Naagloshii

"A Shadow Marshal is the darkness between the stars, the monster in the night, the invisible hand that guides all matters. We remain out of sight and out of mind, and walk as shadows, until such time when open force is required to secure victory, and even then you cannot be completely sure what you witnessed. That is why we are dreaded, why you can never stop us. Cut off a head, and we shall merely acquire several more."

- Mysha So'Chi

Shadow Marshals comprised those Ash'rak both blessed and cursed, as they were able to perceive the metaphysical energies of the. For a Ash'rak, being sensitive to the Force was not something which boded well, as those capable of manipulating it's energies were notoriously unstable, commonly developing destructive tendencies and being seduced by the dark side. Further more, any Ash'rak able to become a Force practitioner was usually very powerful, which could make them very difficult to bring down when they inevitably turned to the dark side. Ascribable to this, Ash'rak children who exhibited a greater than average midi-chlorian count were always taken from their parents; originally, they were destroyed without any attempt at rehabilitation, but the Ash'rak rapidly came to consider this a waste of potentially valuable weapons, and so instituted a program to attempt the training of these children. This resulted in the first generation of Shadow Marshals.

Throughout their childhood, those deemed to be capable of wielding the Force were trained, conditioned, and tested repeatedly at a Enclave Temple, a specially designed military base with the sole intent of producing stable and controllable Force-sensitive commandos. Predominately, those special children taken to a Enclave Temple adjusted to their new lives relatively quickly, discovering the rewards for obedience and success and the dangers of failure and seduction to easy power. Occasionally, however, a cadet would either reject their conditioning or suffer a break in resolve, at which point they were destroyed before they could become violent.

For the majority of their existence, the Shadow Marshals were loyal to Darth Azazel, who first established the method of training them and personally oversaw the instruction of the first generation of Marshals. When the Great Purging broke out, they were utilized to extraordinary effect by the Sith Lord, securing many victories for the Ash'rak which would otherwise have been impossible, and gaining a reputation across the galaxy as Azazel's Dark Side Adepts; however, they did not utilize their passion to fuel their power, and thus did not rely upon the dark side of the Force. This did not entail that they were similar to the Jedi Order, as they did not demonstrate remorse for killing or pursue knowledge and harmony with the galaxy. Rather, they were tentatively identified by the as, as they utilized their abilities often for destructive ends, but did not follow the dark side and had no alligence with the ideals of the Jedi themselves.

Nevertheless, the Shadow Marshals were considered similar to the Jedi Order in many ways; this was primarily because they valued life, advocated logicality, and pursued progression of knowledge, although as a way of increasing their efficiency as killers, and also because they advocated peace and tolerance. However, Shadow Marshals did not attempt to be galactic benefactors, and they closely guarded their knowledge, resources, and technology from outsiders, even other Ash'rak. Despite adhering to a strict law of nonintervention, they would help or at least offer help if they witnessed a criminal or atrocious act, at least when it did not interfer with their duties. When Azazel's psychological stability began to deteriorate in the later years of the Purging, which resulted in the Sith Lord issuing numerous questionable decisions, the Shadow Marshals, who had already been theorizing that perhaps eliminating all sentients but themselves from the face of the galaxy would not bring about a utopia, recognized that their master and mutual leader had become unfit to lead, and so set about a carefully developed plan to bring about his end.

This plan came to conclusion at the Battle of Anakaa, where a contingent of Shadow Marshals stationed aboard Azazel's flagship, led by their defacto leader Mysha So'Chi, sabotaged the ship's point-defense grid, which allowed an assault team commanded by Nihlus Nryik and including over a dozen Jedi to slip aboard the vessel. In the following battle which began between Nihlus and Azazel, just as Nryik was wounded and literally at Azazel's mercy, as things seemed to be going from bad to worse, Marshal So'Chi covertly moved behind Azazel, and concealing his intent from the Force, stabbed his master through the heart with his own blade, a fatal blow which caused the Sith Lord's death moments later. With their plan having succeeded, the Shadow Marshals took command of the Ash'rak military, claiming that Azazel had been killed by the Jedi.

However, as many Warriors had never trusted them at all, they only gained the command of a small portion of the Naval Starfleet and Army, with those who had refused to follow them fleeing to Mozia, the last bastion of power for the Ash'rak after the fall of their homeworld. When the Battle of Mozia saw a massive joint fleet of NRDF, Imperial Navy, and Corporate Sector Authority war vessels appearing from hyperspace, the Ash'rak defenders, only at half strength following the splite of power at Anakaa, were able to put up a valiant defense, but were eventually overwhelmed by the, for once, superior strength of the joint fleet. Just as the battle was wraping up, however, the Shadow Marshals, along with their loyal fleet, jumped into orbit. They did not wish to do battle, though, and instead offered something which surprised even the Jedi-a peace treaty. Although many of the military commanders in the joint fleet believed the offer to be a last desperate attempt at a trap, Nihlus Nryik did not sense deception, and chose to meet with Mysha So'Chi, at that point the Marshal's commander, upon the planet's surface. And so, after very nearly twenty-four hours of debate, conditions for a peace treaty were agreed upon, with the document being formally written up and signed by all parties the very next day.

Ever since what would come to be known as the Treaty of Mozia, the Shadow Marshal's covertly helpful efforts have been credited as perhaps the most deciding factor of the war, depending upon a storyteller's viewpoint of the war itself.

History
Soon after Grammaton Technologies began it's breeding project, Darth Azazel, although he believed that his new soldiers would be superior to anything the galaxy could throw at them, realized both that a prominent amount of the work of eradicating the galaxy of depravation and subversion would have to be done from the shadows, and that situations would plausibly arise throughout the coming war which would necessarily require a covert, dextrous touch, something beyond what regular infantry troops, no matter how well trained, could be expected to handle. So, imputable to the already psychical domination which he held over Teatriarch, Azazel was able to gain the permission and resources he required to select and work on a class of elite commandos, comprised of those Species UX5 units which demonstrated sensitivity to the Force. The result of this endeavoring was a order of almost unbeatable soldiers, who would come to be known as the fearsome Shadow Marshals.

Although many of Grammaton's executives considered the investment of time and resources needed to train and produce an elite type of Species UX5 soldiers was unnecessary, Teatriarch's word was held as unarguable among the corporation, and so Azazel was allowed to work on his private project unmolested. By picking through a series of personnel files easily provided to him by Grammaton's need to categorize and organize everything, he was able to thin the crowd of potential candidates, selecting only those who exhibited both Force sensitivity and greater than normal self-reliance and astuteness. Though this process took longer than he had originally planned, which resulted in merely twenty-four candidates, which had managed to pass his initial inspection, able to proceed onto his actual training regimen, though the Sith Lord felt that the trade-off of numbers was necessary to ensure that only the very best and most capable of his children would be trained as his apprentices. When Azazel presented his special soldiers to Grammaton's Executives, more as a means to show off than anything else, they were so impressed with his work that manyof them, who had held doubts about him before, to dismiss their dubiousness, which only made things easier for Azazel when he finally moved on his plans to initiate a coup of leadership.

When the Sith Lord began his Great Purging in earnest, the newly called Shadow Marshals were the very first units deployed against the galaxy at large, especially the Imperial Remnant and New Republic; for the first few days of the Purging, the Marshals undertook various covert missions, disrupting military supply lines, sabotaging war factories, installing viruses within the defense networks of various worlds, and assassinating important leaders, resulting in many commanders of the various defenders being taken out of the picture even before the actual assault began. The Marshals were also responsible for smuggling numerous biological weapons and exlosive decives onto several worlds, which were then detonated while Azazel's main attack force concentrated on more important theaters of operation. By the time the various worlds directly in Azazel's initial focus of firepower were able to figure out that they were under attack and launch an organized defense, they had already been overwhelmed.

However, ascribable to the inexperience of Azazel's army, and despite his expert leadership, several minor victories were scored by the defenders early on, which allowed many planet's populations to be saved from Azazel's charge following the first attacks. Although their initial charge was very successful, Azazel and many of his commanders had underestimated the sheer survival instinct of many of the enemy, particularly those opponents from the Jedi Order and Mandalorians. When the Marshals were first deployed against the Jedi Temple, they were able to eliminate several dozen of them, but many of their own number were cut down in the resulting fighting to retreat, once the greater attuned and skilled Masters arrived on the defense, such as Luke Skywalker and Nihlus Nryik. Despite their superb training and incredible powers, the Marshals suffered perhaps greater casualties than their infantry counterparts, as they where almost always deployed on extremely difficult and dangerous assignments, with little backup or chance of escape.

Throughout the Great Purging, there were multiple different opinions of the Shadow Marshals on both sides; Nihlus Nryik advocated hunting them down and either converting them or utterly destroying all Marshals across the galaxy, as he believed them to be the greater threat. Others considered them very dangerous indeed, but chose to focus their efforts on holding the frontal assault at bay, which they could even then barely manage. Even among the Ash'rak, the effectiveness and loyalty of the Marshals was controversial. Some of Azazel's Warriors respected their dedication and skill, as well as their willingness to sacrifice themselves without question, while other Warriors exhibited great suspicion and distrust towards them, believing the loyalty of a spy to be questionable at best. Further more, as the Marshals began to develop a respect for both the Mandalorians and Jedi during the later years of the Purging, this distrust was only reinforced. Some even went so as to accue them of being sympathizers, despite there being no evidence of any treachery or disobedience among them.

More Information Coming Soon!!

Armor
Shadow Marshals where customarily issued a suit of Spectre Semi-Powered Infiltration Armor. Created through Sith Alchemy, Spectre Armor was comprised of a form-fitting, dark bodysuit, which was covered by a layer of mimetic polyalloy. The bodysuit itself covered a Marshal's entire body from head to toe, and was capable of stopping most energy bolts and projectiles. It was also tear and fire resistant, at least to a certain degree.

The bodysuit also served as both a sensor mesh and hazardous expedition garment, while the polyalloy outer covering provided the primary armor component. When the polyalloy flowed over the exterior of the suit, it could be utilized for a variety of defensive applications; when hardened sufficiently, it could deflect several glancing strikes from vehicle mounted weaponry or even a lightsaber, and when allowed to soften to a semi-solid state, it could entrap an enemy when they punched or kicked the wearer, essentially holding them at close range where they could be more easily dispatched.

The polyalloy also provided a Marshal with sophisticated chameleon abilities, as it could shift it's colors and shape to effectively match it's surrounding environment, as well as being able to mimic various clothing, which allowed a Marshal to change their appearance even when on the move. The mask portion of the armor functioned as a respirator and enhanced imaging device, which allowed a Marshal to view the world through various other visual spectrums, aside from color and their natural nightvision.

Weapons
When abreast to graduation, every Shadow Marshal was expected to craft a lightsaber. Most often, these sabers were of a standardized, silver hilted design, which commonly possessed black hand grips and a bright, blue blade, although many Marshals choose to utilize different crystals in their weapons, which resulted in a range of blade colors similar to those sported by the blades of the Jedi Order. Although the lightsaber's hilt was always of a standardized design, the internal components could change drastically from soldier to soldier.

Despite the minor differences which could be noted between two Marshal's sabers, the standardized hilt always possessed several features that were common to every blade. The most obvious of these was a dual-phase addition, which many Marshals were able to utilize to great effect, even against predictive abilities granted via the Force. Another standard characteristic of a Marshals weapon was a bifurcating cyclical-ignition pulse, which made the blade a reliable weapon even when underwater.

Perhaps the most intersting and curious feature of a Shadow Marshal's lightsaber, however, was the blade's stun setting. Similar to the training sabers used by Jedi younglings, this attibute allowed Marshals to essentially transform their blade into a long shock rod, capable of electrocuting a opponent with enough voltage to literally cook them from the inside out or merely deliver a debilitating burst of stunning energy, useful for when capturing a target alive was preferable to killing them outright.

Alongside their lightsaber, Shadow Marshals were known to carry at least two backup weapons, usually a shoto blade or secondary lightsaber, and a blaster pistol. Depending on mission profiles, blaster rifles, heavy weapons, and explosives were issued as well, although some Marshals carried small amounts of such armament with them at all times. Even when unarmed, a Shadow Marshal was never truly not dangerous, as their improved physiology and advanced training allowed them to kill or maim with their bare hands if necessary; a Marshal's Spectre Armor could also act as a weapon, the polyalloy layer forming sharp edges and short stabbing blades for close combat.