'A' is for...

[Ilias Nytrau]

Only recently had he begun to hit his stride.

Decades spent behind the stick of many a different starfighter developed a certain mindset, laid cerebral pathways suited to the task. That is to say, when Incom was dropped in Mr. Perris' lap, it was as if someone had finally gotten a lock on him and broadsided him with an SSD. No matter how much input he'd given as a test pilot in his post-active duty days, no matter how much time he'd spent around dear Lessa, nothing could have prepared him for the starkly different world of business.

The learning curve, so to speak, was a little steep. His takeover was no simple matter, marked with the razing of Eriadu where the new corporate HQ was in progress when he stepped in. Rebuild, rebuild. Thank his lucky stars that the HQ was the only thing that suffered along with the planetary population, but they rebuilt. He supported the survivors to the best of his ability, and ended up their governor for it. Then the overarching entity, the Galactic Alliance, was on the march, making their headway towards war. Lessa reappeared, far from the grave that her last communique implied she was headed towards, pulling his heart back into the mix where his head had taken over all operations.

Only now, many months later with the revitalisation of the liberated Coruscant underway, did he have time to sit down and look at what Lessa had left him in the company files. Of significant interest were contracts in various states of viability, and... the design catalog. It was this second thing that had [member="Garrus Kroll"] sitting across from him in that aforementioned HQ, to pore over it all, a bit at a time. The brains of two former pilots were better than one, were they not?

"There was always something going on in that head of hers," he mused, "here, look at this one," he said, sending the file to the 'pad in Kroll's hands, "and compare it to the original. An update should be an improvement on the original design," He settled back into his chair, a hand at his chin, "so tell me what you think."

 

[Progflaw99]

Garrus leaned forward in the office chair, his eyes narrowing. The two men had been perusing the R&D folders, originally sharing old 'war' stories, but their conversation quickly turned to business. The datapad Garrus held chimed, a new data transfer alert showing up on the screen. Swiping with his finger, he initiated the file transfer. It came up on his screen as soon as it had been downloaded. An audible hum escaped his lips as he leaned back in the chair, his right foot coming up and resting on his left knee as he relaxed. An A-Wing. Or at least that was the base model. It looked nice enough, and he'd always been a fan of the smaller interceptor style fighters. The ability to outmaneuver heavier fighters however didn't come without a cost. Most interceptors and light fighters were fast. Really fast, but they didn't have near the same protection as the heavier fighters like X or B-Wings. Along with the decreased protection for the pilot, they usually had thin hulls and were more prone to damage. Some of the A-Wing pilots Garrus had come to know... he'd vouch for them, they were some crazy ones. Daredevils.

As he looked at the design schematics, he swiped his finger across the screen, looking at the proposed technical specs. Those were going to need some work. Without fully modifying the already existing design, there was a lot of space to come up with for the proposed system loads. Again, the interceptors were typically created with a minimal amount of additional systems installed to make room for armament and thrust. Targeting was usually done either with a small targeting computer, or manually. He found the interceptor class typically relied more on the skill of the pilot than the equipment installed in the ship... he wondered. Reaching up with his right hand, he stroked his chin lightly, the stubble there brushing against his fingers.

"I like it."

That was all he said at first, his eyes continuing to scan the R&D file. Some of the specifics bothered him, it looked like the plans called for a larger equipment load-out than the already small airframe was equipped for. He began playing with ideas in his head as he paused in thought. If he could design systems that were smaller, and if they worked to lighten the load, tweaked the engines, and maybe invested in some lightweight materials in other places... it might just work. He tapped at the screen as he spoke.

"There are a couple of key problems I can see here, though if we can get our development team working on a few of the components... we may be able to cut enough weight elsewhere to accommodate the added weight. In addition, I think we can use new materials in our construction of the updated systems, should cut down on the weight as well. What's your take? The ol' A-Wing could use an update."

[member="Kelly Perris"]​

 

[Ilias Nytrau]

He mused on Garrus' thoughts, and agreed with the direction they were going in. The X-Wings he flew as a young man were heavier, and though they could be fast, they were at times not quite as fast as he needed or liked. There was a little adrenaline junkie in every pilot he knew. Kelly set his 'pad down on the desk, settled into the back of his chair, and laced his fingers over his abdomen.

"They always want faster, fiercer, and to still have protection," he chuckled, the innuendo remaining unspoken, "yes, weight management is key. We don't necessarily want to sacrifice offensive capabilities just to make the bird earn its racing stripes, so it has to come from elsewhere."

He unlaced his fingers and outstretched an arm to tap on the flat-laying datapad.

"What Lessa was going for was already looking to be lighter than the original model, but she still sacrificed payload. The A-Wing is meant to be a prime interceptor and nothing else. Recon roles can be filled by other craft, and often are with existing recon variants of the X series."

He certainly had his feelings about it. He held up that same, tapping finger.

"But we aren't the ones flying this bird," he said, lowering his hand, "I've invited Admiral Saren, today. Her input is valuable, for obvious reasons. She should be along..."

That was when the comm beeped.

"Mr. Perris, sir?"

He sat up, and pushed the button to respond.

"Yes, Anma?"

It was probably the admir--

"Fleet Admiral Astarii Saren of the Galactic Alliance is here. Shall I send her in?"

Just as he thought.

"Yes, Anma. Please do."

"Very well, sir."

He looked to Garrus, eyebrows raised a tad. "As I was saying..." and he stood up from his seat, smoothing out the front of his suit jacket, with the knowledge that she would be coming through the door soon, and rounded his desk to greet her.

[member="Garrus Kroll"] | [member="Astarii Saren"]​

 

[Republic Engineering]

While work upon the New Class Modernization Program had begun in earnest, the Fleet Admiral was pleasantly surprised that an old drinking buddy had invited her to partake in conversation with one or two of his most prominent employees. It seems more than just the nationalized assets of the Alliance were keen on sinking their fangs into the juicy contracts that the Military was willing to provide. That was all well and good with the Hapan, as having Incom in their pocket provided her pilots with a fresh slew of advanced warfighters for them to fly against whatever foe may lay upon the horizon. Such was why she had dropped everything at a moment’s notice and rushed over to Eriadu to meet with Mister Perris and whoever joined him. However, as fast as she desired to go, it seemed there was something that couldn’t be left unfinished, which had lead to her being later than she would’ve liked.

Thus, when she arrived at the wounded world of Eriadu and was cleared by orbital traffic control, Astarii had promptly commandeered her transport shuttle and diverted her assigned vectors towards the Administrative building - rather than having to waste even more time catching a repulsorsled from the spaceport. Sure, she’d get slapped on the wrist, but why would she keep an invested party waiting for longer than he should’ve? Pushing such thoughts aside, the Hapan adorned herself in the vestments of her trade and lashed her belt around her lithe waist. With the appearance of a respectable officer achieved, she began fumbling with her hair as the transported had landed within the Visitor’s section of the facilities primary hangar. Letting out a frustrated sigh, finally resolved to curl her brunette locks into a bun, the Fleet Admiral stole her adjunct’s datapad and stylus, slipping the latter into the knot near the base of her skull.

“You’ll get it back, Sirus,” She said affectionately. “I know it’s your favorite.” Astarii paused for a moment to think, pursing her lips with the effort. “Here,” She said finally, pulling her ornamented pistol out of its holster and handing it to the Korunnai. “Take my pistol as collateral.” As his thick ebony hands grasped the textured leather grip, the Hapan smiled. “Fair trade?” She whispered, before turning from the man and marching down the shuttle’s deployment ramp, and into the Incom facility proper. Like she had done so several times before, once with Incom during her days as a newly minted Captain, and nearly a dozen times after with Firemane Industries, the Fleet Admiral rushed towards the receptionist - only to be subsequently directed to where the gathering was taking place.

Having passed through fluted corridor after fluted corridor, the Hapan had finally arrived at her destination. Palming the door open and letting a smile curl upon her disfigured face, Astarii entered Mister Perris’ office and eyed the two men. “My apologies for being tardy, there was some unfinished business that needed to be taken care of near Malastare.” Were her words as she advanced towards Mister Perris and his colleague, offering her hand to either of them should they desire to accept the formality.

“I’ve been brought up to speed on some previous Interceptor projects that had made an attempt to be pushed passed my predecessor, and I hear that you’re trying to build off the previous model’s mistakes to make something better." She said after everything had settled down. “So, tell me what you had in mind, and how it would compare to the aging Starfighter’s that are currently in service.”

| [member="Kelly Perris"] | [member="Garrus Kroll"] |​

 

[Ilias Nytrau]

Handshakes were a given, where salutes weren't the thing, and handshakes were all that was left, after he'd retired from the cockpit and from the service, altogether. Astarii got from him a firm handshake, an accepted apology, a warm greeting. Then they were down to business, the fiftyish Alderaanian returning to his seat behind the desk.

"As Garrus was saying before you arrived, we're looking at component redesign and the use of new materials in the overall construction. My predecessor's design seeks to expand the role of the A-Wing interceptor to include reconnaissance, sacrificing payload to make room for the equipment that added role requires without adding weight that would slow the bird down. I don't entirely agree with this move, as there are already existing recon variants in the X-series. A good interceptor, an excellent interceptor is nothing to sniff at."

He gestured across the desk at the Admiral.

"Which is where your input comes in: what would best suit the Alliance's needs, as our largest, and primary client?"

[member="Otto Shule"] | [member="Garrus Kroll"]​

 

[Progflaw99]

As was customary, greetings had been given and the conversation had once more turned to business. He himself had seen the old blueprints of the original A-Wing model and hell, even flown them a time or two himself despite his large frame. While suggesting a larger cockpit might have made the former pilot feel better about his unusual size for a fighter jockey, it certainly wouldn't have been practical. Thumbing through a comparison image of a blueprint on the datapad he held, he looked specifically at the layout of the systems in the old vs. the proposed design. It needed a little bit of reworking. Currently the cockpit was near center, engines large and ripe targets, it was part of what had made the old A-Wings so vulnerable, on top of sacrificing shielding for speed and maneuverability.

"Excuse me gentlemen, Admiral. If you'll look here just a moment - I think I might have a solution for the design troubles that plagued the older model."​

​

Motioning to the display on the wall, he synced the pad and the screen, bringing up the older design blueprints.​

​

"If you look here, the cockpit is central, the engines quite large, and the shielding inadequate. To keep up with today's standards, this little baby's gotta be hardier, and able to turn on a dime to match those damn Sienar TIE's. What if we increase the plating on the front portion, moved critical systems up and placed the cockpit at the rear. It would increase the rate at which we could turn, even if it creates a bit more unstable flight in atmos."​

​

Bringing up a new concept image on the screen, he pointed to the major changes.​

​

"As well, we could create a slimmer profile by elongating the frame, providing a more agile and aggressive flight profile. Like I said, it might not do so well in atmos, but when is the last time we had a major encounter in atmos where we utilized interceptors?"​

​

Garrus crossed his arms and waited, wondering what they would think.​

​

[member="Kelly Perris"] | [member="Otto Shule"]​