Cargo of Doom

The Cargo of Doom is an episode of the animated TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. This episode is the second installment of the second season, which originally aired on October 2, 2009. Directed by Rob Coleman and written by George Krstic, Cargo of Doom continues the storyline of the previous episodes centered around Bane attempting to gain access to the Senate Building. This particular episode marks an intense fight between Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, and the skilled and ruthless bounty hunter Cad Bane, who has captured Jedi Master Bolla Ropal and the Kyber Memory Crystal.

The episode begins with a Republic Fleet intercepting Cad Bane's ship, the Rogue Shadow, in the Balmorra system, where the bounty hunter is hiding after successfully kidnapping Jedi Master Bolla Ropal and acquiring the Kyber Memory Crystal. The Kyber Memory Crystal is an ancient Jedi artifact containing the names and locations of all Force-sensitive children in the galaxy, which the Sith Lord Darth Sidious had desiogns in accessing in order to create an army of dark side-wielding warriors known as Sith Inquisitors.

Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, lead a military operation alongside Captain Rex and Commander Cody to secure Bane, Ropal, and the Kyber Memory Crystal. After a fierce space battle between the Republic forces and Bane's droid army, Anakin and Ahsoka manage to board the Rogue Shadow. Despite the risk of being captured, Bane triggers an explosion that separates the Republic boarding crew from their ship, leaving them stranded within the Rogue Shadow.

Meanwhile, Bane continues to brutally torture Ropal in an attempt to get him to combine the holocron and the Kyber Memory Crystal, which would reveal the information Lord Sidious craves. However, the Jedi Master refuses to give in, eventually paying with his life as Bane kills him in frustration. This forces Bane to change his plan, and he sets a trap to capture Anakin or Ahsoka, intending to use them to access and assemble crucial components required for the task.

As Anakin and Ahsoka make their way through the ship, they encounter various obstacles set up by Bane, including the release of gravity and an ambush in a cargo hold filled with battle droids. Meanwhile, Bane leverages the threat to the stranded Republic soldiers on the Rogue Shadow to lure Ahsoka into a trap, resulting in her capture.

With Ahsoka as bait, Cad Bane forces Anakin to assemble the Kyber Memory Crystal and the holocron, finally obtaining access to the information about The Force-sensitive children. However, a well-timed rescue by the Republic forces helps Anakin and Ahsoka to overpower Bane, who deploys a series of Flash bombs and escapes in a pod during the confusion.

Although they fail to capture Bane, Anakin and Ahsoka manage to secure the Kyber Memory Crystal, preventing it from falling into the hands of the Sith. Despite this success, the apparent threat of someone targeting Force-sensitive children and a dangerous enemy like Cad Bane still at large foreshadows a dark future for both the Republic and the Jedi Order.