Sic transit gloria mundi
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: Expand on the Order of Fire.
- Image Credit: Here.
- Role: Force infantry.
- Links: Zeison Sha.
- Unit Name: Order of Fire Zeishon Sha Sentinels.
- Affiliation: House Kerrigan-Alcori, Order of Fire, Firemane, Siobhan.
- Classification: Infantry.
- Zeison Sha Warrior Armour. Equipped with a helmet that provides protection against chemicals, is equipped with an HUD and other standard systems.
- Boltgun (can use APE rounds) or Semiautomatic Rifle.
- Cylix bolt pistol, Magnetic Revolver, ARGH shatterpistol. A280 CFE.
- Racket's Bite.
- Hard sound gun.
- ACS-208 Wrist Ion Beamer (storefront request here, permission here), ACS-208 Wrist Tensor (storefent request here, permission here).
- ACS-207 Aerosolblaster (purchase request here, approved here). Wrist Bolter
- Discblade.
- ACS-208 Wrist Charric (request here, permission here).
- Talon Vibrodagger. Multi weapon.
- Vibroblade.
- Grenades, thermal detonators.
- Paragon-class Personal Energy Shield (request here, permission here).
- Force Focusing Visor. Ghostwave communicators.
COMBAT INFORMATION
- Availability: Unique.
- Deployment: Minor.
In addition to their defensive and offensive telekinetic abilities, they have a number of useful secondary Force powers that boost their survival skills. To be precise, they are skilled in the use of Tapas, hibernation trance and detoxify poison. Rather than carry lightsabres, Zeison Sha favour a discblade. Their adepts can hurl one with great accuracy before returning it to his or her hand. Their ability to use Force Weapon allows them to make it lightsabre-resistant, while ballistakinesis allows them to accelerate small objects to lethal velocities.
However, the unit is rather small, as bands of Force warriors tend to be. One cannot deploy skilled Force-Users en masse, after all, without their skills suffering in the process. Compared to more conventional military units, they are somewhat disorganised, fighting more like a war band of irregulars than professional soldiers. This can make integration and coordination in a more conventional force difficult. Their self-reliance is both a strength and a weakness. It is great because they can survive inhospitable conditions, but bad because they are not likely to seek aid from outside sources. In such a situation their independence becomes irrational stubbornness. Being infantry, they are vulnerable to long range bombardment, such as air and artillery strikes. To stay mobile they largely forego heavy weapons. This leaves them vulnerable to tanks, heavy walkers and so on.
Description:
The Zeison Sha have been an independent for thousands of years. The sect came into being near the beginning of the New Sith Wars, when many friends and families Jedi, numbering in the thousands, fled to form a refuge from Sith attacks. The refugees established a colony on the harsh Outer Rim world of Yanibar. The colonists believed that the Jedi would return to them once the wars ended. However, by a twist of fate, all Jedi with knowledge of the colony perished. Due to the extreme conditions on Yanibar, most of the original settlers followed them to the grave within a few years.
Forgotten, the colonists eked out a subsistence living. The harsh conditions on the planet forced them to be tough. The Force abilities of many of the colonists proved vital to their survival. Eventually they were able to establish contact with fringe traders, though the planet remained obscure. Eventually the Zeison Sha returned to the galaxy. However, the Jed Order's policy of conscripting Force-Sensitive children caused friction, as it also affected their own. This damned the Jedi in the fringe sect's eyes. The eventual attempt of Jedi Master Bodo Baas to convince the Zeison Sha to join forces with their estranged Jedi cousins failed. Yanibar was occupied by Imperial forces after the declaration of the Galactic Empire, though the local Force adepts resisted.
The sect managed to survive crises such as the Yuuzhan Vong War and the Four Hundred Year Darkness. When the Omega Protectorate was founded, its leaders tried to attract Force-Sensitives from fringe sects, offering them a home where they could live according their laws as long as they did not contradict the government's principles. A number of Zeison Sha took up this offer, seeing it as a way to earn coin, further develop their powers and be free of Jedi or Sith interference. Inevitably, this brought these adepts into contact with Colonel Siobhan Kerrigan, a Telekinesis Master and a senior officer in the Protectorate's elite forces. Siobhan took a liking to the hardy survivalists and trained with them a lot. A small group of these adepts became part of her personal strike force, serving on battlefields such as Gehenna and Eriadu.
When the Order of Fire was founded to serve as Firemane's Force-using branch, it continued the now defunct Protectorate's policies. A number of Zeison Sha warriors who had served the Protectorate entered Firemane's ranks. Having seen their skill in battle, Lady Kerrigan organised them as an elite cadre that operated within the framework of the Order. Their strong sense of independence and self-reliance was a benefit, but also caused some issues, as the Order is run like a military organisation. In contrast, these Force warriors were more like a war band of irregulars.
The Zeison Sha irregulars fought in several conflicts their corporate masters had been involved in, such as the One Sith War, the Conquest of the Underealm and, more recently, the Krolis War. The latter was a conflict about the succession to the Saoshyant, the most important religious leader of the Qadiri elves. More pertinently, it was about the balance of power among the fractured Qadiri states, as Siobhan's ally Shahbânu Semiramis sought to achieve a position of supremacy. The Zeison Sha's skills as irregulars proved valuable, as the rebellious League of Krolis used asymmetrical tactics to try and wear down Firemane forces. The Force warriors worked closely with the Dahomian Rangers, often operating behind enemy lines. They also proved their mettle when Firemane was finally able to force the League's forces into a pitched battle. The corporation prevailed, albeit at a cost, for the League's commander Sahali Jai Bysara made sure they paid their tribute of blood.
Aside from their martial role, the Zeison Sha Sentinels also provide survival training for Firemane special forces, teaching them how to survive in extremely harsh conditions. Aside from Yanibar itself, popular places to train on included Raevana, Dahomey and Terax. Unsurprisingly the training is extremely rigorous. To reflect their heritage, the warriors still wear traditional Zeison Sha armour. Firemane's Zeison Sha Sentinels still feel resentment towards Jedi, even though millennia have passed since their ancenstors were stranded on Yanibar. This can make cooperation difficult if they find themselves fighting alongside Jedi.
