Your ship, Temper's Folly, shudders as it slams through turbulent thermals and ash clouds. "Shields are at 25% and dropping," says Roopa. "Too much ash in the air. Too much lightning."
"Damned landing beacon isn't broadcasting," grunts the captain. "We wouldn't have to fly low like this otherwise. Just keep the shields up for a few more minutes and we'll be on the ground. Intact, if we're lucky."
Treb sticks his head into the cockpit and bangs it on the doorway as the ship bounces through another thermal. "Are we landing anytime soon?" In response, a metallic thunk rocks the vessel to one side, and an alarm goes off on the console.
"Strap down back there! Looks like we took a hit from falling rocks! What the fuh-"
A rattle of stones on the hull precedes Roopa's commentary. "Shields at zero. Hull damage on left wing." Treb disappears from the doorway and straps in beside Mallory and Prakk. He looks at them and just shrugs.
The Folly drops rapidly, almost free-falling, and breaks through the bottom of a layer of smoke and steam. Her wing is smoking from a few holes burned into it by still-molten ejecta. Through the port you can see a rain of ash and glowing stones. The ground rushes up, and you hear the whine of the engines slowly increase in pitch. The next few moments seem to take forever, but then your seat slaps you in the rear and you know that you're down. The cabin rumbles from tremors outside, but is otherwise stable.
As you unstrap, the captain steps out of the cockpit and snaps a few orders. "Roopa and Prakk, stay with me and help fix the Folly. We want to be ready to go as soon as we can make the drop. Mal and Prakk, head out there and see if you can find any of those researchers alive down on this rock. If you can, get the landing beacon online so our customer won't crash-land. And don't forget your masks."
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Mal and Prakk surveyed the landing pad and then checked on the landing beacon. They found that it was intact, but there was no power coming from the thick cables running back to the underground facility. They traced the cables, but found no breaks in the line. They discovered cargo droids with depleted energy cells and an entrance into the base. As they walked the corridors they encountered a quarren behind a stack of cargo containers. He had a blaster leveled at them, and was about to fire. Mal threw a rock into the containers hard enough to tumble them into the assailant and knock him unconscious.
They found a datapad on him, but it appeared to be scrambled. Prakk administered some first aid, and when he became conscious, the quarren seemed to think they were pirates who had come to capture him. Another shot of drugs, and the quarren was sedated.
In the computer center, they found that the main computer was powered down. Further into the base, they came to the living quarters. There were a dozen rooms, and all but one looked unoccupied. The last one, however, was locked. After some persuasion, they managed to get the resident to open the door. A stench boiled out of the room and a filthy human stood in the doorway. He looked feral, but calm. Well, perhaps not calm, but despondent. He perked up at the prospect of escaping this planet.
He said his name was Garram, and he said that he was a geophysicist. He and the quarren, Sugglu, were scientists on contract to explore this world. But the supply ship that was supposed to come at 6 months never did, and Sugglu went crazy. He cut off the power, scrambled the computers, and terrified Garram into locking himself into his one-room quarters for a few months.
Garram became desperate, and said that he'd pay his entire savings of ten thousand credits if they'd take him off world. So Prakk and Mal took both of the scientists to Temper's Folly, and the captain accepted the credits for their transport.
They went back to the station and were easily able to restore power. The generator had just been turned off. There wasn't any major sabotage there. But when Prakk investigated the computer system, he found that it had intentionally been scrambled. The landing beacon wouldn't come online without the computer, so he sat down to fix things.
Mal patrolled the perimeter for hours without seeing another soul. Despair crept into his heart, and even though he knew something was not right here, he found that he was increasingly uninterested in searching for it. This rock was a waste of space, and the sooner they were able to leave, the better.
Roopa caught up with him, and they did one last sweep. Roopa's keen eyes picked up a flutter of fabric a short distance away, and he sent Mal to investigate. It was a piece of a flight suit that had been torn off. And Mal swore that he saw one of the many volcanic rocks move a little bit. Roopa dismissed it for a while, and berated Mal for seeing things. But then he saw a rock move himself, and took a couple of shots at it. The shots had no effect, and he refused to admit that he had seen anything at all.
Prakk got the beacon back online, and Mal and Roopa returned to the ship without further incident. Mal tried to tell Prakk about the moving rocks, but was ignored.
Soon enough, a sleek imperial ship landed, and two humans in suits emerged. The captain handed over an armored suitcase, and the men (Mr. Ovit and Mr. Jass) handed over the credits. They asked about the researchers, and the party told them about the deal they had to get them off-planet. Mr. Jass explained that their contracts were not yet up, and that they should be given over into his custody. Sugglu was still tranquilized, and was given no choice in the matter, but Garram agreed to go with them as long as he was getting off this rock. The captain returned his credits to him, and he went with the two men.
A few minutes later, the suits went into the base where Prakk was still decrypting the computer system. They seemed surprised to find him there, but explained that all of the research data here was confidential and proprietary. The escorted him out of the facility without incident, and once aboard Temper's Folly, the captain raised the landing ramp and lifted for space. Everyone got 1500 credits for a successful delivery.
A few days later, on a planet called Neijwein, the party was spending their hard-earned cash on drinks and women. The captain called Prakk to tell him that an encrypted message had been sent to him via the ship's comm. Prakk ignored it until morning, and then took the time to decrypt it. It was a message from Sugglu, saying that he had some important information about the research facility, and to meet him. He gave a time and a place, and it turned out that the time was only an hour away. Prakk gathered his companions, and they walked to the rendezvous.
The designated spot was a landing pad on the roof of an aged shopping tower. They stepped out of the lift, and Mal said that he saw someone duck behind the wall near the edge of the tower. He charged forward, and Roopa drew his blaster while moving more cautiously forward. Mal found Sugglu down on the ground with a blaster shot to the chest, and Garram was there with a blaster leveled at him. Mal yelled out, "Man down!" and moved towards Garram.
Garram said, "Don't make me do this!" as Mal stepped towards him. Mal struck him with his stunsticks, and the blaster shot went wide. Prakk ran forward to Sugglu and immediately started emergency resuscitation. Mal struck Garram again, and in his pain and disorientation, Garram stumbled back to the edge of the building and fell off. Mal dove to the edge, hand outstretched, but missed Garram by inches. Garram fell to his death several stories below.
Prakk was able to stabilize Sugglu, and Roopa started sneaking around the outer perimeter of the building. He came around a corner and saw that what looked to be a gang of punks had emerged from the lift. They sported various melee weapons, including a cybernetic arm, and they looked ready for a fight. He aimed at the leader and told him to drop his weapon. Two other gang members came up beside him and looked threatening. As soon as the leader moved, Roopa dropped him with a single shot, and the other two charged him. Two more had been out of sight, and they rushed forward as well. One towards Mal, and the other towards Roopa. Mal dodged his attacker's first blow, but took a hit to the shoulder as he leaped towards Roopa. As he did so, the three thugs heading for Roopa slammed to the ground as it hit by a hammer. Roopa shot the first of the three in the head to make sure he stayed down. Mal's attacker turned his attention to Prakk, but his punch missed. Prakk drew his blaster and calmly told him to surrender. Fear widened the thug's eyes, and he made a run for the lift. Roopa shot him in the back before he could reach it.
Almost immediately, the party heard approaching sirens. Suspending Sugglu between two of them like a drunken companion, they got to the lift and made it to street level. Amazingly, they were able to escape back to the ship without getting caught, and shortly thereafter the captain lifted off for the next mission.
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GNN - Neijwein Local Edition
Two Imperial scientists and five local band members were attacked today on the rooftop of the Jafaldin Shopping Tower by two hitmen.
The brutal attack left one scientist, Garram Levinson, dead.
One of his assailants beat him with stunsticks as he tried to defend himself, and then pushed him off the side of the building. Surveillance cameras on a neighboring building happened to record the incident.
The other scientist, Sugglu Ch'bluumgr'u,
No ransom demands have been made yet, but Imperial authorities suspect that it was his research that the assailants were after.
The members of punk band "Vong Breeders" seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but were slain as well.
The attackers have been identified by Imperial authorities as Mallory Dawntreader and Roopa Farooki.
These two appear to be some sort of hitmen, but it is unknown who hired them. A bounty of 5000 credits has been placed on both of them by local authorities if they are brought in alive. Sugglu is known to have a heart condition, and is not expected to survive his abduction, but a 5000 credit reward has also been offered for his safe return.
Imperial authorities have offered their condolences to the families of the victims, and have helped them arrange for funerals.
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