Incepting Wampa 2 - Stormbies

Stormtroopers without guns manage to be more dangerous than stormtroopers with guns. Somehow this makes perfect sense.

### Runtime

2:45:00

*Our heroes go further down the rabbit hole into the 2nd level of Wampception. Tek announces that he is a rebel to a bunch of Empire tie fighter pilots and we get attacked by zombie stormtroopers (zombtroopers? Stormbies?)*

## **Previously**

*After being startled that their new Starfish friend Xx is able to invade their subconscious thought as they sleep, the team enters into a lengthy moral debate before finally deciding to use this ability to their advantage. Together they entered into the subconscious of their Imperial prisoner Wampa in hopes of persuading the pilot to forsake the Empire and aid the group in bringing about a better galaxy. Entering Wampa’s first layer of subconscious thought, they see the surface level achievements and memories of the pilot, coming face to face with the mental projection of her parents - who Tek can’t help but try to split up - before playing some sweet tunes and removing a far too gaudy statue of Palpatine. Feeling comfortable with the first level, they prepare to move deeper, and hope to understand what makes the plot tick.*

## **Recap**

### **Rebels Be Damned**

Entering into the next layer of Wampa’s mind, the group finds themselves in what appears to be a prison. Concrete dominates the area, with hallways branching off to reveal several rows of prison cells. Shambling about in the area are a number of stormtroopers in battered, blood stained armor, paying the group no mind. Jawa Jimmy begins to settle into the reality of existing in a dream, and after a moments concentration the image of Sparky comes into existence next to the diminutive Jawa.

> "*What’s it smell like?*"
> ― Tek
>
>

> "*It smells a bit like starship fuel, maybe even as if a small amount is burning somewhere.*"
> ― Jordan
>
>

> "*Okay, now that we have that out of the way. What does it taste like?*"
> ― Tek
>
>

> "*You accidentally bite your tongue as you go to taste the air.*"
> ― Jordan
>
>

Moving down the first hallway, Katira sees cell after cell of Imperials, primarily pilots, and several more stormtroopers. She asks the nearest pilot what is going on in the area but they provide little information, claiming that they have been here for the last 10 years. As Katira prods further, they state that they have been here ever since they died fighting the rebels.

> "*We were flying against those rebels. Rebels be damned… and we died.*"
> ― Imperial Pilot
>
>

> "*Oh, so we put you in here.*"
> ― Tek
>
>

> "*Wait, you’re rebels? THEY’RE REBELS!!!*"
> ― Imperial Pilot
>
>

> "*Damn it Tek!*"
> ― Katira
>
>

The Imperial Pilot begins to rattle the bars of their cell, shouting that the group is rebels. Katira attempts to persuade the pilot that she is obviously far too young for that to be true, but it proves to be too little too late. As the cry is heard from cell to cell, each prisoner begins to shake their cell door and shout the message further into the prison. A low moan begins to grow beneath the shouting, and the previously directionless shambling of the stormtroopers becomes and sprint toward the group.

### **Stormbies**

With more footfalls sounding from the unexplored areas of the prison, Katira jumps toward the nearest stormtroopers. She slices into the throat of the nearest, then throws an explosive knife into the next as it approaches. The furthest trooper is knocked to the ground as the first trooper stumbles backward and a viscous red fluid oozes from the gaping wound in its neck. Jimmy hurries over and finishes both of the apparent undead off, then an excited Sparky jams his arc welder under the helmet of the nearest trooper, causing its head to explode inside of his helmet.

Bota moves toward the mass of zombies approaching from the main hallway, wiping out two more. Callen joins Bota, killing a third zombie and momentarily clearing the passageway. Seeing the pack of undead Imperials rushing toward his friends, Tek… concentrates.

> "*I’m going to use my lightsaber, but I’m going to use this round to… focus…*"
> ― Tek
>
>

> "*That’s not even the right word!*"
> ― Jordan
>
>

More indecipherable screaming can be heard approaching from deeper in, and Tek reconsiders his decision. Drawing his blaster, the Zabrak fires at three troopers and manages to incapacitate two of them.

With the initial wave of undead stormtroopers pushed back, the team is caught out of position as a surge of groaning zombies turns the corner. Katira is wounded by a one armed zombie, but manages to kill the trooper holding her and pull back to a place where Jimmy can administer first aid after he runs out of ammunition. 5 more stormtroopers are dropped by the combined efforts of the group, but the ensuing wave crashes over Callen, who calls on the force to dodge the incoming zombies.

The team manages to wipe out nearly all of the zombies with their ensuing actions, but two final troopers manage to close distance on Tek - mostly due to the team leaving Tek open in order to allow him a chance at using his lightsaber. The troopers hit (beating Tek’s dodge by 1 and 2 respectively) and severely wound the slicer.

> "*You know Tek… this all could have been avoided if you hadn’t announced us as rebels.*"
> ― Katira
>
>

Wrapping up, Katira moves in and bisects one of the remaining troopers while lecturing Krodak. Bota then eliminates the final zombie, and Jimmy binds Tek’s wounds.

### **Prisoner Interrogation**

With the area clear of any recognizable threat, the team takes a moment to catch their breath and figure things out. Katira notes that there appears to be a Rebel Pilot in one of the cells, and decides they might be the best place to start. The pilot immediately responds in a different manner than the imperials, with no recollection of who Wampa is and no memory of why they were being held.

> "*Who’s keeping you in this cell?!*"
> ― Katira
>
>

> "*Oh. I guess nobody is.*"
> ― “Dewback”
>
>

The pilot slips out of their cell, curious as to what’s going on next. Before she’ll go along with the group however, she checks to make sure that they are all rebels. Assured that the group are friends, she shows herself to be a wealth of information on the other prisoners in the area. Indicating down the row of cells, she confirms the suspicion that the cells hold deceased that Wampa cared about, namely Black Squadron, which has been here since the Battle of Endor.

Sensing that Dewback knows more than the average figment of Wampa’s imagination, he asks if she is actually Xx. For a fleeting moment, Katira sees Dewback’s face flicker, being replaced with a starfish, but the rest of the team doesn’t catch any change. Not wanting to trigger an early exit from Wampa’s subconscious, Katira keeps the information to herself.

> "*Can we search these corpses for any equipment?*"
> ― Jawa Jimmy
>
>

> "*Yeah, definitely. As you start searching, one of the prisoners starts booing you and says “Alien. Go back to your own planet!”*"
> ― Anonymous Imperial
>
>

Despite the fact that nothing they obtain in the dreamscape can leave with them, Jimmy can’t help but look for loot and is immediately denounced by the caged Imperials. Sensing an opportunity Katira bends down to Sparky and encourages his more violent tendencies, resulting in the homicidal droid slowly and painfully murdering the mocking Imperial by pulling his body forcibly through the containment field, piece by piece.

As the other Imperials quiet down following the erasure of their ally, the team decides to look for the best way to influence Wampa. Katira wonders aloud whether they should simply release them from the prison of Wampa’s subconscious, and Callen looks to test the theory by finding someone that Wampa cared about romantically before their death. As he asks around, a female TIE Pilot speaks up. The pilot states that her name was Tam, then claims that she was close friends with Wampa, and attending the Imperial Pilot Academy together before she died on their first training mission.

> "*I was hoping for something deeper than that.*"
> ― Callen
>
>

In response to Callen’s callous remark, Tam removes their helmet. A chilling skeletal face contrasts starkly with the vibrant red hair that falls about the pilot’s shoulders. Despite the lack of a face, Tam’s piercing gaze causes a chill to run down Callen’s spine as he is forced to accept the intensity of emotion. Hoping for some level of forgiveness, Callen asks the pilot what one thing she would say to Wampa if she had the chance.

> "*Just live, Wampa… Empire or not… just live.*"
> ― Tam
>
>

The group hardly has a moment to dwell on the emotional plea before being pulled from their reverie by the Imperial in the next cell, shouting that he has something to tell them about “Swampa”. He launches into a long winded conversation about Wampa “back in his day” with no seeming purpose, and is interrupted by Callen asking how he knew her. Continuing on his story, the old man begins to talk about Imperial challenge coins before laughing and admitting that he was her grandfather.

Sensing that the prisoners no longer hold any violent intent toward the group, Katira asks what they may do if they weren’t locked in these cells any longer. A low mumbling amidst the cells produces little to no answer, with most Imperials stating that they are unsure what they would do. In hopes of releasing Wampa from a subconscious prison of her own making, Katira unlocks each of the cells and tells the prisoners that they are free to go, but even with the cell doors opened the prisoners remain motionless, as if there was something that still kept them from leaving.

## **Featured Characters**

### **Our Heroes**

* Bota Zi
* Callen Mutig
* Jawa Jimmy
* Katira Eve
* Tek Krodak

### **NPCs**

* “Dewback” (Xx)
* Tam - Wampa’s lost love
* Wampa’s grandfather

## **Notes**

* **-1 force point** to dodge 3 stormbies (Callen)
* **-3cp** to resist damage (Tek)

## **Quotations**

> "*No, we have not chosen our totems yet. As a side effect, we may never actually wake up.*"
> ― Katira
>
>

> "*Tek… I’m so angry at you right now. I just want to glare at Tek. Not even do anything, just glare.*"
> ― Katira
>
>

> "*This was a completely avoidable conflict, Tek!*"
> ― Katira
>
>

> "*Not in my dream.*"
> ― Tek
>
>

> "*We need to find Xx so I can kick this guy out of here.*"
> ― Katira
>
>

> "*I kind of want to force push my lightsaber, but I can’t make it come back.*"
> ― Tek
>
>

> "*Well… yeah… it’s not a boomerang.*"
> ― Jordan
>
>

> "*You’re welcome.*"
> ― Tek
>
>

> "*For what?!*"
> ― Katira
>
>

> "*For getting those stormtroopers to come to us.*"
> ― Tek
>
>

> "*You want to help us figure out what’s going on here?*"
> ― Katira
>
>

> "*Yeah, why not? But first… are you guys rebels?*"
> ― Dewback
>
>

> "*Well… the pile of dead stormtroopers should give it away. Apparently we **are** rebels.*"
> ― Katira
>
>

> "*Good, because I only hand out with rebels. Call me Dewback. Let’s go.*"
> ― Dewback
>
>

> "*Dewback?!*"
> ― Katira
>
>

> "*Yeah, she wants to be ridden.*"
> ― Callen
>
>

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