Summary
- "While the Brotherhood dealt with it's own internal conflict, a new organization solidified it's power and waited patiently for the right moment to strike and reveal themselves. The Brotherhood was forced to reconsider their position internally, as their focus was forced onto an enemy that threatened them all. "
- ―Farrin Xies, Headmaster, 35 ABY
Rath Oligard, former Fleet Admiral of the Dark Brotherhood, was declared absent without leave from the Fleet in 29 ABY. Known throughout the Brotherhood as a rising military star, Oligard abandoned his position following the tragic and unfortunate events that led to the death of his family on an uncharted planet known only as XL374.
Oligard’s journey over the next six years took him from sorrow, to depression, to anger, and finally towards a single driven purpose. The galaxy had toiled under the yoke of Force users for Rath’s entire life. The Old Republic were ruled by a cadre of unfeeling and arrogant monks who sat within a temple and passed judgment upon the galaxy. The Empire ruled with an iron fist and destroyed any and all who opposed it. Now, the galaxy sat in a state of abject chaos as multiple Theocracies attempted to impose their will upon it.
The former Fleet Admiral would tolerate it no longer. He crawled from the alcoholic haze that blurred the loss of his family from his memory. He drug himself, upon hands and knees, into the dens of miscreants and criminals until he finally began to find those who understood his new found philosophical goal. The Galaxy was a miserable and contemptuous place, but it was much more tolerable when it was not oppressed by the yoke of the Jedi or Sith.
The creation of the Collective was a tedious and daunting process. Rath’s personal vanguard within the Liberation Front were the true believers. They despised Force users of all kinds and abhorred the institutions that they created. The Technocratic Guild, a series of eccentric engineers and scientists, did not harbor the same hatred for Force users, but did jealously covet their knowledge and possessions. Finally, Capital Enterprises; the mercenaries for hire within the Collective, agreed to Rath’s terms solely to eliminate the Force users from cutting into their bottom line. Rath understood Capital Enterprises greed, but he also knew their enigmatic leader, Ghafa Ordam, harbored deep hatred for the Sith and their slaver ways.
Six years, billions of credits, and the unification of multiple visions produced the organization that now opposed the Dark Brotherhood. Rath Oligard, military genius, rogue, and charismatic leader, looked forward to finally obtaining the justifiable wrath he sought for his family.
He had conducted hundreds of small scale attacks against the Dark Brotherhood fleets over the past several weeks and now he had ushered them to his front door on Nancora. Exactly where he wanted them.
Prologue: The Collective
Synopsis:
- Aboard the Collective flagship, the Skylla, Captain Sul Pahlee observes the spectacle of the Iron Navy's flagship in ruins.
- Lead by a man going by the name of Rath Oligard, the Collective is revealed to be an organization comprised of three unique factions: The Liberation Front, Capital Enterprises, and The Technocratic Guild.
- We see a glimpse into Oligard's history, granting insight into why the Collective are so hellbent on opposing the Dark Brotherhood and its population of Force Users.
- The Collective forces destroy the crippled Brotherhood Flagship, the Suffering, while also harassing each of it's seven Clans forces.
- The Collective gives a final middle finger to the Iron Navy as reinforcements show up, fleeing to hyperspace and leaving the Brotherhood to its next action.
Chapter 1: Vengeance
As the Grand Master of the Brotherhood witnesses the fate of his flagship, Pravus calls his many resources into action to determine the nature of this new threat. As his subjects and servants spring into action, the name Rath Oligard comes to the surface. An Imperial officer of the finest caliber, Oligard is a true threat to the Brotherhood. And, while foes of the darkness seek him out to join with him, the true intent of Rath Oligard and his Collective comes forth: the Brotherhood and all Force-users are to be exterminated.
Chapter 2: Impetus
With the seat of the Collective’s power known, the seven Clans turn their sights to Nancora and seek to retaliate against the vicious onslaught of Rath Oligard. As the Clan fleets jump to hyperspace to head to Nancora Prime, the treachery of a Dark Lord stands out against the unity of Dark and Light: Darth Pravus will offer no aid, and the forces of the Dark Council withdraw to Arx, and leave the Clans to their own fates.
Chapter 3: War
The first forces of the Brotherhood to arrive in the Nancora system are the loyal eyes and ears of the Inquisitorius. The listeners, the spies, the able hands of the Voice of the Brotherhood witness the spectacle of Rath Oligard’s plan laid out. And, as the forces of the Brotherhood enter the fray, a superweapon is unleashed, and lives are lost.
Chapter 4: Strike
The unified forces of the Inquisitorius continue to relay information both to the Clans, as well as to the Grand Master and his servants on Arx. One of the prototype weapons of the Collective falls to the agents of the Brotherhood, but as the battle in space rages on, noteworthy members fall from the sky and crash to the surface.
Chapter 5: Riposte
The forces of the Brotherhood advance and score noteworthy wins against the Collective, but this has all been according to plan. Rath Oligard drew in the forces of his enemies, and plans a retreat from Nancora with the intended goal of presenting the Clans with a Pyrrhic victory.
Chapter 6: Finale
Heroes stand out among all of the forces of the Brotherhood. The forces of the Collective witness the power of one of the Dark Lords, and yet, the homes of each Clan is not safe. Messages spread like wildfires among the Clans: the Collective fled, but with blood lust in mind. And in the midst of the retreat of the Collective, a bastion of darkness among the seven wavers and falls.
Epilogue
Synopsis:
- FLASHBACK: Pravus, not happy with how things panned out. He is probably still upset about his flagship being blown up, too.
- SMASHCUT: Pravus in the present (of this story). He is not expecting Consul's Turel and Satsi to share the information they learn with the rest of the Brotherhood. The Sith Lord underestimated the "Light".
- After realizing that the Collective used Nancora as a trap for the Brotherhood, Pravus prepares to deploy Dark Council and Arx assets to aide the rest of the Brotherhood.
- Pravus tells the Dark Councilors they are free to aide their alma mater Clans. Except for Farrin...
- Pravus tells Farrin that he is needed here on Arx, and that it is too late to save his former Clan: Tarentum.
- Bloodfyre realizes that he is too late to save Tarentum’s homeworld. While the defensive navy manages to land some critical hits, the Collective is just too powerful and the defenses do not hold. The Collective pushes to wipe out one of the Brotherhood's oldest and darkest Clans.
- Sith Bloodfyre, the last Consul of Tarentum, makes the choice to save his Clansman (and women) by ordering the surviving members into escape pods. The members of once Clan Tarentum will never forget, but would live on to fight future battles.
- A Plageuis ship named the Wrath. This is amusing because that is the same name of the Fist's Flagship Resurgent-class SSD.
- Plageuis is ready to take on the Collective on home turf. Still, there are *a lot* of Collective ships. Just as Laren muses that they might win, but at a cost, a deus-ex Dracaryis shows up to help turn the tides of battle. Surely this will lead to interesting development between the Ascendant Clan and the current Fist of the Brotherhood.
- CUT TO: CSP Flagship, which is of course named the “Sidious”.
- Consul/Empress Elincia ponders the state of life, the universe, and everything. While CSP is able to withdraw effectively form Nancora, they don’t have much of a home to return to. They still have to fight against the Meraxis Empire to claim a true foothold in the Caperion system.
- To add more fuel to the fire, intel is leaked that Collective agents have made contact with the Meraxis Empire and are willing to work with them to prevent the spreading of any tricksie Jedises or Sithses.
- Just when Elincia thought, *we’re going to need a bigger ‘boat’*, a familiar face arrives to lend a hand.
- It’s Evant, former Proconsul of CSP and since Regent of the Brotherhood! He offers the aid of the Brotherhood’s capital resources in an olive-branch like move to help repair relations between the DC and the independent Clans.
- Vexus, a member of the Collective, like all the good zealots in the Liberation Front, is ready to take the fight to the Clans of the Brotherhood. Their target? Sepros, the home of Clan Naga Sadow. *Dun dun dun.* Sang will pick up from this for your next event, or so I’m told. ph33r and stuff.