Game LOG 9/16/03

2.18.4787 Republic Reckoning

Arrival on Holgam is uneventful and the group jumps into the investigation straight away. Igashu arrives on scene where the Hutt in charge had been killed and begins investigation and a bit of postcognition to see what he can learn. Dabai heads out with a group of soldiers following what they think is the trail of a half-track. Quindo does a perimeter sweep and then heads off toward the mountains on foot.

Igashu learns that the killer was a human, right handed, and dressed all in grey robes, wielding a blue saber and using style 1 or style 6. Dabai gets ambushed and pinned down by some rebels, and Quindo meditates and then begins projecting force from the base of the mountains... this is what we can a bad-idea(tm).

Quindo opens his eyes around dawn to see half dozen assorted bad guys standing in front of him. Former President of Thantos Garek Brynn, Dark Force User Jr. a.k.a. Altair's mom, Dark Force User sr., Jr. and Sr.'s Master, and.... Nakael!

Igashu gives up his investigation and catches up with Dabai. Together they subdue the rebels and take 5 prisoners. Igashu quickly realizes this is not the group they came to find or to fight, but decides it's better to see they get taken alive rather than leave them to the Hutt troops. The 6th rebel though disagrees. She escaped, and she's strong in the force... it's To'iir. Mighty Fuck!

Igashu: "We need to talk, things got really complicated really fast."
To'iir: "Fuck Off."

2.18.4787 Republic Reckoning (Quindo's POV)
Accompanying Momudu's elite shock troops to Holgam, the site of the most recent skirmishes, we arrive to find the local Hutt dead and his garrison killed. Dropping with Scout Team #2, we begin searching the area for clues. Igashu uses Postcognition to get an unclear view the battle. He can't see a face, but he determines that the Dark Force User is a male human, right handed, using a blue lightsaber. He favors a basic hilt-down lightsaber style, probably Style 4 (though possibly 1 or 6). The rogue was dressed in grey, not black! An important distinction.

Dabai sets out with a scout group to follow half-track tracks through the desert toward some nearby mountains. 3 hours later, heading into the badlands, his skimmer is ambushed. They lose the skimmer, and one of Momudu's troopers is killed, but they drive off the rest of the rebels.

Meanwhile, Quindo has wandered off, on foot, toward the mountains. Knowing that any Force users (Light or Dark) will disappear if being tracked down by overwhelming military forces, Quindo has decided to draw them out alone, in an attempt to negotiate. Hopefully, since their intentions seem to be good (freeing slaves), they are probably not truly evil, just misguided. Given a chance to contact them peacefully, Quindo hopes to be able to figure out 1)What they are planning, including why and how and 2) How to bring them back safely to the Council and the Light.

Marching late into the night, into the foothills of the mountains, Quindo sits himself on a rock to meditate. After warning the others telepathically to steer clear of his location, he uses a power called " Project Force" to make himself a beacon to any Force sensitives on planet. His hope is that this will draw the one or two rogues on planet to him, alone.

While Dabai and Igashu track down and capture the small band of rebels in the badlands, Quindo sits on a rock in the desert, being bait without a trap.

When the rebels are captured, it appears that they are being led by To'iir.

2.19.4787 Republic Reckoning
Dawn arrives... waking Quindo from his meditations. He lets the beacon fade out and opens his eyes to find 4 shapes standing just outside of his immediate Sense range. With the sun rising behind them, he can't quite make out who is standing before him.
His first thoughts are bleak, " Oh boy, four is more than I expected..."

Suddenly, someone approaches from behind. Quindo turns to see a tall human male in a Grey trenchcoat.
Eyes widening, Quindo sighs inwardly, " Oops, five is even more than four..."

After a moment, Quindo recognizes the man behind him... Garek Brynn, the ex-President of Thantos Corporation, one of Dormammu's pet Sith. Squinting back at the other 4, he is able to make out enough of the features to recognize three of the four.

One: Our first real adversary, deemed Dark Jedi, Jr. A black, buglike alien, we encountered him on Byblos, where he stole a data crystal from Igashu and escaped. The data crystal contained information from an archeological team on a Sith burial vault. We encountered him again later, and found that he was about similar in power level to us. (On a good day, we could take him one on one).

Two: A human male in black, deemed Dark Jedi, Sr. We met him on a 'derelict' Sith battle cruiser while chasing D.J. Jr. His higher level of power led us to assume he was Jr's Master, an assumption he was quick to affirm. All of us together could have taken him. Unfortunately, when we fought him, he told us that HIS master wanted to see us. We deemed that one Dark Jedi, Master, though most of us never met the fellow. In fact, only one of our surviving members did meet D.J. Master, and he fell to the Dark Side within minutes of meeting him.

Three: Nakael. In Igashu's words, " He was a boring old bookworm... and we miss him greatly. He nursed from the teat of evil, and has turned to the dark side. " Well, he's back, and he's looking at me funny.

Four: Quindo doesn't recognize Number 4, but he hopes to hell he's not D.J. Master. Though, I'm afraid he is.

The morning air is still cool, but you can feel the heat of the day beginning with the sun ahead of you. Relishing what probably is your last morning, you wait on the rock.
The four Sith before you walk forward and they are matched by the steps of Garek Brynn behind you. They all stop about five meters away.
"Hello, Quindo," says Nakael, removing the hood from his head. "You should not have come here. Not now."
With a whir of servomotors, the center human pulls back his hood with an obviously prosthetic hand. "Oh, but this just makes things so interesting," he says with a smile.
"He has his purpose here," says Brynn, "and it is not to become another of your slaves."
"I would never enslave anyone," responds the man. "I'm here on a mission of liberation."

Game LOG 9/20/03

2.19.4787 Republic Reckoning
In a special Emergency Saturday Gaming Session (ESGS), Quindo had a long and difficult conversation with the 5 Sith baddies. It seems that Garek Brynn is not involved in the revolts at all! His mission is the give us a message for the Council, and to spread chaos. Basically, he's sitting on the sidelines for this one. Speaking on behalf of what used to be Santaros Corporation, his message is basically "We will destroy the Rebublic and replace it with our own Sith Empire." Ok, way to dream buddy, but I've got more important things to do right now.

The other 4 Sith, are as follows:
The Apprentice, DJ Junior, A buggy alien named At'tck.
The Sith, DJ Senior, A Vhodran male named Tvlashka.
The Master, DJ Master, A human male calling himself Master Laut.
The Prophet, Nakael.

Master Laut did most of the talking for the group, though he listened politely to my comments and seemed merely amused when Q tried baiting him. (Tvlashka kept looking like he wanted to kill him on the spot when Quindo made a few choice comments about the Dark Side being the path for weaklings and cowards.)

The problem is, Laut's arguments made too much sense. Quindo could not condone the Sith's methods by any means, or what he fear are their end goals, but their stated purpose could not be dismissed lightly. Laut insists that they are here to free the slaves and break the Hutt's power in the galaxy. Granted, he wants to destroy them utterly and Quindo tried to insist that all life must be protected, but even a Jedi can't be too overzealous defending the Hutts. Which puts him on very shaky ground. Laut puts the brutal methods on the shoulders of the slaves, who, understandably are pissed off. He denies influencing them overmuch in their methods, though Q believes that to be a lie.

Quindo tries a different approach,
"If it means so much, why are you here drumming up the troops instead of simply killing the Hutts and freeing the slaves? The 4 of you could easily overcome the entire complement on this planet. Heck, with planning 'I' could do it!"
Laut easily counters Quindo's suggestion by insisting that the revolution must be a victory for the slaves, otherwise they simply trade one master for another. See, he makes too much sense, even though he's evil. Quindo had to take step after step backwards in his defense of his own actions and purpose in the situation, largely because he doesn't really believe in what he's doing.

Then the enticement: "You are so conflicted. You know in your heart the right course to follow in this situation, you are too caught up in what you < b> should do< /b> that you can not act as you wish to. Join us in freeing these people." (Come to the Dark Side!!)

Quindo's response: "There is always doubt. The day I stop questioning my path is the day I fall into shadow. You can not use my doubt against me, it protects me."

Laut insists that Quindo accompany his group, or at least stand aside. Quindo offers that he must continue to oppose them as his conscience directs. Laut threatens to destroy him. Will this be the end of our hero??

But wait!
Brynn offers to "escort" Q out of the situation, for reasons of his own. This seems like a good idea, a good way to survive the next hour, but too easy. Quindo has thought a lot about his course over the last year and he has become wary of easy solutions. So, he takes the hardest path he can see.

Quindo agrees to accompany the Sith in their mobile command center. He does not pledge aid, and declares that "If all is as you say, then I will simply be an observer and consultant. But if your actions compel me to move against you, then I must act." Laut merely laughs and gestures toward his waiting aircar.

Brynn seems displeased, but I care.

With Laut's permission, Q contacts Igashu telepathically (Laut is monitoring) and conveys absolutely nothing while trying to impress on him the Really Bad Nature Of The Situation. Overall, all that is really communicated is that Quindo is captured but alive and well for the moment, and that Nakael is here with some friends we've met before. Oh, and Garek Brynn is here too, but uninvolved.

Quindo: Igashu... Things are rather more complicated.
Igashu: what do you mean?... are you alright?
Quindo: Garek Brynn is here. Nakael is too. And his three friends.
Igashu: can you get out of there?
Quindo: No. The situation is um... that is to say... Things have progressed out of our control.
Igashu: into Brynn's control? where are you?
Quindo: Garek Brynn is just here to send a message. He seems to be his Own faction in this fiasco
Igashu: and Nakael? and the three? together? and what pray tell is Brynn's message?
Quindo: I am with Nakael. Things are much too .. no... well... let's put it this way. I may not be coming back... but if worse comes to worse, I at least won't be coming back.
Igashu: Quindo if you're doing something stupid don't handicap me here... To'iir is on planet if it's just Nakael we can get you out of there... I'll get her to help somehow... what are you planning to do...
Quindo: I can't go into details without breaking my word. And even if I wanted to, he's sitting right here. And I don't mean Nakael.
Igashu: and you can't so who either?
Quindo: He's looking at me now... Let me try to make my point clear. Get everyone out of here. We've lost this one. This is not going to be solved by more deaths on the battlefield. Make them listen. We can't stand aside, but I fear our hands are tied.
Quindo: I'll try to minimize casualties on THIS END, but I've got to act now.
Igashu: Quindo... stay safe... I'll find a way to get you out.

Game LOG 9/23/03

As dawn breaks (shortly before Quindo and Igashu talk mentally), those with radios begin to pick up some disturbing chatter.
"Den, this is Tiger 3-1 actual. We are under sporadic light arms fire, over." "Tiger 3-1, Den. Confirm you are under attack?" "Den, Tiger 3-1, under attack, light arms fire at depot three niner four. Looks like workers. Over"

< sounds of fighting in background> "Hello? can anyone hear me?" "This is Den, who is speaking?" "Private Noc here... we're under attack. They just swamped us. The lieutenant was the first to go, I... I don't know if there's anyone else left." "Private, where are you? What is your unit? We'll get help to you as soon as possible" "I'm with Panther 1-2, we're at the arms factory. Oh no, they're coming. You gotta help me" "Private, we have units on their way. Who is coming?" "Private? If you can't talk, just cycle the talk button on and off." "Private?"

"Den, Tiger 1-1. It's already five minutes after shift start and we have no workers at our plant. Do you have any word on worker movements?" "Tiger 1-1, be advised, hostile worker acts are occurring across the op-zone. Sit tight and challenge all who approach." "Den, Tiger 1-1 acknowledges."

"Den, this is Local 8-2...actual. We are seeing increased movement of vodran and nikno workers in our vicinity. Some of my people report seeing them with weapons. Advise." "Local 8-2, if you see workers with weapons, you are free to engage under this morning's ROE. If you are attacked, you are free to engage."

Dabai, Bro'jen, and Elbram were gathered up to go to a weapons factory where some non-Vodran/Nikto workers were hidden with a radio. Heavy resistance, but no fatalities. After retrieving workers, orbital strikes leveled the factory and anyone left inside.

Heading back, Dabai goes off again to assist in retaking a food depot, and after an afternoon of fighting, they withdraw, burning the depot behind them when mass attacked by thousands of psychotic Vodran. Massive enemy casualties, moderate Hutt casualties.

Meanwhile, Elbram and Bro'jen are hanging out with the detainees and escapees as they're interrogated. It seems like the Nikto and Vodran have "changed their songs" at least a few weeks ago, but nothing happened until they all just snapped, more or less at once, this morning. Bro'jen thinks it might be something like Alter(TM) in the water supply, so he is going to get samples and head out to chemical plant down on the coast. Elbram watches the military trials of the detainees, where they're sentenced to death by firing squad. Dabai and Elbrahm successfully argue to the head of the military court that they might be useful alive, but only in time to save 2. The others are killed. (Kaleb Corvan, Metarie Chin, and Tornek Graf)

In all of this, Igashu passes out while running across the desert in the daytime after being up all night. It seems To'iir had decided to take a break or was tracking him, so she pulls him out of the sun and yells at him, and they eventually set off at sunset to go after the detainees...

Game LOG 9/30/03

2.20.4787 Republic Reckoning
New plan... Quindo offers to negotiate a cease-fire with the Hutt commander (Col. D'han) and attempt to buy the Jedi time to figure out the situation without anyone else being killed. Laut agrees! Breaking in on the command channel, Quindo opens negotiations between the leaders of both sides!
Unfortunately, both sides demand the unconditional surrender of the other, leaving very little room for bargaining. But, it buys us a few hours of cease-fire. Laut uses the time to use a captured droid factory to start making battle droids (He imported parts)... oops.

Quindo uses some the time to try talking Nakael back to the Light side. Doesn't work. Quindo isn't much of a spiritual guide, where's Elbram when you need him?

Meanwhile, Col. D'han has gotten a fix on the air car from the communicator Quindo used to 'negotiate'. He convinces the Jedi to take an elite force to secure the aircar.

Igashu has a choice words with Colonel D'han over his execution of his prisoners.
Igashu - " If you ever fuck with my prisoners again, I will kill you!"

D'han refuses to back down, and calls two squads of troops to deal with the belligerent Igashu.
Igashu points out that even if he dies, he'll take D'han with him. D'han calls his bluff and Igashu is captured.
He spends the afternoon with the prisoners, trying to help as best he can. Then he gets released on Elbram's recognizance, with orders to capture Quindo as a traitor.
At the same time, Laut is giggling (not really, but inside he was.. I can tell) because he LET THEM GET A FIX ON OUR LOCATION so that he could set a trap to take out most of the elite Hutt troops. He wants to fake a surrender and then spring an attack! Not wanting to be party to a massacre, Quindo thinks harder than he's ever thunk before.

Quindo - "They'll just bombard from orbit!"
Laut -"No, they want to capture us and make an example if possible, they will only annihilate us as a last recourse."
Quindo - "We'll just kill a bunch of people without really accomplishing anything! I will not allow a massacre!"
Laut - "We can shorten this by eliminating many of these elite forces. We will try to capture as many as we can, once it becomes clear that we have the upper hand, we will only have to kill those that refuse to lay down their arms. It will be their choice, not ours."
Quindo - "Um... uh... Wait! If you attack under the guise of surrender, then you turn this entire conflict into a battle to the death! No one will be allowed surrender again. Anyone trying will just be treated as another hostile. You'll turn this into more of a bloodbath than even YOU want. You Master wouldn't like it if you got all of his new worshippers killed."
Laut - "You have a point. Very well, do you have an alternate plan?"

YAY! Quindo has successfully highjacked this Sith battle plan. Now, he must turn it to his advantage.
Quindo - "I'm too young for this shit!"
Quindo begs a few minutes to think. Q's not much of a thinker, he's not devious or manipulative, and he's nowhere near the tactician that Admiral McGilicuddy will be in 4000 years. Suddenly, a solution dawns.

Quindo - "They'll send a force whether you set a trap or not. They'll go for overwhelming odds, just like we taught them. But, Colonel D'han is not a front line commander. He and his entire staff will be at the Base camp. We can end this now if you're willing to get involved directly. We move into the camp and take the command staff. It should be easy for the six of us. If we plan this right, there won't even be a battle."
Laut - "Yes, behead the serpent in one blow... you are a formidable ally Quindo once the leaders are dead the troops will be easy fodder."
Quindo - "No, we MUST capture the commanders. Killing them might confuse them briefly, but then they WILL start bombarding from orbit. And you have to treat with them honorably or they will not deal with you. We take them and force a surrender. Both sides are spared the meat grinder."
Laut - "Very well. It IS time for us to become directly involved You must lead this attack, you know their forces and their defenses. And I am not much of a tactician."
Quindo - "I'm not much of a tactician either, and I didn't pay much attention to the Hutt's briefings. I don't know how well I can handle this."
Laut - "Then we will have to make a new plan."
Quindo - "Wait. I have an idea. I'm not much of a tactician, but I know someone who is. Someone who KNOWS the Hutt's tactics as well.
Laut - "Who?"
Quindo - "His name is Dabai Kingston."

Quindo's plan is to contact him telepathically, explain the situation, and recruit his expertise in taking the base camp. However, unbeknownst to Quindo, Dabai is leading the force that is moving against the Sith Mobile Command Center. (Which we abandoned as a decoy)

In fact, as the drop ship was heading for the SMCC, Dabai commented to the others "Considering the forces we're moving, now would be a great time for someone to attack the base camp."

When they found the SMCC mostly deserted (and booby trapped... can't trust those Sith) Dabai's only comment was (To paraphrase Captain Kirk):
"QUINDO!!"

Igashu, tries to contact Garek Brynn, to determine if our goals may coincide with his in the short term.
He refuses to help.

Igashu - " What exactly are you doing here?"
Brynn - " I was here to spread chaos, but it seems that you're doing that for me. So I guess I'm just here to get a tan."

To'iir won't help either, and Altair isn't here yet.

Game LOG 10/7/03

2.21.4787 Republic Reckoning
Bro'jen, Dabai, Elbram, and Igashu led an elite strike force to capture or kill the leaders of the slave revolt (four Sith including our one time companion Nakael), and hopefully rescue Quindo who had been 'captured'.

Meanwhile, To'iir, has been attempting to free captured prisoners.

To make matters worse, the Sith leaders were no longer with the Mobile Sith Command Center targeted by our heroes. They had sent it away as a decoy and prepared an assault to capture the leaders of the Hutt forces. Quindo was not only with the Sith, but compelled to lead the attack in order to minimize casualties as much as possible.

As you can see, things are going badly for Quindo. He can not act directly against the Sith, as they would quickly and brutally destroy him. He could escape, but then he would have no way to mitigate their actions. His only recourse is to remain with the Sith, steer their plans as much as possible, and wait for an opportunity to act.

Last night, the opportunity came.

Quindo is notoriously bad at military matters. Personal, even squad level combat are his domain. Start talking about supply lines and resource allocation and his eyes glaze over. Which means... he wasn't paying attention to the briefings that outlined the Hutt disposition of forces, armaments, and defenses. Therefore, he has no idea what he's up against in trying to infiltrate the Hutt base camp. Luckily, Dabai knows all of this stuff, and Quindo's plan is to contact him telepathically and convince him to help just before beginning the actual assault.

Unfortunately, as soon as the Sith forces (4 Sith, 1 Jedi Student, and 40 battle droids) are close enough to see the base, they can see that there's already something going on. Explosions and gunfire wrack the base.

It seems that To'iir had botched things trying to free prisoners and is now single-handedly trying to stop Col. D'han and 150 troopers from massacring the prisoners. Of course, Quindo doesn't know this, and neither do the Sith.

Master Laut (DJ Master) decides that the confusion will be an ideal time for attack. Tvlashska (DJ Senior) advocates frontal assault, and Nakael suggests flanking with the battle droids. In seconds, a battle plan is in effect and the charge begins. No time to outline the situation for Dabai, so Quindo loses control of the situation once again. Only one choice... CHARGE!

Note to self: Charging a machine gun nest across a cleared field is STUPID.

Luckily, Quindo has been saving character points for awhile. A dozen of those points later, Quindo reaches the machine gun nest and disables both guards with Judo and a stun pistol (Thanks Dabai!)

Tvlashka and At!tck (DJ Junior) disappear into the base in the confusion, ostensibly to capture the command staff.

Quindo deactivates his lightsaber (less of a target), but keeps Lightsaber Combat active. He also raises Danger Sense (in case of snipers) and uses Life Sense to find Col. D'han on the other side of the camp. Meanwhile, Nakael is making full use of his new Sith powers by taking control of the minds of squads of troops and making them kill other squads of troops. Bad Nakael. Dark Side points abound. Quindo doesn't see this, he's trying to make his way through the camp to the command center.

As he approaches D'han, Tvlashka appears in a battle frenzy, covered with blood. He rants for a moment about the glories of combat and asks Quindo if he revels in having such power over their enemies.
Something about being a wolf among sheep.

Quindo - "Tvlashka, our mission here is to capture the command staff. I sense D'han over just over there. We can end this right now. Come with me and complete our task. We're trying to minimize casualties, not revel in massacre."

Tvlashka refuses to listen and takes off, looking for more people to kill. Q doesn't even think, just drops his fix on D'han and chases after Tvlashka. He rounds a building to see Tvlashka ducking into a large tent. Q follows and sees Tvlashka merrily killing a wounded soldier with his sword (Tvlashka doesn't use a lightsaber, he uses paired sith swords). As Tvlashka goes for a high strike on the next wounded man, Quindo's lightsaber springs to life and intercepts the blow. (Insert appropriate sounds and flashing light)

Tvlashka - "If you get in my way again, I will destroy you."

He strikes again. Again, Quindo's saber intercepts the blade. With a snarl, Tvlashka turns and faces Quindo.

Quindo - "I told you I would act if I must. I can't stand by and let you murder these men."

Tvlashka just snarls and attacks. Quindo barely manages to block the first blow. The last time he faced DJ Senior, he had three friends with him, and it took all of them just to stalemate the alien. Fortunately, Quindo has improved since then... but undoubtedly, so has the Sith.

Knowing that his only hope lies in a quick win, Quindo strikes at a sword directly, hoping to destroy it. Tvlashka is blocking Q's lightsaber with the blade, but surely the metal could not withstand a deliberate, powerful attack.

Quindo strikes true, throwing everything he has behind the blow. The Sword is unharmed, and Quindo must defend against two more attacks in rapid succession.
(Actually, Sith Swords are made from a mystic Force alchemy... they can't be destroyed short of being tossed into a sun. I knew that, but Quindo didn't.)

Finding himself overmatched, Quindo barely blocks the Sith's flurry of blows. It is obvious that both combatants are calling on the Force, moving with superhuman speed and agility as the battle continues.

The combatants circle, maneuvering for position in the confines of the tent. There is no fancy footwork, no flourishes, no sweeping gestures or acrobatic leaps there are only shifting stances and rapid turns of the wrist.

Tvlashka suddenly launches himself into an all out attack. Quindo takes the first strike on his lightsaber and manages an attack of his own, striking a glancing blow against the Sith's right wrist.

Tvlashka hisses as the blade burns through his sleeve and scorches his arm. Quindo takes a moment to taunt the apparently unharmed Darksider, "Your master should have trained you better. I'm just a student of the Light Side, yet first touch goes to me."

Tvlashka doesn't even hesitate, raining blow after blow against Quindo. Two Sabers prove too much for the Jedi's defenses. A badly parried lunge misses his gut, but tears a ragged gash across Quindo's ribs. This is the first time that Quindo has EVER taken damage in battle. (Granted, Igashu chopped off his pinky that day at the academy, but they weren't even sparring. Igashu had swiped a practice saber so he could train on his own and when he ran up to show it to Quindo, accidentally turned it on... Vape!)

Anyway, the wound is distracting but minor. Quindo controls his pain in time to block the last of the combo from the Sith. Quindo is wounded, tiring rapidly, and his ability to call on the Force is strained. He estimates that in a few moments, he won't be able to call upon the reserves that are allowing him to just barely hold his own against Tvlashka.

One last chance. He knows that he has to disable or kill Tvlashka in the next exchange or the Sith will kill him... then return to his slaughter. Calling upon the Force, Quindo blocks the Sith's opening attack and hammers his blade against Tvlashka's right wrist. It rebounds, but the smell of burning flesh fills the tent as Tvlashka stumbles back, his momentum lost, barely holding on to his sword with his wounded wrist. Quindo carries the rebound in a full circle and slices through Tvlashka's injured wrist on the upswing.

Tvlashka tumbles to the floor. He holds onto the sword in his left hand, pain washes across his features and then away. His eyes bore into Quindo, his features twisted by hatred, "You will pay for that, child!"

Quindo knows that he is spent. Even wounded, the Sith is still more than a match for our hero. Quindo recalls Igashu's lessons in bluffing...

Igashu- "You've got to keep a straight face Quindo, like you don't care about the outcome at all. Now try again..."
Quindo - "I... raise?"
Igashu - "That was good. I think you got it that time!"
Quindo - "Really?"
Igashu - "NO! See! See what I just did... That's how you bluff!!"

Quindo lowers the point of his lightsaber to point at Tvlashka's chest. Mastering every muscle of his face, every nuance of his tone, he barks at the fallen Sith, "Drop... your... sword."

Tvlashka's eyes widen. Fear stalks briefly across his face. He drops the Sith Sword to the floor. Quindo picks up both swords and shoves them through his belt.

The doorway behind Quindo darkens. He darts a look back to see soldiers entering the tent, with Nakael behind them. Suddenly, Quindo surges forward, massacring the soldiers before they can even raise an alarm. Quindo can not control his arm. His lightsaber rises and falls, severing limbs and hacking smoking trenches in the men before him. He watches from somewhere behind his eyes as Tvlashka's will directs his body in an attack against Nakael.

Nakael doesn't even bother to raise his lightsaber, he casually wrenches control of Quindo's body from Tvlasha and stands him like a statue a prisoner in his own flesh.

As Nakael advances on Tvlashka, the tent is suddenly flooded with palpable Hated. The soldiers who were still alive are torn apart by crushing waves of evil from the Dark Side of the Force. Quindo musters his mind, driving out Nakael's control. "Nakael! STOP IT! You must NOT do this!" He launches himself at Nakael, and is unceremoniously tossed away. Quindo's flying body carries the tent away, landing 50 feet away in a tangled heap.
Tvlashka doesn't even have a chance to cry out as Nakael hammers his lightsaber again and again into his prone body.

By the time Quindo manages to cut himself free and rush back to the scene of carnage, Tvlashka is dead, as well as every living thing within 20 feet. Nakael spares a glance at Quindo before turning to walk away.

Quindo draws and aims his pistol, "Thank you Dabai", and shoots Nakael squarely in the back of the head. Nakael falls unconscious to the ground. Gathering up his former comrade, Quindo makes his way toward the sound of nearby trucks.

Non-Game LOG 10/14/03

2.21.4787 Republic Reckoning
In place of a game tonight, here's a little cutscene happening, well, right about "now" in game...

Quindo looks up at the night sky as he picks up Nakael by the boot and begins dragging him away to cover. The mild cloud cover has thickened,
and if it wasn't for the fires from the fighting, it would be nearly pitch black now. A cold wind begins to blow as he wraps his robes tighter
around him and redoubles his efforts to get to a place of temporary safety.

Across the clearing, in the shadow of a half-collapsed tent, Laut sits, meditating, with a wry smile on his face. Next to him, the chassis of one
of At'!'chk's battle droids topples in the wind... or did it move? One leg of the half-destroyed robot propels the machine, scraping across the
ground, towards the remains of one of its compatriots. Manipulators extend from hidden compartments and begin cannibalizing the other downed
droid, removing the mostly-intact head module and attaching it to itself. A few more scavenged parts, from weapons lying on the ground to other
parts from droids, and it is complete. It walks back to Laut and positions itself to stand guard over him, joined shortly by two more
rebuilt droids.

Across the camp, the last truck of prisoners is loading, the one ahead moving through the now trampled wire fence. To'iir looks around and sees
two of the droids move around the corner. Both are obviously rebuilt, one sporting a machine gun instead of the blaster on its left arm, the other
with a pair of blaster rifles for its tail mount. They scan the area, ignoring the prisoners twenty yards away, then take off after the escaping
truck, firing at it as they run. "No, not you too, you bastards!" shouts To'iir as she races after them, using the Force to let her run faster than
any natural humanoid could. But the droids are still faster. They easily catch up to the truck, one leaping on the back compartment and spraying it
with machine gun fire at point blank range after shrugging off a few blaster shots from a passenger. The other grabs the cab and pulls. The
truck goes up onto two wheels, then flips. Both droids pounce onto the truck, ripping mechanical components from it and fixing themselves as the
survivors numbly run away from the truck.

"We're approaching the base now," says the pilot over the command channel in the pinnace. "The fighters were diverted to intercept a ship coming
in-system, so we're it for air support. Where do you want us to drop you off?"

The captain in charge of the troops replies "I'm not sure. What does it look like down there?"

"I honestly can't say, sir. There's some pretty thick cloud cover over the base. We're just entering it now. I'll drop down and do an
overflight." The craft is buffeted by wind as you drop lower. Through the small windows in the troop compartment, you can see the darkness
envelop the craft.

The Jedi shiver and look at each other as they realize what is going on here. "Pilot, this is not a natural storm," says Igashu.

"Well, it's not exactly your little fluffy cloud here. Hang on, this is going to get rough."

"This is an evil place we're going back to," says Elbram quietly. "I'm not sure we're ready to find out what lies in wait for us."

"We have to. To get Quindo back," says Igashu. "Then we can get the hell out of here."

A particularly strong jolt shakes the craft, and as several of the troops are getting sick (along with several of the Jedi), you can feel the
temperature of the craft drop another ten degrees. You fall for what seems like forever as the craft is slammed towards the ground in a
microburst, then are crushed into your seats as the pilot tears up for more altitude. Then, it stops.

A quick look out the viewport shows the camp has a small eye centered on it, and you can see a few flashes indicating continuing fighting. But
what draws the most attention is the complete devastation of the camp. Formerly neat rows of tents lie strewn across the grounds, some over
the barbed wire perimeter. The command buildings are half collapsed, the communications building is on fire.

And somewhere, at the center of it all, is the Sith Lord who is causing all of this. His presence now burns in your minds, icy cold, but you are
already growing numb to it. You can't localize him.

"Trucks moving away to the northwest, fighting in the northern quadrant of the base," reports the pilot. "Looks rather quiet everywhere else."

"Okay, drop us off south of the admin building. We'll sweep across the base from that side. Have Tiger 2 go meet up with the trucks, three will
land with us. Stay near for air cover."

"Aff. Coming around. Thirty seconds to drop-off."

Below, a robot comes out of the admin building. This one has completely rebuilt its weapon systems, carrying a trio of MANPAD launchers on each
hardpoint. It scans the sky, seeing the two pinnaces circle. Raising an arm and its tail towards them, it lets loose a pair of missiles from each.

"SAM! SAM! SAM!" screams the copilot over the intercom. The craft banks hard left, but its too late. The missiles hit the left repulsor drive and
the left turbine engine, sending shrapnel through the compartment. A private sitting next to Elbram is sliced in two by a turbine blade and
the captain's arm is nearly removed by the same blade. A few other minor injuries are visible, but then you feel the sickening drop as you plummet
out of the sky.

The other pinnace is not nearly as lucky. Both repulsor drives are hit, and it falls like a rock. With minimal control, the pilot manages to nose
dive into the SAM droid, smashing it, pancaking his craft, and skidding the combination through the admin building and out the other side. The
combination lands near a pair of rebuilding droids, who instantly leap on the skidding wreck and begin tearing parts of it out to incorporate into
themselves.

Your pilot does his best, but with only a few seconds to react, the craft hits the ground hard, listing badly to the right. Plowing up dirt, the
nose compacts, the remains of the right wing dig in and the craft flips. And again, and again. Bodies are tossed around the cabin and you hear a
sickening snap followed by a scream and then your whole world goes black.

PBEM 10/21/03

The canvas of the surrounding tents snapped vigorously in the rising wind, their supporting ropes alternately creaking and humming as the storm strained them first one direction, then another. The sun had not yet disappeared below the jagged horizon, but dark clouds spiraling in from all directions blotted it out just as effectively. Burning debris and the few unbroken halogen lamps scattered throughout the base provided fitful illumination, throwing dancing shadows across the rocky ground. Sporadic barks of gunfire continued to stalk the camp, punctuated by the heavy, dull thud of grenades and the occasional staccato roar of ammunition cooking off.

A stinging blizzard of sand and dust masked everything, almost scouring away the acrid stench of burning metals, plastics, and flesh. A few fat raindrops began to fall, driven sporadically across the compound.

A sharp gust caught Quindo Septon as he crossed a thoroughfare between two corrugated plastic shelters, causing him to stumble under the weight of the unconscious Sith he carried. He ignored the stinging wound across his ribs, though it threatened to pull open at the exertion. A pair of Sith swords, one still caked with his blood, were stuck through his belt. They dug painfully into his hip as he shifted his burden slightly and hurried to the shelter of the next alley. Though inconvenient, he could not leave the Sith artifacts behind, any more than he could have left Nakael. Behind his belt, he also carried the Fallen Jedi's lightsaber and a thick tome bound in a iridescent black, covered with the spidery runes of the Sith.

Making his way toward the growling sound of repulsorlift trucks, Quindo moved as quickly and silently as he was capable, avoiding the sounds of fighting and keeping to the shadows. The Force guided him past what his senses could not. Twice already, he had moved behind cover just in time to avoid patrols, one of Hutt soldiers and one of arachnid Sith battle drones.

Lightning suddenly crashed out of the still darkening sky, illuminating the boiling clouds above. Catching only the briefest glimpse of the ominous sky, Quindo realized that the sense of gathering unease that he was feeling was not just highly strung nerves. Above the camp, an inverted cone of spiraling thunderheads gathered, reeling in a mad waltz. Thunder growled, and lightning began striking the ground with uncanny regularity, drowning out the remaining sounds of battle. Still, only a spattering of raindrops fell from above. The Sith were taking action.

Still weary from his battle with Tvlashka and Nakael, Quindo focused inward, hardening his will against detection and attack. Perhaps it was just imagination, but it seemed that the lightning harassing the camp became less tenacious, less directed toward his location. Taking a moment to check Nakael's breathing, Quindo readjusted his one-time companion across his shoulder and continued his trek across the base.

Above the sounds of the storm came the rising whine of approaching engines. Looking up, Quindo could see nothing except clouds illuminated by the continuous lightning. Suddenly, a blaze of yellow light leapt from the ground, piercing the cover above, then another, and another. Bright flashes of red in the clouds stood out apart from the blue-white of the lightning strikes, but the sound of the explosions was lost in the pandemonium of the storm. Chunks of wreckage screamed down out of the sky, secondary flashes of orange and yellow illuminating the clouds above as they crashed on the Eastern side of the sprawling encampment.

Ignoring everything but the burden on his shoulder and the memory of the sound of trucks, Quindo moved to the end of the last alley before the killing grounds surrounding the perimeter of the camp. Catching a glimpse of two personnel carriers parked next to the guard station at the edge of camp, Quindo tensed for a moment and burst from cover. Trusting the Force to warn him of imminent danger, he raced across the cleared ground toward the idling trucks, trying not to stagger under Nakael's weight.

Someone in the truck must have seen him moving. A figure hopped out of the back. In the glare of a nearby lightning strike, the shape resolved into a Nikto male, dressed in the ragged clothes of a refugee and carrying a vicious looking assault carbine. As Quindo approached the vehicle, the refugee raised his rifle and barked a challenge in heavily accented Huttese. Even shouting, the storm drowned out most of the message, and the rest was lost in translation, but the gestures and intent were clear. Quindo lay Nakael on the ground at his feet and raised his hands, gesturing at the lightsaber he carried quite openly. The Nikto approached, making a cursory inspection of Quindo and glancing at Nakael.

" You are... Jedi?" , asked the Nikto in the harsh, clipped tones of his race.

" I am... a friend." , replied Quindo in slow, measured Huttese.

" Come" , barked the alien, turning to dash back to the idling truck. Gathering up Nakael, Quindo covered the last few meters to he waiting truck and lay the prone form gently into the back. The truck began pulling away even before Quindo vaulted into the covered interior.

Glancing around the bed of the vehicle, he could see close to a dozen shadowed forms huddled closely together. The smell of burnt flesh and fear filled the enclosed area. Reaching to his belt, Quindo unfastened a bulky zipper pack, and paused at an abrupt metallic click from his left. Turning to face the barrel of the Nikto's assault rifle, he moved slowly to hand the bundle to the glaring alien. Not able to remember the Huttese word for 'medicine', Quindo instead repeated the words for 'heal' and 'help'.

The Nikto opened the medical bag, rummaging quickly through the contents, and pulled out a package of plastic ampoules, and other small bag filled with pills and powders. Tossing the medical kit aside, the Nikto moved to pocket the drugs. Quindo took advantage of his momentary distraction to reach out and wrench to rifle from the alien's hands. Tossing it aside, Quindo raised his stun pistol and spoke very slowly, eyes blazing with anger. " I need that... to help... your... people. Give." Reaching into the Nikto's vest, he pulled out the drugs and had to resist an urge to pistol whip the glaring alien.

Appalled at his own burning anger, Quindo squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, and realized that he had lost the concentration that had been maintaining his mental shields. Taking a deep breath, he almost gagged at the stench in the truck. Unable to regain the calm needed to shield his mind, Quindo gave up and opened his eyes. Putting down his pistol, he gathered up his medical supplies and pulled out a single plastic ampoule. Pressing it to Nakael's temple, there was a sharp hiss, almost lost in the growl of the storm. Tossing aside the empty vial, Quindo began quickly moving among the refugees, binding wounds, distributing antibiotics, and soothing pain as quickly as possible. Before he had reached a third patient, the sudden clatter of automatic weapon fire sounded ahead of the truck, cutting through a momentary lull in the storm.

The truck slewed sideways and ground to a halt. Quindo leapt from the back of the vehicle and drew his lightsaber. Dashing around the stopped truck, he saw the lead truck, flipped over onto its side, being torn apart by a pair of Sith attack droids. Suddenly, among the carnage, a lightsaber flared blue, rising and falling in a deadly arc. The chatter of machine gun fire fell silent almost as quickly as it had begun. Quindo rushed toward the scene, arriving just in time to see To'iir climbing from the wreckage, helping a small boy out. " To'iir!" , called Quindo above the roar of the storm, " Where are the others?"

To'iir turned, facing Quindo across the shattered wreckage of the truck. Facing him, she dropped into a defensive stance, her lightsaber springing into her hand, flaring to brilliance before she had even grasped it. Turning quickly, Quindo dropped into a deflection stance to meet whatever threat was approaching from behind. As he brought his saber up before him, he saw no obvious dangers, and as quickly realized what was going on. The lightsaber in his hands was not his familiar violet-blue blade. Somehow, in the confusion, he had grasped Nakael's red saber instead of his own. Dropping his guard, shoulders shaking with silent laughter, Quindo turned back toward To'iir to explain.

Rising from the smoke of the wreckage, sensors glowing an angry red, one of the attack droids raised an arm and drew a bead on To'iir's back. " NO!" screamed Quindo. Reaching out with the force, he thrust the droid's arm violently aside as it flared orange. The heavy blaster bolt burned a meter long crater in the ground next to To'iir's feet as she pivoted smoothly and chopped the main body of the droid in half.

Scanning the surrounding terrain for more droids, Quindo quickly deactivated the Sith saber and buried it deeply into a side pocket. Drawing is own, familiar blade, he crossed the last few meters over rocky ground littered with wreckage to join To'iir. Raising his voice to be heard above the storm, he shouted, " Didn't meet to scare you. I grabbed Nakael's saber by mistake. I'm glad you're here!"

To'iir's eyes narrowed briefly. Rather than trying to be heard above the rumbling thunder, she reached out with her mind, WHAT IS YOUR ROLE IN ALL THIS?

Quindo replied in kind. I'M DOING MY BEST TO MINIMIZE CASUALTIES. BEYOND THAT, IT'S A LONG STORY. YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO TRUST ME.
To'iir did not seem very convinced, but there were other matters at hand. HELP ME GET THESE PEOPLE OUT OF HERE. IS THE OTHER TRUCK FUNCTIONAL?

I THINK SO. THE DRIVER WAS JUST SPOOKED. AS LONG AS WE DON'T RUN INTO ANY MORE OF THESE DROIDS. I THOUGHT YOU'D GOTTEN THEM ALL, WHERE DID THAT ONE COME FROM?

To'iir shrugged as she moved among the wounded, directing the least injured to help the others back toward the waiting repulsorlift carrier, IT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST TWO. MUST NOT HAVE BEEN DISABLED AS THOROUGHLY AS I THOUGHT. YOU SAID NAKAEL'S LIGHTSABER. HOW DID YOU COME BY THAT? IS HE...

Quindo interrupted before she had a chance to complete the thought, HE'S FINE. HE'S IN THE OTHER TRUCK. I DRUGGED HIM, SO HE SHOULD BE OUT FOR ABOUT FOUR HOURS. I'LL TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT LATER. CAN YOU TAKE THESE PEOPLE SOMEWHERE SAFE? I HAVE A DISTINCT FEELING THAT I NEED TO GET BACK TO THAT CAMP.

As she helped the last of the refugees into the waiting vehicle, To'iir turned to her one-time student. She placed her hand briefly on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. I THINK WE ARE ALL IN FOR A LONG TALK AFTER THIS IS OVER. NOW GO DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO.

She hopped up into the truck and thumped hard against the side, signaling the driver. Shifting into gear, it slid away, picking up speed gradually and kicking up a fantail of gravel and sand. Pausing a moment to watch it disappear over a ridge in the barren landscape, Quindo took a deep breath and nearly choked on the grit in the air.

Two black arachnid forms rose from the wreckage of the first truck. One turned and raced off in the direction of the refugees while the other pivoted a tail mounted turret in Quindo's direction. A low thud, barely audible above the storm, coincided with a muted flash from the turret. He threw himself to the side as a grenade round exploded nearby, raking him with shrapnel. Simultaneously, one of the droid's arms tracked after him, stitching the ground with blaster fire.

Gathering his energies, Quindo flung a desperate mental cry toward To'iir as he rolled behind a rocky rise. THEY'RE SELF-REPAIRING!!

Quindo rose to a couch, readying his lightsaber as blood oozed from small abrasions on his forearms and cheek. He ducked lower, pulling a grenade from his belt, as another round exploded nearby. Tossing it over the hillock, Quindo rose swiftly from his crouch, directly into the stream of incoming blaster bolts. His lightsaber whirled around him, returning two of the barrage and blocking the rest. The droid's torso disintegrated as the ammo chamber of grenades detonated from a direct hit. Without pause, he hurried forward and cut the remaining pieces into slag.

He prepared to sprint after the second droid, and stopped as reassurance flowed into him from To'iir. THANKS FOR THE WARNING QUINDO. I GOT IT LONG BEFORE IT CLOSED WITH THE TRUCK. CATCH UP WHEN YOU CAN.

Racing back toward the demolished and burning camp, Quindo probed gently for familiar mental signatures. Unburdened now, he passed swiftly across the cratered wasteland, closely skirting the base. Paradoxically, as he ran, he felt the weariness draining out of body. A renewing energy flowed into him as his awareness settled into the rhythmic motion of his pounding feet and pumping lungs. All too soon, he came over a slight rise to see the smoking remains of a crashed aircraft. He slowed, feeling exhaustion creep back into his muscles as he scanned the area for survivors.

Approaching the still smoldering heap of twisted metal, Quindo could see another crashed ship buried in the remains of a corrugated metal building well inside the camp. An abrupt twinge of familiarity tweaked his senses at the same moment a knot of humanoid shapes moved out of the sheltering cluster of temporary housing. Quindo shot a mental query across the intervening distance, IGASHU?

Silhouetted by the glow of still burning wreckage, a figure raised an arm and waved it vigorously over it's head, QUINDO! YOU MADE IT! YOU'RE NOT EVIL YET ARE YOU?

Laughing, Quindo ran to join his friends.

Game LOG 10/21/03

2.21.4787 Republic Reckoning
Meanwhile:
After the crash, Igashu destroys the first droid that pokes its head into the rubble. While the group focuses on pulling survivors out of the wreckage, Elbram notices that the droid is repairing itself and they all help chop it into little pieces.

After organizing the survivors and issuing heavy weapons, the group makes their way toward the second crashed Pennace. It's swarming with Sith battle droids. They're pulling apart anything mechanical to improve their weaponry.

Igashu senses two survivors in the wreckage, which eliminates the plan to bombard the wreck with mortars and rockets from a distance. A new plan forms. Dabai gathers Hutt troops and heavy weapons and lays an ambush, while Igashu decides to bait the droids with a tasty flamethrower he finds. Reasoning that the droids will chase a new weapon, Igashu stealths towards the crashed Pennace and get within 20 meters. Then he jumps up and down and fires the flamethrower in the air, singing " Yummy Flamethrower!" .

All 4 droids take off in hot pursuit, Igashu fleeing toward the ambush site, his brass balls clanging with every step. Bullets and blaster fire chew up the ground at his feet and on both sides, only coming close enough to graze a leg without doing any actual damage.

Suddenly, the Hutt troops and Dabai fire from cover, destroying 2 driods with man portable rocket launchers. Elbram jumps into the fray as Igashu drops the flamethower and turns to bring up his lightsaber.
Elbram cuts one droid completely in half with one lucky blow. The last surviving droid sprays the area with gunfire and manages to kill one Hutt trooper who didn't know the meaning of the word " cover" .

In very short order, the last droid is killed, and all the pieces carved up into tiny chunks of metal.

They head back toward the first Pennace with the survivors, and meet up with Quindo.

Game LOG 10/28/03

2.21.4787 Republic Reckoning
The party decided to track down At!tck, who had the droid controller, to wrest control of the Sith battle droids from the Sith. Only reliable way to deactivate ALL the remaining droids. Quindo tried to sense the bug's location and was unsuccessful. Bro'jen shifted his senses into the radio band and located an AM beacon which we supposed to be the droid controller.
Col. D'han showed up, everyone else hid around a corner, while Quindo argued that joining forces, or at least obtaining D'han's cooperation in gathering survivors and securing an evacuation site, would be the best course of action.
Igashu was most adamant about wanting to let D'han go screw. The rest wanted to avoid a possible conflict. So Quindo approached him alone.
The brief encounter was strained and largely unproductive, but civil.
D'han moved off to secure an evacuation site, and promised retribution at some unspecified later date.

An attack droid appeared, following D'han's retreat. Quindo and Elbram decide to hold off the driod while Igashu and Bro'jen went to find At!tck. Igashu located a light tank and got it running, but was attacked by another droid. Trying to shake it off the tank, get drove PAST Q and E on a collision course with the first droid, and got hammered by a missile launcher and heavy machine gun. The tank crashed, injuring Igashu and damaging the droid that was clinging to it, but missed the first droid.

Quindo crossed the remaining distance, dodging machine gun fire and managed to chop the thing into itty-bitty pieces. Elbram tried to finish off the droid damaged by the crash, but it got away.

Bro'jen pulled Igashu from the wreck and stabilized him. Everyone able to poured healing energies into Igashu while Quindo located a truck. Dabai returned alone. (He'd been on perimeter sweep with some Hutt troops we'd gathered). He told us that 1) The Hutts were pulling out to the south. 2) The Rebel Slaves were pulling out to the North, probably with the Sith.
Also, an incoming freighter had been shot down and another had escaped the system. The general consensus was that the escaping freighter was Sith, possibly Garek Brynn.

Igashu asked the question "Did we ever remember to tell the Hutts that Altair was following in his freighter? Oh shit!"
Q - "There's no way that could have been Altair, he'd still be days behind us!"

Bro'jen sensed for his teacher and located him wounded and unconscious about 200 km West. We contacted To'iir, who had escaped to the East with Nakael and some refugees. She insists that she's capable of handling Nakael alone, and her ship is North through the mountains, past the rebel slaves.

We get the truck running and head West, driving in shifts, to pick up Altair.

2.22.4787 Republic Reckoning
We get there, stabilize him as much as possible, immobilize him to a board and set out to rendezvous with To'iir's ship.
Altair's injuries are extensive. His right arm and shoulder are crushed, ribs broken, punctured lung, possible concussion, and minor internal bleeding.

2.25.4787 Republic Reckoning
Two days north, the truck breaks down. We decide to make for the mountains and then wait for To'iir to pick us up.
Altair keeps getting worse. The heat is getting to him despite our best efforts to keep him hydrated and cool. Quindo makes the diagnosis. It becomes obvious that his liver is damaged and he's going into toxic septicemia.

The only solution is dialysis and a series of liver enzymes until the liver can repair itself. Of course, we don't have those things... but the Force may serve. One can detoxify poisons in the body, we may be able to detoxify them in him. Nobody has the ability to do it, but Bro'jen attempts and succeeds!
It's only a temporary solution, but To'iir should arrive within a day with the ship, and her med bay should be better than field medicine.

2.26.4787 Republic Reckoning
When she does arrive, her takeoff had been detected by the Hutts who scrambled fighters. We get on quick and Bro'jen and Quindo lug Altair straight to the Med Bay while Elbram takes comms. Dabai and Igahsu man the guns. Nakael is in the cockpit with To'iir, so far being a model prisoner.

Altair gets pumped full of liver enzymes, binders, and fluids, his injuries are re-bandaged and set, and he's given a strong dose anti-septic drugs (probably heat-shock proteins. They cushion proteins against damage from high heat and reactive species... which should prevent further damage to Altair's delicate internal organs, giving him a chance to heal.)

The fighters approach while To'iir is making for a hyperspace launch vector. Elbram bluffs, claiming that we're chasing Sith as per Col. D'han's orders. The pilots buy it and check in. They come back and say that our status has been revoked and we're to report back to the Command Ship immediately. Come around to heading ... XYZ.
Elbram stalls "What were those coordinates again?"
"X by Y and Z."
Elbram - "You're breaking up. Let me speak to Col. D'han."
"Wait a minute! You're just stalling! Open fire!"

Missile lock.... and we jump to hyperspace.
We've managed to save ONE Hutt slave, from To'iir's rebellion. A female human named Arden Chistor.

PBEM 11/04/03

2.27.4787 Republic Reckoning
Quindo quietly walked up behind Igashu, who was working on creating some sort of culinary disaster in the galley of To'iir's new ship, Misplaced
Hope. "I need you to get Elbram, Bro'jen, and Dabai to the airlock in five minutes."

"Why? I was just making lunch for the crew and I don't want to burn anything..."

"I need to use the airlock to properly place a few things." Quindo said evenly, but pointedly.

"Oh. Yeah. Let me just turn off the heating element here. I'll meet you there. Five minutes." Igashu walked off, past Nakael who calmly walked
into the galley.

"Quindo," Nakael said with a slight bow as he moved to the refrigerator and pulled out a container of milk. Opening it, he gave it a careful
sniff before replacing it in the refrigerator and moving to get a glass of water instead.

Quindo looked at Nakael, trying desperately to keep an even face. "I think Igashu was about to make lunch for everyone. If you wait around
here, then I'm sure you'll be welcome to join in." He was sure that Nakael could see right through him, though it wasn't really lying.
Just... changing the subject. But there hadn't been a subject to change. Well, sort of...

"Oh, thank you for telling me. I guess I will wait around. He forget a cookbook or something?"

"Or...something. Yes. Told me to make sure things didn't burn. But now that you're here, I can go off. Back in a moment." Quindo quickly left.

Nakael calmly drank his water, refilled his glass, turned the heater on, then off, and sat down at the small table. He pulled out a book and began
to read about "How to make interspecies relationships work: A practical guide."

* * *

Game LOG 11/04/03

2.30.4787 Republic Reckoning
Three days to Nar Shatta.
The Hutt fleet moves beyond the borders of the Republic and begins raids on border worlds. They blame the Republic for Jedi terrorist acts. There is a bounty on our heads or 200,000 credits each (10% bonus if brought in alive). We're worth 1.2 million dead. Yay.

We have to go to Nar Shatta to refuel. The hope is that we can sneak in and out without notice. As soon as we near landing, 2 ships attack. We're deep in the city and stray shots have a habit of hitting tall buildings. To'iir tries to pilot us outside the city while we're shot at. Nakael mind controls one of the offending pilots, causing him to dive into an office building. Quindo accidentally strafes another building. I hope it's Saturday.

Bro'jen knocks Nakael unconscious for using the Dark Side on our enemies. We're hit a few times before we make it outside the city. More fighters join the fray.

To'iir pilots between really big trees. Neither Igashu or Quindo manage to shoot anyone down, but all the enemy pilots eventually crash trying to follow To'iir. In the process, our hyperdrive is damaged by blaster fire, our guns are destroyed by a missile, and a large hole gets blown in the galley, injuring Nakael.

Quindo and Elbram [singing]: " There's a hole in your starship, dear To'iir, dear To'iir. There's a hole in your starship, dear To'iir, a hole."

Igashu: " That was an awfully gentle landing for getting shot down! You're getting better at that To'iir!"

We assess the damage and Elbram, Bro'jen, To'iir, and Dabai go into town for parts.
Quindo drugs Nakael for now.

Quindo and Igashu stay to monitor Altair and Nakael. They talk about their actions on Holgam and try to resolve their implications. Igashu mentions the names of the prisoners who were killed, and Quindo suspects that Kaleb Corvan may have been the man he was looking for.

Arden Chistor confirms that Kaleb was married to Genevieve Aubergene, Quindos' mother! Quindo decks Igashu and accidentally breaks his jaw. He apologizes profusely and sets the bone, offers to let Igashu hit him. Igashu declines. They talk, meditate, and spar, reconciling by the time the others return.

Game LOG 11/11/03

2.30.4787 Republic Reckoning
Altair wakes up. Igashu makes soup.

In the city, Bro'jen, To'iir, Elbram, and Dabai are being followed.
Bro'jen, To'iir, and Elbram duck down a side alley, Dabai hides extremely well. Elbram turns into the alley to see, ANOTHER BOUNTY HUNTER. He raises his finger to his lips and says " Shhhhhh" . The hunter looks surprised, but quickly brings his gun to bear.

A total of 8 bounty hunters have our heroes surrounded in the alleyway. The leader tells them to surrender, as they are surrounded. (Unbeknownst to them, Dabai is outside to circle, hidden close by, with an automatic weapon.)
To'iir smiles, " Do you think Jedi would place myself so easily into your hands! You are surrounded, leave or die."

Suddenly, gunfire erupts from nearby. The leader's left leg is blown out at the knee by an unseen assailant (heh).
Everyone starts firing. Bro'jen is hit, but takes only superficial damage from 3 rounds that graze him painfully. I think To'iir kills someone, but the rest are disarmed and chased off. Elbram accidentally staves in one poor guy's skull, and they bring him back to the ship to treat his injuries.

" You know Elbram, incompetence is a way to the Dark Side."

To'iir steals a HumVee " It was the cheapest rental they had!" , and they all come back to the ship with parts.

Meanwhile, Igashu gets a message to his old Master Chinook, about Nakael's Master coming to Holgam. He hopes it will get relayed to the Council on Coruscant. Quindo notices damage to the fuel purge valve.

Quindo and Bro'jen treat the bounty hunter's injuries and everyone begins work on the ship. Dabai runs off and hides in the woods in camo, just in case.
To'iir - " What's wrong with him?"
Elbram - " I think he's got PRE-traumatic stress disorder."

Nobody likes Quindo's idea of cannibalizing the life support for parts to fix the guns.
Suddenly, the fuel valve breaks, dumping a huge cloud of super cooled hydrogen. Tomorrow morning we need to get a new valve and schedule a fuel truck.

2.31.4787 Republic Reckoning
Quindo and Igashu go into town under false names (Jon Aubergene and Marcus Athoni) to get food, medical supplies, a fuel valve, and fuel. Quindo convinces Igashu to help him track down his mother's whereabouts. After several hours, Quindo finds a hot dog vendor and returns with lunch.
Quindo - " I got you a hot dog."
Igashu - " Thanks! Here's your father's local address. Hey, this is a good hot dog."

It seems that Genevieve Corvan lived in the apartment until 2 years ago, she couldn't pay her rent so she got shipped down to Nal Hutta to work off her debt as a servant to Momudu. Quindo gets a box with some personal effects.

The two get supplies and arrange for a fuel truck to meet them at a rendezvous point then they will lead him to the ship (to minimize the risk of revealing their location).

Igashu - " The ship's actually this way."
Driver - " Then why did you have me drive all the way out here?"
Igashu - " It's our navigator's fault, he got his directions confused."
Driver - " Sounds like you need a new navigator."

Quindo decides to make sure the driver doesn't leave or call for backup.

Quindo - " I've never ridden in a fuel truck before, can I ride with you?"
Driver - " Uh.. ok."
Quindo - " Can I blow the horn?"
Driver - " Uh.. No."
Quindo - " Then, can you blow the horn?"
Driver - " No, now shut up kid."

When we get to the ship, the driver gets worried.

Driver - " What happened to your ship? Looks like you were in a hell of a firefight."
Igashu - " Actually, all the carbon scoring is re-entry damage. Our pilot had a little problem."
Driver - " Sounds like you need a new pilot too."

We start the refueling process, but then an armored truck pulls up and 5 bounty hunters jump out. They threaten to blow up the fuel truck and everyone with it if we don't surrender. We convince them to let the truck driver leave with the rest of To'iir's ship fund. To'iir says that we can't take off with the fuel truck attached and the bounty hunters won't let us near the truck or fuel line.
Dabai is still hiding in the trees, and has a good view of two other bounty hunters on our opposite side with rocket launchers. We're pretty screwed.

Quindo gets an idea. (Never a good sign)

Game LOG 11/18/03

2.31.4787 Republic Reckoning
We left off with our intrepid heroes caught between a sharp, hot thing (Bounty Hunters with incendiary bullets and anti-tank missiles) and an explosive, cold thing (liquid H2). Quindo, having thought fast, has disengaged the fuel truck from the ship and continues acting as quick as possible by throwing the truck into gear and before it stalls, flooring the gas pedal. The truck starts off and so does the shooting.

In only a semblance of order, Dabai fires and doesn't do anything to the main bounty hunter due to his armor, Bro'jen smacks a flying grenade out of midair harmlessly into the ground using Telekinesis, To'iir and Elbram divert anti-tank missiles from striking the truck, although Elbram diverts his into the ship instead, and our ex slave Arden opens up full-auto with an unused assault rifle. Adjusting fire, Dabai takes out the missileers, then leaves his tree as soon as as he realizes the tanker truck is heading right at him. To'iir uses Burst of Speed and crosses the 100m to the hunters almost instantly, slicing and dicing once she arrives, and Arden takes out another after reloading. Quindo tries to steer the truck towards the hunters, but ultimately fails and crashes the thing into the next tree over from Dabai. Luckily it doesn't explode, it just vents.

"The best way to drive" for Quindo -- outside of the vehicle.

With their leader in at least two pieces and half their number dead, the Hunters quickly surrender. Dabai relieves them of some of their weapons, and destroys the rest. To'iir sums up everyone's feelings when she declares "I hate this planet. We're leaving."

And so the Misplaced Hope leaves for Galzocxia, a nearby non-Hutt world where To'iir knows of a Jedi who may be able to help in that one teensy-weensy matter of Nakael's Master showing up in ten days. But it takes a day to get there.

2.32.4787 Republic Reckoning
Galzocxia has just been raided by Hutt forces, who used orbital artillery to march a team straight into the main city, loot the museum of all kinds of pre-Hutt and early-Hutt artifacts, and leave before the Republic fleet arrived. So they find the city devastated and Elbram and Dabai go off to find the Jedi Pesha T'valii, an archaeologist/professor, while Bro'jen, Altair, and Quindo assist with the wounded.

Knight T'valii is eventually found, and Dabai tries to explain the situation to her. Elbram explains it a bit better: "He's pleasantly Evil. He's here in fact, on the ship. You can talk to him later." And "Yeah, we went after the Holocron to keep it out of the wrong hands. Then Nakael became the wrong hands." (referring to Nakael, of course)

Pesha is aware of all the characters have done to start this war, and makes some poor comments, but apologizes and then directs everyone towards a Guardian on Binada, another nearby world. She's busy dealing with the survivors here.

Dabai coordinates the withdrawal of the heroes, ending up giving blood...again. This time only one pint, and he gets cookies.

En route to Binada (another day of travel), the Elbram discusses with Arden the effects of his Mistake and the Hutt mindset. Then, Nakael wakes up.

PBEM 11/20/03

2.32.4787 Republic Reckoning

Nakael awoke from a dream about a vast library, and was momentarily disappointed. Then he realized that he didn't remember how he got to be in the medical bunk. Concerned, he went over recent events in his mind. There was the attack by the bounty hunters on approach to Nar Shadda, the fight with Bro'jen over defending the ship (he didn't really get that one, but he had seen it coming), and then... here. They were obviously underway, judging by the sound of the engines.

Since he hadn't gotten all the bounty hunters, perhaps one had gotten a hit in, and the damage had knocked him unconscious. That must be it. He hadn't foreseen To'iir's incompetence, and so therefore, while okay, took a small bump to the head. They must be running away now, so he may have been out for a little while. But at least they showed true friendship and didn't ditch him for such a trifling little fight. The piloting skills of the group may require work though.

With a yawn, he swung himself out of bed, removed the IV drips, and proceeded towards the galley for food, but it appeared that the rest of the ship was more or less deserted. Picking up a manual on engine repair he found, he looked in the fridge and decided just to have dry cereal judging by his experience with the milk last time. He sat down for breakfast.

* * *

Quindo woke up with his alarm, and got ready to go wake Nakael up. Couldn't be long now. Getting his lightsaber and a spare syringe of tranquilizer, he went next door. And nearly screamed when he saw the empty bed. A quick look with the Force had him running towards the galley. "Bastard Sithboy woke up early..." he muttered to himself as he hustled across the ship...