Chapter 3: Polis Massa Base

After Order 66, few Jedi dare to venture outside the shadows—rumors of the dark and terrible Darth Vader haunting even their waking moments. Yet, some Jedi find this life of fear unbearable. The Empire is always watching, and Vader himself is eager to confront any Jedi that might bring him closer to the whereabouts of his betrayer, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
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Shurijo
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Chapter 3: Polis Massa Base

Post by Shurijo » Mon Jan 11, 2021 5:52 pm

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It’s been nearly one full standard month since you arrived on Polis Massa. The former planet was destroyed by an unknown cataclysm creating an asteroid field. More than five hundred years ago, an archaeological base was established to study the planet’s destruction. The native species, called the Kallidahin, eventually became better known as Polis Massans. The archaeologists found the ruins of the city of Wiyentaah and nothing related to the cause of its destruction. The Polis Massans lack mouths and noses and communicate through telepathy.

The Polis Massa Base now conducts mining operations on the barren planetoid. The facility has a medical center, which AZI-3 quickly commandeered and began organizing the other medical droids including a Chroon-Tan B-Machine midwifery droid. In addition to the medical center, the mining operation supports an equipment store, artifact documentation facilities, a basic laboratory, and an analysis center.

As the Polis Massans continue to mine the asteroid and send their harvests out of the system with routine supply ships, you are allowed to walk freely throughout the base and are shown both respect and avoidance. In addition to the natives, a dozen technicians with Inner Rim accents work the station aiding both you and the miners. They have also provided you with food and basic supplies. The technicians work for the same benefactor who gave Jedi Knight Granite and Jedi Master Tan the coordinates to this base.


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With Imperial control of the HoloNet, information has been heavily restricted and censored. Over the last several days and with the aid of Jedi Knight Janos Tyree, the technicians at Polis Massa reconfigured their Holocaster to receive news feeds from the former CIS Shadowfeed. The Separatist-sponsored news and propaganda program was broadcast throughout the galaxy during the Clone Wars. While most of the network was destroyed after the Republic took control of the planet of Murkhana, the origin of the feed, the remnants of the infrastructure and relays have since been taken over to support illegal activities in the Outer Rim. However, most of these “Shadowfeeds” have been quickly taken offline.

The most prominent of the Underworld news feeds is Cynabar’s Infonet, also called the “Big CYN.” Jedi Knight Janos knew of the feed only by name and use. The feed mostly followed the exploits of smugglers and traders proving them with business opportunities and news related to smuggling such as changes to law enforcement. Access to the InfoNet was very exclusive and costly and made available by invitation. Only those who distinguished themselves enough to be recognized by local dealers or having contacts in the “old being network” could obtain an invite.

Jedi Master Divak Tan has quickly taken to training the younglings Tomas Chias and Hedala Tolen. These activities seem to provide the Jedi Master with some peace amid these dark days. The Jedi Master invited each of you to participate in the instruction or attend classes to help center yourselves. Divak asked you to assist in any manner you wish. He hoped the Jedi Knights and Padawan could share their experiences and specialized knowledge with the younglings to help pass the time and allow the Jedi to relieve some of the stress, anger, and depression that blanketed most during this dark time.

A few days ago, Jedi Master Jocasta Nu disappeared. She informed Master Tan that she needed to find her assistant, Gar. Even though Divak objected and told her that it was best for them to stay together so they can protect each other, she departed the planetoid that same evening.

Yesterday, you received the latest news feeds by a courier droid along with more supplies from your benefactor.

One day after the formation of the Galactic Empire, Imperial Intelligence arrested sixty-three senators on charges of conspiracy and treason. All of them were among the infamous “Delegation of 2,000” who attempted to limit the growing executive powers of Palpatine during the last full session of the Senate prior to the formation of the Empire.

With the leaders of the Confederacy were defeated and all of their droids deactivated, the Separatists capitulated and collapsed without a peace agreement, thus formerly ending the war. The Imperial Navy continued to root out any surviving Separatists holdouts. With the war over, many Inner Rim and Core Worlds were openly hostile to former Separatists planets and their native species. Imperial HoloNet feeds stoked their anger and broadcast opinion pieces with humans speaking out against a majority of non-human species, who made up the bulk of the Separatist movement.

Shortly after the attack, the funeral of Senator Padme Amidala was held on her homeworld of Naboo in the capital city of Theed. The state funeral was attended by thousands of mourners who paid their respects to the beloved senator. The open casket procession drawn through Theed showed her hands clutching a japor snippet and that she was pregnant, having died before giving birth.

Next, the images of Grand Vizier Mas Amedda’s celebration of the eradication of the Jedi Order was held on the steps of the Jedi Temple. His speech outlined the treasonous acts of the Jedi, and stated everyone was now safe from their evil. The main event of the celebration was the incineration of the dead Jedi's lightsabers, including that of Grand Master Yoda, whose lightsaber was personally thrown into the flames by Amedda. Subjected to the searing heat, the kyber crystals within the lightsabers were unable to withstand it and exploded angrily in a great burst of blue light, forcing those closest to cower away in shock. The event was overseen by Emperor Palpatine and his newly-christened apprentice Darth Vader.
At this point in the game, this is become more open world. There will be plot hooks, but the story direction will be chosen by the Players. There might be more than one team/decision made.

A few things to consider, just a few ideas,

1) Some players have personal plot hooks and personal objectives still open (Uri ancient holocron, Shoshannah datapad, etc)

2) Base objectives – secure the perimeter, create a supply chain for non-mining items (weapons, etc.)

3) Gather Information – research Darth Vadar (only seen him in the holonews) and Emperor, clones, betrayal, etc., other Jedi, bounties, etc.

4) Gather supplies – possible raid abandoned Clone bases for supplies, weapons, etc.

5) Gather contacts – start making contacts with black market and underworld etc to aid in supplies and information

6) Gather vehicles – work on/fix ships and transponders, acquire other ships, etc.

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Chapter 3: Polis Massa Base

Post by Muskrat » Mon Jan 11, 2021 8:20 pm

Shoshannah attends some of the classes for the younglings, but only the ones on academic subjects and things like meditation--she pointedly stays away from the combat oriented classes. She also spends some time with the medical droids, seeing what she can learn from them and helping them out with their tasks.

Finally, she asks around to see if there is anyone who can help her decrypt the information on Padawan Plaba's datapad.
Anyone with a good score in Computers?

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Othniel
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Chapter 3: Polis Massa Base

Post by Othniel » Mon Jan 11, 2021 11:24 pm

For his part Janos has been deep in the technological aspects of his new home. His skill with computers coming in handy, he has spent much of his time gathering as much information as he (safely) could. When Shoshannah mentions her desire to decrypt the datapad, it comes as a relief to the Jedi Knight whos eyes have gone bleary staring at screens for days on end.

"I can take a look, Shoshannah," he offers.

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Chapter 3: Polis Massa Base

Post by RorytheRomulan » Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:06 pm

Uri decided not to touch the ancient holocron for now. He probably wasn't the first choice for educating the children, but he joined meditation sessions and taught them breathing in rhythm and stances, ostensibly as an aerobic form of meditation, but truly to prepare them when they are older and stronger for lessons in unarmed combat.

To provide visual demonstrations, he took apart his lightsabers on separate occasions and showed them to Tomas and Hedala at Divak's academic sessions, explaining the significance of the different hues produced by the crystals. It quickly became apparent to all that the young man has a great deal of admiration and respect for the weapon of the once-proud Jedi Order. His enthusiasm needed to be kept in check to ensure that what he told the children didn't fly over their heads.

Still a student himself, with much to learn, he asked to train his lightsaber techniques with Divak, which helped him improve his guard against attacks in close combat, and also served as an outlet for his emotions.

Together, these things made the trip feel shorter for Uri than it really was.

After the repeat viewing - for him - of the Grand Vizier, the Padawan stormed off silently and didn't make his presence known until the next meal. Today, he is out and about again, looking for things to keep himself busy.

"We need someone to go around the perimeter of the base and deal with any threats we run across. I'm going. Anybody coming?"
When securing the perimeter, Uri is going to rely on Stealth to catch threats not expecting trouble and thus unprepared and not actively making themselves scarce. I'd like to have someone along who has good Perception.

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Chapter 3: Polis Massa Base

Post by Muskrat » Tue Jan 12, 2021 7:39 pm

Shoshannah also presents the late Padawan Pabla's lightsaber to the Jedi Masters, since she has little need of two. "I hope this can be used to make some sort of memorial for him and all the others who died due to Palpatine's treachery."

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Chapter 3: Polis Massa Base

Post by Shurijo » Wed Jan 13, 2021 6:31 pm

Shoshannah hands Janos the deceased Padawan's datapad. In addition to the encryption, the download process was broken when it was abruptly disconnected from the servers when Padawan Sundown fell at the hands of his clone trooper squad.
Difficulty: 3 purple for each file and requires one hour per file

Shoshannah (I think) has figured out 2 of the three folders, but the details hasn't been decrypted and reassembled yet. She can walk you through some of the information if needed.

Code: Select all

PROJECT MORGUKAI
####### Drenzor Cloning ####### was an installation, overseen
by the ######################################################
####### renowned Jedi killers ###############################
####### hundreds of Morgukai on Saleucami ###################
##############clone army against the Republic ###############
five months ############################ Morgukai legions ###
############## Arkanian #####################################

Code: Select all

PROJECT BLUE##############
####### epidemiologists ############## strain: ####### virus. 
####### was long touted ############## virulent #############
############################ to be the deadliest. Decades ###
########################################## natural form######
#######waterborne virus. Victim infected ####################
#######48 hours to live ##################### fatal##########
##############incurable, #######96% success rate#############
#####################carbon-based life-forms.################
#######antidote ##################### synthesized ###########
root#########################################################

Code: Select all

PROJECT BLACK##############
############################ Military Department of Advanced## 
Weapons Research project ############################unlocking 
immortality###################################################
#######revive necrotic tissue ####### secret research facility
located on ############################### hosts #############
##################### their biological tissue ################ 
their lifeless bodies ########################################
############## altered the body's stamina and strength########
#######increased ################ to physical damage##########
Jedi Master Tan accepts Padawan Sundown's lightsaber recovered by Shoshannah. "Thank you. I hope these younglings do not need use of lightsabers until they are older, but I am concerned for their futures."

When Padawan Uri speaks up about doing a perimeter check, one of the technicians notes that "There's two crates of sensor markers that arrived yesterday. It might take a while, but we can place these around the facility. Most of the miners are drilling down and nobody should be on the surface." The surface of the planetoid isn't breathable, but it's easy for anyone to access using one of the space environment suits available at the facility. Along with securing the perimeter, and fortifying the base, Uri understands they should also create an evacuation plan in case of discovery.

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Chapter 3: Polis Massa Base

Post by RorytheRomulan » Thu Jan 14, 2021 12:09 pm

"Thanks. We'll need to come up with an evacuation plan in case we're discovered or trapped. If we aren't blockaded, we could smuggle ourselves out through the routine harvest collection, if we can get on the Massans' good side. Maybe even get them to drill a hidden route for us. Unless there's already an off-limits mine shaft to the surface? Or an access tunnel?"
INT (GGG) for some help coordinating an evacuation plan.

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Chapter 3: Polis Massa Base

Post by Muskrat » Thu Jan 14, 2021 7:19 pm

Shoshannah sits down the Janos as they look at the files on Plaba's datapad. "I've figured out what the first two are about, at least in general terms. The first one was a Separatist program to clone Red Nitkos, a race whose members belonged to an ancient order of Jedi killers called the Morgukai. It worked, in the sense that Plaba and I encountered a few of them in the jungle. It failed in the sense that the clones were irrationally violent. The second was to try to weaponize the Blue Shadow virus. I'm not sure how far they got with that, but they got far enough to start dumping it into the local water supply, killing a significant number of the local population. I have no idea what the third one was about."

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Chapter 3: Polis Massa Base

Post by Othniel » Fri Jan 15, 2021 2:05 am

"I wonder why they would want to clone Red Nikto," Janos muses. "Were ALL the Red Nikto these Morgukai, or just some of them? I confess I didn't pay as much attention in the Masters' history classes as I ought," he adds.

"Regardless, perhaps if we concentrated on decrypting the files you've already made some progress with, that will help us with the third?"

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Chapter 3: Polis Massa Base

Post by Shurijo » Fri Jan 15, 2021 1:57 pm

For this, I'm going more Warfare then Intelligence. I feel INT would help with a fire escape plan, but for combat escapes, Warfare will be more relevant.

And since you have enough time to think about it, I'm allowing "taking 10" as long as you have enough ranks and the difficulty isn't too high. And assuming you have no fear of asking questions and seeking input from others.

Sensor Markers - If you've seen Rebel's episodes on Atollon (the planet with Bendu and spiders), then these are same type of sensor makers. About a meter high, cylinder, with a "box-like" sensor on top of the spear. You stick the bottom into ground and it creates an invisible 'fence' connecting to the other sensors near it.

If not, here's a pic and description https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Sensor_beacon
Uri spends some time with the technicians. The padawan pulls up the facility and surrounding area holographic maps. Together, they plot a perimeter where they should deploy the sensor markers. As they further discuss, Uri suggests requesting sensors they can place in the asteroids that surround the planetoid. Those sensors could assist in detecting any spacecraft entering the area.

"That's a great idea," the tech responds to Uri's suggestion. "I'll add it to our requisitions list, but I'm not sure we'll get that level of support anytime soon."

The deadly atmosphere makes it difficult for Uri to formulate an escape plan. If they must exit the facility, then they will need time to put on space suits or breath masks with a respirator. With this revelation, Uri believes it would behoove the Jedi to carry a breath mask with them at all times in case of an urgent escape outside the facility.

After reviewing more information, Uri finds old reports from archeologists with references to non-sentient, worm-like creatures living underground. Dating nearly five hundred years ago, their reports say the creatures appear to be offshoots of the joopa species. They speculate that the worms may have been native to the planet before its destruction and since then their lungs have evolved allowing them to live outside the facility. They assumed that the vibrations and sounds from the mining equipment appear to keep them at a distance. The report also states that a dozen researchers and their assistances died during the initial encounter.

* * * *

Standing nearby Janos and Shoshannah, Jedi Master Tan walks over and joins their conversation. "The Morgukai were a death-cult and among the deadliest in the galaxy. They trained specifically to kill Force users and could take a non-Force Sensitive down as easy as breathing. They were always male and consisted of the Kajain'sa'Nikto, also called Red Nikto, species. They had their own sense of honor and was said to have been 'honor-bound', but their philosophical teachings and beliefs eluded scholars. If the Separatists were cloning them, maybe they sought the same result as the Empire... to destroy the Jedi, but the clone troopers did it first."

The Togruta Jedi Master looks off for a moment, then says, "This will be a good lesson for the younglings. Jedi Shoshannah, if you have time today, can you stop by and talk with them about your encounters? The threats to the Order have always existed and even ancient threats resurface when you least expect them. It will be good for the younglings to know that the Jedi have seen and live through dangers such as the Morgukai just as we will continue to live with the danger of the Empire."

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