- "Nobody escapes their day of Reckoning."
- ―Motto of the Reckoners
Those To Be Reckoned With - or the Reckoners, as they were commonly called - used to be affiliated with House Kaerner but now function as an independent battle team serving Tarentum. Based in Eden City on Yridia IX, they operated as an elite covert paramilitary force, specializing in black operations. Each individual member could be referred to as a Reckoner, and multiple members were referred to as Reckoners. The team officially dissolved in 35 ABY, when their forces were exhausted during the Siege of Eden.
History
When House Kaerner was established as a pirate group on the barren icy moon Joran, leaders recognized the need to have a force present in Eden City, the most wretched hive of scum and villainy in the Yridia system. After a careful examination of members of the House, Teia Coran was selected to found the Reckoners.
Colonel Dralin Fortea later headed the outfit, with the Reckoners sometimes acting as a direct asset of YSC Intelligence, rather than as an independent unit. Following his departure, Nichos Rhade was selected to lead the Reckoners, while still maintaining a link with Fortea and Yridian Surface Command on a palpable basis.
Individual Reckoners later acted as agents for the various other entities within Tarentum, including the Summit, due to their particular skills and comfort with pursuits of a sensitive nature. After the Rakghoul outbreak in 34 ABY, Rhade disappeared from Yridian space, leaving the Reckoners without a leader and forcing them to separate duties and work more individually. When the Siege of Eden occurred, the Reckoners no longer had power within the city, and what remained of its legions returned to Castle Tarentum and left the Mirage to the Yridians.
Role
Primarily, The Reckoners aided Tarentum in their "more delicate" interests - anything that would have been considered to be "outside" of standard protocol. These endeavors ranged from the acquistion of credits, supplies, and information to the persuasion, extortion, or elimination of - whichever was most useful – persons of regard. Due to the politically unstable nature of the Eden City population, the Reckoners were at all times poised to back up the Civilian Police Force when situations grow beyond their control.
Under Rhade's leadership, the Reckoners became a direct standby for Tarentum's military forces (especially the YSCI branch) in times of need.
Hierarchy
The Reckoners were led by a commander. The commander named a lieutenant as his or her second-in-command.
Due to the covert nature of the group, codewords were used instead of actual ranks in conversation outside of the headquarters. The commander was referred to as the Monsieur/Madam and the Lieutenant was referred to as the Bookie.
During operations, squads acted as military special forces units. Teams performed under an assigned moniker (ex. Charlie, Blackjack, Alpha, etc.) with group members tending specific roles according to the objective.
Characteristics
There were never more than twelve Reckoners at a time. These individuals were among the most elite Dark Jedi of Tarentum. Every Reckoner was proficient in many forms of combat, including hand to hand fighting, use of firearms, and the art of the lightsaber. They were also adept in manipulation of beings weaker than themselves.
Reckoners were trained for covert and acute operations. Each were versed in espionage, surveillance, procurement of information (by interrogation or otherwise), survival, anti-insurgency and various forms of execution. Individual Reckoners could choose to specialize in a number of further skills useful to the team and to Tarentum. Such abilities could include fluency in multiple languages, knowledge of poisons, technological expertise, or other flavorful proficiencies that may define each operative as an individual asset.
The Reckoners were fully encouraged to achieve objectives using more "creative" circumstances when the use of direct force was not an option. The unofficial use of information brokers, double agents, and even mercenaries was allowed (though not technically sanctioned) in the pursuit of accomplishing a mission. However, rarely were any witnesses (or third parties of any kind) left alive once the deed is done.
Rumor and urban legend of the Reckoners' existence was cautiously promoted among the population of Eden City, as fear was a very useful tool in the control of the masses.
Headquarters
The Mirage, as seen from the street.
In order to better blend in with the rest of Eden City, the House Summit decided that the Reckoners' headquarters would be inside a casino. The casino was situated in a crossroads between Districts I (the uptown district), IV (called "District Sin" by locals), and V (the slums), guaranteeing its success as a business. The Reckoners' founding lieutenant, Dralin Fortea, acted as proprietor of the casino under an alias, though the casino was actually an asset of House Tarentum.
The casino and luxury hotel, named The Mirage, was typical of most of the gambling halls of District IV, with one major exception: there was a hidden level at the very bottom of the casino. This level was the true headquarters of the Reckoners, and could be accessed via the main turbolift in the casino lobby, as well as secret entrances scattered throughout alleyways in the closest outskirts of the three surrounding districts. All of these entrances could only be accessed via a special code cylinder issued to every Reckoner, while the turbolift in the main lobby would only go down to the hidden level if the code cylinder is inserted into a hidden keyhole. These code cylinders appeared identical to the room key cylinders issued to every hotel guest.
The Reckoners' headquarters retained much of the same look and feel as the hotel section of The Mirage, albeit with the amenities of a shared home. There were twelve bedrooms, a library, a large communications station, a training area, a comprehensive armory, a shared living area, and a hallway leading to an interrogation chamber, the hallway itself being lined with holding cells. The hallway, referred to as the Panic Room, wa completely isolated from the rest of the level, designed to confuse one's sense of time.
A notable feature of the training area is the combat simulator, known among Reckoners was "The Black Box." The machine stored complex synthesized algorithms of various opponents and landscapes, resulting in "virtu-real" simulacrums well suited for training exercises based within headquarters. This technology allowed for a fully efficient, though locally and internally based, training program and regimen for each Reckoners operative.
After the Reckoners' dissolution, the Mirage was handed over to the ownership of Yridian proprietors. No one has been able to access the former headquarters.
Equipment
While there was a standard-issue set of armor and weapons for every Reckoner, individual Reckoners were encouraged and even expected to customize their personal resources.
Standard Issue
The following armor and weaponry was considered the standard when assigning new Reckoners their equipment. Each Reckoner was expected to keep and maintain their standard issue arms and armor.
Armor:
- Shadowsuit: When a Reckoner had to rely entirely on stealth, Ayelixe/Krongbing Textiles' shadowsuit was considered standard-issue. Made of shadowsilk, it naturally dampened sound and reflects light, making the Tarentum enforcer just another shadow in the night.
- Tuff1 combat jumpsuit: Another Ayelixe/Krongbing Textiles product, the Tuff1 eas one of their most popular armor models, due to its flexibility, ability to go unnoticed under armor, and being comfortable to wear over long periods of time. A Reckoner eas outfitted with the Tuff1 if they were expecting combat.
Weapons:
- AKraB vibrodagger: Considered standard issue among the New Republic Marines, the aKraB vibrodagger was put to good use as either a last-resort weapon or as a method of execution among the Reckoners.
- 22T4 holdout blaster: Given the ties that the Dark Jedi Brotherhood had to the old Empire, it came as no surprise that the Reckoners obtained several 22T4 holdout blasters, as was preferred by the Imperial Security Bureau. The limited-run 22T4's each had a specific serial number, and every new Reckoner was given one, with the expectation of keeping it on their person at all times.
- SoroSuub X-45 sniper rifle: This long-range sporting blaster rifle was somewhat fragile compared to most rifles, but when single-target elimination was required, few backed as lethal a punch. It was a popular choice among assassins.
Accessories:
- Subcutaneous comlink: Placed beneath the skin, this encrypted comlink eliminated the need for independent long term comm devices, which would "out" an operative if discovered. Furthermore, the location of each agent was thoroughly traceable, enhancing the security of each mission and every Reckoner.
Variants
As a Reckoner became more experienced, they branched out into personalized equipment. In addition, some equipment was made available to the group for specific missions, but were not standard issue.
Armor
- Modified padded flight suit: While most missions occurred planetside in Eden City, occasionally a mission did take a Reckoner into space. While piloting or serving as crew aboard a freighter, they were supplied with a modified padded flight suit, which varied from regular flight suits in that they were coated with shadowskin, to better amplify their skill with stealth and recon while spacebound.
Weapons
- DL-44 heavy blaster pistol: While discretion was the watchword for the Reckoners, some members preferred the feel of a reliable heavy blaster in their hands.
- KX-80 repeating blaster rifle: Given the Reckoners' occasional duty of assisting Yridian Civilian Defense Force raids, they were also issued one KX-80 repeating blaster rifle, only to be used when it was obvious that stealth could not solve the problem.
- Needler: A favorite among assassination and extraction protocols, the needler was a simple, pneumatic-based pistol that shot a small dart, usually laced with a powerful poison. The needler was a flexible weapon, as the wide range of poisons available could be used to knock out, cripple, or outright kill a target.
- Xerrol Nightstinger sporting blaster rifle: As an alternative to the X-45 supplied to every Reckoner, the Nightstinger was unique in that, due to its proprietary blaster canister system, its shots were rendered completely invisible. The drawback to this system was that each canister, costing 1,000 credits a piece, only contained three to five shots; however, wat is expected of the Reckoners that this would be two to four shots more than are needed.
- Vibroblade: When anonymity was required, but melee broke out, a Reckoner was not expected to use the iconic lightsaber, and was instead encouraged to use a vibroblade in its place.
Commanders Emeritus
- Teia Coran
- Dralin Fortea
- Solus Gar
- Nichos Rhade