The Vassek system was a remote star system located in the Wazta sector of the Outer Rim Territories. It contained the eponymous planet Vassek, its three moons, and several other planets. Vassek's third moon, Vassek 3, was home to the personal castle of Kaleesh Separatist Alliance General Grievous during the Clone Wars. In 21 BBY, Vassek 3 served as the site of an engagement between Grievous and the forces of Jedi General Kit Fisto.
The moons of the Vassek system
The Vassek system was located in the Western Reaches portion of the galaxy's Outer Rim Territories region, situated in the Wazta sector. Positioned at Standard Galactic Grid square I-17, the star system was home to a number of planets, including one Vassek and its three moons, for which the system received its name. On the surface of the third moon named Vassek 3, General Grievous of the Separatist Alliance established a hidden fortress for himself as a safe haven, where he resided with a Roggwart pet named Gor. Meanwhile, the Vassek system itself was remote from the rest of the galaxy, with some believing it to be in the middle of nowhere as it was distant from the nearby Koda Spur hyperspace route. As such, the system and its worlds received few visitors, coupled with the fact its available resources were commonly found on other planets with less needed efforts, becoming generally ignored despite being named and noted.
Dooku deceives the Jedi and clones.
By 21 BBY, during the time of the Clone Wars, the Kaleesh Separatist General Grievous inhabited the Vassek system's third moon, orbiting the planet Vassek. On the moon's surface, Grievous constructed a personal fortress inside one of the mountains, to serve as his private refuge and haven. There, he would recuperate and undergo repairs to his battle-damaged cybernetics from the EV-series medical droid Doctor EV-A4-D, who cared for the fortress and Grievous's Roggwart pet Gor in his master's absence. Grievous also rigged the entire castle with traps and guarded it with a team of IG-100 MagnaGuards, to protect it from those unintended visitors.
In that same year, a team of Galactic Republic forces came to the Vassek system, in search of the escaped Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray. Tracking a Republic homing beacon equipped to one of their Consular-class space cruisers, Fisto detected the frequency to the planet's third moon and landed. Meeting with the Mon Calamari Jedi Nahdar Vebb, Fisto's former Padawan who had recently knighted, and his squad of clone troopers as they entered the gloomy castle, the team continued their search to find a squad of five B1-series battle droid inside. After destroying them, however, the Jedi discovered they were tricked by Separatist leader Count Dooku, as he offered an alternative target in Gunray's place, leading them to another room of the castle to find that they entered the lair of General Grievous.
Grievous encounters Republic forces within his fortress on Vassek 3.
Confused by Dooku offering his best commander for capture, the Jedi were alerted by Grievous's sudden approach to the moon. Hoping to turn the war in their favor, the squad set a trap for the general, which ended fruitlessly as Grievous escaped their ambush with casualties inflicted to their forces. After retreating for repairs in a hidden control room, the cyborg reactivated his droid bodyguards and ordered them to secure the perimeter. The diminished task force then sought Republic reinforcements, but the troopers stationed outside were killed by MagnaGuards before transmitting their message, while Grievous inside sent Gor to kill the Jedi.
While the Jedi fought and eliminated Gor, losing the Clone Commander Fil in the action, a repaired Grievous noticed his pet's demise and became frustrated as a result. Receiving communication from Dooku, the general was berated by the count for his past failures and realized that the infiltration was the count testing him, to which the general bitterly agreed to take part in. Grievous then set off to handle the Jedi himself, leading to a brief duel between him and Vebb that cost the latter his life, and prompted Fisto to make his escape after being separated from Vebb. Waiting at a landing platform for his starfighter piloted by the astromech droid R6-H5, the Nautolan encountered Grievous once more after he climbed to his position, entering a lightsaber battle with each other. But after becoming outnumbered by the general's bodyguards, the Jedi Master was forced to retreat in his starfighter, allowing Grievous to report his successes to Dooku, who remained unimpressed with Fisto still alive. With the Republic aware of the castle's location because of the mission, which positively affected the Vassek system's obscurity, Grievous was forced to abandoned Vassek 3 and relocate his fortress.
The Vassek system first appeared in "Lair of Grievous," the tenth episode of the first season of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series, which aired on December 12, 2008.