- "Memento mori (Remember you shall die)"
- ―Sapphire Squadron's motto
Introduction
Sapphire Squadron is the elite Battleteam of House Shar Dakhan that both protects the House and projects its will subtly over its territory. It serves across a variety of locations on Aeotheran, Inos and San Korinar, and unlike previous incarnations has no official headquarters. It was recreated in 39 ABY as a reimagining of its predecessor.
History
Sapphire Squadron was reactivated in 39 ABY following the recapture of the Orian System by Clan Naga Sadow and subsequent events. As the Clan began a stricter rule over the Orian System, including Shar Dakhans territory on Aeotheran and San Korinar, it became obvious that a small covert force was needed. It remains separate from the House military and the Aeotheran Security Force, answering directly to the Quaestor and the Aedile. Its remit is not only to protect House assets and personnel, but to assert their will by covert and often deniable actions.
Membership of Sapphire Squadron
Due to the covert nature of Sapphire Squadron, members mostly conduct their activities privately and carry no identification, have no official uniform and are often unknown to each other as members unless directed to work together. Knowledge of the full membership is restricted to the Battleteam Leader, Quaestor and Aedile.
Under the direction of the above leaders, a member will be expected to carry out duties as and when needed. This includes but is not limited to the following:
Asset Protection
Protecting House assets such as its official buildings, civilian and military installations and important personnel. This is not a long term duty as the House military and civilian forces ordinarily cover this. Ths would be for a short period of time when an exceptional threat has been identified and is deemed beyond the capabilities of the above organisations.
Covert Surveillance
Like the above, surveillance of our own populous, civilian leaders and military is ordinarily handled by the Ministry of Justice and Security and the House military where appropriate. However there are situations where a target is particularly sensitive due to their seniority, is outside our House’s territory, or may even be another member of our House or Clan. In these situations a high level of skill and deniability is needed and it falls to a Sapphire Squadron member.
Training
From time to time members of Sapphire Squadron work with personnel within the military and security forces to train them in specialist techniques or advise them on specific types of threats and warfare scenarios.
Misdirection, Sabotage and Threat Removal
The final and perhaps most significant duty of Sapphire Squadron is to protect the house against threats by any means necessary. This can include infiltration and undermining hostile organisations or groups that threaten our rule and existence, destruction of enemy fortifications in times of war or where they are deemed to be a potential threat, or removal by passive means or otherwise of enemies of our House and Clan.
The nature of these duties are highly sensitive and how they are implemented often falls to the judgement of the individual member depending on the situation and their brief. Often if caught the House will deny any knowledge of the member’s activities if it would cause embarrassment or tensions with the target. However if deemed possible, a rescue may be attempted or a painless alternative to torture and execution provided.
Authority Of The Members
Though ordinarily a member is expected to perform their duties using their own skills, natural abilities and equipment they have available to them, they have been given a level of authority over other resources when needed to achieve an objective. It has been identified that a member may need to work quickly when a situation arises and without having to formally request assistance from the Chain of Command.
A process has been put in place that when identifying a threat a member can request assistance from local commanders of both the military and the Aeotheran Security Force. This will allow them to utilise a company level unit or several squadron of fighters for a specific task without having to notify the leadership, though a record of this will exist after to prevent abuse of this authority.
The Battleteam leader in addition to being able to call in larger assistance such as a Battalion sized unit, also has the Arquitens Cruiser Satyr at their disposal, aside from during times of war when this will form part of a larger force.
A member of Sapphire Squadron may also gain access where needed to any civilian government building or military facility within our territory, or to any private home or business with the assistance of the Aeotheran Security Force.
Except in exceptional circumstances this authority may only be used within Shar Dakhan’s territory of Aeotheran, Inos and San Korinar. Use outside of this requires authorisation from the House Summit, except in times of war when additional powers are granted.
Conclusion
Being a member of Sapphire Squadron means serving House Shar Dakhan and keeping it safe, in an often unforgiving manner where at best your actions will not be directly noticed and at worst might mean an unpleasant ending. However all of the above can be seen as a reward for loyal members of the House who want to see it succeed and play their part in it.
Squadron Commanders (Battle Team)