Ragboy Presents: Artifacts of Oros, a Star Wars d20 Story Hour (updated 06/29)

[ragboy]

Greetings,

This is my first story hour for ENWorld. This game grew out of the Star Wars d20 boxed set and was DM'ed by me and played by my kids (10, 8, and 7). We moved on to the d20 books (Revised Core and others) and have had a great time with it. A few notes, caveats and warnings...presented in a FAQ format...

1. What's the "theme" of the campaign?
The overarching purpose of the campaign was to have fun. With that in mind, the characters are in constant danger, but I let the story drift with my players, since it's their game and story, essentially. Overall, I always gave them an "out." In other words, no characters were killed in the making of this campaign.

Within the game, the action was fast-paced, but I was surprised how much they wanted to actually role-play (and got bored, sometimes, by the mechanics-intensive nature of combat, etc). We spent an entire session in a casino gambling and gathering information, for example. My son that's playing a Gungan (more on that later) spent an entire session "working" at a droid repair job (and not only enjoyed the session, he came back to the party lodging "tired" and not able to go out, since he had to go back to work the next day). So, overall, I was really surprised at how balanced the gaming has been and how much they've contributed to the story with their character actions and general personalities.

2. How accurate is it with the published material?

The timeline begins just after the invasion of Naboo in Episode I. While I use some elements and characters from the movies, I tried to make the story my own without relying too heavily on the events of the movies. The story is still under the umbrella of the "big Star Wars story." Other than Coruscant, Naboo and a few others, I haven't used any other locales from the movies or expanded universe. I figure the Galaxy is a huge place. There's no reason to limit the setting by staying within their bounds, and there's no reason to spend a lot of time "fact" checking with 500 published resources. Any deviations of details from the movie or expanded universe were done because either I don't have the resource, or I'm not really interested in someone else's
details.

Oh, and if you played the boxed set, you'll recognize the character names, though the characters are somewhat different.

3. What have you omitted from the published materials?
All references to midichlorians in the movies were ignored. My Force is a mystical process (to be explained within the story) and has nothing to do with biology. Other than that, I used a lot of different resources from d20 (D&D, Star Wars, and others), movies, and expanded universe (starwars.com, comics, books, etc) and tried to stay with the intent of those details where it didn't conflict with the story I wanted to tell.

I don't like the Force system as presented in the rules, but I haven't had time to home-grow a system. If you're reading along and thinking "well a 3rd level Jedi can't do that!" I made some subtle changes to the system for story reasons and I have no apologies for doing so.

On that subject, the game was based in d20, but I considered the rules to be pretty fluid. Fudged rolls, prodigious changes in enemy plans, and other such prestidigitation that some gamers would hate at the table were pretty commonplace. But, when you're playing with kids, it's about the fun, so...

4. Why the @#$*(@ is a there a Gungan character?
There is a Gungan character because my kids like Gungans. The player that played the Gungan, in particular, really likes them. Though it was painful at first (and almost impossible to write without cringing), I've tried to tone down the annoying method of speech for the Gungan. Unfortunately, there's only so much you can do. Note: You will not hear the Gungan utter "Meesa, this" or "Meesa, that." I had to draw the line somewhere. My kid's Gungan character is skillful and indispensible to the party, so you won't have a bumbling Jar-Jar clone.

5. How long will this Story Hour run?

I'm committed to getting our Episode I written out in full. I'll continue to update the story as time allows and as desired by whomever reads along. I expect to update the Story Hour weekly (on Sundays).

I have a campaign built out to three full episodes, and currently we're about to wrap up Episode I. So, I'm hoping for a lot of content. I may continue the other episodes here or on my own website. I also have a second related campaign (with adults that I'm thinking of story-izing, but time is pretty tight right now.

6. Why are you writing this?

I'm writing a story hour because I love to write. I do it for a living and I'm always in need of more practice. I love gaming and I'm always in need of a different perspective on the game-storytelling relationship. I'm hoping to gain some personal insight about both writing and gaming processes and some feedback, if anyone's interested in providing that.

So...on with the show...

 

[ragboy]

Episode I: Secrets of the Jedi

A time of strife has descended on the Galaxy. With corruption rampant in the Republic Senate and recent aggressive moves by the Trade Federation in the Naboo system, the citizens of the Galaxy are holding their collective breaths and hoping that peace and order can be maintained. Not all is as placid and orderly as it seems for the Jedi, either. As the self-proclaimed Defenders of the Galaxy, the Jedi Council rules in Coruscant, but there are disenfranchised Jedi Masters throughout the known worlds that believe the Council has been compromised by its close association with the Senate. Some of these "rogue" Jedi see trouble approaching quickly from the horizon. Rumors of dark Jedi, ancient Force artifacts and the return of the Sith have all but been ignored by the Council. For these provincinal Jedi, however, the threat is all too real...

Cast of Characters

Rann I Kanu - A Zabrak, Rann was orphaned at a young age and adopted by a friend of the family, Jedi Master Wei-Lun. Raised by the often enigmatic Jedi, Rann began learning the ways of the Force very early. He was never allowed to accompany his Master on his many off-planet trips, and has spent his entire life on the planet of Naboo. Rann assisted Wei-Lun's neice, Sia-Lann Wezz with her new speeder repair shop until the troubles with the Trade Federation. Though he was still considered immature by Wei-Lun's standards, Rann has risen to the challenge of strife that the Trade Federation brought to the peaceful planet. He spent the first few weeks of the blockade and invasion serving in the resistance, fleeing the planet in search of answers after Master Wei-Lun was killed.

Arani Korden - Arani was born in a starship and has rarely been far from one her entire life. Taught to fly, astronavigate and maintain all manner of ships by her spacer father, Arani naturally wished to become a pilot after she reached adulthood. Due to a period of economic troubles in the Galaxy, Arani fell in with a "bad sort," though she has found close friends and allies everywhere from the dark underbelly of Coruscant to the dreamy cities of Naboo. Arani did some business with the Jedi Master Wei-Lun, providing him transport and freight service to and from various parts of the Galaxy on her starship, the Polestar. She was trapped on Naboo after a freight hauling trip when the Trade Federation unexpectedly blockaded the planet. Though she has obligations to her creditors, Arani served briefly in the Naboo resistance, and, after Master Wei-Lun's murder, agreed to take his apprentices to Coruscant.

Toba - Though the Gungans of Naboo are typically insular, Toba grew up in a clan that actively traded and interacted with humans. As such, Toba developed technical skills that allowed his own family to prosper. As a young adult, Toba actually left his family's lodging to take work in a human burg, building and repairing maintenance droids, speeders and other machinery. He responded to an advertisement for a technician to repair speeders in a performance speeder shop and that's where he met Sia-Lann Wezz. They were quickly friends and Toba proved indispensible to the young woman's new business. During the blockade and invasion, Toba assisted his friends in the resistance and fled the planet with them when Theed fell.

Sia-Lann Wezz - As the neice of a Jedi Master, Sia-Lann was destined for the Order. Her parents separated when she was only an infant, then left Naboo seeking work. She was left with Wei-Lun as his ward and apprentice. Though she has great talent in the Force, Sia-Lann is drawn to the worldly things of the Galaxy. She has traveled with Wei-Lun on some of his more mundane travels, and actually helped her uncle negotiate a shipping and transport contract with Arani Korden. She loves to interact with other people and other species and has a business acumen that Wei-Lun tried to dissuade, though he was never successful. She started a small business, a speeder repair shop, and it began to prosper after only a few months. Her commercial dreams shattered by the attack of the Trade Federation, Sia-Lann joined the resistance with her friends and fled Naboo after the death of her Master and the fall of Theed.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Look for the first post tonight!

 

[ragboy]

Chapter 1 : Flight of the Polestar

Chapter 1 - Flight of the Polestar
What Has Come Before

When the Trade Federation blockaded Naboo, our heroes lived and worked in the small city of Gheva. The fear and uncertainty devastated the local economy, destroying Sia-Lann Wezz' speeder repair shop. The invasion hit Gheva just as hard as the rest of the planet, and the four friends vowed to fight the Trade Federation as part of the resistance. After several missions against the occupiers, Master Wei-Lun was murdered in his home by a group not believed to be part of the invasion force. At least one Jedi led the group, though the heroes were not able to confront the assailants since the battle for Naboo had begun in earnest. Wei-Lun's home, the only home Sia-Lann and Rann I Kanu had ever known, was destroyed in a droid ship strafing run on the city center. Wounded, but determined, the group decided to leave Naboo, seeking answers about the Trade Federation's invasion and the murder of the Jedi Master. After liberating Arani Korden's ship, the Polestar, from the city spaceport, the heroes' Galaxy-spanning adventure began...

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

“The shield be down, sah!” Toba groaned, flipping switches across the Polestar’s control panel.

Laser blasts from circling droid ships sizzled past the ducking and weaving starship.

“I know, Gungan!” Arani Korden said through gritted teeth, as she jammed the control stick to the starboard.

Droid ships streaked across their view as the spinning vessel lost some speed in Naboo’s upper atmosphere.

“I have them!” Rann I Kanu announced over the intercom.

A chain of guided missiles streaked over the cockpit of the aging freighter, splitting into a wavering star pattern as they chased down evading ships. Arani guided the Polestar through the gap, now clogged with flak, and engaged the astrogate computer.

“Hold them for just a few more seconds, Rann!” Arani yelled.

“Shield back up in da rear,” Toba said, grinning and shaking his floppy ears in delight. His eyes bugged suddenly and he wailed: “Mudda ship!”

“Holy living shiiii....!” Arani screamed, her hands operating the controls on their own.

The Polestar fishtailed and its rear careened off of the side of the droid mothership, spraying parts of both vessels in a fiery display. The control panel lit up with various errors, and alarms wailed throughout the cockpit.

“Weapons are down, Arani,” Rann barked.

“Calculation complete,” Toba said, huffing, and reached to punch the hyperdrive.

“Wait!”

The stars blurred and the besieged planet of Naboo receded to nothing, as Arani read the tiny display on her ancient astrogation computer: Calculations Complete. Prime Calc Error 10x00x06.

 

[fenzer]

Sounds fun Ragboy and just as long as no Gungan's were hurt in the writing of this story, I'll stay tuned.

 

[ragboy]

Sounds fun Ragboy and just as long as no Gungan's were hurt in the writing of this story, I'll stay tuned.

Thanks Fenzer! Another (longer...ahem) update tonight.

 

[ragboy]

"Blasted Gungan should have stayed in the swamp!" Arani said, slamming her headset against the control panel.

"Arani, it was an honest mistake," Sia-Lann said, leaning back in the jumpseat and stretching her back.

"That idiot could have gotten all of us killed with that stunt," Arani said, rounding on her companion.

"But he didn't, and he learned from his mistake," Sia-Lann stood and slid into the co-pilot's seat. "Toba is a gifted mechanic and he is fiercely loyal to us. He saved our lives countless times over the last month just by being able to fix a speeder or replace a focusing coil on a blaster."

Arani simmered, punching up system information on the navcomputer.

"What are we arguing about?" Rann said, flopping into a jumpseat.

"What do you think?" Arani said as she scrolled through information on her navcomputer screen. "I don't have a lot of time. I have to get that money and now I'm a week behind schedule."

"That's what happens when your planet's invaded," Rann said, yawning.

"No," Arani yelled. "That's what happens when you put a blasted amphibian in the co-pilot seat."

"Hold on," Rann said, standing. "He didn't fly the ship through the entire Trade Federation armada. That was you. We could have waited until things cooled off a little before..."

"If you're unhappy with your pilot, I can drop you back off on Naboo," Arani said.

"Anything's better than this bickering," Rann growled.

"Is it?" Arani stood, facing off with the young Jedi.

"What's that?" Sia-Lann said.

Arani and Rann turned to the viewport. A small wheeled space station gleamed in the distance.

"Vedyll Station," Arani said. "Hopefully they have an astrogation computer."

"What do you mean?" Rann asked.

"The one I have is busted, Rann," Arani said, sharply. "Haven't we been discussing this?"

"Toba didn't have anything to do with that," Rann answered. "You're blaming him for your outdated equipment?"

"Guys, guys, come on," Sia-Lann said. "Let's prepare for docking and stop this."

Arani slumped down in her chair, and Rann stalked off.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Toba hefted the last of the empty crates on the lift droid.

"What are these?" Rann called from the back of the cargo hold.

"Those my junk," Toba said, punching commands into the droid's interface. "Muy spare parts and components."

Rann held up a battle droid head. "You kept this stuff?"

"Good circuitry in there," Toba said, smiling. "Fixed the ship with some of it."

"Aren't you worried that there're tracers or something in here?" Rann said, peering into the severed neck of the droid head.

"That model don' have tracer," Toba said.

"How do YOU know?" Arani's voice filled the cargo bay.

"Arani!" Toba exclaimed. "You scare me."

"You brought Trade Fed parts on my ship?" Arani stalked into the cargo bay.

"No tracer, Arani," Toba said, waving his hands wide. "I taking them out."

"You just said there weren't any tracers," she seethed, pointing her finger at the Gungan's nose.

"Droideka have tracer," Toba said, sheepishly. "I taking them out and smash them."

"I want you off my ship, Gungan," Arani said.

"Arani," Sia-Lann said, walking into the cargo bay. "He's a passenger on this ship, the same as all of us. If Toba says there's no tracers, then there aren't any. We had an agreement. We all get to Coruscant."

"I fixing all the ship, Arani," Toba said, brightly. "Weapons not working, though. Weapon systems are....old."

"Stay out of my way," Arani said, pushing past the Gungan and stomping down the exit ramp.

"She think I breaking the ship?" Toba said.

"You just cost her some time, is all," Rann said, lounging on Toba's junk crates. "You can't be blamed for breaking this wreck."

"She'll be alright," Sia-Lann said, staring out into the space station. "You did well, Toba."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Sia-Lann had never smelled a space station before, and so far, she hoped never to again. The main ring of the station was as wide as a Theed boulevard, but rather than being airy and deserted, it was packed with vendors of all species hawking their wares. The established merchants sat in cramped booths crowded with all manner of electronics in various stages of disassembly, food in various states of freshness (from living to charbroiled to rotten) and other cast off junk. The latecomers walked the crowded ring with their wares actually slung from their backs or borne by droids or, she assumed, by slaves. These merchants, louder and, Sia-Lan noted, dirtier than the booth variety, mostly sold weapons. Lots of weapons. Though she'd been in the resistance on Naboo for a month, Sia-Lann was still not used to seeing so many weapons in the open, both for sale and slung from practically everyone. At home, only the security forces carried them, though some kept projectile rifles in their homes for hunting.

A squat, toothy snouted creature suddenly appeared before her and barked something while holding out a half raw lizard.

"No, no, thank you," Sia-Lann said, backing away.

The creature barked again and thrust the "food" toward her. Rann stepped between them and gave the creature a little shove.

"She said no," Rann said, squaring off.

"Snivvan's are always a little pushy when it comes to sales," Arani said, guiding her lift droid past them. "Better to buy it and dump it in the trash."

"I take one," Toba said, flipping the Snivvan a credit.

The creature looked at the coin and handed Toba three of the smelly creatures.

"We need to be careful, Rann," Sia-Lann said. "We can't afford any more problems."

"I was trying to help," Rann said. "I couldn't tell what that...creature was doing."

"I had it under control," Sia-Lann replied. "You must be more pati...what is it?"

Rann's eyes had gone wide over the top of her head. She spun around to see a column of battle droids marching down the curve of the station ring.

"Arani! Toba!" Sia-Lann said and pointed.

"Blast," Arani breathed. "Let's get back to the ship."

The four companions threaded their way through the press of the crowd, Rann nudging those out of the way that needed urging. A wookie with a massive blaster rifle across his back rounded on Rann, growling, as the Jedi attempted to shove past him.

"Oh poodoo," Rann said, stepping back quickly.

"You should watch where you're going, little one," a voice said near his ear.

Sia-Lann slid up beside her friend and addressed the impeccably dressed man.

"We are sorry, sir," Sia-Lann said. "In our rush to reach our ship, we have inconvenience you and Mr...."

"This is Thuyalla," the man said. "And I am Brumn Finch."

"Perhaps you could help us? We require a...diversion." She handed the man a credit chip and pulled her companion after her.

The man raised is eyebrows at the approaching battle droids, and then keyed the credit chip's balance. "I see," he said. "I think Thuyalla wouldn't mind a little tussle."

"That would be most prodigious, sir," Sia-Lann said, bowing slightly then pulled Rann after her.

"Thanking you," Toba said, bowing as he shuffled past.

As the companions ducked down Spoke 31 toward the central docking bay, they heard the wookie roar a challenge. A basso honking answered and all was chaos in the station ring.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"That was smooth," Rann said, looking back down the corridor. Even through the blast door, he could hear the ring of blaster fire and the roar of the combatants.

"Well, you can't always solve things with your lightsaber, Rann," Sia-Lann smiled, as she pressed the keylock to hatch.

All was dark in the docking bay, save for the Polestar's interior lights. Both the Jedi felt an alarming surge within the Force.

"Look, Hanjo," a cold feminine voice said. "Jedi puppies and their friends."

A tall, thin woman in a close-fitting jumpsuit and a heavy knit poncho stepped out of the shadows under the Polestar. As the light from the open door fell across her face, the companions recoiled. Her skin, a pale shade of pink, seemed to crawl with strange, living tattoos, even darting across her wide red ovid eyes.

A short bald man walked out behind her, casting a purple cape off his broad shoulders.

"Now, now, Dietre," he said, his voice deep and strong. He fired his lightsaber, a pale pink blade shimmering in the darkness. "She's to be preserved."

"Oh, I know that," Dietre said, igniting a red-bladed lightsaber. "But he never said we couldn't have a little fun, first."

"This can't be good," Arani said, slipping behind the jamb of the blast door and jerking her pistol from its holster. "So, do you still think that junk ain't traced?"

“Nothing in them, I swear!” Toba said, sliding to the other jamb.

Rann and Sia-Lann drew their lightsabers as one, sliding into the docking bay and in opposite directions.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 

[LostSoul]

Cool, I like it.

 

[ragboy]

Cool, I like it.

Thanks LostSoul. More tonight...

 

[ragboy]

Note: After this update, I'm going to my weekly schedule of posting on Sunday night. Thanks to the two vocal readers and any others that might be out there...

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Rann’s heart beat in his throat. Dietre weaved out of his attack with a confidence and grace that only attested to her skill. His hands shook slightly and breathing quickened.

“You fear me, young one,” Dietre said, her mouth open to reveal sharp white teeth. “I like that.”

Her roundhouse caught him in the side of the head and her lightsaber tried to take it off. Stars exploded across his sight as he backed away. Rann fought for his life, barely deflecting her blows that seemed to come faster and faster. The tattoos scrawled themselves across the dark Jedi’s neck and chest like arcane writing. Ancient, evil things took shape and dissipated. In the story writing itself on her pale pink skin, he saw his own death, impaled by her lightsaber. His breath came in gulps and strength began to ebb.

###
“The center of a Jedi’s grasp of the Force is the breath,” Master Wei-Lun said.

The master thumped Rann on the chest, hard, and the apprentice collapsed, gasping.

“Cut off the air supply and all the body struggles to regain it, to the exclusion of all else.” Wei-Lun circled his apprentice who now took great gasps of air. “Now, stand!” he barked.

Rann leapt to his feet, wavered, and then fell.

“Too much breath and the brain is fuddled, unfocused.” Wei-Lun threw his chest out. “Breathe with your entire body. Slow and steady. This is control.”
###

Rann glanced off the dark Jedi’s blade into the wall and breathed with his whole body. His sight cleared instantly, and the Force flowed around him. His backslash took her topknot.

“I am through with you, pup,” Dietre snarled, the smell of her singed hair wafting across him.

Rann jammed his lightsaber in a measured thrust, sensing her dodge and easily pulled his blade up to deflect her over handed slash.

“Not by a long shot,” Rann said, calmly.

A blaster bolt slammed into the wall over his head, and he ducked and circled. He could see Toba and Arani firing up the corridor into Spoke 31.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The first shots from the battle droids took them by surprise.

“Down, Toba!” Arani yelled, whirling and returning fire. She could see the blast door into the spoke was melted through and battle droids filed through firing.

Toba scrambled into the docking bay and fell prone, pulling his blaster pistol. Super heated bolts sizzled through the doorway, exploding on the walls, floor and the Polestar.

“They shooting the ship!” Toba called, firing into the lead droid and knocking it into sparking pieces.

“I don’t care about the ship just now,” Arani called, blasting covering fire as she scrambled into a maintenance trench inside the bay. “Get over here!”

Toba half crawled, toward the trench, and then shrieked in pain, tumbling onto his companion.

“I’m hit,” Toba wailed, untangling himself from Arani.

“Get off me, you big slimy lug,” she yelled, pulling a det canister from her belt. “This should hold them.”

She flung the canister, and it bounced once then exploded in the knot of battle droids. Droid parts cascaded into the docking bay, but more droids moved into the hallway behind them, firing as they went.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“You have a pure power in the Force that I have not encountered before,” Hanjo growled, calmly walking the perimeter of Sia-Lann Wezz’ reach. “I see why he wants you.”

“Who?” Sia-Lann said, trying to control her fear. She could feel a jolt of anxiety from her opponent at the mention of his master and a fleeting image danced across her thoughts. “You fear him more than your own death.”

“Who does not fear their master?” Hanjo said, executing a strike as graceful as the Dance of the Wings during a Naboo Equinox festival.

This she dodged, and then struck low at the man’s legs. Just as gracefully, he flipped over the blow and danced out of her range again.

“He wants you for that power, you know,” Hanjo said, and she felt envy from him. “He says that you could be his true apprentice.”

“All this talk is enlightening, Hanjo, but more about you than me.” Sia-Lann circled him, looking for an opening. “I know that you will not kill me, or that you fear ‘him’ enough not to. I also know that you fear me. Why do you fear me?”

Hanjo’s placid face broke into a grimace, and he projected the Force, suddenly, pushing Sia-Lann through the air. She slammed backwards into a mobile terminal, scraping her back and legs as she pitched over it. She heard the clink of her lightsaber skittering away and she sat up shaking the stars from her head. The bulky man was over the terminal with a roar and she snatched her lightsaber with the Force, ignited it and blocked his crazed slash. Both Hanjo and Sia-Lann rolled to their feet, the former staring dumbly at the smoking stump where his arm once was.

The explosion knocked them both off their feet.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Dietre’s lightsaber bounced wildly off of Rann’s, always interposing at just the right angle. He could feel the anger and frustration building in her. Just as Master Wei-Lun had taught him, the anger of one’s enemies always undid them. He flipped over her shoulder, avoiding the sizzling blade by inches and kicked out, sending the dark one sprawling, but she was up like a cat. Dietre’s blade sliced into his upper arm and Rann grunted. Too late he felt her project the Force at him and suddenly, he was on his back with the dark Jedi’s blade hovering a finger’s breadth from his nose. His lightsaber lay out of reach. The quiet hum of her blade was all he could hear, though the flashes of battle raged all around him.

“You were almost a worthy opponent, young one,” she growled, a smoking furrow decorating the left side of her face. “But this is the moment when all the best become nothing.”

He saw the streak of flame before he heard it, appearing out of the docking bay door. A hot dot skimmed the floor, and then a ball of white fire expanded with a roar.


-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Arani fired another shot, splashing another droid into pieces. Bolts sizzled past her head. She checked her load: Two shots left. Her ammo belt was empty.

“Toba, do you have more power packs?” she called over her shoulder.

“No, no,” Toba said, blasting away. “Using the last one.”

A two-droid team appeared at the far end of the hallway. One knelt with a tube on its shoulder while the other manipulated the butt end of the weapon.

“Down, Gungan, down!” Arani screamed, jerking the floppy-eared amphibian into the trench.

A det-rocket streaked down the hallway exploding on the steel flooring in front of the trench. Arani felt white hot shrapnel cut through the back of her jacket, and the world went black.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 

[ragboy]

RgB: Short update today. Longer one tonight...
----------------------------------------------------------------------

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Toba’s ears rang. He shook his head, feeling disoriented, and realized that all was dark and silent.

“The swamp being dark tonight,” he said aloud, sitting up in his mud burrow. “Quiet, too. No tchi-tshi bugs out tonight.”

When his head cleared the top of the trench, he realized where he was. A second wave of droids made their way through the blast door and the rocket launching droids were reloading. Blaster bolts zinged over his head and he ducked back into the trench, seeing Arani for the first time. She lay crumpled on the other side of the maintenance trench, her back a crisscross of oozing, burned wounds. Toba checked the load on his blaster. Empty. He reached for Arani’s and recoiled. The weapon was still hot from the explosion and mostly melted into useless slag. The gleam of silver from her belt caught his eye. One more det canister. The Gungan snatched it and peered over the lip of the trench. The droids were gathering into ranks for another assault. He stripped the packing case from the canister and keyed the timer. Dragging Arani toward him, he threw her over his shoulder and started the timer.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

In the confusion, Rann willed his lightsaber to his hand and swiped Dietre’s blade away, kicking out at her feet. The dark one collapsed with a yell, and the padawan rolled to stand and leapt to the top of the Polestar. From here, he could see Toba struggling to lift Arani, though he did not see Sia-Lann and her opponent. A flash of red caught his eye and Dietre landed nearby.

“You don’t think you could escape so easily, do you?” she growled, stepping carefully over the uneven hull of the ship.

Rann blew a sigh and brought his blade to guard, backing away. He was exhausted. The waves of anger flowing off of the dark Jedi’s mind made it hard to think. His grasp of the Force felt tenuous. She came at him like a bantha, swinging her lightsaber at his face. Rann took an uncertain backstep, and the two combatants’ legs entangled. The padawan fell back hard, barely glancing away Dietre’s falling strike, but grabbing her off hand. Carrying his momentum, Rann jammed his feet into the dark Jedi’s stomach and flipped her over his head. Dietre descended to the docking bay floor with a wail.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Sia-Lann poked at the smoking remains of the dark Jedi. Hanjo was dead and she was not happy. Now I’ll never know who sent him. she thought. Shaking the ringing from her ears, she retrieved her lightsaber and rushed toward the ship from the back of the docking bay. A wail caught her attention, and she saw the other dark one, Dietre, strike the steel floor with a sickening crack. Bringing her lightsaber to bear, she rushed forward, but the crumpled form was unmoving.

“Sia!” Toba cried. “Going to the ship!”

She whirled to see the Gungan struggling to carry Arani’s unconscious form up the gangway. Rann covered him from behind a shipping crate, scattering droids with precision shots. Drawing her own pistol, she slid up beside Rann and fired into the phalanx.

“Go!” Rann yelled, pulling a thermal grenade and heaving it over their cover.

Sia-Lann fired a last shot and rushed into the ship, the bloom of heat from the grenade warming her back. The Polestar was already rattling to life. She collapsed on the deck heaving air into her lungs. Seconds later Rann joined her, streaked with sweat and dirt and blood.

“Are you hurt?” she gasped, when she was able.

“A burn on my arm and leg,” Rann said. “Who in the blazes were they? And how did they find us?”

“I don’t know,” Sia-Lann said, sitting up. “We should probably get rid of Toba’s junkpile, though. We better see to Arani.”

She groaned and weaved toward the lounge as the ship rumbled out of Vedyll Station.