Designing a Wrath

[Taeli Raaf]

Taeli sighed as she slumped onto her bed. Her master had been pushing her to the utmost limit, but she wouldn't expect a Voice of the Dark Lord to do anything else. She could feel her power growing, and her knowledge of the dark side kept increasing, but she had to admit she wanted to help the One Sith in another way other than being a powerful Sith.

Opening her datapad, she flicked through different news articles, including one showcasing the Blade Starfighter created by Krayt Industries. While she could appreciate the Blade, she felt it didn't really fit her personal style and she wondered how many other Sith felt the same.

'I wonder if I could design an alternative fighter, it's not like anyone can really stop me from at least trying,' she thought. Pulling up the schematics of the Blade on her terminal, she scrolled through them, noting where things could be better. She knew the Sith wanted powerful ships, and she didn't think the Blade went far enough.

Wondering what she could start with, she went through old historical files of past Sith ships, and she arrived at the schematics for the Fury Starfighter, ironically the main fighter of the past incarnation of the One Sith.

'This looks promising,' she thought, smiling to herself as she began analyzing it.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

'So the Fury had three engines, we could probably bump that up to four, two on each side,' Taeli thought, making a list of changes she wanted to do. She knew to continue she would need to meet with representatives of either Krayt or Titan Industries, she was personally leaning towards Krayt though since they had designed the Blade in the first place.

'Now the problem with the Blade is the armaments are far too light and rely far too much on the mullimine blade edges to do damage, that really shouldn't be the primary focus of a fighter craft, but the idea certainly has merit,' she continued her list. 'The Axe Wing is definitely a step in the right direction, but I don't want to replace that fighter. Although both fighters seemed rather cramped.'

Scrolling down her list, she increased the length of the fighter she wanted to 18 meters long, and began looking over armaments. She wanted to keep the mullimine edge as it was a good idea since it would allow ramming through an enemy fighter if needed, or if the pilot was skilled enough to do so with risk. That would require shock absorbers and dampeners in the cockpit, something she noted that the Blade didn't really say was there.

'Hmm, the blade should be along the front edge of the wing, but to make sure things don't end poorly during a ramming, the wings should be reinforced with more duranium plating than the rest of the ship.'

She was going to decide what else to add, but she was interrupted by a summons from her master.

Sighing, she would continue this another day.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Finding time to finally go back to designing the Wrath Starfighter, Taeli groaned as she sat down at her desk. Her limbs were protesting from the vigorous workout that her master had run her through that day, but she was still able to think clearly.

'Now, let's see where we left off, ah yes armaments,' she thought, pulling up the file on her datapad and also pulling up the file on both the Blade and the Fury. 'Hmm, so the Fury had two nose mounted lasers, that's not nearly good enough in this day and age. The Blade also has two lasers cannons, but also has the two torpedo launchers.'

Liking the idea of the nose mounted cannons, she added them onto her design, but she decided they needed some more firepower. Upgrading them to heavy laser cannons, she also decided to add the torpedo launchers onto each wing tip, but couldn't decide on how many torpedoes should be contained in the magazine. She still didn't think it was enough firepower though, even with the bladed wings, so she added four light laser cannons along the wings.

'There that should be enough, I think, but now comes to tricky part,' she thought, going over the file list. Pulling up a message sender on her Holonet terminal, she sent a communication to Krayt Industries, asking for a meeting about and saying she was an apprentice of a Voice.

'That should get some attention,' Taeli thought, smiling to herself.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

'Well things have certainly changed,' Taeli thought to herself, looking out the window. She hadn't touched her Wrath file in awhile, she had been too busy dealing with insane queens and scheming Sith CEOs to find the time to work on her project, but now she had plenty of time and resources to do so. Taking Krayt Industries from Darth Banshee, well more picking up the pieces as the older Sith defected, certainly opened up possibilities.

Opening up the file on her new office terminal, she went over what she had done so far. Perhaps her new partner would have some ideas on how to go about finishing the fighter and beginning production. She sent a message, with the ideas she already had, to [member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

While she waited for a response, she started going over the ships's current speed capabilities. She would the Wrath to be bit faster than a normal Starfighter, but if she did that it would mean reducing the armoring and shielding. Mulling it over, she determined that it would be worth it as while the shields and armoring would be weaker for the majority of the ship, the firepower offered would be enough.

Speaking of the armaments, she went back over her work on the ship's weapons. She still hadn't decided on how many torpedoes should be used but she was considering whether to drop the light laser cannons to two instead of four.

'Hmm, then again, more firepower and four light lasers with the two heavy does give the ship an edge over similar fighters,' Taeli thought.

Pressing the intercom button on her desk, she called for one of the Krayt research and development scientists to her office. They had some discussion to do

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"You called for me, my Lady," the scientist said, sitting down across from Taeli.

"Yes, I have designs I want you to go over," she said, passing the datapad over to her lead developer. "Peruse and tell me what you think." Silence filled the office as the Krayt developer scrolled through the list of features and modifications she had made. The developer was frowning slightly as he continued to read, and that frown kept deepening as he went.

"My Lady, I do not mean to be obstinate, but the amount of firepower on this ship is . . . concerning," he said, passing the datapad back. "You want the technology we developed for the Blade to be transferred to this new one, plus increasing the amount of lasers."

Taeli waited to see what the actual concerns were, but when he stopped talking and appeared to be waiting for a response, she realized those were his concerns.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Tapping her fingers slowly on the edge of her desk, she let the lead developer sweat as she formed her reply. The man had a problem with her actually designing a fighter that would require some effort to create, but would give the Sith something that would be superior to anything else currently in development or in use by their navy.

"So, let me see if I understand this correctly," she said slowly, calmly. "You have a problem with placing mullimine edges along the fighter's wings, adding four light laser cannons along the wings in addition to the two heavy nose-mounted laser cannons and the torpedo launchers?"

"Yes, my Lady," the developer muttered. "It is an excessive amount of firepower that would. . ."

"Would what exactly?" she interrupted. "Create a starfighter that is superior to anything we have ever produced here and help the One Sith grow in power, yes. I don't care if you are concerned about the firepower, I want to know if you can get the job done. If not, I'm sure a replacement could be found. I am not Darth Banshee, this company is going to undergo some changes soon enough, and now you face a choice. Design the fighter and develop a prototype, or take solace in the fact your replacement will do so instead."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"N. . .no, we will design it, my Lady," he stammered out, fear rolling off the man at the implied threat to his life. "It might take some time to do so, as we will need to figure out the best template for the ship."

"I have one selected already," she said, pulling up an image of the old Fury-class Starfighter. "This fighter, a powerful ship in its day, will be the base template for our new Wrath-class Starfighter. Now, I expect a progress report soon. If you meet my expectations, rewards will be granted. This will be a meritocracy of sorts, unlike the old model. I want efficiency and quality, understood?"

"Yes, my Lady, it will be done," the developed said, sensing the dismissal.

As he left, Taeli leaned back in her office chair, contemplating how that went. She might have used too much stick in that little discussion, but the man had wanted, even indirectly, to weaken something that would only strengthen the Sith. That would not do, not anymore.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Taeli smiled as she received a progress report from the development team working on the Wrath. Her conversation with the lead developer had definitely gotten the point across as work had begun immediately on fabricating a prototype of the ship. Creating the skeleton of the ship had been easy, but she still hadn't decided how torpedoes should be loaded into the launcher compartments, and now she had another problem. The report on her datapad suggested she come down to the lab. A snag had occurred.

Sighing, she descended towards the area where the prototype was being assembled and worked on.

'This had better be a small snag,' she thought, looking through her datapad as the turbolift descended.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"So what is the problem?" Taeli asked, exiting the turbolift and meeting the lead developer and his assistant.

"We are having problems with adding the mullimine blade edges to the wings, they aren't as thick as the Blade," the developer said, leading Taeli into the fabrication area where a ship that looked like a skeletal Fury-class sat. The cockpit was completely done, with the engines being installed on either side by large cranes.

"How so?" she asked, admiring the beginnings of the ship.

"The weight of the mullimine is warping the frame, we've had to replace it twice now," the assistant said, speaking up.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Bold one, you are," Taeli said, smiling at the assistant before turning back to looking at the ship. "What would you suggest be the solution?"

"Other than eliminating the idea entirely?" her developer sighed. "As that isn't an option, I wanted your okay to change the wing design slightly. They would stay the same shape, but we would add extra strength to the wings' internal skeleton with a thin layer of armor, then we would add extra duranium plates to reinforce them."

"That would necessitate lessening the armor elsewhere to keep the speed capabilities we are looking for, correct?" Taeli said, not rejecting the idea immediately.

"Yes, my Lady," the scientist said, fidgeting a little. "The extra strength would also allow us to add a slightly larger torpedo magazine and allow the ship to have a higher chance to survive a blade swipe run."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Taeli considered the options in front of her. On one hand, they would be sacrificing some armoring and making the fighter easier to be destroyed if they did the stronger wing option. On the other, she would be sacrificing firepower and general killing power, which was what she wanted for this ship. The decision was easy for her.

"Strengthen the wings," she said with finality. "I want the mullimine blade edges, this ship is supposed to be a spiritual successor to the Blade. Do you have any ideas for the torpedo magazine count?"

"With your decision, my Lady, we could possibly include six torpedoes into each magazine," the assistant spoke up before her lead scientist could. The scientist shot a glare at his assistant, but the young man ignored his superior.

'Ambitious one, I'll have to keep an eye on him,' Taeli thought, saying aloud, "That sounds like a lovely number to me. Make sure it is done and the compartments are shielded so stray laser fire won't blow everything to pieces immediately."

"It will be as you command, my Lady," the developer said, gesturing for his assistant to follow him so they could inform their team about the decisions reached.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Taeli stayed to watch more of the ship being built, both by hand and by machines. The whirring of power tools and machine fabrication arms bolting and welding the ship together was almost music to her ears. One wing was already being armored, several workers adding additional duranium plates and rods to strengthen the wings. Sheets of mullimine were being stacked nearby, in preparation for being added to the ship. Another designer was in the cockpit, the hatch open, working on the calibrations for the targeting system.

'It's always nice seeing something come together before your eyes,' Taeli though, her hands clasped behind her. A small team were working on placing a light laser cannon into place as she left the room, content in the knowledge work would continue quickly.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Taeli was back in her office a few days later, going over several documents, when her datapad pinged with an update on the Wrath.

'Let's see here,' she thought to herself, pulling up the file.

'Update: One wing is complete, torpedo launchers installed, all engines currently installed, light laser cannons installed on right wing. Humbly request your presence to oversee further fabrication.'

Closing her datapad, she made her way down into the lab, entering the Wrath's area and stopping in a small measure of shock. The ship was almost complete, the engine units on either side of the cockpit were humming as technicians calibrated and tested the systems. Another team was bolting another plate of duranium onto the wing that was still showing bits of its frame, while another was working on the heavy laser cannons installed into the nose of the cockpit.

"It truly is a marvelous ship, my Lady," the research assistant said, coming up and greeting her with a bow. "We anticipate the first prototype will be finished within the week and will be ready for limited testing."

"Excellent," Taeli smiled. "What is your name, my friend?"

"Jaxson, my Lady," the assistant said, bowing even deeper and almost falling over.

"Well Jaxson, I foresee a bright future for you here at Krayt," Taeli said, going down to the floor and up to the fighter itself, Jaxson close at her heels.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Running her hand along the hull, Taeli's smile continued to widen as the ship neared completion.

"My Lady," the lead developer said, coming up to meet her. His presence in the Force seemed off to her, and he seemed nervous.

"Your progress is astounding," she said, moving over to examine one of the light lasers on the finished wing. "Are these properly calibrated?"

"Yes, my Lady, fully in-sync with the rest of the weapon systems," Jaxson answered. "Six lasers will fire and exterminate anything they fire upon."

"Even though the light lasers are only to clean up what the heavy lasers don't destroy," Taeli said, running her hand along the laser, noting the power monitors hooked up to observe if any power fluctuations happened. "You have a problem, I sense?"

"My Lady, this ship must not go into full-production," the lead developer said. Even as he said, she could see and sense the other workers turning away and ignoring him. Apparently, they wanted no part in anything he had to say, some even were harboring feelings of anger towards the man. Oh, someone had alienated his work force, not good for someone who professed to being loyal and to say around die-hard loyal Sith citizens.

"Your concerns its too strong again?" she sighed, knowing she had to clean house. He was a leftover from Darth Banshee's time, so he was most likely a traitor in the making.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Yes, my Lady," he said, and Taeli could sense Jaxson moving away even as she continued to observe the equipment monitoring the ship. "This was a fascinating concept, incredibly dangerous too, but this ship can never see the ligh. . ."

The lead developer stopped speaking as his throat constricted from Taeli's Force Grip.

"I've had enough of this so listen closely, all of you," Taeli said, lifting the developer into the air with the Force. "I find this extremely distasteful, I really do, but I want everyone's opinion on this matter. This starfighter will be the beginning of a brighter future for Krayt Industries and the Sith, a powerful addition to our arsenal. I sense from you all pride at being involved on this project, except from our friend here. Tell me, does this man who is essentially performing treason by saying he does not want to help the Sith grow stronger, deserve to live or die? I leave the choice in your hands."

Silence filled the laboratory, except for the whir and hum of the machines. All around Taeli watched as one by one, each technician, designer, and scientist placed their hands over their chests and bowed to her.

"He has been delaying the project, my Lady," Jaxson mumbled. "The only reason we have not finished sooner is his insistence at taking it as slow as possible and sending the workers home hours before their shifts end and closing the lab down."

"If that is the decision," Taeli said, increasing her choke until the developer rattled out one last breathe and became still. Taeli moved the body so it was not in the way of any workers, and they immediately jumped back to work.

"Clean this mess up, then Jaxson, I want you to personally oversee the completion of this ship. You are lead developer for it now."

"Thank you, my Lady."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

It took another day, but Taeli was once again looking at the Wrath, but this time the ship sat complete. The workers were glowing with pride at their accomplishment as tests were run for each system, the mullimine edge was being sharpened to a cutting edge that could tear through armor. Targets had been brought in to test each laser system, including while the cannons were firing separately or together. Standard missile were being loaded in and a pilot stood nearby, being briefed on the tests that were going to be run.

"My Lady," Jaxson said, striding over with a bounce in his step. "She is complete, besides testing her. I give you the first Wrath-class Starfighter, a ship that will become the standard fighter of the Sith and a match to anything the Republic tries to throw at us."

"Take me through it," Taeli said, walking around a raised walkway that wouldn't obstruct the weapon system test.

"Two heavy laser cannons mounted within the nose are the primary weapon dealers, along with the four light laser cannons that sit two on each wing. The mullimine edge was placed along the outer edge of the wing. We had to place thicker sheets of it near where the wing connects to the engines and cockpit. Once that was done, we moved along the wings, tapering the blade edge up to where the torpedo launchers are. Six torpedo magazine, as was decided by you, my Lady, within a shielded compartment that is contained within the wing itself."

"Tests are to begin when?" she asked.

"At your command, my Lady," Jaxson replied, gesturing for the pilot to take his position.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Let's begin," she said, placing flash proof goggles on that Jaxson provided her. The development team moved away from the ship, going to various observation stations to check systems and damage output.

First up, the pilot activated the main laser cannons, and Taeli watched as green plasma burst forth, smashing against the target. The two heavy lasers were followed almost immediately by four flashes of a light green plasma that chewed through the damaged target. It was everything she could have hoped for as the six lasers all fired in sequence, completely destroying the target. Another target was moved into position and blast shields were raised as the next system to be tested would be the torpedo launchers.

Two rockets flew out of the launchers, smoke streams marking their path as they exploded against the target.

"All weapon systems are performing within optimal parameters," one scientist called over.

"No power fluctuations of any kind," another yelled.

"Time for some other tests," Taeli said, moving away from the observation post. "I want tests for the blade edge and its performance within the atmosphere and space prepared immediately."

"At once, my Lady," Jaxson said, bowing and issuing orders to that affect.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

It took two hours, but Taeli was standing at the observation deck of one of the skyhooks that emerged from Coruscant. This particular one didn't go completely into space, so she could observe both capabilities of the fighter. The Wrath prototype was about to launch from the hanger, and the entire development team was on deck with Taeli. She wanted the entire work force that had helped develop this ship to witness its full ascension.

Four streaks of blue ion thrust launched out of the hanger, the ship had lights installed so they could follow its progress along with the measuring instruments for maximum speed and maneuverability. Several targets had been floated into space, with the military informed that a ship test was taking place in this part of space.

Flashes of green started firing from the ship's lasers, destroying target after target as it raced around the area. A missile detonated at a target that was slightly too close to the observation deck, but nothing was damage. The other target near the skyhook was sliced neatly in half by the mullimine wing edges, the pilot reporting that the shock absorbers in the cockpit prevented him from feeling anything from the attack.

"Maximum speed so far is 1,500 km/h," a scientist said, looking over one readout. "Accelerating again, still topping out at 1,500."

"That is acceptable," Taeli said, it might not be the fastest thing out there, but it wasn't designed to be an interceptor.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Ladies and gentlemen, I do believe the tests indicate we have created something extraordinary," Taeli said, raising her voice so everyone could hear. "The next step from here is beginning production, mass-production in fact, as we take our place as a premiere company within the Sith and the galaxy at large."

Applause at the brief speech had Taeli turning back to look out the viewport as the Wrath prototype continued to fly, putting in some final tests that would nitpick the calibrations to be absolutely perfect.

"This is just the beginning," she whispered, more to herself than anyone around her.