Clone Wars Campaign Recap Extra: Purity and Danger

This was a (very) short story written to show what Corinne D'avilos (NPC sister of PC Arresta D'avilos) was doing during the "missing months" when time passed quickly for everyone except the PCs trapped in the strange anomaly-linked temple. I wrote it for a few reasons: a character study of Corinne, an NPC who hadn't appeared in-game for a while; a chance to revisit Mongui, a planet the PCs hadn't been to since the very first story arc; and a way to bring a spotlight back on Purity First and set up the possibility of the PCs returning to take part in a civil war (I hadn't really expected them to bite on that particular adventure hook, but they did in a brutal six-session story arc I'll be posting in the near future).


PURITY AND DANGER

Had she arrived on time, she would be dead. But Lady Corinne D'avilos, Regent of the city-state of Mongui, fussed over her manicure and was still in the corridor when the massive explosion rocked the massage parlor she had had built in a sublevel of the palace. Flame and debris spiralled outward, knocking her to the floor and singeing her elegant dressing gown. The ringing in her ears from the explosion soon gave way to the ringing of alarm klaxons. In seconds, her personal guard was at her side.

"Lady D'avilos, are you alright?" shouted her most loyal aide, Lieutenant Jaarza, as he rushed to her side. He checked her over for obvious wounds, and, seeing none, cradled her in his arms and rushed her up the stairs. "My Lady, Purity First has betrayed us! Word just came over the com--they've seized the spaceport and are moving infantry toward the palace!"

Corinne could hardly believe her terrible luck. She was the rightful heir to the Regency of Mongui until her father divested her of her legacy just because she fell in love with Miklos, a commoner. Still, she was content to spend her days with her beloved, helping him operate a small scavenger yard on the outskirts of the city until Miklos was suddenly taken away one day and never returned. Not long after, the Separatists began a siege of the city and the Republic sent Clones to defend it. Some sort of coup led by her jealous sister Arresta was turned away by Father, but Arresta and her co-plotters managed to escape. After the Clones destroyed the spaceport in their evacuation, the Separatists found the city to have no strategic value and withdrew also. Father then ruled a city that was a mere shadow of Mongui's former glory--entire blocks were destroyed, there was little in the way of imports, and the wealthy minor nobles had mostly decided to vacation elsewhere until order could be restored.

It was then that Corinne decided to strike. It wasn't hard to assemble a sizable rebel army, given the general discontent among the populace. She even had someone on the inside: Father's Captain of the Guard, Jaarza. When Father's forces were almost defeated and he sent a desperate plea to Arresta for aide, Jaarza managed to be so heavy-handed delivering the message that the cry for help was refused.

Father's execution was regrettable, but necessary.

Bringing in Purity First was also a necessity. At first, the paramilitary organization was a boon to Mongui--their patrols reduced crime, their ships brought food and clothing, their money and engineering expertise rebuilt the spaceport, and more. Former émigrés returned in droves and Corinne was the most popular Regent the city-state had had in decades.

But then things began to unravel. Hurtful gossip spread like wildfire through the citizenry, accusing Corinne of all sorts of untruths. Some citizens began a movement calling for Arresta to be placed on the throne, while others thought House D’avilos should lose the Regency altogether. And then Corinne realized, almost too late, how Purity First had managed to slowly insinuate itself into the ruling apparatus--the Civil Watch began wearing Purity First armbands, the few non-humans in her administration fled or disappeared and were replaced by Purity First members, the major holo-casters were secretly bought and operated by Purity First shell corporations. Corinne had finally been forced to break with Purity and drive them out of the Palace. This assassination attempt was obviously their response.

“Can the Palace Guard hold the line?” she asked, as Jaarza set her down in the small war room.
“My Lady . . .” was all he could utter. She saw in his eyes that the situation was hopeless. Purity First boasted brigades of highly-trained, highly-motivated fanatics wearing strange, blaster-proof armor. The Palace Guard had been decimated by civil war and was armed with second-hand weaponry; and a fair proportion were likely to be sympathetic to Purity First.
“Have my private shuttle prepped for immediate departure and then take twenty of your best men through the escape tunnels.”

“My Lady, you don’t want me to go with you?”

“No, Lieutenant. You’re going to keep the resistance alive until I return.”

Corinne had had her chance to rule Mongui, and she had blown it. But sometimes in life there are second chances, and she intended to have hers.

Return to Clone Wars Campaign Main Page