Sub Lieutenant Linkan Ternod example essay topic

First Installment. The shuttle landed at 0430 hours. Linkan, sitting in the rear of the shuttle looked out the cockpit window to glance out at the huge complex. The system was clear out to Phare's Star. Linkan could almost feel the power of the Emperor's Hammer. As they had come in system from Setti, they had passed the S SSD Sovereign and her taskforce.

He had been in the right seat to see the huge ship. It was beautiful and emanated power from within her structure, the turbo laser batteries sticking out likes tiny pricks along her hull. As they cleared her bow, Linkan leaned forward and saw Daedalus. The place he'd be living for the next three months. Well from what he heard, he knew this was the best place to go to learn to be a pilot. Linkan thought back to the last four months.

It had been a long road since he had been accepted to the TIE Corps. Most people thought that you came straight to the platform and hopped into a fighter. Boy, was that not the case. Back on Setti, Linkan had attended the local Imperial Fighter wing's school and basic training program. Nine weeks of hell later, Linkan had graduated from basic training and had moved onto the Search and Rescue school run jointly with the Hammer's Fist on Carida II. There he had been under the tutelage of a certain First Lieutenant Have, a very forceful commander who had taught him and his class of pilots what to do in the case of ejection or having to crash land your fighter.

It had been a very stressful three weeks as they tested to see if he could withstand the stress of such operations. The last mission had been a simulated crash. Him and his partner, Dru Sta venal of Aurora Prime, were dropped off by shuttle in the middle of Carida's forest. They were to survive together for a period of 96 hours in the wild, under difficult circumstances. Dru had broken his ankle on the second day, and Linkan had to care for him during the rest of the 72 hours until they could reach the pickup point. He had barely been able to carry the human the last five kicks to the waiting shuttle.

He had passed the test with flying colors the instructor had said, now only if he would pass the flight school. And so he had left SAR school graduating top in his class, as he had from basic training. Now he thought to himself I will face the ultimate test, an Imperial fighter school. He leaned back into his seat; it seemed so impossible yet he knew it was right in his grasp if he wanted it. "Attention, this is Commander Star blazer, we have completed docking procedures.

Cadets will file out in order. Please give the sub-lieutenant your blanket and pillow as you exit the craft, thank you". The pilot of the shuttle clicked off his mic, and Linkan stood, stretching his arms out he reached back and grabbed his pillow and blanket, neatly folding them. He stood up and reached above his seat to grab his duff le bag. It contained everything he'd ever need in the navy they said, he was not so sure. He put the bag on his seat and straightened his tunic.

Looking to the front of the craft, he saw the line of cadets headed by a Lieutenant Colonel, in the corps exit the shuttle. At the end of the ramp was the sub-lieutenant, as Linkan moved by her he handed her the pillow and blanket. She nodded to him. He saw the Lieutenant-Colonel head towards a man Linkan recognized immediately, High-Admiral Astatine.

As Linkan watched, he saw the younger man salute the Training Officer of the Emperor's Hammer. Suddenly, Linkan recognized the other man, it was Lieutenant Colonel Erik Tarkin, once the commander of the elite Avenger squadron he now served on board the ISD Vanguard, in a normal unit, called Scorpion Squadron. Linkan remembered that Tarkin was a professor at the Academy, in combat tactics. "Keep it moving, you ladies, we don't have all day". A gruff lieutenant was speaking to the cadets.

"Move it, you little women are going to meet a hero today now move it, get your butts into the amphitheater", with that the Lieutenant turned and walked away. Linkan followed the other cadets. They entered the theatre; only to notice that HA Astatine and LC E. Tarkin had already beaten them to the auditorium. Linkan watched as Astatine stood and moved to the dais and podium center stage. "Good morning ladies and Gentlemen. I am High-Admiral Astatine, the training officer and head professor here.

Welcome to the Corps... ". Linkan watched the speech intently, though he was sure it was said a dozen times a month. He wondered and his mind drifted. "Well that's enough for my introduction speech. Your detachment commanders will assign you to your quarters.

Dismissed!" With that Linkan filed out and went to the area where it was posted his bunking arrangements. He had been assigned to Bravo Company. As he settled into his room, an alarm sounded in his quarters. Running to the computer terminal he snapped it on to see a message that said to report immediately to the main hangar, Daedalus was under attack.

Without hesitating Linkan ran to the hangar. When he got there he was told that though he had no experience in a TIE Interceptor they needed everyone to fly. He hopped into his TIE and began the startup sequence when he realized he was in a simulator pod, and not a real fighter. He chuckled to himself; his adrenaline was running high still. This would be interesting he thought, one chance to prove himself. Second Installment.

As Linkan popped the simulator he felt the sweat pore off of him. The Tie helmet was extremely hot. He sat back and relaxed for a minute, gripping the control stick of his simulator. 'ALL PILOTS REPORT TO THE BRIEFING ROOM. ' The voice of their instructor, Lieutenant Colonel Tarkin rung loud and clear through his cockpit. Linkan turned in his seat, the TIE suit sticking to his body from the sweat.

As he pulled himself through the bottom of that simulator craft, he saw the other cadets from Bravo Company heading towards the briefing room. He walked through the door to see some very disheartened cadets standing around. 'Welcome Cadet Ternod,' LC Tarkin offered as I entered the room. I returned a sharp salute as he continued, 'You flew very well out there, though you do need to watch out for relying to much on your scissors movement.

Though I commend your abilities in the Interceptor. ' Nodding, Linkan replied, 'Thank you sir. It was the craft that CORE used a lot when I was assisting their commander. Though I would of course prefer the Avenger / Advanced any day of the week. ' Tarkin laughed and pointed to a seat at the front of the briefing room.

He welcomed the rest of the cadets into the room, and to each one he gave some encouragement and suggestions. He seemed very open and friendly with the cadets yet he also knew what he was doing. Linkan sat down in the first row next to one of the company's female cadets, 'Hi I am Linkan, I was Omega 3, during the mission. ' Her slightly dirty blond hair was neatly in a bun on the back of head. 'Hi I am Gara Devil, I was Black 2. You did quite well.

Were you not one of the Interceptors that was sent after that flight of Xwings?' She asked in genuine curiosity. He nodded in return to her statement, smiling. As he was about to respond to her statement, LC Tarkin called the debriefing to order and took his spot at the podium. Sitting behind him, were the other instructors. The all wore the same TIE suits that Linkan and his fellow cadets wore, though the instructors had various patches on them. Tarkin's suit for instance had the bright white and blue patches of the ISD Vanguard on his shoulder, along with the Scorpion Squadron emblem with their WC's Own tab on his chest.

'Good afternoon cadets. As you well know you just participated in your first ever-training simulation. I am going to do a run down on the events of the mission. First off you were all scrambled to defend the platform.

Omega flight was flying the TIE / Interceptor; Black flight had the slower TIE / Fighters, while Sigma flight had the TIE / Bombers for engaging the rebel frigate that jumped into launch the assault. I'd like to commend Cadet Ternod for his quick and excellent thinking when his flight leader went down in the first moments of the battle. Cadet Ternod, sitting here,' Tarkin pointed to him, he turned and waved to everyone, the room chuckled to his amusement. 'Took control of his flight, and coordinated an attack by Omega and Black on the first rebel squadron of Z-95's.

After doing great damage to Red Squadron, Black Flight was ordered to give escort to Sigma as they were launched with proton torpedoes, with the Frigate as their target. ' Tarkin using a red laser pointer outlined the approaching flights of Black and Omega to the Frigate, Target One. An obvious parody on the cruiser, Home One. 'At this point, Black flight came under heavy pressure to protect Sigma from the incoming Blue squadron of Xwings. After Black 2 and 4 were destroyed, Omega flight still under Cadet Ternod raced after Blue and broke them up.

At this point Sigma was able to successfully engage the frigate, making it lose it's shields and force a with drawl. Excellent work. Though Cadet Ternod died on return from damage sustained during the engagement. Congratulations to Bravo Company on defending Daedalus.

That's all, dismissed!" Tarkin saluted the unit, turned on his heel and walked out of the room, followed by the other instructors. After him went the first row, so Linkan and Gara left the room together discussing tactics. His hands waving wildly in a series of wild maneuvers and turns. She seemed equally impressed with his performance as he felt for hers. They left the room together and went for dinner. As they sat at dinner in the mess hall, an instructor came in and warned all cadets that they should be on alert for another training exercise within the next 18 hours.

So as they finished dinner, Linkan retired to his quarters. He wrote his mother and father a letter, and fell into his bunk. "Attention, all Bravo Company cadets, report to the briefing room". The intercom crackled in Linkan's quarters. He rose slowly from his bed and then hit the ground running, reaching into his closet for his flight suit. It had been a tough eight weeks here at the advanced flight course.

He ran to the briefing room, barely missing the cadets and officers that lined the corridor. In the time he'd been here, he had impressed the instructors in every detail, and had begun advanced one on one flight training. He had been assigned as a cadet squadron commander in Bravo Company. He entered the briefing room to see LC Tarkin and the other instructors at the podium.

"Welcome to your final mission. Here are the details for it. It's based on an assault conducted by the ISD Immortal. Three squadrons, basically all of you, are going to assault a MC-80 in system.

Omega squadron will fly TIE / Interceptors with shields, Black will fly Assault Gunboats, and Sigma will be flying TIE / Interceptors as well. The mission will begin shortly. Here's the rest of the briefing... "Third Installment - The hiss of the pressure seal opened on the hatch of his TIE / Interceptor. It had been their final training mission. They had flown real fighters this time; it was a nice change from the simulators.

Linkan dropped out of the fighter and onto the deck below. Still upset from the mission he tramped off to the debriefing area. ' In flight, his Interceptor had taken simulated damage, but for some reason the engines would not start up again for real. It had taken an hour and a half for the TUG and the transport to come pull his fighter back to Daedalus.

He had missed the squadron debriefing of course and hoped he would still be in time to talk to LC Tarkin about his performance and that of his squadron. This simulated battle was going to tell them if they had passed and earned their wings into the corps, or if they had flunked out and would be required to join the Imperial ground forces. It had happened before and would happen again, Linkan only hoped that it would not happen to him. He approached the briefing room at breakneck speed. As he rounded the corner, he saw LC Tarkin sitting at his desk, which is off to one side of the podium. He looked at Linkan and smiled.

Tarkin waved him over to a chair beside the desk. As he sat down, he noticed the file Tarkin was working on; it was his, Cadet Linkan Ternod. "So Linkan, how do you think you have done so far, here?"Well sir, I think that besides this little mishap I had today, I have done fairly well. I am looking forward to serving in a fleet corps unit". He replied, the emotion showing on his face. He truly wanted to move beyond the training process.

As he finished, Tarkin held a little data card in his hand. "Well Sub-Lieutenant Ternod, your wish is my command". The Lieutenant Colonel smiled, handing the card to Linkan. "Now it is your duty to find a squadron that you wish to join.

There are many, many squadrons you could choose from, but it's important to find the squadron that best fits you and your abilities. If you need help in finding a unit, you can always talk to me about it". Linkan stared at the data card and the pale blank look vanished in a huge smile. He thought it over in his mind, a full sub-lieutenant. That meant he was finished with training. He had already been receiving countless offers to join squadrons in the corps, but Tarkin, was right, he needed to find the one that best fit him.

"Well sir, what is your unit called again? Does your commanding officer have room for a rookie?" Linkan, while not trying to suck up to Tarkin, knew that this man was one of the better instructors out there, he was the professor on combat tactics, next to Vice-Admiral Brucmack. "Sorry to disappoint you son, but Scorpion and E kim couldn't take another pilot on, even if we wanted to. Though I would suggest looking into the Assault Frigate Ajax is a very good ship.

She is one of the key escorts for the ISD Relentless. I know that one of the Rel's squadrons is temporarily assigned duty to the frigate. Let me check which one it is". Tarkin's hands flew across a computer terminal. Stopping he checked and nodded to himself, then addressing Linkan, "Here we are it is, Crossbow squadron."Well thank you very much sir.

Would it be possible to use your database to mail the Flight Office with a request of transfer?" He asked. He was pretty sure that a suggestion made by this man would be a great help in the future. Tarkin nodded, and he set about requesting transfer to Crossbow squadron. He was looking at the roster, and noticed all of their flights were equipped with the latest Imperial fighter technology, the TIE / Defender. He smiled at the thought of flying one of those. He pressed the button, and a few moments later to both his and Tarkin's surprise the FO sent a reply, granting his request.

Linkan was to pack his bags for the Ajax. "Well sir, it's be an honor. I hope to see you around someday". He salute Tarkin and left the room.

He returned to his quarters one final time and packed all his gear into one duff le bag. Heaving the bag over his shoulder, he made his way into the corridor. He had made sure to affix his new rank symbols to his uniforms, as soon as he had returned to his quarters. Showing the rank of a graduate of HA Astatine's school, he proudly marched down to the hangar, awaiting the next shuttle that would take him farther on his journey. While on board the shuttle, he had time to watch the news. There were a lot of reports about the mobilization for war.

Yet, the news reported that both the Sovereign and the Avenger had been moved rim ward and not towards the core, as would indicate a resurgence of hostilities with the New Republic. Though apparently the Tie Corps Battle Group and the Aggressor Strike Force, were being moved to a higher state of readiness. He wondered how his assignment on the Ajax might be altered to fit this new reality. Crossbow, he remembered was supposed to be a reconnaissance squadron. If they went to war, he'd be on the front line, he dearly hoped that wouldn't happen. Here he was.

He stepped down the ramp of the shuttle and onto the deck of a warship. He promptly saluted the colors, posted at the far end of the room. There was a person there to greet him, his squadron commander. Saluting his commander, "Sub-Lieutenant Linkan Ternod, reporting for duty sir!"At ease Ternod. I am your squadron commander, If you will follow me I'll show you to your bunk. I am sorry to do this to you, but we are in a bit of a rush see", the man seemed like a genuinely nice man, Linkan thought.

His uniforms were pressed and creased, his hair at regulation length, his commander seemed a professional, for which Linkan was quite happy. "We are scheduled to do a patrol around the frigate in about an hour when we drop our from a short hyperspace jump. Our fleet has been assigned a special task, even the brass is not all that informed. It seems very hush, hush.

So yes, store your gear, then head to the briefing to get started". With that his commander walked off, leaving Linkan to find his quarters, he was glad to be home. Fourth Installment. It seemed as if Sub-Lieutenant Linkan Ternod had stepped off the deep-end and into a world of hellish combat. His first mission had almost ended in disaster for the frigate, yet somehow the squadron had survived intact. They had damaged fighters, some that were almost as good as destroyed, some even beyond repair, yet him and his squadron mates had survived and gone on.

He and his squadron were sitting in the pilot's lounge on the Ajax. It had been one of those days. As soon as the Ajax, had dropped out of hyperspace it seemed as if the Rebel convoy was on top of them. The convoy had been two corvettes and a SPC being escorted by two flights of Xwings and a flight of Awings, normally not a problem for a squadron equipped with the TIE / Defender. However, the reason the Ajax, was being sent out this way was to re-supply on missiles, which the fighters were out of, giving the rebels and their launchers a bit of an advantage.

Linkan and the other members of first flight had dodged the missiles and taken down the Xwings, but not before the Awings could do some damage. It had been a hard fight. But the engagement had given Linkan a few important things; experience under fire, courage, faith, and a few kills in battle. He remembered as he was leaving his fighter, that his crew chief was already stenciling in the new kills. Shiny New Republic markings, adorned his craft, testimony to the destruction he could bring. "Attention, will Crossbow Squadron report to the hangar, immediately, this is the captain speaking".

Linkan looked around, and staggering to his feet, walked out of the lounge and toward the hangar. He entered the hangar to find his commander, along with the frigate's captain and his squadron mates, standing at attention. He quickly fell in line behind the last man only to be told to step forward, "Sub-Lieutenant Ternod, front and center". Aww crap, he thought. As he moved to the front, only the thought of a reprimand for being the last one occupied his mind. He stepped forward and stood at attention.

His commander approached him, standing just in front he raised a data card and read aloud, "By the authority of the Flight Office, I hereby promote Lieutenant Linkan Ternod, to the title therein, with all the duties and responsibilities it entails. Congratulations Lieutenant. You earned it out there son". He was shocked, two promotions in two days?

Did that happen, Linkan wondered. No matter now, he was a full lieutenant. He was overjoyed, he started to smile, then every member of the squadron, including the ship's captain and his commander came forward to shake his hand and congratulate him. He was astounded.

After the squadron broke ranks, he offered a round on him from the cantina. Later the Ajax received word to meet the Relentless. There was a mission to conduct of big proportions.