Skadge

"This is the way to do it. Doin' what we want, when we want, ain't nobody gonna say otherwise."

- Skadge's attitude to life

Skadge was a male Houk criminal from Black Sun who was locked up on Belsavis during the Cold War. He was captured by the Smuggler and Galactic Republic privateer Zale Barrows and was imprisoned on The Tomb. Sometime in 3641 BBY he met a famous bounty hunter and become one of the hunter's associates.

Biography
Starting life on the Houk homeworld of Lijuter, Skadge developed such a reputation that he was eventually thrown off his homeworld by his own species. While in prison, he was inducted into the criminal organization Black Sun by befriending a member he met inside. The Houk enjoyed immensely the time he spent with Black Sun, as Coruscant was still in ruins following the Sacking and there were rampant turf-wars, which provided an outlet for his constant need for killing. Skadge continued to think highly of Black Sun long after he was captured, seeing them as "killers to the core".

At another point in his jail-time, Skadge shared a cell with a Hutt Cartel gangster, busting whom out of jail earned him a contract with the Hutts. While he enjoyed working as an enforcer, his height and strength suiting the job well, the Hutts noticed that Skadge was beginning to affect the bottom line of their balance. Hoping for a permanent retirement, they turned on him, trying to end his employment with them from the end of a blaster. However, they underestimated him; Skadge escaped with his life, but was furious at their betrayal. Not knowing who was the Hutt who gave the order to betray him, he moved on from the Cartel; however, his opinion of the Hutts from then on was understandably low, describing them as "lazy, stinkin' [...] slimy two-faced slugs" to his future commander.

Skadge continued his life of crime before eventually being taken down by Zale Barrows. He was transported to Belsavis, where he was incarcerated in solitary confinement. The Houk bid his time, planning to grab the nearest opportunity to get his revenge on Barrows. When the Grand Champion of the Great Hunt arrived hunting Zale for Darth Tormen, a prison riot was caused, during which Skadge escaped from his cell. He immediately decided to find Zale and kill him slowly.

Unable to locate Zale, he found the privateer's girlfriend, a Zabrak female, instead. When the hunter met Skadge, he was in the middle of attempting to intimidate her into giving Zale up. Presuming the hunter worked for Zale, he attempted to squeeze more information out of him, but was met instead with confrontations. When she finally told them Zale was heading to the Tomb, she hoped the hunter would let her go. Instead, he simply chased after Zale, leaving her to Skadge's gory methods.

Skadge caught up to the hunter after Zale erected a force-field to cut them off from him. While the Champion focused on destroying the generators to take the barrier down, the Houk "volunteered" some computer engineers from among the other inmates to help them find Zale from the remains of the privateer's astromech droid. After they had finished, he was allowed by the hunter to "thank" them.

Skadge concluded the best way to find and get his revenge on Zale was to accompany his partner-of-convenience to the tomb. They found Zale in battle with Imperial forces at the bottom of the Tomb. Despite the smuggler's attempts to fight them off with the aid of Republic forces, they emerged victorious. Gloating over his impending revenge, along with his treatment of Zale's girlfriend, Skadge gorily killed his (former) rival before realizing he liked working with the hunter, whose ship also offered a way to freedom. Offering to kill for the hunter, he became the hunter's final companion.

When not criticising the hunter's ship or taste in company, Skadge casually discussed his time on Coruscant, with Black Sun and in the Hutt Cartel. Eventually, he discovered the name of the Hutt who betrayed him - none other than Suudaa Nem'ro, the Champion's patron in the Great Hunt years ago. Single-handedly smashing his way through Nem'ro Palace, he killed Nem'ro. After this, Skadge realized he still enjoyed working with the hunter, and decided to stay on. He also voiced his respect for his bounty hunter friend, stating that "Long as I'm runnin' with you, you're Black Sun."

Personality and traits
"Found me that slimy Hutt I was talkin' about. He's been gettin' fat an' happy all these years after crossin' me. Time he gets what's comin' to him."

- Skadge prepares for revenge on Nem'ro

Being a criminal to the bone and a true Houk, Skadge delighted in anarchy, violence, mercenary work, robbery and looting in any capacity and expansion through networking. While spending time in jail, he honed his skills through working out or killing fellow inmates, while gaining association with big organisations through befriending his fellow gangsters. He entered Black Sun and the Hutt Cartel this way, but following his betrayal at the hands of the Hutts he decided to go freelance.

Skadge greatly admired the gruff, physical character his bounty hunter friend displayed; this respect was born from his time as a criminal and his own species' casual views on violence. However, he did not form any bonds with his fellow companions, all of whom he looked down on openly; he described them as a "skinny broad", a "little twerp tryin' to walk tall", a "squeakin' thing" and a "belly-achin' dandy". He voiced his astonishment that a hard case like the hunter ended up with such a bunch of "dainties", noting that none of them would have lasted five minutes with Black Sun, and advised the Champion to find a new crew that wouldn't slow him down.

Following his revenge on the Hutt who betrayed him, Skadge appeared to gain some peace of mind, telling the hunter that as long as they were travelling together, Black Sun would have his back.

Behind the scenes
Skadge is one of the companions available to the bounty hunter class in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Skadge is voiced by Neil Kaplan in the game.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Old Republic
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic: Rise of the Hutt Cartel