Lennox (Rat)

Lennox, also known as "The Rat", was a thief who operated during the Galactic Civil War. Originally a teacher, Lennox was fired for sadism and turned to a career as a criminal. While planning a raid on the Imperial logistics station in the Rama system, he was betrayed by his associates and captured by the Galactic Empire. However, he was freed by the Rebel Alliance, who needed his help to complete the raid on the Rana system and retrieve a socalium crystal being held there. After enlisting the Rebels' help in eliminating those who betrayed him, Lennox agreed to help them and the raid was successful.

Biography
Lennox was born on a remote planet in the Outer Rim Territories. From a young age he learned various martial arts, though he entered a career in education, becoming a teacher for a time before being fired for his sadistic tendencies. Lennox soon turned to more profitable ventures and began operating as a thief throughout the galaxy. Lennox quickly displayed a talent for his new career, and his ability to penetrate even the best designed security systems earned him the nickname "The Rat".

Sometime during the Galactic Civil War, Lennox learned of Imperial Security Bureau cassette 437VX33, containing compromising information about important individuals throughout the Outer Rim and being stored at the Imperial logistics station in the Rama system. Seeing an opportunity to become rich and powerful by using the information to blackmail the individuals, Lennox began planning a raid to acquire the cassette. Though the station was heavily defended, Lennox soon discovered a weakness&mdash;the central vault operated under its own power and with its own life support system which periodically required new air filters. By working with Drovol and Schogal, who operated the warehouse on Talman III which would be supplying the new filter, Lennox realized that it would be possible to infiltrate the vault hidden within the filter. However, before he could put his plan into action, he was betrayed by his accomplices and taken into custody at the spaceport police station on Talman III, despite his protests of innocence and claims that his wife was sick.

As news of Lennox's arrest spread, it reached a group of Rebel agents who were themselves planning a raid on the Imperial logistics station in order to retrieve a socalium crystal which the Empire could potentially use to construct a new Death Star. Deciding to enlist his help, the Rebels visited Lennox in jail and, after revealing their plan and promising a substantial reward for his assistance, Lennox confirmed his identity and agreed to assist them. The Rebels soon freed him from the lightly guarded jail and the group went to one of Talman III's many cantinas to discuss the plan. Lennox, however, was unwilling to share the details unless they promised to retrieve the cassette for him. The Rebels agreed to his condition but Lennox had one other matter to attend to before the plan could be put into action&mdash;revenge against his former associates.

The thief convinced the Rebels to go to Chez Drovol, a nightclub in the suburbs owned by Drovol, telling them that Drovol would provide them with needed equipment for the raid. However, when Drovol realized that the visitors were working with Lennox, he led them to Schogal's warehouse where his henchmen waited to ambush the Rebels. Lennox followed the group and waited outside during the ensuing firefight, casually picking off any of Drovol's men who attempted to escape. When the fighting was over, he entered the warehouse and explained the situation to the Rebels before calling out Schogal, who had been hiding in the shadows. As Schogal attempted to apologize, Lennox raised his blaster and shot the other in the head, before laughing as his betrayer slumped dead to the floor.

Having exacted his revenge, Lennox turned his attention back to the upcoming raid, explaining the plan to the Rebels. He instructed them to hide inside the filter for insertion into the station's vault. They would then emerge when safe and would have two hours to steal both the crystal and cassette before rendezvousing with him at one of the station's airlocks. If they arrived late or without the cassette, he would not hesitate to leave them behind. Lennox provided the Rebels with the equipment they would need for the trip&mdash;enviro-suits, sleeping pills, food, tools and a transmitter to signal him when they arrived at the airlock. The next morning, with the Rebels hidden inside the container, Lennox personally greeted the Imperials when they arrived to take collection of the new filter. After the Imperials left, he set about procuring an assault shuttle and made his own way to the Rana system to wait&mdash;when challenged by Imperial forces upon arrival, he explained that his ship had been damaged in a Rebel attack and required repairs.

Eventually, Lennox picked up a signal from the Rebels, who had achieved their objectives and reached the airlock. As Lennox moved his shuttle towards the station, the Rebels left the airlock in their enviro-suits and floated towards him. Upon showing him the cassette, Lennox opened his own airlock to allow the Rebels inside. He then took the shuttle to hyperspace as Imperial TIE/ln starfighters closed on the intruders. After escaping the system, Lennox attempted to kill the Rebels to eliminate any witnesses.

Personality and traits
Lennox was a small, bald, fat man with a high-pitched voice who appeared harmless. This, however, was intentional to preserve his anonymity and few knew his true appearance or identity. Beneath the fat, Lennox had strong muscles and was easily capable of acts of violence. He had a perverse joy in killing and became famous for his bloodthirsty methods. Even his accomplices were not safe as Lennox would not hesitate to kill those he worked with once he no longer needed them in order to prevent them revealing his identity. He was a born liar, who never worked for free and had little confidence in others. However, he was also very intelligent and capable of circumventing the most secure systems.

Behind the scenes
Lennox was created by Jean Balczesak for the ambiguously canon roleplaying scenario "Hold-up galactique" which appeared in the French magazine Casus Belli 62. The details of Lennox's escape from jail and the outcome of his confrontation with the Rebels following the raid are left to those taking part in the scenario.