Age: 20
Species: Chiss
Height: 6’0
Skin Color: Blue
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Red-in-Red
Birthplace: Csilla
Voice Claim: Bertie Carvel (SWTOR Male Imperial Agent)
Theme Song: Huey Lewis And The News - Hip To Be Square
Humble Beginnings
A young child with deep blue skin and dark, jet black hair ran through a dark, damp alleyway chasing after another blue girl.
“Hey, wait for me!” The young boy called out, tucking his head in slightly as he began to run even faster, his footsteps pounding on the slightly frosted metal floor below.
He rounded a corner into a more open bazaar area, looking all around as he heard the tell-tale giggling that he was chasing after, smiling as he darted towards a merchant’s stall and lifted up a basket much to the owner’s chagrin, causing him to bark out, “If I’ve told you kids once, I have told you a milli-…” his lecture cut short by the girl sprinting out of cover with a giggle and disappearing up another alley, young Sararen chasing after her with a playful shriek.
Becoming A Man
Only a few months after his eighth birthday the Chiss found himself standing in the main room of his clan’s main hall, arms tightly at his side and his fists clenched as he stood in a pristine military uniform, awaiting further instructions. His red gaze drifted between a group of adults whispering in the corner and the door of his sister’s room, ajar slightly with a pale light glowing from within. The atmosphere was tense and nobody even approached the young cadet. With a deep breath he broke from his position and marched towards the open door, placing a hand on the wood before he was intercepted by one of his Elder’s, a hand upon his chest and a disapproving glance. “Stop, Sararen… the doctor is with her now, she needs rest.”
“I want to see her.” He muttered, trying to push into the room but was restrained further.
“No! You have your own path to walk. Speaking of…” The Elder Chiss said, forcefully tossing Sararen back into the center of the room, the boy landing hard with a yelp on the cold stone floor. His gaze panned around to spot a delegation which had just entered the slightly dingy abode, the double doors swung wide open as not to impede them. A tall Chiss stood in the middle, wearing a pristine, glowing white uniform adorned with blood red epaulets. He surveyed the room slowly, coldly, he was a giant of a man compared to the others, thickset and powerful, his chiseled jaw flexing as he regarded his surroundings. By his sides were a couple of armed guards, dressed in similar uniforms, and behind him a young Chiss woman with dark-rimmed spectacles and a datapad in her hands.
“I have come for your Cadet, Miss Clan.”
First Contact
Seven years after he left his family Sararen had completed his military training at Csilla’s military academy and had been awarded the rank of Junior Lieutenant. On his first mission he found himself assigned command of a scouting party sent to investigate reports of activity on the surface of the planet.
“Sararen, we have confirmed the location of the interlopers. They appear capable of space flight and have fortified a ravine with one end open to the plains.” A scout gave his report tersely, standing at attention with a Charric rifle in hand.
The Lieutenant nodded, “Thank you, Trent.” With a motion to him and the others to follow as he made his way up to the forward observation point. He tapped a soldier on the shoulder who was engrossed in a pair of macrobinoculars, startling him lightly as he uncoupled his eyes from the device and glanced up to his right, uttering a “Sir…”.
“Quite alright, Thoros, I’ll take over from here.” Sararen said, grabbing the macro’s and moving into the observation position as Thoros moved out and stood back with the others, watching as their junior officer surveyed the scene for himself.
He looked out over the snowdrifts, scanning past outcroppings of jagged, blue-black rocks until he finally spotted some movement, panning back and zooming in on what appeared to be a gaggle of lizard-like humanoids, clearly suffering in the cold as they busied about moving supplies from their quickly-freezing starship into the ravine they had made home. A snort from the Lieutenant as he lowered the macrobinoculars and stepped back from the window in the dugout. “Very good. We advance after nightfall, make ready to move.” A simple order to his men, a nod, as he departed back to his own post.
After dusk the scouts moved along the ridgeline they had taken position on, ensuring that the intruders had indeed turned in for the night, the howling polar winds of Csilla driving them deep into the crag, the light of their fires or whatever technology they had brought to keep warm could barely be seen shining out of the entrance.
Sararen narrowed his gaze on the scene before them, the starship barely a hundred meters from their encampment and nothing else around them for miles, bar some mountainous terrain that was all but unassailable from the plains themselves. He shook his head, to himself more than anyone else and muttered. “We are not going in there…”
“Did you say something, Sararen?” Trent spoke up, appearing at his side and taking a knee in the snow.
“I am considering our strategy.” He spoke softly in response.
Just then, the young trooper Thoros appeared on Sararen’s other side. “I think we should go in now, take them as they sleep.” He said with an assured grin on his face.
The other two turned and stared at him, deadpan, though Sararen was the one to speak up first. “What makes you think they’re asleep?” He turned his attention back to the opening of the ravine just as one of the lizardmen waddled away from the glow of the fire, as if on cue, to relieve himself against a wall, Trent letting out a measured chuckle at the sight of it. “Good intuition, Lieutenant… so what are our orders?”
“We wait another hour then we move in, burry ourselves in the snowdrift and wait until morning.”
“Why would we do-…” Thoros began to question before Trent appeared on his shoulder, pushing down on it hard with a shake of his head.
Sararen continued. “When they leave their positions to do whatever it is they came to our planet to do, we strike.” He growled that out, turning around sharply as his scouts dispersed to lay low until it was time to carry out the plan.
The Chiss party lay in wait, covered by an increasingly heavy layer of soft snow as the hours had passed by, until finally they heard it, the sound of footsteps approach, hard to say how many, they have observed maybe a dozen lifeforms in the previous day. Good odds for any Chiss.
One of the lizard creatures barked a disgusting alien drawl as it prodded at the snow above Sararen with its clawed toe, prompting the ambush to begin. With a battlecry the five Chiss warriors emerged as is from nowhere, fresh snow billowing off of their pure-white forms in the breeze as Sararen planted a vibroknife into the throat of the first interloper, punching it through as it’s lifeless body fell to the ground. Explosions sounded as Trent and another more experienced trooper ignited jetpacks and took to the skies, flicking heavy maser’s to automatic and raining hellfire on the backline of their enemies. Thoros had risen with the others but stood still, trembling in place, Sararen saw one of the beasts go for him with a wicked looking warblade, raising his pistol and firing twice into the lizard’s chest, pushing it back, before dropping it into the ground with another straight between the eyes.
“Focus Thoros, keep firing!” Sararen barked as he turned towards the remaining enemies, firing until his blaster shone white hot.
A Heroic Return
The Chiss strode down a gold-lined hall, well lit and warm. Hot, even, a little uncomfortable in his full dress uniform as he approached two lines of smiling blue eyes, bowing to his wide-shouldered, pristine white form as he marched towards them. Many of them spoke out, congratulating him and using his new name. He smiled, filled with a sense of pride. It had been a long time, working towards this moment. It was then that he panned his gaze from left to right and saw her standing at the end of the line.
She must’ve been the most beautiful woman that he had ever laid eyes upon before, yet she looked somehow sad, like she didn’t want to be there. She was tall, notably so, a look enhanced by her long, flowing golden dress with deep cuts in the sides and a low bust. Her hair was long, raven black locks falling about her shoulders and hanging almost all the way down to her waist. Atop her head was a simple, immaculate golden crown with a single, deep blue gem set in the middle. He shook hands and exchanges mindless pleasantries but he felt as though he never looked another person in the eye until he finally stood before her, time slowing down almost until the huge, imposing figure from his childhood stepped in frame, standing by the woman’s side and placing a hand on her shoulder, prompting her to dip her lead lightly and mutter some congratulations to him.
“You’ve come a long way since I collected you out of that hovel on the lower levels.” He said, his voice booming with a short chuckle before continuing. “But I suppose there’s no need to speak about that anymore, is there Thar? Speaking of moving forward, have you met my daughter Mitth’rilla’-…”
He had not met the Admiral’s daughter, though he certain intended to, the man’s words fading away as he gazed at her in close quarters, her red eyes elusive as they seemed to dart away from his own, evading him at every turn. He took a breath and spoke up, taking her hand in his own. “Mitth’arare’nuruodo… a pleasure to meet you Lady Mitthrilla.” A smile as he leaned in to plant a kiss on the back of her hand.
After the hustle and bustle of the event had concluded, he made his way down to the lower levels, pondering his new name on an elevator. “Thar… Thararen…” He shook his head, brushing aside the thought that it didn’t sound right, that it might never have been envisioned. The doors opened and he strode out into the damp, dark streets of his youth.
He arrived at the double doors to his childhood home, not seeming quite as large as they once had as he stooped down into the doorway and rapped the door a few times with his knuckles, hearing voices within before shuffling feet to the door. He straightened up, with a broad smile, a few distinctions already present upon his breast as he waited. The door opened and a venerable Chiss with a slightly hunched back looked the man up and down, flashing his teeth in a bright smile before it retracted and he began to sob on the spot. “Ooh… Sararen my boy…” As he almost fell to the ground, Sararen stepped into the threshold to catch up, steadying him and looking him in the eye. “Are you alright? What’s wrong…? I thought you would be happy to-…”
“I am, but your sister, she-…” The Elder began to explain.
“Sara? What about her? Where is she?” He cut him off, his gaze drifting back into the house he grew up in, seeing how little it had changed in so many years away. He gently, but forcefully, put his Elder aside as he entered the abode slowly, his footsteps carrying through the near silent halls bar from some sobbing heard down the way.
“She doesn’t have long left, Sararen…” The Elder muttered as he closed the door behind them.
Forces
The bridge rocked uncomfortably as the ship came out of a dangerous jump on the edges of Chiss Space, an uneasy murmuring around the various consoles and compartments in the control center.
A junior officer operating the active sensor pulse generator spoke up loudly. “Commodore Thar I’ve detected the unknown vessel reported by the colony! Grid reference EZ-92… spanning several more. Commodore, it’s huge!”
Commodore Thar raised a hand and gestured for the junior officer to quieten down, rising from his chair and surveying the room, hundreds of blue faces and red eyes staring back at him with a mix of concern, dedication and fear that was almost palpable to him. He narrowed his gaze and spoke loudly, clearly to the crew. “Proceed at maximum speed, charge shields and order all gunnery teams to make ready. We shall attempt to communicate with them first.”
At once there was action all around, seconds later alarms sounded and crew members began to move at a quick step, doors opening as marines piled into the bridge and stood at attention, reports began to stream in from gunnery teams reporting ready as the ship made its way closer to the unknown contact.
“Commodore we should be within range to send a transmission now.” Reported a communications officer.
“Do it…” He cleared his throat and settled back into his chair, relaxing as he spoke loudly and clearly once the communications officer had given him the signal. “Unknown Vessel this is Commodore Thar of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force Vessel Azure Blade. I must request that you leave this system at once as your presence will not be tolerated any longer.” He said, in crisp Cheunh.
There was no response, even as the unknown vessel came into view of the crew onboard. Then, at once, it’s shields activated projecting a dense blue energy field around the entire battleship. Sararen grit his teeth and spoke up again. “Unknown Vessel, I repeat you must leave this system at once or we will have no choice but to use force against you.”
This time, a response came back. The man on the other end of the comms sounded authoritative, he spoke just as Sararen did. “This is Admiral Davenport of the Republic Navy battleship Rose of Coruscant. We have no quarrel with you, we are simply on an exploration mission into the Unknown Regions and we would welcome you aboard to talk further, though I invite you to power down your weapons –now- or I shall be forced to make a pre-emptive strike to protect my ship and crew.” He sounded almost defiant as he terminated the comm channel. A pity nobody in the room spoke Basic, the Chiss on the bridge all exchanged worried glances, some breaking out in laughter as Sararen rose from his command chair and announced loudly. “We have our response. If these alien savages will not listen to reason than we will make them listen. Fire a warning shot across their path, we will give them one last chance.” Seconds later a voice in the room shouted in the affirmative and the ship vibrated slightly as one of the main guns let off a thunderous shot, a thick blue wave of light passing the Republic ship just off its bow.
All at once, the guns of the Republic battleship opened fire on the much smaller Chiss frigate impacts felt all across the ship even as their shields held. An officer shouted out. “C-Commodore, shields at fifty percent after their first salvo!” Before she had even finished speaking the Azure Blade returned fire herself as more than a dozen blasts like the warning shot arced into the Rose of Coruscant’s shields. Sararen rose from his command chair again to read the room, everyone focused on their stations and the battle they now found themselves in as expected, he paused and took a breath even as the second salvo from both ships rung out, feeling time slow around him as he tried to consider his options. Retreat was not one, not now, his shields were about to be depleted and the Navigator would never be able to plot a course in time. Yes, the Navigator. He had almost forgotten about her. He released his breath as the second Republic salvo impacted the Azure Blade and the same officer called out again. “Shields critical! Five percent, should we overcharge Commodore?!”
“No.” He replied calmly, smoothing his uniform down as his ship fired another return salvo towards the republic. “Disable the shields. Divert what power remains to the engines and plot a course to intercept.” At his command a navigation officer spoke up. “Commodore if we do that we will-…” He was cut off by Sararen. “Yes, Lieutenant. We will ram them.” He said flatly before continuing. “Patch me into the whole ship, I must address the crew.” An affirmative response was given as he was put through, straightening up and beginning to give a speech.
“Crew of the Azure Blade, this is Commodore Thar speaking. Our shield will fall upon the next salvo. All gunnery teams are hereby ordered to remain at their posts, all engineers are hereby ordered to remain at their posts. You have your orders.” He motioned for the link to be cut even as he had already departed his command platform, a couple of bodyguards following after him as he made his way towards the Navigator’s chamber. The mood in the room was grim as more shots rang out, though nobody stopped what they were doing. More alarms erupted as the Republic’s third salvo tore into the hull of the ship, damage reports, sections being wiped out, casualty reports streaming in as Sararen left the room.
He made his way towards a small, unassuming doorway just off the main bridge and entered his credentials in order to open it. His bodyguards assumed positions outside the room and stood at attention. He entered and looked around, a plain space with walls painted so black they seemed to absorb the light in the room. The Commodore slid out his sidearm as he looked upon the Chiss Navigator. She looked up into his eyes as he closed the door behind him. A few seconds later a blaster shot rang out, followed closely by two more. Silence for a few more seconds. Another salvo of shots, less return fire from the Azure Blade this time around. The door opened with an almost inaudible hydraulic ‘schlick’ as both of the bodyguards seemed to suck a breath and stand even taller.
“We require space suits.” Was all he said as he led his two bodyguards away as the battle continued around them, shockwaves from explosive munitions rocking them as they progressed through the corridors.
The damage sustained to the Azure Blade was near total, and yet it still moved towards the Rose of Coruscant with grim purpose. Entire sections of the ship ceased to exist and only two of the main guns continued firing, but it’s course was true and unless the Republic managed to rend it asunder, a collision was mere moments away. Sararen and his bodyguards had arrived in a marine armory and equipped themselves with suits allowing them to breath and move in space, armed himself with more than a sidearm and began moving towards the front of the ship without saying anything at all, his bodyguards followed implicitly.
The hull of the Azure Blade creaked and moaned in agony as Sararen paused, sucking in a deep breath and feeling time slow around him yet again as he considered his plan. He didn’t have one, not anymore. The ship was lost, his crew lost. He should have returned to the bridge after carrying out his duty but he did not. Something in the back of his mind told him to go back just behind the last set of security doors as he breathed out. He stopped on the spot and turned, motioning for his bodyguards to go back as they broke into a run, barely getting behind a thick door as the greatest impact he had ever felt in his life moved through the ship like a shockwave, buckling in the door they just came through and throwing them all against the far wall, pinned to it for a moment, before all at once they fell straight forwards – downwards, apparently – and face planted on the buckled bulkhead door. A wall exploded and one of the bodyguards was impaled on some starship debris as Sararen and the other cowered in a corner, feeling a weightlessness take them as the hull was opened up like a can by the impact.
The two Chiss made their way through the crack in the hull, only to find themselves within another ship, the Republic ship. With the use of their auxiliary suit thrusters they managed to make it to a door, opening it and entering. Once closed behind them the artificial gravity of the Rose of Coruscant allowed them to stand upright again, not taking off their helmets in case the alien environment was toxic to them, an unspoken nod between the two Chiss as he proceeded. Everything about the interior of the ship was foreign to them, just as they were to it. They heard footsteps approach and ducked into the side, not even daring to peek out as a battalion of Republic marines marched along another corridor, waiting until the footsteps had faded before moving out and continuing forwards. Sararen stopped at a crossroads and looked all around, taking a moment to consider before something about the left passageway just seemed to call out to him. He motioned to his companion and ran down the hallway and into a larger room, filled with large round ports sealed by metal shutters. He gestured for them to stop as he approached a console and looked at it, completely foreign to him. He looked along the row of identical consoles next to these ports, each of them had a big red button with another switch above it, shielded by a small plastic cover that had to be flicked open. He looked back at the console in front of him and started pawing at the plastic cover on the switch, eventually it flipped open and he flicked the switch over, slamming the red button with his fist as the airlock opened, revealing the interior of an escape pod. He glanced back at his companion as they quickly boarded it and pressed a similar big red button to launch it, blasting off of the Republic battleship and to relative safety. As they gained some distance from it they could see the outcome of the battle through a window, Sararen looking upon his failure with a narrow gaze.
Downfall
Upon his return to Csilla, shipless and crewless, he was immediately placed under house arrest pending investigation and his eventual trial. Much had changed for him since he was first accepted into the Mitth family, first as a rematching after proving his merit as a leader, though truly cemented by his marriage to his princess, Mitth’rilla, the only one who he had cared to prove anything to for a long time even before this unfortunate event in his career. In his darkest hour, now, she was nowhere to be found. He sat alone in an empty home, more like a palace than the one he grew up in, surrounded only by silence and the haunting cries of those who died under his command.
Not much time passed before he was summoned before a military tribunal to answer for his crimes.
“Commodore Mitth’arare’nuruodo, you stand accused of a most dire breach of our code of honour. Not only have you brought shame and disgrace upon your family name, but the entire Expansionary Defense Force with your actions. That you allowed yourself to be outwitted in such a situation by barbarous aliens is one thing, given the apparent strength of their forces…” With that statement from one of the judges, there was much muttering in the room among onlookers to the affair, not least of which was, sitting up on the back row of the stands, his wife. Sararen’s gaze rose to try and meet hers, but she avoided it just as she had done when they first met, even as the judge continued to recant his crimes, his heart broke. “…What is truly despicable is that you did not go down with your ship. On top of this, you sacrificed all but one of your eight hundred and seventy-four crew compliment in order to save your own life.” That part stung slightly as Sararen turned his attention back to the judge in front of him, biting his tongue for the time being. “The only silver-lining in this whole affair is that you reported to have done your duty and ensured that your Navigator did not fall into enemy hands. The tribunal has considered this.” The senior judge said, glances left and right to his colleagues who nodded and grumbles approvingly. “However this does not wipe away the dishonor of it. I hereby declare you expelled from the Mitth family and the Expansionary Defense Force, you will return to whatever life and name you had before you were elevated into service.” The judge paused to let the verdict settle in, Sararen once again looked up to Mitth’rilla, though she was gone. A deep sigh escaped him as he once again lifted his gaze to meet the judges high up above him on their ornate seat of judgement. The senior judge, sensing no comments were to come from the accused declared the session ended, a couple of brawny guards came and took Sararen away from the gilded halls, he thought the last time he would ever see them.
A New Horizon
Barely a year had passed since his meteoric downfall when Sararen was reading in his bedchambers and a heavy knock at the door came. It was the Mitth Admiral who’s daughter he had been married to, the younger Chiss almost immediately springing to his feet, his gaze betraying him as he tried to look past the man.
“She is not here.” He spoke plainly, a mere hint of sympathy in his voice as he said it. “But you do have orders.” He growled out and handed a datapad to Sararen. He took it, looked down at it. A terse report from the ruling council outlined that he was to go along with an envoy from the ‘Sith Empire’ and do as instructed, it said only that his family would be cared for and if he served admirably there might yet be redemption for him. He swallowed hard and looked up at the Admiral, the thickset man folding his arms as he asked. “Well?”
“I stand ready to serve.” Was all Sararen said as he tossed his book aside and left with the Admiral.
Over the course of the next day he was introduced to the Sith Envoy, a member of the Chaf family seemingly spoke his language and was able to act as a translator between them. They spoke extensively of Sararen’s military career, the last five years or so that he had held command and then his eventual downfall. Strangely, to him, the Sith Envoy did not seem quite so disgusted with him as his fellow Chiss after the explanation, merely regarding the young Chiss from behind an unreadable mask and declaring that they would take him.
He was taken to the main Sith Fleet, held in isolation for the most part aside from his training. For the first month he was taught Basic. When he could communicate with his new masters they began to probe deeper into him, his capabilities, what he could do, what he would do. Another month of basic training in Sith Intelligence operations, basic as they were, before he was summoned once again before the same Envoy who had taken him from Csilla.
He stood at attention before the man and stuck out his chest, head raised high. “Agent Sararen reporting for duty, sir.”