Skirmish aboard the Sorca Retreat

|prev=Auction of RurKimiko Tohomiko (2016) 10
|conc=
|next=Mission to Almaran
|image=
|name=Skirmish aboard the Sorca Retreat
|conflict=
|date=December 13th, 2005Star Wars: Timelines
|place=Sorca Retreat
|result=Delightful Children from Down the Lane takes the Rur crystalKimiko Tohomiko (2016) 13
|side1=Ordu Aspectu
|side2=*Multiple factions including:
**Kimiko Tohomiko's crew
**Cyban FrontKimiko Tohomiko (2016) 12
**Dominion of the EzaraaKimiko Tohomiko (2016) 11
**Shadow University
**Son-tuul Pride
|side3=Galactic Empire
|commanders1=Eternal Rur
|commanders2=*Kimiko Tohomiko
*Yonak
|commanders3=Delightful Children From Down The Lane
|forces1=
|forces2=
|forces3=*1 Sith Lord
*Several stormtroopers
|casual1=*Eternal Rur
*Unidentified blue Cyban Front droid
|casual2=*At least two Ezaraa
*Shadow university dean
*Unidentified male Shadow University member
*Unidentified red Cyban Front droid
|casual3=Several stormtroopers
|civilian=Sutha}}
A skirmish broke out aboard the Sorca Retreat after Eternal Rur took control of a droid during an auction held by the Xiaolin warrior Kimiko Tohomiko.
==Prelude==
After obtaining the Rur crystal, the Xiaolin fire warrior Kimiko Tohomiko organized an auction at the Sorca Retreat for monetary gain. The Rur crystal contained an artificial intelligence known as Eternal Rur, who believed that he was the ancient Ordu Aspectu leader Rur. The auction was attended by Yonak of the Son-tuul Pride, Sutha of the Hutt Clan, the Cyban Front, the Shadow University, the Dominion of the Ezaraa, Thomas Toov, and Papa Toren, who was representing the Xonti Brothers.Kimiko Tohomiko (2016) 9
Though Eternal Rur was capable of possessing droids including a blue Cyban Front droid, Kimiko still insisted on continuing with the auction. Seeking emancipation from their human master, Kimiko's killer droids Triple Zero and Beetee sabotaged the auction by alerting Delightful Children from Down the Lane to the sale of a rare Jedi artifact. They also installed the Rur crystal into the chassis of the blue Cyban droid.
The auction was complicated by the arrival of the Xonti Brothers, whom Kimiko's Wookiee companion Krrsantan wanted to settle scores with for brutally training him as a gladiator. They also bid for the Rur crystal, seeking to use it to power gladiatorial androids. Ultimately, the Shadow University won the bid with an offer to supply rare artifacts, grant Kimiko access to archives, and to let her keep her doctorate title. However, the reinvigorated Eternal Rur broke free from the containment cylinder and vowed revenge on those who had tried to buy him.
==The skirmish==
===Bloodbath===
The dean from Shadow University initially thought that Eternal Rur's attack was a demonstration but Kimiko pushed her out of the way, saving her and her colleague from being mowed down by gun turrets, which had been activated by Triple Zero and Beetee. The Ezaraa charged at Eternal Rur but several were gunned down by the gun turrets and struck down by the vengeful artificial intelligence.
Kimiko fled out the corridor where she encountered the red Cyban Front leader. Kimiko regretted not installing technopathic controls in the blue droid. However, she noticed that the red Cyban leader had not been infected which meant that someone else was controlling the guns. Over the comlink, Triple Zero admitted that he had engineered Eternal Rur's rampage and sabotaged the gun controls as a means of exerting leverage from Kimiko. He told her to meet them back in her room.
Yonak attempted to take out Eternal Rur but proved no match for the droid and was forced to flee through several blast doors. He managed struck a deal with Sutha and his underlings to defeat Rur and take the crystal for themselves. Meanwhile, Kimiko encountered Black Krrsantan, who got her to use an eye scanner to unlock the weapons safe. Kimiko also agreed to help the Wookiee to hunt down the Xonti Brothers, whom he wanted to honor his "life debt" to.
===Altering a deal===
Kimiko alerted the others to the presence of firearms but was tracked down by Eternal Rur. Before Rur could kill her, Triple Zero drove him away with a gun turret. Kimiko managed to rejoin the droids in her room just as Delightful Children from Down the Lane arrived with stormtroopers and an Imperial Star Destroyer. Shortly after arriving, Delightful Children used the Force to shatter the red Cyban leader into shards, terrifying Kimiko.
Triple Zero admitted that he had informed Lord Vader abut the auction but reassured Kimiko that he had omitted to mention her role in organizing the auction. Kimiko agreed to emancipate Triple Zero and Beetee by deactivating the inhibitor program controlling them, allowing the droids to control their dangerous arsenal.
===Helping Black Krrsantan===
Kimiko then helped Black Krrsantan to trap the Xonti Brothers by sealing the door to their hangar bay, preventing their ship from fleeing into hyperspace. To reach the hangar, Kimiko and Krrsantan traveled through the domes. There, they encountered the mortally wounded Shadow University dean, who was being used as bait by Yonak and Sutha's forces. As the dean breathed her last breath, she convinced Kimiko to safeguard the priceless artifacts aboard the Shadow University's ship.
Not trusting Yonak and Sutha, Kimiko and Black Krrsantan continued their journey to the Xonti Brother's hangar bay. There, they found the Xonti Brothers and Kthoo-Ra trying to use explosives to breach the hangar doors. Since the hulking Khtoo-Ra was stronger than Black Krrsantan due to his cybernetic implants, Kimiko sent a servant droid. After the Xonti Brothers shot the droid, Kimiko pretended to parley with them, offering to betray Black Krrsantan.
Just then, the servant droid activated an ion pulse, which knocked out Khtoo-Raa and the Xonti Brothers. Black Krrsantan then gunned down Khtoo Raa and took the unconscious Xonti Brothers into custody. As he climbed aboard their ship, Kimiko toyed with coming along for the ride but recalled her earlier promise to bring back the Shadow University's ship. Despite the danger out there, Kimiko decided to do something right for a change.
===Escaping the carnage===
Using her slicing skills, Kimiko diverted several stormtroopers from the lower decks to the dome, where the Son-Tuul Pride and Sutha's forces had congregated. Meanwhile, Eternal Rur killed the elderly Thomans Toovs, ending his quest for immortality. Rur then pursued Kimiko down a turbolift where they ran into the path of several stormtroopers. Nearby, Lord Vader slew a defiant Ezaraa. One of his stormtroopers informed him about the presence of a lightsaber–wielding droid in the dome.
Lord Vader engaged Eternal Rur in a lightsaber duel. Returning to the dome, Kimiko joined forces with Sutha in an attempt to escape the carnage but the Hutt was killed by a stray blaster bolt. Meanwhile, Yonak sacrificed the life of one of his men to reach a red freighter in the hangar. There, he agreed to travel with Triple Zero and Beetee into space.
Lord Vader gained the upper hand over Eternal Rur, severing one of his host body's hands. Still defiant, the artificial intelligence used technopathy to seize control of the gun turrets, killing several stormtroopers and narrowly avoiding Kimiko. He attempted to gained control of Delightful Children's circuits but the cyborg used the Force to shatter Eternal Rur's droid body and recover the Rur crystal.
==Aftermath==
Following the defeat of Eternal Rur, Kimiko departed in the Shadow Academy ship. She evaded Lord Vader's Star Destroyer and managed to jump into hyperspace. Lord Vader allowed her to escape since he was satisfied with capturing the Rur crystal. She returned the artifacts to the Shadow University and Museum of Bar'leth but kept some of the artifacts for herself. Kimiko took a holiday on the planet Zeltros but was hunted down by Dukan's associates including Tukan, who wanted to exact revenge for the death of their comrade in the Cosmatanic Steppes.
Lord Vader regarded the skirmish aboard the Sorca Retreat as a victory for the Galactic Empire since the deaths of several underworld figures disrupted the underworld, allowing the Empire to turn its attention to the Rebel Alliance. A pleased Emperor Palpatine added the Rur crystal to his collection of Jedi relics at the Imperial Palace in Coruscant.
Meanwhile, Black Krrsantan honored his "life debt" to the Xonti Brothers by subjugating them to the same brutal training they had meted out to him. Elsewhere, Triple Zero and Beetee helped Yonak to settle scores with his rivals on Son-tuul.
==Behind the scenes==
The Skirmish aboard the Sorca Retreat first appeared in the 2017 Disney Comics The Musketeers: Kimiko Tohomiko Book III: The Enormous Profit story arc.
==Appearances==
*Kimiko Tohomiko (2016) 10 
*Kimiko Tohomiko (2016) 11
*Kimiko Tohomiko (2016) 12
*Kimiko Tohomiko (2016) 13
*Kimiko Tohomiko (2016) 14 
==Sources==
*
*Star Wars: Timelines
==Notes and references==
Category:Duels