Sep — Roleplayer Guild

The X-Wing shook as it re-entered realspace high above Tregallons' atmosphere, moments before the warning trill from his R2-series astromech 'Chirper' woke Krang from his stupor. Shaking his head, shoulders, and arms as best he could, the blue swirl of hyperspace turned into streams of light, each one resolving into tiny pinpricks of light hanging in the ether of space. The blue, green, brown and grey world appeared before him, filling up his viewports. Flicking a switch, the ship shuddered as the S-foils opened, giving the X-Wing its signature appearance. 

To try and prevent any pursuer from tracking him, Krang had laid in his course to Fibra-4. A different world at the far end of the Exaron system, but at the last moment, had Chirper adjust the course in such a way that Tregallons' natural gravity well would pull him from hyperspace. It was a risky move. While he was far closer to the planet than a traditional hyperspace jump would allow, it also meant that if he encountered any Imperial forces, he would have to try to run away from the planet's gravity well before being able to re-enter hyperspace. The shattered asteroids were a bonus to the equation. High in mineral deposits, by coming in through them and cutting power, any passive sensors would hopefully just mark him as a stray piece of debris. 

"Any sign of Imperials?" Krang grumbled. His deep and gravelly voice sounded like a poor or mocking attempt at the clean and 'proper' Corcusa accent that was popular among Imperial officers. The whistling and bleeting from Chirper came through his helmet comms; he could understand the Binary spoken by astromechs, though instinct had him look at the small display on his screen that translated for the droid.

¦NEGATIVE - SYSTEM SHOWS CLEAR¦

"Good, plot us a course down the rendezvous, we're going to stay nice and close to these asteroids for as long as-"

There was a sudden flash of green energy as his ship shook. Chirper screamed through the helmet in surprise. By instinct, Krang punched the thrusters and pulled the stick. Feathering the rudder, he pulled the X-Wing into a tight downward spiral. As the local star, a yellow giant, passed above him, a shadow flashed over. Looking up, he swore. "Karabast, I thought you said no Imperials."

¦SCANS WERE CLEAR¦

Pulling the ship level, Krang checked the shield status and winced. That first strike had knocked his rear shields to nearly half, and they weren't recharging as quickly as he would have liked. "Give me a full sensor sweep, active sensors." Chancing a glance to look down, he winced slightly. White dots filled the screen, the asteroids. Grey dots denoted likely civilian traffic, mining and transport vessels coming in and out of the belt. What was more concerning was the large red dot at the far side of the asteroid belt, and the single red blip right on top of him.

"Time till main intercept?"

¦ONE MINUTE THIRTY¦

"Time to atmosphere?"

¦FORTY FIVE SECONDS¦

Wincing again. The T-65B series X-Wing was, in his opinion. The best starfighter available, the fact that the Rebel Alliance had secured as many of them was nothing short of a miracle. Hyperdrives, proton torpedo launchers. They were nimble, fast and with their shielding, they could take a hit. An important attribute for an organisation that had equal issues with pilot retention and snubfighter acquisition. The issue was the craft that had scored the first hit, likely intending to immobilise him in the first volley. Was what the Alliance pilots liked to call an Eyeball. A TIE fighter. Cheap and easy to mass produce, what it lacked in durability, it could make up for in speed. Krang couldn't outrun it, which meant in order to make his way to the planet, he was going to have to destroy it first. 

Destroy it within forty-five seconds, so that he had enough time to get to the planet before the second wave hit.

"Keep scanners on incoming ships. Designate by priority - Squints, eyeballs, dupes. Let me know what the capital ship is the moment you get a good read on it."

There was a trill of acknowledgement as he pulled up on the yoke, pulling back the acceleration and feathering the rudder pedal, the X-Wing turned in a near instant. Feeling the slight pull as the ship struggled to compensate for the manoeuvre. "Start the clock. Thirty seconds." Krang pointed the ship in the direction of the planet, forgoing his original plan to try and stay as close to the asteroids for as long as possible, then sneak his way into some form of automated convoy.

Pushing the acceleration to full, he felt the ship kick as there was a burst of speed. His fingers, as nimbly as possible, worked their way over a series of switches and buttons. Laser cannons to double-fire, allowing him to pull off a nice balance between fire rate, power and recharge rate. Twisting the X-Wing into a roll as hails of green laser fire passed, occasionally a bolt would pass near his shields. Light played over them. "All power to rear shields-"

A trill in protest. ¦BUT WE ARE APPROACHING ATMOSPHERE¦

The droid protested, but Krang growled through gritted teeth and didn't need to ask again. Keeping an eye on his rear sensor, he watched as the TIE honed in on him, matching his flightpath. "Prepare a torpedo, paint the target as your current coordinates. Three-second fuse." The astromech knew better than to argue as Krang clicked over to his torpedo launchers, sequencing for single fire. Flicking off the safety, his finger over the trigger. Wincing to himself.

¦READY¦

Pulling the trigger, a streak of blue light shot out from the nose of the craft. Once it was clear of the ship, it received the target lock and attempted to turn. Unable to turn quickly due to its immense speed, it pulled up into a wide and almost lazy-looking arc. All the while maintaining its speed. Chirper screamed, alarms blaring in the X-Wing as it detected the torpedo. It completed its arc. Following his trail, approaching rapidly then-

A brilliant flash of white light from behind him, without pause, he pulled up on the yoke in his own wide loop. The nova flashing in his eyes before it faded away to nothing but void. Completing his loop, his left hand flicked a switch, turning back to lasers. Single fire. The target reticle on his HUD switched to red, and he pulled the trigger. Red bolts lanced out, cutting through space in rapid succession. The Imp pilot only had a split second to react, having been trying to avoid the blast of the torpedo. He missed Krang's manoeuvre, noticing too late as one bolt struck the connection between the TIES portside solar array, shearing it instantly. As the ship rattled and twisted with the change in profile, another bolt tore through the central cockpit. A third hit the ion engines, then with a brilliant flash, his pursuer was gone.

Looking at the clock, he couldn't help himself, unable to suppress the grin. Five seconds left on the clock, and another kill marker for his X-Wing. Assuming I survive to tell anyone. He banished the thought immediately as he redistrubuted shield power and turned the craft for full burn towards the planet.

Flames licked at the craft as the resistance of the atmosphere pushed against him. From the ground, the X-Wing would appear as a meteor until finally, through the initial barrier, the flames subsided. A sonic boom shook the craft. Turning dials, Krang pored over the sensor data provided to him on the ships trailing him. The larger ship was the Vindicator-Class heavy cruiser, with a maximum complement of 72 TIES. It was the Performer, Captain Grakkus' system patrol vessel. Which meant that his ambush was less likely a trap, and more likely a poorly timed arrival during a training exercise.

Ice clawed its way through his chest when the pursuing TIEs pulled back, shy of the planet. It was a sound tactic, despite their greater number and speed, their large solar arrays meant the TIEs performed poorly in atmosphere during tight manoeuvres. Many a rookie TIE pilot lost their life in atmosphere while trying to perform a twist that in the vacuum of space could give them the advantage. Instead, with a suitable patrol pattern, they could effectively force the X-Wing to ground. This, however, was fine. Krang would make the rendezvous with the local rebel cell, give them the information and then they would find a way to get it off-world, and he would either leave them the X-Wing or stay with them until such time as he could make his way off planet. 

Looking down at the local map he smiled, he'd be well within the scanner range of the rendezvous point now. He'd go to ground, and they'd leave before any form of- 

A shrill series of beeping, chirping, warbling and likely cursing came through from his astromech. 

A wing of TIEs appeared on his scans directly ahead. That was, that was impossible. The only TIE Garrisons was at the main city and the Imperial Compound. Not only that, but the city still used V-Wings. They didn't have the manpower to spare a wing of TIEs for a random patrol or training mission at the far side of the planet. His hubris knocked the ice loose, as it collapsed down into the pit of his stomach. It hadn't been the wrong place, wrong time for the ships in orbit. They weren't pulling back for any fear of performance.

They had done their job, they had driven him to ground. Prevented him from fleeing. 

The lonely X-Wing had flown directly into their trap. Pushing his shields to double-front, leaving his back end exposed, he flew directly at the TIE formation. Lasers fired rapidly. Streaks of red tearing through the clear blue sky, as the waters and the rock formations passed below. Juking and weaving, he kept his lasers trained on the incoming ties. His ship shook as bolts chewed away at his shields, before one of the incoming TIEs took a stray bolt and went spinning off and smoking into the distance. The two at the outer edges of the formation broke, pulling up and into a wide loop as the X-Wing tore straight through where their formation had been moments prior.

"I want you to download all the data, duplicate it to my data-pad and your own memory banks. Prepare your emergency ejection."

¦DONE¦

"Count down to rendezvous, at the opportune moment, punch out. Take the information to the cell, get it out of here and off planet. Get it back to Omi-Ren at Crait."

¦UNDERSTOOD. PREPARING EJECTION¦

Krang flicked the switch, bringing the S-Foils back together in an attempt to make the craft more aerodynamic. Practically trying to rock back and forward, to coax as much speed out of the ship as possible. He watched the countdown to target, the distance closing rapidly. The TIEs closing rapidly. Part of him wondered how he felt so calm, so at ease. He wasn't even sure what he was going to do once Chirper was away, how he'd survive. If he'd survive. That hadn't been the mission, though.

Turning as head as best he could when the countdown reached zero, he watched as explosive bolts fired and Chirper sailed off up into the air, his boosters deploying and firing to get his trajectory under control. To lower himself calmly down to the surface. The poor droid never got a chance, as one of the incoming TIEs started firing. One second, there was an astromech hanging in the air, then after a brilliant bolt of green, nothing fell through the air other than what little slag hadn't been superheated into vapour. 

Part of him wanted to scream, or to shout. There wasn't time as the barrage on his ship continued, and his shields failed. Sparks flew around the cockpit, screens flicked on and off. Engines failed, smoke billowing from the tail of the ship. Over the noise of it all, he heard the roar of two TIE fighters. His ship was slowing rapidly, and they overshot him. Pulling hard on the yoke, he managed to pull the nose of the craft up for one single pull of the trigger. 

Four bolts lunged out in frustration, four bolts struck and one of the TIEs exploded, and Krang allowed himself a slight smile as his X-Wing dipped below the top of the rock formations. He saw the water approaching, saw the nearby shore. Felt the ship catch, slow, and flip.

Then there was nothing.

_____________________________________________
 R 4 - F 4
R 4 - F 4

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NAME:
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R4-F4
Affectionately 'Arfer' or 'Arf'
SPECIES:
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R4-Series Astromech Droid
AGE:
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Thirty-Two Standard Solar Cycles
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EQUIPMENT:
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Unlike its predecessors, the R2-series and the R3-series, the R4 units were designed for life outside the pristine hangar bay. It was simpler, tougher, and cheaper than previous models.

An exemplary R4 unit, R4-F4 has seen a lot of action and as such has been repaired, upgraded and modified several times over its existence. As such, R4-F4 has been fully outfitted with a wide array of equipment listed below:

Akar-Deshu's Lightsaber
Acoustic Signaller

Arc Welder

Circular Saw

Extendable 0.3m Video Sensor

Fire Extinguisher

Fusion Cutter

Holographic Projector/Recorder

Intellex VI System with Mark V Plugin

Motorized, All-Terrain Treads

Retractable Fine Worker Arm

Retractable Heavy Grasper Arm

Retractable Third Leg

Rocket Booster

Scomp Link

Small Internal Cargo Area

Zero-Gee Manuevering Thrusters
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HISTORY:
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R4-F4 started life like any R4-series Astromech Droid. Rolled off the assembly line, he was initially delivered to Coruscant, where the Jedi Order had purchased him for use in their Service Corps, specifically the Agricorps. However, fate intervened, and as R4 was delivered to the Jedi, the Clone Wars began. The Jedi were transitioned from peacekeepers of the Galaxy to Generals of the Grand Army of the Republic. Likewise, R4 was quickly repurposed from a humble farming astromech to a co-pilot alongside a Jedi Knight.

Initially serving in the Jedi Hangar bay, servicing both the Delta-7 and its successor, the Delta-7B Aethersprite-class light interceptors. R4, or 'Arf', as he became affectionately known due to both the sound of his designation and his enthusiastic 'bark-like' chirps, became accustomed to a wide variety of ships, including the later Eta-2 Actis-class light interceptor and the T-6 Shuttle. Due in part to a retrofitted Intellex V, Arf had access to schematics and blueprints for the entirety of the Republic's fleet.

As the war waged on, Arf was forced to leave the hangar and enter into combat. He flew numerous missions alongside Jedi Knight Quilan Vos. These missions took Arf to many corners of the galaxy and follwoing the fall of the Republic, Arf went into hiding alongside his master, eventually finding a new purpose in serving the Hidden Path.

Tragedy however struck, and Arf and Vos were eventually separated, Vos deeming it too dangerous to keep the droid with him and Arf was left in the hands of the Rebel Alliance bearing a confidential hyperspace route locked within his subroutines and carrying a token from his time with Vos.

Eventually, Arf ended up on the backwater world of Exaron, where he assumed he had been forgotten...
PROGRAMMING:
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As an R4-Series Astromech Unit, Arf does not have 'Skills' but instead is programmed to maintain and repair all manner of ships, repulsorcraft and other vehicles. As a unit originally purposed for agriculture, he is knowledgeable in several planets' worth of flora and fauna exclusive to the Outer Rim.

Arf's primary programming is to solve problems and has been designed to pragmatically find solutions to any task assigned to him. Having worked alongside the Jedi Order, the Hidden Path and the Rebel Alliance, Arf has adapted to several different problem solving circumstances making him a very resourceful droid.
WEAKNESSES:
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As an astromech droid, Arf is notably limited in forms of communication, mobility and overall sentience. While he is constantly underestimated due to be a lowly astromech droid, he is also overlooked and not respected either, seen as more of a tool than an individual. Like all droids, he can be instantly limited by a restraining bolt.
@Lord Wraith

How much is that dog in the window?

Sep Member

Definitely Not Sep

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