The Abduction of Crying Dawn Singer

An Adventure for use with Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game

A Shashay Space Singer has been kidnapped. Can the Rebels rescue him and preserve the fragile alliance between the Rebellion and the Shashay people?

Design: Chuck Truett • Development and Editing: Bill Smith • Graphics: John Paul Lona • Cover Art: Lucasfilm, Ltd. • Interior Art: Allen Nunis

Publisher: Daniel Scott Palter • Associate Publisher: Richard Hawran • Editors: Greg Farshtey, Bill Smith, Ed Stark • Art Director: Stephen Crane • Graphic Artists: Cathleen Hunter, John Paul Lona • Production Manager: Steve Porpora • Sales Manager: Fitzroy Bonterre • Sales Assistant: Maria Kammeier-Kean • Administrative Assistant: Jeff Dennis • Special Projects Manager: Ron Seiden • Warehouse Manager: Ed Hill • Treasurer: Janet Riccio

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

40053

Introduction

The Old Republic is gone. The times of peace, when all the beings of the galaxy worked together, have faded into the distant past. Now, there is the Empire, and at its head, the Emperor Palpatine.

The Emperor and his supporters strive continuously to increase their power. Those who do not matter — the weak, the good, and the alien — are destroyed, as their destruction gives strength to the Empire.

But the spirit of the Old Republic was not entirely extinguished and is now growing. The weak, the good, and the alien have banded together, forming an alliance that hopes to use their combined strengths to overcome the might of the Empire.

This is the world of Star Wars, an epic tale of heroes who triumph despite the mighty forces of evil arrayed against them.

The Abduction of Crying Dawn Singer is a Star Wars adventure designed for four to six players and a gamemaster. If you are hoping to participate in this thrilling adventure as a player, stop reading now. If you have chosen the task of gamemaster, continue reading, for you must study what follows carefully.

In This Adventure ...

... the Rebel Alliance in Rayter Sector faces a grave challenge to its stability. One of the few strengths the Rebels can claim is the bond of co-operation that their Alliance has formed. Not since the grandest days of the Old Republic have so many different species worked side by side as in this battle against the Empire.

A powerful man has set in motion a plot to destroy this bond and fracture the Alliance forever. The Rebels find themselves fighting to preserve the atmosphere of co-operation that has been the Alliance's greatest success.

The Rebels' adventure begins on the planet Najarka, where they begin piecing together information on the abduction of Crying Dawn Singer.

They then travel to the Laim system, and, finally, the planet Narg, where they must stage a dramatic rescue.

Preparing to Play

Before playing, the gamemaster must carefully read the adventure. The gamemaster must also be familiar with the Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game rulebook and The Star Wars Rules Companion.

The adventure script and data screen readouts within this book should be photocopied for the players' use.

Adventure Materials

To play this adventure, you will need the Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game rulebook, The Star Wars Rules Companion, paper, pencils, and lots of six-sided dice.

The Star Wars Sourcebook, the Imperial Sourcebook, and the Rebel Alliance Sourcebook may also be useful, but are not essential.

Difficulty Numbers and Game Balance

As the gamemaster, it is up to you to make sure that the adventure is challenging, but not impossible. Adjust the difficulty of the characters' tasks according to their experience and status.

Assign difficulty numbers from these ranges according to the abilities and status of the characters. Less experienced characters should be assigned numbers from the lower end of the scale; more experienced characters should be rolling against higher difficulty numbers.

Adventure Background

Braig Farool (Planetary Governor and Chief Administrator of TransGalMeg Industries, Inc., — TGM — on the planet Narg) and his brother, Nak Farool (Special Assistant to Moff Nile Owen, Rayter Sector), have devised a plot to discredit the Rebel Alliance in the eyes of the galactic population. The Farools believe that, as the creators of this clever and economical strategy, they will be rewarded with power and wealth.

The Farools' plot is based on two pieces of information:

• First, the Rebel Alliance and the leaders of the Shashay homeworld have nearly concluded negotiations for a treaty of mutual support. With the treaty assigned, the Rebels will establish a base on the Shashay homeworld, a planet undiscovered by the Imperial Survey Corps.

• Second, the Alliance has placed an agent into the entourage that travels with Crying Dawn Singer, a Shashay performer popular throughout the sector.

Using the prospect of apprehending a Rebel intelligence agent as bait to get Moff Nile Owen's support — and gain access to the technology and personnel of the Empire — the Farools have arranged for the abduction of Crying Dawn Singer. Subspace relay stations throughout the sector stand ready to broadcast specially prepared newscasts which blame the Rebel Alliance for the abduction, as well as the ransom demands of the "Rebel" kidnappers.

However, the Farools have also prepared false transmissions showing Moff Owen's apathy regarding the matter. With Moff Owen discredited, the Farools will "stage" an elaborate rescue of Crying Dawn Singer, gaining the support of the Shashay, and forcing Moff Owen to be removed from office, to be replaced by Braig Farool.

Moff Owen believes that the true goal of the operation is the identification and capture of the Rebel agent. He does not know that the Farools have plans to betray him.

The Rebels must stop the Farools' plan. The Alliance desperately needs the assistance of the Shashay and the secrecy a base in their home system could provide. If the Farools' plan succeeds, the bonds of trust will be shattered.

Adventure Synopsis

Crying Dawn Singer and his entourage are captured by Yearo Seville. After interrogation on Najarka, Seville takes Crying Dawn Singer to the Laim system, where he records false holo-transmissions blaming the abduction on the Rebellion. Seville then takes Crying Dawn Singer to Narg, where he is left in the custody of Braig Farool.

The Rebels travel to Najarka, following their only clue — a homing transponder signal — hoping to rescue Crying Dawn Singer and the Rebel agent. On Najarka, they find the agent, but not Crying Dawn Singer. They also find information that leads them to the Laim system. Before the Rebels leave Najarka, they receive the first of the false transmissions, where Yearo Seville, claiming to be the leader of the Rebellion, makes his ransom demands. The Rebels are also attacked by Imperial stormtroopers who have been sent to retrieve the Rebel agent.

The Rebels then travel to the Laim system, where they receive the second transmission, which officially blames the abduction on the Rebel Alliance. In the Laim system, the Rebels find information that leads them to TransGalMeg Industries, Inc., (TGM) on Narg.

Once the Rebels arrive on Narg, they must find and rescue Crying Dawn Singer. However, Moff Owen learns of the Rebels' plan and sends a battalion of stormtroopers to prevent their escape so that he can claim responsibility for Crying Dawn Singer's rescue. The final climactic battle of the adventure takes place in the skies over the city of Grig, as the Rebels attempt to evade both the corporate soldiers and the forces of the Empire and return Crying Dawn Singer to his homeworld.

Main Gamemaster Characters

There are several gamemaster characters which figure prominently in the course of the adventure.

Maytoc Kollene: Captain of the converted spacetug Worthless Fool. He is an old, one-legged man who apparently "came with the tug" when it was purchased by the Rebellion.

KL-6T-LF7V/T (6T-L): The valet/translator Droid which accompanies Crying Dawn Singer. Sixtee-el is also the Rebel agent which the Rebels are supposed to rescue on Narg. If the Rebels choose to take 6T-L with them, its translation abilities, and its familiarity with Crying Dawn Singer will prove useful. However, the stresses of its undercover assignment has induced an unstable personality. While normally calm and subservient, when under stress 6T-L becomes flamboyantly heroic and will attempt to single-handedly protect the Rebels and Crying Dawn Singer.

Crying Dawn Singer: A popular Shashay performer, Crying Dawn Singer is kidnapped and held for ransom at the beginning of the adventure. His rescue and safety is the Rebels' objective.

Braig Farool: Chief administrator for TGM on Narg, he masterminded this plot to discredit the Alliance. He craves power and glory above all else, but as the plot unravels before his eyes, he steadily slides into insanity and paranoia.

Yearo Seville: An infamous space pirate in Rayter Sector, Seville is hired by the Farools to kidnap Crying Dawn Singer. He poses as the leader of the Rebel Alliance in the sector, making threats on Crying Dawn Singer's life and demanding exorbitant sums of money and equipment in return for the safety of the entertainer.

Nak Farool: Younger brother of Braig Farool, Nak is Special Assistant to Moff Nile Owen, chief Imperial administrator in Rayter Sector. He manipulates Owen into helping with the abduction of Crying Dawn Singer, but plans on betraying his boss in order to allow his brother to assume the post of Moff within the sector.

Moff Nile Owen: A cunning, intelligent and shrewd administrator, Owen is responsible for the stability of Rayter Sector. He hesitantly provided assistance to the Farools, believing that they would capture an important Rebel Alliance agent.

The Adventure Begins

Will the Rebels rescue Crying Dawn Singer and save the good name of the Rebellion in the eyes of the people of Rayter Sector? Will the plans of the Farools be foiled? Find out, as the Rebels take part in The Abduction of Crying Dawn Singer ...

Episode One

Najarka

Summary

After a quick briefing on the events leading up to the capture of Crying Dawn Singer, the Rebels travel to Najarka in attempt to find a Rebel agent. After several incidents with local life forms, the Rebels discover the agent, who explains to the Rebels what has happened to Crying Dawn Singer. The chapter concludes with the Rebels discovering that the forces of the Empire have entered the system.

Start the Adventure

Read "Cut-Away to Capital City, Rayter Sector" and "The Mission" aloud to the players. Then, assign each player a part in the adventure script. The adventure begins when all players are finished reading the adventure script.

The Rebel Heroes

The Rebels have recently been assigned to duty on board the Worthless Fool, a converted spacetug that makes regular supply runs to the Rebel base on Berrol's Donn. As the adventure begins, they have completed a run to that base and are looking forward to a good meal and a soft bed when a young girl delivers a package to the ship. The girl puts the package down on the communications console and says, "You're cleared to take off in ten minutes. Good luck." She turns and leaves.

The package contains a data plaque and a directional transceiver. When the Rebels put the data plaque in the playback unit on the communications console, they are greeted by a hologram of Zeke Rondel, commander of the base.

The Mission

Read aloud:

The face is that of Zeke Rondel, commander of this base. He has thick, curly black hair. The expression on his face in the hologram indicates that he isn't merely wishing you well on your leave. After a few seconds, he begins to speak in deep, measured tones.

"I understand that you were promised some rest and recreation time while you were here on the Donn, but we have just received a top priority assignment for you.

"As you know, we have recently begun employing Shashay Space Singers as astrogators on many of our couriers, reconnaissance craft, and freighters. Their skills have greatly enhanced our efficiency.

"In addition to our use of the Space Singers, we are currently negotiating with the Shashay regarding the establishment of a base on their homeworld. Due to the extreme security measures taken by the Shashay to conceal the coordinates of their world, we believe that this base would be totally secure. It is important that our negotiations are not compromised in any way. We desperately need this base.

"However, an unforeseen difficulty has arisen, and the Nestmothers of the Shashay have asked for our assistance.

"One of their cultural heroes, a performer named Crying Dawn Singer, has been kidnapped. We have been asked to rescue him.

"We have reason to believe that these kidnappers are not simply criminals, but are, in fact, Imperial operatives. Through a special arrangement, we were allowed to place a field agent into the entourage of Crying Dawn Singer — someone who could travel the galaxy quickly and freely. Although we are sure that our agent has not been identified, we believe that his proximity to Crying Dawn Singer has been deduced.

"Our only clue to the location of Crying Dawn Singer is that our agent was outfitted with a homing transponder. The Force has been with us, for despite the statistical improbability of such a discovery, one of our probe Droids received signals from that particular transponder while orbiting the planet Najarka.

"To help you identify the agent, there are established code phrases. If you say, 'Wheels go round and round,' the appropriate response is 'Gears without a sound.' This agent is also important to our cause, for Alliance Intell has informed us that he is aware of the location of this base. If he breaks under Imperial interrogation, this base will be lost."

"Your orders are to leave immediately for Najarka, find our operative, assuming he is still alive and present, and rescue Crying Dawn Singer. Even if the agent is dead, it may be possible to deduce what has happened to Crying Dawn Singer. Crying Dawn Singer must be returned to the Shashay alive and unharmed.

"This data plaque contains a hologram of Crying Dawn Singer and his entourage.

"Until you complete your mission, Captain Kollene and his ship are at your disposal.

"May the Force be with you."

The other hologram on the plaque shows Crying Dawn Singer's entourage. There are eight figures in the holo:

• A protocol Droid, silver with red detailing.
• A very fat, bald human wearing a skin-tight metallic gold bodysuit.
• Two humans armed with blaster pistols and flashy green and blue matching suits.
• Two Ithorians wearing white robes and heavy green make-up.
• An albino Wookiee wearing a red vest.
• In the center of this group stands Crying Dawn Singer, the Shashay. He resembles a 1.5 meter tall parakeet. His feathers are pure white, but he has a red splash across his chest, and a red crest at the top of his head.

Read aloud:

The Shashay, of course, is Crying Dawn Singer. He is a popular entertainer throughout the sector, and his vocal abilities are remarkable. Unfortunately, the vocal cords of the Shashay are such that they are unable to speak Basic.

The Droid, named 6T-L, is Crying Dawn Singer's translator Droid.

The fat human is Fezzter, and acts as Crying Dawn Singer's road agent and personal manager. The two humans are Crying Dawn Singer's personal guards. They may not look like much, but they know what they're doing.

The Ithorians, Guerglenar and Drov, are backup singers.

The Wookiee is Katykam. He is Crying Dawn Singer's stage manager.

Cut-Away to Capital City, Rayter Sector

Read aloud:

WIPE TO: A star filled night sky.

PAN DOWN: From the sky to the Sector Performing Arts Center. The SecPAC is a large structure, richly designed in the Old Republic Baroque style, and built of the finest natural stones available in the sector.

An albino Wookiee, smoking a long clay pipe, and wearing loose black pants and a red vest, paces the length of the steps of a private entrance at the rear of the building. He nervously checks the chrono ring on his thumb.

CUT TO: A close-up of a man's face in the shadows. His left cheek is marked by nine precisely cut parallel scars.

PULL OUT: The scarred man is standing in a crevice in the wall of the SecPAC. A younger man, his cheek similarly marked, stands with him. In the background, the Wookiee continues to pace.

An ornately decorated repulsorlift limousine pulls up to the base of the steps. Two lightly armed guards exit the limousine. They scan the area quickly and cheerfully greet the Wookiee. An extremely obese human exits, followed by two Ithorians.

There is a short pause and a silver and red humanoid Droid steps through. The Droid holds the door open, and a slightly built avian creature steps out.

The Wookiee nervously takes a last puff from his pipe, then lets it fall to the ground and shatter.

The scarred man in the shadows switches on the comlink clipped to his collar and speaks.

"Okay boys, let's do it."

The scarred man steps into the light, and, with two shots from his gold-plated blaster, kills the guards. A dozen other men appear from the shadows.

Fade to black.

The Abduction Adventure Script

Use the following script to start the adventure.

Your gamemaster will tell you what part (or parts) to read.

Gamemaster (as Maytoc Kollene, captain of the spacetug Worthless Fool): We're approaching the daylight side of the planet. Watch for starrise.

1st Rebel: We're out of the shadow. Scanning for other ships.

GM: The planet's surface spreads out beneath you. Directly below is a narrow band of dark green vegetation. To either side of the vegetation are unending glaciers extending to the horizon...

2nd Rebel: You know, I heard something about Najarka once. I wish I could remember what it was.

3rd Rebel: Be quiet and keep an eye on the power consumption.

GM (as Maytoc): Dropping down into the atmosphere.

4th Rebel: The sensors are picking up a large concentration of metal.

5th Rebel: I've got that, too. The duracomp scan says that there's non-natural alloys present.

1st Rebel: Move in closer.

Maytoc: Right.

GM: The ship swings into the atmosphere.

4th Rebel: I'm getting more definition. It's — it's an Imperial base!

6th Rebel: What!

3rd Rebel: Are you sure?

4th Rebel: Yeah, nothing else has that stupid honeycomb shape.

1st Rebel: Full-sphere scan. Everybody get to a gun. Maytoc, prepare to —

5th Rebel: Wait — the radiation signature's way too small. It's not using any power.

6th Rebel: There's no transmissions coming from it either; no activity at all.

2nd Rebel: I remember now. A pirate in a bar told me that there was an Imperial base on Najarka.

3rd Rebel: Tell us something we don't already know.

2nd Rebel: Well... they abandoned it.

6th Rebel: They did? Why?

2nd Rebel: It was too dangerous.

6th Rebel: How did the pirate know this?

2nd Rebel: He wanted to use the place as a secret base.

6th Rebel: Did he?

2nd Rebel: Don't know. Nobody ever heard from him after that.

5th Rebel: Whew. Do we really want to land?

4th Rebel: He's right. If something scared away an entire base...

GM: The homing transceiver, set on maximum range, begins to beep.

5th Rebel: The transponder is still on the planet. The Rebel agent could still be here.

1st Rebel: What's the location?

5th Rebel: Straight ahead. Near the abandoned base.

1st Rebel: We're going in.

3rd Rebel: Great. Into the jaws of death to rescue someone we can't even recognize.

Shashay

Shashay are descended from avians, with thick, colorful plumage and vestigial wings. As they evolved into an intelligent species, they came to rely less on flight, and now their wings are useful only for gliding. Their "wing feathers" are retractable from elbow to wrist.

Shashay are known for their grace and elegance of movement, and their fiery tempers. Most Shashay are content to remain on their homeworld, living among their Nestclans. However, a few have taken to the star lanes as traders, seeking adventure and excitement.

For many years, the ships of the Shashay traveled the trade routes of the Old Republic and the Empire without notice, exploring nearby systems, gathering small quantities of natural resources, and surreptitiously trading with smaller and less established settlements. Their status changed about a decade ago, when one of their scout ships was crippled and forced to land on Kashyyyk. While the Wookiee inhabitants of Kashyyyk were more than willing to voluntarily assist the Shashay in the repair of her craft, she insisted on repaying them. The method of payment was an evening of song.

In her first performance in Imperial space, their representative enthralled the Wookiees (a people not generally known for their appreciation of art). Since that time, the Shashay have been in great demand as performers throughout the Empire.

The Shashay have also proven themselves to be excellent astrogators, and are often called "Space Singers." Their avian brains easily made the transition from the three-dimensional patterns of terrestrial flight to the intricacies of hyperspace.

As the Empire's New Order supplanted the harmony of the Old Republic, the Shashay became more reclusive. The location of Crytal Nest, the Shashay homeworld, is a closely guarded secret. The coordinates of the Shashay homeworld are never recorded into the memory bank of a nav computer but instead are entered manually, from memory, by a Shashay astrogator.

Very few members of the race are allowed off the home planet for fear that its location will be revealed. The Shashay have such a strong community identity that a captured Shashay astrogator will die rather than disclose the coordinates of Crytal Nest. This willingness to die has protected the planet's secret location for many years.

A few months ago, the Alliance decided to seek the aid of the avians. At first, the Shashay politely resisted the advances of the Alliance, but as the atrocities of Palpatine continue to grow in scope, the Shashay have become more receptive. However, the Nestmothers of the Shashay must still be convinced that the Alliance will defeat the Empire. The rescue of Crying Dawn Singer will be instrumental in proving the Alliance's good faith and resourcefulness.

Shashay

Template Type: Shashay
Height: 1.3-1.6 meters
DEXTERITY 2D
Gliding 3D
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Artist (song) 4D
MECHANICAL 4D
Astrogation 6D
PERCEPTION 1D
STRENGTH 1D
TECHNICAL 1D
Natural Tools: Beak (damage STR+1D), hand and foot talons (damage STR+2D), wings
Special Abilities:
Gliding: Shashay can glide 10 meters horizontally for every 5 meters of vertical fall, with a maximum of 15 meters of glide in one turn. If a Shashay wants to move faster, he must make a Moderate gliding roll; for each three points by which the Shashay beats the difficulty number, he may glide another three meters that turn. Characters who fail the flight roll are considered stunned (as per combat) from the exertion. Shashay who fly more than 25 meters in a single round must make a Moderate stamina roll or be stunned by the exertion. Stun results are in effect until the Shashay rests for 10 minutes.
Singing: Shashay have incredibly intricate vocal cords that allow them to sing musical compositions of unbelievable beauty and complexity. They are unable to speak Basic.

Roleplaying Hints: Shashay are loyal to each other above all else, but they are fiercely competitive. Shashay are elegant and graceful, but quick to anger and prone to "temper tantrums."

Quote: "Veth-ke-ka-koth! Feethek." (Translation) "I will not do this your way! I'm leaving!"

Najarka Data Screen

The following information is publicly available.

Najarka

Information Source: Imperial Survey Corps Report/General Access
Type: Terrestrial
Temperature: Temperate
Atmosphere: Type I (Breathable)
Hydrosphere: Moist
Gravity: Standard
Terrain: Glacier, Forest
Length of Day: 28 Hours
Length of Year: 402 Local Days
Sentient Races: None Known
Starport: None
Population: None
Government: None
Tech Level: None
Major Imports: None
Major Exports: None

World Summary: Najarka has been the subject of a low-intensity survey by the Imperial Survey Corps. It is anomalous in that it sustains life, although it is too far from its sun to collect the requisite energy. The life forms are concentrated in a narrow, but fecund band of sub-tropical rainforest surrounding the planet's equator. The remaining three-quarters of the planet is covered by huge glaciers consisting of various substances, primarily frozen water. Najarka appears as a silvery white ball bisected by a narrow green stripe.

Samples of the flora and fauna were collected and taken to the Emperor's private and public gardens and may be available for study at the Imperial Zoological Gardens on Kailor V. The most likely hypothesis concerning the anomalous equatorial belt of rainforest is that geothermal sources provide the energy needed to sustain life.

Najarka is located in an outlying system in the Rayter Sector. Aside from planet Najarka, the system seems devoid of life. It is considered too isolated to be of use for industrial development or settlement.

The Directional Transceiver

The directional transceiver given to the Rebels is used to track the homing transponder assigned to the missing Rebel operative. It is a datapad with two data readout screens. When activated, one of the LED readouts displays an arrow which points towards the location of the specific homing transponder. The other readout provides the approximate distance to the transponder (in kilometers or meters). The maximum range for the transceiver is 500 kilometers.

Beginning the Adventure

Upon hearing the orders, Maytoc Kollene prepares the ship for lift-off. Almost before the Rebels realize it, they are in hyperspace.

The journey to Najarka aboard the Worthless Fool lasts six hours. If the Rebels decide to research their new assignment, then show them the relevant data screens for the topics they wish to investigate (they will probably want to see the screens "Shashay" and "Najarka").

Starting on Najarka

The following information is provided to the gamemaster to complete the data provided on the data readout for the players:

There are only two environs on Najarka, the largest of which are the huge glaciers which dominate all but a small portion of the planet's surface. The glaciers support no life, but produce storms which generate hurricane force winds (over 500 kilometers per hour) and metal piercing hail. Icequakes constantly rend the surface (anyone caught in a quake could suffer up to 12D starfighter scale damage, as huge sheets of ice crumble in upon themselves, grinding ships and characters under scores of meters of ice). Landing on the glaciers is inadvisable because of the violent winds and unstable surface.

The smaller environ is the "green belt" of Najarka. The "green belt" is a band of rainforest, approximately 300 kilometers wide and encircles the planet's equator. Within this range, trees grow up to two kilometers tall, and the diversity of life is truly unusual for such a small environment. On the edges of the rainforest, the frozen material of the ice caps rises hundreds of meters above the trees. The rainforest receives most of its moisture from melting snow and ice, and makes the first 20 kilometers of the "green belt" a saturated, swampy mess. Occasionally, icequakes will send tons of ice falling from the walls into the forest below. An everpresent bank of clouds lines the cliff walls.

Imperial scientists haven't been able to determine why the "green belt" exists, but it is often attributed to unusual geothermic activity, which not only heats the area, but prevents the glaciers from flooding or sliding over the forest area.

There is an abandoned Imperial complex on Najarka. Originally for scientific research (primarily involving bioengineering projects), the base has lain dormant for several years, although it now figures prominently into the Farools' plans for Crying Dawn Singer.

First View of the Complex

As the characters steadily close on the base, the directional transceiver will indicate that they should head straight for the base. The transponder is obviously somewhere within the complex.

From the air, the Rebels can barely see the abandoned base, which was built just below the treetops and now appears to be overgrown. The design is old — it has the typical hexagonal shape, but the landing pads are separated from the main garrison, as are the many outbuildings, which are all linked by exposed walkways.

Landing

From the air, the Rebels can see four landing pads. The edges of the pads are overgrown with vegetation, but there is plenty of room to land the Worthless Fool in the center of any of the pads. One of the pads (labelled "B" on Gamemaster Map "Imperial Complex, Najarka" on page 15) shows signs of recent use.

Whenever the Rebels refer to the directional transceiver, it will point towards the biological research center. Compare their position on Gamemaster Map "Imperial Complex, Najarka" on page 15 with the position of the center to determine distance and direction.

When the Rebels leave the ship, Maytoc Kollene remains on board; he will never leave the ship.

The Imperial Complex

The walkways within the complex are four-meter wide allacrete bridges supported by large tree limbs. They are set four to five meters below treetop level. There are no railings at the sides, but if someone falls, they will not fall far before landing on a branch strong enough to support their weight (one to six meters, 3D damage). The walkways are in good repair (only a few cracks and holes mar the surface) but all of the walkways, except for those leading to the biological research center (see highlighted pathway on Gamemaster Map "Imperial Complex, Najarka" on page 15) are littered with fallen tree limbs and leaves. The Rebels may decide to investigate the Imperial garrison (main building) or the biological research center.

Stepping Into the Forest

When the Rebels leave the landing pad, read aloud:

The rainforest of Najarka is replete with life. The trees, vines, and flowers are full and lush. The air is filled with insects, from infinitesimal gnats to beetles as large as Jawas. Brightly colored birds soar above your heads. Other birds flit through the trees at your sides and through the branches below you. Your ears are assaulted with the calls and cries of thousands of creatures.

The only native creatures which show any interest in you are several groups of small primates with long white fur and black markings. The creatures are arboreal, scampering through the tree limbs using their hands and feet and trailing a long, flowing tail behind them. Their white fur and black markings make them look like small, comical stormtroopers. They follow you closely, filling the air with their loud, trilling call.

The Kichicolia

The creatures, the kichicolia, were catalogued by the Imperial Zoological Agency during the Empire's original occupation of Najarka. They are half meter tall primates with prehensile fingers and toes, and long thick fur. Individuals are normally white with black markings around their joints, mouths and eyes. The most striking feature is the tail, which is covered with long white fur and trails behind the creatures like a banner. The call of the kichicolia is a very loud, trilling squawk.

Because of their appearance and humorous behavior, several breeding pairs were transported to the Emperor's personal gardens, where they immediately had their vocal cords removed so that their vocalizations would not annoy the Emperor's guests.

The Kichicolia

DEXTERITY 4D
PERCEPTION 3D
STRENGTH 1D
Speed Code: 3D
Size: Up to .5 meters tall
Scale: Character
Attacks:
Foreclaws: 1D damage
Teeth: 2D damage
Combat: The kichicolia are harmless herbivores. They may attack if threatened, but are much more likely to retreat.

The Tree Viper Attack

The walk from the landing pad to platform one (see map) should take less than five minutes. The kichicolia follow the Rebels as they walk, squawking loudly, but not otherwise disturbing them.

Platform one is one of six platforms on the outer perimeter of the complex. The six platforms are all hexagons, ten meters to a side, with several walkways leading from them.

As the Rebels approach platform one, the kichicolia disappear into the trees and stop squawking. Read aloud:

There is silence. You realize suddenly that the calls of the birds, the buzz of the insects, and the cries of the mammals have disappeared. The air is eerily still.

The Rebels should be given a few moments to worry. If they do nothing, then nothing happens. If they look along the trees bordering the platform, they will see many eyes and faces of the kichicolia, who are watching them intently.

The moment the Rebels begin to move again, the tree vipers will attack. Read aloud:

You hear a rustle in the trees. It seems as if some of the limbs have gained mobility, and then you see their flying forms: the tree vipers, coiled on the tree limbs, have launched themselves at you, baring their fangs, dripping venom.

Three tree vipers will attack during the first round, with four additional ones leaping out of the trees during subsequent rounds.

Tree Vipers

DEXTERITY 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 2D
Brawling 4D
Speed Code: 2D
Size: 2.5-3 meters long
Scale: Creature
Attacks:
Fangs: 2D damage (plus venom)
Constriction: 3D damage each round (subtracts 2D from Dexterity of the captured character until character makes successful opposed Strength roll to break free)
Venom: If character is wounded by a bite attack, he is considered poisoned. Each round thereafter, he must make a Moderate Strength roll or be paralyzed. If paralyzed, all voluntary muscle activity stops. After ten rounds, the toxin has affected the involuntary muscles, and the Rebel can no longer breathe. Rebels who cease breathing for over eight minutes suffer brain damage, and are completely unresponsive to all but the most effective Force powers. The myotoxin can be counteracted at any time before those eight minutes elapse, using the general antitoxin present in any medpac.
Combat: The tree vipers are large snakes with grey and brown skin. In their initial attack, they will leap up to ten meters from the trees.

If any of the Rebels are badly wounded, the group can return to the Worthless Fool to recuperate, then attempt the journey again. The second time the Rebels cross platform one, the tree vipers will have traveled to another area and there will be no attack.

Gamemaster Diagram: The Worthless Fool

The Worthless Fool is a Cuirilla-Rayl Xyliines-Class Spacetug (called a CRX-Tug by spacers). Before it entered the Alliance Fleet, it had been significantly modified by the pirate Yearo Seville.

The Upper Deck

The upper deck has the cockpit and the crew quarters.

The cockpit has three separate, partitioned sections. The center is for the pilot and co-pilot. The communications and sensor arrays can be tied into the pilot's compartment. To the left of the pilot's compartment is the communications center. To the right is the navigational sensor array.

The area aft of the cockpit contains all of the crew's personal facilities. There are enough berths for 19 people.

There are two stair rungs leading down to the lower deck.

The Lower Deck

The lower deck contains the tractor beam controls, the assault tube, the escape pods and the cargo hold.

The tractor beam controls are cramped compartments just inside the tractor beam pylons. The compartments are connected to the generators by sub-deck crawlways.

There are two small storage areas to hold all emergency gear and space operations suits. The powered assault tube must be entered through the airlock. The airlock controls are adjacent to the tube. The cargo hold and lift are in the rear. The escape pods can be accessed by going through the cargo hold.

Sidebar: Maintenance Crawlways

Maintenance crawlways wind through the ship in such complex patterns that only someone intimately familiar with the ship, such as Maytoc Kollene, could hope to navigate them successfully. Maytoc will hide within these tunnels whenever the ship is searched.

Armament

When arming the Worthless Fool, Seville installed lasers on each of the tractor beam pylons, as well as a ball turret laser cannon.

The Hansen FeatherTouch tractor beam units are capable of amazingly fine operation: they can gently pull a small bird out of the air without harming it, or rip a small freighter to shreds. The beam units are mounted in rotating pylons which can be placed in thousands of different configurations.

History

The Worthless Fool came into the hands of the Rebel Alliance when it was purchased by a young procurement officer. Yearo Seville claimed that the ship had originally been used in the Imperial shipyards and its memory had valuable information. The officer paid an exorbitant sum for the ship and delivered it to Rayter Sector Fleet Supervisor Dwin Wisheel.

Wisheel learned that the ship's main computer memory had been fused. "There is nothing in the ship's memory," Wisheel told the officer. "It's worthless, and so are you. You're a worthless fool."

After a few days, the name "worthless fool" began to appear on all work orders concerning the ship. Eventually, the ship was permanently registered as the Worthless Fool.

Maytoc Kollene appeared at the supposedly secure entrance to the base only a few days after the arrival of the Worthless Fool. After out-maneuvering two of the base's finest pilots, Kollene was given his choice of command; he took the Worthless Fool. No one was surprised by his choice because the ship had already been converted for use by a one-legged pilot.

The Worthless Fool

Craft: The Worthless Fool
Type: Modified Cuirilla-Rayl Xyliines-Class Spacetug
Length: 42 meters
Scale: Starfighter
Crew: 1-7 (Pilot, co-pilot [optional], comm. officer [optional], sensor officer [optional], 2 tractor beam/laser cannon operators [optional], turret gunner [optional])
Passengers: 12-18
Cargo Capacity: 125 metric tons
Consumables: 2 weeks
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x2
Nav Computer: Yes
Hyperdrive Backup: Yes
Sublight Speed: 1D+1
Maneuverability: 1D
Hull: 3D
Weapons:
Two Laser Cannons (fire separately, mounted on tractor beam pylons)
Fire Control: 2D
Damage: 2D
One Heavy Laser Cannon
Fire Control: 2D
Damage: 5D
Two Tractor Beam Projectors (fire separately)
Fire Control: 3D
Strength: 5D
Shields: 2D

The Imperial Garrison

After the Rebels cross platform one, there will be about a five-minute walk to the main garrison. The Rebels will not necessarily approach this building as the directional transceiver indicates that they should head to the biological research center.

The main garrison building has eight levels, the lower level measuring 150 meters on a side. It has been pulled down into the forest so that the upper level now lies only about forty meters above the walkway, with the lower levels hidden by the thick foliage of the area.

If the Rebels attempt to cross over to the building using the walkway, then they must make three Easy climbing/jumping rolls. Failure on this roll results in a short fall, doing 1D damage.

Once the Rebels are next to the building, they will see that the four lower levels are completely closed off by the dense foliage, and will have to cut away the tree limbs. Large branches and vines protrude from the outer walls of the fifth and sixth levels. The two uppermost levels have not yet been seriously harmed by the forest.

The only door is on ground level. The characters may want to cut through the walls (a Strength of 3D) or windows (a Strength of 1D+2).

There is no power inside the main garrison. Some light will enter through the opening that the Rebels create, but otherwise, the only light within the structure will come from glow rods or other sources of illumination brought in by the Rebels.

Within the building, all of the rooms are empty, although some are covered by vines that secrete acid (2D damage) if touched. Within each room, all furniture has been removed, so there are deep scratches in the floors, while all computer terminals and fixtures have been removed, so there are exposed wires everywhere.

The Biological Research Center

The directional transceiver leads the Rebels to the biological research center.

When the Rebels reach the biological research center, read aloud:

Before you is a low, white building sitting on a large alacrete platform similar to others you have seen here, but this one is much larger. The building cannot be seen from the air because the trees have obscured it from above. The trees have grown in close, their branches covering the building and the narrow walkway that surrounds it, and many vines have anchored themselves into the building's walls.

The main entrance is clear. Vines which should have grown across the doorway end at its edges.

If the Rebels study the vines around the doorway (making a Very Easy Perception total), they will realize that the vines have been cut recently with a vibroblade.

The Rebels may walk around the building: the vegetation extends into the walkway and will reduce movement speed to about three meters per round, since the Rebels will have to bend or cut branches in order to pass by them. Upon reaching the opposite side of the center, the Rebels will find that the walkway extending beyond the center is also covered with vines and limbs and seems impassable.

The main entrance of the biological research center has "Imperial Biological Research Center, Najarka" carved in large, imposing letters above the doorway. The automatic door is made of thick, clear transparisteel. There is no power going into the building, so the automatic door will not open. If the Rebels circle the building they will find that this is the only door; give each character one chance to make a Difficult Perception total. If the check is successful, the Rebel will spot one of the many hidden windows, and find an alternate means of entry (assuming they can force their way through the window).

Getting into the Building

There are several different ways to open the door. If the Rebels have access to a portable generator or other power source (a Droid could be used), then it would take an Easy technology (in the case of a generator) or Droid programming/repair (in the case of a Droid) roll to prepare the power source (failure will drain the power source). Once power is restored, a Moderate security roll is necessary to open the door. Failure fuses the door's circuits and precludes any subsequent attempts using this method.

Characters may try to simply pry the doors open using brute force. This will require a Very Difficult Strength roll; characters can combine on this roll, but no more than two individuals can work together in the space. A pry bar of at least a meter in length (or similar tool) adds a +5 modifier to the total and allows up to four Rebels to combine their Strengths (keep in mind that the object chosen to be used as a pry bar will most likely be irreparably twisted during use).

If the Rebels try to blow the door up, it will take a Moderate demolition skill roll for success, provided the Rebels have access to at least five cubes of detonite. Three or four cubes will require a Very Difficult demolition roll, and with less, it will not be possible.

Characters might also choose to blast through the doors with their blasters. Treat the doors' Strength as 5D. The door isn't passable for human-sized, or wheeled or tracked Droids until it receives the equivalent of a mortal wound. Small and agile characters, like Ewoks, will be able to pass through the door once it takes the equivalent of an incapacitated result.

The hidden windows, once located, will be much easier to blast or break through (Strength 2D).

Gamemaster Diagram: Imperial Complex, Najarka

Gamemaster Diagram: Biological Research Center

Biological Research Center — key:

Shaded areas on the map indicate Blast-proof Panels, Office Space, Living Quarters, Laboratory Areas, Computer Analysis, and Maintenance & Support.

The Reception Area

The room beyond the main entrance door is the reception area. It is dark and empty. Marks on the floor indicate that it once contained a large, heavy desk. There are many short, loose wires coming up out of the floor from where the desk had been.

A Rebel who makes an Easy Perception roll will realize that there is no dust on the floors and that the air is fresh.

Bad News

After the Rebels enter the biological research center, they receive a call from Maytoc over the comlink. Read aloud:

Maytoc calls you over the comlink. "The subspace radio on the ship picked up a message from the sector's subspace transmission network — someone took over their signal. It's pretty bad news," he says. "The kidnappers have identified themselves. They say they're part of the Rebellion."

At this point, if the Rebels have with them an R2 unit or some other Droid equipped with a hologram projector, then Maytoc can transmit the first transmission to them. If not, they can view it when they return to the ship. See "The First Transmission."

Any Rebel who makes a Difficult technology roll will realize that the static at the end of Seville's message was artificially induced and that both Seville's message and the Imperial message are part of the same transmission.

Inside the Biological Research Center

The only light inside the center filters in through the hidden windows located at the ends of the larger halls. None of the automatic doors within the building work, but they can all be opened manually. All furniture and equipment has been removed from the building. The floors are covered with scuff marks, and many of the walls still have mounting brackets where various pieces of equipment were attached.

The halls are three meters wide, with four meter high arched ceilings. An extensive system of utilitarian lighting units indicates that the complex was brightly lit when it was in use.

Finding the Rebel Agent

The Rebels must use the directional transceiver to determine the exact location of the Rebel agent (see the map on page 15, "Biological Research Center").

The rooms in the innermost ring were used by the maintenance and support staff, and contain the ventilation, power and plumbing control interfaces. Much of this equipment remains. If the Rebels search the power supplemental generator (room E), they will find a recently installed, remotely activated supplemental generator.

The remaining rooms in the southwest triangle of the center were offices for the Imperial administrative staff. They are completely empty.

In the other triangles, the rooms in the outermost ring were the staff living quarters. Each small cubicle contains two small lockers. All the cubicles and lockers are empty. The second ring held the research labs and still contain metal lab benches. The third ring was occupied by the science offices; these rooms are empty. The rooms in the fourth ring were the computer analysis stations. These rooms contained most of the center's electronic equipment. The marks on the floors in these rooms are deep to the point of being gouges, and the walls are covered with loose hanging wires.

The Northeast Triangle

The northeast triangle of the building is an exception to the previous descriptions. The rooms in this triangle have been modified by COMPNOR's Interrogation Branch (a division of Imperial Intelligence). The inner triangle, except for a single entrance in the outer hallway, has been sealed with blastproof two-meter thick ceramic panels (Strength of 9D).

These rooms are equipped with various combinations of shackles, chains, force shield containment units, and atmosphere modification systems, which the ISB agents use, along with their Interrogation Droids and Gamorrean inquisitors, to withdraw information from suspected traitors.

If the Rebels follow the transceiver directly, they will find that it indicates the transponder is straight through one of the ceramic panels (in room 4).

Room One. This room contains the bodies of Crying Dawn Singer's two human guards. These bodies lie on one of the lab benches, both having been dispatched by a single laser blast to the head.

Sidebar: The First Transmission

Read aloud:

The hologram begins with a close-up of the face of a human male. His skin is very pale. His chin is pointed and thrust out. His left cheek is marked by nine precisely cut parallel scars. His narrow eyes are close set and dark. He smiles a crooked smile, then speaks.

"This is Yearo Seville, leader of the Rebel Alliance in Rayter Sector; I've got a message for the Shashay."

The holo pulls out, revealing Seville's elegantly tailored clothing, his richly carved walking stick, and his gold-plated BlasTech blaster, which is pointed at Crying Dawn Singer. Crying Dawn Singer is being held by two other pale-skinned, richly dressed and heavily armed humans, both with cheeks scarred like Seville's. The floorand the walls behind them are covered with pelts of the rarest galactic species, many of them sentient.

"That's right, we've got him, and if you want him back, you've got to pay our price."

Cut to a close-up of Seville, who has stopped smiling.

"The Rebellion is grossly undermanned and underfunded. If we don't get help soon, we're going under. Our soldiers are deserting and joining the Imperial Army and Navy. Our bases are losing local support. We can't even make our payments to the underworld figures and crime bosses who have been supplying us with equipment. We need money."

The holo cuts to a medium shot of Seville. He points towards the holorecorder. He is yelling.

"You out there, you Shashay and all your mindless alien friends, you've got money, and we want it."

The holo pans along Seville's arm, following the line of the blaster to Crying Dawn Singer. Seville fires, stunning the captive Shashay. The two pale humans let the unconscious Crying Dawn Singer fall to the floor.

"Here are the Rebellion's demands: first, a payment of 10 billion Imperial Credits, followed by a donation of equipment valued at that same amount. Second, we want you to support a Rebel Alliance base —"

Cut to a close-up of Seville. He is sneering.

"— on your precious homeworld."

The holo cuts to a close-up of Crying Dawn Singer, lying, unconscious, on the fur pelt of a young Wookiee. Seville speaks again, gleefully.

"You've got twenty standard hours to reach us through the news media or we'll start plucking the little feathered —"

The holo cuts off abruptly in a flurry of static. The static is shortly replaced by a caption, written in standard Imperial type:

"Transmission intercepted. Imperial Broadcast and Communications Agents tracing signal."

This caption remains for sixty seconds, then disappears.

Room Two. In this room is the body of the obese, bald human. The body is hanging upside down, its ankles chained to the ceiling. It is wearing the same metallic gold bodysuit that was pictured in the hologram accompanying the Rebels' orders. There are no apparent wounds on the body, but the face is bloated and twisted in a grotesque grimace of agony.

Room Three. This room is almost filled by a portable compression/desiccation chamber. The chamber is a large (1.75 meters), white cube constructed of super-stressed plastics. There is a small window in one side. Normally the chamber is used to process large quantities of organic material into food concentrates. It pressurizes the material, then cools it, and removes all moisture. The chamber can also be used to preserve specimens of game animals for use as trophies. By looking through the small window, the Rebels can see the bodies of the two Ithorians. Their skins have turned a greenish grey. On each side of their necks, their long tongues hang, lifeless, from their mouths.

Room Four. In this room is the body of the albino Wookiee and the red and silver valet Droid. The Wookiee's body is suspended from the ceiling, its limbs secured by a specially constructed frame. The unclothed body is shaved in various places; each shaved patch is marked with cuts and punctures. Rebels who make an Easy technology roll realize that these marks were made by an Imperial Interrogation Droid.

The Droid is on the floor in the northern corner of the room. There is a large dent in its chest, and its finish is dulled and covered with many scratches. The Droid is inoperative, but not severely damaged. The directional transceiver indicates that the homing transponder is installed within the Droid — the Droid is the agent!

Power

At this point, shortly after the Rebels have found the Droid, the generators in the building are triggered by the Star Destroyer Impending Doom, which is now orbiting the planet. The Rebels won't know the cause of the change, but will notice that every light in the room comes on, and the air processors begin to work. The change should be startling. Read aloud:

BOOM! The quiet of the building is broken. Searingly bright lights flash on, forcing you to squint. The air processors start with a thunderous rumble and your body quivers, jolted by the noise and the feel of the icy-cold air on your flesh.

Contact with the Worthless Fool is now impossible. Maytoc detected the ship just as it came into orbit, and cannot safely warn the Rebels without the Imperials learning of their presence. Maytoc has gone into hiding on board the ship because he has detected a recon ship that has been dispatched to the base. If the Rebels try to call on the comlink, they will get no response.

If the Rebels decide to fix the Droid, go to "Repairing the Droid." If they decide to leave the research center, go to Chapter Two, "Leaving Najarka."

Repairing the Droid

The Rebels can repair the Droid whenever they feel they have the opportunity. However, until it is repaired, they must carry it.

Without a Droid repair kit, it will take a Very Difficult Droid prog./repair roll to repair the Droid. A Droid repair kit (there is one on the Worthless Fool) reduces the difficulty level to Moderate.

If the Rebels attempt to repair the Droid at the center, remember that they are only allowed to make one roll for success after the first fifteen minutes of work (refer to the Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game rulebook for details). If that roll is a failure, the Rebels must work for twenty-four hours before they can roll again.

When the Rebels are successful at repairing the Droid, read "The Droid Awakens."

The Droid Awakens

When the Droid is activated, its memory will playback events just prior to its deactivation. Read aloud:

The Droid's vocabulator squawks for a moment, then the Droid says, very politely, "I am KL-6TLF7V/T, Valet and Translator Droid, may I take your coat? Would you care for a drink?"

The Droid pauses. "No, wait —"

The Droid squawks again. "Don't do that, please! Master, you must run."

The Droid pauses again and looks at each of you. The sounds of a gun battle issue from it, complete with the screams of several alien tongues, and the crisp voice of a human barking out orders. The Droid moves awkwardly, its motor circuits replaying the scene in synchronization with its voice module.

The human's voice is the last one heard, saying, calmly, "Don't kill'em yet. They've got a lot of singing to do before they die."

The Droid stops, and lowers its head. "My master has been kidnapped," it says sadly.

If the Rebels have heard Yearo Seville's subspace transmission, they will recognize his voice as the one in the Droid's voice-loop.

For 6T-L's stats, see the "Character Templates" section in the back of this book. The Droid's personality is submissive, yet also abrasive, as the Droid is constantly looking for opportunities to make itself useful. The Droid will attempt to speak as much as possible, whether it has anything to say or not. It will also, very often, refer to Crying Dawn Singer, and compare the Rebels unfavorably to him, saying things like "Your clothes fit you quite well. My master, however, has such lovely plumage that it is not necessary for him to resort to artificial beautifications."

If the Rebels ask the Droid for information about the kidnapping of Crying Dawn Singer, it will have this to say:

"I remember little, as I was inactivated quite soon after our abduction. I did recognize one of the assailants as being a reputed space pirate, at least according to the more sensationalistic news transmissions. He was Yearo Seville."

If the Rebels transfer the Droid's visual memory to another computer for review (this activity requires an Easy Droid prog./repair roll and a computer equipped with a holographic projector), then they will see this:

The Droid views the interior of a large, plushly upholstered limousine. The scene shifts with the motions of the Droid's photoreceptors. The Droid looks at Crying Dawn Singer, who is whistling agitatedly, then scans the compartment, which contains: two armed guards, sitting quietly and looking out the windows; two Ithorians, sleeping; and an obese human, eating. The scene jerks slightly as the limousine stops. The Droid looks out of the side window and sees the albino Wookiee standing on the steps leading into a large building.

The two armed guards exit the limousine. They scan the area, then greet the Wookiee. The human and the Ithorians exit. The Droid looks back at Crying Dawn Singer, who is preening.

The scene shifts abruptly as the Droid exits the limousine. The Droid looks around the area, at the guards, and the Wookiee. There is a small flash of light in the shadows at the building's side.

The view becomes a split screen. The Droid's left eye focuses on the flash of light and zooms in on it. The right eye widens its scope, taking in nearly 180 degrees of the scene.

The left eye sees a human male. There are scars on his cheek and he is carrying a gold-plated blaster. The right eye sees the Wookiee purposely throw down his pipe.

The left eye shows the scarred human speaking into a comlink on his collar. He begins shooting. The right eye shows the two guards falling.

You hear the Droid's voice, "No, wait —" The Droid turns to Crying Dawn Singer and speaks, "Master, you must run." There is the sound of a laser bolt firing, and the Droid falls on its back. In the sky above there is a large airspeeder with "TGM" written on its aft stabilizers. The scene goes black, and you can hear the sounds of the battle and the voices screaming.

Sidebar: The Security Camera

Read aloud:

INTERIOR: THE TORTURE ROOM. The albino Wookiee hangs from the ceiling. The space pirate Yearo Seville is speaking to an Imperial COMPNOR security officer. The angle is tilted vertically, indicating that the Droid must be tilted over on its side.

"Do you want me to take the Droid to Laim?"

The officer responds with cold military efficiency.

"No, just the bird. Moff Owen wants to pick the Droid up personally. His personal Star Destroyer, the Impending Doom, is en route. Moff Owen wants his people to be the first to get to the information in the Droid's brain."

"We're just going to leave it here?"

"The Impending Doom will be here very soon. No one ever comes here anyway."

Seville's form looms larger in the camera's view as he closes in on the Droid. There is a loud CRUNCH! as the pirate kicks the Droid.

"Whatever you say. You're the pro. I'm just a pirate."

Identifying the Rebel Agent

When the Rebels speak the recognition code to the Droid ("wheels and cogs go round and round"), then the Droid responds ("Gears without a sound") and will shift into another personality. Because of the demands placed on the Droid by its service for the Rebellion, it has developed two distinct personalities: the submissive valet, and the heroic Rebel agent. After the recognition code is given to the Droid, it becomes incapable of retaining one personality for any length of time: it will shift constantly from being helpful, submissive and sardonic, to being heroic, selfless, and foolhardy.

After the Droid has been given the recognition code, it will begin running around frantically and shouting, "We must go to Laim. We must go to Laim." After the Rebels calm the Droid down, they will be able to access the secret Alliance files in which it has stored the information gathered by its surveillance camera.

This camera recorded the final moments of the kidnapper's stay on Najarka. Cut to "The Security Camera."

Cut to ...

Chapter Two, "Leaving Najarka."

Episode Two

Leaving Najarka

Summary

The Rebel heroes attempt to flee the planet. They must decide whether or not to bring the Droid, and how to transport it if it is not operational. They must defeat or circumvent the squad of Imperial stormtroopers who have been dispatched to retrieve the Droid. Finally, they must recapture their ship, leave the planet, and escape from the TIE fighters sent by the orbiting Imperial Star Destroyer Impending Doom.

Moff Owen and the Impending Doom

The Impending Doom is orbiting Najarka. Having been informed by the COMPNOR interrogators that 6T-L is the Rebel agent, Moff Owen has come to retrieve it. No one on board the Impending Doom is expecting to find Rebels or anyone else on Najarka.

In recent years, no beings except the interrogation teams have set foot on the planet. To ensure this, Imperial Intelligence spreads rumors throughout the sector, keeping the curious away with tales of death and horror.

The Worthless Fool

Maytoc Kollene and the Worthless Fool are safe. The Rebels cannot contact the ship because Maytoc is hiding. All systems on the ship are inactive and Maytoc is keeping track of the stormtroopers who boarded the ship by silently moving through the accessways above their heads. The stormtroopers quickly conclude that no one is aboard, and exit the ship, positioning themselves at the foot of the ship's boarding ramp.

Leaving the Center

The Rebels' first decision concerns the Droid. If they have already activated it, then it can walk, unassisted, to the ship. However, if they have not attempted to activate it (or have failed), then they must decide whether or not to carry it to the ship. Any Rebel who attempts to carry the Droid must make a Moderate lifting roll to pick it up, and has all Dexterity and Strength skill levels reduced by 2D until the Droid is dropped. Dropping the Droid counts as an action, but the Dexterity and Strength levels return to normal during the round that the Droid is dropped, and the action is not going to cause noticeable damage to the Droid.

The Stormtroopers

Thirty stormtroopers have been dispatched to retrieve the Droid. While the Rebels are traveling towards the ship, the stormtroopers are traveling towards the Rebels. The kichicolia are following the stormtroopers, squawking loudly. The similarity between the kichicolia and the stormtroopers is very apparent.

The Rebels meet the stormtroopers at intersection five (see the map, "Imperial Complex, Najarka" on page 15). Read aloud:

The squawking noise of the black and white primates assaults your ears. They fill the branches, leaping among the trees. You are amazed at their numbers.

Suddenly, you see larger forms coming around the corner of the walkway — apparently being cheered on by the small black and white primates — men in black and white armor. Imperial stormtroopers.

Imperial Stormtroopers (30)

DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 4D, brawling parry 4D, dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 2D
Brawling 3D
TECHNICAL 2D
Equipment: Stormtrooper armor (Adds +1D to Strength to resist damage only; -1D to Dexterity and all Dexterity-based skills), blaster rifle (5D damage)

There are a total of 30 stormtroopers, and they will break into groups of three to combine their fire (see the Star Wars Rules Companion for details on combining fire). The length of the battle should depend on how well the Rebels are doing. If they are doing well, allow them to defeat as many as twenty of the stormtroopers. If they are doing badly, end the battle sooner. Just before the end of the battle, read aloud:

The sounds of battle rage, but nature is quiet. The squawking primates have disappeared.

The battle continues for two more rounds, then it ends with the appearance of a giant Najarkan creature. Read aloud:

You hear tree limbs breaking — giant limbs — snapping like thunder. The walkway and the trees surrounding you shake. A giant, gaping mouth appears in the trees followed by a thick, vine-like body. In a single swallow, a stormtrooper disappears, and you see the huge red eyes searching as the head swings about, and the creature looks for its next morsel.

Najarkan Creature

DEXTERITY 2D
PERCEPTION 1D
STRENGTH 10D
Orneriness: 7D
Speed Code: 2D
Size: Up to 30 meters long
Scale: Creature
Attacks:
Bite: 8D damage

The Najarkan creature is a huge predator of the rainforests. It appears to be over 30 meters long, with a huge mouth over two meters in diameter. It has large, dull red eyes which are low-resolution photoreceptors adapted specifically to detect the black and white patterns of the kichicolia (its natural prey), and, incidentally, the similarly colored uniforms of the stormtroopers.

The creature will not attack the Rebels because it does not see them, but it will not retreat until it has ingested all of the stormtroopers. (This is why the Imperial garrison failed — all of the stormtroopers were eaten by these creatures.) When the Stormtroopers have all been eaten, the creature will disappear.

Regaining the Worthless Fool

After the creature attacks, the Rebels will be left alone. When they arrive at the landing pad, they will find that an Imperial ship has landed next to the Worthless Fool.

The Imperial ship seems to pose no great threat. It is obviously a light personnel carrier, a rectangularly shaped ship similar in design to a standard assault shuttle. They are called "gift boxes" by many Rebellion ground troopers, because there is not much on the outside (only four laser cannons), but they carry a full complement of troops. Any Rebel who makes a Moderate technology or Knowledge roll will know that this size ship normally carries a complement of forty stormtroopers. The Rebels can then make a rough count of the dead stormtroopers on the walkway and assume that most of the stormtroopers are already out of commission.

The remaining ten stormtroopers are, in fact, all standing out on the landing pad. Two pairs are patrolling the north and south sides of the pad. The other six are grouped together near the open hatchway of the Worthless Fool.

The Imperial ship is facing southeast, so that the two forward laser cannons are pointing towards the pathway that leads to the complex. The landing gear of the ship is fully extended, leaving the hull of the ship two meters above the landing pad. A boarding ramp, facing northwest, drops down from the belly of the ship. Two men in Imperial Naval gunner's uniforms are sitting at the foot of the ramp. There are four other crewmen inside the ship: two gunners, who are manning the forward laser cannons, the pilot, and the co-pilot.

The Rebels have to get to the Worthless Fool to escape. To succeed, they will have to defeat all the stormtroopers and the two gunners outside of the ship. It will also benefit them if they can disable the Imperial ship; otherwise, it follow them off the planet.

When he hears the shooting start, Maytoc will prepare the Worthless Fool for lift-off. He will need six rounds (thirty seconds) to get to the pilot's chair, and another six rounds to implement the lift-off sequence. After that time, the Rebels can hear the Worthless Fool's repulsorlifts cycling. The ship will be ready for lift-off the moment the Rebels are all abroad.

Imperial Stormtroopers (10)

DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 4D, brawling parry 4D, dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 2D
Brawling 3D
TECHNICAL 2D
Equipment: Stormtrooper armor (Adds +1D to Strength to resist damage only; -1D to Dexterity and all Dexterity-based skills), blaster rifle (5D damage)

Imperial Pilot and Copilot

DEXTERITY 2D+1
KNOWLEDGE 1D+1
MECHANICAL 3D
Starship piloting 5D*
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 2D
Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D), comlink
Note: Co-pilot's starship gunnery skill is 4D+1

Imperial Gunners (4)

DEXTERITY 2D+2
Blaster 3D+2
KNOWLEDGE 1D+1
MECHANICAL 3D
Starship gunnery 5D
PERCEPTION 1D+1
STRENGTH 1D+1
TECHNICAL 1D+1
Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D), comlink

The Imperial Transport

If the Rebels have not disabled the Imperial transport, then it will chase them through the atmosphere. The pilot will not pause to rescue anyone left behind on the pad, so the only crew on the shuttle will be the pilots and the two forward gunners.

Imperial Transport

Craft: Telgorn II lpc
Type: Gamma-class Light Personnel Carrier
Length: 30 meters
Scale: Capital Ship
Crew: 5
Passengers: 40
Cargo Capacity: 1 metric ton
Consumables: 3 days
Hyperdrive Multiplier: None
Nav Computer: No
Hyperdrive Backup: No
Sublight Speed: 3D
Maneuverability: 3D
Hull: 5D+2
Weapons:
Four Laser Cannons (fire separately)
Fire Control: 3D
Damage: 2D
Shields: 2D+2

The Telgorn II lpc Gamma-class personnel shuttle was built using the same hull as Telgorn Corp's Gamma-class Assault Shuttle, but its mission profile (that of supplying planetary forces quickly) required extensive internal modification.

TIE Fighter Attack

Once the Worthless Fool is beyond the planet's atmosphere, and has defeated the shuttle, the scanners show that the Star Destroyer Impending Doom is approaching. The Impending Doom sends four TIE fighters out to attack the Worthless Fool.

The Rebels must fend off the TIE fighters and make a hyperspace jump as soon as possible to get away from the planet.

TIE/ln Fighters

Craft: Sienar Fleet Systems TIE/ln
Type: Space superiority starfighter
Length: 6.3 meters
Scale: Starfighter
Crew: 1 pilot
Passengers: None
Hyperdrive Multiplier: None
Nav Computer: None
Hyperdrive Backup: None
Sublight Speed: 5D
Maneuverability: 2D
Hull: 2D
Weapons:
Two Laser Cannons (fire linked)
Fire Control: 2D
Combined Damage: 5D
Shields: None

Sidebar: Escape

There are three possible endings for this episode, not including death or Imperial apprehension. In the first, the Rebels escape from Najarka, but leave 6T-L behind — they will probably head back to Berrol's Donn. In the second, the Rebels retrieve the Droid but cannot decide where to go next, again sending them back to Berrol's Donn. In the third, the Rebels continue on to the Laim system with 6T-L in tow.

Ending One — Abject Failure

The Rebels escape from the Imperials and leave Najarka, but do not take the Droid with them. The Droid then falls into the hands of the Imperials, giving them information which includes the location of the base on Berrol's Donn.

When the Rebels return to the base on Berrol's Donn (because they really have no other place to go, and if they do, Maytoc will only take them to the Donn anyway), they find that the occupants of the base are frantically preparing to evacuate. Read aloud (very dramatically):

The corridors of the base are filled with scurrying humans, aliens, and Droids. Over the intercom system, you hear a familiar Droid's voice, "One hour until transport liftoff. Two hours until full evacuation."

When the Rebels ask, they are told, somewhat sourly, that Commander Rondel is in the starfighter hangars. Everyone on the base knows that the characters' failure is responsible for this evacuation. It is a short, uncomfortable walk to the starfighter hangars. Read aloud:

As you walk through the starfighter hangar, you see the mechanics and pilots readying their ships. You pause when you notice one of the X-wing mechanics, a Wookiee, staring at you.

The Wookiee growls — a long, low growl — and slightly bares his teeth. He is beginning to step toward all of you when the human straddling the nose of the X-wing leans and pulls him back by his bandolier.

"Leave'em alone, Tewn," says the human. "Nothing you could do'll be as bad as what Rondel'll do."

The Wookiee growls again, and bares his teeth further, but turns back to the open panel below the fighter's canopy.

Then you hear a sound even more frightening than the Wookiee's growl — Commander Rondel.

"You idiots!" he screams. "That Droid you left behind was an agent of the Alliance. It had the locations of this base in its memory, and the Force knows what else!" He runs towards you. "I should have you — I should shoot you myself. Right now!"

Rondel will rant and rave about the Rebels' ineptitude, and the magnitude of the lost information until they begin to grovel and beg for an opportunity to vindicate themselves. Read aloud:

"I'm going to give you miserable failures a chance to avoid a court-martial for incomprehensible stupidity," Rondel says. "I don't want to give you this assignment, but all the people I can count on are setting up the new base."

Rondel shakes his head. "You saw the transmission from Yearo Seville, didn't you? Well, we traced the feed to a subspace relay in the Laim system. It's an Imperial relay network center — most of the subspace broadcasts in the sector are run through that relay. See what you can find."

Rondel begins to turn to leave. "Oh, by the way," he says, "a lot of the Shashay believed that transmission. We're losing their support. And all those ships they were navigating — they're holding them hostage. If they surrender those ships to the Imperials, then we've lost."

Commander Rondel walks away, quietly giving orders to the men at his side. The Droid's voice comes on the intercom again.

"Imperial Star Destroyers have entered the system. They are presenting their terms for our surrender. Outer defense line is preparing to engage. May the Force be with us all."

The Rebels should return to the Worthless Fool and leave for the Laim system. As they leave, they see distance flashes of a battle in space.

Ending Two — A Brief Break

The Rebels return to Berrol's Donn with the Droid. They haven't made any real mistakes, but they just don't know where to go next.

Rondel has the Droid taken from them and in a few hours Droid techs present them with the information from the Droid. This includes all the hidden Droid memories (as shown in Episode One), and an added statement by Rondel that they should take the Droid and go to the Laim system. They are informed that the Shashay are holding the Rebel ships hostage until Crying Dawn Singer is rescued. The Droid will now be in its two-personality mode. The Rebels are then cheerfully escorted back to the Worthless Fool. They board the ship and proceed to the Laim system.

Ending Three — Success

In this ending, the Rebels retrieve the hidden information from the Droid (the recording of Seville and the COMPNOR interrogation agent) and decide to go to the Laim system.

Upon arrival in-system, they receive a message from Rondel. Read aloud:

"All Rebellion ships in transit with Shashay navigators have been hijacked by the Shashay. The Shashay leaders have walked away from the negotiating table. They are threatening to go to Moff Owen for help. We're in trouble, and I think you're the only chance we've got. Good luck!"

Cut to ...

Episode Three, "Laim."

Episode Three

Laim

Summary

As soon as they return to realspace, the Rebels intercept another subspace transmission blaming the Rebellion for the kidnapping. Using the modifications made to the Worthless Fool, the Rebels board the broadcast ship responsible for the transmissions and find a data plaque containing the fabricated transmissions. They find a classified memo leading them to the planet Narg, where Crying Dawn Singer is being held.

Arriving in Laim System

The hyperspace jump to the Laim system takes eight hours on board the Worthless Fool. The ship's computer will have no information about the system except for its coordinates. As soon as they drop to realspace, the subspace signal interceptors in its sensor array detect another transmission. Read "The Second Transmission."

The Second Transmission

The holo begins with bright cheerful music. The words, "Special News Bulletin" spin through a holomap of the sector.

The holo cuts to a wide shot of a mauve and light grey news set. Two human news anchors are sitting at the anchor desk. "Rayter Sector News Central" is written on the wall behind the desk.

The cheerful music dims, and the holo zooms in to a medium close-up of the two anchors. Both are dressed in current Rayter Sector high fashion styles.

CUT TO: A close-up of the female anchor. After a few seconds, she begins speaking.

"This is a special bulletin concerning the disappearance of the great Shashay performer, Crying Dawn Singer."

A miniature holo of Crying Dawn Singer appears over her shoulder and the main holo camera zooms closer in on her.

"As we reported earlier, Crying Dawn Singer was abducted just minutes before a command performance for Moff Owen at the opening ceremonies for the SecPAC. The parties responsible for his disappearance have now made themselves known."

CUT TO: Male co-anchor

"Yearo Seville, the pirate who now lends credibility to his atrocities by calling himself a political rebel, has taken credit for the abduction and is demanding a huge ransom."

The holo over the male's shoulder shows Seville shooting Crying Dawn Singer.

"Imperial Broadcast and Communications Agents and members of the Imperial Navy are attempting to locate the hidden base of this vile criminal before any harm can befall Crying Dawn Singer."

CUT TO: Close-up, female anchor

"We here at Rayter Sector News Central are deeply concerned, and we hope that Crying Dawn Singer is soon delivered back into the safety of Imperial space."

PULL BACK: A medium shot of both anchors. The transmission slowly fades.

The Laim System

The Laim system has never been occupied. Its sun is a pale star which can only project a sickly blue light into the darkness of space. There are no planets. The Rebels easily locate the subspace relay station, as well as a Rayter Sector broadcast ship.

The Subspace Relay Station

The subspace relay station (SRS) is a large, spindle shaped, unmanned, intra-system space station in a slow, distant orbit around the Laim system's star. In addition to broadcasts, the SRS has a collision defense system. This system of lasers is designed to destroy any orbiting meteors or planetoids which appear likely to collide with the station.

When the broadcast ship sees the Worthless Fool approaching, the technicians on board reprogram the defense system to fire at the spacetug. Only three guns can fire at the ship during any given turn.

Subspace Relay Station

Craft: Subspace Relay Station
Type: Intra-System Broadcast Relay Station
Length: 100 meters
Scale: Capital ship (equipped with Starfighter scale weaponry)
Crew: None
Passengers: None
Cargo Capacity: None
Consumables: None
Hyperdrive Multiplier: None
Sublight Speed: 0D
Maneuverability: 0D (capable of rotating 360 degrees in four rounds)
Hull: 2D
Weapons:
12 Laser Cannons (fire separately)
Fire Control: 2D
Damage: 2D
Shields: 2D

The Broadcast Ship

The broadcast ship is feeding the false transmissions directly into the SRS. It has no weapons. The broadcast ship must transfer the transmissions through a physical connection to the subspace relay station. As the Rebels enter the system, the broadcast ship is docked to the relay station.

Rayter Sector Broadcast Ship

Craft: Merthyog Communications' II-xC Maintenance/Broadcast Ship
Type: Maintenance and Broadcast Ship
Length: 30 meters
Scale: Starfighter
Crew: 4
Passengers: 10 (normally technicians)
Cargo Capacity: 10 metric tons
Consumables: 2 weeks
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x4
Nav Computer: Yes; limited to five jumps
Hyperdrive Backup: None
Sublight Speed: 2D
Maneuverability: 2D
Hull: 2D
Weapons: None
Shields: 1D

The Rayter Sector Subspace Broadcast Network

The Rayter Sector High Advisory Council conceived of the Rayter Sector Subspace Broadcast Network (RSSBN) in an attempt to replicate a small part of the Old Republic Holo-Net. Where the Holo-Net used thousands of non-mass transceivers to relay signals through hyperspace, the RSSBN depends on sixty four subspace relay stations (SRS). Subspace transmission is much slower than the Holo-Net, but also significantly cheaper.

The data exchange capabilities of the RSSBN are limited — only six planets and eight of the sixty-four subspace relay stations can originate broadcasts; the rest act as relays. Laim's station can broadcast.

The RSSBN broadcasts official newscasts, sector cultural events, and official proclamations to all citizens of Rayter Sector.

However, individuals and groups not connected with the sector government have learned to use "parasite frequencies" to broadcast unauthorized materials.

Gamemaster Diagram: Imperial Broadcast Ship

Approaching the Broadcast Ship

When the Worthless Fool comes within 50,000 kilometers, the station will begin firing. The broadcast ship will remain docked with the SRS for the duration of the battle. Only after the Rebels have destroyed the defense system will the crew of the ship prepare to flee.

Fleeing Techs

Once the technicians aboard the broadcast ship see that the Worthless Fool will defeat the defense system, they will attempt to flee into hyperspace. The ship has four crewmembers and ten technicians.

The Worthless Fool's tractor beam projectors are located in the forward pylons. The two projectors may be combined to increase chances of capturing the ship (characters use their starship gunnery skill to capture ships).

Ranges for the tractor beams:

Once the Rebels have successfully captured the broadcast ship, its crew will attempt to break free. This is an opposed roll: the broadcast ship's sublight speed versus the strengths of the tractor beams (see the Star Wars Rules Companion for more information on tractor beams in combat).

The tractor beams can draw the broadcast ship toward the Worthless Fool at the rate of 5000 meters per round. When the broadcast ship is within 2000 meters of the Worthless Fool, the crew will make no more attempts to escape the beam and will begin preparing to be boarded.

The resistance the Rebels will face depends upon how badly the ship has been damaged:

• If the Rebels do not damage the ship but still capture it, they will be ambushed by the four Imperial crewmen as soon as they board. See "Ambush."
• If the Rebels' fire lightly damages the ship, the captain hails the Worthless Fool and offers to surrender. Instead, the Imperial crewmembers will attack, but the technicians will not fight. See "Ambush."
• If the broadcast ship is heavily damaged, then the hull has been breached, the ship has lost its atmosphere in some compartments and four of the ten technicians are dead. All remaining crew members will attack the Rebels when they board. See "Ambush."
• If the ship is severely damaged, the broadcast ship's sublight engines are destroyed and the resulting explosion opens a large hole in the hull. Instant decompression blows all crew members and technicians into space and no one survives.

Boarding the Ship

To prepare for deployment of the assault tube, the tractor beam operators must use the beams to maneuver the broadcast ship to within ten meters of the Worthless Fool. They must also orient the broadcast ship so that the tube will breach the hull at a location where the Rebels can safely enter the ship. Rebels operating the tractor beams may make a combined Mechanical skill roll to determine how successful this maneuver is. Use this chart to determine success:

Roll is less than or equal to 10: The broadcast ship approaches the tractor beam pylon at a very high rate of speed. With great force, it slams into the Worthless Fool. The Worthless Fool spins wildly, and the broadcast ship slowly floats away.

The impact destroys the tractor beam and laser of the Rebel who made the roll. The pylon pierces the hull of the broadcast ship, causing decompression (if it was still pressurized) and showering frozen bits of flesh and bone into space — half of the broadcast ship's surviving crew is killed. The impact also damages the assault tube and it cannot be used. To enter the broadcast ship, the Rebels must now use space suits. Cut to "The Spacewalk."

Roll is greater than 10, but less than 20: The broadcast ship hits the tractor beam pylon. One tractor beam and laser are damaged (difficult starship repair roll to repair). The other beam captures the ship and draws it in.

Roll is greater than or equal to 20: The broadcast ship is aligned perfectly.

Deploying the Assault Tube

Once the Rebels are prepared to cross to the other ship, Maytoc will activate the assault tube for them. When activated, the tube extends from the bow of the ship, pierces the hull of the broadcast ship, and then creates a pressurized accessway between the two ships. The Rebels can easily walk across to the broadcast ship.

Space Suits

If the assault tube is inoperative, or if the broadcast ship is depressurized, then the Rebels will have to use the four space suits in the Worthless Fool's emergency supplies.

The space suits resemble standard Alliance starfighter flight suits with gloves and boots. The silver color, chosen to make the suit more visible in space (for rescue purposes), is the only apparent difference. The atmosphere packs are heavy, squared off backpacks. The suits are designed for humanoid beings.

After the Rebels have activated the suits, the flexible material becomes rigid except at the joints; all Dexterity skills are reduced by 1D, but the suits add 1D of armor protection. Rebels wearing space suits will not be able to use their weapons, unless the weapons have been previously modified for use with heavy gloves. Jury-rigged modifications of weapons are possible, involving removal of trigger guards and the addition of trigger extensions. Successful modification requires an Easy technical or appropriate weapons skill roll. Failure on this roll damages the weapon, requiring an Easy technical or appropriate weapons roll and one hour for repair. Rebels firing jury-rigged weapons reduce their blaster skill by 1D.

The helmets have voice activated comlinks so that the Rebels can communicate with the Worthless Fool and with each other. The atmosphere packs can keep the Rebels comfortably supplied with oxygen for six hours of vigorous activity.

The Worthless Fool has the following equipment:

Starline cable: Thin (5mm) cable made from synthetic molecularly linked fibers. It adds +2D to any lifting rolls, or has an inherent lifting Strength of 4D. Four 200 meter rolls.

Maghooks: Ten small, but powerful cylindrical electromagnets which can be sealed to the end of a piece of cable and then used as grappling hooks. The magnetic force is enabled by a sudden application of force and disabled by twisting a small dial on the upper section of the hook.

Fusion WeldCut: Roughly the size and shape of a laser pistol, the welder produces a narrow band of fused plasma which will weld together or cut through starship hulls. Oversized controls make it suitable for use in space suits.

Communicator mini-Droid (CmD): A Droid brain in a small case with an attached keyboard. The device can:

• Interface with other computers and Droids (reduce all related Droid prog. or computer prog. difficulties by one level).
• Transmit and receive data or holos to and from the Worthless Fool.
• Assist in accessing secured doors. Once the CmD is linked into the security system, it acts with a security skill of 5D.
• All communication with the CmD must be through comlink or the keyboard because the CmD has no audiomembranes or voice module. It responds to inquiries by displaying information on the text screen, or transmitting data or holo files to other Droids or computers. It can produce a very artificial, machine-sounding Basic over the comlink.

The Spacewalk

If the Rebels have to do a spacewalk, they have two options to cross to the broadcast ship. They can try to "jump" their way over in zero gravity, or they can use the maghooks and starline cable to bridge the distance.

Rebels attempting to jump across must make an Easy climbing/jumping roll (if the roll is failed, the character starts to drift out into space in a random direction). At the end of the one round, the Rebels will be coming up on the ship — fast — and have to make an Easy climbing/jumping roll to come to rest on the ship without smashing into it at full momentum. If they fail the roll, they suffer 2D damage from the impact.

Rebels with good sense will attempt to use the starline cable and maghooks to cross between the two ships. After the Rebel connects the cable to the maghook (by running the end of the cable through the eyelet in the center of the maghook; the hole seals itself automatically), a Very Easy grenade roll is necessary to successfully make contact with the broadcast ship. If the Rebel misses the roll, it takes two rounds to reel the maghook back in and try again.

When the maghook hits the hull of the broadcast ship, it will magnetize and bond itself to the hull. The Rebels can then cross over the gap between the two ships by pulling themselves along the cable. If the Rebels do not secure the cable to the Worthless Fool, then they will have to repeat this process to cross back.

Getting Into The Broadcast Ship

Once the Rebels have crossed to the broadcast ship, they have to get into it. They can attempt to open the airlock. One method would be to comlink to the crew inside and order them to open the airlock (if anyone is alive, the airlock will be opened immediately; the Rebels may still have to contend with an ambush).

The Rebels can also attempt to use the Communicator mini-Droid to override the security systems and open the airlock from the outside. The CmD must be interfaced to the ship through the standard communications port located just to the right of the airlock door. The CmD must make a Moderate security roll to successfully open the airlock in one round. If it fails the first time, the CmD will ask for fifteen minutes in order to make another attempt (Easy difficulty the second time).

The Rebels can cut through the hull using the fusion welder. This process will take fifteen minutes. After the first minute, atmosphere will start leaking from the ship. All of the available air escapes during the first five minutes. At the end of fifteen minutes, there is a hole big enough for the Rebels to climb through. There will be no atmosphere in the ship, and all of the crewmen will be dead.

Ambush

The degree of resistance the Rebels face depends upon how badly damaged the ship is. If the Rebels are persuasive enough ("Fighting is certain death," or at least a Moderate command or con roll), they will be able to convince the crew to surrender.

Imperial Crewmembers (4)

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

The captain has a starship piloting 4D+2 and command 4D. The co-pilot has starship piloting 4D. The astrogator has astrogation at 5D. The engineer has starship repair 4D. All of the crewmen are fiercely loyal to the Empire, but will surrender if facing impossible odds.

The Imperials are wearing grey flight suits. They will attack, but have not been trained for this type of combat. The Imperials don't have access to space suits, so they will flee if the Rebels open a compartment into space.

If the technicians attack, they will be using clubs improvised from pieces of metal conduit and hand tools.

Technicians (10)

DEXTERITY 2D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 3D
Communications equipment op. 4D
Equipment: comlink, datapad, improvised club (STR +1D+2)

The technicians are wearing light blue coveralls which are unadorned except for a small, dark blue patch reading "Rayter Sector Broadcast Services" over the left breast. They have had no combat training and are attacking out of fear and rage.

If the technicians do not attack, they will hide in their quarters. When the Rebels search the ship, the technicians will surrender quietly.

What's Going On

The Imperials do not know what is going on. They were dispatched to Narg and were ordered by Moff Nile Owen's special assistant Nak Farool to take this crew from TransGalMeg Industries Headquarters on Narg to the Laim SRS.

If the Rebels capture and question the captain, he will remember reading the inadvertently transmitted message from Nak Farool to Moff Nile Owen (see the datascreen "Entry #527"), but the Rebels are going to have to force the information out of him. He will only say that he doesn't really know what is going on, but Nak Farool and his brother Braig are involved in the kidnapping of Crying Dawn Singer. A Very Difficult command roll will be enough to convince the captain to show them the message.

The technicians will speak freely. They know about the fake holos blaming the Rebellion for the kidnapping of Crying Dawn Singer (in fact, they helped produce them) but they don't know what the purpose is.

Searching the Ship

There are four areas in the broadcast ship: the bridge, the broadcast station, the dining area, and the crew's cabins (see Gamemaster Diagram "Broadcast Ship" on page 27). Any search of the dining area or the crew's cabins will prove fruitless. However, the bridge and the broadcast station contain useful information.

The Bridge

The computer terminal on the bridge will provide access to the ship's official files. A Moderate computer programming/repair roll is needed to access the information in these files (two additional Rebels may combine actions with the Rebel operating the computer). If the roll is successful, then the terminal screen presents these options:

A. Sector Group Communications —Entry #527—

(Show the players "Entry #527." This message was not supposed to be transmitted to this ship, but bureaucracies being what they are, it ended up being sent here. The captain read the message, assumed that it was a mix-up, and stored it on the ship's computers.)

B. Flight Plans

Salteract -> Narg *** Stored ***

Narg -> Laim *** Stored ***

Laim -> Narg *** Stored ***

Narg -> Bancar *** Computing ***

Sidebar: Entry #527

Heading: Operation 45RA.

Target: Rebel Alliance/Shashay

From: Nak Farool, Director of Operation 45RA on the authority of Moff Nile Owen.

Destination: Moff Nile Owen, Rayter Sector

Message: Greetings, Excellency. Operation 45RA is proceeding as scheduled. Our men have captured Crying Dawn Singer. We have also confirmed that the Rebel Alliance was using the Shashay's valet/translator Droid as an intelligence agent.

The mobile broadcast station has been ordered to begin broadcasting the fabricated transmissions, beginning with the ransom demands of the Rebel Alliance to the Shashay people. It will also broadcast news reports, official and unofficial, which implicate members of the Rebel Alliance in the disappearance of Crying Dawn Singer.

In order to minimize official involvement in this affair, custody of Crying Dawn Singer is being transferred to the Chief Administrator and Planetary Governor of TransGalMeg industries on Narg.

I am preparing the dispatch offering Imperial assistance to the Shashay people in effecting the safe return of their beloved Crying Dawn Singer. I believe that, very soon, any question of their alignment with the Rebel Alliance will be gone, and their system will be under our control.

— Transmission Complete —

The Broadcast Station

If the Rebels search the broadcast station on the ship, they will discover a data plaque and recognizes it as one of a type often used to store holographic recordings.

It can be replayed on the broadcast ship or the Worthless Fool (no roll is required).

The Data Plaque

The plaque contains recordings of four transmissions.

The first recording is of Yearo Seville's demands to the Shashay people (see Episode One). The second is the Rayter Sector news broadcast blaming the kidnapping on Yearo Seville and the Rebel Alliance (see Episode Three).

The third recording, which the Rebels have not yet seen, is of a press conference held by Nak Farool. In this recording, Farool, speaking for Moff Nile Owen, reads this prepared statement:

It is the decision of Moff Nile Owen that the Imperial forces of Rayter Sector cannot involve themselves in this matter concerning the abduction of Crying Dawn Singer. This is a matter which should be handled by local law enforcement and by the Shashay people themselves.

These are the final words of His Excellency, Moff Nile Owen.

The fourth recording, which the Rebels have not yet seen, is another newscast. In it, the anchor reports that Crying Dawn Singer has been rescued by an elite force organized by TransGalMeg Industries Security Division. Braig Farool, head of TransGalMeg Industries in Rayter Sector, is shown, standing with his arm around Crying Dawn Singer, saying:

We're proud of what we've done. We think of it as our small service to the Empire. Crying Dawn Singer and I are preparing to meet with the leaders of his people and negotiate the treaty that will forever give them the protection of the Empire ... bringing them under the Emperor's wing, so to speak.

Cut to ...

After the Rebels have returned to the Worthless Fool, cut to Episode Four, "Narg."

Episode Four

Narg

Summary

The Rebels arrive in the city of Grig on Narg. After suffering through the TGM bureaucracy, the Rebels can begin gathering information on Braig Farool and Crying Dawn Singer. They hear rumors that an alien prisoner of the Empire is being held in the TGM Administration Center, despite the fact that the corporate detention block is in Toggeus.

Approaching Narg

Begin this episode by reading the cutaway to the Rebels. The journey to Narg takes twelve hours. If the Rebels ask for information about Narg, show them the Narg Data Screen Readout. Narg appears as a normal planet with a wide range of environs, from ice caps to equatorial deserts. Beacons indicate two starports, one identified as the "TransGalMeg Industries Corporate Starport," in the city of Toggeus, and one identified as "Narg Starport, Grig."

If the Rebels attempt to obtain clearance to land at the corporate starport, the human coordinator will tell them, "No unauthorized access to the TransGalMeg Corporate Starport is allowed. Please obtain authorization from the TGM Headquarters or use the public starport at Grig."

If the Rebels insist on landing at the corporate starport, the coordinator will argue with them for several minutes, then another voice will break into the communications. Read aloud:

A deep voice resounds from the ship's speakers. "This is Captain Williar Barrog of the Imperial Cruiser Kana's Steel." A large Imperial ship appears on your scanners, slowly sliding over the planet's horizon. The voice continues, "We are securing the corporate starport for official sector operations. Report to the starport on Grig immediately. Your cooperation is expected." The cruiser is now fully in view. It is almost half the size of a Star Destroyer.

"Kana's Steel has come to Narg to prepare the starport for the arrival of the Imperial Star Destroyer, Impending Doom, and Moff Nile Owen."

If the characters cooperate with the controllers and head directly to Grig, the news that Moff Owen and the Impending Doom are coming will be the talk of the starport. Apparently the Moff's arrival has been publicly announced, but no one knows why he is coming to Narg. Of course, the true reason is that he is coming to arrest Braig Farool and rescue Crying Dawn Singer.

Cut-Away to the Imperial Star Destroyer Impending Doom

Read aloud:

INTERIOR: MOFF OWEN'S QUARTERS. Moff Owen is seated. Admiral Sahreel stands beside him. Nak Farool kneels on the floor. The holo of Nak Farool telling the press that Moff Owen will not rescue Crying Dawn Singer is projected into the center of the room. Moff Owen slowly stands and circles behind Farool.

"First, I arrive at Najarka and find that someone is stealing the Droid. Then I receive this from my agents on Narg. You have betrayed me."

Farool slowly raises his head, but dares not to turn and look at the enraged Moff.

"But, your Excellency, it is all part of the plan."

Owen pulls his blaster sidearm. "The plan did not include vilifying me. Admiral, have the subspace relay station destroyed."

Sahreel makes a curt salute and makes a motion as if to head for the door. After a second he halts, sensing that the Moff has something more for him. He slowly nods at the Moff.

"Yes, your Excellency."

The Moff issues one other order. "And have this place cleaned up."

Owen shoots Farool.

Narg Data Screen

Narg

Information Source: The Alliance Media Monitoring Project
Type: Terrestrial
Temperature: Temperate
Atmosphere: Type I (Breathable)
Hydrosphere: Moderate
Gravity: Standard
Terrain: Mountains, Forest, Plains
Length of Day: 21 Standard Hours
Length of Year: 431 Local Days
Sapient Races: Humans (N)
Starport: Standard Class
Population: 250 million
Government: Corporate Owned (TransGalMeg Industries, Inc.)
Tech Level: Feudal/Space
Major Imports: Metals, Minerals
Major Exports: Mid- and High-Technology

World Summary: Narg is a low-tech world which was quickly industrialized by the Empire in order to strip it of its natural resources as quickly and efficiently as possible. The planet was discovered by the Imperial Survey Corps less than five Standard years ago. At that time, the Rayter Sector Resource Analysis Committee decided that the inhabitants of the planet, humans living in an agrarian society, were not advanced enough to deserve equal status with the other populations of the sector. As a result, the committee recommended that Narg be annexed into the sector as a provisional protectorate, under the aegis of TransGalMeg Industries, Inc. In exchange for its sponsorship of the people of Narg, and the monetary and administrative expenditure connected with that sponsorship, TransGalMeg was given full executive powers over the planet's resources for the ten year period of protectorship: TransGalMeg is determined to take as much from the planet as they can before their sponsorship is concluded.

The heavy industry, fueled by locally available coal, is centralized within the planet's four major cities, located in the northern temperate zone. Most inhabitants have been unwillingly relocated, usually due to the appropriation of their farm lands by TGM. The people do not understand the technology that surrounds them. They follow the routines created by the demands and benefits of technology, but, when under stress, they are more likely to run into traffic than board the hoverbus, or to quench a fire with water than with a halogen cylinder.

Since the natives of Narg have only recently been exposed to aliens (and very few at that, because TransGalMeg prefers to employ only humans), they are xenophobic. The land not under direct TGM control still has a rural farm-based economy, powered by humans and animals. Most of the rural residents, primarily farmers, eschew technology and try to pretend that the cities do not exist, despite the constant reminders.

Narg Starport, Grig

Clearance to land at Grig is easily obtained. A scratchy Droid voice says, "Landing Bay 17. Stay for registration." There is no other traffic arriving at or departing from the planet. The entire complex was once white, but the stains of the dark coal smoke have streaked it black and grey.

After the Rebels disembark, they are met by a starport official. Maytoc will not leave the ship. If the Rebels attempt to call him out for registration, he will not respond. If they bring anyone onto the ship, Maytoc will be hiding in the accessways.

The official is an average sized human with pallid skin and dark, close-cropped hair. He is wearing a set of white coveralls, clean except for the light dusting of coal soot on the shoulders. The coveralls have a dark green TGM logo over the left breast. Written underneath the logo is, "Grig Starport Logistics & Support." The official is carrying a hand-held registration computer with a dermatoglyphic ID plate. He speaks to the Rebels with very little enthusiasm (read in a slightly rushed monotone):

"Welcome to Grig Starport, Narg. We hope your stay on our planet is pleasant. While you are here perhaps you would like to avail yourself of some of the many cultural and historical events."

The official pauses. He reaches into one of his pockets and pulls out a plastic chit with writing on it. He begins reading from it.

"If you need information on these events, I suggest that you visit the Narg Cultural Information Center located within the starport concourse."

The official points in the general direction of the pad's exit, then continues.

"While we pride ourselves on our hospitality, I must inform you that all visitors must concede to a full and thorough identity check. Individuals who refuse such an ID check will be jailed immediately. Individuals who are identified as wanted criminals, either by Imperial, sector or planetary governments, will be jailed or executed according to the wishes of the issuer of the warrant. Individuals who cannot be immediately identified will be allowed to go about their business, but they will not be allowed to leave the planet until such time as a positive identification can be made."

The official extends the computer towards one of the Rebels.

"Under whose name will the craft be registered?"

The official proceeds until all the Rebels have stated their names and placed a thumb (or similar appendage) on the dermatoglyphic plate. Wookiees will not be happy about this process (see the sidebar, "Dermatoglyphic Identification"). The official will say as little as possible and will not make eye contact with any of the Rebels. The ship will be registered in the name of the first Rebel to submit to the ID process. The dermatoglyph information will be sent through the planetary police files (where there should be no information on the Rebels) and then through the Rayter Sector Law Enforcement Information Network (RaSLEIN — if the Rebels are known criminals, RaSLEIN will be able to identify them). It will take one local day for the Rebels to be positively identified, so they probably shouldn't wait for official permission to leave.

The official will ask if there is anyone left on board the ship. If the Rebels say no, he will believe them. If the Rebels say yes, he will order them to retrieve whoever else is on board. After a few minutes of fruitless searching for Maytoc, the official will become bored and flatly state to the Rebels, "There is no one on board the ship." When the official has finished, he turns abruptly and leaves, ignoring the Rebels if they ask questions.

Sidebar: Dermatoglyphic Identification

Jaso Corporation's Right ID dermatoglyphic identification plate is considered to be one of the finest physical identification systems in the galaxy. While the dermatoglyphic system lacks the precise level of discrimination found in retinal scan devices, it has an advantage in that it can be used to access more comprehensive databases because more identification codes are stored in dermatoglyphic form than in any other form.

Nearly all known criminals, slaves, politicians and bureaucrats, and employees of many Imperially chartered corporations (including Jaso) have dermatoglyphic identification codes stored in their files. In addition, the attachment of a micro-holoscan unit allows the Right ID to identify individuals who are not present, using dermatoglyph prints left behind on virtually all surfaces.

There are limitations to the dermatoglyphic system. It cannot distinguish between beings with identical genetic material (such as clones), and its usefulness can be negated by selective scarring or artificial limbs. Also, cytoplasmic biopsy or chitinous accretion analysis must be used on species who do not develop dermatoglyphic patterns.

Special care needs to be taken when collecting dermatoglyphic identification data from members of the Wookiee race. Throughout their history, the Wookiees have been used as slave labor, and have often been identified through dermatoglyphs (since many of the owners and supervisors could not distinguish between individuals). Instead of taking these readings from the thumbs or fingers of the Wookiees, appendages which were often scarred or missing on the slaves, the readings were taken from the patterns present on the Wookiee's nose.

The result of this is a large database containing information on the identity of almost every Wookiee in the galaxy (as most Wookiees have been, at one time, slaves). Given the large amount of available data, there is no valid reason to change the method of identifying Wookiees.

However, the Wookiees see the dermatoglyph as a constant reminder of past and present mistreatment of their species — something that encourages others to treat them like cattle instead of people. As a result, a Wookiee who is asked to place his nose to a dermatoglyphic ID plate is likely to become very agitated.

The Starport Concourse

The walk to the starport concourse is brief and uneventful. During the walk, the Rebels encounter no other travelers. They will notice that everything seems to be covered with a light layer of soot, and that everything has the TGM logo plastered on it. After the Rebels reach the concourse, read aloud:

The concourse is dusty and dimly lit. No other beings are in sight. In front of you, wide glass doors lead to the streets — vehicles of widely varying sizes and types speed past. To your right is a snack bar advertising "Native Cuisine" and "TGM Protein Fruit Concentrate Refresher," but the layer of black dust on the counter shows that customers are rare. Next to the snack bar, the Sector Travel Guild departure board flashes slowly. It lists no departures.

To your left, you see lights, and life, in a booth marked "Narg Cultural Information Center," and a small store, the "Narg Starport Souvenir Shop."

Narg Cultural Information Center

The information center is staffed by a young human female wearing a white TGM jumpsuit. She is completely separated from visitors by a carbon glass partition which is slightly imperfect and distorts her appearance, making her look like a fish. All voice communication is conducted through a speaker system mounted at mouth level on the partition.

The attendant will try to be helpful. When she is asked a question, she will consult her computer. The computer search will take about five minutes. After the search is complete, the attendant will say, "I'm sorry, but I don't have any information on that."

Her problem is that the speaker on her side of the partition does not work. TransGalMeg refuses to replace it and will not allow her to admit that it is broken. She does the best she can by reading body motions and watching lip movement, but finds that she never has any idea what question she is being asked. The best she can do is to pretend to enter information into the computer, then announce, "I'm sorry, but I don't have any information on that."

However, if the Rebels deduce the nature of her problem and repair the damaged speaker (an Easy Technical roll is required for success), then she will be able to tell them where to find TGM Chief Administrator Braig Farool — the TGM Administration Center. She will give them quick directions (cut to "On The Street"). If there are any aliens among the Rebels, she will politely tell them that aliens are not appreciated on Narg. She can arrange for a comfortable repulsor-limousine to carry the Rebels (including any aliens) to the TGM Administration Center at a cost of 50 credits.

The Souvenir Shop

Most of the goods for sale in the shop are personal articles with the TransGalMeg Industries logo imprinted on them. The sales clerk, Sodilayno Smath, is a small, dark-skinned human male wearing a dirty white jumpsuit. The "TGM" logo has been torn off. He has a heavy knife hidden in his boot, and a double barreled black powder pistol hidden behind the counter.

Smath is loud and rude. He doesn't make his money here selling toothbrushes; he makes it by buying and selling information and black market goods. The Rebels will have to make Very Easy streetwise rolls to perceive his true purpose. If the Rebels identify themselves as being from off-planet, Smath starts to peddle his wares to them. Read aloud:

The clerk glares at you. "Don't see many people from off planet," he says. He points at himself. "I can tell ya where to have a good time 'ere. It ain't easy in this place." He pauses, then continues, "I can tell ya more than that, too, if ya need to know."

The clerk will want a lot of money for his information. One thousand credits would be his normal price (or fifteen hundred credits worth of merchandise). The Rebels can bargain with him (see the Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game rulebook) to lower the price, or roleplay it out (he will especially be swayed by the offer of any blaster weapon).

This is the information that Smath will provide when he has been adequately paid:

"Some thugs, pirates I think, brought an alien in a coupla' days ago. Perrsta and his guys come down to meet'em. They prob'ly put it up in the Admin, up near the top."

If the Rebels ask, Smath will offer this additional information (however, if he has a reason to feel that he wasn't well paid for the first information, he will try to get more money out of the Rebels):

• Perrsta is the captain of corporate security in Grig. His office is in the administration center (the 'Admin').

• The directions to the 'Admin' (the administration center) are "out the door, straight ahead on Central 'bout ten 'kay."

On the Street

After the Rebels leave the starport concourse, they will see two of the main streets of Grig: Starport St., and Central Ave. The Rebels' directions indicate that the administration center is about ten kilometers down on Central Avenue. Read aloud:

You stand on the sidewalk amid a pulsing crowd of pedestrian traffic, mostly human, with only a few humanoid Droids mixed in. A busy four lane street extends to your left and right, and an even busier eight lane street begins at your feet and stretches forward towards the center of the city.

The traffic is a motley assortment of landspeeders, low-ceiling airspeeders, and coal fueled land vehicles. The coal smoke coalesces into a cloud just above the tops of the buildings. Out here, on the edge of the city, the buildings are mostly low, no higher than the five meter high walls of the starport, but, further in, you can see the heights of the buildings growing, until they begin to disappear into the black cloud.

Crossing the streets on Narg is much like flying backwards through an asteroid field — it is possible, but you will need a lot of practice, and will wish you were blindfolded. The vehicles on the street and in the air cross paths in random directions, paying no attention to laws of traffic, order, or gravity.

The Rebels can increase their chances of safely crossing the street by observing the actions of the natives. The Nargans who are crossing the street near the Rebels bend down, then walk across the street as if they aren't afraid of dying.

The truth is that they aren't afraid of getting hit. Despite its chaotic appearance, there is order to the traffic. Most of it travels at least one and a half meters above the street level. The only vehicles that are traveling on the surface of the road are either coal powered vehicles of Narg manufacture or carts pulled by teams of large heavyset lizards. Neither of these travel at high rates of speeds and can be easily avoided.

If the Rebels notice the actions of the natives (this requires a Very Easy Perception roll), then they can safely cross the street. If none of the Rebels notice, then all who are taller than one and a half meters must make Difficult Dexterity rolls in order to safely cross. Failure means that the Rebels are grazed by a passing vehicle, taking 2D damage.

The Street

The ten-kilometer walk from the starport to the administration center will take about one hour (even at a rush, simply due to the incredible crowds on the sidewalks). Most of the people in the crowd of pedestrians will ignore the Rebels. The street is lined with small businesses and office space, all of which are look similar.

The Grig Police

If the Rebels are openly displaying weapons, they are approached by a pair of Grig policemen after crossing Starport Street and heading along the crowded sidewalk of Central Avenue.

Most Grig policemen were recruited from the rudimentary police forces that existed in the villages of the planet prior to its occupation. The duties of those primitive forces were simple and few — they arrested persons accused of crimes, beat them with clubs (if necessary), then chained them to a fence to await their trial before the local magistrate. The duties of the new Grig police department are even fewer, because most unlawful activities now come under the jurisdiction of the TGM corporate guards.

The major responsibility of the Grig police department is to ensure that the natives remain peaceful. One of their duties in this regard is to confiscate all weapons. Usually this only involves taking knives or axes from farmers who have entered the city, but when the Rebels appear, it means taking their blasters from them.

The policemen who approach the Rebels are older, slightly greying, and out of shape. They are wearing grey uniforms and riot helmets. They have been issued small blasters, but have not been trained to use them; they prefer to use their hard wooden clubs.

If the Rebels have hidden their weapons, have both the policemen make a Difficult search roll to determine if they notice. If both policemen fail, then they pass by the Rebels. If the weapons are visible, or if one of the policemen notices something suspicious, they will approach the Rebels. One of them says:

"Ah ... yes, I'm sure you know that it is — uh — illegal to carry any sort of — uh — weapon in the city of Grig?"

The Rebels should respond with their explanation. The policeman does not want to have to arrest them, because he wants to avoid any disturbances. If the Rebels have trouble coming up with a story, he will help them (something like, "Yes, of course, you were heading directly for the police station to have those weapons impounded," or "These are theatrical props, yes, they don't work at all, do they?").

However, if the Rebels are belligerent, or condescending, or refuse to play along, the two policemen will have to attempt to subdue them and take their weapons. The policemen will use their clubs until the Rebels begin using their blasters, at which point the policemen will switch to their blasters in the next round. During this encounter, the pedestrians will ignore the Rebels and the policemen and flow around them on the sidewalk. If the encounter turns into a gunfight, though, the pedestrians near the Rebels will panic. Some of them will run into the street, disrupting traffic and causing several vehicular accidents (no serious injuries, but lots of squealing vehicles, crunches of metal and small fires).

Grig Policemen

DEXTERITY 2D
Brawling parry 4D, melee 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 1D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 3D
Brawling 4D
TECHNICAL 1D
Equipment: Sporting blaster (3D+1 damage), club (STR+1D damage)

Droid Motivation Techniques

After an additional hour of fighting their way through the crowds on the smoke blackened sidewalk of Central Avenue, the Rebels are approached by a protocol Droid. Read aloud:

A silver, humanoid Droid pushes its way through the swirling crowd of pedestrians and falls to its knees in front of you.

"Please," it says. "I beg of you, take me away from this horrible place. You would not believe what he asks me to do."

A big, burly human wearing the coarse clothes of a farmer jogs up behind the Droid. "Why there you are, you metal mulk," he says, putting one hand on the Droid's shoulder. "You'll pay for running away from me." The farmer takes out a leather whip and begins whipping the Droid.

The Droid stands, his metal skin unaffected by the stinging leather. "Do you see?" he asks you. "You see what he expects? You must release me from this." The Droid holds up a leather harness. "He wants to bind me in this, then hitch me up to a cart. He wants me to pull a cart like a common farm animal. Imagine, I speak 800,000 languages and he wants me to pull a cartload of animal waste. You must help me."

The Droid whispers, "Purchase me from him. He does not know my true worth. You could make a large profit."

Rebels who make a Very Easy technology roll will realize that this is a third-degree Droid worth, taking into account that it is used and somewhat battered, around 1500 credits. The farmer will take as little as 500 credits, but is a shrewd bargainer and will try for more. More important to him than credits, though, would be weapons — the offer of a heavy blaster pistol, or a blaster rifle would close the deal instantly.

The farmer is not as dumb as he wants to seem, and, while bargaining, he will begin discussing the merits of the motivators, lingua-programing and plated servomotors installed in the silver Droid. Roleplay the bargaining out as much as possible — think of the farmer as a used car salesman.

Once the deal is closed (the farmer will only take credits or equipment right there), the farmer will disappear into the crowd as quickly as he can. The Droid will be thrilled with its new master, saying "Thank you, gracious master," and "Is there anything I could possibly get for you?" and so on. But, after about ten minutes, the Rebels will look around themselves and see nothing but human pedestrians, and the anarchic traffic on the streets. The Droid will be gone.

If the Rebels think about the incident for a few minutes, then they should realize that they have been thoroughly conned by a shrewd local and a disreputable piece of machinery. If the Rebels are lucky, they may see the farmer pulling the same con on some other off-worlders before they leave.

Biull Sangtwo, Farmer

DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 3D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
Streetwise 3D, technology 3D
MECHANICAL 1D
PERCEPTION 2D
Bargain 4D, con 3D
STRENGTH 3D
TECHNICAL 1D
Equipment: Hold-out blaster (hidden in sleeve, 3D+1 damage)

RT-56/X

KNOWLEDGE 1D
Alien races 2D, cultures 2D, languages 2D, streetwise 4D
PERCEPTION 3D
Bargain 5D, con 6D, hide/sneak 4D
STRENGTH 2D
Equipped With:
Two legs
Two arms
Two video sensors
Limited function vocabulator
SureDeal-R bargaining and negotiation logic initiator

Description: RT-56/X is similar in appearance to a typical protocol Droid, although his once bright silver finish is now tarnished. His situation on Narg has forced him to ally with Sangtwo and become an electronic scam man, a role for which he is aptly suited.

The Free Access Grill

About midway between the starport and the administration center, the Rebels will come across a fairly unusual business (at least for this planet).

The Free Access Grill is like any number of other bars and restaurants that the Rebels have passed as they walked along the crowded streets, except that this bar has a large, hand-written sign in the window stating, "We serve ALIENS. Only place on planet serving non-humans." If the Rebels enter the Grill, read aloud:

Inside, the Free Access Grill is brightly lit. It's also fairly clean — cleaner than anything else that you have seen on the planet. A few of the customers are humans, obviously from off-planet, but most are non-human. When the doors slide shut behind you, the noise of the street is silenced. The sound system in the grill is playing an old Twi'lek folk song.

The bartender is standing behind the bar, washing drinking glasses. He looks human — hairless, well muscled, fully two meters tall — but he has a second set of arms that extend from his sides, with which he is wiping the counter. He smiles and greets you as you enter. "Welcome, I am Tikiman. What can I do for you?"

The patrons of the grill, and Tikiman, the bartender, will be very friendly with the Rebels. They are excited to see someone from off planet. Most of the patrons are trapped on Narg due to emigration laws, delays in the completion of their criminal background checks, or by the simple fact that ships don't carry passengers off planet very often. None of them are happy to be on Narg.

The patrons will ask questions of the Rebels, such as:

"Do you know what happened on Sarranket?"

"What about Alderaan?"

"I heard that something weird happened near Yavin. What was it?"

"Who won the Galactic Del Soli tournament?"

The patrons will offer information to the Rebels. They know that an alien was brought to the planet, and heard that he is some friend of Braig Farool's, so he's probably in the administration center. Word that Moff Owen is coming to Narg is the talk of the bar, and many patrons are openly speculating about his mission, with ideas ranging from the plausible but inaccurate ("He's here to inspect the TGM plants."), to almost accurate ("I think Braig Farool may be in a lot trouble."), to the wildly improbably ("Maybe they're going to build a top secret weapons research facility in the mountains."). If the Rebels ask about Moff Owen, one of the patrons will offer the information that Braig Farool has a brother who works for the Moff.

If the Rebels think that they might need help, this is the only place where they could gain allies. Tikiman will not leave the grill, but one or two of the others might, in exchange for a ride off-planet.

If the Rebels state that they are going to the administration center, Tikiman will offer them a ride. Read aloud:

Tikiman smiles. "I can get you a ride to the Admin." With his two left hands, he points to the back of the grill. Through the haze of smoke they will be able to see a small human male who has his head down on a table. "If you can wake Barry up, he'll take you in the produce truck."

Barry will not easily wake up. He is young and pale, wearing dark pants and a vest that is several sizes too large. Once the Rebels awaken him, he will not make any coherent sounds until they make it clear what he is to do. Even then he will only say, "Okay, come on," and motion for them to follow him as he walks into the kitchen and out through the back door.

In the alleyway behind the grill is a very old repulsorlift platform, attached in makeshift fashion to a large four-wheeled cycle. The platform has wooden sides built up on it to allow it to be used as a trailer. Read aloud:

"You'll have to ride in the trailer," says Barry, pointing. "And cover yourselves up with the tarps." He rubs his eyes, sleepily. "And, if you don't mind, I'm gonna take the long way. It's safer."

The Rebels can choose to walk the rest of the way, or they can accept the offered ride. Either way, they will arrive safely at the entrance to the administration center in about twenty minutes. The ride will not save any time, but it will be peaceful and uneventful, and allows the Rebels a chance to rest.

Patrons of the Free Access Grill

Below are guidelines on some of the more interesting individuals in the Free Access Grill. These guidelines can be used to flesh out encounters and interaction with these characters.

Daf Spearmaster

Template Type: Whiphid
Height: 2.2 meters
Sex: Male
DEXTERITY 2D+1
Brawling parry 3D+1, melee parry 4D, melee 4D+2
KNOWLEDGE 1D+2
MECHANICAL 1D
Beast riding 2D+1
PERCEPTION 3D
Search 4D
STRENGTH 3D
Brawling 4D
TECHNICAL 1D
Equipment: Spear (STR+1D+1 damage), heavy knife (STR+1D damage)

Description: Daf is a large semi-humanoid whose body is covered with beautiful, flowing, golden fur, and whose head is topped by a long, ugly face with two protruding eyes and two long, yellowed tusks. He carries a long, broadheaded spear. Daf can understand Basic, but he cannot speak it.

Background: Whiphids are ferocious predators, originally from the icy planet, Toola, who enjoy nothing more than the experience of hunting something down and killing it. Daf came to Narg as part of a mercenary cadre hired to assist in training the local security forces. When the mercenaries arrived on the planet, TransGalMeg insisted that all aliens within their ranks be released from service.

Personality: Despite the fact that Daf retains all of the ferocity his species is known for, he is not likely to help the Rebels. While spending many nights in the bar talking to Lin Konpost, the Bith, Daf has become despondent. He knows that Narg is bad, and fears that the rest of the galaxy is worse.

Dr. Lin Konpost

Template Type: Bith
Height: 1.6 meters
Sex: Female
DEXTERITY 1D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
Bureaucracy 3D, geo-structural engineering 5D
MECHANICAL 2D+2
Repulsorlift operation 4D
PERCEPTION 2D+2
STRENGTH 1D
TECHNICAL 2D+2
Computer programming/repair 4D+2

Description: Lin has a large head and black, lidless eyes. Her mouth and nose are hidden by folds of skin. In her despair at being on Narg, she has allowed a thin layer of coal soot to collect on the pale skin of her hairless scalp. Since Biths do not sleep, she spends all day and night in the bar, sipping a green drink through a straw.

Lin usually wears a fraying black tunic over a pair of trousers which were once white, but are now light grey.

Background: When Lin runs out of money, she goes to the TGM deep mining station and computes stress analyses for the tectonic manipulation excavators (making her the only alien on Narg directly employed by the corporation). After she receives her pay, she returns to the Free Access Grill to drink. She drinks until her money runs out again, and she is forced to return to TGM. Lin will not explain how she came to Narg, other than to say that it involved a complicated computer malfunction.

Personality: Lin is very unhappy about being trapped on Narg and hopes to be able to drink enough to become numb. Her speech will be slightly slurred, and she will tend to dwell on the basic hopelessness of life.

Quote: "It is hopeless to even consider happiness. All life is pain and suffering."

To-yel

Template Type: Gotal
Height: 2 meters
Sex: Male
DEXTERITY 1D+2
Blaster 2D+2, wood carving 3D+1
KNOWLEDGE 1D
MECHANICAL 1D
PERCEPTION 5D
Bargain 6D, gambling 6D, hide/sneak 6D, split second notice 6D*
STRENGTH 2D+1
TECHNICAL 1D

Note: Split second notice gives a Gotal a chance to know what someone is going to do before it is done. If To-yel makes a Difficult roll using this skill, he is able to declare his actions after his opponents.

Description: To-yel is a tall, cheerful humanoid, covered with thick gray fur, and wearing only a gray kilt. He somehow manages to look friendly, despite his flat, almost nonexistent nose, his heavy brow ridges, and the two fleshy cones that protrude several centimeters from the top of his head.

Background: To-yel is cheerful and friendly looking because he is the only one in the bar who is happier here than he was where he came from. The two cones on the top of his head allow To-yel to detect electromagnetic radiation and other forms of energy. When most Gotals are young, they learn to block out much of this information and note only what is useful. However, To-yel has difficulties sorting through the signals and feels as though he is constantly being bombarded with unwanted information.

To To-yel, then, Narg is a paradise, in that it has less electromagnetic noise than any other planet he has been on. He finds it quiet and peaceful.

Personality: To-yel seldom talks. He spends most of his time sitting at one of the tables carving figurines out of blocks of wood. When he does talk, he has few words, and those words are spoken in a dull monotone.

Quote: "Other planets make my head hurt."

Seendar

Template Type: Togorian
Height: 3 meters
Sex: Male
DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 4D, melee 4D
KNOWLEDGE 1D
MECHANICAL 1D
Beast riding 2D+2
PERCEPTION 2D
Search 3D
STRENGTH 3D
Brawling 4D
TECHNICAL 2D
Equipment: Heavy blaster pistol (5D damage), scimitar (STR+1D+2 damage)

Description: The natives of Narg are probably more disturbed by Seendar's appearance than by that of any other alien on the planet. To seasoned star-travelers, this black-furred, humanoid cat is no one unusual, but his size — three meters tall — and thick, muscular upper body terrify the Nargans.

Seendar wears tight leather pants, a thick leather belt, blaster and bandolier, from which hangs a large, curved scimitar. While personal weapons are illegal in the city, the local police are afraid to enforce this with Seendar.

Even if Seendar was unarmed, the sharp claws and teeth would make him a formidable opponent. He is constantly aware of everything. His yellow eyes seldom blink, and his ears constantly twitch, following the sounds in the bar.

Background: In truth, Seendar is much like the Nargans. He is a simple being who was taken from his life roaming the plains of Togoria by a group of mercenaries. He enjoyed the time he spent as a mercenary — the excitement and adventure — but he found himself constantly surrounded by technology he couldn't understand. As with his Whiphid companion, he was cast out of the mercenary band with his arrival on Narg.

Personality: Seendar is hungry for action. He is not bloodthirsty, but bored and understimulated. He is willing to help the Rebels, but first the Rebels must gain his trust. Seendar understands Basic, but he cannot speak it.

The Rebels will be able to gain Seendar's trust by treating him as an equal, understanding that he is an intelligent being, and making a real attempt to overcome the barriers of communication. It would also help if they would buy him a large meal of raw meat.

Quote: "Rrahgr? Rrahhgrrr!"

Cut to ...

Episode Five, "Into the Bird Cage."

Episode Five

Into the Bird Cage

Summary

The Rebels arrive at the entrance to the administration center. The Rebels have to avoid or defeat the corporate guards in order to reach Braig Farool's office.

Once the Rebels reach Farool, he uses Crying Dawn Singer as a hostage and threatens to kill him. The Rebels must stop Farool without allowing him to kill Crying Dawn Singer.

After the Rebels rescue Crying Dawn Singer from Farool, they realize that they are trapped in Farool's office and must find a way to escape.

Cut-Away to the Impending Doom

Begin this episode by reading this cut-away to the Rebels. Read aloud:

INTERIOR: MOFF OWEN'S QUARTERS ABOARD THE IMPERIAL STAR DESTROYER IMPENDING DOOM. Moff Owen sits in a large chair covered with rare furs. A small computer panel next to his left arm lights up, and a holo appears before the Imperial officer. The voice quickly reports.

"Your Excellency, we have arrived at Narg."

A few seconds later, Admiral Sahreel enters the room, anxiously waiting for orders. Owen shifts in his chair, adjusting the furred cloak around his neck.

"Prepare my shuttle. Our first priority is to locate Crying Dawn Singer. I must be the one who returns him to the Shashay. Then I will execute Braig Farool."

The admiral turns, with a rushed, "Yes, your Excellency."

Cut to:

"THE ADMINISTRATION CENTER"

The Administration Center

The Administration Center is a one hundred meter cube, and almost thirty stories tall. It is the largest building in Grig. The only visible windows are in the upper stories.

Read aloud:

The main entrance of the administration center is a large stone arch at the top of a wide flight of stone stairs. A steady stream of workers, all wearing TGM coveralls in various forms and colors, flow in and out of the building.

On either side of the administration center are the TGM Hospital, and the Grig Employee Training School. These buildings are also large, but shorter, narrower, and dirtier than the administration center. They are connected to the administration center by five meter long, enclosed walkways.

The main entrance is a constant bustle of activity. To the east and west of the administration center are service alleyways. There are two entrances to the administration center in each of these alleyways.

To the west, the first entrance is a door labelled, "TGM Hygienic Support Services Collection Center," located near the front of the building. The second entrance is a large cargo loading dock.

Workers in grey TGM jumpsuits are unloading computer and data storage equipment. The west loading dock is not being used, but four TGM workers are sitting on the edge of it and will watch the Rebels suspiciously if they come near.

To the east is a plain door with the label "TGM Maintenance Services." Further back, the east loading dock is occupied by a wide truck with very large wheels.

The north wall of the administration center faces a lush park filled with native trees and thick yellow grass. There are no people enjoying the park, although some are rushing through it. The north wall seems more like a giant advertisement than part of a building because it features the large "TGM" logo, along with the slogan, "The corporation that makes your life better," and a twenty-meter-tall representation of the face of a smiling, female human.

The Hospital and the Training School

The Rebels may also be interested in the hospital or school, since these buildings provide access to the administration center through the connecting walkways on levels five, fifteen, and twenty-five.

The TGM hospital has a small, plain entrance on its south face, and a large loading dock on the north. The loading dock is heavily guarded by six blue-suited, Imperial security forces from ISCA (Imperial Substance Control Authority). This hospital is a major storehouse in the sector for medicines, and therefore requires heavy security.

ISCA Security Officers

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
Command 3D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 2D
Equipment: Blaster carbine (5D damage)

Inside the Hospital

The front entrance of the hospital is guarded by a young nurse. The hospital is exclusively for the use of TGM employees, and only those who are deathly ill or mortally wounded are admitted. The nurse uses a two-way video system to screen everyone who attempts to enter the main entrance of the hospital. Anyone who is not in dire need of medical attention is not admitted.

If the Rebels succeed in entering the hospital, they will find that it is much like any other Imperial hospital. Everything is either white or silver, the corridors are long and brightly lit, and everyone ignores you unless you are about to die. Once inside the hospital, the Rebels will be able to easily find an entrance to one of the walkways and enter the administration center.

The Training School

The Grig Employee Training School has simple doors on both the north and south sides of the building. The school has 25 class rooms on each level, but most are empty (there is only a 1 in 6 chance that any classroom is occupied; occupied classrooms will contain twenty to fifty Nargan students who are observing holo-training tapes). The Rebels will not be challenged when they enter the school and will not be disturbed as they walk through its halls, but when they get to one of the walkways to the administration center, they will find guards checking identification cards to make sure there are no unauthorized visitors (use standard corporate guards appearing later in this chapter).

The Administration Center — Inside the Lobby

If the Rebels choose to enter through the front entrance of the administration center, read aloud:

Inside the building, you see a pedestrian version of the chaos on the street. Five corporate guards, in black coveralls and black visored blast helmets, both with silver TGM logos, stare at you.

A hidden loudspeaker drones continuously, "Welcome to the TransGalMeg Industries, Incorporated Administration Center."

The lobby is decorated with wood and stones native to Narg. As the Rebels enter the lobby, they will be constantly jostled by TGM workers rushing past them. There are no signs or symbols of any kind, other than the TGM logo which appears in apparently random places on the walls.

Other Entrances

The Rebels may also try to enter through the side entrances to the administration center. The two side doors are secured by electronic locks. The Rebels will have to make a Moderate security roll to open either door. When the door opens, the Rebels see a narrow, dimly lit hallway containing a line of closed plastic containers. These containers are full of the building's trash and used maintenance materials. At the other end of the hallway is an unlocked door which opens into the lobby. There is also a small side corridor which leads to the stairways.

The Rebels can easily go through the loading docks as long as they don't challenge the workers, who are disinterested in whatever may be going on.

Finding Farool

Once the Rebels enter the building, they will have to find out where Farool's office is located. They can ask for information from the Greeting Droid, from one of the workers, or from the corporate guards.

Asking the Droid

If the Rebels are in the lobby, they can go to the reception desk and ask the greeting Droid for assistance. The reception desk is an octagon which encloses the Droid. Read aloud:

"Greetings," says the Droid as it rolls towards you. It tilts its head to one side, trying to emphasize the smile molded into its features. "I am glad to be of service to you for TransGalMeg Industries, Incorporated. What might you need?"

The Rebels can ask whatever questions they like. The Droid will attempt to be helpful, but its major function is to tell people whether or not they are in the correct building and tell them which level and room to go to. If the Rebels ask where Braig Farool's office is, the Droid will say:

"Do you have an appointment? You must have an appointment in order to see Administrator Farool."

This is no great obstacle for the Rebels, because it is not programmed to distinguish between truth and fiction. A Very Easy con roll is all that is needed to fool the Droid. If the roll is successful, the Droid will say:

"Oh, of course. Administrator Farool has offices on the top floor. That would be level twenty-eight. Thank you for allowing me to be of service to you."

If the con roll is unsuccessful, the Droid will say:

"I am sorry, but I must suggest that you speak to a member of our security staff."

Gamemaster Diagram: Administration Center

Floor plans: Typical Floor Plan; Ground Floor Plan; 28th Level Partial Floor Plan (Farool's Office).

Key: □ Air Circulation Duct; ■ Cablelifts

Asking a Worker

The Rebels can attempt to question one of the workers in the lobby or in the hallways (if they have bypassed the lobby).

All of the workers will indicate that they are too busy to be bothered. A Moderate command roll is needed to stop a worker. The worker, an overweight male in red coveralls carrying a large computer terminal, will not have much patience with the Rebels. "What do you want?" he will say. He will listen to the Rebels for no more than two minutes because the terminal he is carrying is very heavy and he wants to get to the cablelifts. If the Rebels ask about Farool, the worker will say, "Level twenty-eight," then walk away, muttering, "Waste my time. What a bunch of ..." No other workers can be stopped.

If a Rebel chooses to pull a weapon and threaten one of the workers, then a Very Easy command roll will be sufficient to cause the worker to stop. However, this will force the corporate guards into action. They will approach the Rebels with their weapons drawn. Go to "The Corporate Guards."

The Corporate Guards

If the Rebels are wearing their weapons when they encounter the corporate guards (or if the guards are responding to an employee's distress call), all five of the guards will draw their blasters. If the Rebels appear to be unarmed, the guards will stand straight and tall and try to look as frightening as possible without drawing their weapons. One of the guards will speak in a deep voice:

"What are you doing here?"

The corporate guards will not give out information about Farool until the Rebels come up with a good explanation about themselves. The guards will only believe stories that appeal to their romantic ideals about the military or security (such as the Rebels' claiming to be from TGM Internal Security or even Imperial Intelligence). If the Rebels take this tack, they will need an Easy con roll to fool the guards. If the guards do believe the Rebels' story, then they will tell them that Farool is on level twenty-eight. If the Rebels cannot con the guards, then the guards will call the security center and request that a full security squad be sent down to arrest the Rebels. The Rebels have eight rounds until the full security squad (twenty corporate guards) reaches the lobby. (Use this time limit to keep pressure on the Rebels.) If the Rebels shoot, or run, the corporate guards will shoot (go to "Panic in the Lobby"). If they do nothing, the guards will wait for the security squad.

When the security squad arrives, they will bring restraints and attempt to arrest the Rebels. Captured Rebels will be taken to Jonnas Perrsta's office on the twentieth level. If the Rebels are captured, go to "Captured."

Sidebar: TGM Corporate Security

Security in the administration center is lax, compared to what is found in Imperial government buildings or corporate offices on other planets. This is because TGM has never had any difficulties with the natives of Narg.

The general apathy of the population has been misinterpreted by off-planet TGM executives as support, so TGM primarily employs natives for Corporate security. The native security people are undertrained, since the apparent need for security is minimal, but they are enthusiastic. They shoot often, and with little cause, but not very well. However, they are strong and experienced in brawling.

TransGalMeg Industries Corporate Guards

DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 2D+1, brawling parry 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 1D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 3D
Brawling 4D
TECHNICAL 1D
Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D damage)

Panic in the Lobby

When the shooting starts, every worker in the lobby will start to run out of the building. Progress through the crowd is made at walking speed (5 meters per round, and only one movement action is allowed per round, due to the density of the crowd). In addition, due to the crowd, all firing actions are increased in difficulty by +5. After eight rounds, all movement returns to normal, because the lobby is now clear of people; unfortunately, the entire squad of 20 guards arrives through the left front cablelift.

Going Up

If the Rebels have set off the alarms, these encounters will not happen.

When the Rebels enter one of the cablelifts, its vocoder asks them, "What level, please?" and then begins moving. When the cablelift reaches the seventh level, the doors open and two corporate guards enter. The guards stare at the Rebels as the lift rises. When the lift reaches the tenth level, one of the guards says:

"Do you have the appropriate clearance to be on this level? Can I see your ID badges?"

The Rebels have to think fast. They can try to con or shoot these guards.

If the Rebels are using the stairs, these corporate guards will enter the stairwell on the tenth level and confront the Rebels just as they are passing the door.

State of Emergency

If the Rebels has set off alarms through their actions, when the cablelift reaches the fifteenth level, it will stop, and its doors will open. This is because corporate security is securing the building in an effort to capture the Rebels. They have deactivated the cablelifts and sealed all exits on the ground level.

After the lift stops, the Rebels will hear this announcement over the speaker (this can also be heard over speakers in the stairwells):

"Attention all TransGalMeg Industries employees. The administration center is in a state of emergency. Terrorists have occupied the building. Corporate guards are currently securing the building and have blocked all exits. If you are currently on the ground level, corporate guards will check your IDs and allow you to exit. If you are not on the ground level, remain on your present level and proceed to the nearest security kiosk. Repeat — Remain on your present level. Do not use the emergency stairways."

The Rebels should take this information as a clue. If they want to continue going up, they should take the stairways.

Further Up — The Stairways

The Rebels will exit the cablelift into a two meter wide hallway. If the Rebels turn to the south and start moving, they will pass the doors marked "Emergency Stairways" (see the map, "Administration Center: Typical Level" on page 48).

On their way to the stairs, they will be encountered by a petite female with long black hair, wearing a yellow TGM coverall. She will say:

"Hello, my name is Bonnie, and I'm a member of the TransGalMeg Personnel Satisfaction Division. I'll be glad to assist you."

If the Rebels say anything about the stairs, she will respond:

"But you don't want to go to the stairways. The announcement clearly said that we were not to use the stairways. Instead, let me guide you to the security kiosk on this level."

Up the Stairs

Once the Rebels reach the hinged doors marked "Emergency Stairways," they will find an illuminated warning sign flashing, "Stairways Inaccessible" above the electronically controlled handle. The door will not open. A Moderate security roll will deactivate the lock and open the door.

When the Rebels enter the stairwell, they will be able to climb up to the twenty-seventh level (each door is clearly marked with its level number). While the Rebels climb, corporate guards will enter the stairwells, ascend or descend a flight, then exit. The guards do not encounter the Rebels, but they should come close enough to make the Rebels worry.

At level twenty-seven, the stairs end, and the Rebels must exit the stairwell to find a way to level twenty-eight. See "Chaos Breaks Loose."

Further Up — The Hard Way

If the Rebels feel that the announcement is a trick to lure them into the stairways, they may decide to try another route.

One alternative would be to re-wire the cablelift to bypass the emergency cut-off system. This will take five minutes and require a Very Difficult security roll. One round before the Rebels can test to see if they are successful, five corporate guards appear and begin firing. If the Rebels are successful in re-wiring the cablelift, the doors will slide shut while the guards are firing. If the Rebels are unsuccessful, the doors remain wide open, and the corporate guards continue to fire.

The Rebels can also try to climb the cables up the shaft (40 meters) to the twenty-seventh level. To get to the cables, the Rebels must push a panel out of the ceiling of the cablelift. They can then assist each other in climbing out onto the top of the cablelift.

There are three thick metal cables supporting the cablelift. The cables are dirty and slightly oxidized, providing a rough surface, ideal for climbing.

The Rebels have to make an Easy climbing/jumping roll every round to move three meters. For each additional level of success, the Rebels can move another three meters (for example, a character rolls a total of 14, a Moderate total, so he can climb six meters; if he rolled a 17, a Difficult total, he would be able to climb nine meters).

The level number is painted on the inside of all the doors on the cablelift shafts. When the Rebels reach the top of the shaft, they will find that they are at level 28, and require a Difficult Strength total to pry the doors open (a total of three characters may combine on this total). If they look around (Very Easy Perception total), they will see that the doors to level 27 seems slightly askew, and probably would be easier to pry open (an Easy Strength total to pry open). If they enter on this level, go to "Chaos Breaks Loose."

Captured

If the Rebels allow themselves to be captured, then their visible weapons will be confiscated, and they will be searched for hidden weapons. After the Rebels have been searched, ten of the corporate guards (including the squad leader) will escort them to the twentieth level office of the chief of security. None of the guards will speak to the Rebels, except to tell them which direction to go. They will be bound with primitive iron shackles and chains. They will be led to an office labelled, "Jonnas Perrsta, Chief of Security." Read aloud:

The office and desk are panelled in a dark wood. Behind the desk sits a short man with long blond hair, wearing a pale yellow coverall. He is tapping the desk with a metal stylus.

He speaks. "Unit One stay. The rest of you can leave." All but five of the corporate guards leave. The blond man scratches his chin with the stylus. "You're here for Farool," he says.

Perrsta wants to get rid of Farool, whom he thinks is completely insane, and hopes that the Rebels are here to do it for him. He does not know who the Rebels are, but he has his suspicions. Since the plot to kidnap Crying Dawn Singer began, he has been expecting an investigation by TGM Internal Security or some branch of Imperial Intelligence. He would be greatly relieved if the Rebels claimed to be from one of these (or another similar agency). If the Rebels do claim that they have come to investigate or question Farool, Perrsta will offer his assistance to them in exchange for immunity from punishment for his part in the plot. Perrsta will take the Rebels to level twenty-seven, then allow them to enter the executive cablelift and ascend to level twenty-eight. Go to "Level Twenty-Eight."

Level Twenty-Seven

Upon entering this level, alarms will go off once again, with loudspeakers announcing "All units report to the 27th level." If Perrsta is with the Rebels, the alarms won't go off, but Perrsta will receive a comlink message. "Mr. Perrsta, Moff Owen has announced that he is coming to retrieve Crying Dawn Singer." At this time, Perrsta will try to stop the Rebels.

Jonnas Perrsta

DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 2D
Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D damage)

On the 27th floor, which is home for several of the most important TGM officials on the planet, there is an executive cablelift that goes to the 28th level. Level 27 is occupied by the offices and apartments of the nine planetary vice-presidents of TGM. The center section of the level is a lounge area, with a small pond stocked with fish, several trees, and a large number of birds.

There will be no corporate guards on this level when the Rebels first enter it, but three of the vice presidents (all humans) will be lounging around the pond. They are overweight, spoiled, lazy and fairly drunk. They won't fight, but it will be hard for the Rebels to get a straight answer out of them. After a while, they will tell the Rebels where the executive cablelift is.

If the building has been placed on alert due to the Rebels' actions, when the Rebels approach the executive cablelift, the doors to the three normal cablelifts on the east wall open, and twenty corporate guards will spill out into the lounging area. The corporate guards begin shooting immediately. The executives, oblivious to what is going on, will wander through this battle without getting harmed, providing comic relief.

The executive cablelift is secured with an electronic lock. The Rebels will have to bypass this lock while the corporate guards are shooting at them. It will take at least three rounds to bypass the lock; have the Rebel performing the task make a Very Difficult security roll. If the Rebel fails, allow a second roll, with a Moderate difficulty level, after an additional minute. You can also allow a third roll after a third minute, at the Very Easy level.

If the Rebel cannot bypass the lock after three tries, then, miraculously, the lock releases, and the doors to the lift open by themselves.

As a special note for this scene — the combat should be fast and furious, but not too deadly for the Rebels. Laser blasts should be exploding everywhere around them, but the gamemaster should make sure not to cripple the party — the Rebels should be given a lot of leeway when it comes to using furniture as cover and other creative things to plausibly explain why they are able to hold a score of guards at bay. The goal here is for the Rebels to succeed in escaping to the twenty-eighth floor with as much dramatic tension as possible.

Chaos Breaks Loose

After the Rebels reach level 27 or 28, read this cut-away. Read aloud:

TOGGEUS, ON THE FAR SIDE OF NARG. Moff Owen and Admiral Sahreel are uncomfortably seated in minimalist chrome chairs inside a lushly carpeted and dimly lit room in the TransGalMeg Industries Conference Center. A young Naval lieutenant walks briskly into the room. He salutes.

"Admiral, we have located the Shashay. He is in custody in the administration center in Grig, but we have noticed some activity and believe that they may be attempting to move him."

Admiral Sahreel defers to Moff Owen for the final decision.

"Excellency, what do you wish?"

Moff Owen considers for a moment.

"Retrieve the alien. We must return him to the Shashay, or we will suffer greatly."

The admiral turns to the lieutenant.

"Inform Perrsta that he must not allow the alien to be removed from the administration center. Put the ready crew on a sled with a full load of stormtroopers and drop them on the administration center. They must bring back the Shashay — unharmed."

Lieutenant, saluting, "Yes, sir!"

Cut to:

"LEVEL TWENTY-SEVEN"

Level Twenty-Eight

After the Rebels enter the executive cablelift, the doors will close, and it will begin to rise. When the doors open again, the Rebels are on level twenty-eight. Read aloud:

Level twenty-eight is lushly decorated in a modern, yet conservative, Imperial style. The wall hangings are imported from systems throughout the galaxy. The floors are tiled with stones imported from Beta Olikark, located on the tip of the opposite arm of the galaxy. The ceilings are high, and the gold and silver chandeliers emit a diffused kaylon light. An exquisitely decorated Galinolo Subservient Mark VII Attendant Droid approaches you, its features formed as a likeness of the Kyolorian snake-god and its skin covered by a thin layer of iridescent scales. "The master will meet you," says the Droid.

Braig Farool

The Droid leads the Rebels through the halls, then opens a door and motions them into Braig Farool's office. Read aloud:

The door closes behind you and seems to disappear. The room is decorated with delicate marbleized patterns, swirling about on a black background. Peripheral hologram generators make the walls appear three dimensional, as if they have no surface and the room stretches out into eternity. The ceiling suffuses out a cold light, augmented slightly by the natural light of the Narg sun, which shines through a skylight in the ceiling. In the center of the room is a large desk, made of the most expensive metals and plastics, and equipped with state of the art electronics. A small holo of a human challel dancer spins gracefully on one corner of the desk. Behind the desk sits Braig Farool.

Braig Farool is a slightly fat, balding man with no eyebrows. He is wearing a fashionable, upholstered, red smoking jacket, over an ivory colored malashet shirt, black pants and red slippers. Read aloud:

Braig Farool is sweating. His bald head shines; the creases in his face flood. But his eyes are hard and steady as they scan each of you.

"Am I correct in assuming that you are here concerning Crying Dawn Singer? I am sure you must be, as there is no other reason to come to this planet."

Allow the Rebels to respond. No matter what they say, Farool believes that they are here to rescue Crying Dawn Singer. He continues, speaking frantically:

"Who are you? Imperial? ISB? Ubiqtorate? Are you from the Rebellion? Are you Seville's men? Does it matter?

"No, I guess it doesn't. Because, regardless of who you are, I have a proposal for you." He stands. "I have discredited the Rebel Alliance. I have discredited Yearo Seville. And I have now discredited the sector's Imperial government. The major powers in Rayter Sector have lost all of their popular support."

Farool walks around the desk. "I stand poised to take advantage of the situation. I can garner the support of the populace. I can bring the Shashay into Rayter Sector. And then I can become the Moff. Moff Braig Farool, Ruler of Rayter Sector." He laughs joyously. "The Emperor will reward me dearly for bringing the gifts of the Shashay into his arms." Farool stretches out his arms and looks out through the skylight, into the grey sky. He yells victoriously, "I will exhilarate in the total grace of the Emperor's thankfulness."

Farool pauses again, and sweeps his hands across the room, including you. He smiles. "I can make you a part of this. You can join in the flow of history. Assist me, and I will bless you with some small token, say, this lovely planet."

Braig Farool has gone mad. He knows that his brother has been executed, and he knows that Moff Owen will have him executed soon. He is about to try to force the Rebels to take him off the planet. Read aloud:

Braig Farool reaches under his desk and pulls out a BlasTech A280 blaster rifle — one of the most powerful in the galaxy. "You will rescue me and Crying Dawn Singer from this planet, destroy Moff Owen and the Impending Doom and escort us to the Shashay homeworld, where we will negotiate the treaty which makes the Shashay the servants of the Emperor and myself the ruler of the Ettarue arm of the galaxy."

He smiles, then says to himself, "I even foresee the Emperor naming me as his heir."

"Do you agree to my demands?" he says, as he awkwardly aims the rifle. "Or do I have to shoot you? Or him?"

Farool reaches for the wall behind him, and the hologram projectors make it seem that he is reaching a million kilometers into black space. You realize now that each wall holds a holomap of the galaxy.

Farool triggers a hidden switch and the holomap disappears, revealing a small zoo in a hidden room. Along its walls, small animals, imported from many different systems, rest in primitive cages. The true centerpiece of the room is the large iron cage suspended from the ceiling. Crying Dawn Singer sits on a perch within that cage. When he sees the characters, he begins to whistle loudly, and screech, and thrash his wings against the bars. If 6T-L is present he will begin translating for his former master (Crying Dawn Singer is demanding to be released, and is ordering the characters to kill Farool).

Farool will not change his mind about his plans. He is sure that the Emperor will reward him. He is deluded and sees Crying Dawn Singer and the Rebels as his path to unmitigated success. All attempts to negotiate will be unsuccessful. Even if the Rebels agree to his demands, he will not trust them, and will become even more agitated, eventually firing at them. A Very Difficult bargain roll will be needed to convince Farool to put down the rifle.

Crying Dawn Singer

This will be the first time that the Rebels see Crying Dawn Singer in person. As they saw in the holo, he is covered with white plumage, except for the splash of red on his chest, and his red crest. He is relatively short and has a large hooked beak and very round red eyes. His toes end in sharp, polished claws.

If 6T-L is still with the Rebels, it will run to Crying Dawn Singer's side. Crying Dawn Singer will continue to screech and thrash until he is released. It will take a Very Easy security roll to unlock the primitive lock securing the cage.

If available, 6T-L will explain the situation to Crying Dawn Singer, and he will be prepared to follow the Rebels. If the Droid isn't available, the Rebels will have to explain themselves as best as they can (Crying Dawn Singer does understand Basic). Crying Dawn Singer will be predisposed to trust the people who have released him.

If Farool is still alive, Crying Dawn Singer will cease screeching but will continue to whistle loudly, whistling orders to the Rebels. The Rebels will not know this unless 6T-L is available to translate, but Crying Dawn Singer is demanding that Farool be shot. If no one shoots Farool, Crying Dawn Singer will grab for a blaster and attempt to do it himself. If the Rebels tell Crying Dawn Singer that they have decided to take Farool with them as a prisoner, Crying Dawn Singer will cease in his efforts to shoot Farool. Otherwise, Crying Dawn Singer will not stop until Farool is dead. Once Farool is dead (or if he is dead upon Crying Dawn Singer's release) Crying Dawn Singer will perform a joyous dance and sing brightly.

Trapped in Farool's Office

When the Rebels try to leave Farool's office, they will find that they are trapped in the center section, because the hallways surrounding it are now full of corporate guards (a total of about fifty guards should have entered the floor by now). They must look for another exit.

The Rebels' only alternative means of escape will be the skylight above the desk (if no one remembers the skylight, and no one thinks to look around the office carefully, have Crying Dawn Singer suggest the skylight).

Climbing out through the skylight is a simple process. The Rebels can shoot out the transparent plastic panel (or remove it with an easy Technical roll), then boost one another up onto the roof (Easy climbing/jumping rolls are necessary).

Cut to ...

Episode Six, "Escape."

Episode Six

Escape

Summary

Trapped on the roof of the administration center, the Rebels see Imperial stormtroopers arriving on the ground and entering the building.

As the Rebels escape the building, corporate guards arrive in airspeeders. None of the speeders are armed, so the corporate guards have to shoot hand weapons through the windows. The Rebels see the Worthless Fool cruising toward them for a rescue, as they must climb into the ship's hold through a cargo net, all the while avoiding laser bolts and collisions with other vehicles.

The Roof

The Rebels emerge from the skylight onto the roof of the administration center. The surface of the rooftop is flat, made of a black-stained, slightly slippery plastic. There are two large (about two meters high) atmosphere recirculation units to the north and south, and seven stone cubes (about two meters on a side), which contain the workings for the cablelifts (six for the cablelifts that run through the entire building and one for the executive cablelift). The entire rooftop is edged by a half meter high safety wall.

To the south of the administration center, Central Avenue is full of activity. Perrsta has been informed by Moff Owen that he is not to allow the Rebels to escape, and thus all of the corporate guards are mulling about. Refer to Episode Five for a complete description of the area immediately around the administration center.

The roof of the training school is about fifteen meters below the roof of the administration center.

The roof of the hospital is five meters below the roof of the administration center. There is an airspeeder ambulance parked on the roof of the hospital.

The Rebels have only a short amount of time to explore the roof. After a few rounds, read aloud:

You hear a rushing wind above your heads and look up. The belly of an Imperial drop-sled glows red as friction peels off the ablative coating. The roar of the wind grows louder as the drop-sled approaches the surface.

The sled drops below the roof of the administration center, on the north side, towards the park. The superheated air slightly singes your clothing, skin and hair.

You hear the roar of the massive braking engines. Litter from the streets and leaves from the trees swirl up in the vortex of exhaust gases.

When the Rebels look over the north edge of the building, they will see that the ship is disgorging a battalion of stormtroopers. When the Rebels look over the southern edge of the building, they will find that the corporate guards have disappeared.

Getting Off the Roof

The Rebels have four choices now. One, they can find a way down through the building, and attempt to defeat or avoid the stormtroopers. Two, they can call Maytoc and tell him to fly the Worthless Fool to the administration center roof and pick them up. Three, they can leap across the alley, steal the air ambulance, and then fly to the Worthless Fool. Finally, they may try to climb down through the air circulation ducts and outsmart the corporate guards and stormtroopers.

From now on, Crying Dawn Singer follows and agrees with the Rebels' decisions. He wants to escape, and assumes that the Rebels are professionals. He will not endanger himself for the sake of any of the Rebels, and will seize any opportunity to reach safety.

Through the Air Recirculation Ducts

There are several available routes back into the building: the skylight, which is a dead end; the cablelift shafts (characters can break into the shaft tubes by prying off an access hatch in the roof); through the air recirculation ducts, which seems to be the safest route.

Rebels who make an Easy search roll while examining one of the air recirculation units on the roof find a one meter square shaft covered by a metal grid. The shaft goes straight down for three meters then connects with a horizontal shaft.

The metal grid can be removed on a Very Easy Strength roll. Everyone in the party, except Crying Dawn Singer, must make an Easy climbing/jumping roll to safely descend to the bottom of the shaft (failure results in a twisted ankle — the Rebel can walk, but cannot run). Crying Dawn Singer's vestigial aerodynamics allow him to make the leap without suffering any damage. When they enter the recirculation ducts, the Rebels will feel a constant rush of air blowing past them.

Once at the bottom of the vertical shaft, they are in a shaft running to the east and west. After about 20 meters, they find a huge vertical shaft running straight down into the darkness. There is a ladder of metal rungs bolted into one side. The vertical shaft and the ladder extend all the way down through the building, ending in the third sub-basement. At every even numbered level, the shaft intersects with two shafts similar to the one the Rebels used to enter it.

At the third sub-basement, the shaft ends in a rough, grit covered floor. A narrow access door in one wall of the shaft can easily be opened and allows the Rebels to exit into the sub-basement.

By the time the Rebels reach the third sub-basement, the stormtrooper squad dispatched to search has decided that the building is secure and has returned to the lobby.

To leave the sub-basement, the Rebels must use the stairways, since the cablelifts don't extend all the way down to the sub-basements. The entrance to the stairwell is directly across the hall. The lobby is three levels up (and, unknown to the characters, has sixty stormtroopers in it). However, at the top of the second flight of stairs, the Rebels will pass by a door marked "Trash Disposal Containers."

Through this door is a narrow, dimly lit hallway, a stairwell and another door. Outside the door is another hallway, and along one wall is a line of closed, plastic containers full of trash.

The door at the end of the hallway opens out into the alleyway on the side of the building (the door labeled "TGM Hygienic Support Services Collection Center"; see Episode Five, "Into the Bird Cage" for more information). The Rebels can then go out into the street.

Sidebar: The Street

The corporate guards didn't disappear up into the building. They went to commandeer airspeeders to launch an air attack on the Rebels. By the time the Rebels reach Central Avenue, the excitement has passed, and activity — and traffic — is back to normal. The Rebels will have two minutes to collect themselves, then the corporate guards will arrive in airspeeders and begin shooting at them.

If the Rebels used Barry from the Free Access Grill, just before the corporate guards arrive, Barry will rush up to them in an airspeeder. He will jump out of the speeder and yell to the Rebels, "Get in and go!", then disappear.

Barry's Speeder

Speed Code: 2D
Body Strength: 3D
Maneuverability: 1D

If the Rebels didn't visit the Free Access Grill, then they will have to fight off the corporate guards until Maytoc can bring the Worthless Fool in and pick them up off the street.

Calling Maytoc For Help

The Rebels can also choose to call Maytoc on the comlink and ask him to fly over and pick them up off the roof. Maytoc will arrive twelve rounds after the Rebels call. Two rounds after the call, the corporate guards will arrive in their airspeeders and begin shooting.

Stealing the Air Ambulance

If the Rebels don't call Maytoc, or if they find that the onslaught of corporate guards is too great, they can leap across the alley to the hospital and steal the air ambulance.

A Rebel who attempts to jump from the roof of the administration center to the roof of the hospital must make a climbing/jumping roll, then consult the following table. It is probable that one character will attempt this, with the intent of bringing the ambulance up to the roof of the administration center to rescue the rest of the group.

Final Total is 21 or greater: The Rebel leaps across and lands gracefully on the hospital rooftop, absorbs the shock of the leap with an acrobatic roll, and ends up standing.

Final Total is 16-20: The Rebel lands on the hospital rooftop, but cannot absorb the shock and sprains an ankle. The pain does not impair walking, but operating the foot pedals on the air ambulance proves to be difficult, and the Rebel can only control it long enough to get it across the alley to the administration center. The Rebel will also be unable to run until healed by a medpac.

Final Total is 11-15: The Rebel barely travels the distance between the two buildings and winds up clinging desperately to the edge of the building, in danger of plummeting to the ground below. A Moderate climbing/jumping roll is necessary for the Rebel to climb up onto the roof. For each round that the Rebel hangs from the rooftop, the character must make an Easy Strength total, or lose his grip and fall to the ground. Additionally, any arriving enemy forces will find the Rebel a very appealing target.

Final Total is 10 or less: The Rebel fails and lands, roughly, on the top of one of the crosswalks, three meters below the rooftop. The Rebel takes 3D damage, and must make a Difficult climbing/jumping total to get to the rooftop.

The Air Ambulance

The air ambulance is a heavy airspeeder capable of carrying all of the Rebels. There is space for three humans in the cockpit; the rest of the group must stay in the large back compartment. The back compartment of the air ambulance contains a floating shock-cot and various computerized medical monitors. There are two inactive MicroMed Droids for emergency surgery (any injured characters can be healed by the Droids, who have a medicine skill of 5D). The back of the ambulance has two hinged doors that open outwards.

Air Ambulance

Craft: TGM Transport Airspeeder
Crew: 2
Passengers: 1 (in cockpit), plus up to 10 in rear (designed for two patients)
Cargo Capacity: 1 metric ton
Scale: Speeder
Speed Code: 2D+2
Maneuverability: 2D
Hull: 3D+2
Weapons: none
Flight Ceiling: 200 meters

Fending Off the Corporate Guards

The corporate guards will arrive in twelve airspeeders. Their airspeeders are not armed, so they are hanging out the side windows and firing with their sidearm blasters. There will be two corporate guards firing per airspeeder, and one additional corporate guard piloting.

Commandeered Airspeeders

Craft: Airspeeders
Crew: 1
Passengers: 3 (currently carrying 3 corporate guards)
Cargo Capacity: 30 kilograms
Scale: Speeder
Speed Code: 3D
Maneuverability: 3D
Hull: 1D
Weapons: none
Flight Ceiling: 250 meters

Boarding the Worthless Fool

If the Rebels hailed Maytoc Kollene, the Worthless Fool will arrive at the administration center twelve rounds after being summoned. If the characters have left the building, he will need another twelve rounds to figure out where they went (he'll follow the trail of smoke, airspeeder wrecks and such). If the Rebels have taken to the air ducts, he'll fly away from the building. In any event, if he can't find them immediately, he'll try to hail them on comlinks and arrange for a new meeting spot.

When he does show up, he will have a cargo net hanging from the belly of the ship, and four TIE fighters on his tail. If the Rebels are on the ground or on the roof, Maytoc will rush towards them, brake the ship abruptly, then hover. He will yell, "Grab the net," over the ship's external speakers, then move after two rounds. Rebels who don't move fast get left behind, but Maytoc will make a second pass to collect anyone who was missed.

If the Rebels are in the airspeeder, Maytoc will match speeds with them. A Rebel who attempts to jump from the airspeeder to the net must make a Moderate climbing/jumping roll. Any Rebel who fails this roll slips and falls, and must make a Dexterity roll. All Rebels who slip while making the transfer catch themselves on something (one of the swinging rear doors; an antenna; an appendage of one of their companions), but the lower the roll, the more likely the Rebel will catch something that is flimsy and will break within a round or two.

Crying Dawn Singer will be first up the net and into the cargo hold. No skill roll is necessary for Crying Dawn Singer because his avian physique allows him to make the transfer safely. He will take over the pilot's chair, and allow Maytoc to control the ventral laser cannon from the cockpit.

Once the Rebels are swinging from the cargo net, it will take a Moderate climbing/jumping roll to climb into the cargo hold unassisted. If a Rebel is already in the cargo hold and can assist the others, the difficulty drops to Easy.

If a climbing Rebel fails his roll, but has rolled a total of 3 or higher, the Rebel slides down to the bottom of the net, but grabs hold at the last second, and can attempt more rolls to climb to the top of the net.

During the course of the climb, the corporate guards are still firing. Reinforcements have arrived in more airspeeders, so the Rebels will see a swarm of airspeeders behind them. However, there will only be a few airspeeders and TIE fighters within firing range during each round simply because all of the other pursuit vehicles are getting in each others' way.

All Aboard

Crying Dawn Singer will wait for the Rebels to climb into the cargo hold. However, if the Rebels are not in the cargo bay within six rounds after Crying Dawn Singer begins piloting, he will resort to a desperate measure to get the Rebels into the ship. He will set the gravity generators in the ship to nullify all effects of planetary gravity, making every being and object within the ship weightless, then he will whip the ship around in a half roll, ending with the Worthless Fool bottom up, and the remaining Rebels standing on the outer hull of the ship. Crying Dawn Singer will then hover, and the Rebels will be able to enter the cargo hold. When he is told that the Rebels are inside, Crying Dawn Singer will close the cargo hold door.

To survive this roll, each Rebel on the cargo net must make an Easy Dexterity total not to lose their grip on the net and fall. Everyone inside the ship, however (excluding Crying Dawn Singer), must make a Moderate Dexterity total to hold on and not go slamming into a bulkhead (or other large object) and suffer 3D damage.

Once the Rebels are all inside, Crying Dawn Singer will increase the power flow to the Worthless Fool's sub-light engines and speed away from the airspeeders and into orbit.

In Orbit

Once the Worthless Fool exits the atmosphere, Crying Dawn Singer will leave the pilot's chair and, with Maytoc's assistance, begin calculating the jump to hyperspace.

The Rebels must pilot the ship, and battle the approaching TIE fighters. Read the following cut-away to the Rebels.

Cut-Away to the Bridge of the Impending Doom

Read aloud:

INTERIOR: THE BRIDGE OF THE IMPENDING DOOM. Executive Captain Marok is receiving instructions from Moff Owen on the planet's surface. Owen is communicating through a small hologram, but his rage over the recent turn of events is clearly evident.

"Take their ship. I cannot allow them to escape with the Shashay. Do not harm the creature — I don't care if a dozen pilots die, but I want the singer captured unharmed."

"Yes, your Excellency."

The holo of Owen disappears, and Marok turns to a subordinate.

"Send out Yellow Squadron."

Cut to:

"TIE FIGHTERS"

TIE Fighters

Once the Worthless Fool has left the atmosphere, and Crying Dawn Singer and Maytoc have begun preparing for the hyperspace jump, read aloud:

Near the edge of Narg's horizon, you see an approaching Imperial Star Destroyer. Small flecks of light emerge from its sides, slowly resolving themselves into twelve speeding TIE fighters.

The TIE fighters will close in on the Worthless Fool in four rounds.

TIE/ln Fighters

Scale: Starfighter
Sublight Speed: 4D
Maneuverability: 2D
Hull: 2D
Weapons:
Double Laser Cannon
Fire Control: 2D
Damage: 5D
Shields: None

The TIE fighter pilots will make active efforts to only damage and disable the Fool without risking injury to Crying Dawn Singer. This will work to the player's benefit, as they shouldn't have any compunctions about eliminating the TIE fighters. The Impending Doom, while it should always remain a menacing presence, will not be within firing distance before the Worthless Fool jumps to hyperspace.

The Wrap-Up

Once the Rebels have made the jump to hyperspace, they can relax; they are finally safe.

If they have rescued Crying Dawn Singer, then they can return to the Alliance as heroes. They will be among the ones chosen to journey to the Shashay homeworld and observe the ceremonies and ratification of the treaty between the Alliance and the Shashay.

If the Rebels also manage to bring with them proof that Moff Owen was involved in the plot, then they are greeted with even more enthusiasm.

However, if the Rebels do not rescue Crying Dawn Singer, then Moff Owen attempts to force the Shashay to reveal location of their homeworld. Crying Dawn Singer is killed in the subsequent "persuasion efforts," and the Shashay break off all relations with the Rebel Alliance, with the Alliance within Rayter Sector fracturing into dozens of autonomous groups. For all intents and purposes, the Rebellion within Rayter Sector has been lost.

If the Rebels rescued Crying Dawn Singer, award them six skill points. Also, any Shashay they meet in their further adventures will treat them with great respect and will even help the Rebels if they are in danger. If Crying Dawn Singer is not rescued, the Rebels only get two skill points, and Rebel Command will not look too favorably upon them in the future.

If the Rebels and Maytoc seemed to work well as a team, Maytoc may request that they be given semi-permanent duty aboard the Fool, giving the Rebels a mobile "home base" for their adventures.

Moff Nile Owen will also learn of the identity of the Rebels, and he can be used as a continuing nemesis to constantly badger the characters. In future adventures, Owen should be shrewd, cunning and dangerous. Braig Farool, if he survives, should also have escaped from the administration center (he took advantage of the chaos), and is now a fugitive from Imperial justice in addition to being certifiably crazy. He may become a continuing adversary, as he might take up the role of a trader out in some unexplored systems, or he may hire bounty hunters to track down the Rebels and take revenge.

The Abduction Character Templates

Maytoc Kollene

Template Type: Tramp Freighter Captain
Loyalty: To himself and the Worthless Fool, then the Rebellion
Height: 1.5 meters
Species: Human
Sex: Male
DEXTERITY 2D+2
KNOWLEDGE 3D+1
Alien races 4D+2, Planetary systems 5D, Technology 5D+2
MECHANICAL 3D
Astrogation 4D, Starship gunnery 4D+1, Starship piloting 5D+2
PERCEPTION 3D+2
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 3D+1
Starship repair 6D
Equipment: Various tools, comlink

Physical Description: Maytoc is an older human male. He is short, with closely cropped grey hair and is missing his left leg. He normally wears an oil stained engineer's coverall with the left leg sewn shut.

Background: Little is known about Maytoc's background. It is apparent that he served on the Worthless Fool before it was acquired by the Rebellion because there were extensive modifications made to the ship to allow operations by a one-legged person. Many people believe that he once worked closely with the pirate Yearo Seville, during the Worthless Fool's days as a boarding vessel.

Maytoc has very little to say about the loss of his leg, although it is rumored that someone in the sector's Imperial government was responsible, and that his involvement in the Rebellion is an attempt to avenge himself.

Personality: Maytoc is withdrawn; he talks very little. While he is skilled as a pilot, his real pleasure seems to come from his duties as mechanic and engineer, so he is constantly tinkering with the systems of the Worthless Fool.

Quote: "You guys are supposed to be the heroes. I'm gonna go fix the power flux mods so that we can get out of here when you're done bein' heroic."

Sixtee-El (KL-6T-LF7V/T)

Template Type: Valet/Translator Droid
Loyalty: To Crying Dawn Singer
Height: 1.6 m
Model: Cybot Galactica F7V Valet/Translator Droid
DEXTERITY 2D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
Alien races 8D, Cultures 8D, Languages 10D, Planetary systems 6D
MECHANICAL 1D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 1D
TECHNICAL 1D
Equipped With:
Two legs, two arms, two video sensors
Broad-band antenna receiver
Vocabulator speech/sound system capable of providing an extraordinarily wide range of sounds
Hidden security camera
Hidden homing transponder
TranLang II Communication module (can access nearly three million languages)

Description: Sixtee-El is a humanoid Droid, silver colored, with red detailing. Its servomotors are programmed to provide graceful movements.

Background: Sixtee-El has been with Crying Dawn Singer since he entered Imperial space, accompanying him from performance to performance. Its duties are to provide Crying Dawn Singer with whatever personal assistance he requires, and to translate. When the Alliance and the Shashay Nest-mothers began their negotiations, 6T-L was to be used as a Rebel agent.

Personality: Sixtee-El was originally programmed with a very proper and subservient valet personality. However, its experiences as a Rebel agent have caused a secondary personality, that of the heroic Rebel, to develop. This secondary personality often asserts itself during times of stress.

Quote: "You are quite right, Master. Your Doxxen tea is two degrees too warm. I shall take it out into the blinding snowstorm to allow it to cool."

Crying Dawn Singer

Template Type: Shashay Singer
Loyalty: To his people, then himself
Height: 1.5 meters
Species: Shashay
Sex: Male
DEXTERITY 3D
Gliding 4D
KNOWLEDGE 4D
Artist (song) 9D, Alien races 5D, Cultures 5D
MECHANICAL 5D
Astrogation 8D, Starship piloting 7D, Starship gunnery 6D
PERCEPTION 2D
Hide/sneak 4D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 2D
Natural Tools: Beak (damage value STR +1D), hand and feet talons (damage value STR+2D), wings
Special Abilities: Gliding, singing

Physical Description: Crying Dawn Singer resembles a thin bird with a thick, hooked beak. His plumage is white, with a red splash of color across his chest and a red crest at the top of his head. His eyes also are red. The claws on his toes are normally painted with a bright red polish.

His mannerisms are very bird-like, with many small, quick motions that never seem to cease.

Background: Even among the Shashay, Crying Dawn Singer is considered a talented singer. The Nestmothers of Crytal Nest allowed him to leave the homeworld to perform, because the currency he would acquire would be beneficial to the entire race. Since Crying Dawn Singer was highly individualistic and did not enjoy the regimented life on Crytal Nest, he eagerly accepted.

Personality: Crying Dawn Singer has great talent, and he knows it. He has a very large ego. He also greatly enjoys the comforts provided to a star of his stature.

Quote: "Wheeo-thekthekthek-feeyou." (Translation) "I have had enough of this, and I have decided that it is in our own best interest for you to leave. Now!"

Yearo Seville

Template Type: Pirate
Loyalty: To himself
Height: 1.65 meters
Species: Human
Sex: Male
DEXTERITY 3D+2
Blaster 7D, Dodge 6D, Melee 5D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
Cultures 4D, Planetary systems 7D+2, Streetwise 7D+2
MECHANICAL 3D+2
Astrogation 6D, Starship gunnery 4D+2, Starship piloting 5D+1, Starship shields 5D
PERCEPTION 3D
Bargain 5D+1, con 8D+2, gambling 6D+2, hide/sneak 5D, search 5D+2
STRENGTH 2D+2
Brawling 3D, climbing/jumping 3D+1
TECHNICAL 3D
Demolition 4D, starship repair 5D+2
Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D damage), Seville's Star (modified space yacht), comlink, drommanarg snuff pouch, datapad, cloak

Physical Description: Yearo Seville is a human of menacing countenance. He is of average height and build, with dark hair and nine parallel scars on his left cheek. He carries a gold-plated blaster and is known to dress in expensive, outlandish attire.

Background: Seville's life of crime started at a very tender age. He joined up with a gang of smugglers and by his fifteenth birthday he had killed his hundredth man. His cold-hearted cunning and greed led him to found his own pirate gang; by now Seville is famous throughout Rayter Sector as the most bloodthirsty and dangerous criminal in this sector of space.

Personality: Self-serving and dangerous, Seville takes great effort to cultivate an air of menace. He constantly manipulates his underlings, creating a constant sense of paranoia amongst his own henchmen.

Quote: "If we don't get the ransom in six hours, Crying Dawn Singer dies."

Braig Farool

Template Type: Corporate Administrator
Loyalty: To himself
Height: 1.75 meters
Species: Human
Sex: Male
DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 2D+1
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Bureaucracy 5D, Cultures 4D, Planetary systems 3D+2
MECHANICAL 1D+2
PERCEPTION 2D
Command 4D+1
STRENGTH 1D+2
TECHNICAL 2D
Equipment: BlasTech A280 Rifle (5D+2 damage)

Physical Description: Braig Farool is slightly overweight, a sign of many years of easy living. He is balding, but his vanity causes him to carefully trim what little hair he still has. He dresses quite fashionably in clothing made of expensive fabrics.

Background: Farool has worked for TransGalMeg for many years. When he was assigned the position of TGM Planetary Administrator of Narg, he realized that his climb to the top of the TGM power structure had ended. To gain more power (which he desperately wanted), he would have to go outside of the corporation.

His younger brother, Nak Farool, provided the information that allowed Braig to devise this plan, which he hopes will lead to a personal appointment to the sector government from the Emperor.

Personality: At one time, Farool was an evenhanded leader and astute businessman. However, his delusions of grandeur have imbued in him an overwhelming sense of self-importance. The galaxy exists only to please Braig Farool.

Quote: "When I control the galaxy, there will be no such problems."

Moff Nile Owen

Template Type: Imperial Moff
Loyalty: To the Empire
Height: 1.8 meters
Species: Human
Sex: Male
DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 4D, Dodge 5D
KNOWLEDGE 4D
Bureaucracy 7D, Cultures 6D, Planetary systems 6D
MECHANICAL 1D
PERCEPTION 2D
Command 7D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 1D
Equipment: Comlink, datapad, rank cylinder code key, blaster pistol (4D damage)

Physical Description: Moff Nile Owen is a very thin human in middle-age. He dresses in a standard uniform, but he is fond of furred cloaks. He has a wolfish smile, and his eyes seem to burn with an insatiable hunger. His mere presence seems threatening to most people.

Background: Owen has played the Imperial game by their rules, and has benefitted handsomely. His career began with distinguished service aboard several older Victory-class Star Destroyers, and he has steadily received advancement, to the position he holds now, as Moff of the Rayter Sector. While he is proud of his accomplishments, he hopes to be promoted to another, more important, sector.

Personality: Owen is totally dedicated to the Empire, and everything he does is with an eye toward the advancement of Palpatine's ideals (and his career). He will not tolerate insubordination or incompetence, and keeps very firm control over his sector. He is quick to anger, and uncompromising. He readily acknowledges that he will execute or otherwise "take care of" anyone who threatens his power or personal image.

Quote: "Learn what you can from him. Take what is left, and execute him. Send his family an expense voucher for the procedure."

Heir to the Empire Sourcebook

The story did not end with Return of the Jedi. The Saga Continues!

West End Games — RR 3 Box 2345, Honesdale, PA 18431

TM & © 1992 Lucasfilm, Ltd. (LFL). All Rights Reserved. Trademarks of LFL used by West End Games under authorization.

Back Cover

An albino Wookiee paces, nervously taking a few puffs on a long clay pipe. A repulsorlift limousine pulls up beside him. Two lightly armed guards exit the limousine. Seconds later, a slightly built avian creature steps out. The Wookiee lets the pipe fall to the ground and shatter. A scarred man in the shadows speaks into a comlink.

"Okay boys, let's do it."

Crying Dawn Singer, a famous Shashay Space Singer, has been kidnapped by criminals eager to discredit the Rebel Alliance. Can the Rebel heroes learn who is truly behind the plot to blame the Alliance, and why? Can the Rebels rescue the helpless Shashay before he is killed?

Sidebar: 64-page book features:

• A complete adventure, including background information on the new worlds and characters introduced.
• Gamemaster tips and staging hints to keep the players on their toes in this fast-paced, thrill-a-minute story.
• Complete deckplans and game stats for the modified spacetug, the Worthless Fool.
• Adventure script and cut-aways to capture the mood and feel of the Star Wars movies.
• Complete description of the mysterious Shashay Space Singers.
• Information on the corporate-owned industrial planet of Narg.

A complete adventure for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. For gamemaster and one or more players. For ages 12 and up.