Post by revoltingpeasant on Oct 30, 2015 18:04:29 GMT -5
Naro Vapraxis
Name: Naro Vapraxis
Race: Zabrak
Age: 28
Birthplace: Iridonia
Allegiance: Republic
Status: Republic Officer
Rank: Lieutenant
Height/Weight: 5'11/ 162 lbs
Appearance:
It isn't difficult to tell Naro's line of work from a first glance; he has a face which, despite his young age, is weathered and coarse from years of rough living. Like the rest of his kind, instead of hair, his head is crowned by a nest of large horns; they have almost become bleached almost completely white over the years due to all of his exposure to sunlight. His pale skin colour is overlaid by an intricate pattern tattooed onto his face from his rite of passage. They are somewhat similar in colour to his faded brown eyes. Like most other Zabrak, his eyes are incredibly photosensitive. This can especially help in dimly lit areas, where his eyes can dilate to become far more receptive than what would be possible from a human. Although, this can make him incredibly vulnerable to sudden, large flashes of light, which can incapacitate and potentially harm him. It is also worth noting that this does not extend to pitch black areas, where he is just as blind as everyone else.
From his father's side of the family, he has seemingly received a long, straight face. His fingers are thin, with sharp, claw like nails at the ends of them, and these are not flimsy human nails, instead, they are similar in nature to their sturdy horns. This can give him a slight edge in a hand-to-hand brawl. Standing only slightly taller than average, he maintains a build which looks lean and muscly. He has tattoos on his body, but they are of course covered by his clothing. While off duty, he prefers to wear a white suit, but this rarely happens. His usual uniform is white, red, and looks as though it could give decent protection from a blaster bullet. It is in kept in a good condition considering the amount of abuse it through on a daily basis. As well as the Republic crest, he also bears his clan insignia on his chest: a flame engulfed blaster surrounded by a circle. The uniform he wears when on duty can vary depending on the mission. Iridonia is a warm planet, which has given Naro a natural resistance to heated environments, and can also easily adapt to more temperate climate. Of course, an obvious drawback to this would be that in an opposite scenario where the climate is incredibly cool, it can be severely uncomfortable for Naro; it can even possess a slight health risk at times.
Personality:
Naro Vapraxis is a traditional Zabrak: A Zabrak who believes in loyalty, honour, and courage. Those who lack these features are often met with alienation but no personal hatred. Because of this, he is slow to trust other people unless they are able to prove that they are both brave and capable soldiers. He can come across as being quite brash, to the point, and brutally honest at times despite his capacity as a charismatic leader; he prefers to not become too close to anyone, however any friends he does have he greatly respects.
Above all, he is an inspiring leader who can instills discipline and loyalty into his soldiers; his aptitude for leadership his only bolstered even more by his capacity make quick decisions on a battlefield by staying calm in chaotic, dangerous circumstances. It is not often he feels true respect for someone else, although he admires those who are honourable and brave. While he often generalizes humans as weak and dishonourable, he has no problem with those who exceed these expectations, and even those who don't aren't exactly met with personal discrimination. His later life was mostly centered around commanding armies, which gave him a superb capacity for battlefield strategies and tactics. Although, this was something he always had a natural talent in, and his commitment and desire to succeed only encourages this.
From early on, he biggest fear was always being a failure. He could not bear with disappointment. This drive to not fail definitely helps in his military career. He does not spend time dwelling on something unimportant, as he only wants to know what his mission is, and how to complete it- any details beyond that are unnecessary. Although, this drive for success can cloud his judgement at times when something that would result in some sort of failure or retreat would be the practical thing to do. Being born on such a brutal climate, environment, and culture, he is more than a little used to a rougher
way of life, which can lead to Naro especially despising those who lead materialistic, lavish lifestyle.
Ships/Vehicles:
Any ships
Equipment:
Blaster pistol
Vibrodagger
Hologram
Blaster rifle
Grenades
Stats:
Strength - Above Average
Agility - Below Average
Intelligence - Average
Charisma - Above Average
Combat Training:
Blaster Pistols- Adept
Blaster Rifles- Expert
Small Melee Weapons- Apprentice
Large Melee Weapons- Novice
Hand-to-Hand-Adept
Grenades- Apprentice
Other Training:
Engineering- Apprentice
Medicine- Novice
Survival- Apprentice
Piloting- Novice
Tactics- Expert
Leadership- Adept
Languages
Basic- Fluent
Zabraki- Fluent
Biography:
Childhood 0-14
Zabrak were always seen as being tough and independent, especially those from Iridonia. Something about its inhospitable terrain and vicious wildlife molds its inhabitants into something stronger. Naro was born into a family which had a decent standing, but were not necessarily rich; the family were a part of the medium sized Vapraxis clan. On this planet each town was an independent clan in which a community all contributed in order to progress their clan's interests. Iridonian politics were seen as outlandish and barbaric towards outsiders. It was a relatively peaceful life up until adulthood, his father was a mechanic spending limited time with his son, and any time he was at home was mostly spent teaching him about his work, hoping his son would follow in his footsteps. Unfortunately, his mother fell ill with a potent virus when he was five years old, and was bound to her bed most of the time. They was no medicine able to cure her, but she was able to be treated.
With his father at work, and his mother in bed, he had to look both after himself and his mother from only five years old. The sense of independence he gained from this leaked into his adult life. Despite his responsibilities, he got into trouble from the authorities several times during his childhood. This first experience was when he was around 13.
It was midday in the market, and the vibrant sounds of bartering, voices, and laughing. I loomed around at all of the different stalls: food, gadgets, droids, tools, and many other trinkets. Naro was feeling slightly peckish. Despite having no money on him, the food on the stall looked incredibly inviting. Scanning around him, he made sure no-one was looking, and without any event, he swiftly picked up a purple fruit. Quickly, he started walking away, feeling somewhat proud of himself.
"THIEF! Stop him!"
It was at this moment where Naro' hearts skipped a beat. He turned around, and two intimidating officers and a particularly angry shopkeeper were running towards him. Instinctively, he ran away into a back alley. Almost everything became a blur. He just ran as fast as he could. After he thought he had ran away sufficiently, he stopped with one arm positioned against the wall. Breathing heavily, he realized how much fun that was. The adrenaline. The excitement. He laughed to himself, before heavily exhaling. Looking around him, he started walking back towards his home. The rest of the day was mostly uneventful, though he did have to stay a reasonable distance away from the market for the next few weeks. This may have been his first crime, but certainly wouldn't have been his last. Among his misdemeanors included petty thievery, and the occasional act of minor vandalism. His hooliganism continued for the next few months.
Naro had an extremely careless outlook on life, and this aroused a large amount of suspicion. It was late at night, and the rain was pounding down, Naro quickly entered hia home, slamming the door behind him. Sighing, he removed his coat and sauntered towards the living at room. Upon arrival, he stopped at the sight of his father sitting on a chair, facing away from him.
"Late home again, I see." His father said, placing down his datapad." Do you think me to be both blind and deaf?" He continued, turning around to face me. "I've seen your late night antics, and I won't have it- not my son."
"I... What are you talking about?" Naro stuttered, with his fingers trembling in his hands.
"I know about your crime spree, Naro. Please don't lie to me. This needs to stop." He stood up, and looked him in the eye. "I will not have my son be petty criminal: It shames me and the clan as a whole. Continue like this, and you will become an outcast!"
"Where is mother?" Naro asked, desperately trying to divert away from the conversation.
"She's asleep, and she doesn't have to hear this right now. Just stop please. Stop all of this. Promise me." He looked Naro dead the eyes, and with a slightly calmer voice, he said. "Promise me. If not for yourself, then for your mother. She needs you."
For a few seconds, there was a brief silence, before I sighed and stated. "I promise."
After this, his mother's increasing needs for care and treatment only increased, he spent more time looking after her than going outside the house. It was obvious her condition was becoming worse. They knew as soon as she was diagnosed that she wouldn't last much longer than 10 years. It was just something they knew would come, but didn't want to worry or talk about.
Naro solemnly walked into her mother's room. Only her husband sat at her side.
"What's wrong?"
His father sighed, with a tear sliding down his cheek. "Its your mother. I... He took a deep breath, and wiped any tears off his face. "I think she's... Passing away."
"No... There has to be something we can do."
Naro's parents stared at each other. "Naro." She said, carefully examining her next choice of words."Even if there is medicine or treatment that can keep me living for a few extra years, I do not want it. Each day my pain only grows, and I am only a burden to those around me. I don't want to live any longer."
A grave silence filled the room.
"Naro... I'm proud of you." She whispered, with her words being followed by a pained, yet peaceful smile."
"No. Please... Don't go." A wave of shock of guilt and overcame him, as a solitary tear shed from his eye."Please."
"Naro." She stated with a voice surprisingly clear."I've only been a burden to you up until now, and... And I'm sorry" Her eyes rolled back, contemplating her life.
"What do you mean?"
"When I'm gone, you can do what you want, go where you want."
"But."
"Naro. Listen to me." She coughed, before taking a deep breath and continuing onward. "Just be whatever you want to be. Don't anything get in the way of that. Okay?"
"Bu..." He bit his lip, knowing her death was inevitable. "Okay. I promise."
"Good." She smiled at him one last time, before finally closing her eyes.
A few seconds passed: Seconds that felt like an eternity, during which, he saw the life in his mother slowly slip away. With one last breath her eyes closed, and she passed away.
"Naro, look at me." His father said, grabbing his shoulder. "I'm right here. Its okay. Trust me. We're going to be fine. We're gonna be fine."
The funeral took place nearly two weeks later. It was difficult to adjust, yet the world carried on around them as of nothing happened. Throughout the next few months, Naro pondered what his mother said. He needs really wondered about what he wanted to do when he was older. He just always tackled obstacles as they came, never really worrying about the future. After this moment,, he started to take his future , and what he wanted to be a lot more seriously. Despite his father giving him basic training when he was younger, he wouldn't want to pursue that as a career. It wasn't that he was bad at it, he just didn't enjoy it. After a few days of thinking, and asking around his hometown, he decided he wanted to pursue a career in military after he had completed his rite of passage into adulthood, and had already started to teach himself about a military maneuvers.
Trials and Rite of Passage 15-16
Almost too soon after his mother's death came the challenges of his rite of passage, or Res Selenoren as it was called in the native Zabraki tongue. Possibly, it could have been the most important of his life- his passage into adulthood. It had to happen sometime, and his father knew he was ready. In secret, planning for the challenges began. It was customary for there to be three trials: mental physical, and social. All three are meant to show the strengths and weaknesses of the participant. Training began exactly one month before the trials would begin. There were regular workouts, meditation, shooting ranges, and martial arts practice- all to help him achieve his goal. It was brutal, but it was needed.
It was decided that Naro's physical challenge would be to survive in the wilderness for five days with an expert to rate his performance, and make sure he stayed safe. He was to be sent off on an evening, and would be to return at five daysater. Returning any earlier would result in a failure. All he was able to take with him was a pocket knife, and distress signal in case he was in too much danger. On any other habitable planet, this would have been easier, but Iridonia, with its inhospitable terrain and pools of acid made this task especially difficult. One day to prepare. One day of learning survival. The basics, like starting fires, creating a basic shelter, and gathering water had already been mastered the month before, but now he had to learn how to cook in the wild, gut animals, and navigation through the harsh landscape.
When the next day came, he was not sure whether he was entirely ready, but that didn't matter. He had to to do this. He arrived at the barracks to receive his equipment. Before him, stood a weathered veteran holding his equipment. "Hello, Naro, I assume?" He received a quick nod. "Well then. I will be your assessor for this test. I will rate your performance, and while I cannot directly help you in on-life threatening situations, I will also make sure that you don't end up as an evening meal for the wildlife around here." He picked up an assortment of different objects. "You will have five different things to take with you. Here is a water flask. It has some water in it already, but it won't last you the whole five days." He handed him a half-empty flask of water. "Now..." He murmured, sifting through the objects."Ah, here is a pocket knife! Here, use it to gut animals and in self defense. And finally, ah. Here is a distress signal. You can use it when your life is in danger, though doing so is an automatic failure." He handed over all of Naro's equipment. "I hope you've readied yourself."
"Yes, sir." Came a slow murmured reply.
"Good, but for goodness sake, don't call me sir for the whole week."
Naro was taken to the front gates of the town. He looked back, and saw his father, who gave him a quick nod. Sighing, he continued onward, and walked into the wilderness with his mentor. Night would come soon, and they had to build a shelter. Naturally, the responsibility fell to Naro. Cautiously, they walked into the forest. Scanning the area, he spotted a tree that would be suitable for supporting a shelter. The next few minutes were spent gathering twigs, leaves and branches. After all the materials began, the construction began. It was complete after about half-hour later. Even though it was definitely not going to be comfortable, but it would serve its purpose. Feeling hungry, Naro decided to gather some fruit. It was agreed that it would probably be a better idea to stay away from the animals. He was wandering for about one hour, but it became obvious that this area was barren of anything edible. Defeated, he returned to his shelter, and ended the first day.
Day two was relatively uneventful. He managed to gather some fruit and enough water to fill his flask, though by the end of the day, it was empty. The fruit helped to satisfy his hunger, but it was not enough, and he would have had to look for more tomorrow. Day three came, and a similar routine followed. Find fruit, and gather water. However, towards the end, the weather turned cold, and Naro needed a source for warmth. With his mentor, he set out, and collected some firewood. When he returned, he put it to use. He placed a cylindrical piece of wood onto the pile of would, and began rapidly twisting it with the palm of his hands. First came the smoke, and it was obvious that progress was being made. His hands started to ache, but be continued. And then there was fire.
The next few hours were spent placing his hands above the fire, and trying to warm up. Eventually, night fell again. He put out the fire, and retreated to his shelter. Day four started as normal. Wake up, gather fruit, gather water, it was becoming quite simple at this point. However, when they returned, the shelter was destroyed. Something had been here.
Naro gave him a look as though he was expecting something from him. "What are you looking at me for, this is you test." He scanned the area. It looked clear. But something had been here. Where was it? Then he heard a growl behind him. Turning around, he pointed his weapon at the location of the noise. Then a creature emerged at least twice the size of Naro. It marched onward towards him. "Its not going to hurt you, its a gentle creature."
He stared blankly at it, and it stared back. Although, after a few seconds, it ran away. Breathing a sigh of relief, he turned back towards what was left of his base, and started walking. His assessor gave a slight smirk, but only a few seconds later, a small tremor shook the ground, only to be followed by the cries and screams of several animals fleeing the area. Stumbling, he slowly started to walk into the opposite direction. Suddenly, there was a deafening roar. Turning back, he saw a creature at least 5 meters tall, with teeth the size of a person's head. He turned to his mentor, "Naro, get down. Its a hunter not a scavenger." He whispered with a huge sense of urgency in his voice. This creature was a hunter- not a scavenger. If he just pretended to be dead, he may be ignored. Footsteps came closer, and eventually the coarse sniffling of the creature could be clearly heard and smelt.
It's a hunter, not a scavenger. Just stay where you are. Don't move. Don't breathe.
It lingered for a few moments, but eventually it carried on. They waited for a least two minutes before Naro sat up, and the Mentor deemed the area safe. At least for the time being.
"We have to go back." He said. "Those creatures should not have been here."
"And you'll let me fail." Naro contested.
His mentor sighed, and continued, "Did you see him? That creature could have easily killed us. You can do this trial again anyway."
"We only have two days left."
"For goodness sake, child." He sighed, "Fine, but don't go anywhere without me."
They relocated to a location they deemed more safe. They set up another shelter and quickly went to sleep.It was a sleepless night. The fear of what may come to them in the night was terrifying. The next day, Naro was tired from having very little sleep the night before. But there was still a job to do. Survival. It was hard to really recover from what happened the day before, but they did what they had to do nonetheless. They gathered some fruit and water, and ate. It was time to return home soon anyway.
When evening came, the challenge was completed. The mentor and Naro agreed never to speak of exactly what happened, and they returned back to their home-town. Their arrival was met with a slight celebration, and his physical trial was a success. All what remained was mental and social.
It was decided what his mental trial would be. His most prominent mental strength was decisiveness. He could always make calculated decisions quickly. Because of this, coupled with the fact that he wanted a career based around the military, his mental trial would be an exam on military tactics, weapons, and general knowledge about how warfare worked on Iridonia. It almost came as a shock to Naro as to how tame this trial was compared to his physical, but he knew from the start that his physical challenge was a bit more extreme than most other people's. But his father really wanted to test him, and also though a good week away on a 'camping' trip would do him some good.
It was a good call to start revising about the military before his exam. It occurred on week after he returned, and he completed it with relative ease, and returned with an 80% mark, which was a success. After all he had been through in the physical, he couldn't help but feel disappointed that it had not much more to offer. Sure, he didn't want to come face to face with another 10 ft reptilian for a second time, but an exam felt slightly rudimentary. But then again, a pass is a pass, and now they was only one trial left to go. The final trial. The social trial.
It occurred three weeks later, at the Rising Festival, where all of the tribe's youth would all participate in a trial together to assess how well one worked as a team, leadership, and capacity to follow commands. This came as a relief to Naro, who always did work well in a team and as a leader. When the festival came, Naro was selected to be a leader of the team. The task centered around creating a totem that would be the centerpiece festival. This totem was of great cultural and religious value.
It was a moderate success. Nothing special, but t served its purpose. Later on in the festival, he was officially accepted as an adult of the tribe. He received a facial tattoo very similar to his father's, with the clan sigil and a personal design around it.
Iridonian Politics 17-23
Republic Military Career 23-28His aspirations of becoming a soldier eventually led him to that very career. Although it was peace time, the training was incredibly brutal. They were deliberately given scarce amounts of food to simulate rations while at war, and they regularly paraded around the town. Eventually, war did break out. It was not exactly a rare occurrence, with it happening only a few months after he joined, but it was incredibly important nonetheless. They were not told exactly why the war happened n the first place, but there were several rumors ranging from taking advantage of weaknesses to territorial disputes- but why there was war did not matter.
It was short, and mostly consisted of small skirmishes other than a large battle located in a valley between the two villages. Naro took part in this battle, and it was his first ever contact with war. He was on the front line. While it was panicking and chaotic at times, received a sort of adrenaline rush that was seemingly unique. Eventually, it came to an impasse, with either side lacking the morale to advance forwards, and the warfare mainly took part in trenches, and considering that either side was equally armed, advancing forwards would be suicide. Because of this, the fighting was mainly centered around long range artillery and sniping, which Naro maintained a moderate degree of skill with.
The battle was held at a standstill for the next few days, and was relatively uneventful other than the occasional tanks and ships flying over to try and break the defense. Eventually there was a turning point; it was about five days into the standstill until sabotage performed by spies allowed an advance of infantry supported by heavy artillery, tanks and gunships, who were ordered to relentlessly attack the enemy trench.
"Forwards. Advance! Have no fear men, this is what you trained for!"
The day was clear, yet the sky was filled with sparks and lasers. Men dropped like flies around him, yet he continued to crawl forwards. Screaming and the mechanical sounds of tanks shifting forwards were the only sounds that could be heard. The enemy trench seemed to be approaching closer.
"Stop!" Came a shrilled, weathered voice. "Grenades!" All soldiers simultaneously knelt upwards, and their grenades into the opposing trench. After a few seconds, an explosive display of sparks and fire smothered the horizon, and an orchestra of shrieks of screams was only overcame by the fiery mountains of explosions.
Afterwards, the battlefield fell eerily quiet. Naro cautiously advanced onto the charred remains of the enemy trench. There was little left other than scorched corpses and craters. Victory.
It was only at dawn the next morning when their army advanced onto the opposing village. Most of their fighters were either dead or mortally wounded, and the only defense the town had was a rudimentary militia. It was not long until it was completely surrounded. Fearing the loss of even more innocent lives, the opposing clan agreed to surrender, but not unconditionally. Seeing this as an insult, the general ordered an all,out assault on the enemy village, anything of value was taken, most of the populace were held captive, and almost every structure was burnt to the ground.
Due to his bravery, and role on the front lines, Naro was promoted and distinguished among a few of his other clan members. Over the next few years, several smallers clans were pursued and forced into either vassalisation or death. Ot was a fairly slow crawl thrlught the ranks, but it was steady nonetheless. Eventually, he became an officer of a small squadron of troops. It was a fairly long peace-time that followed the last war, and the Vapraxis clan became too well established and powerful for any of the other clans to even try challenging them. Though the distinction felt sudden, somewhere along the line, Naro realised how useless and unneeded he was. The first chance he had, he took his papers with him and left his home behind.
Taking only the essentials with him, he took the first shuttle off Iridonia to Republic controlled space. The next stop was Ord Mantell. Along with him, journeyed several refugees from the mid-rim.
It was short, and mostly consisted of small skirmishes other than a large battle located in a valley between the two villages. Naro took part in this battle, and it was his first ever contact with war. He was on the front line. While it was panicking and chaotic at times, received a sort of adrenaline rush that was seemingly unique. Eventually, it came to an impasse, with either side lacking the morale to advance forwards, and the warfare mainly took part in trenches, and considering that either side was equally armed, advancing forwards would be suicide. Because of this, the fighting was mainly centered around long range artillery and sniping, which Naro maintained a moderate degree of skill with.
The battle was held at a standstill for the next few days, and was relatively uneventful other than the occasional tanks and ships flying over to try and break the defense. Eventually there was a turning point; it was about five days into the standstill until sabotage performed by spies allowed an advance of infantry supported by heavy artillery, tanks and gunships, who were ordered to relentlessly attack the enemy trench.
"Forwards. Advance! Have no fear men, this is what you trained for!"
The day was clear, yet the sky was filled with sparks and lasers. Men dropped like flies around him, yet he continued to crawl forwards. Screaming and the mechanical sounds of tanks shifting forwards were the only sounds that could be heard. The enemy trench seemed to be approaching closer.
"Stop!" Came a shrilled, weathered voice. "Grenades!" All soldiers simultaneously knelt upwards, and their grenades into the opposing trench. After a few seconds, an explosive display of sparks and fire smothered the horizon, and an orchestra of shrieks of screams was only overcame by the fiery mountains of explosions.
Afterwards, the battlefield fell eerily quiet. Naro cautiously advanced onto the charred remains of the enemy trench. There was little left other than scorched corpses and craters. Victory.
It was only at dawn the next morning when their army advanced onto the opposing village. Most of their fighters were either dead or mortally wounded, and the only defense the town had was a rudimentary militia. It was not long until it was completely surrounded. Fearing the loss of even more innocent lives, the opposing clan agreed to surrender, but not unconditionally. Seeing this as an insult, the general ordered an all,out assault on the enemy village, anything of value was taken, most of the populace were held captive, and almost every structure was burnt to the ground.
Due to his bravery, and role on the front lines, Naro was promoted and distinguished among a few of his other clan members. Over the next few years, several smallers clans were pursued and forced into either vassalisation or death. Ot was a fairly slow crawl thrlught the ranks, but it was steady nonetheless. Eventually, he became an officer of a small squadron of troops. It was a fairly long peace-time that followed the last war, and the Vapraxis clan became too well established and powerful for any of the other clans to even try challenging them. Though the distinction felt sudden, somewhere along the line, Naro realised how useless and unneeded he was. The first chance he had, he took his papers with him and left his home behind.
Taking only the essentials with him, he took the first shuttle off Iridonia to Republic controlled space. The next stop was Ord Mantell. Along with him, journeyed several refugees from the mid-rim.
Roleplay Sample: WIP
