Far Orbit
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| Far Orbit | |
|---|---|
| Production information | |
| Manufacturer | |
| Model | |
| Technical specifications | |
| Length |
300 meters |
| Maximum speed (atmosphere) | |
| Hyperdrive rating | |
| Shielding | |
| Navigation system |
Equipped[1] |
| Armament |
|
| Complement |
Imperial service: After mutiny: |
| Crew |
Imperial service:
After mutiny:
After StarForge Station:
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| Minimum crew |
307, gunners: 10[1] |
| Passengers |
75 (Troops) |
| Cargo capacity |
6,000 metric tons |
| Consumables |
4 months |
| Usage | |
| Era(s) | |
| Earliest sighting | |
| Latest sighting | |
| Present for battles/events | |
| Affiliation |
|
| Crewmembers |
Cemma the Younger, Gruk, Mii Hesop, Kanarak, Pao-Neh-Lo, Napvansa Tadavv, Elon Vedij, Cet Willak, Xad, Katiz Xemir, Swifty Yonsen |
| Commander(s) |
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The Far Orbit was an EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate in the Imperial Navy. It suffered a mutiny in 0 ABY, and the ship became one of the first privateers for the Rebel Alliance.
Contents |
Description
Edit
The Far Orbit was a standard frigate with no special modification. This changed with the mutiny and the service as a Rebel privateer since the new mission profiles called for special weapons, like Ion cannons.[1] Another tactic was to link the main reactor directly to the turbolasers to drastically increase the firepower.[2]
Since the frigate's complement of shuttles, escape pods and starfighters was greatly reduced after the mutiny, captured freighters and other craft were added over time.[1]
HistoryEdit
Imperial ServiceEdit
Originally, the Far Orbit was stationed in the Outer Rim and tasked with piracy suppression. Its commander was Vocis Kenit, who ruled the ship with an iron fist. A strict and heavy-handed martinet, Kenit began alienating his crew through a series of misjudgments.[1]
After a hunting a pirate band called the Silent Blades for several weeks in 0 BBY, the Far Orbit had finally cornered them in an asteroid field. Kenit refused to call for backup as he ordered his TIE/In complement to attack the pirates. The pirates were destroyed, but so, too, were the ship’s starfighters, and its TIE pilots all killed.[1]
MutinyEdit
One of the pilots was Elon Vedij, younger brother of Commander Dhas Fenoep Vedij, second-in-command of the Far Orbit. After the suspicious death of his parents several months ago, Vedij had long harbored the thought of mutiny. He lined up a number of key personnel to support him.[1]
Later in the same year, following the Destruction of Alderaan, an Alderaanian deckhand was arrested on Kenit's orders. This sparked considerable resentment amongst the rank and file, and Vedij's opportunity materialized. In 0 ABY, a few weeks following the Battle of Yavin, he led a mutiny. No less than 2/3rds of the crew followed him. The remaining crew and the stormtrooper complement were forced to surrender, and Kenit and his loyalists were marooned in escape pods. Another third left the ship soon after that, not wanting to pursue a career in the fringe.[1]
Rebel PrivateerEdit
The Far Orbit was in no condition to take on Imperial targets as yet, so Vedij set course for the StarForge Nebula. Realizing that he would hardly escape punishment unless he aligned with opposition to the Galactic Empire, Vedij contacted the Alliance. Soon, he had a letter of marque and reprisal issued by Ral'Rai Muvunc and an Observer in the person of Alliance Major Cet Willak. He set about finalizing the deal with the Alliance, composing Ship's Articles and recruiting replacement crew.[1]
Under Imperial FlagEdit
Vedij then ordered the Far Orbit to enter the Ringali Shell, in the Galactic Core. He reasoned that the Empire would be caught off guard. He had managed to conceal the facts of the mutiny and hoped to maintain the illusion that it was still a part of the Imperial Navy, granting a major benefit of surprise.[1]
After a shakedown the Far Orbit entered the Nopces system and pretended to be on patrol. While traffic around the jumpzone was low, it didn't take long to find the first target, the Bulk freighter A-175.[1]
A-175 was en route to Brentaal to join Shipment 1037, a huge convoy escorted by the frigate New Star. The convoy was infiltrated and diverted to an Alliance ambush site, where it was captured. The resources were split up between the Rebels and the Far Orbit.[1]
After a few raids that followed, the Far Orbit intercepted a message that included the schedule for Imperial Advisor Coh Veshiv's visit on Esseles. Vedij approached Veshiv's ship, the Empire Forever, inside Esseles' space defense zone and convinced the Advisor that they were present to take him his next destination. Veshiv agreed and changed ships, was captured and eventually turned over to the Rebels.[1]
Nearly simultaneously, Kenit and the other marooned crew were found, and the true story of the Far Orbit became known. After unsuccessfully hunting the ship in the Outer Rim, Kenit was informed about the whereabouts two days after Veshiv's capture. Sate Pestage himself tasked him with recapturing the ship.[1]
The HuntEdit
Kenit devised a plan. He suborned a captured pirate named Venslas Beeli and placed him and his supposedly Rebel-allied pirate armada in direct competition with the Far Orbit in the Ringali Shell. The crimes committed by Beeli reached Imperial HoloVision and eventually the crew of the Far Orbit.[1]
Captain Vedij had raided the Shell for weeks and this new competitor was of great concern for him and the Alliance Observer. After searching for Beeli's fleet for a while, the Far Orbit eventually tracked the pirate down and destroyed the pirates.[1]
The failure of this trap resulted in the creation of a second one, involving the freighter SPF 14897, registered with Santhe Passenger and Freight. While seemingly a legitimate and easy prize, the ship was in fact filled with veteran Stormtroopers, SpecNav troops, and Storm Commandos. A small Imperial fleet jumped in as the Far Orbit's boarding action turned into a rout, including an Interdictor cruiser.[1]
Somehow escaping near-certain destruction or capture, the Far Orbit was heavily damaged. For weeks, the ship hid in the Outer Rim, undergoing refits and repairs and several smaller adventures.[1]
The Last RaidEdit
Captain Vedij soon headed back into the Core, this time attacking Brentaal. After a run-in with the ISB, Hunter-Killer probots and TIE Fighters, the landing party recovered a datadisc containing the route of the Emperor's Will, a Star Galleon filled with treasure gathered by the Imperial Taxation Bureau in Arkanis sector.[1]
With only three days left, the frigate wanted to collect several asteroids in the Ringali Nebula to intercept the Star Galleon. However the Empire had anticipated pirate actions and patrolled several ambush points. After skirmishing with the Interdictor in the nebula, the Far Orbit was able to escape.[1]
After the skirmish and only twelve hours left before the arrival of the Emperor's Will, the frigate set up an ambush at another point along the route. It was being escorted by the Zaff Jendinpurg, another escort frigate. After a knock-down brawl, the Star Galleon was boarded and looted, making the crew of the privateer vessel extremely wealthy.[1]
LegacyEdit
As a result of the quick attacks and the resulting panic among the local governments, a joint committee was formed by the Imperial Navy, ISB and the Commerce Branch to hunt down the frigate. A year later, this committee was still working, due to the high increase in Rebel privateering that followed.[3]
The depredations of the Far Orbit wasted, according to Alliance Intelligence, a year's equivalent of an entire standard sector's production, only to track down and recapture the vessel. The Alliance thus mainly benefited by the strain this caused on the Imperial budget, not by the 120,000 tons of material which was diverted to their hands.[3]
Although the final fate of the Far Orbit remains unknown, the actions of this ship inspired many others to join the Rebellion.[2]
SourcesEdit
- Rebel Alliance Sourcebook, First Edition (First mentioned)
- Pirates & Privateers
- The Far Orbit Project
- The Official Star Wars Fact File 45 (TUR2, Turbolaser)
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
Notes and referencesEdit
