Rhys Skywalker
| Rhys Skywalker | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Race | Human |
| Homeworld | Tatooine |
| Born | Circa Year -4 |
| Died | Circa Year 10 Day 72 |
| Physical Description | |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | 1.9 meters |
| Eye Color | Ice blue |
| Political Information | |
| Affiliation | Antarian Rangers |
| Prior Affiliation | Rebel Alliance Hapes Consortium Jedi Praxeum |
Rhys Skywalker was a Human male from Tatooine. He served as Ranger One of the Antarian Rangers circa Year 9. After the departure of Deakon Jarvis, he was instrumental in the Rangers' transformation into a government.
Biography
Early life
Rhys Skywalker was born in the Outer Rim Territories on Tatooine, a hot desert planet where the inhabitants harvest moisture to stay alive. It was a hardscrabble existence, but it was an existence more or less. When Rhys was six-years-old, Galactic Empire captured his elder brother. His adventurous sibling had spied for the Rebel Alliance, and the Empire broadcast his grisly demise over the Holonet. Thus the galaxy witnessed the execution of a so-called traitor whom Rhys only knew as his brother.
After his brother's execution, Rhys' parents continued to raise him although now they were more cautious about whom they spoke and what they said about themselves. Rhys lived a sheltered life and didn't interact much with outsiders. He spent what spare time he had trying to sneak into encampments of Tusken Raiders and to wander among them various disguises. He gave up this game when he had a near-death experience after a band of Sand People discovered him in their camp. After this, he concentrated on passing unnoticed in nearby towns such as Mos Espa. He became good at this, and it was always thrilling to venture to dangerous taverns.
When Rhys turned thirteen, he learned about the ongoing struggle between the Empire and the Rebellion for which his brother had fought. It was also around this time that he witnessed Imperial atrocities firsthand when they disintegrated women and children in their homesteads. Amid these dark times the fire inside him burned stronger. It seemed as if he was burning up from inside. He decided to join the fight against the Empire and its allies.
Rebel Dawn
This fire remained fairly dormant until the age of sixteen when he saw stormtroopers assaulting a helpless family. He stood there and watched the stormtrooper beat a mother as she struggled to stop the troopers from harming her urchins. The mother's name was Kareena. She was 1.7 meters tall, thin, with brown hair. She was a single mum raising four or five brats. Rhys had helped her on occasion but now never as much as he was about to. Without thinking of any consequences Rhys drew his blaster and shot the two stormtroopers at full power. He stood there for what seemed like an hour, but was only a matter of minutes. Then he moved over to Kareena and spoke to her quietly, telling her that she must go into a more hidden lifestyle and never speak of this day. Rhys reached over to the dead troopers and took their blasters. He gave one to Kareena and kept the other one. He also found various amounts of money and weapons which he stole. He turned and ran towards where he had parked his speeder.
He returned home and greeted his father who noticed the blasters. Rhys noticed that he had them in plain sight along with other stormtrooper equipment. His father regarded him solemnly. He knew what had happened. He also knew that this meant his son must leave. He motioned for Rhys to follow and led him to his older brother's previous room where he lifted the lid of the trunk at the foot of the bed. "This was your brother's belongings. The things he had left back with the Rebel Alliance. I think they knew that we had another son and that the equipment would come back to them eventually. Now it seems like it has to. Take this trunk and whatever personal items you want for the next few years. I will use some contacts at the spaceport to get you out of here.” With this his father left and headed for the comm Unit.
Rhys watched his father depart. He carted the trunk to his own room where he added clothes and other personal items including a holo-image of his family. His father came in and helped carry the trunk out. By this time all that happened had started to catch up to Rhys. He started to sob silently as he gave his mother a final hug and kiss. It was a time of uncertainty, ‘would he ever see them’ Rhys boarded the landspeeder with his father and they headed into town for the last time. He left his father at the spaceport in much the same way he left his mother, tears streaming down his face. A he walked into spaceport he grabbed by the arm by a nearby pilot who spoke quickly: “Get your things and come to my ship I’m your ride out of here.” He headed to the ship, a YT-510 light freighter equipped with large armaments and extra sensors. He quickly boarded and they took off. Mere hours after departure, the Empire had dispatched stormtroopers to execute him. Rhys had nowhere to go, so Delvire — the man who had given him the lift — offered him a job on the freighter. He became a shiphand on a very comfortable ship. For the next year he helped Delvire smuggle supplies for the Alliance.
Fight for Freedom
On Year 4 Day 32, Rhys formally enlisted in the Rebel Alliance; however, it was a time of chaos and disorganization. Disillusioned, he joined the Jedi Praxeum. It was a confused time and his time in the Praxeum under the chancellorship of Rejiad Nero was short. His next port of call was the Hapes Consortium. However even here he could not find the assistance he required. After a short period as a freelancer, he rejoined the Jedi Praxeum and It was here after getting to know the way the universe works that he found home. It was in the Jedi Praxeum that he truly started to excel. Rhys joined the Praxeum in a time of turmoil. Assets had been stolen from the Antarian Rangers and a mass exodus of personnel occurred. This was followed by the time of Jake Azzameen, one of the most capable administrators in the Praxeum's history. Rhys became a member of the Jedi Praxeum and got to know everyone quickly because he was needed to help in this time of crisis as every member was. Rhys has served the Jedi Praxeum and its ideals of the light from that day and became respected among their ranks-and-file. His gift to the Force has not yet shown itself though in time he will truly become a Jedi.
Rhys continued to serve the Jedi Praxeum through the successive chancellorships of Vel Koon, Andy Skyfighter, and Kal Fisto. After the resignation of Andy Skyfighter, many expected that Rhys as Vice Chancellor would seize the reins of power, but this did not come to pass. Instead, the Jedi Master Kal Fisto became Chancellor. Fisto had little faith in the effectiveness of the Praxeum but continued to lead it despite Rhys requesting the chancellorship be given to him. Ultimately, the Praxeum expelled Rhys for his accusations against Fisto. He later was accepted back as Vice Chancellor, but it wasn't long into Kal's term that a conspiracy occurred. Letifer Caes became made interim leader and embezzled the Praxeum of its assets. He said it was payback for what a previous chancellor, Felix, had stolen. However, after Felix left he took all that he had brought to the Praxeum so this was petty theft on the part on the Tenloss Syndicate. The Praxeum was still a shell salvageable but unfortunately not by a leader of such little faith. The Jedi Praxeum was dissolved and the remaining assets went to Kal who, after less than a day, created a new Jedi-only collective. There are still many unknowns about what happened in this time of crisis, and Rhys dedicated himself to get to the bottom of it. However the ex JP personnel needed a home so he worked on gathering them under the banner of the Antarian Rangers so that they could fight again another day.
