The Lure of the Dark Side: Chronicle 1-The Turning of an Era
Episode IV: The Clone Wars
Chapter 7: Year 3-War and the Knight
By the third year of the war, many on both sides of the conflict had died and many more were injured. In response, the Republic began deploying MedStar Frigates which escorted Republic fleets into combat and carried mobile field hospitals known as Republic Mobile Surgical Units or RMSUs ("Rimsoos") on Drongar, a primordial planet of tropical climates and monsoons, with the most advanced plant life being varieties of fungi.
One such growth was Bota, an "adaptogenic" which worked as an antibiotic, a painkiller, or even an intoxicant, depending upon the species. Having realized its importance, and that Bota deteriorated when once packed, both sides maintained harvesting operations on Drongar and battles were fought over the Bota fields. It was here that Jedi Knight Barriss Offee arrived to practice her skills as a Jedi healer, and discovered that Bota enhanced her Force powers.
Barriss' co-workers at Rimsoos Seven were, among others, the protocol droid I-5YQ, a young surgeon named Jos Vander, and a Sullustan HoloNet reporter named Den Dhur. Barriss discovered that Admiral Bleyd, commander of the local MedStar, was profiting from a Bota smuggling ring. Though he was stopped, the Republic operations on Drongar continued to be harassed by the Confederacy, which continually attacked their Bota fields until the invention of a Venator-class Star Destroyer ended the hostilities.
Included among the many tragedies of year three was the devastation of the outer rim planet Honoghr. A Republic force under Aayla Secura's command engaged the Separatist Core ship Gahenna in orbit of the planet, forcing it to crash land on the surface. Unfortunately, the ship still carried the deadly toxin Trihexalophine 1138, which spread across the entire planet and dramatically damaged its ecosystem, leaving little plant live except for plains of kholm grass.
It was also here that Aayla Secura and Commander Bly attempted to recapture the Scientific Information Packet aboard the Gahenna, which had been captured by the native Noghri and kept in an ancient Rakatan temple. Meanwhile, the traitor Quinlan Vos attempted to retrieve the SIP for Dooku. However, Quinlan failed when his former apprentice, Secura, made him realize that his obsession with hunting the second Sith might not be worth the choices he'd made earlier. Doubting himself ever since he had joined Dooku, he left Honoghr empty handed though it was changed forever.
Having conquered Duro, Grievous continued her rampage across the galaxy. She was responsible for an hour-long orbital bombardment by the Separatist starfleet under her flagship the Invisible Hand, which melted the crust of Humbarine, an ancient city world and Core Founder. She was also responsible for releasing the Loedorvian Brain Plague into the Weemell Sector, killing most of the Sector's Human inhabitants. She personally attacked Alderaan and supervised attacks on twenty-six strategic Loyalist worlds. On Vantos and Nadiem, many civilians and soldiers were murdered. With the aide of her various droid armies and IG-100 Magna Guards that served her as bodyguards/warriors she was unstoppable. These Magna Guards stood at six-foot and wielded electrostaffs made of lightsaber resistant phrik metal. They were designed to be longer then most lightsaber blades, enabling the user to fight Jedi while remaining out of their opponents' range. The general's lightsaber collection of fallen Jedi continued to grow and she began to see them as trophies of the war. Due to these acts of wanton destruction, Grievous soon became a avatar of terror in the eyes of Republic citizens.
This prompted many Jedi to call for the death of the teenage Grievous. However, Master Yoda opposed such extreme measures, fearing that the actions of the Jedi assassins would lead to their fall to the Dark Side. Despite this, some risked excommunication to carry out what they saw as justice. This included Padawan Flynn Kybo, Coway Jedi Master B'dard Tone, and a few others. This group of Jedi tracked the infamous General in the Ison Corridor. On the Ugnaught homeworld Gentes, where strip mining was known to take place, Grievous' forces had conquered the world and enslaved its inhabitants. She soon captured a group of Padawans with the intent of killing them, but her attempts were foiled by Kybo and Tone.
During the conflict, the Republic had been wrong on several occasions including the devastation of Orleon by Stone mites. Prior to this, a CIS had created Stone mites – bioengineered insects that could devour buildings – with the help of Arkanian geneticists. These insects had ruined countless worlds since their introduction. On one occasion during a trip to Coruscant's busy Westport, the freighter Spinner was affected by stone mites and crash-landed on Kishi.
The stone mites than ravaged Kishi until Jedi healers proficient in the art of Morichro destroyed them. Armand Isard, director of the Senate Bureau of Investigation, denounced the incident as a Separatist act of terror and his agents traced the Spinner to a small mid rim world, Orleon. Believing the planet had bioweapons facilities, he unleashed Republic-altered stone mites on the planet. However, he was wrong; Orleons housed nothing of the sort. The stone mites destroyed much of the planet in vain. Nothing could be done and the planet's eight hundred million inhabitants were forced to flee.
Recently, the Republic had conquered Praesitlyn. Despite possessing an advanced communications system that linked data feeds throughout the galactic quadrant, the planet had few defenses. Fearing that it would be attacked by the Confederacy, the Republic tried to get a fleet from the nearby Sluis Van which possessed shipyards.
However Asajj Ventress soon discovered their plans and dispatched a fleet under the Banking Clan Admiral Pors Tonith. Having blockaded Sluis Van, Tonith's fleet went to Praesitlyn and conquered it with a massive invasion army. Their effects were sped up thanks to system-wide jamming field unleashed by Tonith's fleet. This prevented communication from the rest of the galaxy.
Though, Captain Zozridor Slayke of Freedom's Suns attempted to stop the Separatists, his forces were defeated. Fortunately, Republic reinforcements arrived under Nejaa Halycon and Anakin Skywalker. This resulted in the Battle of Praesitlyn, which was fought over the planet and the Intergalactic Communications Center. During the battle, the Republic and Praesitlyn Defense Force were pitted against over one million battle droids and a large space fleet. The battle had the distinction of being the final trial for Skywalker before becoming a Jedi Knight.
Not long into the third year, a scandal broke out on Naboo and later across the entire galaxy concerning the planet's newly re-elected monarch, Queen Jamilla having an affair with her security captain, Gregar Typho and a few of her servant boys. She was impeached for her disgrace and replaced by a thirteen year old legislator, Keisha Apailana as the planet's new electoral monarch.
This was followed by the finished construction of the Amidala Mansion on the central outskirts of Galactic City. To celebrate it's completion, Senator Amidala hosted a gala event in honor of it with hundreds of guests and HoloNet reporters.
Soon after, the Core World of Rendili, a major starship producer, voluntarily defected to the CIS. Its defense fleet was composed with the state-of-the-art Dreadnaught-class Heavy Cruisers that could be a valuable asset to the Confederate Navy, though the fleet commander had not yet decided which side he was on. In response, a Republic fleet under Jedi Master Saesee Tinn and Plo Koon had orders to destroy the Dreadnaught cruisers unless they joined the Republic.
However, during the negotiations, Plo Koon and Captain Jan Dodanna became the prisoners of a group of pro-Separatist officers in the Dreadnaught fleet led by Lieutenant Yago. Yago hoped to break the Republic blockade with these hostages, but Tinn refused to back down. Soon, Kenobi and Quinlan Vos arrived, having just escaped from Asajj Ventress. Since Vos had failed to obtain the SIP from Honoghr, Count Dooku wanted him dead and his role as double agent was over.
Both Jedi rescued the hostages from the Dreadnaught cruisers before engaging Separatist fighters. Meanwhile, Anakin sabotaged the Dreadnaughts to prevent their escape into hyperspace and during the battle, Yago was slain by Jace Dallin.
The battle's aftermath consisted of the Dreadnaughts being modified into prisoner transports and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine making a new law that nationalized all similar, planetary-level defense fleets. Quinlan Vos appeared before the Jedi Council and admitted he had joined the Dark Side during his time with Dooku and presented himself for sentencing. However, the Council agreed to allow him to rejoin the Order after he had endured a period of meditation and repentance. Unbeknownst to them, he was still secretly serving Dooku.
Meanwhile, a vengeful Asajj Ventress slipped into the galactic capital and tried to kill Skywalker in retaliation for Obi-Wan escaping her at Rattatak. During that battle, which took place on an industrial catwalk high above the skyscrapers of Coruscant, she scarred Skywalker's face with her lightsaber. However, Anakin won the fight, using the Force to hold her high above the surrounding metropolis and then throw her down, presumably killing her. She survived however, and managed to escape Coruscant.