Vaena Askari
Lady Cadalthor
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: Add some flavour to the Eldorai Matriarchy's forces and expand on them. This unit sub draws inspiration from historical and fictional examples of penal military units.
- Image Credit: Here. Picture from Warhammer 40k, depicting Penal Legion soldiers. Found on the Warhammer 40k wikia.
- Role: Penal legion, shock troops.
- Links: Tygara, Kaeshana, Ariawyn Eloris.
- Unit Name: The Repentant.
- Affiliation: Vaena Cadalthor, Eldorai, Star Queen Anya Venari.
- Classification: Light infantry, shock troops.
Grunts:
- Blaster rifles/light repeating blasters and pistols. Vibroknives.
- Plastoid body armour. Equivalent to Stormtrooper armour. Rebreather. Commlink.
- Grenades (frag, smoke, flash).
- Misc. equipment such as demolition sensors, standard military rations, medkits, wedding, climbing and digging tools.
Restricted (Officers and Commissars only):
- Mk2 bolter or Disruptor rifle
- Thermal detonators
- Vibroswords.
- Cylix bolt pistol or Disruptor pistol.
- Sentinel Armour
The organic soldiers are accompanied by Battle Droids. These are armed with repeating blasters, rotary cannons, grenade launchers or flamethrowers. Conservative Eldorai are not fond of droids, viewing them as violations of the Goddess' commandments on life. However, they do not want to give penal legionnaires heavy weapons. Droids provide the Repentant with much needed punch...while also impeding betrayal or desertions.
COMBAT INFORMATION
- Availability: Rare
- Deployment: Mass
- Expendable. They can be thrown into the hottest fights without fear. Being in the penal legions is a death sentence, except for those who show valour. This does not happen when they're dead, but it is enough to give them hope.
- Versatile use. Can be given very dangerous tasks due to their expendable nature and large numbers.
- Droids are tough and provide a strong punch.
- Eldorai are more agile and dexterous than humans.
- But on average physically weaker and have a lower pain threshold.
- Quantity can have a quality of its own...but the Repentant aren't elite soldiers. The quality of the penal legionnaires is very variable.
- Have only a few heavy weapons. Suffer against heavy armour. Equipment is quite basic in general.
- Droid escorts have all the weaknesses of their model. Limited resistance to EMP and ionic attacks, basic programming since they're drones.
- Disciplinary issues among the rank and file.
Description:
The Repentant are a fanciful name for regular Eldorai army units whose rank and file consists entirely of convicted criminals, deserters and other social miscreants. They have committed crimes, been convicted and had their sentences commuted in return for life service. By serving in the ranks of the Penal Legions, these women and men can redeem themselves in the eyes of the Great Goddess Ashira and the Crown. Service in these units is considered a form of punishment or discipline as opposed to capital punishment or incarceration. By shedding their blood for the motherland, they can atone for their sins. At least this is the theory.
Needless to say, the combination of criminals, political prisoners, and undisciplined soldiers that comprise these units often require harsh measures to be imposed for unit cohesion to be maintained. As a result, the penalties are a lot harsher than in the regular army. Ardarvian priestesses act as political commissars, charged with keeping both the grunts and the officers in line. The Repentant provide the Eldorai Matriarchy with on soldiers the cheap, while also freeing up resources from the penal system. Needless to say penal units have also been a way for more unscrupulous bigwigs to get rid of individuals they consider inconvenient.
It is unclear when the Eldorai first began making use of the Repentant. In all likelihood, they originated during the so-called Time of Troubles. This was a period of great strife and turmoil of Kaeshana. On the outside, the Eldorai were menaced by the Kar'zun, while on the inside several claimants vied for the throne of the Star Queen. The prisons provided the pretenders with a massive source of (wo)manpower.
A short-term expedient became a long-term institution. Ariane the Conqueror made ample use of penal units during her crusade against the Kar'zun. It was under her, perhaps the greatest warlord the Eldorai race produced, that they became a formalised, permanent institution and were given the name they are known by to this day. Soldiers who displayed cowardice in battle or deserted were conscripted. The same applied to those who'd served rival Eldorai leaders. To cement her alliance with the Church, she gave the clerics of Ardarvia broad authority in the Repentant. From the standpoint of the Eldorai, this was appropriate since Ardarvia is the Eldorai Goddess of Law and Justice. The punishments imposed upon disobedient or rebellious penal legionnaires were stomach-churning, to say the least. Their heads were shaved to make it easier to identify them.
Unsurprisingly, they were given rather unpleasant assignments, such as bait and forlorn hope roles (like scouting to make contact with the enemy, clearing mine fields or charging heavily fortified enemy positions to either overwhelm the enemy through sheer force of numbers or soak up bullets to keep casualties down for the 'real' soldiers). Needless to say disciplinary issues were endemic. To combat these, the Priestesses made use of indoctrination techniques to mould the personalities of the renegades into something more agreeable. In other words, brainwashing. The Repentant quickly acquired a reputation for their ferocity in battle.
Over the centuries, their numbers have waxed and waned, depending on the political climate and the situation the Eldorai found themselves in. And on how much space their prisons had. Inevitably, putting so many criminals together in one place led to corruption. While the common grunts were convicts, the officers were free Eldorai drawn from the regular army. However, assignment to the Repentant was widely unpopular among the officer corps. Indeed, it was considered to be something of a dead-end, not the least because many Repentant officers had a reputation for being corrupt, incompetent or both. This created a negative feedback loop. Reforms were carried out after Anya Venari was crowned Star Queen. This resulted in the abolition of the most sadistic punishments. The queen would have probably gone a lot further, perhaps even abolished the penal legions, but reactionary forces would not abide this. Moreover, there were so many reforms she wanted to implement to modernise Eldorai society that she had to make priorities. Especially since soon all efforts had to be focused on organising an exodus to ensure the Eldorai survived Kaeshana's destruction.
However, despite their negative reputation, many of the Repentant did their duty, defending Kaeshana against foreign threats such as pirates, raiders, Lost Kar'zun and so on. After the Exodus from Kaeshana and the colonisation of Tygara, Repentant participated in the Xioquo War and in the Kaeshana Rebellion. A select few managed even managed to make something out of themselves after their service had come to an end. Ariawyn Eloris, Captain of the Guard of Duchess Vaena Cadalthor, started as a penal legionnaire, before being recruited by the Angelii due to her bravery and skill as a terramancer.
Following her appointment as the Eldorai Matriarchy's Minister of War, Vaena Cadalthor took an interest in the Repentant. This was probably not surprising given her bodyguard's background. As a traditionalist Ashiran, Vaena broadly agreed with the institution, but felt that it was in need of reform. After touring a number of Repentant companies, she had some of the most unstable or psychotic members executed by beheading. At the same time, several officers lost their heads due to being incompetent, corrupt or overy cruel.
However, after making use of the stick, she picked up the carrot. Several penal legionnaires who'd distinguished themselves in combat received promotions. A few particularly accomplished ones were even inducted into the regular army or her personal guard. While they were criminals, they were doing their country a service. So it was only proper to reward them - and provide incentives for good behaviour. They also received better equipment after Vaena realised that many of the Repentant were still stuck with using outdated, ineffective Stasers in lieu of blasters. While living conditions in the barracks were improved, her attempts to attract a better class of officers only met with limited success. Before her reforms, the Eldorai used to sterilise their penal legionnaires. The logic was that convicts possessed diseased, polluted Sciia, which is the Eldorai word for soul, so they could not be allowed to pass on their disease to the next generation. Vaena was horrified by this practice, not the least because her Angelii battle sister Ariawyn had suffered from it. So she put a stop to it. When some clerics and officers did not get the message, they lost their heads.
All in all, these reforms helped to make the Repentant more useful in battle and increased the individual soldiers' ability to survive. However, service in them is still very unpleasant, dangerous and often a death sentence. Reforms changed the dressing, but not the substance. But then being assigned to a penal company is supposed to be a punishment, albeit one with the prospect of atonement. To this day, they are policed by Ardarvian Commissars, who are empowered to make examples if need be. Thus summary executions of deserters remain a fact of life. The same applies to flogging. The clerics are also charged with shepherding the spiritual health of their charges. The clerics are not just commissars and spiritual guides; they are agitators, whose duty is to drive their charges into battle by sheer force of personality and fanatical zeal. Religious iconography permeates the Repentants' barracks. Officially at least, if a Repentant dies in the service of the Motherland, the Goddess will forgive her sins. By shedding their own blood and that of the enemies, they gain her favour. The religious element was strengthened when Vaena filled their ranks with members of the disgraced Legion of the Faithful, an Ashiran militia composed of religious zealots who'd served House Cadalthor until being disbanded as punishment for supporting Tarissa Cadalthor's failed coup d'état. Of course, there is a great deal of cynicism among the penal legionnaires. They know they're expendable...but the prospect of freedom gives them hope.
Convicts sentenced to infantry units are eligible for commutation of service and assignment to a Royal Army unit if they either suffer a serious combat injury (in that case is considered to be 'cleansed in blood') or have accomplished extremely heroic deeds in combat. A Repentant who dies fulfilling her duty is pardoned posthumously, for she has wiped herself clean of sin. They can also theoretically receive military decorations for outstanding service and if released are considered fully rehabilitated. Of course, this rosy picture is one half of the coin. While some soldiers are able to be 'redeemed' through a combination of good luck, dedicated service and sympathetic officers, many are not. They are also often deployed in attempts to break through particularly stubborn enemy defences; to perform hazardous patrols to determine enemy strength; clear mine fields; as sacrificial rearguards during retreats; and as decoys to draw enemy fire away from regular troops. Furthermore, their equipment tends to be inferior to that of Eldorai regulars...just in case they decide to turn traitor or desert.
Ironically, the Repentant tend to be more progressive than regular Eldorai army units when it comes to gender policies. The number of male officers is higher than in any regular unit. This probably says a lot about the Space Elves, even in this more enlightened, progressive era. Because the Repentant are convicts, the Eldorai military does not equip them with heavy weapons. These are reserved for the units of Battle Droids that accompany them. As a result, the Repentant suffer in combat against heavy armour or assaults on fortifications. The droids are tough in combat, but ultimately just drones with basic combat programming. They provide the penal units with some heavy firepower, but also make sure that the Repentant don't suddenly forget their vows to do penance for their crimes. A Repentant who survives many battles is often a truly ferocious soldier. He or she needs to make it that far though.
