Legends Lore Notes

The Phantom (Separatist) Menace

"Come out, come out, sly droids. To my eyes, hidden you are not." – Jedi Master Yoda, battling chameleon droids on Ilum

The droids that Anakin, Leia and the 501st encounter are the Arakyd Industries chameleon droids, officially called the Spelunker probe droids. These are mine-laying sabotage probe droids used by the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars. Before that, they were mining droids used by the Commerce Guild to explore inhospitable planets for valuable minerals during the final years of the Galactic Republic.

The droids joined the Separatist Army shortly after the first shots fired in the Clone Wars. In a case of turning shovels into swords, the Commerce Guild took the benign Arakyd Spelunker and modified it into an invisible killer. The greedy Commerce Guild had its fingers in millions of mining operations across the galaxy, and constantly hungered for new mineral strikes. During the decade leading up to the Clone Wars, Commerce Guild president Shu Mai purchased hundreds of thousands of these Spelunkers for her exploration division. The Spelunkers rode hyperspace rods into unexplored territory, where they sniffed out the presence of mineral veins on planetoids and transmitted their findings back to the Commerce Guild.

It didn't take long for Shu Mai to realize her Spelunkers would make excellent minelayers. With an array of modifications that patently violated the Arakyd warranty, the Spelunker emerged as a spy and sabotage unit. Its illusory camouflage screen gave it the name chameleon droid. Although it seems as if a chameleon droid can become invisible, the effect is actually a trick achieved through a hologrammic array. By making a 360-degree scan of its surroundings and calculating the positions of observers, the droid can project a screen that shows the terrain immediately behind it. This technique, nearly fool proof under the right conditions, it falls apart when the observer's viewing angle is shifted. Also, unlike the true cloaking devices, the hologrammic shrouds leave chameleon droids detectible to sensor arrays.

Chameleon droids saw their first widespread use on frozen Ilum in the 4th episode of the 2003 Clone Wars second season (not to be confused with the 2008 The Clone Wars TV show). They mined the sacred crystal caverns where Jedi build lightsabers during their transitions to Jedi Knighthood. The Jedi Luminara Unduli and Bariss Offee destroyed scores of chameleon droids, but Master Yoda finished the job by burying the saboteurs in an avalanche.

The way how Anakin slices a Chameleon droid when it was camouflaged, that was a reference to the same episode. Bariss Offee, just like Leia, senses the presence of the droids, yet could not see them, but Unduli states they are already here. Sensing the droid behind them, the two slice it, disabling its camouflage.

Vader's Second-in-Command

In this chapter I have introduced CC-1119 "Appo". In Legends, Appo was a Clone Commander in the 501st Legion serving under Anakin Skywalker and then under Darth Vader during the first years of the Galactic Empire.

Appo made his first appearance in the Revenge of the Sith, when he participated in the massacre within the Jedi Temple during Order 66. Later, Senator Bail Organa came to the Temple to investigate what had happened, Appo and several troopers met him on one of the Temple's landing platforms. Appo informed Organa that there had been a rebellion, but when Organa tried to enter the Temple, the clone commander drew his blaster upon the Senator, ordering him to leave. As Bail turned to go, a Padawan named Zett Jukassa, rushed onto the pad and began slashing the troopers with his lightsaber. Appo was cut down at the kneecap by the Padawan. When the Republic transformed into the Galactic Empire. Appo and his soldiers became some of the first Imperial stormtroopers, and alongside Darth Vader he worked to suppress threats against the Empire.

Appo also appeared in The Clone Wars show, particularly in the Umbara arc in the fourth season. At that time, Appo was a clone sergeant, part of a Republic battle group that was sent to the Confederate planet Umbara. Under Krell's command, Appo stood by the Jedi General, while the other clone squads led by Captain Rex engaged the Umbarans in combat. The clone wanted to send the troops to aid Rex on the battlefield, although Krell dismissed him, by stating he would give out the order of deploying the soldiers. He later participated in the hunt and capture of General Krell once his betrayal was revealed.

Anakin and Obi Wan

The attires of Anakin Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi are the ones they wear during the third, fourth, fifth and sixth seasons of The Clone Wars, which are basically Jedi tunics with gloves and armour on their forearms.

Fives and Tup Are Still Alive

In this chapter, ARC trooper CT-5555 "Fives" and CT-5385 "Tup" are still alive. The reason for this is that this chapter, and story arc is set between the finale of season 5 and the first episode of season 6 of The Clone Wars.