Invasion of Utapau

Previous Yinchorri Uprising[1] Next Clone Wars[2] Invasion of Utapau Beginning 22 BBY[1] Place Utapau[1] Major battles Battle of New Centrif[3] Battle of Harte Secur[4] Battle of Spinnaker[4] Battle of Ogana[4] Rebellion in Ogana[5] Attack on the Ophuchi sanctuary[6] Combatants House of Arcadia[3] Utapau Security Forces[4] Trade Federation[1] Commanders Sabé Arcadia[3] Panaka[4] Jard Dooku[1] Obi-Wan Kenobi[1] Sio Bibble[4] Nute Gunray[1] Maul[1] OOM-9[3] [Source]

"There's something else behind all of this. There's no discernible logic in the Federation‟s move here."

—Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi^[src]

The Invasion of Utapau was a conflict between the Trade Federation and Utapau in 22 BBY. The conflict began after Utapau Senator Malus Palpatine and Queen Sabé Arcadia supported the Republic Anti-Slavery Law, a successfully passed act in the Galactic Senate that prevented Galactic Republic corporations, such as the Federation, from using slave labor outside of Republic jurisdiction. Because the Federation relied on slave labor in the Outer Rim Territories, and with help from Dark Jedi Master Maul, the shipping cartel blockaded Utapau in the hopes of repealing the law. The planet was chosen both out of revenge for its support of the law and because the Federation deemed the planet helpless.

After one month of failed negotiation by Queen Arcadia and her Advisory Council, the Federation cut off all communication on the planet and began landing their droid army. The Federation invaded the city of New Centrif before moving onto Harte Secur, Spinnaker and Ogana, the planet’s capital. Arcadia was captured during the Battle of Ogana and was told by Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray that she would have to force a treaty. Because she refused, she was ordered to be sent to a Federation internment camp, but Arcadia and her advisers were rescued by Jedi ambassadors Jard Dooku and Obi-Wan Kenobi before they all escaped the planet in the hopes of reaching Coruscant. Because of damage to the queen’s vessel, the ship set a course for Tatooine for repairs.

[edit] History

[edit] Origins

"Perhaps it was a mistake to become involved with the anti-slavery law."

—Horace Vancil regretting Queen Sabé Arcadia's decision to support the Republic Anti-Slavery Law^[src]

After the Stark Hyperspace War, a conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Stark Commercial Combine in 29 BBY, the Neimoidian Nute Gunray was elected Viceroy of the Trade Federation shipping cartel due to what the Federation felt were his heroic and effective actions during the war. Gunray desired full control over the Federation, but he did not have it due to the controlling powers of the Trade Federation Directorate. He would later plan to gain full control over the organization, but it would not happen for a few years.^[1]

Around 24 BBY, the planet of Utapau discovered that there were high grade plasma vents under the streets of Ogana, the planet’s capital city. Utapau’s King Veruna Arcadia and Senator Malus Palpatine decided to build a Plasma Mining and Refining Center in the heart of the city, an act that was met with mixed reactions. Because the people of Utapau were not fond of trade, Arcadia allowed the Trade Federation to purchase the plasma at a fixed cost. It was later discovered that the Federation was exploiting Utapau’s lack of experience in the interstellar market, thereby cheating Utapau out of profits by selling the plasma to other buyers at a marked up price. Utapau ended their trade agreement and, out of fear of a military response from the Federation, Arcadia expanded the size of the Utapau Security Forces. The move was widely regarded as unpopular and controversial, and Arcadia was assassinated that same year because of it. Arcadia’s daughter, Sabé Arcadia, came to power and reduced the size of the military forces. She did, however, keep the Utapau Space Fighter Corps intact.^[3]

That same year, Nute Gunray came into contact with Maul, a Dark Jedi Master who promised to give Gunray full control over the Federation and allow for the Federation to expand their droid army to unlimited numbers. Because Gunray had been planning to take full control for some time, and because the Federation had first started discussing unlimited expansion around the time of the Stark Hyperspace War, Gunray agreed to allow Maul to help him and the two became allies. In 23 BBY, the Federation Directorate held a summit on Eriadu where all of the non-Neimoidian members of the ruling council were assassinated by Federation battle droids, save for Gunray and the Neimoidian Senator Lott Dodd who were purposely absent to avoid being killed. Gunray filled the vacant seats with his own puppets, all of whom were Neimoidian, and assumed full control over the Trade Federation.^[1]

Also in 23 BBY, the Republic’s Galactic Senate began discussing the bill that eventually became the Republic Anti-Slavery Law. The proposal stated that the use of slaves by Republic corporations would be illegal outside of Republic territory, which it had not been before that. The Federation, which used a number of slaves in the Outer Rim Territories to generate profits, was one of the central opponents of the bill.^[1] Queen Arcadia of Utapau, at the behest of Senator Palpatine, was an advocate for the bill’s passing and became instrumental in seeing its passage.^[3] Once it was signed into law, the Federation was outraged as a large number of their workers were let go and the Federation profits declined.^[1]

[edit] Blockade

"...everything is proceeding exactly as planned."

—Maul^[src]

After the law’s enactment, Maul once again contacted Gunray and the two began working on a way to reverse the law. After some time, they decided that the Federation would blockade and subsequently invade Utapau. Although there was a revenge factor in the decision, the Federation’s primary reason for choosing Utapau was due to their belief that the planet was helpless, as Utapau lacked a security force and was in the far reaches of Republic territory. The Federation eventually blockaded Utapau in 22 BBY, cutting off the entire planet from the rest of the Republic and the trade routes the planet needed to receive supplies.^[1]

The Trade Federation blockades Utapau.

Queen Arcadia negotiated with the Trade Federation for the next month, hoping to convince the Federation to remove their numerous blockade vessels from around the planet. By the end of the month, after Arcadia dealt with both Gunray and Maul, the negotiations were not producing any results. Hoping to force the Federation into a settlement, the Republic’s Supreme Chancellor, Finis Valorum, tasked two members of the Jedi Order, Jedi Master Jard Dooku and Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, with traveling to Utapau as ambassadors to deal with Gunray directly. The two Jedi traveled to Utapau onboard the Republic Judicial Forces military vessel Radiant VII after agreeing to the mission.^[1]

After being given permission to land in the lead Federation vessel, Dooku and Kenobi entered the hangar bay where they were made to wait for Gunray’s arrival. TC-14, a protocol droid assigned to greet the two ambassadors, informed Gunray that the ambassadors were Jedi, prompting the Neimoidian to contact Maul. The Dark Jedi, who had been staying in the lower levels of the ship, ordered Gunray not to interfere with the Jedi, but Gunray ordered their assassination anyway. The two Jedi fought their way through the ship before finding the Federation invasion army in another hangar. They stowed aboard the invasion vessels, and Maul soon found out about the attempted assassination. Arcadia contacted Maul shortly thereafter and said that she knew about the arrival of the ambassadors, but Maul denied receiving them and instead ordered the invasion to begin. The Federation also began to disrupt all communication on the planet.^[1]

[edit] Invasion

"I will not condone a course of action that will lead us to war..."

—Sabé Arcadia as the Federation's invasion of her planet commenced.^[src]

Arcadia and her advisers, who were speaking via hologram to Senator Palpatine following the discussion with Maul, began to realize that an invasion was imminent when their communications became garbled. Panaka, the head of the Utapau Security Forces, and Ogana Governor Sio Bibble both stressed to the queen that she would need to make some sort of decision, and she assured them that she would not condone a war. Nevertheless, as the meeting was taking place, the Federation was landing its battle ships in the forests and on the coast of the Aquarian Ocean. Dooku and Kenobi both escaped their respective stowaway vessels and encountered Jar Binks, the exiled Crowned Prince of the planet’s indigenous Gungan Empire, after Binks rescued Dooku from a Federation troop transport. Because the two Jedi needed safe haven while the Federation landed their troops, Binks agreed to take them to the underwater Gungan city of Otoh Gunga, although they first had to promise to help Binks gain favor with the Gungan people so he could end his exile.^[3]

The Federation forces begin to land on Utapau.

Once the Federation troops arrived on the planet, the droid commander OOM-9, who was in charge of the invasion effort, decided that the forces would make their way through the cities of New Centrif, Harte Secur and Spinnaker before moving forward into Ogana. The forces arrived in New Centrif and launched an assault on the city, with a goal to destroy the planet’s last operational communications array. After breaking down the city’s security gate, the droid forces swarmed the city and engaged the settlement’s minimal forces, resulting in the deaths of virtually all who fought against the droids. Towards the end of the battle, the city’s mayor, Arruinada, used the communication array to send a partial message to Queen Arcadia in the hopes of warning her about the incoming invasion force, but the mayor was killed before completing the transmission and the array was destroyed.^[3] With the battle won, the Federation moved on to launch assaults in Harte Secur] and Battle of Spinnaker, both of which were won by the Federation.^[4]

While the Federation continued to move its droid army towards Ogana, Binks and the two Jedi arrived in Otoh Gunga, where they were arrested following a fist fight between Binks and Gungan Captain Tarpals. They were taken before the Gungan High Council, the Empire’s governing body, where Dooku and Kenobi sought the help of Gungan High Councilor Rugor Nass in dealing with the invasion force. Nass refused, citing disagreements the Gungans had previously had with the Human government of the planet in the past, and also stated that Binks would be executed for breaking his exile. Dooku, however, was able to use the Force, a metaphysical binding power field, to manipulate Nass into giving them a transport and freeing Binks. The two Jedi and Binks then began a trip through the ocean to Ogana.^[7]

Federation forces prepare to assault Ogana.

Shortly thereafter, the Federation forces assaulted Ogana. Panaka and the Utapau Security Forces in Ogana launched a resistance, but their efforts did not have any effect and Arcadia ordered them to cease their fighting to avoid them being killed. Arcadia was taken to her throne room in the Ogana Royal Palace for protection where she was able to receive the message sent from New Centrif, albeit too late. While viewing the message, she and her advisers were captured by a group of Federation battle droids. After her capture, Gunray arrived on the planet and confronted Arcadia, telling the queen that she would have to sign a treaty that would legitimize the Federation’s occupation of the planet. Arcadia refused to sign the treaty, so she and her advisers were sentenced to Federation Camp Four, a concentration camp that was under construction on the outskirts of the city.^[4]

While en route to the camp, the battle droids assigned to escort the queen and her adviser’s were attacked by Dooku, Kenobi and Binks, who had arrived in the city approximately thirty minutes earlier. The three rescued the queen and her advisers before being led by Panaka to a nearby hangar bay, as the Jedi stated that they needed to return to Coruscant, the capital planet of the Galactic Republic. The Jedi were able to convince Arcadia to travel to Coruscant with them, where she would plead her case to the Galactic Senate in the hopes of creating results. The Jedi, Binks, the queen and a group of her guards, advisers and handmaidens escaped into the queen’s royal starship. The starship left the planet and was attacked by the Federation blockade. The vessel was nearly destroyed when its shield generator was knocked offline, but a R2-series astromech droid called R2-D2 repaired the vessel and allowed it to escape.^[4]

[edit] Occupation

"This is our city!"

—A rebel leader during the Rebellion in Ogana^[src]

Following Arcadia’s escape, Gunray reported to Maul that the Federation controlled the majority of the planet. Maul demanded to know where Arcadia was, but Gunray told him that it was impossible for them to locate the vessel, prompting Maul to leave the blockade and search for Arcadia himself.^[4] Meanwhile, in the royal vessel, the two Jedi decided to set a course for the desert planet Tatooine, despite Panaka’s protesting that it was too dangerous to bring a monarch to a planet controlled by the gangsters of the Hutt Cartel. Nevertheless, Arcadia agreed to traveling to Tatooine.When they arrived the next day, the ship grazed a sandstorm outside of the Anchorhead settlement due to the short-range sensors being offline.^[8]

The queen's royal starship attempts to outrun a sandstorm on Tatooine before crashing.

The vessel crashed in the desert where they were found by a young local named Annikin Skywalker. After finding out that the ship’s hyperdrive generator was disabled, Skywalker offered to help repair it, feeling he had the technical skills to do so. Arcadia agreed to it once Kenobi proposed it to her, and Skywalker also offered to let the entire crew stay on his family farm while repairing the vessel. Skywalker’s family was reluctant due to a mistrust of outsiders, but they agreed to it nevertheless.^[9]

[edit] Legacy

The Invasion of Utapau was remembered as being the conflict that sparked the Clone Wars.^[10] Many years later, after the end of the Galactic Civil War between the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic, the story of the Invasion of Utapau was recounted by Ussej Padric Bac, the Shaman of the Order of the Whills. A Whill historian named Duseuso was chronicling Skywalker’s life when Bac told the Whill that they both had two different interpretations of Skywalker’s life story. Bac explained his personal interpretation of the Invasion of Utapau while giving his interpretation of Skywalker.^[11]

[edit] Behind the scenes

When author Brandon Rhea first began to develop his novel Star Wars: Episode I - The Chosen One for the Alternative Star Wars Saga fan fiction series, he made the decision to change the name of the canon planet Naboo to Utapau, which it was originally named in the first drafts of the film Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. He also decided that he would retain the Invasion of Naboo plot line, which necessitated the name change to Invasion of Utapau.^[2]

Some have criticized The Chosen One, which has yet to be completed, because of this similar plotline. When first reading the initial chapters of the first draft of the novel, fan fiction author Atarumaster88 commented that “it’s like someone took a script of Episode I and made changes with a red pen”. He noted that it was “not particularly original”, though based on what Rhea had said previously Atarumaster88 also remarked that he believed “that was intentional”.^[12] By the time the sixth chapter was released, it was evident that this mindset was continuing as it was remarked that Rhea needed to “get to the next chapter” and “quickly”.^[13]

Unit 8311, editor of the Completely Unofficial Star Wars Fanon Newsletter, the unofficial newsletter on Star Wars Fanon, the Star Wars wiki of fan invention, concurred with Atarumaster88 in expressing the opinion that the Invasion of Utapau storyline lacked in originality. Unit 8311 stated that the Invasion of Utapau is "frankly not very original". He went on to say that Invasion of Utapau storyline is "an interesting read and spin on a canon element" provided the reader is "not very interested in originality".^[14]

Although the reactions of Atarumaster88 and Unit 8311 were not necessarily negative, others did have more positive reactions. Hunter Manuel remarked on TheStarWarsRP.Com message board that he approved of the mixing and usage of canon plot lines, albeit molded into the Alternative Saga.^[15] Andrew Barton, a photonovel author who has created works such as The Drewton Legacy, also stated that changes made in the second draft of The Chosen One have made the beginning of the Utapau invasion storyline feel less like the canon film.^[16]

[edit] Appearances

• Star Wars: Episode I - The Chosen One (First appearance)
• Star Wars: Genesis (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars: Trials of War - Shadows of Utapau (Mentioned only)

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] See also

• Invasion of Naboo on Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki