Hyperspace Beacon

Like the hyperspace beacons in Star Wars, this site will guide you to the latest news, information, and commentary about Star Wars: The Old Republic and beyond.

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Deep Shit: Real life Pokemon

As you might know I do a lot of extra research for my Sciencing the Shit Out Video Games column on GameSkinny. What am I to do with all of that extra sciency stuff that I really would like to share? Well that’s what this column on my personal site is all about. Sometimes, I’ll expound on the GameSkinny topic; sometimes, I’ll veer of into another rabbit hole that I traveled during my research. This week is one of those rabbit holes. When I researched how it was possible for Vulpix to be both a fire-type and an ice-type animal, my first stop was looking at extremes in nature. And there are a lot of them. Earth is full of fascinating creatures that really should not exist. In my search for evolutionary extremes, I found many of them. I’m not one for listicles, generally. But I really didn’t know where to draw the line for what animals to include here. So here are my five real-life animals that should be Pokemon.

Continue reading on http://www.hyperspacebeacon.com/2016/09/25/deep-shit-real-life-pokemon/

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Deep Shit: The magnetic force

I am working on some changes to the site right now that will hopefully bring you a bit more of the things you’d like to read, and at the same time, give me a great outlet for telling you some interesting things about Star Wars and science — two of my very favorite things. I will get into the details of what that all means in another post down the road, but I thought it would be fun toss an idea out to you for one of my new columns.

My wife came up with the name for this column after I told her that I want to share some of the extra things that I research when creating my Sciencing the Shit Out of Video Games column on GameSkinny. I usually spend a day researching any one post. I usually try to approach any of the ideas from different angles, so the resulting column is usually only about 10% of the information that I have actually gathered on the subject. But there is so much fascinating stuff to be discovered when you combine science and video games. Although I will likely not be able to share the other 90% in this column, but it does give me an outlet to share, and hopefully, you enjoy it, too.

In this week’s Sciencing the Shit Out of…, I talked about Alolan Raichu. Although Pokemon was never really my thing, there might be child or two in my house who are really interested in it, and who might be excited about Pokemon Sun and Moon hitting the shelves soon. When I saw the gifs of Alolan Raichu, I loved the look and the idea that he floated on his tail. However, I didn’t like the idea that he used telekinesis to float himself on his tail. I’ve actually never really liked that TKs could float themselves. So I looked at a couple of alternatives. Both of them were hoverboards. They are similar to each other, but worked in two very different ways. I think after you finish reading, you’ll understand why I chose to focus on the Lexus board.

The Lenz effect

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plwX5NtF530&ab_channel=HendoHover

The Hendo hoverboard was probably the first hoverboard we thought about in 2015 — the year of Back to the Future 2. The great thing about this board was that it actually floated above the surface of the earth and had zero friction. It seemed to not require anything to stay afloat. Although it was bulky, we knew it was just a prototype, and it would likely get thinner and more streamlined at its final release. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work exactly the way we want it to, regardless of how thin it ends up.

The Hendo hoverboard relies on Lenz law, which was discovered by German physicist Heinrich Lenz in 1834. Wikipedia says that Lenz law is this:

“The direction of current induced in a conductor by a changing magnetic field due to Faraday’s law of induction will be such that it will create a field that opposes the change that produced it.”

If you’re not a physicist, that probably means nothing to you, so I will breakdown simply for you in relation to the Hendo hoverboard. If you drop a magnet through a conductive material it will create an opposing magnetic field which will cause resistance. In practical application, if you drop a magnet through a copper tube, it will drop more slowly than a piece of iron of the same mass. The same kind of field is generated if you spin the magnets around in a circle, and that’s how the Hendo board works.

There are two rotors on either side of the board, spinning. The magnets are arranged in what’s called a Halbach array, which creates a higher magnetic current on one side over the other. (More on this later.) This will increase the resistance on the bottom side of the board, giving the board more ‘lift.’

Here’s the big catch with the Hendo board and why it’s not as amazing as we want it to be: The board has to be placed over a conductive surface, like copper, in order to work. The two rotors spin, and when placed over the copper sheet, they float. It requires a spinning motor and a highly conductive surface to hover over. Sorry, you can’t hover over concrete.

A Halbach array

The GameSkinny article talks about the the Lexus hoverboard, in pretty good detail. However, I did leave out some related but not wholly relevant information about the track itself. Besides the supercooled conductive material in the hoverboard itself, the track is laid out in a Halbach array with extremely powerful neodymium magnets.

The basic breakdown for a Halbach array is to place two poles of the same ‘spin’ next to each other. There is usually a lot of resistance, and the magnets have to be held together physically. However, this is the source of the lift generated by the track, and it is extremely powerful. In the Lexus video, it’s demonstrated by the magnet flipping the coin. The coolest thing is that you can likely make one of these at home with some powerful magnets and a hot glue gun, but wear goggles just in case one of the magnets goes flying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM0sRctOxQc&ab_channel=LexusInternational

Thanks for reading Deeper Shit. If there are any video game tropes that you’d like to see me science the shit out of, let me know in the comments here or on GameSkinny. Also what are your thoughts on hoverboards? Do you think we will ever see one that doesn’t use some trickery like a metal track? Let me know your thoughts about this or about this column in general in the comments below, and I will talk you again next weekend.

Continue reading on http://www.hyperspacebeacon.com/2016/09/17/deep-shit-the-magnetic-force/

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Hyperspace Beacon: Five reasons I still play Star Wars: The Old Republic

It’s hard not to be negative about your favorite game when it appears that it’s changing its original goals. “What? You’re just now realizing this, Larry?” you might be thinking. No, I recognized it when Star Wars: The Old Republic launched its Knights of the Fallen Empire expansion. The studio head James Ohlen is a great nerd and wonderful creator, but he’s easy to read. Fortunately for us, he cannot eloquently lace a presentation with PR speak. During his Star Wars Celebration faux interview (finterview, fauxnerview… there should be a term for that) with Warwick Davis, he couldn’t call the game an MMORPG. It truly appeared that some public relations rep was hanging over his shoulder whispering, “Remember to call it an online roleplaying game.”

This irritated me, but I still log in at least every other day to hang out with friends and play this not-MMORPG. And thanks to positive proponents in the community like Vulkk and SWTORista, I performed an assessment of the reasons why I still played Star Wars: The Old Republic. And in the process I’ve come to realize that some of the reasons are very personal. I understand why some of these reasons aren’t enough to keep some people around. Some people will believe that these reasons are weak reasons to play a game, but that’s OK. I’m not going to attempt to try to convince you to come back or to stick around. I felt that I should share because people have asked.

Catch the rest of the article on Massively OP!

Continue reading on http://www.hyperspacebeacon.com/2016/08/02/hyperspace-beacon-five-reasons-i-still-play-star-wars-the-old-republic/

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Sciencing the Shit Out of Overwatch's Tracer

I have a question: What does a cat, an ape, a wave, a Brit, an Austrian, and theoretical physics have in common? If you said “quantum mechanics” then you’d be absolutely right. If you didn’t say quantum physics, then I will explain it in this week’s Sciencing the Shit Out of Video Games article.

Continue reading on http://www.hyperspacebeacon.com/2016/07/29/sciencing-the-shit-out-of-overwatchs-tracer/

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Sciencing the Shit Out of Pokémon Go Theories

The greatest thing about make a game geared towards children is that you don’t have to explain how things work. I never questioned how the Force worked in Star Wars. It didn’t matter to me that GI Joe guns shot lasers but no one ever got killed. And the capturing mechanics of Pokéballs were an afte

Continue reading on http://www.gameskinny.com/exv7z/sciencing-the-shit-out-of-pokemon-go-pokeball-theories

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Hyperspace Beacon: Wild speculation about SWTOR's Knights of the Eternal Throne

Who else was disappointed by the Star Wars: The Old Republic presentation at Star Wars Celebration over the weekend? I had really hoped that it would be more, but I guess it’s difficult to give too much information about a story-driven expansion when the last expansion hasn’t even finished its sto

Continue reading on http://www.hyperspacebeacon.com/2016/07/19/hyperspace-beacon-wild-speculation-about-swtors-knights-of-the-eternal-throne/

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Sciencing the Shit Out of Pokémon Go Capturing Mechanics

I have a huge problem with a lot of the science-based theories of how Pokéballs capture Pokémon. The matter-to-energy theories mean that there would be city-leveling nuclear explosions every time we captured even the smallest of Pokémon. The transporter theory means that there is a facility some pl

Continue reading on http://www.hyperspacebeacon.com/2016/07/15/sciencing-the-shit-out-of-pokemon-go-capturing-mechanics/

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Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR's mid-term report card scored by Bartle's taxonomy

Well, BioWare, it’s half-way through the year. It’s time to look at how you’ve done with Star Wars: The Old Republic and what can be done for the rest of the year to improve on what you’ve given us. I like to make my judgments based on the Bartle Taxonomy. I believe that it’s a worthy and tested wa

Continue reading on http://www.hyperspacebeacon.com/2016/07/13/hyperspace-beacon-swtors-mid-term-report-card-scored-by-bartles-taxonomy/

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Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR's clear message of indifference for its most loyal players

I don't like to rant. I like my opinions to be measured and thoughtful. But sometimes I need to cut loose and let something off my chest. Last week, I said that I was not going to write about Star Wars: The Old Republic's Dark Vs. Light event in spite of the controversy surrounding it. Controversy always surrounds everything that BioWare does with SWTOR since it inception. I didn’t want to rehash the things that others in the SWTOR community were already saying, even though my opinion was probably a bit contrary to the loudest public opinion. I was even willing to defend BioWare over the event; I thought it had the potential to be challenging and frankly a lot of fun. But after listening to the Producer’s Livestream, I've realized that BioWare has misunderstood precisely why people are so upset about the promotion. I really wanted to talk today about the latest Knights of the Fallen Empire chapter because it was great, but unfortunately, I cannot shake my disappointment in the way that BioWare is handling its veteran and loyal players.

Continue reading on http://www.hyperspacebeacon.com/2016/07/05/hyperspace-beacon-swtors-clear-message-of-indifference-for-its-most-loyal-players/

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It's a Trap Podcast: Episode 14: Lost Stars

This episode Ordoo and Redna cover the novel by Claudia Gray, Lost Stars.  Can Ciena and Thane’s relationship survive the conflicts they face?  How will their experiences define them?

Are you interested in reading the book for yourself? Click the link. Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens Lost Stars

Not much of a reader? Listen to it for free with Audible.

Check out our website It’s a Trap!

For direct download click here.

Summary

It was a day of great hope on the planet Jelucan. The outer rim world was playing host to a delegation of the new government the Galactic Empire. Ciena Ree, a girl of the valley folk, meets Thane Kyrell, who is one of the second-wave settlers from the mountains. Their mutual desire to get an up-close look at one of the Imperial Lambda shuttles brings them to where their journey begins, two paths inexorably intertwined.

After, they are caught fighting with some local boys in the Imperial hangar by Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. He gives them some special attention as a teaching moment for one of his officers. Inspired, they make a pact to work together and become Imperial Officers. For the next seven years they work together to make their shared dream happen, against their families’ wishes. When they both turn fifteen, the announcement comes that they have both been accepted into the Royal Imperial Academy on Coruscant, the most prestigious academy in the Empire.

Thane and Ciena quickly climb to the top of the rankings for their class at the academy. They constantly battle each other for first place. This friendly competition pushes them to be better the same way they pushed each other on Jelucan. Then, in their second year, one of Thane’s projects is sabotaged, and the evidence points to Ciena. Thane doesn’t believe it’s her and has a fellow cadet, Jude Edivon, hack the system and figure out who was behind it. Jude finds out that it was the Office of Student Outcomes.

Thane is livid. They both lost rankings due to the events surrounding the sabotage, and he feels that it is unjust to penalize them for working together. Ciena doesn’t like it, but she trusts that the Academy did it for a good reason. This is the first time that their upbringing in two different cultures impacts their relationship. Ciena’s upbringing, focused on loyalty and personal honor, versus Thane’s cynical upbringing, drives a wedge between the two childhood friends until their final year in the Academy.

They recover their standings and are afforded the opportunity to go to a ball at the Imperial Palace a few weeks before graduation. While there, Thane and Ciena are able to reconnect and forgive the rift that had grown between them. Their relationship also grows into something more than friends.

After the ball at the palace, the final few weeks of Academy dominate their time, and they don’t get to see each other until the graduation ceremony and the free time afterwards. Ciena is assigned to the Star Destroyer, The Devastator, the flagship of Lord Vader. Thane is assigned to the defense fleet for a classified space station. The two believe that a high-value ship like the Devastator would frequent the classified space station where Thane will be based.

Shortly after the start of their assignments, Ciena has her first encounter with the rebels. The Devastator is tasked with capturing a rebel blockade runner, The Tantive IV. Ciena doesn’t understand the motivations of the rebels or how they think they could win, but knowing that they had the plans for the space station that Thane is on provides her with satisfaction when they capture the ship. With the Alderaanian Princess on board they proceed directly to Thane’s post, The Death Star.

Before Thane’s shift ends, his section is called to attention in one of the hangars. After a short speech the officer on duty announces the treachery and punishment of the planet Alderaan. The punishment is delivered immediately. Thane feels the the station humm with power like he has never felt before and then Alderaan explodes. Before Thane’s shift is over, his unit is assigned a mission to investigate the Planet Dantooine.

Ciena is on duty with Nash Windrider, Thane’s academy roommate, a native of Alderaan. She sees him go ashen and gives him a hand to hold as he tries to recover from the shock without letting any other officers see. If Nash were to give any outward signs of distress over the actions taken against Alderaan, it would be considered sympathy to the enemy. Once Nash is off duty, Ciena’s thoughts travel to Thane. She knows that the Death Star is assaulting the rebel base.

Ciena receives a message from Thane telling her that he is being sent out on patrol for a few days. When the Battle at Yavin begins, Ciena is the officer monitoring communications from the Death Star. She and the rest of the crew are stunned when the communications feed suddenly goes dark. Shortly after, Ciena is commanded to take a freighter and rendezvous with Lord Vader and bring him back to the Devastator.

Upon arrival Ciena sees that the Death Star has been destroyed. She thinks of her friend Jude who was on board. When they return to the Devastator she is met by Nash, who informs her that Thane’s transport had received orders to return to the Death Star.

Thane’s transport has been on Dantooine for a week before they receive orders on what to do. They arrive at the fleet, and Thane is ordered to the Star Destroyer Eliminator within the hour. As he disembarks, he discovers that he is indeed on board the Devastator. As he is making his way across the hold,Ciena calls out to him. After a few stolen minutes together they each have to go.

Thane’s assignment takes him to spice planet of Kerev Doi. With the downtime, he thinks more and more about the brutality of the Empire. When he sees a group of Bodach’i in slavery to the Empire as a sanction, it is the last straw. Thane makes a call to Ciena to talk about leaving the the service in code. When the call ends, Thane gets all his money together and leaves Kerev Doi and the Empire behind.

Ciena is shocked when she finds out that Thane has deserted. She meets with ISB officer Captain Ronnadamn and is assigned the duty of tracking down Thane. She is to report everything she finds back to him. Ciena begins her search on their home world of Jelucan. She finds Thane quickly on the planet and they come to realize they are still far apart on how they feel about the Empire.

Thane is determined to leave and wants Ciena to join him. Ciena’s loyalty remains to the Empire; her upbringing prevents her from breaking an oath. The two part ways after a night together. Thane leaves for the outer rim and Ciena returns to report to Captain Ronnadam. She tells him that Thane committed suicide on Jelucan.

Thane joins a freighter, The Might Oak Apocalypse, lead by Lohgarra. The ship travels the outer rim running various cargo missions. Frequently those missions provide little to no profit. Lohgarra likes to help out where she can and helps deliver food and medical supplies to planets in need. This allows Thane to see how the Empire truly operates. He no longer has any illusions about whom he had served in the past.

On one mission to deliver some medical supplies, he is approached by a man named Wedge Antilles. He ends up leaving the MOA to join Wedge and the Rebellion. Thane doesn’t really care about their high-minded ideals: he just wants to make sure the corrupt and evil Empire is destroyed. Soon after he joins up, the Alliance moves to its new base on Hoth.

Thane helps to take out one of the AT-AT’s during the battle of Hoth with some fancy flying. He faces his doubts when he is forced to destroy a Tie fighter as he is escorting the transports out of the system. He fears that Ciena was piloting the ship he destroyed. After a brief meeting with Mon Mothma his resolve is restored. After the meeting Thane meets some new recruits, including Ciena’s best friend from the Academy, Kendy Idele.

Thane and Kendy are assigned to a new special operations squadron. With this squad they go on a special mission where they see a massive build-up of Imperial military. Thane suspects that the Emperor is going to be there. They are forced to leave their observation position by a flight of tie fighters led by Cienna and Nash. Ciena is under secret orders to let one or more escape with what they have observed.

Thane’s group escapes with only one pilot being killed. Ciena and Nash also survive the encounter. After this encounter the Imperial fleet jumps to another system that seems like the middle of nowhere to Ciena. The nearest system that even has a name is Endor. The fleet is put on alert for combat and jumps to find what they are defending, a new Death Star.

Ciena is there when Thane’s fleet arrives. His squadron begins fighting for their lives in the Emperor’s trap. When Thane believes that all is lost, General Solo’s team comes through allowing the fleet to attack the Death Star directly. Thane’s squad covers General Calrissian’s entrance as he goes after the core. When the word is given, they move out of the blast range of the Death Star. Ciena isn’t that lucky, she’s decided the best way for her to serve is in her TIE fighter, rather than on the bridge, but her TIE fighter is heavily damaged from the destruction of the Death Star.

Ciena’s recovery is slow, but she doesn’t allow herself to rest. To help keep her mind off the evil she serves, Ciena helps write the letters to the families of those that died on Endor. Upon her recovery, she is promoted yet again in her career to the rank of Captain, in command of her own Star Destroyer, the Inflicter.

She takes her ship into battle over the planet Jakku. The battle isn’t going well for the Imperial forces. The Alliance sends a strike team to capture Ciena’s Star destroyer to help fill their need for large capital ships. Upon realizing that the ship is lost and the self destruct disabled, Ciena orders all to abandon ship and locks herself behind blast doors to guide the ship to a crash landing on the planet’s surface.

Thane is leading the Alliance strike team and recognizes Ciena’s voice. He then fights his way to the command deck and figures out the password to get through to Ciena. Ciena refuses to leave with him and he refuses to leave her behind. The two lovers begin fighting, but Thane is able to stun Ciena and get her to the escape pod.

They are picked up by Alliance forces and Ciena is promptly imprisoned. After two weeks Ciena finally agrees to see Thane. After a brief discussion, Thane suggests some options to help Ciena, but she refuses to betray her oath to the Empire and provides no intelligence to the Alliance.

Character List

Ciena Ree – Valley Thane Kyrell – 2nd Wave Mothar Drik

Grand Moff Tarkin Verine Ree, Ciena’s Mother Peron Ree, Ciena’s Father

Oris Kyrell; Thane’s Father Ganaire Kyrell; Thane’s Mother Dalven Kyrell; Thane’s Brother

Imperial cadets Nash Windrider – Alderaan Ved Foslo – Coruscant Kendy Idele – Iloh Human with green hair apparently Jude Edivon – Bespin

Commandant Deenlark Harn Igern – composer

Rebel Personel

Leia Organa – Senator Wedge Antilles Luke skywalker Dak Ralter General Rieekan Yendor Bizu – Yendor’s son Mon Mothma Smikes Sondiv Sella

Imperial Personnel Captain Ronnadam, Senior ISB Officer Admiral Ozzel Darth Vader Captain/Admiral Piett Emperor Palpatine Moff Jerjerrod Grand Vizier Mas Amedda (tried to hold the empire tearing itself apart) Moff Randd Commander Brisney Commander Erisher                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Berisse Sai

Might Oak Apocalypse (MOA) Crew Lohgarra, Wookiee Brill, Tarsunt Methwat Tann, Ithorian JJH2 – astromech droid model and name made up no image

Ships Devastator Tantive IV Death Star – array of giant kyber crystals Eliminator Liberty Millennium Falcon Inflictor – Downed on Jakku Subjugator, Imperial Vessel                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Garrote, Imperial Vessel

Locations Jelucan                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Valentia Coruscant Alderaan: Cloudshape Falls, Isatabith rain forest Iloh Dantooine Lothal Kerev Doi – one of the very few places in the galaxy to which you could turn for funds that could support and entire rebel army Thurhanna Minor Zeitooine Ivarujar Oulanne, Only mentioned but is in Legends Dinwa Prime Arieli Ivera X Miriatin, Mentioned only D’Qar, Mentioned only Hudalla System Anoat sector  Naboo Nea Dajanam Ponemah, Mentioned only Jakku Hosnian system, Mentioned only Queluhan Nebula, Mentioned only

Animal Muunyak

Species Bodach’i Falleen Ottegan Volpai

Tool Louar clamp, Mentioned only

It’s a Trap Podcast: Episode 14: Lost Stars was originally published on Hyperspace Beacon

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It's a Trap Podcast: Episode 13: Aftermath

Jesse from the Passionately Casual Podcast joins us as we take a look at Chuck Wendig’s novel Aftermath.  Can Sloane bring the fractured Imperial leadership together?  Can Norra Wexley balance her family and her duties?

Do you have something you want to say about this episode? Make them below.

Did we inspire you to read the book yourself?  Aftermath: Star Wars: Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Do you want get the book, but don’t have time to read it?  Listen to it instead for free.  Get with your trial subscription on Audible.

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For direct download click here

Check out our website It’s A Trap!!

Summary

Victory!! The Rebel Alliance has struck a major blow against the Galactic Empire. The second Death Star has been destroyed and along with it Emperor Palpatine. They have made great strides to champion their cause across the galaxy. Imperial Governors and fleet officers have defected to the Alliance. On the planet of Chandrilla, the Alliance has formed a new government. Mon Mothma is placed in charge of The New Republic.

Even with the imperial leadership fractured, Admiral Ackbar is cautious. The crafty Mon Cal knows that the Imperial Navy still has the strength to be a real threat. The battle for the galaxies freedom is balanced on a knife’s edge. To prevent falling into another trap, Ackbar sends out countless ships and commandeered probe droids to get a better picture of the Galaxy. One is piloted by a hero of the rebellion Wedge Antilles.

Captain Antilles travels to several worlds in the outer rim searching for Imperial activity. When he reaches the world of Akiva he finds more than he plans. He is confronted by several star destroyers. The Empire is having a meeting between several high level figures. Admiral Rea Sloane is gathering together Moff Pandion, General Jylia Shale, Arsin Crassus, and Yupe Tashu in order to bring the Empire back under a structured leadership. Admiral Sloane is eager to keep this meetings existence confidential.

Before Wedge can make the jump to hyperspace he is caught in their tractor beam. Not one to give up easily Antilles uses his ship as a distraction in the hanger and slips away into the belly of the star destroyer. He plans to infiltrate the communications center of the ship and send a warning to the New Republic.

Admiral Rea Sloane is much craftier than most imperials and is able to divine Wedge’s plan. She finds him just as he is sending out a message and stops it from leaving the system. Sloane takes Wedge into custody and takes him down to Akiva. Once she is on the planet with him she puts him in the prison of the Satrap, the leader of Akiva. There Sloane interrogates Antilles for more information on his mission to the system.

The rebel hero’s efforts do not fall on deaf ears. A member of the strike team that flew with him into the Death Star has just returned home to the planet to retrieve her estranged son. Norra Wexley is torn between her duty to the cause she has been fighting for and her responsibility to her son Temmin.

Temmin’s choices while Norra has been away prove to be a problem. He is a rival to the crime lord Surat Nuat. Norra is able to save her son, and his sadistic B1 battle droid Mr. Bones, from Surat’s goons when they show up at his shop. Temmin refuses to leave Akiva and his shop behind. Norra does what any responsible mother does; she drugs him and attempts to kidnap him. Unfortunately for her when she returns to the ship that smuggled her onto the planet the captain is dead and storm troopers are searching the area.

Norra and Temmin manage to escape the storm troopers, but Temmin takes the opportunity to split off and head back to his shop to collect his things. When he gets there Surat’s thugs are already there. Temmin is discovered observing the shop and is captured. He is taken before Surat and is condemned to have his tongue cut out and maybe more. Before this happens a Zabrak bounty hunter named Jas Emari and a former Imperial Loyalty officer, Sinjar Rath Velus, escape Surat’s dungeon themselves, each of them being captured under different circumstances, and rescue Temmin.

Just as they are exiting Surat’s Cantina base they are set upon by Surat’s goons and Imperial storm troopers.  The two forces join together to pursue the escapees. The three are eventually cornered in an ally. They take cover and then Temmin sees something fly into the group of thugs and stormtroopers. Mr. Bones surprises the group and begins shooting and hacking at his master’s enemies. At the same time Norra Wexley delivers cover fire and the group is able to escape.

Meanwhile Admiral Ackbar is on the hunt for his missing officer. He determines that Wedge’s last location was Akiva and that their is a hidden imperial presence, thanks to the help of a mysterious aid known only as, The Operator. He sends a single team commanded by Jom Barrel. Their drop ship is shot down in high orbit after they jump out from a high orbit entry. As they are descending through the atmosphere turbo lasers begin taking the team out one by one. Jom is the only one that is able to evade the lasers and make it to the surface. His arm is broken from the rough landing.

After regrouping at Temmin’s aunt’s house, Norra and her ragtag group discuss their situation. Jas, the bounty hunter and Sinjir want to collect the New Republic’s bounty on the group of Imperials. Norra refuses but Temmin joins with the other two so she agrees to help. They begin the main assault on the Satrap’s Palace and capture a broadcasting station, record, and broadcast a fake video of an Imperial officer killing an innocent boy. Norra hopes this will rally the people to attack when they see the Palace under attack. They use old underground tunnels to sneak into the Satrap’s palace, planning to capture the Imperial elite and rescue Wedge Antilles.

As the team moves through the tunnels they notice that Temmin is acting oddly. They find out in short order what the cause is. It’s a Trap, Temmin has betrayed them in order to secure his and Norra’s safety so that they can remain on the planet. Admiral Sloane has other plans in mind and alters the deal. She has Temmin escorted out by way of the roof. As the StormTroopers march him to the edge he sees that an angry mob has formed around the Palace. Then he is flung over the edge.

Temmin is saved by the crowd. The group catches him and lowers him to the ground unhurt. The young man is distraught at what he has done and determines to save his mother and the others. He begins to climb the walls of the Satrap’s Palace with the crowd. Temmin is able to make it to the landing platform just as the ship carrying the Imperials and their prisoners lifts off. Temmin leaps and clings to the side of the ship.

Sloane’s personal pilot, Morna Kee, informs the Admiral that something is attached to the hull. The Admiral orders StormTroopers to investigate. When one of them opens the hatch to look out Temmin grabs him by his helmet and flings him into the open air. Temmin climbs aboard. Two more troopers greet him with blasters raised. Temmin runs. He doesn’t make it far when the ship is hit by a blast that takes out the wall and the two troops, Temmin makes it through a cabins pressure door.

Jom Barrell the lone member of the spec ops team is able to capture one of the turbo lasers. He uses it to blast the Imperial ship. Unknowingly he has saved Temmin. Morna is able to evade the the rest of Jom’s fire and make it into orbit. They find their 3 star destroyers in a pitched battle with the New Republic fleet. Sloan commands Morna to get them to the Vigilance, her star destroyer. Republic Commander Agate sees Sloanes ship and realizes it is a valuable information source. She has her fleet concentrate fire on the Star destroyer it is heading towards.

Temmin makes it into the service conduits of the ship and finds Norra, Jas and Sinjir. He is able to uncuff them through a floor grate. With the cuffs off Jas is able to overpower Moff Pandion and capture his blaster. She then holds him as a hostage. Then everything goes dark. The ship crashes into the hanger of the Vigilance. Everyone is tossed around. Jas is the first to come too and stuns the Imperials.

Norra, Temmin, and Sinjir wake and open a hole in the hull and escape to the flight deck. The Star destroyer is close to destruction from the Republic fleets attacks. They see that a few shuttles are still in the hanger. When one of the shuttles takes off they realize that someone else from their ship has survived and escaped. Norra orders the other three to collect the Imperials and get them on a shuttle. She has Temmin search the ship for Wedge and get him out as well. Norra Wexley takes a tie fighter to go after Sloane.

Norra contacts the Republic fleet and lets them know she’s a friendly and she gets support in her pursuit. As she relentlessly fires on the shuttle Pandion reveals he has boarded the ship with Sloane and she shoots the moff in the belly and shoves him into the back of the ship. Sloane has Morna disconnect the cockpit escape pod and blow up the rest of the ship. They make it to one of the other Star destroyers. Safely on board Sloane makes the jump out of the system.

  Characters Wedge Antilles: rebel pilot Admiral Rae Sloane: imperial officer Lieutenant Nils Owerto Norra Susser/Wexley Sinjir Rath Velus. Imperial loyalty officer. Tracene Kane, reporter Olia Choko, public relations representative for Mon Mothma and the new Senate. Lug, trandoshan cameraman Temmin Wexley                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Mr. Bones, Temmin’s Modified B1-Battledroid Yupe Tashu Moff Pandion Arsin Crassus General Jylia Shale Jas Emari                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Mon Mothma Hostis Ij, Advisor to Mon Mothma Auxi Kray Korbin, Advisor to Mon Mothma Orgadomo Dokura Surat Nuat, Head of the Akiva Crime Syndicate Admiral Ackbar The operator Deltura Pade, Young man from Uyter trying to reach the Imperial Academy

Material HH-87 Starhopper: the Rover. Home One

Locations Hanna City. Uyter                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Myrra, City on Akiva

Planets Akiva Florrum, mentioned Ryloth, mentioned Hinari, mentioned Abafar, mentioned Raydonia, mentioned Chandrila Naalol Species Nimbanel

It’s a Trap Podcast: Episode 13: Aftermath was originally published on Hyperspace Beacon

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It's a Trap Podcast Episode 12: Marvel Star Wars Book 1 (Issues 1-6)

We are joined by Marshall and Will from The Usual Podcast as we feast on Marvel’s Star Wars comic.  Who is the mysterious person looking for Han Solo?  Can Luke Skywalker overcome his challenges?

Do you have a thought about this episode that could change the shape of the galaxy? Or just a comment? leave it below

Do you want to get the comics for yourself?  Star Wars Vol. 1: Skywalker Strikes

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It is a period of renewed hope for the Rebellion.  The evil Galactic Empire’s greatest weapon, the Death Star, has been destroyed by the young Rebel pilot, Luke Skywalker.  With the Imperial forces in disarray, the Rebels look to press their advantage by unleashing a daring offensive throughout the far reaches of space, hoping to defeat the Empire once and for all and at last restore freedom to the galaxy.

A Tatooine shuttle is approaching Cymoon 1, the Empire’s largest weapons factory.  The Imperial overseer Aggadeen believes that it is an envoy of the Illustrious Jabba the Hutt.  When the ship lands Han Solo steps out with R2-D2 and flanked by two masked guards.  Aggadeen escorts the group into the factory to lead them to the negotiation room to await the Imperial negotiator.  Before they get there Han signals R2 and the true hero of Star Wars strikes.  He disables three of the Stormtroopers while Han, Leia Organa, and Luke Skywalker each take out one.

With the guards disabled Han is able to persuade Aggadeen, with a little help from R2, to give them directions to the reactor control room.  Once there the Rebel team sets the core to overload and destroy the facility.  While R2 is slicing the computer Luke wanders off from the rest of them and finds a large group of prisoners that he then sets free.  As they begin to head out Chewbacca reports from his sniper position outside that a shuttle is approaching.  The Imperial negotiator has arrived, Darth Vader.

Leia orders Chewy to shoot Vader even though it will set the whole moon on alert.  Chewy begins to fire at Vader.  The Sith Lord is able to avoid assassination and topple the tower that Chewy is in.  He then orders a full alert and begins his hunt for the rebels.  Han calls C-3P0 to start the autopilot on the Millennium Falcon for extraction.  Unfortunately while they were away some scavengers had begun to dismantle the Falcon and it would not respond.  Instead of trying to hold out, the team of Rebels steal an AT-AT and make their way to the Falcon.

Leia realizes that Luke has wandered off again.  The young pilot finds and confronts Vader.  Luke is quickly disarmed by Vader, but Han saves him by putting the foot of his Walker through the room separating the two.  A running fire fight continues as the group continues to try and escape the Empire.  Aggadeen is able to stop the core meltdown, so Luke steals a speeder bike and takes it into the facility and destroys it.  He makes it back to the Falcon with the rest of the team to find Chewy making the last of the needed repairs to get off the ground.

After his humiliating defeat at the hands of Vader, Luke decides he and R2 must go out and try to find more information about Ben Kenobi and the ways of the Force.  Han is trying to repair the Falcon after the attack on Cymoon 1,  but he can’t get more parts until he completes another mission for Leia and the Rebellion.  On Tatooine we see Boba Fett hunting a boy that left the planet with Ben Kenobi, and we see a mysterious bounty hunter searching for Han Solo.

The first place Luke thinks to look for more information is at Kenobi’s house on Tatooine.  After he clears out some Tusken Raiders he enters the hut just in time for Boba Fett to catch up with him.  Boba Fett blinds Luke with an EMP/Flash grenade but Luke puts up a fight despite.  Just as Fett is about to defeat Luke, a box that Ben left for him flies through the air and saves him by knocking Fett out from behind.  Luke has R2 lead him back to his X-wing to leave the planet.

Han and Leia’s scouting mission to find a new base for the Rebels is slow going.  They are on a stolen Imperial shuttle so they can move about more freely in their search.  The duo encounter a pair of Tie Fighters in the Moddell Sector that ask for clearance to be in the sector.  Just as the codes Leia gave them are being cleared Han gets nervous and makes a break for it.  The Imperials are alarmed and give chase demanding to board the ship.  Han leads Leia to the Monsua Nebula.  Within the electric storms of the nebula is one of Han’s secret hideouts, a small planet.

Han claims that only he and Chewy know about the little planet.  He then makes a pass at Leia that doesn’t go over very well and she storms out of Han’s cave back to the ship.  Han chases after her and as their argument escalates they hear the roar of an engine.  The bounty hunter from Tatooine is coming in.  Han recognizes the ship and tells Leia to run as the ship strafes them with cannon fire.  When the bounty hunter lands and steps out Leia asks who is it.  The mysterious woman introduces herself, Sana Solo, Hans wife

Noteworthy Extras

Admiral Ackbar

Mon Mothma

General Jan Dodanna

Greedo

Comic Creators

Writer Jason Aaron

Artist John Cassaday

Colorist Laura Martin

Letterer Chris Eliopoulous

Cover Artist Cassaday and Martin

Ass. Editor Charles Beacham

Editor Jordan D White

It’s a Trap Podcast Episode 12: Marvel Star Wars Book 1 (Issues 1-6) was originally published on Hyperspace Beacon

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It's a Trap: Episode 11: Darth Vader Issues 1-6

We delve into the world of the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader, with special guests Richard and Sarah the hosts Skywalking through Neverland.  Does Vader truly understand his relationship with Palpatine? Do you feel this strengthens Luke’s point of view about Vader or Obi-Wan’s?

Do you have some comments you want to make about this episode? Make them below.

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To purchase the comics click Star Wars: Darth Vader Vol. 1

For direct download click here.

    It is a period of insurgence. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base on the moon of Yavin have won a shocking surprise victory against the rightful reign of the Galactic Empire.  The Empire’s ultimate peacekeeping force, The Death Star, was destroyed due to an unforeseen flaw.  Without this deterrent, the rule of law is in danger. Chaos looms!

Darth Vader enters  Jabba the Hutt’s palace.  He kills the first to guards and tells Bib Fortuna, the majordomo,  that he will speak with the Hutt.  When Jabba sees him he asks why he has come a day early and what can he do for the Empire.  Vader commands for the audience to be cleared out and tells Jabba he needs something done for him, not the Empire.  Jabba takes some persuading, but agrees.

A day earlier Vader meets with Emperor Palpatine.  They have a lengthy discussion about Vader’s failures of late, a recent attack on a facility on Cymoon and the destruction of the Death Star.  Palpatine kills the administrator of the facility telling Vader that the man won’t fail him again, but questions if Vader will.  When Vader exclaims that he will destroy the rebels Palpatine explains to Vader that he is being demoted.  

He explains that General Tagge is being given supremacy.  Tagge’s philosophy is that a large fleet must be dominant while the second Death Star is being constructed.  Vader has been assigned to work under the General’s orders. As Vader is leaving to meet with the hutts to negotiate materials, Emperor Palpatine has a visitor.  When Vader asks who he is, Palpatine reminds him of the role of a Sith apprentice.

Again on Tatooine after speaking with Jabba, Vader meets with two bounty hunters that Jabba the Hutt has arranged.  He assigns a wookiee named Black Krrsantan to capture the man the Emperor was meeting with.  The other bounty hunter, Boba Fett, he assigns to capture the young pilot who left Tatooine with Obi Wan Kenobi on the Millennium Falcon.

While the bounty hunters are busy doing their work Vader undertakes a task for General Tagge.  Tagge also assigns Vader an adjutant, Lieutenant Oon-Ai, who is to report to Tagge on all matters.  Vader is irritated, but goes along with the arrangement.  They are then able to capture a droid controlled pirate corvette and send it back to its base. Vader, Oon-Ai, and some stormtroopers are aboard the corvette and storm the base in order to get an information dump from their main computer.  Vader has an astromech plant some information in the computer before they hack the system.  Upon returning to General Tagge, Vader reveals that Oon-Ai was a leak and has the former adjutant thrown in the brig.  

Divested of the spy, Vader is able to pursue his own objectives again.  He recruits a rogue droid archaeologist Doctor Aphra.  While they discuss what Vader is after he helps her to activate the droid Triple Zero and BT-1,  both are homicidal droids, but now loyal to Aphra and Vader.  After Vader reveals that he is seeking a droid army to do his bidding, Aphra says that she was supposed to investigate a droid factory on Geonosis for the Droid Gotra, but will take him there instead.

Once they reach Geonosis they find that a Geonosian queen has a machine that is producing the droids.  Vader and Aphra steal it from the crazed Queen.  After Aphra gets the production machine up and running Black Krrsantan contacts them and delivers his target.  The man that the Emperor met with refuses to talk.  Vader decides to leave him in the hands of Triple Zero,  the sadistic protocol droid.  Triple Zero is able to find out that Dr Cylo IV was in charge of a research facility where he is creating replacements for Vader.

Vader and Aphra assault the research facility,  they meet little resistance until they reach the Dojo.  There Vader is cut off from his other forces and faces off against two humans wielding lightsabers.  He quickly realizes that they are not using the force, but still have great speed and agility.  Dr Cylo V walks in and stops the fight.  He explains the purpose of the creation of the twins that Vader was fighting with, and informs Vader that he has been working on it for twenty years.

Just as Vader is about to strike Cylo down, Palpatine enters and commands him to stop.  Cylo then introduces all of his creations.  Morit and Aiolin, technologically enhanced humans.  A Trandoshan that has been cyber animated so it feels no pain.  Tulon a cybernetic enhanced human with a swarm of drones and Commander Karbin a Mon Cal that has been turned into an updated version of General Grievous.

Palpatine commands that they give a real demonstration and Dr. Cylo has them fight to the death.  This continues until the Trandoshan dies, at this point the Emperor calls a stop to the fight.  Palpatine dismisses everyone except for Vader.  He says that he is impressed with Vader gathering his own forces and working outside of his system.  He then reminds Vader of the nature of the relationship between a Sith master and his apprentice.  When Vader questions Palpatine’s plans to replace him for the past twenty years they Emperor tells Vader that the Dark side is strength and he must prove himself.

Vader returns to his ship and commands Aphra to launch immediately.  She does and then informs Vader that Boba Fett was ready to report.  When Vader meets with Fett on his star destroyer he learns that the bounty hunter has failed.  Vader then asks if Fett was able to learn anything useful.  Boba Fett tells him he has learned one thing, the pilot’s name, Skywalker.

Other Characters

Max Rebo

Aggadeen

Sand People

Ben Kenobi

Utani Xane

Quarantine World III

Ark Angel

It’s a Trap: Episode 11: Darth Vader Issues 1-6 was originally published on Hyperspace Beacon

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It's a Trap Podcast: Episode 10: The Clone Wars Movie

  Chill Joins us as we discuss the theatrical release that started the Clone Wars TV Series.  Do you find Ashoka annoying when you first meet her?  How do Anakin and Ashoka compare and contrast?

If you have thoughts or comments leave them below

If you like our work check out our site at It’s a Trap!

If you want to purchase the content we covered you can click the link:  Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Widescreen Edition)

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  Plot Summary

The film begins with a narrator explaining the state of the war. The Separatists control the majority of the hyperlanes, leaving Republic forces stranded in different parts of the Outer Rim. An octopus-like craft heads for Tatooine to capture Jabba the Hutt‘s son Rotta as part of a plan to make the Hutts join theClone Wars. Meanwhile, a fierce battle is taking place on the crystalline planet ofChristophsis between the Republic’s very limited clone army and the Retail Caucus forces.

With the help of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Rex and Cody, the clones steadily advance on the Separatists’ forces, gaining the Republic an early victory. The victory doesn’t last long, though, as the droid army under GeneralLoathsom soon returns for more bloodshed. With no communications or the ability to fly in reinforcements, the fate of the few remaining clone soldiers are in the hands of Obi-Wan and Anakin. A shuttle soon comes with an important delivery; thinking it’s reinforcements, the Jedi go to investigate – only to find a young Padawan named Ahsoka Tano, who insists that she has been sent by Master Yoda to serve as Anakin’s Padawan. The battle resumes, with Separatistforces advancing behind an expanding shield which the Republic’s artillery is unable to penetrate. Tasked with taking down the deflector shield, Anakin and Ahsoka succeed in penetrating the enemy lines, using all their stealth, cunning and ability to improvise, while Obi-Wan stalls for time by holding a fake surrender negotiation with Loathsom.

Soon after the final victory for the Republic on Christophsis, Master Yoda arrives with the urgent message that a mysterious group of renegades has kidnapped Jabba’s son, and it’s up to Anakin, Ahsoka, Rex and the clones to rescue him and bring him back home safely. Obi-Wan flies to Tatooine to assure Jabba that Rotta will be returned safely and to secure a promise by the Hutts to use their trading routes for safe passage within the Outer Rim.

After briefing in a Republic flagship, Anakin’s forces descend through the clouds of the jungle planet of Teth for one of the many natural stone pillars which litter the landscape. Under heavy fire, Anakin, Ahsoka and Rex storm the monasteryatop the pillar and find Rotta, who has gotten sick, only to be caught in an elaborate trap: Count Dooku has staged the kidnapping himself in order to blacklist the Jedi among the Hutts. First he has the Jedi retrieve the young Hutt to secure fake evidence, then Asajj Ventress, as the overseer of the operation, is charged with either retrieving or killing the young Huttlet.

While quarreling all the while about the proper procedure, yet slowly gaining respect of one another, Anakin and Ahsoka manage to escape the trap along with R2-D2 and hijack a derelict transport, which they use to travel to Tatooine. Ahsoka uses medicine onboard to treat the sick Huttlet. Obi-Wan, alerted by Anakin, arrives just in time to relieve Rex and the rest of his forces and engages Ventress in combat where he manages to defeat her, though Ventress flees in the face of capture.

In the meantime, Senator Amidala learns of Anakin’s mission. Worried about him, she decides to contact Jabba’s uncle,Ziro the Hutt, who lives in a shady part of Coruscant. The Hutt strangely refuses to cooperate, and soon Padmé finds out why: Ziro has actually conspired with Dooku to engineer the downfall of his nephew to seize the power over the Hutt clans for himself. Padmé is discovered and detained, but a chance call by C-3PO enables her to summon help, and Ziro is soon arrested by the Coruscant Guard.

Upon their arrival on Tatooine, Anakin and Ahsoka are attacked by MagnaGuards and shot down. Faced with a long way across desert sands and relentless opponents, Anakin devises a ruse; when Dooku corners Anakin, the pack he is carrying is revealed to contain merely rocks. Ahsoka and R2 travel with Rotta to Jabba’s palace unmolested, but just as they near it, Ahsoka is ambushed by three MagnaGuards, whom she narrowly defeats. But as Anakin and Ahsoka enter the palace one after another, they are threatened with execution by Jabba’s men even though Rotta is safely returned. Padmé calls just in time to convince Jabba of his uncle’s duplicity, while Anakin and Ahsoka are triumphantly retrieved by Obi-Wan, Yoda, Cody and the clones.

Summary Courtesy of Wookiepedia

It’s a Trap Podcast: Episode 10: The Clone Wars Movie was originally published on Hyperspace Beacon

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It's a Trap Podcast Episode 09: Dark Disciple

Quinlan Voss Jedi Master,  skilled at espionage, teams up with Asajj Ventress, Dark Assassin, in order to carry out the Jedi Councils most controversial mission ever.  Can two enemies find common ground in order to forge an alliance?

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The Clone Wars have been raging for three bloody years.  Countless planets have been ravaged in the conflict.  Count Dooku’s droid army has struck another blow against the Galactic Republic, on the planet of Mahranee, and to further drive home his victory he gives the order for all of the inhabitants to be killed.  

Upon receiving news of this, the Jedi Council is thrown into turmoil.  They desire a quick end to the war and Master Mace Windu has a controversial suggestion.  Since the war and all it’s conspiracies are tied together in one person Windu suggests a direct approach.  He believes the Separatists will turn on each other after that is done.

Yoda voices Windu’s plan more clearly.  Assassination.  Obi-Wan Kenobi immediately objects, but after consideration they decide to proceed with the plan.  Quinlan Vos (aka Tal Khar) is selected because he has spent many years infiltrating criminal organizations in order to bring them down.  

This decided, Obi-Wan makes his own controversial suggestion.  Quinlan should seek out someone with experience dealing with Dooku and a desire to eliminate him.  Asajj Ventress!  Kenobi informs Quinlan that he will have to convince her to go after Dooku without revealing that he is a Jedi.

Master Vos finds Ventress on the moon of Pantera, tracking a bounty and creating an opportunity to make contact.  Posing as a hunter Quinlan is able to convince Ventress to work with him because he knows how to find the target.  She reluctantly agrees.

Quinlan is able to find the man through his unusual force power, psychometry.  He leads Ventress to the target and they are able to capture him.  They take the bounty to her ship and Vos is able to convince Ventress to let him be her partner.  After working together on several jobs they develop a great deal of respect for each other.

Having become an effective team they are put to a test when they take a job to rescue the family of a Pyke Crime Lord.  The family is held on the planet of Mustafar by the Black Sun Crime Syndicate.  They are able to rescue the children by sneaking in,  but are discovered before they are able to find the mother.  They return again posing as envoys of the Pyke to negotiate terms.  When they see that the mother is alive they rescue her and escape.

They return the family, but while they are flying out, a Black Sun strike force approaches to attack the Pyke Compound.  Seeing the inevitable destruction of the innocent children and mother effects Vos deeply.  It is now that he reveals himself to Ventress as a Jedi,  and she claims to have already known.  Quinlan then explains the Jedi Order’s plan to assassinate Count Dooku.

Ventress agrees to help him, but explains that he will have to leave behind almost everything that makes him a Jedi to do so. Quinlan says he is willing to do whatever it takes to stop Dooku and put an end to the war.  Ventress agrees to help him, but is reluctant due to her burgeoning feelings towards Quinlan.

They travel to Dathomir, Ventress’ home planet, to begin Vos’ training.   During this time their feelings for each other grow from respect to passion.  They embrace each other as Vos’ works to develop his connection to the dark side.  His training culminates in a trial where he must summon an ancient creature, The Sleeper, from the depths of the pool of life.  He must use the force to dominate it’s mind and make it submit to his will.  Then he must kill it.

One of Ventress contacts informs them of an upcoming event that Dooku will attend.  Ventress’ contact gets them the needed invite to the gala event.  While they watch Dooku speak they see General Grievous in attendance and come up with a plan to neutralize the droid general.

Ventress approaches Dooku in the middle of the party to challenge him to a duel and Quinlan slips away to find Grievous. They know Grievous will be contacted by Dooku as soon as Ventress left the Count’s side. Vos is able to intercept and trap Grievous.

Ventress and Dooku begin the duel, but Vos joins the fight almost immediately.  They battle back and forth,  but take to long.  Dooku is able to knock Ventress out for a moment and Grievous joins the fight.  The two are separated in the fight and Dooku captures Vos.  Ventress, seeing that their is no way for her to save him, escapes the planet.

Devastated that her lover’s been captured by the man she despises most, she hatches a plan to rescue him with the assistance of Boba Fett and his team of bounty hunters; Bossk, Embo, Highsinger, and Latts Razzi.  They plan to attack a supply shipment when it lands at Dooku’s stronghold in order to create a distraction while Ventress goes after Vos.  The plan turns disastrous as soon as she finds Vos kneeling in his cell with the lightsaber of his former master, Tholme, which Ventress had delivered to Dooku.  

Vos attacks her with the full power of the dark side.  He is consumed with hatred and Ventress is barely able to escape.  As Ventress and Boba Fett’s team are fighting to leave she see’s Dooku with Vos standing at his side.  She has lost the man she loves to the man she most hates.

With nothing left to do she travels to Coruscant to meet Obi-Wan in Vos’ place.  Obi wan is surprised, but listens to her story and believes her.  He takes her to the Jedi Council, who decide to attempt to capture Vos.  Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker are to work with Ventress to assault the ship that Vos is commanding.  Boarding the ship, they find Quinlan in the Brig instead of on the bridge. They get away with him, but Ventress is convinced that he is still consumed by the darkside.

Vos is accepted back into the Jedi and Ventress goes her way.  Vos performs his tasks as he should but without his previous jolly attitude.  After a few missions Vos is given a little more freedom.  Once he is free he meets up with Ventress.  He tells her that he has a few more things to do to help defeat Dooku but then he is done and he wants to be with her.

Yoda is able to determine through the force that Vos is still consumed by the dark side even though he is concealing it.  The council decides that execution may be the only option but Kenobi proposes that they test Vos.  They decide that by assigning him the task of assassinating Dooku again, he might be redeemed back to the light.

With this task, Vos recruits Ventress to help him again.  With the Council’s approval and latest intel, they board the Banshee for the planet Christophsis.  In orbit, they find Dooku’s fleet engaged in battle with the republic.  Vos had Ventress edge her ship just far enough into the hanger for him to jump out.  After Ventress pulls her ship away a captured Separatist ship carrying Kenobi and Skywalker sets down.

Skywalker has use of a droid he is controlling remotely and asks where Dooku is. They sneak into Dooku’s observation room to see how things play out with Vos.  When Vos arrives he pulls his lightsaber back to himself and attacks Dooku.  Quinlan is able to defeat the count, and tries to get Dooku to reveal who his master is.  Dooku suggests they partner in order to eliminate his master.  Vos agrees, but Kenobi and Skywalker leap out of hiding and capture them both.

When they make it to a republic ship. Obi Wan leaves the prisoners with two Jedi Knights and some troops while he argues against the execution of his prisoners.  Dooku and Vos break free, kill the Jedi, and escape.  Vos calls Ventress to rescue them but she is furious when she sees that Dooku is with him.  

They are shot down and crash land on Christophsis and begin to make their way to one of Dooku’s bases.  They contact Sidious who sends a separatist ship to get them, but before it does, republic forces lead by Kenobi and Skywalker arrive. They retreat to a small bunker while waiting for their ship.

Vos reveals to Ventress that he has been playing Dooku to get near his master, Sidious.  Ventress tells him he is making a mistake and that he is still consumed by the dark side.  He will be destroyed by it and she can’t let that happen.  Dooku overhears this and tries to use force lightning on Vos,  Assajj Ventress dives in front of the vicious attack and saves his life at the cost of her own.

Vos knocks Dooku out and let’s the Jedi in.  He then hold Ventress as she dies.  While the Jedi watch Quinlan’s return to the light before their eyes.  Dooku comes to and slips out to the separatist forces and escapes. Vos is grief stricken but the dark sides hold on him is broken.  He takes Ventress back to Dathomir and lays her to rest with her family, the Night Sisters.  Letting go of his attachment to her he returns to the Jedi order.

Other Characters, Places, Creatures, and items of note:

Hookah is canonized in this novel! Rakshu Teegu Jedi General Chubor Ashu-Nymal Plo Koon – Kel Dor Saesee Tiin – Iktotchi Shaak Ti – Togruta Kit Fisto Oppo Rancisis Depa Billaba Sheb Valaad  – Koorivar‘s horn is a Koorivar’s pride Thurg – Gamorrean Otor’s Hub Rodian Aqualish Blue Kiffar Akar-Deshu Trandoshan Bounty Hunter’s Guild Theelin Kyuzo Marrok – Embo’s pet Anooba Volpai Mirilan Ky Narec Pantora – primary moon in orbit around Orto Plutonia Pluma Sodi Lassa Rhayme – The Blood Bone Order Fife – Marg Krim‘s Majordomo Moregi – Volpai Rang Clan Raxus Toola Vanqor BD-3000 Oba Diah planet for the Pyke’s Otua Blank – Belugan Lava Fleas Falleen Tezzka Krim, Vram and Laalee – Pyke’s Ziton Moj Kurg Utal* Lieutenant for Ziton Moj first seen here Weequay Rattatak

It’s a Trap Podcast Episode 09: Dark Disciple was originally published on Hyperspace Beacon

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It's a Trap Podcast: Episode 08: Attack of the Clones

We are joined again by Arpyjee for this long in depth conversation of Attack of The Clones.  Is this the beginning of Anakins fall and the ultimate tragedy for the galaxy? Do the romantic scenes between Anakin and Padme seem awkward?

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If you are interested in the movie you can get it here. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones [HD]

Key Figures and Places

Anakin Skywalker

Padme Amidala

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Yoda

Mace Windu

Jango Fett

Count Dooku

Palpatine

Bail Organa

Mas Amedda

Queen Jamillia

Gregar Typho

Shmi Skywalker

Cliegg Lars

Nute Gunray

Dexter Jettster

Reek

Nexu

Acklay

Geonosian

Wat Tambor

Lame Su

Taun We

Zam Wessell

Jocasta Nu

Poggle the Lesser

Tattooine

Naboo

Geonosis

Coruscant

It’s a Trap Podcast: Episode 08: Attack of the Clones was originally published on Hyperspace Beacon

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It's A Trap Episode 07: The Clone Wars ep. 216 & 116

Chill joins us as we begin our coverage of The Clone Wars series on episodes 216 Cat and Mouse and 216 Hidden Enemy because they are the first events the series covers chronologically.  These take place directly before The Clone Wars Movie.  What did you think of the first sighting of Ventress?  Was Slick justified in his actions?

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  Objects of Interest 216 Cat and Mouse Senator Bail Organa General Anakin Skywalker General Obi-Wan Kenobi Admiral Wulff Yularen Admiral Trench

Battle of Malastare Narrows CT 1284 – Spark Hyena bombers Thermo shields*

116 Hidden Enemy Clones – Hawk, Rex, Slick, Jester, Sketch, Chopper Ventress General Loathsome R2-D2

SUMMARY

216 Cat and Mouse

Christophsis.  A planet under attack by Separatist forces.  Bale organa leads the republic forces on the planet after he was trapped planet side by a separatist blockade.  Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Admiral Wulf Yularan are tasked with breaking the blockade and delivering much needed supplies to the beleaguered republic forces on the planet.Admiral Yularen recognizes the emblem of the commander Trench.  Trench is a feared legendary leader and expert tactician.  Yularen Believes that they won’t be able to break the blockade in time.  Instead they decide to use a new stealth ship to deliver supplies to the forces on the planet. Obi-wan assigns Anakin to command the supply run and the admiral decides to tag along. Enroute to the planet Anakin realizes that the commander was the key to the blockade.  He decides to change the plan and use the stealth ship to take out the enemy command ship.  Commander Trench suspects something is coming and is on alert when the ship decloaks.  He is able to get his shields up in time to prevent the missiles from hitting him.  Anakin cloaks and evades the flurry of turbo laser fire that is sent their way.Obi-Wan reveals to Anakin that Trench has fought against stealth ships before and Anakin suspects that he did so by using missiles that tracked the magnetic signature of the ship.  Anakin tries to attack again, but he is unable to penetrate the shields.  Before he can cloak Trench drops his shields so he can fire the tracking missiles at them.  Skywalker is able to cloak but the missiles are locked on.  He then leads these missiles right back to trenches ship while its shields are down and they take out the command ship and break the blockade.

116 Hidden Enemy

The battle for Christophsis continues.  The republic ground forces, lead by Skywalker and Kenobi, have set an ambush for the approaching separatist forces.  Just before they are in range the enemy forces split up and take a different direction.  While trying to understand this Kenobi’s squad is attacked from behind by droids.  Anakin leads his squad to the rescue and leads them all to an evacuation point.  Once they are back to base they realize that they have a traitor amongst them.  Obi-Wan believes that they can figure out who it is by going behind enemy lines.  They leave Commander Cody and Captain Rex behind to investigate who the traitor could be.  After the Jedi have left Commander Cody discovers an open commlink in the command center.  The enemy spy knows the Jedi are leaving on the mission.  Seeing a figure in the shadows Cody and Rex give chase.  They don’t get a good look but they follow the spy  to the base’s mess hall.  The only people inside are fellow clones, brothers.  They return to the command center and try to warn the Jedi but the comm line is blocked on the other end.  Meanwhile, Obi-Wan and Anakin drive their speeders deep into enemy territory.  They notice a growing presence of droids following them.  Realizing It’s a Trap,  doesn’t dissuade them from continuing on.  They reach the Separatist command center and are greeted by Assaj Ventress upon entering.  After a bit of flirting between her and Obi-wan the duel begins.  Back at base Rex has R2-D2 go through the records to find out where the spy is sending their messages from.  The records lead back to platoon leader Slick’s barracks.  After talking to the men and a slip up from the spy they are able to determine that Slick is the trader.  He is able to get out of the barracks,  but Cody and Rex give chase.  Slick is able to get to the munitions depot and destroy it.  Rex and Cody are able to find him and capture him in the command center, but the damage is done.  Assaj Ventress tells Kenobi and Skywalker that they are too late and finally springs the trap revealing a droid army backing her.  Skywalker and Kenobi steal speeders from a pair of droids and return to base to find out about the traitor.  Slick is taken away as the Jedi and clones prepare for the battles to come.

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It’s A Trap Episode 07: The Clone Wars ep. 216 & 116 was originally published on Hyperspace Beacon