Ymira, Zavi and Roona were on the way back to the Archelon after gaining clandestine admittance to Tmennit En'Dey's apartment and sneaking off with a datapad. A submersible popped up alongside the trio, claiming to be there to escort the group down to Tmennit. Seeing through the ruse, the trio declined and the Quarren ruffians showed their true colors as they pulled out blasters.
“Well, it looks like they don’t want this the easy way. Take ‘em down!”
A fight quickly erupted as the Quarren ruffians attempted to bring down the trio of adventurers. They open fire but miss on the first salvo and the group returns fire while also sending a message to Irdis in the Archelon. The Quarren are tough and well armored and start to exit the submersible to get into closer range. However, they prove to be lousy shots themselves. Slowly the team starts whittling them down, one by one. Irdis manages to get in on the fight as he leaps across the water, platform to platform and crashes into one of the last remaining enemies. He manages to slice the Quarren in the throat and send him over the edge of the platform to feed the wildlife in the water below.
After breaking into the datapad that Ymira lifted from Tmenntti's apartment, they learn the following information. Tmennit En’Dey has been on Mon Calamari for several years, investigating a series of underwater ruins, particularly those that were relics of past wars. And that she’s worked most of that time with an accomplice, Lorik Feryss. Feryss left the planet a few months ago. The most recent log was dated two days ago, and it indicates that Tmennit went underwater to investigate the ruins again. She only planned to spend a few days down there. Lastly a digital receipt for a submersible speeder charter out of the speeder port. It was dated two days ago and provides a reference number: U7-083D.
The group decides to check out the speeder charter area. Feigning interest in a submersible rental of their own, they begin talking with the female Mon Calamari attendant at the location that rented Tmennit the vehicle. Showing the receipt, the attendant gives them information that "the Caamasi woman’s been down several times checking out the Deepshadow. I think she’s due back pretty soon, but I don’t know exactly what plan she filed.”
When asking about Deepshadow, it is learned that it is a very dark deep area of the planet which is difficult to reach. A number of ruins and unusual sites are rumored to inhabit the area. The group decides to wait for the Caamasi woman to return and keep the area staked out. Eventually Tmennit returns while Roona and Irdis are on watch.
“…a-aaand, who are you? I’m sure I’ve never seen you before," Tmennit says, clearly suspicious.
They explain that they are sent to seek her out after doing a job for Lorik. She asks about her accomplice and Ymira has to explain that he died a hero, helping them to escape the planet Tython with the holocron.
The older woman is quiet for a few moments, and she buries her head in her hands. After a minute, she wipes her face, although the fur underneath her eyes is still damp and matted down. “He… he didn’t deserve that. He only wanted to learn, but he paid the price of the Empire’s education. Now he’ll never be able to see the fruits of his labor.” She gives a deep sigh. “I can only hope he will at least be content in death to have nearly completed his life’s work. I will certainly miss him, though. He was a good colleague and a better friend.”
Tmennit En’Dey reveals that she is a former Jedi herself – she has worked behind the scenes for years on Mon Calamari attempting to soothe the rift between the Mon Calamari and the Quarren. She’s made a fairly safe home here for herself now that Mon Calamari is a free system. Feryss was her Padawan during the Clone Wars. Because of the Caamasi tendency towards pacifism, Tmennit was not a Jedi General – she was a diplomat in the Outer Rim when Order 66 came, and consequently escaped immediate persecution. Feryss had likewise escaped capture, and was able to find her. They’ve been working together to recover a specific holocron for several years now.
Tmennit asks about the holocron and Irdis indicates it is back at their ship. She invites them to get it and meet her at her apartment.
Off the Deep End - (Episode 19)
Moderator: GM Fang
Re: Off the Deep End - Chapter 19
Having welcomed the team into her apartment and receiving the holocron, the slender Caamasi peers over the small device and fiddles with its controls. Ymira uses this moment to dump the datapad that she had taken earlier, hoping the act went unnoticed. After a few minutes of this,
she turns her back to you and is very still for a few moments. Then, she turns around, “Thank you, travelers. This is indeed the holocron Lorik Feryss had hoped to find. I am in your debt – which reminds me,” she says, as she pulls out a small data cylinder, “this is for you.”
She hands over the cylinder. “This will be for the fee Feryss no doubt promised you. You’ve done marvelously.”
The team now has their payment for the difficult mission they completed. “You know, you’re quite a capable bunch. If you have it in you to do a favor for an old woman, I could really use your help.”
Ymira is immediately ready to negotiate. The group discusses it for a moment as they are ready to move on and several of their group have other obligations forming around them recently. She also asks what the job entails.
“This historical holocron should, if I’m correct, contain information about a great battle in Mon Calamari’s history. I need a group of assistants to help me interpret the holocron’s information to locate a second, lost holocron, and then I’ll need help to recover that holocron.”
“I know that you’ve already done so much to help, but this should be a short errand – and I’m afraid that the years are catching up to me.”
Ymira asks again about compensation.
“I don’t have much, but I do have some friends in high places at Mon Calamari Shipyards. I could call in a favor for you – get you assistance with repairing, refitting, or replacing a ship, I’m sure.”
After a discussion, the team accepts the proposition. Roona points out that Mon Calamari is well known for their ship building prowess and any refitting could really benefit the ship. Zavi also likes the idea and the group agrees.
“Thank you, friends. My goal here is simple. There should be clues in this holocron as to the location of a holocron lost many years ago in a battle under the seas of Mon Calamari. This lost holocron is special – it has details on a cleansing technique that can be used to dampen the effect of the Dark Side of the Force.”
Tmennit turns her attention back to the holocron she has just received. “Now this holocron… normally, you see, one user can use a holocron to access the thoughts and teachings of one past Jedi. The odd thing about this holocron is that it has several layers of personal memories laid on top of each other. I could…”
She thinks for a moment. “Yes, that might work.”
“Are you familiar with my people?” she asks you. “One of our most cherished gifts and burdens is the ability to share memories – memnii – with
our relatives. You are not that, but I believe that, enhanced by the Force, my abilities can allow you to access the stored memories in this holocron with me.”
She bids everyone to sit on the floor. As they all sit down in her apartment, Tmennit sits on the floor with a serene look on her face. She closes her eyes and starts to breathe deeply. Moments later, each member of the team finds themselves in a different place entirely, in a body that feels alien!
A Nautolan Jedi is directing you and speaking over a comlink: “Jedi Knights, we have our duty. We need to get in to that colony – a Sith patrol’s found them and they’re attacking. We need to get those civilians to safety.”
As you start to swim off, the Nautolan Master stops you with a raise of his hand: “One more thing, though. I have this holocron, and it’s vital that we preserve this. It teaches of a Dark Side shielding technique – it will be Morrhage’s bane!”
The Nautolan quickly breaks down the holocron into pieces: “I need you each to take a piece – neither let the Sith have this nor let it be destroyed. We must keep this safe. If the Sith get this, they could learn a way around this. If we lose this, we lose a great opportunity to fight back the darkness. Be mindful of this responsibility.”
He gestures back towards the colony: “Now, the Sith soldiers are already inside – let’s go quickly!”
she turns her back to you and is very still for a few moments. Then, she turns around, “Thank you, travelers. This is indeed the holocron Lorik Feryss had hoped to find. I am in your debt – which reminds me,” she says, as she pulls out a small data cylinder, “this is for you.”
She hands over the cylinder. “This will be for the fee Feryss no doubt promised you. You’ve done marvelously.”
The team now has their payment for the difficult mission they completed. “You know, you’re quite a capable bunch. If you have it in you to do a favor for an old woman, I could really use your help.”
Ymira is immediately ready to negotiate. The group discusses it for a moment as they are ready to move on and several of their group have other obligations forming around them recently. She also asks what the job entails.
“This historical holocron should, if I’m correct, contain information about a great battle in Mon Calamari’s history. I need a group of assistants to help me interpret the holocron’s information to locate a second, lost holocron, and then I’ll need help to recover that holocron.”
“I know that you’ve already done so much to help, but this should be a short errand – and I’m afraid that the years are catching up to me.”
Ymira asks again about compensation.
“I don’t have much, but I do have some friends in high places at Mon Calamari Shipyards. I could call in a favor for you – get you assistance with repairing, refitting, or replacing a ship, I’m sure.”
After a discussion, the team accepts the proposition. Roona points out that Mon Calamari is well known for their ship building prowess and any refitting could really benefit the ship. Zavi also likes the idea and the group agrees.
“Thank you, friends. My goal here is simple. There should be clues in this holocron as to the location of a holocron lost many years ago in a battle under the seas of Mon Calamari. This lost holocron is special – it has details on a cleansing technique that can be used to dampen the effect of the Dark Side of the Force.”
Tmennit turns her attention back to the holocron she has just received. “Now this holocron… normally, you see, one user can use a holocron to access the thoughts and teachings of one past Jedi. The odd thing about this holocron is that it has several layers of personal memories laid on top of each other. I could…”
She thinks for a moment. “Yes, that might work.”
“Are you familiar with my people?” she asks you. “One of our most cherished gifts and burdens is the ability to share memories – memnii – with
our relatives. You are not that, but I believe that, enhanced by the Force, my abilities can allow you to access the stored memories in this holocron with me.”
She bids everyone to sit on the floor. As they all sit down in her apartment, Tmennit sits on the floor with a serene look on her face. She closes her eyes and starts to breathe deeply. Moments later, each member of the team finds themselves in a different place entirely, in a body that feels alien!
A Nautolan Jedi is directing you and speaking over a comlink: “Jedi Knights, we have our duty. We need to get in to that colony – a Sith patrol’s found them and they’re attacking. We need to get those civilians to safety.”
As you start to swim off, the Nautolan Master stops you with a raise of his hand: “One more thing, though. I have this holocron, and it’s vital that we preserve this. It teaches of a Dark Side shielding technique – it will be Morrhage’s bane!”
The Nautolan quickly breaks down the holocron into pieces: “I need you each to take a piece – neither let the Sith have this nor let it be destroyed. We must keep this safe. If the Sith get this, they could learn a way around this. If we lose this, we lose a great opportunity to fight back the darkness. Be mindful of this responsibility.”
He gestures back towards the colony: “Now, the Sith soldiers are already inside – let’s go quickly!”
Re: Off the Deep End - Chapter 19
The adventurers enter the transparisteel-domed-colony from an airlock entrance. All of the area inside the domed area is not underwater – it has a normal, oxygenated atmosphere. There is a terrible Sith threat and numerous civilians are threatened or trapped. Further there are fires and rifts which erupt in the colony floor and cracks are starting to form in the transparisteel dome creating a danger of water rushing in.
The bodies that are inhabited are all Jedi of different races: a Togruta, a Devaronian, a Rodian, an Ithorian and a Muun. As if in a dreamworld, the battles and rescues begin and are brutal and deadly. Zavi's Muun is surrounded by several Sith warriors and cut down near a rift in the floor. Ymira's Rodian body is killed near a left as she tries to help civilians caught in the collapsing rubble. In a sort of cul-de-sac, Xander's Ithorian is shot down by a heavy weapon. Irdis in the form of a Devaronian is ambushed from behind and struck down as he is helping civilians reach one of the airlocks. Finally the Togruta inhabited by Roona is caught in an explosion and felled.
As if waking up from a long rest, each groggily emerges from the trance. Tmennit is seen as she sits in silence for a few moments more, and then she emerges too.
“I see,” she says. “The Nautolan Jedi, the Master, managed to escape that battle with his life, but little else. It was he who recorded this holocron in conjunction with the spirits of the fallen Jedi you lived as. He felt it necessary to preserve their memories, so that the holocron they protected could be retrieved one day.”
She thinks for a moment. "I think I know where that place is, too. There’s an area under the settlement that sea creatures usually avoid, and those that don’t, well, they come out… different. The Mon Calamari figured it to be a rift into the deep core, but having seen that memory, it could be a nexus of Dark Side energy. We need to go down there and find those pieces, and then I’ll do what I can to purge the area of that dark presence.”
“We need to head down to the submersible docks, on the eastern side of the settlement. If you’ve got any gear you need to grab, now might be the time to go get it. Who knows what we might find down…”
But Tmennit never gets to finish her sentence. A loud explosion rings out through the city, and the floor shakes in Tmennit’s apartment. “Oh no,” she says. “We need to go now. I feel a presence… quickly, let’s go!”
Running out of the apartment and into the streets of Blackwater, which is now filled with panicked civilians, a pillar of smoke can be seen rising from the commercial district, and just as everyone wonders what might have happened, a bolt from the blue answers – a salvo of turbolaser fire from orbit hits again, this time demolishing some of the construction near the traffic control office.
“I don’t know how it happened, but you were followed,” Tmennit quickly intuits. “If you were followed, our first priority needs to be getting underwater and retrieving that artifact. If that Dark Jedi found his way here, he’s after the same thing we are, and he’ll follow that Dark Side
nexus to its source. Let’s get moving.”
As the team runs past the walkway to the landing pad of the Archelon, another shot falls from the sky. This one is so close, everyone recoils from the explosion and hears a ringing in their ears.
Regaining composure, it becomes clear to see the support arm for the docking platform creak and then snap. Watch in horror, the Archelon sinks into the sea!
“I’m sure it was a fine vessel,” Tmennit eulogizes, “but we may share its fate if we don’t move.”
“I don’t know how that Dark Jedi’s ship slipped through the Mon Calamari defense net, but they’re only a temporary problem – the defense fleet can take care of them. Right now, we need to get underwater – it’s not only safer than being up here, but you can bet that Dark Jedi will be hot on our heels. The ship is only a distraction.”
Continuing the mad dash through the settlement, they arrive at the submersible launch. “Quick, get in,” Tmennit directs. “We don’t have much time.”
As she says this, she points to the sky, where several small vessels are descending from orbit. “Those will be our pursuers. Let’s move.”
Once underwater, the noise and confusion of the orbital bombardment fades away. Whether it’s because the Mon Calamari defenses caught up with the attacker or whether it’s simply the insulation of the ocean, one can’t tell. The Archelon is contacted and R5 says that the ship had taken on water as it sunk. R5 closed the hatches and began the process of pumping out the water that had leaked in. Unfortunately the ship is not designed to fly underwater and while it is airtight, it is currently sitting perilously on a ledge far under the waves.
The submersible travels for some time, and soon Tmennit points at the scanner readout: “That should be the place. I can sense the presence of the Dark Side down here. The ruins are likely in one of the underwater caves down there.”
As she says this, a dark shape passes the submersible. The craft buffets a little from the movement. “Ah, that’s probably a whaladon. Friendly species, although it’s strange to see one alone down here like this. Come to think of it, I don’t see much of any marine life down here. I suppose that could be…”
But before Tmennit can finish her sentence, the dark shape nears the craft again, but this time, contact is felt. A heavy tail smacks into the side of the vessel, and a fierce yellow eye passes by the front windscreen. Tmennit recognizes that this whaladon is under the effect of the Dark Side nexus at the ruins, and is consequently aggressive and angry. She reaches out with the Force in an attempt to calm it, while Ymira tries to pilot the vessel around the aggressive beast. Eventually after a few more whacks, the waladon relents and the submersible continues on its journey.
As Ymira steers through the rocky outcroppings into the cave system, the tunnels gradually grow smaller and smaller. Eventually, they become too small to steer through.
Tmennit says, “Okay everyone, this looks like it’s as far as we can go in the sub. Everyone put on a rebreather and let’s head outside.”
After a short swim, an opening into a larger chamber in the caves is discovered. Inside these caves are the remnants of the underwater settlement seen in the holocron. As the threshold into the opening is crossed, the large cavern beyond can barely be made out. It doesn’t open up very high, vertically, but it is obvious it won't be a struggle through tiny tunnels to maneuver around in here. This entire area is still underwater – even the areas inside the buildings. Before going very far in, though, Tmennit recoils, as though hit by some invisible force.
“Oh my! This has to be the place,” she cries. “I can feel the Dark presence radiating out everywhere. If we can find that holocron and put it together, we may have a chance of purging this area of this Dark blemish.”
-----------------------------------------------
Unspent XPS:
Irdis - 5
Roona - 5
Xander - 0
Ymira -0
Zavi - 0
Group spoils (update)
13734 credits (+10,000 credits for payment for the holocron)
Gear: quick sale value in ()
3 scrolls
robe
Light Repeating Blaster (1125)
Heavy Blaster Pistol (350)
2x Blaster Rifle (450 ea)
1x Holdout Blaster (100 ea)
2x Laser Pistol (200 ea)
1x Stun grenades (45 ea)
Tool Kit (175)
Glow Rod (5)
Brass knuckles (10)
5x Breath Masks (25 ea)
The bodies that are inhabited are all Jedi of different races: a Togruta, a Devaronian, a Rodian, an Ithorian and a Muun. As if in a dreamworld, the battles and rescues begin and are brutal and deadly. Zavi's Muun is surrounded by several Sith warriors and cut down near a rift in the floor. Ymira's Rodian body is killed near a left as she tries to help civilians caught in the collapsing rubble. In a sort of cul-de-sac, Xander's Ithorian is shot down by a heavy weapon. Irdis in the form of a Devaronian is ambushed from behind and struck down as he is helping civilians reach one of the airlocks. Finally the Togruta inhabited by Roona is caught in an explosion and felled.
As if waking up from a long rest, each groggily emerges from the trance. Tmennit is seen as she sits in silence for a few moments more, and then she emerges too.
“I see,” she says. “The Nautolan Jedi, the Master, managed to escape that battle with his life, but little else. It was he who recorded this holocron in conjunction with the spirits of the fallen Jedi you lived as. He felt it necessary to preserve their memories, so that the holocron they protected could be retrieved one day.”
She thinks for a moment. "I think I know where that place is, too. There’s an area under the settlement that sea creatures usually avoid, and those that don’t, well, they come out… different. The Mon Calamari figured it to be a rift into the deep core, but having seen that memory, it could be a nexus of Dark Side energy. We need to go down there and find those pieces, and then I’ll do what I can to purge the area of that dark presence.”
“We need to head down to the submersible docks, on the eastern side of the settlement. If you’ve got any gear you need to grab, now might be the time to go get it. Who knows what we might find down…”
But Tmennit never gets to finish her sentence. A loud explosion rings out through the city, and the floor shakes in Tmennit’s apartment. “Oh no,” she says. “We need to go now. I feel a presence… quickly, let’s go!”
Running out of the apartment and into the streets of Blackwater, which is now filled with panicked civilians, a pillar of smoke can be seen rising from the commercial district, and just as everyone wonders what might have happened, a bolt from the blue answers – a salvo of turbolaser fire from orbit hits again, this time demolishing some of the construction near the traffic control office.
“I don’t know how it happened, but you were followed,” Tmennit quickly intuits. “If you were followed, our first priority needs to be getting underwater and retrieving that artifact. If that Dark Jedi found his way here, he’s after the same thing we are, and he’ll follow that Dark Side
nexus to its source. Let’s get moving.”
As the team runs past the walkway to the landing pad of the Archelon, another shot falls from the sky. This one is so close, everyone recoils from the explosion and hears a ringing in their ears.
Regaining composure, it becomes clear to see the support arm for the docking platform creak and then snap. Watch in horror, the Archelon sinks into the sea!
“I’m sure it was a fine vessel,” Tmennit eulogizes, “but we may share its fate if we don’t move.”
“I don’t know how that Dark Jedi’s ship slipped through the Mon Calamari defense net, but they’re only a temporary problem – the defense fleet can take care of them. Right now, we need to get underwater – it’s not only safer than being up here, but you can bet that Dark Jedi will be hot on our heels. The ship is only a distraction.”
Continuing the mad dash through the settlement, they arrive at the submersible launch. “Quick, get in,” Tmennit directs. “We don’t have much time.”
As she says this, she points to the sky, where several small vessels are descending from orbit. “Those will be our pursuers. Let’s move.”
Once underwater, the noise and confusion of the orbital bombardment fades away. Whether it’s because the Mon Calamari defenses caught up with the attacker or whether it’s simply the insulation of the ocean, one can’t tell. The Archelon is contacted and R5 says that the ship had taken on water as it sunk. R5 closed the hatches and began the process of pumping out the water that had leaked in. Unfortunately the ship is not designed to fly underwater and while it is airtight, it is currently sitting perilously on a ledge far under the waves.
The submersible travels for some time, and soon Tmennit points at the scanner readout: “That should be the place. I can sense the presence of the Dark Side down here. The ruins are likely in one of the underwater caves down there.”
As she says this, a dark shape passes the submersible. The craft buffets a little from the movement. “Ah, that’s probably a whaladon. Friendly species, although it’s strange to see one alone down here like this. Come to think of it, I don’t see much of any marine life down here. I suppose that could be…”
But before Tmennit can finish her sentence, the dark shape nears the craft again, but this time, contact is felt. A heavy tail smacks into the side of the vessel, and a fierce yellow eye passes by the front windscreen. Tmennit recognizes that this whaladon is under the effect of the Dark Side nexus at the ruins, and is consequently aggressive and angry. She reaches out with the Force in an attempt to calm it, while Ymira tries to pilot the vessel around the aggressive beast. Eventually after a few more whacks, the waladon relents and the submersible continues on its journey.
As Ymira steers through the rocky outcroppings into the cave system, the tunnels gradually grow smaller and smaller. Eventually, they become too small to steer through.
Tmennit says, “Okay everyone, this looks like it’s as far as we can go in the sub. Everyone put on a rebreather and let’s head outside.”
After a short swim, an opening into a larger chamber in the caves is discovered. Inside these caves are the remnants of the underwater settlement seen in the holocron. As the threshold into the opening is crossed, the large cavern beyond can barely be made out. It doesn’t open up very high, vertically, but it is obvious it won't be a struggle through tiny tunnels to maneuver around in here. This entire area is still underwater – even the areas inside the buildings. Before going very far in, though, Tmennit recoils, as though hit by some invisible force.
“Oh my! This has to be the place,” she cries. “I can feel the Dark presence radiating out everywhere. If we can find that holocron and put it together, we may have a chance of purging this area of this Dark blemish.”
-----------------------------------------------
Unspent XPS:
Irdis - 5
Roona - 5
Xander - 0
Ymira -0
Zavi - 0
Group spoils (update)
13734 credits (+10,000 credits for payment for the holocron)
Gear: quick sale value in ()
3 scrolls
robe
Light Repeating Blaster (1125)
Heavy Blaster Pistol (350)
2x Blaster Rifle (450 ea)
1x Holdout Blaster (100 ea)
2x Laser Pistol (200 ea)
1x Stun grenades (45 ea)
Tool Kit (175)
Glow Rod (5)
Brass knuckles (10)
5x Breath Masks (25 ea)