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Souls of Darkness was once the Elite Special Unit of House Caliburnus of Clan Scholae Palatinae.
Motto: Born of darkness, forged in war - no mercy, no regrets
History
Humble Beginnings
As the year of 24 ABY came to a close, the reign of Quaestor Impetus began to stabilise, House Caliburnus was beginning to reorganise and regroup after the mess it was thrown into after the feud and consequent merge with Dorimad Sol. Nightmare and Nightshade Squadron were the two teams Impetus had brought back, the former housing the soldiers, the duellists, the more hardy and battle inclined, while the latter, Nightshade, gave the home to the more Krathly scholars, tacticians, alchemists, and the like.
There was one problem with the system, however. Some of the newer members felt somewhat intimidated when it came to training with the elders of the clan, and for this reason Caliburnus’ first training battleteam was formed, Spirits of the Night, a team geared towards those ranked of Guardian or below. This system of three battleteams worked well for the first couple of months, but after a mass scale recruitment drive organised by the twi’lek herself and Iridonian Aedile Xen'Mordin Vismorsus, Arania’s Spirits of the Night overflowed, its size simply inadequate to house the influx of nascent Dark Jedi in the initiation stage of their Brotherhood Career.
Souls of Darkness, the name created by the twi’lek Quaestor as a variant on the other training team of Spirits of the Night, was born as an insignificant unit, simply a place to hold the new journeymen while they made their way around the first stages of their new life in the Brotherhood. While Souls of Darkness would serve a similar function to Spirits of the Night, the two training teams also had a similar relationship to the one between Nightmare and Nightshade, where Souls of Darkness housed the combat orientated Journeymen, typically passing them on to Nightmare Squadron when they were ready.
Led by experienced leader Horus Blackheart, and later by future Quaestor Thran Occasus, Souls of Darkness’ role helped the new training set achieved its purpose and progress members up to the higher Battleteams at a consistent rate. Unfortunately, things wouldn’t stay that way for long, as a multitude of changes not just to House Caliburnus, but to the entire clan, orchestrated by Consul Braecen Kaeth, saw every single Battleteam in Scholae Palatinae closed down, meaning the closure of Souls of Darkness.
Temporary Absence
After tensions began to grow between Acclivis Draco and Caliburnus, the two houses found themselves at war in the year 26 ABY. Despite Impetus’ best efforts to mitigate the disagreements and prevent a full scale conflict, a number of injustices committed towards her such as the capture of her students and attempted assassination, the situation became one she simply couldn’t ignore. Just as the Houses lined of for what looked to be a final showdown on Judecca, a mutual threat attacked, another clan, causing both houses to temporarily put their differences aside. The very day after, Impetus resigned her post and transferred to Acclivis Draco, leaving Thran Occasus in charge of Caliburnus as Quaestor as the houses united for the war with Clan Arcona.
Having seen the attempted assassination of his predecessor, after settling down in his new role, one of the new Quaestor’s first moves was to create a personal guard. Thran saw it fitting to revive the team he used to lead, Souls of Darkness, to fulfil this task, but under Thran’s rule the old training team played a far more prestigious role in the house.
The Quaestor's Guard
Souls of Darkness became an order of the Elite of Caliburnus, only the bravest, the strongest, the quickest, the members of Souls of Darkness became a symbol of what members of the house should strive to be, the epitome of honour, valour, and courage, a symbol that remains to this very day. Led by Cethgus, the elusive initiation into the team flitted into the hearts, dreams and desires of the Dark Jedi, the goal that some day they would be recognised as the Elite of Caliburnus, and defend the Quaestor along with other legends of the House.
Towards the end of the rule of Rasilvenaira, there were a multitude of positional changes within the house, but one thing always remained constant: The presence, willpower and devotion of Souls of Darkness. Souls of Darkness looks only to expand in the already prestigious role, the group of members set to become legendary to the future recruits.
Shortly after Eludajae ascended to Commandership of Souls of Darkness, Quaestor Brent "Archangel" Ligur Victae had some other ideas about the function of the group of elites, deciding that a personal guard for himself was a waste of the talents of Souls of Darkness.
The M'Nars' Findings
As the team tried to decide on their new function, Eludajae and her wife Impetus, who had found her place back in Caliburnus and joined Souls of Darkness to be beside her love, departed briefly on a mission to restore some lost data regarding the rule of Emperor Palpatine, data that had been lost during the Exodus. They weren’t searching for anything in particular, just any data about Palpatine that wasn’t in the CSP data core for whatever reason.
In their data raid, the couple found some information on an old and mysterious unit, known only as Unit X, under the command of the Emperor. The unit of twelve Dark Jedi were each in command of their own strike team of four elite commandos, each commando in each team having a unique speciality, and a trait common to the team and the commanding Jedi. By this organisation, Unit X would consist of twelve strike teams, each with their own speciality so they could help the others when needed. One of the 12 Jedi would be assigned Commandership of Unit X, with two more Jedi as his/her 'left and right hands' to assist in the leadership.
Both the M’Nars saw potential in the set-up, and after taking the data back to their Quaestor, it was decided that Souls of Darkness would be organised the same way, and it’s function to simply carry out any task required of them by their Quaestor. The teams were made so Souls of Darkness as a whole were a versatile group ready to overcome any situation thrown at them.
These events have attached the legendary battleteam to the Exepeditionary Forces of the Clan Military, as a Special Task Force. Unless otherwise stated the Sith Commander holds the military rank of Colonel, while the usual rank of the Flight Leaders is Major, and the flight members is lieutenant, but there are of course, within the web of entangling alliances within the Clan, exceptions to this general rule of ranking. If the Expeditionary Forces are the Hammer of the Legion, then Souls of Darkness is the tip of that hammer striking usually first and hardest into the enemy.
Roll of Commanders
- Cethgus Incendia Zor-El - 23rd February to 2nd November 2007
- Malaki - 2nd November 2007 to 1st February 2008
- Brent "Archangel" Ligur Victae - 1st February to 31st March 2008
- Corin Nal'kethar - 9th April to 1st June 2008
- Eludajae "Lynx" M'Nar - 1st June 2008 to 22 October 2008
- Erianna "Rayne" Victae - 22 October - 12th November 2008
- Xan Phraz-Etar Kaeth - 15 November 2008 to present
SoD Order of Battle
SoD Troopers
The unit of Souls of Darkness consists of specialised Strike Teams, each of four commandos. The commandos each have their own speciality, but one trait common to the Strike Team. Each strike team is led by a Jedi, and there are as many Strike Teams as there are Jedi to lead them. One selected Jedi will be assigned the position of Souls of Darkness Commander, and two others, selected by the Commander, will act as his/her ‘Left and Right hands’.
Specializations
Specializations are skills or training that a member of the battle team has. These specializations are varied, though all are useful, and important to the success of the missions. The following is the list of specializations.
Communications, Sniper, Scout, Combat Medic, Environment specialist, Heavy Weapons specialist, Assault, Vehicle Specialist, Technician, Demolitions Specialist, and Close combat specialist.
Communications specialization is the man (or woman) in charge of relaying messages to and from elements of the command structure and the team, as well as signaling, and decoding of enemy messages. They have extra equipment on their back: a long range miniature communications array, a large datapad with specialist programming to assist with cracking codes, and signal recognition, and a video-audio recording system, to allow for target recognition, reconnaissance, and range finding.
DH-122 Sniper Rifle
Sniper specialization requires a high level of marksmanship skill, coupled with steady nerve, and light and ease of movement. They are used for taking out specific targets, guards, sentries, or sighting targets, surveillance and reconnaissance. They have extra equipment: a DH-112 sniper rifle, with silencer, and infra-red laser marker, improved optical visor, and specialist servo-assisted armor to allow for quieter movement.
Scout specialization is the understanding and use of different techniques of tracking and reconnaissance. The Scout is most commonly the Point man on the ground, as he can track a target by subtle signs in the area around him. The Scout is also the survival specialist, knowing what you can and cannot eat, as well as where to get fresh water. The Scout and the Environment Specialist work closely together, to allow for more accurate information collection and survival techniques.
Combat Medics are men and woman who have received extensive first aid training, as well as minor surgical training, to allow them to administer quick, and excellent assistance to any member of the team who has been injured in battle, be it a sprained ankle, or a laser bolt to the chest. The extra equipment is obvious: A medical backpack, full of all the different items he might need during an operation, such as bacta packs, and a roll of surgical instruments, along with a hardened datapad to assist with diagnosis, and treatment.
The Environment Specialist’s job is exactly as his title says: He knows exactly what to expect in the environments they would be encountering, and if he doesn’t, he knows how to find a way around it. He and the Scout work close together when it comes to survival and tracking the each environment. The Specialist also has another important job. If there is an area or world with an extremely hazardous atmosphere, or problem surrounding it, for example a high-radiation area, the Specialist is required to complete this mission or part of the mission himself. He is the usually the only one with this sort of experience.
The Heavy Weapons Specialist is the main destructive force in the unit (except for the Demolitions Specialist of course). Equipped with the mighty DLT-19 Heavy Blaster Rifle, which fires rapidly, with high powered bolts, a Heavy Weapons Specialist can take down speeders, and speeder bikes, and can have a devastating effect on buildings, and personal. He also has a program in his Heads Up Display to allow for easier targeting, and threat determination.
The Rapid Assault Specialist job is to be the first one through the door in any situation. He has to assess the situation, and designate targets of highest threat in seconds. Specialist programming in his helmet assist with this, and a high-speed connection between him and the rest of the unit spreads the information quickly. The Rapid Assault Specialist is equipped with T-21 Rifle, which is considered a very good light repeating rifle. He is also equipped with detachable thigh guards, and stronger chest and leg armor to protect him.
A Vehicle Specialist’s primary role is to maintain and use the small fleet of ground vehicles that the unit has been assigned, as well as assisting the technical specialist with major repairs when needed. He is equipped with a technical datapad with all the schematics he could need, as well as manuals on the use of various craft, whether they were brought with, or ‘procured’ during the mission.
The Technical Specialist is in charge of maintaining all the equipment that the unit has with them, be it a simple malfunctioning commlink, or the hyperdrive on the Transport. Either instance, he is in charge of repairing, or jerry rigging a solution. The technical Specialist is also in charge of slicing computers, and other various activities that fall around this category. A special datapad used for slicing, as well as repairing equipment is issued to this Specialist.
A Demolitions Specialist needs to be someone with a feather touch and nerves of steel. Their job is to manufacture or build explosive devices, set them, then set them off. It also helps to be a bit mad. Another function of the Demolitions Specialist is bomb disposal, to remove bombs from where they ought not to be. This Specialist has various tools needed for building explosive devices, as well as a small store of explosive material.
Close Combat Specialists are usually buff, and worn men and woman, whose sole specialty is to defeat his or her opponent in close combat be it with a knife, or just hands and feet. While this specialization isn’t commonly employed, this specialist must also keep the rest of the unit trained and fit. He or she is also the physical and mental officer of the unit, making sure everyone is fit and healthy of the body and of the mind.
Trivia
- It was once the exclusive battleteam of Caliburnus. Membership in the Souls of Darkness was earned by being named the member of the month for the House.
- After a long period of inactivity, the House Summit decided to close down all battleteams of the House to reform into one battleteam, Validus Nocta, in 30 ABY.
See Also