Players:
Caleb: Vrang 'Ogaesho' Circo, Chiss (Age 30). Bounty Hunter (Assassin)
Chris: Pranac "Prawn" Anakhis, Quarren (Age 11). Guardian (Soresu Defender & Shien Expert)
David: Altair Badar, Mirialan (Age 18). Mystic (Seer & Ataru Striker)
James: B2-F3 "Beefy," Super Battle Droid (Age 3). Hired Gun (Bodyguard)
Lucas with a C: Astalos "Dragonbane," Clawdite (Age 17). Consular (Arbiter & Makashi Duelist)
Lukas with a K: Seyo Nemis, Human (Age 30). Warrior (Aggressor & Colossus)
Shane: Literally Everyone Else In The World (Ages 0-100,000), including Darth Frick'n Nihilus (Age 4000) and The Will of The Force (Ageless). GM (Lord of Time, Space, and Reality)
[Note: Whenever players are talking, their words will be in Bold to distinguish it from the story proper.]
Session 7
A mix of dread, loss, failure, and fear wash over the Party. An entire planet has been purged of life. Not all have the context to grasp how this was possible, but the evidence is clear.
Beefy ensures the Wanderer's sensors have clear footage of the catastrophe. The Clone Wars resulted in multiple genocides, but that required large-scale military action. If a single entity can bring such total ruin in such a short time, galactic civilization may be at risk.
Altair doesn't know what to make of this disaster. His knowledge of the Force included nothing about beings of such destructive power. He'd started to feel that Seyo's impressive telekinesis represented the approximate limit of what can be achieved. He highly doubts the being from the temple qualifies as mortal. How could they stop such a calamity?
Astalos has trouble even engaging with a tragedy of this scale. Though trained as an Arbiter, he didn't have enough time before Order 66 to fully embrace and embody the calling. He tends to interact with strangers with the goal of getting something from them, rarely pondering the value of their private lives. But millions have just died, and it was the Party that unwittingly made it possible.
Vrang Circo ensures that Jeseera is adequately restrained. She's currently unconscious, but he won't underestimate her. The million credit bounty matters more than ever. His prospects for wealth will be somewhat reduced if the galaxy falls into total ruin, and they need way more firepower if they're gonna have any role in preventing that.
Seyo is silent and deeply disturbed. Though he never reached the rank of master, he knows more than most knights the terrible threat Darth Nihilus once posed. A living wound in the Force, an insatiable hunger for the life force of others, he barely even qualified as a Sith. He was more a cataclysm, the destructive potential of the Dark Side unleashed… And now he "lives" again. Seyo misses Byln more than ever. A two hundred year old sage Master would have given them hope. Now… they'll have to settle for Seyo.
Little Pranac is essentially catatonic. At the rear viewport, he's fallen to his knees. He doesn't weep or rage. His deepest drive is to stand between danger and target… but he just saw a whole world die. Though very remote, it still housed millions of sentient beings, and absolutely teamed with wildlife. Rancors may now be an endangered species, and many tribal cultures are no more.
Once the Wanderer has jumped to hyperspace, Beefy checks in on the boy. Nothing in his programming is well-suited to addressing an organic being's loss or trauma, but he still makes an effort. "Your emotions will mend."
"I… I don't know if I want them to. Not yet."
"Your compassion is a strength," Seyo says, kneeling down at his padawan's side. "As was the case with most Jedi, you have made it the core of your courage. But do not let it break you. You'll be needed even more going forward."
Prawn nods.
Altair makes an attempt too. "Don't blame yourself. Not even a little. We didn't cause this. We went to Dathomir to end the very real threat Jeseera posed. No one could have predicted anything like what happened instead."
Though he hesitates, Prawn eventually agrees. A disaster of this scale… it's too big for him to blame himself. Something so extreme, he can't realistically view the Party as culpable. It would be foolish and unfair to blame all the murdered Jedi for Palpatine's victory, and it would be foolish and unfair to blame himself for the actions of Nihilus.
But he is still overwhelmed by the cost of their defeat.
And he will do anything to stop this nightmare from gradually swallowing up the whole galaxy. Even if it takes the rest of his life.
However long, or how short, that may be.
Chris: It was nice of you guys to try to cheer Prawn up, but realistically there's a limit to how much good words can do in the short term. A little Guardian who wants to prevent civilian deaths is NOT gonna shrug off the death of a planet.
Caleb: Meh, the Nightsisters need to be extinct anyway.
Chris: Very true… but most of the people on Dathomir aren't affiliated with those creepy freaks.
James: Plus, rancors are endangered now.
Lucas with a C: Isn't that a good thing? In our special practice sessions, rancors were absolute beasts.
Shane: Not all rancors are actually monstrous.
Chris: They're kinda like pit bulls. If they're abused or deliberately trained to fight, they are absolutely kill-beasts. But when left on their own, they're often pretty chill.
David: I get that Prawn would be sad, but what should the Party be doing next? There's no way we're ready to fight someone like Nihilus.
James: Beefy took a recording of the planet's death. If we head back to the Space Waffle House, he can broadcast that to every news network in the galaxy.
Chris: And especially make sure the Empire gets it. They may be the bad guys, but their navy's the best chance of containing Nihilus or evacuating planets.
Caleb: Plus, we need to be WAY more powerful and better armed if we're gonna do anything other than run and hide.
Lukas with a K: Getting Guardians of the Galaxy vibes.
Chris: Oh! Right. When Rocket said if they ran to the edge of the universe, maybe they'd live full lives before Ronan killed them with an Infinity Stone.
Shane: I assume Prawn and Seyo would totally NOT be ok with hiding from this problem?
Chris: Correct.
Lukas with a K: Well…
Chris: Think it through, Master Seyo. Your character would NOT be ok with running away while a Dark Side Force Entity slowly ate all life in the galaxy.
Lukas with a K: Dang it.
Caleb: Nihilus is more than a Force Entity. He's a wound in the Force, from that time when the Mass Shadow Generator wiped out all life on Malachor.
Chris: Seriously Lukas, our two characters can't possibly have an excuse for hiding from this problem.
Lukas with a K: Groan… We're dead, aren't we?
Lucas with a C: SO dead.
Shane: You better not be giving up.
Caleb: Nope. We have Jeseera, and her bounty's worth a million credits. Let's turn her in at the Waffle House, and use that cash to gear up big time.
Chris: I concur.
James: You really think the Waffle House will have a Guild representative with that much cash on hand?
Caleb: Can I flip a Destiny token to say there is?
Chris: Actually, that's the sort of thing a Destiny token should work on. Especially since we already know this spaceport has top of the line training and educational facilities.
Shane: You've made a good case. I'll allow it.
The Tireless Wanderer drops out of hyperspace near the Affle How's spaceport–
Chris: I think I should retcon how I spelled the Star Wars-y version of Waffle House. Maybe "Offehl'houz" would be more appropriate?
David: I… don't care.
Caleb: Hey, I care. His novelization is pretty good.
Chris: I'm still excessively honored that you use the term "novelization." But now that I think of it, by the time I write and post this session, the total word count will probably have reached novel length. So I guess it's getting more appropriate all the time.
David: How long are most novels?
Chris: 70,000-120,000 words.
David: Whoa.
Chris: I'm up for it though. My "Watchers" story is over 130,000 words. And with this campaign, most of the story and events come from you guys, not me. You make my job easy.
Shane: Well, let's keep the material coming.
The Tireless Wanderer drops out of hyperspace near the Offehl'houz spaceport, and the port authority stamps their punch card. Another 3 visits and they'll get a discounted docking fee. Unlike their previous visit, where they deliberately spent a week off the grid to avoid drawing attention, they're in an urgent hurry. In fact, for as long as Nihilus lives, they'll never feel right resting in one place.
Accompanied by Altair, Beefy immediately splits away from the others, bringing their ship's recordings to the communications center. Nothing is more vital than warning the entire Galaxy of what has transpired. The Empire, every major holonews outlet, and all significant third parties would soon be spreading the word.
The others seek out the Bounty Hunters' Guild. They need to collect the tremendous payment for capturing Jeseera, then find a source of wondrously destructive equipment. The bounty hunter Vrang–
Chris: Oh, Caleb, I've been meaning to ask: How is that pronounced? Does it rhyme with "sang" or "song"?
Caleb: Uh…
Lucas with a C: [smirks]
Caleb: Just use his nickname?
Chris: Cool. And… how is THAT pronounced?
Lucas with a C: [smirk deepens]
Caleb: It's pronounced "oh GESH oh."
Chris: Got it.
The bounty hunter Ogaesho takes charge, leading the party through the sprawling Offehl'houz to the local hub of the Bounty Hunter's Guild. They have Jeseera bound, but not gagged, as she seems defeated and hopeless from her ordeal on Dathomir. It's becoming more clear that she expected Nihilus to be some sort of savior, and his attempt to consume her life shattered her plans.
Any doubt that the Empire is secretly funding this bounty quickly evaporates. When the Guild confirms Jeseera's identity, they don't so much as bat an eye when handing over the million credits.
Chris: We could never afford to crew it, but that's almost enough money to buy a CR-90 corvette.
Caleb: I get a bigger cut, since I'm the bounty hunter, but 600K can go to the rest of you.
James: 120K a piece? That's not bad.
Caleb: I thought you'd argue and call me greedy.
James: In this case, you're in character AND you have a point. I don't argue with you just because it's YOU.
Caleb: Good to know.
As the guards haul Jeseera away, she finally wakes up to her surroundings. Desperate, she cries out, "You'll need me!"
Shane: The doors slide shut.
Everyone: [silence]
Shane: What do you do?
Caleb: We leave.
Shane: Wait… really?
David: Yeah, actually.
Lukas with a K: She's a psycho. She'll say anything to get us to help her.
Chris: Don't misunderstand, Shane. We know that was a narrative hook, and some of our characters would probably consider what she said. But I think all of them would decide to let things stand. She's an evil maniac who unleashed an existential threat. The few of us that might wonder if she's willing to help are also the characters who would refuse to back out of a deal.
David: Yeah… we're not taking a million credits and then betraying these people to rescue Jeseera. Gearing up with all this money is a better option than hoping the crazy lady will be useful AND trustworthy.
Chris: And, not to metagame TOO hard, but if she really is important going forward, it would be easy and believable for you to have her escape at some future date.
Shane: Sigh.
Lucas with a C: Wait… we didn't give them her lightsaber, did we?
Caleb: Oh… of course we wouldn't. That's not how they'd prove her identity.
Lucas with a C: So… we have two more kyber crystals now?
Chris: Awesome! Yes, we totally should! And… I know this is 2 sessions after the fact, but can we flip a Destiny token to say that Byln didn't just hand over Val Isa's holocron, but also his lightsaber?
Shane: You mean, back before he blew himself up to stop the giant satellite dish from hitting the Party?
Caleb: It makes sense, actually. If Byln's premonition was strong enough to hand off an artifact to a child, he might have handed over his lightsaber too.
David: What if the kid accidentally maimed himself?
Chris: Byln might have locked the activation switch.
Lukas with a K: That's a thing?
Chris: Lots of lightsabers can be locked on or off. It's a function for Jedi that fear a stronger opponent might breach their Force shield and toggle the switch on their lightsaber.
Shane: So, when Beefy bought the holocron back from the toydarian kid, that included Byln's lightsaber? He wouldn't have had to pay way more?
James: The child might have thought the lightsaber pike was just a walking stick.
Shane: Overall, this makes enough sense to allow.
Lukas with a K: Sweet. Three more kyber crystals!
Chris: Prawn would like to use Byln's green crystal to power his lightfoil. This isn't meant to be greedy. If he powers both of his weapons, his ranged defense AND melee defense will be 2. And the better his defense, the more hits he can take for you guys. And that's more important than ever, because he FINALLY unlocked a skill for holding aggro.
James: Fair.
Lucas with a C: Can I use one of Jeseera's red crystals in my lightsaber pike? It's so different from my lightwhip, it'd be really useful for me to have both options.
Chris: I vote yes. His lightwhip can attack at range, bypass Parry, and allow non-lethal moves, while the pike does way more damage against high Soak targets.
Shane: So who gets the other red crystal?
James: Lukas and Altair are the only ones with second lightsabers. Though I guess if we just took the crystal from Byln's lightsaber, that makes 3 unpowered hilts.
Lukas with a K: Seyo's so good at Force pushes, he probably won't use his lightsaber very often. I'll mostly throw spaceships at people.
Chris: Ok, so we've figured out how to use all our new kyber. Everyone but Seyo has powered both of their blades, and Beefy's new blaster machine gun is the best weapon he's ever had.
Caleb: And I know just what I want to do with my mountain of money…
The Tireless Wanderer drops out of hyperspace in the Roche Asteroid Field, the heart of Verpine territory. The unique insectoid race is known for unusual and advanced tech, most notably their slugthrowers. Most militaries view slugthrowers as strictly inferior to blasters, but the Verpines produced the very best.
And it seems this puts their wares in stupendously high demand when the whole Galaxy just learned about the return of a planet-eating monster of legend.
Dozens of Imperial Star Destroyers fill the system.
Caleb: Sigh… I just want to buy a gun. Can't I just please buy a gun?
Shane: You already proved that you can do way more damage with your current sniper rifle than anyone else can do with a freak'n lightsaber. The particular weapon you're looking for is by far the best sniper rifle in the galaxy. I allowed you to declare that the bounty on Jeseera was a MILLION credits, but you'll still have to earn a weapon that does more damage than a RANCOR, and at EXTREME RANGE.
Chris: Plus it's got accuracy bonuses, and knockdown, and–
Shane: [facepalm]
Caleb: Anyway... Lucas… Ima need your sweet talk'n.
Astalos takes the comm. Thankfully, the Empire appears to be engaging in legitimate business, albeit on a grand scale, rather than officially taking over the system. It's actually a mercenary who first talks to the Party. Astalos overplays his hand, making the man a bit suspicious–
Caleb: How can you fail these rolls when your Presence is so high?
Shane: I scale the difficulty based on the player's approach to the interaction. And unfortunately, Lucas was SKETCH.
–so Ogaesho takes over. He's simple and direct, which the mercenary appreciates. "Always a pleasure to talk to a member of the Guild. I hope you find what you came for. Things are gett'n scary out there, and I'm all for the best fighters arming themselves for what's coming. Kudos on completing such a high-end bounty… but ya might wanna hurry. Once the Empire discovers how fast these bugs are running out of stock, they're likely to commandeer everything to avoid paying a premium. All the money in the galaxy won't be enough to buy verpine tech at that point."
Caleb: This better not be setup for the rifle costing exactly as much money as I have.
Following sales adverts, Beefy docks at the asteroid station most likely to carry the right wares. Ogaesho, Altair, and Prawn head inside. Brisk and determined, they head to the sales center, ready to throw a bucket of credits if that's what it takes.
But the bug lady at the counter shushes them.
Shane: She's in the middle of a comm call.
Caleb: Sigh. We wait till she finishes.
Shane: Great. The second she concludes the call, she switches to another call.
Caleb: FINE. We wait till she finishes… AGAIN.
Shane: As she's hanging up, the comm beeps, and she takes that call too.
Caleb: We're standing RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER.
David: Maybe the bug lady's racist against squishies.
Chris: The calls are probably from the Empire. She might just be scared of making them wait.
Caleb: Does she give any sign of being too scared to switch her attention to us?
Shane: Nope, she's just ignoring you.
Caleb: [grinds his teeth]
At last, the insectoid concludes the final call and turns to Ogaesho. "Welcome," she says, managing to sound vacuous and superior at the same time. "What do you require?"
"I wish to purchase one of your Heavy Shatter Rifles. I'm prepared to pay cash."
"Ah, you have excellent taste. That item is the best of the best. However, recent events have created quite a boom for our business, and inventory is running low. The price per unit is appropriately rising."
Ogaesho keeps his hands low, so the counter blocks her view of his clenching fists. "The list price is already 45K. Almost enough to buy a starfighter. But I am willing to pay more in light of the current circumstances. What is the new price?"
The insectoid tilts her head, and Altair gets the distinct impression she would be smiling slyly at Ogaesho… if her carapace allowed such expression. "How much do you have?"
Caleb: I knew it… I brought 100K in cash, more than double the standard price. But she'll probably push till I have to bring the rest of my money from the ship.
The bounty hunter isn't quite ready to walk face first into an obvious price gouge. "If demand is legitimately rising, you should be able to give me an asking price."
She sits up straighter, a bit offended. "1.4 Million."
James: Yeah that ain't happening. Time to go.
The verpine sits up straighter and adopts an imperious air. "But even if you had that kind of money… I suspect the Empire would make a more dependable customer. Please leave."
David: Wow.
Caleb: I'm getting this gun, even if they refuse to let me buy it.
Chris: I want you to get it too. And since we're in a hurry, I understand you not wanting to run back to the ship. The price might double by the time you get back.
James: Please tell me you're not gonna support some stupid plan.
Chris: If the Verpine are ready to exploit Galactic disaster to take all our money, leaving us unable to afford anything else, Prawn is willing to bend some rules. Millions are dead, quadrillions are at risk. Prawn's not thinking we actually rob the place, but if we can make a deal happen…
As Ogaesho stalks away from the desk, both Altair and Prawn guess he intends to acquire a rifle with or without permission. Once they round the corner Prawn whispers, "Promise me you won't hurt the employees, and you'll leave all of your cash, and mine, wherever you find the rifle." He surreptitiously holds out 4 credit chips of 10,000 each, having given the rest of his cash to Seyo.
The chiss locks his glowing red eyes with the little quarren, and nods, pocketing the money. Satisfied, Prawn returns to the ship.
But Altair is less trusting. Through the Force, he delves for Ogaesho's true intent… and is surprised to learn he's telling the truth. The chiss really does plan to stealthily exchange 140,000 credits for a rifle. But that doesn't guarantee his break-in will go smoothly. Altair chooses not to return to the ship, but to loiter close enough to sense if Ogaesho gets into trouble.
James: This is such a huge risk…
Chris: But for a very nice gun, which we need now more than ever.
Lukas with a K: I kinda wanna just grab Caleb with the Force and drag him back to the ship.
Shane: You're not there. You don't even know about this.
David: Chris and I were the only ones who went with him.
Lucas with a C: We didn't expect things to get stupid.
Shane: If a fleet of ISD's isn't enough of a red flag that things might get complicated, I don't know what to tell ya.
Lucas with a C: Clarification: I didn't expect CALEB to get stupid.
Caleb: I'm flattered and insulted at the same time.
Chris: Hey, for once I fully agree with you going against the majority opinion. Just don't break your promise to Prawn.
Most of Ogaesho's bounties are brought in cold, as his preferred method of takedown is a sniper shot at extreme range. There have been jobs that required him to camp out for days before taking a shot, and his skills in stealth are top tier. Throw in some clever manipulation of an electronic lock, and he's soon inside a vast warehouse. The arrival of the Empire in such numbers has monopolized the attention of many verpine employees, not just the obnoxious female who demanded 1.4 million. He sees only a few little maintenance droids moving about in the vast space. The shelves are looking sparse, and he hopes the item he's looking for hasn't already sold out. Quickly interpreting the signage and iconography, he locates the section where shatter rifles are stored.
Chris: I'm totally ok with 11-year-old Prawn no longer being the only PC with high Intellect.
Sliding a ladder into position, the Chiss quietly ascends to the last crate in the relevant section. Bypassing its basic security, he opens the lid.
It's the most beautiful thing he's ever seen.
Verpine Heavy Shatter Rifle. A man-portable railgun intended for putting a hypersonic projectile through a lightly armored target at extreme range. He loves his current weapon, Vera, a custom Czerka 38 Sharpshooter's rifle. But if you wanna take down something far tougher than the average humanoid, the exquisitely crafted beast he just found surely has no equal. He drops the 140,000 credits into the crate without any regret, and lifts the beautiful device. It powers on, softly thrumming as the magnetic rails charge up…
…then he drops it as the ladder shifts.
Caleb: NOOO! I rolled a Despair!
James: [disgusted sigh]
The rifle fires, punching a slug deep into the ceiling, triggering the fire suppression system. Water laced with chemicals sprays down, and Ogaesho looks around frantically. A little cleaning droid stares at him for several tense seconds…
…and then boops a button on the wall.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Altair flinches as security alarms trigger. He so hoped that they could be in and out without a fuss. But now, stormtroopers are moving in to investigate. That mercenary's warning is true: the Empire is determined to secure their access to verpine tech, and they might even nationalize it soon. The mirialan puts on a convincing show of generalized worry at the alarm, and the imperial troops jog right past him. They must already have override access, because they enter the warehouse without difficulty.
Hoping that Ogaesho can manage to slip past them, Altair doesn't immediately engage.
Caleb: Oh crap oh crap oh crap what do I do?
Chris: Prawn doesn't know about this situation, but he'd be very irritated if he learned that you immediately resorted to combat.
David: Your stealth's almost as good as Beefy's. You could try to get around them.
Lukas with a K: Or you could knock out the lights.
Caleb: My character does have better than average night vision.
Shane: The room has tons of individual lights, and the stormtroopers already see you.
Concluding that there's little chance of avoiding combat, Ogaesho decides to strike first. Having already descended the ladder, he snatches up his new weapon and puts a hypersonic slug through a crate of explosives.
Back on the Tireless Wanderer, Prawn leaps to his feet at the sound and sprints out the door. "Altair's in trouble!"
Caleb: Just Altair?
Chris: Sorry man, Prawn's known Altair way longer, and his guess is the explosion's Ogaesho's fault.
The blast knocks several stormtroopers off their feet, and most of the others vanish under a wave of crates and boxes as an entire row of shelves collapse. With the Loth-cat out of the bag, Altair enters the fray, dropping a stormtrooper before they realize there's more than one threat. At the sight of his lightsaber, the squad leader comms, "We have Jedi!"
And, clearly, the Empire's plans to take over the facility are well under way.
Doors at the far end of the warehouse open. 10 shock troopers and 3 death troopers dash into the room.
David: Bro, why are you on your phone?
James: [playing a moble game] This situation is so stressful, I'll freak out if I don't distract myself.
Caleb: Fair. I'm freaking out too.
Dashing toward the closer exit, Ogaesho fires at a stormtrooper's shoulder, sending him spinning into the squad leader. The last stormtrooper standing swings his rifle at the chiss, who. ducks as he dashes by. Long range fire from the numerous other troopers narrowly miss Ogaesho. He and Altair sprint out of the warehouse, sabotaging the door behind them.
They pass Prawn, who prepares to cover their retreat, but Altair shouts, "We delayed them! Back to the ship!"
Seconds later, everyone is back aboard, and the Tireless Wanderer accelerates away from the station. None of the Star Destroyers are close enough to immediately engage, and Beefy prepares the hyperdrive.
The mercenary that spoke with Ogaesho earlier comms the Party. "Did you get what you came for?"
"I did," Ogaesho answers." Despite certain complications, I have what I need."
"Good. Now get clear. Not just of this system: you need to flee the sector. Imperial chatter is blowing up, and news nets are losing it. Something just took out Mandalore."
Lucas with a C: Is Prawn gonna be miserable and blame himself again?
Chris: No. He might be badly shaken that a major world's been massacred, but now he's in war mode. Time to step up and do everything we can to stop this.
James: It sounds impossible. Byln was the only Jedi Master in the group. Now we have two PC's that can't use the Force.
Caleb: Yeah… I love my new gun, but I don't think a sniper shot is the answer to the final boss.
Lukas with a K: Shane said there's a chance we'll get to level up big time. Any guesses how?
Chris: I doubt the answer is a standard time skip. Our characters could probably get very powerful if a few years of training happened, but if Nihilus has already killed two planets in a couple days…
David: Ok, so with the Jedi Temple under Imperial control, where else would some Jedi and their friends go when they need to speed-grind their Force Powers?
Dropping out of hyperspace, the Party looks upon the moon of Jedha. Thankfully, there is no sign of Imperial presence. Beefy plots a course to land close to the Holy City. It's likely that the Empire raided or searched this place shortly after Order 66, but they've moved on. The main question is how thoroughly they rooted out any texts related to the Jedi Order. It can be hoped that some devout individuals might have successfully hidden priceless knowledge or artifacts.
With his connections to the Church of the Force, Prawn is expected to take point in their investigations. Beefy lends him Val Isa's holocron, which contains the more passive and supportive elements of her simulated personality. With its help, the little quarren hopes to find something, anything, that can inform their path forward.
Astalos and Ogaesho split away from the main group. The padawan sweet talks his way through various markets, hoping to find a couple more kyber crystals. While no longer as high a priority, it would still be nice to power their two remaining lightsaber hilts, one of which could be hidden in Beefy's chassis for emergencies. Meanwhile Ogaesho ascends the tallest bell tower. No one wants conflict to break out here, but if it does, he'll be ready to provide some heavy fire support.
Chris: It's worth noting that your EPIC new railgun doesn't make Vera totally obsolete, because when you compare–
Caleb: Vera? Who's Vera?
Chris: Your original gun. You named it after Jayne's gun from Firefly.
Caleb: Oh! Yeah sorry, I'm still a bit shell-shocked from my little infiltration going so badly.
James: ME TOO.
Caleb: I didn't mean to cause trouble! We just really need better firepower!
Chris: Fair. Anyway, your new shatter rifle hits CRAZY hard, so it's your best option against targets that are exceptionally tough. Even light vehicles will feel it if you land a good hit with that thing. But since it uses the Gunnery skill, and all your skill points went to Ranged Heavy…
Caleb: Oh, I get it. I'm even more accurate with Vera, but higher damage with the railgun.
Chris: And since always carrying both of these full-size rifles would be kinda goofy, you have incentive to think things through and try to anticipate situations before leaving the ship. We're unlikely to face vehicles or huge monsters in the city, so normally Vera would have been a better choice here. But we don't really expect combat anyway, so whatever.
Caleb: Besides, I just got this awesome thing, and it was super hard. I'm gonna carry it everywhere until I get to try it out on my own terms. Picking the right weapon for the job will come AFTER I have my fun with this monster gun.
With Val Isa's holocron hidden in an inside pocket of his robes, Prawn leads the way into a Church of the Force library. There are some signs of Imperial censorship and confiscation, but not bad enough to make the visit pointless. They're unlikely to find any works directly discussing the Jedi, but a deep dig might still have value.
Seyo and Altair pursue their own independent research to avoid drawing attention. Because Prawn will unavoidably draw at least some. Occasionally whispering to the holocron for advice, and acting on tips from Beefy's search of the library computer, he still makes no progress. Not even after he switches tactics, and begins to search for knowledge related to the Sith.
James: How is it possible to roll so bad?
Caleb: Seriously. His Intellect is great, the holocron gives his Lore a huge boost, and it still wasn't enough.
Prawn soon accepts that he'll need additional direction from the monks running the library. After getting some warnings from Val Isa, he seeks out a young monk who seems discrete and approachable, and introduces himself in the style he learned from the monks that trained him. The man shows genuine respect for this boy who clearly knows their ways, and Prawn chooses his words carefully. "I seek knowledge that many might shun, for I have great need. In order to better resist the darkness, I must first learn more of those who were the strongest in wielding it."
The monk hesitates, but Pranac's sincerity is clear to see. The boy is led to an out of the way section that contains myths and legends related to the Dark Side. Once he's alone, Prawn moves swiftly. While holding the holocron, he skims through scrolls and old codexes, stopping to read only when Val Isa detects something relevant. But none of their findings are actionable.
At last, Prawn again takes the risk to seek out help from the librarians. One man in particular seemed intrigued by Prawn's earlier conversation with the younger monk. Hoping this isn't an Imperial loyalist, Prawn seeks him out and holds a whispered but frank conversation.
"You've heard about Dathomir? And Mandalore?"
The man takes a moment to ensure no one else is nearby. "I… have."
" Millions are dead. Whole cultures are endangered."
"I know."
"And this is only the beginning. My group knows the truth. The threat is growing. This killing needs to be stopped. As soon as possible. And we're willing to step up."
The monk takes an involuntary step back. Such words from a child seem a bit surreal, but they clearly aren't empty bravado. Hesitantly, the monk whispers, "There is a cave… outside the city. I've heard rumors that Dark Side affiliates once used that place to house their knowledge."
Prawn nods, thanks him, and turns to go. But Altair senses that this man is hiding something. He hasn't lied, but neither has he told all. So he comms Astalos, who abandons his fruitless quest to purchase more kyber. On arriving at the library, the suave padawan has no difficulty persuading the monk to open up.
"Very well, you deserve the whole truth. I want to be of service to those who would fight against the darkness… but I also fear for you. If you take what you learn and try to challenge the new Empire, you'll likely die for nothing."
Prawn clenches his little fists. "We're not scared."
"More importantly," Altair interjects, "our top priority is not the Empire, but something far worse."
Seyo looms behind the slim mirialan and the little quarren. "Against the evil that has awakened, we'd even be willing to aid the Empire in its efforts to stop the bloodshed."
The monk nods. "The archive in the cave outside of town has relatively little of value… at least when compared to a vault that is far closer. Beneath this very library, you may find what you seek."
Seyo comms Ogaesho, who descends the bell tower and joins them. Waiting for a moment when the few other visitors are out of sight, the monk leads the Party through a door in the back of the main hall. At the end of a dusty corridor, they reach a heavy door inset with complex dials, gears, and levers. The monk triggers many of these mechanisms in a slow, methodical sequence, but then he turns to the Party. "I have disabled the locks, but the door is too heavy to shift with strength alone."
Nodding, Seyo stretches out a hand, and the Force flows through him. Slowly, the door swings inward. With Prawn in front, and the monk waiting outside, the Party advances through the doorway. Soon, they come to a spiral stair that descends into utter blackness. Prawn pauses, meditating, opening himself up to the will of the Force. He senses… darkness… but then he feels a great swell of the Light. And then… darkness again. "Master…" he whispers. "I don't think this vault belonged to the Sith. Or, at least not only the Sith. The Dark Side isn't absolute here… and I sense much of the Light Side…"
Seyo, Altair, and Astalos stretch out their senses as well. This doesn't feel like a blending of Light and Dark, not really. Rather, the two coexist, remaining distinct.
Beefy tosses a chance cube down the stairs, turning up his auditory sensitivity and calculating as he hears the cube bounce and ricochet down. "Roughly thirty-five meters."
Prawn takes the sealed jar from his belt, carefully removes the lid, and drops in a strip of dried meat before his pet can try to chomp his hand.
Chris: Prawn considers letting Feat take a little nibble of his forearm, but a little could easily turn into a LOT if she gets greedy. Not a good idea to risk that when we're about to enter potential danger. Carrying preserved snacks for her feels reasonable.
Lukas with a K: You are SO weird.
Lucas with a C: You have no idea…
The squiknorg munches happily while Prawn screws the lid back into place. Then he gives the jar a little shake. Excited and wriggling, the baby eel grub thing starts to glow a brilliant purple. Returning the jar to his belt, Prawn draws his guard shoto, but doesn't ignite it. They all descend the spiral stairs, with Ogaesho taking the rear.
At the bottom, they look out upon a vast cave. The purple light emanating from Feat barely illuminates the far wall, roughly a hundred meters away. Seyo steps up to his padawan's side. As they enter the vast open space, master and apprentice experience mirrored visions.
Prawn senses the Light Side, and hears the words, "What you seek is at the end."
Seyo senses the Dark Side, and receives the message, "To open it… look inside."
On guard and alert, most of the Party follow Prawn toward the far wall. Ogaesho hangs well back, ready to provide long range heavy fire as needed. He begins to follow only when Prawn and Seyo reach a tunnel, ten meters tall and at least as wide.
David: I've got a bad–
James: Don't say it.
David: Uh… vibe. Yeah. A bad vibe. About this.
Slowly, on guard, they advance down the tunnel, with Ogaesho pacing them far behind. When he finally reaches the tunnel entrance, something stirs up ahead. In the gloom, gears grind, and heavy doors slide. A foul stench floods towards them… followed by heavy thuds.
Prawn ignites his dark green guard shoto, and he hands Val Isa's holocron back to Beefy. As the deep, booming thuds accelerate toward them, Prawn draws and ignites his lightfoil, which is powered by the crystal from Byln's weapon. Altair's purple lightfoil, and his newly powered red crossguard lightsaber, add their light to the tunnel. Seyo readies his neon green lightsaber pike while preparing for a powerful Force push. Astalos sheathes his lightwhip, and instead activates his red lightsaber pike. Beefy and Ogaesho ready their heavy rifles, as the pounding feet draw closer.
Lucas with a C: Please not a rancor. In our first training session, a rancor tore Prawn in HALF.
Chris: We've all grown since then. We can take a rancor.
Shane: But can you take… 3?
Three huge shapes surge forward, roaring.
And the heroes meet them without flinching.
Ogaesho's heavy shatter rifle lands a direct hit at extreme range, and a rancor reels, howling in pain.
Shane: That much damage to a Soak 12 rancor is downright stupid.
Caleb: Can everyone agree it was worth the risk to get this gun?
Glimpsing visions of possible futures, Altair makes himself an extremely tricky target while shouting quick warnings to his allies.
Shane: Does "Forewarned" grant melee defense AND ranged defense?
David: Why would ranged defense matter?
Shane: Because… these rancors have laser cannons. MASSIVE ones.
Everyone: WUUUUUT?
Shane: [evil smirk]
James: Clown.
The two foremost rancors reach the front line, striking out with their freakishly long arms. Both Seyo and his huge opponent recoil at the ferocity of the other—
Lukas with a K: That's fantastic. They BOTH have the "Fearsome" trait, and now they're both freaking out.
—but the rancor strikes first. Seyo's wounds are gruesome, but with the hardened resistance of a colossus, he endures and fights on. Little Pranac sidesteps and deflects, narrowly avoiding a slash from his own attacker… then the boy dashes forward.
Chris: WOW. For my first use of the new "Strategic Form" talent, that roll was a best case scenario.
Positioning himself between the three rancors, surrounded by towering monsters on all sides, the boy turns, twists, and weaves a mesmerizing display with his green blades. Throwing in some taunting screams for good measure, he's soon drawn the attention of all three gigantic opponents. Smiling with satisfaction, be assumes a tight guard stance.
Caleb: Wait… you just deliberately aggroed THREE rancors?
Chris: That's Prawn's job. For the first time, he's ready to tank for REAL. The enemy CAN'T ignore him now.
Lukas with a K: Well, the kid's dead. We're gonna need a new tank. Hey… Lucas… Ya wanna make a buck?
Lucas with a C: I am NOT gonna be a rancor punching bag. Besides, you're way tougher than me.
Lukas with a K: Yeah, but if Prawn get's eaten by rancors, Astalos becomes the youngest character and the only padawan. You'll inherit the role of mascot.
Lucas with a C: I think you mean " chew toy."
David: Prawn won't die if we take down those rancors first.
James: And we CAN. Everyone else can safely go pure offense.
Lukas with a K: Get in close and go wild, guys.
Seyo levitates the wounded rancor and hurls it into one of its fellows. One loses consciousness, while the other is knocked off its feet. Before it can rise, Beefy blazes away at close range with full auto.
James: Finally. A roll good enough to trigger Autofire three times. Caleb's not the only one with a great gun.
The last combat-worthy rancor assaults Prawn, slashing away with brutal fury. With tight footwork, tighter blade-work, and braced for the pain, Prawn stands his ground.
Shane: Gotchya! That's… 16 damage!
Chris: So… Prawn takes… 5.
Everyone: [stunned silence]
Chris: [smiles]
Shane: HOW?
Chris: Prawn's Parry is getting downright epic. Between that and his Soak, the boy of steel reduced the damage by 11.
Shane: [slack-jawed silence]
Chris: Oh, and because Prawn hasn't attacked, Supreme Parry triggers. So the damage reduction only cost me 1 Strain instead of 3.
Shane: I really, REALLY, need to kill that kid.
Chris: Good luck with that. He's been beefing up too. With a maximum daily stim dose, it would take 5 more hits like that to knock him out.
Lucas with a C: And with how fast we're wrecking these things, you're not even gonna take 1.
Shane: [delightfully goofy dramatic outrage noises reminiscent of a distressed bird]
Astalos lunges in, landing a precise thrust with his lightsaber pike. The final rancor pitches backward, gurgling, and crashes to the ground.
The entire exchange lasted less than 10 seconds.
David: Huh… So that happened.
Shane: Holy…
Lukas with a K: We rock.
Lucas with a C: Like in that practice session… am I a rancorbane now?
Chris: I think we've all officially achieved "awesome" status. Remember back when we struggled against one ancient basilisk droid?
James: The Big Bad is Darth Nihilus. It's a very good thing we've gotten so deadly.
Shane: With an invincible child holding aggro for his five superhero friends, who all hit like trains… I think I should have had way more rancors…
Chris: I'm glad we didn't kill them all. With Dathomir dead, I don't wanna finish off a semi-sentient species.
Shane: I knew that would bother you. But you've got bigger things to worry about…
Prawn pulls out a stimpack, casually injects bacta directly into his deepest wound, and checks to make sure Feat isn't having a panic attack.
Completely ignoring his own, deeper wounds, Seyo walks past the fallen rancors, two of which are breathing fitfully. He soon passes side chambers from which the animals must have emerged, based on the smell. Then, he comes upon a small, sealed chest. Cortosis-woven, the synthetic materials resist his lightsaber. But then he remembers the cryptic message whispered into his mind earlier. "To open it… look inside."
Backtracking, Seyo dips a finger in the blood of the dead rancor, then returns to the chest. He lets a single drop fall upon it and the box opens.
With Beefy and Ogaesho lingering behind with their rifles ready, the 4 Force-sensitives gather around the box. Inside, 5 objects glow softly.
Four of them are kyber crystals, but of a type and color none of them as ever seen. A rich bronze, they resonate with power in a way that makes Seyo and Altair almost dizzy.
But everyone's attention soon fixates on the holocron. Clearly the result of two holocrons fused together, it emits the Light Side and the Dark Side in equal measure.
Without hesitation, Seyo reaches out through the Force. The holocron rises into the air, alters shape, and projects a hologram. Red and blue light continuously shifts and blends within the humanoid figure, which looks upon each Party member in turn before locking eyes with Seyo.
It speaks.
"Others have needed this power before, and it will be needed again. When the days grow grim, and all hope seems lost, when the unnumbered multitudes face oblivion… a mighty few may stand in their place."
The figure holds his arms to either side, and concludes with a voice somber and grave… almost mournful. "Within this holocron… lies the secret of… the Thought Bomb."
[Caleb and Chris lean back in their chairs and share a meaningful look, the only ones who know what that implies]
Chris: Whoa…
Caleb: That's just… Wow.
Shane: [silent]
Chris: Well… There's hope for the Galaxy. If enough of us grow strong enough in the Force to successfully perform it… the Thought Bomb really might be able to stop Nihilus.
Lukas with a K: Good. I'm pretty sure Shane would never let us just run up and attack him fifty times.
David: Some obscure Force power or other feels more thematic than just doing tons of damage, so I'm all for it.
Caleb: Uhhhhhh…
James: I'm sensing there's something very big most of us don't know.
Chris: Yeah… well… Assuming we don't all get killed by something else first… We now know exactly how Seyo and Prawn are gonna die. Probably Altair too, since he's decent and relatively selfless.
Lukas with a K: I do not like where this is going.
David: Same. Hard same.
Chris: And if those three can't muster enough power, even Astalos might need to man up when the time comes.
Lucas with a C: Oh nope nope mega nope.
James: I hate this tension. Spill it!
Caleb: The Thought Bomb is an ancient Sith ritual. Every Force-sensitive in a huge area, whether or not they're physical, is consumed and trapped forever… Including the users.
Author's Note:
Now THAT was a massive reveal.
I'll admit that I was both elated and sad when Shane mentioned the Thought Bomb. Previously, I genuinely had no clue how we might one day stop a being as uniquely lethal as Nihilus, so the possibility of learning such a skill is huge. But since the original Sith power traps the users and victims in a state of eternal madness and torment, the moral calculus might be… quite messy.
A few heroes dying to save trillions is an easy choice: the math's a no-brainer. But eternal torment is… well… eternal. Seyo and Altair might refuse to let a child take part in such an act, no matter the threat Nihilus poses. But the ritual requires so much power, can they afford not to include every willing person?
Further, should even Nihilus suffer like that? He became a nightmarish entity, not so much by his own choice, but due to a catastrophic event.
Perhaps the details of the Thought Bomb will differ in this campaign. I sure hope so. The holocron being both Sith and Jedi is clearly important, and it offers hope that the power won't be identical to the original. Further, Shane isn't a sadistic psycho.
But there will likely be plenty of time for such questions to be brought up and explored. The original Thought Bomb required many Force users of great power. We'll need time to greatly increase our power, or to find and recruit more Force-sensitives willing to take such drastic measures. Perhaps both.
One way or another, this campaign is far from over. And from Shane's hints, those bronze kyber crystals might allow for some very fun tricks moving forward.