From Introduction:
Before the blockade of Naboo that preceded the Clone Wars, Dool Pundar served as a captain for one of the many battleships of the Trade Federation fleet. Unknown to the leaders of that group, Dool's ambition and greed percolated deep within him, and he saw the upcoming conflict as a way to make a grab for power. As ships moved into position around Naboo, Dool and a few key allies among his crew sent out a distress signal to the fleet, then made an unscheduled course correction that dropped their ship deep within a nebula far from Trade Federation control. Using reprogrammed battle droids, the mutineers captured the loyalists and pushed them out the airlock. Armed with a powerful ship, a huge number of smaller vessels, and a veritable army of droids, Dool set out to carve out his own niche as a pirate lord.