feels hollow, as the Empress's fears that the planet will now be under the Republic's heel seem to be coming true after the death of the Prince and the Republic's claim to the remnants of the Ardana Shadex.
==Appearances==
==Notes and references==
==External links==
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