Challenger
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(54) Point Defense Laser Cannons
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(Backup) Class 15.0
Assorted Civilian Transports
The Challenger is a Venator-class Star Destroyer, and is the flagship of Commodore Vansen Tyree. Currently, the ship is assigned as part of the defensive forces escorting The Wheel, and is the home base for Rogue Squadron.
History
The Challenger was completed at Allanteen Six alongside the Resolute and Dauntless. They were assembled together, to act as a battle group; for their first mission they were placed under the command of General Anakin Skywalker. Along with her sisters, the Challenger was sent to Bothawui to defend it from General Grevous. En route to the planet, the ships engaged in a number of minor skirmishes with Grevous's fleet, but were able to reach the system before the Separatists could arrive. The Challenger went on to participate in the Battle of Bothawui, and contributed to the Republic victory there, though was severely damaged in the process.
Unable to leave the system under its own power, the bulk of the clones and crew of the Challenger were transferred to the Dauntless and Resolute, while the ship remained in-system to undergo extensive repairs. Ultimately brought back to an operational condition, officers from the Bothan military were brought in to replace the crew that had been reassigned, and the Republic agreed to allow the Challenger to remain under Bothan control, to ensure the safety of their system, and sector.
When the Clone Wars ended, and the Galactic Republic became the Galactic Empire, the new Imperial Navy had little interest in yet another Venator; particularly given how many were already being scuttled and scrapped elsewhere. Thus, the Challenger was absorbed permenantly into the Bothan military, serving as a hyperspace-capable platform for much of Bothawui's starfighter force. It still served in that regard more than two decades later, though it was superceded as the premiere starship in the system by the presence of the Warspite: an Imperial-class Star Destroyer assigned as the flagship of the local Moff.
The Challenger participated in the Liberation of Bothawui, with insurgents wrestling control away from the Imperial officers assigned aboard. When the Rebel Alliance chose to station the Fifth Fleet at Bothawui however, it was decided that the ship was no longer required in the defense of the Bothan Sector, and so was released to serve elsewhere in the Alliance Navy. When a need was presented for additional ships to defend The Wheel - a convoy of survivors of the Jedi Purge - Commodore Vansen Tyree transferred his flag to the Challenger, and assumed command of The Wheel's defensive forces.
Out of Character
In the continuity of The Clone Wars, the Star Destroyers at the Battle of Bothawui were the Resolute, Dauntless, and Pioneer. In the 'Fans version of the timeline, this appearence of the Pioneer is instead replaced by the Challenger (because Challenger is a way more awesome name). The later appearence of the Pioneer in the novel Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth however remains intact.
