Elvira Falston

Elvira Falston
Biographical Information
Race	Human (Coruscanti)
Homeworld	Coruscant
Mother	Silestra Langer
Father	Jordan Falston (Deceased)
Spouse	None
Born	Year -19 Day 157
Physical Description
Gender	Female
Height	1.77 meters
Hair Color	Blond
Eye Color	Bright Green
Political Information
Affiliation	Galactic Empire
Title	Countess of Ottabesk I
Rank	None
Positions	Advisor to the Throne
Awards

Elvira Falston, later known by many as Darth Surra, was an ambitious Coruscanti woman who became Director of Imperial Intelligence and Dark Lady of the Sith. She served in the Galactic Empire for many years but rarely mingled with other Imperials, instead dedicating herself entirely to her work. An expert in galactic politics and intel, she has played a role in many operations and political events across the galaxy. After an eventful career, she was named Countess of the planet Ottabesk I by Emperor Guinar Ndengin.

Biography

Golden Child

Elvira Falston was born on Coruscant into a wealthy, conservative family. Her father was a businessman and her mother stayed at home to take care of her, their only child. She grew up in a stable and secure environment in one of the safest districts of the ecumenopolis, far away from the social unrest, criminality and poverty plaguing the lower levels. Business went well for Jordan Falston and the first to profit from his success was his young daughter.

With every possible obstacle in her path removed by overprotective parents, Elvira gradually transformed into a spoiled child. She quickly learned to manipulate not only her loving father, but her peers as well. This behaviour continued in later years, when she surrounded herself with sycophants and only associated with people from the highest layers of society.

A Turn for the Worse

In Year -3, at the age of sixteen, her father's ship malfunctioned and crashed on his way to meet a business associate. Elvira's perfect world collapsed and in a matter of days, the spoiled brat became a quiet, reserved loner. She spent most time locked in her room and avoided any direct social contact. She began to take an interest in the behaviour of those around her and the psychology of sentient beings, dedicating her spare time to study. It was also the year that Hiram Drayson seized control of the Galactic Republic and transformed it into the Galactic Empire. The Falston family was one of the first to pledge its allegiance to the new government, although it would not be until several years later that the new galactic superpower would have an actual impact on Elvira's life.

After graduating from school and almost two years of seclusion, Elvira was accepted into the University of Coruscant and pursued a degree in Imperial Law. During her time there, she came into contact with Imperial recruitment officers from the local garrison and was drawn in by the promise of stability and order, something lacking in her personal life ever since the loss of her father. On the day of her graduation, Elvira walked up to her mother and informed her that she had decided to enlist with the Empire's military forces.

The beginning of a military career

A New Life in the New Order

Elvira stayed in a small room at the Imperial Academy where she studied under professor Galdarzz Aalon, one of the heads of the Academy. His dedication to the Empire and its ideology had a profound effect on the young woman, who was still fragile and susceptible to new ideas. Invigorated by her newfound purpose in life, Elvira proved to be naturally gifted in combat and slowly learned to let her walls down once more. She graduated from the Academy just shy of honours and was assigned to the 2nd Imperial Legion, nicknamed the Hellhounds. She entered the Empire's service in a time of division and paranoia, shortly after the reunification with the New Imperial Order. Only having known the Empire under Emperor Vodo Bonias, Elvira was easily convinced to distrust the Charonists, buying into the widespread theory that they were feigning loyalty in an attempt to seize control of the government.

The ambitious new Private quickly caught the attention of the legion's Commanding Officer, Colonel Graeda L`Annan, who offered her the position of History Adjunct, which had not been filled for some time. Considering it an opportunity to prove herself, Elvira accepted and immediately initiated several projects, displaying her ambitious nature by attempting to expand the role she now held so she would have more responsibilities within the legion.

She rose through the ranks at a fast pace and earned several awards in the short time she had been with the Hellhounds. When the Colonel was elevated to Army Command and was replaced by her Executive Officer, Lieutenant Gunther Rall, Elvira saw a chance to advance her own military career. It wasn't long before she gained the favour of the new commander and when he needed a new Morale Adjunct to keep the legion in shape, Elvira was his first choice. Also retaining her first position, Elvira once more sought to expand her influence and developed the role of Morale Adjunct, traditionally a legion-bound position, into an Army-wide office.

A few days after her promotion to Master Sergeant, the retirement of Lieutenant Euna Miriel, Legion Adjutant, was announced. As could be expected, Lieutenant Rall turned to Elvira when seeking a successor, as she had been an advisor to him in an unoffical capacity for some time already. The new Legion Adjutant relinquished her other positions and became an official member of the legion's command staff. She performed admirably and brought many changes to the legion, including a mentoring program for new Privates and a restructuring of the legion into several squads that would eventually be reformed into brigades during the grand restructuring of the military in late Year 11.

The Hellhounds had earned a positive reputation and as part of the first and only Assault Force, they were often chosen to participate in highly classified and top priority operations. A Command Sergeant by now, Elvira participated in many operations, such as the famous liberation of M`buh from the New Republic and Operation Sneak Peak, a mission that went terribly wrong when the Imperial Army was forced to retreat as a volcano erupted and destroyed both the Imperial camp and the base of the guerilla fighters they were tasked with eliminating.

Breakdown

Elvira as a Command Sergeant

The 2nd Legion's progress came to a halt when Major Rall was forced to step down for several weeks due to health issues and his Executive Officer, Lieutenant Tremec Basir, revealed himself to be a Sith and left the Army to train at the Great Temple on Korriban. The entire weight of running the Hellhounds fell on the young Elvira's shoulders and she slowly began to crack under the pressure. Were it not for General L`Annan herself stepping in as temporary CO, the legion would surely have fallen apart. Luckily, a replacement for Major Rall was soon found in the form of Lieutenant Michael Beckhart, an experienced officer who had just come out of retirement. He approached the exhausted Command Sergeant with the offer of making her his second-in-command, an offer she considered recognition for the heavy burdens she had carried and immediately accepted.

Tensions in the legion rose when only a day later, it was announced that Euna Miriel had returned to active service and would become Executive Officer instead, as was decided by Army Command. Despite having served under Miriel before, Elvira was filled with jealousy and frustration. She now considered Miriel an intruder who had stolen the position she felt entitled to. The opportunity to further realise her ambitions snatched away before her eyes, in combination with the inability to earn her officer commission due to the structural flaws of the School of Officer and Command Studies, began to leave visible marks on the legion's former rising star.

Beckhart succeeded in reviving the legion's morale and managed to keep Elvira in check for a while, but secretly the Legion Adjutant had already made plans to leave the legion behind and pursue a career elsewhere, working for Chief Daelis Stanov of Imperial Intelligence during her spare time. Major Rall returned earlier than expected and Beckhart willingly handed over command of the 2nd Legion to him once more. The return of the man she considered her friend and mentor soothed Elvira somewhat, but it would only delay the inevitable.

Only a few days after Rall's return, Elvira was contacted by Califf D`Troit, Commanding Officer of the 1st Imperial Legion. He explained to her that he had lost all members of his command staff and was in dire need of competent officers to take their place. He offered her the chance to become his Legion Adjutant and Elvira immediately saw a new opportunity to claim the post of Executive Officer after all. Out of sympathy for D`Troit and his legion, but privately also driven by her jealous and ambitious nature, she accepted and was transferred to the Immortals. There, she prospered once more and helped turn the legion around.

One morning, Elvira awoke to a state of complete chaos on the Star Destroyer she was stationed on. A message was being broadcast by Grand Moff Orphaea Imperium on the intercoms. He had initiated a coup against the Emperor, seizing control of vast portions of the Empire's wealth and sewing confusion on many planets under Imperial control, convincing them to support his cause. He demanded the abdication of Bonias and the crowning of his Executor and former leader of the NIO movement, Thomas Cherokee, as the new Emperor. Wishing to avoid a new long-lasting civil war and keep the Empire intact, the Emperor abdicated in favour of Cherokee, intending to double-cross Imperium and reclaim the Throne as soon as the peace had returned. The members of the Inner Circle, which included several Charonists, saw this as an opportunity to usher the Empire into a new age of prosperity and rallied behind Cherokee, who subsequently refused to enact Vodo's plan, becoming the first new Emperor in over six years.

One of the first acts of the new Emperor was to appoint his long-time friend and supporter, Lord Admiral Seele, as the new Military Commanding Officer. Large military reforms were announced and Califf and Elvira worked together to ensure the 1st Legion was prepared. These reforms saw the abolition of the School of Officer and Command Studies, allowing Elvira to at last be promoted to Second Lieutenant along with her official appointment to the position of Executive Officer. A change in the rank system automatically promoted her to the rank of First Lieutenant, but the damage had already been done after months of stress and disillusionment. Her new rank meant little to the otherwise so ambitious officer and she saw Lord Admiral Seele as nothing more than a Charonist destroying the Empire with unnecessary reforms, clashing with him on several occasions.

The commanders of the 1st Legion brought in Dragomir Kies to serve as Legion Adjutant and be trained by Elvira to replace her after she announced her intent to transfer to Imperial Intelligence, which had actively been recruiting officers from other branches ever since the agency was brought back to life by its new Director, Inwe Ventidius. After leading one last mission in the Imperial Army, Elvira officially retired from the military and began her civilian career.

Reinventing Oneself

Elvira was given a desk job with the Bureau of Analysis and signed on as a recruitment officer with the Imperial Centre of Recruitment. The civilian life allowed her to breathe again, but she had already been reduced to a shadow of her former self. She had clung to the Empire to fill the void in her life left by her father, but in her eyes the Imperial system had failed her. She went through a period of depression and neglected her duties, getting caught in a series of abusive relationships and suffering from frequent mood swings. In an attempt to escape from a violent former lover, she even went as far as to surgically alter her appearance and dye her hair black.

The new Agent Falston

Director Ventidius frequently reassigned the troubled woman to new projects in an attempt to motivate her again but to no avail. Surprisingly, it was Lord Admiral Seele who saw potential in the burned out agent and frequently held lengthy discussions with her. His stories of the Empire under Charon before he was betrayed by the Sith and his plans for the future gave Elvira hope again and caused her to let go of her hate for the people she had once considered intruders and traitors.

Although still not returned to her full capability, the young Imperial was making steady progress and was eventually transferred to the Bureau of Operations where she became the Chief of the Imperial Office of Criminal Investigations. She helped rebuild the department and became involved in the recruiting of informants for the Bureau. Gradually she took on more and more responsibilities and became the de facto head of the Bureau, although an actual promotion was not yet in sight. When her collegue in the Bureau of Analysis, Cameliar Mordent, was promoted to Bureau Chief, old feelings of jealousy briefly resurfaced. She managed to dispel her negative thoughts however and for the first time realised that through conquering her depression, she had grown into a stronger person.

Ventidius had become wary of appointing a new Chief of Operations as the two previous people to hold the position had gone rogue. Seele, the man Elvira had begun to consider her truest mentor, pushed for her appointment as head of the Bureau and eventually she was granted official recognition as the new Bureau Chief. Under the guidance of the professional, organised Ventidius and the experienced, visionary Seele, the new supervisor of all covert activities of the Empire grew into a talented spymaster. She was instrumental in the expansion of the intel network of Imperial Intelligence and attracted many new assets all across the galaxy, including the criminal underworld. It is around this time she first came in contact with a bounty hunter named Ximaro Jix, leader of a, still small at the time, swoop gang named the Dark Star Hellions. Through him she managed to bring in her first arrest, Juraki Takeda, who was involved in the management of illegal business fronts and credit laundering for several rebel groups. It was after Takeda's execution that Elvira developed the strange habit of collecting blood samples from her targets, he becoming the first of her collection.

A young Sith Apprentice

By her first year in charge, every major enemy of the Empire had been infiltrated by undercover agents feeding intel to the Chief of Operations. Elvira began to develop an insatiable thirst for knowledge, desiring to know every little secret in the galaxy. She oversaw many succesful operations, including the retrieval of hundreds of stolen ships stored underneath the New Republic's planetary shields and the rooting out of several spies within the Empire. She personally led the operation to capture a New Republic Senator and Brigadier General, Ayy D`oria. Accompanied by a squad of stormtroopers, she boarded the Senator's ship, who was summarily placed under arrest. D`oria was executed a few days later after a speedy trial, the execution being performed by Elvira herself.

It was around this time that an old acquaintance from her days in the Army resurfaced, the Sith Lord Tremec Basir. Ventidius had asked him to visit all her staff members one by one and investigate whether they had any affinity with the Force. Both Bureau Chiefs were discovered to be Force Sensitive, but they would not be presented to the Sith. The Order of the Sith was led at that time by the Dark Lord who would come to be known as the Shamed One, a man who considered himself to be above the Emperor and saw the Sith as his personal army. Ventidius did not trust him and thus kept the identity of any Force Sensitives in Imperial Intelligence from him. It wasn't until the Shamed One was banished from the Empire and Darth Virsunas took his place as Dark Lord that Elvira was granted membership in the Order and became the apprentice of Lord Eric Jackson.

Jackson was known as a modest and grey Force wielder who valued balance, a Sith only in name. He taught his apprentice the basics of the Force and lightsaber combat and set his inexperienced mentee on a path of study and practice, honing her skills and continuously expanding her knowledge and understanding of the Force. Although she had great respect for her master, she would eventually come to reject his philosophical teachings and develop a far more pragmatic and darker view on the Force.

Full Potential

The 20th Director of Imperial Intelligence

When asked by the Select Commitee of COMPNOR to take over the Imperial Information Service after the previous Director's retirement, Elvira agreed. She began to redesign and restructure the entire department, only to have nearly all of her work undone when Executor Seele presented her with the Throne's new vision on how the department should function, forcing her to start over. This once more put her at odds with Seele, considering giving up her new position only a week after receiving it. Eventually, she begrudgingly accepted the decision and reformed the IIS into what it is today.

Meanwhile, a bounty hunter by the name of Fleur`De Rouge had risen to fame through several high-profile arrests. In year 14, the Gand succeeded in capturing the Chief of State of the New Republic, Cheda Quche and delivered him to the Empire. Elvira was one of the few people attending the execution on Day 60 of that year. This event was also the first time she was publicly seen accompanied by Chuk Tah, an Ewok she presumably met during one of the many operations she participated in, though both her and the Ewok have neglected to divulge the origins of their bond. Although most would expect that the only reason a high-ranking Imperial would suffer one of his species to live is to be a pet or slave, she seems to hold him in higher regard than most beings she comes into contact with.

During a period Director Ventidius was unable to lead, acting directorship was granted to Elvira. She flourished in her new role and proved herself worthy of one day succeeding the woman that many considered one of the best to ever lead Imperial Intelligence. When some time later Grand Vizier Jorus Taidan retired, Ventidius was his chosen successor. The Throne summoned Elvira to the Imperial Citadel on Coruscant, where they announced their intent to appoint her as the new Director of Imperial Intelligence.

Darth Surra is born

Two weeks after becoming the new Director, she resigned from her position as head of the Imperial Information Service, having led the department for eight days short of a year. This allowed her to dedicate more time to her new calling. Inheriting experienced and capable command staff from Ventidius' tenture as Director, Elvira largely followed the path that had been laid out by her predecessor and brought few fundamental changes to the branch. Despite having been mentored by Ventidius and Seele however, she was a lot more aggressive in her approach and this was reflected in the new goals set by Imperial Intelligence. The amount of arrests and executions performed by the agency increased significantly.

Due to her position of influence, Elvira was granted an honourary seat on the Sith Council. She took on the name of Darth Surra and concealed her identity as a Sith by disconnecting her public identity from her new name. When the Lord Inquisitor, her former collegue Cameliar Mordent, stepped down, Elvira was named his successor in recognition of her service to the Order and experience in the field. This enabled her to use prospective members of the Order as field operatives to collect intel and carry out arrests and assassinations for her. After one such succesful operation, the Krath Lord Nomak Drome was delivered to the Inquisition. At last revealing herself as Darth Surra in the subsequent galaxy-wide announcement, the Sith Master beheaded the former second-in-command of the Krath Dynasty after rejecting his pleas for mercy.

Descent into Darkness

Despite personally overseeing many operations and remaining firmly in control of the largest intel network in the galaxy, Elvira was rarely seen by other Imperials. The Director became more and more reclusive as time went on, delving deeper into the mysteries and science of the Force and working on new ways to wield it as a weapon. When disgraced former Sith from the Vodo-era banded together to found their own order in a challenge to the existing one, Surra organised a response by working with an insider who hoped to get back into the Empire's good graces by providing her with access to the communication network of these pretenders. As they hailed from many different organisations, most used codenames and few of them knew who the others were, allowing Surra to assume a false identity and insert herself into their growing numbers unnoticed. Surra managed to uncover the identity of two traitors hidden amongst the Empire's ranks and quietly had them arrested as to not arouse suspicion, one of them being Mark Challanger, the appointed spymaster of this new order. In exchange for leniency, he quickly agreed to turn on his fellow conspirators, which lead to the dismantling of the fledgling order and exposure of its acolytes to the wider galaxy.

Throughout Year 15, she worked with a defector of the Zann Consortium to root out spies of the criminal organisation, exposing Captain Kos Van`lin as a traitor as well as orchestrating the execution of Sirius Constantine, a member of Zann's inner circle.

Eventually Elvira realised she could no longer dedicate enough time to her duties and stepped down as Director of Imperial Intelligence. Despite this, she still remained closely affiliated with the agency as it enabled her to remain aware of everything that transpired in the rest of the galaxy. Word eventually reached her that Valkiry Fair, leader of a rebel organisation calling itself the Freedom Warriors, was attempting to establish a rival intel agency that would primarily target the Empire. Elvira made contact with an old associate, the former Sith Master Jett Blackheart, to learn more. Blackheart had inserted himself in the rebel group and could provide Imperial Intelligence with the opportunity to cut this new agency down before it could grow. The plan turned out to be even more succesful than Surra had hoped, as Blackheart assassinated his superior, Wuma Uxal-Lumir, and provided Imperial Intelligence with access to the ship of Fair, resulting in his arrest and eventual execution at the hands of Darth Surra. The Freedom Warriors movement crumbled and what little remained of it was reformed into a mercenary group of little note.

In Year 16, Elvira returned to prominence as the mind behind Operation Romance, a succesful operation that resulted in the capture of ten New Republic officers and the deaths of four. It would be her final achievement as Chief of Operations before stepping down and moving to Empress Teta as one of the founders of the Sith's Rule of Six. She seized control of the fabled Iron Citadel and established the Saarai, an enclave for the most zealous amongst the Sith, intent on enforcing a strict interpretation of the Sith Code throughout the Order. Pragmatic as ever, the new Baroness of Saarai cared little for the ancient code, but knew that the old views on the Dark Side of the Force could never be entirely eradicated, merely controlled and forged into a weapon for the Empire. These militants would unite eventually, so better they do so under her leadership. With her apprentice Darth Civir by her side, she maintained an iron grip over the Saarai and the Tetan people throughout the years to come.

When Darth Virsunas retreated into the world of commerce, a power vacuum was left in the Order. With the support of her cadre of loyal Force wielders and the approval of the Imperial Throne, Elvira claimed the mantle of Dark Lady of the Sith. Although she relinquished control of the Saarai enclave, the Iron Citadel remained her home and seat of power as opposed to the traditional Great Temple of Korriban. It fell onto Surra to provide the Order with a clear identity and purpose, as for many years the Order had struggled to cement itself as a valuable component of the Empire and justify the elevated position in Imperial society its representatives were granted. The inner workings of this ancient institution were modernized and brought more in line with the overall structure of the Empire. The Order's self-imposed isolation also came to an end by reaching out to the other Force users of the Imperial Union, namely the Maurari of Black Sun and Tresario's Tikiars.

Advisor to the Throne and liaison to the Chiss

Eventually the Dark Lady would grow bored by the lack of a true challenge to drive her forward, having accomplished most of what she had set out to do. She understood the importance of keeping the Sith loyal to the Emperor, but had never put much faith in the Sith Code, considering it to be simplistic and, ironically, limiting. She had always considered herself an Imperial foremost, deeming the theatrics of Sith and Jedi beneath her, hence why even as first amongst the Sith she only ever wore a black Imperial uniform and cape. Once she considered her obligations to the Throne and the Order fulfilled, she passed the mantle to Darth Taral and retreated into obscurity, retiring from the public life. Nonetheless, she remained one of the most powerful Force wielders in the galaxy, and as such decided to take on a new apprentice, Phaedra Thester.

After the surrender of the New Republic by its Chief of State Galen Darksol, whom she had come to consider a friend ever since acting as his handler in Imperial Intelligence, she was dispatched by the Imperial Throne to oversee the reformation of the Chiss Ascendancy, which had been granted control over the Csilla sector after years of neglect by the New Republic. It would quickly become apparant however that their leader, Grand Aristocra Yar'eius'rot, did not possess the vision or competence to shepherd his people. After being given an ultimatum by Emperor Seele, he plotted to betray his own people by establishing a dictatorship with himself at the helm. When the Chiss caught wind of his plans, they turned to the Empire for aid. Although he managed to escape into the Unknown Regions, Reius was forcibly removed from power and Elvira temporarily assumed control of the sector while the Ascendancy reformed and chose Drath're'skal to oversee the transition to a fully-formed independent government. With the peace restored and the groundwork for the future of their people being laid, Elvira returned to an advisory role and relocated to Csilla, one of the few non-Chiss to be granted residence there. She guided the new Grand Syndic with an uncharacteristically gentle hand, perhaps more sage from a decade of experience, or simply worn down after a decade of fighting for the Imperial cause, and avoided direct interference whenever possible, hoping to lay to rest the whispers that the new Ascendancy was merely an Imperial puppet state.

Halfway through Year 22, the lauded champion of the New Order chose to retire from all public functions with the Emperor's blessing and was last seen boarding her personal flagship, the Ill Omen before disappearing into hyperspace, presumably setting course for the Unknown Regions.

Personality

Personality

As an Imperial dignitary, Elvira was expected to attend formal events

Few are capable of uncovering Elvira's true personality. Many consider her to be cold and calculating, while some of the people closest to her have described her as passionate and zealous. She is extremely dedicated to the Imperial cause and harbours a deep hatred for all enemies of the Empire, traitors in particular. She is driven by her thirst for knowledge and thrives on conflict, proving willing to deceive, manipulate and kill to achieve her goals.

She opens up to the few people she considers friends and shows genuine signs of affection to a very select few. She is usually withdrawn, observing others from afar without interfering. She rarely allows anyone to see her true self and adjusts her behaviour based on whom she is interacting with, the one constant being the professionalism reflected in her demeanor and language.

Despite being a dedicated Imperial and Sith, Elvira doesn't seem to subscribe to many of their more dogmatic beliefs. Although she recognizes the human species to have great potential, she harbours no prejudice or hate towards non-humans, choosing to judge others on an individual basis. She also sees the Force as merely a tool with no inherent morality, to be studied as a scientific matter and not revered as a spiritual entity.

Relationships

Ever since the death of her father, Elvira had a tendency to look for mentors and father figures amongst her superiors, which included men such as Gunther Rall, Eric Jackson and Seele. Over time she came into her own and severed ties with anyone she felt too reliant on. She retains a very cynical view on the galaxy and considers all sentient life inherently flawed. She is extremely wary of forming emotional attachment to anyone due to abuse she suffered in the past and her general distrust of others.

Elvira has not had a partner since going through a series of destructive relationships. Despite having had many suitors vying for her affection, she rarely shows any romantic interest and when she does, it is typically based on rational reasons such as advancing her status in the galaxy through a partner of nobility or great political influence.

Dark Lady of the Sith
Preceded By: Darth Virsunas	Darth Surra Year 18	Succeeded By: Darth Taral