Negotiator

The Negotiator was a Venator-class Star Destroyer, which is a type of cruiser and Star Destroyer that served the Galactic Republic. The starship featured a primary dorsal hangar in addition to a ventral docking bay. The dorsal hangar included a central section large enough to house both the prototype IPV-2C Stealth Corvette and a Nu-class attack/transport shuttle simultaneously, along with a smaller bay at its frontmost point for Syliure-31 hyperspace docking rings. This central area was flanked by two rows of hangar facilities capable of storing All Terrain Tactical Enforcers, Aggressive ReConnaissance-170 starfighters, BTL-B Y-wing starfighter/bombers, clone Z-95 Headhunters, and Low Altitude Assault Transport/infantrys, as well as various containers and fuel barrels. The Star Destroyer's armament consisted of eight DBY-827 heavy turbolaser turrets—four located on the port side and four on the starboard side of the stern bridge towers—along with two medium dual turbolaser cannons positioned near the front, one on the port hull trench and the other on the starboard trench. The vessel was equipped with two elevated bridges situated on the dorsal superstructure. One bridge had two sunken crew pits at the front, staffed by clone navigation officers, and a command suite located behind these pits. The suite contained a holotable capable of displaying a holographic map of the galaxy, a diagram of ongoing battles, recorded messages, and live communications with other parties, along with two translucent blue display screens and other workstations for the crew. A pair of blast doors behind the holotable connected the suite to the corridor leading away from the bridge. The left alcove of the port bridge featured another workstation, in addition to a viewscreen that facilitated communication between ships via radio. Externally, a single hyperwave comm scanner was mounted atop each bridge.

Located at the stern of the Negotiator were eight ion engines, with four on the port side and four on the starboard side of the rear fin, which provided sublight propulsion. The ship also had a hyperdrive, databanks, a self-destruct mechanism, and at least one escape pod bay on the starboard side, containing at least four Republic escape pods. The emblem of the Open Circle Fleet was prominently displayed on both sides of the Venator's dorsal hull near the center. During the Battle of Christophsis, the Negotiator's bridges were colored red to indicate its status as a flagship, and five red stripes adorned the dorsal section of each aft wing, signifying its affiliation with the Fifth Fleet. During the Malevolence Campaign and the ship's last battle, the bridges were not red, and each wing displayed three red stripes on its dorsal section.

In 22 BBY, during the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the planet Christophsis was targeted for invasion by the Separatist Droid Army due to its valuable resources and strategic position along the Corellian Run. Following the Separatist invasion, a blockade consisting of thirty warships was established in the planet's orbit under the command of Harch Admiral Trench to prevent Republic intervention. Subsequently, the Republic dispatched a fleet under the leadership of Jedi General Anakin Skywalker with the mission of breaking through the blockade and delivering essential supplies to Senator Bail Organa, who was stranded on the planet's surface due to the blockade. After a Separatist attack damaged one of Skywalker's Pelta-class frigates, the Negotiator, commanded by Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, emerged from hyperspace behind Skywalker's fleet, making a surprise entry into the system. This arrival was reported by a clone navigation officer aboard the Resolute, Skywalker's Venator. The Negotiator was carrying the prototype IPV-2C Stealth Corvette, which Kenobi intended to use to penetrate the blockade.

On one of the Negotiator's bridges, Kenobi and Cody were reviewing the holotable's holographic representation of the ongoing battle. When Cody noted that Skywalker had already initiated an attack, Kenobi remarked that Skywalker frequently disregarded his orders. After contacting the Resolute's bridge, Kenobi requested that Skywalker withdraw his starships and informed him that he had brought a new asset to aid the Republic. Admiral Wullf Yularen of the Resolute agreed to regroup their forces. Skywalker's remaining three Venators and two Peltas then retreated behind Christophsis's moon, Leesis, to rendezvous with Kenobi. During the temporary cessation of hostilities, Skywalker traveled from the Resolute to the dorsal hangar of the Negotiator aboard a Nu-class shuttle. Kenobi demonstrated the prototype stealth ship, which was stored in the center of the flight deck, and its cloaking capabilities to Skywalker, who speculated that the undetected IPV-2C could destroy the Separatist ships from behind. However, Kenobi instructed Skywalker to use the stealth ship to deliver supplies to Organa on the surface.

Some time after the stealth ship departed from the Negotiator, Trench decided to deploy ten Hyena-class bombers from his flagship, the Invincible, to attack Organa's position, hoping to draw the Republic fleet out of hiding. Following the bombing, the senator sent a holographic message to Kenobi aboard the Negotiator, requesting assistance. The Jedi Master then contacted Skywalker to order him to proceed to the planet's surface, while he would lead the Negotiator and the other ships against the blockade. Skywalker and Yularen both protested; the Jedi Knight devised his own plan to attack Trench's ship, cutting off the transmission to the Negotiator despite Kenobi's objections. After the IPV-2C's initial attack, Skywalker and Kenobi discussed Trench's capabilities, with Skywalker again disregarding the original plan. The second strike proved successful, resulting in the destruction of Trench's flagship. Aboard the Negotiator, Kenobi reluctantly congratulated Skywalker and announced that their fleet would resume the attack on the blockade. The Negotiator engaged the Separatist fleet while the stealth ship delivered the supplies to the surface, and the campaign for control of Christophsis ultimately concluded with a Republic victory.

Later that year, the Negotiator was in service when the Subjugator-class heavy cruiser Malevolence, a mysterious warship under the command of Supreme Commander Grievous, annihilated the fleet led by Plo Koon at the Battle of Abregado, which was part of a multi-month Separatist campaign targeting Republic forces. Unaware of the fate of Koon's forces, Master Mace Windu declared that all battle groups would be reassigned to protect supply convoys. While Skywalker and his padawan, Ahsoka Tano, secretly traveled to the Abregado system in an attempt to rescue Koon, the Negotiator was positioned in a defensive formation among other Republic vessels, helping to safeguard vital Republic convoys. Kenobi and Cody were in the left alcove on the ship's port bridge, where the Jedi General communicated with Yularen via viewscreen and radio to inquire about Skywalker's progress in escorting the convoys. After the admiral reported that the Jedi Knight had requested a "redeployment," Kenobi confided in Cody regarding Skywalker's actions. The unauthorized mission ultimately succeeded in rescuing the four survivors, including Koon, and uncovering the nature of Grievous's weapon.

As the Republic planned an attack on the Malevolence by deploying a Senate-commissioned strike force consisting of Y-wing bombers from Shadow Squadron, the Negotiator accompanied the Resolute, which housed the bombers, in a fleet of several Venators. Upon learning from Yularen that the Malevolence had destroyed a medical convoy near Ryndellia, Skywalker predicted that Grievous would next target the Kaliida Shoals Medical Center. To intercept the Malevolence at the space station, Skywalker decided to lead Shadow Squadron through a shortcut in the Kaliida Nebula, while Kenobi planned to take the Negotiator on a longer route to the same destination. With 30,000 clones still on the station, the Negotiator had already entered hyperspace; Kenobi contacted Yularen to discuss the readiness of their warships. The Republic fighters arrived in the Ryndellia system first, followed by Grievous's ship, which they began to attack. Because the bombers had damaged the Malevolence's port ion cannon while it was charging, both ion weapons were crippled, preventing the station's destruction.

As the damaged Separatist vessel retreated, Obi-Wan Kenobi's taskforce, consisting of three Venators including the Negotiator, returned to realspace, led by the Resolute. Kenobi commended Skywalker and ordered his ship to advance at full speed. In pursuit, the three Venators engaged the Malevolence using their DBY-827 batteries. Kenobi eventually transferred from the Negotiator to the Resolute's bridge, where he directed the fleet, although the Venators were unable to destroy the Subjugator. A pause in the fighting occurred when Senator Padmé Amidala, unknowingly sent into the battle to be captured as Grievous's hostage, was taken aboard the Malevolence. Skywalker and Kenobi then boarded Grievous's ship and rescued Amidala, with Skywalker sabotaging its navigation computer to cause the vessel to crash into the Dead Moon of Antar in the Prindaar system. Once the Jedi had escaped with Amidala, the Negotiator and the other Venators resumed firing on the Malevolence, but the Subjugator promptly collided with the moon and was destroyed.

In 20 BBY, the Negotiator picked up a distress signal sent by a group of Jedi Initiates after their ship, the Crucible, had been raided and rendered inoperable by the Ohnaka Gang. Communicating via hologram, Kenobi instructed Cody to set course to recover the younglings. The Jedi General's plans were disrupted when a Separatist fleet commanded by Grievous emerged from hyperspace and launched an attack on the Republic ships. After being pursued by vulture droids, a BTL-B Y-wing starfighter/bomber piloted by Engle was shot down and crashed in the Negotiator's dorsal hangar, causing a fiery explosion. Grievous and his battle droids soon boarded the ship, entering through the dorsal hangar and engaging the clone troopers in combat. General Kenobi fought the cyborg general but chose to retreat from the hangar, with the Republic forces continuing to fight throughout the Venator.

Determined to prevent the Separatists from capturing the Negotiator, Kenobi ordered the activation of the vessel's self-destruct mechanism and left a holographic message for Grievous, informing him that the ship was about to explode. When Grievous, hoping to extract information from the Venator's databanks, saw the message on the bridge's holotable, he fled to the hangar and escaped aboard his shuttle. Kenobi and his troops evacuated in escape pods, with at least four pods being jettisoned. As Kenobi and Cody watched through their pod's viewport, a series of explosions ripped across the Negotiator's hull before a massive fireball consumed the vessel.

The Negotiator was under the command of Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was accompanied by Clone Marshal Commander Cody. The ship was also staffed by clone troopers, including clone navigation officers and clone trooper flight crew personnel. Special ops clone troopers such as Blackout and Spark for the IPV-2C Stealth Corvette, troopers from the 212th Attack Battalion, and clone trooper pilots were sometimes present on board the Venator as passengers. Various droids served aboard the vessel, including PLNK-series power droids, R4 astromech droids, and R5 series astromech droids.

The Negotiator made its first appearance, though unnamed, in "Rising Malevolence," the second episode of season one of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series, which aired on October 3, 2008. The vessel was later identified as the Negotiator in the episode guide for "Rising Malevolence" on StarWars.com.