STAR WARS: The Emperor's Game
- Thread starter Dr Midnight
- Start date
Dr Midnight
Explorer
“State your code,” a nervous voice said through the console’s speaker.
“1115-A23578-D72,” Avara answered.
“The tech squad,” the voice said with audible relief. “We’ve been waiting for you. Please pull into the hangar bay immediately.”
The ship drifted into the Impervious’ landing bay. The four passengers aboard held their breath as their tiny shuttle was swallowed whole by the enormous craft. Behind them, TIE fighters swooped and cut through space, on alert for any threat.
The shuttle touched down inside the massive hangar. The hangar was white-walled and rimmed with bright white lights. The floor was a polished, nearly mirror-bright black. All around, different ships were grounded or being guided into or out of place by Imperial landing crew.
An officer flanked by two stormtroopers were approaching the shuttle. “Okay,” Lexo said. He was no longer wearing his primitive ice bear-hunting suit. He was dressed in the steel-gray finery of an Imperial officer. Without his breathing mask, his eyes were blue and handsome. “Avara and Zybor are Team B. Woonie and I will bring up Team A. Woonie is a labor slave, and Avara is a tech slave. Zybor and I are techs and overseers. Got it?”
Avara flushed. “I will NOT be a ‘tech slave’. What in space is a ‘tech slave’, anyway?!” She crossed her arms indignantly.
“I don’t know. Improvise.” The hatch opened and Lexo turned and slipped right into character. “Commandant,” he said, all business. “I hear you’ve had some trouble.”
“Yes, and thank the Emperor you’re here,” the nervous Commandant said. “We were hit by an ion wash…”
“I’ve heard the story,” Lexo sniffed dismissively.
“Of course,” the officer replied. He then noticed the nonhumans standing within the ship and his eyes widened. “What are those things behind you?”
“Ahh,” Lexo said. “This wookiee is my manual labor slave. She moves what I cannot. This twi’lek is our tech slave.”
“Tech slave?” the Commandant muttered. He stepped up to Avara and looked her up and down. “I’ve never heard of a ‘tech slave’. Besides, I’ve never heard that twi’lek women were good for much else besides the obvious.”
Lexo sent calming emotions into the visibly bristling Tel, and said “Oh, they are. Anyway, we’d like to get to work. Could you have some of your people show us where the problem areas are? We’ll need two teams to show us to the Hyperdrive Control, Ion Cannon Targeting Control, Main Weapons Canyon and Main Drive Systems Room.”
The Commandant signaled to his men. “Immediately,” he said.
Two small squads of six stormtroopers marched up and led the two teams off in differing directions. “Good luck with your repairs,” Lexo called to the other group.
“And with yours,” Zybor answered.
Lexo and Woonie walked toward the fore of the ship. The stormtroopers escorting them walked two ahead, four behind. They obviously didn’t trust the wookiee, and kept their blaster rifles leveled at her back. Woonwooken growled softly and Lexo whispered “Easy. Soon enough.”
They were taken to the Hyperdrive Control room. The door opened, and before Lexo stretched the largest hyperdrive he had ever seen. It must have been 150 meters tall. It towered above them, and stretched below- the floor they stood on was at the center of the Hyperdrive’s height… a seventy-five meter distance to the roof, and a seventy-five foot drop to the deck plates below. They stood on a large deck, surrounded by neat stacks of tools and manual datachips.
“Hey, do you have a repulsorlift device of some kind, for us to access the ‘drive?” Lexo asked of a nearby trooper.
“Yes sir.” The trooper walked to the ladder and climbed below, to fire up a small one-man repulsorlift platform. It slowly lifted up to the standing area.
“Be ready,” Lexo whispered to Woonie. She chuckled and began eyeing the armed guards.
“Here you go, sir,” the stormtrooper said as the repulsorlift platform floated level with the deck.
Lexo reached out and ripped a handful of wires free from the platform’s drive control. “Thanks,” he said as the stormtrooper began to wordlessly plummet below.
The room exploded into action.
“Something’s wrong,” Zybor muttered to Avara. “I think the others have made their move.”
“Already?!” She could barely restrain her voice. “They couldn’t wait seven minutes to get into a fight on a fully staffed Star Destroyer?”
“You don’t know Lexo and Woonie,” Zybor replied. “And keep your voice down.” He sighed, then said “We’re going to have to make this fast.”
They were escorted by four Stormtroopers, walking down a long hallway rimmed with dull steel plates and bright white lights.
They reached the Main Drive room. This was more a vast industrial warehouse than an actual room. Gray-suited repair crews mulled over their tasks. Everywhere, large computers and gearpiles churned their work about, trying to get the numerous engine pieces to function once more. Overhead, the ceiling was an immense convex tube leading aft… they were directly beneath one of the main ion engine’s housings.
The Stormtroopers stopped walking and stood aside. The implication was clear: Here you are, go to work. Avara looked about nervously. Computers were everywhere. Where was she to go… and what was her task again? “Shut down the main drive system,” she whispered to herself. “How hard could it be.”
She approached one of the computers and touched a button. The computer buzzed at her like a startled mynock. She wandered to another computer and tried… better luck this time, it seemed to have at least a link to the main drive systems. She cracked her knuckles and stared at the keyboard.
Zybor called from behind her. “Anything wrong, tech slave?” His voice sounded somewhat anxious.
“Uh, no, just trying to figure out how to access the telemetric rerouters. Ahh, here we are.” She began tapping buttons.
The Stormtroopers behind Zybor tensed and listened to something only they could hear. A dull alarm began sounding down the hall, and the troopers hustled away. Zybor walked up to Avara and said. “They’ve called a low-level alert to deal with the fracas, no doubt… C’mon, we don’t have much time before they figure out we might be in on the deal.”
“I’m trying,” Avara said. “This thing is really complex. Uhh…” She saw a likely shutdown routine, took a breath and entered it. “Here goes.”
Another dull alarm pattern began sounding, mixing with the drone of the other alarm. The engine room crew began looking all around warily. Avara saw on her screen that the engines were down, yes… but there was a new message:
UNAUTHORIZED SHUTDOWN DETECTED
SECURITY BREACH IN MAIN DRIVE SYSTEMS ROOM
DRIVE SYSTEMS TEMPORARILY DISABLED
LEVEL FOUR SECURITY ALERT
Zybor sighed and pulled out his lightsaber. “This isn’t working.” He turned the saber on at one end and swept the glowing green blade through the computer console. Sparks flew, and all around astonished crewmembers exclaimed their alarm. “NOW it’s permanently disabled,” Zybor said. “Let’s go.”
Avara slapped her forehead. “We’re not patient for a Jedi, are we?”
The alert buzzers blazed to life, emitting high-pitched, frequent swarming noises. A monotone voice boomed from unseen speakers. “MAIN DRIVE SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN DISABLED. I.N.S. IMPERVIOUS IS BREACHED BY UNFRIENDLIES. SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED. I.N.S. WILL DETONATE WITHIN TEN MINUTES UNLESS PROPER DEFRAY CODE IS ENTERED.”
Zybor stared unbelieving at the smoking console. He cursed Imperial ingenuity. Avara’s mouth hung open. “Self-destruct sequence?!?” she shouted as all around them crewmembers rushed for the elevators and emergency exits. “Isn’t that a bit drastic??”
Zybor grabbed her hand and began to run with the crowd. “Yes, but the Imperials would apparently consider a tampered Star Destroyer to be a great liability. They’d rather blow it up along with their crews than leave it as a weapon to be stolen by the Rebellion, which is what they’d assume is happening if the main drive systems are sliced into.”
“Slicing is generally a figurative term,” she grunted bitterly as they pushed against the teeming mass of people trying to escape a giant bomb.
“This is why I’m a visionary,” he joked as he raised a hand and used the Force to push a path through the crowd. They ran along the thin corridor past scores of thickly-packed, panicking crewmembers.
Elsewhere, Lexo Yust held his side, where a blaster bolt had grazed him. “Self-destruct. Sounds like the others actually proved more destructive than we did.” All around him, the bodies of Stormtroopers lay on the ground.
Woonwooken bayed agreeance from a dozen yards away. She had plowed through a number of troopers but had taken more damage than her Force-using friend. Her fur smoked with the ravage of about three near blaster hits, and blood ran from one nostril. The wookiee had raged… and raged hard. Her red-rimmed eyes thrummed with madness as her breathing rasped in her chest. She warbled something else.
“I agree,” Lexo said as he climbed down the ladder. A moment later he popped up, riding one of the repulsorlift platforms. “No reason at all we can’t try to do as much damage as we can on the way out. Hop on.”
Woonwooken jumped onto the small craft with him and took over the controls. “Hit it, Woonie!” She gunned the platform for the door.
MORE TO COME…
“1115-A23578-D72,” Avara answered.
“The tech squad,” the voice said with audible relief. “We’ve been waiting for you. Please pull into the hangar bay immediately.”
The ship drifted into the Impervious’ landing bay. The four passengers aboard held their breath as their tiny shuttle was swallowed whole by the enormous craft. Behind them, TIE fighters swooped and cut through space, on alert for any threat.
The shuttle touched down inside the massive hangar. The hangar was white-walled and rimmed with bright white lights. The floor was a polished, nearly mirror-bright black. All around, different ships were grounded or being guided into or out of place by Imperial landing crew.
An officer flanked by two stormtroopers were approaching the shuttle. “Okay,” Lexo said. He was no longer wearing his primitive ice bear-hunting suit. He was dressed in the steel-gray finery of an Imperial officer. Without his breathing mask, his eyes were blue and handsome. “Avara and Zybor are Team B. Woonie and I will bring up Team A. Woonie is a labor slave, and Avara is a tech slave. Zybor and I are techs and overseers. Got it?”
Avara flushed. “I will NOT be a ‘tech slave’. What in space is a ‘tech slave’, anyway?!” She crossed her arms indignantly.
“I don’t know. Improvise.” The hatch opened and Lexo turned and slipped right into character. “Commandant,” he said, all business. “I hear you’ve had some trouble.”
“Yes, and thank the Emperor you’re here,” the nervous Commandant said. “We were hit by an ion wash…”
“I’ve heard the story,” Lexo sniffed dismissively.
“Of course,” the officer replied. He then noticed the nonhumans standing within the ship and his eyes widened. “What are those things behind you?”
“Ahh,” Lexo said. “This wookiee is my manual labor slave. She moves what I cannot. This twi’lek is our tech slave.”
“Tech slave?” the Commandant muttered. He stepped up to Avara and looked her up and down. “I’ve never heard of a ‘tech slave’. Besides, I’ve never heard that twi’lek women were good for much else besides the obvious.”
Lexo sent calming emotions into the visibly bristling Tel, and said “Oh, they are. Anyway, we’d like to get to work. Could you have some of your people show us where the problem areas are? We’ll need two teams to show us to the Hyperdrive Control, Ion Cannon Targeting Control, Main Weapons Canyon and Main Drive Systems Room.”
The Commandant signaled to his men. “Immediately,” he said.
Two small squads of six stormtroopers marched up and led the two teams off in differing directions. “Good luck with your repairs,” Lexo called to the other group.
“And with yours,” Zybor answered.
Lexo and Woonie walked toward the fore of the ship. The stormtroopers escorting them walked two ahead, four behind. They obviously didn’t trust the wookiee, and kept their blaster rifles leveled at her back. Woonwooken growled softly and Lexo whispered “Easy. Soon enough.”
They were taken to the Hyperdrive Control room. The door opened, and before Lexo stretched the largest hyperdrive he had ever seen. It must have been 150 meters tall. It towered above them, and stretched below- the floor they stood on was at the center of the Hyperdrive’s height… a seventy-five meter distance to the roof, and a seventy-five foot drop to the deck plates below. They stood on a large deck, surrounded by neat stacks of tools and manual datachips.
“Hey, do you have a repulsorlift device of some kind, for us to access the ‘drive?” Lexo asked of a nearby trooper.
“Yes sir.” The trooper walked to the ladder and climbed below, to fire up a small one-man repulsorlift platform. It slowly lifted up to the standing area.
“Be ready,” Lexo whispered to Woonie. She chuckled and began eyeing the armed guards.
“Here you go, sir,” the stormtrooper said as the repulsorlift platform floated level with the deck.
Lexo reached out and ripped a handful of wires free from the platform’s drive control. “Thanks,” he said as the stormtrooper began to wordlessly plummet below.
The room exploded into action.
“Something’s wrong,” Zybor muttered to Avara. “I think the others have made their move.”
“Already?!” She could barely restrain her voice. “They couldn’t wait seven minutes to get into a fight on a fully staffed Star Destroyer?”
“You don’t know Lexo and Woonie,” Zybor replied. “And keep your voice down.” He sighed, then said “We’re going to have to make this fast.”
They were escorted by four Stormtroopers, walking down a long hallway rimmed with dull steel plates and bright white lights.
They reached the Main Drive room. This was more a vast industrial warehouse than an actual room. Gray-suited repair crews mulled over their tasks. Everywhere, large computers and gearpiles churned their work about, trying to get the numerous engine pieces to function once more. Overhead, the ceiling was an immense convex tube leading aft… they were directly beneath one of the main ion engine’s housings.
The Stormtroopers stopped walking and stood aside. The implication was clear: Here you are, go to work. Avara looked about nervously. Computers were everywhere. Where was she to go… and what was her task again? “Shut down the main drive system,” she whispered to herself. “How hard could it be.”
She approached one of the computers and touched a button. The computer buzzed at her like a startled mynock. She wandered to another computer and tried… better luck this time, it seemed to have at least a link to the main drive systems. She cracked her knuckles and stared at the keyboard.
Zybor called from behind her. “Anything wrong, tech slave?” His voice sounded somewhat anxious.
“Uh, no, just trying to figure out how to access the telemetric rerouters. Ahh, here we are.” She began tapping buttons.
The Stormtroopers behind Zybor tensed and listened to something only they could hear. A dull alarm began sounding down the hall, and the troopers hustled away. Zybor walked up to Avara and said. “They’ve called a low-level alert to deal with the fracas, no doubt… C’mon, we don’t have much time before they figure out we might be in on the deal.”
“I’m trying,” Avara said. “This thing is really complex. Uhh…” She saw a likely shutdown routine, took a breath and entered it. “Here goes.”
Another dull alarm pattern began sounding, mixing with the drone of the other alarm. The engine room crew began looking all around warily. Avara saw on her screen that the engines were down, yes… but there was a new message:
UNAUTHORIZED SHUTDOWN DETECTED
SECURITY BREACH IN MAIN DRIVE SYSTEMS ROOM
DRIVE SYSTEMS TEMPORARILY DISABLED
LEVEL FOUR SECURITY ALERT
Zybor sighed and pulled out his lightsaber. “This isn’t working.” He turned the saber on at one end and swept the glowing green blade through the computer console. Sparks flew, and all around astonished crewmembers exclaimed their alarm. “NOW it’s permanently disabled,” Zybor said. “Let’s go.”
Avara slapped her forehead. “We’re not patient for a Jedi, are we?”
The alert buzzers blazed to life, emitting high-pitched, frequent swarming noises. A monotone voice boomed from unseen speakers. “MAIN DRIVE SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN DISABLED. I.N.S. IMPERVIOUS IS BREACHED BY UNFRIENDLIES. SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED. I.N.S. WILL DETONATE WITHIN TEN MINUTES UNLESS PROPER DEFRAY CODE IS ENTERED.”
Zybor stared unbelieving at the smoking console. He cursed Imperial ingenuity. Avara’s mouth hung open. “Self-destruct sequence?!?” she shouted as all around them crewmembers rushed for the elevators and emergency exits. “Isn’t that a bit drastic??”
Zybor grabbed her hand and began to run with the crowd. “Yes, but the Imperials would apparently consider a tampered Star Destroyer to be a great liability. They’d rather blow it up along with their crews than leave it as a weapon to be stolen by the Rebellion, which is what they’d assume is happening if the main drive systems are sliced into.”
“Slicing is generally a figurative term,” she grunted bitterly as they pushed against the teeming mass of people trying to escape a giant bomb.
“This is why I’m a visionary,” he joked as he raised a hand and used the Force to push a path through the crowd. They ran along the thin corridor past scores of thickly-packed, panicking crewmembers.
Elsewhere, Lexo Yust held his side, where a blaster bolt had grazed him. “Self-destruct. Sounds like the others actually proved more destructive than we did.” All around him, the bodies of Stormtroopers lay on the ground.
Woonwooken bayed agreeance from a dozen yards away. She had plowed through a number of troopers but had taken more damage than her Force-using friend. Her fur smoked with the ravage of about three near blaster hits, and blood ran from one nostril. The wookiee had raged… and raged hard. Her red-rimmed eyes thrummed with madness as her breathing rasped in her chest. She warbled something else.
“I agree,” Lexo said as he climbed down the ladder. A moment later he popped up, riding one of the repulsorlift platforms. “No reason at all we can’t try to do as much damage as we can on the way out. Hop on.”
Woonwooken jumped onto the small craft with him and took over the controls. “Hit it, Woonie!” She gunned the platform for the door.
MORE TO COME…
Lela
First Post
Did you plan the Self-Destruct ahead of time Doc? It's a great idea and very Star Warsesque. Somehow the characters always seem to resort to the Barbarian route when being a little more Roguish might be better.
And I must say, I still think Woonie rocks. I take it her player's leaving? Aw, well. I'm sure there will be someone equally engaging.
Speaking of which, are we not to hear from Wee Jas and the rest of the gang? Even if they're not playing, they're entertianing.
And I must say, I still think Woonie rocks. I take it her player's leaving? Aw, well. I'm sure there will be someone equally engaging.
Speaking of which, are we not to hear from Wee Jas and the rest of the gang? Even if they're not playing, they're entertianing.
Neverwinter Knight
First Post
Yeah Doc, nice update. There sure is no better way to put pressure on your PCs than with the self destruct mechanism. How do you plan to make the player transition? TPK of the old party (except for Avara)?
Keep rocking, Doc.
It reminded me a little of Spaceballs...Lela said:
I would like to see a Gammorean (spelling ?) PC with a big vibro axe - IMHO the Star Wars equivalent of dwarves.Lela said:
Yeah, what's up with them?Lela said:
Keep rocking, Doc.
Dr Midnight
Explorer
Q&A...
Suffice to say there's a lot of sourness going on.
Yeps. I figured a disable device check on a Star Destroyer's sublight engines had to be pretty tough, with phenomenal consequences for failure.
This was a problem with two of the players... [EDIT]
Suffice to say there's a lot of sourness going on.
Yes, Woonie's player is leaving my campaigns for good. I can't speak for any replacements, as I haven't played with any of them... but with a new play day (Saturdays), Dartan might well re-join. Still have to talk with him about those dark side points. You'll note he used FORCE STRIKE on a number of people to knock them out of his way. Ahem.
Wee Jas, Ziona and Xaltar are all good, playing their own games... Wee Jas is currently running a murder mystery game that sounds pretty fun. Ziona and Xaltar are preparing for baby (www.thetapleys.com) and playing many games... two or three, weekly, I think. I don't think they'll come by the thread, but you can visit www.arkyst.com to see Xaltar's new world and visit the messageboards.
I'm not sure how I'm going to do it, but I don't think I'll kill anyone... save for one character, for good reason I won't get into now. Avara will likely just go a different path, and the story will follow her to the new group.
I'm meeting with some of the new players later today, and I'm definitely going to recommend using ALIEN ANTHOLOGY. I want some delicious alien goodness.
Thanks. Doc ou!
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Sorry to hear about the party turmoil. I hope the dust settles with little damage.
I'm can't recall the name of the old WEG module. However, I do recall having to destroy it (star destroyer) from the inside.
Anyway, thanks for the continued updates.
I'm can't recall the name of the old WEG module. However, I do recall having to destroy it (star destroyer) from the inside.
Anyway, thanks for the continued updates.
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Breakstone
First Post
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
A new Doc Midnight Story Hour?
Why did I not see this before?
My Story Hour Sense must be malfunctioning...
Anyways, it's awesome to read another Doc Midnight story, Doc! I love the style, and the dialog is always classic.
Sorry to hear about the players ditching the game- it seems to be a problem almost everyone has had at one time in their gaming career. Hopefully the new group will be a little more loyal!
And be sure to get them to post on the story hour!
A new Doc Midnight Story Hour?
Why did I not see this before?
My Story Hour Sense must be malfunctioning...
Anyways, it's awesome to read another Doc Midnight story, Doc! I love the style, and the dialog is always classic.
Sorry to hear about the players ditching the game- it seems to be a problem almost everyone has had at one time in their gaming career. Hopefully the new group will be a little more loyal!
And be sure to get them to post on the story hour!
Okay, not as timely as I would have liked, but here (several days later than anticipated) is a quick parody song detailing the events of several posts ago. It's based on Peter Gabriel's "Shock the Monkey."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SHAVE THE WOOKIEE
Shave the wookiee just right
Shave the wookiee just right
Listen here, to this plan
Listen here, if you can
Star Destroyer's a sitting duck
With a little luck...
Sneak aboard: treasure hoard!
Wookiee, wookiee, wookiee
Don't you know we've got to shave the wookiee
Furry face
Cute pink bow
We could shave her head
But I just don't know
'Bout one thing I must come clean:
I need more shaving cream!
Darkstar, take a lookie at this wookiee
Wookiee, wookiee, wookiee
Don't you know we've got to shave the wookiee
Face your worst fears
Pass me those shears
Huh! Who knew that wookiees have got ears?
Shave!
Shave!
Shave!
Watch the wookiee get shorn, wookiee
Hey, you know, this might work
Hold still, Woon - please don't jerk
You know, if this was D&D
You'd be an umpleby!
You look weird with just a beard
Wookiee, wookiee, wookiee
Don't you know I'm going to shave the wookiee
Too much to cut
Hair's down to her butt
And this plan seems nutty
Shave!
Shave!
Shave!
Watch the wookiee get shorn, wookiee
Shave the wookiee
Shave the wookiee
Shave the wookiee just right
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Johnathan
Unemployed Unofficial Bard
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SHAVE THE WOOKIEE
Shave the wookiee just right
Shave the wookiee just right
Listen here, to this plan
Listen here, if you can
Star Destroyer's a sitting duck
With a little luck...
Sneak aboard: treasure hoard!
Wookiee, wookiee, wookiee
Don't you know we've got to shave the wookiee
Furry face
Cute pink bow
We could shave her head
But I just don't know
'Bout one thing I must come clean:
I need more shaving cream!
Darkstar, take a lookie at this wookiee
Wookiee, wookiee, wookiee
Don't you know we've got to shave the wookiee
Face your worst fears
Pass me those shears
Huh! Who knew that wookiees have got ears?
Shave!
Shave!
Shave!
Watch the wookiee get shorn, wookiee
Hey, you know, this might work
Hold still, Woon - please don't jerk
You know, if this was D&D
You'd be an umpleby!
You look weird with just a beard
Wookiee, wookiee, wookiee
Don't you know I'm going to shave the wookiee
Too much to cut
Hair's down to her butt
And this plan seems nutty
Shave!
Shave!
Shave!
Watch the wookiee get shorn, wookiee
Shave the wookiee
Shave the wookiee
Shave the wookiee just right
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Johnathan
Unemployed Unofficial Bard
Dr Midnight
Explorer
Oh, man, that's funny... Watch the wookiee get shorn.
Thanks Richards!
Thanks Richards!
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