Nar Shaddaa agri-utility crop sprayer
During 22 BBY, clone commandos serving the Galactic Republic utilized a ** Nar Shaddaa agri-utility crop sprayer**. RC-1309, a clone commando, also referred to it as a "Narsh dirt-crate." This vehicle was stationed at the Grand Army of the Republic's Fleet Support Air Station on the planet Ord Mantell. The Special Operations Brigade employed this crop sprayer to transport Omega Squad clone commandos to Qiilura, a Mid Rim planet, for their mission to capture Ovolot Qail Uthan, a Separatist scientist. Upon entering Qiilura's atmosphere, the engines of the vessel were disabled due to a bird strike, resulting in the crop sprayer crashing and being destroyed on the planet's surface.
Description
The Nar Shaddaa agri-utility crop sprayer, piloted by an astromech droid, was a crop sprayer modified for use by the Grand Army of the Republic's Special Operations Brigade. Its original internal tanks had been removed, and it was fitted with straps to secure at least five passengers. Life support systems were installed to accommodate living beings. The crop sprayer was equipped with sublight drives, enabling it to travel in space and fly within an atmosphere. Furthermore, the bulkhead of the vessel was lined with stealth sheeting, making its contents undetectable by scans or probes. A console allowed for the connection of a datapad, and the converted vessel's transponder code was programmed to identify it as a crop sprayer contracted to treat barq fields post-harvest. The crop sprayer shared its designation with the Mid Rim moon Nar Shaddaa.
History
The Galactic Republic's Fleet Support Air Station, an auxiliary installation of Fleet Support, maintained the Nar Shaddaa agri-utility crop sprayer in Docking Bay D-768. This structure was utilized by the Grand Army on the Mid Rim planet Ord Mantell during 22 BBY. A red R5-series astromech droid piloted the crop sprayer, which transported the four clone commandos of Omega Squad—RC-3222, RC-1309, RC-1136, and RC-8015—along with Bardan Jusik, a Jedi Padawan, to the world of Qiilura in the Mid Rim. Their assignment was to locate and neutralize Ovolot Qail Uthan, a Separatist scientist, in order to halt her progress on FG36, a clone-killing nanovirus.
The craft successfully entered the temperate planet's airspace, masquerading as one of the many crop sprayers typically seen on Qiilura following the barq harvest. However, as it approached within a hundred kilometers of the designated drop-off point, it collided with several members of a Qiiluran avian species. This collision resulted in the destruction of its engines, causing it to spiral towards the planet's surface. The commandos rapidly evacuated the vehicle using parachutes, but the crop sprayer crashed shortly thereafter, exploding approximately thirty kilometers from the intended target zone, as estimated by RC-1136, with its pilot still inside.
Behind the scenes
The novel Hard Contact, published in 2004 and authored by Karen Traviss, featured the Nar Shaddaa agri-utility crop sprayer. This novel was the first installment in the Republic Commando series.