Search for Sithspawn 4 - Phrike Finalé

## **Previously**

*Puzzling their way through the eery interior of Sithspawn’s castle on Phrike, our heroes found themselves face to face with the clone master in his own fortress. Heavily outmatched, the group resorted to releasing as many force sensitive clones as they could in hopes of finding help. Though there were some mishaps - including Tek Krodak being choked by a newly risen Yaddle clone - the group managed to find their footing and some support. With the Sith Lord now cornered, they prepare for the final assault.*

## **Recap**

### **Dire Straits**

A chill falls across the room as Lord Sithspawn looks the battered heroes over. As the lights begin to flicker a dark energy begins to coalesce about the Sith, and a growing sense of dread pervades the team.

Katira moves to the clone that she just freed from its cylinder. Lying on the floor and coughing up liquid, a young woman with silver hair and blue eyes seems to stare through Katira in confusion. Helping her to her feet, Katira tries her best to explain the situation, managing to convey that Sithspawn means to use the woman for his own purposes. As Droo pulls the wounded Ithorian to what little cover there is in the back of the room, Blaine stumbles into the room - somewhat off balance due to his missing boot - with Piven following close behind, firing her blaster at the master control panel. Across the room from Katira, Tek releases his archaic scout droids toward the cloning cylinders, and several more bodies tumble to the ground as the droids break through the containers. In response, a wave of anger pulses from Sithspawn as he harnesses the force to drive the remaining clones into a separate room overhead.

As Bota slowly regains his bearings, the Twi’Lek standing over him ignites the lightsaber he pulled from the still warm corpse of Ki-Adi-Mundi’s clone. He shouts to Katira that she should **not** revive the clone of a young boy near her, then launches into combat with the Sith Lord, managing to wound him in a flurry of blows. Katira hurries to the nearby console, but is unable to decipher the controls and instead shouts to Tek that she could use some help. Taking cover again, she looks at the forbidden clone and gets the feeling that the child is a clone of Sithspawn himself before the cylinder is suddenly blown open as a scout droid flies straight through it.

The Twi’Lek holds Sithspawn’s attention long enough for Droo to attempt to operate the main computer (finding it offline following Piven’s attack) and Tek to pull information on all the clones. He shouts out that the woman Katira is helping is apparently a clone of some Jedi named Asajj Ventress, and the Twi’Lek is former Jedi Master Dask Ra'tava. Tek then turns to a diminutive green figure standing nearby, but as the Zabrak attempts to convince the creature that they are allies his breath catches in his throat and he is lifted off the ground, the small clone using the force to choke him.

With the outcome of the fight still uncertain, Blaine shouts out that he has an idea. Taking Piven by the arm, he rushes out of the room and sprints back toward the entrance.

Sithspawn manages to push the Twi’Lek back for just a moment before lightning erupts from his free hand. As the heroic Jedi absorbs the blast with his blade, the Sith Lord reaches out with his free hand. An eery sense pervades the room, and the sounds of muffled moans and shuffling can be heard as reanimated corpses find their way into the room.

Still huddling for cover behind the cloning cylinders, Katira smashes open the adjacent container in anger. The container explodes as Katira’s combat gloves activate, reminding the Zeltron that she was wearing them. She tears them off and tosses them to the nearby clone, who now seems intent on fighting against the sinister Sith Lord. In response, the clone dons the glove and rushes headlong into the center of the room as Katira draws her rifle and fires at the small green creature choking Tek. The blaster bolt strikes the clone straight in the head from behind, and as their body crumples to the floor it begins to melt into a puddle of black goo.

The fight looking like a lost cause, Droo begins to retreat toward the revived clones. She offers what aid she can, but seems at a loss when a sudden rush of air blows into the room. From the entrance to the chamber, a blur of movement comes to a stop and the hooded figure of Genos Ia'danian pauses for a moment to assess the situation. A brief wave of emotion passes over the Jedi’s face as he looks to Dask fighting Sithspawn, but quickly transforms into a smile as he tosses a spare lightsaber to the man and engages the Sith.

Rising to his feet slowly as the air returns to his lungs, Tek catches sight of the small child clone of Sithspawn accessing a nearby console. He grabs the child to stop him, then fires a blaster into an approaching zombie as Katira kills two more of the zombies in combat with Asajj.

### **Escape**

Sensing that the battle has turned and his defeat will be coming soon, Sithspawn disengages from Dask and Genos. As a rush of dark energy coalesces about the Sith Lord, the group looks on expectantly. In a sudden burst of the force, everyone in the room is knocked to their knees before the air begins to reverse direction and rush toward the man. Droo begins to slide toward the nexus of evil but is rescued by the Ithorian clone that she had been previously tending to, and Katira just manages to hold herself stable by grabbing onto the nearby console, but the rest of the group manages to stand their ground.

As the bodies of undead slide along the floor, several blaster bolts find their mark and blow them to bits as Sithspawn looks on unconcerned. The heroes look on helplessly, fighting constantly against the draw of Sithspawn and watching several clones and pieces of undead bodies be drawn into his form. As the mangled bodies collide into the man, they seem to lose their form, slowly being absorbed and increasing the pull toward him.

In the center of the room Dask sighs for a moment, giving a despairing look to Genos. He shouts that everyone needs to get out, then rushes directly into the growing maelstrom. The team sprints for the entrance against the pull emanating from Sithspawn, bringing what living and non-aggressive clones that are still alive with them. As Dask struggles against Sithspawn, Katira pauses at the sight of a young clone of the Sith moving toward the entrance. The rest of the group looks back at the sound of blaster fire, then sees Katira standing over the wounded body of the child. She struggles against the pull to finish the child off, but is stopped by the rest of the group.

Suddenly the otherworldly pull shifts from a nearly overwhelming flow to a trickle. The heroes gain their feet, then taking the Jedi’s advice they run as fast as they can from the room. In a moment, Genos is left alone in the room, looking on as his former master looks to be dying on him again. Unable to accept the possibility, Genos runs directly at Dask with his lightsaber drawn. As Dask pushes beyond his limits, the Twi’Lek manages to sever Sithspawn’s connection from whatever dark force he is harnessing before collapsing to the ground. Genos finishes the job, killing the Sith before dragging an unconscious Dask away.

The group stumbles their way back through the castle before emerging to the sight of the Jinxed Starhawk, already online. From the boarding ramp, Blaine shouts for everyone to hurry onboard as he takes Dask from Genos before the Jedi boards his own nearby fighter. As they move aboard, Tal calls out to Blaine that another ship has just launched from the castle and is leaving the planet.

The ships are in the air without a moment’s hesitation as Genos contacts Blaine and relays the current state of affairs inside the fortress. Blaine comments that he doesn’t think they’ll need to worry about the place much longer, and the Jinxed Starhawk suddenly whirls back around to face the planet’s surface. Telling everyone that he hopes this works, Blaine locks onto the castle with the ships tractor beam and kicks the sublights into reverse. The ship shakes, shuddering in an attempt to pull against the planet itself, and for a moment it appears that the group will be returning to the surface in a less than desirable manner. In a sudden jolt of movement, the castle tears from its surroundings and the ship jets backwards with it in tow. Staring on in amazement as they rub their wounds, the heroes pull into orbit and Blaine lets them know they have some decisions to make.

## **Featured Characters**

### **Our Heroes**

* Blaine Hansom
* Bota Zi
* Droo Vos
* Genos Ia'danian
* Katira Eve
* Tek Krodak

### **NPCs**

* Lt. Nera Piven
* Lord Sithspawn
* Dask Ra'tava
* The Kid
* Assaj Ventress Clone
* Dua Corrobb
* Talcoborro

### **Mentioned**

* Yaddle Clone
* Ki-Adi-Mundi Clone
* Aayla Secura Clone

## **Notes**

* **+1 dark side point** for shooting Sithspawn Clone (Katira)