The Viridux
The Viridux is a small Duros nationalist militia group dedicated to the liberation of their homeworld Duro from occupation by the Galactic Empire. It is currently led by Commander Cally McKnight. The group takes its name from its fleet's flagship, which also means "Travelers" in the native Duro language, a term the Duros prefer to use when self-referring. It is a word with highly nationalistic connotations, as it resists the name "Duro" which was forced upon the species by the Basic speakers in the Republic when the Duros first contacted offworlders. They are styled as pirates by the Galactic Empire, and must rely on the black markets and underworld for supplies as they are distrusting of other governments and alliances which are not working for their homeworld's liberation directly.
Formation
For most of her life, Cally McKnight was involved with the Duros Liberation Front (DLF), a network of freedom fighters on the surface of Duro and in its orbiting shipyards that fought the occupying CorSec and the Empire in small, strategic raids on barracks, power grids, and warehouses, and sabotage operations on factories and shipyards. After she returned to the planet after several years working for Golan Technologies and then the Kingdom of Elysia, her capture by the Empire and subsequent rescue prompted division in the DLF between those who advocated for her rescue and those who desired for her to become a martyr and move the civilians to action. The DLF commanders also grew suspicious of her acquisition of substantial amounts of weapons and supplies from Golan Technologies where she had been employed. General Clutch, leader of the DLF, was nervous that her theft and smuggling of the supplies would hurt the Front's reputation abroad and hinder important diplomatic relations should their independence ever be won. After her rescue, all parties involved thought it be best if McKnight and her closest supporters take leave from Duros to work for the cause elsewhere as an independent entity.
McKnight was quick to make connections and find support. She combined her own savings with funds received from the Duros Union to purchase a derelict, Clone Wars-era Arquitens Light Cruiser she found in an Outer Rim scrapyard. It took several months and most of her credits to get it spaceworthy, and many more months working in deep space to restore and retrofit it to be a competitive warship and base of operations. It was named "The Viridux." Working closely with the Duros Union and other groups she made it the mission of her fleet to recruit Duros who were in diaspora from their homeworld to the cause, either employing them to work with the crew of the Viridux to target supply convoys near the Inner Rim or to send them to the homeworld to join up with the Duros Liberation Front.
The Fleet and Crew
The Viridux-
The Viridux is a retrofitted Jedi Arquitens Light Cruiser equipped with the most updated engines, weapons, and electronic systems the group could manage to get a hold of. It serves as the flagship of the fleet, hosting both its fighter squadrons and its mechanized infantry units. Commander Cally McKnight commands the vessel personally. The Viriux hosts a compliment of versatile starfighters, including Toscan 8-Q's. Aziz Sinan commands the squadrons when deployed, and at times McKnight is known to fly with them herself in her personal Eta-5 Interceptor.
Ground Raiding Units-
The Viridux is not merely a space fleet. Captain Lorhan Urra sees to the regular training of infantry soldiers and commandoes, and the group has several squads of Trade Federation surplus CAV's. These forces are used in quick raids on smaller supply depots and outposts for the Empire, or Imperial-aligned groups. The tactics of this group draw heavily from the former Counter-Poaching Division of Golan Technologies, which Commander McKnight led and helped to found, and in which Urra served for a short period of time.
