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Star Wars Gamer 8

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394 views112 pages

Star Wars Gamer 8

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Bumpybot123
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STAT Ge ase |H) 3 BLEEDING-EDGE Ema y LUKE SKYWALKER, JED! MASTER i in ‘ ACCELERATED i ISTARSHIE, ; COMBAT, i bal TU TRU Re aT] Lah i} a TA TO MAKE YOU INVINCIBLE Pv te a cog JdiNd SOLO: ROGUE APPRENTICE a ha] ltt Neha ee ae ei See Pe cu Gea en) nee Co a ace ee ron Pete ect Ce tar? Sometimes, one lightsaber Is not enough iat VOLUME 2 NUMBER 2 CONTENTS: THE NEW JEDI ORDER 28 HTD Moves rau: Cieaimun’s Cantina HIVE OF THEINFIDEL Roleplaying Game yi: ee eran spe ie yc BES Stacsronn cuiws: Varnarancnirataco cera ostriches open A EAD orsps ertrmarion SG ieee of the Arts TNE eseecaee eee ano stextecy (rrnanun macenan ‘Sater roi rn an {enough Gamer ni hrs ae a ‘eps sry pe pean wpe reed thc ent Force FEEDUACK .. JeorCounseunc Rogues Gatwiry: YUUZHAN Vone Jee Mano Tacs Deck Pans eh Sto Dame: term TO) (ES) (DO o~ 3498 O Rk Ua ena orget those} r flame each oth 4 over whether something's cananical in the Stay Wars galaxy: The Expanded | smorgasbord, and if you-come across something you don't lke, ‘don't put it en your plate, No pity fort Universe is a wonder se he ate a pickled ‘egg just to complete his collection. The canon question is simple for gamers: f you like it, then it's “gan Card gamers have known this all along, ‘with theme de characters who spit weren't even alive at the sam hnead-to-head conflict, Princess Leia Droidekas? Why the heck not? With most question al ter games, th ns, but te Battlegro yau take an the Imperial Army with your ? Nat really. But it’s plenty fun ‘My DED group has been too busy to play this year—and now | insist an GMing Star Wars instead. Some of the players want to stick to tradition ed 9 sub- ntasy. son the menu to tempt them away from their y.the Expanded Universe provides plenty of choices standard fare. Fortunat Before venturing beyand the basics, ‘made alist of 10 things that should be in a Star Wars campaign and checked off the that fita traditional fantasy w (Cl owt 7) The Dark Side (ates | Imperial Walkers [2] Seouriiets & Sinuigaters 7 X-wings 8 TI Fighters (] Storintroop rma ©] Bounty Hunters (7 the there mute =) Uightsabers med with the: sider what dishes to campaign on a planet that's been cut off food groups. let's con pare, let's base the 268ee from the rest of the galaxy for centuries. the greater galaxy since the time ofa cat clysm, and their fallen society has risen back Those who stllive heredor't n only to Aedieval-Renaiscance levels. The Force exists and while th Jedi (yet), there are still wizards here th reareno nd nil to the witches of Dathomit, Naturally, some of the campaigns villains must be darksiders. Th The other Stor Wars classes work just fine, though Fringers might have little to do in the beginning. Since Frick af elves. giving the playersa choice of Humans, Wookiees, n3,Rodians. and Ithorians sounds great. The aliens don't even need new already sound fant Indulging my own taste, | borrow a few things from Nausicad, one of my favorite films and camics. Monstrous insects inhabit Trandosh our planet's vast poisonous forests. The sen- tient species eke out a living in those few areas that remain pure, and occasionally they discawer artifacts from the time before the cataclysm: That's not really Star Wors,s0 I'm tempted but then it ‘me think of the Yuuzhan Vong pis different tediseatd the idea entire mak thelr biotech! enough fram traditional technology my D&D players might buy it as magic, So the Vong its, and perhaps our planet isan ogy, whi carly, forgatten outpost from the Vong's first explorations into the galaxy. That's a start, but there's plenty more nning to do before we start cooking, ttohelp in the kitchen? Send your sug. nail, and maybe one of your Ww gestions wi ingredients will end up in th aut Dave Gross Gamerin-Chief vvader@wizards.com Let the Wookiee Win? the uncalled for conde scension in your response to the let from Sean M. ("Bane of His Existence,” Stor Wars Ganver #6), He brought up valid con about th was angered content of your n and was th what you yourself You might 1 Gamer to comple- the entire spectrum of Star Wars preducts,"but ist unreasonable to jublished by Wir n Stor Wears product is Coast—whasem laying game,and who publishes two magazines devated entirely to Du ‘ous & Deacont—to dedicate pages to their own game? Your de especially spectous. H GMs need inspira nse of the inclusion of fiction is tion, there are literally other spin-offs tars novels vith many more reachi arriving monthly, Yuuzhan Vong Invade Gamer You asked for it. You might have aliense to publish art cles about Star Wars video games, but the fact eemains that there ave plenty of places taread about those products. To my knowledge, t which ane can find supplemental mater als for the roleplaying game. Hone does nat wish to play a Tatooine, ‘Naboo, or Living Force-based campaign, the main source of support has been Star Wars Gamer Is it any wonder that 50 players are concerned that you continue to devote a quarter of your editori to non-RPG material? Thos refs only one magazine in words, more useful information forstarv- ing GMs. David Thiel Champaign, fact that roleplayers are it a very important and ors 3 trouble of listing them all, ti nly part al part—o the nt th ve doesn't make a di Instead, "let the ot ce what Isay, 7k for readers spe: themselves Don't Ga Changi’ Uke the previous two issues, tar Wors Gamer #6 had much to offer..enjayed the ‘write-ups on Dengar, 410M. and Zuckuss (How the Other Half Hunts") ve won: dered what happened to those three dur ing the time of the New Jedi Ordet.The article was almost as good as the one on the Emperor's Hands ("The Emperor's Pawns,” Star Wars Gamers). Since you asked, here area couple suggestions First, don't get rd of “Deck Pans” ‘Though Idon't play the card games, the articles areamusing taread Second, keep the updates oa minor characters and ‘worlds. They make excellent Gm chasac ters. Also, keep adding starship deck plans Jmeach issue. Though you use the d20 rules for their design and | still use the WEG game system, | am able to convert them for my game. ‘An issue on the Yuuzhan Vong would be sreatly appreciated, | want toruna cam- paign set during that time, but | donot feel haveenough information on their ships and culture to un it properly. lastly. have a request for "Rogues Gallery" The artwork s always good and shows a great variety of aliens each issue, but 've only sen ane“template”for Hurman characters. My request I for df ‘ent Human “templates” to be offered, rep resenting the diversity of Humans, Thank you and keep the great work! Christopher Davis Fairfax, VA 0 hear from readers th love Gamer even though they dan't ‘Deck Plt “anywhere. Beginning in Star ars Gamer Pro it will exp val The New Jedi Order Sour When it sont play fav vide an image of each core species, let alone the full range of aliens, all the time nan herees would barely haw presentation. What you can look For Space Madness We are so glad that various computer games keep the Star ors legacy alive With this outlet, the story will always con- tinue. Theres an outstanding video game that my wife and | enjoy immensely alled ‘Alien vs. Predator. | wish [and I know it probably will never happen} that some company would producea Star Wars vs. Star Tek video game.Can you imagine how a game like this would sell? By the bi lions! | knowt'm only deea Joe & Lanette Lambert Colgate,oK Unfortunately, dreaming fs stil your best shot at avoiding the harsh reality th such a game is highly uniikely, Not Bountiful Enough just finished reading Str Wors Gamer #6, and thought 4 pass along some thoughts. ‘Was looking forward tothe bounty hunter issue, and while | enjoyed it was also disappointed. There was no mention ‘ef Boba Fett or evena hint about the mys- terious lange. | know full details are avail ablein other products but it would have tbeen nice tohave something about them In thistsue. Their absence made the issue seem somewhat empty. As for Kathy Tyers's story It too was a 4isappointment: something about bounty hhunters—however tangential—would have been appropriate. “Rebel Bass” Se Back Issues wre es en tans eo Se Ee Se Pena! eee ae: es Star Wars Gamer #6 See Pree Peeters ees Ae en hunters, "Secrets of .emed rushed and wasn'tane of her best After Balance Point and Truce at fakura we know she is capable of far, far more, enjoyed seeing the Hoojib ("Welcome to sd "Bountles to Die For” Even though, there seemed some confu sion. Why woukd an Imperial database cast. te Imperial practices in one spot then the Jungle’) spout all-i-wvell Imperial propaganda in another? It was also good toes the Dark. Horse ch. ters given some attention. Your video game coverage was exer: plary: plenty of screen shots and enough tech talk for me understand the game before | buy it. Ihope that Star Wars Gamer will not always praise every game that comes out. A reader will appreciate honesty more eften than be comforted by the party ine. 1 like tose more fiction, more adven: tures, mare in-depth articles, less basic ue play, and mwa more Silent Death. Gi a ten-page article on dovin basals any Sean Twist London, Ontario canada nothing new to add to Boba Fett's profile, it would have been hard to justify ‘adding him to issue #6, By now you should have Gamer #7, which has stats and deck plane for Fett’s Slave! starship. That should help ease that empty feeling. You'll notice that this issue's fiction (" tle on Bonadan” and"The Apprentice” is. New Jedi Order theme Px database it obviously subcontracted, as the Empire isk closely tied to ofthis issue. 7 ww for ts scornful sentiments toward the bounty hunting trade, Hf you liked te of the Arts” before, ‘you're going to be cestatic about it from now on. In this tssue we go In-depth into ‘Obi-Wan and Galactic Battlegrounds, and next issue will be bursting at the seams with information, strategy, and exclusive screen shots. Alas, Silent Ds ‘well, There are no plans to do any more Silent Death (or ten-page articles on n basals), but this Issue does feature a h ...we knew thee great new take on the starship combat rules, Check them out! eT €3) The Jedi Returns—Again! making their presence know wwwmwizards.com/starwars, the official all the other extras like an art gallery aver,and wall on ey eres ay at aaa! ary el fea) Cerne, ee Tipsand Tactics" garning column, reat eer Laboda na Rowka? {just bought Star Wars Gamer ts, Great bi Her the maga First less rolep play.so rma little biased here, but there ave other things besides pages of roleplay: je some suggestions tomake neeven better ing content. Idon't Ing stats that you could focus.on as well Second, your Huttese article (Words to. ve By," Star Wars Gamer #5) stated that modern Huttese started about 500 years. ‘ago and that there is evidence of ancient Huttese 1,000 years-ago. n the book The Hutt Gam ‘old Hutts can live lose to a millenniumin age. it makes litte sense that Huttese could prog quickly. even through only one generation ‘of Mutts, Also, it says Mutts have b lized for much longer than Humans and. consider themselves hig ‘thers in the universe. Therefore, calling and less refined would be tt says th beings th them roughé mistake as well. hope you take these suggestions into deration and not let this kind of mis: go unnoticed again Jason Ginter Juneau, AK Ebenn Q3 Baobab has been known to “elaborate” from time to time. It is true that modern Huttese has evolved over the last 500 years. The Hutts, however, haven't changed physically in millennia. Baobab’s differentiation between “anclent Huttese’ and the specks’ current tongue Is like the difference between modern English and that of Chaucer. Don't Be a Slave Hove your magazine, and \ especially like modifying your adverrtures for my own campaigns. However, |dan't want to take ‘many leads from The New Jedi Order se fo fe my hard work. Thus far, you've not printed an adventure from that time period. Any hope you'll be printing ane soon? ‘Also, would it be possible to print sub fon guidelines for adventures? tknow that the next book will unravel al continued on poge 126 Can | use ablaster in either hand, both fring on vutifr, during the sarme round? The rules seer unclear except that Id geta bigipenaity 1m reading this right. The rules ate pretty specific, explaining the effects of autofire, multiire, Mult shot, Raphd Shot, and a weapon in your offhand, According to Chapter of the core rulebook, wielding a second weapon Inyour offhand gives you ane extra attack only, regardless ofits setting, You can stil fee your primary weapon in mul tifireor autofire mode, but not your aff hand weapon. ‘Using a weapon in your off hand does ot double your numberof attacks in the Star Wors Roleplaying Game: fd Ambidextenty, Two:Weapon Fighting,and Improved Two: Weapon Fighting would be the no-brainer feats of the game, and all soldier heroes would lookalike, Think about it this way. Using the mult fire option of blasters isa full round action So s using the Force sill Affect Mind. Can you use both during the same round? One application uses your hand, the other your head. Those ae two separate things right? Se why can't you use both at the same time? Because you can take only one full round action in any given round We but thatinto the dao system to beep things ftom getting out of contol According ta The Dark Side Sourcebook, page's9, you need anky Exotle Weapon Proficiency (lightsaber) to use a doubl saber. t doesnt state whether you would need Exotie Weapon Proficiency (double: ded lightsaber) touse Ht as a double Wweapon—and | havea player who Is mak Ing a case that t's not needed, What's the verdict? The double-bladed lightsaber warks just like an ordinary lightsaber—even with both JEDI COUNSELING Answers to Your By s0 WiKER blades ignited—af you have only Exot Weapon Proficiency (lightsaber. The second blade is completely ignored if you don't want to suffer the =4 penalty. you want to ‘make the additional attack alowed by the ‘second blade, you suffer a4 penalty far ‘non proficiency and the normal penatties forfighting wth twoweapons (35 the table ‘on page $9 of The Dark Side Soureeboot points out) Canyou expend additional Force Points when constructing alightsaber to gain bonuses to the various rolls? The task of ‘making a lightsaber takes more than one round, and the bonuses from the expendl ture af a Force Point last for only the round that the Force Point was spent: The book says that the checks are made at the same time, but doas that mean that the Constitution, Wisdom, and intelligence checks to harmonize the Force," tlze the self" and "harmonize and imbue the crystals" canall be performed in the ‘same round? Would ane Force Point ald three ros? ‘Yes.a Jedi hero could expendone Force Point to imbue the focusing crystals with the Farce—and then spend another Force Point on her three ability checks to improve her chances of successfully preparing the ‘rystals. The Craft (lightsaber) check to _assemble the components takes place after thisand eat benefit from the Force Paint spent on the three ability checks. The Jedi could expend yet another Force Point to Increase her chances on the Craft check ‘Does the sith sword gain the damage ‘bonuses based on levels, ris it restricted to the Force.derived bonus damage only? TheSith sueord operates completely differ: ‘ety fromthe lightsaber, so does not gain the lightsaber damage bonus basedon the hero's tevel Star Wars RPG Dilemmas ‘Can youuse Force Mind with Knight Mind? For example can aed guardian with Both feats fist activate Force Mind (for 3.42 to ‘any ability score). and then activate Knight ‘Mind (fr a 44 in any ability scare)? Would that then be-+6to any one ability score? force Mind and knight Mind both provide “Force bonuses which donot stack with ‘each other The same goes for Master Mind. {Jed could, however, sustain multiple uses ‘of afeat like Force Ming, as there's no (extrction on the amount of time youmust ‘walt before using the feat again The Dark Side Sourcebook isn't clear on thow to play someone with cortosis weave In their armor, For Instance, fthad a Jumpsuit woven with cortosis fibers and ‘someone swipes at me with a lightsaber, do ltake no damage? There are various kinds of cortoss armors, from theshields” worm by the Vinchosr ‘warriors in the Dark Horse comic fed Counell Acts of War, tothe cortosis ore that appears in Timothy Zahn's Hand of Thrawn -duology,Cortosis weave (asin the armar in The Dark Side Sourcebook) shuts the lightsaber off after it has inflicted its dar age Cortoss ore fas we saw in the Hand of, Thrawn) works the same-way except of course that there's no wearer—the cortosis Itc suffers the damage. & cortass shield shuts the lightsaber off before it inflicts damage. Reactivating the lightsaber isa free action—if the Jed! thinks todo so— bout that action can't be taken in the midst ofa full attack action—so na taking the fist attack, reactivating the saber, taking the second attack, reactivating the saber, and soon Init possible to lose a prestige lass? For ‘example; if you have taken on a dark side prestige lass and you redeem yours so ‘youhave no Dark Side Points, you abvtouly can't be adatk side hero—but the ules don't cover anything about losing a pres: tige class. Would you lose everything that lass gave you? That doesn't seem logical, ‘because how do you lose a skill that you've already learned? I ahero no longer meets the requirements fora prestige class she loses all speciat abl thes gained from level of the prestige lass. This can happeneither from reducing a hero's Oark Side Points ox the temporary Jax ofa feat due to-abilty damage. she retains the vitality dice, base attack bonuses, base save bonuses, bonus feats, Defense bonus, an Reputation bonus. The hero won't kote ski rams but could lose accede to certain Force sis f she no longer meets the prerequisites fr the skill (such as those that requite Sith Sorcery. ceo et Peer nt! APE ney c/o Sra Wars Gamer Coe eed eT CoM e Cec Perret) Coe Die fetes ae oer) Imperial Dispatch ee ee) Ce eee eee ene et eee nd Beene Pe ee Pere een rtd een eed ee a Sed eee een a found anything in the book prohibiting Pet teed Ce eter icc eee ed ee ered pee eee tenes Poereenrnt eer A levelsand improved his damage), but Re eee cd ee een eee Bs cea Parents erst eatans Ce ete een ee ees eer | ee ee ed eee red Pe cet Ce ocd Seat Fee ee aed ee eee ees teen ty eed te en ed Masters Yoda and Windw calling the heroes to the Je Temple on Coruscant to ask very same question) cw, that having been said, what mj Sra ce Ste ert cg pe eee eT pee nee tier eee thing a not emai eee eee Pers eter erent ty Pe eee i an een es Co eee eee ean te Peete eee Celene Tho Dork Sida Sourcebook Page m,Oark Side Devotee, under requirements ‘Move Object is not a requirement becorne a dark sie devotee. Page 23, Dark Side Marauder, under requirements, ‘The Base Attack Bonus requirement is only 43,n083. Page 3, Comupted Jed sidebar i Clarification: fading in levels nears that you lose ll the feats or ‘special abiltieso the levels you trade nas well as base attack bonuses, save bonuses, Defense bonuses lightsaber damage, and ‘reputation scores. You retain your skill rants, Force Points and Dar Side Ports. Yousannot trade in so mary level that you no longer quality forthe Sth prestige ass (by losing levels at wich you gained the feats Control Sense, or Altes, for example, Page Table 4-2: ark Armor Special Qualities, underCoriosis Weave effects seston Cue ‘laification. When 3 bghtsaber stakes armor with cores weave, the lightsaber inlets ts damage before deactivating. Paige Bf, ura Sing entry ove Sls ‘arta Sing should have puichaved het ranks i Farce GH, Mave (Object. and See Force as cross clas sls making he tre totals Force Push +4. Move Object #4, and See Farce +5, Page 8, Aur Sing entry onde Fats ‘ara Sng shod Rave he Doxge et age 93, Darth Vader entry, under Feats ‘Darth Vader should have the feat Alertness. FMUSSARY OF THE VOID BY GREG KEYES yim ILLUSTRATION BY MIKE HUDDLESTON ell that's interesting, idle Lochett thought. 2s apair of feminine legs in black tights came hurtling over his left shoulder Above the tights he was vaguely aware.of dark yellow skirt and, even farther up.a young, deter- mined face frarved in short dark hat But t was the feet that held his attention as they hit squave inthe center of the table at which he and his com panians sat shocking thelr drinks Into beet subgr bits Then the feet were gone, propelling kegs, yellow skirt ard ll an estimated two meters up and one cut toward the balcony above them. Searing lashes of weapon fire hissed by.and Uldir found his hand gropingat an empty holster, ‘top het!” Someone bebind Uldirshouted, Wo of hit three companions, Uldi save were also reaching for ‘weapons that weren't there. The thid,a human woman with star: ling Platinum hair, brushed a fleck of Corelian whisky from the long scar beneath her left eye. Inced.a new drink," she noted. as another voley of yellow streamers seared by. striking the synthewoad balcony the gi had ‘managed to grat. The pattons of the i the Red cantina were diving. away from the newly declared war.2one, but the muste frm the ‘band continued ta bare cheerfully over the sound ef weapon fe, “I hate locas” Leaf growled, thumping the curled fat at his foot on the table and seowling 33 only a Dug can scovl, A glance over his shoulder confirmed what Uldir already sus ected The its pursuers were Corparate Sector Authority law ‘enforcement, the only people on Bonadan allowed tovarry ‘weapons. From the color and intensity oftheir beams, he figured they were using astunsetting,and in any event ther target was definitely the ge, who was now significantly above ther, putting Uidir and his companions well out ofthe line offre. Me relaxed ot the settling his amber gaze on the gil as she heaved hersetf up, wondering what she had done to provoke such astrong reaction from thelacal constabulary “very impolite Vook sai, apparently agreeing with the Dug, Mis flat, noseless Duro face was unreadable, bt hes tne, a usta Was melancholy, a: even this put him in mind of his ost homeward “hate vacations. Leaft said, thumping the table again. wasn't exactlya vacation. A close srape with a Yuuzhan Wong Interdictoron the Hydian Way had left the transport the walkely quartet shared with a sputtering hyperdive and no shields at all They had managed to limp to the Corporate Sector, imward ter tory still essentially neutral in the conflict betwreen what remained ‘of the free New Republic and the ferce extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong ‘wha were gobblingt up system by ystem in their religious crusade ‘of conquest: Left with nothing to do while repairs were effected, Udi figured they could all use litle time aff,and consequently the four soon found themselves on the galasol strip, a colorful col lection of overpriced cantinas and casinos near the «paceport ‘The fleeing gir was dressed ike the attendants Uldi had seen ear: lier that evening 3t the Blve-Shift Luck easing, but she was realy 3 {game-gitshewas.a nimble one. ss he watched, she ipped over the balcony, twisting deftly between the several lines offre lirected at hes, and crouched behind a now abandoned table. The CCSAlawmen clustered below the baleony. fling up. “That's probably a mistake,” remarked Vega Sepen, the platinum crowned woman, “Tactically unsound" Vook agreed, gravely. “ne unarmed short human against four corp-clowns."Leaft sneered. "Not worth the price of admission” “She's not that short."tuidir corrected, crossing his arms and ift- lng the square tip of his chin toward the balcony “She's agi “uh, ob,"Wega murmured, “Don't discuss human gender” the Dug growled."The whole idea ‘sickens me. Urr...Coptain.” He added that last aitlesulleny prob: ly femembering ane of the many formal reprimands he's gotten Iotely from superiors. About that time, the table the git was hiding behind suddenly ‘came over the bakony rit hit three of the security men squarely and nicked the fourth, With a fierce grin the gil turned and ran off across the upper level toward an exit "She's petting away." Vook noticed, Stan WARS Gamen 21 “yeah” a. rot ‘Vega must have seen the expression on Lids face. “Not our fight,” she cautioned. "We're rescue flers,not bounty hunters” Well, we cantly without a ship, and bored,” Uidir sal. “Any: ‘ayrahe ewes me for these dinks Wath that, he pushed back his chair closed up his fight jacket, and leaped anto the table "This won't tutn aut well” he heard Vook mournfully predict. Uldirfllowed the gi: example, launching himset from the table. He caught the balcony swiftly pulled himse up and over and ‘an toward the ext through which she had vanished. “The ext fed to an upper story open-air courtyard. There, beneath | rusty evening shy, he found atall of angry and confused patrons cursing after his quarry as she clambered up the output cable ofthe Jom shietd that Fteved Bonadan's polluted air into something approaching pleasant. Uli": opinion of the young woman's ath- THE BARABEL HAD TEETH, CLAWS, AMD SUT KILOS OM HIM. JAL0IR HAO HIS FISTS AMD THE BEST UNARMED COMBAT TRAIKING THE SEARCH AND RESCUE CORPS COULD PROVIDE. letle prowess rose another notch, offset by the growing suspicion that she was probably come sort of turglaror spy Maybeshe had stolen something fom the casing, or had been attempting to Whatever it was he was determined to find out. Hesskipped tos right to avoid tripping aver a fallen Radian, but that brought hin face-to-face with an immense Barabel male fgoashinga set of wery sharpteeth some half ameter above is own rmeter-andea-haif frame. “sonny idle grunted at the scaled tower: “The Barabet’s blac reptitan face contorted. "You insult me?” He flexed his claws, and it occurred to Uldirthat the Bonadan police could confiscate natural weapons "The Barabel had teeth, caw, and sixty los on him. Uldir had his fists and the best unarmed combat training the Search and Rescue Corps could provide. ‘Sehe ran, dodging behind a stumbling drunk Togortan as the ‘Bayabel took a snipe at hi. The big zat tried to correct for Uldi’s sen movement and instead hit the whiteurred humanoid, ‘who yowled and lurched to face her antagonist. Uldir thought he ‘wouldr't mind seeing how that turned out, unde ordinary creum stances, but ance again he'd fost sight of the thie. He went up the cable hand-over-hand, pulling himself onto the ‘roaftop. From herehe couldn't see the galasol strip, but he could Ihear i ia blare of musie—Uldirand his companions had arrived ‘daring 2 srt of local festival thrown by one of the new execs of the corporate sector, They had te push thelr way through a parade dominated by floaters bearing likenesses ofthe various leaders of the CSA, distributing free gambling chits for aduts and Irinkes,for te kids He vantage now cvertookad the uglier side of ‘Bonadan, the warehouse district that lay behind the ashy facade of the strip fi *Howin the... *Uldir began, then realized he wos talking to hinell something he considered a bad sign. But how had she Ss made that jump? It was four meters to the at lane the barges tray ted inifit as acentimeter ‘he was running toward the next barge up. which was sepatated from its companion by onlya meter oro, and the line of bare Went on as far asthe eye could see “Carbon fush,*he swore he could not make the jump, held last hes,but Rt sure wasn't worth seeing fhe could make the jump 50 that wa that #4 ‘He heard 3 hiss behind him and turned to see the Barabel com mg Lupfast and decided it was worth finding out after al. Me took ten pacesand leaped with allot his might. At the last instant, he had the sudden sinking feeling he wouldnt make it followed s¥ify by the sinking fcling of gravity havinga joke on him. He'd jumped Jong enough, but not high enough. He wouldr't even scrape the side ofthe barge going down, He almost didn't see the math sersor cable dangling in frontof him, but athe as instant he dd and he wrapped hs hands around Ihowining:at the fietion burmibe produced kling his momentum. ‘Swearing a silent thanks towhateve fates protected feoksand |) starpilots he started pulling ins up, ignoeing the sibilant string of unintelligible curses the Barabel was hovring afte him. ' (on top he took.a moment to catch his breath, and for an instant he stood awestruck by the evening. Bonadan’s primary was a glint ‘ed egg yolk smeared against a stark ebony horizon of eroding hills and sag heaps.tn the meting glare of that ight, the plexisteel owe ‘eof the spaceport speared tobe molded of living lava, Plumes af black smoke drifted up from distant refineries, pancaking ito ‘clouds rade luminovs by the dying light of the sun stretching shhadove fingers towaed the heiton of ight. In the deaprof Mesh the actin flares of londeives winked here and there a5 ships antived and departed. The are train he stood on stretched far aba, ce some srt of magical path above the barren landscape There was nothing admirable about the ecological mess the ‘Corporate Sector Authority had made of a once-hush planet it there was beauty in everything. evendevastaton. The Force wos present even ina wasteland ‘The barges were strictly planetary, ther anteriorsopentto the alr He didnt recogoize the ote—he hoped it wasn't radioacthve—butit ‘certainly made for bad footing, s03s he started after the gil he ran along the raised metal lip of the barge, The narrowness of did't bother him—as a boy the spaceperts on Coruscant ant pretty much, <1 ceverymhere else lathe galany had been his playgrounds, ai Nei spent many an hour doing for more Folsh things on tr more pt carious surfaces “ ‘ohis satisfaction his quary didn’t scem tohave noticed him yet. She was tating he time, certain shel lost her pursuers He jumps the meter so the next barge apd then the next. casas me oe that the steady hum of repulse would _“ukhisapproach Besides, the git had stopped now, tng up her fess to reveal something taped to her leg, She began werking at | the adhesne tearing ton sips | fost ne tough How wee what yu este © When be camewithin fe meters however, the gi stopped ‘what she was doing and spun on herels to fae ir ¢ . “Staythere”she shouted over the trum of the banges.“ wi ee eset Dh sure of Usa sae hal ou dd to law | enforcement back in the antina” «She lfted her chin, and he suddenly realized she was kind of © ety wth her darkeyes and short brown bangs. And young— maybe younger than he, She certainly id not lok tke the glam- rou ideal ofa galasol gare gt—more ike someone hid sster “ploying dressup. | "What business that of yours? she demanded, ooking hin ‘vex. "That's nota CSA uniform You owe me four nk," he 3, “Besides, Just have this dd “feting youte up tomo good” “ulrewrongthere,"the giieplied."You have noidea how wrong “Explain ny ero, then Il be happy tolisten” ‘She smiled faintly “ou doet need an explanatin."she said. © I eccutred to Uldir that he really didnt. Now that he had met het she seemed an honest sort. Whatever problem she had with the €5A was probably a misunderstanding. Me shrugged and was -___ starting to walk away when he gotit. Heybe said. twining. | Alump of or thudded into his shoulder with enough force to | __Anock him down, He bounced hack up, fast, but she was already there. Now that he knew what she was, he wasn’t surprised Nor di he get a chance fr more conversation. Ske wasn midair, | aiminga kick at his solar plewus, __Tinining took over Flying kicks were good for taking opponents “off of speeders or maybe if they were paralyzed, but they stunk "against someone standing with balance anda litle presence of ‘nd. He spun aside and chopped at the back of her neck as she hhuled pait—except she didn't hurl past: Instead, she touched down and pivoted, turning the kick into wheel that caught him on the same target he been aiming fr on her. He riled with it, tum bling roughty over the ore coming upto find her already on top of Fir in herhaste she had gotten sloppy however, ane blocked ber next hic and drove stifiened fingers into hee midi She ‘wheered and fel back roughly to the ore “Usten—"he began, but before he could get more out, she sgestured with her left hand, and another chunk of rock eapt up {rom about a meter away and popped him in the forehead. He sat down, ha "Ow he said, rubbing his head. "You didn't have to-do that. Fm—* He noticed it before she did, maybe because she was stunned {om his punch ate maybe because she was concentrating a him. He dove toward her. She jerked her hands up defensively, but he ‘aight them and hauled her to he feet jst as several white hat ashes melted pts through the ore she'd been yingon. “Hhenthe shouted, ‘Sue enough. tive atmospheric secur Mers were descending toward them, spraying blaster fire Udi suddenly found himself face-to-face with the i stil holding both of herhands. She ‘cored tostudy him foraboutananesecond,then broke free and began running again. Uldir followed, blaster fe warming his bees. The gl ran to the edge ofthe barge: followed i fora few sec : nds, and then leaped out into space. oe "Wait" Uldie shouted, To late He came sting to aha, peer ingove hoping she'd droppedtonto some tail building, but there as nothing buta sxty-meter plummet othe dab, one-story ‘duraplat outskirts of the spaceport ‘bolt came near enough to crt his eyebrows, and he pathered ‘that he od become asubsttut target. Several mote shots spanged around the barge’ edge,and ih a wrandless curse he Jevked back into motion, dropping back into the barge so hecould ‘Use the sed lip at irited cover His hand tched for his blaster but that was still on his ship. The pilots were smart Four stayed back laying down sort of perimeter of re that kept him boxed on the barge. the fith zoomed in lower focusing on hitting him. Me tried to lea hs mind feelthe shots coming befote they dh, bu his led Ualning had! been imestly wasted-—he had no natural talent forthe Force, til now and then his ack was unusual enough tosupgest that Master ; ‘Skywalcers academy had ett him with something, This time, he didnt tink he would be a5 lucky a5 usual When sth eros up fom belo the bar, arely two eles tos "ig he was sure oft He winced as blasters fired But the bots seared over his head and truck the Mer harassing himat dose range, and his focus suddenly changed, centering on the yllow-and:bladk-clad figure at the eonteols athe newly rived vessel. The figure was gesturing impatient. “You don't have to tell me twice." Uldir muttered. stitdodging themore distant fie. he ran toward the flee and jumped in.The instant he was on boar.the gl punched the thette, weaving through anet of white bots. “Thanks,” sai “this sa tik, you" negret "the it sapped “Why Were you schasingme™ " “Ielidr't knew you were Jet” The git banked crazily and dropped low toward the landscape: “think you relly want altitude, hee,"he added. li “Yeah? You want thy?" "Um—etay” “Great Sheet poof the contol leaving Ula to dive fr thera before the er smacked intoa transmission tower. ean she went back to work on whatever was strapped to he eg ™Dida't know was Jedi? That way everyone elses after me” “thought you were athiet "Lid expained nosing pin timeto void a serious insult from coherent light and charged particles Wy are they after your” “Because Sed tre you si-pcHled? Dont you know every Planet in the galaxys scrambling tatu us over tothe uhan Vong “im aware of tha” Ui sald dry | nearly got turned in myself ‘She laughed. "You're no Fed.” That stung more than Uldircared to admit.“Hey,be nice to mest saved your skinny... er your ski.” "And returned the favor” she reminded him. "Were even naw. $5, Why would anyone try to turn you in?* Udi lipped alock of his chestnut hair aveayfrora his eyes. "Tn rescue fie,"he said.“An ex-partner of mine turned out tobe Peace Brigade, and he found out | once attended the Jedi academy. He avranged an ambush Tora lucky to get out of That was right after the Yuuthan Vong warmaster announced that if all the Jedi were tummed over tahim, el! stopeonquering the galaxy He shook hes head ‘As f anyone could really belleve that” "You attended Master Skywalkers academy?” The get asked, sheptically "fs there anather?™ ot 5 didn't have any aptitude forthe Farce, though," Uldir added “So muctis obvious." the gi sal “Yeah think you mentioned that” Uldr said, veering sharply te port, where the police Miers were trying to flank him and daing ‘upretty good jeb."Hald ona second,” he said. "We'll ave to fight. lite, here” Me glanced over his shoulder. “My name is idl. by thewaye HE GRINNED TIGHTLY, REMEMBERING WHAT VEGI WOULD SAY: “IF” 15 JUST A SHORT WAS OF SAYING, "WE'RE DOOMED.” xin Fa Ghat your sevice," she said grey “You almost got me ‘ile, Uite,.Dort bo again~ *Viltey not to, Kln-F Gi Stay down. Wee going to take some hits” “Hot if | have anything to say about forthe second time that ght, she leaped past him landing with feline grace on the prow ofthe speeder. She stood there, a perfect target forthe two ers they were bareling toward. Then a snap hiss carted aver the ind, anda sliver of yellow energy appeared in beret hand, cutting quickly into figure eight and sending apa of blaster bolts humming off into the wastelands $0 that what wos toped to her leg, Uldr concluded. Kln-Fa must have walked in front of ane the weapons sensors that Banadan was lousy with guess have shields now” lair murmured, thumbing the blajte fire controls on hi stick and inking starboard. His shot was dead on. frying the oppasing ers stabilizer went spinning of Lid hoped the plot would get the flier under control before ht theyground below. ‘hat’ one. be thought. as Kina executed another cary series of panies tat lft thir fer unscathed by enemy fie. ‘hs he'd noticed before. the pilots weren't stupid. Contrary to the usual tactics of eral combat. they were now trying to get under ‘neath them, where the Jed lightsaber wasn't He let the thet drop, hoping that Klin-Fa could Keep her footing, afraid todo any really ight tus ‘shadowed wasteland came upat them. endless hectares cverical bistered ground cut into fractal patterns by violent ero sion. Bonadan's primary was nowa thin red lens on th horizon and dite noth ofthat ghtring terpertined inside an ari-shaped Clow. The wind tasted of water grit and unwholesome carbon compounds The sou gave him an Kea, though, oe flattened his courie toward the thundetead, Rain would stymie eyeigh and lightning ‘would confuse instruments. Maybe even tse eyen-the shy dole the patrol was undoubtedly taping nt. Fhe and Kin-Fa got through that, maybe he could circle bck an find the No tuck Aequired before the sect fers picked up the trai. the ship was repaired, then they might beable to get off planet before the port authonty shut them down. He pinned tightly remembering what Vega would say. "Yast short way of saying, “were doomed.” “Are those puys Peace Brigade?” Uli shouted to the gi “You mentioned them before," she shot back. “I never heard of them: Uidirached an eyebrove That was surplsing. “Thay acolabo- tations onganization,"he tol het."The figure we cat beat the ‘tuvthan Vong. 30 they might as weljonthem, get in thelr goad graces while ts stlfpossble. Sometimes they inflate local awrenforcement” Klin fa snorted. Nobody in the Corporate Authority ever needed prompting when there was any potential ‘fo prof and the 2ecs dont eal with msddle-men. ‘usess they have to There's a Yuu2han Vong executor ‘on this planet even as we speak. 'm guessing the “aecs cut thelr own deal” What? But that violates the neutrality pact.” "Il bet t does CSA attorneys can find loophole when there isn't even a loop” § “The cloud loomed, but the fiers were geting too dose He

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