Part 17: Nar Shaddaa - Operation Hot Mother

Last update, Jesus got kidnapped by the local crime boss Goto, forcing the rest of our crew to mount a super top secret rescue mission to get him back.



Welcome to Goto's Yacht.

I lied, I'm not taking Mira on this mission; Atton is coming instead. He's got some good lines coming up.



This place is full of nothing but droids and more droids, so it's time to bust out the heavy ion weaponry.



This whole place is kind of a puzzle-type level.



There's multiple computer programs we can upload, and multiple systems we can use the programs on. For example, we've got the "Overload" program here and later we can use it on things like the Turret systems.



T3 can also get a little +1 DEX bonus from the systems.



Goto's guard droids are nasty bunch. In fact, the most annoying droids in galaxy are on this ship.



There's floating mines, there's healer droids, carbonite turrets, melee droids, droids with giant fuck you flamethrowers...



This is the way to the holding area where the Exile's being held. Unfortunately that door is bad news, because behind it...



Are 3 giant robots and 6 turrets. This is probably a little too much for little T3 to handle. Let's reload.



The console has more functions for us.



Trying to shut down the turrets cause them to go berserk and target the other robots for us. Getting them to kill each other is so much easier.



What took you guys so long?



Jesus as usual is much better equipped to handle these things.





Well I'm getting a little bored with all the shooting and fighting, so let's take a look at the cut content for this level.

It appears at some point, you should have been able to infiltrate Goto's circle of bounty hunters (with Mira perhaps?) with the possible goal of breaking the Exile out of here. The bounty hunters would have been scattered around the ship, and they would be friendly enough to talk to at first. The Zhug brothers for example, would have had a few words for you:

"The Zhug family will scour the galaxy for this Jedi... and then we will bring him here, to Goto."
"You're welcome to try, big-eyes."
"If we were not here before Goto, I would drill holes through your body like a nest of hungry sviro-worms."

Some Gand hunters:

"The Gand await Goto's pronouncement on the Jedi."

And also some HK-50 units:

"Announcement: We seek to make Goto aware of our services... allowing us to facilitate communication and terminate hostilities in the galaxy."
"If that means blowing up planets, slaughtering entire species, or allying ourselves with the Sith, then that is the logical choice."
"Our predecessor would never understand our directives... he was slow, weak, and his vocabulator was prone to static."





This is about the point where Mira would have come in handy, with her ability to not set off mines.



If we had any melee characters with us, they would have rushed ahead with their crappy AI and tripped over every goddamn mine in the place. Thankfully our party is all ranged attackers.



We pick up the control program for the mine system.











"Dee-deet! Deeereeet!"



Interesting. A droid control center for keeping track of tons of droids... across the entire galaxy. Goto sure has his hands in a lot of jars.



The dialog above stops abruptly after the Exile's line, because the stuff after it got cut. At this point Goto would have decided you've come far enough, and he would step in to stop you.

"I suggest you surrender. Your chances for escaping this vessel are near zero - and your chances of survival are rapidly approaching that number. Your ship and your lives are mine... the only question is how much resources you want me to expend in subduing you."
[Persuade] "So you're suddenly willing to negotiate? Maybe you've realized you can't stop us."
"I have indulged you this far, but now my patience is at an end. Shortly my droids will expel all the air from this vessel then collect your unconscious bodies."

And then he would have followed through on his threat. From here on in, all the non-droid party members you have would have started taking steady damage (from the lack of oxygen) until you got off the ship. I guess they couldn't get that working properly, so it got left out.



Next up is this:



The biggest minefield known to man, and about 8 or 9 robots just behind it.



Thankfully we can re-target the mines to blow up friendlies. Then we can just lure them over the minefield and let it take care of the problem for us.





The ship's bridge, finally.

Here's some concept art for the level:



It does look pretty unique, admittedly. I don't know what's up with the pearly looking circles everywhere, but they remind me of those curved mirrors in convenience stores that let the cashiers see around corners.





We turn off power to the cloaking device and the hatch back the Ebon Hawk, letting us escape.



With the cloaking disabled, every asshole in the galaxy wanting to take a run at Goto suddenly has a clear shot at this ship.



At this point, the bounty hunters would have seen Goto's ship drop out of cloak and boarded it. Goto would have known the gig was up and activated the self-destruct.

"More visitors. I don't know how many more of these pests I can disintegrate."
"Ah, what remains of the bounty hunters have found me."
"Now it is time to cue the detonation sequence."



Speaking of bounty hunters, the Duros decid to show up as we backtrack our way to the Ebon Hawk.



And hey, look who it is. Didn't Atton kill them?















The Gand want to party too.









In the background, there's dozens of ships swooping in to take out Goto's yacht. He's not really well liked around these parts.











I'm getting tired of these glaringly obvious NPCs sneaking on board the Ebon Hawk. The rest of the crew was just totally slacking off.

"What do you want now?"





"I think your "gift" is useless."
"You would be surprised at how little I care about what you think."
"Why would I want this droid?"
"As I indicated, this unit will remain with you and guard you."



"How do I know it won't try to kill me?"
"I cannot harm you. You are the key to saving the Republic. Pray that you do not prove yourself otherwise."





"Maybe you're bluffing."



"As much as I need you, you will find you will need me as well - and this droid will prove useful on your journey."



Ugh, whatever. We'll keep the stupid droid.

Before we head back to Nar Shaddaa though, we have to do one little thing.



"It was a sound, like a heart, yet like a voice."
"The time to hide your presence is coming to a close, and you will need to increase your training."



We've hit level 15, which means we can choose our Prestige Class.







Exar Kun was a Sith Lord who had his little rampage about 50 years before this particular time period.





In loose Dungeons and Dragons terms, Weapon Masters are Warriors, Jedi Masters are Mages, and Watchmen are a bit like Rogues.

We're going with Watchman.

"It is not some great test you require to be what you strive to be - it is only your decision to find that path that matters. From here on, you guide your destiny. But in order to take the next steps, you must face your past and put it to rest."



Weapon Masters are more powerful, and Jedi Masters are more flashy, but Watchman fit more with our gunslinger build. They get high defense and saves, the ability to stealth without using a belt, and Sneak Attack. It's mostly the Sneak Attack we're going for; the goal is to stun them with our Force powers, and shoot them to death with the sneak bonus damage.





Finally, we meet our lost Jedi, Zez-Kai Ell. We might actually get some answers.



"Why did Kavar think I would return from exile?"
"I do not know. It was a sense he had, and he had served in war, as you had. Perhaps he thought he understood you, or maybe he simply hoped he did. He felt you were the key to understanding the threat we face - the others were not so certain. But so many of them are gone now, as you no doubt know. He sensed some connection between you and many of the worlds touched by war. He thought by traveling to such places, he could achieve understanding."
"Where are all the Jedi?"
"They have scattered, but there is a purpose in their movements. It is to both to hunt - and draw out our enemies. Somehow, they... we... are being targeted through the Force - and when Jedi gather, we are vulnerable. So we have chosen places where it is difficult to sense others through the Force... whether on planets dense with life, or touched by war. In such places, we may conceal ourselves, gather information - without presenting ourselves as targets. It was part of Kavar's plan."
"Plan?"



"Yes - he felt if our enemy cannot detect us, then perhaps they would believe themselves victorious and show themselves. And we knew that the war would be lost if we continued to act as we had. I do not know where they wander now. There are few of us, though, too few... and I have not heard from them in some time."





Atris was suppose to be at the massacre on Katarr? She didn't mention this when we talked to her. Hmmm.



[Intelligence] "Why didn't you go to Katarr?"
"I had not finished my investigations here, and I did not wish to reveal myself. There was nothing I could do."

He's lying. He didn't go to Katarr because he got spooked.

"What happened to them?"



"The only pattern we determined that when Jedi gathered, they were seen no more. At the last Jedi conclave on the Miraluka world of Katarr, the entire planet was wiped out. An entire race, destroyed... because the Jedi chose to gather there. It was only then that we realized we were facing something far more powerful than we knew how to fight."
"Why did you hide?"
"We could not allow the fact when we gathered, we placed everything around us at risk... a Jedi's life is sacrifice, but we cannot allow our presence or actions to endanger others. And we could not fight an enemy that would not reveal itself. But any Jedi, anyone who was strong in the Force, who attempted to track down such a threat... vanished, without a trace."



"If it believed us defeated, then perhaps it would finally show itself. It was a faint hope, but it was the best we had. It was Kavar's plan - he was always the greatest tactician among us. And had seen war more than the rest of us."





"Nor were we. The day we cast you out, that is the moment I decided to leave the Order. Because I do not believe we truly faced the reasons you were exiled, and if we do not examine such truths, then we are already lost."



"Why are you on Nar Shaddaa?"
"I had thought perhaps that here upon the smuggler's moon, I might find some evidence of the threat we faced. The bounties on Jedi and their disappearance - I did not believe the two were connected, but there was a chance. And the strong currents of life here on Nar Shaddaa make perceiving a Force user difficult. I could use it to cloak my movements and watch without being discovered."

Again, more smoke being blown up our asses. However, if you have high enough Awareness you can cut through the crap.

[Awareness] "That is not the only reason... you came here to hide."
"No, you are right - that is not the whole truth. It is difficult to detect a Force user on Nar Shaddaa, and I knew it. This threat we face... it leaves wounds in the Force when it strikes. It leaves nothing."
"And you were afraid."
"To live life without the Force, to vanish and die and leave only an echo - it was terrifying. To be connected to all life around you, then to have it stripped... I can only imagine what it must have been like for you. But even that imagining cannot compare with the truth. But there is more than that. On Nar Shaddaa... one cannot escape what was left from the Jedi Civil War."
"From the failure of the Masters, from our failure to properly train Jedi, came disaster. And I wondered, if perhaps, the teachings of the Jedi had been our failing all along. There have been so many failures, by teachers who believed in the Code with all their being - Master Arca failed Ulic, as Master Baas failed Exar Kun, as Kae and Zhar and the others of the Council failed Revan... and Malak."
"For all the acts we do to preserve the galaxy, from such an arrogance that all we do is right and just, I wonder if there is a counter-effect that is created, that strikes back at us. Exar Kun, Ulic Qel-Droma, Malak, Revan, you... all Jedi. There is something wrong in the Force, a wound, a sound that is growing, like a scream. You can hear it echo on Nar Shaddaa, sometimes when the moon is on orbit. It is a frightening thing to feel, that perhaps being connected to all life is not enlightenment at all, but simply another doom."
"And I think that maybe, perhaps, to forsake the Force as you did, to cut loose our bonds, may not be the wrong thing to do. You taught me something important in the Council Chamber long ago, exile, and it has stayed with me all these years."
"You were right to do what you did. Everything you did."

Remember what Atris said?



Zez-Kai Ell was similarly affected.

If the Jedi Civil War was in fact a war of beliefs, as Revan saw it, then the Jedi lost the day the Exile returned to the council chambers and convinced them that he was right.

"Why did you cut me off from the Force?"





But Kreia said the Jedi Council were the ones who cut the Exile off from the Force:



Who should we trust more, this Jedi or Kreia?







It speaks to the council's attitude if the Exile was getting lumped into the same group as Revan, or even Exar Kun.





Voting Time

Of all the council members in hiding, Zez-Kai Ell is the biggest coward. The other Jedi out there are also hiding, but they're still doing Jedi things and trying to draw out the hidden Sith presence. Even Atris thinks she's doing something to fight the threat. This guy just got scared and ran, hiding away Nar Shaddaa hoping no one would be able to find him. For that he deserves a kick in the ass, right?

Choose our response (the fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance, etc.):

Let him live? Or end him?