The Emperor is dead. Rebellion has been the fire to ignite the galaxy into a fervour, and with the destruction of the second death star, there is nothing to stop the vast majority of the galaxy from taking up arms against what little there is left of the Empire. That which is left only tightens its grip, sinking its teeth into previously quiet, safe and ignored worlds. Rebellion has freed those toward the core of the galaxy, but it has only made things worse for those on the outskirts, once free and quiet worlds are now hubs of Imperial activity, and peace is an absolute lie.
23 years have passed since the end of the Clone Wars and the birth of the Empire, four have past since the first Death Star was destroyed over the rebel base on Yavin, and only one month since the destruction of the second, and the deaths of the Emperor, and Lord Vader. The Empire itself may not have been destroyed, but the Sith have been removed from the galaxy, destroyed by the last of the Jedi knights. Even know the Jedi can begin anew, Luke Skywalker builds a new temple, recruits new Jedi from across the galaxy, hoping to rebuild the ranks of the order. Han and Leia work to build up the New Republic's Senate, and Chewbacca fights to free his homeworld.
But these are not stories for now, these are the stories of the heroes of the Rebellion, those who pushed the Rebellion to victory. But have they led it to victory? The Empire is down, but not out - sinister moves are being taken, and dark forces move in the shadows across the galaxy. An unknown and long forgotten voice whispers from the void of unknown space, and the Empire, desperate for a leg up, is moving to listen to it. The Galactic Civil War is not over, but the question now remains - have things been made better, or only worse? There are dark times ahead, and the fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance. How will you determine its fate?
Dantooine: The farming world had always been quiet, a popular spot for smugglers to set down and rest for a while, make repairs, or do deals. It was nowadays far more popular as a spot for the New Republic, considering its significance to the older Republic and the Jedi Order. It is a cool day, the breeze blowing through the grass and trees of Dantooine's generally pleasant atmosphere. Brith are flying through the sky in schools, and Kath hounds roam the fields searching for food. Far too away from Imperial territory, and considered too much of a backwater, the world is almost entirely safe from Imperial presence.
The Raven is docked comfortably near Koomba, a small Republic outpost usually populated with traders, farmers and prospectors. It was also a regular stopping point for the crew of The Raven, who stopped there from time to time to relax or pick up work. They had settled there now between ferrying the senator Corrina from place to place. They had recently finished a rather successful diplomatic visit to Taris, but their next job wasn't to be so easy.
With the ship fueled and ready to go, the Crew of the Raven is undergoing their last preparations before they head off on one of their more difficult diplomatic missions. One of the most important groups in the ongoing war, especially now - is the Hutts. The support from the cartels would mean an incredible amount of monetary support for either the Empire or the Republic. Most of the crew has been going over the last few checks to make sure nothing would explode mid-flight, others getting settled for the long flight to Tatooine, it would take at least a day or two, after all.
Tatooine: Once, one would never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than Mos Eisley - but since the Empire's reformed interest in the world, it has gone through a major change. Crime has dropped as mass arrests take place planet-wide, Imperial stormtroopers search through the city regularly, ensuring there are no rebel sympathizers. The Vindicator sits in orbit over the world, although the crew is split between the ship and down on the planet itself.
A general alert is sent to both the Vindicator's bridge, and the planetary outpost down in Mos Eisley itself, the alerty appears as a brief report from the Vindicator's Intelligence Liason - Kordath, detailing the following - Reliable information on Criminal element, possibly smuggling in Rebel sympathizers - Location Ancorhead. Investigate.
A report of that manner was not particularly common, the rebels which the Empire usually had come across so far on Tatooine were already on the planet itself, and mostly acted as small groups of Guerrilla's. It was not especially common for the Republic to send extra units to the backwater, what could they possibly have planned? He the crew of the Vindicator would choose to take this information, and what they would do with the possible rebel scum in Ancorhead was up to them, they could be there in a few hours of flying, and with what the Empire had at its disposal on Tatooine, any action was possible.
Luke Teth
Location: Outside -> Cockpit
Luke sighed as he made his way out of the main building of Koomba, counting the credits he'd just won off a few poor spacers in a game of Pazaak. Under his arm was tucked the motivator he'd won as well, there was something you could always count on with techy spacers - they'd start gambling ship parts once they ran out of credits, and that had been his whole plan. Gol had been bugging Luke from time to time to remind him their hyperdrive Motivator was getting pretty old, and considering the problems which came out faulty hyperdrives - usually revolving around travelling through space and time, he figured it would be best to get a new one.
As he wandered toward the docking bay and laid eyes on the Raven, he paused for a moment, letting a proud smirk split his lips as he let out a sigh. She was old, had almost constant problems, and it was a wonder that by now she hadn't exploded, left them stranded or just plain fallen apart, but to Luke she was absolutely beautiful, the perfect ship. It was no secret among the crew how much Luke adored the Raven, the man may have loved the ship more than any of his crew, after all. Letting out another pleased sigh, he wandered toward the ramp and up into the ship.
"Captain's back, If y'planned a mutiny, now's the time!" He called out as he made his way through the halls toward the engine room. When he got there, he held out the motivator to show Gol. "There y'are - call me the best Captain ever and get it installed." He gave the Zabrak a nod with a grin, patting the door frame as he moved off and back down the halls toward the bridge.
As he got up there, he let out a sigh and settled into the co-pilots seat which he usually claimed, looking out of the view port before he glanced over his shoulder toward the navicomputer. Reaching out toward the PA, he switched it on and cleared his throat. "Sutton - get to the bridge, I need a nav-course plotted so Stehrr don't fly us into a star." Switching off the PA, he settled in his seat, letting out a sigh, things were going to go well, he could tell.
HK-86
Location: Garage -> Engine Room
HK had been confined to the ship for the duration of their stay on Dantooine, it wasn't uncommon for him to be confined to the ship most of the time during instances like that. Unless the crew managed to go in somewhere guns blazing, it was usually smarter to leave the murder-bot behind, he wasn't always known for his subtlety, and he was just as liable to shoot someone out of boredom than any other reason. Such was what had occurred the last time he'd been allowed to enter Koomba. A droid merchant had got a little too handsey with the HK unit and found a blaster bolt between his eyes. That hadn't been easy for the captain to explain.
And so, he had spent most of his time meandering about the cargo hold and the Garage, calculating new assassination theories in his head while trying to avoid Stehrr, he hated being near the big furry carpet, the Wookiee was a hugger, and although he had no nostrils, HK regularly complained about the smell. As he witnessed the captain come back aboard the ship, HK followed him toward the engine room, watching as he tossed the new motivator over toward Gol. Moving into the room, HK watched one of the meatbags he was more endeared to.
"Request: Do continue to try not to blow the ship up during your tinkering, meatbag Gol." He offered, as some odd form of encouragement.
Kordath Targon
Location: Mos Eisley Cantina -> Command Post
The Mos Eisley Cantina was always filled with the best scum the galaxy had to offer, human and alien alike. It was always a particularly decent spot to gather Intelligence. Although the second an Imperial uniform was visible in the cantina, it essentially cleared out, so a disguise was of course necessary. Despite his age, Kordath fit reasonably well into the role of a spacer, his boring, casual outfit fitting nicely as he sat in a booth toward the back, sipping a Corellian ale as he listened to the voices around him.
It wasn't desperately often for him to hear anything worthwhile, but it seemed today he was getting lucky. In the booth next to him, a Twi'lek and a human were speaking in a hushed tone, just loud enough that Kordath could make most of it out. They were talking about some incoming ship, one they would get to the surface without the Imperials knowing. It was a difficult thing to do nowadays with the blockade in orbit, but it was certainly possible. What caught his notice most of all was the mention of the Republic. For most of their time on Tatooine, the Vindicator hadn't had much work apart from stopping petty criminals, if there was a chance to take down some rebels, he'd take it.
A smirk splitting his lips, he finished his drink and made his way out of the Cantina quietly, bringing up his datapad as he typed up a quick report, sending it off to the Vindicator and the Command post. It didn't take him too long to get there, but he figured the Captain would have gotten his message and figured out some plan from it by now as he went to change back into his proper uniform. He felt so much more comfortable in it, when he was not wearing the grey uniform of the empire, he simply felt... wrong. Adjusting his jacket, he made his way into the Main Operating Room in the Command post, looking around to see if the Captain was about, if not - he figured he'd be hopping on a shuttle fairly soon.
