Medicinal spice

Medicinal spice was a spice narcotic variant with healing properties. During the New Republic era, Popara, head of the Anjiliac Hutt clan, traded in medicinal spice. In 19 ABY, Popara donated a shipment of medicinal space to help combat a deadly plague on the planet Endregaad.

Description

Medicinal spice was a type of the narcotic spice possessing healing properties. It could be administered via a hypodermic needle. Unlike raw glitterstim spice from the planet Kessel, medicinal spice did not immediately deteriorate in sunlight, though exposure to sunlight did lessen its potency.^[2]

A variant of spice transported to the planet Endregaad in 19 ABY had pain suppressant and antisporant properties.^[1] When mixed with the healing substance bacta, this medicinal spice variant produced a treatment against the Endregaad Plague, a deadly disease that originated on the Hutt homeworld Varl. Administration of a shot of this variant to an individual afflicted with the plague would either cure them or provide a vaccine rendering them immune to the disease for thirty days.^[2]

History

During the New Republic era, the Corporate Sector Authority,^[1] the governing authority of the Corporate Sector,^[3] held stores of medicinal spice on the^[1] planet^[4] Duroon. Popara, leader of the Hutt clan Anjiliac, traded in medicinal spice and occasion donated it for humanitarian crises.^[1]

In 19 ABY,^[1] following the outbreak on the planet Endregaad of the Endregaad Plague, the world was placed under quarantine by the Corporate Sector Authority and blockaded.^[2] Lieutenant Commander Angela Krin, the official overseeing the quarantine, contacted the CSA supply officer on Duroon to request medicinal spice for treatment of the contagion but was informed that no approval was in place to distribute the spice and furthermore, insufficient stocks were available for a planet-wide crisis.^[1]

Separately, Popara donated supplies of^[2] high grade^[1] medicinal spice for distribution on Endregaad to ease the crisis ^[2] and arranged for the Jedi archivist Mander Zuma and the spacers Reen Irana and Eddey Be'ray to deliver the spice to the plague-stricken world.^[1] Popara's son Mika was missing on Endregaad and Popara believed that supplying the medicinal spice would provide ^[2] Zuma, Irana and Be'ray^[1] a means to negotiate access through the CSA blockade; the actual delivery of the spice was entirely a secondary objective to finding Mika.^[2] Uncertain of the nature of the contagion on Endregaad, Vago procured medicinal spice with pain suppressant and antisporant attributes.^[1] Popara's aides informed the CSA of the impending delivery and his intermediary Vago facilitated the loading of the spice aboard Suwantek TL-1200 transport^[2] New Ambition at a landing pad in Makem Te spaceport on the planet Makem Te.^[1] In addition to the main cargo, Vago also provided the Popara's delivery agents a pouch with ten extra packets of medicinal spice for use in negotiations with the Endregaad locals. Vago further instructed that two of the packets be kept aside for Mika, in case the Anjiliac scion had succumbed to the Endregaad Plague.^[2]

Eager to thwart Mika's rescue, Popara's eldest son Zonnos concealed four crab tracer tracking devices among the medicinal spice cargo aboard the Suwantek transport, concealed in the frames of the spice cases. The tracers transmitted the location of the vessel to the Bomu Clan—Rodian mercenaries hired by Zonnos—and the Bomu Clan freighter Vengeance ambushed the Suwantek transport as it approached Endregaad, demanding that it jettison its spice cargo.^[2] However, the Bomu vessel was destroyed by CSA IRD starfighters enforcing the Corporate Sector blockade.^[1]

After the attack, New Ambition, with the Resolute, the lead Corporate Sector vessel directing the quarantine. Mander Zuma donated the medicinal spice cargo to Angela Krin for distribution on Endregaad before it could be seized. Although Krin lacked authorization to distribute the spice, her team began examining its properties. The unapproved delivery alarmed CSA officials, who were embarrassed that an independent supply had arrived first—prompting them to immediately divert their own stock of medicinal spice to the planet.^[1]

The CSA subsequently dispersed medicinal spice on Endregaad to alleviate the plague.^[1] A merchant caravan led by the trader Simol Toc acquired a portion of the spice in an illicit deal with a CSA officer. The group departed from Endregaad's main city Tel Bollin carrying their spice in cargo lifters hauled by a chando beast, bound for the plague-stricken settlement. Temple Valley. En-route, armed guards were posted around the spice overnight and upon their arrival at Temple Valley, the medicinal spice was distributed to the struggling local population.^[2]

Behind the scenes

Medicinal spice first appeared in Tempest Feud, a 2002 roleplaying adventure, by Jeff Grubb and Owen K.C. Stephens that was a supplement to Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Roleplaying Game.^[2] It later appeared in Scourge, a 2012 novelization by Jeff Grubb of Tempest Feud^[1] and was also mentioned in the 2012 reference book The Essential Reader's Companion.^[5]

Tempest Feud roleplay outcomes

Tempest Feud is designed to be set in any roleplaying era at the discretion of the gamemaster, with potential settings ranging from the reign of the Galactic Republic to the Yuuzhan Vong War.^[2] Scourge established the official setting of the delivery of the medicinal spice to Endregaad to be the New Republic era.^[1]

In Tempest Feud, the players roleplay as individuals hired by Popara to deliver medicinal spice to Endregaad,^[2] a role fulfiled by by Mander Zuma, Reen Irana and Eddey Be'ray in Scourge.^[1] If the player characters abscond with the spice and do not deliver it to Endregaad they can receive 100,000 for the selling the cargo to a buyer, though the individual that they sell the spice to is killed by the Bomu Clan soldiers Narnee Bomu and Seedar Bomu, who are sent by Vago to recover the stolen spice.^[2]

When the Suwantek transport is ambushed near Endregaad by the Bomu Clan, the players may choose to jettison the medicinal spice, allowing the Bomu to escape with it. If they do, Popara does not reprimand them—provided they rescue Mika on Endregaad. Alternatively, the players might defeat the Bomu or lose the spice to a boarding party led by Bomu commander Ormann.^[2] In Scourge, however, the spice is successfully delivered to the CSA and not seized by the attackers.^[1]

Upon arriving aboard the Resolute, Mander Zuma hands over the spice to Angela Krin in Scourge.^[1] In Tempest Feud, however, the players can negotiate with Krin for access to Endregaad and may choose not to surrender the spice, instead running the CSA blockade to deliver it themselves. Once on Endregaad, it is possible that the players use a doses of medicinal spice to treat Mika's Nikto aide Orgamon and later the geode miner Huwin Clathor, both of whom contracted the Endregaad plague. If the players succeeded at delivering medicinal spice to Endregaad, some of the spice is transported by Simol Toc's caravan to Temple Valley.^[2] This article assumes that to be the official outcome since in Scourge, Zuma, Irana and Be'ray do successfully handover the spice to the CSA forces on Endregaad.^[1]

Appearances

• Scourge
• Tempest Feud (First appearance)

Sources

• The Essential Reader's Companion

Notes and references