Errant Venture
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
The Errant Venture is a starship in the fictional Star Wars universe. She is a Imperator-class Star Destroyer, and she has the distinction of being the only known privately owned Star Destroyer. She is owned by Booster Terrik, who also serves as her Captain. The ship was at one time part of the Imperial Starfleet, and was then known as the Virulence.
Imperial Service
Exactly how old the ship is has not been revealed. It's not known for sure how many years the Errant Venture spent in Imperial service as the Virulence. During most of her time in Imperial service, the Virulence was commanded by Captain Joak Drysso.
The Virulence was part of the Imperial fleet that was at the Battle of Endor. Towards the end of the battle, Captain Drysso saw the Star Dreadnought Executor crash into the partially completed Death Star. He realized at that point that the Rebels would win the battle. Drysso decided to take the Virulence and leave the Endor system.
After leaving Endor, Drysso would come to offer his services and his ship to Imperial Intelligence Chief Ysanne Isard. Drysso joined Isard when she took the Star Dreadnought Lusankya from Coruscant to Thyferra. Drysso was rewarded with the command of the Lusankya. His executive officer Lakwii Varschra was then promoted to Captain of the Virulence. The Virulence was joined by the Imperator-class Star Destroyer Avarice and the Victory-class Star Destroyer Corrupter.
The members of Rogue Squadron left New Republic service in order to oppose Ysanne Isard. They were eventually able to destroy the Corrupter, and convinced Avarice's Captain Sair Yonka to leave Imperial service. As a result, Virulence and Lusankya were the only two vessels left in Isard's fleet.
The performance reports of the Virulence during this time indicated that the ship was not well prepared for battle since Drysso left. The crew had been slow to respond during the Rogue's hit and fade attacks on the vessel.
Eventually, the Rogues' secret base was found. The Lusankya and the Virulence traveled to Yag'Duhl to confront the Rogues. When they arrived, the Rogues were gone. The base appeared to be very heavily armed complete with a gravity well projector, and had trapped the Lusankya in a tractor beam. The Virulence broke the tractor beam lock by placing herself between the station and the Lusankya. The Lusankya immediately returned to Thyferra at flank speed. Shortly after the Lusankya left, the station's gravity well projector pulled a group of A-wings commanded by Pash Cracken out of hyperspace. Captain Terrik convinced Captain Varschra that this was part of the trap, and she surrendered the Virulence to him.
Terrik took the Virulence and the A-wing fighter group, and proceeded to Thyferra. His ship arrived during the middle of the battle. At first Drysso thought the calvary had arrived when he saw the Virulence. He was in for a very unpleasant surpise when the A-wings launched, and the Virulence began firing on the Lusankya. Eventually, Drysso was killed when he refused to surrender the Lusankya.
Private Ownership
Soon after the battle at Thyferra, General Airen Cracken of the New Republic arrived. He tried to talk Booster Terrik into giving the ship to the Republic. But Terrik found that commanding a starship agreed with him, and refused to surrender the ship. Eventually, a compromise was reached. Terrik could keep the ship, but would have to give up most of the weaponry. He was permitted to keep 10 light turbolasers and a few ion cannons. Cracken asked him to rename the ship, and he decided then to call her the Errant Venture.
During Grand Admiral Thrawn's campaign against the New Republic, Terrik kept a low profile because of concerns that Thrawn would try to capture the Errant Venture and return her to Imperial service. He continued to do so when the reborn Emperor began his campaign against the Republic six years after Endor. Nawara Ven eventually joined the crew. The ship eventually received a red paint job to replace the standard Imperial white.
Fifteen years after the Battle of Endor, the Errant Venture was not in very good condition. The ship had maintainence needs that had gone unfulfilled due to personnel and equipment shortages. The weapons had begun to malfunction, leaving Terrik's ship almost totally undefended. Terrik did hire a Verpine crew to help with the most critical systems, so that someone else, such as one of the Hutt lords wouldn't try taking the ship.
The New Republic eventually helped refit the Errant Venture so that she could participate in a special covert operation against the Imperial Ubiqtorate Base at Yaga Minor. She got back most of her weaponry at this point. Afterwards, Terrik was again required to give up most of the weapons.
During the Yuuzhan Vong war, the ship served as a squadron flagship, and as a mobile Jedi sanctuary when the New Republic turned against the Jedi. The ship was fully rearmed at this point. While serving as a sanctuary, she made continual hyperspace jumps in order to keep the Jedi on board the ship safe by making her very difficult to find. Later in the war she served as flagship for a motly collection of smugglers, thieves and other fringe elements in the fight against the Vong. It was during this conflict that rumours surfaced of Terrik installing an axial superlaser.
Terrik continued to captain the Errant Venture following the war.
