Mission Listing: Prologue: Investing in a ship
Each of the characters began the session between jobs. Since we were in similar straits, each character headed out to a warehouse on 16th; evidently, there was a good job with under the table pay. By the time six am rolled around, there were more than a dozen people hanging around. A rodian was among the largely human crowd... he fought one of the hangers about and casually took his things.
Raif's attention was drawn when a tattooed twilek threw signals down the street with his head tentacles. Casually Raif followed the signal and noted the car the twilek had signaled. He strolled that way and found a twilek passenger. This twilek invited him into the car; after a long moment's hesitation, Raif got in. Raif's classier dress was a step above most of the applicants; how much that had to do with his rapid approval is an open question.
The twilek was a local crime boss of some notoriety. Raif was told that he'd have to get a ship and a crew for the job, but that the twilek's organization would underwrite the ship. It was to be ultra-hush. Raif agreed, eager to finally get a ship of his own.
Raif exited and wandered down the street, back to the gathered humans and aliens. They were sullen; six am had come and their prospects for a day's work looked cold. Raif told them that he had a feeling that the hire was canceled-- he was largely ignored or derided by the desperate applicants. Two people paid him particular attention though: Selina Bree and Lars had worked with him in the past and knew that he had a good nose. When he turned to go, they joined him.
As they drifted away, the suspicious rodian pulled out a blaster and aimed at the departing trio. Flint leapt into action galvanized by the blaster. He and the rodian wrestled for possession of the gun. When the rodian escaped from Flint, Selina, Lars and Raif blasted him. He fell to the ground, stunned.
The blaster shots sent the crowd scurrying; as Flint turned to go, Raif called him over. The four people waited as the car pulled forward. The crime boss told Raif that he kept troublemakers like the rodian on his payroll to test applicants. After some brief praise on their rapid reactions, he sent them to Honest Lyko's shipyard.
The four combined their expertise to examine the three freighters in the yard. While not in the best condition, they weren't bad ships at all. Everyone agreed that the first ship was too small for good hauling; a pair of Ghtrocs remained. The first showed signs of extensive wear... and extensive modification. A panel fell off when they brushed by it, shaking their confidence. As they examined the other Ghtroc, a droid carefully welded the panel back in place.
Everyone bent their skills to examining the Ghtrocs. After long analysis, they decided that the modified vessel had enough features that it was superior... if it worked. Growling reluctance, the salesman accompanied us on a quick atmospheric flight and pointed out unusual features as we got a handle on the ship. Selina took to the turrets and blasted debris as if she'd trained in it for years.
When they returned, Raif hit everyone up for money in order to make the down payment large, so he could get better terms. Selina and Lars frustrated him (the didn't have much), and Flint admitted that he was a drifter... not many credits to his name.
Raif haggled with the alien; they reached an impasse. At that point, the twilek boss came to see what the holdup was. The salesman growled at us for not telling him about the credit line when we started. He left to draw up the terms...
(end prologue session) Episode One: Slavers? Who, us? And an under the table run for a shadowy employer...
Aman's First Day off the trainer. Aman reported for duty, taking pride in his readiness for action. He worked for Customs, and was particularly happy to pilot one of the hot new Y-wings. He was assigned Gray-13 as his call sign... an unlucky omen, casually brushed aside as he went through his preflight check. He climbed into the ship, toggled the engines... nothing.
A damaged cable, reported his R2 unit. Sarcastic, really, was the only thing you could call the brazen text that scrolled across the screen. Frustrated, Aman called over a tech and pointed out the error. "An hour and a half," the tech told him. Frustrated, Aman reported his ship's disability to control, which directed the members of his flight to stretch to cover his absence. Not a promising start.
Finally the tech finished the repairs. As quickly as he could, Aman marched through preflight, flipped switches, and was soon airborne. He limped into position and was teased by his wingmates.
Hours passed. Aman experimented with his plane, familiarizing himself with the controls. Suddenly his scanner caught a weak distress signal off in a clump of asteroids. Aman dutifully informed control, which coordinated backup while he jetted forward to investigate.
Just as he narrowed his scan to a clump of rocks, a pair of fighters swooped out from behind other debris. They rocked his shields as his R2 struggled to compensate. The attackers were old style fighters... RJ-11s, it looked like. Aman called for backup and accelerated to engage them.
Aman concentrated his blasts on one, then the other. Each time he drove away the fighter, but he had to turn back to the other. After several tight twists, he landed a ferocious punch that drove one ship far back. His backup began lobbing long range shots and he rode the tail of one of the pirates. Aman stitched it with blasters and ion cannons; long scars burned into the pirate hull. A final blast... and his opponent's engines winked out. His R2 reported flux in the pirate's power plant. The other pirate exploded as Aman's wingmen landed an precise blow.
In the midst of their dogfight, Aman had noticed a new sensor blip. His wingmen swept out to investigate it... long range scans indicated a freighter of some kind. Meanwhile, Aman commanded the enemy pilot to eject, so he could be picked up. The pirate swore and responded, "I knew I was dead when I took this mission." Aman drew closer to 'encourage' the pirate to eject when the pirate's ship exploded. R2 whistled as damage reports came in... a chunk of fast moving metal had smashed the Y-wing's maneuvering port.
Aman returned to base. The tech groaned at the sight of the damage to Aman's previously pristine Y-wing. Aman reported to debriefing, where he was chided for drawing to close to the other ship. He was praised for his simulator honed dogfighting. He went home to relax...
Shift to Raif and crew, hanging out on the new ship, getting it ready for space. We got a call from our mob-boss contact-- had we found a job already? Raif tried to imply that he had, but fell apart when the boss reminded him about the 25 percent cut he'd need. Raif gave up the act and agreed to meet with the boss' representative.
Raif met the rep; they established their credentials and settled down to bargain. It was very straightforward- he'd pay 16,000 to hire out our whole transport for a two-hop run. There were warning signs though... the cargo was not to be examined or looked at in any way. They'd be large containers-- far too large to fit in a smuggling hold. The cargo was illegal at the destination, but if we got the cargo to the landing pad, we wouldn't have to worry about interference.
After some negotiation, Raif bargained himself another 1000 credits as a direct bribe, unreported to the boss. They agreed to half up-front, half later, a very standard arrangement. Then Raif winced as the contact took out the boss' 25% share. Raif strode back and got everyone ready, told them about the conditions for this job. Everyone was gung-ho about getting some solid pay. It wasn't much later that the crates were loaded by droid. Locked and loaded, we beamed control our "manifest" and course. A quick lift off, and we were away.
We got another look at the planet as we thrust away into space. Raif double-checked his coordinates and we entered hyperspace.
Meanwhile: Aman reported for duty. He suited up and prepared for another boring day of traffic control. It began well, but... life gets complicated quickly.
Aman patrolled his lane carefully, sweeping the ships with his scanner, making sure that no one was smuggling in contraband. After several hours of boredom, he passed a small trader. As he passed underneath, he realized that his readings were very strange... his sensors weren't working well. He redoubled his efforts and scanned through... it was a shielded smuggling hold, evidently.
Very professionally, he called signaled them to stand down for boarding. They acted pissed off, turned and floated back along the queue, cursing the delay he was imposing. Aman was inflexible; while they fled, he called an inspection ship up to handle the boarding.
The fleeing ship halted, spewed out a final insult, and waited for him to scan it. Scanning... nothing turned up. Curious now, Aman flitted back along to resume his inspections. The line was backed up badly... it was a high traffic day.
A few moments later a ship flashed in from hyperspace and was directed into his lane. As Aman returned to his inspection point, his scanners picked up a small metal sphere. Scanning it, Aman saw the same drug he'd scanned on the runner earlier. He put the two together and radioed control with what had happened.
The incoming ship was the Rhiannon, with Selina, Lars, Flint and Raif aboard. They got in line and floated forward. Raif span a tale of woe; his ship was in serious trouble. (He broadcast ship wide to ensure that everyone would share the story). His tale inspired Flint into action. Flint grabbed some sealing tape and drew his blaster. He pointed it at the hull and fired, again and again, creating a faintly glowing spot. Selina and Lars manned the turrets, ready for trouble.
Raif flicked to intra-ship comminications. "What the hell's going on?" At that moment, Flint broke through... a crack snaked through the hull. Holding his breath, Flint leapt forward and reinforced the openings of the hole with the tape, careful not to actually seal the hole. Vapor began jetting from the Rhiannon. Flint shot the sewage line to add volume to the vapor.
Flashing alarms told Raif that his tale was now true (though not as he'd imagined it). Raif swept his ship out of the lane and headed for the planet, full out, screaming about a hull breach. He angled his craft to delay an intercept as long as possible.
When the Rhiannon leapt out of line with Raif spinning stories, Aman was suspicious. Aman redoubled his efforts to get a good scan of the freighter. When he noted the vapor trail boiling out of the hull, he directed the craft to a hospital platform. Aman's suspicions redoubled when Raif ignored his course correction and continued toward the coordinates he'd previously given.
Aman angled his fighter and punched the thrusters. He got close enough for a good sweep... he triggered it, balancing his attention between his flight boards and scanner. Aman's scan was sharp; it returned life signs in the cargo area. In surprise Aman screamed, "Slavers!" He accelerated to blast the slaver freighter.
In that instant, lives turned upside down. Four pirate ships leapt out of hyperspace-- a torpedo caught Gray 12 before it could react. Aman turned to avenge his shattered comrade when control radioed up, "Gray 13, return to base."
Aman was incredulous. "What the hell; aren't we going to avenge Gray 12?" Control simply repeated the order. Cursing, Aman descended to the hanger as the pirates turned and winked away.
When he reached his hanger, Aman was good and pissed. He threw his helmet around, snarled at the tech, and was a pain in the neck. His demand for answers was ignored. Finally, frustrated beyond rational thought, Aman stormed to his locker. He threw it open, grabbed everything he'd stuffed in there, and stormed out.
Meanwhile, Raif was guiding the Rhiannon down to the landing pad... shocked that there was no sign of pursuit. Evidently the "immunity" he'd been promised extended a distance beyond the physical bay. The word slavers had him worrying... it was not a line of work he was interested in.
By the time he got his craft down, Raif was boiling. He got out and found the agent (who also had a few loading droids and a couple of lowlifes helping him). His many assistants began clearing the hold under Flint's direction, while Raif walked up to the supervisor, Jak.
"Slaves? Tell me none of them are human."
Jak measured Raif steadily. "They're not all human-the humans are political prisoners anyway-they'll not be missed."
Raif responded that he was pissed that he hadn't been told what the cargo was. Jak offhandedly reassured him, "Your owner took the contract as a sealed box; even he doesn't know what we had you smuggle."
Raif frowned. "Never again." He then started negotiating for an extra... half hinting that it was his morals, half that he needed hush money. Jak cut him short by offhandedly commenting, "I suppose you're willing to pay for the support that took the law off your tail, right?" Raif had no answer... he waited in silence, imagined decking this fool, but managed to restrain himself.
Finally the last of the cargo was cleared and the local contacts cleared the port. Raif wandered back in as Lars finished patching the hole Flint had punched with his blaster. Raif dressed Flint down as a fool, threatening dire retribution if Flint holed his ship again. Then Raif went in and ran some numbers.
Aman threw his junk down in his apartment. His eyes flicked at the display: 4 messages cued. Three were coworkers (and his boss) calling to rein him in. The fourth was a mysterious voice (no visual): "Now that you see how things work here, you should come see me about your future. Call X91LA."
Aman decided not to bother with it yet. He called up the coordinates that the freighter had cited... yes, it matched a shady landing pad. He went out and swung up on his bike. A few minutes later he was at the razor wire boundary to the landing strip. A board guard waved him through... somewhat to his surprise. He was pointed at bay 17, which he rolled up to.
Aman called out angrily; Flint was closest to the ramp, so he descended. As Flint strode forward, Aman growled, "Are you the captain of the Rhiannon?" Flint looked him over and decided that Aman didn't look unmanageable.
"I'll get him. Who are you?"
Aman told him, hinting at a closer connection. Flint fetched Raif. Aman told him about his fellow pilot Gray 12 getting smeared as a result of his run. Raif admitted that he was carrying blind cargo, and that he was relatively suprised himself.
Aman snarled and stalked back to his bike. He rolled off the property and dialed up the mystery caller.
"Come on over... I'm at Renna's Bar. I'll be looking for you."
Eager to get to the bottom of things, Aman headed straight over. It was hard to meet the man without a visual; Aman decided to grab a beer and look for his contact.
As the bartender drew Aman's beer, two hot women came forward, beaming at Aman. Aman waved them away with regret, saying, "I'm here for a meeting."
The short one on the left smiled cynically. "I know; that's why we're here to fetch you." Before Aman could grab his beer, they linked arms and led him upstairs. Down a hall, through a door... Aman and his companions walked into a fine (though windowless) office. A plump man sat behind a desk.
To summarize: the man quizzed Aman and let him know that the local law was in his pocket. From behind the door stepped Aman's captain... who didn't deny a word. They talked for a bit; Wuher (the crime boss sitting at the desk) wanted Aman to agree to work for him. If Aman didn't agree... well, he wouldn't leave alive.
Despite his poor bargaining position, Aman negotiated good pay and established the right to buy a ship with his earnings. Then he stalked over and decked the captain, who flopped to the ground. The captain struggled up, ready to pay Aman back... but Wuher forbade it.
Back at the hanger bay, Raif and his crew were ready for a night on the town. Raif paid each of the crew a thousand credits... very good money, though they'd taken a terrible risk. They decided to go drinking.
They wandered into a shipyard dive bar. About halfway through the first pitcher of beer, Raif caught a loud snippet of conversation from the neighboring table. It was something about slavers. Raif got up, walked over, and told the speaker that he'd better shut up. The speaker bristled angrily... and got caught by Raif's uppercut. The guy lifted up off the ground... and fell, head first. His neck struck the ground at an awkward angle- Raif called for a medkit, while Flint dashed forward to straighten things out. No dice... the man was dead.
The barkeep calmly told the four smugglers that they'd better get the hell out of his bar. They complied with undue haste.
The four smugglers hustled back to their ship. As they walked, Raif was lamenting having to get off planet so quickly; he hated deadheading. By the time they got to the ship, there was a message waiting for them. A set of coordinates and a vague offer. The offer was a full hold consignment, dangerous, but good pay. Was the Rhiannon interested?
Given the total impossibility of wandering around and shopping for cargo openly, the crew decided to give the offer a full hearing. They lifted off from the spaceport and set out across the city. They continued east, until the city was far behind them...
Meanwhile, Aman was getting his bargain sealed. He was driven to Wuher's place- a country mansion, with the two girls as his servile companions. They 'entertained' each other until dawn...
Aman and an agent of his employer strolled the grounds. Aman was shown a hidden hanger and instructed to select his R41 starchaser... the very same model the pirates had used. Aman selected one and took it for a test flight.
While he was flying, the Rhiannon arrived. Raif was given a choice of runs... one a longer, slightly less dangerous run, and a short, very profitable run. Raif excused himself, went out and spoke to the rest of the crew, then returned and accepted the more dangerous run.
After negotiations, Raif secured a fighter escort, 16,000 credits (not reported to his boss), and a 3,000 credit hazard pay bonus if we needed the escort. They shook on it and loaded his cargo bay with valuable (though illicit) goods. While Raif managed the loading of crates, Lars finished installing a waste-bypass valve, so future simulations of a hull breach wouldn't involve risking the ship so dramatically.
Aman returned from his test flight and was assigned as the Rhiannon's escort. A short time later the two ships were up and on their way. They leapt through hyperspace together.
Several hours later they arrived at a waypoint. Aman came over to stretch and discuss the plan. After discussion, he plotted an "system edge" arrival. The two ships also agreed on a common encryption system. Then the two ships turned and resumed their journey.
When the ships arrived, final arrangements were made. The Rhiannon hopped forward, to the dark side of the planet's moon. Unfortunately, their arrival was marked... four tie fighters swept toward them.
Responding to a brief signal, Aman leapt to pre-arranged coordinates between the moon and system. He engaged the tie fighters; they proved a match for him, twisting and turning in a complex fight. The Rhiannon came around the moon and engaged the surprised ties; quickly the two ships smashed three ties and the fourth fled at full speed back toward the planet.
Then a System Patrol Cruiser circled from behind a moon. After a moment's hesitation (and a threat), the two ships steeled themselves to fight the ship. Aman swept in close and unloaded a barrage of concussion missiles into it. The patrol cruiser shuddered under the blow, but remained functional.
The Rhiannon swept in, Lars and Serena firing round after round into the ship. As they passed by, they swung their turrets and put in a few final, fatal shots. The Patrol Cruiser exploded into a hail of shrapnel-- nothing valuable was left for salvage.
The two ships descended to their rondevous. After cries of "amazing", "wow", and such, the shipment was turned over and the ships lifted off. A couple of hops through hyperspace later and they reached Wistril, Aman's home.
After a complementary review by the crime boss, a bonus was paid out (and distributed to the crew). Plans for relaxation were made... as Aman's tech hassled him over the damage his R41 had taken.
(end first session) Episode Two: Acquiring armor and new territories Raif spoke with the local boss, Astin Chuker, who was very interested in our further services. The boss suggested that Raif and his crew would need some armor for the next 'mission' he had in mind. He gave Raif the address of one of his suppliers, and handed Raif a datachip with instructions for Aman.
Aman read the chip and reluctantly began chauffeuring the Rhiannon's crew. They went to the suggested shop, where Raif purchased the only two bounty hunter suits the man possessed. He got directions to further suits.
Back in the repulsor car, Lars suggested that we needn't pay for the armor if we simply stole it from the next shop. Why shouldn't we just case the place, and return that night. With varying degrees of enthusiasm, that plan was selected. Each person looked over the store and contributed to the plan, either as an investigator or a distraction.
That afternoon, Aman and Lars ran back to the compound; Lars felt his cutter on the ship would be ideal for cutting through the door and into the building.
Meanwhile, Selina, Raif and Flint went out for some drinks. Selina and Raif also tried getting in touch with local elements; if they were cheap enough, it might be worth buying some black market armor, and not robbing the store.
Selina attracted quite a bit of attention, but Flint and a local dealer dealt in a secret room behind the restroom. He had a suit of scout trooper armor; Flint was interested, but spoke of collecting cash for it. He returned to the main room.
There, Selina was being hit on by many men. When Flint returned, he pushed one of the little ones aside and told him, "she's taken". The guy threw a punch; Flint blocked it and threw some back. Meanwhile, Raif drew his blaster, and made sure it was set on stun.
Flint threw a flurry of jostling blows, knocking the little guy over. The little guy retaliated by stabbing Flint with his boot knife. Flint looked down at the knife and his blood running down the blade. Then he collapsed.
Raif was there in a flash as Selina reached for her blaster. He jabbed his gun in the guy's neck and suggested that he should quiet down. Suicidally, the little thug turned his knife on Raif... and went down to Raif's blaster shot.
Raif and Selina drug Flint next door, where her ministrations roused him. Flint cursed; the barkeep entered from a neighboring door. He suggested that Flint should report the fight; Flint agreed to do so. He went down and checked into the hospital, paying an extra fee for a dip in the bacta tank, to get back on his feet quickly.
That night, final plans were made in the local hotel room. Then everyone went to the shop: Selina posted herself as a watch, Flint and Raif stood beside Lars as he cut his way in, and Aman stuck to keeping the getaway repulsor van ready to go.
A dog poked its head out of the opening Lars cut and was stunned. Lars guided everyone forward and loaded them up with armor boxes. Two trips later, they had their armor and a box of riffles and power packs besides. Aman accelerated as soon as the last person's foot was inside; a few cuts were thrown in to throw off pursuit.
Selina endured being hit on and misdirected the police when they came. She rejoined the crew at the hotel. They decided to head back to the plantation that very night.
When they arrived, most of the crew went to sleep. Lars and Raif spoke with the boss, who was incidentally pleased at the way they had discomfited his competition.
The boss then laid out the mission we'd need the armor for. It was a complex deal, involving a percentage take on a new world. Our exact roles weren't very clear, save one. Aman was disappointed to find that the R41 Starchaser would remain behind and that he'd travel as a passenger on the Rhiannon. After some persuading, he agreed to forfeit his salary for the opportunity.
They addressed the crew, final preparations were made, and the ship rose into space. (Among the final preparations was the procurement of a bacta-tank and medical droid, to be mounted aboard the Rhiannon.)
Once in space, the crew let Aman try out the various stations; he quickly established that his piloting skills would need some adjusting to work with such a large vessel.
A week later, the Rhiannon emerged from hyperspace and began moving toward the planet. Two 'customs vessels' came forward, and revealed themselves as pirates (due to their exorbitant demands). A minor dogfight erupted, but the two pirates were no match for the Rhiannon and her crew. Aman supervised some salvage, then the ship descended to the planet.
On the way, planetary control sent suggestions which were verbally acknowledged, then ignored. Once the ship had settled in, Raif contacted Luthos Palme, his contact (provided by Boss Chuker).
Luthos Palme arrived about fifteen minutes later. He had a high opinion of himself, reinforced somewhat by Raif's stylish reception. Aman and Flint acted as heavies, while Lars and Selina kept an eye on things from their turrets. Luthos filled Raif in and told them that their goods would be impossible to unload-- they were a day ahead of schedule, and the buyer wouldn't be here until tomorrow. Raif was unhappy; keeping the goods aboard would increase his risks.
Over champagne, they discussed the local situation. A party with 'movers and shakers' was happening tomorrow. Aman was eager to get out and shop for some stylish threads. As Luthos drove off, the crew discussed settling in...
(end second session)
Episode Three: Dealings and double crosses The first order of business was raising some personal capital, since we'd converted our cash into blasters before takeoff. Raif contacted the comm code he'd been given by the shopkeeper, back on Planet ___. After a short, "who the hell are you" conversation, Raif established his credentials. They were eager-- they wanted all of the blasters we'd brought. They transmitted some coordinates and asked us to show up in an hour.
Raif rented a repulsor car and had them deliver it. Aman offered to scout out the coordinates on his speeder. After some discussion, Lars went scouting instead, while Aman stayed behind to pilot the Rhiannon.
Soon Lars was zipping along the streets of the town, then her flashed beyond the boundaries. The road soon petered out, became but a dirt filled rut. The path wound up into the scrub hills, oak-like trees shading patches of ground. Lars decided to "overshoot", go through the coordinate point and look at the meeting spot from the far side. His plan failed, however-- as he topped a hill, he looked down into the valley and noticed that the rut ran out at the coordinates. Before he could respond to the new information, a voice called out "halt". A swarm of angry laser dots appeared on his armor. He was surrounded by well camouflaged troops, it seemed.
A few quick questions later, he had established himself as the front man for the Rhiannon. They were impatient, eager for their arms, and worried about being exposed. They called Raif to verify his ID. A little comm tag later and the Rhiannon swooped over the car and picked it up. They continued on the rendezvous. Hard credits changed hands as the troops tried out their blasters. Satisfied, they spoke briefly with Raif. They couldn't (or wouldn't) give him leads on other people who needed blasters.
Flush with cash, the crew returned to their docking bay. People decided to split up; Raif and Flint stayed behind with the ship (to protect the spice), while Aman, Selina, and Lars headed out on the town. Their instincts were similar-- each checked out gun shops and looked for ships. Aman got the schedule for imperial auctions; unfortunately, he also found that they simply don't sell fighter craft... not even obsolete, or stripped versions.
Meanwhile, Lars was salivating over a well camouflaged Ghtroc freighter that was experiencing serious hassling from a customs official. He drew close enough to listen in on their dispute, but didn't overhear much of their talk.
He returned and informed Flint and Raif about the tempting freighter. Raif decided that he'd like to add the official to his pocket; he co-opted Flint and Aman as hulking bodyguards. After some last instructions from Lars, they headed out.
Raif attempted to make much of himself, but wasn't taken seriously by the guard (who was pretty straight laced). After some discussion, he was passed through (but without his guards). He wandered down and spoke with ___, who had customs duty this shift. While ___ wasn't the same officer Lars had seen earlier, he proved amenable to a little abuse of his authority. Raif paid him 500 credits on the spot, with a promise to follow up with another 2000 when the rival captain and crew were arrested.He accepted.
Raif returned to his two "bodyguards" and was driven back to the ship. Once there, he filled everyone in on his new "agent" and asked for hard credits. People began taking out their shares and letting him know that their funds were available.
After some further discussion, the decision was made to concentrate on tomorrow's trade. Little remained to accomplish, so everyone slept.
The next morning, Raif suggested that the warehouse should be watched... we should make sure no ambush was waiting. Everyone agreed; after some discussion, Lars and Aman headed out on Aman's speeder bike to check out the area.
They watched for hours and saw nothing. Selina, Raif, and Flint drove up punctually. When they reached the warehouse, they drove in the open doors. A car rolled in the opposite doors, clearly the desperados we were supposed to meet.
They were Rodians, four of them. They got out of their car and walked forward. So did Selina and her two companions. Before he left the car, Raif switched on the explosives. (That morning Lars had wired the car up; the trunk was set to detonate, destroying the spice (and more), if it was entered from the outside.)
The Rodians indicated their case, Raif demanded seeing the inside. Reluctantly, the showed him the contents... coins, exactly as promised. A rough estimate of the number and denominations indicated that the full 60,000 credits were here. Flint dug through the back seat and got out the spice, carried it forward.
He strode forward and presented the case. Each swung their case forward, for a simultaneous exchange. At that moment a grenade arced over the crates and smashed into their midst. Before anyone could cry "grenade", the grenade's shockwave swept over the two groups of traders... and knocked them all out.
Lars and Aman had been listening in over comlinks. When they heard the explosion, they launched into action. Aman accelerated down the street on his bike, slewed it through the door, and was ambushed by a few members of the double-crossing force. He got in a brief battle, but was knocked unconscious by stun fire and further stun grenades.
Meanwhile, Lars was creeping up on the other door; his patience was rewarded with some good shots. He shot at a pair of people who had moved to claim the cases of money and spice. He exchanged fire with them, and a third man who hid behind crates and triangulated fire. When Lars finally dropped him, he sprinted forward and took cover behind the Rodian's vehicle, firing across at the ambush squad. They leapt into the vehicle and began backing out, but Lars didn't make it easy. He took cover, using the car itself, and firing at the driver. Finally a lucky shot dropped him.
About a minute later Flint came to. The ambushers had loaded their friends into the rodians' car and were backing out. Flint shot the driver and rushed up on the passenger side, his blaster spewing out round after ineffectual round. After a few near misses on the ambusher's part, Flint drew the sole unstunned ambusher out of the car and began beating him. Flint demanded an explanation, but the fool refused to answer.
While he was distracted, Lars and another of the ambushers began to stir. Lars took control, killing or subduing all of the ambushers. The few who lived were tied and tossed in the back seat. Lars and Flint stunned the rodians (who were still out) and waited for their friends to revive.
Flint, Selina, and Raif lay down and played stunned. When the rodians began to stir, so did Flint and Raif. After a brief and hostile exchange where the two sides accused each other of a double cross, they got down to consequences. The rodians were clearly terrified that the Hutt would kill them for the loss of his credits. In the middle of the exchange, the rodians indicated that their car was also bombed... and tied to distance. Selina radioed that information over to Aman and Lars.
Lars heard the bomb-- it was already ticking, so he turned the car into an alley and bailed, hauling the loot. He got out to the main street and hopped on the speeder. As they swept away, there was a loud boom...
The boom was heard back at the warehouse. The rodians cheered, but were sobered when they decided that the spice and their money was truly gone. Raif made a half hearted attempt to recruit the rodians; they were eager to get off planet ahead of the Hutt. They sold their riffles and blasters to finance their escape; Raif proved an accommodating purchaser.
The crew met back at the ship and discussed what they should say. A locator beacon in the spice foiled their attempts to keep it as profit. Shortly after they found the beacon, Luthos, their lawyer contact, called to find out why the hell they still had the spice.
Raif spewed anger and explained the ambush tersely. He told Luthos, "we'll be over in ten, you'd better be ready."
When Raif, Selina, and Flint showed up, Raif went on the offensive. "Only two groups knew where we were; you and the boss, the Hutt and his underlings. You'd better prove that it wasn't you who set us up." After some blather, they got in touch with the boss and were praised for keeping a hold of the spice. It was taken back to the ship, as they waited for the boss to scare up another spice purchaser.
Since scaring up the buyer should take days, the crew examined Aman's R2 logs. The R2 was transmitting the rival smuggler's circumstances; one person remained on board. Of course, storming a ship wasn't going to be trivial.
Everyone but Raif was in on the assault. They walked over in the alley behind the ship bays. Flint climbed up and dropped ropes for the others to climb. Soon everyone was perched atop the 30' high wall that enclosed the docking bay. Keeping quiet, Aman signaled the R2, who opened the doors to the bay... a loud process that covered the crew's descent. The four members dashed forward; Lars broke out his laptop and hooked into the ships' external access computer. After some sweat, he cracked the codes and dropped the ramp.
The crew raced for the ramp; they were met by blaster fire. Flint drew fire, and the others dropped the defender. They rushed onboard and took control of critical systems. The ships' defender was tied and gagged and left in the far corner of the bay. Lars overwhelmed the system; Aman took the controls and lifted off.
He flew the ship low, direct, and fast. After about 10 minutes he found a semi-wilderness spot to dump the ship. Raif flew out and picked up Selina and Flint (to help guard the spice and such); Lars and Aman stayed with the new ship.
Long story short, two days later Lars cracked the computer down to the root. He and Aman were then able to enter the cargo bay, which was currently empty. They searched hard and came on a well concealed smuggling hold. Inside was a scruffy man, armed with a pistol and thermal detonator. A brief (and tense) negotiation followed.
The scruffy guy admitted to being wanted on planet, and wishing to get off world. He wasn't sure what he'd do now. He didn't want to know anything about the shipjacking, but he didn't trust Aman and Lars enough to simply walk away.
(end third session)
Episodes Four+: Establishing a base, piracy, etc. From here on I failed to keep up the log; we played on for 6-8 more sessions before setting the game aside.
Prologue: Investing in a ship
Episode One: Slavers? Who, us? And an under the table run for a shadowy employer...
Episode Two: Acquiring armor and new territories
Episode Three: Dealings and double crosses
Episodes Four+: Establishing a base, piracy, etc.
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