Invasion of Scipio

Invasion of Scipio

Theinvasion of Scipio took place onScipio between theGalactic Republic and theConfederacy of Independent Systems in20 BBY, towards the end of theClone Wars.

Prelude[]

Initially Republic and Separatist forces had met on Scipio to jointly preside over the installation ofRush Clovis as leader of theInterGalactic Banking Clan after corruption within the Clan was exposed. The Republic's representative,SenatorPadmé Amidala was accompanied byclone shock troopers of theCoruscant Guard under the command ofCommanderThorn.

Shortly after his installation, Clovis was contacted by the Separatist leader,CountDooku, who demanded that Clovis allow the Separatists to take full control of the banks. When Clovis announced that the banks would remain unbiased, Dooku threatened that the Confederacy would not pay back their loans, an act that would collapse the banks. To keep the banks afloat, Clovis was commanded to raise interest rates towards the Republic. This action infuriated theGalactic Senate.

Meanwhile, Dooku plotted with his master, Darth Sidious—in truth,Supreme ChancellorPalpatine—to make Clovis look like a Separatist supporter, as part of a ploy to place the banks under the control of the Supreme Chancellor. To accomplish this, Dooku commandeered a fleet from theConfederate Navy and launched an invasion on Scipio.

The battle[]

Confederacy invasion[]

Dooku exitedhyperspace with a fleet comprised of oneProvidence-class carrier/destroyer, threeMunificent-class star frigates, and a pair ofSeparatist supply ships. Shortly upon arrival, the fleet deployed severalVulture droid starfighters,Hyena-class bombers, anddroid gunships to engage Republic forces on the planet's surface.

Alerted to the Separatist's arrival, Commander Thorn ordered his forces to retreat off the landing pad and contacted Senator Amidala and warned her of the impending attack. Soon afterwards, the Republic forces were assaulted by droid bombers, who destroyed theConsular-class cruiser andLAAT/i gunships, stranding Thorn and his men on the landing pad. As the remaining shock troopers retreated to the entrance of the neutral zone, droid gunships arrived and deployed a garrison ofB2 super battle droids anddroid commandos, who engaged the shock troopers in a firefight on the landing pad. Surrounded and outnumbered by the droid garrison, the shock troopers quickly fell to enemy fire, with Thorn being the last clone standing. Though Thorn attempted to repel the droid forces, he was overwhelmed and ultimately killed.

With the clone garrison defeated, Dooku arrived on the planet and the Separatists took control over the planet. Senator Amidala informed Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and theJedi of the invasion before subsequently being taken prisoner by the Confederacy. When news of the invasion reached Coruscant, theGalactic Senate voted to launch a counter-invasion. A detachment of the501st Legion under the command ofGeneralAnakin Skywalker andCaptainRex was subsequently deployed to retake the planet from Separatist control.

Republic counter-assault[]

Arriving out of hyperspace, Skywalker's fleet, comprised of threeVenator-class Star Destroyers and twoArquitens-class light cruisers, immediately commenced fire upon the Separatist blockade. Squadrons of LAAT/i gunships carrying Skywalker and 501sttroopers were deployed from the cruisers to engage the Separatist ground troops while squadrons ofClone Z-95 starfighters led byHawk were deployed to provide air support. In retaliation, the Separatist fleet deployed legions of droid fighters to engage the Republic starfighters. As the battle raged on in space, it soon became apparent that the Separatist fleet was outmatched. Dooku, having accomplished his objectives in framing Clovis for the Separatist invasion, commanded that the fleet withdraw from the system. The blockade's retreat allowed the LAAT/i gunships to push forward to the planet's atmosphere

As Republic forces made their way to the city, they were attacked by droid starfighters and bombers. While Hawk and his forces battled the droid forces in the air, the LAAT/i gunships deployed General Skywalker and his men on the landing platform, where they engaged the droid garrison in battle. General Skywalker commanded Rex to keep the droid forces occupied while he searched for Amidala, a task that Rex and his men accepted. As the clones dealt with the droid infantry, Skywalker set off in search of Amidala.

The death of Rush Clovis[]

Upon learning of the Republic's invasion and Dooku's subsequent withdrawal, Clovis lamented to Amidala that all of his work had been for naught. Amidala advised Clovis to surrender to Republic forces, but before Clovis could respond, Skywalker stormed into his office and dispatched the security droids. Out of desperation, Clovis took Amidala hostage, holding her at gunpoint. He attempted to plead his innocence to Skywalker, who refused to believe him. Their standoff was abruptly ended when a disabled Vulture droid crashed into the central spire where Clovis' office was located, toppling the office and nearly causing the three occupants to plunge off the side of the structure. As the three slid off the ledge, Skywalker managed to grab Amidala and Clovis before they fell, but struggled to hold them both. In order to save Amidala, Clovis willingly sacrificed himself by freeing himself from Skywalker's grip, plummeting to his death below, allowing Skywalker to pull Amidala to safety. Shortly after Clovis' death, the remaining droid forces were defeated, securing a victory for the Republic.

Aftermath[]

In the aftermath of the battle, Clovis was blamed for the Banking Clan's corruption. To prevent the banking system from falling into Separatist control, the Muun government ceded control of the banking system to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, a responsibility the Chancellor accepted with humility. After Order 66, The Banking Clan was completely taken over by the Empire, and the Munn Government was eventually dissolved.

Appearances[]

• Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Crisis at the Heart"(First appearance)

Sources[]

• "Crisis at the Heart" Episode Guide | The Clone Wars onStarWars.com(backup link)(First identified as Battle of Scipio)

Notes and references[]