Vader's Newsletter
WHERE A GEEK CAN BE A GEEK
BLOG ISSUE #2
The Curtain Comes Down
CLONE WARS SEASON #1 ENDS
Well my friends, season 1 of the Clone Wars has come to an end and we will have to waittill fall to see more. Throughout the many episodes of the first season we have seen many enlightening events and thrilling adventures, but the final episode brought about a series of events unlike anything seen so far. During the course of the episode a group of bounty hunters infiltrate and take control of one of the wings of the Republic Senate building before proceeding to hold a number of Republic senators hostage.The ease with which the bounty hunters were able to capture the building perfectly illustrates the weakness of Old Republic security. Further into the Clone Wars the Senate building would be constantly kept in a state of emergency and guarded 24-7 by Clone Shock Troopers. Incidents like the aforementioned senate hostage situation and the abduction of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine during the battle of Coruscant seriously shook the comfortable idea of security that many Republic citicens have and was a major reason for the overwhelming success of the movement to Imperialize the Republic. Further episodes of the Clone Wars will no doubt show the transition of the Old Republic from democracy to empire.

Star Wars Technical Corner
WHERE YOU SEE HOW THOSE MACHINES WORK
Here we are again for another Star Wars Technical Corner. This time we will be telling you about the Republic TX-130 Saber-Class Fighter Tank (TX-130S), a little known battle machine commonly used throughout the Clone Wars. The TX-130S (also called the IFT-X) was an effective hover tank designed and constructed by Rothana Heavy Engineering. Despite the fact that it would later be put aside in favor of it's successors the TX-130T and 2-M Hover Tank the TX-130S was a revolutionary design for it's time and featured both heavy weaponry and a deflector-shield generator. The TX-130S boasted a massive payload of concussion missiles, powerful twin laser cannons, and (in later models) a beam cannon turret. The beam cannon turret was fixed onto the entrance hatch of the tank and was capable of rotating 360 degrees. It was amazingly powerful for the time and carried enough stopping power to bring down Seperatist Vulture Droids in a single shot. The twin laser cannons were mounted on either side of the tank and were linked to fire in turns, so as to conserve both energy and tibanna gas. Jedi frequently took to piloting these craft due to their amazing speed and manueverability and often led squadrons of TX-130s to great success. Even during the times of the Galactic Civil War the TX-130S is commonly used by planetary defense forces and regional governments in large numbers. The 130S was able to use momentary speed boosts (monitored by an onboard R2 unit) to quickly escape from any nearby enemy or threat. It was also armed with a highly-efficient scope attached to the main turret so that pilots could pick enemies off from a safe distance. The TX-130S was one of the finest hover tanks ever designed and gave birth to entire lines of extraordinary battle machines, thereby ensuring its place in the history of Star Wars vehicles...

Discussion Central
WHERE YOU CAN VOICE YOUR OPINION
This issue's discussion topic is the Death Star. The Death Star is the single most powerful machine featured in the original Star Wars trilogy. Admiral Motti claims it is the ultimate power in the universe. Vader claims that it is insignifigant next to the power of the force. Which do you agree with? Send your thoughts, comments, questions, or anything else to me to have it answered and featured in the next newsletter.

LIST OF LINKS TO TO SOME OF THE ARTICLES DISCUSSED:
TX-130 SABER-CLASS FIGHTER TANK:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/TX-130S
TX-130T FIGHTER TANK:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/TX-130T_fighter_tank
2-M REPULSOR TANK:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/2-M_repulsor_tank

LIST OF LINKS RELATED TO SENATE HOSTAGE CRISIS:
EP - 22 HOSTAGE CRISIS
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Hostage_Crisis
CAD BANE:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Cad_Bane
AURRA SING:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Aurra_Sing
ROBONINO:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Robonino
SHAHAN ALAMA:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Shahan_Alama
IG-86 SENTINEL DROID:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/IG-86_sentinel_droid
BX DROID COMMANDO:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/BX-series_droid_commando
SENATE COMMANDO:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Senate_Commando