Agents of the Outer Rim 5 - Darth Null Revived

*A bar room brawl ends with Droo covered in blood and puke and Tek unable to concentrate after being splashed. The team follows a rebooted Cold Steele to a mysterious workshop with brainiac spider people cleaning up, to discover a shocking revelation!*

## **Previously**

*As the Illsauvin games came to an end in Khloris, the team declined invitations elsewhere in order to get Bota the newest evolution of Teemo bucks. Coming to the Saltspring Grotto, they made the acquaintance of one Azkatos, and while the rest of the group caused their own individual forms of mayhem Bota Zi entered into negotiations in hopes of discovering the whereabouts of Charlie Team. Just as it looked like they may be heading out, a cadre of Imperial Stormtroopers lead by a soldier in magenta (pink) armor burst in through the rear entrance and declared the group to be under arrest. Without their blasters at hand, will our heroes finally be sent to an Imperial prison, or will they turn the tables yet again?*

## **Recap**

### **Triple Backsies**

With blasters already trained on Droo and Bota, the remaining Imperials continue to file in through the back entrance to the Saltspring Grotto as a hush falls over the room. From the front entrance, the figure of Cold Steele laboriously makes his way through the waist high water to approach the group and make his own demands.

> "*Cease your hostilities, foreign interlopers.*"
> ― Cold Steele
>
>

> "*You must be malfunctioning. What’s your serial number?*"
> ― Magenta (pink) Trooper
>
>

> "*I have a name, not a serial number. 061274-000. You must not have heard me: As the rightful ruler and suzerain overlord of this desolate ball of ice, I not only demand, but command you to fall on your knees and submit to me!*"
> ― Cold Steele
>
>

Despite the demanding tone of Cold Steele’s pronouncement, the troopers simply bring their weapons to bear on the droid and open fire, a cascade of abnormal golden stun charges collide with Cold Steele and he collapses to the floor as the commanding trooper instructs their subordinates to recover the ebaq covered machine. With that, combat commences in earnest.

Katira fires off her rocket boots, telling the Imperials that they have no right to lay hands on a warden of the Dark Council before killing the nearest trooper with a single shot from her firearm.

> "*The Dark Council has very important things to do on this planet, and I can not have you interrupting.*"
> ― Katira
>
>

The resultant spray of blood covers Droo, who just barely manages to keep herself from spewing vomit. As the puke dribbles from her mouth onto her outfit, Droo slams the hilt of her lightsaber into the nearest trooper and ignites it, causing a beautiful green blade to erupt from the soldiers back before he slumps to the ground.

Onstage and not wanting to get caught up in the conflict too hastily, Jawa Jimmy instead opts to begin playing the nearby set of bongos and watch. Despite his enthusiastic performance, the music comes to a chaotic end as Jowkazza takes the piano in both arms and throws it across the grotto, narrowly missing Droo as it mangles the now thoroughly dead stormtrooper and obliterates the bar as the barkeeper and waitress narrowly avoid it.

> "*Wow… I’ll uh, I’ll be deducting that from what I owe you.*"
> ― Azkatos
>
>

Tek, having forgotten how quickly chaos ensues when he is with the team, moves for cover and tries to concentrate in the force as Bota rushes the troopers. Dodging blaster fire from the magenta (pink) trooper, Bota draws back and punches the commander *right* in the inner thigh, and the commander simply stares at him unaffected as one of the surrounding soldiers lands a stun blast into the Mandalorian diplomat.

> "*I swear this was the achilles heel of the stormtrooper armor. They must have modified it.*"
> ― Bota
>
>

As Bota stumbles below the water, the nearby Imperial officer pulls the barmaid into his grasp roughly and calls for the group to surrender or watch her die. The surrounding troops take position back to back (to back) and open fire in an impressive - though ineffective - show. Believing the officer’s threat to be a bluff, the team attacks in their characteristically uncoordinated (and oddly effective) manner. Katira drops two of the three back to back troopers, Droo turns on lightsaber combat like a boss and trisects a trooper, Jimmy leaps from the stage with a firework show of ion cannon fire, Bota does his best impersonation of a dionaga as he pulls the magenta (pink) trooper underwater, Jowkazza falls into the rubble of the stage as it gives way underneath him, and Tek… ignites his lightsaber.

Sadly, the Imperial was not bluffing. With an exaggerated sigh, the officer fires their blaster into the barmaid and escapes out the back. The remaining soldiers launch one more attack before beginning their own retreat after Droo deflects their attacks back at them. Katira fires a last ditch shot at the magenta (pink) trooper, but they anticipate the shot and use the body of a retreating soldier as cover.

> "*Not only do I like your armor, but I think my friend Tek would appreciate your tactics as well.*"
> ― Katira
>
>

### **The Workshop**

The footfalls of the Imperials fade down the hall as the team takes a moment to look over the absolute wreck that they have brought to the *Saltspring Grotto*. Azkatos directs his guards to seal the rear entrance and take whatever equipment was left behind, then turns his attention to the sopping wet figure of Bota Zi being helped to his feet by Droo. Azkatos expresses his surprise that the team is traveling with Gee-Die (Jedi), offers condolences for the conflict, and offers the group their choice of exit: following the Imperials, back through the main entrance, by another hidden exit to a safe house, or the exit that leads to the excavation and ruins north of the city.

While Azkatos is still busy trying to hurry the team away from his establishment Katira shouts over him asking Jimmy to hurry and help her make sure that Cold Steele is okay, her worry for the genocidal droid evident in her tone. Before anyone is able to reach him Cold Steele pushes to his own feet, and everyone looking comes to an abrupt halt.

Either the shot or the fall caused the droids mask to fall from its place, exposing what appears to be a brain in a glass enclosure rather than the expected circuit boards and wiring. In addition to his changed appearance Cold Steele’s overall demeanor seems to have changed as well, becoming more approachable and smooth in his speech. He comments that he had forgotten that his armor was made from ebaq, causing the shot to initiate a reboot of his systems, then insists that the group proceed to his base in the ruins north of the city.

The team decides to take Cold Steele up on his offer, though they note that this new version of him seems to be hiding something potentially disturbing. Bota has a brief argument with Azkatos regarding the transportation of the several **heavy** crates of sievsticks (you’ll have to carry them yourselves), possibility of coming back for the money later (nope, take it or leave it), and retrieval of their weapons from outside the city gates (that will cost you), and the group begins their underground trek following the droid.

The trip itself would not be too terrible were it not for the need to carry several crates filled with Illsauvian sievsticks, but with much grumbling, stumbling, and sore muscles the heroes carry on while trying to glean some information from Cold Steele. He explains that the ebaq armor that his body is built from has the ability to absorb and repurpose the discharge of energy weapons, which allowed formerly dormant circuits to reboot and restore his operations. Still the droid, possibly more accurately a cyborg, seems to be withholding something from the group, and a question to Tek and Droo asking whether they are Dark Jedi “just to be sure” has some of the team concerned.

Without any problems along the way, the heroes finally make their way through a maze of underground tunnels and arrive inside a spacious chamber. In the center of the room a large table collects dust, with a large throne at the far end looking through a window into a massive sheet of ice. The only lifeforms in the room appear to be two B’Omarr monks, or at least something that appear to have similar design, skittering about maintaining the area.

As the team takes in the space, Cold Steele directs them to a series of small chambers sitting off to the side, telling them that they each have equipment awaiting them inside. Katira asks what room might have the equipment befitting the “favorite” acolyte of Cold Steele and takes the room proffered, though Cold Steele comments that it should make little difference. Hurrying in, each hero discovers a suit of armor arraigned on a mannequin in the room along with the hilt of a lightsaber.

An excited Katira dons the armor and rushes out, shouting for Droo to come see her new weapon. Holding the hilt out with pride she ignites it, and a red blade sparks to life in the center of the room.

> "*Yes, finally. My name is Darth Null. Now, as the reborn Dark Council, we shall take over this planet.*"
> ― Cold Steele
>
>

## **Featured Characters**

### **Our Heroes**

* Bota Zi
* Droo Vos
* Jawa Jimmy
* Jowkazza
* Katira Eve
* Tek Krodak

### **NPCs**

* Cold Steele
* Azkatos
* Magenta (pink) Trooper, “Grand Commander”

## **Inventory**

* +Modified Sith Acolyte Armor (Katira)
* +Red Bladed Lightsaber (Katira)

## **Notes**

* The group did opt to pay Azkatos with a portion of Bota’s Teemo Bucks, er… sievstick winnings (thanks Bota!)
* Cold Steele’s announcement that he was actually Darth Null was made after some of the group had already donned the armor provided

## **Quotations**

> "*I will go over here and… concentrate.*"
> ― Tek
>
>

> "*Ah, good ol’ Tekky.*"
> ― Bota
>
>

> "*Concentrate on what skill?*"
> ― Jordan
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>

> "*Force push?*"
> ― Tek
>
>

> "*Well while trying to concentrate, you see this Wookiee throw a piano, Katira kills a man with an exploding slug, and… you get wet.*"
> ― Jordan
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>

> "*Back to back!*"
> ― Stormtrooper 1
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>

> "*Just like the old days!*"
> ― Stormtrooper 2
>
>

> "*Alright boys, I got your backs too. You remember when we used to do triple backsies?*"
> ― Stormtrooper 3
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>

> "*Just to be clear, that was a stun blaster. That barmaid isn’t actually dead, is she?*"
> ― David
>
>

> "*Oh, she’s super dead.*"
> ― Jordan
>
>

> "*You two **are** dark Jedi, right? Just making sure.*"
> ― Cold Steele
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>

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