Drowning in the Desert

During a bit of down-time, Provence gets the smart idea to take off the weapon sling from G'unresh's disruptor... but all I heard was a sharp "ping" and parts went flying all over... So much for that sling. At least the gun didn't discharge!

In the morning, we notice that our ship is being watched... On our way out, we attempt to set an ambush - fail. We attempt to split up, distract, steal and plant - fail. In the end, we lose our curious party in the outlying areas of the town.

At the hotel, Labria arrives on a speeder, drunk. She directs us to the Flats, at a water silo.

Ithorian

We rent-to-own an A1 landspeeder for 4000 credits, with 200 credits per day - damages for rental, with deposit refunded upon return.

We set out in the evening, and arrive about an hour later, near dark. In the silo, 3 humans and 1 furry thing are dead. The Ithorian is dead, but we collect a data pad from her

Arno's Next.

Not very descriptive, I know. Why couldn't she write more while she was dying? Damn Ithorian!

Well, it looks like her killer set a trap for us. The doors close, and the silo starts filling with water. Everyone else is in a panic, but not me. I mean come on, why doesn't everyone carry a breath mask? After Rawr and I claw our way to the top of the silo, I throw down my breath mask to Provence who is starting to look nervous. A few minutes later, everyone is safe. Of course, speeders are heard in the distance.

I re-appropriate the Ithorian's speeder, and we take off. The speeders we heard attack us, and that's when my day (night?) takes a turn for the worst. My speeder is shot out from under me, and I get an agonizing injury from a blaster. Of course, we get 2 suits of Laminate Armour, and heavy blaster pistols.

We interrogate one of those bounty hunters, who says that IG-72, an assassin droid, hired hum. They were told the person they were looking for would be in the Cantina tonight. So of course, that's where we go, thinking it was Labria.

Well, no sooner do we get there and start asking questions, when in comes two dudes in heavy clothes and a guy who likes to be called Puggles. (Puggles? Really?). From what I remember, the fight was really cool. First a stun grenade gets dropped on me, then Frank disrupts (and disintegrates!) one of the guys. I then almost slice off his shoulder, but in retaliation he pushes the red button and he's spewing flame across the Cantina! I don't know about anyone else, because I'm covered in napalm, and I'm blinded. The smell of burnt lizard is overpowering, but luckily it doesn't last long. No, let me clarify: the fire didn't go out, but my consciousness does.

When I come to again, I'm floating in a bacta tank, and it is 4 days later. Looks like we won the fight after all. They got some nice loot for G'unresh to pick through:

• 2 disruptor rifles
• 1 heavy blaster rifle, modded.
• Ranged [Heavy], Damage 13, Critical 3, Range [Long], Auto-fire, Cumbersome 3, Pierce 1
• Rifle Flame Projector Attachment
• Ranged [Heavy], Damage 13, Critical 2, Range [Short], Burn 5, Blast 8
• Vibroknife
• 3 stun grenades
• 2000 credits

Of course, my stay in the hot tub cost us 2000 credits in bacta, and an additional 500 credits in docking fees.

Oh, and we returned the speeder we rented. There was this big dent on the front that they tried to bill us for... I remember something about Dragool driving it through the head of one of those bounty hunters who attacked us in the desert. But since we had two spare speeders that we recovered from that same encounter, he decided to call it even at just one day's rental fee, with full refund for the speeder.

Who do you think shows up? It is Arno who is knocking on our door! Was at the Dune Sea, and Slag's message told him to look us up. He does not know Adar whom we were looking for.

Canyon Crate Dragon

The next morning we travel with Arno to the Wastes. Looks like other bounty hunters are out and about. Also, Canyon Crate Dragons are proving to be pests.

At the Sedi Fisk Desert Manor, we find only ruins, and evidence of tuscan raiders from sometime last year.

Decide to head to Lank's Farm, but choose to stop at the Oasis, run by Priests. They seem pretty neutral, but that could be a problem, if they let any sort of riff-raff stay here.

+7 XP

Taxi Service

Well, Sullust is pretty much a dud when it comes to finding vibro-axes. It's not like its a question of credits, it's that there are literally none around! Since we're off to Roche to meet Duntar and Vipee we decide to bide our time. We do buy one blaster rifle though (900 credits)

Turns out the crates the captain left behind were CAVw PX-10 units! Four of them! They're not much use to us at the moment, so we decide to sell them when we offload the cargo ship. Maybe Duntar and Vipee might be interested? Should be worth 50,000 credits each, but not quite legal around here.

Roche System
Damn cost of fuel! Cost us 2,000 credits in fuel to get here!

At the Roche system, we are directed to the asteroid belt, more specifically to an asteroid that is a small station (or is that a station that looks like an asteroid?) We dock and meet with Duntar Tran and Vipee.

Duntar was a smuggler who is now a trader. They built this "base" themselves. They have had entanglements with the empire. They also have a reputation for being shrewd and cunning, but having a legitimate business means they are pretty reputable - or else they wouldn't be in business any more!

They wine and dine us before getting down to business. The opening bid is 200k credits, but Provence wasn't able to hide the considerable dents, and the blaster-induced interior redecoration, and the final price is 190k, and that INCLUDES the four CAVs. Ah well, ya can't have everything!

The good thing is that he kinda likes us, and Rawr and I are impressed with him too since he manages to find us some vibro-axes for good prices! Not only that, he is able to get them modded with mono-molecular edges and added quality, sweet! That cost us 1,500 for the axes, and another 4,600 for the mods. While we were shopping, the rest of the crew upgraded our ship with a high-output ion turbine (7,500 credits) and since we had the cash in hand, we paid off the debt Dragool had on the ship (90,000 credits). Oh, and they upped the weapons system with a quad-cannon (20,000 credits).

I also found out that the bounty on my head has gone up by 1,000 credits! Oh, and the other guys also got the same treatment, but that's not so important. Seems someone is accusing us of damaging an imperial ship of some kind... Don't know anything about that.

Taxi Service
Well, after the upgrades are completed and the shopping done, we check with Duntar to see if he has any jobs for us.

He has a friend, Dana, who needs a lift back from the Kwenn space station, near Tatooine. She's a human female, brown hair, who has some info that Duntar needs. We are to meet her at Junction 8, and we are given a challenge phrase. He'll pay us 1000 credits each (and thrown in VIP membership) if we can return her as quickly as possible.

Kwenn is a refuelling station, with an extensive dry-dock. It is imperial friendly, so we don't think it is wise for us to just fly in with our ship. Dragool brushes up on his skills, and forges us a new ID and R4 helps Provance adjust the IFF for the ship.

Kwenn
The trip there is pretty uneventful, but there is an Imperial Star Destroyer docked, and tie-fighters patrolling the area. We dock on the far side of the station, like every other ship with something to hide. Costs 150 credits for our docking fees!

We got there early, but by the time we get to the meeting spot, looks like we're too late. Girl is on the ground, Imperial officer and two thugs above her, and someone in Mandalorean battle armour is just leaving. The imperial officer takes an immediate dislike to our presence, and goes for his radio, but Rawr acts quick and kills him with a crit. I slice the next guy and crit him, and just as I'm feeling proud of myself, I am jolted back to reality as I reel back from a critical hit from a disruptor, and I can see my blood gushing out from a grievous wound at my neck. I am somewhat pleased by the distance my blood arcs out, but by the time I realize I should be focusing on the fight, it appears it is over and Provance is trying to stop my bleeding. Dang I feel like $hit, but life goes on.

Well, not for Dana. She is brought back go our ship (along with the Imperial's ID cylinder), where we decrypt her datapad:

Data Entry #146
I Believe this to be my final data entry. I'm entering this coded information in case the bounty hunters catch me. But let me start at the beginning. After three months undercover aboard Relentless, I earned an assignment as assistant to Captain Parlan, the Star Destroyer commander.
Our last patrol through Dalchon system netted us three pirate vessels, but Relentless sustained heavy damage to its hyper-drive engines. Of course, we captured a number of pirates. I was with Parlan when he interrogated one of the prisoners. What we heard still moves me.
Commander Adar Tallon, hero of the Old Republic, is alive. And he's hiding on Tatooine.
Already scores of bounty hunters have answered Parlan's call. They are to capture Tallon alive and hold him until Relentless finnishes repairs and arrives on Tatooine. Tallon's worth to the Alliance, even if only as a rallying point, is immeasurable. We must reach him first.
If you are reading this, then the job to find Adar Tallon is yours. This mission supersedes all others. You are his only hope.

Well, you can guess where we are off to next! I spend the time in a Bacta tank that we pick up for 20,000. Money well spent, I say.

Tatooine
Customs at Mos Eisley starts getting too thorough, and Dragool again makes the wrong sort of impression with the inspector, but 1,000 credits later, things are back on track.

I'll let the bribes tell the next part of the tale:

• 200 credits to the bartender
• 100 credits to the city registrar entrance
• 500 credits to liberate the required information

Tallon's History: Tape #37484T
Commander Adar Tallon, a brilliant tactician and naval commander, served both the Old Republic and the emerging New Order during his long career. His space-fighting strategies and manoeuvres are legendary, and became the basis for modern starfighter and fleet combat tactics. His fame reached heroic proportions during the Clone Wars.
Shortly after Emperor Palpatine took charge to lead the ailing Old Republic with the vision of his New Order, Tallon's impressive career came to an abrupt halt. Tallon entered the Dalchon system to investigate a disproportionate amount of pirate activity. While tourin the area, Battalion - Tallon's patrol craft - received a priority distress call. A medium-sized freight was under attack by a heavily-armed pirate pinace. Heedless of the danger and the greater firepower, Battalion dove straight for the pirate ship. This bought the freighter the time it needed to acheive hyperspace - but at a terrible cost.
Batalion was obliterated. No trace was ever found of Tallon or his crew.

Looks like three plots of land were purchased at about the right time, when Tallon would have arrived on planet, some 15 years ago. An old Tuscan fort, Lank's Farm (moisture it would seem), and a tract of land bought by Sedi Fisk (supposedly has a manor on it now). It is said "The Jundland Wastes are not to be travelled lightly," which leads us to seek for Arno as our guide.

To find Arno, we are directed to find Labria, a female Deveronian information broker. On our way, we stumble upon a mugging, and Rawr threatens to bust some heads and Dragool intimidates them off. 

Seems someone named Slag Flaks wants to see us. She is an Ithorian who "knows many things", and knows the information we are seeking. We are to meet her at the space-port hotel, and Slag will take us to Labria.

+5 XP

Party funds:

• -        900 (blaster rifle)
• -     2,000 (fuel)
• +190,000 (sales)
• -     1,500 (axes)
• -     4,600 (axe mods)
• -     7,500 (high-output ion turbine)
• -   90,000 (ship loan payout)
• -   20,000 (quad cannon)
• -        150 (docking)
• -   20,000 (bacta tank)
• -     1,000 (bribes)
• -        800 (more bribes and fees)

Total: +   41,550 credits

As an aside, G'unresh, you can do a bit of retroactive shopping, but keep the total reasonable! We don't want to give Trandoshans a bad reputation.

Addendum to an Inside Job

Well, Provance managed to rig up the IFF and ownerships so we didn't raise too many eyebrows at the dock. We offloaded our goods, and got stiffed with our delivery fee. Seems there was some damage to the R2 units, and they reneged on our contract. Typical.

Looks like the (ex)Captain left some unclaimed baggage when he left though, which we'll have to investigate later.

Anyway, after meeting up with G'unresh we make a few discreet inquiries about buyers for our second ship. If it weren't so hot, it'd be worth about a million credits, but I'd be damned if we're gonna get more than ¢150k. Got word of a Verpine and a Duros in the Roche system who might be interested, and so we're off to investigate. Who knows, perhaps we'll pick up a new contract to keep the dough rolling in. I've gotta figure out how to take some heat off of me and G'unresh.

Blindsided by an Inside Job

Looking to make some quick cash, we sign-on as security for Pax Zondal of Cosmohall Shipping. We would be paid ¢400/marine, with a bonus of ¢50/pirate nabbed (dead or alive). It appears cargo regularly goes missing, and so we don't expect to get bored on the journey.

Well, we board the Argent Lady, a Ghtroc Industries Cargo Empress Super Freighter, bound for the Sullust system - a journey that should take 4 days. With us are:

• Captain Zal (Human)
• Baba Labat (Sulustan co-pilot)
• Uncle G (protocol droid)
• Zudia (female engineer with cybernetic right arm)

We get a very cold reception, as they feel they don't need any assistance. Looking at their crew, they should really re-consider. They convince us to stow our weapons in the weapons locker when we board, but at least the locker is in our common area.

Their cargo consists of 100 R5 units, some spare parts, barrels of Baridum (barium? Damn it Jim, I'm a marauder, not a chemist) which I'm told is used in blasting by miners, and some CAVW PX-10 units which are large mole miners, approximately 5m x 2m in size. Oh, and there are 2 escape pods, and out of curiosity we check to see how many people they are designed for, and it appears each is large enough for approx 6 people. Hey, it's not like the first time I've used an escape pod, only to have to bump someone out of the queue to get myself in!

Things start out really uneventfully. A couple days in, Capt and Zudia say they've been told to check out the R5 units to replace some motivators they've been told might be bad. They spend all day taking them apart and replacing some parts, while the rhodian practices his hide-in-plain-sight technique, trying to find out what they are really doing. Turns out, they were doing exactly what they said they would - replacing some metal bits with other metal bits.

That night, all hell breaks loose. R5 units come streaming out of the cargo hold, claiming that we are now prisoners of the Droid Abolitionist Movement. The Captain and crew appear to be part of the mutiny, as they are the ones who "liberated" the droids' programming. It also appears our weapons were ejected before we took off since the locker is now empty! The wookie and I attempt to subdue the droids, but we are quickly knocked unconscious by their stunners. We awaken a short while later, after having been shoved in an escape pod.

The escape pod has a pea-shooter, which we put to good use in an escape. This time, we no longer hold our punches! By the time we finish smashing 'droids, it turns out the crew is dead, and we have dropped out of hyperspace. The problem is that we are not in deep space, but near a planet! An imperial inspection patrol hails us and boards us. After a very short negotiation, Rawr gets bored and starts smashing skulls. Turns out six soldiers with blasters are no match for the four of us, as we quickly defeat them. We rig their ship to blow, and take off to our original destination, leaving behind an epic explosion in our wake.

We intend to deliver our cargo as promised, and who knows, maybe we can get enough for this ship to make up for the, um, damaged property.

+5 XP