Page 2
"Loose Ends, Good Friends"
Game conceived by Mario, Rewritten by Leslie
Played 6/8/02
Tohz, the Quarren ambassador from Mon Calamari, has fled Coruscant. Captain Mereel has been hired to find and bring the fugitive back to Coruscant for a bounty of 50K – unfortunately it’s a live acquisition but one Mereel is quite capable of succeeding at if circumstances dictate…such as payment. Our biosynthetic Cal Turan realizes that the mysterious message he had received earlier was sent from a secret base under the oceans on Mon Calamari.
Mereel contacts The Dragon for any information he might be able to provide on the previously abandoned base on Mon Calamari; The Dragon informs him it will take some time to investigate and that he will contact him the following day. Cal suggests he and Mereel go to a "node" for one of Coruscant's many Crime Syndicates for information. Mereel is suspicious of some of Cal's doings but goes along with him. They arrive at the site and are immediately allowed access, with Mereel only agreeing to hand over his blaster. The syndicate head is none other than Zinj, a Falleen of some reputation. There seems to be some animosity towards Cal from this particular Falleen; however, Zinj finds Mereel rather interesting and a potential employee. Cal asks Zinj for information on the Mon Cal base such as a map, security systems, weaponry, current occupants, incoming and outgoing ships etc. Zinj agrees to supply what information he can obtain under 2 conditions: first, the Mandalorian think about doing some jobs for him and, second, is for Cal's ears only. They walk some distance away and Zinj informs Cal that he is to leave Xizor, Zinj's son, alone. What neither Zinj nor Cal realizes is that Mereel, using his helmet's sound sensors, heard everything that transpired between them – he found the part about Xizor rather interesting. Zinj tells them that the base was an abandoned military base and that someone named Zypher designed the newly installed security system. He also mentions that someone named Talon, who works for the Kuat Drive Yards, has designed a ship that has been seen going to the base. There are no weapons protecting the base either. Ambassador Tohz, who recently fled Coruscant, was seen leaving with 9 Ubese smugglers/gunmen and is known to have 3 Destroyer Droids as well. As they leave, Zinj makes a mental note to remember the quiet, deadly Mandalorian.
Cal then goes to see Slaan, the Suissi mechanic from our previous adventure on Devaron. He asks Slaan to make a device that can identify voices by tone and pitch. Slaan agrees and tells Cal to come back later.
Meanwhile, someone named Click, a Xeto, wants to hire Jodz and Scooby to retrieve stolen weapons so he contacts the two buddies at a local bar. He tells them that the weapons are currently being stored on a secret base on Mon Calamari (hmmmmm, coincidence? Capt Mereel). They agree when he offers them 25K and then later he raises the fee to 50K.
Cal goes to see Zida, a reporter for the Coruscant Society Pages, for information on Tohz. She tells us that he is a gambler, collects all things military and is interested in military design; he's also a sportsman, very macho and a shrewd businessman. Rumor has it that Tohz was whisked away by armed gunmen. Senator Palpatine of Naboo is a good friend of the ambassador. She mentions that Click, a Xeto, knows someone named Talon who has been seen with the ambassador; this Xeto can usually be found frequently several lower level bars.
Mereel suggests they go to the Outlander, a lower level sports bar, and start looking for Click. Mereel easily finds the Xexto by paying the bartender for information. Click is currently playing cards in a nearby booth with a Herglich (thankfully not the same one who left Mereel like a discarded action figure on a balcony not too long ago) and a Draal. Mereel sends a drink to Click who reacts like someone with a guilty conscious and proceeds to try making a quick escape. Before Mereel can react, however, a female Farghul approaches him with an offer to provide any weapons or equipment he might be interested in. However, the Mandalorian is too interested in Click and Cal takes over the conversation with the Farghul. Mereel intercepts the non-human at the doorway and tells him he is simply looking for Talon because he wants some modifications made to his ship. Click agrees to contact Talon for him. Meanwhile, Cal finds out the Farghul knows Zephyr and gets his office address from her.
Cal and Mereel go the Zypher's office. Zypher is human and is a very highly paid security systems designer. Any question asked requires payment. He offers to provide the complete schematics for the OT5000 System that he designed for Ambassador Tohz for a tiny sum of 55K. We tell him we will think about that (Mereel doesn't like spending more money on an acquisition that what he would get for bringing him in).
Mereel discovers, in the meantime, that Jabba the Hutt has increased the bounty on Cal to 250K and that only one bounty hunter has taken up the chase – Zam Wesell. This new development is disturbing but Wesell can easily be dealt with in Mereel's opinion.
We meet up with Lar, our trusty Padawan, and he agrees to accompany us to Zypher's office. However, Mereel wants to reconnoiter the office first and discovers it to be too quiet. His instincts tell him something isn't right when he uses infrared and sound sensors and finds Zephyr working too quietly in his office and no security within sight. Having survived by skill and instincts, Mereel opts not to pursue Zypher's offer but instead contacts Jodz and Scooby, 2 very highly skilled computer hackers. Combining their expertise, Jodz and Scooby break into Zypher's computer and retrieve the information on the OT5000, including the deactivation code.
Meanwhile, the Dragon contacts Mereel with the only information he could obtain in such short notice: a map of the base and that Ubese smugglers have quite a stash of weapons on the base, including crates of blaster rifles, blaster pistols and thermal detonators. He also informs Mereel that someone has contacted him about a bounty of 250K, dead or alive, on a pirate named Titus. Mereel is very interested but duty and honor demand that he finish this current job since he agreed to it but, if he should run across Titus in the meantime, he will attempt to collect the bounty. Dragon has not been able to confirm the identity of the person who has placed the bounty on Titus but it is known that Titus is in the Coruscant area. Titus flies a Death Raven called the Shadow Hawk and has a squadron of Y-Wings with him. There is no time limit on the bounty and it is currently open – no other has taken it up yet.
Hours later the Dragon contacts Mereel again and tells him that the bounty on Cal has been increased to 350K; he suspects there is someone else behind this bounty – that Jabba is only the front man (front slug?). Mereel comments to the Dragon that Jabba is only a minor crime lord so someone is definitely financing the increased bounty – someone with more influence and more money. He also informs Mereel that the bounty on Titus was increased as well – to 350K. Is this just a coincidence or is someone trying to lure Mereel away from going after Tohz???
It is now time to go to Mon Calamari so Cal goes with Mereel in the Nighthawk and Lar goes with Scooby and Jodz in the Naughty Vixen (with the Screaming Whore riding tandem). Reverting to real space, Mereel, out of habit and a desire to live, always does so with active sensors which immediately pick up a Death Raven and 5 X-Wings. Mereel quickly powers up shields and weapons and actually fires first when his sensors indicate the Death Raven and X-Wing's have activated their shields and attempted to lock on with their weapons. During the space battle, Mereel destroys the Shadow Hawk and 4 X-Wings while the Naughty Vixen is disabled by the Shadow Hawk's ion cannons. Jodz, having quickly gotten to his ship and unclamped her, also took part in the battle but was unable to score any direct hits. The lone surviving X-Wing hightails it away. Mereel confirms the demise of the Shadow Hawk to the Dragon who relays the info on to the client; Mereel is soon richer by 350K. The Naughty Vixen has to be towed in by a Mon Cal emergency ship for massive repairs.
After arriving on-planet, Mereel gets information from a local mechanic about an Ubese ship that is for sale – it is derelict and not worth the bother but we decide to see it for ourselves. He informs the Mandalorian that he knows a Mon Cal who can supply us with an underwater transport. As we are preparing to do some scouting, another ship arrives and 2 human females come down the ramp…they eye up Jodz and Scooby who both feel they've seen these 2 delicious babes somewhere before but can't place them!
At the dock where the Ubese ship is, we see many Trade Federation ships. A disgruntled freighter pilot, complaining about the Trade Federation, tells Mereel about someone on Coruscant named Dexter who can get him any armor or weapons for a price. He also mentions that someone named Talon was here recently but left about 3 days ago. Cal discovers that Talon bought equipment locally to modify a holoprojector; he also suspects he is a Sith since, from the description, he appears to be carrying an exotic lightsaber.
Lar goes to the local law enforcement and is loaned an underwater transport. We head for the secret base and, using the stolen information from Zypher's computer, get through the security net while it is running a self-diagnostic. We see 2 bay doors and what appears to be an emergency bay door. We also find a small hatchway that Mereel docks the transport to.
Entering the base, we are attacked by the 3 Destroyer Droids and eventually the 9 Ubese join in. Before having to retreat due to injuries to Scooby and Jodz, we destroy the 3 Destroyer Droids and Mereel kills one of the Ubese.
Escaping outside in the transport, we decide that Talon and Tohz cannot be allowed to leave so Mereel uses the heavy lasers on the transport and blasts away at the dead volcano the base is built into. The 2 bay doors and the emergency bay door are now blocked by tons of rock. They wait while Jodz and Scooby fully recuperate then go back in.
The 8 remaining Ubese, Talon and Tohz are in the emergency bay. Five of the Ubese are standing guard while the other 3 are working on the ship Talon has built. We turn off the lights. Mereel, using his infrared equipment in his helmet, leads the way up the hall. Cal, being a biosynthetic with night vision and Lar, using Force Sense, follow behind him. Mereel runs up the hall and lobs a frag grenade just inside the blast door (from which a Heavy Repeating Blaster muzzle is protruding) and disables the HRB. Several of the Ubese are also wounded bad enough to be out of commission. As the door is closing, Mereel attempts to jam a survival knife into it to keep it open. As Mereel is doing this, Talon tries to skewer the Captain's head with his red-bladed lightsaber but, thanks to Mereel's quick reflexes; he jerks quickly back and only receives a souvenir scorch mark on his helmet. Lar, our gallant Padawan, leaps through the doorway as it closes, leaving everyone else in the hallway. The door is locked from the inside and Scooby fails to force the door open! Lar is caught in the room with no back up and with a Sith Lord!
Mereel, using his Deluxe Security Kit, unlocks the door and before them is a battle between Lar, our young Padawan, and Talon, an 11th level Sith! (Key up Duel of Fates here but don't think about the previous battle between our Padawan and his young female Padawan companion and a female Sith in an earlier game!) Lar holds his own but begins to take wounds which weaken him enough that he falls to the floor. Talon is about to kill him but, for some reason, leaves him alive and runs up the ramp into his ship. Mereel throws a tracking device onto the ship as it begins blasting its way out the bay. We realize that the ocean is going to rush in if they succeed and quickly retreat, closing the blast doors behind us. Talon and Tohz escape!
What we have discovered is that Tohz is using Talon as a bodyguard but Tohz himself is being used by someone else….but whom?
After returning to land, Mereel decides he needs a drink before proceeding further so goes to a local bar, accompanied by Jodz and Scooby. A Trandoshan approaches the Mandalorian and advises him that Zam Wesell has associates now working with her on the bounty for Cal Turan. Jodz and Scooby discover the 2 rather familiar women are also in the bar and they agree to accompany them back to their ship. Here the 2 stalwart sometimes-smugglers discover in an embarrassing moment that the women are actually male changelings. The last Jodz remembers before he is stunned by a blaster is having his pants around his ankles, showing he wears boxers with little red hearts, and hearing some very loud footsteps in the corridor and a strange voice. Scooby, who was being more careful, was not in as an embarrassing situation as Jodz but, none-the-less, was also knocked unconscious as well. And this is where the adventure stopped - to be continued….
Game #6
"THE RETURN OF THE TRADE FEDERATION"
Game conceived by Mario and rewritten by Leslie
Played on 7/27/02
Slowly Scooby opened his eyes, his head reeling from the blaster shot set to stun him and his buddy Jodz. The last thing he remembered was the horror – the true horror of having one of his fantasies turn into a hideous monster!
Well, not exactly hideous, but a monster all the same. He rolled over and saw Jodz regaining consciousness, his pants were on again and that was a relief! Peering into the gloom, Scooby noticed they were in some kind of cargo bay – barrels, boxes, crates and an old-fashioned box spring mattress. A muffled grunt told Scooby that Jodz was now fully awake. Ever the headstrong type, Jodz tried getting up and actually managed to move around despite both his wrists and ankles being bound.
Restrained in the same manner, Scooby had an idea. If he could get to the mattress he might be able to break one of the springs and pick the lock on the binders. A few failed attempts at getting to the mattress had him rolling around the deck still bound…convinced that this wasn't going to work, he decided on a new tactic….
The golden Wookiee began to pull with his Herculean strength against the binders and, with a quick "SNAP!" he was free. Cautiously he made his way to the bay door and, with his keen hearing, heard footsteps approaching. Nodding to Jodz, he stepped back into the shadows and waited.
The door slid quietly open and the smaller of the 2 Clawdites entered. She was the golden-haired cute one that he had intimate plans for earlier…plans that turned sour the moment he-she-it morphed into a highly undesirable figure and shot him…. knocking him out cold!
Shaking that awful memory from his mind, Scooby concentrated on the tiny figure who was unaware of his looming presence for the moment. Carefully he reached out his paw and grabbed the girl by the wrist, twisting it so the blaster in her hand wouldn't shoot him again.
Resistance was futile as the titanic Scooby smashed her against the nearest bulkhead, the blaster falling from her hand and bouncing in Jodz's direction. He immediately grabbed it and, now armed, hopped towards the door, still bound at the ankles and wrists, to find a great vantage point should the blonde's friend decide to intervene.
Taking it upon himself to make his prisoner as helpless as possible, the Wookiee began removing her clothes but this was something she would not stand for! With great effort, she managed to break out of Scooby's grasp and screamed to her partner who was in the cockpit of the ship. Thus began a punching, kicking, knock down fight between the tiny blonde and the giant Wookiee.
Meanwhile, the buxom brunette, now armed, ran towards the cargo bay. Jodz, deciding he was in no mood to negotiate, introduced himself to her again but this time using blaster fire instead of his charm.
In the end our stalwart heroes, Scooby and Jodz, managed to win their freedom. The blonde was eventually knocked unconscious and the brunette, after being hit several times by blaster bolts, finally gave up and surrendered herself, her clothes and the keys to Jodz's binders.
Now in command of their kidnapper's ship, Jodz and Scooby grinned at their chance for revenge, particularly after they intercepted a message from Mutah Rek, the Trade Federation official they have had dealings with previously. His message was meant for the 2 Clawdites and informed them that he could not wait until they delivered the two smugglers to him for his revenge. Slaving the ship to their own, they headed off towards Hutt space….there to sell both the ship and to make some easy credits with the girls as their merchandise and to decide what to do next about Mutah Rek!
Meanwhile, Capt Mereel arrives at the Kuat Ship Yards to have his personal tech specialist, the Geonosian Sssskkttt, upgrade his hyperdrive. Cal Turan had previously returned to Coruscant to accept a new position as a private investigator for the Republic Senate. While on Kuat, Mereel receives notice of a bounty for 150K credits on Shaada, an albino Hutt, who is the head of a criminal organization – his last known whereabouts were in the desert on Kuat.
However, Mereel remembers that Darth Talon, the Sith who nearly skewered his head with a red-bladed lightsaber on Mon Calamari, had a workshop on Kuat so he decides to check up on his newest nemesis. What he finds out is that Talon had recently applied for a new position with a company owned by Prince Xizor. Contacting Xizor's father, Mereel learns that Xizor is presently in disfavor with his father because he did not pursue a business proposition due to his dallying with Cal Turan – and, unfortunately, there is no additional information on Talon that the old Falleen can provide the Mandalorian.
Mereel decides to do it the hard way so finds Talon's workshop and boldly enters, finding only workers in the facility who seem more interested in his armor than why he's there. He downloads the only file in the computer, which are the schematics for a prototype Sith fighter. The prototype is partially built – a round cockpit with 2 very angular solar array panels on each side. There are also bits and pieces of lightsabers lying around as well as various official uniforms, such as Republican Guard uniforms. Mereel finds that the Republican Guard blaster is a fake, it actually holds a lightsaber inside….clues to some devious plan the Sith has but what it is Mereel has yet to figure out.
While Mereel is doing his investigations on Kuat, awaiting the completion of the Nighthawk's hyperdrive upgrade, Lar, our trusty Padawan, is out of the bacta tank, now fully healed from his terrible ordeal with Talon on Mon Calamari. The Jedi Council has decided to give him a mission: to negotiate a peace treaty between the Emperor of Phu and Lord Sho-Pi, a rebel leader.
Meanwhile, Scooby and Jodz arrive at Nar Shaddaa and sell the Clawdite freighter plus it's cargo for 650K. The buyer offers them more work which they may or may not accept – depending on how their visit to Tatooine goes where they hope to sell the 2 girls. Before they leave Nar Shaddaa, however, the buyer asks about Jodz's ship, which is clamped onto the Naughty Vixen. He is surprised to learn that the owner of the ship is dead because, as he shows them a picture of a red and black tattooed Shabrak, he tells them this is the true owner of the ship. Jodz is confused and worried but they head off for Tatooine….Mereel killed the female Sith who flew the Infiltrator so how could the guy in the picture be the owner??? Arriving at Mos Eisley, they quickly make contact with Bib Fortuna and sell the girls (sic) to him for Jabba's pleasure and amusement.
Now that the Nighthawk is upgraded, Mereel decides to track Talon and, using the tracking device he put on Talon's ship on Mon Calamari, Mereel locates him on Tund. There is still that 50K bounty on Tohz, the Quarren ambassador and, since Talon is his bodyguard, he must be there as well. Fifty isn't much but Mereel accepted the bounty and Mandalorian honor demands that he try to fulfill the contract.
Arriving at Tund, Mereel tracks the device to a keep where everything is very low tech, except the ship sitting in the courtyard. Mereel contacts Talon and demands he turn over Tohz….he refuses, which is what Mereel expected. Firing at the Sith's ship, Mereel severely damages it but it is still able to take off so the Mandalorian follows it to the Kubindi System and, after much deliberation, decides the 50K isn't worth all this aggravation so he fires a proton torpedo at the ship and destroys it. Scanning the debris, Mereel realizes it was a decoy when no organic matter is found. Slamming his gloved fist against the bulkhead, he decides to return to Tund to vent that anger!
On Phu, Lar Gant arrives to negotiate the treaty and goes to see Lord Sho-Pi, who gives Lar a task to perform: he is to get a "stone" from a monk and, if he succeeds, he is to come back and Sho-Pi will negotiate. Locating the monk, Lar defeats him in a small duel of kindness and, when the battle was finished, he is given the healing stone of Ji. Meanwhile, Sho-Pi learns of Tohz’s ship being destroyed by some bounty hunter after the Quarren. Both he and the Sith need a lift so Sho-Pi is immediately called back to pick them up on Tund. As you can imagine this caused the locals to run and congratulate the Jedi for his scaring Sho-Pi so much that he would head off to greener pastures. So off Sho-Pi goes but not before Lar managed to secure a tracking device upon his ship.
Meanwhile Scooby and Jodz have learned that the Trade Federation is behind a small embargo of medical supplies to a group of colonists on Zhar and decide to take their chances and do something about it to disrupt that nasty organization that has become their nemesis. Their plan is to go in and rescue the colonists. Scooby and Jodz do have some sense of honor but they need help and manage to contact Lar, their Jedi friend, asking for his assistance.
They meet up outside the Zhar System and easily land, managing to load the colonists onboard the Naughty Vixen. But the villains had a spy that they never detected and, after their daring rescue, two squadrons of Y-Wings intercept all three ships, the Naughty Vixen, the Screaming Whore and Lar's Jedi Starfighter, and manage to cripple the Naughty Vixen quicker than they expected. Battling it out for a few rounds, three Y-Wings were damaged but a significant amount of damage was done, unfortunately, to the Naughty Vixen that is spewing out coolant and literally spinning out of control. With the group outgunned and the colonists’ safety to think about, it was a grim no-win situation that grew darker by the second.
Hooting and shouting their wild intoxicated heads off, the raiders were thrilled that they were kicking ass! Hence the wild patterns of flying and blaster fire that turned into a scene from a John Wayne movie. Surrounding the doomed freighter like a war band of Indians, the raiders decided to finish this once and for all. But, thanks to the Jedi and his powers of perception, he found the leader and, with the Force as his ally, managed to convince the leader that they would be better off leaving them alone. After all, these aren’t the colonists they’re looking for…. with an agreeable grunt, the raiders left our intrepid trio and the colonists were returned to Naboo and there was much rejoicing.
After dropping off the colonists and getting a huge thanks from the Monarch of Naboo, the heroes decide to help Lar track down the mysterious Sho-Pi. Following the tracker's signal they reach the inhospitable world of Geonosis. Here the sensors detect the small but growing Trade Federation droid factory and that’s when they also discover a Trade Federation Droid Ship dropping off several damaged Y-wings. Hmmm…those guys again!
Sneaking around further, the group finds that Mutah Rek is on the planet. But he is also in the company of Darth Talon, that very powerful Sith Lord and bodyguard to the renegade politician, Tohz of Mon Calamari. Knowing, or at least guessing, that once again they are a little out of their league, they decide to go back, get help and make repairs to their ships.
Having returned to Tund, Mereel discovers Darth Talon and Tohz have escaped him once again! While deciding his next move, Mereel receives a message.
Scooby and Jodz contact their Mandalorian acquaintance and offer him 100K to capture Mutah Rek alive…he accepts the bounty. He also recommends them to his personal tech specialist, Sssskkttt, so off they go to Kuat for much needed repairs. Mereel, however, goes to Geonosis. On the way to that planet, Mereel is contacted by Cal who has a list of bounties offered by the Republic: 275K for Sho-Pi, who is a Force Adept, martial arts expert and is connected to an unidentified assassin; 275K for Mutah Rek, legal owner of Zorg Enterprises and the same Trade Federation official who hired the Clawdites to kidnap Scooby and Jodz; 275K for Talon; and 275K for the unidentified assassin. These bounties are all live acquisitions (which Mereel hates since it takes more time, hence more expense, to accomplish) with no time limit but Cal's employers would like them brought in as soon as possible.
Mereel contacts Sssskkttt asking why the Trade Federation is on Geonosis. He tells his benefactor that they are building a special army which they want to use to through the galaxy into chaos so they can create new business etc for the Federation. Sssskkttt tells Mereel of another Geonosian who can help him in the catacombs – his name is Tonac and can be identified by having only one eye – Sssskkttt gives Mereel the exact location of Tonac's assigned guard post.
Arriving on Geonosis, Mereel finds Tonac easily. Tonac tells him that Mutak Rek is there and sends him to a small round room where Mereel sees Sho-Pi, Talon, Tohz and Mutah Rek. Mereel had given Tonac a comlink with instructions to somehow clear the route out when he is contacted again.
Mereel listens in on the conversation using his helmet's special equipment and hears that the Geonosian activities are still secret, new operation about to begin and something about Black Sun will be upset. Tohz asks if he is safe from Jango Fett and Talon assures him no Mandalorian can best him. They then depart the room for their quarters.
The Mandalorian waits in the shadows and watches which rooms each person enters. Seeing which one Mutah Rek goes into, he waits until the Neimodian is asleep and enters the room. Knocking the target unconsciousness, Mereel slings him over his shoulder and coms Tonac, who tells him the way is clear. Mereel makes it undetected all the way to his ship and off the planet. He goes to Coruscant where he turns over Mutah Rek and collects the 275K bounty.
Meanwhile, our heroic trio arrives on Kuat for repairs to their ships. Mereel arrives days later and he finds Lar chomping at the bit to go after Talon again – rather unJedi-like behavior but something Mereel can fully understand. The Mandalorian and Padawan agree to go to Geonosis together and Scooby and Jodz also insist on accompanying them.
They all arrive on Geonosis but there is no response from Tonac. They sneak in and leave Jodz at the catacomb entrance as a rear guard. While Jodz is waiting, Sho-Pi saunters along, planning to do some martial arts katas, but doesn't spot Jodz who quickly hid. Jodz notifies the others that Sho-Pi is there so they double back to try to capture the Force Adept. Scooby manages a critical hit on a grapple but Sho-Pi breaks free. Mereel entangles him with his whipcord then Scooby knocks him out. He is bound and gagged then stashed away in a niche to retrieve later.
Jodz goes back to his post and the rest go back into the tunnel to locate Talon and Tohz. They find them in the Control Room and hear Tohz whining to Talon about wanting to leave. Figuring a surprise attack would give them an advantage, they rush into the room. Scooby goes after Tohz while Lar and Mereel confront Talon. Lar using his lightsaber and Mereel his heavy blaster are no match for Darth Talon who continuously whittles away at their vitality and wounds. Mereel is on the verge of unconsciousness so has backed off, leaning against the wall, blackness creeping in around his vision. Lar is taking it just as badly and finally succumbs to fatigue and wounds, collapsing nearby. Jodz arrives in the nick of time, pulling Mereel out of the immediate area. Talon, honorable if you can call a Sith that, will not fight anyone who is not attacking him so he leaves them alone, wounded, bleeding badly and exhausted. He watches Scooby finally take down Tohz and then just leaves, walking away, pride and arrogance evident in every step and in his very eyes as he glances at the Mandalorian. Mereel nods to the Sith in admiration to his skill and his honor and receives a nod in return.
Eventually they all manage to get to their respective ships and leave Geonosis. Sho-Pi and Tohz, both unconscious, are in the holding cells on the Nighthawk and Mereel takes them to Coruscant and gets the 275K bounty for Sho-Pi and the 50K for Tohz. He divides the 50K between Scooby, Jodz and Lar for their help and decides another dunk in the bacta tank is in order. Freel! How he hates the taste and smell of bacta! Mereel promises himself a night on the town once he is fully recovered from his wounds before it's back to work.
The end of “Return of the Trade Federation”
Game #7
"The Legend of the Shadow Dancer"
As played on 9/7/02
Scenario and story by Mario, written out by Leslie.
Back at his Kuati quarters, Capt Mereel receives a message from the Dragon that he has been contacted by a B66 droid who wants to hire him to assassinate Shada the Hutt and retrieve a fractured holocron that is in this Hutt's possession. BLU, his associate, will accompany the Mandalorian on this mission if he accepts it. Mereel accepts the contract and agrees to meet B66, who is coming to Kuat.
Meanwhile Cal and Lar are to investigate a ship that was hit by a solar storm and disappeared. It was carrying several Jedi holocrons. They are to find the ship, retrieve the holocrons and take them to Naboo to an archaeologist named Bail Wocheba. They hire a shuttle with an R7 astromech and find the ship rather easily. Sensors identify strange lifeforms onboard (it was a droid ship so there should be no life signs). Lar and Cal board the ship but Lar gets a sense of foreboding through the Force. Cal accesses the droid control unit but the power fails just as it is telling Cal that something happened to pull it out of hyperspace. They go to the bridge and find a strange green-skinned alien in the pilot's seat trying to make the life support systems work better and start the drive engines. Lar tries to talk to it, using Friendship, but it reacts violently. It pulls a blaster on Lar but Cal, using his quarterstaff, knocks the blaster from its hands as it screams horribly but Cal, swinging a second time, knocks it unconscious. They soon realize its screams were for help when another alien rushes down the corridor towards the bridge but Cal closes the door before it can get in. Cal quickly re-routes power and reboots the computer. The unconscious alien wakes up and fights them but it is soon killed. The other alien is finally knocked out when Cal turns off the oxygen to the corridor outside the bridge.
Jodz and Scoob are summoned to Naboo by Queen Amidala for an audience. She thanks them for saving her citizens (see Game #6) and asks them to help a Bimm archaeologist named Bail Wocheba working on a dig outside of Theed City. The Bimm arrives and is carrying a leather document tube attached to his belt. He needs a ship to transport him to Ord Mantell to pick up a friend then return to the excavation site. He is willing to pay them 150,000 credits. Hmm…just to transport the Bimm? They agree, however, and the Queen is quite happy. Wocheba tells them he must first go to his camp and pick up a few things so off they go.
Arriving at his camp, they are surprised to find Gungans tearing it apart. There is a Gungan cleric who has found, and is clutching selfishly, a book that the Bimm seems desperate to retrieve. Scooby charges the cleric who immediately runs to the nearby pond and disappears underwater. Jodz, meanwhile, is taking care of the other Gungans. Scoob dives in after the Gungan but starts to flounder…. using his Wookiee strength, he finally is able to grab hold of the cleric's ankle and keep him from escaping. After a tug-of-war with the book, Scooby finally manages to snatch it from the Gungan's hands and quickly resurfaces. Wocheba is extremely happy with the Wookiee for getting his book back for him.
When Mereel leaves his Kuati abode to meet B66 at the appointed time and place, he is met by a rather disheveled being who warns him of hackers scouting out his ship at its hanger. For 100 credits, he informs Mereel that the local hackers can be found at Izzy's, a local bar.
Mereel arrives for his meeting with B66 at the local Shipping Conglomerate Office and is met by the droid who informs him that he represents a group of individuals. These individuals want Shada the Hutt dead and the fractured holocron retrieved. Payment for success is 650K with the usual 50% down that Mereel requires. There will be an additional 25% if he succeeds within 7 days. There are several requirements: the first is that the client does not tolerate failure; second, there is competition out there for Shada and the holocron so an expeditious end to this contract is of utmost importance; and third, he is to take along a prototype droid model IG-1138 known as BLU. Upon questioning B66 about IG-1138, Mereel is told that the droid is an assassin droid that will not tolerate restraining bolts, can only be shut down by an internal deactivation command, has an internal data duplication scanner to download the holocron to inspect it for illicit duplication and will activate an internal homing beacon when the contract is complete. Even though these requirements and the rather dangerous and, probably very illegal, droid are a nuisance, Mereel agrees.
He takes BLU back to the Nighthawk where Ranger reacts with a worried warble but they soon get along. BLU downloads all the information it has on Hutts to Ranger but Ranger informs the IG unit, in a rather smart-ass manner for a droid, that he already has that information. However, Ranger scans all the known communication signals for Shada's last known whereabouts and soon finds he was last seen in Mega City. Mereel contacts Ssskkktt who tells him rumor has it that Shada wants off the planet – fast!
Mereel and BLU go to Izzy's where Mereel, after the bartender yells, "We don't serve their kind here!" tells BLU to wait outside and scan the area for anything suspicious. Then he convinces the bartender that he needs a team of hackers for a very lucrative job. While BLU is waiting outside he sees an Ubese and Farghul talking about a job – transporting someone off planet within the next 24 hours from Bay 94. Mereel talks to a team of hackers and offers them 50K to break into his ship as a test. Mereel and BLU return to the Nighthawk's bay and the hackers do eventually find a way to get its hatch open and Mereel adds a requirement before they get their payment: to find the team of hackers who have been scouting out his ship. Reluctantly they agree.
During that night, Mereel and BLU go to Bay 94 where they find a Corellian freighter called the Crimson King. Unfortunately as they are trying to break into it, hangar guards appear and they have to quickly take care of them and disappear before more security arrives.
Meanwhile, Cal and Lar, still on the droid ship, have discovered some interesting things. The ship's droid brain tells Cal, while the ship was in the Kornacht Cluster, another ship docked to it then pushed it into the solar storm and left those 2 aliens behind. While the ship was docked to it, it upgraded the efficiency of all ship's systems, including life support and environmental systems. Cal instructs the ship to go to Naboo and, while enroute, they look at the Jedi holocrons – they contain information about ancient Naboo and a person named Shazi the Shadow Dancer who was recruited as a potential Jedi to fight the Sith. Shazi is called the 'Shadow Dancer' because she can use the Force to 'cloak' herself. She and another Jedi named Cerus Mai went off and were never heard from again (see Game #4 - Cerus Mai was the Jedi Master being held prisoner on the asteroid base).
Jodz and Scooby are told by Bail Wocheba, the Bimm, that their associates Cal and Lar will be arriving soon with the holocrons. They learn more of what Bail is searching for – a lost planet called Lemuria. His friend on Ord Mantell is a mapmaker and the Jedi holocrons may contain information to create a map showing its location.
Mereel and BLU go to Mega City where BLU interfaces with a protocol droid who tells him that the underworld is being eradicated; there is a new player on the planet who has been systemically eliminating all competition, of which Shada is the last. High-level government officials are courting this newcomer. As this is all being told to BLU, Mereel receives a communication from the hackers he hired – it is an urgent, frightened message from one of the hackers telling him that someone has killed the others and he is on the run. However, before anything more can be said, Mereel hears blaster fire over the comlink and screams then the call is cut off.
Cal and Lar arrive on Naboo and deliver the holocrons to Bail who takes them, Cal and Lar, to Jodz and Scoob. Lar is curious, though….the Bimm is familiar but he can't remember where he has meet this person before.
Back on Kuat, Mereel and BLU head out to the desert, to the crashed Dreadnought that had been Shada's Palace. They interrogate the scavengers and find out that Shada is now in Tiber City and that he left 3 days ago. They convince another person to take them to Shada who, they believe, is actually in Mega City and, for the right price, he does take them to a garage where their sensors tell them Shada is inside and the fractured holocron is with him. While they watch the garage from a nearby rooftop, a Farghul arrives…the same one seen earlier. There are 4 guards – 2 on the rooftop of the garage and 2 with Shada. Luckily, BLU manages to get the garage passcode as the Farghul enters by successful use of his scanners.
They devise a plan - Mereel will take out both guards on the rooftop of the garage from his vantage point and, immediately after both are eliminated, BLU will enter the garage to kill Shada. As soon as BLU is in position, Mereel fires and takes out both guards quickly then hightails it down to ground level to help BLU if necessary. BLU immediately opens the garage door and pounds inside, taking out one of the 2 guards. Keeping out of reach of the Hutt's tail, BLU's targeting sensors zero in on the slug. Shada tries to fight but BLU opens up with his built-in Heavy Repeating Blaster and turns the Hutt into orange goo. The place, now covered in the remains of Shada,, looks like the aftermath of a very disgusting food fight. The last guard raises his arms in surrender while the Farghul has retreated off to the side, not drawing a weapon. As BLU moves closer to the mangled body of Shada in order to retrieve the holocron, Mereel arrives and sees the carnage – orange goo everywhere, including some dripping off of BLU's conical head. He is very impressed. Hmm… he thinks this assassin droid could be a good partner. The guard lowers his arm and appears to be about to shoot but Mereel quickly launches his whipcord from his left wrist gauntlet and entangles the man, bringing him to the ground. BLU then knocks the man unconscious and retrieves the holocron from amongst the orange mess. They take the Farghul , return to Kuat City and leave her with Ssskkktt for safekeeping and future use.
Somewhat suspicious (his self-preservation program working here) of the reason behind the homing beacon, BLU scans the program and finds a deactivation sub-routine within the homing beacon. He quickly deletes the deactivation program then activates the homing beacon to find out who would dare deactivate him. Informing Mereel of this, they decide to trick whoever comes for the droid and holocron if it appears suspicious – BLU will remain on the Nighthawk as if deactivated and Mereel will meet them and bring them onboard. Within minutes, someone arrives at the hangar entrance and demands the droid and holocron in exchange for the 700K credchip he has. Mereel informs him that the droid is deactivated but he is in the ship and must be carried out (his alloy frame is too heavy for Mereel to carry himself). The human refuses to do so and leaves, taking the 700K with him. The Mandalorian is angry at being used, so lifts off and, using the Nighthawk's blasters, kills the human on his speeder then quickly leaves planet and jumps into hyperspace for Dagobah to see the Dragon and find out what barve hired him and what in the name of Hoth is going on?!?!
All the Dragon can tell Mereel is that a Hutt on Coruscant was killed by a lightsaber but, before he was killed, he sent the fractured holocron to Shada. Shada, being the greedy Hutt as most Hutts are, wanted to make money off the holocron but obviously bit off more than he could chew and really pissed someone off big time! As to B66, who was the droid who contacted him and met with Mereel, all he knows is that he is on Dantooine and is owned by a Jedi.
Meanwhile, the rest of the group has gone to Dantooine at the request of Bail Wocheba because of an archaeological dig there. He takes them into a tomb he has discovered. There is a door that can only be opened by a lightsaber, which Bail produces out of his leather tube document carrier. He is a Jedi and Lar is somewhat perturbed that he did not sense this. As the door opens, frigid cold air rushes out and there are shadowy forms in the room – which, according to Bail, will be warming up soon. The Bimm tells Lar that he needed him there with him to see if the 'legend' of the Shadow Dancer was true. He tells the others to leave.
The forms, slowly warming up, are Shazi the Shadow Dancer and her guardians. They must be killed before they revive from their frozen imprisonment but Shazi revives quickly and a tremendous battle ensues just after they have dispatched her guardians. Her weapon of choice is a serpent staff with poisoned fangs that strikes the valiant Jedi several times, causing his body to slowly stiffen.
Shazi laughs at the dancing Jedi – for that was what he looked like as he hopped and careened around, obviously drugged by the venom, his hands weak and his lightsaber dropping to an defenseless position. She laughs again. The Jedi are no match for her people and soon she will return to glory and report to the….
What! Her thoughts are interrupted by a series of blasts that knock her to the ground. The others! They had heard the fight and rushed back to the aid of their Jedi companion. Lying against a crumbling pillar, Shazi's last image was of a human male in tight pants and knee-high leather boots aiming his blaster directly between her eyes. Was that a smile on his face? Then….oblivion.
Everyone returns to Naboo, where Lar, after much Jedi self-healing and other remedies, survives the poison but receives a message from the Jedi Council (which makes him just as ill) that he is to intercept Mereel who has vital information, in the form of a fractured holocron, and a prototype droid – he is to use any means necessary to get the holocron and the droid from the Mandalorian. Lar is completely taken aback by this order but, being the obedient Jedi that he is, obeys diligently. He is also informed that there is an 'organization' that has put a very large bounty (800K) on the head of Captain Jaster Mereel!
Mereel, meanwhile, decides to head for Naboo rather than Dantooine when he receives a message from Cal asking him to come to Naboo. As he enters their space, he receives an unexpected welcome – a security patrol intercepts him and orders him to follow them to a designated landing pad. Unbeknownst to Mereel, Lar had contacted the Naboo Security Forces and requested an escort for the Nighthawk when it arrived. Mereel powers up his weapons and refuses to comply; stating that he has not violated any galactic or planetary laws. They comm Lar who tells them to back off a short way and let him talk to Mereel, who is surprised when he receives a message from the Jedi asking about the fractured holocron and the droid.
He agrees to meet Lar but at a place and time of his own choosing and agrees to turn over the holocron only. After landing at the designated spot, Mereel and BLU quickly insert a tiny tracking device into the holocron and BLU adds a delete program to it that will begin deleting the information when it is accessed.
While this is happening, Cal receives an urgent message from the Trade Federation. It is Rune Haako and he demands that Cal get the holocron from that bounty hunter! Then Senator Palpatine makes a surprise visit and gives Cal a large metal container to give to Lar. He is to give it to Mereel as compensation for the holocron in place of the lost credits. Hmm? Cal gives the box to Lar who then leaves for his appointment with the good Captain.
Meanwhile, Ranger has been monitoring all communications and discovers the bounty put on his owner's head. Quickly alerting Mereel to this new development, Ranger warbles worriedly while the Mandalorian wonders who in Hoth has done this?!? Any barve who dares do this is a dead man! At this point, Lar arrives and Mereel goes out to meet him (key up some good western gunfight music here – maybe 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly'). Mereel agrees to give him the holocron in exchange for his promise to have the bounty, no matter who has placed it, removed. Lar agrees but Mereel wants proof before giving him the holocron so Lar returns to his speeder and contacts the Jedi Council. They agree to get the bounty removed as long as the Mandalorian will give him the holocron – no mention of the droid this time?? Lar informs them that they must have the bounty withdrawn before Mereel will do so…. Lar returns, carrying the large metal container from Senator Palpatine, after he's been told the bounty is withdrawn and Ranger verifies it as well through the intergalactic bounty hunter's hotline. Lar informs him that the box is a gift from Palpatine and Mereel hands over the holocron with a slow nod of his helmeted head and the words, "Always a pleasure doing business with a Jedi."
After Lar leaves, Mereel slowly opens the container and finds a Mitrinomon Z-6 jetpack with missile/magnetic grappling hook, wrist gauntlets with flamethrower etc. He is stunned! Why would the Senator from Naboo give him such an expensive and rare object as a gift? With a shake of his head, he decides, for now, not to wonder too much but to put it on and learn how to use it! However, there is the little nagging voice in the back of his mind asking "Why? And what does the Senator want?"
Lar returns to Theed City where he decides something is definitely not right so he scans the holocron and finds a degrading program on it plus a barely discernible steady beep coming from it. Instead of accessing the information, Lar makes a copy, albeit corrupted, of the holocron.
Later that night, Mereel and BLU arrive in Theed City and land the Nighthawk in a private hangar. Jodz and Scoob decide they want to check out one of the local baths. While enjoying a relaxing dunk in the soothing, fragrant water, two bodacious (oh boy!) babes approach. One is short, dark-haired and pretty – the other, very tall, with a catlike-body and red hair. Wow! The two smugglers immediately get out of the water, wrap towels around their waists in an unusual act of modesty and try their charm on the ladies. As they are working it, a very handsome, predacious human male confronts them and takes the ladies away – one on each arm. They watch, in stunned amazement, as this man, blond-haired, blue-eyed, regal nose and battle scars crisscrossing his body, walks away with a feline grace, the evening's entertainment willingly going with him! Well! Jodz decides no way and starts after them. Two security guards stop them, a fight ensues but, by the time it is over and the 2 smugglers are triumphant, the man and the ladies are gone! Darn! They turn to each other and say, at the same time, "Who was he? Something is familiar about him."
Later that night, Mereel receives a communiqué from Zinj. An attempt was made on his life and he wants to hire the captain to find and kill the would-be assassin – he tells Mereel that he can name his price. Mereel doesn’t hesitate…he replies that he will hunt down and kill the assassin then give him the price, but it will not be less than 1 million credits. Zinj agrees to that and also agrees to send him the holovid footage from his security cameras of the attempt on his life.
(GM information later given to Leslie, aka Mereel, is that the client who originally hired the good Captain to kill Shada and retrieve the holocron etc was Count Dooku. There is a struggle within the Sith between Maul, Tyrannus and Talon for Darth Sidious's favor. Personal comment by Leslie: Oh oh, how many more Sith can I cheese off?!?)
Game #8
"Salazone Trap"
played on 11/9/02 as created by Mad Mario, transcribed by Leslie.
On Naboo, Jodz and Scoob, after transporting about half of the holy relics from Dantooine back to Naboo, are soon caught up in the Trade Federation's blockade…nothing is allowed to arrive or leave Naboo. While in Theed City, they hear that the Trade Federation is impounding ships so they decide to hide the Naughty Vixen and Screaming Whore in the swamps near where the Gungans live.
Lar, meanwhile, is on Coruscant and the Jedi Council summons him once again. As he is on his way to the Council, he passes Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi who are leaving for Naboo. Arriving at the Council, Lar is told that a bounty hunter has been hired to kill Queen Amidala. He is to go to Yavin-4 because this bounty hunter is meeting a contact for supplies. He is to bring in the bounty hunter.
Cal has been out on the town with Prince Xizor who is now the head of Black Sun. His father, Zinj, was found murdered in his bed only days before.
On Kuat, Capt Mereel receives news of Zinj's death and is highly disappointed because he just lost the 1 million credit job that Zinj had previously hired him for. A message arrives asking Mereel to meet someone regarding Zafad Construction – this is the company working on Mereel's base on Yavin-4 and the latest status report indicates the base will be completed within 2 months. Mereel meets the sender of the message, who is an employee of Zafad. He shows the Mandalorian a datapad with several construction projects, including his base, that he says proves 25% of all payments being made to Zafad are being siphoned off to somewhere else with full credit being applied to the customer's account. He thinks the money is going to a crime syndicate on Tatooine and Mereel suspects, if this is true, that it is the Hutts. The man feels that his investigations are being watched and he wants Mereel to help him find those in Zafad who are responsible. Mereel tells him that that is the not line of work he does so he is not interested but he does agree to take the man's comm number in case he changes his mind. Mereel leaves for Yavin-4 to inspect the progress so far.
Jodz and Scoob manage to hide their ships in the swamp and are about to imbibe in some brewskis when they hear gunfire in the distance. A female Naboo guard is being chased by 5 battle droids and they valiantly come to her rescue. However, 16 more battle droids soon arrive and chase the stalwart pair, Scoob with the guard over his shoulder, into a nearby wood. Finally they have to make a stand and Scoob drops the woman, charges into the midst of the battle droids and, using his vibroax, cuts through all of them like a scythe through wheat. They quickly return to their ships and discover the guard is named Veena Bibble, who is the daughter of Sio Bibble, one of Amidala's advisors. She was part of a squad sent to the family estate to protect and, if possible, get the Queen's family off-planet but they were ambushed and the family is now being held prisoner at the estate.
Lar arrives at Yavin-4 disguised as a regular spacer. He finds a camp with 6 men and quickly learns they are smugglers waiting for someone to pick up their goods. He stays hidden in the surrounding jungle but is assaulted by something that throws a stick at him…after finding nothing, Lar goes back to watching the camp until the men all fall asleep. He sneaks into camp, quickly ties up the sleeping guard. One of the 2 ships is very high-tech but the other is simply a transport on which he finds another one of the men and subdues him as well. Eventually Lar, using Affect Mind, keeps all of the men asleep and ties the remaining 4 up as well. He searches the camp and finds crates of weapons, credsticks (55K worth), expensive clothing and alcohol.
What he soon realizes is that Yavin-4 is being used as a base for independent groups of smugglers who leave each other alone as long as one group does not interfere with another. As he is inspecting the high-tech ship, a comm message arrives that mentions something about construction going on at one of the Massassi temples but he is interrupted when he hears a commotion outside. He finds one of the smugglers dead – a disk imbedded in his temple. The others are awake and struggling to get free of their bonds. A ship is coming in for a landing nearby so he suspects this might be the bounty hunter he has been sent to bring in.
On Coruscant, Cal goes to his private hangar where the AI ship has been stored. The AI would prefer to be a protocol droid but agrees to aid Cal when it is convinced that it would be much more valuable as it is. Cal orders the AI ship to go to the Kornacht Sector.
Arriving on Yavin-4, Mereel sees the other ship landing nearby and decides to investigate. As he is traversing the jungle, Aurra Sing lands her ship and Lar confronts her. However, she just assumes he is some rich kid out with the smugglers for a thrill from his normal boring life. She wonders where the smugglers are but tells Lar she is there to pick up her goods and offers him 2K to help her with a job on Naboo. However, she soon finds the unconscious smugglers (who Lar had quickly tossed into one of the tents) but decides to offer him 50% of the goods if he causes no trouble…Lar, however, pulls his lightsaber and turns it on. Aurra uses a Force power and deactivates it just as quickly but he reactivates it. She smiles, using Affect Mind, and puts Lar to sleep.
Veena asks Jodz and Scoob to rescue the Queen's family because they could be used to force the Queen to give in to the Trade Federation. They agree and, leaving the Naughty Vixen in the swamp, fly to the family villa in the Screaming Whore. Sensors tell them that there are 24 battle droids, 4 droidekas and 2 battle tanks at the villa. Veena tells them of a hidden tunnel into the villa since she is too wounded to go with them. Just as they are sneaking into the tunnel, Scooby trips over a rock and alerts several battle droids to their presence. After a quick fight, all the battle droids are destroyed but they see a droideka coming and quickly hightail it into the tunnel.
Cal, meanwhile, arrives in the Kornacht Sector and scans the nearest planet. He discovers that the planet is very low tech but that a strange ion emission is radiating from a building near one of the towns. Cal orders the AI to land the ship then he leaves on his speeder to investigate. Arriving at the building, Cal soon learns it is a lab and sneaks inside. He soon sees a very tall, thin alien, long arms, long neck with small round head and large eyes as it is working in one of the rooms and, when the alien sees him, it only blinks then says "Ah, you look exactly as you did when you left." It then asks, "Are you functioning well?" Cal, not speaking, listens as it continues: "We were not expecting you for a couple of years." Cal finally speaks and asks, "Who are 'we?'" It aims an instrument at Cal's forehead and nods, saying, "Your memory capacitor is not working correcting and we will need to repair it."
Back on Yavin-4, Mereel confronts Aurra Sing and agrees to let her leave with Lar. After she leaves, he kills all but one smuggler who he allows to leave on the transport with orders to tell everyone not to return or else. Mereel finds 25K worth of credsticks and also takes the alcohol and expensive clothing figuring he could sell the stuff.
On Naboo, Jodz and Scoob eventually find a doorway and barge in, only to find themselves in a cell with several scholars who are debating the nuances of the Republic. They are told that the family is being help on an upper floor. Jodz picks the lock and they sneak upstairs. They quickly find the room where the family is being held, destroy the 4 battle droids and droidekas left to guard them and then realize their escape through the tunnel is blocked by droidekas. Scoob decides to try to steal one of the battle tanks so he sneaks downstairs and runs towards it…a droideka sees him and begins firing. Meanwhile, Jodz leads the family and the scholars out of the villa (Scoob now being a distraction) to the Screaming Whore. As Scoob dives headfirst into the hatch of the tank, his big furry butt gets stuck and the droideka fires, causing major damage to the trapped Wookiee. Jodz arrives in the Screaming Whore just in the nick of time to save Scoob's butt but blasting the droideka to pieces. He quickly lands the ship and, with the help of 2 of the scholars, manages to pull Scoob out of the hatch and carries him to the ship in critical condition. Just as Jodz lifts off, 2 Staps are coming but he quickly destroys them then plots a course to Coruscant, hoping he can run the blockade first.
Lar wakes up only to find himself tied down to a bunk. Aurra tells him that they are on their way to Naboo but that he might live longer if he agrees to help her. Lar attempts Affect Mind but fails – Aurra leaves, waving his lightsaber at him as the door slides shut. Using Move Object, Lar manages to pull some drawers open, finally finding a knife, which he brings to his hand and cuts his bonds. Getting the door open, he heads for the cockpit only to find no one there but a comm message comes in at that moment. It is a Trandoshan who says "Target on Yavin-4 will be taken care of."
Mereel, as he is returning to his unfinished base, watches as a cheap shuttle lands nearby and 8 Trandoshans emerge down the ramp – 4 go towards the smuggler's camp and the rest towards his base. The Mandalorian orders Ranger to lift off and protect the base. His broadband antenna picks up a signal saying the ship is only a decoy, that the target is still on the ground and the ships are coming in.
Ordering Ranger to hit the camp and kill the 4 Trandoshans, Mereel quickly takes up position nearby so he can start picking off the other 4. After Ranger succeeds in eliminating the camp and Trandoshans, he alerts Mereel to 3 Y-Wings coming in. The bounty hunter orders Ranger to intercept the ships and destroy them. Eventually, all 3 Y-Wings are destroyed and the 4 remaining Trandoshans are killed. Ranger then detects 6 more Y-Wings but Mereel orders him to land and pick him up.
Cal, back in the Kornacht Sector, is now confronted by a humanoid wearing flowing clothes and a golden mask who asks, "How is Palpatine?" The human, for that is what he is, introduces himself as Makai and tells Cal that, technically, he is his father and, Ayo, the Kaminoan, is his mother. Both have Force powers and Makai was once a Jedi. He tells Cal that he was created to watch Palpatine and serve the Republic. Cal does not know any of this and the cracked memory chip has created this gap and must be repaired. A "failsafe" memory had taken over when Cal's real memory was damaged. They had sent the AI ship to find Cal and bring him back. Cal has 2 options now: have his memory repaired so he can return to the Republic and do what he was intended for or leave his faulty memory as is but never return to the Republic.
Makai tells Cal that he had fought a corrupt senator who was trying to bring back the Order of the Sith and during the fight his face was destroyed – which is why he wears the mask. He fled to Kamino where he meet Ayo and, together, they created Cal. They mention that they are working on another of his kind – a female who will be placed at the side of the leader of Black Sun to watch him and prevent the crime syndicate from becoming too powerful.
Using stealth mode, the Screaming Whore makes it through the blockade and to Coruscant. They have an audience with the Queen and, in place of monetary payment, they ask for a bacta tank be installed on board the Naughty Vixen once they retrieve it from Naboo. The Queen agrees but only if the Trade Federation is removed from her planet. She then asks them to help her once again by distracting the Trade Federation. They look at each other puzzled. Her plan is for them to get onboad the Droid Control Ship and take out the droid power generator so she can get back to Naboo and lead the fight to free her planet. They agree!
Lar, searching Aurra Sing's ship, finds 25K worth of credsticks and, even though he belongs to a poor order and has taken an oath of poverty, he pockets the handful quickly. Following her to Theed City, he discovers the Trade Federation has complete control. Heading for the palace, he quickly gets inside and finds Aurra. He quietly follows her as she sets up sensors in the hangars then places herself in a nearby alcove, slug rifle ready. He quickly begins to disable the sensors but soon discovers Aurra has left her vantage point when she surprises him, firing her blaster into his back. He summons his lightsaber to his hand from where it was hanging on her belt and quickly ignites it. He uses Move Object and flings her backwards into the wall behind her then lifts her to the ceiling, quickly letting her drop to the floor….but she's a tough one and only smiles at him as she pulls her twin blasters. Firing at him, Lar deflects her shots but he eventually can't take much more as some get through his defense. He finally goes down, badly wounded, but she leaves him, alive, deciding to let him live.
Cal, meanwhile, experiences jealousy and destroys the female droid and flees, wanting to return to Coruscant and talk to Senator Palpatine. The Yevetha, however, are there to prevent Makai and Ayo from leaving the planet and now try to prevent their "son" from leaving as well. However, Cal makes it to his ship and blasts off. During the trip back to Coruscant, Cal tries to contact Palpatine but is told he is in serious discussions with Queen Amidala and can not be disturbed. When he arrives on Coruscant, Cal immediately goes to see Palpatine and demands entry to speak with the senator. Palpatine denies any knowledge of Makai and Cal offers his "services" to help in eliminating the senator's competition. Palpatine offers Cal the possibility of aiding him by bringing in these people he spoke of and suggests using a certain mercenary of Cal's acquaintance. He even goes so far as to supply transportation for Cal.
Mereel receives a message from a ship called the 'Tarpis' and is told they are to deliver Cal Turan to him but they refuse to explain what is going on and why. Cal tells Mereel of Palpatine's request and that he is to "extract" the 2 dissidents, Makai and Ayo. The Mandalorian agrees to help Cal after they meet at a rendezvous on Tatooine.
Jodz and Scoob have asked the Queen for some equipment in order to fulfill the mission she has asked them to do for her – frag grenades, black cloak, pants etc and, of course, some bacta. Jodz has an idea…he is going to impersonate a Sith in order to get onboard the droid control ship at Naboo…so off they go after having the flames removed from the Screaming Whore. Upon arrival at Naboo, they are hailed and Jodz, dressed as a Sith, identifies himself as Darth Zong. He explains that Darth Maul is too busy at the moment with the invasion of Naboo. Of course, now the Neimodians are bewailing the fact that there are 3 Sith! Zong further explains that he has a prisoner he must take to the main control room and does, in fact, bluff his way onboard. He convinces Doltray, the Neimodian in charge at the moment, that his prisoner (Scoob) has vital information about a traitor on board the Droid Control Ship. At that very moment, Scooby breaks free of his restraints but Darth Zong pretends to use a Force Push on him and knocks him out. He orders Doltray to watch the Wookiee while he convinces the crew to move away from the Droid Control Panel and turns it off! Scoob pretends to revive and grabs Doltray. They take off, prisoner in tow, to the reactor room and convince the technician there that Doltray is a traitor and they must search for bombs he had planted earlier. While "searching" Jodz/Zong actually plants demolitions and they leave, taking Doltray with them. The ship blows up as they are fast on their way down to Naboo…but not before they stole some Battle Droids and droidekas to reprogram and use in the future.
Meanwhile, back on Naboo, Obi-Wan Kenobi finds Lar and gets him to a medical facility. An hour later, Lar wakes up as a messenger arrives bearing 2 gifts: his lightsaber and a flower – an invitation from Aurra Sing to "play."
Mereel and Cal leave Tatooine for the Kornacht Sector. Cal is torn about fulfilling this mission – he believes that, if he is to succeed in his original mission of watching Palpatine, then what better way to get Palpatine to trust him than to succeed in eliminating Makai and Ayo. However, upon arriving, they discover that Makai and Ayo are no longer at the facility but are hiding somewhere else on the planet. Scanners can not locate them so Cal decides to return to Coruscant.
Arriving on Naboo, Jodz and Scoob see the Queen and boasts to her about their accomplishments and success in her efforts to free her planet from the Trade Federation. Jodz brags and asks for payment "whatever the freedom of Naboo is worth to her." The Queen offers to help them by recommending them to the new Vice Chancellor of the Republic, former Senator Palpatine.
Back on Coruscant, Vice Chancellor Palpatine's assistant asks Cal if Mereel is currently employed. Cal replies that he did not think so and is further asked if he (Cal) would be willing to be the middle-man when Palpatine might need the skill of someone like Capt Mereel. Cal agrees and is somewhat relieved that this might be another way to stay close to Palpatine.
Jodz and Scoob soon learn that Doltray is dead weight…the Trade Federation is not interested in paying for his freedom but they are transferred to a human who makes them an offer but they refuse and the human disconnects the call with no further comments.
Antonio Salazone contacts Mereel on Kuat and contracts him for 550K to kill Doltray with a bonus of 135K to "hurt" the two smugglers Jodz and Scoob…this is a contract Mereel can not pass up – 685K would pay for the new base and then some. Salazone contacts Jodz and Scoob and tells them to go to Kuat to meet their contact who will take Doltray off their hands and, once confirmed that they have turned over Doltray, a large sum of credits will be transferred to them.
They arrive on Kuat in the Screaming Whore and are soon contacted by someone who remains hidden. After several requests that they turn over Doltray, to which they refuse until payment is made, Mereel finally tells them that he is not the one to pay them…he is only the contact who they are to give Doltray to and, once he confirms his part of the contract to his client, their payment will be transferred. They still refuse so Mereel decides it is time to teach them a lesson and "hurt" them as his contract requires. He launches the missile from his jetpack into the open hatch of the Screaming Whore and severely damages the inside. Meanwhile, someone who Mereel initially thinks is Scoob, runs off and out of the hangar. Mereel orders them to prove now that Doltray is dead (thinking the Neimodian was in the ship) but they can’t because, unbeknownst to Mereel, Doltray was in disguise as the Wookiee and just ran off. Mereel gives them 10 minutes to either bring Doltray to him or provide proof that he is dead. They go running off after Doltray and finally find him negotiating with someone to get him off-planet. Just as the ship's ramp is raising, Jodz and Scoob dash up it and into the ship only to discover they are now leaving the planet as well.
Mereel quickly returns to the Nighthawk and takes off after this ship and attempts to cripple the engines; however, the ship jumps into hyperspace, without calculating, before Mereel can do so. The Mandalorian is able to track the dangerous jump by following on the same coordinates and finds the ship dead in space, its hyperdrives damaged. He comms the ship and ordes them to space Doltray – which Jodz does. Recording all of this, Mereel now has his proof that Doltray is dead and he "hurt" Jodz and Scoob so his contract is complete. The Nighthawk departs, leaving them stranded. Sending out a distress signal, hours pass as they wait but eventually a ship arrives bearing a female Farghul who offers to tow them to the nearest planet or spacedock.
Mereel is contacted by someone named Mix who transfers the 685K payment to one of his off-shore accounts after he transfers the recordings as proof of his completing the job. Jodz and Scoob are also contacted by Mix and told payment has been made but that they must never come to this system again.
Back on Corusant, a delivery droid arrives at Cal's apartment with a disk….
End of “Salazone Trap”
Game #9
“Masks of the Jedi”
A scenario created by Mad Mario
Played on 12/7/02
The Screaming Whore is delivered to Jodz Burdoz on Naboo with an invoice showing the repairs and transport of the ship from Kuat were paid in full at the expense of Capt Jaster Mereel. Thrilled to have his ship back, Jodz’s celebration is soon interrupted by a summons to the Palace in Theed City so off they go…Jodz Burdoz, Scoobalumpa and Fatma, their new Farghul tech specialist. Queen Jamilla has a task for them based on Senator Amidala’s recommendation. Vice Chancellor Palpatine needs assistance regarding a ring of smugglers. These smugglers recently supplied arms and equipment to a band of kidnappers and they are to infiltrate the group and destroy them. Kebo Wince is a known supplier to the smugglers and he is also known to have a list of items a dangerous mercenary army known as the Jin Sho have on order. The trio accepts the mission but must deal directly with the Vice Chancellor regarding payment so off to Coruscant they go in the Naughty Vixen.
Meanwhile, on Yavin 4, Capt Jaster Mereel is enjoying a rare day of relaxation as he sits on one of the stone tiers of the Massassi temple his new base has been built into. Everything is going along to his satisfaction in regards to the construction of his new base. His helmets comlink beeps and it is Helix, one of Palpatine’s assistants. The Vice Chancellor has a job for the Mandalorian: the wife and 3 daughters of the Senator of Phu have been kidnapped by a group of Malastare and the ransom demand is for 3 million or the hostages will be killed in 3 days. They are still on Phu but their exact location is unknown. He is to rescue the hostages and bring them back alive, killing the kidnappers if necessary. The kidnappers are backed by a group known as the Jin Sho and that there is a group being sent to possibly infiltrate them. Jedi Lar Gant is being sent to negotiate with the kidnappers. Mereel confirms receipt of the information and agrees to meet with Palpatine on Coruscant as soon as possible. He quickly descends from the temple and locates BLU, his assassin droid partner. Informing him of the job, Mereel quickly warms up the Nighthawk and off they go to meet with the Vice Chancellor.
Jodz, Scoob and Fatma arrive on Coruscant and meet with the Vice Chancellor. He provides a list of goods the smugglers are providing to the Jin Sho. The items are all parts to create 50 lightsabers. A person named Boda Gora may be the leader of this mercenary army. As they agree on their payment of 900K, Palpatine receives a message that Capt Mereel and his partner have arrived so he ushers the trio into a side room.
Mereel and BLU enter the office and Palpatine informs them that the Malastares may have done this for political reasons since there has been some conflict recently between the senators of Phu and Rodia and the senator of Malastare. Ortug, a Gamorrean smuggler, has been supplying arms to the kidnappers and he was last seen on Phu near the village of Kitai. His Corellian freighter is grounded for major mechanical problems so they should be able to easily find him and convince him to divulge the location of the kidnappers. Mereel is thinking that rather than ask for payment he may do this for free and call in a favor from the Vice Chancellor in the future…however, Palpatine quickly tells him that his payment would be 3 million credits for bringing back the hostages alive. The captain waves his normal down payment but takes Palpatine’s guarantee of quick payment upon completion of the job.
Jedi Knight Lar Gant arrives and is given the same information as Merrel and BLU. He insists on keeping one of the kidnappers alive which Mereel reluctantly agrees to. Palpatine then brings Jodz, Scoob and Fatma into his office and informs them they need to go to Iridonia. The Farghul asks Mereel if he ever has any spare armor, to which he replies that any spares he may have are for his own use.
Jodz, Scoob and Fatma take off in the Wookie’s freighter, “The Naughty Vixen” and head to the planet Iridonia to find Kebo Wince. Well, they land the ship at a hanger, and then leave the ship to find Kebo. However, while in the building’s elevator they are joined by a strange character. A man with pale skin, short cropped, black hair and small sunglasses dressed in black quietly gets in with them.
When they leave the lift, he starts to follow, but only for a short time. Blowing it off as just another odd character in the Star Wars universe, our group heads out to the local bars where smugglers are known to down exotic liquors when not flying through space. It takes Jodz, Scoob and Fatma a very short time to attract the attention of someone who can connect them with Kebo and his crew. Jodz gives this fella the hint that he and the Wookie are looking for smuggling work and heard Kebo would be the one to talk to. Not much later, Scoob, Jodz and Fatma find Kebo and his crew milling about their ship’s hanger. After some fast-talking by Jodz, Kebo is under the impression that our three smugglers are looking for some serious work. At the end of their meeting Kebo is in good spirits, thinking he has three new crewmembers. Kebo’s good spirits won’t last long.
Mereel offers to transport Lar to Phu with him and BLU and they soon arrive in the system. Scans tell them that there is a Corellian freighter sitting just outside a village and that there is a Gamorrean and 3 humans near it. Landing the ship some distance away, they walk over and offer to help with repairs. Ortug begins to squeal like the pig he is when Mereel and Lar begin questioning him about the kidnappers and they soon know they are in the Desert of Mondo. BLU, meanwhile, has been pretending to fix the ship but has actually been downloading all the files from Ortug’s database and discovers that his previous stop was Ord Mantell. He also finds some high quality heavy blasters and takes one for himself and gives another to his partner. After making sure the ship is irreparable and their communications systems inoperable, BLU leaves the ship and they depart in the Nighthawk.
Nearing the Desert of Mondo sensors show a compound of several buildings with radiating tunnels linked to a central dome. Life signs show there are 16 Malastares and 2 humans but there is a sensor dampening field in one of the outbuildings which may be hiding the hostages life signs. Landing the ship a kilometer away, they wait for nightfall then converge on the compound from 3 different sides.
BLU, using his flechette thrower, takes down 2 Malastares. He takes stun grenades from their bodies then hides them by covering them with sand. Lar, meanwhile, sneaks up to another building with only 1 Malastare inside who he quickly controls using the Force and discovers the hostages are in the building with the dampening field. Lar suggests to the weak minded creature that he go to sleep then trusses him up tightly. Mereel moves in and 8 Malastares are preparing to go on sentry duty. They break up into 2 groups of 4 but do not see the bounty hunter hiding in the shadows of the night. Eventually all 3 converge on the correct building but they soon discover something has alerted those inside to their presense…or, more likely, to the Jedi’s presense.
BLU hands 2 smoke grenades to Mereel as he readies 2 of the stun grenades that he had liberated from the dead Malastares. Bursting through the door, Mereel quickly tosses the smoke grenades in and BLU lobs the stun grenades right after those – 2 Malastares are immediately stunned as the room fills with smoke. BLU goes left and Mereel right and in short order they take down the remaining Malastares. Then, to their surprise, 2 humans walk through the strangely separating smoke towards them. One is a large older male, bearded, immaculately dressed; the other, younger, dressed all in black with a long black overcoat. Lar, waiting outside, senses something strange – almost as if there is an absolutely perfect Force presense nearby. When Lar enters the building, the older man introduces himself as Jedi Master Sifo Diaz and the other as Boda Gora. He tells them that they have interrupted a transaction that is very important to him and that he knows why they are there so he is willing to make them an offer: wait 2 days and when the 3 million credit ransom is paid, he will give them the hostages alive (letting it appear as if they freed the hostages themselves) so they can collect the payment for a successful mission plus he will also pay 5 million for accepting this offer and waiting. While it doesn’t make financial sense, the offer makes business sense…Mereel accepts despite the objections of the Jedi Lar Gant.
Sifo Diaz then asks Mereel about the Mandalorians and says that he is only aware of 2 now who are alive – himself, meaning Mereel, and one other. Mereel mentions that only a very few survived the massacre at Galidraan as he glances over at the Jedi standing nearby. Diaz smiles in understanding. As the conversation continues, he mentions something about goods at Starforge Station and that he left the Jedi Order to better understand and seek greater knowledge of the Force. He comments rather sarcastically that the Jedi Order is too restrictive. Lar chides at these remarks.
Meanwhile back on the planet Iridonia, Fatma and her companions learn of a place called Star Forge station. During their conversation Fatima notices the mysterious stranger they saw in the lift walking by. Kebo excuses himself and leaves for a moment. Curious, Fatma decides to follow him.
Meanwhile Scoobalumpa decides to stay at the bar and dance with a bunch of beautiful Twilik women, Jodz leaves and sees the pale man attack his new crewmember, Fatma and draws his weapon. The pale stranger is taken aback when a beam of energy from Jodz’s rifle blaster hits him. He then turns his attention toward Jodz. Our “gunslinger” has his rifle blaster thrown out of his hands and across the hallway by the Force. No worries, Jodz just grabs out his blaster pistol, shoots and misses the Force user. He then loses his pistol to the stranger’s powers. Worries! However, Fatma is getting in a few good licks using her own Force adeptness (surprise, surprise!). The mysterious Force user seems a bit overcome and runs off past Jodz. Jodz considers taking chase, but decides to see if Fatma is ok. Unfortunately, Kebo is dead and there are too many questions that need answering from him. Now what? Jodz, Scoob and Fatma have lost their ride to the place where Kebo and his crew were going to take the lightsaber cargo, someplace called Starforge. They decide to take the cargo and load it onto the Vixen and head out to Starforge themselves. As they load the goods, Fatma notices something disturbing, she spies the Force user she and Jodz had the tussle with earlier standing by a very sleek ship. Another sleek ship lands right next to it and out of the hatch comes what looks like his twin brother……….CLONES?!?!?! They meet and discus something then take off. Scoob, Fatma and Jodz all jump into the Vixen and follow the sleek ships.
Mereel and BLU wait patiently as the 2 remaining days pass but, on the last day, Jedi Lar Gant betrays them by secretly sending a message to the Jedi Council for help. BLU, however, was nearby and was able to record his hand movements over the communications console and, thereby, interpret what the Jedi did. He informs Diaz who tells Mereel and BLU that he is very aware of what the Jedi did and that they should not interfere in what happens next.
Diaz soon tells Lar that he noticed a message was sent to the Jedi Council and that, perhaps, he and Boda Gora should have a friendly Force bout. Knowing he has been caught red-handed, Lar has no choice but to accept and soon learns that Gora is very strong in the Force. After battling, without lightsabers, but using only the Force, Lar has taken major damage and finds it difficult to continue. Gora brags to the Jedi about having been ‘made’ to defeat the Jedi and take their place in the galaxy as he finishes the bout and thanks Lar for the ‘amusing exercise.’
Later, as Lar is resting from his injuries, his comlink beeps and it is Mace Windu. Lar informs him that Mereel and his partner BLU have now betrayed him. Windu tells him to contact him again if he gets the hostages out.
Meanwhile, The Naughty Vixen follows the look alike, Force users out into space suspecting that he has a base somewhere in here. All three ships end up in a huge asteroid field above a planet. The Vixen loses the two sleek ships and traverses near the asteroid field. Scoob notices something on the computer, there’s one asteroid that is immensely larger than the rest. Scoob makes some uneasy attempts to move around the asteroids toward the biggie. At first it’s a bit of a struggle, hitting a few rocks along the way, but eventually our heroes approach the massive mass of rock. To their astonishment they realize that built within the asteroid is a massive space station (well, it ain’t no moon)! The Vixen is herded into a hanger. Welcome to Starforge!!!
BLU, who is in the Nighthawk, detects a ship coming in. It circles the compound and the IFF shows it is a stolen modified freighter called the Falcon. Lar quickly goes to the building where the hostages are but Boda Gora is there. Gora asks Lar if he is there to take the hostages then tells the Jedi to “just walk out the way you came and all will be well.”
Suddenly the mysterious ship blows up! Gora runs to the Nighthawk and demands to know what happened. BLU tells him that it was a Jedi command he could not override; Mereel raises an eyebrow inside his helmet as he arrives and hears the assassin droid’s reply. However, this could be to their advantage. Mereel quickly goes to Diaz and offers him and his associate a ride to wherever they need to go.
At the appointed time, the 3 million ransom is transferred and confirmed by Diaz. However, just afterwards, Lar manages to sneak back into the building and free the hostages. Mereel, not happy with the Jedi for working against him, comms the untrustworthy Jedi and tells him they will pick him and the hostages up and deliver them (the hostages) to the appointed place. Diaz and Gora are secretly onboard the Nighthawk in the cargo hold and, using Force Stealth, will hide their presense from Lar Gant during the trip.
Just before the Nighthawk arrives to pick up Lar and the hostages, Windu comms him and tells him to go to Starforge Station after delivering the hostages. Dropping the hostages off, Mereel then heads for Starforge Station, which is Diaz and Gora’s destination as well.
Jodz, Scoob and Fatma get off The Naughty Vixen and are greeted with someone they weren’t expecting. Toward them walks one pale man, dressed in black with short-cropped hair and dark sunglasses. Is it one of the twin Force users? He doesn’t seem to be the one Jodz and Fatma injured. When he greets them he doesn’t seem to show any recognition of them. Could this be yet ANOTHER Force user? They ARE a bunch of clones!! The Force user summons some droids to unload the lightsaber cargo form the Vixen. Apparently this IS the place that Kebo was going to deliver to. Once the business is done with, the Clone Force user tells them that they are free to take in the many pleasures at Starforge Station. He leaves with the droids and the cargo. Fatma decides she wants to know more about this place and who runs it. So she heads for the main control room of the station. Jodz and Scoob decide to take a look at the station’s nightlife, if any.
Oh, there’s plenty of nightlife on the station!!! It seems that Starforge Station is basically a smuggler’s Valhalla. A Sodom and Gomorra of nightclubs, casinos and dens of depravity specializing in providing whatever pleasures a smuggler’s mind can dream up. Jodz and Scoob are in heaven and decide to hit a big nightclub. Scoob is a hit with the lady’s and once again decides to dance the night away. Jodz heads for the bar and orders up a brewski. While waiting for his drink he runs into an old adivisary, Zam Wessle. The last time Jodz saw Zam, Zam had him completely unclothed and tied up, and not in a good way! Jodz is hesitant, but soon drums up a conversation with the deadly bounty hunter. After a bit a verbal back and forth from the two, Zam gives Jodz a communicator number that she wants given to Capt. Mereel. Jodz puts it in his pocket and Zam leaves.
Meanwhile, Fatma decides to do something more practicle, figure out who’s running this pleasure palace. She makes her way to the main control room with her feline, feminine whiles. Soon she is on the main computer and tries to download some information about those sleek ships the Jedi Clones are using. Strangely, there is no record of those kinds of ships ever coming or leaving the station. However, she does find that similar ships were registered to a company called Sorosuub. She also finds that the owner of this station is a being named………….. OZ
The Nighthawk soon arrives at Starforge Station. Lar quickly departs down the ramp but Aurra Sing intercepts him. She just smiles wickedly and heads off towards the Nighthawk where she tells Mereel that Zam is looking for him. She then talks to BLU and asks him to look at something, handing him a datacard. She also tells Mereel that she and Zam have been heading off other bounty hunters until they had a chance to inform him that a bounty was out on his tech specialist, Sssskkktt, because the Geonosians are upset with him going freelance and leaving his homeworld.
Meanwhile, BLU scans the datacard for Aurra and it contains details of ancient lightsaber construction and similar information. Unbeknownst to Aurra, BLU copies the information before he hands the datacard back to her. She then blows a kiss to Mereel and departs, looking for Lar.
After Jodz downs a drink or two, he decides to head outside the club where he runs into his old Jedi pal Lar Gant! Lar tells Jodz that he needs clothes that are a lot less conspicuous than the Jedi garb he now has on. They go across the hall to clothing shop and start to find something for Lar. While looking around Jodz runs into a messenger that is looking for him. The messenger wants to pay him for his delivery he made (the lightsaber parts). Jodz receives 3 million credits!!! The messenger says that there may be more work for him and disappears. Things are looking up….until Jodz and Lar spot 6 of the Force User Clones running up to the entrance of the nightclub that Scoob is still in. They stand and wait by the entrance keeping a watchful eye out for the Wookie. But why?
Mereel contacts Palpatine and confirms delivery of the hostages then confirms receipt of the 3 million credit payment into his off-planet account from the Vice Chancellor. Diaz transfers the 5 million which is confirmed as well then he and Gora leave the Nighthawk.
BLU suddenly receives a message: “I suggest you lift the ship up 4 levels in 30…29…28….” Mereel quickly raises the Nighthawk and watches as a huge war ship lands in the place his ship had just been. As they watch, the ship begins to offload a squad of Super Battle Droids and they hear, over a loud speaker, “Find the Wookiee!”
To be continued….
Game #10
Masks of the Jedi Pt 2 aka Snatch the Roach
As created by Mad Mario and deciphered by Leslie and Zangz.
As Mereel and BLU prepare to leave Starforge Station an explosion is felt outside the ship and they are hailed by a nearby medium armed freighter who tells them to remain where they are. Sensors indicate their weapons are targeting the Nighthawk. However, BLU and Mereel decide to ignore the hail and Ranger expertly flies the ship past the transport and out of the station only to find a minefield. Ranger makes it through the minefield and the navicomputer makes the jump for Yavin 4.
Days later, arriving at Yavin 4, their sensors show a Trade Federation Droid Control Ship over the planet, keeping a synchronistic orbit with Mereel's base. Further sensor scans shows a dropship near the base, offloading super battle droids and droidekas. BLU quickly interfaces remotely with the Droid Control Ship and shuts down the signal controlling the droids on the surface.
Mereel decides to strafe the dropship and hits it with a proton torpedo as BLU fires the turbolasers at the same time – it is destroyed. Ranger lands the Nighthawk near the base but Sssskkktt is nowhere to be found. BLU communicates with his droidekas and special E522 Assassin Droids who tell him that Kitty, the Farghul computer specialist, has apparently taken the Genosian. They did not prevent her from doing so since, as part of Mereel's base employees, they are programmed not to harm her. Sensors show Kitty has taken Sssskkktt into the jungle on a speeder. Mereel flies the Nighthawk after her, landing nearby, and he immediately takes off using his jetpack while BLU, using his hydraulics, quickly overtakes Kitty as she is trying to escape. He quickly dispatches the traitorous Farghul and skins her, presenting her pelt to Mereel to replace the tattered cape he currently wears. Mereel, in the meantime, found Sssskkktt and got him back to the Nighthawk and, after BLU returns, they leave the system.
Unfortunately, Mereel and BLU soon discover the Sssskkktt has been injected with a Genosian virus that will be fatal within 14 days. He tells them that he had been a part of a project on Genosia that was developing a large moon-sized battle station before he fled his homeworld. Because of what he knows and, he shows them a holoprojector, what it contains, they want him dead or back in their hands. Knowing that Omwatis are known for their medical expertise, Mereel first decides to take him to Omwat in the chance that they might be able to help his tech specialist but, after careful consideration, both BLU and Mereel realize that even they can’t keep Sssskkktt hidden forever and they can’t keep running….so Mereel makes the hard decision that he must give Sssskkktt up. Contacting the Trade Federation, they make arrangements to send one of BLU's protocol droids to Coruscant to meet with a representative.
At the same time as Mereel and BLU are trying to leave Starforge both Lar and Jodz muddle around in a clothing shop attempting to find something more “low key” for Lar to wear other than his Jedi garb while Scoobalumpa is across the street at a dance club enjoying the night life Star Forge has to offer. Little do any of them know that members of the Jin-Sho (spooky Jedi clones) are on their way in pursuit of Lar. While looking through the wardrobe store Jodz and Lar are greeted by a beautiful red-headed female Jedi named Jainus Sol and her bodyguard, a grey haired Wookiee by the name of Itchy (could this be the Itchy from the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special???? Could this be Chewbacca’s father???? Yep. Zangz) Soon after greeting Lar, Jainus starts questioning him about a missing holocron. Lar defends he knows nothing about it.
Jainus’ questioning of Lar is interrupted as three members of the Jin-Sho arriving in the shop. They surround the Jedi and demand that he come with them so Lar decides to take the peaceful route by cooperating and does as ordered! Jainus and Itchy follow close behind. As Scoobalumpa leaves the dance club he sees the three Jin-Sho taking Lar away down the street and he joins Itchy and Jainus in their cautious pursuit. Once the Jin-Sho believe they are away from the crowds they turn on Lar and start to smack him around. At this point Jodz, Jainus and the two Wookiees pull out their weapons and start to do battle with the other two Jin-Sho as the one cloned Jedi starts to really deal some damage on poor Lar. His friends try valiantly to save Lar but the battle ends with Lar’s almost lifeless body falling to the ground in the middle of the street. One of the members of the Jin-Sho announce that their job is done and the three leave. The group run to their fallen friend Lar and try to revive him.
As Lar Gant, traitorous Jedi to Mereel and BLU, is dying from his fatal encounter with the Shin-Jo, the cloned force users he suddenly sees a vision of a humanoid with ashen skin and white hair wearing crimson armor coming towards him, walking through snow. The mysterious vision offers him a chance to live in power without pain. He points out the faults of the Jedi and their ways - how they have abandoned him, leaving him there to die. Lar then sees his dead brother who also asks him to join the red armored "knight." Everywhere the mysterious humanoid walks the snow turns to black stone under his feet. He then shows Lar that grass and flowers are growing where his feet had passed – life is blooming! His brother explains to Lar that "he," the red armored man, has all the answers. Lar senses another presence and it is the Jedi Guardian, Jainus Sol, who was with him during the fight….she is telling him to return to the Light….
Meanwhile, Fatma has weaseled her way into a meeting with the owner of Starforge, a Hutt by the name of Oz. The two sit in his lair on Starforge watching the whole street battle on a video screen. Although her companions seem in trouble, she does nothing to leave the Hutt and help them. Perhaps there's more to this Farghul than meets the eye? The two are met by a tall, white bearded Jedi who introduces himself as Sifo-Dyas (no relation to Cameron, Zangz). He mingles with Fatma and winds up making a deal with her for transportation to Tatooine on Scooby’s ship, The Naughty Vixen.
So Fatma, Lar, Jainus, Itchy and the mysterious Jedi, Sifo-Dyas are aboard The Naughty Vixen as Scoob and Jodz ready the ship. As Jodz does some last minute tweaking on the outside of the Vixen, a really scummy character approaches him. The scumbag offers Jodz an assignment once he reaches Tatooine. Jodz is to keep watch over Jabba the Hutt’s territory, there’s some odd things going on there. Jodz is a bit hesitant, but ups his price. Once the scumbag agrees, Jodz confirms he will take the job. Soon after The Naughty Vixen is Tatooine bound.
While on the trip to Tatooine, Sifo-Dyas very craftily takes Lar aside and reveals to him that he has a sister….and that this sister may be a Jedi. Dyaz then tells Lar that if he wants to find her, he will have to leave the Jedi order. Once the ship arrives just outside of Mos Espa, Dyaz leaves and a very confused Lar is again confronted by Jainus Sol about a missing Sith holocron. Lar denies any involvement.
Fatma has information pertaining to Lar that no one has really addressed. Meaning, how does she have this and why? Does she have this most intimate of information? Could it be that Fatma is working for a Sith? Is she affiliated with the Sith in anyway? What is a Sith anywho?
Now we have to back up a bit, before Fatma joined Jodz and Scoob as a crewmember of The Naughty Vixen. One night on the streets of Coruscant, Fatma bumps into a mysterious purple haired stranger (Cal Turon, Hope’s second character). Cal hands over a data disc with tons of information on our Jedi Lar Gant and says, “I don’t need this any more,” and walks off down the dark streets of Coruscant. On this disc it is revealed that Lar and Tyra weren’t only lovers but, unbeknownst to either of them, they were also kin. Zoinks! (This whole “hot for sister” thing seems to be a reoccurring theme in the Star Wars galaxy. Doesn’t it? Zangz). Anyways, back to the present… Lar is left totally mind-frelled by it all and will now have to make some big decisions about his future.
Meanwhile, on Coruscant, the protocol droid sent by BLU meets another droid in the dank and dirty industrial area of the citywide planet. BLU's droid offers to sell Sssskkktt for 35 million but the other droid counter-offers 40 million if they kill the Genosian and provide the body. Mereel allows BLU to kill his tech specialist and the 40 million arrives in their off-planet account, confirmation of receipt is received and they go to the pre-arranged drop-off site and unload the body….they quickly leave Coruscant.
Heading back to Yavin 4, BLU discovers rumors of a gangster named Pil who is privy to Jedi information: apparently a Jedi stole something on Dagobah – a Sith holocron! However, the Nighthawk suddenly stops dead in space, everything powers down except life support! There is a strange scratching noise coming from the rear of the ship so BLU goes back into the cargo hold and finds that an area of the hull is extremely cold. Using his sonic blasters, he attempts to stun whatever it is that is gnawing on the electrical systems within the bulkhead.
As BLU is investigating, a holoprojection appears near Mereel – a shrouded visage shimmers into view and, in a raspy whisper, says "How do you like my friend?" He then says, "Do you want it to go away?" Mereel has talked to this person before….it is Darth Sidious! He continues, "If I send it away, you will owe me a favor."
Meanwhile, the sonic blasters BLU is using on the unknown, unseen creature is having an effect, the inner bulkhead slowly separates at a weld and a tentacle squeezes through…BLU flames it, grabbing the tentacle and pulls the rest of the creature through the crack…he quickly jettisons it out of the ship.
However, because Sidious tells Mereel that there are more of the creatures than just this one, they agree to do the favor in return for a favor of their own when needed…Sidious agrees and he sends an image of Sifo-Dyas whom he wants killed.
Scoob and Jodz leave the ship and decide to stake out the local cantina to see if they can dig up any information on what’s going on in Jabba’s territory. Once they find a booth and get seated, a huge Trandosian dressed in MANDALORIAN ARMOUR (sans the helmet) struts in and heads for a booth on the other side of the cantina. Jodz's curiosity is extremely peaked so he gets up and approaches this Trandosian while Scoob stays - Trandosians have a nasty habit of hunting Wookiees. Jodz gets up the courage (or just isn’t very bright - it depends on who you talk to) to ask the Trandosian where he got the armor. The big lizard rises from his seat, looks Jodz in the eye and orders him to sit and drink with him. The Trandosian demands to know if Jodz has come in contact with any other Mandalorians out there. Jodz mentions that he had a nasty run in with a certain Captain Mereel not too long ago and that his ship, The Screaming Whore, was badly damaged during their last encounter. The Trandosian thanks him for the information then gets up and leaves. Just as Jodz and Scoob are about to leave the cantina the scumbag who hired Jodz comms him and warns Jodz that there is a ship arriving in three days and its occupants are looking for a Jedi named Lar. He also clues them in that the odd things going on in Jabba’s territory have to do with odd, stealth ships coming in and out of Tatooine. Jodz and Scoob head back to the Vixen to alert the others on what they have found out.
The group who are still on the Vixen decide to head back to Coruscant, but not before they help Jodz and Scoob solve the mystery of the stealth ships. Now the whole group heads back to the streets of Mos Espa to question people about the ships. Jainus quickly learns that there is a huge dropship that is deploying these stealth ships and it is located out in the Dune Sea. Itchy decides that he is going to go out there and scout the site on his own. Once he gets to the location he finds the dropship all right but he also finds a lot more than he should.
Out in the Dune Sea on Tatooine, Itchy the Wookiee comes upon the dropship that deploys the Soro-Suub stealth ships. As he’s monitoring the ship three skeletal droids (think Terminator, Zangz) rise from the earth like living dead from the grave and start pursuing him and eventually he finds himself under attack and comms The Naughty Vixen for help. Once the Vixen arrives on the scene Jodz and Scoob arm the Vixen’s weapons and start to hammer at the droids while Itchy leaps onto the landing ramp. The Vixen then flies off back to Mos Espa with Itchy intact.
Back at Mos Espa, the group goes their separate ways. Jodz and Scoob comm Jabba’s people and give them the information about the ships. The two then head out to a club that specializes in carnal delights to celebrate using their payment from Jabba. The host of the club directs the Wookiee to some beautiful girls and points Jodz in the direction of a particularly beautiful blue Twilek woman sitting alone at a table. He recognizes her from the Jedi Temple, it's Aayla Secura!. What would a Jedi Knight be doing here? Who cares!! She’s hot!!! Jodz tries to do his best to lay his charms on her but she won’t have any of it. She gets up and goes to another table but Jodz, undeterred, gets up and follows her……… And this is where Jodz was left off as well as the others in his party……
Mereel, however, had earlier contacted Scooby, knowing that he might know the whereabouts of Dyas since they had dropped him off at Starforge Station and it was known the Naughty Vixen was seen leaving there sometime in the last several days. Scooby tells Mereel that they had transported Dyas to Tatooine.
As they travel to Tatooine, Fatma, Scooby and Jodz's tech specialist, contacts Mereel with another offer….she knows Darth Sidious has asked us to kill Dyas but Sidious would also consider the favor fulfilled if they only make it appear that Dyas was killed. She wants to take Dyas and seduce him to the dark side, which would be just as good as dead, if not better, in Sidious's opinion.
Arriving on Tatooine, BLU sends out several of his protocol droids to look for Dyas and they soon discover he was last seen at a base in the middle of the Dune Sea. Landing the Nighthawk some distance away, BLU and Mereel infiltrate the area….using infrared, BLU discovers 20 "hot spots" under the sand – assassin droids! However, they are monitoring the area for sensor scans only so both Mereel and BLU walk easily through the area. There is a sand dune with a large hangar door in it, which BLU easily opens by frying the circuitry. Further scanning of the interior shows only 5 clone force users but there is a dampening field that could be hiding more.
As the hangar door opens, they are met by 2 Jin-Sho and Mereel tells them he wishes to speak with Dyas and, surprisingly enough, one complies and leaves to find him…however, as he leaves, BLU notices that he keeps "phasing" so tells Mereel who changes his sensors in his helmet's visor and see it as well! BLU hears Dyas being told "They have come for you." Dyas replies, "It is time." They negotiate with Dyas and tell him they only need to make it appear that they have killed him…he agrees and suggests that their associate, Lar Gant, should be the person to carry the news back to the Jedi Council. Mereel contacts Fatma, relays that information and arranges to bring Dyas to Coruscant.
Mereel and BLU fake Dyas' death by using his base's security cameras to show him being killed, including BLU crushing his head. The holocam disk is handed over to Fatma once they arrive on Coruscant and she contacts Lar Gant, shows him the security holo and hands him a lightsaber, telling him it was Dyas'. He takes it to the Jedi Council.
