Riscah Tyour, one of Moff Rulduk's agents, has recently put this
plan into action. In order to drive a wedge between the New
Republic and the Yaeger Nation, the Yaeger Imperium will begin
smuggling the worst of the galaxy's scum into the Yaeger sector
through the New Republic's sphere of influence. All of these
individuals will be given either forged NR identification papers or
legitimate papers, for those that have not yet been convicted, and
they will all be encouraged to prey off of the Yaeger through
various means (including a mini-grenade lodged in the skulls of
those criminals that can be detonated by remote control. Many of
the more dangerous of these criminals have an Imperial shadowing
them, ready to detonate the grenade if necessary)
While a sudden explosion of crime cannot be expected to
dissolve the newly formed ties between the Yaeger and the New
Republic, it would certainly strain those ties, leading to much
greater regulation of shipping between the Yaeger and New Republic
spheres of influence among other results.
Riscah hired a number of scouts to chart a new smuggling
route. The route that they produced for him has one terminal at
Mos Eisly and another on Riyiur, the official gateway to the Yaeger
Sector. Known as the Knifeman's Run, the route is a rather
meandering one, stopping at many waystations noted for their
criminal nature or population. From one terminal to the other, the
route takes 14 standard months to travel at standard speeds, though
the same distance along more standard routes can be covered in far
less time.
The rutters for this route are only possessed by four smuggler
captains, and by those scouts that charted it. Ideally, Rulduk
would prefer it if only the smuggler captains know the routes, and
Riscah has been doing his best to track down the scouts and silence
them, but several had escaped to the deep void, and he has no leads
on their whereabouts.
The four captains (Glarn Irnoth, Smael Thilok, Kysshrkrisoh, and Zara
Sept) are charged with recruiting and transporting criminals
from the cesspits of the galaxy to the Yaeger sector. Riscah does
not want the rutters captured during a cargo inspection, and
insists that the captains travel as clean as possible going into
the sector, taking only their passengers on the last leg of the
run.
Major Stops on the route:
Mos Eisly: Initial source of criminals. 2 weeks to-
T'Ritt: Refueling stop. 1 month to-
Gamtin: A notorious smugglers haven, the captains will
usually pick up a cargo here, unless they are carrying a
particularly large load of criminals. 1 week to-
Ilitim: Refueling stop. 2 weeks to-
Mankros: A resort planet, owned by a powerful crimelord.
Members of his organization that need to get away from people are
referred to the Knifeman captains. 2 weeks to-
Thikoomb: An industrial world, were they can pick up
equipment or repair their craft. 2 weeks to-
Shiyith: Refueling stop. 1 month to-
Deliden: A world of little significance, used to ditch anyone
following. 1 month to-
Ulithir: Refueling stop. 2 months to-
Warus: An overpopulated urban world, the local administrators
forward some of the more dangerous criminals to the Knifeman's
captains. They also provide a free port to the smugglers and their
trading partners. 3 weeks to-
Sharoon: A wasteland planet. Used as an equipment stash. 1
month to-
Rith: a prison world, known for the inhuman conditions of Rith
penitentiary. The local officials select the most dangerous of
their prisoners to be sent to along the Knifeman's run. 1 week to-
Thesslia, a populous trading planet, used to shake off pursuit
in the crowds of ships. 1 month to-
Ulasut: An open port, where the captains usually offload
their contraband cargo, and pick up a legitimate load. 3 weeks
to-
Sipirone: Backwoods agricultural world, Riscah has a facility
there where they spend two weeks forging New Republic
Documentations. 3 weeks to-
Malashur: Refueling station. 3 weeks to-
Ishirin: New Republic outpost. Here the forged documents get
a test run. 2 weeks to-
Depending on the nature of the party, there are a number of
hooks that can be used. A character with a background in law
enforcement or crime could recognize one of the criminals that had
been carried along the run, and then lose him in a crowd (or
capture him and have his head blow up). They then might wonder how
that character got there, especially if he was put away in one of
the more high security prisons (such as Rith Penitentiary). Or,
they could run into one of the scouts, who dies conveniently,
leaving them with some garbled explanations and a rutter, or the
New Republic sector administration might simply ask them to
investigate the sudden crime wave, if they already have contact
with higher ups in the administration.
If the campaign is to be a darker one, this may be a good way
to bring the players into the sector. One of Riscah's contacts
lets them know of the opportunities of the sector, and tells them
about a way there. (this works rather well if they start on one of
the prison worlds. After all, they aren't going to get many other
offers) They will discover the little Imperial tricks as time goes
on, and if the action ever gets slow, the New Republic could
capture Riscah's records, and suddenly get very tightly on their
tails.
Adventure Goals:
Primary Goals:
Getting a copy of the Knifeman's Run Rutter into New
Republic hands.
Identifying the cargo carried along that run, and
informing the New Republic.
Secondary Goals:
Capturing at least one of the captains making the run.
Discovering the identity of the agent behind the Run.
Bonus Goals:
Capturing or killing all the pilots making the run.
Capturing Riscah and turning him over to the New
Republic.
Finding the records that Riscah kept of all criminals
that made the run, and turning them over to the New Republic.