Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic RPG

Recap the Third

12 July 2010

Recap of the previous adventure.

Of Tigermen and Boxes

Alora and Kistra awoke from the ten thousand year journey only a little worse for wear. The fault in the sleeper ship's life support system cost them approximately ten years of their lives, but they had successfully made it back to Coruscant not too long after they had left, thus preserving what they could of the natural timeline.

Corsucant was a sight for sore eyes, but it could have been better. During their absence, the galaxy turned unabated. Revan had turned from just being a disobedient participant in the Mandalorian Wars to a full-on threat, and it was feared that he was coming with an army to wreak havoc on the Republic. Some were fleeing from every Republic world, even Corsucant, which caused a little more chaos in the skies.

Alora and Kistra were able to secure passage for their fellow ex-prisoners on various transports around the galaxy. Though the prisoners were surprised to be ten thousand years in the future, and were amazed at the technological advances they could glimpse through the windows, they were, at heart, colonists. The Republic was in a state of some expansion, and it wasn't too long before everyone had an idea of where in the galaxy they would like to go.

The Jedi were left with only a problem of transportation. Though the ship had fared well during its over-extended journey, it was in no condition to be retrofitted, and sublight speeds were no longer suitable for their purposes. Contacting the Jedi council afforded them only a simple message: Revan is being handled; continue on your current mission; do not venture to Dantooine or Korriban.

Fair enough, thought the Jedi. After all, they still had the problem of the superweapon to figure out. There were nine consoles, reduced to eight if the one destroyed ten thousand years ago had not been repaired. Theoretically only seven were accessible, with one buried in the rubble of the mines of the Vantai system. But that had yet to be confirmed, and there were still six consoles to check. The Jedi would need to travel to the Charis system next.

Transport to Coruscant was easy. Getting off-world was nearly impossible. Every ship that could carry people was booked, save for the more disreputable vessels. With a little bit of investigation, the Jedi found a ship piloted by a Cathar - Shagarr - and his Mandalorian friend - Ja'Maha Breaker.

Only slightly put off by dealing with a Mandalorian, the four arranged a meeting. They agreed that for fifteen hundred credits, they would secure passage to Charis.

Not too soon after the deal was brokered, Shagarr received a communication from Reatt the Hutt, a sometimes acquaintance. Reatt offered three thousand for Shagarr to deliver a box to a certain person on Tatooine - well out the way for someone going to Charis, but the pilot could hardly pass up the opportunity for more credits.

So the group came to an understanding. There would be a slight discount to account for the delay, and after the box was safely on Tatooine, they could all be on their way. There was a brief but disturbing meeting with Reatt to deliver the merchandise, during which Shagarr was cautioned not to open the box. Not too long after shooing away a subordiate, they all took off.

The trip was anything but pleasant. Something emanated from the box. For the first couple days, there was a general sense of unease around the ship. Then, Alora found herself in front of the cargo bay doors, desperately trying to get in. She had to open the box. Must open the box.

The crew alternated between being wary of each other and trying to supress the desire to open the box. Shagarr and Breaker set up extensive security measures to ward off intruders, including themselves. They would be woken up in the middle of the night, alarms blaring, announcing that someone else had succumbed to the temptation. It was during this time that it was revealed that Breaker, though he wore Mandalorian armor, was not Mandalorian at all - instead, he was a strange alien with a too-long gait, flapping ears, and a snout.

After a journey that seemed far too long, they arrived safely on Tatooine. But the recipient was no normal courier - it was a menacing man in dark flowing robes. The Jedi instantly went on guard, but were told to stay back while the transaction was completed. Once the payment for delivery was confirmed, the Jedi launched their attack.

The Sith fought well, but he had only a virbro-blade, and he was fighting two battle-worn Jedi. Though he fought well, and enlisted the help of a large freight-hauler droid, he was handily defeated. Before he fell, however, he managed to key a code into his account that recinded the payment delivered to the pilots. Then he set off an explosive device, rendering himself in no state for questioning.

Shagarr and Breaker were upset. The Jedi had cost them a large fee, and now they were going to have to explain it to Reatt. They managed to contact the Hutt, and convinced him to pay what they were owed if they delivered the box to the recipient's address.

The Jedi were having trouble with this line of thinking. Certainly a job was a job, but the box proved itself dangerous during the journey to Tatooine. Delivering it to the intended target seemed like a very bad idea. So, as soon as the pilots delivered the box to its intended destination, the Jedi picked it up and transported it into the Wastes, where they intended to bury it.

While they were digging the hole, however, Reatt contacted the pilots. He was very upset, and expected more from his couriers. Apparently he had a tracking device on the box, and was distressed to see that it was hundreds of kilometers away from its delivery point. Retrieve it, he said, or else.

The pilots had enough of the Jedi, of the box, and definitely enough of Reatt. They flew their starship to the Wastes, picked up the Jedi and the box, and placed it exactly where Reatt specified. Once delivery was once again confirmed, they packed up the box, put it back on the ship, landed on a small moon, and blew the box into tiny pieces from orbit. Nothing like a job well done.

Worship of the Dark

The trip to Charis was, thankfully, uneventful. Upon reaching the world, however, the group discovered that the planet was in a state of hurried evacuation. The local cult, which no one had taken seriously, had suddenly risen up and detonated the governor all over the capital city. With the explosion had come the threat: leave this planet. No one was of a mind to argue.

The Jedi had a mission, and with everyone else securing whatever transport they could get, Alora and Kistra promised the mercenary pilots more cash if they would remain as their ferry. Though the Jedi had been a significant source of trouble, the pilots agreed.

The Cult of Doofu appeared to be the place to start. They were rumoured to have established a fortress in a remote canyon, the location of which seemed to have plagued the planet through the centuries. Anything that was ever dark and horrible and corrupting was said to have come from that canyon. And so the Jedi figured that's where they must go.

It wasn't going to be easy. The canyon was heavily fortified, and the cult had been actively recruiting for years to make the move to take over the planet. They were seriously armed and ready to overreact to any sign of resistance from the populace. With admirable piloting skills, Shagarr managed to fly under the radar and locate a small shallow lake to land the ship in, away from the prying eyes of a ship-starved city and hopefully far enough away from the cultists to not be a threat.

The group took the trek deep into the canyon, taking a roundabout route that seemed less heavily guarded than the other options. Eventually, they came to a guard tower, and Breaker only just managed not to be shot.

Fortunately for our heroes, another force was attempting to infiltrate the canyon as well. Blaster fire rang through the canyon, and the four ventured forth into the tower only to find it had been breached for them. The door was blasted wide open, and the Jedi spotted clear signs of lightsaber use on the corpses in the hall.

Staying away from the fighting, they found a passage underground, and followed it as far as they could. Taking the less-traveled path, and trusting the Jedi's instincts to lead them towards their objective, they discovered a disused door behind a giant waterfall.

Breaker wanted to blast the door open, but the Jedi showed another, quieter way by using the Force to move the large plug out and away. They entered a large, decorated tomb, replete with frescos and writings expounding on the great and powerful Mulokhai.

Mulokhai, in fact, was waiting for them. Though long dead, he lived on through the Force as a spirit. He welcomed the travelers, informing them that though he was a Sith in life, he has had a long time to repent of his evil ways. Unfortunately, he could not become one with the Force because his apprentice, who turned on him, bound him to an artifact deep within the tomb. Were the artifact to be destroyed, he, too, would be destroyed. But if someone were to wear the artifact, they would become powerful enough to sever the bond and rescue him.

The party was suspicious, but agreed to try to help him if they could. Mulokhai drifted from room to room with the party, pointing out some traps and warning them of the dangers the he could remember. Occasionally, evil spirits would appear and chase everyone into the next room, and Mulokhai would shout "Run! I will try to hold them back!" And there he would be, in the next room, waiting.

Eventually they all reached the room where Mulokhai was interred. They opened the coffin, and the door slammed shut. Shagarr began to choke - there was no air! Breaker quickly switched to his alternate air supply. As he did so, Mulokhai turned to him and told him the only chance for Shagarr was to put on the artifact - then he would be powerful enough to rescue his friend.

Alora and Kistra, however, were strong in the Force. They could see through the illusion, and saw that Shagarr was only suffering the effects of a dark side user beyond the grave. Alora pulled out her lightsaber and cleaved the artifact in half before Breaker could put it on. With a fierce cry, Mulokhai disappeared.

With his disappearance, the door was suddenly open, and Shagarr found he could breathe again. The party searched the room, discovering a small passageway behind the coffin with a few thousand credits, and a crawlspace that went off into the distance.

Shagarr volunteered to go exploring, presumably to allow himself some time to recover from the ordeal with the Sith spirit. All too soon, however, he found himself scrambling for footing, as the passage descended, opening out into a canyon wall.

There was no footing. He only managed to grab hold of the lip of the opening before he plummeted to his doom. Kistra, sensing something was wrong, dove into the dark passageway and grabbed his hand before he could fall any further. With her help, Shagarr was able to return to the crawlspace.

Across the chasm was clearly their objective: a forgotten ruin, ebbing with dark Force energy. But how to get across? They had some liquid cable, but there was nothing to secure it to on either side.

Breaker came up with a plan. Though the passageway was tight, he managed to get through once he took off his jetpack. Once he got to the opening in the cliff wall, he flung his jetpack into the air, and leapt after it. All the others could see was Breaker grappling with the jetpack, attempting to strap it on, as he fell further and further into the uknown.

Just as they lost sight of him, there was a flash of light, and Breaker streaked out of the pit, landing safely on the other side.

After that, getting across was easy. The ruin turned out to be exactly what the Jedi expected: it was remnants of the Infinite Empire, clearly Rakata in origin. With their previous incarceration, they could speak directly to the guardian droid and discern its function. But while the Jedi wanted to talk, Breaker wanted action. He shot the guardian, prompting a full-on attack.

After mopping up the guardian and the automated defenses, the Jedi found the console they were looking for. This one reported that the other stations were operational, minus the one they had destroyed ten thousand years ago. But this station reported only five in existence, with four reachable - when they had originally left, there were nine!

Troubling though this was, the Jedi were preoccupied with making this one inaccessible. Eventually it was decided that they would use their lightsabers to bring down the ruin around the console, being careful to bury it in such a way that did not render it inoperable. Thus, the superweapon would be disabled, with no way to control it. In the meantime, the blaster fire they had heard earlier seemed to be approaching. Whoever had stormed the tower from before was on their way.

Time was short. While the Jedi cut down the ruins, Breaker used his jetpack to fly along the canyon back to the ship. Though it was now surrounded by cultists, Breaker didn't let that stop him. He turned on his cloak and attempted to jump directly inside. Overzealous, his first attempt instead landed him right at the feet of a cultist, sounding the alarm. Blaster fire coming from all sides, Breaker used his jetpack again to make it inside the ship. Though the vessel took some damage, he managed to get away from the cultists.

Anti-aircraft fire began tracking the ship, and Breaker had some trouble piloting away from the all-too-friendly flak that now greeted him. Though there were a few glancing blows, he managed to get the ship to the others so they could board. They fired a few rounds at the ruins, collapsing them further and hopefully thwarting the plans of whoever was arriving.

The cultists had insisted that everyone leave the planet, and their deadline was coming up. But the ship was in no way spaceworthy; she had to dock so that repairs could be affected. With Shagarr in the pilot's chair, they managed to avoid futher anti-aircraft fire and holed up in a small cavern. There were a few mynocks also hiding from the cultists, but the party managed to get the ship into a state good enough for space travel. They would have to dock in a proper facility later, assuming they can get off-world ...

The Adventure Continues ...