Inwe Ventidius

Inwe Ventidius
Biographical Information
Race	Thyferran
Homeworld	Thyferra
Mother	Corvina Attius (deceased)
Father	Bassus (deceased)
Spouse	None
Siblings	Lucius, Caepio, Denter, Cimbri (deceased); Haran Ran
Children	None
Born	Year -14 Day 213 (23)
Imperial Service
Branch	Imperial Navy
Positions	Imperial Navy Pilot
Prior Service	NA
Awards

Inwe Ventidius was born on Thyferra, a descendant of the humans that colonized the planet following the discovery of bacta. Throughout most of her youth, she had no desire to ever abandon her home planet for a life elsewhere among the stars. However, tragedy in her young adult life irrevocably altered all her dreams when her family was assassinated by the Rebel Alliance.

She found herself alone in the universe; all her dreams withered by haunting memories. Inwe decided to create new dreams and so joined the Galactic Empire to serve the ultimate authority. Upon graduation from the Imperial Academy, Inwe began her vocation in the Navy. Her Imperial career is still very young, but she hopes her determination, ambition, and desire to advance the Empire will carry her far.

Character History

Early Life

Born into what would be a large family, Inwe was the oldest of five children. Her mother was a molecular theorist employed by one of the many biotech labs on their home planet. The career demands placed upon her mother were immense, so that meant Inwe and her siblings were raised mainly by a series of governesses. When her father was home, most of his time was spent locked away in his study working on some scientific paper to publish. He was always writing another journal article or book.

The first sixteen years of Inwe’s life had been extremely predictable. She attended her classes, excelling in math and sciences. In addition to education, her calendar was well rounded with a series of extracurricular activities; her governess would never let even one slide. To do so would deprive Inwe of a “full and complete education” as she was reminded too often. There were also the experiences every teenage girl endures: best friends and betrayal, stolen kisses and heartbreak, and the events along life’s path that mark the way to maturity.

First Adventures

The first truly exceptional event in her life happened shortly after she had turned sixteen. A knock on her classroom door and a summons to the superintendent’s office had saved her from an in-class final essay on Prober’s Psychosis Theorem. During the walk to the office, her relief disintegrated into fear – nothing less than a medical emergency would have freed her from that room.

Her fears were more than realized. She was summarily dismissed from school and escorted to a regional security office by her father, Bassus, and a silent government agent. Nothing was explained to her during the trip; upon arrival Inwe was left alone in a small room to devise imaginary explanations for this unprecedented experience.

Inwe disliked Agent Din from the moment she entered the room. Their terse conversation did nothing to brighten Inwe’s perception of her. Inwe was duly informed of the suspicion centering around Gavin Thorus, her friend, Nila’s, father. He was suspected of industrial espionage. Then told it had been decided she would retrieve the supposedly stolen data.

Worrying about Friday night

The idea was not well received by Inwe. Petulantly, she refused to act against her friend’s father. However, her protests were ineffective. If she did not cooperate, she would be charged with misdemeanor obstruction. A threat that involved no punitive action but that would destroy her academic career; none of the upper echelon colleges would accept her with such a mark on her record.

The assignment loomed like a gaping, black cloud ahead of her. Nila had invited her and a few other friends to a sleep over that weekend, Inwe knew that was the time she would have to act. The week blurred. She refused to speak to either of her parents – not that they noticed. In school, she told all her friends she had visited the doctor’s office. No one seemed to suspect anything, but Inwe was edgy all the way until Friday afternoon.

When Nila’s dad, Galvin, answered the door she lost her voice to her nerves. She felt like the look on her face spoke more clearly of her intentions than a detailed letter of confession. Galvin just smiled and welcomed her warmly into the house.

Inwe’s conscious prickled her all night long. She knew she was violating her friend’s trust. If Inwe thought she had been nervous during the week, she knew now what true trepidation felt like. All night long, she practiced her deception, telling people she was going one place and then slipping off to another. Inwe said she was going to the bathroom and went to the kitchen, then, the living room but she really went to the balcony. No one noticed her game. Why would they? They were all her friends, not counter intelligence agents; and she was just a teenager.

At 2:00 AM the girls were embroiled in a game of Honesty or Consequences, and eye lids were starting to get heavy. Inwe had put this off long enough; it was now or not at all. In a dreadful instant she decided not to and broke out in a cold sweat. Then the moment passed, and with the appalling realization of how selfish she was, Inwe excused herself and slipped out of the room as someone was about to confess a crush on a teacher.

Her bare feet moved silently through the house until she stood in front of the large office door. She knew from past visits that the safe which held valuable information was in this room. The handle turned easily under her fingers and her legs carried her into the room. The familiar room now seemed ominous, casting foreboding shadows. Inwe stopped and looked at the safe, its decorative door facing out from the wall in which it was embedded.

She slid her fingers along the cool metal. This was the hardest part of her plan, the point at which it could all fall apart. She had to open the safe door, a door which was equipped with an alpha-numeric security system. It had to be open; otherwise the treated metal would repel all attempts at electronic infiltration. The tips of her fingers tingled as she guessed at the password. The light flashed red. So the password wasn’t their address. She tried Nila’s name and birth date; wrong again.

Inwe noticed she wasn’t breathing and forced her lungs to expand; she had one more chance to get this right. Or, she thought she did. The lights abruptly flickered on as the door opened. Inwe’s heart crashed to a halt and then jumped to an impossible rate. Galvin stood silhouetted in the doorway. Now she was inextricably caught.

Inwe heard her voice but did not know where the words were coming from, “I’m sorry, Mr. Thorus. We were playing, they dared me to open your safe and come back with a holo-image as proof…but the password Nila gave me didn’t work. I’m so sorry!”

Galvin looked for a moment like he was going to be angry, but then he laughed and opened up the safe for the truant teenager, on the condition that she promised not to disclose his assistance. Inwe agreed and took a holo-image of the safe contents. As she slipped the imager back into her pocket, she pressed a button on a small device that recorded a duplicate copy of all the data contained in the safe. Terror knotted in her stomach as she escaped back to Nila’s room. She was reticent and distressed for the remainder of the night, even as she tried to hide it. While everyone else slept peacefully she laid awake, pulse drumming loudly in her ears; Inwe left as soon as possible the next morning.

She turned over the data to Agent Din on Saturday morning. All her questions about what would happen to the Thorus family went unanswered. Nila was not in school on Monday. Inwe did not see Nila again, or find out what eventually happened to the family. For a couple weeks, remorse ate at her, but soon it began to fade as time dulled the sting. Inwe had done what was expected of her; that was the way it had to be and she decided not to look back.

Turning Point

While Inwe always respected the achievements of her mother, Corvina, her passion was for her father’s vocation. Bassus worked at a research university teaching advanced biochemical engineering at the graduate level. The remarkable strides made in the theoretical and practical application of genetic-specific viral pathogens have been attributed largely to his research. This labor included greater specification range of the genetic relationship variable – a feature very useful if you can only get a DNA sample of the target’s cousin or you want to eliminate a family group instead of a single individual. As part of her advanced studies, Inwe was assisting him in crafting a technique to construct a pathogen transmittable among the general population without the expression of symptoms until it found a host matching the specified code sequence.

Bassus was in the middle of a series of critical experiments when Corvina was sent by her company to demonstrate a product – a method of regenerating damaged lymph tissue – at an off world conference. Inwe had just turned twenty-two when this happened. The conference held a great deal of interest for her father as well, compelling the typical home-loving Thyferran family to temporarily abandon their planet. The younger siblings – Lucius, Caepio, Denter, and Cimbri – accompanied their parents, leaving Inwe behind to tend the experiments.

Rebel forces attacked and destroyed their shuttle before they reached the conference. Rumors abounded that the reason for the attack was Bassus Ventidius’ research, which the rebels considered an imminent danger.

The report devastated Inwe. The loss of her brothers was the most poignant; Cimbri was only ten at the time of the attack. During this time she called the government on a daily basis, insisting on knowing what actions were being taken to prosecute the pilots that had murdered her family. The officials were less than helpful. They listened gravely to her calls, noted her concerns, and forgot about her as soon as the connection terminated. Eventually she was informed that the Thyfferan government had no official means to offer her justice, but a petition had been logged with the appropriate diplomatic branch of the Rebel administration. Frustrated, Inwe relentlessly pursued the filing of that petition until finally, one Thyfferan diplomat, under duress, admitted that probably nothing would become of the innocuous paperwork.

Inwe nodded, grim-faced, when she received the news. In truth, she had been suspecting an answer similar to the one offered. There were no tears now; it had been a month since their deaths and she had reached her limit of tears and self-pity. However, the ideas long forming in her mind instantaneously became decisions. She also knew that the Empire was her destiny; they had much more accepting views regarding none traditional weapons and maybe, just maybe, she would be able to strike at the rebels.

Most of her deceased family’s resources were seized by the Thyfferan government under some vague jurisdictional statute. Inwe offered no protest, moving into the dorms and dedicating the next year to completing her Master’s studies at the university. Biomedical engineering was no longer her only area of inquiry; she expanded her studies to include weapons research and development. A rigorous physical routine also became a stay in her schedule – preparing her body to withstand the stress of planets with stronger gravity fields. When she had intended to stay on Thyffera for the duration of her natural life, the weaker gravity of the planet had no effect on her, but now it was a hindrance. One she overcame.

Concurrently, she liquidated what was left of her inheritance, spending part of it to buy the names of the pilots in the squadron that had destroyed her family; and also the name of the commanding officer who had issued the order. However, the bulk of her resources went to obtaining DNA samples from those five individuals, in reality she only gained four samples. It had been more samples than she expected, the smuggler she had hired to acquire them was well worth his price.

Covertly using the resources in her father’s old lab, under the guise of completing research-in-progress, she synthesized genetically engineered pathogens for the purpose of exacting retribution. Inwe agonized during the molecular formation and alteration, deciding whether or not to expand the microbes to be inclusive of genetically close relatives.

Inwe leaves the space station

Inwe graduated with honors a month after turning twenty-three. Some cautious inquiries revealed that the commander who ordered the assassination had been transferred to a space station hub and two of the pilots were still assigned to him and also on the station. She had to admit, the indiscreet rumors of the Corellian network, to which her former lover had introduced her, were particularly effective; Inwe was tapping them a lot for thinking the lawless underside disdainful. A better opportunity for revenge would not present itself.

She booked passage to the space station and then a subsequent departing flight fifteen hours later. A couple layovers after departing the station and she would be on Coruscant, ready to fulfill her application to the Galactic Empire.

The air of the space station was contaminated by the engineered virus-complex within minutes of Inwe disembarking. It was just hours until the commander and two pilots were infected. Approximately nine hours after the transport carrying her toward the heart of the Empire had left its docking port, all three reported to the infirmary within half an hour of each other. Concerns about an infectious outbreak began to flicker across the holonet. Testing by the station doctors revealed the infection to be caused by the virulent Jiama strain. After another 48 hours the holonets reported the brilliant success of the doctors in containing the infection and limiting the outbreak to only three casualties.

Best Laid Plans

Josef and Inwe

It had not been Inwe’s intention to become involved in a relationship so early in her Imperial career, preferring instead to focus on her burgeoning responsibilities as a Flight Corporal to the Empire. Unbeknownst to her, Josef DeLaurel possessed an indescribable quality that would compromise her well planned intentions. His personal character impressed her during the early moments of their relationship when Inwe was concerned that circumstances would overly tax his patience.

Initially, when Josef asked Inwe for a date, she was thoroughly staggered. She did not know Josef very well at that point. Even though she had seen him around since her earliest days in the Empire, Inwe had not interacted with him much beyond the occasional sarcastic quip. Inwe attempted to talk with him a couple of times, but the conversations never flourished to any great extent. Mostly she recognized him for his gruff personality and unapologetic mannerisms that spoke of his masculinity, although, exemplary conduct proved present when need summoned. The impression that Josef was unaware of her was undermined when he invited her to join him for drinks at Magic’s Bar. Intrigued, she agreed to the social outing with just a hint of hesitancy. After all, it was still a new thought that Josef liked her. Leaving her concerns, Inwe dared to be excited about the invitation.

The evening Inwe had looked across the table at Josef during their first date, as she shyly sipped a glass of wine, she had been acutely nervous. The whole time Josef was kind and easily guided the conversation. Inwe could not escape the smile that brightened her countenance after the date. Her descent into attraction was sealed. Eventually, Inwe even caught herself just watching him from time to time because the way he spoke and moved please her. Soon she was delightfully content in the developing relationship, enjoying Josef’s companionship.

Military History

Beginnings

Following Inwe’s graduation from the Imperial Academy, she spent a lot of time in the Enlisted Lounge when not on duty, building friendships with other Imperial pilots and learning from their experience. According to her nature, she was shy at first but began to relax and interact as she became familiar with some of the many faces. Simultaneously, she was bonding with her new fleet mates, most of whom she liked quickly. The one person whose attitude seemed tense toward her was that of the fleet Chief of Staff, CFOF Patrick Martin.

Even though they spent the better part of a week traveling in the same shuttle with a handful of other people, they had rarely talked since Inwe was seldom eager to engage new acquaintances in conversation. So it was not until Inwe was dining in the mess hall shortly after they reached the fleet that she discovered she annoyed him. Patrick had joined the small group briefly for breakfast, sharing a very civil conversation with Inwe. While the words were polite, discord stirred in the currents under the surface. She was at a loss for the reasoning behind his aggravation, eventually surmising that perhaps Patrick reacted in this manner to all new crewmen.

Inwe decided to ignore it. There was not much else she could do; she was new and Patrick had seniority in trump. However, pressure that builds under the surface is never safely confined, and one day in the Enlisted Lounge the thin crust of courtesy could no longer contain the growing discontent. Patrick cracked down on her hard, snagging on a playfully meant statement and extrapolating to its ultimate conclusion. Realization crashed into her like an ion shot, it was her gender that annoyed Patrick. Stunned at the accusation of placing her fleet in danger because of her need to be feminine, Inwe glared but dutifully retracted the assertion, resenting the inference.

Other Imperials intervened, ending the sudden confrontation; however, the situation was not resolved, merely delayed. Days a later, a more generalized argument cropped up and Inwe welcomed the chance to let out her claws just a little. It was the first time she really defended a position she held to other Imperials, instead of meekly subsiding if her opinion was not appreciated. When the storm settled, Inwe felt sated and Patrick also seemed more relaxed. Faint hints of electricity lingered in the air as disagreements were quickly forgotten and an easy comradeship replaced the tension.

Whether the argument was just a coincidence, or Patrick appreciated the display of will, their relationship in the fleet improved. Finally, having earned his tolerance, Inwe was determined to gain his respect. Every task that was assigned to her she attempted to complete with a high degree of diligence and skill, trying to make headway into his expectations. After working together on an assignment in the Vakkar system, Inwe felt a sense of pride and accomplishment when Patrick confided that she had the potential to become an exemplary pilot. Having poured such effort into gaining Patrick's respect, it proved very sweet when it finally came. Inwe knew that to keep it, she would have to continue to deserve it -- and she would see to it that it was well deserved.

Meridian Campaign

Orders had come from Navy High Command, temporarily detaching Inwe from her fleet and reassigning her to the command of Vice Admiral Assam. New orders came quickly and she began a series of hyper jumps that would take her to her final destination. Her orders provided only the necessary information; everything was classified until absolutely necessary. When she arrived at the staging system, the space was packed with Imperial ships carefully navigating around each other like dancers at a ball. The vessels remained stationed there for several days, always alert for the signal that would send them into enemy territory.

That signal eventually came and the assembled task force made a coordinated jump their destination the Meridian sector. It was a surreal feeling as they came out of hyperspace, ships blinking into existence. The target plant hung like a dreary, muted ball against a black backdrop. At the moment, Nam Chorios didn't have much to commend it, but soon it would be primed to become the latest addition to the Empire.

The Imperial shuttle, Apocalypse 07, hung low in the atmosphere as it idled. In the cockpit, Flight Corporal Inwe Ventidius glanced at her chrono, the mission would begin in about an hour. The subtle symptoms of anxiousness were present in the cockpit crew; however, they were hiding their tension under a focused surface, as they waited for the final approval. Below them, Nam Chorios slept in unaware contentedness even as an Imperial plot was about to snare the unsuspecting planet. Inwe activated the communications panel at the instructed time and inserted an encrypted chip with a classified access channel. She switched on the holo-transmitter so the ranking officers on capital ships could have a visual. The secured channel was quickly established and a list of names indicating Imperials present on the channel displayed on the read out. Many of the Imperial Task Leaders were already on: Overseer David Crow, Command Flight Officer Daniel Ascarion, Flight Sergeant Kavash Orr, and Flight Corporal Dicatto Lucrest. Minister Orphaea Imperium was on the channel as well, Inwe noted; he, along with Vice Admiral Assam, had planned the mission and would be present to oversee its execution.

The few people on the channel represented only a fraction of the individuals involved in the massive effort. Thousands of Imperials were assigned to the mission code named kraznyoktobyr with Task Leaders assigned to each group. Only the Task Leaders had access to the classified channel, they would relay the orders as necessary. The landing crafts to which Inwe would be directing orders showed up as dozens of flashing signals on her sensor display, the ships represented hundreds of Imperials troops, all loyal to the Emperor. In addition to the Minister and Vice Admiral, there were eight Imperial Task Leaders who would coordinate the various strikes destined to bring devastation to Renegade Inc.

A distinguished voice came through the cockpit speakers, Inwe immediately recognized the Minister, addressing the Task Leaders, "We are almost fully assembled now. Vice Admiral Assam and Flight Command Officer Campbell will be joining us shortly. Continue to hold while we receive final confirmation."

The moment was heartbeats away – now was the time when months of planning was about to reach the ultimate culmination, but to launch the mission too soon could jeopardize all the effort poured into this campaign. The communications fell idle, everyone too well trained and tense to fall into random chatter. Each Task Leader was taking final status reports from their assigned teams, ensuring that every detail was correct. A shroud of secrecy had been wrapped around this mission and few of even the Task Leaders understood the full scope of the events that were about to be revealed.

On his own Star Destroyer, Minister Imperium turned his back to the images of the Imperial pilots as his worries began to take form in his mind, they had just run over the ideal commencement time and the entire task force was not yet assembled...including the Vice Admiral. Still, he was too well controlled to let his concerns overflow into his voice or demeanor. A slight delay would be no cause for alarm; the Imperial fleet was the finest military in the galaxy, if any force could effect this plan it was that of the Empire.

In another system, the communications team aboard the Star Destroyer, Entor, managed to fix a transmitter malfunction caused by damage from a Renegade Inc. ship before it had been destroyed by relentless Imperial turbo canons. The Entor had jammed the enemy communications array before the Renegade vessel was melted into a twisted carcass by a cascade feedback surge in the hyper drive engines, preventing it from alerting the infidel government. The systems repaired, the Vice Admiral connected to the waiting team. Admiral Calor Assam cast an imposing figure on the bridge of his Star Destroyer, his most impervious feature his expression, icy and calculating, "Good morning," his voice was heard by a handful of Imperials scattered across the Meridian sector.

Inwe tilted her head when she heard the Vice Admiral's voice come over the channel, they would begin soon now that he was here. The mission briefing was clear, succinct and detailed the impetuous plans of the Empire. Inwe half listened to the official chatter flying around as the pilots began to receive and carry out their orders. She noticed that Master Flight Sergeant Rawther Den, Command Flight Officer Mekum Campbell and Lt. Markus Saretti had joined the channel at some point. The excitement accelerating her heart rate as the details were rehearsed was impossible to entirely ignore. The scale of this mission was beyond anything she had remotely considered. The Imperials were not after anything as meager as a lone system – this operation had a much further reaching impact. Moments later Admiral Calor Assam began dispatching encrypted orders and Minister Imperium verified the commencement had been authorized.

Inwe activated the channel to her waiting team; she would coordinate the operation from the atmosphere while the Imperials Squads descended to the planet and accomplish the manual installations needed to secure their foothold on Nam Chorios. However, to gain access without alarming the local inhabitants and sparking a firefight, they would need inside security access to the enemy organization…which the Empire had in spades. Inwe smirked disdainfully, almost wishing they would be caught so she could leave some dead bodies behind. However, that was not the plan, for this to work, secrecy was an unconditional requirement.

"Squad leaders check in," Inwe ordered over the channel to the dozens of ships over Nam Chorios then listened as all her teams reported position and ready status. "I am commencing security clearance authorizations, as soon as you have been cleared to access your target, descend and deploy the droids. Keep me informed of your progress."

In a prearrange sequence, Inwe began requesting permissions for the craft to be granted clearance at different key points in the security field. Under normal circumstances, the monitoring stations of the Renegade faction would be alarmed at the massive organized presence; however, the Imperial agents in the Renegade forces would ensure that official alarms were suppressed until it was too late to repel the invasion campaign. As the requests were approved, Inwe issued instructions to the waiting teams to deploy the defense outposts in strategic positions across the scope of the planet. Displaying the discipline of Imperial soldiers, the prefabricated sentinel towers would be installed and secured by teams of troops with construction droids before the Renegade shift changed.

Inwe switched back to the command channel as an alarm flashed across the screen. Flight Corporal Lucrest was reporting a group of A-24 sleuths entering the system from hyperspace. "They're NIO," he reported, "Repeat, New Imperial Order ships entering the Chorios system."

The view on the main display switched to a gridded view of the Chorios system, four red blips indicating the position of the enemy ships. She frowned for a moment at the unexpected enemy, but their numbers didn't swell, they would be unable to offer any interference. Admiral Assam ordered a couple squadrons of TIE Interceptors to quietly handle the inconvenient intruders.

Strategies began unfolding at an impossible rate, each new development a strike to Renegade Inc. and a victory for the Empire. Minister Imperium oversaw the assimilation of the Meridian system. Lt. Saretti flawlessly commanded the team assigned the Durren system, three planets falling under his prowess to the covert power play. The ambitious Admiral orchestrated the seizure of over fifty Renegade ships, capturing a number of valuable prisoners in the process; most of whom would be tried and executed.

Crow stood at the base of the ramp extending from the bulk freighter, his build projects were proceeding ahead of schedule. He tried to think of the last time he had been this satisfied...that night with the Twi'lek twins came to mind...but even that did not match today. An engineering team clambered off the ship, overseeing the transport of a fragile power generator for one of their facilities. Elsewhere, Flight Sergeant Orr and the remaining Task Leaders were experiencing similar success. Every potential problem that threatened to rear was immediately and ruthlessly eliminated.

Inwe exhaled deeply as squad leaders began reporting the success of their missions. Most of them were nearing completion, all of them were well into their build projects and not experiencing any resistance. She reported their progress to the Admiral and Minister on the operation channel: all of the outposts on Nam Chorios would be completed before the deadline. The grim excitement in Minister Imperium's voice when he acknowledged her betrayed his pleasure at the smoothness of the operation to this point. Vice Admiral Assam then ordered her to proceed to the next target, sending an encrypted file with the destination coordinates. Inwe entered her access code and opened classified document.

Nodding crisply, Inwe replied to the Admiral, "Coordinates received, sir. Setting course right now, I will inform you when we reach the site." Inwe waited for the commanding officer's dismissal before muting the microphone.

"Set course for these coordinates," Inwe hit a couple buttons and transmitted them to the crewman at navigation. Switching on the ship's intercomm, she warned the waiting squad of storm troopers they would be arriving at the next target. This next task would place her in a very vulnerable position. That done, she settle back in her seat, reviewing the set of schematics on the data pad one last time. The speakers hissed just slightly as Lieutenant Saretti briefly updated command, his team had finished the second planet on his list and they were moving to the third.

As the Apocalypse approached the descent coordinates, Inwe set the data pad off to the side and studied the view displayed through the cockpit windows. A thin line of gray and pink blurred the horizon, indicating the earliest beginnings of dawn for this part of the planet. The faint light cast the tall buildings of the city below into a dark relief, projecting an ominous setting. Hopefully they would be out of this damned city before sunrise. The vibrations of the landing shuttle changed minutely when the vessel transitioned from mainly forward motion to a forward descent, aimed to set down at a military landing strip. Inwe informed operation command that they had reached the landing strip and then closed the channel, removing the encrypted chip and slipping it into her pocket. Inwe transmitted the stolen ship authentication and held her breath while she waited to receive clearance for her disguised Imperial shuttle. All Imperial logos and identifying beacons had been covered or replaced with Rebel-friendly alternatives. It made her skin crawl to be associated with the sponge-slugs of the galaxy, even through a disguise.

The control tower responded to their request to land in the affirmative. With a silent breath of relief, Inwe stood and headed back to the cargo hold where a squadron of storm troopers waited to escort her. Their attire was far different from usual and most of them look uncomfortable without their standard imposing white armor. Instead, they dressed in black fatigues with black armor vests strapped to their torsos, black boots and matte black helmets. Even their blasters were not standard issues since they proved as much an identifier as the armor. Although stripped of their conventional uniform, the soldiers still emitted a forbidding presence.

Inwe removed her outer shirt and replaced it with a drab, gray shirt. Her pants were still noticeably Imperial, but they would eventually be hidden. Inwe strapped a holster to her waist and grabbed her blaster, checking its power cell before securing it. Over all, she wore a long charcoal coat that fell to her knees. Glancing at herself in a small mirror, Inwe decided she definitely looked anything but Imperial. Her bearing still screamed military, but that should not matter, there were many militaries in the galaxy; there was no reason for anyone on the ground to associate her with the Empire.

Warnings sounded and Inwe braced herself as the ship landed smoothly. According to her information, the target should be two landing spots north of their current position. The main doors opened with a hiss and Inwe led the contingent down the ramp. Moving steadily, she immediately began absorbing their surroundings, alert for any signs of trouble. Ships were parked across the landing pad, but it was by no means full; several empty spaces separated all the vessels. Most of the ships were smaller fighters, not used by their occupants except in flight. With the exception of an intoxicated couple who clearly had no interest in Inwe's small group, the area was deserted save for the dark-windowed hulls of sleeping ships.

The exposed walk to landing section KL-53 was quickly over. Sitting there, exactly where she was supposed to be, was the dark form of the Renegade Inc. CR-90 Corvette Dragonheart. Inwe felt a surge of urgency and adrenaline as she looked at the light capital ship. Moving to the main access terminal, Inwe pulled out her stolen authorization chip, at the same time making sure her blaster was easily ready. Intelligence reported the ship had only a skeleton security force on board, how well this went depended on the quality of those guards. Inwe swiped the chip to gain entrance.

A green light flashed and the ramp descended. Fighting the impulse to rest her hand on her blaster, she ascended into the ship attempting to look like she belonged there. Entering a small holding room with exits on either side, Inwe glanced around, a mask of confident authority on her face. The dull metal paneling looked like it needed a good scrubbing, some crates were stacked in a corner, and garbage had been tossed down on the floor and left for someone else, who had never gotten around to it, to clean up. There were no guards, or even a droid, around to be upset by her presence. Leaning over the top of the ramp, Inwe signaled for the storm troopers to board as well.

The team broke up into three groups, the first two would scour the ship and take into custody any guards. The third group was composed of Inwe and three soldiers, they would take the bridge. Inwe brandished her blaster, the innocent act to get aboard the ship and deal with any immediate problems was over now. Following the lead of the trained troopers, Inwe made her way to the bridge.

At the bridge entrance, she gave way to the experience of the storm troopers as they prepared to insert into the room. She was not inept at firefights, but she did better in a fighter than with handheld weapons. The soldiers stormed the bridge, blasters spitting out deadly bolts of energy. For a few seconds, Inwe heard no return fire, then a couple of rounds began to fire back. Inwe anxiously waited for the third soldier to enter so she could follow him. Weapon at the ready, Inwe trailed on the heels of the final storm trooper entering the bridge.

Two bodies lay motionless on the floor, the only opposition that had been in the room. But aside from the two Renegade casualties, no one was injured and the bridge was taken. Inwe holstered her blaster and move to the navigation consol as one of the storm troopers, a corporal, Quinn, took the comm station. Inwe nearly grinned as she realized the adversaries had not locked out main controls before they died. She began routing power to the engines when the corporal reported someone had tried to send a message to the control tower from the bridge.

She glanced sharply at Quinn, her heart suddenly felt like lead, "Did it get through the Apocalypse's dampening field?"

"No, I don't think so," he determined.

Swallowing a less than professional urge to say, 'I hope so,' Inwe nodded her head, "Very well."

Inwe checked the status of the sublight engines, they were almost ready to initiate. The longer they sat here the more likely someone would notice the low-level dampening field being generated by the Apocalypse. And since they also could not communicate through the interference, the Apocalypse would not cease until it was clear the Imperials had gained control of the ship; until they took off.

The engines were ready. Working quickly, Inwe sent power to the landing engines, generating enough thrust to lift the capital ship off the tarmac. Ignoring port protocol, Inwe surpassed the maximum speed set for safe maneuvering by the landing authority and unceremoniously began heading for orbit.

"Is that dampening field down?" she asked the Corporal.

"It must be, we're getting urgent hails from the control tower," he reported.

"Respond, spend our apologies but there was an unexpected change of orders. Disable all communication except from the bridge," Inwe instructed trying to hold her worries from grating at her nerves. "Do you have the authorization code to validate the communication?"

The corporal did, so Inwe sat back and waited. She checked on the Apocalypse, it came up on her sensors already well on its way to orbit. Satisfied it would soon be clear of danger and with the fleet she turned to get an update from the corporal. Another storm trooper entered the bridge to confirm that all hands on ship had been accounted for and neutralized; prisoners were being held in the brig.

Apparently, the control tower had neatly accepted the abrupt change of plans; they had sent back a hail wishing them luck on their mission. Smirking she moved back to the comm station and inserted the encrypted chip, opening up the restricted command channel from the Corvette. No such lapse of protocol would be permitted at an Imperial facility. The computer decoded the chip after the access was accepted and began transmitting.

"Admiral Assam, Minister Imperium," Inwe began. "We have the Corvette and are returning to orbit."

"Well done," the Minister purred.

"Rendezvous with the VSD Dauntless," ordered the Admiral. "You'll need to dock it so the technicians can disable Renegade access."

"I'll be meeting you in orbit to escort you to the fleet, Ventidius," Command Flight Officer Campbell inserted.

Inwe smiled at the smooth voice of Mekum, he was notoriously taciturn in a roguish fashion, she could hear the celebratory cig hanging loosely between his lips, "I'd appreciate that, Flight Officer."

The star destroyers soon came into view; sleek, elegant ships in authoritative formation slicing through the darkness of space. Squadrons of fighters swarmed around the large capital vessels, sentries against enemies that lurked in the system. The sight of the fleet signaled the end of the mission and the success of the Empire in the heart of Renegade territory.

Promotions and Assignments

Event	Darkness
Enlisted	Year 9 Day 238
Academy	Year 9 Day 239-243
Graduation (IABG)	Year 9 Day 244
Assigned to Imperial Navy	Year 9 Day 244
Promoted to Crewman	Year 9 Day 244
Promoted to Crewman First Class	Year 9 Day 270
Promoted to Flight Corporal	Year 9 Day 288
Promoted to Flight Sergeant	Year 9 Day 305
Promoted to Staff Flight Sergeant	Year 9 Day 352

Character Description

Personality

In general, Inwe is a temperate person with a strong personality that will occasionally tend to the mischievous. She is likely to be outgoing and is ready to cultivate friendships. However, this is in contrast to her natural introverted tendencies, so sometimes she needs space to gather her social energies again. Inwe also possesses a thriving sarcastic streak that will intermittently get her into trouble. Most of the time she is serious and goal oriented with a dry sense of humor; although, every once in while, she is prone to bouts of playfulness that sometimes surprise her friends. Inwe in a very loyal person, and expects the same commitment of loyalty in return. She has been hurt in the past when loyalties were broken. Once that trust has been breached, it is hard to rebuild.

Appearance

Like many native Thyferrans living on a planet with weak gravity, Inwe is tall and thin; measuring 1.8034 meters (5ft 11in) in height and 63.501 kg (140 lbs). Her build is lithe, flexible, and surprisingly strong since her efforts in the gym to increase her tone. She has long, gold hair; although it is shorter since she joined the Empire than the length she wore it on Thyferra. She inherited her mother’s skin type, giving her an alabaster complexion. Her eyes are a sky blue and reminiscent of her father.

When not in her Navy uniform, Inwe prefers light dresses made with a breathable fabric. It has taken some effort to adjust to the artificial environments in space which are cold compared to the balmy climate from which she originates. As a result, she is usually in her uniform.