The Battle of Geddes was a battle of the Krantian Civil War, during the Galactic Civil War.
Around 0 ABY, the Galactic Empire managed to recover the Vor'Na'Tu, an ancient and powerful Jedi artifact on Krant, and shipped it to Geddes, an asteroid orbiting Krant and site of an Imperial research base, where it was stored in a Sith Temple. The Sith Lord Darth Vader went to pick it up.
Later, the Bothan spy Utric Sandov arranged a meeting on Krant with Princess Leia Organa to discuss information that could be vital to the Rebel Alliance. After her crash on the planet, Organa met the exiled Jedi Master Echuu Shen-Jon, who had been hiding there since the Great Jedi Purge. They eventually found Utric Sandov who revealed to them the discovery the Vor'Na'Tu. Shen-Jon and Organa resolved to go to Geddes in order to obtain the artifact.
Organa and Shen-Jon arrived on-board a transport with a small army—9 Rebel troopers, 3 T1-B hovertanks, and three pummels. Organa also brought her translater, C-3PO, along. During the voyage, rumors spread that Darth Vader was on his way. Shortly after their arrival on the asteroid, Wookiee chieftain Attichitcuk came to the aid of Organa and Shen-Jon. The timely arrival of Attichitcuk and his contingent of Wookiee warriors and war machines proved critical in the battle.
They split their forces, with one group creating a diversion while Shen-Jon and the pummels approached from behind the base. They discovered explosive droids which the research facility had built, and Shen-Jon used his Force powers to convert them for the Rebel's use. Their explosives further disrupted the base, allowing the pummels to break through and destroy the Sith Temple.
Echuu Shen-Jon confronts Darth Vader.
Shen-Jon grabbed the Vor'Na'Tu, and the survivors retreated back to the landing zone. But upon returning to their transport they found Darth Vader, who was awaiting their arrival. The Dark Lord demanded that they hand over the relic to him in order to bring back to his master, Emperor Palpatine. Shen-Jon, fearing the results of the Vor'Na'Tu falling into the Emperor's hands, refused to surrender and shattered the item into four pieces, rendering it useless to Vader. Engaging Vader in a duel, Shen-Jon's skills were no match for the Sith Lord's and eventually Echuu Shen-Jon was killed. But in dueling Vader, he gave Princess Organa enough time to escape.
Soon after the battle, Organa became involved in an Imperial plot involving Finn Darktrin and Dusque Mistflier. The Alliance felt that the threat of the artifact had been rendered useless. Years after his death, though, Echuu Shen-Jon contacted Princess Leia through the Force and warned her about the potential power of the shards of the Vor'Na'Tu. A New Republic task force led by Leia Organa Solo and Luke Skywalker returned to the asteroid to retrieve the shards.
The Battle of Geddes was first mentioned in the strategy guide to the 2001 video game Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds. It appeared during a Princess Leia campaign mission. The game's strategy guide recommends the player split the forces and just concentrate on grabbing the Vor'Na'Tu. Converting the explosive droids is an optional objective. This article assumes 100% completion of objectives and follows the guide's recommended strategy. The mission and thus the battle was also included in the game's 2002 expansion pack, Clone Campaigns. The 2005 reference book The New Essential Chronology and 2009's The Essential Atlas both included dates for the battle.
- Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
- The New Essential Chronology
- The Essential Atlas