Mystery of a Thousand Moons

Cast

Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker

Catherine Taber as Padmé Amidala / Angel

Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano

James Arnold Taylor as Obi-Wan Kenobi

Matthew Wood as battle droids

James Mathis III as Captain Typho

Michael York as Dr. Nuvo Vindi

David Kaufman as Jaybo Hood

BJ Hughes as Jar Jar Binks

Phil LaMarr as Amit Noloff

Tom Kane as the Narrator

Quote:"A single chance is a galaxy of hope."

Plot

Newreel: Hard-pressed Jedi and their valiant clone troopers have thwarted an insidious Separatist plot to plant bombs loaded with the deadly Blue Shadow Virus in key Republic systems. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker have captured the vile scientist behind the nefarious scheme: Doctor Nuvo Vindi. Now the Jedi plan to transport Vindi to the Republic capital for trial....

ACT I

Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi load a cuffed Dr. Vindi into his waiting shuttle for transport to Theed. Far below, in the subterranean laboratory, a clone trooper notes that the last bomb defused has its virus vial missing. The assistant droid must have taken it. Padmé orders a red alert. Dr. Vindi hears this ruckus and gloats that the Jedi's efforts have been for naught. The little assistant droid inserts the vial into one of the inert bombs in the preparation room, and primes the explosive. Two clones spot the droid and try too late to stop it. The explosive detonates, spreading a cloud of Blue Shadow Virus into the lab. Emergency bulkheads begin slamming shut. Captain Rex and his clones race to make it to a safe room, but it seems too late. The hermetic blast doors are slamming shut. Ahsoka uses the Force to hold the doors open long enough for the clones and her to jump through. Elsewhere, Padmé and Jar Jar are secure in another safe room and within their hazard suits. Anakin receives an update from within the compound. The laboratory is sealed, but any remaining droids are sure to attempt to break out and thus release the virus into the Naboo ecosphere. Padmé is determined to stop them. Anakin questions Vindi at lightsaber-point about a cure to the virus. The crazed scientist snickers, for there is no such thing. Short on time, the shuttle blasts off to Theed, where there are those much better equipped to search for an antidote. In Ahsoka's safe room, at the end of complex B, the clones discover that some of the virus made it past the sealing doors. They have all been exposed to the contaminant. Rex is still determined to stop any droids from leaving the compound, even if it's the last thing he does. Vindi's shuttle lands at Theed, and he is marched into custody. Typho, meanwhile, has been researching the first outbreak of Blue Shadow Virus and has found a possible antidote in the historical archive: a little known extract made from reeksa root, a vine found only on Iego, world of a thousand moons. Iego, unfortunately, is deep in Separatist-controlled space. Anakin is not deterred. He and Obi-Wan will venture into the heart of enemy territory. Skywalker is determined to save Padmé and Ahsoka. The Jedi team blast off in the Twilight and launch into hyperspace. Padmé and Jar Jar work their way to the end of complex B and arrive at Ahsoka's safe room, avoiding droid patrols along the way. Ahsoka greets Padmé, and the young Padawan is still set on carrying out her mission of destroying the droids, even though she is now terminally infected. They split up -- Padmé, Jar Jar and two clones will take the north corridor, while Ahsoka and Rex will take the south.

ACT II

Scouting the blue-cloud filled corridors, Padmé, Jar Jar and the clones come across a team of battle droids attempting to cut through the sealed doors. Padmé and the clones open fire, picking away at the droids. Ahsoka and Rex come running in from the other end. A lone battle droid makes it all the way to the upper hatch, but it is stopped before it can make it to the surface. The Twilight arrives at Iego. In addition to the swarm of moons and asteroids around the planet, there is a dense debris field filled with fragments of wrecked starships. Yet there is no starship traffic at all. The Twilight weaves its way through these obstacles before making planetfall and landing at the spaceport city of Cliffhold amid the basaltic spires of Iego's spaceport. A strange collection of reprogrammed battle droids greet the Twilight. Anakin impulsively charges into the horde and cuts down 18 droids before he realizes they are no threat. Many of the droids are cobbled together from spare parts, and some of them are oddly defaced with childish scribbles and crude paint jobs. One of the droids introduces Anakin and Obi-Wan to "the venerable" Jaybo Hood, a 10-year old kid responsible for reworking these droids. Anakin is impressed with his handiwork, if not his stature. Jaybo's been tinkering with these droids for nine months now. He's living the life of a ruler, fawned over by the repurposed automata. When the Separatists left Iego, they left behind a whole warehouse of inactive droids that Jaybo commandeered. Kenobi and Skywalker try to steer the conversation to the matter at hand: the urgent need to recover the reeksa root. But any claims of urgency don't seem to affect Jaybo. He tries to tell the Jedi that they're not going anywhere -- nobody gets off the cursed world Iego, haunted by the destructive spirit of Drol. Fifty of the best star pilots have attempted to outrun the curse, and all died. Back on Naboo, Ahsoka cuts down a pair of droidekas, but as Padmé tackles Jar Jar to save him from incoming fire, she tears a hole in her hazard suit. She is now exposed to the Blue Shadow Virus. On Iego, Anakin and Obi-Wan climb down the sheer cliff face to the lower canyon floors. Jaybo offers them some survival tips -- do not touch the reeksa vines. And watch out for flying xandus. A huge bat-like xandu almost immediately flutters past Anakin, knocking him off the cliff face. He grabs the xandu's talon, and gets an idea. Anakin shouts for Obi-Wan to do the same, so Kenobi leaps and grabs the xandu's other leg. The combined weight of the Jedi weigh the leathery winged creature down. It drops down to the canyon floor in a controlled fall -- a much faster descent than climbing. In the sealed lab complex, Ahsoka cuts down more droids, but her skin has become mottled and her strength is starting to leave her. She is succumbing to the virus. Kenobi and Skywalker tumble to the canyon floor. Skywalker pulls a spade from his backpack and begins digging for a root. The reeksa vines start writhing, revealing themselves to be enormous, ravenous carnivorous plants with sharpened spikes for teeth and deadly thorns along their length. The plants begin snapping at the Jedi, but Anakin secures the root quickly enough for them to retreat back to the cliff-face. The Jedi slash back at the plants, narrowly escaping back to Jaybo's ledge.

ACT III

With root in hand, the Jedi accompany Jaybo Hood to what passes as the meeting hall at Cliffhold. The urban sprawl looks a bit decrepit, and Jaybo explains that the planet has been neglected since the spice convoys dried up and transit to and from the world has ceased. A seemingly crazed Quarren official, Amit Noloff, decries Drol, the spirit of the thousand moons -- the world's protector and destroyer -- for the fate that has befallen the inhabitants of Iego. Skywalker, though, remains skeptical. The Quarren produces a holographic recording of a Rodian star pilot, Taquito, whose ship was destroyed as he tried to leave. Skywalker is not deterred. The Jedi board the Twilight and fly the spice freighter up into the debris field. Suddenly, laser beams begin lancing forth from some of the rocks, forming a web of deadly energy. From the surface of Iego, it looks as if a lattice of fire spreads across the sky. Drol may not be a ghost, but whatever it is, it is a real and deadly threat guarding the skies of Iego. The energy web is too dense, so the Twilight returns to the spaceport. Kenobi surmises that the Separatists must have installed the laser field to keep anyone from leaving Iego. Padmé and Ahsoka make contact with Anakin. They are quite visibly weakened. They have destroyed all the battle droids inside the compound. Naboo is safe, though it looks as if neither has much time to live. Anakin won't give up. He's determined to run the laser gauntlet again, but Obi-Wan thinks that plan is too impetuous and dangerous. He has another idea, though he has difficulty calming Anakin down. Kenobi calls forth the Iego council. He explains that Drol is no ghost, but rather a Separatist security system. Noloff refuses to believe this. Kenobi asks if anyone inhabited Iego's moons prior to Drol's destructive rise. A strikingly beautiful, willowy, phosphorescent humanoid enters the chamber -- an Angel. She explains that they were driven from their homes by the Separatists, who stole their moon of Millius Prime. Anakin realizes the primary node of the laser web must be near Millius Prime. Obi-Wan recruits Jaybo to donate a number of remote-controlled vulture droids in a bid to escape the laser web. R2-D2 will control the vulture droids as a distraction for the laser field, while the Twilight targets the hub on Millius Prime. On Naboo, Padmé does what she can to alleviate the suffering of the infected clones. Ahsoka collapses, overcome by the virus. The Jedi carry out their plan. The Twilight leads the way with a squadron of four vulture droids in tow. The laser field activates. R2-D2 pilots the vultures to intercept the lasers, while the Twilight opens fire on the primary node. A chain reaction erupts as the laser web unbalances, and emitters overload, sparking a series of explosions throughout the debris field. The laser web collapses. The people of Iego are free. With no time to waste, the Twilight leaps into hyperspace, en route to Naboo. A short time later, Anakin and Obi-Wan arrive by gunship into the eastern swamps, where medical droids are tending to the infected. The virus has been neutralized, and those afflicted will make a full recovery. Skywalker confers with Padmé, who never lost faith in Anakin. Anakin also sees to Ahsoka, praising her for her devotion and success. Meanwhile, Kenobi congratulates Jar Jar for his bravery in the face of such danger, and says he will recommend one of his troops gives Representative Binks some marksmanship training. Rex, though ailing, makes it clear that it won't be him.

Trivia & Details

-Anakin calls Dr. Vindi a "sleemo," which is Huttese for "slimeball."

-The series debuts some fully realized Ithorian and Quarren models in this episode. Previously, the Clone Wars movie used cobbled together figures to represent these background aliens. In Jabba's palace, the Ithorians were made of a crudely modeled head stuck on Palpatine's body, and the Quarren was a simple head stuck on Obi-Wan's body.

-The Angel went through a number of revisions, with some much more human than the end result.

-Originally, the xandu was to have been devoured by the reeksa vines.

-The city of Cliffhold is based on old Doug Chiang designs from The Phantom Menace. It is filled with aurebesh graffiti, including incidents of Jaybo Hood's name scrawled on the walls or simple illustrations depicting droids and clones. One building is marked with a large aurebesh marquee that reads "KRISTAL SKULL."