Star Wars - Dark Trooper Campaign

Phase 4: The Guardians and the Empress

The data gained from this covert ops totally changed the strategy of General Shore. He and his scientific counselors found out that besides having invaded and either conquered or destroyed a number of planetary systems there were also quite a number of systems that were avoided by the Empire at all costs, despite these systems being dotted with ruins of old civilizations similar to the ones they actively sought out. The General took a shot at this and sent Senator Mo’Ore and his chief archaeologist, the Zabrak Dr. Shi Ravak, to the planet Kintoran II where they not only found ancient ruins with a dark aura upon them, but also a comfortable site for a new secret base. So the involuntarily recruited transport ships could finally offload their cargo and personnel and be about their own business again.

The science-team led by Dr. Ravak began exploring the ruins on Kintoran II, but the strong, lingering presence of the Dark Side posed a serious threat to all people entering the ruins – except for Dr. Ravak herself who seemed to be immune to its effects. While searching for a solution they came across New Republic data from their latest military campaign: The crime syndicate of smuggler Talon Karrde had discovered a species named “Ysalamiri” that could create a bubble around themselves which was devoid of any force. A group of agents then made contact with Talon Karrde’s assistant Mara Jade to purchase some specimen that were used to protect the science-team from malicious influence.

At the same time communication with the core worlds was finally re-established and so General Shore and his crew learned of the schemes of late imperial Grand-Admiral Thrawn and his campaign to bring the New Republic to its knees. Since all available ships and soldiers had been involved in this large scale military campaign no resources whatsoever had been left to support General Shore. Even though Thrawn had acted independent from Empress Thul and Master Cyrus they had let him wage his war which proved to be a perfect cover for their own sinister campaign.

During the following months Dr. Ravak led several expeditions with different teams to different planets to unravel the secrets of the ruins and their ancient creators and hopefully find out anything that could help them understand what the Empire was looking for. Most of the old facilities had an aura of the dark side present that often compromised, influenced or even manipulated the Doctor’s teammates, but never Dr. Ravak herself.

It appeared that the ruins dated back more than fifty thousand years to an old civilization that worshipped 6 mystical beings they called “The Guardians”. These guardians had shown up after the galaxy had been ravaged for several millennia by selfish, power hungry and scrupulous force wielders, and within only a few centuries they managed to defeat most of the evil force users and imprison them in stasis capsules that could be used to tap into their force energies and power huge machines and magnificent cities. Mighty defense systems that could vaporize even large capital ships with one energy blast were installed on many of the guardian worlds and helped usher in a golden age of peace, collaboration and discovery.

But this utopia came to an end when a gargantuan and unbelievably powerful being from another world, whose monstrous body stretched beyond dozens of star systems, had found a way to breach the dimensional barrier that separated this galaxy from its own world. It reached out with one of its many tentacles through the breach and prepared to suck this galaxy ripe with life and energy dry. The guardians, however, discovered this and immediately called to action. They severed the tentacle from its body and sealed the breach between the worlds. But even as one single entity, cut off from its main body, the tentacle was too powerful to remain in this world without control. So, one of the 6 guardians sacrificed himself and absorbed the essence of the tentacle into his body. He was then sealed in one of the stasis chambers by his fellow guardians where he would wrestle for eternity with the monstrous being for control over his body.

Unfortunately, the guardian had underestimated the strength and willpower of his “prisoner”, who slowly gained control over his body and then managed to free himself from the stasis. Weakened he needed a few thousand years to recover and devise his ultimate plan: to reopen the dimensional breach, reunite with the rest of his being and then attack this world.

On a hidden sanctuary world Dr. Ravak met the last guardian, jackal-headed Anpu who was also known by the name “Anubis”. He revealed to her that his snake-headed fellow guardian Sutech, who now called himself “Cyrus” was indeed the one who had taken in the essence of the off-worldly being known as “Apep” and was corrupted by the very thing he sought to imprison. Millenia he had waited while recruiting an army and collecting all the things he would need to once again open the dimensional breach. He combined the ancient technologies of the guardians with the dark secrets from another dimension that he had absorbed from Apep.

In the meantime Senator Mo’Ore was contacted by Admiral Kaler who guided him to a secret meeting with the Empress herself. There he also met Lieutenant Sarkon again, whom he had saved from death sentence by Inquisitor Vengeanar and who had since been the personal adjutant of Lady Thul. The Empress had requested the meeting because she suspected for some time now that Master Cyrus had only delegated the “official” leadership of the Galactic-Alderaanian Empire to her so everyone’s attention would rest upon her and would distract from his own sinister schemes. But before she was ready to propose an alliance with the Republic she wanted a definite answer to one specific question that had played a major part in her life so far: Who was really responsible for the destruction of her homeworld Alderaan: the Rebel Alliance as was broadcasted in imperial propaganda or the Empire?

To discuss this with the one person, the only survivor who had witnessed the destruction firsthand, Lady Thul requested a personal meeting with Senator Leia Organa-Solo in order to find out the truth. Unfortunately, the secret services of both sides had no interest in a possible peace treaty and so these meetings had to take place in secrecy and wary of spies and assassins. After the republic SIS had sent a protocol droid with information who had almost killed the Empress, Senator Mo’Ore finally got clearance to arrange a personal meeting between the two noble ladies of Alderaan. Though this appointment was also interrupted by assassins from both sides it was successful in that both ladies agreed on a collaboration to stop Master Cyrus and save the galaxy.

Phase 5: The Eclipse draws near

As the true identity and the sinister plans of Master Cyrus were revealed the events reached their climax.

A new dangerous mission led Wolfpack-Squadron deep into enemy territory where they were shot down. After an emergency landing they were able to wreak havoc on an occupied planet which enabled them to secretly infiltrate a Star Destroyer and obtain detailed fleet movement data and battle plans from the Empire. The downside was that the frigate “Light of Hope” which was supposed to act as their backup was blown up by the same double agents that the Wolfpack-Squadron had rescued from the asteroid prison during an earlier mission.

Meanwhile Trance Killian contacted Empress Thul and asked for the sending of a Sith acolyte whom she was supposed to turn back to the light side of the force as a task from her Jedi masters to prove that she was ready. Although the acolyte was not fully convinced of the light side she had not hesitated to offer her help against the extragalactic threat Master Cyrus posed to all living things.

Dr. Shi Ravak and a science and combat team attempted to retrieve the one artifact that was central to the plans of Master Cyrus: the “Heart of the Eclipse”. Guardian Anpu had given her the coordinates so she would have a chance to secure the artifact before the Empire got their hands on it, but another traitor among the scientists enabled the Empire to obtain the Heart instead.

During the battle Dr. Ravak was struck by the force lightning of a Sith Lord and suddenly she could remember her lost childhood and her father, a Jedi Knight training her in the ways of the force. In order to spare her a life on the run from the Empire her father had sealed her memories together with her force powers so that not even Darth Vader had been able to sense her true abilities. The only thing remaining had been her fascination for Jedi-lore and her strong resistance against force-based inducement. Now that the seal was broken she would put her full strength into her service for the New Republic.

As a last mission before the ensuing battle a small strike team obtained an imperial shuttle with valid passcodes to enable a covert ops unit to sneak past the imperial blockade.

Now it is up to every available fighter to put his skills, his resolve and ultimately his life on the line to save the galaxy from the total eclipse.

May the force be with you!

© 2010-2017 by Klaus Zepf

English translation © 2018, 2021