Chapter 11: Ascendancy in Turmoil

Star Wars: Revised System
Table of Contents Character Creation Classes Attributes Abilities Backgrounds Feats Virtues & Vices Experience Game Mechanics Species List Force Powers Combat Starship Combat Equipment Starships Compendium
Stories
Prelude 1: A Treaty on the Brink 2: Amity in Peril 3: Fish in a Barrel 4: Measured Success 5: Empire of the Hand 6: Icy Reception 7: Galactic Chess 8: Heart of the Ascendancy 9: A Familiar Foe 10: Csaplarian Streets 11: Ascendancy in Turmoil
Characters
Akea Oahu - CS Allanar Onsai - CS Renora Cordalis - CS Greer Lachlan - CS Brance Maddox - CS

11 Elona, 25 ABY - House Palace, Csaplar, Csilla, Unknown Regions

Akea guided the larger falling boulders toward the skywalk, particularly targeting a section of the bridge just north of the midsection that was warped from the force scream. The bridge was visibly weakened from the force scream, or else the durasteel could have easily handled thousands of pounds of falling rock. The steel fractured at the point of impact, about 10 feet in front of Darth Krayt as he moved toward Akea. Krayt disappeared from view as the bridge fell, the steel at the far end of the bridge bending under the weight of the center pavillion.

• Darth Krayt Dexterity + Athletics to maintain balance - failed

Krayt lost his footing on the smooth durasteel surface as the bridge bent downward. He slid off the edge and began free-falling. However, Akea did not have even the luxury of catching his breath. He looked skyward toward the three military transports with their laser turrets trained on his position. He sensed they were about to fire, and that remaining on the bridge was probably ill-advised. His Jedi instincts gave time to react.

((The transports would have decided to join battle on Tick 25 after Krayt was taken out, but due to their poor join battle roll I added 6 ticks, taking it to 31. Akea acts on 30, and has move actions from 25-30 he could use as well.))

Allanar got to the edge of the roof and surveyed the situation, Krayt was nowhere to be seen, the bridge was severed with the longer section bent at a 45 degree angle downward under its own weight. The transports had their cannons trained on Akea.

Battle Sequence

1. Hett activates Force Rage
2. Chiss delays action
6. Hett takes 2 swipes, Akea parrys and activates Enhance Attribute
10. Hett takes 1 swipe, Akea parrys
12. Akea swings, Hett parries
14. Hett uses Force Scream, Akea is knocked down
16. Akea rises from being prone
20. Hett uses Telekinesis to throw a boulder, misses
21. Akea Guards, retreats to north building
24. Akea brings boulders down on the bridge, severing it and causing Krayt to lose his balance and fall
30. Akea and Allanar act; Allanar arrives at roof's edge and surveying the situation
31. Transports are likely to fire on Akea

Kirkland 20:27, 27 September 2010 (EDT)

---

Akea had bought himself time, but he knew they were on the losing end of the battle at this point. Two Jedi weren't simply weren't equipped to counter an insurrection head-on, if nothing else, because they couldn't be everywhere at once. Noticing the transports, the Dur Sabon Jedi Master quickly began moving towards the building closest to him, hoping to move to cover. He kept his lightsaber activated and poised defensively as he moved, in the event the ships opened fire earlier than he suspected. As he strode, he switched his comlink to an encrypted frequency matched to Allanar's, and spoke into it.

"Allanar, I have failed us. This goes far deeper than I ever suspected. The man on the bridge with me is named A'Sharad Hett, a former Jedi. I will tell you of him when we reach safety. Hett is out of the picture for now, but we have not seen the last of him. There is little we can do now to stop an overthrow of the capital, but I believe Foreign Minister Binkata may be a valuable ally and source of information. We should evacuate him with us, if possible. What is your status?"

Dan 13:51, 3 October 2010 (EDT)

---

Allanar crossed the roof of the north building as quickly as he could, he was in full sprint towards the bridge where the duel was taking place when he heard his comlink chirp to life just before making a leap off the roof. Allanar came to a sudden halt, skidding to the very edge of the roof and crouching down while hoping to avoid any notice. Allanar peeked over the edge of the roof down at Akea crossing the bridge, he noticed that the transports were preparing to open fire on the bridge below.

"Master, I have arrived at the roof's edge of the north building overlooking the bridge you are currently on. The transports look prepared to fire on you, Renora is piloting a metrocab and is hidden on the east side of the buildings below us. If you leap from the bridge, she should be able to catch you, you can reach her through her comlink." Allanar spoke quickly as his military instincts took over and he surveyed the scene for a short moment.

"If you tell me where Binkata is I can retrieve him and you can pick us up with Renora, hopefully the troops will be distracted enough otherwise to give me some room to maneuver."

Allanar took a deep breath and started to move back from the roof's edge, giving himself enough room to make a running leap down to the bridge below. He hoped to cross the distance to the south building as quickly as possible.

--FyreFly 18:00, 3 October 2010 (EDT)

---

Laser fire erupted from the transports targeting the remaining section of the bridge Akea stood on. Anticipating the attack, he slithered back toward the north building. As the bridge dropped, he leapt into the north building through a window that had already been broken from earlier events.

The layout of the room Akea entered was exactly the same as the building on the opposite end. The floor seemed vacant; the only sound was the echos of the evacuation alarm.

• Akea Dex + Athletics - 7, 8, 9, 3, 2, 3 - 3 successes
• Akea Wits + Awareness - 9, 10, 10, 9, 9, 5 - 7 successes

The shuttles held their fire after Akea disappeared into the building. Akea took a quick peek out the window to look down below. Many of the bridges below had collapsed after the top bridge and the boulders came crashing down. But more importantly, Akea caught a glimpse of Darth Krayt as he re-entered the south building, about 30 stories below.

• Renora Wits + Awareness - 7, 4, 4, 3, 3 - 1 success

Renora's voice came over the comm. "I'm near the ground level on the east side of the buildings. It's chaotic down here..." she said, watching streams of Chiss evacuate the building in a panic.

Allanar leapt from the north building's roof, augmenting his strength with the force to increasing his leaping distance. He flew impressively across the gap, catching the attention of the transports.

• Allanar Force Jump - Control + Enhancement - 10, 10, 4, 2, 6, 4, (wild die reroll: 5) - 4 successes

((I put a discussion on Force Jump up in Talk:Star Wars: Force Powers, but for the purposes of this scene, with a good Force Jump roll, Allanar makes this jump.))

In what other observers saw as just a blur, Allanar covered the 45 yard gap between the top of the north building and the bridge, bent down at a 45 degree angle. He landed perfectly and used the side railing to prevent himself from sliding off the bridge. Using the rail as leverage, he began pulling himself up toward the south building's entrance.

• Transports laser fire - 5 shots all <= 5 successes - miss

The transports rained a volley of fire down at Allanar as he climbed, but Allanar's impressive agility allowed him to dodge the laser fire. The bridge, fortunately, held, and he completed his climb to the top.

At the site of the initial airspeeder collission with the building, several special operations forces had already descended from their transports and entered the building. Their drop cords were visibly hanging from the transports, presumably awaiting their return.

Battle Sequence

1. Hett activates Force Rage
2. Chiss delays action
6. Hett takes 2 swipes, Akea parrys and activates Enhance Attribute
10. Hett takes 1 swipe, Akea parrys
12. Akea swings, Hett parries
14. Hett uses Force Scream, Akea is knocked down
16. Akea rises from being prone
20. Hett uses Telekinesis to throw a boulder, misses
21. Akea Guards, retreats to north building
24. Akea brings boulders down on the bridge, severing it and causing Krayt to lose his balance and fall
30. Akea dashes to north building, Allanar jumps to south section of bridge
31. Transports knock out the north section of the bridge
33. Akea Acts
35. Allanar climbs toward the south building's entrance
37. Transports fire at Allanar, miss
40. Allanar Acts
43. Transports act

((I realize a lot happened in this post and Akea fell a bit behind in the tick count... IM me if you have any questions on how to proceed.))

Kirkland 18:28, 6 October 2010 (EDT)

---

Akea eyed the opening from which he'd entered the building, gazing down to the sprawling urban maw yawning beneath him, unhindered with the remainder of the bridge destroyed by transport fire. After a quick glance behind himself, he spoke into his comlink, this time adjusting the dial to match Renora's frequency.

"Renora, we need to make a hasty retreat. It is my understanding that you have procured an airspeeder. Although I could navigate my way to the roof of this building, I feel it would further endanger all three of us for me to do so, should we attempt to escape as a unit. Instead, I would propose, if possible, that you direct your speeder toward the eastern of the two largest government buildings connected by sky bridges and proceed to the level fired upon by the invading transports just prior to this transmission. At that point, watch for a falling, elongated figure... "

Akea looked over his shoulder again, still planning alternate escape routes in the event Renora was pinned down. He braced himself with one hand and leaned slightly out of the window, gauging the distance of the drop. He hoped Renora was a good pilot. A bit of his underlying, crass wit slipped into the end of his transmission.

"... That will be me. Is this maneuver feasible for you?"

Dan 03:14, 13 October 2010 (EDT)

---

Allanar quickly ascended up into the south building where the conflict had started, he was hoping the troops would be slow enough to react that he could quickly rescue Binkata and escape before coming into direct conflict with them. He doubted he would be so lucky. Once he finished his climb he quickly entered the building to escape from the range and vision of the transports to prevent being the target of any further artillery fire. As he slipped inside the door he quickly surveyed the scene at hand as he drew his lightsaber slowly from under his jacket. The area was filled with thick smoke from the crash and it made searching for Binkata or his enemies rather difficult.

For the moment his lightsaber remained deactivated as he took his time absorbing the details amid the chaos of the scene, he focused his mind towards the smoke obscured area in search for Binkata or any other notable presences hidden there.

Sense + Divination: 3 + 2 = 5; 2, 7, 1, 2, 7 = 2 successes.

Allanar turned his focus into the smoke, standing just outside of the thickest cloud he activated his lightsaber, holding it in a defensive position to be prepared for an attack from within the smoke. His combat instincts were too strong to rush into the blind scenario, his Jedi training told him to be patient, the Force would present an answer to his dilemma. Allanar closed his free hand into a fist before violently punching it forward and opening his palm into the cloud of smoke as he used the force to sweep the smoke clear from the hall so he could more efficiently search.

Alter + Telekinesis: 3 + 2 = 5; 7, 8, 1, 8, 5 = 3 successes.

--FyreFly 21:16, 13 October 2010 (EDT)

---

The invisible hand of the Force burst through the thick smoke blocking Allanar's vision. He already knew, through the Force, how many beings lay behind the smoke's veil. Six special forces operatives, in full suits of armor and protective masks, turned their attention to Allanar once the smoke cleared. Three trained their blasters on him, the other three trained their blasters on the three Chiss hostages (two male, one female) they were holding. It was clear to Allanar that more had probably already been loaded onto the transports. The identity of Binkata at this point was irrelevant, in his eyes all of these individuals were victims worth saving.

Just as the smoke cleared a Chiss emerged from one of the conference rooms; he held his hand in the air, silently ordering the soldiers to hold their fire. Allanar's senses told him that those rooms were now empty. The Chiss was dressed similarly to the Dark Jedi he recently dispatched in the Csaplarian streets. He looked less than pleased that there was a second Jedi attempting to thwart their efforts.

The Chiss spoke to Allanar in Basic, "You would be wise to disengage; you don't want any more blood on your hands." He motioned to one of the hostages. Allanar had no doubt the Chiss would have few regrets executing his hostages if it came down to it.

((If you choose to act against them, roll join battle. Chances are you will go first, message me if it's a poor roll and I can roll for them.))

---

"On my way," was Renora's reponse to Akea. She lifted the metrocab from its resting place and poured full power into the vertical repulsorlifts. It took some time to rise; the metrocab was anything but agile. The rocks raining from the sky had subsided, and the dust from the collapse of the skybridges had settled. She angled the nose of the cab up slightly, so she could see to some extent where she was going and to keep a look out for Akea, not entirely sure if he really was going to jump. About halfway up, she flipped some switches on the daskboard, opening the passenger doors on both sides of the cab.

((I haven't thought to much about what kind of roll this jump would require... go ahead and be creative and supply the roll and result. You can roll Renora's pilot if it's relevant to your actions. She would use a Willpower point.))

Kirkland 23:48, 25 October 2010 (EDT)

---

Akea spotted Renora rising through the waning chaos. The scenario was less than ideal, but he'd have to make due. With one last glance behind him, he slid to the edge of where the bridge had formerly met with the building, leaning over and bracing himself with both hands. As he prepared to jump, he closed his eyes, pondering the situation.

Akea knew he had failed - he now mused only on the cost. Any regime headed by a Sith Lord was a danger to the entire galaxy - even if Hett was to be defeated by the New Republic, how many would die in the process? Why had Hett chosen this path? The galaxy again, all too soon, seemed fated for darker times. But how had Akea failed to notice? He shook his head, drawing the force around him.

Akea concentrates for 12 seconds before making his leap, waiting for Renora to reach an appropriate altitude.

The moment had come. As the passenger doors of the metrocab slid open, Akea surrended himself to the Force - simple climatological conditions prohibited landing the jump conventionally; there was simply no way to accurately eyeball wind speed gradients across such a distance. But, if the Jedi could be reduced to a single, secular purpose, it would be just that - achieving the impossible.

And so it was that the Dur Sabon Jedi Master, a colossal serpent out of place in Csaplar from the beginning, flung himself from the blown-out cavity, lengthening out to become a relatively aerodynamic rod, plummeting through the air.

((My thinking is that Akea is doing a telekinetically-guided jump to the metrocab, so I'm adding the successes to a Dex + Ath roll to accurately jump. The rationale is that more successes means Akea can exert more control over himself - granted, he's pretty heavy, so complete control is unlikely unless the roll is stellar, but he can still "nudge" himself while falling through the air. I'm going to couple that to a pilot roll made by Renora.))

Control + Enhancement + Concentrate (2): 5, 9, 3, 8, 2, 5, 4, 7 (3 successes)
Dexterity + Athletics + Willpower: 8, 2, 8, 3 - 2 successes, + 1 willpower, + 3 telekinesis = total 6 successes

Renora spotted the falling figure, as was promised by Akea. Gritting her teeth slightly, she banked the craft sideways and continued to close the distance between them, doing her best to line the open passenger up with his trajectory. She sincerely hoped the frail metrocab could handle a full-grown Dur Sabon plummeting into at terminal velocity.

Renora - Dexterity + Pilot Starship + Willpower: 9, 1, 6 + 1 willpower = total 2 successes

((So that is what it is. Let me know if this is a fair way of handling it. I'll leave the interpretation of these numbers (basically, whether I make it or not) to the ST.))

Dan 01:43, 27 October 2010 (EDT)

---

Despite Akea framing the events as a failure, it could have been much, much worse. The work he and Allanar have done so far has put the Jedi Academy in a far better position to react to this dangerous threat. They had already captured two operatives. One was a Sith force user, the other was now working for them. Now the Chiss Ascendancy is in its last throes, a government that was never particularly friendly toward the New Republic anyway. The Jedi were now in a position to salvage what they could of the overthrown government, saving the lives of powerful Chiss figures who could further aid the unraveling of this mystery. With their government in shambles, they should welcome New Republic assistance in combating this threat to their very way of life. The Sith, by their nature, are surely using the Chiss race and government for their own selfish purposes, as they have exploited countless other species over thousands of years.

((BTW, this scene is awesome, only in Star Wars could I ever dream of considering the physics behind a giant serpent jumping off a building into an airspeeder, using the force as his guide.))

He would meditate over such details later, but now he focused his energy on their escape. Renora tilted the metrocab to the side. Akea coiled, increasing his surface area as he neared the craft. With a little bit of air resistance, and a lot of force power, he decelerated as he approached the cab. He impacted the cab, his weight and force dragging the cab violently toward the ground, straining the repulsorlift engines as their worked against the extra downward force. Akea's tail gripped the floor of the cab as the rest of his body fell through the door on the other side. The cab tilted 90 degrees sideways, almost flipping over. Renora jammed the flight stick in the other direction, fighting to return the cab to an upright position. Slowly, it did so. Once Renora recovered control, Akea pulled himself up onto the ship and took a deep breath.

"Good to see you, Akea." Renora said, taking a brief look back at her new passenger. "Where to?"

((Akea is now on tick 50, this will be important if interaction with Allanar occurs.))

Kirkland 20:01, 28 October 2010 (EDT)

---

Allanaar scanned the scene unfolding before him as he cleared the smoke away, his initial focus was on the 6 special forces operatives and their three hostage. But it became clear in a short moment that the familiarly dressed Chiss was the real problem at hand, just how many of these Sith Apprentices had been trained already?

Allanar was silent for a moment as he assessed his options in the current situation, time was short as well considering the volatile situation on the planet. He kept his lightsaber in the conservative defensive position as he spoke firmly in response to the apprentice.

"Do not speak of wisdom Sith, you would not know it if Grand Master Yoda stood before you." Allanar took a few hesitant steps forward, looking as imposing as he intended to sound. "I have no desire to have any more blood on my hands, but I'm no more inclined to turn my back on these people and let you spill their blood with my eyes closed. Give me these hostages and Minister Binkata and I'll leave you and your men alone. If you refuse I will deal with you in the same manner I dealt with those that came before you," Allanar opened his jacket with his free hand to show the two lightsabers from the Sith he defeated in the streets earlier in the day.

"You will be the fourth I've faced and the fourth I've defeated if you don't hand over the hostages... I don't think it's in your nature to be brave, not many martyrs among the Sith. Be wise and you may live to fight another day."

Allanar inched closer to the hostages though was careful not to inch close enough to set off the special forces ops on the hostages, Allanar showed no signs of fear because he felt none.

Intimidation: Charisma + Intimidate + 1 Willpower = 3: 8, 8, 1 = 3 Successes with Willpower.

(I think in OWoD you used to be able to roll Intimidation with Strength instead of Charisma to represent physical intimidation, obviously if possible I'd like to use that given the improved dice pool. But if not I'm cool with giving this a go. If The Sith is unwilling to give up the hostages and Binkata go ahead and roll join battle, Allanar is pretty unwilling to settle for less.)