B16. Shelter

Characters Present

• Sabbath Rune (Jack L.)
• Tia O'Mandalorio (Laurie M.)
• Fausto (Roger P.)
• T-3P0 (Scott R.)
• Theta (Tony N.)

A cryptic message intercepted by Tia's contact network is deciphered as a call to come to the planet Ossus from JK, of the Vigil. Out of contact since before teh events on Yavin IV, this call can only be about dealing with the force being haunting Sabbath since his Return from the Battle of Veragi.

With a group of trusted friends, they pilot Fausto's cranky starship R3X into the dangerous region of space known as the Cron Drift. They arrive in the desolate Ossus system, and for some, it is the first time they are confronted by the storm ravaged desolate world.

Landing in the storms proves more trouble than though as an overwhelming lightning strike disables R3X and it plummets out of the sky. It takes everything the team has to bring the ship down in one piece. Once grounded, T-3P0 makes some hasty repairs to bring R3X back online. The team sets off down the ravine to the old temple Sabbath and Tia once visited.

At the Temple, the Vigil Pilot, JK, greets them and shows them the preparations she's taken by "Silencing the Nexus." Within the ruined temple, they find a network of crystal emitters placed to "Cancel out the resonance of the Force Vergence." JK has them set up the Prison Obelisk Sabbath retrieved from Lehon.

Tia takes Sabbath aside to give him a pep talk before his challenge while JK finishes charging the system. Sabbath returns and JK instructs him on attuning to the prison. He does, and once she confirms he is no longer aware of the present, she confesses that this procedure is far more dangerous than she let on "For his sake, he wouldn't risk you guys otherwise."

The prison is a matter to energy converter, trapping occupants in an extradimensional space, in stasis. She explains that once she goes in, the Nexus will start to react badly to the work being done. She shows T-3P0 how to recalibrate the emitters she's placed, and keeping them in balance is crucial. She tells the rest that all sorts of creatures that have bathed in the power of the nexus will emerge once it is threatened.

She warns that if Sabbath and her physical bodies are lost, there might be no way to return. She also warns that if things go badly within, that she won't have time to warn them before triggering the prison's failsafe, which will convert all matter within short range into energy, trapping it and any living beings (or droids) in range, forever.

She starts the process, attuning herself to the prison. Almost at once the Nexus strains against the emitters, and calls out to nearby creatures it has warped over generations. Swarms of feral and mutated Geonosians emerge from their hive and try to overwhelm the defenders. Between volleys of fire from Theta's guns, the unnatural storm in the ravine, and explosives from T-3P0, including a rigged speeder, the insectoids are halted.

Something changes inside the Prison, and with it, the emitters are temporarily overwhelmed. T-3P0 scrambles to rebalance them while Tia and Fausto check on their friends in fugue. They discover both suffering numerous strain wounds, bleeding from the ears and nose from internal injuries. They stimpack the pair, then turn to a new sound as creatures erupt from the dirt covering the temple floor.

Dead Jedi and troopers from both sides of an ancient war rise, undead, and attack. Unlike the warped insects, these do not easily fall, shrugging off even the worst blows. The fight is intense, with some of the creatures needing to be struck down numerous times before being finally destroyed.

Then as suddenly as it started, the nexus quiets. Sabbath and JK emerge, exhausted, from their trances. JK confirms victory by testing the prison and signalling it is occupied. Sabbath recounts a tale of harrowing traversal of locations from the Haunt's past, forcing her to submit to her lifetime of betrayals, all while dueling with her in the Force. He explains that he tried to make her accept forgiveness, but she only spit it back in his face as ignorance.

He cautions that while she was indeed insane, she warned that "Death will not be deterred for so long. She is coming to consume you. She who forever smiles."

JK reveals that she, and the entire Vigil, have been ordered to stay clear of Nigita. But she'll work with Tia to create a back channel so they can reach out to her and Doc. When asked why they left, she explains "They told me the risk of open war with the forces converging on Nigita, between Pentastar, the Zygs, and everyone else, the risk to our operation was too high. We've got one war we're fighting, we don't need other fronts."

When asked what about the risk of the three Vanguard and their susceptibilty to the Dark Side, she says "We'll know if it happens, and they'll send hunters. It just won't be me. I'm done putting my own kind down. I just fly ships."

She leaves with the prison, promising to put it where no one is going to find it any centurey soon. The team returns to Nigita, hopefully a little lighter as Sabbath no longer risks his very existence to the Dark Side.

Adventure Capsule

Game Date: 25.Forn.35 ABY
Date: 7/23/2020
XP Earned: 10xp
Credits Earned: 0cr
Gamemaster: Bill M.

Duty Rewards (Choose)

• Harmonium: --
• Independents: --
• Republic Remnant: 20
• Scum & Villainy: --

Casualties & Injuries

• None Reported.

Notes

• But hey, at least Sabbath is phantom free, that's rewarding, right?

Episode B16

SHELTER

A transmission encoded as small talk leads back to the blasted world of OSSUS in the Cron Drift.

Could it be that the answer to the dark forces swirling around the heroes of Nigita trace back to the site of their worst fears?

Or will the horror's end mean their own as well?