This endeavor to Mon Gazza unfolded circa 22 BBY, amidst the Clone Wars—the armed struggle pitting the Galactic Republic against the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The Jedi High Council tasked Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi with probing a dishonest senator, who had recently illicitly transported a data disk containing Republic's key combat strategies. Unknown to the Jedi, the senator had sworn loyalty to Confederate Head of State Count Dooku. Dooku's Dark Acolyte, Asajj Ventress, arrived on Coruscant to retrieve the disk. However, Mundi and his squad of clone troopers launched an assault on Ventress, but she managed to flee to the planet of Mon Gazza. Following a discussion with Chancellor Palpatine, Mundi and Grand Master Yoda reached out to Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, who were located on Queel, to assign them the mission to Mon Gazza.
Upon reaching Mon Gazza, Skywalker, Tano, and Clone trooper Captain CT-7567, known as Rex, adopted disguises to locate the missing data disk. The disk had been pilfered by Messo, the deceased senator's assistant, who was subsequently eliminated by Skywalker. Although the aide did not possess the disk, the Jedi Knight deduced that it was in the possession of another Confederate operative on Mon Gazza. The team observed a Twi'lek podracer, named Kidd Kareen, triumph in a podrace. Kareen and his confidant, San Maxus, became Skywalker's prime suspects. Instructing Tano to cultivate a friendship with Kareen, Skywalker began to investigate Kareen's pit within a podracing hangar. Shortly thereafter, the inaugural Mon Gazza podrace commenced. Skywalker entered Tano into the race, but her pod suffered a crash. After Kareen provided the Togruta with a replacement pod, Skywalker and Rex trailed Maxus to a cantina, where they discovered him communicating with Dooku.
The next day, Tano participated in the Mon Gazza Maze race alongside Kareen and Maxus. Skywalker and Rex monitored her progress and noticed Maxus was carrying the data disk. Maxus then intentionally collided with Tano's pod, threatening to eliminate the exposed Jedi. However, Kareen intervened to protect Tano, enabling her to leap onto his pod. Confronting the racers, Ventress boarded Maxus's pod and engaged Tano in a duel. Skywalker tasked Rex with rescuing his padawan and sped off on a speeder bike. Ventress managed to seize the data disk, but Skywalker promptly Force crushed it. After Ventress made her escape, Skywalker, Tano, and Kareen reunited with Rex near the hangar. Following their departure from Kareen, the group left Mon Gazza. Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi contacted Skywalker via hologram and they discussed the successful completion of Skywalker's mission.
Around 22 BBY, during the initial period of the Clone Wars—the armed conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems—Confederate General Grievous had launched ambushes and defeated Republic forces on various planets within the Mid Rim. The Jedi High Council came to the conclusion that a spy was leaking sensitive information to the Separatists. The Council dispatched High General Ki-Adi-Mundi to conduct an investigation. Mundi identified a traitor situated within the Galactic Senate leadership on Coruscant. Concurrently, the treacherous senator disclosed to his aide, Messo, his pledged allegiance to Confederate Head of State Count Dooku. The senator covertly transported a secret recording containing the Jedi's strategic plans and logs detailing the Republic's offensive arrangements. Dooku's Dark Acolyte apprentice, Asajj Ventress, touched down on Coruscant with the intention of acquiring the datadisk from the senator's assistant. Before Messo could transfer the disk to Ventress, Mundi and his squad of clone troopers initiated an assault on the Dark Acolyte. Ventress betrayed and fatally wounded the senator by slicing through his torso, while his assistant fled the scene carrying the datadisk. A LAAT/i gunship approached the area, providing cover for Mundi's attack. However, Ventress Force jumped onto the gunship and eliminated several stationed clone troopers. As she continued to wreak havoc on the ship, Mundi confronted her, but she managed to escape. The gunship crashed onto the platform where the injured senator was located. Before succumbing to his injuries, the senator informed Mundi that his assistant was scheduled to meet with Confederate spies on Mon Gazza and hand over the datadisk to them.
Mundi convened with Grand Master Yoda in the Chancellor's Suite. Chancellor Palpatine cautioned the Jedi Masters that a security breach within the Republic could pose a significant threat. Mundi asserted that launching an offensive against the Separatists in an attempt to locate the traitor would result in the loss of Jedi and clone trooper lives. Yoda concurred, and the Jedi promptly departed Palpatine's suite. Mundi and Yoda conferred outside the suite to deliberate on the escalating situation. Mundi presented Yoda with a hologram of the datadisk that had been stolen by the deceased senator's aide. Yoda emphasized that securing the datadisk would save numerous lives. Meanwhile, on the planet of Queel, Commander CC-2224 contacted both High General Obi-Wan Kenobi and General Anakin Skywalker via a holographic transmission. He alerted them to Mundi and Yoda's distress call originating from Coruscant. Inside a heavy assault vehicle, the group connected with Mundi and Yoda through a hologram. Yoda instructed Skywalker to journey to Mon Gazza to recover the stolen datadisk. Kenobi insisted on accompanying Skywalker, but Skywalker informed his former master that he would bring his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, and Clone trooper Captain CT-7567—nicknamed Rex—to assist him. Following Kenobi's agreement to remain behind and decimate the Separatist forces on Queel, Skywalker, Tano, and Rex departed Queel aboard the Twilight and set course for Mon Gazza.
The Twilight made planetfall in Miner's Town, the capital city of Mon Gazza. Skywalker briefed Tano and Rex on Mon Gazza's background as a former spice mining planet. Skywalker then disembarked the freighter, instructing Tano to secure the Twilight. Rex and Tano would later rendezvous with him in the city's downtown area. Upon docking the ship, Rex removed his customized phase I armor and donned a disguise to blend in with the crowd. Similarly, Tano, like Skywalker, concealed her Jedi apparel with a poncho. The two subsequently exited the Twilight accompanied by astromech droid R2-D2. Meanwhile, Skywalker employed the Jedi mind trick on two guards obstructing access to a podracing hangar. He entered the hangar only to find podracers preparing their vehicles. Tano contacted him via comlink, inquiring about the whereabouts of Messo and the datadisk. Skywalker spotted Messo ascending a flight of stairs. He pursued the senator's former aide up the stairs and onto a balcony overlooking the city. Messo brandished a blaster and opened fire on Skywalker, but the Jedi Knight skillfully deflected the blaster bolts back at him using his lightsaber. One of the deflected bolts struck Messo, causing him to plummet over the edge of the balcony to his death.
Following the altercation, Tano and Rex met up with Skywalker, who was observing a podrace. The group noticed a Twi'lek, named Kidd Kareen, emerge victorious in the race, which caught Tano's attention. However, she refocused on the mission at hand and reiterated her inquiry to Skywalker. Skywalker informed his apprentice that Messo was deceased and did not possess the datadisk. He surmised that Messo must have entrusted it to the Separatist spy, who could potentially be a podracer. Prior to the race, Skywalker entered his apprentice into the upcoming podrace with the intention of having them go undercover to locate the spy. After Skywalker informed her of his decision, Tano expressed her shock at his unilateral action. Skywalker led Tano and Rex to the podracer that he had previously located. Skywalker revealed that Jedi intelligence had indicated that the enemy was present within the same system as they were. Kareen emerged as Skywalker's primary suspect, and he subsequently instructed Tano to cultivate a closer relationship with him in order to gather information about the disk. The young Twi'lek son approached them and boasted to Tano about his recent victory.
As Kareen and his team departed, Tano grew irritated by the Twi'lek's arrogance and considered using the Force to inflict harm on him, but Skywalker dissuaded her. He reminded Tano that she needed to get closer to him and maintain proper conduct, while cautioning her against becoming too attached, as it could cloud her judgment. Tano agreed and proceeded to approach Kareen, who was positioned near his podracer. The young Togruta informed Kareen that she had misjudged him and expressed her appreciation if he would provide her with a tour of the track. Meanwhile, Skywalker instructed Rex to keep an eye on Kareen's crew while he searched for evidence. Skywalker discovered a Separatist comlink within San Maxus's toolbox, who was a close friend of Kareen. However, Maxus returned, only to find Skywalker snooping around Kareen's pit. Outside, Kareen took Tano on a tour of the city. He led her to an old bridge where he proposed a race. Tano accepted and utilized the Force to speed across the bridge, outperforming Kareen.
The Twi'lek was impressed by Tano's speed and began to develop romantic feelings for her. The two sat down at the edge of the bridge as Kareen discussed the Mon Gazza Maze, the amateur podrace track where Tano would soon compete against Kareen. The two engaged in a conversation about the Clone Wars and its impact on Kareen. The Twi'lek soon offended the Jedi by asserting that they were responsible for perpetuating the war. However, Tano—who was undercover as a podracer—defended the Jedi, but refrained from revealing her true identity. Shortly thereafter, the two departed the area and returned to the podrace hangar. Skywalker engaged Maxus in a physical altercation, prompting Rex to intervene. Kareen and Tano witnessed the fight, which was subsequently broken up by Kareen. Maxus disclosed to Kareen that Skywalker had been caught snooping around their pit. Unwillingly, Kareen blamed Tano for the incident, suspecting that she had only befriended him to sabotage his crew. However, Tano defended herself, asserting that it was a misunderstanding. Skywalker, Tano, and Rex soon returned to Tano's pod to prepare for the upcoming race. Maxus confided in Kareen that he disliked them and believed that Tano was not a genuine podracer.
On the track, Skywalker reviewed the fundamentals of podracing. He advised Tano to concentrate and rely on her instincts rather than overthinking. Kareen assisted Maxus in assembling his pod on the track as they awaited the signal to commence the first lap. Skywalker and Rex observed Tano's progress from the crowd bleachers. Soon, the first lap commenced, and Tano surged towards the lead. Maxus, who was in first place, noticed Tano approaching him and obstructed her advance. Another podracer collided with Tano, causing her pod to spin out of control. She regained control of her pod and continued to race towards Maxus, who remained in the lead. However, Tano soon crashed when another podracer rear-ended her pod. Skywalker and Rex rushed towards Tano and her wrecked podracer. While Rex assisted her in getting up, Kareen approached her. Despite the crash, Tano finished in tenth place, securing her spot in the Mon Gazza Maze race. Kareen offered Tano the use of one of his spare pods for the next race. Maxus confronted Kareen, expressing his anger at his friend's decision to lend Tano one of their pods. Kareen defended Tano, but Maxus remained dissatisfied with Kareen's behavior.
Following the race, Skywalker and Rex tracked Maxus to a cantina in Miner's Town. Maxus contacted Dooku via hologram, informing him about the suspicious new racer. Dooku transmitted a holovid recording of Skywalker and Tano to Maxus, revealing their identities as Jedi. Meanwhile, back at the hangar, Kareen demonstrated the controls of her new podracer to Tano. Kareen expressed his desire to learn more about Tano, but she declined. Before the two could kiss, Skywalker and Rex intervened. Before departing, the Twi'lek kissed Tano on the cheek for good luck. Skywalker wasted no time in informing Tano of their discovery in the cantina. He revealed to her that Maxus had contacted Dooku, suggesting that Kareen might be involved in the scheme. Tano remained hurt for a brief period but soon informed Skywalker that they would bring Maxus and Kareen to justice in the next race.
As Maxus prepared his pod, he showed Kareen the recording that Dooku had sent him. Upon learning that Tano was actually a Jedi, Kareen felt betrayed by her deception. He urged Maxus to cease his spying activities, but the Devaronian argued that no one would believe him if he revealed Maxus's connection to Dooku. Later on, the Mon Gazza Maze race commenced. Tano raced towards Kareen, who was competing against Maxus. Soon, Maxus halted near his pit stop. Tano questioned the situation with Skywalker and observed Maxus delivering the datadisk to a Rodian. Skywalker and Rex immediately ran towards them, but Maxus jumped back into his podracer and sped away. Skywalker and Rex confronted the Rodian, who was a member of Kareen's crew. On the track, Kareen implored Maxus to abandon his spying activities and sever his ties to the war. However, Tano soon approached Kareen from behind and yelled at him to stop. Maxus then intentionally collided with Tano's pod, alerting Skywalker and Rex. Tano feared that both Kareen and Maxus intended to kill her, but Kareen defended Tano by bumping into Maxus's pod. Unbeknownst to Tano, Maxus had sabotaged her new pod before the race, causing it to malfunction. Kareen instructed her to jump onto his pod before her pod crashed. Back at the hangar, Skywalker departed on a speeder bike to rescue his endangered padawan. Confronting the racers, Ventress suddenly appeared on the track and boarded Maxus's podracer. Noticing Ventress, Tano used the Force to jump onto Maxus's pod and engage her in a duel. However, Ventress used the Force to push Tano, causing the Togruta to lose her balance. While the group believed that Maxus had handed the data file to a Rodian, he had actually retained possession of the disk.
Before handing it to Ventress, Tano prepared to seize the file, but the Dark Acolyte snatched it from Maxus. Before she could store the disk, Skywalker raced towards the pod on a speeder bike and Force crushed the disk, destroying it. Ventress dismissed the damaged data disk and fled the scene. Before leaping onto Kareen's pod, Tano used her lightsaber to destroy Maxus's pod, causing it to crash. Skywalker met up with Kareen and Tano near the hangar. Before Skywalker, Tano, and Rex departed Mon Gazza on the Twilight, Kareen apologized to Tano. He kissed Tano's hand before she boarded the freighter and promised Kareen that they would return after the war concluded. Following their successful mission, Kenobi contacted Skywalker. After informing his former master that he had destroyed the data file, ensuring the Republic's safety, the Jedi Knight turned his attention to Tano and addressed her behavior during her part of the mission. However, the Togruta dismissed her master, asserting her ability to handle any situation he presented her with.