During the Clone Wars, the planet Cato Neimoidia was conquered by the Galactic Republic[3] at some point after it had fallen under the control of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.[2] The changing-of-hands over Cato Neimoidia had also involved the InterGalactic Banking Clan, which was granted control over Cato Neimoidia for a time by the Neimoidians as a collateral payment on a loan[3] so the Trade Federation could have a stake in Poggle the Lesser's primary droid foundry.[4]
The base-of-operations for the Trade Federation, the Cato Neimoidian government had previously tried to take a neutral stance in the war,[5] but the planet instead became a hotly contested battleground for both the Republic and CIS. The Federation's importance to the war made the Republic seek control over the planet;[2] in addition to the assault on Cato Neimoidia, the Republic Military continued to make ground and air attack runs to keep control over the planet.[6] After the Republic's conquest, the Separatists sought to take Cato Neimoidia back[2] and did so through an invasion. In response, the Republic needed to launch another assault towards the end of the conflict.[7]
Behind the scenes
The conquest of Cato Neimoidia was first mentioned in the Databank A-Z section of Star Wars Helmet Collection 9,[3] which was written by Iain Lowson and edited by Andrew Kemp[8] for a December 9, 2014, release.[9] Further detail, such as the planet having been under Separatist control before the Republic attack, was established by the Droid Directory segment of Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 44[2] in November 2017.[10] The 2022 novel Brotherhood by Mike Chen would go onto feature Cato Neimoidia in a heavy capacity, establishing it as a neutral world during the early Clone Wars.[5] As such, how Cato Neimoidia fell to the Separatists before the conquest—such was whether the world willing joined the Confederacy at some point after Brotherhood's events or if it had been annexed by the Separatists via a conquest or invasion of their own—has not yet been confirmed as of the present.
Sources
- Star Wars Helmet Collection: AT-AT Pilot Databank A-Z: C-21–Chandrila (First mentioned)
- Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 44 Droid Directory: Tri-fighter
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Star Wars Helmet Collection: AT-AT Pilot Databank A-Z: C-21–Chandrila establishes that the Galactic Republic's conquest of Cato Neimoidia occurred after the events of "Senate Spy," which features the mission to Cato Neimoidia and is set in 21 BBY according to Star Wars: Timelines. Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 44 Droid Directory: Tri-fighter also establishes the event occurred before the Defense of Cato Neimoidia seen in "Sabotage," the events of which occur in 19 BBY according to Timelines. Therefore, the conquest of Cato Neimoidia must have occurred between those two years.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 44 Droid Directory: Tri-fighter
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Star Wars Helmet Collection: AT-AT Pilot Databank A-Z: C-21–Chandrila
- ↑
Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Senate Spy"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Brotherhood
- ↑ Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 31 Guide to the Galaxy: Visiting Cato Neimoidia
- ↑ Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy
- ↑ Email from on July 26, 2025 — Used with permission
- ↑
Star Wars Casques de Collection on Altaya's official French website (content not present on current version)
- ↑
Build R2-D2 | 1:2 Scale on De Agostini's Model Space website (backup link archived on August 29, 2017) indicates that issues of Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 was shipped in sets of four every month, and comments by consumers on the page state that approximately twenty-five issues had been sent out by June 2021. As 
Official Build Your Own R2-D2 Build Diary – Issue 1 on the official ModelSpace UK YouTube channel (backup link) states that the first issue was sent out in January of that year, issues 41–44 were published in November 2017.
