Praetorian Squadron Report #12, 03-07-2003

--------------------------------------------------------------------

INTRODUCTION

I sighed as I picked up my datapad from my bunk. Sticking it in my pocket, I looked around my quarters one last time. I wonder if this is the last time I’ll ever see it. I’ve been here so long… Turning to go, I patted my R2 unit on the head. “C’mon Peep, don’t want to keep the Major waiting.” Peep whistled mournfully as he followed me out of my quarters. I still had a hard time believing what was happening.
A few weeks ago, after some furious battles with the Rebels, things had just quieted down. Only patrols, patrols, and more patrols. The Vanguard hadn’t seen a fight for two weeks, and Mantis had been away for the single battle that had happened. In short, I was getting stir crazy. So, I fired off a message to the Commander of Praetorian squadron for information about joining up.
I had always admired Prae. Unlike every other squad, they were not really a part of the TIE Corps, but the Intelligence Division. As such, their missions were of a far more “think smart” quality. Instead of being sent to do a recon, a Praetorian might be sent to recon, and “remove” any threats such as commanders, arriving tech, etc. They were the only squad on board their ship, the Dungeon ship Lichtor V. They’re charged with protecting and obeying the Supreme Director of Intelligence to the death. I’ve always been a fighter jockey, but what Mom and Dad were doing over in Intel always interested me too. Praetorian squadron seemed like a perfect combination of flying and Intel work, and I was planning to join “someday”. However, I never got around to it because one, it’s an elite squadron, and I felt anything but elite, and two, there was so much to be done in Mantis.
However, with the lull in action on the Van, I decided to do some probing around and see what qualifications I had to fill to get into Praetorian. I was startled when the Commander mailed me back right away, asking if I wanted to take the trials! So, I figured what the heck, why not? And now, I was leaving the Van to see if I had what it took to be elite.


**************************************************************************************


As I walked down the corridor, I saw my friends and squadmates at the hangar bay entrance. Seeing me, they all pushed forward to say their good-byes.
“Show ‘em how to do it Mantis style, Dufar!” Erryc, my squadron commander.
“You’ll make the Van proud, Duffy!” Alec.
“Kick some rebel tail, Intel boy!” Coranel.
“Don’t forget to scrub between your ears! No, wait…” Snij.
“Do us proud, Dufar.” Krayt.
“Goin’ elite on us! Who do you think you are, Zoron?! Haaaaahahaha…!” Serge’s laugh rocked the entire ship. To my surprise, the named party stepped forward as well.
“Zoron?” I gasped. I hadn’t seen my old commander for a long time, being so busy in another elite squadron, Avenger.
“Came to wish you luck. Remember, elite or not, Mantis is part of you.”
I grinned. “Hey, if you can do, so can I.”
He smiled back. “If Sarin ever gets the Elite Squadron Overseer plan going, we’ll get to work together again. Who knows?”
Another figure came up beside Zoron. It was Drake, another old commander. He had been one of my best friends in the TIE corps. “You’re gonna do great Dufar, I’m sure of it. If anyone deserves this chance, it’s you. I’m willing to bet your parents would be proud beyond belief.” Zoron nodded solemn agreement.
I held back tears, but only just. “Thanks, Drake. And you too, Zoron.” I shook hands with everybody in the hall. Peep nudged gently at my leg, reminding me we had to go. I squared my shoulders, said my last good-byes, and stepped out into the hangar bay.
I wasn’t more than ten yards away when I heard a cry I had heard so many times before.
“AY! DO MANI!”
Never had it sounded so meaningful. I turned to face them.
“AY! DO MANI!” How I managed to keep my voice from breaking, I do not know. I lifted my hand in one last salute, then headed toward the waiting shuttle.

**************************************************************************************

The trip to the Lichtor V was uneventful. Then, we exited hyperspace. WhooooooooHAAAAARRR!
A flight of TIE Advanced thundered by not three seconds after we exited hyperspace, filling the shuttle with the din of their engines. Strange, I thought to myself, those engines were much too powerful-sounding to be T/As. Then the TIEs made a u turn, and roared past us again. This time, however, I saw the cockpits. Or rather, didn’t see them, as they were obscured by a red glow. These weren’t paltry TIE Advanced; they were TIE Praetors, capable of outperforming a TIE Defender.
The Praetors buzzed us twice more, then went into a normal patrol pattern. “They always do that?” I asked the shuttle pilot. He just nodded. I went back to surveying the scenery.
There was only one ship in view by now, the Lichtor V itself. It had a moldy look about it, just like a real dungeon from fantasy stories. I knew better than to think it was falling apart or weak, however. I had read up on it, and it had ten turbo laser batteries, numerous laser batteries, and great shielding, too.
As we came into the hangar, I saw that it was nearly devoid on people. One man was waiting to greet the shuttle. Must be Major Hunter. I went to the back to make sure I had everything I needed. “Peep, you’re supposed to wait here. Some techs want to go over you to make sure you’re safe.” Peep whistled indignantly. “Well, rules are rules. They won’t tweak your memory, don’t worry.” The shuttle landed gently, and the hatch dropped down. “See you in a little bit, Peep.”
I disembarked, and walked toward the lone figure standing at the end of the ramp. In doing to, I got a better look at the man who would be my Commander.
He was about an inch shorter than I was, but his build told me that I wouldn’t last a minute in a brawl with him. Brown eyes studied me from a tan face topped with short black hair. Faint scars across his face spoke of having looked death in the face without flinching. He was in full dress uniform, with countless medals across his chest. I felt an odd sort of aura coming from him, something that I couldn’t quite identify. Then, almost as if my subconscious had pointed an invisible hand, I looked at his belt. Hanging there was a lightsaber. I came close to gulping audibly. He was a Dark Jedi! Most likely Sith. Gathering myself, I brought my hand up into a formal salute. He returned it, then spoke.
“Welcome to the Lichtor V. I will not tell you where we are now, nor how you got here. You will not be allowed to wander around the ship or view any of the other squadron members until I tell you it is okay to do so. You will not talk to anyone else or send out any messages. Everywhere you are ordered to go, you will be accompanied. And you will not ask any questions or make any requests. Is that understood?” I nodded, not daring to speak. Hunter smiled. “I’m glad we’ve gotten that straightened out.” He held out his hand. “Welcome to the Praetorian Trials.” I took it, and so began my trials.

**************************************************************************************

I will not bore you with the details of my trials. They involved a lot of studying, testing, and getting shot up by Praetorians in the simulator. Peep was allowed to replace my pilot programs, as he had in the past. All that matters is that, in the end, I somehow passed all requirements, and formally became Praetorian.
**************************************************************************************

Some days after my induction, I was lounging in the squadron rec center, idly watching another episode of my favorite holovision show, Hellfire. As the hero blasted his way through a Huttese crimelord’s troops, I heard footsteps behind me. I felt the same aura I had felt when I had first come off the shuttle, meaning it was Major Hunter. I figured it had to do with his being a Dark jedi. “Hello, Major. Care to join me?” There was silence behind me. I looked over my shoulder, and saw the Major staring at me intently.
“How did you know it was me, Dufar?”
“Ah, well, you have a kind of…aura…around you. I think it’s because you’re a…a Dark jedi, and all that. Don’t you get that from people a lot.?” Hunter didn’t reply. He just looked at me for a minute, then walked off.
**************************************************************************************

The next day, right after a brief patrol, Hunter asked to see me in his office, alone. He got right to the point.
“Dufar, I talked with my House Quaestor last night.”
“Who’s that?”
“The leader of my Sith house, in the Dark Brotherhood. I wanted to know if your feeling of an aura meant anything.”
“I doubt it. No offense, but the Force and I don’t really get along.”
Hunter smiled. “Ironic you should say that. You know what Pyralis told about these auras?”
“No…”
“Only a force-sensitive person could feel them.”
What Hunter was implying took a moment to sink in. “What, you think I’m a Dark jedi?!”
“No, but you may have the potential. If you would allow me to, I would like to conduct some tests…” I could only nod. Me, a Dark jedi? Ludicrous!
Several hours of poking and prodding ensued. Hunter tried making me read his mind, guess the number, and all that stuff. He tried to see if I could sense when he used the force to levitate objects, when he used it to levitate me, when he set a small piece of paper on fire. Nothing. His aura remained the same throughout.
At last, frustrated, he gave up. “Dufar, I just can’t see how you could feel those auras and not be at least somewhat receptive to the force.” I just shrugged, glad that was over with.
We tried to leave, only to find the door locked. Every so often, the numerical locks on the doors were changed. Apparently, while we had been testing, the lock had changed. Hunter, in his frustration, was having trouble remembering the code.
“Sithspawn! 44546! No?! 45446? No! Argh!” To avoid having the door sliced open by an angry man with a lightsaber, I stepped forward.
“Here, let me try…”
“You don’t know the code, Dufar! How can you possibly…” He trailed off as I punched in a number: 95644. The door hissed open. Hunter didn’t go through, just stared at me. “How did you…wait! Come over here.” He went over to his desk.
“Here.” He drew out a keypad. “I want you to open this desk.”
“But sir! It’s not legal…”
“Just open it, Lieutenant-Commander!” I shrugged.
‘What’s the code?”
Hunter looked at me. “That’s what I want you to find out.”
“But…” A sharp look from him forestalled and further comment. I looked at the keypad.
For about five minutes, I entered in code after code, using both numbers and letters. None worked.
“No! Don’t think about it.” I gave him a bewildered look. What was he doing? Suddenly, his patience snapped. “Enter that kriffing code NOW!”
The desk drawer popped open. I looked in astonishment at my hand, poised over the keypad. “What…how…?” Hunter smiled broadly.
“I want you to enroll in the Shadow Academy, Dufar. It’s your choice, though. Think about it, and give me your answer tomorrow.”
**************************************************************************************

I remember Drake saying that my parents would be proud to see me as an elite fighter pilot. As I boarded a shuttle to go to the Academy, I wondered if they could be proud of a Dark Jedi. I hoped so.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

SQUADRON NEWS

· I just decided to include a story in the introduction that was written by our newest pilot, LCM Dufar Jabar! He’s joining Praetorian from Mantis Squadron aboard the ISD Vanguard. Somebody call out Bertha…
· Our recruitment drive is still on. I’ve got another pilot going through the Praetorian Trials, but I’d prefer to see our numbers continue to increase to at least 10 pilots or so. Go out and see if you can find anyone who’s got what it takes to be in Praetorian.
· The first round of this newest Praetorian Quiz just concluded, with MAJ Shae Kitane in the lead with 8 points! ObiVader follows in second with 7 points…then comes Timbal and me with 3 points, and Iceman with 2. Phen should be sending out the next round of questions soon, so keep an eye out for them and submit answers for them when you get a chance.
· I recently received the rules for the Sovereign Squadron League Competition, so if you want to look over them and haven’t received them, please email me and I’ll send ‘em your way.
· Some more graphics for Praetorian have arrived in my email box, so I should be attaching them to this WSR and allowing you all to take a look at them and provide feedback. Please give your honest opinion and say where you think changes should be made. One of these graphics may become our official banner, so we want them to look absolutely spectacular.
· As for the series of warm-ups that we’re supposed to be going through, I would like to apologize to you all for my tardiness in sending them out to you. This past week I have been extremely busy in rl and this has prevented me from constructing them. I will be working on them tomorrow and should send out the plans asap.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

FLEET NEWS

EH-Wide News: http://www.emperorshammer.org/index1.htm

TIE Corps News: http://www.emperorshammer.net/news.asp

Intelligence Division News: http://www.ehintel.org/main.asp

--------------------------------------------------------------------

SQUADRON ORDERS

1. Fly battles and FREE missions.
2. Get ready for the SSL Competition.
3. Submit answers for the next Praetorian Quiz (when it comes out.)
4. Look over the new graphics and send me an email about what you think of them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

ACTIVITY

MAJ Hunter: Flew XvT-FREE 26,27,28,29, Particicipated in Prae Quiz
LC Andrzej Mezynski: Flew TIE-BHG 1, Participated in Prae Quiz
MAJ Shae Kitane: Flew TIE-FREE 217, XvT-FREE 135 (Possible HS), 136, XvT-FCHG 3, XWA-CAB 3, XWA-FREE 16, 17, XW-TC 1, 2, XvT-FREE 89, 99, Participated in Prae Quiz
LCM Dufar Jabar: Joined Praetorian Squadron, Submitted Fiction (2 stories), Flew XWA-IW 26, 27, 32, 33, XWA-DB 3, TIE-ID 1, TIE-TC 1, 2, 3, 4
MAJ Turr Phennir: Flew XvT-TC 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, Completed XTT IWATS Course (100%), Running Prae Quiz
CPT ObiVader: Participated in Prae Quiz, Created Prae Website
LC Zorn Starn: No contact, send me an update on your situation

--------------------------------------------------------------------

PROMOTIONS AND MEDALS

MAJ Hunter: 2 Bronze Stars
MAJ Shae Kitane: 1 Bronze Star
LCM Dufar Jabar: 1 Imperial Security Medal
MAJ Turr Phennir: 1 Silver Star
CPT ObiVader: 1 Silver Star

--------------------------------------------------------------------

SQUADRON ROSTER

PRAETORIAN SQUADRON OF THE DGN LICHTOR V: Special Operations
Elite Squadron – Open By Invitation Only
COMMANDER: MAJ Hunter (EH_Hunter@hotmail.com) - #5306
NICKNAME: Fire Demons
BANNER: http://www.emperorshammer.net/images/banners/praetorian.gif
MOTTO: Quo fas et Gloria ducunt (Everywhere that Right and Glory Lead)

FLIGHT I – TIE PRAETOR
Nickname: Styx Flight
1) MAJ Hunter (EH_Hunter@hotmail.com) - #5306
2) LC Andrzej Mezynski (gothmog@space.pl) - #261
3) MAJ Shae Kitane (n99768@hotmail.com) - #2733
4) TBA

FLIGHT II – TIE PRAETOR
Nickname: Charon Flight
1) LCM Dufar Jabar (dufarjabar@hotmail.com) - #8953
2) MAJ Turr Phennir (mparkes@iprimus.com.au) - #503
3) CPT ObiVader (obivader@yahoo.com) - #3450
4) TBA

FLIGHT III – TIE PRAETOR
Nickname: Hades Flight
1) TBA
2) TBA
3) TBA
4) LC Zorn Starn (Zorn.starn@verizon.net) - #433



(Citations at 287)

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Respectfully,

CMDR-TCC:XWA/MAJ Hunter/Praetorian/DGN Lichtor V
SS/BSx7/PCx4/MoT-8bh/IS-2BW-2SW-1PR/LoC-Rx2/CoL/CoB/LoAx4/OV-2E [TMPR] {IWATS-AIM-CBX-ICQ-IIC/1/2/3-LIN-M/1/2-RT-SM/2/3-TM-TT-VBS-XAM-XTM/1/2-XTT}