Primus Pilus

"Vesica di Plagia!"

―Team Motto, roughly translates to "Blade of Plagueis".

Formed in 35 ABY by Unus Domus and the Summit of Plagueis, Primus Pilus is an elite group of Dark Jedi dedicated to ensuring the safety, security, progress, and defense of the Ascendant House. Often styled as the "Blade of Plagueis", they are sent on dangerous and difficult missions to ensure success and victory in situations where conventional forces would see massive casualties or garner excessive attention. They follow the Commander's orders without question on most occasions, but in times of in-House strife, their ultimate loyalty is to House Plagueis and its Dark Council-approved Quaestor.

History

For Plagueis

"Plagueis needs action, Quaestor. If the Military can no longer deliver it, we will."

―Unus Domus, after Primus Pilus' informal and bloody beginnings.

Following the departure of Kal di Plagia Vorrac from the position of Quaestor in pursuit of a Force vision, House Plagueis was left in the care of Jaek Kaeth as Quaestor and Tra'an Reith as Aedile.

While the Rollmaster of the time, none other than the controversial Braecen Kaeth, helped for a time to maintain stability, the younger Kaeth of the pair soon found the pressure of his position to be too great. Few places were as unstable as the Ascendant House, and while Jaek was initially prepared for a challenge, he found the intensity of ruling the Jusadih System and its Stratocracy to be too much. He dropped from the position quickly, and soon after departed Jusadih as a Rogue Jedi. In the weeks following, Tra'an Reith stepped up to occupy the office of Quaestor. Braecen lingered for a few more weeks, but was soon called back to his own agenda as he too left the House. In the instability that followed, many Branches of Jusadih's military began to fragment, with Dark Jedi of Plagueis departing for their own pursuits or to side with other Houses. Those that remained became more and more loyal to themselves or those above them, and very soon, the remains of the Ascendant House seemed to be on the verge of a civil war. It was in this time that Vorrac's latest apprentice, the Weequay Unus Domus, stepped up to aid his Quaestor and House.

Braecen Kaeth, former Consul and Rollmaster of Plagueis.

Formerly a soldier of the Regime's ground forces, Unus had become a part of the Brotherhood after saving Kal's life on Morroth and had always held a strong loyalty to his system's government. In addition, wherein his birth Clan had long since been killed and Plagueis accepted in their place, his Weequay culture made his ties to the Ascendant House too great to forsake for personal gain. Having served as the Directorate General of the Jusadih Intelligence Directorate, he initially tried to utilize it for the purpose of stabilization, but found that it too was rife with corruption and fragmentation. Sniper groups and field agents of the Directorate found knives at each others' backs and scopes trained on their fellows in the initial skirmishes of what nearly became the end of Plagueis.

Unus in his JMR combat armor, prior to joining the Brotherhood.

Unable to utilize the House's assets correctly and on the very edge of oblivion, the Weequay gathered loyal Plagueian Dark Jedi such as Mograine, Furios, Kodais Solatus, and the Mandalorian Voden Erinos to his cause and formed a band of warriors; without time to wait for Reith's approval or the ability to trust those around them, they began a methodical campaign to brutally neutralize any threat to Ascendant authority. Striking hard, fast, and without warning, the team's actions saw the destruction of assets and facilities turned against Regime rule, the neutralization or crippling of units and ships that threatened the Summit's assets, and the assassination of anyone who fought for any faction aside from Plagueis.

In a few short, confusing, and bloody weeks, this band became responsible for the deaths of dozens of deserter Dark Jedi, hundreds of troops and personnel, the suppression of many dissident groups, the incapacitation or capture of half of the Plagueian fleet, and the destruction of over one hundred Jusadih facilities, all outside of Summit authorization. When detained by Reith's forces and questioned about it afterward, their response was unanimous: They had known what they were doing, and they had done what needed to be done for Plagueis. At the end of each interrogation, each and every one of them stated the motto of the House emphatically, as if it were a mantra to focus them.

The Blade of Plagueis had been drawn for the first time.

Legitimacy

"Their actions were brutal, ruthless, and without authorization. They were also completely necessary."

―Tra'an Reith to the Dark Jedi of Plagueis, after the detainment of Unus and his followers.

Plagueis Army Training Center, the recruits of which were being brainwashed against the Summit until Pilus ambushed and killed the renegade Dark Jedi and Officers responsible.

Unus Domus and his team all saw initial detainment by Tra'an's forces for high treason, destruction and theft of military assets, arson, murder in the first degree, unlawful confinement, gross insubordination, armed insurrection, and vigilantism. While this initially was Reith's response to what appeared to be a move for power, reports began to flood in reporting that dissident groups across Jusadih had ceased to operate or had surrendered. Assets and facilities that had been against the Regime had been reclaimed after their weakened forces had been assaulted and swept aside with ease. Capital ships that Domus and his group had left floating in space had been boarded and reclaimed, while others they had forced into subservience had been surrendered to the lawful government and its Supreme Commander.

As the unexplained images of graphic violence and unwarranted destruction began to make sense, Tra'an saw the true purpose of Domus and his apparent revolutionaries. Calling Domus before him, he invoked Jusadih Law X-133, the specifics of which give the Supreme Commander the immediate, unconditional, singular, and unequivocal right to level sentencing upon those charged with high treason without a trial or a conviction. Domus entered the room ready to fight for his survival; he was greeted instead with the legitimization of his group as a Battleteam of Plagueis and himself appointed as its Commander. After accepting the surprising revelation, he named the group Primus Pilus.

ISDII *The Baron*, one of the craft reclaimed by Pilus' original members.

Pilus' next weeks saw the refit of its rag-tag group with better munitions, official missions and supplies, and authorization to use any assets that their missions called for. All charges laid against them were dropped, all crimes formally pardoned, and all records of their misdeeds expunged from the record. Domus took this opportunity to train his new command and recruit additional Dark Jedi; when things had settled, one of their first missions was to spearhead the military operation that unsealed the Temple of Plagueis and cleared its upper tier. Following the success of this operation, Domus was elevated to the vacant seat of Rollmaster and given a place within the Plagueian Summit; many vied for his post, but the decision was as shocking as the sudden return of its subject.

Kal di Plagia Vorrac, having arrived in Jusadih space only shortly after the Temple's capture, was named the second Commander of Primus Pilus Battleteam.

Missions, Operations, and Assigned Tasks

Notable Missions of Primus Pilus

35 ABY - Stabilization of Jusadih space.
35 ABY - Reclamation of the Temple of Plagueis Upper Tier.
35 ABY - Elimination of Rogue Jedi Dorvin Kast in Theskel, near Haktand city.
35 ABY - Attempted capture of Mandalorian Berm Garata in the Rings of Shintera - target escaped, ship destroyed.

Flight Leaders and Their Role

After serving in Primus Pilus for some time and in addition to commendable service, a member is eligible to become a Flight Leader. While this carries the expected duties of leading a part of the team in combat missions, it serves a secondary role of Command Training. Every Commander manages two Flight Leaders at all times, unless between candidates, and shapes them toward the post of Command itself.

Training has two stages: Basic Skills and Practical Training. Basic Skills ensures that the member can do such things as write reports, host competitions, mediate disputes, keep in touch with members, record and track down progress, maintain policy, and successfully manage Forums posts and Wiki articles. Practical Training commences when these skills are complete, during which the Commander allows the Flight Leader in question to take on some of his or her duties in order to better learn how to do them. Typically, this is done in a phased sense, starting with the bare minimum and slowly upgrading Flight Leader responsibilities until the Commander is essentially a figurehead and can step aside. As Pilus Commander experience is considered a shoe in the door for Plagueis Leadership opportunities, this rotation should and must continue perpetually.

Flight Leaders exist in two positions: Superior and Minor. They are explained as follows:

Flight Leader Superior: The Leader Superior is the Flight Leader closest to attaining a Command post; this position is only given when their Basic Skill training concludes and their Practical Training begins. In the event of two Flight Leaders completing their Basic Skills, the one closest to Commander is considered the Superior and is considered to be next in line barring Summit ruling or extenuating circumstances.

Flight Leader Minor: The Leader Minor is the Flight Leader further away from attaining a Command post; this is a Leader still learning to master their Basic Skills for the job, or further behind in Practical Training than the Leader Superior. That said, the Leader Minor is an important and necessary stage, one that can alleviate pressure off of the Commander or Leader Superior in stressful times or handle additional tasks as a form of Basic Skills training. In the event of the Leader Superior taking Command, the Leader Minor becomes the new Leader Superior unless surpassed, stepping down, or rightfully dismissed.

All Flight Leader dismissals must have an appropriate reason, must be maturely and kindly approached, and must be approved by the Plagueian Summit.

Policies

Primus Pilus keeps a standard on member activity. All activity must be completed and the Commander notified, or it doesn't count. Each week, every member must complete One of the following criteria, though they can alternate between different criteria each week:

Gaming: Must complete a minimum of 4 matches per week. Can be any gaming platform.
Fiction/Poetry: Must complete a minimum of 1 fiction/poetry competition submission per week.
Graphics: Must complete a minimum of 1 Graphics competition, or 2 graphic creations for the Wiki or other official projects, per week.
ACC: Must actively post a minimum of twice in the ACC per week.
Wiki: Must make large-scale modifications to their own or another Wiki page per week, dependent on the Commander's approval.
Shadow Academy: Must obtain Maven-level grades, 85+, on two separate exams per week.
Forums: Must contribute two posts exceeding 250 words to Forum-based events, plus three other Forum posts of any kind exceeding 100 words, per week.

Primus Pilus maintains certain policies regarding membership; rather than weekly criteria, these rules must always be obeyed. As Pilus is about being the best rather than overall fairness, the use of these rules and allocation of appropriate responses is entirely up to the Commander - though the House Summit is always on the watch for positional abuse herein.

Not reading a Commander report or the Wiki page to check policies does NOT exempt members from them.
All Primus Pilus members are to respond to every Commander email on the Googlegroup. This can be as simple as "Acknowledged", though members will be expected to have a base knowledge of email content.
All Primus Pilus members will be present on IRC for at least one hour per week, unless hindered by technological or reasonable time constraints. The Commander must be notified before action is taken if this is the case.
All Primus Pilus members will behave acceptably and appropriately at all times. Any violation of the Dark Covenant or abuse of the Plagueian name will not be tolerated.
When on IRC, all Primus Pilus members will be present in all assigned channels. A list of these can be found below.
All members are required to have a Wiki article in the Plagueis category and a valid Character Sheet at all times.
All members are required to pay tribute to the Almighty Kal-God whenever it is demanded. Payment is accepted in first-born children, heavy quantities of alcohol, and blood tribute.(Just kidding, boys and girls. :))

Assigned Channels

#Plagueis
#Scholae
#Revan
#DBGaming

Honored Members

When certain members produce large contributions toward the Battleteam, Primus Pilus recognizes their efforts here. It should be noted that there are three types of recognition. When a member of the BT has their character killed in action to further a Pilus storyline, that character is listed to acknowledge the member giving their character up for the team. When a member creates a large contribution, such as a vital logo, major competition, etc., they are listed as a way of recognizing and tracking their commitment.

Finally, members who perform and exceed expectations - either by doing a tremendous amount or by changing the Battleteam in a huge way and for the better - are Etched to the Blade. This is a special recognition, rarely given and seldom surpassed; to attain this is to have the Battleteam say that you have outdone yourself and that none will ever dwarf your achievement; Pilus is and will always be unfathomably grateful for your work. It should be noted that the Commander of the Team DOES NOT have the ability to Etch him/herself, and that the House Summit MUST approve an Etching.

Etched to the Blade

"From its inception, Pilus has given life, limb, and name to the sword. I feel that this should be shown."

―Tra'an Reith, after the forging of the symbolic Blade

Unus Domus, founder and first Commander of Primus Pilus.

Fallen to Duty

"The path to victory is often paved in blood and gore."

―Kal Vorrac, speaking to Mograine after his injuries during the Unification

Sarak Shai I, overwhelmed in combat by JIC insurgents, 35 ABY.

Team Contributions

"The Ascendant House doesn't forget its heroes."

―Kal Vorrac, during his tenure as Quaestor of Plagueis.

Imichua Haruki, creator of the Pyramid of Perfection - the logo of Primus Pilus.

An earlier Primus Pilus logo, designed by Zuser Whuloc.

New Membership

Certain standards exist for becoming a member of Primus Pilus. First and foremost, all members are free to leave the team of their own will and return later, but members removed by the Commander's order are required to go under a probationary period for one month. During this time, they must faithfully meet one Pilus criteria each week. If they can do this, they will be re-admitted into the team.

New members that wish to join must be active within House Plagueis and must send a request to join the team to the Commander, CC'ing the House Summit. Alternatively, an IRC interview between the member and the Commander with the Summit present will do. They must state who they are, that they wish to join, why they wish to join, and must have a character sheet either approved or submitted for approval.

Membership will not be considered before the rank of Protector, as members must at least be active enough to attain Second Tier Force Powers to be members of Primus Pilus. In character, missions in Pilus are far too dangerous for members at Acolyte or below to be considered for accompaniment, except when Apprenticed to a team member.

Trivia

Primus Pilus was created following Kal's departure from Quaestor to replace the four Branch-themed Battleteams, which were grossly understaffed at the time.
Pilus members are typically very active or vocal in IRC channels; it's a commonplace fact that Pilus members can be approached for help by anyone.
Primus Pilus encourages character diversity, and if necessary, will make necessary accommodations for characters ranging from Hutt, to Celegian, to Kushiban in species and beyond.
The term "Etched to the Blade" refers to an actual sword, forged of Durasteel, embedded into a black marble block, and impressed with the Plagueian emblem. Engraved onto its blade are the names of all those Etched, the blade itself kept within the Dark Tower. It is not a usable weapon, and serves only the purpose of displaying mighty Pilus members to all Plagueians.
The Temple of Plagueis serves as a headquarters for Pilus, until better accommodations are arranged.
Whichever member of Primus Pilus discovers this line of trivia and tells the Commander first gets a pat on the head for being curious and procrastinating on the Wiki article.