The Zorphax droids have retreated. During the battle, the heroes learn that this was the only ship out of Port Nevermore the droids hunted down. Now, with the Dread League’s assault droids gone, the refugees in the ruins below the desert are safe.
But the threat is not over. The Ragnar Syndicate believes the Zorphax droids were sent after a device brought into town by a local prospector. A small crystal orb attached to a data reader. An ancient relic associated with the long-lost Choni Techaugers. If the pirates were after the relic, they will try for it again.
Elsewhere, in a distance section of Chalcedon, the evil Almon D’joy continues his obsessed quest. In the silence of an ancient ruin, desperate to crack the encryption on what may be a Sith tomb, he activates a decryption algorithm using the planetary holonet. The system collapses, the Chalcedon holonet goes dark, and the ancient crystal glows...
Components
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:
The kidnapping of the famous Jem Vandos, known as “The Gamesman”, to gain access to his wealth and fleet of ships.
Almon D’Joy’s obsession with something to do with Chalcedon. An obsession that reeks of the Dark Side and suggests it may result in something dire. An outcome that could harm countless lives.
Warlords and pirate clans on Chalcedon have taken the sudden outbreak of fighting to pursue their own interests. Now, collected under the black flag of the Dread League, they fight to crush the Freedworlds to return the planet to the Hutt Council.
They have just returned from a mission to raid a pirate outpost in the Hardridge Bulwark ruins. There, they sabotaged the pirates and their plans to combine Dark Trooper attack droids with Imperial AT-ST assault vehicles, called Death Troopers. In addition, they rescued the missing Captain Ivan Vorpatril, secret paramor of the crown princess of the Tapani Sector, and negotiated peace with the Death Troopers. Part of that peace was to introduce the assault droids to Sabine Tri'elle, queen in exile of the ShalentAw'akeen, a silcon/synthetic species.
After that? They were able to relax and recover. As much as possible since they are on a planet in the middle of a war for independence.
But ten days later…
Distress calls and alarms sounded. Port Nevermore was attacked in an early morning assault and destroyed. Survivors were driven north into the desert, running from the Dread League's latest nightmare, cybernetic insectoid shock troops called the Zorphax. Blurry holovid from the assault showed images of blue scaled creatures that looked to be an unearthly combination of Cathar-sized blue-scaled stick bugs and Geonotian assault droids.
Freedworlds forces are on high alert. Plans are put into motion to counter this new menace, even to the point of an orbital assault on one of the main Dread League bases on Chalcedon.
But there are questions that still remain…
Where is Almon D’Joy?
The pirates of Chalcedon seem hell bent for leather to develop and use Dark Troopers. How does this fit into Almond D'Joy's plans of locating Sith technology?
The Tenocron Codex. Does Almond D'joy have more of it? Has he used it again? Why does he keep giving away pages of the evil book?
Where is the rest of Jedi Master Shal Artak’s journal that may contain the very thing the heroes need to stop Almon D’Joy, and his evil employer, once and for all.
Who, or what, are these 'Zorphax'? Is this another ill-conceived superweapon? Or have the pirates been fooled into creating a technological terror they cannot control?
Kal Holst ( field technician and slicer ), former Bloodsmith Raider. His anger and rage over his past lead him to the Bloodsmith Raiders. However, Jedi Knight VN Ysadora showed him there was another way. Now with silicon antibodies from Sabine Tri'elle freeing him from Almon D'Joy's influence, the young man has made his choice: to work with the heroes and the Aw'akeen exiled leader to stop the Slave Lords and the Eborrean threat.
ChancellorNalerine Kanter. A female Human outlaw mechanic who kept herself to a cautiously confined life as a starship repair facilitator until she met the passengers of the Kylo's Star.
Doc. A male Clone Trooper of the now infamous 257th Clone Detachment that survived over 30 years in stasis. Doc loves it when any complicated system works at peak efficiency, whether that is heavy power armor or a person's biology or a government system. He is easy to pigeonhole as "the soldier who deals with medical stuff" but believe that he studies, analyzes, and judges the crosscurrents of power dynamics in the social situation around him. What will he do with his conclusions? That's on a need-to-know basis, and frankly, Doc is the only one who gets to see that particular list!
Goss. A male Clone Trooper of the now infamous 257th Clone Detachment that survived over 30 years in stasis. Goss would feel better about this planet if he were in heavy armor. He wants to poke around at one of those "Variwalkers" from the inside as soon as Salbur and Kal Holst confirm that the things will neither fold nor spindle a near-human in the pilot seat.
Hicks. A male Clone Trooper of the now infamous 257th Clone Detachment that survived over 30 years in stasis. Hicks tried to take a vacation, but fell into his lifelong habit of recognizing danger to civilians and then taking firm action in regard to it.
Jenkins. A male Clone Trooper of the now infamous 257th Clone Detachment that survived over 30 years in stasis. Jenkins is the highest-regarded expert among the Beskar Aran at communications, encryption or decryption, and tactical organization. He was the leading officer of the original squad sent to Chalcedon with orders to find out what had gone wrong in this distant region -- orders he received and obeyed before his Commander-in-Chief had any reports that the Beskar Aran might be needed. Since Jenkins still prefers to operate away from the spotlight, he was glad to have Bureau of Ships and Services representatives arrive in-system along with CaptainRico and CorporalGoss.
Rico. A male Clone Trooper of the now infamous 257th Clone Detachment that survived over 30 years in stasis. Rico likes to get his information directly from a trained observer when he can. He is polite to everyone around him, even when administering a dressing-down. The sheer indisputable fact of his presence on Chalcedon means that managing the chaos on Chalcedon was assigned to the Beskar Aran by EmperorGregor Vortapani in a personal, private, closely held conversation.
Sir Saphor Kronn. A male Knight Errant of the Crimson Knights order. Perhaps he survived the recent wave of assassinations because he was cargo in a Nightsister slave ship?
Talow Kit'Sedda. A male elderly Aildae who is likely to be the last surviving member of his reclusive Force Order. He spent a long time in hiding, living as a hermit in a subterranean region of the dark planet Nar Shaddaa. Within the past two weeks, he has seen stars and sunlight in greater quantities than even most surface-dwellers of Nar Shaddaa experience in a year.
Kerplocken's Brigade. A feudal militaristic society of Chalcedonian residents, mostly noghri, who saw in Space Pirate Vance Kerplocken the messianic cause that elevated them from "mostly desert raiders" to a noble force.
The Ragnar Syndicate. A pirate clan with a regional headquarters in Port Nevermore. Thus far they have mostly gotten along with the Explorers, trading assistance back and forth on various problems.
Captain Jerrod Quantas. A male Human originally from the Tapani Sector. Captain of the Razorback. He was originally hired to steal any information the Explorers had already gathered. He wound up allied with them, even escorting the Kylo's Star from Thyferra to a safe landing at Port Nevermore on Chalcedon.
Quanor Al Fayed. A male senior pilot and pirate. He is the second in command at Port Nevermore.
Felnir Jax. A resident of Port Nevermore with more energy at his disposal than any three of his seniors. He is one of the youngest full-fledged bounty hunters in Ragnar Syndicate.
Erenn Baize. Leader of the Baize pirate clan and self-appointed defender of the northern expanse of Chalcedon's Strosis Continent. Despite an initial bad impression, the pirate willing to take up the alliance with the Freedworlds Republic to root out the rampant corruption in the region.
Jula Brisina. Palatine of the Sisters of Battle mission to bodyguard and escort the Galactic Star Empire’s royal consort, Yeager Lexis while on Chalcedon. Taking two of her Battle-Sisters, they are investigating the potential of a B’omarr monk infestation under the Styidear estate.
Derma the Hutt. He thought he would contract the passengers of the Kylo's Star to transport him, his household, and his beloved orchids away from his sister Rogga the Hutt's ever-constricting prison. Suddenly he is a critical leader in Chancellor Kanter's government of the Freedworlds Republic -- how did that sneak up on him?
Neutrals/Bystanders
Mistress Belshanna. A female Rancor, elderly, grandmotherly, and a Bendu priestess.
Dr. Bengala. A male Devaronian staff member at Port Nevermore Hospital. If he can profit from events around the Explorers, he probably will.
Gelvin. Chief of staff at The WAVE Pirate Radio in Port Nevermore. If he can create exciting news broadcasts out of events around the Explorers, he certainly will!
Salbur. A male Noxarin in the Eborrean starfighter forces. Freshly cleared of a puppetmaster parasite, incredibly confused about the Galaxy around him and the course of events that led him up to a meeting with the Kylo's Star. Has his people's entire history been a ruse? Are these strange short-faced aliens to be trusted, and to what extent?
The Mand’alorAsajj Ventress. A female Dathomirian warrior who earned her place in Mando'a culture. She became a spouse and mother. Enemies of the previous Mand'alor killed him in a critical battle near the end of the Tapani Civil war. Lady Ventress hunted the authors of that attack down and dispensed with them personally. She thus won ultimate authority in her adopted warrior society as the current Mand'alor. In her position of strength she can occasionally afford to be kind -- but in all considerations, she will put the needs of her people first.
The Armorer, Anatoli Cuylin. A male Mando'a probable human who lives by the stricter version of the cultural armor code. While he traveled aboard the Kylo's Star he was absolutely an Ally of his fellow passengers, even while he was careful to study them for strengths and weaknesses. He may have picked up on the similarity of family names in regard to warrior pilot Aerena Kolene. He certainly developed a friendship with Hicks. Now that Jedi KnightSo'Zen Al Saba has completed the formal introduction to The Mand’alor, The Armorer's priorities will align with his own culture's current needs.
Zaye Grakkus Kerplocken. A female noghri whose husband died in defense of Vance Kerplocken. By her people's custom, that sacrifice immediately made her bond-wife of Vance Kerplocken himself, as her children become his heirs and dependents. Lady Zaye is calm; reserved; formal; and deadly, She could be a great ally of Lord Danar Vorpaderan, if such an individual ever trusted her enough to create a true friendship. But why is she a relatively impoverished Chalcedonian at the mercy of the bondwife custom when her adopted father is the great Grakkus the Hutt of the Ponua Kajidic?
Arthal Kale. Former Jedi hunter for the Galactic Empire's Inquistorium during the Galactic Civil War. Now a bounty hunter willing to work with the heroes against the rising pirate threat.
Heth G'vanek. Master practitioner of the ancient arts of Zama-shiwo. For reasons unknown he was willing to work with the heroes and travel with them at least to Port Etmar. Perhaps farther.
Zam Ello. Former member of Clan Tilles. Now working as a retainer for Sir Davish Tam and Jedi Knight Vanya Ysadora
Kunla, the Wookiee. Former pit fighter named 'Iron Kunla' now retired and running an inn at Chausid Station.
Void Wolves Pirate Clan. A rival of Clan Killian and allies to the citizens of Chausid Station. They act as the station's defenders and peacekeepers, working with the locals.
Competitors
Caressa Drakon. A female Human (probably!) disciple of a Dark Side philosophy. She is in favor of using cybernetic implants to control megafauna. She has a special rage regarding elderly Jedi MasterObi-Wan Kenobi. She is not particularly insightful!
Ferrinthe Collector and his employee Illiana Turosin seek artifacts from the Church of the Force. Ferrin described "Immortal Emperor Sargon" as a direct enemy of both Ferrin the Collector and the Explorers. Contrary to Ferrin's words, however, his actions hint that he may not see the enemies of Sargon as the allies of the Collector.
The Spartan Imperium has its own ideas on what is moral, what is true, and what is urgent. Some of those ideas may be compatible with the Alliance of Worlds' plans. Others may not be!
Adversaries
Bloodsmith Raiders. One of the most fanatical pirate organizations in the galaxy that are obsessed with wiping out the coming threat of an Eborrean from Wild Space. They will use any means, any method necessary to accomplish this goal. No matter how high, or lethal, the cost.
Almon D'Joy, rogue Mentat and Dark Side practitioner. A brilliant, mad, genius who sought to overthrow the Tapani Imperium for his own gains. Now he has new, mysterious plans in motion that could cost billions of lives, all for his own personal gain.
Piotr Sparaval, a male human who works with Almon D'Joy for his own plans. The smuggler-pirate maintains his own batch of cybernetically linked clones, effectively making him both near-immortal and an 'army of one'. He bears a grudge against the heroes that they have yet to understand.
Elvera Hayley. Member of the Tilles Pirate clan and rumored former member of the nefarious Crimson Dawn crime syndicate. Humiliated by the heroes, she is looking for payback.
Crimson Nova. A pirate clan that operates on a rule of "Might Makes Right". They profit from smuggling, looting, slavery, gambling, and bounty hunting. Some of them specialize as "Jedi Hunters". Until recently, they had a fine guildhouse in Port Nevermore with close proximity to a small fighting pit and planetary tunnel connections to Undercity.
Aurra Sing led the three pirate team to steal the Kylo's Star from a parking apron on Nar Shaddaa, search and disable the ship, and recover their missing credits -- stolen from the Crimson Nova's own bank in Port Nevermore a month ago.
Madalitso Cardea, a male human working for the Crimson Nova bounty hunter guild. The heroes raided the Crimson Nova and ruined their contracts with the Slave Lords. The guild now wants their blood as repayment. Madalitso looks to take on that bounty.
Nassha Tomesta, bounty hunter working for Almon D'Joy. What is her stake in all this? Is it only credits?
Tilles pirate clan, a local pirate clan on Chalcedon that may have connections that run deep, such as with Black Sun, Grakkus the Hutt, or worse.
Killian pirate clan, a local pirate clan on Chalcedon and close allies with Clan Tilles.
Hutt "Slave Lords", a syndicate of Hutt Kajidics that are the main foundation of slavery in many parts of the galaxy ... who are in league with an Eborrean invasion force!
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