Bothan Rescue

Preface

During our much-needed rest, Dantar Tran starts building his business relationship with Reom. Also, Vipee keeps offering to "optimize" our ship, but I'm a little leery about his work ethics...

Act 1

After our rest, Dantar contacts us with a business proposition that seems interesting. He lost contact with a ship returning with a Bothan (Knol Oryon) smuggling some info.. Dantar sent a coleague to check in, a Duros named Cpt. Gol Keg, along with a crew of maybe 3 on a viper class ship. Dantar got word that Cpt. Keg got to Jabba's, but then lost contact with him as well! (not the best communicators, obviously). Dantar suggests we skidoodle to Tattooine and pick up the trail.

Rewards! Always desirable:
Bothan (Knol Oryon) = 20,000 bounty
Duros (Cpt. Gol Keg) + crew = 15,000
Ship alone (Viper? ShipRay?) = 5,0000
Just the info that the Bothan was carrying = 10,000

Dantar supplies us with the beacon frequency of Gol Keg's ship. No sooner do we agree to the plan when a star destroyer arrives! Everything is chaos, but we can't leave because things are swarming outside. We take off and do a bit of defensive duty, taking on two "dupes" (bombers) and four "eyeballs" (tie-fighters). Once we have cleared a run for ourselves, we fly off, leaving with the asteroid-base's ultimate fate unknown. Will we even have a benefactor to pay us for our hard work? Dantar said he would get in touch with us when the time comes, though we have no specifics...

Act 2

We arrive at Tattooine, only to find a Star Destroyer in orbit! We pretend to be just like everyone else (a smuggler) and land. Damn docking fees!

We look for Old Arno first, because we don't want to rouse too many suspicions by asking sensitive questions. Looks like Gol Keg's ship might have left about a week ago, when there was an "altercation" at Jabba's palace. A safe-house at the edge of town was involved. The Imperials arrived about 4 days ago.

We walk by the safe house, but can't really figure out a way in, and it seems well guarded. We decide to loiter at a nearby tailor shop, where Provence gets fitted for a wedding gown (-200 credits).

While shopping for clothes can be entertaining for some, Rawr and I kept our eyes on the safe-house. We noticed someone leaving the building, so I decided to follow him and find out what was going on. Followed him to the Cantina where I saw him talking to the barkeep.

I had a drink, then just left since he was not doing too much that could be called interesting. A block or two away, I am "questioned" by two humans about my interest in my mark, so I entered into some aggressive negotiations, the result of which is one escapee, and one prisoner.

Our interogation (involving Rawr eating a finger... well, that's what I'm assuming since I couldn't find it later) revealed that the Bothan is gone already. Jabba had told the guards to "keep him", but the firefight was a "jail break". Jabba sent a favourite/trusted bounty hunter after them.

A Defel, Fril Yachure is the bounty hunter's name, and he supposedly took off in a fire-spray freight with the call-sign "no escape". Fitting! Fril has a penchant for "dead" bounties. Probably simpler to control that way - the coward! Retained by Jabba for many bounties.

Provence hacks the Mos Eisley spaceport navicomputer, and gets the No Escape's last known trajectory. Seems he entered a flightplan for Ryloth, but his actual flight vector was a bit off.

As we take off from the spaceport, we are challenged to land and threatened by the Star Destroyer...

+6 XP

-100 - Docking fees
-200 - Provence's wardrobe
Total: +  69,500 credits remaining

TO BUY: Life sign detector - 900 credits, rarity 5

Scheduled Downtime (a.k.a. Shopping!)

Dragool's got so many scars he can't find his face to shave (do Rhodians shave?)

Provence gets bored with mechanics and takes up brain surgery. Uses himself as first patient.

Rawr is wearing a cone to keep himself from gnawing at his legs.

What does this mean for our adventuring group? It means 4-6 weeks of R&R, along with the requisite shopping and training.

-10,000 Brain implant for Provence
-  5,000 Superior Weapon Mod for Flamer for Provence

Episode III - Junkyard Juke

We arrive at Raxis Prime in fine form, and quickly pick up a Tie Fighter escort, asking us to hold stations. Dragool will have none of that, and the Rhodian punches it past them. A brief chase and combat ensues, leaving us even more battered. More Tie Fighters! This time Dragool's piloting fails us, and we have a major collision with space debris, leaving us on a crash course with the planet! During our uncontrolled descent, Rawr and G'unresh manage to shoot down our escort, and Dragool pulls a miracle out of his orifice to land us without a crash being involved. Some duck tape repairs let us take off again to the Scrap Heap Point rendezvous.

We see many Jawa, and a Rhodian directing us to a landing bay. We are greeted by Norta, who is Rheom's representative.

After some negotiations, Harisol and Cratala strike a bargain, and we are told Reom will be here in a couple days.

We do a bit of shopping:

+  2,000 deposit for successfully completing our mission (balance to follow with Reom)
-   2,500 credits (repairs
-   4,500 credits (jet pack for me)
+40,000 for the scout ship
- 18,000 for cybernetics for Rawr (couple of legs, plus enhancements)
-      350 for stun grenades
-      750 for frag grenades
- 20,000 for thermal detonator
-   1,000 for flame projector attachment
-      200 for sling for G'unresh's disruptor rifle

During some browsing, turns out that some of the "Jawa" were actually disguised Yi-Yar clan members! There are 6 Rhodian and 6 Salustan! A quick combat ensues, when we discover "they must be going after Reom!" (huh? he's here?) Surprise! He's in the sick bay!

There are 12 Trandoshans trying to get into the sick bay with explosives. The battle starts badly, with Dragool's list of critical hits soon exceeding his I.Q. and joining Provence in La-La Land. Just when Rawr, G'unresh and I were debating a tactical withdrawl, Reom opens the sick bay doors holding a thermal detonator! (We've got to get ourselves some of those!)

After G'unresh and I convince them all that we are not in league with the other Trandoshans, things settle down. Reom explains that others were also looking for the Sa Nalor, and that explains our competition on Cholganna.

In appreciation, he pays up for our original contract, and throws in a nice bonus.

+  8,000 credits to finish off our contract payment
+20,000 credit bonus for saving Reom (and maybe for the good contract performance)

He also manages to cut our bounties in half! Woohoo! I'm still a wanted lizard, but not as much as before. (That makes me sad because I feel as if I am not wanted)

We help with repairs on their corvette, but not much for our own ship. Incoming tie fighters! We clear them out with the help of both ships, then jump to a rendezvous, at Dantar's asteroid/station.

+7 XP
Total financial change: +22,700

Meeting Cpt. Harisol

After some gentle interrogations, we learn that our competitors are from the Yi-Yar Clan (Yi-Yar Salvage Corporation)

We are met by 3 large riding lizards with about 9 riders. Among them is Cpt. Harisol! Oh, and some B1 battle droids, aqualish, and humans...

We join them and head back to their camp, following the east fork, along the rim, then climb up a bluff. Entering their compound from the west gate, there is a crowd of about 30 and a few droids.

We are introduced to Cratala (female human cybernetically enhanced) and Harisol, who seem to be in command of the place. There seems to be some lack of trust within the crowd with Harisol's leadership. They seem to worry about staying out of prison (remember the frigate/warship incident?)

We tell them about Reom, the original message pod that was found, and the contract we got to find him. They ask about the empire and what they missed. The crowd seems dismayed. Much deliberation. In the end, the talking heads convince them to come and negotiate with Reom.

Well, just when we get our ship kinda repaired, a new ship arrives, and probe droids swarm in. We convince Harisol & Cratala to keep resisting. Scout troopers (deep dark?), speeder bikes, probe droids - fun is had by all.

Dragool spends half the battle in a bacta tank, a situation that does not improve for a long time...

The ship seems to be an Imperial Sienar Fleet Systems Scout Ship, usually used by the Empire in the outer regions. It is nice to be in a ship that is actually in decent condition!

We sedate one of the cats, pack Cratala and Harisol and crew aboard, and decide to leave for Raxis Prime. It is supposed to be an imperial rim (toxic) junkyard. 1/3 human, 2/3 jawa population. We have to go through the Junkyard Canyon to approach the hideout.

As we are leaving Cholganna, we spot an ambushing Imperial ship! But a quick shot stalls their engine, and we make our getaway.

+8 XP

Episode II (cont.) - Catching Our Tail

Arboreal Octopus

On our way back to the ship I lag behind while the others trudge through the jungle. When I catch up, I find them all suspended by vaguely spider-like vine things. I am later told they were arboreal octopus! (or is that octopi?)

My companions were left quaking in their boots at the sight of these things, and it isn't until we are back at the ship healing/resting that they finally calm down.

Overnight, R4 spots some kind of ship in orbit, and we guess that it is the same ship that "greeted" us when we first arrived in the system.

We go to the next crash site. It is a large chunk of the engine that has fallen at a natural narrowing of a canyon, and it has now dammed up the water behind it. Water flows through the ship's remains. We climb up... No, let me rephrase that. I climb up and haul Dragool and IT3's asses up, and we explore. Turns out to be a waste of time since everything's rusted to pieces. We'd need salvage gear and plasma torches to get anywhere, so we decide to leave.

Dragool decides to take the quick way down, and mis-judges his dive. He doesn't re-surface when he should, and so it is left up to me. I do a graceful armstand back double-somersault with one and a half twists in the free position, parting the water with 'nary a ripple, right next to our fallen comrade. I drag his sorry ass to shore, and the rest of the crew join us without incident. No, let me rephrase that. I had to climb back up so I could lower Provence and IT3 down. Glad G'unresh is self-sufficient!

Nexu eyeing dinner

On our way back to our ship, 2 nexu attack us! Again, my companions are scared witless! This is a nasty trend I am going to have to watch out for, but we eventually get back to our ship.

The next day we fly to the next site, which has a significant sized chunk of ship. There appears to be people nearby, since there is a bridge nearby, and trails. In the wreckage, we find a security scanner that Provence pilfers. I also pick up a magnetic vibro-knife.

We also find a holo recording, along with a holo projector. It seems to be of the final moments of the ship, with Capt Harsol being heroic and protecting some of his crew.

While we are still in the ship, we encounter two more nexu, but these have cybernetics and upgrade mods! I am suitably impressed when one pounces on Provence, but he manages to artfully dodge out of the way, Matrix-style. After that, they don't seem too difficult to deal with, and we quickly dispatch them. Well, not that quickly. Over the course of the last two days, Dragool has been receiving grievous wounds, and they are starting to take their toll on him.

Meanwhile, a ship approaches outside, and Rawr uncharacteristically shows the better part of valour, and flies off. Five individuals disembark and head towards us. We duke it out in a corridor, and eventually emerge victorious. The first complication is that Dragool's arterial spray is making a mess and getting the floor all slippery. Provence rushes over to see what he can do but it looks like they'll be busy for the next couple hours.

Just when we thought we had a minute to breathe, we hear some chatter on the bad guys' comm links! I grab one of the Trandoshan's comm. units and buy us a bit of time... When G'unresh and I arrive at their ship, disguised as their crew and carrying their "leader", they let us in. A swift left-hook and a well placed shot later, and we're in possession of yet another ship! And look, they brought salvaging equipment! How kind of them.

Now we just have to deal with the human tech and the rhodian (?) muscle outside. Maybe they can answer some questions... like how they found us here?

+9 XP

Episode II - Arrival at Cholganna

Episode II

We opt for the direct flight to Cholganna, with no stopovers.

Small talk with IT3 reveals that he is to assist us with recovering the cargo and crew (command staff) if they are still around. He was the personal aid to the captain.

Arrive at the Cholganna system to find it is a disk? Sensors are blown out due to nebula. We find the planet, and scan the surface to narrow down the region where the ship might be, and lo-and-behold, a large debris field! Faint escape beacon is also found.

A YT-2400 (modified) appears and takes a shot at us. We scare him off, but only into the asteroids.

Cholganna

We land near the escape pod that we found. The pod is down a cliff, of course. Since no one else volunteers, I climb down to the pod. See the words "34 Besh", and am annoyed by some thumb-sized bugs that are remotely-zapped by Dragool and Provence. There is a skeletal body in the pod, and a computer... which leads me to climb back up, and carry Provence down so he can get the memory stick... but he ends up destroying it in his attempt. I mean really, I could have done that myself, and not had to carry him down to do it!

To be continued...

Episode I - Sent In Search of the Sa Nalaor

Episode I

Our good friend Dantar has an associate who is looking for some talents, and Dantar thinks we might be interested. We follow him to The Wheel, a neutral station with some kind of protection gambit going on with the Empire (must be, because they're doing pretty fine if you ask me!) Of course, the station has outlandish docking fees. I mean come on, 200 credits per day? And with approx 300k people on the station, they must be making a killing!

The Wheel

We are directed to meet Reom, of Isotech. They are somewhat legit, with some black-ops on the side. Their protocol droid CZ14 introduces us to the Twi'lek Reom. Reom tells us the store of the "Sa Nalaor."

• Ship of legend, approx 15 years ago.
• Salvage hunter's wet dream
• separatist treasure ship
• Was at the outer rim during the clone wars
• One of their message pods recently found
• We have their last known location - outer fringe of the outer rim!

Tasked with

• Finding the ship
• Assessing its condition
• Return info to RAXUS Prime
• Find special tech
• 2x reward
• 3x if good (don't ask me what that means... I can't read my claw-writing)
• Bring IT3PO ("IT3" for short) with us to ident the crew and cargo
• We have the coordinates

Reward of 10k total, other treasure is 50/50

No other groups that they know of, but independent searchers are to be expected

History:

• Ship's captain had agreement with Reom's father
• Cpt. was asked to come to Cholganna System with undue haste with medicines and supplies
• Deal would still be intact (just need the tech)
• IT3PO is our proof of relation
• Deal was something related to advanced tech

People

• Capt. Rel Harsol of the Sa Nalaor
• Father Ropok of ISOTECH

We are given a datachip with the ship's specs and layout, along with a holo of the captain

Something else about a scrap heap point on Raxis Prime, Reconn path through the junkyard canyon. By this point in the conversation my teeth were aching and I wanted to kill something, so my attention was wandering. 

Provence then did his techno-voodoo

• Data entry by "Grimners"
• Sa Nalaor desired, and famous for disappearing
• Loaded with treasure and credits
• Corellian trade route with cyber techs
• Chased by Imperials, and disappeared in a hyperspace jump
• Was banking clan frigate, with thousands of battle droids! Crew of 50
• Find schematic, was typical Munificent Class ship
• The planet is remote, with temperate atmosphere
• Cholganna have something called "nexu"

We invest in 

• 2 crash survival kits (600 credits total)
• Balanced hilt for me and Rawr (2000 credits total)
• Space suits for all (150x5 = 750 credits total)
• Top-up our bacta tank
• Stock up on rations (200 credits)

Back at our ship, we notice a 'droid placing something on our hull. We dispose of it before we leave. Probably a tracking device.

We are contacted by She-Ra (???), and told that IT3 should arrive in 3 minutes. Of course, things go pear-shaped, when 3 Rhodians on a grav sled load up the protocol droid and take off. After a heroic battle surrounded by an adulating crowd, we get back our droid. But it appears the crowd was not pleased by our performance, because we are arrested and forced to pay for "damages." 15,000 credits worth!

Reom is angry at us.

Dragool sums up my feelings by saying "The Wheel is too square for me"

36XP split 4-ways = 9 XP each

Starting credits = 65,850

Expenses = 200+600+2000+750+200+15000 = 18,750

Ending credits = 47,100