Directorate Officer
"Are they really our allies?" ~anonymous Antarian Ranger
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: To make a fighting unit from Kintan
Image Credit: here (armor), here (face), here (background), here (insignia) combined together and modified by yours truly
Role: Infantry Regiment
Links: Gir Quee, Silver Jedi, Kintan, Fortress Kh'aris, "Red Nikto", "Green Nikto", Morgukai cult, Cult of M'dweshuu, Lucerne Personal Defense
Unit Name: 6th Kintan Infantry Regiment - "Keepers of the Promise"
Affiliation: Gir Quee, Silver Jedi, Kintan
Classification: Infantry Regiment
Equipment:
Shadowstrike Battle Rifle with NightMight 4NS Scope (standard primary weapon)
Stormburst Pistol (standard back-up weapon)
Fireblast Dual Purpose Grenade (standard grenade, 4 carried by each trooper)
Massiff Blast Armor with Vornskr Blast Helmet (standard armor)
Bantha Modular Load-Bearing System with SD-48 Survival Backpack (standard fighting equipment)
Description: The 6th Kintan Infantry Regiment is a locally raised ISAF unit from Kintan. Composed of red and green nikto, these warriors have developed well-honed marksmanship skills by countless treks into the desert wastelands on survival hunts from the ancient Fortress Kh'aris. These same hunts have made the nikto exceptional desert warriors, not only capable of surviving harsh arid environments, but using those same environments to their advantage. While impressive in their home environment, the 6th is hindered by the political pressures which led to the creation of the unit. Pressure from the possibility of the ancient cult returning and the looming Sith Empire forced a number of disparate Nikto clans and the ISAF to artificially create the group based on 'a promise' that the unit would keep all force-users, both Jedi and Sith, from dominating the world. Consequently, the "Keepers of the Promise" as they call themselves draw some philosophy from the old Morgukai cult, which has lead to some friction and distrust between them and their Silver Jedi / ISAF allies. Nonetheless, the 6th remains an invaluable fighting asset to the Silver Jedi and ISAF in their eastern regions of their territory.
Unit Size: Large
Unit Availability: Common
Unit Experience: Trained
Combat Function: The 6th Infantry acts largely as a standard infantry, seizing and holding ground through their personal skill in battle with small arms and other light weaponry. Among other infantry regiments of the ISAF, the 6th distinguishes itself by their unusual hardiness and adaptation to desert warfare. Kintan is a difficult world to grow up on because of its unforgiving arid land and sudden radiation flares, which has formed its inhabitants into tough individuals with a strong will to survive and practical ingenuity needed to make that will a reality. Military training under the tutelage of Directorate advisors and equipment provided by Lucerne Personal Defense has only furthered the ability of these tough, individualists to better fight and survive in the desert. Part of this training is a high focus on individually developing excellent marksmanship skill, which is in part enabled by all of their battle rifles being equipped with rugged NightMight 4NS scope: soldiers of the 6th frequently must make difficult long-range shots to best opponents over the vast distances of the open desert before their opponent can get the drop on them. This reality has also caused the soldiers of the 6th to become wary observers and travellers. This manifest itself in combat by using loose and open formations and positions focused on observing the environment around them. The regiment frequently maintains this skill set by sending small groups of soldiers into the desert for week long hunts of natural predators and to simply 'survive' in the wastelands. This has had the side of effect of producing a large core of highly independent low level leaders. After being afforded such operational independence, they frequently feel constrained by the top-down leadership of their higher officers, who have mostly adopted the conventional doctrines found commonly in ISAF circles. Still, higher level commanders including Admiral Quee have used this dichotomy to their advantage, sending small elements of the 6th into long-range independent patrols deep into enemy territory, a role which many of the young leaders now cherish.
Strengths:
Marksmen: The 6th is composed of excellent marksmen, who while not true snipers, tend to be more accurate over longer ranges than typical soldiers. This effect is the result of using long-range slug throwers paired with good optics and months of survival-based hunting on the radiation-blasted sands of Kintan. While typically the 6th uses simple solid slugs for most of their work, most carry also carry explosive-tipped rounds for use against apex predators and armored foes.
Desert Fighters: The Keepers of the Promise are all natives of the desert wastelands of Kintan, with an intense familiarity with that landscape derived from regular training exercises and grueling 'hunts' in the midst of the desert. The 6th are not only adept at fighting and living within the desert, but frequently use the environment itself to their advantage. This manifests practically in such ways as using sandstorms to disguise their movements or using sand to hide explosive charges.
Lack Heavy Weapons: The Keepers of the Promise almost entirely lack any sort of heavy weaponry because of their focus on individual marksmanship. While they can use grenades and explosive-tipped slugs effectively against some lighter vehicles, they typically have no real effective ways to stop concentrated armored attacks by walkers or tanks. Additionally, they do not have a reliable means to fight back against aircraft.
Social Friction: The 6th suffers from both internal and external social friction because of their clans, particularly between the racial and political divide of the green and red nikto. Externally, the "promise" has bred distrust between the Nikto and their ostensible Jedi and ISAF allies.
When Kintan fell under the sphere of influence of the Silver Jedi, the ISAF and local government felt the need to build a defense force in case the cult attempted to rise to power once again. The 6th Kintan Infantry Regiment is one of those newly established units of the world designed to combat that threat and the possibility of invasion by the resurgent Sith Empire. While united in their desire to raise a local defense force, the ISAF and local government found the actually building the unit to be quite contentious. A large degree of this friction was rooted in Kintan's clan-based politics, alongside with Nikto culture's general distrust of force-users like the Silver Jedi. As a result, Admiral Quee and Lucerne Personal Defense stepped in to become the mediators between these vying groups while simultaneously equipping and training the force out of the ancient Fortress Kh'aris. Because of clan politics and practicality, most of the 6th is composed of the "Red Nikto" subspecies native to the area around the fortress, though there is a sizeable "Green Nikto" subspecies minority that has developed close ties to Admiral Quee through their clan chieftain. Still rooted culturally in isolation, the nikto leaders of the 6th prefer to spend most of their time training on the grounds of the fortress, but political maneuvering and the eagerness of some nikto leaders means that the unit or subordinate units within are sometimes deployed as part of a larger ISAF expeditionary force.