Red Fleet Project

The notorious “Red Fleet” amassed almost 200 years prior to the infamous Battle of Yavin, assembled under the guidance of a powerful Dowutin who went by the name Doman Ash. Ash was already over 100 years old when he founded his pirate organization, apparently due to the facts that he had simply grown bored of the galaxy now that he had outlived everyone he knew and loved.

Under the mantle of the “Crimson King” due to his unusually red pigmentation, at least for a Dowutin, as well as his royal looking golden armor and similarly colored synthetic jaw. He began recruiting for the pirate gang from those who were all alone and had no one to call their family. The Red Fleet initiation process was surprisingly tight, much more than most pirate groups, and they refused to accept just accept any galactic scum or riffraff. They place a priority on recruiting lonely individuals, and especially escaped slaves and desperate refugees. Because of this, they had a strict moral stance against owning slavery, placing a priority on freeing and recruiting enslaved individuals, or at the very least, performing mercy kills (although the Shipmaster known as “The Collector” does not in any way share in this sentiment).

For almost 150 years, the Crimson King amassed the fleet entirely by himself, earning a reputation as being one of the most mysterious and deadly pirates in the entirety of the Outer Rim. He made allies of many smugglers, crime lords, and other like-minded pirates, and sometime during those 150 years he recruited a first mate, a Devaronian named Belyular Criff who quickly earned the title of Ash’s “Red Right Hand.” He quickly earned the distinction of being a brutal advisor, protector, and mouthpiece for the Crimson King.

In 25 B.B.Y., the Red Fleet had their first major run in with the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order, which nearly resulted in the fleet’s destruction. Following this event, the Crimson King gathered 7 of his best ship captains together and formed the Red Fleet’s “Shipmaster’s Council.” He granted them all his best capital ships, titles that gave each them special jobs and jurisdictions, and small personal crews and fleets of their own.

As of the start of the Clone Wars, the Red Fleet had completely relegated themselves to the Outer Rim and Wild Space, learning not to cross paths with galactic political powers after their first encounter with the Republic. The original council of Shipmaster’s had, for the most part, either been killed or retired (aside from only “The Mole” and “The Thinker”) and it had quickly become a goal among all of the Red Fleet peons to achieve the rank of replacement Shipmaster after each of their demises. This caused the fleet’s social climate to shift from a more familial atmosphere to something much more competitive, much the Crimson King’s disapproval.

During this time, the Red Fleet had also become a major enemy of the Zygerrian Empire, declaring war on them and attacking the slave convoys and mining colonies owned by the wealthy felinoids. Many of the rescued slaves, including a large number of Gigorans and Togruta, joined the Red Fleet’s ever growing forces, and the fleet itself now consists of over 100 cruisers and thousands of fighters. Still, they remained hidden within the Outer Rim and would set up camp in isolated pockets of space for months on end. Their only terrestrial base of operations was the planet of a thousand moons, Iego, where the Shipmaster known as “The Explorer” once hailed from.

When the Republic collapsed and the Galactic Empire grew to power, there was a galaxy-wide crack down on any forces who could disrupt the Empire’s slaves routes, as well as materials that were secretly being shipped for the construction of the Death Star. This meant that the Red Fleet needed to lay even lower than usual, and they ceased most activities from around 19 B.B.Y. through 17 B.B.Y.

It wasn’t long, however, before the Red Fleet was also challenged by the Shadow Collective and specifically Crimson Dawn, although Ash scoffed at Darth Maul, claiming he was nothing but a false Crimson King. He also viewed their organization as a corrupt counterpart to his own fleet, and viewed them as no more than cowardly slavers and ruffians who hid behind the reputations of only a handful of their leaders and members. They would clash many times, and the Red Fleet succeeded in taking down a number of Crimson Dawn operatives. However, this loud show of dominance eventually captured the attention of the Empire, and the Red Fleet was soon crippled once again in a decisive, large scale skirmish.

From around 13 B.B.Y. to 3 B.B.Y. they were forced to rebuild their Red Fleet once again, although they would go above and beyond, growing the largest they had ever been thanks to the galaxy’s general disdain for the Empire, Crimson Dawn, and the Zygerrians. This was when the Crimson King acquired his largest vessel yet, an enormous dreadnought named the “Cortosis Ember.”

When Maul went missing and the Shadow Collective imploded, the Red Fleet actually held a two week long celebration where they feasted, celebrated, and ceased all other activities. After this momentous occasion and the subsequent revelries, they resumed their efforts to destroy the Zygerrian Empire next and raid the Outer Rim mining colonies and low priority Imperial convoys. After the Empire invaded Devaron, the Red Right Hand reached out to his homeworld and asked if anyone wanted to regain their right as a warrior people again. They were cryptically invited to come to a disclosed location and join the Red Fleet, resulting in tens of thousands of Devaronian leaving Devaron to help bolster the ever-growing fleet.

The Red Fleet’s insignia was changed a few times over the years, although it’s most modern iteration was a white Devaronian skull with a red handprint extended across it’s face. Their official faction colors are gold and red, with white being used sometimes to accent their armor, black being used sometimes for detailing ships. Most of the Red Fleet’s capital ships were red with golden underbellies, reminiscent of the Crimson King’s red face and golden lower jaw.

Many of the Outer Rim colonies viewed the Crimson King as a benevolent entity, and actually considered themselves somewhat lucky to be raided by the Red Fleet, as other pirate groups were much more ruthless. In their growing power, however, many members of the Red Fleet grew arrogant, and the Shipmaster’s Council only grew more and more corrupt, lazy, and disheveled with each iteration of members.

They were always prepared to fight in massive space battles, attack large convoys, or even raid entire mining colonies. Their weakness, however, came in the form of combating small forces, especially those consisting simply of only one or two ships and a well trained strike team. Due to their size and overcompensation, it became rather easy to sneak past their defenses and surprise the arrogant pilots and captains, simply by bringing one well equipped stealth ship. This weakness may just result in the Red Fleet’s eventual downfall, but as it stands, only time will tell.

While not by a large amount, each seat technically had slight jurisdiction over the next in numerical order, with the Crimson King and the Red Right Hand holding the majority of the power over the council. Generally, however, one Shipmaster has no reason to order another around so it was rarely something that is brought up or acknowledged. The qualifications to hold the 8th seat were considered lighter than those regarding the 2nd, which is why it was more common to see higher numbers to be replaced.

Each time a Shipmaster dies, disappears, or in one case, retires, they are replaced as quickly as possible to maintain a good balance of ideas among the council, as well as to avoid any sort of sustained power vacuum. There is no voting process for adding members to the council, although members are allow to suggest their own successors. It is ultimately solely up to the Crimson King to decide who takes the seat next, and he keeps close tabs on potential members, observing them in all aspects of their daily lives. The hierarchy of power among the fleet as of 30 B.B.Y. (when the Council or Shipmasters was established) is as listed below, with the ones listed (Active) comprising the current council.

The Head of the Council of Shipmasters
Doman Ash “The Crimson King (Active)

The 1st Seat on the Council of Shipmasters
Belyular Criff “The Red Right Hand” (Active)

The 2nd Seat on the Council of Shipmasters
Paroke Dunchit “The Mole” (Active)

The 3rd Seat on the Council of Shipmasters
Jor Cantiny “The Thinker” (Active)

The 4th Seat on the Council of Shipmasters
Malek Dendric Anthessa “The Destroyer” (Deceased)
T’Zephyrndall “The Cleaver” (Deceased)
Benexto “The Butcher” (Active)

The 5th Seat on the Council of Shipmasters
Endalay Poltair “The Archivist” (Retired)
Careen Alaberuum “The Collector” (Active)

The 6th Seat on the Council of Shipmasters
Toku Senshu “The Vizier” (Deceased)
Fren Montine “The Torturer” (Active)

The 7th Seat on the Council of Shipmasters
Mami Ganta “The Progenitor” (Deceased)
Seeraa Verneer “The Succubus” (Missing)
Kelgar Moray “The Explorer” (Active)

The 8th Seat on the Council of Shipmasters
Luff Tän Burgess “The Hammer” (Deceased)
Bruck Snagglefang “The Vice” (Deceased)
Tobi Don-El “The Actor” (Deceased)
Shri Pif’lin “The Digger” (Active)

I really want everyone to have fun and be creative writing these stories! I have an overview of each character, including a little loose personal history. But most of it is left open for exploration!

If you see a character marked (OPEN) that you find interesting, either comment or DM me and we’ll get you situated! Below are the few limitations I’ve set, but I really do want to give you as much leeway as possible!

– You can mention the other Shipmasters in your story, and are encouraged to tie your story in with the greater Red Fleet at least at the end. But don’t include too much of them or create write their history/characterization, as it may conflict with a story someone else might be in the process of writing about them.

– Most of the stories will be set around the time of the “Rise of the Empire,” and should not extend past 3 B.B.Y. (as that conflicts with future plans I have for the Red Fleet). If you want to write about them when they were younger, they can be set during the Clone Wars, and for the older ones, you can even go pre-Clone Wars. Just make sure your years/eras are correct for consistency’s sake.

– We do want these to fit into the current Star Wars Canon as best as possible, so try not to create or reference any Legends events that conflict with Canon unless it is completely justifiable. Also, avoid mentioning pre-established main characters of the Star Wars franchise such as Obi-Wan Kenobi or Lando Calrissian, as we really do want these stories to be original and not conflict with already fleshed out Canon events and characters!

– Try to restrict the amount of profanities/language you use to what would be found in the Star Wars universe. There are a lot of creative in-universe, alien expletives like Karrabast, Sithspawn, Fier’fek, Dank Farrik, etc.

– Be creative, engage the readers, and most importantly, have fun!!!

That’s really all I have, so please feel free to check everything else out and give me some feedback! You guys are awesomely, and I truly cannot wait to see the amazing stories you will come up with as we continue to establish the Red Fleet!

The Red Fleet: A Star Wars Short Story Collaboration © MatthewTracy ™ 2020

STAR WARS is the property of LUCASFILM. The characters of Star Wars belong to Lucasfilm under Disney.

No copyright infringement is intended.

This book contains material protected under the International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint of use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.

(Thank you to @ ChristietheGhost and her book “Star Wars The Clone Wars: M.I.A. On a Lost Planet” for reminding me to do this.)

The image(s) in the cover photo may be subject to copyright, it is just a placeholder, and I will change it the moment I receive the official artwork.

The specific ideas, stories, and characters mentioned within each individual story belong to their respective creators and writers. Each author involved in this collaboration has been clearly listed alongside their works to avoid any claims of plagiarism or stolen concepts.

(Also, a special thank you to @yung.dimplez123 over on Tik Tok for my awesome profile picture.)