Post by CaptainBonkers on Feb 18, 2016 16:33:37 GMT -5
Name: Andon Mecetti
Race: Human
Age: 45
Birthplace: Muunilist
Allegiance: Sith Empire
Status: Military Officer / Noble
Rank: Colonel / Baron
Height/Weight: 6’ / 180lbs
Appearance: At six feet tall Andon, while not a towering giant, is above the galactic average for human. When combined with an impeccable posture, a result of almost thirty years in the Imperial Army, and the confidence Andon carries himself, he is able to project an image that is hard to ignore. As a result, unless surrounded by fellow officers of the Imperial Military, Andon tends to stick out from the crowd.
Military lifestyle and personal ‘hobbies’ have left their mark on Andon’s appearance: the plentiful physical activity practiced throughout his life have left him with a lean frame with wiry musculature. He moves with the grace of a practiced and skilled swordsman and is usually well aware of his immediate surroundings, making catching him off guard challenging but not impossible.
When it comes to clothing, Andon is most at home in uniform or wearing combat armor. However, outside of work he generally dresses more casually, though still in a way that is proper for his station.
Personality: At first glance Andon doesn’t appear to be much different from your standard issue Imperial Army Officer: a strong believer in discipline, chain of command and proper manners. However, he does possess certain qualities that set him a few pegs above the common model. While calling him a genius would be going too far, he is quite intelligent and well versed in the subjects important for his duties, making him an extremely competent at his job.
Andon is also able to inspire loyalty and fighting spirit in the soldiers serving with him. He expects much from his men but never more than he himself would be willing to do and always makes sure to give credit to his subordinates when they’ve done something to distinguish themselves in the line of duty. He is also very much a front line leader: to Andon it is a point of pride to be as close to action as possible while commanding his unit. He possesses certain infectious confidence that makes it easier for those around him to believe into victory.
Because of his upbringing and background Andon is very much a man of honor, at least outside of combat as in the heat of battle principles are easily forgotten. However, whenever he isn’t preoccupied by dodging shrapnel and blaster bolts, Andon does his best to live up to the standard of honor of the Tapani Sector nobility.
Ships/Vehicles:
N/A
Equipment:
Archaic Lightfoil - Orange
Curved Hilt Lightsaber – Orange (Owns but doesn’t carry in public)
A Small Pouch Full of Durasteel Shrapnel
Blaster Pistol
Personal Communicator
Stats:
Strength –Average
Agility – Above Average
Intelligence – Superior
Charisma - Above Average
Force Stats:
Telekinetic- Expert
Telepathic- Adept
Body- Adept
Sense- Adept
Protection- Apprentice
Healing:– Unskilled
Destruction– Novice
Combat Training:
Blaster Rifles – Apprentice
Blaster Pistols – Adept
Tapani Lightfoil Fencing - Master
Force Training:
Force Crush – Expert
Force Wave - Adept
Force Stealth – Adept
Ballistakinesis - Expert
Other Training:
Public Speaking – Adept
Shock Unit Tactics – Expert
Mobile Infantry Tactics – Adept
Logistics - Adept
General Military Strategy - Adept
Lightsaber Training:
Shii-Cho- Adept
Makashi- Specialist
Niman- Adept
Biography: Andon’s parents weren’t part of the founding members of the Sith Empire but they were there from the beginning. Andon’s father, Corvin, was member of the house Mecetti from the Tapani system and a heir apparent to a minor barony there. He was living on Muunilist, seeing to the family’s interests there. There he met Andon’s mother, Leandra, a younger daughter of an Alderaanian count from the House Thul. Their wedding followed soon after and was the talk of the town for a while after, mostly because Andon was born only about seven months after the wedding and was far too healthy to have born early.
Despite the circumstances surrounding their wedding, Andon’s parents were happy together and would probably have ended up together even without an unplanned pregnancy forcing their hand. Their original plan had been to move back to Republic space after Andon’s birth, but that changed when the first doctor’s examination revealed Andon to be Force Sensitive. If Andon’s Force sensitivity had gotten out while inside of Republic territory, his parents would likely have been pressured by their families to hand Andon over to the Jedi Order. However, since he was born in the Empire his parents had some room to maneuver.
Since the prospect of losing their heir to the Jedi Order did not appeal to Corvin and Leandra, they decided to remain in the Empire until their son was safely too old to be accepted into the Jedi. It wasn’t a hard decision for them. As members of nobility the two of them integrated well into the Imperial upper crust and quickly went native. By the time Andon was old enough to be in the clear, his parents no longer harbored any plans of returning to the Republic beyond occasional vacations spent visiting relatives. Thus Andon grew up under the influence of the Imperial society.
Although his parents didn't wish to risk losing their firstborn to the Jedi, Andon's father didn't give up on the idea of having his son trained to use the Force. In his eyes, the ability to use the Force was a tool that could prove useful to his son later on in his life and so set out to find someone to teach him. It took several years of careful work through number of intermediaries to locate someone that was suitable for the job but during the same year that Andon turned eight, his father finally managed to get a hold of someone who could school him in the ways of the Force.
Benrik Delanno had once been a respected Jedi master, a skilled practitioner of the Form II and especially talented at the Telekinetic aspects of the Force. He had left the Order under less than amiable circumstances, following a number of disagreements with the Council over philosophy and personal life choices. His life had taken a turn for the worse after that and after a legion of hardships and personal tragedies, Delanno had been reduced to a little more than a common mercenary, bitter at the world and far too attached to the bottle. To him teaching some rich brat the ways of the Force was a meal ticket and a way of getting back at the Jedi Council, whom he had begun to blame for everything wrong in his life.
The first lessons Andon had with Delanno were unpleasant at best. The tutor was hungover during many of their first meetings and approached teaching with a rather general 'whatever' attitude. He thought that neither Andon or his parents didn't have interest in really seeing this training through, so he figured he would just spew some garbage that sounded vaguely philosophical, teach the kid a couple of tricks he could use to entertain people at social gatherings and pocket the money. However, two things changed his approach.
Firstly, despite not particularly liking Delanno at first, Andon was an attentive listener and a relatively quick study, two qualities that shook Delanna's attitude towards his job. The second thing that changed his attitude was when, after Dealanno had turned to a scheduled meeting with Andon clearly drunk, Corvin had him dragged to his office by the Mandalorian bodyguards in his employ and made it very clear that continuing in similar way would have serious repercussions. Corvin then went to offer Delanno a sizable bonus if he started to take his job seriously. It worked and Andon's lessons with Delanno soon begun to change into more instructive, interesting and altogether for the better.
As time went on, Delanno became Andon's favorite tutor. He was surrounded by a horde of them but the only one whose lessons never felt dull or tedious was Delanno and after all he was the only tutor on whose lessons Andon learned how to levitate things. Sure, he was taught other things too, and he learned eagerly, but making things move with nothing more than a though, and possibly a hand gesture of kinds, fascinated Andon to no end. Delanno also came to enjoy training Andon: teaching brought back some old, good memories and once again provided him with a certain purpose in life he had missed. In time a friendship of sorts formed between the two of them.
On the year Andon turned ten his father decided that it was time for his son begin a hobby worthy of a young gentleman. The one he chose for his son was lightfoil fencing, a sport he himself practiced avidly. Andon took to it with enthusiasm. He had been begging his father to let him try his hand at it ever since he had first seen his father's practice and being finally allowed to made him as giddy as only ten year old boy can be.
His enthusiasm paid off and his trainer could often be found praising his progress to his parents. He had never seen such a prodigy, though to be honest Andon's Force training was probably giving him a significant leg up when it came to learning. His progress didn't go unnoticed by Delanno, who after observing Andon's lightfoil lessons approached Corvin and inquired if he would be interested in allowing him to train Andon in the use of a lightsaber, who eagerly accepted the offer.
Andon's lightsaber training began with basics, though Delanno was anxious to get the Shii-Cho phase out of the way as soon as possible. He himself was a master of Makashi form and thus more comfortable when teaching it. Fortunately it was a form that mixed well with lightfoil fencing. The two forms had plenty of similarities but differenced enough to be called separate. By the time Andon prepared to be sent to the Imperial Officer Academy he had good basic kills at using the Force and lightsaber combat.
Due to the boarding school system at the Academy, certain special arrangements had to be made for Andon to continue his training while studying. Delanno was listed as his private fencing tutor and he himself had to partake in a number of tournaments to convince the board that he was a competitive lightfoil fencer and thus required special dispensation to train with his coach regularly to maintain the necessary skill level to compete.
Although the competitive fencing had begun as an useful cover, Andon quickly grew to enjoy it. Although it damaged his grades somewhat, the practice he got out of it was indispensible in further developing his skills with lightsaber and -foil as well as his ability to use the Force under less controlled circumstances. He also got to see more of the Galaxy than before. The only downside was that some of the competitions he took part in were held in Republic space, which made Andon nervous.
Although he had been told by both his parents and Delanno that the Jedi wouldn't do a thing to him if he was discovered, Andon couldn't shake the irrational fear that he'd get into trouble with the Jedi Order if he ever ran into one of them while travelling in the Republic. So during one of their training sessions, Andon inquired Delanno if there was a way to hide his connection to the Force and if he could teach him that ability. Delanno agreed, though hesitantly as Force Stealth had never been his forte. The ex-Jedi did his best at instructing Andon how to conceal his ability to use the Force, which helped to alleviate Andon's anxiousness.
Andon's studies at the Academy advanced according to expectations, even exceeding them in many cases especially considering his extracurricular activity that ate lot of time he could have used to study more intensively. At the academy he studies land warfare and related subjects as well as logistics, becoming quite knowledgeable in said subjects. By the end of his time at the Academy he was easily in the top half of his class. Many of the instructors often remarked that he would have likely made it to the top quarter if he had worked a little more on his studies instead of 'wasting his time with hobbies'.
As Andon progressed with his studies, so did he with his training with Delanno which was at this point gradually reaching the point where Delanno would have begun to consider recommending him for the Trials had Andon been a padawan. Still, there were things to be taught, mostly more advanced Force techniques and finer aspects of Form II. Still, Delanno knew that in a year or two there was nothing more he could teach to his trainee. Already he was struggling to stay on top when sparring with Andon. Not much, mind you, but enough for him to notice it. Andon's skill was undeniable. He had even had success in the competitions and was widely regarded as one of the most promising young lightfoil fencers in the Galaxy. He could probably have made a career in it, had he not been more interested in making a career in the Imperial Army.
Telekinesis was still Andon's strongest area when it came to various aspects of using the Force. Delanno had taught him several Telekinetic techniques but one Andon 'discovered' all on by himself. One day it had simply occurred to him that he could use the Force to accelerate the speed of a thrown object to a point it became a bullet. After trying it out couple of times by himself with some success, Andon inquired his master if he knew how to improve his technique.
Delanno himself had never actively practiced ballistakinesis but agreed to help Andon work it out and together they managed to hone Andon's ability to a level he could use to study on his own. Over the years he became quite deadly with it, capable to launch as many small objects as he could hold in the palm of his hand to a velocity at which they could pierce all but the heaviest body armor.
Finally time came for Andon's graduation and deployment, which put an end to his active training with Delanno, though he still maintained contact with his teacher to ask advice on occasion when it came to developing his abilities independently. Before the two parted, Delanno gifted him with his lightsaber claiming that he could always make a new one whereas Andon probably wouldn't have the chance to build his own. amusingly, Andon's father gave him a similar gift as a graduation present; an archaic lightfoil he had acquired through some trouble.
Out of habit Andond didn't advertize his abilities to people around him, though neither did he ever actively deny their existence. He was made a platoon leader to an infantry company stationed on Muunnilist where he proved himself to be a competent lieutenant. However despite his efficiency, Andon detested his post mostly because he was bored out of his mind.
Overseeing the training and other day to day activities of an unit during peacetime was extremely dull for a young man of Andon's ability and though this left him with much free time, relatively speaking, which he often spent honing his skills, he still yearned for something more interesting. His chance came when the Empire decided to crack down on pirates that had been plaguing its fringe territories. As soon as Andon heard of the operation, he requested transfer which was aptly accepted.
As a result of his request, Andon found himself as the leader of a marine detail on a patrol corvette "Arbiter" serving in the outer fringes of Imperial borders. It took Andon some time to get used to serving on a starship but in the end he acclimated quite well and quickly made himself popular among the crew and his fellow officers. Andon got especially well along with his CO, who himself was a rather young commander and likewise anxious to see some action. Their hopes were fulfilled soon enough, when they came under attack from three pirate ships.
The crew of "Arbiter" put up a fight but it quickly became evident that they were too heavily outnumbered. Alone, the corvette would have been more than a match for any of the pirate ships but together they were too much for her to fight. Before they could retreat though, their engines were disabled by enemy fire and the crew prepared for worst. To their surprise, the pirates decided to board the "Arbiter" instead of just blowing it to smithereens which incidentally turned out to be a really bad idea.
Over the next three hours the crew of the "Arbiter" put up a valiant resistance, stalling the pirate advance to a halt and then counter boarded the enemy ships one by one. Andon led the boarding party himself and the success he and his men enjoyed made them the darlings of the Imperial Media for the next couple of weeks and earned each and every one of them a medal. Some of them even earned promotions, among them Andon, who was bumped up to First Lieutenant.
He stayed with the "Arbiter" and her crew for a while still, until the end of the large-scale anti-piracy operations. He took part in several engagements during that time and at the end of it he was promoted to captain and given the command of a grenadier company stationed on Muunilist. It was a prestigious post and one Andon took with passion and determination. His company would be the best in the regiment, no comparison. To that end he reworked the training regimen thoroughly.
Andon drove his men hard but made sure to always take part in the training himself whenever appropriate to show that he held himself to the same standards he expected from his men. This earned him some derision from his fellow officers but greatly improved his relation with the soldiers of his company and soon it was clear whose company was in the best shape. In the next military exercise Andon's company broke all regimental records and largely carried the rest of the regiment through the exercise.
Post on Muunilist left Andon with more free time he could enjoy in privacy than his time on the "Arbiter". He used much of it to hone his lightsaber techniques or studying what texts he could get his hands on concerning Force techniques. This lifestyle continued until Andon was thirty-six, when both his grand-father and father died within a short duration of time, leaving him to inherit their title and estates.
This caused some problems for Andon: his rank and most of the property he had just inherited was based in the Republic held Tapani sector while he himself was an Imperial Citizen. There was no law forbidding him from holding the title and the estates that came with it in absentia but arrangements needed to be made for it to work. Arrangements which would take more than a couple of months to see through and would require his presence in the Tapani sector. Since Andon didn't wish to lose most of his inheritance due to some quirk of legislature, he requested transfer to the reserves until he had secured his inheritance. His request was granted and along the transfer orders came a letter which informed Andon that since the war department found it distasteful that a Baron hold the rank of a mere captain within the Imperial Army he was henceforth promoted to a Colonel of the Reserve for his service to the Empire.
Andon's stay in the Tapani Sector came to be a bit longer than expected; while he had expected to fill some documents, take part in ceremony or two, tour the estates and then head home it turned out that he was expected to spent a while overseeing his estates and reconnecting with his kin in the sector before the transfer of the title was approved. In the end, Andon ended up spending two whole years away from the Empire. When he finally was able to return to Empire he immediately applied for return to active service. After a short deliberation he was put in charge of a newly formed 12th Grenadier regiment and told to whip them into shape, which was exactly what he did. By the time the war with the Republic began the 12th was one of the best prepared units within the Imperial Army.
When the Sith Order was restored, Andon chose not to join, at least not immediately. While he did support the order and it's apparent goals, he is hesitant to throw his lot with them. This is largely because of how good his position in the Imperial Army is. To him joining the Sith Order appears as an unnecessary risk for his advancement.
During the last four years Andon and his unit have taken part in several battles and made a name for themselves as a fearsome shock unit. They have taken heavy losses in the progress but have been able to successfully fill their ranks with recruits capable of keeping up with the veterans. Andon himself has made a name for himself for his habit of leading from as close to the action as possible and a common saying about him among his superiors is "Dead or a general in two years."
Roleplay Sample: An explosion shook the ground as an artillery shell hit the ground close enough to cause some concern. Andon wasn't particularly worried, mostly because it wasn't accompanied by a dozen or so additional shells. It was a stray shot. Most likely the Pub artillery team had messed up the calculations and severely overshot while trying to hit one of Andon's advancing companies. With the 12th pounding on their lines, the Republic Artillery had better things to do than blindly firing into the direction they assumed the enemy regimental command post was. No, enemy artillery didn't worry him much at the moment. What worried him was the Imperial artillery fire, or the lack thereof. A creeping barrage should have been covering the regiment's advance but the horizon behind the Imperial lines was curiously still.
"Lieutenant, contact fire control and ask where the hell my barrage is."
"Yes My Lord." came the curt reply from Lieutenant Kord.
Andon didn't like this one bit. General Orsa had promised him full artillery support for the next two hours but so far he hadn't delivered. Instead of cowering in their trenches, the Pubs were free to fire at his men unmolested. Casualties were already beginning to mount up. If this continued, the 12th could probably take the enemy positions but couldn't hold them without heavy reinforcements. What on earth was causing the hold up? Hopefully the supply corps hadn't messed up again and brought the wrong shells and cells for the battery.
"Uh, Your Lordship, the FC. CO. says that Lord Makvar has overridden the General's orders. Apparently he thinks the 12th can take the positions without artillery support."
Andon cursed loudly and marched over to the lieutenant and the little glowing blue figure hovering in the air next to him. A quick glance revealed to Andon he was a captain.
"Captain, what is this nonsense about the 12th not needing artillery support. The whole attack has been planned around us having that artillery covering our arses." he demanded from the obviously nervous hologram.
"Well, you see, sir..." the captain began but was immediately interrupted and corrected by Andon. "My Lord" he said in a tone that left no room for questions.
The captain swallowed visibly "My Lord, Lord Makvar believes that the enemy is weak enough for the 12th to-"
"Captain, I was promised full artillery support from 1300 to 1500 hours by General Orsa. Are you telling me that you're refusing to follow the orders of a superior officers because a civilian with no official standing in the Imperial military told you to?" Andond demanded, without giving the captain the chance to finish explaining. What he was pulling was a dirty trick but his men needed that artillery support.
"Uh, Lord Makvar is a Sith Lord..." the captain tried weakly but his explanations fell to deaf ears.
"And I'm a colonel and I'm giving you and order to obey the previous orders given to you by General Orsa of the Imperial Army. Are you prepared to refuse an order from a superior officer because of cowardice, captain?"
"No My Lord. I'll inform the battery." the captain said like man whom had just signed his own death warrant. Andon knew that he was placing the captain in a precarious position but he was willing to risk the well being and life of a single man if it saved hundreds. Still, he might as well give the captain some reassurance.
"Thank you captain, I appreciate the risk you are taking. For what it is worth, if Lord Makvar has a problem with your actions, you tell him to take it up with me. I take full responsibility."
The captain's expression brightened considerably. "Thank you My Lord. Conra out."
Thirty seconds later the Republic positions came under Imperial Artillery fire.
"Time to push our advantage, lieutenant. Signal the first company to push forward, second and third will support." Andon said. He wasn't smiling but he was feeling considerably better about the battle. Maybe this was going to go better than anticipated now that the plan was back on track.
Race: Human
Age: 45
Birthplace: Muunilist
Allegiance: Sith Empire
Status: Military Officer / Noble
Rank: Colonel / Baron
Height/Weight: 6’ / 180lbs
Appearance: At six feet tall Andon, while not a towering giant, is above the galactic average for human. When combined with an impeccable posture, a result of almost thirty years in the Imperial Army, and the confidence Andon carries himself, he is able to project an image that is hard to ignore. As a result, unless surrounded by fellow officers of the Imperial Military, Andon tends to stick out from the crowd.
Military lifestyle and personal ‘hobbies’ have left their mark on Andon’s appearance: the plentiful physical activity practiced throughout his life have left him with a lean frame with wiry musculature. He moves with the grace of a practiced and skilled swordsman and is usually well aware of his immediate surroundings, making catching him off guard challenging but not impossible.
When it comes to clothing, Andon is most at home in uniform or wearing combat armor. However, outside of work he generally dresses more casually, though still in a way that is proper for his station.
Personality: At first glance Andon doesn’t appear to be much different from your standard issue Imperial Army Officer: a strong believer in discipline, chain of command and proper manners. However, he does possess certain qualities that set him a few pegs above the common model. While calling him a genius would be going too far, he is quite intelligent and well versed in the subjects important for his duties, making him an extremely competent at his job.
Andon is also able to inspire loyalty and fighting spirit in the soldiers serving with him. He expects much from his men but never more than he himself would be willing to do and always makes sure to give credit to his subordinates when they’ve done something to distinguish themselves in the line of duty. He is also very much a front line leader: to Andon it is a point of pride to be as close to action as possible while commanding his unit. He possesses certain infectious confidence that makes it easier for those around him to believe into victory.
Because of his upbringing and background Andon is very much a man of honor, at least outside of combat as in the heat of battle principles are easily forgotten. However, whenever he isn’t preoccupied by dodging shrapnel and blaster bolts, Andon does his best to live up to the standard of honor of the Tapani Sector nobility.
Ships/Vehicles:
N/A
Equipment:
Archaic Lightfoil - Orange
Curved Hilt Lightsaber – Orange (Owns but doesn’t carry in public)
A Small Pouch Full of Durasteel Shrapnel
Blaster Pistol
Personal Communicator
Stats:
Strength –Average
Agility – Above Average
Intelligence – Superior
Charisma - Above Average
Force Stats:
Telekinetic- Expert
Telepathic- Adept
Body- Adept
Sense- Adept
Protection- Apprentice
Healing:– Unskilled
Destruction– Novice
Combat Training:
Blaster Rifles – Apprentice
Blaster Pistols – Adept
Tapani Lightfoil Fencing - Master
Force Training:
Force Crush – Expert
Force Wave - Adept
Force Stealth – Adept
Ballistakinesis - Expert
Other Training:
Public Speaking – Adept
Shock Unit Tactics – Expert
Mobile Infantry Tactics – Adept
Logistics - Adept
General Military Strategy - Adept
Lightsaber Training:
Shii-Cho- Adept
Makashi- Specialist
Niman- Adept
Biography: Andon’s parents weren’t part of the founding members of the Sith Empire but they were there from the beginning. Andon’s father, Corvin, was member of the house Mecetti from the Tapani system and a heir apparent to a minor barony there. He was living on Muunilist, seeing to the family’s interests there. There he met Andon’s mother, Leandra, a younger daughter of an Alderaanian count from the House Thul. Their wedding followed soon after and was the talk of the town for a while after, mostly because Andon was born only about seven months after the wedding and was far too healthy to have born early.
Despite the circumstances surrounding their wedding, Andon’s parents were happy together and would probably have ended up together even without an unplanned pregnancy forcing their hand. Their original plan had been to move back to Republic space after Andon’s birth, but that changed when the first doctor’s examination revealed Andon to be Force Sensitive. If Andon’s Force sensitivity had gotten out while inside of Republic territory, his parents would likely have been pressured by their families to hand Andon over to the Jedi Order. However, since he was born in the Empire his parents had some room to maneuver.
Since the prospect of losing their heir to the Jedi Order did not appeal to Corvin and Leandra, they decided to remain in the Empire until their son was safely too old to be accepted into the Jedi. It wasn’t a hard decision for them. As members of nobility the two of them integrated well into the Imperial upper crust and quickly went native. By the time Andon was old enough to be in the clear, his parents no longer harbored any plans of returning to the Republic beyond occasional vacations spent visiting relatives. Thus Andon grew up under the influence of the Imperial society.
Although his parents didn't wish to risk losing their firstborn to the Jedi, Andon's father didn't give up on the idea of having his son trained to use the Force. In his eyes, the ability to use the Force was a tool that could prove useful to his son later on in his life and so set out to find someone to teach him. It took several years of careful work through number of intermediaries to locate someone that was suitable for the job but during the same year that Andon turned eight, his father finally managed to get a hold of someone who could school him in the ways of the Force.
Benrik Delanno had once been a respected Jedi master, a skilled practitioner of the Form II and especially talented at the Telekinetic aspects of the Force. He had left the Order under less than amiable circumstances, following a number of disagreements with the Council over philosophy and personal life choices. His life had taken a turn for the worse after that and after a legion of hardships and personal tragedies, Delanno had been reduced to a little more than a common mercenary, bitter at the world and far too attached to the bottle. To him teaching some rich brat the ways of the Force was a meal ticket and a way of getting back at the Jedi Council, whom he had begun to blame for everything wrong in his life.
The first lessons Andon had with Delanno were unpleasant at best. The tutor was hungover during many of their first meetings and approached teaching with a rather general 'whatever' attitude. He thought that neither Andon or his parents didn't have interest in really seeing this training through, so he figured he would just spew some garbage that sounded vaguely philosophical, teach the kid a couple of tricks he could use to entertain people at social gatherings and pocket the money. However, two things changed his approach.
Firstly, despite not particularly liking Delanno at first, Andon was an attentive listener and a relatively quick study, two qualities that shook Delanna's attitude towards his job. The second thing that changed his attitude was when, after Dealanno had turned to a scheduled meeting with Andon clearly drunk, Corvin had him dragged to his office by the Mandalorian bodyguards in his employ and made it very clear that continuing in similar way would have serious repercussions. Corvin then went to offer Delanno a sizable bonus if he started to take his job seriously. It worked and Andon's lessons with Delanno soon begun to change into more instructive, interesting and altogether for the better.
As time went on, Delanno became Andon's favorite tutor. He was surrounded by a horde of them but the only one whose lessons never felt dull or tedious was Delanno and after all he was the only tutor on whose lessons Andon learned how to levitate things. Sure, he was taught other things too, and he learned eagerly, but making things move with nothing more than a though, and possibly a hand gesture of kinds, fascinated Andon to no end. Delanno also came to enjoy training Andon: teaching brought back some old, good memories and once again provided him with a certain purpose in life he had missed. In time a friendship of sorts formed between the two of them.
On the year Andon turned ten his father decided that it was time for his son begin a hobby worthy of a young gentleman. The one he chose for his son was lightfoil fencing, a sport he himself practiced avidly. Andon took to it with enthusiasm. He had been begging his father to let him try his hand at it ever since he had first seen his father's practice and being finally allowed to made him as giddy as only ten year old boy can be.
His enthusiasm paid off and his trainer could often be found praising his progress to his parents. He had never seen such a prodigy, though to be honest Andon's Force training was probably giving him a significant leg up when it came to learning. His progress didn't go unnoticed by Delanno, who after observing Andon's lightfoil lessons approached Corvin and inquired if he would be interested in allowing him to train Andon in the use of a lightsaber, who eagerly accepted the offer.
Andon's lightsaber training began with basics, though Delanno was anxious to get the Shii-Cho phase out of the way as soon as possible. He himself was a master of Makashi form and thus more comfortable when teaching it. Fortunately it was a form that mixed well with lightfoil fencing. The two forms had plenty of similarities but differenced enough to be called separate. By the time Andon prepared to be sent to the Imperial Officer Academy he had good basic kills at using the Force and lightsaber combat.
Due to the boarding school system at the Academy, certain special arrangements had to be made for Andon to continue his training while studying. Delanno was listed as his private fencing tutor and he himself had to partake in a number of tournaments to convince the board that he was a competitive lightfoil fencer and thus required special dispensation to train with his coach regularly to maintain the necessary skill level to compete.
Although the competitive fencing had begun as an useful cover, Andon quickly grew to enjoy it. Although it damaged his grades somewhat, the practice he got out of it was indispensible in further developing his skills with lightsaber and -foil as well as his ability to use the Force under less controlled circumstances. He also got to see more of the Galaxy than before. The only downside was that some of the competitions he took part in were held in Republic space, which made Andon nervous.
Although he had been told by both his parents and Delanno that the Jedi wouldn't do a thing to him if he was discovered, Andon couldn't shake the irrational fear that he'd get into trouble with the Jedi Order if he ever ran into one of them while travelling in the Republic. So during one of their training sessions, Andon inquired Delanno if there was a way to hide his connection to the Force and if he could teach him that ability. Delanno agreed, though hesitantly as Force Stealth had never been his forte. The ex-Jedi did his best at instructing Andon how to conceal his ability to use the Force, which helped to alleviate Andon's anxiousness.
Andon's studies at the Academy advanced according to expectations, even exceeding them in many cases especially considering his extracurricular activity that ate lot of time he could have used to study more intensively. At the academy he studies land warfare and related subjects as well as logistics, becoming quite knowledgeable in said subjects. By the end of his time at the Academy he was easily in the top half of his class. Many of the instructors often remarked that he would have likely made it to the top quarter if he had worked a little more on his studies instead of 'wasting his time with hobbies'.
As Andon progressed with his studies, so did he with his training with Delanno which was at this point gradually reaching the point where Delanno would have begun to consider recommending him for the Trials had Andon been a padawan. Still, there were things to be taught, mostly more advanced Force techniques and finer aspects of Form II. Still, Delanno knew that in a year or two there was nothing more he could teach to his trainee. Already he was struggling to stay on top when sparring with Andon. Not much, mind you, but enough for him to notice it. Andon's skill was undeniable. He had even had success in the competitions and was widely regarded as one of the most promising young lightfoil fencers in the Galaxy. He could probably have made a career in it, had he not been more interested in making a career in the Imperial Army.
Telekinesis was still Andon's strongest area when it came to various aspects of using the Force. Delanno had taught him several Telekinetic techniques but one Andon 'discovered' all on by himself. One day it had simply occurred to him that he could use the Force to accelerate the speed of a thrown object to a point it became a bullet. After trying it out couple of times by himself with some success, Andon inquired his master if he knew how to improve his technique.
Delanno himself had never actively practiced ballistakinesis but agreed to help Andon work it out and together they managed to hone Andon's ability to a level he could use to study on his own. Over the years he became quite deadly with it, capable to launch as many small objects as he could hold in the palm of his hand to a velocity at which they could pierce all but the heaviest body armor.
Finally time came for Andon's graduation and deployment, which put an end to his active training with Delanno, though he still maintained contact with his teacher to ask advice on occasion when it came to developing his abilities independently. Before the two parted, Delanno gifted him with his lightsaber claiming that he could always make a new one whereas Andon probably wouldn't have the chance to build his own. amusingly, Andon's father gave him a similar gift as a graduation present; an archaic lightfoil he had acquired through some trouble.
Out of habit Andond didn't advertize his abilities to people around him, though neither did he ever actively deny their existence. He was made a platoon leader to an infantry company stationed on Muunnilist where he proved himself to be a competent lieutenant. However despite his efficiency, Andon detested his post mostly because he was bored out of his mind.
Overseeing the training and other day to day activities of an unit during peacetime was extremely dull for a young man of Andon's ability and though this left him with much free time, relatively speaking, which he often spent honing his skills, he still yearned for something more interesting. His chance came when the Empire decided to crack down on pirates that had been plaguing its fringe territories. As soon as Andon heard of the operation, he requested transfer which was aptly accepted.
As a result of his request, Andon found himself as the leader of a marine detail on a patrol corvette "Arbiter" serving in the outer fringes of Imperial borders. It took Andon some time to get used to serving on a starship but in the end he acclimated quite well and quickly made himself popular among the crew and his fellow officers. Andon got especially well along with his CO, who himself was a rather young commander and likewise anxious to see some action. Their hopes were fulfilled soon enough, when they came under attack from three pirate ships.
The crew of "Arbiter" put up a fight but it quickly became evident that they were too heavily outnumbered. Alone, the corvette would have been more than a match for any of the pirate ships but together they were too much for her to fight. Before they could retreat though, their engines were disabled by enemy fire and the crew prepared for worst. To their surprise, the pirates decided to board the "Arbiter" instead of just blowing it to smithereens which incidentally turned out to be a really bad idea.
Over the next three hours the crew of the "Arbiter" put up a valiant resistance, stalling the pirate advance to a halt and then counter boarded the enemy ships one by one. Andon led the boarding party himself and the success he and his men enjoyed made them the darlings of the Imperial Media for the next couple of weeks and earned each and every one of them a medal. Some of them even earned promotions, among them Andon, who was bumped up to First Lieutenant.
He stayed with the "Arbiter" and her crew for a while still, until the end of the large-scale anti-piracy operations. He took part in several engagements during that time and at the end of it he was promoted to captain and given the command of a grenadier company stationed on Muunilist. It was a prestigious post and one Andon took with passion and determination. His company would be the best in the regiment, no comparison. To that end he reworked the training regimen thoroughly.
Andon drove his men hard but made sure to always take part in the training himself whenever appropriate to show that he held himself to the same standards he expected from his men. This earned him some derision from his fellow officers but greatly improved his relation with the soldiers of his company and soon it was clear whose company was in the best shape. In the next military exercise Andon's company broke all regimental records and largely carried the rest of the regiment through the exercise.
Post on Muunilist left Andon with more free time he could enjoy in privacy than his time on the "Arbiter". He used much of it to hone his lightsaber techniques or studying what texts he could get his hands on concerning Force techniques. This lifestyle continued until Andon was thirty-six, when both his grand-father and father died within a short duration of time, leaving him to inherit their title and estates.
This caused some problems for Andon: his rank and most of the property he had just inherited was based in the Republic held Tapani sector while he himself was an Imperial Citizen. There was no law forbidding him from holding the title and the estates that came with it in absentia but arrangements needed to be made for it to work. Arrangements which would take more than a couple of months to see through and would require his presence in the Tapani sector. Since Andon didn't wish to lose most of his inheritance due to some quirk of legislature, he requested transfer to the reserves until he had secured his inheritance. His request was granted and along the transfer orders came a letter which informed Andon that since the war department found it distasteful that a Baron hold the rank of a mere captain within the Imperial Army he was henceforth promoted to a Colonel of the Reserve for his service to the Empire.
Andon's stay in the Tapani Sector came to be a bit longer than expected; while he had expected to fill some documents, take part in ceremony or two, tour the estates and then head home it turned out that he was expected to spent a while overseeing his estates and reconnecting with his kin in the sector before the transfer of the title was approved. In the end, Andon ended up spending two whole years away from the Empire. When he finally was able to return to Empire he immediately applied for return to active service. After a short deliberation he was put in charge of a newly formed 12th Grenadier regiment and told to whip them into shape, which was exactly what he did. By the time the war with the Republic began the 12th was one of the best prepared units within the Imperial Army.
When the Sith Order was restored, Andon chose not to join, at least not immediately. While he did support the order and it's apparent goals, he is hesitant to throw his lot with them. This is largely because of how good his position in the Imperial Army is. To him joining the Sith Order appears as an unnecessary risk for his advancement.
During the last four years Andon and his unit have taken part in several battles and made a name for themselves as a fearsome shock unit. They have taken heavy losses in the progress but have been able to successfully fill their ranks with recruits capable of keeping up with the veterans. Andon himself has made a name for himself for his habit of leading from as close to the action as possible and a common saying about him among his superiors is "Dead or a general in two years."
Roleplay Sample: An explosion shook the ground as an artillery shell hit the ground close enough to cause some concern. Andon wasn't particularly worried, mostly because it wasn't accompanied by a dozen or so additional shells. It was a stray shot. Most likely the Pub artillery team had messed up the calculations and severely overshot while trying to hit one of Andon's advancing companies. With the 12th pounding on their lines, the Republic Artillery had better things to do than blindly firing into the direction they assumed the enemy regimental command post was. No, enemy artillery didn't worry him much at the moment. What worried him was the Imperial artillery fire, or the lack thereof. A creeping barrage should have been covering the regiment's advance but the horizon behind the Imperial lines was curiously still.
"Lieutenant, contact fire control and ask where the hell my barrage is."
"Yes My Lord." came the curt reply from Lieutenant Kord.
Andon didn't like this one bit. General Orsa had promised him full artillery support for the next two hours but so far he hadn't delivered. Instead of cowering in their trenches, the Pubs were free to fire at his men unmolested. Casualties were already beginning to mount up. If this continued, the 12th could probably take the enemy positions but couldn't hold them without heavy reinforcements. What on earth was causing the hold up? Hopefully the supply corps hadn't messed up again and brought the wrong shells and cells for the battery.
"Uh, Your Lordship, the FC. CO. says that Lord Makvar has overridden the General's orders. Apparently he thinks the 12th can take the positions without artillery support."
Andon cursed loudly and marched over to the lieutenant and the little glowing blue figure hovering in the air next to him. A quick glance revealed to Andon he was a captain.
"Captain, what is this nonsense about the 12th not needing artillery support. The whole attack has been planned around us having that artillery covering our arses." he demanded from the obviously nervous hologram.
"Well, you see, sir..." the captain began but was immediately interrupted and corrected by Andon. "My Lord" he said in a tone that left no room for questions.
The captain swallowed visibly "My Lord, Lord Makvar believes that the enemy is weak enough for the 12th to-"
"Captain, I was promised full artillery support from 1300 to 1500 hours by General Orsa. Are you telling me that you're refusing to follow the orders of a superior officers because a civilian with no official standing in the Imperial military told you to?" Andond demanded, without giving the captain the chance to finish explaining. What he was pulling was a dirty trick but his men needed that artillery support.
"Uh, Lord Makvar is a Sith Lord..." the captain tried weakly but his explanations fell to deaf ears.
"And I'm a colonel and I'm giving you and order to obey the previous orders given to you by General Orsa of the Imperial Army. Are you prepared to refuse an order from a superior officer because of cowardice, captain?"
"No My Lord. I'll inform the battery." the captain said like man whom had just signed his own death warrant. Andon knew that he was placing the captain in a precarious position but he was willing to risk the well being and life of a single man if it saved hundreds. Still, he might as well give the captain some reassurance.
"Thank you captain, I appreciate the risk you are taking. For what it is worth, if Lord Makvar has a problem with your actions, you tell him to take it up with me. I take full responsibility."
The captain's expression brightened considerably. "Thank you My Lord. Conra out."
Thirty seconds later the Republic positions came under Imperial Artillery fire.
"Time to push our advantage, lieutenant. Signal the first company to push forward, second and third will support." Andon said. He wasn't smiling but he was feeling considerably better about the battle. Maybe this was going to go better than anticipated now that the plan was back on track.
