Episode 3.08: Kanter's War, Chapter 16
Star Wars
Shards of Exploration
Episode 3.08: Kanter’s War, Chapter 16
The Concord have fallen and their grip on the local B’omarr monks has been shattered. Surviving monks, now free of the Dark Side mind control, gather to tend to the wounded. Remains of murderous droids are everywhere.
In a deep part of the catacombs, the heroes face a dire threat: a page of the evil Tenocron Codex. Steeped in the Dark Side, the possessed page had been feeding ancient Sith knowledge to the corrupted B’omarr. Now, the page has ensnared two of the heroes, entombing them in Sith Devastator Armor. Their companions struggle to free them.
Little do they know that using a partial copy of the Lens of Jedi Master Shal Artak, Almon D’Joy has dispatched dozens of remote probes to search the Kessora Mountains. Satisfied he’s trapped the heroes, Almon continues his work to track down a dangerous relic for his obsessed employer, Sargon the Merciless. All the while, he continues to fan the flames of war to cover his tracks…
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Goals
The attacks against the Freedworlds have subsided into a full system war. Black Sun and their allies launch surgical strikes against the rag-tag forces of the Freedworlds Republic. In return, the ingenuity of the Republic has kept the conflict at a dangerous stalemate.
On Chalcedon, the heroes regroup to get their bearing. Looming over them are the ghosts of problem’s past:
They have recently returned from a successful mission to broker an alliance between the Vorbaize Pirate clan and the Freedworlds Republic. A mission that sent them hurtling head-first against the secret operations of the Tilles pirate clan to sabotage the Republic’s weapons donated by the Freedworlds’ ally, the Bareesh Kajidic from Hutt Space.
Once derailing Clan Tilles operation to sabotage weapons using enslaved moisture farmers, the heroes returned to Port Etmar wher they hoped to get some rest. Meanwhile, Sir Davish Tam and one of former member so Clan Tilles fly the freed moisture farmers back home.
But another problem surfaced…
Information reached Port Etmar that the far flung settlement of Chausid Station on the coast of the Piterra Wastes dust ocean has been overrun. The Killian Pirate Clan, long time allies to Clan Tilles, captured the town and the Freedworlds forces there. All due to the defender’s weapons having been sabotaged by Clan Tilles.
To prevent the Freedworlds from having to stretch their thin resources to the breaking point, the heroes join forces with their long time allies, Razak’s Roughnecks, to free Chausid Station. Together, they flew to Chausid Station to sneak into the town and capture the pirate raid leader.
Things weren’t as described once they arrived…
The Killian pirate clan had not overrun Chausid Station but only part of it. An armed force of locals, with an allied pirate gang, held the other half of town. It was a deadly stalemate with the heroes in the middle.
With some work, and quick alliances, the heroes smoked out the Killian Pirate Clan from the Station’s Council Chamber and the primary maintenance shop. In the process, they uncovered that the Killian Pirate Clan possibly had dealings with a mysterious person who gave them plans to altered Sith battle armor and Sith war machines.
Despite that and more, the heroes managed to subdue the pirate raid leaders and free Chausid Station. They returned to Port Etmar for two weeks of rest and recuperation.
But now, something unusual has happened…
The pirate turned commander of the Freedworlds, Erenn Baize, contacts the heroes about an unusual find: previously lost and damaged Jedi holocrons in a hidden room under the estate. This happened as part of clearing out the warren of tunnels beneath the Estate with help from the Sisters of the Steel Rose.
Inspecting the holocrons revealed they had been damaged by being struck repeatedly with an energy weapon. Vanya, after she used her skills in the Force, looked back into the past and saw that Almon D’Joy was the one responsible!
But, along with that, D’Joy executed the couriers; anyone who knew D’Joy was connected with the theft. The bodies, and a page from the Tenocron Codex, were left with the B’omarr monks who assisted D’Joy.
Meanwhile, So’zen, Reese, Vance, and Arena made their own discoveries about the ruin. First, the B’omarr may not have carved the tunnels but taken over even older ruins! Next was the statue in the middle of the room of Jedi Master Shal Artak. Inside was half a data chip of the legendary Jedi general’s journals from the Jedi-Sith War and his duel against Darth Tenock.
The other half, and the reason why his journals were hidden, is still missing. Though they found two clues: a kyber crystal that can read the Jedi Master’s journal and a series of mysterious numbers etched inside the lens for a pair of monoculars.
Deeper into the ruin, the heroes uncovered an ancient meditation chamber; one corrupted by the B’omarr order. After a series of ‘keys’, the heroes deciphered the puzzle to unlock a series of crystals that seem to be a means to access a vast storehouse of knowledge.
This drew the attention of the deranged BT-16 droids used by the B’omarr. A swarm of the ‘zombie’ droids attacked in a rush. The fight was harsh, but quick thinking and skill won the battle.
From there, the heroes pressed on, deeper into the catacombs after the answers.
After scrutiny, they discover why the B’omarr are so interested in the lost meditation chamber. It is the resting place of an ancient device created by the ruin builders. This device, once unlocked, can open one of the lost Infinity Gates. But unlike a full Infinity Gate, this one only grants access to the mysterious Atheneum; a lost library floating in hyperspace.
The danger is obvious. If the B’omarr gets access to the Atheneum, knowledge from thousands of cultures across a million years would be open to them. Knowledge the B’omarr could use to their own devious ends.
By skill, and a little luck, the heroes defeated the Concord and freed the B’omarr monks they know about from their Dark Side mind control. In the process they uncover the location of the second of Jedi Master Shal Artak’s relics: the second lens. But with it they also uncover another page of the evil Tenocron Codex.
Two of the heroes acted quickly, trying to destroy the page before it could do more damage. But the dark energies in the page fought back. Now two of the heroes are entombed in Sith Devastator Armor. Armor that traditionally has no way out.
Exhausted, weary, resources running low, the heroes need to find a way to contain the dangerous Codex page, recover the Jedi Master’s Lens, and free their companions while not losing sight of their hunt for Almon D’Joy.
This brings more questions than answers…
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