The Glacius Consortium

The **Glacius Consortium** was a Criminal Empire that secretly operated on Hoth during and after the Eternal Empire's Conquest of the galaxy. Led by the renegade Sith Lord, Ari'essa Keteris and her Inner Circle, the Consortium sought to control the Outer Rim from their frozen homeworld bolstered by a union of other gangs, Sith Lords and former citizens of the Sith Empire. The Glacius Consortium quickly gained a reputation for being merciless to those who crossed it or hindered their interests.

## History

During the final years of the Galactic War, many within the Sith Empire grew disillusioned with the decisions of the Dark Council, particularly those of Darth Marr. These feelings reached new heights during the Revanite Crisis when the Dark Councilor formed a temporary truce with Jedi Grandmaster Satele Shan to put an end to the threat posed by Revan. On Yavin IV, the Sith Empire and Galactic Republic fought side by side against the fanatic Revanites as their leader moved to resurrect the fallen Sith Emperor, Vitiate.

Acting under direct orders from Darth Marr, Lord of the Sith, Ari'essa Keteris, led the coalition ground forces against the Revanite Forces while members of the Empire's Fury and Coruscant Aegis clashed with the legendary force user atop the Temple of Sacrifice as he prepared to cast his ritual to restore Vitiate. Keteris profusely believed members of the Fury could prevail against Revan without aid from the Jedi and viewed Marr's actions as both weak and treasonous. Ultimately, the Coalition prevailed and Revan was defeated, but the damage had been done and Vitiate was unleashed upon the galaxy once more.

Angered by the actions of her superior, Keteris returned to her ancestral home on the world of Serenno where she silently watched as the consequences of the incident on Yavin IV became evident in the Genocide of Ziost. She remained in seclusion on Serenno until news reached her of Darth Marr's disappearance and she began to rally her powerbase and allies. By the time the Eternal Empire reemerged under Arcann, Keteris had made her move.and fled the Sith Empire to the Outer Rim. Taking up residence in the Spire, an abandoned White Maw fortress, Keteris and the young **Consortium** watched as both the Sith Empire and Galactic Republic bent the knee to the Eternal Empire. They had made the right decision.

### Foundation of an Empire

The newly formed organization wasted no time building its power. Boasting a force of hundreds of Sith and thousands of troopers, the Consortium quickly forced the leaderless White Maw into submission and allowed them to retain stewardship of Hoth while the Inner Circle turned their eyes to the stars. Keteris traveled to Rishi where she met with members of a gang that had a history with the Empire in its prime: The Death's Claw. The Claw had once controlled a large portion of Taris until they were forced off the planet by the Sith Empire. With reason to hate the superpowers of the galaxy, the Death's Claw agreed to join the Consortium excited at the chance to spite their former enemies while simultaneously making a profit and claiming their own territories in the Outer Rim.

The reach of the Consortium expanded greatly, partially due to their forces being bolstered by the power of the allied pirate gangs and partially because the crippled Republic and Empire were unable to retain control of their respective territories in the Outer Rim. As a result the Consortium was able to seize control of a number of worlds including Dorvalla, Malastare, Bortras and Eriadu while gaining a minor presence on both Rishi and Tatooine. From their holdings, the Consortium began to convert percentages of populations into slaves for trade and blackmailed smaller planetary governments into paying for their protection. This move proved lucrative, but risky - the Eternal Empire began to detect the presence of the rogue faction and deployed Star Fortresses to Hoth and Tatooine to watch for traces of the renegade sith and their new allies. With the presence of the Star Fortress above their capital, travel between Hoth and other worlds was greatly limited and eventually only members of the Inner Circle were permitted clearance to come and go as they pleased. For the following five years, operational control of the Consortium was shifted to Eriadu, a planet that conveniently had remained obsolete enough to not require a Star Fortress in the eyes of the Eternal Empire.

Operations remained fairly consistent through the reign of the Eternal Empire with the Consortium acting as a source of stability, being seen as the lesser of two evils, during such a time of strife. The slave trade was accepted as the new paradigm while the planets under Consortium control experienced a sharp decline in criminal activity. The organization's numbers slowly climbed as more and more people sought to escape the tyrannical rule of the Eternal Throne and joined the Consortium's cause.

In 3632 BBY, change occured as the Outlander, a Jedi Knight of Legend escaped from Zakuul and, after a deadly battle with Emperor Arcann, assumed control of an Alliance determined to overthrow the crazed monarch. Under the lead of former SIS agent Theron Shan, the Outlander's forces eliminated the Star Fortresses around the galaxy enabling the citizens of the guarded planets to stand up and fight. With the Eternal Empire's presence eliminated on Hoth and Tatooine, the Consortium's power surged as it was able to finally emerge from the shadows and tighten its grip on its holdings.

Unchecked, the Consortium reigned supreme in the Outer Rim while the rest of the galaxy waged war against the Eternal Empire. Members thrived under the regime while populations lived in fear of the wrath of Hoth. For two years, Glacius enjoyed wealth and power while their planets prospered. So long as they remained loyal and paid their dues, the citizens of the controlled worlds lived comfortably and peacefully. For those opposed to the rule of yet another tyrant and those unable to give when the Consortium came to take, life was far more difficult, but quashed rebellions had proved the futility of trying to fight the status quo.

Eventually, the Eternal Empire fell at the hands of the Outlander and was reformed into the Eternal Alliance. The Alliance with the power of the Eternal Fleet deployed forces around the galaxy as a goodwill effort to fix the damage created during the rule of the Eternal Empire. Eventually, a band of slaves from Arkanis, one of the Consortium's most remote worlds, staged a daring escape and managed to flee to the Eternal Alliance seeking liberation from the Consortium. Responding swiftly, the Eternal Fleet quickly wiped out the small Consortium fleet positioned over the world and began landing its forces.Planet-side, Consortium Inner Circle member, Hro Therig mobilized his armies to repel the threat. The Alliance forces, led by Senya Tirall, after a campaign lasting less than a week, overwhelmed the Consortium armies and following the death of Therig at the hands of the former commander of the Knights of Zakuul, the world was liberated.

The Eternal Alliance's campaign to liberate the Outer Rim continued until Zildrog was secretly awakened on Nathema resulting in the destruction of both the Eternal Fleet and the Alliance Commander's flagship: the Gravestone. Though relieved at the elimination of the Alliance's power, the damage had been done and the Consortium had lost the outlying portion of their Empire. Still, with the retention of their initial holdings, they endured, prepared for the inevitable resurgence of the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic.

## Long Live the Republic

With the Sith Empire returning to its backstabbing, distrustful nature under newly-crowned Emperor Vowrawn, the Republic forces led by Supreme Commander Jace Malcolm were able to sweep through the Outer Rim territories to liberate a large number of planets that had been seized by third party factions during the reign of Zakuul, including several holdings of the Consortium.

Dismayed at the news of defeat after defeat, the Frost Queen ordered her remaining forces to abandon their final holdings and return to Hoth. After regrouping, Keteris deployed Slave Catchers to more populated worlds in the Sith Empire, Republic, Eternal Alliance and Hutt Cartel territories to both collect intel from behind enemy lines and establish new contacts for their illicit activities in each planet's respective underworld. Each team proceeded with the understanding that they had to cooperate with others and cause as little controversy as possible so as to avoid detection and subsequent targeting by any of the major factions.

From the Spire, Keteris viewed the monitors detailing her trade agreements with each planet's underworld with a grimace. Several of the numbers were in the red, their previous good fortune had eroded into a number of bad investments with only a few operations actually successfully bringing in profit. Keteris had already begun to hear the disgruntled thoughts and opinions of her subordinates as they moved around the Spire's halls and felt her control of her once-undefeated faction slipping day-by-day.

## The Inner Circle

The Inner Circle was the ruling body of the Glacius Consortium. The seat of the the Circle was the Death Spire, a massive structure in the heart of the Glacial Fissure. The ruling body consisted of close allies and friends of the Consortium leader, Ari'essa Keteris. Many members of the Inner Circle were in command of their own power bases or factions that they had brought into the Consortium.

Members:

* Ari'essa Keteris (head)
* Hro Therig (formerly; deceased)
	+ former Lord of the Icefall Plains
* Kronsteen Sionis
	+ Lord of the Clabburn Tundra
	+ Keeper of Sith Tradition and Training
* Nextor Sozen
	+ Lord of the Whiterock Wastes
	+ Commander of Protections and Collections
* Cori Phex
	+ Lord of the Icefall Plains
	+ Commander of Slave Operations
* Ellia Fortamon
	+ Lady of Highmount Ridge
	+ Liaison to the Gangs/Underworld Contacts