Clone Commander Jet

Rather than use flesh-and-blood warriors, the Separatists prefer mindlessly loyal soldiers that are easily controlled. The soulless ranks of their armies are dominated by tall, thin B1 battle droids built as mechanical imitations of their Geonosian designers. Battle droids can be controlled by centralized command centers such as the Trade Federation’s enormous Droid Control Ships, or programmed for independent action. They often suffer programming glitches that manifest as personality quirks. Battle droids are dim-witted and no match for clone troopers or Jedi, but they weren’t designed to be smart – they were designed to overwhelm Republic civilians through sheer numbers, something they do very effectively.

Poggle the Lesser was the leader of the insect-like Geonosians throughout the era of the Clone Wars. Due to his control of the Geonosian battle droid factories, he was a powerful figure within the Confederacy of Independent Systems and commanded the droid armies that fought against the Republic in two battles for control of Geonosis. At the end of the war, Poggle lost his life to Darth Vader.

A noble order of protectors unified by their ability to tap into the power of the Force, the Jedi Order were the guardians of peace and justice in the Galactic Republic. The age of the Jedi would end, however, due to a nefarious plot by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious.

Ki-Adi-Mundi was a Cerean alien who sat on the Jedi Council. A humanoid being, Ki's most distinguishing physical feature was an enlarged conical cranium that contained a binary brain. When Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn reported a Sith attack during the events surrounding the Battle of Naboo, Ki-Adi-Mundi expressed shock at the notion. "Impossible," he remarked, "the Sith have been extinct for a millennium." He also failed to see how far Count Dooku had fallen from the Jedi ideals just prior to the Clone Wars, believing that Dooku was incapable of violence or murder.

An admiral in the Republic's service, Yularen served gallantly in the Clone Wars, commanding a Jedi Cruiser in many campaigns against Separatist forces. Yularen was assigned to serve with the Jedi General Anakin Skywalker, and the rigid officer and the impulsive Jedi made for an odd combination. Yularen admired Anakin's bravery and instincts in battle while deploring his recklessness and willingness to interpret orders creatively -- or ignore them altogether.

A harsh rocky world less than a parsec away from Tatooine, Geonosis is a ringed planet beyond the borders of the Galactic Republic. Its uninviting surface is made up of harsh, rocky desert, and the creatures that evolved on Geonosis are well equipped to survive in the brutal environment. The most advanced lifeform are the Geonosians, sentient insectoids that inhabit towering spire-hives. The Geonosians maintain large factories for the production of droids and weapons for the Separatist cause in the Clone Wars. After the Clone Wars, the Empire chose Geonosis as the construction site of the first Death Star, restricting travel to the system and sterilizing the planet’s surface.