[SoNE Ep. XVI] [Cat A] Eta-2x

[Kodan Black]

Somewhat out of the blue I was called to a Star Destroyer to visit an old academy friend, Vice Admiral Brent Anderson. He and I had gotten to know each other as we went through the pilot program together, though we came from very different backgrounds. His family was very wealthy and well connected, though he wasn't the sort to take advantage of it. We got along very well and he was a hard worker and competent pilot. Given his situation it was no surprise that after graduation his first assignment was as a shuttle pilot for high ranking officers and I went on to pilot TIEs. He had climbed through the ranks and found his way into intelligence which suited him well as he had many contacts he could leverage.

We had run into each other several times over the years, but I'd never been summoned to see him. I arrived and reported to his office. Despite our friendship he was a higher ranking officer and I saluted upon entering, giving him a chuckle. "We are alone, you don't have to do that. Though I knew you would. Following procedures and showing due respect as always. Come sit down." He kept a neat office, just like in our academy days. His role in intelligence likely also factored into not leaving anything just laying around. "It has been a while. Hopefully your recent time off has you rested." I caught the subtle way he let me know he'd been looking into me. "Yes, it was a good break and I enjoyed a bit of time to think through all of the recent missions I've been on."

He went over to a shelf and grabbed a familiar green bottle. "Still with the Bat 69?" He grinned as he poured a healthy amount into his cup. "You know me. And I know you." He looked up at me as he said that last part. I hadn't done anything worthy of catching his attention in his professional role, but clearly this wasn't a social call. "You have been busy lately. That Xizor operation was a tough one, we lost many good people. Plus working with the Rebels... strange times. I read a lot of praise for you, more impressively you've done quite a few ground ops despite being a pilot. Though working your way up has helped you branch out. You were more of a combat pilot out of the academy than I was ever going to be. And you've seen enough action to understand that the Rebels are a real threat." He was dancing around something, almost like he still wasn't sure if he wanted to tell me.

"You remember back in the academy when I told you about those fighters my father bought at the fall of the Republic. The Eta-2s?" I nodded. "My father had a dozen of them to use for protection when he traveled or for particularly vital cargo shipments. Recently he was offered a load of spare parts and 2 partial Eta-2 fighters. Mostly just the cockpit, but I had them overhauled and finished to my specs. I wanted something with decent shields and weapons. It needed onboard hyperdrive and it had to be a dogfighter. Something that could get into it and take on whoever it was up against. I made sure it had brutal acceleration in exchange for lower top speed. I call it the Eta-2x and I've got them here with me and one of them is yours. I've arranged to have you transferred here to act as a consultant reporting to me." I tried to keep my face neutral but I could tell I'd naturally put on my thinking face as I struggled to process this and my face scrunched up. He caught it and smiled.

"You know, there are many in the Empire who think we are invincible. A lot of senior officers are so sure of our dominance that they cannot fathom how we would ever lose, at least not in the long term. They are sure that even if we lose a battle that we'll win the war. There aren't enough senior officers with real first-hand experience with the Rebels. They aren't just a motley collection of poorly equipped peasants. And they are amassing their fleet to strike at Endor."

I was trying to run through what I knew of Endor to find a reason for that target. The fact that I had to think so hard about it meant it wasn't one of the targets you would most expect to be struck. "The shield research facility?" I knew of it officially, though it seemed an odd choice. "No, well ... yes in a way. That isn't a shield research facility it is a ground based shield for a new space station. One that isn't yet complete and thus an inviting target! And our plan is to use it as bait and wipe out the Rebel fleet. But those same officers who think so little of the Rebels are the ones in charge of our ships there. I want to send you in as my observer for intelligence and should you see targets of opportunity you are authorized to attack."

Certainly this seemed within my skillset and a reasonable request -- my recent promotion to the Imperial Department of Military Research certainly fit into this. Though I wasn't sure why he needed me personally as I had no doubt there were plenty of pilots at his disposal that could carry out the mission. There was a lingering doubt in the back of my head even as I agreed to take it on. Not like I had a choice since he was both a higher ranking officer and better connected than I was.

"And the Emperor will be there. He wants to personally observe the destruction of their fleet. Which is a needless risk and with the reality that the Rebels have handed us more defeats than people realize I wanted to make sure you were there on my behalf to help should the need arise. And should this all go horribly wrong I want to make sure you will return here to the ship and be my military lead. The captain of this ship is ... a friend. But you know fighter tactics and have a better chance of earning the loyalty of the men onboard. We can't have a mutiny on our hands nor let this ship fall into pirate or Rebel hands. We need to keep it safe while things get figured out."

There it was. He was hedging his bets in case the risk didn't pay off and suddenly he had his own Star Destroyer without a navy. It was a slim chance but I suspected he saw that if it occurred he would take the ship and make his way back to his family and suddenly could be in control of a substantial force -- but he needed someone better tuned into the realities of military life and tactics. I was needed because he felt he could trust me as what he had just proposed could be considered treason. And while the captain was likely promised wealth it wasn't a certainty that he would remain loyal.

At best if I reported him he would be in prison for life, and should the Emperor decide to make an example of him he would be executed. For me personally it wasn't very risky as I could easily participate in the battle with a cover story and if the Rebels were eliminated I would return here and get a nice letter in my file for my role in helping end the threat. If everything went sideways it wouldn't matter much in the face of the chaos that would ensue.

My loyalty lay with the idea of the Empire and not to the Emperor personally unlike Stormtroopers, though it wasn't something I would ever admit to anyone. I wanted a peaceful galaxy and safety for the inhabitants. As a practical person whether I was at the battle or not wouldn't change the outcome, I didn't believe that 1 man would turn the tide. In looking at the risk versus reward it was nearly all reward and little risk, though morally I would be siding with someone who was calculating that he might be able to leverage a bad situation into personal gain. But Brent wasn't trying to take over the government -- just get back and protect his family and their assets. I also couldn't report my friend, but I'm not sure how I could turn him down and still be onboard his ship and report to him. Either way it was a decision I would have to make and move forward with -- no regrets and no second guessing.

His face was stone though I was sure it was merely covering the churning sea of thoughts and emotions inside. I sighed as I looked him in the eyes and I might have caught the slightest twinge of his one eye fearing what I was about to say. His look changed though with my next question: "So what color is my new fighter?"

As I looked around MY fighter I was excited. I'd read the technical specs and build notes from the manufacturer. Several times. It was a fantastically agile fighter made to dogfight. It wasn't a heavy bomber, couldn't challenge capital ships, but it could scrap with any fighter out there 1 on 1. There were so many small items that made a big difference, oversized heat exchangers so it could fire continuously, pressurized cockpit, armored plating on key areas, and shields! I almost wanted to find an excuse to get into it with some Rebels! She was new, she was beautiful and deadly, but most importantly she was mine.

Full Album (Note that I actually built functional landing gear for the fighter even!): https://flic.kr/s/aHsm4NirE4

 

Eta-2x Info:

4 Laser Cannons
2 Heavy Laser Cannons

Armored hull, vital areas feature reinforced armor plating. Redundant power and control pathways allow for continued operation even with damage. To avoid power draw spikes the cannons can operate in the following modes: only the 4 cannons, only the 2 heavy cannons, or with an alternating pattern that fires the 4 cannons and then the 2 heavy in a cycle. The smaller cannons feature longer alignment barrels and are thus more accurate at range though this accuracy does come at a slight penalty to their damage output. For closer targets the heavy cannons deal more damage and their accuracy limitations are less of an issue.

Equipped with both hyperdrive and shielding (medium duty rated). Target tracking and communications gear are top of the line, though due to the ship's focus on fighter combat the tracking system is unable to engage ships of lengths greater than 250 meters. There is a pilot option to "hide" anything beyond that size which cleans up the screen but also risks a collision if the pilot doesn't keep a keen eye out the cockpit. Dual mode IFF allows the Eta-2x to appear as either an Empire flagged or neutral ship. There was no attempt to provide for stealth or minimizing the sensor profile of the fighter.

The Eta-2x features better acceleration and agility over the standard Eta-2. Max speed is lower than most other star fighters including the base Eta-2, having traded off survivability and acceleration for top end output. However, due to most systems being over-engineered for their usage the Eta-2x is able to operate continuously at full combat power without concern for overloading systems. Rearward visibility is non-existent and thus there are camera feeds to provide a view behind the pilot (though without weapons it is more for informational purposes). The rearward feed tends to be used as a basic check, if something is spotted the usual response is to flip the Eta-2x end over end and get a visual check through the front screen. This also allows for the craft to bring weapons onto the target.

Storage space is minimal within the cockpit. The pilot's seat is optimized for comfort and all control and informational systems are maximized for clarity and ease of use which is important because unlike the base Eta-2 there is no provision for an astromech droid.

Where possible new versions of parts were used to make maintenance easier and more cost effective. Due to the small number of ships and their lack of combat experience they are unproven in combat and there is no data on reliability or maintenance needs.

The Eta-2x's main role is in a fighter/interceptor capacity and it is meant to operate in close proximity to a mother ship. It has landing gear and undercarriage lighting so it is able to operate in unprepared landing sites. There is no landing claw or other means of securing itself to other ships and it is not compatible with either a TIE hangar system or docking rings. Due to a relatively small size it is able to operate from most hangars or cargo compartments on medium and larger freighters.

[Evolved Turtle]

Awesome! I love the smooth, curved design throughout.

[LucasLaughing]

I like the idea of updating a CW era fighter to account for some of its weaknesses, and I think you did a good job keeping the shape recognizable, while still coming up with an original design.  The front mandibles feel a bit bulky to me, but it also makes sense since the ship is supposed to be heavily armored.

I like the ship, but I think I love that landing pad - really spot-on fitting in all the details, but without having it feel cluttered.  And the little touches, like the TIE helmet at the top of the little ladder - awesome work.

Don't be afraid to post a few more pictures; you obviously put a lot of thought and work into your story, but I think some readers will just see the wall of text and skip past it.  I think if you interspersed more pictures within the text, it breaks it down into more readable chunks.  Even if it's just some shots of Brent's office from another angle, and then some shots of the fighter while it's being described, it would help the flow of the entry and make it easier to follow (IMO).

[Lord Buckethead]

BAT 69, band of brothers reference? Either way great story and builds.

[Kodan Black]

On 9/30/2017 at 8:18 PM, LucasLaughing said:

I like the idea of updating a CW era fighter to account for some of its weaknesses, and I think you did a good job keeping the shape recognizable, while still coming up with an original design.  The front mandibles feel a bit bulky to me, but it also makes sense since the ship is supposed to be heavily armored.

I like the ship, but I think I love that landing pad - really spot-on fitting in all the details, but without having it feel cluttered.  And the little touches, like the TIE helmet at the top of the little ladder - awesome work.

Don't be afraid to post a few more pictures; you obviously put a lot of thought and work into your story, but I think some readers will just see the wall of text and skip past it.  I think if you interspersed more pictures within the text, it breaks it down into more readable chunks.  Even if it's just some shots of Brent's office from another angle, and then some shots of the fighter while it's being described, it would help the flow of the entry and make it easier to follow (IMO).

All good feedback and I'm glad to get feedback!

I think I agree now on the mandibles, I tried to balance out the heft of the ship a little by making them more hefty, but I should have kept them sleek.

I do need to work on better interspersing pics and story. I tend to do 1 build, set the figs and then take pics. I like how a lot of builders do different shots with figs moved around, so I need to work on that. Honestly I didn't get the shot I wanted for the office. I had it in my head but I think it would have had to be 6-8 studs wider to pull it off which felt too wide. Plus I didn't want to start over once I had it done.

I always worry about posting too many pictures because there are so many little details I never feel like I properly show even though I probably obsessed about them for hours. And I always take 40 pictures, edit 20, post 10 to flickr and then end up using only 2 or 3 in my post here.

On 10/1/2017 at 12:58 PM, Lord Buckethead said:

BAT 69, band of brothers reference? Either way great story and builds.

It was indeed. Love that series!

[MKJoshA]

Amazing story and great builds! I love how you are building up your character arc to prepare for the events of Endor! And your Eta-2 is very nice. I think parts of it look blocky though. I think it's the sudden transition from one style of curve to another. But overall, very nice!

[goatman461]

That first room is fantastic, although I have trouble picturing how the flooring fits into the rest of the space. The hangar is great, as well; but to fit into the SW universe it might need to either get junkier or sleeker, depending on where it's suppose to be. I guess it does resemble the Lothal factory pretty well, though. Excellent details throughout.

The starfighter is a cool concept. More color blocking would help, which I find requires a lot of planning, building, and rebuilding, and rebuilding, and rebuilding...