Kathol Protector

The Kathol Protector was an escort carrier in service to Imperial warlord Moff Kentor Sarne as part of his military forces in the Kathol sector. Modified to mount two tractor beam projectors in place of two of a standard escort carrier's twin laser cannons, the ship also carried pathogenic weapons as part of its arsenal. In 8 ABY, shortly after the liberation of the sector capital of Kal'Shebbol, the Kathol Protector assaulted the planet Kolatill after the population overthrew their Imperial governor and declared their allegiance to the New Republic. The attack, conducted by TIE bombers, severely damaged the capital city of Domaz. Several days later, the Kathol Protector returned to the planet to conduct a second attack, this time using the pathogenic weapons it carried. The New Republic CR90 corvette FarStar had responded to a distress signal from Kolatill, and was in orbit of the planet. During the ensuing battle, the Kathol Protector ' s TIE bombers were tasked with releasing their pathogenic bombs on urban areas across the planet. They were eventually stopped by the combined starfighter forces of the FarStar and the Kolatill Defense Force. Despite this, the Kathol Protector was able to capture a shuttle carrying Captain Keleman Ciro&mdash;the commanding officer of the FarStar&mdash;before withdrawing from battle.

Description
The Kathol Protector was a slightly modified Kuat Drive Yards escort carrier, measuring five hundred meters from bow to stern. It was fitted with a Class One hyperdrive, supplemented by a Class Twelve back-up unit. The Kathol Protector carried nine months worth of consumables, allowing it to operate away from its home base for a considerable amount of time, and had a cargo storage capacity of five hundred metric tons. The ship required a crew of three thousand, five hundred and five&mdash;which included twenty gunners&mdash;but could be crewed by one thousand five hundred beings if the need arose. The Kathol Protector ' s armament was slightly modified; instead of mounting ten twin laser cannons, the ship only had eight. Two of the emplacements had been replaced with tractor beam projectors. The Kathol Protector ' s starfighter wing consisted of six squadrons, broken down into two squadrons of TIE bombers and four squadrons of TIE stafighters. In addition to mounting normal weaponry, the starfighter wing also had pathogenic bombs available to it.

History
The Kathol Protector was part of the forces under the command of Moff Kentor Sarne, a warlord who ruled the Kathol sector from 4 ABY to 8 ABY. In 8 ABY, following the liberation of the sector capital of Kal'Shebbol by New Republic forces, the Kathol Protector assaulted the planet of Kolatill. Kolatill's population had staged an uprising in the wake of Kal'Shebbol's fall, overthrowing the Imperial governor, Tetrum and declaring their allegiance to the New Republic. The Kathol Protector arrived in orbit of Kolatill, and launched TIE bombers towards the planet. The bombers targeted the capital city of Domaz, devastating much of the city and leaving it burning. After recalling its fighters, the Kathol Protector exited the system.

Several days later, the Kathol Protector returned to the planet, intending to launch a second strike against the planet. This time, the TIE bombers were armed with pathogenic bombs, and had been ordered to strike at several urban areas around the planet, rather than just the capital. However, following the bombing of Domaz, the Kolatill Council&mdash;the planet's ruling body&mdash;had sent out a distress signal aimed at the New Republic forces present at Kal'Shebbol. The CR90 corvette FarStar had responded, and was in the process of rendering assistance. Relief teams, guarded by half of the FarStar ' s starfighter squadron were on the ground, and a shuttle was carrying the corvette's commanding officer, Captain Keleman Ciro, between the ship and the planet for a meeting with the Kolatill Council.

The Kathol Protector deployed its entire starfighter force, splitting its TIE starfighters between the FarStar and her remaining starfighters and Captain Ciro's shuttle, while the TIE bombers headed towards the planet. During the battle, the FarStar&mdash;under the command of First Officer Kaiya Adrimetrum&mdash;and its fighter screen fought a holding action against three squadrons of TIE starfighters. The fourth squadron of TIE starfighters harried Captain Ciro's shuttle, herding it towards the Kathol Protector; once the shuttle was in range, the escort carrier's tractor beam projectors ensnared the vessel, drawing it into its hangar.

In Kolatill's atmosphere, the Kathol Protector ' s TIE bombers were intercepted by the starfighters assigned to guard the relief shuttles from the FarStar, alongside TIE starfighters from the Kolatill Defense Force. During the dogfight, a New Republic fighter destroyed the first bomber. The starfighter's sensors detected a small concentration of highly toxic poison in the immediate area of the explosion, revealing the presence of pathogenic weapons in the bomber's payloads. Increasing their efforts to prevent a disaster, Kolatill's defenders eliminated every bomber. The last ship was destroyed by pilot Noell Ciro, younger brother of Captain Keleman Ciro. With a damaged X-wing that had suffered damage resulting in the loss of its weapons, Ciro rammed the last bomber, destroying it and killing himself in the process.

With its primary mission a failure, the Kathol Protector recalled its remaining fighters and withdrew from the system. The ship later rendezvoused with elements of Sarne's forces to transfer Captain Ciro into their custody. Ciro was taken for interrogation at the Q'Maere Research Facility in the Kathol Rift.

Behind the scenes
The Kathol Protector was created for the roleplaying adventure Omens, which was published in The DarkStryder Campaign by West End Games. It serves as a plot point in the adventure for the capture of the FarStar ' s commanding officer, Keleman Ciro. This in turn elevates Kaiya Adrimetrum, the First Officer, to the position of commanding officer. Unlike most other roleplaying adventures, where the situations can be adapted to suit the needs of the players and the gamemaster, the capture of Ciro is mandated by the adventure as the rest of the campaign continues with the assumption that Adrimetrum is the commander of the FarStar.