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Legends Article This page contains information from the Star Wars Legends continuity and may not be supported by the Dark Brotherhood.
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Kuat Drive Yards
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A-9 Vigilance Interceptor
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Starfighter
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7.4 meters
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1,300 km/h
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Kuat Drive Systems A-9x (2)
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Class 1.0
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Equipped
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Heavy laser cannons (2)
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Pilot (1)
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10 kilograms
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1 day
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Interceptor
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The Dart is Kir Taldrya Katarn's personal fighter.
A-9 Vigilance Interceptor
Designed by Kuat Drive Yards (KDY), famous for its Imperial Star Destroyers, the A-9 was an attempt to enter the very profitable Imperial Starfighter market. Dominated at that time by Sienar Fleet Systems, makers of the TIE Fighter series of snubfighters, the Imperial starfighter corps was in desperate need of a faster, more maneuverable fighter to deal with the New Republic A-Wing starfighter. The A-9 was released almost six years after the Battle of Endor, shortly after the defeat of Grand Admiral Thrawn during the Imperial Mutiny.
In true Imperial fashion, the craft has no shields or hyperdrive, requiring the craft to operate from a fixed base or starship. While faster than the TIE Interceptor, the craft suffers from a weak hull and no provisions for a pilot to eject. Due to independent power generators, the weapons system is quite powerful for a ship of its size. Main armaments for the A-9 are two laser cannons, mounted on the bottom of the craft, which can fire together or independently. While the base model allows for fire-linked forward-firing of the cannon, several modifications exist which allow the gun to pivot 90 degrees down to perform strafing runs, as well as allowing the cannons to be independently targeted.
History
Before the Dark Jedi Brotherhood split from the Emperor's Hammer Strike Fleet, Kir served in both organizations. In the Emperor's Hammer, he was a Major in the Intelligence Division, in charge of one of their bureaus. He was aboard the Intelligence Divisions Flagship, the Dungeon Ship Lichtor V, when the split occurred.
Kir was busy when news of the Brotherhood's departure arrived aboard the ship, and he was summoned to the Supreme Director's office. Once there the Director questioned Kir, a known Brotherhood leader, to determine if he knew anything about the split. When he was finished, the Director told Kir he would be allowed to stay with the Intelligence Division, considering his past loyalty. Kir sensed the duplicity in this, and knew there would be an ambush waiting in his office.
Thanking the Director, Kir left his office and entered a Turbolift, inside which he killed the two IntOrg officers guarding him and made his way to the hangar bay. Once in the bay he walked to the nearest fighter, which happened to be a modified A-9 Vigilance Interceptor. He deceived the maintenance crew and stole the fighter before anyone knew what he had done.
Once he had returned to the Brotherhood, Kir kept the fighter and named it the Dart in reference to its quickness. While Kir primarily uses his personal shuttle, the Janus, for transport, he still keeps the Dart tuned for any occasion on which he might need it.
Modifications
The Intelligence Division used its assigned A-9 Vigilance Interceptors for several tasks, including interception and recon. The Division had limited resources, so it could not afford to constantly replace lost A-9s and pilots when the original unshielded versions were destroyed. In addition, the Dungeon Ship Lichtor V could not drop the ships off at their location since they lacked hyperdrives. To solve this problem, the Division had the interior cargo space almost entirely removed, and installed a Class 1.0 hyperdrive and shield generators. These preformed much better than the stock fighter. Kir's only change to the Dart was to paint over the Intelligence Division logo.