Agents of the Outer Rim 8 - Riddle Me This

*The last of the Imperials are taken care of as our heroes make their way into the mysterious super-weapon that is (was?) Stormbringer Station. Katira finally gets her hands back on Skids McDougal’s rifle, the team meets the Imperial SS-SS, and we discover that this abandoned station is booby trapped. Thankfully Bota is here to get everyone out of trouble.*

## **Previously**

*Feeling extremely confident after handily wiping out any Imperial resistance on their way through the ice caverns North of Khloris, the team hit a snag when they reached a slave camp. Bota nearly convinced the Imperials to kill Darth Null, Tek’s new lightsaber killed anyone it could, and Katira discovered that AT-STs don’t do well against blasters. With the clock ticking before the AT-ST goes boom, and a lot of stormtroopers still hanging around, can the team pull off the next step in their rescue mission?*

## **Recap**

### **Cleaning House**

Sensing that a drawn out battle will end in less than ideal circumstances for the group, Bota tries to convince Darth Null to step in and bring an end to the fighting with the end being so obvious. Though successful in persuading the Sith Lord, Null’s methods are a bit more violent than one might have hoped.

> "*You said you wanted to remove these people from your planet. What better way than to force their hand by adding their own men as prisoners?*"
> ― Bota Zi
>
>

> "*I see what you’re saying. Use them against each other and force their hand. Yes. This should work.*"
> ― Darth Null
>
>

Stepping forward, the cyborg waves his hand as he approaches the nearest trio of troopers. Though the muttered phrase he speaks can’t be heard, the effect is obvious as the soldiers all draw their blasters and gun each other down. Before their bodies have stopped moving, Katira sprints forward with a look of concern on her face. She shouts out to Darth Null that the AT-ST *might* be exploding soon in hopes that he an absorb or divert the explosion, then hurries toward the heart of the camp, taking a moment to pick up *Red Immolation* from the ground as she does so.

> "*You know Tek, you **really** shouldn’t be allowed to use this thing if you can’t even keep hold of it.*"
> ― Katira
>
>

Ignoring Katira’s comments altogether, Tek moves up the side of the cavern and shouts out to the nearby prisoners, commanding them to come with him as he moves ahead. As the rest of the group jokes that Tek’s tone indicates that he seems to be embracing the darker influence of Cold Steele, Tek insists that he’s simply guiding them away from the impending AT-ST detonation. Taking up the rear, Jawa Jimmy and Sparky take on their usual clean up duty, putting the surviving stormtroopers out of their misery and looking for junk as they do so.

> "*It’s not the Imperials’ turn, but only one can act. He can see Tek, but there are a **lot** of prisoners in the way.*"
> ― Jordan
>
>

> "*You think I moved here on accident?*"
> ― Tek
>
>

With numbers heavily in their favor, but having witnessed the opening salvo of a group that appeared seemingly out of thin air and proceeded to kill everyone in sight and disable their walker, the remaining stormtroopers fall back to the rear of the cavern and take up a defensive formation.

Bota moves forward calmly, and finding Taz Solana at last he asks after the trustworthiness of the other prisoners. Taz confusedly replies that the rest of her team is still unaccounted for, but upon learning that the only remaining member that is still missing is Kyle Katarn she simply informs Bota that there really isn’t much that she can add to help further. Hoping that he can end this quickly, Bota then steps forward and tells the troopers to surrender before things get ugly (33 on 7D6 *Intimidation*). Though they allow the prisoners to leave, the soldiers stop just short of surrendering and tell the group to leave.

Turning his attention to Tek, Darth Null asks what the Zabrak thinks should be done with regards to the current situation. As uncertain as ever, Tek says that the stormtroopers should be allowed to decide their own fate, and the Sith proposes the idea with his now characteristic twist to the Imperials.

> "*You there, invaders. Would you rather die quickly or have a slow, desperate death when this machine explodes and causes the cavern entrance to collapse?*"
> ― Darth Null
>
>

> "*Yeah, uh… I’d rather not do either personally.*"
> ― Stormtrooper
>
>

Realizing the predicament that they are now in, one trooper takes charge and calls for the rest to rally and fight for their freedom. After he is summarily dispatched by Darth Null, the remaining soldiers quickly fall into line and agree to surrender to Cold Steele rather than starve to death.

As the Imperials begin to file out, Katira grabs hold of one and asks what they did with their former prisoners' belongings. They gesture back to the rear of the room that they had previously been guarding, and Katira hurries over. She manages to find Skids’ Rodian rifle, as well as Taz’ dog tags. Keeping the rifle for herself she returns the tags to Taz, keeping one of the pair for herself. In her search, she also notes that the stolen goods can be transported via repulsorsled, which she has the Imperials take care of as they are lead out under Droo’s watchful eye.

### **Secret Sith Supporters Society**

After completing the transfer of the Imperial troopers and the destruction of their AT-ST, the team takes a moment to review their mission parameters. Bota comments that the primary goals of their mission to Illsauvin are complete, and believes that they can return to the New Republic currently, but after being reminded that they have not discovered the status of Kyle Katarn and realizing the Jedi’s level of importance, he reluctantly admits that they should press on just a bit further with the caution that they keep an eye on Cold Steele. Agreeing, Droo and Jowkazza wait back at the workshop, tending to the recovery of the prisoners and ensuring the Imperials are properly placed into holding, and the rest of the team makes their way toward the buried wreck of Stormbringer Station with Cold Steele acting as a guide.

The team makes good time, the tunnels having now been cleared of any Imperials, and soon Darth Null comments that they should be entering Stormbringer Station. Turning another corner, the team then runs straight into a full squad of stormtroopers, another AT-ST, and the very ISB agent that they previously encountered in the Saltwater Grotto.

> "*There is one slave that somehow escaped and made his way inside. We knew you would be looking for him, and knew you would be coming here to do so. But I wanted to be sure of something.*"
> ― ISB Agent
>
>

The ISB Agent calmly walks toward the group, then raises her hand to the air as if holding an order to fire. As the heroes look around for some place to dive for cover, she slowly turns her hand around to prominently display a ring - one that is made to look very much like those given to the group by Darth Null. Seeing the ring Null demands that she bows down, and to everyone’s surprise she does just that, admitting to being a part of a secret society within the Imperial forces that has been awaiting the return of a Sith leader.

Just as quickly as the Imperials appeared, they then disperse under orders from Darth Null, and the group is left staring at what appears to be the massive entry door to Stormbringer Station.

Approaching the door, Darth Null comments that he has no memory of having it installed, and he will need two of the group to assist him with its opening. At Null’s comment, alarm bells start to ring in Katira’s head and she pulls Bota to the side, noting that Darth Null’s statement doesn’t align with his previous story that Stormbringer Station was a weapon brought by the Jedi to oppose him, and wonders if they are in too deep. Meanwhile, Tek examines the rings that each member of the group has in their possession, noting that they seem similar to that worn by the ISB agent, and may signify some level of station.

Wary of the path that they have chosen thus far, Bota, Tek, and Katira each place their signet rings into the door, and Stormbringer Station is opened to the team.

### **Welcome to Stormbringer Station**

A dimly lit ship looms ahead, wreckage strewn about and signs of major damage from the crash landing on the planet evident in the shredded bulkheads, uneven floors, and obvious intrusion of the outside environment. A few paces in several droids are milling about, none quite identical to the next. By all appearances, the droids seem to have been pieced together from scrap and spare parts by someone in some distant past.

Stepping into the station and spotting the droids, Darth Null flies into a sudden rage as he presses forward. Screaming “defilers!”, he extends his arms and the droids fly back as a wave of dark energy assaults them. As quickly as he entered the room, Null disappears from view when the floor beneath him suddenly splits apart, swallowing the Sith and most of the droids along with him.

Taking a moment to get their bearings before deciding that they should explore the other areas of the station before jumping into whatever trap Null just walked into, the team splits in two, with Jimmy taking a moment to scan for a remote access to the ship’s systems while Tek, with Bota following alongside, pushes ahead with his characteristic disregard for caution.

Taking the first available turn, Tek finds a mostly empty chamber with a few boxes scattered about the floor. He pulls a page from Darth Null’s playbook and extends his arm, sending the nearest box tumbling across the room as a series of glyphs carved into the walls burn to life. Looking down, Bota sees that where the box previously sat, an explosive device is now uncovered.

> "*I’m so glad that you I know force push and not pull.*"
> ― Tek
>
>

> "*You hear that Droo, wherever you are?*"
> ― Jordan
>
>

As Bota and Tek are throwing boxes and playing with explosives, Katira and Jimmy continue down main hall running from the entrance. As they carefully move past a room with more droids, tears of respect for the effort put in to transform junk into autonomous droids begin to run down below Jimmy’s Cylon eye. Katira tries to voice her concerns about Darth Null to Jimmy, but he is understandably unwilling to face the Sith head on, preferring to keep an eye out for some way to sabotage things. Before long, they come to a gaping chasm left between two disconnected portions of the ship, and Jimmy’s scans finally manage to pick up a faint signal from a mainframe deeper into the station.

After a brief discussion on having Sparky shoot a grappling hook across the chasm (but how would we get back?) Katira points out that she has rocket boots, but Jimmy can do whatever he wants. Jimmy clings to Katira like a space spider monkey, and the pair cross the chasm.

Safely on the other side, Katira takes point to look over the area. A series of pillars support the high ceiling in the space, there are splatters of blood on the floor near a desiccated corpse, and an enormous automaton occupies a throne at the far side of the space with a key visible on the floor at its feet.

Katira slowly steps across the room, keeping an eye out for more junk droids as she retrieves the key. Just as she is within reach, the eye of the massive automaton illuminate and it rises to its feet with a question.

> "*I am often shut, but not a mouth. What am I?*"
> ― Automaton
>
>

> "*What? Uh… are you a door?*"
> ― Katira
>
>

After Katira’s response, the machine steps forward, looks down at the thief, then swings its massive fist with unexpected speed, throwing Katira aside and into the nearest pillar before lumbering toward the diminutive figure of Jawa Jimmy as he attempts to slice into it from the entrance.

> "*I am often shut, but I’m not a mouth. I sometimes break, but I’m not a heard. What am I?*"
> ― Automaton
>
>

The colossus slowly comes closer as Jimmy looks back and regrets not bringing Sparky with him to escape. As he slowly steps back and searches for a way out, Bota’s calm voice comes through over com-link with the answer: a window. When Jimmy repeats the answer out loud, the massive droid slowly returns to its throne before shutting down.

Jimmy hurries across the room, not worrying to look for more traps, and uses Katira’s medpac to stabilize her. Tossing off her helmet, Katira spits out a mouthful of blood and holds up the key.

> "*I’m glad you figured that out, because my next guess was going to be a lock.*"
> ― Katira
>
>

## **Featured Characters**

### **Our Heroes**

* Bota Zi
* Jawa Jimmy
	+ Sparky
* Katira Eve
* Tek Krodak

### **NPCs**

* Darth Null
* Taz Solana

### **Mentioned**

* Kyle Katarn
* Skids McDougal

## **Inventory**

* +Skids McDougal’s Rodian Longrifle (Katira)
* +Taz Solana’s dog tag (Katira)
* +mysterious Stormbringer Station key (Katira)
* -medpack (Katira)
* +bonus cp for solving the force golem’s riddle (Bota)

## **Notes**

* Tek commented that he has refused to wear Darth Null’s signet ring, but admits that he has it in his possession after having been given the ring to access the room where he previously received *Red Immolation*
* Noticing that she felt a *slightly* more murderous desire ever since receiving *The Ending*, Katira asked Droo if she had felt anything similar from her own red lightsaber, but received a non-committal response.
* Random rolls while opening the door to Stormbringer Station:
	+ Bota: 6
	+ Katira: 1
	+ Tek: 1
* The mainframe sensed by Jimmy seems to emanate from the bottom left of the current map

## **Quotations**

> "*I guess I could just shoot this stunned guy and… I could stun him for good.*"
> ― Jawa Jimmy
>
>

> "*By the way, how does Cold Steele feel about Sparky?*"
> ― Jawa Jimmy
>
>

> "*Cold Steele likes Sparky. Eventually Cold Steele is not gonna like Bota, but he likes Bota now… unless Bota is just going to lie for the rest of his life.*"
> ― Jordan
>
>

> "*Seeing these droids, so obviously made of junk, tears of respect start welling up in Jawa Jimmies eyes.*"
> ― Chris
>
>

> "*I think that Jimmy is scared and feeling clingy, then he tries to give Katira a kiss for luck.*"
> ― Chris
>
>

> "*Katira just cringes away from Jimmy and wishes this could be over faster.*"
> ― David
>
>

> "*Uh, Bota.. we’re in a big room past a chasm. I see an old corpse, but fresh blood.*"
> ― Katira
>
>

> "*That’s a great name for an emo album.*"
> ― Jordan
>
>

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