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PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS    - General     The Kess are bipedal humanoids, ranging in height from 2m to 2.6m. Weight ranges from an average of 80kg for the majority of the species to an average of 140kg for members of the warrior caste. Females are distinguished from males by a slightly smaller build and a dorsal crest of fine, soft hair that extends back from just above the eyes to the middle of the back.    Skin color is reddish, starting as a bright scarlet at birth and darkening to crimson at maturity. Senior members of the species have a skin coloration of deep crimson or burgundy. Eyes are a solid yellow, with no discernable iris or pupil. Coloration changes with age, darkening from a bright canary yellow at birth to dark amber among seniors.    Although the Kess have heads similar in shape to humans, they lack many of the facial features humans are familiar with. Eyes are almond-shaped and recessed under a pronounced brow ridge and the Kess have neither nose, mouth, nor ears. They breathe through gill-like slits on either side of the neck and communicate telepathically. They "listen" by detecting vibrations through a pair of structures above and behind the gill-slits that resemble small clusters of short tentacles.    The Kess torso is humanoid and slightly elongated to accommodate a second pair of arms. These secondary arms are smaller and more slender than the upper primary arms and are designed for delicate tasks. The lower body and feet are similar to that of humans - bipedal and jointed at hip, mid-leg (knee), and ankle. (With the exception of the warrior caste, the Kess do not wear any sort of footwear.)    - Secular Kess    The majority of the Kess race falls into this category. Physically, they conform to the general norms, though at the mid to lower end of the spectrum. Clothing generally consists of knee length robes of varying cuts and color. Most individuals wear bands on the right-side primary arm which denote their trade specialty or occupation. Members of the government belong to this group.    - Religious Caste    Although they are members of the ruling elite, the religious caste are physically similar to the secular majority. In order to distinguish themselves from the masses, the Kess priests wear distinctive clothing. The dark blue clerical cassock is floor length, with full sleeves and hood. The wearer's rank is denoted by a pattern band stitched onto the cuff of the sleeve and onto the edge of the hood with silver thread. The wider the band and the more intricate the pattern, the higher the rank. Over this is worn a cream-colored robe, also floor length but sleeveless and without a hood. Badges denoting government and church office are worn on this robe, with government badges on the left and Church badges on the right. The badge of Huotha (three inter-linked circles) is always worn on the right and above all other badges.    Finally, members of the Church are marked with tattoos. These tattoos begin in the center of the brow just above the eyes and radiate outwards, with greater coverage indicating higher rank.    - Warrior Caste    Warriors are physically the largest and strongest members of the race. No member of the caste is shorter than 2.3m nor weighs less than 130kg. Warriors possess a heavily muscled physique, with broad shoulders and chest that tapers slightly below the secondary pectorals. Thick, powerful legs support the additional weight and the elongated torso. Among warriors there is a noticeable differentiation between the two sets of arms. The upper pair is heavily muscled consistent with the rest of the body. The hands are large and blunt, with two thick fingers and an opposable thumb. Both fingers feature a talon that can be retracted or extended at will.    By comparison, the lower arms appear atrophied. These arms are slender, with a wiry musculature different from the massive bulk of the upper arms. The hands have four slender fingers and an opposable thumb, and do not have the talons of the upper hands.    Warriors also possess natural armor that consists of a segmented chitinous exo-skeleton that covers the torso and extremities. The head is protected by a heavy bone structure that extends from the back of the skull forward to a heavy brow ridge that protects the eyes. The head is also marked by tattoos, with the Chapter pattern imprinted on the right side of the head and the individual's rank marked on the left side.    When not in a combat zone, members of the warrior caste do not wear clothing. Instead, they wear a gold-colored sash wrapped around the waist. Chapter insignia and rank badges are displayed on the tail ends of the sash, while decorations and commendations are worn on the main body of the sash.    Although blessed with natural weapons and armor, the Kess hold no illusions about their effectiveness on a modern battlefield. Consequently, when they go into battle, Kess warriors wear advanced power armor and carry modern energy and projectile weapons as well as more traditional melee weapons.    RACIAL BACKGROUND    Kess historical records pre-dating the founding of the Church are extremely scarce, leaving much of the species' early history in shadows. Some idea of that past, however, can be gleaned from the religious mythos that surrounds the cult of Huotha. Following are excerpts from a translation of the Huotha legends:    "...This then was the time of the Celestial Kingdom, an age of prosperity and progress. But as it always has and always will, the Cycle of Dominion continued to turn, and the Kingdom passed from Sun into Twilight. With the Twilight came the Shadows, growing like blights upon the fertile lands of the Kingdom, heralds of the coming Night. As the Twilight deepened, the Shadows lengthened, draining the color and vitality from the land. Nothing could grow where the Shadows festered, and none would grow near them. Finally, the Shadows opened and the Dark Angels came forth, followed by their creatures of nightmare."    (The next few sections chronicle the depredations of the Dark Angels and the struggle of the Kess against the invaders. The legend states that eventually the Kess were forced into a handful of strongholds, where they were besieged by the legions of the Dark Angels. It was at this time that Huotha the Messiah appeared.)    "The Cycle had reached the time of darkest Night, and despair spread like a plague through the People. Our armies fell like grain before the scythe, our greatest heroes struck down like saplings before a raging storm. The knowledge of our defeat and the certainty of extermination were the source of our plague, and it seemed that there would be no cure. Then word came of a messiah. It was told that he had walked the Path and emerged from the Kingdom of the Dead, that when he passed through the Ancestor's Gate the Angels' thralls fell upon him. Many of our heroes had fallen in this manner, buried underneath a sea of nightmare forms. But this one survived.    When the People heard of the messiah, hope was born, hope that this was our salvation. But as days passed, and our numbers grew fewer, and still the Messiah did not come, hope faded and despair once again burdened our souls. Then one day, a stranger came into our midst. He called himself Huotha and said that he had been sent to guide us to victory. Many of us welcomed Huotha, but there were those who did not trust him, who believed that he was an agent of the Night sent to weaken us from within. When they voiced their suspicions, Huotha only smiled and bade them to be wary, that if he should expose himself as an agent of the Night, they should strike him down with all haste, lest the People perish from such treachery. Though we did not know it at the time, the Night was fading and the Cycle was approaching the Dawn.    (The next passage describes the tests of loyalty that Huotha underwent before finally being accepted. Soon after, he takes a dozen Kess warriors and goes into seclusion. Oddly, despite the vulnerability of the stronghold at this time, the Dark Angels do not attack. When Huotha emerges from seclusion, the Kess stage a limited offensive that breaks the siege. It is the first victory for the Kess, and the beginning of a campaign that eventually destroys the Dark Angels and their nightmare thralls. After the end of the war, Huotha begins to spread his teachings to the surviving Kess. These are the beginnings of the current Church.)    "The long Night had passed, and the People had emerged to see a new Sun. Huotha went among the People teaching them the precepts of the Three Circles. Prosperity, he said, demands strength in three aspects; the Mind, the Body, and the Spirit. The People had been strong only in Body, and were therefore vulnerable to the Dark Angels.    From the People he selected fifty to be the first Brethren of the Three Circles. They would pass on Huotha's teachings; from our warriors he chose another fifty. These he called the Shining Ones, and they were to be the strength of the People, trained to protect them for any threat.    When these tasks had been completed, Huotha returned to the Ancestor's Gate. He was no longer needed, he said, so he would once again walk the Path and return to the Kingdom of the Dead. But before he departed, he charged the People with a great task; to carry his teachings to the stars and to teach the precepts of the Three Circles to all they encountered. Huotha also chose one of the Brethren to lead the People in this great task, placing him above all others. He was named Sunai."    Sunai was the first High Preceptor, as the leaders of the Church came to be called. Under Sunai and the next two High Preceptors, the Kess rebuilt their civilization and reclaimed their ability to travel to the stars. It was during this time that the Church of Kess became the dominant religious cult on the Kess homeworld, due in large measure to the legend of Huotha. Oddly, the Church continued to tolerate the existence of other religious sects, making no apparent effort to suppress or restrict them.    Under the fourth High Preceptor, Sunai II, Church doctrine began to take on a more radical and militant tone. Sunai believed that the teachings of Huotha were the only path to salvation and prosperity. Those who refused to accept those teachings could undermine the faith of Church followers and were therefore a threat to the well-being of the Dominion. Under his leadership, the Church carried out a campaign of oppression against the Dominion's religious minorities, using the Shining Ones as their primary instrument of terror.    The Dominion's secular leaders were appalled by the Church's actions. Shemin kel-Darro, Senior Executive of the Circle Elders, and the other members of the ruling executive were all believers of the Precepts, but felt the Church's role in society should be limited. When kel-Darro and the other Elders moved to restrain the Church, however, it discovered that it was powerless. The Shining Ones, supposedly the defenders of the Kess people, had become the Church's sword and cudgel, answerable only to the High Preceptor. With no means of enforcing its will, the government was forced to sit and watch as the Church carried out its bloody purge.    The situation was further complicated by the return of a Kess expeditionary fleet reporting contact with a new alien species. The government attempted to contain the information, but word eventually reached the High Preceptor. Sunai immediately sent an emissary demanding that the Dominion fund a religious mission to the new alien race. When Kellin and the other Elders demurred, the High Preceptor played his trump card, an obscure document that described Huotha's final instructions; to spread the Precepts of the Three Circles to the stars, referred to as Huotha's Legacy.    Whatever options the government had were cut off when the High Preceptor publicly announced the findings of the expeditionary fleet and presented Huotha's Legacy to the Kess people. A week later, the agency responsible for deep space exploration announced the formation of the first Temple Mission, to be named Sunai II-1 in honor of the High Preceptor. That evening, First Councillor Shemin kel-Darro took his own life.    The creation of the Temple Missions began a new, bloody chapter in Kess history. It was during this period that the Shining Ones underwent a massive expansion and were renamed the Sacred Order of Celestial Knights. Under Sunai's leadership, the Missions became an instrument of conquest as the Kess exported the Precepts of the Three Circles, presented in a gloved hand of secular diplomacy but with the mailed fist of the Order ready to persuade the reluctant. Succeeding High Preceptors followed his lead, spawning five crusades that engulfed nearly two dozen sentient races.    Church dominance ended with the selection of Hiloh kel-Jek as First Councillor. Kel-Jek was a long-standing member of the Church, and his life was a model for those who believed in the Precepts. He was also, however, an independent-minded leader who believed that while the Church was crucial to the spiritual strength of the Kess people, it had no place in politics. Protected by his spotless reputation, kel-Jek stood firm against the excesses of the Church. He reined in the power-mad clerics, primarily by reasserting the government's control over the Starfleet which took away both the Church's ability to travel to the stars and the Order's technical support.    In doing so, however, he also earned the eternal enmity of the Church. Faced with a threat to their bid for control of Kess society, the Church began to attempt to undermine the resurgent secular government. The first arena of contest would be the Dominion's Starfleet.    THE DOMINION    - Government    The Kess Dominion's power structure is tripartite, a reflection of the religious philosophy that guides the race. The three major groups are the secular government, the Church of Huotha, and the Sacred Order of Celestial Knights.    The secular government is composed of two distinct groups; the policymaking elite and the bureaucracy. The bureaucracy is by far the larger of the two groups, composed of the over two dozen ministries and agencies that carry out the decisions and policies of the three Circle Councils. The bureaucracy is the backbone of the Dominion government, and is a key intellectual pool from which new Councillors are drawn.    The policymakers are collectively known as Councillors, with the senior member holding the title of First Councillor. Under the First Councillor are the three Senior Councillors, who are the leaders of the three Circle Councils. These three groups are the decision and policymaking bodies of the Dominion, with each Circle Council (or Circle for short), tasked with a specific area of responsibility.    The First Circle is responsible for the health and education of the Dominion's citizens, the Second Circle for the economic prosperity of the Dominion, and the Third Circle for the Dominion's military strength and external policies.    Originally, Councillors were drawn from the Dominion's academic community and from the bureaucracy, providing a functional mix of intellectual idealism with political realism. Members were selected on the basis of having demonstrated a long term commitment to the overall welfare of the Dominion regardless of personal preference or interest. Junior Councillors were assigned to the First Circle and could advance to the higher Circles when they demonstrated the capability. The overall result was far from ideal, but was generally effective. Recently, however, members of the Church and the Order had managed to attain positions on the Circle Councils in an attempt to exert direct influence on the secular government.    - Military    The Kess military is divided into two branches; the Dominion Starfleet, and the Sacred Order of Celestial Knights. Each plays a vital role in the defense of the Dominion, and much to their mutual discomfort, each is dependent on the other.    The Dominion Starfleet is generally referred to as the secular military and is subordinate to the First Councillor and the Kess government. Since intellect is more important that physical prowess, starship crews are uniformly composed of secular Kess only. This is not to say that members of the warrior caste are intellectually incapable of performing the duties of Starfleet personnel, but simply that they are not technically prepared for those duties.    The Starfleet is commanded by the Arch-Strategos, who also serves as the chief military advisor to the First Councillor and the members of the Third Circle. The Arch-Strategos is assisted by the General Staff of the Admiralty and the commanders of the six major fleets. Each fleet has a homeport in a specific star system where a third of the fleet can be found at any given time undergoing refit and conduct-ing training. The central command of the fleet, however, is located in a mobile headquarters similar to a Chapter Mission Temple. From this orbital structure, the fleet commander directs the operations of the fleet's assets.    The fleet itself is divided into three elements, each consisting of thirty four combat vessels and their attendant transports and support ships. An element will always contain four Battle Lords, one of which is the element flagship. Of the remaining ten squadrons, two are capital squadrons, five are line squadrons, and the remaining three are picket squadrons. Two of these elements are always deployed on the frontier, defending the Dominion's borders.    - Missions    Temple Missions were introduced by the High Preceptor Sunai II as a means of introducing the Precepts of the Three Circles to other races. It was, in short, a form of ideological imperialism backed by the iron fist of the Sacred Order of Celestial Knights. But while it was the High Preceptor who conceived the Missions, it was his chief rival, the First Councillor, who gave them their form.    The Missions were composed of the three elements; a secular diplomatic group, a cadre of Church missionaries, and a military contingent to defend the Mission. Although the secular Ambassador was the nominal head of the Mission, with the Temple Preceptor, the Starfleet commander, and the Chapter Warmaster his subordinates, it was standard behavior for the Preceptor and Chapter Warmaster to try to undermine the Ambassador or subvert the Starfleet crews. The results of these power struggles were often unpredictable, depending largely on the strength of will of the players, and most of all, pure luck. Consequently, each Mission took on a distinct personality, depending on which faction was able to maintain the upper hand.    The diplomatic arm of the Mission was led by the government-appointed Ambassador, supported by his assistant and diplomatic staff, with total personnel numbering about fifty. The Church cadre, led by the Temple Preceptor, was roughly the same size.    The military component of the Mission consisted of over sixty starships, including three Chapter Stations capable of physically linking together to form a Mission Temple, providing a deep space and orbital combat capability. Ground combat capability was supplied by a full Chapter of Knights of the Sacred Order.    The naval component centered around the three huge Chapter Stations. Like all of the Mission's starships, they were crewed by secular naval personnel, but each was regarded as the domain of one of the major factions, with one serving as the headquarters of the diplomatic corps, one for the Church cadre, and one for the Chapter Knights. In addition to the Chapter Stations, each Chapter fleet possessed from 40 to 50 combat ships and the necessary transports to move them. The majority of the combat ships would be of the heavy line class, serving as both an instrument of intimidation as well as a weapon in combat. Scout vessels would comprise a smaller percentage than might be expected in an expeditionary fleet, but since most Missions are very isolated from the Dominion, it was generally felt that firepower was a more pressing concern for the survival of the Mission.    The Mission's Chapter consisted of one hundred and fifty Knights, all highly trained and well equipped with the most modern weapons the Kess could supply. The Chapter was organized into three companies, each capable of independent operations. These companies consisted largely of Foot Knights (heavy infantry), but also contained organic specialist units such as Scouts (light infantry) and Sky Knights (airmobile infantry). Although highly capable warriors, the Chapter Knights lacked several crucial elements, for which they were dependant upon the navy. These included combat engineers, technical support personnel, and most importantly, orbital artillery support.    -The Sacred Order of Celestial Knights    Although technically an independent organization, the Sacred Order of Celestial Knights is generally viewed as the fighting arm of the Church of Huotha. The Order's member-ship is known for their loyalty to the Church and for their extraordinary individual fighting skills. The Order is technolog-ically advanced, on par with the Starfleet, but their arsenal is limited to weapons associated with planet surface warfare.    The Order itself is composed of numerous individual Chapters, most of which were formed when the Temple Missions began. The sole exception is the Shining Legion, which is the direct descendant of the Shining Ones, Huotha's first disciples.    Each Chapter is led by its own Warmaster, who serves as military advisor to the Mission's Temple Preceptor. He is assisted and advised by his personal staff as well as his three company commanders.    At the heart of each Chapter is its fortress-monastery. In older Chapters, this base is usually a heavily fortified install-ation on the planet surface. In a newer Chapter, where the subjugation and assimilation of a planet is not yet complete, the Chapter's home is usually the Mission Temple, which consists of the Mission's three Chapter Stations linked together.    When a Chapter is assigned to the protection of the Mission, it is given its own name and insignia, providing it with an identity distinct from the Shining Legion and other Chapters. As time goes on, this identity will grow and mature, manifesting itself in traditions, rituals, and symbols unique to the Chapter. Often, the Chapter's identity will reflect the character of the Mission itself. This diversity makes the Mission Chapters the most colorful and diverse organizations in the Dominion and five examples are featured here.    - The Purifiers -    Insignia: Flame in a black circular background    Warmaster: Vennik kel-Othka    The Purifiers are among the oldest Chapters in the Order, assigned to the the Sunai II-5 Mission, and are regarded as one of the most zealous and ruthless Chapters ever to travel the stars.    Sunai II-5's initial contact was with a alien race calling itself the J'Dak-mal, a relatively low-tech civilization, but xenophobic and very hostile. Initial contact proved fatal, resulting in the death of the Ambassador and most of the diplomatic contingent in a J'Dak-mal ambush. The Preceptor determined that sending priests down into such an environment was suicidal and ordered the Mission fleet to execute an orbital bombardment to intimidate the aliens. When the fleet commander refused, Preceptor Folqir ordered Warmaster kel-Othka to subjugate the J'Dak-mal.    Kel-Othka set to the task with a will, and after three bloody months, the Chapter had secured one of the main cities. Soon after the Mission enclave was established, however, the J'Dak-mal launched a large-scale assault that was barely repulsed by two companies of the Chapter. Angered by the attack, Folqir again demanded an orbital bombardment and was again refused. This time, however, the refusal cost the fleet commander his life, killed by the Chapter's Knights. The next fleet commander proved to be much more reasonable.    With the fleet under his control, Preceptor Folqir bombed the J'Dak-mal into submission and enforced the surrender with the Purifiers. Since then, the Mission Temple and the Purifiers have ruled the J'Dak-mal with an iron hand. Over the years, the Chapter has grown substantially and now numbers over six companies as well as possessing its own starships. Constant skirmishes with J'Dak-mal rebels have maintained the Chapter's fighting edge, though critics claim the prolonged police action has turned the Chapter into a bunch of thugs as opposed to a true fighting unit. In any event, the Purifiers have become one of the Church's favorite tools for dealing with its enemies.    - The Black Moon Chapter -    Insignia: Black crescent moon on a gold circle    Warmaster: Kivo kel-Nohn    Technically, the Black Moon no longer exists as its name has been stricken from the Order's archives. The very name is a source of shame for the Order, and it is strictly forbidden for any Knight of the Order to speak the name.    The Black Moon Chapter was assigned to the Deggin I-5 Mission which was led by Ambassador Hufan kel-Vambro, a veteran of the Kess bureaucracy. Kel-Vambro was considered a peerless political infighter and was handpicked by First Councillor kel-Goran to counter Temple Preceptor Junin, a particularly headstrong and zealous priest. Before the Mission had even left orbit, kel-Vambro had already made his opening moves, pre-empting any attempt by Junin to subvert the Starfleet crews by undermining the Chapter Warmaster's faith and confidence in the priest.    When the Mission made contact with a race called the Hadow, kel-Vambro launched the second phase of his plan. Using misinformation, innuendo, and a series of incidents staged by his own agents, the Ambassador goaded the hot tempered Preceptor into a series of increasingly violent and seemingly irrational responses against the peaceful Hadow. The final stroke came when kel-Vambro manipulated Junin into ordering the Chapter to wage a genocidal war against the Hadow. As a result of kel-Vambro's careful preparation, Warmaster kel-Nohn believed that Junin had gone insane and sided with the Ambassador. Soon afterwards, Junin was assassinated and kel-Vambro had undisputed control of the Mission.    Unfortunately, word reached the Dominion regarding these events, and it was decided by the High Preceptor and his aides that the Chapter must be punished. The Shining Legion, the Purifiers, and two other Chapters were assigned the task of eradicating the Black Moon and the entire Deggin I-5 Mission. In the end, however, they were thwarted by First Councillor kel-Goran, who refused to release any Starfleet ships for the expedition, claiming that no squadrons could be spared from the defense of the Dominion.    The Starfleet's refusal to participate in the action further deepened the rift between the Church and the government, but the Church was prepared to wait. As preparations began for two new Missions, the High Preceptor made plans to divert the Missions for the purpose of destroying the Black Moon. These plans, however, never reached fruition, for before the Missions were launched, Hre'Daak ships appeared on the Dominion's frontiers.    - The Prophets of Huotha -    Insignia: Three interlinked green circles in a white triangle    Warmaster: Bremon kel-Olpik    The Prophets are one of the more moderate Chapters in the Order, earning them the nickname "The Choirboys" from more militant brethren such as the Purifiers.    The Chapter was attached to the Koshgari I-2 Mission, which had as its Temple Preceptor a young cleric named Orthri. The Preceptor was known as a zealous fundamentalist in the same tradition as Sunai II, which did not bode well for Warmaster kel-Olpik. Although he paid lip service to the Church's doctrine, kel-Olpik was at heart a moderate who did not believe in the Church's coercive methods, and he dreaded the inevitable clash with Orthri.    After the Mission had left the boundaries of the Dominion, kel-Olpik was invited aboard the Preceptor's Chapter Station for dinner. During the meal, the Warmaster was stunned when Orthri revealed his philosophy of moderation and made clear that he would not tolerate any excesses on the part of the Chapter's Knights. Apparently, both kel-Olpik and Orthri put up such convincing facades, they had both earned reputations that did not match their true ideals. When this became clear, cleric and warrior developed a strong bond.    That bond was put to the test when Koshgari I-2 made contact with the Oge, a peaceful, highly advanced society on par with the Dominion. Like the Kess, the Oge had a deeply rooted religious philosophy, and when Preceptor Orthri's priests attempted to promote the Precepts of the Three Circles, they were politely but firmly rebuffed. Repeated attempts proved futile, and at several points either Orthri or kel-Olpik became so frustrated with the Oge that he considered using brute force and had to be dissuaded by the other. In the end, both Preceptor and Warmaster reached the conclusion that regular methods were ineffective and set about trying to find an alternative.    This did not sit well with the more militant elements in the Temple and the Chapter, who proceeded to contact Kess Prime and inform the Church of Orthri and kel-Olpik's unorthodox methods. The informers were eventually uncovered and put to death, but the Mission's leaders were certain that investigators would be sent from Kess Prime or perhaps from a nearby Mission. The Koshgari I-2 Mission had some time, not much, but perhaps enough to salvage the situation.    The Mission's leadership contacted the Oge leaders and concocted an elaborate ruse. When a squadron from the Rising Sun Chapter arrived to investigate the claims, they found a Mission well on its way to converting the native population. In fact, the Oge had not been converted, but the Preceptor and Warmaster had convinced the Oge of the consequences should Kess ships arrive from outside and find the Oge refusing to embrace the Precepts.    In the end, the ruse fooled the Rising Sun squadron, which departed without incident. As a side effect, the charade also gained the Mission a toehold, because having been exposed to some elements of the Three Circles, some individuals began to express interest and curiosity in the Kess religion. So by trying to save both the Mission and the Oge people, the leaders of Koshgari I-2 inadvertently managed to succeed in their mission. Eventually, the truth reached the Church on Kess Prime, but by that time the Oge had been largely converted, allowing Orthri and kel-Olpik to present them with a fait accompli. Furthermore, the Preceptor and Warmaster claimed with straight faces that the result had been planned all along, a deliberate strategy of subtlety instead of brute force. Nobody believed this for a moment, but at the same time there was no evidence to contradict it, so the story stood. By accepting it as the truth, however, the Chapter was branded as "soft," and not up to the standards of the "true fighting Chapters" of the Order.    - The Sword of Light -    Insignia: A sword with a blade of fire    Warmaster: Chamon kel-Yesar    This Chapter can best be described as the polar opposite of the Black Moon. Although the Chapter is no longer active, its name is kept on the Order's lists and its name is spoken with respect and reverence.    The Sword of Light was assigned to the Honsho II-3 Mission, which eventually made contact with the Kilastrans, a species that had achieved space travel but which was still technologically inferior to the Kess. Initial contact was successful and peaceful, and the Mission was able to establish an enclave on the planet surface. Soon after the enclave was established, however, Ambassador kel-Jino was killed in a freak accident and the situation began to deteriorate. The Mission's Temple Preceptor was an exceptionally zealous and headstrong individual, and it was only through sheer force of personality that Ambassador kel-Jino had been able to keep the senior cleric in check. Kel-Jino's successor was not up to the task and the Preceptor quickly seized the initiative, launching a program of religious conversion that was far more aggressive than anything kel-Jino had allowed.    The Kilastran government and church took exception to this program and protested to the new Ambassador, but received no satisfaction. Relations between the Kilastrans and the Mission cooled and slowly edged towards hostilities. When the Preceptor ordered the execution of two Kilastran priests who denounced the Kess mission, the Kilastran government was forced to act.    The next morning, Kilastran ground forces attacked the Kess enclave. In the meantime, their starships attacked the Mission fleet in orbit, depriving the Kess ground troops of orbital artillery support. Without orbital support, it soon became apparent that the Knights could not hold off the Kilastran assault, and an evacuation was ordered. Under relentless pressure from the Kilastrans, the Sword of Light held on to a steadily shrinking perimeter while shuttles lifted out the diplomatic and religious personnel.    Meanwhile, the battle in orbit had taken a bad turn for the Kess. At the cost of enormous casualties, the Kilastrans had managed to almost completely interdict the Mission's lines of communication with the surface. The Kess ships held a narrow corridor but could only maintain it for one more shuttle flight; the number of Mission personnel, including the Knights, required two flights. In the end, the Chapter held its positions, allowing the remaining civilian personnel to board the last shuttles and flee the planet's surface. For this demonstration of courage and resolve, the Sword of Light is held up as the finest example of what Knights of the Order should strive to be.    - The Storm Kings -    Insignia: A golden lightning bolt diagonally bisecting a black diamond    Warmaster: Gavren kel-Deegos    Originally named the Blood Serpents, the Chapter earned its new name for its rather ingenious solution to resistance by an indigenous species.    The Sunai III-6 Mission's first contact was with a race calling itself the Okra'min. The Okra'min were a primitive race, which although well below the Kess in technological develop-ment, possessed a considerable number of pyro- and tele-kinetically skilled individuals in their population, enough to make the Warmaster think twice about provoking them.    He was put in a difficult situation, however, when the Okra'min rejected the teachings of the Kess Missionaries. The problem was that the Okra'min worshipped nature spirits and placed them well above the teachings of an artificial deity. In short, the Precepts of the Three Circles didn't fit in with the program. Naturally, the Temple Preceptor took this as a mortal affront and demanded that kel-Deegos do something to punish the Okra'min. The Ambassador, a moderate but devout individual, for once agreed with the Preceptor and urged the Warmaster to visit some sort of punishment on the natives.    Kel-Deegos, however, was of a different mind. He had seen demonstrations of the Okra'min powers, and he had no doubt that if they decided to retaliate against any sort of action by the Chapter, his Knights would bear the brunt of the attack. Anxious to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, kel-Deegos sought another solution. The plan that he and his staff devised was unique.    The Warmaster went to the planet surface with a small Kess delegation and met with the Okra'min leadership. During this meeting, kel-Deegos claimed that powers gained by acceptance of the Precepts of the Three Circles gave him control over the Okra'mins' nature spirits. When the native leaders scoffed, the Warmaster sent a pre-arranged signal to his flagship, the Chapter Station REDEMPTION. A low power static pulse wave was discharged into the upper atmosphere, creating an impressive lightshow, and a volley was fired from the REDEMPTION's kinetic weapons, sending a stream of fiery projectiles through the upper atmosphere.    As the Warmaster had hoped, the Okra'min were suitably impressed by the demonstration and grudgingly accepted the Kess Precepts as a higher path. In honor of his solution to the situation, Warmaster kel-Deegos was nicknamed the Storm King, and when the Warmaster finally passed on, the Chapter was renamed the Storm Kings in his honor.    MISSION KOSHGARI I-4    The fourth Mission launched during the tenure of High Preceptor Koshgari I is considered one of the watershed events in Kess history. One of the earliest Missions launched, it marked the rise and fall of the Dominion.    Koshgari I-4 was dispatched to a unexplored section of space known to the Kess as the Darkstorm Nebula. The Kess had a superstitious fear of the Nebula because it reminded them of the Night from the Huotha legend, and the High Preceptor was determined to rid his people of that fear by dispatching a Mission into the very heart of the nebula. Unfortunately, soon after the Mission entered the nebula, contact was lost. After several years with no word, Koshgari I-4 was listed as lost and her members entered into the Book of the Dead. In the wake of the lost Mission, the myths and legends surrounding the nebula simply took deeper root, becoming a fable that mothers would use to scare unruly children.    In fact, nothing dire had happened to the Mission aside from the loss of communications with the Dominion. However, when they attempted to turn back and regain contact, their efforts were blocked by spatial anomalies characteristic of the nebula. Unable to go back, the fleet was forced to go on. For years, the Mission fleet wandered the expanses of the nebula, first encountering the nomadic Iruta and later, Imperial Andovar and the warring tribes of the Kaizurri. During their contact with Imperial Andovar, the fleet was caught in the middle of a revolt against the Andovari Emperor. In the ensuing fight, the Ambassador and most of his staff were killed, leaving the Temple Preceptor in charge of the Mission. It soon became clear to the Temple Preceptor that the nebula held enormous opportunities for the Church, but it was also clear that Koshgari I-4 possessed insufficient resources to fully exploit those opportunities. After consulting with his Warmaster and other advisors, the Preceptor decided to attempt to find a way out of the nebula and back to the Dominion.    The fleet picket squadrons eventually did find a route out, but when the Mission's ships emerged from the nebula, they found themselves in uncharted space. Once again, the pickets fanned out and soon located an inhabited star system. In accordance with established procedures, the Kess dispatched a first contact team, but within minutes of planetfall, the orbiting fleet received a panicked call for help.    The Warmaster immediately sent a company of knights in full array to rescue the first contact team. The warriors found the team barricaded in their shuttle and quickly learned the reason; the planet's natives bore a horrifying resemblance to the demonic Dark Angel thralls described in Church scriptures.    Reaction aboard the lead Chapter Station was quick but divided. The Warmaster urged an immediate operation to purge the lifeforms from the planet and was supported by the officers of the Chapter and many of the more militant priests. The Temple Preceptor, however, had a poetic streak and had a different idea. Would it not be ironic, he argued, if they were able to take this species, which so resembled the enemy of ancient legend, and convert them to the teachings of Huotha? The debate was heated but brief, and eventually the Warmaster grudgingly agreed to the Preceptor's plan.    That plan, unfortunately, ran into resistance almost from the very beginning. First, the Preceptor had to find a group of clerics brave enough to go among the aliens. When such a group was finally gathered and sent planetside, they found the natives, who called themselves Vestrii, to be extremely intransigent. The Kess contingent persisted in their attempts to spread the Precepts of the Three Circles and tensions quickly escalated, forcing the Warmaster to dispatch a company of knights to protect the Kess enclave.    Vestrii officials protested the presence of the Knights on their planet and demanded the Kess remove all personnel from their world and leave immediately. The Kess simply ignored the demand and continued with their efforts, until finally a group of Vestrii militants lost their temper and assaulted the Mission enclave. The assault was easily repulsed by the Chapter garrison, but a line had been crossed.    Aboard the Mission Temple in orbit above the planet, the Warmaster pointed to the incident as an example of the intractability of the enemy. The Vestrii attack tipped the balance and the Preceptor agreed to a military operation. Within hours, the fleet had moved into position above the planet and at a prearranged time, began a deadly bombardment of the planet's meager defenses.    After the planet had been razed, the Kess began to examine the Vestrii databanks, and were surprised to discover that the population they had destroyed was only a minor colony. Several days later, a Vestrii squadron appeared in the system and engaged the Mission fleet. The Vestrii ships, however, were technologically inferior and quickly dispatched. With their confidence overinflated by two easy victories, the Kess decided to divide the fleet and move against the other Vestrii systems.    Fighting quickly spread through the sector as the Kess encountered more Vestrii ships. Initially, the smaller Kess squadrons were able to savage the larger but inferior Vestrii formations. The Vestrii, however, used their superior resources to quickly replace their losses with more advanced ships, slowly closing the qualitative gap with the Kess.    At the peak of the fighting, a third actor appeared on the battlefield. Using bizarre tactics and previously unseen technology, the aliens ripped through Kess and Vestrii squadrons alike, showing no preference or quarter to either side. This forced the Kess and Vestrii to temporarily put aside their differences and deal with the new threat, but just as they managed to adjust to the mysterious aliens' tactics and weapons, the newcomers vanished as quickly as they had appeared.    Once the aliens had disappeared, the Kess and Vestrii resumed their conflict, but it soon became clear to the Preceptor and the Warmaster that the Mission had insufficient assets to eradicate the Vestrii. The Warmaster wanted to stay anyhow, and fight to the last ship and the last knight. Once again, however, the Preceptor decided to take a longer view. He elected to attempt to return to the Dominion and return with stronger forces that could properly eradicate the Vestrii. The Warmaster obeyed and the order was given. Behind a complex screening operation, the Mission fleet disengaged and vanished into the nebula.    The journey through the nebula took several years, but eventually the Koshgari I-4 fleet emerged in familiar territory. It had been nearly a century since they had seen the constellations of home. The Warmaster immediately dispatched a fast picket squadron to the Dominion with a report on the Mission's encounter with the Vestrii. Several weeks later, the fleet came upon a damaged messenger drone bearing the markings of the picket squadron. The garbled message indicated that the Dominion had been attacked by another alien race of vastly superior technology. The Shining Legion and the other Mission Chapters had resisted bitterly, but had been swept aside by the enemy. The sounds of panicked screaming could be heard on the message which ended abruptly with a burst of static.    With no home to return to, the remaining ships and brethren of Koshgari I-4 turned away from the shattered remains of the Dominion and fled into the unknown.    Back