EPISODE II
Chapter 1: War Hero

Zolph Vaelor dropped out of hyperspace into the Taris system only to be greeted by a massive space battle between Alliance and Valkoran forces and the wreckage of more Alliance than Valkoran ships littering the battlefield. The only other defense the Alliance fleet had left was a hypervelocity cannon on Taris's surface that fired at specific intervals. He quickly locked his modified X-Wing's s-foils into attack position, splitting the two wings into six. He then quickly released a volley of laser fire and destroyed an entire squadron of Firaxa-class starfighters that passed by.

"Did someone call for a Jedi?" Zolph asked into his ship's built-in comlink.

"Commander Vaelor. We're really glad you're here now." Admiral Cephal responded back. "This battle is going downhill fast."

"Hang tight, Admiral. Seefor and I are going to reverse that." Zolph said as he took down a Fury-class corvette by blowing up its explosive charge as it was dropping out of the launch bay. Seefor then gave a series of electronic sounds similar to a mischievous laugh.

"Well, you and your sadistic astromech can help us out by taking out those Dread frigates. Those things are doing the most damage to us at the moment and they're too busy putting us on the defensive for us to effectively fight back."

"On it!" Zolph then flew towards one of the mentioned frigates.

The Dread-class Assault Frigate was a new ship design introduced after Krantisi. Its command bridge was placed between a fork-like body, and on the prongs were the ship's primary weapons: twin repeating plasma cannons, with a few turbolasers mounted on the sides of the prongs for additional defense. Despite being lightly armored, these frigates could tear apart an entire Mon Calamari Star Cruiser when grouped faster than an Obliterator-class Star Destroyer.

However, as Zolph dodged fire and took out more Firaxa fighters, he took advantage of two notable design flaws with the Dread frigate: first, the plasma cannons weren't turreted, so the ship had to turn itself to aim them and were almost useless against small fast-moving ships; second, there were no defenses placed between the cannon prongs. As such, Zolph flew between them and fired two proton torpedoes into the bridge, taking the vessel offline before it exploded. Zolph then rinsed and repeated the process with five more of the frigates, sometimes with less trouble since the frigates sometimes had to stop firing their cannons to vent the excess heat built up in them, just like with every other Valkoran plasma weapon.

"And the Dreads are no longer dreadful." Zolph said after dispatching the last of the frigates. Cephal then spoke to him again.

"Now you can help us take out the bombers and suicide Furys before our reinforcements arrive."

"That shouldn't be troublesome." He then eliminated a few squads of Shyrack-class bombers heading towards the Mon Cal Cruiser Harmony to drop their payload. He also quickly dispatched - with some assistance from Nebulon-B frigates - any corvettes that got too close to the capital ships.

Zolph then got another transmission from Admiral Cephal. "We've got another problem: they've sent Mailocs after us!"

Zolph groaned with annoyance. "I hate those things! They're just as annoying as the creatures they're named after!"

The Mailoc-class Boarding Craft's most distinguishing feature was a stinger-like tail, used to pierce through capital ships without depressurizing them after magnetizing its main body to the ship's surface. It would then release the boarding party into the ship, either to hijack it from their enemies or to plant explosives inside.

Zolph quickly dispatched most of these boarding craft, with only a handful of them successful in deploying their platoons onto the capital ships. However, what little boarding parties that did make it onboard were quickly overwhelmed by the superior numbers of the defense crew.

After a few minutes of defense, the Mon Cal Cruiser Independent dropped out of hyperspace with a fleet of MC30c torpedo frigates. Several of the submarine-like frigates sped towards some of the Judicator-class frigates and Obliterator-class destroyers and fired their many volleys of proton torpedoes on them, evening the Valkoran forces out.

"Well, looks like everything's working out in our favor now." Zolph said over the comlink with relief, thinking that things were set for the fleet… until the hypervelocity cannon on the planet's surface fired at and tore apart one of the Alliance torpedo frigates.

"I just had to open my big mouth!" Zolph yelled in annoyance.

R9-C4 chimed in to tease Zolph again. "Zolph = Should stop tempting fate."

"You know, Seefor, if you weren't so damn good at performing your role, I would've replaced you by now."

Admiral Cephal then interrupted. "If you're done nagging your droid, I received a message from our ground forces near the cannon before it destroyed that frigate. Apparently some Skakoan sappers took out the cannon's defense force and now the Valkoran are using it against us."

"Well, looks like I'm going into Taris airspace. You shouldn't have a problem after I take back the cannon."

"I've already informed Colonel G'jan that you are assisting us on the surface. He's expecting you at one of our landing pads."

"G'jan? I was hoping to see General Choi again."

"Sorry, but Ven is stationed on Dagobah at this time." Admiral Cephal went back on topic. "Anyway, get down there, help us up here and down there. May the Force be with you."

Zolph then entered Taris's atmosphere.


Zolph flew past several stories-tall buildings – some of them damaged in the on-going ground battle – using the hypervelocity cannon's frequent shots as a beacon. Before he could get close enough to the cannon, he was alerted to the presence of many Valkoran Mobile Anti-Air Defense Pods.

The MAAD Pods fired several missiles at Zolph, provoking an irritated response. "I hate it when they do that. Can I just fly to my objective points for once?!" He then turned his ship around and flew away from the cannon's proximity, throwing off several of the locked-on missiles as he retreated for the given coordinates of a nearby Alliance encampment.

"Time to go see Colonel G'jan."


As Zolph approached the Alliance encampment, he opened the cockpit, climbed out, and spoke to R9-C4 as the droid auto-piloted the fighter. "Seefor, you're going to be on your own for awhile. Go back and help the fleet while I find a way to deal with our cannon problem."

"Zolph's Orders = Understood. / R9-C4 = Going to have a lot of fun."

"And for the love of the Force, please don't kill any of our own men." Zolph then dived off of the fighter towards the encampment while Seefor flew off giving off more mischievous laughter.

Conveniently, he landed right in front of a Bith colonel while he was briefing some Alliance troopers, surprising him in the process.

"I was expecting you to crash in on us, but I wasn't expecting you to do it literally, Commander Vaelor." The Bith colonel commented on Zolph's flashy arrival.

"Hey, I gotta put some variation in the ways I do things, Colonel G'jan. Besides, I thought I would put Seefor to some use while I'm down here."

Birik G'jan then sighed, "We're all going to die."

"Don't worry, Colonel. I'll turn that little psycho into a coolant barrel and put his brain in a Gonk if he so much as blows up a single X-Wing. And Admiral Cephal's monitoring what he tracks on my targeting computer. And so far, he's only targeted Valkoran ships."

The Bith then went back to the situation at hand. "Anyway, I take it you tried to fly over to the cannon?"

"Yep." Zolph simply answered. "And I was greeted by a bunch of MAAD Pods. So, do you have any quick ground-based transportation? Preferably difficult to lock-on to with missiles?"

"We have a few Swoop bikes for use. That should be ideal for this situation."

"Then I'm off."

G'jan interrupted before Zolph could head for the garages. "Oh, and a warning before you leave: Are you familiar with a mercenary by the name of Gestroma?"

"I've heard of him, but I've never directly encountered him before. But from what I've gathered from survivor reports, he usually kills his targets, especially if they're human. I'm guessing he's here on Taris?"

"Yes. In fact, he's in-charge of the Valkoran ground-forces in this campaign. So be careful if you encounter him."

"Don't worry. I've survived far worse." Zolph then headed off to one of the garages and drove a Swoop Bike along a road towards the cannon.

"That's what some of his victims have said."


Zolph drove his Swoop towards where he was fired upon initially. As he drove along the road and around any larger Valkoran vehicles that would get in his way, such as Gundark-class walkers and Rancor-class assault tanks, he logically concluded that the cannon was set in the planet's upper city so it would have a wider range of fire.

Driving along he would also have to go around bomber squadrons making their runs, and would sometimes find himself being pursued by the newly introduced Tuk'ata-class Fighter Tanks – a repulsorlift vehicle with the usual cockpit of a Firaxa Starfighter or Shyrack Bomber, but design-wise, similar to the TX-130 series Fighter Tanks once used by the Galactic Empire – designed for pursuits or hit-and-run attacks. So he wouldn't have to deal with their missiles, he would back behind these pursuing tanks and slash at their engine systems, rendering them immobile.

Getting closer to the cannon, he then took out all of the MAAD Pods that had given him so much trouble the first time around, paving the way for air support and allowing the Alliance forces to push towards the cannon. He also dealt with a few Valkoran soldiers and Skakoan Commandos when in the area, being especially careful when dispatching the latter of the two.

Progress was going smoothly, until he received an urgent message on his comlink from an Alliance scout. "Vaelor! It's Gestroma! He's right behind you!"

Zolph quickly glanced over his shoulder and saw a large humanoid armored from head-to-toe – with a helmet that had a face-wide visor, eye-like decals on the upper piece of it and a skirt blowing behind him – mounted on a Swoop bike - made for a being of his physical stature - pursuing him.

Gestroma slowly drew out an assault cannon – a weapon that is usually mounted due to the high recoil – with one hand from behind his back and fired a rapid stream of blaster fire at Zolph. Zolph naturally strafed sideways to avoid these shots.

Zolph did what he could to get Gestroma off his tail, including trying to trick him into crashing, but the ruthless mercenary wasn't outwitted that easily. Driving around the area in circles, he eventually got behind the mercenary's bike and slashed at its engine block, causing him to crash.

Zolph then proceeded onward towards the cannon, only a few miles away from his location.


As Zolph stopped towards the hypervelocity cannon, he noticed a few dead Alliance soldiers and blown out T4-B assault tanks that once guarded it and the exploded Skakoan Commandos that took them out.

Zolph got onto the cannon's main platform and eliminated the Valkoran gunnery crew when they tried to fight back. However, Zolph was suspicious. A simple gunnery crew couldn't have taken out the rest of the cannon's defense squad that easily.

Suddenly, someone appeared out of thin air from behind: a Valkoran trooper in black armor armed with stealth technology and a blaster rifle. This trooper attempted to shoot Zolph in the back, but he was swiftly decapitated. Apparently, there were Shadow Troopers involved in taking the cannon.

Four more Shadow Troopers de-cloaked, drawing out weapons that could be described as a mass-produced, novice weapons-builder's attempt at creating a lightsaber, or mocksabers as Jedi like to call them. These weapons consisted of a hilt, a high-powered laser emitter and a receiver with a small metal blade at the tip to contain the beam.

"Those are not lightsabers. Those are suicide-sabers." Zolph told the assassins in a deadpan tone.

One of them leapt towards Zolph, attempting to cut him down. Zolph slashed back, but these troopers proved to be incredibly flexible despite how easily the first of these troopers was killed. He eventually slashed the rod separating the emitter and receiver on this trooper's mocksaber, causing the beam to pierce through his own head and into the sky. Zolph then quickly destroyed the saber before it could do any more damage.

Zolph then fought the other three in a three versus one duel, being careful not to break the sabers except to shut them off. He quickly cut through two of the troopers' chests.

The last trooper pulled out a device about the size of human skull from his belt and activated it. The device, resembling a robotic mask, sprung out a pair of spider-like legs and a mandible-equipped head. These Deathmask-class Pocket Assassin Droids were often sent by Shadow Troopers into places too small or hazardous for most humanoids. This trooper, however, tossed the droid at Zolph, causing it to latch on to his face.

Zolph struggled to keep the small droid from injecting its mandibles into his skull. However, he sensed the trooper about to fire on him while he was preoccupied. When the trooper fired his blaster rifle, Zolph moved his face into the path of the blaster shot, with it only hitting the droid.

Zolph removed the disabled droid as it loosened its grip and threw it at the assassin, and then Force pushed him into a high voltage fuse box, electrocuting him to death. The hypervelocity cannon had been taken back.

As he waited for the Alliance to arrive to take control of the cannon once again, he noticed a Tuk'ata-class fighter tank approaching his position. The tank then fired two missiles at Zolph, to which he responded by using the Force to redirect them back at the tank, turning it into a flaming wreck.

Suddenly, the tank's three-piece cockpit opened, revealing none other than Gestroma, who was alive and well, and the corpse of the tank's original pilot. He then climbed out of the tank with a bound Skakoan Commando slung over his shoulder.

"Damn! How are you still alive after all that?!" Zolph asked the faceless mercenary as he walked up to the platform the cannon was mounted on.

Zolph heard the mercenary speak, but it sounded like his voice was coming from his abdomen rather than his head. "I'm very hard to kill." Gestroma then dropped the Skakoan on the floor and pointed his assault cannon towards Zolph when he got to the top of the stairs. "So you're the brat that's been consistently giving my client hell for a while. I'll have a damn good time spreading you all over this place."

Zolph sighed with annoyance. "Just to make it clear, Maesterus wants me alive, not dead or alive."

The mercenary chuckled. "Maesterus isn't paying me." He then fired a rapid stream of fire from his cannon, prompting Zolph to take cover, as not even he could deflect all those shots with his lightsaber.

"Then who is?"

"Valkor himself, of course." He then looked down to the Skakoan on the floor. "Oh, Mr. Toothhead…"

The Skakoan replied back with disgust, "You still haven't told me why you've taken me hostage! I thought we were on the same side!"

"What happens when one of you squishies is exposed to a standard pressure atmosphere?"

The Skakoan knew exactly where the psychotic mercenary was going with this. "You disgusting bastard!"

"Exactly." Gestroma quickly pulled out a vibroknife and stabbed into the Skakoan's pressure suit. He then picked him up as his suit leaked methane gas and threw him over to Zolph's position.

Zolph jumped away from the Skakoan – but just barely – before he explosively decompressed, remembering his experience with Bom Pintor, another Skakoan bounty hunter and former Commando he dealt with a year ago. He then sensed a disturbance coming from Gestroma – one he was all too familiar with. A disturbance he could describe as a hungering wound in the Force. That he was a mercenary with this nature just made him even more curious.

"I sense something odd about you, Gestroma. And I know this oddity all too well." Zolph then ignited his lightsaber.

"Every Jedi I've met has told me that, and they never told anyone else once they learned. Of course, you will be joining them soon." Gestroma proceeded to gun down Zolph again.

Zolph took cover again. He then replied, "As for what you just did to that poor man, the Skakoan Commandos were founded in retaliation for the Empire pulling shavit like that on them."

"I thought they didn't mind blowing themselves up for a senseless cause."

"Ever since they joined the Rebel Alliance, there was a rule that established that they only perform suicide bombings on their own volition. And some of these guys are just hired guns now. Besides, if you wanted to blow me up, you could've just tossed a thermal detonator over here."

"I wanted to know what one of them exploding was like. Speaking of explosions…" Gestroma then readied a thermal detonator and tossed it over to Zolph's hiding spot.

Zolph responded by Force pushing the grenade before it could land and right back to Gestroma. It exploded as soon as it made contact with him. The most the explosion did to him was scorching his armor, but it gave Zolph enough time to get right next to him.

Gestroma pointed his gun at Zolph, who quickly slashed off the barrel. He then drew out his knife again and tried to slash at Zolph.

Zolph parried every blow until he knocked the knife out of Gestroma's hand, prompting the mercenary to resort to fists. He then punched at Zolph until he got his left arm cut off. This provoked a pained roar from him before he picked his severed arm off the ground.

"You're a very lucky man, Jedi. You're the first one to survive me."

"I'm very hard to kill, too." Zolph echoed to him while showing off his prosthetic arm and the bite marks on his neck.

"You may have won today, but next time, I will mount your head on my wall!" He boasted as he limped away from the cannon with his arm and damaged equipment.

Zolph then watched as several Alliance Gallofree troop and tank transports landed near the cannon. He then activated his comlink.

"Zolph Vaelor to Colonel G'jan. We have retaken the cannon."

"Excellent. We should be able to repel the Valks away from Taris now that we've got the upper hand again. But I heard you encountered Gestroma. How did you get through that?"

"Like I said, Colonel, I've survived worse."

"Well, you certainly do live up to your reputation."

Zolph watched as the newly listed Alliance gunnery crew fired the hypervelocity cannon into space. He then saw several Valkoran Behemoth-class dropships flying into Taris's atmosphere.

Admiral Cephal joined in on the conversation. "The Valkoran fleet is retreating."

Zolph asked the Admiral. "So, Ceph, did Seefor behave himself?"

"Well, your droid did kill a lot of people, but thankfully not ours."

"Good. Anyway, I should be going back to Ossus like I originally planned before you dragged me out here. I need to get this data to Master Skywalker and Grein."


A few hours later on Ossus, Zolph had reunited with Luke Skywalker and Grein.

"I heard you were kept busy." Luke told Zolph.

"Yep. First, I was captured on Charros, and then Admiral Cephal dragged me over to Taris. But I got a decent amount of data from the first of those planets. I even had a fight with Gestroma and lived to learn something previously unreported."

"What about him?"

"I sensed that he may be a Forceless host."

"That's strange." Grein chimed in. "He's a hired gun, not to mention some of his previous contractors include the Hutt Cartel and Black Sun, and the latter of the two organizations was fragmented long before this war. I would think he'd be serving Valkor or the Collective for free."

"This bears further investigation." Luke responded. "Next time Gestroma's on the field, we'll see if we can get a tracking beacon on his ship."

"Now back to the data. So what planets did you get this time?" Grein asked.

Zolph inserted the disk into the data terminal and displayed six results. "Dagobah, Guaymar, Kashyyyk, Krishar, Korriban, and Onderon. And Admiral Cephal off-handedly mentioned that General Ven Choi was stationed on Dagobah at the time."

"And according to him, there is heavy Valkoran activity down there." Luke responded.

"Let me guess: they're pushing for the summoning of whatever Archfiend is on that planet. Well, so much for my usual break between missions. Permission to take Archfiend elimination procedures?"

"Permission granted. But be careful."

"Aren't I always?"

Grein gave him a warning as he left . "There are some things on Dagobah aside from the Archfiend that you might not be ready to handle, and Luke has had experience with these things when he was younger."