Chapter 6 Report

General Summary

Having successfully won their money back (and then some), in the swoop race event hosted by Popara, the Hereos head back to their ship briefly to rest before their arranged meeting time with Popara. Valan, their Balosar pilot joined them. Kael assisted their companion with removing his slave tracking device, a task which if not done carefully, would eventually kill their newfound friend. He succeeded with critical success, removing the device without causing any harm to Valan or triggering the anti-tampering protection on the device. Meanwhile, Aidan and Anesidora meditated, both contemplating the events of the past week and connecting to the force. In this period he saw a vision, which concerned him greatly but did not share with the others. When the time came to meet Popara the Hutt, they arrived at Landing Bay x-23 as was agreed upon. There they met Vago the Hutt and H-3PO. They were leading Popara's staff in loading goods onto the transport ship. While busy they were still greeted amicably enough and boarded the ship to be taken to Popara's private yacht. The ship, "Imru Ootmian" shined like a dagger among the stars. The uncommon but not unheard of Ubrikkian Space Yacht had a hull of polished chrome that was well taken care of. The interior was just as luxurious. With door frames made of rare woods from across the galaxy, displays of collectibles that could rival that of a core world, noble family, and carpets lining every hallway, it was a sign of power, influence, and wealth. Negotiations occurred in an audience chamber. Before entering, however, a drunk Wookiee attempted to crash into Tychus. The confrontation seemed to be well on his way until the Wookiee's impatience won, and he stumbled to the side and around to get more ale for himself and his friends. Inside the chamber, the room was damp, dimly lit, and smelled vaguely of mold and spoiled meat. There were three alcoves with pedestals suited for three Hutts. In the center sat Popara, with three Twi'leks surrounding him and wetting his skin with sponges. Popara was enormous, with gray patches along his head and body, and had wide, alert eyes. Two Nikto guards stood at the entrance of the alcove, one on each side. The Alcove to the left was empty and the one to the right contained a large sprawling Hutt named Zonnos, clearly much younger than Popara. He was much less alert and had a hookum pipe in his mouth. He shared the alcove with three large Wookiees who were laughing and joking around with one another. Popara explains the situation: A planet within the Tion Cluster called Endregaad was beset by a deadly plague and has been quarantined by the Corporate Sector Authority(CSA). He has some business interests on Endregaad and would like the heroes to oversee his business. The task is to deliver medicinal spice to help the people on the planet. In addition to this, he would like the heroes to make contact with his son Mika, who was handling business on Endregaad when the quarantine started and with which he lost contact. The spice was a means to get past the blockade enacted by the CSA. Popara would provide the ship to transport the goods and the last known coordinates of his son on the planet. After a confrontation with Zonnos' Wookiees, who continues to make fun of the heroes throughout the meeting, the heroes agree to help Popara in exchange for the navigational charts to the Nexus Spiral. When the meeting ends, Vago is waiting for them outside the door. He provides the heroes with four data disks which each have information on the following:

Information on Mika
Information on the Plague affecting the planet
Information on the planet Endregaad
Information on the CSA blockade

When they return to Nar Shardaa, the heroes are vaccinated with the same medicinal spice they are to transport there. Additionally, they are given a pouch with 10 doses of the vaccine and a hypodermic spray. Vago suggested that they use the vaccines as a means of negotiation while on the planet and they should reserve at least two does for Mika just in case the disease affects Hutts. The next day when they are about to depart they are approached by Zonnos. He is accompanied by his Wookiee goons and a Klatoonian slave which translates to the heroes. "I wanted to wish you good luck on your mission and tell you that I have no hard feelings." Zonnos gives a wide smile. "I know that you are going into a dangerous situation, and I want you to know you have the support of our entire clan. However," says the Hutt, "Even if you fail to find my brother, or -Andros forbid-you find him too late to help, you will still have an ally in our clan." He gives the heroes a friendly wink. "I trust I am clear in this matter?" The heroes got a bad feeling about the whole situation but didn't press Zonnos for his meaning. Instead, they began their journey. After several days in hyperspace, the heroes were ambushed by bandits when they made the jump out of hyperspace. They were able to stop the pirates which retreated for now, but it left a question in the back of their head; Was that a coincidence? They boarded the dreadnought class ship which enforced the blockade. There they met Lieutenant Commander Angela Krin, the leader for the Resolute. She was adamant about not letting anyone onto the planet, though still accepted the spice medicine anyway. Through the use of the force, they convinced her to let them through the blockade, convincing her that extra hands on the ground were just the help she needed. They landed the transport outside of Tel Bollin and hid it carefully, before setting out on foot into the city center. The city itself looked like a warzone. Piles of burning bodies lay in the streets and nearly every corner, and some houses were burned ruins. Some storefronts stood abandoned with broken display windows and looted displays and shelves. A landspeeder drives by them, not paying any mind to them while a loudspeaker announced that anyone who had red tags with a number between 1200 and 1500 would be eligible to receive vaccines. Interacting with people on the streets led them to a bar called the fallen warrior, where they ran into a Nikto that looked like he might have known where Mika went. After aiding him, he explained what had happened. One thing was clear from what they were told: Mika went to Temple Valley to find the source of the plague because he knew something about the entire situation was off. The heroes knew that to find Mika, perhaps it would be in their best interest to figure out where this plague originated from. After some searching and asking around, the heroes found out that a merchant caravan was traveling to the valley and they would be welcome to join them. They would leave at first light on the next day.