Autolycus
- 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 rapid maneuvering and irregular warfare
The Red Banner, led by the Tribune Acacius - known for pillaging, counterinsurgency, and extraction operations
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 royal 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 other divisions and personnel into his 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 and his remaining constituents 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.
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
SOCIAL INFORMATION
COMPOSITION INFORMATION
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
- Intent: To give Meliant control of an important stormtrooper legion.
- Image Credit: No images in this sub - who needs 'em!
- Permissions: The 551st Legion makes use of all relevant equipment licensed to the Galactic Empire
- Links: I'm the Man in the Tube, Where Darksiders Have Lease, Hand it Over... That Thing..., Tales of the Core, System Shock: Change of the Guard
- Army Name: 551st Stormtrooper Legion
- Coruscant Guard
- Red Legion
- Classification: Stormtrooper Legion
- Affiliation:
- Galactic Empire (nominal)
- Meliant (de facto)
- Army Symbol: The official crest of the 551st was the standard imperial crest, colored red, with the silhouette of the Imperial Palace imposed over the center. Circling the logo in monospaced aurebesh is the phrase: "vigilantia aeterna, pax aeterna" - Atrisian Basic for "eternal vigilance, eternal peace."
- Description:
The 551st Legion was a stormtrooper legion responsible for garrisoning the Imperial Center, formerly known as Coruscant. Its soldiers fulfilled the same role as the long-defunct Coruscant Guard and bore the same distinctive red markings on their armor.
The legion's duties were identical to that of typical military police. Most notably, they were responsible for security at key government facilities, vital planetary infrastructure, and other districts of civic or military importance. 551st stormtroopers were also frequently called upon to act as protective details for high-ranking officials.
The 551st was adept in counterinsurgency and special operations, as well as riot suppression and urban warfare. Smaller, more specialized units (including Death Troopers and Storm Commandos) gave the 551st access to a broad range of skills necessary for maintaining order and security on a planet-wide ecumenopolis.
SOCIAL INFORMATION
- Headquarters: Fort Skragg, Federal District, Imperial Center
- Goals:
- Maintain order, security, and military defense on Coruscant (nominal)
- Protect key government officials and facilities from harm across Coruscant (nominal)
- Manage and coordinate peacekeeping activities with subordinate forces (law enforcement, Imperial army troopers, etc.) (nominal)
- Do whatever Meliant tells them to do (de facto)
- Reputation:
The 551st Legion were either stalwart, reliable protectors of the Empire or brutal, jackbooted thugs depending on the viewer's receptiveness to Imperial propaganda.
Imperial insiders were dimly aware of rumors accusing the 551st of politicking, scheming, and corruption… But investigations into the matter failed to prove any wrongdoing - if they weren't quashed to begin with. Strange how that works.
Under the authority of Meliant, the 551st Legion cultivated a reputation as a "haunted" legion. It was quite clear something had happened to its soldiers, who came to rarely speak and moved as if puppeted by an alien force. Those unfamiliar with the higher mysteries of the Dark Side would never quite understand, and so rightly feared the 551st.
COMPOSITION INFORMATION
- Army Size: Large, for a stormtrooper legion, consisting of four regiments instead of three. These regiments were likewise oversized. The 551st had a presence throughout all of Coruscant. Its day-to-day operations were supplemented by a myriad of Imperial personnel, including battle droids.
- Composition:
- 78th Infantry Regiment
- 56th Infantry Regiment
- 61st Cavalry Regiment
- 15th Field Artillery Regiment
The four colonels of the 551st Legion were unwillingly turned into Sith Battlelords and given the new title of Tribune. Sorcerous rituals were used to bind the tribunes to their respective regiments, which gave them instinctive awareness of their men's activities and status, as well as the ability to issue them orders telepathically. The Tribunes themselves were bound to Meliant in the same manner, which likewise made him him a Sith Battlelord.
Antiphon of the 78th Infantry Regiment
Hiero of the 56th Infantry Regiment
Lysias of the 61st Cavalry Regiment
Eumathes of the 15th Field Artillery Regiment
Aside from the Tribunes, the 551st Legion was made up of hardened stormtroopers, jumptroopers, the infamous imperial shock troopers, and well-seasoned support personnel. A few of Meliant's allies in the Dark Side Elite were likewise given favorable appointments.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The 551st Legion was constituted shortly after the fall of Coruscant to the Empire around 902 ABY. Its founders were eager to appease and protect the Emperor, and so recruits were drilled hard and regularly cycled out to frontier campaigns. The home guard were expected to be the best of the best, after all.
Which is not to say they lacked combat opportunities at home: the 551st spent more than a few years pacifying the upper levels of Coruscant to make things suitable for Imperial administration. A city-wide planet presents its own difficulties in weeding out disorder and resistance.
When the Emperor withdrew (or vanished, as some say) following his defeat at Atrisia, discipline amongst the officers slowly unraveled. The four colonels and the commander began to leverage their positions to enrich themselves: bribe-taking, smuggling, and other rote criminality. These ties possibly extended as far as the Black Sun Syndicate.
Meliant, a member of the Dark Side Elite, was eventually tipped off to their corruption. This was sufficient cause for him to dispose of the commander, suborn the colonels, and take the whole of the 551st under his command - a move which was unprecedented and certainly unsanctioned. The legion's future was subsequently seen as rather tenuous.
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