Darth Vader's TIE Advanced x1

Darth Vader's TIE Advanced x1 was a starfighter used by Darth Vader during the Galactic Civil War, leading Black Squadron, and flown by him during the Battle of Yavin. It was a modified early prototype of the TIE Advanced x1 line.

Description


The TIE Advanced x1 had better shielding and was faster than the TIE/ln. It was also capable of carrying secondary weapons such as cluster missiles. In addition, unlike most TIE models, the TIE Advanced x1 was equipped with a hyperdrive.

The Advanced x1 had more cockpit capacity than other TIEs, thus catering for the larger-than-average figure of Darth Vader. It was built to Vader's specifications by Santhe/Sienar Technologies at the Sienar Advanced Projects Laboratory.

Unlike the class standard, Vader's TIE Advanced apparently possessed a life-support system.

History
Upon the completion of Darth Vader's TIE Advanced x1 by Sienar Fleet Systems, Marketing Relations Manager Taed Augustus personally presented the new vessel to the Dark Lord of the Sith. Unfortunately for Taed, he was far too familiar towards the Dark Lord, referring to him as "Darth" more than once. Vader, unamused by the SFS official's lack of respect, choked him to death while Taed was still in the middle of his presentation.

While on Kamino in 1 BBY, Darth Vader was personally overseeing the creation of the clones of his late apprentice Galen Marek; the Dark Lord's customized TIE fighter served as his means of transportation to Timira City Cloning Facility where the Marek clones were located. Before Vader could execute the latest imperfect clone who failed to meet his expectations, the clone broke free and slaughtered all of the Imperial machines and stormtroopers that stood in his way. Vader, knowing that the clone sought to escape from Kamino, attempted to intercept the clone, but failed to prevent the clone's theft of the Dark Lord's own TIE fighter.

Utilizing Vader's TIE Advanced x1, the clone traveled to the Imperial-occupied world of Cato Neimoidia. Since the TIE fighter was registered as Darth Vader's personal vessel, Baron Merillion Tarko was under the belief that the Dark Lord was paying an unexpected visit, and thus sought to personally welcome Vader's arrival at the landing platform with a stormtrooper escort. To his surprise, however, the TIE fighter's pilot was unknown to him and quickly sought to execute the clone when it became apparent that he sought to rescue General Rahm Kota; the Imperials' attempts utterly failed and resulted in the deaths of many Imperials, including Tarko.

Soon after the events on Kamino and Cato Neimoidia, Vader later retrieved his ship, which later saw action during the Battle of Yavin in 0 BBY. During the battle over the first Death Star, it was escorted by two handpicked Imperial pilots flying standard TIE/ln starfighters. After destroying many of the Rebel fighters, it spun out of control when one of Vader's Black Squadron wingmen collided with it in attempting to avoid cannon fire from the Millennium Falcon. Following the destruction of the Death Star, the Sith Lord made a hyperspace jump to a planet, Vaal, where he could land safely. His ship was damaged when it was hit by small asteroids in Vaal's orbit, and Vader was forced to make a crash-landing on the planet. Upon his return to the Empire, Vader gave orders that his craft be recovered for repair and that it was to be docked in his personal ship, the Executor.

Vader's TIE was destroyed while docked aboard the Super Star Destroyer Executor as it crashed into the surface of the second Death Star during the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY.

Legacy
In the Yuuzhan Vong War, Lando Calrissian managed to get ahold of three TIE Advanced x1. These were used by Anakin Solo, Jaina Solo and Jacen Solo. Mind Meditation was employed during this battle.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron
 * Boba Fett: Enemy of the Empire 1
 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
 * The Force Unleashed II novel
 * Star Wars: Empire at War
 * Star Wars: Empire 3: Betrayal, Part 3
 * Star Wars: Empire: Darklighter
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope junior novel
 * Star Wars 6: Is This the Final Chapter?
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
 * Perfect Evil
 * Star Wars: Empire 14: The Savage Heart
 * Star Wars 21: Shadow of a Dark Lord
 * Star Wars 23: Flight Into Fury
 * Star Wars 29: Dark Encounter
 * Star Wars 35: Dark Lord's Gambit
 * Star Wars 37: In Mortal Combat
 * Star Wars Rebellion: My Brother, My Enemy
 * Splinter of the Mind's Eye
 * Splinter of the Mind's Eye 4
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back junior novel
 * Star Wars: Rebel Assault II
 * Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron
 * Star Wars: Imperial Ace
 * Star Wars 52: To Take The Tarkin
 * Vader Adrift
 * Shadows of the Empire novel
 * The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron: Apple Jacks Special Bonus Story
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron: In the Empire's Service
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron: In the Empire's Service

Non-canon appearances

 * Prey
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
 * Tag & Bink Are Dead
 * Star Wars Infinities: A New Hope
 * The Long, Bad Day