Clone Wars Campaign: Recap # 6

This begins the Ansion story arc. Ansion is a planet featured in the pretty good Star Wars novel The Approaching Storm, and I always like to create continuity between my campaign and the EU whenever possible. Similarly, the character of I-5 (who quickly became one of the players' favorite NPCs) came from the novel Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter. Ignatius was a character I based on the protagonist from the very non-Star Wars novel A Confederacy of Dunces; I thought he would be funnier and more interesting than he turned out to be. This particular session was one of my favorite individual efforts as I think I created quite the haunted atmosphere for the radiation-filled space station (I even used a red bulb in the room's only light to increase the players' apprehension).


Episode 2.2, The Ominous Silence, Session 2

The Clone War has engulfed thousands of planets throughout the galaxy. But here are still sectors left untouched by battle--sectors too remote and of little apparent strategic value to either the Republic or the Separatists.

On the farthest edge of known space, Ansion seems to be just such a system. Only nominally a member of the Republic, the isolated and technologically backwards planet has little to offer--except for a rare substance that could save the lives of thousands of the Republic's clone troopers.

But why have there been no transmissions or ships from the sector in months? With time running out, a group of travelers from the other side of the galaxy have come to find out . . .

Ycram wakes up and reveals he saw the Rodian Twitch running away from the ship on Mongui just before he was knocked unconscious. The ship docks at the Skyhook, and the group encounters I-5YQ, a silver protocol droid (and Ignatius D'avilos' majordomo). Marpa spacewalks to investigate the power leak on Delia's Ultimatum and recovers from the outer hull a sophisticated tracking device that signals whenever coordinates have been entered into the ship's hyperspace computer. Meanwhile, Arresta, Tarn, and Ycram meet with Ignatius.

Ignatius outlines why the facility is unable to process and ship Xoorzi kelp: (1) a radiation bomb was smuggled in and detonated on the third level of the facility (causing a severe power loss), but radiation-scrubbing droids are always destroyed by unknown causes shortly after entering that level; (2) constant attacks by the same group of terrorists have disrupted operations; (3) months ago, a strange object appeared in the system and, ever since, no hyperspace communications or ships have been able to leave.

Ignatius also reveals that one of the terrorists has been captured and is being held in the Skyhook's anchor facility on Ansion. Ignatius plans to quit and sell the station to Soergg the Hutt, but Tarn convinces him to wait a few days to see if they can get power back on line. Tarn meets with a Kaminoan named Ceela Selu. She reveals that she and her partner, Gemma Vous, came to the Skyhook to study the Xoorzi kelp and its effects on clone troopers, but that Gemma was trapped on the third level when the radiation bomb exploded. Since then, Ceela has been studying the anomaly. She has learned that every 19 days it opens up (the next time will be 77 AG) and sends out a strange pulse of light and theorizes that that may be the only time to enter it. She also says that a Jedi Master named Sarigar had sent a message stating he would be arriving at the station, but he never did (a raider attack has occurred near his expected arrival time).

The group decides to don radiation suits and enter the third level to reset the reactor. They encounter grotesque radiation-scarred Ugnaughts and the clearly insane Kaminoan Gemma Vous, who has been conducting strange experiments. Ycram retreats to the safety of a shuttle and I-5 is heavily damaged. After a series of battles, the group manages to reset the reactor but are forced to flee in escape pods.

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