Session Outline for 6/27
The session tonight involved the following characters:
Senator Leia Organa-SoloPlif, a Hoojib senatorC-3PO, Leia's protocol droidBehn-kihl-nahm, a Cerean senatorWinter Celchu, Leia's assistantBrekh'mir, Leia's
Noghri bodyguard... who also happens to be a recently-graduated Jedi Knight
B1-T, a small pest-control droid owned by Brekh'mir.
Admiral Gilead Pellaeon, head of the Imperial militaryAdmiral Mulchive WermisAdmiral Julias NarnMaster-Com, their droid hostThis session begins the current campaign, which takes place roughly 21 years after the Battle of Endor /
Return of the Jedi (25 years after the Battle of Yavin / the original
Star Wars: A New Hope)
Following the appearance of a
rogue Super Star Destroyer attacking and destroying a New Republic world along the border of Imperial space, Senator Leia Organa traveled to a diplomatic meeting with Admiral Pellaeon to resolve this issue. It was decided that the space station known as
the Wheel was the best place for this meeting. By closing a wing of the Wheel for a "Private Party," they could have privacy and secrecy for this meeting, which was to be considered top-secret. Master-Com, the master of the Wheel since the death of Senator Greyshade 25 years prior, could maintain absolute neutrality as a host.
The Republic's numbers were made up of Leia, selected as one of the top diplomats of the Republic, along with her protocol droid; Behn-kihl-nahm, a Cerean who had been at the original signing of the peace accords between the Republic and the Empire; Plif, the Hoojib senator who could use his telepathic abilities as needed; and Leia's Jedi bodyguard, along with the bodyguard's personal droid. From the Empire, Pellaeon brought two trusted admirals and four Stormtroopers as guards.
Upon arrival at the Wheel, Master-Com showed Leia and her entourage to their quarters; while they settled in, the Imperials arrived, and were likewise shown to their quarters. The first meeting went well: Pellaeon explained that the Star Destroyer was rogue, and he had yet to figure out just where it came from. He promised that the Empire was doing everything it could to locate the missing Star Destroyer and bring its crew to justice. Leia, for her part, believed him, and told him that the Republic was likewise attempting to track down the vessel. Pellaeon asked her to assure him that Imperial borders would still be respected, and if the Star Destroyer was found in Imperial space, Republic vessels wouldn't simply invade to pursue it, but would attempt communication with Imperial forces to stop the vessel together. Leia did not mention that her brother Luke was heading up a search party with Rogue Squadron and several Jedi in an attempt to track the Star Destroyer down. Plif could sense no deception from Pellaeon, though he was confused by the Stormtroopers: he couldn't read any of them. He suspected that the Empire may have a new technology within Stormtrooper helmets to protect them from telepathic probes.
As they broke for the evening, Master-Com told them that they were free to explore the station, though he recommended that they keep a low profile to avoid recognition. While Leia and Pellaeon both went to bed, individuals from their entourages explored the station.
In the early hours of the morning, the B1-T (nicknamed, "Little Bit," as he stands merely a foot tall), was checking the vents for infestation and discovered a dead body. He reported to his master immediately, concerned about maggot infestation. Upon investigation, Brekh'mir found it was the body of Behn-kihl-nahm, with a blaster burn to his chest.
The heroes began to investigate, and discovered that Benny had never left the private area, though he had planned to do so. Pellaeon also reported that Admiral Wermis had not returned the previous night. As the heroes investigated further, they discovered two more bodies: one of Wermis, and one of a member of Wheel security, also with blaster bolt wounds.
They soon discovered that the blaster wounds were used to cover bite marks. These bites injected a toxin neurovenom which killed the three men; the blaster wounds merely hid the true source of death. Little Bit suspected that the bite was caused by what was likely a serpentine creature. Security logs did show Wermis leave the private area, where he apparently purchased some clothes; he returned with a Stormtrooper escorting him. The security guard's last private comm had been to a civilian dancer on the station; when she was questioned, the heartless dancer claimed that he'd been asking for a date. While she was helpful, she was also utterly uncaring that a member of Wheel Security had been killed. Benny's last comm had been to inform his family that he had arrived safely.
Little Bit decided to inform Pellaeon of the evidence, and warn that one of the troopers may be infected with vermin. C-3PO accompanied him, while Leia, Winter, Plif, and Brekh'mir looked into other details. Threepio and Little Bit entered Pellaeon's quarters, where he was investigating events on their end along with Admiral Narn. Two Stormtroopers remained outside, while two waited with them inside. Upon Little Bit's revelation that a trooper accompanied Wermis back into the private area, the two troopers in the quarters with the Admirals opened fire... on their commanding Admirals.
Simultaneously, Master-Com was attacked and destroyed, but he transferred to a new body and reported to warn Leia that his attacker was going after her next. Two
Imperial Shadow Guards dropped some sort of personal cloak and attacked.
While the Admirals returned fire on their two stormtrooper guards, the two troopers outside opened the door and also opened fire on the Imperial Admirals. Threepio, who had toddled across the firefight, shut and locked the door, while Little Bit distracted the two troopers in the room to the best of his ability. When the Admirals, wounded, managed to take down their two troopers, the admirals and the two droids waited inside, knowing that the other two troopers were just outside the door.
Leia and her allies battled the Shadow Guard, and Winter was shocked to discover that they didn't use the Echani fighting style that all of the Emperor's guards utilized; when they were killed, Plif investigated, curious... and discovered that both the Shadow Guards were both
Tofs, a sadistic race from the Unknown Regions that had been defeated by a joint Alliance/Nagai force shortly after the death of the Emperor.
When the Admirals opened the locked door to exit their quarters, they found the other two troopers were gone. They rushed towards their shuttle, followed by Threepio and Little Bit (who kept up by riding a mouse droid). The two Admirals boarded their shuttle, pursued towards the end by the other two troopers. Little Bit spilled oil on them and ignited it while the two admirals boarded their shuttle... which immediately began to take off before either one could have reached the cockpit. Suspecting something was amiss, Little Bit launched his grappling hook to attach himself to the outside of the shuttle and go along.
Master-Com then contacted Leia and warned her that it would be best to leave the station immediately. As Leia looked out the viewport, five Star Destroyers entered the system, approaching the Wheel. She also saw Admiral Pellaeon's shuttle pass by her viewport... where it abruptly exploded, leaving no survivors. Moff Tarkin's voice came over the coms, announcing that the Wheel had been the site of Republic aggression towards the Empire, and that all in the station must surrender immediately. This claim of course led to a multitude of vessels attempting to leave the Wheel all at once; Leia, who had just reunited with Threepio, went with Winter, Plif, and her bodyguard back towards her shuttle and took off. She was immediately attacked by a single TIE Interceptor (other TIEs were attacking other fleeing ships), but they managed to avoid serious damage despite the shields going down. As they were approaching their hyperspace jump point, an
Interdictor cruiser came into system... and Leia jumped just in time, before the Interdictor could finish starting its systems to keep any vessels from entering hyperspace.
In short: Pellaeon is dead. Moff Lavira Tarkin has taken control of the Empire and has invaded the neutral system of the Wheel, and has declared war on the Republic for their aggression, blaming the Republic for Pellaeon's death.
