STAR WARS: RETROSPECTION- Puppets

It appears to be a troop transport. Nobody aboard.

Stepping out of the ship, you are immediately met with frigid temperatures. The heating systems of the station seem to have been turned off, and the floor of the hangar is slick with a thin layer of frost and patches of starship oil.

"We should head for the control center," Kay says, pulling her cloak about her tightly.

"Is that the ship the government troops were on?" Tanic says, as he follows her.

"I should think so," Kay says. She moves towards the back of the hangar, where a maintenance booth and the door out are found.

(Sorry Rex, my internet crashed.)

"I wonder what happened to them? They would have left guards." He continues to walk a step behind her, though he has slipped his lightsabre out of his robes.

(It's alright, my computer shut off of its own free will.)

"I don't see signs of conflict," Kay says. "I am sure we'll find them, sooner or later..."

She pushes open the doorway out of the docking bay and into the Alpha Station's lower deck. Here, the network of pipes push up through the floor, connecting the massive cylinder at the center. The wide hallway that you enter into circles around the massive cylinder.

At least, that's what you remember from the schematics. You can't see anything.

The only source of light comes from the glow of Garel coming from the hangar behind you. You can see your breath very clearly, though the fog of your breath disappears into the darkness before you.

Do we get night vision goggles?

Tanic reaches out with the Force, letting it guide him in the dark.
"Should we try to restore power?"

A Jedi needs not these instruments. Sense gets you along just fine.

"I don't think the power is off..." Kay comments. "Listen."

In the quiet, you can hear the thrum of machinery as gas is transported into containers and packed not far from you on this floor.

Reaching out with her senses, Kay finds the lights and flicks them on. It's very dim, but at least you can see now.

Tanic walks, nervous, behind her, and waits until they reach their destination (which, I assume, is the centre of the station, or the bridge).

You know from the schematics that there is no lift installed to take you to the Control Center, so you circle around the station in search of the stairs. You stroll several work centers where crates are loaded, by machinery, with extracted gas. Only a few stations are operational; the others are simply off.

When you reach the stairs, you are met by an unwelcome sight. A handful of workers lay strewn across the railings and on the stairs. You sense no life in them.

Tanic crouches by them, attempting to ascertain how they died. Then he continues on to find the stairs.

Shot to death by blasters.

Now that you notice it, there are many black streaks across the walls and on the stairs, all inflicted by blaster weapons.

The stairs upwards are littered with these bodies, so that you and Kay have to step around them gingerly, careful not to disturb the corpses.

Are they the troops from the ship?

"Do you think we will be able to settle this peacefully?"

They all wear the uniform of workers that lived on the station and all have been killed by blaster shots.

Except one. The Garel trooper is nearly unrecognizable, but you notice the uniform. A bite to the jugular vein is what killed him, but there are several bite marks and scratch marks covering his body. His heavy assault rifle lays in the pool of blood with him.

He's cold; he's been here awhile, as have the other bodies.

"What happened? THey ate him!"

"I... don't have an answer to that," Kay comments, examining the fallen trooper. Sure enough, human teeth inflicted the wounds, and the dead workers around him have blood under their nails. "Bizarre. Why would they do this?"

Kay looks up the stairs, then slowly draws her lightsaber, the blue blade igniting with a distinct fwoosh. "Keep on your guard, Tanic."

She resumes the ascent.

Tanic, his lightsabre already out, presses the button and the blade springs out.
"Something isn't right here, Master."

(Are female Jedi Masters still just Masters?)

Yes, though only you call Kay your Master. She is very soon to attain the title, but not yet. This mission may determine her advancement in the Order.

"I agree," Kay says. "But my senses... nothing is out of place, but this gore tells me otherwise. Something is definitely not right, and I want to find out what..."

At the top of the stairs, you step out onto the gas processing level, where a countless series of pipes circle about the central storage tank. A small pathway winds through the vast network of piping, but you don't want to go that way.

The stairs leading to the control room is what you're seeking, and they're basically a continuation of the stairs you were just on. No gore on this set, though. All clear.

Tanic quiets, as he begins to exert his senses even more, trying to find what awaits them at the top of the stairs.

You ascend the stairs to the control room, only to be blocked by a great blast door barring access.

It is about then that you sense the disturbance in the Force. A chill runs down your spine as a coldness washes over you. Tap. Tap. Tap. You do not hear it, but you almost feel the rhythm pulsating through you.

"Do you sense it?" Kay asks.

"Yes. I dreamt of it."

Tanic steps forward and begins to cut through the door.