OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Expand on the Shadows.
Image Credit: Here.
Role: Smugglers, specialised pilots and infiltrators.
Permissions: Can use Firemane stuff because I own the company. Blanket permission for subs made by Laira Darkhold's writer here and here.
Links: Vashyada, To Hell and Back, Eldorai Exodus, Twin Exiles, Eldorai, Xioquo, Kar'zun, Qadiri.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Unit Name: Frumentarii
Affiliation: Chapter of the Black Traders, Shadow Knights, Court of the Shadows, Shadow Knights (lore sub), Naesala Faethyra.
Classification: Pilots, Commandos.
Description: The Frumentarii are a specialised paramilitary formation of the Shadow Knights, a nomadic group of Eldorai exiles and renegades. The society of the Shadows is centred on a militarised nomad fleet. They never stay in one place for long, as they traverse the stars to acquire resources and find new homes to settle on. Resources are scarce, ships are valuable and enemies manifold. The galaxy is a big, bleak place where they are outmanned and outgunned. What they cannot produce in their nomad fleet, they must salvage, steal, raid or barter. By their very nature, the Shadows are a regimented society. The nomad fleet is governed by an oligarchic republic in which service guarantees citizenship. Yet there is also a place for fringers and the like, provided they can make themselves useful to the community.
Needless to say ships are one of their biggest assets. Though heavily militarised, the Shadows do not have the resources to field large armies or war fleets. The Frumentarii pilot freighters and similar craft that are omnipresent on the outer rim. They use their piloting skills to conduct reconnaissance, pierce blockades, infiltrate and evacuate Shadow Knight commandos, agents and agitators or other people important to the movement. Outwardly, they seem like normal spacers, and they do their best to blend in.
The Frumentarii derive their name from the Eldorai word for wheat and, more specifically, wheat collector. Quite a few of their members have a background as rebels, outlaws, members of the underclasses or general anti-establishment types with a history of grievances against the Eldorai Matriarchy, so the name is deliberately ironic. A few have a somewhat different background and used to serve in the special operations and espionage organisations of the Qadiri states, the Eldorai or Xioquo Matriarchy before defecting to the rebels.
The Frumentarii tend to recruit their operatives from the ranks of the Chapter of the Black Trade, a smuggling and intelligence gathering network that supports the Shadows. In order to blend in among their surroundings, the Frumentarii do not don uniforms and wear no insignia of rank. Their typical 'uniform' consists of spacer leathers with some light armour beneath. Naturally, they are always armed, though only lightly in order to avoid arousing suspicion. They tend to favour carbines, blaster pistols, vibroblades and the like.
It goes without saying that their outward attitude is not characterised by military drill and formality. It is a bit of a stereotype that pilots who lack the attitude needed for service in the regular fleet end up here. However, their numbers also include professional spies and commandos who have been inducted into the group to make use of their skills - and keep an eye on more roguish elements. Their freighters are their mobile homes, as they may have to operate away from the nomad fleet for extended durations of time, and are often customised. They are very skilled at scouting out new hyperspace routes, evading patrols and bypassing security measures. They also receive training in marksmanship, melee combat, escape and evasion.
Like their parent organisation, the Frumentarii are directed by the Court of the Veil. The Shadows have a corporatist society, where different social groups and professions are organised into spheres called Courts. This gives the constituents a say in how their affairs are run, but also makes things rather regimented. The Court of the Veil is responsible for all the stealth and espionage activities. While most of the Frumentarii are Eldorai, they do not limit recruitment to them, but also allow their Tygaran 'cousins' to join. Qadiri are particularly desired because their inherent navigational abilities make them good pilots. Xioquo spies are also valued due to their knack for subterfuge and stealth. There are even a few Kar'zun, who tend to be rogues among their people.
The group even includes some more common aliens such as Togorians and Twi'leks. The Shadows have built a cooperative relationship with some Togorian exiles who sought their fortune in the stars in response to genocidal massacres perpetrated by the Sith. Due to the nature of its work, the Court of the Veil is one of the least nationalistic among the Shadows' Courts. Moreover, mixed crews arouse less attention than all-Eldorai ones since the elves are quite rare in the galaxy, and aliens may have skills the elves lack.
Some of the Frumentarii are true believers in the cause, but many are more pragmatic. On the fringe, the line between pirate, smuggler, terrorist, mercenary, spy and 'noble' freedom fighter is a thin one. The Shadows do not need them to be chivalrous, just reliable and competent. The punishments for betrayal or abandoning a fellow captain are draconian. The Frumentarii tend to operate in small groups. Their arsenal of weapons is a mixture of gear acquired via the Shadows, raids, theft or on the black market. Due to the nature of their work, they cannot rely on a regular supply train and thus will often have to acquire resources on their own. Each mission group is designed to be well-rounded and have specialists in multiple fields such as slicing, communications, demolitions and sharpshooting.
While very insulated, the Shadows cannot sustain themselves without trading with outside parties. For a price, they are ready to transport cargo or hire themselves out to foreign parties. Thus some jobs a foreign planetary government or corporation might hire the Shadows are contracted out to the Frumentarii. The Shadows have a code, so transporting slaves is not allowed under pain of death, but they are not fussy about say transporting spice, fugitives or spies, unless it is likely to bring harm to the nomad fleet. For instance, a corporation that wants to conduct some corporate warfare against a rival but avoid it getting traced back to them might use the Frumentarii to transport their agents, or conversely hire the Shadows to do the whole job for them and sabotage their competitor. Likewise, a friendly rebel group may call upon their services to say help allies from Imperial persecution or similar.
Mariona Sylrvan is the leader of the group. She has fought the ancien régime for a long time, making herself a name for smuggling, bombings and bank robberies. When she was captured, she had an ear cut off as punishment. Eldorai have pointed ears and having one clipped or cut off is a sign of shame. But she bears her disfigurement proudly. Her face is also scarred. When the Eldorai learned that Kaeshana was doomed to be destroyed by a massive asteroid, she organised a group of fighters to terrorise the authorities and steal ships.
She opposed the Matriarchy's policy of prioritising the 'best, the brightest and the richest'. Her 'fellowship' was active in the perennial fighting that engulfed Kaeshana. She joined the Shadows when the revolutionary group she was a part of merged with them. Nonetheless, she has clashed with Shadow Knight commanders, such as when she confronted a senior officer about hoarding stolen luxury goods. Mariona has history with Laesava Tyan, the charismatic, roguish chapter mistress of the Black Traders, and has a history of being involved with Dashdae Eldorai insurgent groups.
Farid is a Mon Calamari who has been hired for his technical skills. Unlike the Mon Calamari rebel heroes of yore, he is not particularly invested in revolutionary causes. Instead he is a career criminal with experience in smuggling, robbery, piracy and scams. He does, however, have a knack for duping people into thinking he is actually a sincere freedom fighter. The Shadows know better, but have chosen to ignore his mobster background because he is competent.
Lissarakh Skal is a Trandoshan Mandalorian and a survivor of the genocidal policies the Sith Empire. A woman of few words, she is a habitual loner with a cold, taciturn personality. Having lost her clan, she feels strong hatred for Sith. She is still quite young, having been shaped by the twilight of the Mandalorian Clans, but tough. Thus she does not own a suit of beskar'gam and lacks knowledge of beskar forging. She still follows Mandalorian tenets to the best of her ability.
Niusha Jai Khalaja is a prominent Qadiri member of the group. She comes from a pre-spaceflight culture, and is thus new to space travel, but has a wealth of experience in espionage, insurrection, and deception. Niusha is a member of an obscure Kashari sect that is persecuted by the mainstream Church. It has a dualistic cosmonology, postulating a conflict between a material world of darkness and a spiritual world of light. The goal of a believer is for the soul to escape the constraints and temptations of the world of matter and return to the spiritual world of light.
Their teachings condemn materialism, promote social programmes to aid the poor and that all property should be held in common to break the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the privileged. Crucially, they deny that monarchs rule by divine right. Semiramis, a prominent Qadiri ruler, really hates them for spreading 'seditious' lies and heresies. She used weapons and military advisors provided by Firemane to wage a ruthless campain against them, and so Niusha had to flee. The Shadows are not an egalitarian utopia, but things are a lot freer. She dislikes the humans of Firemane, viewing them as the enabler of a tyrant. Niusha has spread her beliefs to some of her comrades. She is considered a bit odd, but the Shadows have plenty of oddities like that. Moreover, she is a survivor.
COMBAT INFORMATION:
Unit Size: Medium
Unit Availability: Rare
Unit Experience: Veteran
Equipment:
Armour:
Rifles:
Sidearms:
- Verpine Shattergun
- Hold-out Bolter
- Cylix Bolt Pistol
- Renegade Blaster Pistol
- MSD-32 Disruptor
- Sonic Disruptor
- A280-CFE Blaster
- Magnetic Revolver
- Adjudicator
- Grenades
- U20 Field Wrist Link
- Ghost-Wave Communicator
- Graph 18 Surface Locator
- Signal Scramblers
- Anti-Ion Emission Tracers for Ships.
Melee Weapons:
Starships:
Combat Function: The Frumentarii serve as part of the Shadows Knights' smuggling and espionage network, the Chapter of the Black Traders. Within this framework, they pilot armed freighters, transport ships and other vessels that would be common in any port on the outer rim. Ostensibly, these are just legitimate cargo ships...or plain smuggling vessels. Indeed, they are often employed for that by the Frumentarii, but their main purpose is to pierce blockades and clandestinely infiltrate Shadow Knight commandos onto a planet or conversely evacuate them. The Shadows cannot afford to field a large army or fleet, so they must often rely on guile and subversion rather than military might. And sometimes hiding in plain sight is a better strategy than trying to avoid detection altogether.
The Frumentarii are skiled in researching and avoiding patrols, faking papers and ship identification and bypassing security or piercing blockades. Many have some skill in slicing and in piloting other craft such as starfighters. Needless to say they are good pilots and quite knowledgeable of hyperspace routes. These skills enable them to deliver their cargo to their destination without arousing attention by going in blasters blazing. Moreover, they can gather intelligence while on the ground by posing as spacers, mercenaries and so on, and carry out rescue operations for Shadow Knights or their allies.
The Frumentarii can use their freighters and other starships to provide fire support for Shadow Knight commandos if need be, though this is not their preferred method. They are trained in marksmanship, demolitions, medicine, melee combat and so on, but only lightly armed and armoured. Thus employing them as shock troops is a poor use of their skills and would probably end poorly for them. They will seek to avoid direct engagements if possible. If they are faced with overwhelming force in a direct confrontation, their best policy is to retreat. Members of the group receive training to make them more resistant to mind tricks and other forms of Force-based mental manipulation.
A few of the Frumentarii are Force-Sensitive, though they lack the hard-hitting powers typically associated with Force-Users. Broadly speaking, their Force connection manifests in skills like Force Persuasion, Force Sense abilities, and enhanced reflexes. This can give them an edge during their activities, but is not earth-shaking. Precognitive abilities and improved reflexes are a boon for piloting though.
Strengths:
- Stealthy, unobtrusive and inconspicuous. They pilot freighters and transport ships ubiquitous on the galactic fringe, and dress like spacers, smuggers and the like. This makes them good at blending in.
- Talented pilots, blockade runners and commandos. They are skilled in navigation, bypassing security, piercing blockades, evading patrols, gathering intelligence and infiltrating teams of special forces operators into hostile territory.
- Lightly armed and armoured. Their focus is on subversion, not fighting all-out battles. To stay mobile and maintain their cover, they forego tanky armour. This can be a disadvantage in pitched combat. They are specialists, not assault troops.
- They pilot armed freighters and similar vessels and are thus not equipped to go toe-to-toe with big battleships and the like.
When the Eldorai abandoned Kaeshana in a Great Exodus to escape the doomed planet that was fated to be devastated by a huge asteroid, some had to be left behind. These Forsaken struggled to survive in a blasted wasteland. Resources were scarce, and strife was endemic. One of the 'Dark Eldorai' groups that tried to wrest order from the chaos and protected the scattered communities was a rebel faction called the Shadow Knights, a group of militant survivalists. To provide for their people, they had to turn to unorthodox means. What they could not make themselves, they had to raid, steal or acquire on the black market. The struggle for survival left little room for tender moral or legal questions.
Some of the Shadows had built connections to Eldorai exiles and rogues who had been banished from Kaeshana in the old days and gotten into smuggling, piracy or other illicit ventures. Desperate people will do desperate things to survive and so the Shadows had to turn to raiding, theft and smuggling. The origins of the Frumentarii lie in these smuggling and raiding groups. After Kaeshana was subjugated by the first post-Gulag Virus incarnation of the First Order, the Shadow Knights had to leave the planet, and formed a nomad fleet.
The Frumentarii came into being in this period, along with their parent organisation, the Black Traders. They recruited their members from among the Forsaken, disillusioned exodites, rogues and former Dark Eldorai insurgents. Belief in the cause was ideal, but failing that competence and reliability would be enough. Aside from piloting skils, they were picked for their ability to operate behind enemy lines and within enemy territory and remain cool under pressure. Some career smugglers and privateers brought their own ships and crews with them in return for what amounted to an official license. Controls became stricter after the official sanction was abused. The Frumntarii were placed under the authority of the Court of the Veil, the Shadow Knight group responsible for espionage and clandestine activities.
The Frumentarii have their roots in an old Eldorai smuggling ring from the old days. The deeds of the Frumentarii of yore have entered the realm of legend. According to the tales, they were heroic outlaws who fought oppressive tax collectors, and smuggled stolen goods to the poor and needy. When asked what they did they called themselves wheat collectors. Supposedly, their leader used to be an Angelii who was driven to outlawry to fight oppressive nobles during the Time of Troubles.
The modern Frumentarii claimed to be following in the footsteps of their namesakes. Their founder was an Eldorai smuggler and outlaw called Soliana Lialynn, who had had one of her ears cut off by the ancien régime as a punishment for breaking the law by piercing the willow palisade of isolation. Needless to say being mutilated had the effect of radicalising her even further. During the war between the Galactic Alliance and the First Order, the Frumentarii helped resistance fighters infiltrate Kaeshana to continue the struggle. They were also charged with helping Eldorai fugitives escape the occupied planet. These activities continued after hostilities between the two great powers were temporarily ended via treaty, though the Shadows increasingly had to focus on the maintenance of their rag-tag fleet.
When the Shadow Knights performed recruitment drives among the Tygaran elves, the Frumentarii were used for clandestine insertion of agents and agitators. Along the way, they facilitated a series of raids and heist operations, such as when the Shadows took advantage of internal turmoil within House Cadalthor to steal a cruiser. In the process, the Shadows set up smuggling and intelligence gathering operations. Elements of the Frumentarii worked with a Shadow Knight cell to facilitate a failed coup among the Eldorai exiles of New Solstace on Arkas. They evacuated Shadow Knight sympathisers after the failure of the attempted power grab.
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