Mark Ein Arton

Mark ein Arton
Biographical Information
Race	Coruscanti
Homeworld	Coruscant
Mother	Elliell Sateve (died in Y-16)
Father	Francis Arton (died in Y9)
Spouse	Divorced
Siblings	None
Children	None
Born	Year -16, Day 121
Imperial Service
Branch	Imperial Army
Positions	Imperial Army
Prior Service	Imperial Academy Recruit (Y6), Executive Officer, 2nd Imperial Legion (Y7), Commanding Officer, 2nd Imperial Legion (Y7-Y8), Army Adjutant (Y8), Imperial Academy Recruit (Y22)
Awards

Mark ein Arton is an officer in the Imperial Army that reached the rank of Colonel before retiring for 13 years and returning to service in Year 22.

Early History

Mark was the only son of Francis Arton and Elliell Sateve, who died at childbirth. Father and son led an austere life in the relatively wealthy middle-levels of Uscru District, Coruscant.

Francis Arton

Born to a traditional coruscanti military family, Col. Francis Arton was a severe Army man who hated Coruscant. A military instructor in the Army Headquarters at Carida for his whole adult life, he married caridan beauty Elliell Sateve and lived a content life in a big ranch near the Academy when Elliell got pregnant. Francis was overjoyed at the news, but after a terrible training accident in the following months that prematurely ended his military career, he slid into a severe depression. To make matters worse, Elliell died at childbirth a few months later. Devastated, Francis and the little Mark returned to Coruscant; the father would promise never to marry again and the son got the traditional 'ein' in his name, which meant that he was the only son of his lineage. Because 'ein' is not a given surname, it is often spelt with small letters.

Life in Seclusion

Thus was Mark ein Arton a blessing and a curse for his mentally and physically crippled father. Alas, the boy grew under the auspices of a military hero and a despicable tyrant, at the same time admiring and hating his father. Without stormtroopers to drill, Francis turned his military training attention to his son. Mark grew in a little twisted version of the Army Headquarters in his apartment in Coruscant, performing menial tasks for grades and being excluded from normal child life for his whole childhood. The lack of social skills turned Mark into a stiff soldier, formal and shy. Going out was strictly forbidden, and the number of Carida posters and pictures about the house meant that Mark knew more about that distant, hot planet than his own Coruscant. By the time he turned 16, he enrolled at the Academy in Carida. Father and son exchanged letters throughout the years, but never met again.

Imperial Academy (Year 6)

As he exited the Sentinel transport to Carida, Arton had two illuminations that would change his life. The first illumination was that this warm and humid planet full of troopers and loud bars and the occasional brawl among soldiers was just like he imagined in his childhood, and he loved it. Carida was a boys' dream come true, a place where everyone had a rank and a position, and a place where the harsh son of Francis Arton could thrive.

The second illumination was that he really *didn't like* space. He had read books by people talking about the magnificent stars and the beauty of planets... to hell with them. Space itself was like staring at cold death, and the immediate reality of traveling in this hostile environment was steel corridors and small bunks.

Mark graduated with honors in the Imperial Academy the first time he enrolled with a 96% grade. He was proud; his father, responding to a letter, seemed unamused. At the Academy he became friends with another recruit who was also the son of a military family: Deric Adams. As much as they wanted to serve together, Deric was early assigned to the 1st Legion.

Year 6-7: Enlisted in the Hellhounds

After a long wait between Academy and assignment, he was sent to the Second Imperial Legion, the Hellhounds, which would be his home for most of his Imperial service. By the time he was assigned (Y6), it was known as the Second Brigade. His first LCO was Lieutenant James "Jamie" Walters, a man who became somewhat close to Mark and helped him understand the intricacies of Army life. Demonstrating great activity, Private First Class Mark ein Arton advanced to the rank of Lance Corporal within months. After Walters was dishonorably discharged, Lieutenant Colonel Dale Chambers came from the Navy and assumed command of the Second, and Captain Mintaka Kyuzo became XO.

By that time the Imperial Army was severely understaffed. Most recruits went to the Navy, which held favor with Emperor Vodo Bonias and his Inner Circle. A couple of officers, including Chambers, came from the Navy to assist the Legions in organizing themselves. It was also a political time for the military, with high-ranking officers defecting, sometimes with grave treason and shame to their units. The Sith, always vigilant, kept the rest afraid. Vodo's reign taught Arton one vital thing that kept him alive through the troublesome period: he would never mess with politics and conspiracies. The Emperor commanded absolute loyalty, and Arton was willing to give it without questions.

LTCOL Chambers was a distant man, but Mark admired him in his coldness. He later left for AHC and Kyuzo, who was friendlier with enlisted personnel, became CO for the Second. Now a full Legion and no longer a Brigade, the Hellhounds changed a lot in that period. They got their nickname, their visual identity and the VSD Cerberus for their flagship. Arton found life in the VSD a much more pleasant experience than in the smaller transports. Even though he wasn't exactly a Spacer, he was happy to have a larger room and specially a hangar where he could spend time checking and rechecking the Army's vehicles. Time spent among Walkers and speeders made Arton a speciallist in maintenance and vehicle deployment, and he would be close to the Armoured Corps for the rest of his life. By that time, his friend Deric Adams arrived at the 2nd and served as Legion XO.

Year 8: Sergeant Arton

Due to a temporary shortness of personnel, Arton was named Acting Sergeant by Legion Command. This would be made permanent shortly before his first mission.

The First Heavy Mech Batallion 'Maelstrom', Arton's unit in Thyferra

Thyferran Campaign

On Y8 D210, the Second was deployed to Thyferra along with the Fourth Imperial Fleet, Mark's first real combat mission. Now a Command Sergeant, he was ordered by Captain Kyuzo to lead the Maelstrom Heavy Mech Brigade, a total of 12 mighty AT-AT Walkers who had the mission of first defense line against Rebel incursion in the outskirts of various cities. Though the Walkers themselves were slow behemoths, Arton mastered the technique of rapid deployment from the Cerberus with AT Barges, rapidly reaching the combat zone from above. In order to do this, perfect coordination was achieved with Legion Command and the Brigade itself by the use of coded real-time encryption. Even though the Thyferran Campaigns ended in retreat for the Empire, the Second was commended for inflicting heavy enemy losses on the rebels.

Officer of the Imperial Army

After Thyferra, Mintaka left the Army without notice and the Second was without a CO. Arton's performance on the previous operation made him known in Army High Commmand, and he got specially close with the Army Executive Officer, Brigadier General Alan Steel. Steel recommended him to be Commander of the Hellhounds, and his friend Deric Adams was promised command of his own Legion, the 3rd, after a final mission with the Second. Arton was made a Captain and Deric a 2nd Lieutenant, but rank meant little as the two worked together for this final operation. They were joined by Corporal Geno Krall, a recent graduate from Carida with a shady past as an artifact smuggler. Arton intended to test this soldier thoroughly in the battlefield.

The Myrkr Sweep

After several months of reorganizing material and drilling status reports, the Second had a chance for revenge on an offensive operation in the planet Myrkr. With orders to seek and destroy pirate bases throughout the entire forested planet, Captain Arton devised a mathematical solution for efficient sweeping using the previous learned techniques of transport drops, analysis of the terrain and the current material capabilities of the Second. The strategy consisted of sweeping through the thick woodlands with two scout bike squads as the AT-ST squadron "Black Knights" led by Arton himself made several drops and advances through the few open grassland areas. The three forces met in the final large grassy area from different directions, scout bikes pouring from north and south and chicken walkers dropping from the sky inside barges. Overwhelmed, the pirates ran without firing a shot, leaving behind a valuable cache of materials and resources. In honor of the perfect coordinated incursion, the large plains on the north were named "Hellhounds Strip" in official maps.

After the victory, the Hellhounds kept patrolling the planet for the next months. A meticulous plan for coordinating timezones meant that there was always at least one Hellhound in total control of the planet, 24 hours a day, for the whole operation. Corporal Krall performed perfectly with his timely bike sweeps, dispelling any doubts Captain Arton had about him. The perfect operation led Arton to a new promotion to Lieutenant Colonel.

Colonel Arton in AHC

By the end of Y8, the Army went through further changes. General Steel unwittingly assumed command of the Army and Deric Adams was his XO. New soldiers arrived in the Army, and the Hellhounds were reinforced with the arrival of Zenchi Senkusha, Gunther Rall and Graeda L'Annan. Arton spent the the first months of Year 9 drilling with the new enlarged Legion. He was immensely satisfied at the quality of his soldiers: Geno was ruthless, but deadly and commited. Gunther was respectful and eager to learn. Graeda was kind, efficient as a clock and great organizer. The Colonel was sure this next generation of Army men and women was up to the job of serving the Empire in green uniform.

Year 9: Army Adjutant

Adams wouldn't stay in AHC for long and the former Army Adjutant Bacara Kex rose to AXO. The Adjutant position being empty, Lt. Colonel Mark ein Arton was invited by Steel and Kex to assume the important post in the 270th day of Year 9. Mark never considered refusing any assignment, but he wasn't happy with leaving his beloved Hellhounds. However, he was sure his soldiers were trained to the point of assuming command of the Legion with the best practices available. He was also sure he would be useful as Adjutant. Arton started implementing the timezone coordination table for the whole Army, developing the Legions in a way that there was always going to be a soldier in active duty for emergency deployment anytime, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. By that time, Arton got closer to his father, exchanging letters every week or so. Colonel Francis Arton was, for the first time, proud of his son.

But the work was exhausting. A number of new Privates and changes in the Legions made the Adjutant's work as essential as it was overwhelming. Mark began to nurture a mixed feeling about his position: he was needed, but he was also not active enough for his position and the number of soldiers was demanding as ever. Two of his best friends were gone: Deric Adams and Marcus Aurelius. The legendary Dale Chambers had joined Mandalore and Mintaka was now known to be dead, killed as a traitor. Alan Steel was the only officer Arton who could call friend, and he was less and less active every day, preparing the Army for his retirement and his XO Bacara Kex as his replacement. By the end of the year, the only thing that kept Arton going was loyalty to his father's dreams and desires. When Arton received the letter from Coruscant that Colonel Francis Arton had died, he decided to retire.

Retirement, Year 9

Mark ein Arton retired in a quiet, but emotional celebration in Year 9. He was promoted honorably to the rank of Colonel and decided to remain in Carida.

The first few months were hard. Not knowing what to do, Arton spent the time in cantinas drinking and meeting new soldiers. He noticed he became something of a legend in Caridan cantinas, the drinking and bitter 'Colonel' who was called that way even by children and beggars. Disgusted with the banalities of civilian life, he moved to the deep jungles of Carida, bought a ranch and married a local girl by the name of Alara. He quickly became isolated from the galaxy, throwing away all communication equipment and avoiding news services. He was happy for a while, and then became bitter and lazy. As the years passed, Arton grew weary, weak and was always in a bad temper. He hated thinking about his Army life, but couldn't help the memories coming back all the time. After 13 years of marriage, Alara left the Colonel, tired of being an emotional support to a bitter man.

Alone in his jungle ranch, the Colonel realized he had two options: drinking himself to death or returning to service. He made the right decision for the first time in 13 years and decided to come back.

Back to service, Year 22

As he entered his personal transport, the Dropship Trojan, Arton was completely lost to what happened in the galaxy during all those years. He didn't even know who was Emperor. After receiving word from the Imperial recruitment officer, Arton began the slow process of being reinstituted to Emperor Seele's service. He graduated the Academy with honors a second time, even though his grades were a little lower than before. He then moved to begin a new life in the Imperial Army, a rebirth for a veteran officer...

Mark ein Arton as a Captain, circa Y7

Appearance and Personality

Mark ein Arton is now a middle-aged man with a brown skin tanned with the sun of Carida, and dark blue eyes.

He is stiff, polite and a generally serious officer. It's not that he dislikes humour, but he seldom engages in the sort of jokes and light conversation that is custom in the Army's main halls. He is absolutely loyal to the Emperor and his officers, and still hates politics and conspirations. He is also compassionate of newcomers and junior officers, willing to help and tolerant of small errors, but harsh against indiscipline.