Saturday, February 27, 2016

Tierfon Mission: Underground

Here's the first in a series of mission scenarios for Age of Rebellion; it sends the PCs from Tierfon base to the primitive world Flakax to make contact with potential new allies there.

Underground

-Nate


Star Wars: Age of Rebellion: Underground
The mines of the planet Flax, located in Sumitra Sector, are an important source of starship-grade ore for the Galactic Empire. With the escalation of hostilities following the Battle of Yavin and the destruction of the Death Star, this commodity has become even more valuable. While the Empire guards this resource closely, the Rebellion is eager to acquire some of it.

Enter the heroes.

Given that the planet's native species, the insectoid Flakax, have been enslaved by the Empire, Major Kento Moorla believes they may be willing to cooperate with the Alliance. That's why he's sending the PCs, a team of Irregulars, to make contact with the Flakax and, if possible, broker a deal to trade military and intelligence support for the ore.

Adventure Summary
In order to complete this mission, the PCs must make their approach to Flax without drawing the attention of Imperial ships in orbit. After reaching the surface they must find a place to land where they can conceal their ship, and then set out on foot across the rough local terrain. This could bring encounters with the native flora and fauna. Once they reach their destination, one of the planet's many extensive cave networks, their task is to locate some of the disgruntled slaves, open negotiations for mutual assistance, and, hopefully, strike a bargain. If they can do so—or, if the scenario takes a turn for the worse and they need to flee the area—they must then find their way back off of the planet, once more without alerting the powers that be.

Planning and Preparations
In the interest of starting this adventure in media res—in the middle of things—it is best to handle the necessary preparations while the PCs are en route to Flax. They receive their briefing in the form of a holoprojector recording of Major Moorla which provides the necessary details.
  • The Empire maintains an extensive mining operation on Flax, used to produce ore for use in building starships.
  • Part of their operation involves the enslavement of the native Flakax, who provide labor in the mines.
  • Some of the Flakax have become disgruntled with this arrangement, and could be willing to work with the Alliance, perhaps trading starship-grade ore for military aid and supplies.
  • The PCs' mission is to travel to Flax, make contact with the Flakax, and broker such a deal.
  • The Flakax are an insectoid species; their hive-like settlements are each ruled by an all-powerful queen.
  • Needless to say, they should avoid any Imperial entanglements if at all possible.
Along with this information, the PCs have been given the following equipment: thermal cloaks and goggles, long-range comlinks, climbing gear and electrobinoculars. Note that these items have been assigned to the PCs for this mission only, and so they are expected to return them in good working order to the quartermaster. They're also assigned an astromech droid to mind their vessel while they're disembarked. Finally, the PCs have also been given crates containing blaster pistols, medpacs, comlinks and similar equipment, for use as a good-will offering to the Flakax if they are amenable to working with the Alliance. 

Should the PCs wish to have procured any additional items before departing on their mission, they can do so ex post facto via GM approval and/or a bit of roleplaying.

Involving the Player Characters
This scenario assumes that the PCs are willing agents of the Rebel Alliance, part of the group known as “Irregulars.” As such, they are being sent on this assignment under the orders of Major Kento Moorla. The GM can modify circumstances to fit the needs of a different party, however. For example, the PCs could run into a Flakax who has fled the planet and sought out the Rebel Alliance, perhaps even while Imperials are pursuing the fugitive slave. If they manage to rescue the unfortunate, he then asks them to undertake the voyage back to his planet.

Mission Objectives and PC Duty
Detailed below are a few of the ways in which the duty of each PC can tie in to this mission.

Combat Victory—In theory, this character should be out of place in a scenario such as this one, where the PCs are supposed to avoid any Imperial entanglements. Even so, such a character could be sent along “just in case.”
Counter-Intelligence—This character can especially be given the task of making sure that the mission comes off without a hitch, preventing the Imperials from gaining any hint of a possible insurgency on Flakax.
Intelligence—A primary focus for this character can be to gather as much information about the Flakax—including their culture, assets and motivations—as possible so that the Alliance can best decide how to work with them in the future.
Internal Security—Much like with those who emphasize on counter-intelligence, this character should focus on making sure that no problems develop among the team sent to complete the mission.
Personnel—Recruiting agents from a new species should be at the heart of what this character hopes to accomplish. What is more, if any of the Flakax wish to return to Tierfon Base with the PCs, this character is likely to be the one who plays host to these visitors.
Political Support—A character with this duty, and the skills to support it, can be the face of this mission, leading the negotiations with the Flakax if and when they occur.
Recruiting—The involvement of this character is much the same as that for ones with the Personnel duty, as detailed above.
Resource Acquisition—Given the fact that acquiring starship-grade ore is vital to building up the Alliance fleet, a character with this duty should be in his element.
Sabotage—While this operation is supposed to be as low-key as possible, there may be opportunities for causing harm to the Empire's mining operation on Flax, and that's where this character can rise to the occasion.
Space Superiority—Although this mission isn't supposed to involve any dogfighting, it does need a skilled pilot to bring the team into and out of Flax. There's also the fact that missions don't always go as planned...
Support—As always, this character can work with teammates to make sure that the mission comes off without a hitch.
Tech Procurement—This character can personally oversee the acquisition of the ore, perhaps involving testing it for purity and then helping deliver it to the Alliance facilities where it will be used to produce ships for the fleet.



Episode 1: Insertion
Once the PCs are ready to begin the mission, their first challenge is to approach Flax. To do so, one team member should make a hard Astrogation check in order to drop the party's freighter in on the side of the planet away from the massed Imperial ships. 

At that point, the pilot needs to make a similar Pilot—Planetary check to take the ship rapidly down to the surface and then closely along the terrain so as again to avoid detection. Should either of these efforts fail, the Imperials become aware of a ship making planetfall, and dispatch a pair of TIE/ln starfighters to patrol the area.

Finally, someone aboard the ship needs to make a hard Computers check, using the ship's sensors to find a place to land. At the GM's discretion, characters in the ship's cockpit can also make Perception checks instead. The implications of these efforts affect how well the PCs can hide their ship, as detailed below.

Landfall (Area A)
After they've landed, the PCs need to conceal their vessel. The result of the aforementioned Computers or Perception check whether or not the PCs can find a partially sheltered area where they can easily park the vessel and cover it with a camouflage tarp. This, in turn, grants boost or setback dice to the Stealth check made to hide the vehicle. This check only needs to be made if and when an Imperial patrol passes through the area (see below). 

Once they're ready, the PCs can set out on foot across the desert terrain. Note that any characters who don't wear thermal cloaks or other protective gear, or who are not naturally able to withstand the desert heat, suffer a setback die to all physical actions taken while crossing the sands. Navigating a route toward the nearest rocky terrain requires an easy Survival check, given that the sun in the sky provides a clear reference point.

TIE Fighters—Use the stats found on page 270 of the core rulebook.

TIE Pilots—Use the stats found on page 423.

Can-Cell Attack (Area B)
One of the Imperials' contributions to life on Flax is the predator known as the Can-Cell, native to planets like Teth and Kashyyyk. They have been introduced on this world because the Imperials hope to keep the native Flakax in their underground hives, where they can focus on their work for Queen and Emperor, rather than having them roaming the planet's surface and causing trouble. Of course, can-cells are not strictly insectivorous, and these one take an interest in the PCs. 

The PCs should make Perception checks opposed by the can-cells' Stealth efforts. Success allows the PCs to be aware of the attack, while failure means that the predators attack with surprise. For their part, the can-cells swoop in to attack their targets, hoping to fell a character and then carry that victim off as a meal. They are very hungry and fight to the death. 

Should the PCs manage to kill one or more can-cells and carry away proof of having done so, they can gain boost dice on future checks made to interact with the Flakax and earn their respect.

Can-Cell
Brawn 2 Agility 3 Intellect 1
Cunning 3 Willpower 2 Presence 1

Soak: 4
Wound Threshold: 12
Strain Threshold: 12
M/R Defense: 1 / 1

Skills: Athletics 1, Brawl 3, Perception 2, Stealth 2, Survival 3

Abilities: Armored Carapace (+2 to soak, and treat as 1 / 1 armor); Flight

Equipment: Mandibles (Brawl; Damage 4; Critical 3; Range [Engaged]; Knockdown).

These large, flying insectoids are easily the size of most beings; they have buzzing wings and
powerful mandibles.

TIE Flyover (Area C)
If any of the PCs' piloting efforts during their approach were not successful, they attract the attention of a TIE fighter patrol. In this case, two TIE/ln fighters make a flyover, looking for signs of trouble. Here again the characters should make average Perception checks, with success allowing them to hear the telltale whine of approaching twin ion engines. As long as they are aware of the approaching fighters, the PCs can then make average Stealth checks to hide themselves. Failure here—or being unaware of the starfighters' approach until they arrive—means that the TIE pilots spot the PCs and call in to their superiors.
At the same time, the character who oversaw the camouflaging of the team's ship should also make an average Survival check, modified by the factors mentioned above. Here again, success means that the Imperials remain unaware of an outsider presence on Flax, while failure means that they are alerted and send a few squads to investigate (see below).

Finding the Tunnels (Area D)
Once the PCs have crossed the desert landscape, they should make hard Perception checks to find an entrance to the Flakax hive. Although they can take as much time as they want to find the tunnels, the GM could throw an additional can-cell attack and/or Imperial patrol at them if they don't succeed after a couple of efforts.


Episode 2: Making Contact
Refer to the appropriate map as the PCs make their way into the Flakax tunnels. The tunnel that leads into the hillside is roughly dug, but seems solid. It is pitch dark, however, and so characters who are unable to see in the dark need a light source in order to navigate.

Navigation
As they head into the tunnels (A), the PCs should make hard Survival checks in order to keep track of their path. While it might not matter much on the way into the tunnels, whether or not the PCs succeed could be very important as they make their way back to the surface (see below). To help set the scene and add to the sense of possible danger, it could be good to have the players declare a marching order for their characters.

The Old Droid
At the bottom of a vertical passage (B) lies a dirty, badly dented and motionless protocol droid. It is nearly deactivated, but can be restored to working order (but only 1 wound per success) with an average Mechanics check. This is I-3PO, an Imperial espionage droid that masqueraded as a translator among the Flakax. It monitored their activities until they discovered its true purpose, at which point they arranged for it to have an accident in the depths of the tunnels. 

If reactivated, I-3PO feigns a lack of memory. It recalls working among the Flakax as a translator, but claims not to remember how it came to be lying in this unhappy state; characters who wish to do so may make Perception checks opposed to its Deception effort, but add a setback die to the difficulty for the droid since it does not have facial expressions that characters can try to read. At the same time, the droid begins asking subtle questions about who the PCs are and what they are doing on the planet. For now it bides its time, hoping to learn the nature of their business and thus have a chance to inform against them later.

I-3PO—Use the stats for a Protocol Droid from page 429, but substitute 2 ranks of Deception
for the droid's 2 ranks of Charm.

The Ascent
Proceeding further, the PCs reach a place where they face a vertical assent (C). In order to proceed, one character must make a hard Athletics check. As long as that character succeeds and can lower a rope for the remaining team members, the difficulty of their checks is lowered to average. Failure, on the other hand, means the PC in question makes no progress, while 3 threat or despair results in a fall that causes 10 strain damage. As always, at the GM's discretion, the PCs could use other strategies to overcome this obstacle.

The Cave-In
At another point while the PCs are navigating the tunnels (D), they feel the ground begin to shake, and then dust and bits of rock begin falling from the ceiling. At that point they must make average Coordination checks; success means they manage to jump out of the way of falling debris, while failure causes five wounds as the characters are pelted with rocks. What is more, rolls that generate three or more Threat results cause the character in question to become buried in debris. Should that happen, it takes a hard Brawn check to dig out each victim, and that character suffers two wounds per round until rescued. Note that the buried character may try to dig out oneself, but the difficulty for doing so increases to daunting.

First Contact
Further onward the tunnel opens into a broad chamber (E), one that is filled with stalactites, stalagmites and columns of rock. This is a Flakax guard post. As the PCs enter this area, have them make Perception checks opposed by the Flakax sentries' Stealth efforts. As long as at least one of the PCs succeeds, the group is not caught off guard. Failure by all of the characters, on the other hand, means that they are surprised, letting the Flakax move into advantageous positions and granting them boost dice on their Vigilance checks for initiative if and when combat occurs. 

As long as the situation can be resolved without violence, and the PCs can explain their presence in the tunnels, the Flakax sentries agree to take them to meet with Annat. One further complication arises if the PCs have restored I-3PO to working order, however. The Flakax recognize the droid, and it recognizes them; therefore, the droid tries to flee and thus to alert the authorities. The situation should be resolved as a normal combat, using Vigilance checks for initiative.

Meeting with Annat
Beyond the large chamber is a smaller area in which the dissident Flakax hold their meetings. While Annat, their leader, doesn't look much different from his fellows, they look to him with respect and deference. Interacting with him is a good chance for a diplomatic type of character to step up, hopefully explaining the goods and services that the Alliance has to offer in exchange for the cooperation of and processed ore from the Flakax. 

At the same time, this is a good chance for some roleplaying that helps capture the idiosyncrasies of this species. Given their insectoid nature and hive-oriented society, Flakax tend to see the world (along with the rest of the galaxy, for that matter) differently from other beings. For example, Annat defers to female characters first, assuming that they are in charge. He also asks the PCs what roles they play in their hives, and to describe the “queen” of their Alliance along with the leader of the Empire. 

This is also the time for the PCs to present the goods that they've brought, and perhaps to show off their ability to use the items in question. For example, as the Flakax are examining the blaster rifles, a PC who is a good shot could demonstrate that talent with a bit of trick shooting. Similarly, a character who is skilled in Medicine could treat the wounds of a Flakax sentry. Such demonstrations can impress the Flakax, granting bonuses later. 

Once there's been some good interaction between the two parties, the character who is speaking for the PCs should make a hard Negotiation check. As always, the GM should feel free to grant boost dice for this check based on effective roleplaying and relevant arguments, along with setback dice for brutish behavior or the like. Success means that Annat agrees to provide refined metal for the Alliance in exchange for goods and assistance, while failure causes him to refuse any such cooperation. What is more, in the event of successful negotiations, Annat asks to accompany the PCs back to their “hive.”

Annat (Rival)
Brawn 3 Agility 2 Intellect 1
Cunning 2 Willpower 3 Presence 1

Soak: 4
Wound Threshold: 15
Strain Threshold: 15
M/R Defense: 0 / 0

Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 2, Discipline 2, Negotiation 2, Perception 2, Resilience 2, Survival 2,
Vigilance 2

Talents: Grit x2, Intense Focus, Toughened x2

Abilities: Thick carapace (increase Soak by 1)

Equipment: Claws (Brawl; Damage 4; Critical 3; Range [Engaged])

Annat is fairly typical of the Flax; he is loyal to his queen and hive, and works for their
betterment. Even so, he has begun to suspect that their good does not lie in the same direction as what is demanded of them by the Galactic Empire. As such, he has undertaken the unprecedented task of reaching out to the greater galaxy—in particular, the Rebel Alliance—in the hope of finding another path for his people to take.

Flakax Laborers
Brawn 2 Agility 2 Intellect 1
Cunning 2 Willpower 2 Presence 1
Soak: 3
Wound Threshold: 5 each
Strain Threshold: NA
M/R Defense: 0 / 0

Skills (group only): Athletics, Brawl, Perception

Abilities: Thick carapace (increase Soak by 1)

Equipment: Claws (Brawl; Damage 4; Critical 3; Range [Engaged])

These drone workers epitomize the Flax qualities of loyalty and determination.


Episode 3: Extraction
Once the PCs have completed their negotiations, for better or for worse, all that remains is for them to take their leave of the planet. This requires them to backtrack along their previous course, perhaps with Annat in tow. The only real obstacle they face is the vertical section of tunnel, which is now a descent; here again, hard Athletics checks (reduced to easy if the PCs can anchor a rope to use in descending) allow them to reach the bottom, while failure with three Threat or Despair causes a fall.

Imperial Entanglements
As the PCs make their exit, the question of how aware the Imperials are of this incursion becomes important once again. If they failed to make the approach without attracting attention means that there could be TIE/ln patrols sweeping through the area, perhaps accompanied by scout troopers on speeder bikes. Should they not have managed to hide their ship, there could be a full squad of stormtroopers standing guard over it, along with a technician who is trying to gain access. (If the PCs left any being aboard their ship, such as an astromech droid to watch over it, they could be notified of these developments upon exiting from the tunnels.) 

At the GM's discretion, based upon the outcomes of events at the start of this scenario, one or more of the following situations could occur.
  • Another TIE/ln patrol sweeps through the area, forcing the PCs to hide as detailed above.
  • A pair of scout troopers (page 422) on 74-Z speeder bikes (page 263) approach, requiring a similar response from the PCs—but this time the Stealth efforts are opposed by the troopers' Perception checks.
  • As mentioned above, a group of four stormtroopers and a sergeant (pages 420-1), along with a naval engineer (page 420), are present at the party's landing site. The PCs could storm into battle, or could try to use Stealth in order to gain the drop on these enemies.
  • If the PCs have previously attracted attention, or don't manage to make another hard Pilot—Planetary check to fly out inconspicuously, they draw pursuit from the aforementioned pair of TIE/ln fighters.
In this way, the party's exit could be quick and easy, or it could be filled with possible dangers. Once they reach the necessary distance of six planetary diameters from Flax, they can make the jump to hyperspace.


Epilogue
Assuming that the PCs were successful in their negotiations (along with the various risks necessary in traveling to and departing from that meeting), they can deliver Annat to Tierfon Base. At that point he is swept up into meetings with the commanding officers, making arrangements for accumulating the processed ore and turning it over to the Alliance. While the PCs still see the Flakax from time to time, for the most part his activities are at a level above their pay grade. Of course, there will eventually be the matter of retrieving a cargo of processed ore, a task for which the Alliance will need a capable team of irregulars...

Rewards for Risks
As long as the mission is a success, the PCs have made a small but important contribution to the Alliance war effort. At the GM's discretion, they should earn 10 experience points for a complete success, or 5 xp for a good effort; players who stick to their characters' motivations should earn another 5 xp. At the same time, they should each increase their Duty rating by 5.

Appendix: Opening Crawl
Presented below is an opening crawl in the style of the Star Wars movies for use with this scenario.

STAR WARS
AGE OF REBELLION
UNDERGROUND
It is a time of civil war.
The Rebel Alliance has recently won a major victory at the
Battle of Yavin, and the dreaded Death Star has been destroyed.
Even so, the Galactic Empire is cracking down on this insurgency,
using its fleet to seek out and destroy Rebel strongholds.
In order to fight back, the Alliance needs its own fleet, and raw
material is essential for building new ships. That is why a group of
irregulars out of Tierfon Base is being sent to the enslaved
world Flax in the hope of meeting dissidents there, enlisting
their aid and acquiring crucial supplies...





Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Meet the Fleet, part 2


   

The lowly TIE fighter, backbone of the fleet, frontline of the Navy. I have Academy Squadron, a dozen ships, all rookies. Cannon fodder, really. I got four of them in the pair of starter sets I own. The rest came from the TIE expansion packs. I have four more alternate paint scheme craft; two of which came with the Gozanti-class cruiser I bought (the other two came from eBay, from someone else's Gozanti-class cruiser).

Such an iconic craft, the Sienar Fleet Systems TIE/ln. You really do need a horde of them to zoom about, spitting fire at the heroes. Nate and I have played some cooperative games using the fan-made "Heroes of the Atauri Cluster" rules. What fun! We'll have to try all eight T-65Bs from Tierfon's Black Squadron against their equivalent weight in TIEs. Would be glorious, indeed. Another cool one would be Rogue Squadron vs Eyeballs. All the named X-wing pilots you can muster against a faceless wave of bad guys. Probably wouldn't happen just like in the X-Wing novels, though. This is not a very nostalgic game. Heroes can be vaped just as easily as no-name pilots.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Lando, ol' buddy...


Just finished this 2014 "Legends" edition of The Lando Calrissian Adventures by L. Neil Smith, originally written in 1983.

This was, without a doubt, the strangest series of Star Wars stories I have ever been a party to, with the possible exception of the Star Wars Holiday Special (Happy Life Day, Itchy, Lumpy, and Bea Arthur!). As I mentioned before, even the names of the individual books would be enough to make a sci-fi nerd pause: Mindharp of Sharu, Flamewind of Oseon, and Starcave of ThonBoka. How about some more odd names: Vuffi Raa and Rokur Gepta. Or "Sorcerer of Tund". Let's just say the only two things in the entire tale that seemed even moderately familiar to a modern Star Wars fan were the Millenium Falcon and good ol' Lando.

To be fair, at the time these were written, the entire Star Wars canon consisted of (in order);

Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker (1976)
Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1978)
The Han Solo Adventures trilogy (1979-80)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Return of the Jedi (1983)

Basically you had three books of the Original Trilogy and four books of "something completely different". I have read Splinter, at some time in the distant past, and I guess I will read it again for completeness, but as I recall it is quite different than the OT. Same with the Han Solo stuff: jetting off to who knows where (Corporate Sector), adding whole new aspects to the universe rather than mining the same old, same old.

That being said, I did find it odd that these Lando tales had so little in them that was recognizable as Star Wars. No mention, really, of the Emperor, or a Rebellion (nascent or not). Instead they were heaped with strange situations and more hard, classic sci-fi (and somewhat outlandish) fare.

There were parts I thoroughly enjoyed. Lando's incessant stream of one-liners and quips, particularly his jabs at his newfound droid companion. His self description as a con-artiste.

Lando's clothes. He constantly worries about his space velvet semi-formal outfits. Funny, and in character.

Sabacc at every opportunity. Every opportunity. With everyone, from shipboard cooks to the ultra-wealthy social elite to the police, including the strangest possible collection of opponents (and locations in which to play).

Cigars. Lando has a cigar for every occasion. He has them stashed in a safe, tucked under control panels, wedged into his spacesuit (he even modified his helmet to accommodate smoking while spacewalking!). Lando sells cigars, borrows cigars, shares cigars with enemies and friends. When his cigars get crushed, he rolls improvised cigarettes from the tobacco...but its not the same. Thus, he dreams of getting more cigars (and does).

Lando's get-rich-quick schemes, that pan out, then fall apart, over and over.

Strange that such a ladies man never picks up any female companionship in the entire trilogy. I suppose it's because he's always out in the middle of nowhere on the edge of civilization.

Many parts were annoying. No real integration into the rest of modern Star Wars lore (which, as I tried to say out the outset, may have been on purpose. At the time they'd be trying to expand Star Wars into something larger than the films, rather than add in subtle detail and nuance to the existing story lines). The main bad guy was confusing and seemingly invincible on one hand, then anti-climatically ended without so much as a whimper.

Too much use of phrases and figures of speech from Earth. The endearing Star Wars in-universe references which became such a hallmark of later novels are missing at this point. I could've used a few mentions of bantha steaks or nerf burgers.

Since the action takes place out in the middle of nowhere, with such a small cast of characters, I kept getting the feeling that I almost don't care what the heck happens. The book feels bleak and empty in some ways, probably due to a lack of an ensemble cast or because the action revolved around Lando accidentally becoming a power villain's nemesis. Lando doesn't even know the bad guy's so worked up about it, initially.

Glad I read it, but now I have to read some more to get the regular Star Wars feel back into mind. That may or may not happen as I dive into the Han Solo Adventures (I have read at least part of them in the past) and the Original Trilogy novelizations. Maybe after that I will pick up Splinter again, then watch Ewoks Caravan of Courage, the Star Wars Holiday Special (here I come, animated Boba Fett and strange erotic(?) scene with Chewie's grandpa!). then the Droids cartoon ....

Friday, February 19, 2016

Meet the Fleet, part 1


   

This is the first in many posts about the sizable* fleet of X-Wing miniatures I have collected over the last few years. First up is the home team, Black Squadron, currently based at Tierfon. Eight Incom T-65B X-wing starfighters, split into two subgroups: Aurek Flight and Besh Flight. 

In terms of the collection, I got two of these guys in X-Wing Starter sets, one of them with the GR-75 Rebel Transport, and the rest in X-Wing Expansion Packs. I stopped at 8 for two reasons. There are 8 craft based at Tierfon, and there are 8 unique named pilot cards for the miniatures game.

Can't go wrong with these wonderful ships, in my opinion. I'm not much of an actual player of the X-Wing game (I wish I had time to play more), but I love choosing a named pilot, an astromech (usually the correct astromech for that pilot), and a proton torpedo and heading out to vape some TIEs.

As for the actual minis, I see I might need to break off and re-align the mounting peg on at least one of these guys, so they can fly straight. I had to do that on a few other ships so far.

Here's to the T-65! A rugged workhorse of the rebellion.




*How sizable? Well, less than some, I'd wager, but I currently have 73 vessels in my employ. With designs on gathering a few more soon, of course! 

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Lettin' Loose! (Episode 7 SPOILERS!)



Don't tell me that's another Death Star. Oh no. Please no. Not again....

I said I would reserve my spoiler-laden review of The Force Awakens until the new year. Here we are, almost mid-February, and I am willing to let 'er rip.

I liked the movie in many ways. I was happy to meet a few new characters (Poe, Finn, Rey, BB-8) and I loved seeing some old friends (Han, Chewie, Leia, the droids). The beginning of the movie is wonderful, right up until the Starkiller Base.

I can't stand the idea of Starkiller Base for a large number of reasons: the first of which is it represents a weak plot device. A re-tread of a re-tread. Please. No more superweapons. PLEASE.

Worse yet, this particular superweapon is MORE SUPER-ER than the Death Star. They even have a hologram (and a speaking line) to prove it. We are supposed to believe that a splinter faction of the Imperial remnant that fled to the Unknown Regions has somehow, in less than 25 years or so (you have to have the OT civil war end with the Galactic Concordance, followed by the Military Disarmament Act) built a weapon larger and more capable than what the Empire achieved. Not very likely, even in space opera fantasy. Terrible storyline is more like it.

Starkiller Base somehow shot across ~60,000 light years (literally half the distance across the galaxy, through the galactic core) to hit characters on Hosnian Prime we barely even glimpsed, yet alone met. I was not sure exactly who just died until I read the Visual Dictionary. At least the Death Star had the courtesy to actually show up near the planet it was about to vaporize. Sniping from the edge of nowhere seems less...compelling.

On top of the poor story telling relating to who was being shot, we have an absolute train wreck, details-wise. Somehow people 20,000 light years away from the target (Han et al on Takodana), off-axis from the shot (the line between Takodana to Hosnian Prime is perpendicular to the line between Starkiller Base and Hosnian Prime), see the light from the superweapon streak across their sky (right to left...IMPOSSIBLE...look at the galactic map) and hit what appear to be a cluster of moons in orbit around Takodana. What? Wait. Who just shot whom? And where are Han and Rey? What? Who? How did they observe that from that distance? What is going on here?

Next up, Starkiller wants to take a big shot: this time they hope to line up for a 100,000 light year (the galaxy is 120,000 light years, end-to-end) shot on the Resistance HQ of D'Qar. Again, shooting through the galactic core. Somehow people on D'Qar know this, in real time, and can get a countdown clock going.

Almost everything good about this movie was a remake of A New Hope. I mean, droid with secret plans meets a special, Force-sensitive yet untrained outsider protagonist on a desert planet and must get back to Rebel HQ... you have heard that before, right?

Other parts were bad precisely because the tried to remake A New Hope. Countdown clock to Death Star...I mean...Starkiller Base comes leaping to mind.

Captain Phasma is not a "captain" in rank. She is apparently the head of all First Order stormtroopers, yet in the novelization, the movie, and the book Before the Awakening she appears to either conduct or oversee individual troopers' training. According to my guesses at Stormtrooper rank structure, she'd have to be something like a "High Colonel" to lead a ~10,000 strong Stormtrooper Legion. Higher equivalent rank to lead more troops (something like an Army General).

Then we have the problems of radio communications between forces on the ground on D'Qar and fighters currently in hyperspace, the X-Wing's ability to "linger" in hyperspace until they wish to exit in order to attack, and Han's dangerous misuse of the Falcon's hyperdrive levers...twice! These things strike me as Jar Jar Abrams taking George Lucas's toys and roughly bashing them together just for the hell of it. It was a safe (read "remake") movie. The places where is wasn't original, it frequently wasn't good.

Another thing: the totality of the Resistance "fleet" is apparently two squadrons of T-70 X-Wings, led by Poe. Red Squadron and Blue Squadron, led by a guy calling himself "Black One" (?). Fifteen starfighters, zero capital ships. That is the definition of a crappy "fleet" in my book.

I do like Kylo Ren. I like that he is a dark sider worried about "falling" to the light side. That's a cool twist. I am conflicted about who his parents are, and I am very troubled by the fact the Luke couldn't hold it together, training-wise. The Luke I see at the end of Jedi would be able to re-build the Jedi order. Eventually. He wouldn't fail then run away and hide.

Overall, besides Starkiller Base, I liked it. I didn't love it. I went twice. I would almost go again, just to spend some time with Rey and BB-8 on Jakku. Hang out with Han and Chewie on Takodana. See Finn's funny and misguided attempts at being chauvinistic, start to worry when we meet the rathtars and the poorly named space gangs. Then daydream about how Episode 8 can't possibly include another superweapon. Right?



ASIDE (In defense of properly applied Superweapons)
The first Death Star was cool. No doubt about it.

The Second Death Star was a trap. The Emperor knew that the Rebels would have to respond in force if they knew a second one was being built. The trap almost worked to gather and destroy the Alliance.

Any more Death Stars, or Starkiller Bases, or Sun Crushers, or whatevers can please go away. You are not a Dark Lord of the Sith, you are not the Emperor of the galaxy, and you cannot handle the logistics of building such a thing. It is beyond you. Let's leave it at that.

Now, as for The Force Awakens, what could we have seen instead? Why not certain confirmation that the First Order has been not following the terms of the treaty they signed. They have secretly built a mighty fleet (compared to the deliberately de-fanged and moth-balled New Republic Navy). They have also infiltrated and corrupted many in the Senate. They use their new power to strike Hosnian Prime, not with a superweapon shot from the next galaxy over, but with a conventional fleet action surprise attack. They pull some strings behind the scenes, get some key defense resources reassigned or whatever, then roll into orbit with a fleet and lay waste to the surface. Then they flee before any help can be scrambled from individual member planet defense forces. You wind up in the same sort of place, but you don't need a stupid superweapon to do it. You also don't need to have a ex-stormtrooper, who worked as a janitor, know how to disable the planetary shields. Or at least threaten the Captain who's not a Captain to do it for him. So. Annoying.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Surprisingly Wonderful!


Just finished reading this delightful book: Battelfront: Twilight Company, by Alexander Freed (2015). I must say I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked this one. Being a tie-in to a video game and being an obvious nod to the more violent Disney-ification of Star Wars as of late, I was prepared to dislike this novel.

It won me over in many ways. First, there were a few new words. I learned at least 3 new words while I read, which is a measure (to some degree) of the 'seriousness' of the writer in question. Sounds a bit funny, of course, but I like when I learn something while reading, even something as minor as some extra vocabulary.

Great use of tech and equipment and ships. Great additions of numerous worlds where the company saw action, most of the names new. Great use of existing Star Wars storylines, weaving the tale into the existing fabric of the Galactic Civil War. As you might guess, this book follows a group of Rebel Alliance infantry as they fight across the stars.

There were a bunch of ground combat scenes, of course, and many beings on both sides of the war perished. Not too much in the way of egregious violence or graphic battlefield imagery, thankfully. The book hovers around a semi-dark place, in terms of tone, but never falls fully into the abyss. Always buoyed by some hope and the inspiring spark of resistance so central to the Rebellion.

I have to say that I was reminded throughout of Dan Abnett's incredible Gaunt's Ghosts novels. Realistic peeks into the inner workings of more or less hard sci-fi ground combat units. Freed similarly pulls no punches when it comes to tense conflict where the outcome is balanced on a razor's edge. Hard battles where even main characters meet their ends. Freed fills the pages with a big and interesting cast of characters bound by their shared mission and determined to slog it through, sometimes fighting more for the sake of the friends beside them than for the over-arching 'cause'.

This was a tale from the lowly infantryman's point of view. Barely a mention of high ranking Alliance personnel. Nothing too planet shattering (see what I did there?) in terms of objectives completed or enemies defeated. A good, rugged tale about, as the back cover of the book says, "The bravest soldiers. The toughest warriors. The ultimate survivors." 

Right up there with "Lost Stars" and "Lords of the Sith" as the best of the Disney canon thus far. Followed in second place by "Tarkin". Third is "A New Dawn". Fourth is "Heir to the Jedi". Last place is "Aftermath". Unknown where to rank "Dark Disciple"...I am not that interested in finding out, either.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Luke Tells Us a Story


Just finished reading "Heir to the Jedi" by Kevin Hearne (2015). Set just a bit after the destruction of the first Death Star, this novel follows Luke on a series of side treks, biding his time until The Empire Strikes Back, I guess. Fan favorite R2 is there, so that's good. Although Luke can't innately understand his hoots and bleeps yet, so that's too bad.

The delivery of the story is a bit odd: first person, past tense. Luke is telling us what happened. I did not find this as distracting and jarring as Aftermath's present tense (and punctuation soup served with random word salad).

Heir was a  decent read. It seemed a collection of side trips, sometimes with different genres applied. One such trip is a sci-fi horror episode seemingly out of character with Star Wars in general. Others seem a bit pointless, like going to Rodia to look at a catalog of weapons the Alliance might purchase.

Luke comes across correctly, as I see it, even if we're oddly lodged in his head the whole time. A love interest is found, lightening the proceedings, and lost, providing some tragedy and depth as well as returning Luke to "single" from "it's complicated". A tricky story to write, as you know where the main character has to end up in less than 3 years time. He can't do anything here to outshine his performance in the movies, either.

As for the strange parts: many mentions were made of "noodles". Luke seemed to be eating noodles, moving them or his fork with the Force, and spilling noodle broth on himself on every other page. Also overdone was the word "nerf". We had nerf nuggets, nerf steaks, and nerf...noodles. This is a common problem with Star Wars writers, in my opinion. They overuse a few key words or aliens or whatever. Many excessive mentions of "rancor" were seen as well. I'd say a good goal to shoot for would be 50% old words and 50% new in this regard.

More blood! More gore! Again with the out-of-character Disney Star Wars fixation on graphic violence! Head shots are incorporated into every fight scene. Luke gets sprayed with brain matter at least twice. Slugs are shot into heads, through eyes, etc. Calm down, Disney. I don't get why new Star Wars needs to be so dirty, gritty, and realistic. Give it a break...this is fast and loose space opera, not Band of Brothers!

I am glad I read this one for the sake of completeness, but I'm still on the fence as to whether I'd add it to my "preferred canon". The love interest character may push it over the edge, as I am a hopeless romantic. To sum up: definitely not as bad as I thought it would be. High praise, indeed.