Session 21: They messed it up!

This episode begins with a prologue prior to the opening crawl.

The scene opens up in the same courtroom as the previous session.

Ricard: Private Errter, the court has determined that you are guilty of perjury and your actions during the Battle of Hoth put Delta Team in unnecessary danger. For this reason, you are hereby stripped of rank and will spend the next two years on kitchen detail. The rebellion needs soldiers however, so you are not discharged. After your two years are up, you will be reinstated, upon which time your services as an infantry soldier may be called upon again. Do you have anything to say?

Errter: Only that I am sorry to Delta Team and to my fellow soldiers. I lied because I was ashamed at my cowardly actions. I accept my punishment and look forward to earning my rank back.

Ricard: Mr. Errter, you are to report immediately to the mess hall for duty starting immediately. Make it so!

Errter: Yes Sir!

Ricard: This court is adjourned!

As the people in attendance murmur about the case they just heard, Piker approaches Delta Team.  

Piker: Hey guys.. I’ve got a message from the big cheese, Mon Mothma... she has a new mission for you. Report to the briefing room at 17:00

Those looking out the window could see the Milennium Falcon undocking and flying away from the fleet. On their side of the window, they saw a man and a woman--Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa--dressed in white and two droids, staring aimlessly into space. 

This is what it looked like.

Editor's note: Okay, this has nothing to do with the game we're playing but I wanted to comment on a Star Wars theory based on this shot from the Empire Strikes Back. According to that theory, the Rebel rendezvous point, the location of the fleet post Hoth, is outside "the galaxy," because it appears they are looking at the galaxy out the window. This simply seems illogical though, because to get enough distance so that the entire galaxy can be seen out the window would mean that these ships have the capability to travel such vast distances in a short time, to the point that they should be able to travel thousands or millions of times the speed of light. According to the rulebook, a trip from Tattooine to Coruscant takes 22 days. I admit I am not very keen on Star Wars galaxy geography, but Tattooine is said to be in the "Outer Rim," which I assume means that it is remote, along the edges of the galaxy. Meanwhile Coruscant is in the "Core Worlds" which means it is close to the center of the galaxy. If it takes 22 days to travel from the outer rim to the core worlds, that would mean it takes at least 44 days to travel from one edge of the galaxy to another, yet from what we see in Empire Strikes Back, Luke, Leia, Lando, Chewie, and the droids leave Bespin and arrive with the fleet in relatively short order. We're made to believe the trip took very little time, perhaps a few hours at maximum. So it seems very unlikely that they could have traveled far enough to see their own galaxy in the window that small. So what we are looking at is probably a forming star with an accretion disk... or some other kind of astophysical phenomena.

Counterpoints: 

1. The Falcon, said to going to Tattooine heads in the direction of the galaxy-shaped thing. Many people say this but it is actually NOT true. Watch:

As we can see, the Falcon heads toward the galaxy-shaped thing, then heads away from it, in fact, far above it and to the left. If that's the way to Tattooine, then what we are looking at isn't the Star Wars Galaxy, because Tattooine would be IN it. 

2. Whatever is listed in the WEG books is now irrelevant and it is no longer canon. Even when it was canon, they didn't pay much attention to it. Example: in Episode I, while escaping Naboo, Queen Amidala and the Jedi decide to stop at Tattooine on their way to Coruscant. Naboo is not said to be remote, but within the influence of the Republic, yet Tattooine is remote, and is so far away that the Republic has no presence there. This is true, it makes very little sense, especially if we are talking about galactic distances. The Republic having little to no presence in an area closer to them than farther away seems strange. However, it could be possible that Naboo is located in an island of influence that is part of the Republic, but further out from Tattooine, and trade and commerce with the rest of the Republic happens through a narrow "bridge" of controlled territory, probably controlled by the Trade Federation. That is what makes the Trade Federation's blockade possible. Tattooine is therefore between Naboo and the rest of the Republic, but outside the Trade Federation's bridge. But the argument here is that since they didn't pay much attention to WEG's spatial distances in the prequels, even though this was considered to be canon, it's clear we shouldn't apply them here. This is wrong because the OT came before WEG and WEG drew from what we see in the movies and it became a sort of canon bible for writers of the extended universe. So while WEG may no longer be considered canon today, if we are talking about the intention at the time the movie was made, then WEG is the source we should follow to make sense of all this. Wow, what a tangent...  I thought we were talking about this galaxy thing in the window. We still are. Let's talk about it more in #3.

3. In Rebels and the Ahsoka series, several characters DID make it to another galaxy. So distances like that are possible. This is true, but it was seemingly a one-way trip and not easy to replicate. The fleet in Empire Strikes Back took off from Hoth and traveled by their own engines to the rendezvous point. They didn't engage in force magic to travel there or hitch a ride with some space whales. (If I got that wrong I apologize. I'm only vaguely familiar with how Ezra got there.) 

Points in support:

1. In the sequel trilogy, it seems like from maps that there is an entire section of the galaxy that is uncharted, as if only half of it has been properly "discovered." The entire plot of The Force Awakens revolves around returning to the Resistance a map to Luke Skywalker. But wait, you say, simply because the map shows Luke's location doesn't mean that that section of space is uncharted. It means they did not know exactly where Luke was within that section of space. That seems logical but that is not how it was presented. In the movie it was as if the section of map BB8 had was completing the star chart, not indicating where Luke was in already known territory. Furthermore other maps of the galaxy show that not much is known about the galaxy "west" (or "left") of the core... indicating that it's probably so far away that nobody has reached there yet. So it cannot be that they were outside the galaxy at the end of Empire Strikes Back, if parts of the galaxy are still not "discovered." But wait, you say ignore it because it is the sequels, and they are "bad" movies. I don't totally disagree with you (I liked the sequels, but there were parts I would have done differently), but you cannot bring up examples from the prequels and from Rebels and Ahsoka that support your argument, while excluding the sequels.

Anywho... this has taken a lot away from the retelling of the session, so let's just continue with that.

As Delta Team walked by Luke and Leia staring out the window, Luke turned around..and joined them in the hallway.

Luke: Hal? You made it!

Hal:  Oh yes. We sure did!

Luke: I was so worried... I know your team were one of the last ones out. Tell me what you’ve been through. I have a lot to tell you too!

Hal: Well, we were fed to a sarlaac and I received my force training from...

D'Wook: (in Ewokese) No.. Luke is asking you about what you've been up to since the battle of Hoth.

Hal does not speak Ewokese, but suddenly remembered he'd already told Luke about the Sarlaac several months ago and that they had spoken just prior to the battle of Hoth.

Hal: Oh! Right. Well we were taken prisoner by Dar...

A rebel officer carrying a heavy box and seemingly struggling walked by.

Officer: (he interrupted) Hey.. you.. Skywalker... give me a hand with this.

Luke stared into his gloved right hand, and sadness washed over his face.

Several members of Delta Team noticed that Luke's hand was a new cybernetic replacement.

Luke: Give you... a hand? (his voice began to crack)

Give you... a hand? 😢 

Grundle (to officer): Hey there, buddy. Why don't you let me help you out with that.

Grundle got the other end of the heavy box, and helped him carry it to a nearby cart.

Luke: Anyway Hal, we should catch up later. I met Master Yoda and I met ... my father... 

Hal: Oh.. well who is your father?

Luke: We'll speak more on that ... later.

Hal: Well I hope your reunion was a more or less a slice of what you were searching for...

Luke: .... 😢

Hal: Oh, I'm sorry, from your reaction it looks as if the situation was so intense that you're now in pieces trying to decide what to do next.

Luke: .... 😢

Leia began to glare directly at Hal.

Hal: Oh heavens me, if I've said too much I have no problems cutting out of this conversation.  (to Delta Team) Now, guys, what was it we had to do at 17:00? I seem to have dismembered.

Tears began to stream down Luke's face.

Hal: I'm sorry Luke. I I'm just feeling a bit disjointed after all we've been through, with this trial and all. But hey... I'm just glad we all made it back here in one piece.

Luke brushed the tears from his face and asked Hal to excuse him. He and Leia turned and headed down the corridor.

Hal: Bye Luke! I still want to know more about Yoda!

Luke, while sobbing: Another time, Hal!

Hal: Good, because I'd give an arm and a leg for information about the mighty Yoda!

Luke let out a loud wail as he disappeared further down the corridor.

With several hours remaining, Delta Team went their separate ways. Hal decided he would use the time to meditate and try to contact Master Yoda telepathically through the force.

Using the same technique he learned from Ahsoka, he began to chant. Everything went black, then white, and suddenly

Far Far Stinks: Oooh Hally, yous'a need my help again? What can Far Far Stinks do for you?

Hal: Hello Mr. Stinks. I'm trying to contact Master Yoda.

Far Far: Ooh, well yous'a no can speak to living Jedi through the force. Even Jedi needum comlink. That's why yous'a talkin' Far Far again!

Editor's note: Hal's player really really really wants to be trained by Yoda, but it's kind of hard to reconcile this with the movies. Certainly it would be possible to have Hal visit Dagobah separately and train with Yoda while Luke isn't there, and then when Yoda says in Empire Strikes Back that "There is another," he could be referring to Hal, but in Return of the Jedi, they make it pretty clear that he was talking about Leia. But it's also pretty clear that Lucas hadn't decided Luke and Leia were siblings yet, because they kissed earlier in the film, and deleted scenes also have more romantic tension between them. So who is this "other?" It would be tempting to slide that in there and say it was Hal, but then I'd be retconning a lot of Return of the Jedi and the sequels (again, which I like). When Hal's player asked out of game why I was bringing back Far Far for him to talk to, I explained that I wasn't ready for him to talk to Yoda just yet. Besides, the technique he was using was to talk to DEAD Jedi. Yoda's still alive for another two years.

Hal: Okay, Mr. Stinks, I'll catch you later.

Far Far: Byeeee! Remember you have to stop X0 from joining new battlestation Okiday!!!

Hal: Okiday!

At 17:00, Delta Team gathered in the briefing room.

Mon Mothma: So this is the heralded Delta Team that escaped the clutches of Darth Vader and saved the fleet from a kamikaze Star Destroyer.

Grundle: Yes, your Mothmaness.

Mon Mothma: Um.. okay...

Mon Mothra ...

Oh wait, wrong picture.

THIS is Mon Mothma. (Note: You can see a clean shaven Dr. Blissex in the background.)

Mon Mothma: As you know, we’ve negotiated a plea deal with Lira Wolf for information. She was lying through her teeth during your trial for sure, so instead of 20 years, she gets 10, and her father’s record is expunged.

Vero: Where will she serve her sentence? We cannot let her out of our sight.

Mon Mothma: For now, she's in he brig of this ship, and her cell is heavily guarded. We'll transfer her to a penal colony at a later date.

Vero: Please keep me informed, Ma'am.

Mon Mothma: Will do. Anyway, Lira told us a secret meeting between two Imperial Moffs, Moff Gideon, and Lira’s husband Moff Wolf will occur in one week’s time somewhere in the remote areas of the Graveyard of Alderaan. We’ve put one of our best spies, codenamed Dagger, on the case. He’s been able to determine that indeed, the meeting will take place. Dagger is somewhere on the planet Aris, which is not far from the graveyard. You are to travel to Aris, make contact with him and then develop a plan to infiltrate the Moffs' meeting. And Captain Morelock... do not kill either of them. That is an order. Is that understood?

Vero: Yes Ma'am!

Mon Mothma: Bring them both in for further questioning if you get the opportunity, but above all else, the information in the meeting is what we're after. Your main priority is to return with that information.

Grundle: What does Dagger look like?

Mon Mothma: That ... is confidential ... because we don’t want to compromise his cover in the event you’re captured. Just travel to Aris and search for him. We’ve sent him a message that we’re sending a team over, but we’ve also not given him any identifying information.

Delta: Why didn’t Dagger just tell you where and when the meeting was going to happen?

Mon Mothma: again, if our communications were intercepted, it would reveal that we know about the meeting and they would be on to us, so we kept our communications very vague.

Edit: This is how I am leading up to the "Riders of the Maelstrom" module. Unfortunately it doesn't make much sense that Delta Team is told to meet up with Dagger, but they aren't given any kind of identifying information. In the module, the party is doing something totally unrelated when they stumble upon Dagger and the secret meeting of the moffs that they had no foreknowledge of. I suppose we could have done it this way too, but I wanted to link it better with our overall plot. There is no Moff Wolf in the module. Andi is a character from Vero's backstory. Originally he was a teacher at the academy while Vero was studying there. But I merged him with Governor Denn Wessex, the husband of Lira Wessex, for Crisis on Cloud City, to connect Vero with Lira and her father, Dr. Blissex. Now it seems time to set up a confrontation between Vero and Andi. In the module the two moffs are called Torpin and Vanko. So I switched in AndiWolf and Gideon, who was prominent in The Mandalorian.)

Vero: So we'll travel to Aris and try to track down Dagger, so we can infiltrate this secret meeting between Moffs Wolf and Gideon, gather intel on what they are discussing, and then we'll take them into custody and return here with them.

Mon Mothma: Well said, Captain Morelock. You and your team may leave whenever you’re ready.

She turned to leave

Hal: Wait, Ms. Mothma...

Mon Mothma: What is it, soldier?

Hal: I... uh....

Hal thought about whether to tell her about the visions he's been having of his former enemy Far Far Stinks, warning him about the existence of another Death Star. He decided against it, thinking she'd think he was crazy or something.

Hal: Nevermind.

Editor's note: This actually did not happen during the session, but you'd think that with Hal knowing that there's another Death Star, and while he is in the presence of the leader of the Rebels, he would say something. In this retelling, I'm sticking this here because it explains why he hasn't told them just yet. Maybe when there's more evidence he can break the news.

Vero (to team): I think we should split up into two groups. Turk, the two Jeegns, Golden Wheels, Maki, Soan, and myself we’ll search for Dagger at the spaceport. I think Hal, D’Wook, Losar Tan, L1-NK and Grundle, you’ve all kind of got an affinity to nature, so you should check the residential areas in the jungle that surround the spaceport. Does that work?

Editor's note:  I needed to split the groups up, because not everyone was present. I had been controlling Vero as an NPC as her player was out, and had her choose everyone else who was out on her team, which would search the spaceport.

Vero (to team): Okay guys so are we clear on the mission? This meeting is really important, so don't mess this up? Okay? We can't mess this up.

Session XXI - THEY MESSED IT UP

One half of Delta Team--the one that's supposed to be in tune with nature and better to carry out espionage activities in the thick jungles surrounding the spaceport on the forest world of Aris--runs for their lives. 

Apparently Hal Brunchkiller's plan to go door to door to each forest hut asking people if they know of a rebel agent named Dagger was not the slickest move.

They are now pursued on foot by an uncountable number of stormtroopers, as blaster bolts zing by, at times narrowly missing Hal, Grundle, Lo'Sar Tan and D'Wook, and occasionally hitting L1-NK.

Editor's note: This session opens "in media res" with the team already on the run, jumping and swinging to and from residential platforms on extremely tall trees in an attempt to escape seemingly infinite numbers of stormtroopers on their tails. I'd rather not go into exact detail about each round of combat. So this will be an abridged recounting, even though it took up the bulk of the session. (That's right, everything prior to this point was about 30 minutes. Everything after was about four hours.)

So the "tree team," Hal, Grundle, D'Wook, L1-NK and Losar'Tan jumped swung or jetpacked from platform to platform, killing lots of stormtroopers along the way and taking a few shots themselves. Eventually they climbed atop a very high tree and could see the spaceport in the distance. But that's when some imperial air units came along and airstriked the area, killing the team of troopers that were chasing them. Fortunately, the four jumped into another tree far below the one they were on, and they hit several branches, with all but D'Wook being knocked out.

After the air units left, D'Wook revived the others and pointed to the spaceport.

Grundle remembered from special agent training that if their cover was blown, their first priority was simply to get off world. They decided to head back to the spaceport.

Once there they broke into a shipping container that was full of pet food, which D'Wook began to devour feverishly. Losar'Tan (the resident chef) began to retch.

They examined the spaceport and saw that there was only a passenger barge at port, that was ferrying travelers offworld, likely to a ship in orbit. From their vantage point they could see passengers coming out of the spaceport, boarding the unmanned barge, and scanning some kind of chip. The barge took off into space as another landed to get more passengers.

The team went into the spaceport to try to buy tickets. They learned that the ship was called the Kuari Princess and Aris was a stop on the cruise. Tickets were unfortunately sold out. There was also a stormtrooper presence, albiet small, so they hid their faces with their hands and snuck to get in line outside. There they met a group of alien passengers who were wearing face masks. They decided to try to bargain with them for their ticket chips.

That's Hal trying to strike a deal with them, honest! (This is a picture in the module. The art style is ... well let's say, interesting.)

The four bartered with things they had, learning eventually that these Aliens were Ice Pirates fans Grundle introduced himself as part of the Ice Pirates and explained that they really really needed to get on board. After some haggling, the team agreed to pay the full price of the ticket, and they could go catch the next ship, while Grundle would give them his harmonica, autographed. They all agreed to the terms, but there was one problem. Tickets were not transferrable. So the deal also included switching clothes and wearing their masks. Hal, channeling his inner Turk, asked if maybe they should write their names in their underwear to complete the illusion.

During all the commotion, L1-NK stole back Grundle's harmonica and held it for safekeeping.

They boarded the barge and scanned their chips. It took off into space and docked with the Kuari Princess

  

The Kuari Princess... Or a rejected model created by Lucasfilm? 🤷🏻‍♂️

Once they boarded, they noticed several stormtroopers on board and a Lambda shuttle in the hangar. There were murmurs that maybe it was because someone important might be on board that there was a need to extra security.

Each of the tree team were greeted by a hostess who scanned their chips and provided them with a welcome kit, which included a map of the entire cruiseliner, a schedule of daily events, room keys, and scheduled port calls. As they exited into the main corridor, they were approached by a protocol droid who introduced himself as DM/C3. He asked how to get to the slafcourse.

Slaffing seems to be some kind of sport similar to luge or skeleton in the Winter Olympics... only without ice, and kinda hovering over the course. So yeah, nothing like it at all.

Losar'Tan looked at the map and said it was on the recreation deck. DM/C3 Thanked the group and told them to "stay sharp!"

The group asked DM/C3 what he meant.

He said in a hushed tone... "I said... stay sharp!" and went along his way. "Oh hey guys!" said Vero. "Nice costumes! The huge humpback on Grundle totally gives it away that this is an Ithorian trying to look like he's not an Ithorian."

The group turned around to see the rest of Delta Team, all out of costume.

Hal: How did you guys get here?

Vero: Oh... well we heard Dagger was on board this ship, so we bought tickets. We tried to contact you but you guys didn't answer. What's up with that?

Hal: It's... a long story....

<To Be Continued>