Spreadin' out her wings tonight

[Coren Starchaser]

A ship winked into existence around the Yavin system. It was a tiny little thing, but it was so much more than met the eyes. The Snapper was a modified, heavily, and very differently, A-Wing Starfighter. The pilot behind the controls was none other than Coren Starchaser, one of the premier astrogators and a staff member at Silk Holdings, among other superfluous titles that did not belong in this thread. The fighter was an older profile, but the pilot behind the controls was one of the top in the galaxy, if you asked him, and possibly if you asked others.

She was painted in the dark blue and black of the Tiburon unit from the Alliance and you could see her outline as she flew past Yavin Prime, the fighter was within the gravity well and Coren had slammed the new engines, of his own design, to full power.

“Lets see what this thing can do.” He had brought this refurbished craft to the Shule’s Workshop on Yavin IV. Coren was a member of the Frontiers Corps, and sometimes held a rank in the late days of the Levantine Sancutm, and through that? Yeah, he knew the Workship. The fighter had been brought up to standard, but was kept relatively normal, as if he pulled it off the showroom floor.

With a few enhancements.

“Sir, the modified fusial engines are holding and performing as expect.” Came the familiar voice of Lexi from within the ship. Coren had ramped this vessel up, as he was keeping his Rassilon on the Dawn Treader a fighter to use in case of emergency, this one was going to be his front line vessel. Probably will even send the ShortFin to his family’s ship.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

This thing wasn’t going anywhere, she was handing like a dream. He knew that the Workshop understood what he needed, a fighter that could provide him a little bit of an edge in combat, and something that was just… his. Uniquely his. While he didn’t really understand how the work was done, he did know htat the Jal Shey enhancements were needing him around, apparently to match his signature to the crystals and trinkets they were putting in the vessel. This wasn’t some kind of ‘hang from the rearview’ work, no.

The same forms of meditation and creation for Jal Shey Mentor Belts and Meditation gloves went into the very frame of the vessel, into the seats, into the controls, into the engines.

The A-Wing had been brought to Yavin IV in pieces, and each were worked over in the Force, while Coren…. Watched, really.

But they were working, he was taking a deep breath and could feel the ship fill his senses.

“Prepping course for Kessel.”

“Scratch that, Lexi. I’ve got this one.” Coren grinned.

The pilot took the controls, the bit that was here? He could feel the way he was concentrating change, it was quickening the way he looked at the Force, the way he felt the gravity well. He was between two of Yavin’s moons and well within the larger planet’s gravity well. Did that matter to Coren?

Not one bit. He took another breath and slipped in the controls. And that was when he pulled the trigger.

Gravity wells were tricky, but now? With this, he could feel them a bit stronger, and know what to look for.

Lines streaked and the fighter vanished from within the system.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The blue of hyperspace was all he could see. But the bit of what he could feel? That was another thing entirely, he could feel worlds, he couldn’t necessarily tell which worlds they were, but had he needed to, he could make a guess, so long as he mapped out the galaxy on his path. But right now he was jumping from Yavin Four towards the world of Kessel. It was a quick run that he’d be doing but then he’d do a quick Kessel Run. And the way he was feeling now?

The kasha crystals that were melded and attacked to the interior frame of the fighter, in an effort to help with his calm. The feeling from the ship was one of overwhelming serenity and it was allowing him to feel relaxed about the coming run.

Even for Coren Starchaser, the Kessel Run was one of those trips you just had to worry about. It was the nature of the beast, with the Maw, it was very easy for a wrong navigation to throw it, and that’d end the trip pretty quickly. The Jal Shey enhancements were made in the ship, but there were physical reminders of each power the Jal Shey lay into the hull through a variety of tools.

As he pulled back into real space, his own course, he was feeling peaceful, feeling ready.

“We’ve arrived at Kessel.” Right, thanks Lexi, Coren knew that.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Kessel, one of his favorite places to test his piloting and his resolve. He knew he was feeling loose here, the same way he felt when he went for a dive – water or space, or when he paddled out into the sea at the Golden Beaches. It was all very peaceful, and right now, this run, which normally made him feel combat-ready? It wasn’t bothering him. He knew he was going to make the Kessel Run in this A-Wing.

“Lexi, get ready for a Kessel Run.” He grinned as he fell back into the Force, his concentration and focus amped up. That was unique. He might have to have the Jal Shey make him something to allow him to focus. Right now? He was feeling really good about course. Pulling up the hyperdrive data, the pilot fell into an almost meditative trance as he looked through the systems.

And started entering the codes. He was no Starbuck taking Galactica home, but he was Coren, and one of the top astrogators. Focusing was all he could do right now. And he grinned.

“Coordinates and flight path are input.”

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The fighter was really nimble. Coming off of the Rising, this was a whole new feel for Coren, airleon roll left and right very zippy. The peace of mind was helping as well, he knew where he was going to go and how he was going to get there. This little A-Wing had it all. And there was that unadultered grin on his face. This was what he needed, with all the garbage he was dealing with, with the Wrath in the Alliance ranks, his apprentice making terrible choices, that all fell to the wayside.

The way the Jal Shey experts had set this fighter up? it was helping clear his mind, clear his mind and quicken his intelligence. It was smart, what they did.

"Hang on." He said to Lexi, before whipping into a barrel roll. Weapons systems weren't turned on, but he had tested the pieces previously. They worked.

3, 2, 1,

Light speed.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Light speed, hyperspace, dark space, faster than light. All of it was where Coren yearned to be. it was the place he truly felt alive. Electric feelings in the Force and out of it. He wasn't sure what it was, maybe he was more than a life-sensing Force user. He could ping people he was close to, was always good with that, a bit of melding minds in the Force. But the rest? He wasn't sure, but in the A-Wing, he felt he could do anything.

And that was when his trip came to a short and utter stop. The fighter jolted, the whole frame creaked as she was ripped from hyperspace and into sublight speeds. That was not expected and Coren was reacting, reaching to the Force and looking for a way to trick the gravity well, fold space? Astrogate away from it?

That was when he saw what was going on. Imperial patrol, a Star Destroyer and an Interdictor. Looked to be reading as Final Order ships, way out here?

Lexi was going on in the background, matching the ships and learning their identity. She wasn't sure they had been scanned. And Coren had reasoned that they probably hadn't, the way they were chasing the band of smugglers. And these weren't his people, but he could do something right this day, something to help them. Goosing his throttle, he reached out into the Force, scanning, actively, taking concentration from his flight to focus and look into the destroyers.

Dark side. A meditation team. Great, that was going to complicate things.

Weapons soon came online as he reached into the ship with the Force. There was one more trick.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The pilot was ready and he knew that once he was pinged, he was going to be the target. So what he doing? Reaching out to the Force, screaming at the top of his lungs, in the Force, making him the kite that would allow the rest to escape.

The Final Order had been here a while, the smugglers, in their hot rod freighters, were swarming the interdictor. Good, they knew what they needed to do to get out of there. And that was when he felt the shift. The Force was targeting him, the Sith in the Star Destroyer were targeting the Forcer. Good. Even the odds. He could feel the Force coming at him, and for the first time since Coren had woken from cryo, he was able to work a mentalist attitude.

And resist the battle meditation. he knew it was happening because of the scrambled calls came over the comms. People sounding like they were in fear. Still, the pilot kept on, and grinned. He had been trained in resistance, but the more recent months and years? No, that eluded him.

But now, in this ship, he was able to shrug off the meditation coming his way.

He was peaceful, he was focused. He was ready.

"Bring it." He muttered to the ship as he started opening up with blasters, punching throttle as hard as he could.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The fighters had circled around and Coren’s eyes lit up. The blue eyes tracked the fighters and Lexi began providing firing solutions, which generated through Coren’s implant and helped him see where he was going. Then he was working, and not too hard, focus coming quicker, faster, to which targets he was going after first. The pilot flexed his hand and grabbed the throttle and stick. The TIEs were coming at him and he accessed all free channels to the smugglers. “Get that interdictor down here, I’ll hold off these guys.”

A flight of four was coming at him right now, a few more to follow.

He wasn’t Darth Vader, but he could stall them out. Enough for the smugglers to break away and get someone out here. Still, feet on the rudder pedals, Coren dumped his throttle down and slammed for a hard roll to his right. Firing a quick burst, he took one of the TIEs out before pulling in an estimated, because space, Split-S to get back behind the TIEs.

Focus was through the rough, and the blood wasn’t boiling in his ears, not yet.

He knew it would, these things couldn’t be perfect, but for now? Another blast, this time from an energy torpedo as he closed the distance, and one more TIE lit up brilliantly.

“Target the generators, let the ship survive, get yourselves clear.” He ordered to the smugglers.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

That was when he felt it, the interceptors coming his way. The others were stalling him. Couldn’t have seen that coming, but a quick roll, another blast of lasers and the third TIE splintered into pieces. Checking his six, he could see the other the last TIE fighter and grinned. Pushing the throttle to full, he knew he could outrun it, but with the lasers lighting his shields up red, he continued alireon rolls as he checked his countermeasure systems.

Flares, the best.

Lexi could understand what he was doing, she was simulated intelligence after all, and the targeting system started to give a hard tone as fighter crossed his chute. The blast sent out, piercing the TIE’s cockpit and lighting it up. Banking the A-Wing, he banked hard, seeing the pair of squints coming at him, yes, TIE interceptors, before someone goes off and becomes hurt by something I say, he grinned.

The battle meditation was continuing. But he was able to shunt it off, the man was a Master after all. Running right for the enemy fighters, they were firing and Coren laid his A-Wing on its axis before completing the roll and diving, the TIE mimicking his maneuver. Looking up, he was close enough to the TIE to reach out and touch it. Feeling the stress of this new combatant, Coren fell into the Force, reaching for the void. He could feel the gravity well, and as soon as that was done, he was going to kick out of here. He’d already gotten more than he was hoping for, and the way the fight was going, he wasn’t sure he could take these two by himself.

Dumping power from the blasters to shields, he kept the engine rolling at full as he pulled out of the dive to get painted green by another blast of lasers. With the shields taking the hit, he shook his head. Blackhole gravity well was nearby.

“Its crazy…” Still, only way right now, pushing the A-Wing to its limits, he was feeling detached peace as he dove into the Force, the TIEs were chasing him, but they weren’t looking for it like he was. Lexi announced that the smugglers had jumped and Coren grinned.

Skirting close to the well, Coren pulled the A-Wing in, guided by his trust in the Force and skipped the A-Wing off the well, the TIEs came closer and closer as Coren kept just out of the well, shields to the back and top, the TIE started to dive, and that was when Coren leapt to lightspeed.

The man didn’t even look back.