Star Wars - Ringers Read online

  “You okay?” he asked in concern, seeing Tambell’s pinched face. Nodding shortly, Tambell tried to take a step, and found his feet weren’t done being numb yet. The whine of the swoops headed their way once more and, flattening himself against the wall, he tried not to wince as they roared by, steering vanes making little slicing noises in the air.

  Once they were past, he and Rizz headed for the infield, stepping over hydraulic lines and containers of lubricant and avoiding greasy mechanics as they weaved through the pits. They were at the far side, staring across the track and wondering how they were going to get back up that blasted wall when a different sort of whine drew Tambell’s attention to the side.

  Their little jaunt hadn’t gone unnoticed by track security. A small floater plat stopped a few meters away, and a stern-looking officer ordered them to come with her. They glanced at each other, shrugged, and agreeably stepped up. The woman’s expression changed when Tambell showed her his badge. “Oh,” she said. “How can I help you. Sergeant?”

  She set them down near the top of the grandstand, and they had just stepped off the plat when a howl rose from the crowd, punctuated by scattered shrieks and screams. The officer squinted at the far side of the track, then yanked out her macrobinoculars and studied the spill. “It’s okay,” she reported after a moment. “No spectators hurt, anyway. Thankfully. We mopped up for weeks afterwards, last year.”

  Tambell grimaced. “C’mon,” he said to Rizz. “Let’s get that kid.”

  Aalia and her entourage weren’t hard to find, not with the locater showing Sedeya practically dead ahead. Not that he needed it anyway; Aalia’s bright blonde hair reflected the overhead lights like a mirror, and her eyes were unfathomable as she stared over her shoulder at them from where she held court in a comfortable box seat on one of the middle tiers. Sedeya, his skinny body radiating unease, sat beside her.

  Two of the watchdogs took up positions on either side of the box as Tambell stepped up to its entrance, but he wasn’t surprised when Aalia treated him and Rizz to the full force of her charm. “Corporal Tambell,” she greeted him warmly. “I didn’t know you were a swoop enthusiast.”

  “It’s Sergeant now, and I’m not,” Tambell said flatly. He nodded towards Sedeya. “We’re here for your friend.” The kid stared at him, looking stricken, but at least his attention was off the race going on below.

  Aalia’s perfect smile never wavered. “Do you have a detention order?”

  “Will I need one?” he countered, looking into those incredible eyes and recognizing the cold contempt that lurked in their depths. At his belt, his comlink beeped and he pulled it out and handed it to Rizz without breaking the gaze. Rizz stepped to the side and handled the call.

  “Yes, I think you will,” Aalia said. “After that unpleasantness at the tournament the other day, Reye’s had quite enough of cooperating with you. Haven’t you. Reye?”

  The kid squirmed in his chair and started to say something, but she put a warning hand on his arm. He gulped and shut up.

  “Come back when you have a detention order, Sergeant,” she advised, still smiling pleasantly. “Otherwise, please move aside. You’re blocking our view.”

  Tambell felt anger start to burn. Four years ago, at least she’d had the proper respect for Imperial authority. Now she was downright arrogant. Before he could respond, Sedeya slid out from under Aalia’s manicured hand and stood up. “That’s all right, sir,” he mumbled, not looking at the crime madame. “I’ll come with you.”

  Aalia’s smile remained in place, but her eyes were abruptly icy. “Are you sure that’s what you want to do?” she asked. “You don’t have to go with him, Reye. Not if he doesn’t have an order.”

  “It’s okay,” Sedeya mumbled, edging towards the entrance. Tambell suddenly had the impression that the prospect of staying with Aalia scared him even more than what might happen if he went with them.

  “But don’t you want to wait and see if you win your bet?” she prompted.

  The kid scurried past him out the box and stopped by Rizz, near the stairs. “Uh, not really,” he said. “I wasn’t feeling very lucky when I made it.”

  Tambell paused at the statement. Did it mean Reye had already decided not to play his part in Aalia’s scheme? If so, he might be persuaded to tell them what he knew about it.

  He turned back to Aalia. “I’ll be back for you later,” he promised softly. “After you’ve won your bet.”

  Her eyes narrowed, and the smile slanted into something suspiciously close to a sneer. “You just do that.”

  “Actually. I don’t think we’ll need to come back,” Rizz interrupted, handing back Tambell’s comlink as he stepped to his side. “I think we can take her in right now.”

  Tambell looked at him. raised an eyebrow.

  “That was Franni,” Rizz said. “Seems there’s been a number of deposits posted to the accounts of several jocks in today’s race — except for a notable few.”

  “Like the ones on Aalia’s exacta ticket?” Tambell suggested.

  “A coincidence, I’m sure,” Rizz agreed. “Some of the funds come from a restaurant down south, some from a cantina in Stassia City, and some from a couple of other seemingly unrelated businesses. But they all do have one thing in common.” He glanced at the crime madame. “It gets a little convoluted, but the upshot is that Aalia Duu-lang has a financial interest in all of them.”

  Aalia was no longer smiling.

  “That doesn’t mean anything,” she said disdainfully, tossing blond hair back over one shoulder. “I have several business interests. I can’t keep track of every credit they pay out. or who they pay them to. You’re grabbing at drive trails if you think you can prove a connection.”

  The growing roar of the crowd nearly drowned her out. Caught up in the business at hand, Tambell hadn’t realized the race was in its final laps, but suddenly the whole grandstand seemed to seethe as fans screamed their favorites to the finish. A small stampede headed down the stairs towards the laser-link fence, and Tambell glanced over to see Sedeya slipping stealthily up the steps.

  The kid’s face was wary but determined, and Tambell had taken a step after him when a whisper of movement to his left had him whipping the blaster off his belt instead. He pointed it at one of Aalia’s watchdogs, who was pointing one right back.

  The man froze when he saw that Sedeya’s defection hadn’t proven enough of a diversion. Rizz kept the other watchdog covered as the results of the race were announced. Aalia’s mouth tightened as a smile spread over Tambell’s face. “Congratulations,” he said. “You’ve just won a one-way ticket to Kessel.”

  Her eyes were glacial. “You’ll never make the charges stick,” she said coldly as they disarmed the two associates. “Your real suspect’s gotten away, but don’t think you’ll be able to pin this on me.”

  “He isn’t going far,” Tambell said. “He can’t shake the surveil-cam.”

  “Oh? He already has,” she said, looking pointedly over his shoulder.

  Tambell half-turned, and saw the device hovering several tiers down, turning this way and that as if searching the crowd in confusion. He frowned, then shrugged nonchalantly for Aalia’s benefit. “No problem. We’ll just pick him up later.”

  Maybe by then he’d have thought up some excuse to explain the kid’s involvement in all this. Something that didn’t mention Jedi, or any weird Force. Not that he believed in such superstition, of course. But there was no sense even mentioning it to his superiors. It would only get him in trouble.

  And meanwhile, there was Aalia.

  After four long years, they finally had her. He smiled in satisfaction, pulled a set of binders off his belt, and handed them to Rizz.

  “Is that really necessary?” Aalia asked haughtily.

  “No,” Rizz told her, snapping them around her wrists anyway. Spectators stared at them curiously as they filed past up the stairs, and Tambell searched the grandstand again for a glimpse of Reye.

  Oh wel
l, he thought. The kid was too dumb to elude them for long. Then again, he had seemed too dumb to elude them at all …

  Tambell shrugged. He’d worry about it later. Ignoring Aalia’s vicious green glare, he thumbed on his comlink, called dispatch, and requested a prisoner pickup.

  Sergeant Zeck Tambell

  Type: Imperial Investigator

  DEXTERITY 3D

  Blaster 5D, dodge 4D

  KNOWLEDGE 3D+2

  Bureaucracy 4D, intimidation 4D+1, law enforcement 5D, streetwise 4D+2

  MECHANICAL 2D+1

  PERCEPTION 4D

  Command 4D+2, investigation 6D, persuasion 5D, search 5D+2

  STRENGTH 3D

  Brawling 4D

  TECHNICAL 2D

  Computer programming/repair 3D+2

  Force Points: 1

  Character Points: 7

  Move: 10

  Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D), comlink, datapad, Imperial investigators’ badge, security ID card

  Capsule: As a special investigator for the Imperial Governor’s office on Stassia, Sergeant Zeck Tarnbell’s finally found the perfect job.

  A native of Coriallis, he was an officer in his homeworlds planetary security service for four years before, dazzled by the recruiting holos and the opportunity to “see the galaxy,” he joined the Imperial Navy. Assigned to the Imperial Star Destroyer Arbiter as a naval security officer, he found himself doing the same job he’d been doing at home — only for less pay, and a lot more headaches. He craved something more than tracking down AWOL troopers or guarding the occasional insubordinate in the detention center, and detested having to salute a superior every time he turned around (and those big ships carry plenty of brass). So, after two years on the Arbiter, he requested a transfer to a planetside assignment.

  Stassia, Imperial Governor Tren Pergallis, and the Special Investigations squad are exactly what he hoped for. He likes looking into incidents and matters of interest to the Empire that, for one reason or another, local law enforcement isn’t asked to handle, and he likes having Imperial resources and authority behind him while not having to advertise that fact by wearing a stuffy black uniform.

  What he doesn’t like is being made a fool of. While he can throw his weight around when it’s required. Tambell’s more inclined to be an affable, easygoing kind of guy. He hates having his good nature taken advantage of, or having it get in the way of closing a case, as he guiltily suspects may have happened four years ago in his investigation of Aalia Duu-lang.

  In his mid 30s, Tambell has reddish-brown hair and brown eyes. His black vest is usually slightly disheveled, his desk is a downright mess, and he has an annoying habit of tossing things around the squad room.

  Corporal Valon Rizz

  Type: Imperial Investigator

  DEXTERITY 3D

  Blaster 4D+1, dodge 4D

  KNOWLEDGE 4D

  Bureaucracy 4D+2, law enforcement 4D+2, streetwise 5D

  MECHANICAL 2D

  Ground vehicle operation 3D, repulsorlift operation 3D+2

  PERCEPTION 3D

  Investigation 5D, search 4D

  STRENGTH 2D

  TECHNICAL 4D

  Computer programming/repair 4D+2, droid programming 5D, repulsorlift repair 5D

  Force Points: 1

  Character Points: 4

  Move: 10

  Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D), comlink, datapad, Imperial investigators’ badge, locator, security ID card

  Capsule: From an Imperial point of view, Valon Rizz is a success story.

  The tall, dark-haired Stassian wanted more out of life than being a farmer. Normally his ambitions wouldn’t have counted for much, but with the arrival of the Empire’s New Order came new opportunities as well. He got into the local enforcement academy on a scholarship, and after three years on the force in Stassia City, his investigation into and subsequent arrest of a grain smuggler gained the attention of the Imperial Governor’s Office.

  Governor Pergallis, ever-aware of the value of a good public relations move to enhance one’s standing with the populace, appointed Rizz the first Stassian on his elite Special Investigations squad, and held him up as an example of how far a native could go by availing himself of the generous opportunities for advancement the New Order has to offer.

  While Rizz is grateful to the Empire for helping him get off the farm, he’s not quite willing to give it all the credit for his career advancement. He’s worked hard, he’s a good investigator, and he knows it. And, he’s not nearly as dedicated an Imperial as everyone seems to think — but right now, it’s the only game playing.

  FRN-I (Franni)

  Type: Investa Arts’ Finance Retrieval and Net Investigations droid

  DEXTERITY 1D

  KNOWLEDGE 3D

  Bureaucracy 5D, business: finances 7D, law enforcement 4D+2

  MECHANICAL 1D

  PERCEPTION 3D

  Investigation 5D

  STRENGTH 1D

  TECHNICAL 1D

  Equipped With:

  • Humanoid body (two arms, two legs, head)

  • Two visual and audio sensors

  • Three retractable information retrieval jacks

  • Audio and electronic recording system

  • Broad band antenna receiver

  • Vocabulator speech/sound system

  • AA-I VerboBrain

  Special Abilities:

  Financial Protocols: Programmed to understand the complexities of finance and to process financial information, picking out patterns, trends, and “red flags.”

  Financial Net Interface: Can scan and download any financial information that is available through electronic means, including automatic access to the FiNet.

  Size: 1.6 meters tall

  Move: 8

  Cost: Not for sale

  Capsule: Franni is a gleaming, jet-black droid programmed with a pleasant voice and demeanor — until some cheeky data bank gets her peeved by refusing to impart “confidential” information. There’s no such thing as “confidential” to an Imperial model of the FRN-I droid, and Franni has full access to any financial information she requests, plus an arsenal of decrypting programs designed to overcome any reluctance to cooperate.

  Establishing and auditing a money trail can be time-consuming, but the Empire knows that money is power, and the FRN-I droid’s job is easier on Imperially held worlds, where electronic financial transactions are entered into the FiNet as they occur. By scanning the FiNet, Franni can determine when and where a financial transaction took place. Then, with the three information jacks that retract into her chest, she can plug into as many data banks at once and discover that you purchased a liter of Garwillian champagne at the market, ordered a half-dozen Alderaanian flame-lilies sent to a woman not your wife and — uh oh — paid last quarter’s luxury tariff for citizens in the mid tax-bracket when your bank balance clearly shows that you should be in the high tax-bracket.

  A droid like Franni is why experienced spacers say, “Always pay cash.”

  Aalia Duu-lang

  Type: Crime Madame

  DEXTERITY 3D

  Blaster 3D+2, dodge 4D, pick pocket 6D

  KNOWLEDGE 4D

  Bureaucracy 5D+2, business 6D+2, intimidation 5D, streetwise 6D

  MECHANICAL 2D+2

  PERCEPTION 4D

  Bargain 6D+2, command 6D, con 61D, gambling 5D+2, persuasion 6D+2

  STRENGTH 2D+1

  TECHNICAL 2D

  Security 3D+2

  Force Points: 1

  Dark Side Points: 2

  Character Points: 7

  Move: 10

  Capsule: When the speeder bus of life runs you down, you grab hold of the repulsor coils and hitch a ride to town anyway, and that’s just what Aalia Duu-lang did when she was orphaned at the age of 15.

  She found work in a Stassia City cantina, where the customers’ appreciation of her lush blond hair and sea-green eyes guaranteed she wouldn’t starve. Her looks got her noticed by local cri
me lord Hek Dalian, but it was her shrewdness that earned her a place in his organization. Dalian started her out with easy flams, like dealing skifters to selected friends at the sabacc table, and then moved her up to more profitable scams, where she beguiled investors into dumping credits into real-estate and development projects, which invariably folded shortly after the funds reached Dalian’s account.

  It was while working these schemes that Aalia made the connections that would eventually launch her into business for herself. Part of the plot required bribing the proper officials to kill the proposed development projects so the losses looked legitimate to burned investors. Using that savvy that Dalian had so admired, Aalia began cultivating those officials as her own behind Dalian’s back, and when she calculated she had enough money, power, and experience to get rid of Dalian, she did.

  In addition to “adopting” Dalian’s already up-and-running criminal organization, she’s strengthened her position by making several legitimate investments, which often serve as fronts for her illegal activities. They give her cover as a “businesswoman,” and also help muddy her financial waters, making it difficult for law enforcement officers (those not on her payroll, anyway) to pin a specific crime on her without actually catching her in the act.

  A mistress of manipulation, Aalia’s gotten where she is by knowing how to play the right people. Those who really know her are chilled by her ruthless ambition, so strikingly at odds with her guileless appearance.

  Reye Sedeya

  Type: Naïve Youth

  DEXTERITY 3D+2

  KNOWLEDGE 2D+2

  MECHANICAL 2D

  PERCEPTION 3D+2

  Gambling 4D, sneak 4D+2

  STRENGTH 3D

  TECHNICAL 2D

  Special Abilities:

  Force Skills: Alter 1D

  This character is Force-sensitive

  Force Points: 2