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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 Dark Crusade competition and is not official DJB canon content. It is preserved here for historical purposes only.
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Prologue - Assault on the Avenger II
- Main article: [[Assault on the Avenger II|Assault on the Avenger II]]
SSD Avenger II
Though still recovering from their near annihilation at the Battle of Jusadih, the forces of House Plagueis joined with those of the other clans and houses in their combined assault on the SSD Avenger II. As they still wished to remain dead to the rest of the Brotherhood, Plagueian units appeared as agents of the Iron Throne, their true allegiances hidden. Two main teams participated in the assault: one led by Quaestor Tra'an Reith and Aedile Solus Gar, the other headed up by Arden Karn. Both teams managed to make successful landings, but were ultimately stymied in their advances by overwhelming enemy opposition. A team made up primarily of forces from Naga Sadow broke through first and ended up taking the fight to the ship's bridge. The Plagueians were left to fend off wave after wave of enemy reinforcements, keeping the way clear for the Sadowans.
Though some in Plagueis viewed their valiant fight a small victory, in the eyes of Tra'an, it was an abject failure. It was a lost opportunity to prove their worth to the Brotherhood. The fact that they had been shown up by Sadowans was also not lost on the Plagueians. Tra'an vowed that it would be the last time Naga Sadow would humiliate Plagueism, and he would avenge their past transgressions. It would not be long before his chance came.
The attack from Archibald Zoraan leading into the Horizons Crisis sent the Brotherhood reeling, and when the Iron Throne called for retribution and issued a campaign order to seize the Sith Worlds, Tra'an saw it as a chance to bring Plagueis back into the fold. Its military might now rebuilt after their raid on Ord Pardron, the Ascendant House set out for Nfolgai. The Sadowans were there as well, much to Tra'an's delight. In a brazen show of force, the Dread Lord drove his ships straight at the Sadowan fleet and revealed Plagueis to the Brotherhood at large as a force to be reckoned with.
Phase One
Chapter One: Nfolgai
Plagueis's Return
- Locke Sonje: "Well, I see reports of your demise were somewhat exaggerated."
- Tra'an Reith: "That would be correct. And we've come back to finish what we started."
- ― The leaders of Clan Naga Sadow and House Plagueis rekindling their rivalry
Tra'an overlooking Nfolgai aboard the Ascendancy.
Nfolgai would prove to be the first step upon the path of vengeance for House Plagueis, as it mounted a determined effort to not simply take Nfolgai, but to sabotage and undermine Sadow's attempts to do so at the same time. Not simply satisfied with winning, Tra'an Reith had made it plain that nothing but the utter destruction of the Sadowans that had cost him the lives of the crew of the VSD Ballista would serve.
As if to prove his point, the Dread Lord of House Plagueis ordered several units of Ravagers to make planetfall, under the watchful eyes of their droid escorts. They did so, disgorging the hordes of Plagueian warriors to make their bloody way to the Temple of Sorzus Syn. It was here that the brutal methodology of training proved to be most effective as the Ravagers laid into the forces of the other units with brutality and bloodletting the likes of which they'd never seen. As the initial shock wore off, it proved to be too late for any of those forces to hold their positions, forcing a retreat.
As the Ravagers took up a loose formation around the highly valuable landmark, the Plagueian Subjugates moved through them, treating wounds, repairing weapons, and serving to keep the Ravagers generally at ease as the Dread Lord made his way within the temple with his chosen team, missing only his Aedile and the Ex-Headmaster who'd been chosen to battle the "Sith Lord" Yobd Non. As they scoured the interior of the temple, rooting out remnants of the One Sith and any remaining natives, Tra'an was left to await the outcome of the battle with the self-styled Lord of the Sith.
Yobd Nan
- "You didn't think we would come to face someone like you and be unprepared?"
- ―Ronovi Tavisaen to Yobd Nan
Yobd Nan
Yobd Nan was a Duros Sith who was in direct command of all One Sith forces on Nfolgai. Darth Krayt had asked him specifically to lead the pillage of Sorzus Syn's Mausoleum. Initially, the Dark Council had assumed that the military presence on Nfolgai were spacers or mercenaries. They were pleased to discover otherwise, as it gave them the perfect opportunity to begin their war against the One Sith. Nan was immediately considered a High Value Target by the Dark Council, and his assassination was of paramount importance. Although the Grand Master had ordered Scholae Palatinae, Tarentum, and Clan Naga Sadow to the attack, it was House Plagueis who achieved the most impressive results and Nan's death.
A handful of subtle attempts into Nan's stronghold proved to be futile and eventually it was decided that an all out frontal assault was the only way to penetrate the structure and kill the Sith Lord within. Without informing the other units involved in the invasion, Solus Gar and Ronovi Tavisaen led a strike force including 100 SD-10 Battle Droids and 5 Scourges of Ravagers, along with another new acquisition, intended as a surprise.
Yobd Nan’s new Shadow Droid Body
Initially, Nan felt that he was holding out quite well - that is, until the leader of his Nightsister bodyguards, Teila, informed him that Plagueis was employing X-1 Vipers. Before Yobd Nan could react, one of the walls next to him exploded, crushing the skull of one of his three bodyguards and knocking Nan and his two remaining bodyguards to the ground. When Nan returned to his feet, he was amazed to discover that he couldn't sense his attackers, despite the fact that he could clearly hear humanoids and the mechanical whirs of droids.
He attempted several Force based attacks on the Ronovi, Solus, and the two SD-10 Battle Droids, but nothing worked; lightning fizzled out, speed was nullified. Not even the Nightsister magics that he had learned to wield were of any success.
The droids made quick work of the two remaining Nightsisters, as their weapons were meant for droid combat and easily melted through flesh. Ronovi mocked Nan repeatedly, musing that they wouldn't attack a Sith Lord without preparation. She then had one of the SD-10 open its chest plates to reveal a Ysalamiri, a creature that could dull the Force senses of any Dark Jedi nearby.
Disarmed and frightened, Yobd Nan tried a desperate attack on the SD-10s, but it quickly picked him up. Ronovi informed him that they had made a few modifications to the SD-10s, including hands. Solus then ordered the droid to tear off Nan's arms and legs, which the droid promptly did.
Not allowing the Duros to die, the two Plagueians cauterized the wounds and reported to Tra'an, who had special plans for Nan. Reith decided not to put a powerful Force Sensitive mind to waste, instead placing it within the squadron leader of Plagueis's new Shadow Droids.
Chapter Two: Khar Delba
Vengeance on Sadow
- "Vengeance comes in many forms, Reith. The best vengeance is when you take things from people that give them hope and pride."
- ―Ronovi Tavisean to Tra'an Reith
It was decided almost from the time in which the target selection was available, that Khar Delba would be the perfect choice. Fresh from the victory on Nfolgai, and now sporting a squadron of Shadow Droid, led by none other than Yobd Nan's brainwashed head, it was too perfect to have the opportunity to steal away a crown jewel of the legacy of Naga Sadow, from the Clan bearing his name.
As if to prove their point, Plagueis set out to reclaim not only the Temple of Naga Sadow, but also the other crown jewel, the Mandalorian Armory. So confident of victory, the Dread Lord ordered the unit split in two, with specialists heading the helm of each section to ensure success. The Dread Lord himself led the foray on the Armory, even as his Aedile and the ever present Ronovi Tavisean were entrusted to seize the true fortress ensconced upon the moon orbiting Khar Delba.
Xander Drax
Khar Delba
The success of the Nfolgai campaign left many within the Ascendant House in high spirits. The accomplishments of both Solus Gar and his allies were subsequently recognized, and the Aedile was given a special task once Plagueis set its sights on Khar Delba. Knowing that the planet would be a prized target for Naga Sadow, Tra'an Reith looked over the coordinates of the planet and found that a strike team would preferably be aiming for Khar Delba's moon, Khar Shian, where Lord Naga Sadow's true fortress was built. Others within Plagueis would go down to Khar Delba's icy surface, in order to seek out any potential treasures from both Naga Sadow's decoy fortress and its surroundings.
Xander Drax and his apprentice Fuuka Ashasti. Solus led his strike team - consisting of members Ronovi Tavisaen, Alaris Jinn, Arden Karn, and Teylas Ramar - into the aerial zone before his shuttle began to malfunction, seemingly being tampered by an outside source. The group crash-landed on Khar Delba, forced to fend for themselves against Sith-altered Behemoths and the icy elements of the planet. The culprit of their collision and the subsequent Behemoth attack turned out to be Xander Drax, a formidable Dark Jedi who had abandoned the ranks of the Brotherhood and become aligned with the One Sith. Having been the esteemed apprentice of Yobd Nan, he sought vengeance against Solus for his master's murder and intended to have the team brought up to Khar Shian where his headquarters were situated.
The team was captured by Drax's men upon exiting a cavern which they had taken shelter in. Incarcerated in Naga Sadow's fortress on Khar Shian, both Solus and Ronovi were tortured by Drax, Ronovi having aided Solus in accomplishing the death of Yobd Nan. While Ronovi was taken back to her cell on the pretense of being killed, Solus was left at the mercy of the Sith Lord, who was later rebuked by Darth Wyyrlok for losing his focus on maintaining Khar Delba's fortifications against the Brotherhood's military forces. Drax prepared to leave Khar Shian and lead the defense on Khar Delba before he was stopped by Solus and Ronovi, both having escaped from the fortress. Upon learning of Yobd Nan's final fate - his brain being placed in the head Shadow Droid of Plagueis's shadow droid squadron - Drax went into a rage and attempted to crush Ronovi under a wall of the citadel, escaping in his shuttle when Solus chose to save his ally rather than kill his enemy.
The ice caverns of Khar Shian.
As Xander Drax remained at large, Ronovi used Solus's failure as an opportunity to take further ownership of Plagueis. She angrily addressed the situation to Tra'an, who immediately revoked Aedileship from Solus and offered it to Ronovi. While Khar Shian had been seized by Plagueis and the fortress ransacked, inner plotting had begun within the legions of Plagueis. Apart from the failure to capture or kill Xander Drax, members Arden Karn and Teylas Ramar did succeed in the murder of the One Sith affiliate Fuuka Ashasti, Drax's apprentice. Plagueis's occupation of Naga Sadow's true temple would serve as another slap to the integrity and pride of the clan who had taken on the Sith Lord's name.
The Mandalorian Armory
A bastion of ancient weaponry and armor, the Armory proved to be a resource of an invaluable nature to the House. The weapons alone served to arm Plagueis forces with not only weapons of power, but also knowledge that had been lost to the ages. The lost research of Demagol, a Zeltron determined to merge the training and nature of the Mandoa with the powers and sensitivity of Force Users dedicated to unlocking the secrets of the Force, only served to enhance the power of the Dark Jedi who paid homage to the Dark Lord of Wisdom.
The Mandalorian Neo-Crusader Armory
The wealth of weaponry, starfighters, and armor from the intact War Forge within the Armory served only to showcase the distinct nature of House Plagueis, as they produced new armor from the depths of the ancient world. What used to be the distinctive coloring of blue Neo-Crusader Mandalorians became Black Plagueian Ravagers with the distinctive crest upon their chest, upon black armor.
The wealth of weaponry was varied - mostly WESTAR-34, WESTAR-35, Mandalorian Rippers, and Disintegrators, there were a few rare specimens among the cache, including a few prototype personal shields and even fewer beskad. The last of these, the beskad, were seized by the Iron Throne immediately upon discovery, being made of true Mandalorian Iron. Much like the rare material Cortosis, any item consisting of Mandalorian Iron was considered prohibited from use and forbidden to any not authorized by the Master At Arms or the Grand Master himself.
A layered design, the layout of the Armory was laid out in a concentric design, with defensive outposts along the exterior, barracks, laboratories, and the War Forge deep within. Designed to withstand siege for years, they served as outposts for the conquering Mandoa during the reign of Mandalore the Ultimate.
Each Armory could produce weaponry, ships, armor, and resupply entire Clans. Designed to withstand sieges for decades, these facilities could not only resupply an entire Clan, they could hold, train, arm, and release them upon unsuspecting foes, eradicating the besiegers before taking to the stars to claim more territory in the name of the Mandalore.
Chapter Three: Ch'hodos
Inner Wargame
Beginning the third Sith World campaign, Plagueis traveled to the planet Ch'hodos, former headquarters of the Sith Lord Shar Dakhan. It would ultimately rival Naga Sadow, Taldryan, and Tarentum for the spoils. Several members of Plagueis made plans to take on the many high value targets on the desert planet. For example, Arden Karn took up the task of dealing with Captain Lin, an affiliate of the One Sith. Arturis Schulen, along with several others, planned to bring back the head of Erithin Vax. Celevon Edraven personally went in alone and eliminated an entire camp, including a Force-trained Lieutenant by the name of Almerta Inarov, who was the Assassin's intended target. Finally, Tra'an Reith, Ronovi Tavisaen, Alaris Jinn di Plagia, and Eiko created a Wraith-accompanied strike team to assault and murder Elser Repu, a powerful Sith Lord with dual saber capabilities. Little did some know that a plan to boost morale was underway, and Tra'an and Alaris would be the ones responsible for the imminent disappearance of the house's Overseer for the sake of creating a false martyr in order to energize the tactics of the Ascendant House.
Wary of the Dread Lord's true intentions since her initiation as Wrath, Ronovi had begun to notice the intricate threadwork of cunning and deception that had been sewn together by Alaris, who was well-known for getting what he wanted within his sovereign house. As she was also guilty of such treachery in her own way, she was determined to beat the Twi'lek at his own game. Her motives to ascend further in position and rank grew stronger within the Epicanthix's mind, deepening her resolve to take revenge for those who had wronged her in the aftermath of the Horizons Crisis.
Logistics
The TerminusPlagueis, upon its return to the attention of the Brotherhood, was a purely nomadic naval fleet with no homeworld or galactic system. Headed by its flagship, the NSD Ascendancy, the Ascendant Fleet served as the quarters, arena, and war preparation zone for the Plagueians. Battle teams Karness Muur and Ajunta Pall were situated on the BAC Harrower and the BAC Terminus, respectively, serving as the two primary strike forces of the fleet. The Predominant in particular was commanded by the Dread Lord's Wrath, or Aedile, while the head of Karness Muur served under him or her.
Primarily treating the Nfolgai campaign as an infiltration and reconnaissance mission, Plagueis truly showed its military capability upon initiating an orbital bombardment on Khar Delba before descending on its targets. Its troops consisted of several slaves, a trait that many of its sister units did not share. In fact, many of the captured One Sith affiliates were tortured and then indoctrinated as Wraiths, whilst lesser acolytes were made into Subjugates. This subsequently stripped the enemies of their individuality, furthering Plagueis's resolve and immortalizing them as a menacing presence in the galaxy.
Plagueis took many trophies and spoils from both Nfolgai and Khar Delba, including the secrets of Sorzus Syn from her temple. Its accomplishments on the latter planet would further drive a wedge between them and Naga Sadow, who was determined to seek vengeance on the Ascendant House after both units' sights were set on Ch'hodos.
Behind the Scenes
Plagueis, as a unit, stood out in both Chapters I and II of Phase I of the Crusade, taking the top slot for both Nfolgai and Khar Delba. Participation was phenomenally high, with a 1.90 participation ratio in the first chapter and a 2.05 participation ratio in the second chapter.
Placements include gold in the Khar Delba run-on event, several Novae from trivia and fiction events, and a whopping top five slot steal by five Plagueians for the Nfolgai target fiction event (the first place entry becoming canon). Accolades for these accomplishments go to several members, and the summit is determined to see the success replicated and the streak continued.
Contributors
References