In the year 36 ABY, Brotherhood systems were attacked by former Grandmaster Zoraan. Following his death and the capture of his flagship, the SSD Avenger II, One Sith Sleeper agents within the Brotherhood initiated a long planned attack. Every Brotherhood system felt the sting of a coordinated attack to removed the leadership and defenses of the Brotherhoood. Muz Ashen issued orders to all leaders of the Brotherhood. The time to strike out from the home systems had come. The Dark Crusade to claim ancient Sith Worlds, and route out the One Sith had come.
Scholae Palatinae answered the call along with the other units in the Brotherhood. Fighting valiantly on multiple planets along side their brothers, they helped reclaim several planets for the Brotherhood. Their deeds and those of their brethren are found here.
Pre-Crusade
For over a decade, One Sith forces infiltrated Brotherhood space. Slowly they filled ranks within all Brotherhood units, Sleeper agents waiting for the time to strike. They would strike at the heart of the leadership of the Brotherhood, hoping to bring it all down. They had one goal, destroy the Brotherhood before it became a bigger threat to the One Sith’s ideals and the teachings of Darth Krayt.
In 36 ABY, former Grandmaster Zoraan attacked the Brotherhood with a large force. Every system became infected by Lysu Thren’s Horizon plague. His attack was without mercy. Civilian death toll alone was over 30 million. He was slain by Grandmaster Muz Ashen shortly before Macron Shadow developed a cure to the terrible plague.
SSD Avenger II
The Avenger II
- Main article: [[Assault on the Avenger II|Assault on the Avenger II]]
The Brotherhood had taken terrible losses. In an attempt to recoup some of their lost firepower, multiple strike teams boarded Zoraan’s flagship, SSD Avenger II. They stroke quickly while it was attempting to flee the Shroud. A team comprised mainly of Naga Sadow members and a sole Palatinaean, Archangel boarded. They secured the hanger from the Dark Jedi twins, Reaper and Frost. After more forces landed, including the Deputy Grandmaster Raken, they moved forward to disable the security on the ship.
Dark Adept Dantella Novae, a powerful Elder, hampered their progress. While other strike teams dealt with general forces this singular team had to subdue this powerful Elder. Novae used her abilities to control Kalia and set the team fighting one of their own. Through the use of a mind meld and dark side snare they managed to subdue the elder to be extracted by other Brotherhood forces.
The team shaken, made their way to the bridge. There they faced Zoraan’s apprentice, Darth Necar a severely demented man with near Grandmaster level ability. Along with him there were Terentatek to deal with. Between a powerful Sith Lord and the formidable sithspawn, it was nearly the end for the Brotherhood forces, but a thermal detonator along with a breach in the bridge’s hull led to the demise of Darth Necar. While it took many members to secure the Avenger II, the highest honors were given to this singular team for successfully removing the greatest threat on the ship. While forces were primarily Naga Sadow, Archangel brought great pride and honor to Scholae Palatinae for being part of this team.
The full roster of this team was:
A Call to Arms
It was at this time the sleeper One Sith agents received their call to attack. Traitors in every system began the attack. It began with disabling security, deactivating defense droids, rigging surveillance. The Brotherhood was made more vulnerable than it had ever been before.
Then came the suicide attackers. Agents on every planet began targeting high priority members. For Scholae Palatinae they saw an officer attack his superiors at Fort Hammer on Ptolomea before killing himself. It was only the beginning. Assassin struck at the key Dark Council and unit Leaders. Solari’s mechanical body was broken to bits at the Academy. Fremoc was wounded at the spike. Raken was attacked by a large group of assassins, and left bloody and tattered. The Halls of the Royal Palace on Judecca came under siege. The Scholae Palatinae forces reacted swiftly to secure their leaders and powerful members. The entire Brotherhood was left in a panic to prevent a total downfall. But the subterfuge and assassinations failed. The Brotherhood was wounded, but very much alive. Alive and hungry for vengeance.
Then the call came. Muz Ashen issued the order. The Brotherhood was going on the offensive. Not even the One Sith and Darth Krayt could get away with attempting an attack like this. Scholae Palatinae prepared its forces for the first phase of the attack and set its sight on Nfolgai.
Nfolgai
- "This is the first true lesson for the One Sith. There are going to more in the future."
- ―Xantros after successful conquest of Nfolgai
The forces of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood simultaneously attacked two planets – Krayiss II and Nfolgai. The Summit of the Imperial House decided to assault the ancient Sith planet of Nfolgai. They saw it as a more interesting place because it provided more room for adjustments necessary to meet the needs of Scholae Palatinae goals.
The invasion on Nfolgai involved fleets and ground armies of four units of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood – Clan Naga Sadow, House Tarentum, House Plagueis and House Scholae Palatinae. All of them have located their camps in different areas of the planet, depending on what was the most valuable target in the eyes of their commanders.
Thanks to the location of the Imperial House encampment, its members played a significant role in securing the wreckage of Interdictor-class Cruiser “Render”. After hours of hunting and silent assassinations, they have eliminated most of the maddened Mrlssi, who nested in the remnants of the ship. However, due to being interrupted by the patrols of the One Sith, the Palatineans did not manage to get inside “Render” and to report back with the findings claimed out there. Clan Naga Sadow were the ones who managed to get Intel from the “Render”.
Yobd Nan
The Imperial House was in an inconvenient situation, as far as assassination of Yobd Nan, the leader of the One Sith operations on Nfolgai, was concerned. Long distance from the encampment of the One Sith Forces forced the Dark Jedi of Scholae Palatinae to take numerous fights against Draethos, which inhabited southern parts of the planet. However, forces of the Imperial House have taken efforts to fulfill this goal, as it had a crucial meaning for the success of the Brotherhood operations on the planet. However, due to the rivalry of other units which were involved in the invasion on Nfolgai, such as Naga Sadow and Plagueis, they were unsuccessful in their attempts to kill the Sith Lord. Other members of the allied Houses and Clan have done whatever they could to slow the Dark Jedi of the Imperial House in their quest. It was members of House Plagueis who managed to land the killing blow to the Sith Lord.
As far as the infiltration of the Temple of Sorzus Syn, no one dared to go inside. Even the Summit of House Scholae Palatinae decided not to take up this mission, as they lacked the sufficient number of Elders, who might face the spirit of the ancient Sith and all traps, which were prepared for unwelcome intruders.
Still, the army of the Imperial House, including many of its Dark Jedi, was heavily involved in decimating the forces of the One Sith, which were present on the planet. It was a series of small scale battles and ambushes, which attracted no one’s attention, but which was equally important as all other goals of the invansion.
After two weeks of struggling, Nfolgai has been liberated from the rule of the One Sith and the Dark Jedi Brotherhood has gained the control over the planet. Scholae Palatinae was glad to have been of aid on liberating the planet for the Brotherhood, yet very upset they were not the ones who carried out the major objectives on the planet.
Rhelg
Rhelg
Bhargebba
Bhargebba
Casualties
- "Death is the one constant on the battlefield."
- ―Field Marshal Kell Palpatine Dante upon receiving the latest casualty reports
Private funeral for fallen Scholae Palatinae members killed in service during the Dark Crusade.
Current Casualties of the Crusade Campaign
Members of Scholae Palatinae
- Killed in Action: 12
- Wounded in Action: 30
- Missing in Action: 1
Members of the Imperial Scholae Guard
- Killed in Action: 531
- Wounded in Action: 2,304
- Missing in Action: 30
Members of the Imperial Fleet
- Killed in Action: 112
- Wounded in Action: 326
- Missing in Action: 23
Home System Impact
- "Fear prospers in our absence, the populace anxious for our return, ready to be molded in our vision."
- ―Evant Taelyan discussing the unrest back home from the battlefield on Bhargebba
There is an ongoing influence within the Cocytus System due to the House’s involvement in the Dark Crusade, though the long term impacts are yet to be fully understood. Due to the absence of the Dark Jedi exerting control of local politics and economy activity there are those who unknowingly are starting to find successes where they had previously found resistance.
Ohmen, Judecca undercity and heart of organized crime in the Cocytus System.
Organized Crime
The House Summit of Scholae Palatinae allows certain individuals to thrive and find success with minor crime syndicates to keep balance within the system. Through planted membership and back door relationships these crime channels are allowed to exist to give an outlet for black market activities to provide supply and keep others from popping up.
As this network has been neglected in the Dark Crusade, as the Dark Jedi call to arms to find glory elsewhere in the galaxy, actual talent has begun to make inroads into this system. Beyond the two main criminal organizations which are propped up by the Dark Jedi there is a third which has begun a rise to power beyond their control.
The long term impact is unknown, or how widespread this influence is due to its nature and still remains out of the attention of the Scholae Palatinae summit. The majority of this pain is felt by the existing organizations that relied on Dark Jedi influence for success and inherently lack individual ability to exert fear and power necessary to maintain control.
Empty military supply warehouse on Judecca following military departure for the Dark Crusade.
Political Unrest
Prior to the Dark Crusade there were One Sith attacks following the Horizon Crisis which put the entire system on alert. The residents of the system were not expecting a series of seemingly pointless terrorist attacks against their system. Nearly all the planets of the system had reported terrorist activity but none more heavily attacked than Judecca.
The military response to the attack was quick and prompt and sightings of soldiers in the streets of Ohmen became commonplace for up to weeks following. This was quickly followed by their absence not only from the streets but from local bases. Normally full of their armies they were now down to the skeleton crews running the bases. The majority had been called into service to the Dark Crusade.
Under the guise of a retaliatory strike against the terrorists the military had been called into the service of the Dark Crusade, as had the majority of the Dark Jedi within Scholae Palatinae. This left an absence of both military strength and formidable military leaders. Not just the absence of the people but the comforting sight of the House fleet watching over the small system had not been seen since.
Suspicious began to rise as weeks turned to months. The Senate had been without its Emperor at its head for some time now, and their ability to respond to issues and domestic disputes rose. People began to worry about additional terrorist attacks against a limited military influence and fear began to quickly spread. People began to question where the military and politicians were and what was going on.
All these concerns got worse when local military bases began to aggressively recruit additional soldiers. A call to arms to support the anti-terrorism campaign abroad. As the Dark Crusade continues the level of unrest continues to swell. Although not yet at a breaking point continued absence will most certainly have long lasting impacts on the level of trust within the system. Though no catalyst has presented itself to set into actions that chain of events.
Participants