Varentari: Arali chooses to give some info to him to gain trust, keeping him informed of our plans (but 1 step behind); Kay's actual role/relationship to Arali is kept secret. Arali also tries to Charm Varentari throughout the year (it's got her this far). She also offers possibility of Kay's services & tells about Tor's Mer-Sonn connections (in hopes of possibly getting Tor on the shield construction detail). Arali trusts the Force to guide her on what she should let “slip” ( ) & is successfully guided by it in various meetings. She's not letting Baron's opinion of Varentari influence her & is willing to be friends if seems right. At one point Arali uses Misdirect to show Varentari fake data and/or hide Kay's appearance to try to get more intel.
Roll result: total wash w/ leftover. Lots of give & take over course of year, even match of charm vs wits. Arali does manage to sneak Kay in at one point. Arali takes Strain - the interactions throughout the year have been mentally exhausting. Her & Varentari have gained a mutual respect/friendship; in face, he has become smitten w/ her & the rest of interactions involving him get a .
Intel: Kay (who's been trained to be charming but is not generally socially skilled, tending to lean on Deception & Stealth mostly) works in restaurant w/ upscale clientele (Imperials, politicians, etc). Arali helps “equip” her with clothes/jewelry/etc to deceive others as to her status, and Kay's family loss/trauma (along with her training) leads her to craft lies that are almost a form of wish fulfilment. She gets introduced to Sabik at one point as a jumping-off point for intel; Sprend's friends & “new Reactor Core” groups are helpful for info as well. Kay's been dealing with mental issues () and has been very closed off throughout the year.
Roll result: . Kay's deception “roleplaying” throughout the year has lessened her PTSD, improving her relationship w/ Dash & leading to a (somewhat surprising) friendly relationship with Koyi. Kay has also worked up the ranks at Telmarr's restaurant, obtaining concierge-level status.
Intel gathered:
Human League decimated after Balmorran Star incident
Sabik's organization is now on Kay's side
Moff Pugness wants Balmorra to be his capital & is taking over lakes region, already building a complex there (but living w/ the fleet for now)
Fleet is 1 ISP, 3 Victorious-class SDs, full TIE complements, 10 AT-ATs, 20 AT-STs, 40 trooper battallions
Some crime syndicates have learned about the shield, don't like the restrictions it represents but also haven't told the Empire about it
Kay infiltrate Varentari's compound: Arali helps Kay sneak into Varentari's compound in hopes of getting into his quarters. Kay sneaks into the compound (stealth check success), avoiding detection and cutting off the cameras along the way. Breaks into Varentari's office (successful check), finds some more intel:
Varentari is monitoring Starcon but can't decrupt some comms he's sending off-planet
Obtain full file on Agent 63's specific methods / measures used to suppress the populance, proof of xenophobia/etc - suitable for anti-Imperial propaganda
Shield: Thanks to Arali's influence, Tor is able to bring his own staff on & train them how to run/build the shield generators. Main issues: potential for a spy/leak, and time constraints. Tor's relationship w/ his sister both helps & hurts (“let me do my own thing!”); relationships developed during Balmorran Star help. Tor's help w/ the technicalities of propaganda stretch him a bit thin over the year, and his connection to Sabik & other criminal organizations complicate things as well. The geography / distance issues make shield work tougher too.
Roll result: bad, re-roll! (rough start, “Wait, that's not right, let's rethink how we're doing this…”,etc). Reroll = . Build in instant comms between the base & shields, including live secure video to base. Tor tries to slip the secret ability to pass through shields past Varentari (who he doesn't fully trust): - Varentari stays clueless.
Propaganda: Helpful items: rescue of aliens (upgrads), Sprend's friends lend a . Just having a single printing press & the good economy is a . Tor helps out w/ his “sales” experience & use of social media. Empire can't hide behind Human League anymore, populance fears an attack like the Balmorran Star again. Tor hacks I.N.N. () to send short clips during primetime broadcasts. Via D'Gane helps a little from the shadows. Damaria uses planetary-scale Battle Meditation to coordinate covert anti-Imp rallies. Sprend & Baron try to track down Grexi & co (wash w/ ); they've left the planet but the scouting done during the search will allow upgrading future checks dealing w/ ground transport.
Roll result: : Ground troop difficulty reduced. Propaganda takes time to get going but once does creates public outrage & protests. Some of those are “coordinated” (Damaria BatMed) attacks against troopers. This annoys Varentari but does give him chance to slowly build a “humanitatian” image & begin the turn again the Empire. Our mole @ the armory (Fenthar) get wind of what's happening and forms a splinter cell (the ). Also manage to keep the building resistance relatively quiet & on-planet, along w/ focusing on the Empire and not the general planetary government (3 ). The … well, Damaria did use the Force a lot through the year…
In The Meantime: Swift also uses Foresight throughout the year to help guide efforts ( )
Tor says shields are almost complete; at this point the SSD destruction session happens, resulting in no blockade / checkpoints. Varentari VERY upset at this timing of this, plan/shields will have to be activated ASAP.
Troop Reduction / Immediate ground combat: Compatriot is called to get troops here ASAP (thanks to saving the envoys previously); we know Imperial fleet will arrive within 2 day thanks to Swift's Foresight.
Damaria, Arali & Kay are on the Last Call, flitting about to hotspots during the ensuing combat
Tor juryrigs old hyperspace transmitter at base to jam enemy comms ( ), takes 22 hours
Dash & Sprend are leading troops on the ground (Speederbike & varactyl squads, respectively)
Baron continuing to meditate (Foresee)
Pluses: other rebels, Twilek commandos, splinter cell, propaganda, Damaria Battle Meditation (dark pip used)
Minuses: timing change, Imperial forces already present
Mass Combat Roll result:
locked down remaining enemies, concentrated in Bin Prime & Sobrik ()
enemy troop presence downgraded ()
wiped out all TIE squadrons caught on the ground ()
Interim: Between ground combat & fleet coming - found cache of anti-ship mines (destiny flip). Damaria remembers class @ academy about fleet formations & figures best places to mine. Arali (Tor copiloting) leads group of B-Wings to lay mines while Damaria BatMeds from Last Call to coordinate (1 Conflict, 4 strain used).
Calm before storm: Sprend relaxes w/ varactyls in desert near shield generation, Dash is in Bin Prime, Tor goes to desert shield, Last Call (Damaria, Kay, Arali) back to base where Swift tells them he “sensed a dark presence in Force, feels like that Inquisitor, might be more, not sure when arrived, have to be careful.”
That night:
Tor (Discipline check: ) has vivid dream that seems real. At home, sister there (as kid), dad also. Dad admonishes Tor to care for sister, then she disappears, Tor feels something horrible happened. Searches, argues w/ dad, now finds himself on Balmorra. Goes to shield generator sister works at. Sees glow inside, approaches, red lightsaber, wakes up in sweat.
Damaria (Discipline check: w/ Sense used; 1 Conflict) has hard time getting to sleep (overexhausted, mind racing). One sleeping, realizes she's in same type of Force nightmare as during capture/torture by Inquisitor. She's in Last Call as Imp fleet jumps in; it's huge, SSDs everywhere, and Palpatine's Executor is there are well (Fear check, success). Completely surrounded, finds herself screaming defiance at the enemy and fades to a dim scene where Inquisitor Belcoth steps towards her saying “You have already lost”, then dream ends (2 strain remaining in morning due to dreams).
Sprend falls asleep easily & dreams. He's in Reactor Core, “wakes” w/ gun in hand in front of door that opens by itself. Same as last time - Lars is in there. “Enjoying death?” taunts Sprend. Same tirade from Lars as before. Sprend turns away and is now in from of shield generator, a man w/ a red saber in front of it, apparently not yet seeing Sprend. It appears to be the same person Sprend helped rescue Swift & Damaria from. He watches via sniper scope; just before Sprend wakes, the man goes inside the building and the generator explodes.
Arali (failed Fear check) sleeps easy & dreams of a devastating Clone War battle, knowing failure is looming & a walker squad is coming. Tripp's there, and there's a feeling you'll manage to escape just in time. Arali hears Tripp say something about an Inquisitor, she turns towards him & sees a red saber rip through Tripp's head. A huge Inquisitor looms over, one blade ignited, Arali screams herself awake as the Inquisitor says “I'm coming for you next”.
Dash & Kay sleep & dream normally. Must be nice.
That night: Imperial fleet jumps in, rocked by explosions as the mines hit (destroying one of the Vic-class SDs). Call comes in that Imperials will be in range to land at dawn; engineers tell Tor they should be done just in time. No comms received from Rebellion due to jamming, so can't coordinate with them unless jamming is dropped or someone gets offplanet. Tor sends a “stay safe” message to his sister.