Tatooine Is Not Enough

Curse that poor excuse for a Sith Lord, Darth Zhorrid. I had no idea why she has insisted on bothering me, but since her father was assassinated, she has been nothing but a pest. This was over the line though. She disabled my hyperdrive remotely, so that I could remain on Nar Shaddaa to carry out a kidnapping for her.

The bloody nerve... Once more Kaliyo and I are off into the night sky to find Vyord Yanol, and bring him into custody. Luckily for us, tracking him was like looking for a gambling chip in the casino. His trail was so plainly obvious that I was mildly amused when we eventually ran into his shocked personage.

After dispatching his guards, I decided to take out my frustrations with Little Miss Zhorrid on his pathetic hide. I could not kill him, but I could at least make him regret crossing my path.

Kaliyo and I were in agreement. We stuffed him in the cargo hold, and contacted Darth Zhorrid to humbly request she remove the limiter from my hyperdrive. Next stop, Drumond Kaas. In short order, we arrived on the Imperial capital world, and brought our unconscious friend to see his new living quarters.

Ugh... I will never understand the whims and fancies of the Sith. Granted I kill for a living, but my targets are strategic for the most part. This... this is just foolishness. To call people into your room just so you can murder them seems a bit over the top eccentric. Regardless, Zhorrid's appetite was sated, and she had her new toy... so we were free to leave. I think I even heard Kaliyo retching.

Safely onboard the ship, with light years between us and that mad woman, we were graced with the beauty of Watcher 2. Our assignment was bringing us closer to the Eagle. We were tasked to comb the desert world of Tatooine for the Ghost network, and bring them to justice, Cipher 9 style. I'd heard a lot about the planet, but this would be my first chance to see the land of the twin suns.

We made haste to Mos Ila, and new adventure. As I set the ship down, our personal droid insisted on packing extra flasks of water for us.

Mos Ila spaceport... Hmm... for all the Imperial veneer on the surface, you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. Essentially a lawless world, crawling with Republic agents, this was going to prove challenging to locate the terror cell notorious for sinking into the desert sands without a trace. After a few cryptic leads, we were sent to an abandoned office building to await our contact.

After some time, she revealed herself as a former Ghost cell agent, working for our side. Mia Hawkins... a scrappy, yet cautious woman who appeared legitimate... well as legitimate as can be claimed on this dustball.

Our target was clear... we were to infiltrate, seek, and destroy "The Old Man". First we had to go to the Sevarin Mesa wind farms and secure the building to draw out the Ghost cell. Easy enough task... Mia said she would meet us there.

Off we went into the scalding suns, and through the rugged Jundland wastes... For the record, they are not to be traveled lightly.

Upon our arrival at the rendezvous point, we were beset upon by Tusken Raiders. They were ferocious fighters, to say the least, but in the end, merely a minor obstacle. Once they were out of the way, we set our explosive charges in preparation for the ambush.

It was not long after booby trapping the building that a group of ragged men came walking into the trap. Sure enough... they were the Ghost cell operatives we were awaiting.

This was too easy... or was it...

I had not anticipated the meaning behind their name- Ghost cell... The ability to turn invisible. Well, I won't be making that mistake again. A protracted firefight ensued, but together, Kaliyo and I unmasked the Ghosts, and defeated them. In short order, Mia appeared. Something was not right, she was more flirty than usual... which is saying a lot, since she has the social graces of a Jawa.

I decided to test the waters and offer some flirtation back. For my trouble I was poisoned, and it was revealed that Mia was NOT Mia... but the elite leader of this Ghost cell we encountered! Kaliyo to the rescue... she saved my poisoned behind. Thanks girl, I owe you one.

After the fight, and my recuperation, we left to meet the real Mia in a place called Mos Anek. Naturally I was cautious when we found her, so I opted to flirt with her, and as expected, she rebuffed my advances. Good... it was her.

We were sent to find Milosh Varta, a noted leader of the Exchange crime syndicate... Supposedly he had leads on where this Old Man could be found. Off to the scorching sands once more... I am beginning to see why people refer to Tatooine as the armpit of the galaxy.

Milosh was easy to find... and easy to persuade... all I had to do was point a blaster at his most prized asset- his wife.

The information was flowing like rain SHOULD BE, on this arid world. We now knew where the drop point would be that would take us to the Old Man's camp, deep in the heart of the Dune Sea. All we needed to do now was travel the trackless desert to the correct location.

After several bottles of water, we finally found the drop point. As expected it was out in the middle of nowhere, guarded by Milosh's exchange brutes. The crates down there looked a decent enough size, so we found our infiltration point. Not surprisingly, riding around in crates was NOT a new experience to Kaliyo...

As expected, the exchange loaded us into the shuttle, and took us directly to the Old Man's camp. We were to contact Mia once we made it safely, but peculiarly, she did not respond to her comm call. I figured we would run into her sooner or later.

BINGO! Target in sight... and what's this? Oh no...

Well I should not have been surprised that they tracked her down, but she did help us immensely. I suppose I owed it to her to rescue her in the process. The Old Man and I exchanged mock pleasantries, and his information on a secret benefactor to the Eagle terror network was most intriguing. Business is business though...

He knew his lease on life had expired... but he put up a valiant fight nonetheless.

When all was said and done, we released Mia to fade into obscurity, in the hopes that we might meet again sometime over drinks... In someplace less... thirst inducing... than here. The mission was accomplished, and it was time to check in with Watcher 2 onboard the ship... Only one final stop to make.

The great pit of Carkoon... resting place of the all powerful Sarlacc monster... and the perfect hiding spot for a dead Old Man. Good riddance to bad rubbish.