After noting entrances to the chamber, Celes began calculating how quickly she could get the others back through the challenge rooms. The numbers in her head didn't look good. Either way, the fear was narrowing down to her more common expression of focus.

"Consciously, sure. Immune systems aren't usually consciously controlled, just look at allergies. That's why I asked how to handle it without endangering Ember. I haven't survived by shrugging and assuming everything's fine when people talk like Sundancer just did. 'Hoping to bring that up later,' right. Ember, are we safe from you or do we have to leave? " There were other concerns she had, but she wan't ready to bring up anything but immediate perceived dangers.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:34, Thu 24 Nov 2016.

TwoOneBee stood between DeeJay and Captain Ali, still completely mesmerized by the being they'd encountered.  Nothing in any of his copious data banks even came close to matching this xenobiological miracle.  His bio sensors worked furiously, analyzing everything around him, trying to solve the puzzle of Ember!  The old droid understood now why Master Sundancer had chosen to remain on this world; he could easily spend a lifetime studying such a unique life form.

It was in the midst of this reverie, this multitude of scientific speculation and hypothesis, that Ms Celes query came.  Her question, and the underlying anxiety behind it, returned TwoOneBee's focus to the immediate needs of the crew.  It took nanoseconds for the doctor to evaluate Ms Celes plight.  Her vital signs were becoming dangerously erratic as she fought her own rising panic.  TwoOneBee instantly engaged his human psycho therapeutic sub routine.  Her fears needed to be assuaged, that should alleviate her emotional turmoil.

"There are, in fact forty one million, three hundred and twenty six thousand documented ways for pathogens to survive in a living host organism hostile to its existence.  Some of the more interesting include disguising their nature by mimicking healthy host cells, and mutations which confound the antibodies programmed to attack more common strains of the disease...

However, I do not believe that is what you are referring to Ms Celes.  In this particular instance I must agree with Mr Thuk.  The information we have received thus far indicates the being known as Ember allowed us to come here peacefully.  They clearly have the capacity to destroy us, and yet they have not chosen to do so.  Logic indicates Ember is not hostile to us at the moment and, if we respond in a similarly pacifistic fashion we have a very high probability of survival.

Master Sundancer is alien, and yet Ember has obviously not harmed him.  In my professional opinion, Master Sundancer's presence and ours proves we are, for the moment, not in immediate danger.  Therefor your weapon is not required at this time."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:41, Thu 24 Nov 2016.

Shira blushed when Sundancer complimented her. A real Jedi master, approving of me. She let out a frightened squeak when Ember spoke for the first time. "Hello, Ember. It's umm... nice to meet you. I've never met a planet before." she began, trying to stay polite through the intense surprise and awkwardness. She turned to face the motes. "Thank you from protecting the Jedi."
"What's wrong?" she asked Ember gently. There was a trauma to the planet-mind, and she didn't know what to make of it. "Ember's only ever met Jedi, I can't think of anything that could have hurt him. Unless it's our traumas that give him such trouble."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:07, Fri 25 Nov 2016.

The danger of Ember had become wonder but now danger again as Celes contemplated being considered a 'phage'.

Sundancer was mildly startled at Celes now-drawn blaster but seemed to regain a desparate calm.  "May you be as perceptive as I ken you are, my friend.  I pray you can understand that, of all of the children here, Ember is the most frightened and vulnerable of them all."  It seemed as if there was more Sundancer truly wanted to say but he still remained silent.

After the comments of Grev and Thuk, Sundancer seemed to find his voice again.  "You speak of disease.  There is no disease more contagious than fear.  Calm yourself with this question; why hasn't Ember destroyed you?  It is within their power."

YOU THINK AND SPEAK WISDOM. WHY WOULD YOU DESTROY ME?

Ali felt a rush of panic. She should be able to control her fear better than this.  And then she realized, the fear wasn't her own.  It was Ember's.  Like a child in the dark, the planet was alone and terrified.  What could an entire planet be afraid of?

With all of the crew's measured and restrained responses, that mighty fear was being to subside, replaced with a tentative calm.

PERHAPS YOU ARE AN ALTERNATE MUTATION, STRONG ENOUGH TO OVERCOME THE DOMINANT IMPERIAL STRAIN.

Shira's goodwill, in addition to that of the others, seemed to tip the balance.  There was a intangible calm that seemed to sweep over the crew.  The clouds of what was now revealed to be Ember's component cells, seemed to brighten.  The air and temperature grew more pleasant.

EMBER HAS NEVER MET A SHIRA-PHAGE BEFORE.  EACH NEW CELL IS PLEASANT TO BEHOLD.

For the first time yet, Sundancer seemed to visibly relax. He actually smiled.

"Excellent.  Forgive me for being evasive. Ember wanted your reactions to be genuine and would detect any warning from me.  You are of good character, which may have saved us all.  I can be now more forthcoming."

"For eons, Ember has been invulnerable and immortal.  But now for the first time ever, Ember is under the same threat Alderaan was."

"The Death Star." Ali said in sudden understanding.

"Yes.  Although the first Death Star was destroyed, there will undoubtedly be others.  If a Death Star was to enter the Ember system, it's sheer power might be too much for even Ember to stop before their destruction.  Especially with a powerful Sith Lord such as Vader or Palaptine himself aboard to act as guardian.  Technically immobile and defenseless, Ember can be destroyed by the Empire at will."

"Perhaps the Empire would allow Ember to exist further, as an unassailable home for the Sith.  But certainly Ember won't be allowed to live free or to help the Rebellion.  We are asking Ember to risk their life, or perhaps even die for us."

Sorry for the delay, folks.  The ultimate and final battle is shaping up.

Ask me questions.  I know I have missed something.

"And the chances that Sundancer's been here long enough, or is strong enough with the Force, that he could hide from antibodies? In my experience, the immune system isn't part of any decision-making process."



"Yeah, I know."



"I wouldn't, Ember, but most of our species have elements of our blood that protect us from invasion, and I'd just as soon not be attacked by something similar. I also don't assume it's something you can control." Ember's telepathy was likely not going to have trouble picking up on Celes's surface thoughts. There was more than just one fear in her: she'd had some allergic reaction to a medical procedure long ago, and didn't want to become the cause of the same thing. She was more afraid for Ember than of them. At the same time there was anger at Sundancer, but it wouldn't take a Force-sensitive planet to pick up on that.



Celes stared at Sundancer blankly for a moment. She wrestled with her thoughts, and eventually holstered her blaster very slowly.

"...I can't believe you. Captain, I'll be outside." With that, she began the slow walk back toward the challenge chambers.

Shira shied away from Sundancer during the fear effect. She looked embarrassed by her reaction when it was over.

She smiled when Ember greeted her. "Kind of you to say."

"That had to be the first time Ember ever felt fear." Shira said sympathetically. "It reminds me of when the slavers got me... the world was suddenly a lot more hostile than I'd ever imagined."
"But Celes saved me from the slavers, and that's why I'm here today. You don't have to be so frightened, Ember. The Empire is powerful and scary, but the galaxy is full of good people like her. The best way to be safe is to help those good people defeat the Empire. We're all risking our lives so that one day none of us will have to be afraid of the Empire, not planets and not people." She spoke softly at first, as it was still hard sometimes to speak of her kidnapping, but her voice grew louder and more inspired as she went on.

"Besides, no one knows that a planet can be intelligent, let alone force sensitive. Unless Darth Vader or the Emperor comes here, they'll never know. I'm sure there's lots of ways you could help without giving away your secret, Ember. If we're careful"


"Celes! What's wrong?" Shira hurried along after Celes. Celes was a dear friend and she didn't like to see the bounty hunter upset.

Celes didn't stop to wait for Shira until she was in the next chamber over, the one with the laser death grid. It seemed that was far enough away to take a breath and try to compose herself. After that, she turned to Shira, still clearly angry, and quietly explained herself.

"I've been protecting you from the Empire. They'd do terrible things to you, Shira. Now we're protecting Thuraya. There's a lot of talk about the Dark Side of the Force, how the Sith would take you and twist you into weapons, or break you trying. I am here to make sure they don't. Now this Jedi abandons Thuraya's parents and they die as a result. He goes into hiding all these years and leads us right to this living planet. And as he keeps telling us, Ember is a child and scared." It was hard to keep the contempt out of her voice, but Celes was managing it. Shira knew the practiced calm, the discipline that went into the hunter's professional persona. It always looked ready to break when Celes talked about the kinds of marks who hurt children, and she seemed to think of Sundancer that way.

"The Empire is following us, it's just a matter of time until they arrive. So do we leave to lead them away from Ember? No, he wants to hand this planet over. To twist. To hurt. To turn into another of their weapons, like a Death Star but bigger and alive. Over my dead body. This isn't the Jedi we're looking for."

Ali heard Celes' words and, even more, felt the anger borne of frustration that conjured them.  She would not order her friend to remain.  And, even as a friend, she could not think of anything to say.  Nor could she think of anyway to respond to Shira.  She watched wander off to be alone, as alone as anyone could be on Ember.

Shira remembered her life, out of order and priority, her memories seemingly played at random.  She realized it was not her remembering but Ember searching her feelings, naively interpreted as an invitation from her words.  At the shock at the invasion of her privacy, the contact withdrew.  Ember learning of the idea of privacy and to apologize for its breach at the moment, the mighty planet sent its first feeling of embarrassment.

THANK YOU, SHIRA-PH; SHIRA.  THERE ARE WORLDS WITHIN YOU, YOU ARE SO LARGE INSIDE SO SMALL.  HOW EMBER WISHES TO BE SMALL ENOUGH TO MOVE, TO TRAVEL, TO FLEE.

Celes was too far away for even a Sullustan to hear but Sundancer seemed to Ali to change in expression.  "I have been a babysitter for so long, I sometimes forget to behave among adults.  Captain, there are several other souls here who could use a ride home.  I will ask Ember to repair your ship." Ali almost scoffed, 'Star had been very damaged.  "The Force of an entire planet can do much indeed."

"Then you should go.  I will remain with Ember until they arrive and then, one way or another, I will deny the Empire at least one Force-user."

Above, the whirling mists of Hyperspace faded into the rushing starfield of the Galaxy.  Only the planet and its sun were close enough to visibly leap towards the Khara.  Through the viewports, the Princess only showed mild interest.  Given the sheer number of planets they had investigated, this planet only stood out for it was one of the uncommon system from which a probe droid has disappeared without a trace.

In and of itself, a vanished probe was not particularly worrisome.  The Galaxy was a dangerous place, especially on its ragged edges.  But each incident had to be reported on this endless and hopeless quest to find the Rebels.  "Ember." Octal Chrome was not a poet, he (it) had lost that when his brain was defleshed, if it was ever a capability.  The Princess snorted in disdain.  But the next moment both were suddenly alert.  Even at this distance the Force tickled and teased their senses.  There weren't words for the different subtleties of the Force.  The insensate wouldn't understand them and those strong in the Force had better ways of conveying such meaning.  But Ember had a different, and uniquely indefinable, 'scent' to the Sith.

"Such welcome curiousity."  The Princess said, smiling in forbidden wonder.

Ember's cry reached every living mind within the crew, Thuraya informed the droids of the bad news.

AN IMPERIAL-STRAIN VECTOR IS WITHIN MY PRESENCE.  I AM DISCOVERED.  QUICKLY, ALL ALTERNATE STRAINS MUST FLEE LEST THEY TOO BECOME INFECTED...

Thanks for your patience, guys.  The title fight is shaping up.  Ask me questions, I know I have forgotten something.

As the Khara slowly orbited Ember, the planet itself recoiled, causing storms and tsunamis.

Protected by the stone temple they were in, the crew only felt a slight tremor.  Ali raised an eyebrow.

THE VECTOR HAS ORBS OF DARKNESS WITHIN IT.  EMBER FEARS!!

Sundancer himself seemed slightly uncertain as to what could cause such a unique sensation to Ember.  "Careful, Ember.  Fear is the enemy, not them."  To the others, he said, "Ember is still new to fear, and control over it.  Their panic is what brought your ship down.  Their control and growing empathy is what brought it down in one piece."

"Wait.  Ember has panic attacks?" Thuraya asked.

EMBER WILL STERILIZE AND PURGE THE VECTOR!

"Destroy the Imperial ship? Can Ember do that?" Ali asked Sundancer.  The old Jedi nodded glumly. "Very likely.  The real question is, will Ember do just that?"  "Good. Problem solved." Thuraya said.

A darkness and coldness, at the edge of perceptions, seemed to pass through the Force-sensitives nearby, enough for the dread to be visible on Ali's face.

Another interim post while there is a lull.  It is not a stretch to intuit that the 'dark orbs' are the Force-dulling Ysalamiri, unique to Ember's experience.  The planet is not handling the news well.  To save on redundant posting, assume that someone is translating Ember's 'words' to TwoOneBee and the canny droid can pretty piece the situation together from observing the living.

Thuk could feel the fear, radiating out in waves from Ember. This was the great weakness of his kind, to lose their Balance and become Lost. But Thuk was no bud to be Lost to what was after all not even his own fear, and he let it wash through him and over him, until only he remained.

He reached out to Ember,calming it. The words were those that he might have used to any apprentice facing battle for the first time (slightly modified for talking to a Planet-mind), but the gestalt behind them had all of the cold assurance of the veteran in his battered armor laying a hand on the shoulder of the frightened neophyte. "Easy there Ember, we fight with you, and we have fought these before. Do not slight the fear, it will keep you alive, but do not let it rule you either. Remember that you are made the most deadly thing in this Sector, and that they would do best to fear you. Let your fear pass through you until all that remains is you yourself, then strike with the speed of the Arrow-wing and the ferocity of the Diver-daunt."

"Calmly, coldly, with certitude."

Thuk looked over at Ali. "Captain, we should take off immediately. If that Empire ship gets away..."

Things didn't look good, but Celes got an idea as the Imperials approached. She wasn't sure it was a good one, but it was something.

"If we leave, Ember and Sundancer both die or worse. If we stay, we all do. Maybe there's another way. Captain, we have an advantage we haven't had before. If Ember can use their power to mask the 'Star, we can get aboard the enemy ship and disable it from inside. It's a longshot, but I'd sooner try it than abandon the mission."

Grev, silent til now, finally spoke.  "I will not permit the Empire to harm Ember.  Let us see how Red's planned hunt works."

TwoOneBee was very grateful for the translation, considering he could not personally hear what was being transmitted.  The old doctor was still amazed by the planet Ember itself, and certainly wasn't about to allow such a unique life form to come to harm.  He was impressed by the Master Jedi's loyalty and determination to protect the living world, and he wanted to help.

"Forgive me for intruding.  I know that my opinion may not matter much, but for whatever it is worth, I am in agreement with Ms Celes.  It is, of course, a dangerous risk, and the odds of success may be... well rather against it, but I do believe it will not be expected.  If I may help in any way Ms Celes I am at your disposal." 
This message was last edited by the player at 04:45, Wed 21 Dec 2016.

Shira gasped as Ember searched through her memories.
She blushed when Ember complimented her. It seemed so strange that a being so powerful would envy a girl fragile enough to be threatened by day to day life. "You're welcome. Maybe when this is over, we can bring you some holos or something, so you can see other worlds."

"Hey, Ember, don't be scared. You've got to stay calm. That's how the Jedi used to use their powers. I'm sure we can come up with something."

"We'd have to hijack the ship and take it somewhere else before destroying it. If it dissapears in Ember's system, they'll come looking for it." Shira responded to Celes' idea. She checked her sporting blaster.

Her crew has put forth two plans, one to leave and one to strike the now crashed Khara.  Ali considered them both.  "I think we must prevent the Imperial ship from getting a distress signal off first.  Then, we can possibly chose from one of two ships, for escape as needed."  It was a gamble but Ali could not think of any outcome that would not bring the Empire to Ember, sooner or later.  The most the crew could hope for was later, it seemed.  Besides, it seemed Thuk's conversation had slowed slightly as if her old friend was in deep concentration.

For a moment, Ember knew what is was to be a small being on another planet.  Thuk had conveyed the thoughts that effectively.

SO STRANGE, SO WONDROUS.   EMBER TRUSTS THUK.  And then, EMBER DOES NOT NEED HOLOS.  SHIRA'S THOUGHTS ARE ENOUGH.  EMBER IS CALMED... FOR NOW.

Ali took the omens as good.  With no hard facts, faith would have to do.  "OK, Celes, Grev; let's bring the battle to the newcomers.  TwoOneBee, let's minimize the battle damage."  The crew began to sneak towards the other vessel, planning on the way.  Thuraya and Sundancer followed along silently.  The girl had a grim smile on her face at the thought of attack.  Sundancer was also enigmatic in expression but did not object.

---------------------------------------

Consciousness returned, an unwelcome trespasser to the mind of the Princess, for it brought pain and shock.  Her techniques and training quickly brought these distractions down to a manageable level.  The Khara was more or less in the same condition.  The lights flickered but the gravity did not perceptively change but Ember's gravity was the 1G of Galactic Standard.  Likely they had crash-landed, emphasis on the former.

She picked herself up painfully off the slightly-slanted deck.  Octal Chrome righted himself, it that was the right word for something so oddly designed.  The two of them began to tend to the Force-sensitives and the Force-blind among them.  This was not compassion but a realization that every being aboard the vessel might be needed.  The Princess felt the void and emptiness of its passing before her eyes saw the Ysalamiri batting at the viewport, confused at the invisible barrier between it and the verdant oasis beyond.

Octal Chrome was speculating as to the nature of the mysterious storm that had brought a ship full of Sith Inquisitors low.  But the Princess was beginning to understand for, around the Ysalamiri, beyond the viewport, the vegetation was beginning to wither and die.

"Is this very planet one with the Force?"

While Ember loves Sundancer in their way, they currently trust Thuk in this combat situation due to a well-used Force Point.  Currently, you have the advantage.  The crew of the Khara are still recovering from their crash as our heroes are making their assault.  You can post until you are within sight of the Khara (your characters can observe without being observed at that point).  While the initiative is with you, the Princess (for one) is beginning to place the true nature of Ember together...

As the crew moved out to take the fight to Empire, Celes's plan needed to shift quite a bit as they took in more information. The enemy wasn't coming in a Star Destroyer or other large craft which the Fabled Star could sneak aboard, but something smaller.

"Frigate. No more than a hundred aboard, most probably crew so we're looking at around 20 stormtroopers at most. Could be as little as a couple dozen operating the ship, though. Procedure for a crash is to send scouts to secure the perimeter before sending out longer range search teams. That gives us options.

First, we can take out the guards and then start picking them off from the wild when they come out to deal with us. Or we could slip in behind the guards and try to sneak around aboard the ship. I doubt we'd get too far before being noticed, but the ability to put closed doors between us and blasters might help. Also if we could slice into their computer, we might take control of things like security systems and communications."

The presence of the Force did not require sentience, the animalistic Ysalamiri and Vornskr were proof of that.  The Princess extended her senses.

EMBER IS.

It was more a statement of awareness than actual words, but her mind supplied the words anyway as a byproduct of her eusocial evolutionary roots.  "It's alive!  Chrome, this entire planet is alive and thinking."

"What a prize for the Emperor."  His reply put a quizzical look on the Princess' face.  Octal Chrome explained further, "Either we will report back or an Imperial search party will find this world while looking for us.  And then this world is helpless to resist against a Death Star.  Our victory is assured."

A little interim post while other replies arrive.  The next encounter is the final encounter.

Thuk watched the Stiletto burn down through the atmosphere, the fire-trail testament to how hard it had been hit. "Well struck" he told Ember, patting a nearby tree for lack of a more obvious avatar. "And now it is time for us to do our part." He climbed into the speeder and sat, waiting. "Well? One of you will have to drive, I am not having a repeat of last winter's fiasco."

Cut to
The scorched and rent hull of a crashed starship through a light veil of smoke. The camera pulls back to reveal: The Rebels, peering cautiously through the shrubbery.

Thuk: "That hole looks big enough. Let's go!" He lumbers forward, heading for a large gash in the side of the wreck.

EMBER IS SURPRISED BY EMBER'S OWN ACTIONS, THUK-FRIEND.

It seemed the planet was surprised by its bringing down the Stiletto.  With Ember's gathering social awareness, They may have been moving towards the first feelings of embarrassment.  Although the grounding worked in their favor currently, it did seem to 'Star's crew that the world had only a child's control over its feelings.

From the rent in the hull of the Stiletto, something even more worrying was emerging.  It was a kind of stormtrooper.  The Empire had many different variations of stormtroopers depending on their need.  Although most Imperial citizens knew only the most common kind by sight (usually their last sight), Rebels were practiced in recognizing different kinds of troopers, usually starting with thier armor.

But these were an unfamiliar configuration, these odd troopers wore cloaks over their bespoke armoring.  The bulge of a jetpack were visible under the cloaks.  Built into the right arm seemed to be a strange weapon.  "Those aren't blasters, whatever they are." Ali mused from her place of stealth and safety.

Accompanying the troopers were some recognizable creatures, although most recognized these rare beasts from their description rather than personal knowledge.  The quadrupeds were already quite agitated, their unique senses overloaded by the equally unique world they were on.

"Vornskyrs." Thuraya whispered in awe.   The Force-tracking beasts were beginning to pick up on a nearby scent in the aether and the troopers were noticing.  Soon enough they would be able to start tracking the 'Star's Force-sensitives.  "We don't have much time before we are found." Ali said.

OOC: Sorry for the delay.  This is the beginning of the last encounter for the game.  The troopers are called Forcetroopers (I will give that spoiler away so as to name them correctly).  As to what Forcetroopers can do, careful observation or unlucky experience will reveal their capabilities.  The vornskyrs are similar to very large wolves with the ability to sense the Force.  It would seem that it will take the vornskyrs a few moments to actually isolate our heroes from the blazing Force all around them, a few minutes more for the troopers to realize the vornskyrs are agitated with good reason, and a few more minutes past that to for the vornskyrs to actually start tracking the heroes.

Assume you've got five good minutes to plan before the vornskyrs and their troopers move toward you OR you withdraw out of the vornskyrs range.  Characters may use their skills and senses to glean more information in the meantime.  At this moment, the characters cannot sense the Force within the vessel, this implies any Sith inside are not actively using their powers at the moment.  On the plus side, this would also imply the Sith cannot sense the PCs so readily until the PCs start to use their powers (or more actively scan).

So for a few minutes, the advantage is yours...

After a quick explanation from the crew, Celes glanced at the vornskyrs again. A plan quickly formulated in her mind.

"Huh. They sniff out the Force. Weird but handy. Okay, Thuk? Get to high ground and ready your most fearsome roar. DeeJay, can you amplify his roar? He's full of Force power, those hounds'll go for him. If he seems an obvious threat, the troopers will too. Once they do, he jumps back to cover while the rest of us flank them in a killbox. The few that get past us will have to deal with Thuk and Eli. Thoughts?"

[Also, doesn't Thuk have Battle Meditation or the like? That would come in super handy about now. Not sure what to suggest for Shira, Thuraya, or TwoOneBee offhand.]

The doctor followed quietly as the Star's crew tracked the damaged Stiletto to its crash site.  The old droid had been active for many standard decades, and he'd seen many things, but these strange Troopers were new to him too.  He had seen Vornskyrs before, although being a droid they had never been particularly threatening for him.  Still he was not at all sure how much use he would be in a fight.  It just wasn't a part of his primary programming.  He had managed to circumvent his programming before, when the situation warranted.  He decided a compromise was in order.

"Your plan has a reasonable chance of success, Ms Celes.  I shall remain with Ms Shira and Ms Thuraya while you deal with the Imperial forces.  If necessary, I can stand by with tranquilizers in order to make certain the Troopers that you render unconscious remain that way."

Shira was now wearing her blast vest and armed with her sporting blaster. "Wow, cool" she said as she observed the Vornskyrs. "I've never seen anything like that"

"Maybe we should take out the trackers first? I mean, that way they can't chase us. We can fight guerrilla style" Shira began, before admitting "Though we may not be able to get away, with those jetpacks. Try to find an ambush spot that's covered from the air. Under trees or something"

Greg moves with the others, positioning himself se that he has covering fire over both Thuk and Celes.  A rough "v" formation with Grev and Celes in the forward points and Thuk in the rear between them.  Grev carefully conceals himself so as to give no clue of his presence to keep the ambush perfect.

Ali thought about the Forcetroopers.  They moved with that clockwork precision of clones.  It was unlikely, it seemed, that the Forcetroopers themselves were one with the Force.  The Sith didn't need armor, it would only slow them down.  Beyond that, she guessed that the still unidentified weapons were molded into the armor so they could not easily be pulled away by the Force.

Celes' mention of the possibility of Thuk and onslaught brought forth a chuckle that the Light Side might forgive.  It was also the general consensus that Thuk could be the center of the Vornskyr's attention with ease.  Still physical, the vornskyrs still had to be concerned with physical threats.  And Thuk was quite a solid onslaught if wishing to be, let alone enhanced by the Force.

TwoOneBee contemplated the necessity of violence, even the relatively mild use of tranquilizers.  Some droids would have the brain shut down at the mere thought.  But this did not worry TwoOneBee, being able to ask the question meant he was capable of at least the consideration of offense.  His tranquilizers were suddenly ready, faster than expected.  What did that mean to a healer?

Shira's thoughts of cover were well-said.  The party positioned themselves for a surprise attack.  The vornskyrs were scented and the battle could not be put off for much longer.  Grev was ready and well-aimed.  At least one Forcetrooper would soon be one with their namesake.

A vornskyr growled nearby, only a second from pouncing.   The 'Star's crew pounced first.

OOC:  Sorry for the delay.

To spare us the use of maps and long tactical discussion, you can assume that your characters have:

• An extra die for aiming or preparing (you had the time).
• Surprise for one action, that means that your first action cannot be defended against by the other side.

It would seem you have the advantage and you do but a peculiar trope of action movies is about to come into play.  Against all odds, the guards aren't constantly being monitored over communications.  And rather than use their very first action to scream for help over the comms (thereby assuring they would be avenged at least), the Forcetroopers will spend the first round reacting and fighting if possible.

Therefore, if you win this fight in one combat round, the Forcetroopers don't get a signal off.  Otherwise, the very first action the Forcetroopers will take next round is to make sure that one of them at least yells for help (a 1D penalty).

It will become apparent that the vornskyrs don't notice droids at all and the Forcetroopers are too distracted to pay them much mind.  TwoOneBee will find that he is capable of tranquilizing others.  If wished, it could be that TwoOneBee is a better combatant than anyone suspects, even TwoOneBee, thanks to the boffins and Alliance Intelligence.  Let me know if this suits.  I realize it is no fun being the pacifist droid in the final battle.

Because you've had the time, your characters may make any one opponent point-blank range for their character and the rest short-range.  We will number the Forcetroopers #1-#5 and the vornskyrs #1 & #2 to keep track.  The vornskyrs are leashed by the first two Forcetroopers.

Questions, just ask...

They had a plan. It was risky, but it would have to do. It had been a hell of a day, and Celes wasn't about to let it end here. The weird troopers and their weird pets had walked right into the makeshift trap, and now was the time to strike. They'd only get one try at this before backup was called.

Two vornskyrs in front, held by two Forcetroopers. Three Forcetroopers in back. Celes was crouched and took careful aim, lining up her next shots in her head before actually pulling the trigger. She knew firsthand what kind of monsters the Empire molded people into. None of them were getting near the few people she could call friends.

[Spending my Force Point to double all my die codes until my next turn and taking five actions: five called shots to the head vs each of the Forcetroopers. That's +1D to the difficulty, bringing it roughly to Easy for the Point-Blank target and Moderate for the others. Each hit will deal +12 damage. Blasters skill is 5D, doubled to 10D, with each shot at -5D.

Hoping keeping the others (mostly Shira) safe counts as being heroic enough to at least warrant not earning a Dark Side Point.

00:58, Today: Celes Varik rolled 14 using 5 dice with the WEG Classic system.  Blasters, Moderate.
00:58, Today: Celes Varik rolled 14 using 5 dice with the WEG Classic system.  Blasters, Moderate.
00:58, Today: Celes Varik rolled 16 using 5 dice with the WEG Classic system.  Blasters, Moderate.
00:58, Today: Celes Varik rolled 13 using 5 dice with the WEG Classic system.  Blasters, Moderate.
00:58, Today: Celes Varik rolled 17 using 5 dice with the WEG Classic system.  Blasters, Easy.

00:59, Today: Celes Varik rolled 20 (13 excluding the wild die) using 5 dice and 12 pips with the WEG Classic system.  Heavy Blaster Pistol headshot 5.
00:59, Today: Celes Varik rolled 39 using 5 dice and 12 pips with the WEG Classic system.  Heavy Blaster Pistol headshot 4.
00:59, Today: Celes Varik rolled 31 using 5 dice and 12 pips with the WEG Classic system.  Heavy Blaster Pistol headshot 3.
00:59, Today: Celes Varik rolled 31 using 5 dice and 12 pips with the WEG Classic system.  Heavy Blaster Pistol headshot 2.
00:59, Today: Celes Varik rolled 24 using 5 dice and 12 pips with the WEG Classic system.  Heavy Blaster Pistol headshot 1.]