- Intent: To provide Meliant with his own fighting force.
- Image Credit: I made the logo by making some adjustments to the Restored Empire logo and the Sith logo. The headers are also by me. Tell me I'm pretty.
- Permissions: N/A
- Links:
- Army Name: Night Legion
- Classification: Warlord's Host
- Affiliation:
- Army Symbol: See above: the modified Imperial roundel, flanked by the arcing rays of the Sith.
- Description:
The Night Legion was a amalgamation of Imperial military units previously in service to the second Empire of Darth Solipsis. Following the collapse of his latest regime, many came to serve the new Emperor of Coruscant: Hasuras Na-Amoun, better known as Meliant. Their reasons for doing so varied, with some seeking continuity and others following promises of freedom, wealth, and glory.
The soldiers of the Night Legion were unruly, rapacious, and frequently malevolent. Discipline was lax, but skill at warfare was not in short supply. Many were hardened veterans of the Empire's myriad battles and other "peacekeeping" operations. They were inclined to show off their status by decorating their armor in elaborate war paint, or adorning themselves in macabre trinkets. No one could mistake a Night Legion trooper for a true Imperial.
The Night Legion made liberal use of Sith Battlelords. Meliant had his Tribunes bound to him, and the Tribunes in turn had their Captains bound to them, and the Captains their officers. While not every soldier was so-slaved to their superior, this gave the leadership of the Night Legion a constant, low-level awareness of the doings of their underlings, as well as the ability to communicate telepathically.
Despite this, the Night Legion was only ever loosely organized. Beyond the captains and their maniples, soldiers were left to self-organize themselves into independent war-bands.
- Headquarters: Sith Temple, Federal District, Coruscant
- Goals:
- Enrich themselves at the expense of others
- Do whatever Meliant tells them to do
- Reputation:
The Night Legion was widely despised as rapacious criminals with no higher purpose beyond their own enrichment, loyal as they were to a despicable traitor. Where they went, misery and immiseration were sure to follow.
The common elements of the Night Legion were seen merely as raiders, cutthroats, and deserters. The Night Legionaries themselves struck terror into the hearts of their foes, and were known as ruthless Jedi-killers and lethal commandos.
- Army Size: Huge. The Night Legion was divided into four Banners of ~30,000 men, each led by a Tribune. The Banners were further divided into Maniples of ~300 men, led by a Captain. The Banners were loosely organized, and so their exact numbers tended to fluctuate.
The White Banner, led by the Tribune Maecenas - known for their rapid maneuvering and irregular warfare
The Red Banner, led by the Tribune Acacius - known for pillaging, counterinsurgency, and salvaging
The Black Banner, led by the Tribune Thrasyllus - known for siege and boarding operations; heavy artillery
The Golden Banner, led by the Tribune Serapion - the personal favorites of Meliant - his personal guard
- Composition: The Night Legion utilized armor, vehicles, aircraft, weapons, and support equipment which were typical of Imperial fighting forces. The collapse of the Galactic Empire left many stockpiles of war materiel in their hands.
- Rank-and-File: Stormtroopers (and their various specializations), Imperial Army Troopers
- Officers: Night Legionaries
- Tribunes: Acacius, Maecenas, Serapion, Thrasyllus
- Captains: None worth remarking upon
- Lord of the Four Banners: Meliant
Long before there was a Night Legion, there was the 551st Legion of the Galactic Empire, the red-trimmed stormtrooper legion known as the Coruscant Guard. The 551st were founded around 902 ABY as the garrison forces for the Imperial Center, assigned to protect key government officials and installations. Recruits were regularly cycled out to frontier campaigns to ensure that the "home guard" were kept in fighting, elite shape.
After the Emperor, Darth Solipsis, vanished following his defeat at Atrisia, discipline among the officers of the 551st slacked. The command staff took to leveraging their positions for their personal benefit, and engaged with the Black Sun Syndicate in a variety of criminal arrangements.
This corruption eventually came to the attention of Meliant, a middling member of the Dark Side Elite. At the instigating of the Sith Lord Mercy, he took control of the 551st Legion, executing the commander and binding the colonels as his thralls. In the leadup to the Sith Covenant's invasion of Imperial Center, Meliant used the 551st to assume direct control of the defense of the Federal District, absorbing a number of smaller military formations into a burgeoning command.
As the Dark Side Elite were considered answerable only to the absent Emperor, none of Meliant's actions were contested. This proved to be a fatal lapse of judgement on the part of the Imperial administration, as Meliant would go on to direct the 551st
to betray the Empire for the Sith Covenant. Many leading Imperial officials were killed during the coup, among them the Imperial Vizier, Shannic Wulf, and the Empire subsequently dissolved.
For his troubles, Meliant was crowned the Emperor of Coruscant. He reorganized the 551st into the Night Legion, pillaging the military surplus of the Empire and commandeering several advanced projects to award his veteran shock troopers. These became the first of the Night Legionaries.
