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"Let my droids board your little ship to sweep for intruders—and we'll take care of that troublesome shuttle, too!" ―Kirst, to Jorm [src]

The T-6 shuttle, also known as the Jedi ambassador shuttle, was a semicircular shuttle manufactured by Slayn & Korpil and in use by the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order during the Clone Wars. Adorned with a Galactic Roundel and painted in the red-and-white color scheme of the Grand Army of the Republic, T-6 shuttles featured rotating cockpits and engine blocks, and were hyperdrive-equipped. Several craft of this model were utilized by Jedi throughout the Clone Wars on a variety of missions. It was still in use during the Galactic Civil War.

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Characteristics Edit

"The gyrostabilizing system is damaged!" ―Thill, to Anakin Skywalker [src]

Manufactured by the Verpine hives of Slayn & Korpil,[3] the semicircular T-6 shuttle[2] featured a rotating engine block and cockpit that oriented with the rest of the ship when landed or in flight,[4] a trait made possible by shock-resistant gimbals, one of many technological advancements included in the shuttle by its Verpine designers.[3] In its landing configuration, the ship sat horizontally, supported by a trio of landing gear. The cockpit, somewhat conical in shape, remained aligned with the body of the craft, with the three engines likewise horizontally aligned with the body of the shuttle. When entering flight mode, the cockpit and the engine block rotated ninety degrees. The craft had one loading ramp, located on the port side of the engine block.[4] Shuttles of this class featured ejector seats that, when launched, enclosed the being in a flexible, cushioned survival capsule.[8][7]

Due to its role as an ambassadorial craft, the T-6 shuttle lacked weaponry, but was equipped with a hyperdrive. Furthermore, the craft's spacious interior provided for reasonably comfortable space travel.[12] When pressed into service during the Clone Wars, Republic T-6 shuttles were adorned with a Galactic Roundel and painted in the red-and-white color scheme of the Grand Army of the Republic,[2] though they remained unarmed.[5]

History Edit

"I could fly this thing with both engines on quarter power, Master..." ―Anakin Skywalker, to Obi-Wan Kenobi [src]

Crafted by the Verpine shipbuilders of the Roche system, T-6 shuttles were designed for the Jedi Order,[3] which employed the craft since at least 32 BBY.[10] Their use by the Jedi,[13] primarily in times of peace,[12] earned them the nickname "Jedi ambassador shuttles,"[13] although elite citizens of the Republic capital planet Coruscant used the craft as well.[3] A Jedi T-6 was aboard the Venator-class Star Destroyer Resolute after a battle on Devaron[4] in around 22 BBY.[14] Following the capture of the Duros bounty hunter Cad Bane, the T-6 shuttle was used to transport Jedi Masters Mace Windu and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Bane, and Clone Commander CC-2224 to Bane's hideout in the asteroid-strewn Rogue Antar system to retrieve a stolen holocron. However, the space station proved to be a trap—Bane eluded his captors and activated the hideout's self-destruct sequence before departing in an escape pod. Windu, Kenobi, and Commander Cody left in their shuttle with the recovered holocron before the station exploded.[4]

Following the destruction of the Felucia medical station, Jedi Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano took a T-6 shuttle to Felucia to investigate the medical center's disappearance. Upon their arrival, the shuttle was attacked by Vulture droids launched from a deployment pod. The droid starfighters shot and disabled the unarmed shuttle, but the trio of Jedi escaped using their ejector seats before the shuttle collided with a mountain on the planet's surface.[8]

Around 21 BBY,[15] Jedi Plo Koon and Ahsoka Tano used a T-6 shuttle to travel to Florrum in search of the bounty hunters Boba Fett, Aurra Sing, and Bossk, who had taken hostages from the crew of the Star Destroyer Endurance. The Jedi confronted the renegades on the planet and rescued two of the hostages, capturing Fett and Bossk in the process. The T-6 shuttle was then used to transport the Republic forces and their captives to the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center on Coruscant.[16] Another T-6 shuttle was used by Padawan Tano and Pantoran Senator Riyo Chuchi to travel to a Trade Federation Droid Control Ship above Pantora during their search for the kidnapped daughters of Pantoran Chairman Notluwiski Papanoida.[17] Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker later used a shuttle to journey to Dathomir to uncover the origins of a dark side warrior, Savage Opress, who was responsible for the deaths of two Jedi. After learning that Opress was on Toydaria, the duo took the craft to the Toydarian homeworld to confront the acolyte. The shuttle was destroyed by Opress as he made his escape.[18]

A T-6 shuttle was utilized by Jedi Jyl Somtay to retrieve Skywalker and Kenobi following their successful sabotage of a Separatist munitions factory's force field during the war. A subsequent Republic attack on the factory was thwarted, however, when the Separatist warship Starcrusher destroyed the three Venator-class Star Destroyers attacking the facility. Somtay managed to avoid the Starcrusher's tractor beam and escape into hyperspace with the two passengers aboard; she later piloted the T-6 during a Jedi mission to destroy the Separatist warship. Ahsoka Tano, one of the Jedi aboard the T-6, reprogrammed the shuttle to fly toward the Starcrusher once the Jedi strike team had successfully boarded a Separatist refueling ship. The empty T-6 shuttle was then destroyed by the Starcrusher's batteries as cover for the team's infiltration.[9]

Skywalker and Tano utilized a T-6 shuttle in their pursuit of bounty hunter Rako Hardeen—who was, unbeknownst to them, Obi-Wan Kenobi in disguise—when Hardeen was implicated in Kenobi's death, an elaborate ruse conceived by the Jedi High Council to uncover a plot to kidnap Republic Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. The bounty hunter's trail led to the planet Nal Hutta, from which Skywalker and Tano followed the disguised Kenobi and assassins-for-hire Cad Bane and Moralo Eval to a fueling station on nearby Orondia. The two Jedi succeeded in bringing down the bounty hunters' Personal Luxury Yacht 3000 with their T-6 shuttle, though the maneuver forced the shuttle to also crash.[19] A T-6 shuttle later transported Palpatine and several others to the planet Naboo for the Festival of Light celebration, where the kidnapping was attempted.[20] Kenobi and Plo Koon, along with fellow Jedi Bruu Jun-Fan, Grohto, Ko Solok, and Tatsu, took a T-6 shuttle to the planet Yellowblade's Landing to investigate a lead on tracking down Savage Opress and his resurrected brother, Darth Maul, who had begun a series of massacres throughout the Outer Rim Territories.[21]

The shuttle was still used during the Galactic Civil War. In 0 ABY, the Rebel Alliance had one at the Arrochar base. Leia Organa piloted it with C-3PO to investigate an Imperial super hauler which had arrived there with a faulty navigation system.[11]

Behind the scenes Edit

"[…] I really like this T-6 shuttle. We started to use it quite extensively; I mean, it really has replaced the Twilight, you know, in my eyes." ―Dave Filoni [src]

The T-6 shuttle was first seen in a piece of concept art published in The Art of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.[13] The ship first appeared in "Children of the Force," the third episode in Season Two of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series, which aired on October 9, 2009.[4] The craft went unnamed in the episode but was given the designation "T-6 shuttle" in the accompanying episode guide, which was published on StarWars.com later the same day.[2] T-6 shuttles would later appear in several additional episodes of the series.[8][16][17][18] The craft also made appearances in two LEGO stories, both of which are non-canon—the online comic Jedi Journal Entry #968[22] and the animated feature The Padawan Menace.[23] Series Director Dave Filoni considers the shuttle, with its Millennium Falcon–like cockpit canopy, to be "one of [his] favorite" ships from The Clone Wars, eclipsing the boxy G9 Rigger freighter Twilight in his opinion.[24]

The online guide for "Revival," the first episode of The Clone Wars: Season Five, incorrectly identifies an Eta-class shuttle as a T-6 shuttle.[25]

Appearances Edit

Non-canon appearances Edit

Sources Edit

Notes and references Edit