Aboard the Acclamator-class Cruiser Black Hammer the members of the newly formed Gray Squadron wait patiently for their next assignment. Since the destruction of the Death Star, they have been assigned as part of the salvage crews, searching the remains of the Death Star for anything of value and keeping debris from falling into the forest moon below. Repair ships scour the surface of each and every ship in the Alliance fleet, patching the hulls and restoring power to the weakened systems. After days of work, there is still much to be done.
After a few days, the heroes are contacted by Admiral Ackbarwho requests their presence on the Rebel flagship, Home One, where they will discuss an important assignment. If the heroes do not have their own ship, the Rebellion will provide them with the Midnight Star, a refitted Clone Wars era shuttle retrofitted to serve as a freighter and gunship, to use as their shuttle to Home One. Upon arrival, they are met by Delita Whitelight, an intelligence agent that they should have encountered while on Endor. He will greet them warmly, and escort them to the Admirals chambers, answering any lingering questions they might have regarding their time on Endor. If they ask him about the upcoming mission, he will apologetically reply that he cannot say anything until they have been briefed by the Admiral.
A short walk later, you arrive at Ackbar's chambers. His office is spacious, if barren, and it appears as though the Mon Calamari officer is the only one present in the room. Whitelight seals the door behind you and silently nods to the admiral, who appears to be going over some information on his datapad. He sets the datapad down and looks each of you over slowly.
"Thank you for coming, Gentlemen. As you are likely aware, we hava accomplished a great deal in the last few days. With the Emperor dead and his greatest weapon destroyed, the way has been opened to restore peace and equality throughout the galaxy." He pauses for a moment, his bulbous eyes blinking slowly. "Unfortunately, peace and equality will still have a cost."
With a few keypresses, the desk's surface changes, a holographic image displayed across the table in muted shades of blue. There seems to be a celebration, as the citizens of an opressed planet learn of the Emperor's death. Hundreds of people crowd in the shadow of a magnificent palace, celebrating the hope of new oportunity throughout the galaxy. The image freezes for a moment, and Ackbar continues speaking. "This is the planet of Naboo, the homeworld of the Emperor himself. A peaceful world, the older generation of Naboo have long been opposed to the actions of their 'favorite son', though many of the younger generation have been indoctrinated in the Imperial funded schools and youth programs. When the news of the Emperor's death was announced, many citizens, especially the opressed non-human population, rose up in celebration."
The scene began to play once more and the celebration ensued. Stormtroopers tried to stop what they claimed to be a riot, but were overtaken by the crowd. Then, suddenly, the image went blank.
Allow the heroes time to react and question what happened to the rest of the footage. If they do not ask, Lieutenant Whitelight will simply begin his explanation.
The Intel officer steps forward. "That, gentlemen, is all we have. When the Stormtroopers were unable to surpress the riot, the local prefect ordered the plaza to be swept clean. A pair of TIE bombers were able to clear the plaza fairly efficiently and the survivors were summarily executed without trial. Things are bad, gentlemen, and the local resistance had petitioned us for assistance."
The heroes have been assigned to make contact with local resistance leaders, delivering ammunition and equipment to the poorly armed guerilla fighters. Their contact on Naboo is a Bothan information broker named Rava, who will put them in contact with the leaders of the two different resistence groups. The Naboo Liberation Movement is a coalition of humans and aliens, led by Clone Wars veteran Typho. The other group, which barely deserves mention, is the Free Gunga movement, made up of escaped Gungan slaves. While on Naboo, they will have to keep their presence unknown, so that the Imperial forces there do not suspect the Alliance's involvement. They should provide leadership and support, aiding the locals as much as possible and respecting the local chain of command.
For this mission, they will be assigned the Midnight Star, which has been equipped with a false transponder code identifying it as the Pride of Theed. They will be posing as a merchant vessel and a full supply of starship componants will be provided to serve as their cover and as payment for the services rendered by the information broker, Rava.
After a short hyperspace journey, the heroes will arrive at Naboo. The planet itself is bright blue and green, and even from space the air appears to be clean and crisp. Orbitting the planet are a pair of Imperial Star Destroyers, as well as an Interdictor-class cruiser. Trying to identify any of them will require a Computer Use (DC 15), and will reveal that the two Star Destroyers, the Aggresor and the Victorious, are part of Naboo's local defense force. A difficult Computer Use (DC 18) will reveal the identity of the Interdictor as the Omniscient, the flagship of Inquisitor Draeva's taskforce. As they approach the planet, the heroes will immediately recieve a communication from the Kwilan starport on Naboo.
"Independant freighter, Pride of Theed. This is Starport control. What is your cargo and destination?"
A flight of four TIE Interceptors emerge from the Agressor and take positions to either side of the Midnight Star. The Game Master should be sure to play this part out as tensly as possible, but unless the heroes do something to instigate a fight, starport control should simply check out their landing codes and clear them to land at Docking Bay 87, with the stipulation that their ship will be searched upon landing.
As the heroes' ship aproaches the landing bay, they can make out a large man in an Imperial uniform standing in the atrium, flanked by six stormtroopers. As the heroes disembark, the officer will introduce himself as Commander Li. Commander Li is the head of starport security, and a former CorSec officer. He is, at heart, a good man and simply tries his best to keep illegal and dangerous substances out of society. He carefully checks their identification, and informs the heroes that any aliens that will be staying on Naboo for more than forty-eight hours must be licensed by the local COMPNOR office.
As Commander Li talks with the heroes, his men begin loading scanning equipment onto the ship. Luckily, the secret compartments containing the rifles can withstand casual scans by most sensor equipment. The crews will, however, report anything else that might seem out of place, including heavy weapons that do not have proper registration, exotic pets, or unlicensed aliens.
If asked about the local situation, Commander Li expresses concern for the recent bombings in Theed. While he supports the Empire wholeheartedly, he regrets the measures that sometimes need to be taken to ensure order.
The heroes will likely need a place to stay. Commander Li will recommend a casino resort by the name of the Drunken Gungan, though he advises any non-humans to stay in the Alien Quarter on the outskirts of town. The Drunken Gungan is the favorite hangout of many of the local security forces, as well as a number of retired war veterans. If the heroes impressed Commander Li, he will offer to meet them at the Gungan after nightfall.
By the time the heroes have settled their affairs with Commander Li (and licensed any aliens), dusk will have fallen. The district surrounding Kwilan Starport is elegant, with towering buildings and bright lights. The walkways are clean swept and public transportation is affordable and reliable. Just down the street from the Starport is the large silver and orange building marked with a holo-sign that reads "The Drunken Gungan". An animated alien with long, floppy ears leans drunkenly against the lettering, comically hickuping in time with the music.
At this point, the heroes are on their own. They now have several options, including visiting the information broker, Rava, or frequenting the Drunken Gungan to talk to Commander Li.
The bar is crowded with dozens of off-duty Imperials. The heroes will immediately notice that there are no non-humans in the bar, and any non-humans attempting to enter will be stopped by the large, burly bouncer standing at the doorway.
A Spot check (DC 12) will reveal that Commander Li doesn't appear to be present, but that there is a small group of older gentlemen near the back. These are a group of war veterans from the Clone Wars, including the owner of the club, Ric Ollie. They gather regularly to exchange war stories and discuss politics. An attempt to listen in on their conversation (DC 18) will reveal that several of them have decidedly anti-Imperial leanings. The heroes may approach them, but they will immediately drop the subject of politics and return to telling war stories. If they are questioned directly about ex-Captian Typho, they will react sadly, claiming that it is a tragedy that such a great man has been reduced to an outlaw. They say that they don't know him, but if the heroes reveal their possible involvement with the Rebellion, they will direct them to the Alien Quarter.
Another person of note is a decorated Imperial pilot, who is lounging at the bar. He the flight leader on the infamous Theed Square Massacre, and is celebrating his new-found notorioty with several of his friends. If the heroes reveal that they just delivered a cargo of starship parts, the pilot will ask to meet with them about some parts that he will need for a racing ship he is building.
After a short while, Commander Li will arrive, escorted by a beautiful young girl named Chela. Commander Li will chat briefly with the heroes, though he has nothing to report. He does suggest that they speak with the veterans, if they haven't already.
As the heroes leave the bar, they will notice something heavy in one of their pockets. There is a small datacard, marked with the name "Typho". If they insert it into a datapad, they will recive a message that reads "Sunflare- Midnight".
Rava owns a supply shop near the starport, specializing in exotic starship componants. As the heroes approach, they will see a young Bith being hassled by a group of four stormtroopers. The stormtroopers ask the heroes to stay where they are until the matter has been resolved.
The stormtroopers continue hassling the Bith, requesting to see his identification. The Bith claims that he must have dropped it somewhere, and asks that they let him slide, just this once. The stormtroopers are obviously not inclined to do so, and lock a pair of stun cuffs on his wrist. If questioned, they explain that all unregistered aliens on Naboo are placed into forced labor camps. If this alien's identification doesn't show up within 48 hours, he will be shipped to the labor camps.
The Bith will plead with the heroes to go to his place of employment, the Sunflare Cantina, and see if he dropped his identification there. The stormtroopers will then activate the stun cuffs, knocking him out, and then they will drag him away, leaving the heroes free to enter Rava's Starship Emporium.
Rava is working on a hyperdrive when the heroes enter, but she will welcome them warmly to her shop, asking them to bring this months shipment into the back room. If they begin speaking, she will quickly quiet them and nod towards the storage room.
Unfortunately for the heroes, it appears as though the Empire may have learned the true nature of Rava's business. Several Imperial survielance devices were located in her last shipment of starship componants. She knows that if she removes them, she will illicit suspicion, so she has simply kept them in the front of the store and used the storage room for any sensative work.
She gladly accepts the starship componants as payment, and briefly informs the heroes of the latest developments within the Naboo Liberation Movement.
The young Bothan woman sighs, balancing a hydrospanner in her hand. "Things aren't looking good for the Movement. Even Typho seems a bit on edge lately. The old man has been showing his face less and less, but who knows, maybe its just his age catching up with him. Either way, I'm starting to think those Imperials may be on to his game.
For the past few months, the Movement has been using a little pub over in the Alien Quarter as it's meeting point. The former owner of the Sunflare was a member of the Movement and offered them the wine cellar to serve as a temporary base of operations. Unfortunately, within the past week several members of the Movement have gone missing, including two of the Sunflare's chefs. Something's gone bad with that place. I think maybe you should check it out for yourself though."
If questioned, Rava will deny any involvement with the Movement. He is just an information broker with little love for the Empire. She then informs the heroes that their time is up, and that they should use caution if they plan on contacting her. While she is more than glad to help, she does not plan on risking her neck to help any Rebellion.