Dark Side of the Moon

Technological achievement

Heroes are hired to bodyguard the reporter, Charletta Komitz, while she conducts a personal, and possibly probing, interview with Dr. Jack Legrange and the unusual circumstances around his award.  

FONDOR, seriously?

— DZ-821

Today, the distinguished scientist and philanthropist, Dr. Jack Legrange, received the Fulborn-McCoy prize in recognition of his pioneering work in the field of bioengineering.

The ceremony, held before an invited audience of renowned academics, was not without a whiff of scandal! Reliable sources close to the Awards Committee hinted to journalists that ‘undue influence’ had been brought to bear concerning the decision to award the prize to Dr. Legrange. After the award, Dr. Legrange was not available for comment, but an unofficial spokesperson for allegations were ‘unfounded’ and ‘not worthy of serious consideration’.

The ceremony itself was one to be broadcast to several worlds, but transmissions were marred by technical problems. Dr Legrange departed from his published text and delivered an emotional attack on the Herglic community. He spoke in particular of their ‘ruthless exploitation of the human population’. Unfortunately, a power failure interrupted further broadcasts.

We’ll be back right after the break with the latest news on the Corellian Zero-g ball game! But now a word from our sponsor, BLUE COAL! The sector’s most efficient dilithium anthracite!"

Lieutenant Commander Dizzy Anfisa was in the Fondor System to assist with the opening of the local shipyards. When that task was completed, she went on leave for some "mandatory fun" which ... she was not particularly convinced she could find among these intellectually snooty blue-skinned Fondorian locals. When she got a freelance job offer, she stashed her "Lieutenant Commander Anfisa" identifcation in favor of a little cheerful thuggery as "Ex-ARC Captain Dizzy, happy go lucky shit-kicker in pigtails and medium armor". Maybe a little time as her own boss would be fun!

Dizzy checks in with the Municipal Guard on Dr. Lagrange. His speech was SUPPOSED to just be a glad-handing thankfest all around, the usual science junk. He just got all wild-haired about the Herglics. The Mining Guild has gotten into it a few times with the Herglic trading houses – the “Vistlott”? – but not much politically happens on Fondor. The locals are too superior for that.

Oh and the cops have heard a little about the other two who were hired {along side Dizzy) by the reporter. Greelo is a sharpshooter and bounty hunter, not the kind of talent that usually is around here. Rushlight is a combat medic, who “has not the good sense the Force gave a womprat” and apparently played sabaac against a Wookiee gambler. Lot of that going around lately!

The meeting goes horribly awry. Herglics rush in wearing bomb vests -- it later turns out that they have been trapped between implanted torture devices, and the lives of their loved ones. The trio of bodyguards work fast, but Ms. Komitz still winds up in emergency medical care.

Explosions rock the Waldorf-Astoria!

The Fondor Medical and Science Conference reached the end of its second day marked with a vicious attack on its award winner, Dr. Jack Legrange by unknown Herglic assailants. Dr. Legrange was meeting with whom sources say was Charletta Komitz, a reporter for Pan-Galactic Holo-News, and had just left when the attack began.

A number of security and guests of the Waldorf-Astoria are in critical condition. Several of the Herglic assassins were killed, others incapacitated, while two managed to escape through the front leaving behind a trail of death in their wake. One of which was Dr. Jack Legrange himself!

Two assassins have raced out the front of the hotel in their bid to escape. With the police unable to arrive due to blocked traffic, the heroes have only one chance to catch the assassins before they escape!

And they succeed -- partially -- but will need medical attention themselves before they can continue.

Meanwhile, on a monorail racing across the surface of Fondor…

The hum and pitch of the monorail’s vibrations changed tone just before the loudspeaker came to life.

“Approaching High Peaks Station and end of line in ten minutes. Connections to Oridin City, Groom Lake and all points in between can be made through the green or yellow monorails once we arrive at the station. Please stay seated until the monorail is moored to the platform.”

Mance Anteres adjusted the hood of his cloak, then shifted position. He looked like any other sleeping human aboard the train; at least he wanted anyone to think that who saw him.

His eyes looked over the edge of the seats in front of him. Blaster fire had pot-marked the walls and shattered the connecting doors between monorail cars. Through the doorways, Mance watched a group of three tend to the wounds of a Herglic in the next car. The Herglic was in good shape, but the Cathar seemed pretty skilled at first aid. A Clone Trooper stood not far away, and the bounty hunter – none other than the infamous Greelo – glanced out the window. Greelo and the clone trooper looked bored. Mance wasn’t fooled. They had a view of every inch of that monorail car right now. He subtly tapped a secure address on his comlink, then selected ‘voice only’.

“Yeah?” was the near immediate response. A woman’s voice. Mance figured that was Janis Arin. The other two would have answered ‘what?’

“Found the group you’re after. The ones with Greelo,” Mance explained. “Blue line headed into High Peaks station. They got jumped by a well-heeled group that raided the train. They ventilated all of them. Tough trio you got here.”

“Took out all the raiders?” She replied. “Good to know.”

Mance pictured her eyebrows raised at that. She sounded surprised. He didn’t comment, but kept that bit to himself.

“Any mention of what they’re doing?”

Mance shifted position again. “Not really. They’ve been real careful with the Herglics on the train. Kept checking them very carefully after the shootout.”

“They get shot?”

“No. Had been beaten a bit though. A Cathar’s their medic. Big wall of fur. He kept scanning their neck and skull a bit before he was satisfied about something. Heard them mention something about a clinic, as in getting those Herglics to one. I’m not real sure. Between it being Greelo, a Cathar and a Recon Clone Trooper, I don’t dare get too close. Especially to that Cathar!”

“Sithspawn.” Janis sounded irate. “Blue line ends at that station, too. Anteres, follow them. See where they go.”

“Anyplace you’d like them not to go?”

Janis considered that a moment, given how long she paused before answering. “Never mind that. Send word the moment they pick a direction after the station. Especially if they stay in High Peaks District instead of getting on another monorail.”

Mance quietly filed that away. The bounty hunter was rattled over something. Could be profitable, or interesting; perhaps even interesting to Black Sun. Either way, it prodded his ‘credit-sense’. And all this time he thought this would be a boring job!

Across High Peaks Mesa, Janis Arin turned off the comlink. The human female bounty hunter ran a hand over her auburn hair. She turned around to face two other figures dressed in flak vest armor.

“They’re here. They might suspect.”

Helic Ton, a short stocky human, rechecked the targeting sight on his blaster. “We’ll need to take care of them before the client finds out.”

Next to him, the Trandoshan bounty hunter, Teneb, chuckled, “or Rogga.”

“Neither one needs to know, especially Rogga.” She glanced between the two other bounty hunters. “Where is the client anyway?”

“Setting up phase two,” Helic replied.

Janis nodded. “Then we’d better hurry. If we don’t make sure that lunatic gets the plan working, Rogga will have bounties on us so high, I’d turn myself in.”

Helic holstered a blaster. “No worries. You two check on our pet nutball.”

Teneb gave Hel a wary look with a reptilian eye. “What’ll you be doing?”

Hel flashed a broad grin. He looked like a Nashtah about to swallow something whole. “Why, getting ready for our nosy new friends. I figure I should cook up something special to welcome them.”

High Peaks Showdown!

Deep in the TAPANI SECTOR, the Shindra System reels from CONFEDERATION assaults. The battered, proud and outnumbered ships of the TAPANI ALLIANCE hold the line against the CONFEDERATION to keep Shindra free. But the CONFEDERATION has yet to commit its main force to battle; instead, they remain silent at the system’s hyperspace jump point.

However, beneath the cover of wrecked ships at the edge of Shindra, CAPTAIN ELENI BENACOR quietly slips past enemy lines. Silently, she leaps into hyperspace towards the SOTERIOS SYSTEM, the capital of the CONFEDERATION. Her mission? Uncover the secret plans of her evil sister, EMPRESS MERGLIN, and perhaps bring about a turning point in the war.

Meanwhile, on the world of FONDOR, a group of unlikely heroes disembark at the Ogami monorail station to make their way to the High Peaks Medical Clinic – the only link between the killed Herglic victims found so far. Little do they know, that a Corellian corvette slips out of hiding from behind Fondor’s moon of Nallista and slowly powers up its long range targeting system aimed at FONDOR CITY.

Summary: After making sure the wounded Herglics were NOT at a local medical facility that might or might not be safe, the heroes then turned their attention to the High Peaks Clinic.

Suspicious, they took a three pronged attack: Greelo above, Dizzy at the front and Rushlight from the parking garage. They quickly discovered that the clinic was prepared for assault and armed to the teeth with soldiers in disguise!

They also recovered medical records, a partial schematic of the device being implanted, three more Herglic victims, and notes on what Dr. Legrange – who apparently may not be dead – is up to … on behalf of Rogga the Hutt.

Currently, they know of certain coordinates around downtown Fondor that are to be evacuated of ‘essential personnel’ rapidly before ‘Phase 2’ begins. They also know Rogga is interested in a ‘biological slave circuit’ and that he’s impatient to have a working one.

There are two more bounty hunters out there, possibly looking for the heroes. Now its a race against time … will Dr. Legrange complete Phase 2 – possibly as part of his work for Rogga? Or will our Heroes find a way to shut down his mysterious plans?

Look at my armor: there are many like it, but MINE is sexeh!

— Dizzy finally has her armor on, after an entire session of crabbing about its absence

Meanwhile, aboad the Reilly’s Luck in High Peaks Mesa docking bay twelve ...

Alert sirens wailed like a mythical banshee. The ear-splitting sound shattered the calm of the High Peaks Mesa district of Fondor City. Between the clean, white buildings a column of black smoke snaked skyward away from the High Peaks Medical Clinic. Walls blasted, windows shattered beyond repair, the clinic looked every bit the victim of a small, but violent war.

Overhead, the sharp roar of speeder bike engines heralded the Fondorian Defense Force. Their rapid response team descended in force. Speeder bikes took point, scouting the area overhead, while armored transports settled outside the battered front door of the clinic and deposited Defense Force troopers in combat gear. A few seconds behind the transports, combat-ready ambulance hovertanks slid into position. EMTs in scout armor poured out the back, and followed the armored Defense Force troopers into the building.

Janis Arin surveyed the scene on the news feed while it played out like a holodrama. She sat with her boots propped up on the nearby table in the rec-room of her ship. On screen, the EMTs carried out the first of the survivors, and Janis snarled.

From the corridor to the rec-room, Teneb chucked; a rough sound punctuated by a staccato hiss. The Trandoshan bounty hunter entered the room. He glanced at the news feed. Satisfied, and partially bored, he returned to tapping on the datapadd.

“Please tell me you have found something worthy to do that doesn’t involve checking signal relays,” he asked in a gravel-laden tone.

“Yeah. Curse.” Janis snapped, then nodded at the news feed. “Behold, Helic’s handywork.”

The Trandoshan glanced up from the datapadd. “Hm. He get them? At least take a trophy? After all, one of those drifters was a Cathar. Might’ve had a nice pelt on him.”

Janis gave a derisive snort. “What d’you think?” She gestured to the screen.

On screen, a pair of Defense Force troopers escorted two EMTs with a medi-lift. On the lift lay Helic Ton, restrained and bandaged in bacta patches. Through a wide hole in the front of the clinic, the camera-bot captured a brief image of a large Cathar. The camera rotated and then captured the image of a human woman in a blaster-scored military uniform.

“Sithspawn!” Teneb swore. He clenched the datapadd with both hands, and nearly broke it.

Janis stabbed the ‘off’ control for the holovid with a finger. “I still say we snipe those three and be done with it.” She rubbed her eyes. “Anyway, we’ve a timetable to keep. How’re the relays?”

Teneb grunted, and dropped the datapadd on a nearby table. “Fine. They’re within spec.”

“Good. That’s something right.”

Teneb folded his arms over his chest. “Legrange call yet? Surely he’s seen this.”

The other bounty hunter shook her head. “Not yet. Last time I spoke with him, it was right before Helic ran off to ‘surprise’ our collective problem.”

The comlink chimed.

“Naturally, it would be Legrange.” Teneb said with a sour tone.

“Hey, even lunatic geniuses watch holovid. I always pegged him for a ‘Jedi Quest’ fan though, not the news.” She punched the ‘answer’ key as Teneb suppressed a chuckle. “This is Aris. Go.”

The image of a supposedly dead man – Dr. Jack Legrange – appeared. “Ah, Ms. Aris. You have seen the news?” Dr. Legrange’s voice was measured and cool.

“I have.”

“It seems your associate made … an error,” Dr. Legrange replied. “Pity. The loss of that clinic was painful. Before he embarrassed himself, did Mr. Ton at least do away with this pack of interlopers?”

Janis clenched her teeth a moment before she replied. “No. They lived through that small war Helic started. They didn’t come out unscathed though.”

Dr. Legrange was quiet a moment. “Interesting. They seem quite hardy. I presume you’ve a small dossier on them?”

Janis and Teneb exchanged a glance. Janis picked up a second datapadd from a nearby table. “Yeah. Not a lot on two of them, but a good bit on the third. Sending the files now.” She access the files, then hit the ‘send’ key.

Dr. Legrange hummed softly to himself before he spoke again. “A cathar, a human and a rodian. Hm. I’m surprised to see a cathar in this end of the sector. The human is military? Very interesting. Ah, the rodian. I see why you have such a detailed report on him. This ‘Greelo’ seems well-traveled and very skilled.”

Teneb snorted. “Only if you like to play with bows and arrows. We’ll erase them and they’ll be out of the way.”

“No.” Dr. Legrange did not the word like a command. It was more like a statement of fact; something that would be impossible to refute.

Janis and Teneb exchanged a glance again. This one was more surprise than uneasy.

“Alright,” Janis replied slowly.

“Subdue them,” Dr. Legrange continued, “but don’t kill them. I need them alive, and not interrupting my plans. Wounds? Well, those I can fix. But dead? They’re no good to me dead.”

“It’ll cost,” Janis interjected.

“Yes, yes, of course. I’ll pay the extra fee.” Dr. Legrange replied with a dismissive wave. “Just get them. Although, since they’ve proven to be rather inventive or durable or both, Teneb, I want you up here aboard the Zarkov. I want a ‘plan B’ for protection.”

“I’ll head up,” Teneb snarled.

“Excellent. Now excuse me, but the ion capacitors are still charging and need steady attention. Teneb, I expect you within the standard hour. Ms. Aris, once you have your quarry contained, send word and I’ll have the Zarkov meet you at the usual coordinates. Legrange out.” With that, the comlink went silent.

Janis keyed the ‘off’ button on the console. She turned to look at Teneb.

“We’d better tell Rogga,” Teneb said. “He’s not going to like this. Especially that part you didn’t send to Legrange … the one about that military lady being a part of Beskar Aran.”

“I don’t like any of this either,” Janis countered. “This deal’s getting worse all the time.”

A race against time!

In the heart of the Shindra System, the CONFEDERATION now begins to move. Two assault forces advance, yet never arrive. Out of the Shindra Nebula, hyperspace explodes open as the Dendarii Mercenary Fleet appears directly on top of the CONFEDERATION’s assault! The CONFEDERATION assault scatters. Only a portion return to the main fleet.

Beyond Shindra, the MISMATCH finds its way into the SOTERIOS SYSTEM. It drops out of hyperspace and avoids the automated drone patrols. CAPTAIN ELENI BENACOR sits astounded at the sight. The Tatooine-like desert world of SOTERIOS has been ravaged. Enormous factories and mechanized facilities scar portions of the landscape, leaving the arid desert world partially wrapped in soot.

Meanwhile, on the world of FONDOR, emergency response teams react to the sudden explosions that rocked the High Peaks Mesa district! They descend upon the medical clinic prepared for a war. Inside the ruin, Rushlight, Dizzy and Greelo meet the Fondor Defense Force and consider their options, now that they have uncovered critical data that points to imminent doom for the world of FONDOR.

Dizzy's notes:

• And now, I have my armor.

   

  And it is on.

• There are chibi-droidekas!
  Attacking us!
  Rushlight is thinking about keeping one and turning it into a Pokemon. Maybe http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Tentacruel_(Pok%C3%A9mon) or maybe http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Magnezone_(Pok%C3%A9mon)

• We win! Mostly!

   

  Except for having to stay on Fondor past the end of my vacation.

(Everyone gets 5 CP!)