Rising above the crime-ridden lower levels of Coruscant, Zelcomm Tower is the home of Zelcomm Industries, a small shipping company specializing in cargo deliveries to the Outer Rim. It is a dark, foreboding building, lacking the lighting and flair of standard skyscrapers found in the Imperial capital. The building appears deserted and closed.
Four stories up, a small terrace overlooks the city. The Rodian scout Roona Eksoroo has managed to bypass the controls on the balcony door. Silently she enters, followed by her teammates. The fourth floor of the tower appears to be regular offices of some sort. The hallway is dark, but their lights quickly find a pair of elevators nearby.
A camera in the elevator quickly gives them away and the crew look at the levels. Floors 1-19, along with a 1A. Cohr pushes the button, but it's clear there is a card access point next to that level. Xander quickly moves over and jacks in to the access point. A moment later the elevator lurches downward. A brief moment of concern wafts over the car's inhabitants as the numbers tick toward 1. But they do continue to 1A and the car stops and the doors hiss open.
The elevator opens up to a large area and reveals steps down. As the trio wind down the stairs, they reach a catwalk that spans a large open area. This subterranean room is at least thirty meters wide by forty meters long and filled with a number of crates, loaders, and other shipping facility equipment. At the far end of the room is a large set of blast doors, easily large enough to allow access by cargo speeders and shuttles. The door must lead to an underground tunnel system capable of moving illicit wares unseen.
From their position on the catwalk, the crew have a chance to survey the room and decide on the best vantage point from which to attack the minions below. To the far right and left of the catwalk, ladders lead to the floor below. Cohr and Xander decide to try and get closer using the various crates and such to cover their approach. Roona will remain above to give them support. A quick count shows there appear to be perhaps nine individuals here.
Two are loading crates onto a speeder shuttle, while on the right and left each another part load up the repulsor sleds with cargo. There is a leader and a shuttle driver as well.
Xander and Cohr move down, trying to be stealthy. Looking back at the catwalk, Roona can no longer be seen. Unfortunately as they approach, one of the loaders catches sight of the infiltrators. However, he does not have time to warn the others as he takes a blaster shot to the head, dropping him to the floor. It takes his partner a moment to notice and let the others know they are not alone and under attack.
At this point, a blaster fight erupts. Some of the smugglers return fire with their blaster pistols while others run for the crates, attempting to procure the heavier firepower of blaster rifles. The battle is short however, as Roona uses her higher vantage point to overcome any cover that the smugglers might have. As the bodies begin to drop, the driver decides to save himself and opens the tunnel doors and sends the cargo speeder on its way. One of the remaining smugglers jumps onto the back of the speeder, but Cohr shoots him off the back and he sprawls onto the ground. Cohr soon learns upon inspecting the body that this man was someone he knew in the Black Sun employ.
Inspecting the crates that remain, the team finds blaster rifles as well as Stun and Frag grenades. Clearly the rumor that this tower was a front for illegal weapons shipments was indeed correct.
Deciding not to have to possibly fight their way out by leaving the way they came in, Roona noticed several ventilation grates in the ceiling of this lower level. She led her teammates up the tight passageways. Crawling through the cramped corridors is somewhat nerve-wracking and potentially claustrophobic, but they manage to come through the experience. At various points during the crawl, space becomes even more cramped, and
the trio have to work together to get through. Eventually they reach the street-level coming out of the ground behind the tower.
As the group gets ready to climb aboard their rented speeder suddenly a figure appears in the air above them. "If you know what's good for you, you'll walk away and leave Coruscant. You don't know what you're dealing with," the raspy voice rings out. Before anyone can respond a stun grenade goes off in their midst. By the time the disorientation has worn off, the individual is no where to be seen...
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The following ship upgrades were installed by T'mennit's favor that was called in:
High Output Ion Turbine
Physical Countermeasures
Encrypted Computer
Unspent XPS:
Roona - 15
Xander - 15
Cohr - 10
Group spoils 8686 credits
Under a Black Sun (Episode 28)
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