#Galactic Empire Conversion Kit

[alphamecha-mkii]

Star Wars: X-Wing (2nd Ed.) - Galactic Empire Conversion Kit - Barrage Rockets

[weyrwolfen]

Eidola: Chapter 06 - CT-618-3416 Weaver

Rating: T

Characters: Gen, Clone Trooper OCs, Captain Rex, Ahsoka Tano, and other canon members of the 501st/332nd

Warnings: canon-typical violence; references to self-harm, injuries, and substance abuse; PTSD; it’s post-Order 66 and nobody is having a good time (but they’re all working on it)

Summary: The mission was never to bring down the Empire. Not really. The mission was to save every single one of their chipped brothers. But if doing do helped break the Empire’s stranglehold on the galaxy? Well, that was just a bonus.

“Look, I don’t know how to ask this diplomatically…” Weaver trailed off awkwardly under Kix’s annoyed glare.

“So drop the diplomacy and just ask,” Kix said impatiently, arms crossed across his cuirass in obvious irritation. “I have patients waiting.”

Well, that was an option too. “You said we shouldn’t split them up yet, but hydroponics is the only place that could hope to keep them all together on light duty. I need to know–“

“How they’re going to handle being around kids,” Kix interrupted, but the waspish edge bled out of his tone. He uncrossed his arms and looked past Weaver’s shoulder, eyes unfocused, obviously considering his answer carefully. “I don’t think any of them would intentionally hurt a kid, but I can’t promise they’ll handle it well either.”

Weaver couldn’t help the momentary sag in his shoulders. It was the answer he’d been expecting, but it still wasn’t what he’d hoped to hear. “Right, I’ll just talk to Sickle and Yuri instead.” Maybe they could find somewhere for all eight Hadros brothers in the mess. If they shifted a couple people around, put them on temporary, alternate duties outside of food prep, there might be room…

“Don’t. At least not yet,” Kix said, with a narrow-eyed look of consideration. “They’re going to run into the kids at some point. It’d probably be better if it happened under controlled circumstances and with a little forewarning. I can sound them out as soon as I go off-shift.”

Kix wouldn’t make that suggestion if he thought there was any chance of things going spectacularly poorly. “I’ll wait to talk to Cut and Suu until after I get your take,” Weaver offered. He’d been planning to head that way after this stop, but perhaps it was better to wait. The conversation might not go well; Cut was more than a little protective of Suu just then.

Honestly, Weaver didn’t blame him one bit. The medics all swore that the pregnancy was progressing normally. Truly normally, at least for a standard Twi’lek-human hybrid, not the rapid gestation that could be considered ‘normal’ for a clone. None of that seemed to ease Cut’s mind though.

Even so, it wasn’t the touchiest situation Weaver had ever been tasked with handling. At least no Galactic Senators were involved.

“Anything else?” Kix asked, jerking a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the recovery room door. “Otherwise I’m gonna go.”

“No,” Weaver said, refraining from raising an amused eyebrow at Kix’s curt, borderline rude, dismissal. “That was all I needed. Thanks.”

In reality, he also would have liked a report on their other new brothers, the four that Shark had brought back from Imbolt Minor and the three that Jesse’s Reapers had intercepted patrolling the rim of the Kaliida Nebula. But only an idiot got between Kix and his patients when he was in this kind of a mood.

“Right, I’ll comm you after,” Kix said, depressing the door release with the side of his fist and disappearing into the room.

Weaver put his helmet back on, more to free up his hands than any real need for it. A few of their brothers had taken to wearing civilian clothing around the base, but he never felt right leaving his quarters without his armor. Full kit had been mandatory on Coruscant whenever members of the Guard were on duty, and it was a habit he found difficult to break.

Besides, the red painted helmet was useful for other reasons. There were only three Coruscant Guards on the Draboon VIII base, only three brothers who wore that shade of crimson red, so it was a good visual clue as to who everyone else should approach regarding the normal, day-to-day problems that plagued the installation. The trio of Guards had fitted easily into the role, handling the minor disagreements and logistical complications around the base so that the core members of the 332nd could concentrate on waging their small-scale, covert war to free their remaining brothers.

The red paint also served as a reminder to Weaver of everything they’d lost and everything they were working to regain.

Weaver, Ori, and Ajax had been with the 332nd from the beginning, the only survivors of the detachment of Guards originally sent to take custody of the Sith prisoner Maul. In the couple of years that had followed Order 66, their band of clone defectors had grown, adding freshly de-chipped brothers with oranges and yellows, blues and greens, purples and indigos, grays and blacks and browns on their armor, but never their exact shade of red. Members of the Guard rarely left Coruscant these days, and while the Reapers sometimes ventured into the Mid-Rim, the Core was far too dangerous to risk.

One day though. Maybe. If they should all live so long.

Weaver took the lift down one floor and took a turn through the mess hall, which was absolutely packed with brothers and a few civilians. All of the Guardsmen had gotten in the habit of swinging through the space several times a day. It was a convenient, centralized location where they could get a feel for the temper of the base while also making themselves easily available if anyone wanted to talk to them in an informal setting.

This visit, he received several greetings, a couple of questions about the newest batches of unchipped brothers, and one complaint that a particularly large chunk of rocky debris was caught in the water processing system. This happened more often than was convenient, thanks to the fact that they sourced most of their water from the icy debris that made up Draboon VIII’s rings. Weaver managed to find Ocher, one of Zinc’s machinists, waiting in line for his own meal and extracted a promise that someone would look into the issue. Then, when no other minor crises reared their heads, he picked up boxed meals for himself and Ori and retreated to the small set of rooms the Coruscant Guards had claimed as their own.

Ori was sitting in the front room, touching up the red paint on his scuffed greaves. The Raiders had made a point to assure that it was surprisingly easy to lay hands on the proper colors around the base. Armor paint had become such an intrinsic part of the clones’ identities and culture of personal expression that it sat quite high on their personal hierarchy of needs, somewhere below breathable air and drinkable water, but certainly above decent shelter.

Ori looked up from his painting, spotted the boxed meals in Weaver’s hands, and opened his mouth to speak when a loud, resounding snore ripped through the relative quiet.

Weaver glanced towards the connected door and saw a half-armored figure laying in the bottom left bunk. From what little he could see, the clone’s armor had tan-colored accents.

“Nails?” he asked, holding one of the boxed meals out with one hand.

“Yeah,” Ori confirmed. He set his armor down on the desk to dry and propped his wet brush on the paint can’s lid. Then he reached out and accepted the proffered meal. “Thanks.”

Weaver wasn’t sure where along the line the small living space he shared with Ori and Ajax had become the Draboon VIII drunk tank, but it had, and none of the three Guardsmen had any idea how they were supposed to remedy the situation. It wasn’t like they had a brig on base, and besides, their guests were all brothers.

Brother or not, they’d been threatening to drag Nails off to Kix for weeks if he didn’t stop drinking himself unconscious multiple times a week. Maybe it was time they made good on their threats. There were better ways to cope with whatever demons the trooper was wrestling. Certainly there were healthier ones.

Then again, Kix would probably yell at Weaver for putting it off this long, and Taq would be nearly as bad.

“I’ll comm Aughts after the debriefing,” Weaver said, sitting down at his own desk and dropping his meal on the cluttered surface. “Or maybe Sling.”

“Probably a good plan,” Ori said, opening his box of rations. “Holy kriff, how did you get your hands on this?”

Weaver, who had also been opening his own food container, was equally stunned. Most of the meal was a starchy nutrient slurry, as usual, but arranged on top of the beige gloop there were several bright green and yellow slivers of some kind of vegetable and a grilled cut of real kriffing meat. When had the Raiders scored enough of that to serve the whole base? “No idea. Eat it fast before someone from the mess realizes their mistake,” he said, only half joking.

It looked like Weaver was the first to arrive in the 332nd’s barracks for the morning’s briefing. No one else was in the communal area linking the smaller sleeping spaces, but he still felt like he was being watched.

Not by his brothers though. By their armor.

As a former Death Watch base, there had been armor stands aplenty scattered throughout the living spaces. Commander Tano had returned every sliver of confiscated beskar to Bo-Katan Kryze and her people, anything else would have risked a major diplomatic rift, but the armor stands had remained as spoils of war. Zinc’s people had started making more, but three of the originals stood in the Guards’ quarters and several of the rest lined the 332nd’s common room. Some were empty – the roughly human-shaped scaffolding awaited the return of brothers deployed on various missions – but a little over half were in use. Helmet after helmet stared inward toward the large holotable that dominated the center of the room. All but a few were painted orange, Commander Tano’s markings.

Weaver could understand why new arrivals on base might find the room intimidating, but while he certainly felt a sense of weight and expectation in the armor’s silent vigil, these were his brothers’ second faces. It was superstitious in the extreme, but in a way, he almost felt like the row of empty plastoid armor was standing guard.

The quiet of the room couldn’t last. A few minutes later, Ridge came in with Shark, both of them chortling over whatever they’d been discussing in the hallway. Hunter and Echo followed shortly after, along with a clone whose name Weaver was ashamed to admit he could not remember. He knew this brother worked on the computer systems around the base, and he had an amazing knack for aggressively fading into the background. Weaver walked over to greet the new arrivals, determined to remedy that gap in his knowledge. He had been an investigator on Coruscant before… everything. Surely he could figure out one brother’s name without making a complete shebs of himself.

Or perhaps not. Several minutes later, Weaver had narrowed his options down to either “Factor” or “Factorial.” Possibly both.

In the meantime, the rest of the base’s official and unofficial command had either filed into the room or, in the case of Jesse and Trip, joined via the holotable. Everyone, even Shark, quieted down when Captain Rex cleared his throat. “We’ll start with the habitability of the Wadj archipelago. Trip, give us the situation report.”

“Remember how you said the reports described the islands as idyllic and haunted?” Trip asked, gesturing to someone out of view of the holographic projector. A partial three-dimensional model of a ruined façade of a large building sprang up in front of Trip and began to rotate. “Well, our formal report is that this island is idyllic,” he continued, tone very dry. “And also haunted.”

Kriff, it was going to be one of those kinds of meetings.

“Why do you all call Rex ‘Captain?’”

Weaver looked up from the list of basic agricultural equipment and supplies Cut and Suu had put together and found Delta standing next to the wall of orange-striped squash he’d been harvesting, staring back at Weaver with an oddly guarded expression on his face.

Ever since their 501st brothers had started taking shifts harvesting fruits and vegetables, the Guards had all been finding excuses to swing through the hydroponic-lined hallways of the base’s lowest level. So far, their worries had been utterly unfounded. True, the eight Hadros clones were still very reserved, especially around the base’s few civilians. Hat Trick in particular tended to flinch whenever he came across one of the children unprepared. All things considered, they were settling in fairly well.

Still, it didn’t hurt to check.

“It’s what he seems to prefer,” Weaver answered, tucking away his datapad and pulling off his helmet to give Delta his full attention.

Delta shifted awkwardly, but he pressed further. “He was promoted, though. To commander. Right before we left for Coruscant. I remember that,” he stopped, voice faltering on the last few words. “I… I think I remember that.”

“You do,” Weaver said. Memory was a tricky thing for any clone whose chip had remained active for an extended period of time. It tended to be fragile, and therefore untrustworthy, especially in the first several weeks after surgery. They’d improve, but only with time and patience. “But you’ve probably noticed that rank, and the chain of command, are a bit looser here than they were in the G.A.R. The Captain continued using Commander Tano’s former rank, even though she resigned her commission. He kept introducing himself as ‘Captain,’ so the rest of us just followed suit.”

Technically speaking, Jesse had stripped Rex of his rank before the 332nd had tried to execute him for treason against the Emperor, but that was something he thought Delta wasn’t quite ready to hear. Frankly, half of the members of the 332nd weren’t ready to talk about it, either.

Delta didn’t answer, but he scowled angrily. Perhaps he was too accustomed to being able to hide his expressions behind plastoid, or perhaps he wanted Weaver to know he disapproved. Either way, he was clearly uncomfortable and more than a little offended on his Commander’s behalf. So that was the problem. The 501st had, seemingly to a man, harbored a ferocious loyalty to Rex, even before Order 66 and its aftermath.

“We’ve got three former captains with us, and none of them answer to their rank anymore,” Weaver said, trying to explain. It wasn’t that anyone meant to be disrespectful or insubordinate; suggesting they were would be a fast track to a fist fight around the base. It was better to lay it all out now, before the misunderstanding came out under less-than-ideal circumstances. “Nobody wants to act like they might outrank Captain Rex, and he refuses to act like he outranks Commander Tano, even though the two of them are functionally in joint command of this base.”

Truthfully, the whole situation was something of a mess. Everyone deferred to Captain Rex and Commander Tano first, and to any member of the 332nd or the Coruscant Guards second. Any remaining details were worked out in the individual units that ran the day-to-day functions and external missions of the base. The Reapers had their own chain of command, as did the Raiders, as did the medics, as did the machinists, as did the brothers in charge of the kitchens. It worked, even if it was occasionally teeth-grindingly disorganized in comparison to the rigid structure they’d all been raised to follow since infancy.

“Oh,” Delta said, obviously thinking over Weaver’s explanation. He must have been appeased by at least some of it, because a large amount of the tension went out of his posture. He looked like he wanted to say more, but after a moment’s consideration, just settled on, “Ok, thanks.”

That was something else to clear up as quickly as possible. “Just doing my job.” Weaver pointedly tapped the red paint covering his cuirass with a gloved finger. “If any of you have questions or problems, even small ones, find one of us Guards.”

Delta’s eyebrow lifted and, for the first time, Weaver saw a small, sardonic spark of humor in his face. “Is that why you’ve all three been watching us? You’re keeping an eye on a potential problem?”

Weaver shrugged. There wasn’t any point in shading the truth, especially if Delta was in the correct headspace to find it all humorous. “Yes, and before you get too offended, its nothing we didn’t do for every single other brother on base. We’re just getting you settled in.”

That earned a soft, disbelieving snort.

It always started like this. Very few of their brothers believed everything that they were told after being rescued. That they never had to fight again if they wanted. That they could leave at any time, though the list of places safe for clone deserters was short (and shrinking by the hour). That there were teams on base willing to help them retrieve dependents… of whatever variety.

That Commander Tano didn’t hold Order 66 against any of them.

That the chips really were gone.

Weaver refrained from sighing. The only way they’d convince brothers like Delta was to keep plugging along, until their actions proved their words beyond a shadow of a doubt. They really were a remarkably high-functioning disaster of an operation: a whole base of walking wounded, trying to patch up each other’s psychological scars while simultaneously pretending their own didn’t exist.

Weaver was just as guilty of it as anyone else. And speaking of which, “How’s your leg doing?”

Delta scowled and apparently interpreted the question, incorrectly, as a subtle hint to get back to work. “Fine,” he said, turning back to the hydroponics rig in front of him and reaching for the next squash in the row.

“Uh huh,” Weaver replied dubiously. “You’re 501st, so I know I won’t need to explain this to you. If you reopen your surgical incisions by being a stupid, stubborn kriffer and working when you should be resting, you’ll be explaining yourself to Kix. So I’m going to ask again, how’s your leg doing?”

That startled a bark of genuine laughter out of Delta, but he kept pulling the squash from their trellised vines and placing them in the hovercrate to his side. “Kark, you don’t make idle threats, do you? My leg’s fine. As best as I can remember, this is as good as it’s felt in months.”

From what Weaver had heard about the condition Delta was in on arrival, that wasn’t exactly saying much. Still, it was a concession, or as close to one as he could expect from Delta. “Good,” Weaver said, pulling his helmet back on and checking the chronometer in his HUD. Kriff, he was late. “I’m expected upstairs.”

Delta nodded an abrupt farewell and bent to his work. Weaver didn’t regret their conversation, even if he did have to jog down the hallway to make his next appointment. If he could set even one of their new brothers’ concerns to rest, it was time well spent.

The hanger bay was already full of activity by the time Weaver reached it.

Quad’s team had been the last to arrive after Captain Rex had pulled all the Raiders back to base. Weaver found them already unloading their latest haul, both from their own ship and from a second craft that was painted with enough faux-gilt plating and pointless civilian flourishes that it could only be a pleasure craft of some kind. Given the trio of scantily-clad, blanket-wrapped sentients Hook was introducing to Lena and Sling, Weaver could hazard a guess as to what the ship had been used for prior to drawing the Raiders’ attention.

Karking slavers. Kaminoan inhibitor chips weren’t the only devices their medics were becoming adept at removing.

Lena had that situation well in hand, as usual. Finding her had been the purest stroke of luck. She’d slipped into the role of liaison between the clones and their growing population of displaced noncombatants like she’d been born to it. He’d lost count of the number of misunderstandings, spats, and incipient disasters she’d helped smooth over.

Plus, watching her and Ori dance around each other was better entertainment than a holovid. Idiots.

Weaver waded through the usual unloading crew until he found Rasp scrolling through his datapad with Blinks on their ship’s loading ramp.

“Sorry about that,” Weaver said, pulling his helmet off and extending a hand to greet them both properly. “I got caught up downstairs.”

“I figured,” Rasp said with a lopsided grin, grasping Weaver’s vambrace. “You Guards wouldn’t know what to do with yourselves if you didn’t have a half dozen fires to put out at any given moment.”

“Only six?” Weaver asked sardonically and turned to clasp arms with Blinks. “Did you get the inventory from Ajax?”

“Yeah, what’s the kriffing target? Coruscant?” Rasp said, tapping something into his datapad and then pointing towards a rather formidable stack of very large containers. “We sorted your stuff into crates seven, twelve, thirteen, twenty-two through twenty-five, and thirty-seven. Plus, looks like four of the six fuel cannisters we’ve lined up against the bulkhead.”

“Right,” Weaver said, eyeing the pile dubiously. “Could I see the inventory?”

Rasp handed his datapad over with a shrug.

Weaver scrolled down the manifest, stopping to read through the specific contents of each of the listed crates. The Wadj mission was soaking up an awful lot of their incoming resources, and getting everything shifted around to the proper teams was going to take some creativity. “Could you bring out one of those cannisters and crates twenty-two and twenty-four? I need to commandeer a hover cart.”

By the standards of the G.A.R., their small fleet wouldn’t constitute a half-decent escort squadron. But for the Draboon VIII base, this was the largest mission they’d put together yet. Seven ships had already launched and were waiting beyond the planet’s rings. The last to go were Clone Force 99’s Marauder and one of the Tribunal’s Nu-class attack shuttles, freshly painted a flat, uniform gray and stenciled with the proper Imperial symbols and designations for a similar ship currently assigned to the Sixth Fleet.

“Cutting things a little close, aren’t they?” Ori muttered to Ajax.

Ajax just shrugged. “You know Zinc. He’ll take however long he needs to get it perfect.”

Neither one of them was wrong, but Zinc’s people were almost done installing the last of the false panels over the storage compartments they’d hidden in the decoy shuttle.

A fair chunk of Ridge’s Reaper team and the specialists recruited solely for this mission were milling around in the hanger bay while the mechanics worked. Weaver could hear some of them griping about the stormtrooper armor they were asked to wear and ribbing Shark for the orange command pauldron that had been added to his right shoulder. This was another layer of deception; Captain Rex would be assuming command of this group. Weaver listened as the Reapers gave mocking salutations to their new “commander” and as the mouthy ARC gave back as good as he got, dressing each man down for their “disheveled” appearance.

As for Rex himself, he was next to the other ship, speaking with Commander Tano and Clone Force 99. He was nearly unrecognizable with his unpainted set of armor and clean-shaven head. His blond hair was a rare enough mutation that removing it had seemed prudent, but Weaver didn’t miss the way their Captain would periodically run a gloved hand over his scalp and grimace.

Commander Tano was wearing her own armor, an abbreviated beskar set gifted to her ahead of the siege of Mandalore. She was holding up her arm, giving Echo a better look at her vambrace. Weaver noted with more than a little pride and satisfaction that the complex pattern of dots Commander Tano had added to her armor had grown since he’d last seen it. She’d started painting it a few months after they’d taken the base, one dot for each rescued brother, recorded in their battalion’s color. The arrangement suggested a planned pattern that had yet to fully take shape, especially the cluster of 501st blue dots and the three conspicuous red dots arranged in a triangle around the edges of the incomplete blue design on her right vambrace.

Three red dots: Ori, Ajax, and Weaver himself.

There simply wasn’t any way to explain to her how much such a gesture meant to each of the clones.

Weaver spotted two of the mechanics walking down the Nu-class shuttle’s loading ramp, tool kits in hand. It was a pretty good indication that things were wrapping up on the interior retrofit.

“Might as well let them know the mechanics are finishing up,” Weaver said, gesturing towards the Marauder and their two commanding officers.

With twin nods, Ori and Ajax fell in step on either side of Weaver, helmets tucked under each of their left arms.

Hunter noticed them approaching first, his senses keener than even Commander Tano’s, and glared at the Guards meaningfully. They’d had words yesterday after Weaver had borne awkward witness to the team informing Omega that she would not be joining them on this particular mission. She’d only been partially pacified by Weaver’s promise that she would be stationed in the infirmary in her team’s absence. With Kix and Aughts deploying for the first time in months, the medics were happy to have any extra hands they could get, and Omega had been champing at the bit for more advanced medical instruction on the rare occasion she had been on base long enough to participate in the cadet classes. Assigning her to medical was just about the only peace offering that might have satisfied her.

Hunter and the rest of his team would only be satisfied once they had returned and found Omega in the perfect picture of health. The threats and dire insinuations had only been expected, Weaver hadn’t taken any of them personally.

As they neared the Marauder, Weaver overheard Echo saying, “He’d be absolutely insufferable if he could see that.” The comment was clearly meant to be a joke, but he sounded unusually subdued and brittle.

“I know,” Commander Tano replied with a bittersweet smile she quickly turned towards Weaver, Ori, and Ajax, apparently sensing their approach. “Is the shuttle ready?” she asked, drawing the others’ attention to the Guards arrival.

“It looks like it,” Weaver replied. “Any final orders, sir?” he looked at Captain Rex and amended, “Sirs?”

“No, I think we’re as ready as we’ll ever be,” Rex said, sweeping his gaze over Hunter and his team. “See you on the other side boys. Commander, try not to stir up any extra trouble, at least before we hit the rendezvous point.”

“No promises,” she said, bright smile edged with mischief. She looked over the Guards and added, “Promise me you three will get some rest while we’re gone.”

“Of course, sir,” Weaver lied. When both Commander Tano and Captain Rex fixed him with the same dubious looks, he added a far more honest promise. “We’ll keep the base in one piece while you’re gone.”

There were a few more jocular comments passed around as Rex excused himself to join his own team. Hunter offered a few more pointed words about Omega, but nothing worse than Weaver had weathered on rotation in the senate. Finally, the last of them boarded, both ships left the hanger bay in close sequence, and the trio of Guards stood in a casual parade rest to formally see the mission off.

Once the glow of both shuttles’ engines disappeared out of sight, Weaver let his shoulders sag just a little. “That’s done. What’s next on the list?” he asked.

Ajax sighed loudly. “The central turret is acting up, and Rex just flew off with the brother who reprogrammed the targeting system the last time one of them started glitching.”

Kriff, that was right. Factorial – Weaver was almost entirely convinced that the computer-savvy trooper preferred to be called Factorial, not Factor – had been recruited into the decoy team.

“Who’s our next best tech-brother, after Tech and Factorial?” Weaver asked.

“Kark if I know. Tenor?” Ajax said with a grimace.

Ori’s expression wasn’t much better. “Buckler might kill us if we pull him off of armor repair and salvage.”

“I’ll talk to both of them. Maybe they’ll know someone else to suggest,” Weaver said, “Ajax, after you go eat something, go check in on the Hadros brothers and then try to nudge Vash into finishing the clean up of that Force-cursed pleasure craft. I want it out of the hanger bay and parked in vacuum as soon as possible. Ori, remind me again why you aren’t already in bed?”

“Something about needing all hands on deck to get the Wadj teams off base smoothly,” Ori replied dryly.

Right, Weaver had said that earlier, hadn’t he? “Go to bed. I’ll wake you when I go off shift.”

Ori gave Weaver a very unimpressed look. “I’ll set an alarm and come find you when you’re supposed to go off shift.”

That… was probably fair. “Fine. Get to it. This rock isn’t going to manage itself.”

AN: Other chapters are available here.

Dividers by @freesia-writes using helmets by @lornaka. More designs available here.

[thewildwaffle]

Abduction - Chapter 20

I’m on a roll! I don’t think I’ve posted a chapter a week since I started working full-time! Hopefully, the creative juices keep flowing! As always, comments, questions, critique, input, and feedback of any kind is very much welcomed!

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There were a lot of humans.

Well, a lot of humans meaning there were more than two. That was more than she’d ever seen in one place! Thurrin knew under normal circumstances, she’d be ecstatic to see and meet them. But they reminded her so much of Mike and Wenona that it made her heart ache a little.

Still, bookas aren’t anything if not curious.

She’d flit around different work areas where human crew members were stationed, listening in and watching as they’d help repair navigation systems of ships, fetch equipment, or lift and carry heavy replacement parts as they were installed. They were amazing! She’d heard humans were strong, but she’d never seen anything like this before. Not only that, but they seemed to be tireless. Other mechanic teams around them had to constantly trade off tasks to rest and recuperate. Not the humans though. They’d finish one task and simply move on to the next, and the next, and the next. In a matter of seemingly no time, the small cruiser one particular group had been repairing that used to look like scrap heap material became pristine!

“Wow,” she muttered under her breath as she padded closer. There were three humans and a robot that must have been from the planet Klox if the shape of it was anything to go by. It had a similar build to its human companions but had stockier legs, a short tail, and four long, spindly arms. As she got closer, one of the humans turned and noticed her sneaking up on them.

“Hey Vern, finally show up now that the work’s done, huh? Typica… oh,” the human finally got a better look at her. “Oh, you’re not Vern.” The other three in the group turned around to get a look at who their friend was talking to.

Not the least bit shy, Thurrin jumped up on a nearby step stool and leaned back on her haunches. “Uh, no. My name’s Thurrin. I’m sorry to bother you, I was just admiring your work.” That earned her three wide, toothy grins in the style that humans do, and one pair of shuttered optics from the Kloxan. “I’ve never seen so many humans in one place before, well, actually, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many humans… ever!”

“Well, it’s our pleasure to meet you Thurrin. This is is Kylee, over there’s Ricardo, and that handsome bot over there is Clout.”

The first human, the female he had pointed to, Kylee was tall and had yellowish hair with streaks of purple in it that was pulled back tight in what Thurrin thought was called a ‘ponytail.’ Ricardo was quite a bit shorter with dark eyes and skin that reminded Thurrin of Wenona. They each nodded and gave a little wave as their names were said. Clout placed his two left hands on his chassis and gave a subtle bow, as was the formal greeting custom of kloxans. Or at least, she supposed it was.

“And I am Vern, a pleasure to meet you.” Vern gave a deep, exaggerated bow. He had, by far, the darkest skin of all the humans that Thurrin now knew. How exciting, she thought. I wonder how many colors humans come in? But what an interesting name-

“Vern?” She cocked her head to the side.

“His name’s actually Vernon,” clarified Clout, “but he hates it. So we only call him that when he’s being annoying.”

“Which is often,” smirked Kylee. That earned her a shove from Vern. Thurrin watched, amused, but still puzzled.

“Yeah, no. It’s Vern, thank you. Or Human Vern. We have a booka on the crew named Vern. Apparently, it’s a pretty common name for booka?” Thurrin nodded. It was. She grew up with three Verns back home when she was just a kit. “ Yeah, well, it can get confusing, so sometimes we have to do the formal greeting thing with the species in the name, ya know, Human Vern, Booka Vern.”

Ricardo shrugged his shoulders, “Doesn’t help that you two are almost always together.”

“Yeah,” Human Vern nodded and picked up a nearby rag to wipe his hands that were still coated in the oils and fluids from the ship’s engine. “So I thought you were him. He wandered off over half an hour ago and hasn’t been back since, the little stink bomb.”

With his hand now mostly clean, Human Vern reached it out to Thurrin and held it tilted to the side, palm up. Mike did that when they first met. It must be some sort of greeting thing all humans did. She patted his outstretched hand and looked over the rest of the group.

“Are all of you on the same crew? Which ship did you arrive on?”

Kylee turned and pointed across the docking bay towards a large light gray and orange ship that was currently having several large crates unloaded and hauled to various work stations.

“That one over there. The Maywing. She was on her maiden voyage when Captain Fenz got the transmission that we needed to load up with as many tools, spare parts, and rations as we could carry and come here.”

“What about you? Thurrin, right?” Vern turned back to her. She nodded. “Which ship is yours?”

The conversation settled into comparisons of their ships, what their individual duties were, how long they’d each been part of the Galactic Confederation fleet, how they got along with the rest of their crew, etc. Thurrin smiled to herself as she listened to the humans interact and joke as they recounted their stories. The kloxan was a little more reserved, but she could tell they all enjoyed each other’s companionship.

It was, in a way, bittersweet. She was really starting to like these humans. She wondered if Mike and Wenona would like them too. Probably. Vern and Kylee reminded her a lot of Mike. Wenona was actually a little more like Clout, reserved and watchful, but she’d probably be happy to see other humans.

The sound of clattering metal and scurrying paws drew the group’s attention. Another booka was sprinting on all fours towards them, knocking over whatever happened to be in his way as he skidded around corners.

He was big, Thurrin noticed. At least, big for a booka, who were on the shorter side of average height in the Galactic lineup. She remembered Wenona once said that she and the other booka aboard the Gladius were about the size of a bobcat, which was a creature back on Earth. She didn’t really know if that was a good comparison or not at the time. She did look it up later and agreed they were pretty close. Though the poor creatures had no long, gorgeous tail! How sad!

The yellow flames of the approaching booka’s long fur were currently yellow-orange. It looked soft. He must groom it very well, Thurrin thought.

“Vern!” Human Vern yelled out, “Where the heck have you been?”

Booka Vern slid to a stop and rose to stand on his back legs, panting as he tried to catch his breath. “Sorry for… being gone so long… I passed by… I passed and… I saw…”

“Okay, Vern,” Kylee interrupted, “just breathe. Catch your breath first, then talk.”

While Vern gasped in air, Thurrin took the opportunity to look him over. Not only was he big in size, but he was also looking a little big around the middle. Probably the reason he was so out of breath now. His ears were large and wide set. The tips of fur on top of his head had curly flames flickering up. The tufts of fur around his neck were so thick, it almost looked like a mane. Some bookas did grow out their fur like that. Thurrin wasn't too big a fan of the look but on him… well, she had to admit he seemed to make it work. It was a little old-fashioned, but...

Oh, who was she kidding? He made it look super classy. Vern was flarging handsome!

“You doing alright there, buddy?” Ricardo leaned down slightly to get a better look at his crewmate.

“I… I passed by the rec room on level… level three and they had a bunch of monitors going. There were tons of people there, so I wanted to see what was going on. They’re all displaying the same thing, I think it’s an open stream. Everyone and I mean everyone is watching it. Not just here. Everywhere!”

“Vern,” Clout vented air through his systems in a sigh, “do you mean to tell us you sloughed work so you could watch some show someone probably hacked into the broadcast for?”

“Oooh, was it the Olympics?” Kylee’s eyes lit up. “Are we finally getting the signal for them? I’ve been waiting forever for them to be approved to run in the Galactic AV Stream!”

“No, no, it’s not that - it’s the Burnti Empire! They’ve hacked into the stream, every channel. They’re sending a message to the entire galaxy!”

***

This wasn’t good.

This could be a serious blow to the Galactic Confederation.

Thurrin sat back on the cushion she’d been sitting on. The original stream had come through a solar cycle ago. She’d watched the entire interview seven times now. She… she wasn’t quite sure what to think.

On one paw, she was happy to see that Mike was okay. He was alive! Oh she wanted to jump around and shout, “He’s alive! He’s alive!” She wasn’t on the screen, but if Mike was alive and well, maybe Wenona was too? Or what if Mike was the only one on the screen because he was the only survivor! No, hopes were too high now to think that - if Mike made it, then so did Wenona! Thurrin refused to believe anything else.

Oh, they were alive!

Then her brain started coming up with questions.

Were they alright? What were they doing with the Burnti? Had the Burnti hurt them? Did Mike and Wenona fight back? Where were they right now? How was she going to get them back?

Then she had started really listening to the interview.

Her heart felt like it had been ripped from her chest and squeezed tightly. What was he saying? He blamed the Galactic Confederation for his and Wenona’s abduction. That… no. What? That’s not what had… Had the events before her crew rescued them frazzled their memories somehow? Maybe he wasn’t remembering things, right?

No. That was a stupid idea.

Maybe Mike had been brainwashed by the Burnti. That would make a little more sense. But was that even possible to do? It was very unlikely, but did anything else make sense? What else could get Mike- her Mike- her friend Mike to say what she was now hearing come across on the stream?

She wasn’t the only one having a hard time understanding what was going on. All around the room, conversations broke out, some less hushed than others. Some less civil than others. One such group included the humans she had just been talking happily with from before.

“Do you mean to tell me he’s sending a secret message while also being interviewed?” One of the Rock Base crew- a long-necked speckled daydam- ranted, “I know you humans are supposed to be these great multi-taskers, but that’s outlandish even for you. He’s just blinking because he can’t see. He’s under a lot of lights, I’m sure. There are very few species that can see properly under those conditions.

“Humans can!” Retorted Kylee. “We do it all the time. He’s not just blinking because it’s too bright, he’s blinking a code!”

This had been going on for a while until their “conversation” had erupted into an all-out shouting match. One by one, other groups around them quieted down to watch and listen in. They soon had the attention of everyone in the room.

“What’s all this? What’s going on?” Captain Salora stepped into the conversation. The yelling daydam dipped his head respectfully at her arrival.

“Captain Salora Akeno, we were discussing the recording from the Burnti Empire. You’ve seen it, I presume?”

“Of course I have,” she waved her claws, a bit irritated. “Everyone has. You were doing a bit more than merely ‘discussing’ it. Care to share your conversation?”

“Hey,” hummed one of the daydam’s alien’s companions, “Wasn’t that human one that you had on your ship? What is all this? Do you have any idea what he could ruin? This could lead to all-out war! I can’t believe you and your crew-”

He was cut short by a dangerous glare from Captain Salora. His companion elbowed him to stand down.

“Apologies, Captain Salora Akeno,” the first daydam muttered. Its short fur was standing on edge in several places, making it look very ruffled and disheveled. “These humans claim that your human… Mike… is sending some sort of code during the interview. It’s preposterous! The reasons they’re giving are unfounded and farfetched.”

“No, it’s true, just look at him!” Kylee interrupted and pointed at the closest display screen where a close up of Mike was answering questions about the great times he had been having aboard the Arum Bloom. Captain Salora had to admit, he did seem to be blinking a lot. It was very strange.

“I’m telling you, that’s normal for many species under bright lights. You’re just trying to find an excuse for this betrayal because he’s also human! We all know how humans pack bond with each other.”

“Are you freakin’ kidding me?” Kylee was shouting again. “Does it physically hurt you to be that stupid?” Ricardo and Human Vern each put a hand on her shoulders, but she brushed them off and stepped up so that she was nearly face to neck with the Rock Base Crewmember. “I don’t know this guy from Adam! But if he’s doing what I think he’s doing, he’s more a hero than you could ever hope to be in your entire life!”

“And what, exactly,” interrupted Salora before the two broke out into an all-out brawl, “do you think he’s doing? You said he’s using some sort of code?”

“Morse code, Ma’am,” interjected Ricardo. “It’s a type of binary code from Earth. We think the patterns he’s blinking are in Morse code.”

The long-necked alien snorted. “Again, all while also holding a conversation with the urma interviewing him?”

“It’s called multi-tasking,” Kylee growled, “We’re great at it. For instance, while we’ve been talking, I’ve been tolerating your special brand of idiocy, watching this Mike possibly risk his life on the screen, and calculating how many vats of fermented gent entrails I’ll need to fill up your personal quarters once we’re done here!”

Thurrin watched as Captain Salora sighed deeply and rubbed her temples with the blunt of her claws. As an akeno, the captain was very patient. It was a very famous quality many of akenos had, but even she had a limit.

Thurrin padded closer to the group. “The Morse code he’s blinking,” she began. All eyes looked down to her, “do you… does anyone know what he’s saying?”

Everyone turned back to the display. It was at a wide shot now, but it soon went back to switching between close-ups of Urma Kalabretti Esh and Mike, who continued blinking strangely. Could it really be code? If so, what message could he be so intent on sending to the entire galaxy?

“Hmmm… Vern took a closer look. “I’m not sure. I don’t really know Morse code. Ricardo?”

Ricardo’s dark brown eyes studied Mike closely. “Not really, but… there! That was an S. And, oh, that’s an O! Uh…” he kept watching but shook his head. “Those are really the only letters I know. Everyone knows SOS in Morse code.”

“Captain Salora,” the second long-necked alien complained, “Don’t tell me you believe any of this nonsense!”

She ignored him and instead turned her focus back on the three humans. “Which ship are you from? Who is your captain?”

“Captain Fenz, Ma’am, of the ESS Maywing,” said Ricardo.

Captain Salora nodded thoughtfully. “I know Captain Fenz. I believe he’d be alright if I borrowed you for a bit Human…” she paused.

“Ricardo.”

“Human Ricardo,” she repeated. She turned to the other two. “If you would, let Captain Fenz know I am taking Ricardo from his duties for a few moortiks.” Kylee and Vern nodded. “Right. You’re excused then. Human Ricardo, if you would follow me please.”

As she and Ricardo started for the door, Captain Salora nodded at Thurrin. “Thurrin, you might as well come too. I know you will anyway.”

Thurrin’s fur blushed a slight shade of red. She bounded after her captain and new human friend on all fours, trying to keep up with their brisk pace.

Previous Chapter             Next Chapter

[mk1comics]

August Games Preview:  We unpacked a pretty solid restock of D&D and Pathfinder miniatures this morning - these have been great sellers for MK1 so it's good to see those shelves full again. MK1 is  expecting a whole bunch of new figures for both brands this month (might need more shelves!)  Speaking of MINIATURES - our big WARMACHINE/HORDES sale is on now - check out the bargains here.

Here is the monthly run down showing our August Gaming expectations and recent arrivals..  Reminder : contact us  to request arrival alerts for any of the new releases listed below:

ROLE PLAYING GAMES

Dungeons and Dragons Waterdeep: Dragonheist (Due Soon)

Pathfinder Playtest Rulebook   (Arrived)

Pathfinder Playtest Rulebook Hardcover (Arrived)   Pathfinder Playtest Adventure: Doomsday Dawn   (Arrived)

Pathfinder Playtest Adventure: Flip-Mat Multi Pack (Arrived)

New Dungeon & Dragons & Pathfinder Unpainted Miniatures  Aasimar, Air Genasi, Bandits, Dragonborn, Earth Genasi, Githyanki, Mimics, Oxen, Pirates, Swarm of Rats, Tiefling, Umber Hulk, Werewolves, Yuan-Ti Malisons, Silver Dragon - more! (Due Soon)

Our store inventory is real time live in our webstore - check out our RPG stock here  

MINIATURES DUE SOON

40K ADEPTUS TITANICUS  and More Warhammer 40K KILL TEAM (Due Soon) keep an eye on the GW community page for more sneak peeks..

Star Wars X-Wing 2nd Edition

Star Wars X-Wing Galactic Empire Conversion Kit

Star Wars X-Wing Rebel Alliance Conversion Kit

Star Wars X-Wing Scum and Villany Conversion Kit

T-65 X-Wing Damage Deck

Star Wars X-Wing BTL-A4

Star Wars X-Wing: T-65

Star Wars X-Wing: Tie Advanced 2nd Edition

Star Wars X-Wing: Tie Fighter

  -All our Miniature games are viewable here  or choose from our D&D, Pathfinder Warmachine/Hordes , WARHAMMER 40K or Age of Sigmar ranges.

BOARD GAMES & CARD GAMES

Age of Towers (Arrived)

Arkham Horror: Heart of the Elders (due soon)

Arkham Horror The Card Game Boundary Beyond (Due Soon)

Arkham Horror: City of Archives (Due Soon)

Betrayal Legacy (late 2018)

Carcassonne Bridges Castles and Bazaars (Arrived)

Carcassonne Count King and Robber (Arrived)

Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger  (Arrived)    

DC Comics Spyfall  (Due Soon)  

Deadpool vs The World (Due Soon)  

Munchkin Fowl Play

Scythe: The Rise of Fenris (Due Soon)

Town of Salem: Savior of Salem   (Arrived)

Ticket to Ride New York (Arrived)

Our store inventory is real time live in our webstore - check out our Board Game stock here

COLLECTIBLE GAMES 

Magic the Gathering - Commander 2018 (Due Soon)

Magic the Gathering Core 2019 (On Shelf Now)

Pokemon: Celestial Storm  Boosters, Theme decks and Elite Trainer boxes.

Star Wars Destiny: Way of the Force Booster (On Shelf Now)

-Follow these links for all our POKEMON,   MAGIC THE GATHERING AND YUGIOH stock info.

All of MK1’s inventory is live online 24 hours a day 7 days a week http://www.mk1.co.nz/

[sharknadoslutt]

This is my new Star Wars OC and I’m currently obsessed with her so I’ll be putting her here so I can reference her later, and also to show my friends because I’m vain. 

Stint’l Casterfo

(Pronounced Stehnt-uhl Cas-ter-foe)

Species: Half human (Roisan to be exact), half Pantoran

Born: 19 ABY

Appearance: Stint’l is very light skinned for a Pantoran (Compared to the normal royal blue tone) but still has bright golden eyes and light lavender hair.

Personality: Stint’l is very much so a bright minded tech-minded individual who is a wiz at fixing and creating things in a tight spot. She’s a hot headed tom-boy who isn’t afraid to start a fight despite being relatively physically weak. 

Family Members:  Tarish Casterfo (Her mother from Roisa, a high class escort),  Telkum Casterfo (Maternal Grandfather and formal Resistance pilot from Roisa), Yakesh Bausenji (A Priest from Pantoran), Ransolm Casterfo (Her second cousin on her mothers side; her grandfather’s brother’s child)

Fun things I want to mention for no reason: She likes to make bombs. Always carries a small tool kit with her. She is either always barefoot or wearing boots way too big for her. Loves sweet foods because she never gets to have them. Has a serious attitude problem. Has never owned a dress and never wants too. 

18-22 ABY

Stint’l is a child out of wedlock born from a Roisan escort ( Tarish Casterfo ) and a highly respected Pantoran Priest ( Yakesh Bausenji ). Upon learning she was pregnant her mother fled to Coruscant to avoid a scandal. She worked as a stripper in a shady club and often left young Stint’l at home with a droid given to her by her father, Telkum.

Telkum would often come visit his daughter and granddaughter on his journey. He was a Meteorite Farmer (He went around and extracted minerals and jewels from different meteors and sold them for credits) He was an active man for his age and always made time for his girls.

23 ABY

In the beginning of the year Tarish was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was attacked. Her face was terribly deformed and she couldnt find work couldn’t find work after that. Coruscant was fairly accepting compared to some backwater planets but no one had a lot of sympathy for a prostitute with an bastard inter-species child. Desperate and with no way to support her family she tried to contact Stint’l’s father in hope that he would provided financial support.

Instead of getting the positive reaction Tarish was lead with no response. or so she thought.

About a fortnight after her first attempt at contact a bomb was set off in her apartment complex. This killed about 16 people, including Tarish. Fortunately at the time Stint’l was out with her grandfather at the local market as he tried to sell some jewels he had uncovered on his last heist. 

Once Telkum caught wind of the bombing form a pedestrian at the market he knew exactly what had happened. He had advised his daughter against contacting Priest Yakesh Bausenji knowing that no good would come from it, surely he wouldn’t want a scandal like an illegitimate child getting out.

He scooped his now 5 year old granddaughter out of the city and took her on his ship. Stint’l had been assumed to have died in the bombing with her mother and Telkum wanted to keep it that way.

24-28 ABY

Telkum always blamed himself for how his daughter turned out and was determined to rectify that by raising Stint’l right. Well, by raising her to the best of his ability anyways.

He’s an old man who drinks, drops a curse word every other word, and is not good with emotions. 5-year old Stint’l looses the manners that she had learned from her childhood in Coruscant and turns into a crazy cursing little child who likes to yell, make bombs, and starts fights with other kids.

For the next several years Stint’l is raised by her grandfather as he travels across the galaxy. He continues making a living as a Meteorite Farmer and shows young Stint’l the ropes. He teaches her the basics of flying and ship repair. Often times in ports Stint’l dressed as a little boy instead of a girl, especially on the back water planets, as it’s safer for travel.

Along with teaching her technology Telkum also makes sure he educates her in reading and writing.  Knowing that he’s older and wont be around forever he wants to make sure she is prepared for when he’s gone.

29 ABY

Telkum catches word of the Napkin bombing scandal in the senate and travels to Hosnian Prime to seek an audience with his nephew, Ransolm Casterfo (Telkum’s brother is Ransolm's late Father). Now 10 year old Stint’l had never even heard of this politician, but little did she knew that her grandfather followed the senate very closely. Being a former Rebellion leader himself he was very paranoid about the world and what could potential happen. He’s slowly loosing his mind tbh but 9 year old Stint’l has no idea

He was successfully able to meet with Ransolm where he introduced him to Stint’l, explaining that she was his daughter’s illegitimate child he was now raising. The two men caught up while Stint’l played - Not really having an interest in their conversation.

A few weeks passed and the scandal broke out about how Ransolm orchestrated a financial laundering scheme to help fund a para-military group. Per galactic law he would be sent back to his home planet of Rosia to be tried and if found guilty (And considering how he was framed by very wealthy political figures, he would definitely be found guilty) be executed.

Still having some social standing (And also by using almost every penny in his name)  Telkum is able to bribe some guards and smuggle Ransolm off of the planet. As to not cause an outroar a suicide is staged and as far as the galaxy is confirmed Ransolm is now dead.

Now having 2 fugitives on his ship and no money Telkum becomes much more cautious with his Meteorite Farming business and starts resorting to illegal markets.

29-32 ABY

The family change their name in attempt to hide from unwanted attention (Changing from Casterfo to Senn) and continue to travel the galaxy farming. However since they have are now under new identities all of Telkum‘s credentials are now invalid. So they do business on a very careful level.

Ransolm, a very distinguished man himself, tries his best to teach Stint’l “how to be a lady” to which she does not react well too. He bought her a dress one time, because she didnt own anything other than boots and overalls, and she ejected it out the airlock. He does however get her to stop burping loudly and teaches her the term, “excuse me”

Over the next few years Telkum starts having breakdowns and episodes of fits, reliving his days from the rebellion. Like waking up in the middle of the night thinking the Empire found them and they are about to die, he just starts screaming. One time he tried to shoot Ransolm in the chest and Stint’l crying hysterically was what snapped him out of it. 

Ransolm and Stint’l learned how to calm him down and grow worried for his mentality as he was growing older and less stable by the day.

33 ABY

After a few days of mining in the outer rim the Castafo family gets abducted by a large ship resembling an Imperial Star Destroyer.  Telkum has a break down and freaks out as they are about to be boarded by “Darth Vader”.

Ransolm, who immediately understood the severity of the situation once he saw soldiers in white armor, immediately began divising an escape plan. He knew there was no way he’d be able to save his Great Uncle Telkum with his screaming and erratic behavior but he was determined to save himself and 14 year old Stint’l. 

With a weary heart Ransolm uses Telkum’s episode as a distraction to escape with Stint’l on an escape pod. 

In disbelief on what he himself had just seen Ransolm becomes obsessed with finding the Resistance (Who he hears is allegedly lead by his good friend Leia Organa) to lend a helping hand.

Within the next few months Ransolm and Stint’l buy a junker light freighter and travel the galaxy until they finally come to find the resistance.

After gaining an audience with General Organa the two old friends reunite and Stint’l (Being too young to actually be on the front lines of the fighting) becomes Leia’s assistant. She basically follows the General around, gets her caff, takes notes when instructed. 

It was also a favor on behalf of Ransolm because Stint’l is wild and super wild and he think’s Leia could help teach her some manners and turn her into a lady. This does not work.

Stint’l didn’t really care for this either considering how she’s very energetic and hands on, she wanted to be where the action was. But Leia wouldn’t have it and took the 15 year old girl under her wings, trying to make a tame civilized lady of her.

My amazing pal @floral-and-fine drew her and !!!!

[queenbeez-blog]

1:50 Sienar Fleet Systems “TIE/E” Escort Fighter, “801”, based on board of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer ‘Vehement’ during the Battle of Endor (Whif/kitbashing)

+++ DISCLAIMER +++ Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background: The TIE/LN starfighter, or TIE/line starfighter, simply known as the TIE Fighter or T/F, was the standard Imperial starfighter seen in massive numbers throughout most of the Galactic Civil War and onward. The TIE Fighter was manufactured by Sienar Fleet Systems and led to several upgraded TIE models such as TIE/sa bomber, TIE/IN interceptor, TIE/D Defender, TIE/D automated starfighter, and many more.

The original TIEs were designed to attack in large numbers, overwhelming the enemy craft. The Imperials used so many that they came to be considered symbols of the Empire and its might. They were also very cheap to produce, reflecting the Imperial philosophy of quantity over quality.

However, a disadvantage of the fighter was its lack of deflector shields. In combat, pilots had to rely on the TIE/LN’s maneuverability to avoid damage. The cockpit did incorporate crash webbing, a repulsorlift antigravity field, and a high-g shock seat to help protect the pilot, however these did next to nothing to help protect against enemy blaster fire.

Due to the lack of life-support systems, each TIE pilot had a fully sealed flight suit superior to their Rebel counterparts. The absence of a hyperdrive also rendered the light fighter totally dependent on carrier ships when deployed in enemy systems. TIE/LNs also lacked landing gear, another mass-reducing measure. While the ships were structurally capable of "sitting" on their wings, they were not designed to land or disembark their pilots without special support. On Imperial ships, TIEs were launched from racks in the hangar bays.

The high success rate of more advanced Rebel starfighters against standard Imperial TIE Fighters resulted in a mounting cost of replacing destroyed fighters and their pilots. That, combined with the realization that the inclusion of a hyperdrive would allow the fleet to be more flexible, caused the Imperial Navy to rethink its doctrine of using swarms of cheap craft instead of fewer high-quality ones, leading to the introduction of the TIE Advanced x1 and its successor, the TIE Avenger. The following TIE/D Defender as well as the heavy TIE Escort Fighter (or TIE/E) were touted as the next "logical advance" of the TIE Series—representing a shift in starfighter design from previous, expendable TIE models towards fast, well armed and protected designs, capable of hyperspace travel and long-term crew teams which gained experience and capabilities over time.

The TIE/E Escort, was a high-performance TIE Series starfighter developed for the Imperial Navy by Sienar Fleet Systems and it was introduced into service shortly before the Battle of Endor. It was a much heavier counterpart to the agile and TIE/D fighter, and more of an attack ship or even a light bomber than a true dogfighter. Its role were independent long range operations, and in order to reduce the work load and boost morale a crew of two was introduced (a pilot and a dedicated weapon systems officer/WSO). The primary duty profile included attack and escort task, but also reconnoiter missions. The TIE/E shared the general layout with the contemporary TIE/D fighter, but the cockpit section as well as the central power unit were much bigger, and the ship was considerably heavier.

The crew enjoyed – compared with previous TIE fighter designs – a spacious and now fully pressurized cockpit, so that no pressurized suits had to be worn anymore. The crew members sat in tandem under a large, clear canopy. The pilot in front had a very good field of view, while the WSO sat behind him, in a higher, staggered position with only a limited field of view. Both work stations had separate entries, though, and places could not be switched in flight: the pilot mounted the cockpit through a hatch on port side, while the WSO entered the rear compartment through a roof hatch.

In a departure from the design of previous TIE models, instead of two parallel wings to either side of the pilot module, the TIE Escort had three quadanium steel solar array wings mounted symmetrically around an aft section, which contained an I-s4d solar ionization reactor to store and convert solar energy collected from the wing panels. The inclusion of a third wing provided additional solar power to increase the ship’s range and the ship’s energy management system was designed to allow weapons and shields to be charged with minimum loss of power to the propulsion system.

Although it was based on the standard twin ion engine design, the TIE/E’s propulsion system was upgraded to the entirely new, powerful P-sz9.8 triple ion engine. This allowed the TIE/E a maximum acceleration of 4,220 G or 21 MGLT/s and a top speed of 144 MGLT, or 1,680 km/h in an atmosphere — almost 40 percent faster than a former standard TIE Fighter. With tractor beam recharge power (see below) redirected to the engines, the top speed could be increased to 180 MGLT in a dash. In addition to the main thrusters located in the aft section, the TIE Escort’s triple wing design allowed for three arrays of maneuvering jets and it featured an advanced F-s5x flight avionics system to process the pilot’s instructions. Production models received a class 2, ND9 hyperdrive motivator, modified from the version developed for the TIE Avenger. The TIE/E also carried a Sienar N-s6 Navcon navigation computer with a ten-jump memory.

Special equipment included a small tractor beam projector, originally developed for the TIE Avenger, which could be easily fitted to the voluminous TIE Escort. Models produced by Ysanne Isard’s production facility regularly carried such tractor beams and the technology found other uses, such as towing other damaged starfighters until they could achieve the required velocity to enter hyperspace. The tractor beam had limited range and could only be used for a short time before stopping to recharge, but it added new tactics, too. For instance, the beam allowed the TIE/E crews to temporarily inhibit the mobility of enemy fighters, making it easier to target them with the ship’s other weapon systems, or prevent enemies from clear shots.

The TIE Escort’s weapons systems were primarily designed to engage bigger ships and armored or shielded targets, like armed freighters frequently used by the Alliance. Thanks to its complex weapon and sensor suite, it could also engage multiple enemy fighters at once. The sensors also allowed an effective attack of ground targets, so that atmospheric bombing was a potential mission for the TIE/E, too. . The TIE Escort Fighter carried a formidable array of weaponry in two modular weapon bays that were mounted alongside the lower cabin. In standard configuration, the TIE/E had two L-s9.3 laser cannons and two NK-3 ion cannons. The laser and ion cannons could be set to fire separately or, if concentrated power was required, to fire-linked in either pairs or as a quartet. The ship also featured two M-g-2 general-purpose warhead launchers, each of which could be equipped with a standard load of three proton torpedoes or four concussion missiles. Depending on the mission profile, the ship could be fitted with alternative warheads such as proton rockets, proton bombs, or magnetic pulse warheads. Additionally, external stores could be carried under the fuselage, which included a conformal sensor pallet for reconnaissance missions or a cargo bay with a capacity for 500 kg (1.100 lb).

The ship’s defenses were provided by a pair of forward and rear projecting Novaldex deflector shield generators—another advantage over former standard TIE models. The shields were designed to recharge more rapidly than in previous Imperial fighters and were nearly as powerful as those found on capital ships, so that the TIE/E could engage other ships head-on with a very high survivability. The fighters were not equipped with particle shields, though, relying on the reinforced titanium hull to absorb impacts from matter. Its hull and wings were among the strongest of any TIE series Starfighter yet.

The advanced starfighter attracted the attention of several other factions, and the Empire struggled to prevent the spread of the technology. The ship’s high cost, together with political factors, kept it from achieving widespread use in the Empire, though, and units were assigned only to the most elite crews.

The TIE/E played a central role in the Empire’s campaign against rogue Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin, and mixed Defender and Escort units participated in several other battles, including the Battle of Endor. The TIE Escort continued to see limited use by the Imperial Remnant up to at least 44 ABY, and was involved in numerous conflicts, including the Yuuzhan Vong War..

The kit and its assembly: Another group build contribution, this time to the Science Fiction GB at whatifmodelers.com during summer 2017. Originally, this one started as an attempt to build a vintage MPC TIE Interceptor kit which I had bought and half-heartedly started to build probably 20 years ago. But I did not have the right mojo (probably, The Force was not strong enough…?), so the kit ended up in a dark corner and some parts were donated to other projects.

The sun collectors were still intact, though, and in the meantime I had the idea of reviving the kit’s remains, and convert it into (what I thought was) a fictional TIE Fighter variant with three solar panels. For this plan I got myself another TIE Interceptor kit, and stashed it away, too. Mojo was still missing, though.

Well, then came the SF GB and I took it as an occasion to finally tackle the build. But when I prepared for the build I found out that my intended design (over the years) more or less actually existed in the Star Wars universe: the TIE/D Defender! I could have built it with the parts and hand and some improvisation, but the design similarity bugged me. Well, instead of a poor copy of something that was more or less clearly defined, I rather decided to create something more individual, yet plausible, from the parts at hand.

The model was to stay a TIE design, though, in order to use as much donor material from the MPC kits as possible. Doing some legwork, I settled for a heavy fighter – bigger than the TIE Interceptor and the TIE/D fighter, a two-seater. Working out the basic concept and layout took some time and evolved gradually. The creative spark for the TIE/E eventually came through a Revell “Obi Wan’s Jedi Starfighter” snap fit kit in my pile – actually a prize from a former GB participation at phoxim.de (Thanks a lot, Wolfgang!), and rather a toy than a true model kit.

The Jedi Fighter was in so far handy as it carries some TIE Fighter design traits, like the pilot capsule and the characteristic spider web windscreen. Anyway, it’s 1:32, much bigger than the TIE Interceptor’s roundabout 1:50 scale – but knowing that I’d never build the Jedi Starfighter OOB I used it as a donor bank, and from this starting point things started to evolve gradually.

Work started with the cockpit section, taken from the Jedi Starfighter kit. The two TIE Interceptor cockpit tubs were then mounted inside, staggered, and the gaps to the walls filled with putty. A pretty messy task, and once the shapes had been carved out some triangular tiles were added to the surfaces – a detail I found depicted in SW screenshots and some TIE Fighter models.

Another issue became the crew – even though I had two MPC TIE Interceptors and, theorectically, two pilot figures, only one of them could be found and the second crewman had to be improvised. I normally do not build 1:48 scale things, but I was lucky (and happy) to find an SF driver figure, left over from a small Dougram hoovercraft kit (from Takara, as a Revell “Robotech” reboxing). This driver is a tad bigger than the 1:50 TIE pilot, but I went with it because I did not want to invest money and time in alternatives. In order to justify the size difference I decided to paint the Dougram driver as a Chiss, based on the expanded SW universe (with blue skin and hair, and glowing red eyes). Not certain if this makes sense during the Battle of Endor timeframe, but it adds some color to the project – and the cockpit would not be visible in much detail since it would be finished fully closed.

Reason behind the closed canopy is basically the poor fit of the clear part. OOB, this is intended as an action toy – but also the canopy’s considerable size in 1:50 would prevent its original opening mechanism. Additional braces on the rel. large window panels were created with self-adhesive tape and later painted over.

The rear fuselage section and the solar panel pylons were scratched. The reactor behind the cockpit section is actually a plastic adapter for water hoses, found in a local DIY market. It was slightly modified, attached to the cockpit “egg” and both parts blended with putty. The tail opening was closed with a hatch from the OOB TIE Interceptor – an incidental but perfect match in size and style.

The three pylons are also lucky finds: actually, these are SF wargaming/tabletop props and would normally be low walls or barriers, made from resin. For my build, they were more or less halved and trimmed. Tilted by 90°, they are attached to the hull with iron wire stabilizers, and later blended to the hull with putty, too.

Once the cockpit was done, things moved more swiftly. The surface of the hull was decorated with many small bits and pieces, including thin styrene sheet and profiles, steel and iron wire in various strengths, and there are even 1:72 tank tracks hidden somewhere, as well as protective caps from syringes (main guns and under the rear fuselage). It’s amazing how much stuff you can add to such a model – but IMHO it’s vital in order to create some structure and to emulate the (early) Star Wars look.

Painting and markings: The less spectacular part of the project, even though still a lot of work because of the sheer size of the model’s surface. Since the whole thing is fictional, I tried to stay true to the Imperial designs from Episode IV-VI and gave the TIE/E a simple, all-light grey livery. All basic painting was done with rattle cans. Work started with a basic coat of grey primer. On top of that, an initial coat of RAL 7036 Platingrau was added, esp. to the lower surfaces and recesses, for a rough shading effect. Then, the actual overall tone, RAL 7047, called “Telegrau 4”, one of Deutsche Telekom’s corporate tones, was added – mostly sprayed from abone and the sides onto the model. Fuselage and panels were painted separately, overall assembly was one of the final steps.

The solar panels were to stand out from the grey rest of the model, and I painted them with Revell Acrylic “Iron Metallic” (91) first, and later applied a rather rich wash with black ink , making sure the color settled well into the many small cells. The effect is pretty good, and the contrast was slightly enhanced through a dry-brushing treatment.

Only a few legible stencils were added all around the hull (most from the scrap box or from mecha sheets), the Galactic Empire Seal were inkjet-printed at home, as well as some tactical markings on the flanks, puzzled together from single digits in "Aurebash", one of the Imperial SW languages/fonts. For some variety and color highlights, dozens of small, round and colorful markings were die-punched from silver, yellow, orange, red and blue decal sheet and were placed all over the hull – together with the large panels they blur into the the overall appearance, though. The hatches received thin red linings, also made from generic decals strips.

The cockpit interior was a bit challenging, though. Good TIE Fighter cockpit interior pictures are hard to find, but they suggest a dark grey tone. More confusingly, the MPC instructions call for a “Dark Green” cockpit? Well, I did not like the all-grey option, since the spaceship is already monochrome grey on the outside.

As a compromise I eventually used Tamiya XF-65 "Field Grey". The interior recieved a black ink in and dry-brushing treatment, and some instruments ansd screens were created with black decal material and glossy black paint; some neon paint was used for sci-fi-esque conmtraol lamps everywhere – I did not pay too much intention on the interior, since the cockpit would stay closed, and the thick clear material blurs everything inside. Following this rationale, the crew was also painted in arather minimal fashion – both wear a dark grey uniform, only the Chiss pilot stands aout with his light blue skin and the flourescent red eyes.

After an overall black ink wash the model received a dry brusing treatment with FS 36492 and FS 36495, for a weathered and battle-worn look. After all, the "Vehement" would not survive the Ballte of Endor, but who knows what became of TIE/E "801"’s mixed crew…? Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish, and some final cosmetic corrections made.

The display is a DIY creation, too, made from a 6×6" piece of wood, it’s edges covered with edgebonder, a steel wire as holder, and finally the display was paited with semi-matt black acrylic paint from the rattle can.

A complex build, and the TIE/E more or less evolved along the way, with only the overall layout in mind. Work took a month, but I think it was worth the effort. This fantasy creation looks pretty plausible and blends well into the vast canonical TIE Fighter family – and I am happy that I finally could finish this mummy project, including the surplus Jedi Starfighter kit which now also find a very good use!

An epic one, and far outside my standard comfort zone. But a wothwhile build!

Posted by dizzyfugu on 2017-08-19 18:32:22

Tagged: , mpc , tie , defender , escort , fighter , interceptor , star , wars , sw , endor , battle , two , seater , chiss , pilot , tandem , heavy , sienar , imperial , empire , sith , ral , grey , fictional , kitbashing , modellbau , whif , what-if , non-canonical , tri , three , dizzyfugu , science , fiction , group , build , whatifmodelers

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