Calling All 181st Imperial Fighter Wing Buffs - What did Maarek Steele fly?

By EYEL1NER, in X-Wing Off-Topic

Hello to you guys over here in OT. I was hoping that someone who had a lot of knowledge of the 181st would be able to help me out here. I did some reading on various wikis and couldn't find, or overlooked, an answer.

What ship did Maarek Stele pilot when he was a member of the 181st? I was looking to build a 181st squad in-game with Soontir, Fel, and a third pilot. I read that Stele was a member at one point in his life but I cannot find what ship he flew during his tenure. As far as I can see, the only ships that were in the 181st were TIEs, Interceptors, and a few Defenders (please correct me if I'm wrong, having more ships available to me would be nice).

Also, where can I find the most info about the 181st? It looked like a lot of the images on the SW wikia were from a comic series. Is that about all of it or was there any novels that focused on them or specific pilots?

EDIT: And I do realize now that I mispelled the last name in the thread title. No way to fix that at this point though.

Edited by EYEL1NER

If you played the original TIE Fighter game then you are Maarek Stele, and yes, he (you) flew all the TIEs and more (gunboat I'm looking at you)

If you played the original TIE Fighter game then you are Maarek Stele, and yes, he (you) flew all the TIEs and more (gunboat I'm looking at you)

Bam. Thread closed.

If you played the original TIE Fighter game then you are Maarek Stele, and yes, he (you) flew all the TIEs and more (gunboat I'm looking at you)

Was he in the 181st during the events of the game? I know he had a lengthy and storied career and his time in the 181st was only a part of it. I just don't want to make a 181st-themed squad with Fel, Phennir, and then Stele in a Defender, only to play someone well-versed in the lore who would point out "Stele didn't fly a Defender in the 181st, he flew a *some other ship like an Interceptor or Predator or whatever* during those years."

GUNBOAT!!!!!

Wookieepedia would indicate TIE Interceptors for a long time, with a very sporadic Defender.

181st flew Squints, so a Squint would probably fit. That said, Fel, Fel's Wrath, Turr Phennir, and Lt. Lorrir are all 181st pilots.

Stele flew all sorts of stuff but I don't know exactly what he flew while in the 181st. His favorite ride was the TIE Avenger and he may have used that while in the unit.

Stele flew all sorts of stuff but I don't know exactly what he flew while in the 181st. His favorite ride was the TIE Avenger and he may have used that while in the unit.

But in an outfit like the Empire, there would be uniformity. Since the only other people in the 181st to not fly Squints at times were Soontir Fel and Turr Phennir, We can assume that while flying with an Interceptor wing, Steele flew interceptors.

When he was transferred to the 181st, he was likely in a Interceptor for a set time. After the war ended the 181st were given Defenders, and supposedly he was allowed to keep a Avenger because he preffered it.

When he was transferred to the 181st, he was likely in a Interceptor for a set time. After the war ended the 181st were given Defenders, and supposedly he was allowed to keep a Avenger because he preffered it.

Actually this is correct.

He flew the TIE Avenger at the time when the TIE Defender was used in the 181st.

Thanks for all the answers. He isn't a pilot option for Interceptors in-game and we don't have an official TIE Avenger yet, so I'll slot him into a list in a Defender alongside Soontir and Turr. Maybe I'll buy a second Defender and give it bloodstripes (if I can track down an image of how those looked on a Defender).

GUNBOAT!!!!!

What is this gunboat of which you speak? Please say on.

It doesn't really matter, but the irony is Soontir even called Merek the best Imperial pilot.