Durd and the Defenders of Peace

General Lok Durd consulting with Count Dooku in "Defenders of Peace"

I first became aware of Lok Durd in the episode "Defenders of Peace," the fourteenth episode in Season One of the Star Wars: the Clone Wars television series. Here are the words that lead into the episode:

Republic forces in retreat! While rescuing 

General Aayla Secura from certain defeat, 

Anakin Skywalker has been seriously 

injured. After a narrow escape, our heroes 

crash-landed on the remote world of 

Maridun. Stranded, and with no way to 

contact the Republic, the Jedi receive 

medical aid from the peaceful Lurmen

colonists.

But even on this tiny planet, the

war threatens to follow the Jedi....

The foreshadowing that takes place in the last sentence has to do with Durd and his defoliator, a weapon capable of destroying organic life while leaving non-organics unharmed. Sounds like a perfect weapon for a droid army, right? 

As it turns out, Anakin saves the peaceful Lurmen by erecting a shield around the village to deflect the test phase of the Defoliator. This forces Durd to send his troops forward and the jedi and clones then go outside to meet their foes. During the fight, a second wave of droids gets behind the shield and destroys the generators. Before the defoliator cannon can be used again, Anakin slices his way to Lok (through a contingent of droid protectors) and captures him through levitation.

Anakin levitating Lok Durd at the end of the episode.

Why do I choose to highlight this episode? Well first of all, I thought it was clever. I like fancy new weapons and the explanation behind what the "Defoliator" did intrigued me.

But second, Lok Durd was also voiced by famous actor George Takei who I think is just awesome! I wish I knew how to embed soundbites into blogger, but if you want to hear him talk from the episode, follow this LINK (it's only 13 seconds long).

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