Turn 25 Rumor Mill/Anti-Palpatine Report II
Galactic News:
CNS Space Expands Dramatically: The Caamas Ceasefire has allowed many systems to formally align themselves with the CNS, increasing the number of planets affiliated with it dramatically. While most of these systems are relatively economically minor on the galactic scale the increase in sheer size has been far more dramatic.

Onderon Rebellion Victorious: Against all odds, the Onderonian rebels have succeeded at expelling the CIS occupation forces and reinstalling their deposed king. While the system itself has joined the CNS for security reasons, the casualties taken by the CIS and their loss of momentum in the region has given the Republic a chance to launch several counter-offensives against the CIS in the region.

Underworld News:
Cortosis Contracts Increasing: Apparently there have been a number of contracts for Cortosis to be moved to clandestine locations throughout the galaxy. The wiretaps on Nar Shaddaa have indicated that the Techno Union have been the ones offering said contracts though further details have not been shared with potential contractors.

Anti-Ciaran Rumors Ineffective: While there haven't been any overt declarations as of yet, apparently some individual or group attempted to spread rumors defacing Ciaran through various underground sources though they have quickly debunked due to various contradictions and anyone attempting to further said rumors has been 'disappeared.'

Organization News:
Nepotism In Upper Command?: Upper command members of the Abyss Watchers have noticed that Silas Cata has been hiring on his own grandchildren to assist him in his various duties. While they have proven to be effective assistants people are baffled at just how many grandchildren he has.

(CLASSIFIED) Talzin Calls In Favor: Apparently Mother Talzin has contacted the Watchers by sending a "representative" informing them that she requires the organization's aid with an assignment. According to her she needs help recovering someone of interest to her who could assist with dealing with the Sith, though she refused to give more details until someone meets with her in person.

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Excerpt from Report #28327: Palpatine Counter-Action Report II (Submitted by Central Command, Compiled by Thrawn):

While most of our assets from before have remained the same our Agent teams have become a more prominent asset due to Kygeetu's promotion, we have rallied the Anti-Palpatine senators, established of a support network on Skirata's behalf, and of course gained the Invisible Hand. However, we still have considerable work to do, though a variety of avenues are currently available to us.

Currently Available Significant Assets:
Abyss Watchers:
Agent Teams: Force-trained commando units. While skilled against conventional targets, Palpatine himself is likely far out of their reach. However Kygeetu has proven to be a cut above most Agents; were more of them able to reach her level we could have a far more powerful asset in general.
Oracle Fleet: A small fleet capable of providing some support; though it would crumble against a proper military assault. Gaining the Invisible Hand has increased its potential combat ability significantly however.
Decimators: Prototype heavy tanks, viable as a desperation tactic for a possible full-scale assault of some variety.
SSS: We have an in at the Senate with them but those men would not stand a chance against Palpatine's guards.
Tyro: Skilled in the Blazing Chains enough that he might be a viable asset, but I question how effective he'll be against Palpatine himself or potential acolytes.
The Silencer: A skilled warrior to be sure, but there is only so much a normal man can do against a Sith Lord and any potential acolytes like Dooku.
Grievous: While talented as a leader and fighter, see the Silencer's entry.
Thrawn: There is only so much I can do. I can plan an attack but I would certainly perish to Palpatine or any other Sith.
Asajj: One of the two people we can reliably trust to possibly confront Palpatine himself if necessary; though even with her growth it is likely that Palpatine is still stronger.
Ciaran: At this point I would consider you to be similar to Asajj in capabilities.
HK-47: The droid is certainly capable of eliminating Force-users, but he is in dire need of an overhaul to reach his previously recorded capabilities.

Since the oversight on Jango Fett should be ending within this quarter I could potentially contact him should you desire. In addition, apparently HK-47 has records stored within him of various assets Revan had available to him which could be extremely useful to us.

Senate:
Anti-Palpatine Coalition: Consisting of Senators such as Mon Mothma, Padme Amidala, Bail Organa, and so on, we've now managed to rally them into a more effective opposition force against Palpatine, though their influence is currently quite limited. They will need further support to become a stronger political asset.

Jedi:
Currently all Jedi Order candidates are deemed too unreliable; should they receive the information about Palpatine's Sith Lord status they likely would act rashly and get themselves killed or cause catastrophic political fallout. It is recommended that Jedi outside the Order such as Ferrus Olin be contacted instead if we require Jedi assets.

Etain Tur-Mukan has been filed under Skirata's description for convenience.

Republic Military:
Kal Skirata: Thanks to our assistance, Skirata now has a steady inflow of clone deserters that he can tap for assistance. Combined with the Null ARCs with him he can call on considerable support should the need arise. In addition they have gained the support of the Jedi Etain Tur-Mukan, though I question how much one Jedi can do should the situation call for it.

Other:
Seti Ashgad: He is now acting as a shadow leader for the Anti-Palpatine Coalition and is doing what he can to support them.
Talzin: While I myself am uncertain as to whether she can be trusted in this endeavor she does command the Nighsisters and has promised us her support.

Talesan Fry's codebreaker could be a reliable asset but we will need to move fast to ensure it is secured.

Current Probability Of Successfully Neutralizing Palpatine: Negligible
 
Asajj: One of the two people we can reliably trust to possibly confront Palpatine himself if necessary; though even with her growth it is likely that Palpatine is still stronger.
Ciaran: At this point I would consider you to be similar to Asajj in capabilities.

Gotta train these two up ASAP.
 
(CLASSIFIED) Talzin Calls In Favor: Apparently Mother Talzin has contacted the Watchers by sending a "representative" informing them that she requires the organization's aid with an assignment. According to her she needs help recovering someone of interest to her who could assist with dealing with the Sith, though she refused to give more details until someone meets with her in person.
Shit. Fuck. She's talking about Maul. We cannot let Maul return to the galactic stage. He took over every major criminal organisation in the galaxy within a few weeks/months of his return, including the Black Sun and the Hutts! He was so dangerous that Sidious decided to kill him himself! He will be our greatest threat if he ever shows up.
 
Shit. Fuck. She's talking about Maul. We cannot let Maul return to the galactic stage. He took over every major criminal organisation in the galaxy within a few weeks/months of his return, including the Black Sun and the Hutts! He was so dangerous that Sidious decided to kill him himself! He will be our greatest threat if he ever shows up.

Oh please. If the latest episode of Rebels taught me anything, we just need to somehow throw Obi-Wan at him and he will be down in two or three seconds flat. :rolleyes:
 
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Obviously we should grab Maul, give him our handy dandy anti-dumbass Sith holocron™ and then warp time and space in such a way that we can apply over a hundred omakes to the action and crit so hard his skin turns blue and he becomes Jedi Jesus :)
 
Cortosis Contracts Increasing: Apparently there have been a number of contracts for Cortosis to be moved to clandestine locations throughout the galaxy. The wiretaps on Nar Shaddaa have indicated that the Techno Union have been the ones offering said contracts though further details have not been shared with potential contractors.
I always wanted to Naboo a few cortosis battle droids. Looks like we'll get a chance to pretty soon.

Nepotism In Upper Command?: Upper command members of the Abyss Watchers have noticed that Silas Cata has been hiring on his own grandchildren to assist him in his various duties. While they have proven to be effective assistants people are baffled at just how many grandchildren he has.
:rofl:

(CLASSIFIED) Talzin Calls In Favor:
Shit. Fuck. She's talking about Maul. We cannot let Maul return to the galactic stage. He took over every major criminal organisation in the galaxy within a few weeks/months of his return, including the Black Sun and the Hutts! He was so dangerous that Sidious decided to kill him himself! He will be our greatest threat if he ever shows up.
...I'm on the fence, actually. We would need to recover Maul in order to secure Talzin's help vs. Palpatine (she's the only Force User that Palpatine actually feared!) but Maul himself is... a blunt instrument. Could we try to help him recover some sanity, to turn him into a useful asset rather than a liability? We have a few possibilities:
  • Support Talzin -- in canon, she 'fixed' Maul directly, though that sort of mind manipulation makes me queasy. We might offer suggestions for how to help Maul recover?
  • Ask Vectivus for help -- use his holocron and the Force phantom himself to help 'deprogram' Maul from the Baneite Sith cult
  • Bribe with Force-sensitive cybernetics -- Maul only has half a body, so it's possible he (or Talzin) may call on Karada for help getting him back up to speed. We could use that as leverage.
  • Seek out other Force organizations that specialize in healing -- this is the big one, I think. There are a few healing-specialized groups around the galaxy; we might learn from their techniques for fun and profit!
  • Contact Thracia Cho Leem -- a 'Gray Jedi' Master who specializes in Force healing, and is widely respected within the Jedi Order.. However, due to her views on attachment -- she's repeatedly flouted the ban, marrying multiple times with quite a few children as the result -- she only just escaped formal censure as one of the 'Lost Twenty'. After the loss of her latest padawan a decade ago, she's taken to wandering the galaxy doing 'the will of the Force', without much regard for the Jedi Council. (Perhaps we would have stumbled across her path at some point? Or -- and now I can't get the idea out of my head -- perhaps Silas Cata was one of the people she married, long ago? :D) Either way, Cho Leem seems like someone who would be a very useful asset for our organization, and might be immediately useful for fixing Maul as well.
SSS: We have an in at the Senate with them but those men would not stand a chance against Palpatine's guards.
Another suggestion -- could we add 'Training Complex' as a Coruscant base upgrade, to improve their abilities? Or could we assign one of our Martial-specialized heroes to help with their training as a Hero Action?

Ciaran: At this point I would consider you to be similar to Asajj in capabilities.
Woohoo! Nice to be ranked up there!

HK-47: The droid is certainly capable of eliminating Force-users, but he is in dire need of an overhaul to reach his previously recorded capabilities.
Wow, that wasn't subtle at all. I wonder what HK-47 will be doing this turn?

Since the oversight on Jango Fett should be ending within this quarter I could potentially contact him should you desire.
@Dr. Snark, can you clarify: this makes it sound like 'contact Jango' (and/or 'end oversight') is the equivalent of a Hero Recruitment action? Does this mean we could have recruited Jango last turn? :cry:

Anti-Palpatine Coalition: Consisting of Senators such as Mon Mothma, Padme Amidala, Bail Organa, and so on, we've now managed to rally them into a more effective opposition force against Palpatine, though their influence is currently quite limited. They will need further support to become a stronger political asset.
Between this and recovering the Chu'unthor, I suspect our Diplomacy actions are already tied up this turn.

It is recommended that Jedi outside the Order such as Ferrus Olin be contacted instead if we require Jedi assets.
Again, not terribly subtle. Can anyone tell me why Ferrus Olin is considered such a particularly useful asset? I know very little about the character...

Talesan Fry's codebreaker could be a reliable asset but we will need to move fast to ensure it is secured.
And there goes one of our Intrigue actions. Or possibly a Stewardship action. Depends on what category it's listed in.
 
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Oh please. If the latest episode of Rebels taught me anything, we just need to somehow throw Obi-Wan at him and he will be down in two or three seconds flat. :rolleyes:

It wouldn't even be that hard, he's our main contact with the Jedi. Just mention that we've heard rumors of a Zabrak Sith with robot legs that looks similar to the one from Naboo.
 
Just mention that we've heard rumors of a Zabrak Sith with robot legs that looks similar to the one from Naboo.
The problem is, we have no in-character knowledge that would tell us that Maul is dangerous or anywhere near as capable/unkillable as he turns out to be. If I remember from canon, the Jedi kept the whole incident quiet (besides the fact that Qui-Gon died), so we probably have no idea Obi-Wan has any history with someone related to Talzin.... The trick will be figuring out a way to get that in-character knowledge, before it bites us...
 
The problem is, we have no in-character knowledge that would tell us that Maul is dangerous or anywhere near as capable/unkillable as he turns out to be. If I remember from canon, the Jedi kept the whole incident quiet (besides the fact that Qui-Gon died), so we probably have no idea Obi-Wan has any history with someone related to Talzin.... The trick will be figuring out a way to get that in-character knowledge, before it bites us...

Padme. She knows the bare bones at least. Sith chasing her, killed Qui-Gon.

Maul could also tell us himself. His grudge against Obi-Wan isn't really something I see him keeping secret. We're going to ask him about Sidious anyway, the topic would probably come up.
 
The problem is, we have no in-character knowledge that would tell us that Maul is dangerous or anywhere near as capable/unkillable as he turns out to be. If I remember from canon, the Jedi kept the whole incident quiet (besides the fact that Qui-Gon died), so we probably have no idea Obi-Wan has any history with someone related to Talzin.... The trick will be figuring out a way to get that in-character knowledge, before it bites us...

We stole the ship he came on. So shouldn't Maul have something on it that would clue us in on him being Palpatine's apprentice? Even if he was dead, I don't think the Abyss Watchers would not have any information on the record.
 
(CLASSIFIED) Talzin Calls In Favor: Apparently Mother Talzin has contacted the Watchers by sending a "representative" informing them that she requires the organization's aid with an assignment. According to her she needs help recovering someone of interest to her who could assist with dealing with the Sith, though she refused to give more details until someone meets with her in person.
Oh god, Maul was it?
Shit. Fuck. She's talking about Maul. We cannot let Maul return to the galactic stage. He took over every major criminal organisation in the galaxy within a few weeks/months of his return, including the Black Sun and the Hutts! He was so dangerous that Sidious decided to kill him himself! He will be our greatest threat if he ever shows up.
Agreed very much with this post. Maul's hard-on with vengeance to Obi-Wan and the general power hungry type of Sith that he is would only proof detrimental to Ciaran status as a non-Sith aligned neutral player. That and he'd probably try to seize power all on his own. He's just that hard to handle type of character.

On the other hand, declining Talzin's request could reduce relations to the Nightsisters, ergo expect negative backlash to Ventress and the potential of Nightsisters pulling out their support. Talzin might even pulled her own gambit like in canon, and for fuck's sake that one might be more dangerous to the galaxy at large if Ciaran wasn't there to provide oversight.

Decisions, decisions.
 
I consider Maul to be something of a double-edged sword. Yes, he has the potential to go complete berserker... but as long as we keep him away from Kenobi and focused on taking revenge on his former master for abandoning him, we should be okay. Besides if we want information on Darth Sidious, Maul is probably our best source as his former right hand.

Besides I'm sure we could convert him into the path of business Sith Lord... and promise him a rematch with Kenobi after we eliminate the greater threat.

 
I think we can pull it off with Maul. I mean, we already have Grievous, Asaij, Thrawn, and we're about to get Jango, Maul would round out that roster quite well.

Worse comes to worse, we redirect his hatred towards Sidious for kidnapping him from his mother and using him a son a tool to be thrown away when convenient.

When Maul finally is killed by Obi-wan, he's oddly enough at peace knowing that Luke "will avenge us." He is actually at peace with Obi-wan killing him, simply because now he knows Sidious will die.

Maul hates both Sidious and Obi-wan, but in canon he presumably focused on Obi-wan more because unlike Sidious he could actually do something against Obi-wan. But we can offer him a chance against Sidious.
 
Another suggestion -- could we add 'Training Complex' as a Coruscant base upgrade, to improve their abilities? Or could we assign one of our Martial-specialized heroes to help with their training as a Hero Action?

Hmm...I think that would be a thing that would be possible, sure.

@Dr. Snark
I do not know if this has been asked but can Ventress train us in the Dathomiri use of the Force?

Yes, I just forgot to put it on the last turn. It wasn't available until then due to Asajj's issues making her an...unreliable trainer.
 
Ask Vectivus for help -- use his holocron and the Force phantom himself to help 'deprogram' Maul from the Baneite Sith cult
Maul isn't some droid that can be reprogrammed. His Sith-like desires are genuine, they're not rooted in something like fear of pain like Asajj was. We could no more "deprogram" him of his desires to dominate and destroy than Ciaran could be reprogrammed out of her greed. Vectivus' holocron is not some magical "make Sith not asshole" button - it only works on certain people under certain circumstances.
 
Maul isn't some droid that can be reprogrammed. His Sith-like desires are genuine, they're not rooted in something like fear of pain like Asajj was. We could no more "deprogram" him of his desires to dominate and destroy than Ciaran could be reprogrammed out of her greed. Vectivus' holocron is not some magical "make Sith not asshole" button - it only works on certain people under certain circumstances.
Yes, but depending on how Talzin leaves him mentally, this might be one of those scenarios.
 
Maul isn't some droid that can be reprogrammed. His Sith-like desires are genuine, they're not rooted in something like fear of pain like Asajj was.
My analogy was not to 'reprogramming' a droid, but to 'deprogramming' a cult survivor. And Maul absolutely qualifies under that description; he was enslaved to Palpatine from a very young age, and trained to serve as Palpatine's pet assassin. Which is why he hates Sidious so much. Vectivus was himself a Baneite Sith who didn't fall prey to the lust for power & vengeance, and for that reason he would have special insight in how to help Maul overcome those temptations. For instance: "the best revenge is living well," that letting his hatred for Palpatine consume him is precisely what Palpatine trained him to do.

We're not Jedi, so we're not asking him to give up his desire for revenge -- if anything, we'd be promising to satisfy that desire. What we'd like, is for Maul to become a person (and not just a Sith tool) while he's waiting for that opportune moment.
 

I just want to say it's nice to cause all of this instead of react to it.

Cortosis Contracts Increasing: Apparently there have been a number of contracts for Cortosis to be moved to clandestine locations throughout the galaxy. The wiretaps on Nar Shaddaa have indicated that the Techno Union have been the ones offering said contracts though further details have not been shared with potential contractors.

Oh hey, it's the New Droid Army. Cortosis battle droids, the introduction and death of Tann's boyfriend, and Coruscant itself is attacked as a front for Dooku (or at least a projection of him) to raid the Jedi Archives. If we play our cards right, we could maybe get the entire factory of cortosis battle droids.

Anti-Ciaran Rumors Ineffective: While there haven't been any overt declarations as of yet, apparently some individual or group attempted to spread rumors defacing Ciaran through various underground sources though they have quickly debunked due to various contradictions and anyone attempting to further said rumors has been 'disappeared.'

lol, how's that blackmail working for you guys?

(CLASSIFIED) Talzin Calls In Favor: Apparently Mother Talzin has contacted the Watchers by sending a "representative" informing them that she requires the organization's aid with an assignment. According to her she needs help recovering someone of interest to her who could assist with dealing with the Sith, though she refused to give more details until someone meets with her in person.

For better or worse, here comes the coolest character design in the series. Can't wait to debate whether we should try to keep him under control or shoot him on sight.

We cannot let Maul return to the galactic stage. He took over every major criminal organisation in the galaxy within a few weeks/months of his return, including the Black Sun and the Hutts! He was so dangerous that Sidious decided to kill him himself! He will be our greatest threat if he ever shows up.
Well we can't let him return to the galactic stage unrestricted certainly, seeing as we like the Hutts and more or less are the Black Sun. But Talzin isn't working alone on this time, and is explicitly bringing us in on it. She let him run amok before because that was pretty much her only option. Now she's allied with the Force of nature that is Ciaran. Unless she's a moron, we're getting Maul (and maybe Savage) giftwrapped as Hero Units. Hero Units who, starting from scratch became enough of a threat to Sidious that he decided to take them out personally. Also, Sidious didn't kill Maul. Obi-wan did.

And our greatest threat? Really? You know we're fighting Sidious, right? Do I need to link the scene of him casually roflstomping Maul and his brother? You can say Maul coming back is a bad thing, but he's nowhere near our greatest threat.

  • Bribe with Force-sensitive cybernetics -- Maul only has half a body, so it's possible he (or Talzin) may call on Karada for help getting him back up to speed. We could use that as leverage.

This. Talzin heals the mind, we heal the body. No one said those droid legs have to be perfect either. Maybe they have a weakness. Maybe we're the one who knows about that. Maybe his legs explode if he turns on us.

we have no in-character knowledge that would tell us that Maul is dangerous or anywhere near as capable/unkillable as he turns out to be...
...The trick will be figuring out a way to get that in-character knowledge, before it bites us...
Hell, we have no in-character way of knowing he existed. Sure, Padme and Obi-wan know, and we know them, but does Maul seem like a topic either would bring up in any capacity? That said, there's no reason we need to know his life's story to figure out that he's dangerous. Just hearing that he's Sidious' apprentice should excite and concern us in equal measure.

Maul isn't some droid that can be reprogrammed.
He kinda is though. Maul is mentally broken. Savage found him a quivering wreck, and Talzin fixed his mind with her magic voodoo stuff.

Also, we can't reprogram his mind, but we can totally reprogram his legs. That would be hysterical.
 
Talzin heals the mind, we heal the body.
Did Talzin really do such a great job of 'healing' the mind? She cured his sanity problems, but let him exactly as revenge-obsessed as before -- considering his behavior afterwards, it's arguable that she actually exacerbated those issues, so Maul would act the way she wanted him to....

Also, we can't reprogram his mind, but we can totally reprogram his legs. That would be hysterical.
...Omake please? :rofl:
 
Did Talzin really do such a great job of 'healing' the mind? She cured his sanity problems, but let him exactly as revenge-obsessed as before -- considering his behavior afterwards, it's arguable that she actually exacerbated those issues, so Maul would act the way she wanted him to....
I'd say she did do a good job of healing his mind considering that's almost assuredly what she was going for. Maul being revenge obsessed was a plus for her in canon, since as her one shot he would need to be as strong as possible. For a Sith like Maul that means the Dark Side, and revenge is practically Dark Side 101. Now though Maul's going to be working with the Abyss Walkers, why bring us in on this otherwise? Who knows what changes Talzin might make to Maul's head while she's fixing him up now? Best case scenario we get a really competent fighter who hates Sidious more than anything. Worst case scenario we get a raving psychopath, we put him down, and tell Talzin he was more of a hindrance than a help.

Probably not this exact idea, since there's not a lot there beyond the surface joke, but I'm absolutely doing something with Maul.
 
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