Shuttle 81572

Shuttle 81572 was a captured Sheathipede-class Type B shuttle that was used by the Galactic Republic in 20 BBY to infiltrate the Separatist-controlled Citadel prison on Lola Sayu. Piloted by a squad of reprogrammed battle droids under the command of the astromech droid R2-D2, the ship, carrying a Republic strike team frozen in carbonite to evade lifeform scanners, gained access onto the planet by claiming that it carried supplies and frozen rations. Landing in a hidden canyon, R2-D2 and his droid crew waited by the ship as the strike team was unfrozen and headed off for the prison to rescue Jedi Master Even Piell and his officers.

R2-D2 and his crew later took the shuttle to the Citadel's landing pad in an attempt at an evacuation. However, the shuttle was destroyed by a commando droid manning a turbolaser turret during a battle on the landing pad, apparently killing ARC trooper Echo, who had been attempting to reclaim the ship. As a result, the remaining Republic soldiers and Jedi were forced to request assistance, leading Jedi General Plo Koon to bring a large fleet to evacuate them from the planet. Unbeknownst to the Republic, Echo had not actually perished in the shuttle's explosion. Severely injured, he was salvaged by the Separatists and wound up in the hands of the Techno Union, who turned him into a cyborg in order to extract information from his brain. Kept in a stasis chamber, Echo constantly relived the shuttle explosion at the Citadel for some time until rescued by General Anakin Skywalker, Clone Captain Rex, and Clone Force 99.

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