Mission to Jabba's Palace

The **Mission to Jabba's Palace** was a mission to return the kidnapped Huttlet Rotta to his father Jabba at his Palace on Tatooine by the Jedi Anakin Skywalker and his newly appointed apprentice Ahsoka Tano during the early years of the Clone Wars. Together they fought their way against the Separatist forces that attempted to stop them from reuniting the father and son, the kidnapping having been part of a Separatist plot on behalf of Count Dooku. The Sith Lord engaged Anakin in a duel on the sands of Tatooine. The mission was a success despite Dooku's efforts otherwise and resulted in a treaty between the Hutts and Republic to allow Republic ships to pass through Hutt space.

## Prelude

#### Previous: Battle of Teth

In the outbreak of the Clone War, the Galactic Republic and Confederacy of Independent Systems set out to secure resources and alliances within the Outer Rim to gain an advantage in the war efforts. The Hutt Cartel was a leading power in the Outer Rim Territories, making them a valuable ally. Count Dooku orchestrated a plan to kidnap the son of Jabba the Hutt, framing the Jedi for the crime only to then return him to the crime lord and disguise the act as goodwill by the Separatists, buying them favor from the Hutts during the war. After the successful kidnapping, Jabba called out for help across the galaxy. The Galactic Republic raced to find Rotta to buy routes through the Outer Rim. Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano were able to locate the Huttlet and began a journey to take him back to Jabba on Tatooine aboard a Corellian G9 *Rigger*-class light freighter called *Twilight.*

## Recount

#### Reaching Tatooine

Rotta slept as the Jedi transported him to Tatooine. Upon their approach Anakin was sad to have returned to the dust ball of a planet again. Dooku waited on the surface for the Jedi to arrive so that he could kill them and return Rotta himself. He sent a pair of *Rogue*-class Porax-38 starfighters to shoot down the freighter as it approached the planet, piloted by IG-100 MagnaGuards. Anakin was able to shoot down one of the ships. The other was destroyed by R2-D2 who controlled on of the ships cannons. With their ship damaged throughout the dogfight they began a quick crash decent to the planet. Anakin called Obi-Wan Kenobi who was still busy cleaning up after Anakin on Teth. He told Anakin that he was on his way to help him. Dooku knew that this would not be enough to kill the Jedi however. Once they crash landed, Dooku set out to find and kill the Jedi himself. The Jedi could sense the dark side growing as they crossed the desert to make their way to Jabba's Palace. Anakin suggested the split up to confuse their enemy forces.

Anakin carried an empty bag that once held Rotta to lure Dooku to him as bait. The plan worked. Dooku reached Anakin on the dunes aboard a Flitknot Speeder Bike. He demanded the Jedi give him the Huttlet or die. He threw force lightning at the Jedi, deflected by his lightsaber. Dooku then ignited his own crimson lightsaber. The two began a duel on the sands of Tatooine. Anakin's improved abilities since Geonosis were noticed by the Sith. Realizing he no longer held the upper hand in the duel, Dooku tried luring Anakin into making a mistake, poking him with comments about the pain he sensed from the Jedi at his relationship with his home world. Anakin used the Force to send a tidal wave of sand at Dooku. The Sith Lord caught the sand and sent it back as a tornado, hitting the Jedi and sending him down an embankment of sand. The Jedi only just caught himself as Dooku leapt down in attack. As Anakin stood up, Dooku slashed out and cut through the bag that he believed held Rotta. Anakin quickly revealed his trickery, revealing the bag to be full of rocks. Dooku was enraged, re-entering the duel with Anakin.

Ahsoka was nearly at Jabba's Palace in possession of Rotta when a trio of IG-100 MagnaGuards leapt from under the sand in ambush. They caught the Padawan off guard and attacked. They sent a video transmission to Dooku who showed Anakin his Padawan in peril. In his anger, Anakin leapt up at Dooku. He kicked the Sith down a dune of sand. Anakin used the moment to leap onto Dooku's speeder and fly across the dunes to support his Padawan. R2 helped Ahsoka in the fight against the MagnaGuards. He was however quickly knocked aside. Ahsoka herself was also thrown down a steep sand embankment by the guards. As the droids came down to capture the young Jedi, they found that she had hidden. She leapt out from a vantage point, using the surprise to cut one of the droids in half, leaving only two more. Anakin passed by Ahsoka without hearing her calling for help, going straight to Jabba's Palace. The guards met the Jedi. They took his weapon before taking him inside. Once inside and finding that Ahsoka wasn't there, Anakin used the force to bring his lightsaber back to him, holding it at Jabba's throat. He demanded to know where Ahsoka was. Outside the palace, Ahsoka was able to defeat the remaining guards alone. She raced to the palace, finding Anakin holding Jabba at the end of his saber. She called for them to stop. She presented the crime lord with his son.

Overjoyed by the return of his son, Jabba took the Huttlet from Ahsoka. He ordered for the Jedi to be executed immediately, still convinced by Dooku's lies. At that moment however, Senator Amidala sent a transmission to Jabba from Ziro's Palace on Coruscant. She revealed the Separatist plot against the Hutt's and Ziro's part in the plans. When Ziro confessed Jabba ordered for a treaty to be made between the Republic and the Hutts. He ended hostilities with the Jedi, allowing them to move through his territories. He told them to bring Dooku for justice for crimes against the Hutts. Eventually, Obi-Wan and a regimen of clones arrived on Tatooine to oversee the return of Anakin and Ahsoka, alongside Master Yoda.

## Aftermath

#### Next: ...

Master Yoda spoke with Jabba the Hutt, constructed an official treaty between the Jedi, Republic and Hutt Clans in the Outer Rim. Dooku escaped Tatooine, informing his master of their failure. Sidious comforted Tyranus, telling him that while the Jedi could celebrate their small victory, the engines of the war worked in their ultimate favor.

## Event Chronology

* Anakin and Ahsoka crash land on Tatooine.
* Anakin and Ahsoka split up to reach Jabba's Palace.
* Dooku duels Anakin.
* Ahsoka duels and defeats 3 MagnaGuards.
* The Jedi reach Jabba's Palace, returning Rotta to his father.
* A treaty is formed between the Republic and Jabba.