Black Sun and the Family

The Family

The Family sits at the top of the Black Sun crime syndicate. It's members are either direct blood relatives or achieve their status through bonds of intense loyalty to existing members. Black Sun officers and agents are considered as peripheral members of the Family and this status is reflected in the mandate that they cannot be killed without defensible cause and that they are bound by the punishment structures of the Family itself. Through a long process of proving themselves and aiding the Family's interests these officers and agents can slowly be promoted into inner circles of the Family and potentially even into the Family Council itself.

Indoctrination

There are two broad ways of sliding deeper into the Family. Either actual relation to an existing Family member or the Sanguine Crucible. Being a relative or marrying in does not grant a default into the inner layers, instead it allows you to be 'vouched for' to the Family Council (which will be discussed later). The Sanguine Crucible is a common term for the entire process a non-relative must endure. It starts as soon as the first oath of loyalty is taken (traditionally aboard the Dark Star-class battleship BSS Illgotten Gains, symbolic flagship of Black Sun).

Meetings with Council members aboard the Illgotten Gains are reasonably common occurrences within the organization and serve a variety of functions. Security is massively strict and all members who come armed or carrying stun cuffs can expect automatic execution aboard one of the intermediate ships which ferry them to the meeting point. Most often these meetings will be used to announce high-level promotions, conduct force tests and renew the member's oaths to each other en masse. A more sinister purpose also exists. The meetings are a convenient opportunity to liquidate those who are suspected of betraying the Sun.

Sanguine Crucible

An external member will approach the Family Council, or an individual Council member and offer their services and, if this is accepted, then they pledge their loyalty to the Family in the traditional ceremony. Internal members undergo this when they are first accepted by ranking members of Black Sun. The swearing in covers the new recruit with protection against execution without cause (referred to as 'Immunity') but subjects them to Family justice.

The next major landmark comes after a lengthy period of work for the Family. Typically, the landmark rank within Black Sun for promotion in Family status is O5. At this level the Black Sun blade/agent becomes an initiate of the Family, this flags them as being on the road to full status. They meet the Council again and are gifted a unique vibroblade, the (insert name here).

An initiate desperately seeks a chance to prove himself to the family. He is at the stage of needing to 'Make his Bones'. Traditionally he has to go out into the galaxy and return with someone from Black Sun's kill list and ritually execute them in from of the assembled Family Council. He is given the opportunity to deposit the remains in Golgotha. The Family requires more than just those members who are skilled in dealing death so occasionally non-traditional means have been accepted. However, the process must involve contributing something tangible towards Black Sun's goals or hampering those of their enemies. After this point full status as a Family member is conferred, no-one can touch them without approaching the FC to request permission. In Black Sun circles this is referred to as the 'Blood Barrier'.

The only step between being this and becoming a part of the inner circle is 'The Test', the nature of which has never been disclosed. On success, they are given full status as a member of the Inner Circle and access to its meeting places. They are also bestowed the power to Sacrifice (discussed below).

Final Promotion to Vigo is only achieved by the most committed and most capable of those under Black Sun's banner. This group must ultimately trust each other with their lives and because of the tiny number of Vigos in the galaxy at any given time there is no selection criteria other than unanimous agreement of all existing Council members.

Blood Bonds

The vouching in of a relative is not a painless process. It involves a specific pledge from both parties called a 'Blood Bond'. This bond signifies the utmost trust and the consequences of it are that any punishment given by the Family to one party will also fall upon the other. It prevents frivolous vouching and forces the existing Family member to thoroughly consider whether they truly trust the initiate they are bringing in. Exceptions: if it can be said that, during the time-period since a member was vouched for, they have achieved the trust of the council independently of the vouch made on their behalf, then the blood bond may be ignored.

Family Justice

There is honour among thieves, at least in Black Sun's case. A member who is responsible for a failure must report in person to apologize to his boss or to a Council member. It is well within their rights to accept this apology. However, in many cases the offender must be punished...

• A penance of blood, the most trivial punishment is simply drawing blood in any way that will leave a scar as a reminder of the folly. This is not seen so much as a punishment but rather just punctuation for the apology. A member must perform the act in front of their superior or a Family Council member.


• A gift of flesh, for serious offenses and blunders committed by those deemed valuable enough for the Family not to execute a gift of flesh may be required. Traditionally the trigger finger of the dominant hand is offered as tribute and traditional Black Sun blades are notched at the base to easily sever the finger. In ages past this handicap crippled the ability to use weapons as effectively and the individual's loss of combat effectiveness was seen as a means to reinforce their dependence on the Family. In modern times the finger can be easily replaced with a mechanical substitute. This substitute must not, however, bear an appearance similar to the victim's real digit rather the wound must be borne publicly as a sign. For more serious offenses a more generous gift is requested.


• Various other means of mid-level punishments are known to have been imposed. Penal colonies on Kiffex and dungeon ships in deep space have become home to some of those who fail the Sun. For the fortunate ones a Vigo will smile on them and allow them to be released, after a time.


• Ritual execution... with a black sun blade is the traditional means of punishing severe offenses. It should be noted that this is not considered a degrading punishment and death should be met with a steely gaze. The remains may well be buried with ceremony. As previously stated, those who have taken the oath cannot be killed without a reason that is defensible in front of the Family Council should the matter be questioned and those who have Made their Bones cannot be killed without Council approval. The offender is required in all cases to apologize in person for their crimes, however, in those severe cases which are punishable by death an apology and suicide is also considered honourable.


• The final rank of punishment is at the discretion of the affronted party with highest Family status. This typically involves torture and mutilation before death or other pleasantries such as indefinite torture and/or imprisonment. It can take any form but is far messier than a clean execution and enforced for the most heinous of offenses as it is considered a humiliation and a denial of an honourable end.

The final exemption (other than Immunity and the Blood Barrier) is the ability to Sacrifice. That is, someone of sufficient Family status may prevent any punishment by accepting a punishment one rung lower on the scale of severity (e.g. prevent an execution by making a gift of the flesh themselves). This is considered the right of someone with such status and should generally be accepted but the Family Council has been known to refuse this right in rare cases.