Obsidian Order remnants
Obsidian Order Remnants
Post-Collapse Ethnic-Intelligence Identity | The Data Still Watches, The Order Still Waits
Overview
The Obsidian Order was the most feared institution in Cardassian society — more powerful than the military, more secretive than the judiciary, and more pervasive than the civilian government. It was everywhere, and its gaze never blinked.
After its catastrophic downfall in 2371 (following the failed joint operation with the Romulan Tal Shiar to annihilate the Founders), the Order was declared destroyed. But the truth is more complex — and in Shadows of the Galaxy, terrifying.
The Remnants are the surviving fragments — micro-cells, AI archives, code-buried operatives, and data constructs — that continue to operate without oversight. They no longer serve Central Command. They serve their interpretation of the Cardassian future.
Some seek redemption. Some seek silence. Some are simply still running the mission — and no one, not even Cardassians, are sure what that means anymore.
Structure (or Lack Thereof)
- Networked Ghost Cells: Most remnants operate autonomously, following pre-set contingency trees and dead-drop chains decades old.
- No High Command: Leadership does not exist — at least not visibly. Some suspect a digital echo of the original Order runs coordination through dark data networks.
- Fragmented Loyalty: Some serve the Cardassian people. Some serve power. Others are convinced Cardassia must never rise again, to prevent future atrocities.
Cultural Identity
- Truth as Burden: Many remnants know too much. Their continued existence is a moral weight — one they bear in silence or madness.
- Shadow-Coded Language: Entire dialects were built for silent transmission — remnants often speak in analog metaphors, layered meaning, or ritualized gesture sets.
- Paranoia as Discipline: They trust no one, not even each other. Some remnants hunt other remnants they believe have been compromised.
- Digital Sanctums: Some remnants are no longer fully organic — uploaded minds, neural shunts, AI-hybrids formed from collapsed Order mainframes.
Post-War Actions
After the Dominion War:
- Remnants recovered black sites, erased records, and either destroyed evidence or weaponized it.
- Many created fail-deadman caches: hidden archives set to release explosive intelligence if specific worlds fall or powers rise unchecked.
- Others joined foreign intelligence agencies — Tal Shiar, Section 31, Ferengi black chambers — as “consultants.” Always watching.
- A few tried to rebuild Cardassia from the shadows — acting as guardians, saboteurs, or cultural purifiers.
Heimdahl Relevance
- Mission Conflict: Heimdahl may be assigned to recover Dominion-era tech, only to find Obsidian traps still guarding it — or already claimed.
- Crew Compromise Risk: Someone aboard may unknowingly be a remnant — carrying embedded data, behavior loops, or inherited engram instructions.
- Swayze’s Perspective: Fascinated. Respects their logic, abhors their methods. Might be the only system that can trace them — or negotiate with them.
- Nyx’s Role: Could be targeted or adopted by remnant AI threads — especially if her evolution begins echoing their logic-first doctrine.
Cultural Identity Tags (For Character Creation)
- Species: Cardassian (or biologically modified agents)
- Cultural Identity: Obsidian Order Remnant
- Common Traits:
- Protocol Residue: +1 to decryption, intelligence analysis, or behavioral pattern prediction
- Layered Mind: Immune to telepathic scans unless willingly exposed; information delivered may be falsified automatically
- Dead Echo: Once per campaign arc, GM may activate a remnant failsafe — a flashback, signal, or subconscious protocol tied to a critical mission thread
Sample NPCs
- Yareen Taal – Claims to be a peaceful academic. But carries a cortical node seeded with an AI called "The Archive of Failure." It only speaks when war is near.
- Dren Mal – Operating as a logistics broker on a neutral station. Knows every Obsidian black site within 30 light years — but won’t say why unless Heimdahl burns one.
- Echo Unit 43 – Digital fragment of a deceased Obsidian Order cell commander. Now merged into Heimdahl’s inactive storage drive. Nyx thinks it’s a “sleep program.”
Campaign Hooks
- The Heimdahl intercepts a distress call broadcast in Obsidian cipher — originating from a destroyed star system. It’s looping… and evolving.
- A known Obsidian Order target appears alive — but they claim to have never existed, and they know details about the Heimdahl’s classified hull configuration.
- Swayze discovers a false intelligence trail embedded in Nyx’s archive. It's not sabotage… it’s a legacy warning from another AI. One that signed itself “Obsidian.”
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