Argo Moon
- "Threepio, it is you! Did they get the ship? Did anyone escape?"
"I'm afraid I don't know, sir. I think they only abducted droids." - ―Mungo Baobab and C-3PO
The Argo Moon was a merchant starship in the Baobab Merchant Fleet, commanded by Captain Cag during the early years of the Galactic Empire. While en route to Biitu to deliver the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO to Mungo Baobab, the Argo Moon was boarded by sludgegulper droids working for the Great Heep, an Abominor who had formed an alliance with the Empire to establish a mining operation on Biitu. The crew was incapacitated and the droids were taken captive.
Description
The Argo Moon had a curved hull, round at the front and narrowing toward the aft, giving it a teardrop shape from the side. A raised ridge ran down the center of the hull on the top of the ship. The engines were located at the rear of the ship, and it was equipped with a hyperdrive to allow it to travel at lightspeed.[1] The logo of the Baobab Merchant Fleet, a family crest showing two rainbow comets,[2] was located on the dorsal ridge, and was also displayed inside the vessel. The cockpit had a crew of two, and seating for at least one passenger. The crew was joined by at least two astromech droids.[1]
History
The Argo Moon served as a transport in the Baobab Merchant Fleet during the early years of the Galactic Empire,[1] under the command of its pilot, Captain Cag.[3] In 15 BBY,[4] the ship traveled to Biitu to deliver several items, including the droids C-3PO and R2-D2, to Mungo Baobab, who was attempting to establish a trading post there. The ship left hyperspace and approached Biitu, unaware that the Empire had established a mining operation on the planet[1] under the command of the giant Abominor droid, the Great Heep.[5]
As the Argo Moon was preparing to land on the planet, it came under attack from another vessel, which launched dozens of sludgegulper droids toward it. The droids attached to the Argo Moon and proceeded to tear through the hull, piercing a hole into the cockpit, through which they sprayed a powerful sleeping gas. Cag was unable to reverse the cabin pressure in time and he, along with his co-pilot, was rendered unconscious. The sludgegulpers continued to break through the hull, and abducted all the droids aboard before returning to their vessel with the captives. The Argo Moon was left in orbit while the stolen droids were taken to serve in the Great Heep's mining operation below.[1]
The effects of the sleeping gas wore off some days later and Cag contacted Baobab to check on the situation on Biitu. By this point Baobab had successfully halted the Imperial mining operation and the Argo Moon was finally able to land.[1]
Behind the scenes
The Argo Moon was created for the Star Wars: Droids animated series, making its only appearance in the TV special The Great Heep, written by Ben Burtt[1] and first broadcast on June 7, 1986.[6] The ship was not identified in The Great Heep[1] and went unnamed until its entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia in 2008.[2]
Appearances
Star Wars: Droids—"The Great Heep" (First appearance)
Sources
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia (First identified as Argo Moon)
The Droids Re-Animated, Part 2 on StarWars.com (article) (backup link not verified!)
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Star Wars: Droids—"The Great Heep"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. I, p. 41 ("Argo Moon")
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. I, p. 104 ("Cag")
- ↑ "Star Wars Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO" in Polyhedron 170 states that Star Wars: Droids is set 15 years before Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. The New Essential Chronology places the events of A New Hope in 0 BBY, meaning that Star Wars: Droids takes place in 15 BBY.
- ↑ The New Essential Guide to Droids
- ↑
"Caravan of Courage: Star Wars on Television" – Star Wars Insider 32