Attack on Tuanul

Attack on Tuanul

Theattack on Tuanul, also known as theMassacre at Tuanul, theBattle of Tuanul, theAssault on Jakku, or as thesecret mission to Jakku, was a raid carried out againstTuanul, aspiritual village on theplanetJakku, by theFirst Order during theCold War. The assault was led by thedark enforcerKylo Ren, who had been seeking amap that would lead to thelocation of the missingJedi MasterLuke Skywalker. As four First Ordersquadrons from Kylo Ren's forces descended on Tuanul with a force of eightystormtroopers, theResistance pilotcommanderPoe Dameron received the map from theResistance allyLor San Tekka. Dameron attempted to flee prior to the assault but hisT-70 X-wing starfighter was disabled by the attacking stormtroopers, despite hisdroidBB-8's warning just before the assault began. Dameron had BB-8 escape the village with the map. Subsequently, Tekka was killed by Kylo Ren, Dameron was captured, and the villagers were killed.

Prelude[]

By34 ABY, theFirst Order knewLor San Tekka was hiding onJakku with a piece of themap containing the location ofJedi MasterLuke Skywalker, whom they wanted to find and destroy.Kylo Ren wanted the map, and so he,CaptainPhasma, and a First Order unit ofstormtroopers andflametroopers traveled inAAL-1971/9.1 Troop Transports to the village where Tekka lived,Tuanul.^[4]

The attack[]

Arrival of the First Order[]

As they disembarked from their shuttles, the stormtroopers quickly overcame initial resistance of the villagers with few casualties. Meanwhile, atResistance^[4]commander^[10]Poe Dameron's urging,BB-8 successfully fled from Tuanul with the map in tow as the pilot joined in the battle. Dameron shot and killed several stormtroopers, includingFN-2003, whosedeath was witnessed by fellowtrooperFN-2187.^[4] FN-2003's death led to an awakening of his conscience and opened the trooper's eyes to the brutality of the First Order, which would eventually lead him to desert the First Order.^[11] Just as FN-2187 began to see this brutality,Kylo Ren's command shuttle landed.^[4]

The massacre[]

The defeated villagers of Tuanul were herded into a large group before San Tekka was brought to Ren himself, who requested him to turn over information on the map. San Tekka claimed that Ren could not deny the truth that was his ownfamily, causing Ren to slay the old man withhislightsaber after sarcastically telling the latter that he was correct in his claim. In retaliation, Dameron fired on Ren, but the dark warriorcaught the blast and subsequently captured thepilot, and deduced that San Tekka had given the map to him. Dameron was searched and taken aboard Ren'sResurgent-class Star DestroyerFinalizer for interrogation. Meanwhile, Captain Phasma and her stormtroopers—except for FN-2187—executed the remaining villagers on Ren's orders.^[4]

Aftermath[]

Disillusioned by the brutality of theFirst Order forces during the attack on Tuanul, FN-2187 decided to defect from the First Order. He freed Dameron from hiscell and convinced him toescape together on a stolenTIE/sf space superiority fighter. Their TIE was shot down by theFinalizer's weaponry and crash-landed in Jakku'sGoazon Badlands. After being separated from Dameron, Finn encountered BB-8 and the localscavengerRey.^[4] Rey likewise had heard rumors about the attack, and also had distaste for the First Order from their more brutal methods.^[7] They were pursued by First Order forces but managed toescape on theMillennium Falcon intospace. After encounteringHan Solo andChewbacca, they convinced Solo to help them get BB-8, who was carrying the map, back to the Resistance.^[4]

In large part because of the brutal nature of the attack, it inspired apropagandaposter showcasing flametroopers that participated in the attack, called "The Massacre at Tuanul."^[12]

Behind the scenes[]

The attack on Tuanul appears in the2015 filmStar Wars: Episode VIIThe Force Awakens, the first installment of theStar Warssequel trilogy.^[4]

In the early iterations of the film, Kylo Ren mentioned his parentage to Lor San Tekka in the film's first scene instead of San Tekka implying it in the aftermath of the attack. This idea was later dropped by directorJ.J. Abrams, as he didn't wanted to reveal the mystery of Ren's parents to the audience too soon.^[14] On the other hand, the aftermath of the attack wasAdam Driver's first scene on the film and he feared to be fired if he accidentally struckMax von Sydow with Ren's lightsaber as he couldn't see clearly with his mask. He ultimately avoided whacking von Sydow by good luck.^[13]

The scene with Poe Dameron and BB-8 along his X-wing were filmed in the studio backlot using the full-sized vehicle. Abrams and the filming crew used the death of FN-2003 to show that stormtroopers were humans and not robots.^[14]

Appearances[]

Non-canon appearances[]

• Disney Infinity 3.0(Indirect mention only)
• LEGO Star Wars: The Resistance Rises — "Attack of the Conscience"(Mentioned only)
• LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
• LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

Sources[]

Notes and references[]