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Enzo du Sable
| Enzo du Sable | |
 | |
| Profile | |
| Origin |  Gallia |
| Occupation | Lord of all Brigands |
| Affiliation | Legion of the Damned |
| Born | September 9 791 A.S., Planet New Paris |
Childhood
Our story begins on the capital of Gallia, New Paris, and the date is sometime around September 791 A.S. The story takes us to one of the great crime areas of New Paris, the suburbs of the great cities. In one of them, a boy named Enzo du Sable was born, and already had a tough start in life. His father left a few days after his birth, and, as his mother could not take care for him, she gave Enzo to the nearest orphan's home. Life was very tough there, especially for the youngest ones. Until the age of 12, Enzo had to live in fear of the strict discipline of the home for parent-less, and got ordered around by the older children. When he turned 12, he had a dream on a very stormy night that changed his life. The dream was some kind of unwritten prophecy of Enzo, but it remains unknown what it really was. After that, he packed his things and left his former “home”. On that very stormy night, he had no idea where to go, until he walked infront of a Casino. A man walked up to him and said:” Where are your parents, boy?” Enzo answered: “I don’t know.” The man understood his situation and took him to a hotel room, giving him something to eat and a place to sleep. That man however was an agent of the greatest local crime mafia that was always searching for especially young recruits. Enzo was rapidly integrated into this group and his first job involved theft. He always got to keep 10% of his loot, which he spent on all the things he didn’t have in his former life. Now he could the live the life he always wanted. When he turned 16, the boss thought he was ready for some more dangerous missions. So he was sent to a bank robbery, together with 5 other youngsters like him. The boss knew, only one could survive and become a real Mafioso in the end. However, the whole coup went awfully wrong, as one of Enzo’s companions shot the hostage out of nervosity. Then he became even more nervous and started to shoot his own friends, including Enzo, who managed to hide successfully. The 5 other youngsters shot themselves to death, while Enzo was hiding. When the police finally arrived, they found a massacre and believed Enzo to be one of the survivors. Enzo saw his chance of fleeing and agreed to the policemen’s thought. They took him to the nearest police station, where he was interrogated. He successfully managed to play the unguilty one. As he wanted to leave, he heard some noises from a TV in a small room. As he walked into the room, he realized it was a videotape about the Gallic Navy and their success. He sat down and began watching it. The video was about the Navy heroes, their training, and their adventures. At the end of the video Enzo’s decision was clear: He will join the Navy. He walked up to an officer and told him that he wanted to be a recruit. In short time, he was transported to the nearest Navy space station with other recruits. He finally escaped the crime and his new life was about to start….
The first few weeks were basic training: How to shoot, how to fight, how to dodge and so on. Enzo, already having experience at these topics, managed those tests with success. In the third month, the real training started: Flying a spaceship. The recruits had to finish off the 5 week simulator exam before really having permission to try a real ship. In the first 2 weeks, Enzo was pretty bad in the simulator. But, as he learned more, he got better and passed the exam excellently. Soon he would be able to board a real ship. And that’s what he did: His first flight hours were in a Caracal LF, of course under surveillance of a flight teacher. As the docking bay opened, and he saw the universe through a cockpit for the first time, he knew it: He was born to be in space. After the first hours, his trainer noticed he could leave Enzo alone. His results were unbelievable, only comparable to elite or vetran soldiers. He got his Navy officer license soon and was assigned to a flight group. The first step was done. It was not long before he got his first mission: A simple escort service for GMS. He and 3 others in Serval HFs had to escort 2 Vache GMS transports. Everything went pretty good, but at the end a squad of 6 Council assassins in Agamas engaged the group. The first navy pilot fell early because of the Council trap, but two of the Agamas got too near the two transports and were quickly shredded by their fast anti-fighter turrets.
Enzo was having a duel with one of the Council, and, although it was a long one, he killed the traitor in the end. In the meanwhile, his Navy companion exploded and one of the Vaches was heavily damaged. Enzo quickly turned in to help them, getting a nice sniper shot at the Agama’s engine and then finishing him off with a mine. The other Council soldier fled the battle as he was scared by Enzo’s skill. In the end, Enzo managed to save the GMS transports and, when the Navy superiors heard about this, he was promoted to Capitaine. He could lead his own group now. His first missions were against some small Gallic brigand raiders, which earned him the reputation to take on more dangerous missions. When he turned 22, his greatest mission stood before him: Kill a Brigand leader. He had to do this mission alone, in a brand new Lynx equipped with strong cannons to assassinate quickly. Enzo began his search and located the Brigand and his 4 bodyguards in an asteroid field. Enzo activated his cloaking device and gotr into a nice trap position, directly behind the Brigand leader. He quickly fired his shieldbusters, and then the Mini Razor. The Brigand went up in flames. But what Enzo didn’t notice was a pair of council GB’s nearing from behind. They were closing in and Enzo already lost his shield at the remaining Bringands’ fire. In the meantime, they got extremely near to Planet New Paris’ backside. Suddenly one of the GB’s got in range and fired his large forward cannon, destroying one the Lynx’ wings, causing him to drift off into the atmosphere. Enzo knew it: He was going to die now. A loud crashing noise could be heard and some civilians were running to the Crater and Enzo’s remains….
Death and Resurrection
Some citizens found Enzo’s dead body and dragged him out. He had no visible wounds, but probably suffered heavy inner damage. The civilians buried him, without the Navy knowing. Hours after the funeral, and Enzo heard a strange voice. He could not understand the language, but he heard one word:”Prophecy….” Enzo opened his eyes, started to scream and broke off the coffin. He was fighting thorugh the mud, until he breached through to the surface with his right hand. He slowly managed to get through and pull himself up. Outside it was raining heavily, and the mud was extremely wet and soft. He looked around and noticed he saw everything in red….his eyes were filled with blood, and suddenly a heavy pain reached his throat and he was vomiting blood. He fell to the ground, unconsciously. When he woke up, the sun was shining and the birds were singing. He got up and marched into the city. He had to start a new life, again, and he knew just where to start, as he was back in the city of his childhood. He knew his old boss’ location, and went to his apartment. Enzo rang the bell, and one of his bodyguards opened the door. “What the hell do you want?”, he said. Enzo replied:”I am here to meet your boss, Georges. Tell him my name, Enzo, and he will know.” The bodyguard closed the door. After some minutes, the boss himself opened the door and said:”I thought you were dead. What happened?” Enzo lied and said he was kidnapped by some bandits. Georges believed him and took him back into his mafia, but not as a simple thug, Enzo became an assassin.
His jobs were to kill rich and influential people, without causing attention. He earned a fortune out of it and could buy himself the most expensive cars, clothes and women. When he finally became as rich as he wanted, he left the mafia and founded his own. He already had such an influence that he got the highest members of Geroges’ mafia to join his, which was named “Les griffes” – “The claws”. A bloody and ugly gang war began between those two mafias.
The Legion of the Damned
The war was going on equally for both sides, both having similar losses. However, it became more of an economic war: Both were trying to damage their financial income by ambushing transports. Recently, the Claws managed to cap a very big load of drug-wine and Enzo wanted to celebrate that in the most exquisite night club on New Paris, called “La Moulin Rouge”. Only his highest members were invited, and they were having a great time. Suddenly, 2 men and one blonde-haired woman in blue Navy suits entered the club, and Enzo told his men to be careful and lay low. But the woman approached Enzo directly. His bodyguard got up and held her away. Enzo said:” Let her through!” The woman came nearer and whispered in Enzo’s ear:”Monsieur du Sable, you are hereby asked for by the King personally. There are things you need to hear. Somewhere quiet.” Enzo didn’t want any problems with the Navy, so he said:”Follow me to the VIP cabin.” She followed him and he offered her a seat on the luxurious VIP couch. “Want a drink, mademoiselle?” Enzo asked and smiled. “Non, I am on duty monsieur.”, she answered. “Bien…..”Enzo pours some Gallic wine into his glass ”What’s your name?” he asked. The woman answered: “Mon nom est Chloe…and I am here to give you a message from the King. He needs to see you as soon as possible, come with me”. Enzo knew that it was something great if even the King wants to speak to him, so he had to agree. They left immediately with the Royal Shuttle. On the shuttle, Enzo was asked to sit down in the debriefing chamber, when suddenly a holographic image of the King appears, it was a recording: “Bonjour Monsieur du Sable…. you probably wonder why you, a simple commoner are here. To keep it short, you are not a simple commoner. You are of noble blood, as your father, Michel, was. I do not know what you are right now and I also do not care about your former life as you are here only for one thing: To lead the the LEgion des Damnes. Your grandfather, Leon du Sable, was the last Lord Mareshal, the last leader, and as the whereabouts of your father are unknown, you are Leon’s direct successor and hereby officially declared Lord Mareshal of the
Legion des Damnes. May honour be with you.” The image vanished. Enzo was sitting there, breathless. “This must be part of the prophecy….” he thought. “Tell the King that I accept this position. I am the new Lord Mareshal….now where’s my Legion?” That’s how the new age of the Legion des Damnes begins…..
Enzo quickly became fond of his new position of Lord Marechal, and the power and responsibility that came with it. The Legion's main area was the Languedoc front, where they were encountering huge numbers of Council forces. In months of fighting, the Legion managed to push more and more into the system, and the Legion became feared throughout the sector. As the Legion rose to power, Enzo's reputation rose with it. At the Legion's peak, certain high elements within the Royal Navy feared a takeover by Enzo and his Legion. The Legion's methods of obtaining new soldiers was crucial in this case, as there was a huge influx of former criminals and prisoners, rehabilitated into "Legionnaires". In time, the Legion redeveloped its traditions of military warfare and rank structure, which made a "barbaric and vile" impression on some nobles of the Royal Navy. The Legionnaire Initiation Ritual, which had a 50% chance of failure, Gladiator-style arena battles in the fashion of old Rome, and inhuman methods of torture caused a huge rise in notoriety for Enzo and the Legion. All those elements put together appeared threatening for high Navy officials, and Gallia was at the brink of (another) civil war.....
”The Legion des Damnes was becoming a heavier presence in Gallia every day. Every time an enemy insurgent force was detected, as always, as we swore, we were the first to respond. Fighting for crown and honor, we did what we were taught to do, without remorse, without mercy, we fought to the death. Such blind loyalty can only be retrieved from the purest of hearts. This being the strength of the Legion was evidently our weakness. This very fact would soon prove to be too much for some to take.” - unknown Legionnaire, 818 A.S. Two powerful structures can not exist without colliding at some point. Eventually, that collision happened, even if it was sudden and unexpected. Now not many people know what caused it. Enzo believed that it was the plot of the Grand Marshall of the Royal Navy, whereas the common point states that the Legion was accused of assisting Sirians. The GRN officials claimed that the Legionnaires were using sirian weaponary. The fact that Legion of the Damned developed their own advanced weapon systems would explain both the wrath ot the Royal Navy (who considered those guns Sirian, or at the very least unauthorised) and Enzo's confidence of the Legion's innocence. We shall never know if the Legion's scientists developed their own powerful weapons, since most of the Legion's ships using those guns were destroyed in the battles that followed afterwards. But those guns were one of the main reasons this came about.
Lord Enzo du Sable's forces were spread dealing with what on report seemed to be one of the largest council insurgency attempts on record, he himself had to respond. Leaving the bridge of the Legions flagship to the ships hangers, he entered his private Lynx. It was at this moment that Enzo received a transmission from a wing of his fighters; they were claiming they were sent into an ambush; the GRN had opened fire from behind and were massacring the Legions forces. Enzo was not sure what to believe, but as all men and women under the Legion flag were considered equal in opportunity, he took his soldiers word as the communication abruptly ended. Leaving his Lynx in the hangar, he returned to the bridge, where reports from almost every fighter wing were coming in. All the same message. The GRN had ambushed and attacked them. Enzo closed his eyes, listening to the screams as men and women were vaporized, or sucked into the vacuum. Then he regained his composure, and ordered an emergency broadcast be sent to any remaining Legionnaires.
“This is lord Marechal Enzo du Sable. It seems the GRN have turned against us. All ships receiving this message, regroup at sector G8, in the Burgundy system. Avoid tradelanes and jumpgates, and be sure to steer clear of known patrol routes. Do not, under any circumstances, share any information with non-Legionnaire forces, and do not regroup with us if you are being followed. If you can’t get here, comrades, I advise you to follow your instinct. Survive by any means necessary.”
Confusion swept through the Legionnaires around Gallia. A retreat had never been issued in the history of the Legion. Fighting to the death was preferable to surviving and fighting another day.
Half an hour later, the Legion forces who had survived the GRN massacre had made it to the rendezvous point. Two cruisers and five gunboats floated near the flagship, the Grande Guillotine. Hundreds of fighters and bombers patrolled in a 5 kilometre perimeter, and scouts patrolled 15k away, ensuring that the Legionnaires would not be caught by surprise.
Standing on the bridge of the Guillotine, Enzo was disappointed by the meager handful of ships around him. His second in command, Brigitte Bardot, had been sent to what was deemed the heart of the insurgency.
Enzo composed himself, then nodded to one of his bridge crew. An encrypted comm. Went to all Legionnaire ships in the area, sending Enzo’s message out to the pitiful remains of a once proud fleet.
"Dark times are upon us, mes amis, it seems the very crown we serve has turned against us, why? I do not know, all I know is we have no choice but to move. Times will get tough, supplies will dwindle, forces may weaken, but we will not give up. As I speak our activity may be traced, keeping a fleet as large as this isn't easily hidden. Regardless, our forces are as we see here weakened; we have no base of operation other than the Guillotine, and only a handful or gunboats and cruisers left. I ask not for loyalty, which has already been shown, I ask however for ruthlessness, the power to fight on through anything you can. We will need supplies; we will need to gather what we can from where we can. I am not proud to have to order this upon you, but, I have no choice. If we are to pull through to our former glory will need to embrace our fall now and prosper from it as best we can."
There was a atmosphere of sheer confusion, tension and after a few minutes of almost complete silence, Enzo said openly: "Are you with me, mes amis?" The response was bigger and better than Enzo could have hoped for, almost as soon as Enzo had finished speaking, a massive roar of applause, the legion's battle cry erupted from every ship's transmissions box, the roar echoed through the Guillotine and hung thick in the heads of all around.
The moment could only be savoured for so long, however, before two royalist cruisers and three gunboats showed up, sending only threats of death to the Legion ships, before attacking.
On another day Enzo might have valued the bravery of those ships crews, but today he ordered the escape pods burned as they flew from the burning hulks that remained of the ships, easily dispatched by the guillotines trebuchets.
Enzo knew that the Legion’s position would have been marked by those ships, and ordered an immediate retreat into the Morvan asteroid field. Scouts flew ahead of the Guillotine, and the gunboats blasted apart the asteroids too large for the Guillotine to push past. It was slow, but inside the asteroid field the navy ships would have difficulty following them.
Enzo’s mind wandered as he tried to think of solutions to his problem. He had no reinforcements. He had no safe place to go. And he had, no doubt, a large navy force bearing down on him.
Enzo knew that certain pirate groups had bases in this field….In fact, he had their locations. Many a scouting party had disappeared before that first one had discovered the base. Since then, scouting parties avoided the base, and with the powerful defense platforms, coupled with the asteroid field, it was believed that taking the base would cost resources that couldn’t be wasted on pirates. But Enzo was desparate. His only chance to survive meant taking that base. Reaching the champagne jumphole wouldn’t help in the slightest – the council didn’t seem likely to help them. And heading to Lorraine would put them at the mercy of the royalists stationed there.
Enzo gave an order for scouts to move towards Montbard, and the rest of the ships to follow them. He wanted to take over this base, and find a shelter for his Legion...
The Legion's fleet approached the base, with the Guillotine leading the formation. It was now or never. They had to strike fast and brutal.
The Legionnaires were fighting harder than they had in years. Their natural instinct for survival had kicked in, that, and the fact that this was no normal mission, made them even more dangerous than they usually were. Despite this, however, they were taking heavy damage. Three of the gunboats and one of the cruisers had fallen, and the Guillotines shields were failing. The Legionnaires fell back temporarily to re-evaluate their enemy, and find a way to better a terrible situation.
The brigand bombers stopped firing on the Guillotine as soon as it and the other Legion ships were out of range of the stations defences. However, one trio of bombers flew out wildly towards the Guillotine, swerving to avoid the fighters attempting to disable them. The first fired a SNAC, then engaged his thrusters. The fool flew right into the projectile, and was turned into a large fireball that quickly extinguished in the vacuum.
The other two pilots fired their SNACs in unison, then strafed to the side and engaged their thrusters. The first SNAC took out what remained of the shields, and the second hit the bridge dead on. A fireball erupted from the broken hull, as the Legionnaire fighters fired as one, hundreds of pinpoints of light boiling away the shields and hull of the bombers in seconds.
The Legionnaire forces floated in space, hundreds of pilots wondering who was to take command. On board the Guillotine, Enzo lay in the corridor outside the bridge, having barely managed to fling himself through the door before it sealed, blocking off the bridge entirely.
A comm. suddenly burst through to every Legionnaire ship in the area. Encrypted, badly, coming from Montbard.
“Your fools of leaders are dead, Legionnaires. You never had a chance to take this base. But I know what’s happened. You defied the Royal Navy, your comrades, and you paid the price. I give you the option to give up your old ways, survive and fight another day. I can assure you freedom and riches. But only if you’re willing to step into a life of crime.”
Confusion swept through the ranks of the Legionnaires. Some of them were former criminals, so this offer didn’t seem entirely insane to them. Those who weren’t realized this might be their only way out. And a good one at that. “To the north, by your nav-map orientation, there is a jumphole to Champagne. If you wish for freedom and life, take it.”
A handful of the Legionnaire fighters instantly began to cruise towards the aforementioned jumphole. Others took a moment to decide, and followed them. The rest of the Legionnaires simply charged, unorganized, towards Montbard, leaving the crippled Guillotine behind them, unable to move or fire her weapons.
The Brigand defence platforms lit up as they fired towards the incoming ships. The remaining cruiser burned, molten metal drifting from her hull then solidifying into cold metal orbs which drifted aimlessly in the vacuum, among the dead and the dying.
While the ships were being massacred, a L’ane undocked from the base and, ignoring the destruction around the base, began cruising towards the Champagne jumphole, flanked by a pair of Cuirassiers.
What happened on Epernay is but a blurry memory. Many of the legionnaires arrived unconscious, having been dragged into an Aurochs class freighter from the Guillotine. Etien, the owner of Montbard, and strong figure within the Brigands, had provided them with quarters on Epernay, as well as new ships, and then set about re-organising them.
These Legionnaires chose crime. However, most of them had fought together for a long time. As such, they kept the name Legion des Damnes, becoming a gang like any other in the Brigands. However, as they integrated more into life as criminals, rank began to mean less to them. They were only useful to each other because they worked well together on raids, and if one controlled the rest, it was because he was stronger and more powerful than the others. A problem wasn’t sorted with a trial, imprisonment or execution. A Legionnaire would simply beat his opponent to the ground.
