Star Wars D20 Campaign

The Rule of Many

Star Wars D20 Campaign

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

EPISODE VI: RETURN OF THE JEDI

At the hands of the covert Rebel operatives, Supreme Dark Prophet Kadann and the newly anointed Sith Lord Darth Keval have fallen. With the Sith Temple in ruins, the crew of the Bloodsparrow has reunited with the Rebel Fleet.

Intelligence hints that the GALACTIC EMPIRE has almost completed construction on a new armored space station even more powerful than the first dreaded Death Star.

Perhaps more troubling are dark rumors implying that Emperor has orchestrated three new movements to further his evil agenda.

From among the most promising members of the Royal Guard, Palpatine has personally created a new Order of Sith disciples, to be trained within what was once the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. The Emperor has also commanded the remaining dark prophets to apprehend the rogue Force wielder Lerketh, as part of an effort to infuse her with Keval’s spirit. Lastly, acting on a plan long in the making, Palpatine has ordered Cart’an to seize control of the Black Sun Syndicate.

These black schemes could ultimately spell doom for the small band of rebels struggling to restore freedom to the galaxy…

Adventures and Plot Points

Campaign Scenario: The Calm Before the Storm (11/04/04)

Two months spent with the Alliance, resting and recovering; dark tidings await the days to come.

Chronology Event: The New Sith. Palpatine pushes hard to have Lerketh captured and taken to the Temple, where he wants her infused with the spirit of Keval. During the same time, the Emperor creates a small order of Force-sensitive apprentices to serve and train under him directly on Coruscant.

In the days that follow the assault on the Sith Keep, the Bloodsparrow returns to the Rebel Fleet, docking with the Thranta Dream.

Jee Ann Mosa accepts custody of the two dark prophets. "Neera will question them when she returns." Ultimately, they will reveal the location of the Temple.

Tyrus cooks dinner one night for Eva. He is eager to try out his new culinary skills, eager to spend a few hours pursuing completely human activities, as a break from what feels like a never-ending war. He invites Eva to dinner, without the others. At first she seems a little nervous, but quietly accepts. She leaves the area, mumbling something about heading to the Bloodsparrow for a few hours; her ship is a place where she always seems more comfortable. When Eva returns, it looks like she has just showered, but she still has on some of the plain spacer clothes that she normally wears. However, at odds with this is the hint of some old perfume that she is wearing for the first time since dining with Bail Organna. At first--seeing Tyrus in his fine Alderaan attire--she blanches. This passes quickly and the two sit down to an excellent home cooked meal, made from ingredients scrounged from the Officers' Mess on the Thranta Dream. (Skill check total: 16.) Eva seems tense at first. For a woman so rough around the edges, her table manners are surprisingly good, betraying her early training as an Imperial consort. Between delicate bites, she seems to be straining, wanting to say something. At some point, she takes a deep breath and relaxes. The shipmates' banter that she and Tyrus have developed kicks in and they make small talk; the recent mood lifts considerably with the domestic exchange that plays out between them. After the meal, Tyrus and Eva clean up the military-style plates and cutlery. There is an uncomfortable moment then, when it becomes unclear as to what comes next. She looks down at the floor and seems like she is about to leave, still obviously wrestling with her feelings. Then she makes a sudden move, reaching out with both hands, grabbing Tyrus by the upper arms and pulling herself close to him. She crushes herself against his body, laying her head against his chest. For long seconds, she simply holds herself there, breathing lightly. Tyrus can feel her trembling; he is looking down at the top of her short, ruffled hair and inhales a combination of her sweat and perfume. After gaining confidence, she begins to fumble aggressively, somewhat awkwardly, with his clothes. She is all forward motion, stretching her light frame upward to kiss him, while her plain clothing drops to the floor. Throughout the night, Eva seems like she is desperately lonely, aching to connect with Tyrus as they make love. The movements of her body are fierce, urgent, while her kisses are soft and cautious. Tyrus is amazed at how delicately her tongue moves as it explores his mouth; at times he can barely detect the faint contact of her lips. Later, in the quiet hours of the morning, she springs up, struggles into the much-to-large shirt Tyrus dropped onto the floor of his quarters and dashes from the room. When she returns, a minute later, she is dragging a tattered quilt. Whipping the shirt over her head and dropping it to the floor (as a free action), she leaps back into bed. Her light body bounces as she settles in, draping herself half over Tyrus and cloaking them both in the quilt. With her skin awakened by the half-naked sprint through the cold air of the ship, Tyrus can feel the dimpled goose bumps of her flesh and the taunt nipples capping her small breasts. Once again, the room grows calm. After a time, she begins to confess her deep feelings for him in whispers that are barely audible over the steady, sonorous rumble of the Rebel frigate. Her desire for Tyrus has grown steadily over the months they have spent together, a succession of chaotic, death-defying moments and quiet, close-quartered days spent on board the Bloodsparrow, traveling through the black void of space. As they lie together in a tangle of pale limbs and naked flesh, Eva Bloodsparrow finally relaxes, at peace for what seems like the first time in perhaps years. She drifts off to sleep just as the fleet makes another jump through hyperspace, to yet another secret, distant part of the galaxy.
Neera is still away, but sends word to Kelnoir that she will return soon. “It is a shame that the one called Lerketh left alone. But by confronting Kadann and Keval, and by facing Lerketh with calm, you revealed yourself to be a Jedi Knight, Kelnoir. I am still with Luke and Master Yoda. It is nearly twilight. This world has kept its secret for long years…soon there will be no need for secrets. I will see you when I can.”
Two months pass while the crew of the Bloodsparrow are engaged in professional activities with the Alliance.
Tyrus donates to the Alliance a bunch of supplies collected from battles with the Imperials. He spends time modifying weaponry in the Rebel armory and moves Gugon’s droid mind into the chassis of one of the Sith Keep archaic droids. Tyrus has Gugon’s new body painted black with a red stripe running down the center from head to crotch.
Nothing more is heard from Lerketh. Kelnoir uses farseeing and sees her in a vision: She pilots her shuttle alone through space, accompanied only by a cold, inhuman squad of droids. Lerketh lands on the polluted, industrial world of Eriadu and begins hunting someone.

Major chronology change: Dark Vader, Lord of the Rim. Dark Vader is named Lord of the Rim Worlds and is given domain over the Rim. He is allowed to seek a new apprentice.

Dram Bellac sends a holocom message to Sif asking for a rendezvous point: "It's time to return the Vengeful." They agreed to meet on the swamp world of Desevro.
Everyone gathers on the Bloodsparrow and Eva breaks away from the Rebel fleet, heading for the meeting with Dram.

Campaign Scenario: An Invisible Hand (11/04/04)

An underworld contact offers more work with the Black Sun Syndicate. A trap is set.

On the way to Desevro, Kelnoir has another vision: He sees a massive chamber on Coruscant. Light streams in from overhead windows, a high ceiling is supported by delicate columns, and just over a dozen figures are arranged ceremoniously. Vader is kneeling before the Emperor. Arrayed around the dark lord are 12 young human figures in black. (These are the new Sith disciplines, to be trained in what was once the Jedi Temple, by Palpatine himself. Palpatine: “Rise, my friend.” Vader rises. He is tall and imposing, with wide shoulders. His breathing provides a strange rhythm for the ritualistic encounter, providing the only sound in the massive chamber. The Emperor continues, “You will now take control of the Rim Worlds, Lord Vader. There, you will seek out your own apprentice. I will remain on Coruscant, where I will personally train my new disciples in the ways of the dark side.” Vader: “Yes, my master.” Vader turns and strides from the room, leaving the Emperor standing at the center of a crescent arc of 12 kneeling figures: the new Sith disciples.
The return of the Vengeful: Dram meets the party at the Black Jug, a cantina. He is tall and sinewy, and is dressed in his customary attire…dark, bloody red leather. As they enter, he breaks away from 7 others and comes to sit with Sif. They talk about the ship and exchange rumors. Dram passes Sif a code cylinder for her ship, then he gives her a datacard: “Drillish has a job you might want to take… Allegedly, some of the vigos are loyal to the Empire, maybe to Vader himself. This card will let you contact Drillish.” Dram gets a call and must leave; he bids Sif a casual farewell, hiding his feelings for her.
After leaving Dram, the party heads to the hangar where the Vengeful is docked. Tyrus: “I can use the dark eye to scan the ship.” As they approach the hangar, a worker is leaving frantically. Tyrus sends the dark eye to follow him. (He heads to a run-down residential district.)

When they enter the hangar, the party is attacked by 8 outlaws, all with four-blue-bar tattoos. (This is a setup by Cart’an…trying to frame the target vigo.) Kelnoir manages to spot the hidden outlaws and participates in a surprise round. Level 8 Outlaws (7), Level 12 Outlaws (2): See core rule book.
During the battle, several of the party members suffer significant injuries. Sif dashes into the Vengeful in an attempt to use the ship’s weapons. She sees a blood red rose in the pilot’s seat, left by Dram. (None of the others spot it.) Sif jumps into the seat, on top of the flower, and fires the ship up. Just as the battle is getting grim (due to the entry of the second high level outlaw), Sif guns the final enemies down, briefly filling the hangar with light and smoke.
When the smoke clears, Tyrus and Kelnoir speculate about the attack, wondering if Dram set them up. Sif knows better, but doesn’t say why. She calls Dram: “Hey, we were just attacked.”
Dram leaves his crew and ship, heading to the hangar on a speeder bike. When he arrives, he talks to the party, admitting that he is perplexed. “Wait…these blue bar tattoos are the mark of Corba, the vigo Drillish wants you to take down.” Dram also notes that all of the tattoos are fairly new. (This is a clue: Cart’an set this up, creating a mercenary group that would resemble Vigo Corba’s men.) As he is leaving, Dram says, “If you see any of these guys with the blue bars, you know what to do…” Sif chuckles.
The dark eye droid returns and Tyrus uses it to scan the ship, finding nothing suspicious.
Splitting into two groups, the party takes the Vengeful and the Bloodsparrow into orbit, then connect them, slaving the Mon Calamari security transport to the YT-2400.
Using the datacard from Dram, Sif contacts Drillish via holo transceiver. A very tall, gaunt woman with dishwater blond hair summons the crime lord. After a brief discussion, he lays out the job: “I want you to take out Corba and frame Eeliax. They are both vigos, and I believe they are loyal to Lord Vader, of the Empire. I will provide some data files that will implicate Eeliax in a very convincing way. You must execute Corba and leave these files behind.”
Drillish explains that Corba is a female Hutt, involved in the trade of sex slaves, and that Eeliax is a male Dug, who sells assassination services.
Sif asks for time to consider. Later, when she calls back, she wants two things: A means of insuring that she gains infamy for this task, and the price of 40k credits to kill Corba and 20k credits to frame Eeliax. Drillish agrees.
The player-characters (and Drillish) are being tricked into supporting Cart’an’s ruse: He has framed Corba, an oppressive vigo, making Drillish believe that she is part of a Black Sun cabal, vigos who exploit their positions within the underworld and are secretly loyal to Vader. By tricking Drillish into paying the party to kill Corba and frame Eeliax, Cart’an will weaken the Black Sun, replacing some of the vigos with new leaders loyal to Cart’an. The clone of Maul will then be able to take out the Lord of the Black Sun and assume his position.
Eva: “Are we going to sleep in orbit, then head out for the mission?" Sif: "No...let’s go to Black Tom's."
Tyrus: "We should add to the framing info, naming you, Sif, since that’s what you want. Also, we can figure out how to do this in a more convincing way that just stupidly leaving a datapad next to Corba’s body."
Eva takes them all to Black Tom’s. They dock and enter the now-empty asteroid depot. Everyone beds down for sleep. (Tyrus grabs Eva’s quilt from the Bloodsparrow.)

Chronology Event: The Death of Yoda
That night, Kelnoir experiences a powerful, but peaceful vision: Neera and Luke are with Yoda at the time of his natural passing. The Jedi Master becomes one with the Force. (Trained by Obi-wan and Neera, Luke was better prepared to train with Yoda and stayed until the death of the Jedi Master.) As he is passing, Yoda says: “Luke…your feelings you must search. Vader you must contemplate. See him, you must, in a truer light…without fear, without hate.” Luke stares into space, relaxing: “…my father. He is my father. So this is what Ben meant when he explained that Vader killed my father, Anakin Skywalker. When Vader was born into the ways of the dark side, Anakin was no more.” Yoda: “Yes, yes…wise have you become.” Luke understands in that moment, seconds before Yoda’s death: “I must bring my father back to the light.” Always the Jedi Master, Yoda’s last words are a warning, a task and a message of hope: “Luke…at hand is your destiny. Face Vader, you must. Within him, there is good still. But do not underestimate the powers of the Emperor, or suffer your father’s fate you will. Luke…there is another…Skywalker.” Even faced with this shocking news, Luke is now wise enough to accept the situation with calm. He is also supported emotionally by Neera, now the last living Jedi Master. Luke knows that he is one of the three surviving members of the Jedi Knights, and that before he can help in rebuilding the order, he must face his father.
Everyone sleeps, preparing for the assault on Corba the Hutt.

Campaign Scenario: No Honor Among the Wicked (11/16/04)

The Bloodsparrow becomes a weapon against underworld tyranny.

Neera contacts Kelnoir: “Master Yoda has become one with the Force. Could you feel it?”
Neera: “From among the most promising members of the Royal Guard, Palpatine has personally created a new Order of Sith disciples, to be trained within what was once the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.”
The Bloodsparrow left Black Tom's. The Vengeful was left behind. Kelnoir forged orders.

Corellia: Climate: Temperate; Terrain: Fields, forests. Orbital shipyards (with a heavy Imperial presence). The planet below is mostly patrolled by CorSec.
Corba’s Place: This establishment is located on Corellia, in the capitol city of Coronet. (Traffic into and out of Coronet is strictly monitored by both the Empire and by CorSec.) Corba's Place is situated in a very dangerous part of town called Blue Sector, the heart of the Corellian criminal underworld. According to local legend, a Hutt named Corba decided to leave behind the criminal trade a few years ago and bought an empty ruin, turning it into Corba's Place and building up its reputation in only a few years. Corba's Place is reknown for food, drink, lodging, gambling and pleasure services.
Corba’s Place is underground, in levels. Top floor houses the bar, but each successive floor houses another section: restaurant, casino, games and amusements, suites, Corba’s Lair.
Corba the Hutt: This crime lord has broken with the Hutt traditions, instead giving her loyalty to the Black Sun Syndicate. A lean and athletic Hutt, Corba’s body is extensively tattooed, including several places where she has a signature mark of four blue bars (on her arms, tail and neck). All her servants and enforcers wear the same tattoos. Several years ago, Corba opted to produce offspring, metamorphosing her body to a female physiology and hermaphroditically conceiving a child. In the Hutt way, for these years, the crime lord is referred to as female and adorns herself in a way mimicking the females of the various Galactic species. The mission profile from Drillish indicates that this vile gangster is a nexus of underworld activity related to slave trade. However, unlike some, the Hutt works hard to fight this perception, maintaining a business front on Corellia. Corba insists that she is only interested in running her bar and gambling facility. Very few people know that she is a Black Sun vigo. Many have died in order to keep this silent. Over the last few years, Corba has spent considerable resources maintaining this ruse, to great effectiveness.
Corba’s private chambers are fitted with a Zero-G environmental generator. In times of crisis, she can activate this from her repulsor sled and use her advantage in Zero-G to escape. (Never came into play.)

Corba’s thugs all have four-blue-bar tattoos.
Corba’s Major Domo: Willek, female Bothan.
Corba’s Security Agent: Deeska, male near Human, black topknot.
Corba’s lair includes numerous sex slaves.
The party landed, gathered info (mostly in bars), then took a cab ride to Corba's Place, early in the evening.
In the casino, the party gathered more info. They gambled, ate, watched for undue attention, then visited the games and amusements level. There they saw sex slaves forced to participate in an orgy. Traumatized, Eva was ashen as they stumbled upon this.
The party went back to the bar, where they saw Corba finally.
Willek, Corba's major domo, interacted with the party.
That night, the party rented a room for 250 credits, but went back to the Bloodsparrow. Tyrus went shopping, packed some stuff into crate. The party returned to Blue Sector.
Tyrus used the dark eye, but the droid couldn't find tunnel-linked second entry to Corba’s Place.
The party went to their suite. There Tyrus hacked the computers: his program will unhide planted evidence in 8 hours.
Everyone went to sleep, planning to attack early the next morning.

Campaign Scenario: No Honor Among the Wicked (01/09/05)

Blue Sector and Corba the Hutt

The party geared up, left suite. Turbolift down. Door-keeper assassin droid: Dray I-5. Kelnoir shot holocom projector. Dray I-5: "Deposit your weapons and explosives."
Door opens. "Lay down your arms or be destroyed!" Battle. Stun Grenades. Blaster pistols. Vibroblade. Killed elite mercs.
Intimidated Willek and she left. (She will take over Corba’s operation when the hutt dies.)
Searched the area, followed Corba into tunnels.
Ambushed in maintenance tunnel. Leave dead merc behind.
Wee-wren follows slowly, wounded.
Battle in warehouse. Tyurs headshot-kills the hutt.
Back to bloodsparrow. Left Corellia, headed to Black Tom's.
Dram calls, "Drillish is dead...there is a war within Black Sun."
Two days later, Dram calls, "There is a new lord of the Black Sun…a Zabrak. I am lying low…"

Major chronology change: The current Black Sun leader is caught in a trap; Cart'an and the Emperor betray him, making it appear as though he tried to have the current vigos killed and replaced. Cart'an assumes control of the Black Sun Syndicate. Rumors fly among the vigos, chaos briefly ensues: "The new Lord of the Black Sun has an alliance with Palpatine."

The party returns to Black Tom’s hidden base.
Kelnoir says he wants to use Farseeing to see Cart'an.

Campaign Scenario: The Slave Girl (01/??/05)

The Black Sun begins to hunt for Lerketh. All bounty hunters hear of this.

Kelnoir communicates with Neera via holocom. She is with the Rebel Fleet and counsels Kelnoir to be careful around Lerketh; the Jedi teacher is impressed with Kelnoir’s efforts to save Lerketh.
Kelnoir uses Farseeing to see Lerketh on Eriadu, torturing an old man. He decides to go after her. “If she can be turned, she will be a powerful ally. If she cannot, she will be a powerful enemy.”
On Eriadu, Lerketh maintains a force of eight archaic security droids. (She has them switched over to autonomous functioning.) She is hunting those who wronged her. Kelnoir wants to intervene…to get her to avoid more hate, more killing.

Lerketh might be turned. Her wisdom might be raised by the artifact Mi’ehla was carrying, she might be swayed by the party if they act with compassion. Kelnoir might use Force Light and burn a Force point on this check. (Someone might use diplomacy to aid in this.) If treated well all along, she might then have an epiphany and spend her Force points to burn off some of her dark side points. Within a Sith temple on an uncharted ice moon, they spared her life (and she escaped). On Dathomir, they dealt with her honorably. At the Sith Keep, she was angry and confrontational, but they did not attack her, as she expected.
Lerketh was disturbed by Cohdal’s influence over Kadann. She was moved, to some small degree by Kelnoir’s attempt to sway her. However, she also gave in to her rage when she struck Kadann, her adopted father. She might pause before acting, as some future point…she might commit a noble act, then use her force points and a heroic dramatic action to atone.
Lerketh—Tactical Notes: Lucky (1/Day), Heroic Surge (3/Day), Deflect (Attack), Force Defense, Burst of Speed.

Lerketh: When working, she 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 exploited her feelings, providing her with false attentions and support.
If the players fail, Lerketh is alone and therefore is captured by the Black Sun; she is turned over to the last of the dark prophets at the Temple to be merged with the Sith spirit of Keval. (This is prevented.)
The party decides to contact Essar, to order a shipment of weapons. Seeking ion weapons, they pay up front and agree to meet the droid on an old industrial platform in orbit around a gas giant in the Eriadu system. (Their money is lost, of course.)
As the Bloodsparrow docks, communications are jammed, but no one realizes it.
Owning Essar since his capture and mind-wipe, the ISB set the trap on the platform. A massive fight ensues and the party barely survives. The crates that were supposed to contain the black market weapons, instead are filled with sand.
Essar and an Imperial dark eye droid are the sole Imperial survivors of the battle.
As the party is rushing out, a star destroyer is closing on the location. Essar escapes and the dark eye droid slips into Eva’s ship in secret.
Everyone manages to get on board the Bloodsparrow (5 rounds prior to the star destroyer’s arrival). TIE fighters attack, while Tyrus and Sif man the Bloodsparrow’s guns. Eva is prepping to make the jump to lightspeed, the star destroyer is closing in and the others battle the TIE fighters. The YT-2400 almost gets away…almost. With two TIE fighters remaining (after 2 have been destroyed and 2 are incapable of making a tight enough turn to attack the ship again), one of the Imperial pilots scores a major hit against the Bloodsparrow, destroying the shields and chewing through the hull. The other TIE attacks simultaneously, knocking out the hyperdrive and dooming Eva’s ship.
Acting fiercely—knowing that hope is lost—Eva jumps from her seat at the cockpit and screams through the comlink, “Everyone get into the escape pods, right now! This ship is going down!” A stunned efficiency overtakes everyone as they move into place; there is no time to spare as the ship falls toward Eriadu. With smoke filiing the air and alarms keening from every system, everyone moves into an escape pod. Eva’s astromech droid stays at the console, buying the crew 2 more rounds…just enough time to survive. Eva jettisons both of the ship’s escape pods (one of which is empty) and the party begins a hellish fall into the industrially-choked atmosphere below.
Everyone is mute and the descent is dominated by a heavy rumbling. Tyrus’ dark eye droid (and Kelnoir) realize that there are two dark eye droids within the escape pod; suddenly, even in the middle of the crisis, everyone realizes that the Empire is even closer than they believed. Sif shoots the false dark eye with an ion pistol.
Shaking everyone to the bone, the pod slams into the port city and skids through a kilometer of industrial architecture. Pale and shaking, everyone climbs out and begins running. They make their way deeper into the urban terrain, leaving the pod behind.
Finding a hiding place in the basement of a club called Sub Corner 141, the party finally gets a chance to rest. Here, several things of note happen: Tyrus re-programs and releases the Imperial dark eye droid, forcing it to report to the crash site and pass along false infortmation about the party leaving Eriadu on a freighter. (This calls off most of the Imperial pursuit and gives the party some more time.) Sif communicates with a Bothan spy, buying some gear, a safe place to sleep and some time on an illegal computer system. Over the Bothan SpyNet, Tyrus contacts Jee Ann Mosa: “Bloodsparrow lost, all crew okay. Mission ongoing, might need extraction.” Jee Ann preps Wuc-ta for a rescue mission, but the Ithorian is not ever needed. Tyrus is able to find Lerketh’s ship, even though she made an effort to mask its nature within the docking records.
The party moves to where Lerketh’s ship is docked, and Kelnoir then uses the Force to pinpoint her.
Entering the apartment building, the party sees that one of the door’s ahead is flanked by 2 of the green metallic Sith droids; Lerketh is within.
In a tense standoff, Kelnoir tries to persuade Lerketh to come back with him. Sif and Tyrus chime in as well, supporting the young Jedi. As she talks, Lerketh tormets an old man in chains. She has severed his tongue and pushes it back into his mouth. The dark side weapon master explains that—when she was young—this man sold her into sexual slavery time and again. Each time she changed hands, the old man pushed Lerketh to aid him in murdering her new master. Then the old man—a local law enforcement constable—would sell her again. Kelnoir continues to talk to her, refusing to be goaded into battle by Lerketh’s anger. At one point, she severs the old man’s arm with a rapid sweep of the Sith sword she stole from the Bloodsparrow. With reason, patience, diplomacy and a Force point, Kelnoir slowly makes progress. When he finally invokes the power called Force Light, Lerketh (Wisdom 10, dark side points 5), loses a dark side point.
Eva also loses a dark side point here, but Tyrus and Sif resist the Jedi’s influence. Tears roll down Eva’s face; some of the bitterness she has long harbored slips away. She realizes that losing the Bloodsparrow might signal the start of a new life for her, less marred by trauma.
Lerketh allows the old man to live. She leaves with the party, slipping away to her ship.
The modified Lambda-class shuttle ferries everyone to Black Tom’s, where they rest for a couple of days.

Campaign Scenario: The Last Dark Prophets (02/08/05)

The last dark prophets have gathered at Kadann’s Temple. With the half-living corpse of Keval, they intended to infuse Lerketh with his spirit.

Taking Lerketh’s and Sif’s ships, the party makes rendezvous with the Rebel Fleet. They stay for over a month, working for the Alliance to earn money.
Lerketh is introduced to Neera, who immediately takes her aside, spending long hours with her. Later, Lerketh converts a Force point to burn off another dark side point while training with Neera. At some point during this training, Lerketh gave up her Sith ways and changed Force classes.
Chronology Event: The Second Death Star Is Almost Complete.
Jee Ann follows up on “new super weapons platform” being constructed by the Empire. She has a plan for learning its location. The dark prophets captured in the raid on the Sith Keep have revealed the location of Kadann’s Temple. Jee Ann has learned that someone is moving between the new Death Star and Kadann’s Temple; the coordinates for the new Death Star can be found there. “With Kadann dead, this order can be destroyed.”
Before leaving on this mission, Kelnoir spends some time with Neera. He also meets a few times with Lerketh. They have dinner once, during which Kelnoir offers her a lightsaber. She declines.
Lerketh begins constructing a new sword. She admits to Kelnoir that she never visited Kadann’s Temple and cannot provide any information about the place.
Wuc-ta delivers some stealth armor that Tyrus orders through Alliance channels.
The party loads the Vengeful with fuel and a few supplies, the departs for the temple. This involves a four day jump in Sif’s cramped, uncomfortable ship. They approach the small, forested world and approach on the nightside. Kelnoir uses the Force to find the temple. The ship lands in a massive lake and the crew swim out into the night, planning to approach the temple on foot.
Gugon is left in the Vengeful, awaiting orders.
Out on a black sand beach, Tyrus sends the dark eye to scout the facility.
Kadann’s Temple: This place is an ancient, squat ruin of black stone. It has been re-worked into an elite structure, providing the prophets with their every need. Some of the last dark prophets are here. (Aside from a few who stay with Palpatine at all times.) Owned by the new high dark prophet, a ship is stationed here on a massive platform, and will be used to move Keval’s body to Coruscant. The ship is a Sienar Fleet Systems Guardian-class Cruiser called the Dominion. The temple is protected by 50 members of the Crimson Guard. (All roughly 12^th level.)
Rather that enter the temple, the party decides to seize the ship. Tyrus sets an explosive on a technical section of the temple, intending to take out the power and the tractor beam. Then the party gathers up on the platform to fight the crimson guard and take the Dominion. The explosive goes off, destroying a large section of the temple’s technical section.
In the battle, Kelnoir fights rashly. He is spotted by the guard, alerting them. (Monte decides not to use Lucky to re-roll, preferring battle.) He goes against the party’s plan and remains outside the ship, extending the conflict. As a result, Wee-wren is nearly killed. (Dark side point awarded to Kelnoir.)
With Eva in the cockpit, Tyrus working the computer and Sif manning the guns, the Dominion lifts up from the platform. For five minutes, Sif uses the guns to blast the secretive temple into ruins. (There are no other support ships here; the place was considered hidden and remote.)
With Sif holding the (4) prisoners hostage, the ship takes off. Gugon lifts off and the Vengeful rises up from the lake and moves into orbit, joining with the Dominion. Kelnoir heals Wee-wren.
Tyrus wipes the computer, after copying down the coordinates of the new Death Star.
Also, as part of a computer record, Tyrus notes that there is an important container in the cargo hold. With trepidation, the party explores the cargo hold (first using the dark eye droid). Unveiling the container, the are confronted with the preserved remains of Keval, the fallen Sith lord. All they know is that Cart’an delivered the body to the temple, where the Emperor had some plan in mind that involved Lerketh.
The Dominion heads out to join with the Rebel fleet.

Campaign Scenario: Death Star Rising (03/06/05)

The party must infiltrate the Death Star and devise a plan to destroy it.

Sif strips the Imperial prisoners, then puts them into the brig.
Kelnoir and Tyrus transmit the Death Star coordinates to the Rebel Fleet.
Kelnoir continues to heal Wee-wren.
The party makes rendezvous with the Rebel Fleet, turning the captured Imperials over to Jee Ann. Sif breaks off first and slips the Vengeful into a docking bay.
Jee Ann meets with everyone, discussing the Death Star, the Emperor and Keval's corpse.
Lerketh, hearing a joke from Sif, suggests rigging the Death Star's weapons to malfunction. She then heads onto the Dominion after hearing a tech mention Keval's corpse.
No one knows it, but Cart'an now runs the Black Sun Syndicate from on board the new Death Star.
Neera takes Kelnoir aside: "I may not return from this mission. If this comes to pass, and if Skywalker fails, you will be the last of the Jedi." The next morning, Neera and Lerketh depart, heading to infiltrate Palpatine's disciples. Lerketh leaves the fragments of her sword on Kelnoir's bed.
The party decides to sell the stolen Guardian-class Imperial ship for 50,000 credits.
The Rebel Fleet sends a jump-scout, but somehow the Empire is waiting. The scout ship is destroyed.
Kelnoir incinerates Keval's body.
Dram sends a garbled message to the Vengeful; he is clearly wounded and under duress. Tyrus tries to clean it up, but makes it worse.
Chronology Event: Luke Faces Vader. Vader turns to the light, but dies. Luke feels relief; he goes into a period of reflection.
New footage of Palpatine and his twelve disciples follows, as the Emperor issues a statement regarding Vader. “Hero of the Clone Wars, a noble man and a true friend…Lord Vader has been assassinated…poisoned by a Rebel spy who is wanted for murder and trafficking in slaves."
Through Wuc-ta, the Rebels provide a Lambda-class shuttle, ISB unforms and gear. Kelnoir forges ISB orders and Tyrus implants computer records. Wee-wren—wounded and inhuman—stays behind with Jee Ann. Gugon also stays behind. Eva, Kelnoir, Sif and Tyrus head out, making their way to the new Death Star.
Kelnoir meditates on Skywalker and Vader, seeing their final battle.
On the Death Star, Cart’an maintains a special stronghold called Citadel 71C. The party must face him—clone of Darth Maul, once a lowly kitchen boy, now Lord of the Black Sun. Cart'an's Imperial name: Lord Ty'rahl. The Imperials fear Cart’an: Some of them believe he is a Sith lord, like Vader. Others know that he periodically has an out-of-favor officer assassinated in the night.
The shuttle comes out of hyperspace. A TIE fighter escort closes in and checks over the forged orders. Lit by a red sun, there is a desert planet; in orbit around it is the space dock structure wrapped around the new Death Star like a gray spider. The shuttle is escorted into a landing bay.
On the Death Star, Captain Edders greets the shuttle and Sif asks for quarters. The party waits in the officers' lounge.
Lt. Downholt comes in from billeting and escorts the four Rebels to their suite.
Tyrus requests an RA7-series protocol droid: DRT42 shows up soon afterward. Tyrus tries to modify the droid, but is cautioned about violating protocol.
Captain Barek--Droid Maintenance Overseer--shows up to talk to Tyrus about security. He is strict, forceful and loyal.
Death Star ISB Commander: Admiral Hidd. (Lt. May-ok is Hidd's assistant.)
Commander, Death Star Operations: Grand Moff Arreet.
Sif and Kelnoir 'interrogate' Captain Edders. "We're taking you into our confidence."
Tyrus modifies Captain Barek's report and the droid reporting database.
Eva suggests getting Black Tom's help in sabotaging the Death Star’s primary weapon.
The party goes for a walk, scouting, then sleeps for the night.
The next morning--according to the station day/night cycle--the party goes to Captain Edder's quarters.
Tyrus hacks the computer system, downloading weapons system schematics. Also, this data was copied into the dark eye.
Tyrus notices that logs indicate that a protocol droid was dismembered in Citadel 71C: Cart'an's Black Sun Syndicate Citadel.
Black Tom contacts the party. He's exhausted, with purple rings up his eyes. "Good work. Give me a couple of weeks...the entire Fleet will be working on this problem."
Lt. May-ok comes by and makes a dinner offer: "Dine with the admiral in 2 nights."
Black Tom and Jee Ann contact the party with the plan: "In a week and 4 days, the Dominion will deliver new 'upgraded' firing coils. We need you to set a program in place that will notify us as soon as the firing coils are in place; the Rebel strike fleet will attack immediately."
Lt. May-ok comes by and Kelnoir fails to control her mind: She refuses to tell the admiral a dinner date delay is the best option.
Near Citadel 71C, Tyrus witnesses the Grand Moff Arreet talking to a hooded and cloaked figure, in black and yellow. (This is Cart'an, aka Lord Ty’rahl.)
Jee Ann: “Tom has come through. The firing coils will arrive in four days, with orders for installation. The guardian-class cruiser has been prepped for this mission and will try to depart immediately. As soon as we get your signal—as soon as the sabotaged firing coils are installed—the Rebel Fleet will attack. May the Force be with you.”
The ISB begins going through DRT42’s logs; Tyrus notes this activity.
Admiral Hidd contacts the party: “I must insist you dine with me.” Sif agrees, but sets the date at a point after the arriving of the firing coils.
Tyrus notices that logs indicate that the replacement protocol droid was ejected into space.
The door to the party’s suite chimes: Captain Edders has been sent over by Lt. May-ok to gather information on the party.
The firing coils arrive and installation begins; Tyrus sets up the signal to go out when the job is reported complete.
With the ISB dinner party a few hours away, the party is torn: Leave and risk the ISB investigating their room (and the computer there)? Go to dinner and risk being found out? Any act of suspicion will draw the attention of the ISB, which might uncover the sabotage.
The party makes it to the shuttle and Eva preps to leave, but along the way Tyrus splits off, hiding in an unoccupied room. He stays with the computer terminal, protecting the secrecy of the Rebel plan. Ten hours later, far away, Eva notices that he is gone; she is very close to the Rebel Fleet. She is worried, but resigned: “That fool…he’ll meet us at the rendezvous point.”
In twenty-four hours, the Rebels will attack the Death Star: The party knows that if the ISB fail to discover the party’s sabotage, the Death Star will be destroyed. Equally apparent, if the ISB discover the sabotage, the Rebel Fleet will be destroyed. A high stakes game has been set into motion.

Campaign Scenario: Alone On the Death Star (03/15/05)

Tyrus—split off from the others—is alone within the heart of Imperial power.

The Empire will discover the party’s tampering, given time. Tyrus knows this and stays behind in order to mask the sabotage.
On board the disguised Lambda-class shuttle, Sif, Eva and Kelnoir rendezvous with the Rebel Fleet at their nearby gathering point (Attack Ops). When the signal is sent, the Rebel Fleet will jump through hyperspace; one hour later, the attack will begin. The Rebels will position a capital ship—the Rebel flagship—within the firing arc of the Death Star. The Thranta Dream has planted false info that will be sent to the Imperial command as soon as the battle has begun: “The Rebellion has moved to attack after discovering the Death Star’s location; they believe the station to be inoperational.”
Sitting in a quiet, unoccupied officer's room, accompanied only by the dark eye droid, Tyrus requisitions a bubble cloak and a distress beacon. Then, separately, he orders an EVA pod. He has both sent to the shuttle bay where the party initially landed. Wanting an emergency escape plan, Tyrus sets up a computer program that—upon his signal—will bypass safety protocol, drop the magnetic field and flush out the hangar. (He plans on potentially using his requisitioned bubble cloak to float free from the station.)
Tyrus sets up a warning against slicers, then sends the dark eye to spy on a hangar where he saw a ship full of probe droids.
Admiral Hidd, Lt. May-ok and a small retinue begin searching for the party. They suspect something and intend to use torture procedures with the goal of discovering the party’s agenda. At Hidd’s orders, an ISB slicer named Captain Abnaj begins to search through the system. (Computer Use +16.)
To sow further confusion, Tyrus sends a message to Captain Edders: “I suspect the ISB stationed here; don’t talk to them.”
Tyrus learns that the probe droid ship is leaving in 8 hours. He tries to delay this departure, but fails.
While the dark eye droid is moving around the Death Star, it informs Tyrus that stormtroopers have been posted outside the room where the party had been staying. Tyrus orders the droid to spy on the area. This allows him to eventually see Admirial Hidd, talking to his ISB retinue as they emerge from the room: "I don't like it one bit. Research their activities..."
Admiral Hidd orders technical troops to scan every millimeter of the hangar where the party entered. He also orders Imperial communications be reduced to minimal and that scanners listen for unauthorized comlink traffic, encrypted bursts of communication that are clearly not of orthodox Imperial origin.
Jee Ann—knowing that the party’s timing might be dicey—dispatches Wuc-ta to aid in any way possible, including potential extraction. The Force-sensitive Ithorian infiltrator wears armor that makes him look like an unusual, but lowly mech-service droid.
With little time remaining, Wuc-ta arrives on board the Death Star, disguised as a droid. He is unable to locate Tyrus, but—picking up on the ISB’s search—he moves into a sector that is fairly close. The Ithorian will spend some time searching, then will send out a risky signal if things get grim. He will abandon his mission only at the last minute.
Still hidden with the new officers’ quarters that he requisitioned, Tyrus packs away his gear that won't fit into the bubble cloak and sleeps.
As Captain Abnaj gets close to the computer records related to the party’s sabotage, Tyrus is awakened by his own alarm warning. Captain Abnaj discovers many things about the party’s efforts on board the station, but whenever he begins sifting through the records of activity related to the primary weapon system modification, Tyrus redirects him or obfuscates his discoveries. After an hour, Tyrus has won; Captain Abnaj believes he has thoroughly uncovered all details of the party’s subversive activities.
Tyrus hacks the encryption being used by the ISB and begins listening in on their communications.
With the Rebel Fleet, Sif orders the shuttle re-prepped for a rescue mission; she and the others plan on extracting Tyrus.
The Imperial engineers on the Death Star complete their efforts, working overtime to install Black Tom’s modified weapon coils. The head technician closes out the work order and Tyrus’ warning signal is sent to the Rebels.
Captain Abnaj (ISB slicer) detects this burst of encrypted communication. He tells Lt. May-ock: "Unauthorized traffic detected." Admirial Hidd redoubles the search efforts in areas where the party was seen actively moving about.
The Rebel Fleet begins attack preparations. In one hour, something momentous will occur: The destruction of the new Death Star or the destruction of the Rebel Fleet.
Rebel Attack in <60 minutes.
Knowing the heat is on, Tyrus moves toward the hangar, passing Citadel 17C on the way. The cooridor nexus is clear, but Tyrus can see the bridges leading to the Citadel, suspended out over the cold gray surface of the Death Star.
Closer to the hangar, Tyrus sees the technical scanning crews, poring over the site, and pauses. He had not anticipated this, and knows that this area is very unsafe now.
Tyrus then overhears Captain Abnaj over the comlink: "Lt. May-ock...stormtrooper TY-1411 spotted someone in the area; an unrecognized ISB officer, he says." The ISB is closing in…
Tyrus backs out and moves back the way he came, which again brings him closer to Citadel 17C. There he sees the figure in the black and yellow cloak, talking to a number of wicked-looking soldiers in black, leathery armor. (This is Cart’an, giving orders to some members of the Black Sun Syndicate.)
Essar is near Cart’an at all times, but tries to stay hidden; Essar’s primary form is a black, highly modified assassin droid form that includes the ability to transfer his mind into another droid.
Tyrus sends the dark eye droid closer to Cart’an. Through the droids display link, Tyrus sees that the figure is Zabrak, but does not recognize him.
Cart’an spots the dark eye droid!
Tyrus immediately sends the dark eye to a nearby hangar. Cart’an quietly sends Essar to follow it. His soldiers begin to set up an ambush within the coordior nexus.
Tyrus moves out into the nexus overlooking Citadel 17C and is stopped by one of the soldiers. “Hello, friend.” Suddenly, Tyrus realizes that he is surrounded. The noose tightens. (Technically, the Black Sun soldiers have a surprise round and reserve an action, should Tyrus attack.)
The dark eye tries to contact Tyrus, but he ignores it momentarily. When he tries to contact it later, the signal is dead; Essar has stunned the small droid and is in the process of possessing it. Afterward, an officer takes it to a workbench to examine the dark eye, leaving Essar’s primary chassis hidden up in an control room over the hangar.
Cart’an moves out of the shadows. “Tyrus Arcona…” Tyrus is shocked that someone recognizes him; then he realizes that he is standing before Cart’an, the mysterious figure who has factored into numerous engagements, schemes and near-misses over the last couple of years during the Rebellion. Tyrus walks with Cart’an, under the pretenses of dining together; Cart’an is curious. Tyrus: “Cart’an, you should let me go and leave this place…bad things are about to happen.” With full awareness of the irony, Cart’an says, “This is the safest place in the galaxy.” Tyrus refuses to give any information about the sabotage or impending Rebel attack. Cart’an knows that something is about to happen. He can sense that Tyrus is telling the truth (via the Sense Motive skill); the very presence of a highly placed Rebel spy, in ISB disguise, is revealing enough. Cart’an, lying, proposes a temporary alliance, “If you understood my motives, you would see that we are not opposed.” (This is a favorite line of his; he knows that good people want to believe that others are good at heart as well.) Tyrus again warns of impending danger, with enough tension to give Cart’an pause. He orders his ship prepped for takeoff. The Rebel spy and the left hand of the Emperor stroll down the long bridge leading to Citadel 17C; through the plasteel windows overhead, the Rebel fleet emerges from hyperspace. “Now you have my attention, Tyrus.” Tyrus says, “Trust me…you should leave.” He still wrestles with telling Cart’an the truth, as a means to expedite his own exodus. “Does the Empire have jurisdiction here, Cart’an? Over your men?” Cart’an chooses his words carefully: “The Imperials themselves, do not.” They politely fence over the implications of the Rebel attack, with Tyrus eventually convincing Cart’an that something else is at work, besides the visible Rebel Fleet. Still attempting to put the Rebel at ease, Cart’an says, “Farewell, Tyrus…some day, if we meet again, perhaps I can explain my role in all this…” Cart’an then orders the evacuation of all his agents (the Black Sun operatives on the Death Star). He races off for his ship, the Sith Infiltrator once owned by Darth Maul. Somewhat unsure, Tyrus turns and runs in the opposite direction, away from Citadel 17C.
Sif, Eva, Kelnoir and Wee-wren—accompanied by a squad of Rebel soldiers—weave through the battle raging in the space around the Death Star and move closer to the space station, looking for the hangar where they initially entered.
At the hangar where the dark eye droid was disabled and possessed by Essar, Tyrus sees an officer looking over the dark eye droid, a small ship, a couple of stormtroopers and an exotic maintenance droid (who is actually Wuc-ta, in a disguise that covers his alien nature). Tyrus (making a skill check) recognizes that this is not actually a droid, but he is afraid and preps to attack Wuc-ta. The officer leaves, heading up the stairs to where Essar’s chassis is lying empty of intelligence. Tyrus moves toward the dark eye as Wuc-ta moves toward Tyrus. (Tyrus takes the dark eye droid—which is now Essar—and drops it into his backpack.) Just as violence is about to erupt, Wuc-ta calls out to Tyrus. The Ithorian hands Tyrus a bubble cloak, “Take this and flee…” Tyrus refuses, deciding to attempt to steal the shuttle within the hangar. In desperation, Wuc-ta calls out over the comlink: "Rebel in need of assistance."
The party hears Wuc-ta’s call and hones in on his signal, redirecting their flight toward Tyrus. Making an amazing piloting maneuver, Eva Bloodsparrow suddenly slides the stolen Lambda-class shuttle into the hangar, sending up a shower of sparks and squeezing in next to the other ship docked here. Sif opens up with the shuttle’s weaponry, destroying the stormtroopers in the hangar.
More stormtroopers begin to pour into the hangar. Kelnoir and Wee-wren prep for a fight; Kelnoir moves into a position to defend the others from blaster fire with his lightsaber.
Through the magnetic field, everyone can see that a Mon Calamari capitol ship has moved into the Death Star’s firing arc; the space stations primary weapons will soon be fired, with grave consequences either way.
Everyone climbs on board the shuttle and Eva takes off, with seconds to spare.
Grand Moff Areet gives the order to fire and the Death Star immediately experiences a staggered series of shock waves that tear it to pieces.
The Rebel Fleet jumps into hyperspace, escaping with minimal casualties. Tyrus yells out, "Cart'an is here! I only survived by his grace…" He briefly advocates searching for the Lord of the Black Sun, but Sif and Eva insist on leaving. The Imperial ships are regrouping… The shuttle follows the Rebel Fleet and makes the jump to lightspeed. Essar is on board the shuttle (in the dark eye)!
Docked on the Thranta Dream, Tyrus explains all that has passed. The Rebels celebrate as the fleet gathers.
After a cursory scan, Tyrus gets the dark eye working again, convinced it only sustained minor ion damage.
The party takes a shuttle over to the engineering ship and spends time with Black Tom and N’dal. They all have dinner and talk late into the night.
The Rebel Fleet jumps again, coming into orbit around a frozen planet. Several days pass. The Rebels are celebratory, but they feel a strong urge to repair all damage from the Death Star encounter. They work around the clock, taking many major systems off line.
Essar sends a signal to the Empire, delivering the coordinates of the Rebels and the status of the fleet’s defenses. Essar—as the dark eye—is extremely furtive; the droid moves about, collecting data, then slips between two bulkheads and hovers in the darkness.
Kelnoir has a very bad dream, symbolizing the imminent Imperial assault on the Rebel Fleet. He sees a black gloves hand, smothering a baby.
Two days after the assault on the Death Star, a massive Imperial Fleet smashes down on the Rebels during a quiet hour, when most of the Rebels are asleep. The Imperial attack, lead by a wedge of star destroyers, drives down into the Rebels, sending many of them falling toward the icy planet below in shards. In the middle of the night, the party members are awakened by screaming alarms; Jee Ann commands that the Thranta Dream make an extremely risky jump to lightspeed, with minimal calculations. About 40% of the ships comprising the Rebel Fleet get away. The rest are lost in a tragic defeat. Tyrus feels some guilt.
The party speculates about dark eye droid and finally Sif simply asks, “Was it ever alone with any Imperials?” Tyrus tells them that, when he found the dark eye, it was being looked at by an Imperial officer on a technical workbench. He looks for the droid in his quarters, but it's not there. Everyone realizes what has happened (but they do not know that Essar is involved).
Kelnoir gives Jee Ann advice: “Commander Mosa, you should jam all communications traffic and re-calculate a new jump.”
Everyone on board the Thranta Dream begins looking for the dark eye droid. Tyrus looks through the dark eye's vision display link (via datapad). He gets an eerie view from the droid’s perspective, as it hides in the darkness, between the walls of the ship. The engineering crew tracks the droid and Sif downs it with an ion blaster.
Tyrus inspects the dark eye droid. He fits it with a restraining bolt, disassembles it and sorts through its brain. Only then does he discover that the droid has been possessed by Essar (after being dispatched by Cart’an).
With the droid scattered all over the workbench, Tyrus hooks up its voice and begins to question it. Essar lies: "Cart'an is not allied with the Empire. You must know that you will die and your side will fail." Tyrus erases Essar's mind.
Now the party knows—from seeing Essar’s memory—that Cart'an grew up a kitchen servant on Coruscant. (Cart’an never figured out his true nature, that he was the only surviving clone from Palpatine’s efforts to rebirth Darth Maul. The Emperor failed repeatedly to awaken the Force in any of the clones, but decided to keep the most successful clone, despite this.) Watched closely by Palpatine for any developing signs of the Force, Cart’an rose up as a the servant of the Emperor, working as an assassin and spy. After years of serving very effectively as an infiltrator (and a member of the Emperor’s Hand), Cart’an took control of the Black Sun Syndicate and began using the criminal underworld to serve Palpatine’s will. After scanning Essar’s memory, the party members know much about Cart'an, including his audacious use of the Death Star as a base of operations for the Black Sun Syndicate.

Campaign Scenario: Coruscant (03/22/05, 04/08/05)

The Rebels must kill the Emperor.

At this point, the party has wrecked Kadann, the Sith Keep, Keval, Argin, the Nightsisters, a hutt crime lord and two Death Stars. Luke has defeated Vader. This leaves a few dark prophets, the Emperor and his disciples. Without the dark side, the Empire will fall to the Rebel Alliance (and the emerging Jedi Knights: Neera, Kelnoir, Skywalker and Lerketh).

Most of the Rebels are disheartened, due to the recent Imperial attack. Neera is still missing; Jee Ann fears the worst.
Black Tom's engineering ship jumps in and joins the Thranta Dream.
Jee Ann says that the fleet will stay in two groups.
Kelnoir uses Farseeing: He observes that Neera and Lerketh are in a place of darkness. He sees black marble obelisks, tall ceilings and ceremonial fires burning.
Palpatine contacts Kelnoir: "Join me, young jedi..."
The party members gather in a darkened officers’ lounge on board the Thranta Dream. A fireplace is burning. Standing silhouetted in the doorway, Jee Ann tells the party: “The time has come and we are now too weak to win a full-scale war. You are our last hope…you must destroy the Emperor, and you must do it now. Soon he will send forth his disciples; soon they will train disciples of their own. The Rule of Two has been broken and we will soon reap the horrors of Palpatine’s decision.”
As a sub-objective to the mission, Jee Ann takes Tyrus aside and provides him with a computer worm: “This will only work if delivered from Palpatine himself.” If Tyrus can use Palpatine’s personal comlink—or one of his personal terminals on Coruscant—the ships of the Imperial Fleet can be turned against one another.
The party decides to approach the Imperial Palace on Coruscant in an effort to gain more information about the Emperor and his disciples.

Wuc-ta delivers Sif, Eva, Kelnoir, Tyrus and Wee-wren to a docking bay hangar on Coruscant. For the first time, the party members lay eyes on Coruscant, a world-spanning urban society and the greatest city ever known. Fearful of security, the party leaves some weaponry with Wuc-ta; they approach the first checkpoint—which will lead them out into the stratablock environment—almost unarmed.
With forged travel papers, the party passes through security and heads into the world-city. They hire an air speeder and take rooms within a magnificent hotel, very close to the palace. (Cost: 500 credits per night.) Within, Tyrus makes use of the computer there, looking for access to the palace; he finds no way to get inside other than through the primary and very public entry.
Afterward, they walk the skyways of Coruscant, drawing closer to the Imperial Palace. Sif knows that the palace interior is protected by the Imperial Sovereign Protectors, elite version of the Royal Guard, with greater levels of dark side Force training.
When Kelnoir reaches the palace, both Palpatine and Neera sense his presence.
The Emperor does not know that Neera and Lerketh are nearby and have infiltrated Palpatine’s disciples; Neera and Lerketh are clouded.
Palpatine has foreseen Kelnoir coming to the Jedi Temple and moves there. He positions special members of the Royal Guard—the Black Sovereign Protectors—in key places within the Temple. The Black Sovereign Protectors are elite members of the Royal Guard who were specifically chosen because they are not Force sensitive.
The party walks along the massive Esplanade. They see many formations of stormtroopers, visiting dignitaries and sightseers.
In the distance, standing as an empty, desolate reminder of the past, Kelnoir sees the Jedi Temple
At one point, Sif spots a dark prophet, returning to the palace. (He is looking for Kelnoir, on Palpatine’s orders.) Kelnoir determines that the prophet is a Force user and the party moves away cautiously.
Tyrus makes some holographic recordings of the palace and Esplanade, but a stormtrooper approaches and demands the recording device. Kelnoir tricks the stormtrooper’s mind and the party walks farther away from the palace, quickly heading toward the Jedi Temple. (This is a narrow escape; Tyrus holographic recorder contains evidence of the murder of Imperial Admiral Hastur, and other nefarious Rebel deeds.)
As the Emperor expected, the party approaches the Jedi Temple. It is gray and peeling, left in disrepair for decades. Kelnoir senses six weak Force signatures within; these are the Sith disciples who fail Force Stealth checks. (The party later assumes that these Force signatures are the Black Sovereign Protectors; Sif fails to remember anything about this particular arm of the Royal Guard.)
They approach the abandoned temple, seeing it littered with trash and covered in grafitti. They slip into the shadowy entryway and Tyrus bypasses the locked door. The party enters.
Inside, Sif sneaks around (with Wee-wren at times) and they find tracks. They move deeper into the temple.
The party is still almost completely unarmed. At one point, they fight two of the Black Sovereign Protectors and gain some weaponry. Then they move into the center of the temple, where Palpatine awaits.

The Emperor’s trap: When the party enters, the Emperor and his disciples are hidden in the shadows. Emperor Palpatine—most powerful of the Sith—slowly walks forward, his walking stick clicking on the stones: “Seal the Temple,” he says, and the Sith attack. With the Emperor surrounded by his apprentices; the battle seems like certain death.
Weeks earlier—in a very audacious and dangerous move—Neera and Lerketh replaced two of the Sith apprentices. As the Emperor calls for the attack, Neera steps forward, throws back the black hood she is wearing and ignites her lightsabers. “I am with you,” she says. Lerketh quietly runs up from the shadows and draws her Force sword from a silky black cloth on her back. She delivers a rapid series of blows and nearly eviscerates one of the Sith disciples.
The fight moves into full swing…
Tyrus feels a rush of confidence and faith. Stepping forward, he calls out, “Kelnoir…will you take me as your padawan?” Kelnoir pauses for a second and says, “Yes. I will.” (Tyrus has gained a level of Jedi Guardian.)
As soon as Lerketh kills the first Sith disciple, Tyrus telekinetically pulls the fallen Sith lightsaber across the room and attacks with it.
Palpatine, referring to his 12 disciples: “These are my disciples…the future masters of my shadow academy. We will train many Sith and our order will be reborn into the galaxy.”
Sif shoots out an overhead window and uses her jump boots to ascend to the roof, 10 meters above. She moves to another window on the roof and begins setting up for a sneak attack against the Emperor.
The battle rages: Eva, Wee-wren, Tyrus, Kelnoir, Lerketh and Neera fight hard in different places around the room. Several Sith disciples are brought down and the Emperor tries to snatch Kelnoir’s lightsaber away by using the Force, but fails. Palpatine finally takes the lightsaber from Tyrus’ hand and throws it at Wee-wren; the wookie is nearly killed, then healed later by Kelnoir and Neera. Palpatine draws the lightsaber back to him and hurls it at Eva, trying to kill her to break Tyrus. After a short while, the party is—for the most part—gathered in a small knot at the center of the room, fighting the remaining disciples.
In a noteworthy display of Jedi mindfulness, Kelnoir acts several times in ways that rob him of a dramatic kill, but ensure the safety of party members. He saves several lives by acting in a calm manner, moving to heal or defend his allies.
Sif leans down into the room, clinging to the edge of the window high overhead. She aims and fires at the Emperor, harming him. In the next instant, he flies upward like a wraith and is on the roof next to her. He strikes Sif with a lightsaber and uses Force Grip to choke her. She fires again and rolls down through the window, falling to the floor to escape the Emperor.
Alone on the roof, Palpatine uses the Force to call to Cart’an (who will arrive from the Imperial Palace with the Sith infiltrator ship in 5 rounds). The Emperor makes his way across the roof, moving through the shadows. He is enraged at the failure of the Sith disciples, but sees a way now to crush the party by bringing Cart’an, the Sith infiltrator and the Royal Crimson Guard down down on Kelnoir and his allies.
With the last disciple dead, everyone re-gathers. The Force-users move the party to the roof through the broken window. Lerketh tracks the Emperor with the Force; she and Neera blur ahead to his location. (Sif follows with her jump boots.) The others make their way across the roof of the Jedi Temple on foot, more slowly.
As the faster party members gather around Palpatine, Lerketh and Sif seem the shimmer of the approach Sith infiltrator making its way toward the Jedi Temple. “Cart’an,” says Sif.
Neera and the Emperor exchange blows and the Jedi Master goes down, nearly dead. Lerketh barely manages to restrain her rage, in part due to Kelnoir’s proximity (and the pendant he wears).
Tyrus races forward and rushes the Emperor off the edge of the roof. They both begin to fall. Using her jump boots, Sif flies off the roof after them, trying to catch Tyrus. In mid-air, falling, the Emperor strikes Tyrus with a lightsaber and nearly kills him; Tyrus loses awareness and Sif barely manages to jab him with a medkit as they plummet. (Had Tyrus not pushed the Emperor off the edge, Cart’an would have brought the Sith infiltrator up parallel with the party and opened fire with the ship’s weapons; instead he moves beneath his falling master.)
The others watch from above, gathered at the edge of the roof. Wee-wren manages to treat Neera’s injuries, saving her life. (At this moment, he repays his life debt to the Alliance with untold interest.)
Lerketh steps up beside Kelnoir, looks down and says, “Let’s go.” She prepares to jump (planning on using Burst of Speed and Move Object to slow her fall). She and Kelnoir embrace and hurl themselves off the roof of the fallen Jedi Palace like star-crossed Jedi lovers late for an appointment with Death.
From below, Cart’an deactivates the cloak and adjusts the ship’s position, preparing to catch Palpatine. Everyone lands: Sif uses her last jump boot fuel to set down on the ship and release Tyrus, who is still unconscious. Palpatine glides to a halt and floats forward toward Sif. Lerketh and Kelnoir slam into the ship, suffering significant damage.
Now fighting on the hovering Sith infiltrator while the rest of the party look down from 150 meters above, Sif, Lerketh, Kelnoir and the Emperor exchange attacks. Sif fires at Palpatine and hits him several times. Lerketh hits him with her Force sword (which he cannot avoid via Dissipate Energy). Kelnoir crosses lightsabers with the Emperor. In the final seconds of the fight, just as everyone is near death and the stakes at insanely high, Cart’an climbs up from the back hatch of the ship and slips a vibrosword into Sif’s back, nearly killing her. (“Hello, Sif,” he whispers.) In the split second that follows, Kelnoir strikes the Emperor several times, furiously, killing him; Palpatine explodes in a storm of dark side energy. This frees Lerketh… Just as Cart’an is about to kill Sif (and probably the unconscious Tyrus), Lerketh races over and cuts halfway through his rib cage. (Critical hit; Cart’an is knocked unconscious and is dying.) Sif turns and kicks his corpse off the ship. Cart’an—clone of Darth Maul—falls 50 meters and is crushed on impact with the Jedi Temple. (Note: Cart’an would have attempted to take the throne, in a bid to become the new Emperor.)
Major Chronology Event: Emperor Palpatine, dark master of the Sith, is destroyed.
The party recovers quickly and moves the ship back to the roof. Lerketh takes Cart’an black vibrosword, Palpatine’s lightsaber and his staff. She gives the staff to Tyrus, who is now conscious. (Note: Palpatine carries a unique comlink and security code stick, embedded in his walking stick. This will open any door on Coruscant, send orders to various Royal Guard squads and summon Palpatine’s personal ship. This staff is key, an artifact, essentially: Tyrus can force the Sovereign Protectors to withdraw. Jee Ann’s computer attack can be delivered via the staff. Tyrus can even summon Palpatine’s personal starship.)
On the roof of the temple, with limited time, Tyrus uses the staff to upload the dissention program prepared by Jee Ann’s technical insurgency forces. Within minutes, a civil war begins within the Imperial Navy. The news of the Emperor’s death, delivered hours later, only fans the flames of this conflict.
Later, when studying Palpatine’s staff, Tyrus sees that the Emperor had a message prepared for Kelnoir that he never sent: “I kept your grandfather alive for many, many years. I tortured his secrets from me, and I used them to destroy many of the Jedi. When he finally passed, he died screaming, after more than two decades of nearly constant agony. When his heart finally burst, he had no arms, no legs, no eyes and no face…he was a blind worm, moaning for death.”
The party jettisons some cargo from the tiny ship and cloaks, moving out into the space lanes. Wuc-ta rendezvous with them and the link the ships before returning to the Rebel Fleet.
The Rebel Alliance has won: The Emperor is dead, Vader is dead, the Death Stars have been destroyed and the Imperial Navy is destroying itself. Five Jedi Knights now walk the galaxy, determined to aid the Alliance in building a better order. With Palpatine dead, the Sith broken and the Imperial Fleet divided upon itself, the Empire begins to fall.

Campaign Scenario: Epilogue (04/09/05)

One final series of adventures for the crew of the lost Bloodsparrow.

Resolution for all major characters:
Jee Ann continues to serve the Rebellion. Her diplomatic skills will be crucial to the future of the New Republic.
Black Tom and N’dal retire, but serve as consultants to Jee Ann.
Wuc-ta simply vanishes, leaving a carved wooden musical instrument behind for the Tyrus.
Wee-wren returns to his Wookie homeworld, with his debt repaid and his honor at an all time high; he is now a hero of his people.

Lerketh hooks up once with Kelnoir. “We must never touch this way again; I have much darkness to undo. I am wedded to the light side of the Force now. I will always care for you, but we cannot be together.” (Note: If she had still been dark side, Lerketh’s epilogue would have been a seduction and an attempt on Kelnoir’s life.)
Skywalker and Lerketh begin to train young Jedi on Yavin. She is pregnant with Kelnoir’s child.
Neera and Kelnoir decide they must re-establish the Jedi Council on Coruscant.
Eva and Tyrus settle down. Eva wants to settle on some pastoral world and raise children. Tyrus and Eva have somehow managed to shelter and protect one another long enough to live out this dream. They join Black Tom and N’dal on Fresia. Soon Eva’s belly swells… Tyrus dedicates his free time to working as an Alliance engineer and technical mentor.
Sif goes to find Dram Bellac. She wants to explore beyond the rim of the galaxy. Ultimately, she finds him, pale, beaten and legless, sitting in some bar on Luyarac. (Cart’an tortured him and left him to suffer.) Will Sif spend a fortune to make him whole again? Does this violate her rule of self-sufficiency? Standing in the doorway to the bar, she considers. She decides and walks toward him. Ultimately, she is his salvation, paying to have his body restored and healing him spiritually. Together they race off toward the most exotic adventure of all…
The end.

Final Notes:

Dark side points: Kelnoir (2), Sif (3), Tyrus (1).

Any time she is not wearing most of her clothing, characters have a chance to make a spot check, noticing Sif’s Royal Guard tattoo.
Characters have a chance to make a spot check against Eva, noticing her Imperial Consort tattoo.
Kelnoir doesn’t recover (as much) vitality while wearing the pendant.