Oh yeah that makes sense. So this should be good. Let's go!
Shadows of the Future [Force and Destiny] OOC
To start with, could everyone please roll a single Force Die and post the results here? It will greatly influence the starting scene.
You can use Orokos or roll a physical die (my preference is the online roller, cuz it's pretty).
Also, this is your LAST chance to change your character sheet, should any of you actually want to start with the ability to pull off a mind trick
There's a BBcode button directly under the dice results (it says "Copy pasta: link, BBCode"). Just click the BBCode thing, and copy/paste the results it gives you here.
Done that, thanks
Initial Destiny roll : 1eF 1 Dark Side
I'm off to a good start!
Well, the Dark Side does have cookies. Or so I have heard.
Edited by FCastor: 1eF 1 Dark Side
Oh that's not good
Destiny Point roll
:
1eF
2 Light Side
I've got my eyes on all of you rolling dark pips
Force Die
:
1eF
1 Dark Side
...
Still watching you.
So the Light Side truly is stronger...
Now then. Shall we begin?
Hmm, guess I'll wrap this story up.
Background Story 3 (of 4)
Xan sighed and did his best to turn his thoughts towards the present. Immersing himself in past failures would serve no purpose now, not with difficult negotiations ahead. The mercenary captain he was going to meet cared only for credits; the Resistance had little to give. Securing his cooperation would prove difficult to say the least.
“If your face gets any longer, you might very well trip on it,” his companion observed.
Xan turned to regard the speaker, Vodo. The Nautolan had his ever-present wide grin on his face; Xan had never met someone so irrepressible. His fellow Resistance member had also once been a Republic commando and believed in the Republic and in their cause to resurrect it more than anyone, and yet he always maintained a lightness of spirit and unwillingness to give into despair that the former Jedi found admirable. Although all they had lost certainly weighed upon the Nautolan as heavily as it did Xan, he refused to let it break him, and had been Xan`s steadfast companion in their missions for years now. Had he been force-sensitive, he would have made a better student for Master Cathos.
But Vodo was not a talker, as he always insisted; he was just there to watch Xan`s back and keep an eye out for Sith interlopers. However, he served a greater purpose than that; he was a daily reminder to Xan that it was possible to go on, to remain unbroken in such trying times. Master Cathos, in teaching Xan the value of humility, had told him that a Jedi should never forget that nearly ever sentient being had a lesson to teach, if only one had the ears to listen. Wisdom was not the exclusive domain of force-sensitives, nor stoicism, compassion, perseverance or vision.
“If your grin gets any wider, that face of yours might just split in half,” he responded, though the slight smile appearing at the corners of his mouth belied any animosity in the statement.
Vodo`s grin remained unchanged. “Why so grim? It`s not like this mercenary is the hardest case you`ve ever had to deal with.”
“It`s not the present circumstances specifically that trouble me,” Xan replied, “just the accumulated troubles of present days.”
Vodo waved his hand dismissively. “You`re a Jedi; you`ll figure it out.”
“I`m not actually a Jedi—I never finished my apprenticeship and I was never knighted,” Xan replied.
“And I`m not amphibious,” Vodo shot back with a grin. “And unless I`m mistaken, you`re one of the most highly trained Jedi left, so given the chain of command and the present circumstances you`re probably the highest Jedi authority within light years of here. Promote yourself, then.”
“I don`t think the Jedi had a chain of command like the military did,” Vodo said wryly, “but thanks for the suggestion.”
The two arrived at their destination, a long, low building that had once been a warehouse of some sort but now served as the temporary barracks of the Blue Nebula contractors, currently tasked with policing the city. The only threat Chandrila had had of late were student protests against the excesses of the current regime, but the Sith threatened to crack down on them if the Chandrilans did not, and no one here wanted that—everyone knew exactly how the Sith would go about it. A mercenary group tasked with policing was very much the lesser of two evils. Xan hoped they were chomping at the bit for some real action now—it was the only card he had to play.
As they approached the doorway to allow the security camera to scan them, however, Xan felt suddenly wary, sensing a darkness hanging about the place. Having learned not to question such feelings, he flicked his fingers at Vodo, using a sign language Resistance members used to communicate silently. Vodo fell silent and immediately shifted his posture to one that indicated he was expecting trouble.
The camera rotated with a whirl and focused upon the two of them for several seconds, balefully taking the two of them in while they stood in silence, tension rippling between them. The camera then retreated, and a whirl and a click heralded the opening of the door.
Xan shared a glance with Vodo; his countenance was cool and composed. He nodded slightly in response and rolled his shoulders and neck, loosening them up.
They went in.
The short hallway beyond the door led to the same conference room where Xan had spoken to the mercenary captain Alghorn before, but this time he was not to be found. His second in command, a hulking Trandoshan named Gaxx, sat at the table instead, an unfriendly grin upon his face, his right hand clicking his claws upon the scarred table. Xan pushed aside his paranoia; Trandoshans never looked particularly friendly.
“Where`s Alghorn?” Xan asked.
“He izzz not here,” Gaxx replied. “You speak to me, Zabrak and fishy-man.”
“Sure-thing, lizard man,” Vodo shot back. “Where`s Alghorn?”
“He hazz been replaced as head of thizz band,” the Trandoshan hissed. “He wazz unwilling to take advantage of opportunitiez that prezzented themzelvezz…”
“Which ones?” Xan said suspiciously.
“Azzk them,” Gaxx grinned.
Just then the door in the side wall slid upon, disgorging a black robed Sith pureblood, followed by a similarly attired heavily-tattooed Twi`lek. The pureblood`s face was lit up with fierce, murderous joy; the Twi`lek was more composed, but no less sinister and clearly pleased with himself, the kind of face one sees on a predator who has finally run his prey down.
Sith Inquisitors.
“Jedi are worth far more than your puny Reziztance can hope to pay,” Gaxx explained with a grin. “Good opportunity for us.”
Xan felt pressure building in his temples. He knew what he should do—he should run, hope to lose them, avoid showing them that the Resistance had any teeth at all. But his feet wouldn`t move, and Vodo remained steadfast next to him. His fingers ached to hold his lightsaber.
“Jedi scum,” the pureblood seethed. “We Sith have brought unity and strength to the peoples of your former Republic, but ingrates like you cower in the shadows hoping to undermine us. You will pay the ultimate price for your treachery.”
“I think you`ve made a mistake,” Xan said coolly. “We`re no Jedi, and I don`t know what ridiculous story this Trandoshan has told you, but I know nothing about any `Resistance`.”
The pureblood opened his mouth to reply, but the Twi`lek cut him off with an upraised hand. He`s the Master, Xan thought, but not a true dark lord--probably a Sith Knight . The pureblood`s the apprentice.
“We can smell the stench of the light upon you,” the Twi`lek said, his voice sounding as if coming from the bottom of a deep pit. “The kind only Jedi training can provide. Do not waste your last breath upon futile deceptions.”
“I`ve been waiting for this,” the Sith apprentice hissed, a lightsaber hilt appearing in his hand. “We`ve been hunting you for a while.”
“Cut him down,” the Sith master ordered. “Once you`ve spilled this Jedi wretch`s blood you will be worthy.”
“I`m so looking forward to killing a Jedi,” the pureblood raged, his crimson lightsaber igniting in his hand with a snap-hiss.
Edited by Korro ZalOh that was very good. I am very impressed by your writing. Something to tide me over until the game begins. Also, morally ambiguous Sith are interesting Sith (unity and strength being good - from a certain point of view...)
Even now, the dark side clouds all things. Due to the influence of the dark side among the player characters, one Destiny Point is automatically converted to dark, making the pool 5 Light, 4 Dark...
I'll get the IC thread up as soon as I get home and have a computer from which to post. Phone is not so conducive to formatting and such
Heck yes, ready and waiting to get this rolling, bot figuratively and literally.
Oh my God this is so cool. Let's do this already!
Yay!
Accidentally posted my dice roll here. This is a placeholder because I've moved it.
Edited by ColonelCommissarI have added the links to all three threads in my signature, by the way.
So, I am guessing OOC speech in the IC thread is red (or at the very least it is red for the GM and his Sith minions...
). Nice. Awesome opening post over there!
I am guessing dice rolls are put in the IC thread, at the end of our IC post, basically after the description of our character's action?
Edited by FCastorOh didn't realise that, sorry. I'll repost it there.
The conclusion:
Background Story ( 4 of 4)
Xan faced the Sith apprentice calmly, his eye already taking in details about his opponent`s stance and posture. He was unsure if the Sith utilized the exact same forms of lightsaber combat that the Jedi did, but he had heard that many did, as they came from the ranks of corrupted Jedi. In this case, at least, it proved true enough; the pureblood was clearly adopting a Shien stance. He weighed this information carefully as he surreptitiously wrapped his right hand around the hilt of his lightsaber hidden in the folds of his cloak.
“At last, I shall take my rightful place among the ranks of the Sith,” the pureblood continued to rage. “My only regret is that it will come about thanks to an unworthy opponent such as you. We know what you`ve been doing, Zabrak; going around to groups of malcontents, hat in hand, begging for aid,” he sneered. “The remaining Jedi likely selected you for this task because even they know what a scuttling coward and weak willed diplomat you are,” he spat, uttering the word diplomat with a particular loathing and contempt.
Xan refused to be baited; Master Cathos had often subjected him to stinging criticism and withering comments as a means of teaching him restraint, strengthening his ability to control his anger and thus keep a cooler head in negotiations.
“And I imagine the Sith think even less of you,” he replied coolly, “seeing as they only saw you fit to send against a weak-willed diplomat such as myself.”
The Sith`s eyes widened in rage and his nostrils flared. Uttering a bestial roar as his anger rippled off him in the Force, the pureblood charged Xan, his lightsaber held overhead to deliver a crushing stroke.
Xan watched the blade as it descended towards his head. The Shien style did not rely on physical might as did the Shii-Cho style, but it did contain a few powerful techniques such as the one the Sith apprentice used now, designed to be suddenly unleashed as a surprise move in a duel to overpower an opponent`s defenses. As such, however, they made for poor opening moves…particularly against a Niman stylist.
At the last moment, Xan ignited his green blade and raised the hilt just above and in front of his head, the blade pointed downwards at a slight angle. The Sith`s crimson blade struck just below the hilt and, given the force he had applied and the angle of Xan`s blade, immediately slide downwards, throwing him off balance.
The Sith’s eyes widened as he suddenly realized how his rashness had thrown him into a precarious position, but Xan gave him no time to recover. He stepped in and brutally slammed the hilt of his lightsaber into the pureblood`s jaw, sending him staggering back. He followed this up with a side thrust kick which sent his opponent careening into the wall behind him.
The Sith shook his head, throwing off his disorientation to see the Zabrak Jedi steadily bearing down on him. He bellowed yet again, raising his blade to strike once more in the hope of regaining his lost initiative. But that was another mistake; Xan flicked his blade pitilessly towards his now unprotected abdomen, slicing in deep. The pureblood barely had time to register the shock of the blow and clap his free hand to his wounded belly before Xan`s blade reversed course and came back across his neck.
The Sith apprentice could only let an incoherent, guttural sound escape his dying lips, his vocal cords severed, and stare helplessly at the Zabrak, shock and confusion evident upon his face. Xan stepped in close to him. “You will never get the chance to kill a Jedi,” he hissed into the pureblood`s ear. “You have failed…completely.”
It was the last thing the Sith ever heard. His features still registering shock at the sudden end to all those ambitions which he would never fulfill now, he slowly sunk to his knees before pitching forward onto his face, dead.
Xan felt a fierce, primal joy surge through him. This time, there would be no running, no compromise. This time, the Sith would learn that they were not invincible, that those they thought safely destroyed were anything but. A small voice in his head warned him that this was unbecoming a Jedi, the beginnings of a path he should not pursue. He brushed it aside; these Sith had already pursued him for who knew how long, and he could not allow them to continue, lest they find out about the Sanctuary or report to others of their kind that their Jedi foes were organizing against them.
He turned to regard the other occupants of the room. The Twi`lek Sith Knight stood impassively, arms folded, but Xan could feel the anger and surprise radiating off of him. He never expected his apprentice to be beaten so easily, his prey to be so dangerous. The same could not be said for the others, though; Gaxx stood comically still, one hand frozen halfway in the process of drawing his blaster. The reason for his suddenly paralysis stood across the conference table from him in the form of Vodo`s heavy blaster aimed directly at his face. The Nautolan had no smiles now; his grim demeanor froze the Trandoshan in his tracks.
“I suppose I should thank you,” the Sith Knight said in his gravelly voice. “You`ve done me the favor of ridding me of a weak apprentice. Furthermore, it seems you will offer me a challenge, one I have not had the pleasure of facing in quite a while. I was beginning to fear that we had been too successful, that we had already run down all the Jedi who had any real power or skill.” Slowly unfolding his arms and holding them at his sides loosely, his own red lightsaber sprang to life in his right hand.
For some reason, Gaxx chose this moment to make his move. Xan had no idea why; perhaps he underestimated Vodo the way the apprentice had him, or perhaps it was just rank desperation. In any case, it was a futile gesture. Vodo shot him in the face without flinching, and as the Trandoshan howled and slapped his left claw over the ruined left side of his face, Vodo shot him twice more in the torso. The Trandoshan collapsed in a smoking heap and twitched feebly; Vodo shot him again for good measure.
The Twi`lek flicked his eyes briefly over to the Nautolan soldier and, completely unperturbed by what had just happened, nodded slightly in approval at the former Republic commando.
“Yeah,” Vodo said slowly, “I think I`ll let you handle this one, Xan….”
“I got this,” Xan said quietly in reply as he advanced on the Sith Knight. He had never felt as sure of himself as he did now. The feeling was quite…intoxicating.
He felt a slight twinge of unease again. He brushed it aside once more.
The Twi`lek watched his slow advance for a few moments in silent consideration, but as the Zabrak Jedi got within striking distance, he exploded into action, engaging Xan with a suddenness that surprised him.
But this was no berserk charge or rash attack. The Twi`lek engaged him skillfully, raining attacks and testing his defenses in a way the Zabrak hadn`t experienced since the last time he had sparred with Master Cathos. As they dueled, he found himself at first baffled by the Sith`s technique, but as the battle continued on, it slowly dawned on him that the Twi`lek was a Makashi stylist. During his early apprenticeship on Iridonia Xan had learned the rudiments of lightsaber combat from masters of the Soresu, Shien, Ataru and Shii-Cho styles, but there had been no Makashi duelists there. Afterwards, he had seen it in action a few times while learning the Niman style from Master Cathos on Coruscant, but not enough to develop a comprehensive understanding of the form, thus contributing to his unfamiliarity now.
This was not a welcome discovery. The Niman style was mostly defensive in nature, and although Xan favored a particularly aggressive version of it that incorporated the two-bladed Jar`kai technique, it still heavily relied upon withstanding an opponent`s blows until they overextended themselves, upon which the Niman practitioner would counter with a well-timed riposte. Makashi, on the other hand, relied upon measured cuts, probing attacks and quick feints; it provided little wasted energy for a Niman stylist to take advantage of. As such, the Sith was forcing Xan backwards, step by measured step, granting him no opportunities to effectively counter.
Xan felt his confidence wavering. If he`d had a second blade he felt he could have turned the tide, but single blade to single blade the Sith had him at a disadvantage.
He thought he`d finally found his chance when the Twi`lek, having just launched an elegant one-handed thrust towards him, found himself hitting only air as Xan dodged and, with a two handed grip, brought his blade downwards, pinning the Sith`s blade towards the floor. He realized his mistake too late a moment later when the Twi`lek`s free hand came arcing around in a crushing backfist that slammed into his temple, causing his vision to blur and knocking him backwards. He regained his senses just in time to avoid being skewered upon the Sith`s blade, which he dodged awkwardly. He also suddenly noticed that Vodo had disappeared, though he had no time to consider the matter.
He briefly spotted the fallen Sith apprentice in the corner of his eye, and he suddenly realized the answer to his dilemma. Delivering a quick thrust to force the Twi`lek backwards a moment, he extended his free hand towards the slain pureblood and focused his will upon the Force. The apprentice`s lightsaber suddenly flew from its slain wielder’s hand to slap into Xan`s palm. The Zabrak Jedi quickly ignited the newly acquired crimson blade and wasted no time in employing both lightsabers against his Sith foe.
Xan felt the same primal, fierce joy he had experienced only moments ago surge within him again as he fell into the Jar`kai attack routines that muscle memory allowed him to execute flawlessly as he pressed his foe.
The Twi`lek was caught off guard by the sudden reversal of fortune he had suffered. Where he had once dominated the fight, now it was Xan who drove him back and seized the initiative once more. With the Zabrak`s blades coming in to attack from all angles, he had no space or opportunity to poke any holes in the Jedi`s defenses, forcing him to concentrate upon fighting defensively.
Xan reveled in the moment. This time, he paid no attention to any misgivings that rose within him. For too long, he had hid in the shadows. For too long, he had allowed the Sith to consider themselves unchallenged. For too long, he had allowed thousands of dead Jedi to remain unavenged.
Today, that would change.
The Twi`lek had his back against the wall now. As a Consular, Xan was trained in sensing the emotions of others through the Force, and he sensed the uncertainty and chagrin of his foe. He had never been challenged such. He`d never imagined it possible. With nowhere left to go, he was forced to match Xan`s two blades with only his own, having no space to dodge. Beating aside the Sith`s weapon with his green blade, his recently acquired red one scored a burning line across the Twi`lek`s cheek.
And with that indignity, the Sith`s icy façade shattered. Hissing in anger, the Twi`lek thrust his left hand out at Xan, blasting him with purple-black lightning, an attack that channeled raw dark side energy. The surprised Zabrak quickly crossed his blades in front of him in a desperate attempt to block, and while it was partially successful, enough still got through and surged into him to set his nervous system aflame, pain exploding within him and causing him to bite back a scream.
“You will not be victorious, Jedi filth,” the Sith raged, his face hellishly backlit from the unearthly energies exploding from his palm. Xan grit his teeth but found it impossible to move; he had to focus every iota of his being just to withstand the dark side assault.
He received no respite even when the attack stopped a moment later. As Xan attempted to draw in a ragged breath, the Sith drew upon his iron will again and the Jedi felt himself struck by a powerful telekinetic blow that sent him sailing across the room to crash into the conference table behind him. He struck the table with such force that he ended up going up and over it, his lightsabers flying out of his hands as he crashed into the floor on the other side.
For a moment, he lay there in a heap, stunned and uncomprehending what had just happened to him, smoke rising from his scorched clothing. His senses returned just in time to see the Sith leaping over the table like a giant, black-feathered bird of prey, his lightsaber stabbing downwards in a vicious attack meant to end the Zabrak. He rolled out of the way just in time, the Twi`lek`s blade gouging a deep hole in the floor.
As he came to his knees, he found the Force was with him as he spied his lightsaber only a few feet away on the floor. The lightsaber flew to his hand as he attempted to stand, and he ignited the green blade just in time to parry the Sith`s powerful downward blow, though it drove him back to his knees.
The Twi`lek`s fierce gaze burned into him, certain of imminent victory. Xan tried to resist with all his willpower, but the dark side assault had taken a lot out of him, and he found the Sith`s iron will equal to his own. Given his foe`s less injured state and advantageous position, Xan found himself sorely pressed, and the fierce joy which had powered him earlier was supplanted with doubt.
“You have proven a worthy foe,” the Sith said, his yellow eyes still boring into him. “But you are no Jedi Knight, and will never become one. We end this, now.”
Xan resolved then and there that if he was going to die, he was going to die on his feet. He was summoning the last reserves of his strength for one final push when suddenly he heard the sounds of many pairs of booted feet entering the room.
Glancing beyond his Sith foe, the Zabrak saw a group of heavily armed Blue Nova mercenaries enter the hall. One, a heavily scared and muscled Weequay, bore what appeared to be a heavy repeating blaster. The band immediately trained their weapons upon the Sith, and a moment later a hatchet-faced human with close cropped gray hair pushed his way to the front. Xan immediately recognized Alghorn, the mercenary leader it seemed Gaxx had deposed, and appearing over his shoulder was Vodo, his trademark grin once again plastered over his rubbery green face. Xan then realized what his friend had been up to; freeing the former leader of the mercenary band.
Alghorn`s eyes briefly regarded his slain Trandoshan lieutenant on the floor. Turning to nod imperceptivity at Vodo, he turned to face the Sith. “You`ve got a lot of nerve coming into my headquarters and stirring up trouble against me, Sith,” he said in a low, dangerous tone.
“I`ve no interest in you or your band of ruffians,” the Twi`lek replied contemptuously, his eyes never leaving Xan. “I have a mission, and you got in the way by refusing to cooperate, no doubt thanks to your mistaken loyalty to a failed regime whose time has passed. You gave me no choice but to remove you. You should be thankful your former subordinate stepped forward to seize control and only had you imprisoned, though in the end he proved too weak to hold onto his gains. Allow me to finish my mission undisturbed, and I will walk out of here without seeking any revenge for your treasonous behavior. Do not test my magnanimity further.”
“It`s too late for that,” Alghorn said flatly, his eyes drilling into the back of the Twi`lek`s head. “No one disrespects me here. No one. Not even the Sith. And, to tell the truth, I never liked your kind.”
“An unwise decision,” the Sith said, turning his head to regard the mercenary for the first time. “Your primitive weapons are no match for mine.”
“Is that so?” Alghorn said, drawing his own weapon. “I`ve no doubt you can deflect blaster shots with that lightsaber of yours, but the question is…just how many can you block?”
“Let`s find out,” Vodo said brightly. “Xan, you might want to…”
The Zabrak needed no further encouragement. His foe temporarily distracted, the Jedi pushed upwards on the Sith`s blade to give him the space to launch himself into a backwards roll, carrying him away from his opponent. The Twi`lek had no chance to counter, because in that moment he found himself assaulted by a barrage of blaster bolts the mercenaries and Vodo rained down upon him.
Xan gave the Sith due credit; he did manage to block the first five or six shots that would have struck home. But it was the next one that hit him in his right bicep, spinning him around to receive the next four successive shots into his undefended back. The barrage did not relent as he slowly sunk to his knees, and by the time he finally crashed into the floor he was already a smoking corpse, upon which the blasters fell silent.
Xan sat on his knees, wheezing as he struggled to get air into his lungs and calm himself. There is no emotion, there is peace…
Vodo strode up to him, rubbing his chin with his hand as he studied the fallen Sith. “So,” he said slowly, “you got this, huh?”
“Maybe not,” Xan conceded.
“It`s okay,” Vodo replied brightly. “I was here to save you again. No need to thank me.”
“Thanks,” Xan said in genuine gratitude. He wondered idly if Master Cathos had ever been in this situation. Probably not, he reflected glumly.
“Ah, the thanks of a Jedi is music to my ears,” Vodo said with a wide grin. “Could I possibly entice you to say that again?”
“Don`t push it,” Xan scowled as Alghorn approached him. He tried to manage his expectations, but he could not deny that he fervently hoped that something could be salvaged from this situation, though Master Cathos would have undoubtedly scolded him for not entering negotiations with a calm mind.
“Jedi,” Alghorn said, nodding to him in approval. “It seems I owe you and your friend here thanks. Perhaps we should continue our discussions.”
Master Cathos had been right after all. The Force had provided a way.
Good finish there. Korro Zan. Me likey