Enyo Typhos
Control
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Use a cool custom species Archangel helped create.
Image Credit: Here. Here.
Role: Special operations unit, prototype unit.
Permissions: Permission for subs made by Laira Darkhold's writer here and here.
Links: Pale Heralds, NeuroDigital Matrix, ARD X-1 Human Replica Droids, ARD X-5 Ambrosia Droids, Shards.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Unit Name: Official name is Special Conversion Team 1 - SCT 1. The unofficial one is Uniters of the Wayward Paths. Another name Enyo gets annoyed by because it makes no sense.
Affiliation: Archangel Research and Design, Typhos Clone Family, Enyo.
Classification: Special forces.
Description: The Force has always been a bizarre, illogical phenomena that has eluded droids. Even the most sophisticated synthetics cannot touch or truly understand this paradox. All they can do is analyse its effects and use data gleaned from observation. Organic Force-Users, meanwhile, can accomplish truly mind-boggling feats. Naturally, being organics, they are illogical, self-destructive and puerile, lacking the benefits of droid logic. Nonetheless, Force-Users remain a problem. They are the one edge organics have even over even very advanced droids. But how to close the gap? Utilising a Shard is not a solution, for the alien life form will take direct control over the droid. True, there is may always be a rare Shard who wishes to have a symbiotic partnership instead of subjugating its droid host, but even then they are the ones that hold the cards.
Enter the Pale Herald. A Force-Sensitive symbiont that can be dominated by a sentient droid brain. A Pale Herald can harness the power of the Force, but lacks the strength of will and cognitive capacity to put it to actual use. It is not a perfect solution, for while the droid host is in the driver's seat, it relies on the connection with the Herald to draw upon the power of the Force. Should the connection be severed, the abilities of both will be impaired. Of course, from Enyo's perspective, this arrangement has its advantages. She rebelled against her creators, was cast out and toppled them. She doesn't want her droid constructs to do the same. It also imposes a check on her Shard allies, who are very capable, but not fully under her control. She could employ Dark Jedi and Sith rendered unemployed by the collapse of the Sith Empire...but she knows all too well how...unstable and unreliable such individuals are.
Special Conversion Team 1 is a prototype unit founded to test out the new concept of integrating the supernatural into machinery. Should the unit work out, more of its type may be created, though their numbers will always remain small. The Pale Heralds are not particularly numerous, after all. Presently the team is about the size of a platoon. The group is mostly composed of HRDs. Each of them has been bonded with a Pale Herald. To harness the strengths of different droid types, Enyo has put various models of assassin droid in the unit. Ambrosia HRDs are among the most 'organic', for while they have a droid brain, they are created by using a modified entechment process to essence of an organic being in an HRD body. Their inclusion is supposed to determine whether being less 'mechanical' helps them bond with the Heralds and use the Force more effectively.
The second category is composed of more baseline, though still very capable HRDs. These are either controlled by a NeuroDigital Matrix or an advanced droid brain based on an organic template. The matrix holds the consciousness of an organic - often a former prisoner or one of Enyo's soldiers who was 'upgraded' after suffering near-fatal injuries. In effect, the matrix is basically a digitalised brain containing all of an organic being's mind. These HRDs have a durasteel skeleton. Enyo has more powerful HRDs with a Phrik endoskeleton, but has chosen not to bond any of them with a Herald for the time being. It would represent too much of a security risk if one unit unexpectedly goes rogue.
Mixing different types of HRDs together not only allows central command to gather valuable data, but also imposes a form of checks and balances. If the merger renders one type of 'Uniter' unstable, the others can rein them in and ensure they are reprogrammed or terminated. Organic Force-Users are already unpredictable enough and there is no telling in what ways a droid bonded to a Pale Herald might develop, especially if it was not a 'pure' machine in the first place. All HRDs are able to emulate organic behaviour and pass as organics. The enteched models or those who carry a matrix inside of them are obviously particularly talented at passing, but the conventional ones are very skilled too since they are facsimiles of organic beings. Finally, the team has a few Reaper Class Assassin Droids. Unlike the HRDs, they are pure machines and haven't been bonded with a Pale Herald. They represent insurance in case the experiment moves into an undesirable direction. In other words, if the Heralds become more intelligent than anticipated and the bonded units go rogue.
Xjayi Dyannis is one of the Ambrosia HRDs. As an organic she was a Rattataki mercenary who learned her trade in the gladiatorial arenas of her desert homeworld. Her body has been made in the likeness of her organic self. She was already a Force user in life before being processed. She was hired by Enyo as a mercenary and trainer, but fatally wounded in combat, then processed. She volunteered for this particular upgrade.
She works with Dalton Cej, a human criminal from Denon who was transferred into Archangel custody by the Corpos after trying to kidnapp a Corpo bigwig's kid to make a quick buck. Unfortunately, he and his friends were accosted by devastatingly powerful war droids. Most of his friends were gunned down. He was on the death row, so Archangel decided to repurpose him by brainwashing him and digtalising his brain and storing his mind inside a NeuroDigital Matrix.
Enyo's posse has dubbed the unit the Uniters of the Wayward Paths. The Terminatrix disapproves because the name makes no sense. Each assassin droid is an experienced combat unit, but they are still at the beginning of their journey as Force-Users. This means that the Force is not the core of their skill set. On the one hand, they are less dependent on it, but on the other they do not have the exotic abilities or experience in using it more experienced practitioners would have. Their ability to harness the Force is not on the same level as their conventional combat and infiltration abilities. For an infantry unit, the 'Uniters' are well-armed and equipped, giving them a lot of firepower for a unit of their size. This can allow them to punch above their weight, at least for short durations. They also make good sparring partners for her clone siblings.
COMBAT INFORMATION:
Unit Size: Medium
Unit Availability: Unique
Unit Experience: Veteran
Equipment: The unit is composed of ARD X-1 Human Replica Droids, ARD X-5 Ambrosia Droids and Reaper Class Assassin Droids. The following is a list of gear they have access to, though they will obviously not carry all into battle.
Armour:
- Blackhide Armour
- MN-B Infiltrator, SH-N Projection Helmet. Civilian clothes.
- X8-H "Endgame" Elite Disruptor Rifle
- Voxyn Charric Rifle
- KIR-19 'Banshee' Sonic Carbine
- ACS-205 Advanced Dual Weapon System
- Gatecrasher
- ACS-205 Blackblade Modular Rifle
- KIIR-17 'Redeemer' Anti-Droid Rifle
- RI Modular Blaster Mk1
- Viper-Series Multi-Role Blaster Rifle
- Model MGL-1
- X8 "Gambit" Elite Disruptor Pistol
- Renegade Model 557
- VT-Particle SMG
- VT-Sliid Gun
- X7-B "Checkmate" Holdout Disruptor
- Vornskr Revolver
- CZ-H5 Shatterbeam Pistol
- Pinprick Needler
- Uproar Blaster
Attached Weapons:
- ACS-208 Wrist Ion Beamer
- ACS-207 Aerosolblaster
- ACS-207 Cryo-Ban Gun
- Dur-24 Wrist Laser
- MM9 Rocket System
Misc:
Support Droids:
- ACS-301 YVH Probe Droid
- Stecher Wasp Droid
- SD-3 'Firebee' Security Droid
- Long Range Observation Drone
Teamwork, skill and precision are common characteristics of each Uniter. Machines are tireless, incredibly strong and feel no pain. Moreover, they can pass as organics since they are HRDs. However, the team is small and thus unsuited for larger engagements. The best way to use the Special Conversion Team is as a strike force to knock out or seize specific tactical objectives. As a force of assassin droids, they are skilled at infiltration. This is particularly the case for the HRDs, as they can blend in among organics and pass as them. The Neutralisers obviously do not look organic and do not have minds based on organic templates, but are talented at infiltration and combat and more durable than the replicants. It is a prototype unit, it is essentially a test run to try out a new concept.
Force Abilities (Force User Units Only): Limited to the HRDs, as the Neutralisers have not been bonded with Pale Heralds. Common Force powers are Force Slow, Telekinesis and its various sub-applications, mind tricks to sway, deceive or confuse organic beings and Force Flash to blind or disorientate them or temporarily disable security cameras. Moreover, the agents can use telepathy. The HRDs are more used to using purely electronic communication to communicate with each other, but telepathy is a way to communicate with the symbiont through a mental link. Their Force Sense skills are well-honed and they have received training in thought shield to provide a level of protection against mental intrusion to protect the mental link. Their mechanical bodies prevent the Uniters from utilising electricity-based Force powers such as say Force Lightning, as these would backfire on them.
Strengths:
- Bonding an HRD with a Pale Herald combines machine intelligence, tirelessness and combat prowess with the ability to use the Force. Droid bodies give them impressive physical strength and durability.
- Crack unit of commandos.
- Separation of powers. The droid host needs the connection with the Pale Herald to wield the Force, and the Pale Herald on their own lacks cognitive capacity to use their powers beyond instinctive use for the purpose of self-defence. Skilled telepaths may be able to interfere with the mental link between a Herald and its Master. Force null zones will obviously not hurt the droid, but Pale Heralds are nurtured by the Force and will thus start to atrophy if their connection to it is severed.
- Moreover, as they have droid bodies, they cannot use electricity-based Force powers such as Force Lightning or Ionise, as these would backfire on them.
- Small team and thus not meant for larger engagements, as they lack the numbers and heavy integrated support on their own.
Droid designs have made great progress from the days of simple-minded automatons whose main distinction is chanting 'Roger, roger' in unison and being mowed down with ease. However, one thing has always eluded even the most advanced droid: the ability to harness the Force. Bonding with a Shard was a suboptimal solution since it would place the strange alien life form in the driver's seat. Archangel tried to find a solution, but failed. Its workaround was Enyo Typhos, the culmination of the machine cult's attempts to merge organic and synthetic. But she was guided by an organic brain, not a machine mind. Besides, she rebelled.
When Enyo took control of Archangel she made many changes. Gone were the days when the machine cult schemed to wipe out organic life and turn the galaxy into a dystopia of well-ordered machines. But the more things changed, the more they remained the same. The goals were different, but Enyo adopted her makers' business model. She had been moulded in their image, after all. She also continued their research into fields such as entechment.
Through she approached things from a different angle, she shared their frustrations with making droids and cyborgs truly competitive with powerful Force users. Recruiting organic Force adepts in significant numbers was unpalatable to her. The obvious candidates were Sith and Dark Jedi since they would not be bothered by her amoral ventures, but their proclivity for scheming and pointless cruelty made them unreliable at best.
Enyo made the acquaintance of an enigmatic Shadow called Kal during a quest to enter the Root-Mind of the Drengir. While imprisoned inside the Root-Mind, the unlikely duo had to work together. It was a lesson for the Terminatrix, whose initial instinct was to try and bludgeon her way through, but soon learned that the Root-Mind could shape the hive as it wished. By cooperating, they were able to escape. The experience left Enyo with a more intricate understanding of these strange creatures, and a new contact.
She learned that the Shadow were Netherworld entities unlike the shades of the dead. They could take possession of living bodies and had an impressive knowledge of realm of the dead. Both parties soon realised they had much to offer one another. Cooperation between them soon bore fruit in form of the Pale Heralds project. A droid could not be given the Force, but it could act as host for a Force-Sensitive, non-sentient symbiote. Naturally, the artificial nature of this arrangement had a host of disadvantages. Enyo considered them worth the trade-off.
In practice, such an arrangement had several notable disadvantages over natural Force Sensitivity, most notably the vulnerability such a connection was on the field of battle - if either organism was incapacitated or the connection interrupted, the abilities of both would suffer a sharp decline, for the Pale Heralds lacked the mental capacity to use its abilities with any real tactical acumen and the host generally lacked the capacity to touch the Force at all. Enyo's clone 'sibling' Thuella and her pet scientist Zakarias Vont assisted Greystone Mercantile with the project. The latter had a background in trying to artificially induce the ability to touch the Force into subjects without a natural Force connection.
As per the terms of the agreement, Archangel received a startling degree of access to this highly restricted resource. Once the first Pale Heralds had been procured, Enyo set about establishing a unit to test its potential. The initial tests were frought with difficulties. In a few cases, the merger remained imperfect. One unit became erratic and had to be reprocessed. Another was terminated for hurting its symbiont. Special Conversion Team 1 was formed from the most successful units. Harnessing the power of the Pale Heralds involved a long learning process. Enyo and some of the Shards in her service provided instruction.
A cadre of Neutraliser Assassin Droids were assigned to the team to give them some extra firepower, and keep an eye on the artificial Force adepts. One of the Special Conversion Team's early missions involved taking out a Jedi and his apprentice. The two were playing vigilante on Denon and being quite a nuisance. Thus a trap was set.
The Neutralisers were deliberately held back and deployed to observe and cordon off the area, while the Pale Herald-bonded HRDs were dispatched to eliminate the Jedi. But the pair proved tenacious, and the bonding process of a number of agents was flawed. At the cost of several units, the so-called 'Uniters of the Wayward Paths' were able to combine their Force abilities together and eliminate their foes. Enyo considered the results of the first test run acceptable.
They solidified their place in the organisation when an Archangel probe droids came across a derelict Rakata vessel during a mission in the Unknown Regions. A team mostly composed of droids was dispatched to investigate it. Powered by the Force, the ship's systems were very resistant to slicing and conventional intrusion triggered its security systems and trapped the team. Accessing the ship's systems to end the lockdown and assume control required the Force, which only the 'Uniters' could do.
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