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I see the contestants are making their way out onto the starting grid. This article was originally created as an entry for a Tenth Great Jedi War competition and is not official DJB canon content. It is preserved here for historical purposes only.
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| The Batallion
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- Founded 33 ABY
- Activated 34 ABY
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Reigning Grand Master
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Spec Ops, Assassination, Protection, Sabotage, Inflitration
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Battalion, 1000 men
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Skarra Station
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Muz Ashen
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We are ready to serve
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Green and Black
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Colonel Sian
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The Battalion has no official name; it simply does not exist outside of its own actions and the appropriated funds used to keep it running. Special care has been taken to minimize knowledge of its existence, to the point where only a handful of people serving on the Dark Council know of it. It exists under the personal command of GM Muz Ashen.
History
The Battalion has never served as a unit in a battle, more often dividing into small autonomous units when fighting properly. More often, members serve in more clandestine fashion, acting as assassins, saboteurs, and terrorists at the will of the Grand Master.
Formation
Formed in 33 ABY, with training schedules for first troops being designed by high ranking officers of the Armed Forces of the Iron Throne and later refined by Muz Ashen, The Battalion was designed as the ultimate in traditional troops; with a training schedule designed specifically to wash out ninety plus percent recruits, it was one of the most brutal regimens ever.
Development
Between formation and activation (a 17 month process), several important precedents were set. Primarily, the survival of the Cult of the Grand Master past its recruitment purpose. Others include the names of the companies and platoons, the division of Delta Company as the support section, and the development of the modern Church of the Grand Master.
Survival of the Cult
The Cult of the Grand Master was not going to leave easily; members of the Battalion had gotten used to seeing the Grand Master as a Messiah. Their 'rescue' only furthered their beliefs. Within three months, several cults were formed. The most significant were the Apotheosis cults, the Mortal God cults, the Avatar cults, and the Messiah cults.
The Apotheosis cults believed that the Grand Masters used to be human, but ascended to God Hood. The Mortal God cults held that the Grand Masters were all gods in mortal form, and when 'killed' simply ascended to a higher plane of existence. The Avatar Cults held that the Grand Masters were mortals that were chosen by the Force to act as its hand in the world. The Messiah cults believed the Grand Masters to be representatives of the Force, but not actively controlled by it.
Formation of the Church
When Muz Ashen heard of this division, he quickly took steps to keep the resources he had pushed into it from being wasted; for the first time, he appeared on Skarra Station, proclaiming a somewhat obscure Apotheosis cult led by 1st Lt. Sian as the foundation of the Church of the Grand Master. Muz quickly left, letting his highly fanatic troops sort them selves out. This quick intervention caused a heavy feeling of unity as everyone within The Battalion fell under a single ideology, delighted that their God had appeared before them to guide their actions.
Naming of the Companies
The names of the companies were selected for simplicities purpose; they would not be easily confused, and their nature would keep new companies from disrupting the naming scheme. The platoons were chosen for similar reasons.
Training/Recruitment
Recruitment
There are only three requirements to enlist The Battalion; to be healthy, to have already demonstrated extreme loyalty to the reigning Grand Master, and to have had no Force training. In practice, only those who have demonstrated exceptional skill are entered into training, as anyone else is guaranteed death. When someone is selected for potential addition to The Battalion, recruiters sneak into their home, drug them, kidnap them, and take them to a specially designed prison.
Training
The initial stage of training gets potential members into a very hostile prison environment, designed specifically to force inmates to become stronger or die. A Sith cult, venerating the Grand Master, approaches those who show capability and dedication and tells the recruit that, once in a while, the Grand Master comes and frees a small group, all of which are a member of the Cult; that several members disappear regularly is often offered as proof. Most quickly accept, having already been somewhat conditioned towards following the Grand Master. Those who do not are quickly targeted, with guards paying the other (legitimate) inmates to attack them. As the attacks increase in severity, they either convert or die.
After they become fanatics, as events are carefully orchestrated to give them the idea that the Grand Master is a god, they and several other recruits are carefully spirited away, with the first image they see being other members who were similarly taken away, who quickly fill the new members heads with rather grand images of the Grand Master, their own fanaticism showing through.
They are directed around the Skarra Station, showing them what could be theirs if they join with The Battalion. Those who say no but are members of the Armed Forces of the Iron Throne are replaced, and begin to spread word of the Cult of the Grand Master, in an attempt to assist the regular military in their devotion. Those who say no and are not members of the Armed Forces of the Iron Throne are quietly and cleanly killed.
Officer Training
Everyone goes in enlisted, the only exception being those officers who were borrowed to start it up (and they were quietly returned, having been already assured of loyalty). A special school for officers exists for those that wish to enter into the officer class.
Consisting of four months of tactical training and practice, anyone who does not wash out is given the temporary rank of O-0, or Third Lieutenant. They are then given standard Second Lieutenant duties; if they do well, they are made official officers. If not, they are dropped back to enlisted ranks and kept far away from leadership.
Organization
While the Reigning Grand Master is the De Jure commander, an appointed representative is largely responsible for directing their actions, except when the Reigning GM needs them for special duties.
Currently, the commander is Colonel Sian, the first commander who was not re-routed from the Armed Forces of the Iron Throne. Her quick rise in rank is due to exceptional capabilities, several proposed and enacted reforms to the recruitment methods (which helped seperate those who would pass and those that would not much more quickly), and her position as Grand Priest in the Cult of the GM (a position which was largely created to prevent different sects from cropping up).
Divided into three companies of three hundred and one company of one hundred (further divided into 25 man platoons), the Battalion is often able to divide itself and recombine as necessary, and rather seamlessly.
The Platoons are named by their company followed by a number. Thus, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Companies have Platoons Alpha/Beta/Gamma 1 through Alpha/Beta/Gamma 12, and Delta Company has Platoons Delta 1 through Delta 4. They are not divided by duties, but rather to allow quick divisions in battlefield while retaining the Chain of Command. Delta Company is an exception, being responsible for keeping everything running.
Still, the various companies have developed certain preferences when it comes to recruits.
Alpha Company
Alpha Company is led by Captain Ta'Til, deputied by 1st Lt. Wes, with the sergeant position held by Sgt. Warick. Has the highest concentration of snipers in The Battalion. Holds 9 out of 10 of the furthest kill shot records in The Battalion.
Beta Company
Beta Company is led by Major Kein, deputied by 2nd Lt. Terrek, with the sergeant position held by Sgt. Kyral. Has the highest concentration of infiltrators in The Battalion. Their cook makes a really great stew.
Gamma Company
Gamma Company is led by 1st Lt. Marshal, deputed by 2nd Lt. Vaal, with the sergeant position held by Sgt. Maugvi. The closest to an evenly distributed company, but recent trends indicate that it may develop out as a home for the saboteurs of The Battalion. Also holds the record for most hours clocked in total at the Grand Masters Chapel.
Delta Company
Delta is led by Colonel Sain, and is the only company with a specific duty. They are charged with maintaining Skarra Station, helping new members, guarding the Grand Master on all his visits, and maintaining the Officer School. Most members are Officers or experienced non-coms, with only the most talented and fanatical Junior Enlisted being accepted. Deputied by Lt. Colonel Jyvun, with the sergeant position held by Sgt. Kurn. Holds the record for most hours clocked per person at the Grand Masters Chapel.
Funding
Funding for The Battalion varies; a large portion is taken from the Brotherhoods funds, but Muz Ashen has been constantly making his own contributions to The Battalion, in an attempt to make it capable to run even if Brotherhood politics forces Muz to cut off Brotherhood funds to The Battalion. The exact number of each is never the same, and The Battalion also attempts to draw what it can from targets to keep its actual funding a mystery to those aware of its existence, something which it has done rather well.
Duties
Serving as what amounts to a Force Blind hand to the Grand Master, The Battalion rarely has work one would consider dull. They sometimes act as auxiliary guards to the Grand Master (almost never to other members of the Dark Council, only when in a location where regular troops surround them), or guards for when the Royal Guard cannot be risked (when the Grand Master is retrieving something he does not wish for other Force Users to see). Their primary duty, however, is to do the dirty work of the Grand Master, having no house or clan loyalties (unlike members of the Royal Guard) to get in their way, thus making them less powerful yet more reliable versions of the Royal Guard. Of course, the very fact that they are Force Blind, and believe they have divine protection and guidance from the Grand Master, makes the vast majority of targets underestimate them. Their training and equipment provide them with a surprising bag of tricks, allowing them to be a notable threat, even one on one, to Jedi Hunters, and even Knights that were caught off guard (though they don't usually come out of those alive, they do some significant damage and can even inflict mortal wounds), making them a powerful weapon.
Equipment
Usually a case of 'fit to the job', the variety of equipment they have is, frankly, astounding. Blaster rifles, Long Rifles, slugthrower pistols, slug thrower machine guns, sniper rifles, a wide variety of armor, grenades, thermal detonators, chemical weapons, and even suicide bombs (sometimes implanted ones, especially for those with important information) form a small amount of their potential usage. Their numbers are the primary reason they have most of this; with a decent base from which to draw, they could field a wide variety of specialist teams, while at the same time keeping them organized.
Church of the Grand Master
While the Cult of the Grand Master was constructed specifically for the purpose of turning recruits into fanatics, the Church of the Grand Master was constructed entirely out of those who had already been admitted into The Battalion, built so they could continue their worship. With a few months, there were several sects. Weary of a civil war, Muz Ashen stepped in, named one cult the true church, and quietly stepped out while they all merged, then 1st Lt. Sian having been selected as de facto leader, her own cult being the one chosen by the Grand Master.
Organization
Largely informally organized, the Grand Priest simply names new priests whenever the occasion seems to warrant it. Rarely, titles within the church are offered. These are the closest things to medals anyone in The Battalion receives.
Titles Granted
Defender of the Faith; Corporal Coryn Vance. Awarded for exceptional devotion, striking down a heretic in an honorable duel, and risking life and limb for the Will of the Grand Master.
Sword of the Grand Master; Private Rodger Young. Awarded for exceptional devotion, the holy slaughter of the enemies of the Grand Master, sacrifice of life for the Will of the Grand Master and good of the members of the Battalion. Awarded Posthumously.
Scribe of the Grand Master; Sgt. Mala. Awarded for collection, canonization, and distribution of holy documents relevant to the Grand Master.