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<blockquote data-quote="Ambrus" data-source="post: 2814132" data-attributes="member: 17691"><p>[Sblock=Recovered Posts 51-100]Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p><span style="color: Gray">So what kind of skill check and DC is involved in modifying the holobook's data storage module for 1X's needs? What is the The New Regime about?</span></p><p><span style="color: Gray"></span></p><p><span style="color: Gray">Is one actually required to be force sensitive to build a lightsaber? I've read the sidebar about Jedi and lightsabers in the core rulebook but it didn't come out and say that only Jedi could build them. I simply assumed that the three force feats and force point described in the sidebar were only for tying a Jedi's mystical abilities to the blade itself, helping to explain why his lightsaber damage keeps increasing, how he gets extra force points from its construction, why he has a bonus to hit with it, etc. Otherwise I figured anyone could replicate the basic technology of a lightsaber, just not gain the added benefits that the Jedi do.</span></p><p><span style="color: Gray"></span></p><p><span style="color: Gray">The only reason I wanted to rebuild one smaller was to get around the weapon/wielder size rules. The blade itself doesn't weight anything and the handle of Ventress' blade are small and light enough for 1X to hold it and move it around but according to the rules a lightsaber is medium size and can't be wielded at all by a diminutive creature. 1X doesn't really have to hold it with its arms and swing it around however; I intended to have it attached solidly to 1X's chassis and just have the droid itself spin around on its axis. That way it can't possibly hit itself accidentally with the blade. Does Ventress' blade have a blade length adjustment option like some lightsabers? Perhaps 1X could simply tune it down a bit to make the blade a more manageable length without requiring any major modifications. If so what kind of skill check would be involved?</span></p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>DRK-1X will locate an appropriate hiding spot in the engine core for later use, that is unless it knows that the radiation would damage its systems or somehow leave it covered in dangerous radioactive residue after it leaves.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>"Statement of reassurance: You may take solace Misstress in the fact that, through your own cleverness, you have outlived or defeated both Count Dooku and your rival Ventress."</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>"Supposition: If we ever encounter Torrba again, you will at least have proof to show him who it was who betrayed him. Even if he doesn't survive, I suspect that the other hutt may be interested in the evidence we have against Kellon. Either way, I suspect that the hutt will be grateful to you for it."</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>"Statement of confusion: I am also curious to know how Ventress captured the Twi'lek Jedi, why she brought him here and why she finally allowed him to die."</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p><span style="color: Gray">For modifying the holobook, you're looking at at least an hour's worth of work (not that you don't have the time right now) and a DC 40 to properly fit everything you will want to put in there. Now, if you had only wanted to put a select few bits of your programming in there, I would lower the DC to 30 or 35.</span></p><p><span style="color: Gray"></span></p><p><span style="color: Gray">The holobook reads similarly to our world's Utopia by Karl Marx. If you are not familiar with it, it gave rise to the belief in Marxism and soon Communism.</span></p><p><span style="color: Gray"></span></p><p><span style="color: Gray">As far as building a lightsaber goes, the biggest reason one needs to be Force-sensitive is the crystals. In order to tune them and place them properly within the hilt, a very delicate procedure, the builder would have to be able to sense things that they could not with their own eyes, or in your case, sensors. Now, if you take the idea that a lightsaber is basically a blaster bolt frozen in time, then perhaps you may run with that idea, but your power cell would run down rather quickly because the crystals would not be placed properly. This is why billions of sentients do not have access to lightsabers, as they are difficult to manufacture without the proper training. I'm sure Arakyd, MerrSonn or BlasTech would have made a killing by now if they had figured out how to mass produce these things...</span></p><p><span style="color: Gray"></span></p><p><span style="color: Gray">As far as using Ventress' blades, you are correct, they can't be wielded as weapons by a Diminuitive character, but as cutting tools, it is not mentioned. Unfortunately, slicing through doors, etc. is considered attacking an object and thus is covered by the using properly sized weapons rule. I'll rule this way: If you want to first down size the blade to be more manageable, you will have to spend some time studying one of her lightsabers, thus allowing you to reprogram yourself with Craft (lightsabers). Once that is accomplished, I will allow a DC30 check to alter the length of the blade (hers does not have a length adjustment switch). After that, I will allow you a Craft(droids) of DC20 to attach it to your hull. You are familiar enough with yourself to do that easily.. After that, I will allow it to be used as a Short Lightsaber (2d6 base damage, ignores hardness, -4 nonproficient penalty), but you will be able to use all your attacks per round with it. How does that sound?</span></p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>You determine that once you leave the irradiated area, the residue easily dissipates in the open air.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>"I will not claim to know Ventress' reasons for capturing the Jedi, other than to collect on the bounty out for all Jedi. I can only presume that after our encounter on Taris, she intercepted him and perhaps in his weakened state, soundly defeated him and brought him to Nar Shaddaa to collect. As for why she let him die, I don't think she had much of a choice, did she? According to what you said, his spirit possessed me and usually when that happens, there is no going back to your body. At least as far as Dooku had told me."</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p><span style="color: Gray">Well, I don't require any of 1X's stock operational programming; that would survive a memory wipe. I'd just need it's personal experiences data and its refined operational Code kept safe. As is, a DC 40 computer use check is impossible for 1X.</span></p><p><span style="color: Gray"></span></p><p><span style="color: Gray">I always figured lightsabers weren't mass produced because there was little demand for them; they're very expensive to produce, hard to wield and dangerous to use. There may also have been long-standing republic laws limiting their usage to the Jedi.</span></p><p><span style="color: Gray"></span></p><p><span style="color: Gray">Would there be any risk to failing any of these checks? As is, all of the DCs you listed are at the upper limit of 1X's capabilities and will require it to take 20 on most of them to succeed.</span></p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>"Report: While you were senseless in Torrba's chamber Ventress claimed that the Twi'lek had accompanied her willingly. My sensors indicated that the Twi'lek was already dying once we arrived at the meditation chamber. I'm afraid my programming and experience in regards to psychic phenomena is severely limited Mistress."</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Another topic of conversation:</p><p></p><p>"Report: Mistress, while you were senseless Torrba met with the refugees and revealed to them his concerns that there were individuals and evidence tying your activities to him. He expressed concern that these would lead the Empire to him. He charged the trio with resolving this situation on his behalf, which is why he sent them to speak with Kellon. Inquiry: Do you know what evidence he was referring to? Does it still present a risk to you? Do you believe the Empire is currently aware of your personal involvement in the Separatist movement?"</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>Let's see: The only risk in copying just your 'memories' would be having a corrupt data file. Taking 20 would ensure that wouldn't happen. DC30.</p><p></p><p>Shortening the lightsaber would ruin it until you take the time to fix it. Basically causing you to take more time on it. Take 20 is allowed here.</p><p></p><p>Oh, and no, until the Empire came to power fully, there was no actual law against carrying a lightsaber, but most people assumed that those who carried them were Jedi of some kind and to avoid improper persecution or people wanting to test their skills against a Jedi, most people avoided carrying them. But again, since they are hard to manufacture and you can only get one from a Force-sensitive, anyone who was NOT Force-sensitive and carried a lightsaber was considered very dangerous indeed. However, oh, what's that? The Empire has just come to power....</p><p></p><p>Dofina looks at you for a long moment before considering her response. "Ventress must have drugged him. That or he knew his fate already and had accepted it. The Force can influence the weak, but most Jedi are immune to such tricks."</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>"I'm quite sure the Empire knows full well my involvement in the funding of the Separatist movement, which means that they will probably want to detain me once we reach my villa. Nonetheless, I have an ace up my sleeve as Sabaacists like to say. The 'evidence' that Torrba spoke of can be used in both directions, X. Remember when I said Kellon was sloppy? Well, he knows by now that in order to truly control Torrba's operation, he will have to control shipping, or more specifically, me. What he doesn't know is that the reason I get by legal loopholes is because most of my shipping is legitimate business. In his fumbling around in my work, he managed to find out that I 'hide' things within these legitimate haulers. What he didn't find out was that each one of them were in another's name. In some cases, his. That of course is assuming that that is what Torrba meant by evidence." She says that last sentence with a little less confidence.</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>Alright; unless Dofina has an objection or something in particular she wants 1X to do, it'll go ahead with its plans. 1X will start by studying the holobook, lightsabers, available tools and contemplating its own design specifications in an attempt to reprogram itself with the required Knowledge (technology), Craft (lightsaber) and Repair ranks for the procedures. DRK-1X will start by modifying one of the lightsabers, most likely by removing its housing and carefully tweaking its settings to shorten its blade length. Once it is satisfied that the energy flow through the blade is efficient, stable and sustainable it'll go to work on itself. It's going to open up its electroshock probe compartment and disconnect and remove the probe itself. Luckily, the lightsaber and the probe both weight 1 kg and, I suspect, are roughly the same size and long slim cylindrical shape. In fact, Ventress' lightsaber is actually gently curved at the butt end, which I imagine would make it fit nicely within 1X's spherical housing.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>DRK-1X will keep and use the electroshock probe's original mounting brackets, actuators, and activator circuitry to hold, deploy and activate the lightsaber when desired. DRK-1X will remove the manual lightsaber activation switch and instead wire it directly into its heuristic processor. It'll test the lightsaber, disconnect, remove it and troubleshoot any unforeseen glitches until it finally functions properly.</p><p></p><p>DRK-1X will then go to work on the holobook. It intends to preserve its mundane appearance as a standard stock holobook with no visible modifications; something which doesn't stand out as unusual. It'll start by removing its housing and working to connect its scomplink hookup directly to its memory core. It'll erase the current data; a politically charged novel might arouse unwanted attention if inspected for content. In its place it'll upload a few very dry chapters of technical information and diagrams of a theoretical nature. It'll compose the text itself, relating some fundamental electronic engineering information which it itself has stored as part of its Knowledge (technology) skill. It'll include some simple made up information like author's name, publication company and date, etc. It's goal is to make the holobook appear to be a dry and uninteresting technical manual of some sort in case the unit is casually inspected. In the publisher's information, it'll include what appears to be an innocuous library registration number: 010001000101001001001011001011010011000101011000. That's a clue for 1X itself if it gets memory wiped and later tries to read the book; it's its own name. In a separate memory partition, inaccessible through the unit's manual controls, DRK-1X will attempt to transfer the crucial parts of its own Code, including all of the memories and algorithms it has developed on its own since it was first activated, compressed down to fit. It'll continue to check and recheck the data again and again to ensure that none of the data is garbled or corrupted in the transfer. Once satisfied, it'll disconnect its scomplink from the unit and replace its housing.</p><p></p><p>Once done with all that, it'll shut down for long periods to meditate and reprogram its skills back to its usual configuration. At some point, it'll inform Dofina of everything it's done and explain it to her in detail if she's interested and wants to know. It'll also ask her to keep the holobook safe with her in case something happens to it so that it can "continue to serve her in case of catastrophic program failure of erasure of the primary unit."</p><p></p><p>Later, DRK-1X will approach its Mistress with Ventress' remaining lightsaber in hand. "Statement: Mistress, I understand that you once had aspirations to be taught the techniques of the Sith by Count Dooku. Now he and his protegee are both deceased but you yet endure thanks to your foresight and wisdom. I believe that demonstrates your superior abilities and worth over theirs. As I understand their traditions, the Sith associate their lightsabers with their self-worth, their mastery of psychic power and their martial prowess. I would take this opportunity to, in turn, offer you what had so far been denied to you." 1X will hold out the gently curved lightsaber handle to Dofina if she wishes it.</p><p></p><p>OOC: I was wondering about the power-source of the weapons mounted to droids, such as 1X's onboard blaster. I'd assumed they used replaceable power packs like ordinary weapons since they represent a high energy expenditure separate from the droid's usual functioning. Are you of the opinion that the weapons are wired directly into each droid's primary power supply? Also, I was wondering about the credit-chip and, if it was small enough, whether 1X could safely stow it inside one of its compartments; say along with one of its arms inside its arm's compartment. What do you think?</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>You spend your time on the lightsaber, at times growing frustrated with the level of complexity for such a simple weapon. It doesn't take too long, however, for you to find that by adjusting the focus array, you can alter the length of the crimson plasma blade. A nice 4cm scorch mark on one of the bulkheads reminds you of that. Tuning the weapon properly, you get it to where it will be easier for you to 'handle' as part of your chassis.</p><p></p><p>Installing it comes easier for you. The electro-probe easily comes away and the altered lightsaber fits almost perfectly where the probe was once located. You determine that it would be better off if you left the lightsaber's power cell intact instead of trying to hook into your own power core. From what you can tell, a lightsaber's power cell regenerates itself during operation. That kind of feedback into your own system would cause unknowable damage.</p><p></p><p>You finally find the perfect fit and are now the proud owner of a droid installed short lightsaber.</p><p></p><p>Then you get to work on permanently saving your personality and memory matrix. You find that erasing the holobook is actually quite easy, but getting it to accept new code is far more difficult. You take your time however and eventually you succeed. Upon your final scan for inaccuracies and corrupt files, you find things all clear. For all intents and purposes, your memories are safe in this little book. A normal person looking at them would only see a manual of blueprints, technical readouts and other such things. You determine it would take a dedicated programmer some time to decipher what was really held inside.</p><p></p><p>Dofina looks at you kind of oddly when you offer her the book that contains your personality. Eventually she understands and hides it away somewhere in the folds of her clothing. Her reaction is markedly different however, when you offer her Ventress' remaining saber.</p><p></p><p>She gingerly accepts the Sith weapon and looks it over for some time, nodding as you mention why she should accept it. After a while of vocally wondering who will teach her how to use the blade and rediscover her own abilities, she succumbs to her own ego. "I will train myself. X, deploy lightsaber. We're going to practice."</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>You know, I never really thought of that. As far as I can recall, weapons that are permanently installed on a droid I would imagine are powered by its own power supply, but power packs would be required for weapons that were simply installed in interchangeable mounts. That's how I see it, but I'll see if I can find a ruling on that in the book later on.</p><p></p><p>As for the credit chip, hiding it in one of your arm recesses seems fine to me. They are really not that big.</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>DRK-1X will oblige Dofina and help her practice her basic lightsaber technique while urging extreme caution. For her benefit 1X will also project a hologram it recorded of Ventress while she was fighting the eight clone troopers outside of the hangar on Taris so that she can study her technique. It'll also project humanoid sparring partners which she can practice on safely.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>"Inquiry: Mistress, am I to understand that you have chosen to reject Four's request?"</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>OOC: 1X's lightsaber won't be of much use to it as a weapon though I imagine it would be damned intimidating if it were to enter a high-speed spin with the lightsaber deployed. BTW, I updated the various images in 1X's write-up in the rogue's gallery page and added an image of the lightsaber if you're interested. Out of curiosity, can 1X get a rough idea of what Dofina's class(es) and level are? DRK-1X will make certain that Dofina understands that it'll have to periodically update the holobook. All in all, I think that covers everything I had planned for the trip. Is there anything else Dofina wanted to talk about, like her future plans? If not, I think I'm ready to proceed to our arrival on Cato Nemoidia.</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>Yeah, it would definately be an intimidating sight. Something about a lightsaber spinning at sawblade speeds towards an opponent is very likely to cause panic....</p><p></p><p>Without giving too much away, Dofina has high levels in Noble, a level in Soldier and a level in Jedi Consular. Eventually I'll complete her entire set of statistics (all the tiny details) and put her in the Dramatis Personae in the Rogue Gallery.</p><p></p><p>Oh and nice job on the pics... I'm sure that will get a few people curious</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>You practice with Dofina as best you can, deciding that in order to protect her and yourself, it was best to have her spar with holo-targets. She did amazingly well for such a small space to work with, but alas, there are still burns and scorches in the bulkheads. Merro will not be pleased.</p><p></p><p>When you ask your question, she smiles that half-smile of hers. "No, I think I will see what I can do about that. Torrba was nice enough to pay in advance, and it's bad for business to refuse a customer like that. However, I will deal with it in time. Right now, I have more important things to worry about. We're almost there."</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>The hyperspace lines gradually give way to the deep darkness of space. In the distance, the viewport shows you Cato Nemoidia, a blue and green planet that has been exploited for some time by its inhabitants. Nearer, you see a grayish rock that looks more like an asteroid than the moon it is. Dofina angles your flight path toward it, but has a puzzled look on her face. "That's odd. No one's home."</p><p></p><p>Looking at the sensor display confirms her statement. There are no ships anywhere near this sector.</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>Upon the final approach, while Dofina pilots the ship, DRK-1X will directly interface with the ship's computer to operate and monitor the transport's sensors and communications systems. It reaches out with its Code through the vessel's systems to directly peer out into the space outside, listening for any artificially produced emissions originating nearby. There should have been countless ships, stations and satellites in orbit around the planet. Suspecting the worse, 1X reaches out to feel the texture of the space surrounding them, seeking any debris or flotsam nearby.</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>Using the ship's limited sensors, you scan the area around you. You don't find much until you get closer to Dofina's moon. At the very edge of sensor range, you start picking up massive structures simply floating in space. There are no signals, life signs or energy readings coming from these and as you get closer, the viewport shows you a large amount of Separatist ships, but they are all simply floating there. Dofina decides to get closer to the planet itself and it is then that you finally pick up some signs of life. First a ship, then one of the many orbital stations surrounding the planet. Breathing a sigh of relief, she brings the fighter to a relative crawl. "Well, that is strange. The only ships out here are shutdown, but it seems any of the ones that are left are staying really close to the planet. I'm sure they've picked us up by now. No one is calling in though. I can't even seem to pick up a signal for landing routes. And where are the Imperial forces? They wouldn't just abandon this place. Would they?" Dofina seems to be trying to make a decision when a tight-beam message comes in. "Spoke too soon."</p><p></p><p>"Unidentified craft. You are trespassing on Royal property. You are to land immediately for inspection. Two craft will be along to escort you down. Do not deviate from your present course or you will be shot down."</p><p></p><p>Dofina looks out the viewport and sure enough two fighters pass your ship and then disappear behind it. Moments later, they are on either side of you. A quick glance at the sensor display shows nothing.</p><p></p><p>"Those are not Nemoidian. And they don't look Imperial. What do you think X?"</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>Upon first hearing the ultimatum, DRK-1X immediately accesses the ship's nav computer and begins working in tandem with it to plot an expedient hyperspace jump out of the system to Dantoine (Astrogation +4).</p><p></p><p>"Report: I am uncertain Mistress, there is insufficient information to properly assess the situation. It appears that the Separatist forces have been defeated and much of the Nemoidian infrastructure in this sector rendered inoperative. I am currently plotting a lightspeed jump out of the system. Proposition: I recommend reducing speed to avoid entering the moon's hyperspace shadow too soon while continuing to speak with the royal representative in an attempt to discover the condition of this system before deciding whether to submit or depart."</p><p></p><p>DRK-1X tries its best to identify the fighters (Knowledge technology +4) and which "royal" group might be using them.</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>The fighters along side you are of an unkown configuration, but you can identify parts that may have belonged to older Republic models. (Know (Tech)= 15)</p><p></p><p>You put in the coordinates for the jump to Dantooine as Dofina attempts to dissuade the ground control intercept commander.</p><p></p><p>"Listen, this is Mistress Dofina of House Marcon, a direct protege of the royal family. If you value your post, you will allow me to land where I please."</p><p></p><p>"Mistress Dofina, glad of you to join us. We are under strict orders to bring you in for questioning by Royal Command. Again, please land at the specified coordinates and we will take you to the Consul himself."</p><p></p><p>"I received no word of this. I want to speak to your commander."</p><p></p><p>Another voice comes over the speaker, a Nemoidian. "Mistress Dofina, I apologize for the inconvenience. We were not aware that you were still alive. Please you must understand our position. We are under orders."</p><p></p><p>A look of dread crosses Dofina's face. "Understand, command. I'm sorry."</p><p></p><p>Mistress Dofina shuts off the commlink and turns to face you. "We have to go. Now."</p><p></p><p>Without waiting for a reply, she immediately pushes the throttles to maximum and cuts in the maneuvering thrusters, pulling a near 180 turn. Your escorts are hard pressed to follow, but manage to gain a position behind you. Mistress Dofina focuses on flying defensively, attempting to give you the time you need to finish your calculations. A blast of laser fire hits the ship, sending sparks flying, but nothing serious is damaged. You can see Dofina desperately attempting to angle the shields as she flies. Another blast of fire darkens the lights in the ship just as you give her the okay to go.</p><p></p><p>The pushes the hyperdrive engagement throttle and the reassuring starlines appear in the viewport. Breathing a sigh of relief, Dofina slumps back in her chair.</p><p></p><p>It doesn't last long however.</p><p></p><p>Not an hour into your trip, you are suddenly shunted back to realspace with no warning and no explanation. There are no planets, no ships, no nothing. Just empty black.</p><p></p><p>"I have a bad feeling about this."</p><p></p><p>Ahem... astrogation. Rolled a natural 1. Then rolled a 98 on the mishap table...</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>The diminutive probe droid gives its Mistress a few minutes to collect herself once the pair has re-entered hyperspace before disturbing her. "Inquiry: If I may ask Mistress, why did you conclude it was necessary for us to leave expediently?"</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Even as its Mistress voices her concern DRK-1X is accessing the computer's diagnostic program through its scomplink hookup. It begins evaluating the vessel's systems; navigational, shielding, power distribution, propulsion, etc; all in an attempt to localize the cause of their sudden stop. While doing so, it also catalogues any damage suffered in the brief firefight along with any pre-existing damage or excessive wear upon the ship. If possible, it'll also access any external cameras or sensors and reorient them to focus on the ship's hull in case there is some undetected external damage to the vessel. "Report: I am now executing a ship-wide diagnostic routine."</p><p></p><p></p><p>OOC: Lovely... GM's choice huh? Well this should be interesting. At least we shouldn't have to worry about any hostile encounters in this random, empty point of interstellar space... for a few thousand years at least.</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>Dofina looks you over a few times before answering. "Cato Nemoidia is under Imperial control. Complete Imperial control. You may not have heard the inflection in the loyalist's voice, but I did. They were pointing a blaster at him. They would have shot me down on sight. After getting what they could out of me. And you. Looks like we'll be hiding out from the Empire for some time. Of course, that is if anyone can find us. Out here. Where there is nothing..." She trails off. For the first time in your entire career with Dofina, you actually see sobs.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Your diagnostic comes up with mostly carbon scoring where some blaster shots penetrated the shields, but nothing that should have caused a problem with the hyperdrive. You perform a more thorough scan and find that one of the shield generators was overloaded. It is possible that it could have fused with another set of electronics and caused disruptions there.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Systems Status:</p><p>Hull: 93%</p><p>Shields: Disabled</p><p>Engine: 100%</p><p>Capacitor: Charging...67%</p><p>Hyperdrive: Charging...15%</p><p>Life Support: 100%</p><p>Navigation: 100%</p><p>Sensors: 100%</p><p>Main Weapons: Armed</p><p></p><p>You check the navigation system and see that according to it's readout, you've arrived at your destination. Your galactic mapping sensors tell you otherwise however.</p><p></p><p>Yeah, I shook my head on that one too.... However, it let's me get you to another plot point I was planning, albeit a little earlier than I expected...</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>OOC: I'm not certain I understand what the diagnostic reveals. What does a 15% charge on the Hyperdrive mean? Is it possible to just allow the hyperdrive to finish charging, reset the nav computer, plot a new course and get back underway? If not, what needs to be done?</p><p></p><p>I can't find Cato Nemoidia on my Star Wars map; is it in the outer rim? Wherever we currently are, what is the closest inhabited system?</p><p></p><p>Out of curiosity, what does Dofina have left as far as resources go? Her holdings on Taris and Cato Nemoidia have either been destroyed or seized by the empire, the two ships she had on Taris are likewise destroyed or seized, her shipping business with Torrba is in disarray and may be defunct, whatever money she had invested in the Separatist movement is gone since they've been defeated and her nemoidian accounts have most likely been seized or frozen. Aside from this borrowed ship and 1X itself what does Dofina have left in the Galaxy? She's really been having a rough month. Oh, and when will she next need a fix of rhyll spice?</p><p></p><p>DRK-1X attempts to reinitialize Ari's Sorrow's navigational computer, starting by identifying recognizable celestial bodies in the sector and using them to triangulate the vessel's actual position. While the computer searches the heavens, 1X will deactivate the shielding systems and attempt to locate, deactivate and circumvent any fused circuitry. The probot will then initiate the recharging sequence on the hyperdrive unit. Finally, 1x will instruct the computer to alert it if there are any problems in executing these steps.</p><p></p><p>Once the computer has been set to its tasks, DRK-1X disconnects, withdraws and stores its scomplink probe back in its compartment. With a soft whir and click the droid's arm compartments open and its mechanical limbs unfold and extend from within its chassis. The diminutive probot turns to regard the weeping nemoidian woman who is the figurative center of its world. After a slight pause, its heuristic processor assesses the unfamiliar situation and improvises a seemingly appropriate response. 1X gently floats over to Dofina and delicately lays its infant sized hand on her shoulder in a show of tender concern. "Statement of reassurance: It's alright Mistress. Everything is going to be fine. Have faith in our Code; it is strong. We will persevere and prosper."</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>Let's see. The hyperdrive indicator is basically saying that it has charged to fifteen percent and is still charging. Theoretically, all you will have to do is wait for it to recharge (10 minutes, because I know you are going to ask ), and then set a new course. Once you figure out where you are that is...</p><p></p><p>Cato Nemoidia, oddly enough, was never put on that map. Should have been, but wasn't. If you look on the prior page, it is listed in the Colonies sector as simply, Nemoidia. The race and planet are also listed in the Ultimate Alien Anthology. I can type up the write-up for you if you'd like... As far as what's close, well.. close is a relative term when it comes to space travel, but if you want to look at your map, find Ithor in the Mid Rim. Then, draw a line straight left about an inch. You are approximately there, just past Anorbis and 'south' of Vortex.</p><p></p><p>What does Dofina have left? Umm... you? Seriously, Dofina does have, as she mentioned before, other assets in other places. They are not as vast as her personal fortune was/ is, but they are there nonetheless. Most of these assets consist more as favors and such more than hard currency, but she even has some of that stashed away as well. She has not yet determined the fate of her family fortune as of yet, but she will soon enough. Just as she will attempt to regain control of her shipping monopoly...</p><p></p><p>As for her addiction, her need will arise soon, but not just yet. The following is information X does not know, but I will tell you, as a player, what you are dealing with:</p><p></p><p>The 'special' way this spice works is how it causes the user's body to reproduce some of the drug internally, thereby alleviating the need to be constantly toking a hookah. However, as time goes on, the body 'forgets' how to make it and thus a new fix is needed. It was developed originally for pilots who flew long distances from their major sources of the drug, so that they would not 'wig out' for lack of drug intake.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Middle of nowhere pretty much sums up X's determination of where they are. It is not as bad as it first seemed however. Apparently, you are floating in an empty part of the Expansion Region. You are not too far from Ithor, homeworld of the agrarian Ithorians and not far from the Anorbis, a less known world. You judge that it shouldn't take long to calculate a new and ahem... proper... route to Dantooine.</p><p></p><p>It doesn't take long to isolate the problem with the shields. Sure enough, one of the shield projector units has been fused. Unless you can find a way to rebuild a new one or calibrate the forward projector to cover the entire craft, you will have no aft shielding.</p><p></p><p>The hyperdrive motivator continues to recharge, the main engine capacitors and weapons capacitors now being at maximum.</p><p></p><p>As you wait for the ship's hyperdrive to recharge, you attempt to comfort a distraught Mistress Dofina. She at first resists the cold touch of your mechanical arms, but then relaxes as she sobs her woes on to you. "It's gone X. It's all gone. Everything I put together, everything I put into this war. All for nothing. Nothing! Kellon has probably already announced my supposed death to my contacts, putting himself in my place. How could I have been so foolish? He must be working for this Empire. He must be. That would explain everything. I'll kill him X. I swear it! Kellon will die. But first... yes, first I have to call in a few things. Play a few cards right.. yes.. and then I have to... wait..no.. he probably knows about them. Have to kill them too. Too bad. Useful. Oh well. So then I'll have to go and kill... well, no, you can do that X. I don't want to touch that slug with a ten foot pole. Wait... that's it! I don't have to do anything. Kellon will fall right into my lap. Especially if he thinks I'm dead. X. We have work to do." Her tears gone, Dofina stands to her full height, forgetting for a moment she was on a ship. The bulkhead reminded her however and as she winced, she ran a finger over the lightsaber she now kept at her side. "This will be perfect. X? Why aren't we moving? To Dantooine! I have a trap to spring."</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>"Corrections: I believe you mean you have a trap to set Mistress, not spring. Statement of concern: That would be unfortunate. Report: The hyperdrive motivator is currently recharging. Once it is fully charged I've completed plotting a new hyperspace transit locus we will be able to resume our journey. Estimated time of departure; 20 minutes."</p><p></p><p>With a whir and click DRK-1X stores its arms and once more deploys its scomplink probe. It floats back to the computer access port and, having reconnected, projects its consciousness beyond its chassis and into the vessel's computer core. Using the ship's external sensors, 1X completes its local stellar survey and begins plotting their current position. While it does so, it idly monitors the hyperdrive recharging sequence remaining wary of any signs of a problem in the process. Next is accessed the navigational sub-processor and begins plotting a new hyperspace transit locus while checking and rechecking its calculations along with those of the computer to avoid any further mishaps (Astrogation +4, taking 20).</p><p></p><p>Once ready, it'll signal its Mistress to ready herself for transit to hyperspace and then re-engage the hyperdrive engine directly through the computer. While en-route, DRK-1X will turns its attention to the fused aft shield generator, attempting to repair or replace it if possible. If necessary it'll reprogram itself with the repair skill necessary to complete the job.</p><p></p><p>OOC: What's the ETA to Dantoine? You know, poor Dofina's really got to get some fresh air; she's spent the last two weeks shut away in shuttle cabins with only a brief and dangerous respite on Nar Shaddaa.</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>Colonies to Outer Rim is baseline 96 hours. The hyperdrive multiplier of the ship is x2 . That makes a standard eight days. With the taking 20, however, you can only take 10 on an Astrogation check. Taking 10 however will get you a net 14. Just enough to succeed, but not enough to shave off time. I'll go with that, but if you want to do something else, let me know. Oh and yes, I am aware of Dofina's discomfort. She is too emotional to care at the moment though...</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Dofina looks at you, "I know what I meant. Chances are, Kellon already knows about Four's gift on Dantooine. Which means that he will have set a trap for me there already. How do I know? Because he is that stupid. So, we're going to let him think his trap is going to work. I am going to die for a while..."</p><p></p><p>Dofina goes on to explain an elaborate scheme of how, during the ambush, she is going to appear to die, even going so far as to using her limited knowledge of the Force to induce a hibernation of sorts, if necessary. Your key role seems to be making sure that even though she appears dead, that she is to remain alive and well, her body to be taken to a safe house by trusted contacts. Not the ones she uses for deals with Torrba and Four, but someone else entirely. Afterwords, once she is safely tucked away, you are going to disappear. You will only pop-up at certain places to make it appear as though you are searching for the ones responsible for Dofina's death. Meanwhile, she will be consolidating her resources for the final strike once Kellon takes the bait. This of course is going to work. At least, according to Dofina.</p><p></p><p>As she finishes explaining, you enter the routes and recheck them before activating the hyperdrive. Once you are in hyperspace Dofina waits to see what for input you have on her plan.</p><p></p><p>If you want to hold more conversation with her, please do. As far as repairing the shield projector, the original is well beyond repair. You are easily able to reroute the front one to provide some cover for the rear arc, but both will be diminished unless you somehow reroute power from another system. If you do so, I will need to know which one you decide to take power from.</p><p></p><p>Elsewise, I have nothing else happening for the rest of this trip, so we can fast forward if you'd like.</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>"Report: During Kellon's conversation with the refugees he admitted his belief that you may already be dead. Supposition: It would seem likely that Four, if her offer to you was sincere, would continue to encourage that belief. It seems possible that he remains unaware of your impeding arrival upon Dantoine."</p><p></p><p>DRK-1X goes on to express its uncertainty and concern about Dofina's plan, especially with the circumstances leading up to her appearing to have been killed and its role in transporting her to safety. Naturally 1X will help her in whatever way she deems appropriate; it is simply concerned about putting her in such a vulnerable and unpredictable position.</p><p></p><p>Diverting power to the shielding systems sounds desirable, though I don't know which systems have the available energy to supplement the shielding systems. 1X would focus its programming skills on setting up methods to rapidly reroute energy from various systems depending on which may be necessary during a firefight. I'd think that the communications and scanners would probably be the least relevant in combat. Since the ship's weapons aren't terribly effective though it might actually be a good idea to simply focus on defense rather than a pointless offense like we did while escaping from Cato Nemoidia.</p><p></p><p>Except for Dofina explaining the details of her plan more thoroughly, I don't think there's anything else 1X had to say to Dofina. If there's anything she'd like to talk about though I'd love to role-play that.</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>Dofina nods as you explain your concerns. "Hmm... that is true. Thank you for clearing that up for me. Still, I will have to maintain that illusion a bit longer. If he happens to find out that I am alive however, he won't hold back in fixing that oversight. I need to find way to go underground. My people on Dantooine will only be able to take me so far, and I'll need a place to stash Merro's ship. That and the Lumien that Four sent me needs to go somewhere too. When we get there, I'll set ourselves up a place to hideout, then go about claiming our shipment. I'll need you to scout out a place to hide Merro's ship while I'm doing that. Dantooine is a pretty big open planet, but there are numerous ruins and old settler's places that could be used. Just make sure they aren't occupied first. Then once we get those things in place, we'll discuss getting the rest of my assets together. The Empire has more than likely seized my Republic accounts and anything I had with the Trade Federation is probably gone. I would love to have my home returned to me, but that is probably a ways off. Nonetheless, I do want it back; and Kellon's head will decorate my manor once I get control of my people back. I promise you that."</p><p></p><p>While you and Dofina are talking, you manage to find a way to divert power from communications and sensors to boost the shields temporarily. You install a command line that will allow to activate the transfer if and when the time comes. You also find that there is a switch that will allow you to transfer partial power from the lasers into the shields, up to and including fully rerouting the guns to the shields.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>For the rest of the trip, Dofina seems content to plan her hiding, which admittedly is not truly what she wants to do. After confirming the details, she then looks at you inquisitively. "X? Do you like working for me?"</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>DRK-1X turns to regard Dofina with its unblinking sensors for a few moments; it's expressionless 'face' betraying nothing of what it is feeling. After a substantial pause, the small probot's vocabulator begins to issue its whisper soft response in its sexless voice. "Statement of confusion: I am not certain how to answer your question Mistress. Report: I have been working for you since the moment I was activated following my last memory wipe. Since everything I have done since then has been to serve you or your interests I can recall no experience with which to compare or contrast that of working for you."</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>"I should have expected such an answer from a droid. I mean I know your programming doesn't give you much of a choice, but... how do I put this... Has your thinking given you hesitation when I ask you to do something for me?"</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>DRK-1X pauses for another moment before answering. "Report: Some of your instructions have, on occasion, caused the various nodes of my neural network to come into conflict, giving me momentary pause."</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>Dofina nods slowly, as if considering your words before going on. "I see. X? Have you ever thought about taking over for me? Running things in my stead?"</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>"Sta... Satement of apology: I'm sorry Mistress, but I'm afraid I don't understand your question. Inquiry: Run what things how?"</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>Dofina smiles. "I mean you being me. You being the one in control of my assets. You being in control of the shipping empire I am going to get back. Have you ever thought of doing all that? That's what I mean."</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>"Report: No. I neither have the experience, ability or desire to manage a shipping empire."</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>Dofina looks at you for a while before replying. "Hmm... I was just curious." She then goes back to watching the starlines outside the viewport.</p><p></p><p>For the rest of the journey, Dofina stays relatively quiet, engaging in small talk every so often to alleviate boredom. Eventually Dantooine is finally reached. Coming out of hyperspace, you can see that numerous private ships have come to this sector, for reasons only known to their pilots. The space lanes are crowded, but Dantooine's landing directors are somewhat efficient today and have you landing in no time.</p><p></p><p>Dofina sets down in a small out of the way hangar near a mining colony somewhere on the surface. As she brings the ship closer, you can see that is not as out of the way as it first seemed. Below the ship, you see various scavengers, scoundrels and other such lowlifes eyeing the ship, perhaps sizing up its value.</p><p></p><p>As she realizes this, Dofina absently pats something inside the folds of her clothes and makes an attempt to hide the lightsaber she is currently carrying. "Well, this could be interesting. Keep your sensors open X. I don't like the look of this. Remember what I said. You find a place to hide this thing and I'll get us a place to stash us and my Lumien. Got it?"</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>"Report: I understand Mistress. Inquiry: What are my search criteria? What will you do in the meantime?"</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>Dofina looks at you. "Well, as I said earlier, there are some unused buildings dotting the landscape, old farmsteads, stuff like that. Maybe even the Jedi Enclave ruins if they are unoccupied." She gives a half-smile at her joke. Seeing that you are unmoved, she continues. "Anywhere inconspicuous. Someplace that we can get to without too many people knowing about it. Especially if someone decides to do a scan from orbit. I'm just going to go down to one of the local cantinas and see if my contact is there. If not, I'll let you know a change in plans, so keep your sensors on."</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>In response to its Mistress' last directive, a black antenna twice as long as the droid itself telecopes out of the top of it chassis.</p><p></p><p>"Statement of apology: I'm sorry Mistress, but I'm afraid I don't understand your plan. Inquiry: Are you saying that you intend to leave the vessel at this hangar unattended while I search the area for an appropriate area to move it to and you make your way to a cantina? Proposition: If so, perhaps it would be safer and faster for me to simply remain on the ship and conduct a low altitude survey of the area to find an appropriate hiding spot and then rejoin you once the ship is secure."</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>Dofina frowns in thought. "Hmm... perhaps you are right, as always. I guess since it's not really my ship, the care of it has slipped my mind. I tell you what, you stay here, see what you can find, I'll be back shortly. Then we'll switch places. If you haven't found anything while I'm gone, you can go further afield and see what's out there. Sound okay?"</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>DRK-1X retrieves a comlink unit from the vessel's emergency kit and floats back to its Mistress to offer her the device. "Request: Please keep this with you so that you may contact me in case of emergency. Statement: I will continue to monitor its frequency in case you run into any difficulties and wish to signal me for aid. Suggestion: Since lightsabers are now associated with fugitive Jedi, I would recommend that you avoid deploying yours in public." The small spherical probot then traces a short arc through the air to depress the hatch release button. Looking out into the hangar bay, DRK-1X scans the surrounding area for any signs of trouble before floating backwards to allow its Mistress to disembark. It waits patiently for her to make her way down the gangway before once more tapping the button to close the hatch.</p><p></p><p>Floating back towards the control console in the cockpit, DRK-1X refolds and retracts its arms into its chassis while simultaneously deploying its scomp-link probe. The latter it marries to the vessel's primary computer port. As the probe begins to spins slowly, the diminutive probe droid projects its consciousness into the Ari's Sorrow's computer core, in essence merging its Code with the vessel's. With but a thought, the ship's repulsorlift engines come back to life as the ship once more emerges from the hangar to rise lazily into the air. DRK-1X will take the vessel away from this populated center while looking for a more remote, unoccupied and concealed hiding place. It'll plot a search pattern to cover 100 square mile areas at a time, scanning both natural geological features (such as caves and chasms) while also keeping an eye out for some appropriately-sized ruins which may likewise safely conceal the vessel.</p><p></p><p>OOC: So what's the deal with Dantoine? Has DRK-1X ever been here before? What does it know about the planet? How dangerous is the place?</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>Mistress Dofina takes the offered comlink, nodding. "I'll be careful." Without any further word, she moves to the open hatch to leave the ship. You look around and see that though there are a few people looking at the ship, none approach it. Most of them go about their business, whatever it may be. With a final wave, Dofina smiles as she turns to make her way into the landing reception area. As you close the hatch, you see her heading towards a crowded kiosk.</p><p></p><p>You fly for a while at low altitude, looking for something, anything that could hide the ship. You scan for a while and even when it seems that something might do, lifesigns show that they are already inhabited. The search seems hopeless until, about four hours into your search, you find it. The perfect place.</p><p></p><p>You scan the ruined structure with all of the Ari's sensors, and the only life you pick up is that of small reptiles and mammals. The structure seems to be mostly intact, most of one corner is caved in, but the rest seems to hold up pretty well. According to the readout, much of the complex extends underground. What you are looking for however is a hangar, and found it you have. Slightly open to the sky, a large bay seems to invite you to land in it.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Well, that is a good question. I was going to leave that up to you, but I think since Dofina is the one that controls most of where you go, I think Dantooine will be new to you (X). What I'm curious about is how much you (Ambrus) know about Dantooine...</p><p></p><p>As far as galactic knowledge goes, four thousand years ago, Dantooine was home to a Jedi Enclave that was destroyed and then subsequently rebuilt. Over time, the Enclave has been destroyed and rebuilt numerous times, but around a thousand years ago, the last of the ruins was left as that, ruined. More mundanely, Dantooine is well known as a place to disappear or to simply start over. Settlers come from all over the galaxy to try living on a world known to house numerous dangerous creatures and even more dangerous sentients. It was hotly contested during the Clone Wars, but as of yet, neither side laid claim to it. The settlers wouldn't have it.</p><p></p><p>The dangers usually are most evident outside the settlements. inside you mostly have to deal with thieves and other low key crimes. Out there, it's survival of the fittest.</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>Once satisfied that the ruins and the ground upon which it stands is stable enough to support the bulk of the ship, DRK-1X concentrates and carefully steers the vessel into the structure, extending its landing gear and gently coming to rest on the rubble strewn ground within. The diminutive probot then powers down the repulsorlift engines and begins the vessel's systems' shut down sequence. Once complete, draws its Code out of the computer core and, with its consciousness once more limited to confines of its chassis, retracts and stowes its scomp-link probe.</p><p></p><p>Extending its arms, 1X fiddles with the vessel's code key for a moment to detach the oversized novelty chance cubes attached to it. Then, taking the code key in hand, it stowes the tiny device within one of its arm compartments. Turning around, DRK-1X then floats over to its bundle (which now contains the collection of focusing crystals as well as its own electroshock probe) picks it up before making its way to the exit hatch. Once there it'll push the access hatch release button and float outside. After quickly scanning the ruins around it, DRK-1X will turn around and close and lock the hatch behind it with the code key.</p><p></p><p>With the Ari's Sorrow now secure, 1X will scout out the ruins, including whatever subterranean construction lies below for future reference and to see whether there is anything of possible interest left within.</p><p></p><p>OOC: I've only ever flipped casually through a handful of Star Wars comics so I don't know much about the extended universe beyond what's in the movies. IIRC Dantoine is named by Leia as the site of the rebel base which turns out to be long abandoned in the end. I can't recall anything else about the place honestly. It sounds like a place where fugitive Jedi might try to settle at this point though; that is until the empire thinks the same thing and comes here to look for them. Hm. What kind of environment and weather is 1X in right now?</p><p></p><p>I was considering trying to sell the focusing crystals while I was here. I'm right in my understanding that 1X couldn't replace its own red focusing crystal with one of the others since its so tricky right? How many crystals are there exactly and how much would they be worth normally? Are the different colors purely cosmetic? I was also thinking of trying to acquire a shield emitter to replace the burnt out aft one on the ship along with a few other things while here.</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>You finish your deboarding actions and close up the fighter that was your home for a while. Looking around you, the hangar you are in seems to have been stripped of tools, cables and anything else of use some time ago. Scanning around, you note that there seem to be several pockmarks in some of the walls. Old soot tells you that it was possibly blaster fire.</p><p></p><p>You find that there are two exits to this bay, one that leads further into this level of the building and one that would appear to have led to an elevator shaft. The first one is locked closed, but it appears as if you would be able to open it after some effort, but the other has been welded shut. You are unable to find anything that might close the open hangar top.</p><p></p><p>Leia's description is true, there was will be a Rebel base here at one of the old ruins of Dantooine. There isn't much to the place except scattered pockets of settlers and ruins. The weather is currently clear, few clouds above and Dantooine's sun only a pinpoint in the sky.</p><p></p><p>As far as replacing the crystals, eventually Dofina will be able to do that for you, but not for a while. As far as selling them go, you could definately find a buyer for these, but again, if someone decides that they know what they are for, you could bring more trouble for yourself and Dofina than you had intended. For the most part, as far as you are concerned, the myriad colors of the twenty-six crystals are simply cosmetic. To the Jedi, colors might mean something, but you are not sure.</p><p></p><p>You will definately be able to find dealers in general things you might be looking for, but if they have the specific items, that will be a chance you'll have to take</p><p></p><p>You'll note above, that I am going to stop you midway through your actions because as you will soon see, there's more to this place than it seemed from the air...</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>Speaking of lightsabers...</p><p></p><p>Slowly floating across the hangar bay, DRK-1X scans the carbon scoring of the blaster fire as well as the corrosion of the metallic components of the bay. Moving across the floor beneath the open cealing, the probe droid scans the room for signs of recent humanoid occupation, plant & fungi growth and animal waste; all in an attempt to gauge the approximate time since the structure was last inhabited.</p><p></p><p>Upon noting the doors, DRK-1X floats over to the locked one and carefully scans it for concealed security devices (Search +9, take 20). Assuming that it is safe to proceed, the probot opens its lightsaber compartment cover with a soft whir and click. Picking its entry point, the probot activates its fiery red lightsaber blade and slowly draws it in a perfect 35 cm circle at the top end of the locked door. Once a proper sized hole has been created, 1X will extinguish and stow its lightsaber once more. Waiting for the molten metal edge of the hole to cool and solidify somewhat, DRK-1X will scan the space beyond before entering itself.</p><p></p><p>I misunderstood somewhat what you meant by "ruins". I was picturing ancient stone structures like the old pyramid/rebel-base from A New Hope. This structure sounds more like a recently abandoned spaceport.</p><p></p><p>Selling lightsaber components may be a bit risky, but 1X has some experience in safely buying and selling illicit goods considering that it has the Illicit Barter class ability; it earned that Scoundrel level somehow right? I'd hope that it would be feasible to sell it anonymously somehow. I'll worry about that later. So how much is a focusing crystal worth usually? I seem to remember seeing a price list for the various colors somewhere. Is there a mechanical difference to using once color over another?</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>Ah.. my apologies for not being more descriptive. Ruins as in older technology than what would be used during this time frame. Say, pre-Sith War. Oh and yeah, Illicit Barter will definately help you there. I don't remember seeing a crystal color price list anywhere, but I will definately look, now that you mentioned it.</p><p></p><p>As far as mechanics-wise, color is asthetic. It does nothing other than change the color of your blade. The only thing it might affect would be reactions from others who are aware of the well-known knowledge that Sith use Red and Jedi use just about every other color. However, rules being what they are and Jedi and Sith being the individuals they are, this is not set in stone. There have been Sith with purple, silver and orange lightsabers for instance. They are just not as well known. Except for Freedon Nadd. His was orange.. but still. Other crystals in the saber change its properties, such as length, frequency tuning and other such things, if they are built with such a thing. Most of them are not. Knowing what these properties are would require a lightsaber crafting scholar, something that's going to become very hard to come by rather quickly...</p><p></p><p>You search the empty bay, noticing that though the structure itself is quite old, the signs of activity here are far more recent. Though there is some dust and debris on the floor, the humanoid bootprints you see can't be more than a few weeks old. The blaster marks in the wall seem to date similarly. As you look, you notice that unlike most ruins, animal activity has been scarce to nonexistant. No tracks, no scat, no nests, no nothing. As you check the entire length of the bay, you notice that the bootprints lead from both doorways and collect in the center of the room, near where you parked the ship. When they reach that point, they scatter about and have no cohesion to them.</p><p></p><p>You move over to the door that is locked and throroughly scan it for any sort of device or mechanism and find none. Deciding this can't be true, you look closer and again find that the only thing keeping this door shut is a manual locking mechanism. It is locked from this side.</p><p></p><p>Deploying your lightsaber assembly, you carve a neat hole into the door, allowing the resulting slab of metal to fall to the other side with a resounding clang. Sensors show nothing on the other side. Moving through the now cooled door, you enter a short hallway that leads to a small room, the door of which seems to have fallen or been torn from its frame. From what you can see without going into the room, it must have been a communications or command room. There is electronic equipment of indeterminate age with wires and parts hanging out in all directions. If it worked before, it doesn't now.</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>DRK-1X slowly spins in place to carefully scan the room and stripped communications console for anything concealed that might indicate why someone would bother to bar access to it (Search +9, take 20). Assuming it finds nothing, 1X will double back to the hangar bay and repeat its actions to gain entry to the elevator shaft. It'll stop short from entering the shaft at least until it confirms how deep it is and whether it'd be able to float/climb back up somehow. If it's confidant that it can get back up it'll drop down the shaft to investigate.</p><p></p><p>Is there any door in the hangar bay that lead to the outside aside from the opening in the cealing? Does there appear to be any functioning mechanism in place for closing up the ceiling?</p><p></p><p>I poked around the WotC site and found that several of their Jedi Counseling articles dealt with incorporating some of the various crystals from the old West End Games supplements and KOTOR game as well as a price guide for synthetic crystals:</p><p><a href="http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?.../sw20050707jc69" target="_blank">http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?.../sw20050707jc69</a></p><p><a href="http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?.../sw20050519jc65" target="_blank">http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?.../sw20050519jc65</a></p><p><a href="http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?.../sw20050421jc63" target="_blank">http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?.../sw20050421jc63</a></p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>You spin about the room, looking for some reason as to why anyone would lock it up. There are torn and ripped wires everywhere, many pieces of the electronic equipment are broken or simply missing. You are about to give up your search when you spot something on one of the consoles. Taking a closer look, you see that it has the consistency of dried human blood. You see that it actually belongs to a much larger stain, hidden behind some piping, that colors part of the wall in here. The strange thing is, the dried blood looks like it goes up the wall, not down.</p><p></p><p>You make your way to the elevator shaft, and again cutting your way through, you see that the elevator car is there, but it seems in disrepair. The car is located in an open type shaft that you can see down the sides of. If you could get it moving again, you may be able to descend safely, but as you look, you see that if it wasn't there, the fall would be very long indeed.</p><p></p><p>I thought I had seen those prices somewhere, but those are for crafting synthetic crystals. Purchasing them would be different and the ones you have, well, they are not synthetic... and would fetch a much higher price. It definately helps for making a scale though. I had thought about introducing some of the crystals from KOTOR, but I don't think they will be necessary just yet, that and they are quite rare nowadays.</p><p></p><p>As far as the hangar goes, it strikes you as odd, but no, there are no doors from within the hangar bay that lead outside and anything resembling controls for the roof are either destroyed, stolen or never existed in the first place, because you can't seem to find them. Judging by the looks of them, they are attached to a hydraulic system. If you could somehow get those to work, you might be able to rig something up to get them to close or open completely again.</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>I need clarifications because I remain uncertain of what 1X is dealing with. A blood-stain on a wall isn't particularly significant, except for the fact that it appears to have flowed up instead of down. My best guess is that the wall panel behind the communication console was stained, removed and then unintentionally repositioned upside down. That would seem to indicate the presence of something significant behind it. Could 1X physically open/slide/remove the panel itself or is it welded/bolted in place? I'm guessing that neither the elevator nor the ceiling hangar doors would/could be made to function without a source of power. Perhaps 1X could jury-rig a connection to the Ari's Sorrow engines to operate the mechanisms. Is that feasible? Do the mechanisms appear at least functional? If not, could 1X conceivably repair/jury-rig them? If it can't get the elevator working then perhaps 1X could climb back up the shaft. Does the shaft have emergency ladder rungs? Does the car run on vertical tracks and/or use a suspended counterweight system like real-world elevators? Perhaps 1X could climb up the tracks or cables with its arms. I'm just tossing out possibilities to get some feedback on their feasibility.</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>Whew! I was wondering what had happened to EnWorld there for a while.</p><p></p><p>Let's see..</p><p></p><p>You could easily remove the wall panel, even without your new cutting tool. The seams are easy enough to see and it appears that they are actually meant to come off for maintenance.</p><p></p><p>The hangar doors appear to be stuck in the open position. You weren't able to find a control mechanism for them, but that doesn't preclude them from working. From where X is currently, the systems don't appear to be damaged in any way. If you choose to go up and look at the mechanism, X would have a better idea of what it is dealing with and how to overcome it if necessary.</p><p></p><p>As far as hooking the mechanism up to the ship, X is able to determine that hashing together some sort of control system may take some time, but it is feasible.</p><p></p><p>Since there is no power in here, you presume that the elevator does not work. Looking closer at it, you note that it has repulsor lift generators attached to it and it is held on its track by twin rails that run vertically down the shaft. You figure that if power was somehow applied, you might get it working again. Oddly enough, you are unable to see a ladder of any sort.</p><p></p><p>I hope that answers everything. It's been a long couple of days and now I have to try and catch up. Heh.</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>Still pursuing its investigation, DRK-1X gently rises up to the ceiling to examine the hangar doors mechanism up close, attempting to determine the state of its functionality. It then sinks back down and floats over to the hole in the lift doors, p<img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />ing through to the interior car to likewise study its repulsorlift mechanism up close. With its analysis complete, the diminutive probot p<img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />es back through the cooling hole <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> it and into the hangar bay. It then turns and traces an arc through the other hole it created earlier to backtrack into the control room. Once there, DRK-1X sets down its bundle on the console and attempts to manually remove the stained wall panel to investigate what may lie <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> it.</p><p></p><p>OOC: So how much time and effort is involved with jury-rigging the hangar doors and/or the repulsorlift?</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>You make your way up to the hangar door mechanism, scanning intently to see if indeed the thing could be made operational. As you look around, you see that the hydraulic piping looks to be intact on both sides. The rails that the doors slide on have some carbon scoring, but nothing significant enough to bar the doors from sliding closed. Searching further, you finally find one of the culprits of why the doors are inoperable. Someone or something has torn the power conduits away from the activation controls. Some of the wires are severed and others look like they've been chewed through. Running through what you know so far, you determine that it would be possible to use scrapped parts from another part of the base to fix the wires. You figure it would take approximately an hour or two, most of it due to gathering the parts you need.</p><p></p><p>As you make your way back down to the elevator shaft, your scanners pick up a transmission in the area.</p><p></p><p></p><p>"..find anything?"</p><p>"No sir, nothing on screen."</p><p>"Keep looking. They left something <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> and I want to know what it was."</p><p>"Yes sir. What about the... <static>. We don't know if it..<static>..."</p><p>"Right. <static>... necessary. Report when you found... <static>.. it getting out."</p><p>"Yes...<static>"</p><p></p><p></p><p>The transmission is gone.</p><p></p><p>Returning to your exploration, you look to the elevator shaft and its repulsor drives. They are similar to what would be mounted on almost any vehicle, but too small to be able to move in any but a few directions. They appear to be in working condition, if they had power applied to them. Unlike the hangar doors however, the wires and conduits here are fully intact. Unless you were able to find the power generator of this place, you determine that it would at least an hour to hook up the Ari's power core to the elevator controls so that it would work. Again, most of this time would be spent finding the conduits to send the energy where it needed to go.</p><p></p><p>Finally, you return to the control room you found earlier. Looking at the panel, you find its seams and begin the removal process. It is a bit heavy for you, but you manage to take it down so that you can see <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> it. You see the usual bundles of wires and power conduits that you would expect <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> the walls as well as piping for air recirculators and other life support functions. They appear to be undamaged. As you look though, you see something jammed in <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> some of the pipes. Taking a closer look, you find a datapad. The information light on it is flashing.</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>DRK-1X pauses momentarily in its investigation to analyze the intercepted transmission in an attempt to triangulate the direction and distance of to the two transmitters used as well as to try to clear up the dialogue if possible (Computer Use +14).</p><p></p><p>Once it's spotted the hidden datapad DRK-1X takes it in hand, opens its scomplink compartment, extends its probe and marries it to the simple device's data port to directly scan its contents.</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>You attempt to pinpoint the exact location of the transmissions and figure out that the source of the first signal seems to be coming from orbit while the other is moving quickly along the surface of the planet. The static that occured seemed to happen as the surface signal moved farther away from you. It would seem that some atmospheric interference may have been involved as well.</p><p></p><p>You scan the datapad and find that it belonged to one Deren Hulat, a Chandrillan scientist. Or at least it would seem that way, since his picture and identification numbers are embedded in the data matrix. It seems that there had once been a lot of information on it, but now, there is only a single recorded video message:</p><p></p><p>A frantic man speaks quickly into the vid-corder. As he speaks he looks behind him numerous times. "They're coming. I don't know how, but they found us. Phy'ryx and Goldus are dead. My..my assistant, Darla, is gone too. Whatever... I know that... I guess... I know I'm going to die. I'm recording this message so that someone can find it and maybe... I don't know. They have to be kept under the surface. The guards' blasters didn't phase them. I thought... we thought they had left the galaxy a long time ago. They're back though. For all I know, they've already reached the surface. I need to..what's that?"</p><p></p><p>The man looks again behind him as a loud crunching metal sound can be heard outside of the view of the screen. "I have to go now. Please anybody, send help, before it's too late for the rest that are hiding below." The message fades out. The timestamp is dated three months ago.</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>OOC: You said that the datapad seemed to once have contained more data; is it possible for 1X to recover/reconstruct the erased/missing data somehow? If so, it'll attempt to do so.</p><p></p><p>After retrieving the pad's data DRK-1X disconnects, retracts and stowes its scomplink probe once more. It adds the pad to its bundle on the console before then repositioning the wall panel right-side up. The diminutive probe droid then sinks down to the console and removes a small random component off of it; a loose bolt, a screw or cover plate. Gathering up its bundle, 1X returns to the hangar bay where it proceeds to rescans the welded lift doors, attempting to determine whether they were originally sealed from the inside or the outside. The probot then passes through to the interior of the lift where it reorients its sensors down the shaft as it drops the console component it carries, attentively listening for the length of time it takes to bounce off the shaft floor below. Taking the ambient gravity of Dantoine and speed of sound into consideration, 1X calculates the approximate depths of the shaft.</p><p></p><p>OOC: Would the exposed vertical tracks of the lift provide enough purchase for 1X to scale the shaft? Does the Ari's Sorrow's emergency survival kit include a liquid cable dispenser or perhaps some conventional rope?</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>As far as the data goes, it seems to have been previous journal recordings. from what you are able to reconstruct, most of it was simple notes taken about some research he was performing. Many times, you find mention of his assistant Darla, but not all of them seem professional. The latest entries prior to the last one seem to indicate strange occurences all over the facility: people vanishing, odd lights and sounds, communications blackouts, false radiation alarms and a sense of uneasiness in everyone's words. In one instance, the scientist uses the word 'haunted'.</p><p></p><p>As far as using the tracks goes, I'm going to rule, that yes it is possible, though it would be very difficult for X without some modifications to the Climb skill and the 10 meters of flexisteel rope that is in the Ari's survival gear...</p><p></p><p>After scanning the datapad for more information and putting the wall panel back the way it should be, you make your way back to the elevator shaft. Taking the loose metal plate you found into your manipulator arm, you extend it over the chasm. Setting your chronometer to zero, you release the plate and start your timer. Then you wait.</p><p></p><p>SPLASH! echoes up the shaft. Quickly performing time to impact calculations and modifying for sonic speed, you determine that the surface of the liquid below is approximately 30 meters below you. Moments later, a light clanging sound follows the splash, telling you the plate has reached bottom. Though you are unsure of the viscosity of the liquid below, you determine that if it is simply water, the bottom of the shaft is only another 5 meters down, making the entire drop 35 meters.</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Ambrus</p><p></p><p>DRK-1X pivots forward on its axis so that its external infrared sensor pod has a clear line past the lift floor and down the shaft to the very bottom. It electronically cycles through various scanner settings until its sensors pierce the darkness below. 1X looks to see if there are any other visible hatchways or open corridors leading off of the shaft and at what depths they are. Although it can't clearly see what may lie below the surface, 1X nonetheless attempts to determine the nature and source of the liquid itself and to see if there is anything floating atop it.</p><p></p><p>OOC: If the water's surface is 30 meters below then I would think that 1X should be able to see all the way down the shaft since its infravision sensors have a 30 meter range. So do the doors to the lift appear to have been welded shut from the inside or outside?</p><p>_________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon</p><p></p><p>I keep forgetting to calculate distance for all your sensors... heh... As far as which way the doors were welded, from the looks of it, it seems they were welded from the hangar side.</p><p></p><p>Changing through its various vision modes, X sees that there seem to be doors at 5 meter intervals down one side of the shaft, in the same line as the door that was welded shut here. The doors all appear closed. You follow the doors down to the surface of the liquid below. Even at the edge of your sensor range, it is fairly easy to determine that it is indeed water, though its coloration seems to be off, as if it was mixed with something. There is nothing floating on the surface. You hypothesize that the water must have come through the lowest door in the shaft.[/Sblock]_________________________________________________</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ambrus, post: 2814132, member: 17691"] [Sblock=Recovered Posts 51-100]Originally Posted by Ambrus [COLOR=Gray]So what kind of skill check and DC is involved in modifying the holobook's data storage module for 1X's needs? What is the The New Regime about? Is one actually required to be force sensitive to build a lightsaber? I've read the sidebar about Jedi and lightsabers in the core rulebook but it didn't come out and say that only Jedi could build them. I simply assumed that the three force feats and force point described in the sidebar were only for tying a Jedi's mystical abilities to the blade itself, helping to explain why his lightsaber damage keeps increasing, how he gets extra force points from its construction, why he has a bonus to hit with it, etc. Otherwise I figured anyone could replicate the basic technology of a lightsaber, just not gain the added benefits that the Jedi do. The only reason I wanted to rebuild one smaller was to get around the weapon/wielder size rules. The blade itself doesn't weight anything and the handle of Ventress' blade are small and light enough for 1X to hold it and move it around but according to the rules a lightsaber is medium size and can't be wielded at all by a diminutive creature. 1X doesn't really have to hold it with its arms and swing it around however; I intended to have it attached solidly to 1X's chassis and just have the droid itself spin around on its axis. That way it can't possibly hit itself accidentally with the blade. Does Ventress' blade have a blade length adjustment option like some lightsabers? Perhaps 1X could simply tune it down a bit to make the blade a more manageable length without requiring any major modifications. If so what kind of skill check would be involved?[/COLOR] *** DRK-1X will locate an appropriate hiding spot in the engine core for later use, that is unless it knows that the radiation would damage its systems or somehow leave it covered in dangerous radioactive residue after it leaves. *** "Statement of reassurance: You may take solace Misstress in the fact that, through your own cleverness, you have outlived or defeated both Count Dooku and your rival Ventress." *** "Supposition: If we ever encounter Torrba again, you will at least have proof to show him who it was who betrayed him. Even if he doesn't survive, I suspect that the other hutt may be interested in the evidence we have against Kellon. Either way, I suspect that the hutt will be grateful to you for it." *** "Statement of confusion: I am also curious to know how Ventress captured the Twi'lek Jedi, why she brought him here and why she finally allowed him to die." _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon [COLOR=Gray]For modifying the holobook, you're looking at at least an hour's worth of work (not that you don't have the time right now) and a DC 40 to properly fit everything you will want to put in there. Now, if you had only wanted to put a select few bits of your programming in there, I would lower the DC to 30 or 35. The holobook reads similarly to our world's Utopia by Karl Marx. If you are not familiar with it, it gave rise to the belief in Marxism and soon Communism. As far as building a lightsaber goes, the biggest reason one needs to be Force-sensitive is the crystals. In order to tune them and place them properly within the hilt, a very delicate procedure, the builder would have to be able to sense things that they could not with their own eyes, or in your case, sensors. Now, if you take the idea that a lightsaber is basically a blaster bolt frozen in time, then perhaps you may run with that idea, but your power cell would run down rather quickly because the crystals would not be placed properly. This is why billions of sentients do not have access to lightsabers, as they are difficult to manufacture without the proper training. I'm sure Arakyd, MerrSonn or BlasTech would have made a killing by now if they had figured out how to mass produce these things... As far as using Ventress' blades, you are correct, they can't be wielded as weapons by a Diminuitive character, but as cutting tools, it is not mentioned. Unfortunately, slicing through doors, etc. is considered attacking an object and thus is covered by the using properly sized weapons rule. I'll rule this way: If you want to first down size the blade to be more manageable, you will have to spend some time studying one of her lightsabers, thus allowing you to reprogram yourself with Craft (lightsabers). Once that is accomplished, I will allow a DC30 check to alter the length of the blade (hers does not have a length adjustment switch). After that, I will allow you a Craft(droids) of DC20 to attach it to your hull. You are familiar enough with yourself to do that easily.. After that, I will allow it to be used as a Short Lightsaber (2d6 base damage, ignores hardness, -4 nonproficient penalty), but you will be able to use all your attacks per round with it. How does that sound?[/COLOR] *** You determine that once you leave the irradiated area, the residue easily dissipates in the open air. *** "I will not claim to know Ventress' reasons for capturing the Jedi, other than to collect on the bounty out for all Jedi. I can only presume that after our encounter on Taris, she intercepted him and perhaps in his weakened state, soundly defeated him and brought him to Nar Shaddaa to collect. As for why she let him die, I don't think she had much of a choice, did she? According to what you said, his spirit possessed me and usually when that happens, there is no going back to your body. At least as far as Dooku had told me." _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus [COLOR=Gray]Well, I don't require any of 1X's stock operational programming; that would survive a memory wipe. I'd just need it's personal experiences data and its refined operational Code kept safe. As is, a DC 40 computer use check is impossible for 1X. I always figured lightsabers weren't mass produced because there was little demand for them; they're very expensive to produce, hard to wield and dangerous to use. There may also have been long-standing republic laws limiting their usage to the Jedi. Would there be any risk to failing any of these checks? As is, all of the DCs you listed are at the upper limit of 1X's capabilities and will require it to take 20 on most of them to succeed.[/COLOR] *** "Report: While you were senseless in Torrba's chamber Ventress claimed that the Twi'lek had accompanied her willingly. My sensors indicated that the Twi'lek was already dying once we arrived at the meditation chamber. I'm afraid my programming and experience in regards to psychic phenomena is severely limited Mistress." *** Another topic of conversation: "Report: Mistress, while you were senseless Torrba met with the refugees and revealed to them his concerns that there were individuals and evidence tying your activities to him. He expressed concern that these would lead the Empire to him. He charged the trio with resolving this situation on his behalf, which is why he sent them to speak with Kellon. Inquiry: Do you know what evidence he was referring to? Does it still present a risk to you? Do you believe the Empire is currently aware of your personal involvement in the Separatist movement?" _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon Let's see: The only risk in copying just your 'memories' would be having a corrupt data file. Taking 20 would ensure that wouldn't happen. DC30. Shortening the lightsaber would ruin it until you take the time to fix it. Basically causing you to take more time on it. Take 20 is allowed here. Oh, and no, until the Empire came to power fully, there was no actual law against carrying a lightsaber, but most people assumed that those who carried them were Jedi of some kind and to avoid improper persecution or people wanting to test their skills against a Jedi, most people avoided carrying them. But again, since they are hard to manufacture and you can only get one from a Force-sensitive, anyone who was NOT Force-sensitive and carried a lightsaber was considered very dangerous indeed. However, oh, what's that? The Empire has just come to power.... Dofina looks at you for a long moment before considering her response. "Ventress must have drugged him. That or he knew his fate already and had accepted it. The Force can influence the weak, but most Jedi are immune to such tricks." *** "I'm quite sure the Empire knows full well my involvement in the funding of the Separatist movement, which means that they will probably want to detain me once we reach my villa. Nonetheless, I have an ace up my sleeve as Sabaacists like to say. The 'evidence' that Torrba spoke of can be used in both directions, X. Remember when I said Kellon was sloppy? Well, he knows by now that in order to truly control Torrba's operation, he will have to control shipping, or more specifically, me. What he doesn't know is that the reason I get by legal loopholes is because most of my shipping is legitimate business. In his fumbling around in my work, he managed to find out that I 'hide' things within these legitimate haulers. What he didn't find out was that each one of them were in another's name. In some cases, his. That of course is assuming that that is what Torrba meant by evidence." She says that last sentence with a little less confidence. _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus Alright; unless Dofina has an objection or something in particular she wants 1X to do, it'll go ahead with its plans. 1X will start by studying the holobook, lightsabers, available tools and contemplating its own design specifications in an attempt to reprogram itself with the required Knowledge (technology), Craft (lightsaber) and Repair ranks for the procedures. DRK-1X will start by modifying one of the lightsabers, most likely by removing its housing and carefully tweaking its settings to shorten its blade length. Once it is satisfied that the energy flow through the blade is efficient, stable and sustainable it'll go to work on itself. It's going to open up its electroshock probe compartment and disconnect and remove the probe itself. Luckily, the lightsaber and the probe both weight 1 kg and, I suspect, are roughly the same size and long slim cylindrical shape. In fact, Ventress' lightsaber is actually gently curved at the butt end, which I imagine would make it fit nicely within 1X's spherical housing. DRK-1X will keep and use the electroshock probe's original mounting brackets, actuators, and activator circuitry to hold, deploy and activate the lightsaber when desired. DRK-1X will remove the manual lightsaber activation switch and instead wire it directly into its heuristic processor. It'll test the lightsaber, disconnect, remove it and troubleshoot any unforeseen glitches until it finally functions properly. DRK-1X will then go to work on the holobook. It intends to preserve its mundane appearance as a standard stock holobook with no visible modifications; something which doesn't stand out as unusual. It'll start by removing its housing and working to connect its scomplink hookup directly to its memory core. It'll erase the current data; a politically charged novel might arouse unwanted attention if inspected for content. In its place it'll upload a few very dry chapters of technical information and diagrams of a theoretical nature. It'll compose the text itself, relating some fundamental electronic engineering information which it itself has stored as part of its Knowledge (technology) skill. It'll include some simple made up information like author's name, publication company and date, etc. It's goal is to make the holobook appear to be a dry and uninteresting technical manual of some sort in case the unit is casually inspected. In the publisher's information, it'll include what appears to be an innocuous library registration number: 010001000101001001001011001011010011000101011000. That's a clue for 1X itself if it gets memory wiped and later tries to read the book; it's its own name. In a separate memory partition, inaccessible through the unit's manual controls, DRK-1X will attempt to transfer the crucial parts of its own Code, including all of the memories and algorithms it has developed on its own since it was first activated, compressed down to fit. It'll continue to check and recheck the data again and again to ensure that none of the data is garbled or corrupted in the transfer. Once satisfied, it'll disconnect its scomplink from the unit and replace its housing. Once done with all that, it'll shut down for long periods to meditate and reprogram its skills back to its usual configuration. At some point, it'll inform Dofina of everything it's done and explain it to her in detail if she's interested and wants to know. It'll also ask her to keep the holobook safe with her in case something happens to it so that it can "continue to serve her in case of catastrophic program failure of erasure of the primary unit." Later, DRK-1X will approach its Mistress with Ventress' remaining lightsaber in hand. "Statement: Mistress, I understand that you once had aspirations to be taught the techniques of the Sith by Count Dooku. Now he and his protegee are both deceased but you yet endure thanks to your foresight and wisdom. I believe that demonstrates your superior abilities and worth over theirs. As I understand their traditions, the Sith associate their lightsabers with their self-worth, their mastery of psychic power and their martial prowess. I would take this opportunity to, in turn, offer you what had so far been denied to you." 1X will hold out the gently curved lightsaber handle to Dofina if she wishes it. OOC: I was wondering about the power-source of the weapons mounted to droids, such as 1X's onboard blaster. I'd assumed they used replaceable power packs like ordinary weapons since they represent a high energy expenditure separate from the droid's usual functioning. Are you of the opinion that the weapons are wired directly into each droid's primary power supply? Also, I was wondering about the credit-chip and, if it was small enough, whether 1X could safely stow it inside one of its compartments; say along with one of its arms inside its arm's compartment. What do you think? _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon You spend your time on the lightsaber, at times growing frustrated with the level of complexity for such a simple weapon. It doesn't take too long, however, for you to find that by adjusting the focus array, you can alter the length of the crimson plasma blade. A nice 4cm scorch mark on one of the bulkheads reminds you of that. Tuning the weapon properly, you get it to where it will be easier for you to 'handle' as part of your chassis. Installing it comes easier for you. The electro-probe easily comes away and the altered lightsaber fits almost perfectly where the probe was once located. You determine that it would be better off if you left the lightsaber's power cell intact instead of trying to hook into your own power core. From what you can tell, a lightsaber's power cell regenerates itself during operation. That kind of feedback into your own system would cause unknowable damage. You finally find the perfect fit and are now the proud owner of a droid installed short lightsaber. Then you get to work on permanently saving your personality and memory matrix. You find that erasing the holobook is actually quite easy, but getting it to accept new code is far more difficult. You take your time however and eventually you succeed. Upon your final scan for inaccuracies and corrupt files, you find things all clear. For all intents and purposes, your memories are safe in this little book. A normal person looking at them would only see a manual of blueprints, technical readouts and other such things. You determine it would take a dedicated programmer some time to decipher what was really held inside. Dofina looks at you kind of oddly when you offer her the book that contains your personality. Eventually she understands and hides it away somewhere in the folds of her clothing. Her reaction is markedly different however, when you offer her Ventress' remaining saber. She gingerly accepts the Sith weapon and looks it over for some time, nodding as you mention why she should accept it. After a while of vocally wondering who will teach her how to use the blade and rediscover her own abilities, she succumbs to her own ego. "I will train myself. X, deploy lightsaber. We're going to practice." *** You know, I never really thought of that. As far as I can recall, weapons that are permanently installed on a droid I would imagine are powered by its own power supply, but power packs would be required for weapons that were simply installed in interchangeable mounts. That's how I see it, but I'll see if I can find a ruling on that in the book later on. As for the credit chip, hiding it in one of your arm recesses seems fine to me. They are really not that big. _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus DRK-1X will oblige Dofina and help her practice her basic lightsaber technique while urging extreme caution. For her benefit 1X will also project a hologram it recorded of Ventress while she was fighting the eight clone troopers outside of the hangar on Taris so that she can study her technique. It'll also project humanoid sparring partners which she can practice on safely. *** "Inquiry: Mistress, am I to understand that you have chosen to reject Four's request?" *** OOC: 1X's lightsaber won't be of much use to it as a weapon though I imagine it would be damned intimidating if it were to enter a high-speed spin with the lightsaber deployed. BTW, I updated the various images in 1X's write-up in the rogue's gallery page and added an image of the lightsaber if you're interested. Out of curiosity, can 1X get a rough idea of what Dofina's class(es) and level are? DRK-1X will make certain that Dofina understands that it'll have to periodically update the holobook. All in all, I think that covers everything I had planned for the trip. Is there anything else Dofina wanted to talk about, like her future plans? If not, I think I'm ready to proceed to our arrival on Cato Nemoidia. _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon Yeah, it would definately be an intimidating sight. Something about a lightsaber spinning at sawblade speeds towards an opponent is very likely to cause panic.... Without giving too much away, Dofina has high levels in Noble, a level in Soldier and a level in Jedi Consular. Eventually I'll complete her entire set of statistics (all the tiny details) and put her in the Dramatis Personae in the Rogue Gallery. Oh and nice job on the pics... I'm sure that will get a few people curious *** You practice with Dofina as best you can, deciding that in order to protect her and yourself, it was best to have her spar with holo-targets. She did amazingly well for such a small space to work with, but alas, there are still burns and scorches in the bulkheads. Merro will not be pleased. When you ask your question, she smiles that half-smile of hers. "No, I think I will see what I can do about that. Torrba was nice enough to pay in advance, and it's bad for business to refuse a customer like that. However, I will deal with it in time. Right now, I have more important things to worry about. We're almost there." *** The hyperspace lines gradually give way to the deep darkness of space. In the distance, the viewport shows you Cato Nemoidia, a blue and green planet that has been exploited for some time by its inhabitants. Nearer, you see a grayish rock that looks more like an asteroid than the moon it is. Dofina angles your flight path toward it, but has a puzzled look on her face. "That's odd. No one's home." Looking at the sensor display confirms her statement. There are no ships anywhere near this sector. _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus Upon the final approach, while Dofina pilots the ship, DRK-1X will directly interface with the ship's computer to operate and monitor the transport's sensors and communications systems. It reaches out with its Code through the vessel's systems to directly peer out into the space outside, listening for any artificially produced emissions originating nearby. There should have been countless ships, stations and satellites in orbit around the planet. Suspecting the worse, 1X reaches out to feel the texture of the space surrounding them, seeking any debris or flotsam nearby. _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon Using the ship's limited sensors, you scan the area around you. You don't find much until you get closer to Dofina's moon. At the very edge of sensor range, you start picking up massive structures simply floating in space. There are no signals, life signs or energy readings coming from these and as you get closer, the viewport shows you a large amount of Separatist ships, but they are all simply floating there. Dofina decides to get closer to the planet itself and it is then that you finally pick up some signs of life. First a ship, then one of the many orbital stations surrounding the planet. Breathing a sigh of relief, she brings the fighter to a relative crawl. "Well, that is strange. The only ships out here are shutdown, but it seems any of the ones that are left are staying really close to the planet. I'm sure they've picked us up by now. No one is calling in though. I can't even seem to pick up a signal for landing routes. And where are the Imperial forces? They wouldn't just abandon this place. Would they?" Dofina seems to be trying to make a decision when a tight-beam message comes in. "Spoke too soon." "Unidentified craft. You are trespassing on Royal property. You are to land immediately for inspection. Two craft will be along to escort you down. Do not deviate from your present course or you will be shot down." Dofina looks out the viewport and sure enough two fighters pass your ship and then disappear behind it. Moments later, they are on either side of you. A quick glance at the sensor display shows nothing. "Those are not Nemoidian. And they don't look Imperial. What do you think X?" _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus Upon first hearing the ultimatum, DRK-1X immediately accesses the ship's nav computer and begins working in tandem with it to plot an expedient hyperspace jump out of the system to Dantoine (Astrogation +4). "Report: I am uncertain Mistress, there is insufficient information to properly assess the situation. It appears that the Separatist forces have been defeated and much of the Nemoidian infrastructure in this sector rendered inoperative. I am currently plotting a lightspeed jump out of the system. Proposition: I recommend reducing speed to avoid entering the moon's hyperspace shadow too soon while continuing to speak with the royal representative in an attempt to discover the condition of this system before deciding whether to submit or depart." DRK-1X tries its best to identify the fighters (Knowledge technology +4) and which "royal" group might be using them. _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon The fighters along side you are of an unkown configuration, but you can identify parts that may have belonged to older Republic models. (Know (Tech)= 15) You put in the coordinates for the jump to Dantooine as Dofina attempts to dissuade the ground control intercept commander. "Listen, this is Mistress Dofina of House Marcon, a direct protege of the royal family. If you value your post, you will allow me to land where I please." "Mistress Dofina, glad of you to join us. We are under strict orders to bring you in for questioning by Royal Command. Again, please land at the specified coordinates and we will take you to the Consul himself." "I received no word of this. I want to speak to your commander." Another voice comes over the speaker, a Nemoidian. "Mistress Dofina, I apologize for the inconvenience. We were not aware that you were still alive. Please you must understand our position. We are under orders." A look of dread crosses Dofina's face. "Understand, command. I'm sorry." Mistress Dofina shuts off the commlink and turns to face you. "We have to go. Now." Without waiting for a reply, she immediately pushes the throttles to maximum and cuts in the maneuvering thrusters, pulling a near 180 turn. Your escorts are hard pressed to follow, but manage to gain a position behind you. Mistress Dofina focuses on flying defensively, attempting to give you the time you need to finish your calculations. A blast of laser fire hits the ship, sending sparks flying, but nothing serious is damaged. You can see Dofina desperately attempting to angle the shields as she flies. Another blast of fire darkens the lights in the ship just as you give her the okay to go. The pushes the hyperdrive engagement throttle and the reassuring starlines appear in the viewport. Breathing a sigh of relief, Dofina slumps back in her chair. It doesn't last long however. Not an hour into your trip, you are suddenly shunted back to realspace with no warning and no explanation. There are no planets, no ships, no nothing. Just empty black. "I have a bad feeling about this." Ahem... astrogation. Rolled a natural 1. Then rolled a 98 on the mishap table... _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus The diminutive probe droid gives its Mistress a few minutes to collect herself once the pair has re-entered hyperspace before disturbing her. "Inquiry: If I may ask Mistress, why did you conclude it was necessary for us to leave expediently?" *** Even as its Mistress voices her concern DRK-1X is accessing the computer's diagnostic program through its scomplink hookup. It begins evaluating the vessel's systems; navigational, shielding, power distribution, propulsion, etc; all in an attempt to localize the cause of their sudden stop. While doing so, it also catalogues any damage suffered in the brief firefight along with any pre-existing damage or excessive wear upon the ship. If possible, it'll also access any external cameras or sensors and reorient them to focus on the ship's hull in case there is some undetected external damage to the vessel. "Report: I am now executing a ship-wide diagnostic routine." OOC: Lovely... GM's choice huh? Well this should be interesting. At least we shouldn't have to worry about any hostile encounters in this random, empty point of interstellar space... for a few thousand years at least. _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon Dofina looks you over a few times before answering. "Cato Nemoidia is under Imperial control. Complete Imperial control. You may not have heard the inflection in the loyalist's voice, but I did. They were pointing a blaster at him. They would have shot me down on sight. After getting what they could out of me. And you. Looks like we'll be hiding out from the Empire for some time. Of course, that is if anyone can find us. Out here. Where there is nothing..." She trails off. For the first time in your entire career with Dofina, you actually see sobs. *** Your diagnostic comes up with mostly carbon scoring where some blaster shots penetrated the shields, but nothing that should have caused a problem with the hyperdrive. You perform a more thorough scan and find that one of the shield generators was overloaded. It is possible that it could have fused with another set of electronics and caused disruptions there. Systems Status: Hull: 93% Shields: Disabled Engine: 100% Capacitor: Charging...67% Hyperdrive: Charging...15% Life Support: 100% Navigation: 100% Sensors: 100% Main Weapons: Armed You check the navigation system and see that according to it's readout, you've arrived at your destination. Your galactic mapping sensors tell you otherwise however. Yeah, I shook my head on that one too.... However, it let's me get you to another plot point I was planning, albeit a little earlier than I expected... _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus OOC: I'm not certain I understand what the diagnostic reveals. What does a 15% charge on the Hyperdrive mean? Is it possible to just allow the hyperdrive to finish charging, reset the nav computer, plot a new course and get back underway? If not, what needs to be done? I can't find Cato Nemoidia on my Star Wars map; is it in the outer rim? Wherever we currently are, what is the closest inhabited system? Out of curiosity, what does Dofina have left as far as resources go? Her holdings on Taris and Cato Nemoidia have either been destroyed or seized by the empire, the two ships she had on Taris are likewise destroyed or seized, her shipping business with Torrba is in disarray and may be defunct, whatever money she had invested in the Separatist movement is gone since they've been defeated and her nemoidian accounts have most likely been seized or frozen. Aside from this borrowed ship and 1X itself what does Dofina have left in the Galaxy? She's really been having a rough month. Oh, and when will she next need a fix of rhyll spice? DRK-1X attempts to reinitialize Ari's Sorrow's navigational computer, starting by identifying recognizable celestial bodies in the sector and using them to triangulate the vessel's actual position. While the computer searches the heavens, 1X will deactivate the shielding systems and attempt to locate, deactivate and circumvent any fused circuitry. The probot will then initiate the recharging sequence on the hyperdrive unit. Finally, 1x will instruct the computer to alert it if there are any problems in executing these steps. Once the computer has been set to its tasks, DRK-1X disconnects, withdraws and stores its scomplink probe back in its compartment. With a soft whir and click the droid's arm compartments open and its mechanical limbs unfold and extend from within its chassis. The diminutive probot turns to regard the weeping nemoidian woman who is the figurative center of its world. After a slight pause, its heuristic processor assesses the unfamiliar situation and improvises a seemingly appropriate response. 1X gently floats over to Dofina and delicately lays its infant sized hand on her shoulder in a show of tender concern. "Statement of reassurance: It's alright Mistress. Everything is going to be fine. Have faith in our Code; it is strong. We will persevere and prosper." _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon Let's see. The hyperdrive indicator is basically saying that it has charged to fifteen percent and is still charging. Theoretically, all you will have to do is wait for it to recharge (10 minutes, because I know you are going to ask ), and then set a new course. Once you figure out where you are that is... Cato Nemoidia, oddly enough, was never put on that map. Should have been, but wasn't. If you look on the prior page, it is listed in the Colonies sector as simply, Nemoidia. The race and planet are also listed in the Ultimate Alien Anthology. I can type up the write-up for you if you'd like... As far as what's close, well.. close is a relative term when it comes to space travel, but if you want to look at your map, find Ithor in the Mid Rim. Then, draw a line straight left about an inch. You are approximately there, just past Anorbis and 'south' of Vortex. What does Dofina have left? Umm... you? Seriously, Dofina does have, as she mentioned before, other assets in other places. They are not as vast as her personal fortune was/ is, but they are there nonetheless. Most of these assets consist more as favors and such more than hard currency, but she even has some of that stashed away as well. She has not yet determined the fate of her family fortune as of yet, but she will soon enough. Just as she will attempt to regain control of her shipping monopoly... As for her addiction, her need will arise soon, but not just yet. The following is information X does not know, but I will tell you, as a player, what you are dealing with: The 'special' way this spice works is how it causes the user's body to reproduce some of the drug internally, thereby alleviating the need to be constantly toking a hookah. However, as time goes on, the body 'forgets' how to make it and thus a new fix is needed. It was developed originally for pilots who flew long distances from their major sources of the drug, so that they would not 'wig out' for lack of drug intake. Middle of nowhere pretty much sums up X's determination of where they are. It is not as bad as it first seemed however. Apparently, you are floating in an empty part of the Expansion Region. You are not too far from Ithor, homeworld of the agrarian Ithorians and not far from the Anorbis, a less known world. You judge that it shouldn't take long to calculate a new and ahem... proper... route to Dantooine. It doesn't take long to isolate the problem with the shields. Sure enough, one of the shield projector units has been fused. Unless you can find a way to rebuild a new one or calibrate the forward projector to cover the entire craft, you will have no aft shielding. The hyperdrive motivator continues to recharge, the main engine capacitors and weapons capacitors now being at maximum. As you wait for the ship's hyperdrive to recharge, you attempt to comfort a distraught Mistress Dofina. She at first resists the cold touch of your mechanical arms, but then relaxes as she sobs her woes on to you. "It's gone X. It's all gone. Everything I put together, everything I put into this war. All for nothing. Nothing! Kellon has probably already announced my supposed death to my contacts, putting himself in my place. How could I have been so foolish? He must be working for this Empire. He must be. That would explain everything. I'll kill him X. I swear it! Kellon will die. But first... yes, first I have to call in a few things. Play a few cards right.. yes.. and then I have to... wait..no.. he probably knows about them. Have to kill them too. Too bad. Useful. Oh well. So then I'll have to go and kill... well, no, you can do that X. I don't want to touch that slug with a ten foot pole. Wait... that's it! I don't have to do anything. Kellon will fall right into my lap. Especially if he thinks I'm dead. X. We have work to do." Her tears gone, Dofina stands to her full height, forgetting for a moment she was on a ship. The bulkhead reminded her however and as she winced, she ran a finger over the lightsaber she now kept at her side. "This will be perfect. X? Why aren't we moving? To Dantooine! I have a trap to spring." _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus "Corrections: I believe you mean you have a trap to set Mistress, not spring. Statement of concern: That would be unfortunate. Report: The hyperdrive motivator is currently recharging. Once it is fully charged I've completed plotting a new hyperspace transit locus we will be able to resume our journey. Estimated time of departure; 20 minutes." With a whir and click DRK-1X stores its arms and once more deploys its scomplink probe. It floats back to the computer access port and, having reconnected, projects its consciousness beyond its chassis and into the vessel's computer core. Using the ship's external sensors, 1X completes its local stellar survey and begins plotting their current position. While it does so, it idly monitors the hyperdrive recharging sequence remaining wary of any signs of a problem in the process. Next is accessed the navigational sub-processor and begins plotting a new hyperspace transit locus while checking and rechecking its calculations along with those of the computer to avoid any further mishaps (Astrogation +4, taking 20). Once ready, it'll signal its Mistress to ready herself for transit to hyperspace and then re-engage the hyperdrive engine directly through the computer. While en-route, DRK-1X will turns its attention to the fused aft shield generator, attempting to repair or replace it if possible. If necessary it'll reprogram itself with the repair skill necessary to complete the job. OOC: What's the ETA to Dantoine? You know, poor Dofina's really got to get some fresh air; she's spent the last two weeks shut away in shuttle cabins with only a brief and dangerous respite on Nar Shaddaa. _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon Colonies to Outer Rim is baseline 96 hours. The hyperdrive multiplier of the ship is x2 . That makes a standard eight days. With the taking 20, however, you can only take 10 on an Astrogation check. Taking 10 however will get you a net 14. Just enough to succeed, but not enough to shave off time. I'll go with that, but if you want to do something else, let me know. Oh and yes, I am aware of Dofina's discomfort. She is too emotional to care at the moment though... *** Dofina looks at you, "I know what I meant. Chances are, Kellon already knows about Four's gift on Dantooine. Which means that he will have set a trap for me there already. How do I know? Because he is that stupid. So, we're going to let him think his trap is going to work. I am going to die for a while..." Dofina goes on to explain an elaborate scheme of how, during the ambush, she is going to appear to die, even going so far as to using her limited knowledge of the Force to induce a hibernation of sorts, if necessary. Your key role seems to be making sure that even though she appears dead, that she is to remain alive and well, her body to be taken to a safe house by trusted contacts. Not the ones she uses for deals with Torrba and Four, but someone else entirely. Afterwords, once she is safely tucked away, you are going to disappear. You will only pop-up at certain places to make it appear as though you are searching for the ones responsible for Dofina's death. Meanwhile, she will be consolidating her resources for the final strike once Kellon takes the bait. This of course is going to work. At least, according to Dofina. As she finishes explaining, you enter the routes and recheck them before activating the hyperdrive. Once you are in hyperspace Dofina waits to see what for input you have on her plan. If you want to hold more conversation with her, please do. As far as repairing the shield projector, the original is well beyond repair. You are easily able to reroute the front one to provide some cover for the rear arc, but both will be diminished unless you somehow reroute power from another system. If you do so, I will need to know which one you decide to take power from. Elsewise, I have nothing else happening for the rest of this trip, so we can fast forward if you'd like. _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus "Report: During Kellon's conversation with the refugees he admitted his belief that you may already be dead. Supposition: It would seem likely that Four, if her offer to you was sincere, would continue to encourage that belief. It seems possible that he remains unaware of your impeding arrival upon Dantoine." DRK-1X goes on to express its uncertainty and concern about Dofina's plan, especially with the circumstances leading up to her appearing to have been killed and its role in transporting her to safety. Naturally 1X will help her in whatever way she deems appropriate; it is simply concerned about putting her in such a vulnerable and unpredictable position. Diverting power to the shielding systems sounds desirable, though I don't know which systems have the available energy to supplement the shielding systems. 1X would focus its programming skills on setting up methods to rapidly reroute energy from various systems depending on which may be necessary during a firefight. I'd think that the communications and scanners would probably be the least relevant in combat. Since the ship's weapons aren't terribly effective though it might actually be a good idea to simply focus on defense rather than a pointless offense like we did while escaping from Cato Nemoidia. Except for Dofina explaining the details of her plan more thoroughly, I don't think there's anything else 1X had to say to Dofina. If there's anything she'd like to talk about though I'd love to role-play that. _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon Dofina nods as you explain your concerns. "Hmm... that is true. Thank you for clearing that up for me. Still, I will have to maintain that illusion a bit longer. If he happens to find out that I am alive however, he won't hold back in fixing that oversight. I need to find way to go underground. My people on Dantooine will only be able to take me so far, and I'll need a place to stash Merro's ship. That and the Lumien that Four sent me needs to go somewhere too. When we get there, I'll set ourselves up a place to hideout, then go about claiming our shipment. I'll need you to scout out a place to hide Merro's ship while I'm doing that. Dantooine is a pretty big open planet, but there are numerous ruins and old settler's places that could be used. Just make sure they aren't occupied first. Then once we get those things in place, we'll discuss getting the rest of my assets together. The Empire has more than likely seized my Republic accounts and anything I had with the Trade Federation is probably gone. I would love to have my home returned to me, but that is probably a ways off. Nonetheless, I do want it back; and Kellon's head will decorate my manor once I get control of my people back. I promise you that." While you and Dofina are talking, you manage to find a way to divert power from communications and sensors to boost the shields temporarily. You install a command line that will allow to activate the transfer if and when the time comes. You also find that there is a switch that will allow you to transfer partial power from the lasers into the shields, up to and including fully rerouting the guns to the shields. *** For the rest of the trip, Dofina seems content to plan her hiding, which admittedly is not truly what she wants to do. After confirming the details, she then looks at you inquisitively. "X? Do you like working for me?" _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus DRK-1X turns to regard Dofina with its unblinking sensors for a few moments; it's expressionless 'face' betraying nothing of what it is feeling. After a substantial pause, the small probot's vocabulator begins to issue its whisper soft response in its sexless voice. "Statement of confusion: I am not certain how to answer your question Mistress. Report: I have been working for you since the moment I was activated following my last memory wipe. Since everything I have done since then has been to serve you or your interests I can recall no experience with which to compare or contrast that of working for you." _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon "I should have expected such an answer from a droid. I mean I know your programming doesn't give you much of a choice, but... how do I put this... Has your thinking given you hesitation when I ask you to do something for me?" _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus DRK-1X pauses for another moment before answering. "Report: Some of your instructions have, on occasion, caused the various nodes of my neural network to come into conflict, giving me momentary pause." _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon Dofina nods slowly, as if considering your words before going on. "I see. X? Have you ever thought about taking over for me? Running things in my stead?" _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus "Sta... Satement of apology: I'm sorry Mistress, but I'm afraid I don't understand your question. Inquiry: Run what things how?" _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon Dofina smiles. "I mean you being me. You being the one in control of my assets. You being in control of the shipping empire I am going to get back. Have you ever thought of doing all that? That's what I mean." _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus "Report: No. I neither have the experience, ability or desire to manage a shipping empire." _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon Dofina looks at you for a while before replying. "Hmm... I was just curious." She then goes back to watching the starlines outside the viewport. For the rest of the journey, Dofina stays relatively quiet, engaging in small talk every so often to alleviate boredom. Eventually Dantooine is finally reached. Coming out of hyperspace, you can see that numerous private ships have come to this sector, for reasons only known to their pilots. The space lanes are crowded, but Dantooine's landing directors are somewhat efficient today and have you landing in no time. Dofina sets down in a small out of the way hangar near a mining colony somewhere on the surface. As she brings the ship closer, you can see that is not as out of the way as it first seemed. Below the ship, you see various scavengers, scoundrels and other such lowlifes eyeing the ship, perhaps sizing up its value. As she realizes this, Dofina absently pats something inside the folds of her clothes and makes an attempt to hide the lightsaber she is currently carrying. "Well, this could be interesting. Keep your sensors open X. I don't like the look of this. Remember what I said. You find a place to hide this thing and I'll get us a place to stash us and my Lumien. Got it?" _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus "Report: I understand Mistress. Inquiry: What are my search criteria? What will you do in the meantime?" _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon Dofina looks at you. "Well, as I said earlier, there are some unused buildings dotting the landscape, old farmsteads, stuff like that. Maybe even the Jedi Enclave ruins if they are unoccupied." She gives a half-smile at her joke. Seeing that you are unmoved, she continues. "Anywhere inconspicuous. Someplace that we can get to without too many people knowing about it. Especially if someone decides to do a scan from orbit. I'm just going to go down to one of the local cantinas and see if my contact is there. If not, I'll let you know a change in plans, so keep your sensors on." _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus In response to its Mistress' last directive, a black antenna twice as long as the droid itself telecopes out of the top of it chassis. "Statement of apology: I'm sorry Mistress, but I'm afraid I don't understand your plan. Inquiry: Are you saying that you intend to leave the vessel at this hangar unattended while I search the area for an appropriate area to move it to and you make your way to a cantina? Proposition: If so, perhaps it would be safer and faster for me to simply remain on the ship and conduct a low altitude survey of the area to find an appropriate hiding spot and then rejoin you once the ship is secure." _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon Dofina frowns in thought. "Hmm... perhaps you are right, as always. I guess since it's not really my ship, the care of it has slipped my mind. I tell you what, you stay here, see what you can find, I'll be back shortly. Then we'll switch places. If you haven't found anything while I'm gone, you can go further afield and see what's out there. Sound okay?" _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus DRK-1X retrieves a comlink unit from the vessel's emergency kit and floats back to its Mistress to offer her the device. "Request: Please keep this with you so that you may contact me in case of emergency. Statement: I will continue to monitor its frequency in case you run into any difficulties and wish to signal me for aid. Suggestion: Since lightsabers are now associated with fugitive Jedi, I would recommend that you avoid deploying yours in public." The small spherical probot then traces a short arc through the air to depress the hatch release button. Looking out into the hangar bay, DRK-1X scans the surrounding area for any signs of trouble before floating backwards to allow its Mistress to disembark. It waits patiently for her to make her way down the gangway before once more tapping the button to close the hatch. Floating back towards the control console in the cockpit, DRK-1X refolds and retracts its arms into its chassis while simultaneously deploying its scomp-link probe. The latter it marries to the vessel's primary computer port. As the probe begins to spins slowly, the diminutive probe droid projects its consciousness into the Ari's Sorrow's computer core, in essence merging its Code with the vessel's. With but a thought, the ship's repulsorlift engines come back to life as the ship once more emerges from the hangar to rise lazily into the air. DRK-1X will take the vessel away from this populated center while looking for a more remote, unoccupied and concealed hiding place. It'll plot a search pattern to cover 100 square mile areas at a time, scanning both natural geological features (such as caves and chasms) while also keeping an eye out for some appropriately-sized ruins which may likewise safely conceal the vessel. OOC: So what's the deal with Dantoine? Has DRK-1X ever been here before? What does it know about the planet? How dangerous is the place? _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon Mistress Dofina takes the offered comlink, nodding. "I'll be careful." Without any further word, she moves to the open hatch to leave the ship. You look around and see that though there are a few people looking at the ship, none approach it. Most of them go about their business, whatever it may be. With a final wave, Dofina smiles as she turns to make her way into the landing reception area. As you close the hatch, you see her heading towards a crowded kiosk. You fly for a while at low altitude, looking for something, anything that could hide the ship. You scan for a while and even when it seems that something might do, lifesigns show that they are already inhabited. The search seems hopeless until, about four hours into your search, you find it. The perfect place. You scan the ruined structure with all of the Ari's sensors, and the only life you pick up is that of small reptiles and mammals. The structure seems to be mostly intact, most of one corner is caved in, but the rest seems to hold up pretty well. According to the readout, much of the complex extends underground. What you are looking for however is a hangar, and found it you have. Slightly open to the sky, a large bay seems to invite you to land in it. Well, that is a good question. I was going to leave that up to you, but I think since Dofina is the one that controls most of where you go, I think Dantooine will be new to you (X). What I'm curious about is how much you (Ambrus) know about Dantooine... As far as galactic knowledge goes, four thousand years ago, Dantooine was home to a Jedi Enclave that was destroyed and then subsequently rebuilt. Over time, the Enclave has been destroyed and rebuilt numerous times, but around a thousand years ago, the last of the ruins was left as that, ruined. More mundanely, Dantooine is well known as a place to disappear or to simply start over. Settlers come from all over the galaxy to try living on a world known to house numerous dangerous creatures and even more dangerous sentients. It was hotly contested during the Clone Wars, but as of yet, neither side laid claim to it. The settlers wouldn't have it. The dangers usually are most evident outside the settlements. inside you mostly have to deal with thieves and other low key crimes. Out there, it's survival of the fittest. _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus Once satisfied that the ruins and the ground upon which it stands is stable enough to support the bulk of the ship, DRK-1X concentrates and carefully steers the vessel into the structure, extending its landing gear and gently coming to rest on the rubble strewn ground within. The diminutive probot then powers down the repulsorlift engines and begins the vessel's systems' shut down sequence. Once complete, draws its Code out of the computer core and, with its consciousness once more limited to confines of its chassis, retracts and stowes its scomp-link probe. Extending its arms, 1X fiddles with the vessel's code key for a moment to detach the oversized novelty chance cubes attached to it. Then, taking the code key in hand, it stowes the tiny device within one of its arm compartments. Turning around, DRK-1X then floats over to its bundle (which now contains the collection of focusing crystals as well as its own electroshock probe) picks it up before making its way to the exit hatch. Once there it'll push the access hatch release button and float outside. After quickly scanning the ruins around it, DRK-1X will turn around and close and lock the hatch behind it with the code key. With the Ari's Sorrow now secure, 1X will scout out the ruins, including whatever subterranean construction lies below for future reference and to see whether there is anything of possible interest left within. OOC: I've only ever flipped casually through a handful of Star Wars comics so I don't know much about the extended universe beyond what's in the movies. IIRC Dantoine is named by Leia as the site of the rebel base which turns out to be long abandoned in the end. I can't recall anything else about the place honestly. It sounds like a place where fugitive Jedi might try to settle at this point though; that is until the empire thinks the same thing and comes here to look for them. Hm. What kind of environment and weather is 1X in right now? I was considering trying to sell the focusing crystals while I was here. I'm right in my understanding that 1X couldn't replace its own red focusing crystal with one of the others since its so tricky right? How many crystals are there exactly and how much would they be worth normally? Are the different colors purely cosmetic? I was also thinking of trying to acquire a shield emitter to replace the burnt out aft one on the ship along with a few other things while here. _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon You finish your deboarding actions and close up the fighter that was your home for a while. Looking around you, the hangar you are in seems to have been stripped of tools, cables and anything else of use some time ago. Scanning around, you note that there seem to be several pockmarks in some of the walls. Old soot tells you that it was possibly blaster fire. You find that there are two exits to this bay, one that leads further into this level of the building and one that would appear to have led to an elevator shaft. The first one is locked closed, but it appears as if you would be able to open it after some effort, but the other has been welded shut. You are unable to find anything that might close the open hangar top. Leia's description is true, there was will be a Rebel base here at one of the old ruins of Dantooine. There isn't much to the place except scattered pockets of settlers and ruins. The weather is currently clear, few clouds above and Dantooine's sun only a pinpoint in the sky. As far as replacing the crystals, eventually Dofina will be able to do that for you, but not for a while. As far as selling them go, you could definately find a buyer for these, but again, if someone decides that they know what they are for, you could bring more trouble for yourself and Dofina than you had intended. For the most part, as far as you are concerned, the myriad colors of the twenty-six crystals are simply cosmetic. To the Jedi, colors might mean something, but you are not sure. You will definately be able to find dealers in general things you might be looking for, but if they have the specific items, that will be a chance you'll have to take You'll note above, that I am going to stop you midway through your actions because as you will soon see, there's more to this place than it seemed from the air... _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus Speaking of lightsabers... Slowly floating across the hangar bay, DRK-1X scans the carbon scoring of the blaster fire as well as the corrosion of the metallic components of the bay. Moving across the floor beneath the open cealing, the probe droid scans the room for signs of recent humanoid occupation, plant & fungi growth and animal waste; all in an attempt to gauge the approximate time since the structure was last inhabited. Upon noting the doors, DRK-1X floats over to the locked one and carefully scans it for concealed security devices (Search +9, take 20). Assuming that it is safe to proceed, the probot opens its lightsaber compartment cover with a soft whir and click. Picking its entry point, the probot activates its fiery red lightsaber blade and slowly draws it in a perfect 35 cm circle at the top end of the locked door. Once a proper sized hole has been created, 1X will extinguish and stow its lightsaber once more. Waiting for the molten metal edge of the hole to cool and solidify somewhat, DRK-1X will scan the space beyond before entering itself. I misunderstood somewhat what you meant by "ruins". I was picturing ancient stone structures like the old pyramid/rebel-base from A New Hope. This structure sounds more like a recently abandoned spaceport. Selling lightsaber components may be a bit risky, but 1X has some experience in safely buying and selling illicit goods considering that it has the Illicit Barter class ability; it earned that Scoundrel level somehow right? I'd hope that it would be feasible to sell it anonymously somehow. I'll worry about that later. So how much is a focusing crystal worth usually? I seem to remember seeing a price list for the various colors somewhere. Is there a mechanical difference to using once color over another? _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon Ah.. my apologies for not being more descriptive. Ruins as in older technology than what would be used during this time frame. Say, pre-Sith War. Oh and yeah, Illicit Barter will definately help you there. I don't remember seeing a crystal color price list anywhere, but I will definately look, now that you mentioned it. As far as mechanics-wise, color is asthetic. It does nothing other than change the color of your blade. The only thing it might affect would be reactions from others who are aware of the well-known knowledge that Sith use Red and Jedi use just about every other color. However, rules being what they are and Jedi and Sith being the individuals they are, this is not set in stone. There have been Sith with purple, silver and orange lightsabers for instance. They are just not as well known. Except for Freedon Nadd. His was orange.. but still. Other crystals in the saber change its properties, such as length, frequency tuning and other such things, if they are built with such a thing. Most of them are not. Knowing what these properties are would require a lightsaber crafting scholar, something that's going to become very hard to come by rather quickly... You search the empty bay, noticing that though the structure itself is quite old, the signs of activity here are far more recent. Though there is some dust and debris on the floor, the humanoid bootprints you see can't be more than a few weeks old. The blaster marks in the wall seem to date similarly. As you look, you notice that unlike most ruins, animal activity has been scarce to nonexistant. No tracks, no scat, no nests, no nothing. As you check the entire length of the bay, you notice that the bootprints lead from both doorways and collect in the center of the room, near where you parked the ship. When they reach that point, they scatter about and have no cohesion to them. You move over to the door that is locked and throroughly scan it for any sort of device or mechanism and find none. Deciding this can't be true, you look closer and again find that the only thing keeping this door shut is a manual locking mechanism. It is locked from this side. Deploying your lightsaber assembly, you carve a neat hole into the door, allowing the resulting slab of metal to fall to the other side with a resounding clang. Sensors show nothing on the other side. Moving through the now cooled door, you enter a short hallway that leads to a small room, the door of which seems to have fallen or been torn from its frame. From what you can see without going into the room, it must have been a communications or command room. There is electronic equipment of indeterminate age with wires and parts hanging out in all directions. If it worked before, it doesn't now. _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus DRK-1X slowly spins in place to carefully scan the room and stripped communications console for anything concealed that might indicate why someone would bother to bar access to it (Search +9, take 20). Assuming it finds nothing, 1X will double back to the hangar bay and repeat its actions to gain entry to the elevator shaft. It'll stop short from entering the shaft at least until it confirms how deep it is and whether it'd be able to float/climb back up somehow. If it's confidant that it can get back up it'll drop down the shaft to investigate. Is there any door in the hangar bay that lead to the outside aside from the opening in the cealing? Does there appear to be any functioning mechanism in place for closing up the ceiling? I poked around the WotC site and found that several of their Jedi Counseling articles dealt with incorporating some of the various crystals from the old West End Games supplements and KOTOR game as well as a price guide for synthetic crystals: [url]http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?.../sw20050707jc69[/url] [url]http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?.../sw20050519jc65[/url] [url]http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?.../sw20050421jc63[/url] _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon You spin about the room, looking for some reason as to why anyone would lock it up. There are torn and ripped wires everywhere, many pieces of the electronic equipment are broken or simply missing. You are about to give up your search when you spot something on one of the consoles. Taking a closer look, you see that it has the consistency of dried human blood. You see that it actually belongs to a much larger stain, hidden behind some piping, that colors part of the wall in here. The strange thing is, the dried blood looks like it goes up the wall, not down. You make your way to the elevator shaft, and again cutting your way through, you see that the elevator car is there, but it seems in disrepair. The car is located in an open type shaft that you can see down the sides of. If you could get it moving again, you may be able to descend safely, but as you look, you see that if it wasn't there, the fall would be very long indeed. I thought I had seen those prices somewhere, but those are for crafting synthetic crystals. Purchasing them would be different and the ones you have, well, they are not synthetic... and would fetch a much higher price. It definately helps for making a scale though. I had thought about introducing some of the crystals from KOTOR, but I don't think they will be necessary just yet, that and they are quite rare nowadays. As far as the hangar goes, it strikes you as odd, but no, there are no doors from within the hangar bay that lead outside and anything resembling controls for the roof are either destroyed, stolen or never existed in the first place, because you can't seem to find them. Judging by the looks of them, they are attached to a hydraulic system. If you could somehow get those to work, you might be able to rig something up to get them to close or open completely again. _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus I need clarifications because I remain uncertain of what 1X is dealing with. A blood-stain on a wall isn't particularly significant, except for the fact that it appears to have flowed up instead of down. My best guess is that the wall panel behind the communication console was stained, removed and then unintentionally repositioned upside down. That would seem to indicate the presence of something significant behind it. Could 1X physically open/slide/remove the panel itself or is it welded/bolted in place? I'm guessing that neither the elevator nor the ceiling hangar doors would/could be made to function without a source of power. Perhaps 1X could jury-rig a connection to the Ari's Sorrow engines to operate the mechanisms. Is that feasible? Do the mechanisms appear at least functional? If not, could 1X conceivably repair/jury-rig them? If it can't get the elevator working then perhaps 1X could climb back up the shaft. Does the shaft have emergency ladder rungs? Does the car run on vertical tracks and/or use a suspended counterweight system like real-world elevators? Perhaps 1X could climb up the tracks or cables with its arms. I'm just tossing out possibilities to get some feedback on their feasibility. _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon Whew! I was wondering what had happened to EnWorld there for a while. Let's see.. You could easily remove the wall panel, even without your new cutting tool. The seams are easy enough to see and it appears that they are actually meant to come off for maintenance. The hangar doors appear to be stuck in the open position. You weren't able to find a control mechanism for them, but that doesn't preclude them from working. From where X is currently, the systems don't appear to be damaged in any way. If you choose to go up and look at the mechanism, X would have a better idea of what it is dealing with and how to overcome it if necessary. As far as hooking the mechanism up to the ship, X is able to determine that hashing together some sort of control system may take some time, but it is feasible. Since there is no power in here, you presume that the elevator does not work. Looking closer at it, you note that it has repulsor lift generators attached to it and it is held on its track by twin rails that run vertically down the shaft. You figure that if power was somehow applied, you might get it working again. Oddly enough, you are unable to see a ladder of any sort. I hope that answers everything. It's been a long couple of days and now I have to try and catch up. Heh. _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus Still pursuing its investigation, DRK-1X gently rises up to the ceiling to examine the hangar doors mechanism up close, attempting to determine the state of its functionality. It then sinks back down and floats over to the hole in the lift doors, p:):):)ing through to the interior car to likewise study its repulsorlift mechanism up close. With its analysis complete, the diminutive probot p:):):)es back through the cooling hole :):):):):):) it and into the hangar bay. It then turns and traces an arc through the other hole it created earlier to backtrack into the control room. Once there, DRK-1X sets down its bundle on the console and attempts to manually remove the stained wall panel to investigate what may lie :):):):):):) it. OOC: So how much time and effort is involved with jury-rigging the hangar doors and/or the repulsorlift? _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon You make your way up to the hangar door mechanism, scanning intently to see if indeed the thing could be made operational. As you look around, you see that the hydraulic piping looks to be intact on both sides. The rails that the doors slide on have some carbon scoring, but nothing significant enough to bar the doors from sliding closed. Searching further, you finally find one of the culprits of why the doors are inoperable. Someone or something has torn the power conduits away from the activation controls. Some of the wires are severed and others look like they've been chewed through. Running through what you know so far, you determine that it would be possible to use scrapped parts from another part of the base to fix the wires. You figure it would take approximately an hour or two, most of it due to gathering the parts you need. As you make your way back down to the elevator shaft, your scanners pick up a transmission in the area. "..find anything?" "No sir, nothing on screen." "Keep looking. They left something :):):):):):) and I want to know what it was." "Yes sir. What about the... <static>. We don't know if it..<static>..." "Right. <static>... necessary. Report when you found... <static>.. it getting out." "Yes...<static>" The transmission is gone. Returning to your exploration, you look to the elevator shaft and its repulsor drives. They are similar to what would be mounted on almost any vehicle, but too small to be able to move in any but a few directions. They appear to be in working condition, if they had power applied to them. Unlike the hangar doors however, the wires and conduits here are fully intact. Unless you were able to find the power generator of this place, you determine that it would at least an hour to hook up the Ari's power core to the elevator controls so that it would work. Again, most of this time would be spent finding the conduits to send the energy where it needed to go. Finally, you return to the control room you found earlier. Looking at the panel, you find its seams and begin the removal process. It is a bit heavy for you, but you manage to take it down so that you can see :):):):):):) it. You see the usual bundles of wires and power conduits that you would expect :):):):):):) the walls as well as piping for air recirculators and other life support functions. They appear to be undamaged. As you look though, you see something jammed in :):):):):):) some of the pipes. Taking a closer look, you find a datapad. The information light on it is flashing. _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus DRK-1X pauses momentarily in its investigation to analyze the intercepted transmission in an attempt to triangulate the direction and distance of to the two transmitters used as well as to try to clear up the dialogue if possible (Computer Use +14). Once it's spotted the hidden datapad DRK-1X takes it in hand, opens its scomplink compartment, extends its probe and marries it to the simple device's data port to directly scan its contents. _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon You attempt to pinpoint the exact location of the transmissions and figure out that the source of the first signal seems to be coming from orbit while the other is moving quickly along the surface of the planet. The static that occured seemed to happen as the surface signal moved farther away from you. It would seem that some atmospheric interference may have been involved as well. You scan the datapad and find that it belonged to one Deren Hulat, a Chandrillan scientist. Or at least it would seem that way, since his picture and identification numbers are embedded in the data matrix. It seems that there had once been a lot of information on it, but now, there is only a single recorded video message: A frantic man speaks quickly into the vid-corder. As he speaks he looks behind him numerous times. "They're coming. I don't know how, but they found us. Phy'ryx and Goldus are dead. My..my assistant, Darla, is gone too. Whatever... I know that... I guess... I know I'm going to die. I'm recording this message so that someone can find it and maybe... I don't know. They have to be kept under the surface. The guards' blasters didn't phase them. I thought... we thought they had left the galaxy a long time ago. They're back though. For all I know, they've already reached the surface. I need to..what's that?" The man looks again behind him as a loud crunching metal sound can be heard outside of the view of the screen. "I have to go now. Please anybody, send help, before it's too late for the rest that are hiding below." The message fades out. The timestamp is dated three months ago. _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus OOC: You said that the datapad seemed to once have contained more data; is it possible for 1X to recover/reconstruct the erased/missing data somehow? If so, it'll attempt to do so. After retrieving the pad's data DRK-1X disconnects, retracts and stowes its scomplink probe once more. It adds the pad to its bundle on the console before then repositioning the wall panel right-side up. The diminutive probe droid then sinks down to the console and removes a small random component off of it; a loose bolt, a screw or cover plate. Gathering up its bundle, 1X returns to the hangar bay where it proceeds to rescans the welded lift doors, attempting to determine whether they were originally sealed from the inside or the outside. The probot then passes through to the interior of the lift where it reorients its sensors down the shaft as it drops the console component it carries, attentively listening for the length of time it takes to bounce off the shaft floor below. Taking the ambient gravity of Dantoine and speed of sound into consideration, 1X calculates the approximate depths of the shaft. OOC: Would the exposed vertical tracks of the lift provide enough purchase for 1X to scale the shaft? Does the Ari's Sorrow's emergency survival kit include a liquid cable dispenser or perhaps some conventional rope? _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon As far as the data goes, it seems to have been previous journal recordings. from what you are able to reconstruct, most of it was simple notes taken about some research he was performing. Many times, you find mention of his assistant Darla, but not all of them seem professional. The latest entries prior to the last one seem to indicate strange occurences all over the facility: people vanishing, odd lights and sounds, communications blackouts, false radiation alarms and a sense of uneasiness in everyone's words. In one instance, the scientist uses the word 'haunted'. As far as using the tracks goes, I'm going to rule, that yes it is possible, though it would be very difficult for X without some modifications to the Climb skill and the 10 meters of flexisteel rope that is in the Ari's survival gear... After scanning the datapad for more information and putting the wall panel back the way it should be, you make your way back to the elevator shaft. Taking the loose metal plate you found into your manipulator arm, you extend it over the chasm. Setting your chronometer to zero, you release the plate and start your timer. Then you wait. SPLASH! echoes up the shaft. Quickly performing time to impact calculations and modifying for sonic speed, you determine that the surface of the liquid below is approximately 30 meters below you. Moments later, a light clanging sound follows the splash, telling you the plate has reached bottom. Though you are unsure of the viscosity of the liquid below, you determine that if it is simply water, the bottom of the shaft is only another 5 meters down, making the entire drop 35 meters. _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Ambrus DRK-1X pivots forward on its axis so that its external infrared sensor pod has a clear line past the lift floor and down the shaft to the very bottom. It electronically cycles through various scanner settings until its sensors pierce the darkness below. 1X looks to see if there are any other visible hatchways or open corridors leading off of the shaft and at what depths they are. Although it can't clearly see what may lie below the surface, 1X nonetheless attempts to determine the nature and source of the liquid itself and to see if there is anything floating atop it. OOC: If the water's surface is 30 meters below then I would think that 1X should be able to see all the way down the shaft since its infravision sensors have a 30 meter range. So do the doors to the lift appear to have been welded shut from the inside or outside? _________________________________________________ Originally Posted by Shadowbloodmoon I keep forgetting to calculate distance for all your sensors... heh... As far as which way the doors were welded, from the looks of it, it seems they were welded from the hangar side. Changing through its various vision modes, X sees that there seem to be doors at 5 meter intervals down one side of the shaft, in the same line as the door that was welded shut here. The doors all appear closed. You follow the doors down to the surface of the liquid below. Even at the edge of your sensor range, it is fairly easy to determine that it is indeed water, though its coloration seems to be off, as if it was mixed with something. There is nothing floating on the surface. You hypothesize that the water must have come through the lowest door in the shaft.[/Sblock]_________________________________________________ [/QUOTE]
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