This article has spoilers for the Tales of the Jedi short “Choices.”
In the Tales of the Jedi short “Choices,” Dooku teams up with Mace Windu to retrieve the body of a fallen Jedi. As they arrive on Raxus, Dooku can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong. It leads them to investigate and uncover a much larger plot.
Raxus, or to use its full name Raxus Secundus, is actually one of the most important locations in the Prequel Era. Two years prior to the outbreak of the Clone Wars and after he has left the Jedi Order to become a Sith Lord, Dooku makes a declaration against the corruption of the Republic. This corruption is something we get to see him witness in Tales of the Jedi which was one of his drives to leave the Order in the first place. After that speech, planets within the galaxy split away from the Republic to form the Confederacy of Independent System. In time, Raxus became the capital of the Separatists.
Our first look at Raxus was in the excellent Clone Wars episode “Heroes on Both Sides.” Republic senator Padmé Amidala wants to teach Ahsoka Tano that politics are not as black and white as they seem. Padmé was friends with many of the senators that broke away to join the Separatists and invites Ahsoka to meet her friend, Mina Bonteri, who is a senator for the Confederacy. Mina introduces Ahsoka to her son Lux, someone who is an important figure in the padawan’s story in Clone Wars. Ahsoka sees that both Padmé and Mina both want peace, but just have different thoughts on how the government should be run.
Of course, in the end, the entire Clone Wars was a sham as it was part of Dooku and Emperor Palpatine’s ploy to weaken the Republic and Jedi so the Sith could take over.
While Raxus appeared or was mentioned in several books, our next look at the planet was in The Bad Batch episode “Common Ground” where our clone heroes are assigned to rescue an imprisoned senator. It’s an interesting episode as it is set in the early days of the Empire. It’s a companion piece to the next episode “Rescue on Ryloth.” Both Raxus and Ryloth are being invaded by the Empire. In a post-Clone Wars era, Raxus was an enemy planet and is being punished by having their rights stripped away. It’s jarring because Ryloth, which helped win the war, is going through the exact same ordeal. Together, these two episodes show that no one was safe from the Empire’s grasp.
What is fascinating about this time period is its Separatists who are some of the earliest members of the Rebellion. These enemies turned heroes were vital to fighting the Empire. They were the ones battling the Republic in the Clone Wars. When the Republic transitioned into the Empire, they were the same leaders who the Separatists sought to defeat. Raxus was one of the first planets to push back against the Empire.
Tales of the Jedi is our third look at the planet. Set before the events of the Clone Wars, it’s an interesting look at how and why things happen. The senator of Raxus was corrupt and his actions harmed his people to make them act against him and the Jedi master assigned to protect him. The guards saw both the Jedi and the Republic Senate as corrupt as some wonderful groundwork for the planet breaking away in a few years.
Raxus is always a fascinating planet whenever it shows up in canon. After Tales of the Jedi, I hope we get to revisit it again in the second season of The Bad Batch next year.
Check out all of our Tales of the Jedi coverage here at Dork Side of the Force.