The Nexus Route served as a crucial hyperspace route, bridging the central regions of the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. It gained significant importance for both governments during the Clone Wars. Gaining control of this hyperspace route would have granted a substantial tactical edge, enabling either side to launch attacks against the other's homeworlds, notably the Republic's capital world, Coruscant.
During the conflict, the coordinates for the Nexus Route were uncovered by Jedi Master Even Piell alongside his captain, Wilhuff Tarkin. This discovery led to their captive status under the Confederacy. Before their capture, they split the information between them. Subsequently, in the aftermath of a struggle to liberate Piell and retrieve the coordinates, the Jedi Master met his death and passed his portion of the data to Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano, who was instructed to deliver it directly to the Jedi High Council. Conversely, Tarkin declined to share his information with the Jedi, instead being directed to present it to his mentor, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, following his rescue.
In 20 BBY, amid the Clone Wars fought between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Jedi Master Even Piell and forces of the Republic under his command successfully located the Nexus Route's coordinates. Subsequently, Piell and his Venator-class Star Destroyer were ambushed and seized by Separatist forces, who imprisoned the Jedi Master and a number of clone officers within the Citadel prison situated on the planet Lola Sayu soon after. Prior to their capture, Piell and his Captain Wilhuff Tarkin erased the data from their Star Destroyer and committed half of the route's coordinates to memory to prevent the Separatists from discovering its location.
Some time following his imprisonment, a rescue squad, under the leadership of Jedi Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, was sent by the Republic to Lola Sayu with the objective of freeing Piell from the Citadel, as well as recovering the Nexus Route's coordinates. Despite the Republic's success in liberating Piell, the Jedi Master was killed during their escape from the planet, compelling him to entrust his portion of the information to Skywalker's Jedi Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, whom Piell instructed to deliver to the Jedi Council independently. Upon their escape and subsequent return to the planet Coruscant, Tarkin refused to divulge his portion of the information, explaining that he was to deliver it directly to his mentor, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, with whom Jedi Grand Master Yoda would consult to determine the appropriate course of action.
Near the conclusion of the war, it was suspected that Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious, the true identity of Chancellor Palpatine, had divulged the Nexus Route's location to his Separatist Alliance subordinates. As a consequence, the Kaleesh warlord and Supreme Martial Commander of the Separatist Droid Armies, General Grievous, exploited the hyperspace route to orchestrate a massive and unprecedented assault on Coruscant.
The Nexus Route received its initial mention in "The Citadel," the eighteenth episode within the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars' third season, which was originally broadcast on February 18, 2011.