Dual Hemisphere-Omni Support Vessel

Characteristics

The Separatist supply ship, initially a corporate vessel, was re-purposed by the Confederacy of Independent Systems as a transport model. Its dimensions included a length of 908.78 meters and a height of 910.35 meters. The armored hull, with its distinctive barbell shape, provided a width of 1257.32 meters. While equipped with point-defense laser cannons, it often relied on other vessels for comprehensive protection. The design incorporated several hangar bays capable of accommodating multiple C-9979 landing craft, each boasting a wingspan of 370 meters and a height of 150 meters. The primary hangar, accessible through a rear entry, was situated in the midsection of the ship's starboard hemisphere and featured ceiling cranes and other specialized equipment for cargo handling and storage. The ship's reactor room, located at the end of the main hangar, was safeguarded from external access by ray shielding.

The Separatist supply ship's exterior was adorned with the blue livery characteristic of the Confederacy, along with a Confederate roundel displayed on both sides of its hull. It had a total cargo capacity exceeding five million metric tons. A hyperdrive was integrated into its systems. A single T-series tactical droid could command the transport, while B1-Series battle droids comprised the bridge crew and the main hangar's cargo handling personnel.

Role

During the Clone Wars, the Separatist supply ship acted as a heavy transport within the Confederate Navy, addressing the Confederacy's logistical demands by offsetting the limited cargo capacity of other ships, such as the Lucrehulk-class battleship. Originally a corporate transport, it was adapted for wartime use by the Confederate Navy, proving to be a more specialized cargo carrier than other vessels. Its significant size and capacity made it a valuable asset in prolonged conflicts, enabling it to serve as a transport for C-9979 landing craft and their troops, specifically the battle droids of the Separatist Droid Army. However, its primary contribution to the Separatist war effort was supplying arms, power sources, and other materials—such as long-range missiles—to organic defense armies like the Umbaran militia. These supply ships could be deployed in campaigns from orbit, delivering weaponry and supplies to ground forces on the planetary surface, while their remote position in space allowed them to be protected by warships of the Confederate Navy.

History

Initially a corporate vessel, the supply ship was repurposed by the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars, becoming a crucial element in the Confederate Navy's supply network. As increasing numbers of member worlds contributed their organic-based armies to the Separatist war effort, supply ships were used to support them during campaigns against the Galactic Republic, fulfilling various replenishment requirements and transporting detachments of the Separatist Droid Army to the battle lines. As a result of this new role, it became known as the Separatist supply ship, or alternatively, the Separatist support ship or Separatist transport. Late in 21 BBY, the second year of the war, the Confederate world of Umbara faced an invasion by the Grand Army of the Republic. Following the Republic 501st Legion's capture of an airbase that had been providing supplies to the defenses of the capital city, the Confederate Navy provided the native Umbaran militia with a Separatist supply ship, protected by a large fleet of Confederate warships. Commanded by a T-series tactical droid, the vessel remained in orbit and was instrumental in restoring the Umbarans' supply lines to the capital, delivering shipments of long-range missiles and other weaponry to the city's defenders.

The Republic Navy launched an attack on the Separatist supply ship to cut off the capital's supply lines, but the flotilla failed to destroy the vessel due to the superior strength of the Confederate armada. During the battle over Umbara, Advanced Recon Commando Fives and two 501st clone troopers, Jesse and Hardcase, initiated an unauthorized mission to destroy the supply ship. They entered the space battle in stolen Umbaran starfighters, using them to bypass the supply ship's defenses, as the battle droid crew was unable to distinguish them from friendly forces until it was too late. Once inside, Fives, Jesse, and Hardcase piloted their starfighters through the main hangar, intending to destroy the ship by breaching its reactor core. While the ship's droid crew tried to defend their vessel from the clone troopers, the tactical droid commander activated the reactor chamber's ray shields, forcing the three soldiers to find another solution. Hardcase manually guided one of his starfighter's missile pods through a service door into the reactor room, sacrificing himself by crashing the missile pod into the reactor. The resulting explosion annihilated the supply ship and its crew, illuminating the Umbaran skies and visible even through the clouded atmosphere. The destruction of the supply ship allowed the Republic to seize the capital and reclaim Umbara.

The Separatist stronghold of Serenno, which housed the palatial headquarters of Head of State Count Dooku, was heavily blockaded by the Confederate Navy during the war. Five Separatist supply ships, along with a significant number of warships, were dedicated to the blockade. When Dooku authorized an assault on the planet Dathomir to eliminate his former agent Asajj Ventress, General Grievous brought along a pair of supply ships to support his invasion. They remained in orbit of Dathomir with his invasion fleet, while he personally landed on the surface with a droid battle group aboard C-9979 landing craft to target the Nightsisters, exterminating the entire clan of witches.

Around 20 BBY, during the war's final year, Dooku included a pair of supply ships as part of an invasion fleet targeting the planet Scipio, a stronghold of the InterGalactic Banking Clan. Upon arriving at Scipio, Dooku's forces annihilated the Republic's on-world clone trooper garrison before he proceeded to the surface, leaving the super tactical droid Kraken in command of the supply ships and the rest of the fleet. Just as Jedi General Anakin Skywalker arrived with a fleet of Republic Star Destroyers to recapture the banks, Dooku returned to his armada in orbit and ordered a retreat from Scipio, with the supply ships joining the withdrawal from the battlefield by jumping to hyperspace.

Behind the scenes

The Separatist supply ship was conceived for the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series and made its debut in the episode "Plan of Dissent," which aired as part of the series' fourth season on November 11, 2011. The design of the ship model's interior largely incorporated existing assets created for previous episodes from the series' second season, such as cargo containers from "Senate Murders," fuel pipe conduits in "The Zillo Beast," and spot lamps from "The Zillo Beast Strikes Back." To coincide with its appearance in "Plan of Dissent," the supply ship was given an entry in the StarWars.com Encyclopedia. Since then, supply ships have been featured in the episodes "Massacre" and "Crisis at the Heart."

In "Plan of Dissent," the supply ship assisting the Umbarans was originally intended to be a Trade Federation Lucrehulk-class battleship. According to Series Supervising Director Dave Filoni, Series Producer George Lucas requested that it be changed to a vessel with a clearer affiliation to the Separatists, to emphasize that the Trade Federation was more of a neutral corporation during the Clone Wars. The result was the Separatist supply ship, with its in-universe connection to the Lucrehulk-class battleship being that the larger supply ship was better suited for the logistical role.