Lief Ragnos
| Lief Ragnos | |
 | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Race | Noghri |
| Homeworld | Honoghr |
| Clan | Khanu'bar |
| Mother | Kysara clan Vunin'gar |
| Father | Barukh clan Khanu'bar |
| Born | Year 40 BCGT, Day 135 (age 64) |
| Languages | Honoghran, Basic |
| Physical Description | |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | 1.53 metres |
| Coloring | Grey |
| Eye Color | Black |
| Political Information | |
| Affiliation | Khanu'bar Institute, Year 10– Clan Khanu'bar |
| Positions | Director, Khanu'bar Institute |
| Prior Affiliation |  Tresario Star Kingdom, Year 23–24 Anzatan Commonwealth, Year 8–9 Trade Federation, Year 8 New Anzat Order, Year 7–8Iron Sun, Year 0–7 Stava Company, Year 24–23 (BCGT) |
Lief Ragnos, born Khamengi of clan Khanu'bar, is a Noghri politician and retired military officer who currently serves as Director of the Khanu'bar Institute. He is most notable for his service in the armed forces of the Tresario Star Kingdom and its predecessors.
Biography
Early life and Clone Wars
Khamengi was born on Honoghr to a Noghri family of clan Khanu'bar in the final years of the Galactic Republic, the fifth of six children to Barukh clan Khanu'bar and Kysara clan Vunin'gar. His father, Barukh, was a clansnoghri with vast knowledge of the wild plants of the region and their uses. His mother, Kysara, was a respected warrior and hunter, and well-known in the community for her skill at dressing and butchering game and livestock. Raised in the rural traditions of the Noghri and the Khanu'bar, Khamengi learned to farm dekh grain, herd the flocks of khengr birds, and trained for war through the sport of turkha with his siblings. He took part in his first raid at the age of 14, against the rival clan Virkh'ush, and became renowned for his leadership skills as much as his talent with the fighting sickle. These drew the attention of the Stava Regiment, a Noghri-led mercenary unit working for off-world clients during the Clone Wars. Recruited by Stava, Khamengi was assigned to Ragnos Squad, from which he adopted the nom-de-guerre Lief Ragnos.
In Year 23 BCGT, during covert operations in the Farrfin sector, news of the disaster on Honoghr reached the unit. The shocking reports of a devastated planet and millions dead split the Stava Regiment between those committed to completing their mission and those wishing to return to the planet to assist in evacuation and recovery. Disagreement turned to mutiny on the surface of Charmath, as Ragnos Squad ignored orders and attempted to desert. Confronted by Exar Squad while on their way to a civilian starport, Ragnos was the only survivor from his squad in the ensuing firefight. Stowed away on a transport that took him to Selonia, it took Ragnos months to scrounge enough credits to book passage to Honoghr. Once there, he found the planet in ruins due to the effects of the Trihexalophine1138 toxin, which poisoned the environment and dessicated all plant life save for a region in southern Honoghr known as the Clean Lands. Khanu'bar territory was located on the opposite hemisphere to the Clean Lands, and the clan possessed little in the way of motorised transport; by the time Ragnos returned to his clan territory the Khanu'bar had been virtually extinguished due to starvation and war over resources.
With nothing to return to on Honoghr, and fearing retaliation from the Stava Regiment, Ragnos fled the planet and sought work in a variety of different sectors, often working under additional pseudonyms.
After the Clone Wars
Having barely a credit to his name, Ragnos initially took up work as a steward's assistant on a Gallofree freighter that ran routes between the Core, Hutt Space, and the Gordian Reach. He later took on a job as a shipbreaker at a private salvage yard in the Moobia system and financed flying lessons, receiving his license to pilot light and heavy freighters in Year 19 BCGT. He put this to use by joining the Maltorian Express courier company as a cargo pilot, transporting freight between the Bortele Cluster and Maldrood. In Year 15 BCGT he returned to the Kessel sector to work as a security officer in the spice mines, a job he held for three years. After narrowly surviving a gas explosion, Ragnos resigned and began offering his services as a private bodyguard. His clients over the following years included the weapons dealer Jax Harik, dancer Lyra Lux, and Hutt lord Drenk Qulappa; during these years Ragnos greatly sharpened his knowledge of the Outer Rim criminal underworld and its many networks. In Year 7 BCGT, Ragnos was hired to run high-level protection for a crystal mining operation on the planet Nizon, in the Centares system, which culminated three years later in the successful dismantling of a vast Cona-based smuggling ring. Afterwards, Ragnos operated mainly as a freelance bounty hunter, specialising in targets distant from galactic civilisation - as far away as Huk, Toola, and Pelgrin.
In Year 0 of Combine Galactic Time, Ragnos was hired as an operative of the Iron Sun mercenary company, based out of Mindabaal. The group, though small, acquired a reputation for specialising in security operations for local governments throughout the Mid and Outer Rims. These included training militias, planning emergency response scenarios, and the infiltration and elimination of antisocial elements. After one such operation in Year 7 CGT took Ragnos back to Honoghr, his skills attracted the attention of the New Anzat Order.
New Anzat Order
In Year 7 CGT, Ragnos was approached regarding the possibility of joining the Anzatan People's Guard as an officer, given his talents and extensive history of security operations in and around Maldrood and Kessel, the two sectors controlled by the New Anzat Order at the time. Ragnos, seeing an opportunity to more directly contribute to the reconstruction of Honoghr, applied to the Guard and was promptly appointed a Warrant Officer. Due to his prior experience and the fluctuating internal politics of the NAO, he rose through the ranks quickly, eventually assuming command of First Battalion with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Later renamed to Loyalist Battalion, the unit's deployments to Anzat, Kessel, and Honoghr gave Ragnos the chance to network with a variety of military and civilian leaders across Anzatan space.
Nevertheless, Ragnos felt that not enough was being done to reverse the environmental devastation on Honoghr. Near the beginning of Year 8 CGT, Ragnos requested and received an honourable discharge from the Anzatan People's Guard in order to pursue a career with the Trade Federation, whom he hoped would have the means to either work toward Honoghran recovery, or allow him to earn the funds to do so himself.
Trade Federation
Lief Ragnos joined the Trade Federation's Department of the Navy in Year 8 CGT. There he was assigned to Battlegroup Oseon and took part in maneuvers around what would later be recognised as the Hevvrol sector. Despite a promising start to his Federation career, Ragnos was persuaded to return to the New Anzat Order after receiving a personal appeal from Regent Wilhelm von Ismay, who called on all former Anzatan personnel to rebuild the Order. Six months into his service, Ragnos was honourably discharged from service with the Trade Federation.
Anzatan Commonwealth
Back in NAO, Ragnos was faced with a Guard that was suffering defeats across all of Anzatan space. In Year 8 CGT, he was alarmed to discover that [[Mandalore|Mandalorian] forces were attempting to take over Honoghr. Ragnos attempted to reinforce the struggling Guard, but by then it was too late to do anything to prevent the planet's fall. For years after, he harboured a personal vendetta against Mandalore for the loss of his homeworld.
Ragnos participated in the NAO's operations to recover the Honoghr system, which ultimately failed to achieve its goal. During this time, Ragnos rose through the ranks of the Anzatan People's Guard, earning the rank of High Colonel and Executive Officer of the Guard.
In Year 9 CGT the New Anzat Order was reorganised into the Anzatan Commonwealth, and the Anzatan People's Guard was restructured into the Royal Anzatan Marines. Ragnos was commissioned as a Staff Commander and assigned as XO of the Kesselian Dragoons Squadron, based out of the Kessa system. He soon became acting CO of the unit and, following another round of reforms, the Squadron was reorganized as Alpha Company. Ragnos remained as its CO, now with the rank of Brigadier General. He also became a part of the Parliament of the Anzatan Commonwealth, representing the Kessel Sector as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party.
Ragnos left the military shortly before the coup against Anzatan leader Wilhelm von Ismay, which resulted in his assassination by Keishi Miahr and Soki Ionian. He was honourably discharged from the Royal Anzatan Marines to pursue civilian business on Honoghr. Ragnos went into hiding after the coup, fearing that he would be targeted by the new regime due to his affiliation with the von Ismays.
Khanu'bar Institute
In Year 10 CGT, Ragnos founded the Khanu'bar Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to the social and environmental improvement of Honoghr. He established the organization as a politically neutral one, though he personally remained opposed to Mandalore's control of the planet. From self-imposed exile, Ragnos served as the Institute's director, overseeing its mission. In Year 13 CGT, Ragnos reconciled with the new Anzatan regime and the Khanu'bar Institute established its headquarters-in-exile on Anzat. However, Ragnos declined a return to the Anzatan military. The organisation Astrographic Department, which offers commercial astrography services to clients across the galaxy, is its most famous branch. Since Year 23 CGT, this department has been crucial to raising funds for the Institute's operations. This was complemented by the opening of the Institute's Artisan Programme in Year 24, through which skilled craftsnoghri are commissioned through the Institute to produce unique works of art.
Tresario Star Kingdom
In Year 23 (CGT), Ragnos received a commission in the Tresario Star Kingdom Army, the successor institution to the Royal Anzatan Marines following the merger of the Anzatan Commonwealth into the Tresario Star Kingdom in Year 15. He held the rank of Colonel until Year 24, when he retired from service with the Tresarian military shortly before his 65th birthday.