Dark Forces Chapter 1: Betrayal (summary)

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away...
STAR
WARS

Outcast Chapter VII
THE DARK FORCES

It is a time of relative peace in the galaxy.
Ten years ago, the brave squad called
THE OUTCASTS have helped in defeating
the evil Imperial forces but they have dissapeared.

Commander Lexi Archer has proposed
and prepared a squad formed of federal soldiers
and former bounty hunters for important
missions that may require unique skills.

Currently, they have been sent on a mission
to stop a criminal supply train to test their
abilities and prepare them for future assignments....

#### **The Start of Something New**

Lexi Archer, recently wed to Admiral Archer of the UFP, was well-known for pushing an anti-Hutt agenda in the UFP. It came as little surprise when a Mandalorian bounty hunter attempted to kidnap Lexi from the UFP Headquarters on Corellia. Fortunately, the attempt failed and the Mandalorian attempted to run. He managed to evade most of the UFP's security through use of a personal cloaking device, however UFP Lieutenant Drake Peckbell was able to track down and capture the Mando.
The bounty hunter was taken into custody, and Lexi ordered the arrest of any other bounty hunters in the area, so Drake returned to headquarters where he discovered UFP Private Stan breaching regulations and keeping a pet Loth Cat on the premises. Unable to make Stan explain himself, Drake decided he had no choice but to report Stan. When he reported to Lexi however, she told him that she and Archer had organized the creation of a new black ops squad called Dark Forces and wanted him to be the leader. Drake accepted against his better judgement. The rest of his squad were UFP Private Wesley, Stan - to Drake's dismay - and puzzlingly a Mandalorian named Bendak who had been arrested as part of Lexi's order.
The squad started with some hand to hand training exercises, during which Stan viciously beat Wesley and had to be wrestled off by Drake. Drake and Bendak trained together but the fight rapidly devolved into a competition with neither wanting to admit defeat. Eventually Lexi stepped in and congratulated the pair. Bendak and Drake shook hands to acknowledge their mutual respect and Drake showed Bendak around the barracks. It would not be long before they were given their first assignment...

#### **An Uncertain Future**

Meanwhile on Dantooine, the Jedi Council met and unanimously voted to raise Threll Kast to the rank of Jedi Master and to be the first Jedi in 10 years to be invited to join the council. Jedi Master Pite Tverlo, Head of the Jedi Council, immediately raised the same issue which had been plaguing the council for 10 years: how best could the Jedi secure their future? Master Tverlo proposed that Jedi should rule the galaxy as benevolent dictators, as opposed to untrustworthy and flawed systems of government like the DR, SIA, or the UFP. Although his words persuaded Master Vorgran and Master Kontowi, Threll Kast and the remaining 3 Jedi Masters voted against the proposal. Unshaken, Master Tverlo went on to propose a second course of action: to place a spy in the ranks of the UFP Military to ensure that the Jedi were informed of everything the UFP were doing. Master Kast counterproposed that such a spy could not be a Jedi, as it was too likely that a full Jedi might be recognized, and suggested that a Force Sensitive should be used instead. This proposal passed, and Master Kontowi was chosen to be the Master of the spy. The meeting ended and Kontowi set out to Coruscant to find his new apprentice...

#### **E1M1**

Dark Forces squad started their first mission: to recapture a freight train which had been hijacked by mercenaries. The mission started well enough - despite heavy resistance the squad move steadily up the train, leaving no one alive. The new squad worked well together, with Wesley and Bendak sniping from the rear while Stan and Drake pushed forward. Drake encountered a problem in the middle car of the train however; one of the mercenaries dropped his weapon and surrendered. The squads orders had been to leave no witnesses and take no prisoners, to ensure that the squad's existence remained secret, however Drake could not bring himself to order the death of an unarmed man, and instead stunned him. They carried on through the train until they got to the lead car. The squad discovered their comms were jammed, so Drake sent Bendak and Wesley to collect the prisoner while he and Stan tried to figure out the train's controls. Initially they were locked out, but Stan figured out that the locking mechanism was a fingerprint scanner, and detached the arm of the nearby thug to unlock it. Using the train's comms Drake was able to contact Lexi and report of their success. Lexi came in a shuttle to evacuate the squad before regular soldiers could show up to reclaim the train. Mission success...

#### **Big Explosions Come In Small Packages**

Once Dark Forces squad had returned to HQ, Lexi began interrogating the prisoner. His name was Bartok, a hired thug who lacked the skills to work an honest job, and so had joined a local crime group which was loyal to the Hutts. Attempting to buy his freedom, he told Lexi as much as he knew, including the location of a weapons dump for the group in the South sector of Corellia. Dark Forces squad had found their second mission: to infiltrate and destroy the weapons dump. Fearing a trap, Drake decided to take Bartok with them, hoping that any planned ambush or assassination would be just as likely to kill Bartok as the members of the squad, and that that possibility would encourage Bartok to be truthful.
Bartok told the squad how the weapons dump was usually locked to anyone unless a package was being delivered. This gave Wesley an idea, and when the squad arrived they sent Bartok in with a delivery for the base. Once he had gotten clear, they detonated the hidden explosives planted by Stan, causing an explosion so huge that Drake swore never to let Stan handle explosives again. They rushed in, however confusion in the smoke caused the squad to split and head in different directions. Drake, not noticing, charged through the base, taking down several thugs before they could react and eventually arriving at the Comms array, where he cut the power to prevent any calls for help. Meanwhile, Bendak hacked into a terminal he found and collected data from the base. Stan and Bartok discovered a heavy weapons cache, and Stan began to play with rocket launchers. After some time, Drake found them and confiscated Stan's rocket launcher. They received a distress called from Wesley who was pinned down by a large group of mercs. They moved quickly, but found Bendak had arrived first. Reunited, they set off more explosives and returned to their shuttle, though in the process Bartok was wounded and fell into a coma. Mission success... (mostly)

#### **Secrets Compromised**

On the way back to HQ, the squad was mostly silent, however as they were exiting the shuttle Bendak confronted Drake, accusing him of abandoning the squad. Drake protested, insisting that the squad didn't need a leader and that everything had gone to plan. However as Lexi arrived and asked for a status report, Drake could not avoid admitting that Bartok had been injured and that it had been partially his fault for not assigning one of the squad to guard Bartok. Lexi wasn't bothered by this - the mission had been a success and Bartok hadn't been a member of the squad, so officially there were no casualties.
When they arrived back in the HQ to report to Admiral Archer they were surprised to find someone else in his office. The new Admiral informed them that Archer had been reassigned to Coruscant and that she was now in charge of them; this immediately caused issues, as Lexi refused to discuss Dark Forces squad due to it's top secret nature. Realizing that they would be unlikely to get paid for their off-the-records missions, the squad took some time off-duty, and Drake headed to the bar to drink alone, shortly followed by Stan and Wesley. Lexi attempted to reason with the new Admiral, but eventually decided that she had no choice but to give false information. Once she had satisfied the Admiral, she knew that she and the squad had limited time before the Admiral began to investigate the squad further, and immediately transferred them to duty at Coruscant. With such a rush and only Lexi's own limited funds, the squad were forced to use a cheap, low quality ship with minimal hyperspace fuel for their trip to Coruscant. They could only hope that they ran into no trouble along the way...

#### **For the Greater Good**

On Dantooine, Master Pite Tverlo met with Master Threll Kast. Attempting to privately resolve their ideological differences, Pite poured every drop of his powers of persuasion into making Threll see the 'right point of view'. Threll left the meeting feeling conflicted and uncertain. Afterwards, Pite met with Master Vorgran and the two discussed their plans for the future, a future where they - and to a lesser extent the rest of the Jedi - ruled the galaxy...
Meanwhile, Master Kontowi arrived on Coruscant and began looking for the young Force Sensitive. He had success faster than he expected - the young man had already gained a significant reputation for himself as an unnaturally skilled warrior. Kontowi knew he had found what he was looking for, and made his approach...

#### **It's a Trap!**

Partway through Dark Forces squad's journey from Corellia to Coruscant, their scanners picked up an anomaly. To avoid detection, they disabled all non-essential systems in the ship and turned off the engines while they attempted to figure out what the anomaly was. This was a mistake - the scanners had been tricked, and unnoticed by the squad a large pirate ship had gotten close enough to grab their ship in a tractor beam. Left with no other choice, the squad suited up and prepared to disable the tractor beam or die trying.
On board the ship, they quickly ran into a large group of thugs, however the superior training and weapons of the squad overcame the numbers disadvantage, and they were able to quickly push into the depths of the ship. Stan took a minor injury, but Drake helped him back up. They found the tractor beam generator, and destroyed it with Wesley's explosive charges. The squad attempted to retrace their steps, but found sealed doors and mercenaries blocking many of their paths, causing them to get lost in the confusing layout of the ship. Both Wesley and Bendak took minor injuries, and Drake was hit, though did not take an injury. Eventually they found the hangar again, only to find a large number of mercenaries blocking the way. With no other choice, the squad threw grenades and charged towards their ship, and miraculously made it on board. Stan mounted the turrets of the ship as they made their escape, but the ship's weapons were no match for the pirate ships and they sustained damage. They jumped to hyperspace with their limited fuel, but Stan was injured when a direct hit destroyed the ship's turrets. Wesley carried him to the medbay and they hoped for the best...

#### **Who Knew Running A Top Secret Black Ops Squad Would Be So Much Paperwork?**

As soon as the squad arrived back at UFP HQ they rushed Drake to the military hospital, where Lexi arranged for him to have a private ward, though this required her to justify herself to higher ups and she was unable to see to the rest of the squad. Wesley and Stan returned to the UFP barracks, where they met a UFP General. The General did not know about Dark Forces squad and assumed they were unassigned troopers - he sent them with a new soldier, codenamed 'Noname' to the planet Yalara where there had been reports of civil unrest. As the squad set off they realized they had not seen Bendak for some time, and the last time they had seen him, he been wounded severely in the fighting...

#### **Corruption on Yalara**

When Wesley, Stan and Noname arrived at Yalara they were greeted by the UFP Governor there. He showed them to the military base, but not long after they arrived the base was attacked by rebels. After the attack, the Governor went to the bar for a drink, but then sneaked off to the underground tram station. Noname noticed this and the squad followed, unseen. They saw the Governor speaking to men dressed like the rebels, and heard him arranging some kind of deal. They returned to the base and began searching through the data there for answers on what the Governor was up to. They came to the conclusion that the Governor was corrupt. Suddenly the Governor came in with a squad of local enforcers. He claimed that he was fighting for the freedom of Yalara from the UFP, which was what the people wanted, but when the squad didn't believe him the enforcers attacked them, and the Governor fled. The squad followed the Governor to a secret base, where they had to fight many rebel soldiers. When they reached the conference room they found a Shadowtrooper and a Sith warrior, who attacked the squad. All 3 members of the squad were injured, but managed to take down the 2 force users. They confronted and arrested the Governor. Noname found a secret lever which unlocked a hidden room, in which they found a Hutt who they arrested as well. They returned to their ship and set off back to Coruscant. Mission success...

#### **Shot down over Awerica**

On the way back from Yalara, the squad were unable to contact Lexi to report their mission success. Suddenly, they were attacked by TIE Fighters and a ship they didn't recognize, which shot their engines and caused them to crash land on the desert planet Awerica. The Governor took the opportunity to escape, while the Hutt died in the crash. Wesley was severely injured in the crash, so Stan took his pistol and headed out into the desert to look for help. Noname had fallen far from the ship and was found and healed from near-death by Claire Alanna, a UFP Medic who could use the force. Wesley was found by a local farmer, who turned out to be an old clone. After talking for a while, Wesley managed to convince the clone that the Empire no longer existed, and the clone agreed to take Wesley to town for medical aid.
Meanwhile, Stan was attacked by Tusken Raiders. He managed to fight them off, but then a Tie Fighter began strafing at him and he had to take cover in the Tusken camp. A Mandalorian appeared and began hunting for Stan amongst the tents. Stan managed to knock him down with a grenade, causing him to drop a rocket launcher. The bounty hunter retreated. More TIEs appeared and began bombing the camp. Stan escaped on a local animal called a sauntaun, but was chased by a TIE. He managed to blow up the TIE with the rocket launcher, though it required all his ammo. Eventually he made it to the town of Uganda, where he met back up with Wesley and Noname. They found the body of the Governor in the local bar, and were just in time to see the unknown Mandalorian fleeing the scene. They chased him, but he joined a squad of mercenaries. An intense firefight ensued, at the end of which the Bounty Hunter escaped in his ship.
They returned to the town, where they had to buy parts to repair their communicator. At last, they managed to contact a nearby UFP Cruiser, who sent them a shuttle and they left the planet...

#### **Captain Captured!**

When they arrived back at Coruscant they were debriefed by the General. He told them that Yalara was now in civil war and that he blamed them for it, as without the Governor there was no evidence to prove that their actions had been justified. The squad was given a new AK-50 Assault Droid unit to supervise their future missions. He then told them to take some time off duty while he and Lexi discussed the squad's future.
As the squad was leaving the UFP HQ they found Drake, freshly healed and released from the hospital, and Wesley made introductions for the new members. They went to the UFP Shipyard to requisition a ship, but the ship they were offered was even worse than their previous one. They returned to the UFP HQ to demand a better ship from the General and Commander Lexi. When they got there, Lexi offered them a mission to track down a bounty hunter who had been causing trouble on Ord Mantell. They set off...
When they arrived at Ord Mantell they split up to search for clues. Wesley discovered a secret compound hidden in a junkyard, and was shot at when he tried to sneak inside, so he called for backup. The rest of the squad arrived and Drake told them he'd learned this was a Mandalorian enclave. The squad stormed the compound but found no evidence of their bounty hunter other than a locked datapad. Many Mandalorians were killed, but others escaped. When the squad returned to looking for clues, Drake had a pain in his chest and had to rest in the nearby hotel. From there he was captured by Mandalorians. Meanwhile Claire was attacked by a gang of Mando thugs, leaving her injured. Then Stan was attacked, but Calren and Wesley arrived to help him fight the thugs off. The squad had a comms from the Mandos telling them the Captain was a hostage and to come to the hangar. When the squad arrived they were ambushed by more Mandos. Checking Drake's tracker, they found he was off-planet and heading to Carell Mesura. The squad followed...

#### **An Ambush of Illusions**

The squad arrived at Carell Mesura and decided to explore their surroundings. They found Din Resto meditating near a ruined temple. They asked him if he had seen the Mandalorians and he said no, but revealed that he was a Jedi and that he had sensed a presence in the nearby caves. The squad went to enter the caves but Din stopped them, warning them that the caves were dangerous. They ignored his warnings and entered anyway...
Inside the caves they were attacked by many Mandalorians in a disorienting constant battle. Noname spotted a Mando wearing silver armor with an orange lining who ran, unlike the others, and chased him. The Mando almost escaped but was stopped by Din. Wesley asked the Mando where the Captain was, but the Mando only taunted him, causing him to shoot the Mando with his pistol - a mistake, as the toughened Mandalorian armor absorbed the shot and the Mando took the distraction as an opportunity to escape. He gave one last taunt before he left "You will fear the name of Burtrom Dansen!"...
Calren suffered flashbacks from the Clone Wars in the caves and eventually had to be sedated by Claire, who punched him to knock him out. Din explained that most of the Mandos had been illusions and that the cave was causing strange hallucinations in them. They left the caves, frustrated by their failure.
Meanwhile, Stan had been following the Captain's tracker and had found a pass into the mountains. He had picked up a crystal, which was unusually sharp, and had marked his path there. Suddenly a pair of Mandos appeared and stunned him before he had a chance to react. The squad realized what had happened when they saw the Mando ship leaving the planet. They followed, now tracking Stan instead...

#### **Rescued at Last**

They arrived at an old Imperial Dreadnaught. There, they fought Mandos and also some soldiers they didn't recognize. They eventually found Drake and Stan in the same cell. The squad headed to the ship's power generator to cause a distraction, but Stan was wounded, forcing Wesley and Noname to carry him. When they got back to the hangar they found heavy resistance, but Claire gave an injection of adrenaline to Drake giving him the strength to charge in, breaking up the enemy defenses. They made it onto their ship just in time, though everyone had been injured in the fighting.
Stan was badly injured, and slowly bleeding out. Drake found the strange crystal that Stan had hidden inside his armor and inspected it, concluding that Stan must have been intending to get captured in order to break Drake out. Moved by this, Drake left the others to be alone with his thoughts. Wesley and Claire did the best they could to save Stan, but it wasn't enough. They couldn't stop the bleeding quickly enough. Eventually, when it was clear everything else had failed, Claire took out her lightsaber and used it to cauterize Stan's wounds, to Wesley's astonishment. At last Stan was stable!
Meanwhile, Noname went to Drake and confessed his worries that Claire was not a mere Field Medic as she claimed. The Captain agreed, deciding that she, Calren and the AK-50 droid were the least trustworthy members of the crew. Drake was convinced that there was a spy for the Mandalorians among their crew, and guessed that the AK-50 droid was also spying on them for the UFP.
Suddenly, they were interrupted by the rest of the crew, including Stan, who had refused to take any time to rest. Drake realized that he recognized the symbol drawn in blood of Stan's armor from something he'd seen in his captivity. They traveled to Coruscant, to once again investigate the secret factory where Stan had first gotten the mark...

#### **Outcasts**

The squad arrived at the factory on Coruscant and explored inside. As they had expected, most of the Sith had abandoned the factory and there was little left of value. They were able to confirm that the mysterious mark was there, proving that there was a link between the Sith and the Mandos who had captured Drake. As they explored further they were ambushed by some Sith, but the squad's improved coordination helped avoid any major injuries like their previous visit. Eventually, they came across a control center, which Noname hacked into. They found the symbol again, along with other unknown symbols, but not even the AK-50 with its translation module could figure out what they meant. Left with a dead end, Drake threw his gun to the ground in frustration. The others continued to search the factory, but found nothing. Eventually Drake agreed that they should leave even if it meant doing so empty handed. To their surprise however, as they made their way out they ran into a squad of UFP troopers who immediately opened fire on the squad. With no choice but to defend themselves, the squad quickly eliminated the troopers, but knew they had a major problem on their hands. They quickly entered their ship and took off into orbit.
On the ship Drake concluded that they had been set up, and that the UFP soldiers had been sent to make it look like the squad had turned outlaw. Drake proposed that they should go into hiding as he feared they would all be executed for treason. Wesley objected and went to leave, but Stan trapped him in by shooting the door lock, forcing them to talk things out. Eventually however, no agreement was reached and Wesley, with Claire, used the ship's escape pod to return to Coruscant.
While this was happening, the AK-50 unit the crew had been given went missing. Fearing assassination attempts, the crew went to Yalara where they hoped to ditch their ship and steal a replacement...

#### **Secrets within Secrets**

Far away, on the planet Dantooine, Burtom Dansen sneaked into the Jedi temple and met with Jedi Master Pite Tverlo. Burtrom informed Pite that their plans were working and that Dark Forces squad was in disgrace, having been tricked into looking like traitors to the UFP. Burtrom also told Pite that the Sith and Hutts were considering forming an alliance, which displeased Pite and he had only intended to fool the UFP into believing that the Sith and the Hutts were working against them. Burtrom left, but soon after Master Vorgran appeared, and revealed that he had been listening to their conversation. Uncertain of Vorgran's allegiance, Pite drew his lightsaber and prepared to strike down the other Jedi Master if he said the wrong thing.
However they were interrupted when Master Blabo Kentowi arrived with the new force sensitive. Temporarily putting aside their difference, Pite and Vorgran inspected the boy, and then left Blabo to start the boy's training...

#### **Disaster at the Droid Factory**

The squad arrived at Yalara to find it in chaos. They found no usable ships in the main landing area, so they headed to the hidden rebel base. Eventually they arrived, to find more fighting there as well. They made it inside the base and were relieved to find that it had not been plundered yet. They quickly made their way through it, looking for the hangar they'd seen the previous time they'd been there.
When they entered the hangar they found a large ship, but it was locked down. Noname went to hack into it while the others guarded the entrance. Suddenly the AK-50 droid reappeared, and forced them back out of their defensive positions. It entered the hangar and began a ferocious firefight. The droid was heavily armed and armored, and they had no equipment for dealing with droids, so even when they hit it the droid took minimal damage. It also appeared to have studied and learned their fighting style, as it was very effective at countering their maneuvers. Eventually Noname unlocked the ship and they were able to escape, leaving the droid behind...
Fearing that the droid would hunt them down, they headed to Jawajuice Corp, the Droid manufacturer which had created AK-50 which was situated in Hutt space close to Tatooine. They saw many droids being prepared for sale to the UFP. Drake lied that he needed blueprints to repair his droid, and was taken to a meeting room. There, he met Nemo the CEO of the Corporation. Nemo informed him that the blueprints were not available, and to their shock he also resisted Din's mind trick. When Nemo left they all began to feel a sense of unease. They tried to return to the ship, but the droids blocked them. Stan wrestled a gun free and they fought their way out. Noname found a terminal and hacked into it while the rest of the squad headed towards the bridge to confront Nemo. However, heavily armored droids stopped them and they retreated back to the ship. They escaped just in time...

#### **Betrayal**

Wesley and Claire landed on Coruscant, where they were taken to see Admiral Grace and the General who had sent the squad to Yalara. They desperately tried to convince the pair of their innocence, though all the evidence was against them until finally, Grace promised that there could be a way to clear their name. Unnoticed, she disabled the cameras in the room. Suddenly, she drew out a pistol and shot Wesley in the chest. Claire responded immediately, drawing her lightsaber, but the General called for guards and it seemed to them that Claire had attacked the Admiral. Desperately, Claire attempted to cut her way out - and suddenly fighting broke out around her, as all of the droids at once turned on the UFP soldiers, killing many and causing many firefights to break out. Using the chaos as cover, Claire dragged Wesley to the UFP hangar, where she entered a ship but was unable to flee, as soldiers surrounded it preventing her opening the hangar doors.
Meanwhile, the rest of the squad inspected the droid blueprints Noname had stolen from Jawajuice Corp. They noticed an oddity - a flaw in the design which could allow remote control of the droids which would override any commands the owners gave. Drake realized that this could only mean one thing - a betrayal was planned. They made their way to Coruscant, only to find themselves too late. Before anyone listened to Drake's warning, the droids had turned on their master. The squad flew down to the planet surface to look for Wesley...

#### **Rescue**

The situation was dire on the surface, as the droids had overcome most of the UFP troops. The squad destroyed many droids, though taking injuries themselves. They found the cells empty, but when they reached the meeting room they figured out what had happened when Calren noticed bodies cut with a lightsaber, and Stan revealed that Claire had one. Calren also picked up a datapad which had belonged to the General, who they found dead. They followed Claire's trail to the hangar, where they killed the troopers. They rushed on board to find Wesley in a dire situation. The ship was too small, so Drake told Stan to take Wesley and Claire to Awerica, where they would meet up, and took the others back to the Yalaran ship. The two ships flew off, leaving Coruscant to its fate...
With medical attention from Claire, Wesley was healed and managed to wake up. Bonded by their shared experiences, they kissed but broke apart when Stan abruptly walked in.
At last, the two ships arrived at Awerica. As before, they found no UFP presence there, as it was quiet peaceful planet. They landed near Calren's farm and he went to see his family. Drake hugged Wesley, and thanked Claire for healing him, as well as for healing Stan earlier. Reunited, and filled with resolve, the squad prepared themselves for the struggle to come, to save the UFP and uncover who was behind the plot - or possibly, plots - to destroy the UFP, and the peace of the galaxy...