She gets scolded again about calling Kyp 'Master Durron.' Kedrihm'Val teases her, "Keep it up and he'll start calling you Master Shevan." She scoffs. "No one calls me Master!" "Lydia does," Oola points out. "No!" gasps Ree.
But how to find Drath? He's probably after money to build his forces. If he's wanting information on the True Sith...might he follow in Revan's footsteps? Where can information on Darth Revan be found? Ree can't even remember his home planet. Kedrihm'Val wonders if any of the Hutts would know. They live long enough, and buying that information from them would take a lot of money... Kedrihm'Val points out that Drath's comments imply he's been using farseeing a lot recently. And reminds them that there's still a piece of Abindosani coral left in CorpSec--with people Drath already has a working relationship with. For that matter, they need to learn more themselves.
As they consider possibly tapping the Abindosani reefs for information, or perhaps hunting up some Rakata artifacts, a new report comes on about a rash of unidentified artifacts being stolen from museums recently. Oola enlists Onna's help to get acces to the museum. Ree gets called back to the temple, and Z stiffs Kedrihm'Val with the bill.
Ree was called back because Maul-rock is empty. Luke thinks Drath might've cloned him.
At the museum, they learn all the artifacts seem to be objects d'art, created by a small race. The break-ins were perpetrated with notable skill. "Who would steal art when no one knows who even did it?" ponders the curator. They hand over pictures and reproductions of the 10 items that were stolen. It takes her a bit, but Oola puts the pieces of this puzzle together. She's seen some of Yoda's belongings, and the designs and lines of them are reminiscent. And who else would be inclined to steal True Sith artwork right about now? Just one scary blue bastard...
| "Could Thrawn have a copy of Shavan's book?" asks Oola's player. "Revan," Ree's player corrects. "That's Shevan," Kedrihm'Val's player says, pointing at Ree-player. GM: "Funny coincidence in names, isn't it?" *receiving assorted looks from players* "I could just be fuckin' with ya!" Kedrihm'Val's player: "I've never known you to not follow through." |
Ree and Oola comm their findings to the others. Kedrihm'Val reminds them of Dagobath, wondering if Thrawn or Drath might've paid it a visit recently.
Ree finds a note in her room. "Who benefits from clones that bring back the dead?" it asks. No signature. Ree shows it to Kyp, who's doing well, he says, spending time with Zeth. "Considering that tech was inspired by a guy with a civilization in his head, I'd say the Rakata." Following that line of thought, Zan (her next consult) suggests that Drath might bring back a Rakata and make it work for hi. Could explain why he'd bring back Maul now, after waiting so long. How'd Drath learn all this ability and technique? Ree wonders. He meditates a few months in a prison and comes out a full-fledged Sith? Zan thinks he might've connected with something. A force of will like his would be a beacon.
Next move: look for more True Sith stuff. Now that they know what they're looking for, the computer can help search. And check into Rakata temples, too. Oola quickly discovers that the largest collection of stuff that turns out to be True Sith was in the State Museum on Chandrila. 'Was' being the operative word. It's missing as of two weeks ago. Across the galaxy, approximately 50-60 pieces of True Sith art are gone. No tampering with Rakata temples is evident, at least.
How'd Thrawn find out? Well, Drath probably had stuff in Set Harth's collection he sold to the Grand Admiral. Harth was fascinated by them, after all. It probably clued Thrawn in.
Oola also discovers that the moon Zahn, in orbit around the gas giant Zahr on the Outer Rim, has just turned up a dig. Three days ago, archaeologists unearthed some relics that match. It's obscure news; Thrawn might not have heard yet. Dalt informs them he's coming, though he's annoyed when Oola forbids him from bringing his walking throne (he finally got one; or built one. Fear it!). Zan's coming too.
Ree receives another note. "How can you be certain the actual people are coming back to their bodies?" it asks. She takes the notes to Luke, who ponders. "It's obvious-- No, let me rephrase. Most reports indicate the person who came back is my mother," he finally answers. But even if this is only a sporadic or partial thing, among 2000 clones it could be a problem. He'll look into whomever's sending these messages.
Ree has a vision that night: a massive space battle, Imperials and Republic fighting side-by-side, together with Sith ships. She doesn't recognize who the enemy ships are, except that they're strange, almost like holes in the Force. And there's on archaic-looking Jedi ship, rigged and modified and kicking butt. She has a sense she's missing something, but she can't spot it.
She wakes up and gets coffee. As usual, it's the middle of the night. SARR snarks, Ree tells him and Oola (who's on monitor duty) about it. While Oola ponders the modded ship, Z gets up for his shift. "I can't die," he tells them. "Too pretty." This hurts their brains.
Returning to her room, Ree finds a note on a datapad on the floor. On the ship. With everyone accounted for. "Pay attention to the constellations." She realizes suddenly that the stars in her dream were the constellations visible from her planet.
Returning to the others with the datapad o'mystery, Z checks the ship recordings to find a black spot during the time the datapad must've been deposited. It's not Dalt. "His physical ass is in his bed," SARR says. Not a droid, either; scans account for that. A Force ghost? Hard to say, but Ree's sure someone sent this dream, like the one with Zeth. She tries to follow the mental trail of it, but it passes out beyond the Rim. "You and your rampant meatbaggery attract attention from beyond the stars," SARR comments. But why her? Why not Kedrihm'Val? Or Luke! "Depends on your destiny," SARR says sarcastically. Ree calls the temple to report and gets Kyp. They found the same effect in her room of that blank spot in the recordings.
When they reach the planet, they find some bewildered archaeologists. They don't know what the complex was. It's not huge, but they're having trouble exploring because the locals are timid, "ignorant and supertitious savages." Kedrihm'Val points out that they may have good reason not to go near the place, but the guy seems disinclined to listen.
So they head into the complex. It's well-preserved. The tapestries and hangings are made of plant fibers and remain intact. Dalt and Oola quickly gain the impression that this is a tomb for a warlord. Statuary quickly seals the deal that these were Yoda's people. Obviously there were different castes: some were taller and bulkier than Yoda, while others resemble him in their wise old forms. "So Yoda wasn't a warrior," comments Z, who tries to wrap his mind around the concept of Yodas who actually are warriors.
The murals on the walls depict a story as they go deeper: a race of good, peaceful people, who are struck by a dark light--like a Force star?--radiating from the sky. They don't change physically, but they grow more violent and brutal, except for a few who remain unaffected. This warlord comes from a line of warlord-kings who subjugate the scholars to rule the race. Almost all the True Sith are shown using the Force. The story ends, unsurprisingly, with the warlord's glorious death.
They spot a secret door at the end of the murals. Inside there's a pedestal with a real paper-and-binding book sitting on it. It's evidently a book of prophecy. Flipping to the end, they find the space battle from Ree's dream, and then pages are torn out. They snag the book and head onward.
Not far from that door lie the ancient remains of a huge predatory lizard. It was cut in half by a lightsaber a very, very long time ago. As Ree rounds the corner, she leaps away from another, very alive predatory lizard. Even hunched over, this thing is 11 feet high. She drives it back with Affect Mind, and it turns and flees. She gets an odd impression, though, as if it were startled that her power worked on it.
"What do you know?" Z comments. "The ignorant savages were right." Kedrihm'Val answers, "Yes, generally we ignorant savages try to stay away from things that'll kill us." "No you don't," Z says. "You punch it. Right, Primal?" Ree deflects the conversation to ask, "How's the new season going?" "Really good," Z tells her. "Dalt, make a joke," Oola interrupts. Seeing Dalt's eyes light up, Kedrihm'Val orders, "Don't." The existence of that creature in a place supposedly sealed for potentially over 100,000 years does not go overlooked by the crew.
They pick up more pictographs here, a story about someone else. Here, priests have regained some power. A sorceress-ruler uses her power to create the Sith as they know them, the red catfish-people, and sends them out as servants. Then a revolt rises, led by the few good True Sith, who manage to depose the sorceress and then disappear. Seems the sorceress was buried here, too.
And sure enough, past that they encounter a huge chamber with a jewel-encrusted sarcophagus in the center. To one side, another less grand tomb seems to hold the sorceress. Beyond those lies a fabulous treasure hoard. "I could make a suit of gold Mandalorian armor," declares Z. "I'd be gorgeous!" But they don't let him meddle with the treasure. Instead, they pass through to find a large area with a secondary passage leading to the surface.
It looks like the lizard thing lives here. They'd assumed there might be a breeding population, but signs indicate there's only the one. Bones from old meals lie scattered about--mainly livestock--but more notably, it seems this creature grows some of its own food. "That doesn't mean it's smart!" Z insists. "Do you have non-sentient animals that farm?" asks Kedrihm'Val, rather wondering how odd the galaxy at large can possibly be. Looking around, Kedrihm and Oola spot faded drawings on the walls, of these animals being used as beasts of burden and guard animals by the True Sith. Some were obviously brought here to guard the tomb. Then there's a rough picture of a Jedi fighting one with a lightsaber--presumably the ancient carcass out in the halls. Funny thing is, the place had been sealed for ages before that. There was nobody around to draw any such picture. Signs point to "sentient."
After locking down the temple so it can be more thoroughly combed for dangers, they place a call to Master Tion, the Jedi librarian. While the others set a trap for the creature, Ree puts in a second call to Luke. First words out of his mouth are, "Are they Yoda?" Yep, Ree tells him. After a heavy sigh, Luke starts to say something, but the transmission suddenly breaks up. Ree senses...
"Jackass," she hisses. Of course it's Drath. The ground starts shaking from something happening above. Oola gives INON the book, which he stores in a chest compartment, while Ree heads up the nearby surface passage to take a look around. When a thermal detonator rolls down toward her, she bats it back up, but has to flee back down to the others.
Z blows that passage (when did he have a chance to plant bombs there?), and they head back toward the front entrance, only to find that's been collapsed as well. Drath is jamming all transmissions. They're trapped.
Of course, with that many Force users in the group, they're not trapped for terribly long. It takes them about 20 minutes to clear out the front entrance, but when they exit, they don't find much left. The excavation has been devastated; everyone who was there is dead. Oola finds the jamming device and wrecks it so they can get through to the Starwind, which SARR removed from the area when Drath came in. He tells them that Drath kidnapped the head archaeologist and took a few of the relics. They're still close enough that the Starwind can give chase...and when the big blinking red ball pops up on their scanner, that makes it even easier. Apparently SARR got into the homing beacon cache again. The trail leads them toward Hutt Space.
When they exit hyperspace again, they spot Drath's ship...heading for the Chimera. When two more Star Destroyers swing in behind, they realize that this was all a trap. The Chimera captures the Starwind in a tractor beam; the other two star destroyers attempt to follow suit, but instead whatever jackasses are operatins those controls manage to miss and lock onto each other.
It's an opening! Oola takes advantage of it to gain brief control of the tractor beams, using them to interrupt the Chimera's beam so the Starwind can break free. Then she hits the gas to get them the hell out of there. When the Chimera starts shooting and turns to pursue, it's a very near thing. Drath's ship docks with the Star Destroyer, but another Sith infiltrator hangs nearby. Three guesses who might be in there, but thankfully it doesn't interfere.
So apparently Thrawn did figure it out. One can only imagine how thoroughly pissed he's got to be over the jackasses on tractor beam duty.
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