- "To a hero who saved the Empire."
- ―Elincia's anonymous epitaph
Elincia Rei, The Illusionist, also known as Tonal'la (birth name) and Impetus M'Nar (code name and Dark Jedi alias) was a Force-sensitive Twi'lek Krath that served many roles in The Scholae Empire. She is most well known for her roles as Director of Imperial Scholae Intelligence under Impetus M'Nar and Empress of the Scholae Empire, under the fake identity of Togruta scientist Elincia Rei. She sacrificed herself to save the Empire in 37 ABY at the cost of her life and legacy.
Born Tonal'la on the planet of Judecca in the Cocytus System in 0 ABY to a struggling family, her mother died in childbirth and she was rejected by her father, Zentru'la. She learned to fend for herself and worked as a childhood spy for the reigning warlord. She learned how to learn secrets and leverage them to her advantage, and when the Scholae Empire conquered Cocytus, she was recruited as a special agent to Scholae's intelligence division under the code name Impetus. Her Force Sensitivity was discovered by Mune Cinteroph, and she began training as a Krath shortly afterwards, taking Impetus as her Dark Jedi alias. Her greatest weapons were her mind and ability to manipulate people: under Impetus she developed a reputation as a legendary special agent, founded Imperial Scholae Intelligence and served as its first leader, earned the title Legacy of Palpatine and married Eludajae M'Nar. Unknown to the record books, she was Xen'Mordin's mysterious co-conspirator that formulated and executed a 10-year plan to instigate a civil war and destabilise the system, resulting in his ascension to Emperor in 28 ABY. However, she never saw the plan's completion, as she faked her death in 25 ABY to ensure its success, telling Xen'Mordin that when he's on the throne, recruit for a scientist. Officially, Impetus M'Nar's story ended there.
Impetus created a new identity and enrolled in the University of Corellia under the name Elincia Rei, where she studied for a doctorate in applied mathematics before answering Xen's call for a scientist in 31 ABY. She returned to the Scholae Empire maintaining her disguise as Dr. Elincia Rei, where she began to design bioweapons for the clan. Unable to avoid brotherhood politics for long, she served as Rollmaster and Grand Vizier in Xen'Mordin's reign as Emperor. She reconnected with her father (who had been serving in the Imperial Scholae Army in 34 ABY after he saved her life from Darth Fallax during Operation Starfall. Shortly afterwards, Darth Pravus' Iron Navy destroyed the Cocytus system, forcing the Scholae Empire to find a new home. During the instability, Xen'Mordin resigned and disappeared from the spotlight, leaving Elincia to become the first ever Empress of the Scholae Empire in 35 ABY.
As Empress, Elincia led the clan to find its new home in the Caperion System, established a new headquarters in Caelestis City, and built a new navy to replace the one destroyed by Darth Pravus. Despite Elincia's resentment, Zentru'la proved to be one of her closest and most valuable allies as he tried to rekindle a relationship with his daughter, and helped Elincia to lead Scholae Palatinae's expansion in Caperion and fight against The Collective. Two years later, Elincia faked a defection to the Collective to steal a crucial superweapon component but was used by Collective leader Rath Oligard in a false flag attack against the Severian Principate, framing Scholae Palatinae and sending the clan towards an impossible war. Elincia had the clan brand her a traitor, and send Zentru'la to eliminate her to prove that it wasn't involved in the attack and avoid the destruction of Scholae Palatinae at the hands of the Severian Principate. She was posthumously stripped of her legacy title and branded a war criminal in official history.
Character History
Early Years
Outcast among Outcasts
The era that preceded the arrival of Clan Scholae Palatinae was an uncivilised, violent, turbulent time across Judecca. Warlords waxed and waned, gods rose and fell, technology was scarce and only the fittest survived.
The city of Ohmen was afforded natural protection from the chaos outside, the city was surrounded by mountain ranges, a difficult target on the planet of Judecca where vehicles capable of flight were accessible only to the privileged. The main threat Ohmen faced was from within, scoundrels, lowlives, thieves, and murderers. The technology was at a level some would refer to as the dark ages, however, over the millennia many lost travellers had left their mark on the planet.
The 'la family were descendants from a twi'lek refugee ship that had become stranded on the planet centuries prior. Despite living in the city for many generations, the twi'lek family were still seen as outcasts by the Sephi of Ohmen and paid fair less than the natives for their work. Zentru'la was a blacksmith, earning a living for crafting bladed weapons for Ohmen's warriors, while his wife, Fernal'la, was a nurse, but even through both of their earnings, their four children were underfed and malnourished.
In 0 ABY, the fifth child of an already starving family was born: Tonal'la. Her mother was weak from years of near-starvation and did not survive the birth. From the day she was born, Tonal'la had burdened her family with an extra mouth to feed and was blamed for killing her mother. She grew up despised by her family, even as a baby, she was severely underfed, the extra unwanted child that destroyed the family, the outcast in a family of outcasts.
Tonla'la, at 9 years old, by Juda
Raised on the Streets
Tonal'la was afforded no education but was intelligent enough to understand her position from a very early age. She realised that her family were insufficient to support her. She also knew she was more intelligent than them; when her brothers started to bully her, she always found ways to hide or ways to secretly get back at them later.
At the age of four, she began to turn to exploiting the people of Ohmen to for the failings of her own family to support her. Zentru'la ignored his youngest daughter on an almost permanent basis, not even aware of where she was most of the time. Since she learned to talk, during those times she was usually on the street. She learned to survive by using her innocent cuteness to guilt the Ohmen citizens into giving her food and money. She began to develop a knack for convincing people to do what she wanted them to do.
She kept her activities and her spoils hidden from her family, sharing none of it. They paid such little attention to her they failed to realise she was growing up healthier than any of them had done in their youths.
As she grew older Tonal'la grew more famous among the people of Judecca, known as the adorable, intelligent and polite girl from the horrible family. They were mostly right. She spent a lot of time talking to people, making friends from both the native and immigrated species alike, and before long. With age came experience and understanding of her place in the city, and from the age of eight, she began to make connections between people. It wasn't long before she became a valuable asset.
The Girl with a Thousand Eyes
Ohmen's ruling warlord, Khael, began to grow suspicious of rumours of a usurper. Having risen to power through an armed rebellion, he knew as well as anyone else what a precarious position it was at the top. Ruling from the mountains of Ohmen, his enforcers were feared by the population. No-one opened up to them honestly. He needed inside knowledge about this so-called rebellion, and someone capable of obtaining it, someone that no-one would expect. He chose the eight-year-old Tonal'la.
She accepted the deal, in return for more food and money than her family could make in a year, and important to her, a good education. That day would be the last day she spoke to her family for many years, as she would spend every day either spying for Khael or at the stronghold. She learned the basics of language, mathematics and science alongside specialist training in manipulation and stealth.
After two years, Tonal'la, now ten, had stopped the rebellion in its tracks by leaking information to Khael in secret. As planned, no-one suspected that the ten-year-old outcast girl had attained such influence within the city. From there she began to perform services for other powerful families and began to learn how she can learn secrets and use them as leverage to get what she wanted. She performed her first assassination when she was twelve by poisoning the bread at a banquet after infiltrating the kitchen disguised as a starving child. She knew all of the secrets worth knowing, and knew how to find the others.
Impetus as the 14 year old Imperial Agent
Foreign Invaders
Tonal'la was 14 when The Empire arrived on Judecca. The foreign invaders crushed Warlord Khael's forces with power that Judecca had never seen before. A combination of technology and magic, Clan Scholae Palatinae conquered the entire system in days, subjugating the people to their will while bringing them modern technology and resources. They demanded absolute loyalty to the Empire, and to their Emperor, and decided that Ohmen was to be their new capital. The new empire brought significant improvements to the quality of life, but with that came the oppression of military rule.
Under the command of Emperor Cuchulain, Scholae Palatinae needed first to understand the people of the Cocytus System to know how best to rule them. Their initial research returned one obvious candidate, and so 14-year-old Tonal'la began working as a spy for Clan Scholae Palatinae. This was the day Tonal'la began a dual life. During her interactions with the people of Cocytus, she retained the identity of Tonal'la, people trusted Tonal'la as she had become a respected and knowledgeable member of the community. However, on business for the Empire, she was given the codename Impetus, to separate the Imperial spy with the socialite the people recognised.
She realised in her new life in Scholae Palatinae that people were basically the same wherever they were from. She could still extract secrets from within the clan as easily as she could from the public, and as she matured she began to understand and manipulate the basic needs and motives of men.
Impetus, Imperial Agent
Before long the name Impetus felt as natural to her as the useless name her parents had given her, and she became at one with her new identity. The Empire felt like the family she never had. As a face known to the people, she could accomplish tasks the Empire's foreign invaders could not, such as gaining the trust of those who may be hostile to the Empire, so that they may be removed before causing unrest. Quickly, she became a valued asset of the clan's intelligence.
Over the next four years, she would devote herself full time to her work for the Empire. Under the name Impetus she performed assassinations and thefts, she built a reputation among the Empire's intelligence officers for being one of the most skilful agents they had seen, in addition to the fact that she held the trust of many of the people. These were the years in which her cute, youthful innocence began to turn into the picture of beauty and seduction, a fact she played to on many occasions. She even began to learn some of the workings of the Dark Jedi presence underpinning the strength of the empire, a secretive structure that not many from outside were ever privileged to see. By the time she was eighteen, it was time for her first true test.
Impetus, shortly after joining Scholae Palatinae for real
The Dark Side of the Force
The Dark Jedi had sensed the presence of an agent of the Light Side living within Judecca, spying on the Dark Jedi. Impetus was asked to support one of the rising Dark Jedi of the clan, a Krath Priest by the name of Mune Cinteroph, in his attempts to find and kill this Jedi. Armed herself only with a small dagger, she found the weapon Mune held at his hip, the lightsaber, a source of fascination. Slipping back into the identity of Tonal'la she had an entire city's worth of eyes working for her. From the shadows, Mune observed her methods with curiosity.
She quickly found a man willing to share stories of a new neighbour, a religious type woman with an unerring sense of peace. Mune knew the intelligence was exactly what they were looking for and moved in to apprehend the Jedi. Impetus was in awe of Mune, she had never even seen The Force in action before, let alone a lightsaber duel of the kind that ensued between Mune and the Jedi agent. His green blade and her blue clashed with lightning speed and precision until he was knocked to the ground by an invisible fist.
As the Jedi moved in for the killing blow, Impetus acted on instinct, running at the Jedi and driving her dagger into her throat. It was only after everything was finished, that Mune told her that she had The Force in her too and that he would be happy to take her as an apprentice, teach her the ways of the Dark Side and she could become more powerful than she could possibly imagine.
The Rebirth of Impetus
- "We must do this, no one else has the capacity. And they will never see us coming."
- ―Xen'Mordin to Impetus
Rising in Scholae
She immediately travelled to the Shadow Academy on Lyspair to learn the ways of the Krath. She learned of ancient Sith history and lore, of the workings of Scholae Palatinae and its place within the wider Dark Brotherhood alongside the other new recruits. She was inspired, perhaps dangerously so, by the schemes and machinations of the treacherous Sith Lords of ages gone by, especially of Palpatine's rise to power. She began to learn to duel with training lightsabers, developing a reputation for being extremely agile and gymnastic in her movements and to learn the ways of the Force, under which she excelled in manipulation and mind trick powers.
When Impetus returned to the Cocytus System, she was placed in the Krath House Acclivis Draco, the House of the Dragon, with her master, where she immediately began to work her way up the ranks by a mix of exemplary service in the field and by direct persuasion. She developed a reputation as an assassin but was equally capable of capturing her targets non-lethally or even luring them back to the Empire of their own volition. For her proven skill in service to Acclivis Draco, and for the high rate of improvement in her manipulation and combat skills, Impetus was soon promoted to the rank of Guardian.
Immediately afterwards, Quaestor Mune took the unprecedented step of offering her the Aedile position, despite her having no experience of leadership in her life. Leadership was a new experience and a new challenge for the young twi'lek, but her skills improved at an even faster rate, obtaining a wealth of knowledge in combat, leadership and tactics from Mune. She soon sought higher challenges, and began to develop a close friendship with the Emperor, Consul Timbal Palpatine. She began to learn his secrets, trusted information known only to his closest allies.
Meanwhile, the other two houses of the clan, the Sith house of Caliburnus, the House of the Sword, and the Obelisk House Dorimad Sol, the House of the Sun, were recovering from a vicious and brutal war, in which Dorimad Sol was merged into Caliburnus. Following these events, Caliburnus needed a leader, a leader that could unite the previously warring Sith and Obelisk and turn Caliburnus into a house that could oppose the might of Acclivis Draco. Impetus was able to leverage Timbal into admitting that the best choice was her.
Xen'Mordin, Impetus' closest ally and co-conspirator
The Conspirators
The first person Impetus met in Caliburnus was her Aedile, Xen'Mordin Vismorsus, and a Neti, Ood Bnar, who served as the house rollmaster. Impetus and Xen’Mordin immediately struck up a very strong friendship and working relationship. Both were young, intelligent, driven, and wanted to see Scholae Palatinae lead a stable Empire in a dynasty that would rise above the petty infighting of the Dark Jedi. They both quickly orientated to the life of a leader within Scholae Palatinae, and brought much needed stability to the stumbling Caliburnus. Impetus began to form a small intelligence agency under the banner of Caliburnus, brought much-needed organisation to the clan to provide direction such that they could march under the same banner, united. She continued to use the identity of Tonal'la, posing as one of the common folk to gain intelligence that ensured Caliburnus' success in all their activities.
Shortly afterwards, Impetus was granted the rank of Dark Jedi Knight and took her first student, an Iridonian Guardian by the name of Cethgus. Cethgus was the polar opposite of Impetus, in that he prefered to smash things into the ground rather than solve problems with intellect and cunning, but their partnership was nonetheless a successful one. Cethgus was also the one to first produce Impetus’ trademark weapon, a heat powered segmented whip called the Lightwhip. Impetus preferred it to her lightsaber, and made frequent use of it, and the weapon became synonymous with her.
Many months passed in which Caliburnus found its feet and developed into a strong unit in its own right, with Impetus and Xen’Mordin at the helm, when during a duelling tournament to commemorate the Day of the Fox, Acclivis Draco Quaestor RevengeX defeated a member of Caliburnus. Meanwhile, a botched kidnapping attempt of Acclivis Draco Aedile Rasilvenaira StormRaven was wrongly attributed to an order from Impetus. In the war that followed against the will of Impetus and Xen’Mordin, who strove to maintain Imperial stability, Caliburnus proved itself equal in every way to Acclivis Draco, and was the only conflict in Brotherhood history to result in a stalemate. However, during the war, Impetus' lightwhip was destroyed in a duel by RevengeX's lightsaber.
Following the way, both Impetus and Xen'Mordin began to quietly express frustrations from the shortcomings and glaring flaws weakening the clan’s hold in the system. Cocky, headstrong, and determined, the two began to formulate a plan to take the throne. They took inspiration from Emperor Palpatine himself, and his brilliant manipulation of the Republic into giving him more and more power willingly, finally seating himself as Emperor by thunderous applause. Confident that their combined intellect and skills would allow them to adapt to roadblocks in their plan, they began their long con for Xen’Mordin to take control of the entire Empire. The plan was as crazy as it was clever, as is necessary to pull off a coup on such a large scale.
The Mythical Blade
House Caliburnus was named so after a mythical and ancient lightsaber, the permeate the legends of the native people of the Cocytus system. The members of House Caliburnus were regarded as the sword, skilled warriors, in comparison to the dragon of Acclivis Draco and the sun of Dorimad Sol. The validity of the myth surrounding the lightsaber had been in question for years. The stories were just that, stories used to bolster the members of the house in a shared belief. What the members of Scholae Palatinae didn’t realize, was that no one had ever attempted to properly piece together the history of the lightsaber in its entirety. An artefact such as that would be an incredible find for the Empire.
It took a little more than two months of researching for Xen’Mordin and Impetus to not only validate that the lightsaber existed but pinpoint its exact location. It was in a temple deep in the dark jungles of Ptolomea. If it was found, it would clearly be a sign of one’s right to command the House. However, Xen and Impetus did not wish to find it for themselves. Those well versed in the lore of the lightsaber knew it was always coupled with a terrible price upon those vain enough to try to wield it as their own. Xen and Impetus wished to allow another to claim it, and ultimately further destabilize the entire system. This would begin the first phase of their plan.
News of the true existence of the lightsaber was leaked to the House, through Ood Bnar, thinking it was his work that validated its location. Multiple groups of interested parties began to prepare, knowing if they could retrieve the lightsaber, control of the house and all of Ptolomea would be theirs. Impetus led a team of her best troops, alongside Xen'Mordin, the only other person in the galaxy that Impetus genuinely trusted. However, mid-way through the excursion, in the most public way possible, Xen publicly betrayed his co-conspirator to help a vain and power-hungry man, Thran Occasus, retrieve the blade first. Stories tell of the lightsaber duel that ensued between Quaestor and Aedile, Impetus enraged by his betrayal, and Xen'Mordin expertly fending off the blows from his former ally, as the two knew each other so well they failed to land a hit on the other.
Following Xen'Mordin's betrayal of the one who the system thought was his closest ally in favour of Thran Occasus, Thran began to falsely believe that Xen'Mordin would simply function as a tool in his quest for higher power. Making the fallout as public as possible served to convince as many in the system as possible that the two despised each other. As Thran usurped control of Caliburnus, Impetus returned to her home house, Acclivis Draco, still under RevengeX, while Xen’Mordin turned his attentions to the next phase of the plan. While Thran saw Xen’Mordin as a tool he could use to accomplish his goals, he saw Impetus as a threat that could easily be defeated.
Impetus and Eludajae, her lover
The Dragon's Tail
Back in Acclivis Draco, Impetus could escape a lot of the attention she attracted by leading Caliburnus and work towards phase two of their master plan. Her skills led her to be the first inducted into the Quaestor’s personal guard, The Order of the Dragon, shortly after which she was joined by Laurus. She was also given a new whip to replace the lightwhip, forged by the best smith in Acclivis Draco, as ordered by RevengeX, as a mark of her loyalty to the Dragon house, and somewhat as an apology for breaking her old one. It was appropriately named ‘The Dragon’s Tail’, and would remain Impetus’ weapon of choice for over a decade.
Without the added responsibility of leading a house, Impetus was able to accomplish more in the field. She worked more on her reputation among Scholae's intelligence forces, which were still at that point unorganised and reported directly to the Emperor or various military commanders. Having been a valued member of Scholae Intelligence even when she was 14, she accomplished her new tasks perfectly, and became renowned for her skills in subterfuge and stealth, a crafty spy and a feared assassin, rebuilding her public image from the one who was defeated by Thran to the greatest special forces agent in the clan.
Shortly after rejoining Acclivis Draco, Impetus met Eludajae M'Nar, a stunningly beautiful new female human in Acclivis Draco. Impetus and Eludajae fell in love quickly and deeply. It was very soon afterwards that their relationship grew to such a strength that Impetus adopted Eludajae's last name, going by the name Impetus M'Nar.
Path of the Palpatine
- "System instability is at an all-time high. Soon it will be time to strike, and the Cocytus system will kneel to Emperor Xen'Mordin Vismorsus."
- ―Impetus M'Nar to Xen’Mordin
Initiation
When Impetus was sent an unknown message, merely a grid location and a time, she had no idea what was planned for her later that day. Armed with her lightsaber and The Dragon's Tail, she departed for the unknown location.
Unfazed by the lightning storm, the M'Nars found their destination in the form of a tunnel built into the monolith. Upon entering, a cloaked and unknown figure sent Eludajae flying back outside, the tunnel closed after her. Given no choice, Impetus followed the cloaked man, and became surrounded by 9 cloaked, and unknown figures.
Their message confused her: You have been summoned here today to be held accountable for your acts within the Imperial Clan, Scholae Palatinae. Had they discovered the plan to put Xen'Mordin on the throne?
Before given any time to think on this, however, she was dragged into the air by Force Energy, spontaneous pain and electricity coursed through her, and her robes were burned to cinders. Nothing she did helped to fight the pain, and it was only when she tried to embrace it, that it immediately subsided. Impetus dropped to the ground, as several of the dark figures also staggered. It was as the nine drew back their hoods, revealing an assembly of the Palpatines, that Impetus realized what 'her acts within the Royal Clan' truly were. She left that place Impetus M'Nar Palpatine.
Impetus as commander of the Imperial Scholae Intelligence
Imperial Scholae Intelligence
It was her first assignment since being named a Legacy of Palpatine that Impetus became most famous for. She had worked for the Scholae Palatinae's intelligence forces for eight years, yet they still had no organisation or form. Impetus, with the help of her new wife, Eludajae assembled the forces into a singular unit, the Imperial Scholae Intelligence, and led the unit as the Director-General. Impetus was the most successful agent of the unit, and became known as the 'Mother of the Special Forces'.
Her organisation of the unit was inspired by the Imperial Intelligence division of the Sith Empire of millennia past. Agents made up the bulk of the operatives and were recruited directly from the ground forces. Typically battle-proven soldiers yet to master the arts of subterfuge, agents were tasked with easier, less sensitive missions, such as theft and observation. Special agents were hand-picked from the agents and were trusted with more complex and dangerous tasks, such as sabotage and counter-terrorism. Finally, the Cipher Agents title was given only to the ten greatest operatives within the ISI. They are known only by their Cipher designation, e.g., Cipher Seven. The Ciphers were used sparingly and only for the most important of tasks, such as the assassination of high profile targets. The Ciphers were under the command of only the Director-General. Dark Jedi were also occasionally used as operatives at the request of the Director-General for missions only a Force user was capable of, although they still only answer to the Emperor. Eludajae was among the first Cipher Agents.
Analysts made up the greatest number of ISI personnel and were typically recruited from the general public, from a diverse background of ex-business managers to software engineers. Analysts were tasked with obtaining information from the safety of the ISI offices. Their main tasks involved background research, hacking enemy systems, and analysis of information gained by the operatives. A senior analyst was promoted to the title of Watcher, who lead teams of analysts. They maintained a feedback loop with the operatives, in which analysts provided mission-specific intelligence to the operatives, and the operatives fed back information obtained on the mission. The analysts were managed by an individual code-named Watcher One.
In research and development, technicians were the scientists, engineers and mechanics. They were scientists recruited from civilian universities. They developed the advanced computer systems required by the analysts and the specialist weaponry and gadgets required by the operatives, including bioweapons, bombs, camouflage and exploding pens. Successful inventions were also sometimes employed by the rest of the military. Senior technicians were promoted to the rank of Fixer, who lead teams of technicians. The technicians were lead by an individual named Q, who was typically Scholae Palatinae’s greatest scientist.
Vismorsus Industries
The founding of the ISI was the second phase of Impetus and Xen'Mordin's master plan. It was at the same time that Xen’Mordin devoted most of his time to founding and developing Vismorsus Industries, to both amass a large personal wealth of credits and also forge a better public image of himself in the eyes of the Cocytus System citizens. The general public did not need to know the truth of Xen'Mordin's murderous schemes and plots, so long as he appeared an exemplary citizen while in the public eye, while Thran's lack of discipline began to destabilise Caliburnus.
Impetus secretly siphoned funds from the ISI to assist Xen'Mordin's developments, the two working together was beyond anyone's imagination after their public fallout and Xen'Mordin's betrayal. Using the vast array of information sources at her disposal, Impetus was able to leak valuable intelligence to Xen’Mordin's company. Information on competing companies, areas of strongest propaganda effect, contacts of ill repute, and more were passed in secret to Xen’Mordin.
Due to this and Xen’Mordin's natural affinity for business, Vismorsus Industries took off with resounding success, starting with scientific research before branching into manufacturing, trade goods, and every other service imaginable. Regular engagement with charity work solidified the public image of the successful, generous entrepreneur, he was able to push side projects into directions that would help solidify control of the system once the time had come for him to take the throne.
Impetus in disguise as a dancer
The Cause
The Cause was another masterstroke of Impetus and Xen'Mordin's plan. Using the resources of the ISI, Impetus identified the most influential people in the Cocytus System fulfilling certain criteria. Then, speaking to them as Tonal'la, the name they recognised and trusted, brought them together to form The Cause, an unofficial division of the ISI, a secret group of civilians who would quietly feed information from the streets back to the authority.
However, what the rest of the ISI did not know is that Impetus and Xen’Mordin had hand-picked members of the cause for their anti-Imperial sentiment. Slowly, what started as a group of secret ISI informants was led in a separate direction by their leader Tonal'la, and became a terrorist organisation sowing seeds of discontent against the Empire, gathering support from those who had grown tired of Imperial oppression and wanted to take back the Cocytus System in the name of the people.
The Cause was the conspiracy theorists' dream, the terrorist organisation funded by the Imperial Scholae Intelligence. Multi-tasking between the ISI and The Cause, Impetus grew the unit to be capable of destabilising the entire system, but not strong enough to cause a significant threat to the ISI or her position. Membership of The Cause exploded in numbers after Impetus ordered brutal ISI attacks on unarmed members of The Cause, and leaked the video footage to the holonet as a sign of Imperial oppression. As Emperor Lucien the Fearless came into power with a shaky grip on the system, the time to strike began to draw closer.
Occasus the Usurper
Impetus' position was threatened significantly by Lucien selecting Thran Occasus as his Proconsul. Thran was power-hungry and ambitious, but not an idiot. Impetus knew that he wanted nothing less than control of the Cocytus System, and would see Impetus as not just an obstacle in this task, but an obstacle that would be easily dealt with. Soon after his ascension to Proconsul, Impetus began to receive threatening messages about both her and Eludajae. It became apparent that Impetus' continued presence in the system was not conducive to the plan.
She met with Xen'Mordin one last time in secret to finalise the remaining stages of the coup. She gave him access to the Cause, and placed trusted moles in the ISI to continue to leak information in her absence. The plan was for Xen’Mordin to manipulate the power-hungry Thran Occasus to use the Cause to wrestle control of the system from Lucien, and take the throne for himself as Emperor Thran Occasus the Usurper. Under Thran's leadership methods, they anticipated that system instability would further increase.
All the pieces were in place. While Impetus would not be there to see it, she was happy that Xen’Mordin would be able to take things from then on his own. Xen’Mordin would bide his time, gathering more support, continue to grow The Cause on the quiet, and when the time was right, unleash hell on the Cocytus System and take control of the throne for himself. Impetus' last request was that when Xen'Mordin had taken the throne, he would send an advertisement looking to hire capable scientists, letting her know it was time to return.
The Tragic Storm
Shortly after, Impetus leaked fake reports to the ISI analysts about plans for an attack on the Empire from agents that a branch of The Cause was hiding on Ryloth, the twi'lek homeworld, working on developing a superweapon that would destroy the whole of Ohmen. Of course, the report eventually found its way back to her, including blueprints of the base, hidden in the Brightlands, an area of Ryloth prone to savage heat storms and constant burning sunlight. As Ryloth was her species' homeworld, Impetus selected herself for the job.
She assembled a team of special forces troops from Scholae Palatinae, and began preparations for the journey into the Brightlands. It was a notoriously dangerous trip that had claimed the lives of many more powerful figures than her. Two days into the expedition, communications between the ISI and the expedition team went dead. The ISI received information that the worst heat storm in decades had obliterated the target area. The base had been ripped to pieces. Impetus was unrecognisable among the charred remains destroyed beyond any form of identification.
She was officially reported missing in action, presumed dead in the year 25 ABY. Eludajae vanished shortly after without a word.
The Wild Side
Satisfied that she would not be followed, Impetus rejoined Eludajae away from Brotherhood space, where they would embark on their own adventures. A pair of mavericks roaming the galaxy carefree, they lived wild and they lived fun. Running into trouble with the law wherever they went, fun was the one and only thing on the menu.
Impetus experienced aspects of sexuality and nightlife that even she had never experienced before. The pair became notorious for their rather open lifestyle and uncanny prowess for dealing with law enforcement. The couple became very famous across such regions as Nar Shaddaa and Coruscant after headlining adult holovids and making numerous news stories.
They travelled from planet to planet, doing whatever the hell they liked, occasionally putting down entire criminal syndicates for fun, embarking on vigilante work for money or simply taking it to put it towards a better cause. There were no politics or power games, no orders except from her lover.
The two Rogue Jedi continued this for almost two years, but Impetus started to feel unsatisfied. There was little sense of accomplishment or achievement in their time travelling, and Impetus developed the desire to be part of something. There was also a desire in the back of her mind left unsated for too long, she had an interest in science that she had never found the chance to fill through formal study.
Elincia Rei, Impetus' new identity
Elincia Rei
- "This isn’t about getting us in, it’s about stopping them getting out. Combinatorics. Identify all possible perimeters around Lou Khebe’s chambers that can be completely secured. Then order them by ventilation shafts per unit area"
- ―Elincia plans the assassination of Lou Khebe
The University of Corellia
Impetus created herself a new identity, seeking a quiet life away from fame. Using force illusions, among other techniques, she redesigned her iconic slender, alluring twi’lek body for that of a simple togruta, augmenting her disguise through artificial cosmetics as well as her assassin techniques.
While lacking formal education, she felt that she knew enough to jump in as a research student, her sharp mind absorbing huge quantities of knowledge in days. After a short interview process, possibly influenced by a mind trick or two, she gained acceptance to the University of Corellia on a project involving Biochemistry.
She left her old ways behind, deciding to see if she could live life as a legitimate scientist. No promiscuity and no more mind tricks, she set to work on her new life. Her supervisor, an ageing female human named Professor Sebu, would describe her as a brilliant maverick, one capable of producing the extraordinary out of nothing.
Under the name of Elincia, Impetus’ readership quickly expanded off-world after a series of papers on harmful chemicals, epidemiology and mathematics. Her disguise had become more than that, it became a new life, changing the foundation of who she was. While her agility deteriorated as a result of her neglect of martial training, she didn’t care much, as it was unnecessary. After joining the ranks of the professors, Elincia continued her research, obtaining a galaxy-wide reputation among the scientific community for her work.
A Call From Home
As much as she tried to suppress it, her background would continually recur in her research as she started to forge a reputation as a renowned expert in chemical and bioweapons. Five years after joining the university, she was involved in a collaboration with Sebu in the diffusion of a gaseous nerve agent expected to produce groundbreaking results. Plans to proceed to phase 2, testing with lab rats, were in development.
The young scientist’s work in unconventional warfare was discovered by a few military R&D departments, but she wasn’t interested. At least not until she saw an advertisement looking for a scientist on Judecca to handle extremely sensitive research in military science. Elincia recognised the name, Yerwyn Metzl, tech advisor for Caliburnus while she was the commander. Impetus still remembered Xen's promise to her six years ago. He had taken the throne, and this was her sign to return.
Impetus returned to Scholae Palatinae as a simple scientist under the disguise of Elincia Rei. She was in luck upon her return to the house, as most of the Dark Jedi were away following the Crusades, and she was able to slip past the weakened security without disclosing her true identity.
She decided that announcing her return would not benefit Xen’Mordin's bid to maintain control of the system, and as he was performing better at the task than anyone before him, Impetus chose to maintain her disguise even from him, watching over him while hiding in plain sight. Impetus chose not to even tell Xen’Mordin that she had returned to service, and none suspected that the new Togtuta scientist recruit was actually Impetus M'Nar Palpatine, the Lost Daughter of Palpatine and the Mother of the Special Forces. Maintaining her disguised gave her a unique angle in which she could serve the clan in a different capacity to a Dark Jedi agent.
Seeping Death
Her first task was to continue her research in the diffusion of bioweapons, assigned a small team to help her. However, unrest on Ptolomea, home of Caliburnus, shortened the phase 2 timescale from months to weeks as she was delegated the task of the assassination of the Dictator Lou Khebe. She set her team to work finding the optimal way to distribute a gaseous nerve agent through the ventilation shafts to maximise the probability of killing Lou Khebe. It was also a convenient test of the skills of her new research student, Leeda. Although Impetus found her alluring, she chose not to act on her desires, maintaining professionalism.
She chose to distribute the nerve agents herself, although, in her lack of physical training for many years, she overestimated her jumping ability. In performing a move that she could have previously completed blindfolded with a flourish, she sustained minor injuries to her weak leg. She started to realise that her age may start to be catching up with her and she could no longer rely on her body to accomplish the feats it used to. Nonetheless, the mission was a success and the name of Dr. Elincia Rei made it into clan news, the scientist that could work miracles of death. Elincia and her team were at the heart of everything. Following this, Xen’Mordin began to feel there was more to this Togruta than met the eye and placed an order with Imperial Scholae Intelligence to begin to monitor her. Little did they know they were following their founder.
Not long afterwards, Elincia was again influential in the success of Scholae Palatinae's endeavours, supporting a strike team of Arthadonis Kalderis, Flelm, Lucyeth, and Brandon Tarsus on a mission to either kill or capture the Ognerate Emperor. Elincia provided medical and explosive support for the team, whose cover was blown by the emergence of a giant tortoise. Elincia caused panic among her team by a mysterious disappearance during the chaos and confusion. Camouflaged by the Force, Elincia single-handedly assassinated the emperor. However, unable to take credit for her exploits without blowing her cover, the true assassin of the Ognerate Emperor remains unknown, and it is suspected that he committed suicide or was killed by one of his own lieutenants. Elsewhere in the reclamation of Antenora, Elincia's well calculated scientific methodologies resulted in more damage to the rebel attackers than any of the participating dark Jedi, establishing her reputation as a researcher of death, and one of the most dangerous women in the Cocytus system.
Elincia drops her disguise in front of Mina Kordae on Felucia
Devil’s Masquerade
Elincia Rei’s reputation had grown so considerably she was soon called into the field by Scholae Palatinae Emperor Xen'Mordin Vismorsus on a sensitive issue of Brotherhood security. With orders coming from the Dark Council, the task was to track down fugitive twi’lek Jedi Rhiaen Ust’essi on Felucia. Elincia was sent as a scientific advisor to the main agent, a violent Sith Battlemaster named Mina Kordae who absolutely despised the thought of working with a scientist. Elincia put on a fake air of submission towards the Sith.
When Mina’s rashness had the pair attacked by an Acklay, the only way Elincia could possibly ensure her own survival was to drop her disguise for her lightsaber and slay the beast herself, revealing herself to Mina as Impetus M’Nar, the legendary assassin. Mina still didn’t like her, but respected Impetus. For Impetus, this complicated matters considerably. Mina would have to die for her disguise to stand, but for now, she was useful. Impetus was able to convince Mina to stand watch while she used her skills in manipulation to disguise herself as Rhiaen’s dead sister.
The disguise was successful, and Impetus was able to gain the target’s trust. However, Mina grew impatient, and Impetus, still disguised as Rhiaen’s sister, intercepted her Sith partner out of Rhiaen’s eyeshot. This entire scenario had been planned from the start, as Impetus could simultaneously kill Mina while staying close to Rhiaen. Impetus slew the Sith in a duel, but her disguise was dropped, and Rhiaen learned she had been tricked, falling to the Dark Side and violently lashing out at Impetus. She passed out as a result of tranquilising and amnesia agents Impetus had slipped into her food minutes prior, and was brought home alive, with memory loss.
Elincia had accepted a mission under her fake identity’s reputation, manipulating even the Dark Council by extension, tricked Mina into going along with a plan that would give Impetus the best chance to kill her, manipulated Rhiaen into believing she was her dead sister, and managed to land the final blow with a tranquiliser that the scientist Elincia was known to use, preserving her false identity and leaving no signs that she had ever used the Force on the mission. It would have been one of the greatest tales of manipulation in brotherhood history… had anyone known the truth.
Following this, Xen’Mordin realised who Elincia really was. He had started to gain suspicions ever since he set ISI to trail her, but meeting face to face, and her performance on this mission confirmed them. However, as Elincia had proven herself to be every bit as loyal and useful as Impetus, Xen’Mordin made no attempt to draw attention to it. Following that day, there was a mutual understanding between the two, and Elincia became more eligible for more difficult tasks.
The Forgotten Temple
In the events of Monstrosity, ancient, monstrous creatures awoke on all four planets of the Cocytus System. Once awoken, these monsters wreaked havoc upon the system, and it was up to the members of Scholae Palatinae to both limit damage and find a way to reverse the ritual. Elincia was tasked with finding a way to destroy the mindless husks that were attacking the city of Ohmen. After failing to harm the beasts with water, blunt force trauma, and slashing damage, ultimately she found it was fire that was the most effective against the Zombies.
Her next mission in the campaign was to deal with the Caina Colossus. Elincia developed a prototype bomb consisting mostly of thermite, termed the Elincia-Class Flame-Warhead, of FWEC-bomb. This prototype bomb heated the Colossus up to temperatures of 4000 degrees, melting the beast alive.
With Scholae Palatinae unable to stop the flow of the zombie-like husks, Elincia joined a small strike team ventured to an abandoned temple facility on Judecca, the last location known to hold remnants of the Infinite Empire. The temple was masking a massive underground facility. After facing the ancient fungal zombies that guarded the entrance they entered the facility, where they were tested through many levels of defenses by the AI left in place by the Infinite Empire, G14-D05.
The Forgotten Temple on Judecca was converted to a state of the art science facility, under the watch of Elincia Rei. The ruined temple above ground remained a strong deterrent from the local population of the planet. G14’s programming was examined and after some modernization to its systems, and changing of core protocols, it was left as the facility's AI system. The Forgotten Temple became Elincia's new base of operations, a secret lab known only to a select few, with a team of expert scientists working underneath her, and the AI, G14-D05, proved to be a valuable assistant when it wasn't requesting to poison the research assistants with a deadly neurotoxin.
System Moff
Following Monstrosity, Xen’Mordin had Elincia's Palpatine title reinstated on the quiet. This act was known only to a small section of the incumbent Palpatines, and Evant Taelyan, the other being awarded the name and recently named Voice of the Brotherhood. Elincia was also inducted into the Inquisitorius, a secret society that matched her own philosophies of deception and subterfuge.
Shortly afterwards, Landon Cruise resigned as Rollmaster and System Moff of Cocytus. Xen'Mordin chose Elincia to fill the role, figuring that her ability to handle large amounts of data, with the help of G14 and her research assistants, would be a perfect fit to a job that could be performed remotely from inside her base in the Forgotten Temple. Her first task was to keep the civilians of Cocytus in check while a war, orchestrated by Xen’Mordin, broke out between the two houses of Scholae: Imperium and Excidium. Her role as System Moff was embroiled in war, as shortly afterwards, war erupted on the clan level after Scholae Palatinae Proconsul Cyris Oscura ordered an unprovoked attack on Clan Naga Sadow. Elincia remained home during the war to maintain a clan presence in the Cocytus System, but assisted in the battle through reconnaissance, thanks to her most recent invention, the Scholae Palatinae 34 Reconnaissance and Observation Wing (SP34-ROW), a droid disguised as a bird to move undetected through enemy space.
Elincia's time as System Moff did not last long, as following the war, Cyris Oscura left Scholae Palatinae without a word. Following the Proconsul's departure, Xen'Mordin formally elevated Elincia to the role of Grand Vizier, second in command of the Empire. Despite originally attempting to stay hidden from sight, she had become the second most powerful person in the system. Her position as System Moff was taken by her old master, Mune Cinteroph, who had recently returned to the clan following a long absence.
The Order Campaign
- "Xen... What did you do?"
- ―Elincia sees Darth Fallax's possession of Xen'Mordin
Starfall
Elincia's tenure as Grand Vizier began with events that rocked the clan. Unknown to her, Xen had fallen under the possession of an ancient Sith Lord, Darth Fallax, who had asserted control of him through a holocron obtained during the war against Naga Sadow. Taking control of Xen, and by extension the clan, Darth Fallax began to set his plans into motion. Under the guise of frustration at the Empire's stagnation, Xen sent the entire clan to Aesirus, a small but rich mining colony under the control of the SoroSuub Corporation, to capture it for the Empire. The move was strange, illogical to Elincia, but she never considered that the entire attack was part of Fallax's plan to eliminate the clan.
After a remote detonation trapped every Scholae Palatinae member within a Kyber crystal cave, an enormous holoprojection of the Emperor filled the air of the cave. Removing his traditional mask, a twisted and corrupted face of Xen’Mordin was revealed. He identified himself as Darth Fallax, a Dark Lord of the Sith who had lived centuries prior. For months he had slowly taken control of Xen’Mordin and was now in complete control of his body.
He had been the force backing Fias Zhan’s attempt to take the Cocytus system and originally hoped to end up possessing Zhan’s body instead. When Zhan fell, a new plan was put into action. He had his disciples place a holocron on Antenora, which was then found by Polis Jones. Due to the age of the holocron, Xen had foolishly believed it to belong to Emperor Palpatine. His erratic behaviour and actions of the past year were due directly to Fallax slowly possessing his body.
Before Fallax could detonate the final charges to collapse the roof of the cave, Xen’Mordin managed a desperate and excruciatingly painful finally act of control of his body. He activated a handful of detonators, collapsing the tunnel system, preventing soldiers from storming the cave. He then fried the remaining detonators with a blast of force lightning. His head slammed into the table as Fallax retook control of his body.
The members of Scholae Palatinae were left for dead in the cave. In the palace, Fallax’s disciples captured and subdued Elincia, the only clan member remaining in the system. Fallax ordered her to begin testing on the corruption now cracking and breaking Xen’s body, stating he planned on using it for a long time to come.
Xen'Mordin's face after corruption by Darth Fallax
Bloodlines
After Xen removed his mask, showing a heavily corrupted, dying face, Elincia realised there was nothing remaining of her friend. The members of Scholae Palatinae had been replaced by his followers, the Order of the New Dawn. Held captive by Darth Fallax under a tight guard, she began to use G14 to monitor Darth Fallax's vitals through a scanner strategically surrendered to his possession. Despite her seething hatred for what the Sith Lord did to her friend, keeping Xen's body alive was a mutual interest. She compiled enough information to learn how to stop the flow of the corruption through acquiring brain scans remotely using the scanner and using G14 to interpret and analyse.
She left a note for Darth Fallax in her cell, genuine advice on stopping the corruption, before breaking free by mind tricking the guards. Fallax could never have expected the simple scientist to be so strong with the Force. She crept through the palace, trying to sneak her way out and rejoin with her clan, but was confronted by the Sith Lord himself in the palace courtyard as she tried to call out to Xen. She held on as long as she could by confusing Fallax through a web of illusion powers, tiring the Sith Lord by turning his followers against him and tricking him into attacking false targets. Eventually, she finally managed to get through to Xen, breaking Fallax's control for long enough for her friend to yell at her to run.
Elincia immediately turned and ran, but Fallax quickly regained control of Xen's body through the Force, holding her in place with a powerful force choke. He taunted as he slowly choked the life away from her. It was just as she was expecting to die that an explosion rocked the courtyard, and disrupted Fallax's concentration. A middle-aged twi'lek man in heavy armour, with a grenade launcher and heavy blaster rifle, screamed her birth name at her, claiming that he had been tracking her for years for the chance to atone for his mistakes. After helping her escape, he revealed himself to be her father, Zentru'la, the one who neglected her from childbirth in favour of her three older brothers. She had not seen him since she was 6 years old.
The discussion that followed their escape from Fallax changed Elincia's perspective on her entire life. She understood the difficult choices her father faced, and after he saved her life, she accepted his apology. She learned that following Scholae Palatinae's invasion of their homeworld, while she joined the special forces as a child spy, her family were conscripted into the military and served the Empire. Her oldest brother was killed during the Sixth Great Jedi War, fighting for Scholae Palatinae. When Elincia had orchestrated a war between the Imperial Scholae Intelligence and The Cause, her family was torn apart, as her youngest surviving brother joined The Cause, while the rest of her family served the Empire. She learned that 10 years prior, a terrorist attack she orchestrated killed her oldest brother, and that she had set into motion the events that led to her father having to kill his only surviving son.
Midnight
In the streets of Ohmen, Elincia Rei remained on the run, having split from her father to protect him and to distance herself from anyone who knew her true identity. Immediately, however, she came in contact with Stana Watsertha, who identified herself as an ally, and demonstrated knowledge of both Elincia, and the entirety of the clan. Stana took Elincia, along with Polis Jones to the location that all of Scholae Palatinae were hiding at. There the three of them set forth a plan to attempt to save Xen’Mordin from Fallax. Some members of Scholae Palatinae agreed to help, others refused, instead deciding on advancing the fight against the New Dawn no matter the cost.
While the Palatinaeans plotted against Fallax, the Sith Lord was putting his plans into motion. To draw the clan out, Fallax ordered the entire city of Teyr, a favourite place of Elincia's due to its strong academic culture, massacred in the streets. In the ensuing battle, the forces of Scholae were able to turn the military on Fallax to turn the tides, while out in the jungle, the team working on the risky ritual to free Xen succeeded, but in the ensuing events, which caused the separation of Xen and Fallax, Xen was critically wounded. Xen’Mordin had been taken to a secret medical facility on Caina by Stana Watsertha. She brought Elincia Rei and Evant Taelyan to visit him and discuss what to do. The machines showed he had no brain activity. They ultimately decided to leave his life support on, hoping he would find his way back through the force.
With Xen unconscious, but alive, Elincia took it upon herself to attempt to stabilise the empire during his absence. She tasked Mune with overseeing the replenishment of the military command with the survivors of those who fought alongside Scholae. She contacted the quaestors of both houses, asking them to use their resources to track down the military men that sided with Darth Fallax and had gone into hiding, fearing punishment for betraying the clan. Elincia, however, did not see their actions as betrayal, as they followed Xen's body's commands, and ensured there would be no retribution. Those men were loyal to their Empire, and the military needed them, as every troop lost on either side was the loss of one of their men.
She then travelled to Teyr, the site of Fallax's massacre, by herself, disguised as a twi'lek waitress. Ironically, her disguise looked much like her true self than she did normally. She was distraught at what had become of one of her favourite places in the system, and further so that the people blamed the Empire for Fallax's deeds. However, she determined that the people were generally more appreciative of Elincia than the other imperials. Still disguised as the waitress, she spread advertisements of a public speech from the Grand Vizier, Dr. Elincia Rei. Back under the appearance of Elincia, she showed the public a sign of trust by walking through the crowd alone and unarmed, before giving an emotive speech, pledging that the Empire would help Teyr to rebuild.
The Hellfire
Elincia's efforts to help rebuild the city of Teyr were all in vain. In 34 ABY a vicious and brutal attack by the Iron Throne, led by Grand Master Darth Pravus. The warnings first reached the Imperial top brass, due to the insight of Regent Evant Taelyan, 24 hours before the attack hit. They had run monthly simulations for such an event. After the Clan had been forced to abandon the system by the aliens from the unknown regions, several emergency evacuation plans were created. In this case, order 1138 signified an immediate and catastrophic attack. Complete evacuation of the Clan’s assets would take weeks, but a combination of G14’s processing power and Elincia’s ingenuity had cut it down into days. The most critical could be done within a single day. A day they might not have.
The local folklore spoke of a day of great fire, the end days for all life. They called it the Ragnogeddon. As Order 1138 passed on her monitor, she realised the prophecy had been fulfilled. Elincia carried out the evacuation order. All clan members and top military officials were the first to escape the hellfire that razed every city in the Cocytus System. From aboard the IMS Tipoca II, Elincia watched her homeworld set ablaze by the Iron Fleet, and there was nothing she could do about it. The fleet had been destroyed, everything she had built had been destroyed. The only military asset Scholae Palatinae had left was an old Victory-class Star Destroyer, the ISN Sidious. She was only thankful that her father had survived the attack, one of the first military officials to be evacuated by her own orders.
Scholae Palatinae wandered deep space looking for a new home for many months. They eventually found one, the Caperion System, a system rich in biodiversity with a range of cultures and a complex political system that the clan could look to exploit for its own gain. Elincia made contact with twi'lek president Skylar Seki of The Democratic Republic of Elaya, and successfully convinced the politician that the Scholae Empire were the lesser of the two evils compared with their current adversary, The Meraxis Empire. Elincia formed the first alliance Scholae Palatinae had had for quite some time, although was unable to leverage a partnership with The United Corporations of Elaya, who saw Scholae Palatinae as an unreliable business venture. Along with their new allies in Elaya, Scholae Palatinae decimated Meraxis resistance above Ragnath and quickly took control of Caelestis City, the most technologically advanced city in the system, as their new home.
The ISN Amedda of Elincia's Imperial Scholae Navy
The Empress
- "We are not the oppressive tyrants that you have led to believe. You have nothing to fear from us. The time has come for an era of peace, freedom, justice and security. All we ask in exchange is loyalty to the Empire."
- ―Elincia gains support of Caelestis City
Taking Control
Following the chaos resulting from Darth Fallax taking over his body and coming back from the brink of death to Pravus' destruction of the Scholae homeworld and fleet, Xen'Mordin abdicated as Emperor, leaving the reigns to Elincia. Elincia took over the role and became Elincia the Cunning - the first-ever Empress of Scholae Palatinae. Immediately, Elincia set to work on carving out a home for Scholae Palatinae in the Caperion System.
By selling off the broken remains of whatever lay behind in Cocytus to scrap dealers, Elincia bought a new navy and hired a new army of Stormtroopers. By assembling a new military in one go rather than building on what was left before, she was able to create a coherent, well-organised military for the clan with three arms: the Imperial Scholae Army, the Imperial Scholae Navy, and the Imperial Scholae Intelligence. The capital ships were named after key figures of the Galactic Empire.
With the new military in place, it was time for Scholae Palatinae to get boots on the ground in the new system. The new military force, led by the Victory-class Star Destroyer ISN Sidious and Venator-class Star Destroyer ISN Vader, combined with their allies in Elaya, dominated Meraxis resistance under the command of Emperor Adoniram above Caelestis City. Funnelling troops in through the Acclamator-class Assault Ship ISN Amedda, the clan quickly occupied the only spaceport in the city, effectively shutting it off from the outside world and securing it for Scholae Palatinae.
Rather than moving onto the next target, Elincia focused on establishing Caelestis City as a Scholae capital to last a thousand years. She sought to avoid the mass subjugation of an unmanageable number of people at once time: recognising that even in the Cocytus System, the people never fully yielded to Scholae Palatinae, and the more technologically advanced natives of the Caperion System would be even harder to control. Attempting a different approach, she immediately enacted a tax cut across the city to try to gain favour with her new subjects, and authorised the building of new public recreation areas. She began to recreate the image of the city: the centrepiece of the system, the Adoniram Tower, was taken as the new Imperial Headquarters, with the Scholae Palatinae logo emblazoned on the side, and a statue of Emperor Adoniram was torn down, replaced with one of Emperor Palpatine.
The Iridonian Hammer
Elincia was given the surprise boon of two new allies shortly after Scholae Palatinae acquired control of Caelestis. A legendary bounty hunter, Bale Andros, The Iridonian Hammer, had sought her out. His beloved daughter Kaela Val, was suffering from a neurodegenerative condition, and Andros had approached Scholae Palatinae, believing the Empire led by a scientist Empress would be able to help his daughter's medical condition. Elincia saw this as an opportunity to manipulate the bounty hunter, and told him that she could cure his daughter's condition, on the condition that he work for the Scholae Empire. Bale carried immense distrust of the Force, and of Elincia, but she was his only option.
Bale proved to be unpredictable, wild, and made many mistakes, but was one of the most effective fighters ever to serve the clan. He and Zentru'la established an effective working relationship, with Zentru'la's by-the-book military practice and Bale's make-it-up-as-you-go-along approach providing a perfect balance. However, as effective as the bounty hunter was, his daughter surprisingly turned out to be the most interesting of the two.
Kaela Val was blessed with power in the Force similar to Elincia herself. Elincia recognised this, but she was untrained, wild, and didn't know how to fully harness her ability. She kept Bale busy with many assignments on behalf of Scholae Palatinae, using his daughter's life as the ultimate bargaining chip, while she sunk her claws into Kaela, beginning to train her in the dark side and turn her against her father.
Elincia flees Gwendolyn Sparks during the Twelfth Great Jedi War
GJW XII
Bale's arrival in the Caperion System was fortuitously timed, as a new threat started to rear its head: the Collective. Led by former Iron Navy Fleet Admiral Rath Oligard, The Collective possessed a terrifying wealth and resources, and would stop at nothing to eliminate every Force User in the Galaxy, starting with the Brotherhood. A new Grand Master in Telaris "Mav" Cantor proved much easier to work with than his predecessor, and the clans united under the Dark Council to fight off this existential threat. As the war began to loom, Elincia and Jorm hired a mercenary army of Meraxis Warriors, battle-hardened on the high gravity world of Albicosus.
When Elincia went planetside on Nancora to perform some first-hand field research, she was ambushed by legendary Collective bomber Gwendolyn Sparks and barely escaped with her life. Following that, she spent most of the emerging Twelfth Great Jedi War on the backline, focusing on the wider strategy and negotiations with potential allies rather than dealing with matters personally. Zentru'la was the one she most frequently sent into the field to accomplish sensitive tasks. Her father seemed determined to prove his worth to her, and was succeeding. No matter how much of a dangerous situation she threw him into, he came out of it alive, even accomplishing a major victory in a battle against Sparks.
RoS
Bale and Zentru'la continued to prove themselves as Elincia's best fighting force and developed a mutual respect, although Bale never trusted Elincia herself, seeing her as a space witch trying to wrestle control of her daughter. Kaela began to develop into a truly powerful user of the Force under Elincia's tutelage, although rough and unrefined like her father, and developed an odd trait in shunning killing and trying to avoid it if possible. Scholae began to expand beyond the borders of its capital Caelestis, conquering the lands around it and attempting to gain control over the entire continent. However, the clan was soon plunged into war once more with the Collective over the Meridian Space Station.
Elincia sent a team of Bale, Zentru'la, Zehsaa Hysh, Aylin Sajark and Kaela to take control of the space station, keeping in touch throughout and staying back on the ISN Sidious for the entire conflict. It was Bale's first time seeing his daughter in action following her training under Elincia, but while the mission was successful, the group fell apart. When Kaela used Elincia's mind control techniques to turn a fireteam into her thralls while disabling the capital ship guarding it, Bale lost control seeing his daughter control people like that and killed all of them. When the ship was successfully disabled, Elincia called Kaela back to praise her on the growth of her abilities, criticising her father for not recognising her potential as she did.
The team continued their assault on Meridian, but tensions continued to rise throughout the mission as Bale became more and more frustrated with the team. Eventually, they took control of the station, and apprehended Daggo Mouk, one of the three highest authorities in the Collective leadership. Zentru'la and Bale both agreed that he was too dangerous to be kept alive, and killing him was the only sure way to eliminate him once and for all. Kaela protested against Zentru'la and her father, begging them not to kill an unarmed man in cold blood. Elincia didn't really care about Mouk's life, but encouraged telepathically Kaela to use her power, knowing it would widen the void between her and Bale, giving her more control. Kaela mind tricked both Bale and Zentru'la into letting her take Mouk alive. However, both left the system shortly afterwards, and Elincia never saw either of them again.
Do or Die
The Collective launched a counter-attack following their defeat at Meridian Station by funnelling resources into the Meraxis Empire to strike Scholae Palatinae at their home. Without warning, the Meraxis Empire emerged with a brand new flagship, the Retribution, an Imperial Class Star Destroyer with power that dwarfed both of the Star Destroyers of Elincia's Imperial Scholae Navy. The unprovoked attack eliminated a large proportion of both of the house fleets.
Elincia immediately called a unification of the navy into a single fighting force to fight against this singular threat posed by Meraxis, worried that with the fleet split into two flotillas, the Retribution could simply destroy them both in turn. With the fleet assembled, when Meraxis attacked next, Elincia was prepared to launch an attack that would doom one fleet or the other. As the Retribution opened fire on the Imperial Navy, Elincia assembled every clan member available and launched a suicide boarding rush against the Retribution, joining the attack herself with a grenade launcher. Jorm Na'trej sacrificed the ISN Vader by flying it upside down alongside the Retribution and launching manned vehicles through deep space from one hangar to the other.
Scholae Palatinae lost both of its Star Destroyers in the attack, but the raid was successful: Scholae forces overwhelmed the Meraxis marines on board and took control of the ship directly. With so many of its resources dedicated into that one ship that suddenly swung to Scholae control, Meraxis ships scattered, leaving Scholae poised to strike a counter-attack against their capital on Seraph. However, the Collective were not finished yet.
Elincia attacks a civilian district of Lyra Colony during the Thirteenth Great Jedi War
The False Flag
They grew more and more dangerous with each passing day, posing a major threat to the Brotherhood compounded by intelligence reports that they were converging on the completion of a super-weapon relying on crystal fragments from an ancient AI. Further, the Dark Brotherhood had established contact with the Severian Principate, and the Collective had been making moves to sabotage the negotiations and bring the Principate to their side in a two-pronged war against the Brotherhood. Elincia put her plans to conquer the Meraxis capital on hold. The Severian Principate were allied with the New Republic, and such a war would cause the end of the Scholae Empire. The Dark Council tasked Scholae Palatinae with stealing a crystal shard found on Lyra Colony, belonging to the Severian Principate, and Elincia took on the task herself, believing she was the best one to trick the Collective into accepting her into her ranks, so she could learn where the crystal was and steal it.
Rath Oligard oversaw the defection of Elincia to the Collective, but immediately sought to make the most of his new asset to strike against the Brotherhood. Collective leaders Captain "CC" Crimson and Gwendolyn Sparks (having survived the battle with Zentru'la) were tasked with launching a false flag attack against Lyra Colony, framing the Brotherhood and plunging them into war. Oligard had Elincia herself launch the attack using LAAT/i shuttles and experimental warheads stolen from the Imperial Scholae Navy. Refusing would blow her cover, but she couldn't abandon the mission to steal the crystal shard. Given no option, she brought down a residential district from the platform of a shuttle, in full view of the whole colony. This extended the duration of her disguise, but at a heavy cost, as the Severian Principate accused Scholae Palatinae of sanctioning a terrorist attack against their colony. The civilian news sources painted Scholae Palatinae as a threat to the Severian, and called for war. Elincia quickly hatched a scheme to both steal the crystal shard and avoid war with the Severian Principate, communicating what everyone needed to do across the most secure channels available.
The Final Plot
Mune was well briefed on what to tell Adlez Freewoman, the Galactic Diplomacy lead for the Severian Principate. Elincia was painted as a traitor to the Empire, a defector that joined the Collective and abused her role to land Scholae Palatinae in a difficult situation. Scholae news sources broadcasted the story of Elincia defecting to the Empire, painting her as a traitor with no sense of honour. Freewoman demanded proof that Scholae was not involved in the attack, and the only proof they would accept was if Scholae Palatinae eliminated Elincia, to prove she was not working on their orders. Zentru'la was chosen for the job, and given the order by the Legacy of Palpatine.
Zentru'la was not privy to Elincia's plan but accepted the mission to give him a chance to speak to his daughter and talk her out of betraying the Empire and bring her home. After he fought through waves of Collective forces to reach Elincia, she made it clear that she was not going to come home. If Zentru'la returned with her, she would be killed as a traitor, and he would be killed for refusing his orders to kill her. When her father kept trying to talk, she drew her lightsaber and attacked him. Zentru'la subdued Elincia and ordered her to come home with him, his pistol on her heart. When she whispered 'For the Empire', Zentru'la suddenly understood what he had to do, although he could never understand why. He repeated 'For the Empire,' and pulled the trigger, shooting his daughter through the heart.
Elincia's ghost returns Zentru'la's salute to her unmarked grave
Legacy
- "No-one will ever understand what she did. This was to be her final, greatest plot. She sacrificed her life, her legacy, and her honour for her clan."
- ―Mune
Dishonour and disgrace would follow Elincia to the grave. She was recognised by official history as a traitor to the Scholae Empire, the false Empress that defected to The Collective and tried to destroy the Empire. To the Severian Principate, she was known as the terrorist that killed tens of thousands of innocent civilians of Lyra Colony. All reference to her accomplishments throughout Scholae history under the name Elincia had been wiped from the books. Citizens of Scholae territories would use Elincia as a synonym for the word traitor.
Posthumously, she was stripped of the Legacy of Palpatine title, her statue had been torn down and replaced with her killer's. A small, dull, nondescript gravestone in a military cemetery bearing no name and the words 'TO A HERO WHO SAVED THE EMPIRE' is the only recognition of her achievements. When Zentru'la visited the grave and saluted his daughter one final time, a shimmering figure of her saluted back.
Profile
Appearance
Impetus
Unblemished and pristine yellow skin, a slender yet curvaceous figure, Impetus’ voluptuous appearance was immaculate, resistant and untainted by her Dark Side allegiance.
Her bright, azure eyes were expressive of compassion, also of empathy; complimented by her cute and serene, perfect smile, reflect her warm and friendly heart. Her teeth shone a pristine white, adorned by a pair of crimson lips, bright but not dazzling. Her upper head was decorated by either a cloth or a stone tiara, the former also embellishing her lekku, unblemished as the rest of her skin, flowing down to her lower back.
Her figure was thin and slender, typically undisguised by her revealing choice of attire, reflective of her agility and flexibility in both combat and dance. Her robes cut off in the middle of her chest, making her breasts a prominent feature of her ravishing appearance.
This formed marvellous appearance, showing quite clearly why she was highly valued as a slave in her youth, and combined with her choice of attire, attracted a wealth of attention from the majority of the Brotherhood’s males.
Impetus' unique robes
Elincia
Under the disguise of Dr. Elinca Rei, Impetus’ appearance screams a much different description of her character. Still slim by galactic standards, she had put on weight slightly in absence of training.
She bears the face of an unremarkable young adult Togruta, pale red skin with white markings around her eyes, forehead and cheeks. Her ivory montrals, partly fake, partly recoloured lekku, are patterned by thin wisps of cyan. Her green eyes shine with an intelligence and a creative spark, reflective of the sharpness of her mind. Elincia’s appearance is one of professionalism and intelligence, as opposed to the brilliant beauty of her true self.
It is difficult for anyone to tell any more about her body as it is always covered by a long white lab coat, neck to toe. Her appearance has been crafted to attract the least amount of attention, to look as unremarkable as possible. Her identity has become more than a disguise. It is a work of art, a masterpiece, her new life.
Personality
- "Her will is stronger than steel. Tempered durasteel, that even the mightiest Wookiee could not hope to bend"
- ―Laurus
Under her disguise as a scientist, Elincia takes on a very different personality. Professional, immaculate, confident and plain talking, Elincia is a natural leader. Her incredible intelligence and sharp mind are clear to see for any that know her, although she never flaunts it. In the academic community, she is known for her creativity, unorthodox approaches, a brilliant maverick, one capable of producing the extraordinary out of nothing. Above all else, she values competence.
Elincia tends to shy away from personal conflicts, seeing them as distracting and preferring to just focus on her research. She has little interest in the political power squabbles of the Dark Jedi and seeks to avoid them whenever possible. Despite this, she has a strange ability to get what she wants out of people. Due to her situation of leading a fake life, Elincia does not form any strong personal attachments during this time, forming no loyalties other than to challenge herself further her research.
Elincia will occasionally drop the disguise when on missions far from Brotherhood space. While out in the field she will mainly handle herself through the use of stealth, subterfuge, and huge dependence on illusion powers.
Skills and Approaches
Impetus M'Nar
The childhood spy that became Impetus M'Nar was a mastermind, conspirator and controller of information. She knew everyone's secrets worth knowing, and knew how to get the others if she wanted. A professional beggar at 6, she knew how to use her cuteness and vulnerability to keep herself fed. She became a master of disguise at a young age, continuing to pose as the cute and innocent child beggar to gain information for the reigning warlords, and learning how to control the flow of information around the city to her advantage. As a teenager, she learned to use her disguises to do harm, by using her hungry child disguise to get into a kitchen and secretly poison the bread mixture. This ability to lead a double life, as a highly trained spy in private but beggar in public, became one of her greatest assets. After Scholae's invasion, she used her status as a familiar system native to quash rebellions before they took foot.
Under the tutelage of Mune she learned to use the Force and to fight in open combat. Much to the annoyance of her master, she never possessed his talent for the blade. Naturally agile, she possessed a working knowledge of the Sokan lightsaber style and could defend herself in a pinch, but it was never one of her main skills. She developed an aptitude for mind trick and illusion powers, and her ability to run a disguise and manipulate people became more powerful than ever. Impetus M'Nar's greatest weapons were her illusion powers, and her capacity to hatch elaborate long-game plots to control information to accomplish her goals.
Elincia Rei
After faking her death, Impetus created a new alias, Elincia Rei, and enrolled at the University of Correllia in Applied Mathematics. While she used mind tricks to get in, she was naturally exceptionally intelligent, and fit the world of academia like she was born to it. After returning to Scholae as Dr. Elincia Rei, her scientific knowledge influenced her approach, with cold hard logic behind the driver behind many of her decisions. Posing as a simple scientist, she developed experimental weaponry for the clan and accomplished things she could never before her scientific training. In the field, her knowledge of physics translated well to explosive weapons, and she was proficient with the grenade launcher.
As Empress, her natural affinity for manipulating people with and without the Force translated well over the politics, where she would outmanoeuvre her opponents using elaborate schemes and plots. Tactically, her scientific training and logical thought process guided her decision-making processes, and she would rarely make big decisions without a thorough analysis of the pros and cons.
Relationships
- Zentru'la was the father that abandoned her from an early age. He spent most of her adult life searching for her, and eventually saved her from Darth Fallax when she was 35. She resented him for what he had done to her, but he eventually gained her trust. She chose him to be the one to kill her to save the clan.
- Mune Cinteroph was the one who showed her how to use the Force and fight with the sword and the lightsaber. Although her skills were very different from her master's, she learned a lot from him and selected him as her Grand Admiral during her reign as Empress. She chose Mune to broker the deal regarding her assassination with Adlez Freewoman of the Severian Principate.
- Xen'Mordin Vismorsus was Impetus' Aedile in her first leadership role as Quaestor of House Caliburnus, and her closest ally for most of her life. The pair conducted an elaborate plot to destabilise the system and put him on the throne. Before she faked her death, she gave him a secret message on how to recall her when the plot was complete. She then served as Grand Vizier under his reign.
- Eludajae M'Nar was her only significant romantic relationship. The pair married shortly before Impetus faked her own death. She subsequently travelled the galaxy briefly with Eludajae before enrolling at the University of Correllia. Eludajae was never seen again.
- Jorm Na'trej served with Elincia on many missions while she was still serving as a scientific assistant. They had a good working relationship, and Jorm continued to be one of her most trusted advisors after she became Empress. Jorm was responsible for capturing the second star destroyer, the ISN Vader as Elincia built a new fleet for the clan.
- Bale Andros, the Iridonian Hammer, was a bounty under Elincia's employ during her reign as Empress, as she manipulated him into believing she was the only answer to his daughter Kaela's degenerative medical condition. He was known to work well with Zentru'la, but was unpredictable. Elincia was more interested in his daughter.
- Kaela Val was Bale's daughter and suffered from a degenerative disease. However, she was also an incredibly powerful force user, and Elincia took her as a secret apprentice to harness her talents. She was beginning to turn her against her father until both disappeared from the system.
- Aylin Sajark was an eccentric young Nautolan explosives expert and slicer during Elincia's reign as Empress. Elincia liked Aylin's infectious happy personality, but never found the time to get to know her as well as she wanted to before her death. Aylin was the only one she ever allowed to refer to her as 'Eli'.
The Dragon's Tail, Impetus' signature weapon in the first iteration of the character
Trivia
- I joined the Dark Brotherhood because I was making a Flash Animation called 'Stick Wars' for a school project and was stealing lightsaber images from the club as they kept coming up on Google Images. I thought it seemed like a ridiculous club of supernerds and joined to see how ridiculous it was on the inside.
- 'Impetus' was chosen as a name as a dodgy translator told me that it was a translation of 'passion', chosen as it was part of the Sith Code. This translation turned out to be inaccurate. Elincia was copied from the Fire Emblem character of the same name. No similarities, I just liked the name.
- 'Impetus' became my primary game name once I really got into the DB.
- Most well known as a fiction writer in this club, I was predicted to fail English Language at GCSE level, and attribute my A grade to becoming hooked on DB fiction and developing my writing skills.
- Impetus' entire character was completely rewritten after a long break in the club. Originally, she was born to Ryloth royalty rather than a Judecca street urchin. She was kidnapped and taken as a pleasure slave before joining the db, and turned into a super sexy assassin with lightning-fast, dance-like movements, a legendary duellist that would use her sexuality to her advantage at all times and never wore many clothes. She killed her father (who was called Zentru'la in both versions) and had a side plot where she was the Queen of some city I made up. After returning from a long break, I didn't want to continue this story, but didn't want to abandon the character either.
- Impetus' best friend during the original story was Laurus, a drunken wookiee with a giant sword made of rancor teeth played by my best friend in real life, but has no intention of rejoining the club so was written out of the new story.
- She also had an arsenal of custom whips, because why wouldn't the sexy woman own whips? One chain whip based on Ivy's from Soul Calibur and one fire whip based on the Balrog's from Lord of the Rings, and one for private use.
- My master in the club was never Mune, Mune was retconned in at a much later date, but was legitimately the person who took the most care of me when I first joined and my first leadership role was Aedile of Acclivis Draco with him as Quaestor.
- The twi'lek choice came from my first Jedi Academy character being a yellow twi'lek wearing as few clothes as the game would let me.
- I had a year in Plagueis which everyone has forgotten about and I completely retconned from my character's history in the rewrite. As I was stripped of my Palpatine title for this, I actually earned it on two separate occasions, but conveniently forget about this to simplify things.
- Impetus has had many inspirations from fictional characters, but most notable are: The Boss from Metal Gear Solid 3, Charlie Eppes from Numb3rs, The Illusive Man from Mass Effect and the Illuminati Conspiracy Theory in real life.
- The alter-ego of Elincia Rei is based on the real-life persona behind Impetus, who is a statistical geneticist and applied mathematician.
- I never intended to take a position as Elincia Rei, and wanted to stay in the background, and ended up writing her into a corner as I ended up Consul.
- Elincia Rei was killed off as I was stepping down from Consul, and it seemed like the natural end for the character's journey. Her story was all about acting out of the spotlight, and her self-sacrifice was written in such a way as it epitomises her life: actions with double meanings.
- Elincia considers the most tragic part of her whole story is that she never found the time to act on her feelings for Aylin Sajark before she died as she was too busy with her role as Empress, and by nature of her death, Aylin will know her as a traitor and a terrorist.