Ponds, officially known as CT-411, was a clone commander who fought for the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars. He served under Mace Windu and Admiral Killian in numerous battles, such as on Ryloth and Malastare. He was the leader of a small squad of AT-RT-mounted ARF troopers known as Lightning Squadron. He was later kidnapped and killed by the notorious Bounty hunter, Aurra Sing.
Appearance[]
Ponds wore Phase I clone trooper armor with maroon markings throughout it. He also bore a kama to signify his rank and wielded two DC-17 hand blasters in battle. The Aurebesh phrase "Some guys have all the luck" was written on the back of his helmet.
Biography[]
Liberty on Ryloth[]
- "Commander, bring up the Lightning Squadron!"
"I want Lightning up here NOW!" - ―Mace Windu and Ponds during the Battle of Ryloth
One of Ponds' few action missions with Mace Windu was to take the capital city of Ryloth, Lessu. Ponds and Windu had been stuck in the sky and awaited as Kenobi and some troopers of the 212th Attack Battalion took out the ground cannons firing at the cruisers. After Kenobi and his troopers freed the Twi'leks and freed the city of Nabat, a key city to take Lessu, Windu and his forces land as Kenobi and his forces take more cities. As Ponds and Windu lead AT-TEs across the defenses, AATs shoot the front AT-TE and trap the rest in and are ready to box them in. Ponds calls out Lightning Squadron, and Windu uses the Force to send the AT-TE down and unblock the pass. Ponds and Windu then take Lightning Squadron's AT-RTs to take out the AATs and remaining droids.
Ponds, overlooking the bombed city
As Windu and trooper Razor and Stak go to confront Cham Syndulla for his help to destroy the droid forces and retake Ryloth, Ponds is left with the rest of the troops to secure cities. Outside one city, Ponds sees Hyena Bombers bomb the whole city, and Ponds immediately contacts Windu, who is settling compromise with Windu. Syndulla makes negotiations with Senator Orn Free Taa, and soon the Twi'lek freedom fighters help the Republic. Windu, Stak, and Razor sneak into an MTT to get across the bridge as Ponds and Syndulla ready the troops. As soon as Windu is discovered, the battle droids attack, and Razor and Stak put up the bridge, and the siege begins. Ponds helps secure the arrest of Wat Tambor and joins Windu at the celebration at Lessu.
Juma 9[]
- "Was that me or you?'
"Definitely you." - ―Cody and Ponds at a ray shield switch on Juma 9
Ponds later partook in a rescue mission on the mining station of Juma 9. He fought his way through the station's outer levels and made it to a large, open rotunda, were Plo Koon and Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Republic then recaptured the station.
Behpour[]
Ponds served Mace Windu shortly after retaking Juma 9 by going to Behpour to stop a project from destroying Naboo's sun. Ponds joined Cody and Rex to get back to the Twilight. Once they did, they confronted the Sith Lord Count Dooku, and the three were Force shoved into the ship, and it fell into the lava, but the three were able to pilot it and save Kenobi and Windu and then Skywalker, Tano, and Amidala.
The Zillo Beast[]
Mace Windu, Ponds and two other troopers wake the Zillo Beast
Later, Ponds was a commander in the Battle of Malastare. When the Droid Army was destroyed by a powerful Electro-Proton bomb, a massive sinkhole opened in the ground. Ponds accompanied Windu, Anakin Skywalker, and Trapper and Hawkeye into the sinkhole, the floor of which suddenly pulled out, revealing a formerly hibernating Zillo Beast. The Zillo Beast was eventually captured, and Ponds followed it back to Coruscant.
Death Trap[]
Shortly after the Zillo Beast incident, Ponds served on the Endurance with Shoan Kilian. Unknown to Ponds or the rest of the men on board, Boba Fett, the son of the late Jango Fett, had come on board disguised as a clone cadet. After a failed assassination attempt on Mace Windu, the Jedi who murdered his father, Boba is forced to destroy the core command console, crippling the Endurance. All forces on board are ordered to evacuate as the ship begins to collide with the planet below. Ponds orders a clone to leave the bridge and states he will be staying with Killian. After the Endurance crashed, the Jedi lost contact with Ponds and the other forces on board.
R2 Come Home[]
Anakin Skywalker and Mace Windu landed on the planet to search for survivors. Once they entered the bridge, they found that most of the crew that survived the crash had been shot and that Killian and Ponds were missing. After a booby trap set by the bounty hunters goes off in the bridge, Aurra Sing ordered for Bossk to bring their hostages, Ponds, Killian, and a naval officer, into the Slave I and wait for her, Boba, and Castas's return. They abandoned their search after R2-D2 cut off their route to the bridge and soon left the planet.
Lethal Trackdown[]
- "Only two to go, Windu. So come and find us, we'll be waiting."
- ―Aurra Sing, after executing Ponds
While Anakin and Mace recovered from their injuries, Ahsoka Tano and Plo Koon arrived to tell them about a transmission from the bounty hunters which they present. Boba told Windu that innocent people would die until he pursued the hunters, starting with one of the hostages. Aurra ordered Boba to kill Ponds. When Boba hesitates, only wanting Windu dead. Aurra saw that he would not fulfill the task; pushing Boba out of the way, she kills Ponds herself. Ponds' corpse was soon ejected into space as Sing had the Slave I travel to Florrum, where Koon and Tano apprehended the hunters.
Behind the Scenes[]
- "What's your name? [...] Name!"
"CT-411." - ―A continuity error in the dialogue of Aurra Sing and Ponds
In the episode "Lethal Trackdown", just before Aurra Sing executes Ponds, she demands his name. He responds with the designation "CT-411." This contradicted the number, CC-6454, given in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Visual Guide Ultimate Battles reference book. A compromise between the numbers was made in The Clone Wars Character Encyclopedia, which gave him the new designation CC-0411. In 2012, the StarWars.com Encyclopedia listed the original CC-6454 number. Following the site's redesign in 2014, however, the entry was revised to reflect the show's dialogue, listing the number as CT-411. This article assumes that the most recently published source is correct.
Appearances[]
The Clone Wars[]
- "Innocents of Ryloth" (First appearance)
- "Liberty on Ryloth"
- "The Zillo Beast"
- "Death Trap"
- "R2 Come Home"
- "Lethal Trackdown"