Rescue of Gedeek Obaz

The title of this article is conjectural. Although this article is based on canonical information, the actual name of this subject is pure conjecture.

During 3 ABY, Kay Vess' crew rescued the Rodian droidsmith Gedeek Obaz from the Imperial facility of Research Station 57, in order to recruit a crewmember that can surpass the droid gatekeeper of Westhill Palace, the place of which they intended to perform a heist in. After arriving on Akiva to gain intel from the Sullustan crime lord, Surat Nuat, Vess and her merqaal partner-in-crime, Nix, would make their way towards Research Station 57.

Near the facility, Vess and Nix were able to breach the defenses of the exterior, and eventually infiltrate inside the station. After navigating past the Imperial forces on-site, the two were attacked by a turret model designed by Gedeek Obaz, which they were able to deactivate. Ultimately, Vess confronted Obaz in his workshop at the facility, when she entered a standoff against a protocol droid reprogrammed by the droidsmith. Nevertheless, Vess would convince Obaz to join the crew, and later be able to escape from the facility.

Prelude

As part of Jaylen Vrax's campaign to perform a heist on Westhill Palace during 3 ABY,^[2] Kay Vess' crew required a skilled droidsmith to override the TT-8L/Y7 gatekeeper droid guarding the vault. Kay Vess would recommend her childhood friend, Gedeek Obaz, as a suitable candidate for the crew, and later travel to the jungle planet of Akiva in search of the Rodian droidsmith. On the planet, the BX-series droid commando, ND-5, suggested that Vess should begin searching for intel at the Alcazar, a cantina owned by Surat Nuat, who is an infamous smuggler and crime lord operating on Akiva.^[1]

As leverage, Vess requested two shipments of sansanna spice from Jaylen Vrax, the benefactor of Vess' crew. After confronting Nuat in his office, Vess was able to successfully negotiate for the location of Obaz in trade for the spice. Nuat revealed to Vess that Obaz has been working at a research station of the Galactic Empire, and that he is under the threat of being killed by the syndicates present on Akiva. Although ND-5 rejected the idea of recruiting an Imperial affiliate, Vess deduced that Obaz only joined the Empire as a choice over imprisonment after being arrested on Cantonica. With the information learned, Vess and her merqaal partner-in-crime, Nix, would travel to the facility of Research Station 57.^[1]

The mission

Infiltrating the outpost

After Vess and Nix arrived near the facility, they were able to surpass the Imperial defenses surrounding the exterior area of the station, and make their way inside the facility. When Vess reported to ND-5 that she considers Obaz to likely operate in a workshop, ND-5 would identify the maintenance facilities to be located in the sub-levels of the station, and provide the coordinates of a turbolift to Vess. As they traversed past the Imperial personnel operating on site, Vess and Nix navigated through the interior of the facility, and would eventually reach the turbolift leading to the maintenance area.^[1]

When the two moved across a ventilation area of the facility and arrived at a testing area, they were attacked by an aggressive turret model. Mistaking Vess as an assassin sent by the syndicates to kill him, Obaz would broadcast the fact that he had no choice over his advanced model of the Viper probe droids being used against the criminal syndicates. In response to the onslaught of the turret, Vess would activate the transfer of a hanged cargo to reach the control terminal of the turret, and be able to deactivate the turret's power.^[1]

Extracting Obaz

After disabling the turret, Vess discovered a holographic recording of Obaz, where he stated his disapproval of the Viper droids used by the Empire during Project Swarm, and intended to develop a more advanced model. Obaz reflected over upgrading a decommissioned Viper unit with Clone Wars technology from the junk dealer Temmin Wexley, in the hopes of earning enough reputation to be posted near his home of Canto Bight. Afterwards, Vess and Nix would reach a turbolift within the testing area, and proceed to head towards Obaz's workshop. When Vess navigated into a room of the workshop, a protocol droid would suddenly be activated to attack her with a blaster.^[1]

In response, Vess would take cover behind a table and attempt to greet Obaz. While Obaz recognized the voice of Vess, he was hesitant to accept the job proposed by her. Nevertheless, Vess would suggest to Obaz in dealing with a gatekeeper droid, and the fact that she owns a ship and a BX-series droid commando. Obaz would be convinced to join the crew after being intrigued by ND-5, and soon deactivate the protocol droid for Vess. As Obaz leaves his workshop with Vess, he reveals that they need to take care of the conflict between him and the syndicates on Akiva for him to be recruited, and that he can use his credentials to leave the base. Vess and Nix, on the other hand, would escape from the base after fighting their way across the alerted Imperial forces.^[1]

Aftermath

Exiting the area, Vess would contact and inform ND-5 about the success of the mission, with ND-5 confirming the delivery of the spice to Surat as a response. ND-5 would also advise Vess to uncover the reason for Obaz's struggle against the syndicates, and request Vess to regroup at the village of Sashin, where their EML-850 light freighter, Trailblazer, has been relocated at. Vess proceeded to contact Obaz, inquiring him over the solution to the issue concerning the Viper droid model.^[1]

When Obaz replied with a question regarding if Vess' S57 Cardinal speeder can hover over water, he considered for the priority to be upgrading the speeder bike to hover above deeper volumes of water. After Obaz recommended Temmin Wexley as a friend capable of providing the upgrade, Vess and Nix would then proceed to head towards Sashin, in the hopes of searching for Wexley, and fulfilling the request of Obaz for him to join the crew.^[1]

Behind the scenes

The rescue first appeared in the Massive Entertainment video game Star Wars Outlaws, released on August 30, 2024. The mission was mainly portrayed within the main quest of "The Droidsmith".^[1]

Appearances

• Star Wars Outlaws (First appearance)

Notes and references