Nightwraiths

"So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak."

―Sun Tzu

Formed during the crucible of death and destruction that was the Ninth Great Jedi War the concept of the Nightwraiths blossomed into a fully fledged operational unit shortly before the incident at Eden (31 ABY).

History

The members of the Nightwraiths Battle Team do not apply to join the prestigious unit; they are instead selected by a shadowy military cabal who pick only the strongest, wisest, craftiest and deadliest men and women of Tarentum. Together they undergo extensive training with elements of Tarentum’s armed forces to form a coherent and effective unit as deadly as a Death Star.

Role

By utilising two facets of a Tarenti’s training; strict and comprehensive military training and steeped learning in the occult Dark Side teachings an elite unit of lethal ghosts were formed. These elite commandos were formed with the promise of being House Cestus’ fist, a unit that would act in any way necessary to achieve the goals set before them by their leadership be it urban warfare or sabotaging an armoured column in the desert wastes of Tatooine. The sentients of the unit have, through the trials of their training, been moulded into a close knit, effective family for whom verbal communications are often unnecessary on the field of battle as each simply knows what is expected of him or her. During missions the team works in conjunction with 1st platoon of B company of the 1st Division’s Special Forces battalion where they form the first squad. Overarching command of the platoon is, under mission circumstances, placed in the hands of the Battle Team commander who is responsible for the disposition of their men. Each squad within the platoon has undergone the same “basic” training expected of a Tarenti commando unit however each individual squad has also undergone further training in fields such as urban, jungle, air and mountain combat. Needless to say the forces dedicated to a particular mission is dependant on its requirements in that not all squads will be needed for most missions.

Equipment

Weapons

• TAW-8GP Combat Rifle: A proprietary Tarentum IP this rifle is excellently suited for most situations with variable rates of fire and recoil compensators to ensure accurate fire.
• TAW-25LR Heavy Rifle: One of these rifles per squad for use by a dedicated sniper.
• TAW-6A Autopistol: Each member of the platoon must carry one of these side arms for use in the event of a primary weapon malfunction.
• HX2 mine: Each member is required to carry one of these antipersonnel mines per mission.
• C-22 fragmentation grenade: Each member is required to carry at least 2 of these grenades per mission.
• Smoke grenades: One per person.
• Luma grenade: One per person.
• 81mm mortar: One of these indirect fire weapons is carried per squad, often broken into its constituent parts so as not to burden any one member unnecessarily with each member of the squad carrying a case of 4 rounds.
• T-21 repeating rifle: A single repeater rifle per squadron to ensure adequate supply of cover fire should it be needed.
• Vibroknife: For use in hand to hand/maximum stealth situations each member must have a bladed weapon on their person.

Armour

• TDW-HA MkI: A masterpiece of war designed by Tarentum’s own defensive works, a subsidiary of the TAW. This armour has been designed to sheath its wearer in nigh-impenetrable armour yet remains light enough to be carried with no discomfort. It’s unique defensive capabilities comes from the web of energy dampening superconductors woven into mimetic plates of the shell that disperses the energy from a laser blast from its impact point through the whole armour before channelling it into its own energy stores. Protection against kinetic weapons is provided by a plassteel alloy provided by Tarenti mines which has been demonstrated to resist the initial blow of an amphistaff. Worn underneath the armour is a body suit which incorporates a further energy web to dampen any residual laser fire that might leak through the outer shell.Similar to the fabled stormtrooper armour the TDW-HA MkI allows its user to survive in a vacuum for a limited run of time (obviously with the use of a helmet).

Squad Roles

A

Squad is in the in-mission designation of the Battle Team and are, possibly, the most flexible and deadliest troops available for Tarentum’s use. Comprising of around 8 individuals this potent squad is a real force multiplier and no job is too large or complex for them to complete with a little help. Subtler than a whole division but as deadly as a Death Star.

B

The urban combat specialists; they have been given training in street fighting, house clearing and riot control duties and as such can be seconded to the Yridian police if a major disturbance is reported. Comprising of ten individuals, eight private soldiers, one Lance-Corporal and a commanding Corporal. The squadron undergoes rigorous training in the urban sprawl of Yridia IX and Tara on Yridia II where the members learn how to set up cover observation posts and tracking targets, often innocent locals picked at random, they then undergo further training in a specially designed row of prefab buildings designed to resemble a street of houses which they must fight through often having to discriminate between “hostages” and targets whilst using live ammunition.

C

The ten men of C squadron are the special environment warfare experts. Whilst bone fide jungle is at a premium in the Yridia system the same cannot be said of other worlds that might be of interest to Tarentum, as such this squadron have been invested with the responsibility of mastering the art of jungle warfare by spending time with natives of jungle worlds such as Haruun Kal and learning their crafts.Further the squad is trained in arts of mountain fighting memorising the techniques of ambush and destruction along twisting mountain paths whilst at the same time being just as home in the arid wastes of Tatooine.

D

D squadron is the designated air insertion troop. Whilst most of the Tarenti army is, in a way, air inserted by mode of troop transports landing them on the surface of planets D squad takes this to the next level. Using single person re-entry pods they are able to travel from ship to surface in a rapid, safe and undetectable manner thanks to absorptive plating covering the hull of their drop pods. If, however, the troops happen to already be on the surface of the world their target is on then more conventional air insertion techniques such as parachuting or abseil from a transport/gunship is the preferred option.

E

Whilst normally a platoon would compromise only four squadrons the integration of the Battle Team to the platoon has expanded their fighting capacity to five squads. So it became that E squad was formed and tasked with mastering the art of reconnaissance. Whilst each of the squads could, in theory, perform their own recon it was judged a more efficient use of resources to develop a squad who’s sole purpose is the provision of intelligence thus allowing the other units to focus their unique talents solely upon their fields of expertise.

Tactics

Combined Arms

It has been learned over countless millennia of warfare and strife that an infantry unit is only as good as its backup. To this extent the platoon has at its disposable numerous resources granted to it by Clan Tarentum's military. For example should the platoon be in operation on worlds where a Tarenti military presence is notable each squad is able to request air strikes or orbital bombardment. As a force multiplier unit (that is a unit capable of increasing the effectiveness of other units in combat) will sometimes see the unit in combat close by to elements of the greater Tarenti army and as such can be expected to be reinforced by army elements such as armour and air/space craft.

Piloting

As customary for a Clan within the Brotherhood opportunities for piloting are available. Perhaps mirroring the role of the fabled Wraith squadron in the New Republic members will often have to insert via star fighter which may be a mission specific craft (for example using a stolen NR X-wing to bypass a customs patrol). Half of each squad must undergo basic naval training to ensure competency behind the stick of a wide range of space craft including the mastering of bridge controls should a mission require the theft of a capital ship.

Assassinations

Whilst certain so-called civilised civilisations abhor the art of assassination it is, nonetheless, an essential part of any well fought war; why battle a whole army when a single shot at the general in charge could cause it to crumble? It is to this extent that the Nightwraiths undergo training, as a supplement to that they receive in the arcane methods of Force assassinations, in many forms of stealth killing such as sniping, poison, shiv to the kidneys and all the other back alley techniques deemed efficient and worth knowing.

Counter Insurgency

As has too often been witnessed in Tarenti space any local populace can prove to be fickle, their allegiance often only guaranteed by the tip of a blaster rifle. Outright rebellion against occupation will often revert to the occupying power re-establishing control however the path is long and costly and prevention is better than cure. To achieve the stated aims each member of Tarentum’s special forces undergo hearts and minds training to win the trust of the locals thus, hopefully, ensuring their loyalty, failing this they are also well versed in the arts of terror that could have equalled the Empire at its height.

Headquarters

Cestus Complex

When the unit is quartered within the Cestus compound on Koros a large set of quarters have been converted into a HQ for the team. Within this five meters by five meters square lies all the wonders of modern technology available to Clan Tarentum; computers that analyse transmissions made across Tarenti space analysing them for key words and distilling information on any potential troubles for the team of intelligence experts constantly present within the office to view. Other than the transmissions feeds from hundreds, nay thousands, of CCTV cameras are piped into the Tarenti defence mainframes and are analysed by A.I routines for suspicious behaviour; any scenes of interest are forwarded on to those who can do something about it. The self same networked technology keeps tracks on each member of the team tracking their training and estimated battle efficiency, not to mention keeping each member fully stocked via an auto-inventory subroutine within their armour HUD.

In the Field

Whilst out on routine patrol or on a mission the BTL is designated as the “HQ” with his HUD tactical overlay receiving theatre specific intel via a subspace link. Communications and interpretation is often facilitated (if possible) via a HQ team in orbit or a nearby firebase usually consisting of two non-coms who serve to relay any orders or updates that might come from Clan/House leadership.