Breaker of Chains
- Intent: Flesh out the naval forces of the Order of Wonosa.
- Image Credit: Made by
Hailyn
using Midjourney, Minor edits made by myself. - Role: The pilots of the Order of Wonosa's starfighters.
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: Order of Wonosa, Formos Campaign 6, Fleet of the First Sword
- Unit Name: Wonosan Starfighter Corps
- Affiliation: Order of Wonosa
- Classification: Starfigher Corps
- Description: Bearing the symbol of the Order of Wonosa proudly on the shoulder of their black uniforms, the Wonosan Starfighter Corps serve as the newest addition to the Order's military forces. They commonly share in the zealous and determined nature inherent in their counterparts of the Legion of Kerstas, but with far more pride and yearning for glory. Many of them had barely even sat in the cockpit of a ship before their training began and yet a fresh pilot out of training sports the same attention to skill and maneuver that a veteran would. The corps has a lot to prove both to themselves and the galaxy and they fully intend to one day carve a name for themselves not simply as a group of amateur pilots, but as the devastating weapon of the Sith themselves.
- Unit Size: Small
- Unit Availability: Uncommon
- Unit Experience: Recruit
- Equipment:
- Combat Function: The tactics of the Starfighter Corps are centered almost entirely on escort and complimentary or supplementary doctrines. Rather than acting as independent units, the pilots stick with their squads to cover both each other and whatever vessel they are fighting alongside at the time. They mainly screen against enemy fighters or act as a very limited and cautious vanguard force. Despite these safe and limiting tactics, the attitude of the pilots is one of fervor and determination. They aggressively engage and pursue whatever enemy comes close, albeit they can only pursue so far until they are ordered to pull back so as to not lose themselves in a wild dogfight. They're also trained to provide support for ground forces, usually in the form of being bomber escorts.
- Force Abilities (Force User Units Only): N/A
- Determined Dogs of War: Despite the inexperienced nature of the pilots within the Starfighter Corps, the group itself sports a rather fierce demeanor. Whether inspired by the other forces in the Order or seeking to carve out their own place as equal to them, the pilots display a determined and almost relentless attitude in both combat and training. Even with the focus on group tactics and supplementing a fleet rather than being the vanguard of it, the corps overall is noted as having an almost savage disposition when engaging an enemy and often times push the limits of both their tactics and fighters just to ensure they inflict as much damage as possible.
- On-the-Job Training: The lack of proper facilities for the starfighter corps often leads to training squads being forced into active combat engagements, or at the very least getting to watch such engagements and see the fighting firsthand. This leads to more practical and realistic, yet admittedly dangerous, tactics for individual pilots and a more flexible doctrine to develop to suit actual combat rather than simulated battles.
- Young and Inexperienced: Almost the entirety of the Starfighter Corps is made up of fairly inexperienced pilots. The handful of pilots that do have real experience, or at least had flown a ship before entering into the corps, are either too old to properly serve in the corps and as such act as instructors and other non-combat roles or are placed in very secure and safe training squads so that their vital experience is not lost in combat.
- On a Leash: Given the overall lacking and small state of the Order of Wonosa's naval forces and facilities, the Starfighter Corps is forced to operate in a very limited and cautious manner. They have little room for personal glory or grand risks that make other similar groups notable due to their lacking replacements in both pilots and equipment and as such are far less skilled and independent in their operations and tactics, preferring safe missions using combined ship operations with the corps as a supplement or compliment rather than what would usually be expected of a true starfighter corps.
With the fall of the Sith Empire, many assets and personnel that were left to their own devices by the crumbling and fleeing leaders soon found themselves in a similar disarray and disorganized mess that they could not recover from. Many defected to the coming invaders, entered into civilian life, or entered into the service of the few remaining warlords as well as mercenary companies. The Order of Wonosa did manage to recruit a very small group of pilots and other naval personnel, although their focus was mostly on survival and expanding their ground forces, but they lacked the methods to properly use them.
As such the pilots and crews were mostly sent to work with the Fleet of the First Sword or piloted the few, noncombat, craft that the cult did have. As their influence over Formos grew however, and their supply of "acquired" ships and weapons from defeated pirates and smugglers accumulated, the need for a more flexible navy became more and more apparent. Even with starfighters they had no real pilots with proper training to use them, leaving plenty of gaps in their resources and assets that needed to be filled. Finally the need for pilots and crews could no longer be ignored, especially with their grasp on the Formos system tightening.
Most of the veteran pilots that the cult did have on hand were older by now, not too old to be in the cockpit of a fighter of course but old enough and in such small numbers that a new pilot training program would need to be created. With the existing pilots as instructors and plenty of cheap pirate ships to practice with, which would soon enough be replaced by the cult's own fighters, the first pilots of the newly made Starfighter Corps would be recruited from both the ranks of the existing military forces and from the civilian populace among the cult's dominion.
They were fresh, young, inexperienced, and yet eager for glory. Eager to see their own destiny and legacy written in the stars by their own efforts and skills, and that was more than enough to begin training. Pirate raids would be a main focus of the corps training even in the beginning, using limited engagements to provide real experience for the new pilots. The time would soon come though when mere pirates would be the least of the concerns of the Starfighter Corps of the Order of Wonosa.
