SkyeWalkers: A Clone Wars Story is a novella, penned by Abel G. Peña, that delves into the era of the Clone Wars. This story, originally intended for Hyperspace: The Official Star Wars Fan Club in 2011, functions as a prequel to the 1979 tale titled Star Wars Annual (1977) 1, a work of Chris Claremont with illustrations by Mike Vosburg. Peña's SkyeWalkers: A Clone Wars Story took three years to complete, explaining his absence from published works between 2008 and 2011. The project experienced delays, and the novella ultimately saw release on StarWars.com in 2015, featured as part of "The Other Lost Missions: Rare Clone Wars Comics and Literature, Part 2." This release also included "Lone Wolf: A Tale of Obi-Wan and Luke," a story that focuses on Obi-Wan Kenobi in the period immediately following the Clone Wars.
Set in 22 BBY, a year in the Star Wars timeline, the planet Skye is under the control of Zeta Magnus, a genetic terrorist. The Galactic Republic suspects Magnus of collaborating with the Confederacy of Independent Systems and its leader, Count Dooku. Palpatine, the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, demands Magnus's trial on Coruscant, the galactic capital, prompting the Jedi Order to act. Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, accompanied by his Padawan learners Anakin Skywalker and Halagad Ventor, is sent to Skye. Disguising their mission as a relief effort, the Jedi team aims to capture Magnus with the assistance of a new clone commando unit. Upon their arrival on Skye, they meet the enslaved S'kytri people. Together, the Jedi and the Tark Squad clone commandos devise a plan to assault Magnus' citadel by navigating the Entyrmion, an underground cavern system. However, within the Entyrmion, they are ambushed by Oskan blood eaters, creatures placed there by Magnus.
Having defeated the creatures, the Republic team manages to infiltrate Magnus's fortress, located atop mount Canaitith. Meanwhile, the S'kytri, divided into the Highland and Lowland clans, engage the Outland Clanners in battle. While searching the citadel, the Jedi are double-crossed by the Tark Squad. The clones are revealed to be Sun Guards in disguise, allied with Magnus, who replaced the real commandos. The Jedi awaken in Magnus's laboratory, where the terrorist reveals his plan to scan the brains of his prisoners and transfer them into clone bodies that are already developing. Kharys, a young S'kytri warrior, interrupts him and frees the Jedi. Magnus, along with his droid, Blue-Tark, flees towards his ship, pursued by Halagad Ventor. Back in the laboratory, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker confront the Sun Guards. In the citadel's hangar, Ventor sustains injuries while battling Magnus but ultimately defeats him with his lightsaber.
The eNovella SkyeWalkers: A Clone Wars Story is the creation of Abel G. Peña, an author known for his numerous Star Wars articles in publications like Star Wars Insider, Star Wars Gamer, and The Official Star Wars Fact File. It was designed as a prequel to the 1979 Marvel comic Star Wars Annual (1977) 1, which was written by Chris Claremont and featured illustrations by Mike Vosburg. As a Marvel enthusiast, Abel G. Peña admired The Long Hunt. He also had a strong interest in Halagad Ventor, a character introduced in Domain of Evil, a 1991 supplement for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game by West End Games. By 2006, Peña wanted to include Ventor in Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker's mission on Skye, as referenced in The Long Hunt.
SkyeWalkers: A Clone Wars Story was ultimately commissioned for Hyperspace: The Official Star Wars Fan Club as an eNovella. Peña dedicated three years, from 2008 to 2011, to the story. However, the Hyperspace Fan Club was shut down in late 2011, causing SkyeWalkers to be shelved for several years. On March 6, 2015, the story was finally released as a PDF on StarWars.com, as part of "The Other Lost Missions: Rare Clone Wars Comics and Literature." The PDF also contained "Lone Wolf: A Tale of Obi-Wan and Luke," a 75-page story about Obi-Wan Kenobi facing the challenges of being a Jedi outcast following the Clone Wars. Jason Yuo designed the PDF, and David Rabbitte created the cover art.
The core narrative of SkyeWalkers: A Clone Wars Story is based on events hinted at in Star Wars Annual 1: The Long Hunt. In the comic, Aragh tells Luke Skywalker that Obi-Wan Kenobi and his two apprentices saved Skye during the Clone Wars. This served as the foundation for SkyeWalkers.
However, Aragh also mentions that the first of Kenobi's students returned as Darth Vader, and the third Jedi carried the lightsaber later used by Luke Skywalker, implying he was Luke's father. This statement created a continuity issue in 1980 when Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back revealed that Vader was Anakin Skywalker's Sith identity. Abel G. Peña and Rich Handley addressed this discrepancy in the 2007 article Aliens in the Empire, Part 2: To a Traitor Go the Spoils, explaining that Skywalker and Ventor accompanied Kenobi on Skye, and they temporarily exchanged lightsabers for the Concordance of Fealty ritual. This allowed Anakin Skywalker and the wielder of Luke's lightsaber to be distinct individuals. This explanation is also included in SkyeWalkers: A Clone Wars Story.
Originally, The New Essential Chronology from 2005 placed the Battle of Skye in 21 BBY, approximately 1 year and 1–2 months after the Battle of Geonosis. At that time, Anakin Skywalker was still considered a Padawan. However, the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series established that Skywalker was knighted early in the war, in 22 BBY. Consequently, stories depicting Skywalker as a Padawan later in the war were condensed into the war's initial year. Accordingly, SkyeWalkers: A Clone Wars Story states that its events occur between Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, both set in 22 BBY.
Peña views SkyeWalkers as a "celebration of continuity—the textural glory of the galaxy far, far away—that [he has] always loved and aimed for." Therefore, the novella incorporates elements from various Expanded Universe works. The concept of ancient Jedi researching cloning originated in Galaxy of Fear: Clones, the eleventh book in the Star Wars: Galaxy of Fear series for young readers. The name of the Triplehorn mountains is taken from Galaxy of Fear: Planet Plague, the series' third book.