Confederacy of Independent Systems Crisis

"With the Separatists on the rise, their desire for complete independence will grow. Eventually, they will attack the Republic, seeking control of the galaxy. However, something is behind the Separatist movement, supporting it, perhaps even controlling it. All the Jedi can feel a massive shift in the force; we feel the power of the dark side growing. Whatever is behind the Confederacy, whether it is the Sith, or some new threat, these dark powers seek the fall of the Republic&hellip; and they cannot be allowed to succeed."

- Mace Windu

The Confederacy of Independent Systems Crisis ( – ), also known as the CIS Crisis, the Separatist Crisis, and the Secession Crisis, was the term given to the period of tension that immediately preceded the Clone Wars, which this crisis ushered in.

When former the Jedi Master, Count Dooku, appeared on and declared his intentions of forming a Separatist movement, claiming that the  was failing in its duties to serve those whom it presided over, the crisis truly began. Many star systems, as well as major corporate entities, joined the fledgling Confederacy of Independent Systems between  and , causing the crisis to grow in magnitude.

Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's eight-year term in office expired in 11 AGS, but he was permitted to remain in office until the crisis had abated.

Meanwhile, negotiations between the Republic and the Separatists were thwarted by repeated terrorist bombings, which were carried out by assassins hired by Dooku, under orders from Darth Sidious, Dooku's secret master.

The uneasy peace between the two governments eventually fell through, thanks to an incident on the planet of, in which Obi-Wan Kenobi was captured on-planet, and charged with espionage, earning him a death sentence. His Padawan, Anakin Skywalker, and Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo attempted to rescue Kenobi, but they themselves were also captured, and sentenced to die with Kenobi in the Petranaki arena, but were rescued, by the combined efforts of Mace Windu's Jedi strike team, and the timely arrival of Jedi Master Yoda with a clone army that had been secretly in production for over ten years on Kamino.

The Republic emerged victorious against the Separatist Droid Army on Geonosis, but Count Dooku's escape allowed the Clone Wars to begin, which was just exactly what Dooku's Sith Master, the architect of the war, Sidious, wanted.

Origins
"Soon, the next stage of my grand plan shall be put into motion."

- Darth Sidious, to Count Dooku

Beginnings (before )
Ever since becoming the, Darth Sidious had concocted a plan to annihilate the , the ancient enemies of the , and dismantle the , transforming it an empire, with himself as Emperor.

As his alter ego, Palpatine, Sidious manipulated the Republic's failing bureaucracy, orchestrating his ascension from the of, to  of the Republic; the first step of his master plan was complete. However, Sidious had lost his first apprentice; a new one was required in order to put the next phase of his scheme into effect.

Sidious' target for conversion was the former Master,, now a  on his homeworld of.

Dooku's disillusionment with the and the Jedi was no secret to Sidious; Dooku was likely under Palpatine's influence even before his fall. However, Dooku had not yet become a Sith, nor was he aware that Palpatine's secret identity was Darth Sidious. After the, which resulted in the death of his former apprentice, , Dooku became even more apprehensive towards the Jedi, but still gave some thought to hunting down the hidden second Sith. However, he concluded that even eliminating the would not halt what he felt was the inevitable advance of the dark side. Shortly thereafter, Dooku was approached directly by Sidious, and they had a long conversation, in which Dooku, found that Palpatine's own objectives, were not that different from his own.

Despite the recent death of Jinn at the hands of Darth Maul, Sidious' first apprentice, the dark lord found it surprisingly easy to convince Dooku to ally with the Sith; after seventy years in the Jedi Order, Dooku abandoned his former allies, along with the Jedi way, and embraced the.

Dubbing his new apprentice Darth Tyranus, Sidious instructed him to go to the planet of, where Dooku's old friend, Master , had ordered the creation of a clone army. Tyranus completed his mission, slaying his old comrade, and paying for the army's creation.

With the creation of the army is progress, Tyranus erased the Jedi archives information on Kamino, as well as other planets and star systems. The ex-Jedi also stole secret Jedi hyperspace routes through the center of the galaxy, knowing it could be put to use in the coming years.

From Dooku's fall in, until the beginning of the crisis, Sidious developed his plan, adapting it as the situation changed over the six years of his Chancellorship, including a re-election in.

When the year came around, all the pieces on Sidious' game-board were in place; thus, he began to move the pieces, preparing to spark the conflict, that would, according to his plans, would see an end of both the Republic, and the Jedi.