TIE/sh VIP shuttle

The TIE/sh VIP shuttle was a short-range shuttle manufactured by Sienar Fleet Systems. The personnel priority model was one of the more successful variants of the basic TIE/sa bomber, affording room for up to four individuals as well as additional cargo. Although the TIE was sluggish and not designed for combat, it was equipped with a laser cannon and a shield generator and was typically used by the Galactic Empire to quickly ferry officers between starships and other installations. The TIE/sh was an unpopular mode of transportation among users, as they preferred the luxury of the larger Lambda-class shuttle.

During the Galactic Civil War, Sith Lord Darth Vader flew a TIE/sh to the planet Jerne in pursuit of Rebels Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, but the pair evaded Vader and fled using his shuttle. The Imperial Navy made extensive use of the TIE/sh in the subsequent Hoth campaign of 3 ABY, employing the shuttle as a substitute for standard comm traffic between Vader's squadron of Star Destroyers, which would have interfered with the mission's vital sensor scans and probe droid transmissions in the Hoth asteroid field. Captain Lorth Needa of the Star Destroyer Avenger made his final space voyage aboard a TIE/sh before his execution at Vader's hands for failing to capture the Rebel starship Millennium Falcon. Several years following the Empire's defeat at the Battle of Endor, Imperial leaders such as Moff Kentor Sarne and Supreme Warlord Blitzer Harrsk rode the TIE shuttle as their personal transports.

Long after, in 44 ABY, the world Nam Chorios' Mayor Snaplaunce had repurposed his TIE/sh as a personal campaign vehicle, appropriately named Vote Snaplaunce. Jedi Luke and Ben Skywalker and their Sith ally, Vestara Khai, borrowed the shuttle in their hunt for the dark side entity Abeloth, and, despite the craft's age and limited maneuverability, they took advantage of the equipment in its dual pods to survive an attack by Abeloth's ship. While the TIE/sh was heavily damaged, the group converted it into a wind-propelled landspeeder to resume their travels.

Text and facts from the “TIE/sh VIP shuttle” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.