TIE/AI interceptor

Proposed by ISB Agent Nyalla, the pitch for a fast attack platform armed with tractor beams and ion weaponry was opened to a series of imperial contractors by Fleet Admiral Rieper under the name of Abductor initiative, aimed to construct a fast and easily deployable auxiliary craft that can overpower and capture hostile starfighters and light crafts with the aid of friendly fighter escorts.

Several prototypes was hastily constructed, and three designs from Cygnus spaceworks, Kuat Drive Yards, and Sienar fleet systems was chosen for the proving grounds for further evaluations. While both Cygnus and Kuat’s product was based on the chassis of a shuttle, Sienar’s twin hull TIE eclipsed its competitors with unparalleled speed and far more desirable maneuverability characteristics. The only noticeable drawback of the TIE prototype is the lack of shielding, although such capability was not required by the initiative.

Being a KDY member, Fleet Admiral Rieper begrudged Sienar’s success, and forced the Sienar prototype into far stricter trials, while turning a blind eye toward the apparent drawbacks of the KDY prototype. Still, the Sienar prototype surpassed its competitors and proved its reliability through almost deliberately dangerous flight tests. The evaluation process came to an abrupt end when the KDY prototype suffered a catastrophic accident which resulted in the loss of both the pilot and the craft during its high speed maneuver trials, and Fleet Admiral Rieper