Castris's Criminal Empire

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"My associates aren't known for flaws. They are the best of the best, brightest of the bright and the strongest of the strong. They are also known for their restraint and... compassion, to say the least. The reason: they don't see a war between Light and Darkness in this system, they see profit."

— Wren Kinsing

Castris's Criminal Empire is a massive Fallen crime syndicate known for its rather elite and prestigious members as well as its shocking alliance with the Shadowkeepers and gangs of other races. It is known to be, arguably, the most notorious and influential crime syndicate of the Underground.

History

Creation

"My kind has always been so brash. So bold. So reckless. So lost in this crusade for their Great Machine that they forgot how to prosper and evolve. So arrogant that they refuse to accept that the Great Machine has made its choice. Why not take opportunity in its absence to thrive? Why not take opportunity in the carnage and strife to make a pile of Glimmer? Strength, power and status doesn't come from charging headlong into battle, they come from restraint and opportunism."

— Castris, at the time, King Baroness

Humble Beginnings

"We weren't always the respected-out-of-fear syndicate we are now. We were weak, small, destitute. But Castris, my long time sister-in-arms, told us not to be desperate, but to wait, to pick what wasn't intricately tied to what could be our enemies, to take what was lost, to steal what was abandoned. If it weren't for her lessons in restraint, we would have gone extinct like countless other houses."

— Vyslaks, former King Baroness

Rise of a Criminal Empire

"The Bannerless Syndicate! Oh how shadowing and menacing it is to all thieves and warlords! Patient, yet malicious. Humble, yet avaricious. Such power and might held back with impressive and horrifying restraint! To cross them, no matter how infinitesimal, is a quick route to the grave."

— Zevaksis, head of the Seraphite Cartel

Paradox

The Swordsman's Arrival

(Edit, Unscathed?)

"His name is Kirito, and he is evil incarnate! He and Asuna have now entered our dimension to bring forth the Darkness, and we are fated to fight them!"

— Speedwagon

Some time after the events of The Dimensional Wars and the beginning of the Shadowkeeper Apocalypse, Kirito and Asuna and their daughters Yui and Konno and sons Tatsuyi and Yuji met up with Castris and her Elites, offering them a chance to work alongside his syndicate. At the same time, Rudolph McAlister, one of the spies Speedwagon dispatched to investigate Castris's criminal empire, found numerous evidences about Castris's past and attempted to rendezvous with Ashe-5 so that they could bring down the empire, only to find that Ashe had been slain by a Guardian-issued Sword. Appalled and shocked by this, he attempted to find Castris and apprehend her, but is suddenly attacked by Kotrik, who immediately slaughtered him, but not before Rudolph sent a message to Speedwagon, telling him that Kirito had returned. By the time Speedwagon and his associates arrived, Castris had already escaped. As Speedwagon attempted to pursue Castris, he runs into Tatsuyi, Kirito and Asuna's eldest son who had stolen Cisco Ramon's metahuman powers and fused them with both his Necrotic Grip gauntlets and Thorn before murdering Vibe. Enraged by Vibe's unjust fate, Speedwagon summoned his version of Hammer of Sol and attempted to end Tatsuyi's life, but finds himself temporarily paralyzed by the effects of Thorn, which gave Tatsuyi an escape plan. Some moments after Kirito's family escaped, Speedwagon, no longer paralyzed, woke up to find his associates dead and vowed revenge on both Castris and Tatsuyi.

Picking up on the investigation, however, he would discover a distress call from the syndicate's main arms supplier, Wren, who stated he and his band of smugglers was currently under siege from the syndicate. Perplexing the Titan, he followed the distress signal to the gunrunners personal Cabal carrier and provided support for his gang. He would meet up with the Warlock and would begin interrogating him about the syndicate and it's prior transgressions to which the Warlock stated that the syndicate is currently still neutral at this time. When Speedwagon told about Ashe's fate and the sword used to slay her, Wren was shocked, stating that the Dreaming City-make sword was recently purchased off him by one of the Empire's associates. Before he could let on about the buyer, the two are attacked by two mysterious Fallen assailants armed with a mysterious power. The two are quickly overwhelmed by the empowered hostiles and Wren would end up abducted while Speedwagon would be knocked out, but not before meeting a third assailant who threatened his life if he got in the way again.

The Titan would be awoken by one of the Empire's Barons, Solviks, who consoled him that Castris and her Empire were allies, not enemies, albeit unconventional. Speedwagon would also meet one of the Empire's lesser known, yet most treasured associates Myra Winters, who told him that she had upgraded his Ghost with tech that just might help with his investigation and prove the Empire's standing on the Shadowkeepers, starting with a previously recorded conversation between Wren and his trusted Psion friend, Lithwe, who were conversing about Castris's decision on the deal with the Shadowkeepers as well as what might happen if they did accept. But before the two could let on about her decision, the two are interrupted by a familiar looking, muscular Fallen brute who was asked if he could purchase a special sword; Speedwagon recognized the Fallen brute as one of the attackers who snatched Wren, learning his name was Kamrak. The Titan hesitantly thanked the two Criminal associates before the two left, stating that they had some business to attend. Continuing the investigation, he would utilize the the "ECHO" tech to discover the murder of Ashe, where he would see the Vanguard representative being escorted by some of the Empire's associates, learning that they were there to guard her on her way to Rudolph. Expecting them to turn on her, he would, instead, discover that the squad was picked off one by one and the Exo Hunter would be murdered by the other mysterious assailant from the night prior. Raising even more questions, the Titan would attempt to go back to where he meet Tatsuyi to learn more. Going back to the site and activating the recording software, the Shadowkeeper scion would be seen conversing to the members of the assailants and gave them new orders, attempt to frame Castris and rope the faction into war, telling the female assailant to stay here and wait for Speedwagon and attempt to escape to give the guise she was Castris while telling the other two to hunt down and capture some of the syndicate's higher weapons designers and suppliers such as Wren and Vyslaks to which a respected new member of the Shadowkeepers would get them to replicate some of the Empire's work. It all came to the Titan that this was a conspiracy, one in which that will force the Empire into war with the Shadowkeepers.

Structure

"It matters not what you are in this house. Dreg, Captain, Marauder, mercenary, Cabal, Human. As long as you provide to the house- to Castriskel, you are just as indispensable to us- to her as your lackeys."

— Unknown Syndicate Captain

The crime syndicate is devised mostly of loosely affiliated Fallen elements welcomed either for their loyalty or their impressive skill sets, both former and latter help to organize the structure of the Criminal Empire. Like any other Fallen House, and unlike a Fallen Crime Syndicate, the Criminal Empire has a Kell (although technically not the case, Castris loves the notion of being called so), having a main leader that organizes the house. Though few within and even more so beyond the house has ever met the Kell, all know of the power she is capable of and know to fear her. Next in line are the Archons whose, unchanged, goal is to tend to the Servitors and innovate new technologies. However, in this case, there are two known Archons, one in charge of the former and the second the latter, in this case, Kothrak and Vyslaks. And finally, there exists the Prime Servitor in charge of supplying and regulating the flow of Ether for the house, in this case, the newly developed Rivaliks line.

The Criminal Empire does minimally trained and undisciplined thugs, but often prefers highly skilled, well-motivated and militarily/criminally experienced members, often known to even pursue such individuals for recruitment or even kidnapping and indenturing them. As for those within the Empire itself, all are treated with an equal amount of respect (though, as previously mentioned, elites are looked better upon), so long as they are providing some sort of good or service to the house and are paid back in money, protection and Ether (for the Fallen), even for the wounded. However, those who are in debt to the house or have failed to meet a quota will often be punished, hard. How hard the punishment is depends on who they are, what they own and their current standing in the house.

The house also employs members of other races as well, so long as they have a service to provide. In the case of Wren Kinsing, the Warlock provides the Syndicate with all sorts of weapons, modified and not, while the syndicate provides him with glimmer, manpower and protection, while the late Ashe-1 maintained peace and inscrutability for the syndicate in exchange for underground and confidential intelligence on enemies of the Vanguard. The syndicate also has employed Cabal associates, most notable of which is former Red Legion Bracus, Throm.

Members

Inner Circle ("Barons")

Notable Members

Notable Servitors

Rivaliks-3, Vex Baptizer

Notable Automata

Associates

Ashe-5† (Trusted Vanguard associate) (Original Timeline)
Bracus Throm
Havolik, the Unrelenting (Mercenary)
Myra Winters
Novesk, Dusk Baron (Customer)
Vingoris, Salvation's Lead
Wren Kinsing (Arms Dealer)

Command Structure

Dreg
- Reaver Dreg
Wretch
- Reaver Wretch
Vandal
- Reaver Vandal
Marauder
- Reaver Marauder
Captain
- Reaver Captain

Technology

Weaponry

Automata

Vehicles

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