The Tionese Blackguard

[Caulder Dune]

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THE TIONESE BLACKGUARD​

PURPOSE

When someone aggravates a member of the Tion Hegemony, the Tionese Whiteguard will probably deal with that someone. If someone aggravates the entire Tion Hegemony, then the Tionese Blackguard are summoned to eradicate the issue. The Tionese Blackguard are a small, unmatched force of men and women with the objectives of executing the will of the Tion Cluster at any and all cost. They answer only to the uppermost echelons of Tionese authority, and their origins are almost as shadowy as their true masters.

FOUNDATION

Upon her mysterious death, a powerful Sith Lord privately willed her private army to one of the benefactors of the Tion Hegemony. Not one to keep an entire organic army at his beck and call, Gerion Ardik re-purposed the Bladeborn into another arm of the Tion Hegemony. They became known as the Tionese Blackguard, a secretive organization of the Force Users now dedicated to the unholy cause of Tionese economic Imperialism.

COMPOSITION

During the One Sith's occupation of Coruscant, a wily bureaucrat began to gather up destitute refugees, rehabilitate them, and then ship them off as part of a campaign to ensure the development of the less-populous worlds owned by the One Sith. During the probing of Coruscant's under levels, many Force Sensitives were rounded up. Rather than ship them to the One Sith academy, the bureaucrat elected to give them to his once-pupil, a fellow Umbaran, so that she could use them for her own purposes.

From these rehabilitated refugees came the Bladeborn, an elite fighting force dedicated unflinchingly to their mistress. Upon her death, these Bladeborn were willed to the bureaucrat, who by then had become deeply entrenched in the Tion Hegemony. Realizing he had little use for an army of Bladeborn, he had them all swear allegiance to the Hegemony and instead become the Tionese Blackguard.

To this end, the Bladeborn are made up of a wide variety of humans, near-humans, and alien species that at least posses a humanoid frame. They are all Force Sensitives, possessed of an unflinching steel demeanor and suicidal loyalty. All of which have names, origins, and histories relating to Coruscant that they remember, but do not care to re-obtain. They were once drug addicts, criminals, and lepers. But thanks to the bureaucrat and the Sith, they became something more.

Something better.

For demographics, roughly 75% of the Blackguard are Apprentice-level Force Users. 20% are of Low-Level Knight Status, while the remaining 5% are adept Knights.

EQUIPMENT

Unlike the Whiteguard, the Blackguard are not considered for any cybernetic augmentation. Cybernetics have a nasty tendency to delude one's connection to the Force, which the Blackguard rely heavily upon. Instead, the Blackguard are given their own unique set of armor. Lightweight, yet practical in defense from small arms fire.

For armaments, the Blackguard rely primarily on melee weapons. This mostly includes vibroswords, but the ones considered at least a rank of Knight often carry Lightsabers with a grey crystal included. Although they are preferential to melee combat, Blackguard are also given a wrist-mounted blaster with both lethal and stun settings.

Like the Whiteguard, the armor of the Blackguard is modeled after the Stormtroopers of a bygone era, albeit with significant changes. Thankfully, it retains a much more effective field record than others.

LOCATIONS

The Blackguard can only be regularly found at Fort Xim, though their presence there is a closely guarded secret and only a fraction of their true number are present. Otherwise, the Blackguard can mostly be found in groups ranging from one to five (and no greater), usually in the company of someone of ungodly power and influence within the Tion Cluster. This generally amounts to heads of state and the owners of galaxy-spanning corporations.

There are no other Blackguard installations, outposts, or citadels. The Blackguard are of too small a number to warrant such an arrangement. Instead, due to their relatively small number, they are mostly found throughout the Tion Cluster sprinkled in exceptionally small numbers. If ever more than five are encountered, you are either trespassing at Fort Xim or interrupting a meeting of the Hegemony.

 

[Caulder Dune]

Tionese Blackguard Armor: Phase I​

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[IMAGE]​

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: To provide the most august and respectable members of the Tion Hegemony with their own personal guard.
• Development Thread: [X]
• Image Source: Google

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

• Manufacturer: Santhe Corporation
• Model: Tionese Blackguard Armor
• Affiliation: Tion Cluster / Tion Hegemony
• Modularity: No
• Production: Limited
• Material: Armorweave (underlay), Quantum Fiber, Armorplast, Ultrachrome

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Classification: Anti-Blaster, Anti-Slugthrower
• Weight: 20 Kilograms
• Quality: 9 (blasters), 8 (melee weapons), 7 (slughthrowers), 3 (lightsabers)

HELMET COMPONENTS

• Internal Comlink
• HUD
• Infrared / Ultraviolet / Nightvision Vision Modes
• Audio / Visual Recorder
• Photochromic Lenses

ARMOR COMPONENTS

• Armorweave Bodyglove
• Armorplast Plating
• Ultrachrome
• Quantum Fiber Blasterproof Vest
• Internal Heating System

GAUNTLET COMPONENTS

• Micro-Datapad
• EnhanceScan General Purpose Scanner
• Whipcord Launcher
• Cutting Torch

DESCRIPTION

Since the Blackguard are the best the Tion Cluster has to offer (or rather, acquired through a last will and testament), it is only fitting they should be given high quality armor to reflect their stature. Blackguard armor is light enough to be useful to the melee-centric warriors yet also of a high enough quality to be useful. Just as was the case with the Whiteguard, the armor of the Blackguard seems based off the old Stormtroopers of yore, albeit of a darker and more menacing coloration.

In their role as bodyguards for the prestigious, the Blackguard must be read for any given threat. Their armor gives them incredible defense against blaster-based weaponry thanks to the inclusion of armorplast, Ultrachrome, and a high-quality Quantum Fiber blast-proof vest. Against melee weapons and slugthrowers, the armor also provides above-average protection. It doesn't fair particularly well against lightsabers, but such is the case for most armors in the galaxy. Besides, blocking lightsabers is what their lightsabers are for.

The armor also features a number of other advanced features, such as the electronics in the helmet and gauntlet. Its worth noting that these are not protected against EMPs, which will disable all of the armor's features if one happens to go off.

 

[Caulder Dune]

OOC INFORMATION

• Intent: To provide the most important members of the Tion Hegemony with an elite bodyguard unit.
• Development Thread: [X] [X] [X] [X]

UNIT INFORMATION

• Name: The Tionese Blackguard
• Affiliation: Tion Cluster, Tion Hegemony
• Availability: Rare
• Type: Elite Shock Infantry
• Strength: The Blackguard are approximately three thousand strong and are incredibly unlikely to grow beyond that number.

DESCRIPTION

The Tionese Blackguard are a smaller, more elite force of men charged with the personal protection of individual members of the Tion Hegemony. Fearing assassination or subterfuge from the murderous, unscrupulous Silver Jedi, Gerion Ardik formed the regiment from a large private military organization that swore loyalty to him upon the unfortunate death of their former master. Having no use for such a force, Gerion re-branded and re-purposed them to suit the needs of the Tion Hegemony and the Tion Cluster at large.

The Blackguard are now directed by the Tion Hegemony, filling the roles of elite bodyguards for the wealthy and influential members of the Tion Cluster's social elite. They are paid for by the collective planets of the Cluster, from Lianna, to Rudrig, to Raxus Secundus. In turn, the leaders of those planets and their friends enjoy the protective presence of the Blackguard in whatever they do.

Coordination and deployment of the Tionese Blackguard is left entirely to the most elite members of the Tion Hegemony. It was, after all, one of their members who gifted the services of this legion to the cluster. It is only fair he and his peers should oversee it to ensure the Blackguard do not end up exploited or embroiled in civil wars over noble disputes.

Surprisingly enough, the Blackguard are not composed of Tionese natives or the human and near-human mercenaries the Hegemony tended to favor in composing the Whiteguard. This is because the Blackguard were originally those impoverished natives of Coruscant that had been abducted by a certain Sith bureaucrat due to their ability to wield the Force. These kidnapped were then trained by the Sith Lady the bureaucrat dispatched them to for her to do what she would with.

The Blackguard are entirely composed of humanoids, but not necessarily humans. They have a wide range of backgrounds from former petty crooks, to drug peddlers, to hired thugs for nefarious gangsters. But because of their presence in the Force, they were destined for something greater. Now these men may remember their former lives, but have no desire to return to anything outside of their duties now.

These varied backgrounds make for some very interesting conversations among the enlisted. Which, incidentally, is 100% human or near-human.

Just like the Whiteguard, the armor of the Blackguard is based upon the Stormtrooper armor of days long gone. Now, of course, it is much more protective, useful, and gives the Blackguard the ample protection they require to operate effectively. Unlike the Whiteguard, the Blackguard do not undergo cybernetic augmentation, as that would dilute their connection to the Force.

Though they will occasionally employ wrist-blasters, the Blackguard show a marked preference for melee weapons, most notably lightsabers and rudimentary manipulations of the Force. The typical Blackguard is an able practitioner of Shii-Cho and able to use the Force for basic telekinetics, speeding their movements, and empowering their strikes. The majority of the Blackguard are little more than Apprentices when it comes to their skill of the Force. A small amount could be considered low-level Knights, whereas an even smaller minority can be considered adept Knights.

Fort Xim serves as the sole base of operations for the Blackguard. For the majority of their time, they are found in numbers no greater than five, scattered across the Tion Cluster in their endless mission to protect their charges. There are no recruitment stations for the Blackguard, as their very existence is something of a closely guarded secret.