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| Wraiths of Plagueis
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House Plagueis
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Enslaved
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- 720 Phantoms
- 20 Reapers
- 85 Underlords
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- Sniper rifles
- Blaster pistols
- Disruptor weaponry
- Slugthrower rifles
- Precision explosives
- Macrobinoculars
- Speeder bikes
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Wraiths are soldiers within the enslaved ranks of House Plagueis. Unlike the savage Ravagers or the obedient Subjugates, Wraiths are designed as literal living shadows, taking life and feeling no remorse. Conditioned to feel jaded and to disregard the worth of life, they are put into a permanent state of cynicism and nihilism during the procedures to create them; passion and aggression are weakened, and the ability to love and empathize are totally eliminated. Combined with enhancements in their obedience and training to make them cold-blooded murderers, this makes Wraiths the ideal scouts, snipers, and covert operators of the Ascendant House.
History
Following the decimation of the Jusadih System, House Plagueis found itself struggling to survive onboard the damaged ’’Ascendancy’’. After jumping to the long-abandoned Vaiken Spacedock, Quaestor Reith was forced to rely upon surprise raids against commercial freighters and supply frigates to keep his House alive. As the raids continued, prisoners were taken from their crews, and it was the work of Aedile Kal di Plagia Vorrac that saw them enslaved and altered into Ravagers and Subjugates.
To bolster these forces in a covert capacity, ten squads of BX-Series Commando Droids looted from a prior raid joined in the assault on the 108th Expeditionary Scout Fleet of the Galactic Alliance. This drew the disdain of Vorrac - who had despised droids for most of his life - and thus saw the creation of a third type of operative in secret.
Selected from those who balanced murder and deception in equal amounts, certain slaves were subjected to different processes. Trained for effective covert combat, utilizing weaponry meant for special operations, and desiring nothing other than to cause death, these newly-minted troops were soon gathered together and presented to the Quaestor. Reith’s approval was almost instantaneous; the BX-series droids were relegated to training duty and the occasional mission, while their human counterparts soon became the de facto covert units for the Ascendant House.
Thus, the Wraiths of House Plagueis were born.
Skills and Abilities
Several varieties of Wraith exist. These include:
- Reaper: Trained in pairs, these Wraiths are trained to be perfect marksmen. Learning how to gauge wind and trained to set up in an area and stay there until they have a shot, or have other orders relayed to them, Reapers execute orders without hesitation. They often wear weather-equipped gear and are equipped with gear to contain bodily wastes in the event that they cannot move from their posts.
- Shadow: A Wraith Shadow fills the role of a special operations commando, and is trained to operate weaponry meant for mobility and
high kill potential. Trained in several martial arts and specific weaponry by the Obelisk of Plagueis, Shadows may not have weaponry or armor as heavy as their Ravager cousins, but they are the most highly trained and carry the deadliest exotic weapons available to the Ascendant House.
- Phantom: Trained to operate as scouts in the field, Phantoms are trained to be more athletic and less confrontational than their fellow Wraiths. Taught stealth, camouflage, and survival techniques, they come lightly armed but can live for weeks and even months while deployed in the field. Rather than executing kills directly, Phantoms are those who relay enemy positions and establish targets for insertions and bombing runs, indirectly causing the deaths of hundreds.
- Underlord: Akin to the Ravagers, these Wraiths are so named as to signify a position above their peers but below the Lords they serve. One Underlord is present in each division of Shadows and Phantoms, and is identified by a Sith symbol engraved into his left shoulderplate. Underlords keep Wraith units functioning cleanly and use sign language to communicate with their Sith overlords.
All Wraiths operate with cold, heartless efficiency. They are trained to act as the scythe borne by Death, taking life where their masters dictate and living for no other purpose. Their lives are cycles of training, killing, and waiting for the end - when his duties are done, a Wraith is happy to pass into
the Force.
Weapons and Equipment
Wraith gear is a combination of jumpsuit and medium armor, not truly black but in actuality a combination of light and dark grays. This is only swapped in different climates such as artic or desert warfare; otherwise, their colors make them blend perfectly into the shadows.
Their helmets are perhaps the most distinctive gear a Wraith wears - a number of small buttons on the left side of the head control their settings, a small console on the right side holds a flashlight and comlink, though they can be extricated and used separately in emergencies, and their faceplates are matte black except for a long black slit in the eye region and three small vents. This gives them a fearsome, faceless visage.
Depending on their purpose, a Wraith's gear will be adorned with a backpack containing survival gear, a cylindrical canister that captures and breaks down human waste, or a series of belts and pockets for special weapons and tools. Certain missions will even see them outfitted with oxygen tanks and aquatic gear or jetpacks for underwater and space deployment.
Wraith weaponry virtually all comes from the black market, and includes a variety of compact blasters and slugthrowers, sniper rifles, scatterguns, ballistic and special grenades, vibroblades, and tactical explosives. Aside from their armament, Wraiths will also utilize 74-Z speeder bikes for specific missions, especially those who are designated Phantoms.
Finally, each Wraith has a capsule full of cyanide concealed inside of their rear left molar; it is positioned so as to not be accidentally bitten, but if the Wraith is captured, they will be able to deploy the toxins within and will be dead within seconds. This is a failsafe that stops them from revealing the content of their missions to the enemy, and is deployed willingly and eagerly.
The Wraith Process
Wraith creation is a process in between that of Subjugates and Ravagers. They are selected from those candidates who show the proper attributes - an inclination toward deception, indicators of agility and athleticism, and most of all, an inclination toward negativity. Those who would be Wraiths are taken immediately into Krath care, where they undergo a dizzying amount of conditioning.
The vocal chords of all Wraiths are tampered with to reduce them to a low growl, unsuited for emotion or inflection. They are given injections, subjected to surgery, and forced to imbibe or otherwise take Krath alchemical compounds that force them into a depressive and nihilistic state. Their brains are tampered with to weaken their memories of the past, while the centers of their brain that process positive emotion are modified or simply removed. Their bodies are inflicted with venoms and compounds that accelerate muscle damage, while at the same time dealing with steroidal medicines that accelerate healing. While this occasionally results in tumors or abnormal growth, most Wraiths end up getting in shape far faster than they normally would.
Once this is done, Wraiths are subjected to dogma that enforces their duty as murderers in the service of House Plagueis; they learn to obey and to take life as their only sources of purpose. They are trained by the retinue of Commando Droids in Plagueian service as well as by Obelisk, Sith, and Krath alike in the ways of stealth, deception, and assassination. This training takes longer than with Ravagers, but results in greater loyalty; this is why there are fewer Wraiths, but also why they are so skillful and obedient. Altogether, the process takes from six to eight weeks.
The processes to create a Wraith are ultimately very hard on them - the estimated lifespan of a Wraith is no more than six years. However, during that time, they are agents of shadow, silent killers, and perfect scouts - the ideal covert servants of the Ascendant House.