Rising Phoenix Gaming

ok losing this one down if players return we will think about rebooting. u thanks for the effort

Navi glanced at Odim, moving only her eyes, weighing whether to include the taciturn pilot or have him go get some Frebiddle chips and Chaka sauce, while she talked. She liked the Duros, didn't really know him. but still, she liked him and, as she had learned in the past, when dealing with the Mandalorians, it was always a good thing to have someone watching your back. She gave a slight nod then said. "Okay, Kryze, you looking for info or something a bit more tangible?"

"You do have a habit of finding exactly who you need, when they're needed. What trouble was she dragging you into?" there is a certain dry humour in her tone as she nods to the Duros, before taking a seat. She shakes her head, before turning back to Navi "Rumours of my demise were grossly exaggerated, I've found" she states in a wry tone. "Though admittedly, it's not for lack of trying for some parties." she offers a shrug. "Florum was a miserable place, but it'll take a bit more than a Pirate with delusions of grandeur to put me down. You got what you were looking for in the end?" While ostensibly relaxed, she remains on a hair trigger. Most species had figured that trying to sneak up on a Mandalorian leads only to short bouts of extreme violence, but there was the odd one or two that still chanced their luck. She just wished she could have had her back to a wall. She shakes her head. "Either way, this isn't a social call. I have a need for some things, and you might be just the one to know where I can ."

Rhuvel Tobann gave the duchess an acknowledging bow, "Then I shall await you at the shuttle your Grace." He turned to address Winnis who was still looking at Ayria with concern, "My Duke, I will return to work out the details of our agreement in short order." Then with another bow he spun and departed for the shuttle. Duke Winnis took a step toward Ayria but she forstalled him with a hand, "Duke Winnis, my fellow councilors, we have no choice. Alon I may be able to make a equitable arrangement. The only other choice is a war we cannot win." Ayria was surprised when she boarded the shuttle to find that aside from the pilot the only other imperial passenger was Colonel Tobann. She and her retinue took seats at the back of the cabin and as soon as they were settled Tobann signaled the pilot and the shuttle launched. She expected the flight to be short, the Imperial Warship hadn't been that far out but she was surprised to see them flying past it through the small port. "Where are we going Tobann?" "The flagship, your Grace," he pointed toward the cockpit, "right there." Almost as if on que five Venetor class Star Destroyers flashed out of hyperspace followed a scant few seconds later by a much larger Secutor class Star Destroyer directly in the path of the tiny shuttle. "The Conquest, your Grace."

THE AMBERIS SYSTEM ********** She took a deep breath and considered the options, she felt as though she was backed into a corner, where there were no good choices, and all that was left was a degree of bad choices. Now that she knew Vader was on the ship, she wondered if she didn't know part of the reason she was asked for specifically, though if it wasn't a marriage proposal, apprenticeship to the dark lord of the sith wasn't something she was eager for either. The problem was that refusal of this offer wasn't just likely to hurt her, it could potentially hurt everyone in the star system, and she glanced at Winnis and made a slight throw away gesture, certain that he would know the gesture was regarding the idea of taking the Empire's ship. "Very well. I agree." Some of the other Dukes and Duchesses began to protest and she went over them. "This is a very good offer, you know it is, even should we wish to refuse the Empire's presence, it would cost us a great deal to do so, and I have a responsibility to save lives if I can. Which means the only question is they will stand by it, which makes it a matter of speaking with Lord Vader to understand his intentions, which is a matter for diplomacy anyway." She turned to the Colonel. "Give me an hour Colonel, to collect what I need, then myself and my entourage shall join Lord Vader on his ship, and we shall go from there." And maybe find out what the Force wanted from all of this.

Having a bounty hunter show up at your table when your wanted is never a good thing. When Odim tensed Navi put a hand on his arm to calm the Duros and gave the Mandalorian armor a good look over. Spotting the tale tell markings that they used to identify themselves, she nodded at the imposing figure. "That you in there Kao? I thought you was dead. This here is a Odim, a pretty good flyboy, just got me out of a jam. Have a seat," she said as she kicked a chair out for their guest to join them.

Kafrene Moving through Kafrene with a single minded purpose, Kao had to appreciate the mindset of the people liable to inhabit places such as this. They looked, they saw the Armour, they saw the weapons, and while there was a wariness, there was none of the fear common to most "civilised" enclaves. It was almost refreshing. Idly noting someone spot her, before rapidly making an exit, she had to amend, at least from the General masses. Those with Bounties on their head usually had a "Run first, ask questions only if caught" mentality. She let him go. She wasn't here for a bounty, and didn't feel inclined to the chase right this moment so she let him go without even twitching in his direction. The watering hole was fairly standard galactic fare, as far as she judged these things. Too loud music that was more felt than heard, rotgut, and if that guy in the back wasn't dealing in some "recreational" substances, she would eat her Helmet. The only surprise was the food. They must be trying to make the place appear fancier than it was. Spotting her.... acquaintance... so early was appreciated. It saved her more legwork down the line, and she makes a line to the table in question, cataloguing her companion as she does. Duros. Pilot, by the look of him. Vaguely hunted look, or at least to her eye. Vail herself was about as she remembered her. She wondered what she was up to this far out. Sidling up to the table she opens with a simple "Vail. Do you have a moment?"

RHUVEL That took Tobann by surprise, he opened his mouth to speak closed it before uttering a sound and blinked several time before regaining his composure, "I... I would not presume to know my master's mind, your grace. However his request is just that, a request.' His manner changes slightly to a more personal stance and he is now addressing the duchess as if the others were not even present. "Surely you realize that neither the Empire, nor Lord Vader, have need of hostages. I was sent to place the request and make the proposal my master offers. When Tarkin comes, there will be no requests. He is a very efficient governor in the manner of the Empire."

THE AMBERIS SYSTEM ********** "Demands for a hostage and a garrison are not the acts of a friend, Colonel, though the empires power does allow for such things." Her eyes met the Colonel's directly she continued, if Vader was on that ship, then any chance of taking it was gone, her best troops would not stand against the right hand of the empire. Which meant another way had to be found, she didn't like the idea of being Vader's guest at all, however, she could feel the force at work, her choice here likely would affect her future and that of her people for years to come. "This is Rhuvel, here I am sovereign, my fellows" She gestured toward the dukes and duchesses standing around them. "have immunity, due to the laws of Amberis each of them are considering beyond my rule, but upon this planet, I have primacy. Were it anyone but Lord Vader, I might be tempted to send them back your head for this insult." She saw for a moment that the Colonel was startled and shocked, but stilled himself. "Good, your not without some degree of self-possession, at least the Lord Vader choses his people well. It's odd that he would.. " she paused a moment as a thought came to her, one that she didn't like at all. "please tell me the Lord Vader is not looking to open marriage negotiations."

ORD MANTELL The woman nods and steps past the Duros pilot who watches surprised as she slaps the Canopy release and as soon as the step ladder descends climbs up without so much as a by your leave. “Not familiar with these snub fighters. Is this thing behind the seat the nav computer?” Odim answered before he realized he was answering. “Yes, it is. Wait a minute, what are you doing?” The woman had bent over the into the cockpit behind his seat and Odim could hear snaps being released and plugs being pulled and then with a grown the woman straightened holding the nav computer which she then dropped off to the side. “There now I’ll fit.” Odim drew his blaster and stuttered a curse,"You …you …Mich’ikik!” “Look, they aren’t after me they are after you, I’m just going to get caught in the net. And that ain’t going to happen. Either we get out of here now, together, or I give you to them and in the confusion, I get away. Or you shoot me.” As if on que they heard a bang at the blast door as someone tried to get into the bay, followed by the whine of blaster bolt splatting on the door. “It won’t take them long to burn through, what’s it gonna be.” “We can’t get away without the nav computer,” Said Odim as he moved to the ladder and motioned for her to climb in. “Don’t worry I can give you coordinates to a safe place. And I’ll replace your comp with a better one when we get there.” Outside the bay the imperial troops blasted at the bay doors which where glowing white hot and melting in place when the sound of cycling starfighter engines grew so loud that it drowned out the sound of the blasters. The troops stopped and gazed skyward as the fighter that had been in the bay they were cutting through blasted away into space. JAKKU The dust slowly settled on the scene as those of the gangster’s retinue who had been hiding in wait in the outbuildings and sunken dens came out after the flurry of blaster fire and explosions. The bodies lay pretty much where they had ben standing the precision fire having taken most of them out before they had even managed to get off a shot. Necks craned and eyes searched the sky locating the fading glow of the shuttles drive as the small ship left the planet. Aboard the shuttle, Kao thought quickly as she piloted the ship on the edge of the atmosphere, there had to be a bigger ship nearby and that meant fighters. She had at most minutes before the imperials discovered that their trap had been blown which meant she had just minutes to get into hyperspace. She wracked her brains as she glanced back into the passenger compartment where the two shuttle pilots lay stunned and bound. She wasn’t a murderer and they had been unarmed, and at the fake beskar armor wearing imposter. She had taken a moment to remove the helmet and confirm that it was not her brother nor was it anyone she recognized, but she was sure he wasn’t Mandalorian. She needs someplace where she could disappear and could gain access to…certain things. She could only think of one place that would meet her requirements. Kao set course for Kafrene and engaged the hyperdrive. RHUVAL – THE AMBERIS SYSTEM The nine dukes and duchesses of Amberis were in the great hall at Rhval’s grand palace awaiting the arrival of the Empire’s representative. The nine stood in small gatherings of two and threes talking in whispers as they waited, all except Ayria, who stood alone at a tall window gazing out at the shuttle pad several kilometers away and the lone imperial shuttle that had landed there a half hour ago. She was frustrated she had wanted to stay with her men waiting behind an adjacent moon ready to pounce at the first sign of treachery. But Winnis had nixed the idea. She had been asked for by name. And Winnis wasn’t going to do anything to jeopardize a possible peaceful outcome. True to their word, surprisingly the imperial ship had stayed well beyond bombardment range and had sent a lone shuttle toward Rhuval. Not even a fighter escort. The doors swung open and everyone turned as the majordomo droid announced the visitor. “Your Grace’s, please welcome Colonel Glynnal Tobaan.” The Imperial officer strode through the door, alone, and unescorted. The droid withdrew closing the doors as he went. The Colonel was of average height and slender, he seemed young for his rank, his features pleasant and very unlike the propaganda reels which portrayed the imperials as either cruel or angelic depending on the source. This man seemed well normal. His uniform was not. His tunic was longer, stopping a few centimeters above the knee and instead of being offset was centered with the collar being devided with a space which showed the collar of an under garment. There was a simple rank insignia that was a burnished bronze in color but gave no indication of branch, the rest of the uniform was black. He wore no hat or cap his fine blond hair neatly close cropped. He strode up to an acceptable distance and gave an unexpected salutary bow to those gathered. “Thank you for receiving me, your graces. With your permission I will get straight to the point of my coming here.” His voice was well modulated and spoke of his origins on one of the central core worlds. “Please do, Colonel.” Duke Winnis struggled to keep his contempt from his voice. If the Colonel noticed he didn’t show it, “The Empire is preparing to move into this sector and establish law and order, the Sector will fall under the governance of Moff Tarkin and all existing planetary and system governments will fall under his jurisdiction.” He paused a moment at the shock and outrage apparent on the faces of the gathered nobles, but he raised his hand to stave off the protests. “Please. My Master,” at that word Ayria felt a stirring, ”has a different proposal for the Amberis system. He will take your system under his protection, place a small, very small, token garrison on one of your unused moons, just so that an imperial presence is here, and allow you to continue on as if nothing has changed. On fax you will answer to my master, but in reality, you will be free do as you have always done rule yourselves and remain free and independent in all but name. Under my master's protection, Moff Tarkin will not be able to interfere with your system, lest he draw the ire of my master. All he asks in return,” His gaze turns for the first time towards Ayria, “is that you, Duchess Ayria, meet with him aboard his flagship.” Winnis bristled with indignation, “And if we refuse?” Tobann looked back at the elder duke, “That would be unfortunate, your Grace.” CHAPTER I The Ring of Kafrene floated awkwardly in the midst of the massive asteroid field, the two misshapen asteroids joined together by the towers and spires of the mining stations built between the two bodies joining them together as one. Kao had grounded the shuttle on one of the asteroids in a rocky cleft and carried her prisoner into the station itself. She was surprised and disappointed to find that apparently sometime since her last visit here and now, the Imperials had placed a garrison at the main refining assembly. Still, she managed to find a place to stash the imposter, who was knocked out by a couple of stasis tabs, not as good or safe as carbonite but you had to work with what you had. Now she needed do a good and thorough interrogation and to accomplished that there were some things, she needed to get first. ********** Odim was five hundred credits richer and the woman, Navi was what she called herself, had, true to her word arranged to have a brand-new state of the art fighter nav comp reinstalled in his ship. The fighter mechanic had told them it would take a day or so to get the comp delivered and install it and so they were on a world unlike any Odim had seen before and Navi who was familiar with the place had been showing him around. ************ Kao on most normal worlds would have stood out, but this place was anything but normal. The populace was at least fifty percent alien and almost one hundred percent the unsavory mind your own business types. While the armor drew some curious attention no one stared, and no one risked setting off the heavily armed bounty hunter that they assumed she was. Not being familiar intimately with Kafrene but still knowing her way around such places she inquired and located the type of watering hole where she could meet the kind of people, she needed to make contacts with to get the supplies she would need. Kao slipped into the joint and slid to the right of the entrance while she took in the lay of the land. The loud noise that passed for music was filtered away so she could catch snippets of conversations hoping to find someone who she could approach. While she listened her head slowly moved back and forth scanning the clientele. Her gaze passed over a woman and a Duros sitting at a booth, food plates and drinks before them. The alien was dressed in a worn flight suit and the woman was wearing commoners robes with her hood up. Wait he glanced back the woman had lifted her drink and glanced around and Kao got a good look under her robes hood. She knew her, Navi Vail, just the kind of person Kao was looking for. ********** Rhuvall Anger flared across the great hall, the dukes and duchesses had, almost as one, risen to their feet, fists clenched in rage at the implied threat. But it was the youngest who spoke first. “Who is your master, Colonel,” asked Ayria softly? Colonel Tobben, standing straight, looked Ayria in the eye, “My master, your Grace, is Lord Darth Vader.”

Rolling the dice Star Wars uses a special dice mechanic called the Wild Die. when you calculate your dice pool one of the dice is supposed to be designated the wild. this dice has special actions when a six or a one are rolled. if a six is rolled the dice is rolled again until a result other than a six occures. if a one is rolled you subtract the one from your total and the highest dice rolled. if you still succeed you also have a complication. since we are doing this online and we have a dice roller I am supplying the formula for a roll with the wild dice exploding on a six !roll Xd6+1d6ie where X is the number of dice in your pool minus one and the one you subtracted is the wild dice. if you have a pip as well as dice add it as follows !roll Xd6+1+1d6ie when the roll is made it will show the wild dice result in a separate roll box if it comes up one you will have to manually subtract the results.

JAKKU ********* Biting down another curse at the pretender, she took another moment to re-appraise the situation. Given that, with how both the Scum and the Imperials were acting, she had a sinking feeling that this was an ambush, and the chakaar was just there to act as bait. Marvelous. It was good bait, too. Even knowing it for what it was, the temptation was still there to throw caution to the wind. There were only 8 of them, not including the Moff. She'd seen worse odds. And if she could get up the ramp.... She reorients herself. Decisions, decisions. They were on the lookout, but honestly, they would probably still be ridiculously surprised if she went as brazen as all that. She couldn't help the almost feral smile at the thought. The adrenaline already starting to flow. She was marking her targets in her head. The gangers. Eh, most of them weren't worth the blaster at their belt. The Imperials were the particular worries. And the chakaar. If he wasn't a threat, it would just make the implicit insult worse. They took priority.

Odim regarded the young lady carefully, appraising her for the nature of her business in the bay. He nodded, "Yes. It's my ship. Why do you ask? Are you looking to hire me? I don't come cheap." The Duros looked down at his chronometer thinking, "Shit. This better be quick, or I may be dead. I may be dead anyway." A feeling came over him, as if he was under the sights of an enemy. "You better have your own transport if you do want to hire me. I can't fit a second person in. I'm an escort for hire, not a transport pilot." He shook his head, and looked her right in the eyes, "Well, what's your answer? and what's the job?"

THE AMBERIS SYSTEM ********** She frowned. "I don't believe so, but there is a strange familiarity about the name, perhaps I heard it somehow or somewhere before?" She shook her head slightly, before continuing with a plan that was forming even as she spoke. "Now, while I'd prefer a diplomatic solution, this is a rather hostile act on their behalf even if nothing comes of it, I have a plan if things turn sour." At the raised eyebrow from her fellow duke, she continued. "If they are going to make demands of a surrender or that we join their empire, I say we take the star destroyer, while the fighters engage, I'll put a elite unit on board the destroyer and we'll take control of it, or at least disable it and take it out of the equation. If that goes wrong, you can always blame my youth and inexperience for the whole mess" Her fellow duke responded with a mix between a chuckle and a grimace. "And people ask me why I wanted you for a daughter in law."

ORD MANTEL ************* Odim slowly moved his hand toward his holstered blaster, he was positioned so that whom ever was at the entrance wouldn’t see the movement. He turned slightly to glance over his shoulder and was a bit surprised at what he saw. At the entrance of the docking bay hugging the frame of the blast doors and casting worried glances back into the port, was a young human woman. She was about a hundred sixty-two maybe a hundred sixty-three centimeters in height and while wearing loose native clothing he could see that she was slightly plump and curvy by human standards. She wore a hood up covering her hair but her face was mostly visible, round and if he had been human he would have found her countenance pleasing. Her standout feature, that he could see, was a pair of startling green eyes, a shade not found in humans usually. She glanced back in looking at the fighter then noticed him and seemed startled. Suddenly as if reading his mind, she reached out and slapped the bay door control and with a swoosh the heavy blast panels slammed shut. She strode forward toward him with purpose, but she didn’t seem armed, “Is this your ship? Is it hyper capable?” The questions were rapid fire, in standard Galactic, he detected a trace of core world accent but couldn’t place the world. JAKKU ********* There was an undefinable itch at the back of her neck, it wasn’t physical, wasn’t anything she could scratch but it was there. She watched the gangsters stopped a few meters from the ramp as the Mandalorian descended, she noticed there was a lot of fidgeting with weapons, as if the gangsters wanted to make sur they were charged and ready, but they did this without regard for the imperials noticing. In fact, the imperials were paying little to no attention to the gangsters instead they were focused on the hills and surrounding area as if… Kao snapped her attention back to the Mandalorian and zoomed in, she cursed under her breath. The figure descended the last few feet of the ramp, his eyes scanning the surrounding not the gangsters in front of him but more importantly, Kao was sure of it now, he wasn’t moving properly he wasn’t trained in wearing that armor. In other words, he wasn’t a Mandalorian. THE AMBERIS SYSTEM ********** Ayria spun the fighter on a course back to Rhuval, her guard/wingmen following, her eyes scanning the distant void of space between he moons but the Imperial ship was still too far away it was still lost, visually, among the stars. Her coms crackled and an two-hundred centimeter holographic figure came in to being above her control panel. Duke Winnis Torb a Jubell was a large but incredibly fit man, and his physical power was projected through the hologram somehow. He was old enough to be her grandfather and was before her parents’ death a likely candidate for her father-in-law, as there had been talks of an arranged marriage between her and Winnis’s youngest son Phaen. But now who she married was her decision and hers alone. Winnis was the current holder of the Amberis System High Seat, the de facto leader of the system when faced with outside problems. This was a position which was held for a six-year term and then was passed to one of the other Dukes by vote. Winnis scowled over the transmission, “Ayria, we don’t want to provoke them. Yes, it is an older star destroyer, but it still carries more fire power than anything we have in system. I have ordered the Tarot back from Dephinae, but even if she arrives in time that only gives us parity.” “Are you ordering me to stand down?” “Hmmph, no, but keep your fighters out of scanner range behind Rhuval. If they do attack, they will send in fighters and yours can respond while we get the rest launched. I have had them placed on ready alert. In the meantime,” he looks off to the left at someone not within the holo-scanners range. Audio was automatically silenced. After a moment He looks back at her his scowl deeper than before if possible. “They just sent a message requesting an audience with the council. A bloody Colonel Tobaan, a Colonel, the gall. He wants to meet on Rhuval. “Do you know this person? At the mention of the name Tobaan, a feeling came over Ayria and she heard the distinctive voice of her Gatekeeper “It just be a knowing.”

*****************Ord Mantell*************** Odim took a deep breath, and tried to walk across the bay in a calm and measured manner. However, he was moving a little too fast and a little too stiff. He was wound up tighter than a spring in the heart of a Jawa's sandcrawler. As he arrived at the starfighter's side, Odim finally seemed to relax. His hand reached out and gently brushed the side of the spacecraft, right in front of the cockpit. He seemed to anyone watching to be lost in thought. Suddenly, he realized he had forgotten to close the blast doors. The Duros felt, more than saw, the presence of someone behind him, and he turned slowly to look in that direction, not knowing what he might see.

JAKKU ********* As the discrepancies start to add up, all she can do is let out a frustrated sigh. She didn't know who the hell they were, but this person was not her brother. Though that in and of itself was something of interest. She was not ignorant of her people's... foibles. They were a very proud people, to the point of obstinance at times. Few enough of them would be willing to work with the Imperials on an extended basis, their place under Imperial yolk saw to that. So, that being the case who was this Stranger wearing pieces of the armour of her Clan, but who was not her brother? Perhaps the two of them needed to have a little talk. If this person was Mandalorian, but had accepted a leash, well. Trial by combat was their way. And if he was just aping her people? Well. She needed to Sharpen her fangs either way. That insult couldn't be born. Even with the disappointment of missing her brother, this one might be able to provide her with the next leg of her Journey. All that remained was to figure out how. They clearly outnumbered her, and she was a close quarters fighter at best. So an ambush was probably for the best. It's just as well she knew where it was that they needed to go and could see to a few unwanted surprises. The Imperials themselves, she didn't care for. All she needed was to seperate the Mandalorian from the rest. There was no bounty on the Moff.... yet, anyway, and she didn't work for free. That could follow when he inevitably got in over his head and decided to cut and run rather than pay his dues.

For a moment, she felt a hint of anger at the imperials, and she felt something rise in the force, if she reached out to grasp it, she would gain power, but that side of the force offered nothing without a catch. She pushed the impulse back and gave herself over to a meditation technique that she had been taught, for about 10 seconds, taking a moment to breath in deeply, remembered what she had been taught. There is no emotion, there is peace. According to her teachers from the holocron, this didn't mean you were to suppress your emotions, that was unhealthy, though many jedi tended to make that mistake, but the real meaning was to accept them, control them, and embrace serenity in the midst of them. Self-control was paramount, to yield to uncontrolled passions was a path to disaster, or the dark side, as her teachers indicated. This is why older versions of the code were slightly different, and there were apparently there was quite a bit of discussion of the code, and the meaning of each line within the code. Having taken a moment to reaffirm her commitment to balance and self-control, she felt the darkness withdraw and she turned her attention to the matters at hand. "I am on my way, scramble the fleet at least Rhuvel's fleet, we can at least threaten their fighters, perhaps then they will at least talk with us. Meanwhile, connect me with the Ducal Council, let's hear was the rest of the council have to say to this."

THE AMBERIS SYSTEM ********** “Stand by Ranger One,” the tinny voice came back through the headset. As the flight controller put her on standby, she felt it again. It wasn’t a feeling she could describe, there was not physical sensation it was just a knowing. That is how Master Coska Ebben, her Holocrons Gatekeeper, a strange scaled ursine like alien she had never seen before and was not found in any current database, had phrased it. Time and time again when she had asked how she would know when the force spoke to her, he simply intoned in his deep basso voice, “When the Force speak, it be just a Knowing.” The headset crackled again but this time the voice was that of her uncle Vettor, Rhuvel’s seneschal “Your Grace, Ayria,” she noted the use of her name and the hint of concern and, was that panic, in his voice, “an Imperial warship has just exited hyperspace and is making its way toward the star kingdom, they will be within range in less than an hour.” Ayria didn’t have to ask what within range meant. The voice continued, “They have launched fighters, but it looks like they are just escorting the ship not taking up attack formations. They have not responded to any messages from us or any of the other housesnor have they made any communications of their intent. I think you had best return to Rhuvel immediately.” JAKKU ********* Kao had watched the occupants of the shuttle disembark, first imperial army soldiers, not storm troopers a half dozen, there tan uniforms meant to blend in with the desert, but the color still stood out. They were lightly armed, and didn’t take up any sort of security stance, they just gathered at the foot of the ramp. The Mandalorian followed them. Kao took a deep breath it had been two years since she had seen her brother, two long years of hunting, and now there he was. The Togruta and his thugs had come out of the cantina and walked the short distance to where the shuttle was grounded. Kao frowned. There were only four gunmen with Bol. Botta Bol was very cautious when it came to his own neck and was a great proponent of show of force tactics. Basically, if you had more guns than the other guy, the other guy tended not to do stupid stuff. She shifted her monoculars back to her brother. Darro was greeting the Togruta, zooming in on him, she looked closely at the armor. It looked right. Or did it? There were discrepancies’ now that she was looking for them. Pieces that didn’t fit right, others that looked like they were painted to match the set, and now she could see that the weapons weren’t right, and Darro, her brother was at least four inches taller than whoever that was. ORD MANTEL ************ That relief was short lived, there were more troopers in the main port. Odim moved slowly so as not to attract attention, something told him that these stormtroopers were after him though he had no idea why. He moved with the crowd but had to take sidetracks twice when storm troopers accosted the groups he was in, but eventually he made it to the bay where his fighter was docked. This section of the port held a single large docking bay for freighters and a half dozen small bays used for shuttles. His fighter was in one of the shuttle bays. Something nagged him, he was uneasy even though he saw that the corridors to the bays were empty. If they were looking for him, for whatever reason, they would know his ship was here, but there was no indication of trooper activity. He quickly crossed the corridor to the blast door which led into the bay and instead of going right in he used the bay com device. The closed-circuit device was used to communicate to the occupant s of the bay from this side usually to get permission to enter. The device had a built-in screen connected to a camera in the bay. Using the coms camera Odim took a quick survey of the interior of the bay. It was empty of everything but his ship. With one last glance around Odim entered the bay.

****************** Ord Mantell Odim sighed to himself quietly, and non-chalantly made his way around the inspection, trying to blend in with the crowd. His mind was racing, "What's up with that Rodian? He was working for the empire the whole time? What are they after? I can't think of a reason for them to be after me." He made his way towards the Port, trying to ignore the storm troopers and the Rodian, while not attracting their attention. Odim made his way past without any indication that they had spotted him. Once inside, he breated another sigh, this time of relief.

Jakku ********* As she moved, she couldn't help but lament the circumstances that had brought her here. Her brother absconding with the Armour had rocked what was left of the house. No one had seen it coming. If her intel was correct and he was now acting as a glorified errand boy, it just added to the insult that had been paid to their people. But if that shuttle contained who she thought it did, then at least part of the insult could be salved. She had to quell her rising excitement, her uncles voice resonating in the back of her head and chiding her for getting ahead of herself. There would be plenty of time for celebration after the fact, but only after the fact. A deep breath, expelling the nerves steadied the quiver in her nerves as she settled into her new hideaway. Either way, with the Shuttles proximity, she would be able to get off this forsaken ball of sand soon enough. She quickly runs a hand over her gear, making sure that everything was ready for when things kicked off. She really did need to get around to adding the wrist blades to her armour....

AMBERIS SYSTEM *********** Not for the first time Ayria found herself wishing her parents were still alive, her father had a better handle on the politics within the kingdom and her mother had a talent for investigation, she was certain they would have been able to track down those behind the assassination attempts by now. Personally, she suspected either someone within her dukedom or the galactic empire, or some measure of both, but she had yet to pin down who or even why. Very few even of her own people were aware of her training with the holocron, her capabilities with the force were one of her best kept secrets, and part of the reason she’d survived multiple assassination attempts, she listened when the Force gave her a hint that things were wrong. “This is Ranger One, status check.” She called out on the comm system, and she kept a close eye on the fighter escorts, she considered the possibility of an attempt here, it was after all, potentially dangerous, and had gotten her parents so many years ago. As she asked for the status check, she also checked her own scanners, in particular checking for anything that could make this situation more of a problem then it would would be otherwise.

PROLOGUE The hulking ship, smaller than a Star Destroyer but just as menacing, flashed into existence as it ended its journey in Hyperspace. It cruised like a hunting shark through the system on its route to the foreboding black and red planet called Mustafar. As it approached the planet a hanger yawned open and Imperial TIE fighters flashed away followed by a shuttle, which the TIE fighters surrounded and escorted down to the planets surface, to its dark destination. Major Glynnal Tobaan, strode away from the shuttle alone, as instructed by the soulless mechanical voice which had guided them to a landing. He couldn’t help but feel apprehensive and scared, the fortress had been built to instill fear, and the path from the shuttle landing pad had been designed to enhance that fear. Tobaan walked briskly, along the long narrow walkway suspended on thin columns, above a boiling lake of fire far below. On either side of the durasteel reinforced bridge, eruptions of lava sent flaming plumes a thousand feet high, almost as high as the walkway itself. Tobaan forced himself not to look down or flinch from the eruptions as he marched toward the soaring reinforced basalt and obsidian towers which made up the Sith fortress. As he walked, he studied the fortress, there were no signs of weapons emplacements or shield generators, no troops, not even a droid to be seen, but he knew they were there. He also contemplated his mission and his final orders. His task had been to locate seven individuals within a short amount of time, only three of which he had located the rest were either dead, but not at his hand, as he had been warned not to approach or alert the targets, merely locate them, or so well hidden that not even a hint of their current existence could be scented. Once the time limit ran its course he was to return to this place, in person, with the knowledge of where these individuals could be found. And so here he was alone with information no one else knew, about to walk into the proverbial lion’s den. Tobaan paused at the foot of the broad shallow stair, another design to intimidate, he glanced back at the shuttle, now much smaller because of the distance, then he squared his shoulder and proceeded up the stair. As his foot reached the top the large double door, his destination, swung slowly inward revealing a dark maw, Tobaan kept going and stepped through that door into the darkness beyond. The door swung shut. ********* The Planet Jakku The wind blew little wavelets of the ultra-fine sand against the buildings, or rather the parts that were above ground. As the sand built up to a certain amount an electro-magnetic repulsar field would expel the little dunes and the process would start all over. The Mandalorian, Kao Kryze, had watched at least eight repeats of this cycle waiting, watching the building where the Hutt gangster, Mavajo, conducted business in this out of the way location. The Hutt’s barge was not present in the small trade town which meant that the Hutt was absent, but her top lieutenant, Botta Bol, a Tugruta, was. Which meant that something big was going down, perhaps her intel, was right. With that thought Kao shifted location again, mindful of the sand, she erased the imprint where the little dunes had gathered around her. If the timetable were correct her quarry should be arriving soon. She had paid good money to discover that Moff Lerri Kage, had had an incredibly bad streak of luck at a gambling establishment owned in part by M and now owned the Hutt a lot of credits, credits the Hutt was going to collect one way or the other. Kao’s source had said that the Moff had scrapped up the credits and was sending his hired gun to pay off the Hutt. That hired gun was supposedly a Mandalorian who fit the description of her brother, Darro, who, a few years before, out of the blue, had stolen a very important set of armor from the Mandalorian clans, and went into hiding, selling his services as a mercenary. Not only was he a member of the Kryze clan but he, and Kao, were blood relation to the former murdered leader of the Mandalorian’s, Satine Kryze. Darro’s actions had stained the honor of their name, and it was her task to make that right. A distant thunder like boom broke her from her revery and she looked up and toward the horizon in the direction the sound had come from. There, a small speck quickly growing, soon it became an Imperial Shuttle heading right for the small out of the way trading post. She moved again to a better vantage point. ********** Ord Mantell Odim ducked around the corner, then leaned back to see if the cloaked Rodian was still following him. Odim frowned the Rodian was gone, still, this was the fourth day in a row that he had seen the being, or his twin, conspicuously in the same shops and dives he had been visiting and twice he had seen him at the port where he had been performing maintenance on his ship, an old Z-95AF4 snub fighter. Something was off about this. Ord Mantell had been a savior of sorts for Odim, the world was a trade center with a lot of opportunities to fly short range escort jobs which paid adequately. Without any serious Imperial presence in the system, it was free of the usual species prejudices which were to be found on most imperial planets. He had even been considering a more permanent place to live. But something about the Rodian set his nerves a jingle. Odim checked his surroundings couldn’t find anything else to arouse any unwarranted suspicions but still he felt something was off. He checked his chrono it was still a couple of hours till midday and the new job postings would go up until after that. With a mental shrug he decided to head to the port and make sure his fighter was topped off and maybe he should check the nav computer to make sure it was up to date. He made the journey cross town on public transport, checking for the Rodian but not spotting him. He left the tram a couple of streets from the main port entrance and was glad he did. By the time he arrived on foot the tram he had been aboard had arrived and was even now being inspected by Port Authorities. That was odd in and of itself but more alarming was the presence of Imperial Storm troopers over looking the inspection, and right there in conversation with two of the troopers was the mysterious Rodian! ************ The Amberis System From space the gas giant Amberis 3 looked like a glittering emerald surrounded by a necklace of jewels. The planets color was from the bright green organic Thaberric arial plants a leafy free floating vegetation that resembled some forms of terrestrial ocean growing kelp, which thrived in the planets hydrogen rich clouds of the giants atmosphere and provided food for the immense cloud behemoths which were the systems main commodity. The jewels were the more than three dozen small moons of metals and crystals which ringed the palnet as well as nine larger moons which would be planets in their own right if not captured by the massive gas giant. The nine moons, which were all habitable, made up the Star Kingdom of Oberron, which consisted of the Amberis system and one single out system world, Dephinae, a colony a dozen light years away. The Kingdom as they called it, consisted of the nine moons, Cynmeris, Fionis, Jubell, Mirrillia, Brantisa, Cortelnis, Daltisa, Cainerra, and Rhuvel. Each of these worlds was ruled in the feudal manner by a Duke or Duchess, who in made up the Council of Oberron. Amberis was and old star kingdom its history going back to the great days of the Old Republic more than a thousand years ago. The system lay on the outer edge of the galactic expansion region and was a free and independent star nation, and while there had been peace both inside the system and outside for centuries the threat of the growing Galactic Empire weighed heavily on many minds. One of those minds was at that very moment in orbit above Amberis 3 watching the harvest of her worlds share of the Theberric for the herds which occupied the upper reaches of the hydrogen clouds allocated to Rhuvel. Duchess Ayria Rosalyne Isolde Zela a Rhuvel, was the youngest of the ducal seat holders on the current sitting council, she had been barely eighteen when her parents had been killed in space craft accident doing the exact same thing she was doing today. She was supposed to have been on the ship with them, but she had had her own accident while practicing dueling and was confined to bed while a broken femur was repaired. Her parents had observed a harvesting ship which lost an anti-gravity generator they were the closest and had dove in to rescue the crew. While the transfer was taking place a rogue behemoth had rocketed up from below and smashed into both ships causing them to fall into lower atmosphere where they were crushed. The ship she was in was small and so she was as alone as she would ever be, she grimaced as one of the half dozen fighter escorts drifted into view. She had been the target of assignation by party or parties unknown four times in the last year and a half. Assassination had actually been a tradition among the ducal families for more than five hundred years but for the last three centuries it had fallen by the wayside, and she did not believe it was back, at least not for the reasons assassination had originally been used for. She felt that her being targeted had some deeper meaning at least that is what the force told her. And it was telling her the same thing again right now.

Name: Duchess Ayria Rosalyne Isolde Zela a Rhuvel Template: Young Jedi (+2 Attribute Points) Skills & Attributes Dexterity: 4D6 Blaster, Dodge, Melee Combat, Melee Parry, Running, Vehicle blasters Lightsaber + 2D6 = 6D6 Perception: 4D6 Bargain, Command, Hide, Investigation, Persuasion, Search, Sneak Command + 1D6 = 5D6 Knowledge: 3D6 Alien Species, Languages, Planetary systems, Survival Scholar (Jedi Philosophy) +1D6 = 4D6 Willpower + 2D6 = 5D6 Strength: 2D6 Brawling, Climbing/jumping, Stamina, Swiming Mechanical: 2D6 Astrogation, Beast riding, Repulsorlift operation, Space transports, Starship shields Technical: 2D6 Blaster repair, Droid repair, Repulsorlift repair, Security Lightsaber Repair/Engineering +1D6 = 3D6 Force Skills/Abilities Force Points: 2 Control 3D6 (7) Sense 3D6 (7) Alter 2D6 (4) Force Powers Control Powers - Absorb/Dissipate Energy, Accelerate Healing, Concentration, Detoxify Poison, Force of Will, Sense Powers - Danger Sense, Life Detection, Life Sense, Magnify Senses Alter Powers - Force Push, Telekinesis Control & Sense Powers - Lightsaber Combat (2) Sense & Alter Powers: Lesser Force Shield (2) Control, Sense & Alter Powers: Affect Mind (3) Advantages/Disadvantages Noble Birth [-1D6] Targeted for Assassination [+3D6] Total Skill Dice: 12D6 History Born to the noble house of Rhuvel, from a young age she loved the stories of heros, and some of the oldest such stories revolved around jedi knights. Ironic, then, when she was 13, she found and somehow awakened a holocron deep inside of a cave on her families estate on her birth world, and began to follow the instructions and to learn from the holocron over the next 8 years or so. Using the holocron, it began with the the basic teachings of the jedi philosophy before teaching her much about the force, though, of course, part of jedi philosphy is about the force. Her training began with mental philosophy before anything else, but shes quite strong in the force and developed considerable ability which was fortunate, because she would not have survived the multiple assassination attempts over the years without her ability in the force. While she developed her skill in the force, she also had some training regarding her standing within her home star system, leadership and command specifically. She also is trained in certain aspects of leadership and diplomacy. Her weapon is a ceremonial blade that she carries as part of her noble rank, it has been passed down in her family over centuries, and is considered as much a mark of her rank as her house seal. It is well cared for, and though few are actually aware of it, sinces it's not be uses as such for a century, it's fully functional as a lightsaber, as she's secretly made repairs to it in order to make it more functional then it was before. Personality Elegant, refined, patient, strong-willed and stubborn are all descriptions that fit her, and she's very polite to people until given reason not to be. She treats young children and animals with considerable kindness, but is also a very careful about trusting people, too many assassination's attempts have made her careful about that, giving the impression she's a bit aloof to those who don't know her. Manner & Bearing Besides her appearance as indicated in the picture, she carries herself with a certain grace and determination, having a bit of a commanding presence about her, due in part to both training and rank. Notable Equipment Lightsaber (Ceremonial, see above) Blaster Pistol Holocron Several changes of clothing

Name: Odim Jegen Race: Duros Template: Brash Pilot Gender: Male AGE: 33 Height: 1.8m Weight: 89kg Force Sensitive: yes Dexterity: 3D Dodge: 4D Blaster: 3D Brawling Parry: 3D Melee Combat: 3D Vehicle Blaster: 3D Knowledge: 2D+1 Willpower: 4D+1 Survival: 2D+1 Streetwise: 2D+1 Intimidation: 2D+1 Planetary Systems: 2D+1 Value: 2D+1 Mechanical: 4D+2 Starfighter Pilot: 6D+2 Sensors: 6D+2 Starship Shields: 6D+2 Starship Gunnery: 6D+2 Astrogation: 6D+2 Communications: 4D+2 Space Transports: 6D+2 Repulsorlift Op: 5D+2 Perception: 3D Search: 4D Command: 3D Con: 3D Gambling: 3D Persuasion: 3D Sneak: 3D Strength: 3D Stamina: 4D Brawling: 3D Swimming: 3D Technical: 4D Starfighter Repair: 4D Blaster Repair: 4D Droid Repair: 4D Repulsorlift Repair: 4D Advantages/Disadvantages: Released Convict: +1D Sworn Enemy: +1D Odim was born to a well-to-do Duros family on Dantooine. His teenage years were a rebellious time for Odim. He joined a swoop gang and began to run with a bad crowd. He started down the path of the career criminal and eventually one of the members of a rival gang began to target Odim. This petty excuse for a human began to endanger Odim’s family. Once this began to happen Odim started seeing red and tried to find this other gang member. The other gang member found Odim first and attempted to kill Odim. He nearly succeeded, but Odim survived and killed the other ganger in self-defense. Odim woke up from the fight in custody of the Police for manslaughter and a slew of other crimes. While he wasn’t convicted of Manslaughter due to the self-defense nature of it, he was still convicted on other charges. His parents were disgraced and shunned by the majority of the Duros community on Dantooine. Odim served his time, mostly being a model prisoner. Once out, he left the criminal life behind him asw best he could. He started learning at a program that taught ex-convicts’ technical skills. He excelled at the art of starfighter repair, and he started studying flying as well, mostly of space transports. After leaving Dantooine to make his mark on the universe and to make up for his shady past. Odim eventually made his way to a backwater world where they didn’t care about his past. He joined the local system patrol where his knowledge of the criminal mindset became an advantage when dealing with pirate gangs. Ever since then he has been working for the system patrol, most recently flying a beat-up Z-97 Headhunter. Recently, he has left the patrol, looking for independent work, when it became clear that the Empire, although not interested particularly in any resources on the planet, came to town as a law-enforcement move. Due to the anti-alien sentiment pervasive throughout the higher-ranked Imperial Security Patrols, he was given an honorable discharge and forced out of the system patrol. Since then, Odim has wandered the universe, trying to find his place.