Ask A Black TIE Event

[Brahe Sienar]

Krownest. A world in the Outer Rim known for it’s cold, icy tundras, forests, and mountains. Once a stronghold for Mandalorians, it was now a secluded part of the galaxy where one could eke out a quiet existence for the most part. And it was on this planet, the place he called home, that he decided would be a great place to let off some steam, visit his family, show his crush Fiach around, and perhaps mess around with his latest projects- one of the various TIE variants left hanging around in the modest hangar bay he had.

Since meeting on Dantooine, Brahe had decided that Fiach and his mutual love of TIE fighters warranted a visit to his icy homeworld, and thus he had arranged transport to the frigid planet so that he could share with her the various TIEs he had worked on over the years. It wasn’t far from the homestead itself, but there was a moderately sized hangar bay- shielded and insulated from the outside cold with a rather sizeable set of bay doors, a side entrance for personnel making it easier for more discreet entry.

Brahe had Master Mila drop them off in the Jabberwocky not much earlier before- he often visited home in this manner.

Sliding open the door and being the gentleman, he offered for her to enter the hangar bay first. He blushed, but it was hard to tell if it was from it being so cold outside, or because of his relatively obvious crush on her.

“After you~” He said, with a slight smile. He was nervous as he didn’t really want to mess things up. After she’d go inside the hangar, Brahe would follow.

The hangar bay held a couple TIE variants- a TIE ranger seemed to be in the most operationally capable condition, and it was sitting in the center of the hangar bay. Parked along the sides were several other models in various states of repair- an old bomber, two TIE LNs, one of them an outland variant, and an interceptor were there with certain components missing or removed.

“I didn’t have access to a simulator like you, but I suppose even though they're older models, they’re pretty impressive, huh?”

@Corbeau

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Faced with a verdant planet, Fiach had decided it was as far removed from Klatooine as she could encounter. She clearly hadn’t reckoned on Knownest. She had – given she was Fiach and research is what Fiach does best – done her homework. She knew there were no plans to necessarily go outside but she’d packed appropriate outer clothing, read up on hypothermia and frostbite, had an extra two water bottles (to ensure she stayed hydrated) and had studied the correct way to walk in snow and on ice. She had even packed an extendable pole to measure the depth of a snowfall – just on case.

She’d thanked Brahe’s master for dropping them off and braced herself for the extreme temperature she was sure we would have to endure. But the chance to see TIE fighters for real was too good to pass up.

But she was delighted that, as the hangar door was opened for her to enter, she’d not had to brave the outdoors. To Fiach’s eyes, it simply looked cold. However, once she caught sight of the inside of the hangar, the outside was forgotten.

“Thanks,” was swiftly followed by, “wow.” And then another, “Wow...” before Fiach settled on, “amazing,” as she headed for the TIE that held centre stage. She turned to face Brahe, “Absolutely impressive. Have any of them flown recently?”

 

[Brahe Sienar]

Brahe's happiness spiked at her apparent approval of the TIEs and the hangar bay he had so painstakingly worked in his entire life. This was his passion, and her approval sent shivers of excitement through the young padawan. Still blushing slightly, he responded to her question.

"Well, that ranger still flies! Master Mi'la insists we travel using the Jabberwocky, but that Ranger has all the stuff we'd need to take off now and use for interstellar travel, if you really felt like it." He looked over the other TIEs in the hangar. One of the LN models was functional, albeit it lacked a hyperdrive or any weapons to speak of, so it had been delegated to being little more than his at-home trainer aircraft. "The TIE/LN lacking both the outland modifications and the LS cannons over there works too, but since it's a regular LN, I've just kept it here for practice in-atmosphere and immediate orbit...nothing too crazy!"

He looked over the remaining fighters, letting out a sigh of wonderment and slight resignation. "Unfortunately for the others....well....finding parts for them is hard, and I don't really want to rely on my dad...we get along, it's just that my mom doesn't exactly feel comfortable with me getting his help for just about anything, if you know what I mean..."

He didn't go further than that when it came to mentioning his parents. They were both alive, but they both had quite differing philosophies about raising Brahe. On one hand, his mother believed in raising Brahe out here on Krownest to learn how to better fend for himself in a more....outlandish setting. His father on the other hand, had been grooming Brahe to eventually take his place in the family business, a more corporate endeavor. What had resulted was a....quite unique way of growing up for the young padawan. He had quite the weight of expectation placed upon his shoulders. Even him joining the Jedi was a controversial and almost altogether outlandish thought from both his mom and dad initially.

He walked over to a nearby container, opening it and pulling out what appeared to be a gray flight suit, clearly designed to be worn by a female human/humanoid.

"I hope you don't mind, but I went ahead and took the liberty of asking my mom if we had any extra flight suits you might be able to fit...."

The suit was rather simple in design- complete with a fully sealed helmet so that it could be used with the TIEs that didn't have a fully sealed cockpit. Brahe walked over to Fiach and held it out to her, blushing again. He averted his eyes for a bit out of shyness, then looked at her again.

"Uhm....it's no big deal...you can have it! We have lots of extras!"

Normally Brahe wasn't this nervous and shy around girls he found attractive, but the fear of messing up in front of her was making him feel different in this case. It wasn't often that he found someone with such similar interests.

@Corbeau

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach’s life – so often defined as slow-motion – seemed to be in hyper-drive mode. She’d spent sleepy years on a backwater planet, eking out a living. Sure, she had the love of two parents (albeit she was not their own flesh and blood, but that had never defined their relationship) but that didn’t change the fact they lived hand to mouth and every day was like the last and tomorrow always swore to be the same again. And it never broke its promise.

But since that chance meeting – although Fiach was now of the opinion it was anything but chance and was in fact the Force at work – her life had been on permanent fast-forward. A new home, interstellar travel, regular meals, training. For the first time in her life, she was expected to spend time on herself…no, it was required.

And here she was, in a hangar bay full of the most wonderful ships imaginable. As a mechanic and a pilot of limited to no practical experience, she appreciated their abilities. She did not marvel at their sleek lines or unique sound. And, as her understanding of history bloomed, she had to put all of that admiration into perspective. But she was certainly delighted to be here and up close and personal with them.

She followed Brahe’s gaze as he explained how functional each of the ships were. Her ubiquitous smile was on her lips and she imagined flying one of these craft. In atmosphere would do, just to feel the response of the controls to her touch.

The mention of his mother was not something she understood. Not only because she never had one – not one she knew. She’d been raised by two fathers after all and the concept of them not being in total harmony with each other was an alien thought to her. But she did not mention the fact and allowed Brahe to bring the conversation back to the ships.

She looked at the suit being offered and her nose wrinkled slightly. She was not used to presents and didn’t want to overstep the mark if it was intended as a loan as opposed to a gift. “Thanks,” she simply said and took it. “I’m sure it fits and it would be hard to fly without it. So…I guess this means we’re going to take one up?”

 

[Brahe Sienar]

Her feeling of awkardness at the gift was hardly noticed by the naive young man. Blushing ever so slightly, he responded to Fiach.

"Of course! We'll take that one and that one!" He smiled, pointing to the TIE Ranger and the TIE LN. They were the most operational of all the ships in the hangar, so he figured they'd be a good choice. "I'll go and get my flight suit too!"

He took a quick jog behind some large storage containers, and the sound of clothes rustling, zippers zipping, and armor clicking into place could be heard if Fiach listened more closely. It wasn't long before Brahe himself was dressed in a flight suit, although this was probably one a little less expected. Brahe's flight suit appeared to be a repainted First Order TIE pilot's suit, with some armor plating on the shoulders removed. The armor had been repainted silver, although it retained the classic black body suit.

Assuming that Fiach had indeed put on her new flight suit too, Brahe would blush even redder than before. He shook his head as if to wake himself from his crush induced stupor.

"I guess I can take the Ranger up, and you can be in the LN?"

It was at a time like this that he would've wished for a 2 seater model, but unfortunately, TIEs usually only ever came in a single pilot configuration. He'd have to settle for flying with her as a formation.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Of course, it was one thing to fly a ship on a simulator and quite another to fly one in real-life. Especially when your experience of piloting ships was limited to a few trips since she’d joined the Order. But now was arguably not the time to worry about such things.

Glancing around, Fiach decided the best place to change was actually behind one of the fighters. She swapped clothes quickly and considered the contents of the pockets of her robes. None seemed useful for flying, so she piled them next to her clothes, which she had neatly folded and put on a nearby bench, including her training saber which, after a second through, she clipped to the belt of her flight suit. It felt inappropriate to leave It behind.

Now suited up, the reality of actually piloting one of these craft was starting to weigh heavy on the Padawan. She glanced at the two craft. She didn’t expect either to be easier – or harder – to fly and assured herself that as long as she didn’t take any risks, she’d be fine.

But a basic simulator taught you how to use the controls and what to do in any given situation. It did not teach you how it felt to accelerate or perform manoeuvres.

And so she looked at the LN, the ship that Brahe had suggested she pilot. She knew a little about it. It lacked range and was known to be quick – in part due to its low weight due to the fact it lacked hyperdrive, navigational systems, deflector shields, extended life support and had a small fuel-load. In fact, the minimal, perfunctory oxygen scrubbers and pressurized atmospheric seals was the reason she was wearing the EVA suit.

“Great,” she said, sounding a little more confident than she felt. Her simulator had shown her the light controls were intuitive and easy to learn, in some cases allowing rebel novices to fly and operate them. “Anything I should know about before we set off?” she added, hoping nothing unusual had been added or anything essential had been taken away.

 

[Brahe Sienar]

"Ah- I expect the weather will be pretty good for flying, but in the case of a snowstorm, I'd just head back to the hangar right away. Apart from whiteout conditions, I don't think we'll have any other issues! Just make sure you keep your suit sealed, or you'll get cold really fast. I'll hail you via com link if anything else comes up!"

And with that said, got closer to her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "You'll do great, I'm sure!" He said, smiling in a friendly manner.

Then he moved to his TIE, climbing a ladder and reaching the top hatch and rather smoothly hopping into position. It was as if he had performed the maneuver thousands of times. Not a minute later until the iconic scream of the twin ion engines coming to life filled the hangar bay with it's sweet, yet intimidating tone. He'd wait there, letting the ion engines warm up a bit as he waited for Fiach to take her position. When she was ready to go, he'd lift off the ground, the hangar bay doors opening with the flick of a remote switch.

"Alright, should be good to go!" He said, over the ship's com link. Once the doors were open fully, he hit the throttle, the TIE lurching forward and screaming into the sky as he performed a fancy barrel roll maneuver. He let out an exhilarating yell of happiness and freedom as he did so, smiling all the way.

@Corbeau

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach listened, nodded and smiled. This was something of a holy trinity for her. She had patience in abundance and believed firmly that you only learned when you listened and not when you talked. She’d learned to nod to show someone she was listening. Her lack of social skills meant she used to give no feedback that she was paying attention and her parents had taught her the simple strategy to overcome this problem. And she smiled because she was invariably happy. It was a genuine reflection on her disposition.

She’d never flown in snow before – and until today hadn’t even seen it. But she’d practised in the simulator and so was aware of the effects that the cold and icy precipitation would have. And returning to the hangar sounded a good plan, given the potential disorientation that a snowstorm would impart.

She re-checked the suit to ensure it was fully sealed and nodded again. “I’m ready to go,” she said, “And I have to say I’m really pleased you invited me here. Sims are one thing but I doubt I’d ever get to fly one of these in real life. Not exactly standard Jedi issue.”

“And thanks for your confidence in me. Rest assured, I won’t take any risks. If anything happens, I’ll return here or land where it’s safe. These are too valuable to risk being damaged and I’m no adrenaline junkie. I do what’s necessary under the circumstances. And today, it’s about the experience.”

As he moved away, Fiach mirrored his moves and entered the cockpit of the ship. This was another thing a simulator did not prepare you for. The pilot module was largely common to TIE series fighters, with a ball cockpit and a hatch on the top for climbing in.

Doing her utmost to sit without accidentally pressing any controls, she closed her eyes and imagined this was her old simulator on Klatooine. The pre-flight checks were ingrained in her memory and within a few moments, the sound of a second TIE fighter was added to the noise.

Once Brahe opened the hangar doors and left the ground, Fiach followed suit. “I’ll be right behind you,” she said over the com-link and with a slightly stuttering start, she exited the hangar and opened up the throttle, gaining altitude steadily.

It was exhilarating!

 

[Brahe Sienar]

This was it- the type of moment where Brahe felt the ultimate form of freedom. His TIE climbed into the sky at a rapid pace, the excited young padawan grinning as he did a couple barrel roll maneuvers, figure eights, and loops before heading for a nearby canyon.

"Wooooooo! Hahaha! This is the best, isn't it Fiach?!" He exclaimed, grinning as he floored the throttle again, feeling his harness hold his body in place as the G forces acted upon him, increasing the adrenaline rush throughout his body.

He flew through the canyon pass like it was his own backyard. Truth be told, he had flown this canyon countless times, and could probably fly through it blindfolded. The best part of it all is that it held a river that eventually opened out into a large, frigid sea. The perfect scenery given that the sun was overhead with only clear skies around. A rather breathtaking view, to be honest.

"Just be careful in the canyon! Pull up if you need to!" He said into the commlink. She seemed to be quite the pilot for a first timer, Brahe thought. Clearly the simulator had been doing it's job, based off the fact she was so easily able to transition thus far. It was probably just the g forces that changed things, if anything.

When they reached the end of the canyon and to the mouth of the river dumping into the ocean, Brahe would let his TIE coast, setting it to autopilot as he enjoyed the scenery around him. The sun cast it's warm glow over the icy surface below, creating rather beautiful reflections and colors.

"Well, this is my home world at it's best! We came on a good day!" He smiled, looking to his side at Fiach's TIE.

@Corbeau

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach nodded in response to Brahe’s advice and then realised the futility of the gesture. “Sure,” she responded over the com-link, “but rest assured I won’t be trying anything fancy. Just flying in one of these things is an experience I won’t forget soon.”

Regardless of her words, she took note of the risks the canyon posed and its likely potential to cause problems. Risks were not part of her make-up and she took warnings seriously.

She was finding the controls straightforward — it was the experience of flying that was strange to her. It wasn’t as if she was a regular space traveller, and so the whole inertia and g-force experience was largely new to her, let alone flying upside down. So she took things steady and kept manoeuvres simple, yet still felt she was progressing the longer she stayed in the cockpit.

The canyon navigated, she was aware Brahe had opened up a bit of a lead — which was understandable — but now he slowed and she soon caught him up.

“It is beautiful" she replied, “and it’s strange to see the sun without feeling boiling hot. Not that I’m complaining, I much prefer the temperature to be less severe. Now, where shall we see next?”

 

[Brahe Sienar]

"Let's practice some maneuvers here. I don't want to stray too far from the homestead- the weather on Krownest is sometimes unpredictable."

They spent the rest of the daylight flying, with Brahe teaching Fiach how to levy the throttle in order to get the jump on tailing fighters, how to do a proper strafing run, staying in formation, etc. He started with the basics, instructing her over the mic and telling her to follow his lead, but soon enough Fiach would likely feel as if the cockpit was second nature to her. Apart from the G forces and actual climate within the cockpit, the simulators were used for a very good reason. They just flat out worked.

When she got the basics down, Brahe would begin to teach her more advanced maneuvers, utilizing the vector thrust of the twin ion engine to it's fullest effects. The day was spent in rather fun, yet intense practice, each passing hour getting more and more intense with how the flghters flew through the air.

By the end of it, Brahe felt as if it was one of the most fun flying practices of his life. Fiach seemed to have just as much an affinity for flying as he did!

_________________________________________________________________

(Fast Forward to their return to the hangar bay)

Brahe's TIE fighter screamed back into the hangar bay, landing with a hiss as it released some heat from the ventilation ports. Breathing a sigh of satisfaction at a good day of flying , Brahe removed his helmet and climbed out of the TIE. Seeing Fiach land, he'd rush over to her fighter and smile. When she got out, he couldn't help but give her a hug due to the excitement of their last couple pseudo-dogfights.

"You're really awesome at this, you know that?" He said, still beaming.

@Corbeau

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach responded with a simple, “Copy,” to Brahe’s suggestion they practice manoeuvres. She would follow his lead and only perform such moves as she felt within her comfort zone. It was one thing to crash on a simulator. You didn’t die and you didn’t cause millions of credits of damage either.

She thoroughly enjoyed the experience and, as was her way, made incremental progress. She was never reckless but always pushed her abilities. Soon the simply moves had become ones specific to combat scenarios — which were relatively new and entirely foreign to her. Yet, as ever, she gave her utmost effort and one-hundred percent concentration and was at least satisfied with her progress.

And by the end, she was physically as well as mentally tired


###

Landing carefully — now was not a time to make her first real mistake — Fiach climbed carefully out of the cockpit. Given her level of weariness, it would be easy to fall flat on her face and from the height of the ship, that could prove nasty.

Brahe rushed across and, before she could prepare herself, she was hugged. Her smile remained although she almost dropped her helmet.

“You’re a great teacher,” she responded, “and despite my lack of real flying hours, I’ve racked up enough simulator experience to be able to follow your excellent lead.”

She wiped her forehead with the back of her forearm. “I don’t know about you, but I could do with a drink and something to eat. My energy levels are low.”

 

[Brahe Sienar]

Brahe nodded. He could use some food too, honestly. An entire day spent in the cockpit, he had forgotten to eat because he was having so much fun. But now the hunger had caught up to him, and with it, a bit of lethargy. His mouth watered a bit at the thought of fresh food and drink. Putting one arm around Fiach's shoulders, Brahe began walking with her back to the homestead.

"We've got fresh bantha milk in the fridge, and I can cook up some real good tiingilar. You ever tried it before? I hope you like spicy food! If it's too much to handle, the bantha milk might help."

The side entrance door to the hangar slid open, hitting them both with a wave of cold that was a lot more intense than it had been earlier that day.

"Aww geez, it's c-c-cold!" He exclaimed, scrunching his body a bit in an attempt to stay warm. He used his body as a shield to prevent the wind from hitting Fiach too hard. "It's n-not far from here- the house is o-only 100 meters away." He smiled, braving the cold and stepping out, his right arm still around Fiach's shoulders as he trudged towards the house.

A whirring of actuators and a sliding of a door later, they had made it into the house. Brahe immediately closed the door behind them and shiveringly made his way into the kitchen. It wasn't long before he was there, prepping the food, and sharing his thoughts on all the different starfighter designs with Fiach. Especially about the twin ion engine, as it was Brahe's favorite piece of engineering.

Brahe smiled, reminiscing about how awesome the day had been. He drew out his data pad, and sent a message to Master Mila.

Thanks for the day off.

/ENDING THREAD with your next post? Unless you'd like to continue for some reason.

@Corbeau

 

[Fiach Dubh]

To be honest, Fiach saw food as fuel and no more and right now, her tank was on empty. Which meant she would have eaten pretty much anything offered.

"The milk sounds good, but I've never tried tiingilar before. Having said that, I'd be delighted to try it, thanks. And I'm used to spicy food, my parents always liked their meals to have a kick."

And with that, they headed to the main house from the hangar and braved the bitter cold on the way. For a desert dweller, it was especially cold and Fiach failed to keep her teeth from chattering as she walked across.

But the short walk was worth it and Fiach could honestly say, as the day drew to an end, it had been a very special trip - one she'd love to repeat one day.