Naagloshii

Forgotten Commandos were an elite organization of Ash'rak. Specially trained as covert military operatives from birth, they were experts in spec-ops, espionage, counter-insurgency, electronic surveillance, assassination, and propaganda dissemination, with any typical day among them consisting of any of a combination of these duties. Originally established and personally trained by Darth Azazel, Forgotten Commandos would later fall under the command of their Clan's Shi'ar, after the Sith Lord's death. Hand-picked at birth for traits believed to contribute to antisocial or sociopathic behavior, they were thought to be destroyed upon detection by most, but in reality they were taken to Enclave Base, located on a remote and desolate planet in the deepest area of the Deep Core, where they were brutally trained to achieve perfection in soldiering. Extreme standards were required to be constantly attained every day, and those who failed or fell behind were known to be executed without hesitation.

Also, each Forgotten Commando had an extraordinary degree of deftness with their species natural telepathic abilities, which gave them an impressive degree of empathy and extrasensory capability. As Azazel's personal enforcers, Forgotten answered only to Azazel himself, and later their Clan's Shi'ar, often working outside of Clan Law and conducting morally ambiguous operations, all ostensibly for the greater good, but some would argue otherwise. The Forgotten Commandos were a very close kint organization, with their training and specific purpose shrouded in mystery, although they were officially classified as special operators and treated as such, although they command more respect and authority than would normally be afforded to ordinary soldiers, even special operations personnel. The Forgotten Commando's established title stemed from their training; through brutal conditioning, all aspects of what made them their original selves were stamped out piece by piece, until they essentially became "Forgotten", both to themselves and by the ordinary populace.

History
Soon after Grammaton Technologies began it's breeding project, easily producing several thousand beings of Species X5U within the first few months of operation, Darth Azazel, though he believed that his new soldiers would be superior to anything the galaxy could throw against them, realized both that much of the work of eradicating the galaxy of depravation and subversion would have to be done mainly from the shadows and that situations would most plausibly arise throughout the coming war that would necessarily require a covert touch, something beyond what regular infantry soldiers, no matter how well trained, could be expected to handle. So, imputable to his standing with Teatriarch and his already respected insight as a commander and instructor, Azazel was able to convince the executives of Grammaton to allow him to began work on a class of elite commando troops, who would be personally trained by him. The result of this was soldiers who would come to known as the fearsome Forgotten Commandos. Although many at Grammaton believed that selecting and taking the investment of time needed to specially train an elite type of Species X5U soldiers would be unnecessary, Azazel was nevertheless provided with all materials and equipment he would need, as well as detailed personnel files and psycological evaluations, which the Sith Lord would use to thin the crowd, picking out those who displayed proficiency above the norm and greater independence than the others. Though the selection process took somewhat longer than Azazel had expected, meaning that the initial candidates began training at a later age than he felt was ideal, the program he had devised to transform ordinary infantry soldiers into covert operatives was so rigorous and very effective that those who managed to survive became soldiers unlike anything seen before, capable of undertaking both lone wolf covert operations or campaign-augmenting missions, such as sabotage and assassination, with almost unstobbable effectiveness. Teatriarch and his Board of Directors where so impressed with Azazel's work that he gained a more considerable amount of influence and trust with them, which allowed him to publically suggest several more plans to further improve on the corporation's efforts in other areas, most of which were dismissed, but several were also adopted, which only made Azazel's ultimate coup of leadership even easier.

When Azazel began his Great Purging in earnest, the newly named Forgotten Commandos were some of the very first units deployed in his initial push against the New Republic and Imperial Remnant, disrupting military supply lines, sabotaging war factories, planting viruses within central defense networks, and assassinating important political and military leaders. They also smuggled numerous chemical weapons and explosives onto several planets, which were then detonated remotely while Azazel's main fleet concentrated on more strategically important worlds and locations. By the time the NRDF and Imperials discovered that they were under attack and were able to began an organized defense, the Forgotten Commandos had successfully devastated the populations of at least a dozen worlds and laid the ground work for the invasion of several more. The few fleets that managed to survive, unscramble communications, and launch a response were quickly overwhelmed by the ferocity and sheer power of the main assault. However, ascribable to the inexperience of Azazel's army, the defenders were able to score several minor victories and otherwise delay the advance of the Ash'rak. Although their initial attack was very successful, Azazel and many of his commanders had underestimated the survival instinct of several defenders, especially the Jedi Order and Mandalorians. When the Forgotten Commandos first encountered Jedi, they were able to deal decisive blows, but often were quickly overwhelmed, especially when confronted by the greater attuned and skilled Masters, such as Luke Skywalker and Nihlus Nryik. Despite their excellent training, great skill, and physiological superiority, many more Forgotten were slain in the first months of the Purging than regular warriors, with an estimated total half of their numbers having been lost. Over the course of the Purging's later years, however, the Forgotten, along with their warrior counterparts, gained experience and a much greater understanding of their enemy, which increased their deadliness only further more.

Throughout the Purging, there were many different opinions regarding the threat posed by the Forgotten Commandos. Nihlus Nyrik advocated putting considerable efforts and resources towards hunting down and eliminating all Forgotten across the galaxy, as he believed them the most dangerous threat. Others considered them dangerous but uncapable of singlehandedly causing as much damage as Nryik proposed they could do unchecked, arguing that the greater threat was Azazel himself and forces of the main Ash'rak Army and Navy. Even among the Ash'rak options on the effectiveness and loyalty of the Forgotten were controversial; some warriors respected their superb training, dedication, and effectivenss as soldiers, while other warriors were very suspicious and condescending towards them, believing a spy's loyalty to be questionable at best. Further more, as the Forgotten came to develop a respect and even admiration for the abilities of defenders such as the Jedi and Mandalorians, they were accused of being "sympathizers with the warmongers", as well as many other things, some of which were simply based upon personal scorn for the favored Commandos, rather than detailed evidence of any threachery or disobedience.

When the conclusion of the Great Purging resulted in Azazel's death at the hands of Zekkius A'Creed and the offering of a peace treaty, the Forgotten Commandos were among those responsible for advocating, negotiating, and eventually working out a stable peace after the defeat of what remained of the Ash'rak Navy at the Battle of Mozia. The defacto leader of the Forgotten, Zekkius A'Creed, was also the Ash'rak who signed the Treaty of Mozia, therefore signifying his species acceptance and legal accordance with the written agreements detailed in the Treaty. Although it understandably took several years for the Ash'rak as a whole to accustom to the new peace and forget their murderous ways, the Forgotten Commando's efforts resulted in the preservation of their species and a cool, but stable peace and acceptance, which has lasted since the signing of the Treaty.

Training
"Don't you see? You attempt to rush the selection process, conditioning, and training, and this is what you get; low quality soldiers."

- Zekkius A'Creed discussing Argale Reddin

All Ash'rak possessed low-level telepathic sensitivity and a instinct to equate themselves with the whole, for the greater good. For the majority of Ash'rak, this sensitivity usually only amounted to some predictive capability and an ability to sense another being's emotional state, and only through meditation and practice. However, the occasional newborn would exude an extraordinary telepathic ability, able to manipulate others through mere will power, and an incredibly stubborn resistance to and disregard for typical Ash'rak ideals. Considered to be too dangerous to be left alive, these children were immediately taken from their parents and presumably executed. Secretly, however, they were taken in by the Clan's military, and those who survived the extreme, almost cruel training they were subjected to emerged as the most capable and dreaded special forces operators in the known galaxy.

Subjected to a rigorous battery of tests, experiments, and deemed to be expendable, young Forgotten Commandos were held under observation for several years, during which they are quite literally brain-washed for unquestioning obedience to orders, and psychologically desensitized to combat. Though generally most of the children adapted to the conditioning within two or three years, those few who ultimately rejected it were immediately destroyed. Following conditioning, Forgotten Commandos began typical educations of reading, arithmetic, history, and other basic lessons. The Forgotten who survived conditioning usually developed some psychological quirk, though they were usually harmless, and normally only resulted in a very eccentric personality, yet occasionally more extreme side-effects could develop, such as a split-personality or bizzare sense of humor. However, as long as these quirks did not interfer with the completion of a Forgotten's duty in some way, they were allowed to live, albeit underneath constant observation.

Around this period, Forgotten Commandos also began martial and physical education, alongside their more typical schooling program. It was at this point in their lives when Forgotten Commandos were groomed to become the killing machines of which they were notorious. Each Forgotten Commando was personally apprenticed to a veteran Forgotten, though it was not uncommon for a veteran to take on two apprentices. Underneath their new master, trainee Forgotten were thoroughly instructed in Juda'Ka'So, as well as weapons handling and marksmanship, espionage, electronic slicing, unorthodox and psychological warfare, as well as typical lessons on infantry combat and military strategies. Training underneath a veteran Forgotten ensured that each trainee received their education in military warfare from the very best teacher, a seasoned Forgotten Commando. After over two decades of comprehensive training, Forgotten underwent a series of trials, not unlike those which Jedi Padawans experienced. Each trial targeted a specific component of a Forgotten's body; the physical trial proved that a Forgotten was capable of surviving the extreme physical demands of their missions and able to successfully kill/subdue a superior enemy without a weapon, while the psychological trial ensured that they could handle the stress and emotional strain of their assignments. Lastly, a Forgotten had to demonstrate their unfailing loyalty and devotion to their Clan and Shi'ar. Often this entailed killing a restrained, defenseless innocent without hesitation, torturing a subject for information without killing them, or demonstrating complete willingness to eradicate or abandon to a superior force a large portion of civillians, if necessary to achieve what was deemed to be the greater good.

Finally, Forgotten Commandos engaged upon a final trial, in which they were required to fight and kill a fellow trainee, whom they had trained alongside and obviously grown close with. After seccessfully delivering the killing blow, the trainee would officially graduate from training, where the Clan's Shi'ar would Knight them with his own blade, and officially declare them Forgotten, granted all powers and privileges which accompanied the rank.

Methods of Operation
"Forgotten Commandos are not useful because they can wipe out an entire battalion with just six men, but rather because the enemy is terrified by them. They are the ultimate psychological weapon and the perfect discouragement to hostilities."

- Anonymous Shi'ar Forgotten Commandos performed extraordinarily dangerous and officially unacknowledged operations, often operating outside of the bounds of both law and acceptable moral behavior. Considered to be borderline psychopathic by ordinary Ash'rak soldiers, they were known to prefer unorthodox methods of insertion, most often droping from orbit in Single Trooper Entry Vehicles. Combined with almost ritualistic killing methods, extreme tactics, such as adorning themselves with an enemy's blood and bones in order to terrify an opponent, and almost mindless loyalty to their Clan's defense and to their Shi'ar, merely the rumor of their presence within a given system was enough to demoralize most enemies, and chase off lesser opponents.

Unless lone work was specifically necessary, Forgotten operated in units of six, with each Commando specializing in some aspect of their training, such as sniping, computer slicing, reconnaissance, heavy weapons or unit command. Similar to their infantry counterparts, Forgotten maintained units aboard major warships. However, as they required absolute secrecy and deniability for the majority of their operations, Forgotten more commonly operated out of smaller warships, such as Drexl corvettes, which allowed them to actively or passively conduct operations with little interference.

With their advanced equipment, great mobility, and unique training, a single unit of Forgotten could easily wipe out an entire enemy battalion, while suffering zero casulties. During full-scale invasions and military actions, Forgotten were often dropped first, landing deep behind enemy lines within Entry Vehicles, sabotaging enemy fortifications and securing landing zones for the main assault force, which would land just behind the Commandos. On several occasions, this allowed an attacking Ash'rak fleet to quickly gain ground against an opponent, and it was therorized that without the Forgotten's efforts, such successes could have proven nearly impossible.

Forgotten also flew alongside regular Ash'rak pilots during many space-borne battles, often quietly penetrating an enemy's fleet by moving in close when cloaked, then suddenly unleashing massive fire-power, as the main force pounded at the opponent's main defenses, forcing an enemy to focus upon either the Forgotten or the larger threat of the Ash'rak fleet. Forgotten also conducted aggressive boarding operations, both during a battle and before one could began, blasting into an enemy ship either to capture, incapacitate, or utterly destroy, though units stationed aboard larger warships usually allowed regular Warriors to handle such operations during standard operations, unless a strategically important element was involved.

After the subsequent peace which followed the end of the Great Purging, the Forgotten took on a much less aggressive method of operation, more often conducting electronic surveillance and counter espionage, in place of full-scale raids, assassinations, and sabotage. However, much of their work was still questionable, and even the allies of a given Clan were still moderately intimidated by them. Forgotten Commandos were recognized as perhaps the most important units of a Clan's military, though they received no public recognition for their deeds, helpful or otherwise, and remained "back-room" operatives, which allowed them to remain useful even after their exsistance became general knowledge across the galaxy. Normally, Forgotten also suffered heavy losses during combat operations, but this did not deter them from their mission, and most Shi'ars considered them an expendable asset, often deploying them on missions deemed to be suicide.

Armor
"There is something here-I just can't see it."

- Nihlus Nryik

Often, the Forgotten favored unorthodox equipage. Aside from more classifiable infantry equipment, members of the Forgotten Commandos preferred Wraith Armor, a specialized design both developed by the Forgotten and worn almost exclusively by them. Although the armor itself appeared to be an ordinary, form-fitting, dark bodysuit, which served as a type of enviro-suit, it was coated by an external layer of mimetic poly-alloy, which functioned as the primary armor component of the suit and allowed a Forgotten to customize their outer appearance at will, assembling the outer layer of the armor to resemble any clothing they decided best fit a given situation.

The bodysuit itself was constructed from a synthetic material created by Darth Azazel through Sith Alchemy. Light-weight, breathable, and interwoven with various sensors, the suit was nevertheless very durable and resistant to a variety of hazardous environments, and, when fully sealed and equipped with an air tank, could provide impressive protection from a vacuum fro at least sixty seconds, and was very durable against blaster fire and projectiles, except point blank shots. However, it was the outer poly-alloy shell that was the true marvel; by telepathic command, it could rapidly flow over the suit's exterior and form protective plates capable of deflecting lightsaber blows and even a glancing strike from vehicle grade weaponry.

The bodysuit's integrated helmet was retractable, and featured a polarized visor and protective sound dampeners for use against potnetially shocking explosions. A sophisticated Heads-Up Display provided increased battle vision to a Forgotten, and advanced atmospheric filters served to protect the soldier within from a multiple variety of chemical and biological hazards. Lastly, the suit's poly-alloy shell also gave a Forgotten unique chameleon abilities, taking on the characteristics of their surroundings to hide in plain sight.

Armament
The signature weapon of the Forgotten Commandos was the. Frequently exhibiting a crimson blade, a Forgotten's lightsaber was usually their most prized and valued possession, as they were expected to construct them upon graduation from training, often putting a very considerable amount of work and devotion in to them, seeking to make a weapon as unique and powerful as themselves.

When combined with their mastery of Juda'Ka'So, a Forgotten's lightsaber became more than merely an energy blade; within a Forgotten's hands, their saber became a weapon of mass devastation, and even a single Forgotten could pose a deadly threat to several Jedi. Similar to a Jedi's blade, a Forgotten's lightsaber also gave them a versatile versatile tool, with the power of a fusion cutter, which proved useful when breaking into secure installations.

Aside from their lightsaber, a Forgotten Commando wore a utility belt upon which they carried numerous other equipment; this could range from merely a blaster and survival equipment, or could consist of a unique arsenal, depending on the Commando's preference. Though they usually traveled lightly armed, not wishing to call attention to themselves by wearing a box of munitions, they were very proficient with various ranged weapons. Depending on mission parameters, blaster rifles, explosives, and other equipment could also be issued, but this was normally only required when a Forgotten was deployed into open combat or when a long-range assasination was necessary.

Transport
Although they maintained units aboard major warships, Forgotten Commandos usually worked out of smaller vessels, such as customized, heavily armed freighters and, more commonly, the Drexl-class Corvette. With a Drexls' superior speed and mobility, heavy armament, ability to carry various vehicles and military equipment, and advanced stealth systems, the corvettes were perfect companions for a unit of Forgotten, who preferred absolute secrecy and discretion when conducting their duties. However, it was inevitable that the Drexl-class would eventually gain a reputation of carrying the mysterious killers which most species rightly feared, so Forgotten more typically utilized modified freighters, though they lothed giving up the speed and power of a Drexl.

Although trained to handle most starfighters, and quite capable fighter pilots with most craft, Forgotten Commandos chose to use the Marauder Aerospace Interceptor, with which they could quickly swarm and destroy, or at least harass, even ships as large and powerful as Star Destroyers. The Daggers' ability to support a cloaking device, combined with it's advanced sensor jammers, further aided the Forgotten and enhanced their deadliness in space combat, as few enemies could effectively track and locate their cloaked enemy before they caused catastrophic damage.