Seizure of CZ-198

The Seizure of CZ-198 was a skirmish between rebellious entities within Czerka's facility on the moon of CZ-198, the forces of the Galactic Republic and the resurgent Sith Empire. During the Galactic War between the two galactic powers, Czerka Arms’ scandalous and corrupt practices were finally held accountable by the Republic’s Department of Adjudication. Under legal means, the department moved to seize the assets of the organization. Upon hearing this, the Imperial Ordnance Acquisition Corps moved to do the same. Fearing nationalization and the limits of moral experimentation, the leader of a secret Czerka facility on the desolate moon resisted the planned seizure of what he saw was his facility.

History
Initially created as a storage facility for the Czerka’s massive cache of banned weapons, mysterious research projects and the company’s oldest, darkest secrets, the facility CZ-198 was turned into a level ten state of the art institution for research and the production of innovative consumer products. Headed by the dynamic Special Executive Rasmus Blys, who was profiled as a dangerous man with a big ego, the establishment reached new highs due its isolation from the purview of the public eye.

In the midst of the Galactic War between the Galactic Republic and the resurgent Sith Empire, Czerka Arms’ scandalous means of doing business and corrupt corporate culture was revealed to the galactic community. The Republic’s Department of Adjudication, an organization responsible for regulating corporations and the health of the galactic economy, was encouraged to seize the massive organization’s assets.

Seeking to stem the loss of his personal wealth, Torkmel Laphmer, a senior executive negotiated a trade of classified information for a mansion and a lifetime salary with the leader of the seizure, Adjudicator Refain. Within the secret documents was information about the classified facility on the desolate moon of CZ-198, its contents and a prototype security system called ‘’The Vigilant’’. Identifying the facility as a threat and fearing that his forces would not be enough to quell the unknown dangers that lurked in the venue when negotiations fail and the situation became violent, the leader of the Adjudicators called upon the help of a strike team.

As news of the seizure reached the Sith Empire, Moff Kresk, leader of the Imperial Ordnance Acquisition Corps, an organization created to acquire any and all scientific and technological edge for the defense of the Empire, was approached by the Mirialian Eva Kayz. The chief operations officer of Czerka’s weapons division, Kayz captured the attention of the young Moff through the demonstration of her division’s R-6000 blaster rifle. After the demonstration, the executive divulged the contents of CZ-198 and her vested interest in the Empire’s stake at the reorganization of her company under Republic’s bureaucratic rule. As mandated by his organization, Kresk summoned a strike team and prepared to take the cache of technology and research from the secretive facility before the Republic.

When rumors of the fall of Czerka and its consequent seizure by the Republic reached CZ-198, Rasmus consoled his employees stating that he was working on solutions to prevent the same from happening to his facility. These solutions would come in the form of new security measures and radical personnel, loyal to Blys’ cause, which were put in place to hold the facility through any means.

Battle
Republic and Imperial forces were able to land and capture opposite sides of the facility. Securing their respective zones, both galactic powers moved to capture nearby personnel and established supply areas for further incursions deeper into the facility. Strike teams of both forces were tasked with eliminating militant and entrenched Czerka personnel and destroying inactivated ZX-10 droids. Imperial forces were then tasked with acquiring a new biotoxin while Republic forces seized an alternative form of kolto, both created in CZ-198. Czerka forces disposed of an anti-toxin specifically to counteract the biotoxin in the area which was then collected by a strike force from the sewers of the facility. The toxin was guarded by Project DS-5, a tentacled experiment assumed to have been trashed.

Czerka labs
The strike team left their staging point moving towards the main offices using the in-facility rail system. To end the siege of CZ-198 and unseal the establishment, the strike team was tasked to confront Rasmus Blys. Mowing down heavy resistance while avoiding fleeing non-combatants, the team moved from the office’s reception area to the Atrium(CZ-198) where they found three security cards. Upon reaching the bottom of the flooded atrium they would find their way blocked by the facility’s eradicator droid, CZ-8X, and a shielded pathway.

Engaging the droid from long range, the strike team sought to avoid its electrifying attack surging through the heel-high waters that accumulated on a small divot around the droid. Although the eradicator would regularly pull a member of the strike team into the water, they were able to retreat speedily to the area around outside the depression. Sure of their impending success, the team continued to attack the isolated droid unaware that the prototype droid had called for reinforcements. Small CZ-2X infiltrator droids began to advance on the team with a barrage of deadly blaster fire. With quick reactions from the strike force, the nimble droids were downed quickly but more came. The team redoubled their efforts and defeated the massive eradicator droid which seemed to stop the influx of infiltrator droids. The team moved deeper in to the facility going through the Seario Memorial showroom and dispensing of the standard Czerka security resistance.

Arriving at the Security Office(CZ-198), the strike force was stalled by the chief of security Zokar. Armed with an array of weaponry from cryo grenades to a plasma launcher and augmented by a squad of battle droids, Zokar fought to the best of his abilities but was unable to stand against the attacks of the strike team. Continuing on toward the facilities labs, the strike force would find the personal experiments of the maddened special executive. Project TG-5 and EK-8 were mutated flesh raiders which exploded on contact. Multiple specimens were located through halls the team walked through, each endangering lives as TG-5s blasted anyone who had come close enough with a massive wave of concussive force. Contained with cryo tubes, EK-8s brawled when released but discharged a pheromone that attracted the crimson TG-5s. The team used this to their advantage, surviving the onslaught of concussive force while releasing the blue tinged EK-8s in order to quickly destroy both.

As the strike team entered the door to Rasmus’ lab, they were met with his big booming voice. While demonizing the strike force for destroying the facility and its ideals, Rasmus Bly, activated the prototype Vigilant security system and then engaged the team. Blys struggled to fight the team armed with only a blaster pistol, so he would disappear from their focus using a personal stealth generator every so often to unleash his personal experiments against his enemies. Using the same tactics as before, the strike team defeated the bevy of EK-8s and TG-5s and recommitted their efforts on the embattled executive, only to be discouraged by Blys personal shields. But the shield did not hold for long and the once mighty Rasmus Blys was defeated. The strike team approached the command console at the back of the lab and as they began to access the console, a holographic avatar of the Vigilant appeared above it, threatening their demise.

Czerka Meltdown
Meaning to thwart the Vigilant, the strike team mobilized towards the Biodome facility. Upon arriving they were be greeted by a Czerka Informational Hologram. It stated the facility’s uses and rationale, identifying the members of the team as prospective investors. Suddenly the dome rumbled, doors were sealed and artificial lights dimmed. The image of the feminine holoprojection turned into the gruesome, ruby-tinted visage of the Vigilant. The mutated flesh raider had taken over the once serenity facility and in order for the team to progress they had to disable all the information kiosks around the dome.

Fighting through heavy pockets of security droids, the team was able to disable all three kiosks and advanced through the unsealed door towards the facilities energy core. There they once again met with a shut path towards the Vigilant. Upon investigation, they had surmised that the Vigilant’s rampage had destabilized the nearby biodome’s experiments and in order for them to progress safely they needed to suppress its inhabitants run berserk.

Within the desert biome the strike team would find an enhanced duneclaw. As the team engaged the massive creature, the biome’s sandstorm simulation turned on, making the already deadly fight much harder. While retreating, the strike team sighted generators responsible for sandstorm. Immune to their weapons fire, the team regrouped near one of the generators and let the rampage of the pursuing failed experiment destroy the dynamo that powered the sandstorm. The strike team would repeat this with the other generators permanently disabling the sandstorm and after which making quick work of the creature. Accessing a nearby console, the team shutoff the arid biome and moved on to the next.

Stepping into the humid Jungle biome, the strike team found an enhanced vrbther. Before they engaged, they sighted nearby colonies of poisonous spores. Intending to use them against the creature the team, positioned themselves around it while a member lured the failed experiment to them. The creature noticed them and threw a large rock at where they were positioned, a possible indication that the team’s trap had failed. But the team regrouped and stayed in position, and so the beast moved closer as to swing its claws. When the beast was near enough, the team set off the trap, blowing up the spores and infecting the creature. Diminished by the trap, the creature was now easy prey for the team but the flock of bogwings suddenly appeared as if to rescue the isolated vrbther. The team disengaged from the enhanced beast and quickly destroyed the bogwings. Before they could re-engage the enhanced creature, they found that it had readjusted to its situation and was once again back to full strength. The team would reapply their previous strategy, making sure to hit harder with each application of poison and down the beast once and for all. Once again the team accessed the console for the special biome and shut it off.

The strike team unlocked the doors to the Bioweapon Observation Chamber and as they entered they saw the wholesale massacre of Czerka scientists trapped in the cells once inhabited by flesh raiders experimented on. Now released, the enhanced flesh raiders, tagged bioweapons, assailed the surprised strike team. The experimental bio weapons did not stand a chance against the strike team, but the lockdown in effect once again impeded their progress. Accessing several consoles around the chamber, the team was able to impair power conduits for the last door to the Vigilant Integration Chamber

As they walked into the chamber of the Vigilant, the strike team bore witness to the experimental security system’s final initialization protocols to be started. Trying to stop this process, the strike team went into action destroying several data integration points around the cylindrical room whilst engaging numerous groups of mutant flesh raiders summoned by the imprisoned security system. As the strike team destroyed the last point, the Vigilant finished its initialization protocol, charged itself to full power and dove to attack them. The team engaged and retreated whenever the massive being of metal and flesh spun to strike, repeating this pattern of attack. The tactic worked and the team stood victorious over the once ruthless beast.

Behind the scenes
The Seizure of CZ-198 is part of Star Wars: The Old Republic's dailies area and Flashpoint:Czerka Labs and Flashpoint:Czerka Meltdown. The flashpoint is available to both factions in the game, as such, the victory conditions are not set in canon and thus the aftermath of the battle is limited to secondary observations. If an Imperial player finishes the flashpoint, the Empire captures the facility and takes control of Czerka Arms, with it an industry that is true to ruthlessness of Imperial ideals. If a Republic player finishes the flashpoint, the Galactic Republic captures the facility, takes control of Czerka Arms and moves to indict several of its former executives.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Old Republic