by Kathy Tyers
Twilit folded her arms. “We’ll go,” she said firmly. “The last time we ignored Cheever, we nearly lost our instruments in an apartment fire. Is somebody onto us, Cheeve?”
“Not yet.”
Tinian barely listened. She was in shock. Nothing will ever touch me again. Nothing. No one. Ever.
Yccakic flicked a series of folds around his tiny mouth. “Has anyone looked up outside? We’ve got a blanket of repulsorcraft sitting over Il Avali. Security will be double; at customs, triple. And we promised Tinian — ”
“We’ll make it,” Cheever predicted.
Twilit cleared her throat. “Fix my ID for her. I’ll lie low here for a few days.”
Cheever raised an eyebrow.
Twilit shrugged. “If Comus can make my ID cover Tinian, he can run me a dupe, easy. I’ll be okay.”
Cheever stroked his short beard. “That’ll work. But Princess, about that … luggage of yours. I don’t think we can risk taking it out through Imperial Customs.”
That cracked Tinian’s introspection. Even with a c-board missing, those pieces might help someone recreate the anti-energy field. “Wait,” she begged. “The customs people will have no idea what your instruments are supposed to look like … right?”
Twilit shrugged. “They’re musical morons,” she agreed, “What are you driving at?”
“It’s already in pieces,” Tinian answered. “Attach them to your instruments.”
Cheever stroked his goatee. “Ye-es,” he drawled. “I can fit most of it to look like it’s part of the KeyBed’s insides.”
“I’m good for a c-board or two,” proclaimed Redd. A touch of reverb added confidence to his voice.
Tinian wondered if she were going crazy. She didn’t care if she lived or died, but she must get that field transmitter out through customs. “Couldn’t you get it off Druckenwell safer without me? If they catch me trying to pass Twilit’s ID, it’s the spice mines for all of us.”
Affectionately, Twilit mussed Tinian’s hair. “We know good people offworld,” she said. “People who can use that stuff against the Empire. They’ll want to talk to the I’att Princess. Guaranteed.”
A door slammed. “She was there, all right,” declared Woyiq.
Daye shuddered. The huge, beefy man’s voice jabbed daggers through his injured head.
The other human — or was he a Gotal? Daye’s eyes wouldn’t focus — turned to shush Woyiq. “Hey, keep it down!”
“Sorry,” Woyiq slunk toward Daye’s bedside. “Sorry.” The huge Human had dragged Daye out from between jagged duracrete slabs, laboring in near-total darkness at the bottom of Il Avali’s deep new crater. “Really. I’m sorry — ”
Daye squeezed his attendant’s hand. “Did you — ”
“Wait,” said the … yes, with horns like those it had to be a Gotal. “Get over here, you big battlewagon.”
Woyiq shuffled even closer.
“You found her?” Daye whispered. “She’s all right?”
The beefy man laid a hand on Daye’s synthflesh-bandaged shoulder. Both of his legs had been crushed, too, and one hand … and they didn’t dare carry him out to a medic. “She was at Happy’s Landing, hanging out with the band. You guessed it right.”
Daye swallowed. Even that small movement hurt. “Did you — ”
“I told her we found no survivors. She — ”
“Thanks. Thanks, both of you.” Daye shut his eyes. He couldn’t bear to hear how Tinian had taken the news of his alleged death, not yet. He half wished he could dissolve his body into nothingness and turn Woyiq’s fatal pronouncement into fact.
But evidently the universe had spared him … most of him … for a while. He couldn’t drag Tinian into the furtive existence he meant to lead now. Woyiq and his Gotal accomplice promised to sponsor him straight to the Rebellion as soon as Il Avali calmed down. The Rebellion needed his talents. They might be able to fix him up, too … somewhat.
In the meantime, he had decided it had to be kinder to let Tinian think him dead. She’d leave Druckenwell. Witty and capable, she’d make a new life.
He would never love anyone else, though. “Good-bye, Tinian,” he murmured toward the wall. “May the Force be with you.”
Customs bustled, quadruple anything Tinian had ever seen — but they passed, just as Cheever predicted. Tinian followed him up a stale passageway into the transport’s fourth-class hold. They found seats close to Yccakic’s. Redd rode in the cargo hold, guarding the doctored instruments.
Tinian slumped down, glad this hold had no viewport. No last glimpse of Druckenwell would linger in her memory.
Alone in the galaxy except for two virtual strangers and an armload of illicit electronics, she’d find some way to help bring down the New Order. Every time she hurt Palpatine’s Empire just a little bit, she’d dedicate that small victory to the memory of Daye Azur-Jamin and the life they could have had.
Force be with you, love. Leaning back. Tinian squeezed tears out of her eyes and braced for takeoff.
Roleplaying Game Statistics
Tinian I’att
Type: Young Heiress
DEXTERITY 3D+1
Blaster: hold-out blaster 5D, dodge 4D, grenade 1D+1, running 4D+2
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Alien species 4D+2, bureaucracy 5D+2, business 6D, languages: Wookiee 6D+1, streetwise 3D+2, survival 4D, value 4D+2, willpower 4D+2
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 3D+ 2
Bargain 6D, command 6D, con 4D, hide 4D+2, persuasion 5D+2, search 6D, sneak 4D+1
STRENGTH 2D
Climbing/jumping 3D+2, stamina 4D
TECHNICAL 4D
Computer programming/repair 5D+1, demolition 7D+2, droid programming 5D, droid repair 4D+2, security 6D
Special Abilities:
Explosives Expertise: Tinian is especially knowledgeable about explosives, including their composition, construction and applications. She gets a +1D bonus to any skill rolls involving explosives.
Force Points: 1
Character Points: 10
Move: 10
Equipment: Bits of fuse wire, vibroknife (STR+1D), 23 credits
Capsule: Tinian is the 17-yearold granddaughter of Strephan and Augusta I’att and is the heiress of the I’att Armament corporation on Druckenwell. Since growing up in the I’att Armament tradition, she served in almost every capacity at the company’s chief research and production facility in Il Avali. Tinian worked on droid programming, material procurement, line inspections, quality control and even security.
Through her involvement in I’att Armament, she gained an intimate knowledge of the workings of explosives, including the ability to identify certain explosive compounds by texture and odor.
Although her grandparents loved her dearly. Tinian found it hard to relate to them. Likewise, her Wookiee bodyguard Wrrl could not give her the Human touch and empathy she needed. Tinian completely opened herself to Daye Azur-Jamin, a promising supervisor at I’att Armament’s facility in Il Avali. The two quickly became friends and aspired to someday marry when they achieved financial independence.
Tinian is a hard worker who knows the value of fun and leisure time. She and Daye often disguised themselves as members of Druckenwell’s worker class to frequent Il Avali’s ale halls, enjoying the spicy food and taking in the upbeat music.
However, Tinian’s spirit was torn when Moff Kerioth tried to seize I’att Armament’s prototype personal shield device. With her grandparents and her Wookiee bodyguard dead, and believing Daye to have been killed in the ensuing explosion. Tinian has turned cold — her ability to open herself up to others as she did with Daye is gone. She considers herself completely alone in the galaxy, overshadowed by her own grief.
With the help of Twilit Hearth’s band, Tinian hopes find and join the Rebel Alliance. Armed with the pieces of the personal shield system she managed to retrieve and her knowledge of explosives, Tinian has set off into the galaxy to exact her revenge against the Empire.
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br /> Daye Azur-Jamin
Type: Young Intellectual
DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 4D+2, blaster: hold-out blaster 5D, brawling parry 4D+2, dodge 5D+2, grenade 4D, melee combat 5D, melee parry 4D+2
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Alien species 4D+2, bureaucracy 6D, business 5D+2, languages 4D+1, streetwise 6D, survival 5D+1
MECHANICAL 2D+1
Beast riding 4D, repulsorlift operation 3D+2, starship shields 4D
PERCEPTION 4D
Bargain 6D+1, command 5D+2, hide 7D, persuasion 4D+2, search 6D+1, sneak 7D
STRENGTH 2D+2
Brawling 5D, climbing/jumping 4D+2, stamina 5D+2
TECHNICAL 3D
Computer programming/repair 5D, demolition 6D, droid programming 4D+2, droid repair 5D, first aid 4D, repulsorlift repair 3D+2, security 5D
Special Abilities:
Force Skills: Control 1D, sense 2D
Control: Control pain
Sense: Life detection, magnify senses
This character is Force-sensitive
Force Points: 3
Character Points: 12
Move: 10
Equipment: Comlink, datapad
Capsule: Daye Azur-Jamin is a youthfully lean young man who cares deeply for Tinian I’att. The two intended to get married when Tinian inherited her family’s armaments corporation on Druckenwell — but that was before the Empire stepped in and changed their lives.
Daye worked diligently for I’att Armament and quickly rose through the corporate ranks from lowly worker-class assembly droid maintenance technician all the way to Tinian’s Second Undersupervisor. He also quickly became Tinian’s friend, as he perceived her to be lonely in her management position and her life with her grandparents.
Daye is sensitive to the Force. Although he does not know how to completely control the Force, he has felt faint manifestations of it, and it has allowed him to extend his abilities, especially in stressful times. Daye also knows that those who use the Force are considered criminals by the Empire, and keeps his beliefs in the Force to himself and Tinian. The Empire’s campaigns against those who use the Force — as well as other rumors of the Empire’s abuse of power — have made Daye suspicious of Imperial motives. He has a passionate belief in doing what’s right — even if it means putting himself in danger.
Moff Eisen Kerioth
Type: Imperial Moff
DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 6D, blaster: hold-out blaster 7D+1, brawling parry 4D, dodge 4D+2, melee combat 4D, melee parry 4D
KNOWLEDGE 4D
Alien species 5D+2, bureaucracy 7D, cultures 5D+1, intimidation 6D, languages 1D+2, law enforcement 5D, planetary systems 6D, streetwise 5D, survival 4D+2
MECHANICAL 2D+1
Astrogation 5D+2, capital ship piloting 4D, communications 4D+1, repulsorlift operation 5D, sensors 4D+2
PERCEPTION 3D +2
Bargain 5D+2, command 7D, con 5D, investigation 6D, persuasion 4D+2, search 5D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 3D
Computer programming/repair 4D, droid programming 4D+2, droid repair 4D, security 6D
Force Points: 1
Character Points: 10
Move: 9
Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D), hold-out blaster (3D), comlink, swagger stick
Capsule: Moff Kerioth is a cunning and ambitious Imperial dictator who will stop at nothing to develop new technology to improve the effectiveness of Imperial stormtroopers. His obsession with improving stormtrooper armor stems from an incident several years ago, when he and his stormtrooper escort were ambushed by Rebels. Precise blaster fire from Rebel snipers killed most of his escort and wounded him in the leg. To this day, Moff Kerioth’s limp is a constant reminder of the vulnerability of stormtrooper armor.
Moff Kerioth stalks around with a swagger stick in hand, which he swats about to add to his already oppressive air of authority. His outthrust head hunches over his two-meter tall body — gaunt as a corpse — like an avian carrion feeder waiting for a beast to die.
Enemies of Moff Kerioth are quickly eliminated, as was shown in his recent purge and brutal public execution of a Rebel cell on his sector capital on Doldur. He has no hesitation eliminating competitors for the Emperor’s favor, and aggressively takes anything he desires.
Twilit and the Band
Twilit Hearth and her band travel the space lanes, jumping from one system to the next, taking on whatever gigs they can get. They’re not particularly famous, except to the poor locals who frequent the dives they perform in. Twilit’s voice is strong and melodious, and her backup from Sprig Cheever on the KeyRed and Yccakic on the Bottom Viol makes for a good, wholesome sound, even after everything’s augmented, amplified and processed by Redd Metalflake, the group’s antiquated sound droid.
The band rarely settles down. The group hits a planet, plays a few gigs in a city, stays maybe a week, maybe three months, and moves on when everybody has enough money to head off to the next system. Sometimes, however, the band becomes entangled in other activities — most often involving criminal elements or the Empire— and leaves the system for safer prospects.
Since it’s always on the move, the band has made good friends and contacts throughout this section of the galaxy. While these might not be the most influential contacts, they are still good to have around when the band gets into a bad situation.
Twilit is a good-natured and caring woman with a beautiful voice. She has a soft spot for those in trouble, and is always willing to help a friend in need. In a time when she herself has little to lose, Twilit makes it her business to help others in need by whatever means she can.
When Twilit performs, she appears to be a attractive woman — her hair styles are grand, her dresses just past the cutting edge of fashion, and her face the dreamy visage of a holovid princess. But without her teased hair, painted makeup and custom, form-padding dresses, Twilit is simply a rather plain woman. Her most beautiful quality is unseen, but can be heard every night when she sings.
Twilit Hearth. All stats are 2D except: Dexterity 3D, blaster 4D+2, brawling parry 4D, dodge 5D, Knowledge 3D, artist:: song 6D, bureaucracy 4D+2, planetary systems 4D+2, streetwise 5D, survival 4D+2, Perception 3D+2, con 4D+2, gambling 5D, hide 6D, sneak 6D. Move: 10. Hold-out blaster (3D), trunk of fancy clothes and makeup.
Twilit’s mate. Sprig Cheever. is a slender Human sporting a neatly trimmed goatee. His easy-going nature is shown through his fluid posture. If Cheever isn’t leaning on something he’s slouching in a chair or comfortably draped over his KeyBed.
While he share’s Twilit’s concern for others in need. Cheever also thinks through the logistics and implications of Twilit’s actions helping others. His first concern is for Twilit, then for the band. He also handles most of the band’s business arrangements, although he rarely exhibits too much outward concern about anything.
Sprig Cheever. All stats are 2D except: blaster 2D+2, musical instrument operation: KeyBed 5D+2, Knowledge 3D, bureaucracy 4D, cultures 4D+2, languages 5D, planetary systems 4D+1, streetwise 5D, Perception 3D, con 5D, gambling 4D+2, sneak 4D, musical instrument repair 4D+2. Move: 10. Portable KeyBed.
The band’s Bottom Viol player is a Bith named Yccakic. He and Redd Metalflake share the distinction of being the worriers of the band. Yccakic is always concerned the group won’t make enough credits for passage to the next system, fears his instrument will be damaged in the cargo hold, and wonders if the band should rehearse a few new numbers now and then to keep the show fresh.
Yccakic is also a very good Bottom Viol player, and keeps the bass line and the tempo going for the band’s songs. He’s also responsible for hooking up Redd Metalflake before each show and fixing the ancient droid whenever he breaks down.
Yccakic. All stats are 2D except: dodge 3D, musical instrument operation: Bottom Viol 4D, Knowledge 4D, bureaucracy 5D+2, streetwise 5D, droid programming 3D+1, droid repair 4D+2. Move: 8. Bottom Viol, droid repair tools.
Redd Metalfla
ke helps process the band’s music so everything sounds professional. Unfortunately, his ancient speakers and crumbling innards don’t always help, and he requires constant maintenance from Yccakic. Redd usually propels himself on a set of malfunctioning treads, but Yccakic has installed a handle on the droid’s top side so band members can easily and quickly pick him up and carry him when he lags behind.
Redd Metalflake. All stats are 1D except: Mechanical 2D, communications 3D, sensors 3D. Can manipulate music and sound wired through him as a skill of 4D. Move: 3.
Druckenwell
Type: Terrestrial
Temperature: Temperate
Atmosphere: Type 1 (breathable)
Hydrosphere: Moderate
Gravity: Standard
Terrain: Urban, industrial, wetlands
Length of Day: 32 standard hours
Length of Year: 309 local days
Sapient Species: Humans
Starport: Imperial class
Population: 9.3 billion
Planet Function: Manufacturing/processing, heavy industry
Government: Corporate guilds
Tech Level: Space
Major Exports: High-mid technology, manufactured goods
Major Imports: Foodstuffs, raw materials
Capsule: Druckenwell is a highly industrialized world with distinct classes of workers and corporate elite. Few of the planet’s 9.3 billion people live in the countryside — most are members of the worker class living and toiling for industries in the planet’s overcrowded cities.
Overcrowding and Druckenwell’s emphasis on corporate stability necessitate several social rules which apply to all on the planet. For instance, couples may not legally marry and bear children without first proving financial independence. Long ago cities were planned out with the social and corporate order in mind. Most cities contain specific districts for corporate offices, worker class quarters and services, heavy industry, and park-like rural sections for homes of the corporate elite.