After talking with some friends online, I came up with this game several months ago. However since then my campaign was rebooted and it doesn't really fit with the setting and theme anymore. So instead of letting it languish in obscurity on my drive, I thought I'd share it with you guys. Knock yourself out!
(Also, the adventure name is terrible - but since it was for my eyes only document, I never put much thought into it. Change as you see fit)
THE LAST IMPULSIVE CRESCENDO
WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE -
In the waning hours of the Clone Wars, Commander Deena Finn of the separatist navy found herself going from the thrill of a successful attack on Courscant to the shock of abruptly losing the war when she was unexpectedly ordered by Confederation high command to stand down. Rather than capitulate to the enemy, Commander Finn and her brave crew disobeyed the armistice, pointed her Corellian Corvette the Impulsive Crescendo towards the outer rim and fled. Since that day, Finn has flown the separatist flag and continued the war against a corrupt government any way she could.
Branded an outlaw and a traitor by the Empire, she successfully waged her own private war against the fascist regime - until her luck ran out a handful of years ago when an Imperial anti-piracy taskforce captured the Crescendo over Residia. Most of her loyal outlaws were killed in the battle, with only a handful of the command crew managing to escape with their lives. Commander Deena's days of resisting the Empire were over.
Even worse than that, all the years on the run on the wrong side of the law have taken their toll on the commander. At a seedy spaceport somewhere, some years ago, Finn caught Loni's Syndrome, a debilitating degenerative disease. The bottom line - Commander Deena Finn does not have much longer to live.
So when she caught wind of a way to tweak the nose of Emperor Palpatine one final time, she couldn't refuse. Through her assorted network of contacts, Finn learned that the Impulsive Crescendo had not been destroyed over Residia like she was lead to believe. Instead it was hauled to the shipyards at Danagon, where it remained in storage until just recently where it was scheduled for reclamation. The Crescendo will be stripped of all useful components and the remainder scrapped and melted down, just another cog in the massive Imperial War Machine.
A daring plan began to formulate - she would steal the Crescendo out from under the nose of the Empire. Calling in her old Rodian XO, Nash Madoon, and a couple of trusted solders from the old days, Commander Finn made her way to the Selatan Asteroid Cluster - where her good fortune, old favors and credits ran out. They are currently holed up in a seldom used warehouse on Seletan 4481, relying on a sympathetic security guard who looks the other way while the commander figures out her next move. . . . .
EPISODE ONE - PLANETFALL
Open with the crew in the final stages of a delivery run to the lightly trafficked mining colony on Seletan 4481 in the Seletan Asteroid Belt, delivering mining equipment or last years entertainment holo-cubes and some gently used sex-droids. What the cargo actually is mostly irrelevant, it's simply some color to open the show and get the players into position and eventually in touch with Nash Madoon, who is busy looking for a discrete tramp freighter crew that can be convinced to undertake this daring mission.
Once the cargo is unloaded, the transaction is finalized and the players are flush with credits, they have some free time to wander the mining town while their ship fuels up. Illicit shopping, drinking, gambling, vice and bar-fights are all the order of the day in this rough and tumble facility. Oh - and a business proposition.
There's a couple of ways to have word of a job reach the characters
- The Look For Work Route
Since they just settled their last cargo run, the characters might just put themselves on the street as a freighter for hire, spreading the word through the assorted guilds and dock unions: "cargos and passengers moved, available immediately". This make Madoon's job easier, and allows them to check out the quality and character of the crew he is about to hire.
- The Old Friends Route
If a character was active in the Clone Wars on the Separatists side, Madoon may have seen them sometime during the war - either served together or in passing during the conflict. Madoon or one of his companions might spot the former separatist and quietly approach them in private.
- The Contacts Route
If the players have anyone on 4481 that they've done business with before, perhaps an information broker or someone who has many fingers in many pies, they can turn the players onto this hot lead. He doesn't know much about the specifics, beyond a Rodian and his friends are looking to book passage without a lot of questions asked.
- The Medical Route
Someone looking acquiring medical supplies or seeking medical assistance at the local clinic might run across Madoon looking for medical assistance or drugs for his ailing commander.
- The Bar Route
The most likely avenue of approach, however, is the local watering hole. Traditionally the go-to for local news and information - and of course potential employment prospects - trafficked Seletan 4481 is no different. The closest bar to the shipyards (and really the only one on the station of note) is a establishment called Moderation . Moderation is more of a pub than a dirty cantina, with pretty good food and assorted alcohol from across the sector. The management likes to run a quiet establishment, so any nar-do-wells acting up or being crude will be promptly shown the door by the two large and well armed gentlemen at the front entrance.
When the crew arrives, there's cover band quietly playing away on the stage, some conversation around the fireplace, a couple of solo drinkers at the bar and a pazzak game between some locals underway in the corner and an open chair. Mind you, the game's been going for a while so any strangers walking up and trying to butt in will need to be charming and persuasive - or show that they have lots of credits to lose.
The scuttlebutt is about a couple of local security jobs at the ore processing, a concert in town next month, a local brewhouse burning down (possibly because it didn't join the local Upstanding Businessmen's Association) and a upcoming amateur Swoop race in disused Mine Shaft Seven. However, opportunities for shipping is looking pretty slim today. That fellow over there at the bar, on the other hand, has been looking for passage for over a week now.
MEETING NASH MADOON -
Over the last week, Nash has been spending most of his time in the bars, hoping that good fortune will blow his way and his path will cross with a tramp freighter looking for work, giving him an opportunity to hire a charter. By this point, the regular patrons have figured out what Nash is looking for and can point players in his direction if they ask around about jobs. When contact is made, he says "So I understand you have a ship in need of cargo. Would you be interested in gainful employment? Nothing serious - just transporting four passengers, an astromech droid and some personal gear to a nearby system as soon as possible."
Where are they going? The nearby system of Gunia - or so he tells them - about 10 hours standard away. (A Rim Worlds roll with a difficulty depending on their familiarity with the region tells them it's a forest world, a good source of Greel wood and home to a Rodian colony.)
His initial offer is a meager 800 credits for passage. Depending on their negotiation roll (against his one green 3 yellows), Nash will increase his offer up to 1,600 credits (depending on the quality of the rolls). Triumphs would see Nash's celling caps out at 5,000 for the entire run.
Assuming that the crew accepts the job, Nash will have his people at the docking bay and ready to depart within two hours. If they turn the job down, well - I'm sure you can wing a game on your own.
TWO HOURS LATER -
As these things tend to go, liftoff is a little rough. Several days ago, the local crime boss, a Ithorian named Lynorri Ren, caught wind that there was a separatist outlaw hiding somewhere on her turf. However, all her best agents and informants were frustratingly unable to pinpoint his location - at least until the party made themselves known by pulling out. With their hand tipped, Commander Finn and her crew were engaged in a running gunfight to the hanger.
So while everyone is prepping the ship, putting last moment things in place for departure - they hear explosions and blaster bolts zipping through the air just outside their hanger. Sounds like there is a fight, and it's coming their way!
When they stick their nose out of the hanger, they see Madoon and three others in the main concourse, pinned down by a burning speeder, plus a fifth man lying face down in the street (another of Finn's men, now dead) and an R2 astromech. If the players want to get paid, they'd better help out against the minions. Ideally, it'll be a fighting retreat back to the ship and a quick liftoff. There's far too many minions to fight here.
Once Lynorri Ren has figured out what was going on, where Finn's destination was - the hanger - she scrambled several of her Z-95 fighters to bring the escaping freighter down (adjust the number to appropriable challenge the players). As the ship lifts off, it turns into a chase - either out into the asteroids or through the nearby twisting and turning mineshafts. Either way, it should be a near thing.
Once pursuit is dealt with, it's a simple matter of jumping to hyperspace.
EPISODE TWO - MISDIRECTION
Now the party has cleared the asteroid field and jumped to peace and quite of hyperspace, it's time to meet their guests. Two of them, younger humans - one male, one female - are alert, looking for obvious signs of danger. One of them - the male - is very ripped and apparently unarmed. The other has a long duster and a cross-draw blaster, and both look extremely dangerous - or at least very capable. More observant characters will peg them right away as bodyguards and hired muscle or skilled solders.
The third member of the party - Nash Madoon, - they've already met, which leaves only Commander Deena Finn herself and her long serving astromech R2-K2. Being wanted criminals, they introduce themselves under the very obvious aliases of Mister Green, Mister Blue, and Misses Black. "Misses Black " is a middle aged woman in her mid fifties, long hair tied back into a no-nonsense pony tail and hard face. On top of that, she obviously looks ill and is having trouble breathing - especially after all the exertion.
With a <><><> Warfare roll, the crew might recognize the woman as an infamous commander in the Separatists navy. Advantages will yield some of her exploits of daring do during the war and some of her travels after Empire Day. Despairs and threats means that they've only heard some of the bad propaganda that the Empire has spread after Finn's disappearance - including the slaughter of civilians during the Clone Wars, her stubborn rejection to the generous terms of surrender given to all CIS combatants at the end of the Clone Wars, and her involvement in assorted nefarious criminal activities in the last 20 years.
The trip to Gunia will take just a hint under forty-five hours, plus or minus any hyperdrive engine modifications, of course. This should give them plenty of time to try and interact with their passengers - either by playing cards, making a meal and the like. Madoon evades any questions asked (Like "who the hell were those people and why were they after you?") and asks to be shown to their cabins for the journey, as Mrs Black is very tired and needs her rest. The other two remain vigilant, but relax to a degree after they ascertain that the crew are not a threat.
Of the group, it's Madoon that's the most approachable. He maintains the story that Finn simply wants to return home where she can die under a familiar sky. With persuasion and charm rolls, they can get him to open up a little. He is an intensely loyal to his friend, but he has been considering turning to the Empire just so she can get the proper medical attention she badly needs.
With some really good rolls (and some proper role playing), they might even get Nash to open up about their true nature - she was a commander in the Confederacy of Independent Systems, he was her XO and they've been on the run, outlaws, for the better part of two decades.
MEANWHILE -
Assuming that the players don't insist that the droid is shut down or disabled, K2 quietly accesses the ship's navigation systems and subtly alters the ship's course. Instead of heading to Gunia, the ship is now en route for the nearby Danagon system. Of course if they insist that the droid be disabled, Finn will have to resort to more drastic measures to convince the crew when the time comes.
A CHANGE OF PLAN -
Half an hour out from their new destination, Nash asks if the captain could gather his crew in the common area, in that Commander Finn has an additional proposal for the crew. Once assembled, Finn comes in, looking much better. "Thank you for having us aboard your ship. I know that the circumstances of our departure may have caused you some issues back on Seletan. I hope I can make it up to you with my one final request. Our destination is not Gunia, but the Imperial Reclamation Facility on nearby Danagon.
(If the droid was unsuccessful in altering the course, she says "We need to change course slightly, my final destination is Gunia, but the Imperial Reclamation Facility on nearby Danagon")
The facility is an Imperial scrap yard where older machinery and obsolete vessels are stripped down, vital parts recovered and their hulks destroyed. Within the next day or so, the Empire is going to start this decommissioning on the Impulsive Crescendo , a ship of great historical and - frankly, very personal significance - from the Clone Wars."
Time for a <><><> warfare check. Success means that they have heard of the Crescendo - it was a corvette on the Separatists side that was known for daring do, getting out of tight scrapes and otherwise beating the odds in a very Captain Kirk manner.
"Okay, no more misdirection. I know that your life as a smuggler on the fringe of the galaxy must be hard at time, suffering under the boot of the Empire. Wouldn't you like to make a difference? With your help, me and my men can steal the Impulsive Crescendo right out from under the very nose of the Empire itself!
If the characters are unmoved by Finn's anarchist pleas (in fact they're likely to be angry than anything, given the deception), she continues:
"I was hoping to appeal to your sense of justice, but obviously I must appeal to your sense of greed instead. Back during the Clone Wars, Confederacy command supplied me with a cache of gildainium, for use in case of emergency. We hid it well, Nash and I - I doubt very much that the Empire has searched hard enough to find it. There is more than 10,000 credits of precious metals hidden away. 10 percent of that can be yours if you agree to help us get the Crescendo away from Danagon."
If the characters are still not convinced, Finn goes with her final gambit.
"I'm sorry that it's come to this. If appealing to your sense of justice fails and sense of greed wont work, then I must appeal to your sense of survival", she says, flipping a switch on her comlink and folding her arms. "I've just triggered a deadman switch tied to my biorhythms. In my luggage are enough explosives to instantly hull this ship. As you might have gathered, I don't have long to live anyway - so if you do not do as I ask and help us get the Crescendo back into space, I'll set off the explosives and kill us all. If you gun me down, the explosives go off. Help me and I'll leave you and yours unharmed."
NOW WHAT -
From this point, the game can go in several directions. The crew could leap to the attack right there and then, gunning her down with stun blasts. They could stall for time, have someone slink away and disable the bomb. They could follow through with their original contract, delivering the commander and her crew as agreed upon without lifting a finger to help. The more mercenary and cold hearted characters could drop her off on Danagon and then promptly inform the Empire of her presence and intentions for a bounty.
Or they could agree to assist Finn in liberating the Crescendo . Whereupon they find that she is indeed good for her word. For the sake of not turning this game into a novel, let us assume this is the route they elect to follow. Otherwise - you are on your own.
EPISODE THREE - WELCOME TO DANAGON
The actual trip to the Caldara base is relatively quiet - if a bit tense, should someone be holding a gun to the crew's head.
Imperial Resource Reclamation Facility 949 is a complex just south of Danagon's main city. It's an medium sized multiplex - garrisons, shipyards, support facilities, labor camps and of course the Resource Reclamation Facility itself, where the Impulsive Crescendo silently awaits her final fate. Outside of the Imperial and corporate compounds and the towns that have sprung up around them, the surrounding terrain is barren and desolate - the complex itself is isolated.
Getting planetside can be as difficult or easy as the players want. If they want to land undetected, they'll need to find a way to sneak down (like hiding the sensor shadow of a larger incoming freighter). However if they don't mind leaving a paper trail, they could brazen it out as traders or simply arrange to transport a legitimate cargo from a nearby system. Clever slicers could spoof an incoming freighter's transponder and impersonate that transport. If the crew doesn't mind a little traveling, touching down in Caldera and traveling overland is also a viable option, since Caldera has significantly more incoming and outgoing traffic.
Depending on how and where they land, they could be in for a long hike to the facility or they could be lucky enough to get a berth near the Reclamation Facility.
Now that they've touched down, a decision is upon the players. They could see the plan through to conclusion, bloody the nose of the Empire and help Finn steal her ship back. On the other hand, they have contractually fulfilled the deal. They could take their pay and say "see you later!" That means less pay, but considerably less risk and less attention when the Empire locks down the moon in response to the act.
The most heartless option of them all is selling her out to the Empire - Finn and her men do have an outstanding 10,000 credit bounty on them after all. This betrayal could take the form of sending a message to the garrison ahead of the attack, slipping away while at the facility to inform the authorities or suddenly being loud and attract attention at the wrong time.
However, assuming they proceed with Finn's foolish plan. . . .
THE RECLAMATION FACILITY -
Imperial Resource Reclamation Facility 949 is a groundside station designed to break down damaged and obsolete equipment, vehicles and ship and repurpose that material for new construction.
The facility is a mass of cranes and gantries of all sizes, capable of disassembling anything from a walker on up to a medium capital ship. tracks or rail beds interlace the facility, ferrying the disassembled material away to the reclamation facility at the center of the complex in massive haulers. Warehouses line one side of the compound, storage for usable material to be repurposed later.
Central control is a three story building overlooking the complex. An antennae spire rises from the top, including short range and longer range communication antennae and a handful of sensors and tracking equipment.
The Impulsive Crescendo is the only capital ship in the dry-dock for disassembling. At a quick external look, she seems spaceworthy enough and there are no workers in her vicinity - although the Empire has the landing locks engaged. Those will have to be removed or disabled before she'll go anywhere.
Surrounding the entire facility is a 4 meter high chain link fence topped with vibrowire. Every 50 feet or so, motion activated CCTV cameras are mounted on poles. When motion sensors are tripped, spotlights come on automatically and an alert is flagged at central control. Someone at the security desk will then take control of the camera and get an overview of the area. Guards are present, but they only patrol intermittently, relying more on the cameras and sensors than their physical presence.
Once they breach the fence, moving around the facility undetected should be easy. There is plenty of cover from the scrap and the gantries and plenty of noise from the massive machinery and constant cascade of scrap metal from the disassembled machinery. However, moving about the facility presents its own challenges, in the form of falling jagged metal and streams of toxic waste. This is not an OSHA compliant facility.
GETTING INSIDE THE FACILITY -
While the security is tight, it's not ridiculously so. If the cameras were somehow disabled, it would probably be hours before central command noticed. Fusion cutters (or something more low tech and silent like wire cutters) will make short work of the fence. They just have to time it as to avoid any wandering guards.
During shift change, there's a heavy stream of workers entering and leaving the facility. If one were to acquire a jumpsuit and protective gear, one might easily pass off for one of the many faceless drones moving about the facility.
Also, never underestimate the power of a clipboard. A proper bluff, some bribes and the air of authority could carry the day all the way to liftoff. This undermines the whole "Tweaking the nose of the Empire" - Finn wants them to know what happened and who did it, so she doesn't support this plan at all.
On the other hand, the brute force method might work too. Get a heavy load lifter, knock down the fence, drive up to the ship and take it by force before the stunned security troops respond. They'd still have to deal with the landing clamps and get the ship ready for liftoff - but they'll have a few minutes of uninterrupted prep time before the Stormtroopers descend on the ship and the TIE fighters respond. They'll have to be fast and skilled to go this route.
DISABLEING THE LANDING LOCKS -
Before the Impulsive Crescendo can go anywhere, something has to be done with the landing gear locking clamps. This can be as simple as application of violence in the form of high explosives or more subtle methods, like disengaging the clamps. The only way to do this from inside the Reclamation Facility Control.
It's not a high security facility, a two story affair in the center of the junkyard with two security droids at the main entrance. Gaining access requires fast talking (against a red die, with appropriate blues or blacks regarding their cover story) or simply gunning them down. An explosion large enough to free the Crescendo would be noticed throughout the yard. Taking out two droids, on the other hand, will go largely unnoticed.
Once inside, the Crew finds themselves in a moderate sized command center, banks of computers overseeing the various stages of recourse reclamation while four technicians orchestrate the work crews. Standing in front of a large wall display is Overseer Jenna, watching the proceedings unfold while ticking down the moments until her shift is over.
From this point, the players can cleverly convince Jenna to release the clamps (against her two red die Discipline), sneak over to a unoccupied control console and do it them selves (two purple die) or simply opening fire on the unsuspecting technicians. This violent action might be easier in the short term, but their presence will be quickly discovered when a work crew calls in and is unable to make contact.
Once the security clamps have been disengaged, the Crescendo is able to leave. Clever players, while they have unfettered access to the reclamation command and control, might adjust the reclamation schedules, buying more time for them to get the Crescendo operational. They also might be able to pull up status reports and discover the condition of the ship and what needs to be done to get her space worthy again.
AT THE CRESCENDO -
The ship's main hatch is secured, so some skullduggery or brute force will be necessary to gain entry. Its not a particularly tough lock, but they are in a bit of a rush, so some black dice may be in order. However once they get the hatch open, they should be out from under of immediate of being noticed.
The ship is empty and still, corridors stretching off into the darkness. A musty smell of burnt electronics hangs in the air, and a layer of dust coats the deck plates. The ship has been offline for a while now, untouched. At the rate the reclamation workers are going, the players should have a couple of hours before someone comes over to begin the preliminary stages of disassembly.
Good thing too, since they have to get the ship operational from a cold start. First place to start would be a basic systems check in Engineering to make sure that no vital systems have been disabled or removed. Fortunately the ship is mostly intact - only the navigation computers have been removed (which is why Commander Finn made sure to bring K2) and that there's only bare minimum of fuel - roughly eight hours of realspace navigation or about three hours of hyperspace operation. Any personal items or obvious luxuries are long gone - save for the cache of gildainium, still sealed in the bulkhead, unnoticed and untouched.
PREFLIGHT -
While most of the flight systems are still mostly intact, some components have been removed - none too gently. Getting the Crescendo operational again is at least a <><><> engineering roll. Trying to maintain stealth as long as possible adds black dice, as does trying to expedite the lift off. If they take their time or abandon all pretence of subtlety earns them blue die. Despairs mean that not only was a key component removed, but any hope of replacing it with a spare part means venturing out into the yard - or all the way back to their own ship.
Eventually, at some point of the proceedings, security or one of the yard men is going to notice something is amiss. It might be as simple as one of the yard men coming over to check the ship before the disassembly process begins or it might be someone visually checking command and control in person and finding evidence of the firefight. Regardless, the alarms will be raised sooner or later and security will begin scouring the yard.
Eventually a security team approaches the Crescendo - and no amount of fast talking will get them out of this. When the security team discovers something horribly wrong, the proper Imperial reinforcements will be shortly behind. Time to hold off the attackers at the airlock. . . .
EPISODE FOUR - RISING CRESCENDO
Once the players get the Crescendo up and running, it's a simple matter of lifting off - with a couple of small details. Details such as how will they get back to their own ship? Do they think to make arrangements to meet Commander Finn and her crew later? Will the inevitable Imperial response be extreme enough that the players dare not return? Can they slip away somehow? Even worse, the bridge crew catch a transmission between someone at Reclamation C&C and the nearby Imperial base.
Within moments, the sensors pick up two TIE fighters already in flight, currently on an intercept course returning from out-system. Moments after that, two more fighters lift off from the base in Caldera. Both flights will be on the Crescendo within minutes.
If the players do not interfere, the TIE fighters will close on the fleeing ship, open fire on it and disabling the Crescendo . If they act, either by manning the guns, engaging with their own ship or simply causing a distraction (like opening fire on the Reclamation Facility), they will buy the time the Crescendo needs to get into hyperspace.
The problem with using their own ship is, of course, now that they have the Empire's attention - they have the attention of the Empire. They will have to find some way to shake pursuit - either by finding some canyons to fly through, heading for the Danagon Gas Giant to hide in the natural electromagnetic jamming or simply putting all thrusters at maximum and heading for deep space themselves.
EPILOGUE - SEVERAL WEEKS LATER
After the Crescendo jumped into hyperspace, Commander Finn and her crew seemingly fell off the grid. There was a notice in the sector newsfax about how terrorists struck at the reclamation yards, killing innocent workers in their bloody rampage - Finn got the publicity that she desperately wanted. However other than that - nothing.
Then, some weeks later, a courier droid catches up with them, a large crate in tow. The paper work reads "Oscillation Overthruster: for delivery to HoBlu Cantina, Bespin" Inside is a holoplayer with a message from Nash Madoon. "Captain, I hope this message finds you and your crew well. Per our previous arrangement, please find enclosed four kilos of gildainium - approximate value, 11,500 credits standard. The captain would like to extend her gratitude herself but she's. . . . " he looks sad for a moment before continuing. "Anyway, thank you for all you've done. Clear skies, Captain."