Star Wars RPG: Chapter 2

Starting Conditions

Part 1

Tavasi and Malor scrambled into the cockpit of the Nightingale. They were both breathing heavily after their battle with the security team. Malor had a jagged burn across his right bicep, where a blaster bolt had singed him. Tavasi was clutching her side, where she had taken a shot in the ribs.

She slid in to the pilot’s seat and got on the ship’s speaker, “You better be strapped in, down there. We’re getting out of here.” She immediately engaged the repulsorlifts and the ship eased off its landing struts and into a hover. Malor sat down at the auxiliary station, behind the pilot and copilot, and buckled in.

Tavasi spun the Nightingale around, towards the landing bay approach tunnel. After turning in, she engaged the main engines and accelerated down the tunnel and through the magnetic shield protecting the station’s atmosphere. They were in open space.

Haasef activated the sensors and reported to Tavasi, “Three freighters inbound to the station. None on our vector. The Imperial cruiser Valorum is at the far side of the station.”

Tavasi pushed the throttles forward to full power and turned the ship so the station was between the Nightingale and the Valorum. “How long until we can jump?”

As she asked the question, she heard her datapad chime from her pocket.

Haasef’s fingers danced across his controls. “Four minutes, Mistress Tavasi.”

There was silence in the cockpit for a few seconds, then a red light began to flash on the main console and a quiet alarm began to sound. Hassef flipped a switch to kill the alarm, and quietly announced, “The Valorum has accelerated and is on an intercept course. Two TIE fighters are inbound.”

Haasef checked the scope and said “The TIEs will be in weapons range in two minutes.”

From his seat behind them, Malor asked, “Does this crate have any weapons?”

Tavasi and Haasef shared a look. “We have a ventral laser turret, but its offline,” Tavasi explained. “We used the power to accelerate the hyperdrive restart.”

Checking the instruments, Haasef added, “Weapons will be online in about five minutes.”

It was quiet for a moment, then Malor unbuckled his harness and stood up. “I’m going to check out that turret. Once the power is back up, I’ll be ready.”

He exited the cockpit and opened the access hatch in the floor behind the cockpit. A short ladder led down to the ventral turret with its dual laser cannons. Malor climbed into the turret, strapped on the harness, and then slipped on a headset. “I don’t suppose those TIEs turned around, did they?”

Haasef’s dry voice came through his headset. “TIEs will be in range in thirty seconds. The Valorum will not be in range for six minutes.”

In the cockpit, Tavasi clenched and unclenched her hand, making tiny adjustments to the control yoke. “Deflectors at maximum, double aft,” she stated to no one in particular, as she adjusted the shield controls.

Hassef added, “Three minutes, forty-five seconds to jump.”

Part 2

Half a minute later, two TIE/ln starfighters screamed into position behind the Nightingale and let loose a volley of green fire.

Tavasi rolled the ship counterclockwise and then jinked hard to starboard. The maneuver moved the ship out of the way of the first TIE’s shots and they went wide into empty space. The Nightingale’s abrupt turn forced the TIE pilot to reduce speed and maneuver to port to avoid a collision. It fell behind the freighter and other fighter, and would take a moment to catch up.

The second TIE lined up to fire just as Tavasi made the hard evasion to starboard. Its shots also went into empty space, but it stayed with the Nightingale.

Tavasi’s hands were manipulating control yoke and throttle, while her feet danced across the ship’s etheric rudder. So far, they had avoided any hits. “Time to jump,” she demanded to know.

Haasef responded instantly. “Two minutes.”

“Anything you can do to give me guns,” Malor asked.

Haasef worked at his controls for a few seconds, before shaking his head and replying. “Negative. About three point five minutes before power is restored.”

Malor sighed in reply. On her scope, Tavasi watched the more distant TIE accelerating to rejoin the fight. The nearer TIE was rolling in for an attack.

Acting on instinct, Tavasi pulled hard to starboard again, just as the TIE unleashed a volley of blaster bolts. The Nightingale slipped out of the line of fire and evaded the attack. Tavasi turned the ship back to a vector away from the station, towards their calculated jump route.

“One minute!” Haasef called out, excitedly.

The trailing TIE rejoined its wingman. The two ships spread out, behind and above the Nightingale, and dove in for another attack.

Tavasi pitched the Nightingale’s nose up as the two fighters began their attack, spitting angry green blaster bolts at them. Her maneuver forced the first TIE to dive away at high speed to avoid a collision with the Nightingale. Its pilot was disoriented and lost control for a moment, giving Tavasi the time she needed to barrel roll away from the second TIE fighter’s attack.

Tavasi was maneuvering wildly when she saw the timer count down to zero. “Haasef, make the jump –” before she could finish, he had slid the hyperdrive lever forward “– to lightspeed!”

The Nightingale accelerated impossibly fast for a moment, and then was gone. The TIE fighter that had been closest captured its vector and communicated it to the Valorum, before making a sweeping curve to return to the ship.