Star Wars: The Dawn of the Rangers

Location: Vandor

IMPERIALS ARE EVACUATING VANDOR!

Vandor is a cold planet with extensive snowy, mountainous regions.

Summoned by the Intelligence Agent Tailgunner, the crew of the YT-2000 freighter Rough Profits travel to Vandor, almost colliding with a host of leaving Imperial ships, including one Gozanti-class transport. Soon, they land at the Ranger base at Karkbreath Peak.

Apparently, Tailgunner has discovered that the Imps has planted experimental nerve agent throughout cities on Vandor that could kill its people immediately.

Captain Kin Asa Goddard the smuggler, Zor Draco the former TIE pilot, minor Jedi Ordan Vallas (with his astromech droid Arfour-Threetee) and bounty hunter Gev Dyson have been tasked with retrieving an Imperial prisoner on Elshandruu Pica, a Tiss'Shar named Dr. Ver-Tho-Ree, who created both the nerve agent and its antidote.

Tailgunner assigns the fomer Imperial security droid K3LP to aid their mission. They need the antidote before the hidden nerve agents are deployed. She would have sent her task force Blue Swifts but they were recently killed in battle.

They board Goddard's freighter. Zor makes the astrogation calculation and some time after the Rough Profits drops out of hyperspace at Elshandruu Pica.

Location: Elshandruu Pica

Elshandruu Pica is a lush, verdant world with vast oceans and islands. It is apopular tourist destination.

They make a beeline for Ghest River, a city where the Imps would be bringing Dr. Ver-Tho-Ree aboard a unirail (a conveyex-like conveyance) to be taken to the Imperial Security Bureau facility on the island of Ollitavalam.

Fast talking their way past traffic control, they make it to the beach city between Ghest River and the island, and sneak past the local security to wait for the unirail where an angry crowd was prevented from boarding the next train. There is a strong feeling in the Force that is calling to Ordan from the moving train as they sneak past the harangued security onto the empty unirail station platform.

As the train approaches the station, an ISB agent exits the station toilet. Gev shoots up the toilet. Security and the angry crowd rushes in. Everyone jumps aboard the train... except for Goddard, who trusted in the Force... and makes it aboard. Before ISB Agent Savastri could alert his compatriots on the train, the crowd surge pushes him off the platform with a Wilhelm scream.

Gev and Ordan are at the back of the train, and move forward. Something on the train, in the luggage coach is calling out to Ordan. He ignores it as there are other pressing matters.

On the rear patio of the luxury coach, Zor finds the door locked... and fires at it. The door opens, and six Imperial stormtroopers are holding Dr. Ver-Tho-Ree there. They point their SE-14 blasters at Zor and Goddard. With Gev and Ordan still far behind, there is nothing they could do.

So Zor says, "Doctor, drop to the floor!"

TO BE CONTINUED

Location: Vandor

The new team of New Republic Rangers are settling down on the Karkbreath Peak mountain base on Vandor.

Their Ops Officer is the New Republic intelligence Major Tailgunner. At the moment, Goddard & his YT-2000 ship Rough Profits are away on a Ranger mission. The remaining three Rangers are ordered to the Hetzal system to steal an Imperial Gozanti-class transport along with new member Pac Vesme, a Hetzal-born former SpecForce Urban Combat Specialist. Agent Sandsmurch McPing, their informant on Hetzal reported a Gozanti stored in a abandoned city covered in toxic gases.

Tailgunner books passage for the team to travel to Hetzal on the Fickle Clemency, a dirty & decrepit HT-2200 captained by a Shistavanen named G'morque.

The ship rocks violently during its 20-hour hyperspace journey. Pac -- feeling sick -- needs to use the 'fresher & found a disgusting cesspit. He almost throws up. Almost.

Suddenly, G'morque & her R2 unit arrive to serve them food. Pac almost said no, but they are served fresh Chandrilan squall tendermeat, pickled blackbeak eggs with Neonan red cheese, Corellian ryshcate as dessert pastry, & three meiloorun-flavoured fizzyglug jugs.

The Rangers eat well and are refreshed. They graciously thank their host.

Location: Hetzal Prime

The Fickle Clemency arrive in the Hetzal system and fly past some abandoned orbital structures including a hyperspace booster ring park. Hetzal Prime is mostly an agricultural planet.

They are deployed 100 km away from their area of interest: the toxic town of Par Mabis. After the Fickle Clemency takes off, a lime green, convertible civilian-modified Uulshos Chariot speeder approaches them. They prep for engagement 

But the driver is an elderly human lady who identifies herself as Mrs. Stassie McPing - mother of Agent Sandsmurch McPing - who was killed by a passing speeder truck when he was transmitting the Gozanti information to Vandor. She has promised to finish his son's mission.

Mrs. McPing recognises Pac who is also a Hetzal native. She knows his family.

An insectoid kinrath charges at them from the treeline. Thankfully, a volley of blaster fire from Zor Draco, Gev Dyson & Pac Vesme stop it dead in its charge. Ordan Vallas' lightsaber does not see action. Then they all board her LAV & head for Par Mabis in the poisoned Nuqqas Valley.

Suddenly, Mrs. McPing reveals her rage towards the former Imperial Prefect Tanus Draco and his kin, holding up & showing off her E-22 blaster rifle.

Captain-Supervisor Zor Draco's eyes slowly went wide upon hearing this.

TO BE CONTINUED

Location: Vandor

With former SpecForce urban combat specialist Pac Vesme off on a solo mission, the new Republic Rangers, Force wielder Ordan Vallas, bounty hunter Gev Dyson & former TIE pilot Zor Draco are given a datapad to track cargo module SG2055B jettisoned from Imperial Star Galleon Perpetuity. It carries 4 Incom T-65B X-wings bound for Bextar in the Velcar Sector.

As their newly-commandeered Gozanti-class transport Rabid Kinrath is under repairs, Tailgunner gives them the Insolent Imp, an Incom A-24 Sleuth scout. Ordan's astromech Arfour tracks the cargo module's next random jump destination to the Riflorii system.

Location: Riflor

But the pirate Nebulon B frigate Dank Noumenon also has the same information & jumps in to steal it. SG2055B drops between them, but closer to the Imp. With pirates shooting at them, Zor docks the Imp's modified boarding collar, allowing entry. As they rush in, pirate Zebra fighters' cannon fire disintegrate the Imp. Atmosphere breach! Zor & Gev use their cable shooters to save Arfour before he is sucked out to space.

Further exploring deeper into SG2055B, they discover none other than their teammate Pac Vesme. The former SpecForce Urban Combat Specialist is badly injured & trying to hotwire the cargo module's hyperdrive. It was Pac who informed Tailgunner how to locate SG2055B. Ordan uses the Force to heal Pac then together, they rush for the X-wings.

A pirate Skipray Blastboat blocks the launch bay exit, but Zor & Gev blast it to pieces with their KX9 cannons, allowing all four X-wings to be launched into space. Zor & Gev cover Ordan and Pac, succeed fighting off three Zebras as flak bursts from the pirate frigate tear up the space around them. Trusting the Force, Ordan's long distance shot takes out the Dank Noumenon's forward cannon blister.

Then Arfour his calculations complete, links all the fighters' navicomputers & makes the jump to lightspeed.

The Rangers safely make it back to Vandor with their bounty.

TO BE CONTINUED

Location: Coruscant

Captain-Supervisor Zor Draco, bounty hunter Gev Dyson & Force warrior Ordan Vallas continue their vacation on Coruscant. But their former associate Stassie McPing calls for them just before being abducted at her hotel. The kidnappers' thermal detonator explodes & collapses the Core Diadem Complex upper levels. Zor & Arfour-Threetee try to find their way down from the hotel reception level but the floor falls. Both are unhurt, thankfully not falling into any animal holding pens in the pet store - especially the nearby juvenile rancor cage.

The team regroups below. Zor wants to hotwire a nearby Sorosuub RGC-18 speeder, but Ordan has called a taxi: an Aratech Arrow-23 speeder driven by a Red Nikto named Pangool. Arrow-23 trumps RGC18. Ordan fails to sense Mrs McPing, but recognises that the hostiles' speeder has the colours of the local Frenshing Gang.

Ordan directs Pangool up 2 levels to a warehouse on Level 1313. Zor & Ordan plan to recover McPing by talking to their boss Gopenk Frenshing.

Pangool takes off & will keep some distance between them, but he is prepared to come get them when called.

When Gev climbs up a crane tower, a Frenshing thug in the cab above aims at Gev, but former SpecForce Pac Vesme suddenly appears & shoots him from the 2nd crane tower.

Pac, their Ranger teammate, who arrived 10 minutes earlier, was also contacted by McPing, who told him that her son Sandsmurch's death was not a hit-and-run. Sandy discovered who he was working for & his handlers killed him for it. And now Pac's team is in danger too!

After a short standoff with armed thugs, the impoverished Frenshing comes out to meet them with his lieutenant, Tora Nuam. Tora is Ordan's ex-girlfriend who broke up with him when she thought he was cheating on her with a Togruta. After a standoff, Zor convinces Frenshing to let McPing go and promises that the New Republic will help them if they renounce crime.

Mrs McPing is released. Ordan senses extreme negative emotions from Tora. As Mrs McPing passes her, Tora shoots her in the chest with a DL-44 heavy blaster. Frenshing is surprised too. Before she dies, she implies that the team is unwittingly working for those who killed her son!

TO BE CONTINUED

Location: Coruscant

Upon leaving the slicer Instro Zuun's home at Level 1313, the Rangers asks cab driver Pangool to take them back up to Coruscant's surface. They decide to split up: Ordan Vallas & R4-3T will take the assassin Tora Nuam back to Vandor. Zor Draco & Gev Dyson will go to Kitel Phard to find Zor's cousin, the slicer Tarn Draco who might be able to decrypt Stassie McPing's datacard.

After Ordan departs on the Mu-class shuttle Senator Binks, Zor & Gev head to Exogorth's Folly, a no-frills spaceport tower & find the starliner Gem Fryer set to sail down Giju's Run towards Kitel Phard. As Gev is listening to a Karis Nemik audiobook, they spot a man following them who turn out to be a new Ranger named Pev Tekko, a tech who was ordered to join them by Agent Tailgunner from back on Vandor.

As his chain code & orders are legit, Zor & Gev agree to his inclusion to their team. Tailgunner does not appear to know about McPing's death & Tora's arrest. Upon buying a 300-credit ticket from a J9 drone, they board the run down Corellian MPO-1400 Purgill-class star cruiser Gem Fryer.

The Gem Fryer's extravagant and lavish staterooms have been converted into cargo compartments. Only the low-cost seating cabins remain for passengers.

Gev takes the window seat, Zor tries to sleep in the aisle seat while Pev sits between them with their gear stowed under their seats. The ship casts off...

Location: UNKNOWN

...and they wake up groggy some hours later where black-clad pirates are in the cabin up ahead holding the Givin co-pilot hostage with blasters. The other passengers are asleep. Gev snaps on his helmet & his head clears. A knockout gas! The Rangers slowly grab their weapons & listen in.

The pirates have two teams, a second team is unloading the transparisteel cargo from Sienar Fleet Systems. The Rangers decide not to act if the pirates harm no one. After over 10 minutes, the pirates withdraw, without any violence.

The Rangers leap to action, surprising the Givin co-pilot, who tell them he helped the pirates. The pirates are miner-colonists from planet Necropolis in the Dahrtag system who had been betrayed by the Empire then the New Republic. They were promised better colony-building materiel but reneged on the deal. Without the high-grade transparisteel their people will be detrimentally affected by the abrasive atmosphere there.

The co-pilot pleads that they arrest him instead of the miners-pirates. Gev spots two GR-75 medium transports pulling away from the Gem Fryer. Pev is about to call for Republic help when Zor tells him to stand down. They will allow the pirates to escape freely to help build a safer colony for them.

Location: UNKNOWN DAHRTAG

As the pilot & other passengers start to regain consciousness, the Givin thanks the Rangers & tells them the colony will remember what they have done & some day repay the deed with gratitude.

With that, the Gem Fryer makes one final jump from Dahrtag to Kitel Phard...

TO BE CONTINUED

Location: Kitel Phard (Atrisia)

Atrisian native Zor Draco, Gev Dyson of Eskaria and technician Pev Tekko along with bounty hunters Nosoli Jarahm and her injured partner Tchedu Pol avoid the Jar'Kai Constabulary, head for the Free Hospital at Emerald Row.

Although Zor has been back for years, he still had enough streetwise in him to reach Emerald Row via the sewer network. At the hospital, a green TC droid at the front desk meets them. She admits them when Zor mentions his old friend Kara Verdans, who is now a physician there.

Suddenly trio of Constabulary Officers burst in from the street with an old injured prisoner strapped to a repulsor gurney. They head for the front desk.

The team try not to lose their cool and head to the lift vestibule. Officer Tizosar and the prisoner head their way while the others wait in the lobby. The Rangers hope a lift cab arrives quickly but no, the officer reaches them first.

They all head up together. Suddenly Constabulary Dispatch describes a group of fugitives over Tizosar's wrist comlink, which are obviously them. Gev panics and almost shoots the cop, but Zor gestures at him to quit it. It all happens behind Tizosar, so he doesn't notice the sudden move.

Zor bonds with Officer Tizosar by talking about old times on Atrisia. The officer informs him that his prisoner was a street swindler who was beaten up over a sabacc scheme. 

They reach Dr Verdans' sickbay at Room 12 Level 3. Kara immediately tends to Pol and gets mad at Zor for leaving her to join the Imperial Navy many years ago. Gev tells Zor to call her "his sweet cabbage". But Zor ultimately persuades her to help them reach his cousin Tarn Draco, so they could accomplish their mission.

Meanwhile in Room 14, the old prisoner easily slips out of his bonds almost magically, kicking the cop's DL-18 blaster away. The blaster clunks the head of the attending 2-1B medical droid there. The man also grabs something from the officer's evidence pouch: something shiny and cylindrical.

Fleeing into the hallway, he bumps into Gev. He keeps running down the hall when Officer Tizosar pops out with his DL-18 about to shoot the old man in the back. Gev's riot gun stuns the cop to sleep, but after he calls for backup.

Gev suggests that the old man join them in their escape. The old man, Olem, joins them as Kara takes them up a private lift shaft to a speeder parking bay, leaving Jarahm and Pol in the sickbay to be tended by the FX droid on duty.

Soon Kara is driving Zor, Gev,, Pev and Olem in her Arrow 23 towards Tarn Draco's office.

TO BE CONTINUED

Location: Kitel Phard (Atrisia)

With Jar'Kai Constabulary Chief Vitruan's officers storming Tarn Draco's office building, the Rangers decide to make their exit to the roof landing pad where the company Koensayr Breon HDY-39 Dayvan is parked.

With Tarn's security key card, the team go back up the stairwell as entry would be locked down by the security personnel they conned earlier. As they rush up to the roof landing pad where Tarn's Breon Dayvan is parked they hear a stairwell door explode on the ground floor. Now, officers are climbing up after them.

But three other officers, led by Officer Tizosar - from the Free Clinic - are waiting for them by the Dayvan on the roof. 

Supervisor-Captain Zor Draco, technician Pev Tekko and homeless old dude Olem dive for cover behind container crates, but bounty hunter Gev Dyson stands his ground and unleashes his riot gun. The barrage stuns one enemy.

The others combine fire on him, but Gev's second volley fells another and dazes Tizosar. Then from behind cover, Pev's stun bolt drops him. The skirmish takes twenty seconds to conclude! While they all jump into the Dayvan, Gev sets up a booby trap at the roof door with a grenade.

Zor activates the Dayvan's engines while Pev mans the rear cannon turret. An L1 general purpose droid – L1-2Y2, nicknamed Fred – welcomes them aboard the Elegant Format. 

When Gev hops aboard, Zor takes off. The cops break through the roof door, but Gev’s booby trap does not go off. Gev laments the loss of his favourite grenade, a wasted effort.

As the Elegant Format ascends up to the troposphere, two Constabulary HH-87 Starhopper fighters of Allegro squadron chase after them in an intercept course, telling them to land and surrender.

With Pev's help in astrogation, Zor barely succeeds in making a jump to lightspeed, after setting a course for Coruscant.

En route, after Fred serves snacks and caf, they consider their options. Gev mulls over contacting the Bounty Hunter's Guild but decides against it. Too risky. Very untrustworthy.

Pev could contact his former CO Detective Lt. Col. Todvaa Vann of the Rangers' Infiltration & Secure Entry Unit. Fred reminisces the times when he had to toss hostile ex-ISB agents a long distance.

Zor thinks of contacting his former CO in the Starfighter Corps, Captain Carson Teva. But instead Zor decides to contact his former New Republic Ranger CO Tyria Sarkin – formerly of the Antarian Rangers and Wraith Squadron.

With Fred's help in encrypting communications, Zor uses his codename "Protocol" to make contact with Sarkin. At first she tells Zor that false Imperial comeback sightings are the norm. But with his diplomatic skills & evidence, he persuades her that the Imperial-aligned Pentastar Alignment junta has infiltrated the Rangers out in the Outer Rim Territory.

She provides them coordinates to the Generis Arcology on Coruscant for a meeting.

Location: CORUSCANT ORBIT

However upon dropping out of hyperspace, a flotilla of two frigates and a squadron of A-wing fighters is detected to be on an interception course. The Priam, one of the oncoming EF-76 Nebulon B Escort Frigates, orders them to stand down & prepare for boarding. Apparently the Elegant Format has been reported by the Constabulary on Kitel Phard to be stolen by starship thieves.

Zor says, "We forgot to turn off the transponder."

To which Olem replied, "Balls."

TO BE CONTINUED

Location: Coruscant

Captain Zor Draco, Gev Dyson, Olem and the general purpose droid Fred are waiting to brief Colonel Tyria Sarkin at Ranger HQ in Generis Arcology located 25 km from the Senate building.

Sarkin enters the room. Before the door closes, they all catch a glimpse of Senator Leia Organa outside. But Zor and Gev spotted a hooded, black robed figure with a lightsaber at his belt lurking in the back.

Sarkin sits at the conference room table across from them and informs them that Technician Pev Tekko was summoned by his immediate superior Detective Lieutenant Colonel Todvaav'ann. He will rejoin them later.

Upon displaying a hologram of the Vandor base, she asks the team to brief her on Vandor. They unloaded everything from joining the team to the deaths of their intel assets the McPings to their teammate Ordan Vallas who left Coruscant with Mrs Stassie McPing's assassin for Vandor and has not been heard from since, and discovering the Pentastar Alignment's infiltration of the New Republic Rangers in the Outer Rim.

In fact, Zor's team has helped the enemy gather four X-wings and a Gozanti-class transport for Vandor. Zor feels bad about it and will gladly accept any reprimands. However, Sarkin knows Zor and dismisses his words.

After the briefing, she asks the team what they wanted to do. They all agreed on a covert infiltration. Zor requests stealth para-wing gliders. Sarkin agrees and offers more gear, but there is a more pressing matter.

The team has been request to undergo another mission - a minor task - before going off to Vandor. Sarkin gives Olem a datapad with information & assigns him to be a team leader for this mission. Zor is flustered. The datapad indicates they have to retrieve an item in a box at an "Area of Interest" somewhere on Coruscant. Maps and instructions are provided. There is a emblem at the bottom of the document on the datapad.

It is the emblem of the Jedi Order.

After briefing, they are dismissed. So they visit the Rangers' Quartermaster EV-44L4s's office - 2 levels below - where everyone gets EMP grenades and their weapons are fully serviced and recharged. Gev procures a vibrodagger & Olem is given a new outfit. He gives his hobo clothes to Fred who returns to the Elegant Format to await their return.

As they head towards their first waypoint, a docking pier in the underworld beneath the arcology, Olem informs Zor & Gev he used to be a Padawan in the Jedi Order. His abilities are not well developed because of 25 years of disuse. The two told him they had spotted what might have been Luke Skywalker outside the conference room earlier.

At the pier, three Razalon FC-20 speeder bikes painted with Jedi Order emblems await their arrival. Olem takes the point and they mount up and ride towards the second waypoint: the Area of Interest whatever that is...

TO BE CONTINUED

Location: Coruscant

After two days of rest, Captain Zor Draco, Gev Dyson, Olem (now revealed to be the former Padawan Olemric Cognus) are summoned by Colonel Tyria Sarkin to the HQ's conference room on Level 3 of the Generis Arcology.

Sarkin introduces them to a new recruit, an Iotran New Republic Security Force officer named Kirino Mak. She has been assigned to the team as a law enforcement agent.

The briefing begins. Sarkin recounts the team's experiences. They had been working for Agent Tailgunner at the Rangers branch at Karkbreath Peak on Vandor. The team was collecting (stealing?) materiel for Tailgunner. A Gozanti-class cruiser here. A flight of X-wings there.

Then their informant, old Mrs Stassie McPing, was assassinated by Tora Nuam for passing on an encrypted datacard with a warning about who they were working for. Nuam is their teammate Ordan Vallas' former flame. When they finally decrypted the datacard, via Zor's cousin Tarn Draco on Kitel Phard, they discovered that Tailgunner is one Beru Treedancer, working for the isolationist Imperial enclave known as the Pentastar Alignment of Powers.

Meanwhile, Republic Intelligence have no news of their vanished teammates Ordan Vallas, Pac Vesme and Captain Kin Asa Goddard. This sounds grim for the team.

According to Sarkin, the Pentastar Alignment is led by Moff Ardus Kaine who replaced Moff Tarkin as Oversector Outer Moff after the Battle of Yavin. A year ago, he gathered Imperial and corporate loyalists to unite on Entralla to form the PA. Information about them has been sparse since.

Gev proposes a straight up attack, but Sarkin tells him they don't have the resources and the New Republic takes ponderously long to decide. 

Zor's proposed move is to scout for intel on Vandor. He refers to the Republic Sienar Systems star courier they found in a buried Sith Temple (under the old Jedi Temple) during the previous mission to repower Olem's lightsaber with a kyber crystal. That ship could have a stygium-based cloaking shield they could use for effective intelligence gathering.

Sarkin tells them a 4-personnel tech team has been dispatched. One has been reportedly killed by a Sith War Droid. Another disappeared into a door in the Temple that itself disappeared. The remaining two are huddled together fearfully in the Star Courier cabin performing their analysis.

The Rangers' mission now is to go to the Sith Temple and protect the tech team long enough for them to assess the courier. But in the meantime, the team has been assigned a new ship down in the Hangar Bay in Level 10.

Before going there, Zor changes into his field uniform. They all meet the Quartermaster droid EV-44L4 for more gear. Kirino asks for a bomb defusing kit. Eve-Four is reluctant to release it, but she persuades the droid effectively.

They reach the Hangar Bay where two ships await in launch position. One is Kirino's Y-Wing fighter Blue One being tended to by R2-BA, her astromech droid.

The other is a dark grey Omicron-class attack shuttle with turquoise stripes across her three S-foils. They name her the Spotchka Starstreak. Everyone boards their crafts and prepares for launch. Gev wonders if the new team member will cut it. Zor replies, this is a good mission to test her skills.

When the Nikto crew chief signals them, they both take off. The two ships fly to their dark destination in formation.

TO BE CONTINUED

Location: Coruscant

Captain Zor "Protocol" Draco, Gev Dyson, Olemric Cognus, Kirino "Archive” Mak and Pev Tekko advance into the room filled with Sith sculptures, artefacts, inert droids and the Star Courier with the missing starboard engine & radiator panels.

Zor, Gev, Olem and Kirino sweep forward. The Iotran Kirino finds a shiny black door hidden in the far wall. Gev finds the remains of the war droid they killed the last time they were here. Olem is confused by the Dark Side emanating from the artefacts in the room.

Pev notices a Basilisk war droid by the main door, takes cover outside with weapons out. He hears clanking. Another SD-4K assassin droid shambles for him, scythe-like forearms swishing for Pev. He dives inside and closes the blast doors behind him. He hears the droid trying to get in, locks the door and disables the external controls.

Suddenly an elevator platform lowers the Star Courier into the floor. While Pev studies the Basilisk, the others use the ascension guns they found in the LAAT/le earier to climb down onto the descending ship. Gev grabs Zor, kisses his cheek for good luck, swings down, but drops the Captain instead. Zor is thankfully only winded. Kirino & Olem both drop into a heroic pose, though Olem wobbles and falls on his butt.

Pev climbs onto the Basilisk's saddle. A wall panel falls and the SD-4K climbs into the artefact room. Via comms, he informs the team standing on the descending Star Courier's top hull. They stand poised for battle, weapons ready, pointed at the elevator floor opening above them. 

The SD-4K shambles past Pev. He activates the Basilisk droid, then uses its pulse-wave cannon to pulverise the droid. In the shaft, the others dodge the sparking droid debris falling toward them.

Pev then rides the Basilisk to the edge of the elevator shaft and jumps down, repulsors activated. But he slips and crushes the radiator panels in the port wing. He and his droid mount are undamaged though.

Olem senses 3 individuals in the ship. Pev also uses his hand sensor to confirm this. Zor finds a hatch, opens it and Gev jumps in first with his riot gun ready. He sees the two survivors cowering in fear, mentally traumatised by their experience here. Kirino jumps into the flight deck with medpacs, followed by Zor. The survivors report that the Rodian lieutenant Quando and Specialist Gar Nyteen are missing.

As the elevator reaches its bottom, a darkened launch bay looms ahead of them. Though Olem does not see it, Pev on the Basilisk spots one of the black floating cube coming down from above. He warns the others as it also enters the ship's top hatch.

In the flight deck, everyone drew their weapon on the cube which floats to the central command table and docks with it. They all unload their weapons on it. They spot a Biscuit Baron logo among the box's debris. Was this a food delivery?

Olem feels a strong wave of the Dark Side of the Force from the command table. Gev yells, "I told you this place was haunted!"

With hisses of pressurised vapor, the command table opens up to reveal its lone occupant. A deep mechanical voice booms, "I am Darth Terrogator!"  There is a shower of sparks, after which the voice becomes high-pitched and infantile.

They see a tiny, elderly Anzellan strapped into some sort capsule. From the capsule, the Anzellan is able to monitor and control the temple's interior defenses.

The diminutive alien reveals that he is Scoopie Jimpson who has been waiting --for 35 years in the command capsule in the Star Courier -- for Darth Sidious to make him a Sith Lord. Sidious -- for reasons known and obvious to the team -- failed to return.

Jimpson is tired of the promises, the lies and the steady diet of Biscuit Baron. So he surrenders to the Rangers. When removed from the capsule, Olem's sense of the Dark Side disappears as if the machine here amplified the alien's hate and anger.

Comms with Ranger HQ is reestablished. They transmit a preliminary report and  and before long a Ranger team, along with Colonel Tyria Sarkin, arrives to tend to the survivors, recover the Star Courier and take the dejected Jimpson into custody.

Now they have a stygium-based cloaking field which they can use for their return to Vandor to thwart the Pentastar Alignment. Zor says, ""Rangers lead  the way."

TO BE CONTINUED

Location: Coruscant

Captain-Supervisor Zor "Protocol" Draco, bounty hunter Gev "Bounty" Dyson and NRSF officer Kirino "Archive” Mak take off for Maramere to obtain stygium crystals. The technician Pev Tekko is at the New Republic Ranger motor pool transferring the cloaking tech from the salvaged Star Courier to their Omicron-class attack shuttle Spotchka Starstreak.

In the meantime, the droid Professor Huyang leads the minor Jedi Olemric "Olem" Cognus to an abandoned building in the Senate District for visiting Outer Rim dignitaries before the Empire. In an empty ballroom, Scoopie Jimpson, the Anzellan Sith prisoner Olem helped to apprehend is bound as a prisoner on a raised cylinder, flanked by a pair of guards. A man named Kyle has just finished interrogating the so-called Darth Terrogator.

Now that it's Olem's turn he uses to Force to sense what Jimpson is thinking: he felt abandoned by Darth Sidious over 30 years ago and is willingly cooperating. When Olem asks about the ship, he senses that the stygium crystals mined on Maramere is explosive, like coaxium. They need to be "pacified" using the Force.

Olem urgently requests Kyle for a transport to Maramere.

Location: Maramere

Meanwhile, a dogfight is occurring in the skies of Maramere: Four hostile Sabaoth fighters against Zor in his Arrow One A-Wing and Kirino & Gev in the Blue One Y-wing. After the Sabaoths miss their opening volley, Kirino and Zor split up. The Sabaoths also split into wing pairs, each wing lead trying to lock on to the Republic fighters. While Kirino executes a flawless evasion roll, Gev's ion cannons takes out the lead Sabaoth. Zor also weaves to evade then jinks, turns his opposing wing lead into a ball of fire.

The two remaining Sabaoths try to manoeuvre behind their targets, but Gev - despite the physical difficulties, swings the turret to neutralise the one dogging Zor. The ion bolt strikes the Sabaoth's wing tip, distracts him. Zor brakes, spins, fires - taking out the distracted fighter behind him, drops 200 meters in altitude, ignites his engines, accelerates, arcs to starboard, then rolls & fires again.

His volley rips the engines from the Sabaoth behind Blue One. The fighter falls into a cloud and disappears.

They land at the seaside city of Point Modie. While R2-BA a.k.a Bea tends to both fighters, the team rush to find Zor's contact. But they discover his Twi'lek friend Tashar'owan was just attacked by the claim jumpers from Bagan Deem island. Someone had told the pirates that Tash called the New Republic and has now abducted him as punishment. Tash's tour company premises was blown up by the pirates not 20 minutes earlier and is now in flames.

As Zor makes friends with a food vendor, a Gotal named Bersayval, to find out more, Kirino is helping a fallen Mere woman with lacerations & burns on the street. Gev who is on overwatch from the rooftops spots a Mere man approaching Kirino with an active vibroblade, about to stab him. The ex-hunter takes him out easily with one shot from his 500 Espo riot gun.

The crowd flees in panic from the shooting while Zor moves in to protect Kirino. Three police droids arrive and defer to the Spotchkas. They detain the incapacitated Mere would-be assassin while Bersayval and some neighbourhood buddies help to feed the team as they plan their next move.

Suddenly, an X-wing with blue markings lands. It is Olem, who tells them what he learned by reading Jimpson telepathically. When asked, Olem does not know how to pacify the stygium crystals there. As he joins the team, he orders his astromech R2-Q01 to pilot the X-wing to Landing Field S26 with the other Spotchka Squad fighters.

Five blocks away, at a pier by the huge open ocean, is another of Zor's old contacts, a Gamorrean named Blorrt who owns a vehicle rental company. An unfortunate high five with his old friend lands Zor on his back on the ground with Blorrt profusely apologising.

After some time considering the Hydrospeare aquaspeeder or the Mon Cala Barnacle-type submersible, they decide on four Urukaab "Thermocline-20" seaswoops! They gear up and prepare for a stealth attack on Bagan Deem island - 50 kilometers away to the east - to rescue Tash.

TO BE CONTINUED

Location: Maramere

After the assault at Coral Beach on Bagan Deem Island, Spotchka Squad reunites aboard the newly-arrived Omicron-class attack shuttle Spotchka Starstreak. Piloting the shuttle, Ranger Technician Pev Tekko flies them five kilometres away from shore and holds station there. Captain Zor Draco, bounty hunter Gev Dyson, NRSF investigator Kirino Mak, Jedi Olemric "Olem" Cognus and Pev plan their next move against the claim jumping pirates on the island, acquire stygium crystals from their mine & save Zor’s old friend, the abducted Twi'lek tour guide Tashar'owan from Point Modie.

Night falls over the ocean and they see a storm front blows in from the south. Dark clouds and purple lightning approaches from the horizon. Zor believes there's an Omni Directional Sensor Globe (ODSG) high upon the hilltop above the stygium mine.

Step 1: Put Gev on the ground to do as a commando to reach the mine on foot. 

Step 2: Kill the ODSG from the air.

Step 3: Harass the pirates from the air with the Starstreak so Gev can accomplish his objective.

The thunderstorm sweeps into them. Rain batters the ship as Zor takes over the pilot seat with Pev on forward guns. Kirino takes the aft guns. Gev preps for deployment with Olem standing by at the hatch.

Upon the Starstreak’s beach approach, a rocket is fired at them from the treeline. It is a personnel rocket, probably shoulder mounted. Zor evades, but the rocket turns back towards them. Kirino attempts to blast it, but her barrage misses. The rocket explodes at the port wing aft, but with superficial damage only thankfully. (Kirino also spots the relix leaping out of the water with glee in the storm.)

Fast approaching the beach, Pev's cannon fire rakes the sand and trees, scattering the pirate troops hidden there into retreating. Zor brakes over the beach, allowing Gev to rappel onto the sand as he is pelleted by rain. Like a shadow, he sneaks and disappears into the jungle, heading toward the mine.

The Starstreak then soars upwards, and attacks the ODSG. Pev damages the globe substantially, cutting off targeting data to another rocket coming at them. The rocket misses, and Kirino's aft cannons takes it out of the sky in a blaze of fire. Zor harasses the pirates from the air, throwing them into chaos.

Everyone spots a Cargohopper-102 with technicians arrive at the damaged ODSG. Before they could repair the globe, Pev's cannonfire obliterates the entire hilltop (including the Cargohopper).

Olem reaches out with the Force to help Zor direct his air-to-ground harassment campaign and senses all the pirates in chaos, some anger and rage... but also innocent and distressed minds on the ground!

Gev – now near the mine – visually confirms the pirates have slaves, over a hundred of them, who are being used as a shield at the mine entrance. Suddenly Gev spots something: he discovers Tashar’owan near an exploded admin building, badly injured - incapacitated - by shrapnel and burns seemingly from Gev’s own rocket that he fired earlier before the beach battle!

Then, the comlink buzzes. The pirate leader Startay Nosk contacts them via comms. If they don't stand down in 3 minutes, she will kill half the slaves. Zor thinks it’s a bluff, but Nosk says, “We'll find out.”

TO BE CONTINUED

Location: Olywag's Grill

After installing stygium crystals into the Spotchka Starstreak's new cloaking shield, Spotchka Squad travel to Olywag's Grill, a planetoid orbiting a red dwarf in the Chopani Void. Spotchka Squad will be sneaking across the Pentastar Alignment border for a covert reconnaissance mission.

Lieutenant Tochade commands this New Republic Intelligence Listening Post. He greets Supervisor-Captain Zor "Protocol" Draco, Gev "Bounty" Dyson, Pev "Fumbler" Tekko & Kirino "Archive" Mak and brings them to the conference room to plan using the listening post's data.

Based on Zor's knowledge, he decides that Agent Tailgunner's operation might be based near the capital city on Ord Biniir. Kirino uses the post's sensor data to create a holo of the environment. She pulls up mountains, cities, industrial areas, transportation lines...  then suggests a landing spot.

Then Specialist Modolindo, a Dug technician tells Pev they are ready to modify the Starstreak by attaching Arrow One, Zor's A-wing, to it. They are helped by the Modo's droids and Kirino's astromech R2-BA (Bea). Their general purpose droid L1-2Y2 (Fred) watches. Meanwhile, everyone picks up whatever gear they can.

An hour later, the mod is complete, but there's a commotion from the Command Centre. A controller tells Tochade that for the first time ever, a Pentastar Alignment Star Destroyer Immutable left Entralla, set a course towards them and jumped into hyperspace.

Tochade orders everyone to prep for immediate evacuation, just in case, but they will wait for the Starstreak to launch. 20,000 klicks away from the planetoid, the Immutable drops out of hyperspace, but an ionised cloud blocks their view of Olywag's Grill. They spot the accelerating Starstreak with Zor and Kirino in the pilot seats. Pev fixes the ship's controls so it would manoeuvre better.

Suddenly new proximity warning: a Gozanti cruiser and 4 X-wings drop out of hyperspace behind them, and attack the planetoid. Zor crawls to his A-wing, ordering them to defend the post, while Bea pilots the Starstreak. Kirino works on the calculation. Also, a squadron of 12 TIE fighters make a beeline towards their shuttle.

But before anything could be done, 8 proton torpedos from the X-wings overwhelm shields and vapourise the listening post and a huge chunk of the surface. Tochade, Modolindo and the others are dead. Then the five ships that Rangers helped to acquire for Agent Tailgunner peel off and jump away.

The TIE's early barrage miss the Starstreak. Nothing left to do, Zor orders Kirino to make the jump to a random safe location...

TO BE CONTINUED