STAR WARS: RETROSPECTION- Puppets
Hospice Cruiser, Spiridos
So white are the corridors that it is nearly blinding. Sterilized routinely by heated panels and chemical spray, the hospice vessel floats lazily above the medical center of the universe, Spiridos. Viewscreens allow passengers to view the galaxy about them before the final voyage that no starship can take them on.
He walks in a daze, almost as in a dream, down one of these corridors.
No Jedi apprentice should take this walk. Emotional attachment is forbidden, but the rules have been bent.
The corridor ends. The circular door slides away noiselessly, putting no obstacles between him and the room that he wished he could never enter. But in he goes.
“Tanic Starguard?” the hospice nurse asks.
“Yes, that’s me...”
“You’re just in time. She will see you now.”
No word of thanks passes from his lips. It is too surreal.
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...
The silence is interrupted by the raspy breath of the Machine. She lays within this pressurized environment, helping her breath her last breaths. She smiles, weakly. Pale, so pale...but still radiantly beautiful.
“Tanic,” she says. It is all she can muster.
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...
“M-mother. I...came to s-see...you.”
“I...” Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... “...know.”
“I’m sorry, mom. I...shouldn’t have...left...”
“Yes.” Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... “You should...have.”
“But this wouldn’t have happened, I could have been there to help you...”
“You...could...not...” Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... “...have...prevented...this.”
The words are becoming painful to force, but she persists. The computers beep cautiously as the predicted time draws near. She gathers her strength for her departure.
“Tanic,” she gasps. “You will be...a great...Jedi. Kay will...look...after...” Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...
But it is too much. The Machine can no longer help. She chooses the next words carefully as she stares up into the pained face.
“I lo...” Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...
Subject deceased. Prediction incorrect; patient expired five-point-three-oh seconds before predicted time.
He can do nothing but sob as the warmth fades, leaving him cold.
But not alone. She places her hand on his shoulder.
“I am sorry, Padawan.”
Her consolations mean nothing despite her importance. He shrugs her off and grieves.
-
Welcome to “Puppets,” an episode of the new Retrospection games! As an episode of this series, “Puppets” will be a very personal plotline, exploring events involving the player’s character. Going off of Ushgarak’s ever-popular Star Wars role-playing game, these mini-episodes occur in game-play’s past. In this case, it will specifically explore a bizarre turning point for the noble Jedi Knight, Tanic Starguard.
Once a Jedi Knight tightly bound to the Order by duty and to his old Master by friendship, Tanic became a criminal and figure of vengeance against underworld figures that the Republic failed to act against. Then, he fell in with a notorious group of Dark Jedi and committed numerous offenses against the Republic- murder, thievery, vandalism! But what would lead such a dedicated Knight down such a treacherous path? Tanic is merely a shadow of his former self.
The time period is set in 36 BBY- just four years before the Battle of Naboo and the events of The Phantom Menace. Tanic has recently attained his well-deserved knighthood after his long tutorship under Jedi Master Kay Crystal. However, the Council is unwilling to split the dynamic duo due to their excellent teamwork and coordination with one another. They have proved themselves to be extremely talented and useful to the Jedi Order. But perhaps Tanic is not as stable as everyone supposed. Beneath his cool demeanor, darker tendencies lurk...
Remember, Tanic has not yet fallen to the Dark Side and so cannot use any Force powers from the Dark Side tree.
Have fun!
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At this point, I will need to know which, if any, predictive power the players will be using before the game starts. Once the plotline is in motion, you can’t make use of these abilities. As a reminder, your available predictive powers that you may have taken are:
Dreams. Using this gives you a small chance that the Force will have given you insight into what is to come in the upcoming story, giving you a chance to better react and deal with these events.
Foresight. This is better than Dreams- it represents you actually spending time to navigate the future to deliberately try and get warning of upcoming events. It can give far more clear and comprehensive visions than Dreams.
Instincts. The power of the Living Force gives you no warning about the future at all, but makes you more likely to do things right once you get there. A successful use of Instincts will give you a certain amount of re-rolls to use during the story, which you can use whenever a die roll goes badly to get a better result.
If you have Foresight, forget using Dreams. Foresight is better. The real choice, though, is whether you’re taking the future-predicting abilities of the Cosmic Force or the here and now Living Force.
If you want to, you may reduce your Force rating by one for the story to get +1 on your prediction roll. The Force power Augury also gives a bonus to these rolls. If the upcoming storyline is dramatically relevant to you, you get +4 to that roll, but you will not be told in advance.
If you wish, you may reduce your force rating by one for the story to get +1 on your prediction roll. The Force power Augury also gives a bonus to these rolls. If the upcoming storyline is drastically relevant to you, you get +4 to the roll, but I will not tell you that in advance.