MCSC Turismo

The Star Cruiser Turismo was a MC-80m operating during the Galactic Civil War prior to the Battle of Endor. In accordance to her role, which, for the smaller Star Cruisers, was different than typical ships-of-the-line, Turismo was centerpiece to a unit known as Rim Task Force 2A4. The four-ship flotilla deployed to various points throughout the Mid-Rim and Outer-Rim, never staying long enough to get into a serious engagement with the Imperial Navy. They, like several such task forces, performed the trademark "hit and fade" tactics that embroiled and annoyed much of the Imperial High Command.

As an MC-80m, the barely 1,000-meter-long Turismo had been configured expressly for these hit-and-fade tactics, with a reliable hyperdrive, robust shields, decent sensors, and accomodations for the deployment of three starfighter squadrons. Her armor had been reduced, as well as her guns, to make her "lighter" and "nimbler" than typical Star Cruisers. Turismo often found herself ferrying insurrection teams to various "points of importance", or picking up starfighter squadrons that had been displaced from an overrun planet or station.

Her exploits were not well-known, but certainly appreciated among Alliance personnel. Often, her duties took her to regions nowhere near major engagements or theaters of operation. During the debacle at Hoth, for instance, she was deployed on operations near Ord Radama, on the other side of the galaxy. The cruiser and her fighters would participate in such battles as the Battle of Rucifron's Crossing, the Okteekre Operation, and Vulture's Run.

For the Battle of Endor, Turismo committed two of her three fighter squadrons to the effort, but was charged to stay behind as part of a loose perimeter around Sullust. She was then to disperse to outlying sectors if the battle went poorly, or converge on Endor if the battle went favorably. As fortune would have it, Turismo arrived at the close of the Battle of Endor, and conducted search, rescue, and recovery for the heavily damaged, but still jubilant, Alliance fleet. Her crew was shocked to discover that nineteen of her twenty-four committed pilots had been lost in the engagement.

Like any other Mon Calamari Star Cruiser, the vessel made its way back towards Dac in order to undergo a thorough repair and refit at the Mon Calamari Shipyards, its birthplace. Since Turismo was in decent shape, it was decided that she would be one of the first through a secondary refit berth, and thus prepared and ready for combat while the larger, and more heavily damaged, ships were undergoing repairs and refits of their own. She made a quick series of jumps through the Mid-Rim, visiting such places as Tholatin, Umbara, Krittain, Kulthis, and finally Dac.

While the intention was for her to undergo a quick refit, Turismo and her sister Viterbo were both held up in process while in the shipyards. The roles of the MC-80m had changed, and the demand was for larger, heavier, more powerful cruisers for the inevitable retaking of key worlds of the "former" Empire. Turismo and Viterbo were finally given minor upgrades, and started employment as glorified ferries for the military, hauling fighter squadrons, troop garrisons, and military components to newly taken, or newly joined star systems throughout the galaxy.