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- "Turns out our man Lor went to see someone named Grakkus the Hutt. He's a collector—very into all sorts of Force-related things. Jedi stuff. Or he was, anyway. He's been in prison since the days of the Empire. A really nasty prison...for really nasty people."
- ―Poe Dameron, to the other Black Squadron pilots
The mission to Megalox Beta was undertaken by Commander Poe Dameron and Black Squadron of the Resistance to locate Lor San Tekka. They wanted to question the imprisoned Hutt crime lord Grakkus, who had encountered Lor San Tekka a long time ago. The Resistance mission was complicated by the presence of the First Order Agent Terex. When Grakkus offered to reveal the information to whoever freed him first, Poe got BB-8 and the other astromech droids to disable the prison's gravity field, exposing Terex and the prisoners to the planet's high gravity. After rescuing Grakkus, the Resistance obtained more information about Lor San Tekka's whereabouts but suspended the search to deal with a spy leaking information to the First Order.
Prelude
During the Mission to Ovanis, the Black Squadron Commander Poe Dameron learned that the Hutt crime lord Grakkus had encountered the explorer Lor San Tekka. Grakkus had been imprisoned since the Age of the Empire at the forbidding Megalox prison on the planet Megalox Beta. Megalox Beta was a high gravity world and the prison was surrounded by a gravity field that protected the prisoners from the planet's gravity. General Leia Organa managed to bribe the prison's Warden Luta into admitting Poe and Black Squadron inside the prison.[1]
However, the First Order had learnt about Black Squadron's planned visit through a spy.[3] They dispatched Agent Terex, whom Black Squadron had previously encountered, to obtain the information from Grakkus. Terex also bribed Warden Luta and her guards into abandoning Poe and his team inside the prison instead of escorting them to Grakkus' fortress. Poe and his fellow Black Squadron pilots Temmin Wexley, Karé Kun, L'ulo L'ampar, and Jessika Pava traveled to Megalox Beta in their starfighters. After being greeted by Warden Luta, they left their ships and droids in the space station orbiting the prison.[1]
The mission
Diving into danger
Black Squadron were escorted by several prison guards aboard a shuttle which landed in a hangar. Upon arriving, the guards abandoned Poe and his team and told them that about the conspiracy. Unable to bribe the guards with a million credits, Black Squadron decided to fight their way through the crowd of prisoners. Using a gas and setting their blasters to stun, Black Squadron managed to fight their way to Grakkus' fortress. Upon arriving, they were accosted by Grakkus and his posse of Hutts, who had mechanical enhancements to their bodies.[1]
Knowing Poe's exploits, Grakkus granted him an audience but revealed that he had another guest, Agent Terex. Knowing that the Resistance and First Order were interested in his information about Lor San Tekka, Grakkus broke his deal with Terex and offered to disclose the information to whoever got him out first.[1] Seeking retribution against Grakkus, Terex met with the imprisoned crime lords Papa Toren, Kan Be, and Isin. In return for helping them escaping, he convinced them to rally their gangs for an assault on Grakkus' compound. Grakkus instructed the gangsters to kill Grakkus, Poe, and his fellow pilots.[2]
Seeking to gain leverage over Grakkus and Terex, Poe instructed BB-8 and the other astromech droids O-R10N, R2-HA, and R4 to deactivate the space station's gravity field. After knocking out several guards, the droids managed to enter the control chamber. However, they were attacked by a security droid which destroyed O-R10N. Meanwhile, Black Squadron joined forces with the Hutts to defend the fortress from the mob's onslaught.[2] Following a struggle, BB-8 managed to electrocute the security droid, allowing the astromech droids to proceed with their mission.[3]
Escaping Megalox
After BB-8 and the droids disabled the gravity field, Poe and his fellow pilots donned gravity belts. The full onslaught of Megalox's gravity overwhelmed Terex and the gangsters. Papa Toren wept after one of his elves was killed by the heavy gravity. Meanwhile, Poe and his comrades managed to free Grakkus. Poe then contacted Warden Luta and confronted her over her betrayal. He offered to give her back control of the prison if she allowed Black Squadron to escape with Grakkus.[3]
Terex summoned his ship Carrion Spike and got one of his droids to evacuate him. Since the crime bosses had failed in their mission, he abandoned them to die. Returning to the space station's hangar, Black Squadron and Grakkus reunited with their droids minus Jess's droid O-R10N . They then departed in their starfighters with Grakkus following in a shuttle. Before leaving, BB-8 restored control of the prison back to Warden Luta. However, a vengeful Terex rammed through the space station with his ship Carrion Spike, disabling the gravity shield for good.[3]
Warden Luta dispatched shuttles to evacuate the prisoners but they were attacked by the Carrion Spike. Despite Grakkus' objections, Temmin convinced Poe to turn Black Squadron around and they attacked Terex's ship. With the Carrion Spike sustaining heavy damage to its systems, Terex was forced to cloak the ship and retreat into hyperspace.[3]
Aftermath
Following the dogfight, Grakkus disclosed information on the worlds that Lor San Tekka to Poe in return for Black Squadron running hyperspace calculations for him. Poe shared this information with General Organa after returning to the Resistance base on D'Qar. Dameron wanted to continue with the search for the explorer but General Organa told him to investigate how the First Order had been able to obtain information on their operations. Meanwhile, Agent Terex was reprimanded by Captain Phasma for failing to transmit the data he had been sent to obtain. When she ordered him to return to First Order Space for a debriefing, Terex switched off the hologram and decided to delay his return.[3]
Ultimately, Poe managed to resume his search for Lor San Tekka.[6] He found that Tekka had gone into retirement at Tuanul village on the planet Jakku.[7] Lor San Tekka provided Poe with a map to Luke Skywalker, claiming it would "set things right." Shortly later, Tuanal village was attacked by the First Order and Poe was captured. However, BB-8 managed to escape with the map to the Resistance with the help of the disillusioned stormtrooper Finn, the scavenger Rey, and the smuggler Han Solo. In response to these events, the First Order unleashed its war on the New Republic and the Resistance.[6]
Appearances
- Poe Dameron 4: Lockdown, Part I (First appearance)
- Poe Dameron 5: Lockdown, Part II
- Poe Dameron 6: Lockdown, Part III
- Poe Dameron 8: The Gathering Storm, Part I (In flashback(s)) (First identified as mission to Megalox Beta)
- Poe Dameron 11: The Gathering Storm, Part IV (In flashback(s))
Sources
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 Poe Dameron 4: Lockdown, Part I
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 Poe Dameron 5: Lockdown, Part II
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Poe Dameron 6: Lockdown, Part III
- ↑ Poe Dameron 3: Black Squadron, Part III
- ↑ Poe Dameron 7: The Gathering Storm
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens
- ↑ Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary
Template:First Order–Resistance conflict