The Black Imperators

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PERSONAL LORE

THE BLACK IMPERATORS​

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The Black Imperators are a small swoop gang founded and nominally led by Xilti Jeks, a Cathar female from the planet Keowe VII, where the gang primarily operates.

HISTORY DESCRIPTION

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  - HISTORY -​
  
  First formed when Xilti was just 17 standard years old, the Black Imperators were originally the name given to a small gathering of friends with a mutual affinity for repulsorcraft and other vehicles. The group originally met in the maintenance garage of an abandoned resort complex just outside Xilti's village, using the space to build and modify their own jumpspeeders and racing them on the resort grounds. Almost every member of the group was estranged from their families in some way, often due to their dissatisfaction with the dead-end prospects available to them on a backwater world like Keowe VII; they bonded over this, forming an indomitable friendship among one-another.
  
  Unfortunately, the Imperators' meeting place turned out to be too close to the people they were trying to avoid. They were noticed on the property by some of the locals, who called the authorities, leading to all the members of the gang being arrested for trespassing. Mostly being minors, they were released to the custody of their guardians, most of them being grounded and having their prized creations confiscated. Xilti, whose machine had been her main creative outlet for most of her childhood, was devastated to learn that her parents - with whom she already had a strained relationship - had sold her creation to a traveling scrap merchant. Devastated, she fled her home, getting into contact with her friends in similar situations. Together, they stole back their vehicles - those which could still be recovered - and escaped into the night.
  
  Now a band of teenaged vagabonds, Xilti and her friends retained the name of the Black Imperators, becoming more or less a family unit rather than merely a group of enthusiasts. They initially traveled from place to place, turning to petty crime to survive; as the members grew older, they gradually transitioned from a band of runaways to a full-fledged swoop gang, having to compete with other, larger gangs for territory and credibility. The Imperators, being small and relatively inexperienced, initially fared poorly against their rivals, leading to a number of injuries and even deaths among their number, and even causing a few members to leave.
  
  Eventually, the Imperators did manage to carve out a relatively stable core territory, mainly centered around their headquarters, the old Keowe VII Jyatt Hotel, which had been abandoned for decades and did not sit within the ranges claimed by larger gangs. Though they remained small, the Imperators did eventually manage to expand a finger of territory down toward the lucrative planetary spaceport district, nominally controlling one of the eastbound routes from the spaceport, though they frequently clashed with their main rivals in the area, the Jetters.
  
  In the present, the Black Imperators control a tenuous hold on an artery of highways stretching east to west, possessing a majority stake in the flow of illicit spice and other smuggled goods along it.
  
  
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  - DESCRIPTION -​
  
  The Black Imperators are a fairly small gang, numbering just over a dozen individuals, most of whom are part of the original circle of friends who founded the group as adolescents. When new members are added to the ranks, they tend to be fellow runaways, although the founding members have mostly reached adulthood. They tend to operate more like a family group than a swoop gang, though with a healthy dose of anarchy mixed in.
  
  Compared to other swoop gangs, the Imperators are not especially violent. Although mostly embracing a "live and let live" mentality, they will fight to defend themselves, and occasionally to expand or defend their territory. Members have been grievously injured or even killed in clashes with rival gangs, and the group has a longstanding grudge against the Jetters, their main competition in the region near the spaceport. Nevertheless, the Imperators have all sworn not to involve "civilians" in their battles, and have often come to the aid of everyday people who have been victimized by other gangs, or even by corrupt local authorities. This has put them on the Keowe Civil Constabulary's radar, but given that far more brutal gangs exist, dealing with the Imperators has an extremely low priority.
  
  Of note, the Imperators tend not to use blasters or other "proper" weapons, although this is largely because such hardware is often hard to come by on Keowe VII. Instead, they tend to use improvised weapons such as chains, firebombs and lengths of pipe. A few of the more chemically talented members have tried their hand at crude black-powder explosives, with mixed results.
  
  The Imperators derive most of their income from the transport of spice and other smuggled goods through their territory, although they tend to limit the substances they traffic to less addictive varieties of spice and various forms of alcohol. The gang does not run any protection rackets, and will ruthlessly deal with any they discover doing so in their territory; they tend to leave businesses in their region alone, as well as average citizens and tourists. They may engage in petty robbery, but only against beings and businesses whom they consider to "deserve it," and almost always outside their own territory.
  

- INTENT -​

To flesh out the gang which my Keowese swoop rider, Xilti Jeks, nominally leads. They aren't very powerful or numerous, mostly being composed of a group of former runaways Xilti grew up with.

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[Malon]

Approved