Journal Entry #3¶

          STAR WARS: THE COLD WAR
          EPISODE III:  THE BARGE

Talented mercenary JA-NU SIFR has aided the ruthless DARTH NOX in her quest for power as member of the DARK COUNCIL. Dropped off on the tropical oasis that is the planet RISHI, he keeps his head low and blends in with the pirates of RAIDER'S COVE.

A number of individuals find themselves travelling to RISHI for different reasons, all leading them to the CRYSTAL MAZE, a custom-built casino barge run by the illustrious BIFF BLUNGO.

As sunrise approaches, hungover pirates rise from their slumber and prepare their market stalls, their wallets, or their livers for the sunny day ahead...

Prologue¶

In the middle of the night in the Raider's Cove Hotel, one Ja-Nu Sifr laid motionless on the floor of his hotel room. He could hear blaster bolts ripping through wood and metal in the other rooms, doors being ripped from their hinges by explosions.

"He's in here!" said an angry, muffled voice outside of his room. Ja-Nu's creaky wooden door slammed open, and in stepped the menacing, unmistakable masked figure of a Nova Blade pirate, looming over his injured body, breathing hungrily. An Imperial trooper followed them in.

"Yep," said the trooper, his comlink crackling. "It's him. Finish it." Blasters were pointed directly at Ja-Nu, charging with a loud whistle as he laid...

... in his bed. At the crack of dawn in the Raider's Cove Hotel, one Ja-Nu Sifr woke up in a haze of fear. He packed his belongings and hurriedly checked out of the hotel in the town center of Raider's Cove. The sun had only just begun rising, and the market to the south was beginning to set up for the day.

Ja-Nu noticed considerably more Nova Blade pirates loitering in Raider's Cove of late, and his nightmare only confirmed his gut feelings: that he, or Raider's Cove, were in danger. He considered retreating to the Blaster's Path cantina, a welcoming establishment where he knew he'd be safe, though he knew it wouldn't be open for a while. Instead, he wandered the streets of the pirate town for a quiet place to wait patiently.

Chapter 1 - Morning¶

Frongella Teetles arrived at Rishi via public transport, told 0K-M8 to "fuck off" as saw him in the landing docks, and proceeded to the market, where she was glanced at by many pirates. She met Qaraah, who claimed to recognise her and know who she is, "someone who works for the Hutts", and directed her to the market. She bought a tentacle (of unknown origin) on a stick from a "Shore Crab Kebab" street food stall, ate it heartily, and bounced away from the market to the astonishment of the many pirates there. She shouts to ask nearby pirates if they've seen two well-dressed pirates in town, and one of the Corsair's directs her to the Crystal Maze and/or the Blaster's Path.

Nyan woke up next to the Crystal Maze Casino Barge, with Biff looking down on her from the upper deck. "There she is," he said with a smile, disappearing back into the barge to set up for the day. Nyan shook the wet grey sand from her fur. Kareena, bartender of the Blaster's Path Cantina, was on a smoke break at the entrance of her establishment. She waved to Nyan and invited her in for some breakfast.

On her way through the dance floor of the cantina, she saw a very drunk pirate creepily appreciating the rehearsing dancers on the main stage. As she entered the VIP bar, she saw and sat next to Ja-Nu and Frongella Teetles as the infamous rodian bounty hunter Gorro stared them down. Frongella, also sitting at the bar, gave Gorro a creepy smile until he left, cursing dismissively in Huttese.

Ja-Nu ordered a jungle wampa steak, and treated Nyan and himself to some caf. They were more than acquaintances. Frongella ordered what she hoped would be a "swamp tea," but she received a local herbal tea which was far stronger and spicier than she would have liked, and certainly not swampy enough.

Vega Claspfoot woke up in a cardboard box in the wet, grey sand under the eastern board walk of Old Town. He saw PH4-LNX waving at him from the Crystal Maze Casino Barge in the distance, and simply waved back. PH4-LNX gestured for him to come aboard and get ready for the day's gambling ahead, so he begrudgingly brushed the sand from his dilapidated suit and headed towards Old Town South Beach.

Chapter 2 - Midday¶

Frongella, Ja-Nu, and Nyan stood at the entrance of the Blaster's Path, facing the beach opposite and taking in the sights of the opulent Crystal Maze Casino Barge as pirates queued to board. Golden service droids on wheels served Sparklovina at the bottom of the boarding ramp. Kareena, on another of her smoke breaks, told them about the Crystal Maze, how it looks nice on the outside though she doesn't rate it on the inside. She noted that Biff's shrimp was the best on Rishi, however, and that he supplied the Blaster's Path Cantina while he had his barge docked here. She described how well guarded it is by the top-of-the-shelf guard droids with the ability to scan for foul play at a gambling table. She also explained how much business it takes from her cantina, due to its popularity.

Ja-Nu threw Kareena a tip of 5 credits as she finished her smoke. "Many thanks, Jon," she said, catching the credit chips and heading back inside. "You're always welcome here."

With Nyan needing shrimp to eat, Ja-Nu needing somewhere safe to hide, and Frongella needing two smartly dressed pirates to guide her to some treasure, they ventured fourth onto the barge.

After a short queue, and Ja-Nu making the most of the free Sparklovina, PH4-LNX welcomed the aboard the barge. She appeared similar to the service droids at first glance, because of her gold plating, but Ja-Nu, and especially Frongella, recognised her as a highly advanced combat droid. She took them to the upper deck and gestured to the gambling tables and the bars, not sparing any detail about how any cheaters are dealt with.

• Vega wins a hand, gambling pirate bursts from his seat in disbelief
• Ja-Nu spots Vega, takes him aside, explains his mercenary work
• Frongella looks for two well dressed pirates but finds no one
• Nyan remarks of the carbon scoring from pirates shooting her
• Ja-Nu and Nyan end up drinking at a bar together, with Frongella at a separate and Vega at another
• Frongella apologises to 0K-M8, who turns out to be the barge driver, and accidentally sticks a napkin to the back of his dome
• Biff announces the wonderful dancer, Anari Evelar, all pirates cheer as she takes to a table and dance around the jizz band
• Two very well dressed gentlemen pirates, Stade Bonix and Blackboots, arrive - they are clearly an item, and greeted by PH4-LNX who guides them to Vega's table
• Anari invites Nyan to join her dancing, the pirates cheer her on enthusiastically
• Vega plays the gentlemen pirates at Pazaak and narrowly loses after convincing Blackboots to put his expensive blaster pistol on the table (High Roller Blaster basically)
• Frongella keeps asking whether the gentlemen pirates will kiss

Chapter 3 - Afternoon¶

• Biff announces the tour, the barge departs, everyone takes in the views
• Anari and PH4-LNX discuss something while looking out to sea
• Players take in the views from various balconies on the barge
• Frongella invites Stade and Blackboots to the bar, and they explain that they have treasure but have lost the key
  • Queue Frongella seeking the orobird hatchling, finding it downstairs in the kitchen, saving it narrowly from being chopped by head chef droid!
• They see various the various wild creatures of the Western Jungle Expanse along the way
• First stop they see a Jungle Wampa outside the Nova Blade Trade Outpost/Camp/Thing
  • "That steak from earlier was tasty," Ja-Nu remembered fondly
• Second stop: Orobird family in the river, Frongella reveals the hatchling and the Orobird squawks aggressively for the hatchling to be put on the floor
  • The Orobird mother is tending to her newly-returned hatchling while Blackboots and Frongella stealthily sneak into their nest and steal a very large, but seemingly completely empty golden egg
  • Thicc'ky texts Frongella to ask how it's going, she replies with "Egg" and he replies with "Egg!" - he's happy
• Biff announces a scenic route to the third stop
• Vega grabs some food from the staff room downstairs
• As they approach the south beach Jon spots a Nova Blade speeder out at sea
• Biff says they shouldn't be out there during the tour, and wouldn't attack due to an agreement he had with the gang
• Jon suggests returning to Raider's Cove, and as they veer east, the speeder that seemed to be returning to Aggressor Camp about-faced, with four other speeders behind it - they were on their way to attack
• COMBAT BEGINS
• At a couple of hundred feet from the barge, Ja-Nu takes a rifle and fires a shot into the center pirate's shoulder, nearly swinging him off the speeder
• The speeders begin firing at the barge and the pirates combine this with blaster rifle fire
• Two of the speeders swing to either side of the ship and successfully blast open the side doors, the pirates jumping inside
  • Pirate narrowly avoids a knife thrown by head chef droid
• Nyan Force pushes a pirate off a speeder into the ocean
• Frongella sadly misses a her shot, but it was close
• Vega THROWS A CHAIR at one of the speeders, it hits the pirate in the chest and gets shoved into the front of the speeder, which nearly loses control completely
• Blackboots finishes off that pirate with his high roller pistol and the speeder flips upside down
• PH4-LNX shoots the two pirates downstairs from the top of the stairwell, clipping their shoulders and nearly killing them, pushing them back into a wall
• Blackboots is hurt by shots from two more speeders that show up
• Nyan heads downstairs and finishes them off, chopping off their hands with her lightsaber
• Ja-Nu taunts the two speeders and convinces them to retreat