Trooper Log #4: Rescue at Port Raga and the assault of Hammer Station

This Trooper Log series is posted simultaneously and in full on both my personal blog, Twilight Lynk, and StarWarsMMO.net. Enjoy!

The following log records the events of two separate missions undertaken by Lynk. The first is a rescue mission at Port Raga, the other is a special assignment to lead a strike team on Hammer Station.

Warning: This entry contains spoilers from Star Wars: The Old Republic for the Trooper class. Don’t come to me complaining that I’ve ruined it all for you since you have been warned well in advance.

BEGIN TROOPER LOG //

Mission Log

During our mission on Coruscant, Jorgan and I had to go to an independent inquiry being conducted by some senators over the defection of the former Havoc Squad members. The questions were direct, however I answered them all with complete honesty. The truth about what happened with Tavus and his team needed to be heard, even if it was a bitter pill to swallow for the senators. I mention this now because as soon as Havoc Squad launched into orbit in our new ship, we received a holo from General Garza informing us that Wraith was on the move at Port Raga. To add to that, Senator Krasul, one of the senators in that independent inquiry, had been kidnapped by Wraith and being held on Port Raga.

Our mission was to storm Port Raga to rescue the senator and, if possible, to capture Wraith. A special forces team was already on the scene awaiting our arrival and making sure that Wraith couldn’t escape as the net was closed around her. On arrival I discovered that the special forces team was being led by one Ava Jaxo, my contact in the area of Coruscant controlled by Black Sun.

Jorgan and I knew what to do, we’d have to move quickly to secure the senator if we were to have any chance at capturing Wraith, however when we stormed the cargo area of the station all we found was Senator Krasul and a few guards. After taking out the guards, we realised that the Senator was sitting on a bomb. Wraith had planned this out perfectly, she knew we couldn’t just leave the senator and used him in her efforts to stall us.

Defusing this bomb wasn’t going to be an easy task, I’m not a bomb disposal specialist but after some examination of the device, it looked as if Wraith had put it together in a hurry meaning that there is a chance that I could defuse this thing. Jorgan just stood stoically watching me work and most likely hoping I knew what I was doing. After a few tense moments, the bomb was defused and we took the Senator out to the rest of the special forces team waiting outside. Jaxo informed us that Wraith somehow slipped by them during this whole incident, however the Senator was safe which was the higher priority… we’ll get our chance at Wraith another time. Jaxo escorted the Senator back to Coruscant and Jorgan and I went back to this ship for a debriefing with General Garza who informed us of the next phase of our mission. Our next stop would be Taris where it is suspected that Needles, the former Havoc Squad medic was stationed. Before we set out, General Garza suggested we stock up on supplies after this surprise mission to Port Raga.

After loading up on some supplies on Coruscant, I was heading back to the space port when I was stopped by an Astromech droid who was bringing me a message from Grand Master Satele Shan no less. The holo of Satele Shan spoke and informed me that exceptional personnel from the Republic were being recruited for a mission and to head to Carrick Station for further details. Our orders were to override our current mission for the time being. This was an interesting surprise and one that would delay our mission to Taris for a short time. Heading back to the ship, I informed Jorgan of the new mission and we headed for Carrick Station. We didn’t have any details of the operation aside from it being urgent and with the authority to override our current mission… whatever it was, it must be something big.

Arriving on Carrick Station, I attended the briefing with Jorgan and two other special forces Troopers, both Commando class, a medic named Fah’dr and her companion. As we began, a holo of Satele Shan appeared, this time we’d have a live conversation.

According to her a prototype station which had thought to be lost during the war has resurfaced and is being controlled by the Advozsec, an independent faction of both the Republic and Empire. This faction has been using the Hammer Station, which is essentially a giant weapon that hurls asteroids at targets and was being used against worlds in the outer-rim territories who didn’t bow down to the Advozsec. The devastation caused by this weapon has affected both the Republic and Empire and must be stopped.

Our small group of Troopers boarded a shuttle and infiltrated the station. Jorgan and I took point while Fah’dr and her companion provided backup support. We stormed the station immediately and hit the Advozsec forces hard and fast, not giving them time to recover.

Our efforts finally led us to a confrontation with the leader of the Advozsec forces on Hammer Station, a Battlelord named Kreshan who kept on rambling about our lack of purity. While he did put up quite a fight, the battle ended with his demise.

Fah’dr and I agreed that the station was too dangerous and needed to be destroyed. After taking the controls and overloading the reactor, we double-timed it to our shuttle and made a quick escape. Back at Carrick Station we were again contacted by Satele Shan for our debriefing. Our efforts were greatly appreciated and with that, Fah’dr and I parted ways… perhaps we will meet again in the future.

Of course, for now, Jorgan and I had the former members of Havoc Squad to hunt down and bring to justice. We boarded our ship in the station hanger and set a course for Taris…

Personal Log

Ava Jaxo… she certainly has a way about her that is instantly charming, and I’ve never been able to take my eyes off of those brunettes. After we had rescued the senator from Port Raga, she suggested I take a trip back to Coruscant to see her… I did take her up on her offer and decided to head back to Coruscant for a little rendezvous at her apartment. Just think, I travel all the way back to Coruscant and make my way alone through Black Sun territory just to see this woman… but, a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.

Of course, I didn’t say anything about this to Mr. Cat. Instead, I told him that we were heading back to Coruscant to load up on some more supplies before heading to Taris… which I did, after seeing Ava. During this time I had Mr. Cat go through our weapons and ammunition stores to make sure everything was in working order.

When I did come back, Mr. Cat was still looking over the weapons (I don’t think he ever stops, come to think of it) when we got into a conversation about his former sniper unit, the Deadeyes. Turns out that he after his career with the Deadeyes, he chose to be station on Ord Mantell as a quick path to getting promoted. Unfortunately for him, the former members of Havoc Squad completely ruined that for him.

Computer Log

Just to point things out for people who are wondering, the entire “romance” side of The Old Republic is completely optional. You don’t have to flirt with anyone if you don’t want to and as a result you won’t get any optional missions/quests that will lead you to do anything more than… just flirting.

I’m also interested to know what option female Troopers have at this stage. Does Ava Jaxo exist in the female Trooper storyline or is there a male alternative? If Ava does exist, does the female Trooper get to have a chance at romancing/flirting with another character down the line? If there are any female Troopers out there that know the answer to these questions, let us know.

Now on to the Hammer Station flashpoint… Okay, so I’ll come right out and say it. I’ve cheated in the creation of this entry since I actually skipped doing Hammer Station until my trooper was around lv40 or so. The actual flashpoint itself is set at lv17 and is done between Coruscant and Taris, however at the time I was rushing through Chapter 1 of the game so I could get my Legacy name as quickly as possible and skipped a couple of flashpoints along the way.

This flashpoint is probably the most straightforward and lackluster one in the game… at least I think so. Out of the two flashpoints you can try at lv17, The Esseles has so many things going for it that make it a much more fun experience. It presents more interactions between characters and gives you more light and dark choices along the way while Hammer Station only has the one choice with the rest of the time being spent on getting from start to finish and some boss fights.

Hammer Station is also one of several flashpoints in the game that can be played by both the Republic and Imperial sides of the line too. Jeff, Mav and I did this flashpoint during beta with our Operative, Powertech and Marauder respectively. Oh, and just remember… “YOUR WEAKNESS IS IN YOUR BLOOD!”

// STATUS REPORT //

• Name: Lynk
  Class: Trooper Vanguard
  Level: 17

So now that the secret is out, I can tell you that as I post this entry, my Trooper is already at lv50 haha… of course, I’ll still keep up this pace of posting a log entry once a week, no need to rush things after all.

// END LOG ENTRY