The emissaries of the Republic continued their trek by descending into a tunnel, most likely carved out by lava flow from the nearby volcano long ago. The ambient light from outside and engine noise of the two ships slowly faded into the background as they moved down the round, rocky tube and into the cooler depths of the Bissian planet.

  The path continued fairly straight, curving at several points of denser rock, before coming into a small chamber after a couple hundred meters. The lights from the clone’s glowrod’s and the Jedi’s lightsabers cast eerie shadows in the cavern. They noticed that two similar passages continue on the opposite side of the natural cave chamber. There appeared to be a large, dead, reptilian creature, still containing most of its flesh, but scorched with burn marks across it’s scaly body off to the right side of the chamber. It has an elongated head and neck, with sharp teeth and bony ridges on its skull. There are a few destroyed B1 battledroids nearby as well, hard to tell how many because their parts seemed to be scattered. There doesn’t appear to be anything moving at all in the area at the moment.

---

  OOC: You can roll Survival to examine tracks down the passage & chamber or roll to examine the creatures further or look around the area, or just continue down one of the two passages ahead.

Jini leads the way down into the tunnel, lighting her way with her lightsaber. She tries not to show it, but her wounds are bothering her. She finds herself favoring her left side a little when she walks, and hopes it won't bother her if they have to fight down here.

When they get to a slightly larger cavern where two other lava tubes join the one they are following, she notices the stench of burned flesh and death before even entering the cave. The droids seem to have cleared out some of the native creatures. She holds her lightsaber close to the ground to try to see which of the exits the remaining droids and the general might have taken, but the ground is too hard and trampled after the fight. There are some tracks, but it is impossible to see if they were made by droids, men, beasts or even vehicles.
determine

Instead, she examines the dead reptile. It isn't a species she's familiar with, unsurprisingly, but certain characteristics present in the beast give clues to it's nature. It has large eyes and ears, which suggest it might be well at home in dimly-lit caverns. It has sharp teeth of the type developed to tear flesh and sharp claws on the forepaws, suggesting it is a carnivore. A hunter, probably.

"We need to be careful, there might be more of those things down here," she tells the others. She tries to determine which of the tunnels to take now, but is uncertain. "Do you guys see anything indicating which tunnel the general might have taken?"

OOC: Jini looks for tracks first. I'll assume those are 2D checks, since you didn't state otherwise.
21:17, Today: Jini Relliri rolled 1 failure, 2 advantages using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2A 1P 2D with rolls of 2(A), 6(A), 8(P), 2(D), 3(D).  Survival check looking for tracks.

But without much luck. I'll use the two advantages to give myself a boost on the other check, too examine the creatures.
21:19, Today: Jini Relliri rolled 2 successes, 2 advantages using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2A 1P 1B 2D with rolls of 7(A), 6(A), 6(P), 3(B), 1(D), 5(D).  Survival check examining creatures.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:32, Wed 27 Sept 2017.

Den's first reaction is to inspect the creature, thinking he may have read about one during his many hours of research within the jedi libraries and tomes. He kneels close to it and touches it to see if he can tell how long it's been dead. He looks around at the dead droids, a little concerned that one of these creatures might end up in the way of their destination.

07:13, Today: Den Jaxon rolled 1 success, 2 advantages using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2A 1P with rolls of 7(A), 6(A), 1(P).  Survival check.


"Seems like it's dead for a couple days." Den says, moving from inspecting the strange reptile to the tracks to try and find the way to the general. He nods as he's able to discern that information, pointing in a direction. "I think I've found the way for us to go."

05:44, Today: Den Jaxon rolled 4 successes, 1 advantage using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2A 1P ((4(A), 4(A), 6(P))).
05:55, Today: Den Jaxon rolled 3 failures, 1 threat  using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 1B 2D ((1(B), 3(D), 8(D))).
Net of 1 success.

This message was last edited by the player at 09:56, Thu 28 Sept 2017.

"Then, let's get going," Tarrin replied, his face illuminated with a sapphire hue from the light given off from his lightsaber held at the ready vertically next to his face.  "I don't like how open to attack we are here.  Genosians are notorious for their high combat ability underground from what I have read."

As he stepped forward in the direction that Den gestured, the Miraluka let go of his current surroundings and let the Force take control of his senses to guide him.  It allowed his effective visual senses to tie into his preternatural sixth sense in order to be able to react without thinking if a threat should open fire on his position.  If anything, it would allow some of the heat to draw off from Jini considering her previous injuries.  She had been taking a great deal onto herself in order to look out for the rest of them.  So, Tarrin felt, it was time for someone else to look after her as well.

---

Committing a Force Die to activate Sense.  First two attacks against Tarrin per round will have their difficulty upgraded once.

   K1 moved along with the other organics and kept her sensors working in a continuous loop to try and detect anything out of the ordinary. The Protocol Droid only possessed sensors that were slightly better than average, but that was because she had been programmed to react to the smallest cues - whether it was a small gesture, a change in scent queues, or a change in the tone of one's vocals - and assimilate the information in order to give the correct response when she was called upon.

    The only thing that she could detect was the change in pitch of the lightsabres as they moved around in the darkness, along with the voices of the Jedi Knight and her students as they conferred with one another on which way to proceed.

Jini takes point alongside Tarrin, her lit lightsaber held high. She tries to ignore the pain from her wound and instead focus on the general, but her feelings are all over the place. She worries about her own survival and that of the padawans, and cannot determine if Den has pointed them in the right direction.

Regardless, she puts on a brave face and tries her best to act certain about this course of action. "Let's hurry," she says as she walks deeper into the tunnel. "Trust the Force," she says, more for herself than her companions.

Jini tries and fails to use Seek again.
20:57, Yesterday: Jini Relliri rolled no successes, 2 dark force points using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2F with rolls of 2(F), 3(F).  Seek trying to locate general again.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:21, Thu 05 Oct 2017.

Hearing Jini say "Trust the Force", Den decides to try and seek out the general again. He takes a moment to reach out with his mind's eye to find where their target is within these tunnels. He almost has it, but it's just beyond his powers. "I can't quite sense him." He tells the others as he catches up to them.

12:44, Today: Den Jaxon rolled no successes, 1 light force point using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 1F ((8(F))).

  Den was able to discern some clear battledroid tracks in the left hand tunnel, and the group quickly followed the tracks into a more narrow tunnel that meandered only slightly and gradually dropped elevation further beneath the planet surface. It went on for hundreds of meters further with several crisscrossing tunnels and small caverns along the way, but Den was able to continue finding a few marks in softer spots of the tunnel to keep on the trail of the Separatists. The chill air was enough to cause mist in the breaths of those humanoids not wearing helmets. There were a few spots in the tunnel where some moisture got through leaving clean, if not heavily mineral laden water puddles which was a relief to Jini since the dry climate up above the surface was taxing to the Mon Calamari.

  Eventually the long path ended in a mid size cavern, which the group could see on the opposite wall of the oblong cave, a large, stone door decorated with elaborate carvings which were hard to make out the details from the distance of several dozen meters. The two-meter wide door was open, and was as thick as a normal human is wide, and as tall as two Wookiees.

  There doesn't appear to be anything else of note, other than a lot of stalactites and stalagmites around the edges of the cavern. No droids or any kind of noticeable life is there. The tracks continued straight toward the open stone door.

"Careful now," Jini cautions. She advances cautiously through the cave, keeping her senses open. "Spread out a little, don't give them an easy shot. Lightsabers in front, try to deflect shots to keep the clones alive if this is an ambush," she whispers as she moves towards the doorway at a slight angle, so as not to make herself an easy target for whatever is in there.

Den nods to Jini's request as he moves away to spread the group out. He ignites his lightsaber to light the way in front of him, since he is further away from the other sabers' light. He carefully moves forward toward the door, listening for anything unusual. He takes a moment to try and sense anything that may be in front of them, but finds that his fear is more powerful than he thought. He decides not to tap into the Force.

07:27, Today: Den Jaxon rolled no successes, 1 dark force point using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 1F with rolls of 3(F).  sense.

   "Of course, Commander."

  The Droid moved to the left a little as she heeded the Jedi's request. She didn't possess a lightsabre, but the others did and that made them more of a target, unfortunately. Then again, Droids were largely ignored by organics at large ... which might work in the 3P0 Droid's favour.

The young Miraluka, to his credit or perhaps recklessness, decided to take a position further out in front than the other Padawans and Jini.  The Mon Calamari was injured, and it would be better for everyone involved if he became the primary target for whatever decided to ambush them.

Extending his senses, he let the Force guide his footsteps as he held his lightsaber close to his body with both hands.

  The group aligned themselves into position as they approached the huge stone door. The two clones took up the rear position, Boss kept alert behind the group as he walked backward beside Charlie, who he kept his revolving blaster barrel pointed toward the door as they moved closer to the entrance. The artistic relief in the stonework become apparent and depicted winged creatures, staffs of power, and dueling robed figures that appear to be throwing around bolts of lightning and swarms of rocks. The door is only partially open so those on the right have a decent angle to see what lay beyond the portal.

  Kalyx, as he approached closer, his thin, forked tongue lashed out and he began a low rumbling growl in his throat as stared beyond the door.  "I don't like the feeling of thisssss place.."  the reptilian humanoid growled in a hushed voice to those near him.



 

   The Droid took a step forward to the right, then another ... her ocular scanners attempting to make sense of the relief worked into the stone, as well as what might lie beyond.

   "Perhaps some illumination ahead might assist us in determining what might hinder our path."

"I sense ... something," Jini mutters. "The Dark Side is strong here." Again she wonders what in the hell she was thinking bringing the Padawans into this mess, but she soon silences her inner critic. This is the will of the Force. All that remains is to see if she and the others are strong enough to defeat any darkness they find within.

"Follow my lead," she whispers at the others, as she pushes on the door to open it a little more, before stepping in, lit lightsaber leading the way.

Den nods in agreement with the Jedi Knight. "I don't like this. What could be causing this?" He asks in whispered tones as he follows Jini.

"Wait!" Tarrin called out softly but urgently with an upheld hand to stop the Jedi Knight from proceeding.  "There is more.  We should not go on unprepared."

The Miraluka's face looks ashen, and his demeanor has changed from the confident Padawan he had been up to this point.  It spoke to the gravity of what he had sensed.  Due to the way his race perceived the world combined with training among the Jedi, Tarrin's senses had been sharpened significantly.  He had seen something, and what he had seen was something that had the ability to affect him greatly.

"It is not just that the Dark Side is strong here, Knight Relliri," he began hesitatingly as he glanced between her and the area beyond the door.  The darkness he felt here made him nauseous, crashing against him like a boulder into his stomach.  "It isn't a person or creature.  Nor is it just that this place is strong in the Dark Side.  It is coming from a cylinder-shaped object.  I fear it is a Dark Side artifact. There are also droids up the stairs above the area.  We could be heading into an easily defendable area."

Stopping for a moment, the Padawan gripped the hilt of his ignited lightsaber a little more tightly.

"But, I also sense that there is someone or something that is struggling against the darkness of the artifact near it.  We have to help them!"

The trepidation that Tarrin felt was obvious from his outward demeanor.  He had survived droid attacks with a laugh and smile on his face after having been attacking by a local beast.  Already, he had proven to be more courageous than most Padawan.  But, being faced with an object of pure Dark Side energy that threatened to overwhelm them?  He was no Jedi as yet.  If he did not feel some sort of fear it would be unnatural--especially considering his race's natural aversion and fear to all things originating from the Dark Side of the Force.  Still, to his credit, he attempted to rally himself.

"That being said, we need a plan before we walk into this situation.  Otherwise, it is likely we will be overwhelmed."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:09, Fri 20 Oct 2017.

The Mon Calamari Jedi feels as if he just crossed into a cold stream of ocean as the Miraluka Padawan tells her what he senses. "This is most disturbing," she says, more just to say something while she thinks about how to respond. Some sort of an artifact linked to the dark side. She's heard about those, of course, but never actually been in a position to see one. Will it try to corrupt her? Or the Padawans? Will she be strong enough to resist? Will they? For a moment she really feels like giving up and leaving. There is no shame in admitting defeat. But one thing Tarrin tells her makes that impossible. There is someone who might be an innocent struggling against the dark side in there.

"OK, change of plans. Tarrin, Den, your job is to deal with the droids. You have both proven your skill in fighting them. Kalyx, the two of us will try to make sure that whoever seems to be struggling against the dark side artifact Tarrin has sensed will be safe. If it comes to it, you help that person, I'll deal with the artifact. Clones, engage the droids at range. If the general is in there, anyone who can needs to make sure he is subdued and that he doesn't run."

Almost as an afterthought she looks at K1T1. "Your job is to analyze the situation and help where you can, I suppose. Try to spot anything we're missing and warn us, or make yourself useful in some other way."

He then looks at the group. "May the Force be with us all."

   The 3P0 unit didn't feel anything as she continued on with the Padawans but noted how some of the organics moved more cautiously than before. She didn't understand why but didn't comment on the matter. They could be rather defensive when it came to such things, and it wasn't her place to say anything.

   When the Knight addressed her, K1 bowed slightly. "Of course, Knight Rellri.  Should I sense anything unusual, you'll be informed immediately."

Den nods, wishing he could sense the number of droids that they were about to face. However, the tension is just too much for him to focus on using the Force. He takes deep breaths, trying to remain as calm as he can as he follows behind Jini.

  The group approached the ancient entrance to whatever lays beyond. The thick stone door didn't show any type of handles or levers or anything on how to operate it. But it was open enough to allow passage, and Jini and Den can see the stairs going up, and the feet of several droids at top about three meters up. The feet are thicker than the B1's from first glance. The stairs are about two meters wide and rough-hewn from the stone of the cave.

  The hum of the lightsabers echoed through the corridor, and the sound of servo's and metal scraping added to the chorus as as the mechanical feet turned toward the Republic force.

OOC: Roll for initiative please. Vigilance or Cool since you sort of know they are there, even though not exactly how far.. Please roll in the OOC thread.

The time for hesitation is over. Jini moves quickly now, all doubt forgotten as she sees the droids up ahead. She rushes up the stairs, parrying the first shots from the droids with her lightsaber. She closes the distance to the droids, drawing fire and then steps aside, allowing her companions a clear route to the droids.

OOC: That would be a maneuver to close with the droids and another (burning 2 strain) to aim, and then action to attack the droids:
15:38, Today: Jini Relliri rolled no successes, 2 advantages using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2P 1B 2D with rolls of 10(P), 11(P), 2(B), 4(D), 4(D).  Attacking droids.

Well shit. Jini's up to her old tricks. I'll use 1 advantage to give the next PC to attack a boost, and 1 to notice something about the combat, if possible (if not I'll recover 1 strain).

Den quickly moves to the droids, knowing what needs to be done. He is quick with the blade, the sound of it changing from the whirring to crashing as it strikes one of the droids along its torso. The droid stumbles lifeless as the strike finishes it off in one clean movement.

Move to droids. Aim (taking 2 strain). Took the boost from Jini. 2 successes.

10:31, Today: Den Jaxon rolled 2 successes using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2A 1P 2B 2D with rolls of 1(A), 7(A), 4(P), 2(B), 2(B), 6(D), 2(D).  Lightsaber attack.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:32, Thu 26 Oct 2017.

When Jini moved to the side, Tarrin was right alongside Den as the other Padawan sliced into one of the super battledroids.  Watching his companion's back, the Miraluka thrust his sapphire-hued lightsaber straight through another one of the droids before turning the thrust into a sideways cut to free his blade.  It came free fluidly, like a hot knife through butter, as the metal provided no resistance to the lightsaber.  In the same motion he pivoted on his foot and cut at the knee joint of another of the machines.

Having something that occupied his attention allowed him to pull his mind from the gripping terror of what was going on just one scant floor below the walkway where they were fighting.

---

14:02, Today: Tarrin Feruwi rolled 4 successes, 1 advantage using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 3A 1P with rolls of 3(A), 1(A), 4(A), 7(P).  Lightsaber attack.
14:03, Today: Tarrin Feruwi rolled no successes, 4 threats using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2D with rolls of 7(D), 7(D).

I forgot to roll the difficulty dice in the same part, so I'll just add it together to 4 successes, 3 threats.

It should total 10 damage.

  Kalyx hissed and charged just behind his fellow padawans, the thought of combat against the battledroids brought a gleam to his slitted, amber eyes. He moved his large, leathery feet up the stone steps and turned toward the last droid. He didn't see the fluid spilled from the second attack and fell across the stone. His Jedi reflexes kicked in and he thrust his saber out as he passed the last B2 battle droid, slicing cleaning through its ankle joints. The heavy torso fell hard and slammed into the stone floor with a loud crack, sending its own smoldering fluid in a cascade down the stairs.

  With the way clear, the Republic group can see they are at a T-section, and can go left or right. There are some ancient, incadescent lights flickering in the corridors, providing extra, if not spotty, illumination.

  To the right, the passage goes about eight meters and ends in another room. There is a passage leading out of it to the left, though you can't see how big the room extends to the right, the back wall is only about eight meters across.

  To the left, the hall has two passages on the right at about eight meters and  sixteen meters down the corridor. It continues on from there, but is hard to see how far at least twenty meters or more.


OOC: 1 setback due to falling from from Tarrin's threats. But Kalyx finished the last one so the way is clear. END OF COMBAT, resume narrative time.

http://orokos.com/roll/564875]lightaber attack : 3eA+1eP+2eD+1eS 2 successes, 1 advantage
http://orokos.com/roll/564875]

Jini breaths heavily, and turns off her lightsaber. "We don't have time for this," she mutters. "Those droids will have known which way leads where. K1, can you slice into the processor unit in one of them and try to find out which way to go?" she says.

As the droid responds, she kneels for a moment, opening herself to the Force, trying to get some guidance, but her mind dwells on darkness and despair and she can't get any sense of where to go.

OOC: Jini is clearly feeling lost, her Sense roll was less than optimal:
21:01, Today: Jini Relliri rolled no successes, 2 dark force points using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2F with rolls of 5(F), 5(F).  Sense to get a feeling for the direction to take.

Den steps away from the fallen droids, calming his breathing as he looks around to get a better sense of his surroundings. He takes a moment to try and find their target, but it's too elusive for the young padawan, finding his fear and the dark side that clouds the area to block that. He decides to try again, but this time, for anything that might be an immediate threat to the team. He is successful with that.

12:42, Today: Den Jaxon rolled no successes, 1 light force point using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 1F with rolls of 8(F).  sense.
12:40, Today: Den Jaxon rolled no successes, 2 dark force points using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 1F with rolls of 7(F).  Seek.

   The Protocol Droid took a moment to raise a finger as part of it retracted and a small extension emerged. With this, K1 inserted the device into the side of the B2 maintenance port and there was a long pause while she interrogated the Droid's processor for the information that was needed. "I believe I have the coordinates for the path we need to proceed ... One moment, I am accessing the Droid's video memory in order to learn more."

   There was another moment's pause as the red optical scanner came to a stop and stayed in the middle of the scanner. "I am processing a lot of holovid data - there is a video that you all will wish to see." K1's head swivelled to regard one of the Clone Troopers, more specifically the small datapad the Trooper was carrying. "If I might trouble you for your viewer, Sir ..." The Droid extended her hand and took the proffered device and began to connect it to the slicing gear that she carried. "Thank you - a moment, please.  I should be able to show this once I've decrypted the rest of the file."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:24, Wed 08 Nov 2017.

  The video went back to when the droid was activated in a small compartment on the Geonosian ship with a couple dozen other B2 droids. They formed up and marched into the cargo hold nearby. The droid received instructions along with the others and then all moved down the ramp, out into the Bissian badlands. They formed up with a company of thin, B1 battledroids and two Destroyer droids, that came out of their rolling, ball shape configuration and stood at attention.

  The B2 droid watched a three person tech team in grease-stained, blue coveralls descended the ramp with a hovercart with a mini-generator and several tech tools and devices. The techies stood to the side of the platoon of droids, looking somewhat uncomfortable in the military formation. The tech team consisted of a muscular, dark tan Bith female, an old bat faced Chadra-Fan male, with patchy, mangy peru shaded fur, and a short, disheveled, human man, with thin, curly black hair and a full beard. Next, there were two B1 battledroids pushing a hovercart with a person laying on it. It appeared to be a female Togruta dressed in plain, brown robes laying motionless. Her hands were strapped together with glowing blue energy cuffs. The group immediately noticed the robes as Jedi standard garb.

   Following behind that group, a muscular, bald, middle-aged human in a grey and blue Separatist General's uniform stood tall and proud as he made his way to the planet's surface in front of the regiment of droids, et al. Undoubtedly this was Toggus. He sported an ash colored, trimmed mustache and narrow green eyes above a pointy chin. He was followed closely by a large, green skinned Nikto wearing a maroon and orange plastoid type armor and open faced helmet. He had large spikes coming from all around his reptilian face, almost like the outline of goggles. The Nikto had a large rifle strapped to his back, and he looked like he has seen more than a few battles and was on constant alert, checking the surrounding area and ignoring the beings and automatons that were in formation.

    Toggus gave a speech about the importance of this mission and turning the tide in the Clone Wars, etc. Seemed to be a waste of time, given the droids weren't any more motivated by a rousing speech than a terrible speech. Perhaps the tech crew appreciated the rhetoric, but they just seemed to be bored and impatient.

   They finally headed into the large cavern and followed the same path as the group through the tunnels. There was a brief skirmish with a large, agile, reptilian creature that took out several of the B1 droids, with is sharp claws and rows of teeth. Eventually it was mowed down by the battledroids and the two Destroyer droids that pummeled it with overwhelming blaster fire.

  They continued on, and the tech crew moved and seemed to be scanning the large entrance door to the complex with the huge elaborate stone door, though it was closed. They held out an object and placed it in the center of the door and it clicked loudly, then swung partially open. It seemed to be stuck and took a bunch of B2 droids to move it several feet so they could enter. The Separatists went in and up the stairs. There was a discussion about the path. They seemed to be following a map to find this place, but had no information beyond the entrance and were trying to decide which way to go.

   They split up the Destroyer droids and sent them rolling in several directions. The B1's and B2's also split up and headed out searching the area. It took a long time, the droids searched all over and finally they found the correct path to a room. One of the Destroyer droids, flanked by several B1 units, tried to grasp the door handle to another elaborately carved, but much smaller door. It communicated back to Toggus that it found a carved, stone door, different from the others. The doors in the rest of the rooms were probably made of wood and long ago disintegrated into debris, given that all the other doorways had the same soft debris right at the threshold.

   As the destroyer droid grasped the door and pulled it open, a dozen metal spikes shot down from the ceiling impaling all the droids in a wide area. Several B2's in the back including the one recording were just out of range of the trap. The surviving droids immediately alerted the General.

  Toggus summoned the rest of the droids to head to the room with the stone door. The B2 helped the other droids clear the droid debris and spikes and swung the stone door all the way open without further incident. Once the portal was opened, it revealed a large room with steps on all sides leading up to a rectangular, grey stone dais. Behind the dais was a large, bronze-plated statue of a winged reptilian creature. It held a staff in one claw and a cylindrical device in the other. Toggus directed the droids to bring the prisoner to the dais, and they dutifully pushed the hover cart up the steps and then moved the female's body. The Togruta was still not moving and her body hung limp as they moved her onto the stone. Toggus took the cylindrical object from the clawed hand of the winged reptile statue. It was glowing with red runes in some unfamiliar language. The general ordered two dozen B1's to head back and report and two squads to stand guard back at the entrance cave. He ordered the B2 unit squad of three to go back to the top of the stairs and stand guard. The B2 left the scene, heading back to the top of the stairs. It remained there until the arrival of Jini and the rest of the group.

Jini lets out a quiet gasp as the droid's auditory log is played back and shows what is undoubtedly a Jedi being charted into the tunnel. She watches the rest of the log, becoming more agitated as the droids look for the room they seem to know is in there somewhere. She tries to puzzle together the best way to get there from their current location.

"This is more serious than I could have imagined. I don't know what exactly the general is doing here, but the fact that he brought one of our own and has located what appears to be an artifact from the dark side, possibly something from the ancient Sith, makes this a most urgent matter," Jini tells the others as the log ends with a flash of blaster fire and lightabers before Tarrin cuts down the droid.

"The plan remains unchanged. I'll head for the artifact and try to secure the Jedi, if she is still alive. You engage any droids and that Nikto. Anyone who gets a chance to capture the general, do so. We need him alive. Especially now that we know he is dabbling with forces he shouldn't," she says.

As she sets out, she touches K1's shoulder. "Well done, the time you saved us looking through dark tunnels will hopefully be enough to stop the general from doing whatever it is he came here to do."

Den gasps quietly when noticing the jedi in the playback. He was not sure who it was, but obviously the Separatists aren't going to hold a party for her.

His concern turns to amazement. An ancient temple of some sort. His lips purse as he thinks about all his studies in the library. Does this look familiar? His fascination/almost obsession of ancient jedi and sith tomes might come in handy. However, this is something he doesn't think he's come across in his research.

"In all my time I've spent looking at ancient relics, this is one that I have not seen mentioned in the libraries on Coruscant." Den says, frowning a little. "We need to hurry, though. I do not think the general intends to keep our fellow jedi alive for much longer"

08:01, Today: Den Jaxon rolled no successes, 3 advantages using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 3A with rolls of 8(A), 6(A), 1(A).  Lore.


13:51, Today: Den Jaxon rolled 1 failure, 3 threats using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 4D with rolls of 1(D), 4(D), 4(D), 8(D).  lore difficulty.

Total: 1 Failure.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:53, Fri 10 Nov 2017.

   K1 turned slightly, the red line of her optical sensor regarding the Jedi. "You are welcome, Commander Rellri." the Droid stated, matter-of-factly as she disassembled the tablet and slicing gear, then offered the device back to the Clone Trooper. "I'm pleased to have been able to assist you in finding your way through here more efficiently. If there is anything else I may do to assist you, you have only but to ask. But we should see to the liberation of the Jedi currently here before the General terminates her life force. "
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:33, Mon 15 Jan 2018.

From the Miraluka's body posture, it is obvious his eyes would have widened in horror if he had any.  The last thing he wanted was to see his prediction unfold in front of them on digital record.  So, he had been right.  A Dark Side relic and the General was going after it for some unknown reason.  What were they going to do?  They were already injured and weary from the journey and having performed repeated assaults on droids just to get to this point.  Could they really handle whatever surprises were coming next?

"Surely you are not going after the hostage and artifact on your own?" Tarrin asked, his brow furrowing in concern after hearing Jini's words.  "You were just recently injured.  At least bring some support with you.  The last thing anyone should do is face a potential Dark Side relic alone."

He did not want to be the one to come with the Mon Calamari.  Every fiber of his being screamed out against it--the occupational hazard of being a Miraluka with their extreme Force senses.  But, he was a Jedi and part of that was facing things that were difficult to face.  Gripping the hilt of his ignited lightsaber, he steeled his resolve in case the Jedi Knight picked him as her support.

Jini smiles faintly. "We'll improvise when we see what we're up against. We'll stick to the plan, but react when we need to. And about the dark side artifact, I'm not sure my physical state will be what matters," she says wryly.

  Boss summarized the order from Jini to confirm for both soldiers and any others. "Roger that Commander, engage the droids and Nikto enforcer with deadly force. General Toggus is to be secured with non-lethal force."

  After Jini affirmed his verification, the clones both checked the gear was stowed properly and ready to access, and made sure their weapons were in working order. As they performed their readiness routine, Boss spoke up again. "Charlie and I noted the way from the video. Charlie will lead us there and I will take up rear guard."

  The Clone trooper nodded, spun ninety degrees and marched down the left corridor. He carried his bulky repeating blaster across his white armored chest and his synthplast boots echoed down the hall as they clacked on the ancient, stone tiles.

  Boss stood out of the way, allowing the others to pass him, his rifle also across his chest in a precise, military guarding stance, then followed the last of the group.

   K1 began to start walking in the direction of the others, passing the Clone troopers before she turned to the Jedi Commander. "Commander Rellri, with regards to this ... artifact you speak of, perhaps it might be best if someone without a connection to the Force - which this unit does not - took possession of it? From my calculations, there should be no difficulty in my acquisition and possession of the object. And you may safely study it at a distance without any repercussions."
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:41, Mon 15 Jan 2018.

"It might not be so simple, my mechanical friend. But we'll see when we get there. If you can safely take it into your possession that would be helpful," Jini responds to K1 as she follows Charlie down the corridor, staying at his side as they advance through the darkness.

   The small red dot stopped, almost as if to regard the Jedi as they continued walking. The Droid bowed slightly before she spoke. "I will do as you ask, Commander. Perhaps it might prevent whatever side effects you believe will occur if a living being were to handle such an object."

  The Republic envoys followed the heavily armed clone through the dusky halls of the temple-like underground structure. The Jedi's lightsabers lit up the scene of ancient debris, covered in dust or rust, or simply disintegrated into piles of decomposed detritus along the walls and in side chambers. The  glowing blades did an adequate job of abating the darkness, but dark side tint of the place makes it much more murky for the students of the Force and their other wizard-like senses. It gets stronger as they come to the last turn before they arrive at the large temple room depicted in the video with the dais.

  Charlie approached the intersection and turned and yelled out, "Tinnie patrol!" He began to move across to cover on the opposite side of the room that made up the left side of the corridor.

---

OOC: Roll for initiative, everyone. Also, the dark side influence is hitting critical mass and the Jedi need to roll Willpower check to handle the effects against 1D 1C difficulty.
  The patrol is on the right of the passage at the door to the temple sanctuary. Basically the patrol is at the 4 in the corridor shown in the map under group 1

Den seems to be ready to fight, his lightsaber up. However, every second that passes, the padawan seems to waver. Then, his blade retracts with a hiss as he starts looking around. "No...no..." He says quietly, shaking his head. He bolts, running to safety. He ducks in an alcove and sits, his arms hugging his curled up legs to his chest.

  The clone trooper moved to the opposite wall so that his left side had some cover from the tinnies, who were turning their blasters toward him. He dropped the barrel of the repeating blaster to his hip, and squeezed the trigger unleashing a deluge of concentrated plasma streaks across the dimly lit corridor. Several of those laser bolts riddled the hapless B1 droids, causing them to jerk in spasms, two of them dropped to the stone floor. The third battledroid was hit a couple times in the torso. Wisps of smoke snaked upward from its damaged areas.

---

OOC: Charlie's attack roll. 3 successes net. dropped the last 2A (luckily they were blanks anyway!), should have been 1D.. lack of sleep,  I need to double check my math.. :(  one B1 has 1 wound left, the 3 b2 units are undamaged.

http://orokos.com/roll/575250 attacking b1's  : 1eA+2eP+2eA 3 successes, 1 advantage
http://orokos.com/roll/575250

http://orokos.com/roll/575256 adding Difficulty  : 1eD 0 successes, 1 threat
http://orokos.com/roll/575256
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:45, Fri 08 Dec 2017.

  The white armored Sergeant moved around the Jedi and up to the corner, leaning to point his modified DC-15 rifle down the hall at the droids. He spotted the injured droid and fired, blasting the canine-like head from the droid body and flinging it into the face of one of the super battledroids. "Three down, three more B2's remaining.!"

---

OOC: Boss attack 1 success, 3 advantages. Advantages are 1 boost to next attack and a setback for the B2.
http://orokos.com/roll/575257 blaster attack  : 1eA+2eP+1eB+1eD 1 success, 3 advantage
http://orokos.com/roll/575257
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:03, Fri 08 Dec 2017.

Jini freezes for a moment as she sees the droids ahead. This is useless, how can she hope to prevail against endless hordes of droids, as well as the organics waiting for them. Hopelessness fills her, she wonders for a moment why the Force has chosen her to lead the Padawans on this day, and how horribly she's going to fail them all. For a moment she considers ordering them all to fall back, there are limits to what she can ask of mere Padawans and two clones. She very well may have done just that if the pair of clones hadn't opened fire on the droids, smartly taking out the three B1 battle droids.

The Mon Calamari Jedi is dimly aware of Den fleeing the scene, but this is not the time to deal with that. Trying her best to put the dark thoughts out of her mind and concentrate on the present, she dashes ahead, keeping low so as not to block the line of fire for the clones. She uses the Force to jump the last meters, severing the weapon arm of one of the droids as she lands. She rolls forward, swinging low and cutting another droid in half with her saber, but pays the price as pain from her wound nearly causes her to drop her weapon. She rolls to her feet and sees that the now disarmed droid has turned towards her dumbly, still holding the stump of his arm up as if trying to shoot. Wasting no time she impales the droid through the head, causing it to fall to the ground.


OOC: Jini uses a maneuver to engage the B2 droids, another to aim (costing her 2 strain) and then swings at the bastards:
21:15, Today: Jini Relliri rolled 1 success, 1 advantage, 1 triumph using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2P 1B 2D 1S with rolls of 12(P), 11(P), 4(B), 7(D), 2(D), 2(S).  Attacking the B2s, boost for aiming.

Oooo, Jini's done gooood. That's a hit for 8 damage, breach 2, which puts down one droid. She'll use the Triumph to get one more with a critical hit. The advantage will give the next player to roll a boost.

Seeing the tendrils of darkness all around them, the Miraluka shivered unconsciously.  What was this?  The thought echoed in his mind, but he already knew.  This was true Darkness.  The feeling the others felt was something that he was experiencing as if he was reaching out and touching it.  There was a vision of the cylinder, the same one he had seen in his vision, hovering before him.  It spoke to him with honeyed, silent whispers.

It was right.  He was stronger than Jini.  That much was obvious by how much she had struggled against battledroids and leading them toward their objective.  She was injured and should step down from her position as it was.  Hierarchy had its place in the halls of the Jedi Temple, but here people lived and died by it.  If she was not fit to lead, she needed to be replaced in order to prevent others from coming to harm.  He could feel it.  If he just pushed against the chains that were binding him, pressed only a little further, they would snap like twigs.  He could taste the freedom of absolute power.

But, what for?

The thought echoed in his mind, rippling and amplifying as it drowned out the whispered voice.  What was the point of such power?  The only thing he needed to do was to protect others.  Power for power's sake held no meaning to him.  The whispers began to grow, but as they did so Tarrin held his lightsaber upright with both hands.  Reaching deep within himself, he pulled at the fear he felt from the Dark Side and cast it out, replacing it with images of how they had all been helping each other through this.  They were stronger together, and this darkness would not tear them apart.  Not while he was still here.

A surge of the Force welled from within Tarrin as he cried out.  "Enough, Darkness!  I reject you!"  Pressing the Force outward, the tendrils he could see ceased to touch him as he ran forward with his lightsaber, leaving brilliant blue streaks as the remaining droids were slashed into pieces.

---

16:21, Today: Tarrin Feruwi rolled no successes, 2 advantages using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 1B with rolls of 5(B).
16:21, Today: Tarrin Feruwi rolled 2 successes, 2 advantages using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 3A 1P 2D with rolls of 8(A), 4(A), 5(A), 11(P), 6(D), 7(D).  Lightsaber attack.

At least 8 damage plus a critical hit.  There probably aren't any left.  There are still three advantages left in case anyone needs them for anything. 

  The reptiloid Jedi crouched and readied himself to follow Jini and Tarrin into the attack, but noticed Den turning away, looking pale and distraught. They needed all of their brood to defeat this enemy, and he needed to help his companion. He scrunched up his leather face as he fought the primal urges that tried to lead them much like the dark side is trying to do. He spun on his clawed foot and followed the studious Jedi to the alcove.

  "Den Jackssssson! Lissssten to me. Those voicezzzz are not your thoughtsss. It is the dark sssside  object that is invading your mind.. Fight it, Den Jacksssson. You are sssstronger than thissss."

As they approached the open doors, Tarrin could hear the Trandoshian behind him trying to help his fellow padawan come back to his senses.  Even the Miraluka was having trouble keeping himself in check.  The sooner all of them were away from this dark place, the better off they would all be.  This was not a place for people like them to travel, but they were here nonetheless.  He wanted nothing more than to flee back to the ship and head back to Coruscant, but one thing he knew made a Jedi was standing firm against the darkness even when they would rather withdraw.  And since their Jedi Knight was having trouble herself, it was up to him to cut them a path through their adversaries.

Stepping forward slowly into the room, he brought his brilliant blue blade up into a vertical position as he held the hilt close to his chest, his elbows facing outward.

"I am one with the Force," he intoned, letting his senses extend through the entire room.  He was but an instrument of the Force, so he would let it help him move like an unseen hand that guided him.  With that, he broke out into a run toward the group of B2 Battle Droids.

The droids were wholly unprepared for the young Miraluka as the first one was cleaved directly in two by a vertical slash as Tarrin leapt into the air and brought his lightsaber down.  Landing in a crouch, he spun with his weapon effectively cleaving the legs from a second one right next to it.  From the spin he gathered his legs underneath him and sprang out of the crouch to thrust his blade through the red power sensor close to the third battle droid's arm. It buzzed and clicked as it seemed to be having some severe malfunction, but it had not been effectively destroyed as yet.  However, the blade was withdrawn to be brought down and pierced the second droid that had lost its legs directly in its optical sensor disabling it.

The young padawan's skill with a lightsaber seemed like something that a Jedi Knight would struggle to achieve.  The rumors of the Miraluka race's talent in the Force seemed to be much more than mere rumor when seeing the example before them.

---

12:11, Today: Tarrin Feruwi rolled 4 successes, 3 advantages using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 3A 1P 2D 2B with rolls of 4(A), 7(A), 7(A), 10(P), 1(D), 7(D), 1(B), 6(B).  Lightsaber attack.

One advantage spent to activate critical hit to instant kill one.  Ten damage should kill another and leave the third severely wounded with only two wounds remaining.  Taking two strain to get there, but using two advantages to remove strain.

Combat Sense is currently active.  Upgrade the first two attacks against Tarrin every round. 
This message was last edited by the player at 18:27, Fri 15 Dec 2017.

The dark voices in his head continue yelling, driving him to cower in the corner. He then hears a distant voice. Is that real? He pulls his hands away from his face to see a familiar sight.  He sees his fellow jedi's mouth move, but the words aren't syncing with what he's hearing. Den focuses hard to finally hear Kalyx. It takes another few moments before he actually understands the words. He pushes that other voice away so it is barely an audible whisper. The padawan can't completely not hear it, but it's not as overpowering. He regains his resolve and stands, although very shaky. "I think...I think I'm all right. Go help them. I need another moment to recover."

Holding action. He may have beaten the voices, but with his insecurities exposed, it's going to take him just a moment longer before battling. At least Kalyx can get back into the fray.
Also, not doing well strain-wise. Is there a way to recover some during combat?

Seeing Den hesitate, Jini pauses for a brief moment. "Come on Den, we need you," she shouts at the Padawan. As she looks around, she can see Tarrin already engaged with the droids and puts Den from her mind again. He will either help or not, nothing she can do about that now. She uses the Force to propel herself forward, striking at the droids Tarrin is engaged as she passes them by. Her aim is off but she doesn't let that bother her. She is planning to leave the droids to Tarrin and the other Padawans and try to deal with the other threats if she has to, or get to the dark side artifact if possible.


OOC: Jini will take two maneuvers (burning 2 strain) to engage the droids alongside Tarrin, and then attacks the droids.
12:56, Today: Jini Relliri rolled no successes, 3 advantages using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2P 1B 2D 1S with rolls of 10(P), 3(P), 6(B), 1(D), 1(D), 4(S).  Attacking droids alongside Tarrin.

Well crap. I'll spend two advantages to give Den a boost to his next action, as Jini spurs him into action. The last boost will be used to give the next PC to act a boost. If Den takes the next action it will be two boosts for him!

  Boss rushed to move from cover and followed the two Jedi into the new chamber and into the teeth of their enemy. His legs burned at the effort of moving double-time to get into firing range. 'Finally, they can close out their mission or die trying. It felt right, and it was their sole purpose, so it was gratifying to be able to meet their objective. But first he had to clear the path.' He watched with fascination as the blind Jedi tore down the two Super battledroids with ease, and nearly finished off the last one. Jini made her way toward the dias area and closed in on their target, Toggus. 'Good', he thought as he snapped the rifle up to firing position and lined up his sights instantly. CT-4805 pulled the trigger, releasing a gout of lazer fire at the last clanker. The shot flew true, and hit the undercarriage of the droids torso, fusing a good sized hole in its internal systems. The B2 jerked violently before it crashed to the floor, joining the two other scrap heaps that were once automatons.

---

OOC: Boss will use the boost from Jini and shoots the last two taking it out.

http://orokos.com/roll/578367 blaster rifle at B2  : 2eP+1eA+2eD+1eB 3 successes, 1 advantage
http://orokos.com/roll/578367

  The bald General held the dark rod, waving it slowly like a pond reed swaying in a slight breeze. The symbols on the dark side artifact seemed even brighter than the group saw in the earlier vid. Several  translucent red tendrils wafted out from the unconscious Tagruta's dark red and white striped forehead and flowed steadily into several of the rod's arcane symbols.

  Toggus glanced back at the Jedi and soldiers and then turned his apt gaze to his two confederates and commanded emphatically, "Take out these insolent intruders, now!"

  The destroyer droid shuffled its spindly, metallic legs to target the Mon Calamari Jedi coming up the stairs. It already had its shimmering blue and purple tinted shield bubble activated and it powered up its weapons as the General scurried around the dais and took cover behind the stone platform and the prisoner strapped there.

  The two twin auto-blasters in each of its articulated, droid arms cocked back and forth as it unloaded a steady barrage of red energy lances at the Jedi Knight. Somehow, the aquatic female leapt up and twisted several times in mid-air to avoid the dozens of bolts. But her desperate acrobatics caused her to land awkwardly, tweaking her ankle.

---

OOC:  Smart move.. that DP saved your bacon. Would have been 12 damage. 2 advantages rolled will give a setback on Jini's next action. One more ally slot can be used now before the Nikto goes.

http://orokos.com/roll/578506   firing twin auto-blasters 2eP+1eA+1eD+1eC 0 successes, 2 advantage
http://orokos.com/roll/578506
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:04, Wed 20 Dec 2017.

  The clone trooper flicked the safety on his repeating blaster and ran forward as the Jedi charged in and Boss hurried toward the entrance. His legs burned, running full speed with the heavy weapon, but he knew they were heading into danger, and he wasn't going to let this mission fail if he could help it. This is what he was bred for, taking out the enemy.

  He didn't have time to take aim as he reached the doorway, he just switched the safety off, and dropped the rotating barrel in the direction of the Nikto guard. There was no capture order for this one, so he pulled hard on the weapon's trigger, unloading several dozen glowing blue rounds of energy. The Nikto moved as he saw the clone targeting him, several blasts ricocheted off of his maroon and orange plastoid, but didn't do any real damage to the bodyguard.

---

OOC:  missed, but 2 advantages. He will use 1 to recover a strain, and the other to pass a boost to the next ally.

 http://orokos.com/roll/578673 fire repeating blaster : 2eP+1eA+1eD+1eC 1 failure, 2 advantage
 http://orokos.com/roll/578673

  The Nikto guard had the heavy blaster rifle at the ready as soon as the battle in the hall was taking place. Now he brought it to bear, resting the stock against his armored shoulder. As the two Jedi charged into the squad of B2 automatons, he waited for a clear target. He began to turn his sights to the Mon Calamari, but the Droideka was already firing.

   He then shifted focus to the next threat, the young dark-haired human Jedi with his eyes covered up. The green reptiloid took aim, but then he observed the clone and his repeating blaster facing him. He shuffled to the side as plasma bolts came at him, his armor took some hits but it glanced off the protective suit. He immediately returned fire, striking the white armored soldier with the repeating blaster in the front hip area, penetrating the tough plastoid shell.

---

OOC:  12 damaged - 5 soak, for net of 7 wounds. 2 threats give a boost to next attacker that targets the Nikto, as he is focusing to much on his target, relying too much on his armor and the Droideka. Okay, that leaves Den and Kalyx actions for this round.. Kalyx is just going to move to medium range at the doorway. So really, just Den left.
 http://orokos.com/roll/578721]firing heavy blaster rifle : 2eP+1eA+2eD+1eB 3 successes, 2 threat
 http://orokos.com/roll/578721] g">
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:15, Fri 22 Dec 2017.

Seeing the trouble that is unfolding, he takes one more deep breath and ignites his lightsaber. He starts moving towards the action quickly.

Move to medium range.

   K1  Watched as the Jedi Knight and her students waded in on the Droids and the Droideka. Blaster bolts flew past as the 3P0 model moved into cover to keep out of the way of the fighting. She wasn't programmed for close-combat maneuvres or ranged attack values; her strength lay in navigating the routes and ways of the Holonet, along with locating files and circumventing security systems ...

   From behind some cover offered by one of the walls, the Droid's red sensor observed the action of the Separatists and the Jedi with a dispassionate air.

Realizing they'll all get cut down if they stay in the open, Jini again propels herself forward and strikes at the Droideka. The droid doesn't even attempt to move away from the lightsaber, but the powerful shields around the battle droid manage to deflect her blow. She can feel the desperation setting in. There is no way they'll be able to pull this off, not against a Droideka.


OOC: Jini will move to engage the Droideka, aim (burning 2 more strain) and then strike at it, flipping a DP. She gets the floating boost, a boost for the 1000 post thingy, a boost for aiming and a whole heap of setbacks. End result is 1 failure.

18:56, Today: Jini Relliri rolled 1 failure using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 1A 2P 2B 1D 1C 3S with rolls of 6(A), 4(P), 4(P), 1(B), 1(B), 3(D), 3(C), 3(S), 3(S), 5(S).  Attacking the Droideka (gulp...).
18:59, Today: Jini Relliri rolled no successes using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 1B 1S with rolls of 3(B), 3(S).  Forgotten boost (for 1000 posts) and setback (for droideka shots).

Turning his head toward Boss, Tarrin gave the clone trooper a nod of gratitude as he recovered his positioning from striking down the battle droids.  Bringing his lightsaber back to his side, he heard the Droideka's shots firing toward the Jedi Knight before he turned his head toward her.  And there she was, her lightsaber repelling off the droid's shields.  He knew of these droids only really by reputation, but they were notorious for being difficult if not impossible for Jedi to destroy.  They could usually successfully keep a choke point all on their own.  How were they supposed to beat something they could not pierce with their lightsabers?  First it was this Dark Side taint that permeated even the air around them, and now it seemed the premonition was coming to fruition with the Droideka.  And it was not even alone!  He could feel the panic begin to rise in the base of his stomach, threatening to overwhelm him.

Trust in the Force.

The thought was his own yet not quite his own, but it echoed in his being.  Bringing his lightsaber before his face, the Miraluka began to let everything go.  His senses had keyed in on something that was not quite right with this particular Droideka.  As it whirred and fired at Jini and their battle ensued, he observed with his feelings and senses.  And...there it was again!  A small gap in the shielding due to faulty oscillation!  It was fast enough that it appeared the shield had full coverage when activated, but there was still a small opening every once in a while when the frequency shifted on rotation.

Approaching the conflict, Tarrin stepped forward and trusting his feelings he thrust his bright blue blade of light straight toward the Droideka.  It should have caused the Padawan to be pushed directly backward, but as if threading a needle, the lightsaber went straight through the hole in the shield to pierce the droid's chassis, leaving behind melted metal when he quickly recovered his strike to prevent it from being wrenched from his grasp as the shield continued to rotate.

It could be struck!  They could do this!

---

Moving to the Droideka and flipping a DP.

16:03, Today: Tarrin Feruwi rolled 1 success, 1 threat using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2A 2P 1D 1C 3S with rolls of 5(A), 1(A), 5(P), 4(P), 5(D), 3(C), 4(S), 5(S), 3(S).

With K1's bonus that was graciously given to me (I appreciate it!), it should total to 2 successes, 0 threats.  That means 8 damage to the Droideka!

  The Trandoshan padawan's large, amber, slitted eyes, focused intently on the battle with the shielded, heavily armed droid and the dangerous looking Nikto as he passed through the ancient sanctuary foyer. He'd never seen anything like the droideka in real life, only in holo-vids. It was a daunting sight, but it was a call to a challenge for him.

  Kalyx let out a feral hiss and let his predatory nature take over. He surged forward, bounding up the wide, stone stairs with his blade of bright green plasma trailing behind him. As he drew near to the heavily armed droid, he brought the lightsaber to the fore with a rising, upward strike to prevent hitting his allies. His Khyber crystal powered blade cut through the shimmering shield and up the hip and torso of the stout droid, sending pieces of molten debris flying off the destroyer droid's alloyed frame. The shield pushed back against the Jedi's body and threw him off balance, his momentum sending him skidding awkwardly toward the dais on his side, badly chaffing the nomad, nerf-leather greatcoat he wore over his tunic.

---

OOC:  Total was  4 successes and 4 threats one threat causes 1 strain and 3 threats causes Kalyx to fall prone.

http://orokos.com/roll/579016 lightsaber attack on DD  : 3eA+1eP+1eD+1eC 4 successes, 2 threat
http://orokos.com/roll/579016

http://orokos.com/roll/579017 shield bonus against attack  : 3eS 0 successes, 3 threat
http://orokos.com/roll/579017
This message was last updated by the GM at 01:36, Sun 24 Dec 2017.

The destroyer droid shook off the damage, and skittered a bit on its three pointy legs to aim its auto-blasters at the wet-sac with the material covering it's optical organs, which has the more optimal angle for attacking and best odds of rendering it non-functional. It must fulfill its mission, 'destroy the intruders'. The shifty organism proved hard to pin down at that close range, it kept moving away avoiding the hail of blaster fire completely.

---

OOC: One advantage - Boost passed to the Nikto, due to stray bolts pounding the foyer, inadvertantly giving a distraction for him.

http://orokos.com/roll/579065 auto-blaster attack  : 2eP+1eA+1eD+2eC 1 failure, 1 advantage
http://orokos.com/roll/579065

 The Nikto lined up another shot, he saw that his target was moving toward cover of the wall in the foyer. Errant bolts flew in his target's direction, distracting the trooper and allowing him to hone in on the white clad soldier. He squeezed off several shots that found their mark, and some weak points in his laminate armor. The last one hit the knee joint of his right leg, shearing it off completely, causing him to drop to the stone floor, with only one full leg.

---

OOC:

http://orokos.com/roll/579067 firing heavy blaster at CT-101  : 2eP+1eA+2eD+2eB 2 successes, 4 advantage
http://orokos.com/roll/579067

Description: crit table roll
Results 1d100+10: 104 [1d100=94]     Maimed: one limb permanently lost. No actions with limb lost, +1S to all other actions.

  The General realized that his security force was outnumbered and no other droids are coming to reinforce them. He cursed under his breath, as he switched the glowing red rod to his left hand, and pulled a thick, Czerka arms blaster pistol out of his hip holster with the other hand. He fired off several rounds at the blind Jedi, that he thought was distracted with the droideka. But somehow the dark-haired mystic noticed him and was able dodge one shard of blaster energy, and deflected the other up into the ceiling. The shot hit some kind of metallic chain with a ornate metal square with glass, which came tumbling down and glanced off the back of Tarrin's head.

---

OOC:  The General missed but the triumph will cause Tarrin to upgrade the difficulty of his next action. Basically he was stunned by the lamp that fell.  The remainder of the group can take actions that haven't gone this round.. We are in Round 2 by the way.

http://orokos.com/roll/579072 firing blaster at Tarrin  : 2eP+1eC+1eD 0 successes, 1 Triumph
http://orokos.com/roll/579072

  The chaos of battle was overwhelming for most, but the clone was used to it. He was smarting from the last shot from that Nikto.  He could tell by the poise of the last attack that he was a dangerous one. He needed to get to cover fast. That was the plan anyway, which never lasts long in a firefight.

  Sure enough,  several darts of blaster energy crossed near his position.  He peeked back to check if he was being targeted by the droideka. He was only distracted for a second. That was all the scaly bodyguard needed.  He felt one shot that nearly knocked him over. He tried to jump forward toward cover and safety. But his leg didn't respond,  he just rolled over.  He glanced down and saw the his leg ended at the knee. He felt dizzy, the room was going in and out of focus, he was going to go into shock. He needed to  gather his wits and act before he passed out.

  He was trained as a medic,  he still had several... medpacs.. no. Just the applicator... a stimpack. That's it. It was on his utility belt.. right? He couldn't remember where,  but he looked down and his hand was already on it.  Ah,  instinct kicked in.  He was glad that was programmed into him. The trooper was also thankful that be couldn't feel the leg.  It looked bad, but was cauterised, at least. He  pressed the applicator into his thigh and felt the soothing bacta traversing into his bloodstream. Already his vision was clearing, and the fog in his mind was receding.

  Charlie pushed off his booted foot and crawled to the base of the stairs. He pulled himself with one hand and dragged his repeating blaster with the other.  That should give him plenty of cover for the moment. The clone yelled back as he clambered on  his stomach, "K1, come get the stim packs. You're the medic now."

  The clone sergeant was dismayed at the droideka. His blaster rifle can't get through those kriffing shields, not before he was decimated from those twin auto-blasters it wields. He was thankful the Jedi are keeping it busy enough. He moved over to the cover of the partial wall that divided the foyer area from the main sanctuary. Now to just try and take down that Nikto.

  Boss heard the grunt of his fellow clone and peeked over to see the trooper's leg was detached. He pulled his rifle up trying to get some shots off quickly, as the other clone crawled to cover.  'Good, he's still alive,' he thought. His blaster attacks were way off the mark with the added distraction of his partner going down, he actually fired too close to the wall and it blew a good sized notch in the rock.  But, he was in luck, as he realized he can put the rifle's barrel in the notch and stay in better cover behind the wall partition.

  As that happened, the chain from the lamp that fell on Tarrin, rolled into the shield of the droideka, causing it to spark, causing the shield to shimmer for a few seconds.

---

OOC: Okay so 3 advantages to give Boss 1 ranged defense (hence the notch in the wall to fire from), and the 1 advantage passed 1 boost die to Den (that would be the chain messing with the droideka shield just for Den's turn, then the droid will move itself away from the chain).

http://orokos.com/roll/580001 firing blaster rifles at Nikto  : 2eP+1eA+1eB+1eD+1eC 3 failures, 4 advantage
http://orokos.com/roll/580001

Den moves to engage with the droid, but his lightsaber glides off the shield, another useless attack. The jedi are in dire trouble if they can't stop this thing.

16:09, Today: Den Jaxon rolled 2 failures using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2A 1P 2B 1D 1C 3S with rolls of 1(A), 1(A), 1(P), 5(B), 6(B), 6(D), 6(C), 4(S), 3(S), 6(S).  Attack.

Tarrin was just about to strike out at the Droideka once again when he caught the blaster fire from out of the corner of his eye and saw Charlie collapse to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, his leg separated from the rest of his body.  And now, the young Miraluka was left with a choice: destroy a Droideka and get the credit of being one of the only Padawan to ever have defeated one or try to save a clone trooper he barely knew but had supported them this entire mission.

The choice was easy.

"Charlie!" he cried out as he turned fully from the Droideka toward the Nikto.  Though, the blaster from the General overhead sent the chandelier crashing down on top of him.  He managed to get his lightsaber up to ward off the brunt of the damage, but a metal tube from the fixture struck him in the back of his head, causing his Force vision to swim.  Wobbling, he managed to swing his lightsaber in place to deflect the Nikto's blaster fire, but his swaying steps did not allow him to support his frame very well as he tried to counterattack against the alien.

It was all he could do to manage to put himself between the Nikto's position and Charlie's fallen form before he collapsed to one knee in order to try to steady himself once again.

---

08:48, Tue 09 Jan: Tarrin Feruwi rolled no successes, 1 advantage, 1 despair using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 3A 1P 2C 1B with rolls of 5(A), 7(A), 6(A), 1(P), 12(C), 11(C), 2(B).  Lightsaber attack.

I'll use the advantage there to toss a Boost to the next person to attack the Nikto using Tarrin as a distraction.

Tarrin is now prone due to the Despair.

Jini’s eyes are all over the place. They are outmatched, the destroyer droid can blast them all if they don’t down that. Tarrin runs off to deal with the body guard, leaving her and Kalyx facing the Droideka.

The Mon Calamari Jedi batters her lightsaber against the shield generator, but every blow slides off. She keeps moving, making it harder for the droid to hit her with the cannons, using the fact that it seems unwilling to fire anywhere close to the general. It has clearly been programmed not to risk hitting the general and his men, and Jini intends to take full advantage of this.

“Kalyx, try to hit it at the same time as I, perhaps we can short out the shields,” Jini shouts at the Padawan. They both strike at the droid, but the shields easily deflect the blows. “Damn,” Jini says, getting frustrated. She does notice a brief flicker in the shield as they both strike it at the same time, just a quick shift, but the flicker makes it easier to see where the shield generator is located on the droid’s back. Perhaps striking directly at that will work.

The Jedi uses the force to propel herself over the droid as it turns to face her, cannons blasting the wall behind where she stood just a fraction of a second ago. She lands behind it, going down on one knee and thrusting with her lightsaber, her balanced body behind the thrust. She uses the Force to help her keep her balance, and to help her thrust in a straight line, to make it less likely that her weapon skitters off the shield. For a moment this seems like the contest between the irrisistable force of her lightsaber and the unmovable object of the shields, but then there is a small explosion. Both the shield and her lightsaber short out.

“Now, Kalyx, get it now!” Jini shouts as she dives under a blast from the droid as it turns, desperately hoping she hasn’t ruined her lightsaber with her stunt.


OOC: Jini attacked the droid, flipping a DP and using both maneuvers for aiming. An extra boost came from attacking an opponent using heavy weapons while engaged. The result was 2 failures, 1 advantage and a triumph.

The triumph was used to short out the shields and the advantage to give the next PC a boost. If Kalyx takes the next slot he might get a total of 4 boosts (if he aims twice) and no setbacks since the shield is down.

  The Trandoshan scrambled to his feet quickly, as Jini engaged the Droideka and caused it to follow her movements. He stood by waiting for an opportunity to get past the formidable energy field protecting the dangerous droid.



  The maneuver didn't seem to do anything, but he could feel the Mon Calamari's optimism through the Force, and he readied himself for what may come.



  Kalyx closed the short distance and impaled the lightsaber all the way to the hilt in the side of the destroyer droid's semi-circular head. The metal glowed like lava as it melted the droid brain. The automaton went limp, and the reptiloid Jedi initiate kicked the droid down the left side stairs of the dais, as sparks and smoke spread from its metallic dome. He garned the resistance weight of the droid and a bit of the Force as momentum to charge the green skin Nikto. The padawan released a loud growling cry as he moved in on the General's armored protector. But it was only for distraction, and he kept ready to defend if or when the bodyguard turned his direction.

---

OOC: Okay, so Kalyx finished the Droideka, and used an extra maneuver for 2 advantages. He also will pass a boost to the next ally (1 adv - due to moral boost of finishing off the dangerous droid) and the final 2 advantages are giving a boost to Tarrin with his charging distraction.

http://orokos.com/roll/590396 lightsaber attack on DD  : 3eA+1eP+1eD+1eC+1eB 1 success, 5 advantage
http://orokos.com/roll/590396

   The large Nikto turned toward the new threat, the Trandoshan with the lightsaber, who came at him quicker than expected. He turned and fired his heavy blaster pistol quickly to try and keep him from landing a shot, keeping him on the defensive. He backed away out of range of the laser sword to give himself some room and hopefully a better shot for the General. "General. We are out of time!" He quickly moved next to the statue, realizing the stone wings, body and arms would make it more difficult for the Jedi to swing their glowing blades.

---

OOC: He used a maneuver to disengage, used 2 Advantages to move next to the statue and use it for some protection (at +1S to next attack against him).  Okay, now for Toggus..

http://orokos.com/roll/591845]heavy blaster pistol at Kalyx : 2eP+1eA+2eD 0 successes, 2 advantage
http://orokos.com/roll/591845]

   The General's face has become drawn in and stretched taut. His eyes begin to turn to a red color as the flow of energy reaches him. He dropped his blaster pistol and pointed his palm at the Trandoshan padawan. "I am Toggus! It was a mistake to come here. I will add your power to mine and become even stronger." He began a cackling laughter as he unleashed forking lights of red energy toward Kalyx, hitting the reptilian in the chest and knocking the blade out of his hand and back down the stairs.

---

OOC: Hit for 3 damage. Knocked the lightsaber out of his hand with the crit. Everyone that hasn't gone can now take action.

http://orokos.com/roll/591857  Discipline + Force : 1eP+2eA+2eD+2eF 1 success, 4 advantage, 1 Light Side, 2 Dark Side
http://orokos.com/roll/591857   

Roller ordon68
Character Toggus
Campaign FotR
Description crit roll
Results 1d100: 13 [1d100=13]  1D crit  Sudden Jolt  drop whatever is in hand.

  Boss scanned the area through his rifle sights. The Nikto was retreating, and he tried to line up a shot but the Trandoshan moved too close. "Kriff. No shot. I'm moving up to the left flank to get eyes on targets." he called out over his comm to Charlie. He then bounded up the stairs, and ran full out moving along the left side of the raised area where the statue and dais reside. He fired a quick shot that was off the mark while moving toward his new position.

---

OOC: using two maneuvers (burning 2 strain), one to leave cover and the other to run to short range on left flank, and then take a shot at the Nikto. As GM also increasing difficulty by flipping a DP.. The result was a total wash, miss.

http://orokos.com/roll/592167 firing DC-15 rifle at Nikto  : 2eP+1eA+1eB+1eC+1eS 0 successes
http://orokos.com/roll/592167

  Charlie didn't let his grievous wound stop him from helping Boss and the others. Relying on the stim's bacta coursing through his veins to stifle the pain, he dragged himself and his weapon up the steps and balanced his repeating rotary blaster on the top of the steps. He didn't have a target without risking his allies, so he fired above everyone's heads toward the side of the statue to distract the enemies.

---

OOC: He is going to take an assist action. technically its engaged ally, but I allow assist if it makes sense it might help. I am fairly lenient with that unless it gets abused.

 So result is next ally gets 1B added to action.

Seeing the general not escaping yet, Den quickly moves to strike at him with his lightsaber. With the general being focused on another target, the padawan manages to find a way to beat his defenses and strike true.

12:14, Today: Den Jaxon rolled 2 successes using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2A 1P 1B 2C with rolls of 3(A), 7(A), 4(P), 6(B), 11(C), 5(C).  Lightsaber.

  The Separatist General was caught off-guard while he shot red lightning at the Trandoshan, and turned away from the blow, but not before getting a nasty gash across the back of his left shoulder. Glowing, red tendrils that exuded from the dark side rod were now also engulfing the human padawan. "You are weak, scholar. But your tiny essence will be added to mine!" his his bellowing laughter was feral, otherworldly much like the voice that Den heard in his mind earlier.

---

OOC: Den will have to make a hard Discipline check as the artifact itself is trying to absorb his Force essence, standing that close to the artifact as the darkness assaults his mind. Failure would result in him becoming, Disoriented (+1S to all actions). You can add 1B for recognizing the source of the voice in your head, and another for striking the General giving you more confidence.. so total of 3D+2B added to your pool.

 Okay. I'll grandfather in K1T1's action if he wished to take one for round 3 and then move to Round 4.
We now have 4 ally initiative slots available before the Enemies can zap.. umm, go.

=================================  ROUND 4 =========================================

This message was last edited by the GM at 20:43, Thu 08 Feb 2018.

“Stay away from my padawans,” Jini shouts, louder than she had expected, as she jumps at the general, using the Force to propel her through the air. Her lightsaber is a blur,  leaving the general little chance to avoid the blow as she lands next to him with a thud.

OOC: Sorry for the brevity of the post, wanted to get something up but don’t have a lot of time right now.

Jini spends a maneuver to close with the general, another to aim (burning 2 strain). I’ll flip a DP to give me a slightly better chance of hitting.

23:19, Today: Jini Relliri rolled 1 success, 1 threat using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 1A 2P 1B 2C with rolls of 2(A), 1(P), 8(P), 1(B), 6(C), 8(C).  Attacking the general, flipping a DP and using a maneuver to aim.

OK, at least she managed to hit and not kill herself (or a padawan) with a double despair as I feared. The hit does 8 damage, breach 2.

  Toggus was ready for the next attack from the Mon Calamari, as she leapt toward him. He brought the cylinder of glowing runes up to deflect the lightsaber blow, but Jini was able to land another blow that gashed him across his hip.

  He continued to mock the Jedi, his voice otherworldy speaking both out loud and in Jini's mind. "You are pathetic. I can feel that even these lowly padawan's doubt your ability!"
 

---

OOC: He used Parry 2 to reduce the damage by 4 taking 3 strain.

Shaking his head to clear his senses, Tarrin focused his mind's eye on the Nikto once again.  Perhaps his emotions were getting the better of him, but Charlie had lost a leg because of the blaster shot fired from Toggus's Bodyguard.  This was not Revenge, but Justice.  Recompense was needed in order for him to feel like he had not failed the clone trooper who had been with them through thick and thin this mission.  Perhaps this was skirting the Dark Side that the Jedi Masters so often warned them against, but the Miraluka cared less about that than he did his responsibility as a Commander of forces.  Lives were on the line, and the actions that he took here determined whether these clones lived or died.  To him, that was much more important than the Light Side or the Dark Side.  Such quibbling was better left to the halls of academia than a battlefield.

Planting his left heel against one of the stairs, the Miraluka surged forward toward the retreating Nikto as the bodyguard ducked behind another statue.  Perhaps such a thing would have worked against anyone who was not Tarrin, but the young Padawan had been hailed by his teachers as a tactical genius.  Simply repeating the same kind of defense against him would not work in Dejaarik nor would it work in a situation like this.  Deftly, he swung his lightsaber in an upward arc as he turned on his foot like a dancer, concentrating the Force into his off hand as the wing he had sliced off the statue began to fall.  Without missing a beat, he outstretched his hand and flung the statue piece forward to daze the Nikto and obfuscate his view.  What was truly insidious, however, was the full-bodied thrust of his lightsaber that followed, piercing through the stone wing and directly into the Nikto's body.

---

Using a maneuver to get up and burning two strain for another maneuver to engage the Nikto once again.

09:32, Today: Tarrin Feruwi rolled 3 successes, 2 advantages using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 3A 1P 1C 1D with rolls of 3(A), 4(A), 8(A), 9(P), 2(C), 5(D).  Lightsaber attack.

9 Damage.  Using the two advantages to perform a Critical Hit at +10.

09:33, Today: Tarrin Feruwi rolled 31 using 1d100+10 with rolls of 21.

The Nikto is Staggered until the end of his next turn.

The voices started to get louder in his head. You are worthless. Den knows where it's coming from, now. Go back to your books, padawan. He knows that he has to stop it before it drives him mad. You shouldn't even be here. You shouldn't even exist...

He wildly slashes at the general and the rod, hoping to cease the dark side onslaught inside of his mind. He feels the blade strike the general again, but isn't sure it's enough for him to drop the rod.

07:44, Today: Den Jaxon rolled 1 success, 3 threats using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2A 1P 1S 2C with rolls of 3(A), 2(A), 6(P), 3(S), 11(C), 10(C).  Lightsaber.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:48, Tue 06 Mar 2018.

Den:

The voices started to get louder in Den's head. You are worthless. Den knew where it's coming from, now. Go back to your books, padawan. He knows that he has to stop it before it drives him mad. You shouldn't even be here. You shouldn't even exist...

  The Nikto saw the Jedi charging and fired off a few shots from cover, just to slow the Jedi down. He hit part of the statue, as the Jedi sliced off a piece and flung it toward him. He tried to get behind the leg of the winged statue as the piece of bronze plated stone hit his cover and sprayed particles of dust and smaller chunks of stone. The azure energy blade pierced his hiding place and penetrated his mid-section, causing his sunken, dark eyes to bulge. He grunted in pain and stumbled away from the blade, firing at random to keep the blind Force user from finishing him, though he couldn't focus to aim he tried to put some distance between them.

Den:

The scholarly Jedi wildly slashed at the General and the rod, hoping to cease the dark side onslaught inside of his mind. 

   The General continued to use the glowing artifact as a melee weapon and diverted the attacks as the two circled. Toggus just kept laughing like lunatic, ignoring his numerous wounds. "Stupid boy! You will die slowly..."

   Den's erratic attacks enabled him to slip past Toggus's defense enough to slash a good chunk off of his side and hip. The scholarly padawan brushed up against the glowing rod, igniting a flash of red and a jolt that knocked him backwards, sliding to the left edge of the raised platform.

   Kalyx seized his opportunity and charged in from behind as his fellow padawan was knocked over by the glowing device.  He thrust his blade up into the general's lower back, and it burst out from his upper chest.

  The glow from the man's maniacal eyes fizzled and the glowing runes turned into a burst of energy, which simultaneously ejected from the body of Toggus and the artifact. It arched and coalesced in the air and then slammed into the Togruta's chest. Her small body lurched violently and then fell back down lightly as all the energy returned. The Jedi prisoner's eyes fluttered open for the first time in a while.

---

OOC: used 3 threats on Den's roll to knock him prone. 3 advantages for Kalyx roll to wake up the Togruta as well as return her power. She is still bound by the stun cuffs. The Nikto moved to short range as his maneuver since he can't take action this round..  Boss is lining up a shot on the Nikto, unless someone tells him to stand down so he can surrender.. ?

http://orokos.com/roll/600881 Lightsaber attack : 3eA+1eP+1eB+2eC 1 success, 3 advantage
http://orokos.com/roll/600881

http://orokos.com/roll/600880 Discipline check : 2eP+1eA+3eD+1eB 2 successes, 1 advantage
http://orokos.com/roll/600880

Boss followed the Nikto with his gun sight and fired several rounds of bright energy that hit the bodyguard, one of those hit him in the jaw partially, some of it was absorbed by the open faced helmet.

---

OOC: Boss hits for 12, soak of 6 on the Nikto, so he is at 15 of 16 wounds he can suffer. Also 3 adv. activates crit. Result: severity 2D, Agonizing wound. increase difficulty of all Brawn and Agility checks until the end of the encounter.

 Blaster rifle attack -
 http://orokos.com/roll/602673

Roller ordon68
Character CT-4805 "Boss"
Campaign FotR
Description crit roll
Results 1d100+10: 58 [1d100=48]
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:06, Mon 12 Mar 2018.

  The Nikto was knocked back by the shots and then hit in the face. He was barely standing, clinging desperately with one arm to the platform to keep him upgright. He dropped his pistol and raised the one arm he wasn't using to stay up, in a gesture of surrender. "I give up, it was just a job.."

"Just a job...?" the Miraluka intoned softly, with a deadly stillness in his voice as he approached the Nikto with his lightsaber humming at his side.

Suddenly, the brilliant blue blade flashed out and carved a deep scoring line into the stone statue as he kept moving toward the bodyguard.  It cleaved through the stone as if it were nothing more than simple butter leaving a glowing red imprint as he passed through it.  The weapon came back to its resting position at Tarrin's side.

"A good man lost his leg today because of your 'job!'" he continued, raising the lightsaber over his head as he stood over the defenseless Nikto who was trying to surrender.  "You will pay for your transgressions!"

His breathing quickened as he held onto his anger and outrage at the bodyguard trying to shirk the responsibility for his actions that had led to Charlie's injury.  Long moments passed as he loomed over the Nikto, the lightsaber poised to strike and cleave a limb if not end the bodyguard's life in its entirety.  Grabbing ahold of himself mentally, Tarrin turned his lightsaber off and attached it to his belt once more, letting out a long breath.

"...and you will.  You are under arrest under section 4426-A7 of Galactic Law."

Jini is about to intervene as Tarrin approaches the Nikto with his weapon ready to strike, but she calms down when he puts his lightsaber away and accepts the surrender of the general's bodyguard.

"Is everyone alright?" she asks, looking over her companions. She sees that Charlie is down and that his leg looks ruined but apart from that, everyone looks alive and well.

She walks over to the Togruta, examining the skinny form for injuries as she unshackles the girl. She is dressed in what appear to be traditional garments of Jedi Padawans, but Jini struggles to recognize the teenager. There are so many, and she hasn't been around the temple much for the past years.

"Take it easy, we don't know what he was doing with that ... thing, but it felt strong in the dark side," she tells the Togruta. "I'm Jini, a Jedi Knight. With me are Tarrin, Den and Kalyx, all Jedi Padawans, as well as Boss and Charlie over there," she says, indicating the clones. "Oh, and K1T1 of course," she says, nodding her head at the droid.

The dark side artifact the general had been using lies apparently dormant on the floor, but Jini doesn't dare touch it, not yet at least. Instead, she examines it where it lies, both with her traditional senses and through the Force.

OOC: Could Jini do a Lore check to see if she can figure something out about the artifact? If so, what would the difficulty be? Also, would a Sense roll help?

I'll try to recover some strain, at any rate!

15:23, Today: Jini Relliri rolled 2 successes, 1 advantage, 1 triumph using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2P with rolls of 12(P), 9(P).  Recovering strain, +2 for Rapid Recovery x2.

Weird, what can I use the Triumph for? Perhaps Jini notices something interesting as she centers herself in this room?

Den slowly gets up after being knocked down. The first thing he notices is that the voices have ceased. It almost feels like a weight is lifted from him when he realizes this. A small smile grows on his face as peace and quiet has returned to his mind. The young padawan's eyes scan the room to take a quick assessment of the situation.

Their target is eliminated. It probably would have been better to capture, but there was no way he was going to give up.

He then looks to Tarrin, who looks like he is about to strike their new prisoner down, but refrains finally. Den lets out a breath he didn't even know he was holding in during that stressful few moments.

He watches Jini help a fellow padawan from being a sacrifice to the dark side. That's a new technique he hasn't read about in the libraries on Coruscant. It is certainly something he'll have to look into when they return.

His eyes fall onto the artifact. Oh, what luck! It was not damaged during the battle. What kinds of secrets could this rod hold? Maybe it would help them in the battle against the Sith. He slowly walks towards it, kneeling next to it to get a closer look. Are there any familiar markings on it? He looks up at Jini, who is also inspecting it. "We should return this back to Coruscant so the masters can research this. What do you think, Jini?" He is very tempted to reach out and take the item, to hold it and get a much closer look at the inscription. He does not, though, as he looks to the clones. One of them is maimed, his leg completely missing below the knee. He stands and looks to the fallen soldier. "We need to help him out of here and we need to find a safe way out of here."


11:31, Today: Den Jaxon rolled 1 success, 2 advantages using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 3A with rolls of 7(A), 1(A), 5(A).  Lore.

Tarrin:

A good man lost his leg today because of your 'job!'" he continued, raising the lightsaber over his head as he stood over the defenseless Nikto who was trying to surrender.  "You will pay for your transgressions!"

The Nikto did not cower as the blind Jedi brought his lightsaber to bare on him. He swayed back slightly, but he kept looking Tarrin in the cloth covering his eye sockets, accepting whatever fate would befall him.

Tarrin:

Grabbing ahold of himself mentally, Tarrin turned his lightsaber off and attached it to his belt once more, letting out a long breath.

"...and you will.  You are under arrest under section 4426-A7 of Galactic Law."

 The bodyguard lowered his head,  his body language could have been interpreted as relief. "I am a hired soldier, but I understand losing team members in this conflict. The Republic is not the glowing beacon of hope it pretends to be. Especially those of us in the mid to outer rims of the galaxy. Our problems are tabled, but our taxes are required no matter what. You are young, but I have seen suffering, even before this war in the forgotten regions."

---

OOC:   We are in free form time, so anyone can post or comment. I will be assessing XP the rest of this week and awarding it this weekend. But we can wrap up the role-play and if  you would like some political discussion.. If you are interested, otherwise we will move on to getting out of the caves with your prisoner.
.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:21, Tue 13 Mar 2018.

   The Protocol Droid emerged from where it had been sequestered now that the conflict between the young Jedi and their opponent. As a Protocol series model, there was no combat programming installed aboard the machine's chassis and no need for it to participate in the fight.

   "Pardon me, gentlebeings ..." the female-toned voice asked, "Is there anything that I may assist any of you with?"

"Keep an eye on him, if you could," Tarrin replied to K1, jerking his thumb at the Nikto.

With that, he wordlessly descended the stairs toward Charlie, his soft synth-leather boots whispering across the dusty stone floor.  When he arrived at the clone trooper's prone form, he knelt without concern for dirtying his pants and leaned forward, helping the soldier up bodily, draping Charlie's arm across his shoulders.

"Up we go, old man," he quipped with a good-natured wry smile.  "I'm not about to leave a good man behind.  Let's head back and get you patched up for real, shall we?"

Turning his head so that his face was toward Jini, then shifted to Den, he quirked an eyebrow.  "If we are going to analyze that thing, we shouldn't do it here," he stated, suppressing his own discomfort at the idea of bringing it back with them.  Their injured should take priority over his own feelings about being in close proximity to a dark side artifact.  "We need to get everyone treated as soon as possible.  Spending more time here took look into it isn't really an option."

   "As you wish, Master Feruwi." acknowledged the Droid as she moved over to where Nikto was and simply stood in place, her singular optic sight focused on the man.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:45, Tue 20 Mar 2018.

Her head feels like it's been split in two when she comes to. At first, she keeps her eyes closed, feeling the flow of the Force again. She can't remember much, but she can remember the feeling of helplessness as she surrendered to the enemy, the humiliation as she handed her lightsaber to General Toggus. And then the droids blasted her, fortunately with their weapons set on stun.

She hadn't even been aware of the fact that the droids could set their blasters to stun. The blasters certainly weren't on that setting when the combined fire from a company of battledroids finally overwhelmed the defenses of her master. Her memories are fuzzy, but she recalls the ageing Ithorian taking first one, and then several blaster bolts to the torso before crumbling. How his final words were spent to save her life, ordering her to surrender rather than giving in to her impulse to go down fighting like her master.

And now she's awake again. Lying on something hard and cold.

The Togruta lying on the large stone slab slowly opens her eyes and takes in the surroundings. She has no idea where she is, or how she got there, but she seems to recall seeing the Mon Calamari standing over her, undoing her shackles, somewhere before. As she sees the lightsaber hanging from the belt of one of her saviors, she realizes that she's probably seen the Mon Calamari in the Jedi temple. She's been saved.

"What is this?" she says, her voice breaking as she realizes just how dry her mouth is. "Where am I, and who are you?" she asks her small band of rescuers.

  The clone climbed up onto the raised platform area and was headed toward Charlie, but the blind padawan was already helping him out. He heard the Togruta speak up and stopped. It was obvious he was a clone soldier since he is wearing his full white armor. "I am CT-4805, a platoon sergeant. We were diverted from our original mission as reinforcements in the war. They asked us to capture General Toggus, since our ship was closest to the location where he was spotted. We didn't know what he was up to at all, but it was apparently something to do with that glowing rod that he was using. Gave him some crazy powers or something. The Jedi might be able to elaborate further. It all is a bit fuzzy for me."

Jini listens to the teenage Togruta and helps her sit up, but is distracted as she feels a presence in the room. A person. No, three people. Different from the others. Thankfully, Boss steps in and explains the situation as the Mon Calamari stares blankly at the Togruta for a moment.

"Yes, I'm Jini Relliri, a Jedi Knight, and those are Padawan learners in my care. Truthfully, we were not sent here to rescue you, but to apprehend the general, as Boss here said. Although I suspect it was the Force that lead us here just in time to rescue you," she says gently, still a bit distracted. "But I can sense we are not alone here," she says, her lightsaber still hanging from her belt.

She walks deeper into the cavern, peering into the darkness. She holds her hands our, palms up, to indicate that she's not holding a weapon. "You can come out now," she says gently. "We will do you no harm."

Den makes sure that Boss is well enough to escape this place with the assistance of another trooper. He glances back over at that rod. The temptation to study it is so strong. However, the danger that is present overrides that. He hopes he has an opportunity to look at it on the ship, at least. Perhaps reference it with some information that might be on his datapad.

He listens to the saved jedi and her questions, but lets Jini and the clone answer. The two of them are more of the heads of the group than he and his fellow padawans are. An eyebrow raises when Jini calls out to others that are in the darkness. He tries to use the force to sense others in the room, but the rod's dark powers make it difficult for him to concentrate."Jini...who are you talking to?"

09:37, Today: Den Jaxon rolled no successes, 1 dark force point using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 1F with rolls of 1(F).  Sense.

This message was last edited by the player at 13:39, Tue 20 Mar 2018.

  Kalyx sat down cross-legged and began meditation, once he saw that the Nikto had surrendered. The Trandoshan tried to find his peaceful center to help him fight the pain in his burned chest, and also tamp down on the urge to cut down the bodyguard in retaliation. It was not the Jedi way. The man was just someone that thought he was doing the right thing. He was part of the Force the same as anyone else. Stopping the biggest threat, actually helped him. Perhaps, it satiated his predator instincts, because his did actually find calm acceptance and peace.

  He heard the Jedi Knight talk about sensing three people and he stood up and looked around and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see anything, either. But... There were three additional people in the video pushing the hovercart with Raana. Perhaps the technicians found another passageway."

---

OOC: Kalxy failed his perception with a threat giving him a setback for his recover strain discipline check. He rolled 3 success and 2 advantages and used one advantage to notice the detail about the techs in the video, and another advantage to pass a boost to the next person giving them more confidence that there is something possibly there.

Den tries to center himself, closing his eyes, and focusing on finding what they need. He pictures the three techs and reaches out to the force. This time, the light side answers his call. His mind sees the path that was taken and the path that they will need to take to escape. "I see them. I see where we need to go." He says, eyes still closed.

14:12, Today: Den Jaxon rolled no successes, 2 light force points using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 1F with rolls of 12(F).  Seek.

"There might be a doorway or a passage. They don't seem threatening," Jini says. She then raises her voice a little. "You can come out now. You have my word you will not be harmed," she says, hoping to entice the technicians to give themselves up. Enough blood has been spilled on this day.

Using the Force, Jini lifts up the strange dark-side device, examining it further. "Do you have any idea what this is, or why Toggus was using it?" she asks the Togruta.

With Charlie's arm around his shoulder, Tarrin was easing the clone trooper toward the rest of the group when he paused.  Extending his senses, he reached out with his Force Sight to see just what was around them.  Pushing it outward to press against the walls of the ruin and cave, he let it leak through the slits in the walls to find the organic beings beyond.

"Boss, can you hold onto Charlie for a moment?" he called out to the other clone trooper.  "There's...something here."

Once Boss came to relieve him, the Miraluka walked calmly toward the part of the wall he had sensed--a rectangular set of lines in the shape of a doorway.  Tracing his fingers long the lines, he confirmed what he had sensed.

"A Chadra-Fan and a Bith," he said to the others.  "And they may be injured."

Tracing his fingers to the right of the doorway, he felt for the divot on the panel he had sensed was there and pulled in order to reveal what was beneath.  If these were more prisoners of General Toggus, they needed to be rescued.  Perhaps they knew more of what the General was planning?

---

02:47, Today: Tarrin Feruwi rolled 2 successes, 3 threats using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 1A 1P 3D with rolls of 4(A), 2(P), 5(D), 8(D), 5(D).  Perception check.

  Boss helped Charlie to the steps and he sat down and wrapped a couple of bacta patches at the end of his leg stump that was starting to ooze more blood. The clone sergeant moved toward the Nikto prisoner and kept his rifle trained on him. Boss called out to K1T1, "Droid. Take those stun cuffs over there and put them on the bodyguard. Jini has the transceiver key with her, but you won't need it to the secure them. Just let them click shut."

 He glanced over and Jini was talking to the wall, and Tarrin sauntered over and joined him conversing with the rock wall. He shook his head and wondered if this place is still affecting them both. The wall, unsurprisingly, didn't talk back.

---

OOC: There is no response on the other side of the wall.  Tarrin realizes the small rectangular lines and divot could be a mechanical lever.

  Just as the sergeant finished his sentence, Tarrin pulled on something off the wall, a rectangular piece of rock came down with a metallic groan. A door shaped section of wall, began to move inward, then swung to the left revealing a medium sized room.

  Boss looked astonished and mumbled to Charlie. "I don't understand the Jedi, but I should have learned by now to trust their strange senses."

  The two Jedi immediately recognize the technicians from the B2 video that K1 sliced, the mangy furred Chadra-fan, the Bith female and the short man with curly black hair and beard. They are huddled in a corner, under the hoversled that was also in the video.

  Everything in this room seems to be disintegrated over the many years, but in the back of the room are two rusted doors that are partially open, but its hard to see inside with only the light of the lightsabers.

Her mouth dry and her head pounding after the strange ritual, Raana slowly gets up on her feet. "I'm afraid I don't remember much at all. I was kept sedated after I was forced to surrender," she says. "All I remember is having horrid visions, the device is surely connected to the dark side. I think we need to get it to the Jedi Temple. Out of these caves," she says, her voice trailing off as she realizes she doesn't even know which planet she's on.

She walks to Toggu's body and starts going through his pockets. "I wonder what he did with my lightsaber," she says as she looks for her weapon. Master Edom had always been adamant she look after the weapon, even as he advocated finding other ways to resolve problems than the force of arms.

Jini shifts the dark side artifact, still using the Force to maneuver the rod. She puts it down on the strange altar where the Togruta had been restrained. Raana clearly doesn't know why Toggus was performing this ritual, and now that he's dead he won't be talking. Unless they can get the prisoners to talk they might have to bring the artifact back to Coruscant to get some idea.

She walks towards the open doorway. "Please come out of there, you will not be harmed," she tells the technicians. "You may consider yourselves our prisoners until we get the details of your involvement in this ritual. Perhaps this would be a good time for you to tell us why you are here and what you and the late general here were hoping to accomplice," she says. She suspects the technicians might not be here of their own free will, but perhaps they can shed some light on what Toggus was up to.

  The muscular Bith female, a species with a large head, large black eyes and several wrinkled cheek flaps over a small circular mouth, came out and stood up with her hands raised. "We were conscripted to serve the Separatists, at least Daalub and I," she said as she pointed to the old Chadra-fan male. "We will..."

  She was interrupted by the bearded human man who was getting out from under the hover sled. "Stop talking! Your being paid well enough, so keep your mouth shut and don't tell them anything. Think about your families."

  The Chadra-fan moved over cowering behind the Bith, rubbing his stomach through the grease stained coveralls.

  The Droid straightened slightly at the barked word and regarded the Clone trooper before she spoke. "Of course, Sir."

   She followed the line of where the Trooper was pointing and saw the stun cuffs. With her usual trademarked shuffle, she made her way over to where they were and picked them up, giving them a cursory glance before she turned and moved to where the bodyguard was.

   When she arrived at where the bodyguard was, she uttered a quick "Excuse me, Sir." before she reached for the wrists and crossing them, then slid the binders over and watched them click closed.

   The shouting of the Human drew her attention and she turned the singular crimson sensor in the bearded man's direction. "Oh, dear ..."

Den nervously looks around the room, expecting to see more droids to show up. "Well, we can sort this out later. We still haven't figured out if there's another way out of here. Do you know of another way out of this wretched place?"

  The old Chadra-fan replied to Den in a squeaky voice, as he pointed to the opening, "That's what we were working.." He was interrupted by the bearded human again. "I said, SHUT UP! Both of you!"

  The Bith woman interjected, "Stop it, Flaist. The general has been defeated. There is no reason not to cooperate."

  The man shook his head violently. "So what, we still have a ship out there with more Separatist droids and men. This is only temporary. Do your duty and keep quiet."

Leaving the lightsaber at his belt, the Miraluka spread his arms wide to show he meant no harm as he approached, the ends of the purple cloth that was tied around the space where his eyes should be swaying as he did so.

"She is correct, the General has been defeated," Tarrin began.  "And his bodyguard has been apprehended and will be brought to the courts to face his crimes."

Gesturing to his robes and the lightsaber hilt attached to his belt, he continued.  "We are Jedi.  I see that you are aware that there was a ship with Separatist droids outside.  What you may not be aware of is the fact that we destroyed quite a few of them on our way into these caves, and that we are not alone.  We have a full contingent of clone troopers and a gunship at the very least with us at this point in time.  I doubt there is much more the Separatists can do for you currently."

Turning his head in a motion that seemed to symbolize the face that he would be glancing at the human if he had eyes, Tarrin opened his palm facing upward in a questioning gesture.

"I commend you for your loyalty, Flaist, was it?" he said with a warm smile.  "But it seems that there will be no help coming.  However, we are not conquerors.  We simply came to withdraw with the General.  We are not going to take your hard-earned credits from you.  But, surely you can help us to the exit and a small amount of information?  We have done no wrong by you, and the sooner we leave the safer you will likely be.  Of course, you are also welcome to come back to Republic Space with us or tell us your circumstances if you wish.  It is the mission of the Jedi to give aid to everyone we can."

---

02:45, Today: Tarrin Feruwi rolled 4 successes, 3 advantages using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 3A 1P 1B 2D 1S with rolls of 4(A), 7(A), 2(A), 8(P), 5(B), 6(D), 2(D), 2(S).  Charm check.

Finally, revenge for that crappy Charm roll before!  I'll use the 4 successes to have these NPCs accompany us for a bit to give us their aid.  And 3 advantages to even make Flaist come around?  Or whatever else you think they would be good to be used for!

 

   The bearded human seemed to seethe at the Miraluka's words at first, but then the fact that they had a gunship and walked through the whole complex dawned on him.

   The Bith woman added, "That's why we couldn't get a signal through. I knew there was enough boosted power that we should have been able to contact them through this shaft at least. They would have responded. What they say must be true, my comm is picking up faint signals much farther away and not our ship."

Flaist's mood went from angry and defiant to one of sullen defeat.  He didn't say a word, but sat back down, his head in his hands.



  The bearded human looked up at the last part, and gave a weak nod to acknowledge the praise, but kept quiet.



   The human Separatist tech said nothing  further and remained sitting. He was deflated and non-responsive. The other two were much more amicable. "We will help you exit. That is what we were working on. The shaft behind us, we believe, was an ancient turbolift of some type. There is a scrap of rusty metal and debris below that is probably the original lift platform. It appeared to have used some metallic cables to lift to the surface using some type of motor, we presume. But there isn't enough left of the motor to get working even if we had the knowledge. There is a door at the top that we can probably pry open, but it is seventy to eighty meters to the topside door and we only have fifty meters of synthe-rope and no way to get it up without climbing up the cables. I prefer that to risking running into more of the predatory reptiles that appear to roam the tunnels around here."



   "We would seek asylum in the Republic, if there was some way to get our families out first. They have implied reprisals against them, should we leave our posts. It may have been an idle threat, but I'm not so sure. We will cooperate as much as we can, at least Daalub and I.  We will remain prisoners until we can find a way to get our families out."

Den looks to the others and speaks without considering the other's opinions. "I think we can help with that. You're already risking your lives to help us, I think the least we could do is help your families off world."

  The Bith woman blinked her large black eyes at the young human. “That is a bold proclamation, coming from someone younger than me. I do believe you are sincere in your promise, but I’m not sure how you can clear that with your superiors. The Holonews shows that resources in the Republic are severely limited, compared to that of the endless streams of droids the Separatists seem to throw at them. But, I believe the news, that we are allowed to see at least, may be censored. So it might not be the accurate picture of the war. As I said, I will do what I can to help. First, we have the General’s files with us in a encrypted, locked case and the Togruta’s belongings in a satchel. We do not have the codes to unlock Toggus's case though. We will hand them over and help you find your way out, as best we can.”

Jini approaches the technicians, stepping a little closer than Den. "I think it would be best if we take you in as prisoners of war, for now. Hopefully that will limit reprisals against your families," she says. "Once we get in contact with our leadership I am sure they will agree that your cooperation will allow us to be quite lenient. I am not sure you have an accurate picture of how the war is progressing from your news, but I can't at this moment make any promises regarding your families. All I can hope for is a quick resolution to the war."

She hands Den the satchel. "Could you please give this to our new friend back there?" she asks him, sensing that the Bith woman seems uncomfortable having a young man like Den in charge of her fate.

"I will take the encrypted files too, if you don't mind. I'll leave it to the specialists to crack the encryption later," she says, accepting the case from the Bith. "I would also ask you to put down any weapons you might have. If we find you are hiding weapons on you or in your equipment we will need to reconsider the terms of your captivity."

"If the turbolift is inoperable we may be forced to take the longer route out since we have an injured companion. Climbing up the cables without specialized equipment seems a little too risky. But have no fear, there is nothing down here that a group of Jedi can't handle," she says, trying to sound more confident than she really is.

Den blushes a little, being brash at suggesting that they run out and save their families. He looks down at his boots, a little downtrodden. He thought that it was a Jedi's duty to help those in need, but perhaps it was an overextension, in this case.

The padawan weakly takes the satchel when it's handed to him and a barely audible "Ok." is spoken. He doesn't hear the rest of Jini's words as he heads over to the new jedi. He holds out the bag to her, looking up at her. "This is yours, I think."

  The Bith woman responded again to Jini, "We don't have any weapons, just tools and stuff."

  She turned to Tarrin and added. "We can possibly help you contact your ship. You said, I think that you had something in the area. Maybe you can contact them? Perhaps they can get us out through the topside entrance. I am worried about those predators. I've never been so scared in my life when that thing attacked. It tore through those droids like they were nothing. If we had half the troops there, we would have been in serious trouble."

The young Togruta looks at Den when he hands her a satchel with confusion, before opening the bag and finding her lightsaber and some of the gear she had on her when she surrendered to the separatists. "Oh, thank you, thank you so much," she says with a smile as she wraps the functional but well-worn utility belt around her slim waist. "I'm Raana, by the way. Raana De'Fenn. I think I may have seen some of you in the temple, but I've been out and about with my master for a while now," she says, the smile vanishing from her face as she mentions her master.

She decides this is not the time to dwell on the past, when her survival at the present is in doubt. She examines her lightsaber, turning it on briefly to make sure it works. The blue-white blade of the weapon makes a hiss as it appears, and again when it is extinguished. Feeling relieved to have her weapon back, she clips it onto her belt and takes another look on her surroundings. "I suppose we had better see about getting out of here, right?" she asks no one in particular.

The Bith makes a good point. If the gunship can land above the lift entrance the clones can lower ropes and haul them up much faster and safer than hiking through the tunnels again with those beasts they passed.

"That doesn't sound half bad. K1, can you contact the gunship, get them the coordinates and ask them to uncover the turbolift shaft and prepare to haul us up?" she asks the droid. "I wasn't really looking forward to the hike back, all things considered," she confesses to Tarrin.

Den smiles a little upon her introduction. "I'm Den. You probably saw me in the libraries. I didn't get out much." He nods in agreement about getting out of this place.

   The Protocol Droid turned from where she was looking, her singular sensor moving from where she had been keeping an eye on the bearded man as the Clone Sergeant had ordered. The crimson sensor turned to regard the Jedi dispassionately and her soft, feminine voice could be heard. "Of course, Master Rellri." she replied.

  She straightened and moved a hand to the side of her head as she opened a channel to the nearby Gunship. "Master Rhezzik, this is K1T1 with the Jedi on the surface. Master Rellri is asking if you can bring your ship to these coordinates and find a way - perhaps with your weapons - that you might be able to uncover the turbolift shaft above us and manage a way to haul us up from this place?"

OOC: Assuming K1 is okay with it, using her device she is able to get the signal through..  Feel free to add dialogue in response to the Biths comments

---

The Bith woman heard the automaton trying to contact someone and walked over to the droid before he attempted contact. "Hi, K1, is it? I am Iejita. Normal comm devices won't get through, but I've created a signal boost by using the power of the hoversled as a conduit. Connect to 1138-414 frequency channel and you can use my device to connect."

    K1 straightened and moved a hand to the side of her head as she opened a channel to the nearby Gunship. "Master Rhezzik, this is K1T1 with the Jedi on the surface. Master Rellri is asking if you can bring your ship to these coordinates and find a way - perhaps with your weapons - that you might be able to uncover the turbolift shaft above us and manage a way to haul us up from this place?"

   Tylen responded over the radio. "I have been trying to get a hold of you for the last twenty minutes or so and couldn't get through. Let me isolate your signal and try and locate where you are. But we have bigger problems now. The transport ship that came to support you, at least that is what I assume since it shot down the Vulture droids, was spotted by planetary sensors and they sent patrol fighters out to investigate. There was a battle and your ship had to leave the planet. They probably could have downed most of the patrol, but chose not to attack and kept on the defensive and escaped. They contacted me and left me a message for you. 'Enemy ship disabled, but not destroyed. We opted to avoid attacks against the planetary forces. Enemy reinforcements likely incoming. Bunker down, if you get this message. We will return in a few hours and attempt contact again.'  They also asked me to assist and offered additional compensation. I had to move the ship when the patrols came by and headed to the mining colony as a cover. I am there now. I left the ship ready to depart, I will be there soon and do what I can. But, if I'm picked up on scanners, they may send out patrols. Stay in contact."

   The Protocol Droid listened to the message and acknowledged receipt of the information. "Message received and understood, will remain on this frequency to keep in contact."

   "Oh my," she said as she turned in the direction of the Master Jedi and her students. "It appears that our transportation was attacked by a patrol and forced to leave the planet. They report that their opponent was damaged in the attack, but still functional ... "

   "Tylen," K1 continued, "The person I'm corresponding with, has implied that more people are coming  - reinforcements - and that we should 'bunker down' for the moment and they will return in a few hours to make another attempt at contact. They had to move when a patrol came near and are using the mining colony as cover, but may have to leave if they are spotted again."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:32, Thu 26 Apr 2018.

Raana smiles back at Den. "That would explain why I didn't remember the name, I used to avoid the archives like the room was on fire," she says with a cheeky grin. "Perhaps you can tell me what's going on here, why you are here and where we are, but right now I think I hear something about us leaving this place and I don't want to slow us down."

The Mon-Calamari Jedi Knight thinks for a moment. "Very well," she says to K1, and then raises her voice so as to be heard by everyone. "Let's get ready to head out. Check out the lift shafts and make sure we can see if Tylen can find a way to get a rope lowered. Let's be ready when that happens. I want Tarrin and Den up first and Boss after that to hold the top side if there is trouble. I'll be the last one out," she says.

She examines the dark side artifact the general had been using before tucking it into her belt. Further examinations will have to wait until she gets to Coruscant.

"We're on the Bissian system. We came to subdue the general." Den bobs his head in the direction of the lifeless body. "Unfortunately, there was not a peaceful solution to the issue, as you can see." He slides his hands into his pants' pockets. "Jini and K1 are working on figuring out on how to get us out, so I have a feeling that we'll be fine." He pauses a moment. "Do you even know how you got here? Or what happened?"

"I'm not even sure I've heard of the Bissian system, but I will be glad to get out of here," Raana admits. "And sadly I don't think I can remember anything useful. I was kept sedated after surrendering to the general. I really want to know what he was trying to do though, since I had the most horrible visions of the dark side while I was in that medically induced coma."

  Boss heard the transmission and was already taking action, helping the wounded clone get up from the steps. "Jedi Kalyx,  could you please secure the prisoner. We need to get him into the hidden room with the shaft. I'll help Charlie. Grab his repeating blaster also, I can't carry him and that huge gun."

 The reptilian Jedi grunted an acknowledgement and guided the prisoner into the room with the others. Once they were all inside he closed the stone door to the sanctuary.

  Boss examined the portal as he pulled the rifle off of his back and commented. "I hope that will keep them out for a while and they weren't given the information about this room and the hidden latch. I will see if we can hurry this along."

  The clone headed toward the shaft and clipped the glow rod to his rifle barrel. He began firing up toward the door at the top, right side of the shaft.

The clone Sergeant continued to fire a steady stream of red plasma up toward the door, setting the shaft glowing in pulses or red light along with the yellowish light of his attached glow rod. He blasted through a hole in the weak metal and surrounding rock, as dust and debris rained down in the shaft. Large wisps of dust came wafting out of the shaft opening into the room where the rest of the group and their prisoners were waiting.

   CT-4805 received word on his comm through K1's connection to the Shrieking Acklay.  Tylen noted,  [["I am close to your coordinates. I see smoke and some red blaster fire coming from behind an overhang on a hilltop. There is a flat area there that will be kind of tight, but I can land and use my cargo hold wench and lower it down to you. It has magnetic clamps and straps so you can attach it easily."]]

The clone leader stopped firing his rifle and switched his helmet comm to external speakers. "Our ride has arrived, he is lowering down a wench to us now. Get ready to move out. I suggest we use that hover sled so we can get two people out at a time."

---

OOC:  triumph used for Tylen having a convenient place to land

http://orokos.com/roll/619124 Shooting at lift door : 2eP+1eA+1eD+1eC+1eB+1eS 1 success, 1 Triumph

http://orokos.com/roll/619124

Knowing that Jini wants him and Tarrin to be out first, Den gives Raana a small smile and a nod as he moves into position to escape. "Are we climbing or are we being pulled out?" He asks, approaching the Jedi Knight.

Jini breathes a sigh of relief when she hears that the ship has landed and they seem to be about to get out of here. "Use the winch, latch it on to the hover sled with Boss and use that to get safely up. I'll hold the fort down here, you and Tarrin need to be the first up to secure the site up there," she says. "Now let's get the hell out of here," she adds, somewhat uncharacteristically. The events of the day have clearly taken a toll on the Jedi Knight.

   The others might not have picked it up immediately, but the 3P0 Droid noticed the change in the Jedi's voice and recognized the exertion that Rellri used to speak. She was not a medical Droid, but she was programmed to notice the small, subtle shifts in the speech patterns of organic beings and picked up the clues that indicated the Jedi was more fatigued than she might be letting on.

  "Mistress Relliri," she began as she walked closer and spoke quietly, not wishing to alarm the others or alert their prisoners that anything was amiss. "Might I advise caution ... your actions would seem to have left you more drained than you might have realised. I would not wish to see anything untoward happen to you ..."

Jini blinks several times, her eyes both focused on the droid. "Don't worry about me," she says, trying to sound cheerful. "I've been through worse scrapes, and we are nearly out of here. It is my responsibility to get everyone safely out, we'll be fine once we are on board the ship."

Den follows Jini's instructions and prepares their exit. The faster the better!
This message was last edited by the player at 18:30, Mon 07 May 2018.

   The Protocol Droid turned her head slightly, in what might have been considered a cocking motion to the left. I am a 3P0-series protocol mechanism, Mistress. I may mimic certain organic functions as you understand them, but I am incapable of worry or anxiety."

   A pause, while the Droid considered something. "Mistress, when shall I be joining the others on the..." K1's single ocular sensor moved up to scan where the opening was, then returned back to the Jedi, "Hover sled?"

The winch came down and Boss and Den worked together to get the straps and magnetic clamps hooked up to the repulsor-sled used by the technicians. Moving up by pairs, each padawan rode up with four Separatists. Boss had the Nikto guard go third so that there was ample security above and below to prevent a possible escape attempt.

  It was a little more difficult than initially thought because close to the top, Tylen had to stop the winch because it was about to tilt the hover-sled once it got near the top and the mag clamp lines moved over the rock. Tylen was forced to help Kalyx get the Bith technician climb up the last two meters. The Trandoshan was easily able to pull himself up to the top, and stand by to assist the others.

  The pilot called down to K1, in a huffy tone, "Kalyx here tells me we got some guests coming aboard my ship? That would have been nice to know. This is going to take longer than planned. I thought we just had six people and a droid. We have to hurry this up, its a matter of time before they notice the ship on planetary sensors is not in its flight path and will investigate."

---

OOC: Who is going up with Jini in the last load up? 4 padawans with the Nikto and 3 techs, so that leaves a wounded Charlie, K1, Jini, and Boss.. I assume or did Boss go up with one of the first ones?

OOC: She'll support the wounded Charlie, I think.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:33, Mon 07 May 2018.

The wounded clone sat at the lift tube entrance as the others went up. Jini helped get the last group, K1T1 and the clone sergeant, into the hover sled and sent them on their way. She heard the sounds of battle droids in the sanctuary as it sounded like they were marching directly toward the hidden chamber.

   Charlie shook his head and let out a long breath as he grabbed his helmet. "Sounds like we are going to have company. Maybe they won't be able to find the latch. I don't suppose your mystical powers can make it hard for them to find us."

  There were sounds of metal scraping against the stone at the door, and a minute later the latch sprung. There was a loud clunk and gear turning sound as the stone door began to screech and rumble. Pebbles and debris fell away as it began to swing slowly open.

  The clone trooper intoned as he positioned his repeating blaster, "Save yourself Commander. I will try and hold them off. A disabled clone has no place in the Republic anyway, and you have become a good leader."

   The Droid heard the annoyance in the pilot's voice and replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "The only constant in the universe is change, Sir. We are working as quickly as we can, however."

   K1 followed the Clone Sergeant onto the hover-sledge when her audio sensors picked up the sounds of something advancing on the door. Directing her sensors in that direction, the unmistakable noise of the approaching Battledroid series machines made the 3P0 model look to where the Republic trooper and the Jedi Teacher were located.

   Mistress Relliri, might I suggest haste in your joining us? You may be able to distract ... them," One could almost hear a note of distaste in the Droid's words as she referred to the approaching units, "But they will eventually find you. Time is of the essence."

Jini can feel the panic setting in as the noise from the droids gets louder. They clearly know where to go and are headed straight for the small sanctuary behind the hidden doorway. She looks up at the hover sled as it ascends with K1 and Boss. It is groaning under the weight of two people, there is no way it will hold three.

She idly wonders if she should try to climb up the side of the turbolift shaft, even if it means leaving the clone, but as she is trying to figure out the best way to start the droids manage to open the door. The realization hits her. There is no way an immobile clone, no matter how brave, can hold off the droids long enough for the hover sled to finish the ascent and then descend again, let alone long enough for her to climb out of blaster range. The only chance she and Charlie have of surviving is fighting their way through the droids. Hopefully there won't be too many.

"Nonsense, Charlie, we'll get out of here together," she says to the clone, trying to sound confident. Knowing that there is no way for her to do what the clone suggests, even if she was willing to leave him behind. As she had been contemplating right up until the doors opened.

As she turns from the shaft and unclips her lightsaber from her belt, her hand brushes over the dark side artifact that she had tucked into her belt. There is no way she'll allow that to fall into the hands of the separatists again. "K1!" she shouts up the shaft as Charlie opens fire with his repeating blaster. "Catch!" she shouts as she hurles the rod up the shaft, reaching out with the Force, willing the artifact up far higher than she could possibly have thrown it. High enough to reach the droid.

As she concentrates on that, she quickly activates her comlink, connecting to Tarrin's frequency. "Tarrin, there is no way Charlie and I are getting out of here. They are too many, and there is no time. You have to lead the others now. Get them to the ship. K1 has the artifact, you must get everyone out safely and the artifact to the Jedi Temple. Don't let this be for nothing," she says, speaking much faster than usually as the sounds of blaster fire get louder in the background.

When the rod is safely in the hand of the protocol droid, Jini turns her back to the turbolift shaft and flicks the switch on the handle of her lightsaber, accidentally dropping the comlink on the floor, the channel to Tarrin still open.

She steps up in front of Charlie, deflecting a blast that would have hit him for sure, before leaping forward, propelled by the Force, and delivering an overhand swing into the head of the nearest battledroid. She can see down the hallway what seems like an entire battalion of B2 battledroids advancing. "There is no death, there is the Force," she mutters as she lays into the nearest droid.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:05, Wed 16 May 2018.

K1 and CT-4805 were forty meters up the sixty meter shaft, when they heard blaster fire erupting below them. Flashes of red lit up the darkened shaft  below. Boss could here the return fire from his clone brother's repeating blaster answer in response, lighting up the shaft even brighter. The sound of Charlie's blaster in the shaft alerted those at the top of the fight going on below.

   Boss's helmet didn't reveal the pain in his face, but the white gloved hand on the cargo strap was shaking from clenching it so hard. It was obvious there was a conversation going on between the clones over a private channel by the way the clone sergeant was vehemently shaking his head while staring down.

   [[Boss stated in a strained voice,"I will come back down as soon as the artifact is secured. I.. I might be able to slide down the metallic cabling, it could hold."]]

   [[Charlie responded, "No. This is my duty. We are outnumbered, another destroyer is making its way in. You must get everyone to safety. Complete the mission. It was great to serve with you, brother."]]

   Her crimson coloured sensor looked in the direction of the Jedi and the wounded Clone Trooper close to her, K1T1, the sound of the shots from the Droid's weapons, meshed with those of the Trooper, triggered something ...

---

   Smoke rolled through the corridors of the ship where the Droid walked. Shouts and blaster fire could be heard in equal measure as she made her way towards one of the Smuggler's spare rooms. She heard footsteps running towards her at a pell-mell pace, and saw that one of the ship's crew was firing down the corridor and not watching where he was going. His head turned just in time to see the red sensor before he piled into the Droid with a force that knocked both of them over. Both landed on the deck plating awkwardly and she heard an unkind word about a clumsy Droid before she heard a low growl. "Should've shot you when I had the chance."

   More blaster bolts passed about the same height as where the man had once been standing. The sound of booted feet came closer and the man scrambled to get away from on top of the 3P0 Droid's chassis. "Freeze!" came a call through an intercom in a Trooper's helmet. K1 immediately stopped moving, but the man she'd been entangled with kept going as he reached for the blaster he'd dropped.

   "I'm not going back!" the man shouted defiantly before a blue bolt struck him and the body crumpled back to the floor.

   "That's quite enough, Trooper." a voice called out, the tone even save for a note of authority. A bearded man walked forward - a Core Worlder, by the look of him - his appearance and robes marking him as a Jedi. He looked to where the smuggler was, then to K1 before he spoke again. "I say, this must be awkward for you ... may I ask what your designation and function is aboard this ship?"

  "K1T1, Master Jedi," she answered without a pause as she tried to rise from the deck. "Protocol and Information Droid for the crew of the-"

   The bearded Jedi simply smiled and extended a hand to her ...

---

   ... K1 looked down into her hand, the artefact firmly gripped. She heard the ignition of the lightsaber and saw the deflection of the first bolt before the Jedi leapt forward and the battle began in earnest ... She began to record as the lift rose up higher and higher and caught the last snippets of the battle before the lift carried the Trooper and her out of range ...

  The slicer droid and clone sergeant finally reached the top of the tall shaft after a long minute or two. The whirring of the wench ceased as the repulsor platform came to a halt, causing it to sway gently.

   At the same time the blaster fire down near the shaft bottom abated. Those helping the last two passengers, spotted two super battledroids who, unceremoniously, trampled over a motionless white armored individual as they entered the doorway of the shaft. They were not able to move farther into the shaft because there was no steady flooring, just a bunch of jagged metal scraps a few meters below them. But the two B2 units shifted their optical sensors upward and spotted the targets at the top of the shaft. Their arms switched to blaster mode, and fired lances of glowing red plasma up toward the makeshift lift, just moments after K1 and Boss were pulled clear to safety.

   Tylen shook his head, knowing from the blaster fire that there were no other passengers to retrieve. He didn't say anything, what could he say? He tapped on his remote device and the wench pulled the hover sled over the ledge. It's repulsors kicked in and it still floated, despite a few laser burns along its bottom paneling.

   CT-4805 removed his blaster rifle and roughly shoved the floating sled out of his way as approached the ledge of the shaft.

Den waits for Jini to return, but finds that she did not come up with the droid, as was the plan. When K1T1 approaches without the Jedi Knight, a quizzical look crosses his face. "Where's Ji..?" He doesn't finish the question as he hears her response over the comms. He shakes his head in denial. "No, why..." He takes two steps forward, but feels a trooper's hand on his shoulder to gently guide him to the ship.  He doesn't fight much as he is escorted onto the ship. This was her decision. She was doing this to save the mission.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:41, Wed 16 May 2018.

The young Miraluka had stayed on his guard once he reached the top of the elevator in order to make sure that the forward guard zone was safe for the others.  He held his the point of the blue blade level and outward as he assessed the area for threats.  But, after the elevator went down and back up and still Jini and Charlie had not appeared, he could not shake the feeling that something was wrong.  Perhaps the Jedi Knight would not be coming up right away since she wanted to make sure that she brought up the rear, but an injured person like Charlie?  He should have been one of the first ones after the two padawan that were the vanguard.  He was about to open his comlink to check with the Jedi Knight what was going on when he heard the Mon Calamari's voice.

"What?  No!" the Miraluka cried out over the comlink with alarm in his voice.  "That doesn't make any sense, Jini!  At the very least let me come down to help you so that Charlie can get away!  There's no reason for an injured person to sacrifice themselves!  You and I together would probably be more effective at holding them off, and then we could make our escape while they are recovering!"

Making purposeful strides back toward the elevator, Tarrin began typing into the pad in order to call the platform back in order to aid the Jedi Knight and injured clone.  Surely her plan was madness!

   "It is too late, Padawan Feruwi," came the voice of the 3P0 Droid as she followed the young apprentice, waiting until the Mirulaka had finished speaking before she'd replied. "She is affording us time to escape, we should take it, or risk being captured by the Separatists ... and this" a four-fingered hand held the Sith artefact firmly in its place, "will fall into the wrong hands. If nothing else, this needs to be taken to the Jedi Temple for safekeeping.

   "Our need to return this artefact outweighs any other consideration, Apprentice. We need to go before it is too late..."

Jini's voice sounds far away, partially drowned out by blaster fire. "...nothing you can do ... are too many of them," she shouts. "You must get the .... to safety, secure the artifact..." she shouts. "...come for you on the surface soon, must get awa..." she manages to shout, cut short by a scream of pain. The sounds of fighting continue, making it clear she might be hurt, but not quite down.

"We have to go, Tarrin. She is doing this for us." Den says weakly into the comm. Hearing Jini's struggle during the battle makes it more diffcult for the young padawan. He is left speechless, shaking his head in disbelief. He mutes his commlink, not wanting to hear the final moments of the battle, undoubtedly hearing the demise of their friends. He takes a seat on the freighter, his legs too wobbly to support him anymore.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:57, Fri 18 May 2018.

Raana stares blankly at the comlink for a moment, realizing she is listening to the last moments in the lives of Jini and the clone trooper as they are overwhelmed by battle droids. She doesn't know Jini or the clone, but clearly the others are torn with the Jedi Knight's decision. She puts her hand on Tarrin's arm. "There is no time. Even if you took the hover sled down again, it would take too long. Jini chose to cover the rear, knowing it could come to this. Don't let her sacrifice be in vain. Trust me when I tell you that I know exactly how you feel, I lost my master and forced myself to follow his last order, to surrender to the Separatists. It is hard, but we must live to fight another day, not throw our lives away for nothing."

"No!" the Miraluka cried out, collapsing to his knees in front of the elevator console, his lightsaber falling from his nerveless grasp.  The sapphire blade of light shut off as it fell, the hilt bouncing once and settling on the floor.  "No..." he repeated weakly holding his elbows as he wrapped his arms around his own torso.

"What is the point of being Jedi if we cannot stop things like this?"  The words came out in an audible whisper.  A rhetorical question, one searching for understanding out loud.

Even now he could feel the pain of the lifeforms below them as they fought against the droids.  While the others had the audio of the comms to go by, Tarrin could perceive what was going on in much more intimate detail.  Was this the reality of war?  The young Miraluka was beginning to understand why some of the Jedi Masters did not approve of Jedi involvement in the conflict.  There was so much...darkness here.  And seeing their brethren fall like this brought a great deal of emotional conflict.  That would already be bad enough, but being made to watch it like this while not being able to do a thing?  That was a curse that was uniquely a Miraluka one to bear.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:21, Wed 23 May 2018.

Raana realizes that the Miraluka padawan is beside himself, perhaps feeling his master dying right now below him. The memory of her own master perishing, his last words to her, it’s all very fresh in her mind, so she understand very well how Tarrin feels. Sadly, this isn’t the time. She looks around and sees the clone trooper headed for the ship. “Trooper, help me,” she asks him.

Knowing that words will have little effect, she simply grabs Tarrin’s arm, and with the clone’s assistance she half-carries the Miraluka into the ship. As she does, she notices his lightsaber on the ground. Using her free hand she reaches out towards it, using the Force to propel it to her hand. She attaches it to Tarrin's belt, before helping him sit in one of the passenger seats. With everyone on board she closes the door. “Take off, pilot, we need to get out of here before any separatist ships arrive,” she shouts towards the cockpit.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:33, Sun 27 May 2018.

  The Trandoshan took up the rear guard as Raana and Tarrin went up the ramp. He was torn himself over leaving the two companions. He knew that they had a mission and would have to honor Jini's last orders, but he did not like it at all any more than Tarrin did.

  It was then that he clearly felt the Mon Calamari's, nearly unbearable, pain and then her presence abruptly vanished from the Force. The finality of her death drove him to his knees and he stumbled into the cargo bay, as Tylen raised the ramp. He unleashed a keening, growling, wail that echoed through the ship.

---

OOC: All the Jedi felt Jini die, and you can post your reactions to that event. I'm going to miss doing Jini's voice in the audiobook recordings.

Den suddenly winces and covers his face, trying to hide his pain. The feeling of loss in the Force is almost too great for the young padawan to bear. It's one he has not experienced yet, and one that he does not want to experience again any time soon. He takes deep breaths, trying to calm himself. He sniffs and wipes at his eyes, the tears starting to roll down his cheeks. It will be a difficult time for these padawans, and they will need each other's support.

While the others could feel Jini's presence disappear through the Force, Tarrin could see it.  And even as he was dragged away, he was staring in abject horror as the blaster bolts ripped through the Mon Calamari's body, causing her to jerk from the force of the rapid-fire death.  The Miraluka tried to keep himself together, but he could still see Charlie fighting on from where he was holed up behind some rubble near the elevator that he had been using as cover.  All it took was one launched plasma grenade from a battle droid to rip both him and the rubble to shreds.

By this point, Tarrin was sitting in the ship, his mouth open in horror.  But, no sounds came from his lips.  Instead, scream through the Force itself ripped from his body and emanated outward, audibly silent but somehow loud enough to shake the spirits of those around him.  It was rare to see one of his race grieve, and with no eyes or tear ducts to speak of, it was often debated how they did so.  Now, the other Padawans could see firsthand how it occurred.  More than that, they could feel it.  There was no need to guess at how a Miraluka felt when someone close to them passed away.  Anyone with a connection to the Force could feel the exact same thing.

Although Raana hasn't spent time with the Mon Calamari Jedi Knight, she can still feel her passing, deep in the caves. At first as a slightly sad feeling that suddenly comes over her, but right after that in a much more intimate way, through Tarrin's grief made all to real as she helps him on board the ship.

Stunned for a moment, she recovers sooner than the others, who might have been hit harder simply by virtue of having a connection to Jini. She runs to the cockpit, suddenly aware of the fact that she's never met the pilot before. "Eh, we should take off. The others aren't coming. We'll tell you the details once we're off this rock," she says.

"Do you need any help up here?" she asks, letting her voice trail off. She is a decent pilot, although she's more familiar with piloting fighters and smaller gunships than light freighters.

  The pilot was already rushing through his pre-flight checks and trying to check the sensors to find the best route away from the patrol. He pointed to the sensor station as he replied. "Just get on the sensors and make sure we don't have any surprises. I am going to move away from the incoming Bissian forces and make a run for it, at vector 24 mark 7."

  He flipped a few more switches and then spun the ship as he brought the repulsors online and then slammed the throttle forward on his makeshift controls. The boxy ship rattled enough to make the passengers think the ship was going to come unglued at the seams, and from Tylen's reaction, he wasn't too confident either. He looked around the cockpit and checked several systems as the Shrieking Acklay climbed upwards, the inertial dampeners finally caught up and the ship seemed to calm as it angled through the tannish tinged atmosphere and into space.

  Raana didn't see anything else on sensors. There was some weak pursuit from the patrol, but nothing serious. They were able to leave the planet and take a short hyperspace jump to the edge of the system where they met up with the Republic ship Reliance.

   K1 found one of the seats on the transport as the pilot hurried through the pre-flight checks and sat down. She watched the others as they too found places to sit down and lowered themselves down in their own fashion. The Droid remained silent and let the others grieve while she processed what had happened.

   From what her sensors told her, the organics all were in various states of distress over the loss of their Teacher, Master Relliri. From what the Droid knew, organics could feel and express loss, and the comparative silence that reigned aboard the craft was a stark contrast to their arrival earlier. K1 watched as Padawan Ferruwi sat in his chair, his mouth open. A quick moment's consideration informed the Droid that Mirulaka expressed their emotions differently than other organics, but this was the first time that the 3P0 had witnessed it firsthand.

   The others, from what she could surmise, expressed their feelings in a fashion in a more conventional fashion. The Trandoshan, Kalyx, had emitted a keening wail when he'd entered the cargo hold and fell to his knees. Jaxon, perhaps the youngest - or at least the youngest appearing - had just placed his head in both hands and had begun sobbing and deep breathing. Likely he was trying to camouflage the emotion he felt - organics were also noted for such behaviour - but there were signs that some Droid models like his own that were able to detect such attitudes.

   The Togruta pilot, who didn't have the same connection as the Padawans to the Jedi Master, was the only one that appeared to have a certain detachment to what was going on. K1 The Droid watched the woman run towards the cockpit and slip inside. Each one will grieve in their own way.

   K1's internal gyroscope 'felt' the quick change in direction, then the sudden acceleration as her chassis roughly contacted the back of the seat. The ship suddenly tilted up and the Droid turned her sensor towards the window, where the blue sky slowly leeched away it's colour until the black of space was all that was left. K1 paused a moment as she considered; their trail from Bissia into space was very much like what she had heard about people who were on the edge between life and death. The blue of the atmosphere was life itself, and its ebb into the blackness of space was not unlike what death was for both mechanical and non-mechanical life. And the stars that had begun to twinkle reminded her of an old folktale; one where when a person passed onto another life, their ... essence ... rose into the Heavens and became another of the twinkling stars in the sky.

    "Curious ..." she whispered to no one in particular, as the small ship jumped into Hyperspace.