Freedom in the Galaxy?

So, what I'm thinking I'd like to do is run this:



...only not as a wargame, but as the basis for a RPG. Using this:


Does this sound like a completely stupid idea?

I mean, I can see an immediate criticism: Why don't I just run Star Wars?

The answer to that is that I've tried. I used the original WOTC (3e era) set, before they revised it and then created a whole new game (from what I can gather). I've also looked at but not played the old West End game. Neither one really did it for me.

So that leaves me in the now, with two specific criticisms:

1) I don't want to learn a new system. More importantly, I don't want to read thick hardcover gaming books, and

2) Star Wars has too much baggage for my taste. I'd like to start with something less well known, so people can approach it fresh. (Plus I don't want George Lucas looking over my shoulder the whole time -- that's how I felt when I ran SW before...)


Anyway, that's where I'm at right now. Comments appreciated.