Spira Regatta – Second Star Wars WEG D6 Adventure with my niecelings and nephewlytes.

Croaker – GM
(D) – Demolitions Expert
(R) – Heavy Weapons
(A) – Medic
(E) – Wilderness Fighter
(Ev) – Pilot

We all sat around the dining room table, each with our character templates on front of us. Except for me, I didn’t have one. Instead, I was the official Gamemaster’s Assistant and carried a notebook to help illustrate the adventure. Uncle Nate, star wars-crazy uncle and professional gamemaster, began his opening speech. “Rebel Team J’sn, you have already proven yourself worthy Rebel agents.” Everyone grinned, recalling our last awesome adventure in Roleplaying. “As we all know, agent (D) needs a cybernetic eye. Now, cybernetic eyes are very expensive, with the lowest prices around 2,750 credits each. The prices only get higher.” Every jaw dropped. “However, a little while ago, the Rebels were to receive a shipment of cybernetic parts – parts like Luke Skywalker’s cybernetic hand – but the man shipping the parts was intercepted and he had to dump his load. The crates fell into the vast ocean on the planet Spira. However, the Force was with the Rebels, for the crates came to rest in shallow water by an ancient shipwreck that is frequently visited by divers. Your mission: go to Spira and retrieve the crates. It won’t be easy, because there will be stuff like security restrictions, touchy vacationers, troublesome drunkards, suspicious gamblers – the drawbacks are near endless.” I took a moment to glance around the table at the characters: (E), a.k.a Alissa Skywalker, an outlaw turned Rebel. Sixteen years old, six ten, and a fierce gambler (fierce as in 3D+2). Then (R), whose character was called ‘Gunny Mc.Shootface’, a heavy weapons specialist. With his weapons and stubby black beard, he’s not one to be messed with. Seated across from him was (D), a Rebel Bomber. At age 17 and a height of 5’ 2”, he seems undersized. But what he loses in height he makes up for in demolitions. An explosives expert, they call him! Next to him was (A), a.k.a Natja Harkness, a medical officer with a blaster pistol. She was dubbed the “Mysterious Doctor” by Uncle Nate, and at age 16 with a height of five ten, her pretty face IS quite a mystery. And then, completing the ring of Team J’sn, was me. I didn’t have a character template. All I knew was that I was a pilot, and that I was getting butterflies in my stomach without a character… Uncle Nate continued, “(Ev) will assist me in gamemastering this adventure because she read the shortstory.” He glanced at the shortstory papers in front of me. “Can you pass me those? I’ll need them.” I passed them to him and he read a little before continuing. “You will each receive a bankroll of 1,000 credits to spend on the trip.” He gave everyone a hard look. “This is the Alliance’s money, not yours. Spend as little of it as possible, and they want a receipt of everything you buy.” He went on to talk about Ataria Island, what to expect, and so on.

AFTER Arrival, the team splits up. (E) goes to dance, (D) gets 2 large, well – done Nerf Burgers, (R) orders blue chips, (A) sits at the bar to get some blue milk, and I kissed the hand of the “Mysterious Doctor” and then sat down to wait. (E) became aware of someone dancing with her and whirls around to see a man called Regenald Hanniper Snopps III. “Remember, (E), he could be our contact!” (E) converses with Snopps, becomes agitated, and then – Snopps gives her 200 credits to start her up at a gambling table! The nerve! After winning 1,200 credits and being accused of cheating, a guard came over to search her. Lucky for us, she rolled high “Hide” numbers and the guard didn’t find the Vibro – Stiletto hidden in her shoe and she got to keep the credits. Then, as (A) received her blue milk, she heard a snobby voice behind her and turned to see Regenald. “Ugh, blue milk, the drink of Nerf herders! Shall I buy you something more fancy? Perhaps some Corellian whiskey, or -” “No thanks, I’ll stick with my blue milk.” Hannpier scoffs and walks away. Two men behind the counter started whispering about this “Mysterious Doctor”. I think Uncle Nate just wanted to give her butterflies in her stomach. Now (R), seeing Snopps’s snottiness, dips a blue chip in his disgusting, chunky, smelly fish sauce and flicks it at Reggie’s face. No one noticed when the chip hit his face and slides down it, leaving a goopy trail of stinky fish sauce! Everyone around the table laughed at this gross – but funny – scene. Then came my turn[(Ev)]. A man came over to sit next to me. ‘This better not be that Snopps creep!’ I thought. “Would you happen to have friends that caused mischief at a certain star? … A star that causes Death?” My head started to spin. Do I trust him? What should my answer be? Is he our contact? Is he an Imperial? I looked helplessly around the table. The man sensed my hesitation and said, “Don’t worry; I know who you are. I’m Seth Cambriel, your contact.” I nearly fainted in relief. “Put your hand under the table.” I shot him a look. “No, I mean it.” I reluctantly obeyed. I felt pressure on the palm of my hand. It was a data chip. “This data chip has everything you need to get those crates off of Spira. The words are written backwards and in Aurebesh, so have fun decoding it. If you happen to need anything, encode your message the same way I did and adhere it to the underside of that” - he pointed - “Gambling table. I’ll find it. Remember – everything you need is on the data chip.” Then he got up and walked away. Uncle Nate stood and said, “(Ev), I’m going to go into the other room so that you can tell them what’s on the chip. Plan your strategy carefully. Remember, it’s H&R that you’re discussing.” He left the room. “Alright, guys!” I said, pretending to produce a data chip from my pocket. “Here’s what we have to do: first off, we can’t just get the crates and leave because of security officers. They’ll inspect everything as thoroughly as possible – everything except a large crate containing a mounted Camray Eel!” “What’s a Camray Eel?” asked (E). “Is it big and dangerous?” “HECK YEAH, IT’S BIG!” I said, walking over to the whiteboard wall. I drew a 4 – foot tooth and labeled it ‘Basic Camray Tooth’. “Wow!” said (R). “And get this: a Camray has about 200 of these teeth in its mouth, so it wouldn’t have much trouble swallowing a semi truck whole! And you can’t just buy a Camray corpse, you have to HUNT IT!” “We have to hunt THAT thing?” wheezed (D). “Yes.” (A), who’d been reading the Star Wars Roleplaying Game binders, asked, “How tricksy is this thing?” I glanced down at the paper in front of me, flipped a page, and said: “In deeper water, it has 6D+2 sneak, and it’s bite does 5D damage, and if it wraps itself around you it does 5D constriction damage, and it’s initial swimming skill is 6D. They’re pretty long, too...” “And we have to HUNT it?!?” squeaked (D). “Yes. And secondly, there’s a race on this weekend, so we can’t get the crates because the race goes directly over the wreck and it’s off – limits to divers. Unless… we enter in the race, fall behind everyone else, and dive then! It’s the only way, really, to get those things without waiting a week or two.” I paused to let my words sink in. “So, team, Camray first or race first?” Four heads huddled together and whispered pros and cons back and forth. In 5 seconds, the huddle broke. “Camray first.” said (R), who was interrupted by (D) who said, “That way, we can stuff the crates of cybernetic parts in it first thing so that they definitely won’t be discovered.” “Good choice!” I said, and just then Uncle Nate walked back into the room. “Camray first,” I told him (R), (D), and (E) were the best hunters. They go to the speargun rental counter and ask, “How much to rent a speargun?” the man behind the counter speaks with a weird French accent and says, “20 credits per speargun, depending on how long you’re renting it.” (E) sees a gigantic speargun being displayed on the wall. “Ooh, how much is that one?” “Oh, the Mega Speargun 3000? I only rent that out to the best of hunters. Of course, if you were to demonstrate your skills…” “I’ll demonstrate!” I went pale. I’m not sure why, but I got butterflies in my stomach again. (E) rolls her Blaster skill and, lucky for us, hits a direct bullseye. The man is awestruck. “For a small bribe of 50 credits, you can rent this over the weekend. And you, sir,” he turned to (D) and stopped short. “What happened to your left eye?” The butterflies got worse. (D) winked at me and said, “I was fighting the Rebels on Hoth and my eye was shot, so I retired to this planet.” The man gasps and says, “What? You served under Darth Vader and… and General Veers? Oh, sir! I take my hat off to you! Please, rent this speargun for FREE!” We all laughed. (E) eyes the man behind the counter and says, “Dude, you’re creepy!” and gets a complete refund. The rest of the buying goes uneventful, but (E) traded her Mega Speargun 3000 for (R)’s standard speargun because (R) was a better hunter than her. Then came hunting time. “(Ev) let’s say your pilot skill is 6D. Roll it.” My hand was shaking as I picked up the dice, rolled them, and added the numbers. “26.” I safely piloted the boat to a place where Camray activity was moderate. The hunters shook as they slipped into their diving gear, remembering awful stories they heard about unlucky hunters. (E), (R), and (D) plunge into the crystal clear waters. (R) sees a hole that seems big enough for a Camray, but it doesn’t look used much…… Suddenly, there is a loud sound that can only be one thing: the cry of a giant Eel! The roar stirs thousands of assorted sea creatures, who flee the area. The roar is so loud, they can FEEL it! A giant green monster with huge teeth and scary eyes shoots out of the hole!! Everyone cried fearfully, “CAMRAY!!!” Its teeth are dripping with a neon yellow venom - “Quick, (E)! Roll your hunting skill!” (E) races to roll the dice, but her shot completely misses the Eel. There’s only so much time left… “(R)! Roll them!” (R) wastes no time. He pitches the dice and gets the Eel right between the eyes. It stops speeding towards us and sinks slowly. We drag our prize back to the casino and watch as a small crowd gathers. A man steps forward and asks, “How did you acquire that?” “We killed it.” “How many of your hunting party died killing it?” “Zero.” “I don’t believe it!” And then another man, a familiar man, a snobby man, steps forward. ‘It’s Hanniper, isn’t it?’ I thought. Indeed, it is. “Of course they killed it, they’re my friends! Look how awesome my friends are! They’re my friends, and just look what they can do!” A few minutes after that, Regenald is still here but the crowd is gone. (R) wants to show Snopps a thing or two, so he socks his jaw. Reggie falls to the floor, unconscious and bearing a broken jaw. (E) stuffs him in the messiest, dirtiest, buggiest janitor closet she can find and locks the door. Regenald won’t forget our faces, ever! We all had a good laugh about this one. (E) volunteered 500 of her gambling credits to sign us up in the race. Then Uncle Nate clapped his hands for attention and said, “Race day!” We all cheered. However, I got butterflies again because I was the pilot and I’d be battling the tough waters of Spira even more than last time. At Uncle Nate’s word, I took my 6D and rolled it while he told me I had to beat the number 20. ‘That’s easy!’ I thought. ‘With six dice, this should be a piece of cake!’ It wasn’t. My numbers were 1,2,2,3,2, and a 6 on the wild die. My chances were slim. Adeline wore a horrified expression when she said, “(Ev), the odds are -” “Don’t tell me the odds!” I snapped, realizing too late that she only wanted me to quote Han Solo. I re – rolled the wild, at it was a 4. 6 plus 4 plus 10 was… “20,” I gasped, again almost fainting in relief. I had safely piloted the boat to the wreck. (E), (R), and (D) volunteered to get the crates. They clamber into their diving suits and plunge into the crystal clear waters. They see the wreck right away and swim towards it. The wreck is home to several schools of colorful fish, and in some places coral is growing. (R) got a high ‘search’ number and saw a hole just big enough to swim through. Once inside, (D) found the crates and the trio hauled them out of the wreck. Meanwhile, above the water, another ship pulls up alongside us and a man in a crazy necktie (not to mention a bandaged jaw) leaps onto our boat. “Not Hanniper!” cried (A). “Yes, Hanniper!” said Uncle Nate. I wanted to give him my hard stare and creep him out, so I did. Regenald was startled and stepped back. Of course, he’d forgotten there was water behind him and he fell in. This time, though, nobody laughed. Now, the three Rebels still underwater see a figure thrashing about in the water. They don’t know that it’s Snopps, they only think that it’s me or (A). (E) and (R) raced to rescue whoever was in the water. (E) got to Snopps first and clambered into the boat with him, followed by (R). Upon seeing (R), Snopps screams and runs away yelling, “Hed roke ny jah!” obviously attempting to say, “He broke my jaw!” I found him below deck, curled into a ball and crying like a baby. I decided to interrogate him and started with, “Why are you such a snotty person?” The result of my question was stunning. Regenald hurles into his life’s story: his father, Zafiel Snopps, abused Regenald for wasting time and money. Regenald, being the youngest son, decided to try to prove himself to a doubting galaxy. It didn’t work. His self – assurance is only skin deep, and he’s way over sensitive. I comforted him a little, then asked him the one question I’d been waiting to ask ever since the fish sauce: “Do you want to join the Rebellion?” Regenald Hanniper Snopps III looked up at me and nodded. I told him all about the Rebellion’s goal and their current situation. Meanwhile, (E) and (R) re – dived and got the crates, stealthily getting them onboard so that the other ship didn’t notice. After stuffing them in the Camray corpse, we left. I snatched my pencil and started to draw another object while Uncle Nate gave his ending speech: “Team J’sn has again successfully completed a roleplaying adventure! Besides retrieving the crates of cybernetic parts, you turned one of the snottiest Imperials into a Rebel! The next adventure – for Natja (A), at least – will be installing Han’s (D’s) eye! Also, figure out what special things it will have. Now -” I revealed the Rebel symbol I’d drawn - “May the Force be with you.” THE END.