Episode I: Skullkiller's Watch

AFTER dropping out of hyperspace, we immediately got the feeling this may have been a terrible idea.. A Lucrehulk-class battleship, its enormous donut-like rings surrounding the Core ship at its center, orbited the planet Hypori, while another large heavily-armed craft was vectoring in for an attack on the battleship. If we were spotted, it could mean the end for us. All it would take is a well placed turbolaser round.

"Shut off all engines!" I yelled, frightened.

"We have to get to cover first, are you crazy? We're sitting bantha fodder here!" My co-pilot Zeb fired back as he began overriding my attempts to shut the craft down.

Groaning, I conceded, maneuvering the ship as fast as possible around the Lucrehulk, hoping to not be picked up on their sensors. Every moment we had even running lights on could be our last mistake. Eventually, I positioned the Scarlet on the opposite side of the upcoming battle, using the enormous construct of the Lucrehulk itself as cover from the incoming attackers, then began flipping all switches, power generators halting. The Scarlet was thrown into a darkness as black as the space surrounding..

I glanced at Zeb, hoping he'd been right, as we watched for signs of threat.

It didn't take long.

A gunship flew from a nearby hangar bay, turning toward us, and starting its approach.

"Get everything back on!!"

Zeb and I flipped switches madly, the Scarlet coming back online as sensors began beeping, alerting us of power surge dangers as well as an incoming threat, both of which we were well aware of.

Thankfully, due to the age of the Lucrehulk, its bay doors had malfunctioned and the lone gunship was the only craft able to make it out, the rest crashing into their still-closed hangar bay doors, explosions bringing the battleship into a state of somewhat disarray.

The moment the Scarlet was operational, I pulled upwards slightly; our Gunner, former First Lieutenant of the army of the planet Waldwelt, now fellow mercenary, Hector Silberwolf, began firing on the incoming threat with the Scarlet's ventrally (or belly)-mounted Light-Ion Cannon. Almost immediately he scored several critical hits, the ionization covering the gunship like a small lightning storm as its main engines and circuitry became overrun with current, forcing it to shut down. It slowed to a crawl, unable to further propel itself. We had only moments perhaps before more gunships would be dispatched, and decided to tow it immediately to a nearby asteroid to strip for parts.

It wasn't easy.. Aegeon, our Zabrakian close-quarters aficionado and specialist, donned an EVA (or Extra-Vehicular Activity) suit, and I kept the Scarlet as steady as I possibly could, maintaining close distance to the disabled craft as he began his space walk, connected only by a length of cord to our starship. He worked to connect the towing cable to one of the main struts of the 'droid-operated craft, its pilot incapacitated by the ion charge. Zeb stood near the airlock ready to open it when Aegeon re-entered. Hectore manned our one turret, scanning the surrounding space for signs of threat. I nervously inched at the controls, attempting to maintain proximity to the craft without crashing into it, my eyes darting up now and then to the battleship looming overhead.

"It's good!" Aegeon said over the comm units which we all shared.

"Okay, come on!" yelled Zeb, and within moments, he was helping Aegeon back into the Scarlet, who then began removing the bulky EVA suit the moment the airlock re-engaged.

"I hate those things," he said with disgust.

"We're out of here," I said, laughing to myself as I maneuvered the controls of the Scarlet slowly away from the gunship and toward the nearest asteroid field I could see using the ship's scanning system for guidance.

Our two crew members with mechanic skills, Hector and Zeb, a Dug who knew more ways to use a hydropspanner than even Han Solo, if I had to guess, set to work immediately, making some minor adjustments to the Scarlet as well as removing two very precious Twin-Laser Turrets from the disabled gunship once I'd found a safe enough spot to land on an asteroid. Using the beloved EVA suits as they worked, after about twenty standard minutes, the turrets were onboard the Estoc, nestled in the cargo hold..

We lifted off, leaving the stripped craft on the slowly orbiting field of rocks as we continued to Hypori's atmosphere, whereupon scanning the planet's surface, we found two large energy signatures: the first near the planet’s North pole; the second, close to the equator. We decided to try the equator’s signal first, as daylight was still permitting a visual there. It wasn't long before we were approaching the signal, and before us we saw what looked to be mountains looming over the land. The terrain was going to be unfriendly, so we maneuvered to set the Estoc down in a safe landing zone just outside the nearby bluffs. As we began our descent however, we discovered the masses to be made of not rock, but metal. Apparently the site of a battle long ago, downed starships large and small were scattered about, covering a portion of the land. Exiting the Scarlet, we began our trip to find the source of energy which seemed to be coming from one of them. We moved cautiously, scanning the terrain with our infrabinoculars to avoid any unwanted contact. Almost immediately things began to shift towards paranoia for some of the group members, namely myself, as groups of ‘droid patrol ships began passing overhead. Thankfully we had set the Estoc down in a secure zone well outside enemy territory.

As we neared the energy source, we realized it was emanating from a huge downed Venator-class Star Destroyer, crashed stern-down and sticking straight up out of the uneven ground. These ships were well-known from the days of the Clone Wars, used by the Republic Navy..

We continued towards the source, using other downed crafts as cover as more patrols flew by overhead on a perfect schedule. We saw that a large Separatist ship had crashed almost horizontally into the dorsal (or top) side of the Venator, and that if we could reach the crest of that ship, we may be able to get to the bridge of the Venator and see about accessing the main control panels. We hiked back through the way we came, fired up the Estoc, and were able to time the ‘droid ships’ patrol routes, landing quietly in the exposed hangar bay of the crashed Separatist ship.

Now, we just had to traverse the interior. We knew which general direction we needed to go: up… but getting there might be a bit challenging.. We soon came upon a pair of locked blast doors on our trip through the seemingly abandoned craft.

“If we can get past these, there should be a ladder leading to some of the upper levels,” Zeb noted.

“Hang on, there’s a crawlspace vent shaft over here,” Hector replied, eyeing a small grate to the left of the doors.

“Let me get Link over here, he might be able to give us a hand.” The ‘droid belonging to Zeb, and of his own construction, was quickly commed, and, within moments, was rolling up to us, twittering some sort of binary message I couldn’t make heads or tails of.. The three other group members: Hector, Aegeon, and I, helped the ‘droid into the now-opened shaft while Zeb connected via datapad to Link’s photoreceptors, accessing his point-of-view. The ‘droid’s head almost scraping the metal ceiling of the crawlspace.. it moved forward.. making its way to the other side of the blast doors, then turning right to face another grate, which allowed it to view the contents of the room as well.

“We don’t want to open these,” said Zeb, now a bit nervous. “Dwarf Spider Droid. Sitting right there, waiting.”

Another remnant of the Clone Wars, the mechanized weapon could tear us to pieces quicker than a Nexu.

Continuing on, we found a hall with racks filling both sides, containing unit after unit of powered-down Super Battle Droids, three of which we were able to quickly drag back to the Scarlet.

Eventually finding our way to the top of the Separatist ship, we came to the access hatch of the bridge belonging to the Venator. Once inside, we were able to slice into the main terminal and find just what we were looking for, and much, much more…

Zeb, our primary mechanic and computer wiz, found that there were several power relays going from the Venator to somewhere near the North Pole, named Skullkiller's Watch. Someone had apparently been recently modding the Venator as well as raising a fleet of 'droids at this 'Skullkiller’s Watch'. The area was a 'droid factory-turned-prison, yet there was no readily available log of prisoners or staff. There was also a stasis field, mining equipment, and salvaged ‘droids. Upon further searching, Zeb found that a prisoner under the name/codename “Durge” was being kept there and was not to be released unless permission was given by a codename: “Beast Blade”. YVH (Yuuzhan Vong Hunter) ‘droids, originally manufactured by Lando Calrissian during the Yuuzhan Vong Wars, were stationed at the prison to keep watch over this “Durge”. Also, Battle Droids with modernized tech and weaponry were being produced there within the not-so-abandoned factory, which Zeb found the schematics for as well.

Having acquired the information needed, with a generous surplus as an added bonus, it was time to split. As we were cutting out of the system, however, we found that enemies had been alerted to our presence, due to us slicing into their systems. They appeared to be making their way to our location using the same route we'd just taken.. Placing a Shape Charge just outside the access hatch we'd entered through, we waited till the ‘droids were dropping in, detonating the charge and watching the destruction that ensued. Super Battle Droids became useless parts as they were torn apart by the explosion, thrown every which way. The remaining ‘droids began appearing one by one through the smoke and haze as they dropped in through the now-blown-apart entrance hatch, their blaster rifles raised. Throwing an Ion Grenade into the middle of the group, the charge disabling the mechanized scrap metal with a burst of charged energy, we then scrambled out of the ship’s Bridge, the entire area blaring with sounds of alarm.

Realizing we had used up the last of our explosives, we quickly made our way back to the Scarlet, where we found the now-released Dwarf Spider Droid waiting...scanning the large area as it searched for intruders. Zeb and I began sprinting under fire across the hangar bay, past the Spider Droid and to the Estoc. Aegeon, facing the mechanical threat, fired up his jetpack, arcing across the space separating the two, and landed just on top of the spider droid as it stood attempting to lock on to the two targets making their way across its field of view. Aegeon began sawing with the vibro-glaive, its razor sharp blade slowly making its way through the long, central blaster cannon. Within moments the central turret fell to the floor with a bang. Sensing immediate threat to its circuitry, the droid-brain powered combat weapon began emitting its own alarm.

“Self-Destruct in 5… 4…3...”

I stood at the entrance ramp to the Estoc, placing a well-aimed shot with my modified energy pistol.. Aegeon jumped from atop the ‘droid, activating his jetpack once more to get clear of the blast. The energized bolt streaked from my pistol across the spacious hangar, landing a critical hit as it bore through the ‘droid’s main circuit board. The Spider Droid was down before it had landed a shot, a single one having the potential to incapacitate.

Zeb had already begun starting sequences for liftoff, and the remaining group and I set to work dragging the sagging hunk of metal and circuitry up the entry ramp and onboard. I immediately rushed to the cockpit and began engaging the repulsorlift generator. Within moments, we were flying out of the hangar bay, outrunning the ‘droid pilots attempting pursuit and jumping to hyperspace before reinforcements arrived, just in time…