Ramsis Dendup was a human male who served as the king of the planet Onderon during the Clone Wars,^[3] in which he tried to remain neutral.^[8]

Biography[]

Early years and Clone Wars outbreak[]

Ramsis Dendup was a male^[3] king of the planet Onderon for many years before the Clone Wars. While normally allied with the Galactic Republic, King Dendup believed in not entering the war. He regarded both sides as inherently corrupt and thought the best course of action for Onderon would be to remain unaligned. As the war progressed, Separatist forces invaded Onderon taking over the capital city of Iziz, deposing Dendup and installing Sanjay Rash as his successor and a puppet to the Separatist leader Count Dooku. Rash's administration imprisoned Dendup in the Unifar Temple's garden and ruled Onderon as a client state of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.^[2]

Prisoner of the Separatists[]

After a series of attacks on the battle droids in the jungles and Iziz, Rash ordered the commando droids to escort his predecessor to the throne. When Dendup arrived, he berated the former king, blaming him for the increase in activity by the Onderon rebels. He insisted that Dendup had to call off the attacks. Dendup retorted that Rash was dealing with the will of the people and it was up to the king to "embrace, bend, or break it," and Dendup could not as he was no longer the king. Rash reiterated that Dendup had to call off the attacks, or else, Dendup would atone with his life. Dendup responded that Rash had to end the attacks, by ending the droid occupation.^[2]

After more attacks occurred by the rebels on the droids, Rash ordered Dendup to be escorted back to the throne. Once again, Dendup denied that he was involved with the rebels and said it was the will of the people that justified their actions. As a result, Rash ordered Dendup's public execution in Yolahn Square the next day, in hopes of ending the rebel attacks and break their morale, by publicly blaming the former king for their actions. One of the rebel leaders, Saw Gerrera, responded by sneaking across the city, against his sister Steela's orders, in hopes of rescuing Dendup. After using a grappling hook to stealthily enter the Temple's garden, Saw destroyed an unsuspecting B1-series battle droid, before bowing to the former king. Saw explained to Dendup that he and his associates were only attacking the droids, in hopes of ousting Rash from power and restoring Dendup as the true king. Dendup explained how his decision to choose neither side of the war resulted in the Separatist occupation. After Saw told Dendup the rebels were backed by the Jedi, he fired is grappling hook, so they could both escape. However, the Temple's one way shield was activated, trapping them both.^[6]

Failed execution[]

The next day, Rash and the Super tactical droid Kalani, escorted by a quartet of IG-100 MagnaGuards, marched King Dendup and Saw in chains to the steps of the Unifar Temple overlooking Yolahn Square to their intended executions.^[6] Hundreds of Iziz citizens^[9] gathered to witness the proceedings and listened to Rash's speech, where he declared Dendup and Saw traitors deserving of death by beheading. Rash ordered his MagnaGuards to prepare their electrostaffs to behead Dendup utilizing an electroguillotine. However, the rebel Dono, having relayed to Steela and Lux Bonteri that Saw had been arrested, put into motion a raid to free Dendup and Saw from the Separatists. Bonteri tossed smoke bombs into the Separatist ranks, causing chaos while Steela shot the MagnaGuards with her sniper rifle and the other soldiers extracted Saw and Dendup. The retreat was cut short, however, when B2-series super battle droids reinforcements surrounded Dendup and Steela's extraction team, forcing her troops to surrender their weapons—much to the dismay of the Onderonian citizens, who had come to see the rebels as allies, and Rash's Separatists as intruding invaders. Having regained control, Rash prepared to execute Dendup and Saw once more along with the newly incarcerated Steela and Bonteri, much to the resentment of the citizens, who angrily protested.^[6]

Dendup was placed back in the electroguillotine as the MagnaGuards readied their electrostaffs. However, General Akenathen Tandin and the Royal Onderon Militia charged down the Temple's steps, ordering Rash to stop the executions. They freed Dendup and the rebels escorted him to their safe house. Rash ordered the droids to chase after and kill all of them. The angry citizens blocked the droids, protesting that Dendup was the true king and they wanted the Separatists to leave Onderon. In the safe house, Dendup asked Tandin why he waited until then to defect from the Separatists. Tandin replied it was time for a new approach. Tandin and the royal guards then pledged their support to Dendup, same with the rebels. Dendup then told Bonteri his mother would be proud of him. As he stood up, he told the army and the rebels that they needed to win the will of the people in order to achieve victory. He also said Dooku would want him dead more than ever before.^[6]

War in the Highlands[]

Not too long after, Dendup, the Royal Army and the rebels moved to a new base in the Onderon highlands. Ahsoka Tano deposited a holographic disk in the midst of Malgan Market, allowing Dendup to speak to his people, while she flew back to the nest with Bonteri on a ruping. Dendup informed the people that Rash and the Separatists were spreading lies and about him being the instigator of the "terrorist movement," in order to tighten their grasp on Onderon. He informed the people that he never met the rebels until then and convinced them that the rebels were the true patriots, striving to liberate all of them. Dendup also told the people that the rebels were unwavering in their efforts, and he came to think of them as the "true sons of Onderon," and the people had to all rise together to protect their home. Dendup's speech was so inspiring against the Separatist forces, the people in the market began to protest the droid occupation, much to the misfortune of three battle droids who witnessed the speech.^[5]

As Saw and Steela debated where they should continue their attacks, Saw requested fighting in Iziz taking it straight to King Rash, while Steela retorted that they should fight at their current position, since fighting door to door would lead to no one being safe. Dendup and Tano both sided with Steela. Dendup pronounced Steela the commanding general of all their forces, including the Royal Army.^[5]

After Hondo Ohnaka delivered rocket launchers, the droids closed in on the nest. Dendup was guarded by two Royal Militiamen, but a HMP droid gunship forced them to flee back inside the mountain. Steela destroyed the droid gunship, while Dendup and the guards ran back outside. Dendup ran to the edge of the cliff, with Steela using her sniper rifle to destroy both BX-series droid commandos and subsequently, one of the royal guardsmen. Saw fired a RPS-6 rocket launcher at the last gunship. It spiraled out of control, right into the nest. Noticing what was happening Steela ordered Dendup to get down. The droid's collision caused the edge of the cliff to crack and fragment. As it began to crumble, Steela pushed Dendup to safety, then attempted to jump up to the ledge herself. However, she fell to her death after Tano was wounded in the shoulder by the droid gunship while she Force lifted her to safety.^[5]

Aftermath[]

As a result of the rebels' victory in the highlands, Dooku lost interest in Onderon and ordered Kalani to recall all forces and bring them to the planet Agamar, due to the apparent long-term conflict the rebels intended to fight. Kalani turned and executed Rash on Dooku's orders before his departure. Later, the rebels returned to Iziz, where Dendup was reinstated as Onderon's king. A funeral was held for Steela on the steps of the Unifar Temple in Yolahn Square. During the funeral, Bonteri informed Tano that Dendup had appointed him the new Senator of Onderon and he would follow in his mother's footsteps, bringing Onderon back to the Republic. Dendup then spoke to the people of Onderon telling them to remember the day as it was "the day Onderon became free again."^[5]

Appearances[]

• Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "A War on Two Fronts" (First mentioned) (Indirect mention only)
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Front Runners" (First appearance)
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "The Soft War"
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Tipping Points"
• Rebel Rising (Indirect mention only)
• Rebel Rising audiobook (Indirect mention only)

Sources[]

Notes and references[]