During the early years of the human colonization of the
Yaeger sector, a breakaway jedi sect known as the Jhemadan took
up residence on Yaeger Prime.
Originally a somewhat scholastic group, many of the Jhemadan fell
to the Dark side due to one member's experimentation with a Force
power known as "The Dragon". This descent was gradual, as one by
one it's members were entrapped by the power's apparent benefits.
As the group became more and more consumed by the Dark Side, they
began to take control of a local criminal organization known as
the Black Serpents.
Originally nothing more than a group of bandits and thieves,
the Black Serpents gained a great deal of power under the
Jhemadan. In addition, some of the mysticism of the Jhemadan
wore off on them, and they began to see themselves as the
ultimate extension of the Yaeger Hunter ethic, hunting men with
consummate skill. When the wandering Jedi Master Ulvenn Shaid
destroyed the Jhemadan, in the year Y 3,422, the Black Serpents
survived. Ulvenn saw them as being no more than criminals, whose
organization, without the leadership of their Jedi Masters, would
disintegrate in a few years. Unknown to Ulvenn, several Jhemadan
masters survived, and used the Black Serpents as the foundation
of their rebirth.
As most of the new Jhemadan were former Black Serpents, the
relationship between the two groups changed. No longer were the
Jhemadan a separate master group. Instead, they were the
leaders of the Black Serpents, and a part of that organization.
They no longer called themselves the Jhemadan. Instead, they
were the Shadow Dragons, with few ties
to their earlier scholastic brethren. The combination of
assassination and the force proved a lethal one, and the foes of
the Black Serpents fell. Ulvenn Shaid was killed by a team of
Shadow Dragon Initiates in his battered freighter, the
Lodestar.
However, the Black Serpents pressed their power too far, and
attempted to rule Yaeger Prime from their white marble temple at
Jilakroth. Within three days of their claiming rule of Yaeger
Prime, a well known pirate chieftain fired a pair of mid-sized
nuclear missiles right through the never closing gates of
Jilakroth, and the crater remains radioactive to this day. As
soon as that news was heard, a vicious fire fight erupted on the
Gii Yaeg floor, and the Black Serpents that had taken up
residence there were killed out of hand.
Once again, the Black Serpents had to rebuild, and rebuild
they did. A far more secretive organization this time, they had
learned not to try to take control of the Yaeger, as the Yaeger
people were too much a group of individualists, and far too
heavily armed to be subdued by a small group. Instead, they
turned their efforts into improving the depth of their coffers,
by slowly gaining power in the underworld of the sector. By
patiently building up their power base, they built one of the
largest criminal organizations of the Yaeger Sector. As of now,
they control around 95% of the high end assassinations, and
around 25% of crime in other areas.
Moving their center of operation to the backwater
agricultural world of Lothos, the Black
Serpents began extending their network of operations throughout
the Sector. As the power and numbers of the Black Serpents
increased, the Shadow Dragons became more and more reclusive,
until they reached their current state of being nothing more than
a legend to most members of the Black Serpent. The Assassins
that have long been the backbone of the Black Serpent, became the
personal army of the Shadow Dragons. Now known as the Serpent's
Teeth, these assassins are quite separate from the thugs and
criminals that form the current rank and file of the Black
Serpent organization. Totaling almost five thousand highly
trained professional killers, The Serpent's Teeth act as
liaisons between the Shadow Dragons and the rest of the
organization, and are responsible for keeping discipline within the
ranks. The paid murders that the Teeth perform still provide a
hefty chunk of the Black Serpent's income as well.
The Black Serpents learned a great deal from their
association with the Jhemadan, and then the Shadow Dragons.
Firstly, one of the foundations of the Jhemadan sect was their
emphasis on unarmed combat, and that dedication to the martial
arts produced a remarkably effective combat form, especially when
used in conjunction with Force manipulation. All Serpent's Tooth
assassins have been trained extensively in the Jhemada School
martial arts, a somewhat debased version of the original Jhemada
School, and no Shadow Dragon Knight is less than instructor level
in that form.
As a criminal organization, the Black Serpents have a number
of fairly independent operatives working for it in it's various
fields of endeavors. However, the Serpent Tooth operatives
assigned to check up on, or deliver orders to, it's members pride
themselves on getting into the offices or personal residences of
the people that they want to get in touch with. Therefore, the
criminals tend not to take their independence to great extremes,
and when they do things that the Shadow Dragons would disapprove
of, they tend to be extremely paranoid about it for a while.
Then, they tend to be unpleasantly dead.
When the Empire moved into the sector, the Shadow Dragons
saw a threat and an opportunity. The threat was obvious,
personified by the brilliant and aggressive Moff Doran, and they
soon infiltrated his intelligence services, and manipulated him
into the disastrous battle of Oth'Lenar. However, they also see
an opportunity in the Empire. After all, if they could somehow
gain control of the massive leaderless force that the Empire has
become, they could rule the galaxy. Many of the Shadow Dragons
see the urbane Moff Rulduk as the diplomat that they can use to
achieve that goal, but some see him as being just as dangerous as
Moff Doran, if not more so.
The Shadow Dragons have been trying to maneuver the Yaeger
away from the New Republic, and toward an alliance with the
Empire. However, the mixed feelings at the top of the Shadow
Dragon organization have made this a much more tentative
operation than the Black Serpents usually embark on. One of
their priorities is to get agents into the command structures of
all the forces of the sector. They have been successful in that
endeavor, with agents in the highest circles of all the major
players, and most of the minor forces, though their attempts at
making contact with the Brenaii have always met with violent
failure.
Serpent Tooth Assassins:
These highly trained assassins are known for their total
devotion to the Black Serpent organization, and for their
consummate skill at their jobs. They usually work in groups of
three, called Triads, but for particularly different assignments
they will operate in groups of six, nine or fifteen men. These
groups are lead by the highest ranking Triad of their members.
They have been very well trained in coordinating their efforts,
and there are few targets that can resist the attack of a Serpent
Tooth Triad, let alone a full fifteen man elimination squad.
Chameleon Suit (grants a 1D+1 bonus to sneak and 2D+1 bonus
to hide), power grappling hook, macrobinoculars, comlink, Air
Mask (breathing apparatus, also capable of breaking H2O down to
components, allowing underwater breathing), haversack containing:
three miniature listening devices and monitoring device, light
micropulse "stone cutter" cutting saw, 2 kg Ritonite and six
fuses (.5kg + fuse equals thermal detonator, can be used in
smaller or larger amounts), 3 weeks ration bars, simple disguise,
3 vials of assorted poisons.
In addition to the above, the Serpent's teeth will carry
equipment to match the needs of their mission. They can chose
equipment from the Black Serpent's incredibly well stocked
armory, or from the resources of any of the lesser members of
their organization.
Typical actions: There are a number of different contracts
that the Serpents give for assassinations. The price varies with
the difficulty of the target. In ascending order of price, here
are the contracts given: One Triad making a single attempt,
contract fulfilled after the attempt, regardless of it's success.
One Triad making an all out attempt, contract fulfilled with the
death of the target or the death of all members of the Triad.
One Triad making an all out extreme hit, contract fulfilled with
the death of the target, his family, and all his business
associates, and the destruction of his home and place of
business, contract completed with success or the death of the
Triad. If more men are needed, a second contract for a second
Triad must be made, with no discount for the second group, and so
on. It is possible to take out a much more comprehensive
contract, that is not filled with the death of the operatives,
just the target.
In addition, the Black Serpents can be hired for other
purposes, such as espionage, theft, or other reasons. Usually,
lesser members of the organization (known as Snakes, or
Serplings) will fill these contracts, but for particularly
difficult assignments, a Triad will be put on the job.