Actual Play: Firefly "Old War Horses" General Samuel Zook

General Samuel Kosciusko Zook

Attributes: 
Mental: d8_______________Physical: d8______________Social: d8 

Skills: 
Craft d4___________________Drive d4_________________***Fight d10
Fix d4_____________________Fly d6___________________Focus d4
*Influence d10 (pulling rank)__Know d6 (military bureaucracy, tactics)__Labor d4 
Move d4__________________*Notice d6________________Operate d4
Perform d4________________**Shoot d12_______________Sneak d4 
*Survive d6_________________Throw d4________________Treat d4 
*Trick d8 (fooling the enemy)

Distinctions: 
Brothers d8 
[x] Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8 
[_] Squabblin': Gain a PP when you spend a scene arguing with your brother instead of the task at hand
[_] Thick as Thieves: When you share a scene with your brother, you may share Plot Points with one another 
(Skills: Fight, Influence, Trick) 

Veteran of the Unification War d8 
[x] Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8 
[x] Fightin' Type: Spend 1 PP to step up or double your Shoot or Fight when you're outnumbered 
[_] War Stories: When you create an Asset or take a Complication related to a wartime flashback, step it up 
(Skills: Fight, Shoot, Survive) 

Alliance Officer d8 
[x] Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8 
[_] Chain of Command: Gain 1PP when you step up a Complication because of orders you received from your superiors 
[x] Sir, Yes, Sir: Spend 1 PP to create an Asset at a D8 to represent a specialist under your command
(Skills: Fight, Notice, Shoot) 

Signature Assets:
Command Staff d8


There are two very important Zooks on Ita, General Samuel Zook and his identical twin brother, General Ramsey Zook. Like the US Civil War, many families were split over the issue of Unification. Samuel fought for the Alliance and Ramsey fought for the Independents. On many occasions, they fought in the same battle but on opposite sides, including the Battle of Serenity Valley. The war damaged their relationship in many ways, but family is still family and Ramsey refused to surrender to anyone but his brother in the last days. This caused quite a stir in the Alliance, especially when Samuel took it upon himself to insist that the Independents be brought fully into the Alliance, as full members.

So vocal was Samuel on this that it lead to the military silencing him the only way they knew–by ordering him to garrison Ita. They knew it was putative and he knew that they knew, but he followed orders. When he arrived on Ita, it had the worst discipline and the worst problems of any command. His previous troops were easy compared to the issues he faced. And Alliance Command kept sending him more, emptying out the losers and malcontents from each group to send to Ita, to keep him busy.

And Samuel kept busy. He built up the command, instilling in the (in many ways) non–conventional troopers a pride and esprit d'corps that was totally lacking before. It took some time to adjust to garrison life but he found that allowing wives and girlfriends, then family members to join the garrison lead to a more stable society. One that he could order easier. Several years went by and more people came, including his future wife, a relative of one of his sergeants.

Since they were on the fringes of the ’Verse and on the fringes of the Alliance military, they usually got not only the dregs of the service but the dregs of the equipment and supplies. Alliance Command made sure the satellites were well supported but the troops that maintained them were less important. So, with their own pay to spend, the troops needed a link to the rest of the ’Verse, a go–between to get them what they needed. Then Ramsey showed up. 

And everything changed.

So one day Ramsey Zook showed up. The years of separation between the brothers Zook had been hard on both of them. As children, Samuel was the serious one and Ramsey was the daredevil comedian. Not much had changed since the end of the Unification War. Ramsey was living life to the fullest, runnin’ guns, smuggling all sorts of illegal contraband in his freighter, just one step ahead of the law and the Syndicate. In fact, Ramsey was all set to rob the Alliance Boneyard on Ita of some pretty good stuff. How was he to know that his twin brother was in command?

When Ramsey found out the situation that Samuel was in, as well as the resources in men and material at his command (forgetting for a moment that the material was supposed to be guarded, not used or sold), he came up with a clever plan!

The first part was actually convincing Samuel to go in on it. That was actually easy. Samuel’s troops had needs, Ramsey had the means and both brothers could spend more time together. Ramsey would operate as an acquiring agent for the 479th Mule, Gravedigging and Support Unit. They would keep his ship in good repair, he’d have a safe base to retreat to (as well as armed satellite defenses) and all he had to do was get them what they needed.

The beauty of it all was that the Alliance would not mess too much with them, because Ramsey could pretend to be Samuel if necessary, working “undercover” or some such nonsense. As long as he wasn’t caught robbing a bank in broad daylight while gunning down nuns and spinster aunts, no–one would be the wiser. Sure, that could lead to some trouble, but a few cosmetic changes to his finger prints and he’d be Samuel. And Samuel had an excellent cover, too. How could those prints have gotten there?

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3 friends:

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● Major Varvara, XO 479th Mule, Gravedigger and Support Unit. Varvara could have had any posting after the Unification War but chose loyalty to General Zook over duty to the Alliance. He trusts the General completely but not so much his brother Ramsey. 
● General Pushpita Mukherjee, Alliance Command. An old friend of Samuel’s from the Academy who assigned him to Ita for his own protection–better the worst job than being stripped of rank and disgraced. A fat, jolly man with a sharp, tactical mind. 
● Kiko Jauregi Zook, wife. The sister of one of the General’s sergeants. She had a “colorful” life before coming to Ita and still has some contacts in the underworld that are useful. 

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3 contacts:

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● Major Eneritz Artetxe, Alliance supply officer. Served under the General and feels badly that he was forced into the worst command, he’s willing to help him out with some surplus equipment. 
● Marshal Keketso Semoko, former Alliance officer now lawman. Served under the General and still keeps in touch. May be willing to turn a blind eye to some things but that still remains to be seen. 
● Rafael Diserio, bar owner. Owns the bar Sea Cucumber on New Melbourne where Zook spent considerable time. 

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3 enemies:

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● Choi Fung Wong, female Companion. A beauty of great skill and elegance, she once thought that General Zook would bring her into a better society. But his downfall lead to hers and she’ll have her revenge. 
● General Lesego Motsepe, Alliance Command. A rival from his Academy days, Motsepe takes great pride in being one of the people ruining General Zook. He firmly believes that even though Zook is on Ita, he’s going to make trouble. He’s responsible for the poor resupply of Ita. 
● Senator Lalo Hartich, Bellaphron politician and anti–Brown Coat. Lalo blames General Zook for the death of his only son, a lieutenant in Zook’s command in Serenity Valley. After the war, Zook’s pro–Brown Coat stance infuriated Senator Hartich. A sad man with a dead son, what might he choose to do to make things difficult for the General?