Vespera Tau

Vespera Tau
Biographical Information
Status	Deceased (Y22 D166)
Race	Gengh-Noghri
Homeworld	Tulpaa
Sector	Rakatan Archipelago
Spouse	Sekou Tau
House	Fhrd`stovca
Mother	Maitrakh Nyz`ari Mar`zena
Father	Unknown
Siblings	KIA
Languages	Honoghran, Galactic Basic
Physical Description
Gender	Female
Age	48
Height	5'1
Weight	140 lb
Coloring	Grey
Eye Color	Gold
Political Information
Affiliation	Trade Spine League
Positions	Captain
Prior Affiliation	None
Signature

Vespera Tau was a Galactic Traveller and the Maitrakh wife of the Dynast, Sekou Tau. As well as being the Maitrakh of Clan Muluka'dar of House Fhrd'stovca, and Clan Marz`ena, she was also the Vicereine of a small Trading Settlement hidden within Deep Space, and the First Lady of The Forsaken Riders of the Abyss (FRA). Although her accomplishments are highly influential to the Gengh-Noghri as a race, her humility allows her to rule at her people's side, rather than above them.

Childhood

The origins of Clan Marz`ena stemmed from years of slavery and discontent but a small number of the clan were able to flee the planet and took to the skies, travelling from one place to another and never settling in fear of being captured and taken back, or worse, executed. What Clan Marz`ena had not yet realised was that amongst their ranks was a Rakatan informant who had revealed to the slavers where the best destination would be to rain down on the fleet and recapture the fugitives.

Although the Rakatan informant had fulfilled his purpose, he did not receive the reward he had been promised; instead, alongside his wife and son, they were executed as an example, to show that not even working "for" the Rakatan would grant them freedom. And so, in the year -20, Vespera was born into slavery along with several other Marz`ena children. However, unlike the boys and men whose lives were dedicated to the Smithies and Fleet Engineering, the girls and women were trained in combat, as was the tradition of the Gengh-Noghri females.

When Vespera reached her eighth year, she already had three years of combat experience under her belt but she was charged with an important task as one of the eldest and strongest children; becoming an operative in a rescue mission to save the children during what would become the 12 year war of the Revolution, she smuggled children into cargo containers. The plan was to reach orbit, where they would be met by a large freighter that would take the young to a settlement in Deep Space.

The rescue mission unfortunately didn't quite go to plan. Two of the ships carrying the containers were shot down, killing countless elderly and young Noghri - men, women and children - who were huddled up in the containers. When it seemed like all hope was lost, a fleet of fighters rushed in from hyper space and began to wipe out the enemies. Led by Commanding Chief Jasmine Odan, the squadron suffered minimal losses and managed to escort the remaining ships to safety.

Revolution

From the deep space settlement Vespera waited anxiously for the updates of the Revolution. The death toll rose and with it came the fear of who amongst her family especially, if any, had perished. Family. Friends. She heard that her mother, the Maitrakh of Marz`ena was still going strong on the battlefield leading her squad of swordswomen but there was no news yet as to her father's whereabouts. Her sister and brother, both older than she was, had fought bravely side by side but after her sister had been killed, her brother took his life as repentance for failing to protect her.

Such was the way of the Gengh-Noghri; if the men could not fulfill their clan pledge of protecting and serving the women, they were as good as dead, so taking their own lives in battle was seen as the act of redemption and they were then honored for their sacrifice.

As much as she would have preferred to return to Tulpaa to fight for her people, it would take 6 long years of training and preparation before she was officially deemed ready for battle. At the age of fourteen, a typical age for all Gengh-Noghri or even the Noghri to pass the initial examinations and vigorous training, she was boarding a shuttle and being dispatched for combat. She, along with her squad of swordswomen, entered the fray, during which time she met Sekou Tau. Comrades they would be, for the remaining six years, with Sekou training her to incorporate the Stava Martial Arts into her own unique combat style.

Upon liberation of the Noghri from Rakatan they parted ways; the skies called to Vespera, and the settlement was ready to depart from the war scene. Over time she was able to communicate with Sekou to inform him of the progress of her training and to see how things were back home, but having lost her family to the war she couldn't bring herself to returning, even with the title of Maitrakh within her grasp. She could have settled down, found a Dynast to become her husband, had her own family, but the taint of war still remained strong in the community and marriage was the least of her worries.

Future Prospects

Marriages for Gengh-Noghri are exceptionally rare and important to the future of clans. The bride-to-be spends a considerable length of time selecting a suitable candidate to become her husband. Rarer still is when a marriage involves love from both parties. In Vespera's case, when she eventually accepted her duty as Maitrakh, her selected husband had to be a Dynast, with strength and skills behind him to assure the future of their clans would survive the hardships of Galactic warfare. The more she had thought about the Dynast, the more her thoughts trailed back to the one Gengh-Noghri she had known for almost her entire life. It didn't take very long for Vespera to accept Sekou, nor did it take very long for them to openly admit their feelings for one another which, for a Maitrakh and Dynast, was a rare feat.

On Y20 D149, at the steps of the Grand Dukha, after a beautiful parade of music and banners, with the Bride walking with her escort, Jasmine Odan, and Sekou accompanied by his Groomsman Gothar Elensar, the Maitrakh accepted the pledge of her Dynast, offering her hand to accept his ring, and the ceremony was complete.

Although Vespera is now happily married, with children likely on the horizon, her life is still very much dedicated to travelling the galaxy with the Odan family, and making acquaintances in the most unusual of places, like the hideaway of the Dark Star Hellions where she frequently meets up with two of her bridesmaids, the Zeltron, Lady Osanna and the delightful Chagrian, Wednesday, for a sneaky drink or two before she has to return to business.