Star Wars: The New Republic — Twin Stars of Kira

A Supplement for Use with Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, Second Edition.

Danger lurks and profits await along the legendary Kira Run.

Credits

Contributing Authors: Stephen Crane (The Twin Stars of Kira), Dave Marron (The Package), John Terra (Lazerian IV; Ropagi II), Richard Clark, Barbara Clark and Janelle Keberle (Den of Spies), Michael Horne (For a Few Kilotons More), Todd Quigley (Treasure Hunt), Ed Stark (Operation: Pet Show), Bill Smith (Freedom Strike Seltos), Stewart Warley (The Iskallon Factor)

Development and Editing: Greg Farshtey

Graphics: Cathleen Hunter

Cover Art: Lucasfilm, Ltd.

Interior Art: John Paul Lona

Additional Illustrations: Rob Caswell, Tim Eldred, Mike Vilardi

Publisher: Daniel Scott Palter

Associate Publisher / Treasurer: Denise D. Palter

Associate Publisher / Sales Manager: Richard Hawran

Senior Editor: Greg Farshtey

Editors: Bill Smith, Ed Stark

Art Director: Stephen Crane

Graphic Artists: Cathleen Hunter, John Paul Lona

Sales Assistant: Bill Olmesdahl

Licensing Manager: Ron Seiden

Warehouse Manager: Ed Hill

Published by West End Games, RR 3 Box 2345, Honesdale PA 18431.

This and all other products that take place after the events of Return of the Jedi are the author's vision of what may have happened. The true fate of the heroes and villains of the Star Wars universe has yet to be revealed by George Lucas and Lucasfilm, Ltd.

Table of Contents

• Introduction: The Twin Stars of Kira
• The Package
• Lazerian IV
• Den of Spies
• For a Few Kilotons More
• Ropagi II
• Treasure Hunt
• Operation: Pet Show
• Freedom Strike Seltos
• The Iskallon Factor

Introduction: The Twin Stars of Kira

The "Twin Stars of Kira" is one of those misleading appellations which evolve as a culture expands. While it might be assumed that the term refers to a binary star system, the "twin stars" are actually the endpoints of a short hyperspace trade run linking two major trade routes and skirting Kira System. The run began as little more than a shuttle route, but has developed into a full-blown trade route over time.

Kira System

Kira System received barely a mention in the databanks of the Old Republic. The system was given a standard, cursory scan and logged for follow-up exploration by the original scouting team. The initial sensor scan revealed one world worthy of further exploration and development. The three other planets in the system were uninhabitable and showed no sign of resources worth developing.

Years later, a follow-up survey yielded surprising results. Kira II, the one habitable world — designated Kira Prime — as well as Kira I and Kira III had been destroyed. Nothing remained of these planets save for a massive asteroid field. The field, successor to the name Kira Prime, is constantly circled by the remaining world of Kira IV — mute witness to a disaster of epic proportions.

No cause for the destruction could be determined in the time allotted for the follow-up survey. Further exploration was deemed unwarranted and the file was closed on Kira. To this day, no one knows what caused the devastation, or if it was natural in origin.

The Kira Run

The Harrin and Enarc trade routes are major thoroughfares, boasting extensively charted and well-travelled hyperspace lanes. All manner of commerce is transacted up and down these routes. There is a thriving trade industry which supports many different shipping concerns, from major transport lines to a multitude of free-traders. The Kira Run links these two conduits of trade.

The Harrin Trade Corridor

The Corridor is the primary trade route into the Harrin Sector, located within the Inner Rim Planets. It works its way outward from Harrin, passing through eleven major trade centers and terminating at the Merren system and the trade world of Merkat. Numerous other systems benefit from their location along the Corridor, including Lazerian.

The Enarc Run

The Enarc Run begins further out from the core, originating at the Vondarc system and ending at the world of Enarc in the Enarc system. While a major trade route in its own right, with seven large marketplace worlds along its length, it is not quite as extensive or impressive as the Harrin Corridor. Its major value lies in the fact that it cuts a swath almost all the way across the Mid-Rim region. Enarc is a jumping-off point for trade and travel into the Outer Rim territories. It is also the beginning point for trade passing coreward.

History of the Kira Run

Attempts have been made in the past to bridge the expanse between the overlapping lengths of the Harrin Corridor and the Enarc Run, but all failed to find a safe and reliable passage linking the two. The paucity of star systems between the two routes coupled with the high degree of deep-space hazards led to the failure of previous expeditions.

That is, until an enterprising team of free-traders uncovered the references to Kira Prime. The discovery of a system — even if it were a dead system — in the area between the two routes was the breakthrough that was needed. Realizing that they could use a system with an established location as a stopover point and navigational reference, the Haik expedition set out from Ropagi to plot a new hyperspace route.

The attempt succeeded. Taking a bearing from Kira, the adventurers were able to plot a safe course to Ropagi in the Enarc Run. As more passages were made, the way became easier. As the hyperspace path was further explored and refined, reliable travel became possible. Eventually, a number of small shipping concerns established standard routes through Kira, shunting cargo from one major trade route to the other. Soon, what began as a minor shuttling operation turned into an indispensable link in galactic trade — the Kira Run.

The Twin Stars

The Twin Stars — Lazerian and Ropagi — are each situated on a major trade route. Ropagi system is located about one-third of the way toward Enarc along the Enarc Run. Lazerian sits at the midpoint of the Harrin Trade Corridor, a highly active trade route.

The Kira Run is a short hop through hyperspace. It is essentially a passage from Ropagi to Lazerian, with Kira serving as a navigational anchor point. As they are the only other systems on the route through Kira, they have come to be known as the "Twin Stars of Kira."

Hazards of Kira

While the route through Kira is now well-established and relatively smooth to run, there is still an occasional hyperspace hazard. The massive asteroid field of Kira Prime is not stable. The gravity well of Kira's sun keeps much of the debris contained within the orbit of Kira IV, but every so often, large chunks of detritus break free of the field.

These pieces are generally sizable enough to present a danger to ships traveling in hyperspace. Journeys across the Kira Run must pass by the Kira system, and the free-floating asteroids pose a collision hazard. At the very least, the ship's mass sensors may trigger the hyperdrive cut-out, forcing the ship into realspace and damaging the engines. Because of these dangers, the astrogation standard journey difficulty is Moderate.

This Volume

The Twin Stars of Kira is a collection of mini-adventures set in the systems along the Harrin and Enarc trade routes. These include encounters with a hidden Imperial base, dangerous smuggling missions, and even a bizarre break-in at a zoo. This supplement also features planet logs on the worlds mentioned herein, as well as source material on Lazerian IV and Ropagi II.

This volume is designed for use with Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, Second Edition, and you must have the basic game to play. It takes place after the Battle of Endor and the fall of the Empire.

The Package

Adventure Background

This adventure is designed for smuggler characters.

The adventure starts with the player characters sitting in a bar, having a few cold ones. Read or paraphrase the following:

Well, this is the place: the cantina on Roldalna. Your contact said to meet him here. He's got a job for you — a pickup/delivery. He said he'd give you the particulars when you met face-to-face. The job would pay well, he said. It might be enough to pay off your debts on the ship. After all, just because the war has been won doesn't mean that the banks would let you off the hook.

You are sitting at a table against the back wall of the bar. From your vantage point, you can see the entrance to the cantina, the bar itself, the photon dart board, the holo area, and the zero-G dance floor. Since the music from the band is soft, the conversations at nearby tables are easily heard. The topics of discussion are many and varied: the fall of the Empire, the dart league, the deaths of Lord Vader and the Emperor, the music, the birth of the New Republic, the dancers, new models of blasters, and the quality of the drinks.

The Contact

Allow the characters to interact with whomever they wish. If they want to dance or play darts, let them. If they want to discuss current events with nearby patrons, fine. If they want to make a date, you're on your own.

You see a creature come through the doorway. He is about one-and-a-half meters in height and covered in blue fur. An oversized hat rests on its head at a jaunty angle. He wanders to the bar, orders a drink, and gazes around the bar. His eyes light on your table, and he waddles over to you.

The being introduces himself as Und'l, their contact. He is a Buzchub, a race from a far corner of the galaxy (if the characters want to make an alien species roll, see the sidebar below). If there are any Wookiees in the group, he will embrace his "long-haired brother." If the party's Wookiee allows this, Und'l will be much more amenable to bargaining.

"You are the ones I seek," he says (the translator works well, but the "voice" is rather mechanical). "I have employment for you to do, if interested you are. Several crates of spice has my employer — Nigel VI they are on, Lohopa II they need to go. Transportation they need, pay well we will. Five thousand credits, twenty thousand more upon delivery."

If any of the characters want to make a planetary systems roll, see the sidebar below. Bargaining is possible, but since Und'l's employer didn't give him much leeway, Und'l gets a modifier of +15 to resist (they're going to have to bargain WELL to get any more). However, if they fail the roll, he won't lower the base amount — 25,000 credits is the MINIMUM they will be paid.

Once the price has been decided, Und'l will tell them that the cargo is in warehouse #52 in the capital city of Nargo. He will also pay them the five thousand, shake paws all around, and leave. Und'l gives the characters a datadisk with the security code to the warehouse's front door. The characters are now free to prep the ship and take off.

Sidebar: The Buzchub

If the characters make an alien species roll, give them the following information based on how well they roll:

8+: The being is a Buzchub.

10+: The Buzchub come from a remote corner of the galaxy, and are relatively peaceful beings. "Unremarkable" is a polite way to describe them.

15+: They are physically incapable of speaking Basic (just like Wookiees are), although they understand it perfectly well.

The small device around the alien's neck is a translator device.

Arrival

The trip to Nigel VI should happen without difficulty (it's not a well-known planet, but for once hyperspace doesn't give the characters any problems). If you like, do a "fade out / fade in" to get them there fast. When you get there, read or paraphrase the following to the players:

The planet Nigel VI hangs in space, glowing a soft blue. The polar ice caps appear to be rather large for a planet this small.

The city of Nargo can be easily raised on the comm. The characters will be directed to a docking bay in the city. Upon landing, they will be met by city "customs officials," who will ask what the characters' business on Nigel VI is, and demand to check the ship for contraband. If the characters ask why, the officials will explain about the crime problem, and that they are checking all incoming and outgoing ships. This may be a problem for the characters if they have anything illegal onboard to begin with, but a successfully made Difficult con roll will alleviate the inspector's suspicions (they aren't just suspicious of the characters — they're suspicious of EVERYBODY).

Read aloud:

Warehouse #52 is easy enough to find: it's on the outskirts of the city in an area containing many warehouses. As you approach the door, you notice many new-looking footprints in the dust.

This should give the characters the idea that they may not be alone. Encourage this — because it's true. Let the characters circle the warehouse looking for another way in. There are no windows, but there are two other ways in: a roof access hatch (accessible from the roof via a ladder), and the big loading doors (these look old, and may be noisy).

Sidebar: The Setting

If the characters make their planetary systems roll, give them the following information:

On Nigel VI:

5+: Nigel VI is a cold world, Type I (breathable) atmosphere, and recently started trade with the galaxy.

10+: A government, republic in nature, was formed at the insistence of the natives to stop crime. So far, it's been rather successful.

15+: The law is relatively strict on the planet, so getting caught doing something illegal is a bad idea.

On Lohopa II:

5+: A temperate world, Lohopa II is known for its modern cities and profitable mining industry. Its population is humanoid.

10+: Lohopa has recently become a transportation hub for travelers using the nearby trade routes.

15+: There have been rumors of Imperial sympathizers planning some sort of strike against the mining industry.

Which Way Do We Go

If they choose the roof access hatch, read the following aloud:

The hatch shows signs of recent use, and the lock is broken.

It will take an Easy Strength roll to lift the hatch, and a Moderate sneak roll to slip unnoticed to the platform and catwalk ramp below it. Cut to "Surprise, Surprise!"

If they choose the loading doors, it will take a Moderate security roll to open the lock. The doors are heavy, though — it takes a Difficult Strength roll to open it. Unfortunately, the door IS rusty and very loud, alerting the thieves inside to the characters' presence. Go to "Surprise, Surprise!," ignoring the surprise modifiers.

The characters' best bet, actually, is the front door. It is in perfect condition (Und'l's employer made sure of that) and very quiet. If the characters open it, using the code that Und'l gave them, the door will open almost noiselessly, allowing them to take the thieves totally by surprise.

Surprise, Surprise

What the characters will find out is that they're not alone. A band of local thieves have found out about the cargo and are in the process of liberating it. The characters must defeat the bandits and get the cargo back.

If the characters used the roof access hatch (and made their sneak roll) or the front door, they get two free turns to position themselves in the warehouse. During these free turns, all sneak rolls are Easy since the bandits are talking and shifting crates. If they entered via the loading door, they get no free turns, and will walk in as the bandits are scrambling behind cover.

The bandits are in their marked positions on the diagram. The pile of crates and the hallway are the only real cover in the building. There are eight of them, and they will not surrender. They will fight until all are unconscious or dead.

Once they are defeated, the characters will want to inspect the crates — there were probably a few missed shots — to make sure they are undamaged.

Read or paraphrase the following:

As you approach the crates, you smell burning plasteel. One of the crates has been blown open, and the containers have been cracked. A fine blue powder is leaking out. Obviously, this is not spice — it's something you weren't supposed to find.

A medpac will determine that the powder is a toxic substance. A Difficult first aid roll will reveal the horrible truth: the powder is "lexonite," a deadly poison native to Nigel VI. This is a substance much valued by Imperial terrorist groups operating in New Republic space. The penalty on this world for having this substance in one's possession is execution in the swiftest, most expedient, method at hand, whether it be blaster, rope, or airlock. The execution takes place immediately — no excuses, no argument, no leniency, and no waiting.

Now, the characters are in big trouble, but there are options. If they just walk away, or if they destroy the lexonite, they will have no problem getting off planet, but Und'l's employer won't be happy, and they will have new and very powerful beings hunting them (not to mention that the adventure will end right here).

If they report the lexonite to the authorities, they'll have a lot of explaining to do, the least of which is how they know what it is. Even if they can con their way out, there are still Und'l's employers to worry about. If they want to contact the New Republic, they'll have to get off-planet first.

The last option is to set up the couriers on Lohopa II. If they decide to do this, cut to "You Didn't See That."

You Didn't See That

The first step is getting the crates to the docking bay. The thieves were polite enough to bring repulsorlift cargo carriers, so the characters won't have to carry them one at a time. There are enough carriers to handle all of the crates, but they might be noticed.

The characters will be stopped once on the streets by a curious patrol. The patrol will, surprisingly enough, accept any plausible explanation. Customs officials will inspect the ship when the characters ask for permission to leave the planet, which will give them time to hide the crates. It will take a Difficult hide roll to stow the crates where they won't be found. If the crates are spotted, it will take a Very Difficult con roll to get off planet with permission — a good time for those Force points. If they have the smuggling compartments, they get an Easy roll to hide the crates, but a Moderate con roll to explain why they are leaving without cargo.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Lohopa II

When they went to Nigel VI, hyperspace was kind to them. This time, they have problems.

Read or paraphrase the following:

As you make plans to deal with Und'l and his buddies, a loud klaxon sounds, and the whine of the hyperdrive cuts out. With a lurch, you feel the ship slow to sublight speed.

A run to the engine compartment finds that the hyperdrive is smoking, and sparks are coming from behind the panel. After the panel is removed, a Very Easy space transports repair roll reveals the problem: a set of flux capacitor connectors has snapped, shorting out the hyperdrive. The damage is serious, requiring a Difficult space transports repair roll to fix.

Ask the character(s) who are working on the problem to make a Difficult demolitions roll. If they are successful, read the following:

After about ten minutes of work, you notice a small device in the back of the compartment. It looks like a timer.

What happened is simple: while the characters were in the bar, someone wired this little surprise into their hyperdrive. The timer's receiving range is short, so it must have been activated from Nigel VI, probably as they were taking off.

As this is sinking in, the ambush happens. Read:

As you realize what has happened, the ship rocks from the force of a laser blast. A voice comes over the comlink:

"Halt, freighter! Give us the lexonite you're carrying, and we'll let you go!"

Time for a big space battle between Our Heroes and The Well-Informed Pirates Who Work For The Opposition. The object here is to repair the hyperdrive while the ship is in combat.

Run the battle using the starship combat rules (see page 104 of Star Wars, The Roleplaying Game: Second Edition). Give the pirates space transports 4D, starship gunnery 4D+1, and starship shields 4D. The battle will last until the other ship, the Liberator, is destroyed, or until the hyperdrive is repaired (15 rounds of combat ought to do it). Again, this is a good time for those Force points.

After the battle, let them take new readings, make Moderate astrogation rolls, and continue on to Lohopa II.

Kill Them Now, Boss

Now, the characters have a decision to make — how to make the purchasers of this poison pay for their planned crimes. Give the characters the same stats as the warehouse bandits. There are several ways to do this:

1. The Set-Up: The characters communicate with the New Republic, get help, and catch the couriers when they come to get the delivery. If the characters are war heroes, the Republic will have a much easier time believing in their innocence (especially if they can contact their old commanding officer). If the characters are appropriately mercenary, they should collect their payment first, then leave the couriers to the wolves.
2. Bait And Switch: Same as above, but the lexonite has been removed and destroyed.
3. Payback Time: When the couriers show up, the characters kill them, take the lexonite, and sell it on the open market. This is not at all heroic and would probably garner some Dark Side points.
4. They Got What They Deserved: Same as above, except the characters leave the lexonite as proof, and make it look as if a rival organization dealt with them. Also not very heroic.
5. This Isn't The Poison We Were Looking For: The characters substitute some harmless substance for the lexonite. This is very dangerous, because the couriers will check the stuff first. Naturally, when the deception is discovered, a shootout is likely. Of course, the local authorities can be right outside the door.
6. You Want To Do WHAT?: Your characters may come up with something truly nasty and / or devious of their own.

Award Ceremony

Award three to five Character Points to each player. Award Force Points as appropriate. Shrewd characters may also have gained some cash.

Characters

Und'l

Template Type: Buzchub. Loyalty: To himself and his employers. Height: 1.5 meters. Species: Buzchub. Sex: Male. Homeworld: Harrandarr.

Description: Und'l is somewhat stocky and covered in dark blue fur. He affects an air of always knowing more than he is telling.

Background: Und'l is a most unusual being. He is a Buzchub, a species from a far corner of the galaxy. Like Wookiees, their vocal chords make them incapable of speaking Basic, so the spacefaring ones equip themselves with a translator device. They are a peaceful species of beings, and happy to be out in the galaxy. Buzchubs have a deceptive, wiry strength that isn't evident just by appearances. Und'l hooked up with the Imperial sympathizers a short time ago, but thinks he's moving spice.

Personality: Once Buzchubs get used to the galaxy, they are rather urbane about it all. They aren't terribly curious about other species or technology. What they really want to do is travel.

Quote: "Help you I will, if take me you will."

DEXTERITY 2D+2
Brawling parry 4D
KNOWLEDGE 3D
MECHANICAL 2D+2
Beast riding 3D+1
PERCEPTION 3D
Bargain 3D+2
STRENGTH 3D+1
Brawling 4D+2, climbing/jumping 4D+1
TECHNICAL 2D+2
First aid 3D+2
Force Sensitive: No
Force Points: 0
Dark Side Points: 0
Character Points: 2
Equipment: Translator

Warehouse Bandits

Template Type: Bandit. Loyalty: To his gang. Height: 1.8 meters. Species: Human. Sex: Male.

Quote: "What's mine is mine — what's yours is mine, too."

DEXTERITY 3D+2
Blaster 5D, brawling parry 4D+2
KNOWLEDGE 2D+2
Streetwise 3D+2
MECHANICAL 3D+2
PERCEPTION 2D+1
Gambling 3D+2
STRENGTH 3D
Brawling 4D
TECHNICAL 3D
Security 4D
Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D damage), vibroblade (STR+1D+2 damage, melee weapon), hold-out blaster (3D+1 damage)

Planet Logs

Nigel VI

Type: Terrestrial
Temperature: Cool
Atmosphere: Type I (breathable)
Hydrosphere: Moderate
Gravity: Standard
Terrain: Plains, glaciers
Length of Day: 20 standard hours
Length of Year: 325 local days
Sapient Races: Human
Starport: Standard
Population: 3,200,000
Planet Function: Human Colony
Government: Republic
Tech Level: Space
Major Exports: Natural resources
Major Imports: High tech

Lohopa II

Type: Terrestrial
Temperature: Temperate
Atmosphere: Type I (breathable)
Hydrosphere: Moderate
Gravity: Standard
Terrain: Urban
Length of Day: 25 standard hours
Length of Year: 414 local days
Sapient Races: Human
Starport: Stellar
Population: 7.9 billion
Planet Function: Mining transportation hub
Government: Republic
Tech Level: Space
Major Exports: High tech, metals, minerals
Major Imports: Foodstuffs, luxury items

The Liberator

Type: Modified light freighter
Scale: Starfighter
Crew: 4
Passengers: 4
Cargo Capacity: 100 metric tons
Consumables: 4 months
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x2
Hyperdrive Backup: 10
Nav Computer: Yes
Maneuverability: 2D+2
Space: 4
Atmosphere: 280; 800 kmh
Hull: 2D
Shields: 2D
Weapons: One heavy laser cannon
Fire Arc: Turret
Fire Control: 2D
Space Range: 1-3/12/25
Atmosphere Range: 100-300m/1.2km/2.5km
Damage: 5D

Lazerian IV

System Summary

The Lazerian system is an active, bustling system. The star, Lazerian, is a moderate-sized yellow star which has captured a fair number of planets in its orbit.

The Lazerians have explored and mapped all of the planets in the system. The first two, Alkur and Kelro, are considered to be useless. Acorvus, a barren desert planet with a breathable Type II atmosphere, is Lazerian IV's closest neighbor. It serves as an exile planet for political dissenters and criminals. Dborian, the fifth planet in the system, is used for mining purposes but is otherwise uninhabited, though it has a Type II atmosphere.

The only other remarkable feature in the Lazerian system is the Rokwahl Asteroid Belt. Some of the asteroids are used for mining purposes. A series of fixed transponder buoys enable all traffic to pass through the belt unharmed.

Sidebar: System Datafile

Lazerian system, star: Lazerian. Three habitable planets: Acorvus (Lazerian III) a penal colony; Lazerian IV, main planet; Dborian (Lazerian V) mining colony. Acorvus is off-limits to all non-authorized personnel.

Warning to all spacefarers. Asteroid belt exists in outer orbit. Follow transponder buoys for safe passage. Tampering with buoys a capital offense.

Lazerian IV, home of industry and economic well-being, welcomes all traders.

TRAVELLER'S UPDATE: Lazerian IV is an Imperial planet. No known New Republic resistance. Use caution.

Lazerian Society

The government of Lazerian IV is a monarchy. The crown is a hereditary title. Being Imperial-dominated, of course, means the Empire has the final say on all matters, but as a rule, the king is allowed to administer the day-to-day affairs of the planet.

The Lazerians, long accustomed to the rule of kings and emperors, have no objections to being under the Imperial aegis. They consider the situation to be perfectly natural, the only possible course for all "right-thinking people."

The current king is Alarik X and his queen is named Careese. Alarik is a strong, charismatic leader, and an expert on military matters. He has sworn an oath of fealty to the Empire. The words "Rebel" or "New Republic," used in any context, are not words to be spoken in front of the King. The royal couple have a daughter, Aereena, in her early 20s. Though she acts the part of a spoiled princess, she is far more than that (see "Republic Resistance," below).

Only one nation exists on Lazerian, that being the kingdom of Devit, which encompasses the three continents of the Western Hemisphere. On the Eastern Hemisphere continent of Doxet, the quasi-independent city-state of Doxeti stands. It and all the people who live outside the city rule themselves, though they acquiesce to the King of Devit on matters of planetary importance. The dwellers on Doxet embrace the same values and politics as their fellow Lazerians.

There are set social classes within Lazerian society. They are, from greatest to least, Royalty, Nobility, Administrators, Military, Merchants, Landowners, Craftsmen, Tradesmen, Laborers, and Rabble. Anyone who is not afraid of hard work can rise in the ranks. Lazerians feel that everyone gets what they deserve, and so no one begrudges anyone else their success. Lazerians believe that when people work hard, it makes for a healthier economy, which in turn makes the society stronger as a whole. The burgeoning interplanetary trade provides ample opportunity.

The greatest problem facing Lazerian society is the people's very contentment with the way things are. They have, in effect, reached a plateau, and they are comfortable there. The Lazerians have a good economy, space travel, and see themselves as able to survive the economic turmoil of the on-going war. They have need of nothing else. Thus, their minds are closed to new ideas and concepts, making it difficult for those opposed to the Empire to make any headway on the planet.

Back during the days of the Old Republic, Lazerian was a loyal member of that august body. Jedi Knights were admired and respected as much as were Lazerian forces. However, when Palpatine had himself crowned Emperor, the Lazerians saw this as the ultimate example of rising up through the social classes. They backed Palpatine in his bid for power. (It is said that Palpatine was the last new idea embraced by the Lazerians.)

Lazerians discovered space travel fairly early in terms of technological development. This led to detailed exploration of the other worlds in their system — and they had no interest in their oceans, allowing the Akwins, a sapient aquatic species, to go undiscovered.

Lazerians do not actively question off-worlders about their political loyalties. After all, the healthy Lazerian economy arises in great measure from interplanetary trade, and the Lazerians see no need to inject politics into the matter.

The Lazerians enjoy fishing, and marine creatures make up a large portion of their diet. The seas of Lazerian IV are teeming with life. However, the water is also filled with certain minerals which block sensor scans of the area. This has kept the Akwin safe from discovery.

Planet Log

Located on a well-travelled trade route, Lazerian IV is in many ways the typical terrestrial Imperial planet. There is nothing immediately remarkable about its climate, atmosphere, or topography. It is planets like this that make up the definition of "normal" and "standard." In fact, the population strives for "normalcy" and conformity. It is a peaceful, prosperous planet, and the people would like to keep it that way.

Heavy industrialization and urbanization are the major characteristics of Lazerian IV. The planet imports large amounts of raw materials, which come in via certain Lazerian starports that are used for nothing else. The holds of Lazerian freighters bulge with goods manufactured from these raw materials.

Lazerian IV is made up mostly of plains, woods, mountain ranges, and huge metropolises. It has two large polar icecaps, largely unexplored. There are several island chains, most of them inhabited by the native population.

The planet has always harbored Imperial loyalties.

Lazerian IV

Profile: Temperate plains
Type: Terrestrial
Size: Moderate
Temperature: Temperate
Atmosphere: Type I
Hydrosphere: Moderate
Gravity: Standard
Terrain: Plains, forest, mountains, urban
Length of Day: 24 hours
Length of Year: 360 local days
Sentient Races: Humans (N), Akwins (N)
Points of Interest: Old Jedi outpost, Crystal Valley, Lazeria City
Starport: Imperial
Population: 475 million
Government: Monarchy
Tech Level: Space
Major Exports: Manufactured goods
Major Imports: Raw materials, luxury items

System Data

System Name: Lazerian. Star Name: Lazerian. Star Type: Yellow.

Republic Resistance

There is an undercurrent of sympathy for the New Republic working its way up through the Lazerian class structure. The spread is very slow, since Lazerians are notoriously slow to accept new things. Add to this the fact that the Empire is strongly entrenched here, and that most citizens see it as their duty to report anyone who wants to disrupt the status quo, and it makes for a very hostile atmosphere for New Republic agents.

Of the 475 million people on Lazerian, about 50,000 are Republic sympathizers. Most are located in Lazeria City. The overall leader of the Republics is Princess Aereena. She sees the Empire for what it is: a manipulative evil entity. Very few Republic followers have seen the face of their mysterious leader, thus her true identity remains a secret.

Most of the activities of the Republic faction involve sabotage of the King's Own Guard's military installations, disruption of royal and Imperial communication, and sabotage of industrial ports.

Groups of Republic sympathizers often meet in the sewers, where they plan strategies, talk about new ideas, and test the loyalties of new recruits.

Lazerian Defenses

The Lazerians have their own space fleet, which is comprised of 24 Z-95 Headhunter starfighters and a pair of Lancer frigates. The fleet is stationed at the Lazeria City starport. There is also a small force of 12 TIE fighters quartered at the starport, but these are Imperial manned and controlled.

The Lazerians maintain a standing army. An elite paramilitary squad called the King's Own Guards is responsible for honor duties and elite missions. The Guards' traditions and methods go back centuries, and even today they still practice a chivalric code. Of all the Lazerian military forces, the King's Own Guards are easily the best trained and most efficient.

Typical King's Guard

Quote: "Where the Jedi failed, we prevail. For the honor of King, planet, and Empire!"

DEXTERITY 4D
Blaster 6D, brawling parry 5D, melee combat 7D, melee parry 6D+1
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Alien species 4D, law enforcement: Lazerian law 5D, streetwise 6D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 3D
Command 5D, search 5D
STRENGTH 4D
Brawling 6D
TECHNICAL 4D
Security 6D+2
Equipment: Vibroblade (STR+1D+2 damage), blaster pistol (4D damage), blaster rifle (5D damage), armor and helmet (1D), comlink, medpac, pocket computer

Lazeria City

The capital of the kingdom of Devit and the largest metropolis on the planet, Lazeria City is a cosmopolitan place of great size. The city holds 40 million people, with five million being offworlders visiting the planet.

Huge manufacturing plants are set up just outside the city. Here, the imported raw materials are turned into consumer goods and other manufactured items. The factories are extremely efficient and very little in the way of waste is produced.

An Imperial embassy is set up in the city. Besides the ambassador and his staff of eight, there are 36 stormtroopers and 14 King's Own Guards on duty.

Lazeria City Starport is the largest point of entry on the planet, and the only one truly designed for passenger traffic. The LCS contains a heavily staffed Imperial Customs area. There are numerous industrial sites with small cargo starports, dotting the planet, but no passenger ship or freighter is allowed to land at them. These places are reserved for corporate vessels only.

The Starport also is home to Lazerian Orbital Command. LOC is responsible for tracking all inbound and outbound ships, routing them to the right landing areas, and making sure that no unauthorized vessels land at the industrial ports.

The Lazerian spacefleet is under LOC command. LOC also works closely with the Imperial TIE squadron based at the Starport.

Industrial Starports

Each of these complexes consists of a Standard Class starport, huge raw material storage facilities, several large factories, warehouses, apartments for the working staff, administrative offices, and a garrison of 24 Imperial army or Lazerian army troopers.

The Industrial Starports are off-limits to freighters and passenger ships. Only corporate haulers, ore carriers and bulk cargo ships are allowed to land and take off.

A monorail system connects the Industrial Starports with each other and Lazerian cities.

The Ruined Outpost

Hidden in the midst of a range of low hills are the remains of a military outpost site of an ancient battle involving several Jedi Knights. A few walls and the base of a tower are still visible. The ground in a 20 meter radius around it has been scorched and blasted, and despite the length of time that has passed, vegetation is still unable to grow there.

The remains of what were once walls of manufactured material dot the vicinity. The entire area is quiet, since the lack of plant life discourages native animals and insects from visiting the area.

The area is owned by an eccentric member of the Nobility, and the area, part of his private estate, is monitored and forbidden to outsiders. To the Lazerians, it is no more than an eyesore.

Should anyone dig in the ruins for at least 1D+10 minute increments, they will find a broken lightsaber. It is repairable, though it is considered a Very Difficult lightsaber repair task which will take 1D days to complete.

In addition, there are pieces of other lightsabers scattered under the dirt of the ruins, which can be used as spare parts. As an optional rule, if a character can repair the broken lightsaber and exceed the difficulty by 10 or more, there are enough parts left over to build a second lightsaber.

If news about the lightsabers were to get out, the Imperials would become extremely interested in the site.

Crystal Valley

This is Lazerian's best kept secret and part of the King's private estate. It consists of barren, mountainous wilderness. The only pass leading into the small valley is guarded by 12 King's Own Guards. The valley itself is too winding and narrow to allow landspeeders and its perimeter is patrolled by army troops.

At the bottom of the valley grows an unusual formation of minerals called the Empeth Crystals. The Empeth Crystals grow once every 10 years, and even then there are only enough for two beings to use. Empeth Crystals are cube-shaped clear crystal formations that glow with a white light from within. Once picked from the floor of the valley, they are nearly indestructible.

When worn by someone who is Force-sensitive, the crystals can spot the Force in other beings. This is a Very Easy control task, modified by distance. Note that the crystal wielder must be able to see his target.

The crystals "live" for five years once harvested from the valley. At the end of the five years, the crystal loses its luster and becomes simple rock.

The Empire does not know about the Empeth Crystals. The King has decided that the Valley falls under domestic jurisdiction, and that the Imperials cannot be bothered with such a trivial thing. The King is unaware of the crystals' Force properties — he merely views them as very beautiful and exclusive collectibles.

The Akwin

The Akwin are an aquatic mammalian species with blue-green skin. Their bodies have six limbs. The first pair of limbs are regular arms, located at the shoulders, and ending in a pair of hands. The second pair of limbs also resemble arms, except that instead of hands, the arms have flippers. Akwin use this set of limbs to steer themselves through the water. The final set of limbs, located at the hips, are normal legs, which end in webbed feet. From the lower back of the Akwin, a tail and fins stick out. Their bodies are tough and muscular, all the better for tolerating the pressure of the depths.

Akwin have elongated skulls, with a mouth, a pair of eyes and two blowholes. Cilia grows from their heads and faces and could be mistaken for hair, with colors ranging from white and silver to green, blue, and black. Akwin also have gills on their necks, directly below the jaw.

Communication between Akwin is handled by either spoken word or limb gestures. Their spoken language can be understood with a Moderate languages roll.

Akwin are amphibious, but they have no real desire to spend much time on land. Their eyes are configured in such a way as to help them see in the dark depths of the ocean. Their hearing is also very acute. The Akwin diet consists of small sea creatures which they raise on "ranches," and many aquatic plants, which they grow on special underwater farms.

As a species, the Akwin are peaceful sea dwellers who live in huge cities on the ocean floor. Each city exists as a separate city-state, ruled by a king or queen.

Technologically, the Akwin are on par with the Lazerians, though the former have no interest in space travel. The Akwin have made tremendous strides in perfecting water-resistant technology. Although the Akwins love swimming, they have developed their own fast-moving craft. For game purposes, consider Akwin speeders to be an underwater equivalent of landspeeders and airspeeders. Their airspeeders can indeed fly through the air as well as move through the water, whereas their version of the landspeeder can move through the water and on to dry land, but not into the air.

The Akwins even have their own ore mines and manufacturing plants, though they are careful not to take too much from them or damage the environment. Dumping pollutants into the sea is probably the only thing the Lazerians could do that would sufficiently anger the Akwins that they would feel compelled to make their presence known. Fortunately, the Lazerians are proud of their planet, and take steps not to damage the ecosystem.

The Akwins enjoy music, coral sculpting, and drama. They keep historical records of their people, who evolved from savage sea creatures tens of thousands of years ago.

The Akwin do not encourage contact with the Lazerians. In the Akwin world view, the Lazerians live on land and are content with this, and the Akwin live in the sea and are also content. The Akwin see no reason to disrupt this situation. There is, in fact, a hint that the Akwins consider themselves to be superior to the Lazerians — after all, they can live on land or sea while the Lazerians are confined to the soil.

This point of view has been reinforced in the Akwins' minds by the fact that, while the Akwins know much about the Lazerians, the Lazerians have yet to even establish the existence of the Akwins! There are stories and rumors of sea-folk, but most of these are dismissed as mirages, legends, or the effects of too much drink. The Akwins are amazed at this short-sighted reaction. As a result, official Akwin policy is to perpetuate the Lazerian idea of myths, since in the Akwins' minds, the Lazerians are clearly "not ready as a species" to deal with the idea of sharing the planet with another advanced civilization.

It would probably alarm the Lazerians (and the Empire as well) if they knew just how much the Akwins know about the surface-dwellers. Thanks to scouting parties and monitoring routine planetary broadcasts, the Akwins have a full understanding of Lazerian culture and geography. The Akwins are not impressed, as they see Lazerian society as stagnant and uninspired.

The Akwin also know the approximate location of the abandoned outpost on the Laz continent. Their scouting parties of long ago saw "many strangers with glowing blades of different colors, that cut through anything with great ease."

The Akwin are also aware of the existence of the Imperial-New Republic war, thanks to their interception of transmissions from both sides. At this time, the Akwin consider the war the logical result of immature species. If a Quarren or a Mon Calamari were to approach the Akwin, this view could change in favor of the New Republic. Since the Lazerians are pro-Imperial, the consequences of this could be severe.

Akwin

Roleplaying Hints: Akwin are an advanced, intelligent, civilized, but often mischievous race. Being portrayed as legends by the Lazerians amuses them, and they take steps to keep it that way. They sometimes look down on races who cannot breathe air and water, though this will not rule out communication and cooperation. They keep to themselves, and do not go out of their way to seek out alien contact. If the Akwin should meet an alien aquatic race, they would be more willing to make contact.

Quote: "The sea is our home, and the land is the home of the Lazerians. Their problems are not ours, and our problems are not theirs. If legends we are to them, then legends we shall be, at least until their minds expand to the point where they can begin looking beyond their silly stories."

Attribute Dice: 12D
DEXTERITY 2D/6D
KNOWLEDGE 2D/4D
MECHANICAL 2D/3D
PERCEPTION 2D/5D
STRENGTH 2D/7D
TECHNICAL 2D/3D
Special Skills:
Dexterity Skills: Akwin net guns.
Strength Skills: Swimming — Akwin get +1D to their swimming skill.
Special Abilities:
Sight: Akwin eyes are attuned to the ocean depths. They receive +1D to search underwater, but suffer -2D on land.
Hearing: Akwin have very sensitive hearing, giving them +1D to search uses involving noise.
Length: 1.5-1.8 meters
Move: 10/15 (swimming), 5/7 (walking)
Equipment: Most Akwin are equipped with clubs (STR+1D damage), their underwater equivalent of blaster pistols (4D damage), underwater comlinks, and metal mesh nets that deliver a shock to the victim (5D stun damage). The mesh nets are shot from a rifle-like device. Each rifle carries two nets. In order for a victim to free himself from the net, he must make a Difficult Dexterity roll.

Note that Akwin technology is not for sale. The only way a character is going to get Akwin tools or weapons is to steal them, take them off a dead Akwin, or somehow trade for them.

Akwin Net Guns

Damage: 5D (stun)
Range: 3-5/6-10/20

Sidebar: A Report on the Lazerians from Akwin Scout B'dasssa

Our scouting party approached the surface-dwellers' city of Lazeria, making sure that we were not seen. A group of Lazerian military were having a rather animated discussion about the Empire, and some great incident that had occurred recently, presumably something disastrous, specifically to the Emperor. The group proceeded to discuss their dislike of change, and their satisfaction with the way things are.

Unfortunately, so involved were we in noticing them that we failed to see the second military party arrive via a different path. A few of them saw us and began shouting and screaming. They discharged a few weapons in our direction, but the shots went wide. We immediately plunged into the safe embrace of Father Ocean.

A few minutes later, when we were confident that the excitement was over, I bade my group to remain while I went back to the surface to see what the Lazerians' actions were. I could not believe my ears! There were the two groups talking to each other, convincing each other that what they saw was a hallucination or a big creature of some sort! They were actually disbelieving their own senses!

It is common incidents such as these that convince me that the Lazerians are not ready to be informed of our existence. In my opinion, they have a long way to go before they allow themselves to shake loose of their backward ideas.

Still, I must confess that I am rather curious about what has befallen this Emperor fellow.

Adventure Idea: Sea Monsters

While relaxing in a bar in the city of Lazeria, the characters overhear a trader talking about sea monsters. He has taken a holoimage of the alleged creature, but no one seems to be interested in it.

If approached (and drinks are purchased for him), the trader claims that he saw the sea creature near the first island located off the west coast of the continent of Laz. He had barely enough time to take the holoimage. The image is a blurry picture of a man-sized thing running towards the water. It appears to have six limbs, and a tail. The evidence itself is not very convincing.

If the characters are not convinced to go exploring, insert this little encounter: As the trader leaves the bar and walks into an alley, he is assaulted by six cloaked individuals. The six will knock him out, not intending to injure him, and take the holoimage away. Once they have the image, the six will dash for the sea and jump in, preferably in a place where there are no witnesses. If characters try to intervene to help the trader, the six will attempt to subdue them, once again taking care not to wound them.

The six are, in fact, Akwin. The one whose image was taken informed his friends, and they decided to track down the offender and see just how good a picture the man managed to capture.

If the characters did believe the trader and go to the island, there is a strong likelihood of encountering Akwin. Of course, if the characters get too nosy, they may find themselves the unwilling guests of the Akwin.

For an added wrinkle, an Imperial marine biologist does take the trader's story seriously, and decides to go exploring around the site.

Adventure Idea: Dovin Maur

An old man is being tormented by a group of bullies. When the characters come to his aid, he tells them that his attackers were natives of Lazerian who have no respect for history and for the ways of the Jedi.

The man, who introduces himself as Dovin Maur, lived through the upheaval that followed when Palpatine declared the New Order. He recalls seeing Jedi Knights on Lazerian for the last time at an old outpost to the north. Although he cannot make the journey himself, he will gladly tell the group the location of the old ruins.

Unfortunately, Imperial spies have been watching the old man — more specifically, they have been watching to see if anyone pays attention to the old man's stories. The party will be tailed by Imperial forces, then eliminated once the characters find anything good in the ruins.

Adventure Idea: The Empeth Crystals

Use this one if the characters have somehow struck up a friendship with the Akwin.

The Akwin inform the party about something their scouts have witnessed, something unusual which may be suited for the characters and their air-breathing mindsets. Recently, an Akwin scouting party swimming at the southernmost point of the Doxet continent witnessed something rather odd. A party of the King's Own Guard were marching into the mountains, well-armed and looking determined to succeed in their mission. But there is nothing of any interest in that area, as far as the Akwin know — it's not even populated.

The big deal is the Empeth Crystals are about to "bloom," and the King's Own Guard is here to harvest them. Once harvested, the crystals will be shipped in such a manner that little attention will be attracted to the operation.

The crystals will be housed in the residence of the King's Own Guards commander, Alroy Kever, the King's trusted aide. The house is located in a suburban area of Lazeria. Alroy always has four King's Own Guards on hand as security, plus several 3PO Droids.

Adventure Idea: The Sewers

While the characters are resting at a resort, bar or restaurant, a small military installation in the neighborhood explodes. Upon investigation, it will be discovered that the saboteurs were apparently professionals — the charge only destroyed the small installation, doing no damage to surrounding buildings.

Before the party can investigate any further, the King's Own Guard, reinforced by some Imperial stormtroopers, arrives on the scene and orders all civilians away. People in the crowd talk about "terrorists," "revolutionaries," and the like.

The explosion was caused by two Republic spies, lurking nearby to make sure that all went well. If the characters have behaved in a manner that would indicate their sympathies lie with the New Republic, the spies will arrange a surprise meeting with them. The agents will then lead them into the sewers beneath the city, the headquarters of the New Republic resistance on this planet.

Den of Spies

"Den of Spies" is an adventure designed for smuggler-type characters.

The characters are being contracted to run some items into the Kalinda System. Unbeknownst to them, they have been hired by New Republic Intelligence to make this run. They are taking a vital part that will allow the Kalindans to reactivate their Defense Network and evict the Imperial and Corporate Sector Authority forces who are trying to take control of the system.

If the characters are successful, they will tip the balance of power in the sector in the New Republic's favor. If they fail, the Imperials or the Corporate Sector Authority will gain more power and continue their oppression.

Gamemasters should refer to the Top Secret New Republic briefing later in this chapter. Note that this document is for gamemaster's eyes only.

Kalinda System Summary

Kalinda lies at a junction between New Republic, Imperial and Corporate Sector Authority zones of influence. The system has six planets and a large asteroid belt. Kalinda was discovered long ago by an Old Republic free trader named Jak Kalinda (hence the name). With one habitable planet (Kirima, named after Jak's mother) and abundant resources, the system was colonized quickly. Under the Old Republic, Kalinda matured into a high tech development and manufacturing power.

The integrity of its companies and quality of goods were an oddity during the waning years of the Old Republic. The people of Kalinda, longing for something better than the corruption and decadence of the Old Republic, fell for Palpatine's "New Order" propaganda. They supported the Emperor and the New Order as the saviors of the galaxy. This changed after the dissolution of the Imperial Senate and the destruction of Alderaan, whose people were held in great respect by the people of Kalinda for their role in the Clone Wars and their peaceful stance after them. The Empire's evil was fully exposed, but the presence of Compnor (with its ISB) and large Imperial garrisons kept the Kalindans from active revolt.

The situation changed again after the Battle of Endor. In a well-planned and executed revolt, the Empire was evicted from the system. Not trusting any outside government, the people of Kalinda established the independent and neutral monarchy of Kalinda and have refused to ally themselves with any other power. Unfortunately, Kalinda's neutrality has encouraged spies from every organization — New Republic, Corporate Sector, Imperial Military Intelligence, the Compnor arm of the Imperial bureaucracy, and rival corporations — to infiltrate the world and give their organization the opportunity to take over Kalinda and its rich resources.

The Art of the Deal

Read aloud or paraphrase:

It is a time of great opportunity in the galaxy. The Emperor is dead and his Death Star destroyed. The New Republic is a growing, vital entity. The flip side of this is it is a lousy time for smugglers. Under Imperial rule, lots of legitimate things needed smuggling. People on the run from the Empire, supplies to Imperial-interdicted planets and goods needed by the Alliance provided ample work for smugglers.

But under the New Republic, the only ones looking to hire smugglers are the Imperials and the crime bosses. And the business simply doesn't pay like it used to.

Going legitimate has its own problems. The big freight lines still maintain their hold on the market with their bulk freighters. Also, one can't be sure that the New Republic won't arrest one for being a smuggler, based on outstanding warrants from some planetary government now part of the Republic. Still, there is work available, running things into Imperial space or the Corporate Sector.

Excerpts: New Republic Sector Command Briefing on Battle of Kalinda

Commander Alinda Solaris: Good afternoon, I am Commander Alinda Solaris, Sector Naval Intelligence Officer. I will be conducting this briefing. This briefing is classified Most Secret, not to be passed on to civilians or foreign governments.

Six standard days ago, an Imperial Task Force consisting of the 2391st Battle Squadron, the 6783rd Troop Line and the Imperial Army's 1249th Mobile Corps moved into the Kalinda system. This force ...

Admiral Anton Standish (New Republic Sector Fleet Commander): Our intelligence had indicated that the 2391st was destroyed after Endor ...

Commander Solaris: Obviously, our intelligence was flawed. This task force consisted of one Imperial Star Destroyer, one Victory I and one Victory II Star Destroyer, one Interdictor Cruiser, eight Strike and Light Cruisers, two transports, one escort Carrier, four Frigates and six Corvettes. They were met by ...

General Rogar Garret (New Republic Sector Commander): They must want that system badly. I wonder why?

Commander Solaris: They were met by the Kalindan Deep Space Fleet and System Defense Force. These consisted of ...

Captain S'lixike (Commander, New Republic 32nd Cruiser Squadron): What glorious names for a collection of miserable, rusted —

Commander Solaris: The Kalindan force consisted not of rust buckets but one Space Control Ship, two heavy Strike Cruisers, three Light Cruisers, four System Defense Ships, six Corvettes and twelve heavy System Patrol Boats. In addition, they had eight Asteroid Fortresses. Both sides deployed large numbers of space fighters.

At the end of the battle, which lasted two days, the Kalindans had lost one Light Cruiser, three System Defense Ships, two Corvettes, eight System Patrol Boats, four Asteroid Fortresses and over 200 fighters (general exclamations of regret). The Imperials lost one Victory I, one Interdictor Cruiser, two Strike Cruisers, three Light Cruisers, four Frigates, one Escort Carrier, all six Corvettes and over 280 fighters (general exclamations of surprise and delight). In addition, both transports were badly damaged and the Imperial Star Destroyer was so mauled that she won't be serviceable for a year (general cheering). Despite their losses, the Imperials still managed to gain control of near space and land on the planet.

Clivis Damand (New Republic Sector Intelligence Chief): Commander, two questions: one, how did the Kalindans do so much damage, and two, what happened to the Kalindan units that were not lost?

Commander Solaris: I will answer your questions in reverse order, Mr. Damand. First, the Kalidean Deep Space Fleet received orders from their Queen to withdraw from the system toward the end of the first day. Those ships not too badly damaged complied. As to how they did so much damage to the Imperials, they used suicidal tactics. The ISD was swarmed over by 160 fighters, many of whom rammed it, six Patrol Ships, two Corvettes and two System Defense Ships while being engaged by four Asteroid Fortresses. The Victory I was rammed by a System Defense Ship, the Interdictor Cruiser was rammed by a Light Cruiser and the Escort Carrier was rammed by a Corvette. The rest were lost during general combat and in battling the four Asteroid Fortresses. The transports were damaged by suicidal shuttle attacks during the landing operations. We estimate Imperial losses at 35,000 naval and 15,000 army personnel. The Imperials have gained control of near space and about 35% of the planet Kirima.

General Garret: The Imperials may bring in more forces and gain 100% control soon.

Commander Solaris: Maybe not, General. With reinforcements the Imperials had one Victory II, six Strike Cruisers, five Light Cruisers, one Star Galleon, three Frigates and two Corvettes in the system following the battle, and they also were able to bring their starfighter complement up to full strength. However, on the day after the battle, a Corporate Sector Authority Fleet with one Victory I, one escort Carrier, one Heavy Cruiser, two Sloops, two Gunboats and a Transport entered the system. No fighting broke out, but the CSA fleet managed to land one of their Enforcer Battle Groups and now control 25% of the planet Kirima. The Kalindans control the asteroid belt and 40% of the planet. The Kalindan Deep Space Fleet caught the Imperial follow-up forces at their assembly point and routed them. We are waiting on hard data to determine Imperial and Kalidean losses during that battle.

Clivis Damand: If only the Kalidans would ask for our help, then we could go in and throw both groups out.

Commander Solaris: They won't ask, being more individualistic than the Corellians (general laughter). There is a truce currently holding in the Kalindan system, as no one is able to muster a sufficiently powerful force to eliminate the other factions. On orders from General Garret, the 32nd Cruiser Squadron and 42nd Republican Guard Assault Division are conducting joint maneuvers along our border with Imperial space. While these last, the Imperials will not be able to reinforce their forces in Kalinda. The Corporate Sector Authority has committed what free forces it has. The only unknown factor is what the Kalindans and their Deep Space Fleet can or will do.

Clivis Damand: I think it's time to implement "Project: Second Chance."

General Garret: I will notify Admiral Ackbar immediately upon its implementation.

Commander Solaris: May the Force be with them, whoever is hired. The poor, unknowing fools!

Planet Log

Kirima

Profile: Mountainous
Type: Terrestrial
Size: Moderate
Temperature: Cool
Atmosphere: Type I (breathable)
Hydrosphere: Moderate
Gravity: Standard
Terrain: Mountains, oceans, ice caps
Length of Day: 35 standard hours
Length of Year: 210 local days
Sentient Races: Human, Ishi Tib, Lyra
Points of Interest: Royal Naval Yards on the moon, Kameria, Royal Capitol and palace in city of Camdra
Starport: 1 Imperial, 1 stellar, 2 standard
Population: 900 million (estimated)
Government: Constitutional monarchy
Tech Level: Space
Major Exports: Low to high tech goods, metals
Major Imports: Luxury items and art work

System Data

System Name: Kalinda. Star Name: Kalinda. Star Type: Orange.

World Summary

The planet Kirima is a terrestrial planet with a slight axial tilt. The planet is covered by large oceans and has very large polar caps. The land mass of Kirima consists of two large continents and many small islands. The total land mass is a little over 25% of the surface area. The terrain is mountainous with small arid strips of flat lands. The gravity is slightly higher than standard with temperature ranges of cool to frigid. The atmosphere is Type I breathable and the oceans teem with life and provide ample food sources.

The population of Kirima is mixed, as one would expect from a former colony world. The planet is fairly crowded with over 900 million beings (last Imperial census). Over 70% are Human, with 10% Ishi Tib and 5% Lyra. The other 15% are a mixture of species from all over the galaxy. The planet has one former Imperial, one Stellar and two Standard space ports.

Nuts and Bolts

Although the New Republic is a growing and vital entity, it is also suffering growing pains. The government is riddled with factions, self-seekers, Imperial and Corporate Sector agents. Because of this, New Republic Intelligence conducts some of its operations without Council knowledge or consent. In the case of the Kalindan operation (known as Project: Second Chance) the Council has placed a ban on operations in neutral systems. In addition, a number of recent operations in Imperial space have been compromised. Security suspects, but has not been able to prove, that some Council members or their aides are passing on information to the Imperials to discredit other members and consolidate power in their own hands.

Project: Second Chance is of vital importance to the New Republic. First, the Empire and Corporate Sector Authority must not be allowed to gain control of the resources in the Kalindan system. In addition, New Republic Military Intelligence has just found out that the Kalindan Royal Research Facility has been working on countermeasures against cloaking devices for the Empire. The Empire had been close to a breakthrough in cloaking technology prior to the Battle of Endor. The Imperial Navy wanted a means of combatting cloaked ships in case an enemy acquired the technology. The New Republic Navy needs such a device, in case the Imperials have an operational cloaking device.

With the go ahead given for Project: Second Chance, the scene is set to fade to the Jolly Spacer, an eatery on a planet somewhere in New Republic space, where the characters have stopped. Give the players the adventure script to read.

"Armand" is actually the second in command of New Republic Intelligence in this sector. He is hiring the characters to run a cargo into the Kalindan System. This cargo consists of three large boxes labeled "Art Work," "Spaceship Parts" and "Collectables."

The boxes are actually filled with junk that fits the name on the label. A Difficult Perception roll will peg it for what it is: garbage! The real item being sent is a modular command circuit for the Kalindan Defense System. The Kalindan's have a centrally controlled, unmanned defense network of large planetary ion cannons and space-based ion mines. This network is controlled by a central command base. During the revolt following the Battle of Endor, the Imperial technician in charge of the command system disabled the center and took the last command module with him. Due to the nature of the damage done, only this module will activate the network.

Unfortunately for the Empire, the technician's damaged shuttle was picked up by a New Republic frigate disguised to resemble an Imperial frigate. The technician thought he was reporting to the Imperial Navy and didn't find out until after he made his report to the frigate's captain that he goofed. Certain New Republic Council members forced a motion through council that the module could only be returned in exchange for economic concessions beneficial to said council members.

Since the Imperial invasion, New Republic Intelligence has taken matters into their own hands. They have cut a deal with the Kalindans to return the module in exchange for any extant notes on cloak-piercing technology. Since they can't do it through regular channels, they are using a group of smugglers. The module will be secreted in one of the characters' ship's Droids while Armand supervises loading the cargo on to the ship.

Fade in to lounge of characters' ship. Lazarus Armand has just arrived. Armand has a con of 6D+2 and a bargain of 7D. A Moderate Perception roll will convince the characters that Armand looks familiar, but they won't know why. His brother, who he resembles, was an Imperial Grand Moff who went over to the Alliance prior to the Battle of Endor.

Read aloud or paraphrase:

Armand smiles and says, "Well, Captain, the job I have for you is a short run to the Kalindan System. I am willing to pay 25,000 credits, 5,000 up front with the remainder on safe delivery of the cargo to my buyer."

From here on, the gamemasters can feel free to wheel and deal with the characters like a used repulsorlift salesman. After the characters accept the contract read aloud:

"When you reach Kalinda, land at the Verena Starport on Kirima. Go to the SaSassis Bar and ask for a Corellian Twister with no twist. You will be directed to my buyer from there. Forgive these precautions, but that is the way my buyer wants it."

If the characters decide to research the Kalinda system, they can make a planetary systems roll and discover the following:

Easy — the information given in the Kirima Planet Log, along with the fact that the Imperials and Corporate Sector Authority are trying to take the system.

Moderate — the above, plus the fact that there is a truce currently in place, with all parties inspecting shipping. The planet is infested with spies trying to get an advantage.

Difficult — the above, plus the fact that the Kalindans shoot smugglers. (This is misleading; they used to, now they confiscate the miscreants' ship and have them do five to 20 years "community service," i.e. hard labor.)

Very Difficult — the above, plus the fact that many people in Verena City have similar, if not identical first and last names. This is because the city was founded by a small group of clans with very similar names. As a result, person's middle name is often the name by which they are called, as well as indicating gender.

On a Difficult bureaucracy roll, the characters know that the New Republic has embargoed the Kalindan system.

Adventure Script

Use the following script to start the adventure. Your gamemaster will tell you what part (or parts) to read.

The characters are gathered around a table at the Jolly Spacer (an eatery) eating lunch. The first character to speak should be the ship's captain.

1st Character: Don't waste anything, people, that was the last of the ship's fund.

2nd Character: We need a decent job soon!

3rd Character: Trust in the Force and you will be rewarded.

2nd Character: I keep telling you, kid, no religion fills your pocket unless you're one of the priests. So shut —

Gamemaster: Suddenly, your party is approached by an individual who appears to be a prosperous merchant.

(As merchant): Excuse me, they told me at the bar I could find the captain of the (add ship's name here) here.

1st Character: You found me.

2nd Character: (putting hand on blaster) State your business quickly!

3rd Character: Greetings, gentlebeing, may the Force be with you.

4th Character: (optional, looking at a portacomp display) Now if I reverse the reverse flow through the coupler I might double ... (Notices that the crew has been joined by someone.)

Gamemaster: My name is Lazarus Armand. I would like to hire you and your ship to run some cargo for me.

1st Character: (noticing curious faces at other tables) Why don't we discuss this in one hour at my ship? She's in docking bay ...

Gamemaster: (breaking in) 567 East, that's a good idea. I will meet you there in one hour. (Armand turns and leaves.)

3rd Character: Great! A job at last.

2nd Character: Don't be so eager, kid.

4th Character: (optional, mumbling) Good, now we might be able to buy a new ...

1st Character: All right, finish up, we want to beat our new client back to the ship.

Fade in to the bridge of Victory II Star Destroyer, somewhere in space:

An Imperial Admiral is leaning over a communication monitor. On the screen is the image of a man wearing a Corporate Sector Authority commander's uniform.

Fade in sound:

Imperial Admiral: I will tell you this again, Commander Sloane. This system belongs to the Empire!

Commander Sloane: (Corporate Sector Authority Fleet Commander) Well, Admiral, the way I see it, this system is up for grabs. Your Emperor and his pet dog Vader are dead. If you want to waste what little assets you have left on a futile attempt to force us out of the system, go right ahead and try. (Laughing as he cuts the comlink.)

Imperial Admiral: (turning from the screen) Captain Prost, how long until those reinforcements arrive?

Fade to black.

Hail and Farewell

Fade in to the bridge of characters' ship. The ship is headed out system to make the jump to lightspeed.

Suddenly, the following comes across the radio:

"Attention! This is the New Republic ship Alert. Shut down your engines and prepare for customs inspection."

The characters have been intercepted by a New Republic Customs Gunship (use the stats for the Corellian Gunship on pages 61-63 in The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook). This is a routine inspection. If the characters comply, their ship will be boarded by three customs inspectors (use Specforces Marine Template from page 38 of The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook).

If the characters don't do anything stupid to arouse suspicion (as defined by the gamemaster), they will be cleared and wished a successful voyage. They then jump to lightspeed. If they arouse suspicion, their ship will be impounded for a complete search. If they refuse to stop, their ship will be disabled and they will be arrested. If this happens, the adventure is over. New Republic agents will recover the module and try with someone else.

The gamemaster can continue the game by having the characters try to clear their names and recover their ship from the New Republic.

If the characters are able to continue their journey to Kalinda, read aloud or paraphrase:

Your ship exits lightspeed into a system the sensors indicate is Kalinda. They also indicate that a Victory I Star Destroyer is closing rapidly. Suddenly, your comm panel starts beeping.

"Unidentified ship, this is the Corporate Sector vessel Enforcer," says a harsh voice over the comm. "Identify yourself and prepare to be boarded." There is a sickening lurch as a tractor beam grabs your ship.

The characters' ship will be boarded by Commander Sloane, Lieutenant Phineas and six Espos. Sloane has been bored recently and wants to terrify some spacers. Play this out with an air of menace, but unless the characters do something stupid, they will be released. If they do something stupid, their ship will be confiscated and auctioned off on the planet. They will spend some years in Corporate service for being smugglers (as deck hands, maybe). The module will be recovered by the New Republic agent and that mission will have succeeded.

Commander Baruche Sloane

Template Type: Corporate Sector Commander. Loyalty: To the Corporate Sector Authority. Height: 1.9 meters. Species: Human. Sex: Male.

Physical Description: Baruche is a tall, stern looking man with cold, steel-gray eyes. He has a very imposing demeanor that commands respect. This attitude makes him look much older than he really is.

Personality: He is a very grim man who rarely smiles. When he does, everybody better watch their backs. He is extremely loyal to the Authority and cannot be bribed (attempts at bribery are guaranteed to make him smile). Because of his loyalty, he commands a great deal of respect from his subordinates.

Quote: "You WILL prepare to be boarded!"

DEXTERITY 3D+2
Blaster 4D+2
KNOWLEDGE 2D+2
Bureaucracy 3D, planetary systems 4D+1
MECHANICAL 2D+2
PERCEPTION 2D+1
Command 5D+1, con 4D
STRENGTH 3D+2
TECHNICAL 3D
Force Sensitive: No
Force Points: 1
Dark Side Points: 1
Character Points: 5
Move: 10

Lieutenant Milo Phineas

Template Type: Retired Imperial Captain. Loyalty: To Commander Sloane and the Corporate Sector Authority. Height: 1.5 meters. Species: Human. Sex: Male.

Physical Description: Milo is a short, stocky man who looks almost jolly. He always has a smile on his face which makes it very easy for him to gain someone's trust, including the trust of smugglers — then he arrests them. He almost idolizes his commander and tries very hard to remain in his favor. Milo firmly believes that Commander Sloane is his key to success.

Personality: Lt. Phineas seems very friendly, but is actually very cold and calculating. He will do anything that will advance the status of his commander and himself. He is very patient and will toy with smugglers until he gets them where he wants them. Milo is not immune to bribery, but will not agree to anything against his commander and, hence, himself.

Quote: "I understand you have a schedule to keep. It will only take a moment to test your ship and cargo for contamination, then you can continue on your way."

DEXTERITY 2D+2
Blaster 4D, dodge 5D+1, melee combat 4D+2
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Bureaucracy 4D, streetwise 3D+2
MECHANICAL 3D+2
Astrogation 4D, repulsorlift operation 4D
PERCEPTION 3D+1
Command 4D, con 4D, gambling 4D
STRENGTH 2D+1
Brawling 3D, climbing/jumping 3D+2, stamina 3D+2
TECHNICAL 3D
Computer programming/repair 5D+1, first aid 4D+1
Character Points: 2
Move: 10

The Empire Gets Into The Act

If the characters get past the Corporate Sector agents, they will be intercepted by an Imperial Customs Corvette as they near the planet (see the stats on page 42 of Galaxy Guide 6: Tramp Freighters).

Read aloud or paraphrase:

A burst of static over your radio heralds a message from an Imperial agent. "Unidentified ship, this is the Imperial Customs Ship Impounder. Cut your engines and prepare to be boarded." You also notice that four TIE fighters have moved in behind you.

The characters' ship will be boarded by Captain Fouc, Agent Durake and six Customs Troopers (use Imperial Naval Trooper template on page 43 of the Imperial Sourcebook). Having seen the ship being stopped and then released by the Enforcer, the Imperials will completely check the ship. Play this with an air of menace and danger. If they find nothing to arouse suspicion and the characters don't do anything stupid, they are released. Otherwise they are arrested and their ship confiscated. It will be impounded on the planet, where the New Republic agent will try to recover the module. The characters will be sent to an Imperial Naval vessel headed out system as new "recruits."

If they are released, cut to "Delayed Delivery."

Mandus Fouc

Template Type: Imperial Customs Corvette Captain. Loyalty: To the Empire. Height: 1.8 meters. Species: Human. Sex: Male.

Physical Description: Tall and handsome, Fouc has always had a way with the ladies. Unfortunately, the only ones he meets now are smugglers.

Background: Mandus Fouc is the youngest of the sector's Imperial Customs captains. He was in the process of being transferred to a command position in the regular Navy when the Battle of Endor occurred. With the death of the Emperor and the chaos that followed, his transfer was never completed. He is not happy about this, because he was eagerly awaiting escape from Customs duty.

Quote: "I want a transfer to the Navy!"

DEXTERITY 2D+2
Blaster 3D+2, dodge 3D+2
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Bureaucracy 4D
MECHANICAL 3D+2
PERCEPTION 3D+1
Command 4D+1, search 4D
STRENGTH 2D+1
TECHNICAL 3D
Character Points: 6
Move: 10

Laita Durake

Template Type: Imperial Customs Agent. Loyalty: To Imperial Customs. Height: 1.6 meters. Species: Human. Sex: Female.

Physical Description: Laita is a plain-looking woman, nondescript and largely unnoticed by those around her.

Background: Laita Durake is a native who was an employee of the Imperial Customs Office before the Rebellion. She was not happy about losing her position with the Empire after Endor. She is basically apolitical, and as long as she is paid, she is happy. She returned to Imperial Customs as soon as said forces returned to the planet, and is determined to keep this job. She will react negatively to anything that will make her lose it.

Quote: "I will not stand for being unemployed again!"

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 4D
KNOWLEDGE 4D
Bureaucracy 6D, intimidation 5D+2, streetwise 5D+1
MECHANICAL 2D+2
PERCEPTION 3D+1
Command 4D, search 5D
STRENGTH 3D
TECHNICAL 2D
Security 3D
Force Sensitive: No
Force Points: 3
Dark Side Points: 4
Character Points: 9
Move: 10

Delayed Delivery

Read aloud or paraphrase:

You have landed at Verena Spaceport on the planet Kirima. As you landed, you noticed TIE Fighters and Corporate Sector Fighters docked in bays near the one to which you are assigned. There are Imperial Army and Corporate Sector troops all over the space port. There are also troops clad in a red and black uniform that you think might be Kalindan army gear.

Use the map of Verena City to set up random encounters as the characters make their way to the bar.

Read aloud:

The SaSassis bar looks like a typical space port bar. It is fairly crowded but there is space at the bar itself.

When the characters use the code, the bartender (a seedy looking individual) replies, "Hey, that's the same drink Bren-Nevin Rordan orders — you know, from the northwest shop area. He always comes in, buys one and says 'I've got your package' as he drinks it. That will be 2 credits."

Throw in a bar fight or two or random encounters here if you want. From here, the characters can go to the shop area.

The Scoop

Odds are the characters will be unaware of the need to pay attention to middle names. They will think that there is only one Bren Rordan, but the person they must meet is Bren-Nevin Rordan at Rordan's Galactic Exotic Art. The other two Bren Rordans in the city will make their lives ... complicated.

The other problem is that the characters probably don't know that what's really important — the command module — is hidden in one of their Droids. Of course, only Bren-Nevin knows that the Droid, and not the cargo, is important. The other spies are going to be desperate to find out what is going on and will resort to interrogating the characters to get the information.

The Shop Area

Read aloud or paraphrase:

You see three shops: Rordan's Spaceship Parts and More, B. J. Rordan's Collectables and Rordan's Galactic Exotic Art.

Use the exterior descriptions given for each. Remember the Verena custom of the same first and last name with the middle being the designator.

When the characters pick a shop to visit, go to that shop section.

B. J. Rordan's Collectables

Exterior Description: Two-story older building, which needs extensive repairs. It is a sickly brown color, with split plastic frames and peeling paint. In the front window is an extensive collection of odds and ends. There are several holster belts, some jewelry, and lots of junk.

Interior Description: There is a large front room lined with counters that are overflowing with all kinds of stuff.

Behind the main counter and in front of a second door is a middle-aged Human male, about 1.5 meters high, with a receding hair line, sharp ratlike features, shifty eyes, and a potbelly. This is Bren-Jules Rordan, the head Compnor agent on the planet. Note he is in his position because of his abilities as a "yes man," not because he is competent. Also, he doesn't realize that the people in his shop are not ISB agents, but members of other Imperial, New Republic and Corporate Sector intelligence agencies.

To call Bren-Jules "incompetent" is a ludicrous understatement. His "cover" as a Compnor agent for the Empire is perhaps the worst-kept intelligence "secret" on the planet. His shop has become a hot-bed of espionage activity since his employees are employed by various intelligence agencies vying for influence in Kalinda System.

Bren-Jules Rordan

Template Type: Compnor ISB Agent. Loyalty: To Compnor. Height: 1.6 meters. Species: Human. Sex: Male.

Physical Description: Bren-Jules Rordan is a small, potbellied man with a rat-like face, colorless, shifty eyes, crooked nose, thin-lipped mouth, bucked teeth, mousy hair and olive complexion. He is very slimy looking and does not inspire trust.

Background: Bren-Jules Rordan has been in Compnor since he was a teenager. He started in the SAGroup and became an observer. Skilled at buttering up to superiors, he became an ISB Surveillance agent. Finally, he rose to Investigations and became a head operative. He is not very bright, nor particularly observant, but he is excellent at telling superiors what they want to hear and at covering himself (i.e., passing the blame). He has been at this assignment for two years, having been transferred to this planet after Endor. His cover is impeccable and everyone except the various Intelligence services believe he is a native.

Personality: Greedy, selfish, egotistical, manipulative and untrustworthy. Incompetent too.

Quote: "That's a great plan, sir."

DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 3D, dodge 3D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
Bureaucracy 3D, streetwise 4D
MECHANICAL 1D
PERCEPTION 2D+2
Con 3D+2, hide 3D+2, search 3D+2
STRENGTH 3D
TECHNICAL 2D
Security 4D
Character Points: 3
Move: 8

To the left, behind one of the other counters, is a 1.5 meters tall, jowled, mouse-eared humanoid with large round eyes. A Very Easy roll on alien species will identify it as a Sullustan. It is in the process of taking apart some machine (an Easy Perception roll reveals it to be a part of a repulsorlift unit) and does not appear to notice the characters. (This is a New Republic agent named Riin Raas, who has been operating in this shop for about two years. His cover is as a Compnor ISB surveillance agent.)

Riin Raas

DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 3D
KNOWLEDGE 2D+1
MECHANICAL 3D
PERCEPTION 3D
Search 4D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 2D+2
Security 3D+1
Character Points: 4
Move: 10

To the right is a young Human male 1.8 meters tall, with sandy blond hair, big blue eyes, freckles, and a skinny, gangly build. He looks to be about 16 years old. He will give the characters a big friendly smile whenever they look his way. This is Cor Mynus, an Imperial Intelligence lieutenant. He is 25 years old and very well trained. His cover is as a trainee in the shop and a Compnor observer. He is replacing the last Imperial agent, who was moved out about six Standard months ago. He reports directly to Kora Primos, the head Imperial agent on the planet. Already in his time at the shop, he has pegged the Corporate Sector agent. He is suspicious about the Sullustan, but as of this point, has no real evidence to go on.

Cor Mynus

DEXTERITY 3D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
Streetwise 4D
MECHANICAL 1D
PERCEPTION 4D
Search 4D+1
STRENGTH 4D
Brawling 5D
TECHNICAL 2D
Character Points: 2
Move: 10

Rordan greets the characters and introduces himself as Bren-Jules Rordan, as the door behind him opens, revealing another young man, roughly 1.8 meters tall. This is Russ Jarib, the Corporate Sector Intelligence agent assigned to watch for anything that might interest Corporate Sector.

Russ Jarib

DEXTERITY 3D+2
KNOWLEDGE 2D+2
Streetwise 3D
MECHANICAL 2D+2
PERCEPTION 2D+1
Con 3D+1, search 3D+1, sneak 3D+2
STRENGTH 3D+2
Lifting 4D
TECHNICAL 3D
Security 4D
Character Points: 4
Move: 10

If the characters mistake Bren-Jules for Bren-Nevin and try to make contact with him, roll on Bren-Jules' Perception (the task is Easy if the characters are being blunt, Difficult if they are being subtle). If he is successful at understanding them, he will attempt to arrange for a pickup of the cargo. He will also push the far right button under his counter. This button calls in the ISB enforcers (two bounty hunters and three mercs), but puts them on standby. After this button is pushed, the two bounty hunters will enter the shop, and start looking at the merchandise. If Bren-Jules makes a successful con roll against the characters, he will set up a meeting in one hour's time (it will be a trap, of course).

If he fails to con them, he will push the button right next to the last one. This will bring the enforcers into play.

Bounty Hunters (2)

DEXTERITY 4D
Blaster 4D+2, dodge 4D+1
KNOWLEDGE 2D+2
MECHANICAL 2D+2
PERCEPTION 3D
STRENGTH 3D+2
TECHNICAL 2D
Character Points: 5
Move: 10
Equipment: Heavy blaster (5D damage)

Mercenaries (3)

DEXTERITY 3D+2
Blaster 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D+2
MECHANICAL 2D+2
PERCEPTION 2D+1
STRENGTH 3D+2
TECHNICAL 3D
Move: 10
Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D damage)

When the button is pushed, the bounty hunters will casually move between the characters and the door. Meanwhile, the mercs will enter through the door behind Bren-Jules. No shooting will start until all the enforcers are in position, unless the characters attempt to leave the shop.

If this occurs, both bounty hunters will draw their heavy blasters. Then the larger bounty hunter will say, "And where do you think you're going? Put your hands in the air, nice and easy!" The smaller one will just laugh.

If the characters don't try to leave the shop, when the enforcers are in position, Bren-Jules will say the following: "I suggest you throw down any weapons you have, NOW! Or my friends here will have to get rough with you. This might damage my shop, and you wouldn't want that to happen. It would be very detrimental to your health."

After the confrontation, all the other agents in the shop will report to their superiors as soon as possible. If the characters ask for Bren-Nevin and don't reveal their purpose in visiting, Riin Raas will attempt to talk with one of them. He will, in the course of trying to sell them an item, tell the characters the true location of Bren-Nevin (a store two doors down).

Cor Mynus will closely watch, without appearing to, interactions with either Bren-Jules, Riin Raas or Russ Jarib. Roll his Perception if the characters do anything suspicious. (He succeeds with a Moderate roll.) If he is successful, he will note down who they are, what ship (if mentioned) and where they are going. This in turn will be reported to Kora Primos as soon as possible.

The Trap

If the characters have been conned into thinking Bren-Jules is their contact, he will arrange to have them bring their cargo to his shop in one hour. Before they arrive, he will arrange for four bounty hunters and six mercs (same stats) to hide behind the counters which line the shop. When the characters enter, have them generate Perception rolls versus the enforcers' sneak. Failure means the characters do not see their enemies lying in wait and will promptly be surrounded.

The characters will be hampered if carrying the cargo in combat, so are at a -1D to all rolls until they drop the boxes. If the characters succeeded with the Perception roll, they notice the goons as soon as they walk through the door. The other employees of the shop will be under cover and not take part in the action.

If the characters are captured by the goons, Bren-Jules will arrange for them to be taken to a nearby Compnor holding facility. All the characters will be cuffed, even if unconscious or incapacitated. The ones that can walk will be forced to help their fallen companions. The characters will be taken out of the shop to a ground vehicle. Characters may try to escape, but they suffer a -2D penalty to Dexterity and Strength rolls due to the cuffs. The goons will take a very dim view of any escape attempts! They will respond by stunning all of the characters and then transporting them unconscious.

If the Corporate Sector agent pegged the characters as New Republic agents, cut to "Corporate Grab." Otherwise, cut to "Imperial Grab."

Corporate Grab

Read aloud or paraphrase:

Suddenly, the landspeeder swerves and stops. You hear blaster shots ring out and the goons slump down, stunned. You are yanked out of the landspeeder and thrown in another by people in brown uniforms. The landspeeder starts off.

A Moderate Perception roll allows the characters to recognize their rescuers as Corporate Sector agents or "Espos."

Cut to "Imperial Grab."

Rordan's Spaceship Parts and More

Exterior Description: Large one-story building with a sand-colored, stone exterior. There is a large, faded sign on top of the building reading "Rordan's Spaceship Parts and More." There is a sign in the left window that reads, "SALE! Power couplers ... buy one, get one free!" In the right window, there is a sign that reads, "Impoundment Fasteners ... We sell in bulk!!!"

Interior Description: The display area is large and surprisingly roomy. The store appears to have every conceivable starship part and tool available. Merchandise displays fill the room and there are several computer terminals located in the store for customers' use, apparently to check on the availability of items that are too large for display. Small counters on the left and right walls both bear signs reading "Pick Up." (The characters must make Moderate Perception rolls to notice this.)

If the characters attempt to pick up any of the merchandise, they will find that all of the goods are magnetically affixed to the counters. A Very Difficult Strength roll is required to lift an item.

At the time the characters walk in, things are rather quiet in a shop that, by its very nature, must be very busy at times. There is only one customer in the shop (a Very Easy alien species roll tells the characters it is a Rodian) finishing up his business at the counter. He looks the characters up and down, as if comparing them to wanted posters, then leaves.

There are two large double doors in the wall behind the main counter. Each door has a small window approximately three-quarters of the way up. For tall characters, an Easy Perception roll will tell them these doors lead into the warehouse. Short characters must make themselves very obvious by jumping up and down to see through the windows.

Working behind the counter is a heavy-set man in his 40s and an extremely beautiful woman in her early 30s, clad in a close-fitting black jumpsuit. There are a couple of young men who look to be in their early 20s, dressed in tan coveralls and carrying portable computers. They are moving back and forth between the counter and the showroom (an Easy Perception roll is needed for the characters to take notice).

The woman is Bren-Aarica Rordan, an important Corporate Sector agent on Kirima. The heavy-set man is Jor Nieler, squad leader of the undercover Corporate Sector Authority Security Police (Espos), who are acting as employees of the shop. There are five Espos in the shop, two in the showroom and three working in the warehouse. All of the Espos are in the appropriate civilian gear since they are essentially undercover.

Bren-Aarica Rordan

Template Type: Corporate Sector Intelligence Agent. Loyalty: To the Corporate Sector Authority. Height: 1.7 meters. Species: Human. Sex: Female.

Physical Description: Bren-Aarica is a fairly tall and extremely beautiful woman in her early 30s. She has waist-length, dark brown hair, dark eyes, and a lightly tanned complexion.

Background: "Bren-Aarica Rordan" is actually the cover name for Aarica Vost. She is a Corporate Sector Authority agent who reports to Commander Baruche Sloane, commander of the occupying Corporate fleet. She is also the daughter of Larin Vost, the current head of Corporate Expansion. Unlike most of her fellow agents, Aarica did not gain her position through nepotism. Her father refused to use his influence to advance her career. If anything, he made it harder on her. She worked very hard to get where she is and will not do anything to jeopardize her current position.

Personality: Aarica is extremely bright and ambitious. She is quite perceptive and not easily conned. To her customers, Aarica seems to be very friendly and makes them feel at ease with her. This is just an act — she is actually ruthless and a bit bloodthirsty. She is well aware of her looks and will not hesitate to put them to use.

Quote: "You can never jail too many smugglers."

DEXTERITY 3D+2
Dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Bureaucracy 4D, streetwise 5D
MECHANICAL 2D+1
PERCEPTION 4D
Con 5D+2, gambling 5D
STRENGTH 2D+2
Lifting 3D
TECHNICAL 2D+1
Space transports repair 4D+2
Character Points: 4
Move: 10

Jor Nieler

DEXTERITY 2D+2
Blaster 3D+1
KNOWLEDGE 2D+2
MECHANICAL 3D+1
PERCEPTION 3D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 4D
Security 4D+2
Move: 10
Equipment: Comlink, holdout blaster (3D+1 damage)

Corporate Sector Espos Undercover Agents

DEXTERITY 4D
Blaster 4D+2, dodge 4D+2
KNOWLEDGE 2D+2
Streetwise 4D+2
MECHANICAL 2D+2
Beast riding 3D+2, repulsorlift operation 3D+2
PERCEPTION 3D
Con 4D, search 4D, sneak 4D
STRENGTH 3D+2
Brawling 4D+1
TECHNICAL 2D
Security 4D
Equipment: Comlink, holdout blaster (3D+1 damage), binders

Note: One Espo, Cort Flavian, is secretly working for Imperial Intelligence. His most distinguishing feature is his bright red hair.

Also in the shop is a mer-9 Protocol Droid. This Droid is actually a New Republic Espionage Droid.

New Republic Espionage Droid

Model: Merendata Espionage Droid
Height: 1.7 meters
DEXTERITY 1D
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Cultures 6D, languages 10D
MECHANICAL 1D
PERCEPTION 1D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 1D
Move: 8
Equipped With:
Secondary programming: information recording and code-keyed retrieval/broadcast system
Vocabulator speech/sound system
Broadband antenna receiver
A-A-1 Verbobrain
TransLang III Communication Module

The Droid is activated when it leaves the shop on errands. It then downloads any collected information to the New Republic agent. The Corporate Sector Espos only cover the shop and don't accompany the Droid, which is sent out two to three times a day.

The heavy-set man smiles and approaches the characters, saying, "Greetings, I am Jor. May I help you find something? We are having a great sale on power couplers."

If the characters figure out that the man they seek is not here and don't arouse anyone's suspicions, they are allowed to leave.

If the characters alert the Imperial agent, they are allowed to leave but the Imperial agent contacts his superiors and the characters will be stopped by a stormtrooper patrol and detained for questioning.

If the characters alert one of the Corporate Sector agents, then they are captured on the spot. When Aarica discovers that the characters are smugglers, she says, "That's a mighty dangerous cargo to be hauling, don't you think?" This sentence is a prearranged signal to the rest of the Corporate people in the shop that there are some smugglers or other riff-raff that need to be arrested. The two Espos in the showroom will pull holdout blasters out of their coveralls and approach the characters. A third Espo will come out of the doors behind the counter, and two more will come from the pickup doors in the front of the building (each has a holdout blaster). Aarica will pull a heavy blaster from behind the counter. One of the Espos yells, "Drop your weapons and put your hands on your heads, you smuggler scum!"

If the characters try to escape or fight, they are immediately stunned. If they cooperate, read aloud or paraphrase:

The woman walks towards you, smiling and carelessly waving her blaster around. "The stupidity of smugglers never ceases to amaze me," she says in a sultry voice. "I hope you are all very good friends and enjoy very cramped quarters. Your ship and its cargo will be impounded. If you have friends in high places in the Authority, you may get out in time to buy back your ship at the auction next week."

She sighs, and then says, "Sweet dreams ..."

With that, she stuns all the characters and the Espos drag them into the warehouse, confiscate all of their weapons, stuff each one into a crate, and load the crates onto a repulsorlift truck for the trip to the Corporate Sector Authority Headquarters.

If any of the characters remain conscious, read the following:

The landspeeder travels for a short period of time, then suddenly stops. One of the goons in the back asks the driver, "What's happening?" and receives the reply, "Kalindan patrol." Then blaster shots ring out and all the goons are stunned. The characters are dragged from the landspeeder and taken to another landspeeder with Imperial markings. The landspeeder starts moving.

Cut to "Imperial Grab."

Rordan's Galactic Exotic Art

Exterior Description: This one-story building has two large display windows with artwork in them and a door. The outside is clean and in good repair. Inside, there is a corridor that has art displays on both sides, and then turns to the left ending in a desk.

Seated at the desk is Bren-Nevin Rordan. He will greet the characters with, "May I help you with something?" After hearing their reply (the code), he will say, "I am sorry, I don't know what you're talking about. Are you sure you have the right Rordan?"

Bren-Nevin believes his shop is under observation and is playing it cautious. Let the characters make Perception rolls against his con. If they persist, four bodyguards will appear from the door to the left behind Rordan's desk (use Specforces Infiltrator template on page 39 of The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook) and ask them to leave. If they don't cooperate, they will be stunned. When they come to, they will be in their ship with their cargo gone, but 20,000 credits richer.

If the characters leave, Bren-Nevin will come to their ship and recover the command module, leaving the 20,000 payment in the captain's cabin.

If the characters leave the shop willingly, they will be stopped and detained by an Imperial Army patrol (eight troopers) and an armored vehicle who take them to Imperial HQ. They have just been conscripted into Imperial service.

Cut to "Meeting of Minds."

Bren-Nevin Rordan

Template Type: New Republic Intelligence Agent. Loyalty: To the New Republic. Height: 1.8 meters. Species: Human. Sex: Male.

Physical Description: Bren-Nevin is a very nondescript man in his early 30s with brown hair and gray eyes. He has a skinny build with a slightly receding hairline.

Background: Born on Karima, Nevin joined the Alliance after the destruction of Alderaan. He slipped off-planet and went through very intensive training as an intelligence agent, then returned to Karima. He is currently working for New Republic Intelligence. His cover is a very successful galactic art dealer.

Personality: Nevin is a very adaptable person. He is an excellent actor and can easily take on the personality of whatever part he is playing. Nevin is fanatical about the New Republic.

Quote: "I can do that!"

DEXTERITY 3D+2
Blaster 5D+2, dodge 6D+2
KNOWLEDGE 5D
Streetwise 6D, survival 7D
MECHANICAL 3D
PERCEPTION 4D
Con 5D, search 5D, sneak 6D
STRENGTH 3D+2
Brawling 5D+2, stamina 4D+2
TECHNICAL 3D
Computer programming/repair 6D+2, demolition 6D+2, security 6D+2
Character Points: 1
Move: 10

Imperial Grab

If the characters are being taken from Corporate Sector forces, the Imperial Intelligence agents will be wearing Royal Kalindan Mounted Police uniforms (maroon jackets with gold trim, helmets and everything else in black). If the characters are being taken from Compnor enforcers, the agents will wear Corporate Sector uniforms (brown uniform with black helmets).

The characters are being taken to meet Kora Primo, head of Imperial Intelligence on the planet. Cut to "Meeting of Minds."

Meeting of Minds

Read aloud or paraphrase:

You are driven a short distance by your new hosts, then the vehicle turns into a garage and stops. Within this garage are several vehicles sporting various markings.

As you are pulled out of the craft, a willowy, black-haired woman comes sauntering over to your group. She is a striking woman, but you can't place exactly what it is that makes her so arresting. She looks over the group in a very insolent manner, and turns to the guards, saying, "No problems, I see. Good! Compnor, Corporate Sector, Republic — you have the interest of many groups here. But as part of Imperial Intelligence, what you have will be mine, even if it means turning your brains to mush." Then she snaps her fingers and four Imperial Army troopers appear. "Drain their minds if that's what it takes."

Kora Primo

Template Type: Imperial Intelligence Agent. Loyalty: To Imperial Intelligence. Height: 1.7 meters. Species: Human. Sex: Female.

Physical Description: Kora Primo is a willowy, innocent-looking, black-haired woman with violet eyes. She is also very good with make-up and can radically change her appearance from one extreme to another.

Background: Kora Primo's family have always been intelligence agents and she has been following in the family tradition for the past nine years. She is very loyal to the Imperial Intelligence Command, which is the only family she has left. She will do anything for them. This is her only loyalty, because she could care less about politics and any non-Intelligence related organization. As far as she is concerned, the Imperial Intelligence Command can do no wrong.

Personality: Loyal, competent, devious, can be demanding, aggressive, ambitious, fanatical (note that she is an excellent actress).

Quote: "Imperial Intelligence knows what is best for all!"

DEXTERITY 4D
Blaster 6D, dodge 6D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
Bureaucracy 5D, streetwise 5D, survival 4D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 4D
Command 4D+2, search 5D, sneak 5D+1
STRENGTH 3D
Brawling 4D
TECHNICAL 3D
Demolition 5D, security 5D

Imperial Army Troopers

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 4D+1, dodge 4D+1, grenade 3D+1, heavy weapons 3D+2
KNOWLEDGE 1D+1
MECHANICAL 1D+1
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 3D+1
Brawling 3D+1
TECHNICAL 1D
Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D damage), blaster rifle (5D damage)

The woman instructs the troopers to take the characters to headquarters and find out why they are of so much interest to Compnor and the Corporate Sector agents.

They will be taken to Imperial Headquarters and tossed in a dank cell. Just as the interrogator Droids come into the cell, one of the trooper's comlinks buzzes. Play up the oppressive atmosphere of this place.

Read aloud or paraphrase:

As you sit in your cell, you hear explosions and the sounds of battle. Suddenly, the door is flung open and a Kalindan Mounted Police Trooper enters and says, "You are free now."

The trooper leads the characters out and introduces them (if they haven't already met him) to Bren-Nevin Rordan, their contact and a Republic agent. Rordan explains to them that he was able to obtain the module from their ship and the Kalindans now have a chance for freedom again. The command module convinced the Kalindans to join the Republic.

The Kalindans will treat the characters like heroes, throw them a party, pay them their money and then suggest that they should leave the smuggling profession for a more honest career.

For a Few Kilotons More

Adventure Background

By now, the characters might feel they deserve an easy mission for once, and it seems they may just get one.

A crucial concern of the New Republic at this time is stabilizing its economy, partly to maintain the war effort, but also to ensure prosperity returns to the galaxy when peace does. This in itself is enough to inspire your average character (even smugglers and free-traders) to feel great sympathy for the former Rebels.

Lately, there has been a significant productivity drop from the mines on Krann and some sabotage has occurred, including recent bombings of the company's private landing pad. Run by Mon Tondievz, Ltd., a booming company in the New Republic (that pays handsome shipping fees), the mine supplies precious nova crystals, base for much of the New Republic's hard currency.

Hard currency is what keeps most smugglers out of hock, so this has become a big topic of debate in cantinas across the sector. While no immediate panic seems justified, interest payments to the creditors and bankers of the galaxy must be made soon and much of the good will the new government has earned might be compromised, not to mention the number of people who depend on Republic coffers.

The targeted company's administrator fears a rival corporation is to blame, since Mon Tondievz is a newcomer to the sector economy and wouldn't be able to resist a buyout attempt by a wealthier company. Furthermore, if not stopped here, industrial espionage against New Republic investments may spread, driving those companies from the sector — and a lot of jobs with them. Of course, this is a situation the characters can relate to, since their last mission probably left them in need of an overhaul. The characters have heard of excellent wages being paid for very short terms of work, so they have arrived on a work shuttle to earn their keep. Alternatively, the characters' ship may have been brought here by a cargo shipment, such as a load of food or industrial equipment.

Krann

A forbidding jungle world that orbits four blazing Red Giant suns, soaking the whole planet in unending blood-colored light. When scouts first arrived, they found a whole ecology based on crimson sunlight, most of it in the ominous, mountain hugging "Black Jungle." Here, ebon vegetation absorbs all available light, draping the ground in perpetual night.

It wasn't scientific curiosity that first brought Humans to this shadowed world, it was greed — greed for the priceless nova crystals locked beneath the surface. With incalculable sums bled to fund the Death Star project in the Horuz system, the Empire needed ready funding for the regular programs of tyranny it was always implementing. Once the riches were discovered, next came the laborers to unearth them, and whole cities of the native Kluuzot were enslaved.

Following the Alliance victory at Endor, the sector governor seceded, establishing her own neutral territory. She freed the slaves in her sector and encouraged commercial investors of all allegiances. Krann is now an expanding trade world and home to numerous corporate interests, especially those of the New Republic.

Since then, many have emigrated, mainly miners and techs, but most of the work is still handled by Kluuzot, commanding high wages. Rumors of nightmarish beasts slinking from shadowed lairs abound, but few hard facts exist, and the Kluuzot aren't saying.

Krann

Type: Terrestrial
Temperature: Warm
Atmosphere: Type I (breathable, but very humid)
Hydrosphere: Moist
Gravity: Standard
Terrain: Jungle covered mountains, jungle, plains
Length of Day: 31 standard hours
Length of Year: 162 local days
Sapient Species: Humans, Kluuzot (N)
Starport: Standard
Population: 2,300 colonists; 13.4 million Kluuzot
Planet Function: Mining, crystal processing
Government: Competing corporate states
Tech Level: Space
Major Exports: Rare minerals, nova crystals
Major Imports: Foodstuffs, medicinal goods, high tech, luxury goods
System Name: Opiteihr
Star Names: Opiteihr, Kalnus, Terax, Dal
Star Types: Red Giants

Favor for a Friend

A gruesome maroon sunset dazzles the characters as they depart the shuttle at the central spaceport. Without expensive permits, they aren't allowed any blasters, only hand weapons and knives. But if hidden well enough (Moderate hide roll) they may just get past the weapon scanners. Due to the humidity, Krann is not a world where full body armor remains comfortable for long and an Easy stamina roll should be made for every three hours it's worn (blast vests and helmets are uncomfortable but cause no undo strain).

Their initial contact onworld is the Mon Tondievz, Ltd.'s chief of security, Vanel, who will meet them in a local cantina. A few Moderate streetwise rolls are required to find the bar Wages of Phy'r.

In the shopping concourse they pass through, have the characters encounter an Ugor spice dealer (See Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races for more information on the Ugor). If they show interest, he offers them a variety of spices, from Kessel to Corellian. After a few glances around, he will offer the characters eldratz, a spice whose effects are so deadly, even Hutts refuse to sell it. If the characters raise a ruckus, the Ugor will slosh away before local militia can arrive. They will give the characters a stern warning for wasting municipal time.

After finding the tavern, Wages of Phy'r, they may enter and mingle with the bustle of miners and shopworkers; serving Droids will take their orders and, in a few minutes, will return with the wrong drinks. No matter how many attempts they make, they will never get the right drinks, but may get something interesting instead. Provide some interesting miners or old pals to run into as they orient themselves to the dim interior.

Any diligent attempt to gather information should pick up a number of the following rumors. Gamemaster's discretion as to which they hear, and how believable they sound:

• Baroness Tagge, of Tagge Mining, is coming here on an inspection visit (true)
• The New Republic is brainwashing its workers (false)
• The Hutt, Jeweler's Guild is being driven off Krann by a new boss (true)
• The Imperials are building up for a new offensive (true)
• The Hutts are selling nova crystals to Mon Tondievz (true)
• There are traitors in the Imperial mining camp (false)
• Quarlo, the mine overseer, defected to escape an Imperial deathmark (true)
• Hutts bought the planet and are building a theme park (false)
• Quarlo and Vanel are lovers (false)

Soon enough, a gaunt, topknotted woman matching Vanel's holoimage enters. She is moving about looking for the characters when a Gamorrean and a Twi'lek, in miners togs, accost her. She tenses, but will take no violent action. Any player making a Moderate Perception roll will hear they are arguing about money; a Difficult one reveals they are demanding payment for some shipment. This type of conversation is never pleasant to hear, especially with a Huttese accent. All talk in low voices and nothing more can be made out.

She then pushes past the Twi'lek, who mutters something inaudible and she swings, decking him. The Gamorrean attacks as patrons move aside and the Twi'lek gets up. Should the characters come to her aid, she will accept help (actually she is sizing them up, but don't reveal this to the characters). Unaided, she will soundly trounce the pair and leave them in a bloody, unconscious heap. (Any Force users in the party will immediately get a feeling of unease around her, but should any mind trick be tried on her, she will know it and take great offense, referring cryptically to bad memories.)

Vanel

Template Type: Imperial Intelligence Agent. Loyalty: To herself. Height: 1.7 meters. Species: Human. Sex: Female.

Description: Unknown to New Republic agents, or even mine overseer Quarlo, Vanel was an Imperial Intelligence sleeper agent from the Destabilization branch. At odds with her supervisors as to how best to enslave the Kluuzot, she accepted Quarlo's offer to become his personal bodyguard and enforcer. Survivor of several assassination attempts, she is a hardened killer who prizes professionalism and works hard maintaining operations at peak efficiency. She holds no grudges, but feels it's simply good business sense to "deal" with all who cross her.

DEXTERITY 4D
Blaster 5D+2, grenade 5D, melee combat 4D+1, melee parry 4D+2
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Streetwise 4D, survival 5D+2
MECHANICAL 2D+2
Repulsorlift operation 4D+1
PERCEPTION 2D
Con 3D+2
STRENGTH 3D+1
Brawling 4D
TECHNICAL 3D
Demolition 4D+2, repulsorlift repair 5D, security 6D
Force Sensitive: Yes
Force Points: 3
Dark Side Points: 2
Character Points: 10
Move: 10
Equipment: Hold-out blaster hidden in false bottom of valise (3D damage), 4,000 credits, a poison detector, pocket computer and secret rank cylinders (with access to Quarlo's secret data files), a dozen throwing knives (STR+1D damage), bayonet with self-sharpening sheath (STR+1D+2 damage)

Gamorrean Thug

DEXTERITY 3D
Melee combat 4D+2
KNOWLEDGE 1D
MECHANICAL 1D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 4D
Brawling 5D+1
TECHNICAL 1D
Move: 10
Equipment: Large studded club (STR+1D+2 damage)

Twi'lek Thug

DEXTERITY 2D
Brawling parry 3D, dodge 3D+2, melee combat 3D+2, melee parry 3D+2
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 1D+2
PERCEPTION 3D+1
Hide/sneak 4D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 1D
Move: 10
Equipment: Knife (STR+1 damage), light vest (+1 to STR)

At this point, the characters should introduce themselves and learn what they can. The two goons, Vanel says, are occasional enforcers for the local crime boss — a crime boss the characters have made an enemy of already. If anyone asks what started the fight, she will try to con them, referring to a past traumatic experience at the hands of similar goons.

Yes, she admits, her employers in the New Republic are hiring troubleshooters to "deal" with the sabotage they've suffered lately. She hesitates to be more specific in these surroundings but gives general information about the situation. With the sector neutral territory, the governor has encouraged outside investment, regardless of allegiance. While Mon Tondievz remains the largest mining complex, rival facilities have opened in the past few years, including a House of Tagge subsidiary, a branch of the Hutt Jeweler's Guild, a newly opened Imperial facility and a consortium owned largely by a crime boss the characters have somehow managed to make an enemy of.

Arriving at a nearby warehouse, she asks the characters to help check for bugs and, a few Easy search rolls later, she signals and in come a number of Kluuzot workers, with meals and changes of clothing. These should be the first ones the characters interact with, and though they are listless and inattentive, they should not immediately call attention to themselves.

After they leave, she hands the characters a single flake of nova crystal, a glimmering prismatic sparkle in a glass vial, to examine. She flicks a switch and the holoconference begins with the swarthy, blustery image of Quarlo I'Shibix. He greets the characters and answers a few questions. Throughout the conversation, he should seem just a bit too friendly, too familiar. He explains he is still overseeing the Mon Tondievz mine, but will be glad to meet the characters after the mission is completed. The price offered is 4,000 credits each per day for two day's work, but he will bargain if need be.

He then begins his story. Formerly colony administrator under the Empire, he was among the first to defect following the victory at Endor. He offered his colony's services to the New Republic through an exclusive deal with the Mon Tondievz Mining Company, and has since maintained steady profits. In fact, since he reorganized, reimbursing the slaves and giving them shares in its profits, there has never been a single strike by the Kluuzot-only workforce — unlike the other company mines, which have had disputes aplenty.

While all the companies have ample motive for sabotage, it is Quarlo's opinion that the Imperial camp is behind it all, to regain ownership and to make an example of him. Vanel agrees with Quarlo. The New Republic has refused to pay the local crime boss any protection money so he is the next most likely suspect. Vanel waits to ask for the crystal back only after a character has put it in his pocket.

Quarlo I'Shibix

Template Type: Mine Administrator. Loyalty: To himself. Height: 1.6 meters. Species: Human. Sex: Male.

DEXTERITY 3D+1
Blaster 4D+1, dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D+1
Bureaucracy 6D, streetwise 7D
MECHANICAL 3D+2
PERCEPTION 3D
Bargain 4D+2, con 6D+1, sneak 5D+1
STRENGTH 3D
TECHNICAL 2D+2
Character Points: 7
Move: 10

The Job

With payment deadlines waiting, the task now is getting the new shipment offworld to refineries at Arrgaw, where the unstable and highly explosive raw crystals can be bonded to inert trace elements. A refrigerated orbital ferry moved the cargo to the space port, where it could be transported safely in the cold of space. That was before the company pad was destroyed. With the shuttle damaged and no other available ships here, it looks grim for the delivery schedule.

One reason for optimism is that a House of Tagge bulk transport departs in a week and is willing, for a price, to go as far as Sluis Van, where a Corellian Corvette can go from there. Unfortunately, the Tagge ship launches only from its own pad at the Tagge camp, hundreds of kilometers away. The only option is to drive the cargo overland through the heart of the jungles.

Heat from the suns can sometimes cause spontaneous reaction in raw crystals freed from their rocky matrix, so the cargo must be moved quickly in shielded, refrigerated speeder trucks. Quarlo's techs have been working double and triple shifts, modifying such a trio of speeder trucks for the journey. Now is the most opportune time for one last blow against the company, so the characters must be on their guard for the journey.

The characters are given an opportunity to wash up and change into jungle fatigues. Armor is even more uncomfortable out in the jungle itself, out of the sunslight, so Vanel recommends against it. The smugglers may discuss options such as perks, weapons, or rations before the trucks are ready. Vanel will grant them whatever reasonable demands they may make, with the sole condition that all payment comes after the cargo is offworld.

Give them an opportunity to examine the vague and outdated map and plan out a rough course to the Tagge camp. Each group will take a different route for security, and a Moderate survival roll finds a route of approximately 30-38 hours. According to Vanel, the nova crystals and the support system to maintain them renders comlinks useless. Even away from the truck, it could act as a beacon for the saboteurs, so no comlinks are allowed. To get one past her frisking takes a Difficult hide roll. Any attempts at flirtation are totally ignored. After a while, Vanel reenters the room in her jungle fatigues and leads them to a waiting hovervan to be taken to the company port deep in the jungle. Inside the van are two miners from the bar and a brassy, angular Droid, which bears a slight resemblance to a protocol unit. All attempts at conversation with Vanel and the Droid end in failure and they will dampen any high spirits on the trip. The city blurs by as Vanel lights up a chakroot stick. While attractive, she is unmoved by any flattery or small talk.

A few hours later, with a lurch, the van halts and the doors open to reveal the tarmac of the mining port. Spaced evenly along the sides of a storage dome are the three speeder trucks dating from before the Clone Wars. A very rushed safety briefing is given for those who'll listen. It warns against driving too fast when the temperature is high, or allowing the cargo to be jostled too much. While this goes on, Vanel, unnoticed by anyone failing a Moderate Perception roll, places the nova crystal fragment in the ashtray with her chakroot in the van. The techs finish filling the side-mounted coolant tanks, pause momentarily, and leave as Vanel warns the two other teams to be careful "or else." If any ask "Or else what?," the exploding fragment which blows the van to pieces should answer eloquently. The van is dozens of meters away so characters take no damage, but they should make Easy Dexterity rolls to remain on their feet. She and her Droid board without further ado. The other miners board the second speeder truck and the characters board the third one.

There is only enough room for two to sit comfortably in the cabin, but three may squeeze in, if necessary. There is also room on top of the cabin itself for someone to rest. The team will be given special blasters smuggled through customs. Enough food for a day's journey is passed up. In the background, a group of Kluuzot laborers is led off by security troops. The last of the techs hands over a pair of night vision goggles, if none of the characters have any, and the journey begins. One drives, while others navigate or rest, rotating as they prefer.

As they enter the jungle, noises and smells only hint at the abundance and diversity of life here, not all of it friendly. Roll a die for every few hours to get the difficulty of the repulsorlift operations rolls needed to continue forward through the thick undergrowth. (1-2, Very Easy; 3-4, Easy; 5, Difficult; 6, Very Difficult.)

Any time they fail a roll, they must backtrack and lose an hour to terrain. If their roll is more than twice as successful as was necessary, they gain an hour. Roll once per day on the "Encounter" table.

After a few hours have passed without incident, a storm begins. With rumbles and lightning flashes, the rain pours down, a slow, steady leak dripping inside the cabin. The rain rattles on for hours.

Speeder Truck

Craft: Modified Trast A-A6z Speeder Truck
Crew: 2-3
Passengers: 0
Cargo: 25,000 kg
Scale: Walker
Move: 70; 200 kmh
Maneuverability: 1D
Body Strength: 2D+1
Flight Ceiling: 3 meters
Special Notes: As the cargo's temperature rises above 30 degrees Celsius, it becomes increasingly unstable and may explode from the slightest jar. A readout is on the dashboard and the trucks are fitted with refrigeration units to stabilize the crystals en route. Area illumination banks have been fitted to the hull.

Sidebar: Encounters

1. Aborigines. The mist parts, revealing two to twelve natives who stare accusingly from all sides at the smugglers. They take no hostile action, even if provoked, and run off, only to reappear, disconcertingly, hours later.
2. Animals. A herd of bantha-sized, eyeless herbivores, munching placidly on ferns, impedes further progress. The beasts are hard to distract from their meal without stampeding — a Difficult beast riding roll is necessary to scare them off.
3. Roadblock. Debris and felled trees make the path ahead nearly impassable and it takes several Moderate Strength rolls, or a Very Difficult repulsorlift operation roll to continue forward.
4. Catapults. Unseen natives launch an attack on the vehicle. Fortunately, most of the rocks will not harm the cargo. The characters are another matter, and they may wish to fight back or pursue, but a wild goose chase will only result.
5. Wreckage. The shattered hulk of a forgotten Mekuun Hoverscout rests uneasily against a boulder. Nothing salvageable remains except for packs of decade-old (but still edible) rations, and a subspace music set with some old music tapes. The truck has a socket for the player and the tapes should provide some distraction.
6. Coolant Leak. The cargo begins overheating ominously; an Easy demolitions roll warns that all motion must stop IMMEDIATELY! After an hour, the speeder's engines have cooled off enough to repair with a jury rig adhering to the following specifications. The character needs a Moderate repulsorlift repair roll to fix the leak.

The Cathedral of Shade

As the speeder plods through the downpour, throw in some false alarms to stir them again. By this time, they should be tiring and will want to switch seats and eat. Soon, they reach a clearing, a vast raised area inside a cleft in the rock, with a waterfall pouring off a promontory. As the truck approaches, the rocky cliffs are revealed to be stone walls, the clearing a marble floor. More importantly, the heroes will suddenly make out what appear to be hundreds of Kluuzot surrounding them!

Let the characters react for a few seconds, but a Very Easy cultures roll will identify the figures as statues, probably of Kluuzot heroes. These are the remains of a Kluuzot temple, destroyed during the first raids, and soon reclaimed by the jungle. The waterfall pours from a blasted pulpit into a pool over the choir pit. Crumbling mosaics cover the walls and stained glass-like windows gleam dully in the headlights, but a few Easy language rolls will translate the depicted story as the Imperial conquest. Also of note is a particular series of images, depicting a demonic figure tormenting the Kluuzot. An Easy Perception roll is all that is needed to realize the figure is a caricature of Quarlo.

Before they can examine further, noises distract them. At this point, one of the characters should make an Easy Perception roll to notice there are more statues than there were a few moments ago. They are surrounded by motionless, seemingly comatose Kluuzot. A Moderate first aid or streetwise roll recognizes this living death as a side-effect of eldratz use. This should remind them of the Ugor at the warehouse.

The ones leaping from behind cover seem much more lively, but aren't natives — they're the goons from the bar, only this time with four more friends. Should the characters use the special company weapons Vanel gave them, they have been sabotaged and can't fire. Armed with working blasters, the thugs immediately try to overpower the characters. Failing that, they will make every attempt to hijack the truck. If overpowered, they flee into the jungle and are never heard from again.

Thugs (6)

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 4D+2, dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 1D+1
MECHANICAL 1D+1
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 3D+1
Brawling 4D+1
TECHNICAL 1D
Move: 10
Equipment: Two blaster pistols (3D+1 damage), vibroaxe (STR+2D damage), stun baton (5D damage, stun only)

The Kluuzot

As scouts discovered the huge nova crystal deposits in the lowland plains and jungles, they also made initial contact with the natives. Evolved from lemur-like creatures, the Kluuzot have softly glowing amber eyes and body coloring which, though drab in the red sunshine, seems almost fluorescent under white light.

With a substantial feudal civilization of their own, they hoped to learn much from Human contact. Then the first Death Star project began and many fled back to their jungles and warred against the invaders till the Alliance's victory restored their freedom.

Kluuzot

Roleplaying Hints: Calm and philosophical, the Kluuzot have suffered from the traditional Imperial "good neighbor" policy. They do realize all Humans are not evil, but haven't had much proof of that maxim.

Quote: "You say you are more advanced than we — why then do you make us slaves?"

Attribute Dice: 10D
DEXTERITY 1D-4D
Climb/jump, melee parry, running
KNOWLEDGE 1D-3D
Alien species, culture (Kluuzot)
MECHANICAL 1D-3D
Repair/build
PERCEPTION 2D-4D
Search, hide/stealth
STRENGTH 1D-2D
Brawling parry, lift/climb
TECHNICAL 1D-2D
Computer programming/use
Special Abilities:
Night Vision: Kluuzot have excellent vision in dark conditions — consider darkness "normal" daylight, adding +1D to Perception, to search and related activities. They lose -3D to sight and are nearly blinded in bright light.
Claws: Their claws give +1D to climbing.
Move: 8-12
Height: 1.1-1.5 meters

As the battle wages on, angry, inhuman bellows sound all around the area as a group of 12 Kluuzot attack. The characters have several options. They could stand and fight on, and possibly chase off the Kluuzot demented by exposure to spice. They could try to reason with an angry tribe of fanatics, or they could make a getaway. They may try a combination of all three. Sheer numbers might make stun settings more effective, as it uses less charge to the same effect, but this is a decision for the characters. Whether they successfully get away or not is up to the gamemaster. Run it as a scene from a nightmare battle, with lightning creating prismatic ghosts of the wraith-like crazies.

Freedom's Price

Once the characters have either defeated or escaped from their foes, they will find themselves way off course. The truck could use some attention by now, so after a cursory exploration to make sure the area is safe (and it is), an Easy repulsorlift repair roll might come in handy.

As they examine the truck, they will find arrows, pieces of warheads and the occasional bullet hole in the plating. What is particularly unsettling is a large stone protruding from one of the cargo bubbles. No smoke, or flame. At this point, let the characters strip the truck. Moderate Technical rolls will allow a temporary disconnection of the coolant system without automatic detonation.

Inside, they will find nova crystals, all right — with the Jeweler's Guild stamp still on the few, small packages. Unfortunately, there also appears to be a time-delay thermal detonator nestled on top. The timer is set for the original ETA at the Tagge camp. A Moderate demolitions roll is needed to prevent an explosion. Once accomplished, a more leisurely examination of the truck might be fruitful.

The real cargo is something else entirely: sealed flasks with only a silvery, slimy resin bubbling inside. A medscanner or a Droid (or a Moderate first aid roll) can identify the chemical as eldratz laced with a neural stimulant. Without a lab, the precise effects would be hard to speculate upon, but those high productivity ratings might be a result of it. What exactly to do with the stuff (illegal in the New Republic and Empire alike) is up to them. They could destroy it outright, or take it back for evidence. The nova crystals are worth a fortune, and they may wish to hold onto them.

Further search rolls reveal a locational transponder hidden inside the coolant system. It should be becoming clear to the characters that a lot goes on at Mon Tondievz which never makes it into the yearly stock reports. Then the darkness lifts for a blinding moment as a fist of heated air whips the jungle around them. Unquestionably, a nova crystal explosion; the other team of miners apparently wasn't as lucky as the heroes.

All Debts Paid

While the characters reassemble the vehicle, it should occur to them that the radio silence was merely to avoid their learning too much. If a character kept a comlink hidden earlier, she could begin monitoring signals from the area. The characters could return to the old hoverscout and cannibalize the radio there. Alternatively, they could cannibalize part of the cooling system and the tracomp to create a scanner of their own. Lastly, they could return to the temple and search for the tracer the thugs had. Eventually they will be able to begin monitoring the other truck, which is circling back toward the Mon Tondievz base.

If they try raising help on the comlink, they soon intercept coded signals from several calm, but oddly inflected, voices. An Easy languages roll deciphers it all: a group of Kluuzot guerrillas planning an attack on the Mon Tondievz camp. During the conversations, the following facts are confirmed: the shuttle was in fact damaged in the earlier attack but has already been repaired; it leaves tomorrow with Quarlo and his "butcher" (Vanel) on it at sunset. Since nearly all his workers are involved in his rapidly growing eldratz ring, there is very low security at the mine, only about a dozen guards and Quarlo himself. Vanel will be arriving just in time to offload the speeder truck of its cargo before they leave for new worlds to loot.

Now the characters may try to communicate with the guerrillas or they may try to handle Quarlo themselves. Either way, they will arrive there roughly simultaneously with Vanel herself (if they jury-rig the speeder, and dump most of the cargo — they could detach the whole cooling system and leave it in a pool with the crystals. In this case, they will arrive two hours before the guerillas.) Unlike Quarlo, she is wary of being caught, so she stays in the truck as long as possible. Quarlo isn't expecting the heroes to survive the trip to the Tagge camp, and will be thoroughly surprised.

When the characters do show up, they will find the mine a ghost town. Whole sections have fallen into decay, and most of it looks like it hasn't been used in months. If the characters can access the data system (which was never changed from its old Imperial protocols), even more can be learned.

Quarlo has kept records of his career, dating back to the initial conquest, and is to blame for most of the suffering on Krann. He defected only hours away from when a court martial for corruption was scheduled to begin. He continued using slaves, only instead of containment collars, he used eldratz. When they burned out, he released them back into the wild and they would wander, often catatonically, until they found remnants of their former lives, like the temple, for example.

An Easy Technical roll is required to learn the mine is largely tapped out from its Imperial days. Due to bad policy, poor workmanship and miserliness, the once great mines have all but collapsed around Quarlo's ears. Eldratz, on the other hand, brings in ten times what the crystals used to, and with his connections to the local syndicates, it was an easy matter to hoard up a supply to cover his trail, while he planned his escape.

Blaming the guerillas, who have been fighting him since he took control years ago, he fabricated a tale of industrial espionage in order to lure some patsies here. Meanwhile, with his overextended credit, he bought up the last crystals to be had on Krann. Easy enough to set up an ambush for one truck. No matter who won the battle, the drivers joined the losers when it all exploded. When all the other shipments "explode" mysteriously, no one will argue about shutting down the mine. With all that incriminating evidence gone, he could put in for hazard pay and retire with a medal to boot. Only he didn't count on the luck of scoundrels.

Whether they are inside the complex, or observing from outside, Vanel soon arrives in the other truck. Soon, so will 15 Kluuzot armed with swords (STR+1D damage) and crossbows (2D+2 damage). The characters can give a map of the mine to the Kluuzot should they so choose, even providing fire support. When the appropriate time arrives, all chaos breaks loose. Vanel orders her Droid, a reprogrammed Assassin model, to create a diversion, while she steals the nearest vehicle. What that diversion will be is left up to the gamemaster. Soon the guards will join the fray. Once they were crack troops, but years of watching zombies has dulled their skill considerably.

Assassin Droid

Model: Eradicator E8U
Height: 1.5 meters
DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 5D, dodge 4D, melee 3D+2
KNOWLEDGE 1D
MECHANICAL 1D
PERCEPTION 2D
Search 5D
STRENGTH 5D
Brawling 4D
TECHNICAL 1D
Equipment: Blaster cannons (6D damage), armsaw blades (5D damage)

Security Guards

DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 3D, brawling parry 2D, melee combat 3D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
Streetwise 3D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
Bargain 3D, con 3D, search 3D
STRENGTH 2D
Brawling 3D
TECHNICAL 2D
Security 3D
Equipment: Battle helmets and armored vests (+2 to STR for damage purposes only, -2 to DEX), blaster pistols (4D damage)

If Quarlo survives the battle (unlikely unless the Kluuzot are reasoned with quickly, Moderate successes of command or con), he will offer to turn evidence against the local crime boss. Whether he'll live to testify is another matter entirely. Vanel, on the other hand, will try her darndest to get away, but if captured she will surrender only if stunned. She will then make it her life's goal to escape and repay what she owes the characters — with interest.

Within hours, the Salamander, a New Republic Nebulon-B Frigate, arrives to investigate based on an anonymous tip from the Tagge camp. There is still the matter of payment to be dealt with, but since the prisoners (if any) are under arrest for crimes against the New Republic and the citizens of Krann, the characters will have to make do with promissory notes until the legality of their contract is cleared, which may take a few months, or years. Until then, there's still a load of nova crystals somewhere around here ...

Ropagi II

System Summary

The Ropagi system is populated by an affluent, some would say pretentious, people made rich by their proximity to the Enarc Run. Their system was naturally rich with resources, and the world developed its wealth without the ravages of industrialization. Instead, interplanetary trade is restricted to a single city on the planet and several orbital space docks and stations — the rest of the world is beautiful and pristine, a perfect home for a race of philosopher poets.

The Ropagi system is a small one, with only three planets. It is considered one of the best mercenary markets, since the Ropagu are willing to pay handsomely for good security — fairly light duty for mercs.

The "Telak's Terrors" pirate base is located underground on the planet Seltaya, the outermost planet in the Ropagi system. In fact, whereas Elpoor and Ropagi II have orbits close to the sun, Seltaya is a considerable distance away. Some astronomers speculate that at least two other planets could have existed between Ropagi II and Seltaya, but there is no evidence to indicate that this is true. The base has remained a secret because the pirates never attack ships within the system, but use its proximity to trade routes to spread their terror around the galaxy.

Sidebar: System Datafile

Ropagi system, yellow-white star: Ropagi. One terrestrial planet, Ropagi II, under nominal Imperial control. High-tech ultra-pacifist civilization. Expertise in computers and Droids. All visitors must report to Off-Worlders' Quarter Starport.

NOTE: Ropagi II is actively hiring skilled mercenaries for guard duties, freighter escort, and general security functions. Good pay.

NOTE: The importation of weaponry is strictly forbidden, and carries a sentence of from two to twelve years confinement.

Ropagi II

The planet Ropagi II has two continents, named Forethought and Afterthought. The humanoid population is referred to as the Ropagu. There is one other sentient species on the planet, the Kalduu.

One of the most unique features of the planet's topography is its amazing flatness. It has been said that the highest point on the planet does not exceed 20 meters. This, coupled with the light gravity and consistently warm temperatures (average temperature 25 degrees Centigrade) makes for a very pleasant place to live.

Ropagu Society

The average Ropagu is 1.8 meters tall, of relatively delicate frame, wispy dark hair, pink eyes, and pale white skin. Many of the men sport moustaches or beards, a badge of honor in Ropagu society. Ropagu move with a catlike grace, and talk in deliberate, measured tones. Their lack of any kind of military training (due to their attitude toward violence and their reliance on mercenaries) makes them totally useless in combat. The Ropagu cherish three things above all else: peace, intelligence, and discussion. It seems that no Ropagu can get enough of these things.

Four thousand years ago, the Ropagu were a divided people. There were at least 45 different nations, each with its own goals and societal agenda. The timely (and subtle) intervention of the Kalduu prevented hostilities from breaking out and perhaps destroying the entire planet.

Nowadays, peace is the watchword. The average Ropagu spends his days arguing points of philosophy with his friends and neighbors. Each side brings his facts, theories and research to bear in hopes of proving his point and winning the argument. Even so, the loser bears no ill will toward the winner. He is now merely encouraged to go forth and find a better argument.

This, in fact, is the biggest weakness of the Ropagu. They insist on knowing every fact, learning every variable, planning for every possible contingency, before making a decision. Often, this results in deadlocks on issues that last for weeks and sometimes months. They seem arrogant, argumentative, and "holier-than-thou" since they constantly berate others for "not knowing the truth."

The Ropagu are a frail people, tall and thin, thanks to the light gravity. They carry no weapons and only allow their mercenary forces to go armed. Ropagu would much rather talk out any differences with an enemy than fight with him.

But the pacifistic mindset of the Ropagu is not as noble as it at first might seem. Long ago, the Ropagu realized that they simply had no talent for fighting. Hence, they developed a fear of violence based on enlightened self-interest. The Ropagu thinkers took this fear and elevated it to an ideal, to make it sound less like cowardice and more like the attainment of an evolutionary plateau.

As a result, the Ropagu hire extensive muscle from off-world for all of the thankless tasks such as freighter escort, Off-Worlders' Quarter security, and Starport security. The Ropagu pay well, either in credits or services rendered (such as computer or Droid repair, overhaul, etc).

Most of the Ropagu thinkers who are visionaries, with matters concerning the planet's future predominantly on their minds, live on the continent of Forethought. Those who study the past tend to congregate on Afterthought. Ironically, the Great Library, source of all historical knowledge, is located on Forethought. There is a certain amount of intellectual snobbery among both groups, leading them to look down upon each other.

Anyone who wishes to take some time to teach a pupil about the Force will find that the tranquility of Ropagi II is ideal for such pursuits.

Planet Log

Ropagi II

Profile: Temperate plains
Type: Terrestrial
Size: Moderate
Temperature: Temperate
Atmosphere: Type I (breathable)
Hydrosphere: Moderate
Gravity: Light
Terrain: Plains, urban
Length of Day: 30 standard hours
Length of Year: 375 local days
Sentient Races: Kalduu (N), Ropagu (N)
Points of Interest: The Great Library, the Arena of the Mind, Off-Worlders' Quarter
Starport: Stellar
Population: 1 billion
Government: Representative democracy
Tech Level: Space
Major Exports: Computers, programs, medical facilities
Major Imports: Foodstuffs, mercenaries

System Data

System Name: Ropagi. Star Name: Ropagi. Star Type: Yellow-white.

World Summary

Ropagi II is a world of pacifistic philosophers and intellectuals. Violence is considered distasteful and the Ropagu consider themselves too civilized to sully themselves with such acts. Situations requiring violence are handled through the hiring of off-world mercenaries. All such employees are required to live in the Off-Worlder Quarter, an island off their main continent, Forethought.

Ropagu are excellent computer builders, technicians, and programmers. Whether it's updating a freighter's NavComputer, or adding programming to a favorite Droid, Ropagi II is the place to go.

The Empire rarely intervenes directly on Ropagi II, but do consider it their possession. For their part, the Ropagi have yet to decide which side they support in the galactic conflict although they will service both Imperial and New Republic forces.

Trade and Transportation

The only other thing that the Ropagu desire in great quantities is exotic foodstuffs. Ropagu do not consume intoxicants, as it interferes with their brain functions. However, they enjoy the experience of tasting different food types.

It is also possible to purchase computers of any size on Ropagi II, as well as any model of Droid, for standard prices, in most fine establishments. Note that stores on Off-Worlders' Quarter do not fit the definition of a "fine establishment."

Also note that the importation of firearms and other weapons of destruction is absolutely forbidden by Ropagu law. Anyone caught smuggling weapons anywhere on the planet, including the Off-Worlders' Quarter, is imprisoned for 2D years.

Mercenaries hired by the Ropagu are provided with weaponry from secret stores maintained by the government.

On Forethought, a monorail service runs from Ebyl to Ropagis, then on to Torvane and down to Balarik. Afterthought has no such system. A skyshuttle service runs regularly between all the cities on the planet.

Ropagu

Roleplaying Hints: Ropagu are intellectual pacifists who flinch at violent actions. They are verbose and rather boring.

Quote: "Ahm ... why don't you put down that blaster, and let us talk this over? I can cite numerous historical examples where reason won over bloodshed."

DEXTERITY 1D-2D
KNOWLEDGE 2D-5D
MECHANICAL 1D-2D
PERCEPTION 2D-5D+1
STRENGTH 1D-1D+2
TECHNICAL 2D-5D
Skill Bonus: Ropagu get an extra 3D in skill dice which must be distributed between Knowledge, Perception, and Technical skills.
Skill Limitation: Ropagu pay triple skill point costs for any combat skills above 2D (dodge and parry skills do not count in this restriction).
Move: 7/9
Height: 1.7-1.9 meters

Tinkerers and Craftsmen

If characters bring their ships and/or Droids to Ropagi II for repairs, the Ropagu will get to work on the mechanical problems as quickly as possible. The greater the challenge, the happier they are to undertake it. The Ropagi charge about 30% over what "standard" prices are, but their work is of exceptional quality and is done in about two-thirds the "normal" time.

Off-Worlders' Quarter

Actually a misnomer, since this place is not the quarter of a city, but rather a city in itself. The Off-Worlders' Quarter is located on an island in the middle of the huge bay on the continent of Forethought. All visitors to Ropagi II report here, with those cleared for non-mercenary affairs eventually being taken to the capital city of Ropagis for registration.

The Off-Worlders' Quarter is a rough and tumble place, filled with aliens of all types. It seems that the sight of all the tranquility on Ropagi II irritates many visitors, who feel the need to become totally wild in an effort to compensate for all of the peace that they have encountered. The Quarter provides many outlets for such release, including bars, casinos, sports arenas, and other distractions.

The vast majority of Ropagu dislike the Off-Worlders' Quarter, but see it as a necessary evil. They do not like talking about the site, and when they do, their disgust is evident in their voices.

The strictest rule in Off-Worlders' Quarter (some would say the ONLY rule) is that the rest of the planet is off-limits. Any ship not landing at Off-Worlders' Spaceport is intercepted by hired security and forced either to land at Off-Worlders' or leave the system entirely. Failing to achieve either of those two results will make security exercise its third option, the destruction of the offending vessel.

There is a shuttle that leaves Off-Worlders' and flies to Ropagis, but proper authorization in the form of a tamper-proof, counterfeit-resistant computer pass must be obtained. In order to obtain a pass, the characters must state their business to the Portmaster, and the business must not entail mercenary operations.

Merchants, once their ship has been inspected, are allowed to fly to Ropagis in order to conduct trade or go about their business. As a rule, the vast majority of off-worlders haven't the slightest interest in the rest of the planet — the Quarter suits them just fine.

The current Security Chief of Off-Worlders' Quarter is a lady named Leesa One-Eye.

Leesa One-Eye

Template: Mercenary. Species: Human. Height: 1.7 meters. Sex: Female.

Description: At first glance, it appears that Leesa One-Eye actually has two eyes, but one is cybernetic. She refuses to discuss how she lost her true eye, but seems to bear an unusually strong hatred for the Empire. She carries the scars of many brawls. Leesa appears to be in her mid 30s.

Objectives: Leesa wants to do a good job, earn a fantastic amount of money, and retire on a planet free of Imperial domination.

Background: This is for the gamemaster only, since it is very unlikely Leesa will reveal this information herself. Leesa was born on a backwater planet, and left home early to become a free-trader. During a run-in with an Imperial customs blockade, the customs officer deliberately injured her with his blade, which resulted in the loss of her left eye. She left the free-trader business and came to Ropagi II as hired security. Several months and many injuries later, her efforts were noticed and she was rewarded with the title of Security Chief of Off-Worlders' Quarter.

Personality: Unlike her employers, Leesa is quick-witted, able to make snap decisions, and impulsive. Still, the Ropagu respect her because they know she is a professional, and a very effective one at that. Leesa is all-business while on duty. Off duty, she is cold, aloof and cynical.

Quote: "Okay pal, you have two options. Either you can settle down nice and peaceably and stop bothering the other patrons, or you can be shipped off-planet, one body part at a time."

DEXTERITY 4D
Blaster 7D, brawling parry 5D, dodge 7D, melee combat 6D+1
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Alien species 4D, bureaucracy 6D, cultures 5D, languages 7D, streetwise 8D, survival 6D
MECHANICAL 4D
Repulsorlift operations 6D, starship gunnery 7D
PERCEPTION 6D
Bargain 8D, command 9D, con 7D, gambling 7D, search 9D, sneak 8D
STRENGTH 5D
Brawling 8D, lifting 6D, stamina 7D
TECHNICAL 3D
Demolition 5D, first aid 5D, security 9D
Character Points: 12
Move: 10
Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D damage), riot gun (8D stun damage), comlink, protective vest (+1), pocket computer, stun club (3D+1 stun damage)

Off-Worlder Starport

This is a typical starport, except that the customs officials here only check for weapons; everything else is fair game.

The starport has the greatest concentration of hired security, but they only keep the peace and check for weapons. It is at this starport that visitors must convince the Ropagu representative, Felis Alverite, that they are not interested in being mercenaries or taking a wild shore leave, but rather have better pursuits in mind, such as trade or seeking knowledge and enlightenment. Felis has comprehensive databanks. If the character has some measure of fame, Felis will know about it. If the character is hunted by the Empire for crimes committed against citizens, or is wanted by the New Republic, Felis will quietly order a security guard to keep an eye on the character. Note that Felis has been somewhat "infected" by his time in the spaceport, and has developed sympathy for the New Republic.

Ropagi II's space force is based here, consisting of six Y-wing fighters in various states of repair. It is possible for someone who really wants work to be hired to help repair the ships, once it has been established that the potential employee is not some wanted felon.

The skyshuttle to Ropagis departs from the starport. Leesa One-Eye's main office and private living quarters are also located here.

Prosperity Row

This area acts as the legitimate marketplace of Off-Worlders' Quarter. Standard adventuring equipment can be found here, but no weapons. Even though this is not a "black market" as such, buyers are warned that the prices of goods vary wildly depending on which booth one visits.

The River

Normally, the word "river" refers to a large stream of liquid, and the Quarter's "River" could be stretched to meet that definition. Both sides of this boulevard are lined with bars and cantinas, serving every drink imaginable. Security is frequently called to this area to break up drunken brawls.

Droids are not welcome in a majority of the establishments here. Roll 1D — a 6 result means that the establishment tolerates the presence of Droids.

The Black Hole

This is the nickname given to the worst part of the city. Here, the criminal element, bounty hunters, smugglers, pirates, and black marketeers lurk. This area is highly dangerous to visit.

The black market boasts a thriving weapons business, selling death-dealing devices at a minimum 50 percent mark-up. Leesa One-Eye's efforts to clean up the "Black Hole" have met with naught but frustration.

The Scrap Heap

A rather derogatory nickname given to the area where Droids congregate while their owners drink from the River.

Ironically, this is one of the most civilized areas in the city. There is even an unspoken agreement among all the Droids that if someone comes to steal one of their number away from its rightful owner, all of the rest will attack the thief. This is made possible thanks to a unique restraining bolt of Ropagu design, which overrides original Droid programming and allows the Droids to take action when the conditions are met. In this case, the condition is attempted theft. The Ropagu restraining bolt is put on all Droids who "check in" to the Scrap Heap.

The Great Library

This huge complex is located on the outskirts of the city of Ebyl, on the continent of Forethought. There are several Ropagu librarians here, but most of the staff consists of Protocol Droids, specifically the 3PO Human-Cyborg Relations Droids. At any given time, there are 18 such Droids on duty.

The Great Library contains the records of the Ropagu civilization for the last 10,000 years. Most of the data is in the form of computer records, but there are books, even scrolls, containing ancient knowledge.

Anyone is welcome to use the library, though a Droid usually remains a discreet distance away from anyone who appears "scruffy," making sure that nothing is stolen or defaced.

There is very little in the Great Library regarding galactic history. In fact, any data on galactic history as it pertains to the Old Republic, the Clone Wars, or the Empire will be basic facts already known to the average character.

Optionally, the gamemaster may place a few items holding obscure knowledge in the Library that he would like his players to find out about eventually.

The Arena of the Mind

The Arena is a huge amphitheater with excellent acoustics and seating for 10,000 people. Ropagu come here often to hear scholars square off against each other in intellectual debates. Guest speakers from off-world are also invited to share their views. There are numerous translator facilities, so that everyone can understand everyone else. There are never any guards posted here, since the site is considered sacred.

The Seltaya Pirate Base

This pirate headquarters, home to the worst scum in the Ropagi system, remains well-hidden under the frigid surface of the outermost planet, Seltaya. The base was constructed 10 years ago and its occupants continue to thrive by using the Enarc Run to blast and capture vessels throughout the galaxy.

The pirates are able to get away with this operation because Seltaya is beyond the range of Ropagu detection equipment.

It is not unusual for some of the pirates to pose as travellers and land on Ropagi II, if only to check and see what kind of security forces have recently been hired by the pacifistic Ropagu.

The pirates of Seltaya are often called "Telak's Terrors," after their illustrious leader, Kird Telak. Kird was the one who founded the base, and has kept it prosperous all these years. He is wanted by both the Empire and the New Republic. Felis, the Ropagu at Off-Worlders' Quarter starport, has a file on him a parsec long.

Telak's Terrors Base

Personnel: 36 pilots, 20 base security/boarding forces, 18 ground support technicians and mechanics, 16 Droids, 48 slaves, assorted concubines.

Facilities: 6 launching bays, 1 transport bay, 1 landing deck, 18 craft.

The base itself is located 100 meters below the surface, and is sensor and energy shielded, making it practically undetectable. Due to its configuration, the base has no external armaments. The only remotely visible thing would be the launch bay doors and the sensor/communication arrays.

Telak's technicians have come up with their own ship design, and have named it the KT 1A-Telak, in a massive display of ego stroking. It would seem almost ludicrous except for the fact that these ships are quite deadly in the hands of the pirates.

Kird Telak, Telak's Terrors Pirate Leader

Template: Pirate Leader. Species: Human. Height: 1.5 meters. Sex: Male.

Description: Telak has a huge mop of frizzy black hair, a goatee, and a slim moustache. He is slim, and has the look of a merry rogue. He wears expensive clothing, carefully doctored to look worn and battle-scarred. Telak is in his late 30s.

Background: Telak was a successful Imperial scout for six years, until the job began to bore him. He decided to seek out his own fortune, rather than working to increase the Emperor's coffers, and so took up piracy. With his extensive knowledge of trade routes, ship schedules, and planetary defenses, he was a natural, and has made a good living in this profession ever since.

Personality: Often called reckless, Telak enjoys danger. He gets bored quite easily and thus enjoys living out on the edge (hence his unprotected base). He considers himself a dashing, charming rogue, always making light banter and flirting with the ladies, but he would just as cheerfully condemn a comrade to a slow death if he felt it necessary.

Some of Telak's men think that their leader has suffered one too many mood swings, and of that group, many think him mad. Still, he has been amazingly successful for 10 years, and no one can dispute that, so his men will continue to follow him, as long as there is profit to be had.

Telak feels no loyalty to either the Empire or the Republic. He will rob from both. In fact, Telak bears no loyalty to his men, either, and would sacrifice them in an instant in order to save his own skin.

Telak prefers light, valuable cargoes as opposed to bulk goods, as evidenced by his ships' capabilities. Telak also has a strong dislike of Droids. Some feel that this is because his charms cannot work on them, nor can the machines know fear.

Quote: "Since you have all been such lovely captives, I think I shall let you all go free. No, on second thought, I have changed my mind. You all must die. Sorry."

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 6D, dodge 4D, melee combat 5D
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Languages 4D+1, streetwise 5D+1, survival 7D
MECHANICAL 4D
Astrogation 6D, repulsorlift operations 5D, starship gunnery 7D, space transports 8D, starship shields 7D
PERCEPTION 5D
Bargain 6D, command 9D, con 9D, gambling 7D, search 6D+1
STRENGTH 3D
Brawling 6D, stamina 4D
TECHNICAL 4D
Security 6D, space transports repair 5D+1
Force Sensitive: No
Force Points: 3
Dark Side Points: 4
Character Points: 15
Move: 10
Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D damage), comlink

The KT 1A-Telak

Craft: KT 1A-Telak
Type: Modified light freighter
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 19 meters
Crew: 2
Passengers: 6
Cargo Capacity: 500 kilograms
Consumables: 1 month
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x1
Hyperdrive Backup: No
Nav Computer: Yes
Maneuverability: 4D
Space: 6
Hull: 3D
Shields: 2D
Weapons: Dual laser cannons (fire-linked); concussion missiles
Dual Laser Cannons Fire Arc: Turret
Dual Laser Cannons Fire Control: 1D
Dual Laser Cannons Range: 1-3/15/30
Dual Laser Cannons Damage: 6D
Concussion Missiles Fire Arc: Front
Concussion Missiles Fire Control: 1D
Concussion Missiles Range: 1-3/6/10
Concussion Missiles Damage: 7D

The Kalduu

Ropagi II's other native species, the Kalduu have transparent hemispherical bodies and four tentacles streaming from underneath. They float on air and often travel in groups of three, moving in complete silence. Kalduu eat airborne bacteria as well as germs and viruses from their hosts, breathe in carbon dioxide, and exhale oxygen. Reproduction is done by fission. The average Kalduu lives for about 500 years.

Kalduu

Roleplaying Hints: The Kalduu are quiet creatures with no vocal cords. They communicate by telepathy. The average Kalduu is a peaceful, helpful creature of great intelligence and altruism.

Quote: "You seem rather tense. Here, allow us to affix our extremities to your nerve centers and help you relax!"

Attribute Dice: 12D
DEXTERITY 3D-5D
KNOWLEDGE 4D-6D
MECHANICAL 1D-2D
PERCEPTION 2D-6D
STRENGTH 1D+2
TECHNICAL 1D-4D
Special Abilities:
Mental Powers: Kalduu have mental powers, which use their Perception as the skill level. Their powers are divided into two groups: internal manifestations, and external manifestations. As a rule, each Kalduu has one power from each group. Kalduu mental powers have an effective range of 10 meters and targets must be in visual range.
Internal — Intention Sense: User may attempt to sense the nature of any action the target intends to take within the next few minutes. Natures are: Parlay, Attack, Flee, Wait. Difficulty: Moderate or target's Perception roll.
Internal — Mindlink: Allows two-way mental communication, even if recipient has no mental powers. This is by far the most commonly used Kalduu internal power. This is not mind reading, so those contacted by Kalduu only tell them what they wish. Difficulty: Easy.
Internal — Memory Probe: Allows user to search memories of target. The farther back the memories, the greater the difficulty. Less than an hour ago: Very Easy; less than a day ago: Easy; less than a week ago: Difficult. Target may resist with a Perception roll, getting a +2D bonus.
External — Injure: Target is hit by a bolt of psychic energy doing 4D stun damage, resist with Perception. Difficulty: Moderate.
External — Healing: Allows the Kalduu to speed up healing. Successful use of this power allows the character to make two natural healing rolls in a day. Difficulty: Easy.
External — Defensive Shield: A barrier of pure mental force is erected surrounding the character and anyone else within a two meter radius. Strength code is increased by +2D if successful. Difficulty: Difficult.
Move: 2/5
Length: .5 meters long

The Ropagu and the Kalduu are long-standing friends, enjoying a symbiotic relationship wherein the Ropagu gain the benefit of the Kalduu intellect as well as become germ-free, and the Kalduu get to consume the harmful viruses in the Ropagu's bodies (this is done when they use their tentacles to physically contact others).

The relationship between the Ropagu and the Kalduu goes a lot farther than first impressions might indicate. Millennia ago, the various human factions on Ropagi II were warlike creatures, intent on mutual destruction over political differences. The Kalduu, aware of the potential danger to the planet, made contact with them. After winning their trust, the Kalduu bonded with the minds of the Ropagu leaders, filling their heads with peaceful thoughts.

Gradually, all of the leaders were thus influenced, and as the years went by, the threat of war faded. Eventually, the way of peaceful discussion became so much a part of their character that the Ropagu acquired it as a racial trait.

Only rarely do the Kalduu still use their telepathic powers to influence the Ropagu. As a race, the Kalduu feel a bit guilty about their ancestors' actions, regardless of the motive. Though some Ropagu thinkers suspect that the Kalduu did some sort of intervention in Ropagu affairs long ago, the present-day Ropagu have wisely let the matter drop. The Kalduu have never come out and admitted what their ancestors did.

Unruly off-worlders who wander outside of the Quarter are sometimes intercepted by Kalduu, and "convinced" to turn back peacefully.

Kalduu are able to achieve deepened mental contact (beyond their abilities outlined earlier) with anyone just by taking their tentacles and placing them on the temples and back of the neck of the recipient. Characters who make a Moderate Perception roll can resist contact. If contact is made, the Kalduu can communicate with the host and offer him the benefits of Kalduu powers.

The Kalduu are able to grant the recipient either an extra 1D of Perception, 1D of Knowledge, or 1D of Technical in addition to granting the healing ability; the range of mental contact is increased to 100 meters. This lasts for as long as the Kalduu remains in contact with the recipient. The Ropagu often use the Kalduu in this way, especially when dealing with extremely complicated problems. The average Kalduu can remain attached to a mind for a period of 30 hours, after which they must rest for at least 10 hours.

In addition, Kalduu can form a group mind if two or more of the creatures are within 60 meters of each other. This benefit extends to their hosts as well. A group mind shares their thoughts in split-seconds, no words or gestures need be included.

The Kalduu dwell on the rooftops of many of the buildings on Ropagi, though they avoid the Offworlders' Quarter. In times of inclement weather, the Kalduu are allowed to enter houses to seek shelter.

The Kalduu do not maintain any written records of their history, feeling that dwelling upon the past is a waste of time. They have far more respect for the scholars on Forethought than those on Afterthought.

Adventure Idea: Telak's Terrors

The Ropagu wish to hire the characters to escort a light freighter to a neighboring system. The ship is loaded with computer related items. Once outside the system, the characters are pursued and attacked by Telak's Terrors.

Adventure Idea: The Stranded Sympathizer

A New Republic sympathizer is stranded in the Black Hole section of Off-Worlders' Quarter. The Republic sends the characters to Ropagi II to find the sympathizer and get him out. What the Republic does not know is that two Imperial-hired bounty hunters are after the sympathizer also, and they land on the planet two hours after the characters.

Adventure Idea: The Computer Virus

While visiting Off-Worlders' Quarter, preferably in the River district, an alien, obviously wounded, staggers over to the characters. With great effort, he presses something into one character's hand, then dies. He is being chased by several blaster-toting thugs. Another thug hangs back to watch what happens, then tails the characters.

The "something" is a computer data chip. However, if the characters try to read it using their own computer, they will be unable to decipher it. It will take a journey to the Great Library in order to get it deciphered. Of course, the characters are still being tailed, and now the snoop has brought reinforcements.

Once at the Great Library, a Ropagu deciphers it, and realizes that it is a super-computer virus. It will infect any system that tries to read it, and it can also be passed on to other systems by the infected system. If the characters used it on their own ship, their computer is now worthless and has to be reprogrammed. Fortunately, the Ropagu used a small reader system, so all of the Great Library files are safe.

The virus was written by another Ropagu, and since it was found in the Off-Worlders' Quarter, then that must be where he is. What happened was a Ropagu-Kalduu symbiotic link went to the Off-Worlders' Quarter. While there, the linked beings were injected with a toxin by a crime lord. The Ropagu and the Kalduu went insane in fighting off the toxin, and began boasting about writing a computer virus.

This fit the crime lord's plan. Unfortunately, a traitor in the crimelord's gang tried running away with it, and was gunned down just as he gave it to the characters.

In exchange for the characters bringing the Ropagu to caretakers on Forethought, the librarian will see to it that their ship's computer is rebuilt.

Treasure Hunt

Adventure Background

Hundreds of years ago, in the Pax system, a planet was discovered. This planet was Plagen, a very odd world. It had high plateaus with lakes, while the lower plains were parched. On this planet was a sapient species, the Chikarri, furry, short, squirrel-like beings.

After discovery, it was found that the Chikarri were very fond of shiny objects, such as jewels and trinkets. Plagen's location made it excellent for trading in the Pax system, but the Chikarri did not want their world turned into a trading post. Somehow, the Chikarri were bribed into selling trade rights to the Klatooinian Trade Guild with a shipload of precious gems. Actually, there were two shiploads of gems (one of the ships was lost in the Karbonni asteroid belt in the Pax system).

Just recently a Chikarri historian came across the records of the initial agreement. He realized that the other ship full of precious cargo never reached Plagen. That other ship must still be in the Karbonni asteroid belt. Word somehow leaked out and everyone with a ship went in search of the lost cargo ship, Fool's Gold. According to Chikarri law governing space, a dead ship belongs to whoever finds it. The race is to find the ship before the Chikarri change their law.

The problem is nobody has any idea where in the belt it could be. The belt is full of metallic ore, making it impossible to locate the ship. But that doesn't mean nobody's trying.

Plagen is a normal sized planet orbiting a blue star in the Pax system. Its beautiful sky and lush yellow flora on the plateaus gives the place a calm, peaceful look. This is in stark contrast to its native inhabitants, who are hyperactive and short-tempered. Being that it is a center of trade in the Enarc Run, it is almost always bustling with activity. They say millions of tons of goods are being traded here each day. The spaceport is in TreeLeaf, the capital city of Celdas. TreeLeaf is a modern city with fusion-formed roadbeds and holo-displays, among other things.

The typical Chikarri city is in the trees on the plateaus, with small walkways connecting spherical buildings.

Episode One: I Wanna Be Rich

The characters obviously would be interested in this. It is a very easy way to hit it big, that is, if they can find the ship. They head to Plagen in the Pax system. The characters land at the starport on Celdas, Plagen's capital plateau.

TreeLeaf is the largest city on Plagen and also contains the spaceport and everything needed to support it. It also contains outlets and warehouses for all of the leading trading companies.

TreeLeaf is bustling with activity. The spaceport is full of ships of all sizes and types. The fusion-formed streets are crowded with vehicles of all makes while the sidewalks are full of countless types and numbers of aliens and humans.

The first thing to really catch the characters' eyes is a large holo-sign hovering above a small store. The sign reads: "Karbonni Belt Maps Sold Here." Outside of the store is a line several hundred beings in length. This looks like the only place to get information, as lots of people seem to be carrying these maps. If the characters approach the building, read aloud or paraphrase:

As you near the line, a Chikarri steps up to you, saying, "Excuthe me, thirth, but I couldn't help but notith that you have a thpatheship and you look like the type of people I need. You thee, I know where the Foolth Gold ith!"

What Can You Do

The characters have two potential courses of action:

• They can stand in line for hours or even days, or
• They can listen to the little furry fellow. It should be obvious to them that it won't take several hours to get the information from the little guy.

Plako, the native, asks the characters to meet him at a little place called "Boyd's Be-There-In-A-Minute Delivery Service" in one hour. Plako has to drop something off for his boss. If the characters hesitate, Plako says he is willing to pay them even if they do not find the Fool's Gold. Hopefully, they will agree to meet him there in one hour.

Boyd's is located in the shipping sector of the spaceport in a little run-down shack. Next to the shack is a large hangar with Boyd's name on it. The characters have one hour in which they can hop a robo-hack to Boyd's and check out the spaceport. Upon reaching there, they notice all the ships' crews have maps and are loading up for the search.

Boyd's hangar is open partway. If the characters look inside, they see an LT-9000 Rendili Interceptor painted a light blue. The pink lettering on the side of the ship declares it to be the Tasty Acorn. An Easy Perception check reveals that the ship's hyperdrive is sitting next to it. A Moderate Technical roll also points out that this ship has some odd detection equipment installed.

Ship for Hire

Plako shows up shortly. He asks the characters into Boyd's waiting room. Read aloud or paraphrase:

Plako paces back and forth as he states his proposal. "Ath you know, there ith a big thearch going on for thith Foolth Gold thip. And you are probably wondering how I know where it ith. Well, I am a mechanic, and altho thomething of an inventor. I altered a thtandard metal ore-locating mathine to thearch for gemth. Boyd and I went out to the belt and thearched uthing my mathine. We found the thip but we thuffered a collithion with an athteroid. We managed to limp back on our backup hyperdrive but it will take quite thome time to repair my thip, the Tathfy Acorn, and time ith very important 'cauthe the other thearchers are getting near the thip.

"I need to hire your thip to get to the Foolth Gold and, ath I thaid, you will get an equal thare of the treathure."

The characters should be interested by now. According to Plako, the Fool's Gold contains a cargo worth several billion credits!

Once the characters agree, Plako grabs his stuff and says, "Lead on, thirs!"

Plako

Template Type: Chikarri Mechanic. Height: 1.5 meters. Species: Chikarri. Sex: Male.

Physical Description: Looks like a man-sized squirrel with a belt for his tool pouch. He, like all of his species, talks with a lisp. His bushy tail is constantly in motion.

Quote: "Want an acorn?"

DEXTERITY 3D
Climbing/jumping
KNOWLEDGE 3D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 3D
Climbing/jumping 5D
TECHNICAL 5D
Computer programming/repair 6D, starship repair 7D
Character Points: 4
Move: 8
Equipment: Bag of acorns, computer toolkit, blaster pistol (4D damage)

Episode Two: A Hydrospanner in the Works

In this episode, Plako's map gets stolen, bringing in some real competition. Then the characters must race out to the Karbonni belt and find the ship before the people who stole the map find it.

Help, Thief — Thomebody Thtole My Map

Near the docking bay the characters' ship is in, several other freighters and their crews can be seen. Two ships in particular stand out, the Black Widow and the Starburst. They stand out because the ships are idling while their crews appear to be waiting for something or someone. Plako points out to the characters that those ships and their crews are well known in this sector. Bruce Mercy and his Arachnoid companion Ptak-Sok (pronounced Patahk-Sook), the crew of the Black Widow, are known for their ruthlessness in trading (verging on piracy), while Durquist and his ever-changing companion Morph, crew of the Starburst, are known for being reliable hired muscle.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a spider with a body the size of a small child scurries by at a blinding pace, knocking Plako to the ground! As Plako gets up, he notices that his holo-cube of the map is missing!

Bruce Mercy, captain of the Black Widow, yells to the characters, "Hey, there. You guys can't keep that to yourselves, it wouldn't give anybody else a sporting chance!" With that, his co-pilot Ptak-Sok waves the holo-cube in the air with his foreleg. Bruce and Ptak-Sok run up in the ship and lift off. The other ship, the Starburst, also takes to the air.

Plako explains that he has memorized the cube and can still find the ship without it. But they had better hurry.

The Race is On

The characters need to get out of the spaceport in a hurry. Unluckily, the spaceport is run on a very tight schedule and one must request a take-off time. When the characters request a liftoff time they find they must wait one-and-a-half Standard hours.

If the characters try to bargain with the dispatcher, have them make a con roll against her Perception of 4D.

If the roll is failed, the delay stays in place. If they roll greater than her Perception, but less than twice that number, knock 30 minutes off. If the roll is more than twice but less than three times the dispatcher's Perception, knock off an hour. If the roll is more than three times the dispatcher's, they lift off in 15 minutes. Or they can risk flying through heavy traffic (Difficult terrain).

Once in orbit, the characters must plot a sublight course to the Karbonni belt. The trip to the Karbonni belt would normally take eight hours, and should be played as a tense race.

A Vibroneedle in a Grainstack

The Karbonni belt is all that remains of the third planet in the Pax system. It is a mass of randomly floating chunks of rock. The belt is supposedly full of metallic ores, but the randomness of the asteroids makes it too dangerous for mining. Apparently that doesn't stop people from trying to find the lost cargo ship, though.

The characters make it to the Karbonni belt without trouble. They may have beat the other two ships!

To search for the lost ship, the characters must enter the asteroid belt. The deeper they go into the belt, the better the chances of finding the lost ship. To find out the chances, have the pilot make a spaceship transports roll and consult the following table:

Each search roll takes one hour. While the others are searching, the pilot must make three Moderate space transports rolls to avoid asteroids. If he fails, the ship is hit by an asteroid doing 1D-3D damage. The ship should not become unusable, the asteroids are just here to give tension to the scene. If desired, you may roll for the Black Widow and the Starburst to see if they can find the ship first.

The Lost Ship

Once the ship is found, the characters must dock with it. Docking with the spinning ship is not easy: the pilot must make a Moderate space transports roll. Once docked, the characters find out that the ship's atmosphere is still there and they can enter without spacesuits. Once inside the ship, they should get a feeling of extreme age. Layers of dust cover everything, the lights cast eerie shadows on the walls, and the ship creaks and moans. Occasionally, an asteroid glances off the hull, creating a resounding echo.

Once inside, the characters need to make a search for the cargo vaults. One Moderate search roll should do it.

The Fool's Gold is a rather large ship roughly one kilometer in length. It was built solely for the purpose of shipping priceless cargos. Its vaults were built with the best inertial damping equipment available at the time. The hull was extra thick to survive any attack. Its engines contained power cells capable of fuelling it for centuries.

During its journey to Plagen, the ship was forced out of hyperspace due to a collision with a stray asteroid. Its control room was shattered and the ship was stranded in space. Now, several centuries later, the ship's power is failing and its crew is long dead, their carcasses mummified, still seated at their posts or lying on the floors. Centimeters of dust cover everything. The ship has a smell of decayed flesh and stale air. Once the vaults are found, it is easy to open them up since the power has failed.

Episode Three: And Now, The Competition

At this point, the Black Widow and the Starburst show up, without announcing their presence. They dock silently on the opposite side of the ship from the characters' vessel. They sneak down to the cargo bay and when the characters pass, carrying a container of goods back to the ship, they are ambushed.

Read aloud or paraphrase:

Huffing and puffing, you try to carry another container back to the ship. Sincerely wishing for a repulsortruck, you wipe the sweat from your brow. But before you even get your hand away from your forehead, Plako lets out an earsplitting scream and faints dead away as a big grey and black spider the size of a landspeeder drops directly in front of you.

The spider you recognize as Ptak-Sok from the Black Widow. He starts to chitter in his native language as a voice behind you translates. The voice belongs to Bruce Mercy. "Do not be foolish and try to fight, I am much quicker than you puny soft-skins. This weapon I am holding is an electromagnetic rail gun, and it is quite capable of killing you all."

Bruce and Ptak-Sok are not trying to kill the characters, just keep the treasure for themselves.

Before the characters can react, two more shapes glide out of the darkness, Durquist and Morph, the crew from the Starburst. Morph's resonant voice echos as he says, "PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPONS AND YOU WILL NOT BE HARMED!"

Try to get the characters to surrender, remember they are not trying to pick a fight. Hopefully, the characters drop their weapons. Ptak-Sok skitters over and takes the weapons with his forelegs. Read the following aloud:

Bruce says, "Ptak-Sok will escort you back to your ship and return your weapons. You can keep whatever you have already gotten." Ptak-Sok then gestures back toward your ship. You turn to go, thoughts of unpleasantness towards the smugglers (or is it pirates?) filling your head.

The characters know that Bruce's ship is large enough to hold just about all of the cargo. Plako explains that Ptak-Sok is a born killer and it would be futile to fight him. Read the following aloud:

Just as you reach your ship you hear the sound of blasters going off back toward the cargo bay. You hear Morph's deep voice echo, "DURQUIST, BRUCE, LOOK OUT! PIRATES!" Then Bruce shouts, "Ptak, help, we're surrounded!" followed by several blaster shots.

Ptak-Sok is clearly thinking about what to do. But before he can act, Plako notices that the characters' ship is no longer docked, it is clearly visible adrift, away from the ship, pulled there by the pirates' tractor beam. It should become obvious to the characters that they and the smugglers are now in danger and should join forces. If they don't figure this out, have Plako suggest it in his usual lisping fashion. Read the following aloud:

As you struggle to keep up with the huge spider's gait, you can hear the sounds of battle. As you round the final bend to the cargo bay, you see about eight pirates firing at the smugglers. Just as you begin firing, a gas canister goes off to your left. Durquist falls unconscious. One of the pirates aims a canister at you as you ...

You should be able to run the battle normally using the following stats for the pirates. The pirates will fight until there are only three left, then they will run for their ship. Be sure to point out that the pirates' ship is the only one docked as they pulled the other ships free of their moorings with their tractor beam.

Pirates (8)

Description: The pirates are dressed in their garish fashion and are completely intent on taking over this vessel.

DEXTERITY 2D+2
Blaster 3D+2, dodge 3D+2, grenade 3D+2, melee combat 3D+2
KNOWLEDGE 1D
MECHANICAL 2D+2
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 1D+2
Brawling 2D+2
TECHNICAL 2D
Character Points: 2
Move: 10
Equipment: Helmets (+1), blaster pistols (4D damage), vibroblades (4D+2 damage), and two of them have three Spore/B stun canisters in projectile launchers

Projectile Launcher

Weapon: BlasTech CSPL-12 "Caspel"
Type: Personal projectile launcher, disposable
Scale: Character
Skill Code: Missile weapons
Range: Short 5m to 50m; Medium 51m to 100m; Long 101m to 250m
Damage: Variable, see "Standard Canister Effects" table

Standard Canister Effects

Survival of the Fittest

Hopefully the characters will win the battle. If they do not, read the following aloud:

You fight valiantly but finally succumb to unconsciousness. You rest fitfully and awaken to see a man of chrome standing over you. You must be dead. But the chrome man says something:

"WAKE UP! THEY ARE GONE NOW!"

The chrome man is Morph, and he pulls you to your feet. You see everybody else is slowly getting up.

If the characters did win the battle, read the following aloud:

You finally get the last pirate as he tries for his ship. Those still standing tend to the injured. Plako (or if Plako is not conscious, use one of the other smugglers) says, "We're going to need to use the pirate's ship to bring our vessels back in." The other smugglers want to make a deal for helping them. They offer one-third of the loot to you.

The characters may want to barter with the other smugglers. If so, use the standard bargaining rules. Use Morph for the bargaining. Don't give the characters too much, though.

Durquist

Template Type: Conjeni Pilot. Height: 1.5 meters. Species: Conjeni. Sex: Male.

Physical Description: Conjeni resemble large starfish covered in red fur. Durquist has two big black eyes above a smooth lipped mouth. He has three fingers and a thumb, all resembling tentacles. He always wears a yellow fedora.

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 5D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 5D
Spaceship gunnery 6D, space transports 7D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 3D
Swimming 5D
TECHNICAL 3D
Character Points: 16
Move: 9
Equipment: Blaster rifle (5D damage), backpack, medpacs (2)

Morph

Template Type: Polydroxol Enforcer. Height: Varies. Species: Polydroxol. Sex: Not applicable.

Quote: "RESISTANCE IS USELESS!"

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 5D, vehicle blasters 5D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 3D
PERCEPTION 3D
STRENGTH 5D
Brawling 6D, stamina 7D
TECHNICAL 2D
Special Abilities: Morph's body resembles about 200kg of mercury in its liquid state. He is capable of changing his shape to mimic most anything at will.
Character Points: 9
Move: 9
Equipment: Blaster rifle (5D damage)

Bruce Mercy

Template Type: Hi-grav Pilot. Height: 1.8 meters. Species: Near-Human. Sex: Male (very high-gravity race).

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 5D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 4D
TECHNICAL 2D

Ptak-Sok

Template Type: Arachnoid Mechanic. Height: 1.3 meters. Species: Arachnoid. Sex: Male.

Physical Description: Ptak-Sok resembles a jumping spider about 2.5 meters in diameter, including legs. He is grey and black, covered with dense fur and has four black eyes. His two hindmost legs are extremely powerful.

Quote: "Only the fittest survive, weakling."

DEXTERITY 4D
Rail gun 5D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 1D
PERCEPTION 2D
Sneak 3D
STRENGTH 5D
Climbing/jumping 7D, web use 7D
TECHNICAL 4D
Starship repair 5D
Special Abilities:
Web: Strength 5D
Poison: 5D damage (stun damage only)
Character Points: 12
Move: 20
Equipment: Rail gun, 8 clips of ammo

Arachnia EMRG-50 Rail Gun

Type: Electromagnetic rail gun
Scale: Character
Skill Code: Rail gun (Dexterity skill)
Range: Point-blank 3-100m; Short 101-1000m; Medium 1001-2000m; Long 2001-4000m
Damage: 5D
Ammo: 4 shots
Cost: 10,000 credits
Availability: 3, X
Notes: Character must have Strength of 5D to hold gun due to recoil

Episode Four: Fishing For Ships

The pirates' ship is large enough to carry everyone out to their respective ships. Have the pilot make Moderate space transports rolls to dock with each ship (or make a Difficult starship gunnery roll to use the tractor beam to bring the ships back safely). Once everyone is aboard their ships, read the following aloud:

As you maneuver your ship to dock on the Fool's Gold with the others, you notice a rather large asteroid headed in the direction of the cargo ship. Checking the sensors on the ship confirms that the asteroid will hit the Fool's Gold! The other two ships are headed in to dock with the ship. The smugglers will surely be killed if they don't leave the Fool's Gold.

Have the characters try and persuade the other smugglers off of the cargo ship. They had better come up with some good rolls to talk the other guys into leaving. If one of the characters comes up with the idea of using the pirate ship's tractor beam to try and move the asteroid, let them do it but it's a Heroic difficulty. Even if they roll rather high, the asteroid still hits the ship, just glancing off it. This sends it tumbling out of its orbit.

Read aloud or paraphrase:

The asteroid collides with the ship and sends it spinning. A series of explosions rips it apart. You stare longingly as billions of credits worth of gems scatter to the stars. At least you weren't on it.

Taxes, Taxes, Taxes

The characters and the smugglers make it back to Plagen. Once there, they head to the local currency exchange to cash in the treasure. There they turn the gems they got into credits. After taxes, they managed to make 10,000 credits profit (that new law got passed remarkably quickly).

Operation: Pet Show

Adventure Background

The characters have successfully established a small New Republic cell on Ruten in the Cerenia system, and can now begin to look for ways to strike at the Imperials, who still retain control of this planet. They should know that their action need not be grandiose to be effective.

The Imperial Governor, Bursthed, is widely known to be corrupt and evil, but also an efficient bureaucrat. After the military arm of the Empire "subdued" the resistance on Ruten, he moved in and has been governing the planet for several months. Like most Imperial officials, he is power hungry and ambitious. He does not particularly enjoy his assignment at Ruten — even with plans for a new base, he considers the position beneath him — and he is eager to move onward and upward.

But Bursthed knows he has to do an effective job as governor to stand any chance of being promoted. So, instead of scheming to be reassigned, he takes his frustrations out on the populace. Bursthed is, needless to say, not popular, except with his sycophantic court and those who have benefited by the Imperial takeover. The general public would love to see him embarrassed or replaced. In this adventure, the characters will have the chance to achieve at least one of those goals, if not both.

The Pet Show

Since taking power, Bursthed has confined himself to keeping the population of Ruten docile, as well as readying the system for the construction of the new base. His only hobby is an exotic (and expensive) one: collecting unusual animals from all around the galaxy for his private menagerie.

Soon after coming to Ruten, he related his interest in bizarre creatures to the sycophants that collected around his court, and Bursthed was pleased to notice that they shared his enthusiasm for the topic (of course they did; that's what sycophants do). He was even more overjoyed when they surprised him with the first annual Ruten Pet Show. His courtiers and those seeking Imperial favors went to great lengths to ship exotic animals to the show from all over the galaxy and, after Bursthed had the pleasure of seeing each animal, they gave his favorite pet, a miniature (only two meters long) trained Dewback first prize. The governor was overjoyed. Favors were awarded, and petitions granted — only to the wealthy men and women fortunate to curry favor with Bursthed, of course.

This "annual" event has taken place four times during the last eight months. Each time, the creature collection gets larger, and the governor has started to keep a rather large zoo. One of Bursthed's pets takes top honors in each show, and the overjoyed governor responds by providing gifts of land and titles to the other participants and the judges.

While this may sound harmless, if somewhat eccentric, there is a dark side to the contest. First, the land given out generally belongs to some unfortunate farmer — who is then accused of treason against the Empire and evicted. Secondly, many of the "tricks" performed by the exotic animals involve violence against Humans. Those "convicted" as "Rebel leaders" are used as subjects.

Those opposed to Bursthed's rule have long desired to put an end to the show, but have been unable to decide upon the proper method. Slaying the animals would only serve to delay the contest, as Bursthed could simply acquire more. If they try to kill the governor, the military will come down on them like Kirik-flies on a bantha. No, what is required is a way to force Bursthed himself to stop the show.

A Slug-Rat in Every Pot

A week before the next scheduled show, the characters are sitting around in a bar (use any spaceport bar for a description), talking over the subject with other members of the resistance. Again, no one has come up with any useful ideas. Allow the characters to talk over the situation for a little bit and then have the innkeeper come over to refill their drinks and say the following (read aloud or paraphrase):

"Y'know what would be funny? If the governor lost the contest. He'd quit having it for sure."

"Sure, but it'll never happen," says a resistance member. "All the judges are his pals. We'd have to get ol' Burssie to enter a slug-rat!"

If the characters ask, the innkeeper will explain that a slug-rat is the most disgusting denizen of Ruten. It is, essentially, a rat with no fur and a slimy, slug-like body. They do have legs, however, and their bites are almost always rabid. The populace of the planet has been trying to get rid of them for years, but they breed like ... well, like rats.

Strangely enough, the gang member's idea is taken seriously. Swiftly, a plan is sketched out: Bursthed's entry for the contest is always kept hidden inside an opaque cage or case on the grounds of his zoo until the day of the contest. No one actually sees the animal until the governor takes it out to show the judges.

If someone were to sneak into the zoo with a drugged slug-rat and replace Bursthed's entry with it, the governor would be in for a very nasty surprise come contest time.

The plan runs into an obstacle when it comes time to call for volunteers. The mission would be a risky one — stormtrooper guard is always heavy around the governor's estate, particularly the night before a show. None of the residents raise their hands to accept the challenge, and slowly, all eyes turn to the characters.

If the characters are unwilling to perform the switch, have the other bar patrons say they understand, but imply that the characters are cowards. The other resistance members will turn away from them in disgust.

If one of the women has become infatuated with a character, she will loudly volunteer her "boyfriend" for the mission. Play the scene however you wish, but try to get the characters to take the mission. It may sound slightly strange to characters who are used to fighting galactic-scale battles, but it is important to this world.

The Menagerie and the Mission

Once the characters have agreed to undertake the plan, they will have the full backing of the underground — this includes supplies, transportation to and from the estate, stun weapons (for the creatures), tools (for the locks on the cages), and one live, but unconscious, slug-rat.

Slug-Rat

Size: Normal adults reach between one half to one meter in length. This one is roughly three-quarters of a meter in length and weighs 20 kilograms.

Combat: If it wakes up, it will attack anybody nearby and flee at the first opportunity. It is not rabid. Probably.

DEXTERITY 4D
PERCEPTION 3D
STRENGTH 2D
Move: 9
Bite: 3D damage

The characters can only break in through the wildlife area south of the governor's home. It is relatively lightly patrolled, but there are the animals to contend with. The characters have a copy of a map of the compound. They are supposed to break in, get to the governor's habitat without being noticed by the two stormtrooper guards, and switch animals. If they are noticed by the guards, then the operation will almost certainly fail. If a guard is killed or incapacitated, the governor will know beforehand that something is wrong, and he will cancel the show. The character must be quick and quiet.

The one advantage the characters have is that the compound will be very dark. The governor has never installed lights, believing that the animals need a nighttime as well as a daytime environment. The stormtroopers have lights at their positions, but that is all.

The characters are armed with stun pistols and, if the gamemaster thinks it appropriate, one riot gun. They have tools to break into the habitats and infrared goggles.

The Outer Fence

The zoo is bounded by a power fence three meters high, with a generator located in the manor house. The characters must think of some way to get by this before they can proceed. The fence was originally supposed to surround the stormtroopers' compound, but the governor felt it would be of more use around the menagerie.

Beyond the outer fence is the domain of the governor's larger animals — those that would be cooped up in a habitat. The power fence discourages them from trying to escape, and the four meter high inner fence (a standard type with no electrical charge) is too high for most of them to climb.

Some of the larger animals are:

The Bear Spider

Description: The bear spider appears to be a long, thin black bear. Instead of hair, however, it has hair-like chitin all over its body. Its web-spinning orifice is similar to a spider's. A nocturnal predator, the bear spider lives in a cave and weaves webs in the surrounding area, and then goes out at night to kill and eat its catch. A Moderate Perception roll allows the characters to spot a web. It is unlikely the bear spider would attack a Human unless the person went into its cave or interrupted it during feeding.

DEXTERITY 3D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 4D
Move: 14
Size: 1.5 meters
Natural Tools: The bear spider has fangs and claws like a mundane bear (STR+1D damage), but it also has the ability to weave sticky snares and webs of 3D Strength.

Dewback

Description: Like most Dewbacks, this one is fairly docile. It has not been trained for riding (the governor is secretly afraid of its great size), and will be very likely to avoid encounters rather than attack. Still, the giant lizard is an impressive sight to those unfamiliar with it.

DEXTERITY 3D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 4D
Move: 35
Size: Two meters at the shoulder

The Inner Fence

Inside the compound, the two stormtroopers stand guard at their posts. They do not particularly like their job — guarding a bunch of animals when there are New Republic agents out there to kill — but they do not shirk their duties. They will be fairly alert, if a bit bored. If there is a disturbance in one of the habitats or inside the outer fence, they will be most likely dismiss it as an animal fight. But, if they have any reason at all to believe that someone has broken into the compound, they will follow procedure: summon back-up and then investigate. They may, however, move to quell an animal disturbance without calling for back-up.

Stormtroopers (2)

DEXTERITY 2D (reduced to 1D)
Blaster 4D (reduced to 3D), brawling parry 4D (reduced to 3D), dodge 4D (reduced to 3D)
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 2D (increased to 3D)
Brawling 3D
TECHNICAL 2D
Equipment: Stormtrooper armor (+1D to Strength for damage purposes, reduces Dexterity by 1D), blaster rifle (5D damage)

The Habitats

Each habitat has a strange, unusual, and, for the most part, harmless exotic animal.

Feel free to make up a few exotic creatures to put in the habitats. Here is one suggestion:

Quexius Bird of Endor

Description: A multicolored bird, the Quexius has bright green and red plumage. The hooked beak looks much too large for its small face, and its wings are impossibly small for its long body. When it flies, it beats its wings like a hummingbird and darts back and forth in the air. Surprisingly, the bird is aggressive and will often peck at nearby beings for no reason whatsoever. Unfortunately, it is also incredibly stupid and will antagonize predators many times its size. Hence, it is an endangered species.

DEXTERITY 3D
STRENGTH 1D
PERCEPTION 2D
Move (flying): 30
Size: One-half meter
Natural Tools: Hooked beak normally used for digging roots from under large trees (STR+1D damage)

If the characters enter a habitat or two while avoiding the stormtroopers (which is quite likely) have them encounter a few of these strange beasts. Most will not be dangerous, but they should all be annoying. One may have a screeching howl, another may have a skunk-scent. The troopers are used to disturbances from these cages, so will ignore them unless the characters call unnecessary attention to themselves (screams and shouts and Wookiee bellows will do it).

The Governor's Habitat

Inside the governor's habitat is the most unusual creature of all — a glittering mynock. Identical in all ways but one to its repulsive relative, this power-sucking avian has one redeeming feature. When it sucks on a power source (say, the energy cell of a stun pistol), it is entirely docile, but gives off a rainbow of colored light from its wings.

Glittering Mynock

Description: The Glittering Mynock is slightly less revolting than its cousin, but no less annoying. It will mindlessly suck on any power source it is near until the source is drained. The more power the source has, the brighter its glittering light.

DEXTERITY 3D
PERCEPTION 1D
STRENGTH 1D
Move (flying): 15
Size: One meter long

When the characters enter the opaque habitat, they will have to make a Very Difficult Perception roll to see the now-dark creature. However, as they look around, it will swoop down and latch itself on to the nearest energy source the characters have. If they try to pull it off, they will have to beat its strength (not terribly hard), but it will then fly to the top of the habitat (four meters up) and dive again.

The easiest thing to do would be to let it latch onto a stun pistol energy pack where it will stay for about an hour. If the characters try to stun the creature, by the way, it will enjoy that. It is able to absorb small amounts of energy through its hide (a blaster would kill it, but a stun bolt is just a snack).

The characters can, of course, throw a sack or a cloak over the mynock when they leave (it doesn't care), but don't tell them this. Let the mynock be a glittering beacon to draw troopers and beasts alike. Prey upon the insecurity of the characters and make them sweat before they can successfully escape.

Back at the Bar

If the characters are successful, they can exit the compound, ride back to the bar, and celebrate their exploits. Everyone will have a good laugh over the mynock (the characters should bring it back alive), and the underground will make provisions to have it turn up sucking on one of the stormtroopers' generators or something.

The next day, the characters hear of the disaster at the Pet Show. The judges were all ready to award the governor his prize when, as Bursthed stuck his hand into the opaque environment (holding out a power pack for the mynock to suck on), he withdrew his arm howling. Fastened just above the wrist was an extremely agitated slug-rat. Before anyone could do anything, the governor flung the rat off of his arm, and it escaped into the large, open environment.

Governor Bursthed has ordered "a full investigation" and has sworn heads will roll. He has started by confiscating much of the land granted to the judges and other contestants over the last few months and there is even talk of a criminal hearing. No one suspects New Republic involvement.

Imperial Governor Bursthed

DEXTERITY 1D
Blaster 2D+2, dodge 2D+2
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Alien species 3D+2, bureaucracy 5D, cultures 4D+1, law enforcement: Imperial procedures 6D, planetary systems 4D
MECHANICAL 1D
PERCEPTION 3D+2
Command 4D+2, search 4D
STRENGTH 1D+2
TECHNICAL 1D+2
Character Points: 2
Move: 10
Equipment: Hold-out blaster (3D damage), comlink, datapad, Imperial uniform

Freedom Strike Seltos

Adventure Background

The destruction of the second Death Star was a great victory for the Rebel Alliance. It ignited a wave of pro-Rebellion sentiment in many sections of the galaxy. Seltos was one of the first worlds to secede from the Empire and join with the New Republic after the Battle of Endor.

This forest planet was first colonized over two hundred years ago, with logging the basis of its economy. The Empire maintained only a small outpost on the planet: an Imperial governor and two companies of troops (about 300 combat personnel).

Enthused with the prospect of freedom, several factions on Seltos decided to bring the Rebellion to their planet. The revolutionaries routed the Imperial troops, forcing them into the forests and mountains beyond the settlements. The Imperial governor was placed in a stockade, awaiting trial for his various crimes.

That was two months ago. The people of Seltos have thrown together a republican form of government, and appealed to the New Republic for assistance and advice. Mon Mothma, leader of the Alliance, has sent a team of diplomats to the planet to give them advice and work out taxation and armament provisions.

Recent Events

New Republic intelligence has learned that there may be an Imperial plant in Seltos' new government. The characters are covertly sent to Seltos to investigate and expose this agent, if indeed there is one.

The Action

Two characters have been placed on guard, while the rest are trying to break into the Magister of Trade's office ("Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time."). The characters are disguised as maintenance personnel.

The adventure starts with the characters getting into trouble — two of the building's guards show up, and the characters have to somehow convince the guards to leave or dispatch them before they attract any attention or call for help.

Since the guards are part of a pro-New Republic government, and the characters are supposed to be the good guys, the players can't decide to indiscriminately attack the guards. They have to use stealth.

Seltos

Type: Terrestrial
Temperature: Temperate
Atmosphere: Type I (breathable)
Hydrosphere: Moderate
Gravity: Standard
Terrain: Forest, mountains
Length of Day: 20 standard hours
Length of Year: 459 local days
Sentient Races: Humans
Starport: Standard
Population: Four million
Government: Republic (pro-New Republic)
Tech Level: Space
Major Imports: High technology
Major Exports: Foodstuffs, lumber, precious ores

Seltos is a low-population planet that received only minor attention from Imperial forces in the past. The majority of the population is Human (primarily Corellians and Kuarians), although there are some groups of aliens who have settled here.

The primary industry is food production, with lumbering and precious ore mining and refining providing nearly a third of the planet's income. Many forest areas are wild preserves or privately owned and protected, so a small portion of the planet's economy is tourism.

The planet has about four million permanent residents, a third of which live in the capital, Sommin City. The planet's climate is warm and pleasant, the people have personalities to match.

Adventure Script

Assign each player a part. This script is written for six players — if there are fewer than six players, assign each player multiple parts. If there are more than six players, tell one player to improvise lines to interject into the script (this is especially good for a character like the Kid, who tends to say things like, "Wow!" and "No kidding! I'd love to crack some Imperial skulls — now where did my air snake wander off to?")

The first character should play the role of mission commander.

Gamemaster: You are gathered in the cramped passenger compartment aboard the tramp freighter Daunted Gypsy. You all have your reasons for working for the New Republic — this is going to be one of those missions where you will earn your keep.

1st Character: Okay, listen up. Here's the situation. Our destination is Seltos, a forest world. Two months ago, they up and tossed the Imperial governor into the stockade and drove the few Imperial troops into the woods. There were parades and celebrations and all that good stuff. They set up a pro-New Republic government. We're going to give them a hand.

2nd Character: How so, boss? We're not going to be able to give them any economic advice. We know shooting and running.

3rd Character: Maybe you don't know anything about economics, but I'm very well versed in these matters, and I for one would be glad to —

4th Character: You will be glad to shut up and listen to what's going on.

1st Character: Thank you. These people have set up a government and asked for New Republic assistance. Mon Mothma's sent a team of diplomats here to lend them moral support and figure out how much tax revenue they can send our way.

5th Character: The high and mighty New Republic — tax, then help. What a fine set of priorities.

6th Character: You know that the New Republic is strapped for cash.

2nd Character: Who cares as long as they pay us? We're professionals and we deserve a little reward. Not everyone can do what we do.

4th Character: So let me guess — we're gonna go in there, show them how to fire a blaster and keep a military organization up and running, be treated like heroes, meet lots of lovely locals, and go down in the history files?

3rd Character: How crass.

1st Character: New Republic intelligence suspects that the new government may have an Imperial plant. They think it's Sinya Deboora, the Magister of Trade. We've got to investigate her activities and hopefully expose her allegiance to the Empire, if it exists. We must also investigate any evidence of Imperial forces on the planet or the possibility of an attack by the Imperial resistance.

5th Character: This isn't a glory mission, is it?

3rd Character: I don't believe we have to soil our hands with the investigation of petty government officials.

6th Character: I've seen this routine — we slip in under disguise, see what we can see, and get out undetected.

2nd Character: That's right. If the locals suspect that we're "tampering" with their government, they'll lose faith in the New Republic and probably turn on us. They'll think we're as evil as the Empire.

Gamemaster: Fade to black. The ship has landed, you have gotten your rooms at a local shelter, and now you find yourself beginning your mission. It is early evening and you are inside the main government building, Freedom Hall.

You have infiltrated the building disguised as maintenance people, and using emergency stairwells, you have been able to get to the fifth floor undetected.

Most of the bureaucrats have already left for the evening, and the building is quiet, almost deserted — your only company is an occasional maintenance Droid, which hums by, ignoring your presence. You figure that there are about a dozen security guards in the building.

The fifth and sixth characters are watching the halls for trouble just outside the entry corridor. The rest of you are trying to open the door to the Magister of Trade's offices without leaving any evidence of your activities.

Things are going smoothly. Too smoothly. That's when you hear:

5th Character: Why, yes, Mr. Guard, sir, I was just about to complete cleaning the rest rooms on this floor.

6th Character: What's that. No, I didn't hear any noises down that corridor to the Magister of Trade's offices. No sirree — no noise at all!

2nd Character: I've got a very bad feeling about this.

Episode One: Looking For Evidence

After the players have completed reading the script, the characters can begin the adventure. Two of the characters are out in the hallway on guard, while the rest of the characters are trying to break into the Magister of Trade's office.

The two guard characters have encountered two of the building's security guards. The characters are well advised to try to con the guards into thinking that they are simple maintenance personnel.

After a few minutes of conversation, one of the guards will mention that they are continuing down to check out the Magister of Trade's office. The characters should then attempt to con the guards into not investigating the area, or hope that the rest of the team is well hidden.

The characters, since they are New Republic agents, won't want to kill or injure the guards, since they too are Republic sympathisers.

If the guards are convinced by the characters' cons, there will be no further incidents.

If the characters attempt to subdue the guards, they have one round to take action before the alarm is raised. If the guards are still conscious at the end of the round, the guards will alert the rest of the security squad, and four more guards will arrive in 2D rounds to investigate.

Freedom Hall Guards

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 4D+2, dodge 3D+2, melee combat 3D+2
KNOWLEDGE 1D+2
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
Con 3D, search 3D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 1D+2
Move: 10
Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D damage), club (STR+1D damage), manacles, comlinks

There are a total of 12 guards in the building, patrolling in groups of two. There is also a security official at the terminal in the lobby on the first floor — he is responsible for coordinating communications and is to remain at his duty post no matter what happens. If he believes that there is serious trouble, he is to summon city police forces.

The Magister's Office

The lock to the Magister's office has a Moderate difficulty (use the security skill to get through the lock; there is no alarm, in case the characters fail to get through). Once inside the office, they will have to search for incriminating documents.

Sidebar: Mission Briefing

Codename: Freedom Strike Seltos. Clearance: Mission Leader.

The people of Seltos have seized control of their world, creating a government with strong allegiances to the New Republic. While we have commenced diplomatic relations with the people of this planet, we believe that the government has members who desire the return of Imperial authority.

Information from our diplomats, currently on Seltos, indicates that the Magister of Trade, one Sinya Debbora, may be an Imperial spy. There is no proof of this, nor is there any indication as to whether she is acting alone or as part of a larger conspiracy.

Relations with this planet are at a very sensitive stage. You must exercise extreme caution. We cannot allow the people of this world to believe that the New Republic will be meddling in their internal affairs or we will be cast in the same light as the Empire. Therefore, your mission must be conducted in utmost secrecy, but exposure and elimination of any Imperial elements are essential to the stability of the new government.

Inside the Office

The office is spacious and very luxurious. Near a row of windows is a large, polished wooden desk. The room has three comfortable chairs, as well as several modern sculptures and plants. There is a rich animal hide rug on the floor, and the walls are done in wooden paneling, with several holopaintings set into the walls — the office must have cost a fortune to decorate.

The characters can choose to search any of the locations in the office:

Desk. On the large desk is Sinya's computer, with a stack of datadisks beside it. In the top drawer is a personal datapad in a leather slipcase.

If the characters attempt to use Sinya's computer, they must make a computer programming roll: if they make a Very Easy total (3-5), they learn Sinya's home address; see "The Personal Datapad." If they roll well enough for a Moderate total, they learn the following information:

• Sinya has been meeting with a Lieutenant Hensworth of the Imperial Army. They have been discussing the distribution of power once the Empire retakes control of the planet. Hensworth has gone into hiding since the revolution, but he is somehow able to contact Sinya on a regular basis.
• Hensworth has promised Sinya the planetary governorship once the Empire retakes power.
• Sinya has a meeting scheduled for late tomorrow afternoon with Hensworth at a secret Imperial base west of the city. There is a note that there is a map at her house.

The Personal Datapad

The personal datapad is in a rich leather binding, with her name and address imprinted upon it. Her address is 12 Galactar Route.

The datapad also lists her schedule for the next day:

• From early evening to midnight, meetings with representatives from Galacticorp Mines for rights to mine the Hyggin Mountains on the far side of the planet.
• She will be out of the office all tomorrow afternoon for a meeting with a "B. Hensworth." Unless the characters have gotten into her computer system, they will not know that he is an Imperial lieutenant.

The Building

Episode Two: Sinya's Home

Sinya's house is part of an elaborate and expensive condominium complex. The buildings are actually hovering in the air, on repulsor pads, about ten meters in the air, with open air turbolifts leading up to the lowest levels.

The characters must have appropriate identification or a good con to get into the complex. There is one guard (same stats as the guards in Freedom Hall) at the top of each turbolift, checking identification.

The characters may falsify an identity code with a Moderate Technical roll. They may also make a con, but their best bet is to distract the lone guard and knock him out before he can summon other guards. If he does succeed in summoning guards, three more will arrive on hoverdisks in six rounds. The hoverdisks have a scale of character, a body of 3D, and move at a rate of 20 per move.

Once the characters are inside one of the condo buildings, they will have several encounters with local residents, who will assume that they are new neighbors (unless they are dressed as soldiers, in which case, they will see the characters, duck back into their homes and summon the police).

Once the characters reach Sinya's condo, they must make a Moderate Strength roll to break through the lock or an Easy security roll to force the lock open.

When inside, the characters will be approached by Marse Deborra, Sinya's husband. He is middle-aged, in excellent physical shape. Marse is a firm New Republic supporter and doesn't know that his wife is an Imperial sympathiser. In fact, if the characters can somehow prove that his wife has turned to the Empire, he will cooperate in searching for the map.

The characters may also attempt to lure him away, so that they can sneak in undetected.

When the characters search the study, they will find any incriminating information that they didn't discover in her office.

Approaching the Imperial Base

This will take one half-hour of game time.

The characters can try to sneak up close to the cave mouth of the tunnel. Have them make several Moderate sneak rolls — if they succeed, they can get close to the cave mouth unnoticed; if they fail by one to five points, they will stumble and the troops will hear, but one will say, "It's nothing. Just a wild animal," or something to that effect. If they fail by more than five points, the character who failed the roll will be spotted by one of the troops, who will come out of the cave mouth to investigate, but won't open fire unless he sees a weapon or is threatened.

At several times, have the characters make Moderate Perception rolls to see if they can overhear what the troops are talking about. For each successful Perception check, have the characters overhear one of the following:

• "I can't believe we don't have enough comlinks to give every guard one. Having to go into the cave to check-in is ridiculous!"
• "I wonder what that government official — the gorgeous one — is doing out here with Hensworth."
• "I hear that Hensworth has a big announcement to make later today. I hope we're going to be leaving this rockball soon — what a lousy planet!"

As more time passes by, the troops will begin wondering where the new guards are. They will mention that they are late, and if they don't come soon, they should leave the cave mouth and go to the base to check-in. After a few more comments to that effect, the troops will agree to go check-in, and walk into the cave.

If the characters follow them in, they will learn that the cave winds back into the mountain nearly 300 meters, with several major branch offs. When they are about 300 meters back, the characters will hear the guards talking with some new guards coming on duty. Have each character make a Moderate search roll to spot a side cave or alcove where they can hide until the guards pass by. If they make the roll, they will be fine when the guards pass. After the new guards have passed, they will be able to sneak to the perimeter of the Imperial base. See "Scouting The Base."

Imperial Army Patrol Guards

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 4D+2, dodge 4D+2, grenade 3D+2
KNOWLEDGE 1D+1
MECHANICAL 1D+1
PERCEPTION 2D
Search 3D
STRENGTH 3D+1
Brawling 3D+1
TECHNICAL 1D
Move: 10
Equipment: Blaster rifle (5D damage), two concussion grenades (4D damage)

Scouting The Base

When the characters sneak into the base, they will see lights up ahead in the cave, and also the noise of men and repulsorlift engines. As they get closer, the noises will become more distinct — they will hear orders being given, announcements over a loudspeaker system, and other noises indicative of a military base. When they enter the cavern, read aloud:

The bright lights are stunning. You are on a natural elevated walkway with a slight lip, which provides cover for you to hide behind. You are about 12 meters above the floor of the cave, and the walkway slowly winds its way down to ground level.

In front of you is a natural cavern, a good 50 meters across. It is lit in its entirety by portable generators and spot lights.

You can see scores of troops, in standard Imperial army and stormtrooper biker scout uniforms, running about. At first glance, you see perhaps a dozen speeder bikes, as well as portable ion cannons and repeating blasters.

Their bikes and weapons are almost directly below you. About midway across the cavern are three or four clusters of temporary barracks buildings. On the far side of the clearing, there is a communications suite, with atmosphere and orbit sensors and full subspace radio and intersystem comlink gear.

At this time, give the characters a rough sketch of the layout of the base. Have each character make an Easy search or Perception total — if successful, the characters will see Sinya Deborra and an Imperial officer, presumably Lieutenant Hensworth, walking among the vehicles, discussing matters. Any character making a Moderate Perception total can overhear the conversation.

If they succeed at the roll, read aloud:

The Imperial officer shrugs and laughs at a comment made by Sinya Deborra. He stops at a speeder bike, his fingers lingering on the controls. He is almost directly below you.

"Madame Magister, you are right. That pathetic government is doomed. Soon enough the Empire will have control again. But even sooner than you think."

The stunningly gorgeous woman pauses and asks him, "How so, Hensworth?"

The lieutenant smiles. "I received word earlier this morning that a Victory-class Star Destroyer has been sent here to supervise the subjugation. It will be arriving in one day."

Sinya smiles evilly, a look of pleasure on her face. "Excellent! In fact, I can have those New Republic diplomats held hostage until the arrival. They are in the Star Hotel. And there are those six Y-wing fighters they brought as a gift for the government."

The characters should now have a clear idea what is going on — the Imperial resistance is invading tomorrow, and they have to rescue the diplomats. As gamemaster, you might also want to point out that the Empire will probably enslave everyone it can capture, so the characters should also consider warning the population a high priority (these guys are heroes, after all!)

There are a total of 50 troops here (all with the same stats as the guards). There are also 12 biker pilots, with the same stats, except they also have repulsorlift operation: speeder bike at 6D.

Speeder Bikes (12)

Scale: Speeder
Crew: 1
Passengers: 1
Skill: Repulsorlift operation: speeder bike
Move: 175 meters/500 kmh
Maneuverability: 3D+2
Body Strength: 2D
Flight Range: Ground level to 25 meters
Weapons: Laser cannon
Laser Cannon Skill: Vehicle blasters
Laser Cannon Fire Control: 1D
Laser Cannon Range: 10-50/100/250
Laser Cannon Damage: 4D

Shoulder-Launched Ion Cannons (5)

Scale: Speeder
Skill: Blaster artillery: anti-vehicle
Range: 3-50/120/300
Damage: 3D ionization
Fire Rate: 1/2
Ammo: Power generator only

E-Web Repeating Blasters (5)

Scale: Character
Skill: Blaster: repeating blaster
Range: 3-75/200/500
Damage: 8D
Fire Rate: 1
Ammo: Power generator only

Sidebar: Doing The Unexpected

It's a known fact that players will do the unexpected.

If they do, you can discourage their creativity and try to force them back along the carefully set path of this adventure. Or you can improvise, and wing it. Sometimes this is a lot more fun.

Some examples of players being creative — when this adventure has been run at game conventions, players actually tried and succeeded with the following schemes:

The Big Bluff. The characters decided to take over the base and try to get to the subspace radio. Then, they waited for the Star Destroyer to radio and tell them that it was going to arrive in a few hours — at this time, one character played the role of a junior Imperial officer who served under Hensworth. While the rest of the characters fired their weapons and made explosion sound effects, the player made up a great story about how the New Republic sent its whole fleet of battle cruisers to Seltos, and there are nearly a dozen battle cruisers in orbit right now ... more than enough to destroy a single Star Destroyer.

The commander of the Star Destroyer politely informed the "junior officer" that he was on his own ...

The characters had fooled the Imperials into not invading Seltos!

Blundering Into The Story. The players simply weren't interested in investigating the Imperial base, despite the fact that their orders clearly indicated that they should have gotten involved. Instead, the players decided that their characters wanted to go to the nearest spacers' bar. No problem ...

While at the bar, they encountered a few old rivals (good for some impromptu barroom brawls, complete with humorous scenes). One of the characters tried to seduce a glamorous and attractive alien at the bar — didn't it turn out that she was an Imperial spy, too, and through her computer or drunken ramblings, the characters learned about the imminent Imperial invasion, rescued the kidnapped diplomats and saved the day!

Sneaking Out

The characters may simply try to sneak out the way they came, or they may try to steal vehicles and fly out flamboyantly, but quickly. The characters should make Easy stealth rolls to sneak out or Moderate stealth rolls to sneak down to the bikes.

If they fail the roll, someone will notice the characters and raise the alarm. Even when the alarm is raised, the characters will have several rounds to react.

• Round that alarm is raised: Two troops (either at base or on guard duty, depending upon where they are) will raise their guns and shoot at the characters.
• Five rounds later: Bike pilots get to their bikes — if the characters are in the base area, the pilots will simply try to stop the characters. If the characters are in the cave, they will hear the whine of repulsorlift, as the bikes come whizzing down the cave — they will appear the next round.
• Two rounds later: Ten more troops go into action — they either come up from the base to attack the characters from behind, or if the characters are still in the base, they have finally gotten behind cover and are opening fire.

Events

• If the characters get pinned down in the base area, a stray blaster bolt (either from a player character or one of the enemy) will hit the main power generator for the base (if in the base area). It overloads and explodes in a spectacular ball of flame — and gives the characters sufficient time to grab speeder bikes and get out.
• If the characters get pinned down in the cave, a stray blaster bolt hits a grenade of one of the troopers, causing it to explode immediately, and the rest of the enemy troops are stunned into inaction for one round, giving the characters the chance to run for their lives.
• The characters should end up with enough speeder bikes to carry them away from the battle scene. Either they will have stolen them themselves, or if they are in the cave, a returning speeder bike patrol is coming down the cave, when they stop due to the firefight between the characters and the troops. Unfortunately for the scouts, they stopped right next to the characters, and thus if they can just take out the pilots, they can steal their bikes.

Chase Back To Sommin City

The characters should have to deal with Imperials hot on their tail as they race back to Sommin City. The race is through the forests and mountains of the planet — have them make one or two Moderate rolls for unexpected terrain, such as trees blocking what appeared to be a clear path. Also, play out a couple of rounds of combat — the Imperials should start behind the characters, just out of combat range. Play out the combat until either the Imperials are destroyed, the characters are shot down, or the characters outrun the Imperials. If the characters do outrun the Imperials once, have the Imperials catch up to them for a last ditch attempt to shoot them down.

If the characters are shot down, they will simply have to walk to Sommin City, cutting into their already incredibly short time to reach the city, rescue the diplomats and warn the population. Along the way, they will have to deal with the Imperial bike pilots, who are combing the forest for the characters.

To simulate encounters with the Imperials, narrate the characters walking through the woods. Then roll Perception checks for the Imperials and have the players roll checks for their characters. Anyone rolling Easy or better sees the enemy at a range of about 100 meters, and so the battle can begin. If one side sees the other, but the other side misses their roll, the side with the advantage may choose to hide, set an ambush or any number of other actions.

Reaching The City

Once the characters reach the outskirts of the city, they will face one last challenge from the Imperials.

If everyone is on speeder bikes, the characters will round a bend onto a major highway, with the Imperials in tow. They will spend one or two final rounds for combat, and then turn around — they will not approach the city!

If the characters are on foot, they will encounter a final Imperial foot patrol of two or three soldiers, who will try to stop them, but then a group of Seltos Planetary Soldiers will happen upon the scene, and the Imperials will flee the area.

Episode Three: The Big Escape

The characters can go to the local government officials and explain the situation (run this as a futuristic version of "taking a wild, unbelievable story to the police" scene from any contemporary movie). The officials will be unsympathetic unless the characters suggest contacting the diplomats, at which point, the police will confirm that they are being held hostage.

The police will assure the characters that they will warn the general population and start evacuation procedures so everyone will be ushered to safety. They will thank the characters for their assistance, and ask them if they want to help in the rescue of the diplomats. If they say yes, cut to "Shootout At The Penthouse." If they decline, they can simply go to the spaceport, jump into their freighter and leave the planet. Cut to Episode Four, "A Last Surprise."

Shootout At The Penthouse

The Star Hotel is a ten-story affair. The diplomats are in the penthouse suites, on the top floor. There are six diplomats, and hotel security has no idea how many terrorists there are.

The terrorists are actually Imperial sympathisers hired by Sinya Deborra to hold the diplomats hostage until the Star Destroyer shows up on the next day.

The simplest plan is to ride the turbolift up and come out, guns blazing. There are two terrorists in the suite itself, two more guarding the door, two guarding turbolift one and two guarding turbolift two. The characters may use either turbolift one or two, or emergency stairs one or two. See the map for the layout of the penthouse suites — when running the battle, you might want to draw the players a map of the scene so they can visualize what is going on.

Imperial Terrorists

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 3D+2, dodge 5D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 1D
PERCEPTION 2D
Search 3D, sneak 4D
STRENGTH 3D
TECHNICAL 1D
Character Points: 2
Move: 10
Equipment: Blaster rifle (5D damage), blast vest (+2 to front and back torso to Strength to resist damage), comlink

Grateful Diplomats

Once the characters have rescued the diplomats from certain death at the hands of the terrorists, they will relate that there are six New Republic Y-wing fighters at the starport and that the characters should take them. Why? Because they heard that an Imperial light patrol craft was going to be arriving in the system early, and the characters will probably have to fight their way past it.

Episode Four: A Last Surprise

The characters may be flying in the ship that they came to Seltos in (provided by the Alliance), or piloting New Republic Y-wings. If using the New Republic-provided ship, it has the following stats:

Daunted Gypsy

Craft: SoroSuub Jermaguim Modified Light Freighter
Type: Modified light freighter
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 25 meters
Skill: Space transports: Jermaguim freighter
Crew: 2
Passengers: 8
Cargo Capacity: 85 metric tons
Consumables: 2 months
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x1
Hyperdrive Backup: x12
Nav Computer: Yes
Maneuverability: 2D
Space: 6
Atmosphere: 330; 950 kmh
Hull: 4D+2
Shields: 2D
Weapons: Three double laser cannons (fire separately)
Fire Arc: 1 front, 2 turret
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 1D+2
Space Range: 1-3/12/25
Atmosphere Range: 100-300/1.2 km/2.5 km
Damage: 4D

As the characters climb into space, they find that the Empire has prepared one last nasty surprise for them. A light patrol craft has entered the system, and is coming to Seltos, just in time to take on the characters' ship in space combat. Read aloud:

As you climb out of the atmosphere and prepare for the jump to hyperspace, every warning sensor on the ship goes off! The sensors have picked up a new ship which has come out of hyperspace in close proximity to your ship — its mass is significantly larger, its weapons are charged, and it's hailing you — something about surrendering to the Empire or being blown into space dust!

The characters can choose to surrender, or they can do what's fun — fight it out. The patrol ship starts at 25 units from Seltos. The characters' ship begins 1 unit from Seltos. Fight out the battle until either the Imperials are destroyed, disabled, or the characters successfully make the jump to hyperspace.

Imperial Customs Law-class Light Patrol Craft

Craft: KDY's Law-class Light Patrol Craft
Type: Advance scout patrol craft
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 51 meters
Skill: Space transports: Law patrol ship
Crew: 4; total crew 15
Crew Skill: Space transports 5D, starship gunnery 5D+1
Passengers: 10 (prisoner space in brig)
Cargo Capacity: 250 metric tons
Consumables: 3 months
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x1
Hyperdrive Backup: x12
Nav Computer: Yes
Maneuverability: 1D
Space: 5
Hull: 5D
Shields: 1D
Weapons: Four laser cannons (fire separately); proton torpedoes
Laser Cannons Fire Arc: 2 front, 2 turret
Laser Cannons Crew: 1
Laser Cannons Skill: Starship gunnery
Laser Cannons Fire Control: 2D+2
Laser Cannons Space Range: 1-3/12/25
Laser Cannons Damage: 5D
Proton Torpedoes Fire Arc: Front
Proton Torpedoes Crew: 1
Proton Torpedoes Skill: Starship gunnery
Proton Torpedoes Fire Control: 0D
Proton Torpedoes Space Range: 1-5/10/15
Proton Torpedoes Damage: 9D

Rewards

If the characters rescued the diplomats and/or warned the people of Seltos, they received the thanks and congratulations of the New Republic — they are heroes for an hour or two. Then, it's back to business as usual.

Award each character three Character Points for surviving the adventure. If they rescued the diplomats, award them another two Character Points. If the people of Seltos were warned of the coming invasion, and thus saved imprisonment, increase the award by another two Character Points. If any players played their characters exceptionally well — did a great job of acting the character, or came up with a great plan to fool the enemy, give that player an extra two to four Character Points based on how well he did. If they succeeded at something spectacular, such as conning the Imperials into not invading Seltos, as described in the sidebar, increase the award to an even 15 Character Points.

The Iskallon Factor

In this adventure, the characters are approached on the planet Brevost by a man named Wertram Farege. Wertram has a contact that will pay well for a shipment of Droid spare parts and electronics equipment, which he has secured from the local black market. Unfortunately, Wertram has no means of transporting the goods. He is willing, he claims, to cut the characters in for a slice of the pie if they will transport him and his shipment to the planet.

During the trip, Farege sabotages the ship, so the sublight engines are damaged upon reentry from hyperspace. The ship becomes easy pickings for the Iskallons — a race of techno-organic beings who make use of a shield-disrupting projector to capture ships and sell them to the highest bidder, with whom Farege has made a deal. Farege has agreed to lead smugglers into the open where the Iskallons can attack and take the ship. In return, they have promised him a commission on every ship he lures to them.

But late into the deal, Farege learns that the Iskallons intend to enslave the crew and disfigure them to resemble the Iskallonni. Farege also learns that he will not be spared this fate either. The ship heads back for their home planet with Farege in a cell with the characters. His allegiance has definitely changed, but is it too late for him?

Adventure Background

The Iskallons have, for the most part, lived the last millennium isolated from Humankind. The aliens, whose philosophy and physiology is radically different from that of most Humans, had difficulty establishing peaceful relations. The Iskallons are partly cybernetic, a factor which does not generally endear them to Humankind. The Iskallons also see no problem with enslaving other species, forcing them to do work that would kill the Iskallons.

One of the side-effects of their bio-technology is that nearly all of their techno-organic machinery produces a waste material as it functions. This waste material is highly toxic to nearly all forms of carbon-based life. Many an Iskallon has perished horribly while "mopping up" after an Iskallon-built hyperdrive.

The Iskallon homeworld is out in the unknown regions of space, but the aliens come to the "civilized galaxy" for their evil ends. To keep the ranks of Iskallons strong, they have taken to capturing other sapients and forcing them to do the dirty work which results from their odd brand of technology. Usually, no slave on an Iskallon ship lasts longer than a few months, but that is of little concern to the Iskallons, as they just capture more and more.

When the Empire first encountered emissaries from Iskallon, they thought they had gained an ally. The Imperials were willing to pay the Iskallons to recruit slaves for them. But the Iskallonni demonstrated their lack of discrimination in whom they converted and enslaved by converting the entire crew of the first scout ship which had encountered them. When the Empire found out about this, they sent a force of three Victory-class Star Destroyers to Iskadrell and managed to decimate almost half of the planet before the Iskallons could muster a defense.

The Iskallon counterattack was fast and deadly, and soon the Imperials retreated. When the Iskallonni failed to pursue the Imperials back into populated space, the Empire no longer considered them a threat.

But now that the war has died down, the Iskallonni have come out of hiding. With every Human ship they encounter, they adapt a little more of Human technology. They are attempting to learn the means by which Humans can build functioning machines that do not produce flowing chemical toxins in their functioning.

The Iskallonni intend to enslave the characters and dismantle their ship in hopes of finding out all there is to learn about the wonderful Human technology.

Episode One: How Little We Know

The adventure begins with the characters stumbling into what turns into a shipping contract. They get pulled into a fight between Wertram Farege and some street thugs. By helping Farege, the smugglers gain his gratitude which he returns by offering them a shipping contract.

The characters are walking back to their ship after a fruitless day of chasing down contacts for a shipping haul. Tempers are running a little high, and everyone is somewhat exhausted. Planning to head back to their ship for the evening, the characters "stumble" onto Wertram Farege. Read aloud or paraphrase:

It is late when you finally decide to head back to the ship. You've had a long day trying to come up with a shipping contract, but all leads have turned up empty. Sour at having spent lots of time and money looking for work, you head back to the ship for a good night's rest.

As you turn a corner on your way, you are distracted by a flash of colors as a lithe man slams headlong into you at a full run.

Have characters make Dexterity rolls. Anyone not making a Moderate roll has been hit by the speeding body of Wertram Farege as he blindly rounded the corner. Anyone making the roll jumped out of the way in time. Read aloud:

As you dust yourself off and start gearing up to vent the day's hostility on this fool, another sound distracts you. Coming from down the same street as this man is a group of running men pointing and yelling something.

The men are cargo handlers at the spaceport who were out for fun and were paid by Wertram to chase him into this group and attack them. Wertram spied the characters' ship in the space port and figured it would be little competition for the Iskallons and would probably bring him a healthy commission.

The thugs will fight with fists only, although all are armed, and will resort to their melee weapons only if such are drawn by the characters. Once more than half of the thugs have been wounded, or if anyone draws anything more lethal than a vibro-bayonet, they all will flee.

Thugs (10)

Physical Description: Each of the men is dressed casually in loose-fitting pants and shirts, with light jackets to protect them from the cool evening air. At least one of the men has shed his jacket by now and shows large muscles under his clothing. All the men are well-built and look as if they still have dirt on them from their work day earlier.

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 3D+1, melee combat 3D+1, melee parry 3D+2
KNOWLEDGE 2D
Planetary systems 2D+2, streetwise 3D+1
MECHANICAL 2D+1
Repulsorlift operation 3D
PERCEPTION 3D+1
Gambling 4D, sneak 3D+2
STRENGTH 3D
Brawling 4D, lifting 3D+1
TECHNICAL 2D
Repulsorlift repair 2D+2
Move: 10
Equipment: Each man carries personal identification, no more than 25 credits each, and two of the men carry vibroblades (STR+1D+2 damage) while the other two carry small knives (STR+1 damage)

Wertram Farege

Template Type: Outlaw. Loyalty: To Iskallons / himself. Species: Human. Sex: Male.

Physical Description: Wertram Farege is a small, lithe and wily looking character. He is usually preoccupied with whether or not his brown hair is straight and how his clothing looks.

Personality: He struts around with much bravado, but is a coward at heart. His only interest is making money.

DEXTERITY 4D
KNOWLEDGE 3D
MECHANICAL 2D+2
PERCEPTION 2D
Bargain 4D, con 5D
STRENGTH 3D+1
TECHNICAL 3D
Character Points: 5
Move: 10
Equipment: Flashy bright clothing, usually in blues, greens, and yellows. Blaster pistol (4D damage), hold-out blaster (3D+2 damage), 1,000 credits

If a chase ensues, as well it might, let the characters make Easy Perception rolls at intersections to see which way the villains have gone. Also, between every intersection, the characters should encounter at least one obstacle. Obstacles will require movement rolls. To determine the difficulty, roll the die: 1, Very Easy; 2, Easy; 3, Moderate; 4, Moderate; 5, Difficult; 6, Very Difficult.

The characters will reach an intersection every three rounds they continue to chase the men. Roll a die at each intersection — characters encounter an obstacle on a 1-3.

You may also inject extra obstacles as you see fit. When describing an obstacle, try to keep it roughly in line with its difficulty, e.g. for Very Easy, the obstacle might be a person in the characters' path; a Moderate difficulty obstacle might be a pile-up of people knocked over by the fleeing thugs and a Very Difficult obstacle might be a traffic accident, or some of the people roused by the chase joining in and pursuing the characters. If the characters manage to catch any of the thugs, they can report them to the Brevost city security watch.

Aftermath

After all the ruckus has died down, Wertram will thank the characters rather jovially while catching his breath. As courtesy dictates, Wertram will explain that, according to Brevost tradition, anyone who expends resources for another is due recompense. Wertram's manner is just a little slick. He seems a bit self-possessed and is distracted during his explanations more than once by a large rip he got in his shirt during the scuffle.

When all things have settled, he'll ask where the characters are headed. If they indicate that they have a ship, he'll ask them if they might be interested in making a cargo run. If the characters are in a bad mood after the fight and don't engage Wertram in conversation, he will note that they seemed to be headed toward the spaceport and he will inquire if they have a ship. If need be, he will tell them he noticed their ship and that he is in a bind, needing to find a freighter to make a run for him.

Read aloud:

I've managed to get a full shipment of spare parts for Droids and some other electronic equipment, but I can't find anyone to take me where I'm going. The world is off in the fringes, but the colony there is so desperate for replacement parts that they'll pay more than twice the worth of the shipment. If you take me, I can promise you 1,000 credits at takeoff and another 4,000 credits when we reach Iskadrell.

Episode Two: Come Fly With Me

This episode, and the rest of the adventure, hinge on the premise that the characters have accepted the offer made by Wertram Farege. Once everything has been organized, the characters and Farege will take off. After several days in hyperspace, the ship is racked by a huge explosion from within. The ship has been sabotaged by Farege, and the sublight engines are disabled. Almost immediately on the scene is an alien spaceship of unknown origin, and before the characters can manage any serious escape, they are captured by the strange beings and their odd ship.

In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning

Wertram wants to leave as soon as possible and would be willing to load up and leave immediately if the characters are willing. He could arrange to have the medical equipment brought to the ship within the hour. He will also explain that he thinks it would be a better idea to load up and get off-planet in the middle of the night.

If there is any balking at the price, Farege will go as high as 7,000 credits to make the deal. Some fancy bargaining would have to take place though. He doesn't want to seem too eager to hire the characters.

Whenever the characters agree to load up and take-off, Wertram is there. He is also armed with a small retinue of four B1 worker Droids to load the cargo on board. He has hired the Droids out from the starport to help get the cargo on board. As they are not critical to the story, their statistics are not included here, but they can be found on page 120 of The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook. The Droids do not accompany Wertram or the heroes on their trip.

Fly Me To the Moon

The characters should have little difficulty getting off-planet with their shipment. The scuffle most probably was neither reported nor witnessed by anyone else. Since Iskadrell doesn't lie along any of the well-traveled hyperlanes, the characters will need to pass a Moderate astrogation roll to get safely to the planet.

The trip should last 13 days and hopefully the characters will at some point retire for the night, letting the ship autopilot itself. It is during this time that Wertram will steal away to the engineering section of the ship and plant his bomb. It will go off after three days of travel.

The bomb Wertram has planted was given to him by the Iskallons. It is of a special design that can detect a hyperfield within its proximity. The bomb arms itself when it encounters a hyperfield and detonates when the field is removed. Depending on where the bomb is placed, nearly any internal system can be neutralized when the ship returns to realspace and the bomb explodes.

If for any reason the characters do not trust Wertram, as well they may not, the explosion will still occur. He will have planted the explosive while still on Brevost, before he has even encountered the characters. If this is the case, the explosion will come from outside the ship, near the rear, with the same result: no sublight engines.

I Get a Kick Out of You

When the characters come out of hyperspace, they are greeted with an explosion and a set of unresponsive sublight engines.

Read aloud or paraphrase:

The color-shift and familiar lurch of a ship returning to realspace accompanied by the whine of the hyperdrive engines as they shut down, is accompanied this time by a low, loud rumbling from the aft of the ship. In a moment, you realize that something has exploded, though you are not sure whether or not the source of the explosion was within the ship or not.

Minutes later, as you try to accelerate away from any potential enemies, you realize that your sublight engines are not responding. A quick check on the computer confirms your suspicions — whatever exploded, it disabled the sublight engines.

A quick inspection of the engineering area, or even any diagnostic program run on one of the computers, will locate the site of the explosion. Any character successfully making a Difficult space transports repair roll may guess that foul play may be involved.

Playing his part, Wertram will rush to the bridge, if he is not already there. He will question what is going on and ask if there is anything he can do.

After a few moments of trying to figure out what might have happened, and before any real efforts to fix the problem can be gotten underway, read the following:

A blip appears on the sensor screen coming directly from the aft of the ship. A moment later, the computer tells you that the ship type does not match any of the starship parameters in its logs. Sensor data indicates that the ship is a sphere about 75 meters in diameter.

Anyone looking at the oncoming ship through a viewport will be treated to a gruesome sight. The ship looks like some giant moss-covered stone; spherical, yet covered with so many irregularities on its surface that it hardly looks round. From the rear of the ship juts a plane which houses the engines and which seems to be held in place by large supports. These come off the surface of the sphere and are secured on the top and bottom surfaces of the plane.

Intermittently, chunks of machinery and equipment spring from the ship's surface at random intervals as though they might simply have been dropped there and were never swept away.

Once the characters get over the wonder of a new ship, they notice a hailing light flashing on the communications panel. If it is responded to, the following orders will be broadcast:

Unidentified ship. Stand-down immediately. Do not attempt any form at all of resistance, or you will pay for your disobedience with pain. We are Iskalloni. Your ship is now our personal property. Repeat. Stand down immediately, make no attempt to resist, and we will not have to atomize your starship.

The Stelaciter

Craft: Iskallon Light Frigate
Type: Light frigate
Length: 83 meters
Scale: Starfighter
Crew: 39
Passengers: 15
Cargo Capacity: 400 metric tons
Consumables: 4 months
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x2
Hyperdrive Backup: No
Nav Computer: Yes
Maneuverability: 1D
Hull: 4D
Shields: 3D
Weapons: 2 double laser cannons (fire separately); 1 heavy laser cannon
Double Laser Cannons Fire Arc: Front
Double Laser Cannons Fire Control: 2D
Double Laser Cannons Range: 1-2/10/30
Double Laser Cannons Damage: 4D
Heavy Laser Cannon Fire Arc: Front
Heavy Laser Cannon Fire Control: 2D+1
Heavy Laser Cannon Range: 1-5/15/45
Heavy Laser Cannon Damage: 5D

If the characters for any reason decide to resist the Iskalloni without sublight drives to maneuver their vessel, they will find in the second round that their shields have dropped as a result of a power surge.

Eventually, the characters will have to admit defeat and be taken aboard the Iskallons' ship. Undoubtedly, they will attempt to hide weapons and so forth on themselves, and may even try to attack as they are being boarded. If this happens, use as many Iskallons as is necessary, more continually boarding the ship, until the characters are subdued.

Also, feel free to let anyone keep anything hidden on them which survives a Difficult hide skill check by the characters.

Episode Three: This is the Beginning of the End

The fate of the characters is revealed in this episode, as well as the means by which Farege managed to cut out the engines. But Farege's gloating quickly turns sour, as he finds out that he is to be included in the deal as a slave.

It is up to the characters at this point, with Farege now an ally, to orchestrate an escape.

Read aloud or paraphrase:

After several minutes, the alien ship has maneuvered into position. It now hovers in front of and below the bottom of your ship.

Slowly, a cable breaks from the surface of the alien vessel and begins moving toward your ship. You get the impression that the cable is actually growing toward the ship. As it moves, it slowly flexes and moves, as if alive. As it gets close, you can see that it is about two meters wide.

The characters' starship is rocked slightly as the tendril reaches the hull and attaches itself to the airlock hatch with a wet squelch. A few moments later, the characters and Wertram can clearly hear movement along the top of the ship, then a loud metallic, knocking sound on the opposite side of the hatch.

Anyone taking time to check will get a green light for cycling the airlock. There is definitely breathable atmosphere on the opposite side of the door.

If the characters refuse to open their ship to the aliens, the Iskalloni will continue to knock for a few moments more, and will then proceed to burn the hatch off with a plasma cutter.

The Iskalloni

The Iskalloni are a species of voluntary cyborgs. Their physiology is such that they recover from physical injury extremely rapidly, and their body adjusts to foreign matter in their systems rather than combatting it. They also have a special relationship with living organisms, in that they can create "creatures" which perform functions similar to those for which Humans use machines. Navigation computers, sublight engines, power reactors, communications equipment, even starship hulls are "bred" from great vats of organic ooze which the Iskalloni brew on their home world. And each of these organisms has the unique ability, as do the Iskalloni, to incorporate any foreign object into their personal physiology.

The combination of these characteristics has allowed the Iskalloni to experiment with all manner of cybernetic implants. Unfortunately, the Iskalloni have been unable to make many advances in the past few centuries.

Stealing has been the mainstay of Iskalloni expansion and technological knowledge. They do not understand the general reluctance of other species to be linked with machines, and often made use of their implanting techniques on other aliens despite vehement protests. More often than not, such encounters ended in combat.

Iskalloni

Physical Description: The Iskalloni are pale, hairless, blue-skinned creatures. They generally wear tight-fitting, leather-like clothing in colors which are generally unflattering to their appearance. A bright burgundy color seems to be their favorite. The clothing generally has large, rough rips in it where the Iskalloni have cut through to insert some odd piece of machinery or other. Usually within the area of a tear, a puffy pink scar can be seen where the implant was made.

The creatures have deeply recessed eyes with black irises. Facially, their lack of eyebrows, the protruding forehead, their high, pronounced cheekbones, and their perfect white teeth (which are all nearly perfect triangles and extremely sharp), all combine to produce the appearance of a creature who is always brooding, always on the edge of a violent outburst.

The average Iskalloni will have a number of cybernetic enhancements. Many of these are mundane and only serve the purpose of helping the Iskalloni react quickly, or think well mathematically. The Iskalloni usually submerge their implants beneath their skin to help protect the items. Now that the Iskalloni intend to increase their dealings with Humans, they are increasing the amount of equipment which they allow to jut past the surface in hopes of gaining a psychological edge by virtue of their appearance. Some of the aliens have even had limbs removed and replaced with cybernetic arms or Droid equipment.

Roleplaying Hints: Iskalloni appear calm, as though their thoughts are somewhere else — they always seem to be emotionally detached from whatever they are doing.

The Iskalloni are bent on enslaving Humankind, not out of any particular hatred, but simply because they feel the Humans and the species which associate with them are all weak and worthless. Additionally, the bio-technology currently used by the Iskalloni produces toxic wastes which the Iskalloni must process by hand. No Iskalloni can last more than a few months of constant exposure to these toxins, so the species has decided that it would be most prudent to place a less important species in jeopardy.

The Iskalloni are quiet and calculating. They do not speak much, but when they do, they appear as if they are being distracted by something going on inside their bodies — as if they are listening for an odd noise to repeat itself. The truth is that the Iskalloni are distracted nearly all the time because they are continually forcing their bodies to adapt to new physical conditions.

Height: 1.3-1.5 meters
DEXTERITY 3D+1
Climbing/jumping, melee combat, running, stealth
KNOWLEDGE 3D+1
Alien species, bureaucracy, culture (Iskalloni), streetwise
MECHANICAL 2D+2
Repair/modify Droids, sensors, vehicles
PERCEPTION 3D
Search, willpower
STRENGTH 3D+2
Brawling parry, lifting
TECHNICAL 2D
Computer programming/repair, security systems
Special Abilities: Damage done to Iskalloni by energy weapons is reduced by one level of effect (as if the weapon were set on stun). Additionally, each Iskalloni will have at least one implant which can be used as a weapon. Blaster-type modifications can be placed virtually anywhere on the body and will generally be 3D to 5D. Any melee weapons (or equipment effectively amounting to melee weapons) will be on the order of STR+1 damage up to STR+2D.

You Do Something To Me

Read aloud or paraphrase:

Six of the alien Iskallons have boarded the ship. They are humanoid with pale blue skin and their uniforms are made of leather-like materials. Each of the uniforms is randomly marked with holes which look like intentional tears. Within each of the holes can be seen large, puffy blue-pink scars. In several instances, a piece of electronics can be seen sticking out of the scars, as if the items were placed there at the time of the injury. Or, as seems more likely, the parts are what the scars were created by.

"Your ship has wandered into Iskallon space and is not welcome here," one says in a hollow voice. "Your ship will be impounded and you will be immediately placed in our custody."

At this point, the characters may try to engage in combat. But the Iskallons will do whatever is needed to take the characters prisoner. If there is a need, continue to send aliens across the tendril until the heroes are subdued. If need be, hit the characters with a soporific gas. Ask for Moderate stamina rolls until everyone fails and passes out.

If the characters need to be knocked out, they will come to in the cell in Episode Four and they will notice that Wertram is not with them. He will not have the opportunity to gloat at them over his trap — this will probably work in his favor, as they will not see him until after the Iskallons have operated on him.

If the characters are peaceably escorted to the ship, read the following:

You are led through the airlock by four of the Iskallons. Two of the aliens, both equipped with Droid grasping equipment (one in place of where his arms should be, the other, with the Droid arms protruding from the sides of the body just above the hips), begin a search of the ship.

On the other side of the airlock is the large tendril which extended from the ship. It is brown and uneven, like a living passage. There is a warm, sickly pink glow emanating from the far end of the tube. There are two Iskallons in front of your group and two behind. Between ships, you are in freefall and moving becomes more difficult.

Before the Iskallons escort their prisoners back to their ship, they will conduct a search of the characters for weapons. Allow the Iskallon who searches them one search roll per character, and have the character make a single hide roll for everything on her.

For every two points by which the Iskallon beats a character, he will find an item hidden on the character's person, if the character decided to hide more than one weapon on her body. Naturally, any obvious weapons will be removed without a search.

Reaching the other ship, the characters will notice that it is several degrees warmer here and much more humid than they'd like. The walls, floor and ceiling seem to be made of the same material as the umbilical through which they entered the ship.

Lighting in the ship is the same nauseating pink and it glows in patches from within the walls and floor. In this light, the aliens look even less appealing than before. Their skin looks mottled and their scars have a slight iridescence in this light. The characters are escorted a short distance and up a level, where they are placed inside a chamber. Once they are inside, the round orifice begins to contract. When this begins happening, they notice that Wertram was not pushed into the chamber as they were.

When the doorway is a little larger than half a meter, Wertram sticks his head in and says:

"Thanks for the ship, guys. The Iskallons are going to fix the engines and we'll probably make a good credit or two on the open market."

Episode Four: I've Got You Under My Skin

In this episode, the characters learn the truth about the Iskallons, and are joined by Wertram who is to share their fate, and is the first to begin transformation. Once the characters decide how to deal with Wertram, they can make their way back to the ship and try to escape.

Just before the characters are about to attempt any plan to get away, the aperture opens in the doorway and Wertram is flung into the cell. The aperture quickly winks shut as soon as Wertram is through the door. He looks bad, bruised up a bit, and there is a long, bleeding scar on the underside of his right forearm. When asked what happened to him, Wertram explains (use a cinematic flashback instead of a cutaway):

Flashback

Wertram is lying on what resembles an operating table, except that this table looks as if it has grown out of the floor. Wertram is held down by restraints which are made of the same material as the walls of the room, and the table; these too seem to have grown right out of the surface of the table. Wertram is straining against his bonds, and thrashing his head from side to side. Two of the aliens are standing at the side of the table.

"What are you doing to me?" Wertram asks, sweat beginning to form on his forehead.

"Converting you," explains one of the Iskallon as he readies a strange piece of equipment. "We need slaves more than we need starships," the surgeon begins. "Our starships are partly organic and they produce toxic waste materials in the course of their operation. We need slaves to tend to these waste products. They are deadly to us."

"Won't they be deadly to me, too?" Wertram asks, just beginning to understand.

"Definitely," the other Iskallon answers in a flat, emotionless tone. "But by the time you start to malfunction, we'll have more to replace you."

The first Iskallon reaches out and tears away the sleeve on Wertram's arm. In the alien's other hand is an object that looks like a large, pink plant. The other alien moves forward with a sharp probe and makes a rough incision in Wertram's arm. Wertram screams at the pain.

"What's that?" Wertram asks, the strain of the situation showing clearly on his features.

"Mutagen," replies the first Iskallon, squeezing the plant until it breaks open and a clear pink ooze begins to flow from it. "It will adapt your body to be able to handle electronic implanting. Don't worry, it won't be long now. Sixteen of your hours and you will be ready."

Focusing his attention on Wertram's arm, the first Iskallon forces the entire plant and its fluid into the fresh wound in the restrained man's arm. Wertram's scream echoes throughout the room as the first Iskallon instructs the other to escort him back while he prepares more mutagen for the rest of the prisoners ...

Fade to the present and the cell, with the characters looking at Wertram's arm.

The Iskallon Regret

At this point, Wertram will explain to the rest of the characters that the aliens intend to enslave the entire group and dismantle the ship for parts to implant into themselves and the group. He will explain to them also that he needs to get serious medical attention quickly. Wertram claims to already be able to feel the mutagen working on his body.

If the group is totally stuck for an escape plan, Wertram will produce a hold-out blaster (3D+2 damage), which the characters can use to blast a hole in the cell. The wall is Strength 4D for damage purposes and will open when it receives a wound or three stuns. For the purposes of characters trying to physically pry the opening apart with their hands, only two characters can get a hold at a time to combine on the effort.

If the characters try to escape quietly, call for Moderate sneak rolls. Rolls are only required at intersections. The characters will pass an intersection every other round. If they blasted their way out of the cell, or if any fighting breaks out with the Iskallons, security will be increased and the Iskallons will be encountered in groups of three at a time.

If security has been increased, the characters will need to generate a Moderate sneak roll every round.

All or Nothing At All

There are two guards at the living tunnel leading back to the ship. They will have to be either distracted or dispatched somehow.

The tube connecting the two ships has breathable atmosphere and is about two meters wide. There is room enough to go one at a time, but if someone has become injured, they could help the other person by moving at half speed. The tube has no gravity once it is outside the ship, so all Dexterity-based skills will have their difficulty increased one level.

If the characters have attracted any attention to themselves, they will be chased by at least two aliens.

Episode Five: Let's Get Away From It All

The characters have made their way back to their starship and must make good their escape. But first there are Iskallons on the ship, working on taking things apart. They will have to be dispatched. Also, there may be Iskallons pursuing the characters through the tunnel.

Once all of the alien creatures have been dispatched, the characters must quickly jury-rig a power stabilizer (the part which was blown out) on the sublight engines, power-up the ship, and escape.

The Power Stabilizer

The sublight engines failed upon reentry to realspace in Episode Two because Wertram had sabotaged one of the power stabilizers. If Wertram is with the party, he will tell them what needs to be replaced. If he is not with the group, or is unconscious, a Moderate space transports repair roll will need to be made to figure out what is wrong. To get the engines to work again, a new power stabilizer will have to be jury-rigged from parts on the ship. The difficulty for this is a Moderate space transports repair roll.

If it is successful, the part can be modified in one minute, but for the purposes of this adventure there is no chance of it burning out until after the characters have escaped through hyperspace.

The Best Is Yet To Come

Once the sublight engines are working again, the characters can make good their escape. It normally takes 10 rounds to power-up the ship. It can be done in one round with a Difficult space transports roll, or in three rounds with two Moderate space transports rolls.

If more than one round is taken, the Iskallons will detect the change in power levels and begin to react. If the tunnel is still connected, they will begin sending their people through. If not, they will begin to charge their guns for a fight and they will open a communications channel to hail the ship.

The Iskallons will not fire unless the tunnel is disconnected, which it will be as soon as the characters' ship starts to move on its own. (Make note of whether or not anyone has closed the airlock prior to this — if not, it could be dangerous.)

During the characters' escape, they will have to perform the following actions in starship combat:

1. Easy space transports repair roll to get navcomputer on-line (the Iskallons were taking it apart);
2. Moderate computer programming roll to find the nearest civilized starport (or Moderate astrogation roll);
3. Moderate astrogation roll to program coordinates for the hyperspace jump;
4. Moderate space transports roll to maneuver ship into correct vector and engage hyperdrive. The Iskallon ship is slow and bulky and has a tough time keeping track with the faster and more agile freighter.

Once the four steps above are completed, the characters can escape. If they encounter a mishap (through failing an astrogation roll), it could lead to another adventure. Also, Wertram will still need medical attention. Getting the funds for this, and getting him to a place where he can get the treatment he needs could also lead to another adventure.

If Wertram is not cured within 16 hours, he will turn into an Iskallon. This too could lead into another adventure, and of course, there is the shipment of Droid parts and electronics in the hold.

When the characters have made their escape, read the following:

The stars warp in the familiar distortion as you engage the hyperdrive. You can breathe a sigh of relief as the ship speeds away from the horrible creatures and back toward civilization.

Awards

The characters should receive five to seven Character Points for completing this adventure.