Saga - PT HOWLRUNNER (Anatomy of a TIE pilot)

Title: HOWLRUNNER
Author: Keycube
Timeframe: 5BBY, w/ references back to 32BBY
Characters: Cive' Rashon, with misc. canon & non-canon characters
Author's Notes: This is a condensed narrative of a story that I will perhaps flesh out someday. For now, I would appreciate any comments regarding how potentially interesting you find it to be. I myself have moments where I find it to be fun and having potential, and soon after find myself wondering, "Who in the hell would care about this?"

This is my first attempt at creative writing since I was a child, and I must admit, it is a very vulnerable feeling to have others read/critique your work. Props to all of you who write such outstanding pieces and have the courage to "put it all out there".

Thanks for reading!

"HOWLRUNNER" ​

Garen Rashon was the renowned lead technician for a medical technology research facility on Dubrillion. He lives in the Lab District in a modest apartment; there were more lucrative offers to be had by working off-world, as opposed to Dubrillion's socialized medical sector, but he was, above all else, a Dubrillion. In a chance twist of fate, he was approached by Count Dooku to work on a Kaleesh soldier - someone apparently of some consequence - found in a dire state on Kalee some 27 years ago. A young and altruistic Garen readily accepted; he was an outspoken advocate for the Kaleesh in their war with Huks, and Dooku was legendary for arbitrating matters with exceptional fairness, even for a Jedi. Serenno is in relatively close proximity to Dubrillion, and Dooku had often visited on "unofficial Jedi business"; he found Dubrillion's neverending seascape to be a tranquil getaway from the typically harrowing Jedi duties. Garen had seen Dooku occasionally roaming the halls of the facility in the years since, presumably as an occasional brush with nostalgia in regards to the work done on the Kaleesh soldier years ago. And for good reason; they had broke so much new ground in physiotronic A.I. linkage and rapid cell absorption to accommodate the soldier's new armor and complex appendages, that surely the soldier would be a harbinger of justice for his people. Surely.

Dubrillion fell under the dominion of the CIS some years later (Garen had little interest in politics, and assumed such a move must be for good reason...surely, being the brainchild of the Count's?), and the medical facility implements a military research wing. Garen silently accepts these changes for the sake of faith in his homeland (and his wife & infant daughter's safety), but becomes disillusioned with stories of Dooku's disappearance/defection, the rumored direction of the CIS, and the horrors of the Clone Wars. Ultimately, the CIS political movement was crushed, and an Imperial mandate was introduced some 14 years ago, marking the end of the Clone Wars. Garen now remembered that time with Dooku with such a jaded bent. So much had changed.

As rumors surrounding the Empire's galaxy-wide stranglehold mount, and with the construction of a massive addition to the medical facility having been completed months prior, whispers surface regarding shipments arriving after-hours - in heavily shielded containers - at the facility. After much hesitation, Garen finally opens up about his concerns to Darius Tylander, his friend and colleague of many years in the medical wing. After digging through corporate files on Garen's computer - but with Darius' security clearance - they find an empty directory within an Imperial budget & scheduling database, but notice that there has been activity within the directory within the last couple of days. The two agree to keep this between themselves for the time being. Garen has an idea (that the shares with Darius); the next few days he arrives at work at 0500, before the day shift arrives. He checks the directory first thing each morning, and sure enough - on the 3rd day, he notices a reference to Lothal (not necessarily a red flag, being the home of weapons manufacturer Sienar), but amongst the laundry list of heavy-weapons-grade material, is a listing for "Crystal, Kyb-071" listed in the directory, likely before the day shift worker could validate, transfer, and then delete the information (this was standard procedure for incoming shipments - minus the deletion - and Garen had a hunch). Garen had seen this sort of thing before; Kyber Crystals were used in a surgical capacity to hyper-focus cutting lasers to a self-cauterizing state. But the sorts of quantities listed here would have violated every treaty imaginable - or would have before the days of the Empire, anyway. Garen is anxious to share the information with Darius, but Darius does not show up for work. Garen is called to the office of the Facility Administrator. (Garen is familar with him, but has only seen him in passing. He was an Imperial officer, and for the most part, the medical wing has been able to operate independently).

Garen is informed that it's come to the attention of some, that there have been security clearance violations with his terminal, recently. Garen is asked if he knows anything about that, and that if he does, it would be wise for the safety of all involved, to name names before anyone higher up the Imperial ladder caught wind of the situation...

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Cive' Rashon is 19 and in the 2nd year of her mandatory military term.

Cive' is stationed aboard an Imperial Modular Taskforce Cruiser, one of its many capabilities being the inspection of Outer Rim systems to find strategic locations for future Imperial presence; for Cive' that meant the preliminary engineering - with respect to terrain, atmosphere, population, etc. - and preparation of presentations to propose to superiors, with the goal of green-lighting another of Rothana Heavy Engineering's pre-fab military garrisons.

What was once more of an educational civil service act when Dubrillion was independent, military service was different now under Imperial control; at the end of the 2nd year, those with exceptional skills were "encouraged" to stay in the military within that discipline, and received a life with impressive perks. Cive' was an engineering student but possessed an impressive medical background from working with her father and taking a good share of vocational classes in that field. She has considered testing out into the medical division after she finishes her 2nd year. Thus far, her military career has typically consisted of tedious load calculations for garrison foundations.

Cive' enjoys fencing - a favorite pastime of those on Dubrillion - and is reasonably good at it; her speed and reflexes rivaled most anyone, but Cive' was not competitive by nature. Her school in Basior City was comprised of mainly upper-crust sorts, and fencing was her one way to assimilate into that environment. Mila, also from Basior City, is her only friend of note (and is in fact one of those upper-crust sorts; she and Cive' met through her father's work - Mila's father being part of the Resources Allocation Board at the medical facility).

Cive' and Mila were lucky to be able to serve together, but it was not entirely coincidental; Mila is an art student and is often required to give renderings to the technical drawings coming from the Facilities Engineering Division. The Imperial Conscription Services like to take conscripts in pairs when possible, for morale purposes. The Imperial Army is the default service, due to the amount of unskilled labor needed, but Cive' and Mila were stationed within the specialized Engineering Corps, due to Cive's engineering prowess during her years in Principal Education. Mila was more than happy to be the tag-along, as being a part of this particular task force at least provided for some measure of travel. Her job was not taxing, and soon she would be able to return to civilian life and pursue her career as an artist.

Cive' and Mila would talk of their respective families; Cive' about her father's loneliness after her mother's death when she miscarried with what would have been her baby brother. The irony and absurdity - the wife and son of a medical specialist being taken in such a fashion - had haunted her father ever since. Mila would talk of her mother and her successful career as a "Regional culture immigration facilitator" (Dubrillion has an ever growing number of immigrating oceanic species), how her little sister is emulating her own artistic prowess, and her older brother who stayed in the military and serves the Empire as a shuttle pilot. They haven't heard from him since, though the family receives an annual "Appreciation of Service" acknowledgement for him. She laments that her father's work and responsibilities had taken him away from her, and how the Empire's influence had left him discouraged. Cive' admits to being uninspired and lost amidst a wave of emotions since her mother's death, but is compelled to give something positive to the galaxy, like her father. Perhaps have a family of her own. A family like Mila's.

One of the hangars on the Cruiser is assigned to the Advanced Projects Division, and Cive' is recruited to work on the newly crafted TIE Bomber as an on-site representative for Sienar Fleet Systems. At first her job is the usual fare; mundane calculations and systems checks. One day she makes an observation regarding the TIE's inefficiency when docked; the nature of the ion engines sees that they remain "spooled up" at idle-injection level at all times, but they have always been vented to atmosphere; making for slow initial acceleration. Cive' suggests the possibility of re-introducing the spent exhaust ions back into the engine, while injecting a Dyrinium isotope into the engine's magnetic fields as a particle accelerant, along with a refrigerant to stabilize the volatile reactions. Achieved with a simple quick-disconnect coupling, it could be utilized on all future TIE models, and was a major turning point on two fronts; it addressed a weakness in the TIE engine layout that Imperial complacency (and its "quantity over quality" ideology) failed to address, and it saw Cive' finally achieving a measure of respect among her colleagues (some of whom could trace their Imperial lineage back to the Clone Wars). The mumbling and whispers were fewer; the talk of "paying her dues" and calling her "Connie" (it was a clever disparagement, she had to admit, giving "conscript" a female tone). And in fact, she still got the occasional "Connie", but now with a half-smile, a nod, and eye contact.

For the first time in a very long time, Cive' felt like she belonged.

This was neither the first, nor the last of her successful design implementations. She excels to such a point, that she is made the project leader within the APD. She is at the forefront in implementing the TIE's modular construction format, seen as a major cost-cutting measure with the TIE platform. She takes great pride in her new creations, yet feels a pang of guilt in creating an icon of destruction; her father - and Dubrillion's culture - placed such an emphasis on life and growth. The end of her 2nd year is drawing near; she looks to be guaranteed a lucrative career in weapons development if she wanted it. Due to her value, the Empire is willing to offer her another 2 years in another military vocation of her choosing, just to see how diverse her talents may be. Having the safety net of her successful stint in engineering, she leans toward the 2 year stint in medicine, if only for the sake of her father. Either choice will take her away from Mila; but in truth, they see very little of each other lately. So many decisions and changes that she didn't see coming. Why must there be a communication restriction with civilians - with family - during the conscription phase?

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At this point, Cive' learns of her father's death. Additionally, we learn during that Mila's father and 4 others in Garen's group are dead as well. The "official" story is that Garen and his co-workers were victims of a "rogue rebel-backed assassination attempt, the targets chosen likely because of the medical facility's connection to Count Dooku and General Grievous years ago".

In truth, Mila's father had already been questioned by the time Garen's turn had come, but Darius was more forthcoming, exposing his friend with the hope of saving his career and his life. It was not to be, for not only was Darius now far too high-risk to maintain, it was important for the Empire to take the others as well for a bit of misdirection. A single death, particular that of Garen Rashon's, would raise eyebrows; better to leave as little reason as possible to question the deaths of seemingly innocent medical workers.

Cive' retreats to a very dark place, seething in the anger that this band of Rebel terrorists would single out her father. Why? Why a man that had dedicated his life to helping others? And...the medical facility...Dooku...Grievous...she had heard stories of these characters; the traitorous Jedi and his murderous henchman, but her father never mentioned anything...and surely he would have been working there around that time..?

It is a delicate situation for Cive's superiors; much in the way of psychological profiling had been done on Cive'; indeed, on all those in the military. With most, it was deemed best to keep morale high, to maintain a sense of contentment and stability; ideally with the Empire projected as being the source of those things.

However...

In a private meeting with her superior officer, Cive' is told - in the interest of "maintaining control of a delicate situation before she learns of it under more difficult circumstances" - that Mila's father was the one who organized the assassination within the facility, that the Empire had "tracked his transmissions of military information to suspected rebel outposts, and was likely killed to eliminate any loose ends".

She is also told that Mila has been discharged from the military, "for her own safety".

Cive' Rashon had lost everything.

At some point in her grief - in truth, at some point spent learning to forget; finding solace in the emotional sterility of her work - Cive' decides to enroll in the Imperial Naval Academy. She realizes that her father's legacy - the father she thought she knew, not the one she agonizes over, with newfound doubt about his history - will not be served by having her next 2 years spent leaning over medical textbooks, learning how to save the lives of strangers.

Nor did she see her future as one of analyzing formulas and material strengths, immersed in a world of thought and theory that has served her so well to this point; however, this was now a world that afforded her far too many opportunities to be alone with her own mind, tortured by the past.

Hers will be a life witnessed from the pilot's seat, hunting the enemy.

 

A very interesting concept. I can tell a lot of time and energy has gone into researching this story and the level of detail is great. To me this reads more like a character study than a story but there is plenty of depth here and if you do chose to flesh it out you will have loads of material to work from.

I only have one minor criticism and that is your tenses fluctuate between past and present tense and this is quite distracting for a reader. Since this feels like a retrospect I would suggest sticking to the past tense.

 

Thank you for writing. Yes, the first section especially probably reads a bit all over the place. At some point I was still compiling bullet points, with the thought of eventually weaving them into something story-like (is that how writers do it?), but my attention-span deficiencies kicked in and I found myself modifying what once were little notes to myself ("This is this"), into the reflective parts of the story, ("This was this"). The result is a bit ham-fisted.

It's not the story I intended to write; it was going to have adventures and be more "Star Wars-y", but I quickly found out that's not my creative wheelhouse. I've realized that you can learn a lot about yourself and your limitations when creating something from nothing; where our comfort zones are when filling in the gaps.

I likely won't touch it again; it's a snapshot of a character I've always wondered about, and now I've created a bit of headcanon that I can live with, and incorporates another of my favorite characters (Grievous), which hopefully doesn't require too much of a leap of faith as a reader. Good enough, methinks. Writing is hard!

Thanks again!

 

Coolio. I think some of the most interesting stories I have read (and which I have enjoyed writing) are the stories that "fill in the gaps" and show well known characters in new situations that aren't covered in the films or books. Just because it's Star Wars doesn't mean it has to be all action and romance and operatic.

Looking forward to reading some more of your work in future!

 

For somebody who is so anxious about their writing, you're doing pretty great! Your worldbuilding and level of detail is mad, mad, mad. In a good way. Please, don't stop and don't feel discouraged for one bit. Other than the tense mess gaarastar58 pointed out - that can be easily fixed - there is absolutely nothing wrong with your writing. As a matter of a fact, everything I have read here is pretty unique.

To put it simply...

In a chance twist of fate, he was approached by Count Dooku to work on a Kaleesh soldier - someone apparently of some consequence - found in a dire state on Kalee some 27 years ago.

...this is where I was sold. Going once, going twice, gone. I am looking at this as a synopsis for a mighty, mighty story and I hope that the sid mighty, mighty story ends up being written in the end.

It's interesting how you chose the planet as the setting of these three interconnected vignettes. I did not know of Dubrillion before, so I hopped over to the Wook and...wow. There is such a stark contrast between the Lush green world and the neo-noir tech twiglight you've depicted here. One has got to wonder if the Empire had practically changed the entire planet.

Another thing I enjoyed a lot in these brief retellings of what could be stories with a lot of potential was the physics, the mechanics, the science of how things work. That was truly brilliant.

I'll review all three sections, bit by bit.


Section #1
Garen Rashon is a fascinating character. A perfect blend of a mad scientist and an idealist doctor type. Humble, to the point where the fallen Count Dooku and eventually grandiose delusions-addled Grievous look bad around him; idealistic to the point where he was saving lives of those who cannot be saved.


The trust young Garen puts in Count Dooku in the beginning of his story is incredible. Made me shiver. And then, as all those ideals crashed to the ground, his character development went the "right" way, despite the limitations of this synopsis-like format. Fascinating.

And now there's a plot bunny that may involve Rebels? Don't leave us like this, please!


Section #2
Cive' (I guess you wanted to write Civé, but couldn't find the key on your keyboard?) is related to Garen, I get it...but we're yet to see how. It's pretty fascinating to see how the Empire took over both her and Mila's life and that Mila, being an artist, is somehow useful to the whole mean machine.

I would love to learn more about Mila's mother. For some reason, I got the impression that such a job would actually keep her away from Mila more often than not, especially with the fact that Mila is very busy herself. So, I wonder if Cive' sees things as far, far brighter than they actually are, given her own situation.


Section #3
WOW. I...I didn't see any of this coming - Garen dying, Darius being the traitor AND Mila's father, the whole obviously political assassination being passed off as a rebel thing. Gosh, poor, poor Cive'.

Wait, I said that this could be a mighty, mighty story, right? Make that two stories, the other being the future adventures of Cive', the TIE Fighter Pilot.

 

Ewok Poet

Thank you so much for the kind words! A lot of things sort of came together by accident; to be honest, I can't even remember why I initially chose Dubrillion, but I was captivated by its old-school charm; and being a bit of a rich-man's getaway, I could totally see Dooku hanging out there. It was actually coincidental that I found out that Dubrillion was where the laser for DSII was being constructed (according to the Rogue Squadron video game), so I figured, well...there's no record of the rebels knowing where the first one was built so...I'll have it built here as well! (that's what the weapons material is for in the story). I originally wanted to put Garen on the DS as a contractor, but hey...every planet needs hospitals, right?

I was way into this thing reference-wise before I even touched anything about Cive' (I still don't know where that accent mark is ). She actually felt like an afterthought by the time I got around to her. I was so excited to be able to incorporate Grievous into something that felt at least somewhat organic (no pun intended!), that it was tempting to just stop and light up a cigar.

I wasn't sure how to manage the reveal about Garen and Darius at the end; part of me wanted to just approach it more from Cive's perspective, in which case I should have added more in the way of hinting towards people's behaviors and giving the reader more credit, instead of supplying a "Ha! This is what's really going on!" type of thing. That's where I feel I probably don't have a writer's creative mind; it feels more natural to write an "instruction manual", if you know what I mean. I feel like it almost has a "stage production" vibe to it, as opposed to the makings a nice, linear story with some flow. I have such a newfound respect for writers!

Thanks for reading!

 

Glad my comments didn't come across as too strange and too detailed.

I have Italian keyboard installed since I am multi-lingual, but in general, there's Character Map on Windows and Character Viewer on Mac and those are good at finding any letter you may need.

And stage production - yup, it reminds me of rough treatments for films and plays. But those things end up having novelisations written, so yes, you can pull this off if you write a bit (or a bit more) every day or so. And let go off your fears. Sounds like a cliché, but it's true. One thing that helps a lot is to read and review. You can get a clear idea of where you are and work from there.