SWRPF Archive Ronin

SJNN 4/14/34
BREAKING NEWS - REBEL VICTORY IN YAVIN SYSTEM
updated 17 minutes ago

At 400 Sau Jau time, Rebel forces have destroyed an Imperial battlestation - the so-called 'Death Star' - in the vicinity of Yavin IV. Reports have only begun to come in, but the battle seems to be a significant victory for the Rebellion. Many are already hailing it as the Empire's biggest defeat since the Clone Wars.

This 'Death Star' has been secretly in development for years. Information regarding it remains hazy, but reports describe it as a superstation featuring a high-powered blaster cannon unlike any the galaxy has ever seen. Rebel officers have described the station as "the size of a small moon", and estimates of crew size range from 100k to 1m. Nearly all died in the battle.

Rebel casualties were minimal in comparison. In the wake of the victory, donations have poured into the Rebellion at an unprecedented rate. Expect more updates as news comes in.

---

[b]Introduction[/b]

Welcome to a new/old take on the Star Wars galaxy. The general idea of this new galaxy is a return to the series' roots. Before Star Wars was about epic battles between good and evil, it was the story of a ragtag team flying around in a scrappy little ship. Some of them are Rebels, some are sympathizers, and some are only out for themselves. During their journey, they encounter the Empire and the Rebellion, and in the end, they battle and defeat evil.

In the decades since 1977, the series has gradually upscaled, and we've almost entirely lost the idea of the scrappy band of good guys. The Star Wars galaxy has become more orderly, with the series' focus gradually shifting away from the galactic rim and increasingly towards Coruscant. This RP strives to focus more on the original Star Wars - something we really don't see much around these boards. We'll also be drawing upon may of Lucas's influences, including Western concepts and Japanese concepts such as the [link=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamabushi]yamabushi[/link].

For this RP, only the first film is 100% canon (and even then, there are minor changes). The other two films in the trilogy are partial canon: I'm willing to include elements such as Hoth and Yoda, but I'm not keen on adding any elements that take away from the Star Wars feel I'm going for. The Force, for instance, is going to be mostly constrained to its interpersonal and perception-altering qualities. I'd like to downplay its telekinetic aspects, and lightning is more or less off limits. But we'll see.

Our story centers upon the exploits of another scrappy little ship and its ragtag crew. Our narrative will follow an episodic format, one which consists of a (mostly) continuous series of our heroes exploits. I'd like to keep the ship's crew to a manageable size, by which I mean probably something like an eight-person maximum to start off, though maybe less. If I can get five or six dedicated crew members, I might consider keeping the crew that small for the first episode, and depending on how well that goes, expanding in future episodes.

So if you don't make it aboard the ship right off the bat, don't fret. If this succeeds, I'm definitely looking to expand this in the future. And even if growth stabilizes, I still expect people to come and go, which will leave us with open slots from time to time. The episodic format allows us to add players fairly easily.

Another opportunity for non-crew players comes in the form of side characters. I'd like to include characters in this who aren't part of the crew, but are still significant - they just don't show up every episode. Some of these would be one-time guest appearances, but I see lots of room for recurring characters - especially in terms of villains, crime lords, and Imperial forces. There's plenty of important figures who wouldn't fit in on the ship, but who warrant a place in our story.

That said, welcome aboard the [i]Ronin[/i]. It's a light freighter, fast enough to escape most trouble that comes its way. For everything

 

To help players choose their homeworld, I'm posting a little info on some of the prominent planets I've thought of in our galaxy. Pretty much every planet in the films (and most of EU also) is eligible, so don't feel afraid to select a planet from the established galaxy. Anyways:

Indus: Highly populous planet, with multiple populous moons. The most important Imperial-controlled planet in the outer systems - similar to India's status in the British Empire.

Nova Atta: The capital of the Tyrus Federation, one of the most significant interplanetary governments aside from the Empire. The Tyrus Federation is smaller than the Empire, and power within it is considerably less centralized.

Sau Jau: Another planet on the frontier of the Tyrus Federation. Think American West.

Those are the planets I've thought of so far. If anybody has any planet ideas, please drop me a PM or mention it with your character sheet. There's other ideas I'm currently considering, but these three are the only ones I've really developed much.

 

Also, if you're looking for ideas, TV Tropes can be a good place to go to find ideas. For character creation purposes, check on the sections on Character and Characterization. Also check out the section on Characters as Device, which relates character to plot. Useful for potential subplot ideas. Actually, if you're interested in maybe co-GMing an episode or are looking for episode ideas or subplot ideas, the Tropes web site may come in very handy.

By the way, I'll probably be open to character applications for about a week. So I'll set a tentative due date at Thursday the twelfth. If you can't get it in by then, feel free to drop me a PM. I'd be willing to extend it by a day or two. But applying early has advantages - it allows a little more time for me and you to discuss your CS.

I'm also considering making a post at the end of this weekend to inform potential applicants of what sort of positions I've already received strong applications for, and what I've still got plenty of space for.

 

Hammurabi Approved

Name: Tyler Rhas (pronounced "Roz")
Species/homeworld: Human/Indus
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Skillset/Profession: Talented pickpocket and thief
Affiliation: None
Physical Description: Tyler is a lanky man of average height, with short, dirty blonde hair and a clean shaven, chiseled visage. He would like to have more distinctive features, but isn't able to due to his occupation.
Personality/Psychological profile: Tyler has a strong sense of disdain for rich people, government, and law enforcement officials, and thus shows contempt towards them whenever he encounters one. Despite this, he has an uncanny ability to charm ladies. He is not shy towards anyone, and in carefree situations, loves to jokingly make fun of people. He has quick wits, and is able to keep composure in pressure situations.
Possessions: Merely the clothes on his back.
Character History: Tyler Rhas did not have an unpleasant childhood. He was very fortunate to enroll in a good school and make pleasurable friends. He was rarely at home, and for that, he was very lucky.

His parents were very poor people. They'd been dealt every trick in the book by Indus' local regime, and as a result could barely afford to pay for their food and compact home. Tyler did not notice these things until high school, when he began to understand the financial troubles that some people had to go through. He was disgusted, and felt a great deal of pity and gratitude toward his parents.

It was then that he met a friend, Alekz, whose parents were in a similar situation. Wondering what to do, the two witty teenagers both decided to start making money by stealing. It wasn't anything largescale by any means, and they weren't going to do it to anyone who couldn't afford the loss. So they began to traverse wealthy neighborhoods, memorizing the locals' patterns. Mrs. Starfall always left her purse in the car when carrying in groceries. Mr. Ralvus left his house door unlocked when he snuck over to Mrs. Starfall's house while their spouses were away at work.

This eventually lead them to rebel against political authority, and they both dropped out of school, deciding to make a living out of their new habit. However, on one job, Alekz was caught by the local law enforcement, while Tyler got away. He is now behind bars, and Tyler visits him frequently. He doesn't know when his friend will be released.

 

For the record, I'm not granting approval of any character sheets until later this week. So let's keep character sheets out of the thread for now.

Anyways, I'll probably be making a post sometime today or tomorrow regarding what positions need to be filled, as well as what positions are pretty competitive. Keep those character sheets coming in.

 

All right, time for our weekend update. This is the part where I inform future applicants what skill sets have enough applicants, and what skill sets I could see some more of. Mind you, this isn't the most important factor - but it's a factor I'm considering when I make my decisions, and I don't want to be in the position where I have to turn away an awesome CS just because I've already got two or three other mechanics. Which, mind you, I'm not inclined to do - none of these positions are really necessary, and I'm not about to select a decent pilot CS in favor of a well-thought-out character who would be a third engineer. Anyways, here's where things stand right now.

If anybody is considering a droid, consider long and hard. Competition's pretty stiff, and I'm not really looking to have that many droids aboard my ship. So if you've got an awesome idea, go right ahead. If not, know this: you're facing stiff competition.

I've also gotten some good mechanic and thief character sheets. So these fields are also competitive, but if you've got a great CS, I'll take it.

The medic category is pretty open, though that's not really a necessary role. And any given ship can never have too many thugs, soldiers, and fighters.

And I haven't really received any compelling pilot sheets yet. Though the captain can fly the ship in a pinch, we could definitely use a good pilot.

And finally, I'd like to have some sort of Force-sensitive or Force-user around. So far, you guys have been pretty good with sticking to the 'use Jedi sparingly' principle, but I might even say you've been following the principle a little too well. The Force (applied well) can be a very compelling power.

Again, feel free to ask any questions. The due date on these sheets remains a tentative Thursday June 12.

 

All right, everyone's responded rather well to my last post, with plenty of people stepping in to fill in gaps in the lineup. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that at this point, I don't really prefer any one skillset over any other. So my advice right now: create whatever you think is cool.

Anyways, keep 'em rolling in.

 

Remember everyone, character sheets are due tomorrow. Send me a PM if you need to get it in late or anything. We'll probably be starting this weekend.

But not on Friday 13th. Because I'm superstitious.

 

We've got a couple character sheets yet to come, so I'm postponing the deadline a little bit. So I'll make my decisions Sunday. While you're waiting, feel free to drop by the Resource thread for a discussion on Force powers in the 'New Old Star Wars Galaxy'.

 

It looks like this bird is ready to fly. Before we start, I've got just a couple more things to say. First of all: I've set up a web page which I'll be updating periodically. This will be a useful information source, especially for players that join us as cast members or side characters. I don't know how easy it will be to get in on the crew, but in the future, we'll probably be adding at least one or two members to the primary cast. I've got one addition already planned, and I imagine there will be more. I'd love it if everybody could stick to this game, with nobody dropping out, but realistically, I'm aware that is quite possible. And not every character will be aboard in the long run - I imagine some will part the crew, through death or other means. Which will create space for new members.

Generally, however, most new players will enter as side characters - with the possibility of eventually entering the main cast. As a side character, you'll be a character who appears prominently in an episode (and sometimes in multiple episodes), but not as a member of the ship's crew.

Side characters don't have to join the main cast; there's only so much space, so I don't imagine that many will eventually join the main cast. Many prominent side characters - such as antagonists - simply wouldn't fit with the primary cast, even though they play very important roles as side characters. And I also imagine some players won't want to participate regularly in Ronin, and would prefer to simply play as a side character.

Anyways, drop me a PM. If you have any specific ideas, feel free to share them. If not, simply tell me you're interested in playing a side character, and we'll work out where I can fit you in.

So: our starting cast. I feel this is about the right size for now; we've already got one addition (AlphaRay) planned for the near future, as well as one side character (Winged_Jedi) who will be joining us a few episodes in. Anyways, here is the initial cast list.

* GM Hammurabi: Grant Donovan (captain)
* Penguinator-176: Clarissa Chell (pilot)
* Burning_Endor: Roowrall Wuurthaak (pilot/mechanic)
* sprintabm: Pacer Crag (mechanic)
* DarthJoesha: Maya Yubari (medic)
* kit-kenobi: Syn Kitezer (fighter)
* SephyCloneNo15: CZ-22 and WED-15-ST86 (droids)

Everybody, post your character sheets. We'll be starting tomorrow, if everybody can get their sheets posted by then; if not, we'll go Tuesday or Wednesday.

Anyways, meet your captain.

Player: Hammurabi
Name: Grant Donovan
Species/homeworld: human/spacefarer
Gender: male
Age: 63
Skillset/Profession: Captain. A strong leader, a solid fighter, a decent gunner, and (in a pinch) a mediocre pilot.
Affiliation: To himself, to his ship, and to his crew.
Physical Description: A rugged old man with scruffy grayish hair, a number of scars, and a utilitarian prosthetic leg from the knee on down. It works fine, but no synthetic flesh - just raw metal.
Personality/Psychological profile: Fortysome years drifting among the stars leaves a man old and lonely. To stave off his loneliness, Grant adventures around the galaxy, his eyes always in pursuit of wonder.
Possessions: A ship, and the materials needed to maintain it. In terms of weapons, Grant keeps a few handy aboard his ship, but personally he tends to use his trusty pistol - and, when occasion calls for it, his plasma shotgun.
Character History: Born and raised in the slums of Coruscant. In an effort to get off the streets, Grant signed up for the Republic military, but ran off with some friends not long after the Clone Wars broke out. Spent a while cruising around the galaxy, working various odd jobs aboard various odd ships. Eventually, he found himself running his own ship. He's been captain for two decades now (and aboard a ship for over four), and in that time he's worked with more people than he can count. Bonded with some of 'em, and even married o

 

Player:Kit-Kenobi
Name: Syn Kitezer
Species/homeworld: Nautolan/Sau Jau
Gender: male
Age: 30
Skillset/Profession: Mercenary/brawler/vigilante
Affiliation (if any): none
Physical Description: Syn stands at about 6'2 and weighs roughly 190 lbs. His skin is a dark green, with black eyes, and he has a scar running down the left side of his face.
Personality/Psychological profile: Syn generally very stoic, and keeps to himself. This is partly because he doesn't trust people, and because he sees attachments as a liability. He also has a very black and white view of justice and doesn't hesitate to interfere with those involved with things that are not just in his eyes.
Possessions: He owns a set of black verpine fiber mesh armor, a bryar blaster pistol, an E-11 blaster rifle, and a vibro-blade.
Character History: As a child Syn was raised in a middle-class family on Glee Anselm. He had 2 brothers, who were both older than he.

The clone wars reached their peak while Syn was 10, and when the war finally reached his home, he and his family fled to a refugee camp. The camp was later attacked, and strange man with a lasersword (who he later would learn was a jedi) threw him in a transport while he was screaming to let him stay with his parents. That was the last time Syn ever saw his family, and he never trusted nor liked the republic (now the empire) or "force-users" ever again.

The transport brought him and other kids his age to the planet of Sau Jau. Syn lived in a refugee camp for the next several years where he met his trandoshan friend, Graag. Once they were 16 Graag and he left the camp and went out on their own. They survived by doing whatever they had to do. They would steal, body guard, and bounty hunt, but all of the jobs they took were on one level or another backed up by Syn's sense of justice. One job they were on called for the two of them to kill the youngest child of a family that owed the local crime lord money. Syn could not do it, and could not allow Graag to either, so a fight broke out between them, in which Graag pulled a vibro-blade and slashed Syn across the left side of his face, and then slammed his head into the wall.

Syn woke up in a dark alley in the lower city sometime later, and later learned Graag killed the child. Syn continued to do jobs that appealed to his sense of justice, or at least didn't oppose it, such as being a body guard, or a bouncer. He now has a regular job as a bouncer at a cantina in the lower city.

 

Player: SephyCloneNo15
Name: CZ-22, or Seezee for short
Species/homeworld: CZ-series Protocol Droid
Gender: Male Programming
Age: 35
Skillset/Profession: Seezee was originally built as a protocol and translation droid, but many of his previous masters were unsatisfied with a droid that did nothing but talk. He has functioned as many things, from a repair droid, to a smuggler's assistant, to a gladatorial combat droid, and most recently, a medical droid. However, due to memory wipes, he retains little knowledge of how to use most of the remaining components, making him somewhat of a 'Jack of all trades, master of none' sort of affair, except his translation skills, which are still pretty close to top of the line.
Affiliation: Recently purchased by the captain of the Ronin
Physical Description: A protocol droid roughly the size of a human. The CZ-series' face has often been described as unsettlingly expressive, usually in regards to the Photoreceptors that look almost like the eyes on some lost tribal artifacts. Seezee currently has a chipping teal paint job, revealing a previous chipping rust-red paint job, which is chipping away to reveal a rainbow of previous paint jobs, each chipping and peeling. Seezee has a number of compartments built into his body to contain tools for his variety of skills.
Personality/Psychological profile: Seezee is a curious droid, always looking to improve himself, starting with figuring out how best to utilize his non-standard components. He will often pester people over their shoulders if they are doing something he thinks he may have once been able to do, in an attempt to learn how to do it.
Possessions: Several built-in weapons, mostly intended for droid-to-droid combat, a blaster in one compartment, a couple sensor-shielded smuggling compartments, basic repair and medical tools.
Character History: Seezee's last memory wipe was 2 years ago, so he has no memory retention from any previous masters. His most recent master, prior to the captain of the Ronin, was the ringleader of a Moisture farmer militia. He had gathered his fellow nearby farmers to defend their farms from the Sand People by taking the fight to them. Intending to use guerilla tactics and the medical expertise of Seezee, they expected to drive the Sand People away with minimal casualties. Instead, every one of them died in combat, and Seezee, caked with grime, arrived back at his old home three days later, to tell the story to the farmer's wife, who promptly wanted nothing more to do with Tatooine, and sold Seezee for transport money to start a new life elsewhere. While languishing unpurchased in a Sandcrawler for a couple years, Sezee befriended WED-15-ST86, and the two developed a counterpart relationship while Esstee helped clean out and repair Seezee, even analyzing some of his older tools and helping Seezee figure out how to use them. Eventually, the two droids were purchased by the captain of the Ronin to serve aboard his vessel.

Player: SephyCloneNo15
Name: WED-15-ST86, or Esstee for short
Species/homeworld: WED-15 Septoid Treadwell Droid
Gender: Male programming
Age: 10
Skillset/Profession: Esstee is equipped with a wide variety of tools and variable torque grasping apendages, along with Mechanical repair and Computer Programming protocols programmed into his memory banks.
Affiliation (if any): Recently purchased by the captain of the Ronin
Physical Description: A tall, narrow, droid with many arms mounted on a rectangular treaded base. Esstee has obviously spent quite some time on Tatooine, judging by the layers of caked on dust that scrubbing has thus far failed to remove.
Personality/Psychological profile: Esstee is an older model, and can often be best described as 'clumsy'. However, he has a strong,

 

Player: sprintabm
Name: Pacer Crag
Species/homeworld: human/Dantooine
Gender: male
Age: 38
Skillset/Profession: Ship engineer. Expertise in ship's systems: how they operate and how to operate them. Has the knowledge and enough mechanic knowhow to do minor to moderate repairs, but his talents lie mostly in operating the ship.
Affiliation (if any): None, but dislikes the Empire
Physical Description: 5 ft 11 in tall. Light brown hair and full beard with some gray starting to show, length just past shoulders, always kept back in a pony tail. Moderate body type, somewhat in shape.
Personality/Psychological profile: Friendly and likes to joke around. Spacing is his life. He likes to drink... perhaps too much. Doesn't divulge much information about himself; he usually goes silent or quickly changes the subject when brought up.
Possessions: A duffel bag full of clothes, a blaster for his sidearm, and his trusty pocket flask.
Character History: Originally from Dantooine, Pacer got bit by the engineering bug during his teenage years when he started assisting his uncle who ran a small landspeeder repair shop. Although he loved his home, he decided that his first love was working on ships. He is an experienced spacer, serving with various crews on various types of ships, mostly freighters. The Ronin is his latest job.

 

Player Name: Darth_Joesha
Name: Maya Yubari
Species/homeworld: Human/Indus
Gender: Female
Age: 28
Skillset/Profession: Medic. Fully trained core-standard doctor.
Affiliation: none
Physical Description http://www.trekkies.cz/storage/obrazky/47/200601251037_inara_gris.jpg
Personality/Psychological profile: Very concerned about the safety of other crew members even if she doesn't get on with them that well. Always seems slightly distant, spends most of her free time in her cabin. There is something about her that doesn't seem to fit with the profession she has chosen.
Possessions: Lots of expensive looking clothes not fitting with the setting she is living in. A large medkit filled with good quality medicine.
Character History: Maya was born on Indus to a wealthy imperial family, she was sent to the core to train in medicine and after graduating returned to her homeworld to start work in one of the most exclusive hospitals there. For some unknown reason she quit after only a year without notice and left the planet, not informing a soul where she was going. She then managed to talk her way to Tatooine, figuring she could work out where to go from there.

 

OOC: I swear didn't get the notice we were starting!


Name: Roowrall Wuurthaak (Roo for short)
Species/Homeworld: Wookiee/Kashyyyk
Gender: Female
Age: 134
Skillset/Profession: Pilot - Good at fighting, starship/electronic/mechanical maintenance and repair, and cracking jokes.
Affiliation: N/A
Physical Description: Roowrall is short for a female wookiee, about the height of most human males. Her fur is a deep black, streaked with an ironic sandy brown color. There are several scorch marks on her back and arms where she has been beaten by Trandoshan Slaver?s Burnwhips.
Personality/Psychological Profile: She finds it hard to trust many species outside of Humans and Wookiees. She has been known to have short but severe bouts of depression, especially when she is not actively engaged, but she is often enjoyable to have around.
Possessions: N/A
Character History: Roowrall was sold into slavery early in her life when her village leader ?defected? to the Trandoshan slavers. In return for credits, medicine, and food, the village leader supplied one out of every three Wookiees born to the Slavers. Roowrall had the unfortunate luck to be one of those.
Though she grew to be smaller than most other Wookiees, she had every bit of their ferocity and rebellion, as the many burn scars on her back prove. Responding to her personal ?insurrectionary? personality, the Slavers kept her confined. This only made matters worse.
Duringthis time, she was trained to repair, maintain, and pilot starships and became an expert very quickly, very easily, despite some physical difficulties.
Now, she is being prepared by the slavers to be sold, at last, at a slave auction on Eto, where she plans to make her escape to freedom aboard a starship, Imperial, Rebel, or otherwise.
Other Notes: Like most Wookiees, Roowrall doesn?t like losing or being contradicted. It is best to stay on her good side; short, she may be, but she has all the strength and endurance (not to mention the carpet-like hair) of any other Wookiee.

 

GM Approved

Name: Clarissa Chell
Species/homeworld: Coruscant
Gender: Female
Age: 27
Skillset/Profession: Superb pilot, decent shot, and a dealmaker and negotiator. Knows how to hurt people, knows how to talk to people and how to manipulate them.
Affiliation (if any): Freelancer
Physical Description: Tall, a slender, yet curvy, build. Black hair, green eyes, and generally very attractive to most humans, and maybe even a few other species.
Personality/Psychological profile: Keeps to herself, but will work with others for the right price or if the need arises. She knows the effect she has on the opposite sex and will take advantage of that effect. In general, looking out for number one.
Possessions: A few sets of clothes, a combat knife, and a pair of goggles. All this fits neatly into a rucksack.
Character History: An orphan from birth, Clarissa's formal education didn't last long. The basics were all she needed - being a fast learner and a fast thinker, she headed out on her own into the world. Lessons were learned one way or the other, and mistakes were made, but Clarissa never looked back. She has shown an aptitude for piloting all manner of craft, and is a decent shot when the need arises, skills learned from a life on the wrong side of the tracks. Now, though, Clarissa wants something more than enough to get by on, and is searching for her fortune and life.
Other Notes: Clarissa refuses to divulge whether her name is a pseudonym or a name given to her by the orphanage.

 

I mistakenly posted my sheet earlier in the thread, so I'll post it officially now.

Hammurabi Approved

Name: Tyler Rhas (pronounced "Roz")
Species/homeworld: Human/Indus
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Skillset/Profession: Talented pickpocket and thief
Affiliation: None
Physical Description: Tyler is a lanky man of average height, with short, dirty blonde hair and a clean shaven, chiseled visage. He would like to have more distinctive features, but isn't able to due to his occupation.
Personality/Psychological profile: Tyler has a strong sense of disdain for rich people, government, and law enforcement officials, and thus shows contempt towards them whenever he encounters one. Despite this, he has an uncanny ability to charm ladies. He is not shy towards anyone, and in carefree situations, loves to jokingly make fun of people. He has quick wits, and is able to keep composure in pressure situations.
Possessions: Merely the clothes on his back.
Character History: Tyler Rhas did not have an unpleasant childhood. He was very fortunate to enroll in a good school and make pleasurable friends. He was rarely at home, and for that, he was very lucky.

His parents were very poor people. They'd been dealt every trick in the book by Indus' local regime, and as a result could barely afford to pay for their food and compact home. Tyler did not notice these things until high school, when he began to understand the financial troubles that some people had to go through. He was disgusted, and felt a great deal of pity and gratitude toward his parents.

It was then that he met a friend, Alekz, whose parents were in a similar situation. Wondering what to do, the two witty teenagers both decided to start making money by stealing. It wasn't anything largescale by any means, and they weren't going to do it to anyone who couldn't afford the loss. So they began to traverse wealthy neighborhoods, memorizing the locals' patterns. Mrs. Starfall always left her purse in the car when carrying in groceries. Mr. Ralvus left his house door unlocked when he snuck over to Mrs. Starfall's house while their spouses were away at work.

This eventually lead them to rebel against political authority, and they both dropped out of school, deciding to make a living out of their new habit. However, on one job, Alekz was caught by the local law enforcement, while Tyler got away. He is now behind bars, and Tyler visits him frequently. He doesn't know when his friend will be released.

 

OOC: A quick word before we begin - not everyone is included in the opening post. I've included everybody who starts aboard the ship, but that's not everybody. DarthJoesha and kit-kenobi will be joining us in Mos Eisley, and Burning_Endor should be joining us on Eto. I'd like to move things along at a fast pace at least until we get those first two on board, so my apologies if we're moving too fast for anybody. Anyways, let's get this show on the road.


Ronin - Series One, Episode One: "Ronin"
The Ronin - in the skies of Tatooine

The spaceship descended, making its way through the atmosphere, coming within sight of the dusty wastes of Tatooine. It was a rugged, rickety old ship - every part in it had been replaced at least three times. Had you asked the ship's captain what was holding it together, he would've looked you straight in the eye and dryly pronounced a single syllable: "tape". And you'd laugh, but he wouldn't be entirely kidding you. The ship was held together partly by tape; it was also held together by various metals, as well as a very powerful force, one which binds all things: the sheer force of will.

Inside the ship, the aforementioned Captain Grant Donovan sat alongside his pilot, Clarissa Chell. "We're clear to land," he told her. "Bring her into slot 2B.

Before she could respond, the ship's comm unit interrupted - as expected, they were receiving a call from Jabba the Hutt, an employer of theirs. Grant pressed a button on the panel, opening a communication.

"Donovan," Jabba greeted, his voice tinny through the speaker, "it looks like you've made it back to Tatooine."

"Right," said Grant, "that we have. So, I guess you've got a job for us?"

"Business already? But you've only just arrived." The Hutt chuckled. Grant turned to Clarissa and rolled his eyes. "Anyways," Jabba continued, "yeah, I've got business for you. I think you'll like it."

"Go ahead. Tell me about it."

"Well, there's this package, you see, this package I want... I'm sending you the location. It's a package of spice, over on Eto."

"Okay. So you want us to steal some spice for you. How much will you pay us for it?"

"This instance isn't a matter of how much, Grant - I mean, here's the deal I've worked out. The spice, as far as I know it's stored on a ship. And you need a ship - I mean, there's nothing wrong with the old one, but I figure you could do with an upgrade."

"A ship." Grant's eyes lit up - he could do with a new ship. "What kind of ship?"

"STJ-450. It's about the size of your current ship, maybe slightly larger. If you want it, you might need to expand your crew a little. But she's a good ship, less than a year old. If you're not satisfied with her, I'll offer to buy it."

"Sounds pretty good. Yeah, I'll do this job for you. Anything else I should know?"

"Not much to it. Go in, grab the ship, and fly off with the spice. It's owned by this guy, Terry Vonissier. He wants to be a criminal, thinks he can just take people's spice. I don't necessarily want him dead - I mean, I certainly wouldn't mind, but this guy's an idiot, and this world's got no room for idiots, so I've come to accept his death as an inevitability. Anyways, this is stuff you don't need to hear. It's just you don't have to worry about this guy's life, okay?"

"Gotcha. That all?"

"More or less. Anyways, bye for now. I'll be seeing you again soon, I hope?"

"A matter of days. Later." With that, Grant ended the conversation. He turned to Clarissa to ask for her opinion, and realized the whole crew had gathered on the bridge behind him. There were only five of them, but the bridge had become cramped in their presence. Aside from Grant and Clarissa, the ship's engineer, Pacer Crag, had joined them, as well as the ship's two droids, Seezee and Esstee.

"Well," Grant sighed. "Looks like the gang's all here. So what's everybody's take on the mission at hand?"

Tag: Peng, Sephy, sprintabm

 

Pacer Crag
Ronin

The engineer wandered onto the bridge early enough to catch most of the communication between his new captain and the Hutt. He sat quietly and wondered what type of tricks the green glob had in store for the Ronin.

"Well. Looks like the gang's all here. So what's everybody's take on the mission at hand?"

Pacer was still getting a feel for the captain, how he operated, what type of jobs he would take. Pacer's work under a wide range of captains had made him somewhat quick to pick up on these facts, making him especially weary of the bad ones. But Donovan, for some reason, wasn't giving Pacer a solid enough reading to make any conclusions.

He scratched his beard with the edge of the datapad that he was holding. Should he tell the captain what he really thought? That working for criminals was almost as low as working for the Empire, the criminals in chief? He knew that he was lucky enough to have worked mostly on crews that didn't have criminal connections, but those that did led to some "exciting" experiences for Pacer.

Forcing a smile and a chuckle, he responded. "Well, Captain Donovan, as long as you don't turn me into an assassin, we should get the job done correctly, eh?"

Forget it. Who was he fooling? There were plenty of other ships to work on in the galaxy.

The engineer's face and voice became more serious. "I was under the impression that we ran cargo, not be killers for hire."

TAG: hammy

 

OOC: I've made updates to the site. I'm copying/pasting every post up there, though I might eventually decide that's too much work. I'll also probably be providing episode summaries as we roll through episodes.

Ronin S1E1 - Captain Grant Donovan
The Ronin - in the skies of Tatooine

"Well," Grant said. It was a tough question, but not one he hadn't answered in the past. The first time he had to explain it - many, many years ago - he had awkwardly stumbled over the topic, and the man who had raised the question soon left his crew, along with two others who had heard the captain fumble around with the topic. Losing three good men can make a captain obsess over his mistake; enough obsession drives a captain to correct his flaw. It was still a question he had to deal with on occasion, but he had since improved his counterargument. Granted, he still wasn't successful every time - but he had long ago realized that practice doesn't quite make perfect. And that, mind you, is another lesson.

"You're right on one count. Both, in a sense. See, we sure as hell aren't killers for hire. We occasionally kill people in self-defense, but personally, I try to avoid it whenever possible. I generally don't feel right about it, though there's some types I don't mind killing. At least, not much. And it's really just a bad idea in general - killing people, I mean. Attracts the attention of the law, I mean, in areas where the law exists. Attracts other kinds of unwanted attention pretty much everywhere you go.

"So maybe you misunderstood Jabba, or maybe I did (I mean, I'm getting older every day), but my impression was that he didn't specifically care whether or not we killed this guy. And yeah, Jabba's disregard for a human life probably seems apalling. I'd be shocked too, if I hadn't known him long enough to know how he is. So Jabba's a brute. And I wish it were that easy - that we could just call him a brute and leave him be - but he's a brute that pays good money. And I guess that complicates things, but it also keeps my ship flying, so I guess what I'm trying to say is that there's some complications I'm willing to live with. Hell, there's some I'd be dead without.

"You're in a corner of the galaxy that's just full of 'criminals', if you take the Empire's definition of the word. But you see, this far out, that sort of man is just considered a 'businessman'. And Jabba's the biggest businessman on the planet. Call him a criminal, and I wouldn't say you're wrong. But he's got money and he's got resources. We need both if we want to keep this bird in the air.

"So I don't know if that answers your question. I - I don't know. How are you feeling about this?"

Tag: sprintabm, Peng, sephy

 

Pacer Crag
The Ronin

He's treating me like a child, thought Pacer. The last thing he needed was a lesson on who and when to kill. He already had a lesson on that. But he stood there, listening to the captain speak, more like half-listening and mostly attempting to not let his thoughts show through. Heck, this Hutt might pay pretty well. And we didn't have to kill him...

What are you thinking? Pacer had been shocking himself recently with his minor obsession with money. He had been in a financial tight spot for a few months, which he thought was making him think this way. He didn't like it one bit, but maybe... Maybe this Hutt would pay handsomely for a bit of stealing, something that Pacer wouldn't have to worry about. He was just an engineer. And if this didn't go so smoothly he could always hop off.

A smile crept back onto his face, trying to break the tension. "Sure, Captain Donovan. Let's just get the stuff and hope the Hutt pays well."

Pacer fought off the urge to reach into his pocket and take a swig out of his brandy flask.

TAG: ham, Peng, sephy

 

IC: Tyler Rhas
~Indus~

Tyler takes a seat on the criminally uncomfortable metal chair seated before the transparent wall of glass. He squeezes an earpiece into his left ear until it doesn't hurt, and picks up a small comm device from the compact platform in front of him, where he rest his arms.

Alekz does the same, albeit from the other side of the glass. He is dressed in an orange jumpsuit, and has the look of a man who hasn't had a lick of sleep in days.

"Glad you could make it, Tyler." He always greets his friend in this way.

"What's new?" Tyler replies. It's been two months since his friend was imprisoned. He still hasn't gotten used to the sight of him friend behind bars.

Alekz scoffs at the question. "I don't know how much more bargaining I can do with these guys. I swear it's only a matter of time before I get a present from these sodimitic lunatics."

Tyler looks down. "Yeah." He doesn't know what else to say. The unshakable feeling of guilt that he's possessed since Alekz was imprisoned hasn't budged. "Any word on how much longer you're-"

"Pshh. The hell do you think?" Alekz's teeth clench, Tyler noticing his jaws bulge slightly from beneath his cheeks. "I'm the kind of person these people enjoy seeing beaten. The killers, the psychopaths? They get off plenty. Us? We're..." Alekz shouts a profanity and slams his fist down on the platform in front of him.

"Hey!" a guard approaches Alekz from behind. "Pull that again, you're gonna be hurtin', boy."

Normally in this type of situation, Alekz simply nods his understanding. But two months in prison is a long time. He stands up and turns to the guard, sticking his face before his so that he can practically feel his heartbeat. Tyler can only watch from behind the glass.

"Try me." Alekz shoves the guard to the floor, and another retaliates by slamming his club into the back of his leg, sending him to his knees. There is a pleading look in the prisoner's eyes as he looks at Tyler. And he is taken away, back to his cell with a nice, big bruise.

Tag: None

 

(ooc: Maybe this should be brought up in the Resource thread, but do we have a good idea of what the ship looks like established yet? A floor plan? A diagram? Pen-scratches on a napkin? Any sort of visual aid?)

IC: CZ-22, WED-15-ST86
The Ronin

Seezee listened and processed. He had no qualms about the legality of this mission, nor any ethical concerns about killing. He was not a ruthless, bloodthirsty assassin droid or anything. He just simply was not bound by any ethical programming. If it was ever there, it must have been wiped. He was only able to analyze the situation with the information before him and the computations of its likely outcomes. The data at hand suggested odds of roughly two hundred to one that they would succeed. There was not enough information to determine the likelihood of traps or the intended victim's potential to have any sort of backup or contingency plans.

Seezee doubted his own effectiveness on the mission though. He was pretty certain, although he would have to have Doubleyou-eedee-fifteen-Estee-Eighty-six double check, that none of his components had any practical ship-stealing applications. Giving a quick mock-salute, the droid spoke up, "Master, it is my duty to follow your lead. Whatever your decision, I will assist to the best of my abilities."

Estee was simply excited at the prospect of a ship that was not falling apart. He had been purchased to assist in repairs on the ship, and upon seeing it for the first time, had almost needed repairs himself. He chortled and beeped a quick, enthusiastic vote in favor of stealing the ship, which Seezee was fairly certain did not need to be translated.

Tag: sprintabm, Peng, Ham

 

Pacer Crag

Of course, the droid will do the dirty work. Pacer always had a hard time dealing with them. Not that he hated them; he just struggled interacting to them. They were always so cold, almost sentient, almost real feelings, but yet not there. He was still getting accustomed to this one.

Pacer realized that this has turned out to be one big acclimatization trip for him. Nothing new, but his one feeling a bit more unclear than past jobs.

"Ah, Seezee, don't bring down the house when you go to work, eh?" Again a forced smile.

TAG: sephy, anyone else

OOC: Yeah, I was wondering about the class of the ship as well.

 

OOC: I haven't actually thought about the current ship (which I don't imagine we'll be piloting too much longer. Anyways, here's the basic layout: the ship's bridge is up front, right behind that are the crew quarters, which are oriented around a central common area. The cargo hold lies beneath this area, and the ship's engines (and most of the mechanical and electrical stuff) are located at the back. The entry ramp is at the front of the cargo hold, beneath the bridge. I know that outline is pretty vague, so if you have any specific questions, please ask.

In other news - just so everyone's aware - kit-kenobi won't be around for a few days, so I might have to drag his character along until he returns.



IC:
Ronin S1E1 - Captain Grant Donovan
Ronin - Tatooine - Mos Eisley Spaceport

As the crew members discussed the mission at hand, Clarissa set the Ronin gently down in the Mos Eisley spaceport.

"This looks like our stop." Grant stood up. "All right, here's the plan right now: I'd like to get on this job, so we won't be stopping too long - just long enough to refuel and resupply our ship. While we're here, I'd also like to expand the crew a little bit, as we're going to need a couple new hands for the new ship. So keep an eye out for new recruits. I'm going to be off buying supplies, but keep an eye out - stop by the cantina if you can, there's generally people there looking for a job. Mind you, no crazy types, but that's probably a given." Grant pulled the lever to release the entry ramp. "Any questions?"


Tag: sprintabm, Sephy, Peng