ZUCKUSS HISTORY

Chief Scout, New Republic Starship FarStar
 

Chief Scout, New Republic Starship FarStar
 
"Five hundred thousand credits on you, eh? Given Zuckuss a lot
  to think about."


 


Zuckuss was born forty-two years ago on the planet Gand. He
was  a Gand Findsman by trade, and as such has continued certain practices and
  techniques of bounty hunting which have been passed on through his family for
  several centuries. Being a Findsman is a time-honoured profession on Gand, and
  has been followed there since the establishment of a totalitarian monarchy on
  Gand millennia ago. Evolving as they did, on a largely gaseous planet, the Gand
  developed in a series of pocket colonies separated from each other by seemingly
  endless kilometres of thick mists.


 


The Findsmen of Gand belong to a highly superstitious and
  religious sect. They actually worship the planets enshrouding gaseous mists,
  looking to them for signs and omens which will lead them to their prey. When
the  Empire took over the planets slave trade, their sophisticated scanning
  equipment had no trouble detecting runaways in the mists. The Findsmen, with
  their ancient and ritualistic traditions, had suddenly become obsolete.


 


A few Findsmen decided to keep the sect alive, and turned to
  the stars, where their talents could be put to use. Foremost among this new
  breed of bounty hunters was Zuckuss. Although his alien physiology requires him
  to wear a special breathing apparatus while away from his homeworld, Zuckuss is
  a tireless tracker who has braved virtually every environment and type of
  terrain in the known galaxy. In his travels, he has gained the nickname of "The
  Uncanny One" from his peers, such as Dengar and Bossk. Even Boba Fett himself
is  respectful of Zuckuss talents.


 


Zuckuss has accumulated quite a few captures (and even some 
accidental kills) during his long and distinguished career. His fees are
  exorbitant, and he has worked for them all  for the Empire, the Rebel
Alliance,  the New Republic, local law enforcement agencies, bounty guilds,
crimelords like  Jabba the Hutt, Ploovo Two-For-One and Big Bunji, and he has
even on occasion  worked for himself, for that is where his allegiance truly
lies.


 


Zuckuss long time partner was a droid named 4-LOM. Jabba the
  Hutt originally paired the two hunters for a time, to track down some of his
  more wayward employees. They found they worked well together, a pairing of
  instinct and logic that beggared the imagination. The two had been together for
  a year when they got wind of Lord Vader's contract on Han Solo at Hoth. Missing
  the Millennium Falcon, they decided to board a crippled Rebel Transport so the
  trip would not have been fruitless  some Rebel hostages would surely please
  Vader's fleet. On going aboard, they were offered a better deal  take whatever
  survivors they could (including the Rebel General Carlist Rieekan) to a
  rendezvous with their fleet in return for payment, sanctuary, and medical
  treatment. Zuckuss's health was failing  a shot in the chest he suffered some
  years ago had crippled his lungs and his cybernetic replacements were breaking down.


  


Zuckuss and 4-LOM decided to accept the offer and took the
  wounded and some others off the ship before the Empire got to it and impounded
  it, capturing the remaining crew. Remaining on board to meet her fate was the
  striking young human woman who struck the deal with the hunters  one Ensign
  Tamara Barinn. Zuckuss has often thought back to her since that day, her
courage  and resolve inspiring him. On arrival at the Rebel Fleet, the medical
droid 2-1B  fitted Zuckuss with replacement organic lungs. After once again
going freelance  to try and stop Boba Fett from reaching Jabba with Solo  and
failing - Zuckuss  and 4-LOM began a career working for the Rebels. He even used
his knowledge of  Jabbas palace to help Lando Calrissian, Princess Leia and
Luke Skywalker plan  their rescue of Han Solo, which he would admit was just to
spite Fett!


 


Soon after the Rebel victory at Endor, Zuckuss and his
partner  went freelance once more. The big bounties were to be had by playing
both sides  against the middle  the two hunters took both New Republic and
Imperial  contracts, in addition to the pirates, privateers and slavers they
were hired to  track. It was almost four years after Endor that the biggest,
potentially mot  satisfying hunt fell into Zuckuss and 4-LOM's laps  
Klaal.


 


Klaal was a Defel warrior accused of fratricide, further
  vilified by his protestations of false innocence. He had been exiled from
Af El,  and now a bounty had been placed on his head for crimes committed in his
years  of exiled flight. The two hunters could expect to collect bounties from
the New  Republic, the Empire, local law enforcement agencies, independents 
even Jabba  wanted this guy dead, and some whispered that Fett himself had
returned from the  dead just for this hunt. Klaal's trail led to Kathol Sector,
on the Outer Rim,  and beyond. Zuckuss and 4-LOM travelled into uncharted space
and to the  shadowport Tanquilla Beach, where they found Klaal as a
crewmember on  the New Republic ship FarStar, in search of the local
renegade Moff.  Klaal got away, and 4-LOM was destroyed by Klaal's friends. It
was just  Zuckuss once more, alone, stranded with no ship.


 


Zuckuss struck a deal with the traitorous Rodian Gorak Khzam,
  former first officer of the FarStar, and accompanied him and his pirate
  band aboard the corvette Sable II, continuing the hunt for Klaal. If
  Zuckuss helped Gorak to find some artifacts he was interested in, he could
  have Klaal for himself. Gorak abused and manipulated Zuckuss talents for
  tracking once too often, and the deal turned sour. As the chase for Klaal
  neared the edge of the galaxy, Gorak conducted a loyalty purge on the crew of
  the Sable II. A number of crewmembers were dumped on the planet
  Demonsgate, a barren ball of rock at the galaxy's edge, including Zuckuss.


 


Then he had his idea. He took the six others prisoner and
  cobbled together their comlinks to make a short-range subspace emitter,
  broadcasting a message of parlay to the FarStar. Sure enough, the ship
  arrived  and when it landed, Klaal rushed Zuckuss with intent to kill him! In
  the fight, before the FarStar crew could intervene, Zuckuss accidentally
  shot Klaal. However, with the trade of six prisoners and information on Gorak,
  Captain Keleman Ciro was persuaded to take Zuckuss on as Chief Scout  Klaal's
  old position. The FarStar went on to complete her mission a few days
  later  with Zuckuss help, Moff Sarne was killed and his power source,
  Darkstryder, destroyed. But then, a new mission beckoned. The ship had to
travel  back in time to the Clone Wars in pursuit of Gorak, and stop his plans
for  galactic domination. This is one hunt Zuckuss will complete for free. And
then we shall see.


 


One last point  imagine Zuckuss's surprise when he finds that
  Ensign Tamara Barrinn from the Battle of Hoth is alive and well and aboard the
FarStar!