Post by Darth Xaos on Apr 23, 2015 0:50:10 GMT
Throughout its history the Obsidian Union has used pirates and privateers to further its cause. Harassing the Galactic Alliance forces and gathering wealth, these men are called thieves by the Alliance but heroes by the Union. Regardless of what else they are, the Union’s pirates are impossible to ignore. This article discusses some of the key figures and groups among these buccaneers.
Kas
Director of Obsidian Union Intelligence
Head of New Bethrezen Security
Chief Executive Officer of the Brotherhood of Independent Traders
Captain of the Astral Claws
Personal History: Kas is the only son of Correlian spacers and spent the vast majority of his childhood in the void. Kas’ parents lived off the fat of wars past fought, salvaging anything they could haul from the starship graveyards left in the wake of the Clone Wars. Despite his ancestry Kas has never actually set foot on Correlia and was born in the confines of his parents’ freighter. Kas’ early years were dominated by learning the ropes of this business and he soon developed a knowledge of spacefaring unrivaled among his peers.
When Kas reached adolescence, however, he began to engage in various antisocial behaviors every time the family set down in port. Speeder theft on Ryloth, underage drinking on Kuat, getting caught in Theed’s redlight district and untold other offenses constituted Kas’ primary amusements. Before long the family found themselves unable to return to a great many ports. Frustrated beyond repair, Kas’ parents put him out. Kas was unfazed by this turn of events and was, in fact, relieved to be rid of his parents’ oversight.
Kas sought out work but his temperament made it difficult for him to hold a job for long. After Kas left an opponent crippled in a barfight he found himself arrested and sentenced to prison. Kas did well in the penal colony’s violent culture and one moment in particular earned him the fear and respect of his fellow inmates. For a reason that did nothing more than offer a flimsy justification to both parties’ aggression, Kas found himself in combat with a Wookie inmate. The scrap was fierce and permanently injured Kas’ left eye but Kas emerged victorious, winning by performing the awesome feat of snapping the Wookie’s neck.
Once released from isolated confinement several months later, Kas was approached by another inmate with a proposition. The inmate, along with a number of his fellows in the colony, were members of a pirate crew called the Astral Claws (see below) and were planning an escape. He had seen Kas’ fight and offered him a spot in the Claws’ membership. Eager to leave the colony, Kas readily agreed. Kas adapted quickly to the pirate’s life and, in time, was promoted to first mate. Not content to serve forever, however, Kas soon organized a mutiny and took command of the Claws.
Kas’ ambitions were far greater than those of his predecessor and soon he undertook a crusade to unite as many Outer Rim pirate crews as he could under his rule. Calling the organization these pirate crews would capitulate to the Brotherhood of Independent Traders (see below), Kas soon managed to bring a large number of pirates under his control. The last real threat to the BoIT’s ascendancy came in the form of Delurin, the self-proclaimed Warlord of Wild Space. Facing Delurin head-on, Kas soon found Delurin’s Dragon-class Heavy Cruiser, the Galaxy Dragon, more than a match for the BoIT’s assembled fleet. Making a daring plan, Kas and the Astral Claws sacrificed their ship to board the Galaxy Dragon. After a long, bloody fight Kas and the Claws managed to seize the Dragon’s bridge. Delurin and his remaining Dragon Troopers fled in the Dragon’s TIE-Fighter compliment, swearing revenge. Kas renamed the captured Heavy Cruiser to the Astral Dragon and painted it blue and red, the Astral Claws’ colors. With this behemoth as the Brotherhood of Independent Trader’s flagship nothing stood between them and total dominance over Outer Rim piracy.
Kas soon began an intensive program of piracy as a means to announce the Brotherhood of Independent Traders’ new dominance. Little did Kas realize that many of the planets he was targeting were part of the conspiracy that would soon form the Obsidian Union. Darth Xaos himself decided to deal with BoIT. Entering the bridge of the Astral Dragon without resistance, Xaos Force Dominated Kas’ bridge crew to aim their weapons at Kas. Xaos then delivered an ultimatum to Kas: either the BoIT would serve the Union or Kas would die there. Seeing little alternative Kas agreed to join the Union. From then on Kas and his men’s privateer operations against the GA were vital to the Union’s interests. Kas was soon granted the post of Head of New Bethrezen Security, giving him much power in the space-station capital of the Union. During the Second Union Civil War he played a key role in the storming of House Sentia and was rewarded with Directory over Union Intelligence.
The Astral Claws
Crew Colors: Blue, Red
History:
One of the most infamous pirate crews in the Galaxy, the Astral Claws actually have a long and varied history. The Claws have their origin prior to the Clone Wars when the organization was an Old Republic deep-space emergency response flotilla in the Mid-Rim. When the Clone Wars broke out, however, the Claws sided with the Confederacy of Independent Systems. After the CIS’ defeat the Claws were forced to flee to the Outer Rim to avoid the wrath of the newly-forged Galactic Empire. There the Claws first began to engage in piracy. At first these attacks were directed solely against the Empire and the Claws were more a CIS remnant militia than true pirates. In time, however, new recruits outnumbered original Claws members and this new blood cared nothing for politics. Soon the Claws’ captain was deposed in a mutiny and the Claws began to base their attacks on profit rather than ideology. The Claws saw a series of such changes in leadership over the years, the most recent of these being the means by which Kas became captain. At present, the Claws are the elite of the Brotherhood Of Independent Traders (see below) and continue to serve Kas directly.
The Astral Dragon
Often imitated but never truly duplicated, the Astral Dragon is the current name for the prototype Dragon-Class Heavy Cruiser. This imposing ship was under the commander of Delurin, former Imperial Moff and self-proclaimed Warlord of Wild Space, during its early existence. When Kas defeated Delurin in battle, however, the Astral Claws began to use it as their ship. It is currently painted in the Claws colors and carries their symbol. It is an object of absolute terror for Galactic Alliance ships operating in the Outer Rim.
Specs:
Length: 700 mtrs.
Hyperdrive: Class 2 (6 for backup)
Armaments:
Complement: 24 Rihkxyrk Assault Fighters
Crew: 3,529
Minimum Crew: 1,260
Passengers: 1,335 troops
Cargo Capacity: 6,000 metric tons
Consumables: 2 yrs
Jamra Ketar
Jamra is the first mate of the Astral Dragon and a Union Intelligence Officer. He is generally considered Kas’ second-in-command in all regards.
Jamra Ketar was born the third child of a farmer on Dantooine. In time the family would expand to include a total of nine children. Growing up working the fields of Dantooine, Jamra had little experience of the Galaxy at large. None-the-less, he was contented with his lot. To pass the time he took an interest in speederbikes and classic starships. However, his bucolic existence was not fated to remain untouched by the Galaxy forever.
After the initial battle with the Yuuzhan Vong, the New Republic was forced into retreat. Evacuating the populations of Dubrillion and Destrillion, Republic forces stopped on Dantooine to resupply. The Vong followed, however, and attacked the planet. The Republic tried to hold off the alien advance but ultimately retreated when the number of refugee casualties had sufficiently lightened the need for supplies. With the Republic forces once again in retreat, the people of Dantooine were left to vainly defend themselves alone. The Yuuzhan Vong overran Dantooine, sacrificing millions of residents to their blood-thirsty gods.
During the invasion every citizen of Dantooine sought desperately to escape the planet. Jamra and his family were no exception. Over the course of their attempt to reach a spaceport, however, the family’s numbers were gradually thinned by Vong attacks. By the time Jamra had reached his destination only he and his youngest sister still lived. With an abandoned freighter in sight, the two remaining Ketars thought their salvation was at hand. This was quickly disproven when the freighter was revealed to be the lure for a Vong trap. Jamra was driven into a rage when one of the Vong impaled his sister with an amphistaff. Fighting like a man possessed, Jamra managed to kill several of the ambushers before being subdued. As he prepared for death, however, something unexpected occurred. Several men appeared and opened fire on the Vong, driving them off. Jamra, who was too much in shock to move, was carried by the men to their ship.
The men took Jamra with them to their ultimate destination: the hideout of the Astral Claws. Having nowhere else to go, Jamra joined the Claws. The pirate crew’s activities did much to satisfy Jamra’s anger at the loss of his family for both Yuuzhan Vong spoils and GA supplies were fair sport to the pirates. In time Jamra would come to be a key supporter of Kas’ coup for the captainship (Kas having been one of the men who rescued Jamra). The new captain rewarded Jamra by making him first mate. As Kas went on to build up the Brotherhood of Independent Traders Jamra proved to be an invaluable resource.
Though the Union initially purchased Kas and his men’s loyalty at the point of a blaster, Jamra has become a whole-hearted-supporter of Unionism. Like many of those who suffered at the hands of the Vong, he blames the GA far more than the alien invaders for the tragedies he endured.
The Brotherhood of Independent Traders
To paraphrase an old joke, the Brotherhood of Independent Traders are neither traders, independent nor a brotherhood. The BoIT is the brainchild of Kas. After taking control of the Astral Claws, Kas took a good long look at the situation his territory was in. Sith Space, in the pre-Union days, was picked at by a large number of bickering pirate crews. Indeed, the pirates often lost more money fighting each other than they gained from attacking ships. The crews needed to work together to survive; Kas needed a way to get all the other crews to give him a cut of their profits. He saw it as being in everyone’s interests if he forced their compliance with this arrangement. Few of the captains saw tings his way at first. However, Kas’ firepower proved to be more persuasive than his logic and soon he was the over-captain of Sith Space.
Wanting a legitimate-looking front for this organization, Kas created the Brotherhood of Independent Traders. The name was meant to be as bland and generic as possible so the pirates could hide behind the façade of a shipping merchants’ guild. This cover was only skin deep at first but this has changed. Whether the BoIT is now more legitimate or less legitimate than it once was depends entirely on one’s sympathies in the war.
After being impressed into service by Xaos, the BoIT has become a major economic power in the Union. Most famously, the BoIT is the official organization of the Union’s privateers. This is an incredible source of income for the BoIT as its ships can pillage GA craft and safely retreat to Union territory. The Union profits in this by making the Outer Rim unsafe for merchants flying under GA authority while ensuring the security of its own traders. However, this is not the BoIT’s sole source of income. All trade in New Bethrezen and the Hermitage of Korriban are controlled by the BoIT. Throughout the Union they also possess numerous business holdings. Only the Hutt Clans, the Chiss Ascendancy and the Union’s federal government surpass the BoIT in terms of wealth in Union space.
Kas
Director of Obsidian Union Intelligence
Head of New Bethrezen Security
Chief Executive Officer of the Brotherhood of Independent Traders
Captain of the Astral Claws
Personal History: Kas is the only son of Correlian spacers and spent the vast majority of his childhood in the void. Kas’ parents lived off the fat of wars past fought, salvaging anything they could haul from the starship graveyards left in the wake of the Clone Wars. Despite his ancestry Kas has never actually set foot on Correlia and was born in the confines of his parents’ freighter. Kas’ early years were dominated by learning the ropes of this business and he soon developed a knowledge of spacefaring unrivaled among his peers.
When Kas reached adolescence, however, he began to engage in various antisocial behaviors every time the family set down in port. Speeder theft on Ryloth, underage drinking on Kuat, getting caught in Theed’s redlight district and untold other offenses constituted Kas’ primary amusements. Before long the family found themselves unable to return to a great many ports. Frustrated beyond repair, Kas’ parents put him out. Kas was unfazed by this turn of events and was, in fact, relieved to be rid of his parents’ oversight.
Kas sought out work but his temperament made it difficult for him to hold a job for long. After Kas left an opponent crippled in a barfight he found himself arrested and sentenced to prison. Kas did well in the penal colony’s violent culture and one moment in particular earned him the fear and respect of his fellow inmates. For a reason that did nothing more than offer a flimsy justification to both parties’ aggression, Kas found himself in combat with a Wookie inmate. The scrap was fierce and permanently injured Kas’ left eye but Kas emerged victorious, winning by performing the awesome feat of snapping the Wookie’s neck.
Once released from isolated confinement several months later, Kas was approached by another inmate with a proposition. The inmate, along with a number of his fellows in the colony, were members of a pirate crew called the Astral Claws (see below) and were planning an escape. He had seen Kas’ fight and offered him a spot in the Claws’ membership. Eager to leave the colony, Kas readily agreed. Kas adapted quickly to the pirate’s life and, in time, was promoted to first mate. Not content to serve forever, however, Kas soon organized a mutiny and took command of the Claws.
Kas’ ambitions were far greater than those of his predecessor and soon he undertook a crusade to unite as many Outer Rim pirate crews as he could under his rule. Calling the organization these pirate crews would capitulate to the Brotherhood of Independent Traders (see below), Kas soon managed to bring a large number of pirates under his control. The last real threat to the BoIT’s ascendancy came in the form of Delurin, the self-proclaimed Warlord of Wild Space. Facing Delurin head-on, Kas soon found Delurin’s Dragon-class Heavy Cruiser, the Galaxy Dragon, more than a match for the BoIT’s assembled fleet. Making a daring plan, Kas and the Astral Claws sacrificed their ship to board the Galaxy Dragon. After a long, bloody fight Kas and the Claws managed to seize the Dragon’s bridge. Delurin and his remaining Dragon Troopers fled in the Dragon’s TIE-Fighter compliment, swearing revenge. Kas renamed the captured Heavy Cruiser to the Astral Dragon and painted it blue and red, the Astral Claws’ colors. With this behemoth as the Brotherhood of Independent Trader’s flagship nothing stood between them and total dominance over Outer Rim piracy.
Kas soon began an intensive program of piracy as a means to announce the Brotherhood of Independent Traders’ new dominance. Little did Kas realize that many of the planets he was targeting were part of the conspiracy that would soon form the Obsidian Union. Darth Xaos himself decided to deal with BoIT. Entering the bridge of the Astral Dragon without resistance, Xaos Force Dominated Kas’ bridge crew to aim their weapons at Kas. Xaos then delivered an ultimatum to Kas: either the BoIT would serve the Union or Kas would die there. Seeing little alternative Kas agreed to join the Union. From then on Kas and his men’s privateer operations against the GA were vital to the Union’s interests. Kas was soon granted the post of Head of New Bethrezen Security, giving him much power in the space-station capital of the Union. During the Second Union Civil War he played a key role in the storming of House Sentia and was rewarded with Directory over Union Intelligence.
The Astral Claws
Crew Colors: Blue, Red
History:
One of the most infamous pirate crews in the Galaxy, the Astral Claws actually have a long and varied history. The Claws have their origin prior to the Clone Wars when the organization was an Old Republic deep-space emergency response flotilla in the Mid-Rim. When the Clone Wars broke out, however, the Claws sided with the Confederacy of Independent Systems. After the CIS’ defeat the Claws were forced to flee to the Outer Rim to avoid the wrath of the newly-forged Galactic Empire. There the Claws first began to engage in piracy. At first these attacks were directed solely against the Empire and the Claws were more a CIS remnant militia than true pirates. In time, however, new recruits outnumbered original Claws members and this new blood cared nothing for politics. Soon the Claws’ captain was deposed in a mutiny and the Claws began to base their attacks on profit rather than ideology. The Claws saw a series of such changes in leadership over the years, the most recent of these being the means by which Kas became captain. At present, the Claws are the elite of the Brotherhood Of Independent Traders (see below) and continue to serve Kas directly.
The Astral Dragon
Often imitated but never truly duplicated, the Astral Dragon is the current name for the prototype Dragon-Class Heavy Cruiser. This imposing ship was under the commander of Delurin, former Imperial Moff and self-proclaimed Warlord of Wild Space, during its early existence. When Kas defeated Delurin in battle, however, the Astral Claws began to use it as their ship. It is currently painted in the Claws colors and carries their symbol. It is an object of absolute terror for Galactic Alliance ships operating in the Outer Rim.
Specs:
Length: 700 mtrs.
Hyperdrive: Class 2 (6 for backup)
Armaments:
Complement: 24 Rihkxyrk Assault Fighters
Crew: 3,529
Minimum Crew: 1,260
Passengers: 1,335 troops
Cargo Capacity: 6,000 metric tons
Consumables: 2 yrs
Jamra Ketar
Jamra is the first mate of the Astral Dragon and a Union Intelligence Officer. He is generally considered Kas’ second-in-command in all regards.
Jamra Ketar was born the third child of a farmer on Dantooine. In time the family would expand to include a total of nine children. Growing up working the fields of Dantooine, Jamra had little experience of the Galaxy at large. None-the-less, he was contented with his lot. To pass the time he took an interest in speederbikes and classic starships. However, his bucolic existence was not fated to remain untouched by the Galaxy forever.
After the initial battle with the Yuuzhan Vong, the New Republic was forced into retreat. Evacuating the populations of Dubrillion and Destrillion, Republic forces stopped on Dantooine to resupply. The Vong followed, however, and attacked the planet. The Republic tried to hold off the alien advance but ultimately retreated when the number of refugee casualties had sufficiently lightened the need for supplies. With the Republic forces once again in retreat, the people of Dantooine were left to vainly defend themselves alone. The Yuuzhan Vong overran Dantooine, sacrificing millions of residents to their blood-thirsty gods.
During the invasion every citizen of Dantooine sought desperately to escape the planet. Jamra and his family were no exception. Over the course of their attempt to reach a spaceport, however, the family’s numbers were gradually thinned by Vong attacks. By the time Jamra had reached his destination only he and his youngest sister still lived. With an abandoned freighter in sight, the two remaining Ketars thought their salvation was at hand. This was quickly disproven when the freighter was revealed to be the lure for a Vong trap. Jamra was driven into a rage when one of the Vong impaled his sister with an amphistaff. Fighting like a man possessed, Jamra managed to kill several of the ambushers before being subdued. As he prepared for death, however, something unexpected occurred. Several men appeared and opened fire on the Vong, driving them off. Jamra, who was too much in shock to move, was carried by the men to their ship.
The men took Jamra with them to their ultimate destination: the hideout of the Astral Claws. Having nowhere else to go, Jamra joined the Claws. The pirate crew’s activities did much to satisfy Jamra’s anger at the loss of his family for both Yuuzhan Vong spoils and GA supplies were fair sport to the pirates. In time Jamra would come to be a key supporter of Kas’ coup for the captainship (Kas having been one of the men who rescued Jamra). The new captain rewarded Jamra by making him first mate. As Kas went on to build up the Brotherhood of Independent Traders Jamra proved to be an invaluable resource.
Though the Union initially purchased Kas and his men’s loyalty at the point of a blaster, Jamra has become a whole-hearted-supporter of Unionism. Like many of those who suffered at the hands of the Vong, he blames the GA far more than the alien invaders for the tragedies he endured.
The Brotherhood of Independent Traders
To paraphrase an old joke, the Brotherhood of Independent Traders are neither traders, independent nor a brotherhood. The BoIT is the brainchild of Kas. After taking control of the Astral Claws, Kas took a good long look at the situation his territory was in. Sith Space, in the pre-Union days, was picked at by a large number of bickering pirate crews. Indeed, the pirates often lost more money fighting each other than they gained from attacking ships. The crews needed to work together to survive; Kas needed a way to get all the other crews to give him a cut of their profits. He saw it as being in everyone’s interests if he forced their compliance with this arrangement. Few of the captains saw tings his way at first. However, Kas’ firepower proved to be more persuasive than his logic and soon he was the over-captain of Sith Space.
Wanting a legitimate-looking front for this organization, Kas created the Brotherhood of Independent Traders. The name was meant to be as bland and generic as possible so the pirates could hide behind the façade of a shipping merchants’ guild. This cover was only skin deep at first but this has changed. Whether the BoIT is now more legitimate or less legitimate than it once was depends entirely on one’s sympathies in the war.
After being impressed into service by Xaos, the BoIT has become a major economic power in the Union. Most famously, the BoIT is the official organization of the Union’s privateers. This is an incredible source of income for the BoIT as its ships can pillage GA craft and safely retreat to Union territory. The Union profits in this by making the Outer Rim unsafe for merchants flying under GA authority while ensuring the security of its own traders. However, this is not the BoIT’s sole source of income. All trade in New Bethrezen and the Hermitage of Korriban are controlled by the BoIT. Throughout the Union they also possess numerous business holdings. Only the Hutt Clans, the Chiss Ascendancy and the Union’s federal government surpass the BoIT in terms of wealth in Union space.