STAR WARS: DAWN OF DEFIANCE
Episode I
THE TRAITOR'S GAMBIT
It is a dark time in the galaxy. The evil Galactic Empire has spread from The Deep Core to The Outer Rim, and everywhere the Empire's tyranny can be felt.
Fleeing from the oppression of the Emperor's minions, agents of Senator Bail Organa have run to a remote space station above Brentaal. Known to be a vocal opponent of the Empire, Organa may be the last hope of freedom in the galaxy.
In the hopes of stopping these dissidents before they can reach the Senator, the Empire has alerted its forces on Sel Zonn Station, where the struggle for liberty rages on, and the first sparks of rebellion have begun to burn...
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Seemingly motionless among a sea of Starships and satellites above the twinkling world of Brentaal, Sel Zonn Station grows larger in your view every second. A central pylon forms the bulk of the station's mass, and three landing platforms leading to docking bays extend from the central section, equidistant from one another and jutting out into space. The dorsal side of the station features a disc-shaped secondary structure, on top of which blinking lights indicate the presence of a landing platform reserved for wealthy patrons.
As you disembarked from the ship that brought you here, a Brentaal customs agent backed up by Brentaal security officers, verified everyone's identity with a bored look on his face. After clearing you, he gave you an admonition not to cause any trouble, before moving onto the next person in line.
After briefly exploring the station, you find yourselves in what seems to be the most popular thoroughfare, known as the Promenade. You've heard that there's also a "Blue Deck" that's rather popular, but that's for the well-to-do and well-connected - not really your type of scene. Here on the Promenade, you notice an assortment of shops, a cantina called Gundark's, a casino with the name The Credit Chip, a medical store called Delgas Medical Supplies, and a droid repair and accessories shop, Mechanical Allies, that looks to be run by the somewhat unsavory looking Twi'lek behind the counter. There are also large, open seating areas with plants, fountains, and other decorations.
The Promenade is filled with the bustle of revelry and commerce. Spilling out of the gambling halls are the sounds of victory and the moans of defeat, while the music of local bands issues from the cantinas. Only a handful of citizens mill about in the main areas of the Promenade, a few gazing out the massive windows at the planet Brentaal hovering below. Businesspeople hawk their wares to the passersby, and a few Imperial Stormtroopers make their way down the main avenue of the Promenade on their usual patrol at a leisurely pace.
Jaath stood near one of the bay windows, looking down on Brentaal, well aware that it marked him as a tourist of some sort, but not caring. His secret hope was that it might also help him appear rather inexperienced, and that this demeanor might earn him a spot at a big action table at the casino...where he might be considered an easy play for a sucker bet.
Not that he was that good of a gambler...yet. But every little bit of advantage helped.
He was about to leave the planetary view when he noticed the four men. All travelers like himself, but trying way too hard to appear like casual travelers. But they were giving themselves away with their whispers and intensity much like newer members of Telzha Rith's crew had back on Kuat. They'd get over anxious when the group was planning a raid or simple vandalism...though that was usually as cover for a raid.
Arching an eyebrow, the dark haired scoundrel leaned his back into the window frame, and put one boot up on the sill, casual and relaxed...but alert, watching the four figures.
"Uv Jareni" steps off of the shuttle and does a thorough scan of the station. The stormtroopers give him pause and he does his best to inconspicuously steer clear of them far ahead of any route they appear to be taking.
As the four men loiter about, "Uv" does not pay them much mind, he instead finds a bite to eat and sits down somewhere that he can see the crowds milling about. What am I doing here? Hoping to get a glimpse of a Jedi I once knew? There must be a more systematic way of doing this. Contacting Senator Organa directly may be a disaster, certainly his sentiments appear to be against the Empire but then the clones appeared to be allied with the Jedi before the end of the war. Patience...
The Jedi eats and observes.
As the battered bulk of the Horizon Glory approaches Sel Zonn, Rilri pays it little mind, instead focusing on the various pre-landing tasks he must complete to ensure his medical equipment is not damaged in the transition from ship's gravity to station's gravity. Seems a decent enough destination - little different from many in the Outer Rim. As he exits the ship, he grabs his first-aid kit and his stun baton. After a moment's thought, he decides not to take his father's antique blaster rifle, unsure of the station's regulations regarding such objects.
Exiting the ship and interacting with the bored customs official, the Rodian finds his way down to the Promenade, where the sign labeled "Delgas Medical Supplies" catches his eye. Surely they have some surgical equipment. As he makes his way towards the shop, he notices the four humans loitering around the Promenade. His military training kicking in, his hand strays to his stun baton as he slows his pace, and he keeps the strangers in his line of sight as he moves towards the shop - the four men have some other business in the crowded area, one possibly at odds with the station security.
Zixto lingers by the transparisteel viewports, watching Brentaal turning below, and ships coming and going. Something about the dance of starships moving to and fro has always entranced him. Probably the beauty of the mathematical precision of it, and trying to derive their paths trigonometrically. he thinks, always aware and not aware of the cybernetic components in his brain, and how his computational abilities, his ability to recall information, race ahead of his organic thoughts. Then again, maybe I'm just hoping to see a crash. he smiles at that. Yaka are not known for their bright and sunny humor. He turns away, glancing between the other travelers on Sel Zonn station. Four men, identically dressed. I wonder if we think they can't see those hold-outs. He shifts toward them, trying to be as inconspicuous about it as possible for a 2.2 meter tall being.
Ace disembarks from the cargo compartment, not the passenger dock. He tells the cargo handlers that he must go to his master. Given that his passage was fully paid, this opens up room for the loading. He then rolls on, trying to look like he has some place to go. He notices a few people that stand out from the crowd but not much more than them. He has bee travelling under his blue and silver paneling.
As he moves past, he sees an umbaran that he recognizes, eating alone at a table. A table a little off from others. He rolls up, and sets his vocabulator volume at a low setting. "Gotal of Umbara. My master met you a while back. On Coruscant. I..." He seamless switches to binary as a lift opens with three stormtroopers about 100 meters off. "The primary power circuit needs a plasma flush for maximum efficiency."
Gotal blinks and is momentarily shocked that he is recognized, but quickly recovers. Perhaps this mad gambit has actually paid off.
The Umbaran to notices the stormtroopers and keeps his voice low.
"Your Master? Is he here? Ah... what is your call signal little one?"
As the stormtrooper turn their attention elsewhere, he responds quietly. "My master is no longer. My designation is R2-AC. I was transferred to this new Empire, but I chose not to cooperate."
Gotal's elation is subdued upon hearing the news of his Master's death.
"R2, besides myself, have you seen any other members of my Order recently?
Who... was... your Master?"
A pause. Gotal considers the droid before him, alone and with its memory intact and brings his voice to its normal volume contemplating that it may seem odd for him to be whispering to a droid.
"If you are no longer designated to the service of the Empire, to who do you belong R2?"
Trying to appear as bland as one can be with a blaster rifle in his suitcase, Hasdrubal walks by through the station all the way up to Gundark's. "That's where I was told he'll be" he justifies to himself thinking about the man who's got the info he wants. Of course, a jar or two of Corellian whisky is a good goal too.
On his way, he notices for strange guys who look quite suspicion. "They seem some kind of agitators. Ah, I wish people like them found a way to organise and present a good opposition to the imps."
He stops a bit, with the excuse of adjusting his backpack, as he's curious about the situation. "If I was able to notice, I'm sure imp spies will be able too."
"Tarlson Somberlas. You are the first I've seen who escaped. I do miss him. " There is a pause uncharacteristic of a droid. "Technically, I'm owned by the Acerak Trading Company. Which I am also the sole investor in."
Gotal smiles at R2, "Clever, an independent droid then. Do you wish to be called R2 or is there another designation you prefer?"
Gotal then lowers his voice, "I do not believe I am familiar with your Master, but I am truly sorry for your loss. Perhaps I am the last of the Order..."
"Far too many droids use Artoo. Call me Ace." he says. "I hope that we find others. Otherwise its going to take a long time to deal with this Empire. "
Gotal raises his eyebrows in surprise, "Have you contacts with any groups that oppose this Galactic Empire?"
Moments pass on the Promenade as Gotal reacquaints himself with a droid once owned by a fellow Jedi, and everyone else carefully observes four men, watching to see if they'll bring any kind of trouble - good or bad - to the deck. Just then, a woman with short black hair and the greasy uniform of a mechanic comes stumbling onto the Promenade, clutching her midsection as though injured. She struggles to make her way across the floor towards Gotal and Ace, though clearly she is having difficulty walking.
"Please, help me," she calls out to you. "There are credits in it for you, just help me!"
Mere seconds later, two Stormtroopers burst into the area from the south end of the Promenade. They raise their blasters, aiming them at the woman, and shout through their helmet speakers, "Step away from that woman. She is under arrest in the name of the Emperor!"
Initiative Order
-------------------------
Rilri
Hasdrubal
Zixto
Stormtroopers
????
Jaath
Gotal
Ace
Woman
Rilri, Hasdrubal, and Zixto may take actions for Round 1.
Sweat beads on Rilri's forehead as he takes in the scene. This is bad - this situation is about two seconds from descending into open combat, and I'm in the open armed with only a stun baton. Still, someone needs help, so I may as well make the best of a bad circumstance - who knows? Perhaps this can be resolved peacefully, though I doubt it.
The Rodian strides towards the troopers, surreptitiously slipping his stun baton from its sheath. "Hold on - Imperial citizens still have rights. Who is this human and what has she been charged with?" He glares at the two stormtroopers. "Takes two of the Empire's finest to subdue one unarmed woman, does it?"
Zixto looks back and forth between the stormtroopers, the woman, and the rodian, then moves sideways to them, not approaching, but staying close enough to charge in if things get violent. If he can keep them talking for a minute, I can get close enough to use my saber.
"Damn!"
Hasdrubal slighly adjusts his position so as to be closer to the imps from a dead angle. Not having his rifle ready is a bummer, but surely there's something he can do. gripping the case with his weapon tight, he still waits to see how a Rodian tries to talk away the soldiers...
One of the troopers turns his blaster towards Rilri and says, "This was none of your business, alien, until you got involved. Now drop that stun baton and put your hands up. You're coming with us."
The other trooper steps forward and fires a stun bolt at the woman. It hits her in the back and she collapses to the ground.
The four men dressed similarly all pull out hold-out blasters and point them at Rilri. One of them calls out, "You heard the trooper, you alien scum. Drop your weapon and put your hands up."
The others call out things like, "Do it now, criminal!" and "This is what you get for sticking your long nose in things that don't concern you!"
Initiative Order
-------------------------
Rilri
Hasdrubal
Zixto
Stormtroopers
????
Jaath
Gotal
Ace
Woman (unconscious)
EVERYONE is up for either Round 1 or Round 2. I will resolve your actions in the correct order. If you are concerned your target will not be alive/conscious when I resolve your actions, please include a secondary target, or else I will choose one.
Gotal grimaces at the spectacle unfolding before him. Never before had he ever used the power of the force in an offensive manner, except in training.
The Jedi Order is wiped away, all that appears to be left are himself and a droid of a former Jedi, if he does not take a stand now, when will he?
Gotal closes his eyes and reaches into himself to draw upon the Force... vs. Stormtroopers.
Force Slam -
Special - When using this power, can spend Force point to deal additional 2d6 damage to Target's in area.
Can I make a roll to conceal that Gotal is the one utilizing the power?
Damage
Seeing the odds arrayed against this young woman and rodian, Jaath more or less maintains his position near the viewport, though he takes a few steps away from the wall, watching...and lets one hand slowly drop down to his blaster.
Alright. So things are not the way he thought they were. Typical.
But someone should make a stand.
Hasdrubal turns around, using his body to conceal what he's doing, and opens the suitcase. He takes the rifle and inserts the magazine, setting it to stun mode.
Well it seemed that things were happening and violence was occurring. What's more, he was now associated with a rogue force user. He calculated the odds. They weren't good, but it seemed that joining in was slightly better.
Rotating around, one of his panels pops open, revealing the barrel of a astun pistol.
If the trooper goes down, he darts past the other trooper to take cover in the doorway, readying for if and when the other stormtrooper comes after him.
As chaos breaks out, Zixto mentally shrugs. Now or never. What's the worst that could happen? Slipping his (well, Silvus's) lightsaber from its hiding place, he dashes forward, igniting the electric blue blade with a snap-hiss as he goes. As he reaches the nearest stormtrooper, he brings the blade down in an overhand strike, hoping to cleave his helmet in twain.
Jaath surveys the scene, trying to figure out how it will play out as his hand rests on the grip of his blaster.
Gotal grimaces at the scene and weighs his odds. This situation is dark, and the Jedi Order is gone. He decides that he has to take a stand, and it might as well be now. Gathering the Force, he moves to ensure he won't accidentally strike the Rodian with the Force and hurls it towards the two stormtroopers. The wave of Force slams into both stormtroopers hard, causing both to crumple to the ground immediately and lie there, unmoving.
Ace was calculating their odds of survival, noting they weren't good, when suddenly the two stormtroopers crumpled as though hit by a speeder truck. Deciding those made better odds, a hatch opened on the astromech to reveal a stun pistol, firing at one of the informants, who staggers as the stun blast washes over him.
The woman remains unconscious.
With both stormtroopers down, Rilri grabs one of their blaster rifles and takes cover in the doorway from the informants. As he does, he reminisces about how secret police make this Empire very different from the Republic and how at least the Separatists would shoot you in the face.
Hasdrubal sets about getting his rifle out of his case and getting ready to use it.
Zixto decides it's now or never. Charging one of the informants, who are still shocked by the wave of Force that just caused the two troopers to fall, he ignites the lightsaber and brings it down in an overhand strike, cutting the informant in two.
Not quite smart enough to realize that they're heavily outgunned and outnumbered - or perhaps just thinking that there are more Stormtroopers on the way - the remaining informants fire their blasters at the uppity insurgents. They clearly aren't well-coordinated, though.
The first one returns fire at the droid that shot at him as he takes cover from the droid behind some boxes. The bolt barely grazes the astromech's leg, leaving some carbon scoring.
Another of the informants yells, "Jedi!" and takes cover firing at the lightsaber-wielder. The other points at Gotal and says, "That one's a Jedi, too!" as he fires at him, also moving to cover. The one firing at Zixto is clearly panicked as he sprays blaster bolts everywhere but at his target. The other informant is much more accurate as he lines up a shot and hit's the other Jedi's arm.
Initiative Order
-------------------------
Rilri
Hasdrubal
Zixto
Stormtroopers
????
Jaath
Gotal
Ace
Woman (unconscious)
EVERYONE is up for either Round 2 or Round 3.
1 = Rilri, 2= Zixto, 3 = Ace, 4 = Gotal
With the reveal of the second Jedi and the dispatch of three foes, Rilri feels far more confident in his position. "For the Republic that was! For the Jedi!" He takes careful aim, lining up his shot with the looted blaster rifle, then fires off a shot at the Imperial loyalist hiding behind the stack of crates.
"I bet you folks are just dying to see what lightsabers can do." Zicto says as he steps over the bisected remains of the first informant, headed for the others.
In case their aim improves:
Hasdrubal slowly moves towards the unconscious woman and checks her condition while keeping the rifle ready.
As his rage subsides, the Jedi feels a pit in his stomach at what he has just done, I... I lost control.
He pushes that feeling aside quite quickly as a blaster bolt strikes him in the arm.
He is perhaps even more shocked to see someone ignite and utilize a lightsaber!
Gotal reaches into the force once more, this time to disarm the assailant that fired at him.
Force Disarm - Use the Force -
If only the bad guys all had distinctive armor. And properly ignored droids. He'll move to cover and shoot the one who attacked him.
Suddenly a flurry of blasterfire is triggered, and Jaath half-crouches/half-freezes in place in shock. People going flying off against walls, possibly of their own volition, and then...the stunning, exhilarating sound of a lightsaber blade igniting.
"Jedi? Here??" All at once, things are clear to the young pilot, and then he takes note of the informants hiding just a few meters away. Finally drawing his blaster, Jaath takes two steps around the console the spies are using for cover, drops to one knee, and fires!
The scoundrel curses loudly, rolling his eyes as the shot goes wide.
Jaath is stunned by the revelation that Jedi are here, but he's so excited about it he leaps into the fray, going after an informant who's practically right there, a perfect point blank shot - that leaves the gun way too early and pings into the floor. He feels rather embarrassed by that, however.
Gotal feels a deep feeling of sorrow at his aggressiveness with the Force, before he was snapped out of his reverie by a blaster bolt in the arm. Again reaching out with the Force, this time he targets only the blaster, attempting to pull it out of the informant's hand. Unfortunately, he isn't quite able to wrench it free.
Ace finds himself quite annoyed at being shot at, wishing they all wore distinctive armor so they could easily tell who was who. Moving into cover, the little droid fired another stun blast at the informant. The stun blast hit the informant, who collapsed under it.
Rilri calls out a battle cry, "For the Republic that was! For the Jedi!" Ace takes out the informant he was going to aim at, so he instead turns his attention to the remaining two. Taking a step to the side, he fires at one of them, hitting the mark and felling the informant.
Hasdrubal moves to check the woman. She's definitely injured - badly enough she needs more than a medpac to get back up on her feet - but otherwise she's just stunned and unconscious, so she'll at least live.
Zixto runs towards the remaining informant, lightsaber ignited.
The remaining informant, considering his options, turns and starts running away down the Promenade - one against 5 (or 6) aren't good odds for anyone.
Initiative Order
-------------------------
Rilri
Hasdrubal
Zixto
Informant
Jaath
Gotal
Ace
Woman (unconscious)
Gotal draws his blaster and fires at the fleeing man - Sporting Blaster - Damage - missing wildly.
With the last guy thinking away and about 5 other guys after him, Hasdrubal decides the woman should receive some help - even if she's under no real danger right now, leaving her unconscious in the middle of the street can be cruel enough to be a no way idea.
However, she seems to be off range of Hasdrubal's capabilities for making her stand up again, so he hangs the rifle from his shoulders and lifts the woman's body, turning his head around and addressing the mob.
"Hospital! Quick!"
"I expect that they will scour the hospitals once they get word of what happened here. It would be better to find something less public."
He's considering fleeing. The odds would suggest that would be the best for him personally. But perhaps this group might do some good with the proper assistance. It's intriguing enough to keep with them for a while.
As the last man flees, Zixto doues his saber and pulls his sporting blaster rifle, squeezing off a shot at the last man.
Rilri rushes to the unconscious woman at the unknown human's call for aid, helping to carry her off the Promenade. The Rodian nods his head towards the medical center he had been bound for before the firefight. "Delgas Medical Supplies is right there, friend, but this R2 unit is right - it would be safer elsewhere. My own medical experience is limited, but I'll do what I can to aid her."
He looks at the stunned Imperial informant, his face suggesting inner conflict between hatred for the tyrannical regime's supporter and pity at a helpless person in need of aid. After a moment, however, pity seems to win out, and he sighs. "We should bring him, too - make sure his condition is stable. Enemy or no, if he's injured, he needs help."
"He can use the medical facilities. Did you bring restraints and a way to keep him quiet?" he says, already questioning his decision.
Gotal fired a parting shot at the fleeing informant, but it was plain he was unaccustomed to using a blaster as he fired wildly off-target.
Ace scans the area and finds an information terminal he can plug into.
Rilri joins Hasdrubal with the unconscious woman as he looks for a place to move her to. He spies a maintenance hatch nearby they could possibly hide out in.
Zixto fires his own parting shot, only to wildly miss the target, as well. He, too, appears highly inexperienced with a blaster.
Jaath holsters his weapon, content to let the last informant flee.
This part of the Promenande is otherwise empty and silent, everyone else having vacated the area. You also know that there are likely reinforcements on the way, so lingering too long here would be unwise.
Gotal grimaces as one of the informants gets away. Not that there weren't a ton of witnesses to see what happened.
He turns to Zixto and nods then to Rilri, "I agree with Ace, while both require assistance, seeking it at the Medical Supplies store is the equivalent of marching ourselves to the detention center.
Ace, is there any information on the network as to who this woman is, if we can find that our perhaps we can find someone she knows who can help us help her?"
Ace will plug in and try to access the station newsfeed to see if there is any information about wanted fugitives.
Rilri turns to look at Gotal as the Umbaran speaks. He seems to consider the Force-wielder for an instant. After a moment, however, he points towards the maintenance hatch he spotted (though he is careful not to drop the unconscious woman). "Most wise, Master Jedi. There seems to be a maintenance hatch of some sort there. We can use that to escape when - Ace, you called him? - finishes his work."
He bows his head in greeting, though his features bear a degree of concern. "I am Rilri, of Clan Tonena. Are you injured? It looked like you were grazed in the firefight."
Gotal smiles in response to Rilri, "Gotal of Umbara. A pleasure to meet you and my thanks. If you had not done what you had done I may have still sat idly by.
Indeed, I was injured, but let us focus on those who are in worse shape".
Zixto moves over toward the droid, wishing he could access the computer himself. It had always been an annoyance, that his electronic brain could not directly interface with computers. Something to remember if I ever get brutally maimed and have the excuse to take additional cyborg enhancements. Turning to Ace, he speaks in slow but accurate Binary.
"Found anything? Forgive my speech impediment, by the way. This mouth only moves so fast."
Ace plugs into the information terminal. While the terminal itself doesn't resist the connection, it only has information about the layout of the Promenade and the shops there. For any information about prospective fugitives, the astromech will need to access the central station computer.
Ace pulls away from the terminal, "Even before I had a vocoder, I understood basic. The system is suspiciously high security We should go."
Gotal nods, "Through the hatch then, let's figure it out as we go".