The landing was accomplished without incident. A group of Whist came to meet them. A few Guardians went out to meet them. The Whist greeted them ceremoniously and okayed the transfer of water. Meanwhile, on the Odyssey, a warning message came from the Gorenes. a Pom warship had been detected on the planet and an attack was likely. The Gorenes were scrambling ships but the Guardians were warned to take cover until the battle was over. Before any action could be taken, the Whist and Guardians in the clearing were attacked.
The Pom attackers were robotic, with elaborate defenses and moderate laser fire power. The Whist gathered around their leader, who sealed them in some sort of forcefield. The few Guardians on the ground fought back against the Pom, but were outnumbered and outgunned. On the Odyssey, chaos reigned. Quiasar sealed the ship with his FF, but quickly received a shock. The injured Crutch teleported aboard through his defense, then SK and Crocodile burst the field heading out to battle. Quiasar gathered his wits enough to bring the Odyssey into battle position, and the war raged on.
With the heavy guns of the Odyssey brought into play, the Guardians had a large power advantage. WL singlehandedly turned the tide of battle, blasting one warbot and damaging another. Unfortunately, it also allowed Crutch to act. Determined to use his one minute shipgun orientation, he powered the weapon system and blasted away, hitting everything but the robots. Guardians dived for cover as his random shots lit up the landscape. The Whist formation was blown apart by a direct hit from Crutch, and the warbots moved to elimination the dazed Whist.
The Guardians on the ground concentrated on protecting the helpless Whist, but nothing could stop Crutch. He blew apart one of the natives with another errant shot. Meanwhile, Quiasar kept in contact with the Gorenes and obtained specifications on the Pom warbots. He broadcasted the command codes from the Odyssey, causing the warbots to attempt to reaquire targets. The Pom bots were originally programmed to fight only the Sikan, and most held their attacks as the surveyed the battlefield. The Guardians helped the injured Whist out of the combat zone. Finally, the last of the bots retreated and all was quiet. Quiasar monitored a Gorene fighter wing coming in to destroy the Pom ship.
Crutch acted to atone for his abysmal actions on the battlefield. He teleported to the one Whist fatality and brought him to the ship. There, he used his remarkable powers over life and death to restore the Whist. After the deed was done, the Guardians gathered to meet the Whist once again. This time, everyone but Sindar and WL came to the meeting. Crutch expected praise and awe for his remarkable feat. He didn't get it. Yes, the Whist did drop to their knees and bow, but it was to SK. SK checked that Excalibur remained undrawn, then told the Whist their reverence was unnecessary. (Pleasant, understandable, but unnecessary). The Guardians then learned the SK was considered the GREAT ONE, returned to visit his subjects.
Despite his best efforts, SK was unable to talk the Whist out of a celebratory feast in his honor. The rest of the Guardians joined him in walking to the Whist city. Like the rest of the world, it was a mix of advanced alien technology and galactic standard primitive. Several abstract and stylistic artwork adorned the walls. Some Guardians saw the statues and pictures of the GREAT ONE to be identical to SK, others needed to concentrate to see any resemblance. Shadow Knight did his best to tone down the visit, and made it clear that he would need to leave soon. The Whist seemed to accept that readily, and felt priveleged to have his company even briefly.
Crocodile analyzed the food and found plenty that humans could eat. The Guardians settled down and enjoyed the feast. The Loremaster (leader) of a nearby city arrived for a consultation, and was stunned to find the GREAT ONE in residence. The Loremasters decided that now was the time to restore past technological glories to the Whist. The GREAT ONE, of course, was expected to help. The Guardians contacted the Gorenes for advice. The Gorenes told them that the solar collection grid could be reinitialized, but supervision was very advisable. The Guardians decided to watch, but not intervene unless necessary.
The Loremasters led them deep underground. There, in a gigantic hall, was the throne room of the GREAT ONE. A highly stylized statue sat on the throne, holding his staff, a larger, more ornate version of the one that each Loremaster carried. The ever curious Quiasar asked about the staff, and found out that it was the original, kept safe here for the return of the GREAT ONE. Being of a aquiring nature, Quiasar attempted to take the staff. After all, it could prove useful and it wasn't nailed down. He suceeded in his attempt, and took the staff. SK, already concerned about appearances, firmly took it away from Quiasar, as only the true GREAT ONE should hold it.
Shadow Knight was able to persuade the Loremasters to handle any and all defenses guarding the power control room. The Loremasters apparently were able to disable any traps and the doors opened (eventually) at their command. Once in the control room, the Guardians took over, carefully analyzing the power systems before rebooting the grid. In the end, they were sucessful in handling the old, but still impressive alien system. The solar collection grid went back online.
Shadow Knight, the GREAT ONE, waved goodbye to the cheering crowd of natives. Then, disaster struck, a Whist jumped out and attacked him. Moving with astonishing White Leopard type speed, he struck down SK. The Guardians and the mob tore him to pieces, revealing him to be a Sikan assassin. Quiasar alertly acted to forestall any hysteria. Using his illusion abilities, he crafted a GREAT ONE in the sky, who then reached down and carried away the fallen SK. The crowd bowed in adoration as the illusionary GREAT ONE left, the Guardians along with it.
CONCLUSIONS; Good job by all, the GREAT ONE is the MVGThe Message read as follows:
Destiny foretold that you would come,
A Knight of Shadows and Darkness home.
A sword you now wield,
but it you should yield,
to the newest of allies,
for with him it belongs.
This new weapon though,
waits for a touch from you;
as are all great items of magic,
to one historic being they are true.
Only you can free it,
in shadow-form it will be yours;
A blade of unspeakable might
will sing with eldritch powers.
The more you are to use it,
each time you with it fight,
it's power grows
and it will then
put enemies to flight!
Songs will be sung
and legends told
of the great feats done
in days of old
by the Shadow warrior
and his gifted blade: DESTINY.