Come as you are [Flashback]

[Coren Starchaser]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vabnZ9-ex7o​

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The galaxy was a different place. A chaotic place. But that didn’t matter. There was a team out there who was helping to put it all back together. The Empire brought peace, order, and civilization to the galaxy. And that meant to the Unknown Regions.

That was what brought this team to the borders of Chiss space. The Unknown Regions, nearly as chaotic as the Outer Rim, needed to be understood, mapped, and cataloged. The Imperial Order, a small band of citizens who were working to bring exactly what the Empire was to the galaxy, were working in the Unknown, based on a desert planet not far from Csilla. An Imperial Star Destroyer, painted navy and gray orbited the world. The ship was known as the Dawn Treader and it housed Warbird Wing, and the Nightstinger Battalion.

The hangar bay of this ship was always the focal point. Imperial patrols coming in and out. Modified TIE Avenger models, matching the colors of the Star Destroyer. Coming in and out in pairs, checking the local system and nearby systems, setting up listening points.

“I don’t know what to say to you, Zeero. We have our orders. We need to carry them out. And sometimes, its not all the glamorous.” This came from a pair of decloaking Preybird fighters, heavily modified to be used for long-range scouting missions. The speaking pilot had his tan flight helmet, typically seen by general spacers and not by a Captain in the Imperial Order.

“Roger that, Hornet. I’m just saying, command isn’t really making us do what we can to enforce the law…” That was a break of protocol and the first pilot shook his head. “You know, we’re here to take what we can.”

“Careful, El-tea. We’ve got our orders.” The Corellian shook his head as he hit another command on his ship, deploying the listening probe. “Ok, we’re set in this sector…”

He was cut off by static. “Patrols, report to section E-58. Weapons free.” He knew that voice, it was the Commander. Shaking his head, Starchaser pushed the throttle more. “Zeero. Follow me in, we hit real space keep on my wing.” He didn’t know what they were going to be against, but he could feel ready.

Reaching out to the Force, that cold bitter focus it gave him, he was reaching out to his wingman, someone who wasn’t sensitive, but someone he could pull in as he pushed his fighter into light speed.


The jump was short, a mere microjump. But the pair of Preybirds immediately cloaked up and proceeded on their tibanna engines towards the sortie. He could see the Avengers, Kite Squadron. He nodded and reached out to the Commander, another Corellian and longtime friend. Weapons were warming up and Coren Starchaser dropped his cloak as his weapons opened fire, igniting two pirate vessels. Looking up and feeling out the Kite Squadron Forcers in the group, he saw the problem. Command vessels.

What were these pirates?

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The Preybird was moving a bit slower and having to use the Force was going to cause a drain on Coren for the time, but he knew what was going to happen. He needed the call. As of right now, the pair of Preybirds were giving off false transponders and were part of a pirate group operating out of a stolen and heavily modified light cruiser. A few shots lighting up the TIE shields was going to solidify the illusion. Still, the pirates were out running the Preybirds and keeping up with the Avengers.

A-Wings. That’s what it was.

“What are they doing this far out?” Zeero asked across the comms. Starchaser sighed and shook his head.

“Unknown. Let's take them out.” He ordered as he pushed the Preybird through a very slow roll. He could go tighter, he was just waiting on the call. And that was when four other Preybirds uncloaked. That gave the Captain a chance to nod and he and Zeero broke off from the group.

“We’re going to take the communication’s array.” He said, targeting it on the Mon Calamari cruiser. Pushing the throttle further, he switched to his torpedos and locked in, pushing the target towards Zeero’s HUD as well. That was when he felt the nudge. A triple click on his comms and all six Preybird’s signatures changed, from yellow to the patriotic blue that the Imperials tended to broadcast. The fuel being burned switched from orange to a purple hue, and the Preybirds jumped in speed.

At that, a set of four proton torpedos launched from the pair of Preybirds as they broke off, as the TIE Bombers of Hawk Squadron entered the fray.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The black armor was not his preferred thing. He was wearing it because it was part of the uniform, and sadly, not all missions were what he wanted. Missions where he had a bit more time to set up and wasn’t just strictly on a hunter-killer mode. Sometimes Warbird Wing was called upon to do mission that weren’t going to be his forte. Not that he minded being on the ground.
On the contrary, to break was divine. To use his gifts? The Force, in the most free ways possible was best done when he could bring his own focus in contrast with another’s. But what he normally did was work as the first wave, working in plains clothes. Though this mission was different. The pirates that they had taken down just a week before had lead to a small chase through the Unknown Regions.

The Enforcers were a small group of Warbirds and Nightstingers that were versed in the Force. Trained by Darth Venator, they were a group with their own abilities, and worked in conjunction with the others trained to be soldiers. A leading group, the Enforcers were the first in. Nightstingers were providing background support. First in, Starchaser’s dark armor was carrying the nanotech helmet that his team had.

Infravision was lighting up the area. There were the enemy ahead. And Coren nodded. Feeling the nudge in the Force, the man used the Force to accelerate his pace and he moved ahead of the group. Nightstingers were tracking his movement from their sniper position. No weapons, while others carried staffs, sabers, or even blasters, Starchaser chose to not use his as often. He did have a dark blue saber on his hip, and his pistol on the other hip. But he was the one who was a shock trooper, and preferred to hit more opponents. And the Force allowed that power.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

He knew what his task was. It was to draw out the extras and let the team get to the task at hand. Nightstingers were on standby and a pair of the Enforcers came with him. He was the one who worked as a shock trooper. He would draw them out and do what he could. The Force was swirling around Starchaser, a maelstrom of power. The energy, dark and red, angry and hungry, circled around him as he stepped forward.

He could hear the calls coming over his comms, the Enforcers were going dark as to let Starchaser do his thing and the man continued forward. He was feeling out the structure in front of him and throwing his arm forward, there was a blast of dark purple energy that hit the wall and exploded, but also appeared to melt the door, or try to. The Force continued to pulse around the Enforcer as others were feeding energy into Starchaser.
He had a certain skill for using the Force but without a power source, someone else to feed him power, he would burn it out very quick. It almost appeared, to anyone watching, that he pulled, and drained the power from his comrades in order to continue his assault.

But it wasn’t without purchase. Soon, the door opened. Good.

Blaster shots roared out into he street and Starchaser threw a hand up. He wasn’t going to be stopping them, but he would pull them into the shield of that same sickly energy. A dark grin flashed on his features as he took the Force further and a crackling purple light was thrown in the doorway as more blaster bolts came from his side.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The fact was he was chasing down enemies. He wasn’t really working on orders, he was working on his own accord. The Force had dragged him to where he placed some listening posts, and helped him through fighting the pirates. On the other world, one that the thinking-Coren couldn’t recall, lost as if in a dream, the Enforcer was waiting for those to come out and once the team had gone inside? He followed. The NIghtstingers kept his back clear as Coren drained knowledge of many of the wounded and dying. He was feeling what was going on.
Something deeper.

Something darker was laying in wait, out in the Unknown Regions. And following the strike by Warbirds and Nightstingers, the Enforcer put in time for leave. His partner, Kelly Topol was at the controls of the YT-2000 Tachyon Rising. The pair were prepped and launched for hyperspace. The destination?

A set of coordinates that Coren didn’t recognize, but relying heavily on the Force, and instinctively astrogating, he made the trip to the world before them. Dark, around a dying star, with gravity off the charts and what could only be called a massive storm.

If he was understanding it, it was a world that seemed to only be a cross between Duros and Kamino. He looked over at Kelly.

“When we get down there, I need you to stay with the ship. For Jared and…” He looked at the pregnant woman who just nodded. She helped bring the ship in as Coren stepped into the main chamber. Something was wrong here.

Something was dark.

And there was something worse out there.