EPISODE I: The Long Arm of the Hutt

[Rabbit]

EPISODE I: The Long Arm of the Hutt

CHAPTER 1: Escape from Mos Shuuta

On the run from the crime lord Teemo the Hutt the heroes try to evade capture on the busy sun scorched streets of Mos Shuuta. Mos Shuuta is a small town built on a high plateau on the desert world of Tatooine. The heroes are looking for one of their contacts, a mysterious Devorian known only as Radio, who may be able to get them off world. The group makes it to the rendezvous but are spotted by a group of Gamorrean thugs working for Teemo the Hutt. The heroes duck into the cantina and a Fire fight ensues.

Once the Gamorreans are defeated Radio makes a trade with the heroes. A favor in the future for an escape route today. He informs the group about Trex's ship and also that it needs a new Hyperdrive Ignition Switch. Taking the ship is their best chance of getting off the planet quickly and alive. Before leaving, Mathus drafted a note and asks Radio to get it back to Mathus' old employer, Hanwoo. Mathus wanted to warn his friend that Teemo may be coming for him.

The heroes head to the junk shop. The owner, a human named Vorn, refuses to sell the heroes the H.I.S. because it is promised to Trex and he doesn’t want to cross the bounty hunter. But Mathus is able to exploit a malfunctioning droid's protocols so that it helps them steal the part while Vorn is distracted.

The group head back into the busy, and very hot, streets of Mos Shuuta. Not sure which docking bay Trex's ship is in they head for Docking Control. Several times they spot some of Teemo the Hutt's thugs but manage to evade them before reaching Docking Control. Pash and 41-Vex bluff their way in to Docking Control, but once inside Overseer Brynn calls on his guards after Pash attempts to impersonate Lt. Herkin. The group is able to blast their way out of the Docking Controls but not before they see an incoming Imperial Shuttle coming in for a landing. Learning where that ship is landing they now know where Trex and his ship are.

Unfortunately for the heroes Teemo the Hutt has made a deal with Imperial Lt. Herkin, who has sent two patrols of Stormtroopers after them!
Another firefight breaks. Citizens of Mos Shuuta dive for cover. The firefight goes well for the group and they manage to cut down both groups of Stormtroopers.

Inside the docking bay the heroes make short work of the security droids and commandeer the Krayt Fang with a wounded Trex onboard. Oskara makes good use of the ships blasters to incinerate a final squad of Stormtroopers before the ship takes off and flies for the horizon.

In one final challenge the crew must work together to defeat two tie fighters in a dog fight. With this final challenge won the crew have a brief moment to relax, the open galaxy before them…

[Rabbit]

EPISODE I: The Long Arm of the Hutt

CHAPTER 2: Bad Business

The jump the Krayt Fang made to light speed has seen you to the edge of the Tatooine system without further problems. However, you must plot a course through hyperspace in order to reach a new destination. Suddenly a loud low fuel alert begins to wail. A rank smell permeates the vessel, and several warning alert icons display on the navigational computer’s VDU. The Krayt Fang begins to shudder and shake; clearly not all is well aboard the stolen freighter.

A BUMPY RIDE:

• In the ensuing confusion the trandoshian bounty hunter, Trex, attacks the pilot in the cockpit. The scuffle ends with Trex dead, but that is only the first of the crew’s troubles.

• The Transponder: The ship’s late captain, Trex, had been allowing Teemo the Hutt to keep a record of his location via a hyperspace transponder attached to the hull of the Krayt Fang. As a result, Teemo is able to determine the approximate location of the craft. Though unable to remove the transponder in flight the crew was able to slow the beacon to an hourly ‘ping.’

• Wookie pelts: The crew discovered the source of the foul smell. A collection of fresh wookie pelts in a hidden storage compartment. Once the pelts were jettisoned the smell quickly dissipated.

• While exploring the ship the crew finds some valuable droid parts. They determine a skilled mechanic could construct an operational astromech unit (an R2-D2) from the available parts, though it would be an arduous process. While the time, expertise, and equipment needed are not readily available to the PCs at the moment, this could form a future project, or the parts could be sold for as much as 2,000 credits.

• An Unexpected Guest: the prisoner B’ura B’an*
The ship’s holding cell contained a elderly male Twi’lek. Though they have never met Oskara recognizes the older Twi’lek by name. When Aqualish thugs arrived on Ryloth and tried to muscle in on the planet’s ryll mining operations, a group of Twi’leks organized a series of mines said to be run “for and by Twi’leks.” Some critics said that the organization wasn’t much better than the thugs it replaced, and that it sold uncut ryll illegally on the black market. However, many Twi’leks saw the organization as a sign of hope, undermining the efforts of those who sought to exploit Ryloth without thought for its inhabitants. B’ura B’an was among the most vocal of those in support of mines owned and run by Twi’leks.

B’ura B’an asks the crew to drop him off at the city of Nabat. He has friends there who would be willing to offer assistance including a safe place to repair their ship, remove the transponder, and refuel.

*When the crew searches the other holding cells, they find that one of them contains several pieces of brown chitinous shell, one of which is marked with curious designs. The pieces of chitin are from some sort of intelligent insectile species.

THE SPACEPORT NABAT:

Compared to the Core Worlds, Ryloth is a poor and somewhat lawless planet. Compared to Tatooine, it’s downright civilized.

As with many Rylothan settlements, large portions of Nabat exist underground in order to protect its inhabitants from the harsh environment and wandering predatory lyleks. The upper levels of Nabat are exposed to the elements and they consist of several landing pads, slum dwellings, and a cantina. B’ura B’an offers to see to it that the Krayt Fang is safely docked and that any repairs needed are carried out and paid for by his contacts in Nabat. And the crew finally remove the hyperspace transponder.

Meeting the Militants: B’ura B’an introduces the crew to his resistance group. The militant group consists of Twi’leks and Humans who come and go at various times. The leader of the group is Nyn Kablo, a soft-spoken female Twi’lek.

• While their ship is being repaired in Nabat the crew agrees to escort B’ura B’an back to the mining village New Meen.

• Oskara speaks with the militants about her sister. They have not heard of her but they promise to ask around while the crew is in New Meen.

• On the way to New Meet the crew is ambushed by a group of bounty hunters they recognize from Mos Shuuta. It seems that the Hutt is still on their trail…

THE MINING VILLAGE NEW MEEN:

The settlement is little more than a shanty town nestled into the base of the cliffs that tower above it. A great pile of soil and rock has been raised up by machines and piled around the south side of the settlement. The residents of New Meen are cautious and suspicious of you at first. However, once B’ura B’an is spotted, the atmosphere changes quickly. After the commotion surrounding his arrival has died down, B’ura B’an asks, “So, how does the situation with the development stand?” At which the atmosphere becomes immediately more somber. The crew learns the following:

• A few months ago, a human contractor named Angu Drombb purchased a tract of land from one of Ryloth’s Feudal Oligarchs claiming that he was going to build a desert oasis leisure complex there. It soon became something of an open secret among the Rylothan underworld that Drombb planned to do nothing of the sort and was merely attempting to muscle in on the ryll trade.

• At first, Drombb’s presence was regarded as a blessing by the Twi’leks of New Meen, as his arrival coincided with the disappearance of a gang of Aqualish thugs who had been extorting credit and favor from ryll miners in the area. Within a short space of time, Drombb’s men began to make life difficult for the residents of New Meen. The pile of dirt surrounding the town was placed there by the developers and a number of power supplies have been “accidentally” damaged in the process of erecting the mound. Several minor acts of arson and larceny are also laid at the feet of the developers.

The crew decide to assist the residence of New Meen. After infiltrating their compound the crew tricks Drombb into confessing that he works for Teemo the Hutt before killing him. With their employer dead those of his thugs that survived the battle lay down their arms.

Drombb’s Computer Files: Drombb has been fairly diligent in wiping his past communications, but two messages to a recipient named “Thwheek” were sent within the last few days, and remain on the system. The messages say:

"Yes it’s a risky business. I’m amazed Trex managed to get away with that droid technician Sivor without causing the whole thing to fall down on our heads. You never know with kriffing bugs, with their clades and castes and such. Annoy the one on top and you lose every other link in the chain. Start from scratch. I thought this whole deal was going to fall through when we lost the support of Duke Piddock, but Dimmock – he might be the bug for us."

and

"Decapitated! Ha! Well, make sure he never gets to hear about that! I mean, don’t get me wrong, the bugs are kriffing hypocrites on the issue if you ask me. They’re more than happy to see dozens of drones squandered in their own games, but if he knew what happened with Sivor, it’d be all over for the deal. Hah, putting a techgeek in the ring against you! What a way to go."