In my previous post, I left off the story of my cruise on the Halcyon at the end of the first day. Now, we’ll continue with day two. As before, be warned: SPOILERS from this point on.
My Data Pad app cleared and reset the moment I left the ship, and now all it shows is that an upcoming reservation is required in order to use it. I’m sure that’s how it was originally programmed, but I wish they’d updated it to leave a record, now that the Starcruiser is soon to close. I suppose that such a reprogramming was far down the list of anyone’s priorities, if it was even thought of at all.
The result is that I can’t refer back to the app for details on individual missions and achievements, and since at the time they were all there on the Data Pad I didn’t try very hard to commit all the McGuffins to memory at the time. So specific names or pieces of equipment or whatever are already blurring into a general overview in my memory. Don’t worry, though, the story is clear.
A couple of specifics I should have mentioned in the last post:
- It became clear during the evening that the singer Gaya and her manager Raithe were using her concert tour as a cover for a smuggling operation. That’s why they needed the Halcyon to divert to pick her up. If I’d picked the “I’m in it for the money” path I’d have received missions primarily from them; since I didn’t, I never heard back from Raithe after his message that he was impressed when I hacked into the engine room.
- The loyal R2 unit, SK-620, who I mentioned had information needed by the Resistance, was caught by Lt. Croy and the Stormtroopers, who forced Engineer Sammie at gunpoint to put a restraining bolt on SK. Later in my cabin, the hospitality droid D3-09 talked about how horrible that is for a droid, since a restraining bolt essentially removes their free will. She asked me to look out for ways to help free SK-620.
- An area of the ship I forgot to mention on the tour: the “climate simulator” which is always set to reproduce the climate of the Halcyon’s next port of call, to help passengers decide what to wear. Currently set to match the weather on Batuu. (Out of character, it was an outdoor atrium with a garden.) The tour guide emphasized that it was always available for passengers as a place to come and meditate. I suspect that if I had chosen the Way of the Force path, I’d have had events here with the Saja, but I can’t say for sure.
And now, on with the story:
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As the second day began, the Stormtroopers were still snooping around. All through the voyage, they were lurking around, interacting with passengers and their activities in sometimes comical, sometimes menacing ways.
 Skipping ahead a little bit for a picture on Batuu |
Knowing from a visit to the climate simulator (and also just in general) that the weather on Batuu was quite hot, I went with a lighter costume for day two than the Jedi robes I wore on the first day.
Before taking the shuttle down to the planet, I went to the breakfast buffet in the Crown of Corellia dining room. Among the morning’s updates, I had messages from Cruise Director Lenka and Engineer Sammie, asking me to do some things while down on Batuu. |
Apparently, they had learned that Lt Croy had plans to disable the Halcyon’s engines in order to trap it in orbit around Batuu (I believe those who chose the First Order path had missions to help with this— they weren’t only informing on the other passengers) and they wanted me to contact some smugglers on the ground to help gather the parts they’d need to counteract Croy’s sabotage. Before leaving the Halycon, I was sent to the engine room to download complete schematics of the ship to my Data Pad.
| While boarding the shuttle to Batuu, we were all issued special pins that identify us to the people of Black Spire outpost as Halcyon passengers. This would affect the way the locals interacted with us— they’d stay in character for the Halcyon’s story.
Overall, I was amazed again during my Batuu shore excursion: I never realized how much of Galaxy’s Edge was designed to coordinate with the Starcruiser. Another reason its upcoming closure is a tragedy; a lot of Galaxy’s Edge will never get properly played again. |
 The marketplace at Black Spire outpost |
But on with the story. I got a message to go see the smuggler Hondo near where the Millennium Falcon was docked, and to say to any nearby crew member that I had “you know what” to give to “you know who.”
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Once there, I passed on the message and was told to scan my M-band at a nearby reader, thus downloading the Halcyon schematics to Hondo’s computer, and then they asked if I’d help with an important smuggling operation for the Resistance. (Out of character, this was me getting a “Lightning Lane” to skip the line at the Smuggler’s Run ride.) I agreed and helped pilot the Milennium Falcon to steal several containers of coaxium, an important mineral for starship engines. |
A similar prompt led me to the Resistance encampment to deliver some information to be passed on to Leia Organa; this was a Lightning Lane for the Rise of the Resistance ride.
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After that I had a reservation at Savi’s workshop to build my own lightsaber, and several other missions came up on my Data Pad. Among other things, I located a crate containing a set of datatapes the Halcyon would need to repair Lt Croy’s sabotage.
I finished with lunch at Docking Bay 7 (included with my Halcyon ticket). At that point I got a message from Lenka thanking me for my help and saying I could enjoy the rest of my day on Batuu and she’d be back in touch when I returned to the ship. It was a tip-off I’d completed all the story elements on Batuu.
My next scheduled event was Bridge training at 3:30. I could have stayed on Batuu until I needed to catch the shuttle for that, but I’ve visited Batuu before by other routes and I will again in the future, while this would be my only chance to travel on the Halcyon. So I returned to the ship as soon as I’d completed all the story events on the planet.
| I played a couple of games of Sector Set (Bingo) and watched a droid race.
I also completed a couple of other missions, hacking into the cargo hold to scan some crates for more equipment needed to repair the engines. On my own, I also solved the puzzle to get into the brig, though it never had any story relevance for me— I assume it played into one of the other paths. |
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Back in my cabin for a quick shower after the heat of Batuu, I was contacted by D3-09 who needed my help to explain to the Stormtroopers why she wasn’t cooperating with their demands. I helped her think up some excuses. Then it was time for bridge training.
On the bridge we went through a series of simulated drills showing how to work the Halcyon’s cargo grapplers, weapons, shields, and repair systems. At the end of the session, Lenka arrived with an urgent mission to check out why an important communications relay had shut down. She wanted to send us all away but the training crew told how well we’d all done in the simulations and that we were more than able to help with this mission. Lenka agreed, and we took the controls “for real.”
It turned out the relay was actually a Resistance communications hub hidden in an asteroid field. A collision had knocked loose all its power cores. Those of us on weapons had to blast the asteroids, those on the cargo grapplers had to pick up the power cores and put them back in place, those on shields protected the ship from asteroid that got past the weapons, and those on repairs fixed the damage caused by impacts that got past the shields. The mission was successful, and the Halcyon jumped back through hyperspace to Batuu, hopefully without Lt Croy ever realizing the ship had moved.
But no such luck!
Back in my cabin for a while, I noticed through the window formations of TIE fighters flying past. I headed to the atrium to see what was up. Lt Croy was aware of all the Resistance activity on board. He brought more Stormtroopers onto the ship, and had put the ship under a blockade to prevent it from leaving orbit around Batuu.
Passengers supporting the First Order cheered. Engineer Sammie protested, and Captain Keevan tried to keep things calm, her mind on the safety of her passengers. As things settled down, she said the Halcyon’s regular activities would continue, and she was sure everything would be resolved peaceably.
Dropping back by my cabin, I had a frantic message from hospitality droid D3-09. Stormtroopers were trying to break into her control room and she couldn’t hold them off. She had just one last message: “If I don’t make it, remember that dinner tonight is Taste Around The Galaxy, a fabulous feast of the best cuisine from across the stars!” The stormtroopers burst in and the message cut off. I tried to contact her again but got only a “disconnected” message.
With that, nothing to do for the moment but go to dinner. After all, the hospitality droid D3-09 might have given her life in a last effort to maximize hospitality potential by reminding me of it.
The dinner was definitely amazing. The four-course Taste Around The Galaxy menu began with a bread service (I don’t recall from what planet) with a variety of dips. Then, the appetizer that all the bloggers keep posting pictures of, and so I will as well, the famous blue shrimp from Falusha (they get their blue color from eating the blue algae native to the planet).
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Then Bantha steaks and a whitefish of some sort from Kashyk, the Wookiee planet. Finally, a chocolate cake from the Halcyon’s home port of Corellia, made in the shape of the Chandrila Star Lines logo.
During dinner I got a message on my Data Pad that Rey was on board and that if I saw her, to help her stay hidden from the Stormtroopers. I never did encounter her, but I did meet up with another character later— I think the story paths subdivided to avoid having too many passengers in one spot doing one thing all at once.
After dinner, everything started to wrap up in a series of events that brought all the stories together. My itinerary showed that Gaya would be performing an a capella concert in the atrium at 7:00, and also showed as a story event that I should covertly meet with Captain Keevan during the performance to hand over the coaxium I’d obtained on Batuu, and then to meet with Engineer Sammie on the bridge to plan repairing the ship’s engines.
Lt Croy interrupted the performance: his Stormtroopers had located the coaxium shipment. He triumphantly displayed the container as proof of the nefarious activities on the Halcyon. Gaya defiantly chose to continue her performance, and Croy, suspicious, came down from the mezzanine to keep an eye on her. Meanwhile, Raithe appeared with a lot of passengers following (everyone who had chosen the Smuggler story path) who started dancing and clapping along to Gaya’s music, concealing from Croy’s view that Raithe climbed up to the mezzanine to take the coaxium out of the container and get away with it. At the same time, Sammie snuck up to there to remove the restraining bolt from SK-620, freeing the droid.
Completing her performance, Gaya departed from the ship with all of her luggage— an impressive stack of suitcases containing all the smuggled items she, Raithe, and the passengers on that story path had managed to obtain, right under Croy’s nose.
| It was time to meet Engineer Sammie on the bridge. He started going over the plan to counteract Croy’s sabotage of the engines but we were interrupted by a crisis as Chewbacca in the Millennium Falcon approached and came under attack by the TIE fighters around the ship. We all had to man the controls and put our previous bridge training to use in a major space battle!
We managed to defeat the TIE fighters and Chewbacca came to dock with the Halcyon. |
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Chewbacca joined us as, led by Sammie, we headed down to the engine room while clustering around Chewbacca so the Stormtroopers wouldn’t see him
Once there, we divided up to staff all those control panel puzzles I noticed the day before, that each took 3 people working together to solve. Chewie handed out the datatapes found earlier on Batuu, which activated the consoles so that this time they’d actually do something. |
Working together, we repaired the ship’s engines. Sammie congratulated us all: we’d destroyed the TIE fighters blockading the ship, and repaired the engines. The Halcyon could leave Batuu and return to its home port, and Lt Croy’s schemes had been defeated!
All that was left on the itinerary was the Captain’s farewell reception in the atrium, with planned fireworks to celebrate a successful voyage.
But that was not the end of the story! Outside a ship’s windows, a Star Destroyer came into view, and suddenly the shipwide alert sounded, the lights turning red and a voice on the PA ordering all passengers to muster in the atrium. Lt Croy was seizing outright control of the Halcyon, relieving Captain Keevan of duty and arresting all passengers guilty of helping the Resistance. He thanked (in many cases by name) those passengers who were loyal to the First Order and kept him informed of everything going on aboard. And the rest of us were going straight to a First Order prison.
But Croy’s triumph was short lived, as the First Order’s Supreme Commander, Kylo Ren, arrived. Flustered, Croy tried to assure him that he had everything under control, but Kylo brushed him aside, saying he knew Rey was on board and demanding to know where she was. He used the force to tear loose a part of the ceiling, threatening to drop it on the passengers below unless we gave up Rey.
I didn’t keep videoing the entire climactic scene, I wanted to actually watch it. The above was just the beginning. Rey and Kylo’s battle continued. Stormtroopers around the atrium opened fire. It seemed Kylo had the upper hand, knocking Rey down and taking her lightsaber. Just then Chewbacca appeared, firing at Kylo and distracting him. He was soon surrounded and disarmed by the Stormtroopers.
But then the Saja arrived with the passengers who had chosen to follow the Way of the Force path. They joined their powers to funnel energy to Rey, who avoided Kylo’s killing stroke. They had found a “holocron,” a cube containing holographic records of unknown origin, and plugged it into the ship’s consoles. It turned out to be a complete repository of the secrets of the Jedi, with a message from Yoda from the long past urging those who study the Force to never lose hope. Kylo demanded the holocron be turned over to him, but Rey said she would take it to the Resistance, where it could be used to rebuild the Jedi. They resumed their battle, while all the passengers sent her their energy. Rey was able to escape, taking the holocron with her.
Kylor Ren received a message that her ship had launched and sensors showed she was aboard. Furious, he left the Halcyon in pursuit of Rey— ordering Lt Croy to kill everyone on board.
Croy: But sir, many of these passengers have been loyal to the First Order!
Kylo: Destroy them ALL!
After Kylo left, Croy reluctantly prepared to carry out this order. Just then, one Stormtrooper turns his gun against Croy, removing his helmet to reveal he was Sammie in disguise! Croy, at gunpoint, ordered all his troops to evacuate the Halcyon. The information SK-620 had turned out to be a complete list of all the First Order’s communication codes, and using that the Halcyon sent messages impersonating Croy to tell the Star Destroyer that the Supreme Commander had taken care of everything and no further action was needed.
As Croy left, Rey reappeared— the Smugglers, on their path, had set up equipment to send false sensor readings. Kylo Ren was pursuing an empty ship across the Galaxy, while she would go down to Batuu unidsturbed to deliver the holocron to the Resistance base there.
The Halcyon jumped into hyperspace back to its home port, and everyone gathered around the bridge to celebrate the end of the voyage with a fireworks show set to John Williams’ unmatched Star Wars theme.
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And so ended day two of the journey— with one final detail. Back in my cabin, the message light from D3-09 was blinking. Hitting the button, I found she was all right. “I fought off those Stormtroopers,” she proudly boasted. “Well, to be honest, they tripped over me while I was trying to hide under the console. Would you like to hear a lullaby as you prepare for bed?”
I passed on the lullaby and signed off.
Day 3
Day three was simply departure day. After a breakfast buffet in the Crown of Corellia, nothing to do but wait for my turn on the shuttle back to the ground. Gradually, the atrium emptied out— based on my flight time back to Dallas, I was one of the last off the ship; watching it empty out was definitely a melancholy feeling, knowing it would not continue much longer.
 Back in orbit at home port. |
 D3-09 sends farewell greetings to the passengers |
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 Waiting to board the shuttle home |
 Almost empty, last look at the atrium |
And that is the end of my voyage on board the Halcyon, the Galactic Starcruiser.
I don’t think my pictures and wordy narration do it real justice. It was an incredible experience, and it boggles the mind how much creativity and work went into conceiving it, and then into operating it. I would do it again. I’d do it again many times (I wish I could come back and try out all the different story paths). |
As I board the shuttle, I told the crew member at the door how sorry I was I wouldn’t have another chance to journey on board the Halcyon.
“Yes,” she said, staying in character, “we’re shifting our routes to serve other planets. But the Halcyon will sail forever.”
