MICK-RICKS AND THE DARKNESS - 11/19/99


It all began a short week ago on the planet Tibaroe in the Mad Twins System...the home of the Golden Race. The majority of your party had spent the past year guiding the reunification of the Warriors and the Technologists of the Golden Race. A Centuries-long civil war had raged between the militaristic royal throne...and the slave scientists of the planet. Technology had regressed, civilized areas had shrunk, ideas and learning had been put aside, and the Golden Race, once so proud and powerful had fallen to barbarism. The black-hearted Tikari had victimized both sides throughout the divisive war...and it was only through the intervention of the two Jedis of your party that the peace was attained. High Lord Vorgan had called an end to the war, and had banished his Blood Priest, Bishop Landronn for attempting to prolong the fighting.

It was a year ago that your party had gone into the wilderness and retrieved the Helm of Ossron and the Ebon Blade of Gundri Rosk. With these ancient artifacts of power once again in the True King's hands, a call went out that members of the Golden Race should migrate and gather at the Golden City so that a "rebuilding of the Realm" could begin. With your party's help and guidance the jungle was cleared back, the machines and vehicles were repaired, and the knowledge and wisdom of the ancient race was rebuilt. Prosperity became the rule, and 9 months later the first wave of an historic baby-boom came to fruition. It began to make you a believer of the legend that nothing can stop this powerful race of soldiers-born. Meanwhile Vette Vanjor travelled off-planet with the Cordawan Meko Dayspinner on a fact-gathering mission to the forested-moon of Melenker in the Aloren System...the home planet of the Jedis of the White Tower.

Just one week ago Vette Vanjor returned and arranged to rent the pub called Vilar's Bane for an exclusive dinner and evening. He asked that you all be there, for he had information to give you...and a favor to ask. (Before the last game I sent you a dialog of what was discussed that night at the pub...but I will summarize here:

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After dinner and the glow that comes from partaking in the distilled golden essence of Golden Mead, Vette stood and addressed the group...

"I was born on the Fendora-Bengala slave planet of Milos. It is tidal-locked, one half basks in the unbearable molten heat of the sun Milas, the other half engulfed in the cold frozen embrace of the void of space. On this tiny planet, so close to its sun, there is a twilight zone between the forever light and forever dark halves of the planet. It is in this twighlight zone that a strip of industry has been built that circles the entire globe. It is here that the Fendora-Bengala Trade Corp. keeps a large slave force that is forced to work in the harshest of conditions."

"CPO Morlan Hindar of the Hindar Clan rules Milos with an iron fist. His Twighlight Guard are an elite force of military police that destroy rebellions among the large and mistreated population."

"It appears that in the interest of maintaining control, the Hindar Clan allows the thriving and depraved entertainment industry to operate in black-market fashion. Booze, drugs, prostitution, gambling, blood sport all have a place in the alleys and basements of rundown tenament buildings throughout the district. The more distracted you keep the populous, the more drunk and dimmed the light of their souls, the better a despot can keep a tight lid on hopes for freedom or the good life."

"Some of the slaves find comfort by attending the church of fire. This secret underground church has existed on Milos since before the Hindar Clan became the exclusive managers of the planet's industries. Their religious ceremonies mix a lot of arcane spell weaving with fire effects. Their doctrine is tied to the close proximity of Milos to the sun Milas. They believe that they are allowed to survive due to the "charity" of the sun, and if they are found to be weak, the sun will swallow their small tidal-locked planet. They are also closely tied to the black market world."

"I was born to a slave family and was orphaned early on. I was given to a factory-orphanage, and at 13 I killed a Twilight Guard Inspector that came to the factory to look over things. Inspector Tickens took displeasure at the work force experiments I was making. He began choking me...and my innate powers...my unconscious control of the force crushed his windpipe...."

"I did what I had to do to survive the next few years...and eventually got help in sneaking off of Milos and making my way to Melan-Ker...the Jedi Moon. You know the details of the bounty hunters that have come after me in the past...and just last year on Tibaroe. I need to travel back to Milos and face my past. I would love to have you all there with me, helping me to uncover the secrets to some events and circumstances that I do not understand."

"I think the key may be finding out what they do with the "Cursed Children" on Milos. Even as a child I heard tales of what they did to those children that developed powers. Any child that began to show signs of having "the curse" as they called it, was taken away by the Twilight Guard and never seen again. It was assumed that the Hindar Clan took gifted children and killed them before they became a threat. Though Jedis are only whispered on among the working populous of Milos, the Hindar Clan is well-aware of what a single Jedi presence among the slaves could mean....a rebellion that might be too big to be checked. I want to know exactly what it is they do with those children that are strong in the Force...as I was."

"It is also said that there are small groups of rebels that are in contact with each other. A secret network of sabateurs that work hard to disrupt industry exists. There are very few of them...and they are practically mad with justified paranoia...but perhaps we can contact them...help them...."

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After hearing the Vette Vanjor's tale, you all agreed to travel with him, and help him in any way that you could. Each of you had your reasons, but each of you was excited at the chance to challenge the dark Hindar Clan...defy the Fendora-Bengala Trade Corporation...and perhaps help your young Jedi friend.

Shortly after leaving Tibaroe and entering Hyperspace on the Laughing Tingra with Meko Dayspinner at the helm, three assassins that had hidden themselves away in the maintenance panels of the ship revealed themselves with a surprise attack. You fought valiantly, and one assassin was killed and two taken prisoner. They wore long red coats of armor, and clearly swore alliegance to the banished Blood Priest. They claimed they attacked you under orders from the Blood Priest and that they fought for the safety of the Golden Race. It became obvious to you that the Blood Priest does not plan on allowing the Golden Race to become involved in Sector 42 politics or struggles.

Despite the dark temptation to kill the two assassin prisoners, reason and the side of light prevailed. The two assassins were returned to Tibaroe to face the local laws of their home planet. Just as before, but a few days later than planned, you once again left the Golden Planet of Tibaroe, and entered Hyperspace.

On the third day of your journey, a blue energy net was cast before you. It was large enough to ensnare your small Cordawan ship, and you dared not divert your course...for the chances would be high that you might fly though a sun or planet, your course uncharted and without plan. The net sapped the energy of your ship, and you were drawn aboard a large conglomeration of a ship...a Mick-Rick pirate ship!

At first you were unable to communicate with this unique alien race, and a battle between you almost began. But cooler heads prevailed, and the Mick-Ricks apologized for capturing you and damaging your ship. They immediately set about repairing what they had done and brought you to a feast in the great hall at the top of their ship.

Under a huge dome of glass and metal you dined with hundreds of Mick-Ricks, and their current leader Mitawn. From the only human among the pirates, formally named Tomos Samuels...but better known to you as "Dirty Sam," you learned that the Mick-Ricks rotate their leadership regularly. You learned that they tend to target Fendora Bengala ships, taking their large commercial payloads in the process. You were impressed with the bravery and kindness that the Mick-Ricks were capable of.

They all appeared to carry a spear-like mechanical device that seemed to transmute to different purposes at their command. At one moment it was a weapon, the next a mode of transporation....Kenai Moongazer and Ranar Tor were able to observe the Mick-Ricks repairing the Laughing Tingra. A field was generated, and then the substance of the metals themselves were manipulated to their former state and condition. A similar process was observed when the Mick-Ricks ship would absorb them into the walls and allow them egress into space itself. The Mick-Ricks tough segmented skin seemed to allow them to exist in a vacuum, so that only some sort of breathing apparatus was neccesary for survival. Kenai also made his way into the massive network of storerooms in the bottom level of the pirate ship...and observed the huge amount of booty the pirates had taken in their raids.

Mitawn told you he had attacked a Fendora-Bengala ship in the recent past that had contained many children. He informed you that the Hyperspace course of travel of that ship, prior to being "netted" by the pirates, stored in a small box encrusted with electronics would be loaded into the Laughing Tingra's cargo hold. He also provided you with a special communication frequency and codes in order to contact Mick-Ricks in the future. This code was entrusted to Quinn-Roldoon.

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At about that time the sneak-attack occurred. Two Fendora-Bengala Avengers and 10 Fendora-Bengala Deathseeds came out of Hyperspace in and around the Mick-Ricks' large ship. The Deathseeds made numerous passes, dumping devestatingly powerful mines to prevent escape. The Avengers positioned themselves on either end of their target firing a large array of missle clusters and energy weapons at close range. And the battle was on...

Mick-Ricks were folded into the Great Hall's walls, and then released into space. They clung to their spear-rockets, and were propelled to engage the enemy. The ones that reached the hull of an enemy ship, seemed to attach to it with their boots, and then begin cutting their way inside with large outputs of energy from their spear. Once a hole was cut, the Mick-Rick would enter the enemy ship, and begin the process of "cleaning it" of enemy personnel.

You made your way very quickly to the Laughing Tingra, and disconnected from the Mick-Rick's ship. You engaged an Avenger, dodging mines and guided missles, not very successfully...and tried to get as close to the Avenger as possible. The Avengers began deploying Ablative Shielding of a particularly sharp and nasty sort in a thick layer around their hulls. Suffering much damage, you got close enough to your Avenger to attach yourself to its hull.

Without getting into every last detail of the process, and an extremely difficult process it was, Quinn-Roldoon was able to cut his way into the bottom surface of the Avenger's hull. As he cut with his brightly burning light saber, the compartment on the other side of the hull decompressed. In the meanwhile, Meko Dayspinner stayed aboard the Laughing Tingra, and is playing "dead-ship" possum, until such time as he is safe from further fire from the battle.

Quinn Roldoon pulled himself inside the Avenger's hull. Vette Vanjor, Morgan McCloud, Kenai Moongazer, and Ranar Tor were still struggling to get inside the Avenger. Quinn Roldoon was inside a cargo hold, and felt a familiar dark presence...a user of the Dark-Side of the Force was aboard the ship!


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