Immortal

The ISD II Immortal was a ship of the TIE Corps Battlegroups and the historical home of Wing XI. Although later used as a vessel of the Science Office, it was effectively decommissioned on April 4th, 2004.

Background

The Immortal was one of the last of the old Imperial class vessels to be upgraded to Imperial II class. Prior to the creation of the SSD Executor, the ISD Immortal and its sister ship the ISD Devestator served as personal vessels for Lord Vader. The Immortal and its fighters ambushed the Tantive IV en route to Alderaan with the Death Star plans. It then led several attacks on Rebel freighters and cruisers, just before the destruction of the Death Star.

The Immortal and the Devestator, along with the ISD Garrett and the ISD Avenger, were latter attached to the Exceutor as part of its battlegroup. After the Battle of Endor, the Immortal was though to be lost. However, a short circuit in the ship's hyperdrive engine had instead caused the ship to become stranded.

After limping along through space in the Outer Rim, the Immortal finally managed to reach the Aurora Sector and the Emperor's Hammer Strike Fleet. For the first time since Endor, the Immortal was again back in Imperial service.

History

On February 28, 1999, X-Wing Alliance was released, immediately providing the TIE Corps with a new game platform. In order to maximize recruits, two new ships were soon opened in April 1999: the Immortal and the Vanguard. While the Vanguard would be assigned as an XWA multiplayer ship, the Immortal was assigned as an XWA single player ship, and placed in the TIE Corps Battlegroups.

The Immortal was assigned Wing XI, which included six squadrons: Ghost Squadron, Ranger Squadron, Falcon Squadron, Phantom Squadron, Demon Squadron, and Vampire Squadron. Its first Commodore was Daavak Tron, and Wing XI's first Wing Commander was Hades. During its first year, squadrons were slowly opened and populated, until it settled into a solid core of five squadrons. Other than a short-lived false start in mid-2001, Vampire Squadron would remain closed until the beginning of 2002.

The Immortal quickly established itself as a force to be reckoned with, bolstered by the enthusiasm for the latest and greatest simulator platform. Winning the TIE Corps Battlegroups' Exercise Cantina Run (ECR) II competition in 2000 resulted in a designation as the new battlegroup flagship, and gave notice to the remaining ships that the Immortal had truly arrived.

The Immortal benefited greatly from stable leadership at the top. Its second Commodore, Marc, would remain in the position for over a year before giving way to his Wing Commander, Adrenaline, an officer who was essentially raised on the Immortal. Referred to by some as "the Mother of the Immortal", Adrenaline would become the first "home grown" flag officer for the Immortal. With the exception of her first Wing Commander (Mell Kerrigan), all flag officers moving forward would continue to be "home grown" for the majority of the ship's run.

Adrenaline remaining as Commodore for nine months before ascending to Battlegroup Commander. She would be replaced by Dras Hempor, a former Demon and Falcon Squadron Commander, as well as former Wing XI Wing Commander. He would serve two months before being replaced by Toran Dan, a long-time Falcon squadron commander who would serve for seven months. During Toran Dan's command, the Immortal would win Exercise Cantina Run IV by one point (aided by 100% participation in the final round) over the Colossus, again earning the right to be the flagship of the battlegroup. With Vampire Squadron reopened and the Immortal finally at full strength, the ship was in high spirits when its new Commodore, long-time Falcon squadron commander and current Wing Commander Darksaber, was appointed to the position. By April of 2002 it had reached 56 members (its all time high). In June of 2002 the ship managed to fly 2080 missions in one month, setting a then-record for the TIE Corps and finally fulfilling a challenge presented to them by then-Battlegroup Commander Admiral Mell earlier that year to fly 2000 missions in one month.

But that high point was not without a cause of concern. In that same month, 5 of the 6 squadron commanders needed to be replaced, whether because of promotion or retirement. The Immortal had never had many long-time commanders like some of the other ships in the battlegroups, and it had not been uncommon for a new commander position to open up about every month or so. But high turn-over for commanders was becoming an issue, one that would steadily increase in its remaining years.

After seven months of service, Darksaber would give way to RogueWing, a long-time Immortal veteran and former Ghost squadron commander who had recently left to command Cyclone Squadron onboard the Challenge. A noted XWA mission designer, RogueWing had the misfortune of taking over the ship at a time when activity across the TIE Corps was at a decline. In March 2003, Ranger Squadron would be closed, never to reopen. And in July 2003, for the first time in years, an "outsider" was given a flag position on the Immortal, as rising star BubbaX was appointed the new Wing Commander for Wing XI. RogueWing himself would step down soon after, having served seven months in the position, but remained active and engaged with the Immortal and its activities in a Flight Member role.

Replacing him was another outsider: long-time Challenge veteran Locke Setzer. Locke served five months, during which serious effort was made to clear out any inactive pilots and jump start the ship's activity yet again; nevertheless, the Immortal was now averaging two open squadron commander spots a month. BubbaX soon left, assuming command of the Relentless as its new Commodore, and Locke turned to his old ally and recently-appointed Phantom squadron commander Triji Boliv as his new Wing Commander. Whispers of a ship closure had begun during this period, and there was concern that poor performance in the upcoming Exercise Cantina Run V could signal which of the ships in the Battlegroup most deserved closure.

The Immortal neither lost nor won this competition, but they did lose their Commodore, who was declared AWOL shortly before turning back up on the Colossus as the new Wing Commander for Wing VIII. Falcon Squadron was closed during this time as well, leaving the ship with only four active squadrons. In an effort to save the ship, RogueWing was again appointed as the new Commodore, with the warning that a ship closure could well be imminent, and the Immortal was a potential target. With Triji Boliv's resignation, Immortal veteran Gunman was assigned as the new Wing Commander, returning the Immortal to "home rule" for the remainder of its life.

Decommissioning

After months of rumors regarding consolidation of the TIE Corps Battlegroups, the word was finally given by Battlegroup Commander Mell Kerrigan that the Immortal had been selected for closure. Squadron commanders were given the option to merge with an existing squadron or take over any deactivated squadron on the Challenge, Relentless, or Colossus.

On April 4th, 2004, the Immortal was officially decommissioned. Members of its active squadrons were redistributed as follows:

• Demon Squadron moved to Dagger Squadron onboard the Relentless
• Ghost Squadron moved to Typhoon Squadron onboard the Challenge
• Phantom Squadron moved to Tornado Squadron onboard the Challenge
• Vampire Squadron moved to Eta Squadron onboard the Colossus

Additionally, its Wing Commander at the time, Colonel Gunman, would soon be appointed to the Colossus as its Commodore.

RogueWing, the Immortal's final Commodore, resigned in protest of the ship's closure.

Temporary Reactivation

On March 24, 2005, the Immortal was reopened for the purpose of providing a home for test pilots supporting the latest Science Office project: a new, home-built game called Imperial Alliance, based on the Freespace 2 Engine.

Only Phantom Squadron was reopened. Long-time Immortal veterans Spearhawk and Mark initially served as Wing XI Wing Commander and Phantom squadron commander respectively. While no Commodore was appointed, Science Officer Ender mBind effectively served in this role for the ship.

Pilots in Phantom Squadron were considered testers, and were given versions of Imperial Alliance for beta testing. Their primary role was to serve as game testers for this upcoming platform. Battlegroup Commander BubbaX and others hoped this effort would springboard to a full and official ship reopening once the new platform was released. But this was not to be.

Imperial Alliance was ultimately not released to the general membership of the TIE Corps, and by early 2006, the experiment was over and the ship, wing, and squadron were closed yet again.

Command History

Commodore	Start Date	End Date	Start Rank	End Rank
Daavak Tron	04/1999	02/1996	?	?
Marc	08/1999	08/2000	Rear Admiral	Vice Admiral
Adrenaline	08/2000	05/2001	Rear Admiral	Vice Admiral
Dras Hempor	05/2001	07/2001	Rear Admiral	Vice Admiral
Toran Dan	07/2001	03/2002	Rear Admiral	Vice Admiral
Darksaber	03/2002	10/2002	Rear Admiral	Vice Admiral
RogueWing	10/2002	08/2003	Rear Admiral	Vice Admiral
Locke Setzer	08/2003	02/2004	Rear Admiral	Rear Admiral
RogueWing	02/2004	04/2004	Rear Admiral	Rear Admiral

Competition and Award History

• Winner of Exercise Cantina Run II / TIE Corps Battlegroups Flagship for 2000
• TCCOM´s Own (November 2001)
• Winner of Exercise Cantina Run IV / TIE Corps Battlegroups Flagship for 2002
• Defeated Wing III (and changed their motto/nickname) (January 2003)

Immortal Honor Roll

Upon closure, the ISD Immortal IRC channel (#isd_immortal) began a topic series entitled Former Immortal Member of the Day, which continued on for weeks after the ship's closure. The various members honored during that time are compiled here as a tribute and honor roll.

• Toran Dan
• Spearhawk
• Gord Darkonian
• Dras Hempor
• Adrenaline
• Badlands
• Roth Jalis
• Banger
• Michael Gutt
• Darkfyre
• VinDoros
• Darkhawk
• Hunter
• Loor
• Gunman
• The Ranger Duo (Banger and Mark)
• Mell
• Marc
• Nix
• Darksaber
• The Falcon Duo (Darkhawk and Gutt)

Order of Battle

The Immortal was formerly the flagship of Battlegroup IV, which consisted of the following:

TIE Corps Wing XI

• Ghost Squadron
• Ranger Squadron
• Falcon Squadron
• Phantom Squadron
• Demon Squadron
• Vampire Squadron

Escort Carrier Trantor

• 6 squadrons

Victory Class Star Destroyer Ravager

• 2 squadrons

Modified Immobiliser-418 Dominator

• 1 Squadron

Dreadnaught Shogun

• 1 Squadron

Assault Frigate Gemini

• 2 Squadrons

Nebulon-B2 Frigate Avatar

• 1 Squadron

Nebulon-B Frigate Perseus

• 1 Squadron

Nebulon-B Frigate Medusa

• 1 Squadron

Strike Cruiser Nova

• 1 Squadron

Corellian Gunship Group Devil (3 ships)

• 1 flight each

Modified Corvette Group Beelzebub (3 ships)

• 1 flight each

Corellian Corvette Group Lucifer (3 ships)

Orc Squadron

• Transport

Troll Squadron

• Personal Transport

Pixie Squadron

• Utility