Star Wars RPG: Chapter 3

Starting Conditions

Experience Points

Tavasi XP

Purchase	Cost
Upgrade Skill: Ranged (Light) (Rank 0 to 1)	5xp for Rank 5xp for non-career Skill
Talent: Full Throttle (Smuggler, Pilot specialization)	5xp
Talent: Skilled Jockey (Smuggler, Pilot specialization)	5xp

Tavasi will hold onto the unspent 10xp.

Haasef XP

Purchase	Cost
Upgrade Skill: Computers (Rank 1 to 2)	10xp for Rank
Upgrade Skill: Brawl (Rank 0 to 1)	5xp
Upgrade Skill: Piloting (Planetary) (Rank 0 to 1)	5xp
Talent: Solid Repairs (Technician, Mechanic specialization)	5xp

Haasef will hold onto the unspent 5xp.

Malor XP

Purchase	Cost
Upgrade Skill: Vigilance (Rank 0 to 1)	5xp for Rank 5xp for non-career Skill
Upgrade Skill: Medicine (Rank 0 to 1)	5xp
Upgrade Skill: Melee (Rank 0 to 1)	5xp
Talent: Physical Training	5xp (Rank 1)
Talent: Point Blank	5xp (Rank 1)

Part 1

No one spoke for a minute, each alone with their thoughts. Tavasi started to shake as the adrenaline wore off. Haasef stared straight ahead, shocked at where the day had taken him. Malor sat mesmerized by the twisting lines of hyperspace that seemed to be all around him outside the turret’s bubble canopy.

Malor was the first to move. The turret suddenly came to life, as power was restored. The targeting system and charging indicator distracted him from the view outside the canopy. He shut down the turret, placed the headset back in its holder, and climbed out of the harness.

When he got to the top of the ladder, Josette had just entered the chamber behind the cockpit. She looked at him hesitantly. “I felt the ship jump to hyperspace. Are we…” she trailed off for a moment. “Are we safe?”

Malor nodded, tiredly. “For now, anyway.”

Josette started to tear up again, then saw the wound on his arm. “You’re hurt!”

Malor looked at the wound, as if noticing it for the first time. “So’s the pilot. Let’s go check on her.”

Together, they entered the cockpit. Haasef continued to stare straight ahead and did not register their presence. Tavasi jumped when the cockpit door opened, surprised by the noise. Looking over her shoulder at her two passengers, she straightened up.

Malor looked at her and smiled. “That was some great flying, Captain!”

Tavasi nodded. “Thanks.” Shaking her head, she whispered, “Not even a scratch.” She patted the Nightingale’s console.

As the adrenaline wore off, her side started to burn, and she grasped it involuntarily. Her hand came away bloody.

Seeing this, Malor dropped to a knee. His hand went into his daypack and he produced a stimpack. He gestured towards her. “May I?”

She nodded and closed her eyes as Malor injected the stimpack. After a few seconds, the combination of medicine, chemicals, and a small amount of bacta began to take effect. Her pain subsided to a dull ache.

“Thanks,” Tavasi said to Malor, genuinely appreciative. He nodded and dropped the empty injector back in his day pack.

Tavasi pointed at his arm. “How about you? There’s a medpac and a couple of stims down in the galley.”

Looking at his wound, Malor shrugged. “Just a graze. I’ll slap a bandage on it later.” He looked at Haasef, who was still starting blankly ahead, then back at Tavasi. “How long to Toprawa?”

Tavasi called Haasef’s name twice, then gently touched his arm. He jerked away, then seemed to realize where he was. “My pardon, Mistress Tavasi. I was… lost in thought.”

“Welcome back,” she said dryly. Jerking her thumb at Malor and Josette, she said, “Our guests would like to know how long the trip to Toprawa will be.”

Haasef turned and noticed them for the first time. Josette gave him a small smile and he nodded at her. Turning back to his console, he checked the navicomputer. “We will arrive in about sixteen hours.”

Josette closed her eyes and mumbled, “Thank the maker.”

Tavasi stepped out of the pilots seat, being careful to protect her wounded side. Despite the stimpack, it was still tender and would likely be that way for another day or so. Standing, she turned to face Josette. “You said you had family on Toprawa. Is this known to the Empire? Could they be waiting for us when we drop out of hyperspace?”

Malor tilted his head and looked at Josette. He had not considered this, in their rush to get off the station.

Josette swallowed. “I don’t think so. I have an Aunt — great Aunt — there. We comm each other and send messages, periodically.” Josette shook her head, more certain now. “I never mentioned her officially, so she shouldn’t be listed in my personnel file. I don’t talk about her, so she isn’t someone my colleagues on the station will be aware of…”

Malor looked at Tavasi. “ISB will look through her comm traffic eventually. But it will take them some time.” Tavasi grunted in reply.

Josette continued, “Aunt Annakath… she works with clones. Deserters, from the war, who could not — or would not — fight.”

Malor’s face turned ugly. “Deserters? You mean cowards?”

Josette shrugged. “Some, maybe.” She pointed at his legs, “Others lost limbs or had other wounds and couldn’t continue the fight.” She shrugged again. “The Republic — or Empire, if you prefer — abandoned them after the war. Annakath is a kind of teacher and counselor to a colony of them on Toprawa.”

Malor considered this and seemed to calm down a little. He leaned against a bulkhead, lost in thought.

Haasef got up from his seat as Josette was talking. He asked, quietly but intently, “Dr. Agnel, why is the Empire looking for you? Why did you have to leave the station?”

Josette looked at Malor, who shook his head. She swallowed and turned back to Haasef. “It’s best if I don’t tell you everything, Haasef. Just know that I had a good reason. The details will only cause you more trouble.”

Haasef made a noise, dissatisfied with the explanation. “I am an Imperial convict who just broke his parole and tore out of a station occupied by the Empire. Along the way, we killed a squad of troopers and avoided a pair of TIE fighters intent on destroying this ship.” He looked from Josette to Malor. “I fail to see how I could get in too much more trouble,” he exclaimed.

Josette looked at him helplessly. Then, Tavasi giggled, breaking the tension. The other three looked at the Zabraki, who was reading her datapad. She looked up and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry.” She turned to Haasef and showed him the message.

Haasef shook his head, but a small smile crept across his face. He could not help but see humor in the absurdity of the situation.

Tavasi gently punched him in the shoulder. “We’re going to do great!” She waved her datapad at him. “Send me your account number so I can set up transfers. Sixty-forty after expenses, remember?”

Haasef shook his head. “I do not have a personal datapad, Mistress Tavasi. Only the company device.” He pulled out the Grey Technologies datapad and made sure it was switched off. “Perhaps I can refurbish this, later. I do have my account number memorized.”

Tavasi tapped a couple of keys and then handed Haasef her datapad, so he could enter his information. She stepped forward and gently pushed Malor and Josette out of the cockpit. “Let’s get you two over to the galley for a quick meal, then I’ll show you the bunks and the ‘fresher. This isn’t a passenger liner, but we should all try to grab a snack and some rest before we arrive.”

Finished entering his account number, Haasef returned her datapad and followed them to the galley.

Part 2

Tavasi had pulled several food packs out of the galley and arrayed them on the table. Two packets each of ration bars, sweet protein cubes, and spicy nuna jerky lay on a tray, along with a pitcher of water. Tavasi had decided against brewing caf, hoping to get some sleep before arriving at Toprawa.

Malor immediately grabbed a ration bar and started chewing. Soldiers rarely turn down a meal. As he ate, he began to field strip and clean his E5 carbine.

Haasef looked uncertain, then selected a piece of nuna jerkey and began to chew. The spices caused his eyes to widen and made him sniffle a bit, but he enjoyed the taste. Nutrient paste was his most common meal in prison and on the station — the new flavor was welcome.

Josette sat back, sipping some water, lost in thought. Tavasi watched her for a moment, then popped a protein cube into her mouth and asked, “How do you plan to meet up with your aunt? It would be best to avoid bringing the Empire down on her and her clone friends?”

Josette sipped a little more water and then replied, “Their settlement is in the forested hills of Toprajj, in the north. It’s very secluded. The settlement of Sotuna is closest, a few hundred kilometers to the west. Do you think we could put down outside of Sotunu and I can contact Annakath from there?”

Seeing Tavasi and Malor nodding, Josette went on. “Once we make contact, I will get you the rest of your credits and find transport to meet up with her.” She looked at Malor. “I hadn’t thought past that part.”

Malor nodded at her. “Decent plan. We’ll make it work.”

Josette locked eyes with him. “I’ll get you several thousand credits, as well. You’ve done so much for me…”

Malor patted her arm. “You know me. I can’t leave a friend in need.” He shifted position awkwardly and went back to cleaning his carbine.

Tavasi watched the two of them for a moment, then cleared her throat. “Malor, you can bunk here. I’ve got two cabins on the port side. Haasef, one of those is yours, now. Josette can use the other.” She checked her datapad. “We’ve got about 15 hours before we arrive at Toprawa. We should all try to get a little sleep. Let’s meet here in 12 hours. We’ll have a real meal, review a map of the planet, and get organized before we make orbit.”

Haasef pulled out his company datapad and asked, “Do you mind if I spend some time with the computer to reprogram this datapad? It would be useful to have one.”

Nodding, Tavasi said, “Of course. There’s a tech station and workbench outside the cockpit. Some tools in the storage cabinet there and also in the engineering compartment.” Haasef smiled and bowed his head in thanks.

“C’mon Josette — I’ll show you to your cabin.”

Part 3

Haasef spent a couple of hours trying to sleep, but was never able to do more than doze off. He was a jumble of emotions. Fear, and a little exhilaration, from being on the run from the Empire. Excitement and apprehension from having joined up with Tavasi and taking on this job. The events of the last few hours were completely disorienting.

He gave up trying to sleep and decided to work on the datapad. He quietly walked over to the tech station that Tavasi had mentioned. It was behind the cockpit, against a wall, near the hatch Malor had used to access the turret. Except for the deep hum of the hyperdrive engines, the ship was silent. Haaset familiarized himself with the console and then plugged a couple of wires into ports on the datapad.

Haasef sat down at the console and typed in a few commands. He was able to quickly slice into the datapad and access it via the command line. He entered the commands to wipe the datapad’s memory and then its operating system. He also did a low level format of its memory. Once those processes were complete, he started a fresh installation of the datapad operating system.

A few minutes later, the datapad chimed. It asked him to enter his name and a set up an access code. Haasef started to do that, and then froze. His name. The Empire would be looking for him. He shut the datapad down and slipped it into a pocket. He wanted to talk to Tavasi, first.

Feeling a little more settled, he went into the cockpit and sat in the copilot’s seat. He called up the ship’s manuals, and started to read. He was determined to better understand the Nightingale and wanted to be prepared to take the controls and pilot the ship. He read for more than an hour, head bobbing several times, until he fell asleep.

Part 4

A few hours later, the alarm Tavasi had set in her quarters chimed. She sat up, looking at the repeater displays for key ship systems. Everything was quiet. They had about three hours before they arrived at Toprawa. After a quick shower in the refresher, she slipped on a dark tan jumpsuit and yawned.

Walking through the ship to the galley, she could smell the caf. Stepping into the galley, she saw Malor using the entertainment console to review maps of the Toprajj region of northern Toprawa and the settlement called Sotuna. She noticed that he had put a simple bandage over the blaster burn on his right arm. He looked up as she walked into the room and nodded to her, “Captain.”

She gave him a mock salute and poured herself a cup of caf. It was good and she told him so. Malor smiled. “Glad you like it. How’s your side?”

Involuntarily, Tavasi ran her hand over the wound in her side. She had not even thought about it since waking. It was a little sore to the touch — bruised, really — but that was all.

“Much better, thanks.” She looked at him for a moment. “What’s your story, Malor? How did you get tied up in all of this,” she asked, gesturing broadly.

He frowned, and then shrugged. “Not much to tell. I mustered out of the army a few months ago. Started working security on the station to make ends meet. Josette and I became friends. She told me about her problem… and here I am.”

“Imperial Army,” Tavasi asked a little nervously.

Malor raised his hands in mock surrender. “Yes, but I got screwed and so did my team. I’m no fan of the Empire.” He started to say more, and then stopped. Instead, he quietly added, “At least, not now.”

Tavasi decided to change the subject — clearly this was a touchy point for him. She pointed to the maps he had open on the console. “Come up with a plan?”

He nodded slightly and waved her over. “I’ve been looking at the settlement that Josette mentioned, Sotuna. I figure we want to land outside of town, hopefully avoid having the ship and ourselves seen as we slip in. We also need to find a comm station so she can reach her Aunt. Something public.”

Tavasi nodded thoughtfully. “This town is kind of small. I was hoping to find some new credentials for this ship and my copilot, while we’re here”

Malor zoomed the map out and scrolled to the southwest. He clicked in on a larger city just north of the planet’s equator. “Old Toprawa, the capital city. It’s got a stellar-class starport and about three million inhabitants. Probably just seedy enough to have what you need, if you can get in and out without being seen.”

Tilting her head, Tavasi asked, “What’s the Imperial presence like here?”

Pointing at Old Toprawa, Malor replied, “There is an Army regiment garrisoned in Old Toprawa, along with a Customs office and Navy presence. Couple battalions of Stormtroopers stage out of a small based west of the city.”

Zooming the map out, he continued, “It looks like the Navy runs flight control at the starport and has has a headquarters element in the city, as well. From there, they handle a group of customs corvettes and three TIE squadrons that the Empire keeps in system.”

Malor looked at her. “Once we drop out of hyperspace, we’ll have to see if any elements of the Kalamith sector fleet are in-system.” Waving his datapad, he added “NewsNet and Imperial Holovision aren’t reporting any major news or activity in the system.”

Tavasi nodded — she was impressed with the level of research.

Zooming back into Sotuna on the map, Malor said, “Unfortunately, there’s hardly any information available about this settlement or region. I can’t tell if there is any kind of garrison or Imperial presence. We’ll have to be careful once we get on the ground.”

After Malor finished, Tavasi sipped her caf and zoomed in and out of areas around Sotuna. She switched the display from imagery to topography and then back again, a few times. She made note of several possible landing spots and marked them on the map. None were closer than two kilometers from the town. Tavasi saved the locations and synced them to her datapad.

Looking at Malor, she said, “You’re good at this, Malor! We have a plan. Let’s wake the others.”