The Return of Nico Okarr

BioWare posted a nice little vignette on Nico Okarr called Vacation. It’s an enjoyable read that reintroduces the opportunistic smuggler back into the world of The Old Republic.

If you recall, we first met Nico in the SWTOR trailer The Return. He was the man in the wide-brimmed hat arrested for stealing Sith artifacts from the temples of Korriban. Timing is everything, and just when it looks like he is destined for a life in the brig, all hell breaks loose and our heroes find themselves in desperate need a man of Nico’s talents and fast ship.

It’s a great trailer loaded with important figures from The Old Republic. Jace Malcom, Satele Shan, Darth Malgus and T7-01; all have been featured prominently in the stories that followed. Now Nico is making a return, and while Vacation provides a glimpse of what his life is like now, what he’s been doing, and how he’s looking after all these years, it still leaves many questions unanswered.

If you have an active subscription on July 31st, you will receive Nico Okarr as a companion when the expansion launches in October. Will he just be given out or will he be featured in the Knights of the Fallen Empire storyline?

I’m hoping it’s the latter and that those who qualify will get a different set of dialog options that allow you to bring him on as part of your crew. Those who don’t will just watch him ride off into the sunset.

Incorporating him into the story seems fitting given the direction the expansion is taking, and it would go a long way towards cementing him as an important figure in the TOR lore.

If they don’t include him as part of the storyline then I suspect that there will be a short quest, similar to what they did with Treek. Perhaps a brief meeting in a dark corner of your space station’s cantina.

What would be smart for BioWare to reveal is if Nico will have romance options, same-sex or otherwise. We do know from the trailer that he has an eye for the ladies, but that was a long time ago and people can change. For instance, he’s a hero of the Republic, why would he want to aid the Empire?

Read Vacation and you’ll see where his motivations might come from. Let’s just say that Nico is a multi-talented guy.

I don’t know how companions will work in Knights of the Fallen Empire, or which ones we’ll keep or lose, but I’m making room for Nico aboard my ship.

Let’s go, Nico. Vacation’s over.