| |
| Turtle class Bulk Tanker/Freighter | |
|---|---|
| Production information | |
| Class |
Transport/Walker hybrid |
| Technical specifications | |
| Length |
38.2 meters |
| Height/depth |
26.1 meters |
| Usage | |
| Role(s) |
|
The Turtle class Bulk Tanker/Freighter, colloquiatively nicknamed the Turtle Tanker, was a class of medium transport produced by Koensayr Manufacturing utilized during the Clone Wars. Its enlarged, box-like hull was mostly utilized for storage and transport of medical equipment, rations or other cargo. The freighter could be, and often was, converted into a fuel tanker, hence the name, Turtle Tanker.
The legs of the Turtle Tanker stored the engines and doubled as feet when landing on solid terrain. The cockpit could be detached and used as a small independent craft; a secondary control panel within the main tanker allowed it to be piloted even without the cockpit.
History[]
In 21 BBY, on the planet of Stobar, a Turtle Tanker named the Goji was commandeered by Savage Opress, seeking to reunite himself with his Sith brother Darth Maul. The owner of the Tanker was exporting cargo from the junk planet Lotho Minor, which reacted with the Talisman of Finding given to Savage by Mother Talzin. The mutated Nightbrother speculated that Maul's whereabouts were somehow connected to the planet, leading him to compel the owner to return to Lotho Minor in search for his sibling.
However, during the arrival and minor sweep of the junk planet, the Talisman of Finding became inactive, depriving Savage of his only lead. In a violent rage, Opress threw the Sakiyan pilot into an escape pod and ejected him onto the planet below, leaving Savage to control the Turtle Tanker. Despite this, Opress successfully landed the Turtle Tanker and managed to find his brother.
Thereafter, Opress returned with Maul to Dathomir aboard the ship, where Mother Talzin awaited them. Having regained his memories, his legs, and his previous physique after Talzin transformed him with her spells, Maul set out with Savage again to seek vengeance on his old enemy, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, who had defeated him during the Second Battle of Theed in 32 BBY. The duo set course for the planet Raydonia, apparently one of the planets supplied by the Turtle Tanker. When the ship landed, Maul and Opress proceeded to take hostages and slaughter several inhabitants of a Raydonian settlement, and Maul used the Turtle Tanker to send a challenge to the Jedi, drawing Kenobi into the fray.
When Kenobi arrived, Maul and Opress engaged him, quickly subduing him and bringing him aboard the ship. After helping his brother torture the Jedi Master with a brutal beatdown, Opress returned to the cockpit to take the Tanker into orbit. As the Tanker took off, it was secretly boarded by Opress' former master and Nightsister, Asajj Ventress, who had the intention of collecting a bounty (and getting revenge) on Opress. The former Dark Acolyte managed to get Kenobi back on his feet, resulting in a four-way duel in the cargo hold. Kenobi and Ventress, having teamed up against the brothers, managed to flee the scene in the ship's cockpit before Maul and Savage could reach them, leaving the two stranded in the remaining portion of the ship. Fortunately, however, it was equipped with a secondary control panel, allowing Maul and Opress to pilot the Turtle Tanker away from the area.
Later, in 19 BBY, the Jendirian Valley III was another Turtle tanker. It collided with the Stellar Envoy while leaving Nar Shaadaa, and although the freighter sustained minimal damage, the Envoy was wrecked and it's co-pilot, Reeze Duurmun was killed in the impact.