Long Ago in a Galaxy Far Far Away... Azure Javelin
Craft:
Our heroes were a band of smugglers struggling to make ends meet running cargo in the core
worlds of the galaxy. The crew of the Azure Javelin had been together for around six months, when its Captain Harry
'Pinky' Hook got a comm from a local transit broker. One of his regular couriers was stuck on a backwater system
with a burnt out hyperdrive, and wouldn't be able to make a contracted delivery for him. The broker neeeded 'Pinky'
and his crew to come through for him, and he was offering a sweet 3,000 credits for space on his ship, and a few
days of their time.
Class:
Cost:
Size:
Crew:
Passengers:
Cargo:
Consumables:
Hyperdrive:
Max Speed:
Defense:
Shield Points:
Hull Points:
DR:
Modified YV-330 Freighter
Transport
100,000cr used
Small (26m long)
1+4 Gunners
6
10 metric tons
1 Month
x2
Attack
21
90
150
10
Weapons:
Heavy Laser Cannons: (2 fire linked)
Fire Arc: Turreted
Attack Bonus: +5 (+1 Size, +4 Fire Control)
Damage: 5d10 x 2
Range Mods: PB +0, S +0, M/L n/a
Light Ion Cannons: (4 fire linked)
Fire Arc: Front
Attack Bonus: +3 (+1 Size, +2 Fire Control)
Damage: Special
Range Mods: PB +0, S +0, M/L n/a
Autoblaster:
Fire Arc: Front
Attack Bonus: +9 (+1 Size, +8 Fire Control)
Damage: 3d10 x 2
Range Mods: PB +0, S +0, M/L n/a
Concussion Missile Launchers: (4 fire linked, 3 rounds each)
Fire Arc: Front
Attack Bonus: +3 (+1 Size, +2 Fire Control)
Damage: 10d10 x 2
Range Mods: PB +0, S/M/L n/a
.
The Gam'do-phin system is on the Outer rim, the eponymous second planet in the system is a
world bustling with trade from local Ringsvar mining operations. The Ringsvar comes from the planet Kashiloth the
first world in the system, a poisonous red orb with terrible quakes, and almost non-stop volcanic activity. Many
miners come to Gam'do-phin to make thier fortunes prospecting for Ringsvar, there are many places in the Galaxy
where the valuable Hyperdrive core material is obtained with far less risk, but the competition for ore there is
fierce. In the Gam'do-phin system the only competition the miners face comes from the planet itself, and not each
other. Many miners died, or went broke trying to mine the harsh and unforgiving rock, and in these difficult times
many of them gave up.
One month ago the first of a series of fatal accidents began to inflict istelf upon the hapless
miners of Gam'do-phin when a Bith mineralologist suffocated due to a problem with his environmental suit. The suit
began leaking air while the Bith was asleep, and either the suit alarms failed to wake him, or the suit's emergency
systems failed completely, either way it was a relatively small hole in the suit that killed this poor soul. The
Bith worked for the Survey Mining Corporation, Survey was founded by Republic Scouts that charted the Galaxy many
years ago. As a collective it represented the interests of Scouts with reguards to mining their respsective claims.
A week after the Bith's death the poor miners were given a repreave by the first planet, a
huge volcanic upheaval occured, pushing the unstable landmass the miners were working on apart to reveal a new
600 kilometer wide plate of solid rock. When the rock began to cool, some early sensor probles revealed layers
of Ringsvar bearing ore meters thick, twenty times as dense as the thickest veins found elsewhere on the planet,
a rich strike indeed, but buried beneath dozens of meters of igneous rock. It seemed that lady luck was finally
beginning to smile on the miners of Kashiloth.
Then a second accident claimed the life of a Gotal working under contract to the Galactic
Mining corporation. Na'Rim the Gotal was a demolitions expert, and no stranger to hardship and mining life, but
a week after Ringsvar was found in the newly erupted 'Northern Field' he died as some explosives in his workshack
became unstable and exploded. The Gotal was scheduled to begin an agressive blasting regimen on the 'Northern Field'
for GMC to get their corporate miners and ore crushers to the newfound heavy layers of ore as fast as possible.
A third tragedy struck when two mining droids were swallowed whole by an ore crusher owned
by an independent miner who had been relatively lucky up to that point. The miner was glad that in his one-man
operation, no life was lost, but the droids were supposed to finish ore processing at their Eastern Expanse campsite,
and then move all the equipment and the big ore crusher to a 'North Field' location hand picked by their owner.
When the droids failed to report in on time, or show up at the new location, he knew something was wrong. While
the prospector thinks he can overcome the loss, he also estimates two good droid-weeks worth of labor were lost
arranging for replacement mining droids, and getting the ore crusher relocated to the new site.
It is in this heady climate of worry, and rampant ore speculation our heroes will find themselves
in the Gam'do-phin system. Many of the miners that were barely able to get by won't be able to take advantage of
the great hordes of ore under the rocky layers of the 'Northern Field' others have begged, borrowed, and leveraged
up all of their assets to get enough heavy equipment to mine the great rock. In any event the exodus from the other
expanses to the 'Northern Field' was as complete as it was sudden. The mining accidents continued unabated, some
miners fell into crevasses, while other suffered from endless equipment failures. Drastically taking matters into
their own hands a few of the independent miners began to hire mercenaries to watch over their operations in order
to prevent these 'accidents' and soon the corporate miners followed suit, one month after the first fatal accident,
only a handful of independent miners remain who haven't hired protection.
The Azure Javelin entered the Gam'do-phin system after a long 2 day hyperspace jump from the
core worlds out to the edge of the Outer Rim. Beyond the control of the Galactic Republic, and in the wild territorial
arm of the Galaxy controlled by the Hutts. When they first entered the system their ship was targeted by a half
dozen starfighters, all mercenaries working for Galactic Mining... they had locked their weapons onto the freighter,
and asked the Captain what faction he worked for. Being new to Gam'do-phin and the growing paranoia that passed
for mining politics Captain Hook was at a loss for words. The rest of the crew manned their battlestations, and
Azure's strong military grade defense shields were raised. About the same time six more starfighters entered the
fray, all mercenaries working for Survey... they were sent to ensure Azure's safety and that of its cargo, some
badly needed mining droid parts. The Survey Mercs fired some warning shots at the Galactic Mercs who quickly turned
tail, returning from whence they came.
The crew got clearence to land in the port city of Artell, and was given a wharehouse where
they could drop off the shipment and collect the second half of their 3,000 credit payment. Having been in hyperspace
for a few days, our boys soon descended upon the local nightlife looking to unwind. They found a local spacer bar
where some of the pilots and smugglers hung out, the entered hoping to find respite from recycled air, and the
cramped quarters of a workign ship. They also hoped to find out about the tense local situation, and wondered how
they could make a profit off of it. The adept learned about the recent series of mysterious deaths, and earned
a little pocket money in a friendly game of Sabbac. The Captain listened to the word on the street, and sought
to learn a little more about the planets seven region Gladatorial Games circuits. The ever vigilant mercenary found
a pilot from 'Hansen's Raiders' in the lounge, and recognized his insignia as being the same as that painted on
a number of the mercenary fighters he'd seen in his sights earlier. He wondered if men on both sides had been former
members of the same unit it was no wonder they would give each other so many warning shots, and run away so quickly.
It became apparent to the crew that the accidents had become big business for the mercs and they showed no interest
in finding the cause of the problems, just in protecting their employers from harm until their credits ran out.
Our merc shared a glass with the Hansen's pilot, who gave him the comm frequency of a man that might give them
some business if they we're interested.
The crew all met back at the ship and talked about what they'd found out... after some small
deliberations they all decided to see what kind of money they might make in this boomtown. So they called their
new contact... It seems the pilot wasn't badly connected, they got the top man for Galactic's shipping trafficing
and brokering of cargo shipments. He met with them at a local caff shop, and they negotiated a 1,000 credit deal
to take a shipment of mining equipment to the first planet, a deal which might only take an afternoon of their
time, but as they would soon find out could lead to a great deal more.