11th Massassi Cohort

"You are the cutting edge of the lightsaber blade, the tip of the sword, the wrath of Rin! And our enemies will fear you."

- Tariun Sakaros, to the 11th Massassi

The 11th Massassi Cohort, nicknamed The Wrath of Rin, was an elite special operations force in the Royal Army of the Golden Empire. The 11th were the best-trained and fiercest shock troops in the Army, used for battles and missions requiring overwhelming, unstoppable force.

History
When the Golden Empire was founded in 87 ABY, the Glorious Armada was comprised entirely of Massassi, who served as naval crewmen, pilots, and ground troops &ndash often all three. As the Empire expanded, however, many species volunteered for service and the demands on the Massassi troops were reduced. Some time before the Great Liberation, Massassi ground units were organized according to Royal Army structure, leading to the formation of twelve active Massassi Cohorts.

All twelve Cohorts saw regular service during the Great Liberation, and many suffered correspondingly high casualties. All were present at the massive Battle of Tizgo V, along with most of the rest of the Army. It was there that the 11th earned its nickname and distinctive status.

Crushed by the self-sacrificing death of her apprentice, Keltrayu, Queen Rin Sakaros unleashed an overpowering wave of Force Insanity on everyone within range. Consumed by her grief, she was unable to target it, and both her army and the enemy suffered. Once she had snapped herself out of it, though, the 11th was the first to recover and heed Tariun Sakaros's call to honor Keltrayu's death by wiping out the enemy. Before most of the rest of the Empire's troops had even gotten back to their feet, the 11th Massassi pressed the attack and turned a broken enemy line into a total rout, giving new inspiration to their fellow troops and ensuring that the Golden Empire would carry the day.

For its heroism in the face of both a brutal battle and Rin's daunting Force powers, and being the first to strike back against those who had cost Keltrayu his life, Tariun nicknamed the 11th "the Wrath of Rin". Following the conclusion of the war, the 11th was reorganized as an elite heavy infantry unit, permanently assigned to the command of the Prime Legate.

The 11th took part in the Defense of Daispin during the Nightmare War, under the command of Colonel Eihwaz, who served as second-in-command on the ground to Legate Aria Nikina. During the Battle of Dolomir, Eihwaz and Breek Zagrev led the 11th in an attack on Ador Hentral's flagship.

Selection and training
Like all Massassi Cohorts, the 11th was allowed to conduct its own recruitment and training, subject only to High Command's oversight. Also like its fellows, it was composed exclusively of Massassi warriors.

However, the 11th underwent substantially more complex training than most infantry units, even other Massassi units. Its soldiers trained in as many environments as the Empire's systems would allow, including the jungles of their native Kavez Massass, forests, plains, deserts, snowscapes, aquatic worlds, and even worlds with toxic atmospheres which required breathing apparatuses. They also trained with a variety of personal and crew-served weapons, able to use almost any weapon at hand to cause destruction.

Deployments
The 11th, while functioning as a normal Massassi Cohort when necessary, was more often deployed as the "tip of the spear", a force of elite shock troops to utterly decimate enemy resistance and cause a drop in morale, often causing lines or even entire armies to break and flee. In this capacity, regiments of the 11th could be deployed without taking the entire Cohort to battle.

Detachments of the 11th also served as stand-alone units, tactically inserted on enemy worlds and making deep insertions to eliminate key facilities, units, or personnel. Their inherent savagery and intense training allowed them to overwhelm even numerically superior forces.

Behind the scenes
In function (as heavy infantry), the 11th is vaguely patterned after the United States Army Rangers and the United States Marine Corps.

Appearances

 * The Fall of Keltrayu