SotB XX: Without a Trace

*The Broker assembles a 2-team crew for a daring assault on a secret Imperial underground facility…*

## Agents

* Balken Oppen
* Chim Chim
* Doxel "Dox" Ovo
* Erdogan Cael
* Fai Mei
* Foro Sendi
* Hank
* Jasper Sunflare
* Kat'ik
* Kii'Vera
* R0C-K4
* Saber Scintel

## Mission Report

*Summary by Cail M.-S.*

The Broker briefs the agents on a second cell that has infiltrated a project to build a mini-Deathstar. Sunny and the Black Seraphs show up with an offer of a drug deal, having tracked Kii to the Coronet base. Chim chim almost gets in a fight with Mange over a restraining bolt. Dox tells them to never come back.

Foro Sendi and Jaan Norz arrive with more information, including dossiers on the infiltrating agents and lots of other stuff. The Broker comes on screen to address the agents, but the Broker’s communication breaks up and it seems HQ is under attack. Erdo heads to rescue the Bastion, with Chim Chim (going to rescue the Wrix cub) in tow. Yyrgrahk, Dox, Jasper and Balken head for the Medbay. Fai heads to get more firepower, and R0C, Kii, Kat’ik, Cale, Saber and Hank stay to protect the computer.

On the way to the relic room and Medbay, a drill breaks into HQ and black armored stormtroopers slide down rope lines. Jasper senses that the unhelmeted trooper is Travik Barrett. He shouts “Travik?” and the unrecognizable trooper confirms Jasper by replying “Jasper?”

Erdo shouts unintelligibly at the medbay group as he and Chim Chim run past them to the Bastion room. The outer door has been rent in half by a lightsaber. Erdo draws and ignites his lightsaber in turn, and enters the room. The Wrix cub raises its hackles and growls. A lightsaber appears out of a shimmer and strikes Chim Chim down. The inquisitor turns on Erdo next, and while he parries her first flurry of blows, she severs his arm at the elbow, just above his gauntlet. Bastion attacks her mind and she drops her lightsaber and clutches her head. Erdo attempts to raise her own lightsaber against her, but it explodes in his hand as he tries to ignite it. Fortunately, his gauntlet keeps that hand intact. Running out of time, he rushes into the relic room to retrieve Bastion, and rushes back out. He quickly slaps stimpacks on Chim Chim, who wakes. As the Inquisitor pulls Erdo’s training lightsaber toward her using the Force, Erdo grabs his severed hand with his good hand and the pair flee with Bastion and the Wrix cub.

Erdo and Chim Chim relate their story to the medbay group, as Balken tries to rescue the data from the medbay core and keep the Imperial slicer out. Dox and Yyrgrahk’s firefight with Captain Compnor’s troops is interrupted when Foro Sendi arrives, trying to convince the medbay crew to flee. The Inquisitor appears out of nowhere to strike at Foro with Erdo’s training lightsaber, but Foro has foreseen the attack, and parries it with his cane-sword. While she is hidden from most of the crew by the Force, Dox notices her, draws his vibroblade, and shoves it through her chest. Captain Compnor shouts “Amunet!” and tries to send suppressing fire at Dox, but Dox interposes the impaled Inquisitor between himself and the Imperials. With extreme effort, Amunet uses the Force to push herself away from Dox, flying and sliding to Compnor’s feet. Compnor attempts to treat Amunet’s wound as his troopers protect them, and we believe he’s managed to save her life.

Despite Jasper’s assistance, Balken struggles with the Imperial Slicer. Foro tries once again to convince everyone to leave, but Balken will not leave without the data. Foro tries to throw his sword cane through the terminal, but Balken draws his blaster and fires an amazing shot to halt its trajectory. Foro returns to the main data center, hoping to find more reasonable minds. Jasper injects Balken with an intellectual stimulant, and Erdo calls on Bastion to assist them with the computer system. With that help, Balken is able to provide Bastion a route to the Imperial Slicer’s mind, and Bastion ends the threat.

Erdo goes to retrieve his lightsaber and Jasper, seeing how wounded he is, attempts to heal him using the Force. Balken suggests attaching a prosthetic hand to Erdo because they are in the medbay, but Erdo, holding his severed hand, in shock and afraid, pleads with Balken and Jasper to reattach it. Balken tries to explain to the traumatized man that the lightsaber has cauterized both sides of the wound, there’s no hope to sort out the muscles and skin to reattach, let alone the inch of arm that was simply vaporized by the lightsaber, but Jasper thinks that with Balken’s help, they can do it. Balken intones “this isn’t going to work” again and again as Jasper begins to pour blue light into Erdo’s arm…

I try to write these from a third person perspective as much as possible. I try to keep my reports neutral. Today I can’t. Jasper--it was like he knew what was coming. He put a piece of himself into the work. I remember lying there, still, painless for the first time since it happened. Jasper was calm, focused, intense. He combined his gifts as a healer and his skill as a doctor in ways I had never seen. It was like a gift to me. I remember Balken’s eyes widening as he watched the flesh move, separate, and bleed once more. His mantra ceased, he said only “Okay. This could work,” and began to cut and knit in earnest.

After they had finished with my arm, and Balken had finished downloading the files from the medbay, we returned to the main data center. My stiff fingers still ache as I type this, days later. At some point Chim chim had stolen Bastion from me and Dox fired his flechette launcher into a squad of oncoming stormtroopers, shredding the troopers and causing a section of the tunnel to collapse.

Balken pushed Kii aside to work the terminal here. While Kii had managed to keep the slicer at bay, Balken was able to drive him out and download the rest of the Broker’s files. Hank and Shorin had engaged in a duel. Apparently Kat’ik had interrupted because Shorin flung him against the wall, knocking him unconscious.

Lament sent a beam of dark, violet energy at Jasper, and Jasper sent his blue, healing light back. They seemed evenly matched until Foro threw his sword into the energy beams. His sword disintegrated, but the connection was broken. He shouted to Jasper to run, but Jasper embraced Lament instead. The room filled with light. When the light disappeared, Lament was gone and Jasper was lying on the floor, dead. Travik shouted, “Jasper!” from down the hall. After that, we were all mostly fleeing in a blur. Hank and Saber picked up Jasper. R0C grabbed Kat’ik, and someone dragged Fai away from the explosives she was rigging, kicking and screaming. I tried to reach out to Bastion with the Force and realized that Chim chim had it. I asked Bastion to help Jasper, but I knew before it told me that it was useless. Once we all reached the safe room, we found it was an underground mag-lev train that took us halfway across Corellia. I was furious with Chim chim, but my pulsating hand and Jasper’s death deadened my anger. In hushed tones, he explained that he was trying to protect Bastion and returned it to me. I don’t know that I will ever truly trust the would-be pirate king, but we have reached a detente. His heart was in the right place.

We all loaded onto the Citadel cruiser, Jasper included. I saw Balken take a sample of Jasper’s skin as we boarded. I don’t know what kind of science he intends to do with it, or if he just needs a memorial. I don’t care. I don’t think Jasper would care, either.

In those last moments, acceptance was clear in Jasper’s face. I think he knew what he was doing, and I hope he found peace.

To whatever agents are reading this, know that our world is a little darker today and our future as an organization is uncertain. The Empire is after us in earnest, and we don’t have anyone to turn to but each other.

May the Force be with you.

Erdo