Capture of Theed

Prelude

As a response to the taxation of the Free Trade Zone as decided by the Galactic Senate of the Galactic Republic, the Trade Federation, a major interstellar trade organization, initiated a blockade of the planet Naboo. This action was intended to pressure Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum to act on their behalf. The Federation's actions were secretly orchestrated by Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith. Valorum dispatched ambassadors from Coruscant aboard the Consular-class space cruiser Radiant VII of the Judicial Department to the Lucrehulk-class Battleship Saak'ak orbiting Naboo. These ambassadors were, in reality, two Jedi Knights: Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, tasked with negotiating an end to the blockade with Viceroy Nute Gunray. After Sidious instructed Gunray to commence the invasion of Naboo, the viceroy expressed concerns about its legality. Sidious reassured him that he would "make it legal" and, when asked about the Jedi, ordered Gunray to kill them. Subsequently, Gunray attempted to eliminate the Jedi using dioxis gas, but the attempt failed.

Capture of Theed

Following this, Gunray communicated with Amidala, the Queen of Naboo, assuring her that no action would be taken without Senate approval and denying that any ambassadors had been sent. Amidala responded that Gunray had gone too far before ending the transmission. Gunray then promptly ordered a complete communications blackout on the planet. At Sidious's urging, the Federation initiated their invasion of Naboo.

Meanwhile, in the Theed Royal Palace, Senator Palpatine and the Royal Advisory Council lost communication. Sio Bibble, the Governor of Naboo, was among the first to suspect an invasion was imminent. Quarsh Panaka recognized the severe threat and acknowledged that the Royal Naboo Security Forces were insufficient to defend the planet against the Trade Federation Droid Army. However, Queen Amidala refused to endorse any actions that might lead to war, believing the Federation would not risk such an escalation.

Guided by their control ship, the Vuutun Palaa, several C-9979 landing crafts departed from the Lucrehulk-class Battleships and landed in a forest on Naboo's surface. The two Jedi, who had stowed away aboard, intended to warn the Naboo of the impending invasion. Upon learning of the Jedi's escape, Gunray contacted OOM-9, the OOM command battle droid and invasion commander, warning him of the Jedi's presence and urging him not to underestimate them. Once on the surface, Jinn met up with Kenobi and encountered Jar Jar Binks, a Gungan, amidst the chaos of the Federation invasion. After saving Binks from a troop carrier, Binks swore a life debt to Jinn for saving him. They then reunited with Kenobi and sought shelter, which Binks offered in the Gungan city beneath the ocean to evade the approaching Federation forces.

Back on the surface, Bibble's suspicions were confirmed, and upon realizing an invasion was underway, Amidala quickly switched places with her Handmaiden decoy, Sabé. Within minutes, the droid armies, consisting of Armored Assault Tanks, Multi-Troop Transports, and Single Trooper Aerial Platforms, seized Theed, overwhelming Naboo's limited security forces and placing the planet entirely under Federation control. The Royal House of Naboo surrendered.

Viceroy Gunray arrived in the Lapiz Cutter and took control from Queen Amidala's throne room. When Amidala refused to sign a treaty legitimizing the occupation, she and the other prisoners were scheduled for processing at Camp Four. However, the escaped Jedi Knights provided unexpected resistance, freeing the queen and her party after a brief battle with the escorting droids. Bibble and several handmaidens chose to remain behind, while the Queen decided to travel to Coruscant to plead for assistance from the Galactic Senate. The group then reclaimed the Theed Hangar from the stationed battle droids, boarded Amidala's Royal Starship, and escaped Naboo. However, during their attempt to break through the blockade, the ship's hyperdrive engine sustained significant damage from fire by the Saak'ak, and the Royal House of Naboo was forced into exile.

After the Queen and her escorts escaped, Governor Bibble and two of the Queen's handmaidens, Saché and Yané, were captured by battle droids. Bibble was escorted away by the droids, while the handmaidens underwent a blood test and were imprisoned in the tent for Camp Four alongside Mariek Panaka and Tonra. During their imprisonment, Yané utilized her skills as a weaver to create strips of cloth mapping out the prison camp and detailing the droids' shift changes, using fabric from her and Saché's outfits and employing the underside of their cot as a makeshift loom. Throughout their incarceration, the tent's inhabitants distributed the fabric pieces to other prisoners, instructing them to memorize the information and then destroy the evidence. The information conveyed through these cloths proved instrumental in the prisoners' successful revolt against their captors when Naboo reclaimed Theed.

Aftermath

The seizure of Naboo's capital was subsequently known as the "Capture of Theed" and the "Battle of Theed." Upon Gunray's informing Sidious that Amidala had refused to sign the treaty and had escaped, the enraged Sith Lord introduced them to Darth Maul, whom he dispatched to locate and recapture Amidala. Due to the damage sustained by Amidala's ship during the escape, the queen chose to land on Tatooine, an obscure desert planet in the Outer Rim Territories controlled by the Hutts, to repair the vessel. Maul successfully identified the queen's location but failed to eliminate the Jedi or retrieve Amidala.

The Trade Federation's droid army successfully occupied Naboo with minimal resistance. The occupation of Naboo was overseen by the viceroy and his Settlement Officer, Rune Haako. On Coruscant, Queen Amidala, now in exile, appealed to the Galactic Senate for intervention. However, Lott Dod, the Federation's Senator, managed to obstruct Senator Palpatine's efforts. Meanwhile, the population of Naboo was forced into camps, where they faced starvation and hardship. In Amidala's absence, the viceroy attempted to coerce Governor Sio Bibble into signing the treaty with the Trade Federation, but the governor remained steadfast in his refusal.

Meanwhile, OOM-9, the Commander and OOM command battle droid, sent troops to investigate the various rumored underwater villages of the Gungan on the planet. The "Battle of Theed", also known as the "Second Battle of Theed" like the city's capture, would later take place as part of Amidala's campaign to liberate her planet.

Behind the scenes

The capture of Theed was depicted in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace.