Sic transit gloria mundi
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Expand on Firemane's forces and the Qadiri.
Image Credit: Here.
Role: Fighter squadron.
Permission: Permission for all ArmaTech gear and all other subs made by Laira Darkhold's writer here and here. ARGH gear available per this thread. Permission to use Tricks of the Trade submissions here.
Links: Qadiri, Four of a kind, Into Darkness.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Unit Name: Mirage Squadron
Affiliation: Firemane Industries, Jazan Jai Khalal.
Classification: Fighter Pilots.
Equipment:
Armour:
Starships:
Sidearms:
- Racket's Bite.
- RSIC-11 "Suncrusher" Blaster Pistol
- Hold-out Bolter
- Last Whisper
- Renegade Model 557
- SSK-5 Icon Blaster Pistol
- Shatter Pistol
- Vornskr Revolver
- U20 Field Wrist link.
- Grenades.
- HK-Killer Spike Rounds.
- Hypnogaze.
- BCC BC-11 Comlink
- Graph 18 Surface Locator
- Terminus Shiv
- Grappling Spike Launcher.
Moreover, the squadron was equipped with Drake class elite starfighters, one of the newest additions to Firemane's arsenal. Created to fill the need for an elite fighter, the Drake takes advantage of Phrik deposits to become both heavily armed and well equipped. To give it some punch, the Drake has been equipped with Deathstrike concussion missiles. Equipment purchased from Alderaan Engineering increases its resilience by giving it better countermeasures and shields.
The Mirages have a reputation for skill, daring and more than a little cockiness. At first more than a few Firemane naval officers scoffed at the idea that 'sand babies' could pilot. Until the Qadiri showed that they were not just as good as humans, but in a number of cases a lot better. Though life in space has been quite an adjustment, the Mirages have adapted well. They liken the void of space to a sky-ocean, with each planet being one of many islands. While the Mirages no longer traverse the seas to raid coastal cities and merchant ships, they are proud of their maritime roots and consider it a matter of principle not to lose touch with them. Hence members are expected to know their way across the waters, use a proper compass and handle themselves under hazardous conditions. Tattoos with an air or ocean theme are common. They still communicate among themselves in their Qadiri dialect. Its obscurity makes it better than any code on the battlefield.
It is pertinent note that before they joined Firemane, the members of the squadron were pirates and sellswords, the bane of the seas and oceans of Tygara. Jazan herself is a cheerful and personally friendly, if a bit arrogant, but also thoroughly unrepentant about her past. She gave up her reaving ways because she, unlike many of her fellows, realised that they were no longer practical and she wanted to see the stars. She is opposed to unnecessary death and destruction, but in favour of 'necessary' death and destruction. She is a very ambitious woman and intends to work her way up to a senior command position.
For the time being she sees her place in Firemane and intends rose in its hierarchy. However, she is not wedded to the corporation and may seek out other options if they seem more beneficial to her. Admiral of the Void Ocean has a nice ring to it. She is respectful to Firemane's leaders, but not in awe of them. They are simply the bosses she happens to work for at the moment. Her bravery, confident, can-do attitude and skill have won her the respect of her fellow squadron members. Jazan came late to literacy and is still rather book-shy. Nonetheless, she is an intelligent woman with a fairly rational outlook on the world.
The Mirages are a military squadron, so they are stationed wherever Jazan happens to be posted and go wherever Firemane needs them to be. They often operate out of a Nest Class Carrier Corvette called the Zanghazi or the Tipharazon, an Argent class carrier. Other postings of note are the Great Scarlet Flame or the Scarlet Destiny. While the commanding heights of Qadiri society are still usually occupied by women, they have more liberal views on gender than the Eldorai or Xioquo. There have been male Qadiri rulers, generals and so on. Hence the unit is mixed gender. The squadron has the following members:
- Mirage One, (Commander) Jazan Jai Khalal
- Mirage Two, (Lieutenant Commander) Bahana Jai Vahrana
- Mirage Three, (Lieutenant) Amaya Jai Kazemal
- Mirage Four, (Lieutenant) Fahrad Jal Jahangir
- Mirage Five, (Second Lieutenant) Javad Jal Homayoun
- Mirage Six, (Second Lieutenant) Jaleh Jai Avesta
- Mirage Seven, (Pilot) Zhila Jai Khorasanal
- Mirage Eight, (Pilot) Arash Jal Rahbar.
There is some tension between Jazan and Bahana, her XO. Jazan would have preferred to give the job to the somewhat less experienced but in her eyes more reliable Amaya. The tension between them stems from their life on Tygara. Jazan's mother Darya was the leader of a successful clan of corsairs. However, she and many of her followers perished in a storm after raiding a Krolian prize vessel. This was taken as a bad omen and left her daughter with many debts. Jazan was able to use her navigational skills to steer her smaller ship to safety. Amaya was one of the crew members who were saved by her. But she lost the contest to become the new leader. This position went to her aunt Azar, a rival of Darya. Bahana followed Azar and became one of her lieutenants, until Jazan's aunt was killed in combat for refusing to give up her piratical ways.
Jaleh is a bit of an oddity among the Khaimari clique, as she is a freed slave. She was captured and enslaved by Jazan during her pirate days. The girl turned out to be very intelligent, so Jazan kept her around as a house slave rather than selling her like chattel. For one, she was literate, unlike her boss, and had navigational talent. So she treated her well, though the fact that running away might cause her to fall into the hands of a crueller mistress also kept the slave in line. When the sky-people imposed their 'Clear Seas' policy, Jazan realised the way the wind was blowing and emancipated her slaves, including Jaleh. She did this rather early, which made it easy for her to become their patron. Jaleh showed technical talent and promise as a pilot. So Jazan arranged her for to get training. The promotion has caused some discontent among the pilots, especially Arah, who feels he should have been promoted instead and dislikes having a former slave above an ex-corsair like him.
Javad is another oddity since he is a Khajwari rather than a Khaimari. He was drafted into the ranks after he was caught smuggling. He has grown more appreciative of the regular paycheck, but has been known to try and loot a bit. His criminal connections have been helpful for the squadron though. The fact that they are both outside of the Khaimari clique has caused him to bond with Jaleh a bit. Zhila and Fahrad are capable pilots, but in a somewhat stormy relationship, so Jazan has to monitor it closely and sometimes tell them to knock it off.
COMBAT INFORMATION:
Unit Size: Small
Unit Availability: Unique
Unit Experience: Elite.
Combat Function: Mirage Squadron is a starfighter unit. They are equipped for combat in the atmosphere and in space. They can perform dogfights, attack runs, raids, rapid strikes and escort missions. Moreover, all pilots are Force-Sensitive Qadiri. The Tygaran natives have an inherent knack for navigation that can be described as an internal compass. This is a great boon for piloting, especially under hazardous conditions.The Mirages make use of Iskur Class Starfighters. These fighters are well-armed, well-armoured and designed to operate as multi-purpose fighters. Furthermore, they possess a myriad of stealth systems.
In terms of Force power, they are specialists rather than generalists. All their powers are meant to enhance their piloting abilities. To elaborate, they specialise in Force Reflex, instinctive astrogation, Force Meld, telepathic and precognitive abilities. Force Reflex allows them to enhance their reflexes and effectively slow down the world around them. Drawing on this power allows them a few moments of heightened reactions, while everything slows down around them. Force Meld allows them to join their minds together through the Force, drawing strength from one another. In doing so, they enhance their coordination and boost their efficiency by acting as one. Jazan, as squadron commander and the most experienced member of the unit, acts as coordinator.
However, the enhanced power brought by Force Meld works both ways: a great disturbance in the Force could overwhelm the melding participants as they receive the pain through their enhanced senses. If the pain is caused by the minds the melding participants are touching, it will bring devastating effects to the participants, sometimes to such a degree that the participants will lose control of their own minds and become ignorant to other threats. Finally, instinctive astrogation boosts their navigational and piloting abilities. For one, it allows them to find safe routes through hyperspace without using a navigational computer or astromech droid.
Situations where preternatural navigational talents can be of use include reasonable strategic and tactical manoeuvres, like making precise jumps from the outer reaches of a system, improved survivability in say dense asteroid fields, making safe blind jumps when necessary, finding safe short cuts around blockaed routes and getting safely to her destination in the midst of battles, meteor storms and so on, assuming she is not the main target. To a degree, it helps with following others through hyperspace, though this requires great focus.
However, because the Mirages' Force training has been so focused on specialisation that they lack most of the powers commonly associated with Force-Users. If they find themselves engaged in ground combat, their enhanced reflexes and precognitive abilities will give them an advantage, but they will be unable to chuck boulders, shoot lightning from their fingertips or summon force fields. Being combat pilots, they are lightly armed and armoured. If they are shot down over enemy territory, their best bet is to try to stealthily make their way to friendly lines or, if this is not feasible, hide and try to contact their allies. Engaging in thrilling duels, taking on large groups of enemies or in general drawing attention to themselves would be a foolish move. The Mirages are former corsairs and are a tough lot, but they do not carry heavy weapons or lots of ammunition on their person. Thus they lack heavy firepower and have only a limited ability to contend with swarms of enemies.
Strengths:
- Elite starfighter squadron.
- All squadron members are Qadiri. Their people have an inherent knack for navigation. Moreove, every pilot is a Knight level Force-Sensitive, specialising in Force Reflex, instinctive astrogation, precognition and a Force meld between them that allows them to co-ordinate well in battle.
- The Force meld can backfire. A great disturbance in the Force could overwhelm the melding participants as they received the pain through their enhanced senses. If the pain is caused by the minds the melding participants were touching, it could have very negative repercussions for the participants.
- Outside of their starfighters, the pilots are only lightly armed and armoured. This is a problem if they are shot down and find themselves stranded in enemy territory. They lack classical offensive Force powers.
Hailing from the remote - and now abandoned - world of Tygara, the Qadiri have only entered into contact with other races recently. Historically Tygara has been completely isolated from the outside galaxy. The Qadiri, interestingly, had a long tradition that there were other people living out amongst the stars. However, their image of benevolent deities was nothing like what they actually got when slavers from the sky came down upon them. These marauders preyed on the Qadiri people, though Shahbânu Semiramis, their mightiest ruler, was able to score victories over them.
Later the Qadiri came into contact with Firemane and the Eldorai Matriarchy. Ultimately these groups helped the Qadiri uplift themselves and venture into the stars. However, the historically fractious Qadiri have never been united under one government, so it no surprise that many strayed from the exodus fleet, determined to seek out their own fortunes elsewhere. A good number of those who remained entered into Firemane's services.
Though new to spaceflight, the Qadiri had some qualities that helped them find their way in space. Qadiri are almost all extremely good navigators. They seem to have an instinctual internal compass. This makes them good sailors and travellers, but also pilots. Mirage Squadron is one of the many units Firemane has formed to take advantage of these qualities. It was founded by Jazan Jai Khalal, a Qadiri who was born as one of the Khaimari. These were coastal folk who alternated between being subsistence farmers/fishers and corsairs depending on the situation. Like many of her people she became a corsair, gaining renown as a skilled navigator, commander and raider. She fought in the Xioquo War and later gave up her piratical pursuits when Firemane's 'Clear Seas' policy made them unprofitable. The corsair group she was part of and a leader in called themselves the Seazors. After gaining renown as a terror on the seas of Tygara, the most progressive-minded of them took to the stars and adapted modern tech. From now on they were known as the Skyrazors.
Their skills impressed off-worlders so much that they were hired for missions, ranging from raids and covert operations to recon, boarding actions and escort duties. Eventually Jazan joined Firemane, taking several of her comrads with her. She recruited some of the most able into Mirage Squadron. The proved itself in battles against pirates, rogue Sith and Kraal raiders. They also flew escort missions to protect the space habitats and arkships that constituted the elf colonisation fleet. The squadron was often assigned to the fleet of Admiral of the Void Ocean Bashani Jai Hazial. Like Jazan, Bashani was a Khaimari and had once been a corsair, though she belonged to a different clan. The two knew each other from the old days and worked well together.
Eventually the Mirages were assigned to the Scarlet Destiny, Firemane's exploration ship, as an escort on its shakedown cruise. Commanded by Tegaea Alcori, the Destiny was supposed to go boldly where no Firemane had gone before, to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilisations. However, as is often the case, the plan did not survive first contact. The Firemane exploration corps came across the world of Tephrike, which had been cut off from the rest of the Galaxy due to the outbreak of the Gulag Virus. It soon transpired that the Dark Age had never truly ended on the planet, for vast swathes of it had been turned into a wasteland and riven factions fought for dominance. One of them was the Jedi-led Dominion of Light, a totalitarian theocracy. At first Firemane attempted diplomacy, but an extremist faction in the Dominion attaked the foreign delegation. In response, Firemane declared war. However, though primitive, the Dominion proved to be a dangerous opponent.
At first, Firemane initiated a surgical bombardment of key military, communication and Jedi facilities in and around the Dominion's capital, Nexus City. The city had a shield generator, but Firemane used magpulse torpedos to disrupt it. This gave Mirage Squadron an opening to slip in. Jazan personally led the strike, blowing up the generator. Thereafter the Scarlet Destiny levelled the Jedi Temple with its Harbinger cannons.
However, the Dominion had deployed nuclear missiles and now targeted the Firemane fleet. Through alchemical manipulation, these nukes were far more potent and a serious danger. A Dominion faction that opposed the war course and feared Firemane would retaliate by levelling the city, was able to stop two missiles from being launched. However, the other two were fired. One hit a Firemane corvette. Producing an effect akin to that of a small-scale thought bomb, it consumed their souls. The other missile had targeted the Scarlet. However, Jazan and her crew were able to use tractor beams to capture it and hurl it into the sun.
Now Firemane deployed ground troops to take a key military installation, Fortress Purity. Heavily guarded, it was a vital military base that protected access to the capital. Because Firemane only had a limited amount of troops in the theatre and lacked knowledge of the lay of the land, it entered an alliance with the Republican Guard, an anti-Force-User faction that idealised the Rebel Alliance and had a strong Vong contingent. These rebels would supply most of the manpower, but mutual distrust made the alliance a tenuous one.
The Dominion attacked Firemane transports with kamikaze fighters and used a weather control machine to summon a storm. This disrupted communications between the ground troops and the fleet and made it hazardous to land reinforcements or conduct bombing runs. Firemane and Republican Guard troops soon found themselves engaged in fierce, brutal combat with the enemy. A good number of Firemane gunships crashed. The Dominion made ample use of Force-Users to compensate for its technological weakness.
But Mirage Squadron came to the rescue of a group of Firemane and Republican Guard special forces that were being overrun by Dominion troops after conducting a foray into their second line of defence. When Reaper Squad and Viper Company were being flooded by Dominion infantry and armour, the Mirages sprang into action. Their Force-enhanced coordination, preternatural and inherent navigational skills made them some of the few pilots who could fly into the hot zone despite the raging storm. Firing missiles they destroyed Dominion armoured assets and relayed targets to Firemane artillery.
This bought the Republican Guard time to deploy the Andorian Guard, thereby forcing a stalemate. However, intense combat continued on the ground. Eventually the allied forces were able to overcome the defenders and the Republican Guard planted its standards upon the Fortress, but the cost was high. Meanwhile, the Mirages were assigned to the task force of Major Tempest, who had been charged with finding the captive Elpsis - or avenging her. The Mirages escorted Tempest and her soldiers to her destination, providing vital support when they engaged enemy forces. Ultimately the Firemane troops found Elpsis, who had managed to free herself from her brainwashing and slaughter her captors with the help of rebellious prisoners.
Submission Modification
Old Version Approved 12.05.18
Submission Mod Note 02.16.19
Moved to Pre-Codex for Edits
Submission Mod Note 02.16.19
Moved to Pre-Codex for Edits
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