Private Bygone Soldiers

[Djorn Bline]

S N A K E
ADUMAR
Kroeger

Like a dog chasing its tail.

He didn’t know when to quit. Fighting for a past he hoped to reclaim…they were so close to providing peace and order to this insane Galaxy. It started to slip away from their grasp when Tavlar drew his breath, and true foundation folded after Fel’s last stand.

A dream he refused to fall in vain, so long as he continued the work.

But time was running out for him as the years went by. He was too distrusting to cooperate with other Imperials head of their own band. But the reputation of this certain legionnaire gave him some ounce of faith to perhaps work alongside him. A man of extreme…values.

“A bit too close to have shop close to the Alliance, sooner or later you’ll have pack it all up.”

 

[Kroeger]

​

FORT REX, ADUMAR
THE IRON LEGION
902 ABY

D E M O N
IRON LEGION
'THOSE ONCE LOYAL'
Djorn Bline

EPITAPH
​

It was once the home of the Imperial Stormtrooper Corps. At the Empire's prime, very few of the fighting men of the corps had not gained their armor here. A place of bloodied trials, strict trained regimen, discipline and Imperial iron. It was kept thrumming by the will of Kroeger and the Iron Legion, though, in many ways a shadow of its former self. The infrastructure in place to train the Imperial Stormtroopers was still utilized in spades, though, the process a much more brutalist one. With less resources to sustain it, the numbers of those running through the gauntlet was fewer but those fighting men that would emerge would be all the more steeled against a chaotic galaxy. Equipped to be among the finest formation of killers in the Galaxy still. Even if a few million had been dwindled to a few thousand.

Many wore the armor and bore the name 'Stormtrooper' but if they had not bled and sweat here, they could not truly hold the title. This was the closest semblance to 'home' or 'headquarters' that the Iron Legion possessed, even if it mainly kept to the Long Night of Solace which loomed in low orbit over Fort Rex. A tine of nostalgia to Bline perhaps, but also a harrowing reminder of what had been...and what has become.

The pair stood along the balcony of the Fortress's main spire which served as the home of 'Demon' company, the headquarters element to Kroeger's band. Above them, the paired flags of the old Empire, the argent iron sun on a plane of black and the laughing skull of the legion flew in tandem, the former over the latter.

"It will either be the Alliance or the pitiful pretenders who have squatted in Bastion. Neither is ideal. I will hardly fight and die to keep this place...as much as it is 'home'." Kroeger said as he leaned over the metal railing. The sky was a blanket of ashen grey, a light rain trickled over them but the man seemed hardly bothered. He nursed a cigarette regardless.

"Soon enough the means of a truly mobile and full-spectrum fighting force will be within my grasp and my reliance of Adumar will be severed. But what do you want from me, Bline? To wax nostalgic? Or do you want a part in my sliver of a dead Empire?" He asked to the man outright. The pair had never met directly. Kroeger however was a name as prominent in the Imperial Army as any other, taking command of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Armored Assault Division of the Imperial army, a unit which in the mix of many of its decisive battles.

 

[Djorn Bline]

S N A K E
ADUMAR
Kroeger

“We have been waxing nostalgic, Kroeger. Otherwise, we’d be petty bounty hunters, meek farmers, or turncoats with a rebranded conscience,” and spat on the floor away from Kroeger’s feet. As if spitting out the disgust in his throat. Many from the true Empire were frauds; they betrayed the oath they swore their souls upon. It disappointed him to have fought alongside that scum.

“Your legion is impressive, but it’s not enough. My work itself is unique, but incapable of making the next step. I’ve tried to bring back the past alone, but I realize now distrust can only get you so far.” It was hard to tell who could be trusted, but sometimes a little risk could tip the balance in one’s favor.

Or not.

“We have different specialties, but we share the same ideals. It didn’t escape my attention there’s not a single damn alien within these walls.”

“Perhaps we’re able to complement each other.”

 

[Kroeger]

​

FORT REX, ADUMAR
THE IRON LEGION
902 ABY

D E M O N
IRON LEGION
'THOSE ONCE LOYAL'
Djorn Bline

EPITAPH
​

He nodded in affirmation of the man's words. He seemed of cool demeanor and deadened temper. A contrast to what reputation might have preceded him before within the Empire. He was changed by Coruscant, changed by his time as a remnant warlord in some measure. Despite the radicalized, fanatic host of human Imperials he was spearheading now, he was firm but measured. "I'm well aware of your maverick nature, Bline. If you want to work with me you do so at my command." Kroeger said, his voice humming with cybernetic inflection as his eyes, one bloodshot and organic whilst the other was a cybernetic red photoreceptor glanced to his.

"The Empire is a pitiful ruin of what was. Pitiful pretenders and warlords mock the image of the Iron Sun. I am perhaps no better, a legion-for-hire under the funding of Viceroy Tambor...but even so, the Galaxy has never been in such a grim state. The Imperial Confederation is a false pretender, this 'Diarchy' squats on Imperial throne worlds and there are now whispers...of Solipsis returning from the ashes. All adversaries. All need to be put to the sword before any greater ambitions can be enacted. But tell- what was your next aim? Or was it another indulgence in pointless adventurism?" Kroeger asked, flicking the ashes of the cigarette off of the balcony before he turned his attention more directly toward Bline.

"What role do you see yourself playing in the Empire's restoration, Bline?" He inquired, lofting a brow, barely discerned beneath the weave of bandaging across his features.

 

[Djorn Bline]

S N A K E
ADUMAR
Kroeger

"I'm well aware of your maverick nature, Bline. If you want to work with me you do so at my command."

Truth be told, Djorn was never an effective central leader save for his occupation. Conventional and naval warfare, and politicking were not his forte and never would be. Tavlar was a genius in able to command both the military and civil departments of the old Empire.

"I don't mind following your lead, Kroeger. You tell me what you want done, and I'll do it...but I reserve the right to do it how I want to do it. I'm a pragmatic man and I'll exercise all my options in accomplishing my goals," but he was too pragmatic in his methods. If Kroeger was aware of his brand, then he could only imagine how bent Djorn was while running operations for COMPNOR as one of its leaders.

“But tell- what was your next aim? Or was it another indulgence in pointless adventurism?"

"What role do you see yourself playing in the Empire's restoration, Bline?"

“I’m a soldier, Kroeger; I’ve always been of service to the ideals of Imperialism since my adolescent years. You can say my life has been an adventure since I’ve picked up a rifle,” a gruesome one of violence, death, and strife.

“The only thing I want,” he continued, “is to make sure our brand of Imperialism stretches out from every corner of the Galaxy and to make Coruscant its center. I’m a man of simple wants if you’re trying to…get a feel of my person.” He had a complicated life, but his professional career had always been simple and clear.

“You happen to know anyone with knack of politics? Sad to admit, but a military organization needs the backing of civilians and vice versa.”