The Hellfire Legion 1

[Hellfire Legion]

It has been a long time since Drake Thastus and the men and women under his command formed the Hellfire Legion, an unlawful military dedicated to eradicating the lawful military forces of Liberty. During that time the legion has suffered great losses: Drake Thastus' death, Kai Thastus' disappearance, a plethora of unfortunate accidents and more. But the legion never fell. As time went on others took command of the legion, unwilling to give up or surrender, never losing their hope and faith no matter what they had to face. Denelo Mori, the man who brought the legion back to its former strength before his untimely demise. Aralie Phelps, who used that strength to unleash the ever burning fires of hell in Liberty once more. Lord Commander Aethelu, who continued to make the legion stronger and better, by reforging it into the embodiment of the imminent and ever-present righteous fury facing those who oppose it and its goals. That was until even more unfortunate events occurred.

During what must have been a solo reconnaissance operation, Star Colonel Grace Callahan, a rather unknown figure in the legion who mostly worked behind the curtains, ended up shot down and presumed dead inside Zone-21. Aethelu, who was taken over by his rage at that point, ordered a recovery operation to retrieve her body for a proper burial. The operation was a success and it was discovered that Callahan was still alive, albeit badly wounded and in cryostasis. But she didn't survive, and died on Leniex a few days later. That was then when Aethelu realized that he had grown too old. Too attached to the people around him. People he cared about more than he ever had to. People of whom many died, some right before his very eyes.

Instead of sticking to his position and maybe harming the legion, he decided for a rather drastic change. His last action as the Lord Commander of the Hellfire Legion was to promote Executive Commander Atheus and give over complete command to him. Before that, he demoted Grand Admiral Moore back to Major, for while the man had shown promise in the past, he had been unable to cope with his duties in the High Command. He was put back in the field, where he could do the thing he was a master at: Fight the good fight. Aethelu also promoted Star Captain Mahnke to Star Colonel, as the man had displayed a rare dedication to his duties and had learned very quick while he had operated under the command of Star Colonel Callahan.

Aethelu remained as an advisor in the ranks of the legion, ever being able to point the new Lord Commander in the right direction should he lose sight of his path. So began the new era, the one of Atheus. However, his leadership was short-lived. Despite the obvious talent the young man had for leadership, the burdens and responsibilities weighed heavily on his shoulders. A cryptic message was all the proceeded his disappearance, and the leadership of the Legion fell to Tadao Mori. The turmoil within the Legion did not stop there, however. Fleet Captain Natalie Callahan departed the Legion to make her own future, and Star Colonel Mahnke, Major Jason Moore, and Major Maverick Ryker also disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Despite all the best efforts of the Legion, no trace of them has ever been found. With the leadership and ranks of the Legion crumbling, Tadao Mori did his best to both lead and attract new recruits from the ranks of the Liberty Navy.

Disaffection with the rule of Tadao Mori grew though. One man stood tall within those growing unhappy with the stagnation of the Legion. His name was Joyeuse. Young, hotheaded, with a flair for leadership, he gathered more and more of the Legion to his banner. At first he tried to force Tadao to step down using political methods, decrying the lack of action, the lack of a strong leader. But his attempts at a velvet revolution failed, and more drastic actions had to be taken. Calling those rebels loyal to him, Joyeuse began to draw up his plans to overthrow Tadao. Fleet Captain Richard Wainwright, Major Hector Stanford and Fleet Commander Raisu joined Joyeuse and together they planned their rebellion. Their plans were finalized, and the date of the rebellion set for December 8th, 817 A.S.

But Joyeuse was to be betrayed. Major Stanford was actually loyal to Tadao. As soon as the rebellion had been finalised, he informed Tadao of their plans. At 0700 hours on December the 7th, 817 A.S, disaster struck. Lord Commander Tadao ordered the rebels to be put down - by force. Joyeuse, aboard Fate's Hand at the time, was subdued by Tadao's guard and thrown into the brig, along with his supporters on Leniex. But the Asmodai, guarding Fate's Hand at the time, could not be put down. Taking heavy fire from the Pandion, and knowing their fate if they stood their ground, the brave crew, led by Fleet Captain Wainwright, fled to Magellan, seeking out the scattered forces of the Legion.

Managing to rally Fleet Commander Raisu behind him, along with the Ven'Gyr, Iblis, and Abbadon, Wainwright massed their forces in Magellan. Regrouped and rearmed, the small fleet prepared for a counterattack against Tadao and his seemingly impenetrable bastion of Leniex. Against all the odds Ven'Gyr managed to pin the Ravager down, allowing the three destroyers just enough time to break through the blockade. When the rag tag fleet finally arrived at Fort Leniex, one last ditch effort was made to get Tadao to stand down. There was no way the Legion could withstand the loss of three destroyers, much less a battleship, and through this logic it was hoped that the Lord Commander would succumb to the wishes of the Legion.

There was an eerie silence between the two groups, until the fateful decision was made - Tadao, on board the Pandion, gave the order to fire. The Abbadon, protected by customized "Veil of Steel" Legion composite plating, was the first target. Drawing their fire, they gave the Iblis just enough time to moor with the Fate's Hand, freeing the rightful crew of the ship and slaying Tadao's Guard as they went - no mercy being shown for the ignorant and stale-minded people who supported the Lord Commander.

The crews of the Abbadon and Asmodai watched in awe as the Fate's Hand suddenly ceased its relentless assault upon them, redirecting the everlasting fires of hell towards the Pandion, managing to drop its shields. However, the Asmodai had taken far too much damage to survive for long, and despite their best efforts, Fate's Hand was an old ship. Wainwright ordered the crew of the Asmodai to the escape pods. Engaging the self destruct protocols, Wainwright turned the flaming vessel towards the bridge of the Pandion. With the reactor core overloading, he engaged the cruise engines before jumping into his escape pod. As the cruise engines fired, Tadao realised what Wainwright had planned and desperately tried to avoid the Asmodai. But his attempts were in vain. Nothing could stop the bows of the Asmodai slamming into the bridge of the Pandion, and as the Asmodai exploded, the entire command section of the Pandion was vaporized.

When the dust settled, the Pandion was severely damaged, and the Asmodai nothing more than a debris field orbiting Leniex. But the fires had stopped, and another silence gripped the men and women of the Legion, this time one of exhaustion and shell shock. Joyeuse knew his moment was upon him. He broadcast from the bridge of Fate's Hand, a transmission to all survivors of the Legion... and the message was clear. Unite under his leadership, or face certain death. The response was immediate and unreserved. Joyeuse was recognized as Lord Commander that same, fateful day.

After being sworn in, Joyeuse quickly set the minds and hands of the Legion to work, regaining their military might, beginning new technological endeavors, and working to enlarge and strengthen the ranks of the Legion. The New Lord Commander also broke ties to some of the old allies of the Legion, viewing these as pointless and stagnant. Too many encounters with unruly Rogues, and the Outcasts who viewed the citizens of Liberty as no more than a way to make a quick buck lead to the loosening of these ties, as well as a growing sense of independence under the new Lord Commander.

But he didn't last. As strong a personality and impressive a leader Joyeuse was, not even he was immune to the heavy toll leading the Legion would take. Over time Joyeuse grew too attached to the Legion, the people within. He had always been able to keep drawing the line between, as he would say, 'cold-heartedness', and calculated determination. But drawing the one between simply caring for the people under his command as a leader and becoming personally attached to them became impossible as time passed on. Too many people died, too many people suffered under his command - and later due to his own lapses of judgment - for him to handle anymore. Even though he was still a young man, Reynard Joyeuse had aged in mind and grown to be a bitter man, in a way resembling Aethelu who still lingered in the shadows, and it was evident in his every motion. Too many losses, too many hopeless crusades, too many deaths and failures had put him in a position where he had two choices: Keep leading the Legion against all odds and watch the very fires of hell consume it as they would scorch him from within, or step down from his position.

He chose the latter and disappeared. Not as the Lord Commander, but just as a normal man. Informally and without much fanfare he took off from the Ven'Gyr with a Legion fighter after giving his final speech, along with his final orders, never to be seen again, as people thought. The aftermath of Reynard's resignation only just started, and things look grim for the Legion once more. Another leader gone, another one who couldn't endure, and he got replaced by an Artificial Intelligence at first, oddly enough. With the latter's temporary tasks done, Alan Markson, a relatively unknown figure, has stepped into the position of Lord Commander. A quiet man who allows his officers much leeway, Markson recently helped bring the Hellfire Legion into a new alliance with its old foes, the Xenos, and has steadily been pushing the Hellfire Legion back towards the moral high ground once more.

And the high ground appears well within reach as the Legion's power grows. With able officers like Executive Commander Cristina Valeria Hunter and the Fleet Marshals Daniels and Voss, the Legion has strengthened its ties and the alliance with the Xenos - an alliance inhibited only in growth by time - while also entering alliances with both the Unioners, expanding the previously limited relations to include a Military pact along with the personnel exchange and limited trade. The Mollys as well deserve mention, as the old pact once established between the council and the Legion has been renewed, permitting cautious, limited trade and even some exchange of technology. With a brighter future approaching in this area, the Legion even began to look further, towards Rheinland.

Taking advantage of the war due to the inability to end it, the Legion's forces have been re-organized and strengthened. The Special Operations and Armed Reconnaissance Division underwent a necessary overhaul in order to compete on that ever-changing battlefield. Along with a full task-force, the aptly named "Warhammer", at the Legion's disposal for Liberty operations, the military focus now rests on re-establishing the task-force which will bring the fires of hell to the front-lines of the Rheinland and Liberty war. Gladius Iustitiae citus et acutus est - The sword of justice is swift and sharp, yet only time will tell if it will cut through steel and scorch the flesh of those who stand before the Legion's might, much as the hammer grinds bone and shatters all hopes of those foolish to bring harm to the Legion's homeland.

---

LIBERA TE EX INFERIS

Information ::: Recruitment ::: Message dump ::: Feedback