Eye of the Abyss II

Eye of the Abyss II
Production information
Class:	Imperial II-class Star Destroyer
Technical specifications
Length:	1600 Meters
Max acceleration:	>2,300 g
Max speed (space):	18 mglt
Max speed (atmosphere):	Can not enter atmosphere.
Engine unit(s):	KDY Destroyer-I ion engine (3) Cygnus Spaceworks Gemon-4 ion engine (4)
Hyperdrive rating:	Class 1 Backup Class 8
Shielding:	1600 SBD
Hull:	752 RU
Armament:	Octuple barbette turbolaser cannons (8) Additional turbolaser cannons and batteries (>36) Ion cannons (20) Phylon Q7 tractor beam projectors (10)
Complement:	6 Fighter Squadrons 20 LAAT/i Shuttles 1 Lambda Shuttle
Crew:	37,085 5000 Commander Jaal: XO Lieutenant Niles: Sensor Officer Major Helder Kemp: Intelligence Analyst Major Malay: Commander of TAM unit
Passengers:	1800
Cargo capacity:	36,000 Metric Tons
Consumables:	6 years
Usage
Role(s):	Arcona flagship
[ Source ]

Vessel Info

The Eye of the Abyss is the flagship of Clan Arcona, named after the former flagship, a modified Strike Cruiser. It is painted matte black as a homeage to Arcona’s Shadowcrafting focus. The intimidating dagger shape is as much a symbol of Arcona’s power as Mejas’s horned head.

The Abyss has been refitted to suit Arcona’s needs internally in that several officer’s messes have been transformed into Meditation Spheres and Libraries and just behind the bridge there is a tactical intelligence salon. On the lower decks there are also several interrogation and torture chambers for extracting information from high value targets.

History

The Eye of the Abyss II was originally named Eviscerator and was commissioned as part of the Imperial Navy in around 4 ABY. Like others of its class, it was built at the shipyards of Kuat.

Its history is most closely associated with its initial and longest Commander, Imperial Captain Yurf Terkan. Hailing from Coruscant, Terkan was known as a fantastic if slightly cautious tactician. The Eviscerator had a fairly quiet early career, in which it patrolled the Brentaal system. It was not present at Endor, instead taking part in a skirmish against a local smuggler group.

During the Battle of Brentaal IV, an Imperial defeat, the 181st Fighter Group was assigned to the vessel. The ship, and the majority of the 181st, survived the battle, and managed to escape into hyperspace. The Group parted ways with the Eviscerator soon after, moving on to other more prestigious ships as they began to gain more prestige within the fragmenting Empire. The next few years were again quiet, the Eviscerator managing to avoid both Republic forces and the majority of the warring Imperial factions. Captain Terkan was an Imperialist and hated seeing an Empire he had given his life for falling apart, and offered his ship to many of the Imperials, on the condition that they only engage the Republic. By 12ABY, the ship was serving alongside a small but powerful Imperial fleet and was a vital part of this fleet’s operations.

During a battle in deep space, the fleet’s old flagship was destroyed, and Captain Terkan seized control of the remainder of the fleet. Declaring himself an Admiral, the Eviscerator’s commander managed to turn the tide of the battle, a concentrated blast of firepower defeating the Rebel MC90 cruiser. This tactical victory earned him the respect and clout he would need to formally take the promotion to Admiral.

Admiral Terkan and the newly renamed ‘Eviscerator Fleet’ were not seen for a few years, but were believed to have re-captured an Imperial shipyard, as the next time they were seen, in 18ABY, the fleet was equipped with TIE Defenders and several new support ships, most notably an Interdictor, had been constructed. It was then that tragedy struck. A large Republic fleet, consisting of five MC90 Cruisers, managed to pin the Eviscerator down. The fleet fought bravely, destroying three of the MC90s, but were nearly obliterated, with only the Eviscerator and two Corvettes surviving, in addition to only half a dozen of the Defenders. The biggest tragedy, however, was the loss of Admiral Terkan, who defiantly flew out to battle himself – prior to his promotion to Captain he had been a TIE pilot. His TIE Defender, after registering six kills, was rammed by an enemy A-Wing. The ship spun out of control, and the Admiral crash landed in one of the MC90s. Admiral Yurf Terkan was officially missing, presumed dead.

Limping deep into unknown space, once again the Eviscerator vanished, this time for the best part of a decade. It was 26 ABY when it was finally seen again. The ship hyperspaced into the Antei system, and requested a meeting with the Dark Council. The ship had had many Commanders in this period, and was currently commanded by one ‘Captain’ Abija Reclan, a female officer with a tactical mind matching that of the former Admiral Terkan. Abija offered the ship to the Brotherhood – she was disgusted at what the Empire had become, and was happy to bring a ship with such a fine history into an organisation with an equally fine history. After some deliberation, the ship was eventually awarded to the then Clan Arcona.

The ship was soon renamed to ‘Eye of the Abyss II’, and was taken to an Arcona facility to be refitted. Abija herself was soon found to have latent force ability and recruited into the clan itself, proving her worth as a powerful Sith. After its refit, the Abyss, as it was now known colloquially, was put into service as the Arcona flagship, a role it has enjoyed ever since.

Action

In terms of action, the Abyss has seen little so far other than a brief sojourn into the Shroud to extract a small contingent of Dark Jedi displaced by the battle of Antei onto a small observation platform. There, the Abyss successfully engaged a flotilla of Yuuzhan Vong frigate and corvette analogues while a team of Arcona’s force users boarded the station and extracted their charges. This small skirmish occurred late in 27 ABY.

In 28 ABY, the Abyss was involved in a small skirmish within Clan Arcona, although it was not attacked directly. In an emotional escalation between House Galeres and House Qel-Droma, the ISDII was called upon as the Consul's flagship to end the conflict before any real damage occurred, reconciling the two Houses immediately.

The Abyss later saw action during the Invasion of Dajorra and led the defense of the system, sustaining heavy damage in the process. The flagship led the Vong forces away from the system and into a wild goose chase through The Maw to buy time for reinforcements from Clan Naga Sadow to arrive and aid with the evacuation.

After the Yuuzhan Vong Incursion and the loss of the Dajorra System, Clan Arcona's home, refugees that survived the attack on the system, including military personnel and civilians, took up residence on the capital ship. Being such a large vessel and symbol of Clan Arcona, it is also used as a mobile headquarters for the Clan Summit and military.

Then, in 29 ABY, the Abyss saw the most action in its history. In a conflict with Clan Scholae Palatinae and Clan Plagueis, the ISDII was sent into battle in the Cocytus System, fighting against the Yuuzhan Vong and other Clan fleets. In the end, the Deputy Grand Master himself stepped in with a portion of the Dark Brotherhood fleet, bringing the conflict to an end.

After this sustained battle, where the Abyss suffered moderate damage, the entire flotilla led by the ISDII traveled to Yridia II for repairs. It was during this visit that Mejas Doto was finally bested in combat and taken in by the elders of Clan Tarentum to be rehabilitated.

Complement

Attached to the Abyss are 6 squadrons of fighters:

- Shade Squadron (TIE Phantoms) - Recon/Superiority

- Bombard Squadron (Scimitar Assault Bombers) - Heavy Assault

- Nightshade Squadron (TIE Avengers) - Superiority

- Shadowstalker Squadron (TIE Avengers) - Superiority

- Virtuous Strike Squadron (TIE Avengers) - Superiority

- Sin Squadron (TIE Interceptors) - Escort of Bombers

There are also 20 LAAT/i shuttles taken from Arcona's ground forces stationed on board to act as runabouts and troop drop-ships when nescessary.

Trivia

Dress Code

All of the crew members of the Abyss wear the standard Arcona naval uniform of a matte black tunic, however in addition to this they have a patch sewn onto their right shoulder that signifies their being stationed on board the flagship. This patch is a diamond with a black hole contained within. At the center of the Black hole there is an eye glaring out – it is a mark of prestige in the Arcona Armed Forces.

Tradition

When the Consul is aboard the flagship, all running lights are perpetually deactivated unless implicitly necessary. Similarly, the corridors are dimmed down to only have backup lighting of muted hues of blues and reds as a sign of deference and respect to the Clan’s Leader.