SotB XLIX: Left Behind

*After Planet Zygerria was devastated by an Imperial bombardment, several systems have lent their resources towards the evacuation of any survivors on the surface. When one rescue mission fails to return, the agents are called in...*

## Agents

### Session 1

* Mektiss Risohr
* Jiimb Ortuba
* Hawk
* R0C-K4 "Rocky"
* Sev-ak
* Rogesh Vai
* Saber Scintel (GM)

### Session 2

* Juba
* R2-M5
* Makren Duvel
* Gristle
* Hank
* Erdo
* Shorbecca (GM)

## Mission Report (Session 2)

*Summary by Ben*

The agents are called together to a briefing with the Broker, who informs them of a concerning transmission to the Rebellion from a group of snivvians who had landed on Zygerria to rescue any survivors on the surface. The message shows a wounded snivvian warning of monsters and requesting a rescue. R2’s research into the situation, as well as some of Zygerria’s natural fauna, shows that the most likely culprit are some predatory mammals living in the planet’s deserts. R2 and Gristle analyze the message and find that the man’s wounds aren’t purely the work of creatures - some of them seem like deliberate incisions. The team prepares to treat and evacuate any survivors they might find, and they ready countermeasures against the environmental hazards produced by the bombardment of the planet.

The team leaves aboard the Sunflare and arrive after a day of hyperspace travel. They are quickly greeted by Zymeria, who questions their presence. Makren explains that the agents are there to help out a rescue ship that had run into some trouble. Zymeria seems to know about the snivvian ship and the city in which it crashed. She offers to let the agents aboard the station in order to look for more information, but the team decides to hurry toward the crash site without risking the stop. Juba pilots the Sunflare down, and while there isn’t a sandstorm over the crash area, the particulate matter in the atmosphere still offers some resistance. Juba finds a nice landing spot behind a rock formation and sets the ship down. With their gear gathered up and ready, the crew sets out together Gristle attempts to navigate through the storm, but has to default to following the coordinates directly to the landing site.

When the ship comes into view, they don’t see any signs of life other than the words “Rule One” scrawled on the ship in blood. There’s a door on the side that looks like it’s been wrenched out of place, and some sand has begun seeping into the wreck. The interior seems as if it’s been scavenged for parts, and a bit further in, Erdo finds the comm terminal that the snivvian’s messages had been sent from, covered in blood. Gristle investigates the area and finds that the blood leads into a trail up and out of the ship. Upon inspection of the salvaged parts, the crew finds claw marks where the components had been ripped out. While Hank is keeping watch outside, he sees a figure at the edge of his visibility. Juba, who was waiting nearby, goes into the ship to inform the others. With few other clues left at the ship, they head out to follow the trail into the city, wary of any unwanted followers.

While following the trail, Gristle spots a hospital where they might be able to rest and clean out R2’s worn components. There appears to be a hole in the ground at the side of the building, leading into the basement area. Gristle, Erdo and R2 climb down inside and set up a rope for the others to slide down. Hank and Juba make it safely, but Makren slips - however, Hank is able to reach out and catch him with the Force. Once inside, the agents notice that this particular addition to the hospital doesn’t seem standard. The power seems like it’s been siphoned from the hospital’s generators, and the facilities themselves aren’t exactly up to code. Remembering the incisions on the snivvian from his message, Gristle heads in deeper while Juba helps clean out R2. Upon investigating the labs, Gristle finds that someone has been using chemistry equipment to brew Gunjak Spice. However, most of the brewing seems to have been done before the bombardment, and the hole leading inside was likely created to aid in looting the spice and any supplies inside. The doors leading up to the hospital proper have been bombed in, and without much left to investigate, the agents head back up toward where they climbed down. Juba makes it to the surface first, and immediately finds that there are a group of masked individuals waiting. He jumps back down into the basement to warn the others, and Erdo climbs up to engage the apparent bandits, who have incredibly muscular, mutated arms. They all pull out stun clubs and lay into him, landing several blows before knocking him into the sand. Gristle climbs up and activates his stealth field to sneak up on them. Juba hops on top of R2 and tries to use his built-in jets to fly out, but the jawa is a little too heavy. Instead, he climbs up and opens fire, landing stinging wounds on two of the bandits as they advance and strike him down with their clubs. They loom over the hole, brandishing grenades, but Hank jumps up with the Force, swinging his saber out and killing one of the ones Juba had shot. One of the bandits takes off, and Gristle pursues, but falls into a pit trap as he chases. However, he’s able to climb out and keep on the enemy’s tail, landing a stunning blow to the back of the creature’s neck. The other remaining bandit strikes at Hank, but is quickly disarmed. Makren strikes, but misses and the bandit begins to run, but Hank leaps after him and cuts him down. Meanwhile, Gristle’s quarry continues to run, and the shistavanen hits a tripwire as he chases, triggering a grenade that sends some shrapnel into his back, but also boosts him forward, giving him the distance he needs to leap upon the enemy’s back, sending a fist into his neck again and bringing down the target.

Gristle begins dragging the unconscious bandit back toward the hospital, but can’t quite find his way. Erdo is able to seek him out with the Force and guide the group back together. Gristle begins helping the others recover their wounds while they investigate the belongings and physical qualities of their attackers. Their clothes seem to be prison garb, specifically from a nearby penitentiary. They are obviously zygerrians who’ve been mutated in some way, enhancing their strength but hindering their intellect. After deliberating on what to do, the agents decide to dump the mutants into the hospital basement and move on, reacquiring and following the blood trail up toward the nearby mountains. Soon, they see the entrance of the prison, which had been built into the mountain, rendering it resistant to the bombardment. There’s a light above the entrance, but no sign of guards, so the agents proceed inside. The blood trail is still apparent, but as Erdo reaches out to seek the snivvian, he finds that he is probably no longer alive. R2 brings up his scanner to search for life signs, but doesn’t find anything leading. They decide to keep on the blood trail, and they soon find an occupied cell, but its occupant is a bulbous form of flesh, unliving and likely a failed step in the mutations that led to the bandits encountered earlier.

More failed experiments line a few further cells, and as the team approaches the door leading out of the block, they see a similar inscription to the one they saw on the ship earlier: “Rule One- No One Leaves”. Just then, the lights go out and one of the mutants leaps down to engage Hank. Makren pulls out his force pike and cracks it against the wall, intimidating the mutants with the hiss of electricity. He steps in and lands a hit to assist Hank, but two of the creatures strike back, knocking him to the floor. Juba fires an opening salvo on one of the advancing creatures, ripping into it and bringing it down. Hank slings out a series of swift strike with both of his lightsabers, cutting down one of the vicious mutants in one swoop. R2 wheels ahead toward the door to attempt to slice into its lock. The door yields quickly, and R2 sees operating tables covered in gore and cages with snivvians in them. There’s a zygerrian inside who attempts to go for a nearby console as R2 enters, but he isn’t quite quick enough. R2 shoots his ascension line at the zygerrian, tripping him up and causing him to hit his head on the console. The mutants outside draw back, fearful after seeing their comrades dispatched. The agents regroup inside to question the zygerrian doctor and free the imprisoned snivvians. He seems convinced that his experiments have improved the zygerrians and made them better able to survive in these conditions. Makren, not wanting the doctor and his work to be discovered by Alberon, beheads him while the others are tending to the snivvians and unmutated zygerrians.

Gristle and the others tend to the prisoners while the Sunflare comes around. They load the snivvians and zygerrians on and head up to orbit, where Zymeria greets them again. After some deliberation, the agents decide to turn over all of the zygerrians except one - the only one who requested to stay behind. They manage to smuggle him out without much concern, and as they head off to deliver the snivvians, they realize it’s none other than Atai Molec, the former leader of the zygerrian slavers guild.