Clone Wars Campaign: Recap # 23

This session got the campaign moving again after the not-so-good previous session. I especially liked the opening scene here--it was fast-paced and exciting. The characters hadn't spent a lot of time in wilderness adventures, so I tried to add a lot of detail and game mechanics to their survival in the jungle. I also had a lot of fun with the cut-scene of Asajj Ventress and the Neimodian (I think I did a fair job with the accents, to boot). The Ssi-Ruuk are drawn from the novel Truce at Bakura; here, they're caught up in a conflict with the Separatists that was presumably never recorded in Republic (later, Imperial) archives.


SESSION 23

Years ago, Separatist leader Count Dooku erased more than 30 sectors of space from Republic planetary datafiles, including the cloning planet of Kamino. Now, bullied by a Republic intelligence agent, the crew of the Broken Tiara have ventured far into the Unknown Regions to ascertain what lies in Sector Zeta-11. But their trip has been an eventful one! After being nearly destroyed by a Separatist picket ship, the maiden voyage of the Broken Tiara may also be its last.

Seconds after reaching the apparent safety of hyperspace, the crew of the Outcast Tiara realize that their peril continues. Thick, black smoke fills the cockpit as the shield generator overloads, knocking Natany and Zero unconscious before Arresta manages to bring the fire-suppression systems on-line. Meanwhile, Zee temporarily stops a major radiation leak in the port engine room and decides the ship needs to drop out of hyperspace and shut down all systems except for battery-powered life support. A thorough examination by the ship's repair droid provides bad news: unless a new fusion regulator is found and installed, the ship can return to full power for only an hour before the radiation leak becomes unmanageable. Zee remembers that one of the ship's lifeboats had been upgraded with a x15 hyperspace drive. The crew debates whether to continue on to Zeta-11 in the lifeboat and hope to obtain a fusion regulator there, or to abandon ship and head back towards Coruscant. After some discussion, they choose the first option, but the still-unconscious Natany and Zero are left behind with a note, tended to by a droid. Hours pass aboard the lifeboat, punctuated by Arresta's confession that she is pregnant.

[AG 252]

Arresta, Zee, and Krevlax are treated to a strange sight when the lifeboat finally arrives in the asteroid-heavy Sector Zeta-11. A Trade Federation battleship, The Liquidator, has been heavily damaged and has withdrawn from a major starship battle between Separatist forces and unknown attackers. Nearby, Separatist fighters patrol a cloud-covered planet. Zee intercepts communications with the help of some droids and learns that the attackers are called "Ssi-Ruuk" and that at least one of their dropships have reached a nearby planet. Arresta manages to outwit and outrun the Separatist patrols and lands the lifeboat in the middle of a thick jungle. Scanners shows a major power source about 50 kilometers to the north, while a quick reconnaisance shows smoke rising a few kilometers to the west.
The trio cover the lifeboat with branches to mask it from the air and then set off toward the smoke with two droids in tow. The heat and humidity of the jungle proves burdensome and distracting, causing Zee to walk right into quicksand. As Krevlax pulls him out with a long branch, Arresta quickly dispatches a Separatist dwarf spider droid that had wandered into their path--but not before the droid was able to send a signal.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the planet, a strange, fan shaped starfighter lands in front of a huge dome. Waiting near the ship are several droid guards and a small group of Neimodians. An exotic looking bald woman emerges from the ship and says with a scowl "Where is Kraten Binth?"

A nervous looking female Neimodian in expensive purple robes walks forward and bows deeply. "Ahhh Co-Mander Vontress. Pleased to maake your acquaintance. We were not expecting you to come yourself.

"It is your negligence that wastes my time, Admiral. I have been sent to personally oversee the defence of this planet."

The Neimodian bows deeply again. "Ahhh Co-Mander Vontress, you muhst understand that the invaders came from a direction we weren't expecting. Our fleets have skirmished for several days but only one dropship has made it through our defense network."

Asajj Ventress narrows her eyes. "Scour the jungle then and destroy every living thing you find within it."

Back in the jungle, Arresta, Zee, and Krevlax emerge from the thinning jungle and see a river ahead. A few hundred meters away lies a collection of primitive huts. Krevlax stays under cover with the droids, while Zee and Arresta advance. At the edge of the village, they are greeted by a middle-aged Ryn female named Jorassa. Arresta returns to where Krevlax is hiding, but Zee is treated to a fish dinner and conversation.

Jorassa claims that she and the other villagers (several Ryn, a few humans and a Bith) arrived on planet almost twenty years ago aboard their ship, the Wanders as Dust. They had been traversing the galaxy, looking for a quiet place to call home, and eventually found Zeta-11. Although their ship crashed in an area called the Blasted Land, Jorassa says they have no desire to leave the planet. She explains that the Blasted Land is a place of great danger and that only one villager, the now-missing Frazon, knew the way back to it. Occasionally, she says, "mechanicals from the great mountain" come by to make sure the village isn't a threat. She also claims to have seen in recent days a shooting star that may have been a crashing ship hit the ground several kilometers to the East.

After receiving a fishing pole as a gift, Zee makes his way back to the others. As they converse from their hiding place, they see a shuttle circle the village and several B-3 Ultra Battle Droids begin deployment. Fire and screams begin instantly as the villagers are massacred. Although his companions stay in hiding, Krevlax attempts to intervene. He wrestles with one of the giant droids but is forced to escape capture by jumping into the village and swimming away.

The party makes their way back into the jungle and sets up camp for the night, but are interrupted by one of the Ultra Battle Droids that had tracked their movements. However, caught in a crossfire between Zee and Arresta, the droid is quickly destroyed. The group decide to stay near the cool river during the heat of the day, and then to travel back to the lifeboat by night.

[AG 253]

Krevlax gets himself lost and separated from the party during the trek back through the jungle. Menaced by a four-legged predator, the Anx street fighter decides to climb a tree for safety. Unfortunately, while trying to leap across to another tree, he slips and falls on his back. The predator pounces and sinks his teeth in Krevlax's throat, but Krevlax manages to flip over and pin the predator and then break its neck.

Meanwhile, Zee, Arresta, and the two droids make their way back to the lifeboat. Zee notices a small scout crab droid scurrying around the hull of the ship and (loudly) tries to blast it off. The crab droid climbs to the top of the lifeboat and Zee decides to climb up after it. The crab droid springs at the unwitting bodyguard and snaps its mechanical pincers deep into Zee's abdomen. Zee fires down at the droid and destroys its central processor, but the pincers remain snapped tightly shut. Losing blood and almost unconscious, Zee manages to pry the pincers open using a tool kit. Arresta bandages him up inside the lifeboat.

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