Battle over a desert planet

During the later stages of the Cold War, the Resistance operatives Poe Dameron, BB-8, C-3PO, and Oddy Muva undertook a mission to the planet Kaddak to recover the Resistance spy droid N1-ZX ("Nunzix"), who had purportedly recovered valuable information about the First Order including the location of Supreme Leader Snoke. Poe and the droids managed to escape Kaddak on Poe's T-70 X-wing starfighter Black One but were separated from Oddy, who stowed aboard Terex's ship Carrion Spike. Oddy wanted to rescue his wife Sowa Chuan from Terex, who had blackmailed him into spying on Poe's Black Squadron.

Terex had allowed Poe to escape Kaddak in order to track down the location of the Resistance base. Terex wanted to use the Ranc Gang to destroy the Resistance and curry favor with the First Order. Terex's plans went against the Supreme Leader's orders for First Order forces to avoid open hostility with forces aligned with the New Republic. Despite Captain Phasma's objections, Terex was confident that his plan would succeed. Terex used the Carrion Spikes advance sensors to home in on Poe's X-wing. He also assembled a fleet of "Uglies", starships cobbled up from old starships and other vehicles.

However, Poe realized that the information that N1-ZX was carrying was a trick used by Terex to uncover the Resistance base. After consulting with BB-8 and C-3PO, Poe decided to abort their return trip to the Resistance base. Poe instead exited hyperspace above a remote desert planet. Terex and his fleet followed suit. Despite failing to reach the Resistance base, Terex ordered his fleet to destroy Poe instead. Meanwhile, Oddy Muva overpowered and forced Terex's henchman Zumgi to take him to his wife Sowa.

Poe managed to shoot down at least two "Uglies" before one of his X-wing's engines was hit by enemy fire and crashed on the desert planet. Poe and the droids were largely unhurt but N1-ZX's right arm was severed. The droids escaped Terex's "Uglies" by fleeing into a cave. Meanwhile, Oddy Muva freed his wife and the other slaves. He sought revenge against Terex only to learn that Terex had disembarked from the Carrion Spike with a landing party to hunt down Poe and the droids. Terex left another lieutenant Brrang in charge of the Carrion Spike and the "Uglies" fleet.

In an attempt to slow down Terex and his gang, BB-8 collapsed an ice stalactite on top of the gangsters. One was crushed by the heavy object. However, Terex managed to use his blaster to shoot down BB-8's chain, causing the droid to fall. C-3PO then decided to stay behind to slow down Terex so that Poe Dameron and Nunzix could travel deeper into the cave. When Terex and the Ranc Gang arrived, Poe spoke to the native fjor-bats and claimed that the gangsters wanted to steal their younglings. While the Ranc Gang fought the fjor-bats, Terex confronted C-3PO. He deactivated the droid by stealing his memory unit.

Meanwhile, Poe tried to get N1-ZX to fight since the droid was a BX-series droid commando. Nunzix refused due to his self-preservation software and his self-centered streak. Shortly later, Poe received contact from his fellow Black Squadron pilot Temmin Wexley that the squadron had arrived to rescue him. Terex's lieutenant Brrang believed that the Ranc Gang's "Uglies" could beat Black Squadron due to their superior numbers and ordered his fleet to destroy Poe's comrades.

While Black Squadron fought, Poe tried to convince Nunzix to fight. Fortunately for Poe, Temmin transmitted his droid Mister Bones' droid personality template onto Poe's comlink. After tapping N1-ZX's transponder, N1-ZX assumed Mister Bones' personality and slaughtered Terex's landing party. Meanwhile, Oddy Muva managed to reprogram the Carrion Spikes battle computers to target any ship without a Resistance transponder, resulting in several "Uglies" being wiped out. He then evacuated his wife Sowa Chuan and the other slaves in four escape pods. Oddy managed to contact the Resistance pilot Karé Kun and convince her squadron to escort their escape pods to safety.

Meanwhile, Terex managed to shoot and decapitate N1-ZX. Poe then attacked him and forced him to the ground with a blaster. Back in space, Black Squadron escorted the escape pods to the desert planet while under fire from the "Uglies." One of the Ranc fighters shot down an escape pod. The Resistance pilot L'ulo L'ampar retaliated by shooting that fighter. However, he was then shot down by another "Ugly." Back in the cave, Terex managed to disarm Poe by throwing a knife into his hand. Before he could finish off Poe, BB-8 electrocuted him, knocking the First Order agent and crime lord unconscious.

Elsewhere, Oddy and the escape pods safely entered the desert planet's atmosphere. Unwilling to let L'ulo die in vain, the rest of Black Squadron attacked the Carrion Spike and the Ranc fighters. Shortly later, a First Order Maxima-A class heavy cruiser emerged from hyperspace and disgorged a swarm of TIE/fo space superiority fighter. To the surprise of Black Squadron, the First Order heavy cruiser wiped out the Ranc "Uglies" and destroyed Terex's flagship Carrion Spike. The cruiser also dispatched an Atmospheric Assault Lander and several TIEs to the desert planet's surface. These forces had been dispatched by the First Order to arrest Terex for insubordination.

The battle ended both the Ranc Gang and Agent Terex's ambitions of destroying the Resistance. The First Order Commander Malarus and a contingent of stormtroopers landed on the desert planet and met with Poe Dameron. After being assured of their peaceful intentions, Poe allowed them to arrest Terex. Before handing Terex over, he taunted Terex about the destruction of the Ranc Gang and his flagship Carrion Spike. Terex countered that Poe had lost one of his pilots. However, Poe responded that Terex had lost everything while Poe had only lost one of his friends.

The battle over a desert planet first appeared in the 2017 comic Poe Dameron 11, written by Charles Soule and illustrated by Phil Noto.

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