During the time of the Galactic Civil War, the Alliance to Restore the Republic relentlessly pursued a campaign against the Galactic Empire's attempts to produce droid soldiers, known as Dark troopers. In the standard year 1 ABY, the Alliance's primary agents for this undertaking, Kyle Katarn and Jan Ors, undertook a quest to the moon of Nar Shaddaa to find a nava card that they hoped would lead them to the location of the starship factory, Arc Hammer, the source of the Dark troopers. After Ors landed Katarn at a designated spot, Katarn had to battle his way through Imperial forces and a variety of bounty hunters seeking his demise. Ultimately, Katarn secured the nava card and was picked up by Ors in their vessel, the Moldy Crow.
However, as they departed Nar Shaddaa, they were seized by the Star Jewel, the private yacht belonging to the crime lord Jabba the Hutt. Ors was taken prisoner, and Katarn was scheduled for execution because their previous actions against the Empire had jeopardized Jabba's involvement in the Imperial project. Nevertheless, Katarn overcame Jabba's kell dragon using only his bare hands, recovered the nava card, freed Ors, and escaped the Star Jewel aboard the Moldy Crow.
During the time of the Galactic Civil War, the Galactic Empire conceived of a new weapon to use against their foe, the Alliance to Restore the Republic. These weapons, called Dark troopers, were droid soldiers armed with advanced weaponry. The brainchild of General Rom Mohc, the Dark troopers were constructed on the factory starship Arc Hammer. To counter the Dark Trooper Project, the Alliance deployed two operatives, Kyle Katarn and Jan Ors, with the mission to disrupt and ultimately terminate the project once and for all.
After destroying a robotics facility on the planet Anteevy during the year 1 ABY, Ors discovered, by monitoring smuggler vessels that had visited Anteevy to deliver supplies to the Empire, that all the smuggler activity originated from the moon Nar Shaddaa. Piloting the ship Moldy Crow, Ors and Katarn set off for what was often referred to as the "Smuggler's Moon" to further hinder the smugglers' efforts in assisting the Empire and to acquire a nava card that might reveal the location of the Arc Hammer. However, Mohc had placed a bounty on Katarn's head, making him a valuable target for the bounty hunters residing on Nar Shaddaa.
Ors dropped Katarn off close to a moving platform before taking off to await Katarn's completion of the primary objective: the acquisition of the nava card. Besides a significant Imperial presence, the route to the Imperial facility was filled with numerous bounty hunters and mercenaries working for a crime lord who was, as of yet, unidentified.
As Katarn commenced his journey through the city streets, he was promptly attacked by a lone remote droid, which Katarn eliminated. This attack was followed by an encounter with a group of Gamorreans wielding axes. Katarn battled his way through the aliens, killing those he came across. Katarn also fought Gran who were throwing thermal detonator and Trandoshans who were carrying concussion rifle. Katarn primarily used a Jeron fusion cutter in most of the enemy encounters, but he eventually recovered a Stouker concussion rifle from a Trandoshan who had fallen and used it alongside the fusioncutter and an E-11 blaster rifle. The Rebel agent also used his own thermal detonators to disable claymores that the enemy had planted.
After a prolonged series of battles, Katarn finally reached an Imperial facility that was being protected by Imperial stormtroopers, commandos, and officers. After blasting his way through the Imperials and additional mercenaries, Katarn discovered a blue-colored keycard. Katarn searched for the corresponding door and opened it. Eventually, Katarn fought his way across a narrow catwalk that was being guarded by Gran who were throwing detonators. Katarn survived their attacks, killed the Gran, and successfully crossed the catwalk, where he found a small Imperial control room. The room contained the sought-after nava card, which was being guarded by stormtroopers and commandos. Katarn killed all three Imperials and seized the card. With the nava card securely in his possession, Katarn was picked up by Ors.
As the Rebel pair ascended from Nar Shaddaa, the Moldy Crow was almost immediately ensnared in the tractor beams of the luxurious yacht Star Jewel, which was the personal vessel of the crime lord Jabba the Hutt. As it turned out, it was Jabba's smugglers who had been assisting the Empire by making the necessary trips to deliver the materials required for the Dark Trooper Project across the galaxy. Ors was imprisoned in the ship's brig, and Katarn was stripped of his equipment, which included his personal Bryar pistol and all the other weapons he had collected in past missions, and taken to the lair of Jabba's favorite kell dragon, where he was intended to be its meal. After being escorted to the pit by two Gamorrean guards, Jabba contacted his prisoner via a hologram, as Jabba was not physically present on his ship. The Hutt mocked Katarn, expressing his regret that he would not be able to witness Katarn's death in person. Katarn attempted to threaten Jabba, believing that Ors had been harmed, but he was subsequently thrown into the Kell dragon pit by the guards.
Despite being unarmed, Katarn killed Jabba's Kell dragon with his bare hands, along with several other Kell dragons. In response, a large door in the pit opened, revealing more Kell dragons and another door that led deeper into the ship. Katarn defeated the kell dragons and two Gran, secured the area of personal energy shields and the detonators that the Grans had dropped, and, after stealing a blue Keycard, proceeded further into the ship. Katarn's first priority was to retrieve his confiscated gear. Katarn located and recovered it after killing the Gamorreans who were guarding it. Now fully equipped, Katarn blasted his way through the remaining of Jabba's troops and Kell dragons, using the weapons he had prioritized on Nar Shaddaa. After stealing a yellow keycard from a waste pit inhabited by a dianoga, Katarn passed through a cell corridor into a restaurant consisting of circular rooms, where he was able to find the confiscated nava card.
Finally, Katarn set out to rescue his partner. The removal of the card caused a mechanical door to open, and after battling through more guards and kell dragons, Katarn finally located the brig and killed the Trandoshan, Gran, and Gamorrean defenders. Katarn found Ors' cell and freed her, and together they escaped the Star Jewel aboard the Moldy Crow, preventing Jabba from exacting his revenge on Katarn.
With the nava card in their possession, Ors and Katarn traveled to the Imperial capital planet Coruscant so that they could infiltrate the Imperial Security Operations building and decode the nava card. After decoding the card, the Rebel pair were one step closer to defeating Mohc and ending the Dark Trooper Project for good. Eventually, Ors and Katarn effectively ended the Imperial endeavor with the destruction of the Arc Hammer.
Kyle Katarn's mission to Nar Shaddaa was first featured in the 1995 video game Star Wars: Dark Forces, where it comprised the ninth and tenth levels of the game. More details regarding the mission, as well as a suggested path for completion, were provided in the Dark Forces Official Player's Guide, which was written by Jeff Hoff. This article is written with the assumption that 100% game completion involves following the guide's instructions and suggestions, such as which weapons to use in specific situations, while playing on the game's "Hard" difficulty setting.
The game's briefing screens referred to the level on Nar Shaddaa as "Nar Shaddaa, the Vertical City: The Death Mark," and named the escape from Jabba's ship "Jabba the Hutt's ship: Jabba's Revenge."