Defense of Rishi Station

Prelude

During 22 BBY, amidst the Clone Wars, the Galactic Republic initiated the deployment of listening posts within the Outer Rim Territories to monitor Confederate movements. Due to the substantial casualties sustained by the Grand Army of the Republic, newly enlisted clone troopers were assigned to these stations without undergoing the standard rigorous training typically afforded to clones before active duty. A number of these inexperienced clones, pejoratively dubbed "shinies"—a term alluding to the troopers' pristine armor yet untainted by combat—were stationed at Rishi Station, a strategically vital listening post situated near the Wild Space planet Kamino on the moon of Rishi, under the command of Clone Sergeant O'Niner.

In an attempt to terminate the Republic's production of clone troopers on Kamino, the Confederate General Grievous devised a plan to invade Kamino alongside the Dark Acolyte Asajj Ventress and a fleet comprised of Munificent-class star frigates and Lucrehulk-class Droid Control Ships. However, Rishi Station played a pivotal role in safeguarding the area of space surrounding Rishi and Kamino. As long as the station remained operational, the Republic fleet would receive alerts regarding any Confederate activity in the vicinity. To circumvent this impediment, Grievous opted to capture the station prior to proceeding with his intended invasion of Kamino.

The battle

Confederate assault

Grievous deployed an elite squad of BX-series droid commandos aboard a Droch-class boarding ship to the Rishi moon with the objective of capturing the base. As the approaching pod concealed itself within a meteor shower, the clone troopers inside the listening post activated the outpost's shields to mitigate potential meteor damage. Upon landing amidst the meteors, the droid commandos emerged from their pods and stealthily advanced toward the base, killing CT-327, a clone deck officer stationed outside the station as a lookout. When the clones within the base lost communication with CT-327, Sergeant O'Niner dispatched clone troopers Nub and Droidbait to locate him. However, the two clones were swiftly eliminated by the attacking droids. O'Niner departed the base's command center to confront the invading droids, instructing trooper Hevy to sound the alarm and alert the Republic fleet. The rookie clone trooper discovered that the signal was being jammed, and O'Niner was soon slain by the battle droids.

After witnessing O'Niner's demise, troopers Hevy, Echo, Fives, and Cutup fled the base through a ventilation shaft located within the command center. Meanwhile, the leader of the commando droids contacted Grievous via hologram and informed him of their success. The cyborg general instructed the droids to maintain the station's all-clear signal, as deactivating it would alert the nearby Republic fleet to the Separatist presence in the system. This ensured that the Republic remained unaware of the attack and the approaching Confederate fleet's continued advance toward Kamino. Through a hologram transmission, Ventress informed Grievous that she had infiltrated Kamino and that preparations for the invasion were complete. Simultaneously, the rookie clone troopers emerged from the ventilation shaft and positioned themselves beneath the listening post's landing pad. However, a Rishi eel appeared and seized Cutup before departing the area, further reducing the clones' numbers.

Retaking the station

Rishi Station, however, was scheduled for a routine inspection, with Clone Marshal Commander Cody and Clone Captain Rex dispatched to assess the base. Upon Cody contacting the base, a commando droid, disguised in clone trooper armor, responded to the transmission. The commando droid informed the clone officers that the base did not require an inspection. However, the clones remained unconvinced and continued their flight toward the listening post. They landed their Nu-class attack shuttle, the Obex, near the base's entrance, where they were greeted by a commando droid disguised in clone armor. After the rookie clone troopers launched a droid attack flare, Rex spotted the flare in the distance and promptly shot the droid in the head.

As Rex removed the clone's helmet, revealing the droid underneath, commando droids stationed behind crates surrounding the clone officers emerged and began firing at them. During the crossfire, the droids hurled thermal detonators at the clones' shuttle, destroying the craft. However, the clones escaped the area by leaping off the landing pad. Cody and Rex located the surviving rookie clone troopers—Echo, Fives, and Hevy—and ordered them to remove their helmets, suspecting them of being droids in disguise. After the clones complied, Rex began addressing them with the derogatory term "shinie." When a Rishi eel reappeared, Rex swiftly dispatched the creature with a single blaster shot to the eye. Impressed by Rex's marksmanship, both clone officers took interest in the group and provided the rookies with their DC-15S carbine blasters.

Rex devised a plan to infiltrate the base by impersonating commando droid Unit 26. While Cody, Echo, Fives, and Hevy waited on either side of the listening post's entrance, Rex approached the blast doors' surveillance systems. Commando droid units 07, 08, and 09 noticed an anomaly in Rex's vocabulator and demanded that he remove his helmet for identification. Rex complied, but propped up a droid head in front of himself to deceive the droids into opening the door. When the commando droids opened the blast doors, the clones ambushed and destroyed them, proceeding to ambush the remaining droids stationed within the listening post's main control room. After retaking the listening post, the clones discovered that the commando droids had hardwired the station's all-clear signal. Meanwhile, Grievous noticed that the commando droids had ceased responding to his transmissions. Suspecting foul play, Grievous dispatched a contingent of B1 and B2 battle droids to investigate the listening post.

Destroying the station

When the Confederate reinforcements arrived on the moon in a C-9979 landing craft, Rex, realizing that the new arrivals outnumbered the clone troopers, ordered the listening post to be destroyed, a command that surprised the rookie troops. After Echo reminded the clone captain that their duty was to protect and defend the base, Rex dismissed his concerns, explaining that destroying the base would deactivate the signal and alert the nearby Republic fleet to the impending Separatist invasion. To destroy the base, Echo suggested utilizing highly explosive liquid Tibanna, a fuel source used at the station during the Rishi moon's freezing cycle. While Rex and Echo retrieved the base's plunk droids containing the liquid Tibanna, Cody, Hevy, and Fives gathered weaponry from the listening post's supply room.

Outside, Cody, Hevy, and Fives began firing at the approaching droids, attempting to hold them off before they could breach the base. However, the droids' fire overwhelmed the clones, forcing them to retreat back into the listening post. Upon attempting to detonate the Tibanna inside the plunk droids, the clones discovered that the remote activator was malfunctioning. Hevy volunteered to remain behind and rectify the issue before joining the other clones as they fled the listening post through a nearby ventilation shaft. After hearing the invading droids, Hevy left the control room and hid in an adjacent hallway to avoid detection. Meanwhile, outside the base, Rex realized that Hevy had not yet evacuated the listening post. He contacted Hevy via comlink, but Hevy refused to evacuate until he had repaired the detonator. Unwilling to accept Hevy's decision, the clones ran to assist the rookie trooper. Hevy, who had been hiding from the droids, utilized his Z-6 rotary blaster cannon to fire at the battle droids. However, the droids managed to shoot Hevy in the leg, incapacitating him.

Though Rex, Cody, Echo, and Fives attempted to contact Hevy via comlink as they ran toward the listening post, the trooper did not respond. Before they could reenter the facility, Hevy sacrificed himself by manually detonating the explosives. The listening post exploded, killing Hevy and destroying all droid forces inside. With the all-clear signal severed, the nearby Republic fleet—under the command of Admiral Wullf Yularen and Jedi Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker—was alerted to the danger. The Republic armada intercepted the incoming Confederate ships over the Rishi moon, and Grievous, realizing his fleet was outgunned, ordered a full-scale retreat before the Republic could inflict significant damage.

Aftermath

Shortly after the battle, a number of Low Altitude Assault Transport/infantry gunships were deployed from the Republic fleet to search for survivors. On the moon's surface, the ships located the four surviving clones and returned them to the fleet, where Echo and Fives received medals for their bravery; Hevy's sacrifice was also honored by the Republic. Rex then appointed the two rookies to the 501st Legion for their distinguished service. Rishi Station was reconfigured and replaced with a near-identical structure within a matter of days.

Following the battle, the Galactic Senate issued a dead-or-alive warrant for Grievous, anticipating his inevitable return to Kamino. This proved true several months after the destruction of Rishi Station, when the Confederacy orchestrated another invasion plan. Both Grievous and Ventress were selected to led the assault. However, their attempt to destroy the cloning facilities and seize control of the planet failed due to Republic resistance.

Behind the scenes

The battle of the Rishi moon was first depicted in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series episode "Rookies," the fifth episode of the series' first season, which aired on Cartoon Network on October 24, 2008. The Clone Wars Director Dave Filoni utilized the battle to illustrate that while commando droids were more effective than basic B1 battle droids, a large force of B1s still posed a significant threat.