[RoSM: Clan Scholae Palatinae - Team BMW]

Posting

• Each team will create one (1) thread on Discourse under the Run-On category. All members posts are to be published to the discourse thread in order to count for credit.
• All Discourse threads should have a tag: [RoSM: Clan - TeamName]
• Any member posting twice in a row will disqualify their team from placing.
• Posts must meet the following requirements: ** Minimum post length: 250 +/- 10 words words ** Maximum post length: None
• Edits may occur on a post until a follow-on post has been made (follow on posts include “reserving” a space). Edits may only be made by the posts original author (as in, if you have Forum Administration Rights, you cannot edit another member’s work).
• Members may reserve post, but no posts can occur until after the reserved post is written.

Objective Selected:
Sabotage path

Team Roster:

Belarius Pwyll: Snapshot
Mune Cinteroph: Snapshot
Wagglehorn: Snapshot

Resources:
Competition Page
RoS Run-on Wiki
Relationship Document

Phase I objectives

‘‘Phase I begins on October 14th and ends on October 28th (two (2) weeks)’’

After intercepting a transmission from the now destroyed Brotherhood Listener ship, the Psi Termina I, your team has been hand-picked and sent on a mission. You are already boarded on the Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser Akan, arriving in an Imperial boarding craft through the auxiliary starboard hangar, only several decks below your target. The Akan’s hyperdrives and major systems have been disabled by ion cannons from escorting ships and a battle still rages outside.

The ship’s power fluctuates with every blow from turbo lasers and ion cannons and you have limited time to complete your mission. The Collective regiment typically onboard is currently deployed, but ship security is fully staffed and some elements of the regiment may still be onboard. Intel expects Soldiers and Partisans onboard.

Your team has been tasked to complete one of the following objectives in limited time (you may complete only one (1) objective):

• Revenge path: Reach the main bridge, face and eliminate Captain Brith Kayle and extract valuable information from the computer core before the fleet destroys the ship.

• Sabotage path: Reach the primary computer core behind the main bridge, extract the information and set the ship to self-destruct before extracting.

• Pacifist path: Reach the primary environmental controls on the main bridge, pacify the whole ship with Stun gas before extracting data from the computer core and calling in the cavalry.

Caution: the Captain is accompanied by an unknown number of enemy combatants.

The Phase must end with the bridge secured and the ship either pacified or destroyed. In all but the Revenge path, the Captain’s fate is up to you.

TIE/br Boarding Shuttle
On Approach
36 ABY

A hellfury of laser fire and explosions were exchanged across the plain of wild space between the Dark Jedi Brotherhood and the Collective forces. Despite the carnage that erupted around the flight of TIE/br boarding shuttles, none of the four vessels abandoned their pursuit of the Dreadnaught-class Heavy Cruiser that grew within their pilots’ viewports. The feed over the com was a mesh of panicked voices and static, eerily descriptive of the sacrifices being made by others so the flight could deliver their load to the Akan. Yet, this paled to the eeriness of the silence that consumed the troop hold of the lead shuttle.

It had been a month since Clan Scholae Palatinae had fought the Mexaris for control of Marq, yet that still hadn’t been enough time for many to recover from the painful event that accompanied the discovery that Mexaris had been working with Collective agents. For some, like the Shistavanen and Lasat that sat stoically to either side of the exit, they continued to carry a visible pain of loss and always seemed to have a harsh undertone to everything they said or did. For others, like Belarius Pwyll - the newly minted Proconsul of the clan, it left them in an awkward position having not known the former Grand Vizier but now having to assume the duties of the clan in its conflict with the Collective.

When the ship had finally came to a rest in the Akan’s hanger, it was Belarius that was first to his feet. Making his way to the landing ramp while others stood and readied themselves, the new Grand Vizier quickly slapped the arm of the Lasat and nodded at the Shistavanen. Only two words came from Belarius before he charged down the ramp with lightsabers ignited and a chorus of men and women that followed behind him.

“For Raiju.”

Dreadnaught-class Heavy Cruiser Akan
Auxiliary Starboard Hangar Bay
36 ABY

If it hadn’t been for the immediate threat on the other side of the landing ramp, Wagglehorn would be scoffed and rolled his eyes at the berserk charge of the new Proconsul. For the past half hour no one had said anything to each other; not to mention - Wagglehorn had never even spoken with the Arkanian human before. To then be approached and told this was all for the recently departed Nautolan…

“Who frak does he think he is?” The Lasat muttered to himself, shaking the insult from his mind as he cautiously advanced down the landing ramp with his slugthrower drawn. This time, he kept his next thought to himself.

Then again, I should know better than to think Sith and Jedi understand us non-users.

To the Sith’s credit though, Wagglehorn was pleasantly surprised to find the immediate area around the landing ramp to be cleared. After the Sith Warlord had advanced down the landing ramp, Belarius had been followed by the Shistavanen Rollmaster, Mune Cinteroph-Palpatine, and his Sephi lover, Caleb Wild’en, and the trio had made short work of the unfortunate Collective troops that had initially challenged the Brotherhood’s landing. Ducking under the wing of boarding shuttle, Wagglehorn trotted to the other side to catch a glimpse of the other Brotherhood ships. Directly to their right, another boarding shuttle gracefully came to a halt above it’s landing spot with it’s ramp already extended. While it slowly descended to the ground, several Brotherhood troopers were already positioned out of the ramp and were providing covering fire to the advancing trio. However, things seemed to be less stable on the left side of the auxiliary hanger.

While the Warlord, Shistavanen, and Sephi pushed towards the rear of the hanger; the final two boarding shuttles entered the hanger to the left side of their flight leader. Yet, one of them seemed to have taken a toll on approached and just kind of limped into the hanger before immediately dropping towards the hanger floor. The painful sound of twisting metal rang through hanger bay but was immediately drowned out by the other shuttle reaving its engines to make an emergency maneuver away from the crash site.

“Oh, no…” Were the only words Wagglehorn could muster as he watched the chaos unfold. First, the shuttle revved it’s engines and fired off thrusters to gain height over the crash but the pilot had overcompensated for the height needed and slammed into the ceiling of the hanger bay. As broken catwalks and other debris rained from the carnage, the shuttle twisted in the air and pointed itself directly towards the hanger’s control tower where a Collective squad had set up a repeating blaster as a defensive position. Taking advantage of the shuttle’s misfortune, the team on the repeating blaster immediately laid into the cockpit of the blundering shuttle and shredded its crew. At this point, all that Wagglehorn could do was watch as the shuttle proceeded forward from its momentum and slammed into the hanger’s turbolift shaft - blocking any chance for a direct assault from the hanger to the bridge.

“Someone take out those fraken repeaters!” Mune shouted above the din.

The Sephi wasted no time. He took a knee and readied his Oathbreaker. The shot rang out sharp against the racket of heavy fire. The firing of one of the repeaters stopped abruptly. A soldier’s head snapped back before he doubled over with blood running in thin rivulets from a gaping hole in his helmet’s visor. Caleb chambered the next round and took aim. The shot rang and another head snapped back and the man tumbled over the railing of a catwalk to crash to the floor below upon a handful of additional Collective agents.

Mune turned his attention on the destroyed lift. They were not salvaging the route easily if at all. He heard the crack of another round from the Sephi’s rifle shot and distantly sensed the fall of another agent. His mind raced to map out what he could recall of the ship layout and any alternative routes.

Belarius was at his side and deflecting a blast that nearly took the Shistavanen in the hip. He turned an irritated eye on the Shistavanen, “Are you sleeping?”

Wagglehorn took up a position by Caleb and fired into an agent that took notice of them. He followed Caleb’s aim and saw another agent took out and the repeater was left unmanned. “Nice shooting.”

“They’ll be on us if we are held up here much longer,” Caleb slung the oathbreaker once more across his back.

The Shistavanen motioned with a flick of his muzzle. “This way, I have an idea.”

Together, the group dashed forward through the chaos. Belarius deflected more than a handful of the bolts directed to take them out. Mune lunged forward, one of his lightsabers momentarily burst to life just long enough to divorce a man from his right leg. The weapon was as quickly disengaged and the Shistavanen leapt onto a dangerously drooping bit of catwalk. The steel screeched in anguish, twisting unhealthily. Mune charged up the incline until he disappeared over the top.

Belarius motioned for the Sephi and Lasat to follow. With the help of what remained of the twisted railing, they made their way to the top. The human was soon behind. He cut the remaining supports with a powerful swing of his lightsaber. Down it crashed with a near-deafening ring of metal.

Mune motioned to a grate that blocked their path and Belarius got to work, shooting the Shistavanen a questioning glance. “I am trying to map our route. I need to think,” Mune explained.

The Human rolled his eyes and held his lightsaber steady while cutting through the steel.

Dreadnaught-class Heavy Cruiser Akan
Command Bridge
36 ABY

Wagglehorn watched the Shistavanen grow more and more agitated as the moved through the cramped space of the conduits. Caleb was distracted by comforting the furred Force user, so it was up to he and Belarius to follow the stuttering directions from the Rollmaster. Further, into the ship, they voyaged until they found themselves parallel the command bridge. Wagglehorn motioned for quiet and heard commands being shouted. They were nearly upon their target. They gathered outside the grate and eyed the movement beyond. They all knew at once what they would need to do.

“This will be messy,” Caleb whispered in barely audible tones to his companions.

Wagglehorn nodded, “Mune, you holding up?”

“Yea. Just… tight spaces,” He tried to grin but it was nearer a grimace.

The two gunmen triple checked their guns before giving a nod. Belarius drew upon the Force, Mune with him and together they grasped the grating that barred their path. It shuddered then trembled and finally, with a ping of bolts wrenched free, the grate ripped free from its seating. There was no time for hesitation. Caleb and Wagglehorn both leapt from the opening even as blasters became trained upon their position. Mune and Belarius came from behind and together they ripped the trained weapons from the hands of the nearest Collective agents. Another man got off a shot, Mune reacted quickest and the Force rippled before him before the blasts crashed against his barrier.

Wagglehorn was upon the man and with the squeeze of a trigger, the agent went down. The bridge erupted into panicked alarm. He counted a dozen, seemed many had been called away to deal with a number of emergencies erupting throughout the vessel. Seems others got through. The Lasat grinned.

Caleb fired a shot through the shoulder of a man only to twist and fire with his second pistol to take out another that was raising a blaster to fire upon the intruders. The Sephi finished off his first assailant with a second shot to the skull. Blood painted the gleaming monitor behind, and broken, the agent folded to the blood. The two Force users needn’t had moved, Wagglehorn and Caleb both handily taking out the enemy. It was only moments before they stood amongst the grim and bloody mess, the bridge clear.

Caleb reloaded and remarked upon a cursory glance of one of the terminals, “We may have ten, maybe fifteen minutes, tops.”

Belarius was already walking towards the rear of the bridge, “They’ll realize the command bridge has gone silent and send soldiers sooner rather than later. Let’s remember why we’re doing this, people, and get the job done.”

Wagglehorn grinned triumphantly as he glanced around the lifeless bridge. He cast a sidelong glance at the new proconsul, Belarius, behind him. See, boss? I don’t NEED the force to fwec things up. Caleb lowered his twin slugthrowers and sighed with relief.

As Belarius strode towards a flickering terminal placed just adjacent to the center of the bridge, his armored boots clamping loudly on the plated deck. Mune glanced out the viewport, seeing the silent, screaming battle taking place outside the Akan. A seemingly staccato rhythm of blaster fire echoed throughout the ship, evidencing the sporadic fights that had broken out throughout the ship.

Wagglehorn followed Belarius to the terminal, adrenaline slowly ebbing. The screen in front of them was a flickering mess of data.

“Can you fix it, Wags?”, Belarius asked as he turned to face Wagglehorn.

“Absolutely”, grunted Wagglehorn. He took a knee and began to pry open the panel just below the terminal. Glancing around, he began to gather his supplies – the rank cylinder from a dead officer on the floor next to him, a strip of leather from a boot, a roll of wire he snagged from the maintenance shaft, and many other odds and ends. With that, he went to work to restore the terminal.

Mune arched his eyebrows at the display but kept quiet. He learned long ago that it was never good to question a surgeon during surgery. Closing his eyes, he used the Force and reached out into the ship, trying to gain a sense for what was going on in the vicinity. Caleb checked and re-checked his slugthrowers nervously. Belarius followed Mune’s lead but focused his efforts on trying to gain a sense for how the battle outside the ship was progressing.

Time seemed to crawl. Seconds slowly turned into minutes. The minutes seemed to never end. Noises continued to come from the underside of the terminal as Wagglehorn continued his work, muttering to himself as he went.

“Just about there…”, Wagglehorn said. “Got it!”, he exclaimed triumphantly. The screen stopped flickering and came to life. Without a second glance, Wagglehorn immediately sat down to run the sabotage subroutine.

“Two minutes and we can get out of here!”, he said, relieved.

In that instant, both Mune and Belarius stood up, visibly shaken from their reverie by the shared sense of imminent danger. Lightsabers ignited and they took defensive positions. Their eyes snapped to the main entrance to the command bridge. Startled, Caleb followed their gaze and levelled his twin slug throwers at the seemingly silent metal door.

“He’s here”, Mune growled.

The door snapped open and blaster fire poured into the command bridge. Brith Kayle had returned to take command of the Akan.

“Keep at it Wagglehorn. I’ll cover your position,” Mune put himself between the door and the terminal the privateer was working diligently upon. He shared a glance with Caleb.

The Sephi was already moving. He vaulted a bank of terminals and landed in a deep crouch. He fired into two soldiers as they attempted an entrance into the command bridge, slugs taking them full in the throats. Blood spattered the cold steel as they went down. The Sephi rolled under the slew of fire that rained upon them. He found himself under the door’s control panel and nodded to the Shistavanen. He got to work, drawing his vibroblade and working at prying open the panel.

Belarius focused on deflecting fire from the enemy. When openings presented themselves, he skillfully redirected a blaster bolt to take out one of their assailants. He wove a defensive net with his saber, deflecting and redirecting where he could. No motion was wasted, every action agile and calculated. The human sought the opportunity he needed to take out Brith but his men kept him well protected. “Mune!”

“Brith is not our target,” the Shistavanen reminded tersely. He had more difficulty redirecting the blaster bolts than the human, using a form he was not nearly as familiar with as he was Jar’kai. He could not leave Wagglehorn undefended to go hacking and slashing as he was wont to do. Thoughts of cutting a path to Brith was tempting but he was better than to fall for the urge to cut down the Collective captain. There will other battles, he reminded himself. He and Belarius need only distract while Caleb worked on the blast doors. It meant however that they’d need to leave the way they had come, back through the terribly cramped ventilation ducts. “How’s it coming?”

Wagglehorn grunted but wasted no breath on words. He kept at his task, unwavering in his determination. Perspiration beaded upon the fur of his brow. A nasty grin darkened his features. Alerts flashed across the terminals, the self-destruct was initiated.

At that same moment, Caleb twisted a final few wires and the blast doors came slamming into place with a loud clang. “That should keep them out.”

“How long do we have?” Belarius inquired.

“Hopefully, long enough to get out, but not long enough for them to find a way to fix the problem.” Wagglehorn continued to grin.

Belarius nodded and motioned for them to move. Move they did, hurrying back to their point of entry to disappear amongst the ducts once more. Into the bowels of the ship they hurried while occasionally glancing the time remaining on their datapads. They were urged on by the very high possibility that they could very well blow themselves up with the ship if they did not escape in time. It was a probable eventuality that none of them wished to dwell too long upon. Nor did any of them want to think on how irritating Mune’s twitching and agitated mutterings were becoming in the tight space.

“Mune, would you stop that,” Belarius uttered to him in the gloom.

Mune’s lips curled back in a vicious snarl but fell silent upon the light touch of the Sephi on his shoulder. The Shistavanen eyes the human in the dark. “You claim you do this for Raiju… as if you knew him.”

“I knew him well enough,” Belarius quipped without elaboration.

“What the fwek is that supposed to mean?” Wagglehorn snapped irritably.

“It means I knew him well enough.”

Dreadnaught-class Heavy Cruiser Akan
Auxiliary Starboard Hangar Bay
36 ABY

They slipped out into the hangar and the bloodshed therein. Ships were hulking skeletons of their former selves. Bodies lay strewn haphazardly, a mess of gore and death. Wagglehorn urged shortly, “Nearly out of time, gentlemen…”

An explosion rocked the remnants of the catwalk they found themselves upon. All eyes sought the best way back to the floor. No soldier took notice of them as yet, though they all knew that could so easily change without warning. Caleb motioned to a mess of twisted metal and shorn durasteel supports. They followed his gesture. “We can use the debris to climb down.”

“That… is likely our best chance,” Belarius was forced to admit. They would be easy targets, he knew too well.

Sweat drenched Belarius as he hung from the second piece of debris. Despite holding still, even holding his breath, the twisted frame of the former catwalk creaked in protest at the man’s added weight. He had successfully made it here without alerting the soldiers below but there was no doubt in his mind he would make it to the ground without drawing the attention of one of them. Already the ship was blaring warnings of the coming self-destruction and tensions were visibly high in the troopers below, keeping them on alert.

How self-destructive are these people that they aren’t abandoning ship already? Belarius thought to himself while he eyed the trooper closest to him. Time to put that thought to the test…

Abandoning his interest in further descending, or even finding a more secure holding, the man adjusted his grip on the catwalk so he could abandon himself into his focus on the trooper below. Actually, they were more than a trooper. She was a woman in her early 20s who had lost her sweetheart in the destruction of Karufr, Belarius could sense. The attack by the Brotherhood’s Justicar on the planet had wiped out much of her family but it was the loss of her boyfriend that plagued her fears. Fears with which Belarius could related. While it’s heartbreaking to lose a treasured loved one - thinking you were at fault for it was even worse.

For what must have felt like an eternity to the waiting team above, Belarius concentrated on the fears of the woman and brought in his own emotional baggage to fuel a rising tide of panic in the woman. Despite the growing protest of the twist metal he hung onto, Belarius held his thoughts on those images and the final moments that the woman had to change the course of history - to do, or at least say something. Even as the twisted metal snapped and the Warlord fell the remaining twenty feet to the floor his focus had been on the woman up until the moment she screamed a blood curdling warning.

“WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE!”

The woman’s called echoed through the hanger, drowning out the thud and clang that happened on the hanger floor behind her, and all eyes immediately fell upon her. Discarding her blaster and booking it towards the nearest remaining shuttle, the woman dove into several outstretched arms that tried to stop and restrain her as she continued to holler and now thrash in a desperate attempt to make it to safer. While several of her nearest companions attempted to calm the woman, others in the hangar who had witnessed this display were now buckling to the pressure of each of the ship’s warnings and they too attempted to flee, in mass, against their companions reassurances.

The igniting spark of the woman’s terror had been enough to cover the crash of meat and metal behind her from most of the hangar’s occupants but still some questioned what the sound had been. Of the couple dozen troopers in the hangar, two had started to advance on the pile of black clothing and metal that was Belarius collapsed on the floor, unmoving. While the woman had been a good distraction for Mune and Caleb to start moving onto the remaining debris pieces neither had made good enough time to intercept the pair on their way to the fallen Warlord. So when Wagglehorn took aim at the furthest trooper, chaos returned to the hangar as he pulled the trigger.

Catching the trooper in his collarbone, the momentum of the attack through the troop off his feet with a heavy clang. This prompted his friend to look up to where the attack had came from, and while Wagglehorn had been able to get off a second shot before the trooper could - the bolt went aimlessly into the flooring behind him. A call for backup from the trooper soon had the attention of others, but still there remained some of the deserters who held the attention of others - likely trying to keep the shuttles landed for their own sakes. A sloppy exchange of fire between Wagglehorn and the growing Collective forces lead to two more troopers dead on the floor and the catwalk he was standing on collapsing from the ceiling.

Skidding across the twisted metal on his butt, the Major was able to hurl himself onto the first piece of debris the others had been using but his grasp was ill-timed and he bounced from the tilted frame to the next piece. Dazed from the assault, the Major was limp when he collided with the next piece and would have slid off to the floor if it hadn’t been for the quick snatch of his shirt collar by Caleb who then directed the falling mass to Mune’s open arms. The Shistavanen was quick to get the man to the ground before looking for an immediate threats but the chaos had consumed the hangar as the five minute warning finally sounded.

“We have to get on one of those shuttles.” Mune growled to Caleb as the Sephi landed safely beside the pair. Handing the dazed but okay Major to Caleb to direct, the Shistavanen lept to the Warlord who remained collapsed on the ground. When a concerned hand was placed on the man’s shoulder, Belarius was quick to groan in response which lead to Mune barking at the human. “Can you stand?!”

“You? No…” Belarius said with a chuckle but quickly groaned when he tried to move his feet. “I did something to my left leg.”

Mune wasn’t gentle as he grabbed the limb and felt it - against protest.

“You’re fine, just a sprain.” The Shistavanen growled again, “Get up!”

With his arm stretched over the Shistavanen, Belarius hobbled along with Mune as they moved for the closest shuttle. When they had made it there, Mune was quick to leave the Warlord at the base of the ramp while he charged up. Blaster fire accompanied the sounds of a lightsaber activating but by the time Wagglehorn and Caleb entered all that remained was the carnage of the Shistavanen. Immediately the ramp of the shuttle was brought up and with no pilots left on board, Belarius was coached into the pilot chair with Mune reaching around him to assist as they took off.

This Phase lasts from October 29th until November the 11th (two (2) weeks)

Request from the organizers: Please add a note to the top of the next post which path your team will choose in this Phase. Thank you.

Phase II objectives

Your team left the dreadnought Akan with information that, together with the data analysed by Clans and the Inquisitorius, has lead your to the Meridian Prime space station, a fortress, correctional facility and space dock floating in interstellar space just off the Wild Space boundary. Already under attack by Clan and Dark Council forces, dogfights light up the blackness around the behemoth, and intel suggests the shields and defenses have not yet been weakened enough for a full-scale naval assault. The station is on full alert and firefights have already started as skirmishes between Collective troops and Brotherhood assault teams pepper its three massive hangar bays.

The station houses civilian and enemy personnel, including a correctional facility that holds hundreds of Brotherhood prisoners of war, both Non-Force users and Force users alike. The prison has an isolated security system, its own power generator and life-support. Intel suggests that the prison is managed by a powerful AI (artificial intelligence) controlling the Dioxis security system, many defense blaster turrets, ray shields and a large complement of Imperial Sentry Droids acting as guards, controlled by the prison warden. The interior of the prison itself is pumped with a thin mist of Dioxis gas, preventing escape and anarchy.

You have been dropped off on the lower decks via boarding pod.

Breath masks are provided for this mission, should your team require them. Any Possessions item that prevents inhaling of poisonous gas will be effective as well.

Your team has been tasked to complete one of the following objectives in limited time (you may complete only one (1) objective):

• Revenge path: Reach the correctional facility and eliminate prison warden Rutgar-4. Caution is advised as there are Imperial Sentry Droids defending him.

• Sabotage path: Reach the prison’s AI core to recycle the life support and free the prisoners. Prepare for a riot as many prisoners are powerful Force Users and Non-Force Users.

• Pacifist path: Reach the prison’s AI core and disable the security systems to allow incoming Brotherhood troops to secure the facility.

The phase must end with the prison facility secured, one way or another. In all but the Revenge path, the prison warden’s fate is up to you.

Relevant character sheets:

• CS: Rutgar-4
• Since there are no character sheets for droids, participants will use the Possessions i9tem page as reference: Imperial Sentry Droids
• See the station wiki for other possible adversaries

*Meridian Prime space station, Public Trading Hub Cantina - Lower Levels, some time later…

A breeze of mechanically processed air gently flowed through the cantina door as a patron entered the establishment. Wagglehorn wasn’t sure if the chills he had run down his spine came from the air or the nerves about second high stakes sabotage mission in as many days. This “cantina” was nothing more than a former storage room converted to a bar with some loud speakers, brash lights, and a far less rigid maintenance schedule.

The team was situated in the corner booth of the dark, smoky cantina. Loud music assaulted their ear drums with a cacophony of beats and synthesized instruments. Various humainoids and other aliens chittered and chatted. Rough looking lower deckers glanced around curious and malicious. Belarius closed his eyes and focused inwards. He grimaced as he shifted his weight in his seat. The brief dip in the bacta tank had allowed the bone to begin setting, but he wasn’t able to soak long enough to fully heal.

“You good?”, asked Wagglehorn.

“Of course!”, snapped Belarius in reply.

Mune sensed that the answer wasn’t entirely accurate, but his thoughts were interrupted as the door opened again. A black hooded, black robed humanoid slunk into the bar and took his seat at the booth adjacent to the strike team. Eyes skittered towards the group with wonder and the music seemed to quiet for a moment before the chaotic din continued, unabated by the brief interruption.

The black hood shifted and the humanoid turned to the group, “Not from around here, are ye?”

Wagglehorn responded ,”Not precisely. You wouldn’t happen to know if this place has a good Lomin ale, would you?”

A cackle came from the hooded face as he replied ,”Of course not. Lomin ale hasn’t been in production for years.”

He continued, “You imperials and your cloak and dagger nonsense. I knew it was you from the moment I laid eyes on you - you’re clearly not from around here, and I’m sure this whole cantina knows it too, but I’ve got your information if you still want it.”

Caleb interjectic with his sardonic response, “Of course. We certainly didn’t come here for the jovial company”.

The man cackled again and slide a datadisk over the side of the booth into Mune’s waiting hands . Mune growled his thanks as the man slunk off into the crowd. The team huddled around Mune and reviewed the data on the slate.

Belarius looked at his comrades and asked, “So gentlemen, how do we feel about a little prison break?”

Mune’s gruff laughter was response enough for the team.

Meridian Prime, Correctional Facility, 2300 hours

Mune eyed Belarius. In the shadows they remained, the two Force users having separated from their counterparts only an hour before. The Shistavanen kept his concerns for his partner to himself and rather, studied the human with him now with a sense of unease. If the human were to injured still for their current plan, it could turn bad quickly.

“You’re staring.”

“Studying, more like,” Mune asserted.

“Concerned for my well being?”

“Not at all. I am concerned for our colleagues. Their success hinges on our own.”

The human chuckled and glanced towards the primary access hub of the correctional facility. He felt the Shistavanen take up a position at his side. He knew well the anxiety the younger man was feeling in those moments before they engaged in battle.

“Remember, we are not here to win any battle… we are here to distract and draw their attention. If you find yourself being overtaken, fall back to regain your strength.”

“Mune, you needn’t lecture me. I am superior if you have forgotten.”

“Raiju was my superior, you, Belarius… We’ll see.” The Shistavanen grinned then stepped out into the dim light of the corridor leading to their destination. Mune knew, somewhere, Wagglehorn and Caleb were making their move. The two non-Force users would infiltrate deep into the heart of the prison to achieve the objective while Mune and Belarius drew the attention of the Collective. Behind, Mune knew Belarius was sending the signal via communicator to the other two to begin the operation.

The snap hiss of lightsabers come to life. Together, the human and Shistavanen pressed forward. They heard, not nearly as distant as they would have liked, the activation of more than a handful of droids. The men shared a glance, a smile then forward they surged. The droid to either side of the entryway trained their blasters upon the advancing Force users. Not a shot was fired before both were relieved of their arms. A second stroke from both men and the droids fell, halved at the waist. With a burst of speed, the Palatinaens rushed through the passage.

From the front the enemy came. Nearly in synchronicity, human and shista wove apart to dodge incoming fire. A slash of an orange lightsaber and a blue, and two more droids were relieved of the upper portion of their body. A purple and a red flashed out, and two more were downed. They vaulted the following two and landed side by side. They both readjusted their grasp upon a saber and called upon the Force with a gesture, concentration flashed across their features. Reaching back, the two droids left behind them were lifted over their heads and thrown at their counterparts in front of the two clansmen. Droids were bowled over in a mess of mechanical limbs. Mune and Belarius released their grip and leapt the crumpled frames of their downed droid opponents. They charged deeper into the prison.

Meridian Prime, Correctional Facility, 2330 hours

Breath coming in soft pants, Shistavanen and human were well into the facility. Droids and soldiers alike had weapons trained on them. So far as either could tell, their companions had not been discovered and all eyes were on their assault. Perhaps it had gone too well, Mune noted mentally at the number of blasters trained upon them. We cannot be overwhelmed here…

Seconds stretched into minutes, minutes into what felt like hours. Belarius and Mune stood back to back, their lightsabers held at the ready.

“Any minute now,” Belarius muttered under his breath.

As if on cue, the alarms became deafening. It was the sound of the riot sirens as every cell unlocked all at once. Force-users and non-Force users alike were freed from their imprisonment and descended like a tempest upon their captors. There was no escaping the fury of the storm as it crashed upon the shore that was the bodies of the Collective agents and their droids. Chaos swallowed the facility whole.

Mune charged, he twisted out aside to dodge a shot from one droid before throwing the body of a downed agent into it with the Force. The droid went toppling over and together, Mune and Belarius began to carve a path back to their route of escape. They mentally counted the minutes, watching for the alternate escape route where they were to rendezvous with Wagglehorn and Caleb.

A yelp burst from the Shistavanen. He twisted, his saber took the man’s arm off at the shoulder. For as little blood as the man lost in the removal of the limb, Mune felt his own blood matting fur and weighing down his clothes. Belarius cursed and distantly, Mune felt the human wrench the knife out from just below his right shoulder. It was only the Force that kept him from passing out as agony danced bright lights across his vision. Mune heard blaster fire and a number of slug rounds pass just over their shoulders and take agants in the faces before them. The other half of their team had arrived. Belarius ushered them all into the maintenance shaft and guided their escape. The Collective became too busy, and the four were soon forgotten.

** Meridian Prime, Prison Command, 2300 hours **
The vibroblade slide out of the soldier’s body with a wet sound that made Caleb’s stomach churn as he guided the now dead Collective enemy to the ground quietly. Wagglehorn silently grabbed the body’s legs and the two Palatinaens hit the body in a local closet with finesse that only practice and recent experience could result in.

Wagglehorn shot a glance at his sephi-human companion and whispered, “Yet another one. We keep dropping bodies and they are going to discover us.” Anger flared and his whisper rose in intensity.

Caleb narrowed his eyes reprovingly and responded in tactical whisper, “Mune will do his job”.

Wagglehorn nodded reluctantly and cast his eyes up the corridor. Bright fluorescent lights lit the entire corridor in front of them, glaring brightly off the steel plated floor and whitewashed walls. A series of cubby holes and doors added little variation to the corridor every few feet or so. The cubbies and closets in the corridor behind the Palatinean pair now contained the bodies of the few guards that they silently executed in their infiltration. The intel provided in the cantina had proven accurate so far, but Wagglehorn and Caleb both knew that it was only a matter of time that they’d be discovered if things continued at this pace.

There was a muffled voice that shattered the silence coming from the cubby where their most recent victim was stashed, “Besh 6, status report, over.” The silence following was deafening as Caleb and Wagglehorn exchanged panicked glances.

“Besh 6, status report, over.”, the dead man’s radio crackled again.

Wagglehorn sighed heavily as he double checked his slugthrower. It was only a matter of time now. There was a flurry of motion at the far end of the corridor as the door to the command center itself slide open with a hiss. A squad of lightly armored Collective soldiers prowled into the corridor, hands nervously fingering the trigger wells on their blasters.

As if sent by the gods themselves, the commlinks on Caleb and Wagglehorn’s wrists buzzed silently and the pair exchanged relieved glances from their hiding spots on either side of the corridor.

In the far distance of the floor, a sudden cacophony of violent noise could be heard. Distant screams and yells shortly followed. The nearly blinding fluorescent lighting immediately shaded red as intruder alarms began to blare. The small squad of Collective troops immediately started to run down the corridor, passing right by the barely hidden intruders as they continued running to the sounds of battle.

Now free from immediate threat, Wagglehorn and Caleb moved as quickly as they tactically could down the hall.

As they approached the command door, Caleb grunted a question to Wagglehorn, “So Wags, we doing this loud?”

“Definitely.”

** Meridian Prime, Correctional Facility, 2330 hours **

Mission accomplished, Caleb and Wagglehorn now sprinted down the chaotic corridors towards the landing bay. The now-devoid-of-life command center was ominously silent behind them. The previous intruder alarms flashed yellow and a mechanized voice repeated warnings about the prison riot.

Screams of death and dying could be heard echoing throughout the corridor. Sporadic blaster fire punctuated the screams, and the whir of vibro weapons and lightsabers added to the symphony of violence and chaos. Haggard looking creatures of all types fought their way through the halls as the defending droids and Collective troops fought to contain the chaos. Rules of engagement ceased to apply as the panic level rose.

The pair burst through the door to the landing bay just as their companions stumbled into the chaos from an adjacent maintenance shaft. Freed prisoners and collective minions alike took occasional pot shots at the strike team, but they slipped through the chaos towards their ship. Their morale was strangely high in the violent chaos that resulted from a mission accomplished. Numerous brotherhood ships now entered the bay.

In the coming hours and days, troopers were able to mop up the limited pockets of resistance that the remaining guards and Collective troops offered. Hundreds of prisoners were offered amnesty while others faced immediate trial, sentencing, and execution by lightsaber or blaster as they fought against the new custodians of Meridian Prime.

This Phase lasts from November 12th until November the 19th (one (1) week)

Request from the organizers: Please add a note to the top of the next post which path your team will choose in this Phase. Thank you.

Phase III objectives

The Brotherhood advances. What started as sporadic fighting in the major hangar bays of Meridian has turned into an all-out battle on all decks. Spurred by your team’s success in the prison, your Clan forces have come to support you and issue new orders for your team.

Daggo Mouk, one of the leaders of the Collective and the Guildmaster of the Technocratic Guild, has been confirmed on the station. With him he has a potent Technocratic Artifact that, if whisked away, would threaten the position of the Brotherhood in future engagements.

Daggo’s last known position was in the command center, however we have been having trouble following his movements. Wherever he is on the station, he would not leave the artifact unattended. The return of the artifact to Brotherhood hands is of absolute strategic value.

Your team has been tasked to complete one of the following objectives in limited time (you may complete only one (1) objective):

• Revenge path: Confront and eliminate Daggo Mouk. Have no mercy.

• Sabotage path: Sabotage the Collective’s future plans by stealing the artifact by any means necessary.

• Pacifist path: Capture Daggo Mouk for interrogation and trial.

The phase must end with the artifact retrieved. Daggo’s fate is open-ended and up to you.

Relevant character sheets:

• CS: Daggo Mouk.

Note: Team is picking the Pacifist path for Phase 3

Meridian Prime
Command Centre - Turbolifts
23:35 hours

For the entire length of the ride, no one said a word. An uneasiness had fallen upon the group as soon as Wagglehorn and Caleb had joined up with the others at the landing bay and immediately word was given to return to the command centre. Initially, there was a growl of protest from the Rollmaster at the Proconsul’s command, but the tune suddenly changed when the Empress’ name had been dropped. With the promise of more information, once they had arrived, the team had been quick to assemble in the turbolift and rush to the command centre again.

Belarius was the first out of the pod and took several steps out into the open room to look upon the carnage that Caleb and Wagglehorn had caused. The man let out an impressed sounding whistle as he took in the barren landscape.

“Remind me not to piss you two off…” The Warlord chuckled as he stepped over the body of a down soldier that looked to have had his throat opened with a dull blade. “What happened to the warden?”

Caleb was the first to respond by merely pointing his weapon at a blood-soaked mess that laid over one of the command consoles.

“Believe that’s him there. Hard to tell though, after we breached the room the rioters followed us in and we weren’t going to argue claim over him.”

“No, I don’t suppose I would’ve either…” Belarius hummed to himself as he looked upon the poor man’s remains. “We need to fan out and look for an Ithorian.”

“Why?” The question came more like a bark from Mune.

“The Empress has brought the fleet here, they are forming a blockade around the station and sending in teams to claim control of the station for the Brotherhood. Word is Daggo Mouk was on board at the time of our attack.” Belarius was quick to pull his datapad from his robes and toss it to the grasp of the Rollmaster before he continued, letting the team take in the report he had received in the landing bay. “Inquistorius sources claim Daggo has some sort of new tech he was developing here and that he’s likely to try to smuggle it off the Meridian in the chaos we’ve caused. The Empress wants us to get that tech while she and her forces hold the line.”

“Aw fracksake…” Wagglehorn cursed as he slammed a fist onto the turbolift recall button, before turning back to the group. “There was an Ithorian that was leading a team out of the command centre as we breached, it’s where the rioters came in after us.”

“Right…” Belarius said as he trotted up to the opening turbolift and waved in everyone ahead of him. “Any idea where he was headed?”

“Marketplace is the only place he could get lost into between here and the landing pad.”

Immediately, there was a scrum for the turbolift controls as five fingers darted to the marketplace button.

Meridian Prime
Trading Post - Upper Levels
23:45 hours

What once would have been a rowdy crowd exchanging wares and making business deals, the people of the trading post cowered in fear and panic at the sight of the Scholae forces. Indiscriminate of allegiances, the empire’s soldiers were quick to put down and resistance that arose from the crowd. Clearly, they were told to shoot first.

Belarius took not interest in the operations surrounding them. As soon as his team escaped the turbolifts, the Warlord grabbed the nearest soldier.

“I want every single Ithorian brought here, corpses and all - for identification.”

“Sir!” The trooper was quick to snap to attention, but she hesitated before relaying the message.

“Trooper?”

“Sir! We had a report of a Ithorian leading a team of Collective forces through the trading post. They are attempting to commandeer a spacecraft from our forces in the bay at the end of the upper levels.”

“That’s the one we are looking for!” Belarius was quick to shout over his shoulder to his team, sparring them into action. “Tell any of our forces in the area to disable the craft, the Grand Vizier is on the way.”

Things were moving quickly, as quickly as the group moved through the unnerved crowds of the marketplace. shista, human, lasat and sephi wove through the boisterous environs. Even in the confusion caused by the arrival of the Scholae forces, order had become no easier to maintain and their path amongst the sea of bodies no easier to navigate.

Mune felt the blood still running down his back from the wound in his shoulder, but there was no time to pay it the proper attention it required. He was careful not to bump anyone as he moved, and drew upon the Force to numb the throb of pain. He wondered at the plan once they managed to close with their target. They were each quite exhausted, some with injuries that were beginning to wear more heavily upon them than any would care to admit at that moment in the present company.

“How’s the shoulder?” Caleb spoke low to his right so only he could hear.

“You needn’t concern yourself,” Mune returned in a hushed tone.

They finally broke free of the main thoroughfare and began to climb to the upper level of the marketplace. The crowds were thinner here, all eyes were upon them. Distantly, the sound of blaster fire managed to make it to their ears and there was no doubt that their forces had made contact.

“This is the Grand Admiral, status report at the hangars!” Mune had to slow down his pace. He’d catch the others up.

“The Collective forces are making a push for one of our vessels, they outnumber the small force we’ve kept here on guard.” The reply was rushed, it was obvious they were being hard pressed to hold their position.

“The Grand Vizier and I are nearly upon you. Hold as best you can until we arrive.”

“Roger!”

Mune bolted after his group and was soon matching their job. He filled Belarius in quickly and they picked up their pace.

Meridian Prime
Trading Post - Upper Level Hangars
23:50 hours

In a Force assisted leap, the Shistavanen landed between one of a handful of troopers and the thrust of a vibrosword. In a quick slash, the enemy was relieved of its sword arm and a second flash of the lightsaber relieved him of his head.

Belarius was next upon the scene with Wagglehorn and Caleb in tow. The Grand Vizier was quick in belting out orders to the assembled men and woman of Scholae, directing soldiers into position between the Collective and their vessels. They could not allow Daggo Mouk to escape. “I want troops covering the laneways back into the marketplace! We cannot allow them to backtrack now!”

Caleb pulled himself up onto one of the vessels and found cover. He loaded his rifle and used the semi-cover as a makeshift sniper’s nest. He scanned the field of battle, hearing their Grand Vizier below shouting orders. Wagglehorn took up a position at Mune’s side, the two likewise scanning the battle, searching out only one individual, the o0nyl individual who mattered at that moment. “Gotcha.”

The Ithorian was being ushered into the heart of the remaining Collective agents. Caleb followed him with his scope, tracing his path. “Sir, I have a bead on him.”

Belarius halted his shouting to listen then turned his gaze out over the enemy. “Wild’en, remember, alive.”

“Roger,” He fired.

Time seems to slow. The slug travelled the distance in less than a second and one of the Ithorian’s right arms burst into shrapnel. The remaining mechanical arm swung about as the man panicked. Caleb took a slow breath to steady his aim. He exhaled nice and slow and another shot rang out. This time, blood painted one of the Collective agents. The slug ripped a hole through the Ithorian’s left shoulder the force spun him around before he hit the ground.

“Move in…” Caleb muttered into his com.

Belarius did not hesitate, he gave the order and the fray was joined once more. Balerius pressed forward, his sabers a wicked wash of death and destruction and he cut himself a path to the Ithorian trying desperately to regain his feet. The Force was his guide, blaster fire could not touch him as he came to stand above Daggo. Here was an enemy of the Brotherhood. How many men and woman had Daggo aided in killing, in murdering? The human held his lightsaber a hair’s breadth from their target’s face. Belarius, however, would not kill him. There was too much yet to be gleaned by keeping the Ithorian alive.

“Belarius…” Mune’s voice brushed his mind.

One shot, two, a third rang out and Belarius felt the three men nearly upon him fall away dead. What remained of Daggo’s guard, erased from the mortal coil by three expertly placed slug shuts. A sniper round, and two pistol rounds. Wagglehorn lowered his guns with a grin.

Mune and Wagglehorn caught up with Belarius and the now wounded Ithorian. They approached the grisly scene on high alert. Wagglehorn held his slugthrowers at the ready, gun smoke curling out from the barrels. Mune’s saber was ignited, ready to visit violence upon the enemies of the brotherhood. Belarius’ blade hummed as he shifted the deadly arc close to Daggo’s throat.

“Do. Not. Move”. The warlord’s anger could be felt by both those with and without the force with each staccato word he uttered.

Daggo attempted a shuffle towards an adjacent maintenance shaft, his cybernetic stumps grating against the metal below. In a flurry of barely visible motion, Mune’s blade whined in pitch as he sliced off Daggo’s remaining cybernetic limb. He screamed in pain as the limb clattered to the deck below. Belarius arched his eyebrows in a side-glance towards his fellow palatinaen.

Mune growled, “What? I didn’t kill him…”

Mune’s commlink buzzed as Caleb’s voice crackled through, “Hey boss, looks like rioters heading this way. ETA is a matter of minutes. 5 maybe. What’s the status of the artifact?”

Wagglehorn strode forward and used a single hand to grab Daggo’s chest and hefted him upwards.
“Where is it, tough guy?” With that, Wagglehorn dropped him to the deck and began to secure their prisoner in cuffs.

The Ithorian muttered expletives under his breath.

Both Mune and Belarius focused inward in an attempt to locate the artifact as Wagglehorn continued to question their new captive. It came quietly, almost imperceptible. Gentle, ebbing waves in the force seemed to emanate from somewhere close. It felt as if a pebble had been dropped in the water, and ripples emanated slowly from the source. As they focused towards the epicenter of the waves in the force, they attempted to identify the source.

Still perched in his sniper’s den above the scene, Caleb’s mind raced impatiently. Glancing back up the corridor, he could see the rioters slowly working their way through the various stalls and installations as they looked for hiding Collective troops, loot, and gear. He could hear their laughter. Judging from the blood spatter on their prison garb and violent looking melee weapons they hefted in their hands, Caleb knew that this might be more than even the four of them could handle. He shifted his body and took aim at one of the rioters and allowed his finger to hover over the trigger as he waited for resolution below.

In that instant below, the force waves seemed to grow impatient. The gentle flow of the force from the artifact seemed to grow angry, and the waves increased in intensity. It seemed as if the artifact chose to go from gentle awareness to deciding to make itself known. Mune grunted as the power of the force enveloped him. Belarius opened his eyes as he identified the source of the waves – Daggo’s eye implant.

Clueless, Wagglehorn’s eyes darted between the two force users as he sought guidance. While not sure why, he knew something was happening as his companions struggled in the throes of the force waves emanating from the artifact in Daggo’s eye implant, he frantically looked around the cause of the issue. A strange, green glow emerged from Daggo’s right eye as he began to scream. Time seemed to stand still.

In a single, violent motion, Wagglehorn seized the prisoner and plucked the crystalline implant from its place.
Mune and Belarius were immediately able to focus as the force intensity ceased. Even Daggo sagged in relief as he sank to the deck.

Belarius exclaimed into his commlink, “We have the artifact! Let’s move”

As the palatineans fled from the deck with their prisoner in tow, Mune could not help but wonder what exactly had happened. Had the artifact protected Daggo? Or had it simply chosen to make itself known so it could be extracted by the team? Strange that such a construct could immobilize force users. Was that the point? It seemed clear that Daggo did not have any control over the object itself, and had simply kept it close as its keeper. Even Wagglehorn seemed completely oblivious to the power the small object seemed to have over those who could handle the force.

As their escape craft shot free from the hanger deck just minutes later, Mune was still troubled by the recent turn of events. This situation would certainly need to be monitored.