The twin suns beat down upon the harsh landscape. They baked the sand, making it hot to the touch. The heat could be seen rolling off in waves in the distance. A land this harsh seemed impossible for anything living to survive, but there were lifeforms. Mainly small lizards or creatures that burrowed into the sand, seeking the cool darkness below.

It was eerily quiet, with only the light sound of wind and blowing sand to make any noise. One could stand there and feel completely isolated from the world around them. Lost and adrift in the sea of sand and sun, it felt like the rest of the universe was far away and nothing mattered....

But all this was shattered by the sound of an explosion. One so loud and powerful the ground underneath shifted. The sand dunes tumbled, the lizards ran in all directions, and the sky itself seemed to tear apart in response.  The sand turned black and glassy as a massive surge of light and heat rolled out across the endless desert all around.

A crater was all that was left. What used to be a small, isolated community was no more. The small community of no more then 50 people was gone. The buildings, people, structures, and even the rock formations around were no more. Just a large, smoking, blackened crater was left of his home.

Sindrynn fell to his knees on the hill overlooking his home. His family, and friends, and all that he grew up with was gone. Just like that, with 1 shot from orbit, the entire settlement vanished. It was almost as if it was never there, and he himself was an anomaly.  As Sindrynn felt the anger and sadness and gaping hole of loss hitting him, he began screaming loudly....

...only to wake up in bed. Breathing hard, sweating, and with a massive headache.

In reply to GameMaster (msg # 1):

It was several seconds before the immediate panic subsided enough for reason to return. Details trickled in through his senses; the sweat-soaked blankets of his bunk, the stale air of passenger transport, the softly chiming wall chrono reminded him that he was aboard a transit ship toward the outer rim world of Rishii.

Rumors through the few underworld contacts he'd kept told of a humanoid that had been spotted performing feats of prescience and telekinesis which were inexplicable without use of the Force. Having pleasantly departed from his mentors, the Zeison Sha, he was seeking others with talents to manipulate the energy field which permeated the universe.

Turning to exit his bunk, he silenced the chrono's alarm. 'Enough time to take a sanisteam, at least,' he thought to himself.

I realize this is a bit presumptuous - making up his errand/ destination. I'm not sure how much creative control of the story you want to cede, so holler if I overstep bounds or need to adjust a detail to fit.

After taking a sani-steam to help relax, Sidrynn almost lost his balance upon leaving the stall. The deck underneath him seemed to sway and shake for a few seconds before returning to normal.  Though it seemed the ship had gotten quieter. The low hum of hyperdrive engines was gone and only silence filled its place.

OOC:

I am find with you filling in details. I prefer pcs to take liberties and shape things to fit their characters.  If there is a conflict I will let you know. The more details you fill out, the less work for me.

Hanging his towel back up, he dressed as quickly as he could. 'Not sure why I don't feel the realspace engine vibrations. I didn't hear any alarms, so we must just be on maneuvering thrusters.'

Slipping into his armor, he smiled at the play in the buckles. The work of his own hands, he had sunk a lot of time and money into it; while it was nowhere near as impressive as the suits of his mentors, it had kept him safe more than once.

He was just settling his cloak around his shoulders when the cabin door hissed. Looking up, he saw his suitemates entering; the Rodian hunter turning immediately to his bunk, and the portly human giving him a smile.

"Are we there yet?" he asked them.

The human looked and him and shook his head.  "Gravitational anomaly. Screwed up the ship's hyperdrive.  Ship is drifting until it gets worked out."

He then pushed past Sidrynn and into the newly vacated bathroom. He called back as the door closed.

"Might be awhile, so we might be a few hours late."

Sidrynn shrugged, nodding his greetings at the Rodian. "I may as well see if we're close enough to a HoloNet node to pick up messages," he said.

Keying the door open again, he stepped into the hallway. He was glad he'd spent the extra few credits on a bunk in a group room on C deck; the luxury on A was overkill, and the steerage rates at D hinted at the danger level expected.

Making his way to the public area of B deck, he keyed the terminal on. The HoloNet icon showed no connections available, so he typed a message to queue for the next time the ship passed one.

++Greetings teacher Norash. My journey goes well, and I am learning plenty about the galaxy. I am dreaming again of coming home at last, but fear I will be too late to help my family, as I had told you. I look forward to rejoining the class and spending afternoons talking about math.
Say hi to groundskeeper Ivan for me. ~Syd++

OOC - it's a message to the master he's nominally under, speaking cryptically. Lessens the chance of the Empire's agents picking up stray transmissions. The gist is that he's had the dream about his family and home being obliterated again, and asking him to share it with his initial tutor Ivan.

Locking the terminal again, he stood and stretched. People were coming back from the observation bubbles looking disappointed, so if he wanted to get a glimpse of where they were stranded, now was the best time to avoid the crowds. He made his way carefully to the stern starboard blister.

The holo terminal indicate the message was sent successfully.  Another patron was waiting to sue the terminal and took over once Sidrynn was completed.

As he made his way towards the starboard observation deck, he saw there appeared tobe a large, multi-colored anomoly near the ship.  It looked like the edge of a gaseous nebula that seemed to swirl and move slowly towards the ship.  Otherwise there was nothing but stars and blackness outside.

Sidrynn had a strange feeling as he looked at the nebula. Something did not sit right with
him and in fact it seemed like he remembered a similar story of an anomoly like this.  Nothing he could really remember well, but something that just seemed wrong.

"That's too familiar to be any good news," he said to himself.

Turning from the blister, he made his way quickly back to his room to grab the rest of his things. His human roommate was still in the refresher, and the Rodian was nowhere to be seen. Slinging his backpack over one shoulder, he left the room again and headed aft to the engineering section.

Reaching the areas of the deck reserved for ship personnel, he spotted a staff tech with a clean-pressed shirt and brand new ensign pips. 'Wonderful,' he thought for himself, flashing a smile at the recruit.

"Excuse me, ensign? I'm Tobruk Gann. I'm on vacation but I'm normally serving on the Receding Tide, the sister ship. I'm Grek-qualified on engineering, and I think they could use my help back there."

OOC - Trying to make a deception check to get back to the engines and sensors - what's the difficulty? And do you want me to roll my side in the future, or wait for a difficulty and roll it all together?

OOC:

No, good to wait and do it all at once. Deception vs the ensign would be 2D.

2 successes. (On a tablet that can't copy/paste, sorry.)

The young ensign looked confused and nervous and a little overwhelmed.  "I am not supposed to allow anyone back there. Not wihout proper authorization..." He trailed off as the ship suddenly shook a little and his face paled.  A few seconds later, the gravity on the ship failed and Sidrynn felt himself leaving the deck.  The young ensign's eyes went wide and he started flailing as his feet left the deck. He then bent over and started vomiting.

Sidrynn shook his head. Slipping the scanner goggles from his utility belt on his head, he pushed off the ceiling as soon as he could reach it, heading for the now unguarded door.

He slapped the release panel when it came in range, getting his first view of engineering. Looking around from his vantage point on the doorway, he saw the better-trained crew in here hanging off of handles and clip-points on the walls as they maintained their stations. The smell of engine lubricant and circuitry filled his nostrils as he pushed inwards.

First rule of a con is confidence, he reminded himself. "I'm here. What's the reading from sensors, Lieutenant? And did we suffer any damage?" he asked a small knot of technicians nearby.

One of the engineers looked over at Sidrynn for a moment before answering.  "Our hyperdrive triggered emergency shutdown due to a gravometric anomoly.  The system is reading some anomolies and none of the sublight engines are responding to commands. We are drifting and not the astromech computer is still working out our present location."

One of the other engineers leaned in and whispered something to him. He then looked at the second engineer and shook his head. "I do not care if he is authorized or not. At this point I will take any help I can get."

Sidrynn smiled. "Tell them I'm Tobruk Gann from the Rising Tide, on vacation. Have you already dispatched a team to the sublights? I'm fairly handy with a spanner."

He glanced around, noting where the other crew were positioned in case a hasty exit was needed.

The older engineer grunted at Sidrynn's obvious cover story. "I have a few techs down there now. Unfortunately the few droids we have on ship are not great with engines. So it is old fashioned organic engineers headed to investigate."

"Then that's where I'll head too." He dug a hydrospanner from his toolkit, then began hauling himself from bar to rail along the path indicated by the wall schematic.

Centering himself as he went, he drew upon the Force to quicken his reflexes and sharpen his senses. The tang of coolant was sharp, and he could pick up traces of a fresh puff pastry one of the crew had snuck in to eat.

Committing 1 force die to Sense for increased difficulty to hit, and 1 to bump Agi by 1 until otherwise noted.

As he decended into the lower sections of the ship, Sidryn had the feeling something was "off".  The ship and the general atmosphere just seemed wrong. Something was nagging at him, and it was getting louder. But he was unable to tell what it was.

As he reached one of the magentic doors to engineering, he found an engineer and a droid facing the door. Neither seemed to be moving or to react to his approach.

Letting himself float to a stop on the last handhold, he spied the pair ahead. Maybe it's time to do a little watching before I go charging in, he thought to himself.

Going to sit for 2-3 minutes and observe the figures to see if they do anything further. If nothing at that point, he's going to grab a credcoin from his pocket and float it gently past them to ping against the wall on the far side of them. I can make a stealth check if you'd like.

Neither of them move for the 2-3 minutes Sidrynn watches from afar. They did not react either when Sidrynn floated a credcoin down the hallway towards them.

Apologies for my delay! the past week has been crazy.

'That's definitely odd,' he thinks to himself. He shrugs, and pulls the coin back to himself with a minor exertion of the Force. Pocketing it, he pushes off the handle he was resting at, moving towards the still pair.

"Hey, the lieutenant in engineering thought I might be of some use back here. What seems to be the situation?" he asks as he floats closer.

Neither of them reacted.  As Sidrynn floated closer he was able to get a view of the front of them.  Both had a blaster bolt scorch mark burned into the center of their respective torsos.

Sidrynn sighed. "Of course it's not just a gravitic anomaly. It has to be murder, too."

Reaching to the small of his back, under his cloak, he loosens the leather thong holding his primary discblade. An unusual weapon, it was a ring of durasteel 35 centimeters in diameter, with the edge honed to a wicked sharpness.

Keeping one hand on the disc, he checked the pockets of the two figures for a comlink.

Sidrynn checked the human's pockets and found a comlink. Unfortunately it was smashed and pieces of it were floating away in the zero gravity.  The droid did not appear to have an external comlink.  The door leading past them to the engines showed burn marks around the locking panel.

Shaking his head, he pulled himself beside the burned door panel. Seeing the edges peeling, he pried it away slightly, examining the wiring behind.

Does it look blasted to open it, or blasted to keep it closed? From this side or the other? And is it a Mechanics check to get the door open?

Blasted to disable the panel and open the doors. From this side. And you can just push them open with a medium (2d) brawn roll.

With a grunt of exertion, Sidrynn heaves the door open.

05:49, Sun 09 Aug 2015: Sidrynn rolled 1 success, 1 threat  using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2d 2a ((4(D), 4(D), 5(A), 2(A))).

The door opened after much exertion from Sidrynn.  It made a loud grinding noise as it opened up. If anyone was around, they definately heard the door open.

Inside was a small corridor. Access panels lined both sides.  The corridor continued until it branched in 2 directions.

A few lights glinted here and there on the status readouts, but most were dark. Propelling himself from handhold to handhold, Sidrynn grimaced at the tang of burnt circuitry in the already stale air.

He chose the right hand path as the corridor split. Near the far end, he could see a sign for engine one; he reasoned it was as good a place to start as any.

Mechaincs or computer use checks.  3D for the panel.

My bad! I thought the corridors were open and the access panels were to wiring along the sides of the hall.

11:36, Tue 11 Aug 2015: Sidrynn rolled 2 successes, 1 advantage using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2p 1a 3d ((9(P), 10(P), 4(A), 2(D), 1(D), 7(D))).

OOC:

Yes, that is what I meant. I meant to roll to get the panels powered back up.  Sorry, did not describe it well.  You passed and can turn them back on and see some of the wires were cut.

"Well, I'm down here to help, may as well start here." Sidrynn pinched a rail between his feet, floating near the panel's exposed wiring. It was a simple matter to bypass the damaged circuit - almost like whoever had sabotaged it didn't have time to foul it up properly.

"Or someone was already trying to fix it and got called away."

It took a few minutes in the unfamiliar environment, but Sidrynn was able to fix a few of the connections. As he repaired the 3rd wire pair the gravity suddenly snapped back online and he fell to the floor.

"Blast!" he cried in surprise as he thumped to the durasteel floorplates. The return of gravity luckily wasn't fast enough to hurt him.

"Good thing I spent that week on the dead station. Never thought I'd be saying that." He rubbed at his stomach as he stood up, the armor plates making it little more than a reflexive gesture.

Turning back to the hallway he resumed his travels to the first engine.

The damage to the engines was obvious. It was hard to miss the burn and scorch marks on the outside casing afterall. It was obvious the engine controls caught on fire at some point in the near past.  The room was otherwise empty and showed no other signs of sabatoge.

Does the damage look 'natural' like the engines overheated with a surge of inducted energy? Or more like they were subjected to either attacks or sabotage?

It is obviously not natural. Tool marks and traces of sabatoge can be seen on the engine covering.

"Well whoever did this is pretty thorough. That's not good for us," he mutters to himself. Realizing they're still loose, he opts to try and find the saboteurs and come back for the repairs once they're dealt with.

He turns and heads towards engine 2.

Engine room two looks similar to the other room.  Damaged and signs of sabatoge on the engine housing and interior components.  It too was empty and eerily quiet.

"This is taking too long - I need to head them off." Scanning a nearby deck plan, he traced the route to the farthest engine, hustling as best he could.

With the gravity restored, Sidrynn quickly made his way through the engine compartment. Near the back of the compartment there was a figure bent over and holding a torch to the engine housing.

Assuming you mean cutting torch, and aren't just British. Is it activated or inert?

You know, I had considered that phrasing might be confusing if you are British. But I decided to go with it anyway.   Yes, it is a cutting tool that is currently active and in use melting a hole in the engine housing.

I should learn to be more specific with my descriptions.

I'm not a Brit myself, but have dealt with several in the recent past so I wanted to clarify. Though you probably would have said glowrod if you'd meant flashlight. :D

As to descriptions - one of the best pieces of advice I ever got, when it came to scene building, was this: try and occupy one or two non-visual senses per description. More and it starts getting cluttered, but that seems to be the sweet spot. It can be a clue, throwaway fluff, or maybe even spark a fantastic plot hook down the line.

I've been having a crazy couple of weeks, so I haven't been able to world-build details as readily. I'll work on that, too.

Sidrynn creeps forward as quickly as he quietly can. Only one chance to get a first hit in, he thinks to himself as he readies the discblade.

I have to get to Short range to throw the discblade. About how far from him am I starting, and what's the difficulty for a Stealth check?

The being in front of him did not seem to notice him.  He was hunched over with the torch held to the engine housing. The glow of the bright flame gave way to the glow of heated metal underneath.  The scent of burnt metal was prevelant in the small space with the air recyclers down.

I have been off the last few weeks as well. I know my posts have been subpar but I have been busy and burned out by the time it comes to updting the game.  So I apologize for the low quality of my posts.

Stealth 2D since he is distracted and gravity is low.

Wow. Apparently with all his training, and the distractions, he's still not that great at sneaking :/

07:09, Today: Sidrynn rolled no successes using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 1a 2p 1b 2d ((6(A), 3(P), 3(P), 6(B), 7(D), 3(D)))

No success, but no failure.  So net that as 0.  So you move forward a bit unsteadily and can try it again.

07:57, Today: Sidrynn rolled 1 failure, 4 advantages using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2p 1a 1b 2d ((5(P), 6(P), 8(A), 5(B), 3(D), 8(D))).

There, a failure proper. Now are you happy? :P

Everything was going in Sidrynn's favor as he moved slowly towards the figure. As he got within close distance, however, he banged into one of the cooling pipes running about knee-high. The pipe made a loud clanging noise and the figure turned to look at Sidrynn.  He quickly grabbed a blaster laying next to him and took aim.

Yes, very happy. So.....combat?

10:11, Today: Sidrynn rolled 1 success, 2 advantages using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2a ((5(A), 7(A)))

Looks like it. I still have both the commits going -  forgot to factor the increased agility into the stealth rolls. >_< On the upside, the guy increases difficulty to hit Sidrynn once, and he has both melee and ranged defense 1 :)

For the sake of making things go fast, I am going to say you go first. So le tme know what you decide.

I'll use those advantages to have made it to short range but he noticed me before I could launch a strike.

20:53, Today: Sidrynn rolled no successes, 1 advantage using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 1p 3a 1d ((1(P), 5(A), 1(A), 6(A), 4(D))).

This. Diceroller. Hates. Me. Well, I don't know if he had any defense or anything - was going against the base difficulty for short range. The discblade is using the Ascian Throwing Dagger stats out of Fly Casual.

As the saboteur whips around, I curse the loose panel underfoot as I fling my discblade at him. I had spent months training to use the odd weapon, but he jerked as it flew towards him and it zipped past him harmlessly, clanging against the engine housing.

I take a few steps to close with him, drawing my second blade as I did. "Who sent you!" I snarl, trying to seem more ferocious than I felt.

The sabatour fired his blaster as Sidrynn moved towards him.  His shot was off, but just enough to graze him.  It burned through the fabric cover Sidrynn's left arm but did not do any more then lightly burn the skin beneath.

He backed up but ran into the engine casing and cursed to himself.

OOC:


08:52, Today: GameMaster rolled 1 success, 2 threats using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2a 3d.

Using the threats to throw off his aim and say it only grazed your arm. You are within short distance and can take another shot if you like.

06:29, Today: Sidrynn rolled 3 successes, 4 advantages using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 1p 3a 2b 1d ((11(P), 2(A), 5(A), 3(A), 4(B), 4(B), 8(D))). 06:39, Today: Sidrynn rolled 82 using 1d100 ((82)).

That's more like it! Two strain to double aim, apparently pegged him straight on. Six damage with pierce 2. With the advantages, I'll inflict a crit (Winded - no voluntary strain for abilities/ extra maneuver) (2 adv), regain 1 point of strain, and gain a boost die on my next check.

Seeing how the saboteur was favoring his left leg, Sidrynn feinted to that side, loosing the disc as he tried to leap out of the way. The man gasped in pain as it slashed deep into his good leg - no acrobatics for him, for a while.

"I can do this all day. Throw down your blaster."

The blade shot out of the launcher, on target this time.  It flew directly towards his leg and struck the sabateour deep in the thigh. Blood started shooting out of the wound immedietly. The man yelled out and doubled over in pain. He dropped the blaster in his haste to put both hands on his wound and stop the geyser of blood shooting out and covering him and the surrounding surfaces.

OOC:

Critical to hit a major artery. You are not a doctor, but you have a feeling he is likely seconds away from death.

Minor note - no launcher. Think the ring that Xena threw around, the discblades are very similar. The Wookiepedia entry for Zeison Sha has a picture.

As to the dude, I have no medkit, nor medical training. I think he's beyond saving, but I can try a Medicine check to try and bind it. Using 2d for diff of crit.

"Well, you did throw down the blaster." Sidrynn scoops it up, dropping it into a spare pouch on his pack. He also retrieves one of the discblades, then kneels over the injured enemy. Using the finely-honed edge, he cuts off a sleeve of the man's tunic and tries to wrap it around the wound as best he can.

"I can get you back to a medic, and this should be enough to get you there. Who sent you? Why were you destroying the engines?"

07:11, Today: Sidrynn rolled 2 successes using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 3a 2d ((7(A), 3(A), 5(A), 5(D), 5(D))).

The being, obviously a human now that he was up close, looked up at Sidrynn. His eyes were unfocused and he did not appear to comprehend the questions.  He was pale and shaking as he laid on the cold deck with his life slipping away.

His mouth moved but no sounds were coming out. He was whispering but only barely audible. It was not until he leaned in close that Sidrynn could make out anything. And then it was only 2 words. "Howling Tempest."


OOC:

Sorry for the misunderstanding. Thanks for clearing it up. I was thinking along the lines of the sith disk launcher. I should have looked into the weapon more.

As for the guy, well, he was a throw away. Not intended to survive the combat at all. So no worried.

Sidrynn shook his head. "Well, I've got more than I did a minute ago. Sorry, guy."

He retrieved the other disc, stowing them again at the small of his back. Checking the torch, it was still too hot to carry, so he set it on the workbench near the emergency repair tools.

Bending over, he quickly searched through the guy's pockets, finding an odd trinket of carved wood. He didn't recognize the design or origin, but knew he should bring it to the crew's attention.

If the rest of his pockets are empty of anything significant, I'll head back to the engineering hub.

The only other significent item in the man's pockets was a comlink. It appeared encrypted and currently tuned into a frequency. A quick check showed nothing but silence on that channel.

Standing up, he turns and retraces some of his path, intending to bring this news back to the engine crew. Disc in hand, he still startles with every creaking conduit or clacking relay.

Things were eerily quiet as he made his way back up out of the engine compartment. As he passed the first sabatogued engine, the comlink he commandeered clicked on.

++Come in, Rix. Did you complete the task? Are we on schedule?++

Thinking quickly, Sidrynn wraps his sleeve around the comlink and speaks quietly, trying to muffle his voice. ++I got spotted, but I dealt with them. On the last one.++

Not waiting for a response, he started jogging back, giving up stealth for speed.

What's the difficulty for a deception check?

Deception to do what? Just straight up lie? Or try to trick with half-truths?  I need to know what you plan to do before I can give a difficulty.

To pretend to be this Rix person, convincing whoever is on the other side long enough to buy a few more minutes to get back to the engine crew. I tried to give myself a boost with the muffling cloth.

Ok I will say 2D

12:30, Today: Sidrynn rolled 1 success using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2p 1a 2d ((3(P), 2(P), 1(A), 1(D), 2(D))).

There was a momentary pause before a voice responded.

++Hurry up! The longer this takes the more chance someone sends a distress. Unlock the port airlock and we will dock once you signal all clear.++

Less than a minute later, that felt like a lifetime, Sidrynn made it back to main engineering. Bursting through the doorway he noticed fewer crew than before, but still saw several uniformed crewmembers.

"Bad news," he panted, catching his breath from the sprint. "Sabotage. Raiders. Port airlock." Catching sight of the blood splashes on the front of his cloak, he paled somewhat. "Stopped one," he added.

One of the crewmembers stepped forward.  He was wearing the uniform of a security officer and his hand fell to his blaster at his side.

"Stop right there! Are you saying you attacked the ship and the port airlock? And killed crewmembers?!"

"Other way around. Saboteur destroyed the engines. Stopped him at number four. His comlink," Sidrynn waves the device around, "said the rest were at the port airlock waiting to dock, and attack."

"I'm Tobruk, from the Receding Tide, taking my leave time. I offered to help when we had engine trouble. You really need to do something about this. I'm just engineering."

The guard stared at him for a moment not seeming to understand what he was just told.  He then grabbed a comlink and spoke. "I am going to have to call my supervisor."

He then started talking into the comlink in Huttese.

Nodding, Sidrynn focuses on steadying his breathing as the officer calls for orders. He looks around, noticing expressions of badly hidden worry on the faces of the crewmembers.

Sorry about my lengthy delay there - main compy died and I've been trying to do everything from an old, beat-up laptop. Ordered a new power supply today so hopefully that'll help.

The guard turned off the comlink and looked up at Sidrynn. "Ok, follow me. They want you up on the bridge to talk to the captain."

He then started walking down the corridor and toward the turbolift.

Sidrynn looked around the room, at the remaining crew refusing to meet his glance. Holding the comlink to the side, he seemed to be trying to find someone to take responsibility for the situation, but everyone was engrossed in their work - a few keying in commands on obviously dead terminals.

With a long-suffering sigh, he turned and followed the officer towards the bridge. "Can we at least make it a quick trip, in case someone wants to fake being a conspirator and probe for more data?"

The guard did not respond as he lead Sidrynn to the bridge and up to a closed door. The marking above it indicated it was the Captain's Office.  The guard stood aside and motioned Sidrynn to panel next to the door.  The other crew members did not seem to pay any attention to the non-crewmember on the bridge.

Sidrynn palmed the door chime, and moments later it slid open before him. Catching the faint aroma of cigarra smoke, he carefully stepped inside the door.

"Greetings, Captain. I didn't expect to get to see the bridge on this sightseeing tour. You guys really pull out all the stops."

The captain looked up from his screen at Sidrynn. He was an older human male, probably in his late 50s.  He had a glass of corellian whiskey sitting on his desk next to a lit cigarra.

"So you are the one who got my engines online. They say my engineers were killed. Can you tell me what is going wrong on my ship?"

"Not with certainty. I found two engineers killed with a blaster, and someone cutting holes in your engines with a plasma torch. His comlink," Sidrynn tosses it onto the desk, "says another ship is outside the 'port airlock' for when he was finished."

"Only other piece of information was his last words. 'Howling Tempest'. Doesn't mean anything to me, though."

The captain's face paled a little as hge listened to Sidrynn's story.

"Howling Tempest? They are a band of pirates that operate in this area. They usually only hit cargo or luxury liners. Not a passenger ship like this. I wonder why they attacked us now?"

As he finishes talking the lights flickered and dimmed in his office.

"Now what?!? Someone tell me what is going on!"

"Either you have more valuable cargo than you realized, or one of your passengers is of interest to them."

Sidrynn turned partway to keep an eye on the door, his boots squeaking on the plasteel flooring tile.. "How ready is your crew to repel boarders?"

"Against pirates? Of that type? Not very.  We mainly worry about small unorganized bands or unruly passengers. We are not equipped to handle a full attack from determind pirates."

"Then we're in a real bind. Send a squad to the port airlock to back me up and I'll do what I can. If we broadcast a distress call, they will catch it and know we failed. Can you tight-beam something to a hypercomm relay?"

What am I getting myself into, here? Sidrynn wonders.

The captain shook his head at Sidrynn's request.

"We dropped out of hypserspace in the middle of nowhere. The nearest system is about 25 light years away. And I am not sure it is populated so it might not have a relay."

He sighs. "Well, then I guess there's nothing to do but fight. I won't tell you how to disperse your own guards, but I'd really like some backup at that airlock."

Turning, he strides to the door, palming the release. "And if you haven't heard from us in ten minutes, go ahead and send that distress call."

"I will send a few of the men to the airlock. But we are not really trained soldiers. And if you are not back in ten minutes, I fear we are all doomed."

Whoops, sorry for the delay! I had issues switching between computers and missed this.

The bridge crew stared openly at Sidrynn as he stepped from the Captain's quarters. Giving them all a grim smile, he walked more confidently than he felt back to the central access corridor. He loosened the sleeves of his cloak for better movement.

I'm certainly committed now, he thinks to himself.

He again wraps the recovered comlink in his sleeve, keying the transmit button. "Clear," he speaks gruffly. Tucking it back into a pocket, he doubled his pace towards the airlock. He checked the charge of his blaster; full. Discblades ready to draw.

If I'm going to go, it might as well be with style, he thought. In less time than he'd expected he was at the last junction before the airlock.

Drawing one of his blades, he palmed the release. "And I'm all out of chewstim!" he said to the empty junction.

This part of the ship was quiet. The corridors were empty as most crew and passengers were moved to the far side to avoid any incoming enemies. Things seemed calm and quiet and almost peaceful. The only noise was a faint tapping and a very faint hissing coming from the airlock.

In reply to GameMaster (msg # 87):

Sidrynn walked to the airlock's control panel, studying the readouts to see how much time he had before the pirates swarmed out. The idea of dumping the air mid-cycle crosses his mind, but the unfamiliar system and niggling voice of conscience suggested he give them a chance to surrender and leave, first.

In response to your State of the Game post:

I'm not opposed to moving into another group story. I do want to finish off the pirate ambush here before jumping; whether I finish my business on Rishii and return to the galaxy, or if the new group meets me there, or maybe I get beat up and kidnapped by the pirates, either which way I'm fine with it.

Sidrynn as a character could also use some variety. Most of his life has been spent solo, so learning to work as part of a team would be very helpful - and challenging - for him.

The airlock finished cycling and opened up.  On the other side was a droid and a smiling Twi'lek woman.  She walked forward into the ship and turned to Sidrynn.

"A greeting party of one? For me? I think I should be a little insulted"

Sidrynn raised an eyebrow. This certainly wasn't the boarding party he'd expected.

"Be whatever you'd like, lady. I'm here to keep you from stealing the ship or harming the crew."

Spinning the drawn discblade around a finger, he looked them over. "So please, feel free to surrender. Your comrade already gave up his chance to."

She smiled at Sidrynn and held her hands up in front of her.  "Steal the ship and harm the crew? I would do nothing of the sort. Just what kind of operation do you think I am running here?"

Sidrynn shook his head. "Well, if you have a mole on board ruin the engines, catastrophically, I really doubt you're into charity work. Especially so far from help the only reasons I'll believe are related to piracy. But please, feel free to amuse me with a story."

The disc comes to a halt ready in his hand. "Though I'd make it a short one if I were you."

The droid quickly raised its arms and pointed built-in blasters at Sidrynn. It took a step forward to place itself between the two.

"Warning! Put down your weapons or you will be vaporized!"

The Twi'lek shook her head as she smiled nad then put her hand on one of the blaster barrels.

"Now now, that is a little much. My new friend here is just a bit nervous. He was only trying to show how tough he is. He would never attack a sweet woman like me."

"Not without reason. But assaulting the ship I'm travelling on is pretty good reason. So last chance. Why?"

He turned slightly to narrow his profile, but kept his eyes on both figures. He felt more than heard a thudding through the deckplates and hoped that was the promised reinforcements.

"Assault? Who said anything about assaulting anyone? I just wanted my ship back. It hs been so long, and this one was always my favorite. I am sure if you ask the captain he can clear up this little misunderstanding."

She stood smiling as the vibrations grew larder.  The sound of boots on the deck and metal clicking on metal came from behind Sidrynn as a few crewmembers ran forward with blasters drawn.

"I did. Destroying our engines to leave us adrift so you can board doesn't really fit under anything else. Regardless of your personal history, you've impeded all of us and put us in danger."

He turned partway to the lead crewmember, but made sure he could still see the woman. "Do you have any stun-cuffs or restraints we can put on her? Not that I believe her story, but the captain may still want to speak to her. And a restraining bolt for the droid would be good."

"I just want a friendly chat with the captain.  IS that too much to ask? No one needs any stun cuffs or restraining bolts. Just a sit down and a nice chat. Maybe you can moderate. You are the most likely neutral party on this ship."

"I think it is," he says. "See, I'm familiar with that technique. When the opponent has a fixed position, you offer something reasonable - then back down until you find something they will agree to, that's beyond their position. Any gain is a win for you and a loss for them."

"I still haven't heard anything about why we should even let you talk to the captain, much less be free as a bird. You're still at least connected to murders and sabotage, leading to taking this ship - that's piracy."

She sighed and shook her head at this latest comment. "Well, well. Someone who is not as boring and dull as these other spacers. But are you as simple minded as most of the grunts?"

ooc:

What is your deception?

2P 1A. Checks to identify him are upgraded once due to the Indistinguishable talent, if it applies.

Opposed deception roll.  3d

10:43, Today: GameMaster rolled 3 successes, 3 threats using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2a 1p 3d.

20:02, Today: Sidrynn rolled 4 successes, 1 threat  using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2p 1a 3d ((7(P), 5(P), 3(A), 4(D), 1(D), 5(D))).

"Now, just let me pass and I promise you no one will get hurt. And you can become my guest."


OOC:

She is trying to use mind influence. But you beat her, so you are not affected.

Smiling broadly, Sidrynn nods gently. "You know, I hadn't thought about that." Turning to the nearest ensign, he reaches for the comlink on security frequencies. "Just let me tell the captain you're coming with a guest, and nobody will get hurt."

Flicking on the comlink, he turns back to regard her, still smiling. "Captain, this is your motivated passenger. Our new visitor seems to be one of those mind-bending Jedi witches, and I recommend you go to complete lockdown until she is secured."

Flicking off the comlink, he drops it in a pocket, smile vanishing with it. He takes a step forward, all pretense of warmth gone. "I don't know what your story is. I no longer care. Unlike you, I paid for my ticket to Rishii."

I want to hurl my discblade into the robot's midsection, hopefully disabling it. We tried negotiation, we tried peaceful resolution, but she's going to warp minds until she succeeds, and stopping her is more critical right now. Lemme know what I need on the combat check.

Not sure the weapon skill on that. I am sure you have it though.

Otherwise it is just a check with the DC to hit the robot. IT is nothing special, so call it 3D.

Sorry, yeah, I meant setbacks or upgrades if it had adversary or something. Otherwise it's just based on range bands. How close am I to them? Influence basic power is engaged range, but the first range upgrade (to short) is just beneath it. The others require more investment.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:00, Fri 19 Feb 2016.

You were ready for the airlock to open and positioned for defense. So I would say short range. Unless you were literally on top of it and ready to smack anyone who entered in the face.  In which case this conversation is taking place pretty much face-to-face.

With a sudden snap of his arm, he hurled the metal disc into the droid's chest plastron, where it punched through the durasteel skin, striking vital innards.

09:02, Today: Sidrynn rolled 3 successes, 4 advantages using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 1p 2a 1d 2b ((8(P), 2(A), 8(A), 1(D), 4(B), 2(B))).

6 damage with pierce 2. Using 2 advantage to crit and the other 2 to impose a setback on the woman's next action.

09:05, Today: Sidrynn rolled 87 using 1d100 ((87)).

Compromised (average) - increase difficulty of all skill checks by 1 until end of encounter.

The disc flew from Sidrynn's hand and easily found the droid's center torso. It embedded itself inside, cutting into the armor that protected the sensitive electronics underneath.  A few sparks showed from the hole opened in the torso and the droid was frozen in place for the moment.

The woman looked at Sidrynn and the smile and friendly expression was gone. In its place was something in between anger and surprise.

"Well that was unexpected. But you will not get that opportunity again."

Are we moving into structured time for combat? I was planning to press the attack.

Yes we can move into combat.  I will let you go first since you did take her by surprise.

Sorry for the delay!

Resolving that the droid is the more dangerous target - for the moment - Sidrynn snatches his second blade off his belt, launching it forward and hoping to disable the foe entirely.

17:58, Today: Sidrynn rolled 4 successes, 1 advantage using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 1p 2a 1b 1d ((9(P), 2(A), 7(A), 3(B), 4(D))).

7 damage with pierce 2. Will use that spare advantage to give a boost to the next friendly character.

The blade flies forward and hits the droid.  It slides in between a seam on two metal plates and hits the internal wiring.   The droid begins sparking and babbling in high-pitched noises before it jerks forward and falls to the floor.

The woman pulls out a blaster and aims for Sidrynn before firing.  "You will pay for that!"

18:00, Today: GameMaster rolled 1 success, 1 threat using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2a 2d 1s.

Re-rolled to add setback die.  Gives you 1 threat to press on her.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:01, Sun 10 Apr 2016.

I have 4 soak and one point of defense, so she should have rolled an additional setback die.