Dark Moon Mercenaries

The **Dark Moon Mercenaries**, known simply as the **Dark Moons**, are an antagonistic faction in the Leviathan Lore. They hardly ever play a major role in the events of Leviathan as a whole and mainly serve as a nuisance for most other factions, such as Leviathan.

## Overview

The Dark Moon Mercenaries are government funded operatives armed with military issued weaponry such as the HK416 and M4 Carbine. Every member of the Dark Moon Mercenaries wear, depending on the combat environment, a gray long sleeved shirt in urban environments, woodland camouflage in grassy environments, desert camouflage in desert environments, and snow camouflage when they operate in Nix, alongside a Prometheus Elite chest rig.

## History

### Founding of the Dark Moon Mercenaries

The Dark Moon Mercenaries were founded by a group of government officials as a highly classified mercenary group to rid Broken Arrow of anomalous creatures and other creatures that pose a threat to Broken Arrow's safety. Zack Williams was appointed to be the leader of the mercenary group, which he named the Dark Moon Mercenaries. He also meets with SAS veteran Vincent Webley who becomes his right hand man, aiding him in almost all of his operations.

### First mission

The first mission the Dark Moon Mercenaries went on was to exterminate an Akaro presence in Darkhaven, whom were responsible for various killings. They succeeded in doing so, but one man in Zack's group was killed by the Akaros. The remainder of the Akaros surrendered to the Dark Moon Mercenaries, though this ended up being a ruse to ambush them, with only Zack, Vincent, and 5 other men escaping the situation alive, and managed to kill off the remaining Akaros.

### Ambush in Navid

The Dark Moon Mercenaries were later sent to Navid, a radiation infested area in Darkhaven to kill off all of the entities there. However, while they were initially successful for the most part, they found out too late that LSF were also operating in this area and were ambushed by the latter, forcing them into conflict. Vincent nearly succumbed to radiation sickness when his suit was punctured during the fighting, but Zack quickly patched up his suit before any radiation could enter his body. The fighting only stopped when the government itself ordered LSF to surrender.

### The secret laboratory

The Dark Moon Mercenaries were first made aware of the underground lab when Task Force Zeta attempted to infiltrate the lab in order to secure a high value target. When the Dark Moon Mercenaries arrived, they successfully dealt with the threat with Task Force Zeta being forced to withdraw due to heavy casualties. This battle would spark a rivalry between Task Force Zeta and Zack, namely Xandros Arklov himself.

### Task Force Zeta's revenge

Xandros authorized a full on assault on the Dark Moon Mercenaries' outpost and took the lives of all those stationed there except for Zack and Vincent, who managed to fend off the attackers until the LSF arrived to mediate the situation.

### Abli and attempted capture

The Dark Moon Mercenaries took interest in Evelynn Reynolds's adoptive son, Abli Alafouzos after Vincent watched him fighting a group of Task Force Zeta operatives using nothing but a sword. Vincent reported the spectacle to Zack, who found Abli to be a perfect candidate for a classified super soldier program. As such, a team of Dark Moon Mercenaries were dispatched to Abli's last known location in an attempt to capture him. However, Luna and Evelynn were found there and killed off the entire team. Zack and Vincent themselves arrived to the area and wounded Evelynn, with Zack engaging Luna in close quarters, injuring Luna. During the fighting, Abli fled the area, forcing Vincent to chase after him before he could finish Evelynn off. Vincent disarms Abli of his sword and grabs him while Evelynn watches helplessly. Luna eventually escapes from Zack's grasp and attempts to kill Vincent but Vincent shoots his legs, disabling him and causing him to collapse onto the floor clutching his wound. Abli is then taken to a Dark Moon marked van and Zack and Vincent drive off, leaving Luna and Evelynn for dead.

### Abli's escape

Zack straps Abli to a chair and knocks him out. When Abli regains consciousness, he finds himself wearing a prototype Dark Moon super soldier suit and in a training area. Confused and not remembering what happened, Abli explores the area, and realizes quickly that his sword is nowhere to be found. Eventually, a Dark Moon officer arrives and hands Abli a different sword and orders him to attack the practice targets. He, however, ignores the officer's command and instead attempts to kill him, but is easily overpowered and disarmed of the sword. The officer then tells Zack what happened, who orders him to not let Abli have access to any weapons. The officer returns and knocks Abli out and takes him to a sealed chamber where he is locked there for the next few weeks, isolated from other people.

Evelynn, worried about her missing son, searches all of Broken Arrow for him but comes up empty handed. Luna assures that Abli is alive though Evelynn refuses to believe him and wants to see him alive herself. At some point, Vincent appears at Luna's doorstep and tells him that they are holding Abli for "safe experimentation" and to not interfere or he will be killed. Angered, Luna attacks Vincent and they engage in a fight, with Luna getting the upper hand before Vincent injects an anesthetic into Luna, causing him to lose consciousness. Vincent drags Luna out into a local slum and leaves him there while Vincent returns to the base. Eventually, Abli is let out of the chamber and is brainwashed to serve as the Dark Moon Mercenaries' most powerful weapon yet. However, little do they know, Abli is not fully affected by the brainwashing and still retains some of his memories. Abli is sent on multiple assassination missions which all succeeded until he was ordered to terminate his own mother, Evelynn, which he refused to do. As punishment for his disloyalty, Zack and his team engage Abli and fatally wound him and leave him for dead. Evelynn quickly finds Abli wounded and takes him back to her house to help him.

### Wolf killings

Angered by his previous failure, Zack decides that the only solution is to kill off all of Luna's kind in order to emotionally destroy him until he eventually surrenders. Vincent suggested to go to Princeton first since that area is populated mostly by humanoid wolves. Zack and his team arrive and proceed to target all of the wolf population, shooting and killing them all mercilessly. Jackson City police officers and a SWAT team are dispatched to deal with the Dark Moons and force them to surrender. However, Zack quickly throws out a remote explosive and kills almost all of the police officers who were caught in the explosion, while the others flee and continue killing wolves. However, one of the soldiers is ambushed by one of the wolves and killed, prompting the others to execute it. Vincent reveals that they killed 97% of the wolf population there and he will let Luna know the news.

## Alliances and Enemies

### Iron Clad Mercenaries

The Iron Clad Mercenaries hold a strong alliance as they share mostly the same goals. Franko further supplies the Dark Moon Mercenaries with enhanced gear, weaponry, technology, and armor, while Zack gives him access to classified government technologies, something that is forbidden by his employers. He and Zaria reportedly share a friendly relationship, though it is mostly professional, as Zaria already has someone, though Zack is still flirtatious toward her, though she doesn't reciprocate this. Edgar and Zack are also close friends and frequently work together while leading both of their forces in joint operations. Although he has friendly relationship with the others, Zack heavily despises Hunter, as his brother works for the LSF, and questions why Hunter chose to work for the Iron Clad Mercenaries instead, though Hunter is often brash toward Zack and feels as though he is an outsider.

### Task Force Zeta

The Dark Moon Mercenaries and Task Force Zeta are bitter enemies due to them interfering with Task Force Zeta's operations on multiple occasions, such as when the Dark Moon Mercenaries attacked Task Force Zeta while they were raiding the government's secret lab for an HVT. Xandros hates Zack with all his heart and frequently overpowers him in battles and causes his forces to retreat. Task Force Zeta was also responsible for attacking one of the Dark Moon Mercenaries' outposts and leaving many stationed there dead except for Zack and Vincent. Despite being in bitter relations, Xandros still feels somewhat responsible for Zack as he is no different than himself.

### Leviathan Special Forces

The relationship between the Dark Moon Mercenaries and the Leviathan Special Forces is a love-hate kind. Although they oppose the Dark Moon Mercenaries' actions, including Luna himself, the LSF still assist the Dark Moon Mercenaries sometimes, especially when their under attack by Task Force Zeta. Their relations were strained after Zack and his team massacred a huge amount of wolf creatures in Princeton, and sparked a personal hatred of Zack by Luna. Although Luna hates Zack, he still sees Zack as a potential ally and could possibly form an armistice in the near future.