STAR WARS: RETROSPECTION- Execution

Kamino

Early in your training, before you were even taught how to fire a gun or kill a man with your bare hands, you were presented with a document.

It was a compilation of contingency orders, aptly titled:

CONTINGENCY ORDERS FOR THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC: ORDER INITIATION, ORDERS 1 THROUGH 150

On it, you were presented with a list that detailed what each Order was to be used for and under what circumstances they were to be executed. Such Orders were strictly top secret and the penalty for divulging any information about them to unauthorized personnel was, of course, death by firing squad or whatever was immediately appropriate to the situation.

There was one that stood out to you in particular.

ORDER 66

In the event of Jedi officers acting against the interests of the Republic, and after receiving specific orders verified as coming directly from the Supreme Commander (Chancellor), GAR commanders will remove those officers by lethal force, and command of the GAR will revert to the Supreme Commander (Chancellor) until a new command structure is established.

-

Welcome to “Execution,” an episode of the Retrospection games. As an episode of this series, “Execution” will be a very personal plotline, exploring events involving the player’s character. Going off of Ushgarak’s ever-popular Star Wars roleplaying game, these mini-episodes occur in game-play’s past. In this case, we examine a pivotal point in galactic history- the end of the Clone Wars, in which Commander Janthis participated in bringing about.

The Clone Wars have dragged on for three devastating years, quickly establishing itself as the most gruesome and destructive war ever to stain the Galaxy and the Republic. For Commander Janthis, it holds true- he has watched thousands of his brothers, the Clonetroopers, killed in action by the techno-horrors of the Separatist movement that threatens to rip the Galaxy to shreds and leave everyone lost in its tattered trail. But there is one beacon of light that Janthis can cling to- the Jedi. The Separatists have little to answer the power and wisdom of the Jedi Knights but for a few deadly individuals, and the Jedi General Pertus Pre is one of the most talented Jedi that Janthis has ever worked with. Together the two have forged many victories in the face of overwhelming odds.

The time period is set in 19 BBY- during the events of Revenge of the Sith, mere days before the end of the War. In a bold move by the Grand Army of the Republic, General Pre has chosen to assault the Separatist stronghold of Borosk, a tropical world of islands literally teeming with battle droids. If Borosk falls, Separatist influence in this area of space will be crippled, but if it holds out against the Republic invasion, Commander Janthis’ men will perish...

Now, this will require a little more preparation than per usual! Since Commander Janthis- a hardened veteran of the Clone Wars and now a deadly Stormtrooper Commander in the Imperial war machine- originates from the Original Trilogy game, he is geared up for the old Feng Shui system with its d20s and Fortune points... however, I am totally opposed to running that system!

Instead, I have partially converted Commaner Janthis to the new Lego system, based upon his old character sheet. I believe the transition is faithful enough...

-

Janthis, Commander

PHYSICAL
Strength: 5
Agility: 3
Dexterity: 4
Defense: 1

MENTAL
Willpower: 5
Intelligence: 4
Charisma: 3
Perception: 3

SKILLS
Guns: 5
Combat: 2
Heavy Weapons: 2
Observation: 3
Leadership: 2
Intimidate: 2
Warfare: 2

MERITS
Free Merit to Ties (Grand Army of the Republic)
1 Merit to Ally (Fantus Hoven)
1 Merit to Contact (Secretary Jasline Fortunia)
1 Merit to Haven (Kamino)

GUN SCHTICKS
Carnival of Carnage
Eagle Eye
10,000 Bolts
...

COMBAT SCHTICKS
...

DEVICES
Hi-tech Armor (+2 Armor)
Survival Belt

-

Now, some things that need hammering out:

- Choose two Gun Schticks.

- Choose six Combat Schticks.

- What kind of blaster does Janthis use?

- What kind of heavy weapons does Janthis use?

- What kind of melee weapon does/would Janthis use?

Gun Schticks:
Marksman
Close Quarters Gunman

Combat Schticks:
Focussed Blow
Street Fighter
Overhead Blow
Counterstrike
Feint
Dodge and Weave

Janthis uses a heavy blaster

Janthis would use a rocket launcher

A very durable slightly big combat knife. Think a bowie knife.

Alright! Use the character sheet above as your reference for the game. If we ever get around to OT again, Ush may have the set-up completely different, but for our purposes, this works.

-

Borosk

"General, Commander, we've made contact," Commodore Yu updates your leading officer and you. "Our sensors count only two Separatist cruisers, Providence-class. Vultures are being deployed as we speak."

"Deploy the V-Wings," Pertus Pre, General and Jedi Knight, says to the Commodore. A man of great wisdom and power, Pertus Pre gained much fighting experience in the Outer Rim territories in the years before the Clone Wars. "I want them to engage the vultures and keep them away from our Star Destroyers, we can't let them swarm us or landing the ground troops in the gunships will be impossible."

"Yes, sir," Commodore says. "What of the Confederate capital ships?"

"Ignore them for now," Pertus says. "Our fighter squadrons can engage them once the gunships are away and the vultures' numbers have been minimized."

"And our Destroyers?"

"Keep your distance from the battle and fan out to distribute . I want all batteries ready to intercept vultures that break through our fighter screen."

Naval coordination is not something you understand well, Janthis. Outside, Borosk spins slowly through the void, waiting for your arrival. It is a tropical world, the oceans having consumed much of the land and leaving only the peaks of mountains as strings of islands. It is these islands that must be taken- General Pre is sending you to take the Fortress Island, where the Duke of Borosk is holed up.

Commodore Yu departs to issue General Pre's instructions for commencing the invasion.

Pertus Pre sighs. As a Jedi first and foremost, you understand that he dislikes waging war, but sees it as a necessity for a Jedi to know its art. Losing the lives of his men pains him each time, nonetheless. You can relate, even if you lack the metaphysical aspects of Jedi senses.

"Are you ready, Commander?" Pre asks you. "I am coming with you to the surface, but you will be taking charge of strategy once we establish a forward command center. Do you understand?"

Janthis stands at attention, "I understand sir, and yes I am ready."

"Good," Pertus Pre says. "Now, let's get to the gunships before the vultures are engaged. Every second counts."

-

In Obliterator's hangars, clone pilots are rushing to and fro in preparation for their part in the conflict now beginning to take hold of Borosk and its surrounding space. The V-Wings are loaded with R2 units and proton torpedoes and fuel to make them ready for battle, shields charged and set for action.

Clonetroopers donning their white blast-resistant shells pull on their helmets and grab their blasters, heading for the intimidating gunships seen in the films, bristling with weaponry. However, in space, these gunships are sitting ducks- they are entirely atmospheric and clones cannot operate the bubble turrets on the sides without oxygen.

Meeting you in the hangar is Vandom Darfer, the Padawan student of General Pre, a young man with curly dark hair and a narrow face. He gives a loose salute when you approach, then turns to his Master.

"The men are ready, Master," Van says. "So are our fighters. Saw to it personally."

"Splendid," Pertus says. He turns to you, his middle-aged, wisened face studying yours for a moment from green eyes. His hair is still dark, but his goatee has gone white and he is graying at the temples, possibly before his time. "Commander, I will see you on the surface. Vandom and I will be flying escort in our fighters."

(Vandom Darfer 😄)

"Yes sir," the Commander says before getting into his ship.

He looks around to his men, "Let's do this men."

As with the Stormtrooper Commander, Janthis is a Clone Commander and has one hundred clonetroopers under his direct command. However, they are distributed amongst the gunships- they cannot carry more than ten men. Thankfully, there are LOTS of gunships. Obliterator is not the only Star Destroyer in this fight and so there are three hangars full of them.

"What are you expecting down on the surface, sir?" asks one of the clones.

Does Janthis have any access to reports or such giving details of what their defenses are like.

Scans of the ground are being performed, but they are jamming your sensors and a good scan is difficult. Current invasion plans are being made using older scans to indicate where defenses might be, but anything recent you will find out about when you get to ground.

Your main objective is to storm the island from which the Separatists are operating; it has been dubbed the Fortress.

"They are jamming our sensors men, so expect the worse hope for the best."

"Yes, sir," they respond.

The pilot powers up the gunship's engines.

"Sir, we are go!" the pilot says. "Mount that rear-facing turret, wouldja? We're gonna get swarmed as soon as we get out of the hangar."

Janthis goes into the rear turret and powers it up.

Shortly after, General Pre gives the orders to deploy! The V-Wings have already taken off ahead of you, racing toward the Separatist cruisers to engage the vulture droids and hold them back while your gunships, one by one, leave the safety of the hangar into the cold of space.

There are no portals inside the gunship- instead, it is dark and lit dimly with a red light. But Janthis is able to look out into the battle using the scanner that comes with the light turret. The vultures greatly outnumber the V-Wings but are flimsy targets and go down easy against the shielded V-Wings.

However, some manage to slip through the fighter screen before you hit the atmosphere! The pair of Jedi starfighters are able to hold back a few, but not all of them...

-----

Gunship (P4/T9): 0

Vultures x5 (P5): 0

-----

Janthis swiftly targets and fires at the closest vulture.

On your screen, the targeting computer picks out a vulture droid and you blow it to bits with some well-placed shots. It only requires to take these out of the sky...

The remaining four on your tail are suddenly and violently blown apart as the Jedi fighters zip over and riddle them with blasts.

"We've got you covered, Commander," Vandom says.

"Glad to know it," Janthis speaks in the comm link. "Well men let's get going."

With the Jedi expertly covering your descent, only a few gunships are lost to vulture laser-spray, hit one too many times and bursting in the upper atmosphere in clouds of flame.

Once in the skies over Borosk, the Republic gunships become a great deal more agile and capable. They are designed for action in the vacuum of space; atmosphere suits them much better. They race down to the surface.

Flak comes up to meet you, fired from what you presume to be the Fortress! The largest island in the area is dominated primarily by a walled fortress, covered in defensive batteries angled upward toward you and crawling with battle droids. Within the walls of the Fortress lies the shield generator, but a powerline stretches out into the ocean.

Your gunships land on one of the islands a few islands over from the Fortress, out of range of the defensive batteries. Your men dash out of the gunship, while you make for an open-topped walker designated for your use.

"Welcome to HQ, Commander," greets the pilot once you climb aboard. From here you are to direct the course of the battle to take the Fortress.

Janthis gives the pilot a quick pat on the back, "Don't hold you breath waiting for us."

He then jumps into the vehicle and begins to assess the battle field.

Then let's look at things...

The Separatists have not only secured the Fortress; they anticipated that you would land and try to make your way across the smaller islands. As such, they have occupied all the other islands! They are not moving in on your landing site, though, as your forces accumulated would be too much for their forward groups to handle.

The battle is arranged in two columns- Left and Right. In each column there are four squares- Landing Site, Gateway Islands, Beachhead, and Borosk Fortress.

You will have to push across the islands and force the Separatist forces back, in order to lay siege to the Fortress.