Igni Irae
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Expand on the Unchained. Lampshade a common trope in Star Wars.
Image Credit: Here.
Role: Strike force.
Permissions: N/A.
Links: Into Darkness, After Darkness, Tephrike, Elpsis, Mara Technician, Dominion of Light, Disciples of the Vader, Republican Guard, Communion, The Long Road, Citadel of the Voidstrikers.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Unit Name: Hydra Assault Force.
Affiliation: Unchained, Tephrike, Phoebe, Mel, Rhea, Elpsis, Fellowship of Generational Health and Resilience.
Classification: Infantry.
Description: Cloning has a long history in the Galaxy. Genetics companies make a fortune providing not only cloned organs and limbs for those in need, but also cloned servitors for corporations and governments. Sadly, clones rights are often rarely acknowledged. Indeed, there is a strong tendency to regard clones as mere duplicates who can be denied basic rights and be forced to embark on a certain path, which often means being someone's servitor, particularly in the military. Clones who express a desire to exercise free will and choose their own path are often 'handled', which tends to be an euphemism for brainwashing or murder.
The Old Republic's use of clone slave-soldiers during the Clone Wars was problematic enough, though in all fairness it must be acknowledged that Jedi sought to improve conditions for them and that the Order had no input in the army's creation. It was dropped into their lap right at the start of the war...though things would have been better if they had not given teenagers command roles. Nonetheless, various ostensibly freedom-loving governments and Jedi Orders have used clone troopers in the same manner, despite not being in these dire circumstances. The mentality of treating clones as commodities rather than sentient beings with rights is widespread.
The Unchained explicitly reject this. They regard the way clones are often used in the galaxy as slavery. They also have a serious grudge against Jedi and Sith. The Unchained are a group of former political prisoners and refugees from the planet Tephrike. This world descended into chaos during the Four Hundred Year Darkness. Corrupted by their power, the Jedi created a totalitarian theocracy, the Dominion of Light. The Disciples of the Vader and the Republican Guard arose to counter them. The Disciples are an extremist, human supremacist Sith cult that worships Vader as a Dark God and preaches the inferiority of non-humans. Meanwhile, the Guard is a revolutionary movement that sees itself as the vanguard of the common people and is dedicated to overthrowing the Force theocracies. Due to the many atrocities committed by Force-Users, they see the Force as a malignant curse.
The Unchained are a group of Tephriki exiles united by one thing: their shared experience as prisoners in the Dominion of Light's concentration camps. By and large, they used to be inmates of the Liberation Education Centre or Serene Springs. Both were forced labour camps and brainwashing centres run by the Jedi Inquisition, the ideological thought police and state security agency of the Dominion. The first camp was liberated by Firemane during a brief, but intense campaign against the Dominion. The second, meanwhile, was freed by a prisoners' revolt and a Firemane assault on the camp.
The Unchained have sought refuge with Firemane, but they distrust the space people. This is very reasonable since Firemane did not rescue them out of the goodness of its heart. It was simply a byproduct of its punitive campaign. Firemane views them as useful, but also as a group to watch. After all, people in power are not keen on those they do not control. The Unchained have embraced a radical democratic ideology based on inclusiveness, direct democracy but also vigilance. They wish to go back to Tephrike to liberate more people from the Dominion and the Sith, but for they need numbers and resources.
The Hydra Assault Force is a small elite vanguard that facilitates their raiding operations. It is composed of their best soldiers. Being former camp inmates who suffered persecution at the hands of horrible regimes, they have a strong bond. Moreover, many though not all of the Hydras are clones. This makes the name quite fitting. After all, it has many identical heads and if you cut off one another two grow. The Unchained have decided to continue cloning, but without the forced aging, brainwashing and servitude that characterised it on Tephrike. Instead they promote a liberal clone culture, in which clones are treated as people instead of as duplicates of their templates. Instead a template should regard their clone as akin to a sibling.
In short, clones should be given freedom and choice instead of being pressed into service. Likewise, clones are encouraged to develop their individuality, be it in hair style, clothing or job choice. Thus the clone of a musician might decide to join the Hydras, while the clone of a veteran decides to live the life of an artisan or peaceful farmer. In keeping with their egalitarian principles, the Unchained address each other as Companion. The Hydras are a military unit, so a soldier would be addressed as 'Companion Corporal', 'Companion Sergeant', 'Companion Lieutenant' and so on. It is not a requirement to salute officers and the group has adopted a more relaxed salute. The focus of officer training lies in leadership and command in the field. It is supposed to foster a bond between officers and those they command in the field. One of their mottos is 'break the chains'. Another is 'cut off one head and two more will take its place'. The training and selection process also has a quasi-democratic element because the final selection of a Hydra has three factors: peer evaluation of team members, evaluation by instructors and staff, and projected manpower needs.
The Hydras cooperate with the Fellowship of Generational Health and Resilience, the Unchained's cloning group. The Fellowship is responsible for creating new clones, as well as ensuring their physical and mental health. It has been responsible for treating health issues Hydras may suffer from as well as advising those who may want to become templates. The Hydras are a small vanguard unit that is equipped to carry out raids, ambushes, surprise attacks and the like. They lack staying power in prolonged engagements and a lot of their equipment tends to be older. Firemane has provided them with armaments, but is loathe to give them anything advanced. However, the Hydras are committed, brave and disciplined. They also perform a political role, as they showcase the Unchained's commitment to take their destiny into their own hands instead of relying on handouts from benefactors from the stars. They are willing to work with others, but only on terms that do not compromise the freedom of their people and refuse to be cannon fodder for someone else's interests.
The Unchained are poor, but they are committed to providing benefits and pensions for veterans, especially those who have suffered combat injuries. Each Hydra receives a share of the loot after a successful raid. Members are encouraged to shed light on the fate of fallen members and recommend comrades who have distinguished themselves. Their officers and non-commissioned officers are encouraged, even forced, to give critical after-action reports, stating how they and others could have done things better. The Hydras must generally operate without much of a support network, which means their training stresses initiative and a knack for improvisation. The lack of a regular supply train will force them to live off the land during a protracted operation.
The racial background of the Hydras is rather diverse. Humans serve in their ranks, but aliens such as Mirialans, Twi'leks, Houk, Devaronians and Nautolans are extremely common. Indeed, aliens outnumber humans a bit. This reflects the diversity of their homeworld. Tephrike has a history of racial tensions. Indeed the most vile faction of its ongoing war, the Disciples of the Vader, regard it as a race war. The Unchained try to overcome these barriers, seeing them as a way to divide the common people so that the tyrants can oppress them. There are no gender barriers, so both men and women serve on equal terms.
A number of the Hydras are Force-Users, though they represent a minority. Each platoon tends to have a couple though. Their abilities and level of training vary somewhat. Some used to be acolytes of the Jedi or even the Sith before being imprisoned, others lack formal training of note. A few of the Force-Sensitive Hydras have received training from Elpsis. She was captured and tortured by the Dominion, which kicked off its war with Firemane and gave her a lot of empathy for its victims. Firemane's leader views her attachment to them as a double-edged sword. The Hydras received some help from Force-Sensitive Qadiri soldiers associated with Hasana Jai Anhala and Shazora Jai Vahal.
The Unchained are governed by a dyarchy, which means they have two leaders. Both bear the title of Advocate, who each possess veto power over the other. The dual leaders handle defence or peacetime issues on a rotating basis. So one commands the ship for a while then comes back to administer the colony, then does diplomacy. They are elected by the whole population. This means that one Advocate is always responsible for overseeing raiding forces like the Hydras.
The Hydras are extremely hostile to both Jedi and Sith. The Jedi they knew from Tephrike were not 'defenders of peace and justice', but totalitarian dictators. The Unchained have gotten to know Jedi in the greater galaxy, but are unimpressed by them. They will not take orders from Jedi and will be extremely reluctant to work with them. The Social Contract - the Unchained's constitution - enshrines gender equality, equality between clones and non-clones and freedom of religion as inviolable rights for all members. However, the Sith and Jedi faith are banned, as both are seen as antithetical to a free society.
The Unchained are still in the process of developing their beliefs, but overall a grey Force philosophy predominates. They wrongly - yet understandably - associate the Light with the oppressive Dominion. The Dark Side, meanwhile, is largely identified with the evil perpetrated by the Sith. As a result, Force-Sensitive Hydras are cautioned against succumbing to the two extremes, Light and Dark. In the view of the Unchained, both have only brought them harm. One could broadly compare it to how the ancient Je'daii perceived the Force. However, they are more of a reaction to the crimes committed by the Dominion and the Sith on Tephrike than a conscious emulation.
Aarati is one of the leaders of the Hydras. She is a Togruta clone and a former Dominion trooper who was arrested on the grounds of accusation of heresy. Aarati used to be a junior officer on Tephrike rather than someone high ranked, so she is still getting used to commanding a larger unit. She is a tough soldier and has the martial spirit common to her people. Like with all Togruta, her montrals give her a form of passive echolocatio
Command is a point of contention between her and Robina Cloak, a human and a former Jedi. Like her, both are clones. Robina deserted from Dominion before Firemane came and ran a group of outlaws. She joined Firemane's battle against the Dominion on the basis that the enemy of her enemy was her friend. She and what was left of her motley crew joined the space people in the stars and found their way to the Unchained. Both officers are capable, the question whether the one who was fighting even before the space people came should be more senior than the one who led more of them away is a cause of tension. The same applies to whether the Force-User should be more senior than the Force-blind.
Mel, a Mirialan clone, is one of the members. She grew up in the Dominion. Like virtually all members of her line, she worked in her government's propaganda ministry. At first life was good. Among other things, she was involved in spreading the story of a miner called Ajax Worker, who was said to have set a new record by mining a hitherto unheard of number of durasteel in a single shift. But then she was ordered to help the Dominion frame an inconvenient general by falsifying facts. Mel realised how much her government distorted the truth. She made the mistake of falling in love with a colleague, which violated their moral purity laws. Her lover was arrested and later brainwashed. Mel avoided this due to her template's connections. But she was exiled to a collective farm, then assigned to a military propaganda unit.
Her Force-Sensitivity was revealed during the Netherworld War when she came under enemy fire. However, she was accused of having hid it, punished and sent to the Jedi for remedial training, serving in a penal unit. Mel deserted during the horrible Battle of Grimwater Swamp. Most of her unit was wiped out. She became a smuggler, until she was caught and sent to Serene Springs. There she met Phoebe. The two became partners. Mel has a lot of anger towards the Dominion. She has a tough shell to crack. Mel believes that cloning should continue, as she sees it as part of her people's identity.
However, it should be based on comradeship rather than enslavement. Ever since escaping the Dominion's highly conformist culture, she has embraced the cultural traditions of the Mirialan people. She is a Force-User, but has little formal training. She excels at using the Force to augment her senses and gunslinging. Outside of combat, she has a good understanding of business and low level logistics. She has started setting up a trading network to procure what the group needs. She also helps assess the values of booty acquired on raids and ensures a fair division of the spoils.
COMBAT INFORMATION:
Unit Size: Medium
Unit Availability: Rare
Unit Experience: Veteran
Equipment:
Armour:
- Storm Commando Armour. Only available for select units/operatives.
- Stormtrooper Armour. Camo painted to match terrain.
- Outland Rifle (with scope)
- Slugthrower Rifle
- DC-15S Carbine
- BH-21 Particle Beam Rifle
- BR-4 'Baleful Bantha' Blaster Rifle
- Bowcaster
- Scattergun
- DC-19 Stealth Carbine
- J-301 Pulse-Wave Saboteur
- Magnetic Repeater
- Stouker Concussion Rifle
- Imperial Heavy Repeater
- Verpine Shatter Rifle
- PLX-1 Missile Launcher
- CSPL-12
- Model 134a Buzzsaw Rotary Cannon
- FC-1 Flechette Launcher
- Model MG-1. Often mounted on another rifle as an under-barrel grenade launcher.
- Sonic Disruptor
- Hard-Sound Gun
- A280 CFE
- MSD-32
- Enforcer Pistol
- Adjudicator
- FWG-5 Flechette Pistol
- Verpine Shattergun
Misc:
- Detpacks, Grenades, Land Mines.
- Mesh Trap, Monofilament Net
- No-Show
- Dur-24 Wrist Laser
- MM9 Rocket System
- ZX Miniature Flame Projector
- Vac Blade Launcher
Combat Function: Hydra is a rapid strike force. Its members are trained in force reconnaissance and direct action operations. They are the best soldiers of the Unchained and act as their vanguard. The Unchained have a small population, so they must focus on training and skill rather than force of numbers. Within this context, the Hydras can engage in ambushes, raids, sabotage and so on.
They are a highly mobile and motivated force, but suffer in pitched front-line engagements. Their doctrine revolves around meticulous preparation and recon, followed by attacking hard and fast, then withdrawing once they have achieved their mission objective. There is a retreat plan for every operation. They have an integrated unit of sappers, which is helpful for overcoming and bypassing enemy fortifications as well as setting traps for enemies. They also field snipers and overall their training stresses disciplined fire over blazing away. In that regard, it actually helps that the Tephriki are more used to more primitive weapons such as slugthrowers. They lack heavy armour such as tanks or walkers, focusing more on mobility and precision than sheer firepower. The Hydras are poor and have a rather irregular supply train, so a lot of their equipment tends to be a bit older than galactic standard and has been acquired through irregular channels. They compensate this with training, discipline and dedication. Moreover, they make ample use of sharpshooters, traps and will mount weapons on civilian vehicles such as trucks, groundcars and speeders.
A good number of Hydras are Force-Sensitive, who are trained to incorporate their Force powers into the overall battle plan. This allows them to act as force multipliers. Lone wolf actions and Geonosis style death charges are extremely discouraged. Rather the Hydras empathise teamwork and coordination. Because many of the Hydras suffered at the hands of Jedi or Sith indoctrination, even the Non-Force-Using members have received training to close their mind to Force-based mental manipulation.
Force Abilities (Force User Units Only): The Force-Sensitives among the soldiers of the Hydra Assault Force focus on abilities to buff and enhance their skills and those of allies. To this end they focus on telekinesis and its various sub-applications, physica enhancement, Sense abilities and Force Valour. Some of them have a varying level of skill in Force healing, allowing them to the Force to heal wounded comrades. Lightsabres are not unknown to Tephriki, but extremely rare. Thus the Hydras use Force-Imbued Blades instead.
Strengths:
- Crack unit. The Hydras are a small unit, but very well-trained, zealous and motivated. They are a good strike force and excel at irregular warfare, raids and the like.
- The Hydras are a mix of Force-Users and Non-Force-Users, allowing for combined arms tactics. The Force-Sensitive members are trained as soldiers and taught how to incorporate their preternatural powers into the overall battle plan. They are distributed among the platoons.
- They are a rapid strike force and small in number. Thus they suffer in pitched combat.
- Lack integrated heavy support such as tanks, bombers, artillery etc.
The outbreak of the Gulag Virus had a profound impact on almost every inhabited world in the Galaxy. Galactic commerce came to an end, billions died from the plague and many more due to internal strife. Governments collapsed and many planets succumbed to anarchy. The repercussions for Tephrike were extreme. Things turned from bad to worse as the survivors warred amongst themselves. Tephrike's small Jedi enclave tried to fight the darkness, but ended up becoming the very evil they fought against.
Influenced by a warped interpretation of the old Jedi code, they sought to bring the planet under the control of a radical Jedi theocracy, the Dominion of Light, which took totalitarian control to new heights. Inevitably, there was opposition. Heretical Jedi formed a Sith cult that believed all aliens should be enslaved and treated as chattel. Both were opposed by the Republican Guard, a secularist faction that fought for the inalienable right of Non-Force-Users not to be oppressed by space mages, but often had to resort to terrorist methods. Despite its many internal convulsions, the Dominion of Light remained the dominant power on the planet.
The Dominion still had significant support. Without thousands upon thousands of common citizens willing to denounce their fellows as heretics, the Jedi Inquisition would have been unable to prosecute dissenters as successfuly as it did. The secret police established a network of brainwashing and forced labour camps. The camps housed a wide range of convicts, ranging from petty criminals to political prisoners. The Liberation Education Centre was the largest camp. It acted as a central hub for the camp system.
Serene Springs, meanwhile, was set up as a holding facility for heretical Force-Users. Here they would toil, be interrogated, tortured and subjected to an intense brainwashing programme to make them see the error in their ways and embrace the Light. Those who managed to reforge themselves were called the Repentant, who had been stripped of their old personalites by Jedi mentalists. Only a few prisoners reached this stage. Those who were released from prison were exploited for propaganda purposes. Propagandists would liken them to Jedi Revan, who had fallen to the dark side but been born again as a servant of the Light. In truth, life in the camps was characterised by corruption, abuse, arbitrary violence and slave labour. The camp guards were taught to regard the prisoners as less than sentient, for they had been tainted by the dark side.
Then Firemane discovered Tephrike. After initial skirmishes with Firemane, the Dominion sought accommodation. Firemane dispatched a delegation to its capital to initiate negotiations. However, an extremist faction in the Dominion's regime regarded this as heresy. Firemane's delegation came under attack. Elpsis, one of its members and the adoptive daughter of Firemane's ruling couple, was captured by the Jedi Inquisition and imprisoned in Serene Springs. There she was brainwashed into becoming 'Jedi Roxane'. Firemane declared war and proceeded to enter an alliance of convenience with the Republican Guard. A short, but intense campaign followed. After heavy fighting, the allied forces were able to seize a major Dominion fortress. Meanwhile, Elpsis was imprisoned in Serene Springs. There she came into contact with the prisoners and was
Meanwhile, Elpsis was able to overcome her brainwashing and defeat her captors. At the same time, a group of prisoners led by Phoebe instigated a rebellion. They were able to prevail with the help of a Firemane assault force that had already liberated the Liberation Education Centre. Unwilling to get bogged down in a conflict far from home and with allies it distrusted, Firemane decided to be satisfied with measured gains. The Dominion had been given a bloody nose, so it withdrew its troops.
However, Firemane did not want to entirely abandon Tephrike. The prisoners who had been rescued were given the choice between being resettled on a safe world or returning to Tephrike to continue the fight. The prisoners who left with them called themselves the Unchained. Their leader was Phoebe, a Nautolan dissident who had grown up in Republican Guard territory and fled due to their draconian policies against Force-Sensitive, only to discover that the Dominion was even worse. Hardened by years of oppression, she became their leading spokeswoman. Firemane had rescued and inadvertently created the Unchained, but that was an unintended by-product of their punitive campaign. The Unchained needed the support of the outsiders, but they were also a group Firemane did not control.
While the Unchained established a settlement with the help of the space people, they were committed to self-reliance. Moreover, many of them had not forgotten their brethren, who still suffered under tyrannical rulers on Tephrike. Joining the Republican Guard was unappealing for many Unchained, as there were several Force-Sensitives among them. They could not launch an invasion of Tephrike to unseat the Dominion and the Vaderites, but they could carry out raids to eliminate war criminals, rouse the population and rescue prisoners.
These attacks would only be pinpricks, but in time they could become something more. However, they needed resources for this. The Unchained quickly learned that the greater galaxy was a bleak, dangerous place. Oppression and tyranny were not limited to Tephrike. This meant they needed warriors to defend themselves from threats. But this could also be an opportunity to acquire armaments and advanced technology rather than being dependent on Firemane for succour.
This led to the creation of the Hydra Assault Force. It was conceived as the crack vanguard unit of the Unchained. Its recruits were drawn from the Unchained who had displayed the greatest aptitude for combat. A significant number had fought in their homeworld's bloody wars, others have taken up arms after being beaten and abused in the camps. They were united by the realisation that freedom is never free. It is made possible only through the sacrifice of those willing to defend - to the death if need be.
The young force ran into its share of difficulties. There was rivalry between inmates of Serene Springs and Liberation, as the latter felt the former were monopolising command positions. Moreover, the introduction of military discipline, while necessary, proved unpopular, as some recruits felt it contradicted the libertarian principles of the movement. But no group can fight a battle by committee. Firemane was ready to arm the Unchained so that they could defend themselves, but was reluctant to give them advanced weapons.
Still, the unit took shape. Phoebe took a personal interest in it, amidst accusations that she wanted to turn it into a private strike force. However, she was an energetic, vigorous leader and committed to her goal. The Unchained received help from a group of free Qadiri associated with Shazora Jai Vahal and Hasana Jai Anhala. These desert elves had once been the slaves of monarchs and rich merchants, but broken their chains and rebelled against their captors. Though allied with Firemane, they were quite autonomous.
Like the Tephriki, the elves are new to spaceflight and the greater Galaxy. The coming of the space people put many of the truths they held dear into question, but they are now finding their way in the stars. Moreover, a good number of them are emancipated slaves. Like the Tephriki fugitives, they had to fight against oppressors and break their chains. The Unchained made tentative contact with them after two of their own, Rhea and Nuroch, participated in an operation to liberate Qadiri scouts who had been enslaved by a First Order Remnant group. Elpsis, who had led the Firemane portion of the operation, also provided training to some of the Hydras' Force adepts.
One of the tasks of the Hydras was to acquire resources the Unchained could use. One of the things they sought was cloning technology. The group had a number of researchers who knew how cloning worked, but they could not recreate it from scratch. Moreover, the technology they were familiar with on Tephrike was behind galactic standard. It had often caused health issues the Unchained wanted to avoid. It was obviously too expensive to buy it. During their search, they came across a company called GeneTech. This was a private corporation that acted without any governmental oversight, allowing its directors to pursue any form of research and sell to any client they wanted. At first GeneTech seemed interested in offering them a deal. It promised to cure various ills they suffered from. In return, it could use new donors.
It soon became apparent that the cloners regarded clones as commodities that could be sold on the free market. To their disgust, the Unchained learned that a rogue Jedi sect was procuring clone servitors from the corporation. Their aim was to 'outshine' the dark. To the Hydras, this was clearly slavery. The Jedi sect was not a large, but the Hydras lacked the manpower to take on both the Jedi and the corporate security forces. And they were understandably reluctant to fight the clones. However, they decided on a different tactic by spreading subversion among the clones. Having spent all their time in the corporation's facilities, many of the company's creations only had the faintest understanding of what life in the greater Galaxy was like. They had been implanted with inhibitor chips to keep them docile.
The clones are bred to be utterly obedient like the clone troopers of yore, so after gathering intelligence the Hydras decided to slice the systems and subtly manipulate the programming. To this end they smuggled in a mouse droid programmed as a slicer. This allowed them to spread pro-freedom messages and corrupt the loyalty programming. They also used slicing to disrupt 'educational' instruction videos. In their place, they spread footage of the 'training' and the discarding of 'defective units'. Needless to say the corporate security forces clamped down on such sabotage and they eventually lost access. But then the Hydras carried out a raid on the facility.
They were eventually cornered. But when the corporate officers and a few Jedi who happened to be there on an inspection tour tried to turn the clones on the intruders, they refused. Rallying the clones with the words that they had a choice and could live as free beings or slaves, the Hydras got them to turn on their masters. In the aftermath of the bloodletting, the Hydras looted the place and salvaged its tech. Several of the liberated clones joined them. Those who did not were given transport off-world, credits and some supplies. GeneTech sent Firemane a complaint about how it should 'keep its pets' in line. Siobhan was rather annoyed, but decided not to take action after being presented with evidence of how the corporation maltreated its 'products'. It was useful blackmail material she could use. The Unchained were still coldly reprimanded for getting her into this situation.
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