Anakin was imprisoned in Jabba's Palace, where he found Ponchar and learned that the CIS had made a deal with Jabba to produce a new type of battle droid out of lightsaber-resistant cortosis. They escaped and Anakin stole a skiff. Saato went in pursuit of him and they dueled above the Great Pit of Carkoon. Anakin was victorious and killed her.
In the days following the Battle of Geonosis, the Jedi Council received some disturbing messages from a moisture farmer on Tatooine named Raala Ponchar. Ponchar said there had been several attacks on Tatooine citizens by a new type of battle droid. Unfortunately, the Council lost contact with her soon after.
Concerned and fearing the worst, the Council called Anakin Skywalker to them. Anakin had recently recovered from his duel with Count Dooku, and was sure he was ready for whatever the Council would ask of him. The Council informed Anakin of the situation, and ordered him to go to Tatooine to find Raala Ponchar as well as find out anything he could about the new battle droids.
Anakin landed on the outskirts of Mos Espa. Traveling to the small city, he was forced to battle womp rats and Tusken Raiders. On the way there, he also encountered a number of battle droids who were looking for Ponchar and overheard them mention someone they referred to as Mistress Saato.
Anakin eventually arrived at Mos Espa. Once there, he found that womp rats were over running the city. He asked around and eventually found a mysterious woman who told him something was flushing the womp rats out of their cave. She told him she would tell him everything she knew about Ponchar if he helped solve the rat problem.
Journeying to the caves, Anakin found that a number of anoobas were flushing the rats out of their nests. This confused him since anoobas didn't normally behave that way. He was forced to kill six of the anoobas to pacify the rats.
As he left the cave to return to the city, Anakin was confronted by Aurra Sing. He reasoned that Sing had been behind the entire problem, and managed to survive the blast from a thermal detonator she threw at him. Sing fled, and Anakin was forced to fight his way through numerous bounty hunters to get back to Mos Espa.
After reaching Mos Espa, Anakin was told by someone that Watto, his former slaveowner, might have information about Ponchar. He journeyed to Watto's shop and questioned him. Watto was able to steer him towards the moisture farms outside the city.
Crossing the Dune Sea, Anakin was forced to rescue seven farmers who had been captured by Tusken Raiders. Once he reached the moisture farms, he found them in ruins. He also found some of the new battle droids. After defeating several of them as well as other battle droids, he questioned some of the surviving farmers. One of them, Bellek, Ponchar's employer, didn't want to tell him anything because he was scared of "a witch" who had led the Separatist attack on the farms. Anakin eventually learned that the battle droids came from Jabba the Hutt's palace.
After crossing the Jundland Wastes, fighting through bounty hunters and battle droids, Anakin reached Jabba's palace, where he once again confronted Aurra. But before he could apprehend the bounty hunter, the Dark Acolyte Saato arrived. Before Anakin could react, Saato used the force to choke him into unconsciousness. Saato then had Anakin thrown into the dungeons.
Anakin woke up in a cell in Jabba's dungeons. In his cell was Raala Ponchar. After using the Force to bust out, and Ponchar found his lightsaber, Ponchar told Anakin that the Separatists had hired Jabba to transport a metal called cortosis for them. Cortosis was resistant to lightsabers, and the Separatists were using it in their new battle droids.
Ponchar also informed Anakin that there were other farmers imprisoned in the dungeons. They decided to split up and rescue the farmers. Anakin moved through the dungeons, slaughtering Jabba's guards and security droids while freeing the prisoners. Eventually, he freed everyone he could, and escaped on a skiff.
Unfortunately for Anakin, Saato followed him on a skiff of her own, and shot his down near the Pit of Carkoon, which was the home of a sarlacc. Saato landed and ignited her lightsabers, saying he would be fed to the sarlacc. A vicious lightsaber duel erupted. Despite Saato's skill in combat, she was slain by Anakin.
After he defeated Saato, Anakin reported what he had learned to his master and friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Kenobi was pleased, but told Anakin to return to Coruscant quickly; the Separatists had launched an attack on the Galactic Capital.
- In the duel with Saato, there are two ways she can be killed. One way is for Anakin to strike her down. Another way is for her to somehow fall into the pit of Carkoon, where she is devoured by the sarlacc.
- The New Essential Chronology