Star Wars D20 Campaign

The Rule of Many

Star Wars D20 Campaign

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

It is a deceptively calm moment for the crew of the Bloodsparrow. Although the Dark Prophet Argin has been eliminated, allowing the Rebel Alliance to destroy the DEATH STAR, Imperial troops have begun to search for the small team of insurgents, seeking them in all corners of the galaxy.

Evading the dreaded Imperial Starfleet, the covert Rebel operatives have established strong ties with several allies who might play a major role in the underground conflicts to come.

The Supreme Dark Prophet Kadann, obsessed with unraveling the prophetic significance of this shadowy band, has contacted the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB), authorizing the creation of a special strike force dedicated to bringing the Rebels down.

Adventures and Plot Points

Chronology Event: Alliance Command Establishes a Secret Base on Hoth

Campaign Scenario: Bail’s Last Mission (09/06/04)

The Crew of the Bloodsparrow honors the Rebel leader’s last request.

Lieutenant Mothose—from Dathomir—manages to lay the blame on Captain Julienne for the disastrous events on Dathomir and is re-assigned to work under Captain Tragen, as part of the ISB strike force searching for the party.
Parting ways with the Rebels, the party seeks a place to lie low for a month.
Jeed suggests a moon out on the Rim called Luyarac. “It’s rainy like mad, but the Imperial presence is light. I sometimes do jobs for a Kel Dor named Drillish there.”
Eva: “I’ve been to Luyarac. It’s a good place to hide. I know some people with a private space dock.”
Before going to Luyarac, the party releases the Imperial consorts onto a small Rim World colony imaginatively called Magh Mineral Processing Station VIII.
Luyarac is a small moon, with one land mass surrounded by ocean. It rains almost all the time. When the clouds part, a ringed planet dominates the sky. Luyarac is 50% human, 50% other species, and is supported by a mining colony, a casino and an aquatic pharmaceutical refining lab. The Empire has a small (corrupt) garrison stationed on this moon to oversee the mining and pharmaceutical operations. Local crime—mostly in the form of Drillish’s arm of the Black Sun—manipulates events, takes care of problems and pays off Imperial officers.
Eva sets down in a private space dock, nestled in the remains of an old industrial factory. For a small fee, the Bloodsparrow sits undisturbed, and can come and go unharried.

Kelnoir employs farseeing to study Lerketh: On her way toward the Sith Keep, Lerketh wrestles with a decision; she must either turn the holocron over to Kadann or keep it for herself, a secret and a way to gain untold power. She is piloting the Imperial shuttle, stolen from the ice moon where she first encountered the party; the ship has been heavily modified in the last weeks. The ancient Sith imprint pushes her to betray Kadann, to keep the holocron for herself, and Lerketh pushes back, arguing with Cohdal. Tainted, but not entirely dark, she is mildly disturbed by the Sith imprint. Lerketh arrives at the Sith keep, having decided to act against Cohdal’s counsel, and turns the holocron over to Kadann. They walk together across the open-air landing pad and, as they enter the Sith keep, Kelnoir’s vision is abruptly blocked.

Luya City: There are bars, restaurants, hotels and spacer-bunks in this area, surrounded by offices and industrial shops. The entire city is very vertical, built into a solid peninsula with limited land space. Many walkways crisscross over the streets; shops and flats exist on many levels. The nearby mines are accessed by underground tram tubes. Luya City is important to trade because the Empire shut down the space ports in all other Luyarac cities. (Some people violate this on occasion.)
In Luya City, priveldged non-humans are part of the underground or are treated like second class citizens within the trade sector. Many non-humans have their property and holdings seized, and are then sent into the mines.
On Luyarac, Jeed also departs, but offers to work aboard the Bloodsparrow: “If you get any jobs worth taking, I’ll join you for an even split.” The blue-skinned man who is half droid walks off into the rain, heading in the direction of a seedy looking cantina.
After conferring with YL-7R, Jeed begins working on a plan to aid Drillish first, and then sell the party to Tragen. Around the party he acts somewhat jovial and carefree. (Sense Motive checks for the party, versus Jeed’s Bluff, are abysmal.)
Sif, Tyrus, Kelnoir and Eva all engage in various pursuits over a quiet month. (Eva spends some time communicating with N’dal; observant party members will note that Eva spends time talking to Jee Ann and “someone else.”) Tyrus does some major maintenance, repairing and upgrading weapons, armor and droids. Sif decides to keep Greydal’s ship, renaming it the Vengeful. Kelnoir studies Argin’s dark side talisman and starry cloak, then destroys them.
Kelnoir and Tyrus hide the extra lightsaber found on Dathomir inside Gugon’s storage compartment for future subterfuge.
Word spreads of the destruction of the Death Star. If the party attempts Gather Information, they will learn that they are wanted by the Empire. Current bounty: 20,000 credits each, plus 25,000 credits for the YT-2400. (No one does.)
Having been reminded by Jee Ann before leaving Yavin, Eva says, “We should find a good place to drop the comm station.” She studied her astrogation charts for a while, and then locates a dead planet, half a day away. “Hey, I found a good spot…right in the middle of the shipping lanes through the area, so it’ll be good for relay. It’s completely lifeless; no one ever goes there.”
After moving through space for half a day, the party quietly sets up the comm station on this dead world; no life, very thin atmosphere, no weather, no sound. Anyone not wearing a breather is fatigued the entire time they are on this planet.
As the party is about to return to Luyarac, Eva notes a distress call from a desert planet within the system. “Hey, I’m getting a distress call; looks like it’s been going for days…something about a group of families and a crash landing.”
After scanning the desert planet, Eva detects the crash site and another small transport. However, the emergency signal is coming from deeper out in a dune sea. “There’s activity at the crash site where the two ships are, but the rescue signal is several days march from the crash site.”
Four Zabrak families, after nearly being pressed into slavery, fled from an Imperial escort. Their dilapidated Gallofree Small Transport was damaged and after limping away they went down on this world, cracking in half. (The emergency landing went well in the sand and none of the Zabrak families were killed.) The Empire gave them up for dead. Once on the planet, their ship burned for days, leaving them with little to survive. Smugglers detected their rescue beacon and landed in an Old Republic Citadel Cruiser, retrofitted for smuggling. The smugglers are an inept, brutish group and have been tracking the families for days.
Eva sets down a few kilometers from the signal, out in a dune sea. Within minutes, Tyrus and Kelnoir (accompanied by Gugon) are attacked by two sand-sailor creatures. One of the creatures goes into a frenzy during the battle, after being badly wounded, and the other manages to poison Tyrus with its tongue. Bloodsparrow landing site: Sand-sailors (2) attack the party. These blood red desert predators have thin bat like wings and eyes like clusters of grapes. Sand-sailors: Init +3; Def 15; Attk (squid-beak) +10; Dmg 2d6; VP/WP 40/10; Fort +4, Ref +10, Will +4; SQ Darting tongue poison attack (Fort DC 16, 1d4 Dex/1d6 Dex); Maddened (half vitality): +3 Init; x2 Vitality; +4 Attack; +4 Will Saves; -4 Skill Checks; Feats Combat Reflexes.
Kelnoir heals himself and Gugon uses a medkit on the injuries sustained by both humans.
Following the rescue beacon, Tyrus and Kelnoir come to a massive coral wall, rising up out of the desert. Everything here but the bright blue sky is the tan color of the sand.
Dune Sea Coral Caves: The Zabrak families have holed up in a cave. Most of the time, the area is quiet and hot; occasionally sand storms tear through the region. They have killed, cooked and eaten several moon rats.
Kelnoir spots the smugglers moving toward the caves. The party circles wide, quietly moving closer. Translating Rodian, Gugon tells them what the smugglers are saying. Kelnoir forces one smuggler to flee and fails to lie to the others; a fight breaks out.
When the battle is over, most of the smugglers lie dead. One of them is bound. Dune Sea Smugglers (6): This band consists of a filthy Human, two Gamorreans and three Rodians. Smugglers: Init +2; Def 18; Attk (blaster) +7; Dmg 3d6; VP/WP 20/10; Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +4.
The Zabrak leader emerges from the cave in the wall of coral. Minga is an older Zabrak, weathered, but determined. His group represents a family collective who want to set up a legitimate farm repair shop. “Our fortunes have been falling fast, for months, every since the Imperials seized our shop on Tatooine. We just want to move on, to set up in some better place. We pooled our last money for that old transport; now it is ruined and we nearly died.”
Kelnoir and Tyrus decide to ambush the remaining smugglers, back at the crash site, then give their ship (the Citadel Cruiser) to the Zabrak. (This ship is worth three times what their crashed transport cost.)
Eva brings the Bloodsparrow out to pick everyone up. She then moves closer to the crash site and sets down behind a small series of hills.
Crash Site Smugglers (2): A Human and a Rodian are working to salvage materials from the burnt-out wreck. (One of these smugglers is the primary pilot.) Thick smoke still rises from the crash. Smugglers: Init +6; Def 16; Attk (blaster) +7; Dmg 3d6; VP/WP 30/10; Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +4.
After tricking the last two smugglers, the party turns their ship over the Zabrak. Tyrus wipes the ship’s computer and forges electronic ownership documents. Eva, Tyrus and Kelnoir leave the desert world behind, having radically changed the fortunes of the four Zabrak families. Kelnoir uses the Force to attempt ot enlighten the smugglers; one of the three is heavily moved (losing enough dark side points to change his outlook considerably). The party decides to drop the three surviving smugglers off on Tattoine, where Eva pays another freighter pilot to turn them over the local Imperials once the Bloodsparrow is gone.
The Imperials interrogate the smugglers, but the three who survived did not see much in the way of Kelnoir’s lightsaber combat, so they have little to reveal. Still, the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) is currently sorting all data regarding recent crimes involving YT-2400 transports. So some aspects of the encounter are passed along to Captain Tragen, who is the official ISB point of contact for the Bloodsparrow capture effort.

Campaign Scenario: Black Sun, Invisible Flower (09/06/04)

A crime lord offers a great reward in exchange for a daring assassination.

Meeting the party for a drink, Jeed is now dressed more stylishly, having recovered from his prison stay. He mentions again the local crime lord: “Come have a drink with me. Drillish just became Lower Vigo not long ago…he’s kind of a friend of mine and he wants to meet you. Sometimes I do jobs for him and now he’s becoming powerful in the underworld. Apparently, he has a dangerous job for us. Which means it pays well.”
Jeed lies about what type of jobs he undertakes, softening his image: “I stick to spice runs, sometimes illegal weapons; I used to do worse stuff. Also, Drillish hates the Empire with passion, so there’s always plenty of work wreaking havoc with them.”
Anyone in the party who succeeds at an opposed Sense Motive check against Jeed will get the sense that the bounty hunter is being deceptive, that he might be withholding the truth or (if the check is more successful) that he might be setting them up. (No one did.)

Jeed carries a comlink that can call Drillish and a code cylinder that grants him access to the citadel of the Black Sun Lower Vigo.

Drillish is a Kel Dor Lower Vigo for the Black Sun. When the party agrees to talk, Jeed calls Drillish for a holocom invite. The Lower Vigo is obviously a Kel Dor and long, shadowy fish swim behind him like black ribbons. He says: “We have much in common…we both hate the Empire. Are you interested in high-paying work? Then come to my citadel downtown.”
On the way to see the Lower Vigo, the party passes an empty courtyard, surrounded by ruined buildings. A heavy rain pounds down over the area, masking visibility and sound. Four young Imperial officers (three men and one woman) are beating an Ithorian. Officer: “Hammerhead trash…there’s no way you could have acquired so much money if you weren’t engaged in some criminal activity. Admit it, you’re a thief! All your kind are sneaks…lying, cheating filth.” The Ithorian bellows and cries: “I have worked hard with my herd mates…we are honest merchants.” The officers begin kicking the Ithorian. After a minute, the woman leans down and says: “Listen to me, alien swine…transfer your credits to us now or we’ll put your entire herd into a gulag.” Imperials (4): Init +2; Def 15; Attk (blaster) +6; Dmg 3d6; VP/WP 20/10; Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +4. Gear: Blasters (4), Credits (600), Datapad, Comlinks (4).
Sif flies through the rain in her jump boots, landing on one of the officers and kicking off a fight. In the end, only one officer survives; Kelnoir tells her, “Never mention this incident…go.”
Black Sun Citadel: In Luya City, Drillish has converted an Old Republic tower downtown to a base of operations for his organization. (This is one of several occasional strongholds he inhabits.) The tower stands amid mostly deserted buildings, all enormously tall and supporting many catwalks, with a smattering of shops and a nearby garbage center.
Jeed describes the setup, mentioning Drillish’s unique ship up on the roof.
Citadel Tower Roof: A number of Kel Dor guards stand watch over Drillish’s ship, a personalized craft built in the days of the Old Republic for a royal leader. The cockpit, passenger cabin and engines sit in the center of four curved spires that rise up like monoliths around the ship. The skin of the ship is reflective bronze and black; this craft looks like it was built as a work of art. When in a landing position, the body of the ship rotates forward within the center of the spires. The ship’s life support system generates a Kel Dor atmosphere. (No one goes up to the roof.)
Citadel Tower Entry: Downstairs there is an old lobby, now occupied by thugs. Before the turbo lift up is activated, the player-characters are patted down. They are allowed to keep their weapons, but all energy packs and explosives are put into a bag. Jeed is allowed to carry the bag.
Kelnoir uses his mind trick to keep his lightsaber.
Drillish is listening and watching the pat-down from above.
Citadel Tower Conference Chamber: Massive room with slanted windows out over the rain downtown sector. The windows are tinted green. Drillish sits on cushions in the center of the room, next to a holocom terminal. Behind him, in a 30 meter arc, there is an aquarium full of alien fish. At the bottom of the tank, there is a block of carbonite…
If Kelnoir tries his mind trick in the entryway or if the party manages to keep their weapons in any way, Drillish will allow the party to keep their weapons and will simply double his guard as they come up to his conference chamber. “Since you decided to keep your weapons, I decided to double my guard and bring in both of my trusted protectors.”
The room is occupied by twelve thugs, Drillish’s two primary protectors, several party girls and a few merchants.
Note: Drillish gets a Reputation bonus to many skill checks.
Drillish greets the party warmly and offers them food, coffee and smoke. His voice is odd, amplified by the breather he wears. His eyes are obscured by the Kel Dor goggles. He is polite, but aggressive: “I only have time for interesting people.”
After seeing Kelnoir using his mind trick (and after hearing about his lightsaber from Jeed), the crime lord confronts Kelnoir: “Perhaps you have a secret, boy? A secret trick for making my guards forget their orders?” The crime lord will laugh, toying with Kelnoir; Drillish has made a study of the Jedi Knights since acquiring Neera, years before.
Drillish views his role in society as that of provider, giving people the things they want, even at the expense of their own health or the health of those exploited: “If society did not want these things…slaves, drugs, blood-sports…society would not pay me.”
Drillish: “My protectors, Skeyzahl and Dram are loyal. Dram, you protect me, but you don’t always like what we do, no?”
Dram: “When I’m here, my job is to keep you alive and aware, boss. When I’m not here, my job is to race skimmers, drink wine and sleep next to a campfire.”
Skeyzahl is silent, alien and menacing. He seems to regard the party as cattle.
The mission: “I brought you here because I want you to assassinate an Imperial admiral named Haster. His Star Destroyer was contaminated and is sitting at a space station for refurbishing. Most of the other ships assigned to his ship have left, leaving the Maxim with a skeletal crew and only a few TIE fighters to protect it. The contaminant is gone, but there are still problems with the garbage system. I have forged computer records and documents that will present your party as a tech crew. Jeed will accompany you if you want. Get on board and kill Haster; I don’t care how.”
About Admiral Haster, Drillish will say: “I assure you, he is a villain; he proudly wears a medal that he received for slaughtering a village of primitives. If he is not slain, he will continue to crush, to dominate, to kill…it is his nature.”
Drillish (knowing that Kelnoir is a Jedi Padawan) tempts him: “How alone you must feel…cut off from all the long lost Jedi; their academies, their council. What would you say if I told you I knew of an ally, boy?” If allowed to continue, Drillish will say: “What would you say if I told you that the mighty Black Sun Syndicate could sell you a Jedi Master?”
Drillish will point out the block of carbonite: “Yes…there she is, boy. Her name is Neera, and she has been frozen in place for 40 years. Since acquiring this block of carbonite, I have made a study of the Jedi order. I know it would strike deep into the heart of the Empire to have one of her kind active in the world. Kill this admiral for me, this detestable animal, and I will turn Neera over to you; the others I will pay 10,000 credits each.” (He could have been pushed to 15,000 each, but no one tries.)
Sif demands a $2k advance and Drillish easily accepts. “I know you will not cross me…”
Citadel Tower Luxury Suites: Drillish offers the party a place to stay for the night, one floor below, in a place he reserves for exotic or honored guests. It is locked down for the night, but otherwise has all domestic comforts.
Citadel Tower Guard Quarters: Just below Drillish’s conference chamber, there is a kitchen and numerous bunk rooms.
Later, Dram finds Sif alone: “Hey, why don’t you let me take you sailing tonight?” He’s lean and tan, with sun-bleached hair, like he spends a lot of time in the wind and water. He is dressed in tight, dark red leather that is very weathered. His breath smells like spiced coffee. Sif consents, and Dram takes her out onto the sea using a pair of personal sport skimmers. He teaches her to use it and they ride the massive waves. When Dram talks about camping for the night on a small island, Sif declines. They return to Drillish’s citadel and part ways, having had a good time with the skimmers.
Citadel Tower Drillish’s Personal Quarters: Behind the conference chamber fish tank, an airlock door leads to Drillish’s bedchambers. This area features a heavy blast door, several rooms and a turbo lift to the roof. The crime lord’s personal quarters, including the turbo lift shaft, is air-sealed and is constantly filled with a Kel Dor atmosphere.) (No one enters this area.)
Skeyzahl’s Room: Small-sized sentient insectoid in a small cage. Missing two legs and weak. “Help me…” Sekyzahl has been eating these things; only one remains. (No one enters this area.)
Dram’s Room: Holovids of massive waves, sandstorms and surf-type rides. (No one enters this area.)
Jeed brings an overweight, effeminate arms dealer into Drillish’s citadel. Sif and Tyrus buy thermal detonators.

The night before entering the Maxim, Kelnoir has a Force vision: “Kelnoir, the night before you plan to enter the Imperial Star Destroyer Maxim, you experience a strange dream… The Bloodsparrow is burning; you and the others are running through the streets of an abandoned city. You are being chased by a strange group of hounds, who exist only to hunt you and your allies: Eva, Tyrus, Jee Ann, Sif and someone else, someone you’ve never met. There are four hounds and two shadows that might be hounds. Each hound is different; a different species, different colors, different sizes. The vision changes and you see Warchief Beya with another Nightsister, laughing, hunting in the forest together and making love by a fire pit on Dathomir, in the caves beneath the Black Tree. You see them exploring the Chu’Unthor a year ago in time, two beautiful and powerful girls, just on the edge of womanhood, engaged in a heretical adventure together. Beya finds a crystal and both of them stare down at it in fascination. Meditating, with a look of animal pleasure on her face, Beya slips the crystal inside the dark side talisman hanging around her neck, allowing the energies of the crystal to fuse with the energies of the dried, blackened insectoid. In anther dream-flash of the crashed Jedi ship, you see Beya and her lover in the act of finding something else. It shines in the darkness and Beya’s young friend reaches for it. Later, you see the two girls fleeing the bog wyrm, swimming out into the waters of the great swamp, escaping into the forest, which is dark and filled with the sounds of many living things, howling and screeching.”
The next morning, the party returns to the Bloodsparrow. (Sif gives Eva her cut of the money.) After a brief discussion, the party decides to exclude Jeed. He assumes that he is not trusted and commits to his betrayal.
Tyrus reviews the datacard from Drillish, which contains intelligence data about the mission. Then he buys a simple maintenance droid from a nearby Quarren as a means of smuggling weapons onto the Star Destroyer. Everyone grabs a pair of maintenance overalls; they wear these simple suits and pack their weaponry and gear into the new droid. Sif leaves her ship behind and the Bloodsparrow sets out.
While they are away, Jeed comes by the hangar, snooping around and trying to decide where to hide a tracking device. He attaches one to Sif’s ship, but sets it to dormant state. It will not activate until the ship goes into hyperspace. In the future, a scanning sweep will not detect this bug, but a visual search (on top of the ship) might. (A month later, this bug is found and removed by Dram, who is using the Vengeful on an assignment for the Black Sun Syndicate crime lord Drillish.)

Space Station: The Star Destroyer Maxim is docked alone. TIE fighters and the station tower challenge the YT-2400 as it approaches. Drillish’s tech cleaning crew clearance is good. A pair of TIE fighters escort a gun tug out to the ship and an officer boards the Bloodsparrow. After looking around, he clears them for approach. Eva pushes him to allow them to dock from beneath the Star Destroyer, where some technical plumbing ports are situated, making their escape much easier.
The Maxim: Skeletal crew of techs, numerous stormtroopers, a few officers and Admiral Haster, an old, sadistic bureaucrat.
Biohazard creature: Lives within the trash system. Trash Creature: Init +3; Def 15; Attk (bite) +10; Dmg 2d6; VP/WP 40/10; Fort +4, Ref +10, Will +4; SQ Fang Poison (Fort DC 16, 1d4 Str/1d6 Dex), Disease (Fort DC 20); Feats Combat Reflexes. (No one encounters these creatures.)
Maxim Stormtroopers: Init +2; Def 15; DR 5; VP/WP: 20/15; Atk (range) +9 (3d6/19-20, blaster pistol); SV Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +2.
The party enters the ship, talking to a low ranking maintenance tech for a while. He gives them a simple schematic of the ship and explains that the bridge, the officers’ section and the engines are still fully functional; almost all other areas on board the ship have been shut down and evacuated. They obtain hazard suits, making their disguise even more convincing.
Tyrus slices a computer and upgrades the tech cleaning crew’s authorization, allowing them into more areas on board the ship. He also learns that Haster is on board and sleeping.
Moving into a buffer zone between the contaminated areas and the rest of the ship, the party sets up a plan: They set up a contaminant leak to go off in two hours, then they wire the droid with explosives and give it orders to move to a specific spot in the engine room. (Tyrus makes some demolitions analysis, picking the perfect spot for a detonation.) They change into their combat gear, dropping the hazard suits.
Near Admiral Haster’s quarters, the party emerges from the walls. Two elite stormtroopers guard the admiral’s suite. Maxim Elite Stormtroopers: Init +6; Def 20; DR 6; VP/WP: 40/15; Atk (range) +10/+10/+5 (3d8/19-20, heavy blaster pistol); SV Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +6; Feats Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Spring Attack, Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot.
Kelnoir mind tricks the elite stormtroopers, telling them to return to their quarters. The others join him and they attempt to open the locked door, but this effort fails. (Eva tries and fails too.) Finally, Kelnoir simply rings the door intercom. "Sir, the contaminant leak has spread." Haster doesn’t accept the story. He chews them out and is about to call the bridge. Kelnoir tries a mind trick again, telling the admiral to open the door. Haster resists and gets even angrier. Just as he’s about to call the bridge, Tyrus blocks communications with the jammer built into his armor. Kelnoir begins cutting the lock open with his lightsaber. (The party almost decides to open the door with a thermal detonator, which would have disastrously attracted the attention of a few nearby officers and elite stormtroopers.)
When they finally reach the admiral, he has given up on contacting the bridge and stands in a black bathrobe, holding a mastercraft blaster rifle (+4). (The rifle was a gift worthy of an admiral, given to Haster back when he served with Tarkon. Sif opens fire, killing him almost immediately. Haster is choking out angry words as he dies, and Tyrus records the event for Drillish. The party takes the rifle, a datapad, a datacard (on military tactics and history), then bolts.
They pass the tech near their entry point and botch an effort to deceive him. He is about to sound an alarm when they stun him into unconsciousness. All of them then race for the Bloodsparrow.
Eva detaches, ignores an Imperial question from the control tower, and jumps to the safety of hyperspace. They sit in the calm of the void for an hour. During this time, they flush their disguises out into space and rest. Returning in an hour, they see that their simple droid has succeeded: The Maxim was torn apart by a massive explosion, destroying the lightweight maintenance station as well. All personnel are dead. Eva takes the ship out of the system and jumps to Luyarac.
Once the players return to Luya City, they use Jeed to set up a meeting with Drillish. The bounty hunter joins them and escorts them to the citadel. Drillish is delighted to hear that Admiral Haster is dead. He watches Tyrus’s recording, saving a copy for himself.
Jeed Snowshadow contacts the Empire, seeking to get the bounty for the party and their ship. He is connected to Tragen and sets up a meeting.
The block of carbonite now sits in the center of the room and Drillish turns his attention to Kelnoir: “I am excited…I have waited many years for this moment.” He keys in the code to melt the carbonite, which begins to glow and turn to gas.
Neera is freed. She assumed a meditation pose when she realized carbon freezing was inevitable, but slumps to the ground. Kelnoir catches her. Regaining some mental composure, the Chagrian Jedi pulls her body into a fetal pose. She appears to be badly disabled. (Her equipment, including her lightsabers, need repair before she can fight.) Sif and Kelnoir treat her injuries, using a medkit and the Force, respectively.
Drillish is amazed, truly stunned for the first time in years. His most hated enemy is dead and he has brought a Jedi back into existence; he knows that she will thwart the Empire. The crime lord says to the room, in a booming voice: "If anyone ever speaks of this, the Black Sun will tear out your tongues and sell your children into slavery.” He bids the party farewell and tells them to leave quickly. They cover Neera in a cloak and hustle her away to the Bloodsparrow.
Back on the YT-2400, Neera sleeps. Kelnoir meditates, waiting for her to awaken. Twelve hours later, she does, immediately assuming a meditation pose and attempting to heal herself. She uses empathy and knows that she is among friends. After she tells them that she must contact Yoda on Coruscant, they explain galactic affairs, giving her details about the Empire, the Jedi Purge and their exploits. Kelnoir tells her everything about his struggles to master the Force. Neera listens calmly, trying to absorb it all. She meditates again, using farseeing to gather more impressions about the state of galactic society.
The Chagrian Jedi makes two things clear: “No one must know of my re-emergence into the world.” She stresses the need for stealth, knowing that she is facing overwhelming odds, but instantly undertaking what she sees as her responsibility to fight the Empire, to support the Rebellion, to minimize suffering and to restore the Jedi Order. She also tells Kelnoir that he is in a dangerous state: “You are older than most Padawan learners and you have not been trained. This path might lead to the dark side. Still, an ally is a precious thing in this terrible time. You must work with me to complete your training; there is no other way.” Kelnoir swears his loyalty to her.
In the days that follow, Neera continues to recover quickly, aided by medical technology and Force healing. After Tyrus and Eva help her set up a small technical work area, she repairs her lightsabers, passing along some of the knowledge to Kelnoir. She duels against the training remote, demonstrating her graceful two-lightsaber fighting method. She begins teaching Kelnoir immediately and aggressively. With him, she manipulates the Jedi training toys, pores over the philosophical writings he has collected and together they mediate. She begins to recover fully and begins to formulate a plan.

Chronology Event: The Imperial Raid on Hoth

Campaign Scenario: A Price On Your Heads (09/13/04)

Jeed sells the party out; the Imperial Security Bureau goes on the offensive.

Tragen’s ISB strike force gets access to Ikkath, the Mon Calamari dark side tech specialist who serves Kadann in the Sith Keep. Ikkath is excited to use some of the information he obtains from the Sith holocron. Knowing that Tragen’s group features a dark sider, Ikkath sends Mi’ehla a pendant that raises her willpower. (The pendant increases the Wisdom of every Force user within 10 meters by +4. It also drains 8 points of vitality per hour; Mi’ehla leaves it off at night.)

Word spreads further of the destruction of the Death Star and now of the destruction of a Star Destroyer. The party attempts Gather Information and learns that they are wanted by the Empire. (Current bounty: 30,000 credits each, plus 35,000 credits for the YT-2400.)
A couple of months pass and the party learns more about Neera as she hides on board the Bloodsparrow and trains Kelnoir. Chagrians have no sense of taste; Neera consumes food pellets for nutrition and does not “celebrate the consumption of food.” She and Kelnoir train constantly, in an abandoned tram station; the others rarely see them. They work day and night, a grueling two month period where Kelnoir sleeps 5 hours a night and has no time for anything else.
After the two month training period, Neera says, “I have to travel for a while. But I will contact you soon. Kelnoir, you must continue to train…to practice and meditate upon what you’ve learned.” If asked about her travels, Neera will only say, “I now understand the conflict. I feel like I even understand how this might have happened, how the Empire grew so strong; strong enough to almost destroy the Jedi Order, strong enough to change the course of history. Now I need to make contact with some allies; I have experienced some troubling dreams and I wish to establish my role in all this.” Before she leaves, Neera will tell Kelnoir: “One of my most important tasks—one of the ways I can most be of service to the Order—is to act as your mentor. We will meet as often as we can, and we will continue your advancement.”

Major chronology change: Neera, a Jedi Knight, has been awakened and joins the Rebellion. She has seen the coming danger in her dreams. The evacuation of Hoth begins a few days early.
Several days have passed. In a bar, Sif sees some Imperial consorts and notices their tattoos. A chill passes through her as she remembers Eva bears the same mark.
Jeed is seen off and on in various places in Luya City. (It’s possible the players will overhear Jeed speaking to “Wile Sevnar” and misunderstand the communications. No one does.)
Jee Ann contacts Eva, frantic: “The Empire has discovered our base; we’re evacuating now. I will contact you when I can.”

Contacted by Jeed, Tragen’s ISB team lands on Luyarac. The ISB strike force: Captain Tragen, Lieutenant Mothose, Mi’ehla, T’lal, an astromech droid and 8 ISB stormtroopers. (The ISB wear black officers’ uniforms, with white leather jackets. Tragen’s stormtroopers have black shoulder plates, featuring a white eye.)
Wanting to avoid generating suspicion, Tragen sets his team up in an abandoned slaver’s den, recently raided by the Empire. Tragen and Mothose are using their abilities (Requisition Supplies and Favor) to gain the use of this place and the required resources.
Betrayal by Jeed, trying to collect the bounty: Jeed comes by the hangar and offers to hook the party up with some more work. He says, “There’s a Hutt who wants to meet you about a job. He’s here on Luyarac, in an abandoned water refinement plant, but the job is off world.” Later: “The Hutt has fine, fine taste in alcohol; do you know how much liquor it takes to get a Hutt drunk?” (No one in the party is very skilled at sensing motive; the half-droid bounty hunter on the other hand is an accomplished liar.) Jeed leads the party to “meet the Hutt.”
Water Refinement Plant: A very vertical public works structure, long abandoned, but still passively functioning: Tall, open-air building drawing water out of the atmosphere, with many duracrete pipes and water flowing down through filters.
Entering the water refinement plant complex (recently a slaver’s den), Kelnoir sees a shadowy figure up above. Mi’ehla is watching. She will wait for the right time to attack, when the party is weak. (Mi’ehla is using See Force here.)
Slaver’s Den: Office, Lounge, Barracks, Hangar, Kitchen, Maintenance Office, Maintenance Supply Room, Secret Cargo Hold, Holding Cells. This building is located in a derelict sector, hidden beneath a water refinement plant. (The hangar sits that the bottom of an enormous vertical shaft, leading up through the innards of the 1000 meter tall water refinement plant.) Tragen and Mothose have set up a command center in the office. There is a mastercraft trap door behind the office desk: DC 25 to spot. The door leads to an escape tunnel. A narrow passage, hidden inside lockers on either end, runs from the maintenance office to the barracks: DC 25 to spot.
Tragen, accompanied by 4 ISB stormtroopers, is away meeting first with the Imperials in Luya City, then with Skeyzahl, in an effort to buy another assassin for his strike force. This occupies him for hours.
The party is ambushed within the slaver’s den hangar by part of Tragen’s strike force: Mothose, 4 stormtroopers and Jeed. (Mothose uses a computer terminal to close the blast door in an attempt to seal them inside.) The young officer is trying to accomplish the mission on his own, for greater glory and advancement; as a noble, the possibility that he might not be up for the task never occurs to him.
ISB Stormtroopers: Init +6; Def 20; DR 6; VP/WP: 40/15; Atk (range) +10/+5 (3d8/19-20, heavy blaster pistol); SV Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +6; Feats Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Spring Attack, Point Blank Shot.
In combat, Jeed applies his +1 target bonus to Sif. (If he attacks the party when they are denied their Dex bonuses, Jeed gets sneak attack damage.)
Sif intimidates Jeed, who suddenly seems cold as ice; gone is the carousing demeanor. “There’s a price on your heads.” Jeed runs, wanting to put some stormtroopers between him and the party.
Mi’ehla taunts Kelnoir with telepathic messages of hate and anger. He senses that she is strong in the ways of the Force.

On orders from Mothose, T’lal infiltrates the hangar, asking a tech (“Boraz”) about the crew, then killing him. T’lal enters the Bloodsparrow and, having been briefed by Jeed, takes down both droids with ion grenades and an ion blaster. Before going down, the Bloodsparrow’s astromech droid acts on a standing order from Tyrus and contacts him: “Ship infiltrated.” The Bothan then disables to Bloodsparrow, sabotaging several major systems in an effort to ensure that the party cannot escape Luyarac if Mothose’s ambush fails.

In the battle with Mothose, he uses his Inspire Confidence powers. (Inspire Confidence takes 1 round, then lasts for 5 rounds. Allies gain +2 to saving throws and +1 to attack and damage rolls.)
During the ambush, Tyrus begins working on the slaver’s den computer system, locking down blast doors in a way that makes the fight much easier to survive. Sif, Eva and Kelnoir kill two of the stormtroopers in a quick fight. (Eva uses a barrel for cover.) Halfway through the battle, Jeed and Mothose attack from behind, using the secret passage in an attempt to flank the party. Eva is knocked unconscious by a grenade. (Kelnoir shrugs this off, with luck.) Tyrus kills Mothose and badly wounds Jeed with a thermal detonator. “I’m about to spend 2000 credits!” Jeed flees and is chased. He tries to disable the barracks door, but fails. (He wants to open the door, letting the two surviving stormtroopers into the fight so he can escape through the secret passage in the office.) Tyrus guns him down.
Tyrus sees YL-7R (Jeed’s droid) stand up, walk about in a lurching fashion, and try to heal Jeed. Tyrus shoots the droid to pieces, ending the life of Jeed Snowshadow.
Nearby, Sif helps Eva up.
Searching Jeed and Mothose, the party recovers some items, including Mothose’s datapad.
Before leaving, Tyrus rigs a door with explosives because he can hear stormtroopers on the other side trying to open it. This kills one stormtrooper, but the other survives (and later gives Tragen a briefing, passing along his partial version of the encounter).
The party realizes that the Jedi Archive is in danger. Eva is freaked out about the possibility of losing the ship and being imprisoned by the Empire. The party races through the rain back to the hangar.
On the way out of the area, Kelnoir sees Mi’ehla watching. She has summoned a storm. (Later, she moves close to the hangar, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Tragen is delayed, then gets into a small skirmish with the thugs Drillish put into place; he is not yet sure what is happening and is effectively stymied for hours. Mi’ehla is frustrated, but she channels the actual Sith spirit of Cohdal, who advises her to wait, to savor her rage.)
Sif studies the tracks in the hangar, piecing together the story of how someone crippled both the Bloodsparrow and the Vengeful.
Back inside the YT-2400, Tyrus slices Mothose’s datapad, which contains some information about his own history as well as some very valuable data on Tragen’s ISB charter. In Mothose’s personal notes, which he arrogantly records for posterity, he says: “I’ll bring them in myself, without Tragen; the capture of the Bloodsparrow and execution of her Rebel crew will simply be another promotion for me. Bargaining with someone like Tyrus in that hellhole Dathomir turned my stomach. Beneath my class, really, and normally I’d never exchange a word with such a low-bred bastard.” Further, the datapad seems to indicate that Tragen is using T’lal to spy and that Mi’ehla is a dangerous, difficult addition to the strike force. (Scanning the datapad, it is possible to conclude that Mi'ehla is just along for the ride, waiting for the chance to avenge Beya's death. With each passing week, according to what can be discerned from Mothose's notes, she is gaining familiarity with the Empire and with galactic society.) Mothose’s datapad includes mentions of contact by Jeed, arrival in Luya City, meeting with the local (lax) Imperials, and setting up in the slaver’s den (which was recently raided and is a crime scene). (Apparently, Tragen is really enjoying his role as Imperial officer and specifically is on a power trip about his ISB appointment; he spends more time than planned around the local Luyarac Imperials, bullying them and intimidating them with his special position.)
If Mothose had been successful, he wanted to bring back captured party members for temporary imprisonment in the slaver’s den.
Eva works frantically on diagnosing the problems on the Bloodsparrow while Tyrus repairs the astromech maintenance droid. Once they get done with these two tasks, the trio begins to repair the ship, making it ready for flight over the next 10 hours.
Kelnoir and Sif visit Drillish. The crime lord is not surprised that Jeed tried to collect the bounty. For 2000 credits, Sif rents her ship to Drillish for 6 months. (Drillish later uses it as a means to send Dram out on assignments). Drillish sends a tech team to the hangar to repair and move the Vengeful. Kelnoir negotiates a deal with the Kel Dor crime lord: “Create a diversion for us and set up some interference around the hangar.” They agree upon a price and thus Eva and Tyrus are given time to repair the Bloodsparrow.
(Either T’lal or Mi’ehla can be tracked back to Tragen, but it will be difficult. No one tries.)
The party considers making a counter-strike against Tragen and T’lal. (This would have been totally disastrous; the battered crew of the Bloodsparrow against 5 elite stormtroopers, Tragen, Mi’ehla, T’lal and now Skeyzahl.)
With minutes to spare, the repairs on the YT-2400 are complete and Eva leaves Luyarac. She jumps to hyperspace just as Tragen is making sense of the entire fiasco. Drillish’s tech crew is successful at repair and moving the Vengeful. Meanwhile, the Kel Dor crime lord makes his way to his personal ship and leaves Luya City, which is now too hot for his tastes.

Chronology Event: Luke Trains with Neera

Campaign Scenario: The Plight of N’dal (09/20/04)

The Twi’lek consort who raised Eva Bloodsparrow is scheduled for execution on Metellos.

Far from Luyarac, Eva drops out of hyperspace: "Okay, we’re clear…where should we go?" The party sits around in the Bloodsparrow for an hour, discussing the matter.
Kelnoir and Tyrus contact the Rebel Alliance. A Rebel soldier responds: “Commander Mosa wanted you to know that most of the fleet made it away. We took some heavy losses and Jee Ann was injured. She said to tell Tyrus that the 2-1B droid saved her life. Also, I have a message for Kelnoir: Neera is with us. She warned us of the attack and gave us an extra day or two. She saved many lives. She’s with Commander Skywalker now and says that if you need to reach us, send a signal to this transponder frequency and she will contact you.”

Major chronology change: Traveling with the nomadic Rebel Fleet, Neera trains Luke for a month before he leaves for Dagobah. On the Alliance Ship Home One, Han and Leia continue to fall in love.

Tyrus: “What should we do with the crystals? Are we just going to carry the Jedi Archive around? What if the Bloodsparrow is destroyed?” Kelnoir: “Hopefully, we can find an established place to secure them; maybe we can turn them over to Neera.”
Eva suggests a return to Tatooine, because the party has been there once before and it’s a “very quiet world.” The others agree and she begins astrogating. A day later, the YT-2400 sets down on Tatooine.
Within an open-air hangar at Mos Eisley, Eva and Tyrus begin working on the Bloodsparrow, repairing damage done by the ISB infiltrator and re-working jury rigged systems, restoring them to perfect working order.
A week passes while Eva and Tyrus work on the ship, Kelnoir trains and meditates and Sif explores the local scene. Eventually, Sif picks up the threads of an interesting underworld project and fades from sight. She contacts Tyrus: “I might be away for a week or more. I’ll contact you when I can.”

One day when Kelnoir and Tyrus enter the ship, after walking around Mos Eisley, they see Eva sobbing in her seat, turned around away from the cockpit windshield. “N’dal is going to be executed.”
When pressed or coaxed, Eva reveals her story, explaining her early lot in life and her mother’s death. She talks about N’dal, her adopted guardian and last real family member.
N’dal: Taken from her home as a young Twi’lek girl, N’dal was pressed into slavery and made an Imperial consort while still in her teens. On the world of Fresia, she became friends with a human woman named Tietta, who was eventually killed by a drunken Imperial officer. N’dal stepped in to raise her friend’s daughter, Eva Bloodsparrow. Eventually, at great risk, N’dal aided the girl in escaping by forging documents giving Eva citizenship and ownership of her late uncle’s ship, a YT-2400 transport. Just before her bureaucratic master transferred his base of operations from Fresia to Metellos, N’dal was involved in the effort to smuggle the X-wing design team off Fresia; her ability to move around quietly in important places, combined with her talents for forgery, allowed her to assist the Rebellion commando team in getting close enough to free Black Tom and the X-wing engineers.

Eva received word from one of N’dal’s close friends on Fresia: “N’dal has been found guilty of forging documents to aid insurgents. She recently moved with her master to Metellos. She has been cast out of the floating city and is being held down on the ground, which is terrible.”
Once the favorite of an older bureaucrat, N’dal has dropped in esteem some as she’s aged. When he recently transferred from Fresia to Metellos, N’dal at first served the bureaucrat on one of the planet’s floating cities. However, following an ISB investigation, she was eventually linked to the defection of the X-wing design team from Fresia, which sealed her fate. She is scheduled to be pushed into the Deep Drop, along with a few others found guilty of crimes and insurgency. Along with 4 others, N’dal is being publicly executed. The event is being watched over by a platoon of stormtroopers.
The party decides to rescue N’dal, even without Sif. Eva digs up info on Metellos, but Tyrus wants more data and knows that it can only come from the Imperial holonet. Kelnoir forges maintenance crew orders, Tyrus outfits Gugon to look like an industrial droid and the three of them head for one of the Imperial comm station outposts at Mos Eisley.
After talking to some stormtroopers, then an officer, Kelnoir, Tyrus and Gugon head up to the outpost roof. There, Tyrus connects to the comm port on the rooftop antenna and slices into the military holonet. He searches for executions on Metellos and gathers information about Eva’s adopted mother.
An Imperial court has interrogated her and found N’dal guilty. Along with four others, she is scheduled to be pushed into the Deep Drop within a few days as part of a public event. In addition to N’dal, the others slated for death are three members of a vile street-terrorism gang and a black-furred Wookie soldier (Wee-wren) who killed an Imperial officer for assaulting and degrading the merchant he was protecting.
A stormtrooper harasses the party: “Oi…How much longer!?” They manage to wrap up and leave without violence.
As they are heading away, the party passes a garage door, guarded by stormtroopers who are also interacting with Jawas over the purchase of a landspeeder that was involved in a crime. Apparently, the troopers are buying the speeder to cover up for an Imperial officer who killed a local merchant. (Gugon translates.)

Tyrus contacts Sif: “We’re heading to Metellos.”
Cooking up a reasonable cover story, Kelnoir and Tyrus buy a load of glass bricks from an Ithorian merchant in the Mos Eisley market. They paid for the load and schedule to have it moved into the Bloodsparrow’s cargo hold.

Kelnoir forges ship’s documents that will pass Imperial inspection. These documents include a computer record and a transponder identification signal. (The ship will identify as the Kobioki Faun, a plausible shipping name chosen by Eva.)
Still shaken by N’dal’s imminent execution, Eva lifts off and heads toward the Core.
The Bloodsparrow arrives at Metellos. Out in the orbital space lanes, the Empire questions Eva, but Kelnoir’s forged orders pass and she is allowed to enter the planet’s atmosphere.
Metellos: Urbanized from pole to pole and vastly overcrowded. Temperate with a polluted but breathable atmosphere. Mostly Human species, population: 900 billion. Government: Bureaucracy and corporate interests. Exports: Advanced tech, business services. Imports: Foodstuffs, raw materials. To compensate for overcrowding, the wealthy executives of Metellos constructed floating cities that drift 1,200 meters above the housing precincts. More than a thousand such cities are currently in operation. No major oceans or natural preserves: Only a few septic seas and desert wastelands still untouched by durasteel. Metellos has an architecture that tends toward the horizontal. Some regions of the planet—notably the seventeen immense stratablocks that dot its surface—are multilayered to as high as a kilometer above the ground, tapering off into single-story structures packed roof-to-roof all the way to the horizon. Many tracts, particularly those far from the stratablocks, are shabby, environmentally toxic, and inhabited by diseased squatters. Native fauna include amphibious steeps, feral canines, mutated dianogas, and all manner of disease-ridden rodents. Local businesses include CarsinShare Corporation, Nonsu Company, and Okbo-Ceurso Industries.
On Metellos, the party sets down in the lower city with the groundpounders, near Stratablock 17. The space dock is a massive ceramic ziggurat, with smooth, curved edges. The Bloodsparrow slips into a side bay, midway up, and comes to rest in the open-air docking facility.
Tyrus talks to a local tech official and pays for 3 security guards. (He forgets to give them his comlink code, but this never comes into play.)
Near the space dock, the party waits in line for 10 minutes for a local computer kiosk. When they reach the kiosk, Tyrus downloads data about Metellos, the Deep Drop and the Stratablock 17 area.
Four kilometers from the Deep Drop, the party calls for ground transport. A speeder bike with an open wagon shows up, then takes them to the massive shaft. Once there, the party studies the location.
The Deep Drop: This is a 60 meter wide vertical shaft, dug by a mining company long ago. The Deep Drop is locally infamous as a place to throw away unwanted refuse or evidence. The perfectly circular shaft was cut down into a natural fissure and literally drops for kilometers. A kilometer below, the air becomes misty, obscuring the deeper depths.
Near the Deep Drop, there is a constable’s stronghold. This consists of two squat egg-shaped structures of red ceramic. Kelnoir knows that N’dal is within; he sends her a brief, warm telepathic message. “Friends.” Stormtroopers guard all the exits and move along curved catwalks all over the constable’s stronghold.
The party plots for a while, trying to figure out how to avoid the execution, which will occur in 18 hours.
Kelnoir speaks with some children who have modeled themselves after a street gang. Then the Padawan goes into a bar and asks the bartended for more information. The heavy-set, gray-haired woman gruffly talks about the public spectacle of Deep Drop executions. Eva’s mood grows grimmer.
The party considers three plans: Infiltrate the constable’s stronghold in hopes of breaking N’dal free; Wait for the execution party to emerge and attack the convoy; Enter the Deep Drop itself with a swoop or speeder in hopes of catching the falling victims. Tyrus persuades the others to try the swoop trick.
Eva buys an extra pair of electrobinoculars. The party rents a cargo hopper, then enters the Deep Drop under the cover of night, paying the local kids to create a diversion. Down below, on a ledge, Eva, Kelnoir and Tyrus sit in the cargo hopper. Tyrus and Eva spend part of the night modifying the engines.
The next morning, Gugon moves into place around the Deep Drop. At Tyrus’ orders, the droid will act as the party’s eyes, reporting events above.
At the execution ceremony, many people stand around cheering. Here and there, pockets of people meekly protest (but quickly melt into the crowd if any Imperials approach). Gugon narrates the event as the stormtroopers move the accused into position with force pikes. An officer broadcasts their crimes out loud, then the first of the street terrorists is pushed in.
The party uses this falling criminal—allegedly a rapist—to time the fall and prepare. Some of them watch up through the mist and distance with electrobinoculars. Eva fires up the cargo hopper.
When Gugon describes the Wookie going over—after a great fight, during which a stormtrooper is thrown down into the Deep Drop—Eva makes some extraordinary lateral piloting maneuvers and is barely able to move under the Wookie in time to begin a powered dive. She eventually slows to the Wookie’s rate of descent and Kelnoir uses the Force to pull him into the cargo hopper. (Tyrus stands by with a grapple gun, just in case Kelnoir fails.) The Wookie, Wee-wren, has black fur and carries a force pike as Kelnoir draws him through the air and into the party. He takes significant damage as he tumbles into the cargo hold. Eva pushed the modified cargo hopper hard, ascending back up into position.
Above, Gugon describes the Imperial officer’s litany of degrading remarks about N’dal: “This prostitute has further dishonored herself with crimes of insurgency!” Through Gugon’s cold, artificial eyes, the party sees a Twi’lek woman in her 50’s who has spent a lifetime of subservience at the hands of the Empire. She is holding her hands and head tails over her face as she cries, facing her death.
After the difficulty in getting the Wookie on board, Tyrus considers moving to the controls to assist Eva. Kelnoir shouts: “Yes…do it!” As N’dal is pushed over, racing toward death, Eva and Tyrus scream out barely audible words of piloting coordination and encouragement, pushing the modified cargo hopper through maneuvers it was never intended to survive. Eva barely manages to get the industrial speeder into position in time to get under N’dal. (Note: She literally only succeeded with Tyrus’ assistance bonus.) Eva nails the descent, matching the woman’s fall, and Kelnoir gently pulls her inside the cargo hopper with great control over the Force.
Eva climbs again, forcing the cargo hopper onto a ledge and grabbing the crevasse wall with a massive industrial claw. Only then does she rush back to comfort N’dal. The Wookie sits in shock, watching it all; he has experienced a spiritual moment.
The party sits for an evening, treating injuries and calming nerves.
Wee-wren asks, “Where will you go, when you leave this world with no trees?" He wonders if, in the rarely-enacted custom of his people, he owes a life debt to the crew of the Bloodsparrow.
N’dal tells Eva: “You must take me to Black Tom, before he hears that I’ve been killed.”
That night, ready to leave, Eva begins to lift off, but the cargo hopper suffers engine failure. A puff of black smoke rises up. (Note: Eva literally fumbled her piloting check.) The cargo hopper has been pushed beyond its limits and requires a couple of hours of repair work; Tyrus works on the engine, with Eva holding a glow rod and assisting.
Later, back at the Bloodsparrow, Tyrus pays the security detail to move the glass bricks into the cargo hopper. (The first legitimate cargo run of the Bloodsparrow?) Eva lifts off and once again Kelnoir’s forged orders are good enough to pass Imperial inspection.
Eva takes the ship to the asteroid home of Black Tom, an underground tech specialist who was N’dal’s lover for many years before they were forced apart.
The son of an engineer, Black Tom grew up repairing and building things. In his early years, he worked alongside his family as they operated a business fixing, maintaining and building technical systems, including droids and starships. Eventually his father’s business was ruined by early Imperial oppression; his younger brother was killed in a crackdown while protesting and his father and mother died years later in a force labor mining colony. Tom escaped, made a new identity for himself and moved around on the Fringe, working as a technician and occasionally allying with groups of ruffians. He settled on Fresia, working with the starship engineers there.
It was on Fresia, working in the shadow of the Empire, that Tom met the love of his life, N’dal, a Twi’lek consort indentured to a local bureaucrat. Also, Tom began working around a group of techs who would eventually create the X-wing. Tom and N’dal were instrumental in aiding Rebel commandos in their efforts to liberate the X-wing design team. Afterward, however, Tom and N’dal were split up; she was forced to stay behind to cover for the escaping engineers and Tom went into hiding, buying an asteroid and establishing a secret home.
After leaving Fresia, the aging tech specialist began working night and day two goals: freeing N’dal and aiding the Alliance against the Empire. Once he completes work on his current projects, he hopes to have enough credits and a ship capable of rescuing his love. (He calls this ship the Lekku Whisper, in honor of N’dal.) After that, Tom wants to go underground with N’dal and fully ally the Alliance.
Black Tom got his nickname because of his dour attitude; after his family was destroyed, he developed a cynical, dry sense of humor.
Due to his technical prowess and his involvement with dramatic projects and groups, Black Tom is a legend in the technical community. This means he is also hunted ceaselessly by the Empire.
Tom is barrel-chested, with salt-and-pepper hair. He usually moves slowly and stiffly. (Age: 55.)

Black Tom’s home is built into a hollowed out asteroid. There is no gravity within this long tube of the asteroid’s interior: a lattice-work of cables and supports holds a Tom’s Firespray-31 in place. Against the one wall of the space makeshift hangar, there is an empty dock. (Tom sold the ship he stole on Fresia.) Just behind a force field, Tom’s small home is tunneled into the rock. He spends his days (often in Zero-G) working on the Lekku Whisper and completing black market jobs for mercenaries who visit his asteroid.
As the Bloodsparrow enters the asteroid shell, Eva hits the lights. The Lekku Whisper sits in a slender tunnel, attached to the walls by hoses, cables and a latticework of supports. Tom pushes himself off a wall and floats through zero-G. His droid signals him to the arrival of the YT-2400 and he immediately passes through a force field, out of his makeshift dock and into his quarters.
Eva docks and N’dal leads the way inside. “Tom?” The rugged old tech emerges with a heavy blaster pistol in his hand. He drops the weapon and lurches forward to hold N’dal; they both weep, oblivious to the others.
The party stays with Black Tom for a couple of days, passing the time in camaraderie, telling stories and eating Tom’s very bad food. Eva seems happy, as if a tremendous worry has been relaxed.
Black Tom gives Tyrus a data card containing a schematic plan for constructing a Spy Eye droid.
After finishing up his final preparations, Black Tom loads the Lekku Whisper. He and N’dal thank Eva, Kelnoir and Tyrus, then leave for a rendezvous with the Alliance. (He grants the party free usage of his asteroid space dock.)
Eva moves the ship out into space, then charts a course to Tatooine.
Back on the desert world, Tyrus gives weapons and money to the Wee-wren, who has decided to travel with the party while he decides how to interpret their lifesaving act of mercy.
Note: Tyrus and Kelnoir hit level 08. Tyrus uses a Force point to burn off a dark side point.

Campaign Scenario: Stolen Moments (09/27/04)

Sif skulks about, gathering information on the ISB.

Sif takes a job on Tatooine, guarding a Twi'lek who is traveling to oversee his master's financial holdings. The job lasts a couple of weeks and takes Sif to three different Rim worlds: Bandomeer, Ryloth and Eriadu.(Bandomeer is a mining world, Ryloth is the Twi'lek home world and Eriadu is an Imperial dominated over-industrialized world.) Sif's employer is darkly paranoid and fears for his life almost constantly. So the pay is good. (Profession check.) The Twi'lek has a commercial license, so the crew Sif is working with travels with him on a YT-1300 transport. No one ever asks for her personal indenticard; everything is handled through the Twi'lek merchant. On Eriadu, once the job is over, the Twi'lek disbands the group and pays up. (Sif's pay includes a one-way transport pass back to Tatooine.
As she is about to leave, something odd happens. One night, in a bar deep under ground on Eriadu, Sif sees a female Imperial officer wearing the white leather jacket of the ISB. Several people in the underground bar are buzzing about someone named "Lord Keval" visiting the planet. The female ISB officer quickly shuts down the conversation; she seems to have an interest in the matter and doesn't want "locals gossiping about highly-placed Imperials." Claiming it's a security matter, she threatens arrest for anyone else mentioning Keval. She gets up to leave and Sif decides to follow.
After leaving the bar, the ISB officer moves through the industrial port area with purpose. Eventually, she makes her way to what appears to be a corporate party, out on the open deck of a tall structure. Security is very tight, but Sif manages to find a spot some distance away, up in the scaffolding of a nearby stratablock tower. From this vantage, Sif can see corporate executives mingling with civilian aristocrats and Imperial officers in dress uniforms. Many women are present. With the exception of the serving staff, nearly everyone is human.
At the heart of the party, there is a tall human man, approximately 30, with blond hair and unusually dark eyes. (It almost appears that he has some sort of dark lenses implanted in his eye sockets.) He is dressed is clothing similar to the black battle suit Kelnoir wears, but everything on his body is blood red. His gloves, boots, pants and shirt are all scarlet. He wears a flowing cloak made of some material that undulates on the slightest breeze. The cloak is also blood red and has a dramatic hood. There are numerous stormtroopers in the area and a few royal guards who stay near the man in red.
The ISB officer heads directly toward this man at first, then veers away when she gets close. Instead, she draws near another man, who stands in the shadow of the man in the red cloak. Sif sees that it is Cart'an, standing with casual ease in the shadows at the edge of the party. The woman appears to give Cart'an some report, then leaves the party. (She is reporting that a load of technical supplies have been taken from Cart’an’s ship and sent to Tragen on Geonosis. These are supplies Tragen requested, plus a piece of Force related gear for Mi’ehla and—though Cart’an, Keval and Lt. Moke are unaware—a stowaway.)
As the ISB officer makes her way to the ground level, Sif decides to watch Cart'an. He stays near the center of things, but out of the light. He has a drink and avoids mingling. Periodically, the man in red approaches Cart'an; Sif gets the sense that there is genuine affection between them, but that they lead very different lives. No one even looks in Cart'an's direction; most people at the party cannot look away from the man in the red cloak. After a while, both of them retreat indoors and the party goers soon follow.
Sif heads down to the street and asks several local vendors about the ISB officer; the white jacket has attracted some attention. After a while, Sif manages to pick up the trail. Eventually, the ISB officer stops at a public terminal. She pulls out a datapad and hooks it up. Getting close, Sif sees the holographic recipient of her call...Captain Faldar Tragen, officer in charge of the ISB strike force assigned to bring in the Bloodsparrow. Once the conversation is over, Sif trails the woman to a dark alley and kills her. (Dark side point awarded. Sif rationalizes this away: "This officer was helping to hunt me and my allies.")
Among the officer's possessions, there is a female ISB uniform, a datapad, a comlink and a code cylinder (that unlocks the datapad). Her name was Lieutenant Moke. The datapad contains general information that any officer would have, plus a short file on Tragen's ISB strike force. (Sif already has this data.) Additionally, the datapad contains a recorded conversation with Tragen. Lieutenant Moke: “So I’ve done my part…the shipment has been taken from the courier’s ship and has been sent your way, out to Geonosis. The technical gear should arrive within a couple of days. What will you do now?” (Sif gathers that, even though she interacted with him, Lt. Moke came away with the impression that Cart’an was a lowly courier, assigned to deliver a package for the Empire.) Tragen: “I am setting a trap for them here on this hellish Rim world…in an old burial site created by the local savages, appropriately. Once they are in my custody, I will deliver them to Kadann directly; he is currently visiting a facility maintained by his special operatives. I have the coordinates. If I get the Bloodsparrow in time, I believe I might just earn an invitation to the ceremony Kadann is holding there for Lord Keval. I might be able to meet them face to face.” From the datapad, Sif also learns that Keval is known infamously as a rising Imperial Lord. He is a dramatic figure, clad entirely in blood red, with aristocratic features and blonde hair. He is human, but his eyes are entirely black. Wherever Keval goes, whispers follow: “He is the favored of the Emperor.” Apparently, from what Sif has observed, Lord Keval is traveling with Cart’an.
ISB Officer’s Apartment: Contains additional information related to her activities, Tragen and the ISB’s capture of Essar. (Undiscovered.)
As Sif is about to leave, she looks out across the industrial skyline, which is dominated by ugly black towers and megalithic smokestacks. The air here is hard to breath, the night sky seems to burn with unhealthy gasses and the rain when it falls is bitter and acidic. Sif's last thought is that the strange Imperial operative Lerketh mentioned growing up as a slave on this world, Eriadu. Then she books a lonely passage back to Tatooine.

Chronology Event: Luke Travels to Dagobah

Campaign Scenario: The Bloodsparrow Strikes Back (09/27/04)

Tragen’s trap is known to the crew of the Bloodsparrow.

Major chronology change: Escaping Hoth early ultimately means Han is not captured, Luke does not confront Vader prematurely, and there is no Jabba’s Palace adventure. What happens instead? Han and Leia fall in love, and Luke trains with Neera while with the Rebel Fleet. Luke is better prepared to train with Yoda and will stay until the death of the Jedi Master.

Tragen works to set up his trap for the party on Geonosis. At a dusty, insectoid burial ground, he has landed his Lambda-class shuttle and has deployed his troops. Tragen’s strike force unit currently consists of Skeyzahl, T’lal, Mi’ehla, 5 elite stormtroopers and 5 regular stormtroopers. These are the forces that survived Mothose’s premature assault, plus a replacement squad. Tragen’s plan is to fake a message to the party from Jee Ann Mosa. T’lal is working on forging this holographic message, which will say: “I need to meet with you now. I will rendezvous with you at these coordinates.” (T’lal and Tragen never get to finish this forgery, since the party acts first.)
Black Tom and N’dal join the Rebels. Eva says, “N’dal and Black Tom arrived safely. They are moving along with the Rebel Fleet.”
Sif returns to Mos Eisley and sees Wee-wren approaching the Bloodsparrow, returning from an equipment purchase run. “A black-furred Wookie is making his way toward the Bloodsparrow. He is wearing the exact same type of custom gray-and-black light armor that Greydal wore.” Wee-wren is now armed and armored.
Sif exchanges stories with Eva, Kelnoir and Tyrus, explaining about Tragen’s trap on Geonosis and giving Lt. Moke’s datapad to Tyrus.
Eva: “This place—Geonosis—is not in any standard shipping lanes, but it’s only a parsec away from Tatooine. Just another lonely place, out on the Rim.” Later, she says, “It’s a ring world, surrounded by asteroids. That’ll make landing difficult, but should mask our approach.” Geonosis: Hot, extremely arid, scarred by radiation and covered by sandy red rocks. The day cycle is 30 hours. The nights are cold, called “long-nights.” Rain falls infrequently; when it comes down, it’s a series of massive flash floods. The insectoid sentient species there became infamous for droid production; as a result, the Battle of Geonosis marked the beginning of the Clone Wars.
Dram contacts Sif. He stands on a rock, with the wind blowing spraying water all around him. He huddles in an all-temp cloak and some woman is laughing in the background. Dram says, “Sif…Skeyzahl doesn’t work for Drillish any more. I think he’s working with someone who’s looking for you. I just wanted you to know that you should watch out.” Dram knows a few details about the Kubaz. If asked: “He is a sniper…I’ve seen him kill people from crazy distances. Sometimes he uses a wrist rocket with gas darts. He’s very quiet, very slippery.”
Sif watches Wee-wren for a while, speaking to him some: “You’ve heard our secrets, so you have to travel with us.”
Kelnoir uses Farseeing and has a vision of Tragen and Mi'ehla on Geonosis. (He sees that Tragen is at the heart of the effort to set up the trap, and that Mi’ehla is doing something on her own out in the desert.)
No one figures this out, but Mi’ehla is subduing an acklay and its offspring, following what she learned on Dathomir with rancors.
The party decides to strike first at Tragen, to surprise him before he springs his trap. Eva begins to make astrogation calculations.
From orbit—just before jumping to light speed—Kelnoir contacts Jee Ann Mosa, who tells him that the Rebel Fleet is moving nomadically. She also says, “Neera comes and goes as she needs to…we’ve given her an X-wing. She trained for over a month with Commander Skywalker, almost brutally; Skywalker came out of this experience noticeably changed. Then, in accordance with some quiet plan of theirs, he left for somewhere unknown. Neera stayed behind.” (Luke left for Dagobah a couple of weeks ago.) Jee Ann also says, “We believe the Empire is working on another super weapon platform.”

Eva comes out of hyperspace and nears Geonosis. She maneuvers through the asteroid field and hides the ship in orbit. After a while, the party spots a Lambda class shuttle landing on the planet, then returning to orbit after only a few minutes. This gives them the location of Tragen’s strike force and the staging grounds for his trap.

From orbit, a tech and a stormtrooper sit in the ISB shuttle with their captive, a recent stowaway.

The ISB stormtroopers on Geonosis (5) have been spray-painted their armor with desert coloring and have a +2 to hide.

Eva lands the Bloodsparrow 5 kilometers from Tragen’s site. Wee-wren, Tyrus, Gugon, Kelnoir and Sif move out into the desert. Eva lifts off immediately.
After using their electro-binoculars, Sif and Wee-wren see the burial site where Tragen is still setting up a trap. Also, Sif spots another campsite a kilometer away from the burial site. (This is Skeyzahl’s camp.)

Skeyzahl’s Camp: Amid the discarded shell shards of a massive, long-dead merdeth, the Kubaz has set up camp, after capturing three drone-caste Geonosians. Skeyzahl has eaten parts of them. (Kubaz are incapable of seeing sentient insectoids as anything but food.) The Geonosians speak Basic and are staked out with special tie-strap restraints used for harvesting insects. One of the Geonosians has had two legs removed; these limbs are roasting over Skeyzahl’s fire.
The drones are from the flightless labor sub-caste. Their (3) lightweight flitknot speeder bikes are parked at the edge of camp.

The party approaches quietly, but Skeyzahl hears them and hides.

Skeyzahl Tactics: In sniping situations, the Kubaz will attempt to sneak attack a character first, using the aiming tactic. (Aiming is a rule from the Hero’s Guide. As a full round action, the sniper can make a ranged touch attack to “aim” and deny the target its Dex bonus.) When possible, he will fire a rocket at someone in the party, trying to decrease their Dex and knock them out. If anyone has been hit by a rocket, Skeyzahl will hide again, waiting for the rocket gas to take effect. If he can subdue the party, he will use his restraints and blindfold bags, then call Tragen.
As Sif creeps near, Skeyzahl snipes her (using aim and sneak attack). A fight erupts in the darkness. The Kubaz manages to hit both Sif and Kelnoir with a gas rocket. (Sif—though warned by Dram—forgot to don her breather mask.)
After being hit by fire from several sides, Skeyzahl tries to hide again. Eventually, however, Gugon manages to bring him down. (Sif uses her jump boots to cross the camp and protect the speeder bikes.)
The party gathers in the camp and begins to treat injuries. They release the Geonosians and treat their wounds. Afterward, the party haggles with the drones for their speeder bikes, then purchase all three for 10k credits. The Geonosians tramp off into the desert night. (They will warn the Hive; if the party remains for more than a few days, more Geonosians will show up in force. This doesn’t happen…)
Tyrus searches Skeyzahl’s corpse, takes his gear, then throws his body into the fire.
After a few hours, Tragen calls over Skeyzahl’s comlink. No one answers.
Tragen to the others in the strike force: “Skeyzahl is not answer...change frequencies. No one is sleeping tonight.” Mi'ehla tries to see Kelnoir, using the Force, but he is out of range. She then tries again later and repeats these efforts every half hour until she detects the padawan.
The party moves out for the burial site. At 500 meters, they stop, allowing Sif and Wee-wren to approach quietly and gather reconnaissance.

The structures here are made of rock paste, collected from insects (phidnas). The burial ground is centuries old. It is still sound, but sand has accumulated and the place is littered with debris: Old tech maintenance gear stored away and ceremonial implements.
Burial Site—Central Courtyard: A wide open hub, around which the other locations are situated. At the center, there is a rock paste pillar made of insectoid bodies, clinging to one another in a tall pile.
Burial Site—Temple: A closed, cloistered place with many empty rooms. Tragen has set up in one of the rooms.
Burial Site—Deep Amphitheater: Once used for rituals and for gladiatorial combat. (No one learns this, but according to Genosian myth, the Hive Overlords once emerged from the deep—angered at the fighting between Hives—and did battle to end the wars. This created the cultural fixation on gladiatorial fighting, called Petranaki.)
Burial Site—Storage: Holes are burrowed into the four walls of an unnatural mesa. Each side is covered in holes, which are mostly empty except for debris.
Burial Site—Priests Hive: Some sort of tall rock paste mound for aristocrats. T’lal sleeps within, away from the stormtroopers.
Burial Site—Ritual Crematorium: Under ground, filled with (now dark) fire pits.
Numerous stormtroopers are on guard. Light poles are posted here and there in the sand outside and within the structures. Sif sees T’lal leave one structure and enter the temple.
From 500 meters away from the burial site, Kelnoir searches again for Mi’ehla, but her small camp is too far away. (She set up at a distance so that the acklays she dominated would not disturb the stormtroopers.)
After gathering, the party moves in the darkness up to the back of the temple. Sif climbs up on top of the temple roof and surveys the camp.

Finally, from within the burial site, Kelnoir sees Mi'ehla using the Force. (She also detects him and begins to prepare. She deliberately does not warn Tragen.)

Kelnoir burns a hole in wall at the back of the temple. Over half an hour, he cuts his way through the rock. The party enters the darkness of the abandoned temple and Wee-wren covers their tracks. The party sneaks deeper into the old temple.
Sif creeps forward and listens to T’lal and Tragen. They can hear the officer, but not the Bothan. Tragen, to T’lal: “Greydal, that foul animal, failed. At least I finally escaped the Prefect on dismal Kwevron… Then Mothose, that aristocratic fool, ruined the clever strategies I had in store for them on Luyarc. Controlling Mi’ehla is a nightmare. Skeyzahl is a foul non-human species…not meaning offense to you. We lost contact with Skeyzahl…everyone is on alert. Yes, yes, the captive on the shuttle…I must admit, I don’t what to think about that. I will interrogate here later.”

Sif rolls a thermal detonator into the room and the battle begins.
Shaken by the blast, Tragen says, “Take them alive!” He opts to use the stun mode on his force pike.
Tragen Tactics: In any battle with Tragen, he will try to use his Tactics powers. Tactics requires either an attack action (and lasts 1d4 rounds plus the Officer’s Cha modifier) or a full round action (and lasts a number of rounds equal to the Officer’s Cha modifier. The attack action version adds the Officer’s Int modifier to a single ally’s attack rolls or Defense and Reflex saves. The full round version applies this bonus to all allies, including the Officer.)

T’lal tries to use his stun baton. He says to Sif, with disdain: “Human woman, you were so self-righteous on Kwevron when I simply asked to be paid for my services. Have you never asked for credits from someone who could have benefited from keeping their money? You do the same as I do; we are both mercenaries…the same!” (Sif hates T’lal: He offends her altruism with his profiteering.)
As Tragen dies, his last words are, “…my career.”
Five stormtroopers and five ISB stormtroopers close in on the temple from the front and the back (where Kelnoir burned a hole). They are destroyed by the party, even fighting a battle on two fronts. Gugon is destroyed and the Wookie is badly wounded.
Outside, Mi'ehla summons a storm. She moves from her small camp—where she has dominated an acklay and its offspring—into the deep amphitheater.

After the fight, the party waits for one hour, recovering and worrying about how to deal with Mi'ehla. They collect and study the materials in the room, learning much from the datapads carried by T’lal and Tragen, but also discerning that a stowaway was among the materials shipped from Kadann’s location to Tragen. To make him look ridiculous in death, Tyrus straps Skeyzahl’s red goggles onto Tragen’s corpse.

Tragen’s datapad: Kadann has employed Tragen’s group for the purpose of capturing Kelnoir. The dark prophet has given these orders: “Spare no expense. If you but ask me, I will see to your needs. Set a trap for them. Do not destroy their YT-2400 transport star ship…I feel it could hold some key to all this in ways that you would not comprehend. Most importantly, capture the one called Kelnoir and bring him to me; bring any others as well for interrogation. Anything you obtain, including their ship, bring to me immediately. I have provided you the coordinates of the stronghold where I am currently located.”
Tragen’s datapad: Kadann says, “Your request for Lerketh is not possible at this time. The girl is being difficult…there is conflict between us. Instead, I have put Ikkath at your disposal. I trust you will benefit from the technical gear that he is sending, including the exotic artifact he has created for the Dathomirian woman.” Tragen is angry with Lerketh because she rejected him “magnanimous” offer to join his ISB strike force. Holocom message from Tragen to Lt. Moke, an ally in ISB: “Without a word, she simply declined my offer! Who does she think she is?” Response holocom message from Lt. Moke: “Yes, she had them in her hands and failed to bring them in. What did you expect from slave stock? I’ve heard that the girl was trash…the Empire made her what she is. She’s probably someone’s whore, really.” Tragen (with immense pride): “In her stead, the Supreme Dark Prophet has granted me access to some sort of advanced tech specialist. It seems that my effort is starting to pay off. You would be wise to maintain our alliance.” (The party infers correctly that Ikkath is the exotic tech specialist.)

T’lal has been recording many critical conversations with Tragen, and is copying down some of his holonet interactions, all in hopes of collecting something he can later use to blackmail the Imperial officer. (Many of the recorded messages on Tragen’s or Mothose’s datapad are duplicated on T’lal’s.) These recordings include images of Jeed, Skeyzahl, Mi’ehla, Tragen and Mothose.

Outside, Mi’ehla waits for some advantageous moment that will allow her to attack Kelnoir, Sif and Tyrus with great ceremony. (She generates a massive thunderstorm.) Kelnoir senses Mi’ehla’s location in the arena.
If the party is captured, Mi’ehla will channel Cohdal so the Sith spirit can converse with the Padawan. (Whenever Kelnoir sees Mi’ehla channeling Cohdal, or when she dies, he will realize that she has been communing with Cohdal.)
The party moves through the burial site and into the amphitheater. Tyrus waits at the entrance, preparing to snipe. Halfway across the arena, the acklays emerge and attack.
Mi’ehla moves forward, then moves into an arena opening. As she is running through the rain, she ignites her midnight blue lightsaber, finally revealing to Kelnoir the artifact she found on the Chu’unther when she explored it with Beya.
The party begins to fire on the acklays, Tyrus runs further into the arena, and Sif jump-jets over to Mi’ehla’s general location. Down below, Tyrus plants explosives at the base of a massive column while Wee-wren and Kelnoir battle the acklays.
Mi'ehla spiderclimbs up the wall, critically hits Sif with her lightsaber, then uses Force Lightning on her as well. Sif fires back, critically wounding Mi'ehla with a blaster. Mi’ehla falls, unconscious and near death. Tyrus hits her from a distance with sniper fire, after she is helpless, then gloats about it.
As Mi’ehla dies, Kelnoir senses Cohdal’s spirit, fading away. Kelnoir realizes that this was the true spirit of the ancient Sith Lord and assumes that Mi’ehla began summoning Cohdal (using Sith Sorcery) after seeing Lerketh use the holocron. (The holocron only contained an imprint of the Sith Spirit.)
Kelnoir takes down the largest acklay with a lightsaber stroke; it had already been badly wounded by Kelnoir and Wee-wren. The explosion at the pillar goes off just after the Kelnoir and the Wookie move out of the way. The massive stone pillar falls, crumbling in the blast, and crushes the remaining acklays.
When the smoke clears, Kelnoir takes the black metal pendant (made by Ikkath) from Mi’ehla. He also takes her lightsaber.
After Sif contacts Eva via comlink, she lands the Bloodsparrow at the center of the camp.
Everyone quickly packs up the ISB gear and the speeder bikes, loading them onto the Bloodsparrow.
During the loading of the ship, Sif aggressively confronts Eva about her consort tattoo. “Why did you hide this from us?”
Kelnoir and Sif locate Mi’ehla’s campsite and search. They find nothing.
Tyrus uses Tragen’s datapad to collect info on the ISB shuttle pilot up in orbit. ISB Shuttle: Corporal Vivit (pilot) is a mid-level tech-soldier who took over piloting and maintenance of Tragen’s shuttle after Mothose’s death. TK-991 is a mid-level stormtrooper assigned to guard the shuttle and the captive on board.
Eva moves the Bloodsparrow, Wee-wren takes cover in one of the burial site buildings and the remaining party members from for an effort to seize the Lambda-class shuttle. Tyrus plants an explosive, wires it to a remote detonator (just in case), and moves Tragen’s body into place; the corpse is still wearing the ridiculous red goggles Tyrus strapped over Tragen’s dead eyes.
Tyrus calls to the shuttle. “This is TK-448…Tragen is injured and we need immediate evac.” Vivit falls for the trap and lands; the party easily stuns the two Imperials and restrains them.
Kelnoir runs up into the ISB shuttle and finds a woman, restrained and hooded with a black cloth sack. He frees her and learns that she is named Mol’goosh. She is a slave who served Keval at the Sith Keep. She was caught after smuggling herself out with the shipment to Tragen. She left fearing for her life: “Keval was given four slaves as a boy; I was one of those slaves. One of my sisters died at his hands years ago, for displeasing him. He promised the rest of us that—when he became a lord—he would take us to Coruscant. But I discovered things that made me believe he was planning to kill us all before leaving the keep.” If questioned, Mol’goosh has more info on Keval: “He was one of 12 children chosen years ago. He was trained from an early age forward in the ways of the dark side and in the ways of combat. He has lived a life that has been at times privileged beyond imagination and at times brutal beyond tolerance. He is a prince has been encouraged to indulge his every pleasure or anger. Though he has lived at the keep, he has traveled to a place Kadann calls the Temple, to Coruscant to go before the Emperor and to many worlds on the Rim and within the Core. Often, when at the Sith Keep or the place they call the Temple, he has been instructed by Kadann and his dark prophets. When traveling, he has trained under Cart’an, for whom he has great admiration. Keval sees himself as the Emperor’s successor. The young Sith Lord hates Lerketh, who once struck him across the face…she is the only person I know to have done so and survived. There is a great ceremony coming for Keval at the Keep…soon he will leave for Coruscant.”
After talking to Mol’goosh—who wants to flee to the bright lights of Coruscant—the party makes ready to leave. With Sif piloting the shuttle, both ships lift off and maneuver through the asteroid belt around the planet. With the Bloodsparrow leading the way, Eva leaves Geonosis behind…the long night is finally ending.

Campaign Scenario: Rebel Fleet, Rebel Ops (10/07/04, 10/12/04)

Time spent with the Alliance; deployed on a mission into snowy mountains.

After calling Jee Ann, Eva and Sif jump the Bloodsparrow and the stolen Imperial shuttle to the rendezvous point and meet up with the nomadic Rebel Fleet.
The Thranta Dream is a Nebulon-B Frigate dedicated to supporting covert Rebel operations. Jee Ann Mosa, Neera and Black Tom all hold key positions on board this Alliance ship.

The Sith Keep ceremony is two months off.
On board the Thranta Dream, Sif drops off Mol'goosh, telling Jee Ann the slave girl’s story. Jee Ann: “After interviewing her, we will help her settle somewhere.”
Sif spends a few hours in the bacti tank.
A few days later, Jee Ann hosts a dinner in the officers’ mess. She invites the party, N’dal, Black Tom and Neera. It is revealed that Black Tom and N’dal now work directly with the Alliance. (Tom now has a maintenance group under him on the Thranta Dream.)

Neera sits quietly near Kelnoir. She does not eat. In a corner, after dinner, she says: “Kelnoir, your training is nearly complete. Skywalker, too, will soon become a Jedi Knight. First he trained with Obi-wan Kenobi, then with me, and now he has been training with Master Yoda. The re-emergence of our Order will restore balance to the Force, but for this war to end, the Sith must be rooted out; they must be turned, imprisoned or destroyed. Someday not too far away, we will move against the Emperor. But first Skywalker must face Vader, the Emperor’s Hand, and you must face Kadann, the Emperor’s Eye.”

After dinner, Jee Ann offers the party members official Alliance rank within her covert ops unit. Tyrus, Eva and Kelnoir accept; Sif declines.
A few days later, Jee Ann transmits a report to the party, gathered from her interviews with Mol’goosh. This intelligence data contains the information obtained earlier regarding Keval and the Sith Keep, but some additional points as well. "Ikkath is working on some project involving a special droid. He obtained the plans from someone named Cohdal." The slave girl also provides several rough, incomplete maps of the place. She says it is staffed by a small number of simple droids and mute servants. The Royal Guard protect the place, and at any given time it is home to a few Dark Prophets, Kadann (intermittently) and Keval. Cart'an only comes to deliver things or to pick up passengers.

Kelnoir asks Neera for advice about the Jedi Archive. The Jedi Knight replies: “For now, leave it with me. We will keep it safe. Perhaps Tom and I can find some way to duplicate it.”
The party sells the stolen Imperial shuttle to the Alliance, who will put it to good use. (10k credits.)
Two months pass. Kelnoir trains and the others work. Tyrus works with Black Tom, constructing a spy eye droid and repairing Gugon. Sif is asked to deliver tech supplies to a small group of Bothans working for the SpyNet. (Wee-wren accompanies her.)

Kelnoir has a vision. He is now powerful enough to see through the screen surrounding the place. He sees the Sith Keep itself. It is nearly empty, a place of secrecy where only the Emperor’s dark side minions dare to tread. The ceilings are high and shadowy. Most areas are part natural cave and part high tech construction; sleek and clean, lit by deep red lights. Kelnoir sees the royal guard, the dark prophets, Keval and Lerketh, but no one else.
Later, in another vision, Kelnoir sees one potential future: Lerketh battles Keval. They are evenly matched. Lerketh might even win. Then, from the shadows, Kadann steps forth and attacks Lerketh. Dark side lightning begins to burn her skin and tear chunks from her flesh. Much greater than her physical pain is the expression of shock upon her face; her adopted father has betrayed her.
Kelnoir begins to talk openly of attempting to turn Lerketh from the dark side.

After two months with Rebel Fleet, jumping randomly from one remote system to another, Jee Ann approaches the party with a more substantial mission. “After analyzing Lt. Moke’s datapad, we’re afraid that the ISB is onto one of saboteurs. Right now he’s part of an Imperial convoy on Mol Tam, a small Rim world. The Imperials are moving through the mountains, trying to find pockets of local resistance. We need to get him out, and…I hesitate to say this, but if you can take out the convoy, you should do so. Once you get close enough to use a comlink, use this encryption code.” (Military-grade comlink required.) To accomplish the mission, the crew of the Bloodsparrow must extract Wuc-ta, an Ithorian Rebel saboteur.
Sif buys an expensive speeder bike from one of Black Tom’s Rebel procurement specialists.
Anxious for action, the party gathers and breaks away from the fleet. Eva sets a course for Mol Tam, a snowy world, dominated by a planet-spanning mountain range. On the way, Kelnoir forges some supply transit orders (and does not realize that his forgery is flawed).
Arriving on Mol Tam, Eva sets the YT-2400 down in a space port hangar, dropping down through the roof. The ceiling hatch closes overhead, blocking out the icy wind.
The primary city here is composed of squat towers, nestled into the black, icy peaks of a mountain cluster. The citizens here use tunnels to get from building to building; very few people walk around outside. There is a small Imperial depot, to oversee the mining operations, which are dotted along a trail of villages through the mountain passes. A 60 meter wide road connects all the villages and the mines.
As the party is unloading their speeder bikes and supplies, a young female officer and 12 stormtroopers march into the sealed hangar and take up positions. She questions Eva and is about to arrest the party, when Sif directs her to Kelnoir. The Padawan uses a Jedi mind trick on the weak willed Imperial woman, telling her that their orders are good and that she has already verified this; no further inquiry is needed. She calls off her troops and resumes her daily activities, assuring her peers and superiors that everything checks out. Technicians move into place to service the Bloodsparrow.
Eva decides to stay behind to guard the ship and to provide immediate evacuation if needed. Tyrus leaves Gugon to assist her.
After gathering information, Sif learns the basics of the world and the mining operations, but also gathers that an Imperial armored division recently landed and set up camp just outside the city. This division split into two groups: One group composed of half the division’s resources stayed behind at the camp, the other half marched out into the mountains along the road. The mission mandate for this armored column is to locate and destroy insurgents and anyone sheltering them. The troops comprising the column include 6 AT-ST walkers and 80 stormtroopers, lead by Infantry General Van Jak. Sif learns that this group is not like the sleepy stormtroopers who guard supply depots and standard bases. This group consists of hardened infantry troops who move from world to world, crushing out resistance; they are soldiers who stay in a constant state of war.
The party moves out through a massive blast door, leaving the hangar on their bikes and heading into the quiet, snowy city.
After a few hours, the party reaches a burned mining town, recently hit by the armored Imperial column. Down in the valley below, the surviving miners are huddling their children within one of the remaining shelters, while others throw corpses into a funeral fire.
The party observes the mining town for a few minutes, then Tyrus contacts their target, the Rebel saboteur, speaking Ithorian over his military-grade comlink. “Wuc-ta…this is Commander Tyrus Arcona. Jee Ann sends aid.” The Ithorian responds, providing details about the column. He tells the party about the ISB unit that joined the column; Wuc-ta suspects they have arrived to aid in the search for insurgents out among the village. Tyrus tells him that the ISB is there specifically because some details of Wuc-ta’s presence and subversive work have been discovered. The Ithorian agrees to attempt to break away when give the signal.
After a brief discussion, the party decides to attempt to catch the Imperials on a narrow stretch of mountain pass in order to destroy them using explosives. However, this would require much more explosive power than they’re currently carrying.
Tyrus, Kelnoir and Sif pilot their speeder bikes down into the town. (Wee-wren rides on the back of Sif’s bike.) They provide medical assistance to the miners, healing the wounded and passing out rations.
The senior townsman answers their questions grimly. When pressed regarding striking back at the Empire or selling mining explosives, he says, “If the Imperials figure out that we’ve helped you, they’ll kill us all. But if you were to steal some of the mining charges, we might be very slow to report it.”
A short distance from the town center, the party finds a mine entrance, behind a massive blast door. Due to the Imperial crackdown, only droids are working within. After digging around in two storage rooms full of breathers, crude maintenance lifters and other mining gear, Tyrus locates 16 mining charges.
As they are departing, the party gives the miners 9k credits for the charges and to aid them in recovering from the attack.
Following a path described by the miners, the party moves up into the mountains and comes out ahead of the Imperial column. Tyrus goes further ahead with Wee-wren, looking for a suitable spot to plant explosives. Kelnoir and Sif move down the road toward the Imperials, looking for a good position from which to reconnoiter.
Kelnoir changes into an ISB uniform in case he and Sif are spotted.
Hiding their bikes in some rocks above the road, Sif and Kelnoir get their first glimpse of General Van Jak’s column through electrobinoculars. Two AT-STs run half a kilometer ahead of the infantry, acting as advanced scouts. Eventually the rest of the column comes into view. The Ithorian, Wuc-ta, is walking behind Van Jak’s speeder, with a group of locals serving the infantry as porters and scouts.
Imperial Infantry Column: This group consists of 6 AT-ST Walkers and 80 stormtroopers, outfitted for cold weather. They are being lead by General Van Jak through the mountains. At each town or mining outpost, the column’s officers are conducting interrogations. If they don’t like what they hear—if they don’t sense absolute loyalty to the Empire—they kill off any suspected insurgents and destroy a few structures.
Van Jak is constantly accompanied by 2 personal security troops—extremely capable clone troopers who feel extreme loyalty to the general and to the Empire.
ISB Captain Miogi recently landed at Mol Tam’s Imperial depot and was flown out to join the column. He stays near Van Jak, searching for signs of the saboteur he suspects is near. Currently, he suspects one of the local guides.
Captain Miogi, General Van Jak and his personal security troops ride in an Imperial Chariot-class command speeder.
Traveling with the column, there are 12 locals who perform various tasks, ranging from menial labor to guide functions. (One of these is Wuc-ta, posing as a porter for one of the local guides.)
AT-ST Walkers: Init +2; Def 14; DR 6; Hull 60; Atk +4; Dmg 4d10 (Blaster Cannon), 4d6 (Grenade Launcher); Mv 30m.
Infantry Stormtroopers: Soldier 7; Init +2; Def 18; DR 4; VP/WP 0/35; Atk +6/+1; Dmg 3d8 (Blaster Rifle), 2d6 (Vibroblade); Mv 8m. Gear: Blaster Rifle, Vibroblade, Medium Battle Armor, Comlink, Field Kit.
Infantry Officers: Officer 7; Init +2; Def 16; DR 0; VP/WP 25/10; Atk +6; Dmg 3d6 (Blaster Pistol); Mv 10m. Gear: Blaster Pistol, Comlink, Field Kit.
Light Command Speeder: Init +4; Def 12; DR 4; Hull 40; Atk +4; Dmg 3d10 (Light Blaster Cannon); Mv 30m.
Van Jak’s Security: Soldier 10; Init +4; Def 20; DR 6; VP/WP 70/12; Atk +10/+5; Dmg 3d8 (Blaster Rifle), 2d4 (Vibro Bayonet); Mv 6m. Gear: Blaster Rifle, Heavy Battle Armor, Comlink, Vibro Bayonets, Field Kit.
General Van Jak: A scar runs up the left side of his face. His left eye is a milky mechanical replacement. Soldier 5/Officer 5; Init +4; Def 18; DR 4; VP/WP 60/12; Atk +10/+5; Dmg 3d8 (Heavy Blaster Pistol); Mv 8m. Gear: Heavy Blaster Pistol, Medium Battle Armor, Comlink, Field Kit.
Captain Miogi (ISB): Soldier 3/Officer 4; Init +4; Def 18; DR 4; VP/WP 40/12; Atk +8/+3; Dmg 3d6 (Blaster Pistol); Mv 10m. Gear: Blaster Pistol, Comlink, Field Kit.
Kelnoir and Sif stay hidden until all of Van Jak’s men have passed. At nightfall, not far away, the Imperials begin to set up camp.
Under the premise of burying trash and collecting firewood, the Ithorian slowly moves further and further from the large stormtrooper encampment, until finally he moves around a bend. Kelnoir and Sif head back up into the mountain passes above the road—with Sif using her skills as a wilderness tracker—then move out onto the road and begin tracking Wuc-ta. When they find him, Kelnoir says, “We are friends of Jee Ann.” Wuc-ta greets them, then climbs onto Sif’s speeder bike. The small group move ahead into the night to where Tyrus has been working on the explosives.
As the temperature drops, the party sets up camp, providing Wuc-ta with a tent and an all-weather cloak.

Wuc-ta: “We should, if it is possible, disguise our work here…otherwise, the Empire’s reprisal will be twice as severe.”
Tyrus has set 17 charges at the base of the road, up against the mountain. (By taking 10 and using a Force point, he has a very high check.) His intention is to blow up two sections of the road, destroying the walkers and stormtroopers, while preserving Van Jak’s speeder and the small group of civilians the center of the column. Kelnoir aids in hiding the charges; Sif and Wee-wren cover all the tracks in the area.

At dawn, the column packs up and moves out. While waiting for the column to approach, Sif calls Eva and tells her to prep the YT-2400. The advance scouts move past in their walkers first, then the rest of the column catches up 10 minutes later.
Tyrus snipes at General Van Jak, but his armor deflects the shot. At the same time (via heroic surge), Tyrus triggers the explosives. The blast completely destroys two sections of the road, dropping 4 AT-ST walkers and 80 stormtroopers 200 meters down the mountain across icy black rocks. At first, General Van Jak, his security troopers and Captain Miogi take up defensive positions in the general’s speeder, unsure of what has happened. Then, within seconds, a massive avalanche comes down the mountain…a violent wave of ice, snow, rock and trees, blasting away everything in its path. (Avalanche check: 99%.)
After calling Eva, the speeder bike group moves back to the town where the explosives were purchased. (They know that the remainder of Van Jak’s unit will be coming soon.) The Bloodsparrow is waiting. Tyrus gives the locals 1k more credits, then the party takes off just as the Imperial ships are moving into blockade position in orbit.
On the ship, Wuc-ta plays his woodwind instrument. (He reveals that his military grade comlink is hidden within it.) He carries no other gear. He notes Kelnoir’s calming influence (since, as a Force user, he detects the pendant).
Once Eva is able to rendezvous with the Rebel Fleet, a pair of X-wings escort the Bloodsparrow to the Thranta Dream. After docking, everyone gets off the ship and heads to meet Jee Ann and Neera.
Jee Ann serves tea during the debrief. Wuc-ta heads off to shower and get some sleep. The conversation turns to the Sith Keep mission. Keval’s ceremony is four days away. The party begins considering approach plans and equipment requisitioning. Sif asks for a suit of (crimson colored) stealth armor. Everyone gets a breather. They intend to land a good distance from the keep, then approach over land.
Neera tells Kelnoir: "Kadann was once a Jedi Knight. It is likely he will expect you."
At some point Neera asks, “What do you see with the Force?" Kelnoir realizes that Wuc-ta is, in addition to being a spy and saboteur, a primitive, naturalistic Force user.
Because of his time with the Rebel Fleet and his efforts on Mol Tam, Jee Ann offers Wee-wren a lower-ranking position with the Alliance: Lieutenant Commander.
Neera says, “I will not be able to accompany you when you face Kadann. I must see Yoda...his light is fading from this world."
With the YT-2400 prepped and everyone equipped, Eva, Sif, Kelnoir, Tyrus and Wee-wren leave the Thranta Dream. The Bloodsparrow makes the jump to hyperspace.

Campaign Scenario: The Sith Keep (10/15/04)

The players must go to the secretive stronghold established to train the new Sith.

On a nearly-lifeless planet, the Emperor ordered a small outpost built into the walls of a deep canyon. Palpatine built this place after having a vague vision about the planet. Much later—as the Breaking of the Rule of Two occurred—he decided to use this base as the first Sith Keep.
The nameless planet has very little atmosphere; even breathing outside is difficult. (Characters without breathers are fatigued.)

Major chronology change: In a quiet ceremony, a day or two before the Bloodsparrow arrives, Keval is sanctioned as a Sith Lord. While dark side adepts, dark prophets and other evil Force wielders have previously existed in wild places like Dathomir or in the direct service of the Empire, Keval is the first new Sith Lord since Darth Vader was born into his role as the Emperor’s apprentice.
The Emperor: At some point, prior to the party’s arrival, Keval received contact from Palpatine, who is angry and hateful. “"Let them enter. Seize this pathetic Jedi Knight. You must destroy them or capture them…their meddling has continued for too long. After you have overcome them, return to me at Coruscant. There you will serve me as your new master, and I will continue your training in the ways of the dark side.”
The party believes that the ceremony hasn’t happened yet, that they are going to surprise Kadann. The news of the upcoming ceremony a ruse—Kadann knows they are coming. He sees a great future and believes that the events here will destroy the party, make Keval more powerful and push Lerketh over to the dark side, ensuring that she will become Vader’s apprentice. Due to Neera’s nature as a Jedi Shadow, Kadann is unable to see her influence over events.
On the journey to the Sith Keep, or Nameless Citadel as Sif calls it, Tyrus works on modifying Sif’s new armor in flight. Also, the party studies the recorded briefing from Jee Ann. Extracted during interviews with Mol’goosh, Jee Ann’s briefing contains partial maps, data on the planet, the structure and the personnel.
From: Commodore Jee Ann Mosa; Source: Interview with subject "Mol'goosh," Imperial slave of Lord Keval; Subject: "Sith Keep," specialized Imperial base for Supreme Dark Prophet Kadann and other key Imperial special agents; Planetary Information: Aside from the system coordinates, we don't know much. This is a dead world, not on any star charts. Allegedly, only the members of Kadann's inner circle visit this place. The atmosphere is not breathable to humans; Base Personnel: We believe that, due to an important ceremony being conducted, a number of key figures will be present: Dark Prophets: Several of the Emperor's advisors, as well as the supreme dark prophet, Kadann, will be present. This group is considered irredeemably loyal to Palpatine and are considered dangerous; Keval: An important figure in the long range plans of the Emperor. Probably extremely dangerous; Ikkath: An exotic tech specialist of some sort. No further info is known; Lerketh: Adopted by Kadann, years ago, and put through various training programs. Intelligence indicates internal strife; Base Security: Aside from the formidable protection provided by agents like Kadann, Lerketh and Keval, the Sith Keep is protected by the Emperor's Royal Guard and a series of archaic security droids. Almost all common areas will feature both of these adversaries. Additionally, there was recent talk--according to Mol'goosh--of several new projects, over the last four months, involving prototypes devised by Ikkath from Cohdal. We suspect that Ikkath has been working with the holocron; Royal Guard: Crimson clothed agents of the Empire, recruited and trained by the Emperor's most trusted agents. Allegedly, those who go farthest in this branch are Force users. Mol'goosh believes there might be 30-40 of these troops stationed under Kadann.These match the description of a droid type that was mass-produced during the Clone Wars. The specs are now classified by the Empire. This appears to be an updated, exotic variation of those droids. We believe that aspects of this design were derived from a Clone Wars historical figure referred to as General Grievous. Also, the bounty hunter Jeed Snowshadow seems to have been partially fused with a droid of this type; Base Maps: As a slave, the subject was highly restricted, but the following maps represent hours of painstaking recreation from her interviews.
The Bloodsparrow emerges from hyperspace and moves into the system. There is a small, dying star, around which a single dead planet orbits. The world is gray, lifeless and has a thin, poisonous atmosphere. The Sith Keep is set into a wall overlooking a dried up ocean floor. Tyrus activates the dark eye droid and Eva approaches from the opposite side of the world.
After the Bloodsparrow lands—10 kilometers away—Eva says, “I should stay on the ground, in case you need an emergency evacuation. I’ll wait to hear from you. Good luck and be safe."
When Eva lands, Cart'an moves his ship to the dry ocean floor.
Sif, Wee-wren, Tyrus and Kelnoir ride out on their speeder bikes, crossing the dry, powdery plain. Their plan is to come to the edge of the plateau, then climb down to where the Sith Keep is located, on the face of the cliffs overlooking the dead sea.
Closer, the party uses electro-binoculars (and rifle scopes) to zoom in on the edge of the plateau, trying to gather some intelligence data. They spot a landing pad, a ship and a tiny figure in the distance.
Tyrus deploys his dark eye probe droid for the first time and learns two things: It is Lerketh, and the area around the Sith Keep is constantly jammed against comlink transmission. Lerketh is standing next to her ship, on a landing pad, waiting for the party to arrive.
Since first encountering them, Lerketh has considered the party a great deal, using Farseeing on occasion. She has been wondering: “Do I love my adopted father? Or am I just desperate to feel loved, because I was a slave?” There has been great friction between Kadann and Lerketh. She hates Keval, sees him as petty and worthless. In Kadann’s eyes, Keval has become the better student in the ways of the Sith, just as Argin was in the ways of the dark prophets. Kadann has pushed Lerketh to channel Cohdal, as Keval does, but she has refused. Lerketh is unsure of where she fits in, what her role might be. (If the party pushes her away, she could end up as Vader’s apprentice.)
When working, Lerketh is grim, calculating tactically perfect and driven. When alone, she feels hopeless and lost. When she is working, the activity provides a soothing distraction. When she is not working, she often meditates just to avoid despair. Kadann exploits her feelings, providing her with false attentions and support.
The party mounts up and rides to meet Lerketh.
Exterior Upper Landing Pad: On the rock shelf, overlooking the dead ocean, there is a landing pad and a turbo lift leading down into the larger hangar below. Lerketh’s ship is docked here. An exterior vent leads into the silooth’s lair, venting exhaust from its alien atmosphere.
On her ship, Lerketh has eight security droids waiting to attack if combat breaks out.
After exchanging a tense greeting, the party parleys with Lerketh: “Kadann sent me to this spot. I am not sure why. To fight you, Kelnoir?” The Jedi reacts with calm. “It is not too late for you, Lerketh.” After they talk further, Kelnoir reveals that he has seen Kadann betray her in a vision; she uses the Force and knows his words to be true.
Lerketh seems sad: “The ceremony has already taken place. Keval hates me and it seems that I don’t have the favor of my ‘father’ anymore. Soon Keval will try to have me eliminated. He now communes with Cohdal…not the holocron but with the spirit of the ancient Sith. I refused to do so and earned Kadann’s ire. My life is forfeit here.”
Tyrus: “Help us fight Keval.” Lerketh laughs. “I hate him, but why would I do that?”
Eventually, the party reaches an arrangement with Lerketh, who says, "I will aid you against Keval, if you will not strike down Kadann." The party agrees, unless Kadann attacks them.
Lerketh: “Perhaps this is why my father sent me here…to betray the Sith. We will see.”
Kadann’s expectations: In his visions, Kadann saw many possible outcomes, most of which involved the party fighting Lerketh, either destroying her or making her more bitter, pushing her closer to the dark side.
Tyrus hacks the landing pad turbolift and the party descends to the primary hangar, bypassing the Sith Keep’s other exterior features and entryways.
Exterior Power Nacelles: On the cliff wall, there are two large vertical structures. Each houses functions like trash incinerations, power production, moisture condensation, atmospheric processing, etc. An upper rock shelf exhaust vent leads down into each from outside.

Sith Keep Personnel: Three Dark Prophets, Kadann, Lerketh, Ikkath, Security Droids, Sith droid, Keval, Cart’an, a silooth queen, the holocron of Cohdal and a few servants. When not traveling, Lerketh resides at the Sith Keep. Kadann visits often. Argin once lived here. Cart’an sometimes visits (but has never entered the cloning facility). A number of common (very deferential) servants operate and maintain this base.

Royal Guard: There are a number of troops assigned to this facility. Sith Keep Royal Guard (Level 6): Init +1; Defense 22; DR 5; Spd 8m; VP/WP 32/12; Atk (Force Pike) +8/+3, Dmg (Force Pike) 2d8+3/20, Atk (Heavy Blaster) +6/+1, Dmg (Heavy Blaster) 3d8/20; SQ Low Light Vision (Helmet); SV Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +5; Rep +4. Equipment: Ceremonial Medium Battle Armor (DR 5), Heavy Blaster, Force Pike (+2). Skills: Balance +1, Climb +4, Computer Use +1, Disable Device +5, Escape Artist +1, Handle Animal +3, Hide +1, Intimidate +5, Jump +4, Knowledge (Empire) +3, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Pilot +1, Read/Write Basic, Ride +1, Search +1, Sense Motive +4, Sleight of Hand +1, Speak Basic, Spot +6, Survival +6, Swim +1, Treat Injury +6, Tumble +1. Force Skills: Battlemind +6, Friendship +6, Heal Another +6. Feats: Armor Proficiency (Light), Armor Proficiency (Medium), Force Sensitive, Infamous, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Track, Weapon Group (Primitive), Weapon Group (Simple), Weapon Group (Blaster Pistols), Weapon Group (Blaster Rifles), Weapon Group (Vibro), Weapon Group (Heavy). Force Feats: Control, Alter, Sense.
Security Droids: The entire Sith Keep is protected, in part, by archaic security droids who take their orders from the central computer node. These droids are based on designs that went into General Grievous. Later, similar designs were used by Ikkath to preserve Jeed Snowshadow’s life. Sith Keep Security Stalker (Modified Archaic Battle Droid): Walking combat droid, Thug 12; Init +6 (-2 Remote Processor +4 Dex +4 Improved Initiative); Defense 20 (+4 Class +4 Dex +2 Mastercraft Material); DR 4; Spd 10m; VP/WP 40/10; Atk (Claw) +10/+5 (+8/+3 Class +2 Str), Dmg (Claw) 2d4+2/19-20 (+2 Str); SQ Droid Immunities, Low-light Vision, Infrared Vision; Str 14, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 4. Equipment: Light Armor, Clawed Left Hand (Vibro), Internal Comlink. Skills: Balance +6 (2 +4 Dex), Climb +4 (2 +2 Str), Hide +8 (4 +4 Dex), Jump +4 (2 +2 Str), Listen +6 (6 +0 Wis), Move Silently +8 (4 +4 Dex), Search +6 (6 +0 Int), Speak Basic, Speak Sith, Spot +6 (6 +0 Wis). Feats: Ambidexterity, Armor Proficiency (Light), Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Weapon Group (Blaster Pistols), Weapon Group (Vibro).
Security droid Computer Use skill checks: Shut down (30). Turn against one another (DC 32); Turn against the Royal Guard (DC 35); Turn against the elite lords of the Sith Keep (DC 45).
Once they’ve exited the turbo lift and moved into the primary hangar, the party does battle with four members of the royal guard, easily defeating them. Sif blinds three of them with a flash rocket.)
Hearing word of their entry, Kadann says, "Let them explore...they grow weaker with each step."
Within the primary hangar, Tyrus slices into the computer system. This is difficult and requires time. After several tries, he gets into the system and learns a few things. He turns the security droids against the royal guard, burning a Force Point in the process. Afterward, the sounds of blaster fire and combat echo through the Sith Keep as the two primary security forces here decimate one another.

The party waits a while, then heads to the primary turbolift. The Sith Keep interiors are all combinations of high tech and natural black cave rock. Many areas are lit by blood red light.

Kelnoir uses the Force to sense the Keep’s occupants. Then they proceed to Keval's level and explore it, seeing nothing more than sleeping slave girls.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the structure, Lerketh returns to her chambers.
As they move back to the turbolift, Sif, Kelnoir and Tyrus debate the next move, considering where they should go. Kelnoir wants to approach Kadann directly, immediately.
Silooth: This bantha-sized beetle is kept in a natural rock enclosure, restricted by plasteel. The cave ceiling overhead is lit with dim blue lights and the enclosure if filled with a strange atmosphere requiring breathers. The Sith are breeding the beetles and a number of eggs can be found here. In combat, the silooth will spew acid. (No one entered the silooth’s lair.) If any party members are captured individually, Keval will feed them to the silooth. (Sadly, this never happens.)
Meditation Chamber: The Sith Holocron is located here, under guard, at the center of a black room. Glowing red and gold lines circle the dais upon which the holocron sits. Keval, Ikkath, Kadann and a few of the dark prophets are allowed to use it to gather information and tactics on many subjects. (No one enters this area.)
The party settles on approaching Ikkath, Kadann’s dark side tech specialist, located on a lower level of the keep. The Mon Calamari oversees all tech/bio projects at the Sith Keep.
When they arrive at Ikkath’s Lab, they see that this area is entirely flooded. There are signs on the floor outside the elevator of a recent battle; the bodies of several royal guards lie in a heap. Stairs lead down into the flooded lab. Sif finds a rack of aquatic breathers and they enter the water. Immediately, the remaining security droids attack, but are destroyed quickly.
Some of Ikkath’s rooms are accessible through airlocks. The facility is manned by Quarren, Mon Calamari and Kaminoan, all of whom serve Ikkath. The black serpentine fish from Drillish’s Citadel swim here but—as the crime lord said—they are not dangerous.
Ikkath’s datapad shows that he was ordered to support the Force user in Tragen’s ISB Strike Force. “ISB artifact shipped out. Very successful construction project.”
At one point, the party finds several unarmed aquatic researchers and questions them briefly.
Ikkath’s Cloning Facility: Manned by enslaved Kaminoans, overseen by Ikkath. The body of Darth Maul is here, with records of cloning attempts. All attempts are failures in the eyes of Palpatine, since the Force cannot be awakened in these clones. However, one of the successes was not terminated: Cart’an. Silvery smooth wall of portals containing plasteel orbs: Within each is a failed Maul clone suspended in liquid. Within an orb at the end of the room, there is a tube containing Maul’s sundered body.
Finally, they enter Ikkath’s room. The Mon Calamari dark sider attacks them from above as they pass through the door. He uses the Force against them and tries to drain the power from Kelnoir’s lightsaber. Blasters don’t function under water, forcing the party to fight with their melee weapons. After a while, Ikkath is brought down, unconscious and barely clinging to life. He is healed, partially by Kelnoir, then the party allows him to die, surmising that he is terribly evil. (This might have been a dark side moment for Kelnoir, who could have taken Ikkath prisoner, but it’s questionable.)
The party searches Ikkath and his room, turning up a few things.
When they finally reach Kadann’s chambers, the party enters cautiously. (Tyrus gives his dark eye probe droid some orders regarding making a record of Kadann’s feelings for Lerketh.) Kadann is seated at a black desk. “Welcome…I have been waiting for you.” Kadann foresaw the possibility of his own death, but also of great success. A black-bearded dwarf in a starry robe, Kadann is thickly muscled. Malice and delight play across his eyes. Kadann believes the Force to be a thing of light and dark, of balance. “To truly understand the ways of the Force, you must know both the light and the dark side. I was once a Jedi Knight. I turned to fully explore the Force. I traveled the galaxy. When the Emperor began to kill the Jedi, he offered me a bargain. And I have prospered where others have been destroyed. I knew your grandfather, Kelnoir…did you not know this?”
Kadann feels no love for Lerketh; he exploits her feelings. After a time, he confesses this, trying to goad the party (Kelnoir, mostly) into hating him. Acting upon his earlier orders, the dark eye probe droid races away to find Lerketh. After a time, it locates her—heading toward Kadann’s chambers—and plays back the message revealing her adopted father’s true feelings.

Keval: The Emperor’s new apprentice emerges halfway through the party’s discussion with Keval. Dressed entirely in red, the Sith Lord ignites his lightsaber. He trades insults and taunts with the party for a while. Kadann watches passively, waiting for the right time to intervene.
Keval says to Sif: “After I defeat you, I will rape you…” Sif says, “Oh, it’s on now,” and draws her blaster pistols.
In the fight, as soon as the party is slightly separated, Kadann activates the Force field in the center of the room. Sif uses her jump boots and Kelnoir leaps (using the Force) to escape. Thus the trap fails to divide and conquer…
Landing on Kadann’s desk, Sif searches for the switch and deactivates the Force field.
Keval throws his lightsaber at Sif in an act of sadistic hatred, but Kelnoir deflects it.

Near the end of the battle, Kadann summons his droid. It emerges from his chambers. Sith droid: A prototype built from the holocron plans. Designed around combat and interrogation. Equipped with heavy blasters, pincher arms and Force lightning. If destroyed, it flash-explodes and bathes the area in hard radiation. Inside, there are dark side crystals that get evaporated if the droid detonates.
Kelnoir cuts Keval in half.
Chronology Event: Darth Keval—newly ascended Sith lord—is slain.
Lerketh enters the battle, having listened to Tyrus’ droid en route. She screams at Kadann, “Liar.” In the battle, she strikes him a terrible blow with the Sith sword.
Chronology Event: Lerketh learns the truth about Kadann, her adopted father, but strikes him down in anger. The party fails to bring her to the light side.
After being struck several more times, Kadann dies. His body vanishes in a black implosion.
Major chronology change: Kadann dies, along with three of the dark prophets. The Emperor is partially blinded.
Kelnoir makes another effort to sway Lerketh by saying, “Look at the people surrounding you…come with us.” Lerketh is too angry, too hurt to listen: “Throughout the last decade of my life, Kadann treated me better than anyone I’ve ever know, yet even he was only using me, deceiving me. He chose that monster Keval over me…”
When Kelnoir asks about the holocron, Lerketh says: “The dark prophets will take it…they are probably on their way out right now.”
Trying to hurry, the party leaves Kadann’s chambers and moves to the hangar, cautious and on the lookout for surviving security droids and royal guard. They catch a small group of servants, lead by three of the dark prophets. From a sniping vantage, Tyrus and Wee-wren take one of the prophets and their security droids down in a burst of blaster fire.
Sif intimidates one of the prophets and obtains the Sith holocron. Kelnoir activates it, summoning Cohdal. Trying to preserve the holocron, the Sith imprint attempts to use reverse psychology: “Yes, yes…strike me down with your anger, Kelnoir!” Kelnoir sees through it and says, “You are just a non-living thing…” He destroys the holocron with his lightsaber.
With the death of Mi’ehla and Keval, no one living can channel Cohdal other than Lerketh, who has so far chosen not to...
The party takes the other two prophets prisoner.

Sif and Kelnoir return to Kadann's chambers to search the area, but find nothing; Cart’an has already been there. The Imperial infiltrator, courier and saboteur took the belongings of Kadann and Keval, including the Sith Lord’s sundered body. Sif and Kelnoir head back out.
On the upper landing pad, Lerketh is loading her ship. Kelnoir tries talking to her: “Come with us.” Lerketh scoffs: “You are not my allies.”
Lerketh moves to the edge of the cliff and points. “Cart’an is leaving. I do not know him well; he has never crossed me.” She seems mildly curious.
Cart’an is far below on the secondary landing pad, external to the Keep. From him on the cliff above him, the party can see that he is ordering two of the security droids to load a long black bag onto his ship, Maul’s old Sith Infiltrator. The idea finally clicks in their heads, having seen Ikkath’s 25-year-old cloning project: Cart’an is the sole living clone of Darth Maul, but the Force is dead within him.
Tyrus and Sif attempt to snipe Cart'an from a great distance. The first two shots hit. Cart’an’s head snaps around. He pushes Keval’s body into a side cargo bin. (The body is sealed within a black bacti-bag. While Keval is not “alive,” his body tissues are and will not decompose while within the bag.) Cart’an runs into the back entrance to the ship and closes the hatch at his back (using a heroic surge). Within seconds, he departs, lifting off and leaving the security droids standing in his ship’s wash.
Cart’an contacts Emperor Palpatine and heads for the Temple. Later there will be a record of this visit and the effort to revive Keval or to use his body in some interesting way.

After bidding them a terse, sarcastic farewell, Lerketh leaves in her ship, with eight of the security droids. (Later, she will have them switched over to autonomous functioning.) The Lambda-class shuttle lifts off from the landing pad.
Almost immediately afterward, Sif calls Eva and she brings the Bloodsparrow across the plateau, setting it down in the same spot occupied by Lerketh moments earlier. The party begins loading up. Tyrus: “The Imperial Fleet will be coming soon, within hours.”

Leaving what was once called the Sith Keep in a state of chaos, everyone boards the Bloodsparrow. Eva lifts up off the landing pad and pilots up through the thin atmosphere, out into space.