Far Orbit

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The Far Orbit was a 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.

[edit] History

Originally, the Far Orbit was stationed in the Outer Rim and tasked with piracy suppression. Its commander was Vocis Kenit. A strict and heavy-handed martinet, Kenit began alienating his crew though a series of misjudgments. In 0 BBY, Kenit, as the Far Orbit cornered a pirate band called the Silent Blades to an asteroid field, refused to call for backup as he ordered his TIE/In complement to attack the pirates. The ship’s starfighters were destroyed, and its TIE pilots all killed.

Unfortunately for Kenit, one of those pilots was Elon Vedij, younger brother of his second-in-command, Commander Dhas Fenoep Vedij. Vedij, disgusted by his captain’s lack of tactical skill and wanton waste of lives, became embittered. He began considering mutiny, and lined up a number of key personnel to support him.

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.

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.

The Far Orbit was in no condition to take on Imperial targets as yet, so Vedij set course for the StarForge Nebula. After locating Starforge Station, he set about finalizing the deal with the Alliance, composing Ship's Articles and recruiting replacement crew.

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.

After a shakedown and the capture of the Bulk freighter A-175, the Far Orbit attacked a convoy at Brentaal, guarded by the frigate's counterpart, the New Star. The convoy was infiltrated and its supplies diverted to the Alliance.

Still retaining the persona of an Imperial ship, the Far Orbit discovered that the Imperial Advisor named Coh Veshiv would be present aboard a space station orbiting Esseles. The privateers convinced the Advisor that they were present to take him his next destination, captured the dignitary, and turned him over to the Rebels.

Nearly simultaneously, Kenit and the other marooned crew were found, and the true story of the Far Orbit became known. Kenit was tasked with recapturing the ship by Sate Pestage himself.

Kenit devised a plan. He suborned a captured pirate named Venslas Beeli and placed him in command of a supposedly Rebel-allied pirate armada which now operated in direct competition with the Far Orbit in the Ringali Shell. Eventually the Far Orbit encountered and destroyed the pirates. The failure of this trap resulted in the creation of a second, involving a freighter registered with Santhe Passenger and Freight. While seemingly a legitimate prize, it was in fact filled with 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.

Somehow escaping near-certain destruction or capture, the Far Orbit was heavily damaged. After refits and repairs it headed back into the Core, attacking Brentaal and recovering 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.

After skirmishing with another Interdictor, the Far Orbit tracked down the Emperor's Will. 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.

Thus ended the known missions of the Far Orbit. Its final fate remains undocumented.

[edit] Legacy

The depredations of the Far Orbit wasted the production quotas of an entire standard sector as the Empire attempted 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.

[edit] Sources

• Pirates & Privateers (First mentioned)
• The Far Orbit Project (First appearance)