Soon the two Jedi and two Antarian Rangers were on their way to the Miro Asteroid field.  The trip was short, and soon the blurred lines of hyperspace gave way to pinpoint stars.  The large cloud of floating rocks that stood before them looked ominous.  "Do a quick scan of the area," Dane instructed Traest.  Traest did so and cursed as he saw the results.  "I'm afraid the pirates are already here.  I'm detecting a Marauder-class corvette on the far side of the asteroid field.  It seems like they're already looking for the Stellar Damsel, because they've dispatched some Cutlass-9 patrol fighters into the field.  The field is vast, so the good news is it could take them weeks to search it completely."

"And what's the bad news?" Master Tabret asked, knowing it was coming.

"The bad news is, with them here, we'll have to observe communications silence to avoid being detected...and so will the Damsel.  It could take us weeks to find them," Traest reported somberly.

"Usually agents for Republic Intelligence are pretty savvy, they may have found a way to lead us to them without the pirates noticing," Dane said finally.  "See if you can pick up anything faint."

"I'll try," Traest said hopefully.  He got a focused look on his face as he worked the sensor controls.  "Wait, I think I've got something," he started excitedly.  "Yes, yes.  I've got a coded distress signal.  It's on a very weak frequency, disguised as background radiation.  It doesn't look like the pirates have noticed it yet."

"Where is it coming from?" Master Tabret asked.

"From the depths of the field, in that direction," Traest answered.  "We'll need to get closer for me to pinpoint it."

Dane started to ease the Eclipse into the asteroid field, making sure to try and stay hidden behind asteroids.  He was able to avoid detection as Traest narrowed the location of the signal down to one of the larger asteroids.  "There," he said, pointing.  "The signal is coming from inside that asteroid."  The asteroid was the size of a small city.  As Jubali looked out the viewport at the vast chunk of jagged rock drifting in space, she could see several dark craters left by the impacts of smaller rocks.  One of the craters looked particularly deep, and Traest spoke up saying, "There, that crater is actually an entrance to a cave."

Though it seemed to Jubali as if fitting the Eclipse into the adit would be tricky, Dane managed the feat with ease.  As the ship entered, Jubali could see that the cavern extended deep into the asteroid.  Ahead, lit by the glow of Eclipse's exterior ship lights, was the Corellian corvette Stellar Damsel.  There were numerous burn scars on her hull and a lot of other visible damage.  The remaining lights on the ship flickered on and off sporadically as the heroes approached in their ship.  As they drew closer, Traest did a quick sensor scan.  "There are still people alive on board, but the Damsel's power readings are weak."  Suddenly, the asteroid shuddered and rumbled slightly.  Small pieces of rock broke off from the cavern and pelted the Eclipse.  From the Damsel, a flock of shadowy forms took wing and fluttered through the darkness toward the Eclipse.

OOC: What does Jubali do/say?

OOC Would I need to make a check to see if I recognize mynocks?

OOC: Yes.  It would be a Knowledge(life sciences) check.

OOC 9+1=10

Jubali could barely recall that these creatures were mynocks, that they could survive in vacuum and that they fed on electrical power.

Jubali gasped as a wisp of a memory floated through her mind.

"Mynocks!  They're eating the power cables!  We need to get them off of the ship!"

Traest was able to get one shot off with the light laser cannon as the flock of mynocks headed towards the Eclipse.  It dropped half the mynocks, but the other half made it to the ship.

"Nice shot, Explorer Kas'lon," Ranger Cardosa complimented.

"Yes, but there are still mynocks to deal with," Master Tabret pointed out.  "Jubali, Dane and I have got to make contact with the Stellar Damsel and find out their status.  Do you think you and Traest can take care of those mynocks before they drain too much power?"

OOC: Oh, and I forgot,  you can level Jubali up to level 2.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:25, Tue 23 June 2015.

"We'll do what we can," Jubali replied.

"So much for not wearing the breath masks anymore," Traest commented as he and Jubali geared up to head out into the asteroid.  As they descended the boarding ramp, the pair could feel the temperature drop and the weight lift from them as they left the artificial climate and gravity control of their ship.  "Well, I think they're all on the top," Traest pointed out.  "So I guess we climb up?"

"It's low gravity, we could try jumping."

"I think that will get us a good ways pretty fast, but the Eclipse is too tall to jump to the top of in one go," Traest pointed out.  "Even in low gravity.  But here goes nothing."  And with that, Traest took a leap that got him one meter up the side of the ship.  He climbed another four and a half meters, before beckoning down to Jubali.  "Bet I can beat you to the top," he challenged.

OOC 11+6=17

Jubali took a bit of a run then leapt.

Jubali was able to jump up one and a half meters.

OOC: You still have a move action this round, so go ahead and make a Climb check.  Also, if  you could make an Init check, just so that's ready to go when you do get to the top, I would appreciate it.

OOC Climb: 1+1=2
Init: 16+3=19

Traest let out a small "Wow!" and his eyes got big as Jubali made her initial jump.  But then he found himself stifling a laugh as she fell back down to the ground almost immediately.  She was close enough to the surface and the gravity was light enough that the fall hurt nothing but her pride.

"I told you I'd beat you to the top," he said.  Of course then he had trouble himself making any progress.  "Ugh, what am I doing?" he asked himself.  He then reached into his utility belt, pulled out a liquid cable dispenser with a grappling hook and threw it to the top of the ship.  With a clank, the hook caught purchase on some groove at the top.  "There, that ought to make it easier for both of us."

OOC: Make 2 Climb checks to climb up the cable.

OOC 2+1=3
15+1=16

Although it took a little getting used to, Jubali was able to climb up the cable and catch up to Traest.  The made the next part of the ascent easily together, pulling themselves up onto the top of the Eclipse.  "Now we just have to deal with the vermin," Traest said disgustedly.  You could see them not far off, and it looked like they were so occupied with feeding that you would probably be able to get an attack in before they reacted.

OOC: Okay Jubali goes first.

Jubali sneaked up behind one of the oblivious mynocks then ignited her lightsaber and attacked in swift succession.
OOC Do I have enough to perform a coup de grace?
19+5=24.

OOC: No, it's a full round action for a coup de grace and you just don't have that.  And the mynocks aren't helpless.  Unaware, but not helpless.  But you did hit, so go ahead and roll damage.

OOC 1+2=3  How can she hit an unaware target with a 19 but do 3 damage?

OOC: Oh, I could come up with a reason, like her foot falling into an unexpected maintenance access port on the roof of the starship.  But this is one other thing I like about Fantasy Flight's system.  They have a base damage for every weapon, and it's a number, not a number of dice, a number.  So for like a heavy blaster pistol, it's 8.  And then it is increased by your level/skill AND by your roll.  The more uncanceled successes you roll, the higher the damage.  But it never goes below 8.  So if you hit, you always do a respectable amount of damage.  Anyway, I explained that because sometimes I remember that I made a behind the scenes house rule, that you get more damage if you exceed their Def by more.  So no worries, you really did 3 + 1 = 4 (which I know isn't a whole lot more, you almost got +2 more).

Jubali's attack did little more than alert the mynocks to their danger, but Traest also got in a shot before the mynocks took to flight.  His shot dropped one of the mynocks, but the rest of them swarmed around Jubali, buffeting her with their wings.  But Jubali was strong, and their attacks ineffectual.

OOC: Jubali's turn.

OOC That...makes a lot more sense.  I mean, technically you could say this system has a base damage but it's 2 (1+1=2) so it's so low as to be silly.

Jubali swung her lightsaber hoping to connect with something.

OOC 1+5=6

But managed to somehow not even singe a wing.

The mynocks' wings in Jubali's face kept her from being able to connect a solid hit.

Traest fired again, but missed hitting any of the creatures.

Meanwhile, the creatures continued to bat at Jubali's head, managing to scratch her in the face.

OOC Even little creatures can hurt.

Jubali swung again.

OOC 3+5=8

But the flurry of wings made her attempts fruitless.

Traest fired again, dropping another mynock.  The mynocks seemed to think that Jubali was still the source of their trouble, as they continued to assail her.  Fortunately there were only two left and their attacks remained useless as well.

Jubali swung again.

OOC 2+5=7, thank goodness I'm getting all of these bad rolls out of the way.

But even with their significantly reduced number she still was too distracted.

Traest was able to fell one more of the vermin, but one clung on for dear life, continuing to bat away at Jubali, but Jubali was able to dodge each of the blows.

Jubali blindly swung her lightsaber like mad.

OOC 20+5=25 oh, sure now.  Watch, I'm gonna need that 20 later.
2+8=10x2=20 dmg.

OOC: And you only needed to do 1 dmg to kill the last one too.

Jubali cut the last mynock in half cleanly with her lightsaber.

With the swarm taken care of, Traest walked over to where the mynocks had been feeding and examined the damage.  Traest got out his comlink.  "Ranger Cardosa, the mynocks were here for less than a minute, but they chewed through a fair amount of hull and wiring.  I think I'm going to need your help fixing this."

"I'll be right out," came the Ranger's reply.

"Meanwhile," Jubali could hear Master Tabret's voice cut in. "Jubali and I will start the crew transfer."

***

Soon Jubali was walking with Master Tabret over to the Stellar Damsel, as Master Tabret explained what she had learned from speaking with the ship's crew.  "I spoke with the ship's first mate, a Sullustan named Guro.  I'm afraid the captain was killed in the attack.  Only Guro and a handful of the crew are still alive, and he doesn't think it likely that the Damsel will be able to make it out of the asteroid field, much less evade any pirate ships that may be lurking about."

Just then they arrived at the Damsel's boarding door.  Master Tabret knocked, and two crewmen in spacesuits greeted her.  "I'm afraid we only have the two suits, so we'll have to go in shifts," the crewman explained.  "First Mate Guro insisted we go first."

The transfer went smoothly.  By the time the two Jedi had returned to the Eclipse, Dane and Traest had finished with the repairs.

"All fixed up," Ranger Cardosa announced.
"Excellent," Master Tabret said.
"Dane, can you help me get these two men to the medbay?"
"Certainly," Dane replied.
"Jubali, can you and Traest take these spacesuits back to the Damsel and finish transferring the crew over?" Master Tabret asked.

OOC: And in case you're not to bed yet, this is my last post of the night.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:42, Thu 16 July 2015.

"Of course," Jubali replied.

As Jubali and Traest headed over to the Damsel, they felt another tremor as dust from the ceiling of the cavern slowly drifted downward in the low gravity.  After entering the Damsel's airlock with the two empty suits, and letting the pressure equalize, Jubali and Traest were met by the remaining crew member and the Sullustan first mate Guro.  As they started to don the spacesuits, Guro commented "We need to hurry.  When we felt tremors like these back home on Sullust, it was usually right before a cavern decided to collapse.  We need to get out of here as soon as possible."

OOC: Any comments?

"It's just you two, then?" Jubali asked.  "Then we can get you both out of here as fast as possible."

"Yes, unfortunately the rest of the crew perished in the pirate attack," Acting-Captain Guro replied.  He finished securing the helmet of his suit and gave Jubali a thumbs-up sign when a dull boom rocked the Damsel.

"Another tremor?" the crewman asked.

"That was no tremor," Guro said.  "Look!"  He pointed out the porthole of the Damsel's airlock to four figures outside.  They were each wearing armored flight suits that gleamed in the light from the two ships.  They dropped into position on both hulls and pulled out grenade launchers.

"The pirates!" Jubali exclaimed.  "Traest, get ready!"

Jubali knew her lightsaber wouldn't be any good against grenades.

OOC 17+3=20

Traest unholstered his blaster and replied back, "Get ready yourself.  Those grenade launchers are just for the ships.  Once I start firing at them, they're going to fire back with something more accurate."

Just before they stepped out, the heroes heard the thump of a grenade on the Stellar Damsel's hull.  "It's a good thing she's a lost cause any way," Guro said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"On that vain, I'm going to concentrate my fire on the ones on our ship," Traest said.  "Jubali, get these two safely aboard, and then get back out here with someone to help me!"

OOC: You have the next turn.

"Let's go!" Jubali cried, reading herself to fight defensively while moving.

The Damsel's two crew members followed right behind you, with Traest bringing up the rear.  As soon as he was clear of the ship's door, he fired at one of the pirates atop the Eclipse.  His shot served more as a warning to the pirates than a danger.

The pirates responded with blaster fire of their own, one from behind and one from in front.  The shot from behind barely missed Traest and the shot from ahead of them could not penetrate Jubali's defense.  The pirate on top of the Eclipse who was still wielding his grenade launcher, was slightly distracted by the sudden attack and sent his projectile at an angle where the sturdy hull held, but only just.  Meanwhile the pilot with the grenade launcher who had been on the Stellar Damsel, realizing that the ship he was on was probably abandoned, started to climb down from the ship.

OOC: Jubali's turn.  Sorry it wasn't as quick a response as I though it would be.

OOC Of course they didn't penetrate her defenses; she's a whirling, dancing, machine of defense.

Jubali continued her acrobatics.

"The grenade launcher is climbing down the ship," she pointed out to Traest, hoping he could take advantage of this somehow.

"Thanks for that," Traest said, "but unfortunately he's keeping the ship in between us and himself."  Traest fired again at the blaster rifle wielding pirate on the Eclipse, but the pirate dodged the shot.

The other pirate that was on the Damsel fired an autofire shot, hitting both Traest and the Damsel crew member.  Traest was hurt, but the crew member was barely hanging on.  That pirate then started descending from the Damsel as well.  The other pirate taking pot shots at them from the Eclipse, attempted to board using the open ramp.  His tumble from the top of the ship was so well executed as to be graceful, and he entered the ship quickly.  The grenadier on top of the Eclipse continued to pound away on it, but again he was paying too much attention to his comrades and his grenade flew off into the cave causing more dust and debris to rain down from the ceiling.  The other pirate with the grenade launcher reached the cave floor, moved closer to the Eclipse and fired a grenade from the ground.  His grenade exploded against the underside of the ship, causing some minor damage.

OOC: Jubali's turn.

Jubali kept up her defensive stance while moving forward.

With one pirate aboard the Eclipse and the other one with the blaster rifle hidden behind the Stellar Damsel, Traest chose to shoot at the grenadier on top of the Eclipse.  His shot pierced right through the pirate's chest, dropping him immediately.

The pirate who had been climbing down the Damsel finished his descent and fired another salvo.  His shots were all over the place, but they needled Traest and Jubali.   "Get aboard, I'll cover you," Traest said as he winced and limped forward to the bottom of the Eclipse's loading ramp.  Meanwhile, the remaining grenadier continued to pound away at the Eclipse's hull, but he was getting too caught up in his partner hitting their enemies and he missed his mark.

Jubali made sure to get the remaining crew aboard but didn't board herself, trying to head back to make sure Traest got aboard as well.

"I said don't worry about me," Traest said when he saw Jubali thinking about staying.  "One of the pirates with a blaster rifle is on board, remember?  You've still got to protect the Damsel's crew.  Once he's dealt with, then send someone out to help me."

Jubali gritted her teeth and returned on board.

Jubali could hear the exchange of blaster fire between Traest and the pirate toting the blaster rifle, but neither let out a cry of pain, so they both must have missed.  "Jubali, back here," she heard her master call out from the med area.  As Jubali headed back there, she heard the thud of a grenade against the Eclipse's hull.  A thud, but no screeching sound from damage.  It looked like the little ship was holding up well against the assault.

Jubali was loathe to leave Traest behind but hurried to where her master was.

Acting-captain Guro and the other Damsel crew member followed Jubali back to the med bay.  When they arrived, Jubali saw her master and Ranger Cardosa standing over the pirate who had boarded the ship.  The pirate was tied up to a chair with syntherope.  "What is going on out there?" Sonora asked.  "This rogue came in here and tried to kill our guests and we keep hearing thudding noises."  Just then the crew member who had been injured toppled over from blood loss.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:15, Thu 27 Aug 2015.

"Grenades, pirates found us, we're under attack," Jubali summarized, then looked around for a medkit.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:06, Thu 27 Aug 2015.

"I'll help Jubali take care of the crewmember," Master Tabret said to Ranger Cardosa.  "Go help your explorer," she urged, nodding towards the doorway.  Dane took off at a sprint.

As Jubali looked for the medkit, she felt another tremor.  By the time she found a medkit and went to administer it, she saw Master Tabret pulling back from the body, looking slightly wearied, while the crew member seemed to have recovered his strength and Jubali could tell she had used the Force to heal him.  "You may go ahead," Master Tabret said.  "I have only stabilized him, we still need to stanch the bleeding."  Another tremor occured, as Jubali heard more blasterfire echoing from down the hallway, as well as another thud from a grenade.  Soon the sounds of battle stopped, even as the quakes increased in both intensity and frequency.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:54, Mon 04 Jan 2016.

Guro helped Jubali dress his crewman's wounds.  Pretty soon you heard hurried footsteps coming up the hallway, one of them at an uneven pace.  Ranger Cardosa and Explorer Kas'lon soon entered, with Traest having his arm draped around Dane's shoulders for support.  "Another wounded for you, Jubali," Dane announced, helping Traest gingerly to the floor.  "Master Tabret, with my explorer injured, I'm afraid I need you in the cockpit with me, quickly."

"Why?  What's going on now? I thought you took care of the pirates, except for this scum here," she said, indicating the bound prisoner, who writhed in protest and tried to scream through his gag.

As if in answer to her question, a large crack echoed through the cavern.  "The asteroid is breaking apart," Guro concluded.

"Indeed," Dane agreed.  "I'm afraid the grenade fire did not help the stability of this hunk of rock.  Come on Sonora!" And with that both masters ran towards the cockpit.

OOC: Any comments, actions before you take off?

"Traest!" Jubali shouted in horror as he was brought in.  She eagerly made ready to perform medical care on him.

"It's not as bad as it looks," Traest wheezed.  "Just a lower leg wound and a graze along the ribs."  As the ship started to warm up and lift off, Traest said, "Guro, can you turn on the ship's camera feed?  I want to see what's going on."  Guro obliged as Jubali attended to Traest.

OOC: Make a Treat Injury check.

OOC 10+3=13

After flipping on the video feed, Guro came over and assisted Jubali with her treatment of Traest.  Together they were able to at least bind and dress the bleeding wounds to keep more damage from occuring, but it looked like it might take a more practiced hand to get him back to full health.

Meanwhile on the video screen, they could see the Eclipse start to move forward.  As it did, another tremor sounded and the asteroid began to crumble, huge chunks of stone detaching themselves from the walls.  The cave entrance started to collapse as well.  However, Dane's flying was expert, and soon the ship had cleared the mouth of the cavern just as it collapsed completely.  On the rear-facing feed, Jubali could see the tidal forces in the field were tearing the asteroid apart, sending huge chunks of rock several times the size of the Eclipse spinning out in all directions.  Dane continued to swerve and dodge as flying rocks rushed past the ship.  Suddenly, the proximity alarm sounded and a small group of Cutlass patrol fighters came screaming from behind a nearby asteroid, laser cannons blazing!

"Um, might need a little bit of help up here," Dane called over the intercom.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:19, Fri 16 Sept 2016.

"Can you watch Traest, Guro?" Jubali asked.

"Sure," Guro replied.

When Jubali arrived in the cockpit, Dane asked "How is Traest doing?"

"Stabilized."

"Stabilized enough to come help?" Dane pressed. "Not that I doubt your abilities Jubali, but I need someone to plot us a hyperspace jump quickly as soon as we clear the asteroid field."

"Maybe?"  Jubali ran back to Traest.  "Are you okay enough to plot a hypserspace jump quick?"

"Sure," Traest said, pulling himself into the chair next to the computer console.  "Let me try routing the control to this station though, so I don't have to go up to the cockpit."

"I'll help you plot the course," Guro offered.

"Much obliged," Traest replied.

Jubali returned to the cockpit.

"Traest is going to route the navigation back there."

OOC It's your turn.

OOC: I know, I just knew it was going to be a post that took me a long time to do, and I wasn't feeling up to it until today.

As the six fighters headed toward them, the deadliness of the asteroid field proved itself as it eliminated three of their pursuers before they could even get a shot off.

As Dane expertly negotiated the swirling rocks, he said in a tense voice, "Sonora, I would greatly appreciate it if you could take some of those fighters off my tail."

Sonora fired the co-pilot's light laser cannon at the nearest fighter, the shot grazed the fighter and though it didn't seem to do any harm, Jubali saw on the sensors that its shields had been weakened.  And apparently that shot was enough to distract the pilot into running into an asteroid.

One of the two remaining fighters dodged an asteroid before firing a laser cannon shot at the Eclipse, successfully connecting and shaking the ship.  "That one hurt," Dane said.  Fortunately the last patrol fighter also fell victim to another of the flying rocks.

"Well at least we're just down to one," Sonora commented.

"Just one fighter," Dane replied.  "We also have the asteroid field.  And that Marauder Corvette is probably heading our way too."

"Good point," Sonora conceded.

As Dane continued to navigate through the asteroid field, Sonora took a shot at their single remaining pursuer.  The Force was with her and her shot punched through the fighter's shields, nearly destroying the little craft.  An asteroid finished the work for her.

Dane sailed through the rest of the asteroid field, finally clearing it.  However Jubali could see on the sensors that the Marauder Corvette was closing in on their position.  It would be within firing and tractor range within 30 seconds.

"Traest...how's that hyperspace jump going?!"

"Well I couldn't start working on it until we got out of the asteroid field," Traest replied.  "But the coordinates should be ready in about a minute."
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:26, Wed 09 Sept 2015.

"You don't have a minute!"

"I'm sorry, but hyperspace coordinates are not that easy to calculate even with a navcomputer," Traest replied, and Jubali could sense the stress in his voice.  "I'm going as fast as I can, but I doubt I can do it in less than 42 seconds.  What's going on up there anyway?"

"The corvette is closing in?" Jubali replied, then turned to Master Sonora.  "Can we jettison an escape pod to block their beam or something?!"

"There are no escape pods on this ship," Master Tabret pointed out.

"I may just have to do some fancy flying," Dane said.  "Traest, we don't have to go any place special, just somewhere safe."

"Okay, I'll see what I can do," came the reply.


Meanwhile the Marauder corvette continued to loom closer.  "Should I fire on it?" Master Tabret asked.

"No!" Traest said adamantly.  "That'll just give them an excuse to vape us.  Right now they seem content with simply capturing us."

Agonizing seconds ticked by as the two ships drew ever closer to one another.

Just seconds before the corvette was within tractor range, Traest announced excitedly "I've got it!  I've got it! Sending the coordinates to you."

As the coordinates showed up on the console, Dane said "Punch it!" and Sonora pulled the hyperdrive lever.  The stars turned to streaks and soon they were in the swirling mist of hyperspace.  "Whew!  That was too close," the Antarian Ranger exclaimed.

OOC: Any comments?

Jubali collapsed into a seat.

"Let's...uh...let's not do that again."

"Agreed!" Master Tabret quickly concurred.

"Sonora, I have something I need to tell you about these pirates," Ranger Cardosa announced, now that they were safe.

"Oh yeah," Master Tabret said, standing up, "we still need to interrogate the one that we captured."

"Wait," Dane said firmly, grabbing her arm gently with his hand.  "Now don't jump to conclusions, but when Traest and I were fighting the pirates in the cave, we happened to knock off a piece of the armored flight suit of one of them.  The piece was actually covering an insignia." Jubali could feel her master tense.  "The symbol was a fist over a heart," Dane finished.

"We need to interrogate that prisoner right now!" Sonora said decidedly and she quickly marched towards the med bay.

Ranger Cardosa was hot on her heels.  "Sonora, it doesn't necessarily mean what you think!"

OOC: What does Jubali do?

"Ugh, the Paladin again," Jubali muttered.  "Peace, Master.  Anxiety will only lead you to the dark-side."

"I'm not anxious," Sonora said without slowing her pace.  She soon reached the med bay, stormed in, tilted the captive's chair back, and pulled off his gag.

"What's going on?" Traest asked, shocked at the dramatic entrance.

Master Tabret ignored the Explorer, focusing instead on her captive.  "For whom do you work?" she asked.

"I'll never talk," the pirate said still struggling in his chair.

"You don't have to," Sonora said, ripping off the plastoid covering the marking on the pirate's suit.  "I know it's the Army of Life.  Where is the Paladin?"

Somehow the pirate got his right hand free; he put it in a fist over his heart and said "For the life!" and then crunched his teeth down.  Soon a foam started to erupt from his mouth.

"No, no, no!" Master Tabret cried in frustration as she put his chair back down and put her hand on his temples.

"It's too late Sonora," Ranger Cardosa said gently, reaching his hands out to pull Sonora's hands away from the pirate's head.  "That was a lullaby pill."

Master Tabret let Dane pull her away, and then sat down in an empty chair, clearly defeated.  "Don't you get it Dane?  He's not just coming back on his own.  Reinstating the Army of Life--he's recruiting!"

"Look, I think I've been pretty patient considering this guy's tried to kill us twice but I want to know what's going on."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:22, Fri 11 Sept 2015.

Master Tabret looked sidelong at Ranger Cardosa, who just shrugged and said "You may as well."

Master Tabret sighed, then started to explain: "The Army of Life is a terrorist group with criminal ties that purports to support the resurrection of primitive ecosystems across the galaxy.  What they really do is take species from one planet to another to ruin ecosystems and cause chaos.  That's because they were created by a mysterious figure called the Paladin.  Nobody seems to know who the Paladin is, but with a pseudonym like that, the Jedi Council suspected he used to be a member of the Order.  About 15 years ago I was tasked with tracking him to shut down the Army of Life.  However, he seemed to go underground when the Stark Hyperspace War started and hasn't been heard of since...until Pakyu Meni mentioned him."

"Oh...so there's really nothing TO know about him," Jubali replied.  "How...keen.  Have we even got a picture?  Is it even a he?"

"Oh, it's definitely a he," Ranger Cardosa chimed in.

"Dane!" Sonora said warningly.

"And we definitely know what he looks like," Ranger Cardosa added.

"Dane!" Master Tabret exclaimed again.

"What?  You may as well tell them what you found out during your three year investigation," Dane replied, indicating both Jubali and Traest.  "Especially if you want them to have as much passion about catching him as you do."

Master Tabret huffed and then continued resignedly.  "During my investigation I quickly found out why the Jedi Council assigned me to track down the Paladin.  It turns out they not only had suspicions that he had been a member of the Order, but also which member he had been."  She sighed, and Jubali could detect a hint of sadness creep into her voice.  "The reason I was chosen to track the Paladin is because the Council figured I would recognize his modus operandi because he was my master." Sonora let the last word hiss out from between her clenched teeth.

"Ew, so he's like my 'grandfather'?" Jubali made air-quotes.  "How does someone go from being a master to embracing sheer chaos?  Is he...is he a Sith?"

Sonora's facial expression when Jubali correlated her relationship to the Paladin to a familial relationship indicated she did not appreciate the term, but she answered quickly and clearly, "No, he's not a Sith.  At least from what I know of what the Sith are supposed to be and not according to what Obi-Wan recently told me the Sith he faced was like.  He has no desire to specifically destroy the Jedi."

"Well according to his chaos theory he doesn't need to try and destroy the Jedi," Dane chimed in.

"What do you mean Ranger?" Traest asked.

"The Paladin is a Givin," Dane explained.  "The way their minds and culture work, they're very mathematically-minded.  He's very smart and very talented along those lines.  He got into chaos theory, and according to his predictions, the Jedi would destroy themselves in...what would it be now?  Sometime in the next 10 to 13 years."

"But that's crazy!" Traest replied. "Why would the Jedi destroy themselves?"

"They wouldn't!" Master Tabret confirmed.  "He just uses it as an excuse to play his games.  He claims the chaos that he causes is preparing the galaxy for life without the Jedi, but he really just does it to amuse himself."

OOC: Any comments?
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:17, Thu 15 Oct 2015.

"Oh!  A Givin...I like Givin," Jubali lamented.  "Destroy ourselves..." Jubali thought for a minute (Knowledge:Social sciences 3+2=5, fetch) before changing tacts  (Knowledge: Galactic Lore 2+18=20).  "A social collapse, like what's happened in history...it's possible.  I don't see it happening anytime soon but that's rare for any civilization to see their impending collapse.  Being aware of the problems is half the battle."

"While I agree Jubali is right," Traest said.  "It's just an excuse right?  Paladin's just making it up so he had a reason to leave the Order and do what he wants, right?"

"Of course!" Master Tabret agreed emphatically.

"Although according to him, he hasn't left the Order," Ranger Cardosa pointed out.

"What?" Traest asked confused.

"It's true," Master Tabret confirmed. "This is one of the reasons the Jedi Council wants him apprehended.  But no, the reason he left was because he was bored.  His calculations were always so accurate that every situation became too predictable for him.  So he started setting out to make things more interesting by introducing chaos to every situation.  I'm afraid I didn't realize what he was doing until it was too late."

"What do you mean too late?" Traest pressed.

"My trainer and I were on assignment with Sonora and her master," Dane said.  "We were in a negotiation that I guess was too routine for him because he decided to introduce one of his chaotic elements.  Well one of the parties drew their blaster and fired at him.  My trainer, out of reflex, jumped in front of the blast to protect a Jedi..." Dane trailed off for a moment.  "He died instantly.  Now I know Givin's faces are basically stuck in place, but he had no remorse at all.  It almost seemed as if he was going to laugh."  Dane couldn't continue.

"He was certainly satisfied with himself," Master Tabret continued.  "His idea had worked.  By introducing chaos into the situation he had made it unpredictable."

"What a psycho," Jubali replied, disgusted.

"Well maybe this will help us know what he's up to," Guro spoke up startling everyone.  They had nearly forgotten he was there.  He was holding up a small datacard, and suddenly everyone remembered why they had been tasked to save the Damsel in the first place.

"Okay, let's see what's on this thing," Dane said, taking the card from Guro and inserting into a reader on the med bay's display port.  A simple text file appeared on the monitor, with words written in strange lettering.

OOC: Make an Intelligence check.

OOC 12+1=13

Because of her recent study of the Naboo Crisis before the mission to Kel Dor, Jubali was barely able to recognize the characters as Gunganese.

Jubali gasped.

"I was just studying this!  This is Gunganese!  Remember the Naboo Crisis?  This is the language of their native non-humans.  What would his document be doing in Gunganese?"

"I'm not sure," Master Tabret said thoughtfully, her brow furrowed.  "We should report this to the Council and see how they want us to proceed."

Soon miniature versions of each Council member were represented in blue on the holodisplay.

"We believe you should continue on with your investigation into this matter," Mace Windu was saying.  "Proceed to Naboo yourselves, and discuss with the Naboo Joint Council the document.  I'm sure one of the Gungans will be able to translate it for you."

"But be wary you must," Master Yoda spoke up.  "Improved are the relations between the Naboo and the Gungans, but not everyone on the Joint Council is happy about it."

"We understand masters," Sonora acknowledged.

OOC: Does Jubali want to speak up before the transmission ends?

"Masters, a destabilization of an unsteady council matches the Paladin's trend.  What if taking document to them is what he wants?  Maybe we should find out what it says first in case it's lies about the Nabooians."

"Very insightful of you Padawan, but whom would you suggest to translate the text, but a Gungan?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked.

"Someone without political power, someone who has no interest if the text says something bad."

"The safe move that may be," Master Yoda replied.  "But not necessarily the smart move."

"What do you mean master?" Sonora asked.

"I'm afraid the Joint Council would not look kindly upon us going behind their backs to discover what this says," Master Windu answered.  "It may cause more strife than taking it to them and having something unfavorable be contained in it."

"Maneuvered us into a corner, the Paladin has," Yoda commented.

"Then we go in openly," Jubali suggested.  "Tell them up front that the person who had it is deceptive and manipulative.  That we don't know what it says but that there's potential for it to be inflammatory lies.  Then at least they're doubting what's written."

"I think the Joint Council would appreciate your candor," Ki-Adi-Mundi commented.

"If there are no other concerns, please proceed to Naboo," Master Windu finished.

OOC: Any more comments/questions?

"Thank you, Masters," Jubali said, bowing and feeling a bit giddy from their positive comments about her.

The flight to Naboo was uneventful, and they were easily granted a landing space at the Theed Spaceport.

"I'll arrange getting the ship repaired," Dane said to Master Tabret, "if you want to get these two," he poked his thumb at Jubali and Traest, "some medical attention."

"Sounds good," Sonora answered.  "We can meet back up at the entrance to the Royal Palace in a few hours."

Ranger Cardosa nodded in agreement.

OOC: Does Jubali strike up any conversations on their way to the hospital?

OOC Nope.

Jubali admired the beautiful buildings as they traveled but knew she'd have to wait until later to get a better look.

When arriving at the hospital, they were cordially greeted and then sent to triage.  "Now that you're safely here, I'm going to go arrange our meeting with the Joint Council," Master Tabret informed Jubali.  "I will be back soon."

True to her word, by the time Jubali and Traest were moved from triage to treatment rooms, Master Tabret returned.  "I'm afraid the Council will not be able to grant us audience for two days.  It's probably just as well though, from what I've learned from the physician, it may take that long to get you back to your best.  And for Traest, it definitely will."

Soon Ranger Cardosa arrived.  "I got the Eclipse all set up for repairs.  It will be a several hours, but it sounds like we'll be here at least that long."

OOC: Does Jubali have any comments during her two-day hospital stay, or is she just going to rest?

Jubali tried not to show her relief at being able to rest for two days in a comfortable hospital.

All too soon it was time to meet with the Naboo Joint Council.  The four heroes arrived and were introduced to each member of the Council before the meeting began.  After introductions, Queen Amidala, ruler of the Naboo, spoke.  "Honored Jedi, distinguished Rangers, tell us, why have you come?"

"In truth, we have come seeking your help," Master Tabret began.  "Some information has come into our possession that we are unable to analyze because it is written in Gunganese.  We were hoping members of this body could interpret it for us."

"Meesa certian we could," Boss Nass, leader of the Gungans spoke up.  "But meesa must be askin', wherun did you be gettin' dis information?"

"A valid question, Boss," Ranger Cardosa responded.  "It was retrieved by Republic Intelligence during an undercover operation."

OOC: Does Jubali want to add anything?

"Be wary, though," Jubali warned.  "The person behind this seeks to sow chaos and discord.  What's written here could very well be lies designed to push apart the Gungans and the Humans."

OOC: Go to the new topic "Adventures on Naboo".