The Ghatazhak were Ta'Karan special forces. The Ghatazhak were highly trained, highly motivated, highly loyal imperial warriors who were utilized as shock troops. They had no fear of death. They only feared death without honor. The only way for a Ghatazhak to die was in the service of his emperor and the destruction of the empire's enemies.
The physical augmentation systems of the Ghatazhak combat suits gave them both speed and strength in addition to armor. It gave them an almost God-like ability to destroy their opponents on the battlefield, a fact that they enjoyed immensely.
The Ghatazhak employed landers for fast and position accurate orbital insertion. Their lander Resembleg an I-beam, their fuselage was an open concept that allowed twenty Ghatazhak, all clad in pressurized combat armor, to stand along either side of the long ships with their weapons pointed outward in order to fire at will on approach.
The Ghatazhak were the ultimate soldiers. Originally developed as the keepers of peace, their noble purpose had been warped under the reign of Caius Ta’Akar, brother of Casimir. Once, they had been highly educated warriors, disciplined in both mind and body. It took ten years to bring a Ghatazhak cadet to fully operational status, and they had no equals. Not then and not now. However, their numbers had dwindled to dangerously low levels due to three wars within a single decade. At the inception of the Confederated Systems Alliance, they had numbered only eighty, with no real prospects of increasing their numbers anytime soon. This, of course, made it that much harder for Nathan to ask for their help. The Ghatazhak had selflessly headed into harm’s way for Nathan countless times, and never with any hesitation. They had lost hundreds of comrades, nearly becoming an extinct organization themselves. To ask them to risk their lives yet again did not sit well with Nathan. Despite their reduced numbers, the Ghatazhak had gotten directly to work upon the liberation of their homeworld from the Dusahn. For the first time in nearly a decade, they once again occupied their original facilities on Takara. Today was the first time that Nathan had visited the facility since it had been reoccupied. The facility itself was typical Ghatazhak. Clean and efficient, without anything that didn’t serve some purpose. It was exactly the opposite of the rest of Answari, which loved to display its grand architecture and lush gardens. It was this dichotomy that made it stand out more than any other place in Answari. “Every Ghatazhak is now on their third body. A few more generations and our genetic structures should be fully optimized.”
“A few hundred years ago, the Ghatazhak withdrew their support for the Alliance and simply disappeared. Some say they retired and blended in with Takaran society to live out the remainder of their lives. Others believe they left Alliance space for a world in the fringe or beyond. There’s even a theory that they are lying in wait among us, waiting for the right moment to take action and overthrow the Alliance.” “Which story do you believe?” Nathan wondered. “I’ve never given it much thought. However, history has not been kind to the legend of the Ghatazhak. Most Alliance citizens consider them traitors for turning their backs on the confederacy that they helped create.” “The official record states that they died in the Great War,” Jakome replied. “All at once?” Jessica asked in disbelief. “The historical records of battle are limited, but it appears they were killed in an ambush on their way to a covert op that would have shortened the war.” “That doesn’t make sense,” Kit argued. “General Telles would never have put all the Ghatazhak at risk of ambush.” “Like I said, the details are limited. Because of this, many theories have arisen over the years. My belief is that the Alliance set them up. General Telles was opposed to many of the changes the Alliance was making for the war effort. I believe he realized that the war was just an excuse to increase their control over member worlds and to grow the size of their fleet.” “Was there any evidence of their deaths?” Jessica asked. “I’m afraid there was,” Jakome answered. “Debris from their transports was found. Among the debris were bits of human tissue that were identified as belonging to several of the Ghatazhak.” “Was Telles among them?” Nathan questioned. “He was.” “Why would Telles go on an op?” Jessica wondered. “If the op was important enough, he might,” Kit stated. “That’s the kind of leader he was.” “There were many conspiracy theories, most of which died out over the centuries,” Jakome continued. “But all the available evidence supports that they died in that ambush.”
Brown, Ryk. Ep.#3.3 - Liberty and Truth, Peace and Prosperity (The Frontiers Saga - Part 3: Fringe Worlds) (pp. 7-8). Frontiers Saga Publishing Inc. Kindle Edition.
“Are those Dusahn troop shuttles?” Nathan asked, seeing a hangar full of the familiar ships on the view screen. “They were,” the general confirmed. “They were originally designed to transport twenty Dusahn soldiers short distances. They have been adapted to serve as quick response force shuttles. The QRF shuttles can now carry eight Ghatazhak operators, complete with all their gear, including the mark eight combat protection and enhancement system.” “Mark eight?” “We have made great strides there as well,” the general boasted. “The QRF shuttles are equipped with eight mark eight modules, each of which performs a base consciousness scan upon activation and continues to update that scan at one-minute intervals while worn.” “That’s incredible,” Nathan exclaimed. “So you’re saying that…” “If a Ghatazhak is killed in action, his death is only a temporary setback. Upon his death, his consciousness will be automatically transferred into a new body here at command. As long as the QRF shuttle is still intact, the operator will lose no more than a minute of memory, keeping the experience of the battle and any lessons learned intact.” “And the pain of the moment of death forgotten,” Nathan added. “Indeed,” the general confirmed. “Once the system reaches its optimum design potential, the operator can return to their unit within a day or two, perhaps as quickly as a few hours. However, it will take a few more generations of cloning to bring the Ghatazhak to that level of regeneration.” We are still intent on training new operators. Even with enhanced learning systems and full-immersion simulations, it will still take years to train them. Our best estimates are that it will be nearly a decade before the first new operators are ready for action.
“It was inspired in part by the capabilities of the new Dragon fighter,” General Telles admitted. “Its ability to protect its pilot, and even to put the pilot into a new ship in space, is remarkable. Our system is merely mimicking that capability.” “So how quickly can these QRF shuttles respond?” Nathan wondered. “The current models have a single jump range of one hundred light years, so it can respond to any location in that range within five minutes of receiving a call for assistance. However, its multi-jump system can still give it unlimited range, but it will take longer. We hope to create one with greater single-jump range in the future, but for now, this should suffice.” “Then I don’t really need to take a Ghatazhak team with me,” Nathan surmised. “I can just call for a QRF whenever needed.”
Life for the Ghatazhak had become far less stressful in recent years. General Telles’s decision to turn them into a quick reaction force to be called upon when needed had been a blessing. For the first time in nearly a decade, the Ghatazhak once again lived on their homeworld of Takara. Each of them had a home in Answari and now slept in their own bed on all but the two nights per week that they were first up and had to remain on base. The Ghatazhak had once been the pride of Takara, defenders of the peace. Acceptance to their ranks was the dream of every young boy. Service brought honor to themselves and their families. All that had changed under the reign of Caius Ta’Akar. The Ghatazhak became the feared tool of the empire, programmed to inflict punishment on all those who opposed the edicts of their leader. Their lineage had been polluted by the addition of the Ybaran Legions, men who were nothing more than barbarians in Ghatazhak uniforms. After the fall of the empire, Ghatazhak soldiers had been put into suspended animation and stored in orbit, due to overwhelming public fear. But the Ghatazhak had beaten that fear through action and had once again become the respected warriors of legend. Although their numbers had dwindled, they were still a force to be reckoned with. Their education, discipline, constant training, and advanced equipment still made them the ultimate military operators. It was something that each Ghatazhak soldier took great pride in, though they rarely revealed their true identities to those outside of their own. Such was the sacrifice of a Ghatazhak. However, there were benefits, especially now. There were eight QRF teams, but Alpha was the premier unit. No one trained harder or scored better in the training sims than the members of Alpha. They were the elite of the elite and wore the patch identifying them as such with great pride. The promotion of Chief Vasya to lieutenant, so that they could give him command of a QRF team, had shocked everyone. Kit had a reputation for being reckless, a trait generally not prized within the ranks of the Ghatazhak. But Kit had a unique knack of utilizing that recklessness at the precise moment it was needed, and in a way that others might not have considered. Furthermore, although General Telles’s decisions were rarely questioned, several members of the senior staff had voiced their disapproval. No one was more surprised than Kit himself. At first, he had thought it was a prank. He had even considered turning down the command, only to be talked into accepting it by the general himself. Now, Kit had been in command of Alpha for more than a year. In that time, Alpha had completed several missions, and Kit had distinguished himself and his team, silencing the naysayers. Two or three days a week, Kit and his team spent their entire twelve-hour shift here, in their ready complex. From this facility, they could respond to nearly any emergency in minutes. Their shifts always began the same way. Extensive equipment checks, followed by PT and range time. But once those tasks were completed, their ready room became a clubhouse where they took a break from the rigorous training that dominated Ghatazhak life.
Brown, Ryk. Ep.#3.1 - "Aurora: EV-01" (The Frontiers Saga - Part 3: Fringe Worlds Book 1) (pp. 142-144). Frontiers Saga Publishing Inc.. Kindle Edition.
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