News Brief #3--Elections and Reparations

Stardate: Fiday, 020-130 ABY/Fringe Info Network (FIN)--Tarsus Bureau

Subsector: Shannekam

Bongolaan Elects a New President

The Bongolaanian Ministry of Truth announced that Bunda Akhtar was elected President-for-Life by a landslide on 008-130 ABY.  Such a claim may be dubious at best, since the former president, Zeveg Bharzi, was elected by a similar majority vote, prior to the Galactic New Year.  Bongolaan's new chief executive, seen in the lead photo with his droid body guards, conducted an extensive inspection of the planet's gabaki plantations as his first order of business.  (At this time, it cannot be confirmed whether "political contributions" were collected during Akhtar's inspection tour).

However, in its first week, Akhtar's administration did not confined itself strictly to planetary affairs.  Yesterday, the Tarsan Commision of Diplomatic Affairs (CODA) received a comminique from their counterparts on Bongolaan, responding to Tarsus' demands.  The following are excerpts that have currently been made public:

"While the Government of the People's Democratic Republic of Bongolaan, regret the death of Ambassador Heraud, no formal apology will be issued.  The ambassador was armed and the battle droids returned fire in order to defend themselves."

"Battle droids form an integral part of the Bongolaanian People's Democratic Defense Force.  Therefore, no battle droid will be dismantled for defending the lives and property of Bongolaan's citizens."

"The Government of the People's Democratic Republic of Bongolaan would like to comply with the wishes of the Heraud Family and return the ambassador's remains.  Unfortunately, this is impossible.  Restoration efforts required the immediate disposal of the few decomposing bodies in order to prevent the spread disease."

Pictured above:  Zeveg Bharzi collecting "campaign contributions" from a gabaki plantation owner.

In addition to refusing Tarsus' demands, the Akhtar administration made the following counter claims: 

"The Bonolaanian Ministry of Justice hereby demands the extradition of Zeveg Bharzi, Bongolaan's former president, to face charges of corruption and various crimes against sentient beings."

"In addition to returning Bharzi, the Ministry of Justice also insists upon the extradition of the four individuals who aided him in his escape.  Included in this transmission are two images of these culprits stealing cases of gold latinum, valued at 2,000,000 CR, from the People's Treasury prior to their flight from justice."

Along with the extradition orders, the Bongolaanian Ministry of Finance demanded the Tarsan Board of Directors pay the following in reparations:

--2,000,000 CR for the gold latinum stolen from the People's Treasury

--100,000 CR for the theft of the People's Merchant Vessel (PMV) Aimless Drifter

--82,000 CR for the theft of 82 tons of gabaki on board the PMV Aimless Drifter

--36,000 CR for the cost of replacing the 20 battle droids destroyed by the fugitives

--200 CR fine for the fugitives operating a gabaki barge without a license

--200 CR fine for the fugitives not filing a starship flight plan

--200 CR fine for the fugitives exiting the Bongolaanian system outside the normal departure corridor

--200 CR fine for the fugitives operating a starship without running lights

Total reparations:  2, 218, 800 CR

Tarsus' CODA has not yet issued a response to Bongolaan's counter demands.

Notes on figures:

Miniatures and game mat by Wizards of the Coast.

Bulkead doorway by Paper Make It.

Boxes by Toposolitario:  http://www.toposolitario.com/workshop/index.html 

News Brief #2--Death of a Statesman

Stardate: Wonday, 009-130 ABY/Fringe Info Network (FIN)--Tarsus Bureau

Subsector: Shannekam

Ambassador Heraud Murdered!

Ambassador Fitzroy Heraud was killed within the first hours of the Galactic New Year, while on the planet Bongolaan.  The Tarsan ambassador and his aid, Callithea Lockridge, were on a diplomatic mission to negotiate a trade deal with the recently elected, president, Zeveg Bharzi.  While election fraud was a likely factor in elevating Bharzi to high office, his administration lasted less than a week. 

Bongolaan's Vice President, Bunda Akhtar, staged a New Year's Eve coup, using Clone War-Era battle droids, reportedly supplied by the Fel Empire.  Droid squads, supported by HKDs (Hunter-Killer Dropships), seized critical facilities and interdicted ground and airborne traffic until the planet was secured.  Ambassador Heraud was traveling in a motorcade through the Bongolaanian Capital of Ratankiri, with President Bharzi and Twi' lek holovid celebrity Shiri Blen, when Akhtar's forces struck.  The VIP convoy was strafed by at least one  flight of HKDs, in one of several simultaneous attacks launched prior to Galactic Midnight.

Ms Lockridge was in the Presidential Palace when the initial attack took place.  She joined three relief agency workers and helped defend civilians within the palace against the droid onslaught.   The ad-hoc team then made their way through Ratankiri in an attempt to locate the Tarsan ambassador.  En route, they drove off a pack of looters assaulting Shiri Blen and her Rodian agent, Geelo. 

Shiri and Geelo led the group back to the ravaged motorcade, where they found Ambassador Heraud still alive, but pinned under an overturned speeder truck and suffering from serious injuries.  Unfortunately, when they tried removing the ambassador from the wreckage, they were attacked by a squad of battle droids.  Geelo was killed in the firefight, while the light-saber wielding human was struck by blaster fire and left for dead.

The leading image was transmitted to the Tarsan Commission of Diplomatic Affairs (CODA), by an anonymous source, claiming to be a member of the Bongolaanian Armed Resistance Cadre (BARC).  The hazy picture shows the wounded Ambassador Heraud exchanging fire with two battle droids approaching behind him, near the rim of a blast crater. 

Pictured above:  Callithea ("Calli") Lockridge disembarks from a Rockhopper-Class shuttle at a remote Bantha ranch on Tarsus.

The news of Ambassador Heraud's death wasn't released until this morning.  Yesterday, the survivors of the Bongolaanian Coup were interviewed by the Tarsan Board of Commissioners, while members of the Heraud family were notified of their loss.  According to Ms Lockride's emotional testimony, Ambassador Heraud ordered her and her companions to leave him, because he was too injured to move and the entire party was on the verge of being overrun. 

In addition to publicizing the tragic news about their ambassador, the Board of Commissioners transmitted the following demands to the government of Bunda Akhtar via subspace radio:

--immediately return the ambassador's remains

--issue a formal apology for his death, and

--dismantle and scrap the battle droid squad responsible for killing the ambassador.

Since Tarsus has no direct holovid connection, it will take four days for the subspace signal to reach Bongolaan.  In the meantime, preparations are being made for a state memorial service in honor of the late Ambassador Heraud.

News Brief #1--Inauspicious Beginning

Stardate: Sixday, 007-130 ABY/Fringe Info Network (FIN)--Tarsus Bureau

Subsector:  Shannekam

THE GALACTIC FEDERATION OF FREE ALLIANCES HAS FALLEN!

Over two weeks ago, the Alliance fleet was virtually annihilated at the battle of Caamas by combined forces of the Sith and Fel Empires.  Core and Mid-Rim worlds surrendered within days of the Alliance Navy's defeat.  Outer Rim systems fell soon afterwards from Imperial-sponsored coups, many through the use of Clone War-Era battle droids, which acted as sleeper cells for the usurpers. 

Despite the collapse, some Alliance forces refused to surrender.  Sources within the former Alliance reported Admiral Stazi's Core Fleet managed to break out of the Imperial trap at Caamas and still remains at large.  Meanwhile, nearly all of the Alliance's Jedi Knights have retreated to Ossus and are said to be fortifying their temple against a possible assault.

News of the Caamas disaster did not reach Outer Rim subsectors, due in part, to the normal time-lag from the Core Region news networks.  However, ominous reports of a communications-inhibiting virus infecting the Alliance's Holovid Net, are just now filtering through the border fringe. 

Because of the communications delay, the harbinger of this catastrophic news was the M/V (Merchant Vessel) Aimless Drifter, which fled a coup on Bongolaan and evaded several Imperial task forces converging on the planet.  The starship, seen in the above and following images, made a hard landing at the Newland Down Starport, Docking Pad 21, before dawn this morning.

(Click on images to enlarge)

Port Authority Security personnel immediately surrounded the vessel once it made planetfall.  Thirteen armed passengers disembarked, some suffering from a variety of injuries ranging from minor to critical.  The standoff between the Bongolaanian refugees and security ended when one of the humans collapsed, reportedly from blaster wounds and hibernation sickness.  Despite being armed with a light saber, the victim muttered repeatedly, "I am not a Jedi," as EMTs carried him off the tarmac.  The remaining passengers were then disarmed and escorted to the Port Authority Security facility.

As of now, only three of the refugees have been identified. 

They are:

Shiri Blen (F), the Twi 'lek holovid celebrity, seen in the brown skin suit.

Callithea Lockridge (F), aide to Tarsan Ambassador Fitzroy Heraud, seen in the powder blue jump suit.

Zeveg Bharzi (M), former President of Bongolaan, seen in desert garb.

Both Ambassador Heraud and his aide were on Bongolaan to negotiate a new trade agreement.  The fate of the ambassador remains unknown at this time.

An emergency meeting of the Tarsan Board of Commissioners will convene today at 1500 hours. Discussing the potential ramifications the Alliance collapse may have on this planet and among the other non-aligned worlds, will likely be the only issue on the agenda.  Meanwhile, the Aimless Drifter, along with her cargo--82 tons of Bongolaanian gabaki--remains impounded, pending further investigation.

Reference Notes:

The Battle of Caamas according to Star Wars canon:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Battle_of_Caamas

The Galactic Alliance Core Fleet:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Galactic_Alliance_Core_Fleet

Admiral Stazi:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Admiral_Stazi

Tarsus according to Traveller canon:

http://traveller.wikia.com/wiki/Tarsus 

Gabaki:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Grey_Gabaki

Figures:

From Wizards of the Coast (WotC) Star Wars Miniatures. 

Special thanks goes to my friend Joe for letting me borrow his Millenium Falcon action figure set.

Literary License:

According to Star Wars canon of the Legacy Era, the Battle of Caamas was fought in 130 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin).  In order to give my Redshift Campaign a good starting reference, I moved the battle ahead to the last month of 129 ABY.

The Redshift Has Begun...

(Image:  Orion's Thunderbolt)

Redshift:  The astronomical phenomena where stars appear redder than normal, because they are moving away from the observer as the universe expands. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redshift

Or in the Star Wars mystical sense:  When followers of the Light Side of the Force, often characterized by Jedi Knights wielding blue or green-bladed lightsabers; fall under the spell of the Dark Side, represented by the Siths' penchant for red--the color of anger, hatred; and in the case of human beings--blood.

With this imagery in mind, Redshift, is the Star Wars "Legacy Era" we started a week ago.  During this epoch, the players may find themselves fighting along side the grandkids of Luke, Leia, Han and other descendants of the "Rebellion Era," as they struggle to survive the downfall of the Galactic Alliance.

I hosted our first Star Wars role playing game (RPG) last Saturday (28 August), using Wizards of the Coast (WotC) Star Wars Saga Edition rules, (unfortunately, now out of print).  However, my "cunning plan" won't limit Redshift to an RPG campaign.  I intend to use this as a scenario generator for large-scale battles as well.  This way, I can utilize my entire collection of science fiction rules and miniatures:  From my diminutive 6mm figures and terrain, to my robust 25mm pieces--most of which have never seen the light of day, redshifted or otherwise.

 

(Players and GM wreck havoc in the "Studio")

Our preliminary adventure, Breakout from Bongolaan, found the heroes caught up in an Imperial-sponsored coup on a corrupt planet in the Outer Rim.  The players managed to "...avoid any Imperial entanglements" with the inbound reinforcements, rescue a few VIPs and land on an unoccupied planet.

This episode, along with upcoming game sessions, will be made into a full-length YouTube video and/or an on-line graphic novel.  Until production is complete however, I'll post "Redshift News Updates" and "Intelligence Briefs," to keep the players informed and other readers (hopefully) entertained.

My thanks goes out to Mike Murphy for inspiring me to create a Star Wars version of Bongolesia:

http://bongolesia.blogspot.com/