[IC] Clone Wars (Attack of the Revenge of the Menace)

INeedNoSalt

Trill's shouting -- reinforcements?! -- steeled Nar. It was time to end this and get out of here.

He landed one final blow with lightsaber, this one backed by all of his strength (and almost none of his extraordinary grace); the glowing yellow blade penetrated the droid's head and hissed out of the other side... gravity pulled the droid to the ground, and it's head split across the beam.

Nar turned quick on his feet and pointed to the overlord. "Call off the reinforcements!"

FINISH HIM! (1d20+12=23, 2d8+10=21)

Horseshoe

The Geonosians panicked, chirping wildly... making full retreat to the hangar... they apparently had their minds on the one hope of escape for the Jedi.

G2 - Geonosian Technician 13/25 - Swift: Unlocks Doors; Swift: Opens Door to Landing Platform; Swift: Opens Door from Platform to outside
G1 - Geonosian Technician 7/25 - Moves 4 East, 1 North (provokes AoO from Casso); Swift: Opens Door to Hangar Control; Moves into Landing Platform (8 East, 1 North of current position)
G0 - Geonosian Overseer 33/33 - runs as a full round action (provokes AoO from Nar), will end up exactly 3 sq. north of the "gar" in "hangar"

c - unarmed service droid - stays at its station
d - unarmed service droid - stays at its station
e - unarmed service droid - stays at its station
f - unarmed service droid - stays at its station
g - unarmed service droid - stays at its station

Trill - Will handle Trill's action after AoO's are resolved

Map

didn't make one for this round... y'all know where y'at.

HP Tally:

Nar - 26/87
Casso - 10/52
Trill - 30/30

a - unarmed service droid - ran away
b - unarmed service droid - ran away
c - unarmed service droid 10/10
d - unarmed service droid 10/10
e - unarmed service droid 10/10
f - unarmed service droid 10/10
g - unarmed service droid 10/10

Cx - Super Battle Droid Scrap
X1 - Battle Droid Scrap
X2 - Battle Droid Scrap
X3 - Battle Droid Scrap

Cy - Super Battle Droid - Scrap
Y1 - Battle Droid Scrap
Y2 - Battle Droid Scrap
Y3 - Battle Droid Scrap

Cz - Super Battle Droid - Scrap
Z1 - Battle Droid - Scrap
Z2 - Battle Droid - Scrap
Z3 - Battle Droid - Scrap

G0 - Geonosian Overseer 33/33
G1 - Geonosian Technician 7/25
G2 - Geonosian Technician 13/25

I1 - IG Phrik Prototype Scrap
I2 - IG Phrik Prototype Scrap

[/quote]

INeedNoSalt

Nar made an effort to bat the geonosian out of the air on it's way out, but only managed to sing it's wing. He spat a curse in the Hutt language. Argh!

Attack of Opportunity (1d20+12=18, 2d8+10=19)

jimninja

As the Geonosian turned to flee, Casso brought his lightsaber around in a wide arc that intercepted its flight path perfectly. The alien technician fell to the floor, its fatal wound still glowing orange-hot. The padawan yelled out, "Nar! The explosives!"

Attack of Opportunity (1d20+8=26, 2d8+5=13)

Horseshoe

"Explosives? Oh NO!" shouted Trill, "We've got to get out of here!"

2 move actions (8 east, 1 north) opens the south door to Hangar

INeedNoSalt

Nar agreed! He'd get on that-- "Stop them! Don't let them take the transport!"

His lightsaber whirred gently as he powered it down and slipped it back into it's place on his belt, and he pulled Phow Ji's pack off over his shoulder and yanked it open.

Swift Action: Deactivate Lightsaber.
Standard Action: Holster Lightsaber.
Move Action: Open bag.

jimninja

With a superhuman speed that was fairly standard for a Jedi, Casso launched himself out to the landing platform. The head technician was sprinting toward the airspeeder; however, his flight was suddenly interrupted by the appearance of a large glowing shaft of yellow plasma before his head. He ducked, and Casso's swing came within a hair of dewinging the Geonosian.

Swift: Surge

Move: one southwest, seven west

Attack (1d20+8=15, 2d8+5=9)

Horseshoe

As Nar began to plot their explosive exit, Casso found himself surrounded by blaster fire once again. The Geonosians were desparate to escape, shooting wildly and rapidly at the young padawan. Trill seemed no less upset, unscathed though he was. The droid stumbled toward the airspeeder, unbalanced by his flailing arms.

"Oh my!" he shouted, as bolts of energy swarmed about him, "Stop them, sir! We can't let them take the airspeeder, or we're done for!"

G2 - Geonosian Technician 13/25 - Moves, shoots @ Casso, Attack Roll (1d20+2=7)
G0 - Geonosian Overseer 5/33 - Full retreat 1 square, shoots @ Casso, Attack Roll (1d20+4=8)

c - unarmed service droid - stays at its station
d - unarmed service droid - stays at its station
e - unarmed service droid - stays at its station
f - unarmed service droid - stays at its station
g - unarmed service droid - stays at its station

Trill - moves, uses Walk The Line (-2 defenses to G0 and G2)

Map

HP Tally:

Nar - 26/87
Casso - 10/52
Trill - 30/30

a - unarmed service droid - ran away
b - unarmed service droid - ran away
c - unarmed service droid 10/10
d - unarmed service droid 10/10
e - unarmed service droid 10/10
f - unarmed service droid 10/10
g - unarmed service droid 10/10

Cx - Super Battle Droid Scrap
X1 - Battle Droid Scrap
X2 - Battle Droid Scrap
X3 - Battle Droid Scrap

Cy - Super Battle Droid - Scrap
Y1 - Battle Droid Scrap
Y2 - Battle Droid Scrap
Y3 - Battle Droid Scrap

Cz - Super Battle Droid - Scrap
Z1 - Battle Droid - Scrap
Z2 - Battle Droid - Scrap
Z3 - Battle Droid - Scrap

G0 - Geonosian Overseer 5/33
G1 - Geonosian Technician Dead
G2 - Geonosian Technician 13/25

I1 - IG Phrik Prototype Scrap
I2 - IG Phrik Prototype Scrap

jimninja

As the overseer backed toward the airspeeder, Casso charged forward through the flurry of bolts. With a great effort, he hewed down his opponent in one mighty stroke. There was no time to rest, though; the other Geonosian was still firing.

Attack, overseer dead. This needed a Force Point (1d6=4), by the way.

INeedNoSalt

Nar fiddled with the explosive. He's glad he'd set the first one earlier... these things were confusing!

He ran it over to the generator and slapped onto the base of the massive thing-- That should really do it, he thought, but for good measure, fetched another out. He threw the rest of the explosives - the charges and grenades and detonators - to the ground beside the set charge.

Move action: Move to generator.
Standard Action: Set explosive.
Swift action: Drop bag.

Horseshoe

Casso kept his concentration as Trill continued to flail hysterically, taking cover behind him. There was only one opponent left, but he was still armed and unwilling to back down.

The droids started chattering as Nar set the explosives... it was as if there hadn't been a battle raging around them at all.

"I'm picking up a magnetic signature near the power core, sir."

"Check it out."

The droid got up from its station and walked over to where Nar was setting the explosives.

"Excuse me," it said, as it leaned in next to him and began examining the charge. Nar's blood ran cold as the droid reached out... a faulty attempt to disarm the charges (or even a bit of curiosity) might set them off a bit earlier than expected.

G2 - Geonosian Technician 13/25 - shoots @ Casso, Attack Roll (1d20+1=14)

c - unarmed service droid - stays at its station
d - unarmed service droid - stays at its station
e - unarmed service droid - stays at its station
f - unarmed service droid - checking out power core
g - unarmed service droid - stays at its station

Trill - moves, uses Walk The Line (-2 defenses to G2)

Map

HP Tally:

Nar - 26/87
Casso - 10/52
Trill - 30/30

a - unarmed service droid - ran away
b - unarmed service droid - ran away
c - unarmed service droid 10/10
d - unarmed service droid 10/10
e - unarmed service droid 10/10
f - unarmed service droid 10/10
g - unarmed service droid 10/10

Cx - Super Battle Droid Scrap
X1 - Battle Droid Scrap
X2 - Battle Droid Scrap
X3 - Battle Droid Scrap

Cy - Super Battle Droid - Scrap
Y1 - Battle Droid Scrap
Y2 - Battle Droid Scrap
Y3 - Battle Droid Scrap

Cz - Super Battle Droid - Scrap
Z1 - Battle Droid - Scrap
Z2 - Battle Droid - Scrap
Z3 - Battle Droid - Scrap

G0 - Geonosian Overseer Dead
G1 - Geonosian Technician Dead
G2 - Geonosian Technician 13/25

I1 - IG Phrik Prototype Scrap
I2 - IG Phrik Prototype Scrap

INeedNoSalt

Nar didn't have any love for droids, but unfortunately, he didn't think punching this thing would really work out for the best, not at this moment. Instead, he reached out to grab the thing's arm.

"Don't touch that. Dooku's orders. Not to be touched."

Persuasion (1d20+7=13)Force Point (2d6.takeHighest(1)=5) =18

Edit: If that's supposed to be a Deception instead of Persuasion, uh, well, they're the same bonus for me, so just stick with it.

jimninja

Meanwhile, in the hangar, Casso charged forward through the remaining technician's hail of fire. As he closed in, the buggy engineer leveled an ill-aimed punch at him. There was a flash of green light, and a forearm sailed through the air.

The technician screamed, dropping his gun. He brought his remaining hand up to clutch the smoking stump, but Casso was already about to finish his next strike. The Geonosian fell to the floor, dead. The threat was over... for a moment.

The padawan deactivated his lightsaber with a whoosh and called out, "Master, the speeder is ours! Are you almost done in there?"

Move: one northeast
Attack G2 for 18 damage (1d20+8=22, 2d8+5=18) . He's dead.
Swift: deactivate lightsaber

Horseshoe

Trill opened the hatch of the ship and climbed in, and started entering Dooku's security codes into the computer.

"We shall be ready to take off in a moment, sir. Please do hurry!"

---

Back in the power room, the droid regarded Nar for a moment. It was a simpler version of the B-1, a service droid without combat motivation or much in the way of tactical reasoning. Its job was to man computer terminals and keep the core online. The sight of a stern blue Twi'Lek was confusing, and enough even for its simple processes to detect something amiss... but the confusion allowed it to do little more than freeze and vocalize a simple:

"Uh oh."

Nar began to hear the clanking of metal feet rapidly approaching... apparently the security reinforcements were arriving.

You've got about two rounds before a heinous amount of droids start pouring into the power room

INeedNoSalt

Nar quickly hunched down to grab another of the charges out of the bag -- as well as a Thermal Detonator. He planned to have this place falling down no matter what.

Beyond that, though, he was ready to make a run for it.

Move + Standard action: Retrieving explosive charge + thermal detonator.
Next round, Nar'll start movin', and set the explosive charge on the hangar doorway.

jimninja

Casso clambered into the airspeeder. What was taking Nar so long? Those reinforcements Trill had mentioned would have be coming any second now...

He checked the control panel for any indication of weapons systems.

Horseshoe

The airspeeder's control panel lit up, and its engines began to hum with life. It was quite new, and appeared to be well-made. It was built for speed, its only weapons a meager blaster cannon. As Casso began to prepare the ship for takeoff, Trill complained about the lack of seatbelts.

---

As Nar pulled another charge out of the bag, a troop of droids came into view in the hallway. Apparently, the time for running had come.

"There it is! Open fire!"

Nar ducked as blaster fire tore into the room around him. At least their aim hadn't gotten any better.

INeedNoSalt

Nar thought that would be more than enough to mark his exit cue , and he made his way out, pummeling the metal floors with his feet.

He sprinted into the hangar and glanced around for Casso -- did he see the padawan behind the windshield of the airspeeder already? -- and then moved on. He had to set the charge, that would make it definite.

When he reached the far end of the huge doorway, he set the explosive charge on a very, very short timer and slapped it into place. He'd have to make it to the speeder quick, the entire spire would be coming down around their shoulders soon.

Free Action: Surge (1d20+17=23)
Standard Action: Move 12 squares towards the hangar.
Move Action: Move ~12 more squares towards the hangar door.
Swift action: Set the charge he's holding on the hangar doorway.
Idle Action: Ponder whether a Surge and double-move is abusive or not.

jimninja

As his master finally came sprinting into the hangar, Casso could hear the ringing of many blasters firing from that direction. "Need a lift?" he said, as Nar jumped into the speeder.

The canopy slid shut, and Casso coaxed the speeder gently into the air, turning it toward the exit. Was it true? Were they really about to be out of this hideous mess? He smiled and pulled back the throttle.

Pilot (1d20+7=21) for whenever it's needed

Horseshoe

As the Jedi made their escape, a droid commander began admonishing the service droids that remained in the power core.

"Why didn't you detain the prisoners?"

"We were instructed to stay at our stations. And the Jedi left an object on the Core."

"Stupid service droids. Just take it off."

"No, wait--"

---

As Casso piloted through the stone tunnels of the hangar's exit, the airspeeder was rocked by a loud boom. Flames licked at its sides as it emerged from the spire. Nar looked back to see light and smoke flashing through parts of the structure... soon followed by flame erupting from the exhaust vents.

The Geonosian Hive became a massive torrent of fire and debris as it toppled to the ground, its destruction echoing even over the raging storms of Bunduki.

A moment of relieved silence followed, which was unsuprisingly broken by Trill.

"Well, that was certainly... exciting. Might I ask where we are going, sirs?"

jimninja

Casso drew in a huge breath and held it. They were golden, untouchable Jedi. He and his master had defeated troops of battle droids (he mentally excluded the fight on the production lines), discovered the secret of Geonosis, and destroyed a very expensive mining facility at cost to the Separatists. He expelled his breath in a laugh.

"I suppose we ought to head back to Aslaja," he said after a moment. "The Lady Pike will wish to know that her children are in good hands."

INeedNoSalt

"Back to Aslaja," Nar agreed. "Let's make haste, it's very important that the Council learns of Dooku's machinations."

Poor, unimaginative Nar. Always, always with his mind on business.

He had slumped back and deep into his seat beside Casso in the speeder, and sighed with relief -- he was terribly glad to be out of there.

Horseshoe

Though their heads were heavy, swimming with the troubling thoughts of Dooku's latest move, the trip to Aslaja seemed to pass quickly. The frozen storms gave way to rain, and once again the towering city came into view.

But something was amiss. Smoke belched from the lower levels, and a great portion of the city seemed dark and unlit. The highest level of the city still had power, and the Corellian ship in which they arrived was still on the pad... but somehow it seemed as though it was not the place that they had left.

jimninja

Casso gazed out at the scene before him. Was the city... burning? What had happened?

"Oh, hell," he said, half to Nar and half to himself. This didn't look to be a promising situation. He pulled the throttle back a touch, speeding toward the troubled city, and cut a glance toward Nar, looking for some sort of guidance.

INeedNoSalt

Nar was a bit surprised. He should've known something would go wrong ... something always did. Still, was it wrong to hope that things could go smoothly?

He tried to take in the situation. What could have happened? Was there a bombing? They hadn't seen any ships in the atmosphere, and -- and then he remembered the assassin and Phow Ji's shortcut. He wondered if they'd done to Aslaja just what he'd done to the spire...

"Take us to Lady Pike," he said. "We'll still need to contact the council, and she'll be able to bring us up to date on what happened here."

Horseshoe

The Jedi landed on the pad, next to the ship they had arrived in. The two crew members seemed a bit hesitant... hesitant in the "aming rifles at the cockpit" sort of way... but as soon as they beheld Nar and Casso they were greatly relieved.

"It's you! Thank goodness, we were beginning to worry... and the Council has been trying to contact you over the com! Master Yoda assured us that you must be still alive, but--"

"We need to get out of here," stated the other crew member, flatly, "there's some sort of rebellion going on down there. The Council told us to stay put until you showed up, and now you have... and I would rather be headed back to Coruscant than wait around to see what blows up next."

INeedNoSalt

Nar approached the two (and the vessel they'd arrived on.) "We're going to speak with the governess before anyone goes any leaving," he replied, equally flatly. "But first, we're going to speak with the council. You," he said, and pointed to the first of the crew, the one who'd been rambling about worrying and Yoda. "Contact Lady Pike and let her know we've returned."

He made his way forward and onto the ship without waiting for a reply, beelined for the bridge where he could access to the communications.

Horseshoe

Nar sat down in the operator's chair and patched into the secure channel to the Council Chambers. Almost immediately, a hologram of Master Windu appeared.

"I am glad to see that you are alive, Nar." said Windu, "...but it took you some time to contact us. What have you discovered on Bunduki?"

INeedNoSalt

Nar realized there was more to say than he'd thought, and he wasn't certain where to begin. He decided to run through the important parts, and censored himself as he went.

"We've got some trouble here, Master Windu, although Casso and I did what we could to help things along ... Dooku was here in a ... Geonosian? ... spire. I'm not sure if our records show this, but Bunduki is a planetary source of Phrik metal -- I'm sure you know what that is, of course -- and Dooku's been using the geonosian workers here to mine the material and build weapons and droids with it. There was an assassination attempt on the Governess Pike shortly after we arrived, and we were able to trace them back to a cache of weapons made of the material. Casso's got a datapad with more information on it, taken from Dooku's quarters in the spire."

"It looks like Aslaja is under attack," he added.

He knew there was more -- the artifact and the Masters, the Force Sensitives they'd encountered on the way -- but he wasn't certain the Council needed to know about these things.

He wasn't ready to tell them about the demolition, either.

Horseshoe

"Dooku..." Windu had tried to whisper it under his breath, but the tone of voice he used with his next words was not without volume or intensity.

"Where is he?"

jimninja

Outside, Casso tapped his foot impatiently as the crew members tried to contact the Lady. He turned to the one who had been so eager to leave. "So what do you know about what happened? Do you know anything about the instigators?"

INeedNoSalt

Nar hesitated. "I don't know. He detained us and fled the spire while we were escaping. Casso's datapad might have his destination."

He paused and then spoke again; "He may be going to Geonosis. What we learned... Geonosis looks..." He faltered. "I can't explain it. You have to see the data. This is very bad," he concluded.

Horseshoe

"Nar, I need to see this data. Send it to me over the com. I sense something very dangerous... and I must confirm it.

---

The Security Corps crewman looked nervously at Casso.

"It's not good, Sir. Apparently almost all of people in the lower levels are rioting... they want to overthrow their government. They were rallied together and... well... listen closely and you can hear it."

Casso paused for a moment and focused upon the dull roar from below. He could feel the strength of their passion through the force... a powerful emotional energy he had sensed few times. It was frightening yet seductive, to hear this sort of singing within them. And finally, he could hear their voices shouting, chanting...

"Doo-ku! Doo-ku! Doo-ku!"

INeedNoSalt

"Yes. Casso has it. I'll go get him, right now. One moment."

Nar stepped away from the comm and left Windu to wait. He'd go grab Casso and let the padawan upload the data to the Council.

jimninja

The thunder of voices from below pulled at Casso, drawing forth from him the feelings he had experienced dining with the Count. Of course they wanted him. He was smart, charismatic, powerful. Oh, was he ever powerful. And he was so right that it hurt... but only while he was there. In the absence of the old man, Casso knew the truth (he felt). But these people didn't, and so they wanted Dooku, Dooku, Dooku.

They need a shepherd, he mused, but not Dooku. He is evil, corrupted. What they need is a virtuous, strong ruling body... the Je

His thoughts left him as Nara'val approached from behind. "Listen," said the padawan to his master. "All those people..." Had he been thinking something about them a moment ago? It seemed so.

INeedNoSalt

Nar did listen, and frowned at the sound of it. He did his best not to pay it much attention.

"Casso, we need to wire the data you picked up to the Council. Master Windu is waiting for us."

jimninja

Casso blinked, coming out of his slight reverie. "Of course, immediately," he said. He went to the ship's cockpit, followed closely by Nar, and, giving Master Windu's hologram the appropriate greeting, commenced to scan and transmit the contents of the datapad to Coruscant.

"This is everything we have, Master Windu. From what it looks like, Geonosis is packed full of factories and foundries, all chugging away at full tilt for Dooku's forces. Droids, ships, guns... He's building an army. We've taken care of the production facility that was here on Bunduki, but now the people of the city are rebelling against the Lady Pike, shouting for Dooku. Power is out on the lower levels, and there might be a huge fire to boot. The situation is bad here."

Horseshoe

Casso could see the look on Windu's face darken as he surveyed the data from Casso's pad.

"Bunduki will have to wait, Padawan," he said with grave certainty, "Dooku has gone too far. My suspicion that he has been amassing power on the Outer Rim is correct, and he must be arrested. You and Nar Aval will immediately report to Geonosis... I must gather as many Jedi as I can for this mission. Count Dooku is dangerous, and it will take as many as we can muster."

INeedNoSalt

Nar glared at Windu. "And leave Aslaja to burn, sir? Bunduki can't wait."

Horseshoe

"Master Yoda is investigating a matter beyond the Rishi Maze, and I am head of the council in his absence... and this is a direct order, Nar Aval. Aslaja is burning because of Dooku. So long as he remains, these conflicts will mount everywhere, and the Republic will not have enough Jedi to maintain order and keep the peace. We will bring Dooku to justice and then we shall repair the damage that the Separatists have done to this galaxy. Geonosis is the shatterpoint in this conflict... what happens there will affect the rest of the galaxy for centuries. I will see you on Geonosis, Jedi. May the Force be with you both."

The transmission cut out. Windu was still the same. Yet so much else seemed different.