Chapter 1: The Mines of Trexel

The ship drops from hyperspace deep in the Trelex system. Five small planets lazily orbit a tiny star: Trelex is one of the saddest systems you have ever seen, no wonder it was easily forgotten. The ship makes its way toward the second planet, also called Trelex, the only habitable planet in the system. Trelex is a barren orb of desert and rock with no visible source of water. As the ship approaches, you start to see evidence of civilization. The southern half of the planet is dominated by a massive mountain range with a large, sprawling "city" spread along the northern edge. It was called the New City and it has been abandoned for almost a hundred years. To the north is a second, smaller range, with a matching city, called, unsurprisingly, the Old City. It was here that settlers first occupied Trelex and it is here that the few inhabitants remain. The Old City sits on the eastern edge of the mountain range. You can see mining complexes dotting the edge of the mountains, west of city. As you get closer, you see that only one of these mines seems active. Scatter around the city are massive domes, deep water mines to keep the citizens alive.

Prime swings the ship closer to the planet, bringing the Imperial presence into view. An Arquitens-class light cruiser sits in orbit, flanked by a pair of Gozanti-class assault carriers. The Gozanti's drop half a dozen TIE fighters which form up around a VT-49 Decimator, on an intercept pattern. The last two TIEs swing around behind your Questor. The fleet was meager by Imperial standards, but it had more than enough firepower to obliterate anything short of a capital ship. Prime submits the clearance codes provided by Kappa and the TIEs break off, allowing you to enter orbit.

Prime speaks up, "The Imperials have occupied the western quarter of the city and have built a new spaceport in their wonderfully efficient hab-block style. Kappa did not think landing right in the beehive of the Empire was wise, so I have secured docking at a lesser use civilian facility to the north. We received a coded message from Lt. Bern, our target while we were in transit. He states that today is his best chance to slip away. He provided coordinates, which I have uploaded to your datapads. The point is about 3 kilometers from our landing site, but I do not have up to date maps to tell you exactly what it is. He requests extraction just after dusk, local time, approximately 6 standard hours from now."

Prime lands the ship in a run-down looking facility on the northern edge of the city. No one comes to greet the ship, and frankly, the port seems empty. The droid stands and tilts his head quizzically, "Do you require further assistance, or shall I stay here and keep the engines running, so the speak?"

Prime pauses for a moment. "The last time this planet was surveyed was 106 years ago. At that time, the area in question contained 4 active refineries and a variety of social establishments, ostensibly to cater to the laborers."

"Let's get started then," Kel says to everyone as he motions to Lotus in an 'After You' motion. "Let's sync up our comms and I can give you all my encryption codes." After syncing up with whoever wants his codes, Kel departs with Lotus in search of a speeder to procure.

The group makes its way west towards the rendezvous. You see very few residents, and the ones that you do see pay you little mind. You take a slower pace than you could, to avoid attention, but still cover the distance in good time. You emerge on an intersection just south of the coordinates and it's a flurry of activity, compared to the rest of the city. The coordinates point to a garage attached to a larger industrial building. Outside the building, you see a pair of Imperial Officers directing workers as they load equipment onto a pair of grav-haulers. A squad of Stormtroopers maintains a loose perimeter around the Empire activity. Along the block, between you and the Officers, many of the buildings appear occupied, which is a big change from what you observed on your trek. A group of men sit outside a cantina, observing the workers. A grocer sits across from the cantina, with a steady flow of customers. Closer to you, a group stands outside a transportation depot. No one seems to notice, or care, about your arrival.

The intersection appears to be a completely ordinary urban layout. Like any urban environment, firing positions and ambush opportunities abound, but there doesn't seem to be any troops in the area, other than the clearly visible squad. As for the squad, they're either green, or bored, or both, because their formation is fairly sloppy and they don't seem to really be paying attention. The workers however, seem nervous. As one glances about, he locks eyes with Hira, catching her observing him. He motions to grab the attention of the Stormtroopers, but before they can react, one the Officers steps forward. He points toward a woman who is standing closest to the operation and the Stormtroopers respond to move her farther away from the operation. The Stormtroopers return to position as the last of the boxes is loaded. The Officers and Stormtroopers load into one of the haulers and roll off.

As the party moves up towards the warehouse, one of the men sitting outside the Cantina shouts, his words slightly slurred from the drink in front of him, "Hey! What do you lot think you're doing? Despite what the Empire," and he spits as he says that word, "may say, that's still my refinery. I may not be able to keep them out, but I sure as heck can keep a bunch of wanna-be thugs out."

The man's surly demeanor softens as Lotus mentions his dislike for the Empire. "Maybe I was a little hasty. Sit down, sit down. Let me buy you fine lads a drink." He motions to the waitress who brings another bottle and three glasses. "What am I refining you ask? Nothing, that's what I'm refining. Most of the refineries shut down when my grandfather was a boy, back when the mines went dry. But you gotta remember, dry is a relative term. Sure, there's not enough carvanium left here for the big boys like Vulca or Turlin to run a large scale operation, but there's plenty to keep the locals fed and happy. That's what I had been doing, before those Imperials showed up. They come, outta nowhere, and just open up all the old mines. At first we thought it was a blessing, a lot of good men went back to work. But, if they're trying to farm durasteel, they're doing it all wrong, because they haven't brought a single truck of ore back to the city since they got here. And I would know, since my refinery is really the only one left that can handle raw carvanium in any quantity. So I had to shut down. Then last week they swoop in and start scavenging parts from my machines without a word as to why. Some officer told me they're done with my stuff after today, but I'm too depressed to go in and see what they even left me."

"Burns is what everyone calls me. They're mining something, that's for damn sure. This planet has been occupied for thousands of years, and the only thing anyone ever found of value was the carvanium. So that's what I assume they're mining. But it's been months since anyone not in a white helmet has come back to town. The ships come and go, so they have plenty of opportunity to take stuff off, but it doesn't make sense. Raw ore is heavier and less valuable than refined ore, and my equipment isn't anything the Empire couldn't make in a day on a hundred worlds. If anyone knows what's going on out in the mines, they ain't told me."