The Tal’mahe’Ra was a division within House Galeres of Clan Arcona. Formed in the aftermath of the purge[3] by Darth Pravus, the collective of individuals are Arcona’s response to the Inquisitorius threat of the Grand Master and the Star Chambers New Order[4]. Tasked with the protection of the ‘Undesirable’ members of Clan Arcona, they aim to confront and challenge Inquisitorius strikes at Arcona, combat powerful Force-Users opposed to the Serpentine Throne, and were responsible for archaeological expeditions to recover alien and ancient Sith artifacts - technological or religious - so long as it empowered the Shadow Clan.
History
Origins
An Iron Legion trooper tracking Zakath through the jungleThe Grand Master worked in secret - surrounded by his Dark Councilors - to plot the downfall of the Clans. His predecessor, Muz Ashen, had stripped them of their rights, and pride, making them defiant. They had willfully disobeyed him throughout his reign. Darth Pravus had used the unified power of Taldryan and Arcona to split the Brotherhood - creating a crack for him to sneak through. Now, he sought to destabilize those bastions of faithful zealots by commissioning the Clan's members to his service: Guardsmen, Inquisitors, Scholars. He would shackle them to his will through servitude to himself. He would split their loyalties, divide their unity, and center himself as the epicenter of the future.To test the vastness of his reach and tighten his stranglehold on the Brotherhood, he would issue orders for the purge[3]. It was a defiant move that activated the Inquisitorious; forcing them to move against their own clan mates or face the wrath of a Dark Lord of the Sith.
It was in this instance, as members were slayed across Brotherhood space, that kernels of defiance began to spring forth. In the Dominion of Arcona, on the planet of Eldar, a Barabel named Zakath Agrona would be interrupted from his hunt by members of the Inquisitorious and soldiers of the Iron Legion[5]. Flanked by the greater numbers, the enemies would pen him down with persistent blaster fire. The crimson bolts creating a cage around the Barabel before a trio of Inquisitors subdued him. Captured and restrained, he was mercilessly at their will as they began an unknown ritual. Their hands joined, they began a low chant that summoned a dark energy. It slinked across the ground towards the Barabel before it began to wrap itself about his form - as if it was sentient. It was warm to his reptilian skin, but suddenly changed from soothing to painful in a moment. It tore at his exterior, ripping back his scales, as it clawed its way to his inside - his soul - desperately attempting to carve The Force from him.
As the ritual progressed, the members of the Iron Legion began to methodically disappear. Silent, precise, and determined, a young Sith named Tamashi Bloodfyre wrought death onto them. Alerted by Dajorra Defense Forces by a deviation in their recorded flight path, he dispatched himself to investigate the discrepancy.
Zakath struck down by Inquisitorius sorceryAs he had neared the misdirected party, he saw their capture of the Sith Zakath Agrona and began to plot how he - alone - could dispatch a greater force and free his Clan mate. With a swath of the Iron Legion dispatched by his blade, he closed in on the three Agents of the Grand Master. With a single, Force-infused slice of his blade, three heads of the Inquisitors fell to the ground. Their voices no longer able to power their ritual, the dark energy faded - leaving the Barabel barely alive.
Despite his grievous wounds, Zakath picked up his BlasTech E-11 blaster rifle and began to fire indiscriminately as the remainder of the Iron Legion closed in on them. Even with their anti-Force User combat training, the soldiers were a poor match and too outnumbered for the pair of Sith - one fueled by his pain, the other by his determination. It was only after the bloodlust was sated, the bodies of the Iron Legion at his feet, that Zakath truly began to understand the situation before him. Boldly, the Grand Master had acted against the Clans and members of the Brotherhood itself. He was amazed by the power that mere Junior Inquisitors could wield. What other secrets had the Dark Lord given to his Legion of faithful?
Inception
Destruction of a safehouse on EldarAs reports began to filter in through the ranks, it became apparent that 'Undesirables'[3] and 'Light Siders'[6] were not among the Grand Master's favored. Their mere existence had driven Darth Pravus to execute the alien members within the Brotherhood. They had even slain Undesirables on sovereign ground. Other rumors said that students had been slain in the very classrooms of the Shadow Academy. The threat of the Inquisitorious - the Faceless Legion of the Grand Master - created discord within the Clans. Their zealous, fanatic nature tempered by the thought of crossing the Dark Lord and facing his wrath.
Then came the attack on New Tython. It had been swift and unexpected. The turbolasers of the Super Star Destroyer had ripped the world apart. Massive bolts of blue ion energy and crimson laser blasts scored the planet until it was no longer recognizable. Unable to offer assistance guaranteed by the Dajorra-Yhi Concordat, the members of Clan Arcona took a sudden, second blow to their morale. Before aid could be offered, the Brotherhood holo-network issued strict, prohibitive orders that no assistance could be granted to Clan Odan-Urr. Loyalists faithful to the Serpentine Throne - in service to the Iron Throne - whispered that the Grand Master had made a proclamation that he would drag Atyiru through the streets of Estle City, if she attempted to assist her Allies.
In this moment, when hope seemed least likely, Zakath approached the Summit of Clan Arcona. He reminded them that while the Clan's hope was being snuffed like light from a candle - this was the Shadow Clan. And in darkness, their power was infinite. Together, with Tamashi, they outlined a proposal that would be a silent response to the aggressive behavior of the Grand Master. To address their oversight of his expanding reach and infinite power, they would work to oppose the Inquisitorious working against Clan Arcona: seeking out powerful Force techniques, artifacts, and Force Users before they could be used against members of Arcona. After long deliberation between the senior members of the Summit, it was decided a team would be created under the banner of House Galeres - the House of brave warriors - and reporting to the Quaestor of Galeres.
As members of House Galeres, they would have access and ability to command or commandeer any military assets necessary to execute their will. Yet, they would exist outside of the military chain of command as independent members of the House. Such power and command had not been given since the Dark Adept Orv had commissioned the his faithful to enact his will as the Black Hand of Galeres. This power, though, would not be entrusted to a single member; it would be an Order of individuals trusted with the task. They would become known as the Tal'mahe'Ra - a group recognized for their secrecy, absolute authority, and paranoia. Their presence both fascinates and intimidates members of Clan Arcona as the groups existence is known, but their work is not. Only the members of the Tal'mahe'Ra and the senior Summit of Arcona know their mission.
Recruitment
Tamashi and ZakathAn Order cannot be created in a single day, nor can it start without members whom are aligned to its cause and purpose. The Shadow Lady, Atyiru Caesura Entar, authorized the formation of the group, but she could not draw individuals to Zakath and Tamashi’s banner. They would need individuals with varying skills to establish the framework of their cause. The one thing, though, that none of them could be short on would be loyalty. Loyalty to the Serpentine Throne.
They shared their secret with their two most loyal friends first: Nath Agrona and Xenna Azara. Not only did their addition double their ranks, but it provided a necessary mean streak to the group dynamic. Nath, an accomplished interrogator, provided a cruel and sadistic skillset to break rogue Force Users and the Grand Master’s Inquisitors. Xenna’s own natural affinity with Mind Trick made her an ideal for infiltration into both places and people’s minds. With the core of their power established, they could freely recruit additional members that would make up the founding eight: a slicer in Celahir Erinos Arconae, a Mandalorian sniper named Rins’zler Sang-Kalinor, a master of disguise known as Riverche, and an errant Knight with unshakable loyalty.
With their initial roster settled, Zakath led the group to Arconae Secundus to secure a forgotten and long unused Arconan training facility. It would not be their final destination en route to establishing their base, but it provided a strong starting point as the group charted the dark-as-night planet and its vast network of caves and tunnels. Deep in the planet’s catacombs, lost in an elaborate labyrinth, they would discover a nexus of Force power – neither Dark nor Light – to establish as the center of their hidden base. The path would only be known to the highest ranks of the Order. The need for secrecy was paramount to safeguard the group against outside threats, protect the Force relics & techniques secured during their raids, and imprison radicals that could endanger their operations.
Covert Operations
The Iron Legion, under the direction of an Inquisitor, infiltrated the Dajorra System. Their mission was to confirm the presence of both Undesirables and Lightsiders in Arconan space and kill them. Acting on intelligence provided by a traitor within Arcona's midst, they were able to utilize a squad of Iron Legion troopers to neutralize a safe house of Undesirables. With the confirmation that Undesirables, and potentially Jedi, receiving aid within the system, the powerful Chief Inquisitor overseeing the operation, deployed more of his agents to Eldar along with additional support from the Grand Master's Iron Legion. With their mole's veracity confirmed, they pressed for additional information and were rewarded with the coordinates of several other safe houses. Their movements, however, were not unnoticed and the crew of the Nighthawk performed a thorough inspection of the original attack - providing Zakath Agrona confirmation that more Iron Legion soldiers were operating on the planet.
Inquisitorius agents eliminating an Arconan safehouse for UndesirablesBefore Zakath could respond, though, his team was swept into a battle with a rogue Force User with ties to Arcona: Teroch Erinos. Numerous attacks were executed throughout the Dajorra System against the First Clan. The Inquisitor invasion would have to go unattended while the members of the team were dispatched across the territories of Arcona to hunt the powerful Dark Adept. With their absence on Eldar noted, the Chief Inquisitor would perpetuate a planet-wide attack against numerous safe houses on the planet. In the wake of these attacks, many Undesirables and Force Users were eliminated. The lone exception being a safe house where an Omwati Jedi sacrificed himself so that some of his compatriots could flee into the night. The Jedi's body, however, was not recovered - believed to be taken as evidence to the Iron Throne of Arcona's defiance to the Grand Master's orders. Their attacks on Eldar complete, the Chief Inquisitor was ordered to retreat by a higher authority. The initial probe of Arcona's defenses had revealed much and they could now prepare for an much more ambitious assault on Selen - the capitol world of Clan Arcona - at their leisure.
In the aftermath of Teroch's attack, Zakath had been recalled to The Citadel. With the continued harassment of Arcona from varying menaces over the past year, the Shadow Scion, Uji Tameike, had begun rallying warriors to his side to strike back. Indifferent to Uji's cause, Zakath believed that he could use the opportunity to garner greater favor with the Shadow Lady and secure additional resources for the Order. In his absence, Tamashi Bloodfyre had been elevated to become the active leader of the group until Zakath can return from his crusade at Uji's side. And while the Barabel may be absent, the arcane threats to the Shadow Clan were not. Reports began to emerge from Eldar that nightmarish beasts were rampaging through the Shogunate's territories. The group departed to deal with these external threats while the Inquisitorius seemingly withdrew from the system.
Structure
Operational Base
The harsh landscape of Arconae Secondus
Official headquarters are currently based upon the planet Arconae Secundus, an almost uninhabited nocturnal planet within the Dajorra System. The primary use of the planet is to train military personnel, however, under the surface of the planet are a network of interconnected caverns and tunnels that have occurred naturally over time. This is where half of the Tal’mahe’Ra call home.
This network is an ideal hiding place for the artifacts that have been hoarded by the team, as not a living being knows the full layout of this underground nexus. Once inducted into the Tal’mahe’Ra the member is shown the correct path to follow within the dark underbelly of the planet. Though, in truth, this base has all the amenities of modern living including state of the art technology to aid them in discovering the secrets hidden within the Sith Artifacts that they uncover.
Military Assets
Though nominally independent of the Arconan military forces, the Tal’mahe’Ra has been given sanction to commandeer the Lictor and its forces whenever a situation requiring heavy firepower is needed. Otherwise, barring the crewmen needed to run their headquarters at peak efficiency, the Tal’mahe’Ra operates with minimal personnel to help preserve secrecy.
Not being a military organization, they have only been granted light transport craft to facilitate their operations across the galaxy. As such, when operating in the field, the Tal’mahe’Ra must be extremely cautious when planning their movements, as they can ill-afford to attract enemy attention without the intervention of Arconan forces.
Important Figures
Notes and references