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So in this session, we see (1) Doxen steal a teenage girl's ID papers (which normally wouldn't be a big deal, but in a city occupied by the futuristic equivalent of Nazis, turns out to be pretty cruel); (2) Array carjack an innocent civilian by shooting him in the face! (we rolled Array's Intimidation check versus the civilian's Will Defense twice, and the latter was higher both times, but Array apparently really wanted that landspeeder . . .) and (3) Stefan Cassadine's stated plans to overload the reactor of Mongui's civilian power supply, destroy the civilian food and water supply, and stage a massacre of civilians are objectionable to only one of the PCs (Krevlax, the short-lived voice of reason). On this last point, the players to this day will quibble about what they knew and when they knew it, but to my mind it's all right there in the recap, and the fact they decided to keep working with Stefan after a slight tinkering of his plans is pretty damning evidence. Anyway, we'll get into this more next session when his near-genocidal plans are actually carried out.
This sesson ended with what was probably Bel Sekand's finest moment in the campaign: his swashbuckling escape from being hanged. It was quite exciting and a lot of fun, and the whole rescue is also remembered for probably being the first time a plan put together by the PCs went off without a hitch.
Updated (July 31, 2012): I added in a previously secret scene where Stefan complains about Arresta's "do-gooder" friends and she persuades him to deceive them about the true extent of his plans. To this day, all of the players, including The Wife, vigorously insist that had no idea what Stefan was up to. They lie! I also added in a brief scene covering what Bel Sekand was up to in prison.
SESSION # 40
In her stateroom aboard the Ka’ja’les Dar, the woman known to some as Jocasta paces nervously. She can see the streaks of hyperspace fade to pinpricks of stars and then back again, as the ship makes a series of increasingly difficult micro jumps to navigate a sector of space so hazardous it is listed in navcomp databases only for completeness’ sake. Full of unstable stars, gravity wells of uncertain reach and dense clouds of unknown stellar matter, the sector is conclusively listed as uninhabited and uninhabitable. But that is a mistake, for hidden somewhere in this cosmic aberration lies a colony of Arkanian off-shoots, genetically modified to transcend human limitations. Ever since she had known him, her most trusted advisor had only expressed one desire for himself: to return home. And although Kronos will not live to see it, Jocasta intends to keep her word. But that is not the only reason she has taken such a risk…
And a galaxy away, would-be revolutionaries on Mongui have met their first taste of defeat…
Having successfully made a HALO jump, the clone commando Array makes his way from his landing zone to the city of Mongui, wrapped around the foot of Mount Joralla. Moving through the environmental shield, Array finds himself in the outskirts of the city. Patrols in this region are present, but in a minimal capacity and the area shows signs that many buildings, damaged during the civil war, remain abandoned. Locating a scavenger yard where he is able to stow his gear, Array begins to make his way towards the pre-planned rendezvous at the Spacer’s Cluster cantina. However, his path takes him past a work gang of aliens, each marked with a blue “x” on their uniforms. Seeing that the slaves are supervised by only two guards, Array decides to attempt a rescue.
Using a dumpster for cover, Array draws two blasters and opens fire on the guards. However, the single-shot reactive charge built into their armour lets lose a tremendously bright flash when hit and only the glare-sensitive face shield on Array's helmet prevents him from being blinded. The guards quickly call for reinforcements, draw their energy-tipped maces, and attack. Sensing time running out, Array decides to steal a passing landspeeder, but the owner is unwilling to cooperate and Array shoots him in the face and pushes the driver's body out of the vehicle. The Purity First Initiates take out their fury on the landspeeder until Array hits the accelerator and smashes one of them into the wall of a building housing the slaves. The commando shouts for the work crew to get into the vehicle, but they are too cowed to go along.
Moments later, Purity First air support arrives in the form of two IRD (Intercept/Reconnaissance/Defence) starfighters. Their heavy blaster cannons reduce the ground-car to rubble and Array is barely able to jump out in time. Unphased, he fires his ascension gun at a IRD hovering just meters above the ground and is jerked into the sky when his line wraps around its wing. The startled pilot tries to shake Array off, but the commando manages to open the cockpit and toss the pilot out, leaving Array in control of the vehicle. Although unfamiliar with the starship, Array quickly grasps its relatively simple controls and executes a perfect 180 degree turn and opens fire on the other IRD. The shot hits the Purity First vehicle in the engine housing and it explodes. Array takes the opportunity to fly back to the scavenger yard, where he hides the vehicle under assorted debris.
On board The Knife’s Edge Stefan Cassadine quietly opens the door to the nursery, where his wife has taken up residence after their argument. Arresta, sleeping with her back to the door, refuses to acknowledge her awareness of his presence and, after a few moments, Stefan quietly leaves. The next morning, they both take part in a call to Etti IV (using the ship's hacked Holonet feed), but afterwards Arresta makes it clear that she hasn't yet forgiven Stefan. She does work with him to create a cover story intended to deceive Purity First spaceport controllers. A few hours later, their story is put to the test when the yacht approaches Mongui--it seems to go over well, but some weakness in their falsified transponder and ship's logs fails to pass muster and Arresta realizes that the flight plan they are given would take them on an approach away from the starport and on a course to be intercepted by IRDs. She warns her husband that they have been compromised, leading Stefan to give the order to jump to hyperspace.
After the ship completes a short jump into an empty sector of space, Arresta asks her husband what contingencies he has in place to make planet fall. Unfortunately, Stefan is stymied – the false transponder has always proved reliable in the past. Arresta fights the urge to offer Stefan encouragement for fear he will think her feelings towards him have changed. She suggests talking to Master Creen and though Stefan is sceptical, he agrees. While he is gone, Corinne arrives and suggests that if her sister can convince Bel’s pilot to disobey orders, then they could use The Rakish Charm to get to Mongui.
When Stefan returns, he tells Arresta that Creen cannot aid them and that the Jedi Master’s interests are “in other happenings”. His wife archly inquires whether these mysterious interests of Creen’s coincide with those things that she and her husband do not discuss. Arresta brings up Corinne’s idea and Stefan agrees to it. When Arresta tries to convince him to remain behind and to let her go on her own, he refuses to budge, citing concerns for her safety – they will travel together or not at all. After jumping back to the outer edge of the Essowyn system and docking with the The Rakish Charm, Arresta and Corinne have little trouble convincing Bel Sekand's personal pilot to take them where they want to go.
Down on the planet, Doxen, Krevlax, Korkoth and Bel Sekand are assessing their options after their narrow escape from the excavation site. Bel’s eyesight returns after the night's uncomfortable sleep aboard the runabout, and he declares his intent to stay with the ship. Doxen isn’t pleased with this plan, but he leads Krevlax and Korkoth on the long march toward Mongui City. Since neither Doxen nor Krevlax speaks Huttese or Gammorean, they are reduced to communicating with Korkoth via crude sign language. Unbeknownst to everyone, however, the smoking, slow-moving runabout was easily followed and Purity First has dispatched probe droids to see if the ship will lead them to the rebels' base. When the group splits up, one droid stays with the runabout while the other follows Doxen's group.
After several hours' march, Doxen and Krevlax realize that they are being followed. Krevlax feigns setting up camp while Doxen, who has remained hidden, destroys the droid with two well-placed shots. They continue on their journey to the city. When they get through the shield, they make their way to Corinne’s abandoned salvage yard and search out a suitable hiding place. Doxen realizes though, that they are not alone--he spots Array hiding in a scrap pile. The group decides to wait until the next morning before trying to contact Arresta.
Back at the runabout, however, Bel Sekand has not been so lucky. He realizes too late that IRDs are headed his way He attempts to flee, but the slow-moving shuttle is quickly surrounded and fired upon. He briefly considers making a run for it, but then realizes that death would be the only result. He surrenders and is escorted down to the spaceport, where he and the runabout are searched--leaving Purity First with evidence to analyze about the identity of the new resistance.
Bel's refusal to cooperate with his interrogators leads him to spend the night in the prison, which is now mostly comprised of "xenons." Bel seeks out their leader, a wookiee named Fahruurk, and says that if they help him escape, he can guarantee help from the outside. Fahruurk is dubious that Bel actually has any of the things he claims (a ship, bodyguards, etc.) but says that if Bel is able to show proof, then Fahruurk and his followers will lend support.
Bel's refusal to cooperate with his interrogators leads him to spend the night in the prison, which is now mostly comprised of "xenons." Bel seeks out their leader, a wookiee named Fahruurk, and says that if they help him escape, he can guarantee help from the outside. Fahruurk is dubious that Bel actually has any of the things he claims (a ship, bodyguards, etc.) but says that if Bel is able to show proof, then Fahruurk and his followers will lend support.
On their second approach, Corinne is able to successfully convince the Purity First authorities that The Rakish Charm was on an expedition to the Outer Rim when it developed an engine leak and needs emergency refueling. As they land, they receive communication from the planet that Bel has been arrested and will be hung at noon the next day. Arresta asks her sister what she would like to do – how much does she want to risk for her would-be paramour? Corinne feels that Bel is owed at least some attempt to save his life. Arresta agrees and privately cautions Stefan to contain his glee at Sekand’s situation, since they require Corinne’s on-going goodwill. As they land, Corinne quickly modifies the communications frequency and they secure their weaponry prior to the standard customs inspection. They pass with no sign of any problems and are granted papers with a twenty-four pass for access to the planet.
As night falls on Mongui, the group at the salvage yard listens to the comm channel from the stolen IRD. They too learn about Bel Sekand’s capture, as well as hearing crude descriptions of Array’s armour and Krevlax. Knowing that Array is too conspicuous in his armour, Doxen conducts some reconnaissance, looking for new clothes for the clone. He steals a purse containing identity papers from a drunken teen-age girl and then decides to mug a young man and steal his clothes.
Unwilling to remain in the close confines of The Rakish Charm, Arresta convinces Corinne that they should find a nightclub where they can both gather information on the local situation, as well as obtain some much-needed stress relief. Seeming somewhat surprised at the offer, Corinne agrees and the two former Regents of Mongui depart. They arrive at a bustling nightclub and promptly make their way to the bar. They indulge heavily in elaborate (and over-priced) alcoholic beverages while dancing and chatting up the locals. Between drinks, they manage to learn several key pieces of information: The local populace is frustrated with Purity First and are unhappy with their forced conscription process. Every week one seventh of the population (on a rotating schedule) is compelled to observe the execution of a non-human (or “xenon” as Purity First calls them). Occasionally, the one executed is a human arrested for being an alien sympathizer. The key leaders of Purity First on the planet are Pedron Rhial, the Marshall-General of Purity First, and the Warden of the prison.
Arresta begins to feel the effects of the alcohol. She translates her sister’s encouragement to “forget about men for a night” into a drunken call to her vexed husband, who demands that Corinne bring his intoxicated wife home immediately. The girls ignore him and continue to dance the night away. When they finally stumble back to The Rakish Charm, Stefan is waiting up to take custody of Arresta and put her to bed. In the morning, Arresta awakens to her smug husband offering her a steaming cup of kaf, but manages to hide her massive hangover while relating the information gathered during her “outing”.
[A.G. 1010]
Doxen waits until morning, then contacts Stefan and updates him on the current situation. They discuss the fact that Stefan would consider it a personal favour if Bel Sekand were to suffer an “accident” while attempting to escape his execution. It is agreed that all parties will regroup at the salvage yard. Arresta pulls aside Tarn’s sister, who is among Bel’s bodyguards, and indicates that they have a common acquaintance and that she would like to speak more with her after this mission. Kelsa Tamarand appears baffled, but agreeable to this suggestion. The last step before leaving the ship is for Stefan and Arresta to use every element of Stefan’s reputation to intimidate the pilot, to make sure he does not depart without their express permission.
Arriving at the salvage yard, Stefan, Arresta and Corinne meet Array, making note of the night-clubbing outfit Doxen stole for him. When the group is comfortable that the new arrivals haven’t been followed, they meet up with Doxen and Krevlax. Finally, Corinne’s loyal supporter, Lt. Jaarza. arrives to represent the resistance movement and the strategy session begins. Initial conversations are well under way when Stefan abruptly commandeers the conversation to lay out the plan that he expects them all to follow. They will first destroy the civilian power supply by overloading the reactor, making it look like a blunder by Purity First. Next, they will destroy the communication center to prevent Purity First from calling for reinforcements or countering propaganda. After destroying the food and water supply and staging a massacre of civilians, Stefan suggests that Purity First will be forced to withdraw in the face of overwhelming pressure from the local populace once their "showcase" planet is reduced to almost apocalyptic conditions.
Krevlax immediately protests against the implied slaughter of civilians and Corinne sides with him. Doxen and Arresta attempt to offer reassurance that Stefan only meant that the entire massacre would be staged, but not everyone is convinced. The others join in, offering a variety of suggestions and questioning whether this plan will take too long to achieve success. Finally, Stefan pulls his wife aside for a private conversation.
When they are alone, Stefan expresses his frustration with Arresta’s do-gooder friends and their unwillingness to follow orders. She defends them while assuring him that she believes the majority of his plan to be tactically sound. He insists to her that he wants this campaign to be over with so that they can get on with the rest of their lives – which, he forcefully reminds her, will be spent together. Arresta pledges that she will help him with this campaign. However, although she cannot resist allowing him to kiss her, she avoids agreeing with him about his plans for their future. Turning the topic back to the Mongui strategy, she soothingly reminds him that appearances are important and that he needn’t share his entire strategy with the whole team.
When they are alone, Stefan expresses his frustration with Arresta’s do-gooder friends and their unwillingness to follow orders. She defends them while assuring him that she believes the majority of his plan to be tactically sound. He insists to her that he wants this campaign to be over with so that they can get on with the rest of their lives – which, he forcefully reminds her, will be spent together. Arresta pledges that she will help him with this campaign. However, although she cannot resist allowing him to kiss her, she avoids agreeing with him about his plans for their future. Turning the topic back to the Mongui strategy, she soothingly reminds him that appearances are important and that he needn’t share his entire strategy with the whole team.
The Cassadines return and Stefan announces that, thanks to his “lovely wife”, he is persuaded that certain elements of his plan which make the others uncomfortable can be revised. After a long strategy session, a two-fold plan is agreed upon. Corinne, Jaarza, Krevlax and as many of Bel’s bodyguards as can be convinced to participate, will attempt a rescue at the site of the planned execution. With that as a distraction, Stefan, Arresta, Doxen, Array and Korkoth will attempt to take out the civilian power plant. Prior to the two groups splitting off, Doxen and Arresta have a hurried conversation in which they discuss their concerns with sending Krevlax on the rescue attempt, but they agree that their friend is well-suited to that particular mission, even if they will miss his talents on their own task. Arresta also shares with her colleague that her sources have obtained intelligence that the Hunter Harno’s clan-mates searched the area around his murder and located the hiding place used by his executioner. There, they managed to locate trace elements of DNA on the stub of a thick death-stick left at the scene. Since the DNA belonged to a very rare species, they quickly fingered Doxen as the likely culprit. Doxen, however, insists he would never have made such an unprofessional mistake.
The Cassadines and Corinne return to the ship where the former retrieve the remainder of their weaponry and the latter attempts to rally Bel’s bodyguards into accompanying her on the rescue attempt. Corinne is very persuasive and manages to gain their support, bringing five bodyguards along with her and leaving one (Tarn’s sister) behind with the pilot.
Bel Sekand’s rescue team slowly makes their way through the sewer tunnels leading to the prison grounds where the execution is scheduled to take place. At a parade ground in front of the prison, a reluctant crowd has gathered to watch the hanging, with a full Phalanx of Purity First guards behind them. Finally, the Warden and the Marshall-General arrive and denounce Sekand as a race traitor who deserves to die. With his hands bound behind him, Bel is led out onto the gallows platform that stands ten metres above the crowd and just below the balcony from which the leaders of Purity First will observe his execution.
Just as the executioner prepares to put the noose around his neck, Bel stuns the crowd by suddenly performing a feat of acrobatic skill and flipping himself over, bringing his manacled hands in front of him. At the same time, his comrades who have been stealthily creeping closer, decide to strike. A shots hits the executioner, but the blinding flash that accompanies a direct hit on his armour causes Bel to once again lose his sight. Still, the bold crime lord is resourceful and immediately adapts his escape plan. Crying out to the crowd, he stagedives into their waiting arms, before being swept up by Krevlax who has fought his way into the courtyard. With the others laying down cover fire, Krevlax runs for the tunnel with Sekand slung over his shoulder. Although several of Bel’s bodyguards are blinded in the exchange of fire with Purity First, all but two successfully make their escape. In the sewers beneath Mongui, Bel Sekand’s shackles are removed and the swash-buckling crime lord lives to fight another day.
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