The Iron Forces represent the combined military power and presence of the Dark Brotherhood's Iron Throne.
The Iron Navy
The Iron Navy represents the strength of the Iron Throne through space warfare superiority and command. It is made up of Loyalist officers and crew that are loyal to the Dark Brotherhood. When the Captain is not present, responsibility of an Iron Navy ship falls to the executive officer.
- The Iron Navy is lead by Grand General Lena Rhell, under the leadership of the Fist of the Brotherhood. She also serves as Moff of Arx, tasked with defending the Brotherhood's home.
Organization
- For a detailed view of the Iron Navy's organization through Possessions, please see the Dark Council Faction Page
Command
The 1st Task Force is comprised of the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer Endeavor and associated support craft. A powerful capital ship in its own right, the Endeavor is one of the two Resurgent-class Star Destroyers under the command of the Iron Forces. The Endeavor represents the sheer power of the Iron Throne and inspires awe in its foes and confidence in its allies. Much of the modifications and load-outs of the Wrath are known to senior fleet officers, the Fist and the Grand Master himself, the Wrath seldom goes into battle without the full weight of the Iron Forces at its back.
More powerful than most fleets in its own right, the Endeavor is a front line assault craft designed to single-handedly bring star systems into line and is well suited for planetary bombardment as well as a capable starfighter carrier and troop transport. Aided by its support craft comprised of a TIE Reaper flight, Atmospheric Assault Lander flight, and Imperial Dropship Transport flight, the Endeavor is capable of subjugating planets at will and maintaining space superiority in any engagement.
The 2nd Task Force is centered upon the aging but powerful Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Nightfall. A capable front-line warship, the Nightfall was once able to hold key systems single-handedly. However, the decades old design is no longer able to engage multiple, modern forces alone. Due to this limitation, the 2nd Task Force's tactical role is that of quick reaction force for the defense of the Arx System and key assets such as the shipyards and trading stations that are the economic lifeblood of the Iron throne.
Despite its age, the Nightfall also provides critical capabilities of orbital bombardment, fighter carrier, and troop transport. This provides auxiliary support for the 1st Task Force when needed and allows the 2nd Task Force to be deployed to subjugate minor systems and less heavily defended enemy territories without the need for a large screening force. The Nightfall is permanently assigned an Imperial Dropship Transport flight and a Atmospheric Assault Lander flight.
The 3rd Task Force has the distinction of being the main battle line of the Iron Forces, and the unit most likely dispatched to enemy territory to assert the dominion of the Iron Throne. The 3rd Task Force is the largest in terms of sheer numbers, and is made up of fast, offensive minded capital ships and support craft. Able to nimbly and secretly enter enemy territory and wreck havoc amongst hostile forces, the 3rd Task Force is made up of several classes of older yet powerful vessels.
The backbone of the 3rd Task Force are the sister ships Limbo and Terigon, a pair of massive Vindicator-class Heavy Cruisers that provide dozens of laser batteries each and a host of squadrons. Backing up these behemoths are the Carrack-class Light Cruisers Ironside and Coppermine. These vessels are fast and capable of trading blows with far larger capital ships, providing long range heavy firepower. Screening these larger vessels and providing a withering anti-starfighter defense are the Lancer-class Frigates Ignance and Invermere. Acting as advance scouts and picket line are the covert Raider-class Corvettes Benediction and Burriss.
The 3rd Task Force employs several Imperial Dropship Transport Flights to serve as boarding craft and insertion teams to ferry the thousands of marines and shipboard security teams and infantry troops. Additionally, a specialized and highly expensive flight of Upsilon-class Command Shuttles always accompany the task force to serve as mobile command and control platforms. Perhaps the most peculiar and deadly aspect of the 3rd Task Force is the inclusion of the nominal flagship, the Misery. The ancient Lictor-class Dungeon Ship has cells to accommodate over 8,000 cells and 1,000 specialized holding tanks to handle the influx of prisoners of war and detaining high valued targets. Not a true warship, and with limited navigation and defensive capabilities, the Misery is an instrument of fear and repression that brings a sense of dread and fatalism to any battlefield it enters.
The 4th Task Force is comprised of the impressive and vaunted Wrath. This Resurgent-class Star Destroyer is a battle-fleet in its own right, capable of fighting most conventional forces to a standstill while sustaining little damage. Much of the modifications and load-outs of the Wrath are known to senior fleet officers, the Fist and the Grand Master himself, the Wrath seldom goes into battle without the full weight of the Iron Forces at its back. Like all Resurgent-class Star Destroyers, the Wrath's primary capabilities are as a planetary bombardment and assault carrier without equal. As such, the Wrath is supported by a flight of Imperial Dropship Transports and Atmospheric Assault Landers.
The 5th Task Force is the Iron Forces second main battle line. While not as large or as powerful as the 3rd Task Force, the 5th Task Force is an immensely powerful unit capable of most undertakings and its main purpose is to backup the 3rd Task Force in full scale warfare and to be used as an expeditionary force for lesser engagements not requiring the full weight of the 3rd Task Force or other units. The highly mobile nature of the 5th Task Force is underscored by the inclusion of two flights of VT-49 Decimators and the sister ships Arrowborn and Karelia, two Raider II-class Corvettes that act as scouts and advance assault vessels.
The main asset of the 5th Task Force is the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Coronation. This vessel is powerful enough to conduct full-scale orbital bombardment and carries extensive fighter support and ground forces to conduct a full range of military operations. This front-line warship provides much of the firepower for the 5th Task Force. Underscoring the 5th Task Forces abilities as a mobile invasion fleet, the Acclimator-class Assault Ship Blazoner and its thousands of shock troops are readied to discharge its might via the supporting flights of Imperial Dropship Transport and Atmospheric Assault Lander flights. Escorting the Coronation are two offensive platforms, the Strike-class Medium Cruiser Stella and the Carrack-class Light Cruiser Blue Flare.
The 6th Task Force is an impressive array of capital ships that serve as the main defense of the Arx System and a mighty fleet-in-being, when coupled with supporting Task Forces, is capable of being a potent offensive thrust of the Iron Forces. The key asset of the 6th Task Force is the Immobilizer 418-class Heavy Cruiser Waylay. This highly specialized craft has been a key chess-piece in Moff Rhell's strategies to quietly prevent enemy ships from escaping the wrath of the Iron Navy through hyperspace. This capability ensures if enemy craft do pierce the Arx System, they cannot retreat.
Such a unique and critical capital ship such as the Waylay, therefore, is paired with a robust slate of supporting craft. The Vindicator-class Heavy Cruisers Ariccia and Aggius serve this role perfectly, as well rounded multi-purpose craft employing starfighter squadrons and dozens of batteries of laser cannons rendering any snubfighter assault on the Waylay a suicidal proposition. Finally, and most importantly, the Waylay is backed by the frightening and illustrious VSD Paladin. The Victory-class Star Destroyer Paladin long served as the mobile home of the Shadow Academy and has many classified and highly effective offensive capabilities above that of a stock VSD. A highly capable and agile warship, the Paladin acts as the hammer to the anvil that is the Waylay.
The Arx Capital Exchange, or ACE, is the corporate finance and heavy industrial conglomorate arm of the Iron Forces. Under the leadership of CEO Rhent Ghosan, the premier asset of the ACE is the Arx Capital Exchange Shipyard. This state of the art facility, financed by the full portfolio of investments of the ACE, is the largest industrial yard within the Dark Brotherhood territories. Employing a workforce of tens of thousands, the sprawling orbital shipyards and spillways is capable of building up to two Imperial II-class Star Destroyers concurrently along with slips to build up to a dozen capital warships and a myriad of lesser vessels such as freighters, cargo liners, and assorted transports for both military, civilian, and commercial enterprises.
The Arx Capital Exchange Shipyard is also an impressive defensive works. The shipyard is defended by dozens of heavy turbo-laser batteries and hundreds of point defense laser cannons capable of fighting off a large scale enemy incursion. It is said that the ACE Shipyard is truly the most heavily defended point within the Arx System and perhaps the Dark Brotherhood territories as a whole.
The known vessels of the Inquisitorius, per the nature of the clandestine organization, are a mixture of small, fast, and capable intelligence gathering and covert operations craft. Two flights of VT-49 Decimators, the Voidstriders, have been confirmed as assault craft used to transport high ranking members of the Inquisitorius on infiltration and seek-and-destroy missions. It is rumored that numerous, nameless, Raider-class Corvettes are employed by the Inquisitorius when more direct firepower is needed but this simply hearsay that benefits the Inquisitorius. In truth, only the Telesto I and Telesto II Raider I-class and the Equinox I and Equinox II Raider II-class Corvettes are under the command of the Voice.
Despite the ruthless and dreaded reputation of the Inquisitorius, the vast majority of Inquisitorius helmed vessels are monitoring ships of the IGV-55 Surveillance-class line. Nearly a dozen have been identified roaming at the periphery of Dark Brotherhood space and inserted within the hegemony of the Iron Throne. These vessels are the electronic eyes and ears of the Inquisitorius, providing raw data and gathering intel to create actionable missions and objectives for the rank and file of the Inquisitorius.
The forces relegated to the Shadow Academy are currently undergoing transition. The Paladin, the former mobile headquarters of the Shadow Academy has since been transferred to provide cover for the Waylay and be the backbone of the 6th Task Force, so formidable is the aging vessel. There are rumors that the Shadow Academy is in the process of taking custody of a station of its own to hold the compendium of knowledge under the sway of the Iron Throne and train its personnel.
However, that is not to say the Shadow Academy is without assets it can bring to battle. Two Raider-class Corvettes have recently been transferred along with several flights of Lambda-class T4a Shuttles to transport the scholars, researchers, archeologists, and other staff. Perhaps most telling about the militarization and might of the growing Shadow Academy is the presence of a Upsilon-class Command Shuttle flight under the command of the Headmaster. So fierce and powerful are these craft that only a single other exists within the Iron Forces.
Little is known of the forces of the Shroud Syndicate, officially that is. The consortium of gangsters, thieves, criminals and other illicit ilk prefer not to register their assets with the Iron Throne. However, some capital vessels are under the direct control of the Herald as bestowed upon the office by the Iron Throne or authorized to operate in support of the organization. The massive Lucrehulk-class Battleship Godless Matron serves as the headquarters and base of operations for the Shroud Syndicate. More a mobile space station than a true battleship, the Godless Matron is armed with dozens of laser cannons and thousands of security personnel. Beyond this iconic and nefarious craft, the Herald can call upon a pair of Carrack-class Light Cruisers to serve as long range heavy firepower assets to defend the Godless Matron along with a Dreadnaught-class Heavy Cruiser.
The Iron Legion
The Iron Legion represents the strength of the Iron Throne through ground warfare superiority and command. It is comprised of Loyalist soldiers and operators enlisted into service for the Brotherhood.
- The Iron Legion are lead by Dark Prophet Damon Nix, under the leadership of the Fist of the Brotherhood.
Organization
- For a detailed view of the Iron Navy's organization through Possessions, please see the Dark Council Faction Page