B21. Dark Deceit - Aurek

Characters Present

• Tia O'Mandalorio (Laurie M.)
• Arza Gonsu (Chris H.)
• Zechs Mallo (Jodi)
• T-3P0 (Scott R.)

The Vigil Agent, Lee Rambaud, asks Tia O'Mandalorio to meet at the newly reactivated Vigil bunker (153) on the outskirts of the Hub. She informs her that there are developments concerning the data she and others found at the Pentastar base during the Battle of the Hub.

Tia takes advantage of the BX team's transport to bring T-3P0, Zechs, and Arza to the bunker. There, the Agent briefs them on her triangulation of both the Pentastar Comm Relay that was being used during the battle (deep within Pentastar space in the Raioballo Sector) and an uncharted system beyond Pentastar territory.

It is this system that is the greater concern. Although a clear stellar phenomena, it does not appear on BoSS (Bureau of Ships and Services), New Republic, or First Order star charts. What concerns the Agent, however, is that it doesn't appear on the Vigil's either. Given that they have spent almost a thousand years mapping that specific quadrant of space leading to the breach in the Hyperspace barrier at the edge of the Galaxy, it definitely qualifies as something they should have seen.

The star in the system itself, on radio-telescopes, is not readily identifable via spectrum or transmission frequencies. It is a luminous object that does not properly classify as a star. The Agent asks that they investigate both these leads, which she conducts her own investigation into how this information can be missing from the Vigil's records.

Zechs offers up the "Bewilder" to take them out to the mystery system. After some horrendous hyperspace jumps, one of which leaves the ship on emergency power, Zechs makes up for lost time and gets them there safely.

The system is the scene of ancredibly violent planetary disintegration, or maybe even formation. The system has no large bodies other than the Primary, rahter it is a vast accretion disk of proto-planets, remains of planets, asteroids, and particles strewn across three or four AU of a field. At its hear is a star-like anomalky that sensors cannot make out properly and cannot estimate its magnitude, stellar mass, or even chromatic makeup. Arza and Zechs inform the others that the light itself is incredibly polarizing to them, as they see nearly-subliminal reflections of it in the Force. Its instability bordering on the maddening.

They start scanning the system and moving slowly through the often dangerous debris field. Closing on the star, T-3P0 calls for a halt to the ship as his study of the sensors reveals that there is a station in the distance, but more importantly, that the ship is in the midst of a drone minefield.

After realizing that the drones are not a network, but individual droids, the team opts to slow the ship's approach to evade detection. They almost make it to the station without incident, but at the last moment get too close to one of the droids. It seeks the ship and forces Zechs to use the hull of the space station as a lure. The drone explodes against the hull, ionizing the controls of the ship, and probably alerting the inhabitants to their arrival.

T-3P0 goes out EVA to examine the damage and see if there are nearby access points into the ship that won't compromise their hiding space. He identifies the station as a variant of the Golan I platforms built by the empire. This particular station is designed as a steallar observatory, with a large central lab and sensor cluster facing the star. Though this one has significant modifications, mostly around isolating the central lab as a potential lifeboat in the even of a station-wide disaster.

Using his knowledge of the design, the team sneaks aboard in the maintenance sections. Once in the crawlspaces of the station, they set about identifying what they can of the place and its crew. T-3P0 hacks a listening device onto the systems network and discovers that while not clearly Pentastar, they are using Imperial ranks and communications protocols. It is also clear that they are talking to a Star Destroyer, the "Allegience" which is en route to the system in response to the intrusion.

Knowing that this puts a clock to their activities, the team decides to shortcut some of their plans and head straight for the lab complex. Going EVA again, they make their way to an access port near the Lab. From there, Tia emerges from the maintenance section while the others hide ina nearby conference room. Impersonating as an Imperial Officer in Pentastar uniform, she orders a senior technician to accompany her into the waiting hands of her allies.

They interrogate the technician who, after coercion, reveals that most of what is done in the lab is overseen by force users, specifically a frightening woman by the name of Telanna. Most of the support team is on hand merely to keep the technology in working condition. He reveals that whatever devices they built in there required surgery on people who are still stored in cryo in the facility, and that the devices were already deployed to their target destination.

The technician hands over his access key and cypher to the facility. He also reveals that the leadership that Telanna reports to wears masks to conceal their identities. He mentions that they call themselves not "The Faceless Ones" but rather "The Peace Brigade." He also claims not to know Dr. Vendredi.

They incapacitate the technician and tie him up in the conference room. The team then makes their way into the lab facility, which is unoccupied. The lab itself is distracting and painful to experience for the Force Users. The Sensor Cluster seems to focus the light of the "star" directly through the massive transparisteel window of the lab. The station is perfectly aligned to the anomaly. It is not truly a star, the Force users can sense that clearly enough, and see after images of things that are not really there whenever they catch the anomaly in their peripheral vision. Instead they alternately see a planet, or also a vast rhomboid space station.

In the lab are a number of arcane and ancient artifacts, arranged in a circle of large and small pedestals. Several of the pedestals appear to be missing from the formation. Near those missing pedestals, four cryo chambers stand, occupied. The occupants masked from view under coating of heavy frost. Surgical tables and instruments abound, mixed with ancient tools, persumable to work on the pedestals themselves. A central computer station appears to be integrated to the cryo chambers and the assembly stations.

The team sets out examining the computers for evidence and manage to data-spike their way past the system security. T-3P0 uncovers plans for the devices that were made, which appear to be attuned Force objects to be smuggled into a city that he does not recognize. However, they are not bombs. He reviews the device schematics and is confident he can remove the active cores from the remaining two devices in the room for study. Zechs assists.

Arza and Tia use the technician's access cypher to download the logs from the cryo chambers. The four occupants are all identified as human females, each log lists surgeries to remove brain, brain stem, and heart, which are then incorporated into the Force devices. As the two uncover more details around when the occupants were originally captured and placed in stasis, it becomes clear that all four were taken on the same day, nearly fifteen years ago. The surface logs are incomplete, and appear to be translations from older logs in a differnt language. When those original logs are recovered, the notes appear to be Kaminoan in origin and denote that the four occupants are clones identified as Isk.36.Zed.18, 20, 24, and 29. They are clones comprised of 1-2% DNA of two other donors combined with the Human clone "blank".

These records bring them back to the central computer, which reveals some details around the source for the donor material, identified as "Recovered from public appearances" in one case, and showing a picture of an object - an orante and incredibly valuable jewelry box - in the other.

As the team is finishing their work, they are interrupted by a Force user on the balcony of the lab. Challenging them as intruders, she leaps to the attack, yellow lightsaber in hand. The battle is challenging as the Force user is talented and difficult to engage. She nearly overpowers Zechs, and after retreating to the balcony, hurls one of the cryo chambers using the Force and nearly destroys T-3P0. But the force user overcommits using her powers and succumbs to a straining tirade from Tia, whose venom is startlingly vicious.

As the enemy succumbs, she laughs "You will all die not ever having understood." She then appears to become one with the Force, leaving behind nothing but her robes.

The team pulls T-3P0 from the ruin of the cryo chamber and for the first time the others recognize the deceased occupant as the very Agent that briefed them not a day prior, identical save for the shaved head and surgical scars.

T-3P0 sets off a baradium charge he left in the maintenance sections many decks below. This covers the team's retreat as they take the bodies and make their way back to the ship. Zechs hastily plots an exit course and evades the system just as the Star Destroyer arrives.

When they land back on Nigita, the Agent has still not returned. They bring their findings to the only fully trained Jedi they know, Master Tarif. After listening to their tale and looking at the devices they brought back, he believes them to be similar to the holocrons used in the Jedi Trials, those that once contained Temple Guardians. Caught in a moment of time, these guardians would remain in an echo of the force to provide a challenge to those undergoing the trials. It was an honor to teach future generations in this way.

He theorizes that these devices are similar, that they would take thes attuned Force users and place them in a temporal stasis. This is clearly not the answer the team was looking for and press him to explain how they could be weaponized. Master Tarif doesn't know how they could be weapons, as they would only affect the person they were attuned to. When presented witht he fact that all four were clones of at least one other person, he entertains the possibility that in the Force, they might be considered one being. But he notes that it should not be possible to clone a Force user. The Kaminoans were never successful during the Clone Wars, and even reports of Palpatine's Sith clones remarked on the horrifying instability of his physical form. Such clones should not be possible.

Tia and T-3P0 as the Vigil Droid, BX-917, about the map they recovered. He identifies it as Kitoren Arcology, the Capital city of the Adasta System, the Vigil Homeworld.

Adventure Capsule

Game Date: 27.Grek.35 ABY
Date: 9/3/2000
XP Earned: 10xp
Credits Earned: 1000cr
Gamemaster: Bill M.

Duty Rewards (Choose)

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

Casualties & Injuries

• None Reported.

Notes

• None.

Episode B21

DARK DECEIT

Path Aurek

As the fallout from Pentastar's plot continue to be revealed, the first hints about their allies, THE FACELESS ONES, comes to light on Nigita.

The Agent reveals some of her closely held cards and offers the Nigita Vanguard the opportunity they asked for, that of pursuing Pentastar to the source.

But will their attempt to hunt the villains lead them to an inescapable trap?