Session 15

General Summary

Fifteen: Victims of the Matriarchy

Jolder, Richter, and Mir are in Lab 1, spotting 2 plant monsters through the transparisteel divider. They notice several bodies wrapped and pinned to the walls, some drained of blood, and some still alive. One of them spots Mara in the containment room next door.

Cale, Maeve, and Tar remain in the docking area. Cale finds the sub is in working condition. He also reveals he’s hearing other chatter on the comms, which no one else is able to hear. Richter adds increasingly more mines to his armor as he perceives everyone as husks. Maeve manages to subtle control his thoughts to bring him back

Mir and Maeve sneak into the containment area to try to free Mara but feel like the plant monsters are still aware of them. Mir notices 5 others that seem to be alive in the plant pods: imperial officers, lab techs, a storm trooper, etc. The trooper tries to writhe itself free of the pod, attracting the more intense attention of the plant monsters.

Maeve and Mir manage to get Mara from the pod, attracting the aggression of the plant monsters. The group barely slips out and locks the monsters in the containment area, slicing one in half with the doors. They flee to the docking area. Holes begin to form in the station as the plants attempt to rip their way out. The water is rising, now about knee height. As the group runs toward the docking area, they hear the roar of the plant monster pursuing them.

Water continues to rise as they make their way to the airlock, now high enough they must swim through it. Vines grasp and grab Maeve and Richter, but Maeve manages to cut them away. Jolder and Mir stay while the others go through the first cycle of the airlock. Mir spots the sea creatures waiting outside the bunker. Jolder shoots the bridge out in an attempt to slow down the plant monster. As Jolder shoots the plant monster again, one of the shark-like creatures attacks it. Another shark-creature batters the transparisteel again, as the airlock opens and they enter.

The group loads into the sub. Cale begins the cycle to fill the chamber and launch and they enter the ocean of Naboo. They make it to the surface, the jungle still overgrown with vines. They stabilize Mara, but she remains unconscious. Maeve opens the Sith holocron to ask Lord Carnassus for help with the situation. He is dressed differently than the first time, dressed more scholarly this time. Maeve asks for his help with Mara, he scans her. He inquires where we found her. He advises that she has been infected, nay, possessed, by a Drenghir matriarch.

He reveals Drenghir are beings of the Dark Side. They are sentient, but work as a hive mind. If one of them sees you, then they all see you. Maeve asks if there’s a way to get her out of their control. Carnassus says they found that Drenghir can be put to sleep, or in a state of idleness. Anyone who is possessed by them eventually recovers after the monsters are subdued, but it takes great effort. The Matriarch controls the hive and puppets them for her goal of feeding and spreading. Even the Sith thought these things were too dark, too dangerous, and too difficult for the universe. However, they could not find a way to destroy them, not fully. Carnassus states that if Dhrenghir have been found and they are awake, then the group is going to live in interesting times. Drenghir only want to feed and spread. The Sith lord reveals In the time of the high republic, there was an outbreak and they were contained, but the means of containment are not known. In order to free Mara, someone would need to sever the dark side link attached to her mind, which would require training a Sith Temple alchemy altar. Mara may be a threat until this is done or an alternative is found. Those possessed by the Drenghir will become tools if they’re not outright drained. When the Sith fought them, the Drenghir could possess weaker Sith. Very few were successfully removed from the Matriarch’s influence.

Carnassus also revealed it would be possible to restrain a possessed person and manipulate the Matriarch into giving her location away. He also reveals that possession does not necessarily require physical contact. Carnassus believes they are telepathic and says some Sith reported communicating with them, but he is unsure of the truth of that. Those strong in the Dark Side may find it easier to resist their touch. He tells the group that killing the matriarch will lower the threat of the remaining Dhrenghir, leaving them animalistic but not organized by a common goal.

The nearest Sith temple is likely on Korriban. Mustafar is another potential planet but the temple would be hard to locate due to the shifting of the planet's volcanic surface. Moraband is a third option. Carnassus provides coordinates for temples on Mustafar in case the group decides to go there.

The Sith tells the group that putting Mara in stasis can help limit the influence of the Matriarch.

As the group arrives back to the village, they try to contact Cosa. Jolder realizes all the comms are jammed and Mir uses binoculars to check the village and sees no sign of life there. After investigating the village, it becomes obvious the village was ransacked by Imperial forces.

TIE Fighters & bombers fly overhead, and the sounds of bombs dropping come from the area of the bunker. The group runs to the shuttle to leave the village. They take off in the shuttle and hear several more fighters head in the direction of the bunker, along with the thud of a Star Destroyer entering the atmosphere and shooting toward the bunker.

Two TIE fighters pursue the group as they flee the village. Tar manages to shoot one down. As Jolder pursues the 2nd, Cosa arrives in the Arc and obliterates the remaining TIE fighter. Cosa leads them to an open clearing where the Eventide is waiting. They load onto the ship, and the Eventide jumps away from Naboo.

Report Date

21 Aug 2023