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The Confederacy of Independent Systems, also known as the Separatist Alliance, was a collection of star systems and corporate titans that left the Republic and fought for independence against the Republic’s clone armies and Jedi Knights. The charismatic former Jedi Count Dooku was the Alliance’s political leader, while its military power came from credits and assets donated by powerful galactic trade groups. No one suspected that the Alliance was actually a tool of Darth Sidious, who had engineered the Clone Wars as part of a Sith plot to rule the galaxy.

At the time of their introduction, the Republic clone troopers represented the future of galactic warfare. Far superior to battle droids, the clone troopers formed the backbone of the Republic's new military that waged war against the forces of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. So symbolic were they of the times, the galaxy-wide conflict that saw their debut took its name from their ranks: the Clone Wars.

Twi'leks are tall, thin humanoids with skin pigment that spans a rainbow of colors. Their most distinctive feature is a pair of shapely prehensile tentacles that grow from the base of their skulls. Few things are as graceful as a female Twi'lek in motion. This beautiful image has forever doomed generations of young Twi'leks into servitude, as the wealthy and corrupt have taken to brandishing Twi'leks as badges of prestige. In the waning years of the Republic, the Twi'lek homeworld of Ryloth was represented in the Galactic Senate by the corpulent blue-skinned politician Orn Free Taa. Even a politician of high office was not above flaunting a pair of lovely Twi'lek aides as a sign of influence and wealth.

Rather than use flesh-and-blood warriors, the Separatists prefer mindlessly loyal soldiers that are easily controlled. The soulless ranks of their armies are dominated by tall, thin B1 battle droids built as mechanical imitations of their Geonosian designers. Battle droids can be controlled by centralized command centers such as the Trade Federation’s enormous Droid Control Ships, or programmed for independent action. They often suffer programming glitches that manifest as personality quirks. Battle droids are dim-witted and no match for clone troopers or Jedi, but they weren’t designed to be smart – they were designed to overwhelm Republic civilians through sheer numbers, something they do very effectively.

Secluded in a remote corner of the galaxy, the forest moon of Endor would easily have been overlooked by history were it not for the decisive battle that occurred there. The lush, forest home of the Ewok species is the gravesite of Darth Vader and the Empire itself. It was here that the Rebel Alliance won its most crucial victory over the Galactic Empire.

Ryloth is the principal planet in the Ryloth system located in the Outer Rim near Tatooine. It is home to the Twi'leks, a humanoid species with two large, fleshy head-tails growing from their skulls. The Twi'leks call these prehensile appendages lekku and can communicate through subtle lekku gestures, although they also speak Twi'leki. During the Clone Wars, scheming Separatist warlords blockaded and invaded Ryloth, hoping to steal its riches. But after the war, dreams of a free Ryloth evaporated under the iron fist of Imperial occupation.