Life of Die: The Blog: Star Wars D6: Green Vipers Episode VII

Episode VII - The Plant

Introduction:

The Long Shot campaign continues with this adventure outlined in the Classic Adventures book. All of my additions to the outline feature under Closing Reflections at the end of this report. As usual, I own none of the images which were mostly sourced from google images. Please note that this is an advert free, not for profit blog.

Additionally, please visit The Rancor Pit. The support shown to me by fellow GMs and players there has been wonderful - thanks again to all of you who are reading these write ups!

JiBa Unchained:

Music Cue: Rebel Briefing

Once again, General Reekeene calls the Green Vipers for a mission briefing. As the team settle in, she activates a holographic display, showing the planet Iyuta.

Iyuta

General Reekeene: Maars, you may recall on your first outing with the Vipers that you captured Moff Dixton. Now, this dustball may not look like much, but one of the secrets Dixton spilled was that there's an Imperial Communications Centre on this planet. During Operation Retribution, the Blue Lightning squad uncovered more information about the Centre, namely that it is built atop an an ancient sewer system. I think it's possible if a powerful listening device is planted in the sewers we will be able to listen in to all Imperial transmissions in the Fakir Sector. Naturally, such a planet is heavily guarded by Star Destroyers and spy satellites, so you'll have to go in undercover. Head for the Rusty Bucket, a bar on the Strip in the city of Takari. Our agent, Chilla works there. She'll provide you with more information and transport to the sewers. It's up you to formulate your reason for going to Iyuta, but report to Captain Hark'r for some important supplies, including the bugging device. Any questions? Good, dismissed.

The Vipers make their way to the store to meet Hark'r but his station is empty. A range of equipment has been laid out on the desk and there is a holographic projector alongside the equipment. Once activated, an image of Hark'r fills the air.

Captain Hark'r

Hark'r: Sss-chk-chk, ah Green Vipers! Regrettably I have travel arrangements so can't join you today! But, not to worry, old Hark'r has left all of your requisition items for your mission-chk-chk-chk! Fresh blasters, ammunition, comlinks, glow rods, the bugging device and five thousand credits for expenses...sometimes Imperial Customs Officers need a good bribe to turn a blind eye! So long Vipers! See you in hell-sss-chk-chk-kak-kak-kak!

Music Cue: General Grevious

The team grab their items and rush to the hangar bay. Looking around, they spot activity on the opposite side of the hangar. The cargo lift for the Martinette has half opened and JiBa stands behind a large cargo crate! Features contorted with hate and rage, he shakes his remaining fist defiantly in the air.

JiBa: Hear me Rebels! You haven't seen the last of JiBa! I'll kill you all!

JiBa

He kicks the crate off the elevator before closing the cargo lift and disappearing inside. The ship's engines fire up, and as it takes off, Captain Hark'r waves gleefully to the Vipers from the cockpit. It blasts off and, as soon as it clears the hangar bay, makes the jump to lightspeed.

Music Cue: The Journey Home

As the Vipers open the crate, they find the bodies of three Duros - members of Purple Squadron that JiBa had just joined - inside. They appear to have been run through with swords. A note has been left upon them in JiBa's handwriting. It reads: A GOOD START.

Purple Squadron Duros

Tala: When I was part of Blue Lightning, I'd heard this JiBa was a maniac. This proves it...

A former crew mate of JiBa's, Corr Alden is shocked by this disturbing turn of events.

Corr: Ah flew wi' JiBa fur years... Ah cannae believe he'd dae somefin like this...

Corr Alden

C4-S0: Well I can! I told you the man was an imbecile! Good riddance to him! If only you humans listened to me in the first place, those poor Duros from Purple Squadron would still be alive!

C4-S0

After alerting General Reekeene to JiBa's escape with Captain Hark'r, Captain Hannah turns his attention to the equipment Hark'r left them. Fearing JiBa has tampered with it in some way, Hannah orders a scanning crew to check it - particularly the bugging device for their mission - as well as their ship, the Yindao. Hannah is particularly concerned that JiBa will target his former friends, but they are unable to find any homing devices , explosives or signs of interference with any of the Yindao's hyperdrive, computers or hardware. While General Reekeene fears what JiBa may tell others, and reviews safety protocols on Nowhere, she orders the team to get on with their mission.

Undercover Escapades

Music Cue: Inner City

The bounty hunter Bots Vridak suggests they make use of his profession as a cover story.

Bots: Captain Hannah is wanted by Empire. Could use as excuse to land on planet.

Bots Vridak

Captain Hannah: There's a bounty on my head?

Bots: 10,000 credits. For termination. You're deserter.

Tala: You weren't tempted to collect on it yourself?

Bots shrugs non-committedly.

Corr: We'd be mad tae mention the Captain tae the Empire when he's oan oor team. Just pick somewan - anywan - else!

Bots checks his warrant meter for wanted criminals and picks the first name that comes up - a killer known as Myles Long who has a predilection for skinning his victims, leaving a trail of death across the Outer Rim.

Bots: We say we're hunting Long. Empire will grant passage.

Hannah likes the plan and the Vipers set off in the Yindao for Iyuta.

As they are hailed by one of the three Star Destroyers in orbit around Iyuta, Corr hands over his headset to Bots to explain the situation. After the Imperials initially believe Myles Long to be a joke name, the information Bots provided them with checks out and they are permitted to land in Takari. Hannah orders Bots to deal with the Customs Officer who seems hellbent on searching every nook and cranny for contraband. When Bots hands over the credit stick with 5,000 credits, the officer's eyes light up and he immediately instructs his men they have another ship to check...

While they make their way down the Strip, Kaleban is challenged to an arm-wrestling competition by some rowdy off-duty Imperial marines. Captain Hannah steps in to accept the challenge, but his arm is almost broken when the trooper wrestles with him! Surrounded by laughter, Hannah sheepishly slinks away, but his challenger suddenly shouts him back.

Marine: Hey, don't I know you? Have we met before? I could swear I recognise your voice.

Kaleban: Yeah, remember that advert for Fish Sticks? He sung the song, he loves Fish Sticks!

Kaleban Maars

Marine: Uh, yeah! We do too! Mon Calamari sure taste good when you smoke 'em!

Kaleban: I bet you like the taste of Quarren Fish Sticks, too!

Marine: Mmm! Yeah, I love them!

Music Cue: Cantina Band

As Hannah escapes being identified by his former crew of the Star Destroyer Patriarch, he thanks Kaleban for his ingenuity and quick thinking. Unfortunately, they soon discover that the Rusty Bucket has been burned down! They think better of approaching any more revellers, but do approach bar staff in the adjacent bar who tell them they can find the bar's owner, Chilla, in the Giant Step. Despite him having necked several drinks, Hannah orders Corr to approach Chilla. Mistaking his approach as advances to romance her, Corr completely alienates Chilla and is mocked by his friends! He bites his tongue however - he knows Santhou has advised against expressing anger. Captain Hannah intervenes to rectify the situation. Once he does, Chilla provides them with a rudimentary map and directs them to a repulsorlift around the back which will take them to the sewers.

Chilla

C4-S0 refuses to enter the sewers and is told to hide in nearby bushes. Kaleban provides C4 a scarf to hide his glowing eyes, before they leave their droid to keep watch for anyone following them.

The Heat Is On

Music Cue: The Walls Converge

The team enter the sewers and, fearing the worst, cautiously sneak through the dark tunnels. Bots spots ripples in the sewage at the main junction, which further raises the team's guard. Both he and Tala scout on ahead and locate the pumping room. While water is pumped from this room to clear the drains, they spot catwalks mounted on the walls, which in turn lie directly beneath a grating. Tala climbs up the catwalks and can see from the scum on the walls that when water is pumped into the room that it doesn't raise this high. Not only that, she can hear chatter above! The sensitive bugging device will be able to pick up everything the Imperials say!

After planting the device, the Vipers are satisfied that they have completed their mission and quickly retrace their steps back to the sewer pipe exit. As they approach the main junction, they spot the dead body of a woman in fatigues. Fearful of what may be lurking in the water, they ignore the corpse and hurry on. Tala is last to leave and narrowly avoids being grabbed by a dianoga!

Tala Nor

Music Cue: Finale

Relieved to complete the mission without having fired a blaster in anger, the team swiftly return to their ship and make their escape!

Captain Hannah: Excellent work, Vipers! General Reekeene will be delighted the mission went without a hitch! Look what we can achieve when we work as a tight-knit group! I foresee this team will go from strength to strength!

Captain Hannah

Finally, the updated Fakir Sector map shows locations the Green Vipers are familiar with. Note that Tsukkia has been included as this was where Captain Solo dropped off Andews Rolo after the To Free The Forgotten mission (see Episode VI) before then dropping the team off on Nowhere.

Fakir Sector

Closing Reflections:

I enjoyed setting JiBa loose! Now that he's a NPC, who knows what badness he will get up to? Interesting that Corr found it hard to comprehend JiBa's actions, it will be interesting if those two former friends come face to face in the future!

Myles Long was a name that popped up on a Star Wars name generator and I hadn't realised that it was a bit of a joke name until I read it out! We decided to roll with it though, and it provided a bit of unexpected light relief as Imperials constantly thought the team were lying about his existence until they checked the bounty hunter records!

The adventure was fun from the roleplaying side of things, but the lack of action meant the scenario didn't have that classic Star Wars feel. This mission is important to the progression of the campaign though and I didn't much mind the lack of action after the Assault on Repair Station M13 involved 3 sessions of intense and continuous battle, but I think we're all ready for more conflict next session! We'll see what happens next!

I won't be publishing a separate adventure post for GMs as the outline for this mission was better detailed than others in the campaign. You can find below the sewers maps - a players' map and GM map - that I managed to source online. In the key, the locations relate to those given in the Hideouts and Strongholds book, for the Sewer System maps. There is one additional location - 14 - which is simply an antechamber leading in to the Communications Centre. Thankfully, my players didn't try to enter the base so I didn't have to go searching for more maps (it was a large centre so had the potential to go disastrously wrong)! I've also added a few images of the denizens of the sewer, a few of whom the PCs did not encounter!

It may be a good few weeks before there is another post as the next adventure is The Rebels of Chayloon (set on Callonia for my own campaign) by Padre of the Rancor Pit and I expect it will take several sessions to run (potentially it will be split into two write ups as Assault on Repair Station M13 was). This is the first time I'll have ever run someone else's homebrew adventure, but after I read it, I thought it was too good not to play!