Yavin 4 Base Operations

*Six weeks after the destruction of the Death Star, the Rebel Alliance is finally prepared to complete their final evacuation of Yavin 4. To that end, one of the last errands that needs to be completed is the delivery of precious data from Yavin 4 to a temporary base on Horox III. As the two make their long and perilous journey, they are attacked by Imperials, pirates, and the Empire again, as Horox III is invaded and the base destroyed.*

## **Recap**

### **Best Case Scenario**

With Blaine Hansom and Bota Zi gaining a reputation and trust within the Rebel Alliance, they are offered a dangerous mission for 10,000 credits each: Decode and deliver a datapad to a new temporary base the Rebels have set up on Horox III.

Invited to meet on Yavin 4 by Illhi Colum, the mission is offered to the two of them by a Rebel Intelligence Officer Commander Lyons. However, he explains to the two, it's not as easy as traveling from one point to the next. The duo will need to meet with a rebel spy on a hostile planet to get a permit to use to meet with another informant on different planet who will give us codes to decrypt the data. Once the data and the decryption codes are in gathered, they would need to travel to Horox III with the information.

### **Imperial Ambush, First Wave**

Leaving the base and jungles of Yavin 4 behind, Blaine and Bota fly with a guard of Y-Wings to an unnamed location. Arriving at this new planet with a jungle-like environment, the convoy lands on the outskirts of the settlement and Blaine and Bota are escorted to the docking bay in which the two will meet their contact.

The Empire, on the other hand, somehow knew about this new secret location and the group was ambushed as they met with their contact. While Blaine and Bota received the permit needed, their contact and the rest of the rebels were shot down by Imperial scout troopers on speeder bikes. Managing to knock one off his bike, the two hijack the speeder and pursue the remaining troopers instead of immediately leaving with the permit.

Following through the dense jungle on the planet, Blaine and Bota manage to knock out a few more troopers - with Blaine piloting the speeder while Bota, sitting behind him, shoots the fleeing Imperials.

Now at their destination point, there's a large *Sentinel*-class shuttle and additional troopers which results in a much larger skirmish, since the scouts were able to radio back to their troops. After a few rounds, the two retreat and head back to their ship, lucky to be alive, with their speeder bike barely able to make the trip back after the damage it sustained.

### **Imperial Ambush, Second Wave**

With the permit in hand, and knowledgeable about the location of the next informant, the two are optimistic about completing their mission. Taking off in the *Jinxed Starhawk,* the two are immediately attacked by TIE fighters in the atmosphere. With Blaine once again piloting and Bota shooting using the quad laser cannons, they are able to defeat the first two fighters they encounter - until they are attacked by an entire squadron.

Flying through the trees, the ship takes damage from the TIEs and the forest and, after some problems calculating the astrogation, they manage to escape, however the hyperdrive motivator blows and they are forced to land on the nearest planet - a problem since they don't know exactly where they are in the first place.

### **Bordallean Hostility**

Fortuitously landing on the nearby planet of Bordal - the exact planet they needed to meet the contact on - the *Starhawk* still needs to have repairs before Blaine and Bota can continue their mission. Met with suspicion by air traffic control and customs, the two remember that the planet is aligned with the Empire and that getting help here will be extremely difficult. Near the landing bay, there's a few shops, some houses, and a cantina.

Exiting their ship, the two are met by an armed trooper guard, and, using their permit, they allowed to continue outside - however, they are warned that will still be kept under a close eye during their visit here.

Blaine and Bota head to meet their contact at the cantina. Inside, they see mainly humans - not all look like they are Imperials - but all look like they are ready for a fight. Saddling up to the bar and each ordering a lum, they realize their contact is the bartender, who gives them the coordinates. With that settled, Blaine and Bota hastily exit the bar, not finishing their drinks, and head towards the shop.

Speaking with a shop owner, they find the part we need to fix the *Starhawk* for 250 credits. Not having the cash, the two pawn some of their weapons to the trader, who, unbeknownst to them, sends a warning message to the Imperial regiment on the planet that the pair are potential threats.

Back at the docking bay, Blaine and Bota find a small army waiting for them. Not only are Imperials there, but so are mind-controlled wookiees, a bounty hunter, and some pirates.

Led by two pirates, the brutalized wookiees attack like vicious wolves. Bota uses his jetpack to escape while Blaine shoots a fuel line, causing an explosion and chaos in the docking bay.

Escaping, Bota takes two shots from the bounty hunter Skorr, one of the few enemies to escape the explosion unharmed. Licking their wounds again, Blaine and Bota leave the docking bay and make the repairs in space. With the ship fixed, and the datapad and codes in hand, they head to Horox III.

### **Imperial Ambush, Third Wave**

Using the trip through hyperspace to recover from their wounds and to rest up, *The Jinxed Starhawk* comes out of hyperspace early - due to a poor astrogation roll - and run into an Imperial patrol parsecs away from their intended destination of Horox III. Choosing to run through the nearby asteroid belt, they manage to escape this new threat.

With the Empire once again in their rearview mirror, the two microjump to Horox III.

### **The Fall of Horox III**

The two land on Horox III and meet with rebel leaders, who thank them both and pay them. However, most of the credits will need to go to medical attention for Bota and repairs on the *Starhawk*. As they rest and make these repairs, the Empire strikes once more.

As the two are in the docking bay, the see rebel troopers and pilots rush to the command area and Blaine and Bota follow suit. Rebel leaders have announced that the Empire is already here and we need to evacuate immediately. However, much like what would happen in a few years on Hoth, they need time to gather their materials and equipment for take-off. Fortunately, this was only a temporary base and they've been planning for this.

In the distance, there are four approaching AT-ATs and six AT-STs. Below them are hundreds of stormtroopers and above the base, transports are droplifting stormtroopers onto the planet itself.

Being handed back the data they delivered, Blaine and Bota scramble. Gathering a few rebels onboard their ship, including the doctor Angelik Aftecom, a fully-manned *Jinxed Starhawk* manages to shoot troopers on the ground and knock out a few AT-STs on the way out. With additional Imperial air support on the way, the group has to pull out of their assault and leave.

### **Yavin 4 Award Ceremony**

Not knowing where else to turn, the group returns to Yavin 4. Although now almost devoid of all rebels and any trace of them being there, the few left stage a medal ceremony for Blaine and Bota who again deliver the data and the codes back the rebels here.

Afterward the two help load up the last remaining transports and watch as the rebels leave Yavin 4 for good.

## **Featured Characters**

### **Our Heroes**

* Blaine Hansom
* Bota Zi

### **NPCs**

* Commander Lyons
* Y-Wing Pilots (KIA)
* Bothan Spy (KIA)
* Skorr
* Angelik Aftecom

## **Special Edition Notes**

* This was the first mission Luke ever wrote up or ran as the GM
* Originally the new rebel base was on Endor - but that was changed to Horox III as Endor it doesn't make sense in the Star Wars timeline. Horox III was introduced as a temporary Rebel Base in Marvel's Star Wars (Vol 1) #31 in 2017
* We had a recurring mission-giver from the Rebels named "Lyons" and I decided to tie the unnamed officer in this mission to that character - maybe this is how he got promoted
* Changed the Imperial Transport from a generic Imperial Shuttle to a *Sentinel*-class shuttle as that can transport speeder bikes
* Gave the second location the name of "Bordal" as it would be confusing to have visited two unnamed planets in a row. Bordal is a planet aligned with the Empire, so it seems to work
* In the original notes it says "they were forced to land on closest planet" and then later on that same planet it says "gives permit." I'm treating these as the same planet because there is no other planet in the later notes of the mission
* The shop keeper also sold "guns, armor, bombs" but I don't think we had the credits for any of that at the time
* Made the Bounty Hunter on Bordal "Skorr" to tie back why Bota would want to kill him later
* The notes show three different scenarios that could happen on the approach to the rebel base. I chose the asteroid belt scenario because it's what Blaine would want to do. I also added 'coming out of hyperspace early due to poor astrogation' due to Blaine not yet having an astromech onboard and neither Blaine nor Bota were very good at this skill yet.
* The ending of this mission is left fairly ambiguous, but the real Horox III base was destroyed with most rebels later found dead so I've modified the mission slightly
* I've added Angelik Aftecom as one of the rebels saved, as I don't have it recorded when we first met her and this ties well into later missions
* This mission was written into 11 parts, probably took half a day and at the end says "gain 2 character points"