Clone Wars Campaign: Recap # 26

This was the first session in a story arc directed by one of the players and worked really well. I quite liked the adventure hook (it had a nice, mysterious Star Trek like feel) and the atmospheric details of Dramos V. I played Sian Suan, a spunky, impulsive Jedi (a character salvaged from several years ago when I first encounted the Star Wars RPG as a player in a KOTOR campaign). One thing that worked especially well in this session is that, because people kept having dreams and hallucinations, it created a real feeling that nobody could be completely trusted--which led my character and and her Master almost coming to blows.

EPISODE 2.7: JOURNEY TO DRAMOS V

SESSION 26

[AG 262]

Deep in the heart of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Padawans Sian Suan (a Sullustan) and Kasa (a Gungan) are sparring when they receive a message to report to the Council chambers. Inside, they see the human Jedi Knight Lee and the Thisspiasian Jedi Master Oppo Rancisis. Master Rancisis tells the Padawans that they will be travelling to the Outer Rim planet Dramos V (under the direction of Lee) in order to investigate reports that the population is having strange dreams and engaging in chaotic behavior. In addition, they are to discover why Republic Agent Menich Fenchler has ceased communications.

Suan inspects the freighter they've been assigned for the voyage, while Lee and Kasa research the history of Dramos V. They learn that the planet was settled almost a thousand years prior, and was notable for a great purge of all droids five centuries after its founding. After loading supplies aboard the ship, the two Padawans meet two additional individuals that will accompany them on the mission: Sgt. Jett, a Clone trooper; and Lumzoz, a Republic Data Analyst. During the ensuing hyperspace voyage, the group formulate a plan: the two Padawans will investigate Fenchler's disappearance while Lee meets with Karpok Mirmark, head of the ruling council of Dramos V.

[AG 274]

The freighter arrives at Dramos V, but sensors indicate that a Separatist cruiser is orbiting on the far side of the planet. Suan hastily pilots the ship down through the atmosphere to reveal a dark, storm-swept world. Landing beacons signal the ship to descend through wide caverns on the planet's surface and into an underground city named Pentanossus. Seconds after landing, the unwitting Jedi are beset by strange hallucinations: Lee thinks she is dueling with Count Dooku, whilst Sian thinks she's wandering through a dark forest and Kasa believes he's gone deaf. Eventually the hallucinations fade, but the experience puts everyone on edge.

Lee is contacted by a messenger from Karpok Mirmark and invited to a gala reception later in the evening. With several hours to pass, the Jedi and Sgt. Jett decide to travel together to the last known address for the missing Agent Fenchler. After travelling through several poorly-lit tunnels, they emerge at a decrepit apartment block. With Jett guarding the outer door, the Jedi make their way to Fenchler's quarters, only to find it deserted. Lee and Kasa take up a careful search, while Suan talks to Fenchler's neighbors.

Suan gets a tip that Fenchler often shops at a nearby market. The impulsive Padawan decides to investigate, but finds herself ambushed by a trio of mercenaries. When a dramatic backflip and flourishing of her lightsaber fails to scare them off, she's forced to escape a hail of blaster bolts and hide in a darkened alley, with no sign of Fenchler.

Meanwhile, Lee suffers another hallucination but shakes it off seconds after Kasa reports finding a hidden data crystal. After discussing their find in a back room, the pair of Jedi hear sounds from the main room--a group of intruders have stunned Sgt. Jett and are loudly ransacking the place, looking for something. Lee and Kasa peek out and see a group of thugs wearing matching body armor and carrying blasters. Kasa calls upon the Force to hurl a couch at their leader, while Lee springs across the room and ignites her lightsaber. A furious battle ensues. Kasa holds off several of the attackers with his expert martial arts ability, but is badly hurt by a flurry of grenades hurled his way. Seconds later, Lee finishes the fight with a resounding gesture by slamming her opponents to the ground with the Force. The leader of the group is taken prisoner and proves vulnerable to suggestion: he confesses to being a member of the Solar Krakens, a mercenary group hired by the Separatists to find Fenchler. Lee decides to bring the prisoner with them in the hopes of perhaps infiltrating the mercenary group.

Suan manages to sneak her way back to the apartment block and rejoin her companions and the prisoner. In their room at a local hotel, Suan and Lee argue about what to do with the prisoner: Suan insists he be turned over to the local judicials, while Lee wants him kept nearby as a valuable resource. The pair of Jedi almost come to blows when they realize that Sgt. Jett is not immune to the strange hallucinations of Dramos V: he's drawn his blaster and is about to murder the prisoner. Lee grabs the clone trooper's arm while Suan quickly ignites her lightsaber and cuts the pistol in half. More shouting breaks out between Lee and Suan until Kasa manages to broker an agreement: the prisoner will be turned over to local authorities but Suan will attempt to refrain from questioning her master's orders. Kasa transmits the data crystal to Lumzoz in the freighter for analysis. The three Jedi then share a strange vision that almost seems a cry for help: somewhere in an underground chamber, two old men have fallen prostrate before a huge, pulsing, egg-shaped object. The vision seems to be more than an hallucination, but the Jedi are unsure how to respond.

While Lee contacts the local constabulary to take control of their prisoner, Kasa and Suan travel to the city's market area in search of clues to Fenchler's disappearance. A grocer remembers Fenchler as a Gran who often frequents the cantina in the spacer's quarter, but says he hasn't been seen in weeks. While inside the store, the three mercenaries who earlier attacked Suan return. The impending firefight is interrupted by a rumbling in the ground underneath them, seconds before a huge snake-like creature emerges from a fissure in the earth. The mercenaries flee at the sight of the giant snake, which wraps itself around Kasa and spews acid in every direction. Kasa manages to free himself long enough to summon the Force to slam the serpent into the ground, but his strength reserves quickly give out. Suan makes sure the customers have escaped and then fires her ascension gun into the ceiling in order to swing high into the air and slash at the serpent's head with her lightsaber. The battle is difficult and bloody, but eventually the two Jedi prevail when Suan plunges her blade down through the creature's skull.

Lee arrives outside the store, only to find herself ambushed by the three waiting mercenaries and shot in the back with a blaster bolt. She survives, however, and, joined by the two Padawans, engages the mercenaries in battle. The leader tries to flee but Lee slams him to the ground using the Force and the Jedi take another prisoner to turn over to the judicials, while letting the other two mercenaries escape.
After quickly cleaning themselves up, the Jedi make their way to Karpok Mirmak's gala reception. Soon after they're seated, a surprising group enters the assembly hall: a Separatist delegation, led by a lightsaber-wielding Kel-Dor.

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