Siege of Cato Neimoidia

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Battle of Neimoidia

Second battle of Cato Neimoidia

Siege of Cato Neimoidia

Combatants
Galactic Republic	Confederacy of Independent Systems Trade Federation

Commanders
High General Obi-Wan Kenobi General Anakin Skywalker General Kit Fisto Commander Jan Dodonna Marshal Commander Cody^[1] Commander Deviss Captain Rex^[2]	Viceroy Nute Gunray Lieutenant Sentepeth Findos

Units
Grand Army of the Republic^[3] 442nd Siege Battalion^[3] Squad Seven	Neimoidian Home Defense Legion

Strength
5Jedi Clone troopers Gunboats LAAT/i gunships Self-Propelled Heavy Artillery walkers Numerousstarfighters 3Venator-class Star Destroyers Integrity	B1-Series battle droids B2 super battle droids Droidekas NR-N99Persuader-class droid enforcers Single Trooper Aerial Platforms Neimoidian tanks Neimoidian Home Defense Legionnaires Lucrehulk-class battleships

Casualties
2 Jedi^[4] Numerousclone divisions Numerous LAATgunships

"All right. But you owe me one, and not for saving your skin for the tenth time."
"Ninth time. That business on Cato Neimoidia doesn't… doesn't count."

―Anakin Skywalker andObi-Wan Kenobi^[5]

Thesiege of Cato Neimoidia was an attempt by theGalactic Republic to captureNute Gunray,Viceroy of theTrade Federation and a prominent member of theSeparatist Council, during theClone Wars.

Prelude[]

With a large Republic counterattack against theCore World gains made inOperation Durge's Lance,General Grievous had ordered all members of the Council to retreat to a rendezvous point in theOuter Rim Territories. Gunray, however, fled to thepurse world,Cato Neimoidia, with a battle group of Federation warships, intending to loot his personal citadel before it fell to the Republic onslaught.Republic Intelligence obtained information as to his whereabouts, and a task force led byObi-Wan Kenobi andAnakin Skywalker was pulled from theOuter Rim Sieges and sent to wait in ambush.

The battle[]

"Send more droids against the Jedi Knight! Their bodies are making a pile so high that he will never be able to cross it!"

―Sentepeth Findos, desperately trying to stopKit Fisto^[6]

A trio ofVenator-class Star Destroyers commanded byJan Dodonna engaged theTrade Federation armada in the upper atmosphere and provided air support, while the twoJedi led their army ofclone troopers in an assault on the citadel, where Gunray and the Trade Federation elite were trapped. The battle raged throughout the skies of the planet's western hemisphere, and on the peninsula upon which the viceroy's tiered stronghold—the inspiration for the command towers of the Trade Federationcore ships—was located.

After an initial aerial bombardment, the main clone force attacked from the northeast shore and hammered the citadel'senergy shields, but took heavy fire from turbolaser cannons in the lower ramparts. Generals Kenobi and Skywalker led a smaller force of clones through an orchard ofManax trees outside the fort, and with the help ofCommander Cody and the eliteSquad Seven, infiltrated the fungus farms located underneath the structure. From there the Jedi accessed the upper levels and began pursuing Gunray and his entourage as they tried to reach their shuttle.

During the mission, some complications arose where Kenobi, having left his rebreather with Skywalker earlier, accidentally inhaled from a box of hallucinogenic spores that he unintentionally released from a container when deflecting blaster bolts from various droids, which affected his mental state. Cody then tried to contact Skywalker for assistance, initially confusing the latter because Kenobi and Cody's force was larger than his own and thus wouldn't have needed assistance until he realized he still had Obi-Wan's rebreather on him and proceeded to rush towards their location. He then noticed that Kenobi was stumbling over himself from the effects of the spores, causing Skywalker to jokingly state that Kenobi created a new lightsaber form of combat. However, at the same time, it also allowed Obi-Wan to exercise his inner potential, with Skywalker being informed that Kenobi managed to wipe out fifty droids in this state, and later saving Skywalker from Gunray'sMechno-chair. Although the Neimoidian leader managed to escape, the battle still raged on in some parts of the planet.

Aftermath[]

"What was the source of the transmission?"
"Deep in the Outer Rim. Six clone pilots pursued a core ship that jumped to the sector following the Battle of Cato Neimoidia. None returned."

―Mace Windu andDyne^[4]

Although Gunray just managed to escape, Cato Neimoidia—one of the last Separatist strongholds within theColonies—was captured. More importantly, Republic forces captured Gunray's mechno-chair containing a message fromDarth Sidious, which thus linked theDark Lord of the Sith to the Confederacy, as well as the communication codes that the Separatist Council used to communicate with him and each other.^[7]

Skywalker and Kenobi, along with their forces, were withdrawn for use in the Outer Rim to hunt down the makers of the mechno-chair in order to track down Darth Sidious, although they ended up sidetracked due to Chancellor Palpatine'sabduction byGeneral Grievous. Obi-Wan also preferred to not count this battle as one of the times Anakin rescued him, which he reminded him after rescuing the Chancellor.

Despite the Republic victory on Cato Neimoidia, the Separatist forces were not defeated and they continued to fight off the Republic troops. Jedi MastersPlo Koon andFerroda were later sent to the planet to coordinatemopping-up operations against continued resistance, and were killed duringOrder 66.