Ghosts of Csilla

The Ghosts of Csilla
Unit Information
Unit Type	Starfighter Squadron
Affiliation	Anti-Imperial
Dates Active	New Republic service: Year 18 - Year 21 Independent: Year 21 - Present
Part of	Independent
Commanding Officer	Commander Kalla Fexive
Garrison	Unknown
Battles or Conflicts	Second Galactic Civil War The War for the Republic
Awards

The "Ghosts of Csilla" are an independent starfighter squadron, formerly associated with the New Republic. After the fall of said Republic in Year 21, they participated in an ill-fated movement to liberate their homeworld Csilla. They have turned to mercenary work in the years since, hoping to gather resources and allies for their eventual return.

Unit History

Formation of Resh Squadron

The unit that would become the "Ghosts of Csilla" began their career as Squadron Resh of the New Republic's 405th Starfighter Wing, an X-Wing squadron. The were founded in Year 18, one of several units across the Republic comprised of soldiers and pilots from one race or planet in an effort to build up feelings of inclusion and pride in worlds whose ties to the Republic were growing thin. Csilla was one of those worlds. Its distance geographically and culturally from most of the New Republic made it relationship tenuous at the best of times. The Republic hoped that units like the 405th's Resh Squadron would demonstrate the value the Republic saw in their Chiss members, as well as what Csilla could offer to the Republic. After the pilots' well-publicized graduation from the academy, they were assigned to the Derra's Glory, the Quasar Fire-class Bulk Cruiser commanded by Commander Kalla Fexive, a respected career officer in the Republic's Navy and a fellow Chiss. After a publicity tour of Csilla and the surrounding region, the Glory and the 405th were deployed to the Callia sector to combat the dreaded Zann Consortium pirates that were growing in strength there. They eventually picked up the moniker "Blue Squadron" among the other squadrons of the 405th because of their skin color.

Urgent Fury

Commander Fexive and the pilots of the 405th were just two standard weeks away from returning home from their patrol tour of the Callia sector when war broke out in the neighboring Byblos sector. The discovery of the Hosnian system on the edge of Imperial space sparked a massive conflict between the Galactic Empire, the New Republic, and other belligerents and opportunists. The Derra's Glory was ordered to the system at all possible speed to support the Republic's vanguard forces until the fleet could arrive. They arrived on Day 197 just hours after Emperor Seele had declared the entire sector to be Imperial territory. The pilots of Resh Squad joined the defense of the small Republic foothold on the moon Hosnian Companion. That first day they lost two pilots, Pilot Officer Dash'inda'eduo (known as Shinda) and Flight Officer Vornu'ro'unist (or, Nuro). Commander Fexive and her ship fought valiantly, and after sustaining heavy damage the Glory was ordered to withdraw for repairs on Day 219. The 405th lost 15 pilots over the course of twenty-two standard days of near constant combat, and the carrier crew lost five. Resh Squadron alone was credited with 10 kills. By the time repairs were complete, the Republic was withdrawing from the sector. New pilots and crew were assigned to take the place of the fallen, and Lieutenant, jr. Thel Tillman was promoted to full lieutenant and was named the Glory's first officer. Several pilots and crewmembers were awarded commendations for their brave and selfless service. After time for rest and recuperation, the unit began training with their new recruits and were deemed fit to return to active duty.

Cracks Emerge

Year 20 saw the 405th embark on a galactic recruitment tour, stopping at friendly port of calls along the Outer Rim to lend their skills at air shows, participate in military drills with allied forces. They began their tour at Csilla, where the pilots of Resh Squadron visited academies and Commander Fexive met with dignitaries to sure up support for the New Republic. Rumors had been circulating that the Republic was considering withdrawing from the Galactic Alliance, but the thought sounded preposterous, especially given how well the Alliance had fought together the year before at the Hosnian system. Despite assurances that the Republic and Alliance were stable, on Day 74 both the 405th and the Chiss leadership woke up to find that the New Republic was formally leaving the Alliance it helped to found. Fexive and the squadron left Csilla with no new recruits and low morale. The rest of the tour proved tense, and several of the training exercises were canceled. At meetings and speaking events, Fexive was constantly asked questions about the Republic's position and intentions, questions she could not answer. To many, the Republic was proving untrustworthy and the Chiss pilots and crewmembers weren't unsympathetic to the concerns. Csilla had long been suspicious of the Republic, and this seemed to confirm those fears. The crew continued on their tour, stopping at Carlac, Polus, and Antar 4 among other ports before returning to Republic space.

Break with the Republic

Resh Squadron and the 405th were stationed in the Tythe system when Emperor Seele's announcement came in the early days of Year 21 that the newly elected New Republic Chief of State Galen Darksol had unconditionally surrendered to the Galactic Empire. In a matter of weeks Imperial warships began appearing in Republic systems. Much of the fleet that had remote control circuity and programming was locked down, and planetary shield systems began falling. Republica fell on Day 30, and the emperor himself dissolved the New Republic and its senate. The Derra's Glory was one of a small number of warships in Tythe that was able to escape the disable order, and Commander Fexive received orders from what was left of Republic military command to rendezvous with other Republic ships in the distant Terr'skiar sector while they planned their next move. Fexive protested, claiming that sector was too far away and rallying there would amount to abandoning the Republic systems to Imperial control uncontested. Command simply repeated the order, telling her that the surviving ships that had reported in were too few in number to defend Republic space. They would need to rendezvous with allied forces and mount a strategic re-invasion themselves. Not seeing a better opportunity, Fexive joined a small battle group and moved up north in stages to the rally point via Manda, Fokask, Lannik, Istic, and Lexrul. The journey took twelve harrowing days, with each day bringing more news of fallen systems and desperate cries for help that they were not permitted to answer.

The battlegroup arrived at the rendezvous point on Day 50 and found the situation bleak. While allied and sympathetic governments had sent forces, they had reserved most of them to defend their own systems should the Empire decide to expand its campaign. The assembled fleet was not small in any regard, but many Republic captains had ignored or never heard the order to withdraw and instead were carrying on small strikes on Imperial occupation forces. This divided those who had gathered. Ultimately Josh Jericho and Orion Chran, the two highest ranking officials that escaped arrest, won the day and convinced the fleet to remain and organize but the morale of that fleet faltered. Chran announced the fleet publicly on Day 82 in an address where he also announced that a coalition of Galactic Alliance memberstates and other allies would begin their own campaigns in support of the rebel groups currently resisting Imperial oppression and occupation. Fexive and the pilots of Resh Squadron decided to put their own mistrust and bitterness aside now that they were on the verge of deployment and sought an audience with the most senior commander they could find to request they be sent to Csilla to liberate their homeworld. Each successive officer denied the request, reassuring the unit that they would not forget Csilla but that it was too distant from the heart of the Republic. The Rebellion needed all their strength to fight together. Fexive was outraged, arguing that the Chiss already felt neglected and exploited by the New Republic and this would be the last straw. Rebel command remained unmoved. With only a few hours to prepare before they were scheduled to move, Fexive, her crew, and the Chiss pilots abandoned their post and started towards Csilla. They resigned their positions in flight, and refused multiple orders to return and turn themselves in. Now down to only its Chiss crewmembers, pilots, and commander, the Derra's Glory had gone rogue.

The Ghosts are Born

The Glory traveled three standard days before arriving in Asrat, where Fexive hoped to buy provisions, fuel, and armament. Her crew was not defenseless, but the carrier had not yet been fully refitted and stocked at the rendezvous point. The Rebels had been careful with their limited resources. The Trade Federation refused their request, citing their neutral stance. Aiding a New Republic warship in a time of war might be seen by the Empire as supporting the rebels and aiding a deserting vessel could bring the ire of the rebellion. Fexive procured what she could from private merchants, but it was hardly the professional-grade equipment she and her crew would be needing. After two days of searching and negotiations the carrier found a black-market dealer who agreed to meet them in Denhui and sell them what they needed. It cost them all the credits they had, and several items of worth from the crew themselves, but the carrier was now ready to take the fight to the Empire.

The flight to the edge of the Unknown Regions took six standard days. The Derra's Glory moved cautiously, conserving fuel and avoiding populated systems where they might be spotted and reported. Eventually, they set off from just outside the Dreighton system and headed toward Csilla. They arrived in the outer regions of the sector on Day 110 to find their home already embroiled in conflict. The Chiss Ascendency, a nationalist shadow government, had declared war on the standing government which had been responsible for bringing Csilla into the New Republic. Public sentiment was split, but a slim and growing majority supported the Ascendency in claiming that the Republic had never treated Csilla with as much dignity and respect as its other sectors. Fexive and her crew were not unsympathetic to the Ascendency's cause - they couldn't be, after what they had seen and experienced- but they were unsettled by rumors that the Ascendency was supported by the Galactic Empire. If the Chiss were ever going to govern themselves, they could not trade one oppressive power for another, and so the crew of the Glory joined the fight in defense of the standing government under the condition of immunity from their desertion charges.

The battle was an uphill one. The Ascendency had mercenary connections in the region and had managed to capture a good portion of the government's defensive equipment and infrastructure as more soldiers and high-profile officials defected to their cause. The loyalists, on the other hand, found very little help. The rebel fleets were focused on the fight on the other side of the galaxy. The warehouses the loyalists managed to hold on to were being emptied quickly, and the remaining rebel supply lines to Csilla went dry in a matter of weeks, especially after the Imperial Union opened a second front against the Resistance territory on Day 130. Instead of defending bases and territory, the loyalist forces shifted their strategy to hit-and-run tactics on Ascendency strongholds and convoys. The pilots of the Derra's Glory became adept at this tactic, finding success scrambling scanners just long enough to make their strike without being detected. This soon earned them the nickname "The Ghosts of Csilla."

Loss and Adaptation

The battle for Csilla dragged on for over a standard month. No matter how skilled loyalist units like the Ghosts proved to be, the Ascendency's connections erased their gains as new supplies and equipment were shipped into the sector. The loyalists, on the other hand, found their own losses hard to stomach, even if they were few. Eventually, the lack of readily available parts forced the Ghosts to retire their X-wings and sell the craft to support the fight. In their place, the squadron were given Nubian N1 starfighters. They were not as effective or hardy as the X-Wings had been, but parts were cheap and plentiful. While unavoidable, the move proved disastrous, and the squadron lost several experienced pilots in just week. Finding pilots who wanted to fly with the Ghosts was easy, given their reputation, but the replacements were not as experienced, and the squadron was assigned fewer missions to allow for training and their reduced effectiveness. On Day 130 the unit suffered another loss. After sustaining critical damage, the Glory, the unit's home since its inception, was destroyed. Its final act was to ram the Dreadnaught that had crippled it, taking both ships down in a blaze of glory. The pilots, the commanders, and most of the surviving crew managed to escape, and were distributed to other loyalist ships and bases around the sector. The twelve pilots, commander Fexive, and lieutenant Tillman were reassigned to Gwhirrye Bionte, one of the most senior surviving loyalist commanders. Because of the dwindling size of the fleet, Bionte was commanding only a raider-class corvette called the Harbinger. Despite the setbacks, Bionte and the Harbinger had an impressive reputation, and the Ghosts soon feel into a deadly rhythm with their new commanding officer.

The final blow came on Day 147. The holonet broadcasted a ceremony from the capital city where representatives from the Galactic Empire officially recognized the Chiss Ascendency as the rightful government of the Csilla sector and the Chiss people. While the proclamation deemed the Ascendency a sovereign and independent state, it didn't take much for the loyalist forces to read between the lines. The Ascendency may not yet be a member of the Imperial Union, but as a sovereign power they could request the Empire's help in defending their territory and the surviving loyalists were no match for the Imperial armed forces, or for the equipment that the Empire might sell or lease to the Ascendency. Other governments and alliances had no option but to also recognize the Ascendency's claims, the loyalist units like the Ghosts were branded terrorists by most. Commander Fexive swallowed her pride and made one more impassioned call to the newly minted Rebel Alliance, begging them for their assistance, but help was not going to come. The Rebels and their coalition were fighting for their lives across the galaxy. Nothing could be spared, even if they had been disposed to help deserters like the Ghosts. Together, Bionte, Fexive and the crew of the Harbinger decided to withdraw.

Current Situation

Currently, the Ghosts of Csilla and the Harbinger have turned to mercenary work. They take work in the Outer Rim to support their cause to one day return to Csilla and liberate it from the Ascendency... ((WIP- will finish to suit buyer))

Unit Roster

• Captain Gwhirrye Bionte- Commanding officer of the Harbinger
• Commander Kalla Fexive- First officer of the Harbinger
• Lieutenant Thel Tillman- Executive officer for the Ghosts

• Lieutenant Jock Govan- Ghost Leader
• Anto Vull- Ghost One, Flight One Leader
• Demrott Derrosk- Ghost Two
• Giles Varn- Ghost Three
• Jertia Task- Ghost Four, Flight 2 Leader
• Liunb Vinjagga- Ghost Five
• Luhan Hextar- Ghost Six
• Nira Wain- Ghost Seven
• Rainee Wyndaru- Ghost Eight, Flight 3 Leader
• Reeve Nakcohh- Ghost Nine
• Svent Huurlek- Ghost Ten
• Talia Kracken- Ghost Eleven