Clone Wars

"*The shroud of the dark side has fallen. Begun, the Clone War has.*"

The **Clone Wars** was a large galactic scale war between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. It was brought about as part of a secret Sith plot devised by Darth Sidious to destroy the Jedi and bring about the return of the Sith within a new Sith Empire. Ten years in the making, Sidious orchestrated the Invasion of Naboo, allowing him to manipulate the political aftermath to become Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic as senate politician Sheev Palpatine. As Supreme Chancellor, Palpatine slowly manipulated the Republic into granting him more emergency powers to protect the Republic from threats that he himself was conjuring from the shadows such as the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Sidious used his dark side apprentice Count Dooku to create the Confederacy of Independent Systems that would pose as the greatest threat to the Galactic Republic in centuries. Sidious also orchestrated the creation of a Grand Army of the Republic on Kamino, providing an army for the Republic to face against the Confederacy. Eventually, as Sidious had planned, war broke out between the Republic and Separatists. While working for the Republic he posed as Chancellor Palpatine. Working for the Separatists he operated as Darth Sidious. The entire war culminated in Sidious activating Order 66 which resulted in a galaxy wide purge of all Jedi, allowing Sidious' plan to become fruitful. Sidious allowed his darkside apprentice to be destroyed alongside the Jedi, allowing him to take control and reform the Republic into the Galactic Empire.

The first year of the war began on Geonosis as the Jedi rushed to the planet to rescue Obi-Wan Kenobi from Count Dooku's capture, with the Jedi Knight having just revealed the Separatist droid army that was under construction. The Galactic Republic won the first battle of the war.

## Prelude

#### Previous: Jedi/Sith War

##### Ancient Wars

Centuries ago, during the era of the Old Republic, the Jedi and Sith were caught in almost eternal battle for control over the galaxy. After millennia, the Jedi were finally victorious, winning a final victory against their enemy the Sith on Ruusan. The Jedi thought the Sith extinct, however a Sith known as Darth Bane had survived. In secret Darth Bane constructed the Rule of Two that dictated that there could only ever be two sith in the galaxy at any given time. A master and an apprentice. No more. No less. Through the millennia since their defeat on Ruusan, the Sith secretly continued to exist in secret following the Rule of Two, awaiting an opportunity to strike against the Jedi and bring about a return to the Sith Empire. Eventually, by 32 BBY, the Sith lineage lead to the sith Darth Sidious, known otherwise as Sheev Palpatine. To the galaxy, Palpatine was known as the Senator of Naboo. He took it upon himself to bring about the return of the Sith.

##### Palpatine's Conspiracy

Palpatine was able to use his political alter ego to create connections for himself as a sith lord to conglomerates such as the Trade Federation and Commerce Guilds. Sidious knew he needed to become the leading power of the galaxy. To do so, Palpatine sent the Trade Federation to blockade his homeworld of Naboo, creating chaos within the Galactic Senate as they debated a means of solving the dispute. When Chancellor Valorum was unable to produce a valid solution, Palpatine manipulated Queen Amidala of Naboo to move for a Vote of No Confidence in Valorum. She did so, starting an election for a new Supreme Chancellor. The sympathy generated by Palpatine's homeworld being under invasion gained him mass votes. He was elected as the Supreme Chancellor. Unknown to the galaxy, they had just elected a sith lord into the position to lead the galaxy. Palpatine allowed his apprentice Darth Maul to be destroyed in the Battle of Naboo that caused the Invasion of Naboo to fail, and the leaders of the Trade Federation be arrested.

In the aftermath of the Invasion, Palpatine also met a young Jedi Padawan called Anakin Skywalker. Palpatine immediately sensed great power and potential within Skywalker. He began watching Anakin, grooming him for a role as his future apprentice. Having lost Maul however, Sidious gained a new apprentice immediately in the form of Count Dooku. Together with Dooku, Sidious began planning to orchestrate a sham war between two sides, of which Sidious would lead against each other. Sidious wanted to weaken the Republic into a position where it was vulnerable to Sith takeover. Dooku provided Sidious with information that an old Jedi ally, Sifo-Dyas, had informed him of visions of a coming war, and had secretly commissioned a Grand Army for the Republic to be constructed by the cloners on Kamino. Sidious had Sifo-Dyas killed and Dooku assume his place in secret, allowing the Sith to gain autonomous control over the creation of this secret clone army that Sidious would utilize against the Republic's enemy in the coming war. Sidious hired Dooku to find a genetic template for the clones. He selected the bounty hunter Jango Fett. Sidious also placed inhibitor chips within the clones that would cause them to be unable to disobey orders given to them by Chancellor Palpatine. Sidious plotted to use these chips to use the clones to enact Order 66, turning the clones from the Jedi allies into their executioners on a galactic scale.

##### Separatist Crisis

Eight years after the Invasion of Naboo, Sidious and Dooku began building the Republic's opposition that would be used to weaken the Republic and the Jedi. Dooku became a political idealist, delivering a speech known as the Raxus Address that then created the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Thousands of systems left the Republic, joining the Separatists. Dooku began building a Separatist Council, involving members such as the Trade Federation. The Separatists commissioned the Techno Union and Geonosian Foundries to construct a battle droid army to face against the Republic clone army. Tensions between the Republic and the Confederacy rose and war became increasingly inevitable. The Republic began discussions on a Military Creation Act, to decide if they Republic needed an army to face against the Confederacy. The Republic made it illegal for Republic representatives to meet with Separatist representatives in formal talks. A Separatist Senate was created on Raxus, posing as a democracy. Those within both the Separatist Senate and Galactic Senate were unaware they were headed by the Sith, who were by 22 BBY, prepared to push both sides into open war.

##### Final Push Into War

Nute Gunray's condition to pledging loyalty to the Confederacy was the death of Senator Padmé Amidala, still enraged by his loss to her at the Battle of Naboo. Dooku sent Jango Fett to kill the Senator, who in turn hired Zam Wesell. Zam made several attempts to kill the Senator, all of which were unsuccessful. On one attempt Zam was caught by Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker. Zam was killed by Jango before she could reveal his part in the plot. Anakin left Coruscant to Naboo with Padmé as a protection agent while Obi-Wan stayed on Coruscant to open an investigation into the assassination attempts made against Senator Amidala. His investigation lead to his discovery of Kamino and the clone army that had been in construction. He revealed its existence to the Jedi High Council. He then followed Jango Fett to Geonosis where he found the droid foundries and the Separatist Council. He reported his findings to the Jedi Council, who in turn shared this with the Galactic Senate, creating an emergency Senate session.

## Recount

#### Declaration of War

Obi-Wan Kenobi's discovery on Geonosis was understood by the Republic as a preparation for war. In an emergency session of the Senate, Junior Representative Jar Jar Binks proposed a vote to grant Chancellor Palpatine emergency powers until the conflict with the Confederacy was settled. The Senate voted in favor of the motion. This gave Chancellor Palpatine the powers to pass the Military Creation Act and extend his term as Chancellor. Chancellor Palpatine's announcement of his creation of a clone army to face against the Confederacy of Independent Systems was the official start of wartime.

##### First Battle of Geonosis

The First Battle of Geonosis was the first battle fought in the Clone War. The Jedi Master Mace Windu assembled a task force of 212 Jedi, followed by the power of the Grand Army of the Republic being used for the first time to travel to Geonosis to rescue Obi-Wan Kenobi and destroy the droid factories. Jango Fett was killed by Mace Windu. Boba Fett witnessed the death of his father and grew a hatred for Jedi, particularly Windu. The battle saw Dooku outing himself as a sith, wielding a red lightsaber. During a duel with the Sith Lord, Anakin lost his right arm. The Separatist Council successfully evaded capture and escaped the planet without incident allowing the fighting to continue. The Republic were successful in their fight against their droid opponents, destroying the factories and beginning their occupation of Geonosis. The Separatists were forced to move their capital from Geonosis to Raxus Secundus.

## Appearances

1. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones