Shuttle 81572 was a captured Sheathipede-class Type B shuttle that was used by the Galactic Republic in 20 BBY to infiltrate the Separatist-controlled Citadel prison on Lola Sayu. Piloted by a squad of reprogrammed battle droids under the command of the astromech droid R2-D2, the ship, carrying a Republic strike team frozen in carbonite to evade lifeform scanners, gained access onto the planet by claiming that it carried supplies and frozen rations. Landing in a hidden canyon, R2-D2 and his droid crew waited by the ship as the strike team was unfrozen and headed off for the prison to rescue Jedi Master Even Piell and his officers.
R2-D2 and his crew later took the shuttle to the Citadel's landing pad in an attempt at an evacuation. However, the shuttle was destroyed by a commando droid manning a turbolaser turret during a battle on the landing pad, apparently killing ARC trooper Echo, who had been attempting to reclaim the ship. As a result, the remaining Republic soldiers and Jedi were forced to request assistance, leading Jedi General Plo Koon to bring a large fleet to evacuate them from the planet. Unbeknownst to the Republic, Echo had not actually perished in the shuttle's explosion. Severely injured, he was salvaged by the Separatists and wound up in the hands of the Techno Union, who turned him into a cyborg in order to extract information from his brain. Kept in a stasis chamber, Echo constantly relived the shuttle explosion at the Citadel for some time until rescued by General Anakin Skywalker, Clone Captain Rex, and Clone Force 99.
Shuttle 81572 was a Sheathipede-class Type B shuttle. Like all shuttles of that model, it was manufactured by Haor Chall Engineering Corporation, was equipped with a hyperdrive, and was armed with three laser cannons. It was intended as a cargo shuttle.
The strike team was frozen in carbonite to sneak pass the Separatist blockade.
Shuttle 81572 was originally owned and used by the Confederacy of Independent Systems. However, during the Clone Wars between the Confederacy and the Galactic Republic, the shuttle was captured by the Republic. In 20 BBY, the shuttle was brought to the Jedi Temple hangars on Coruscant, as it was to be used in an infiltration of the Separatist-controlled Citadel prison on Lola Sayu to rescue captured Jedi Master Even Piell, who had retrieved the coordinates of the secret Nexus Route hyperlane. The shuttle was placed under the command of astromech droid R2-D2, who had a squadron of reprogrammed battle droids which would fly the starship. In order to infiltrate the Citadel, Jedi General Anakin Skywalker had the team, himself included, undergo carbon-freezing to beat the prison's lifeform scanners. Once the team had been frozen, they were loaded onboard the shuttle, which its droid crew piloted away from Coruscant, with Jedi Master Plo Koon seeing the ship off.
When the shuttle arrived at Lola Sayu, it was hailed by T-series tactical droid K2-B4 at Citadel command, who ordered the ship to identify itself and its cargo. R2-D2 had his droid crew respond, claiming they carried supplies and frozen rations. They were ordered to not deviate from their course while they were scanned for lifeforms. Passing the scan, Shuttle 81572 was granted clearance to land at the Citadel. R2-D2 and the battle droids flew the shuttle down to the planet, before diverting their course and landing in a hidden canyon. There, they unfroze the members of the strike team, and waited there on Skywalker's orders for the summons to evac the strike team.
After the strike team had rescued General Piell and his officers, they split into two groups to evade the prison's security. Skywalker contacted R2-D2 and ordered the droid to bring the shuttle to the Citadel's landing platform to pick up Obi-Wan Kenobi's group, before heading to the pipeline exit to collect Skywalker's team. However, the plan was compromised, as Kenobi's group was captured by prison warden Osi Sobeck and his BX-series droid commandos. Sobeck had also noticed the shuttle's absence, finding it suspicious. When the shuttle landed at the prison, R2-D2's battle droids improvised a ploy by pretending the astromech was their prisoner to get inside the Citadel, which R2 later expressed his displeasure about as it had left the shuttle unguarded. However, the droid team was able to rescue Kenobi and his team. They attempted to reclaim the shuttle, with the reprogrammed droids claiming the "prisoners" were being transferred to a nonexistent Point Tarron outpost, but this began a firefight.
Shuttle 81572 explodes and seemingly kills ARC trooper Echo
Skywalker's group, ambushed at the pipeline exit, was forced to flee the area, and headed for the Citadel landing platform. There, they joined the firefight. During the skirmish, a battle droid manning one of the prison's turbolaser turrets was destroyed, and a commando droid knocked off of a STAP by the Jedi went to man the platform. Skywalker and Piell, riding a hijacked STAP, attempted to destroy the droid, but were shot down. ARC trooper Echo, noticing that the shuttle was in danger of being destroyed by the commando droid, made a run for the ship, grabbing a dropped energy shield and making it to the boarding ramp. However, moments later, the shuttle was destroyed by turret fire, to the horror of Echo's comrade Fives. With Echo seemingly killed in the explosion, the team was forced to retreat from the landing platform.
The Jedi and Republic subsequently sent an entire fleet of four Venator-class Star Destroyers, commanded by Master Plo, fellow Jedi Generals Adi Gallia, Saesee Tiin, and Kit Fisto, as well as Admiral Barton Coburn, to rescue the strike team. The rescue was a success, although Piell perished in the fighting and passed his half of the Nexus Route coordinates on to Padawan Ahsoka Tano, who was not even supposed to be a member of the strike team in the first place. However, the Republic remained unaware that Echo had not actually died in the shuttle's explosion. Severely injured, he was salvaged by the Separatists and sold to the Techno Union, who turned him into a cyborg in order to extract information from his brain. Among the extracted information was a battle strategy algorithm developed by Clone Captain Rex, and its use against the Republic during the Battle of Anaxes led Rex to suspect that Echo was still alive. Kept in a stasis chamber in Purkoll on Skako Minor, Echo constantly relived the shuttle explosion until he was rescued by Skywalker, Rex and Clone Force 99.
On the mission to the Citadel, shuttle 81572 was placed under the command of Anakin Skywalker's astromech droid R2-D2. A trio of reprogrammed battle droids under his command, led by OOM-10, flew the ship to Lola Sayu so it could infiltrate the Separatist lines.
Shuttle 81572 first appeared in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars third season episode "The Citadel."
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