Please play this first:

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Episode 1 - Hope's Gamble

You are that Resistance cell.

Earlier-

Get your men out of there!! Shroryyk bellows as the interpreter translates over the com.

Its a frelling traaaaap!!

Jaycen Ildis motions that hes almost done downloading from the terminal. This isn't a normal shipment, normally its foodstuff, blasters and occasionally manufacturing supplies. This haul is different, rare ores, tankers of gases you've never heard of. Something is going on here.

You pull everything off the computer core, and take the personal data pad of the dead Imperial captain.

Commander Caess yells through the com for the boarding party to retreat. You all manage to make it back to the ship in one piece.

When you blow the docking clamps you see carnage, ship wreckage and laser fire. An interdictor cruiser looms in the backround.

You gotta leave, Hit the hyperdrive in 10-9-8-7-6-5-4..... Shroryyk pilots the CRoc into the side of the Interdictor blowing a huge chunk out of the wedge.

It begins to list. You jam the hyperdrive and are gone.

Later-

No more "Old Man", Shroruyk is dead.

Ready or not, Caess Aral assumes leadership, no time to mourn, you must regroup, rebuild... The best way to pay respect to fallen comrades.

Going over the files you "recovered" from the dead Imperial captain, you notice an investigation, two suspicious individuals, of classified designation. At first its just a curious fact. However it doesn't feel right.

After some digging, Ildis manages to decode ghost traces of transmissions made months ago on a secure channel. The words leap off the screen. "Potential Force Users - Extreme Caution - Pursue and Investigate". Last known whereabouts was an unverified sighting on a near Jubilar.

With little supplies, and fewer men, Caess leads the survivors on a desperate gamble, find these two before the Empire, maybe the hold the key to turning the tide. Maybe the Jedi arn't dead.

You land on the sad grey planet. Its name is bad irony. All you see is miles of rigid slab buildings of rough duracrete. Occasionally an industrial processing center or patch of grey desert breaks the routine.

The long depressing expanse of prison camps and work buildings finally comes to an end in an even more depressing sight, that of the main town. Lovingly called "Dying Slowly".

If one could imagine all of the sc um and filth of Nar Shadda compressed into a single level then tossed and scattered haphazardly over a patch of gritty nothingness combine that with the mindset of a small bored and isolated town... You'd be thinking of "Dying Slowly".

It is here you find the two you are looking for.

Parked over a few roaring fuel drum fires, a few dozen or so sketchy figures drink and poke at plates of cheap food. The brief excitement of the "gladiator match" has already ebbed, no more matches tonight. The crowd has mostly dispersed. Just regulars and scattered hangers on stay, with nothing better to do than kill time.

Two figures amongst the sparse crowd match who you are looking for.

You pause thinking of what to do, but time is running out, someone points to the sky, a star destroyer's silhouette contrasts against the setting sun.

Months Earlier-

Walking the streets of "Dying Slowly", is like walking a rubble field. It seems the only place to find any break from work and bordum at all, is the least maintained. Sidewalks disappear into well worn ruts in the gravely desert terrain.

On a cold dreary night Kaz walks home alone. Out from beneath a tinnium and trash shack a boney fiber juts out of a small opening.

You!! a creaking old voice hisses.

Kaz, usually vigilant odds taken by surprise, especially as an old shriveled women emerges, wearing patched rags. She looks at him, but not really at him. Like the gaze of the blind who know your there, but not exactly, or a thousand yard death stare of a soldier whose seen too much to be right.

...you! Street urchin yes, vim thinks, like da boda! You have it. You must use it. You must...

She looks at the sky, a gust of wind ruffles her dirty grey hair, it's the look of prey catching sight of a predator.

She shuffles away then stops, and turns back.

...not him, no, but you will do something great...could do! Yes! If not... Darkness descends. Here take it quickly! Learn! Fast! A planet's dead but not yet you. You will be hunted, oh yes terrible it will be, vima knows... But worse yet if you become the Hunter, darkness then... Take this, you will find another who knows.

You are not the one but the force moves you to a great feat. You good your fate, and many others... Now go!

She hands you a small dirty pouch. In it a broken droid a few rocks and a dusty crystal.

When you look up she's gone. The shack blows over as another gust kicks up. It smells like rain.

(The good part of town)

(The bad part of town)

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"Kaz. Trouble." Sevrahn motions his head subtly towards the unmistakable silhouette of the Star Destroyer above the town. Though he'd only known Kaz for a short while after hiding on Jubilar, Sevrahn had recognized a fellow Force-user. They'd been training in secret, each trying to learn from each other's incomplete knowledge.

" Imperials. I've seen what they do to..." The Chiss' voice trails off, as he hesitates for a second. " People like us. It's not pretty. If we don't leave now, we won't be so much Dying Slowly as dying painfully." Sevrahn's thin lips form into a slight grimace as he begins to think about how to avoid any Imperial entanglements.

”You know.”

Juggo says conversationally while they peer at their potential marks.

”Before things get noisy, as they seem to happen with you people, we should put some skull time into what we're doing for a ride out of here, because the Ibis is full dead.”

Juggo bucks the Corellian trend by having fair hair rather than dark. Coupled with his pale blue eyes and boyish good looks he cuts a rather dashing figure. Or at least he would, if he was wearing something a little more stylish than padded security armor patched together from various sources. He could probably stand to have a bath too. It had been a hectic couple of days, and their go to for a nice hot shower had kicked the bucket. But then again that just makes him fit in better with all the other people in this little hive of scum and villany.

”We're lucky she got us dirtside before the primary melted down and took most of the drive section with it. The scrapper's giving us just enough for her to cover the hush money and what we already owe that rat in portside.”

He shakes his head. The Ibis hadn't been his Red Tailed Hawk, but he was a pilot, and it was always sad to see a well loved and used ship go.

Jaycen glances at the two people they are here for, while listening to Juggo speak. He glances up at the ship coming into orbit, grimacing at the memories it stirs up, and the timer it puts on what they have to do. The young human turns to Juggo and nods. "Not sure we're going to have much time either way, and if we hold off on contacting them, we might lose them in the crowd, never find them again. Since they're already right there, let's see about getting them on board, and then we can worry about...well, getting on board." His accent hinting a bit of an Imperial upbringing, but it was very muted, unless he was trying to play a part. He paused a bit, not realizing the phrasing of what he said until it was already on the way. "Anyway, you know what I mean." He smirked a bit. "What do you say we go play Welcoming Committee, and then look for our ride to play tour guide."

Juggo shrugs easily enough.

”If you want to go in without an exit plan, then sure, why not? Just don't expect me to pull any heroic last stands to get your humps out of it when things go wrong.”

Juggo had always been adamant that he was not a member of the Rebel Alliance, even if he did sort of do all the Rebel stuff. As an added bonus he got paid for his work. Or at least he had gotten paid for his work before Shroryyk had bought it. Unless someone had access to the old man's accounts, the money was all gone, along with their mothership.

”Or we could say that if things go south and we have to split up, we can meet up at the alleyway just around the corner from Aces. You know, that cantina run by that frehley, down on the south side of what passes for town?”

It wasn't much of a plan, but it's better than literally nothing.

Caess looks up at the Star Destroyer, trying to estimate how much time they had before the Empire arrived in force. Unfortunately, they didn't have time to do anything for the fallen, they would have to honor their sacrifice later.

When Caess looked back down, he waited until Juggo had finished talking, "Then perhaps we should split up now. One group persuades our new friends to come along for the ride, while the rest of us find our way out giving us more time before the Empire arrives."

Caess would prefer to be out of the way in either case, Sathari were very uncommon off their home-world so outside of his cell Caess tended to draw a lot of attention. "I can lead the group to find our way out, then we can meet up at the place Juggo suggested. How does that sound?" More democratic then he would normally do things, but if there was anytime for such things it was now, with how little remained of the cell they needed to stick together.

Tychus saunters alongside Juggo and Jaycen, a large cigar perched between his lips and his face a cross between squinting scowl, and cocksure smirk. He wears a seemingly casual outfit of long sleeve shirt, buttoned with a bantha leather vest overtop. Much of his pants are covered by leather chaps of the same hide as his vest, tucked into heavy knee high boots with plasteel plating. Two large reptilian hounds stalk at his sides, his prized Abeks "Wrath" and "Ruin", keeping pace with him and eyeing anyone who ventures too close. His right hand rests casually on the grip of the abomination holstered on his right hip, more a cannon than sidearm. The massive pistol was very obviously a custom job, with inlaid grip of leather and Krayt Dragon horn, its plated bulk etched with Huttese curses.

"Well, y'all see what's coming and I'm not for subtle." he grunts, puffing on his cigar and then flicking it away.

"What's say we go lay our cards on the table for the marks, and then find us a getaway before it hits the fan." he then pats the grip of "Reaper", his pistol, with a grim smile. "You want me to talk to 'em or should me and the girls pull guard in case the bucketheads come calling?"

You see people up ahead start to point at the sky towards the now two star destroyers in orbit.

There is a rubble up ahead with short fencing atop, it separates you and the two.

The fence delineates the area where matches take place, along with stalls and vendors, where most of the stragglers are hanging out, and the rough gravel and broken duracrete slab blvd that cuts across the barren landscape separating the landing ports, some smaller more informal fires, and scattered shanties from the "town" center.

The fence is no longer a real barrier, people stroll freely through its gaps, a few with well worn ruts in the scrubby weeds that dot the gravel soil. One big gap, which seems to be treated as a main gate, a worn sign is posted which says:

"No Droids and Beasts past this point unless registered for combat."

Who would enforce thisisn'tt clear, uniformed security seems notably absent.

While not cold, a gusty wind whips up. It brings a moist chill that suggests rain.

Jaycen nods at the comments made. "I'm up for getting them on board, then trying to find a ride out of here." He glances up as the other ship approaches. "And the sooner the better, I suspect people are going to panic soon, and that will make it even harder to find them in the churn." He notices the sign about no droids and beasts, seeing as he is neither, he's not terribly concerned by it at the moment. He starts to head towards the two people the data spoke about. "Let's go say hi and see if they'd like a ride out of town." His tone is light and amused as he glances at the others.

"Sevrahan, you speak my mind... those ships spell out doom if we don't flee." A stiff breeze stirs up dust in these desolate streets, the morbid sense of a battlefield after a battle is the closest feeling Kaz can find to describe this place. Why is that weequay is looking sideways too much, Imperial? Rebel? As the second ship appears in the sky the residents of this hell hole grow anxious, the look of fear crossing more than one face.

" We should find transport Sev, any ship will do, something inconspicuous and preferably fast... a rare sight on this rock of horror. A transport is probably our best bet, heard anything recently?"

Looking across the fence Kaz has a sense of being watched Dam twitchy now, those imps won't appreciate my existence, but who's watching us?

Tychus looks at the second ship arriving and sighs, a small cloud of smoke drifting languidly from his lips and nostrils as the cigar smoke exhales.

He grunts when he reads the sign, looking at Wrath and Ruin, clicking his tongue and pointing and two spots on the perimeter. They would keep eyes open for any Imperial forces approaching and signal him with their bark-yelp call.

"Caess, if you're gonna make with the talkin' I suggest you get movin'. Bucketheads are gonna be coming soon." he says, drawing the massive pistol, the weapon looking for all intents and purposes like a downsized pistol version of a blaster cannon. "I got Wrath and Ruin watching the flanks, I'll hang back and watch our rear. Just get them marks smiley and warm to us so we can get to haulin' tail."

He primed the cell of his pistol, the large cylinder revolving slowly with a low almost imperceptible droning sound. He puffed again on his cigar and smiled sadistically. He was already wanted on several planets for dead Imperials, what was one more?

Jugo saunters after Jaycen.

He could start looking for a ride off world, but as he mutters quietly to himself, ”I've never met a Jedi before.”

It should be interesting if nothing else.

Let's see what all the fuss is about. Caess started towards the fence, beyond which the individuals that the Empire wanted bad enough to send a star destroyer. After he had passed the entrance to the area, Caess approached the pair that the Empire was hunting. Announcing that he was part of the Alliance in front of a crowd would be a terrible idea so when Caess was sure that the pair would know he was talking to them he said "We need to talk about something we have in common." Gesturing towards the star destroyer "Do you know somewhere quite?"

Jaycen follows slightly behind Caess, his heavy clothing helping to conceal his angular features. He stops at a nearby food vendor and pays for a few servings of random street cuisine on a stick . He munches on one absently, and offers the others to his companions, as well as to the two people they approached. The loose scarf curled around his neck and slightly obscuring his chin and lower jaw. He nods to the two they approached and says in a quite but casual voice, so not to carry. "Indeed, it's such a lovely day, would be terrible to have a nice outing such as this be ruined by..." he glances up for a moment at the destroyers. "...unwanted guests." His Core World accent carrying a bit of the crisp Imperial tones to it. But he otherwise carries himself completely relaxed, absently pointing out a nearby shop display to Jugo as if he was interested in one of the baubles for sale.

As if to punctuate the point. A whine of ion engines piece the relative calm as they tear through the atmosphere a few clicks away.

A formation of TIE fighters, circles the opposite edge of town and screams over the barracks and disappear into the distance.

Kaz watches the passers by a small group catches his attention. Careful not to draw their eye he studies their approach. " Hey Arsev, check out this lot approaching; heavy pistols, nice armour, neat clothes... clearly various histories there, and very out of place on this rock. Only groups I know who draws that breadth of character is Smuggling or Rebels, I bet 5 credits it's Smugglers with a need for more muscle."

The group approach and begin their cryptic conversation. A quiet place to talk? there's the old card house, pity it closed down, but the back door is unlocked... that will do... what do these guys actually want?

" Whatever you need, I'll take credits and a lift off this rock " He quietly says to the Sathari, outlining his needs well in advance " Follow me, I know a place we can talk with less prying eyes"

Jaycen nods at Kaz's words, though he doesn't know the name. "Sounds good, anywhere's better than here."

Tychus just barely resists the urge to take a pot shot at one of the TIE fighters as they pass by. It wouldn't be the first time Reaper had taken one down.

He looks over at the rest of the party and grunted. "Oi, we move or we fight. No more time for idle gak-talk. Whatever we're doing, we need to get a move on, NOW."

It wasn't that he was scared, he just hated standing around doing nothing... what if she was with them though? He shook the thought from his head, clicked his tongue for Wrath and Ruin to come to heel, and looked at the two users with a 'What're we waiting for?' look on his face.

"Follow me then" a simple instruction, but the tone carries a weight with it that makes it clear this is a local who knows their way around. They walked for a couple hundred meters down the major road towards the centre of town, people jostling and rushing to get past each other and out of the settlement. Better take some back lanes this time Kaz thinks before turning down an alley.

They duck through a doorway and take an internal hall through this building into the next. Down stairs to a cellar that's joined to the basement of a shop via a long dark tunnel... they have just crossed under the main road above. Out the back of the shop and down 2 more alleys to their final destination.

Before the group now stands the rear of a deserted and run down building. Three floors all stand empty now, windows all smashed and dust blowing through. Kaz drops down through a window low to the ground into the basement of the building.

Marisa hasn't been here a while, no signs of squatters either... what was that noise? Just a rodent family...Third floor is probably best, should give us a good view of the streets and the landing zone isn't far off

He leads them up through the remnants of a once thriving business, kitchens stand empty, bars dry and long since being used. Upstairs are guest rooms, although who would have actually wanted to stay on this rock prison is anyone's guess. They find a room on the top floor, apparently used for this purpose previously with a collection of chairs already for them.

"So, let's talk"

Sevrahn, having followed silently, waits for the other group to speak.

Caess looked around the room, that now had a small layer of dust. Rather nice for being above a bar. Caess turned back towards the Gank when he spoke, then replied "My name is Caess Aral, I represent the Alliance to Restore the Republic in this area of space. We know the Empire is after both of you, and I think that we can help each other. Both in escaping the Empire now, and perhaps in the future." Caess stopped and looked at the two force users, waiting to see what their reactions told him.

With a wry smirk Kaz hands five credits over to Sevrahn " Rebels it is old friend, you win!" He then turns to their new guests from his position by a window " Imperials... after us? Who's the rat, who spilled the beans? And why would you care, we have survived worse before, your not here on good faith I assume?"