Love stepped from the shadows and moved through the crowd, the heavy blaster held low by his thigh as he approached the greeting line from the opposite side.
There she was. Love was surprised how beautiful Leia looked up close. She had certainly not lost the regal bearing of her days as a princess.
Her back was partially turned toward him, but Love could see that Leia had just extended a well-manicured hand to General Cracken, who bowed in gentleman-like fashion.
Love shouldered aside an obese Senator in stylized Tusken Raider garb and lifted the heavy blaster pistol…
Daniera pushed her way inside the ballroom, passing the podium as she headed for the receiving line. She already had the hold-out in her hands as she hurriedly scanned the crowd. Then she saw it…
The Chief of State was greeting Cracken, but neither the General nor Cabe, who stood rigidly beside him, could see Love emerge from the crowd across the way. Organa Solo was blocking their view of Love as he took aim with his blaster.
“New Republic Security!” Daniera screamed at the top of her lungs. “Everybody down!”
Love’s finger began to squeeze the trigger. Just a few more seconds…
When he heard Daniera’s yell, he couldn’t believe his ears. Then his sight was the next sense called into question as he saw her break through the crowd, blaster aimed right at him!
“Dani?”
The blaster bolt caught him in the right shoulder, spinning him off-balance and onto the ground. His heavy blaster skittered across the floor.
The stunned crowd had gone deathly silent except for a scattering of screams.
The guards quickly formed a protective shield around the Chief of State. Cracken drew his own blaster, pushing ahead to get a better view of what was going on around him. Cabe remained where he was, flanking the guards behind Organa Solo.
“What are you doing?” Cracken yelled at Daniera, who was standing over the fallen Love, her blaster pointed right at his head.
She spared the approaching General a quick glance. “Arresting Grandyl Grieve for the attempted murder of the Chief of State!”
Love looked up at her in complete shock. “What? It’s not me—” He pointed an accusing finger. “It’s him!”
All eyes turned to the location that Love was gesturing.
Cabe stood there grinning, a small dart shooter tucked in the palm of his hand and pointed right at Leia Organa Solo. “Too late, I’m afraid,” he said and squeezed the trigger.
“Cabe!” Daniera screamed. “No!”
Both Cracken and Daniera opened fire, knocking Cabe to the ground, but it was too late. The dart hurtled unerringly toward the Chief of State.
The room had once again plunged into deathly silence, except for Love, who spoke a single word. “Shield.”
The star ruby on Leia’s medallion pulsated once.
One of her guards tried valiantly to step in front of her, but the tiny dart was much quicker.
The dart hit.
More accurately, it hit something, but it wasn’t the Chief of State; the projectile bounced off an invisible barrier centimeters away from Organa Solo’s skin. Its momentum irrevocably lost, the dart tumbled harmlessly to the floor.
From his prone position, the wounded Cabe roared in anger. He turned the dart shooter on Daniera and General Cracken. “Somebody’s gonna die!”
The thunderous blast caught Cabe in the chest, driving him back across the floor and into a stone column. The would-be assassin slumped over, a massive smoking hole In his chest.
“Somebody always does.” Love lowered the heavy blaster pistol and stumbled to his feet with Cracken’s assistance. “Thanks, General.”
Daniera merely stared at them. “But he’s Grandyl Grieve. I saw his records!”
Cracken smiled. “You’re right. But he has redeemed himself more times than I care to count. He’s been working for us for years now.”
“From Grieve to Love?”
Love smiled. “The General’s idea. He enjoys his ironic twists.”
“I suspected we had a mole in the NRI impersonating Grieve,” Cracken said, “and who better to ferret out the fake Grieve than the real one?”
“See?”
“I can’t believe this,” Daniera said.
“You can’t believe it?” Love touched a hand to the small wound on his shoulder. “You shot me!”
“Well…” She thought for a second. “I told you not to call me Dani.”
Cracken looked at Love. “What was the final tip-off?”
Love nodded his head toward Cabe’s corpse. “He bought a Prax Arms Stealth 2VX palm shooter from my store a few minutes before Daniera came in to recruit me for this mission.”
“And I’m certainly glad she did,” Leia said.
The trio looked up as the Chief of State approached. She ran a hand over the medallion. “This is by far one of the best gifts I’ve ever received.”
“One of my custom little creations,” Love said proudly. “A miniature particle shield generator. Only works for a few seconds or so, but in this case it was all that was necessary.”
“Thank you,” Organa Solo said, eyeing them each in turn. “To all of you.” Leia gave a curt bow. “Especially for livening up this event,” she said with a wink then added, a little louder. “Now, if you’ll excuse me—”
As the Chief of State left them, Daniera glanced over. “Love, you are—”
Love braced himself.
“Actually, I’m not sure what you are,” she finished.
“Oh, I can tell you that,” he grinned, touching his thrumming pistol tenderly to his cheek. “Love is a warm blaster.”
M’Kyas Love
Type:
Retired NRI Agent
DEXTERITY 4D
Blaster 10D, brawling parry 5D, dodge 8D+1, grenade 8D, melee combat 6D, melee parry 5D, missile weapons 4D+2, thrown weapons 4D+2, vehicle blasters 5D
KNOWLEDGE 2D+1
Alien species 6D, bureaucracy 5D+2,cultures 4D+2, intimidation 8D, languages 5D, law enforcement 10D, planetary systems 5D, streetwise 8D, survival 6D+1, willpower 7D
MECHANICAL 2D
Astrogation 5D, repulsorlift operation 7D+1, space transports 5D, starship gunnery 4D
PERCEPTION 3D+2
Bargain 7D, command 6D, con 7D, hide 6D, investigation 10D, search 7D+1, sneak 5D+2
STRENGTH 3D
Brawling 6D, climbing/jumping 5D+1, stamina 7D
TECHNICAL 3D
Blaster repair 10D, computer programming/repair 5D, demolitions 4D+1, security 8D, space transports repair 6D
Special Abilities:
Auditory Sense:
Latarzians have an extremely developed sense of hearing, able to detect sounds in high/low ranges that many other species cannot. This adds a +1D bonus to any
Perception
skill rolls related to hearing.
Olfactory Sense:
Latarzians also have an incredible sense of smell, able to discern and recognize odors with alarming ability. This gives a +1D bonus to any
Perception
skill rolls related to smell.
Force Points:
4
Dark Side Points:
2
Character Points:
32
Move:
10
Equipment:
Custom heavy blaster pistol (7D), overcoat, replihide blaster holster, chronometer
Capsule:
One of the more notorious agents to serve New Republic Intelligence, M’Kyas Love is something of a legend in intelligence circles. He is what they call an “X” agent: ex-skip tracer, ex-private investigator, ex-bounty hunter, and ex-Sector Ranger. Love was most recently ex-New Republic Intelligence, though no one knows why he left. His service flies were sealed and his past history classified at the highest levels.
Love may very well have been one of the best at tracking down Imperial agents and stopping them no matter the cost. He is certainly relentless, tenacious, and possessed of more willpower than a dozen beings put together. The problem is that Love is a jerk, a scoundrel, a rogue. Brash, egotistical, and temperamental, Love often worked solo because no one could stand to be partnered with him.
Eventually Love realized he was tired of playing the game that he had once enjoyed so much and left the NRI to open his own weapon shop on Coruscant. There, Love is free to build, repair, and modify his cherished custom creations, not to mention sell them for top credit.
M’Kyas Love’s Heavy Blaster Pistol “Ventilator”
Model:
Modified Calban Model X Blaster Pistol
Type:
Modified heavy blaster pistol
Scale:
Character
Skill:
Blaster
Cost:
Not for sale
Availability:
Unique
Fire Rate:
1/2
Range:
3-6/20/40
Damage:
7D
Capsule:
M’Kyas Love has modified his personal weapon with a variety of improvements: side-mounted blaster sight, galven pattern upgrade, some adjustments to the energy converter valve, and dualistic static pulse adaptors. While these improve the overall power of the weapon’s energy burst, they cumulatively reduce the range; of course, Love conducts most of his business at close range, anyway.
Daniera Karmony
Type:
NRI Special Agent
DEXTERITY 3D+1
