As I was drifting off to sleep I was thinking about something established about my character in the Star Wars RPG I am currently playing in. Dax, the chada-fan mechanic, spent some time with the Space Rescue and Salvage Corps. I know that no such organization has been established in any Star Wars lore, but it makes sense to have a group that acts much like the Coast Guard does. Ships get into trouble and the corps sends out a team to investigate, rescue, and salvage what they can. I had an idea that some SRS ships would be sent out to run a year long route in less traveled parts of the galaxy. The route would take the team through lanes that would allow them to deviate towards live rescues, but the intended route is to look for and salvage any long forgotten wrecks. The ship would be heavily armed and ready to handle any pirates that it may come across, so in a way it is also meant to discourage pirates and smugglers.
The ship isn’t set up to do planetary exploration, as SRS was set up long before the Empire and ExploreCorps originally had that job. The SRS will only do planetary rescues when they can confirm that there is someone to rescue, that no one else can get to them, and that doing so will not put the team in danger. The long mission ship would have a shuttle for planetary visits but it wouldn’t be as well equipped to support a team.
The SRS has seen better times, and while many worlds ask for their services and give them a place to operate, the Empire only tolerates them. This means funds have been scarce as of late and as a result the SRS sells whatever they can to make ends meet. Leaders of the organization openly encourage their crews to sell off ships and gear that no longer have living owners, instead of the previous policy of finding the nearest relative. This has pushed some governments, including the Empire, to begin looking at them as pirates, though no one has yet charged them of any crime.
So the campaign would go something like this: The players are the first response team for the SRS Mercy, a large frigate set up with a landing bay large enough to hold a couple of YT-1300s, enough guns to hold off pirates, and enough supplies and living space for up to 400 passengers. With a crew of about 30, the Mercy heads out to be ready to provide help.
The first response team are the ones who are trained and equipped to be the first ones to step foot onto a ship. They fight fires, open locked doors, establish power, and clear rooms while assessing the long term needs of the ship and crew. They must be ready for a fight, negotiation, or escape at any time.
The mission goes as predicted at first, a quiet run with only a couple abandoned ships discovered and taken in. The route has never been traveled by the SRS before, but there is good possibility that the Mercy will come across enough salvage to pay for not just this trip but a good portion of the organizations operations. What they come across, though, might be far more than the Mercy could handle.
The first hints of trouble when they come across an Imperial Star Destroyer. The officer claims they are in restricted space, but because the SRS is viewed as mostly harmless he can be convinced to overlook the offense as long the Mercy doesn’t do any actual salvage in an area that takes up a sizable portion of the planned route. The Mercy’s captain agrees at first, but once out of Imperial sensor range he gives orders that ignore the agreement. Not long afterwards the Mercy’s sensors pick up a possible ship, and it moves in to investigate.
What is found is a ship so old no one knows what it is. An Imperial ship is attached to it, but power is down and no one responds to communication attempts. What is found on both ships is the greatest challenge the first response team has ever faced, and something that could drive the crew of the Mercy to madness.
Elements Nine 