Black Ice
‘Volunteered’ for the mission, by Major Lawra Mers, the Rebels find themselves in a remote Imperial tech outpost on the planet Lotide. Without weapons, and in a swamp several hundred kilometres from the city, the Rebels are searching for information on Imperial replenishment fleet activity. To help them, they have a computer access droid QT-7 to tap into the outpost command system.
Discovered by a technician, the Rebels’ cover is nearly blown by QT-7, but manage to concoct a cover story. Unfortunately, the information retrieved is encrypted and can only be decoded at one of the high-security terminals found in some of the more heavily guarded areas of the base. A series of blunders puts the tech post on the alert, as the heroes try to find a terminal. The Rebels find a terminal in one of the Director’s offices, just as their location is discovered by security. QT-7 manages to decode the data, and a speeder bike ensues through the swamp back to the city.
Returning to Delta base on Fangol, a planet of mists that cloak the rebel base from sensor sweeps, the rebels deliver their information to Major Mers. The information decoded by QT-7 relates to flight plans for an imperial replenishment fleet: the Alliance is going to hit the fleet to replenish their reserves. The heroes will be one of two strike teams: Black Team (the heroes) and White Team. Both sent to seize the Black Ice, a fuel storage ship five-times the length of an Imperial Star Destroyer. Fortunately for the Alliance, such ships only carry a few sentient beings; the rest being droids.
After the two teams board (including QT-7) the two Spiral-class assault ships that will be used to board Black Ice, the Rebels hear the sounds of battle all around them as the attack begins in earnest. Flying blind through the battle is disconcerting, but not as disconcerting as the size of Black Ice. The Spiral assault ships punch through the hull of the huge freighter, and everything goes black…
Coming around, the Rebels communicate with White team at the other end of Black Ice: the forward bridges drive controls are damaged and it’s up to Black Team to take the Black Ice to hyperspace. They run into some armed resistance from some of the crew as the Rebels fight toward the bridge, but quickly rout the Imperials. Plugging QT-7 into the ships computer, the Rebels manage to engage the hyperdrive and jump to lightspeed.
Suddenly, White Team at the other end of the ship comes under attack from droids of some kind, just as a power surge stuns QT-7. Rushing to White Team’s aid, the Rebels encounter a number of nasty traps and droids sent by the Black Ice’s Chief Engineer Skolos. After battling their way through, the Rebels were too late. Life support had been shut off to White Team’s area; resulting their deaths. Eventually convincing Skolos to surrender, the Rebels (by way of QT-7) discovered that Black Ice’s distress beacon had been activated– now the Imperial knew exactly where they were, including the location of Delta base on Fangol!
As the evacuation process begins, the Imperial attacks begin on Fangol base. Within 24 hours of the distress beacon being activated, a group of TIE Interceptors probe the base defences but are beaten off by the Rebels in X-Wings. The following day a similar assault takes place, this time targeting the base communications satellite – this time; the Imperials are more successful, managing to destroy the satellite, disrupting the base’s long-range communications ability. The following day, four spacetroopers attack and cut their way into the base, making their way to the command centre. The Rebels manage to stop them just in time.
With the long-range communications out and the base defences softened the ground assault begins. The Rebels fight against Stormtroopers within the base and TIE Fighters above. The battle is going well for the Rebels: they need only hold out for another 24 hours for the evacuation to complete. Then a message arrives from an X-Wing pilot: a huge torpedo sphere has entered the system and will be there in three hours.
With only a few damaged starfighters and freighters, it looks like the only option is surrender: until the heroes suggest ramming the sphere with Black Ice. In order to do this, the Rebels must first board the Ice without being seen by the Imperials: if the Imperials see the Black Ice as a threat they will destroy it immediately. As the Black Ice is extremely slow, the Rebels will have to wait until the last minute, when the torpedo sphere is in place to begin bombing the base. Then they must evacuate.
As they board the shuttle to Black Ice, the Rebels are joined by Major Mers and QT-7. Aboard the Black Ice, the seconds tick past, as the torpedo sphere moves closer to Fangol… then the rebels start the Black Ice engines, and begin the ship’s final journey. When the Imperials realise what is going on, TIE Fighters begin targeting the ship in an effort that seems ultimately futile. That is, until a TIE fighter hits the command capsule and knocks out the sensors and shields – and their escape shuttle as well! As the Black Ice slams into the torpedo sphere, everything goes black. Fortunately the Rebels survive, and after a foolhardy docking with the wreckage by a rebel pilot, they are free to join the evacuation of Fangol…
