Karness Muur is a House within Clan Plagueis developed by Arden Karn and Celevon Edraven after the Horizons Crisis in 36 ABY. Originally created as a Battleteam, Karness Muur became one of Plagueis's two Houses following the return to Clanhood.
History
After the Horizons Crisis and the concurrent massive attack on their fleet and home system, House Plagueis was left near total defeat. In a controversial decision, Quaestor Reith used the charges from orbit to destroy every Plagueian stronghold and temple in the Jusadih System, due to their being overrun with the enemy. With much of their forces destroyed, Plagueis had to turn to other tactics in order to rebuild. Brute force, while still useful, was not going to be as viable an option with the house in its weakened state. Realizing this, Tra'an Reith concluded that a new battle team had to be formed, specializing in asymmetrical warfare.
To lead this team, Tra’an turned to Arden Karn. Arden had garnered a reputation during the Horizon Crisis for creative thinking and courage under fire. He had also had a past record of being a top notch sniper, scout, and slicer before coming to the Brotherhood. All these qualities made him a natural choice to lead a team dedicated to stealth and subterfuge. He began gathering others in Plagueis that had similar talents.
The first of these to be approached was a transfer from Clan Arcona during the beginning of the Horizons Crisis named Celevon Edraven. The assassin was recognized for his ambitious nature in his early career in the Brotherhood, having been chosen as an Apprentice by Elder Sashar Erinos within days of joining. He had flourished under the Mandalorian’s teachings, taking on the position of sniper in the Soulfire Strike Team. Prior to joining the Brotherhood, the amnesiac took on numerous assassination contracts and had experience smuggling weapons, not counting advanced military training during his teenage years and further training during his time in Soulfire and as Captain of Spectre Cell, as well as time served in the Arcona Army Corps.
Together they would form the nucleus on which a strong battle team would be founded. They would be instrumental in the rebuilding of Plagueis, participating in several early operations.
When Plagueis returned to Clanhood in 37 ABY, Karness Muur was elevated from a battleteam to full House status. In a somewhat controversial move, now Consul Montressor named the recent One Sith defector and then Overseer, Kz'set, as it's first Quaestor. At this time it transferred it's base of operations from the “Harrower” to the newly acquired Nebula class Star Destroyer “Preeminence”
Lore
The name, Karness Muur, came to Arden instinctively after hearing Alaris’ name for the counterpart battle team Ajunta Pall. Muur’s ability to strike fear into those he oppressed was innate. The Rakghoul plague drove entire populations to terror over millennia, and though the power to turn others into Rakghoul was out of reach to those in Plagueis, the symbolism of it weighed perfectly in Arden’s mind.
In addition, unbeknownst to Arden and the Dark Jedi Brotherhood, Karness Muur still existed during the Dark Brotherhood Era and for an additional hundred years after the creation of the battle team, existing in a hard fought battle with Celeste Morne through the use of his Talisman. The irony here is that Karness Muur still exists, exerting his will, as does House Plagueis, though neither party is aware of the other’s existence.
Unit Speciality
One could safely say that one of the reasons the Brotherhood, and in particular Plagueis, was so devastated by the Horizon Crisis was the fact they were caught unaware. The enemy struck without warning with devastating force. Plagueis could not afford for this to happen again, particularly in its current state. Therefore, the newly knighted Arden was tasked with assembling a team of individuals that specialized in information gathering and more subtle forms of war. BKM would be the eyes, ears, and when necessary “finger” of Plagueis.
Striking from the shadows, BKM can be everywhere and nowhere. These members are the ones the Quaestor calls upon if he wants to keep his hands clean. Be it Hacking, Recon, Assassination, Interrogation/Torture, Manipulation, Bribery, or anything of s similar nature, the leaders of Plagueis can find those talents in BKM.
Due to the nature of its operations, BKM tends to operate in two or three man teams in most circumstances. Smaller groups can be more stealthy by their very nature. However, missions requiring more force often call for multiple teams to be working as a cohesive unit on a given target. These teams are not necessarily fixed as different skills might be needed for specific objectives.
It's change in status from a battleteam to a House has required some adaptation in it's tactics. It now operates heavier forces than it did during it's time as a battleteam, allowing it to perform a wider variety of missions than it did before. While it's leaders still look to it's roots and value stealth and guile, it can now pack a potent punch with it's compliment of armored units.
Base Of Operations - BAC Harrower
- Main article: BAC Harrower
BAC Harrower, base of BT Karness MuurDue to not having a permanent, land-bound Headquarters, the Sith and his Executive Officer immediately worked out a plan to transform the Bothan Assault Cruiser into a mobile Command Base. While it had enough food supplies for two standard years, it lacked some critical components to make it a base, such as training facilities and the armory. Due to it being a purely militaristic vessel before then, it was not setup for long-term living. Two of the suites were immediately cleared out and set up for Arden and the Assassin while the original three suites remained for the Quaestor, Aedile and Rollmaster’s visits.
Rather than having individual rooms for all of the other Officers and Grunts, the regular military were moved to where eight to ten of them shared each of the rooms, which had been a waste of precious living space. The Officers themselves were shifted until they were two persons to a room. The mainly accessible parts of the ship is in sections, each divided up into several decks, and can be accessed by lifts throughout the Harrower in that area of the vessel. Due to security concerns, however, each deck is unspecified.
Summit Chronology
Assigned Forces
Naval Forces
Nebula-class Star Destroyer [NSD Preeminence|Preeminence]]
1 Corellian Gunship Anguish
1 Corellian Gunship Curse
Ground Forces
The ground forces of House Karness Muur consist of the units assigned to Army Force Wampa. Army Force Wampa is organized as a Regiment, and is comprised of roughly 3,000 sentients and droids, with over 2,500 of them being front-line troops. The unit also contains a number of armored vehicles. .