Star Wars: Birthplace

[LostSoul]

A long time ago in a galaxy far,
far away...

A vast sea of stars serves as the backdrop for the main title. War drums echo through the heavens as a roll-up slowly crawls into infinity.

STAR WARS

Episode I: The Siege of Naldar

It is a time of CIVIL WAR. Imperial
forces, using a new and terrible
weapon known as the DEATH STAR have
laid waste to the peaceful planet
of Alderaan. Imperial forces across
the galaxy lay siege to those few
planets brave enough - and foolish
enough - to stand up against the
might of EMPEROR PALPATINE.

The industrial paradise of NALDAR
is one of those few stalwart
defenders of the Old Republic. All
that stands between it and the might
of the EVIL GALACTIC EMPIRE are its
PLANETARY SCREENS.

But the Empire has already hatched
a nefarious scheme to bring the
proud defenders of Naldar to their
knees...​

EXT. OUTER SPACE

The camera pans across space, revealing a silvery moon, its surface scarred by asteroids and recent conflict. A massive IMPERIAL STAR DESTROYER fills the screen. Small pods fire off its surface and hurtle to the planet below.

CUT TO:​

EXT. NALDAR - ATMOSPHERE - NIGHT

A handful of four-man pods fall towards the planet, leaving trails of fire.

CUT TO:​

INT. NALDAR - SEEDY MOTEL ROOM - NIGHT

We do a close-up on LITA MOREN, a young, captivating woman with a spark of passion in her eyes that hides her loneliness. She watches shooting stars fall in the distance as a barrage of turbolaser fire LANCES up at the intruders. The camera catches the interplay of fire in the deep, purple-red pools of Lita's eyes. Behind her, we can make out two indistinct people, one holding a lit cigarette.

Suddenly, the camera focuses on the motel door as it BURSTS open and four well-armed GOONS, led by the cyborg gunslinger QUICK NINES, rush in with blasters drawn.

ROLL FOR INITIATIVE...​

Quick Nines stares at Lita and her companions through two piercing-blue cybernetic eyes. His hands, a mix of metal and flesh, each hold a heavy blaster pistol. Without the cybernetic enhancements, he's as slow as a common thug; with them, he's a deadly killer with the reflexes of a Rylar hunting cat.

RAYNOR ONASS, a smooth-talking SCOUNDREL with a taste for the ladies, draws his blaster in the blink of an eye and SNAPS out a bolt at Quick Nines. The cyborg ducks just in time and the bolt misses his head by inches. Raynor ducks behind a cooling unit.

Raynor: "Nice seeing you again, Quick Nines. We missed you."

The firefight begins. Blaster bolts STREAK across the room in a deadly light show. A window is shattered. Quick Nines ducks and dodges streaks of supercharged plasma, sending back a flurry of his own, his hands full of fire. The armoured BOUNTY HUNTER 6-4, a grizzled man with a rough look, overturns a table and fires. Soon both the walls and floor are pitted with smouldering scars.

Lita and Raynor duck behind cover. Quick Nines throws a smoke grenade and covers Lita and Raynor in a thick red fog. Two goons advance on 6-4 with wicked VIBRO-KNIVES, but he is ready for them. He blasts one square in the chest and easily blocks the other's swing.

Lita ROLLS out of the smoke and TWISTS like a cat as a blaster bolt races towards her, singeing her silver-grey hair. She fires a shot of her own in retaliation. Raynor walks forward, almost casually, and levels his blaster at Quick Nines.

RAYNOR: "Hey blue-eyes! Have a look at this!"

Raynor SQUEEZES his trigger and a bolt of fire catches Quick Nines in the eye. His head EXPLODES in a mixture of blood and steel.

With their leader taken down, the goons flee into the night. 6-4 and Lita make sure they don't get far.

6-4 surveys the scene.

6-4: "Probably should have put the "do not disturb" sign out."

6-4 begins to gather the bodies. Raynor and Lita assist him. Once the bodies are out of sight, they start picking through the weapons of the fallen.

RAYNOR: "If Quick Nines is here, it means that the Fixer was behind this."

LITA: "You think Agos isn't coming?"

RAYNOR: "Don't know. Let me try and call him."

Raynor pulls out a comlink. He presses a series of buttons, then waits. All he hears is static.

6-4: (while counting weapons) "That's probably not a good sign."

At the doorway, a box-like CLEANING DROID rolls up. Its electronic eye whirrs as it scans the scene. The humans look up from their grim tasks and watch it silently.

A slot on the droid opens up and a skeletal metal arm reaches in. It pulls out a white towel, which it gingerly places on the shard-covered couch, then shuts the door behind it.

6-4: "Remind me to stay here more often."

6-4 activates a vibro-knife, which gives off a high-pitched hum. He drags Quick Nines' body towards the bathroom.

LITA: (to 6-4) "What are you doing?"

6-4: "We might be able to salvage some of these cybernetics."

LITA: (turning to Raynor) "I can't believe you dragged me into this, Raynor."

RAYNOR: (shrugs) "What else were we going to do for fun under an Imperial blockade?"

FADE TO BLACK:​

 

[LostSoul]

GM's notes

So, this is new campaign that we started two weeks ago. We have four characters:

• Raynor Onass, a 4th level, smooth-talking human Scoundrel with the racial package of a Duros;
• Lita Moren, a 4th level human Scoundrel1/Soldier3, captain and pilot of the Outlaw Star;
• Six-Four, a 4th level human Soldier4, always ready for a fight; and
• Trevor, a 4th level human Tech Specialist (who didn't play in the first game).

The post above is how we started the game - in the middle of things, with some action. After this, we flashed-back to earlier times that explained how the characters found themselves in the seedy motel room.

Oh yeah, I wrote this like a screenplay, just because I felt like it. I'm sure it breaks formatting rules, but who cares. Not me. I might keep it up, I might switch to prose, maybe some kind of bastard hybrid, we'll see.

 

[LostSoul]

Flashback - 7 days earlier

SUBTITLE: 7 days earlier...

CUT TO:​

EXT. NALDAR UNIVERSITY - DAY

The camera sweeps over Naldar University. It is an old and stately institution. Old buildings covered with ivy surround an idyllic courtyard.

EXT. NALDAR UNIVERSITY - CAMPUS - DAY

Lita Moren walks through the Naldar University campus. The buildings and blooming trees surround her. Students are sitting on the grassy courtyard, talking to each other. Everything is peaceful.

Lita walks up a short set of stairs and opens a door that reads "Ancient Astro-Archaeology."

INT. ANCIENT ASTRO-ARCHAEOLOGY - DAY

Lita walks down a dusty hall. Light streams in from large windows. She reaches a clean desk where CYDA, a young receptionist, sits.

CYDA: "Hello Lita. The professor is waiting for you."

LITA: "Thanks."

Lita enters Professor QUEL LIAM's office. He is an old man, balding, wearing spectacles and reading an old book. Bookshelves line the walls of his office. Papers cover his desk in white. He doesn't seem to notice Lita approach.

LITA: "Hello professor."

QUEL LIAM: (looking up from his book) "Oh? Ah, Lita! Hello! How are you? It's been too long."

LITA: "I'm good."

QUEL LIAM: "Ah, that's good. How is life on the spacelanes?"

LITA: "Exciting, as always."

QUEL LIAM: "When are you going to settle down? You are a gifted young woman. The Royal Naldar School of Astro-Archaeology would be happy to have someone like you. So would a hundred others."

LITA: "But there is so much to see in the galaxy! So many stars to visit, so much out there..."

QUEL LIAM: "You won't find what you're looking for out there - you can only find it in here." He taps at his heart.

LITA: (shrugs) "I wanted to talk to you about your new book. There were some interesting things in there -"

QUEL LIAM: "Ah yes, that reminds me! I had something that I wanted to give to you..." He begins to search through his desk, looking under the stacks of papers and opening and closing drawers. "It had something to do with your search for the birthplace of humanity..."

Lita perks up.

QUEL LIAM: "Ah, here we are!" He hands Lita a data disk. "This is a new translation of the Revwian Tablets. For centuries, the Revwians have talked about a great historical legacy, but no one could find any evidence of it. Now we have a new translation of their Tablets - which predate the Republic by millennia - that may point to the author of the Tablets being mammals, not vegetable life like the Revwians. It seems to indicate some kind of ancient migration by a space-faring race long before any records we now have. I thought it might help you in your search."

Lita takes the data disk.

LITA: "This looks promising. I've got something to check on now."

QUEL LIAM: "Ah, well, I'm glad I could be some help."

LITA: "I wanted to ask you something about your recent book..."

DISSOLVE TO:​

EXT. NALDAR UNIVERSITY - DAY

Lita walks out of the Ancient Astro-Archaeology building into the fresh air. It is considerably later in the day, and most of the students have left. The trees and buildings on campus cast long shadows.

As Lita walks through campus, the AIR RAID SIRENS start to go off. The few students still around stop whatever they are doing and stare at the sirens. A VOICE comes through the loudspeakers:

VOICE: "This is the Naldar Civil Emergency System. Imperial starships have just arrived in system. The planetary shields will be going up. Everyone should move to their nearest Civil Defense Bunker. There is no need to panic."

The students begin to panic. Lita looks up at the sky and she can barely make out a small, silvery, wedge-shaped star in the bright blue sky. There is a faint flicker as the sky goes red for a second, the PLANETARY SHIELDS coming on-line.

WIPE TO BLACK:​

 

[Artellan]

Very cool so far! That's a cool technique to start a campaign right in the middle of the action, with the goons busting in on the motel room. (poor goons...) But I was wondering, what did the players think of doing it that way?

VOICE: "...move to their nearest Civil Defense Bunker. There is no need to panic."

The students begin to panic.

Heh heh.

Anyway keep up the good work, I can hardly wait to read more of the story.

- Artellan

 

[Rel]

I'm considering running a Star Wars mini-campaign later this summer so I'm browsing story hours for inspiration. Good work so far and I'm looking forward to more. It's always a bit refreshing to see a party without a Jedi in it.

 

[LostSoul]

Flashback - Raynor Onass

SUBTITLE: 6 days later...

RAYNOR'S P.O.V.

All is black. There is a distant, heavy pounding. The camera blinks, revealing a bedroom through blurry eyes.

RAYNOR (V.O.): "Ooh, my head."

INT. APARTMENT - BEDROOM - DAY

A close-up reveals Raynor lying in bed, his hair a mess. He squints in pain. There is an ambient pounding noise in the distance.

Raynor looks around, obviously unfamiliar with his situation. He looks beside him and sees an attractive near-human WOMAN, her skin a pale shade of pink, lying half-naked beside him.

RAYNOR: "Hang on... that's not my head that's pounding." He turns to the Woman. "I think you have company."

The Woman stirs to life and rubs at her eyes. They suddenly fly open.

WOMAN: "Oh . My husband."

Raynor's eyes go wide and he stares at the door. The camera follows his look, and we see the door almost buckle with each successive pound. It's obvious something huge is on the other side.

Raynor leaps out of bed and throws on his pants. His clothes are a mess all around the room. The Woman follows his lead. Raynor puts his shirt on inside-out, buckles his belt without closing his fly, and stands on the bed, grabbing at a sock hanging from a ceiling fan (along with a bra). He knocks the bra to the ground.

Suddenly, the door BURSTS open and a 9-foot-tall BARABEL, an alien with thick, natural grey plating covering its body and fists like pain, CRASHES into the room.

BARABEL: "WHAT YOU DOIN' WITH MY WIFE?"

RAYNOR: (thinking quickly) "Calm down, calm down, no need for violence, nothing going on here..."

Raynor glances out the window, hoping it might offer a means of egress, but he realizes that he's 80 stories up. He looks back to the Barabel, and a massive SWING forces him to dodge back into a corner. The Barabel advances, but the Woman steps in front of him. She is tiny compared to his bulk.

RAYNOR: "I was just having a look at your place... I wanted to lease one of these apartments... needed a good look at one of them..."

The Barabel seems to consider this for a moment, then dismisses it, swinging at Raynor again. Raynor ducks and the Barabel SMASHES the wall, leaving a hole the size of Raynor's head. Raynor looks at the hole in the wall, at the Barabel, and to the Woman.

WOMAN: "Calm down honey, he was just having a look at our place... uh, to lease it..."

BARABEL: "HUH? WHY IS HIS PANTS UNDONE? WHAT IS HIS SOCK DOING ON FAN?"

RAYNOR: "It's a custom of my people. Yeah, that's it, a custom. We put articles of clothing around the room to see what it looks like. We've been doing it for thousands of years. Yeah, back on Rentilli 9..."

BARABEL: "WHY BED ALL MESSED UP?"

RAYNOR: (seeing he is started to get through to the massive oaf) "You don't think I'd look at an apartment without trying out the bed? Come on, that's just crazy."

BARABEL: (starting to buy it) "HUH." He looks from his wife to Raynor. "YOU GONNA BUY?"

RAYNOR: (calmly) "Well, I don't know yet. I like the view, nice lay-out, you know, but I'm not sure yet. I still have some other places to look at."

BARABEL: "YOU WANT DRINK?"

RAYNOR: (smiling) "No, no thanks, I've got another apartment to look at." He picks up his jacket and shoes. "Thanks for the offer, really." He turns to the Woman and smiles. "Hopefully we will be neighbours one day."

Raynor turns and walks out of the apartment with a large smile on his face. He hops on one leg as he struggles to put his shoes on. Down the hall, NAT LODON, an attractive young woman wearing the uniform of HOUSE LYDEN, looks at Raynor and smiles. She opens her door and walks in, and leaves the door wide open.

Raynor looks at the camera and winks, then moves to the open door...

WIPE TO:​

 

[LostSoul]

Flashback - Six-Four

INT. PADRE AGOS' NIGHTCLUB - DAY

The nightclub - just a bar during the day - is bright and dusty. Only a few people are here, and most of them are gangsters, eating and reading and relaxing with their peers.

The door opens and 6-4 walks in, light spilling in behind him. His boots hit the floor and jangle like some ancient gunslinger. He walks to the bar.

The BARTENDER moves to serve his new customer.

BARTENDER: "What'll it be?"

6-4: "I'm here to see Padre Agos. Get him for me."

The Bartender turns to scurry away, but 6-4 taps him on the shoulder.

6-4: "And get me a drink while you're at it."

Once again, the Bartender turns to leave, but 6-4 stays him.

6-4: "And get me a nice cigar."

And again, the Bartender tries to leave, but 6-4 stops him.

6-4: "And hurry up, will you? I haven't got all day."

CUT TO:​

INT. PADRE' AGOS NIGHTCLUB - OFFICE - DAY

PADRE AGOS, a small-time crook who runs numbers and games out of his nightclub, is sitting behind a desk, reading a datapad. He is a thin, aging man with a slightly effeminate carriage. A cigarette dangles from his fingers. His office is neat and tidy; it almost reaches the stately atmosphere it tries for, but fails for a touch of kitsch.

There is a knock on his door.

PADRE AGOS: "Come in."

The Bartender enters.

BARTENDER: "There's a guy here to see you-"

PADRE AGOS: "Good!" He gets up from his chair. "Send him in."

The Bartender leaves. Padre Agos puts out his cigarette and swats at the smoke, attempting to clear it. Soon 6-4 arrives.

PADRE AGOS: "6-4! Glad you could make it." 6-4 heads towards a nearby chair, but Padre Agos waves him off. "No, no, don't sit down. We're going to go right away."

6-4: "So what are we going to do?"

PADRE AGOS: "Don't worry about that. I just need to have somebody to watch my back." He grabs his hat and coat off a coat rack. "Come on, let's go."

6-4 shrugs and leaves the office with Padre Agos following him.

CUT TO:​

EXT. NALDAR CITY - BRIDGE - DAY

The camera follows Padre Agos' speeder as it flies over a massive iron suspension bridge, its cables a web of steel. It moves quickly through the traffic. In the background, the sun is beginning to set behind the towering skyscrapers of Naldar City.

EXT. STUG'S FROZEN MEATS - DAY

Padre Agos' speeder pulls up to the front of the store. Padre Agos and 6-4 step out. Padre has a black blaster pistol in his hand, which he tucks into the small of his back.

PADRE AGOS: "Get ready."

6-4 shrugs and cocks his pistol.

INT. STUGS' FROZEN MEATS - BASEMENT OFFICE - DAY

The basement office of Stugs' frozen meats is shoddy and dirty. Lewd pictures of naked Twi'lek dancing girls cover the walls. STUGS, a small man with an overpowering brow line, is sitting on his desk. He's talking with DREX, a mobster with a bad wig.

Padre Agos enters.

STUGS: "Hey, Padre. So what was so important you had to meet right away?"

6-4 enters.

STUGS: "Hey, what's with the muscle?"

Padre Agos draws his pistol.

PADRE AGOS: "Backup."

He lets a bolt fly and it catches Stugs square in the chest. Stugs crumples to the ground. Drex panics and tries to draw his own weapon while ducking for cover.

6-4 draws and fires his pistol in one fluid motion, and Drex falls.

Padre Agos tucks his pistol into his belt and rushes over to a safe. He taps a few numbers into the combination, and it opens. 6-4 stands silent, watching Padre Agos remove some credit cylinders and go through a stack of papers and magazines. Finally, Padre Agos finds what he's looking for - a small, black data disk.

PADRE AGOS: (smiling) "Alright. Uh, put these two guys in the meat locker and meet me back at the club in about an hour."

6-4 doesn't move.

6-4: "What about my fee?"

Padre Agos tosses him one of the credit cylinders and hustles out of the office. 6-4 holsters his pistol and grabs Stugs by the legs.

 

[LostSoul]

I'm considering running a Star Wars mini-campaign later this summer so I'm browsing story hours for inspiration. Good work so far and I'm looking forward to more. It's always a bit refreshing to see a party without a Jedi in it.

Thanks. I had left the Jedi option open, but starting during the Galactic Civil War put the players off; I guess buying the Force-Sensitive feat was too much. I will still have elements of the Dark Side chase the PCs, as we'll see eventually...

 

[LostSoul]

Very cool so far! That's a cool technique to start a campaign right in the middle of the action, with the goons busting in on the motel room. (poor goons...) But I was wondering, what did the players think of doing it that way?

The players hated it and walked out. So all of this is just me playing with myself, if you know what I mean, etc.

Actually, it went pretty well. It's always good to start off in combat. I was worried that the flashbacks were going to take too much time, leaving the other players bored, but they went by quickly enough.

I have plans to do something more with flashbacks in the future. I'm thinking about intercutting an adventure in the present with scenes (that we will play) in the far past of one character's background. Something like: Flashback - this happens - continue flashback - that happens - end flashback - revelation in the present.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

You know, I'm not a particular fan of the screenplay style you're using...but I like the story so far. Also, its Star Wars, and I do my best to read all the other Star Wars Story Hours here on ENWorld and at least comment every so often.

It was lonely being the only SW SH writer...glad to have some other good stories joining the fray.