Science Fiction Star Wars (FAE) - The Cyborg Conspiracy
#1
The setting is massive research station involving high quality anti-gravity generator and galactic wormhole. Your quest is to spy on the cyborg conspiracy theorist at the infested ruins. Trying to stop you is the amphibian master skilled in riding. You are currently at the mechanical factory.
Part I: The Cyborg Conspiracy
The GALACTIC REPUBLIC has seen more than a thousand years of relative peace and the centuries of calm have made it complacent. The SENATE is hopelessly tangled in bureaucracy, and the guardians of the peace, the JEDI ORDER appears to be only concerned with finer points of philosophy and withdrawal from galactic affairs. Little do they know a new threat gathers on the horizon.
MASTER ROMELIA of the Jedi Order, and her apprentice THALIA KERMES, are still alert for threats to the peace of the galaxy, against the warnings of the Jedi Council. Even now, the pair approaches an apparently ruined city, infested with vermin, hoping to uncover a conspiracy that might well shatter the peace…

The two robed and cowled figures glide silently through the night, through the shadows created by the ruins and dark skies above. Master and apprentice had detected nothing from their ship. The lack of any signal was conspicuous in and of itself -- there was something being heavily shielded in this area. It was just a question of finding it.

Romelia gestures at her student. The apprentice is to find a way to what they seek.

(Thalia is going to attempt to find the hidden research station using the Force. Unfortunately, this would be a Careful overcome action, which is her lowest skill.)

0 = +1 +0 +0 -1

(0 + 0 makes 0, which is not enough, but she could spend a Fate Point to give her what she needs. A Fair (+2) result should be good enough. She now has 2 Fate Points left.)

(She invokes her Human Jedi Padawan aspect.)

Thalia extends her senses outward, taking a deep breath, clearing her mind. This has always been difficult for her, and for a moment, she isn't sure she's going to succeed, but then...

There is something buried right beneath their feet. Something huge and powerful. Unfortunately, she doesn't find a way in.

Master Romelia smiles. She knows what her apprentice sensed, and is pleased, nonetheless.

(Does Master Romelia know where the entrance is?)

(Likely | 1[d10]) No, and...

"The entrance is not here, but I sense someone is about to emerge from some distance ahead." Romelia keeps her voice low, but Thalia knows she would not have spoken at all unless she were certain she would not be overheard. "Come quickly now." Together, they raced through the ruins, swiftly and silently, as only Jedi could.

(Do they find someone emerging from the entrance to the facility below?)

(Very Likely | 10[d10]) Yes, and...

(Is it someone with high access?)

(Very Likely | 7[d10]) Yes.

Nervous Avian artist.

(This is an undefined avian species, and I don't know enough about Star Wars to know a proper EU species to fill in, so I'll just make it up as I go along. As for the artist bit, I'll stretch the meaning somewhat. This is a cosmetic surgeon skilled at hiding cybernetics so the recipient can travel freely without suspicion.)

Thalia is quick, but Romelia is quicker. The padawan finds it difficult to keep up with her master, and almost as hard to keep track of, as she slips silently in and out of shadows.

(This seems like a good opportunity for a challenge, though only Thalia will be rolling. I didn't stat Romelia yet, because she's not the focus of the story, though I may do so later. Thalia will need to move Quickly, Sneakily, and Carefully. There's a good chance she'll mess up, but she is just an apprentice.)

(First, Quick at Fair (+2))

1 = +0 +1 +0 +0

(She succeeds at that, given a standard difficulty of Fair. Next, Sneaky.)

-1 = +0 -1 +1 -1

(That's 0, given her +1 in Sneaky, which makes it a failure. Finally, Careful.)

1 = -1 +1 +0 +1

(That makes a total of 1. Thalia also fails at being Careful.)

Thalia manages to keep up with Master Romelia, but not without a fair amount of crashing and stumbling over ancient stonework and through branches and bushes. Normally, acrobatic and graceful, the unusual conditions make her nearly fall several times. All the lessons focusing on feeling the Force seemed to go right out the airlock.

(Can the avian being fly?)

(Likely | 10[d10]) Yes, and...

A small feathered creature emerges from a hatch, and hears Thalia's crashing approach as soon as it emerges. In a whirr of wings, it begins to lift off...

(Thalia attempts to Quickly subdue the avian with the Force.)

0 = -1 +1 +0 +0

(Added to Quick +2, I will assume +2 is enough for a tie to Create an Advantage, which gives Thalia a boost. Let's call it Dashed to the Ground.)

(Does Master Romelia protest this?)

(Somewhat Likely | 10[d10]) Yes, and...

Thalia reaches out through the Force, creating a link between the avian and herself, an invisible chain that yanks the flying creature from the air and dashes it hard to the ground. She rushes forward to capture her quarry only to be brought up short by Romelia's hand on the back of her robe.

"What?" The padawan struggles instinctively for a moment before she subsides.

"Let it go. What we seek is below." The Jedi Master turns to the avian. "You never saw us here. Go in peace."

"I never saw you here," repeats the avian. "I will go in peace." It flies up and away into the night.

"Aggression is always the last resort." Master Romelia's gentle chiding is as firm as another woman's sharp castigation.

"Yes, master," replies Thalia, reminding herself yet again to consider before acting.

"Now. Shall we see if we can get this hatch open?" Once more, the master leaves the task to her apprentice.

(Thalia attempts to Carefully open the hatch, using the Force. Let's also give her a retroactive fate point for automatically going the attack route because Life is Battle. Thalia now has 3 Fate Points.)

2 = +1 +1 +1 -1

(This an Overcome roll at the standard Fair (+2) difficulty. Her Careful is only Mediocre (0), but that's enough to give her a tie, which is success at a cost. Thalia's imperfect attempt now has the base Under Alert)

Thalia extends her senses through the Force, feeling out the mechanisms of the lock, slowly wrapping tendrils of power around the right spots, she twists. There is a loud banging sound as the hatch opens, and the noise echoes through out the ruins.

"Perhaps it's just as well," Master Romelia says, with a wry smile. "We may get to do it your way, after all."

Together, they jump down the hatch.

(Where do they land?)

Confederate headquarters.

(Is it currently occupied?)

(50/50) No.

Apprentice and master land lightly inside a darkened conference room. It looks as if they might have found one of the planning centers of the entire operation. Thalia would have called it a lucky break, if she hadn't been learning the ways of the Force her whole life.

Master Romelia glides to the main table to call up the computer interface, downloading information into her own personal storage device.

(Are guards on the way, due to the Under Alert aspect?)


(

(Very Likely) Yes, and...

The lights suddenly flare to life and a tall creature enters the room, flanked by guards that appear to be human -- but Thalia can sense they've been heavily modified by cybernetics. But not their leader. His smooth-looking gray skin proclaims him to be an amphibian of some kind, visible on the parts of him that aren't wearing light, skin-tight armor.

"Jedi," says the amphibian in a deep, resonant voice. His large glowing amber eyes seem to take in every detail at once. "This will be... interesting." He nods to his companions. "Take them alive, if you can." He steps back, arms folded. Apparently, he will not involve himself at this point.

(Thalia gets a fate point for the compelling of the Under Alert aspect. She now has 4.)

(Cybernetic Mooks - Aspects: Metal Transcends Mortality; Cybernetic Soldier. Skilled (+2) at: Using implanted weaponry, hacking systems. Bad (-2) at: Operating without orders, empathizing with the 'unimproved'. Stress 1.)

(Thalia goes first. Because there are four opponents - five, counting the 'amphibian master', she can utilize her Natural Tactician stunt, and does so, attempting to create a bottleneck in the doorway, so the cyborgs have to push past a narrow point to fight.)

0 = +0 -1 +1 +0

(Her +3 Clever and +2 bonus gives her a Superb (+5) result, which means she succeeds with style, getting two free invocations on the Bottlenecked! advantage she has just created. Next are the cyborgs, who will get +2 in an attempt to blast Thalia. She will flashily defend, though it does not count for her Lightsaber Style stunt, since she is currently fighting ranged weapons. She'll close the distance in the next exchange.)

2 = +1 +1 -1 +1

-3 = -1 -1 +0 -1

(The cyborgs roll a 2, which gives them +4. Thalia, unfortunately, rolls -3, which gives her a -1. Time to spend one of those Fate Points. She'll invoke her Tiny Acrobat aspect for a reroll, then invoke Human Jedi Padawan for another +2, since the cyborgs rolled so high. She now has 2 Fate Points.)

2 = +0 +0 +1 +1

(Much better. Now Thalia has a +2 roll, a +2 for her invocation, and +2 for her flashy defense, for a total of +6, not quite enough to succeed with style, but she takes no damage. This is the first exchange.)

It's come to combat, and this is Thalia's element. She somersaults over the table, lightsaber igniting and already whirring by the time she hits the ground. Wielding her weapon in her typical one-handed stance, she fluidly walks the perimeter around the door, making the cyborgs nervous to enter the room.

From their position, the opponents open fire, only for Thalia to deftly block their shots with her whirring, humming blade, knocking the heavy blaster bolts away.

"You might want to consider standing down now. You can't win." Thalia tries to give them an opportunity to surrender. Master Romelia would like that. As for the Master herself, she draws her weapon, and holds it at the ready, but does not yet enter the fray, her eyes on their leader, just outside the doorway.

(Again, Thalia goes first. Now she'll attack, using the double invocation she received for her earlier action. She'll use her Clever approach, shearing away their obvious weapons, which will incapacite them, given the weapons are implanted.)

0 = -1 +1 -1 +1

0 = -1 -1 +1 +1

(Thalia gets +7 altogether, but the cyborgs only get +2, which means Thalia succeeds on her attack with style. Since 3 stress will take out the entire group, she does not take the boost, choosing to do damage, instead. The mooks are all taken out.)

(Does Romelia advice fleeing with the information?)

(Sure Thing) Yes, but...

The cyborgs hesitate, but raise their weapons again, in unison. Once more, Thalia's lightsaber whirls and flashes, and she spins into the midsts of them, each arc of her blade shearing off a weapon limb (or sometimes a non-weapon limb). In the end, her opponents are all on the ground, leaving only their leader. Thalia steps forward, but stops at a word from Master Romelia.

"We have what we came for. It's time to leave." The Jedi Master nods toward the hatch through which they arrived.

"It will not be quite so easy as you thought it would be, Jedi." The amphibian creature hefts a baton which telescopes out into a spear with a sparking energy blade on the end, causing Thalia to leap back to avoid being impaled. He bounds past Thalia as though she were not even there, spear leveled at Master Romelia.

"You've got the information, as well," Master Romelia says. Her movements are precise and economical as she parries jabs from the spear. Sparks erupt when she strikes at the shaft, made from some lightsaber-resistant material.

(Thalia would stay, but does as she's told because Master Romelia Believes In Her. She gets a Fate Point and now has 3.)

The apprentice hesitates for a moment, and then she is scrambling up the ladder, as quickly as only a Jedi can, hoping her master will be right behind her.

(Is Romelia able to come after quickly?)

(Very Likely) Yes.

Thalia springs up the ladder and no sooner than she is out then Romelia springs up after. The Jedi Master waits a beat, then slams the hatch shut with the Force, slamming their pursuer back down to the floor.

"I'd consider this to be a productive evening," says Romelia. "Ready to go?"

(Normally, I'd give them a 50/50 chance or better for escaping without incident, but because the facility Under Alert, the chances of not encountering resistance is higher.)

(Do they escape without a problem?)

(Unlikely | 1[d10]) No, and...

Annihilator.

They race toward their ship without incident, but Thalia can feel something is wrong. They're not going to escape without at least one more fight. She knows she's supposed to not want to fight, but at the same time, she can't help but look forward to it, just a little.

The ship is in sight when the surprise drops literally from above, landing in front of them hard enough to cause the ground to tremble. It is a large droid, a humanoid skeletal torso with heavy gun arms, mounted on tank treads. The guns swivel toward the approaching Jedi.

"Scatter!" Romelia cries, but they are already running in opposite directions, each tuned to the other's tactics by this point.

(Does the annihilator focus on Romelia first?)

(50/50 | 3[d10]) No.

(The pair are going to try to put a Divided Attention aspect on the annihilator. This will be a Clever roll, which is Thalia's +3 approach.)

1 = -1 +0 +1 +1

0 = -1 +0 +0 +1

(The annihilator is -2, because it is bad at tactical assessment, so Thalia has +4, the annihilator -2. Since she succeeds with style, she gets two free invocations.)

(The annihilator attacks Thalia, and she will defend with her usual acrobatic flashiness.)

-1 = +0 +0 -1 +0

2 = +0 +1 +1 +0

(Does the annihilator spend a fate point to reroll?)

(Very Unlikely | 2[d10]) No.

(The annihilator rolls -1, and adds +2 because it's good at killing people, for a total of +1. Thalia gets 2 and another 2 for flashy, for a total of +4. She succeeds with style on her defense, gaining a boost - Erratic Target.)

The droid freezes for a moment, then its guns begin to track Thalia, firing off bursts with a heavy, ground-shaking THUMPTHUMPTHUMP. Half-spheres of earth, stone, and vegetation are annihilated wherever the gun hits, and Thalia ducks, spins, and turns back on the annihilator, spinning through the air, lightsaber flaring to life.

(Thalia will make a flashy attack on the droid, using every advantage she has at her disposal, giving her a +6 bonus before she even starts. The droid will defend with 0.)

4 = +1 +1 +1 +1

2 = +1 +1 +0 +0

(Thalia gets a +4, which makes it almost pointless to roll for the droid. She gets an amazing +10! It doesn't matter that she succeeds with style - she has a +8 stress hit on the droid, which would be dangerous to any opponent. The droid is going to go down hard.)

Thalia continues to spin as she falls toward the annihilator, the Force making the arc of her leap and fall supernaturally long. She swings her weapon in quick sweeping motions, too quickly for the eye to follow, then pushes off from the torso with her feet. Said torso falls from the base of the droid, the head and arms hitting the ground as separate pieces. Without pausing, Thalia leaps for the ship, Romelia close behind.

(One more obstacle to overcome -- a challenge to get the ship started, then to maneuver it out of the way of any anti-ship emplacements. She'll do the first Quickly, the second Cleverly.)

0 = +1 +0 -1 +0

-1 = +0 +1 -1 -1

(Since her Quick approach is +2, she gets a flat +2 for that roll, which ties in a general Overcome roll. Her Clever approach is +3, but that is also only a +2, which is another tie. She succeeds with both, but at a minor cost.)
(What is the cost to getting the ship started quickly?)

Oppress / Rumour.

(Of course, avoiding the anti-ship emplacements means damage.)

Thalia leaps into the ship and hears a snapping sound. Somehow, her computer has fallen from her robe - and she's stepped on it. Great. Hopefully, Romelia kept the full information. No time to check on that now. No time to even strap in.

Very calmly, as if discussing the color of Thalia's robe, Romelia states, "There are gun emplacements rising from the ground."

Even as the ship rises, it is rocked by bursts from blaster fire below. "Just... hang on!" Thalia manages not to fall out of her chair as she guides the vessel into several sharp turns and tight spins, even as it continues to ascend. Then, they are rocketing out of the atmosphere, and hopefully to safety.

Thalia assesses the instruments as the ship leaves the atmosphere. "The hyperspace drive is damaged! We're not going to be able to get all the way back to Coruscant!"

"Then, get us as far as you can, before get shot down," Romelia suggests mildly.

The apprentice pushes the lever, and the ship makes the jump, with an ominous shudder.
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#2
Cool story and good use of the tool.

Thanks for sharing!
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