|
 CHAPTER 41: PEACE IN OUR TIME Previously posted:The unhinged Jedi Master SIDONIE GAREN has sequestered representatives of the GREAT HOUSES of ALDERAAN at an undisclosed location for a “peace conference”. JOLUNE MOL'NEUX, having allied with HOUSE TERAL, has uncovered the location of the conference and hurries to get there before a war starts. Or stops. Or something...   : This is the place the coordinates pointed to. I guess we use the data spike to unlock the shuttle to the peace conference? : I'd have preferred the Sendoth Hotel and Spa, but whatever.  A SHORT FLIGHT LATER...   : Sendoth Ruins... Wait, Sendoth? Send off? Really, Master Sidonie?  : I have Master Sidonie's permission. Well, I don't actually. But you're going to think I do. Oh, and forget I said that. : Master Sidonie's permission. Oh yes, we're sorry. Of course. Go on. : Phew... I was worried I was losing my touch after Vox. : Vox... who?: The verbose mercenary, remember? …Are you alright? : Cold. Make... slow.: Sorry, Qyzen. I should have thought of that before dragging you up a mountain.: Is ok... Let you do peace... talk.  WHO'S WHO AT THE PEACE CONFERENCE Yes, it's the most exclusive event on the Alderaanian social calendar! All of high society is here, on an isolated mountain top in a thematically appropriate ruin, to argue with each other and eventually get murdered by a psychotic Jedi. For those of you in the audience who haven't been paying attention to the nuances of Alderaan politics, here's a quick primer as to who everybody represents.  : House Thul, the Empire's puppets on Alderaan. : House Organa, the Republic's  : House Ulgo, the House of the usurper King. Everyone hates them. : House Rist, the Alderaan assassin's guild. Everyone hates them too. : House Alde, the oldest House (the planet's named after these guys). Everyone in the Empire has robbed their library at some point.  : House Baliss, the Switzerland of Houses. They've been having problems with a certain roguish ne'er-do-well lately. : House Cortess, who enjoy a close working relationship with Imperial Intelligence.: House Teral, who have recently fallen on hard ti- oh, wait.On with the show! [VIDEO: Peace out, y'all]   : House Thul is the reason the Panteer heir was assassinated. And House Ulgo is merely a puppet of House Rist.: Say “Lies! All lies!”: Lies! All lies! ...wait.: There are holographic recordings, documents! You can't argue with hard evidence! : Master Sidonie, what have you done?: You wouldn't understand. I do this for the good of the galaxy.: Master Sidonie, you have a sickness that's altering your mind.: I have suppressed my illness. Overcome it through reason. I am thinking as I always have-- in strategy, in variables and outcomes. : I'm sorry, Master Sidonie, but I can't let that happen.: You are too late. All the pieces are already in place.MEANWHILE...  : House Rist takes exception to that characterization-- murderer.: That was thirty years ago! Also, you're an assassin! Come on!: We had an alliance!: House Organa has heard enough. It's clear to us that there can be no other course, but war.You have the option here to mind trick all the delegates simultaneously into making peace. It's kind of awesome, but also fairly creepy, so we'll try using our words instead.  : No. House Organa doesn't take kindly to being stabbed in the back. : Look who's high and mighty. We were kicked off Alderaan because you framed us!: Yes, and then you murdered the heir to the throne.: We didn't murder anyone. Rist did.: Yes, Rist put that usurper on the throne, but you ordered the hit. : And we'll kill anyone who says otherwise!: How can you judge each other when you've all committed the same crimes?: Easy for you to say, Jedi. You don't have any stake in any of this.: These accusations go back thirty years! Thirty years of betrayal and treachery! We're the worst generation ever!: Thirty more if you go to war. Don't you want to leave your children something better? : I mean... War, what is it good for?: Boo!: Oh come on, someone had to say it. : Master Sidonie?: Listen to her-- she wants war!?: Fight the illness, Master Sidonie. Come back to the light.: Jedi, if you will not agree to be silent, then I will silence you myself!  *WHUMP*  : …? Mirror match! Master Garen is a Jedi Sage, like Jolune and uses most of the same abilities.  Her FORCEQUAAAKE! is pretty puny though. Like Jolune, Master Garen doesn't really have any powerful attacks, but she has some irritatingly strong healing powers which can cause this fight to drag out. Your stuns and knockbacks come in handy here- nearly all of Master Garen's attacks require charging or channeling time, which means you can neutralize her by clever use of abilities that interrupt her skills.  BONUS QUIZ TIME: There are seven House representatives at the Conference (not including Jolune), but only six banners. Which House's banner is missing?  Eventually Master Garen falls. [VIDEO: The Last Master]  : I'm sorry, Parkanas. I failed you. I tried to keep the darkness from coming, but I failed.: You're not the first person to mention Parkanas. Let me guess, you're responsible for his death as well?: It's my fault Parkanas died. Malachor Three. I miscalculated! He had to be left behind. He died because of me! : Do you know who Lord Vivicar is? Or where he is?: I don't know. I can't see into his head, but he can see into mine. Please, Jedi. You have to free me. You have to kill me. As previous, there's a kill or cure decision here.  : ...: Will you be alright? What did you do?: ...It's a shielding ritual-- it should keep Lord Vivicar's voice out of your head for a while.: Thank you, Jedi. I only hope the sacrifice wasn't too great. For a while I thought I was able to block Lord Vivicar's voice from my mind. If you hadn't been there with your calm sense, I don't know what would've happened. : You are most understanding, Jedi. I will contact the Jedi Council-- I'm sure they'll want a full explanation. : Indeed-- but I have to say, Jedi, I'm at a loss as to how to proceed from here.: Let there be a truce, and let the summit reconvene at a later date to work on a formal peace agreement.: The summit will reconvene at a later date to discuss the details of a peace agreement.Despite his words matching Jolune's, this isn't a mind trick. He just repeats what you said for some reason.  That was the light side end to the quest. You can push the Houses into turning on Ulgo, as Lord Teral wanted, which is dark side and doesn't do much for the peace but is quite satisfying. You also get the third option of telling them all that you've done what you came here for, and so now they can sort out their own problems, which is even more satisfying but gets you neither dark nor light side points. The quest also exemplifies the problems of driving plot into MMORPGs. In a single player game this would be the last scene on Alderaan- Peace between the Houses! War is over! All is well! -but in MMO land Alderaan will always be at war. Subsequent quests on this planet have the Houses fighting against each other as usual; not to mention all the other class questlines. Makes it all feel a bit pointless really. BACK AT THE SPACEPORT...  : I'm glad that's dealt with. If there can be peace on Alderaan, then there's hope for the rest of the galaxy.: Perhaps.: How are you doing now we're back at sea level?: Warmer. Better. ...You?: I'm ...the same, really. Anyway, Master Sidonie was the last infected Master. It should be over now, right?*mip mip* *mip mip*  : Hopefully the houses will continue to put aside their differences. : We all have you and Master Sidonie to thank. My only regret is that there's no talk of removing House Ulgo's noble status and lands once the war's over.: I didn't want to risk undoing the peace by inciting another conflict.: That was probably the wisest course. But I just can't feel safe as long as Ulgo commands an army. : You're most welcome.: You've done House Teral an invaluable service. I hope you will come visit us again.: Bye Lord Teral!   : Welcome home, Master. The ship is just how you left it, except for the...: What is that smell? : OSH3 mostly. Good to see you're still alive, by the way.: The pungent aroma is the result of Master Cedrax's chemical experimentation on his mysterious letter. Times like this make me appreciate the fact that I lack a nose. : If you don't have a nose, then how do you know the ship stinks?: F1-X1 told me. : whistle: Why would an astromech have a sense of smell?: beep: He used to be a sommelier.: But... He... What? Oh, forget it.  : She reports that you were able to prevent war from breaking out on Alderaan however. You've once again done very good work in a tense situation, Jedi.: I did my best, given the situation.: The Council has come to expect nothing less of you. Tell me, did you learn anything new about the plaguemaster, Lord Vivicar?: Master Sidonie mentioned him, but she had no information.: I see. Master Sidonie was the last of the lost Masters, and yet Vivicar still eludes us. NEXT TIME: Jolune explains it all. BONUS CODEX CONTENT: Jedi Diplomacy posted:Galactic diplomacy and the Jedi Order have been intertwined for thousands of years. Renowned for their sense of justice and wide cultural awareness, Jedi negotiators are in high demand. Sometimes a Jedi will represent the interests of the Republic or the Jedi Order, but Jedi often act as a neutral third party between two factions; an outsider who can be trusted to arbitrate disputes fairly. The talents of the Jedi and their adherence to the Jedi Code make them well suited to diplomatic endeavors. Jedi are trained in galactic law and history, often understand obscure languages and customs, and are famed for their devotion to peace. In addition, anyone trying to bribe or lie to a Jedi diplomat will be met with polite amusement at best–and at worst, heavy sanctions and criminal charges from the Republic. Inferior fucked around with this message at 22:46 on Jan 14, 2014 |
| ← # ? Oct 1, 2013 19:52 |
|
