Zahtjav (starship)

Named after a legendary Rodian monster by the pirate Venslas Beeli, the Zahtjav was a CR90 corvette produced by the Corellian Engineering Corporation. The ship was owned by the Galactic Republic and used as an exploration vessel until Beeli aquired it sometime after 19 BBY, making it apart of his pirate band the Solar Terrors. Beeli and the pirates used it until shortly after 0 ABY, when an Imperial taskforce captured the pirates. Imperial Captain Vocis Kenit forced Beeli and his pirates into a confrontation with the Alliance to Restore the Republic privateering frigate Far Orbit. The Zahtjav was destroyed in the battle, and Beeli was killed.

Description
The Zahtjav was a CR90 corvette, produced by the Corellian Engineering Corporation. Measuring 150 meters long, the CR90 possessed a Class 2 primary hyperdrive, with a Class 12 as back up. The Zahtjav also had deflector shields, a navigation computer, and a set of sensors. Capable of carrying 3000 metric tons of cargo, as well as enough consumables to last the crew a year, the Zahtjav could carry up to 20 passengers, in addition to its crew. The corvette also had an armamant of four double turbolaser cannons, and had a pair of tractor beams situated at the front of the starship. The corvette could reach a max speed of 950 kilometers per hour.

History
The Zahtjav started out as an exploration vessel used for scouting the distant parts of the Outer Rim Territories by the Galactic Republic. In 19 BBY, the Republic transformed into the Galactic Empire, and with its creation, the corvette was sold as surplus due to budget cutbacks, becoming a secure cargo vessel. The CR90 served well, until an engineer was bribed by the pirate Venslas Beeli of the pirate band known as the Solar Terrors to cut the hyperdrive at a designated point. Right after Beeli aquired the ship, he reneged on his payment of the engineer, instead setting the individual adrift in an escape pod; Sometime after, the corvette was named by Beeli the Zahtjav, after a legendary Rodian monster. The Zahtjav later became the Beeli's flagship.

Beeli's activities in the Outer Rim soon brought him to Imperial attention around 0 ABY, and after a three month hunt, Captain Lev Kepzen and his EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate Feral captured the Solar Terrors. The pirates were forced to do the Imperials bidding by Captain Vocis Kenit on pain of death, and were tasked with posing as Alliance to Restore the Republic privateers and commiting terrible acts in the Core Worlds' Ringali Shell under that banner to poison the public's opinion. The poisoning of the public's opinion was in prepartion for when the Far Orbit, an Alliance privateering frigate operating nearby, announced itself to the general public. The Imperials wanted the Far Orbit captured, so they hoped the frigate would track the pirates down and fight them in order to maintain its reputation.

However, in order to prevent the pirates from simply running off, they were all infected with Vira606, an incurable virus that could only be held at bay by a serum the Imperials controlled. The Zahtjav and the Solar Terrors began to attack civilian targets near the worlds of Esseles, Rhinnal, and Brentaal IV. While they secretly worked fof the Imperials, Beeli's fleet, including his command ship, operated from a deep space location with Kenit's escort frigate Stalwart.

With the Solar Terrors frequently hitting the area around Brentaal, the fleet encountered the Far Orbit, which was searching for them in order to destroy them. The Zahtjav and Beeli's ships engaged the frigate, with all of them trying to stay out of the way of the Far Orbit forwars fire arc. However, since Beeli fought with abandon due to the illness, the Solar Terrors lost the battle, and the Zahtjav was destroyed, with Beeli dying.

Commanders and crew
After being acquired by the Solar Terrors, the command of the corvette fell to Venslas Beeli, who used it as his flagship.

However, it was Beeli who caused the ship's demise, as he fought with abandon due to Vira606 when the pirate fleet engaged the Far Orbit.

The Zahtjav was run by 50 crew members, alongside 12 gunners; at minimum crew, the ship could operate with only 20 crew, and 5 gunners.

Behind the scenes
The Zahtjav was first mentioned in 1998's The Far Orbit Project, by Timothy S. O'Brien, and appeared in the adventure scenario The Rival, published in the book. The Far Orbit Project was a supplement to West End Games's Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, and had the same theme of the previous publication Pirates & Privateers, as it followed the privateering vessel Far Orbit. As the book says that Beeli fights with abandon, and will ram the Far Orbit with his ship if necessary, this article assumes that the Zahtjav was destroyed in the battle.