USH'S STAR WARS GAME- CAMPAIGN II EPISODE V (DARK SIDE)- The Prisoner of Datura

"So is the third gang his remaining followers, or something like that?"

"Yup. He recruited them all on green and stormed the barricades. I don't think anyone up there really thought someone could pull that off, but Kuylen had quite a way with people."

"That he does," Galder says. "I've seen it first hand. What were his goals in doing so? Do you know? And it sounds like things were going pretty well for him... why'd he go nuts?"

He just shrugs.

Galder rubs his chin contemplatively. His Master was always a man with a goal. Originally Galder thought that perhaps Kuylen had wanted to replace Emperor Rivas so that he could wage war against the Republic with pirate fleets, but maybe he threw his fight with the Emperor so he could get at something on Datura, something hidden away in the depths of Black Level.

"Weird. Kuylen had a mind of iron. You'd know if you could sense it, but his actions are pretty telling. Did he, uh, seem to have any objective in mind? Like a reason for being here besides gaining a reputation as an inmate?"

"If he did, he didn't tell me. My entire conversation with him was spent explaining I am a geologist, not a metallurgist, though he seemed satisfied with what I said."

Galder is eager to find out who else Kuylen talked to, but decides that something as mundane as a geologist winding up here is a curiosity in itself.

"A geologist in the Emperor's prison? What'd you do to get here?"

"Oh, err... it's a complex story. Very boring."

"If you insist, I'll buy it," Galder says, deciding he doesn't care that much. "How did he get a forge together?"

"Hmm...?" Rah starts pondering aloud "You say nothing can live in Black cuz there's no air? How could you know that? Just because no one's come back from there doesn't mean there's no air! There must be some sort of ventilation shaft to allow air circulation otherwise no one would be able to survive down here at all as there'd be no air exchange..."

He turns to Galder "Kuylen always had a reason for anything he did, I think he must have had a reason for 'losing' his mind and going off down to the lower levels. What do you think?"

"The ventilation shafts to black never existed," says Almir. "Caves that deep have no natural oxygen supply and this is an oxygen poor planet.. I can tell you that professionally. The miners had to use specialised equipment- which was many times easier than trying to pump air down that far. The survey for the whole area showed it also, and it is why the project was eventually abandoned- the issues with going deeper outweighed the potential benefits.

"Even if they had existed, by the way, those in red would have blocked them ages ago- they keep all the good air for themselves. We get the scraps that come from red. Lower down there is nothing.

"And he built it out of spare parts. It was just a small thing and it took him a long time."

"I fully agree, Rah," Galder says. "Kuylen is... or was... up to something here."

Turning back to Almir, Galder brings up the specialized equipment he just mentioned. "The miner left a lot of gear here when they pulled out, yeah? Is it possible that whatever they used to get down to Black is still here? The Red Level probably has them, if so."

"Nah. Anything of value they took with them when the mine was abaondoned."

"Lame. Did Kuylen talk to anyone else of importance down here?"

"Important?"

"I dunno, people who have a reputation on Green but aren't good enough for Red?"

"No-one is anybody on green."

"Fair enough. Which gang leader was the one that took up with Kuylen's lead?"

"Kayda."

"Did he get left in charge or did he take it up once Kuylen bounced?" Galder asks.