The heroes fly towards the Sarlacc, Riddick piloting one of their Z-95 Headhunters, the others on board the Heart of Alderaan; while members of Blue Squadron, Captain Verana and Sirona Okeefe and Crash amongst them, keep the other Imperials off their backs.

Immediately they are attacked by four TIE fighters, while two squads of Spacetroopers attempt to seal the breach in the superstructure. And as quickly as the fight starts, the Droid of Doom and Riddick take out a TIE fighter each; and then the Heart of Alderaan takes a missile hit, causing a glitch in its hyperdrive and damaging both shields and hull.

Tracer turns the turolasers on the squads, blowing one to bits; then he turns his fire on the remaining TIE, and destroys it. Meanwhile, the Droid of Doom destroys the other squad of troopers, and as Valdor reroutes power to improve the ship, Master Jedi Riddick takes care of the other TIE fighter.

Then they fly through the gaping hole and enter the superstructure, followed by more TIE fighters: three are destroyed before they get very far, the fourth following a moment later as the Jedi blows it up. They fly through the maze, taking a couple of minor hits from gun emplacements, and destroying several more.

And into the reactor chamber they fly, once more followed by TIEs that swarm out of the tunnels behind them: before they turn on the reactor, Riddick takes out a TIE, as does the Droid of Doom; the Heart of Alderaan takes another hit, damaging its engines, despite Valdor’s best efforts to dodge it; another two TIE fighters are destroyed as Tracer turns his turret on them; and with only one ship left, Riddick launches a torpedo and scores a direct hit on the reactor!

KA-BOOM!

The reactor explodes. Flames billow out and the super star destroyer tears itself apart! The heroes turn tail and run, the Droid of Doom firing at the last TIE as they do so, and destroying it even as it tries to escape.

They speed through the exploding ship, the Z-95 soaring ahead, the older freighter slower and taking some heat, but just as it seems that the ship will be consumed, it rockets out of the flames and together with the Z-95, both ships sail off towards the rebel fleet.

And behind them, the mighty Sarlacc disintegrations in a series of powerful explosions!

The battle is won.

The Empire has been defeated, but the war is just beginning.

Hailed and celebrated as true heroes, laying the foundations of the fledging rebellion, the heroes- Valdor, Tracer, Riddick and the Droid of Doom- fade into legend…

…and the campaign draws to an end.

THE END

The doors to the reactor-room/axillary bridge slid open, and a hail of blaster fire catches the heroes off-guard; they duck and absorb most of the shots, but suffer a few burns.

The auxiliary command bridge is lit by the eerie red light of the main reactor. Standing near the junction between the two chambers is the sinister form of the cybernetically enhanced Inquisitor Draco, an ignited red-bladed lightsaber humming in his hand. Stormtroopers stand at the ready throughout the room, and Imperial technicians seem to be working furiously at control panels throughout the chamber. A pair of black-robed Imperial Shadow Guards stand just behind the Inquisitor, flanking him, lightsaber pikes at the ready.

“You’re too late, my friends, too late,” sneers Draco. “Had I known, when our paths crossed so long ago on Almas, that you would become such a thorn in the Empire’s side, I would have had the planet razed from orbit. Yet I did not, and here we stand. If you throw down your weapons now, I guarantee you a quick and painless death. As you can see, I have been looking forward to this meeting for some time now.”

A large display screen on one side of room flickers to life, revealing the stern face of Admiral Varth, decked out in his resplendent Imperial admiral’s uniform. “Draco, why aren’t those tractor beams offline yet? We’re losing valuable men out there.”

Draco offers the heroes a small smile and says, “In a moment, Admiral, your ship will be free of the station, and I will have disposed of these traitors in plenty of time for you to crush their fleet.”

And the final battle against Draco begins!

To begin with, luck seems to have deserted the heroes, as they take hit after hit, their own shots failing to have as much impact as previously. Almost immediately, a squad of stormtroopers smash through the Droid of Doom’s shields and burn holes in its armour; and a flurry of bolts smash into Tracer too. The heroes decide to take out the technicians as quickly as possible, and both Tracer and Valdor kill two of them.

Then the light-pike guards move in with stunning speed and force, slicing chunks out of the Droid of Doom, and shredding Valdor clothes and some of his skin. The other stormtroopers open fire, their bolts battering down Tracer and Riddick, who manages to deflect some of them before they do any serious damage.

Inquisitor Draco blasts Tracer with Force Lightning, which he shrugs off with only a few burns; and the Shadow Guards slice into Valdor again and again, wounding the former senator turned rebel. The heroes start to concentrate their fire on the Shadow Guards, while the two squads wear away at Tracer’s armour and stamina; they all but ignore Draco, who fails time and time to have much effect with his Force powers, and even his taunts towards the Master Jedi have little effect; so he strides towards Riddick, intent on having a one-on-one duel.

Meanwhile, Tracer takes out the other technicians and Valdor starts powering the tractor beams back up; while both the Droid of Doom and Master Riddick combine their attacks against one of the three Shadow Guards.

Now Draco clashes with Riddick, but the Jedi is too powerful and too skilled, and the Dark Jedi can not land a hit; and Riddick ignores him, concentrating on the Shadow Guards, using his Force power to throw the guards together; one falls down the reactor pit, dead, the other is injured and then struck by blaster fire from the Droid of Doom. They turn their attention on the others, again all but ignoring Draco, who tries to strike the Jedi, but has his attack not only negated, but the energy absorbed and used to heal Riddick.

Tracer is starting to feel wiped out, and ducks behind some cover to catch his breath and reload his rifle. The Droid of Doom diverts some power to boost his ailing systems, then pours more blaster fire into one of the two remaining Shadow Guards; and over by the consoles, Valdor pauses a moment to clear his head, before working on the next control panel to re-charge one of the tractor beams holding the super-star-destroyer in place.

One of the Shadow Guards moves up to Valdor and stabs him; and Riddick follows and stabs him in return. Angry at being further ignored, Draco unleashes a burst of Force Lightning at the Jedi, which is Rebuked, and then negated by the Dark Jedi, with a snarl of frustration! The Master Jedi heads back, sweeping his sabre at the Dark Jedi, who only just parries it.

Then Tracer, feeling refreshed and now reloaded, joins the Droid of Doom in blasting one of the Shadow Guards, who falls under their combined fire! The last one follows quickly after, leaving only the two squads and an increasingly annoyed Draco.

The squads move up, blocking the way to the last consoles that Valdor needs to deactivate; and there are only seconds to spare before the tractor beams are all released!

Realising how close the heroes are to succeeding, the squads start shooting Valdor, who almost goes down and staggers into the console, badly burned. Seeing his ally, and friend, so injured, Riddick once again ignores Draco and runs over to heal his friend, exchanging his own life force. Angered at this lack of interest, Draco hurls the Droid of Doom into the video screens using the Force, but is still ignored at both the droid and Tracer start shooting the stormtroopers, while Valdor keeps back, waiting for his chance to leap at the console and reactivate the final beam.

Then Riddick walks up and takes out the last trooper of the squad blocking the way, leaving the way clear for Valdor to do his work; he doesn’t even let a grenade thrown at him by Draco to slow him down, and slams the button that cancels the power-down, thus keeping the prototype in the grip of the tractor beams. A howl of rage issues forth from both Draco and the Admiral, and the troopers turn their fire back on the former trooper, but are suddenly knocked to the floor as Riddick Force Slams them.

Tracer opens fire on Inquisitor Draco, but his shots are deflected; then he fires again, and this time wounds the Dark Jedi.

At this point, Admiral Varth scowls at them through the video screen, the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer visible in the background behind him. “Why couldn’t you have been killed when Organa’s fleet fell apart? At least you won’t live to see me crush your new allies. This makes twice that I’ve had to wipe out your little insurrection; how many other deaths are on your hands?”

With that, the admiral turns and speaks to someone offscreen. “I want all available turbolasers to target the anchoring platform and fire when ready. Helm, engage the microjump. Let’s end this farcical rebellion.”

The platform rocks under the heroes feet as turbolaser bolts slam into the station. The video display cuts out abruptly, and the computer monitors show a chilling sight—the Super Star Destroyer has jumped to hyperspace, reappearing in the middle of the ongoing battle.

Valdor alerts them all that the platform is losing orbit. The remaining squad, all but defeated, is again slammed to the floor by the Jedi, who finally turns to deal with Draco.

But then Tracer takes a careful aim, and with a well-placed shot that the Dark Jedi cannot deflect, the former clone trooper turned rebel, fires a blaster bolt straight through the cybernetic eye of Inquisitor Draco; the Dark Jedi falls down, dead!

But there is little time for rejoicing. The heroes turn their fire on the remaining troopers, and in a matter of seconds there are no more Imperials in their way. They realise that the platform is now useless and mere minutes from falling into the atmosphere of Byss. They rush back to their ship, quickly board and fly out just in time.

Out in space, they receive a call from Lady Alya Aldrete, who tells them that the fleet is in trouble. The Sarlacc has jumped into their midst, and is blasting their fleet to pieces! However, there is still hope. Thanks to the heroes efforts, the tractor beams, while unable to prevent the star destroyer from moving, did rip a hole in its hull; large enough for ships to fly into its superstructure and take out its reactor: and it is up to the heroes to ensure that this happens!

End of Session

Next session: Into the Maw of the Sarlacc

Rendezvousing with Lady Alya Aldrete, the heroes find a small fleet of ships has been assembled: a mix of smugglers, old republic vessels and a few rebels such as Captain Verana, and Sirona Okeefe and Crash.

The time for action is now: the prototype Super Star Destroyer has been located and a plan has been formed. The fleet will draw the defenders away from the shipyard, allowing the heroes to sneak into the nearby Golan Defence Platform, to take control of it and use its powerful weapons to blow the prototype out of orbit around the planet Byss. The plan seems simple, and according to the reports from their spies, the prototype is still a few weeks away from completion: it should be easy to destroy.

Wasting no time, the fleet launches and soon the heroes, on board the Heart of Alderaan, are racing across space with their engine signature masked and under a Force illusion generated by Riddick. Such precautions prove worthwhile, as an Imperial Patrol- two improved TIE fighters and a Skipray Blast Boat- flies by, but does not see the rebels. Using false codes, the ship lands safely in the docking bay of the platform, and the heroes exit and head straight to the nearest lifts.

There, Valdor hacks into the computer system and learns that the main command bridge has been shut down, and all operations have been diverted to the auxiliary command bridge in the heart of the platform, where the main reactor is located. They get into the lift and down, so far unnoticed.

The lift door opens onto the access corridor leading up to the reactor room: and a Stormtrooper gunner, with an E-Web cannon, stares right at them, surprised and a little shocked. He calls out to unseen allies, then readies to fire at the intruders: but the heroes react quicker, and start firing as the gunner shouts out a warning.

As the Droid of Doom opens fire on the gunner, a large droid, armed with a wide-bladed energy sword and a missile launcher, walks into view and launches a missile; it impacts on the wall, forcing the heroes to duck as shrapnel and fire sears them. More stormtroopers come into view, opening fire, but failing to hit. One falls down to a flurry of blaster fire from Tracer, while the others concentrate on the droid. Valdor lobs a grenade, and the enemy are merely staggered when Riddick Force Slams them; he follows this up with a charge and swipe at the nearest, tough, trooper, cutting into his armour. One of the trooper’s allies lobs his own grenade, but the heroes avoid the main blast. More blaster fire from Tracer takes down another trooper, while the others still concentrate their attacks on the droid, slowly burning through its armour, while dodging the swing of its sword.

The troopers pour blaster fire into the heroes, and while most miss or are deflected by armour, both Tracer and the Droid of Doom take some hits; they return fire, and Tracer takes out a third trooper. Then the Droid of Doom gets lucky and with two perfectly placed hits, the enemy droid is blown to pieces; leaving the last trooper to fall from a combination of blaster fire from Valdor and a lightsabre swipe from Jedi Riddick.

The door to the reactor room/auxiliary bridge stands before them: but what lies behind it?

End of Session

Opening Crawl

STAR WARS: DAWN OF DEFIANCE
h4. Episode X
h3. JAWS OF THE SARLACC

The galaxy rests on a tipping point as the forces of evil have struck a devastating blow against the Alderaan Resistance.

Yet all is not lost, and even now the Alderaanian noble Lady Alya Aldrete has summoned allies and great heroes to take part in a daring attack on the Empire.

As the fate of the Resistance hangs in the balance, a small band of heroes has a chance to strike a blow that will echo through the ages, and show others that even the mighty Empire can be defeated…

The heroes take the elevator up into the citadel, but find their path to where they suspect Master Denia is (the prison level) takes them across two other levels, to change lifts.

First they encounter three citadel guards and an inquisitor, who barely slow them, even after suffering through several thrown grenades. The heroes hack into the controls of the next lift, which takes them up to a training level, where they rush in to find six dark side apprentices and their master, all waiting for them.

Blaster fire ricochets around the room as the heroes open fire, only to have their first shots deflected by the dark jedi. The teacher tries to slam Riddick and his allies to the ground, but is rebuked, and instead the teacher and several apprentices crash to the ground; a flurry of focused shots from Tracer and the Droid of Doom leave the teacher open to a sweeping attack by Riddick’s dual lightsabres, which cut the inquisitor down; at the back, Valdor directs his allies, inspiring them and lending them his aid. He lobs a grenade into the midst of the darksiders, wounding several. The other three heroes combine their attacks again, and another enemy falls. Then the rest follow in quick succession; but not without cost: the heroes are bruised and winded, their power packs running low. A bout of first aid and a moment to catch their breath is all they have, as they take once more to the lift and ascend, to the prison level!

They waste no time and head straight in, momentarily surprising a guard who is astonished that they have got so far: he is felled before he has a chance to sound an alarm. The heroes spread out, checking cells and finding nothing, then the Droid of Doom and Riddick turn the corner, and are spotted by a pair of guards and yet another inquisitor, who the Jedi promptly engages and tries to disarm, but is blocked. One of guards gets a lucky shot against the droid, penetrating his shields in a shower of sparks.

The others move up, Valdor pointing out one of the guards to Tracer, who shouts out, distracting them. Riddick takes advantage, using the Force to throw one guard into the other, then exchanging blows with the inquisitor; who is then shot down by multiple bursts of blaster fire from both the Droid of Doom and Tracer. The guards are again hurled into each other, and one falls. The other tries to run to a nearby lift, no doubt to fetch reinforcements, but he is gunned down before he gets there.

With the prison secure, Valdor breaks into the computer system and locates their missing Master. Turns out that Denia is in the Torture Chamber, a couple of floors up. The heroes hurry, cutting down more guards on their way with barely a pause: and enter the chamber, to find none other than Inquisitor Draco on a platform several metres above, flanked by a couple of Interrogation Droids, and Master Denia caught in an energy web, wounded and weak.

A brief exchange of words, the usual insults and retorts, followed by Riddick using the Force to lower one of the lifts, while the others open fire on the enemy: one of the droids is hit and destroyed, and both the Droid of Doom and Tracer manage to hit Draco, who fails to deflect the shots. He retaliates by throwing the former clone trooper and the battle droid into one another, but only bruises one and dents another. Then he unleashes a barrage of Force Lightning on the Droid of Doom, partially frying his circuits.

Riddick Force jumps onto the platform, but is immediately blown off by Draco using the dark side of the Force; meanwhile, Tracer blows up the other droid, and the Droid of Doom gets into position, as does Valdor, who keeps bolstering his allies morale with words of encouragement.

Calling on the Force, Riddick levitates the Droid of Doom onto the platform, in front of Draco. The droid opens fire, but Draco manages to deflect it harmlessly into the wall. Then the Dark Jedi flings the droid off the platform, to a thudding landing below. Tracer opens fire, but his shots too are deflected; then Draco reaches out with the Force and disarms Riddick, reclaiming his lightsabre.

Seeing that he is outnumbered, Inquisitor Draco curses them, and runs Master Denia through with his lightsabre; giving Riddick more reason to reach his foe: once more he leaps to the platform, attacking quickly and breaking through Draco’s defences to score a hit; and Tracer follows this up with a well-aimed shot that burns a hole in the Dark Jedi.

The battle has turned, and Inquisitor Draco knows this: he calls on the Dark Side of the Force, and flees, leaping away and through a view-port, and escape!

Master Denia dies in the arms of Riddick, passing in the mantle of Master to him. Valdor calls for the ship, contacting Seejo, who has a plan to bring the Heart of Alderaan to them: the heroes gather Master Denia and head to the roof, keeping the outer doors locked and guarded.

The ship arrives, the heroes quickly board, and as TIE fighters swoop in and a Star Destroyer starts heading their way, they leap off into hyperspace and return home; their mission, technically a failure, but with another blow dealt to the Empire.

And as they head home, Bail tells them it is time to strike. They are to rendezvous with Lady Alya Aldrete, to begin their final plan against Project Sarlacc!

End of Episode Nine
Next: Episode Ten, and the end of the campaign

On their speeder bikes, the heroes speed through the tunnels and across the underground sea: as they do, they approach an area tainted by the Dark Side of the Force: turns out to be a tentacled moss, producing waves of fear (that the heroes ignore); it attacks them as they approach and they retaliate.

The tentacles manage to grab both Valdor and Riddick, but the Jedi phases from its grip; the Droid of Doom and Tracer blast away, burning great swathes of moss away. Soon the moss is all but destroyed, and the heroes carry on.

Soon they arrive at smaller tunnels and set off on foot, ascending ancient stairways that eventually led them out of the caverns and to the foot of the citadel. There they spy three entrances, and decide to sneak up to the one that looks like a service elevator: but as they cross the courtyard, they are picked up by various sensors and alarms sound.

From the main entrance a squad of Imperial Guards (crimson and black stormtroopers) and several dog-like guard droids move out, and combat quickly ensues.

In a matter of seconds two of the dog-droid squads are destroyed, and the Droid of Doom takes out one of the guards; Tracer spreads his fire around, injuring the others, leaving Riddick to cut down another guard and Valdor to take out the other. The Droid of Doom deals with the last guard, and the heroes rush over to the lift: there, Valdor picks the lock, and they all board and head up to the prison level.

End of Session

Herdr’tui leads the heroes to a deserted construction site, where they are spotted and ordered to halt by an Imperial Patrol led by an inquisitor. The heroes charge off and follow Herdr’tui into the shaft of the Drains, sliding down and away from the patrol before they can act.

Straight down into a pile of refuse. As they land with a splash of icky slime, switching on their torches, a swarm of tiny reptiles attack them. And out of the darkness, a giant mass of slime slithers forward and joins the fight.

Both Valdor and the Droid of Doom open fire, cutting down many of the reptiles (Dinko’s), while the Jedi knocks others down with the Force and the former clone trooper pulls out his carbine and trains his light on the approaching pile of slime.

With a series of rapid shots, Tracer takes down another swarm, while the others concentrate on the big pile of slime: deep furrows are burned out of its hide, while Riddick uses the Force to shove it back.

The mass of slime pounces on the Jedi, squashes him, but he escapes by Phasing out of the way; and then with a combination of blaster fire, the others finish off the beast.

Herdr’tui tells them it was his pet, which got out of hand and ate all the rubbish and grew large and hostile; he takes the nucleus of the beast, to reuse. Then he leads the heroes to his home, where they convince the elders to help them: in exchange for showing the heroes the way to the citadel, the elders want them to help free their people, who have been taken by the miners to use as slaves.

The heroes agree and after some digging, they break into the mines and sneak in using the Force as cover. Tracer starts the fight when he walks into some miners, who spot him: two miners and a laser=borer fall quickly, with minimum damage to the heroes. They continue on, cloaked once more, and quickly deal with the other miners and laser-borers, as well as discovering some speeder bikes that’ll prove useful. They free the slaves, disable the elevators to the surface, and are shown a secret door to a tunnel that will lead them to the citadel. All they have to do is follow it, cross a small underground ‘ocean’ and they will arrive at their destination in a matter of hours.

End of Session

The heroes pilot the Heart of Alderaan into the Prakith system, heading to the planet of the same name; they are posing as construction workers seeking work, and their IDs check out. They are given permission to approach and land in the city.

On route, they pick up a weak distress call and, after getting permission from the controllers on the planet, they investigate. The source is a damaged ship, piloted by a hopeless Duros called Seejo. They dock, help him fix his ship, and head back to the planet.

On their approach, they detect mynocks eating the ship’s power lines; Valdor electrifies the hull, killing most, leaving the rest to Tracer and the Droid of Doom to go space-walking to pick off the rest. They slowly head to the planet, after Valdor fixes up the ship.

Planet-side they head straight to the workers zone, and start asking questions; they need to find a way into the Inquisitors’ Citadel, which lies some distance away with a no-fly zone around it. They learn little, other than that there are mines under the ground, but none reach the Citadel. They further learn that anti-alien feelings are growing, and many believe the Empire will chuck both alien and non-alien workers off planet as soon as the military base there is completed.

They also learn that one of the local mining companies is hiring, and that Seejo might be able to get them a job there. They head off to find the Duros, only to walk right into a fight; as Seejo comes rolling down the alleyway, in a barrel, pursued by hostile Imperial agents looking for a fight.

The heroes give them a fight. In the first rounds of combat both Tracer and the Droid of Doom take two down, then Valdor lobs a Thermal Detonator and takes out several more, while Jedi Riddick deals wounds here and there. During the fight a patrol arrives, called in by the agents: these too quickly fall to the heroes combined firepower. They help Seejo flee, asking to meet up with him later to discuss a job.

Before they retire for the night, they spot an alien, a bit like a hairless wookie. They learn he is a native of the planet, living underground; where there are a network of tunnels that lead up to the foundations of the Citadel. Abandoning their plan of hiring on as miners and finding their own way, they agree to escort the alien to his people, in exchange for his help in getting them to the Citadel.

He agrees and tells them the way to the tunnels is via the Drains, which are shafts dug into the ground, where the Imperials dump their waste. Something lives down there, a pet that got out of control and ate too much. It blocks the way forward. The heroes agree to deal with it, and all hed off to the Drains in the nearby construction area.

End of Session

Opening Crawl

STAR WARS: DAWN OF DEFIANCE

Episode IX

SWORD OF THE EMPIRE

It is a critical moment for the first few willing to stand against the Galactic Empire. Jedi Master Denia, one of the few survivors of Order 66, has fallen into the hands of Valin Draco and the Inquisitorius, a secret division of Imperial Jedi hunters. Setting out in search of Master Denia, a hardy group of heroes finds an ally in Lady Alya Aldrete. The resourceful Alderaanian provides the transit permits necessary for them to reach the Deep Core world of Prakith, where Denia is held captive.

But Prakith is a more complicated puzzle than it seems. Home to a major new administrative headquarters for the Imperial fleet and the Citadel Inquisitorius, the world is well manned by the Emperor’s agents of darkness.

But those might not be Prakith’s only residents . . .

At the next carriage, the dining car, the heroes make plans. They can see the mercenaries guarding hostages, but Riddick has a plan: using Force Haze he’ll make the hostages turn invisible, causing enough confusion to burst into the carriage and take the mercenaries by surprise.

This works like a charm and the heroes burst in, blasters firing, injuring the boarding party and the marauder with his huge axe. Then the boarding party falls to sustained fire, the marauder is flung into the wall by the Jedi’s Move Object, and more bolts of energy fly across the room, narrowly missing the concealed hostages.

With a powerful sweep of his lightsabre, Riddick decapitates the marauder, leaving Tracer and Valdor to pour blaster fire into the mercenary in the corner; while the Droid of Doom sprays the room with fire, making the sergeant at the back of the room duck behind a table.

The rest of the fight goes quickly and in the heroes favour: they finish off the mercenaries, taking minimal damage themselves. They are invincible, it seems.

After sending the hostages back to the club carriage with the rest, the heroes advance: but before they do so, the train rocks as two fighters sweep out of the sky and tear the next carriage open. Peering through the windows the heroes see that the carriage is threatening to break loose, and will tip the train in the process, plummeting them all a good 100 metres to the ground. They need to uncouple the carriages, while avoiding the strafing fighters and another boarding party that is guarding the connection to the control car, where they believe Lady Alya Aldrete is being held by the leader of the mercenaries.

They disengage the couplers from inside, then head onto the burning carriage. While the Droid of Doom and Tracer blast away at the boarding party, Valdor and Riddick disengage the remaining couplers, and save the train; the carriages behind them, with all the guests, is free and safe.

Meanwhile, the two fighters swoop down and open fire. Most shots miss, but one lucky hit catches Tracer in the chest, and he is wounded. Only his armour prevents him from dying.

Then combined fire from everyone quickly destroys the two fighters, and Valdor heals the wounds Tracer has taken.

On to the control cabin next, where the merc leader surprises them and further injuries Tracer. They notice that the engine is overloading, and in about a minute the train will explode. The Lady is being used as a shield, but a quick focus of the Force allows Riddick to teleport her away. The merc leader heads to the roof, quickly followed by the others. They make short work of him, with the final shot that takes him down going to Valdor.

Moments before the train explodes, the merc’s ship rises and readies to fire: but then the Banshee flies down and blasts it to bits. The hatch opens and the heroes board, with the freed Lady.

They fly off, safe and sound. The Lady gives them the codes they need, and promises to help them get to the Deep Core.

End of Episode Eight
PCs are now Level 17

The nightclub is invaded by trandoshan mercenaries, and the heroes head out to meet and deal with them, intent on saving the train and Lady Alya Aldrete so that they can complete their mission and get the codes they need.

Unfortunately they have limited weapons: Valdor hastily reassembles Tracer’s carbine, while he and Riddick take the sporting blasters they were given; leaving the poor Droid of Doom to activate his shields and prepare for some fist-fighting.

The first bolts are exchanged between Valdor and one of the merc’s, both hitting. The Jedi uses the Force to throw a glitter ball into a berserker, and Tracer fires off three rapid shots, hitting the same berserker and one of the merc’s. Valdor finished that merc off, while the droid heads down to the dance floor. More bolts fly across the room, and the berserkers take on Riddick and the Droid of Doom, landing hits and taking some too. Tracer takes out one of the berserkers, and Riddick Force Slams the other unconscious, and then takes out the remaining one.

They hurry through to the casino, to discover more merc’s as well as a powerful wardroid, who is trying to break into the cashier’s counter, wherein an imperial governor and his elite stormtrooper bodyguards are holed up. As the heroes move in, Valdor once more uses his technical skills to reassemble the Jedi Master’s lightsabre, while the droid picks up a carbine to use.

A flurry of shots concentrated on the wardoid quickly take it out before it can do much damage, and combined fire and lightsabre attacks take out a trandoshan raider. A boarding party comes round the corner, but ends up dealing with the stormtroopers instead. Meanwhile, the captain of these merc’s exchanges fire, until Riddick disarms him and flings his rifle to Tracer’s waiting hands: who uses that rifle to blast the captain, killing him.

Then the Jedi uses his Force Slam power to blast both the boarding party and the stormtroopers, having no love for the Empire (especially now that they’ve seen him in in full Jedi mode): it takes out the troopers, and most of the boarding party; they are finished off by fire from Tracer and the Droid of Doom.

They leave the imperial governor hiding behind the counter, and head off to the next carriage.

End of Session

Six months have passed since Master Denia was captured.

During that time the heroes have been laying low, as they are now wanted, marked for death, and their names and faces are plastered all over wanted posters throughout the Empire. In the meantime they have been helping Senator Organa track down their missing Jedi Master: and now they have learnt that she is held captive on an Imperial planet in the Deep Core.

Getting to her won’t be easy, especially as the Deep Core is dangerous and almost impossible to navigate without the correct access codes and navigation charts. Thankfully, Organa believes he knows how to get the necessary data: a celebrity heiress, one Lady Alya Aldrete is known to have the information they need, due to her connections with smugglers that operate in that area. All the heroes have to do is talk to her and convince her to help; and as luck would have it, she is holding a gala event to showcase the new train her family has had built: a luxury transport called the Gem of Alderaan.

The heroes are given 24 hours to put together a suitable and concrete back story to allow them to get close to the Lady, and they set about it quickly: in a little over 11 hours they have their new identities, a hefty amount of background on public records, all faked with careful and painstaking skill, with everyone helping out. By the end, with just enough time to get some sleep, they become wealthy and important droid traders, with the Droid of Doom acting as their walking ‘sample’ of their trade.

They have to leave most of their weapons and equipment behind, but manage to smuggle and hide several items (in bits and pieces) amongst their tools and hidden inside the droid. Not much, only a carbine, their droid’s primary blaster, and the Jedi’s lightsabre.

The next day they arrive at the gala all dressed up, with cosmetic disguises to help by them pass the security checks in place as the pre-launch party. There are some nerves as they are sent through the security scanner, and their IDs are checked, but it all works out fine.

From the pre-launch party, on to the train, the heroes move around the carriages and engage in social activities in order to make a good impression and attract the Lady Alya Aldrete‘s attention: Tracer and Valdor sit at the bar, watching the other guests and sizing them up, while discussing trade in the Deep Core; Riddick plays and loses a game of chance, and the Droid of Doom tries to blend in and listen on other people’s conversations. At dinner Valdor impresses everyone with his knowledge of wine and food, and by the evening, after a little dance and DJing in the nightclub, the Lady’s twi’lek aide takes them into the office and tells them that they have caught their attention, and that they know who they are: the Lady has excellent contacts and her celebrity persona is just a mask to cover her smuggling in the Deep Core. He asks what the heroes want, and after they tell the truth, he says that the Lady might be able to help.

As he calls her to arrange a meeting, the train shudders and over the communications network a voice calls out: “Organa! We know you’re there! Surrender to us, or will kill everyone on this train!” Just before the scanners and communications are knocked out, the twi’lek tells the heroes that the train is bring boarded!

And then…

End of Session

Opening Crawl

After months of searching, the heroes finally learn that Jedi Master Denia is being held captive on a fortress world in the Deep Core. It will be impossible to reach her in time without codes to allow safe passage.

A celebrity heiress has such codes, and the heroes must seek her aid while hiding in plain sight from the forces of the Empire…

The Heart of Alderaan hurtles out of hyperspace into a battle:

A Star Destroyer looms before a battered and damaged Resurgence, pounding away at a brave corvette that is covering fleeing transports that are being attacked by TIE fighters. The Empire has found them!

As the heroes take it all in, Captain Verana contacts them and asks for their help. The frigate is crippled and has been boarded, and while most of the crew are either dead or have escaped in pods, he and his bridge crew are trapped and under fire. They need the heroes to come in and rescue them; before the Star Destroyer finishes them off.

Piloting their transport to a nearby docking port, the heroes race through the battle-scorched ship, heading for the bridge. They scramble out of a still functioning lift, straight into a squad of stormtroopers who are just about to storm the bridge.

Leading by example, Valdor takes the initiative and blasts a trooper, drawing their attention. Riddick follows this with a Force Slam that knocks most of the troopers to the ground, and the Droid of Doom riddles them with blaster fire. Tracer takes two of them out, but not before the troopers retaliate by lobbing a succession of grenades into the heroes’ midst, damaging the droid and weakening the rest.

Showing that two can play at that game, Valdor throws his own grenade, injuring all the troopers in the resultant blast. Then the Droid of Doom and Tracer take out the rest of the troopers, leaving Riddick to cut down their leader.

With the enemy force wiped out, the heroes rescue Captain Verana and his men, directing them to their ship. The Captain tells them that Master Denia has been captured by the Inquisition, and that if they hurry they might be able to stop them before they leave the hanger bay. As he takes his men off to the heroes’ ship, they head off to the hanger bay to stop the Jedi master being taken.

En route they come across several troopers and members of the Inquisition escorting prisoners to the hanger, and start taking them out while protecting the rebels:

Tracer takes the first shot and the first kill, blowing a hole in one of the Inquisitor’s heads. He crashes to the floor before he even realises what’s going on. Meanwhile, the others move in and open fire, while Riddick readies himself to catch a grenade if any of the troopers throw one: one does, and the grenade bounces back, injuring the troopers instead. The heroes dodge and duck the return fire, and move in.

With a swipe of his lightsabre, Riddick takes out a trooper, and both the Droid of Doom and Tracer wound more, while the enemy and Valdor all manage to miss. The remaining Inquisitors start moving through the prisoners, igniting their own sabres.

Summoning the Force, Riddick slams two troopers together, crushing one. Tracer takes out the other with a blaster bolt between the eyes, and both Inquisitors send powerful bolts of Force Lightning at the Jedi, who rebukes one and wounds an Inquisitor instead, and takes the brunt of the other with minimal effect. Valdor takes a hit from a trooper, spoiling his aim so he misses.

As the heroes advance, they start sending the prisoners off to their ship, but not before the Inquisitors kill two of them. Another flurry of shots from the non-Jedi heroes take out another couple of troopers, and Valdor sends one of the Inquisitors to hell. Then another flurry of fire takes out the rest, and the remaining prisoners are sent to the now crowded ship.

The heroes hurry to the hanger bay, just in time to see none other than Inquisitor Draco escorting a battered and manacled Master Denia onto a shuttle. As they race towards it, several soldiers and a lieutenant turn to deal with the rebels, and the shuttle escapes!

The battle in the hanger is short and deadly: the soldiers fall quickly, taken out by rapid fire, dead-eye shots and grenades, leaving the lieutenant- who turns out to be a Dark Jedi too- mostly to Riddick, who exchanges a few strikes, before the Droid of Doom takes her out with a double blast of fiery bolts.

With the frigate falling apart around them, the Star Destroyer moving in for the kill, and the TIE fighters swarming closer, the heroes have no choice but to head back to their ship and take off, leaving Master Denia and the other prisoners to their fate: but as they are about to leap into hyperspace, they receive a call from Admiral Gilder Varth, who turns out to be a traitor, a double-agent even, still working for the Empire. he promises them that they will be hunted down and exterminated, and looks forward to their next meeting.

Battered and bruised, their pried wounded, and eager for revenge, the heroes jump into hyperspace and leave the devastation behind.

End of Episode Seven

Note: PCs are now level 15.

Between the heroes and their ship are a squad of Imperial Stormtroopers, two pairs of Heavy Stormtroopers with heavy E-Web blaster cannons, and a mighty AT-AT Walker looming over their ship.

The heroes’ plan is simple: Riddick uses the Force to sneak into their ship, to start powering it up and get it ready to blast off. Tracer will sneak up and get into position to take out the Stormtroopers blocking their path, while Valdor and the Droid of Doom use their speeder as a battering ram, to knock the troopers in front of the ship out of the way, allowing everyone to run aboard the Heart of Alderaan; then all they have to do is get off planet and escape into space.

The first part of the plan is easy: Riddick cloaks himself, levitates over the wall, then phases through the hull of their ship. Once inside he hurries to the cockpit and starts the slow power build-up; estimating it will take 10 minutes to fully power the ship, thereby allowing the shields and weapons to be powered-up too. If he can manage it, he might be able to speed it up, but there is a risk that a power-surge will blow up a system or two.

As the others move the speeder into position, Tracer starts to sneak across, but barely gets halfway before he is spotted: and the fight begins!

The Droid of Doom moves up into cover and opens fire, wounding one of the heavy stormtroopers; and Tracer takes out the other pair with a series of well-placed rapid shots that kill one outright, and knocks the other trooper out cold.

Valdor aims the speeder at the squad, jumping out as the vehicle speeds towards them: but his aim is poor, and the speeder just crashes into the ground before them. Inside the ship, Riddick manages to bypass some of the safety features, lowering the powering-up time to only five minutes (still a lifetime away, with the speed of a fire-fight).

More blaster bolts fly, one burst from the remaining E-Web splashing around the droid and his master, wearing them down. One of the troopers is knocked back by the Jedi, as he Force Blasts him from the cockpit, and even the former Clone Trooper takes some heat as the squad spots him and starts opening fire with bursts of blaster bolts.

As the troopers continue to slowly wear down the heroes outside, they return fire, and Tracer takes out a Stormtrooper. Then the mighty AT-AT joins in, trying to catch the heroes in its sights: cannons roar but miss for the most part; some of the blast washes over Tracer but he shrugs off the worse. He takes out his pain and anger by shooting two more Troopers, killing both. The Droid of Doom injures a third, while Valdor runs from cover to cover, closing on the ship; and Riddick opens the main hatch, then returns to the cockpit to see if he can speed things up again.

Back outside, the Droid of Doom decides to try and take on the AT-AT, but although he hits, his wrist-blasters cannot penetrate its armour. Seeing this, Tracer runs over to the unmanned E-Web, wondering if he can use it to blast the walker. Riddick considers running out with a thermal detonator and his lightsabre, passing Valdor on his way into the ship; he runs to the cockpit, aiming to use his superior skill to get the ship up and running quickly.

The Droid of Doom moves into the ship and takes his place at the weapons, ready to let loose once they are powered-up. In the cockpit, Riddick (having decided that attacking an AT-AT would be foolish) helps Valdor with the ship; but rather than speed things up, they cause a surge of power that blows their communications suite. As the remaining hero outside, Tracer deals with the remaining troopers, leaving only the AT-AT to deal with. He decides that he can do better with his own carbine and well-aimed shots rather than with the E-Web heavy cannon. The AT-AT decides it is better to shoot the ship, and starts pounding energy bolts into its hull, eroding its armour bolt-by-bolt.

Back in their ship’s turret, while waiting for the power, the Droid of Doom takes time to recharge his shields; while in the cockpit Riddick and Valdor try again and manage to get the power routed so that it will take less than a minute to get the ship ready to fly; they call out to their friend to get in the ship. He acknowledges, while blasting away at the AT-AT (doing some damage, but not much more than burning away the paint) and dodging its return fire; the walker’s cannons continue hitting the ship too, burning holes into its unshielded hull. The heroes know that the ship can’t take much more before something vital is hit, or a lucky shot blows it up.

Needing help, Valdor calls in his droid, and the three of them work together to decrease the time: they manage to get it down to a little over ten seconds; enough time for Tracer to run to the ship and pile inside, slamming shut the hatch. He climbs into the turret.

The AT-AT further pours blaster bolts into their ship, coming close to damaging it too much to fly: but then the generator kicks in, the power floods through the systems, and with a roar the engines come on-line. Valdor activates the shields, the Droid of Doom powers-up the weapons, and Tracer manages to get a shot off, damaging the AT-AT, as Riddick lifts the ship out of the hanger and heads off into orbit.

Leaving the planet behind, communications down and the ship damaged, the heroes fly crazily through the traffic and burst out into space. As Imperial ships converge on them, they load the co-ordinates to rendezvous with the Resurgence and get ready to hit hypersapce; but before they do, thankfully, Valdor does a search for anything like tracking devices, and finds not only three (two carefully hidden) but also a bomb that he disarms.

They push the lever, and the Heart of Alderaan speeds off into hyperspace…

End of Session

The heroes race back to the safe-house expecting trouble, still getting no answer from their allies. Hacking into the local newsfeeds and Imperials police channels, Valdor finds no mention of alerts or police raids, but knows that this doesn’t mean much. At the house they head up the stairs to the apartments, checking that the coast is clear before moving into the corridor with guns drawn. Using a remote holo-recorder, the heroes fix a camera to keep an eye on the corridor and link it to Valdor’s wrist-computer. They then enter their room, and start to search the apartments.

Their own quarters seem empty, but there are signs of blaster fire; scorch marks on the walls, the smell of ozone in the air. They find the first dead body in the workshop, the weapons there untouched. The others are spread throughout the rest of the rooms, all dead, killed while defending themselves, and all in the last hour or so. Then, at the same time as Riddick senses something in the Force, Valdor sees movement in the corridor outside: fourImperial troopers, sneaking up, led by an officer who spots the camera and destroys it with a blaster bolt: the heroes hear the echo from inside, and move into cover to face whatever comes their way.

Minutes pass, then the troopers come through the secret doors in the apartments, having circled around to flank the heroes. They catch the Droid of Doom by surprise, scoring a damaging hit that penetrates his shields. The droid returns fire, then retreats, seriously damaged and in need or recharging his shields. The others move into better positions, Riddick igniting his light-sabre and calling on the Force to grant him some protection against potential damage. Only two troopers have come through, and both Tracer and the Jedi move into the room to engage them: the former Clone Trooper fires away, but the trooper’s armour deflects the blasts; then Riddick strides in and slashes away with his sabre, cutting down the wounded trooper: the Imperial soldier falls down dead, his chest cleaved open.

Another trooper pops into view, opening fire with his carbine: the Jedi deflects the flurry of bolts, leaving the way open for Tracer to shot and hit the new trooper. Meanwhile, as the droid begins to re-establish his shields, Valdor makes a quick repair, re-routing power and hammering a few bent panels back into place.

Leaving the others to deal with the current troopers, Valdor and the Droid of Doom move out into the corridor, spotting the fourth trooper and the officer; the droid opens fire, but the trooper ducks into cover and avoids the blast.

Riddick strikes at a trooper, who ducks and grabs a Thermal Detonator from the workbench, and heads into the next room, taking a hit from behind for his trouble. Meanwhile, Tracer wounds the other guard, and from the entrance, with a direct line of sight, Valdor takes him down with a well-aimed shot. The Imperial Officer circles around, coming out near the Jedi but forewarned by the Force, the officer misses. Outside in the corridor blaster bolts are exchanged between the Droid of Doom and the last trooper, who takes a minor hit. That trooper retaliates and wounds Valdor, who returns fire and also scores a hit. The trooper still in the room with Tracer retreats, and throws a Thermal Detonator into the room, but the clone trooper ducks and suffers minor burns and is winded.

With his forces cut down in size, the officer orders a retreat, his intent to call for reinforcements. Before he himself can retreat, the Jedi slices the officer’s carbine in two, disarming him, and follows this up with a cutting strike that seriously injures the officer. He falls before he can escape, as the Jedi simply follows him and cuts him down.

Meanwhile, outside, the other trooper retreats into the corridor, his fellow trooper laying down covering fire. That trooper is then blasted right in the face by the Droid of Doom, killing him. The others rush up, but they are too late. The sole remaining trooper heads out of the building, already calling for reinforcements.

Knowing that time is running out, the heroes quickly survey the rest of the apartments and find their allies all dead. They head out, climb into their speeder, and head off to the space port, hoping that their ship isn’t impounded and that they can escape without further trouble.

They arrive at a suspiciously deserted hanger, to find that not only is their ship impounded and guarded by stormtroopers with heavy-blaster tripod emplacements, but also by a towering AT-AT walker standing behind their ship.

They duck into cover, and make plans.

End of Session

Next time:

A few days have passed since the Spire fell down and the heroes escaped with the data on the Sarlacc Project. Now they are holed up in a safehouse with several loyalists, waiting for the message that will bring them back home to the Resurgence.

Instead, they get a call from Admiral Gilder Varth who tells them they can come home soon, but need to bring in a member of the design team that also escaped the collapse of the Spire; a man called Pavel Trenol. They are given a holo-print of him, plus an address. Wanting nothing more than to be out of Coruscant and away from the Imperials, the heroes jump in their speeder and head off to the hostel where Pavel is hiding; they take backstreets and lesser known routes, avoiding any Imperial checkpoints.

They reach the area known as Gnawer’s Roost without trouble, and hide the speeder. They walk through a rough area, but the gangs and criminals out and about take one look at the hardened heroes and let them be. Soon they reach the hostel and go in, finding a chained and battered 3PO unit at the desk. After some credits exchange hands, the heroes locate and enter Pavel’s room, only to find it empty. A clue, written on a piece of paper, reads “The Invisible Hand.” They query the droid about it, more intimidating than before, and learn that Pavel left with some Quarren not that long ago, and that the Invisible Hand is a local cantina.

The heroes head off to the cantina, but on the way a bunch of ogres– misshapen mutants lurking in the bowels of the city– attack them!

It takes a matter of seconds for the heroes to deal with the ogres; each taking at least one out by themselves. Less than 30 seconds later the heroes are back on the path, the onlookers cheering them as one more menace is eradicated.

The cantina is a small affair, few people inside. But there is a man who looks like Pavel, surrounded by four thuggish looking Quarren. No sooner have they entered, Valdor gets a bad feeling: Pavel looks very much in charge of the situation, and looks to have been expecting them. As soon as the heroes enter, the Quarrens stand, pull their blasters, and open fire.

The rest of the patrons duck as Valdor lobs a grenade, catching two of Quarren in the blast and smashing drinks, tables and chairs. Blaster bolts ricochet around the room, and outside the Quarren bouncer yells ’what’s happening’ and comes through the door, unsure who to shoot.

First to die is a Quarren, gunned down by the Droid of Doom, and while the Jedi yells for them to stop, as they’ve come to help, Valdor kills another with a lobbed grenade; this prompts the bouncer to turn his stun pistol on the Zabrak, since he’s doing the most damage to the cantina.

Next kill goes to Tracer as he guns down another Quarren and injures the fourth. Pavel runs! But is knocked to the floor by a Force Slam sent by Riddick. The remaining Quarren is blown apart by the Droid of Doom and everyone else chases after Pavel, who picks himself up and runs out of the backdoor.

The heroes chase him through the alleyways, firing and missing mostly. Pavel fires back, before giving up and just running. The others follow, switching their weapons to stun, and with some help from Riddick as he uses the Force to throw objects in the man’s way, Pavel is felled by several stun bolts.

Quickly picking him up and taking him back to their speeder, the heroes kidnap Pavel and drive somewhere nice and quiet. There they interrogate him, resorting to force in the end, and learn that the man is actually an Imperials Agent. They execute him [Dark Side point gained] and then, fearing the worse, try to contact the safehouse.

There is no answer.

End of Session

Opening Crawl

STAR WARS: DAWN OF DEFIANCE

Episode VII

A RECKONING OF WRAITHS

With the taste of victory still sweet upon their tongues, the heroes find refuge on Coruscant with loyalists. Following the destruction of the Inquisitors’ tower, the Empire is searching for the culprits with extreme prejudice. Just as there seems to be a lull in the action, word comes that
one of the captive designers of the Sarlacc Project has survived, and is seeking asylum with the loyalists . . .

Valdor hacks into the controls for the door, the blast door slides open to reveal the detention cells… and armed guards who immediately open fire!

But these are not the best the Empire has to offer. In quick succession, the heroes almost casually gun down the enemy, dodging and deflecting blaster bolts as they do so. His cover now blown, Riddick manages to decapitate one guard before the fight is over.

There are prisoners in the cells, all but one catatonic. The remaining prisoner is a Duros called Gelnar Tol; who identifies himself as a starship designer (as the other prisoners are) who has been coerced into helping the Empire design a massive prototype Star Destroyer, many times the size of the new Imperial Destroyers that have only recently come into use. This is what the Sarlacc Project is all about, something that has taken the heroes many months to discover.

Valdor hacks into the mainframe of the computer, downloading all the information he can on the Project: financial records, lists of slave and tibanna gas sales, enough to make Senator Organa happy.

With Tol with them, the heroes head off to find a way off the Spire. They discover that their attack has not gone unnoticed and that the lifts are sealed. They cut a hole through the doors leading out of the foyer, and enter a section still under construction, a railing overlooking the scaffolding that goes down so, so many levels.

Cargo-lofts raise out of the floor, depositing a pair of guards and Dark Jedi Apprentices, who ignite their lightsabres and move to attack; and as battle is joined, an Inquisitor calling himself Nolan strides out of the stairwell, and goes straight for the Jedi.

It is obvious by now that the heroes are better equipped, more experienced, and downright deadly in combat. So far no Imperial agents or troopers, even Dark Jedi, have been able to seriously harm them, not for a long time; this battle is no exception.

In the first few seconds, one of the Apprentices is gunned down by combined fire from the Droid of Doom and Tracer, but they are unable to prevent the guards from taking out the ship designer; Tol falls to the floor, dead.

Inquisitor Nolan uses Move Object to slam a girder into the droid, who absorbs most of the impact; the Dark Jedi then tries to Force Grip Riddick, but is Rebuked and suffers his own throat being constricted; and in the meantime more bolts fly between the two sides, and the remaining Apprentice moves up to engage the Jedi in melee, but his attack is easily blocked. Valdor takes cover and shots, hitting one of the guards and drawing his attention away from the others.

As Nolan advances, eager to deal with the Jedi, Valdor takes out a guard, Tracer takes out the other Apprentice, while the others all miss, including the Droid of Doom, shots going wide and lightsabre attacks blocked. Riddick attacks Nolan, trying to disarm him, but his attack is blocked.

In the final seconds of the battle, the Droid of Doom kills the remaining guard, and with a stunning and critical attack, Riddick cleaves the Inquisitor in two: but in doing so he unwittingly triggers the bombs attached to the Spire, as the dead-man’s switch falls from the Inquisitor’s hand.

As explosions rock the building, the heroes manage to escape to their speeder and fly off as behind them the Spire collapses.

In the air they contact the agent they were meant to talk to when they arrived, Tero Reskan. He arranges for them to send the information they have gathered, via Holo-Net, back to the Resurgence, to Captain Verana and former Imperial Admiral Gilder Varth. Then he delivers them to a safe house, while he checks that the heroes’ vessel is not impounded.

End of Episode Six

With their prisoners tied up and stuffed in the storage boot, the heroes speed off with two Imperial Pursuit speeders and a trio of surveillance droids chasing them.

With Riddick piloting, they start to gain ground on the speeders. Tracer takes out two of the droids, with help from the Droid of Doom, and Valdor blows up the last droid. Then they lose their pursuers in the twists and turns of the city streets, and find a quiet and isolated place to stop.

There they interrogate Lesan Dos and his double, the ISB agent Nonul. With a mix of mediocre persuasion, intimidation, and no small amount of torture, they learn that the Sarlacc Project is based in the Imeci Spire and that Dos’ code cylinder can gain them access; there are two ways in that seem possible, the plaza at ground level, or Level 185 control.

The heroes convince themselves that killing the prisoners is in everyone’s best interests, and end their lives. They dump the bodies, then head off to rest for the night in their hostel.

In the morning the heroes approach the construction company responsible for some of the work on the Spire, intent on gaining permits to deliver cargo to the workers there. Thanks to some smooth talking by Valdor, following a plan concocted by Riddick- concerning an investigation into a technician who might be a saboteur- and backed up by the presence of a gun-toting Tracer and Droid of Doom, they manage to convince the tech’s boss and get the necessary permits to gain access; with not a shot fired.

Permits in hand, they board their speeder and head straight to the Spire, directly to Level 185. After a short wait, they land and enter the Control Room, quickly convincing the chief controller that they need to have a look around. To distract the Imperial Technicians from looking too deeply into their cover story, Riddick uses a Force Illusion to make smoke pour from a vent, and in the confusion the heroes hasten into the lift and head up, coming out at Level 188 while looking for a way deeper into the complex.

The ‘not shots fired’ stops when they enter the foyer and the guards on duty ask for the password: not knowing what that that is, they hesitate and the guards seal the doors, lock the lift, and trigger the gas that starts to pour into the room.

As the guards call for reinforcements and alert their bosses, the heroes ignite and draw weapons, and start blasting away at the reinforced window blocking access to the guards. The gas proves ineffective, as the heroes are tougher than that; and besides, one of them is a Jedi and the other a Super Battle Droid.

Tracer shatters the window, allowing Riddick to jump inside the guard room, and Valdor to open fire with a burst of blaster bolts that injures two of the four guards. One of them lobs a stun grenade, and although it catches most of the heroes in the blast, it has minimal effect.

The first guard falls to a series of rapid shots from Tracer, the second to Riddick’s ligthsabre. Other bolts fly but miss or deflect off armour. One guard picks up his electro-staff and attacks the Jedi, but his swing is easily blocked.

The other two guards quickly follow, with Tracer taking out one with another flurry of shots, and Riddick cutting down the last. But as they find controls to shut off the gas and open the doors, a pair of veteran guards exit the corridor to the detention level; both immediately attack, one opening fire and hitting Valdor, the other striking the Droid of Doom, whose shield absorbs most of the shots.

Riddick retaliates and beheads one of the veterans, and combined fire from Tracer and the Droid of Doom takes out the last.

Back in the guard room, Valdor hacks into the computer and disables the ray shields blocking the corridor, allowing Tracer to quickly take care of the two blaster turrets guarding the blastdoor to the detention cells. After a quick examination of the adjacent rooms (storage and a medical bay, with a couple of spare med kits), the heroes get ready to enter the detention area…

End of Session

After talking to Resh the heroes learn that the ISB agent they were told about, Lesan Dos might know how to get into the building that Resh believes the Sarlacc Project is based: this being the Imeici Spire.

They head straight to the cantina, in the middle of the night, to find a small crowd watching swoop races and drinking the night away. They split up, looking for Dos, and spy someone who matches his description by the vid-screens. Valdor spots the agent’s bodyguards, and the heroes quickly confer over their comlinks, and plan: Tracer goes out to the alleyway, while the other are to follow after they lure Dos outside.

Hacking into Dos’ datapad, Valdor sends him a message and arranges a meeting outside, saying something along the lines of “Your cover has been compromised, meet outside”. He seems to fall for it, and as Dos exits the cantina, one of the bodyguards following, the other heroes follow.

Outside, Tracer grabs Dos, and the others pile outside. Then Valdor spots a surveillance droid hovering nearby, sensors trained on the alleyway: he opens fire, misses, and then notices that the bodyguards have entered the alleyway, one following Dos, the other having gone round the front. And he seems to be accompanied by someone dressed in workers’ overalls, who looks just like Lesan Dos: there is two of them!

But there is no time to think, as a fire-fight breaks out:
Riddick starts by using the Force to smash the surveillance droid into the wall of the building, crushing some of its sensors, and Valdor follows up with a shot that almost knocks it from the sky. The Droid of Doom opens fire on the nearest bodyguard, while Tracer stuns the Dos that he has grabbed.

More blaster bolts fly. The Jedi pulls out his pistol and takes out the flying droid before it can do much, and the battle droid badly injures the bodyguard, and Tracer opens fire with multiple shots at both bodyguards: the first falls down, knocked out.

Riddick leaps onto a crate and draws his vibro-blade, slicing into the other bodyguard, and sees the other Dos pull a blaster. He uses the Force to Negate the blast, much to the agent’s surprise. “Jedi!” he calls out, clearly worried, but also realising what capturing one means. Tracerensures that the first Dos is well and truly stunned, and Valdor pours stun bolts into the other Dos, dazing him.

Then Riddick is hit by a well-aimed blaster bolt, injuring the jedi. He retaliates by blasting the agent with his pistol, taking him down. Then a combined fire of stun bolts from Valdor, Tracer and the Droid of Doom take down the other Dos.

For a few minutes all seems quiet: they dump the bodies in the alleyway, tie-up the two Dos’s and decide that they’ll take them with them, grab their speeder, and head off somewhere quiet to interrogate the two captured agents.

But before they can do so, around the corner another agent and a patrol of stormtroopers charge around the corner, all ready to fire, obviously called in as reinforcements.

Riddick grabs his lightsabre from the Droid, ready to ignite it and blow his cover if he has too. As the Imperials open fire, all missing, the other heroes fire back and kill two of the troopers and the agent in a hail of blaster fire. The other troopers follow straight after, but then a pursuit transport screams down from over the building, releasing more troopers and another agent Its cannons turn on the heroes and open fire, smashing holes in to the ground and smashing the surrounding crates. Grenades are lobbed by both sides, taking the wind from the heroes, but wounding several of the Imperials and scorching the hull of the transport.

As theDroid of Doom, Tracer and Valdor concentrate on taking out the Imperials, Riddick makes a dash for their speeder.

Meanwhile, Valdor takes out the new agent, and the other two deal with the troopers. They then turn their fire on the transport, which returns fire and manages to score a hit on Valdor, knocking him to the wall. Then the transport suffers a series of powerful hits that disable it, and it crashes into the wall.

Riddick arrives with the speeder. They haul their prisoners on board, and take off. And as they do so, a pair of Imperial Pursuit Speeders arrive and give chase.

End of Session

Coruscant.

Or, as it now better know, Imperial Centre, is the heart of the Empire. It is a world that our heroes would be better off avoiding. They all have bounties on their heads; three would likely never see the light of day if they were discovered, and all have good reasons for never wanting to set foot on the planet.

But they have a mission. And to Imperial Centre they go, in their freshly repaired transport, the Heart of Alderaan (with an altered transponder and new name), with false identities and disguised as merchants looking for work. With untraceable credits and the name of a contact (Tero Reskan), the elite members of the Alderaan Resistance find themselves in an approach vector of the Imperial Centre, stuck in a traffic jam after narrowly avoiding a collision with a bulky transport that comes careening out of hyperspace much too close to the space lanes.

They land in the city without any trouble, taking a berth and clearing customs will minimal fuss. Locating a suitable, out of the way hostel on the lower levels, the heroes waste no time heading off into the city to track down information on the Sarlacc Project.

They don’t have many leads, but one seems promising. They have learnt of a former associate of Darga the Hutt, a Sullustan named Resh. It takes them several hours, well into the night, to track down someone who can help them: an information broker called Eetoa Ro. After making contact they meet up with the speeder-bike riding teenager and, after some haggling and handing over 2500 credits, learn that Resh has a hidden warehouse in a section of the lower levels known as the Works; and that he is also being hunted by bounty hunters. The heroes get directions and immediately set off, using their own air-speeder to get to the lower levels. After securing it they hike to the warehouse.

As they are moving through a fume-choked street surrounded by factories and walkways, they start to cross a bridge and a voice calls out for them to stop. It demands they pay a toll, and in the fume-shrouded shadows, a number of Rodians can be seen moving into position while the heroes are on the bridge.

Never one to be told what to do or held hostage to anything, the trigger-happy Droid of Doom opens fire, injuring the gang’s leader; who then falls to a shot from Tracer as he draws his pistols and fires. Valdor opens fire too, wounding another Rodian, and the Jedi moves up to engage one gang member in melee; and as that rodian backs away, Riddick lashes out with his vibroblade and wounds him too.

The gang starts to run, but before they can three are shot down by the Droid of Doom, Tracer and Valdor. And while Riddick wounds another, that member then runs to the nearest stairwell and escapes.

An hour later the heroes find themselves at the warehouse where they believe Resh to be hiding. They spot a crashed speeder on the roof, and as they near the entrance they hear raised voices from inside. Valdor translates and tells the others that there are bounty hunters inside, trying to get Resh.

The heroes sneak in, moving through the crates and boxes of the front of the warehouse. Across the walkways several devaronian bounty hunters are trying to get into a locked and armoured office at the far end. Their leader, a battle-suited devaronian called Sisla, is telling Resh to come out or they’ll come in guns blazing. At the bottom of the warehouse if a sludge of oil, and from there two more bounty hunters are climbing the scaffolding to the office.

Just as those two hunters are finishing their climb, the heroes attack, surprising the hunters:

All but Tracer hit, the clone trooper’s shot going wide. Valdor shots again and knocks one of the hunters off the scaffolding, down into the oily mess. Both the droid and the Jedi fire and miss, while Tracer fires with both his weapons and seriously injures one of the hunters on the walkway. None of the heroes take any damage as the hunters’ blaster bolts smash into the surrounding creates.

Then one hunter lobs a grenade, and it explodes and stuns the droid and the Jedi, but little more than that due to the cover they have.

Valdor pops up and fires again, taking out the badly injured hunter. Riddick fires too, a well-aimed shot that takes down another hunter, who is injured already by a concentrated blast from the Droid of Doom. Sisla and Tracer exchange fire, but neither does anything close to damaging the other. Frustrated, Tracer turns on one of the other hunters, and takes him out.

Now only Sisla is standing, and all the heroes pour blaster bolts into him. He manages to get a couple of shots off, all missing. Then he is felled by a blast from the Droid of Doom.

With the bounty hunters now dealt with, the heroes rescue Resh and sit him down for a nice talk.

End of Session

As you enter the stark white briefing room, Admiral Varth waits impatiently for you to take your seats. The Admiral looks extremely tired and sleep deprived. It takes you a moment to realize that Captain Verana sits nearby, near the familiar assisting astromech droid. Admiral Varth begins.

“Congratulations. The data you obtained on Nizon is very revealing, so much so that I fear that once the Empire realizes it has been compromised, they will take steps to invalidate it. I’m afraid that time is not on our side.

“Thanks to you, we now know the origin of the Sarlacc Project, if not its final purpose.” The Admiral signals the droid, and the holoprojector activates, showing a very familiar city-planet.

“I suppose we should not be surprised that the project’s origin and design team resides on Imper—I mean, Coruscant. I do not believe that the entire project is housed there, given the casualty figures I have seen in my former Imperial life. However, it is apparent from the new data that the project is controlled from somewhere in this area.”

The Admiral waves at the droid, and the view zooms to the planet’s surface, highlighting a large district that includes some of the Empire’s most important governmental structures, such as the
Imperial Senate. “Unfortunately, we do not have an exact fix on the building or agency directly responsible for the project. The leads we have are impossible to pursue remotely. Therefore, we must send you in as soon as possible.”

Captain Verana speaks in a serious tone. “Before we delve into the details, you should know that our benefactor has fully authorised this mission, and he wanted me to personally assure you of its importance.”

The holoprojector zooms out to show thousands of starships, space stations, and satellites orbiting or approaching Coruscant.

“Coruscant is, of course, the center of the Empire. If you have not been to the system since the days of the Republic, the amount of traffic and the level of security may astound you. Peace and order, even under an oppressive government, have brought new opportunities to corporations and individuals throughout the galaxy.

Between the prosperity of the Core Worlds and the rebuilding of the planets damaged by the Clone Wars, traffic to Coruscant has increased many times what it was only a few years ago. Security has also increased, so it will be vital that you have the proper documentation and permits to approach the system and land at a suitable port. I will provide this for you.”

With that, the Admiral finally takes a seat, leaving the holoprojector on as a nearly silent reminder of your final destination. “Now, I’m sure you have additional questions.”

Episode Six Opening Crawl

STAR WARS: DAWN OF DEFIANCE
Episode VI
THE CORE OF CORRUPTION

The Nazren uprising is over. Out of the chaos, Senator Organa’s agents return to the starship Resurgence with new data essential to discovering the origins of the mysterious Sarlacc Project.

Fearing that swift Imperial action will invalidate the compromised information, the Imperial traitor Admiral Varth has reassembled Organa’s agents for a dangerous trip to the heart of the Empire. There they must continue their desperate search for the Sarlacc Project, under the oppressive gaze of the Empire itself . . .

At the plaza the heroes quickly analyse the opposition between them and the central dome containing the communications centre: three laser turrets and a patrolling AT-ST.

Their plan is simple: they walk in, open fire, lob grenades to take out the nearest turret and deal with the walker; all entering from the south side so that only one turret can target them.

The heroes make short work of the AT-ST and turret, suffering nothing more than a few bruises. Seems they are a powerful force to be reckoned with, and Imperial Walkers are no match for them.

Inside the dome the technicians there surrender, especially as their leaders have fled. As Sartok deals with the communications and sets in motion events that’ll liberate his planet, the heroes locate the data about the Sarlacc Project, only to learn that it has been downloaded by remote access: from a location up on the mountainside, where the half-completed shield generator stands.

Leaving Sartok to his work, the heroes trek up the mountain and arrive at the platform, where they discover a docked ship and the bounty hunter, Vril Vrakth. He gloats that he has them exactly where he wants them, and that not only does he have the data that they are looking for, but Inquisitor Draco will pay him well for their capture, or death.

The heroes waste no time talking and take the offensive, with the Droid of Doom scoring a critical hit with the first shot, injuring the bounty hunter; Vril Vrakth takes a step back, dealing with the pain and getting his breath back, while from over the scaffolding that supports the platform a trio of crab droids charge the heroes; they hit the former Senator and the Battle Droid with powerful charges but miss the Jedi. In retaliation the heroes pour blaster bolts into the droids,.

Then Vril Vrakth lobs a thermal detonator into the heroes midst, badly wounding Valdor who backs off to heal himself and injuring the rest. The Droid of Doom and Tracer blast away at the droids, who are also injured by the lobbed grenade. Then Riddick moves up to deal with the bounty hunter, almost falling down a loose panel that shifts beneath his feet; as he recovers his balance, he uses to Force to throw two of the droids into each other, smashing them to a pulp.

The Droid of Doom continues to blast away at the crab droid, and then Vril Vrakth lobs another detonator, destroying his own droid, but also wounding the heroes again, although not as badly as before. Valdor and Tracer open fire on Vril, but his battle armour absorbs the bolts. But it doesn’t stop the cutting blade of Riddick’s lightsabre.

With the enemy droid now destroyed, the Droid of Doom fires at Vril, but misses by a wide margin; and the bounty hunter lobs another grenade, catching the heroes in its blast once again, all are badly injured, and Valdor falls unconscious. Then the mighty Tracer takes careful aim and takes out Vril Vrakth with a shot to the head!

In the aftermath the heroes recover the data, return to the city and help Sartok mop up the enemy in his city. Within a matter of hours the planet is liberated, the Imperials forces withdrawing from the city and off the planet. The heroes are honoured by the nazren, then take their leave and return to the Resurgence to deliver the data.

End of Episode

Following Sartok further into the city, as the riot spreads along the streets from pockets of resistance long in place and now acting upon their leader’s orders, the heroes spot a transport landing in a nearby hanger, black smoke pouring from poorly maintained thrusters.

Sartok tells them that it is a slaver ship, coming to collect another batch of slaves. If those slaves can be freed, his people will join the growing resistance and the victory will help boost the morale of the rioters.

Happy to help, even more happy to blast slavers, the heroes agree and head off to the hanger to find eight slavers escorting a small number of slaves towards the waiting ship; a number of nek hounds guard them.

The heroes race in and open fire, Riddick using the Force to slam several to the ground; a lucky shot from return fire hits Valdor and wounds him. More shots are exchanged, two slavers fall dead, another couple injured, the Droid of Doom absorbs several blasts but takes a glancing blow as one shot penetrates his shields.

Tracer kills another, the Droid of Doom injures one, while Valdor lobs a grenade and wounds several more. Riddick uses the Force to throw one salver into another, then Blasts one to the ground. And all the while the heroes dodge blaster bolts, swings of heavy clubs, and ignore the pretty useless hounds.

The rest of the slavers fall quickly, the remaining hounds fleeing. Sartok helps his people from their chains, and all head back into the city.

By now the riot has exploded across the city and the Imperial forces are trying to subdue it. Units are diverted from less critical, opening the way for the heroes. Then, from the mountainside, the working turbolaser starts to open fire, burning holes into the buildings and blowing chunks out of the city. One shot hits a building, which turns out to be a school; a group of nazren children pour out onto the roof as the lower floors burst into flames.

As the heroes look round for a way to help them, Stormtroopers appear on the roofs of the opposite buildings and start opening fire on the people below.

While Sartok helps his people flee and tries to find a way to extinguish the fire, the heroes make their way up to an adjacent building to deal with the troopers. They surprise the troopers stationed there and cut them down quickly, but not before one opens up with full auto-fire and wears down the Jedi. The heroes move to the edge of the roof, blasting the troopers below, then, one-by-one, the heroes leap across the gap to the next roof, taking out the troopers there.

Within less than a minute the troopers are all dead, the children saved, and the way clear.

Sartok tells them that the passage to the plaza, where the control centre is located, in now open, and that they can save the planet if they move quickly and take control.

The heroes follow the resistance leader, weapons ready, eager to claim back the planet for these people.

End of Session

Heroes are now Level 10.

During the day the heroes watch the camp and plan, then move under the cover of darkness. With Tracer dressed up as a Storm Trooper and the Droid of Doom disguised as a slave (using his hologram), Valdor hanging back to cover them, and th Jedi Knight Riddick cloaking himself with the Force, the heroes make their move.

The disguised heroes advance on the camp, calling up to the ’troopers in the towers, telling them he has a new prisoner. They open the gates to let them in, while the Jedi sneak closer and uses the Force to drain the energy from the mechanisms controlling the gate. As the ’troopers try to close them, cursing the poor components, the disguised Droid of Doom goes up to Sartok and tells him that they are here to free him; he in turn passes word to the other captives, and all are ready to break free once the firing starts.

This happens sooner than planned when one of the Nek hounds starts sniffing around the two heroes. Knowing that surprise is their only advantage, Riddick uses the Force to hurl the hound into the two ’troopers in a tower, smashing the gun emplacement there and knocking them all prone. The other heroes immediately open fire, as Sartok and his people start making a move to the gates and out to freedom.

Blaster bolts fly across the sky, multiple shots hitting ’troopers and heroes alike, the Jedi using a Force Blast to knock another ’trooper to the floor. Some of the prisoners fall to blaster fire, and even Sartok takes a hit as he ushers his people to the gates. The first kill for the heroes goes to the Droid of Doom as he deadeyes a ’trooper; while Tracer wounds another and Riddick strengthens himself using the Force, and Valdor gives covering fire to the slaves now escaping the camp.

The heroes back out with the slaves, with more blaster bolts keeping the ’troopers down, and the Jedi Force Slams another couple of ’troopers to the floor. The Battle Droid kills another trooper, and then they are all away, escaping into the city, with Sartok leading the heroes to a safe haven: a cave hidden part way up the mountain on which the city is built.

Sartok makes a quick sweep of the cavern, checking to ensure that it has not been disturbed. Apparently satisfied, he crouches by the simple fire and motions for the heroes to sit. He takes a few long breaths, then turns and speaks:

“My world is enslaved, and we have come to realize that no negotiation or appeal to reason can free us. The only way we shall regain control of Nizon is to take it back by force, which requires us to face the weapons and training of the Empire. That battle must begin here—all other settlements look to us for inspiration and leadership. For the sake of our world, we must take up arms against our oppressors.

“The cost shall be high for my people, but they are eager to pay it. The cost for remaining slaves would be higher, and it would be paid by our children and our children’s children. If you will help us, we are ready to throw off the yoke of tyranny, even if we lose our lives. Liberty is too precious to sell for the chance of quieter, safer lives under the dark shadow of oppression.

“I have allies throughout the city who are ready to raise arms against the Empire at my signal. We are not a warlike people, but the stormtroopers have shown us the basics of violence, and we
have learned the lesson well. Against soldiers, I have no doubt that my people would fight bravely with a fair chance at victory. But the Imperial forces have vehicles—large, metal, two-legged machines of war—that we cannot face. My people fear these machines, and though many would still fight bravely, too many would wait to see if we could topple them. Such an attack would be staggered and lose too much of its impact. Only if many of us take up arms at once can we overthrow our oppressors.

“But you are outsiders, and to be standing here, you must have opposed the Empire’s machines successfully. Many of my less confident allies believe that with your aid, even the walking war
machines could not stop us. This would give them the confidence to bring enough forces to bear at once. If we can take control of the planetary shields and turbolasers that they have nearly finished building on Mount Antas, we can complete those structures ourselves and use them to defend against further Imperial attack. The first step in such an attack is a citywide riot, which I am prepared to trigger.

“I know this world is not yours, that our people are not your people. But if you will aid us, you will always have a place of honour among the Nazren.”

Naturally, the heroes agree to help, and a plan is formed: as Sartok starts the riots, the heroes will head to Checkpoint Gamma and open the gate there, removing the Imperial guards who watch it. Once that is open, the resistance can gain access to the major parts of the city. Sartok will meet the heroes after they have defeated the Checkpoint, then take them to the control centre at the heart of the city, to reclaim the city and help the heroes get the information that they have come for.

The heroes waste no time, and after a brief rest to tend to a few minor wounds, they head over to Checkpoint Gamma and sneak up to it, quickly spotting the RT-AT walkers present. They move up to attack, but their cover is blown when one of the walkers spots the Jedi, and then the fight begins.

Riddick opens up with a powerful Move Object, shoving a walker into the wall of the adjacent building, but the walker’s armour is tough and the impact does no damage. The Droid of Doom opens fire, burning holes in another walker. The walker returns fire, but the Jedi blocks and deflects the bolts, returning them to the walker, damaging it some more, and then both Tracer and Valdor add to its damage.

Then a third walker moves into view and launches a mortar, which catches the Jedi in its blast, injuring him; the other walker opens fire at the Droid, but misses.

Riddick charges, leaping over the barrier, and with a mighty swing of his lightsabre he cuts the damaged walker down, trapping and knocking its pilot unconscious. The other heroes open fire, scoring more hits, and ducking behind cover to avoid the walkers’ return fire. Another flurry of fire for the heroes takes out the second walker, the last shot by Valdor taking out its pilot. Then all four converge on the remaining walker, lightsabre and blaster fire taking it down, the kill shot going to a well-aimed deadeye by Tracer.

As the smoke clears, Sartok returns and leads them further into the city, as all around them the sounds of a city-wide riot can be clearly heard.

End of Session

After landing the transport and putting the fighter back into the hanger bay, hidden in a valley a good few miles from the only city, the heroes head off in their landspeeder and speederbikes, and hide them before walking into the city as nothing more exotic than any spacefarer that comes there.

The city is a major metropolis, but it’s also the only big city to be found anywhere. There is starship traffic, proving that the city has a spaceport—most likely, the only one on the planet. The city is built on a flat, rocky region between a large mountain and rough badlands of valleys and hills. There is construction on the mountain overlooking the city, but from here it’s impossible to tell exactly what’s being built. Starship traffic is regular enough to suggest the presence of
more than just Imperial forces and the local population. A few small freighters, manufactured by numerous different companies, are landing or taking off. Given that they lack any sign of Imperial
markings or identification broadcasts, they are probably privately owned, meaning that at least a few members of other species will be found in the city, making it easier for the heroes to move around there.

The city is sprawling, with 10- to 15-story buildings crowded around wide streets and public fountains. Most of the city looks old, constructed of stone and natural caverns. Ancient statues of rock and ornate decorative carvings are worked into most buildings, and even the roads are paved with carved stones. More modern constructions can also be seen, mostly watch-posts bolted onto buildings or gates that block access to some streets. Posters, wanted signs, and recruitment fliers for the Empire have been plastered everywhere, ugly debris atop the city’s natural charm.

Most of the creatures the heroes see are obviously locals, the Nazren. None seem to carry weapons, not even something as crude as a knife or club. Their heads are generally downcast and their shoulders slumped, but whenever one glances at an Imperial poster or flyer, it looks up, and a flash of hatred shows briefly in its eyes. Though much less common, aliens from dozens of worlds also walk through the streets. Most are followed by one or two Nazren carrying heavy bundles of goods. The aliens go by without comment and are diverse enough that there is no reason the heroes own appearance should draw unwanted attention. The Imperial presence here is also obvious. Stormtroopers in small groups patrol openly through the city, and in the distance there is the mechanical stomp of military walkers, though nothing as big as an AT-AT would fit in the streets.

Knowing that they need to learn what is going on, the heroes decide the best way would be to free some slaves from the Trandoshan slavers lurking around the city street’s. They follow a group of four slavers escorting six downtrodden Nazren, and as they are about to make a surprise attack, Riddick spots a patrol of Imperial Stormtroopers dragging a Nazren woman from her home, telling her that she is under arrest for helping the resistance. From inside the building the sound of a child crying can be clearly heard.

Tracer opens the fight with a sniping shot, taking out a Stormtrooper. Then the others join in, and in quick succession Riddick Force Slams four of the Troopers to the ground, knocking them unconscious, the Droid of Doom blows a hoel through the chest of another Trooper, Tracer double attacks the Slavers, injuring one and killing another outright, and then Valdor takes out the injured Slaver with a well-placed shot. The remaining Slaver pulls out an axe, looking around in shock and surprise.

As Riddick helps the woman drag the Stormtrooper bodies off the street, the other three heroes take shots at the last Slaver, but only the Droid of Doom hits, and he only injures him. That Slaver turns tail and begins to run, but is shot down by the Droid of Doom before he can escape.

They help clear the street and free the slaves, who thank them and hurry off. The woman, Adruk, tells them that the Imperials have been occupying the city for about a year, shipping her people off as slaves to some unknown location. Anyone who resists is placed in the detainment camp in the centre of town, before being sold-off as slaves. She also tells them that a Zabrak bounty hunter called Vril Vrakth has recently arrived on Nizon with a collection of old crab droids. Most people think that Vrakth is hunting Sartok, but that he keeps asking about newcomers, and that he seems to have the aid of Imperial troops. Many believe that Vrakth is chasing an Imperial bounty on a non-Nazren target.

Sartok is their resistance leader, who has been accidentally arrested and placed in the camp. At the moment the Imperials have no idea who he is, but if they do, then any hope of resisting the Empire’s rule will end with him. If the heroes can free him, they will have gained a valuable ally who might well be able to help them.

The heroes begin planning the liberation of Sartok and the Nazren at the camp.

End of Session One

After weeks of meditation and study, Master Denia once more calls the heroes together with news. The meditation techniques she learned from the holocron have proven to be helpful, and she believes that she has located the home planet of the slaves the heroes failed to rescued in [[Episode Three: Session Three | The Queen of Air and Darkness]]. After consulting the Force, she believes that the
alien slaves were in fact Nazren, a species from Nizon, an obscure planet in the Maldrood Sector.
A special request by Senator Organa to the University of Aldera revealed only that the planet Nizon is a barren world in the Centares System. It lies near Centares, an industrial world occupied by the Empire from which Imperial forces have been withdrawing for some months now. Captain Verana has managed to locate Nizon in his navcomputer and is willing to share the coordinates with the heroes if they agree to investigate the world, and try to locate any data relating to the Sarlacc Project.

The heroes set off in the Heart of Alderaan and enter the Centares system not far from the debris cloud surrounding the planet Nizon.

Hyperspace fades, and the stars find their rightful positions again as they arrive in the Centares System, far enough from Centares to avoid any starship with sensors sharp enough to find them. A Message to Spacers broadcasts automatically, warning travelers to be cautious of rogue meteor fragments. They can see that the system has seven planets, many of which are ringed by fragments from a large asteroid belt between the second and third planets. Centares and Nizon sit within asteroids, too, but they’re also cloaked by dust clouds. There’s a lot of rock in nearby space.

Then all of the ship’s sensors and warning alarms go off at once. Between them and Nizon, emerging from the dust cloud that surrounds the world, is a Star Destroyer! It’s an older, smaller model than the new Imperial class that the Empire is producing, but it’s still a fully functional capital ship, with an escort of V-wing fighters. Having just escorted a transport ship (of a type they’ve seen before) out of Nizon’s orbit, the Star Destroyer turns and heads toward the Heart of Alderaan. The Imperial ship makes no effort to communicate, and its approach is direct—and hostile. It’s transponder identifies it as the Victory II-class Star Destroyer, the Arkanian Dragon.

Chatter over the transceiver reveals additional ships in the system. At least two other Star Destroyers are in orbit around Nizon, though nowhere near their position. Dozens of starfighters, mostly V-wings and V-19 Torrent models, are also in orbit around the planet. A few other ships, including bulk carriers and personal starships, are flying about in the planet’s atmosphere, below the dust cloud. At least one ship still orbits Centares, maintaining an Imperial presence there. From the sound of the chatter, it’s another old Star Destroyer design, though perhaps a bigger design. Whatever it is, the heroes don’t want to be sitting in orbit if it decides to investigate.

In the Heart of Alderaan the two soldiers, the Droid of Doom and Tracer man the laser cannons and turbolaser respectively, while Valdor operates the shields, sensors and engineering side. While their pilot droid keeps the ship flying, Riddick is flying along in one of the Headhunters.

It is immediately obvious that the Imperials are hostile and looking for a fight, or at least to catch them in a tractor-beam and board the ship. Since they are now wanted criminals, they agree that the best plan is to blast past the blockade and straight through the debris cloud to the safety of the planet below.

As their ship takes evasive action and starts to move away from the Star Destroyer, the escorting V-Wings move to intercept both ships. One opens fires straight away, the shot going wide. Another fires its laser cannons at the Heart of Alderaan, but the transport’s shields are too powerful and absorb the attack without any reduction in power. The transport fires back, hitting one of the fighters, and the Jedi retaliates and burns a hole in the hull of another.

A V-Wing slips into close range and engages the transport in a dogfight, and Riddick finds himself similarly engaged. Shots are fired by both sides, but all miss. Again the transport takes a hit, but the shields are too strong, and then the Droid of Doom counterattacks and blows the V-Wing out of the stars; quickly followed by a heavy burst of fire from Tracer, taking out a second fighter. Meanwhile, Riddick disengages from his dogfight and scores a hit on the enemy fighter as he does so.

By now the Star Destroyer has closed into long range, opening fire with its multiple turbolaser emplacements, all missing the agile ships; even the sweep of a tractor-beam fails to land.

The Jedi scores another hit against his opponent, while dodging the return fire. The remaining fighter misses the transport, and then the Droid of Doom takes it out with another well=placed shot, the fighter exploding. Then the rumbling Star Destroyer gets lucky and a burst of turbolaser bolts scream into the transport’s shields, weakening them and burning scorch lines across the hull. Somewhere inside there is a small explosion, and the recharge capacitors suddenly go off line [in game terms: no recharging shields until damage is repaired]. The jolt makes the heroes realise that they need to go away quickly, before another lucky shot takes out the ship.

As Riddick takes out the last V-Wing, the Heart of Alderaan heads towards the dust cloud, while the Droid of Doom and Tracer open fire on the Star Destroyer, hoping to get a lucky shot in. They manage a few hits, but the larger vessel’s shields protect it.

With the Star Destroyer slowly pursuing, the Heart of Alderaan enters the dust cloud, hitting a large rock and taking some minor damage, and more shots are exchanged, but while the former Clone Trooper hits, he does no damage. The Jedi turns his fighter towards the planet and darts into the cloud, skilfully dodging the larger rocks using the Force.

Both heroes pilot their vessels further into the cloud, shields and careful piloting keeping them safe. The Star Destroyer continues to fire, but halts its pursuit at the edge of the cloud. On the edge of entering the atmosphere, the Heart of Alderaan hits another rock, and then just as they are about to move out of range of the Star Destroyer, Tracer gets lucky and lands a hit on the Imperial ship: a critical hit that tears through the Star Destroyer’s shields and punches a hole in its hull.

The heroes escape, knowing that the Imperials aren’t likely to forget this encounter, and that the Imperials on the planet below might well be expecting them…

Episode Five

STAR WARS: DAWN OF DEFIANCE
Episode V
THE FIRST TO STRIKE

It is a time of rebellion in the galaxy. Members of the Alderaanian resistance have
won a major victory against the Empire, and more battles are close at hand.

The Empire’s mistreatment of non-Humans continues throughout the galaxy,
as Wookiees, Mon Calamari, and other species are forced to work
as slaves on Imperial projects.

Aboard the Resurgence, Master Denia has peered into the Force and discovered
another group of oppressed beings, ones who might hold the key to
unlocking the mystery of the Sarlacc Project . . .

Leaving the archives and defeated noghri behind, the heroes make their way down the sloping tunnel and enter a large cavern with gaping holes leading to water deep below.

And there, standing on the other side, illuminated by his lightsabre and that of his apprentice, is none other than Inquisitor Draco.

“You make out a figure in a flowing scarlet robe of septsilk. You recognize him from the message you received many months ago after your adventure on Bespin: Inquisitor Valin Draco. He is flanked on one side by a stern-looking female whose lightsaber gives a red tint to their surroundings. There is a glint in Draco’s eye and a chilling smile on his lips, as if he already knows more about you than you know about yourselves. Just behind Draco, an incandescent object floats in the air, seeming to grow out of a small cube strapped to Draco’s forearm.”

As the heroes spread out from the entrance, Draco talks to them, as, unseen, his Shadow Troopers make ready to fire their stealth rifles.

“I am Valin Draco, and, like you, I once thought myself a hero. During the Clone Wars, the brave men and women I commanded called me the ‘Valiant Dragon’ as we fought in epic conflicts for the
corrupt Republic. But after I was left for dead on the battlefield of Parein II 4, flattering titles lost their meaning for me. These are dark times, and I know that you’ve suffered great losses, that you wrestle with the same concerns of virtue and compromise that I did as a Jedi, the same concerns that have plagued the conscientious since time immemorial. Surrender yourselves to the Empire. I promise your treatment will be gentler, and you might even be given the chance to serve me. Surrender yourselves—or face your destiny.”

The heroes, naturally, refuse, and initiate combat as Tracer opens fire, trying unsuccessfully to destroy the wrist-computer that the Sith Holocron is attached to.

Draco salutes them, saying “As you die, rest assured that I reflected on you as on all enemies:
despising that you must be wrong and I right, but reveling in the triumph of my convictions while whatever species of maggot indigenous to this world expedites the transition of your carcasses from this existence to the next.”

And while While Draco speaks, the sinister blot hovering behind him seems to pulse and seethe with rage. “Before your eyes, the wraith seems to transfer some of its dark energy into the Inquisitor, wreathing the Human in shadows. The evil holocron gatekeeper hovering in the room seems to writhe with malevolence, and there is clearly some vile connection between it and the Inquisitor. Draco’s eyes acquire a sickening gold hue, and his voice plummets in pitch as he gives a command to the woman and soldiers at his side. ‘My brave companions—kill them,’ says Draco”.

Raik Muun steps forward to deal with them:

“The fire-haired woman stalks toward you, clad in a dark version of the Inquisitor’s attire. She appears Human, but something about her says otherwise. Then you see it. Draco’s gaze shows ruthlessness and calculation, but this Dark Jedi’s entrancing, green-slitted pupils harbor only murder and dementia.”

With the flick of a thumb, the red blade of her lightsaber streaks into existence, casting her body into a bewitching vermillion glow. Each syllable of her death sentence tumbles like wisps of smoke from her lips. “Come at me one at a time or all at once. All shall pass from this world.”

And the melee commences:

As blaster bolts rip chunks out of the wall from the unseen rifles of the Shadow Troopers, the somewhat battered and scorched Droid of Doom opens up with a burst of auto-fire, missing Draco but catching Raik Muun with several bolts. The two Dark Jedi call upon the Dark Side of the Force, imbuing themselves with Dark Rage.

Jedi Riddick uses the Force to sense the Shadow Troopers, locating them and quickly pointing them out to the others. Valdor gestures to the others, directing them as the Jedi moves up to deal with the Dark apprentice and the former clone trooper starts edging around the edge, looking for the hidden Shadow Troopers.

The Dark Side is strong, and it seems that luck is against the heroes. First off, an invisible bolt hits Valdor, wounding him. Then Inquisitor Draco uses Move Object, which Riddick fails to Rebuke, and is thrown against the wall with a solid crunch. Raik Muun partially deflects another burst of fire from the Droid of Doom, and then the Dark Jedi stabs out with her lightsabre, but the blow is blocked by the Padawan’s hand as he Negates the Energy of the blade for a moment. He retaliates, swinging low and scoring a hit, using the following hesitation to catch his breath. Meanwhile, Tracer spots a couple of Shadow Troopers, almost hidden in the darkness of the cavern; he opens up with a burst of blaster bolts, piercing armour and wounding them; and then Valdor finished them off with a well-aimed frag grenade.

Inquisitor Draco follows up with a Force Grip on Riddick, clutching his throat, as his apprentice moves up hoping for a kill. She is distracted by another burst of auto-fire from the Droid of Doom, which helps the struggling Jedi block a thrust from Raik Muun’s lightsabre. As Tracer moves to flank, he tries to hit Draco, but the Dark Jedi deflects the shot, right back into Tracer, scoring a glancing blow, and Valdor lobs another grenade, injuring the other two Shadow Troopers, who both miss with their shots.

Then the heroes luck turns. Raik Muun fails to dodge more blaster bolts from the Droid, and her attack is blocked by the Jedi Riddick’s blade. Released from the Force Grip, the young Padawan uses the Force to drain the power from the Sith Holocron, taking out the Darth Rivan ghost, and visibly weakening the Inquisitor. This distraction allows both Tracer and Valdor to land shots on the Dark Jedi, neither deflected; and the two injured Shadow Troopers also miss, their shots going wide.

Riddick cuts down Raik Muun, then is struck by a powerful burst of Force Lightning from Inquisitor Draco, which knocks the Jedi prone and causes his muscles and nerves to spasm. Tracer opens fire with full auto, some bolts hitting Draco, others deflected, and then Valdor takes out the last two Shadow Troopers with another grenade.

Only Inquisitor Draco stands before the heroes now, enraged and in melee with the Jedi. He lashes out, but Riddick blocks skilfully, but his return attack is just as easily blocked. Then the Droid of Doom and Tracer open up with full auto-fire, some bolts deflected and others striking the Dark Jedi, scorching his arms and legs. Then, visibly injured and weakening before their eyes, Inquisitor Draco Force Slams Riddick to the ground, and in a final burst of auto-fire, the deadly Droid of Doom guns the Dark Jedi down; who crashes to the floor, and rolls off into the dark chasm below, disappearing with a splash.

And as he falls, Riddick calls on the Force to summon the Holocron to him. The item they came for.

With the Dark Jedi left for dead, the heroes head out of the temple, as it begins to collapse around them:

“As you run through the ruins of the academy’s ground floor, the remaining walls of the fountain room and the columns in the entry hall collapse around you, showering you with dust. As you leap for the exit out of the academy, huge clouds of dust billow into the air, obscuring your view as the ground quakes and devours the ruins. As the dust clears, you could not have imagined how good
Almas’ toxin-filled air would feel in your lungs. It’s a good thing you rescued the holocron, because no one will be able to go back down there for a long, long time. Looking away from the falling rubble, you see the familiar buildings of deserted Forard city. You feel like resting a bit before walking back to your ship. You can’t wait to reunite with your uncomfortable bunk bed.
Master Denia will be grateful that you’ve recovered the holocron. You should return to the Resurgence soon, before more Imperial agents come looking for Inquisitor Draco.”

They quickly board the Heart of Alderaan and leave the system, entering hyperspace before the Imperials can locate them. Back on-board the Resurgence, they hand over the holocron to Master Denia, after telling them about Draco and learning that he used to be her Padawan.

“This sounds like quite an ordeal you experienced, and whether you follow the Jedi ways or not, you have contributed greatly to the enlightenment of the Force. With this item, I will seek answers about the slaves that you rescued at Bespin, and hopefully some clues about the Empire’s Sarlacc Project. I am also curious about the creatures and evil forces that you encountered in the academy, and if I find information about them, I will advise you. But now if you’ll excuse me, I must meditate.”

And as she does so, the heroes retire for some much needed rest and recuperation.

End of Episode Four

Heroes are now all Level 9

Their exploration of the second sub-level brings the heroes into the park at the centre of the academy.

No sooner do they enter, each suddenly finds himself alone, walled in, and from the shadows come people from their past: The Droid of Doom finds himself confronted with a Clone Trooper, raising his rifle to attack; Riddick finds himself a Clone Trooper too, the whisper of Order 66 strong; Tracer is squared off against an old Battle Droid, weapon ready to fire; and Valdor finds himself facing his old enemy, Baron Kithriss, vibroblade in hand.

It doesn’t take long for them too all realise that it is an illusion, although both the droid and former trooper exchange fire before they come to their senses. As soon as they are all convinced it is an illusion, the illusions shatter and they find themselves once more in the park; just as the T’Salak and its spawn attack: but they are more than a match for the black ooze, and dispatch it swiftly without any injuries.

They continue with their search, coming to a room with light pouring out of an open blast-door. As they approach, Tracer scouting ahead, they are surprised by a deadly Night-hunter that springs forth from the doorway; the former Clone Trooper opens fire, but the sudden appearance of the beast causes his aim to go wide, and the shot blasts a hole in the floor.

The Droid of Doom opens fire, but the Night-hunter’s hide is blaster resistant, and the bolt just bounces off harmlessly. Putting his rifle aside, Tracer whips out his knife and stabs at the beast, but it dodges out of the way. As Valdor moves aside to let Riddick get closer, the Jedi ignites his lightsabre and attacks, cutting deep swathes of flesh and hide from the beast; it tries to retreat, but a couple of more hits from the Jedi have it slinking away, and as the others keep it from escaping, the young Padawan and Knight-in-Training finishes it off.

Inside the room is a force-cage, which Riddick drains using the Force. Inside the cage is a broken Jedi, Master Vhiin’Thorla, who refuses to go with them, obviously deeply traumatised and in need of serious healing, both physically and mentally. However, the heroes do manage to get him to talk, enough to learn that none other than Inquisitor Draco is here, and that he has the holocron and was last heard heading to the archives on this level. Leaving the Master behind to be collected on their way back, the heroes head to the archives room and enter, spotting the ancient and damaged artefacts and the rubble partially blocking a tunnel leading into darkness.

As they enter, they are completely surprised by the noghri who are lying in wait:

The noghri get two hits before the heroes have a chance to react, wounding both Valdor and the Droid of Doom; moments later they are hit again, by knife and blaster. In retaliation, the Droid of Doom and Tracer open fire, spraying the room with bolts that hit and wound several of the noghri, while the Jedi moves into position, ducking blows aimed his way, and Valdor lobs a grenade, hitting the assassins and their leader.

The former senator takes another hit, but the rest of the noghri miss as the luck turns in the heroes favour: both the Droid of Doom and Tracer hit another noghri, while Riddick calls on the Force and Slams three of the noghri to the floor, where Valdor blasts them on full automatic, taking out two of the grey-skinned creatures.

The noghri leader raises his blaster to shoot the droid again, but the Jedi drains the power pack before he has a chance; while the others fire into the remaining noghri, injuring them, while all the time dodging blows and knife swipes. Valdor lobs another grenade, and takes out both the leader and one of the assassins.

Then, in a final flurry of blaster bolts and swishing lightsabre, the Droid of Doom, Tracer and Jedi Riddick take out the remaining noghri.

All is quiet once more, the cave tunnel beckoning them on…

…to an encounter with the Dark Jedi, Inquisitor Draco.

End of Session

After a bit of first aid and life transfer, thanks to the Force. The heroes gather themselves together and descend the stairs, entering the dark and still unpowered lowest level.

It is colder down here, the shadows seem thicker and the feeling of foreboding, of the insidious Dark Side, is even stronger. The light of the glow-rods seem to flicker and dim, drips of water fall from the cracked ceiling, and all around there seem to be half-heard whispers close, but far away. Sound is muffled, subdued. The air is stale and musty, the scent of blood and offal lingers.

They start to explore, slowly. They find a disused shooting range and a looted armoury, only a few old blaster pistols and viable power packs still functioning. They come across empty dormitories, and a refresher cubicle. An underground stream, covered by a pane of glass, cuts through the floor, through several rooms. They pass an archway leading to the remains of an underground garden, but leave it alone for now.

They enter another room, a larger dormitory with doors leading off. As they walk in, the room seems to swim before their eyes, and then, from the shadows, creatures born from nightmares spring forth.

Several of them are shifting masses of shadow and flesh, their forms constantly changing as they scamper towards the heroes, but the creature that transfixes them is a gargantuan dragon, flickers of lightning cackling from its mouth. It seems impossibly large, too big to fit into such a small room, but it is substantial and obviously dangerous.

In the first seconds, blaster bolts fly, claws swipe and lightsabre flashes. One of the nightmare creatures is pulverised, collapsing into a mess of body parts on the floor. Then the dragon opens it mouth and a burst of Force Lightning strikes the droid, once more causing his circuits to short and his shields to falter.

Riddick Force Slams the enemies to the floor, the dragon slumping against the wall. More blaster fire, more claws, and Valdor takes out another nightmare. The Droid of Doom takes a shot at the dragon, but its blaster seems to have little effect; in retaliation, more Force Lightning strike him, but his shields hold up and absorb most of the damage.

Thinking that his lightsabre will cut through the dragon’s hide better, Riddick engages it in melee, while Tracer and the Droid of Doom pour blaster fire into its hide, and Valdor takes out another nightmare.

The Jedi cuts into the dragon’s hide, causing more damage than the bolts from his friends weapons. But then the dragon tears into the Jedi with tooth and claw, cutting him badly. The other nightmare falls to further blasts, and then the heroes turn their full attention to the dragon, which moves up close and swipes at them with claws and bites with needle-sharp teeth.

For a moment is seems all is lost. Riddick is seriously injured, and both Tracer and Valdor are wounded, and the Droid of Doom is still suffering from the lightning. But then the tables are turned, as the Jedi takes a steadying breath, focusing himself as he stabs and slashes with his lightsabre. The former senator and Clone Trooper target the wounded side of the beast, burning away its hide, and with a re-routing of power, the Droid of Doom recovers and blasts away, burning large holes in its hide.

Then the Jedi lands the killing blow… and suddenly the room swims out of focus for a moment, and when it clears, the bodies are all gone, the lingering presence of the Dark Side stronger than ever. Some Force Dream, or phantoms, but real enough to injure.

They patch themselves up, take a moment to ready themselves, and once more start to explore the level, looking for the missing holocron. The sense of danger has grown, the shadows seem thicker than ever, but the heroes keep on.

Almost an hour since they first entered the ruins, they come across the medical bay. The door is forced open, to reveal a band of demented and manic cultists, dressed like scavenging monks, their eyes red like a Sith. Clutching crude spears, they scream and holler in some gibberish language and without further thought, they attack!

As Valdor opened the door, the first cultist charges at him, his spear stabbing into the Zabrak’s side. The former senator cries out for help, blasting at the cultist as he does so. The Droid of Doom opens fire, but without a clear shot, he hits the door frame. From the corridor, Tracer takes aim and hits the cultist in the shoulder. Then Riddick steps forward, and uses the Force to slam several cultists to the floor. The Force surges back into him, and his power comes back.

A shifting of positions allows the droid to use his auto-fire setting, covering the room with a flurry of blaster bolts, wounding several insane cultists. Then the Jedi slams more into the fall, and Valdor lobs a grenade inside, killing two outright and injuring a couple more. A follow-up shot from Tracer takes out another, but a thrown spear hits him, grazing his arm.

The two soldiers and Jedi enter the room, dodging spears from cultists. They wound a zealot, take out the remaining cultist, and leaving only the leader alive. He swiftly follows as they combine fire and take him out.

With the dust settling, and cultists lying dead around them, they do a quick search and find a couple of medpacs. They find nothing else, and start exploring the rest of the ruins.

End of Session

The ruins of the Jedi academy are full of shifting shadows, a deep feeling of foreboding and the almost palatable sense of the Dark Side of the Force. The building is unstable, debris falling as winds shift stone and rock. Dust trickles from above, and the groan and creak of settling masonry echoes through the ground floor of the academy.

Following Seven-Ay’s directions, the heroes enter the ruined ground floor and make their way past broken statues and buried rooms, towards the only entrance to the sub-levels below, a dysfunctional turbo-lift that is only partially blocked by rubble. They pass a dry fountain on the way, a pool of black goo at its bottom, seeming to move of its own accord, but dismissed as nothing more than a trick of the light. Seven-Ay tells them that although the academy lies in ruins, the generator room below might be able to be kick-started, allowing them to light their way. In the meantime, they shed light on their surroundings with glow-rods and lightsabre.

As they reach the end of the corridor, the ceiling sags and then breaks open as rubble falls down: bricks and stone bounce off the heroes, but two larger chunks slam into Valdor and the Droid of Doom, trapping them underneath the old stone. With some help from Tracer, Jedi Riddick uses the Force to lift the rubble from them, and they continue on.

They descend into the first sub-level, using ropes to abseil down the shaft. It is dark, pitch black except for their lights. They begin to explore, following Seven-Ay’s directions, locating the control room. Valdor plugs his portable power generator into the door controls, opening them, and when inside he swiftly gets the consoles ready to be powered up. Then they do the same for the Generator room, and access the back-up, providing power to the level once again. Lights flicker back on, sparks fly from damaged controls. Back at the control room, they download a map of the level and open the blast doors. They decide that the library is probably the best place to look for the Holocron and set of for it, exploring the other rooms on the way. In most they find nothing, just debris, signs of past looting, but in a store room that find a pair of secure lock-boxes, old Mandalorian safes that are impervious to most forms of energy. They pick them up and being them along with them.

They reach the library and enter, feeling on edge, expecting something to leap out of the shadows at them at any moment.

This library isn’t as large as its austere counterpart on Coruscant, but the ruination that greets them is no less dismaying. Even in dim light, they can make out a room that once was filled from floor to ceiling with shelves that housed hundreds of holobooks overflowing with
Jedi wisdom. Now, the repository has been pulverized into dust by blaster fire, and the shelves rest toppled at precarious angles throughout the chamber, shattered against research stations and
the marble floor. The shelves are kept company by overturned chairs and damaged computers spitting sparks. About 2.5 meters above is an open second floor, where even more despoiled shelves, holobooks, and datacards lie. More bloodscrawled graffiti again attests to cultist desecration. The second floor has a catwalk that cannot be reached without a hoversled. Beneath the walkway ledge, at the eastern wall, a wooden door has been splintered open. Framing it are two bronzium busts, presumably of noble Jedi, one of them decapitated. A small plaque identifies the bust as Jedi Master Qornah. The head lies on the floor, severed in half. Oddly, the inside of the sculpture appears to have sheltered something cubical. Just the right size for a Holocron.

Thinking that the Holocron might be hidden in the other bust, they break it open, but find nothing. A search of the library and the study also reveal nothing. But then they notice that, according to the map, there should be another room adjacent to the library, opposite the study. A more determined search soon reveals a door hidden behind a bookshelf, and with some skill, the former noble turned rebel, triggers the lock and the door opens.

As the blast door whooshes open, the unmistakable odor hits the heroes like a punch from a Barabel shockboxer: decaying flesh. Strewn before them, barely lit by their glow-rods, are about twenty cadavers representing the gamut of alien anatomy and osteology, from Besalisk to Dug to Pinurquian. Judging from the death grip that the deceased have on their weapons, you surmise that two different parties met here a while ago, possibly to cut a deal or as rivals of some sort, and wound up wiping each other out. They spot a descending stairway on the other side.

Slowly, cautiously, they enter. There are no signs of life. They reach mid-way, then Valdor and the clunking Droid of Doom trigger a motion sensor, and the stairway and entrance are suddenly sealed off by blast-doors whooshing shut.

An unexpected chill runs through up the spine, as they all hear moans coming from all around behind them. Impossibly, the cadavers that were littering the floor earlier are now shambling toward the group. One of them vaguely resembles a Kel Dor. Many of the corpses hold blaster pistols in bony hands that are blemished with chunks of spoiled flesh. The heroes are surrounded by the approaching corpses. Along with their putrefied organic remains, the dark side drips from the reanimated cadavers like saliva from a predatory nexu. Dancing light fills the cavernous eye sockets of their decomposing general as the Kel Dor corpse levels its blaster pistol, and the undead horde charges.

Finding himself toe-to-toe with one of the corpses– a rotting rodian– Riddick slashes out with his lightsabre, cutting into the flesh of the creature: as chunks of spoiled muscle burn away, the zombie lashes out with its own fist, catching the Jedi a glancing blow. Another zombie rushes as the Droid of Doom, who side-steps and blasts at the approaching glowing-eye corpse– a near-human in ripped and stained space-suit– his blaster bolts burn more holes into the corpse, but still it advances. Another zombie raises behind Riddick, pummelling his back, while Tracer takes careful aim and virtually disintegrates the corpse that the Jedi slashed. Valdor joins in with a grenade, lobbed in the middle of the undead, fragments cutting into the flesh of all, severing fingers and removing one of their arms completely.

Then the Jedi feels a surge of Dark Side power, and the Kel Dor corpse flings outs its decaying hand, throwing a Force Slam at the heroes: Riddick Rebukes it, dissipating the attack before it reaches them; but is then unprepared for the bolts of Force Lightning that swiftly follow, crackling into both the Jedi and causes some of the Droid of Doom’s circuits to fry. The other glowing-eyed corpse turns to Tracer, hand raised in a clenching motion: suddenly the ex-Clone Trooper finds it difficult to breath as his wind-pipe is squeezed tightly.

In retaliation, Riddick Force Slams back, dismembering two of the zombies, chunks of their flesh hitting the walls with a wet smack. The Droid of Doom takes revenge by filling the Kel Dor with more holes, and while Tracer struggles to breath, Valdor takes a shot at the near-human, but narrowly misses. Then the Force-using corpses return the favour: another Force Slam knocks the ex-Clone Trooper and Jedi to the ground, and the former senator suddenly finds himself unable to breath, as a couple of zombies close in on him.

Riddick summons the Force and picks up the Kel Dor, throwing him into the near-human to knock them both to the ground, and the Droid of Doom blasts them as they fall; the Kel Dor is splattered on the ground, but then a swarm of firefly-like particles pour forth from its mouth and eyes, and head straight into one of the other corpses. With a lurch, that body climbs to its feet, its eyes glowing!

The same thing happens as the Droid of Doom blows the near-human to bits; more particles of light gush from the mouth, and another corpse stands. Realising what is happening, the heroes quickly count the number of bodies that could be used as hosts, and know that they have to do. In the meantime, Riddick takes on the new host, engaging it with his lightsabre, and Tracer blows the head off the last standing non-Force using zombie.

As the Jedi and ex-Clone Trooper keep the two new hosts busy, exchanging blows and ducking attacks, the former senator and battle droid start blasting the remaining corpses. But now the damage to the heroes is getting bad; the droid’s shields are down and his circuits damaged; the senator is barely standing, claws and bruises and sore ribs slowing him down. Everyone has taken damage, but they are still standing.

Valdor almost falls as the hosts bring up their blaster pistols and fire, wounding the senator. He ducks back, as the droid comes up to protect him. Riddick calls on the Force and drains the power packs of the blasters, allowing Tracer to move in and aim a shot right between one of the host’s eyes: the corpses falls as its head explodes, and the swarming particles, with nowhere to go, suddenly scream and burn up in the atmosphere.

The second host follows quickly, as a combined burst of blaster fire from the two soldiers takes it out. The particles, some sort of Force-using parasites, burn up and the fight is over.

All is quiet in the aftermath. Seven-Ay has been badly damaged in the battle, hit by the Force Slam and Lightning. As his power starts to ebb out, he picks up a piece of paper he saw. On it are words, written in the old Sith tongue. He quickly translates them, reading them out loud before his power fails. A name appears on it, half scorched away: DA-TH R-V-N.

The words:

‘There is no passion . . . there is solely obsession.
There is no knowledge. There is solely conviction.
There is no purpose. There is solely will.
There is nothing . . .
Only me.’”

As soon as the words are spoken, there is a surge in the Dark Side. The room shakes as if an earthquake has hit, dust cascades from the ceiling, and from somewhere wind blows across the room. Then all is still once more.

End of Session Two

On board the Resurgence the heroes are briefed by Jedi Master Denia on their next mission:

“Your help to our cause in the last few months has been invaluable and your dedication exemplary. During my recovery, I had time to reflect on our goal—to discover the purpose of the Sarlacc Project.

“While studying at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, I learned about holocrons—recording devices into which Jedi stored their wisdom to pass on to future generations. Some holocrons, such as the prized Tedryn Holocron of Jedi Master Ashka Boda, were tailored toward helping Jedi Masters penetrate the secrets of the Force. Even beings already trained in the Jedi ways, like myself, greatly benefit from such a source of learning.

“I summoned you because the Force has pulled together threads of knowledge to reveal the location of a holocron similar to the Tedryn. Some time before I traveled to Cato Neimoidia, Master Ashka Boda contacted me with news that he had joined the former Almas Academy student Halagad Ventor in trying to form a network between the scattered Jedi survivors of the destruction of the academy. During the Clone Wars, an orbital bombardment decimated the academy in the Cularin system, and if any artifacts have survived, common sense suggests that they have since been stolen. But the Force tells me that the holocron we require is there.

“I’ve never been to the planet Almas in person, but I knew the headmaster there, a serene Jedi Master named Lanius Qel-Bertuk. I have no current information on the planet, but I can provide you with coordinates and a path through the treacherous comet cloud that surrounds the Cularin system. These were obtained at great expense thanks to Senator Organa’s vast connections.

“I feel this is crucial to our cause, because I have sensed a link between the Sarlacc Project and the slaves that you tried to rescue above Bespin. But I have probed the Force tirelessly and at last reached my limits. With this Jedi holocron, however, I might expand my ability to see through the Force and find the answers we seek. Furthermore, I will be able to pass on the lessons it contains to a future generation of Jedi, thus coming one step closer to restoring peace and justice to the galaxy."

Basically, she wants the heroes to go to the planet Almas, find the lost holocron and bring it back. Sounds simple enough…

Several hours after leaving the Corellian Run, their starship, the Heart of Alderaan, exits hyperspace at the calculated point just outside the Cularin system. Exactly as they were warned by Master Denia, the heroes notice innumerable comets of all shapes and sizes occasionally colliding with each other, forming an enormous cloud around the system. Fortunately, they were supplied with a sensor package that analyses their erratic patterns and calculates a safe path through the cloud. Once past that danger, another jump must be calculated to avoid flying for weeks at sublight speeds. However, this time the calculations are trickier due to large, overlapping gravity wells created by the system’s dense planet cores. But knowing people who’ve made the Kessel Run, this can’t be worse than skirting the Maw cluster. An hour later, the ship again emerges from hyperspace and the planet farthest from Cularin’s twin suns comes into view, lambent and mysterious: Almas.

The first thing the heroes notice from orbit is the strange luminescence that emanates from the planet itself. The twin suns are too distant to illuminate the planet, and they are approaching from the side facing away from them. Yet most of the surface emits a faint glow, except for one dark spot where the Jedi academy happens to be located according to the nav computer.

The second thing they notice is a consular-class frigate heading their way, just rising above the orbital plane: a ship painted blood-red and flanked by a pair of Z-95 starfighters. Almost as soon as they spot it, the communication panel beeps and the viewer flickers on to reveal, in all his preposterous glory, is a pointyeared, male near-Human with thick, flaring eyebrows, a patch of fur on his jutting chin, and a razor-thin mustache that would be the envy of any holodrama villain. He’s wearing an open crimson blouse, strapped down at the waist by a gold sash, and he brandishes a menacing vibrorapier. His gloating smile says it all.

“Let’s not waste time, you starforsaken spawns of space slugs,” the man says. “By the authority of the Red Fury Brotherhood, you’re now Captain Reddjak’s prisoners. Cut all power to your weapons and shields, and the Blood Brother won’t blow you out of the stars. Prepare for the pleasure of being boarded.”

The heroes waste no time in talking and activate their shields and power-up their weapons, hoping to outrun the vessel. Their ship is swifter and more agile, dodging a warning flurry of turbolaser blasts with ease, but the two Z-95 starfighters are soon closing in; but the combined fire of the Droid of Doom and Tracer quickly takes them out, and even score a lucky shot on the pirate ship. That ship, in turn, almost takes them out with a well-aimed turbolaser, but Riddick’s skilful Force-aided piloting rolls them out of the worse of it, and Valdor quickly re-establishes the shields.

Dodging the ship’s tractor beam again and again, the heroes manage to fly round the pirates and dive into the atmosphere of the planet, taking some damage from the hard-entry, but escaping the clutches of the pirates and safely arriving at the abandoned city of Forard.

A quick sensor scan indicates that the atmosphere is slightly toxic, high in oxygen and cold. The local plant-life, Kaluthin, covers the city, glowing. All except in the centre, where the remains of the Jedi Academy lies. Breath masks on, leaving their non-combatant droids to repair the ship and look after it, the heroes make their way through the deserted city.

The city is empty of men, women, and children. Hostile winds whip through the lifeless streets and between the alleyways of abandoned buildings. Unlike most of the planet, here the unchecked kaluthin has taken over, growing up to 2 meters tall in some parts of the city. And yet, the plant fails to mask strewn debris and the occasional decomposing body—the calling cards of looters and bandits who plundered the city after the unexpected attack almost two years
ago.

As the heroes walk through the discarded remnants of old lives, they notice the empty twin buildings housing the local children’s school. To the left, they see faded graffiti on the wall, below a sign that reads “*Remembrance Hall*.” And collective chill runs down their spines
as they make out suspiciously red letters that say, “*DEATH TO THE UNFAITHF*UL." When they get within a hundred meters of the academy ruins, they realise that all the kaluthin inside this radius has died off. This area is as dead as the entire planet was millennia ago. Furthermore, Riddickcan sense a strong feeling of the Dark Side here, spreading out across the wilted zone.

Up ahead they hear the sound of arguing, and spot a trio of rotund space-suited beings towering over five squirrel-like blue-furred beings, having a tug-of-war with a broken tarnished silver protocol-droid, who seems rather distressed. They spot the heroes as they approach and all eyes turn in their direction:

“Ged your unholy pseudopoda off dis Holy Artifact, Zquib-thing,” the big one says.

The little guy retorts, “From our dead, cold paws, ugly Ugor fiend-being! We did the location finding of this silver-ish, prettisome treasure pre-secondary!”

“It is unfortunate,” the half-droid says, “that Jedi Master Lanius never programmed me for a denouement of this particular design.”

“Hey, byu!” One of larger ones yells, popping off its helmet and turning part of its flabby amoebic body into an arm to wave the heroes over “Hey byu, tell Zquib zinners we find dis Holy Artifact infinitely dimes infinitely before dem. Blease!”

A quick discussion amongst themselves, the heroes decide to pretend that the droid is theirs, and that Jedi Riddick has come to claim it. Valdor does most of the talking, while the Droid of Doom readies his weapons, just in case. Meanwhile, Tracer sneaks through the ruins and flanks them: as he does, he sees a trio of large, pitch-black lizards sneaking towards the commotion: he yells out a warning and gets off a shot, singeing one of the lizard’s hides, as the creatures move into attack; the blue-furred Squibs and the squat Ugor scatter, pulling blasters, as another lizard rears up from behind them.

The Dark Lizards’ hungry, inky tongues unfurl from gullets that seem bottomless, thanks to the 10-centimeter ebon teeth lining their mouths, which dribble tarlike drool. These beasts resemble living shadows, and only their ivory claws indicate that their origin is not supernatural. Their obsidian hides radiate incalculably vile energy. There is no sign of intelligence in their primeval gazes, only the brand of distilled evil—their eyes smolder with the orange-red glow
of the dark side.

But the heroes aren’t daunted by such creatures. One-by-one the heroes spread their fire, wounding the lizards and avoiding their darting tongues. Valdor inspires them with a few well-chosen words, while Riddick calls on the Force to slam the beasts to the ground. Tracer takes the kill on the alpha lizard and another, one of Ugor and Squibs take out a third, and Valdor takes out the last lizard; all very quickly and efficiently.

In the aftermath the squibs and ugor hand the droid over to the heroes and then scarper, still arguing amongst themselves.

Leaving the heroes with the rescued droid, and the ruined Jedi Academy looming before them.

End of Session

Echoes of the Jedi opens some months after the last adventure, The Queen of Air and Darkness.

The few Jedi who managed to survive Order 66 are in hiding, hunted down by the Emperor’s Inquisitors and stormtroopers—and by bounty hunters encouraged by the large sums offered. One Jedi was recently found inside Darga the Hutt’s palace on Cato Neimoidia, but luckily it was by an organization opposed to the Emperor’s tyrannical rule. Thus, Jedi Master Denia joined Senator Bail Organa’s small rebellion, now headquartered in a secret fleet of ships spearheaded by the Nebulon-B cruiser Resurgence. The fleet’s focus is the investigation of a top-secret Imperial military operation called the Sarlacc Project. The existence of the project has been revealed to Organa by an Imperial defector, Admiral Gilder Varth.

The heroes who rescued Master Denia have spent the past months investigating the Sarlacc Project and pursuing other ventures to further their individual careers, though they never lost contact with Senator Organa. However, Captain Sirona Okeefe, who transported the heroes aboard her ship the Banshee during their early adventures, has decided to part ways and take her chances with a more lucrative smuggling business.

The heroes now have their own ship, the Heart of Alderaan, bought with the winnings from the Sabacc Tournament, along with modified Z-95 Headhunters, and a couple of droids to look after the ship.

Opening Crawl

STAR WARS: DAWN OF DEFIANCE
Episode IV
ECHOES OF THE JEDI__

It is a dark time in the galaxy. The Jedi Knights, peaceful guardians of the Old Republic, are all but extinct, exterminated by the Emperor’s sinister agents.

But a few Jedi still survive, exiled from the galaxy they once protected and leaving echoes in the Force behind. The Emperor has sensed these remnants and seeks to control them, leaving no chance for future Jedi to arise from the ashes.

Most Jedi stay in hiding, some try to foil the Empire without revealing their existence, and others seek links to their former way of life, risking the wrath of the Emperor in hopes of re-igniting the flame of their ancient order . . .

As the Heart of Alderaan approaches the derelict ship, Valdor does a sensor sweep: the drifting ship, a few hours away from entering a decaying orbit that will destroy the vessel, is operating on minimal power, its engines have been slagged and are pumping radiation into space, making it impossible to scan for life-signs.

He also detects two asteroids, one floating behind the derelict, the other moving slowly towards it. As Riddick pilots the ship towards the vessel, the moving asteroid suddenly changes course, aiming for their ship. Concerned that the asteroids might actually be ships instead, Tracer straps himself into the Turbolaser gunnery-bay, and the Droid of Doom takes charge of the ship’s front-mounted laser cannons, operating them from the co-pilot seat. Meanwhile, Valdor activates the shields and concentrates the sensors on the two asteroids. Then he hails them, but gets no reply. Tracer locks the turret on the approaching rock, which triggers something: immediately, the two asteroids speed up, driven by some sort of gravity drive, glowing nodules on their fronts showing that these rocks are actually ships of some sort, possibly organic, armed and hostile if their intercept approach is anything to go by.

And hostile they are: the closing ships open fire, spitting superheated plasma at the ship, which shatters against their shields, some of the molten magma burning marks along the hull. Tracer and the Droid of Doom open fire, as Riddick begins evasive manoeuvres, and Valdor uses his sensors to track the strange vessels. The two rock-ships are nimble and their weapons are powerful, easily capable of destroying the two Z-95 starfighters in the hanger bay. But the Heart of Alderaan has excellent shields, and a thick hull, taking the shots that strike the shields. The combined fire causes one of the rocks to explode, shattering, expelling atmosphere into space, along with a body that is vaporised in the blast. The second ship follows soon after, and Riddick skilfully docks with the tumbling derelict.

Donning vacuum suits, the heroes enter the ship: they quickly discover that it has been wrecked, machinery destroyed, computers shattered. They head towards the bridge, but as they open the door to the rec room, an alien figure looms out of the shadows: a tall humanoid, with a sloping brow and piercing eyes, covered in scars and tattoos of strange design. He wears armour that reminds the heroes of a crab’s shell, and coiled around his arm is a snake-like creature that snaps into a staff.

The alien issues a challenge in a tongue none of them recognise, and attacks. A few seconds later, a second alien comes through the doors leading to the bridge, and also attacks.

But the heroes are used to combat now, their skills honed and sharp, and they are well-armed. The two aliens quickly fall, killed, before any of the heroes take even a scratch.

Into the bridge they go, to find it a complete wreck. Two corpses, two of the four-man team, lie on the floor. Valdor tries to access the ship’s logs, but the damage is too severe.

With nothing else to do, the heroes board their ship and head off to the planet, landing far enough away to escape notice, using their speeders to travel the few kilometres to reach the communications relay station. All seems quiet. They make their way to the station, on foot now, and enter. Before they go much further, as the Droid of Doom enters the communications room, it spots another of the scarred aliens, who seems enraged to see the droid, and attacks, yelling out in its alien tongue. This brings three more of the aliens into the fight, and soon blaster bolts are flying, the Jedi’s lightsabre is flashing, and the aliens are lashing out with the snake-staves.

Riddick tries to use the Force on one of them, but to his surprise they seem immune; more than that, they are voids in the Force, something unheard of. But even with this disadvantage, the Jedi is more than capable of holding his own, even when the staves spit venom and catch him, slowing his reactions.

The Droid of Doom becomes the focus of several attacks, the aliens giving him looks of hate and disgust; his shield quickly fails, he takes some damage, but in response he blasts holes through their armour, wounding them.

The aliens fall to the heroes, but the battle is tough. In the aftermath the heroes search the place, finding another corpse, but also a survivor: one of the team, injured but alive, tells them that the aliens came out of nowhere, attacking and destroying the ship, then the base. He was injured and managed to flee, and would have been killed too if the heroes haven’t arrived when they did.

Recovering the communications logs, the heroes bury the dead, and return to the Resurgence with the survivor, with a tale to tell.

End of Session

The heroes are now Level 7, and are respecced for the next campaign adventure