Ravager
From Wookieepedia, the Star Wars wiki.
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The Ravager was a Centurion-class battlecruiser of the Galactic Republic Navy, which later joined the Sith as the flagship of Darth Nihilus.
The ship was destroyed in the Mandalorian Wars over Malachor V, then crushed by the weight of the Mass Shadow Generator built by Bao-Dur. However, Nihilus tore the ship from the gravity well, along with the rest of his fleet, and used it as his flagship in his search for a world with which to satisfy his eternal hunger. The ship barely held together, being maintained only by the Sith Lord's will, who kept only the barest of life support systems intact to sustain himself, his soldiers, and the Force-zombies under his control. It was destroyed in 3,951 BBY by the Jedi Exile, with Mandalorian assistance, after the Dark Lord's death.
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[edit] Description
The Ravager was technically unspaceworthy, and under normal circumstances would be impossible to pilot or live within. Its hull was broken and blasted open, with holes, dents, and other places where it was torn apart by Mandalorian guns, crushed by the Mass Shadow Generator, and strained when drawn out of that gravity field. The infrastructure was revealed in many places where the outer plating had been torn off. Parts of the vessel were missing, and the original color had long faded, replaced with the burn marks from its last battle. Sparks leapt across the hull at intervals and pulsated along the surface. The ship was open to space in many places, with Nihilus allowing the particle fields to contain only a minimal atmosphere. However, despite these myriad problems, the flagship proved itself powerful in battle. The ship was held together by Nihilus's power and will, making it comparable to the ancient tales of ghost ships held on many worlds.[2]
Within, the ship was in no better condition. Its winding halls had not seen maintenance in years, with the dust collecting across the dead computer readouts and the empty mess halls. The lighting was dim and yellowed, almost orange in places, and then only where the sporadic lighting still worked. Sparks flew from the walls and exposed piping and wiring as they, too, malfunctioned and winked out. The worn metal floor was rusted and yellowed, losing its color and fervor, as were the control panels on the walls that seemed to have rusted shut. Bare power stations stood uncared for in years. The halls, shaped either rectangular or diamond-like, wound aimlessly through empty rooms, several leading out into nothing but space beyond broken walls. Amazingly, most of the doors still functioned, and one small docking bay was in halfway-decent order. Armories still held supplies, though some of its contents had fallen to decay through years of disuse. Barracks still contained beds and quarters, though the beds were frayed and the lights were almost out. A lone missile bay stood inactive, with one missile still in the tube.[2]
Visas Marr's cell was carved out of the rear starboard hull of the ship, and was somewhat unique. Like the rest of the ship, it was dull and dim, with a small bedroom quarters, and two spacious living quarters, bare of any furniture except a table and several chairs bolted to the floor around it. The meditation room was adjoined to this, and was unique in the fact that it was roughly spherical and not squared like the rest of the ship, leaving the assumption that it had been specially made. Rectangular pillars bent outwards along the walls, with blue writing adorning the sides that seemed to glow. Torn banners hung between these.[2]
The bridge was also distinctive from the remainder of the ship. Behind the bridge proper was a command room whose middle was entirely dedicated to the deactivated computers, surrounded by dust-covered seats. Behind this were six other large, spacious rooms arranged in a tight rectangular "C" shape, connected to the main level via a large, hexagonal elevator, miraculously still in operation. The bridge was extremely long, with indentations along either side of the main pathway in which barely-living zombies, slaves of Nihilus's will, worked mindlessly at the ships controls. On their side of these were two other walkways. The bridge was lit dimly with red lighting, and two glowlamps shaped like thorns rose to either side of the beginning and end of the center walkway. The bridge was mostly lit by the huge windows above it which made up most of the ceiling, though these opened into space in most places, with the infrastructure of the ship showing everywhere. The center of the ceiling was of metal, though most of the wiring and components hung down precariously. A bare, clamshell-shaped command station stood at the end, in front of a large viewport, void of any computer terminals.[2]
[edit] History
The Ravager was one of a fleet of Galactic Republic capital ships that saw service during the Mandalorian Wars. The well-known ship was destroyed, along with most of its brethren, at the Battle of Malachor V. It had first been rendered useless by Mandalorian guns, then unsalvageable when the Mass Shadow generator was activated, crushing everything within its reach in the sudden surge of intense gravity. There the ship lay for an unknown time floating about Malachor when Darth Nihilus snatched it for his use and once again willed it with the power to fly and destroy in his need to feed his insatiable appetite for power as he escaped imprisonment on the world.[2]
After Nihilus became aware that a Jedi Conclave was to be held on Katarr, due to information spread by Jedi historian Atris to draw him out,[3] the Ravager soon arrived on the scene. Consequently, the Dark Lord destroyed all life on the world, save one. Now bearing two lives not bereft of soul, as the twelve pilots were Force slaves whose life energy was slowly being drained to sustain Nihilus, the Ravager traveled the galaxy, searching for worlds on which its master could feed. As it traveled, Nihilus gathered several Sith troopers to defend his flagship.[2]
As they traversed the stars, Visas, the Miraluka Nihilus had spared on Katarr, reported seeing a great Force-user, but Nihilus bid her no mind. However, eventually she was sent to discover this Jedi, and bring them to the Sith Lord to be consumed by his growing hunger.[2]
After noticing a small insurgency on Onderon, Nihilus took the Ravager to the world to make a pact with General Vaklu's faction, offering to aid them and give them power if they would do as he dictated. After making the deal, Nihilus proved to be too powerful for Vaklu's military to control, but by then it was too late. In fear of the Dark Lord, they remained loyal.[2]
This twisted kind of loyalty proved true when Colonel Tobin of the Onderon military heard from Kreia that a Jedi Academy could be found on Telos IV, and alerted his dark master. He was unaware, however, that it was a trap, and that Nihilus, finding only Atris, would drain all life from the world in a last-ditch effort to save himself, and be soon thereafter killed, thus killing both Atris and Nihilus in one stroke. However, neither of them counted on the Jedi Exile, who, after defeating Atris in a lightsaber duel, was on Telos at the time of Nihilus's attack on the world.[2]
She and the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders she had befriended concocted a plan to destroy the Ravager and its Master. A secret detachment consisting of the Exile, Visas Marr, Mandalore Canderous Ordo, and several Neo-Crusaders boarded the ship and planted several proton charges along weakened areas in the outer hull. They knew they could not leave Nihilus alive, however, as he could have the power to prevent the ship from being destroyed, as he had been doing for years.
As the Exile made her way to the bridge, she met the shell of the man that was Tobin, a slave to Nihilus who slowly drained away the Colonel's life, leaving him with only enough to survive. After she convinced him that serving Nihilus would not help Onderon and that the planet would likely be just another place for Nihilus to feed, the Colonel agreed to set off the charges for her. The Exile continued to the bridge, where she confronted the Sith Lord, with the help of Visas and the Mandalore. In one stroke, the Exile killed Nihilus and freed Visas from her link to the Dark Lord. With this completed, they detonated the charges, finally laying the ship to rest.[2]
[edit] Behind the scenes
Like the Leviathan, the appearance of the Ravager is similar to the Imperial-class Star Destroyers of the Star Wars films.[4][5][6][7]
When the Mandalorian crew assaulted the Ravager and Mandalore entered it, the whole scene may be regarded as an homage to the raid on the Tantive IV, with Mandalore thus 'impersonating' Darth Vader.[2][5]
Originally, during the game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, after the Exile and her companions defeated Darth Nihilus and didn't set the last proton core, the Ravager would spiral into the Citadel Station, similar to the Executor's crash during the Battle of Endor, and destroy it. This can be seen in secret movies in the Prima Guide DVD.[8]
[edit] Appearances
- Unseen, Unheard
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (First appearance)
[edit] Sources
[edit] Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
- ↑ Chronicles of the Old Republic
- ↑ Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
- ↑ Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
- ↑ Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
- ↑ Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords: Prima Official Game Guide
