Payton was a young padawan who was running a simple errand for her master when Anakin Skywalker and his Clone Troopers assaulted the Jedi Temple on Coruscant (as depicted in Revenge of the Sith). Terrified and alone, she managed to remain hidden from the authorities for several months, even arranging transport for herself off Coruscant and to Cerulia, a resort planet that can cater to those wanting something a little beyond the law.
In a crowded marketplace on Cerulia Payton saw Drun Cairnwick, a merchant who occasionally supplied goods to the temple on Coruscant. Payton took a chance and approached him to ask for help. Cairnwick was glad to see her alive, and told her that he had heard rumors that there was a rebellion fermenting in the Senate. Unfortunately, he did not know where any other Jedi could be found, but did know a man who possessed expertise in locating people–a bounty hunter named Matthias Jager.
Jager had his own problems however. His sister and her husband had recently died in an airspeeder accident, leaving behind their daughter. Jager was the girl’s only family, and now the bounty hunter was having to travel with a pre-teenager. Jager agreed to meet with Payton in a crowded spaceport bar, and after hearing her story agreed to help her on one condition: Payton would help him control his niece while in the field.
This is a good plan, because at the moment “The Kid” had been off at the restroom and while returned saw several local police officers entering the bar in search of someone. The Kid assumed that it was the person to whom her uncle was speaking and, in an attempt to throw them off, approached the police with an offer to lead them to their quarry–for a price.
The police were not amused by this offer, and were discussing beating it out of the Kid when Matthias noticed what was going on. Thinking fast, he drew his blaster and shot a low-level hoodlum in the back (Matthias had spotted him earlier). The distraction allowed the Kid to free herself, and Matthias successfully hauled the criminal out of the place.
Back at his hotel room, Jager informed the small-time con artist Gib Noc that he “owed him” for getting him out of the bar without being caught. After being threatened for a bit more Noc agreed to help Jager and his accomplices off planet. First, Noc said, they would need a ship. To get that, they needed someone who knew ships, and Noc knew just who to ask: a Sullustan techie named “the Ferret.”
Ferret was only too happy to help out an old friend (he figured there was money to be made if Noc was involved), so they went to “Fizzi’s Slightly Used Spaceships,” a seedy dealership where someone could buy a ship, no questions asked. The cheapest one of the lot was a Ghtroc Freighter called the Twilight Jumper, which sold for a measley 10,000 credits. Ferret swore (after blowing his Starship Repair roll) that the ship was in fine shape.
But how to pay for it? A loan shark? Possibly too risky, and they’d have to find a way to pay him back. Jager had an idea that Payton could use her fledgling Jedi powers to help Noc win the money at a casino. Payton reluctantly agreed, and they began to make plans to win 9,000 credits without being caught…
GM’s Note:
After a lof of consideration, I decided to try out a new RPG, just to see what it might be like. I decided to go with one of my all-time favorites, the old West End Games Star Wars RPG. Rather than try to start off with all eight-to-ten players, I decided to go with a few and then build up from there. Frankie’s player is Ferret, Willow’s player is Payton, Ransook’s player is Jager, Violet’s is the Kid, and Hanthel’s is Gib Noc.
It’s a very different style from the “kill them and take their stuff” D&D campaign we’ve been doing for years. There was only blaster bolt fired, and that was from Jager’s gun into Noc’s back. Instead there was a lot of in-character talking, innovation, and willingness to make this their story. All told, a good start.
Now, what to do with the casino?
