- "Tempered in shadow; wrought of pain."
- ― Dark Forge Battleteam Moto
History
Dark Forge is a Battleteam within House Galeres of Clan Arcona. It was founded in 36 ABY, shortly following the outbreak of the Horizon Plague. Dark Forge is not the “shock and awe” Battleteam of House Galeres. The unit is designed to be supported by a base of fire to flank and destroy key targets which have been chosen by the Summit. In short the team is a quick, lethal, and covert unit which are specialists in lightsaber and hand-to-hand combat.
Beyond the Horizon
Battleteam Dark Forge's first combat action was when House Plagueis requested assistance from Clan Arcona to defeat the forces that remained from Zoraan's assault on the Jusadih System during the Horizon Vendetta. Dark Forge was tasked to assist with securing Plagueis' Nebula-Class Star Destroyer, Ascendancy, with Spectre Cell.
Dark Crusade
At the beginning of the Dark Crusade, Dark Forge found itself an indefinite home aboard the BAC Darkest Night by order of the Quaestor, Sanguinius Tsucyra Entar who now retired from the role. It also found itself being led into battle by a new Battle Team leader, Jaek Kaeth. The team had not even fully settled into the ship before a course had been plotted to the first planet they would be fighting upon in the name of Arcona, Krayiss II.
Modern Times
Now almost two years into the future all but the name of the Battle Team Dark Forge have been lost to time. The holocrons and offices used by the team have been scrapped, stolen or sold as tactical information. Since the step down of Valkish Ebonvar the team recently have been fighting behind enemy lines of the One Sith during the Fading Light campaign. Specifically on Begeren. With the ascension of Lexiconus to the head office, a new light and reputation has begun to take form. As a symbol of Infiltration, Reconnaissance, and military Espionage.
Purpose in Sanctioned SCEPTER Operations
Members of Dark Forge officially work in either the Future Operations or Intelligence Departments of SCEPTER, with the Battleteam Leader serving as Director of Operations. These positions provide access to review target information and assemble tactical strategies for operations the Battleteam conducts. Another asset is that equipment is available to the team much more freely for any specific mission during said operations.
The Battleteam can sometimes find themselves being represented as the face for SCEPTER, meeting with potential employers to elaborate on “solutions” the Private Military Contractor can offer. This provides a cover for travel to new locales that House Galeres would like to develop additional intelligence on, or may already have some vested interest in. During these operations the unit typically functions in 2-4 person units however it is known that a single person may approach a mission with no ties, using unmatched skill, strength, and martial arts. These members are called Commanders.
Purpose in House or Clan Operations
The Dark Forge Battleteam specializes in Lightsaber combat, martial arts and demolitions. This provides a direct contrast to the long range reconnaissance capability of Soulfire. In large scale engagements the team is typically used as a flanking force while a base of fire pins down enemy targets, members often utilize speeders or other means of transportation to quickly close the distance with the enemy before executing quickly. These perilous tactics reign in some of the Clan's greatest multi-skilled specialists and those well-versed in saber and hand-to-hand combat.
Dark Forge is also capable of infiltrating and eliminating key enemy facilities using their demolitions expertise, with each member of the Battleteam having received extensive training on the variety of explosives used, shortly after their own induction into Dark Forge. The extensive knowledge of mechanics, advanced robotics and splicing is also a key factor for the missions given by the House Galeres Summit, especially for prison rescue, interrogation and internal security of Arcona.
Equipment
During official SCEPTER Negotiations, team members typically wear tailored suits or clothing appropriate to either their rank or position. This gives the team a professional appearance which only reflects the seriousness of meeting with potential clients. The clothing is cut specifically to allow a lightsaber to be concealed, though only if the team member desires. A sidearm is also sometimes carried in a drop holster on the thigh, however several members are known to prefer an under arm sling holster instead or holding a protective case for replicated splicing equipment. There are also options such as boot anchors and repair belts, but this again is generally down to the individual member.
This individualism involved with Dark Forge is a large step away (and perhaps an advantage) to other organizations that can be found within Galeres and indeed in all of Arcona.
Members of Dark Forge will also be issued with a standard Arconan Armed Forces military uniform (if they haven't already received one) with a chest badge of the Battle Team along with a shoulder patch to represent SCEPTER. This clothing is ideal for SCEPTER negotiations and award ceremonies although it is not compulsory.
Praetorian Mask
Designed and put into commission by Sergeant Jaek Kaeth, the Praetorian Mask is indispensable to ground forces in command of their troops. Developed from an ornate armored faceplate, the mask is made of enhanced Cortosis. With distinguished markings being carved into the faceplate to make each one related to the member, often coloring is added to strike fear into the opponents that the members of Dark Forge come into contact with upon the battlefield.
Furthermore; the added heads-up display functionality of the Praetorian Mask gave the wearer a much higher combat efficiency rating. The HUD (Heads Up Display) would add an active battlefield screening giving a topographical breakdown of the environment, active FoF (friend or foe) tags with added rangefinder capabilities, battlenet/holonet connection capabilities, and finally active climate/weather sensory systems.
DF-1s Armored Vest
A variant of the AV-1s Scout Armor, Dark Forge's armor is significantly lighter than the original design produced by GTU. Removing several armored layers on all but the torso area reduces the armor's weight to 9 Kg without the helmet. The helmet adds an additional 1.5 Kg of weight if worn and reducing the bulk of the armor from the extremities allows for increased dexterity, which is conducive to multiple lightsaber techniques and Dark Forge's speed focused style of assaulting objectives.
Several items are noticeably absent on the
DF-1s armor when compared with its parent AV-1s counterpart; The servo motors which are used in the AV-1s Power Armor to amplify the wearer's strength have been removed, with little to no armoring or external support structure on the wearer's extremities (besides from what is essential) there was no benefit to include the devices. The power lamp is an optional piece of the vest, at the user's choosing. Many members of Dark Forge will forgo the power lamp, instead using the vest's helmet or their innate Force abilities to assist in low light environments.
The repulsorlift engine remains fitted to the back of the vest, although it also has been modified. The standard 100m flight ceiling has been reduced to 60m and the gain from this modification is increased flight speed. The total amount of power cells within the vest have been reduced to one, the only functions which consume this cell are use of the repulsorlift engine and the power lamp. The repulsorlift engine in particular, is a significant drain on the power cell. The vest is only able to support 30 second flight periods from the engine, at maximum speed. Periods of flight greater than 30 seconds will rapidly drain the power supply. Testing of the vest shows that from a full charge it can support a total of 120 seconds of uninterrupted flight at maximum speed before power reaches levels which are inoperable for the repulsorlift engines.
The helmet to the DF-1s Armored Vest is an optional piece of equipment. All functions standard to the AV-1s helmet are included. Specifically these are; long range thermal imaging (200m range), low light imaging, environmental scanner, integrated macrobinoculars, multi-channel comm unit with encoder , a 50 kilometer range external voice amplifier and bio-med readout/sensor which displays the status of the wearer's vitals to themselves and the remainder of the team (who are wearing the DF-1s helmet). If the helmet is worn an insignificant amount of power is used to operate its systems as well thereby allowing it's systems to continue to function even after the previously mentioned 120 second flight testing.
File:FC-20 Speeder Bike.jpgFC-20M
Razalon FC-20M
The Razalon FC-20MA speeder bike consisted of a semi-circular body powered by a repulsorlift and piloted with a simple steering handle. The strange, curved body gave the FC-20M a low center of gravity, affording its rider a dramatically improved cornering ability. The FC-20M was most useful for those who did not wish to be seen, since the compact design presented a small target profile.
Unlike the standard FC-20 Models, the modified FC-20M's were capable of long distance travel due to an upgraded power cell. The power cell however, could be depleted quicker by pushing the speeder past its normal speed of 180km/s and up to 320km/s. The FC-20M's were also outfitted with a small packaging container on the rear end capable of extending to hold casualties and additional supplies to combat zones and operation areas.
Organization & Requirements
Currently the only requirement to join the Dark Forge Battle Team is that the applicant be at the Protector rank or higher.
Operating more as a Bureau agency, then a traditional policing unit. Dark Forge is capable of forming, and re-forming members as necessary to handle any situation that arises. The most common technique to aid in the development of the Journeymen members is depending on the difficulty of the mission assigned, to send one Equite level member, alongside one or more Journeymen. This is usually the Battle Team Sergeant. During the battles of Svolten Dark Forge presented its full military strength in leading the ground forces of the DDF.
Awards
War Banner coin with Dark Forge Insignia
File:Dark Forge Sith.jpegSith War Banner Insignia
A specific piece of the equipment issued to Dark Forge team members is a War Banner coin with the Dark Forge insignia on it. Individual members typically customize the insignia to the color of their specific Order. The coin can come in two varieties; a small one which leaves room for designators or a customised shape with the designators being placed on the opposite side.
Dark Cross
Members of Dark Forge who have served on the team during House, Clan, or Brotherhood sanctioned combat operations are permitted to add a Cross to their Dark Forge medals after reaching certain benchmarks. The Cross is fashioned from common doonium, the award is backed by a simple oblate ring. The cross itself is in the "flory" design representing the recipient's early growth within the Brotherhood.
A series of Dark Crosses can be pinned onto the DDF military uniform a member may possess and/or any other compatible uniform.
Steel Cross
In times of conflict a member often rises above what is expected of them and demonstrates courageous conduct in the face of great adversity. When these singular individuals step beyond the typical expectations of a Battleteam member, Dark Forge shows its gratitude for their shining example and daring achievements with a Steel Cross.
The Steel Cross is shown as a silver cross with a golden square on the chest. This is different to the standard Anteian Cross. In addition, a member who has achieved this award will receive a lightsaber decoration which can be attached onto their hilt.
Roll of Commanders