Squad Four (Thule)

Squad Four was a squad of clone troopers that served under Jedi Knight Iskat Akaris in the Grand Army of the Republic in 22 BBY, fighting on the planet Thule in the Clone Wars against the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Only one clone in the squad survived the battle.

Description

The three clones of Squad Four served as part of a company originally commanded by Jedi General Josk Nivar and Clone Captain Spider.^[1]

History

In 22 BBY,^[2] the company and its leaders were accompanied by Jedi Knights Iskat Akaris and Tualon Yaluna on a mission to Thule to sabotage the local Separatist droid factory. After spending the night in a canyon fronting the enemy compound, the three Jedi scaled the ravine's walls to eliminate several enemy cannons. They were successful; however, during a preliminary mishap, Nivar fell to his death on the canyon floor, which led Akaris and Yaluna to take command of the mission.^[1]

Fifteen clones, split into four squads, accompanied Akaris to take out the Separatist power grid; the plan was to split up and coordinate overloading the system at four different control consoles; Akaris joined the three clones of Squad Four. The latest intelligence, which had indicated minimal resistance, proved false and Squads One, Two and Three were wiped out by enemy battle droids. Akaris and Last Man were the sole survivors of the assault and managed to rig an impromptu overload without support, which led to the factory's destruction, before withdrawing with the rest of the company to Coruscant.^[1]

Legacy

Last Man and the rest of the company received an expansion of troopers and would accompany Iskat Akaris on a mission to Olgothon 3^[1] a few years later.^[3] The losses sustained at Thule would weigh heavily on Iskat Akaris, who was displeased with the lack of reliable intelligence they had been supplied with and the haphazard nature of their deployment. Additionally, her attempt to recover something from the mission's failure by blowing up the factory was poorly received by members of the Jedi High Council, as the explosion, rather than sabotage-induced mechanical failure pointed to Republic involvement. Additionally, the local civilian population had been negatively affected by the incident. Akaris was summarily removed from the field. The casualties sustained by Squad Four and so many others throughout the Clone Wars were a major factor in turning Akaris against the Jedi Order, with her ultimately joining the Inquisitorius.^[1]

Behind the scenes

Squad Four first appeared in Delilah S. Dawson's novel Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade, which was published on July 18, 2023.^[4]

Appearances

• Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade (and audiobook) (First appearance)

Notes and references