Prologue : What Brought Them Together

Sash Coth sips her hot morning drink appreciatively. Ahhh, she sighed, just what I needed. She smiled to herself as she thought about what happened to her last night. For what seems to be a curse for her when she wanted to go onboard an interstellar shuttle; she always took the wrong one. And the last shuttle brought her here, to Catacrom 4, around midnight last night according to the planet’s standard chronometer. She knew instantly she knew she was on the wrong shuttle when she looked out of the window when the shuttle was in orbit prepping to land; the planet was green. The planet she had chartered for was supposed to be a volcanic and tectonically unstable world. She didn’t mind being on the wrong planet as long as the planet seems promising enough for her for an exciting adventure, so she got out of the shuttle. She stood in the middle of the streets, excited being on an unknown planet, feasted her eyes on everything that she sees; wondering what kind exciting adventures awaits. Unfortunately, to her disappointment, the settlement looked like a ghost town except for a few pedestrians walking about. She stopped a male Twi’lek that was walking towards her, asked where she was and where the nearest and cheapest cantina around here is. The Twi’lek burst out laughing saying that there’s only one cantina around here which is “The Hatchet”, showed her the directions and continued walking while laughing out loud. It took her some time her bearings correct, and once she entered the establishment, she stowed her sporting blaster rifle in the gear stowage compartment, made fast friends with the barkeep, ordered a drink and have been here ever since, wondering what she should do next.

She smiled again, drank some more and sat the drink on the table. She looked around the cantina; she sat at the back corner of the main room, away from the foyer. The bar dominates the room, providing the owner to survey his clientele. On her left are empty seats leaning on the wall all the way to the foyer. On her right, empty dark booths littered neatly on the entire right wall. The cantina was empty except for the barkeep and the only other patron who entered a few minutes ago. He seems to be hungriest person she ever saw or he’s having the most delicious meal in the universe, which she seriously doubts, and was sitting at the bar counter on a stool facing the cantina’s main foyer where patrons enter and his back facing the empty booths. The barkeep was busy cleaning some mugs of his beside the hungry patron. She studied the other patron carefully so as not to be noticed. It looks like the hungry patron seems to be oblivious of his surrounding except for food on his plate. She knew him of being a Taung, the original species of the Mandalorian clans.

The Taung was well built, toned muscles on his arms and thighs, the only areas visible of skin, other areas he was clad in dark brown Mandalorian clothes with a combat jumpsuit neatly tucked hidden under his clothes, a bandolier was latched around his body from his left shoulder to his right waist and he was wearing heavy combat boots. She later noticed a stun baton was carefully concealed in one of the bandolier pouches. Her eyes literally danced with excitement.

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As he kept his weathered-looking blaster rifle into the stowage compartment, he noticed another sporting blaster rifle inside, curious but not bothered about the rifle, closed the compartment, he made covert movements to ensure his stun baton is properly concealed and walked towards the opposite side of the bar. The barkeep didn’t notice the concealed weapon. Good, now to find out the owner of that rifle I saw..., pleased that his training in the stealth arts are useful, he continued walking towards the dark booths, he scanned the entire room before sitting at a stool he saw near the bar counter, facing back against the empty booths. At the corner of his right eye, he noticed a female Zabrak sipping from her mug, smiling to herself. As he was about to sit, with his T-visor shaped helmet on, he took a covert glance at her; she was slender but not skinny, slightly built, she wore an all black combat jumpsuit over tight-fitting but flexible clothes, wore a bandolier as a belt. She looked harmless but he knew better. She must be one hell of fighter, impressed, he noticed one of her main advantage, and she must be fast too. Confident that she wasn’t a threat, Solus opened his Mandalorian helmet. He saw the barkeep went wide-eyed and noticed he took a step back. Solus took note of the barkeeps reaction but openly ignores it and ordered a meal.
They’re still afraid of us, he mused, ...what? A couple of months after the war? As the barkeep prepares his meal, his mind wondered back at what happened in these past few recent months.

His clan was among the few that did not heed the summons of the new Mandalore. They fervently believed that the upcoming war was not the supposed prophesied “Last Great Battle” as Mandalore the Ultimate had once said it was. And once they saw survivors who returned to their homeworld, Mandalore, dishonored after their defeat in the war and as the news of the demise of their so-called great leader, they knew that Mandalore the Ultimate had lied. They suspect that the Mandalorians were goaded to start a crusade against the Republic. But they do not know who... For that, the clan leader chose the youngest and brightest fighters to perform a sacred quest; to scour the known galaxy in search of the existence of the so-called prophesy, and as well as to investigate and find out the force behind the start of the Mandalorian Wars. The clan held a tournament among the youngsters and Solus proved himself by becoming the champion. The clan leader sends him off but before he did, the elder told Solus ab-

The plate that was silently placed in front him brought him out of his reverie. He paid the barkeep and ate with gusto, famished, and concentrated on his food his food, too disturbed to recall what the elder told him. Too deep into his own thoughts or into his food; he was oblivious of a newcomer who just walked into the main room…

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“Huh?” Wry asked, “sorry, could you in speak in Basic please? I don't understand Huttese”.

The barkeep flushed and spoke in Basic, “I said, no weapons allowed, Jedi! Not even your laser sword!” he pointed behind Wry, “put it in the container there!” He looked behind him and for the first saw the container. Then he remembered his stern yet beautiful master's face, Jane, giving him a lecture about A Jedi's lightsaber is his most precious possession lesson. I'm not going through THAT again, he rolled his eyes. He prepared his best smile and turned, “Why don't I leave it with you? It'll be safer”. He picked up his lightsaber from his side and in one motion, handed the weapon as well as wagging his fingers slightly, bringing the weight of the Force into his voice.

"Why don't you leave it with me? It'll be safer", the barkeep obediently repeated. Wry gave him a perfect smile, walked towards the barkeep, sat at the stool in front of the barkeep and handed over the weapon into the barkeep's outstretched palm. The barkeep held the lightsaber awkwardly and stashed somewhere under the counter in front of him. "What'll be?", he asked."Anything" the Jedi replied. The barkeep shrugged, placed a glass in front of the Jedi and poured an amber liquid into it. He took one good look at the Jedi, a young Jedi in the usual Jedi colored brown robes. He has a long straight black hair that reaches to his broad shoulder with that long single braid tied behind his right ear, signifying his rank as a novice in the Jedi Arts. He has two different eye color; his left left eye is dark brown while his right is dark maroon. His skin is just partially tanned and has a long straight face with a calm likeness upon it. The barkeep then noticed a scar on his left wrist, he guessed that it was from a knife or some sort. The Jedi noticed him looking at his scar, he shrugged and continued busying himself at the counter.

Wry took a sip of the drink, it tasted alien. He placed the glass on the counter and sighed. Why is it that everytime my Master has an assignment, I'm forced to go on this wild Bantha chase looking for a rumored holocron at the edge of the universe?, he grudgingly thought. Master Delacroid believes I'm not ready, he rolled his eyes, okay...I skipped most of those boring lightsaber lessons, but I can't help it! It's so damn boring and repetitive! I know I'm already good enough...Why can't I follow my master and help her out?

He was brought out of his reverie by sudden crash near the entrance of the cantina...Exasperated, he wondered, What now?

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

STAR WARS:
KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC: DESTINED DISCOVERY

The Mandalorian war is over! The Republic

has finally defeated the

Mandalorians on Malachor V.

The commander of the Republic’s Navy

and Jedi Knight Revan defeated the leader

of the Mandalorians,Mandalore the Ultimate,

pursued the retreating Mandalorians

and has not been seen again.

Where exactly Revan and the fleet are,

is not known but there are rumors

of him of his appearance on isolated worlds.

Why Revan was on those worlds is

beyond anyone’s knowledge.
After Mandalore’s defeat, the Mandalorians,

devoid of leadership and honor, they degenerated.

A few Mandalorian survivors returned

to the Mandalore system, but many

humbled their pride

and became mercenaries for hire.

Other groups became outright bandits,

in a futile effort to relive their glory days.
The story that is about to take place

is the adventures of an unlikely group

at the fringe of the universe. This tale

tells the story of the people who lived

during the aftermath of the Mandalorian wars

and it all began in Catacrom 4…

The Cast of Characters & Catacrom 4 introduction

Here’s the list of main characters & other notable characters. Afterwards, they will be a brief introduction on Catacrom 4, the planet they start their adventure. Catacrom 4 is just a planet I just created, not from any of planets in the Star Wars Universe. On a side note: I stole some names from other sources coz I was just too damn tired to think of a name…

The Cast of Characters
Players

Nini
Character Name: Sash Coth
Female Zabrak Explorer
(Zabrak is humanoid, distinguished by patterns of vestigial horns atop their heads. Think of Darth Maul, but as a girl)

A very confident young Zabrak girl, who believes that there is nothing she can’t accomplish, who becomes an adventurer of sorts exploring lost civilizations in the Outer Rim. She is strangely obsessed in being the first to explore new lands or finding new species or lost civilization. She found herself stuck at Catacrom 4 after she mistakenly took the wrong space shuttle.

Arman
Character Name: Wry El-Fort
Male Human Padawan
A young human Padawan of the Jedi Order recently accepted as an apprentice to a Jedi Knight, Jane Delacroid. An arrogant (as most Padawans are) young boy who was assigned to the ExplorCorp in search of the rumored Jedi Holocron in Catacrom 4 while his master, Jane had to go on a dangerous assignment. Being brash and overly confident, young Wry thinks it’s just a wild Bantha chase to keep him busy from following, or in his case “helping” his master on her dangerous assignments.

Aizu
Character Name: Solus Tal Ijaa
Male Taung Warrior
(A cross-breed between a Predator in the Predator movies and Protoss in Starcraft)
A Taung warrior from one of the last remaining clans of the original Mandalorian species sent to Catacrom 4 by his clan leader. Some clans believed that the Mandalorian Wars was not the “Last Great Battle” that was prophesied. Solus’s clan is one of them. Solus being the most skilled fighter in the clan, he was chosen by the clan leader in search about the truth of the prophesied “Last Great Battle” for the Mandalorian Crusaders. His knowledge for the truth brought him to Catacrom 4 as he heard rumours of an ancient civilization that looked similar to Mandalorian’s culture.

Other Notable Characters (controlled by the GM)

Jane Delacroid
Human Jedi Knight
Jane was one of the few Jedi Knights who joined Revan’s Jedi Crusade to help the Republic in the Mandalorian Wars when the Jedi Council refused the Republic's desperate pleas for aid. After the war, she was also one of the few who came back to the Jedi Order on Coruscant to face judgement. Before the Council, she was charged with following Revan to war in an act of rebellion and the Masters informed her that she should be exiled from the Order. But due to her previous heroic deeds in the past, she was to be reinstated from being a Jedi Knight to something lesser... so that she could prove her worth in becoming a Jedi Knight again. She volunteers to join the Jedi Exploration Corp (ExplorCorp). There she met Wry and took him as her apprentice.

Tren
Green-skinned Male Duros Trader
(Duros are hairless, with large eyes and wide, lipless mouths. Skin color ranges from blue-gray to deep azure. Think of Neimoidians in Star Wars Episode 1, only greener and bigger round heads)
Once a pilot of a repair ship for the Republic Navy in the Mandalorian Wars, he was shortly reprimanded after authorities found out that not only was he smuggling military supplies to the enemy, he was also repairing Mandalorian warships! Tren pleaded innocent, because what the authorities didn’t realize was that the Duros had to repair the enemy ships or else the Mandalorians will kill his kids. Which the authorities later found out that Tren had never been married before nor that did he ever had any luck with the ladies of any species for that matter. Let alone have any kids… The Republic Navy left him at Catacrom 4 in hopes that he would not cause any more trouble for the greater good of the Republic. Tren decided to repent his scoundrel ways and decided to become an honest trader...

Carrick Cho
Human Male Republic Soldier
A newly recruited Republic soldier who was stationed at Catacrom 4 to ensure peace between the natives of Catacrom 4 and the newly founded Republic settlement “New Prospect”. He was on patrol with his squad when he and his entire squad went missing when they were patrolling the northeast of “New Prospect”.

Lieutenant Zayne Vyn
Human Male Republic Officer
A veteran commander who has a great amount of respect of how the Jedi Knight Revan lead the Republic to victory in the Mandalorian Wars through unorthodox strategies. After the war, Lieutenant Zayne was to be left in charge of command for the lunar base on Catacrom 4’s moon.

Catacrom 4
Catacrom 4 is the fourth planet and the only habitable planet out of the other five uninhabitable planets in the Catacrom system, which is located very near the Qiilura system. It’s a lush green planet covered with thick forest of trees.

The planet was recently discovered during the end of Mandalorian Wars and the Republic made contact with the natives of the planet. When the Republic arrived, they found out that the natives are primitive in terms of technology and are lizard-like folks with tough colored scales ranging from pale grey to dark green scales as skin. Humanoid size but taller and bigger on their upper body compare to humans, a hunched back with strong arms with four retractable claws as fingers, yellow slit eyes, a forked tongue protected by a strong angular jaw with sharp teeth. Later, it discovered that the natives were divided by two factions by distinguishing the colors of their skin; the Toks for the grey skinned and Woks for the green skinned lizards. There are the same species but divided into two factions because of different opinion on how things should be done. The Republic ambassadors offered culture and technology to the natives and they quickly embrace them especially weapon technology at an alarming speed. The “Catacromians” as they would like to be called now, was then recognized by the Senate as intelligent species and was given a place in the halls of the Galactic Senate.

In order to cement the relationship further, a settlement was built on Catacrom 4 as a sign of peace and willingness to assimilate the planet as on of planets of the Republic. The Republic hired explorers to charter the planet for mineral deposits as well as cataloging the Catacromians culture by locating and visiting their ancient ruins and finding artifacts to learn more about their culture and history. This is where strain of the relationship is at its maximum. The Woks do not agree to allow foreigners to trespass into their lands and pillaging artefacts to be “catalogued” as the Republic says.

Most artifacts will be sent to the lunar base to be further studied and promised the Catacromians to return it once they have completed their studies on the artifacts. The Woks believes that the Republic will never return their artifacts. Why they distrust the Republic was not given to the public’s knowledge.

Right! Let’s begin! It’s best if you play the Star Wars Theme song in the next post. You know, to get the feeling … Oooh! Oooh! Why don’t you scroll down slowly in the next post while you’re at it! LOL

What's it all about...

I’m currently running a Star Wars Saga Edition role playing game with my friends. So, I thought I could recount the tales of their adventures here. Here’s a brief introduction about the game, an excerpt from the game book:

“When you play the Star Wars Role-playing Game, you create a unique fictional character that lives in the imaginations of you and our friends. One person in the game, the Game Master (GM) [Yours Truly], controls the villains and other people who live in the Star Wars universe. Through your characters, you and your friends face the dangers and explore the mysteries that your Game master sets before you.”“Anything is possible in the Star Wars Role-playing Game. You can have your character try anything you can think of. If it sounds good and the dice fall in your favor, the action succeeds.”

So as you can see, it’s a dice rolling imagination (with miniatures to represent foes and friends, and a grid map [somewhat like chess tiles] to represent the location of who is where) kind of a game. We were playing D&D (Dungeons & Dragons), but since 4th edition is coming out soon, we stopped and tried the new Star Wars RPG.
The game is set in the “Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR for short)” Era; it’s about 3,961 years before Star Wars Episode 4 movie. We chose this era because after playing the KOTOR game on the pc, it has the best setting where there still a lot of Siths around battling against the guardians of the Old Republic, the Jedi Order. The setting also gives us the freedom to put whatever stories or ideas that we want without actually changing the history of the Star Wars Universe. (It’s kinda hard to play in any of the movies. Say a player just killed Palpatine before he turned Anakin to Darth Vader? What then? I’m too lazy to think about an alternate future and all that. So…this era would be find to mess with) I have 3 players currently playing my campaign; Nini (my sister), Arman (a younger brother of a close friend who is also a close friend of mine, oh and he’s usually the GM for D&D) and Aizu( a close friend of mine since primary school)

In the next post I’ll give a brief introduction of their characters. Due note that the story is not an accurate telling of what really happened because of some un-star wars-like behavior (who ever heard a Jedi running around in circles as to keep an enemy busy chasing behind him, so that the Jedi’s mates could recuperate and later take pot shots at the enemy chasing the Jedi?) and also because I can’t remember all the details what actually happen. So I’ll try to make the story based on the main plot and more Star Wars-ish like. The story may be a quite lame from other star wars stories that I have read but to tell you the truth, this campaign was supposed to be just a test run. I thought it would be fun to write a story about it no matter how lame the story is. I was chosen as the GM because I know a bit more about the Star Wars Universe and that no one else wanted to be the GM, everyone wanted to play not storytelling! Damn…oh well…Bare in mind that this will be my first attempt on telling a story about one of my games…so, be gentle :)