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The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
STAR WARS: The Emperor's Game
- Thread starter Dr Midnight
- Start date
Lela
First Post
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Now to read it
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Now to read it
Neverwinter Knight
First Post
What's a technician to do without her goggles?idarii said:
Anyway, hi. Where's the rest of the Rhode Island gang?
Dr Midnight
Explorer
Within minutes, they came out of hyperspace somewhere in the inner rim. Moments later, a three-winged Imperial Shuttle came out of hyerspace nearby. Its two side fins folded up to touch the high dorsal wing, and the ship angled itself over the Surveyor. The two craft docked together, forming an airtight seal between the two as circular doors opened to allow movement.
Colonel Wellion climbed down into the Surveyor, followed by two Rebel troops. “Hello,” he said as he stood facing the sitting heroes. “I’m sorry to have called you out of hyperspace like this, but I’m afraid there’s a situation.”
“No problem at all, Colonel,” Dent said. “What’s this all about?”
“We wouldn’t have contacted you, but only about twelve light-years away, over the planet of Ambria, an entire Star Destroyer has been disabled. An Ion wash hit the I.N.S. Impervious about two hours ago. It’s sitting in space with only minimal function and no propulsive power. We don’t believe they’ll be able to fix their instruments anytime soon, and we’ve intercepted the specialist tech squad that was en route to them… which is how we came to own the Lambda ship.”
Lexo spoke up. “Wouldn’t a Star Destroyer have techs on board?”
“They do, Yust, but this wash has disabled them so badly that they can’t fix it on their own, not anytime within the next six hours. For that amount of time, that ship is vulnerable to a Rebel group that can get there fast enough.”
“Which is where we come in,” Dent said. “but we can’t take out a disabled Star Destroyer… it’s still too powerful.”
“That’s right. It’s surrounded by TIEs and other defensive craft. Your ship would be cut apart. We want you to penetrate the Impervious in the Lambda ship. Once you’re inside, you’re to separate and permanently disable your targets, including the hyperdrive matrix and sub-light drive.”
Lexo sat up. “Wait, wait… the sub-light drive on a Star Destroyer is an extremely intricate and complicated system. Disabling that thing won’t be easy- it’s not like pulling a switch.”
“Plus,” Dent said. “Those things are wired with a labyrinth of pitfalls and alarms. They’re engineered to be practically impossible to permanently shut down. We can’t do it. We’d need an expert tech specialist for a mission like this.”
Wellion smiled. “Luckily for you, Captain Darkstar, we’ve brought an expert tech specialist with us. Tel?” On his cue, a slender Twi’lek woman with blue-green skin descended the ladder. She stood and coolly regarded the room with amber eyes. “This is Tech Specialist Avara Tel. She’s an ace with a set of tools, and it looks like she can handle herself in a fight. In fact, she’s the one who single-handedly repaired your droid, Darkstar.”
Dent stood up and offerend his hand to Avara. “You’ve fixed R5? I owe you many thanks- I thought he might never pull through. You must be a whiz with technology.”
Tel shook his hand. “Oh, absolutely. If it has wires I can fix it.”
“You’re most welcome here. Have a seat.”
Wellion cleared his throat. “If we’re through with the introductions, there’s a mission to discuss. I’ve uploaded your mission objectives to your datapads. Please review them with me. One- Infiltrate threatened area around Star Destroyer Impervious in Imperial vessel posing as Imperial tech repair squadron. This one’s fairly simple, you’ll take the Lambda craft and we’ll pilot the Surveyor back to base.”
“No you won’t,” Dent said. “The others can take your ship and I’ll bring you back to base in mine. I only let a few people touch my ship’s controls, and none of them are here.”
Woonwooken sadly grunted that yes, this was true… too often had she tried to “help” Dent pilot the ship, and he would kick her out of his cockpit. He never really forgot the time she ripped his gun controls right out of the deck.
“That will be fine, Darkstar,” Wellion said reluctantly. “Objective two: Transmit code 1115-A23578-D72. This is the code that came with the ship, so they’ll be expecting it at the Impervious. Three: Gain entry to docking bay. Use whatever means necessary to move about inside IMPERVIOUS. Nonhuman team members should take caution- Tel and Woonwooken will have to use some disguises, hide, or use the old ‘captive alien’ trick. This is up to you.”
Woonwooken sat bolt upright and barked something excitedly to Lexo. “I dunno, Woonie… d’you think that might work?” She snuffled confidently. “Okay,” Lexo shrugged, standing up and pulling out a small vibro-razor unit. “Hold still.”
“What are you doing?” Wellion asked.
“Woonie thinks that she might be able to pull off a disguise if she’s got no hair on her head.”
The Colonel’s jaw dropped open and he stared in horror with the rest of the crew as Lexo Yust shaved his wookiee. When he stepped away, the ridiculous sight of a furless wookiee head grinning back at them was not quite funny enough to laugh at, and not quite scary enough to scream at. It was, however, profoundly disturbing.
“That’s disgusting,” Avara observed.
Onjo swallowed and said “A shaven wookiee is a terrible thing.”
Lexo sighed. “I guess it didn’t work, Woonie. You don’t look human enough.” Woonwooken warbled a disappointed noise, and began applying little bits of bacta tape to the many cuts on her face.
“Uh. Anyway,” Wellion coughed. “You’ll have to find some other way to remain unnoticed. Objective Four: Team A will proceed to Hyperdrive Control and Ion Cannon Targeting Control. Permanently disable these systems by whatever means necessary. Five: Team B, including Tech Specialist Tel, proceed to Main Weapons Canyon and permanently disable turbolasers. Then proceed to Main Drive Systems Room and permanently disable sub-light drive. As mentioned, this is a sensitive device, so use caution.”
“I’ve got faith in Avara,” Dent said.
“Objective Six: Rendezvous and escape Impervious. Return to base. Questions?”
“I’ve got a few,” Lexo said. “Why don’t we cut off life support, instead? We hang around and wait until the last Imperial dies, and good riddance- we then collect a free Star Destroyer, which I’m sure the Rebellion could have ample use for.”
Wellion nodded. “Not a bad idea, Yust, and yes we’d love to have such a tool at our disposal… the problem is that we only have so long before assistance would come. They have ample provisions, such as oxygen and water, and they’d be rescued within a day at any rate.”
“Well then, why not simply blow it up from within? We could escape before a bomb sequence went off, and that’d be the end of the Impervious.”
“That would serve us greatly, except that the Impervious is directly positioned over Ambria. Detonating the craft would rain white-hot debris on the Ambrians and quite possibly wipe out whole settlements. It’s too risky.”
“Are you giving us any tools?”
The Colonel nodded. “The Lambda ship has a few spare human-fitted uniforms on board. Quee and Yust could walk in as Imperial officers. Beyond that, you’re each receiving an encoded Imperial-standard comlink, to keep in touch with each other.”
Onjo asked “What will happen to the ship once it’s disabled?”
“We’ll have a large squadron heading in as you work. Provided you’re successful, the squadron will only have to wipe out the remaining external fighters, then claim a defenseless Star Destroyer and arrest everyone on board, towing it safely away from any incoming Imperial aid. It will be a great victory for the Alliance.”
“Sounds good,” Avara said. “I’m ready.”
Within an hour, Dent and the other Rebels were on their way home, and the Imperial Lambda craft was cutting through hyperspace. Lexo was trying on the Imperial uniform and finding it fit quite comfortably. “That’s quite an astrogate path you’ve plotted there,” he admired. “It should cut our travel time by a few hours.”
Avara looked up from the controls. “I’ve… got some piloting experience.”
“So I see. Hey, I’m sorry if Woonwooken unnerved you by offering to pilot the ship so feverishly. She’s now in the lounge, beating Onjo at Sabacc. I’m Lexo Yust, by the way. We haven’t really been introduced.”
The twi’lek went back to her controls. “Yeah. So, you guys get off-base a lot, huh?”
He shrugged. “I suppose. We’re hardly ever there.”
“Good, that’s good. I don’t really get along with the higher-ups, if you take my meaning.”
“Me neither. In fact, Woonie and I are in a bad spot with Mon Mothma. She’s a bit unhappy about… some goings-on from our past, so we’re hoping this mission will give us a chance to get back on her good side.”
Avara mumbled under her breath. “That ice queen HAS a good side?” A red light began flashing, and she thumbed it off. “We’re coming out of hyperspace. Might want to go tell the others to be ready.”
"All right," he replied. He was just about to go when they came out of hyperspace and suddenly they were slowly cruising toward a Star Destroyer, vast and gray above Ambria. Tel’s breath caught in her throat from the sight. Around it swarmed dozens of TIE fighters, like angry hornets protecting a vulnerable nest. Four Rebels against a Star Destroyer. Avara began to wonder if she hadn’t gotten in over her head again.
The transceiver button flashed. “Here we go,” she said, reaching for it.
MORE TO COME...
Colonel Wellion climbed down into the Surveyor, followed by two Rebel troops. “Hello,” he said as he stood facing the sitting heroes. “I’m sorry to have called you out of hyperspace like this, but I’m afraid there’s a situation.”
“No problem at all, Colonel,” Dent said. “What’s this all about?”
“We wouldn’t have contacted you, but only about twelve light-years away, over the planet of Ambria, an entire Star Destroyer has been disabled. An Ion wash hit the I.N.S. Impervious about two hours ago. It’s sitting in space with only minimal function and no propulsive power. We don’t believe they’ll be able to fix their instruments anytime soon, and we’ve intercepted the specialist tech squad that was en route to them… which is how we came to own the Lambda ship.”
Lexo spoke up. “Wouldn’t a Star Destroyer have techs on board?”
“They do, Yust, but this wash has disabled them so badly that they can’t fix it on their own, not anytime within the next six hours. For that amount of time, that ship is vulnerable to a Rebel group that can get there fast enough.”
“Which is where we come in,” Dent said. “but we can’t take out a disabled Star Destroyer… it’s still too powerful.”
“That’s right. It’s surrounded by TIEs and other defensive craft. Your ship would be cut apart. We want you to penetrate the Impervious in the Lambda ship. Once you’re inside, you’re to separate and permanently disable your targets, including the hyperdrive matrix and sub-light drive.”
Lexo sat up. “Wait, wait… the sub-light drive on a Star Destroyer is an extremely intricate and complicated system. Disabling that thing won’t be easy- it’s not like pulling a switch.”
“Plus,” Dent said. “Those things are wired with a labyrinth of pitfalls and alarms. They’re engineered to be practically impossible to permanently shut down. We can’t do it. We’d need an expert tech specialist for a mission like this.”
Wellion smiled. “Luckily for you, Captain Darkstar, we’ve brought an expert tech specialist with us. Tel?” On his cue, a slender Twi’lek woman with blue-green skin descended the ladder. She stood and coolly regarded the room with amber eyes. “This is Tech Specialist Avara Tel. She’s an ace with a set of tools, and it looks like she can handle herself in a fight. In fact, she’s the one who single-handedly repaired your droid, Darkstar.”
Dent stood up and offerend his hand to Avara. “You’ve fixed R5? I owe you many thanks- I thought he might never pull through. You must be a whiz with technology.”
Tel shook his hand. “Oh, absolutely. If it has wires I can fix it.”
“You’re most welcome here. Have a seat.”
Wellion cleared his throat. “If we’re through with the introductions, there’s a mission to discuss. I’ve uploaded your mission objectives to your datapads. Please review them with me. One- Infiltrate threatened area around Star Destroyer Impervious in Imperial vessel posing as Imperial tech repair squadron. This one’s fairly simple, you’ll take the Lambda craft and we’ll pilot the Surveyor back to base.”
“No you won’t,” Dent said. “The others can take your ship and I’ll bring you back to base in mine. I only let a few people touch my ship’s controls, and none of them are here.”
Woonwooken sadly grunted that yes, this was true… too often had she tried to “help” Dent pilot the ship, and he would kick her out of his cockpit. He never really forgot the time she ripped his gun controls right out of the deck.
“That will be fine, Darkstar,” Wellion said reluctantly. “Objective two: Transmit code 1115-A23578-D72. This is the code that came with the ship, so they’ll be expecting it at the Impervious. Three: Gain entry to docking bay. Use whatever means necessary to move about inside IMPERVIOUS. Nonhuman team members should take caution- Tel and Woonwooken will have to use some disguises, hide, or use the old ‘captive alien’ trick. This is up to you.”
Woonwooken sat bolt upright and barked something excitedly to Lexo. “I dunno, Woonie… d’you think that might work?” She snuffled confidently. “Okay,” Lexo shrugged, standing up and pulling out a small vibro-razor unit. “Hold still.”
“What are you doing?” Wellion asked.
“Woonie thinks that she might be able to pull off a disguise if she’s got no hair on her head.”
The Colonel’s jaw dropped open and he stared in horror with the rest of the crew as Lexo Yust shaved his wookiee. When he stepped away, the ridiculous sight of a furless wookiee head grinning back at them was not quite funny enough to laugh at, and not quite scary enough to scream at. It was, however, profoundly disturbing.
“That’s disgusting,” Avara observed.
Onjo swallowed and said “A shaven wookiee is a terrible thing.”
Lexo sighed. “I guess it didn’t work, Woonie. You don’t look human enough.” Woonwooken warbled a disappointed noise, and began applying little bits of bacta tape to the many cuts on her face.
“Uh. Anyway,” Wellion coughed. “You’ll have to find some other way to remain unnoticed. Objective Four: Team A will proceed to Hyperdrive Control and Ion Cannon Targeting Control. Permanently disable these systems by whatever means necessary. Five: Team B, including Tech Specialist Tel, proceed to Main Weapons Canyon and permanently disable turbolasers. Then proceed to Main Drive Systems Room and permanently disable sub-light drive. As mentioned, this is a sensitive device, so use caution.”
“I’ve got faith in Avara,” Dent said.
“Objective Six: Rendezvous and escape Impervious. Return to base. Questions?”
“I’ve got a few,” Lexo said. “Why don’t we cut off life support, instead? We hang around and wait until the last Imperial dies, and good riddance- we then collect a free Star Destroyer, which I’m sure the Rebellion could have ample use for.”
Wellion nodded. “Not a bad idea, Yust, and yes we’d love to have such a tool at our disposal… the problem is that we only have so long before assistance would come. They have ample provisions, such as oxygen and water, and they’d be rescued within a day at any rate.”
“Well then, why not simply blow it up from within? We could escape before a bomb sequence went off, and that’d be the end of the Impervious.”
“That would serve us greatly, except that the Impervious is directly positioned over Ambria. Detonating the craft would rain white-hot debris on the Ambrians and quite possibly wipe out whole settlements. It’s too risky.”
“Are you giving us any tools?”
The Colonel nodded. “The Lambda ship has a few spare human-fitted uniforms on board. Quee and Yust could walk in as Imperial officers. Beyond that, you’re each receiving an encoded Imperial-standard comlink, to keep in touch with each other.”
Onjo asked “What will happen to the ship once it’s disabled?”
“We’ll have a large squadron heading in as you work. Provided you’re successful, the squadron will only have to wipe out the remaining external fighters, then claim a defenseless Star Destroyer and arrest everyone on board, towing it safely away from any incoming Imperial aid. It will be a great victory for the Alliance.”
“Sounds good,” Avara said. “I’m ready.”
Within an hour, Dent and the other Rebels were on their way home, and the Imperial Lambda craft was cutting through hyperspace. Lexo was trying on the Imperial uniform and finding it fit quite comfortably. “That’s quite an astrogate path you’ve plotted there,” he admired. “It should cut our travel time by a few hours.”
Avara looked up from the controls. “I’ve… got some piloting experience.”
“So I see. Hey, I’m sorry if Woonwooken unnerved you by offering to pilot the ship so feverishly. She’s now in the lounge, beating Onjo at Sabacc. I’m Lexo Yust, by the way. We haven’t really been introduced.”
The twi’lek went back to her controls. “Yeah. So, you guys get off-base a lot, huh?”
He shrugged. “I suppose. We’re hardly ever there.”
“Good, that’s good. I don’t really get along with the higher-ups, if you take my meaning.”
“Me neither. In fact, Woonie and I are in a bad spot with Mon Mothma. She’s a bit unhappy about… some goings-on from our past, so we’re hoping this mission will give us a chance to get back on her good side.”
Avara mumbled under her breath. “That ice queen HAS a good side?” A red light began flashing, and she thumbed it off. “We’re coming out of hyperspace. Might want to go tell the others to be ready.”
"All right," he replied. He was just about to go when they came out of hyperspace and suddenly they were slowly cruising toward a Star Destroyer, vast and gray above Ambria. Tel’s breath caught in her throat from the sight. Around it swarmed dozens of TIE fighters, like angry hornets protecting a vulnerable nest. Four Rebels against a Star Destroyer. Avara began to wonder if she hadn’t gotten in over her head again.
The transceiver button flashed. “Here we go,” she said, reaching for it.
MORE TO COME...
Neverwinter Knight
First Post
Dr Midnight said:
Doc, please, if you draw another picture at all for this story hour, please draw the shaven wookiee !!!
I have high expectations for the PCs to come up with other brilliant ideas (such as shaving the wookiee) for disabling the star destroyer.
Also, this might become a new favorite saying, like "OK, I guess we'll have to shave the wookiee..." or "You know, sometimes you shave the wookiee and sometimes the wookiee shaves you." or something like that.
Thanks Doc, great update.
Dr Midnight
Explorer
hah... I did draw the shaven wookiee at the game table, but it got too silly when we parted her (top) hair down the middle, added a derby and a monocle. Wayyyy silly... but that's playing with Fluffaderm for ya. Sometimes I feel like it's too much silliness, but hey, I feel that way about the movies too ("This is such a drag", Jar Jar's "Pee-yoosa" moment), so maybe it's just my problem.Neverwinter Knight said:
Fenzer- I wasn't aware of an old WEG module involving penetrating a Star Destroyer. Oops. I hope there aren't too many similarities. Somehow, I don't think there will be, once the action starts... and the action starts SOON... and once it starts, hold on.
PLUS, here's a teaser. DARTAN is playing Onjo Quee, as Zybor's original player didn't return. What does that tell us? Hmmm...
Neverwinter Knight
First Post
Dr Midnight said:
Striking down old ladies with his dual-bladed lightsaber in the name of the light side of the force and then complaining about the darkside points it get's him ???
