The crew travels to Chador, capital of the sector, to drop off a delivery of spice to a seedy distributor. There they encounter a female mon calamari running from some Storm Troopers!
Episode 3 Chapter 2
MISCHIEF IN MARKAZE
After spending 40 hours in superluminal transit,
the Riptide has emerged from hyperspace near Chador,
Imperial sector capital and home to a major imperial naval base.
The space around Chador is filled with space traffic
including a military space fortress,
a space-dock ship repair facility,
half-a-dozen star destroyers,
and scores of smaller ships.
The Crew of the Riptide
Evo Shandor - nautolan transport captain
Balin Lee - young human Jedi-in-training
Emily Wonder - human mercenary
Eggs Ledscramb - quarren bounty hunter
Chador
Type: Terrestrial
Temperature: TemperateAtmosphere: Type 1 (breathable)
Hydrosphere: Moderate
Gravity: Standard
Terrain: Special (Crystal Mountains and Forests)
Length of Day: 27 hours
Length of Year: 4500 days
Sapient Species: Human
Starport: Markaze
Population: 1 billion
Planet Function: Administrative/Government, Military, Mining, Service
Government: Ruled by aristocratic oligarchs who answer to Imperial governor
Tech Level: Space
Maor Exports: Tenaga Crystal, Metals
Major Imports: Droids, Technology
The planet appeared to have pink land with seas of purple and electric blue. Mountain ranges of giant crystals glowed with neon phosphorescence. Yellow and white clouds drifted through the atmosphere. Several cities dotted the heavily populated surface, the largest of which was the city called Markaze which housed the Imperial Sector Administration Complex.
 |
| Markaze |
 |
| Approach to Markaze |
Markaze was a bustling city of over ten million residents. The city was confined within a giant hexagonal wall. Within the wall the city was further divided into districts, each protected by a wall and gates that limited traffic. Each district was elevated on artificial plateaus, giving them the appearance of being stacked on top of each other. The imperial enclave loomed over the rest of the city like a walled castle. The sector administration tower resembled a massive hegaonal spike reaching into the purple sky. The spaceport looked like a massive hexagonal flat-topped table that hung over the center of the city like a giant metal tree or mushroom.
The city's free district could be identified by the swirling mass of repulsor-pod traffic and holograms. The free district was the city's red light district, a zone that catered to every sin and vice, where military personnel on leave could blow off some steam without worrying about their superiors.
The Riptide landed at the spaceport and easily passed its customs inspection. They made contact with their delivery, an aqualish importer named Tarak Dur. Tarak Dur said that he was unable to meet them in person and apologized because he had no one to pick up the fish from the spaceport. He told them that he has arranged a robotic repulsorlift transport vehicle to meet them at the port. They will load the frozen fish onto the vehicle and make delivery to a business in the free district known as the Tentacle Bar. The proprietor would authorize the receipt of delivery.
The transport arrived, they loaded the fish, and went to the Tentacle Bar.
The Free District was a bustling with traffic. The streets were filled with a seething mass of travellers, many of them military. Speeders and automated repulsor-cabs whizzed by overhead. Loudspeakers spoke over each other with sales pitches and announcements. Holograms danced and gyrated. The streets were littered with trash, sales-bills, and discarded food and packaging.
They backed into a dingy alley and began unloading the fish containing the illegal Ryll spice into the back door of the Tentacle Bar under the bored eyes of the bloated pale mon calamari owner. Balin stood lookout, keeping his eyes on the street.
Kara Pacha
Just as they were finishing, there was a scream followed by blaster fire in the street. A mon calamari female ran down the street, shoving people out of her way. She looked desperate and afraid for her life. She bolted down the alley towards Balin shouting, "Help me! Please help me!"
She was being pursued by four imperial stormtroopers. Balin hustled her to the back of the transport and informed the others to hide her. Eggs booster her into the back of the empty transport. Balin rushed up to meet the stormtroopers. With a wave of Balin's hand, one of the stormtroopers believed he saw the fugitive across the street rushing the other way, he called to the others.
"I just saw her! This way!"
The stormtroopers turned and followed.
The crew gathered around the mon calamari. She was panting and her giant goggle-like eyes were on the verge of tears. She thanked them for her help and introduced herself as Kara Pacha, a research assistant working in the imperial bio-weapons laboratory. There she worked for Doctor Ardap Topas. Doctor Topas was forced to create a disease that was used to enslave the natives of the planet Nesia*. But what the Empire didn't know was that he also secretly created a cure for the disease, an innoculation that would protect the natives of Nesia from future attacks! She said the storm troopers were chasing her because the doctor's secret plans were discovered. He was arrested but she managed to get away!
*Nesia is the Imperial colonial name for the planet Auilai.
"Please! You must help me! I have to find a way to rescue him! Only he can free the people of Nesia! Only he is able to cure him!"
At that moment, the storm troopers returned to the alley, this time with friends. They called out, "Hey! We're looking for a mon calamari female! Have you seen her?"
Evo called back, "A what? Nope!"
The storm troopers conferred with each other, "I'm sure she came down this way." The leader replied, "Okay, we'll search the alley to be sure."
The storm troopers slowly advanced down the alley, their blasters ready.
To Be Continued...
No comments:
Post a Comment