Post by Juzt on Sept 5, 2012 15:00:43 GMT -5
Name : Siala Elrad.
Race: Arkanian (Offshoot)
Age: 25
Height: 5'5
Weight: 120 lbs
Apperance:
Siala is short and tiny, and not unattractive. Being and offshoot of the Arkanian race, she has the white hair of many Arkanians but lacks the white eyes and tri-clawed hands. Instead she has human hands with five digits and startlingly blue eyes. She sometimes wears blinkers, as like most Arkanins she can see into the infra-red spectrum which is problematic on planets with younger and hotter stars. She generally wears her white hair to medium length. She has a scar running along her left bicep from her work as a technician in an Arkanian factory.
Siala favours long trousers in a myriad of colours normally festooned with pockets of all sizes up and down the legs. From these she can produce a seemingly endless variety of tools and miscellaneous belongings. Leading some to remark that whole Galaxies were trapped in her pockets. Being of a rather eccentric nature, she has been seen to wear Jedi like robes, and ponchos, lab coats and all manner of eccentric clothing. On special occasions she has been seen to reluctantly wear a dress, though she finds such conventions boring. However unfortunately, at least in her opinion, most of the time she has to wear t-shirts and tank tops as she finds Dantooine's climate rather hot compared to her frigid home world. While able to use a Rifle she prefers blaster pistols she is often seen carrying one, which she affectionately calls Clive.
Personality:
Siala is incredibly impatient, in regards to goals in her life. This is because of offshoot Arkanian's short lifespans, it is rare for one to live much past fifty five. Siala is painfully conscious of this fact and desperate to experience as much as she can in the short time allotted to her, coupled with her intelligence and it makes her ravenous for knowledge particularity in regards to mechanics and engineering. She has a particular fondness for droids but loved machines of all kinds. She is often to be found reading and studying as much as she can on a variety of subjects.
Her obsession with machines tends to me she personifies them. People are often disturbed by her tendency to talk to vehicles and tools as she fixes or examines them. Even more disturbing is the fact that she maintains that they speak back to her. In particular she keeps with her the removed and inactive head of an Aratech XT-2000 droid, which she claims is her best friend. (Droid Head)
She is proud of her work with the DLA, strong in her belief that the Sith should be swept from Dantooine however possible. She feels a tremendous sense of debt and loyalty to the DLA for rescuing her from a detainment camp. While generally quite friendly she has a strong dislike of Pure-bloodied Arkanians due to her treatment at their hands. Her eccentricity tends to make people give her a wide birth, not that she thinks she really need them, the machines are her friends after all. She is however, proud of her differences. The Problems she had on Arkania have led her to believe that she should try to be as different as possible. A number of people have come to wonder if her eccentricities are truly the result of past trauma, put on for effect, or perhaps a combination of the two. Manic and energetic she seems completely unable to sit still for five minutes unless she is working.
Equipment:
Blaster Pistol (Clive)
Tech equipment. (Hydro spanners and various other tools)
Birth Place: Arkania, Kanti
Occupation: DLA Mechanic (previously an Industrial Technician and then a Farmer)
Rank: DLA Recruit.
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 4
Intelligence: 8
Speed: 5
Leadership : 2
Unarmed :3
Mele Weapons: 1
Ranged weapons: 5
Bio:
0-7
Salia was born to Alask and Kalla, two gem mine workers in the City of Kanti. Like most Offshoot Arkanians they lived in almost total segregation from the supposedly Pure- blood Arkanians. This was the result of the “Offshoot question.” The Offshoots created by years of genetic experimentation by the scientifically gifted people of Arkania had resulted in these Offshoots, bred with more dexterous hands and better vision to do the jobs Arkanian Pure-bloods would not. Man of the Pure-bloods were harsh, cruel and made life as hard for the Offshoots as possible seeing them as barely sentient beings. Most were reduced down to difficult and dangerous work in industrial centres and in the mines. They also lived in constant fear of the Pure-bloods coming down and purging their settlements and communities as had been the practice in the past.
There were schools for the Offshoots in Kanti, but they were generally of a poor standard, focusing on teaching skills required for work only. Normally staffed by Arkanian Teachers who had been unable to get jobs in Pure-blood schools. As Salia went to school, her intelligence was clear but could not be truly tested by the appalling standards of education of Offshoots. Her parents were sympathetic and using what few credits they had went out and bought any books they could find, not being the greatest readers themselves, Salia had to try and teach herself. She showed a great deal of determination and easily progressed quicker than those relying on the school for their education. Her intelligence clear the teachers started to watch her carefully, after all no one wants a workforce that is too smart.
7-15
Being clever and academically interested in an environment where this is not encouraged can be difficult. Not only was she hated by her teachers, the other children resented her. As she grew up she was consistently picked on for being different. The bullying took various forms from name calling to beatings. Teachers and other authority figures simply were not interested in doing anything about bullying or violence among the Offshoots as many Pure-bloods saw them as little more than animals. One one occasion the Lacer twins a boy and a girl with particularity sadistic tendencies tied her up and secluded her on the school grounds and proceeded to beat so badly she had to be sent to hospital. News of this was made well known in the local area to show just how “barbaric” Offshoots were.
It was at this time that after leaving hospital again, Siala began to exhibit eccentricities of behaviour. In her eyes everyone was trying to force her to conform, to be the same as every other Offshoot. They wanted her to be ill educated, stupid, weak and colourless. Even other Offshoots felt this way, seeing her hard work towards improving herself as making life difficult for the rest of them as the Pure-bloods would be eager to slap them down. To this end, her originally shy character began to bloom into and excitable even manic personality. She was loud and energetic often making strange observations and displaying an irritating complete honesty. Including asking one teacher if he was unaware that he, “Stank like a dying banther.” she said this in a voice implying no malice only a strange surreal innocence and statement of fact. This behaviour won her few friends aside from one or two of the Offshoot kids. However, this was about to change as she entered her teenage years.
She had decided that the best way to get her own little revenges against the system was to help her fellow students. The attacks on her were born out of a frustration from the Arkanian drive to learn with which all Offshoots were imbued. Siala worked hard in her free time to explain concepts to struggling students she lent them her precious books and datapads. She really helped many of the other kids and as time went by those who had once bullied her became her protectors. She found teaching others, increased her own knowledge of the subjects. Others began to follow her example. With the poverty that the Offshoots lived in, many of the kids had to go to work in the factories or Gem mines during school time. The students who were luckier patiently tutored them. It was an act of quiet rebellion.
By the time most kids reached the age of 14 or even earlier they had to leave school permanently to work as their parents often could not keep them with their limited money beyond that point. Siala's parents however despite a huge cut in their wages kept her going, praying that she would go on to have a better life than them. They worked extra shifts and exhausted themselves to do it, something which Siala felt exceptionally guilty about. The next two years she really excelled in school, and in private learned a great deal about computers and technical engineering. During this time she also fell in love with another Arkanian offshoot by the name of Baric. She had helped him a great deal in school, as he had in particular struggled mostly due to his parents being very poor even for Offshoots. After he left school to go to work in the mines she stayed in contact with him and they would spend their free time together. He found the way she talked to machines and her generally manic energy attractive and she found his shyness adorable. When his parents died in a cave in she was there to comfort him and look after him due to his tendency to get ill easily. Many offshoots were vulnerable to simple Arkanian illnesses.
16-20
Eventually Siala had no choice but to leave school at 16, her parents limited resources finally running out. She went to work for Lysscol engineering, which specialised in the manufacture of everything from small arms to droids, but really specialised in droids and tools for the Gem mines. Siala worked as a technician mostly fixing the machines and droids that worked in the factory. Most of the overseers could be pretty unkind and little care was taken for the safety of Siala or anyone other Offshoot who worked there. The bare minimum safety precautions were taken to prevent injury. Siala was lucky only getting hurt a few times, the worst occurred when she had to reach in to the droid arm assembler to clear some blocked parts. One of the mechanical assemblers she freed inadvertently ran up her bicep producing a massive cut that required treatment and left her with a long scar on the inside of her left arm.
Her skill and understanding with machines and droids infuriated many of the Pure-blood overseers. Many tried to discourage her from learning more than her job entailed. As she got into her late teens Siala started noticing changes in the Offshoot populace in the city. The dangerous and difficult work combined with the Pure-blood's hate had caused the slums and settlements to come alive with dissent. Many groups were set up trying to air their grievances to the leadership of the Arkanians, the Republic anyone who would listen. Unfortunately not many did, some Offshoots organised strikes withdrawing their labour. However, the Arkanian authorities had encountered these problems before and simply sent in troops to force the strikers virtually at gun point back to work. Siala who attended a few demonstrations got more than a few beatings for her troubles. However, problems for the Offshoots were about to get worse.
20-23
The gem mines were closed, they had been exhausted by the intensive mining. With no work left for them to do the Pure-bloods herded the redundant Offshoots into settlements around the outskirts of the city. There they were abandoned to try to survive, segregated from the rest of the City. It was a struggle but most were able to set up makeshift shanty towns. Small amounts of food were occasional brought in from the city, but certainly only barely enough to survive on. Salia's love Abric who had always been a little on the sickly side really struggled and was taken in by Salia's parents.
These settlements were common around many Cities on Arkania, which led to a resurgence of the “Offshoot question.” What was to be done with all of these offshoots, unemployed Offshoots living of the food provided by the city? The Pure-bloods had always been in a state of semi panic about offshoots and the possible “contamination” of the race. One group of Pure-Bloods decided the only thing to do with them was to eliminate them, after all it had worked in the past. Those still of use in the city would be spared.
In some of the settlements common Arkanian diseases were released. Most Arkanians could shake them off easily, but the Offshoots were especially susceptible. In other areas out right purges of the settlements were considered. The Settlements around Kanti were to be targeted with a combination of both. First came the diseases spread in contaminated food given to them by the city. Most of the population died or weakened. Only a few thousand survived out of a population of two million. Among the survivors were Salia her father an her love Baric. Baric seemed to be in a particularly bad way, it had surprised many that he had lived this long. Salia's mother unfortunately had died. The death weighed heavily on Salia and she was in no doubt as to who was responsible.
This only sharpened her and her father's resolve that they had to leave Arkania. Rumours that the survivors would be swept away by troops had reached the ears of people in the Settlement and a near panic situation began. As the troops made their slow almost teasing way to the outskirts of Kanti, people were trying to hide, run, or bribe the troops with what pathetic little hand fulls of credits they had to their names. However, the curse of pure fanaticism burned in their eyes, and the settlement was sacked. They pulled people out of their houses and shot them and then ransacked the houses. Any houses they found empty they set fire to assuming that Offshoots were hiding inside.
Their dwelling being further out than most Salia her father and Baric saw this coming. Salia desperately tried to plan an escape but Baric came up with an idea to save Salia and her father. Baric would hide them under the floor of the dwelling and claim to be living alone. He knew that if they had all simply hidden the house would have been burned down killing them all. This way they would think he was the only one person living there. Salia begged him to reconsider, he turned and gave her a sad smile and said that with the infection brought in by the Pure-bloods he was dead anyway.
Alask dragged his daughter kicking and screaming into the space under the floor. He comforted her calmed her down against his chest as they heard the blaster fire. The Pure-bloods smashed up the house looking for anything valuable in their meager possessions. Eventually it went all quiet outside , finally softly sobbing Salia emerged from their hiding place and saw poor Baric. Shy, honest, kind even a little timid. He had turned out to be perhaps the bravest person she knew. Softly kissing the forehead of his lifeless body, she cursed the Pure-bloods. She prayed in her heart of hearts to God, the Universe in general, that Baric would be looked after somewhere. She also hoped one day she would be that brave.
Escape was now at the forefront of their minds. Alask recommended stowing away aboard a freighter. With almost all of the Offshoots from the settlement believed to be dead security would not be such a problem. She and her father easily re-entered the city. Making their way to the docking port they were able to bluff there way through pretending to be one of the many Offshoot Arkanians who worked loading the transports with cargo, after all Offshoots were cheaper than droids.
They were able to climb into two crates containing droid parts. They were loaded on to the ship with the rest of the cargo. Once the ship was in space however, it was not long till they were discovered by members of the four man crew. While initially furious with Siala and her father, Siala and Alask were able to prove that they could be of use and after their tail of woe the Captain who was not an unkind woman agreed to keep them aboard at least until they reached their stop off point at Dantooine.
Both very grateful, Alask went to work immediately doing heavy lifting and other grunt work. Siala despite all that had happened could not help but feel excited on her first space journey setting to work helping the ship's mechanic, who gave her a crash course in starship repair. Siala was delightfully interested and made a mental note to research on starships the next chance she got. Within a few days they landed on Dantooine on the day of Siala's 23rd birthday. Having lived nearly half her life in the squalor and dangers of Arkania. Thanking the Captain they made their way on to Dantooine's surface, its temperate climate seeming stifling to Siala, its vast open quiet planes in contrast to the Hustle and bustle of Arkanian cities. They set off to see where there path would lead them.
23-24
Work and lodging was not hard to find. Most of the farms around the Dantooine plains were always in need of more help. Alask and his daughter came to two aging farmers Stev and Inyuri Anson. The Anson's three sons had departed the planet to seek their fortune tiring of the unchanging farm life of Dantooine. Siala did not understand this, loving as she did Dantooine's peaceful way of life. The Anson's seemed impressed with her technical skills, and she set to work, fixing and improving farming equipment and in particular one droid. It was an Aratech XT-2000 droid called AS-4S. The Anson's had originally purchased him to make up for their sons' departure, however unbeknownst to them the droid, like many of its type quickly developed erratic behaviours and was hard to control. Memory wipes seemed to be completely ineffective. Siala however, managed to get him working again, she avoided the use of memory wipes and otherwise tinkering and developed a rapport with the droid. She seemed to be the only one able to get it to perform tasks effectively. She was also the only one the droid would allow to make repairs and upgrades.
Siala made very few friends, living in isolated communities made it difficult for the city dweller but once again her eccentric behaviour, such as talking to a hyrdrospanner as if it were a person tended to put people off. She often claimed that AS-4S was her best friend and took to roaming the hills, when not working, with the bemused droid in tow. She gained a reputation as being an adept mechanic and technician and was often called out to other farms to help fix their machines and droids. However, she and her father always remained diligently in the employ of the Ansons, and viewed themselves as being forever in their debt. Stev Anson made a point of teaching Siala the use of Blasters in both their rifle and small arms forms. Mostly used for hunting and protection from some of the animals in the dangerous broad spaces of Dantooine. She was not espicailly intrested in hunting but because Mr Anson insisted she tried her best to learn. She learned the weapons use over time and while hardly being a crack shot became competent in their use, generally favouring the pistol varient.
After spending a year and six months working happily on the idyllic little farm, disaster struck. The Sith invaded the planet. Siala supposed it made sense Dantooine could be a valuable bread basket for Sith to feed their people and armies. The first Siala knew of the invasion, there were explosions off in the distance. The news on the Holonet seemed to have been silenced, so the Ansons and Alask seemed to have no clue what was going on. They armed themselves, as the Sith swept into their tiny farming community, it was obvious now what was going on. Blaster fire could be heard as farmers tried to defend themselves. Alask told Siala and the Ansosns to drop their weapons as they stood no chance of winning and fighting would be pointless. The Ansons dropped their weapons, as the Sith broke down their door. The Sith quickly shot the Ansons. They were too old to be of use in the force labour camps they were going to set up. Enraged Siala turned her guns on the Sith soldiers, her father jumped in front of the inevitable return fire from the Sith and died instantly. Siala collapsed in despair at her Father's side. The junior Sith soldier pointed the gun at her head and prepared to fire. The more senior soldier stopped him. “Wait, she could be of use she is young and fit we have orders to retain a labour force.” They took her by the arm and led her from her father's side, as they took her outside, AS-4S suddenly activated and charged at the Sith and tried to rest Siala from their grip. AS-4S however was not a combat model droid, he was quickly taken care of by a blaster shot to the neck. His head detached and rolled a few yards away, Siala shrugged of the Sith and leapt for it screaming for her friend.
Siala was marched of fwith many other farmers and farm hands to make shift dentention camps. All through her processing she hung on to AS-4S's head. She reacted aggressively to anyone who tried to part her from it, the Sith came to the conclusion that she was unbalanced and it was best to leave her with the head so long as she did as she was told. The next few weeks passed in a blur, the camps were squalid but at least they were well fed. Clearly the Sith wanted to use them as a labour force. However, the Dantooine Liberation Army's appearance changed that. The prisoners in the camps were kept away from any possible sources of news and the situation got harsher in the camp. The Sith were clearly rattled and angry about something, and rumours were rife. Some said that the Republic and the Jedi were coming to assist them. Eventually the truth though perhaps a trifle exaggerated began to reach them about two men the leaders of the DLA, Dutch and his father Erle. The Sith cracked down on the Prisoners shooting some who were related to members of the DLA so as to send a message. In the Camps most were excited and either waited in hopes of liberation or tried to find their own way out. Others were scared and blamed the DLA for the Sith reprisals and just wanted to sit and out wait the occupation.
Siala was frustrated, there was little she could do. Fighting was not an option and escape was unlikely. Siala along with other prisoners had been used to work for the Sith forces, building defences under gun point for the most part. News of Siala's mechanical skills made their way to the Sith who used her and other skilled people to fix earth moving equipment and other machines. Siala sabotaged one of the huge earth movers tying up its simple AI in knots. She left it reciting Arkanian nursery rhymes, and into the droids she inserted Paradox programes. Contradictory problems with no answers causing most of them to shut down. Some of the other droids occupied themselves doing humorous impressions of some of the more hateful Sith guards. It was all she could do for the moment. Siala was skilled and a fast learner in some cases she was better than most of the Sith Army's crew of engineers and technicians. The Sith Commander, a cruel man called Magnus really did not want to kill her, he wanted to make her comply. She was tied up in solitary confinement as the Commander tried to break her.
A search was carried out to find the head of AS-4S to try and use it as a intensive for her to do as she was told. Fortunately Siala had hidden the head under the soft ground beneath another prisoner's bed. She was beaten and deprived of sleep, water and food while the Commander plied her with simple questions attempting to get her unshaking obedience. During the interrogations her already erratic behaviour became more bizarre. She calmly talked about childhood games and invited Magnus to play some with her. Sometimes she made loud demands for Corellian sweets and berated the Commander for not being a good host. However, things took a dangerous turn for Siala when one of the Sith Engineers worked out how to fix her damage. She was no longer needed. Magnus was delighted. He no longer had to listen to her insane ramblings, torturing her had not been as satisfying as it should have been due to her behaviour. He was used to screams for mercy maybe even defiance, but she seemed to passively accept the punishment. She would scream yes but it was only as a pause in her continuous inane babble.
The next day beaten and battered she faced a firing squad, when offered a blind fold she refused saying she “I would prefer some Arkanian tea if you have any. It has been too long since I had some I would love a cup.” Siala was scared, very scared, but her subconscious in order to protect her waking thoughts allowed her to delude herself into believing that this was some strange Tea party and they were only playing a party game. Unfortunately she knew her subconscious was lying.
Before he gave the order to fire, the Lieutenant dropped down dead, the Sith looked round in bafflement another soldier, and then another. The Sith started firing wildly in all directions after the unseen attackers. The DLA had come, the unarmed prisoners saw their chance leaping on the stunned and surprised Sith. The battle was over relatively quickly, the DLA had the Sith completely out maneuvered . The Commander was shot trying to resist the DLA, and the DLA and prisoners seemed to suffer only minimum casualties. Siala felt gentle hands lowering her down to the ground she heard someone shout “We need to get her the the hideout now!”
“Wait...” She said weakly “Not without AS.” She looked at eh bemused faces around her “He is my best friend...” Siala was taken to the DLA hide out and treated for her injuries and given food and water, over the next few weeks she found her strength returning and set to work helping out the people who had saved her. She owed them a debt she could not easily repay...
RP Sample:
The young DLA recruit stared in utter bemusement as he watched the small white haired girl wrench his comlink out of his hands. He had heard from some of the other guys that this girl was weird, he now believed them totally. Siala ran the comlink over in her hands caressing it and making soothing noises. “It is all right little one,I'll take care of it. What is your name?”
The young recruit shuffled nervously from foot to foot. “Um...Colson?” He ventured. Siala looked up at him with a look that seemed to take years of wear off his clothes. “I am not talking to you, and don't interrupt are trying to put him at ease.” she said icily. He almost physically recoiled from her glare, and watched as she produced a tiny hydrospanner from one of her innumerable and voluminous pockets. “Now don't worry this should not hurt.” She cooed unscrewing the tiny fasteners on its pack. Looking into the internal workings of the device she quietly tutted under her breath. Rounding on Drey she exclaimed “How could you let this poor little lad get in this condition?” Confused and more than a little scared, he baulked more than a little intimidated “Um... I am sorry?” he said uncertainly. “And so you should be!” She said her pale skin going puce. “It is a positive disgrace that such a careless ham fisted idiot could be his Master.”
She eyed his Blaster Rifle which was strapped to his back. The recruit almost shielded it subconsciously. “And that poor rifle is getting bad to. Aren’t you dear?” She smiled warmly at the Rifle before turning to Drey again. “Now I will ensure your comlink is fit and healthy by the end of the day, I suggest you go and tend to your rifle and I never want to see you back here with equipment in this condition.” Siala had in no way any power of command over Drey but so desperate was the poor young man to get out of there he nodded and and beat a hasty retreat. She smiled and put down the comlink and tiny hydrospanner, and leaned back in her chair. She thought to herself she had perhaps gone a little bit overboard, but that guy would probably take care of his equipment much better just so he did not have to talk to her again. AS-4S droid head stared at her motionless. Was she mad? She did not know, she had come to worry that she had gone a bit peculiar. The one thing she had learned from the purges on Arkania and now the occupation on Dantooine, was that if she was going to be punished for being different she might as well make herself as different as was possible to be.
She picked up AS-4S's head and stared into its empty eyes “Tell me friend? Truthfully, don't pull your punches I want the truth, have I gone a bit mad?” The head said nothing as it had done since it was removed from its body. However, somewhere in her head Siala heard something. She smiled and giggled quietly “You are truly the best of friends.” Silence covered the room like a velvet glove...
Race: Arkanian (Offshoot)
Age: 25
Height: 5'5
Weight: 120 lbs
Apperance:
Siala is short and tiny, and not unattractive. Being and offshoot of the Arkanian race, she has the white hair of many Arkanians but lacks the white eyes and tri-clawed hands. Instead she has human hands with five digits and startlingly blue eyes. She sometimes wears blinkers, as like most Arkanins she can see into the infra-red spectrum which is problematic on planets with younger and hotter stars. She generally wears her white hair to medium length. She has a scar running along her left bicep from her work as a technician in an Arkanian factory.
Siala favours long trousers in a myriad of colours normally festooned with pockets of all sizes up and down the legs. From these she can produce a seemingly endless variety of tools and miscellaneous belongings. Leading some to remark that whole Galaxies were trapped in her pockets. Being of a rather eccentric nature, she has been seen to wear Jedi like robes, and ponchos, lab coats and all manner of eccentric clothing. On special occasions she has been seen to reluctantly wear a dress, though she finds such conventions boring. However unfortunately, at least in her opinion, most of the time she has to wear t-shirts and tank tops as she finds Dantooine's climate rather hot compared to her frigid home world. While able to use a Rifle she prefers blaster pistols she is often seen carrying one, which she affectionately calls Clive.
Personality:
Siala is incredibly impatient, in regards to goals in her life. This is because of offshoot Arkanian's short lifespans, it is rare for one to live much past fifty five. Siala is painfully conscious of this fact and desperate to experience as much as she can in the short time allotted to her, coupled with her intelligence and it makes her ravenous for knowledge particularity in regards to mechanics and engineering. She has a particular fondness for droids but loved machines of all kinds. She is often to be found reading and studying as much as she can on a variety of subjects.
Her obsession with machines tends to me she personifies them. People are often disturbed by her tendency to talk to vehicles and tools as she fixes or examines them. Even more disturbing is the fact that she maintains that they speak back to her. In particular she keeps with her the removed and inactive head of an Aratech XT-2000 droid, which she claims is her best friend. (Droid Head)
She is proud of her work with the DLA, strong in her belief that the Sith should be swept from Dantooine however possible. She feels a tremendous sense of debt and loyalty to the DLA for rescuing her from a detainment camp. While generally quite friendly she has a strong dislike of Pure-bloodied Arkanians due to her treatment at their hands. Her eccentricity tends to make people give her a wide birth, not that she thinks she really need them, the machines are her friends after all. She is however, proud of her differences. The Problems she had on Arkania have led her to believe that she should try to be as different as possible. A number of people have come to wonder if her eccentricities are truly the result of past trauma, put on for effect, or perhaps a combination of the two. Manic and energetic she seems completely unable to sit still for five minutes unless she is working.
Equipment:
Blaster Pistol (Clive)
Tech equipment. (Hydro spanners and various other tools)
Birth Place: Arkania, Kanti
Occupation: DLA Mechanic (previously an Industrial Technician and then a Farmer)
Rank: DLA Recruit.
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 4
Intelligence: 8
Speed: 5
Leadership : 2
Unarmed :3
Mele Weapons: 1
Ranged weapons: 5
Bio:
0-7
Salia was born to Alask and Kalla, two gem mine workers in the City of Kanti. Like most Offshoot Arkanians they lived in almost total segregation from the supposedly Pure- blood Arkanians. This was the result of the “Offshoot question.” The Offshoots created by years of genetic experimentation by the scientifically gifted people of Arkania had resulted in these Offshoots, bred with more dexterous hands and better vision to do the jobs Arkanian Pure-bloods would not. Man of the Pure-bloods were harsh, cruel and made life as hard for the Offshoots as possible seeing them as barely sentient beings. Most were reduced down to difficult and dangerous work in industrial centres and in the mines. They also lived in constant fear of the Pure-bloods coming down and purging their settlements and communities as had been the practice in the past.
There were schools for the Offshoots in Kanti, but they were generally of a poor standard, focusing on teaching skills required for work only. Normally staffed by Arkanian Teachers who had been unable to get jobs in Pure-blood schools. As Salia went to school, her intelligence was clear but could not be truly tested by the appalling standards of education of Offshoots. Her parents were sympathetic and using what few credits they had went out and bought any books they could find, not being the greatest readers themselves, Salia had to try and teach herself. She showed a great deal of determination and easily progressed quicker than those relying on the school for their education. Her intelligence clear the teachers started to watch her carefully, after all no one wants a workforce that is too smart.
7-15
Being clever and academically interested in an environment where this is not encouraged can be difficult. Not only was she hated by her teachers, the other children resented her. As she grew up she was consistently picked on for being different. The bullying took various forms from name calling to beatings. Teachers and other authority figures simply were not interested in doing anything about bullying or violence among the Offshoots as many Pure-bloods saw them as little more than animals. One one occasion the Lacer twins a boy and a girl with particularity sadistic tendencies tied her up and secluded her on the school grounds and proceeded to beat so badly she had to be sent to hospital. News of this was made well known in the local area to show just how “barbaric” Offshoots were.
It was at this time that after leaving hospital again, Siala began to exhibit eccentricities of behaviour. In her eyes everyone was trying to force her to conform, to be the same as every other Offshoot. They wanted her to be ill educated, stupid, weak and colourless. Even other Offshoots felt this way, seeing her hard work towards improving herself as making life difficult for the rest of them as the Pure-bloods would be eager to slap them down. To this end, her originally shy character began to bloom into and excitable even manic personality. She was loud and energetic often making strange observations and displaying an irritating complete honesty. Including asking one teacher if he was unaware that he, “Stank like a dying banther.” she said this in a voice implying no malice only a strange surreal innocence and statement of fact. This behaviour won her few friends aside from one or two of the Offshoot kids. However, this was about to change as she entered her teenage years.
She had decided that the best way to get her own little revenges against the system was to help her fellow students. The attacks on her were born out of a frustration from the Arkanian drive to learn with which all Offshoots were imbued. Siala worked hard in her free time to explain concepts to struggling students she lent them her precious books and datapads. She really helped many of the other kids and as time went by those who had once bullied her became her protectors. She found teaching others, increased her own knowledge of the subjects. Others began to follow her example. With the poverty that the Offshoots lived in, many of the kids had to go to work in the factories or Gem mines during school time. The students who were luckier patiently tutored them. It was an act of quiet rebellion.
By the time most kids reached the age of 14 or even earlier they had to leave school permanently to work as their parents often could not keep them with their limited money beyond that point. Siala's parents however despite a huge cut in their wages kept her going, praying that she would go on to have a better life than them. They worked extra shifts and exhausted themselves to do it, something which Siala felt exceptionally guilty about. The next two years she really excelled in school, and in private learned a great deal about computers and technical engineering. During this time she also fell in love with another Arkanian offshoot by the name of Baric. She had helped him a great deal in school, as he had in particular struggled mostly due to his parents being very poor even for Offshoots. After he left school to go to work in the mines she stayed in contact with him and they would spend their free time together. He found the way she talked to machines and her generally manic energy attractive and she found his shyness adorable. When his parents died in a cave in she was there to comfort him and look after him due to his tendency to get ill easily. Many offshoots were vulnerable to simple Arkanian illnesses.
16-20
Eventually Siala had no choice but to leave school at 16, her parents limited resources finally running out. She went to work for Lysscol engineering, which specialised in the manufacture of everything from small arms to droids, but really specialised in droids and tools for the Gem mines. Siala worked as a technician mostly fixing the machines and droids that worked in the factory. Most of the overseers could be pretty unkind and little care was taken for the safety of Siala or anyone other Offshoot who worked there. The bare minimum safety precautions were taken to prevent injury. Siala was lucky only getting hurt a few times, the worst occurred when she had to reach in to the droid arm assembler to clear some blocked parts. One of the mechanical assemblers she freed inadvertently ran up her bicep producing a massive cut that required treatment and left her with a long scar on the inside of her left arm.
Her skill and understanding with machines and droids infuriated many of the Pure-blood overseers. Many tried to discourage her from learning more than her job entailed. As she got into her late teens Siala started noticing changes in the Offshoot populace in the city. The dangerous and difficult work combined with the Pure-blood's hate had caused the slums and settlements to come alive with dissent. Many groups were set up trying to air their grievances to the leadership of the Arkanians, the Republic anyone who would listen. Unfortunately not many did, some Offshoots organised strikes withdrawing their labour. However, the Arkanian authorities had encountered these problems before and simply sent in troops to force the strikers virtually at gun point back to work. Siala who attended a few demonstrations got more than a few beatings for her troubles. However, problems for the Offshoots were about to get worse.
20-23
The gem mines were closed, they had been exhausted by the intensive mining. With no work left for them to do the Pure-bloods herded the redundant Offshoots into settlements around the outskirts of the city. There they were abandoned to try to survive, segregated from the rest of the City. It was a struggle but most were able to set up makeshift shanty towns. Small amounts of food were occasional brought in from the city, but certainly only barely enough to survive on. Salia's love Abric who had always been a little on the sickly side really struggled and was taken in by Salia's parents.
These settlements were common around many Cities on Arkania, which led to a resurgence of the “Offshoot question.” What was to be done with all of these offshoots, unemployed Offshoots living of the food provided by the city? The Pure-bloods had always been in a state of semi panic about offshoots and the possible “contamination” of the race. One group of Pure-Bloods decided the only thing to do with them was to eliminate them, after all it had worked in the past. Those still of use in the city would be spared.
In some of the settlements common Arkanian diseases were released. Most Arkanians could shake them off easily, but the Offshoots were especially susceptible. In other areas out right purges of the settlements were considered. The Settlements around Kanti were to be targeted with a combination of both. First came the diseases spread in contaminated food given to them by the city. Most of the population died or weakened. Only a few thousand survived out of a population of two million. Among the survivors were Salia her father an her love Baric. Baric seemed to be in a particularly bad way, it had surprised many that he had lived this long. Salia's mother unfortunately had died. The death weighed heavily on Salia and she was in no doubt as to who was responsible.
This only sharpened her and her father's resolve that they had to leave Arkania. Rumours that the survivors would be swept away by troops had reached the ears of people in the Settlement and a near panic situation began. As the troops made their slow almost teasing way to the outskirts of Kanti, people were trying to hide, run, or bribe the troops with what pathetic little hand fulls of credits they had to their names. However, the curse of pure fanaticism burned in their eyes, and the settlement was sacked. They pulled people out of their houses and shot them and then ransacked the houses. Any houses they found empty they set fire to assuming that Offshoots were hiding inside.
Their dwelling being further out than most Salia her father and Baric saw this coming. Salia desperately tried to plan an escape but Baric came up with an idea to save Salia and her father. Baric would hide them under the floor of the dwelling and claim to be living alone. He knew that if they had all simply hidden the house would have been burned down killing them all. This way they would think he was the only one person living there. Salia begged him to reconsider, he turned and gave her a sad smile and said that with the infection brought in by the Pure-bloods he was dead anyway.
Alask dragged his daughter kicking and screaming into the space under the floor. He comforted her calmed her down against his chest as they heard the blaster fire. The Pure-bloods smashed up the house looking for anything valuable in their meager possessions. Eventually it went all quiet outside , finally softly sobbing Salia emerged from their hiding place and saw poor Baric. Shy, honest, kind even a little timid. He had turned out to be perhaps the bravest person she knew. Softly kissing the forehead of his lifeless body, she cursed the Pure-bloods. She prayed in her heart of hearts to God, the Universe in general, that Baric would be looked after somewhere. She also hoped one day she would be that brave.
Escape was now at the forefront of their minds. Alask recommended stowing away aboard a freighter. With almost all of the Offshoots from the settlement believed to be dead security would not be such a problem. She and her father easily re-entered the city. Making their way to the docking port they were able to bluff there way through pretending to be one of the many Offshoot Arkanians who worked loading the transports with cargo, after all Offshoots were cheaper than droids.
They were able to climb into two crates containing droid parts. They were loaded on to the ship with the rest of the cargo. Once the ship was in space however, it was not long till they were discovered by members of the four man crew. While initially furious with Siala and her father, Siala and Alask were able to prove that they could be of use and after their tail of woe the Captain who was not an unkind woman agreed to keep them aboard at least until they reached their stop off point at Dantooine.
Both very grateful, Alask went to work immediately doing heavy lifting and other grunt work. Siala despite all that had happened could not help but feel excited on her first space journey setting to work helping the ship's mechanic, who gave her a crash course in starship repair. Siala was delightfully interested and made a mental note to research on starships the next chance she got. Within a few days they landed on Dantooine on the day of Siala's 23rd birthday. Having lived nearly half her life in the squalor and dangers of Arkania. Thanking the Captain they made their way on to Dantooine's surface, its temperate climate seeming stifling to Siala, its vast open quiet planes in contrast to the Hustle and bustle of Arkanian cities. They set off to see where there path would lead them.
23-24
Work and lodging was not hard to find. Most of the farms around the Dantooine plains were always in need of more help. Alask and his daughter came to two aging farmers Stev and Inyuri Anson. The Anson's three sons had departed the planet to seek their fortune tiring of the unchanging farm life of Dantooine. Siala did not understand this, loving as she did Dantooine's peaceful way of life. The Anson's seemed impressed with her technical skills, and she set to work, fixing and improving farming equipment and in particular one droid. It was an Aratech XT-2000 droid called AS-4S. The Anson's had originally purchased him to make up for their sons' departure, however unbeknownst to them the droid, like many of its type quickly developed erratic behaviours and was hard to control. Memory wipes seemed to be completely ineffective. Siala however, managed to get him working again, she avoided the use of memory wipes and otherwise tinkering and developed a rapport with the droid. She seemed to be the only one able to get it to perform tasks effectively. She was also the only one the droid would allow to make repairs and upgrades.
Siala made very few friends, living in isolated communities made it difficult for the city dweller but once again her eccentric behaviour, such as talking to a hyrdrospanner as if it were a person tended to put people off. She often claimed that AS-4S was her best friend and took to roaming the hills, when not working, with the bemused droid in tow. She gained a reputation as being an adept mechanic and technician and was often called out to other farms to help fix their machines and droids. However, she and her father always remained diligently in the employ of the Ansons, and viewed themselves as being forever in their debt. Stev Anson made a point of teaching Siala the use of Blasters in both their rifle and small arms forms. Mostly used for hunting and protection from some of the animals in the dangerous broad spaces of Dantooine. She was not espicailly intrested in hunting but because Mr Anson insisted she tried her best to learn. She learned the weapons use over time and while hardly being a crack shot became competent in their use, generally favouring the pistol varient.
After spending a year and six months working happily on the idyllic little farm, disaster struck. The Sith invaded the planet. Siala supposed it made sense Dantooine could be a valuable bread basket for Sith to feed their people and armies. The first Siala knew of the invasion, there were explosions off in the distance. The news on the Holonet seemed to have been silenced, so the Ansons and Alask seemed to have no clue what was going on. They armed themselves, as the Sith swept into their tiny farming community, it was obvious now what was going on. Blaster fire could be heard as farmers tried to defend themselves. Alask told Siala and the Ansosns to drop their weapons as they stood no chance of winning and fighting would be pointless. The Ansons dropped their weapons, as the Sith broke down their door. The Sith quickly shot the Ansons. They were too old to be of use in the force labour camps they were going to set up. Enraged Siala turned her guns on the Sith soldiers, her father jumped in front of the inevitable return fire from the Sith and died instantly. Siala collapsed in despair at her Father's side. The junior Sith soldier pointed the gun at her head and prepared to fire. The more senior soldier stopped him. “Wait, she could be of use she is young and fit we have orders to retain a labour force.” They took her by the arm and led her from her father's side, as they took her outside, AS-4S suddenly activated and charged at the Sith and tried to rest Siala from their grip. AS-4S however was not a combat model droid, he was quickly taken care of by a blaster shot to the neck. His head detached and rolled a few yards away, Siala shrugged of the Sith and leapt for it screaming for her friend.
Siala was marched of fwith many other farmers and farm hands to make shift dentention camps. All through her processing she hung on to AS-4S's head. She reacted aggressively to anyone who tried to part her from it, the Sith came to the conclusion that she was unbalanced and it was best to leave her with the head so long as she did as she was told. The next few weeks passed in a blur, the camps were squalid but at least they were well fed. Clearly the Sith wanted to use them as a labour force. However, the Dantooine Liberation Army's appearance changed that. The prisoners in the camps were kept away from any possible sources of news and the situation got harsher in the camp. The Sith were clearly rattled and angry about something, and rumours were rife. Some said that the Republic and the Jedi were coming to assist them. Eventually the truth though perhaps a trifle exaggerated began to reach them about two men the leaders of the DLA, Dutch and his father Erle. The Sith cracked down on the Prisoners shooting some who were related to members of the DLA so as to send a message. In the Camps most were excited and either waited in hopes of liberation or tried to find their own way out. Others were scared and blamed the DLA for the Sith reprisals and just wanted to sit and out wait the occupation.
Siala was frustrated, there was little she could do. Fighting was not an option and escape was unlikely. Siala along with other prisoners had been used to work for the Sith forces, building defences under gun point for the most part. News of Siala's mechanical skills made their way to the Sith who used her and other skilled people to fix earth moving equipment and other machines. Siala sabotaged one of the huge earth movers tying up its simple AI in knots. She left it reciting Arkanian nursery rhymes, and into the droids she inserted Paradox programes. Contradictory problems with no answers causing most of them to shut down. Some of the other droids occupied themselves doing humorous impressions of some of the more hateful Sith guards. It was all she could do for the moment. Siala was skilled and a fast learner in some cases she was better than most of the Sith Army's crew of engineers and technicians. The Sith Commander, a cruel man called Magnus really did not want to kill her, he wanted to make her comply. She was tied up in solitary confinement as the Commander tried to break her.
A search was carried out to find the head of AS-4S to try and use it as a intensive for her to do as she was told. Fortunately Siala had hidden the head under the soft ground beneath another prisoner's bed. She was beaten and deprived of sleep, water and food while the Commander plied her with simple questions attempting to get her unshaking obedience. During the interrogations her already erratic behaviour became more bizarre. She calmly talked about childhood games and invited Magnus to play some with her. Sometimes she made loud demands for Corellian sweets and berated the Commander for not being a good host. However, things took a dangerous turn for Siala when one of the Sith Engineers worked out how to fix her damage. She was no longer needed. Magnus was delighted. He no longer had to listen to her insane ramblings, torturing her had not been as satisfying as it should have been due to her behaviour. He was used to screams for mercy maybe even defiance, but she seemed to passively accept the punishment. She would scream yes but it was only as a pause in her continuous inane babble.
The next day beaten and battered she faced a firing squad, when offered a blind fold she refused saying she “I would prefer some Arkanian tea if you have any. It has been too long since I had some I would love a cup.” Siala was scared, very scared, but her subconscious in order to protect her waking thoughts allowed her to delude herself into believing that this was some strange Tea party and they were only playing a party game. Unfortunately she knew her subconscious was lying.
Before he gave the order to fire, the Lieutenant dropped down dead, the Sith looked round in bafflement another soldier, and then another. The Sith started firing wildly in all directions after the unseen attackers. The DLA had come, the unarmed prisoners saw their chance leaping on the stunned and surprised Sith. The battle was over relatively quickly, the DLA had the Sith completely out maneuvered . The Commander was shot trying to resist the DLA, and the DLA and prisoners seemed to suffer only minimum casualties. Siala felt gentle hands lowering her down to the ground she heard someone shout “We need to get her the the hideout now!”
“Wait...” She said weakly “Not without AS.” She looked at eh bemused faces around her “He is my best friend...” Siala was taken to the DLA hide out and treated for her injuries and given food and water, over the next few weeks she found her strength returning and set to work helping out the people who had saved her. She owed them a debt she could not easily repay...
RP Sample:
The young DLA recruit stared in utter bemusement as he watched the small white haired girl wrench his comlink out of his hands. He had heard from some of the other guys that this girl was weird, he now believed them totally. Siala ran the comlink over in her hands caressing it and making soothing noises. “It is all right little one,I'll take care of it. What is your name?”
The young recruit shuffled nervously from foot to foot. “Um...Colson?” He ventured. Siala looked up at him with a look that seemed to take years of wear off his clothes. “I am not talking to you, and don't interrupt are trying to put him at ease.” she said icily. He almost physically recoiled from her glare, and watched as she produced a tiny hydrospanner from one of her innumerable and voluminous pockets. “Now don't worry this should not hurt.” She cooed unscrewing the tiny fasteners on its pack. Looking into the internal workings of the device she quietly tutted under her breath. Rounding on Drey she exclaimed “How could you let this poor little lad get in this condition?” Confused and more than a little scared, he baulked more than a little intimidated “Um... I am sorry?” he said uncertainly. “And so you should be!” She said her pale skin going puce. “It is a positive disgrace that such a careless ham fisted idiot could be his Master.”
She eyed his Blaster Rifle which was strapped to his back. The recruit almost shielded it subconsciously. “And that poor rifle is getting bad to. Aren’t you dear?” She smiled warmly at the Rifle before turning to Drey again. “Now I will ensure your comlink is fit and healthy by the end of the day, I suggest you go and tend to your rifle and I never want to see you back here with equipment in this condition.” Siala had in no way any power of command over Drey but so desperate was the poor young man to get out of there he nodded and and beat a hasty retreat. She smiled and put down the comlink and tiny hydrospanner, and leaned back in her chair. She thought to herself she had perhaps gone a little bit overboard, but that guy would probably take care of his equipment much better just so he did not have to talk to her again. AS-4S droid head stared at her motionless. Was she mad? She did not know, she had come to worry that she had gone a bit peculiar. The one thing she had learned from the purges on Arkania and now the occupation on Dantooine, was that if she was going to be punished for being different she might as well make herself as different as was possible to be.
She picked up AS-4S's head and stared into its empty eyes “Tell me friend? Truthfully, don't pull your punches I want the truth, have I gone a bit mad?” The head said nothing as it had done since it was removed from its body. However, somewhere in her head Siala heard something. She smiled and giggled quietly “You are truly the best of friends.” Silence covered the room like a velvet glove...
Made the changes to rank and such. And as you say will wait and see if 8 is too high. If it is I will happily change.