Nightwraiths

Nightwraiths
General information
Founder(s):	Welshman Corsair Erinos Tarentae
Leader(s):	Tyyravis Nami Dantes
Headquarters:	Cestus Complex
Historical information
Founding:	25 ABY
Dissolution:	26 ABY
Other information
Affiliation:	Clan Tarentum House Cestus
Era(s):	Dark Jedi Brotherhood Era New Republic Era New Jedi Order Era
[ Source ]

"So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak."

―Sun Tzu

Formed during the crucible of death and destruction that was the Ninth Great Jedi War, the concept of the Nightwraiths blossomed into a fully fledged operational unit shortly before the Eden City Tragedy in 25 ABY. It was the only battle team of House Cestus and the primary espionage/commando unit of the Hieros Lokhos ton Taras. It was dissolved along with the house itself in 26 ABY, when Tarentum leaders decided to close all three houses and replace them with House Kaerner and House Reinthaler.

History

After Clan Tarentum suffered crippling casualties during the Reclamation of Antei, the Cestus house summit deemed it necessary to revamp their systems of defense and involve a more military approach to the house's proceedings. The first step was modifying the house's battle team, having been renamed Sayeret after being called the Hands of Malice under the leadership of Kazarelth Talismarr. Unfortunately, the battle team had fallen into disrepair, with members no longer involved in its activities and the arsenal having been raided and scrapped for war purposes. Sayeret's battle team leader at the time, Ji K'awiil, had also decided to become Cestus's Rollmaster, leaving the team without a commander.

Consul emeritus Welshman Corsair Erinos Tarentae, recognizing the need for a strong battle team, took on the task of modifying Sayeret. He, along with fellow new team members, renamed it the Nightwraiths, marketing it as an elite military force rather than a mere training hub for new members. This began the Nightwraiths' development to become the prime offensive force for the house, which was beginning to reform and imitate the structure of a Sacred Band.

After the implementation of the Hieros Lokhos ton Taras, the Nightwraiths became an exclusive commando unit, where only the best Dark Jedi could join. They began to work alongside the shock troopers known as the Phthians, and further established their place as a powerful military force in Cestus.

Process

The members of the Nightwraiths did not apply to join the prestigious unit. They were instead selected by a Cestus-led shadowy military cabal who picked only the strongest, wisest, craftiest and deadliest men and women of Tarentum. Together they underwent extensive training with elements of Tarentum’s armed forces to form a coherent and effective unit.

Role

By utilising two facets of a Tarenti’s training, strict and comprehensive military training, and steeped learning in the occult Dark Side teachings - an elite unit of lethal ghosts had been formed. These elite commandos were obligated with the task of being House Cestus’s fist, a unit that acted in any way necessary to achieve the goals set before them by their leadership be it urban warfare or sabotaging an armoured column in the desert wastes of Tatooine. The sentients of the unit had, through the trials of their training, been moulded into a close knit, effective family - for whom verbal communications were often unnecessary on the field of battle, as each simply knew what was expected of him or her.

During missions, the team worked in conjunction with 1st platoon of B company of the 1st Division’s Special Forces battalion where they formed the first squad. Overarching command of the platoon was, under mission circumstances, placed in the hands of the battle team commander who was responsible for the disposition of his men. Each squad within the platoon had undergone the same “basic” training expected of a Tarenti commando unit. However, each individual squad had also undergone further training in fields such as urban, jungle, air and mountain combat. Needless to say, the forces dedicated to a particular mission were dependent on requirements in that not all squads were needed for most missions.

Equipment

Weapons

• TAW-8GP Combat Rifle: A proprietary Tarentum IP this rifle was excellently suited for most situations with variable rates of fire and recoil compensators to ensure accurate fire.
• TAW-25LR Heavy Rifle: One of these rifles per squad for use by a dedicated sniper.
• TAW-6A Autopistol: Each member of the platoon were required to carry one of these side arms for use in the event of a primary weapon malfunction.
• HX2 mine: Each member was required to carry one of these antipersonnel mines per mission.
• C-22 fragmentation grenade: Each member was required to carry at least 2 of these grenades per mission.
• Smoke grenades: One per person.
• Luma grenade: One per person.
• 81mm mortar: One of these indirect fire weapons was carried per squad, often broken into its constituent parts so as not to burden any one member unnecessarily with each member of the squad carrying a case of 4 rounds.
• T-21 repeating rifle: A single repeater rifle per squadron to ensure adequate supply of cover fire should it be needed.
• Vibroknife: For use in hand to hand/maximum stealth situations each member had to have a bladed weapon on their person.

Armor

• TDW-HA MkI: A masterpiece of war designed by Tarentum’s own defensive works, a subsidiary of the TAW. This armor was designed to sheath its wearer in nigh-impenetrable armor, yet it remained light enough to be carried with no discomfort. Its unique defensive capabilities came from the web of energy-dampening superconductors - which were woven into mimetic plates of the shell - that dispersed the energy from a laser blast from its impact point through the whole armor before channelling it into its own energy stores. Protection against kinetic weapons was provided by a plasteel alloy provided by Tarenti mines, which was demonstrated to resist the initial blow of an amphistaff. Worn underneath the armor was a body suit which incorporated a further energy web to dampen any residual laser fire that might leak through the outer shell. Similar to the fabled stormtrooper armor, the TDW-HA MkI allowed its user to survive in a vacuum for a limited run of time (obviously with the use of a helmet).

Squad Roles

A

Squad A was in the in-mission designation of the Battle Team and were possibly the most flexible and deadliest troops available for Tarentum’s use. Comprised of around eight individuals, this potent squad was a real force multiplier and no job was too large or complex for them to complete with a little help. It was subtler than a whole division but as deadly as a Death Star.

B

The urban combat specialists. They were given training in street fighting, house clearing and riot control duties and as such could be seconded to the Yridian police if a major disturbance was reported. Comprised of ten individuals, eight private soldiers, one Lance-Corporal and a commanding Corporal.

The squadron underwent rigorous training in the urban sprawl of Yridia IX and Tara on Yridia II, where the members learned how to set up cover observation posts and tracking targets, often innocent locals picked at random. They then underwent further training in a specially designed row of prefab buildings designed to resemble a street of houses which they fought through, often having to discriminate between “hostages” and targets while using live ammunition.

C

The ten men of C squadron were the special environment warfare experts. While bone fide jungle warfare was at a premium in the Yridia system, the same could not be said of other worlds that might have been of interest to Tarentum. As such, this squadron was invested with the responsibility of mastering the art of jungle warfare by spending time with natives of jungle worlds such as Haruun Kal and learning their craft. Furthermore, the squad was trained in arts of mountain fighting, memorizing the techniques of ambush and destruction along twisting mountain paths while at the same time being just as at home in the arid wastes of Tatooine.

D

D squadron was the designated air insertion troop. While most of the Tarenti army was, in a way, air-inserted by mode of troop transports landing them on the surface of planets, the D squad took this to the next level. Using single person re-entry pods, they were able to travel from ship to surface in a rapid, safe and undetectable manner thanks to absorptive plating covering the hull of their drop pods. If, however, the troops happened to already be on the surface of the world their target is on, then more conventional air insertion techniques such as parachuting or abseil from a transport/gunship were the preferred option.

E

While normally a platoon would be comprised of only four squadrons. the integration of the Battle Team to the platoon expanded their fighting capacity to five squads. E squad was formed and tasked with mastering the art of reconnaissance. While each of the squads could, in theory, perform their own recon, it was judged a more efficient use of resources to develop a squad whose sole purpose was the provision of intelligence thus allowing the other units to focus their unique talents solely upon their fields of expertise.

Tactics

Combined Arms

It has been taught over countless millennia of warfare and strife that an infantry unit is only as good as its backup. To this extent, the platoon had at its disposal numerous resources granted to it by Clan Tarentum's military. For example, should the platoon have been in operation on worlds where a Tarenti military presence was noted, each squad was able to request air strikes or orbital bombardment. As a force multiplier unit - that is, a unit capable of increasing the effectiveness of other units in combat - it would sometimes be the unit in combat close by to elements of the greater Tarenti army and as such could be expected to be reinforced by army elements such as armor and air/space craft.

Piloting

As customary for a Clan within the Brotherhood, opportunities for piloting were available. Perhaps mirroring the role of the fabled Wraith squadron in the New Republic, members would often have to insert via star fighter, which may have been a mission specific craft - for example, using a stolen NR X-wing to bypass a customs patrol. Half of each squad were required undergo basic naval training to ensure competency behind the stick of a wide range of space craft, including the mastering of bridge controls should a mission require the theft of a capital ship.

Assassinations

While certain so-called civilizations abhor the art of assassination, the art of assassination is an essential part of any well fought war; why battle a whole army when a single shot at the general in charge could cause it to crumble? It is to this extent that the Nightwraiths underwent assassin training as a supplement that they received in the arcane methods of Force assassinations. They were also taught many forms of stealth killing, such as sniping, poison, shiv to the kidneys, and all the other back alley techniques deemed efficient and worth knowing.

Counter Insurgency

As has too often been witnessed in Tarenti space, any local populace can prove to be fickle, their allegiance often only guaranteed by the tip of a blaster rifle. Outright rebellion against occupation will often revert to the occupying power re-establishing control. To achieve the stated aims, each member of Tarentum’s special forces underwent hearts and minds training to win the trust of the locals thus, hopefully, ensuring their loyalty. They were also well versed in the arts of terror that could have equaled the Empire at its height.

Headquarters

Cestus Complex

A large set of quarters on the VSD Corsair was converted into a headquarters for the Nightwraiths. Within these quarters lay all the wonders of modern technology available to Clan Tarentum. These included computers that analyse transmissions made across Tarenti space, searching for key words and distilling information on any potential troubles for the team of intelligence experts constantly presented within the office to view. Other than the transmissions feeds from thousands of CCTV, cameras were piped into the Tarenti defense mainframes and were analysed by A.I routines for suspicious behaviour; any scenes of interest were forwarded on to those who could do something about it. The self same networked technology kept tracks on each member of the team, tracking their training and estimated battle efficiency, not to mention keeping each member fully stocked via an auto-inventory subroutine within their armor HUD.

In the Field

While out on routine patrol or on a mission, the battle team leader was designated as the “HQ,” with his HUD tactical overlay receiving theatre specific intel via a subspace link. Communications and interpretation were often facilitated - if possible - via a HQ team in orbit or a nearby firebase usually consisting of two non-coms who served to relay any orders or updates that might have come from Clan/House leadership.