At some point following the Clone Wars, a cataclysmic event caused the destruction of the planet Anaxes, and the world's shattered remains formed an asteroid belt. The cataclysm was theorized to have been caused by a shipyard's main reactor failing, igniting a hypermatter stockpile that destroyed the planet. One remnant of the planet, designated PM-1203, was the original site of Fort Anaxes, a military installation used by the Galactic Republic during the Battle of Anaxes during the Clone Wars that miraculously survived the cataclysm. Following this event, the facility became a fuel depot.

Prelude[]

Anaxes, a terrestrial planet home to important shipyards,^[5] had previously been threatened with destruction during the Clone Wars.^[6] In 19 BBY,^[7] the final year of the conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems,^[8] the Separatists launched an attack on Anaxes led by Admiral Trench. The Separatist forces initially had the upper hand due to having gained access to a secret, highly-effective Republic strategy algorithm^[5] from a captured ARC trooper, Echo.^[6]

After Jedi General Anakin Skywalker, Clone Captain Rex and Clone Force 99 rescued Echo,^[9] the Republic launched a counterattack against the Separatists. When it became clear the battle droids were being driven back, Trench activated his backup plan: "total annihilation" in the form of a bomb hidden in the assembly complex which was powerful enough to destroy most of the planet. With the help of Skywalker and Echo, Jedi General Mace Windu was able to disarm the bomb, and Skywalker killed Trench and blew up his flagship, Invulnerable, ending the threat the Harch had posed.^[6] However, a Separatist stronghold still remained on the planet.^[4]

The Clone Wars ended later that year^[8] with the reorganization of the Republic into the Galactic Empire and the destruction of the Jedi Order, which was falsely accused of treason by Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious, publicly Supreme Chancellor and Galactic Emperor Palpatine. The new Emperor promised to bring about a new era of "peace" for the galaxy.^[10]

The destruction[]

After the rise of the Empire, Anaxes was destroyed in a cataclysmic event^[1] sometime during or between 19 BBY and 5 BBY.^[3] All that remained of the planet was an asteroid belt.^[2] Fort Anaxes, a Republic Military base which had been the Republic's headquarters during the Battle of Anaxes, miraculously survived the cataclysm on a new planetoid^[1] which was later designated PM-1203.^[11] The Separatist stronghold also survived on the planetoid PM-6986. It was theorized that the cataclysm had been caused by a shipyard main reactor failing and igniting a hypermatter stockpile.^[4]

Aftermath[]

Fort Anaxes was abandoned for military purposes after the cataclysm and became a fuel depot,^[1] which was also occasionally used by smugglers or rebels such as the Spectres for supply drops.^[2]

Behind the scenes[]

The destruction of Anaxes was first mentioned in Fort Anaxes' StarWars.com Databank entry, which went online^[1] after the airing of the Star Wars Rebels first season episode "Out of Darkness," the first appearance of the fort itself.^[2]

Sources[]

• Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 38 (Starship Fact File: Sentinel-class Landing Craft)
• Star Wars Helmet Collection 2 (Databank A-Z: Alzoc III–Antilles)
• Dawn of Rebellion
• Fort Anaxes in the Databank (backup link) (First mentioned)

Notes and references[]