Star Wars: Fall of the Republic - The Hunted (Shasie Tensen's Story)
CHAPTER 1, Scene 1 - Betrayed
Shasie was a Jedi Knight, at only twenty five she had been Knighted five years already. She was a Jedi Guardian, who specialized in protecting people. Nowadays almost all of the Jedi became Guardians or Sentinel's after training. Very few Consulars, like Ki Adi Mundi, were needed in a war, at least for their intended purpose of negotiation and diplomacy. The Clone Wars should be coming to an end now that Dooku and the deadly cyborg, General Grievous, were dispatched. Perhaps soon they could get back to being peacekeepers once more. This war has been a huge burden on the Jedi Order.
As she approached her quarters, lost in her thoughts, she felt a magnified disturbance in the Force, something akin to a tidal wave. A strong one. Several people she knew very well had just passed into the Force. She blinked and looked around the corridor of the RSS Corrigan, a Republic Cruiser where she was assigned. They had completed their mission to capture General Taski, one of the Generals that reported directly to Dooku. She gazed up from the pounding pain of grief that struck her only to spot Clone troopers marching toward her.
She peeked behind her and realized another squad coming from the opposite direction. Flanking her. Her bright blue eyes went wide in surprise. Her allies, the deaths. Something was very wrong. They had their weapons ready, which doesn't happen onboard a Republic ship unless there are enemies about. But no enemies were between the two squads, nobody was... except her. Jedi were dying, that's what she felt. Many of them. This is a trap!
Her training and instincts kicked in, no time to dwell on it. She reacted swiftly. Her door was too far away. The first squad was already there, and now she could see there were more troops behind that one. She moved to the nearest door and entered the code quickly to override the lock and launched herself inside just as the first sizzling energy bolts struck where she'd just been.
The blonde Jedi pulled out her lightsaber and activated it towards the door controls. The glowing azure blade of energy extended into the panel, sending sparks and small streams of smoke into the recycled air of the cabin. She realized somebody was stirring in the unknown cabin she entered. It was the the assistant gunnery officer of the ship, who was getting out of bed after the intrusion, Lieutenant Bulo. She was an older Zeltron woman, who's braided metallic dark blue hair was infused with streaks of aging grey. The grey hairs didn't seem to diminish her beauty much at all. She cocked her head and asked, her voice both elegant and sultry. "What in Kessel are you doing? Is there a problem, master Jedi?"
Shasie stared at the red-skinned woman, and blinked a few times. "I was going to ask you the same thing. Several squads of clones just converged around me in the corridor and fired on me. Why?"
The gunnery officer wiped her eyes, and watched the blue laser sword held at the ready and she gulped audibly. "I don't know, I really don't. I've been asleep for a few hours. The crew were finishing up some maintenance and then we were going to head out to assist at Cato Nemoidia for one big push against the Separatists. I haven't heard about anything else going on. I swear, Jedi Tensen. There must be some mistake."
"There was no mistaking blaster fire coming at me!" she said indignantly.
The woman held her red hands up in an apologetic way, "I didn't mean your mistake, I meant the clones.."
Shasie shook her head making her blonde braid swish like a Nexu's tail. Her voice was stern, "Clones don't make mistakes, they follow orders. Open your console and show me your current orders. Quickly please."
The Zeltron didn't have much of a choice. She knew that she didn't stand a chance even if the Jedi Knight didn't have that glowing weapon that could slice through metal like it was plastisheet. She fumbled through her desk and pulled up the display and moved away so the General could view it. 'Jedi declared enemies of the Republic after an assassination attempt on the Chancellor... kill on sight..'
Her look of utter surprise was palpable to the Zeltron, who could read body language very well. "That is impossible. It can't be, the Jedi Council would never sanction such an act!"
This time the officer spoke up, "I can tell you believe that, and you are not part of this, whatever it is. How can I help?"
"You can't, you will be court martialed, at the very least." The blonde Guardian looked around the cabin thinking as the clone troopers began to pound on the door.
"Oh, but you are forcing me," she replied with a wink. She went over to her bed and laid back down, "I won't look or move, please don't hurt me," she said, acting solemn, but winked to acknowledge she was fine.
The blonde Jedi pondered the ship layout in her mind recalling her location and the ship she has been on for many months. She was above a cargo bay nearest a bank of escape pods. 'Thank the Force' she commented to herself. "I'm giving you a new escape hatch, Lieutenant, sorry for the mess." Shasie drove the blade down and began to carve a circular pattern of molten metal around herself, just as a blow torch began to work on the cabin's door, spitting sparks of yellow orange embers onto the cabin floor. Shasie's lightsaber was faster, though.
She completed the circle and plummeted four meters down into the darkened cargo bay, and landed gingerly, like a Lolth cat. She ran out of the hatch to the corridor outside. The Jedi examined the three escape pods. She opened all three doors and then went into one of them. She shut the hatch to her pod first, then reached out with the Force and closed the other two hatches. She hit the launch control on her pod, setting a delay, and again she paused, closed her eyes and concentrated on the Force around her. She could see the ship, the durasteel hull surrounding them, the internals of the escape pods, and finally honed in on the control units of the other two pods. She saw the two launch buttons in her mind and directed the force to hit the buttons. The two escape pods rumbled to life, as the magnetic clamps released with loud clunks. The ejector system let out a thump and long whoosh sound as it shot the two emergency vehicles out of the ship, simultaneously.
The Jedi's pod launched last, kicking her back in her seat until the inertial dampeners kicked in. She quickly turned the escape pod downward to the underside plane perpendicular to the cruiser, where the ship's turrets couldn't get a lock and headed away and back toward the planet they just left, Aargonar, in the galactic Mid Rim. It was an enemy Separatist planet, just licking their wounds from their lost battle against her and the Republic. 'They've got me between a Hutt and a hard place,' she mused. She might well be joining her colleagues soon, who were winking out of existence, still, at an alarming rate. She had felt many hundreds die by now.
Bile threatened to expel from her gut, but she pushed it back down and concentrated. She knew they would be launching fighters soon, so she maxed out the thrusters and sped away. Her trick would buy her only a small amount of time. She quickly grabbed a space suit and let the auto-pilot guide her while she donned the vacuum suit to protect her from the cold void of space. Shasie hoped she wouldn't need it because she was certain there would be no rescue by either side anyway.
(( Can't find stats for an escape pod, so modifying a small scout ship.. Hull : 5 Armor: 2 Sys. Strain: 5 Sil: 3 Speed: 4 Handling: 0 No weapons]]
[[ Enemy Ships (3) Scout ships: Armor: 3 Hull: 0/14 Strain: 1/8 Sil: 3 Speed: 4 Handling: -1
Weapons: (2) Forward Mounted Twin Light Laser Cannon (Fire Arc: Forward; Damage: 5; Critical: 3; Range: Close; Qualities: Linked 1) Pilots: Pilot, space: 2 Ability (Ag)
((( Rolling opposed check with clone pilots as they try to close the distance to close range, planet is at extreme range. Roll result: 1 Success, 3 threats . Using 2 threats to allow Shasie to move to Medium Range, another threat to cause 1 Strain.)))
Most of the fighters were grounded after the prolonged battle on the Aargonar, but a squadron of Clone Scout ships hastily prepped and launched from the Republic cruiser in pursuit of the Jedi. The battle tested clones attempted to close the distance, but Shasie gained a lot of ground toward the planet, which grew in size, although it was still a good distance away. "Come on, come on, " she pleaded with her controls. The scout ships didn't bite on the two decoy pods, they must have detected there were no life forms onboard from the command deck of the cruiser and relayed that information. She couldn't out fly these clone pilots, but the Force was her ally. She centered herself and concentrated, letting the flow of the Force guide her.
(( Rolling for initiative: 2 S, 2 A & Triumph, using triumph for an extra free maneuver. Moving to short range from clone ships, and also short range to the planet! Clones rolled 1 S & 1 adv. so Shasie wins first move))
The Jedi Knight cut non-essential systems and coaxed more speed out of the pod by bypassing safety protocols, and was able to increase her speed. It was dangerous to push the engines this hard and could easily overheat and seize up, but the more immediate threat were the clone pilots getting into firing range. She began to pull away from them, but they also tried to accelerate to match. They were just out of targeting range and couldn't gain any ground on a straight away path.
((using 2 maneuvers taking no actions, so no strain. This moves another range band to close, then slows to enter atmosphere. The enemy also uses 2 fly maneuvers to move to short range from long.))
Shasie made it to orbit and then hit the atmosphere at break neck speed. Her pod became cocooned in orange fire from the friction of air surrounding the planet. She continued full speed toward the surface with the three clone scout ships still on the chase.
((using chase scene rules: Shasie rolled 4 successes for piloting - space check, the Clones rolled 3 successes and a triumph, so the Jedi stays two range bands ahead. Clones use the triumph that a lane of airspeeders is directly in Shasie's path, so she has to maneuver to avoid them, giving the Clones an upgrade to the next piloting check in the chase))
The Jedi Knight was heading down way too fast toward the rapidly approaching ground. Additional warning alarms blared, and her panel flashed red showing that she was approaching a busy airspeeder lane directly in her path. She had to maneuver away to avoid colliding with the planetary traffic, giving time for the clones to make up ground and get very close to firing range.
((using chase scene: Jedi rolls 3 adv., giving her 3 boosts for next check, Clones roll 4 successes and an advantage. The gain to short range of Shasie, and 1 advantage for a boost))
Shasie maneuvered around the traffic lane and went off course. She was hoping for open water but found grassland that turned quickly into desert. She scanned the area quickly for a place set down and decided to put the pod down in the sand dunes. She hoped to bury the pod in the soft sand and cushion the landing. They would have trouble targeting her, if she could land it just right.
((Switching to structured combat: Shasie still has the intiative, so she attempts her landing first. hard difficulty. Failed with one threat. Not bad. Critical hit for minor collision, 45 result - Tailspin. ))
She slowed the ship as much as she could and angled it so she would skip across the dunes, but the turn went too wide and the air drag buffeted the pod into a flat spin. The pod spun around and around, making the blonde woman dizzy as it hit the sand hard and kept spinning along it's horizontal axis, bouncing roughly from dune to dune.
((structured combat: The 3 ships shot at the pod as it tried to crash land. Daunting task as it is skipping off the ground. But the rolled 2 successes and 3 threats. Damage: 5, with armor of 2, that reduces damage to 3. But 3 threats cause the sand to effect their vision throwing them of course and losing site of the target for a round.))
The scout ships follow the Jedi General down and skimmed the surface to get a better angle of attack on the escaped pod. They unleashed a salvo of laser bolts from their dual linked blaster cannons just as the escape pod first hit the sand, striking it hard across its side and rear hatch. Sand from the blast dispersed in the air forming a blinding cloud. They maneuvered away from the cloud of sand particles and glass shards, nearly colliding each other and were forced to pull back around, and search for the target again.
((structured combat: Shasie exited the craft and got out with maneuver, and then did a force leap to medium range to a dune. Also flipping a light side point to have a patrol of planetary craft come after the scout ships and chase them off.. They aren't fans of the Republic and so are looking for some payback..))
The Jedi wasted no time and released the escape hatch and leapt out as she gathered the Force and jumped thirty meters away, landing in another sand dune nearby. The ships re-acquired the pod and strafed it with blaster fire again, but didn't manage to score a hit. Suddenly the scout ships turned tail and sped off. Shasie raised a sand coated eyebrow at the unexpected move. Then she saw two squads of planetary patrol fighter craft speeding across the sky chasing after the clones. She found herself actually rooting for the Separatists now, which was an interesting turn of events. She returned to the pod and scavenged what equipment she could get, she was going to need something to trade for money. She couldn't stay here long, they know where she is and she had a bad feeling they weren't going to give up so easily.
CHAPTER 1, Scene 2 - Behind Enemy Lines
(( Rolled randomly 200-950 and came up with a value of items at: 540 cr. Streetwise to find a vendor result: wash))
She searched and searched and didn't find any shops that bought used items, just bars, cafe's, and general stores with cheap items, but none of them would purchase items. She was a tad frustrated, she at least wanted to trade something. Perhaps she could find a more business like area nearby that might be willing to trade wares. A kindly old Aqualish watched Shasie. He was a bald humanoid with greenish-grey skin, round black eyes, grey fur around his cheeks, and two wide tusks close together, obscuring a small mouth, which was typical for their species. The alien saw her consternation, and addressed the woman. His voice was rough, and watery like he was gargling a cleaning rinse. "Are you lost, young one?"
(( Using Sense Power, Sense thoughts. Rolled 3 light side dice . Also rolled to a General Knowledge of local area, boost from Shasie and upgraded due to local knowledge of the man helping so 1P 1A and 1D easy diff. Rolled 3 adv. so using it to get leads to someone to trade with.))
The Jedi was a little leery of kindness in such a poor area and after the clone's betrayal, so her trust was lacking at the moment. She reached out to search his feelings. Shasie felt guilty for the distrust, which was unlike her. The man's thoughts were genuine and he wanted to help. "Thank you, sir. Nice to meet a friendly face. I am looking to trade in some items I have collected. Do you know where I can find a place that trades in general goods? Nothing illegal, just some electronic items, clothes and such that I don't need anymore, but could use the credits. My ship has had some major problems and I'm running low on funds. "
The Aqualish stared at her for a moment, seemingly making a decision as he glanced around. "There are some places that allow trades and what not, but typically not to outsiders. I can help you with that, you do look like you've seen some heartache, and you seem a nice enough sort. I know of some people, been around here a while. Can I see what you have to trade?"
She acted a bit cautious, unwilling and a bit ashamed to show that she already probed his mind. Then she showed him her items in the bag she carried. "They are all legit, items from my ship that I don't need anymore."
The Aqualish nodded, and said. "Sure, young one. I know some people that could help and give you a fair deal. Walk with me and we will pay them a visit. I am Clottao. What is your name? I'm guessing it isn't 'young one'," he said with a grin, at least she thought is was a grin. It was hard to tell with the two thick tusks obscuring his mouth, but his eyes crinkled like someone smiling.
She thought quickly in her mind, remembering a young human girl she rescued from some thugs trying to kidnap her on Gentes in the Outer Rim. Ayala. "My name is Ayala. Nice to meet you and you are very kind gentleman to help me."
He smiled and nodded as they headed to a nearby area that was between the poor section and the outer industrial area.
(( Using Negotiation with aid from Clottao. Rolled 1 success and 4 advantages. Using those advantages to add some needed items in trade. four hundred twenty credits, an armored shirt, a light jacket, trousers, three stimpacks, and a reddish hair dye kit ))
They visited a middle-aged Trandoshan female merchant that had all kinds of goods, and was willing to buy items for her stock. She was tall by human standards, but average for a Trandoshan. She was covered in small, dark green scales, which was common among her species. Her head had three bony ridges that ran from her forehead to the back of her skull and protruding orange, slitted eyes. She had two nostrils, and a sharp set of teeth that ran all the way around her snout, giving her a fierce appearance, despite the kind smile. They discussed values and haggled a bit, and they settled on four hundred twenty credits, an armored shirt, a light jacket, trousers, three stimpacks, and a reddish hair dye kit, for all of the extra items from the escape pod.
She thanked Clottao for his aid and left the kind elderly man and found a tapcaf in town. She used the refresher there and changed her clothes to something that blended well in this area. She wore the armored clothes underneath the grey jacket she bought, along with her black pants . The Jedi, removed her braid and cut her hair, then dyed it red with the kit she bought. She examined her handiwork in the mirror, 'Hello Ayala,' she thought to herself. She noticed the sadness reflected in her own eyes, though. She shook her head as the reality hit her. She had been betrayed by the Republic she dedicated her life to serve. How could this have happened? She needed to find out more information on what really happened, but that would be difficult in survival mode. They know that she's still on this planet and time is not on her side. She needed to figure out a way off the planet. But first she had to procure a forged ID in case she was stopped or searched. The circumstances dictated that she make contact with the underworld on this planet. "This day keeps getting better and better," she grumbled to no one in particular.
((Rolling Perception to search for a seedy Cantina where there will be some shady people involved in the black market. No successes but one advantage rolled.))
The ex-Jedi General searched around and visited quite a few places in the seedier part of town and found nothing but drunkards and drug addicts, but it was only early evening. She found one cantina that seemed like a good spot to search for a black market trader. She would wait until late evening and get some rest. She spent ten credits to rent a room in a cheap hotel for the evening. It was stained, dirty and falling apart at the seams. But she flipped the mattress and laid down on the bag carrying her possessions, staring at the cracked ceiling above her. She took the time to rest and meditate, preparing herself to engage with the lawless scum of the planet in the next couple of hours.
((Rolling Streetwise using boost from last adv., and added preparation for another boost. So that would be 2A 2B 2D for the pool. Result: 1 failure with 5 advantages. I'm going to use the 5 advantages to discover a smuggler in the cantina, with a group that she can try and join and get them to help find a black marketeer. They seemed decent folk for running illegal cargo, but they don't do spice or slavery from what she gathered. ))
Shasie investigated several more locales and finally found one that was dingy, disreputable and somewhat crowded. Lots of shady characters populated the establishment. She searched and observed, but no one stuck out as illicit traders, though she didn't know that many to really tell for sure. But, she did see a group of people that looked like a smuggler ship crew. She found a seat at the cantina counter within listening range of the group. Their discussion went over quite the litany of adventures as time went on. She picked up on the leader, a Twi'lek woman with light blue skin and dark blue eyes, she had two thick lekku, tentacle like appendages running from the back of her skull, like most females of her species, similar to double braided hair in shape. The leader chastised one of her crew for considering running spice to get them a larger profit. It was a promising start. There was a slender Sullustan woman with them, with several layers of jowls around her thin mouth, that stretched nearly from ear to ear, round black eyes like most of her species, and shoulder length, braided light brown hair. There were also two human men at the table. One of them was stocky with buzzed cut amber hair, and a long, braided beard and a pale complexion. The other was tall, with a heavy set build and splotchy skin. He sported an ill-fitting dark mustache. The buzzed cut man was also the one that was considering the spice run. She liked the Twi'lek woman and pondered a way to break the ice with the smuggler captain. Honesty used to be the best policy, but saying 'Hey, I am on the run from the Republic and an enemy of the CIS, and a Jedi.. so please help me..' Yeah, that's not going to work. She hated deception, but these were desperate times. She had lied more times today than she had her whole life, since she was a small youngling.
((Rolling Charm with the Smuggler Captain to convince them to let her pay for passage to Tanaab. Rolled 1 success and 4 advantages. Will use those for the negotiation check ))
The blonde ex-General sipped her Sunfruit liquor, careful to not take too much at a time and dull her senses. Luckily, she didn't tip and it came watered down, so that helped. She thought about what to say, and realized she actually could tell the truth. She just had to be vague about it, so it wouldn't be lying. She walked over to the table, toward the Twi'lek. "Excuse me, ma'am. I heard that you are the captain of a freighter. I would be interested in buying your services for transport to Tanaab, in the Inner Rim. Are you available?"
The captain twisted in her chair and eyed Shasie carefully, and responded in an even tone. "As luck would have it, we just finished a job. Transporting goods, that is. Who are you?"
The Jedi, slowly exhaled a calming breath through her nose and continued. "I go by the name Ayala Clossian, but to be honest, that's not my real name."
The Twi'lek's eyes widened at the admission, but let her continue.
"I've got some powerful people that are looking for me, and not for good reasons. I barely even know why, but I need to get to Tanaab and hopefully find out more information. I can pay for passage. I can't go through spaceport security, though, or risk being exposed."
The Captain continued to scrutinize the human woman. "Honesty is rare in this line of work. You don't look like a troublemaker and if you got the credits, we can take you wherever you want, within reason, of course. As far as the spaceport goes, we can just pick you up outside the city area somewhere, no problem, Miss Clossian."
"I have the credits," she answered patting her jacket.
The Twi'lek flashed a grin. "Let's talk prices, then. My name is Wazhay. This is the crew of the 'Crescent Dancer'," she announced as she waved her hand toward the three others at the table. "This fine young Sullustan woman is my ace pilot, Ruusyra. The man with the crew cut and braided womp rat nest of a beard is Trest. The other bald man is Puhl." The bald man nodded back as did the others, more or less.
</orange>((Rolling Negotiation with the Smuggler captain. A failure but also a Triumph. Triumph spent that Wazhay would be an ally))</orange>
Wazhay glanced at her crew, and back to Shasie. "Avoiding authorities, and safe passage with unknown people hunting for you. That's going to run you a thousand credits."
Now it was the Jedi's turn to be shocked. "A thousand. It's a milk run along a major hyperspace route."
The Twi'lek was firm. "Look, nothing is ever that easy, especially when you are on the run."
Shasie shook her newly dyed hair, in dismay. "I don't have that much. I have 450 credits, and a personal comm."
The captain shrugged. "That's my offer, perhaps you can find cheaper transport somewhere else."
The Jedi had to think quick. She didn't have anything else of value, certainly not to make up twice what she had. Then, inspiration struck her. "Captain, how much room do you have in your cargo hold?"
"We just offloaded cargo, so its empty other than some stock items for the ship. About a hundred fifty square meters. Why, you have cargo now?"
"Of a sort, more of a profitable salvage," the Jedi replied. "It's worth more than a thousand credits, I would guess much more. I'll meet you half a mile west of the city. Pick me up and I'll take you to it. It's only a dozen kilometers from here. Do we have a deal?"
The Twi'lek sighed, and shook Shasie's hand. "It is a deal..." The Smuggler leader held onto the Jedi's hand firmly, for emphasis, and added, "Only if it is as valuable as you say."
The Jedi was relieved to see the crew held up their agreement and picked her up just outside the city and she directed them to the desert area where the escape pod... landed. A hard landing but it didn't get damaged until that clone ship shot it. Really, it did not count as a crash. The Twi'lek's ship was sleek, the cockpit was extended out front, then widened into wing tips and the aft end morphed into a crescent, with the ion engines wide exhaust port glowing blue in the middle of it.
They set the ship down a few dozen meters from the half buried hunk of metal, and lowered the large cargo ramp, as the ship's engine spun down. The wind was whipping through the dunes, making it noisy and causing several dust devils to form and scatter. Wazhay emerged first and scanned the downed craft, recognizing it as an escape pod. She glanced back at her passenger with an eyebrow raised. "Escape pod, hmm. " She went into the open back hatch and looked around, and then came back out several minutes later. "It could be a tight fit, but this should be worth a little more than a thousand credits, if we can sell it. Does it still work?"
Shasie nodded, "It was working when I left it. Just the hatch is damaged."
"Yes, I noticed that, but we can weld it up and sell it for more, perhaps."
The crew went to work and attached magnetic grapples and pulleys and a wench system to reel in the cargo. It was a really tight fit to get under the ship even with the landing struts extended, and the sand piled up underneath the ship made the gap even smaller. They decided to excavate a path in the sand to get it moved under the belly of the freighter.
((I will spend destiny point for dark side before this.. a skiff of salvage people want to claim/take the pod. They got there just after the group arrived, so adding an encounter. Flipped a dark side point to light. Done. Encounter with 4 Klatooinian Salvage Thugs, Rival Edoak Klatooian Salvage Leader (Nemisis), and Swoop Ganger (rival). Rolling initiative as they are headed toward each other, but the enemy each gets an extra boost since they are looking toward the crash site, while the player's group is busy.
Initative Rolls:
PC Shasie 5.0.2 2 Triumphs..
PC Puhl 4.2.0
PC Ruusyra 4.1.0
PC Wazhay 3.3.0
NPC Edoak 2.0.0
NPC Swoop 1.1.0
PC Trest 0.1.0
NPC Klatooinians 0.1.0
Before they could get the escavation equipment, Shasie heard engine noise in the distance. She concentrated on it and sure enough, someone was coming this way. It dawned on her that people might have seen the crash from the city or surrounding areas, and came looking for it. Hopefully amateurs, not an armed band, she thought. She yelled out to the other three who were on the escape pod securing the rigging. "I hear some vehicles coming this direction."
The Captain who was close to her cocked an eyebrow in the Jedi's direction and then turned toward where she was looking. Wazhay heard it too, although so faint she wouldn't have heard it if she didn't know to concentrate on it. She yelled loud and slowly to be heard over the gust of wind, "Get... off... the... pod! Take... cover!"
Seconds later, the human woman pointed to the southeast and a large open air skiff and a swoop bike crested one of the larger dunes. The smuggler Captain pulled a set of macrobinoculars out, "they've got a laser cannon on that skiff, and they are turning it in the direction of my ship. "Get back into the ship," she screamed, frantically. They didn't hear her, the crew had already climbed down and taken cover.
Shasie turned to the Twi'lek, "can you get the engines fired up? I'll get the crew back on board."
Wazhay stared back at her, again with a look of sheer amazement. "I can, just not very fast."
The Jedi responded with authority that astonished the smuggler captain, "just get the backup power on first and then bring up the shields. Then get repulsors online and fire up your weapon. I'll help your crew."
The smuggler didn't have time to argue, that laser cannon can do some damage with the shields offline.
((Rolling Force die to use force leap to short range... result of 2 force die: 1 LS, 1 DS, using one to activate. Wazhay took 2 manuevers to get into the ship and activate the shields. The other three took cover for their turn. The skiff took a manuever to move into close range and fired the laser cannon at the freighter. They rolled 1 failure and 4 adv. 2 adv. to give a boost to the Edoak on the cannon, and a boost to ))
The Jedi glanced back to check that the Twi'lek was out of sight. She that the other crewmembers were on the other side of the escape pod. She used the Force to leap over to the back of the escape pod. She found the crew and spoke rapidly to them. "Get to the ship, incoming hostiles. Wazhay went to start up the engines and get the shields online. Skiff with a laser cannon approaching, and a speeder bike."
The others were unsure, but sudden explosive force of energy from the laser cannon on the skiff got their attention as it sent sand and shards of glass flying in spots around the hull of their ship. A smaller barrage of blaster fire came following it, which meant the bike likely had a mounted blaster. Shasie continued, "We can't stay here. Run. I'll distract the bike rider!"
((Round 2 of structured combat.. Shasie takes a preparation maneuver. Also baiting the swoop to attack. Wazhay gets the repulsor's online a closes the ramp so she can lift off next turn. Swoop rider rolled a wash, so he failed. Edoak hit with one success and a threat. Threat causes a system strain. Now the skiff is at 1/8 strain dmg. ))
The two humans looked at her like she was insane, but the pilot just ran full tilt toward the ramp. The other two smugglers followed suit fairly quickly. Shasie positioned herself so she was hidden from the crew and the ship, and ignited her lightsaber pointing it at the swoop rider. He took the bait and angled to attack her. She heard the ship's repulsor engines fire up. 'Good' she thought. Now for the hard part. The swoop rider lined up for the blast but had to maneuver around a dune and keep it steady and missed on his blaster shots, hitting a couple of meters between her and the ship. Sending more sand flying into the air like a sheet of heavy tan rain.
Wazhay saw them get onboard and yelled out, "Trest, get on the quad and blast that skiff! Puhl, try and boost the shields. What happened to our passenger, where..." her voice trailed off as the skiff made a run directly at them again.
The canine-like Klatooinian leader was on the mounted laser cannon, as his crew steered toward the side of the 'Crescent Dancer'. This time he unleashed a blinding flash of crimson energy, hitting the port side and taking some minor damage to the hull, but the driver of the skiff hit the top of the dune sending a bunch of sand through the repulsor engines. He barked a curse at his crew as they flew by, making a wide turn for another run.
((Round 3 - The Sullustan pilot got the engines up, Wazhay got on the shields ready to angle them to deflect the next attack. Trest got on the quad laser cannon and targeted the skiff, takes an aim maneuver for a boost. 2 su. and 2 adv.: Using 2 adv. to activate linked hit, so 14 damage to the skiff, destroying it. Shasie uses force move-pull to yank the steering wheel and throw the swoop off course. Swoop biker has to make a hard piloting - pl. check to avoid crashing. He failed takes 10 dmg - 2 soak, so 8 / 12 wnd)
The broad human man, Trest, activated the targeting system and spun the turret tracking ahead of the skiff. He squeezed the trigger and twin bolts from the top, then the bottom barrels shot outward toward the skiff. He scored a couple of hits, tearing off a chunk of the middle of the skiff and the aft engine area. The four henchman went flying as a section of the rear came apart. The Klatooinian leader, who was in the front with the laser cannon jumped off the ship just before it crashed. The the front section hit the sand hard and flipped end over end for twenty meters or so before it came to rest between an outcropping of weathered, beige rocks. Shasie moved away from the pod toward where the ship had set down before. The swoop rider came at her again. She shut off her lightsaber and extended her hand toward the raider. In her mind, seeing everything the ship and its crew in motion, the speeder bike and the wreckage in clear detail. She saw the steering grips of the swoop as if they were right next to her. She could have tipped the yoke forward and caused a much harder crash, the Dark Side tempted her to end his life and leave no witnesses to her Jedi skills. The Jedi Knight ignored the pull of darkness and instead yanked the steering hard to the right, causing the swoop to go into a horizontal spin. The swoop rider tried to wrest control of the bike, but instead flipped it up radially as well as horizontally causing him to fly off backwards. He landed hard on his upper back and then tumbled awkwardly onto some hard packed sand.
The Cresent Dancer set down between Shasie and the fallen rider, and the captain and Trest jump off before the ramp was completely lowered and trained their blasters on the raider. He gave up his desperate attempt to pull out the weapon on his belt and held his hands up in surrender. They used some ties to bind his hands behind his back, and relieved him of his weapon, credits and equipment. The Twi'lek smirked at the dog faced alien. "Looks like we have some extra salvage, much appreciated."
The Captain strolled over toward the human woman, as she held her comm up to her mouth. "Puhl and Ruu, keep a watch on sensors and an eye outside, me and Trest will finish securing the salvage."
The Jedi overhead and spoke up. "Thanks for coming back, I can give you a hand with the pod."
The Twi'lek held up a finger. "First, we came back for the salvage. Second, do you have a death wish? Cuz I don't want to deal with that kinda crazy. You were unarmed for Stars sake. I've seen fearless, but that.. I don't know what that was."
Trest glaced back from his perch on the pod and commented, "Yep. She's Mynoc O'sik crazy."
Shasie shook her head in denial. "No. I'm not. I didn't want to get your crew killed. I brought you out here. I should have known scavengers like this would have been around. Besides I didn't think the raiders were that competent, and staying close to the pod they wanted to salvage was probably safer."
Wazhay made a 'hmmph' sound and then replied, "Then you are one helluva gambler." She shot the human woman a contemplative gaze and added, "there is something different about you. I'm not quite sure if that's good or bad."
Then she relaxed and let out a breath. "Alright, if you want to help, go in the cargo bay take out the repulsor sled and grab that swoop. I might just keep that bike, if Puhl can get it fixed up."
"You got it, captain," she replied with a smile. Then she looked at the Klatooinian and asked, "What are you going to do with him?"
She crossed her arms as she spoke. "Well I'm not bring that filthy scavenger on my ship. He can limp back to town. Perhaps some creature might finish him off, not my problem. He's on his own."
Shasie was impressed and gave her a nod of agreement. "A wise and apt solution, captain."