| “ | Stop! NO! | „ |
| ~ Rune Haako's final line before Darth Vader could kill him. |
| “ | We should not have made this bargain. | „ |
| ~ Rune Haako about the deal with Darth Sidious. |
Rune Haako was the Neimoidian Settlement Officer of the Trade Federation, and a supporting antagonist in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
He was Nute Gunray's advisor during the Blockade of Naboo, and with him reluctantly formed an alliance with Sith Lord Darth Sidious. Despite being arrested shortly after the Battle of Naboo, Haako was, like Gunray, found "not guilty" of the charges laid against him when tried by the Supreme Court, and continued to serve the Trade Federation and the Confederacy of Independent Systems throughout the Clone Wars. His death at the hands of Darth Vader on Mustafar occurred mere minutes before the war officially ended.
Haako was significantly more paranoid than Gunray and more pessimistic; however, he was able to provide sound advice to the often panic-stricken Viceroy, and often prevented a bad situation from becoming worse.
He was portrayed by Jerome Blake.
Biography[]
He was one of the few people, besides Gunray and Daultay Dofine, who knew that the Darth Sidious was the one who had devised the idea of the blockade. Haako was, like Gunray, cautious of Palpatine, and later lamented his superior's choice to "bargain" with the Sith Lord. Haako served as adviser to the Viceroy Gunray when imposed Naboo blockade-the form of the Trade Federation against the new tax on trade routes made by the Galactic Senate.
In 32 BBY, Palpatine, secretly directing the activities of the Trade Federation ordered the imposition of a blockade on the planet Naboo.
When the Galactic Republic dispatched two Jedi Ambassadors, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, to settle the dispute, Gunray panicked when they arrived on his flagship at the time, the Saak'ak, and contacted Sidious via hologram. Much to the Neimoidian's surprise, Palpatine ordered the execution of the Jedi and the commencement of the invasion of Naboo. Gunray dispatched a squad of battle droids to kill the Jedi even as he filled their waiting room with Dioxis gas and had their Consular-class cruiser, the Radiant VII, destroyed; these were actions that, as Haako predicted, would prove to be ineffective.
Shortly thereafter, OOM-9 won the First Battle of Theed and captured the Queen. Gunray and Haako visited the Theed Royal Palace, savoring their victory. Upon their return to the Saak'ak, the two officers received news that the Queen had escaped the planet with the aid of the Jedi who they had earlier failed to kill. This failure incurred the wrath of Palpatine, who revealed his apprentice, Darth Maul, and assured Gunray and Haako that Maul would find their "lost ship". Whether or not the sight of Maul was meant to be a veiled threat or if it was perceived as such, Gunray and Haako were both badly shaken. When the holo-conference was over, Haako expressed his fears about their alliance with the Sith to Gunray.
He was captured by Queen Amidala and the Naboo Royal Security Force under Captain Panaka along with Gunray following the defeat of the Trade Federation's droid army during the Battle of Naboo, and sent to Coruscant for trial. Like Gunray, however, Haako was found innocent thanks to Palpatine' machinations. (this was revealed in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, although Rune did appear in this film.) After several trials, however, Gunray was never formally punished for the Naboo incident and maintained control over the Trade Federation, and due to the Federation's still-considerable power, Haako was able to avoid any real punishment.
Gunray, after consultation with the Haako and other advisors, decided to join the Federation to the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Haako would later serve at Gunray's side within the leadership of the Confederacy of Independent Systems throughout the Clone Wars, which aimed to break away from the Galactic Republic altogether. Haako continued to serve as Gunray's lieutenant, and the Viceroy became a key figure on the Confederacy's Separatist Council.
Ten years after the failed Naboo blockade, Haako and Gunray were present on Geonosis when now-Senator Amidala, along with Obi-Wan and his Padawan Anakin Skywalker, were arrested by Confederate agents and sentenced to death. In turn, the Confederacy's actions provoked an invasion of the planet by the Galactic Republic, sparking the beginning of the Clone Wars. He accompanied Gunray to the Separatist summit on Geonosis, and viewed the opening stages of the Battle of Geonosis directly from Petranaki arena, when an army of Jedi Knights and Republic clone troopers invaded the planet. Retreating with Gunray into the CIS war room, Haako advised the Viceroy that they should flee the planet.
When Grievous was killed on Utapau by Obi-Wan, Gunray became the head of state of the CIS. Palpatine contacted Gunray one final time, assuring him and the rest of the Council that they would be "taken care of" by his new apprentice, Darth Vader, who, unbeknownst to Haako and the others, was Anakin Skywalker, corrupted to the dark side of the Force by Sidious. When Vader was sent to kill the Separatist leaders on Mustafar, Rune Haako was present and futilely begged for mercy. As Vader slaughtered the other members of the council, Haako escaped to the conference room of the bunker with Techno Union foreman Wat Tambor. Haako attempted to hide, but Vader strode in and ended the Neimoidian's life with a single slash across the chest before proceeding to kill Tambor and Gunray, destroying the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- A deleted scene in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith shows Gunray and Haako hiding under a table as Vader slaughters the Separatist Council. Haako panics and tries to escape, but is quickly killed by Vader, as seen in the film. Gunray stays hidden. As Vader kills the others, Gunray quickly gets out from under the table and activates the control panel for the doors to open, ushering in destroyer droids, which open fire on Vader. Gunray watches as the smoke clears and Vader is gone. Vader then drops down from the roof and destroys the droids, jumping over to Gunray.
