by Laurie Burns
Darme snorted. “He might have — or he might not. He’s been a slippery worrt all along. This way was better.”
She tried another tack. “But what about what the people want? A lot of them seemed happy that the Empire was gone.”
“The people!” he said scornfully. “The people don’t know what’s best for them. Lower the prices, and they’ll follow anyone, anywhere. They don’t understand how it works.”
But now, she did. Like the Empire he admired, Darme clearly thought in terms of profit and loss — the bottom line, not right and wrong. She opened her mouth to speak again when the turbolift abruptly shuddered to a halt, as if its power had been suddenly cut off. Darme’s eyes narrowed with anger, and he cursed as he slapped at the call panel, then tried opening the door. It wouldn’t budge.
Kella looked up at the indicator, which showed they were stopped between floors. Keeping Kella’s blaster pointed at her and snarling “Don’t move,” Darme brought out the vibro-knife again, and carefully pried at the seam where the doors joined in the center. When he’d pried open a crack, he used it to pull the doors open, exposing the flat wall of the turbolift shaft. Sticking his head into the small space, he studied the shadowy wall and grunted in satisfaction upon seeing a service ladder within reach.
Then he turned back to her, a cold glint in his eye.
Alerted, Kella ducked to the side, but there was nowhere to go. As the blaster beam struck her in the side and she fell to the floor, her last thought was to be grateful she’d reset her blaster from “kill” to “stun.”
She woke to a rising sensation. Just as her brain cleared enough to realize that the turbolift was again on the move, it stopped, and her stomach lurched. Blearily, she raised her head as the scarred door opened and a forest of legs rushed in and knelt down around her.
“Kella! Are you all right?” L’varren asked, helping her to a sitting position. Still groggy, she nodded and glanced around. Besides two of his own officers, she recognized the red-seamed pant legs of hotel security standing just off the lift.
“You saw the vidclip?” she asked, looking up at him.
“We did, and we’ve got the suspect, too,” he answered. “Security caught him prying his way out of the shaft a few floors clown. He’s been arrested and, I expect, will be charged with Barayel’s murder.
“Thanks to your sharp eyes, my aide and the New Republic have been cleared of suspicion,” he added.
Kella smiled weakly. “Just doing my job. Ambassador.”
The words seemed to echo in her head, and she felt a sudden jolt of alarm. “What time is it?” she asked, freeing an arm from L’varren’s grasp and checking her chronometer. In horror, she saw it was 2354.
Was she too late to catch the newsdroid?
“Where’s the clip?” she demanded, scrambling to her feet and heading off the lift on startlingly woozy legs. L’varren and the troops followed, the diplomat eyeing her with concern.
“In my suite,” he said. “Along with your hover-cam.”
“I’ve got to do a whole new report!” she told him urgently. “The one I filed earlier was deleted and there’s nothing on the assassination for the newsdroid to pick up. If it hasn’t already been here.” She scowled fiercely at the thought.
Not waiting for permission, she barrelled through the door to his suite. Finding the comm unit, she hurriedly keyed in Nostler’s frequency, leaping on him without preamble when he answered. “Has the courier picked up yet?”
“Kella! Where are you?” Nostler yelped back. “Something big’s going down at L’varren’s hotel. They’re sealing it off, aren’t letting any reporters in, but maybe — ”
“I’m already here,” she cut him off impatiently. “Robbe. The newsdroid. Has it picked up yet?”
“No! You still have time for an update,” he assured her. “Little close to the wire, but it’ll dump its message packets before uplinking our reports. You’ll still get the scoop, if you make it quick.”
Kella cut off the transmission and beckoned to her hover-cam, mind racing over what had to be done next. Grab a quick statement from the local law enforcement, get a few quotes from some Indu councilors, maybe a hopeful prediction from L’varren about tomorrow’s vote, do a quick re-edit — all at lightspeed.
With a tight smile, she keyed in her newsbank access code and got to work.
Kella Rand
Type: Galactic Newsnet Reporter
DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 4D, dodge 5D, running 5D
KNOWLEDGE 4D
Alien species 5D, bureaucracy 7D+2, business 5D, cultures 5D+2, languages 5D, law-enforcement 6D, planetary systems 5D, willpower 7D
MECHANICAL 3D
Communications 6D+1
PERCEPTION 4D
Con 5D+2, investigation 7D+1, persuasion 6D, sneak 6D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 2D
This character is Force-sensitive.
Force Points: 2
Character Points: 5
Move: 10
Equipment: Hover-cam, identi-credcard, datatote with datapad and assorted datacards, comlink, hold-out blaster (3D)
Capsule: Kella’s specialty is versatility, and in her four years with the Galactic News Network, she’s done everything from frothy features and celebrity profiles to coverage of war and crime, garnering grim reports from battlefronts in a dozen systems. An assignment might take her to a ritzy evening soiree with the galaxy’s movers and shakers, or it might require six weeks of slogging around some backwater world — she never knows, and the unpredictability keeps her interested.
Her amused hazel eyes, chestnut hair, and flip, easy-going manner often fool competitive news sources who underestimate her tenacity. The daughter of a refueling station administrator, Kella developed a wide streak of independence and self-reliance at an early age, as well as the ability to observe and analyze events around her without getting personally involved.
Growing up on the station, she was exposed to a wide variety of beings and their accompanying cultural differences, and found this brought her in good stead when she left at age 17 to attend university on Corellia. Interest in seeing all the worlds she’d heard about led her to consider a career in the diplomatic corps, but she soon discovered she didn’t have the proper patience for the subtleties the work required.
A holocast provided the inspiration that led her to apprentice with a Corellian newsnet while finishing her schooling — she continued on as a paid reporter after graduation. Her break into the big-time galactic newsnets came when the local GNN bureau negotiated for the rights to broadcast an interview she did with a supposed childhood friend of Corellian native Han Solo, the smuggler who gained notoriety as a general with the Rebel Alliance.
Hired by GNN a month later, Kella’s first offworld assignment was to cover a mining revolt on Elom. Despite the frigid temperatures and the difficulty in dealing with Imperial bureaucrats, she emerged with a report that both pleased her superiors and mollified Imperial censors. She has been on the move ever since.
Kella likes the traveling and the excitement of a reporter’s life, and her greatest satisfaction comes from slipping the “real” story past Imperial newsnet censors — something that’s gotten easier of late as the fragmenting Empire has less time and resources to devote to punishing the purveyors of less-than-flattering news reports.
Hover-Cam
Model: Data-Link Industries 250 Hover-Cam
Type: Audio, visual and holo-recording device
Cost: 900
Availability: 2, F
Capsule: Hover-cams free up users from having to hold, aim, or focus a recorder at their intended target. Using small repulsors, hover-cams float about a meter above and slightly behind their user. They follow spoken directions to record information on a standard datacard. How a hover-cam takes direction varies according to how sophisticated the device is. They come in many different models, from a simple “family-cam” capable of following limited directions an
d serving the average family’s recording needs, to a “watch-cam,” a more sophisticated model which can be used for surveillance or residential security.
Because of their maneuverability, reporters throughout the galaxy find them extremely effective tools. Most reporters prefer the DLI-250 hover-cam manufactured by Data-Link Industries, as this model not only takes spoken direction, it also “learns” on the job just what sort of actions its user wants recorded. Thus a reporter doesn’t have to constantly direct its every move, and an “experienced” hover-cam can be sent out into a crowd and be trusted to come back with useable, newsworthy recordings. The DLI-250 has a flight ceiling of 50 meters, and can be summoned to return to the user with a beckon call.
Robbe Nostler
Type: News Bureau Chief
DEXTERITY 3D
KNOWLEDGE 4D
Bureaucracy 7D, business 6D+1, languages 5D, law enforcement 6D+2, streetwise 5D+2
MECHANICAL 3D
Communications 5D, repulsorlift operation 4D
PERCEPTION 3D
Bargain 4D, con 4D+2, investigation 6D, persuasion 5D
STRENGTH 2D+2
TECHNICAL 2D+1
Force Points: 1
Character Points: 3
Move: 10
Capsule: Chief of the Galactic News Network’s Indu San bureau. Nostler has been stationed on Indu San for the past dozen years. A decade of tailoring stories so that they’re acceptable to Imperial censors has dulled his reporter’s edge, although he did take a certain satisfaction in filing the recent report of the Imperial governor’s retreat. A pragmatist, he doesn’t have any particular feelings for either the New Republic or the Empire — in his opinion, all governments try to influence the news to reflect their own particular viewpoint.
He leaves the “hot” stories to roving reporters like Kella. Nostler’s goal is to simply produce the most accurate reports possible under the circumstances and stay out of trouble long enough to retire, move somewhere remote, and only turn on the holovid long enough to catch up on the doings of his favorite musical entertainers.
Kaleb Darme
Type: Council Authority Officer
DEXTERITY 4D
Blaster 6D, brawling parry 5D+2, melee combat 6D
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Bureaucracy 4D, intimidation 6D, law enforcement 5D+1, streetwise 4D+2
MECHANICAL 3D
Repulsorlift operation 4D
PERCEPTION 3D
Con 4D, persuasion 4D+2, sneak 5D
STRENGTH 3D
Brawling 6D, climbing/jumping 5D
TECHNICAL 2D
Demolition 4D, security 4D+2
Force Points: 1
Character Points: 4
Move: 10
Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D), comlink, Indu Council Authority officer’s uniform
Capsule: Kaleb Darme was only 10 years old when he saw the holo-epic Armor of Honor, and the elite stormtroopers’ story had a profound effect on the direction of his life. A cool thinker with a firm belief that “right equals might,” he became an Indu planetary security officer. Darme saw his assignment to the Council Authority as the next step toward a prestigious post as one of Imperial Governor Ekam Ouwray’s bodyguards.
He made friends in the right places and subtly tried to strengthen the governor’s position in the face of underground revolts, fully expecting to be rewarded for his efforts. But when Ouwray fled the system in a panic, he asked his ardent supporter to show his loyalty to the Empire by remaining behind and helping pave the way for the his eventual return. Darme, with his ambitious eye still firmly fixed on the eventual goal, gladly agreed.
Dictio L’varren
Type: New Republic Diplomat
DEXTERITY 2D+2
KNOWLEDGE 4D
Alien species 4D+2, bureaucracy 8D, cultures 6D, languages 5D, planetary systems 6D+2
MECHANICAL 2D+1
PERCEPTION 4D
Bargain 6D+2, con 6D, investigation 5D, persuasion 8D
STRENGTH 3D
TECHNICAL 2D
Force Points: 1
Character Points: 5
Move: 10
Capsule: Due to his serious manner, Dictio L’varren appears older than his years. Even as a child on Alderaan, he was affectionately called “Senior” by his mother because the aura of deliberate contemplation he brought to every situation was so out of place with others his age.
This childhood hindrance proved a boon as he matured. Trained as a mediator, his professional career flourished as he arbitrated labor disputes and advised politicians, as well as privately used his persuasive powers to encourage others to join the growing revolt against the Empire. Offworld at the time of Alderaan’s destruction. L’varren linked up with the Alliance. In the years since, he’s served as an ambassador for it and the fledgling New Republic, visiting neutral or newly-liberated worlds and, more often than not, convincing their leaders to offer their support.
Dedicated, honest and sincere, L’varren is of medium build, with graying dark brown hair and patient brown eyes. Although he has a good sense of humor, it rarely peeks through — emerging only occasionally as a dry observation of the proceedings around him. He takes his obligations too seriously to risk offending someone with ill-timed humor.
Indu San
Type: Terrestrial
Temperature: Temperate
Atmosphere: Type 1 (breathable)
Hydrosphere: Moist
Gravity: Standard
Terrain: Ocean, forests, mountains, plains
Length of Day: 25 standard hours
Length of Year: 382 local days
Sapient Species: Humans
Starport: Standard class
Population: 1.4 billion
Planet Function: Homeworld
Government: Congressional Council
Tech Level: Space
Major Exports: Luxury stone items
Major Imports: High technology
Capsule: The only habitable planet in the system of the same name. Indu San sits in the Outer Rim Territories region. The planet’s main claim to economic fame is its export of high-quality, exquisitely-patterned marbled stone, which is polished into items such as floor tiles and table tops, and sells well as a luxury good throughout the galaxy. Not surprisingly, stone figures prominently in Indu architecture, with many of the buildings utilizing not only the beautiful polished marbles, but also less prized rock such as granite and serpentine. Buildings are kept to a relatively modest height in comparison to modern galactic standards, and this makes for attractive, uncluttered-looking cities.
Although an active member of the Old Republic, Indu San enjoyed a fairly low-key existence until the Empire moved in. Facing a lukewarm reception from the populace and finding the prospect of throwing his weight around distasteful, then-imperial Governor Stant Rosswell decided to curry favor with the business community by loosening up import and export regulations. In turn, the business community pressured the politicians to accede gracefully to Imperial rule. It was a fine scheme that worked admirably for many years, in large part due to Rosswell’s genuinely friendly personality and way of looking out for his “friends.”
But when Rosswell was replaced by the stricter Governor Ekam Ouwray shortly before the battle of Endor, the credits continued to flow for the business people, but the pleasantries between the governor’s office and the politicians ended. This paved the way for Indu San’s eventual showdown between the Empire and New Republic. Faced with a revolt by Indu freedom fighters — accompanied by the appearance of a small New Republic battle fleet — Ouwray called for help from the rapidly-fragmenting Empire and panicked when only a single cruiser was sent to aid him in restoring order. Within hours, he ordered the evacuation and retreat of Imperial personnel on the planet, vowing to come back at a later date and crush the Rebels.
Indu San currently finds itself a choice bone in the war between the Empire and the New Republic, and while the planet’s Congressional Council was restor
ed, the political climate is currently undergoing rapid change. Indu San is seriously considering joining the New Republic, but there is still the very real threat that the Empire may return.
Adventure Idea
An Imperial warlord, aided by former Imperial Governor Ekam Ouwray, is plotting to reestablish the Empire’s presence in the Indu San system.
If the characters are smugglers or free-traders, they are hired to deliver a mysterious cargo to a group of Imperial supporters on Indu San. The cargo actually contains weapons and explosives. Instead of being paid, the characters are to be arrested for running arms, and their ship confiscated by the warlord for use in his battle fleet. The characters must uncover the warlord’s treacherous plans and avoid the fate planned for them.
If the characters are New Republic intelligence operatives, they arrange to transport the shipment in hopes of discovering the warlord’s contacts on Indu San and derailing the warlord’s plans for the Indu system.
Adventure Idea
The characters are contacted by galactic reporter Kella Rand, who’s heard the group’s latest adventure and wants to interview them. This is a great chance for them to brag about their exploits — until the resulting newscast brings them unwanted attention from a mysterious (or menacing) figure from one of the characters’ past — possibly a crime lord, Imperial adversary, or bounty hunter. The characters must evade whatever traps and deadly plans the mysterious figure has for them, and escape alive to brag once more of their exploits.
From Star Wars Adventure Journal 6 (05-1995)
11.6.18.15.14.5-1
