Cyrus Vel

Cyrus Vel
Biographical Information
Race	Kiffar
Homeworld	Tatooine
Mother	Asori
Father	Calaveylon
Spouse	None
Siblings	(Adopted)Xu Xlaar Vivan, No others known.
Children	None
Born	Year -9 Day 339
Physical Description
Gender	Male
Height	1.85 meters
Hair Color	Black
Eye Color	Black
Political Information
Affiliation	Black Bha`lir
Positions	Pilot, Lieutenant General, High Commander

Biography

Cyrus was raised in the crime-ridden city of Zion, the under the sweltering heat of Tatooine's twin suns. His father was a fighter pilot in the New Republic, while his mother was a Stormtrooper. His parents had a bond which enabled them to work past both their obvious ideological differences and two rigid schedules which kept them mostly apart. A child, however, was not on the agenda for either of them and Cyrus was raised by his father's brother and his wife. While his parents, especially his father, visited when they could, their attention was mostly for each other. Because of this, though he knew his parents loved him, Cyrus always felt a little abandoned.

His life with his aunt and uncle was very easy compared to what he could have had. Anything he needed materially could be supplied, while his schooling came in the form of educational droids. There was space set aside for his use in their home, and having parts of it closed off to him was a small price to pay. He fed his body by spending much of his free time in the desert exploring, and he fed his mind on legend and myth. In search of the affection his guardians never thought to offer him, he learned to supply his social needs by making friends with the slaves on his uncle's estate, all of which were non-human. He was not supposed to socialize with them, which he knew full well. Still, almost as soon as he could walk he began sneaking out to spend hours with them—mostly tinkering in the garage with old equipment. As he aged, he learned how to sneak them into his uncle's mansion on needed occasions. For the young boy this meant excitement and companionship. For the slaves it meant extra water and precious minutes in cooler air.

One of those slaves appeared to be a human girl near Cyrus' own age. When the estate acquired Kaida and her family, Cyrus questioned his uncle about it, and was only told that she was "one of them". Cyrus became good friends with her, and when he asked her about why she was out with the aliens when she was clearly human, she explained to him that she was Kiffar, and that was why she was a slave. Cyrus' young mind immediately realized that there was no difference between a Kiffar and a human, and yet because of where she was born, Kaida, and by extension others, was treated like an animal instead of a person. This sickened Cyrus and made him realize how useless race was as a separating factor.

Cyrus eventually noticed that his mother never stayed as long as his father did—a week at most—and that, when she did come, she avoided his guardians. In turn, his aunt and uncle seemed to despise her, and both during and after her visits they treated Cyrus even less tolerantly than usual. During those times he would go to the slave quarters for days at a time, but no one actually seemed to miss him.

When he was thirteen, the visits from his father suddenly stopped. No one ever explained why. When he tried to ask his uncle about it, he was not given a real answer. This wasn't the first time his uncle and aunt had kept secrets from him. He hoped that his mother would fill in the blanks for him when next she came.

Cyrus knew deep down that something bad had happened, but with no one telling him anything he became quite bitter and defiant. He neglected his schooling, and rashly courted his uncle's displeasure by refusing to conceal the friendships he had made with aliens. His defiant streak was quickly ended when his uncle punished him by punishing his friends. He denied the estate’s slaves food and water until Cyrus fell in line. After that Cyrus mostly stayed in his rooms.

About a month later he received a surprise visit from Kaida, who reassured him that he was missed and that no one was bitter about about the trouble he had caused, like he had expected them to be. The fact that Kaida had risked getting into so much trouble, and that the slaves were willing to get into further trouble just to be around him shocked Cyrus . The contrast between his alien friends' kindness and his own uncle's cruelty was apparent. Cyrus happily, albeit quietly, resumed his friendships.

Then, one night, Cyrus awoke from a horrible dream sure that he would never see his mother again either. He was right. She too, disappeared, and he became obsessed with finding out the particulars of her disappearance. His guardians were just as unhelpful as they had been when he father disappeared, except, this time they actually seemed happy. Now with both his parents completely gone, their interest in his well-being completely plummeted, almost to the degree of resentment.

Cyrus fell into a depression, conscious as never before of his utter lack of power to protect anyone or anything that he cared about. He had ever increasing fights with his uncle, both over the treatment of the slaves and over the man's complete refusal to be open with him about anything. It was Kaida who told him to leave, to go find out what had befallen his parents. She directed him to Kiffex, which, she said, was his mother's homeworld. He tried to convince Kaida to come with him, but she opted to stay, as her family was on Tatooine. In turn, he swore that he would return and free all of his friends there.

He stole credits from his uncle's safe—a surprising amount of credits—and ran. Kaida's information led him to Thrath Clan. They knew nothing of what happened to his mother, but surprisingly, the Thrath took him in. Days turned to weeks that turned into months. Months spent stretching his wings, sparring for long hours with clanbrothers and learning as much lore as he could. He loved it, drank the acceptance they extended him like water, and under their care his spirit healed somewhat. But the young man knew that staying on Kiffex would get him nowhere near the truth about his parents or near his goal of freeing his friends.

Again he left, a little older now, and a little wiser, but still totally alone. Eventually, he landed a job with Turner Securities Limited, which he felt would be a good place from where to not only earn his own living, but gather information and make contacts with both of his goals in mind.

Awakening

In Year 11, Cyrus gave into an impulse. Something inside him commanded him to travel to Hutt Space. Unsure of what he was truly going there for, he gathered his belongings and made the trip to one of the galaxies most dangerous sectors in his BR-23.

Cyrus exited hyperspace in the Cyborrea system and immediately knew where his destination was. Well, he had a more specific idea. So he began moving. The closer he got to his destination, the stronger The Voice inside him became. He neared the planet that the system was named after. There were many ships in orbit, most of them looked to be quite lethal. As he drew near he was hailed by those lethal ships. He knew that saying the wrong thing would probably result in him being turned into dust. But he also knew The Voice inside him would guide his words and actions. And he was correct.

He was able to convince the sentry to set up a meeting with Diabolus`ut Persolvo, though Cyrus had no idea why he wanted to meet with Persolvo, or how he knew the name. He did know that this man would be very dangerous.

Not very long after that, Cyrus found himself in chains on board Diabolus' personal ship. Cyrus dreadfully thought about how unnecessary the chains were. He was a talented combatant, whether he was unarmed or with a pistol. But there was an unshakable feeling that the alien standing before him was in an entirely different league.

Diabolus made it crystal clear that Cyrus' life was entirely in his hands, and the human felt that the statement was true. Cyrus did his very best to explain why he was here. As he talked his confidence began to fade. He listened for The Voice, hoping he would feel it's guidance. But there was none.

The silence after his explanation was truly horrifying. The wait after he was left alone, unsure of his fate, was even worse. Cyrus' memory of the next few hours are muddled. He does however remember his senses exploding. And everything began to make sense. Except for the knife Persolvo held to his throat. Diabolus explained The Force, and Cyrus' connection to it. He also explained that in return for removing Cyrus' mental blocks and unlocking his potential, the human had to swear to never become a Jedi. That was a promise Cyrus made with ease. And he was sure that if he betrayed that promise, his death would not be quick.

Cyrus returned back to safety, confused, but eager for the chapter.

Krieg's Run

Near the end of Year 12, and the beginning of Year 13, Cyrus found himself among the stars much more often than not. The man was by no means new to flying. His reflexes allowed him to fly as quickly as his ship could go. But that was the extent of his "exceptional" piloting skills. And though the ships he flew had more guns than engines, these facts did not stop Cyrus' delusion of being an ace pilot. So with the encouragement of his brother he entered the Krieg's Run Racing.

He was able to convince his friends in Murishani Unubunko to lend him their fastest ship, YT-1760, Endless Wastes.

So on Year 13 Day 46, Cyrus sat in the cockpit of the Endless Wastes ready to go. The young man was very confident in his skills, his ship, and the route he had meticulously plotted out.

He took off with the other ships, and kept up with them very well. It wasn't until after the second hyper jump that Cyrus realized he was falling behind. The reports from the other pilots were coming in much faster than his. While in hyperspace he went over his planned route, again and again. When he was in realspace, he did his best to get to the checkpoints as quickly as possible. No matter what he did though, he continued to fall behind. Half way through the race, Cyrus realized that somehow he had miscalculated his path, and that he was off by a almost a day. Infuriated, Cyrus fought to keep his desire to finish the race.

Never one to quit, he followed through with the race, and hit the required checkpoints. Finishing in 6th place, Cyrus' desire and thoughts of being a racer were very solidly put to rest.

The Metamorphosis Plague

During Year 14, Cyrus was deployed on Derra IV to help quail the effects of the Great Animosity Plague. However the sickness quickly started to effect Cyrus and his entire squad, eliminating any positive effect they had on the planet. After many bouts of random aggression Cyrus was able to regain control of himself, and with slightly more difficulty, his squad. Considering the mission a failure that would take reevaluation to complete, Cyrus prepared to leave the system. He managed to get clearance through the blockade, as no trace of the Animosity Plague was found on the ship. This was attributed to the new "cure" that had been distributed in the atmosphere of each planet.

On Year 14 Day 25 Christian was afflicted with the Metamorphosis Plague, though this wasn't immediately known to him. He was crippled by intense pain for days, but saw no noticeable changes in his appearance. Upon learning from his personal medic that he had indeed caught this plague, he quarantined himself and went into a deep healing trance. A few weeks later, he reemerged, confident that he had fought off the transformation. However it is worth noting that he now shows more Northern Kiffar tendencies than before.

First Annual Tournament of Derra

During Y14 Cyrus entered the Tournament held on Derra that was being run by Rochi Zaraki. He eagerly fought for first place, mowing over his first opponent, the Force using Jawa, Eugene Delmarco. His next opponent, the fearsome Gammorean Dragomir Kies, was quite a bit tougher; Cyrus managed to use his superior speed to his advantage however, nailing another win. However, Cyrus' skill, or maybe even luck, completely failed him during his match with Rann Halycon. The more experienced Jedi was more powerful than Cyrus , and soundly beat Vel. This threw him out of the running for first place and forced him to fight Dunta Star, his former apprentice and workmate, for third place. Cyrus' final match was a sniper fight. Giving all credit to luck, Cyrus managed to out dodge Star, and secured the third place prize.

The Rot

Cyrus' life would take a darker turn after Black Bha`lir's discovery of the Crseih system. To aid the groups search of the sector, they found themselves making the system part of their staging ground. This is where Cyrus first felt the presence's influence.

Cyrus immediately felt a sense of awe and connection to Crseih's crystal star. The sun provided comfort and peace just as much as it provided light. Cyrus would spend. As Black Bha`lir spent more time in the Pakuuni Sector, Cyrus would make many trips to the crystal sun, to meditate. He felt closer to the Force when he was near the sun. He was at peace.

However, as time passed, it became clear that the sun was exerting undue influence on Cyrus' actions when he was away from Crseih. Elsewhere, the feeling of peace was short lived. Outside the system, he became more volatile.

Cyrus was able to keep things under control for much longer one would expect. He threw himself into combat. Battle after battle, he'd focus his anger and rage towards "valid" targets. Criminals who've committed the harshest of crimes fell under his blade. But even this could not last. Inevitably, Cyrus' blade tasted innocent blood. When the first fell, Cyrus felt satisfaction, not from himself, but from something external. He felt that someone was pleased with his actions.