# Star Wars - Wrath of the Rebellion is now COMPLETED



## Dr Midnight (Jun 12, 2002)

This is the second thread for STAR WARS: Wrath of the Rebellion. 

The first one is here:
http://test.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10582

~PLOT SUMMARY~ 
The Rebellion has successfully destroyed the Death Star. However, the Empire is still incredibly powerful... A covert team of Rebellion operatives are being sent to find and infiltrate a hidden Imperial base- presumably, a training center for the bulk of their fleet. The center is on a planet named Farlan-Eul, which is unlisted in all available archives. The heroes are currently attempting to break into the Imperially-controlled Holonet on a remote hub on Tatooine, to learn of Farlan-Eul's location. 

~THE HEROES~

LEXO YUST, A primitive Force Adept who is guided by the spirits of the great ice bears he once hunted on his home planet

USCHI NEFF,  A scout and bounty hunter who's chosen serving the Rebellion over struggling under the Empire. 

WOONWOOKEN, A  wookiee scoundrel with a quick tricaster. She's good friends with Lexo, and wears a bow in her fur.

ZYBOR-JAE, A Jedi Guardian from the old republic era. He’d been frozen in carbonite to escape the Jedi purge, and now fights for the Rebellion.

DENT DARKSTAR, Deep Space Pilot, is level-headed and clever. With his YT-2400 Corellian cargo ship the Chandrila Surveyor, he flies from system to system with the group.

T’EK NOVA is the second-to-last Jedi to train under Obi-Wan Kenobi. Now, his late Master instructs him to stay out of Luke Skywalker’s path, as he will bring the galaxy back to order. T'ek is not entirely comfortable with this...


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## fenzer (Jun 12, 2002)

Just pokin' around.


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## Breakstone (Jun 13, 2002)

Wow, we're going through threads like... like...

Stormtroopers?

Clones?

Um... Gungans?...

DAMN YOU LUCAS, for taking my creativity!!!


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## Welverin (Jun 13, 2002)

*from the other thread*



> _Originally posted by Gospog_
> *Sorry, I wish I had time to write it! My free time is so non-existant, it's insane! I have four big games to prepare (and soon) for a Con, and still try to crank out the Star Wars games, along with atending Docs'.
> (not that I'm complaining, mind you)
> 
> ...




If Doc can't do you think one of the other players would be willing?


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## Gospog (Jun 13, 2002)

Welverin,

Sorrry, no chance.  Doc M is the only one of all of us to tackle such large projects.  

I wrote one small Story Hour once, and remember all to well how much work it was.  I simply don't have that kind of time right now.

(but that's not to say I never will!)


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## evileeyore (Jun 13, 2002)

Hey Doc, two comments.

First great story, I  like the writting style.

Now my two comments.  One the link in your sig for the story hour is broke (it points to the old eddress...)  Two could you put a section in the website for the story hour that includes links to the individual chapters?  It would make it easier for those of us who like to read it there and skip all the holibaloo in the threads.

Thanks


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## Dr Midnight (Jun 13, 2002)

evileeyore said:
			
		

> *Hey Doc, two comments.
> 
> First great story, I  like the writting style.
> 
> ...




Thanks mister. 

I think I'll amend the link to point to the story page, and I believe I will put links to individual chapters on the page-thingy. 

Rock on!


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## Welverin (Jun 14, 2002)

Gospog said:
			
		

> *Welverin,
> 
> Sorrry, no chance.  Doc M is the only one of all of us to tackle such large projects.
> 
> ...




Drat! I was so hoping for more Star Wars.

Maybe I shouldn't give up on Doc yet but two story hours is a bit too much to ask.


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## Rel (Jun 14, 2002)

TGIF!  That means tomorrow will be Saturday and the next day will be Sunday which will be different from the previous Sunday in that Dr. Midnight's Star Wars game will be on and of course that will be followed by Monday when he will post his very excellent next installment of the story hour or we will all make a sad face like this  and post more run-on sentences in his story hour that will show how sad we are.

(Actually, I'm the last person who should be complaining about tardy story hour installments.  I really just posted this so that I would be subscribed to the new thread.)


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## Dr Midnight (Jun 14, 2002)

EPILOGUE TO SESSION II

Woonwooken waited until Garindan had left, then signaled for the others to follow her into teh ship. They walked inside and Woonie took something out of her gunbelt. It was Ende's holoprojector. She pressed a button and they watched as the figure of the Imperial officer shimmered to life over her open palm. The officer looked pained and humiliated, but spoke with a noble tone. 

"My name is Admiral Piett. If you're receiving this transmission, it is because you have been named among the best of the best in your field. The Empire is putting forth an open call for bounty hunters, and you are invited to take part in a high-stakes hunt. If you are interested, attend our meeting aboard the Star Destroyer EXECUTOR. The date and coordinates have been transmitted to you. As I'm certain you've guessed by now, this information is not to be distributed freely. Good day."

The transmission ended. Not having anything further to say, Woonwooken pocketed the device and went about her business preparing for the next day. Uschi sat back and stared in silent thought for several minutes. 

INTERIOR: VADER'S STAR DESTROYER -- VADER'S CHAMBER

The Dark Lord, Darth Vader, is alone in his chamber. A
strange sound enters the room and a light begins to play
across Vader's black figure. He looks up and bows quickly.
A twelve-foot hologram of the Galactic Emperor materializes
before Vader. The Emperor's dark robes and monk's hood are
reminiscent of the cloak worn by Ben Kenobi. His voice is even
deeper and more frightening than Vader's.

VADER: What is thy bidding, my master?

EMPEROR: There is a great disturbance in the Force.

VADER: I have felt it.

EMPEROR: We have a new enemy -- Luke Skywalker.

VADER: Yes, my master.

EMPEROR: He could destroy us.

VADER: He's just a boy. Obi-Wan can no longer help him.

EMPEROR: The Force is strong with him. The son of Skywalker must not
become a Jedi.

VADER: If he could be turned, he would become a powerful ally.

EMPEROR: Yes. Yes. He would be a great asset. Can it be done?

VADER: He will join us or die, my master.

Vader kneels. The supreme Emperor passes a hand over the
crouched Lord of the Sith and fades away.


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## Horacio (Jun 15, 2002)

Horacio has arrived, and wants more story


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## fluffaderm (Jun 15, 2002)

*Caldu Wirya and Lodi Oken*

I must agree with Dr. Midnight... it was pretty awesome to kill a Sith!  Next time we'll get the "Lord", Darth Obsidian, for sure!

One of my favorite things about this game has been the interaction between the different characters.  Have you ever been in a party where the most serious character is the Ewok Jedi?  Few things are more enjoyable than "seeing" him fume at the antics of Lodi Oken, or when George Dewback (the human soundrel) calls him "teddybear."

Gospog - I've been playing in your games for about 9 years now... this campaign has been your best yet!!


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## Breakstone (Jun 16, 2002)

Whoo!

Saturday Night Bump!


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## Dr Midnight (Jun 17, 2002)

The next day, the team assembled at the opposite side of the street from the Imperial garrison. They waited until around noon, when a group of nine heavily armed stormtroopers left the building and walked down the street. They left only one trooper guarding the garrison’s exterior. Lexo walked up to the man without a weapon drawn. “Excuse me, sir,” he said. “There’s an emergency down the street to the east, there. You should go and check it out.” He waved a hand in front of the trooper and concentrated. 

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to step back,” the trooper said through a fuzzy comspeaker. “I’m afraid I can’t look into any disturbances right now. It’ll have to…”

T’ek Nova stepped up beside Lexo and passed his hand. “No… you really should go and look into it.”

The trooper stood for a moment. “I… I really should go and look into that disturbance.” He then ambled aimlessly down the street, carefully looking around for the emergency he was told to investigate. 

“Good job, you two,” Dent said as he stepped forward with the key he’d bought from Garindan. “Time to see if this thing is worth the money we shelled out for it.” He placed it into the keyslot. A blipping light flashed over the keypad, and the door opened- _KSSHHT!!_ They stepped inside. 

Only one stormtrooper stood in this atrium. Hey was keying things into a databank. He looked up and exclaimed “What… You’re not allowed to…” He began to raise his blaster rifle. Woonwooken the wooly took two steps toward him and grumbled, deep in her chest. She spoke several dire threats- in her native language of Shyriiwook. The stormtrooper didn’t understand her words, but their meaning was clear. He turned to run. Dent shot him once, and T’ek leapt forward, lighting his saber and spinning in the air. He landed on the other side of the stormtrooper. The trooper’s head landed a second later. 

“We’re not meeting much opposition,” Uschi said. “They must really be running this place on a skeleton crew. I guess I can thank Garindan for his ruse after all.” 

Woonwooken picked up the stormtrooper’s severed helmet, shook the head out, and shot a hold through its top. She then forced it over her wookiee-sized head. It didn’t fit at all, but that didn’t stop her- she pushed it all the way on. It cracked right up the center, and the entire left side of her face was visible through the opening. She poked her bow out through the hole at the top of the helmet and turned to look at Lexo. “Gronk?”

He shook his head. “Doesn’t really make for a good disguise on you, Woonie…”

“Shh!” Zybor had his head cocked at an attentive angle. “There are more down the hall. They’re ready for us. T’ek, you take that side.” Zybor ran down the hall. T’ek grinned and raced down his end of the other hall. He flashed forward with a burst of speed that only the Force could give him. He’d arrive at the scene before that showoff Zybor could… He turned a corner at incredible speed and his eyes widened with alarm. There were two stormtroopers here, and they truly were ready for them- They fired just as T’ek rounded the corner. T’ek felt the blaster bolts singe by his cheek, missing him by centimeters. They’d very nearly hit him- and in the space of a moment, at high speed, T’ek forgot himself. 

He gave in to fear. 

He raised his hand and pushed. Five meters away, a stormtrooper slammed backwards against the wall, flung by the power of the Force. T’ek swept in and killed the trooper with his lightsaber just as Zybor came into view. Good- he hadn’t seen. If Zybor knew that T’ek had used the Force to throw a living creature backward, he’d probably just try to discipline him like Master Kenobi always did. Who needs the hassle?  Zybor killed the remaining trooper, and opened the door they were guarding so carefully. 

Meanwhile, the others were exploring the atrium’s adjoining rooms. Dent found an empty kitchen. Woonwooken began pounding her way into a room. Lexo cut his way through a locked door. He cut the circuitry and it raised. As it did, he saw a frightened man in an Imperial officer costume standing before him with a holdout blaster. He fired- and missed. He fired again and the blaster bolt dissipated harmlessly in Lexo’s outstretched hand. The blaster flew from the officer’s grip into Lexo’s own. Lexo could easily- and rightfully- kill the man. He had sworn long ago to destroy whatever Imperial presence he could to atone for the murder of his brother, Doke Zeen. However, this man might be of use to the mission they were on. “Surrender,” Lexo growled. With  due speed, the man went down on his knees with his hands up.

“You shall NOT get away with this,” the man stuttered through clenched teeth. “The Empire will not stand for-“ He quieted when Lexo put his vibroblade an inch from his face. 

“Shut up and do as you’re told.” Lexo really could appear sinister when he wanted to. He led the officer down the hall to the room Zybor and T’ek had just opened. 

In the other room, Woonwooken had bashed down a metal door to find only an empty trooper barracks. Having no one to combat, the wookiee began to flail her immense furry arms about with rage. She roared and smashed bunks to rubble, tore cabinets from the walls, and essentially destroyed the entire room. Only when she had no more to rip apart did she stomp out of the room in anger. 

The others were all in the room at the end of the hall- the Holonet transceiver room. In this dark room, the walls were regal and unblemished. This was where the officer communicated with his superiors via the transceiver. Dent looked at the Imperial officer they’d taken hostage and said “We need access codes. You’re going to give them to us.”

The officer sneered and started to reply, but… what was that noise? Was an angry wookiee coming down the hall?! Fewer sounds were more terrifying, and the officer folded. “54986-23A,” he said. 

Lexo studied his face. “If you’re lying, or if that’s some kind of emergency signal code, I’m not even going to let the wookiee finish you off. I’m going to do it- slowly. Key it in.”

The officer punched the keys into the pad and the Holonet came to life before their eyes. Projected before their faces was the Holonet- once a vast network of information and communication- now a restricted Imperial tool. Dent stepped up to the keys and did a search for information on Farlan-Eul. With some creative slicing, he found what he wanted. 




A holographic image of an asteroid field lit up before them. This was Iroma Bsab- a large planet that had served as one of the Death Star superlaser’s first failed test subjects. It was a failed test in that the entire planet had not been destroyed; Iroma Bsab’s crust was blown into dust, but the planet’s core remained. Bsab’s core was a tunnel-riddled, hollow mass. This was Farlan-Eul. Inside this hollow core was the Imperial training ground that until now had only been a rumor. Dent downloaded the coordinates and all pertinent information to his datapad. 

Then, a blip- he looked to the bottom right of the projection and saw a flashing message: INCOMING TRANSMISSION. “Damn!” he knelt by the transceiver and pulled a few wires free. “We’ve got a transmission, guys… someone’s trying to reach this base. Hopefully I can dismantle the vid relay… There, that should do it.” He stood up, looked to the others, and hit the RECEIVE button. 

An image of an Imperial Admiral filled the screen. His face was serious and determined. “Who is this? What’s your operating number? …WHY isn’t your VID RELAY WORKING?!”

Dent signaled to the officer, who stammered out “Uhhh, ff… five four… nine… uh…”

The admiral said “You sound awfully nervous about something. Is something wrong?”

Lexo stepped up and smoothly said “Five four nine eight six dash twenty-three A, sorry, but we’ve had a few glitches over here. Vid monitor’s on the fritz.”

“Your number checks out, but you’re not cleared to access this information. Why are you looking up material on Farlan-Eul?”

“Uh…” he looked over at Dent, who shrugged. Lexo grimaced and terminated the transmission. Zybor swept his lightsaber into the transceiver. Sparks flew as Tatooine’s only Holonet device was destroyed. Lexo said “That conversation wasn’t going anywhere, anyway… We’ve got to leave immediately. There’ll be troopers. You guys go ahead, I’ll be right out.” The others ran out of the room, leaving Lexo alone with the Imperial officer. Lexo waited until their footfalls were far down the hall, then he turned to the terrified officer with a dark face. 

“Doke Zeen,” he said, uttering his brother’s name a moment before plunging his force pike through the man’s chest. 

*MORE TO COME… *


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## Horacio (Jun 17, 2002)

Have I seen a potential Dark Side user?


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## Breakstone (Jun 17, 2002)

Wha-oh! 

I love the characters, Doc!

T'ek is looking a bit dark, and I must admit I really like Lexo. He's a cool dude.


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## fluffaderm (Jun 17, 2002)

Accidental Post, please ignore.


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## Horacio (Jun 17, 2002)

fluffaderm said:
			
		

> *Horacio,  Just one?!?!
> *




I hope so!


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## Gospog (Jun 17, 2002)

*Oops, sorry.*

Sorry, Horacio, that was me.  Fluffaderm had left herself logged in and I didn't notice.  The original message:

Horacio,  Just one?!?!   

Tsunami, As Lexo's player, thanks, I like him too.  He's shaping up nicely.  This episode may make more sense for Lexo if you've read his history on Doc M's Wrath of the Rebellion website.

To Fluffaderm, thanks for the vote of confidence.  Always a pleasure to have you as a player.

And to Doc M, my thanks for including me in a great game!  OK, thirteen days and counting...


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## Rel (Jun 17, 2002)

Dr Midnight said:
			
		

> *MORE TO COME…*




I hope you mean before two weeks from now.

Is it just me or are there few pleasures in life so gratifying as a Star Wars update while sipping a good cup of coffee in the morning?

Anyhow, I loved the parallels to the Death Star Detention Center scene.  Those sort of scenes really help promote an atmosphere of fun because the players are getting to capture the feel of the movies.

A question for you, Dr. M:  I ran my second session of Star Wars this weekend and used the Starship Combat rules for the first time.  The battle was brief and had good tension, but I had a tough time keeping everyone involved because the characters were not all optimized for space combat.  Sure, the Scoundrel could fire the extra set of Ion guns on the ship, but without Starship Operations, she was at a pretty big non-proficiency penalty.  Any thoughts on this?


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## fenzer (Jun 17, 2002)

Thanks for the update Doc.


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## Dr Midnight (Jun 18, 2002)

He rejoined the group as they ran from the building. Zybor slashed every monitor and compu-station into hunks of worthless scrap on his way by. They sprinted down the streets of Tatooine. As they rounded a bend, they spotted the entire crew of stormtroopers running up the street… too far away. Too late. They jumped onto the Chandrila Surveyor and Dent fired it up. The ship was already in the sky when the stormtroopers burst into the hangar, firing harmless shots into the air after them. 

The Surveyor made the jump into hyperspace. 

During the day it took in hyperspace en route to Farlan-Eul in the mid rim, the group took stock of what they knew. They healed the few wounds they had, and tried to straighten the plan in their heads. Infiltrate Farlan-Eul, download the station plans to R5, escape, deliver the plans to Mon Mothma. 

The ship's sub-light dampers came online. "Heads up," Dent announced sleepily. "We're coming out of hyperspace." The the group assembled outside the cockpit behind Dent, to see what they could. The stars melted back to single dots, and the ship lurched slightly. Realspace. They were in front of an immense asteroid cloud. The remains of Iroma Bsab floated for thousands of miles. They entered the cloud. A sound not unlike heavy rain on a tin roof echoed through the ship- small chunks of rock, about the size of training droids, were everywhere around them. They were pushed aside as the Chandrila Surveyor made its way through the cloud. They bounced off the hull in the hundreds. 





Dent made a sensors system check, and found that his instruments were not responding. He wondered for a moment, then remembered reading something about sensors in the Holofile on the system. He picked his datapad up and read. "It seems that due to Iroma Bsab's metal-rich crust, almost all sensor functions are scrambled in the asteroid field. Only hyperspace transmissions are successful in entering and leaving the system." 

"Great location for a secret base," the ever-perceptive Lexo remarked. 

They drifted slowly through the debris of the shattered planet for a while, and found the dense cluster surrounding the core. It was a moon-sized chunk of dead stone, floating in space. No base was visible. No TIE fighters were on exercise through the system. It looked like… an asteroid. 

"Which side of the asteroid is the base on, again?" Uschi asked. 

Dent read from his datapad. "Hmm. The planet's core is hollow, I remember that much… Yes, the tunnels run through the core asteroid to its hollow center. This is where the base is housed." He paused, reading something else. "The asteroid is heavily defended. Laser outposts guard the entrances of the tunnels… but… only on one side." He blinked in surprise. "The entire dark side of the asteroid is undefended. Now, that's odd…"

"Probably one of those damned space slugs," T'ek said. 

"Whatever the reason, I'm sure it's better than flying into a heavy laser field." Dent turned the ship and angled it around the asteroid. He then steered it back in. They flew towards the dark side of the asteroid. Its shape was visible only by the thin curve illuminated on one side by a distant sun. Dent did a search through his datapad on the dark side of the asteroid. He had to know why it was undefended. "It says here that the dark side is defenseless… out of an inability to destroy the Garstang, which has taken up residence there. What can 'the Garstang' be?"

"Space slug," T'ek repeated.

"I don't think so," Dent said. "Listen: 'All attempts to kill the Garstang have met with defeat. TIE maneuvers and Imperial efforts of any kind on this side of the asteroid are impossible, as the sound of sub-light drives and repulsor craft enrage it.' Doesn't sound like any space slug I've ever…" 

"WHAT is THAT?" Uschi said, leaning forward, squinting her eyes. They all looked. 

From the asteroid's pitch black center, something was moving. It had two shapeless wings that gracefully cut the air around it. It had a thickly muscled body. Its head was an obscene thing with four eyes, two immense horn-shaped ears, and a thousand tiny pointed teeth set in a very wide mouth. It was about two hundred meters wide, from wingtip to wingtip.




"That," Dent said wearily, "is the Garstang." He locked three buttons down, and leaned forward on the throttle. The Surveyor roared forward, its speed gaining as they headed straight towards the beast.

Lexo yelled "What are you doing?! That thing hates the sounds of engines- don't make it louder! It'll destroy us without a thought!"" 

"Easy, I know what I'm doing. R5, release escape pod 1." The droid bleeped and connected with the ship's computer. There was a hissing pop as one of the Surveyor's two escape pods released into space. Its auto-rockets came on and it flew away from the ship. Dent cut the engines… All of them. The entire ship turned off. The accelerated speed Dent had boosted them to pushed it quickly and silently through space, toward the asteroid. They were coasting, with no control at all. They watched the Garstang carefully. 

The Garstang's immense ears pricked when it could no longer locate the sound of the ship. It screamed in fury, and a visible cone of concentric rings flew from its mouth. They looked like heat wave distortion. They shot past the coasting ship- the Surveyor shook from the sound waves emanating from the blast. 

Zybor stretched his hand out. "Lexo, T'ek… help me." The three reached and concentrated on the Force. Woonwooken, Dent, and Uschi watched in astonishment as an asteroid that couldn't weigh less than 40,000 kilograms began to move… and then rocketed into the Garstang's path. The monster collided with the rock, and the impact was tremendous. A splintering crack, and the group sighed with relief. Perhaps the blow had killed the Garstang. No… there! It screamed again as it flew away from the rebounded asteroid. It was wounded… but barely. It flew towards them- and past them, as it angled towards the escape pod in its fury. Dent felt his hands twitch on the useless controls as they coasted towards Farlan-Eul at a speed he wasn't comfortable with, but couldn't do anything about just yet. 

The Garstang shrieked out in space. Its sonic blast washed over the escape pod. Its rocket winked out. The pod then detonated against the side of a passing asteroid. Having nothing more to chase, the Garstang wheeled back around and flew to the core. Woonwooken grunted nervously. 

"I know it's coming back… I know…" A bead of sweat dripped down Dent's brow. His hands hovered over the controls as the ship coasted straight towards the asteroid's surface. Suddenly, he punched the ignition button and wrenched the throttle. His left hand clicked four buttons on in the blink of an eye. The Chandrila Surveyor roared to life and veered away from the surface at the last second, angling into one of the core asteroid's several hundred tunnel entrances. The Garstang screamed behind them- it had been tricked, and it knew it. It beat its wings in pursuit… but it was too late. The ship shot down the slim tunnel, safely away from the beast. 

The entire team sat down, their energy sapped by the tension. They flew through the tunnel for a few minutes before anyone spoke. When someone did, it was Dent. "The tunnel's thinning…" he said. If it keeps up like this before we reach the core, we'll have to find another way in." Woonwooken seemed to perk up, then walked away. 

"Where're you going?" Lexo asked. Woonie growled back. "Whaddaya mean, you're going to widen the tunnel?" The wookiee didn't answer him this time. Out of the corner of his eye, Dent saw his turret light come on. Woonwooken was going to attempt to blast the tunnel wider. Dent cursed and quickly diverted power from the artillery batteries. 

In the turret, Woonwooken leveled the Surveyor's big laser guns and pulled the trigger with a wookiee grin. Nothing happened. That weasely Darkstar human had ruined her fun! The giant furry scoundrel howled with displeasure, and ripped the turret controls right out of their housing assembly. She threw them on the ground and threw a wookiee tantrum, shaking her fists in the air. 

Dent stopped the ship- it was pretty much impossible to go further down the tunnel, anyway. He ran up to the turret and saw his gun controls lying in a mangled wreck on the ship's floor. "YOU BIG FURRY IDIOT, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!? YOU'VE DESTROYED MY TURRET!!" Lexo ran up between them and petted Woonwooken's growling, slavering head soothingly. 

"Uh, Dent? Might want to back off for a moment here," he said quickly. 

"Back off nothing, do you know how long it's going to take me to fix this?!"

Lexo spoke in a calming voice, but his words spoke the warning clearly enough. "Do you know how long it will take you to fix it with no ARMS, Dent? Let me handle this." He petted the wookiee and spoke to her. Only he knew how to ease her raging… once it started, only one thing would stop it- the Shyriiwook lullaby Lexo had learned for this express purpose. He "sang" to her in a gruff series of barks, grunts and growls. He employed the Force and felt her mood turning from bright red murder to dull orange anger. 

Dent stepped back and said "I want her in her bunkroom, locked in until I can fix this. Keep her out of my way." He got his tools out and went to work. 

Lexo took Woonwooken's paw and led her away. "Ooookay, Woonie, come on now… time for nappies. There's a good girl."

Uschi, standing in the doorway, turned to T'ek and Zybor and whispered. "Now THAT… is one of the weirdest things I've ever seen."

It took Dent several hours to repair his ship. When he did, he stood up and wiped his forehead with the back of his sleeve. "Now, hopefully, we can move on." He walked by Woonwooken's bunk room on the way to the cockpit, and heard clinking sounds from within, against the door. Mournful wookiee yowls came from within. The grounded Woonwooken was trying to escape the locked room. 

Zybor looked at him when he reentered the cockpit. "Dent, why can't we take the other escape pod through the remainder of the tunnel?"

"They're not really built for maneuvering… plus, it'll only hold so many of us. Better to just find another tunnel."

"You mean we're going BACK OUT?!"

"Yes… I'm afraid it's the only way. Don't worry. It'll be quick." Dent piloted his ship back through the tunnel and shot back into space. He pulled back on the controls and the ship swooped upward in a great U-turn. There was no sign of the Garstang. The ship angled back towards the asteroid, and Dent pointed to a tunnel. "That one's the biggest. We'll go through that one."

"That one is probably where that accursed flying monster lives!" 

"I know, but it's also our best chance of reaching the asteroid's core with the ship. We'll take our chances." They flew into the hole, at a higher speed than Dent felt comfortable with. Suddenly, two hundred and fifty meters away, the ship's lights shone on the Garstang. It was indeed in this tunnel, and the Chandrila Surveyor's engines had driven it half-mad with bloodlust. It screamed as they shot towards it. Dent yanked on the controls and the ship barrel rolled to the left of the sonic blast, then arced up over the biting mouth. The ship flew just to the side of one ear, almost scraping it. Then, they were past. 




The Garstang didn't dare follow them further inside… its size meant it could only travel so far. The ship drifted through the asteroid's rocky tunnel, and eventually a light was shining, far before them. "That's it," Dent said. He cut the lights and pulled the ship up to the hole, where they looked in. 

The inside of the asteroid's core was almost an inverted planet in itself. The hollow space was a huge, almost perfectly spherical pocket where rock and debris had been cleared out. Hundreds of tunnel-holes dotted the interior landscape. Between the tunnel holes of the core walls, small, even holes pitted every surface. It was almost like a man-made mesh pattern in the stone. Blast-glass tunnels ran for hundreds of meters from the openings of the rock tunnels to the center of the sphere's shape- the core's core. It was a dense wad of metal, roughly a kilometer in diameter. Ships and transports docked at it, TIE fighters buzzed around it like flies. 

A sensor light winked on, to Dent's surprise. "Atmosphere. We can breathe outside the ship now. All gravity is oriented towards that central mass."

"Great, let's go," T'ek said. "I'm rather tired of just sitting around."

"Not so fast," Dent replied. "We don't have a plan."

R5-F6 tweeted and turned his head back and forth, watching the warriors with interest as they formed a plan to infiltrate the secret Imperial base. 

_*NEXT TIME: THE PLAN* _


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## Hammerhead (Jun 18, 2002)

[Calvin]
Bats: the Big, Giant, Bug Scourge of the Stars!
[/Calvin]


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## Breakstone (Jun 18, 2002)

Woah... Garstang...

Say, Doc, was the Garstang in the Star Wars d20 book or did you make it up yourself?


----------



## LostSoul (Jun 18, 2002)

Just finished reading the story.  Cool stuff.

Although not nearly enough strippers...


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## Horacio (Jun 18, 2002)

Wow!

Much better than a space slug, Doc


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## Rel (Jun 18, 2002)

Loved the Giant Space Bat and all, but my absolute favorite had to be:



			
				Dr Midnight said:
			
		

> *"Ooookay, Woonie, come on now… time for nappies. There's a good girl."*




One of the things I like most about this Story Hour is the characters dialog.  Most of it sounds like it could easily have come out of the movies.  Now, I could never in a million parsecs picture Han Solo telling Chewbacca "time for nappies" but somehow that line was still the cherry on top of the whole "update sundae".

Great work, Dr. M.


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## fenzer (Jun 18, 2002)

More goodness.  Thanks again group.  This always makes for a good start to my day.


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## KidCthulhu (Jun 18, 2002)

Wow, do I love Woonie.  I wanna be a wookie in a stormtrooper hat and bow.


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## Greg Dickens (Jun 18, 2002)

What happen to the website link for this Story Hour.  I can't find it anywhere.  Could you please post this again.


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## Dr Midnight (Jun 18, 2002)

The website- www.rigaming.com/kotsq/starwars

Woonie's too much fun. Woonie was especially fun this last session, as Jill felt like she didn't have enough to do, so she made mischief. Woonwooken's great with the mischief. Kinda like a 7 foot tall, 400 lb., furry, fanged Tasslehoff. 

Thanks everyone- I live to serve. 

In two weeks' time, we'll start to see the tip of the plot iceberg.


----------



## Rel (Jun 18, 2002)

Dr Midnight said:
			
		

> *Woonie was especially fun this last session, as Jill felt like she didn't have enough to do, so she made mischief.*




Tell her that next session she ABSOLUTELY MUST eat a stormtrooper!  And then poop him out!

Man, those Wookiees and their zany hijinks!

On a more serious note, I guess this sort of confirms the issues I raised in my post at the bottom of page 1.  Despite the helpful hints in the rule book, keeping all the heroes involved during starship sequences is a tall order.

Personally, I think that this is the reason that almost all (or maybe even all) the character classes have Pilot as a class skill.


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## LostSoul (Jun 18, 2002)

Rel said:
			
		

> *I ran my second session of Star Wars this weekend and used the Starship Combat rules for the first time.  The battle was brief and had good tension, but I had a tough time keeping everyone involved because the characters were not all optimized for space combat. *




Here's what I would do (in d6 Star Wars):

Make sure that a co-pilot is there, rolling for something (shields, speed, sensors, whatever).

Make the other characters know that they can attempt to jury-rig a system.  This will give it a small, temporary bonus; it also runs the risk of frying the system.

And then there's always the option of having the players roll for the NPCs.

Edit: Here are a couple of things that a co-pilot can take care of:

Increase range
Decrease range
Change speed category
Resist/escape tractor beam

You could also let him use the Sensors to get a "lock" on another ship.  Handle it just like a Missile Lock, but give the gunners a +1 to their attack rolls for hitting the DC, and additional +1s for every 5 (or 10) points you roll above said DC.


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## EvanPan (Jun 19, 2002)

*GREAT*

wow that was great. after a hard day of finals, coming back to my dorm to a nice story time really makes my day. espcially when woonie does some crazy wookiee stuff.

"No woonie, it's not a good disguise"  (paraphrased line)




-EvanPan

Like PeterPan, but...evan.

Kinda like a 7 foot tall, 400 lb., furry, fanged Tasslehoff. -posted by DR.midnight


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## fenzer (Jun 21, 2002)

Okay.  There will be none of this page two nonsense.


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## Lela (Jun 22, 2002)

Hay all,

You know Dr. Midnight, it's rather rude to move and forget to tell anyone.  Think of all the people who could have called!  It's a good thing I stopped in to mention this or I would never have known you had closed the other thread.  

I refuse to comment on how marvilous and breathtaking this instalment was.  In fact, I most certinally won't mention that I thought this line


> *T’ek swept in and killed the trooper with his lightsaber just as Zybor came into view.*



actually said:


> *T’ek swept in and killed the trooper with his lightning just as Zybor came into view.*





I will mention none of that, not for a pie, not up high.  Not for a gold, not if I was immune to cold.  

[Edit: Added the following to conserve page count.]

Dr M, let me know if you got my e-mail.  I know it's a presumtuous question to ask but the image in my head just wouldn't go away.  Besides, I don't get to use the word presumtuous often enough.


----------



## Dr Midnight (Jun 24, 2002)

Lela- wha? wha!? I put a link at the end of the last thread to this one- what do you want from me?!

Fenzer- Sorry. *shuffles feet, ashamed*

Hey there everyone, sorry the thread's been just sinking to the bottom of the list like a drowned mob informant weighted down with a cinderblock, but the campaign is biweekly and I finished last game's writeup early. There's still another full week to go before the next session. 

Plus (by way of another heads-up), this campaign is finite... the end is on the horizon. The end is on the NEAR horizon. I conceived of this campaign as being not unlike a SW movie- with "chapters" separated by long periods of inactivity. In three, two, or maybe even one more session, this campaign may well be wrapped up for a while. 

Juuust telling you now.


----------



## Lela (Jun 24, 2002)

Hay Dr M, NP about the E-mail thing.  I just thought the idea would be cool to see.

I now see that you did post the new thread and I hereby apologize.  My subscriber's page must not have picked it up, so I never saw it.  That happens far too often.  I blame cheese.

Anyway, I just thought I'd up your post count.


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## fenzer (Jun 24, 2002)

Dr Midnight said:
			
		

> Plus (by way of another heads-up), this campaign is finite... the end is on the horizon. The end is on the NEAR horizon. I conceived of this campaign as being not unlike a SW movie- with "chapters" separated by long periods of inactivity. In three, two, or maybe even one more session, this campaign may well be wrapped up for a while.
> 
> Juuust telling you now.




Oh, man!  Doc would you stop teasing.  This old ticker of mine can't take the strain.

Hey Lela, whereabouts in Utah are you?


----------



## Lela (Jun 24, 2002)

fenzer said:
			
		

> *
> 
> 
> Hey Lela, whereabouts in Utah are you? *




Currently, I'm down in Orem, though I'll be moving back up Rexburg, Idaho in the fall.


----------



## fenzer (Jun 24, 2002)

Ah yes, Orem.  I know it well.  I have been in Salt Lake for the last 30 years.  I guess you could say I'm a homebody.


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## Breakstone (Jun 27, 2002)

Bump!

No page two!


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## Dr Midnight (Jun 29, 2002)

After almost two weeks of sluggish (if not dead) activity, this thread will get a boost tomorrow when the group breaks into the base on Farlan-Eul.


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## fenzer (Jun 30, 2002)

Hurrah!


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## Hatchling Dragon (Jun 30, 2002)

*My own 2 coppers*

Have you considered stringing your updates out over the course of the two weeks between games?  That would not only give you more time to fill in detail and think over what you want to include/say, it'd keep the thread a bit more active between game sessions.

Just an idea.  I like the notion of seeing bits 'n pieces of 'meatier' updates spread over a week or so as opposed to **thud** "Here's the update, see you in two weeks!"   But of course opinions _will_ vary.

Hatchling Dragon


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## Dr Midnight (Jul 2, 2002)

The plan was decided upon quickly. With a little preparation time on the others' parts, Dent flew the Surveyor down towards the core. As they drew nearer, the comlink crackled. "State your ID number."

Lexo leaned forward and eagerly said "54986-23A."

"What?!"

Dent whispered "You idiot, that's not a viable flight ID! That's an operating number!" 

Lexo shrugged apologetically… then jumped back on the horse. He barked into the comlink. "Excuse me, officer, but would you like to explain to the Emperor himself just why you're attempting to curb the duties of the Grand High Inquisitor?"

The comlink sat silent for a moment. "Uh…"

"Of course you don't. We're docking… now give us a bay number or be reported."

"Docking Bay 3A. We will be pleased to receive you, of course." The officer was confused- but obviously unwilling to take the risk. 

Dent switched the comlink off. "Good save," he said to Lexo. He turned to the others. "Are we ready?" He saw that they were. He landed the ship in Bay 3A and lowered the ramp. They walked down to meet the greeting officer and the six Stormtroopers he'd taken with him as an escort. Dent wore a gray Imperial Navy uniform. Uschi wore an old Imperial standard on her left sleeve. These were poor disguises when paired with Woonwooken's fanciful hair bow and R5-F6's bright yellow and green chassis… but T'ek was the crowning centerpiece. T'ek Nova wore a black cloak. His hooded eyes glittered menacingly. He seemed every inch an evil man. 

The young officer spoke. "Welcome, Grand High Inquisitor. We…"

"Silence. What is your name?"

"Uh… Lieutenant Druscell, sir." 

"I will conduct a thorough search of this station. Stand aside… you've wasted enough of my time already."

"My pardons, Grand High Inquisitor, but we have to verify-" The officer stopped speaking and began gasping for breath. He pulled at his collar and opened his mouth like a fish. T'ek's right hand was outstretched towards him. 

"Lieutenant Druscell. Are you sufficiently convinced that I am an emirate of our lord Emperor Palpatine? I want to hear only one more thing from your purulent lips: The location of the data communications room." He released his grip on the officer's throat. The cowed Imperial caught his breath and ordered a Stormtrooper to escort their esteemed guests to the data hub. 

They were led through long, winding halls. The right wall of the hall was blast-glass… this looked into an immense training area. Stormtroopers, everywhere, were filing in rank. They shot at humanoid target dummies. They marched. They stood and listened to orders, practicing for the day they would be out in the universe doing the Emperor's will. The sight was chilling. There must have been thousands of them. 

The stormtrooper stopped at a door and it hissed open. They stepped inside. "You are free to leave, drone," T'ek said. 

"Uh, sir?" The Jedi glared at the trooper, who swiftly left the room. 

"Okay," Dent cracked his knuckles and began slicing into the computer. "R5, take a look around, will you?" The droid tweeted and entered the datahub's system. After a moment, he reported that this hub wasn't cleared to access the station's plans. It seems the destruction of the Death Star had taught the Empire to be more careful of where it stores its structural plans. "R5 says there are only a few hubs on the station with the plans. The closest one is about two hundred meters to the South."

Knowing full well that they'd be better off without having to answer questions as to their identities every time they passed someone by, it was suggested that R5 key in some alarms at various levels of the station. R5 bleeped. It took him only a moment to set off three high-priority alarms in the base. Red lights on the controlboard began flashing, and holoscreens popped up of the affected areas. "Good job," Zybor said. "Let's go."

Woonwooken grunted. Her eyes were glued to one screen in particular. Lexo followed her gaze, and saw it. A room full of wookiees wearing slave collars. They were all chained together in a barracks, roaring in fury at the alarms that rang over their heads. Lexo spoke softly. "R5, what room is that?"

After a moment, Dent translated his droid's binary speech for the others. "Wookiee detention area. It's a new program the Empire's initiating... they're trying to turn wookiees into Imperial Stormtroopers, or at least, slaves."

Woonwooken's jaws began foaming. She stared at the image. She clicked her tricaster's safety off- CHIK! Lexo smiled and said "Woonie and I will go and free the slaves. You guys go on and get those plans. Meet us back at the Surveyor in an hour. R5, can you shut off all security measures in the detention area?" In a moment, it was done. 

T'ek, Zybor, Uschi, R5 and Dent went to the South to find the high-security datahub. Lexo and a very angry Woonwooken walked to the North, towards the wookiee detention area. 

As the Jedi group walked, Ben Kenobi spoke within T'ek's mind. _You're doing a marvelous job so far, my young padawan. With this cloak you're wearing, you really do appear to be a Sith lord, surveying his domain. 

That's the idea, Master. They fear me. 

Now, T'ek... disguising one's self is all well and good, but taking advantage of the power of fear is to slip a little too deeply into the role you're playing.  

Yes, Master. I'm sorry, Master. 

I'll leave you alone, as you need to concentrate, no doubt. _

Kenobi's voice silenced in T'ek's mind. They reached the door to the datahub. In the confusion of the alarms, the guards had been called off this door. The heroes opened the door and stepped straight inside. Dent plugged R5 into the mainframe and they began waiting while the little droid worked. There was a large window in this room as well, looking out on a larger room that swept out beneath them. It was another training area- but smaller. It was darkly lit, and curiously woven tapestries covered the walls. Some of them were emblazoned with common Imperial slogans. Others had words scrawled across them in twenty-foot high letters, all in red... HATE. ANGER. DESPAIR. CONFUSION. FEAR. 

In this room were roughly thirty stormtroopers. They were standing still. Dent squinted and looked closer at the troopers. They didn't wear the regulation armor... Their helmets had a triangular facegrate set below the nose. The helmets looked not entirely unlike Darth Vader's own. Dent spoke. "What are these guys- and why are they just standing around?"   





"They look like they're waiting for something," T'ek mused.

Uschi looked at him. "Waiting... for what?"

The black door at the other end of the training area opened. 

_*MORE TO COME...* _


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## Dr Midnight (Jul 2, 2002)

hellooo... got some story here, people...

I miss Horacio.


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## Gospog (Jul 2, 2002)

Yeah, and what about Lela and Fenzer?

Kid Cthullhu?  

Chief?  

McCloud?



Good update, Dr M.  Let's see the next part.  People will all come running when things get buck-wild in the heart of Farlan-Eul.

Nice pic, too!


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## Jeremy (Jul 2, 2002)

Shhhhhhh....

We're watching the movie in rapt fascination.  Of course we're not talking...


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## fenzer (Jul 2, 2002)

Yes!  The boards are working again!  I can get my Story Hour fix!  I can't tell you what it's like when I can't get a Story Hour update.  I get cranky, mean and very put out.

Anyway, thanks for the update Doc, love the illustration.  All I can say is *look out*, Woonwooken is on a tear.


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## Altin (Jul 3, 2002)

You know, Dr. Midnight, I think there's been a terrible mixup somewhere. Because I went to the cinema the other weeks and saw this Star Wars movie which reminded me a lot of badly-written fanfic and now I come to these boards and here's a Star Wars film in all that space opera glory we're used to. So my question to you is this:

Shouldn't you be out there shooting the prequels instead of that other hack?

Yours,

         Altin

P.S. Obligatory disclaimer: I didn't actually mind Ep. I & II that much (although I stand by my statement that Dr. M kicks their ass any day of the week) so don't go starting flamewars or anything.


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## Rel (Jul 3, 2002)

Dr Midnight said:
			
		

> *hellooo... got some story here, people...
> 
> I miss Horacio.  *




Well, Dr. M, I'm still here.  I had to wade through the many changes in board location, but I'm here.

I gotta question for you.  I see that you've split the party again.  More precisely, they've split themselves but I think it was reasonable given the story hooks you tossed out.  Was this because it matches the flavor and pacing of the movies better?  Or is there another reason.

I've always disliked running two separate encounters simultaneously.  But, done correctly, I can see it being exciting.  If you run one until a critical moment and then switch to the other and back again, I can see getting multiple cliffhangers during a single session.


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## Hatchling Dragon (Jul 3, 2002)

Phooey!  Between longer work hours 'n the boards being 'poopy' to me I wasn't able to hover expectantly over this story waiting for the update.   Granted, I'm not the 'refresh, refresh, refresh!' type but at least I'd have noticed it the morning after or some-such.

2 Weeks to get back into shape for the next chance to lurk! 

Hatchling Dragon


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## Lela (Jul 4, 2002)

Well, if you're really curious as to why I havn't been around Gospog, feel free to check out my Story Hour.  You'll just have to read along as you go I guess.  Poor you.   

Ooo, falling into the darkside, new versions of storm troopers trained to hate, and a bow-ridden wookie looking to help her own kind.

Gee, I think this is getting a little boring.  

Love it Dr M.  Love it.


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## madriel (Jul 5, 2002)

It is the summer holidays you know, Doc.  Me, I was helping my brother move into and paint his new house, but this was nice to come back to.

I can't wait for my group to come back from holidays so we can pick up our SW campaign.


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## Breakstone (Jul 7, 2002)

Hey hey! I'm back from a week's vacation in L.A.

Doc, I can't wait to see who- or what- comes through that door.

I'm also curious about how you handle having two spit parties at the same time.


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## Dr Midnight (Jul 7, 2002)

Hey there peoples... I'm sorry about the delay. I'll give you two excuses. One, my father's in the hospital, which has required some trips back and forth from RI and MA. He's okay, going home tomorrow. The second excuse is that I've been spending a great amount of time with a young woman who lives in Providence. Looks like we're going to see Fellowship tonight (at the second-run theater... yep, they're still showing it). Pardon my slowness, but the prospect of spending time with a woman who's seen FotR 4 times already (as I have) is too great a lure. I'll catch up with you soon enough.


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## Lela (Jul 7, 2002)

Dr Midnight said:
			
		

> * Pardon my slowness, but the prospect of spending time with a woman who's seen FotR 4 times already (as I have) is too great a lure.*




Hay, I so understand.  I'll wait.


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## Hatchling Dragon (Jul 7, 2002)

Oh, I most definately understand as well.  Soo...  Does she have a sister?  

Hatchling Dragon


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## KidCthulhu (Jul 7, 2002)

[Animal impersonation] 

Woman! WO-MAN!

Cool to hear, Dr. M.  Hope the date went well.

I've been off line because the boards were wacky, and then I was off at the lake house for the holiday.  Much fun, sun and family, no web access.  Good for people, and tired dogs, not so good for board friends.

So I give long overdue props to the story.  Yay, wookie rescue.  Boo, being too in touch with the dark side.


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## Breakstone (Jul 8, 2002)

Doc- does this call for another "How's your love life?" thread?


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## Lela (Jul 8, 2002)

Tsunami said:
			
		

> *Doc- does this call for another "How's your love life?" thread?
> 
> *




Another?  You wouldn't mind providing the link for the first one, would you?   This, I gotta see.


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## Dr Midnight (Jul 8, 2002)

Hellooooo...



> Soo... Does she have a sister?



Uh, a married one, yes. I'll put in a good word for you, though.

Lela, for a while now I've been putting threads up in General RPG about my love life, which has its dramatic not-unlike-story-hour moments. Currently, I'm just dating. Tonight's thing went... weirdly. She's a hard one to read, but she's definitely worth seeing again. She's got a very very sultry eye & voice combination, which threw me off completely. I was a blubbering fool. I'd rather date someone I feel more comfortable with, but what the hell, I figure I can make an idiot of myself in front of a hottie now and then.  

Perhaps the most puzzling thing- at the end, standing in the parking lot outside the theater, there's that weird and EXTREMELY awkward standing around thing. I'm not a moves-maker, and I don't know what she's expecting. 

"I... uh... dammit, I hate these things," I say jokingly. "At the end of these things, standing in the parking lot, one should just be able to say 'bye' and take off." 

She says "okay," whirls on one heel and walks away, off to her car. I'm having a hard time figuring out if she took me seriously, went along with the joke, or was looking for an easy out like that.  I guess I'll find out soon. 

Juuust posting that update here, as the General RPG discussion thread got a pretty hostile message about my repeated love life updates. Maybe I'll start a story hour.


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## fenzer (Jul 8, 2002)

Okay Doc, now you are playing with me.  I had the nastiest deja vu reading your latest date play by play.  Did you not have a similar encounter with a different beauty a while back, the whole "standing in the parking lot after a movie" scenario?  Not to open old wounds but didn't that one turn out to be a dud?

Or am I just getting old?

In any case, I hope things turn out well with this one.


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## Lela (Jul 8, 2002)

*I hate this keyboard!!*

That eye and voice thing can be a killer.  

Sounds like she either really likes you, is just like you(  ), or hates your guts.  

Hay, those are good odds!

Good luck.

If you post a Story Hour on this, I'll read it.   


*P.S.* 
The left shift key on this keyboard doesn't work!!  I always use the left one (yes, I know it's wrong, don't care).  This is really bugging me.


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## Breakstone (Jul 11, 2002)

I use the left shift key, too!

We should start a "Left Shift Key" army!

Or just post poorly disguised BUMPs...


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## Lela (Jul 11, 2002)

Tsunami said:
			
		

> *I use the left shift key, too!
> 
> We should start a "Left Shift Key" army!
> 
> Or just post poorly disguised BUMPs... *




Well, I finally moved to a different keyboard in that Computer lab.  Using the right shift key seemed to be giving me carprol tunnel or something.  Really painful.


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## madriel (Jul 12, 2002)

Good luck on the love life, Doc.  Ignore the idiots who hate anything OT on the boards and post anyways.


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## Lela (Jul 12, 2002)

madriel said:
			
		

> *Good luck on the love life, Doc.  Ignore the idiots who hate anything OT on the boards and post anyways. *




Unless it was a Mod or Admin, they don't matter.  They don't have to open the thread (no one's forced my to open one yet).

The funny thing is, if you confront them, they complain that you are violating _their_ right to free speech.  

Besides, who doesn't want to read about someone else's love life.


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## denmstrsn (Jul 13, 2002)

So Doc,
Where is the rest of the story for Star Wars.  I know that the campaign is over and all, but I did enjoy seeing how you wrote out the out come.  I'd really like to see how you are going to write the end of the story.


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## dpdx (Jul 13, 2002)

Yeah, posts about your love life are fine and all if you haven't played and you got nothin', but we know you got somethin'.

So give it up.  Don't leave us hangin'.


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## Hatchling Dragon (Jul 14, 2002)

denmstrsn said:
			
		

> *So Doc,
> Where is the rest of the story for Star Wars.  I know that the campaign is over and all, but I did enjoy seeing how you wrote out the out come.  I'd really like to see how you are going to write the end of the story. *




Over?!?  I thought he just said something about there being a 'definate end-point' to the campain.  I don't remember seeing anything from him about them acutally having reached that point.  Did I maybe miss a post stating the group broke up or some-such?

Hatchling Dragon


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## Lela (Jul 14, 2002)

Hatchling Dragon said:
			
		

> *
> 
> Over?!?  I thought he just said something about there being a 'definate end-point' to the campain.  I don't remember seeing anything from him about them acutally having reached that point.  Did I maybe miss a post stating the group broke up or some-such?
> 
> Hatchling Dragon *




If you did, you're not the only one.  I understood that he just had to deal with his new lady love and the illness of his (?grand?)father.  It was still going to continue.


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## Breakstone (Jul 14, 2002)

I don't think the campaign is over yet, but it's getting close.

Say, is today game day?


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## Dr Midnight (Jul 15, 2002)

People, people! Hold on for JUST a bit more... I might put some story up later today. It's been a hellish week, but it's over now and I've actually got free time.


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## Breakstone (Jul 17, 2002)

Just a tuesday-night Bump!


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## Dr Midnight (Jul 17, 2002)

Lexo and Woonie marched through the halls towards the detention area. They were no longer with T'ek- their "Grand High Inquisitor"- so they really had to rely on their wits, should anyone question why a man in white bearskins and an armed wookiee were freely roaming the passages. Lexo stared down every passerby, and few questions were asked. 

They found themselves outside the immense hangar-style door that housed the wookiees. Woonie bashed the controls and the door opened to reveal the huge room. There were bunks everywhere, and furious wookiees tearing helplessly at their bonds and slave collars. The false alarm had really shaken their nerves. Lexo looked at Woonie and said "They're your people... you should say something to them." 

Woonie nodded and stood upon a console, holding her arms out. She barked for attention. Every wookiee head turned and was astonished to see a wookiee among them with a weapon and no bonds. Woonie held her arms high and growled loudly in Shyriiiwook. She spoke for a full minute, bringing her speech to a rousing finish. At the end, she stopped for a moment- then lifted her Tricaster high and screamed a furious roar of defiance. The wookiees roared in return, and stood to cheer. Freedom!

One of the wookiee growled to Woonie, gesticulating. Lexo listened in and heard that he was telling Woonwooken that the power to the explosive slave collars had to be deactivated, one floor above. Woonie nodded and with Lexo, they left the room. 

Lexo yelled to them. "We'll be back!" 

Back in the control room, the others watched as the door to the training area below them was opening. On impulse, Zybor slapped a button on the console before him. The door shut again. The troopers below turned their heads to each other in confusion, as if to ask each other what had just happened. Zybor couldn't explain why he'd shut the door, but he'd had a very bad flush of anxiety, and obeyed his feelings. He was about to mention to the others that they should leave when the door opened again... and would not close. Zybor hit the button repeatedly, and it held open. From the darkness beyond the door, a hand was outstretched. It was holding the doors open.

"A Force user," T'ek said aloud, looking very surprised indeed. "A strong one."

Through the doorway stepped a smooth, slim humanoid wearing a black cloak that covered his entire body, except for his head, which was armored with the helm of an Imperial Royal guardsman- except it was black, not red. 







The Force flowed from this stranger in ugly dark waves. He stopped before the Troopers and paused. He seemed to look up to the control room for a moment. Zybor and T'ek held their breaths and tried to steady themselves... then he looked away. He raised a black leather-gloved hand to his head for a moment. 

"What's he doing?" Uschi asked nervously.

Dent suggested "Maybe he's just calling for maintenance to fix the door."

There was no way to know. He was definitely speaking to someone. The dark man spoke to the Troopers. "Are we ready to begin?" They nodded. The man took from beneath his cloak a lightsaber. He lit it- it flared to life, a thin bright line of glowing red. Following this, the Troopers reached back with their right hands and removed a white cylinder that had been attached to the smalls of their backs. They held these before them and each touched a button on the cylinders. Red lightsaber blades flashed straight up from each. 

Zybor felt the blood drain from his face. "Dent," he whispered. "Can you get R5 to find anything about what's going on here?" 

R5 took a moment, then tweeted the answer. Dent looked up and said "Force Troopers. New program. The Emperor wants to capitalize on Darth Vader's intimidation while utilizing a Jedi's supreme fighting skills." 

Thirty or so Stormtroopers, trained in the ways of the Force, and trained to use lightsabers. The concept was terrifying. If the program proved a success, these manufactured dark Jedi could become a standard in the Empire's campaign of terror and power. Stormtroopers with the ability to anticipate attacks, feel an enemy's mood, move things with their minds and defend themselves against blaster fire could be the final straw to collapse the Force's unbalanced way of light and dark. 

Dent gestured to the man in black. "This one is apparently named Darth Xell."

The Troopers began following the dark man's fluid saber motions. The thirty-one red light blades swept synchronized paths through the air. Zybor slowly drew his lightsaber and put his thumb to the button. He backed up a few steps and took a breath.


----------



## Breakstone (Jul 17, 2002)

...

...woah...

...


Doc, I haven't felt that woah-bound in a while. Thanks for the update!


----------



## madriel (Jul 17, 2002)

What else can I say?


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## Dr Midnight (Jul 17, 2002)

a bump now that daylight's come back to us (here on this side of the planet)...


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## fenzer (Jul 19, 2002)

Thanks for the update Doc.  Cool idea, force troopers.  I love it.  By the by, what happened with little Miss Parkinglot?


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## fenzer (Jul 19, 2002)

Thanks for the update Doc.  Cool idea, force troopers.  I love it.  By the by, what happened with little Miss Parkinglot? 

Sorry, I double posted.  Senility.


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## KidCthulhu (Jul 19, 2002)

Eeek.  Force Troopers?  Now those are stormtroopers worthy of horn laden theme music.  Eeeek again, I say.


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## Dr Midnight (Jul 19, 2002)

Fenzer, I've been slowly giving SOME kinds of updates over at the dirty dirty place where bad ENbies go: here. Suffice to say that things are going well. 

Eeek!


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## Malice (Jul 19, 2002)

Is this a story or a place for personal reflection?
Your story is good Doc, but your hurting yourself by posting more often about your personal life than you do about your story. Besides, this girl isn't going to appreciate your posting crap like this for everyone to read. If you like her so much, why post every thing you do? I know some people want to read about your love life, but please consider your story & those of us who have been lurking around waiting for an update, and consider the consequences of your actions if this girl ever finds out your telling the world about you & her. 
Just my 2 cents, for what it's worth...


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## Piratecat (Jul 19, 2002)

Posting with malice aforethought?

I suggest that Doc M feel free to post what he wishes, that people who don't want to read it skip those posts, and that we stop hijacking the story hour!  There were these Force Troopers, see....


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## Malice (Jul 19, 2002)

Fair enough. I just gave my opinion. I just get dissapponted when I see doc has posted and then its not really an update, its something not relevant to the story. I didn't mean to get anyone up in arms, I just gave my opinion on his situation.

I;m a story addict, man... I want more story!


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## Dr Midnight (Jul 19, 2002)

Well, Malice is right at least about it not being very respectful of me to keep people updated. I do it to keep people abreast of where I am in a relationship, not to give them something to live vicariously through. I guess I've been letting that slip.

I know I've been a jerk with the story updates, but I've been TERRIBLY busy. I'm going to TRY to finish the story this weekend. I didn't mean to sidetrack the story hour thread with my personal life glee. 

Let me tease you with this, though-- things are about to explode. The next chunk of story hour will be tremendously exciting, and fit for a great filmed action scene. 

Thanks for the back-up, Piratecat. You my feline. *manly hug-back-patting thing*


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## fenzer (Jul 19, 2002)

Dr Midnight said:
			
		

> *Fenzer, I've been slowly giving SOME kinds of updates over at the dirty dirty place where bad ENbies go: here. Suffice to say that things are going well.
> 
> Eeek! *




Why you little skally-wag, I am proud of you my boy.  I wish you the best with this lovely young woman.

But since I am long past making out with women I only recently met, on to nasty dark jedi in armour.  Here's hoping for some excellent saber action.


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## Lela (Jul 20, 2002)

<------These eyes=my eyes.  This is the moment when terror comes over a party.  They can pray these guys are all 1st level but, in their hearts, they know they need to run--fast.

Great update Dr M.



			
				Dr Midnight said:
			
		

> *Well, Malice is right at least about it not being very respectful of me to keep people updated. I do it to keep people abreast of where I am in a relationship, not to give them something to live vicariously through. I guess I've been letting that slip.
> 
> I know I've been a jerk with the story updates, but I've been TERRIBLY busy. I'm going to TRY to finish the story this weekend. I didn't mean to sidetrack the story hour thread with my personal life glee.
> 
> ...




Personally, I like having one or two personal posts.  It lets me feel like I know the author.  Now, I could give a "these boards are about friendship" speach, but I won't, cause we all know they're really about gaming.  But we do like to call ourselves a cummunity, so getting to know each other shouldn't be out of the question IMO.


----------



## Dr Midnight (Jul 22, 2002)

Lexo and Woonie arrived in the second level and walked to the controls to the wookiee detention area. They walked along a catwalk over a vast, seemingly bottomless pit. They came to the controls and Lexo raised his hand to lower the lever when they heard a modulated voice from behind them. 

"Halt! What are you doing there?"

They turned to see a lone Stormtrooper approaching them. Lexo thought quickly. "What are YOU doing? Were you not notified that the Grand High Inquisitor is making a visit and inspection of the facilities?" 

The Trooper looked them over and thought a moment. "Why would the Grand High Inquisitor be wearing bearskins? And... why would he have a wookiee companion helping him to... deactivate the wookiee detention collars?!" The panicked Stormtrooper raised his blaster rifle... too late. Lexo cracked him in the neck with his force pike, then gave a mighty kick to the Trooper's midsection. He flew off the catwalk. Woonwooken's arms flashed out and grabbed his helmet securely between her paws. The Trooper fell out of it and plummeted into the depths below, screaming all the way. Woonie turned the helmet around and placed it on her own head. She grunted and strained... and the helmet broke as the other one did. It fit over her head horribly. Her pink bow grew from the top of it like a flower. She looked at Lexo to be evalutated.

Gronk?

"No, I don't think the disguise route will work this time either. I think we'd better get moving. If anyone heard that scream, things are going to get hot pretty soon." Lexo pulled the lever down and a humming noise was heard as the wookiee detention collars powered down. They went back downstairs. 

Approaching the door, they saw a group of Stormtroopers rounding a distant corner. "That's them... blast 'em!" The Troopers raised their rifles and began firing. Lexo and Woonie dodged blaster fire and ducked into the wookiee room, then slammed the door shut behind them. 

In the training room, Darth Xell was leading the Force Troopers in their lightsaber technique exercises. "Feel the Force," he said. "Feel it guide your hand. Feel it control your hate. Feel your hate well up inside of you, like a boiling cauldron. The Force brings you above all things. They will fear you for it. They will hate you for it. You will kill them for it."

The window above the room on the opposite side shattered inward, and a man in brown robes flipped over himself five times. He landed in a crouch with a double-bladed lightsaber in his right hand. He eyed Xell with a dangerous look. "Your teachings are like venom."

The Troopers all turned with surprise, not knowing what was happening. Darth Xell merely lowered his lightsaber and struck a casual stance. He watched as another man in black robes jumped down beside him with another lightsaber. "Oh my," Xell said. "I really was hoping you'd stay up in that little room a while more."

"We'll not allow your corrosive way of the Force to be taught to anyone else."

"Oh? See what my way of the Force has wrought. Feel what true power is. Attack!"

The Force Troopers ran towards the two Jedi. T'ek spoke nervously. "Zybor, I hope you had a miraculous plan when you jumped down here..."

Just then, an odd whirring sound came from the walls. Everywhere, training droids- small spherical repulsorlift blaster machines- were raising up to about three meters high. Dent smiled down on them from his place at the control panel above the training room. He focused their attacks on the Force Troopers and Darth Xell, then turned their power knob from STUN to SUBDUE.





The tiny training droids can be little more than an annoyance at their lowest settings, but at their highest, they can easily render a target unconscious. They buzzed around the room like a cloud of hornets, firing down at the Troopers. They raised their sabers and began hurriedly defending themselves against hundreds of bright red bolts of blasterfire. Xell stood still and let his gracefully sweeping lightsaber repel every single attack without effort. He watched the Troopers as four of them managed to attack the Jedi. 

Zybor and T'ek let their lightsabers fly furiously around them. The red, green, and blue blades flashed about, wreaking large sparks and jarring contact noises. The Troopers were very good. They lasted for about twenty full seconds. In the end, T'ek cut the last one down as Zybor was approaching Darth Xell. "Give up," Zybor said. "You can't win this one. We have a very powerful team covering us from the room above."

"I know," Darth Xell said. "That's why I said I was hoping you'd be up in that room for a bit longer. You may have been able to help them when the Stormtroopers I summoned raid the room. Too bad..."

Zybor's eyes widened, because he knew Xell was telling the truth. At that moment in the control room, Dent and Uschi heard the sounds of dozens of feet approaching the door. Dent whirled around and pulled Uschi with him into a supply closet. R5 followed and the closet door shut just as the door to the room opened and commands to surrender were shouted. In the dark, Dent wondered how he could possibly get out of THIS one. He backed up against something and bumped it. He put a hand on it to steady it, and almost immediately he felt his heart lighten. He knew what it was he had found. 

The Stormtroopers filling the room did a quick search, then looked at the door to the supply closet. One jerked a thumb at the door, and the others raised their blaster rifles. They slowly approached it. One of them put his hand out and touched the panel. The door slid open to reveal Dent and Uschi holding E-Web blasters. The startled Trooper had only a moment to gawk before he was blown backwards- along with four of his companions- through the window into the training room. Dent leaned into the kick from every blast and laughed as he obliterated Stormtrooper after Stormtrooper. 

Woonwooken and Lexo shut the door quickly behind them and looked to the wookiees. They were watching them with glittering eyes. Woonie walked straight up to one of the wookiee slaves and pulled the collar in two pieces away from his neck. He blinked- he hadn't exploded. The room went up with growls and screams of wookiee excitement as seven foot tall beasts everywhere stood up and ripped their bonds free from the walls. 

Just outside the wookiee detention area, a modest force of roughly thirty Stormtroopers had gathered to capture or kill the two intruders they'd seen enter the room. They were not prepared in any way for what they saw when they opened the door. Wookiees washed over them like a sea of fur. Arms were ripped from sockets. Armored bodies flew like confetti. Helmets were gingerly removed... and placed atop wookiee heads far too large for them. The helmets were crammed on and broken, as Woonie's was. The wookiees and Lexo swarmed through the halls, collecting rifles and helmets from shattered bodies as they went. "To war!" Lexo cried, rallying his army. "TO WAR!!"


----------



## Jeremy (Jul 22, 2002)

<dies laughing>

Edit: In a good way.  Great read.  Great characters.


----------



## Horacio (Jul 22, 2002)

Great great great, as always, Doc 
I want more!


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## Dr Midnight (Jul 22, 2002)

Jeremy said:
			
		

> *<dies laughing> *



Uh... in that GOOD way? 

Thanks Horacio! It's great having you back.

EDIT: Added training remotes picture to the story above


----------



## Hatchling Dragon (Jul 23, 2002)

Ok, what is it with 'your' Wookies and thier attempts at wearing under-sized helmets?   

Hatchling Dragon


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## Dr Midnight (Jul 23, 2002)

Bump. None of this page two crap.



> Ok, what is it with 'your' Wookies and thier attempts at wearing under-sized helmets?



To quote Bill Murray from KINGPIN: "I dunno. It's fun though, isn't it?"


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## Lela (Jul 26, 2002)

Hatchling Dragon said:
			
		

> *Ok, what is it with 'your' Wookies and thier attempts at wearing under-sized helmets?
> 
> *




It's not just helmets.  There seems to be an entire head gear thing going on.  These wookies just put anything they can on their heads.

*Lela takes a good look at own arms*

And I respect them for it.

*Gives a weak smile*


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## madriel (Jul 26, 2002)

Fear the Narrative Imperative!  Weapons can never be safely locked up, they must be stored between the extra power cells and the bottles of droid polish.


----------



## Breakstone (Jul 29, 2002)

Woah-hoh-hoh!

Viva la Wookie Revolution!


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## denmstrsn (Jul 30, 2002)

Sometimes wookies just don't think about what they are doing.  I'm still pissed about my gun turret being smashed by a not to bright wookie..


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## Dr Midnight (Jul 30, 2002)

They raged up the halls. Entire forces of gathering Troopers were quickly swept aside like matchsticks. Blaster fire and furry fury cleared the way to the main hangar area. Lexo opened the ramp door and led the wookiees inside. Then, he and Woonie stood outside and said goodbye. The wookiees questioned them. "Growwrrrr?"

"No," Lexo said, "We're not coming with you. We've still got things to do here. Take care of yourselves." He pushed the button to shut the ramp door. As the door slowly drew closed, Woonie waved to them and growled a farewell in her Stormtrooper helmet. The wall of wookiees all waved back, growling, each wearing their own Stormtrooper helmets. The door closed and the ship lifted off. 

"C'mon Woonie, we need to get back to..." Lexo stopped. Floating over a console in the hangar were several holo-screens of different areas in the complex. In one room, T'ek and Zybor could clearly be seen wielding lightsabers while blasterfire lit up the background. In another room, Uschi and Dent were holding their own against a force of Stormtroopers using E-web blasters. "They're far outnumbered, Woonie, and that guy in black looks tough. They need our help!" Woonwooken tapped his shoulder and pointed to another screen. "I don't... what..." Woonie growled her plan. Lexo stopped and thought for a moment. "... That might just work! Let's go!" The two friends ran off down a corridor. 

Zybor and T'ek leaped towards Darth Xell, pinwheeling their lightsabers in deadly arcs. Xell darted towards them with a flourish of his black cloak. All around them, the Force Troopers were deflecting hundreds of bolts of red fire and falling to their attacks. Xell's red blade met Zybor's green one and T'ek's blue one in a rapid-fire flurry of lightning quick blows. The sabers hummed and buzzed through the air, sparking off of each other. Xell flipped and tumbled over swipes. Zybor pumped his arms, punching his twin saber blades through the air.





The Force Troopers around them were beginning to fall to the ground. They just couldn't keep up with the onslaught, and with each fallen Trooper, the training remotes could concentrate their fire on fewer opponents. Pieces of scorched Stormtrooper fell around them from the room above, where Dent and Uschi were laying waste to everything in sight using their E-Web blasters. Zybor and T'ek, however, were having trouble. The whiplike strikes of Xell's lightsaber were not easily deflected. He moved like a cat. 

"Give it up, Xell!" Zybor yelled. "Your troopers are falling back... soon you'll be beaten!"

"I think not. Not if I can bring out the darkness I'm feeling. It's strong in you." Xell regarded Zybor and said "Not you... you wield a Sith weapon, but you are sickeningly pure." He turned his head to T'ek, whose black cloak hid his face. "You, however... I can feel the Dark Side in you. It pulses in you. I don't know how you came to think you're a Jedi. You're not. Does this anger you?"

"I AM a Jedi," T'ek shouted as he rained blows against Xell's saber. "You will not trick me."

"I think your companion is the one who has been tricked. Even now, he feels the hate rolling off of you." Xell was right- Zybor was only now beginning to notice that T'ek was radiating a black kind of emotion. He was infused with it. Darth Xell said "Perhaps your hate could serve a purpose, yes? The Jedi will never allow you within their ranks, after he has felt your anger. Cut him down. There is only one way from here, and you know it."

"SILENCE!!" T'ek's hand shot out. Bright blue lightning washed from his fingertips towards Xell. It crackled and twisted in the air. 

Xell raised his hand and the lightning collected at his palm. "Yes," he said. "Silence." He pushed his hand back, and even more lightning churned through the air towards T'ek. It crawled over him as he screamed. He dropped to his knees as his muscles convulsed. Zybor rushed forward with his lightsaber held high. Xell pushed his other hand through the air towards Zybor, who flew back as though struck by a powerful unseen opponent. Xell stood over T'ek and spoke. "There is only one way. The Dark Side of the Force calls to you, for you are its rightful servant. There is only hate. There is only fear. What more are you good for?" The tortured Jedi screamed in agony. Xell leaned down and yelled "WHAT MORE ARE YOU GOOD FOR, IF NOT HATE AND FEAR?"

Then, the sudden whoosh of a door opening. Xell whirled with his lightsaber ready to see the oddest sight standing before him. Something seven feet tall was standing in the doorway from his quarters wearing one of his costumes... except it didn't entirely fit. The helmet was cracked, and something like a hairbow with a ribbon was poking happily through the top.

"Grarf," it grarfed. 

T'ek's lightsaber flew to his hand from across the floor. He stood up in a flash and lit it through Darth Xell's midsection. "AAARRR!!!" The Sith apprentice stood for a moment, unbelieving. He'd been distracted and defeated. His lightsaber fell from his hand. The last thing to go through his head before he collapsed forward was "Is that a wookiee?"

"Good job, Woonie!" Lexo laughed as he came in through the door. The happy wookiee laughed in her snuffly way. 

Uschi yelled down "Hurry, the entire base is after us! We have to get to the hangar!"

Zybor helped T'ek walk as they made their way through the halls to the hangar. Dent yelled "R5, think you can call the SURVEYOR down here on auto? Yeah? Well, do it! We have maybe two minutes." They ran through the corridors. They could hear the distant sounds of an army far behind them. The Troopers had amassed a large force to deal with the intruders, and they were only moments behind. 

Obi-Wan's voice spoke in T'ek's head. _I'm proud of you, my padawan. You've shown that you truly are strong in the Force. __ 

I am, Master, T'ek responded. Do you know just HOW strong in the Force I am?

What? I'm not sure what you...  _Kenobi's voice silenced as T'ek stopped hiding something in his mind. Horrified, Kenobi whispered _No._ 

"There's the hangar!" Dent saw it clearly ahead, and the Chandrila Surveyor was hovering just inside the docking bay with its ramp down. "Good job, R5! Let's get on board and get those plans back to Mon Mothma!" 

R5 began twittering a happy response, which was cut short in a static blast as a lightsaber cut him in half. Everyone turned in surprise, then gasped. 

T'ek Nova stood there all in black with his lightsaber lit. His hooded eyes twinkled at them menacingly. At his feet, R5's remains sparked and died. 

Woonwooken screamed angrily and leapt at him. Her huge fist blurred past his head. He dodged it as though she were in slow motion. His lightsaber buzzed through the air, cutting her badly across one shoulder. She cried out and fell back. "Nova, what... What are you doing?!" Zybor's voice trembled as he yelled. 

"He was right, you know," T'ek smiled. "He was the only one to see it. What he didn't know, though, was that I came not to join him- but to kill him. With Darth Xell out of the way, my path to the Emperor's side is clear. I thank you all very much for helping me along the way." He laughed. The hate and darkness now shone strongly through him, unhidden by his powers in the Force. 

Zybor blinked back tears as he lit his own lightsaber. "I can't believe you would do this. I can't believe it was all a lie." Before T'ek could respond, Zybor attacked. He leaped over R5's smoldering pieces in a blur. His blade was a green flash. T'ek met the attacks and pressed his own.The battle went furiously between the two expert swordsmen. The others didn't even know how to attack if they wanted to... the two were moving so quickly that to attack one would be to attack both. 

"It was so easy, Zybor!" T'ek laughed. Behind him, Stormtroopers were running up the long hall. Soon they would be within firing range. "Now I'll kill you and stay as the new leader of Farlan-Eul. I would think there's no way they couldn't take me... you can't say I haven't proven myself, can you?" He cackled madly. At that moment, Zybor's Jedi training failed him and his emotions overpowered him. He gave in to anger and grief. He screamed and swung his lightsaber over his head downward into a blocked shot. He pivoted on his heel and turned the saber's weight downward. It spun on a vertical axis and cut up and under. 

"HURGH!" T'ek's eyes went wide. He fell to his knees. The Stormtroopers down the hall were now firing blaster shots towards them. The group dodged them as best they could. 

"We take him," Zybor said, lifting T'ek's body onto his shoulders. Woonie and Lexo collected R5's pieces as best they could, and everyone ran as fast as their legs could carry them. All around them, blaster fire boiled the air. They jumped onto the ship and Dent dove behind the controls. The ship turned in the hangar and Dent locked the brake on for a moment while firing the throttle. Blue rocket fire flared from the ship's rear. Dozens of Stormtroopers screamed and died in the white-hot engine wash. Dent released the brake and the Chandrila Surveyor shot up through the tunnels above. Several TIE fighters began flying after them. They burst from Farlan-Eul's pockmarked surface into space. Dent's hand clicked the hyperdrive engines into warm-up and attempted to configure a course while dodging green TIE fire. 

"They're closing in!" Uschi said. 

"No they're not," Lexo said. He pointed. Uschi saw what he meant. 

SHRIIIIEEEEEKK!!! The Garstang swept down onto the TIE fighters like a cloud of gnats. It ferociously chomped and tored through their tiny hulls. 

The hyperdrive READY light came on, and Dent punched it. The stars bled around them, and they were gone. 

~~~EPILOGUE~~~

Dent sat at the repair grid, sadly trying to rewire his droid. Lexo walked through the room and said "How is the little guy?"

"It doesn't look good," Dent said. "He may never be the same, IF I can get him operational again. It doesn't look like his memory unit was damaged, though, so the plans may still be intact."

Lexo watched for a moment, then walked on. He clapped Uschi on the back as he passed her. She could only give him a halfhearted nod. He looked over and saw Zybor meditating. Lexo could feel the Force as it rippled around Zybor. He was looking for answers. 

Lexo stepped through a door into the infirmary, where T'ek was strapped down to a table, still unconscious, on life support. Woonie was in here watching him. 

"Y'know, Woonie," Lexo said slowly. He didn't finish the thought for a full twenty seconds. "I've been thinking. T'ek will never leave Zybor alone. The Rebellion won't properly be able to contain him- he's a Dark Jedi. Blasters can't hold him back... and we can't be there to watch him. Of course, he won't be executed. The Rebellion isn't that barbaric. He's going to come back. He's going to come at Zybor until one of them is dead."

The wookiee growled. 

"We do owe Zybor a great favor, Woonie, but we can't do that either. It's not right to kill a helpless man. I won't allow it."

Woonie was silent for a moment, then growled again, more softly this time. 

"Hmm? I... I suppose... That may be the answer, Woonwooken. Let's do it. For Zybor."

They gently pushed T'ek's stretcher into the Surveyor's last escape pod. They shut the door. "With T'ek lost in space, he'll probably never trouble anyone again. He'll probably not survive. However, our consciences will be clear, and our friends will be safe." Lexo pushed the button, and the escape pod slipped out into the maelstrom of hyperspace and disappeared. 

Woonie grumbled. 

"No, old girl," Lexo said as he ruffled her fur affectionately. "I don't think we'll see him again."

The two friends stood there watching through the window as stars melted past them like raindrops made of light.

The End


----------



## Ziona (Jul 30, 2002)

Nicely done, Doc!

I could just imagine the quick wipe into the credits and the blare of the music at the end. Good work!!


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## Malice (Jul 30, 2002)

Now that's the sauce I;m talking about!!!! Love it doc. Truelly great work man, thanks! Very cool.


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## Felix (Jul 30, 2002)

GASP!

_The sound of Felix's chin hitting the keyboard_ 

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Good finale! 

[Hope]So, does this mean we get more KotSQ? [/Hope]


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## denmstrsn (Jul 30, 2002)

That was a great ending to this epic story.  Nice work Doc.


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## JDragon (Jul 30, 2002)

Very cool!!!!!!!

How did the party react to the betrayal?

Great stroy, sorry to see it come to an end.

JDragon


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## Dr Midnight (Jul 30, 2002)

> I could just imagine the quick wipe into the credits and the blare of the music at the end. Good work!!




I was trying to think of something that'd give that same feel... I'm glad it came across for you. Thanks Ziona!



> Now that's the sauce I'm talking about!!!! Love it doc. Truelly great work man, thanks! Very cool.




Ahh... reading "Now that's the sauce I'm talking about!!!!" as a response to your story hour is very tasty. Thanks!



> [Hope]So, does this mean we get more KotSQ? [/Hope]




Yyyyep. Now that I've finished work on SW, I can allow myself to start writing up some lead-ins to the KotSQ revival. That's still not set for any specific time soon...  I'm waiting for Josh (Xaltar) to feel like a break from the Unusual Heroes campaign. When that happens I'm a-gonna pounce and bring Dartan back to Greyhawk. It still won't be for a while yet, but I've got so many little short story ideas for the people in that world that I may write some up in my spare time to put up here before the game starts.



> That was a great ending to this epic story. Nice work Doc.




Thanks for the compliment, and for playing Dent Darkstar, ace Deep Space Pilot. Salut.

Also, thanks to 
Gospog- Lexo Yust
Fluffaderm- Woonwooken the Wooly
Ziona- Uschi Neff
Xaltar- Zybor-Jae
Dartan- T'ek Nova

for playing. Was much fun... even if the thrill of a Star Wars campaign kinda blanded after the first few sessions. 



> How did the party react to the betrayal?




Pretty much the same way I did: "You're doing WHAT??"
It was a bit insane, but worked well in the end. 

I sense a presence... a presence I haven't felt sincccccce... oh, wait, it's Tsunami.


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## Breakstone (Jul 30, 2002)

For lack of words, I am left to express myself with these smilies. This is how I felt while reading:

  "Yay, update!"

  "What will they do?"

  "Darth Xell... neato..."

  "Go Woonie!"

  "Obi Wan's worried?"

  "...woah..."


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## madriel (Jul 30, 2002)

You got a fixation with fallen characters there, Dartan?

Doc, that was awesome!  

Now there's a redundant statement for ya.  Dr. Midnight Story Hour=whoa!    is pretty much a given.  The stories are fantastic, the players are great and there's always an ohmigod moment (or two or three or...).  You're just soooo predictable.


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## Horacio (Jul 30, 2002)

_And Horacio remains seated until all the end credits finished, still unable to close is open mouth..._


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## Rybaer (Jul 30, 2002)

I'll just throw my congratulations on to the well-deserved heap.  Excellent job!  Good story and good characters.  The addition of artwork was that extra little touch that made it masterful.


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## drnuncheon (Jul 30, 2002)

Dr Midnight said:
			
		

> *"No, old girl," Lexo said as he ruffled her fur affectionately. "I don't think we'll see him again."*





Shyeah, _right_! If that's not an opening for a sequel I don't know what is...

J


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## Jeremy (Jul 30, 2002)

Horacio said:
			
		

> *
> 
> 
> And Horacio remains seated until all the end credits finished, still unable to close is open mouth... *




Jeremy leans over to the guy with the empty popcorn bag staring gape-mouthed at the screen.

"Great flick, huh?  Can you believe we gotta wait 5 years for the sequel.  I'm gonna go get in line!"


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## Horacio (Jul 30, 2002)

Jeremy said:
			
		

> *
> 
> Jeremy leans over to the guy with the empty popcorn bag staring gape-mouthed at the screen.
> 
> "Great flick, huh?  Can you believe we gotta wait 5 years for the sequel.  I'm gonna go get in line!" *




_A last, Horacio is able to close is mouth, and turns to the guy who spoked to him_

What? Five years? FIVE YEARS? Those Hollywood productors are a lazy bunch, they should begin shooting the sequel right now!


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## Hammerhead (Jul 30, 2002)

Awesome story. However, don't escape pods emit a distress beacon?


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## Horacio (Jul 30, 2002)

Hammerhead said:
			
		

> *Awesome story. However, don't escape pods emit a distress beacon?  *




Of course...
And cannot Jedi enter in a tranceand survive for years in space needing too much wasting oxigene or food?


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## Lela (Jul 31, 2002)

Wow, Dr M didn't even know.  Amazing.


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## KidCthulhu (Jul 31, 2002)

Yeeks!  [pause, breathe] Yeeks!  Bad Jedi.  Very bad Jedi.  No force biscuit.

You are one tremendous GM for going with that on the fly.  To the reader, it looks like you planned that all along, and yet...


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## fenzer (Aug 1, 2002)

Dr Midnight said:
			
		

> *
> Yyyyep. Now that I've finished work on SW, I can allow myself to start writing up some lead-ins to the KotSQ revival. That's still not set for any specific time soon...  I'm waiting for Josh (Xaltar) to feel like a break from the Unusual Heroes campaign. When that happens I'm a-gonna pounce and bring Dartan back to Greyhawk. It still won't be for a while yet, but I've got so many little short story ideas for the people in that world that I may write some up in my spare time to put up here before the game starts.
> *




I really hope so.  Doc, I wont know what to do if I can't come by and read an update of yours.

Thank you and all your players for a great read.  I wish I could get my playing group to take a dare like that, player vs. player.  Alas, I guess I will have to read about it, nice play Dartan  

Thanks again Doc for all the hard work and great story hour.  Here's to KotSQ!


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## Hatchling Dragon (Aug 1, 2002)

If my Star Wars knowledge isn't totaly off I think that T'ek Nova will *not* be coming back, ever.  As I understand it the Hyperspace Drive not only allows you entry into and out of Hyperspace, it creates and maintains a bubble of normal space/time around you while you're in transit.  If it weren't for this bubble/effect you'd be absorbed or destroyed by the chaos that is Hyperspace.  I seriously doubt that any lifepod would be equiped with a Hyperdrive, seeing as how the X-wing was 'special' at least in part _because_ it was so small while retaining Hyperdrive potential.

Granted, all of the above comes (about 90% at least) from reading novels and comics of old, and very little from any game-related (the old d6-based) materials.   

Hatchling Dragon


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## Horacio (Aug 1, 2002)

He will come back. True villains always come back.


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## Welverin (Jun 29, 2003)

Blame Rune


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