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Star Wars: Heroes of Kalarba
- Thread starter LostSoul
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LostSoul
Adventurer
Background:
Arthur Denfrey, the Crown Prince of the world of Kalarba, flees the royal palace, his home, his people, and his duties in a single night of flames. Alexi, Arthur's shadow and Prince-despot of one of Kalarba's two ruling houses, capitalizes on fears of weak leadership from the young and spoiled Crown Prince Denfrey and his pro-rebellion leanings. Alexi seizes control of their planet in a brutal purge and sides with the Empire. It is a task that the Witches Coven of Mount Tharen have trained him for all his life.
The Witches Coven possess forbidden knowledge of a dark prophecy that holds all life on Kalarba in its clutches, and only they have the foresight to battle the coming storm. Their only weapon - Alexi Ak'Heleth.
Alexi rules the planet with an iron fist alongside the Imperial Governor, Moff Darksun. Darksun is tasked by the Emperor to wrest real power from Alexi and turn the rogue Dark-Force user to Imperial control. These are among his hidden schemes...
Til-Gon, an eccentric and unorthodox Jedi dispatched to explore mysteries of lost civilizations beyond the outer rim, escapes the Jedi purges by crashing his library-ship on the uncharted world of Dathomir. After repairing his vessel with the help of the force-sensitive youth Feyd, the Jedi Master spends five years training his faithful student on an ancient base hidden in the midst of an asteroid field. Feeling a tremor in the force, Til-Gon sends his student out into the world, charging him with the task of finding Arthur Denfrey, deposed Prince of Kalarba, and bringing him back to study the Force.
Meanwhile, Arthur Denfrey and his life-long friend Troy Chance, a scoundrel with a penchant for gaming, flee from port-to-port from the Imperial-backed forces of Alexi Ak'Heleth...
Arthur Denfrey, the Crown Prince of the world of Kalarba, flees the royal palace, his home, his people, and his duties in a single night of flames. Alexi, Arthur's shadow and Prince-despot of one of Kalarba's two ruling houses, capitalizes on fears of weak leadership from the young and spoiled Crown Prince Denfrey and his pro-rebellion leanings. Alexi seizes control of their planet in a brutal purge and sides with the Empire. It is a task that the Witches Coven of Mount Tharen have trained him for all his life.
The Witches Coven possess forbidden knowledge of a dark prophecy that holds all life on Kalarba in its clutches, and only they have the foresight to battle the coming storm. Their only weapon - Alexi Ak'Heleth.
Alexi rules the planet with an iron fist alongside the Imperial Governor, Moff Darksun. Darksun is tasked by the Emperor to wrest real power from Alexi and turn the rogue Dark-Force user to Imperial control. These are among his hidden schemes...
Til-Gon, an eccentric and unorthodox Jedi dispatched to explore mysteries of lost civilizations beyond the outer rim, escapes the Jedi purges by crashing his library-ship on the uncharted world of Dathomir. After repairing his vessel with the help of the force-sensitive youth Feyd, the Jedi Master spends five years training his faithful student on an ancient base hidden in the midst of an asteroid field. Feeling a tremor in the force, Til-Gon sends his student out into the world, charging him with the task of finding Arthur Denfrey, deposed Prince of Kalarba, and bringing him back to study the Force.
Meanwhile, Arthur Denfrey and his life-long friend Troy Chance, a scoundrel with a penchant for gaming, flee from port-to-port from the Imperial-backed forces of Alexi Ak'Heleth...
LostSoul
Adventurer
Act One: Heroes of Kalarba
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. . .
A vast sea of stars serves as the backdrop for the main title. War drums echo through the heavens as a roll-up slowly crawls into infinity.
STAR WARS
Episode I: Heroes of Kalarba
After giving the forces of Alexi Ak'Heleth the slip, Arthur Denfrey and Troy Chance take a well-deserved rest at the Casino Royale on Socarro VI, a favourite getaway spot of theirs. Little do they know that Alexi has caught their trail. As Arthur and Troy drink and gamble and whore, Alexi's fleet races through hyperspace...
The young Jedi Padawan Feyd arrives at the Casino on the orders of his master. It is the backwater teen's first sight of the splendours of the galaxy. He approaches the Casino entrance, unsure how to handle himself, with his master's old astromech droid, R2-FU. At the "suggestion" of the bouncer, Feyd leaves the droid-rot ridden R2 unit behind. The bouncer lets Feyd into the casino, where Feyd allows the Force to guide him to Arthur.
In the Casino, Feyd is led to a shifty looking man hunched over the bar. Feyd knows this must be Arthur; he can feel the Force within him. Unsure how to introduce himself, Feyd offers to buy a round of drinks. Feyd gets his first strange look when he orders a fizzyglug - a kid's drink - for himself; he gets another when he tries to pay with his fortune of old Republic credits. The bartender informs Feyd that they "aren't worth a litre of bantha swill". Arthur, suspicious as ever, decides to "play the brother" and pays for the drinks.
"Your name is Arthur Denfrey," Feyd states.
"Uh... no it's not. Who told you that?" Arthur replies.
"The Force of Others tells me. And my master, Til-Gon."
"O-kay, kid. You sure that's fizzyglug you're drinking?"
"I'm come here to take you back to my master's hidden base, to train you in the ways of the Force."
Arthur looks the backwater kid up and down. With his strange accent, his odd, tacky Republic clothes, and the strange device hanging from his belt, he decides that Troy is going to get a kick out of this. "Sure, kid. Let's hear what these 'Forceful Others' are telling you." Arthur leads Feyd back to Troy, who is in a game of daatichi, hoping his smooth friend will be able to fleece Feyd out of everything he's got.
Troy and Arthur work over the naive Padawan. After a couple of minutes, Troy realizes that Feyd probably doesn't have anything valuable on him. "Get lost, kid. Go back to your mommy."
Suddenly, Feyd feels a ripple crash through the Force. Feyd and Arthur turn to look down at the Casino entrance.
A man dressed in a flowing black cape enters the Casino... it is Alexi! Stormtroopers appear at all the exits. Two of them at the nearest one (Troy always sits near the back door) menace the nearby tables with their blasters. Feyd and Arthur have a strange sensation, like some great hand was reaching into each one of them, in a moment that last forever. Arthur recognizes the prying of Alexi's mind; Feyd, feeling the touch and the seductive power of the Dark Side for the first time, feels a strange familiarity with Alexi.
Alexi snaps his head and makes eye contact with Feyd. He points at them across the distance of the Casino floor, shouts out some orders, and wills his lightsabre into his hand.
"That's our cue," Troy says, knocking over the daatichi table. A small holdout blaster appears in his hand, and he catches one of the troopers by surprise, blasting it in the face. His blaster lets out a thin wisp of smoke; Troy hopes it has enough juice for another bolt. Arthur pulls his blaster out of its holster and ducks behind the table.
They both look over at Feyd when he ignites his lightsabre with a hum.
The stormtrooper fires a bolt through the table and catches Arthur on the shoulder; Arthur grimaces through the pain and tries to return fire. His aim is far off. Feyd leaps over the table and swings at the stormtrooper. The trooper, not expecting this, throws his hand up; to Feyd's surprise, the lightsabre jars the trooper but does not cut through his armour.
Troy pops out from behind the table and blasts the trooper. It goes down in a heap.
"Hokey weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." Troy looks at the smoking remains of his burnt out hold-out blaster, and picks up the trooper's rifle. He'll have to get another hold-out made.
The three of them rush to Arthur's beaten up old freighter, Bessie. R2-FU is waiting there for them. Troy and Arthur gladly accept the old droid and the kid following them.
Patrolling TIE fighters swoop down and chase Bessie as it flies off planet. Troy mans the ship's turreted blasters and does a fair job of keeping the fighters off their backs. R2-FU, plugged into Bessie's main nav computer, begins plotting the quickest astrogation route out of system. Bessie manages to warble a cry of disgust when she comes into contact with R2-FU's strange form of droid rot, but Arthur is too busy to notice, dodging the blaster fire of the TIEs.
Once they reach the safety of space, Arthur kicks in the hyperdrive and they leave the TIE fighters, Alexi, and the Dark Side of the Force behind them.
[The players freaked out when Alexi first showed up... they thought it was Vader at first! It was the first game with a new group, so they didn't know how I would run the game.
Oh yeah, this was all I had planned for the night, since I didn't know who was going to play or what type of characters they were going to have. So the rest of it was on-the-fly. More of that first night, to come later!]
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. . .
A vast sea of stars serves as the backdrop for the main title. War drums echo through the heavens as a roll-up slowly crawls into infinity.
STAR WARS
Episode I: Heroes of Kalarba
After giving the forces of Alexi Ak'Heleth the slip, Arthur Denfrey and Troy Chance take a well-deserved rest at the Casino Royale on Socarro VI, a favourite getaway spot of theirs. Little do they know that Alexi has caught their trail. As Arthur and Troy drink and gamble and whore, Alexi's fleet races through hyperspace...
The young Jedi Padawan Feyd arrives at the Casino on the orders of his master. It is the backwater teen's first sight of the splendours of the galaxy. He approaches the Casino entrance, unsure how to handle himself, with his master's old astromech droid, R2-FU. At the "suggestion" of the bouncer, Feyd leaves the droid-rot ridden R2 unit behind. The bouncer lets Feyd into the casino, where Feyd allows the Force to guide him to Arthur.
In the Casino, Feyd is led to a shifty looking man hunched over the bar. Feyd knows this must be Arthur; he can feel the Force within him. Unsure how to introduce himself, Feyd offers to buy a round of drinks. Feyd gets his first strange look when he orders a fizzyglug - a kid's drink - for himself; he gets another when he tries to pay with his fortune of old Republic credits. The bartender informs Feyd that they "aren't worth a litre of bantha swill". Arthur, suspicious as ever, decides to "play the brother" and pays for the drinks.
"Your name is Arthur Denfrey," Feyd states.
"Uh... no it's not. Who told you that?" Arthur replies.
"The Force of Others tells me. And my master, Til-Gon."
"O-kay, kid. You sure that's fizzyglug you're drinking?"
"I'm come here to take you back to my master's hidden base, to train you in the ways of the Force."
Arthur looks the backwater kid up and down. With his strange accent, his odd, tacky Republic clothes, and the strange device hanging from his belt, he decides that Troy is going to get a kick out of this. "Sure, kid. Let's hear what these 'Forceful Others' are telling you." Arthur leads Feyd back to Troy, who is in a game of daatichi, hoping his smooth friend will be able to fleece Feyd out of everything he's got.
Troy and Arthur work over the naive Padawan. After a couple of minutes, Troy realizes that Feyd probably doesn't have anything valuable on him. "Get lost, kid. Go back to your mommy."
Suddenly, Feyd feels a ripple crash through the Force. Feyd and Arthur turn to look down at the Casino entrance.
A man dressed in a flowing black cape enters the Casino... it is Alexi! Stormtroopers appear at all the exits. Two of them at the nearest one (Troy always sits near the back door) menace the nearby tables with their blasters. Feyd and Arthur have a strange sensation, like some great hand was reaching into each one of them, in a moment that last forever. Arthur recognizes the prying of Alexi's mind; Feyd, feeling the touch and the seductive power of the Dark Side for the first time, feels a strange familiarity with Alexi.
Alexi snaps his head and makes eye contact with Feyd. He points at them across the distance of the Casino floor, shouts out some orders, and wills his lightsabre into his hand.
"That's our cue," Troy says, knocking over the daatichi table. A small holdout blaster appears in his hand, and he catches one of the troopers by surprise, blasting it in the face. His blaster lets out a thin wisp of smoke; Troy hopes it has enough juice for another bolt. Arthur pulls his blaster out of its holster and ducks behind the table.
They both look over at Feyd when he ignites his lightsabre with a hum.
The stormtrooper fires a bolt through the table and catches Arthur on the shoulder; Arthur grimaces through the pain and tries to return fire. His aim is far off. Feyd leaps over the table and swings at the stormtrooper. The trooper, not expecting this, throws his hand up; to Feyd's surprise, the lightsabre jars the trooper but does not cut through his armour.
Troy pops out from behind the table and blasts the trooper. It goes down in a heap.
"Hokey weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." Troy looks at the smoking remains of his burnt out hold-out blaster, and picks up the trooper's rifle. He'll have to get another hold-out made.
The three of them rush to Arthur's beaten up old freighter, Bessie. R2-FU is waiting there for them. Troy and Arthur gladly accept the old droid and the kid following them.
Patrolling TIE fighters swoop down and chase Bessie as it flies off planet. Troy mans the ship's turreted blasters and does a fair job of keeping the fighters off their backs. R2-FU, plugged into Bessie's main nav computer, begins plotting the quickest astrogation route out of system. Bessie manages to warble a cry of disgust when she comes into contact with R2-FU's strange form of droid rot, but Arthur is too busy to notice, dodging the blaster fire of the TIEs.
Once they reach the safety of space, Arthur kicks in the hyperdrive and they leave the TIE fighters, Alexi, and the Dark Side of the Force behind them.
[The players freaked out when Alexi first showed up... they thought it was Vader at first! It was the first game with a new group, so they didn't know how I would run the game.
Oh yeah, this was all I had planned for the night, since I didn't know who was going to play or what type of characters they were going to have. So the rest of it was on-the-fly. More of that first night, to come later!]
LostSoul
Adventurer
Landing on the corporate world of Vesanto comes none too quickly for Arthur and Troy, having to constantly turn down Feyd's offer of asylum on his master Til-Gon's hidden asteroid base. Arthur begins repairs on Bessie, mostly fried stabilizers and burnt-out power coils. Arthur is in his element here, looking forward to the hours of work that lie ahead of him. It calms him down, takes his thoughts away from Alexi, Kalarba, and his royal title.
Troy, however, gets bored with the whole idea of work.
"Hey kid," he says to Feyd, "ever been to a strip club?"
"I don't think so."
"Good, you'll enjoy this."
Feyd and Troy head to a local strip bar. On the different stages, real women dance and sway with obscene holograms of varying quality. Feyd is appalled but strangely enticed. The bright lights of Vesanto's holo-culture are almost too much to handle. Luckily, he can focus his attention on the beautiful women dancing naked for him.
Troy picks a seat near the back door and buys a pair of drinks. A large rust coloured caterpillar-like alien is sitting at a booth nearby. Playing cards are laid out before him, but he's focusing his attention on the two strippers giving him a private show. Troy smiles and takes a drink.
"What's this?" Feyd asks Troy of the drink.
"It's good."
Feyd takes a drink. "Strange taste, but not unpleasant." He chugs it down.
"That's more like it." Troy pulls out some cash and waves over a waitress, stuffing some of it in her skimpy clothes. "Keep this kid drinking, and there'll be more for you." The waitress smiles, and a flicker runs through her; Troy starts, realizing he's talking to a service droid overlaid with a hologram. At least it's a nice looking hologram.
"Hang on here, kid, I'll be back." Troy leaves Feyd staring at the dancing women and introduces himself to the alien nearby. In a moment the he had the alien laughing, and Tory was invited into a game. A few hours later, the alien was cursing the smooth-talking Troy and the money that just changed hands.
"Not a good idea," one of the better-looking strippers says to Troy.
"Hmm?"
"Robbing Big Quince like that. He's connected around here, you know?"
"You're a good dancer, you know?" Troy slips her some cash with writing on it. "Here's where we're docked. Come by when you're off. Bring a friend." Troy pauses, looks over at Feyd, and slips her more of Big Quince's cash. "Bring two friends." The stripper smiles and walks off, rubbing up against Troy as she does.
Troy collects Feyd from the table, now littered with empty drinks, and the two of them leave for Bessie.
"So, what do you think of strip clubs?"
"I think that master Til-Gon would say they are a way for the Force's more... uh, attractive creatures to reveal their inner beauties. Til-Gon teaches me that those strong in the Force can express themselves in many ways."
"Glad you enjoyed it, kid."
"I think there was something in those drinks... I don't feel too good." Feyd staggers over to the gutter and reveals to Troy just what a Jedi Padawan's diet looks like.
[I love my good old drinking rules. Feyd's player wasn't rolling too good that night.]
Back at the ship, they find Arthur relaxing in a lounge chair with a cooler full of dantic. "The stabilizers are still out, but I won't be able to fix them until I can buy the right parts."
"That's good," Troy answers. He sits next to Arthur and grabs some dantic. Feyd wanders into the ship, looking for a place to die.
"What d'ya do to him?"
"Took him to a strip club. We're going to have some company later."
"Sounds good." Arthur leaned back and the two friends stared off into the holographic sunset.
--- Star Wars ---
A few hours later, the sun down and the holographic ads out lighting up the sky, three young women show up. What they're wearing doesn't make so much of a statement as what they aren't wearing.
"Glad you could make it," Troy says.
"Where's your other friend?" One of the women asks. Troy doesn't recognize her.
"He's up in the ship," Troy answers. "Come on, I'll show you girls around."
After a few communal drinks, everyone pairs off. Feyd, already having pissed his wits away, strikes up a conversation with the stripper talking to him on the only subject he really cares about.
"The Force of Others is all around us, running through us. I can feel it passing through me, around me."
"You're really spiritual."
"Spirit is what binds the galaxy together, not the simple flesh."
"I'd like to feel the force of your flesh."
Feyd goes red with embarrassment. "Uh... I..." His face goes from red to green in an instant.
"Are you okay?"
"As long as the Force is with me I will always be."
"O-kay... maybe you should have a drink of water."
"The Force can cleanse the body of all impurities. I just meditate and out they go. Bwwwp! Just like that. Heh heh." Feyd begins to hum a rare Jedi mantra.
"You're really hooked on this force
, aren't you."
"My master says - urk!" Feyd's eyes flash open and he tries to hold back the last few drinks he's had. He doesn't succeed.
The stripper jumps up, not an easy thing to do considering the size and cut of her skirt. "You little bastard, you almost puked on me!"
Arthur pops his head into the cabin. "We're going to head into the city. You guys want to come?"
Feyd vomits again.
"Feyd, what the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Cleansing the body?"
"You better have this mess cleaned up when I get back." Arthur and the stripper leave Feyd alone in the dark with his Jedi ritual.
--- Star Wars ---
"Where did you find that messed up guy back there?" Feyd's stripper says between sips of a smoking drink. The nightclub's lights pulse against her body.
"At the Casino Royale, on Sacarro six," Arthur says, raising his voice to sound regal above the pounding beat of the music that fills the place.
"Casino Royale?" the other girl asks. "I heard that place is pretty high-rolling. What were you doing there?"
Arthur leans back, filling up with confidence. "Oh, the typical," he says, trying to act cool. "They know us pretty well there."
"Why? Who are you?"
"I'm actually the crown prince of Kalarba."
"And you still fly that piece of out there? Whatever, buddy."
Arthur feels the confidence leaving him. He takes another drink. "No, really. I swear. It's just that we're being hunted right now - lost the throne in a bloody coup."
"Really?" The two strippers share a knowing look.
"Oh yeah," Arthur says, and proceeds to tell the two women his life story. Not once does he pick up on the greedy look in their eyes, nor does he realize he might just be giving a little too much away about himself. The more he talks, the more he drinks, and the larger his story gets. When he's finished, he feels full of confidence and courage, both real and liquid.
"You guys want to head back to the ship now?" Arthur asks.
"Oh yeah," they say, smiling at each other. "Just let us fix ourselves up. We'll be back in a second."
"No sweat," Arthur says, smiling and waving to them as they walk away. It takes him a full hour to realize that they ain't coming back.
Dejected, rejected, and depressed, Arthur stumbles back to Bessie in a drunken haze. He passes out as soon as his face hits the pillow, and soon the whole night is forgotten.
--- Star Wars ---
Morning breaks over the Vesanto skyline along with the standard holographic advertisements, daily news, and entertainment features. Arthur is the first to wake. Peeling himself off his bed, still dressed in last night's clothes, he heads off to the washroom to see just what kind of creature relieved itself in his mouth last night.
Slowly the memory of who he is and why his head feels like it holds a pissed off rancor comes back to him. He smiles when he thinks of the girls; frowns when he realizes he woke up alone and fully clothed. Oh well, could have been worse. The ship's unfinished repairs lie foremost in his mind, so he heads off to pick up the parts he needs.
--- Star Wars ---
"I can't believe this! You're throwing me out! Who the hell do you think you are, you two-bit little prick know-nothing wannabe!"
This is the first thing Arthur hears when he gets near Bessie. He notices that the gangway is down, and he can see a pair of bare legs on the top of it. This should be interesting, he thinks.
He hears a laugh from inside the ship. "Thanks for the night, it was nice getting to know you, now get the hell off my ship." It's Troy's voice. His ship? Arthur thinks. The last of my royal funds didn't go towards buying Troy a present.
"My boyfriend will kick your sorry little spaceboy ass when he finds you," the stripper continues as she's forced down the gangway. Her clothes are bunched up in her hands, covering little of her assets. She doesn't seem to care. "Him and Big Quince are friends and they'll pay me good cash to get their hands on you! You'll get what's coming-"
The unmistakable cry of a blaster rifle being fired cuts her off and seems to shut her up. At the bottom of the gangway, she stares in horror at the armoured men, all bearing blasters, gathered by the ship.
"Arthur Denfrey, Troy Chance, this is your only warning: leave your ship peacefully and nobody will get hurt." It is a metallic voice, coming from one of the hunters clad in full body power armour.
" you all," is Troy's reply. He scrambles back up into the ship, leaving last night's acquaintance alone and naked at the bottom of the gangway, trembling in fear. Everyone watching is impressed that she can actually run that fast. Must be all the dancing that keeps her body in shape.
Arthur sets down his supplies and tries to head around behind one of the groups of bounty hunters. There are at least three that he can see, and at least one that he can't. He slips his blaster into his hand and waits for a clear shot.
In the ship, Troy rummages through his supplies and pulls out his new rifle. Feyd steps out of his cabin, his hair and clothes a mess but seemingly recovered. "Feyd, we've got company. Where the is Arthur?"
"I don't know. Outside?"
"Great. Get that fancy glow-stick of yours and get ready for a fight."
"The path of a Jedi is peace," Feyd says. "I think that my master would suggest a peaceful solution to this."
"If you don't fight now you're never going to see your master again." A blast goes off that rocks the ship. "Tell your droid to power up Bessie. I'm going to try and keep them from tearing her apart."
"I will trust my feelings and assist you," Feyd says. He follows Troy to the open gangway.
"Thanks a bunch." Taking cover behind the entrance, Troy points out at the fuel receptacles and empty anion containers that the bounty hunters are hiding behind. "There's three over there, and another one hiding over there. One of those three is the leader, I think." An armoured head pokes up from behind a container and fires a bolt from his rifle, barely missing the Feyd. "You still think we should talk?"
A hum springs from Feyd's lightsabre. "My master told me to use the force only in defence."
"Great, kid. Now, if you can blast that - hey, where the hell are you going?" Troy watches while Feyd rushes out into the open ground, charging the lone bounty hunter, and curses to himself. He spots a hunter about to throw a grenade, takes quick aim, and fires. The bolt goes wide, but another bolt coming from behind the hunter hits him in the back. The grenade rolls harmlessly towards the rear of the ship. Arthur's improved his aim, Troy thinks to himself.
With Arthur revealing himself, the two bounty hunters fire at him. Both shots impact harmlessly against Arthur's cover. Troy shifts to get a better angle of fire, but is jarred from his cover, and the ship, as the unattended grenade explodes beneath the ship. He rubs his eyes and fires off a shot to cover himself. He hears another blaster rifle ring out, and then feels a burning pain run down his leg, the bounty hunter having connected.
Meanwhile, Feyd engages his man in melee combat. He swings wildly, missing the bounty hunter and nearly cutting himself. His emotions are running wild and his heart is racing; he is not yet the calm Jedi Knight that his master is trying to make him.
Arthur takes a look at Feyd, swinging wildly, and smiles to himself; not for long, as a bolt hits him in the side. Pain rushes through his body, and he retreats once again behind his cover.
On the ground, Troy realizes that things are looking grim. He scrambles behind the lowered gangway just as a bolt hits where he was. He hears the crackle of Bessie's engines starting up. At least one member of the crew can get his act together. He fires off another bolt, but hits the bounty hunter's cover once again.
Arthur, grimacing in pain, peeks around the corner. He looks right at the barrel of a hunter's rifle and ducks back as quick as possible. A bolt flies right by him. He reaches around the wall with his pistol, firing blindly at the hunter, hoping he gets off a lucky shot. He hears nothing; the bolt must have gone wide.
Feyd faces off against his opponent, taking a waiting stance that his master was fond of. The hunter runs by him, towards the gangway and the ship; Feyd takes this chance to swing at the hunter, catching him on his back but failing to break through his armour. The hunter stumbles along, but continues to run.
Troy sees the hunter running towards him, takes one quick shot, and the hunter falls.
Arthur, knowing that his cover will be worthless soon, makes a wild run towards the ship with his blaster in front of him. He fires the moment he sees the bounty hunter, and this bolt flies true; the bounty hunter falls to his knees, but it seems as though his armour saved him. Arthur keeps running, hoping that he won't feel the hot burn of a blaster bolt between his shoulders.
Troy takes another blast at the hunters, and catches one in the head. The hit takes the hunter out cold, his blast helmet crumpling before the impact. He stumbles out of his hiding spot, waving the others into the ship.
"Let's get the hell off this rock!" he says as Arthur and Feyd rush into the safety of the ship. They feel the slight tremors of blaster bolts hitting the hull, but soon Arthur is in his pilot's seat and guides Bessie away.
Troy stumbles into the cockpit. "What the hell was that?" he asks.
"Don't look at me," Arthur says. "I guess they were friends of Big Quince or somebody."
"True, but they still shouldn't have known our names. How did they learn our names, anyway, Arthur? I used my alias and Feyd was passed out all night. So tell me, you didn't let anything slip, did you? Didn't do anything stupid like you did back on Elshandrau Pica, did you?"
"Hey, I'm the captain of this ship and I say what goes."
"Thought so. You gotta watch yourself when you get drinking." Troy leaves the cockpit, passing Feyd on the way. "Hey kid, that sabre of yours is fancy, but you've got to learn to use a blaster. We'll pick one up for you on the next planet."
"The lightsabre is the traditional weapon of the Jedi Knight," Feyd replies. "Not so clumsy or random as a blaster."
"When you're a Jedi Knight, maybe you should try using it. For now, just stick to what's tried and true."
Troy leaves.
"Where are we headed next?" Feyd asks Arthur.
"Somewhere deep in the outer rim. Shownar, probably. Nice planet, tourist hangout, which means lots of small traffic. We should fit in no problem. Plus, there's a big black market there. We'll be able to make some money there."
"We could go back to my master, Til-Gon," Feyd says.
"Aww, you're not going to start with that again, are you?"
[Still part of the first night's adventure... next time I'll post the conclusion and get on to the second game.]
Troy, however, gets bored with the whole idea of work.
"Hey kid," he says to Feyd, "ever been to a strip club?"
"I don't think so."
"Good, you'll enjoy this."
Feyd and Troy head to a local strip bar. On the different stages, real women dance and sway with obscene holograms of varying quality. Feyd is appalled but strangely enticed. The bright lights of Vesanto's holo-culture are almost too much to handle. Luckily, he can focus his attention on the beautiful women dancing naked for him.
Troy picks a seat near the back door and buys a pair of drinks. A large rust coloured caterpillar-like alien is sitting at a booth nearby. Playing cards are laid out before him, but he's focusing his attention on the two strippers giving him a private show. Troy smiles and takes a drink.
"What's this?" Feyd asks Troy of the drink.
"It's good."
Feyd takes a drink. "Strange taste, but not unpleasant." He chugs it down.
"That's more like it." Troy pulls out some cash and waves over a waitress, stuffing some of it in her skimpy clothes. "Keep this kid drinking, and there'll be more for you." The waitress smiles, and a flicker runs through her; Troy starts, realizing he's talking to a service droid overlaid with a hologram. At least it's a nice looking hologram.
"Hang on here, kid, I'll be back." Troy leaves Feyd staring at the dancing women and introduces himself to the alien nearby. In a moment the he had the alien laughing, and Tory was invited into a game. A few hours later, the alien was cursing the smooth-talking Troy and the money that just changed hands.
"Not a good idea," one of the better-looking strippers says to Troy.
"Hmm?"
"Robbing Big Quince like that. He's connected around here, you know?"
"You're a good dancer, you know?" Troy slips her some cash with writing on it. "Here's where we're docked. Come by when you're off. Bring a friend." Troy pauses, looks over at Feyd, and slips her more of Big Quince's cash. "Bring two friends." The stripper smiles and walks off, rubbing up against Troy as she does.
Troy collects Feyd from the table, now littered with empty drinks, and the two of them leave for Bessie.
"So, what do you think of strip clubs?"
"I think that master Til-Gon would say they are a way for the Force's more... uh, attractive creatures to reveal their inner beauties. Til-Gon teaches me that those strong in the Force can express themselves in many ways."
"Glad you enjoyed it, kid."
"I think there was something in those drinks... I don't feel too good." Feyd staggers over to the gutter and reveals to Troy just what a Jedi Padawan's diet looks like.
[I love my good old drinking rules. Feyd's player wasn't rolling too good that night.]
Back at the ship, they find Arthur relaxing in a lounge chair with a cooler full of dantic. "The stabilizers are still out, but I won't be able to fix them until I can buy the right parts."
"That's good," Troy answers. He sits next to Arthur and grabs some dantic. Feyd wanders into the ship, looking for a place to die.
"What d'ya do to him?"
"Took him to a strip club. We're going to have some company later."
"Sounds good." Arthur leaned back and the two friends stared off into the holographic sunset.
--- Star Wars ---
A few hours later, the sun down and the holographic ads out lighting up the sky, three young women show up. What they're wearing doesn't make so much of a statement as what they aren't wearing.
"Glad you could make it," Troy says.
"Where's your other friend?" One of the women asks. Troy doesn't recognize her.
"He's up in the ship," Troy answers. "Come on, I'll show you girls around."
After a few communal drinks, everyone pairs off. Feyd, already having pissed his wits away, strikes up a conversation with the stripper talking to him on the only subject he really cares about.
"The Force of Others is all around us, running through us. I can feel it passing through me, around me."
"You're really spiritual."
"Spirit is what binds the galaxy together, not the simple flesh."
"I'd like to feel the force of your flesh."
Feyd goes red with embarrassment. "Uh... I..." His face goes from red to green in an instant.
"Are you okay?"
"As long as the Force is with me I will always be."
"O-kay... maybe you should have a drink of water."
"The Force can cleanse the body of all impurities. I just meditate and out they go. Bwwwp! Just like that. Heh heh." Feyd begins to hum a rare Jedi mantra.
"You're really hooked on this force
, aren't you.""My master says - urk!" Feyd's eyes flash open and he tries to hold back the last few drinks he's had. He doesn't succeed.
The stripper jumps up, not an easy thing to do considering the size and cut of her skirt. "You little bastard, you almost puked on me!"
Arthur pops his head into the cabin. "We're going to head into the city. You guys want to come?"
Feyd vomits again.
"Feyd, what the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Cleansing the body?"
"You better have this mess cleaned up when I get back." Arthur and the stripper leave Feyd alone in the dark with his Jedi ritual.
--- Star Wars ---
"Where did you find that messed up guy back there?" Feyd's stripper says between sips of a smoking drink. The nightclub's lights pulse against her body.
"At the Casino Royale, on Sacarro six," Arthur says, raising his voice to sound regal above the pounding beat of the music that fills the place.
"Casino Royale?" the other girl asks. "I heard that place is pretty high-rolling. What were you doing there?"
Arthur leans back, filling up with confidence. "Oh, the typical," he says, trying to act cool. "They know us pretty well there."
"Why? Who are you?"
"I'm actually the crown prince of Kalarba."
"And you still fly that piece of
out there? Whatever, buddy."Arthur feels the confidence leaving him. He takes another drink. "No, really. I swear. It's just that we're being hunted right now - lost the throne in a bloody coup."
"Really?" The two strippers share a knowing look.
"Oh yeah," Arthur says, and proceeds to tell the two women his life story. Not once does he pick up on the greedy look in their eyes, nor does he realize he might just be giving a little too much away about himself. The more he talks, the more he drinks, and the larger his story gets. When he's finished, he feels full of confidence and courage, both real and liquid.
"You guys want to head back to the ship now?" Arthur asks.
"Oh yeah," they say, smiling at each other. "Just let us fix ourselves up. We'll be back in a second."
"No sweat," Arthur says, smiling and waving to them as they walk away. It takes him a full hour to realize that they ain't coming back.
Dejected, rejected, and depressed, Arthur stumbles back to Bessie in a drunken haze. He passes out as soon as his face hits the pillow, and soon the whole night is forgotten.
--- Star Wars ---
Morning breaks over the Vesanto skyline along with the standard holographic advertisements, daily news, and entertainment features. Arthur is the first to wake. Peeling himself off his bed, still dressed in last night's clothes, he heads off to the washroom to see just what kind of creature relieved itself in his mouth last night.
Slowly the memory of who he is and why his head feels like it holds a pissed off rancor comes back to him. He smiles when he thinks of the girls; frowns when he realizes he woke up alone and fully clothed. Oh well, could have been worse. The ship's unfinished repairs lie foremost in his mind, so he heads off to pick up the parts he needs.
--- Star Wars ---
"I can't believe this! You're throwing me out! Who the hell do you think you are, you two-bit little prick know-nothing wannabe!"
This is the first thing Arthur hears when he gets near Bessie. He notices that the gangway is down, and he can see a pair of bare legs on the top of it. This should be interesting, he thinks.
He hears a laugh from inside the ship. "Thanks for the night, it was nice getting to know you, now get the hell off my ship." It's Troy's voice. His ship? Arthur thinks. The last of my royal funds didn't go towards buying Troy a present.
"My boyfriend will kick your sorry little spaceboy ass when he finds you," the stripper continues as she's forced down the gangway. Her clothes are bunched up in her hands, covering little of her assets. She doesn't seem to care. "Him and Big Quince are friends and they'll pay me good cash to get their hands on you! You'll get what's coming-"
The unmistakable cry of a blaster rifle being fired cuts her off and seems to shut her up. At the bottom of the gangway, she stares in horror at the armoured men, all bearing blasters, gathered by the ship.
"Arthur Denfrey, Troy Chance, this is your only warning: leave your ship peacefully and nobody will get hurt." It is a metallic voice, coming from one of the hunters clad in full body power armour.
"
you all," is Troy's reply. He scrambles back up into the ship, leaving last night's acquaintance alone and naked at the bottom of the gangway, trembling in fear. Everyone watching is impressed that she can actually run that fast. Must be all the dancing that keeps her body in shape.Arthur sets down his supplies and tries to head around behind one of the groups of bounty hunters. There are at least three that he can see, and at least one that he can't. He slips his blaster into his hand and waits for a clear shot.
In the ship, Troy rummages through his supplies and pulls out his new rifle. Feyd steps out of his cabin, his hair and clothes a mess but seemingly recovered. "Feyd, we've got company. Where the
is Arthur?""I don't know. Outside?"
"Great. Get that fancy glow-stick of yours and get ready for a fight."
"The path of a Jedi is peace," Feyd says. "I think that my master would suggest a peaceful solution to this."
"If you don't fight now you're never going to see your master again." A blast goes off that rocks the ship. "Tell your droid to power up Bessie. I'm going to try and keep them from tearing her apart."
"I will trust my feelings and assist you," Feyd says. He follows Troy to the open gangway.
"Thanks a bunch." Taking cover behind the entrance, Troy points out at the fuel receptacles and empty anion containers that the bounty hunters are hiding behind. "There's three over there, and another one hiding over there. One of those three is the leader, I think." An armoured head pokes up from behind a container and fires a bolt from his rifle, barely missing the Feyd. "You still think we should talk?"
A hum springs from Feyd's lightsabre. "My master told me to use the force only in defence."
"Great, kid. Now, if you can blast that - hey, where the hell are you going?" Troy watches while Feyd rushes out into the open ground, charging the lone bounty hunter, and curses to himself. He spots a hunter about to throw a grenade, takes quick aim, and fires. The bolt goes wide, but another bolt coming from behind the hunter hits him in the back. The grenade rolls harmlessly towards the rear of the ship. Arthur's improved his aim, Troy thinks to himself.
With Arthur revealing himself, the two bounty hunters fire at him. Both shots impact harmlessly against Arthur's cover. Troy shifts to get a better angle of fire, but is jarred from his cover, and the ship, as the unattended grenade explodes beneath the ship. He rubs his eyes and fires off a shot to cover himself. He hears another blaster rifle ring out, and then feels a burning pain run down his leg, the bounty hunter having connected.
Meanwhile, Feyd engages his man in melee combat. He swings wildly, missing the bounty hunter and nearly cutting himself. His emotions are running wild and his heart is racing; he is not yet the calm Jedi Knight that his master is trying to make him.
Arthur takes a look at Feyd, swinging wildly, and smiles to himself; not for long, as a bolt hits him in the side. Pain rushes through his body, and he retreats once again behind his cover.
On the ground, Troy realizes that things are looking grim. He scrambles behind the lowered gangway just as a bolt hits where he was. He hears the crackle of Bessie's engines starting up. At least one member of the crew can get his act together. He fires off another bolt, but hits the bounty hunter's cover once again.
Arthur, grimacing in pain, peeks around the corner. He looks right at the barrel of a hunter's rifle and ducks back as quick as possible. A bolt flies right by him. He reaches around the wall with his pistol, firing blindly at the hunter, hoping he gets off a lucky shot. He hears nothing; the bolt must have gone wide.
Feyd faces off against his opponent, taking a waiting stance that his master was fond of. The hunter runs by him, towards the gangway and the ship; Feyd takes this chance to swing at the hunter, catching him on his back but failing to break through his armour. The hunter stumbles along, but continues to run.
Troy sees the hunter running towards him, takes one quick shot, and the hunter falls.
Arthur, knowing that his cover will be worthless soon, makes a wild run towards the ship with his blaster in front of him. He fires the moment he sees the bounty hunter, and this bolt flies true; the bounty hunter falls to his knees, but it seems as though his armour saved him. Arthur keeps running, hoping that he won't feel the hot burn of a blaster bolt between his shoulders.
Troy takes another blast at the hunters, and catches one in the head. The hit takes the hunter out cold, his blast helmet crumpling before the impact. He stumbles out of his hiding spot, waving the others into the ship.
"Let's get the hell off this rock!" he says as Arthur and Feyd rush into the safety of the ship. They feel the slight tremors of blaster bolts hitting the hull, but soon Arthur is in his pilot's seat and guides Bessie away.
Troy stumbles into the cockpit. "What the hell was that?" he asks.
"Don't look at me," Arthur says. "I guess they were friends of Big Quince or somebody."
"True, but they still shouldn't have known our names. How did they learn our names, anyway, Arthur? I used my alias and Feyd was passed out all night. So tell me, you didn't let anything slip, did you? Didn't do anything stupid like you did back on Elshandrau Pica, did you?"
"Hey, I'm the captain of this ship and I say what goes."
"Thought so. You gotta watch yourself when you get drinking." Troy leaves the cockpit, passing Feyd on the way. "Hey kid, that sabre of yours is fancy, but you've got to learn to use a blaster. We'll pick one up for you on the next planet."
"The lightsabre is the traditional weapon of the Jedi Knight," Feyd replies. "Not so clumsy or random as a blaster."
"When you're a Jedi Knight, maybe you should try using it. For now, just stick to what's tried and true."
Troy leaves.
"Where are we headed next?" Feyd asks Arthur.
"Somewhere deep in the outer rim. Shownar, probably. Nice planet, tourist hangout, which means lots of small traffic. We should fit in no problem. Plus, there's a big black market there. We'll be able to make some money there."
"We could go back to my master, Til-Gon," Feyd says.
"Aww, you're not going to start with that again, are you?"
[Still part of the first night's adventure... next time I'll post the conclusion and get on to the second game.]
LostSoul
Adventurer
A week and a half later, Bessie pulls into dock amid the towering crystal spires of Shownar.
Troy and Arthur head off the ship in search of cash. Troy hits the casinos and underground gambling dens, while Arthur looks around for some kind of legitimate cargo contract. Feyd, having never seen such a planet before, wanders around the cities that wind up the massive crystal spires far above the "ground-clouds" below. He runs into all sorts of merchants, selling things he had never before heard of (and some he hopes he will never hear of again). He buys a new set of clothing, hoping to blend in with the cosmopolitan galaxy - and with his two new shipmates.
Arthur breaks the news when they meet again in the evening. "A contract," he says, "to haul some water from here to a planet called Taul. It's in the same sector, so if we hurry we should be able to get it done in four days."
"How much does it pay?" Troy asks.
"Fifteen thousand." Troy's eyes go wide.
"I may not know much about galaxy finances," Feyd says, "but that sounds like a lot for a shipment of water."
"Yeah, what's the catch?" Troy says.
"Well... the people we're supposed to deliver the water to are under Imperial blockade."
"Rebels?" Troy says. Feyd lights up.
"Looks like it."
Troy moans. "I thought we weren't going to get involved with hopeless causes."
"All we have to do is slip in under the cruisers, drop off the water, and we're done with it all. I can pilot us through anything those Imperials can offer. It's supposed to be a light blockade - just a pair of corvettes. Not much fighter cover."
"All right," Troy says, "but just remember I think this is a bad idea."
--- Star Wars ---
The hyperspace journey is short and forgettable. Arthur fended off Feyd's questions about his rebellion contacts - all gone into hiding, and no, I don't want to see if I can find them - until Troy reminded Feyd he was supposed to bring Arthur back to his "master" before running around with the rebels. After this, Feyd resumed trying to convince Arthur and Troy to head back to the hidden asteroid base.
The rebel intelligence was right; only a token Imperial force guarded the planet. It was child's play for Arthur to land, dodging the turbolaser blasts from the orbiting corvettes. Arthur guided Bessie towards the rendezvous point, flying just a few metres above the ground to avoid detection.
The planet itself was a wasteland, and from their vantage point they could still see pockets of firefights, Imperial and Rebel troops battling it out. Whatever it was they had been fighting for on this desolate rock had long since been destroyed. Feyd had the feeling that it was a grudge match, one that both sides would continue to fight until they had no strength left. Of course, this meant victory for the Empire. The planet would be abandoned in the future.
--- Star Wars ---
Landing at the rebel base, Feyd feels a ripple in the Force. The Dark Side is strong, here.
Unloading the supplies goes quickly, the beleaguered rebel troops delighted that they can continue the fight. As always, the rebels attempt to recruit more for the cause...
"...won't you fight for the cause that you know is right? If you join with us, we can provide support for you in return. You'll never be able to retake your throne without our help."
"Our problems are ours, yours are yours." Arthur's reply was short and sweet, as was Troy's; "I've got enough reasons for the Empire to want me dead, thanks." Feyd was silent, torn between his desire to fight against the Empire and his current mission for his master.
"There will come a time when your responsibilities will catch up with you. Either by your rules or theirs."
--- Star Wars ---
With the supplies unloaded, the group leaves the rebels behind. Arthur skims across the planet's surface, relying on current rebel recon to bring them off planet as far from the nearest corvette as possible. A shiver runs through him as he begins the ascent into space.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Feyd says, staring out the cockpit and towards the depths of space.
Suddenly, just as Bessie leaves the atmosphere, a large, heavily armed cruiser and a light escort frigate drop out of hyperspace. The shiver Arthur feels chills him to the bone, and Feyd senses the presence of the Dark Side. It is a something he has felt before.
"It's Alexi," he says, as the cruiser beyond them launches a wave of TIE fighters.
"Yeah, that's the Kalarba's Honour," Troy says. "I told you this was a bad idea. Feyd, head to the turret. I've got the co-pilot's controls. Switching auxiliary power over to weapons."
Feyd runs off. "Uh... got it!"
They all feel the deep pull of inertia as Arthur guns Bessie's single ion engine. Boxed in on one side from an approaching corvette, on the other by the heavy guns of Alexi's Loronar Class Strike Cruiser and the anti-star fighter Lancer Frigate, they try to break for open space before they come under fire by the capital ship's heavy guns.
"Feyd! TIEs coming in at you!" Troy barks.
"I see 'em," Feyd responds over the crackle of the intercom. Blaster fire lights up space for a second, coming from both Bessie and the TIEs. Arthur swings the ship around, out of danger for a moment, and the TIEs swoop by. One of the TIEs is spinning out of control, ions leaking from it.
"I got one!" Feyd yells.
"Keep it up!" Troy yells back. Bessie speeds away from the TIE fighters, running towards the heavy guns of the big ships. Arthur hopes they won't have time to fire, but he knows they'll face at least one volley of fire. Come on, Bessie, don't let me down...
The TIE fighters scream along as they make another pass; this time, Feyd grazes one of them, not enough to knock it out of combat. Bessie is still untouched, thanks to Arthur's piloting, but he can't hold up for long. Either they make it out now, or Alexi would have them.
The space in front of Bessie fills with laser and ion blasts. Arthur grips the controls tightly and plunges into the fray. One laser hits, and rocks the ship; then another, and another, and another. Damage warnings flash on then die out from power shortages. Feyd, Troy, and Arthur are knocked back and forth from the impact of the blasts.
"Come on, Bessie, hold together..." Arthur prays. She sputters out of the field of fire, having survived the first blast. "Troy, hyperspace, now!"
And on R2-FU's programmed co-ordinates, Bessie lurches into hyperspace and out of Alexi's hands for the second time.
--- Star Wars ---
A couple of days passed, longer than any of them had expected. The hyperdrive-powering regulator had been hit, and there was no way to repair while in hyperspace. The rest of the ship, once the crew took a full damage assessment, was just barely holding itself together. Another hit would have taken the ship out. Arthur and Troy couldn't believe it; Feyd chalked it up to the "Will of the Force". Now that they were back on Shownar, with some money left over, they felt like taking it easy.
--- Star Wars ---
"Okay, here's the take from the job. I took some off the top for repairs for good old Bessie. The rest we're going to split between the three of us."
"Three of us?" Troy asks. "It's our ship - "
"- my ship," Arthur cuts in.
"- and we have to split it with this kid? Where's the fairness in that?"
"R2-FU's mine, after all," Feyd says, "and without him it would have been hard to punch in those hyperspace co-ordinates. Besides, I took care of a few TIE fighters, more than you did."
"What are you trying to say? I was regulating ion power flow! If it wasn't for me we'd be dead in space."
"Cut it out, guys," Arthur says. "I'm going to buy a shield generator, maybe get a med droid. I'll meet you back here whenever."
"I'm going to find a casino. Try to keep out of trouble, kid, and don't spend all that money in one place."
"No problem." Feyd felt like the two scoundrels were beginning to accept him. "Come on R2, let's see the sights." R2 beeps rudely. "Okay, fine then. Stay with your new 'lady'."
--- Star Wars ---
A few hours pass, and Arthur returns to Bessie. Supplies in hand, shield generators on their way, and a 2-1B droid following him, he grabs himself a dantic and logs into the galactic holo-net. His "secret" royal account, still active and undetected, is his only way to reach the resistance still fighting for him on Kalarba. He hopes to send a message back that he's evaded Alexi successfully twice now, hoping the news will lighten his supporters. Downloading the messages, mostly spam piled up from account inactivity, he picks out an encoded one meant for his eyes only. On the surface it is a simple greeting from his old nanny. He runs it through a filter and receives the real message.
"Prince Arthur, the resistance desperately needs your help. The campaign goes poorly for us; supplies are at a minimum. Moff Darksun, commanding the garrison in Alexi's absence, has sent Imperial troops to increase all security measures. They have raided a weapons cache and struck a vital blow. The troops are demoralized and, although fiercely loyal, in your long absence they are beginning to doubt.
"We need your support in obtaining a new supply of small arms weapons to carry on the fight; but, more importantly, the troops need to hear a personal message from you, their liege. You must rally the troops, let them know that you are still alive, and free, and supporting them. That we are fighting on the side of right and must, inevitably, win.
"With love, your old nanna, Maia."
Arthur slumps back in his chair. Kalarba - a virtual fortress. I've not been back since the night of the coup. I have no idea how I would return. Hopefully the others will show up soon, help me out with this one.
--- Star Wars ---
"Having a good night, sir?" a bartender asks Troy.
"Not bad," Troy answers. "Corellian whiskey, neat."
The bartender pours the drink. "I think it's going to get a lot better." He nods his head to the side. Troy looks and sees a woman looking his way. "She told me she'd get the first Corellian whiskey you ordered."
"Good guess, huh," Troy answers, still looking at the woman. He takes a sip of his drink and walks over to her.
"Hello, Troy Chance," she says. Still lounging in her seat, she reaches out with her leg and pushes another chair out from under the table. "Have a seat?"
"Thanks," Troy says and takes her offer. "And thanks for the drink."
"Still Corellian whiskey. I guess you haven't changed much."
"Not much, Leelu," he says. "You still look the same. As good as ever."
"And you. If I didn't know better, I'd say that being a on the run agrees with you."
Troy laughs. "You know me well enough to know that I've been on the run my whole life."
The two of them share drinks and stories, catch up on old times. Everything seems to lead either to current events or things in the past that they'd rather not bring back up. Too many things come back to life with some old stories.
"Troy, do you trust me?"
"You know that I do."
"I need your help with something. Nothing dangerous; I just need somebody who can be discreet."
"I guess I'm your man."
"Walk with me. Let's get some fresh air, out of this place." The two get up, and leave the casino. They continue their talk while walking on one of the balconies that ring Shownar's spires. The sunlight, reflecting off the polished crystal, sends rainbows dancing through the sky.
"I'm working for the rebel alliance now," she says.
"I've heard of them."
"I've got to get a man off planet. A defector, a high-ranking Imperial officer. We've been running ever since slipping off the supply port at Lotide. We've run out of contacts, cornered ourselves. Inquisition agents are crawling around."
"Not dangerous at all."
"We've got to get off planet. The information this man holds - it could make a big difference in this whole quadrant. We've got to get off."
"Why not just you - we could get you off without a problem. Why not just record what he knows, and take off?"
"I can't leave him, Troy - he's my husband. I love the man."
Troy nods knowingly. "Okay, we can do it."
"You are a life saver, Troy Chance. It won't be safe to contact him until later tomorrow. That should give you time to prepare."
"You might as well spend the time with us. It's the safest way for everyone."
"You're right."
--- Star Wars ---
Feyd was enjoying himself in the modern galaxy. Everything that you could ever think of, right there for you. And the sights! Such entertaining vistas and natural wonders, enhanced by the subtle dwellings of the inhabitants. It was a beautiful world. Feyd was losing himself in his discoveries.
His awareness snaps back when he feels a cold, metal hand clamp down on his shoulder, and the words whispered in his ear:
"Hello, Jedi..."
--- Star Wars ---
[Stay tuned for Star Wars: Heroes of Kalarba, Episode II: Cyborgs and Bounty Hunters]
Troy and Arthur head off the ship in search of cash. Troy hits the casinos and underground gambling dens, while Arthur looks around for some kind of legitimate cargo contract. Feyd, having never seen such a planet before, wanders around the cities that wind up the massive crystal spires far above the "ground-clouds" below. He runs into all sorts of merchants, selling things he had never before heard of (and some he hopes he will never hear of again). He buys a new set of clothing, hoping to blend in with the cosmopolitan galaxy - and with his two new shipmates.
Arthur breaks the news when they meet again in the evening. "A contract," he says, "to haul some water from here to a planet called Taul. It's in the same sector, so if we hurry we should be able to get it done in four days."
"How much does it pay?" Troy asks.
"Fifteen thousand." Troy's eyes go wide.
"I may not know much about galaxy finances," Feyd says, "but that sounds like a lot for a shipment of water."
"Yeah, what's the catch?" Troy says.
"Well... the people we're supposed to deliver the water to are under Imperial blockade."
"Rebels?" Troy says. Feyd lights up.
"Looks like it."
Troy moans. "I thought we weren't going to get involved with hopeless causes."
"All we have to do is slip in under the cruisers, drop off the water, and we're done with it all. I can pilot us through anything those Imperials can offer. It's supposed to be a light blockade - just a pair of corvettes. Not much fighter cover."
"All right," Troy says, "but just remember I think this is a bad idea."
--- Star Wars ---
The hyperspace journey is short and forgettable. Arthur fended off Feyd's questions about his rebellion contacts - all gone into hiding, and no, I don't want to see if I can find them - until Troy reminded Feyd he was supposed to bring Arthur back to his "master" before running around with the rebels. After this, Feyd resumed trying to convince Arthur and Troy to head back to the hidden asteroid base.
The rebel intelligence was right; only a token Imperial force guarded the planet. It was child's play for Arthur to land, dodging the turbolaser blasts from the orbiting corvettes. Arthur guided Bessie towards the rendezvous point, flying just a few metres above the ground to avoid detection.
The planet itself was a wasteland, and from their vantage point they could still see pockets of firefights, Imperial and Rebel troops battling it out. Whatever it was they had been fighting for on this desolate rock had long since been destroyed. Feyd had the feeling that it was a grudge match, one that both sides would continue to fight until they had no strength left. Of course, this meant victory for the Empire. The planet would be abandoned in the future.
--- Star Wars ---
Landing at the rebel base, Feyd feels a ripple in the Force. The Dark Side is strong, here.
Unloading the supplies goes quickly, the beleaguered rebel troops delighted that they can continue the fight. As always, the rebels attempt to recruit more for the cause...
"...won't you fight for the cause that you know is right? If you join with us, we can provide support for you in return. You'll never be able to retake your throne without our help."
"Our problems are ours, yours are yours." Arthur's reply was short and sweet, as was Troy's; "I've got enough reasons for the Empire to want me dead, thanks." Feyd was silent, torn between his desire to fight against the Empire and his current mission for his master.
"There will come a time when your responsibilities will catch up with you. Either by your rules or theirs."
--- Star Wars ---
With the supplies unloaded, the group leaves the rebels behind. Arthur skims across the planet's surface, relying on current rebel recon to bring them off planet as far from the nearest corvette as possible. A shiver runs through him as he begins the ascent into space.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Feyd says, staring out the cockpit and towards the depths of space.
Suddenly, just as Bessie leaves the atmosphere, a large, heavily armed cruiser and a light escort frigate drop out of hyperspace. The shiver Arthur feels chills him to the bone, and Feyd senses the presence of the Dark Side. It is a something he has felt before.
"It's Alexi," he says, as the cruiser beyond them launches a wave of TIE fighters.
"Yeah, that's the Kalarba's Honour," Troy says. "I told you this was a bad idea. Feyd, head to the turret. I've got the co-pilot's controls. Switching auxiliary power over to weapons."
Feyd runs off. "Uh... got it!"
They all feel the deep pull of inertia as Arthur guns Bessie's single ion engine. Boxed in on one side from an approaching corvette, on the other by the heavy guns of Alexi's Loronar Class Strike Cruiser and the anti-star fighter Lancer Frigate, they try to break for open space before they come under fire by the capital ship's heavy guns.
"Feyd! TIEs coming in at you!" Troy barks.
"I see 'em," Feyd responds over the crackle of the intercom. Blaster fire lights up space for a second, coming from both Bessie and the TIEs. Arthur swings the ship around, out of danger for a moment, and the TIEs swoop by. One of the TIEs is spinning out of control, ions leaking from it.
"I got one!" Feyd yells.
"Keep it up!" Troy yells back. Bessie speeds away from the TIE fighters, running towards the heavy guns of the big ships. Arthur hopes they won't have time to fire, but he knows they'll face at least one volley of fire. Come on, Bessie, don't let me down...
The TIE fighters scream along as they make another pass; this time, Feyd grazes one of them, not enough to knock it out of combat. Bessie is still untouched, thanks to Arthur's piloting, but he can't hold up for long. Either they make it out now, or Alexi would have them.
The space in front of Bessie fills with laser and ion blasts. Arthur grips the controls tightly and plunges into the fray. One laser hits, and rocks the ship; then another, and another, and another. Damage warnings flash on then die out from power shortages. Feyd, Troy, and Arthur are knocked back and forth from the impact of the blasts.
"Come on, Bessie, hold together..." Arthur prays. She sputters out of the field of fire, having survived the first blast. "Troy, hyperspace, now!"
And on R2-FU's programmed co-ordinates, Bessie lurches into hyperspace and out of Alexi's hands for the second time.
--- Star Wars ---
A couple of days passed, longer than any of them had expected. The hyperdrive-powering regulator had been hit, and there was no way to repair while in hyperspace. The rest of the ship, once the crew took a full damage assessment, was just barely holding itself together. Another hit would have taken the ship out. Arthur and Troy couldn't believe it; Feyd chalked it up to the "Will of the Force". Now that they were back on Shownar, with some money left over, they felt like taking it easy.
--- Star Wars ---
"Okay, here's the take from the job. I took some off the top for repairs for good old Bessie. The rest we're going to split between the three of us."
"Three of us?" Troy asks. "It's our ship - "
"- my ship," Arthur cuts in.
"- and we have to split it with this kid? Where's the fairness in that?"
"R2-FU's mine, after all," Feyd says, "and without him it would have been hard to punch in those hyperspace co-ordinates. Besides, I took care of a few TIE fighters, more than you did."
"What are you trying to say? I was regulating ion power flow! If it wasn't for me we'd be dead in space."
"Cut it out, guys," Arthur says. "I'm going to buy a shield generator, maybe get a med droid. I'll meet you back here whenever."
"I'm going to find a casino. Try to keep out of trouble, kid, and don't spend all that money in one place."
"No problem." Feyd felt like the two scoundrels were beginning to accept him. "Come on R2, let's see the sights." R2 beeps rudely. "Okay, fine then. Stay with your new 'lady'."
--- Star Wars ---
A few hours pass, and Arthur returns to Bessie. Supplies in hand, shield generators on their way, and a 2-1B droid following him, he grabs himself a dantic and logs into the galactic holo-net. His "secret" royal account, still active and undetected, is his only way to reach the resistance still fighting for him on Kalarba. He hopes to send a message back that he's evaded Alexi successfully twice now, hoping the news will lighten his supporters. Downloading the messages, mostly spam piled up from account inactivity, he picks out an encoded one meant for his eyes only. On the surface it is a simple greeting from his old nanny. He runs it through a filter and receives the real message.
"Prince Arthur, the resistance desperately needs your help. The campaign goes poorly for us; supplies are at a minimum. Moff Darksun, commanding the garrison in Alexi's absence, has sent Imperial troops to increase all security measures. They have raided a weapons cache and struck a vital blow. The troops are demoralized and, although fiercely loyal, in your long absence they are beginning to doubt.
"We need your support in obtaining a new supply of small arms weapons to carry on the fight; but, more importantly, the troops need to hear a personal message from you, their liege. You must rally the troops, let them know that you are still alive, and free, and supporting them. That we are fighting on the side of right and must, inevitably, win.
"With love, your old nanna, Maia."
Arthur slumps back in his chair. Kalarba - a virtual fortress. I've not been back since the night of the coup. I have no idea how I would return. Hopefully the others will show up soon, help me out with this one.
--- Star Wars ---
"Having a good night, sir?" a bartender asks Troy.
"Not bad," Troy answers. "Corellian whiskey, neat."
The bartender pours the drink. "I think it's going to get a lot better." He nods his head to the side. Troy looks and sees a woman looking his way. "She told me she'd get the first Corellian whiskey you ordered."
"Good guess, huh," Troy answers, still looking at the woman. He takes a sip of his drink and walks over to her.
"Hello, Troy Chance," she says. Still lounging in her seat, she reaches out with her leg and pushes another chair out from under the table. "Have a seat?"
"Thanks," Troy says and takes her offer. "And thanks for the drink."
"Still Corellian whiskey. I guess you haven't changed much."
"Not much, Leelu," he says. "You still look the same. As good as ever."
"And you. If I didn't know better, I'd say that being a on the run agrees with you."
Troy laughs. "You know me well enough to know that I've been on the run my whole life."
The two of them share drinks and stories, catch up on old times. Everything seems to lead either to current events or things in the past that they'd rather not bring back up. Too many things come back to life with some old stories.
"Troy, do you trust me?"
"You know that I do."
"I need your help with something. Nothing dangerous; I just need somebody who can be discreet."
"I guess I'm your man."
"Walk with me. Let's get some fresh air, out of this place." The two get up, and leave the casino. They continue their talk while walking on one of the balconies that ring Shownar's spires. The sunlight, reflecting off the polished crystal, sends rainbows dancing through the sky.
"I'm working for the rebel alliance now," she says.
"I've heard of them."
"I've got to get a man off planet. A defector, a high-ranking Imperial officer. We've been running ever since slipping off the supply port at Lotide. We've run out of contacts, cornered ourselves. Inquisition agents are crawling around."
"Not dangerous at all."
"We've got to get off planet. The information this man holds - it could make a big difference in this whole quadrant. We've got to get off."
"Why not just you - we could get you off without a problem. Why not just record what he knows, and take off?"
"I can't leave him, Troy - he's my husband. I love the man."
Troy nods knowingly. "Okay, we can do it."
"You are a life saver, Troy Chance. It won't be safe to contact him until later tomorrow. That should give you time to prepare."
"You might as well spend the time with us. It's the safest way for everyone."
"You're right."
--- Star Wars ---
Feyd was enjoying himself in the modern galaxy. Everything that you could ever think of, right there for you. And the sights! Such entertaining vistas and natural wonders, enhanced by the subtle dwellings of the inhabitants. It was a beautiful world. Feyd was losing himself in his discoveries.
His awareness snaps back when he feels a cold, metal hand clamp down on his shoulder, and the words whispered in his ear:
"Hello, Jedi..."
--- Star Wars ---
[Stay tuned for Star Wars: Heroes of Kalarba, Episode II: Cyborgs and Bounty Hunters]
Last edited:
LostSoul
Adventurer
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. . .
A vast sea of stars serves as the backdrop for the main title. War drums echo through the heavens as a roll-up slowly crawls into infinity.
STAR WARS
Episode II: Cyborgs and Bounty Hunters
"Hello, Jedi..."
Feyd spins around, hand on his lightsabre, ready for whatever is facing him. His Force sense are alert, and he curses silently for allowing himself to be caught up in the strange sights of Shownar. A Jedi faces too many dangers to risk losing his focus.
He faces a middle-aged man, dressed in an eclectic mix of clothing haphazardly picked from the galaxy's cultures and histories. His metal hand leads into a cyborged forearm. One of his eyes has been replaced by an implant, and it gives off an eerie red glow. His long, dark, coarse hair is tied in a pony tail, off of his face.
He smiles. Feyd stares him down.
"Be calm, young Jedi, I mean you no harm," the cyborg says. "I am not here to hurt you, Force willing."
"Who are you," Feyd asks, "and what do you want from me?" Feyd's body is still tensed for action.
"They call me Payrd Sei deFreet," the cyborg says. "I am a seeker in the old meaning. I search for truth through knowledge. I am what the layman calls a Techno-Mage, although that is but a word, and I am so much more.
"I sensed the Force in you," he continues. "It called me to you. This meeting was destined."
Feyd reaches out with the Force. "You're telling the truth." He relaxes his guard.
Payrd laughs. "Lying only obscures knowledge. There is nothing to be gained through its use."
"My master says that truth only comes from a certain point of view."
Payrd laughs again. "And of course, your master is also correct. For sometimes, both the lie and the truth are one and the same."
Feyd furrows his brow. "You said that you are seeking truth. What truth is that?"
"Ah, my boy, the Force will reveal that to me in due course. I only let myself be carried away on its gentle currents." Payrd pauses, and focuses on Feyd. "Enough questions of me; tell me, young Jedi, what is your name, and how did you survive the purges and make your way here?"
Feyd recognizes the strange patterns of speech. He's heard his master talk in a similar style. "I am Feyd, Padawan Learner of Jedi Master Til-Gon. We have hidden ourselves in the uncharted space beyond the outer rim."
"The resourcefulness of the Jedi never ceases to amaze me."
"You are not a Jedi Knight?"
"The Force is a universal phenomenon. The Jedi are not. It should be reasoned, then, that there are more ways of understanding the Force than the restrictive fashion the Jedi take.
"Look at me," he continues, "would a Jedi fashion himself with mechanical parts?"
"Of course not," Feyd answers.
"Typical Jedi stubbornness. They study the Force in a single aspect only, afraid to take on its whole. The search for truth and understanding requires that one embrace all. These mechanical parts are just as much of the Force as the skin on your bones or the heart in your chest."
"What about the Dark Side, and the dangers it brings? You don't want to give up your will to hatred and evil."
"The 'Dark Side', the Bogan Force, is not a thing to be feared, as the Jedi teach. If you understand the truth behind it, the truth behind all things, it is simply another manifestation of the Force. If you turn your back on that, you turn your back on the Force itself. Nothing can be without its shadow.
"If the Jedi understood that," he goes on, "they might still exist."
Feyd feels a ripple in the Force as a feeling of anger grows in him. "Payrd, it's been interesting meeting you. I don't understand what you've said, but I will meditate on it."
"We must each search for truth in our own ways, of course," Payrd says. He starts to leave Feyd, then turns back: "Our paths will cross again. Soon. Be well, young Jedi."
--- Star Wars ---
Feyd is still thinking about his chance meeting with Payrd as he reaches Bessie. His thoughts leave him, however, when he sees the heavily armoured man, wearing enough ordnance to blow Bessie to bits, talking to Troy and Arthur. He puts his hand on his lightsabre.
"You're willing to do this, free of charge?" Feyd hears Troy say. Troy looks at Arthur and Arthur shrugs.
"Not free of pay," the armoured man says in a tinny voice through his blast helmet. "Just free for you."
"Right," Troy says, sarcastically, "this other guy is paying you. How do we know you don't just want to take the ship, or something like that?"
"If I wanted that, I could have taken it already." Troy and Feyd both notice the man's hands reach closer to his pair of heavy blaster pistols, slung quick draw style, as Feyd approaches. Feyd stops.
"Hey Feyd," Troy calls out, his eyes lingering on the armoured man, "this is Darius. A bounty hunter who's supposed to be our bodyguard."
"Bodyguard for the owner of this ship," Darius says. "I don't care what happens to you or your woman."
Feyd focuses the Force for a moment. "Nice to meet you, Darius," he says after a few seconds. He offers his hand to Darius.
"What kind of crew have you got here?" Darius asks without taking Feyd's hand. "Kids and pampered rich women aren't going to cut it against a pirate raid."
"I'm more than just a kid," Feyd says.
"So do you want me, or not?" Darius asks.
Troy looks over at Arthur. "What could it hurt?" Arthur says.
"You're in," Troy says, "and I hope you're ready for action."
"What's going on?" Feyd asks.
"I ran into an old friend at the casino. She's going to pay us for taking her contact off-world."
"Sounds easy enough," Darius laughs.
"They're wanted by the Imperials."
"That could make things difficult," Darius says. "They're crawling all over this place."
"The rest of you don't have to come," Troy says, "she's my friend, my responsibility."
"What else have I got to do?" Arthur asks. "Just for the record, though: I think this is a bad idea."
"Fighting against the evils of the Empire is always worth my time. You can count on my lightsabre."
"Great, Feyd," Troy says. "I'm sure that will help a lot."
"Light-sabre?" Darius asks. "You mean the kid's going to come with us?"
"I'm more than just a kid!"
[Darius is the fourth PC. He was a bounty hunter that liked to shoot first and shoot later. He was hired to protect Arthur by... well, we'll get into that later. At this time, even Darius didn't know for whom he was working. Just that they paid well.]
--- Star Wars ---
Early next day, Leelu leads the group across the spires, meandering this way and that, stopping off at tourist shops and marketplaces. After many hours of seemingly pointless wandering, the group arrives at an entrance leading deep into the crystal of one of the spires, the living area of Shownar's natives.
"He's not much farther, now," Leelu says as they head into the darkness of the inner tunnels, lit only intermittently by strange crystal lights. "Everyone, get ready."
"I've been ready for the past three hours," Darius says.
"Glad to know it," Troy snaps back.
The group passes around another bend. "Our man is being held in a dwelling at the far end of this tunnel."
"I'll wait here and cover your backs," Darius says. "Try not to get killed or anything."
The rest of the group heads through a crystal curtain and into the small, dark dwelling. It is a simple single room. A small bed has been folded out of one of the walls. A man, covered in rags, lies on the bed. Another man, this one a near-human Shownar native, stirs a pot cooking over a crystal hot-plate.
"No no," the native says, "friend sick, wasting sick."
"It's okay," Leelu says. The rag-covered man sits up.
"Leelu?" he says. "Ah, Leelu, it's so good to see you again." He leaps out of bed and hugs her, planting a kiss on her cheek.. Arthur and Feyd exchange a look. "These are the men that are going to help us?"
"Yes," she says, stepping away. "This is Troy Chance, an old friend."
"Laszlo Inimpi," he says, shaking Troy's hand. "We, and the free peoples of this sector, are grateful for your help."
"Don't mention it. I just hope they've got the credits we've agreed on."
"Once we get back to the rebel base," Laszlo says. "Let's hurry. I don't know how safe we are, here."
A comlink buzzes on. "I think the rebel might be right," Darius says. "Eight troopers are headed right for you. Get ready."
Feyd's lightsabre jumps to life in a hum and he moves to the entrance. Everyone else pulls a blaster. Troy and Arthur grab some cover and get ready to fire at the door. Leelu, Laszlo, and Arthur head for the back entrance.
"I'll try and hold them off," Feyd says, and leaps out to stand in the entrance. "The rest of you can make for the back entrance!"
"Don't be crazy, Feyd," Troy says, and squeezes off a shot at the eight white-armoured Imperial stormtroopers bursting into the dwelling.
The next few seconds are a chaotic mess of blaster bolts, sabre swings, and falling bodies. Feyd swings his lightsabre gracefully, quicker than the eye can follow, and a stormtrooper crumples in a bloody mess before him. Standing in the entrance, he embraces the stormtrooper's fire, guiding each bolt away from him and those behind him. Two more stormtroopers fall down from a quick barrage of fire from Darius' heavy blaster pistols. Troy gets off another shot and takes one down.
The back door is blown off its hinges as a group of four more stormtroopers crashes into the room. Arthur lets out a quick shot and takes down the nearest one, then ducks for cover. Laszlo and Leelu do the same, but Leelu is clipped by a blast.
Darius takes a quick look around and sees at least ten more stormtroopers running towards the fray. He holsters one blaster while firing with the other, blasting two stormtroopers and sending them to the ground. With his free hand, he reaches for a thermal detonator, arms the device, and throws it into the middle of the stormtroopers. When the detonator lands, a huge explosion erupts from it, turning the entire tunnel into a blazing inferno. The roof of the tunnel collapses, cutting off the tunnel in that direction.
"We're clear on this side, guys," Darius says, "clear a path to the back door and we'll be good to go!"
Feyd is still standing in the front door's entrance, jaw clenched, trying to hold off the troopers with his lightsabre. He is letting the Force flow through him and into his sabre, guiding his actions. The troopers take a moment to aim, and Feyd stares right down the barrels of the blasters. He falters for a second, letting fear grip him, and a rain of fire falls on him. Feyd blocks one blast, then two, but his body is riddled with the rest. Smoking, he falls down in a pool of his own blood.
The troopers move forward in force. Troy blasts the first one to come through the door, but that doesn't faze the others.
Arthur and Laszlo exchange fire with the troopers at the back, neither gaining nor giving ground.
Darius grins coldly beneath his blast helmet and brings his two pistols to bear on the remaining three troopers in the front door. Slowly walking forward, he lets loose on the troopers. When the smoke clears, only one stands. "I've got things covered at this end," he says, letting his armour absorb the stormtrooper's return fire.
Troy slides back to Arthur's position and fires a shot, nailing one of the stormtroopers in the head. "Feyd did some nice work up there," he says.
"We'll see if that two-one-bee droid I bought is worth it," Arthur says, "once we get out of this mess. I told you this was a bad idea."
"Nice," Troy says, dodging a blaster bolt.
A few more rounds of blaster fire ring out behind them, along with a heavy thump. Darius steps into the entrance, reloading his hand cannons. The troopers at the other end of the room send a few bolts his way; Darius rolls around the doorway, dodging the blasts. He returns fire, aiming directly into the remaining troopers, sending blast after blast until both chambers run empty. When the smoke clears, all troopers lay still.
"We've gotta get this kid to a doctor," Darius says, grabbing Feyd and slinging him over his shoulder.
"There's one on our ship," Arthur says. "Let's go."
"You okay to move, Leelu?"
"Just a graze, Troy. I'll be fine." She stands up from behind her cover, supporting herself on Laszlo.
[This was the fight where Darius learned to love the thermal detonator.]
--- Star Wars ---
"They must have been watching you," Troy says as they rush through the streets of Shownar. Alarms ring out and people scramble off the streets.
"Must have," Leelu says through clenched teeth. "Imperial Inquisitors. Caught our trail on Pesmenben IV."
"If that's true," Darius says, "they're probably watching your ship. I'll head out in front and try and take them by surprise." Darius rushes ahead of the rest, his blasters still hot in his hands.
"Good thing we got the walking tank on our side," Troy says to Arthur.
Darius rushes up ahead of the group, coming up to Bessie's landing pad. As expected, it's covered by two squads of stormtroopers. Great, he thinks, I've seen more action in one day guarding this guy than I have for the past year.
"We got trouble up ahead, guys," Darius says to the others over his comlink.
"You're going to have to do something about it," Troy calls back, "we got more coming this way, too."
Darius takes a look at the trooper's formation. If only I had another thermal detonator. "Hurry up and get here," he says, "I'll have things cleaned up for ya."
Darius plans his approach, checks his ammo, and gets ready to move forward. Suddenly, Bessie's engine begins to power up. The troopers look in surprise, and a few of them break formation. No time better than now, Darius thinks, and steps into the open, blasters firing away. If I take down enough of them, I'll have a chance.
Two troopers go down before they recover and take cover, shooting random shots at Darius. He's able to dodge the first few, the closest one almost grazing his armour, but once they focus that'll be it. I needed to take out more than two, he thinks, ducking down behind cover.
The rest of the group runs up next to him. "I ran into a little trouble," Darius says. "How're things behind us?"
"Not good. A couple of squads and speeders are coming."
Darius peeks his head around the corner. The troopers are moving up in formation, firing at his position to keep them pinned down. Soon they'll be in grenade range, and that'll be it for us. "We've got to make a break for it."
As the able-bodied men rush out, blasters firing, another shape comes flying - literally - into the midst of the stormtroopers. The distinctive high-pitched whine of a vibro-blade calls the attention of most of the stormtroopers, and they fire a few shots off at him. He's too quick for them to get a bead on, and all shots fly wide. He lands for a moment, right next to a trooper, and the next instant he's leaping again. The trooper falls down, his white armour stained red and bearing a large gash.
Under the combined assault of the group and thier new ally, the stormtroopers fall without landing a single hit.
"Who are you?" Troy asks.
"I am called Payrd," the man - a cyborg - reveals to the group. "A friend of Feyd's."
"Thanks for the help," Arthur says.
"The Force has guided me along this path," he says. He reaches over to Feyd and places his fully organic hand on his body. "We've little time for explanations, however. I think our first goal should be leaving this place."
Feyd stirs, and opens his eyes. "Payrd?" he says weakly. He slowly, shakily, rises to his feet.
"Yeah, we'd better get going," Troy says, and the group - seven strong now, four more than Bessie arrived with - hurries onto the ship. A few TIE fighters wait for them in space, but Arthur keeps them out of range until they jump into hyperspace.
[Maybe having Payrd save the PCs was a little too much... but I think they were tired of the fighting by that point. Anyways, Payrd's introduction to the group as a whole worked well.]
A vast sea of stars serves as the backdrop for the main title. War drums echo through the heavens as a roll-up slowly crawls into infinity.
STAR WARS
Episode II: Cyborgs and Bounty Hunters
"Hello, Jedi..."
Feyd spins around, hand on his lightsabre, ready for whatever is facing him. His Force sense are alert, and he curses silently for allowing himself to be caught up in the strange sights of Shownar. A Jedi faces too many dangers to risk losing his focus.
He faces a middle-aged man, dressed in an eclectic mix of clothing haphazardly picked from the galaxy's cultures and histories. His metal hand leads into a cyborged forearm. One of his eyes has been replaced by an implant, and it gives off an eerie red glow. His long, dark, coarse hair is tied in a pony tail, off of his face.
He smiles. Feyd stares him down.
"Be calm, young Jedi, I mean you no harm," the cyborg says. "I am not here to hurt you, Force willing."
"Who are you," Feyd asks, "and what do you want from me?" Feyd's body is still tensed for action.
"They call me Payrd Sei deFreet," the cyborg says. "I am a seeker in the old meaning. I search for truth through knowledge. I am what the layman calls a Techno-Mage, although that is but a word, and I am so much more.
"I sensed the Force in you," he continues. "It called me to you. This meeting was destined."
Feyd reaches out with the Force. "You're telling the truth." He relaxes his guard.
Payrd laughs. "Lying only obscures knowledge. There is nothing to be gained through its use."
"My master says that truth only comes from a certain point of view."
Payrd laughs again. "And of course, your master is also correct. For sometimes, both the lie and the truth are one and the same."
Feyd furrows his brow. "You said that you are seeking truth. What truth is that?"
"Ah, my boy, the Force will reveal that to me in due course. I only let myself be carried away on its gentle currents." Payrd pauses, and focuses on Feyd. "Enough questions of me; tell me, young Jedi, what is your name, and how did you survive the purges and make your way here?"
Feyd recognizes the strange patterns of speech. He's heard his master talk in a similar style. "I am Feyd, Padawan Learner of Jedi Master Til-Gon. We have hidden ourselves in the uncharted space beyond the outer rim."
"The resourcefulness of the Jedi never ceases to amaze me."
"You are not a Jedi Knight?"
"The Force is a universal phenomenon. The Jedi are not. It should be reasoned, then, that there are more ways of understanding the Force than the restrictive fashion the Jedi take.
"Look at me," he continues, "would a Jedi fashion himself with mechanical parts?"
"Of course not," Feyd answers.
"Typical Jedi stubbornness. They study the Force in a single aspect only, afraid to take on its whole. The search for truth and understanding requires that one embrace all. These mechanical parts are just as much of the Force as the skin on your bones or the heart in your chest."
"What about the Dark Side, and the dangers it brings? You don't want to give up your will to hatred and evil."
"The 'Dark Side', the Bogan Force, is not a thing to be feared, as the Jedi teach. If you understand the truth behind it, the truth behind all things, it is simply another manifestation of the Force. If you turn your back on that, you turn your back on the Force itself. Nothing can be without its shadow.
"If the Jedi understood that," he goes on, "they might still exist."
Feyd feels a ripple in the Force as a feeling of anger grows in him. "Payrd, it's been interesting meeting you. I don't understand what you've said, but I will meditate on it."
"We must each search for truth in our own ways, of course," Payrd says. He starts to leave Feyd, then turns back: "Our paths will cross again. Soon. Be well, young Jedi."
--- Star Wars ---
Feyd is still thinking about his chance meeting with Payrd as he reaches Bessie. His thoughts leave him, however, when he sees the heavily armoured man, wearing enough ordnance to blow Bessie to bits, talking to Troy and Arthur. He puts his hand on his lightsabre.
"You're willing to do this, free of charge?" Feyd hears Troy say. Troy looks at Arthur and Arthur shrugs.
"Not free of pay," the armoured man says in a tinny voice through his blast helmet. "Just free for you."
"Right," Troy says, sarcastically, "this other guy is paying you. How do we know you don't just want to take the ship, or something like that?"
"If I wanted that, I could have taken it already." Troy and Feyd both notice the man's hands reach closer to his pair of heavy blaster pistols, slung quick draw style, as Feyd approaches. Feyd stops.
"Hey Feyd," Troy calls out, his eyes lingering on the armoured man, "this is Darius. A bounty hunter who's supposed to be our bodyguard."
"Bodyguard for the owner of this ship," Darius says. "I don't care what happens to you or your woman."
Feyd focuses the Force for a moment. "Nice to meet you, Darius," he says after a few seconds. He offers his hand to Darius.
"What kind of crew have you got here?" Darius asks without taking Feyd's hand. "Kids and pampered rich women aren't going to cut it against a pirate raid."
"I'm more than just a kid," Feyd says.
"So do you want me, or not?" Darius asks.
Troy looks over at Arthur. "What could it hurt?" Arthur says.
"You're in," Troy says, "and I hope you're ready for action."
"What's going on?" Feyd asks.
"I ran into an old friend at the casino. She's going to pay us for taking her contact off-world."
"Sounds easy enough," Darius laughs.
"They're wanted by the Imperials."
"That could make things difficult," Darius says. "They're crawling all over this place."
"The rest of you don't have to come," Troy says, "she's my friend, my responsibility."
"What else have I got to do?" Arthur asks. "Just for the record, though: I think this is a bad idea."
"Fighting against the evils of the Empire is always worth my time. You can count on my lightsabre."
"Great, Feyd," Troy says. "I'm sure that will help a lot."
"Light-sabre?" Darius asks. "You mean the kid's going to come with us?"
"I'm more than just a kid!"
[Darius is the fourth PC. He was a bounty hunter that liked to shoot first and shoot later. He was hired to protect Arthur by... well, we'll get into that later. At this time, even Darius didn't know for whom he was working. Just that they paid well.]
--- Star Wars ---
Early next day, Leelu leads the group across the spires, meandering this way and that, stopping off at tourist shops and marketplaces. After many hours of seemingly pointless wandering, the group arrives at an entrance leading deep into the crystal of one of the spires, the living area of Shownar's natives.
"He's not much farther, now," Leelu says as they head into the darkness of the inner tunnels, lit only intermittently by strange crystal lights. "Everyone, get ready."
"I've been ready for the past three hours," Darius says.
"Glad to know it," Troy snaps back.
The group passes around another bend. "Our man is being held in a dwelling at the far end of this tunnel."
"I'll wait here and cover your backs," Darius says. "Try not to get killed or anything."
The rest of the group heads through a crystal curtain and into the small, dark dwelling. It is a simple single room. A small bed has been folded out of one of the walls. A man, covered in rags, lies on the bed. Another man, this one a near-human Shownar native, stirs a pot cooking over a crystal hot-plate.
"No no," the native says, "friend sick, wasting sick."
"It's okay," Leelu says. The rag-covered man sits up.
"Leelu?" he says. "Ah, Leelu, it's so good to see you again." He leaps out of bed and hugs her, planting a kiss on her cheek.. Arthur and Feyd exchange a look. "These are the men that are going to help us?"
"Yes," she says, stepping away. "This is Troy Chance, an old friend."
"Laszlo Inimpi," he says, shaking Troy's hand. "We, and the free peoples of this sector, are grateful for your help."
"Don't mention it. I just hope they've got the credits we've agreed on."
"Once we get back to the rebel base," Laszlo says. "Let's hurry. I don't know how safe we are, here."
A comlink buzzes on. "I think the rebel might be right," Darius says. "Eight troopers are headed right for you. Get ready."
Feyd's lightsabre jumps to life in a hum and he moves to the entrance. Everyone else pulls a blaster. Troy and Arthur grab some cover and get ready to fire at the door. Leelu, Laszlo, and Arthur head for the back entrance.
"I'll try and hold them off," Feyd says, and leaps out to stand in the entrance. "The rest of you can make for the back entrance!"
"Don't be crazy, Feyd," Troy says, and squeezes off a shot at the eight white-armoured Imperial stormtroopers bursting into the dwelling.
The next few seconds are a chaotic mess of blaster bolts, sabre swings, and falling bodies. Feyd swings his lightsabre gracefully, quicker than the eye can follow, and a stormtrooper crumples in a bloody mess before him. Standing in the entrance, he embraces the stormtrooper's fire, guiding each bolt away from him and those behind him. Two more stormtroopers fall down from a quick barrage of fire from Darius' heavy blaster pistols. Troy gets off another shot and takes one down.
The back door is blown off its hinges as a group of four more stormtroopers crashes into the room. Arthur lets out a quick shot and takes down the nearest one, then ducks for cover. Laszlo and Leelu do the same, but Leelu is clipped by a blast.
Darius takes a quick look around and sees at least ten more stormtroopers running towards the fray. He holsters one blaster while firing with the other, blasting two stormtroopers and sending them to the ground. With his free hand, he reaches for a thermal detonator, arms the device, and throws it into the middle of the stormtroopers. When the detonator lands, a huge explosion erupts from it, turning the entire tunnel into a blazing inferno. The roof of the tunnel collapses, cutting off the tunnel in that direction.
"We're clear on this side, guys," Darius says, "clear a path to the back door and we'll be good to go!"
Feyd is still standing in the front door's entrance, jaw clenched, trying to hold off the troopers with his lightsabre. He is letting the Force flow through him and into his sabre, guiding his actions. The troopers take a moment to aim, and Feyd stares right down the barrels of the blasters. He falters for a second, letting fear grip him, and a rain of fire falls on him. Feyd blocks one blast, then two, but his body is riddled with the rest. Smoking, he falls down in a pool of his own blood.
The troopers move forward in force. Troy blasts the first one to come through the door, but that doesn't faze the others.
Arthur and Laszlo exchange fire with the troopers at the back, neither gaining nor giving ground.
Darius grins coldly beneath his blast helmet and brings his two pistols to bear on the remaining three troopers in the front door. Slowly walking forward, he lets loose on the troopers. When the smoke clears, only one stands. "I've got things covered at this end," he says, letting his armour absorb the stormtrooper's return fire.
Troy slides back to Arthur's position and fires a shot, nailing one of the stormtroopers in the head. "Feyd did some nice work up there," he says.
"We'll see if that two-one-bee droid I bought is worth it," Arthur says, "once we get out of this mess. I told you this was a bad idea."
"Nice," Troy says, dodging a blaster bolt.
A few more rounds of blaster fire ring out behind them, along with a heavy thump. Darius steps into the entrance, reloading his hand cannons. The troopers at the other end of the room send a few bolts his way; Darius rolls around the doorway, dodging the blasts. He returns fire, aiming directly into the remaining troopers, sending blast after blast until both chambers run empty. When the smoke clears, all troopers lay still.
"We've gotta get this kid to a doctor," Darius says, grabbing Feyd and slinging him over his shoulder.
"There's one on our ship," Arthur says. "Let's go."
"You okay to move, Leelu?"
"Just a graze, Troy. I'll be fine." She stands up from behind her cover, supporting herself on Laszlo.
[This was the fight where Darius learned to love the thermal detonator.]
--- Star Wars ---
"They must have been watching you," Troy says as they rush through the streets of Shownar. Alarms ring out and people scramble off the streets.
"Must have," Leelu says through clenched teeth. "Imperial Inquisitors. Caught our trail on Pesmenben IV."
"If that's true," Darius says, "they're probably watching your ship. I'll head out in front and try and take them by surprise." Darius rushes ahead of the rest, his blasters still hot in his hands.
"Good thing we got the walking tank on our side," Troy says to Arthur.
Darius rushes up ahead of the group, coming up to Bessie's landing pad. As expected, it's covered by two squads of stormtroopers. Great, he thinks, I've seen more action in one day guarding this guy than I have for the past year.
"We got trouble up ahead, guys," Darius says to the others over his comlink.
"You're going to have to do something about it," Troy calls back, "we got more coming this way, too."
Darius takes a look at the trooper's formation. If only I had another thermal detonator. "Hurry up and get here," he says, "I'll have things cleaned up for ya."
Darius plans his approach, checks his ammo, and gets ready to move forward. Suddenly, Bessie's engine begins to power up. The troopers look in surprise, and a few of them break formation. No time better than now, Darius thinks, and steps into the open, blasters firing away. If I take down enough of them, I'll have a chance.
Two troopers go down before they recover and take cover, shooting random shots at Darius. He's able to dodge the first few, the closest one almost grazing his armour, but once they focus that'll be it. I needed to take out more than two, he thinks, ducking down behind cover.
The rest of the group runs up next to him. "I ran into a little trouble," Darius says. "How're things behind us?"
"Not good. A couple of squads and speeders are coming."
Darius peeks his head around the corner. The troopers are moving up in formation, firing at his position to keep them pinned down. Soon they'll be in grenade range, and that'll be it for us. "We've got to make a break for it."
As the able-bodied men rush out, blasters firing, another shape comes flying - literally - into the midst of the stormtroopers. The distinctive high-pitched whine of a vibro-blade calls the attention of most of the stormtroopers, and they fire a few shots off at him. He's too quick for them to get a bead on, and all shots fly wide. He lands for a moment, right next to a trooper, and the next instant he's leaping again. The trooper falls down, his white armour stained red and bearing a large gash.
Under the combined assault of the group and thier new ally, the stormtroopers fall without landing a single hit.
"Who are you?" Troy asks.
"I am called Payrd," the man - a cyborg - reveals to the group. "A friend of Feyd's."
"Thanks for the help," Arthur says.
"The Force has guided me along this path," he says. He reaches over to Feyd and places his fully organic hand on his body. "We've little time for explanations, however. I think our first goal should be leaving this place."
Feyd stirs, and opens his eyes. "Payrd?" he says weakly. He slowly, shakily, rises to his feet.
"Yeah, we'd better get going," Troy says, and the group - seven strong now, four more than Bessie arrived with - hurries onto the ship. A few TIE fighters wait for them in space, but Arthur keeps them out of range until they jump into hyperspace.
[Maybe having Payrd save the PCs was a little too much... but I think they were tired of the fighting by that point. Anyways, Payrd's introduction to the group as a whole worked well.]
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