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| − | {{CharacterBoxRed | + | | name = Koltan "Kol" Seraph |
| − | | name = Koltan 'Kol' Seraph | + | | image = http://art.swc-empire.com/avatar/8080_seraph.jpg<br><br>http://art.swc-empire.com/ranks/MO-5.png <br> <b>Lieutenant Colonel Kol Seraph</b><br>Imperial Army |
| − | | image = http://art.swc-empire.com/avatar/8080_seraph.jpg<br><br>http://art.swc-empire.com/images/ranks/military/MO-1.gif http://www.swc-empire.com/ISB/images/gold1.gif<br><b>2nd Lieutenant Kol Seraph</b><br>Brigade Commanding Officer<br>4th Brigade, the Spectres<br>Imperial Army | + | | race = Human |
| − | | race = [[Coruscanti]] | + | | homeworld = Taris |
| − | | homeworld = [[Coruscant]] | + | | mother = Lasha Seraph (assumed deceased) |
| − | | mother = Lasha Seraph † | + | | father = Garran Seraph (assumed deceased) |
| − | | father = Garran Seraph † | |
| | | spouse = N/A | | | spouse = N/A |
| − | | born = Year -7, Day 234 | + | | born = Y-11 D232 |
| − | | positions = Current: | + | | positions = Retired |
| − | *4BDE Commanding Officer
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| − | *1IL Signals Officer
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| − | *Scout Trooper Officer
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| − | *Archivist, [[IIS]]
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| − | *Recruiter, [[ICR]]
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| | | siblings = N/A | | | siblings = N/A |
| | | children = N/A | | | children = N/A |
| − | | branch = http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr10/GalaxyArchives/army.png <br> [[Imperial Army]]<br> | + | | branch = http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr10/GalaxyArchives/army.png |
| − | http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr10/GalaxyArchives/COMPNOR_Seal.png <br> | + | [[Imperial Army]]<br> |
| | + | http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr10/GalaxyArchives/COMPNOR_Seal.png<br> |
| | [[COMPNOR]] | | [[COMPNOR]] |
| − | | prior service = [[Imperial Academy]] Student | + | | prior service = |
| − | http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr10/GalaxyArchives/academy.png | + | http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp254/Inwe_Ventidius/II/SmallIILogo-1.png |
| − | <br> | + | [[Imperial Intelligence]]: |
| − | | awards = http://www.swc-empire.com/images/awards/CMM.jpg
| + | *II Public Agent <br> |
| − | | + | http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr10/GalaxyArchives/army.png <br> |
| − | http://www.swc-empire.com/images/awards/ISM-1.jpg | + | [[Imperial Army]]: |
| − | | + | *3rd Brigade Commanding Officer |
| − | http://www.swc-empire.com/images/awards/ICM.jpg | + | *Acting 3rd Legion Signals Officer <br> |
| − | | + | *4th Brigade Commanding Officer <br> |
| − | http://www.swc-empire.com/images/awards/IABG.jpg
| + | *1st Brigade Executive Officer <br> |
| − | | + | *1st Legion Signals Officer <br> |
| − | http://www.swc-empire.com/images/awards/IMM.jpg | + | *Legionary <br> |
| | + | http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr10/GalaxyArchives/academy.png<br> |
| | + | [[Imperial Academy]]: |
| | + | *IBT Candidate (Army) <br> |
| | + | http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr10/GalaxyArchives/COMPNOR_Seal.png<br> |
| | + | [[COMPNOR]]: |
| | + | *Archive Project Manager [IIS] |
| | + | *Recruiting Officer [ICR] |
| | + | *Imperial Youth Militia |
| | + | | awards = http://art.swc-empire.com/awards/8080_seraph.png |
| | }} | | }} |
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| − | 2nd Lieutenant '''Koltan 'Kol' Seraph''' is a 20-year-old Coruscanti male, currently serving as Commanding Officer of the 4th Reconnaissance Brigade, and the 1st Imperial Legion's Signals Officer. He also faithfully serves the New Order in several part time capacities beyond the Imperial Army, namely as an Archivist and Recruiter for COMPNOR's Imperial Information Service and Imperial Centre for Recruitment, respectively.
| + | '''Koltan "Kol" Seraph''' is a 25-year-old Human [[Imperial Army]] Officer and former [[COMPNOR]] member, currently holding the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. From Y14 D323 to Y15 D58, he served as Project Manager for the [[Imperial Archives]], succeeding his fellow Brigade Commander, comrade, and close friend, [[Amne Zailyn]]. |
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| − | {{Quote|DEMISE!| The motto of 2LT Seraph's 4th Reconnaissance Brigade, 'the Spectres'}}
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| | ==Biography== | | ==Biography== |
| − | ===My Childhood===
| + | Kol Seraph was born on Taris, on Y-11 D232 to Garran and Lasha Seraph, who were refugees from a war in the Outer Rim. Although educated, as Kol’s parents were refugees, the Seraphs were forced to live in poverty in Taris’ Lower City, a violent place made infamous by its swoop gangs and ever-present signs of urban decay. Unwilling to spend the rest of his life in hardscrabble poverty and squalor under the great spires of his segregated urban homeworld, Kol ran away from home during his adolescence and joined one of the Lower City’s swoop gangs: the “Undercity Shades”, vowing never to look back. |
| − | From what I can remember of my childhood, I know this: I was born in the district of Sah'c Town, on Coruscant, on Year -7 Day 234. I remember the names of my parents: my father was Garran, and my mother, Lasha. They weren't from the capital or the Core, from what I can recall of their accents, so I suppose they must've been refugees or expatriates from the Colonies or the Rim worlds. They never talked about other children, so I can only assume that I was an only child, or the only one that survived infancy.
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| − | Despite our meager comforts, I have always been honest. We were most certainly poor. When I was three years old, both my parents became very sick, and they couldn't afford to go to the hospital or buy any medicine. In fact, everyone in our neighborhood became sick. Somehow, despite living with them, I didn't get sick myself... perhaps I was naturally immune to the disease. Things only got worse when the authorities set up a quarantine of the entire residential district. I will always remember how my parents tried to live a normal life despite how sick they clearly were, how they used to try in vain to hide signs of their illness from me. One day, despite the quarantine, we had 'guests'. Two uniformed men from the outside came to our house, and after talking to my parents, they told me they would be taking me away, and that I couldn't come back. My parents were the saddest I had ever seen them, but they didn't say anything. I ran to my room and tried to hide from the pair of strangers, but they soon found me. They dragged me, kicking and screaming, from the only home I had ever known, my parents telling me that I'd only make it worse for myself if I kept struggling. That was the last time I saw my parents.
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| − | As it turns out, the men who had abducted me were agents of something called the "Youth Commission", who had deemed my ailing parents as "persons unable to provide for their offspring". I was put into a group of children my age, all boys, who had also been 'relocated' from their homes in a similar fashion. We were the youngest in the facility at the time, both the staff and the older boys would often beat us regularly between the lessons and drills that marked our stay in that damned place. Food was always scarce, and fights between groups of children over little more than a scrap of bread were common. The guards explained that a hard life was a crucible for us to be broken and remade in a more useful form, and any instance of disobedience or disrespect would be answered with harsh discipline. Worse, the Commission often had scientists and doctors run experiments on us, gathering blood samples and performing procedures on us that were undoubtedly... invasive. When I realized that those among us who weren't sick were the ones they were preferred to run tests on the most, and that eventually, those among us that they tested all got sick in the end, I made the grim connection that they were deliberately infecting us to study the disease. We were no better than animals under observation.
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| − | I had two educations in the Orphanage: the first was the public one, which taught us how to read and write Imperial Basic, how to do math, a little Galactic history, why Humans were better suited to serve the New Order than aliens, and so on and so forth... the standard education for Imperial boys, with very little deviations from what is taught in similar institutions to this day. The second was more intrinsic. We were taught that the strong are meant to rule over the weak, and that because we were weaker and younger, the older boys and the guards were justified in preying on us. Many among us often disappeared, and were never heard or discussed again. We ceaselessly planned our eventual escape, but few ever dared attempt escape, myself included. My own plans grew more and more elaborate with each passing. When I actually made it out, I eventually found my way home... or, what was left of it. What I found was an empty, abandoned complex, condemned by order of the Imperial Medical Authority. I knew there had been a quarantine, from which no one was allowed to escape. When I realized my parents were more than likely dead, but with no way of knowing for sure, I burned the whole tenement hab down. I was arrested soon after, and was returned to the Youth Commission. In truth, I let them take me back, because I needed help from my brothers if I wanted to survive on the outside.
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| − | One day, when I was 12, one of my closest friends was beaten to death by a guard, for sneaking out of the compound at night against my advice. The following evening, I called a meeting of the boys my age, and I told them I would escape, and that I'd done it before. Most were afraid of the guards, but all of them were more afraid of the idea of staying, of getting sick. When we got out, they followed me to where we all knew the Commission wouldn't come after us. We went down, level by level, eventually reaching our destination. And so we came to find ourselves in the Undercity, where I figured it was our turn to be strong, our turn to prey on the weak.
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| − | ===The Undercity Shades===
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| − | Life in the Undercity isn't pleasant for anybody, but it sure helps if you're not alone, and you have sharp wits about you. When we realized what we had to be willing to do to survive, I allowed those of us who were less-dedicated to our cause to strike off on their own... a veritable death sentence. Most who left were never seen again, and we'd heard stories of 'Shades', invisible monsters who stalked the depths of the Undercity, snatching away lost souls into the shadows, from which there was no hope of escape. Sufficed to say, none of us went anywhere alone, least the stories be based on some level of truth. Darkness, starvation, and despair breed interesting things in people.
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| − | In such an environment, those who are willing to adapt and do whatever necessary to stay alive are the ones who make it at the end of the day, still breathing. We were unbound from the rules followed by those who dwelt above us, and so, united by our shared lot in life, we made ourselves force to be reckoned with. Of course life was never any easier, but all of us knew that if we turned on each other, the losing party in the ensuing fight would face exile. We also learned how effective a weapon fear was, so on my recommendation, we would cover our faces and skin in soot, allowing us to blend into the darkness, from which we could strike on unwary, lost souls to relieve them of their 'disposable income'. Our fear of the Shades made us adopt the name as our own, so that others would feel that same fear. And so our predations added weight to the old Undercity legend.
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| − | However, we certainly weren't alone in the dark. There were the 'old guards', brotherhoods that were already well established in the Undercity, who each had grudges, feuds, and claims to 'grounds', areas of the Undercity they thought belonged to them by right of tradition, leading to an endless series of conflicts between them. There were also the 'newbloods', ourselves included, who officially had no grounds to themselves, and whose claims were not recognized. And, of course, there was the Mob, to whom we all had to pay a cut of what we earned... regardless of being Old Guard or Newblood. Both groups, including the feuding brotherhoods that comprised them, were united by one common thing: a hatred of the Mob. We would've loved nothing more than to tear their claims apart, and enjoy the spoils of their demise. They had everything we wanted: money, power, and respect. But the Bosses knew that if we truly united against them, their reign would come to an end sooner or later, so they played us against each other, sponsoring different camps and creating tensions to keep our sights on each other, and away from them.
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| − | When we started getting noticed, the Mob, true to form, sent someone to talk. In response to the recognition they gave us, I returned the courtesy by letting the emissary return alive, but not necessarily whole... Predictably, the Mob tried to return the favor by having us promptly wiped out, to preserve their illusory stranglehold on power in the Undercity, and to teach us a lesson in respect. But their enforcers' failure to deal with us galvanized enmity for the Mob that had festered in the hearts of the other gangs. Sensing weakness in a common foe, the brotherhoods began putting aside their differences, and began to talk about how to take back what we thought was rightfully ours.
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| − | 4 years of fighting a guerilla war against the Mob and their bands of mercenaries passed, with the death of every Shade and Undercity brother only strengthening our resolve to bring the rule of the Bosses down. Our numbers steadily growing along with our notoriety, we Shades became key players in the campaign, as we had nothing to lose and everything to gain, and as we understood the power of intimidation, we did not waver when the Mob attempted to distract us from our purpose. After 4 years of fighting, when the Mob seemed about to be driven from the Undercity once and for all, victory certainly seemed near. However, this was not to be.
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| − | I trusted my brothers with my life, perhaps to a fault. I thought I knew them all as well as I knew myself... but in my faith, I had turned a blind eye to their weakness for luxury. And so, when the Mob knew it was living on borrowed time in the Undercity, they approached some of our more worldly leaders, and convinced them to betray the cause in exchange for a fortune in credits, enough for them to live out their lives on the Upper levels like kings.
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| | + | After several years, Kol, whose blond hair, slim, lanky frame, and emerald-green eyes belied an uncommon cunning, ambition, and willpower, eventually rose to become one of the Shades’ ranking lieutenants, known for planning and leading many daring and successful raids against rival gangs in the Lower City, and attacking vulnerable commercial interests in the slightly less troubled Middle City. This lucrative state of affairs began to change for the worse, however, after the [[Galactic Empire]] claimed Taris and took over Taris’ Upper City, installing a planetary governor and garrisoning the planet with large numbers of well-disciplined foreign troops. The Shades, along with their fellow gangs, began making plans to defend the Lower City from Imperial attack, and each attempted to unite all the gangs under their banner through strength of arms, leading to a vicious gang war. This vicious, internecine conflict eventually spilled into the Middle City, forcing the Empire’s hand to intervene. Realizing that the war against the Empire was lost before it had even begun, Kol abandoned the Shades and went into hiding, knowing that he could not return home, as doing so would put his innocent parents’ lives in jeopardy, and committed to stay true to his promise to never turn back no matter what, no longer for his own sake, but for theirs now as well. |
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| − | And so, abandoning their loyalties to their brothers, the traitors our side orchestrated our downfall: we were led to believe that the Mob was on its last legs, and one final, decisive strike would end their so-called reign. Taking the opportunity, all of the brotherhoods prepared for the attack, I myself marshalling the Shades to strike. We were so confident that we all stood in the same camp, confident that our fight would at last be over. Little did I know, however, that we were marching into a trap designed by our false brothers.
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| | + | While in hiding, however, Kol was discovered and caught by his former comrades, who nearly beat him to death, and would have finished the job, had it not been for the intervention of a squad of Imperial soldiers conducting a reconnaissance patrol of the Lower City, in advance of the main assault force. His tormentors killed by the Imperials, Kol was rescued and brought to the Middle City for medical treatment, a turn of events which convinced him to re-evaluate his views on the [[New Order]], a society he had been taught to hate and distrust by his treacherous former peers. |
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| − | The ensuing debacle began when our own turned on each other, throwing us into chaos. With our ranks effectively in disarray, mercenaries hired by the Mob entered the fray, gunning down loyal brothers and traitors indiscriminately. I realized then that ours was a lost cause, but as others ran for their lives, we remained, and we paid dearly for standing our ground. In the aftermath, only I and the traitors within the Shades remained, and the mercs forced me to watch as they gave the traitors their just rewards, a blaster bolt to the back of their heads. They saved me for last, of course, intending to draw out my torment. When at last it was my turn to die, I accepted my fate with grim finality, having already come to terms with the inevitability of my death in the Undercity, at some point or another, if not by the Mob or their hired guns, than by the hand of a rival gang. However, much to my surprise, the mercs and the Mob Boss who had taken a special interest in my execution were now being gunned down themselves. Expecting to see a friendly gang rallying to avenge the death of the Shades and so many others, I was shocked to see the newcomers wearing stark white armor, armed with blaster rifles, a rare sight in the Undercity. Instantly recognizable as Stormtroopers by their armor and the discipline with which they attacked, the Mob was taken completely by surprise by the onslaught, and the Imperials made short work of them. To this very day, I thought the disciplined, coordinated, lethal grace with which they moved in their white armor was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. The Empire was something all of us in the Undercity were aware of, make no mistake, but the New Order had thus far remained in the upper levels and wealthy districts. None of us had ever seen a Stormtrooper here before, yet alone groups of them. Little did I know at the time, but times were changing, and the Empire, its strength and resolve resurgent, was planting its flag in the regions of the Capital where it as of yet had no true control.
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| | + | After Kol had recovered in the Middle City (the traumatic experience of first awakening fully submerged in a bacta tank developing into a lifelong phobia of confinement in close quarters, and a distrust of doctors and medical treatment in general), Kol made up his mind to join the [[Imperial Army]], and to leave Taris behind for good. At the time, however, he was 16, being a year too young to enlist. So Kol instead joined [[COMPNOR]]’s Tarisian Imperial Youth Militia, a local paramilitary organization of youths devoted to ending the gang violence that, it was said, had plagued the Lower City for untold generations. His experience as a gang leader of no small repute serving him well in the Youth Militia, Kol soon distinguished himself and swiftly climbed up the organization’s ranks. By the time of Kol’s 17th birthday, his prior service in the IYM had earned him passage off-world, to commence Basic Training in the Imperial Army. |
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| − | My enemies and would-be executioners either dead or dispersed by the ferocity of the Imperial attack, I was still wide eyed in shock when the Stormtroopers found me. Seeing as I was bound and unarmed, and seeing me covered in blood, grime, and soot, not to mention the scores of bodies that wore similar colors, the soldiers allowed me to live, and go about my business. But I would have none of that! From then on, I had found my deliverance, my redemption. Its name was the Imperial Army of the Galactic Empire.
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| | + | Kol trained as an IBT Recruit under Captain Rik Zoidic, then CO of the [[3rd Imperial Legion]], who recognized Seraph’s ability to grasp fieldcraft, specifically a heightened perception of his surroundings and ability to move about unseen if he wished, as well as his affinity for piloting ground and air repulsorcraft, traits that had more than earned Seraph a place in the Army’s Reconnaissance Corps. After graduating from Basic Training, Seraph was promoted to Private, and made a Legionnaire of the [[1st Imperial Legion]], being assigned to the 1st Brigade, “the Immortals”. |
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| − | ===New Beginnings===
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| − | Now, at this point, I was 16, my friends were all dead, and there was nothing left for me in the Undercity. I understood that I had lived too long a life down there already, and if I remained, I would only be tempting the fates further. Those soldiers offered me a way out, and I found our goals complemented each other. While I ran with the Shades, I shared a common opinion with pretty much everyone else who lived in the squalor of the Undercity: I believed the Empire was something that was, despite the fact that it considered Coruscant to be its capital world, too far away or too disconnected from the plight of the people to make a real difference wherever the sun didn't shine, like the Old Republic did, according to the stories. However, I learned that this all changed in Year 10. Vodo was cracking down on criminal organizations throughout the planet, not just in the Upper Levels... I just so happened to be a kid who was caught in, and survived, the crossfire.
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| | + | It did not take long for Seraph’s superior officer, Lieutenant Akai Ai, to recognize the leadership potential in the young Private, who soon promoted him to Corporal, swiftly followed thereafter by a promotion to Sergeant (making Kol a Non-Commissioned Officer), which in fact took place on the same day of Emperor Guinar’s ascension to the Throne. This last promotion was earned during an operation which saw Seraph and his squad infiltrate an Eidola-controlled installation, code-named "Elandorea", to retrieve a stolen Imperial starfighter and take into custody the defector who intended to profit from making it over to the Pirates. This mission, although costing the lives of several of Seraph’s squadmates, was concluded successfully, with the defector executed on-site, and the starfighter recovered. |
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| − | I felt that things were changing, and I wanted to be a part of it. I still wanted to make my enemies pay for killing my friends, but now I wanted to do it while also wearing the uniform of an Imperial Stormtrooper. The Empire and I agreed, we both thought it was high time that justice and order, no matter how brutal or cold, be once again brought to Coruscant, the Galaxy, and my own life. And so, after convincing the Squad Sergeant to allow me to tag along with his unit back to their home base (much to the irritation of a particular Corporal I remember, who must have thought that I, who appeared to be no more than a simple street urchin, I suppose, was only interested in getting to the Upper City to steal something), I asked around about joining up, and I was directed to a Recruitment Office.
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| | + | Upon returning to Brigade HQ (at that time the Army [[Victory Star Destroyer I|''Victory'']]-class Star Destroyer ''Immortal''), it became clear that Seraph, whose abilities and leadership skill were recognized, was being groomed for command of his own at a later date, which suited the young Sergeant just fine. Seraph was appointed Signals Officer of the 1st Legion, succeeding [[Santiano Salazar]], CO of the 1st Brigade’s sister unit, the 4th Brigade, in this position. Embracing the duties that accompanied an administrative position with the same zeal that he had demonstrated on the battlefield, Seraph soon earned his promotion to Master Sergeant, and an accompanying appointment as Captain Ai’s new 2iC. As a Master Sergeant, Kol also applied for adult COMPNOR membership, and successfully joined both the [[Imperial Archives]] and the [[Imperial Centre for Recruitment]] on a part time basis, as an Archivist and Recruiter, respectively. His devotion to duty, not only to the Army, but to COMPNOR as well, duly paved the way for Seraph’s eventual promotion to Command Sergeant. |
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| − | The Recruiter didn't ask too many questions, likely based on my appearance and demeanor. I quickly caught onto his propaganda, and asked him questions which forced him to give me the truth about service. Not that I minded, I knew he was serving the New Order according to his strengths... he was doing his duty.
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| | + | Having reached as far as he could go in the Army while remaining a Non-Commissioned Officer, but unwilling to relinquish his ambition of one day having his own command, Seraph made clear his intention to undertake the rigorous training and studies necessary for him to earn a commission and become an Officer. With his CO’s support, Kol enrolled in the infamously exclusive Imperial Army College on Carida, source of the Army’s finest commissioned Officers and located in the immediate vicinity of Army HQ. Applying his practical experience garnered both during his adolescence on Taris and after enlisting in the Army, Seraph excelled in his studies, surpassing many of his higher-class peers. Several months after enrolling in the Army College, Seraph graduated and earned his commission to 2nd Lieutenant, returning to 1BDE as an officer whose area of expertise, Brigade Command – Reconnaissance Specialization, earned him the coveted Brigade Command Medal. Lieutenant Seraph concluded his tenure as 1st Brigade Executive Officer by co-ordinating leadership of the Immortals with Captain Ai, helping lead them to a resounding victory against a determined Rebel incursion against the 5 worlds of the Ralltiir system, located in the Darpa Sector. In recognition of the Immortals’ decisive triumph in the Ralltiir theatre in mid-Year 13, the Immortals received the praise and adulation of the whole Empire, and the ACO, Lord General [[Graeda L`Annan|L`Annan]] herself, awarded each and every member of the 1st Brigade with the Unit Distinguished Service medal. Captain Ai himself was also promoted to Major and awarded with the Achievement Medal for his leadership, accolades which Kol was proud to have helped his CO earn. |
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| − | To my initial disappointment, the Recruiter also carried out the duty of informing me that, at my current age, I was ineligible for enlistment in the Imperial Army, and I would need to wait 2 years, until I was 18, to be legally able to do so. My disappointment was abated, however, when he directed my attention to the Imperial Youth Militia, a newly formed organization under the auspices of COMPNOR's Sub-Adult Group, or SAG. He proceeded to enlighten me of the nature of the group: an outlet for lower class youths to serve the Empire and the New Order on the streets, giving them training they could use to serve in His Majesty's Imperial Army when they came of age. Unlike SAGEd or SAGRec, which dealt with giving middle and upper class Imperial youths a higher academic education or participating in sporting leagues, the Youth Militia would utilize children and young adults as soldiers to combat dissidents, political activists, and street criminals. The best and the brightest of the Youth Militia, the Recruiter went on to explain, were to be offered scholarships to attend the vaunted Imperial Academy. And so, my desire to serve the New Order the best I could as soon as possible, combined with my newfound dream of one day serving as a soldier in His Majesty's Army, and the prospect of preliminary training with the chance of earning a scholarship to the finest center of higher learning in the Galaxy, convinced me of my next course of action: I would join the Youth Militia.
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| + | With the subsequent appointment of [[Santiano Salazar]] as the new Commanding Officer of the 1st Legion, the vacancy in the chain of command Seraph had long awaited finally presented itself. Before his appointment, Salazar had been CO of the 1st Brigade’s sister unit, 4BDE, better known by their nickname: “the Spectres”. ACOMD was now looking for a promising young officer to assume command of the premier Reconnaissance Brigade in the Army, and Lieutenant Seraph put his name forward, confident that his credentials and record of service among the Immortals would earn him his own command. He was not disappointed, as the reins of command were bestowed upon him, along with the honor of an accompanying promotion to 1st Lieutenant. Seraph commanded 4BDE with Icarus Carinae as his 2iC, and [[Redme Schwarz]] as his Sergeant Major, and during his tenure as BCO, the Spectres contributed much to the Army-wide initiative known as [Operation: Isolated Axiom], which sought to modernize various aspects of combat doctrine in the face of increasing aggression against the Galactic Empire and its [[Imperial Union|allies]] from the belligerent, renegade states of the [[Galactic Alliance]]. |
| − | Due to my previous experience on the streets, and my determination to serve, I became something of a rising star in the IYM shortly after I joined. Here was where I was able to exercise a talent for leadership which I already knew I possessed, and it wasn't long before I was leading my own Militia detachment at the rank of Cadet-Warrant Officer. By the time I turned 18, I was considered one of the finest youth soldiers in the history of the organization, and I more than earned my scholarship. I absorbed every aspect of the education I had received from COMPNOR, something which, in my opinion, only worked to my further benefit.
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| − | | + | [UNDER CONSTRUCTION] |
| − | ===The Academy===
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| − | I realized soon enough by walking the halls of the Academy, that I was walking in the footsteps of heroes who came before me. It wasn't long until I, now an Academy Recruit, was singled out by my instructors for my experience and hunger for knowledge. I soon proved to be quite adept at marksmanship on the range, and I had an innate understanding of ranged warfare, and a real talent for squad-based operations. On the academic side of my studies, I developed a keen interest in galactic politics, history, and writing, and in these areas, I also excelled.
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| − | As is common in the Academy, the most promising students are often assigned personal tutors, either Senior NCOs or Officers, in the case of the Military, so that Recruits can benefit from their experience. I was happy to learn that I had been similarly selected, by none other than Captain Rik Zoidic, Commanding Officer of the 3rd Imperial Legion, the Shadow Guards. I learned much from the good Captain, life lessons I still adhere to, to this day. He became the first of several mentors in my Army career. Now, Captain Zoidic at this time was currently engaged in an offensive against a rebellious sector in the Outer Rim, but he still put the time aside to impart his wisdom upon me via holonet transmissions and correspondence. I was honored and impressed at his ability and willingness to do this, even while he doubtlessly experienced the rigors of front-line duty.
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| − | I soon acclimatized myself to the belief that I would serve under Captain Zoidic in the 3rd after my graduation, which rapidly approached. And so, just before our graduation ceremony, my classmates and I signed our service papers, which would be sent to the Resource Allocation Department - Empire, or RADE, which would determine our postings. When I got back my final scores, I was initially disappointed that I had not graduated with honors (indeed, my final score landed me just shy of that distinction), but I soon came to appreciate the benefits of working up the ranks from the very bottom of the chain, and not only that, I had got what I wanted from the Academy, a posting in the Imperial Army, although it was determined that the 3rd would not be my new home: I was to join the Immortals of the 1st Legion, and more specifically, the ''1st Brigade'', arguably the finest unit in the entire Army. I learned soon afterwards that Captain Zoidic had made a special request on my behalf, that I should have the honor of joining the premier unit in His Majesty's Army... I resolved not to disappoint my teacher by proving I deserved the honor of considering myself an Immortal.
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| − | ===Trial By Fire===
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| − | I began my career in the 1st Brigade as a Private, and based on my Academy instructors' recommendations pertaining to my skill at marksmanship, survivability, and adaptive thinking, I was assigned to the Reconnaissance Corps. Seeing as it was the only Battalion of its type in 1BDE, I found my new home in the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, "the Vanguards", under CSGT Marko Kerred, specifically as a Designated Marksman in Alpha Squad of the Battalion's 1st Section. My immediate superior was my Squad Leader and Section Commander, Sergeant Mikhail Perry, a career soldier with whom I got along famously. I soon made quite a first impression and a name for myself in the Brigade as a whole, being introduced by my Brigade CO, 2nd Lieutenant Ai, to the Army XO at the time, General Graeda L`Annan, who was something of a legend herself among my fellow Scout Troopers. As Lieutenant Ai lacked an XO at the time, both the General and myself were surprised when he recommended me for the job, despite my obvious inexperience. I'd assumed that I'd made a greater impression than I myself realized. Of course, his request was denied, and the position went instead to a 2nd Lieutenant by the name of Dante Erinith, but I swore that it wouldn't be the last time I would be considered for the prestigious appointment.
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| − | When the 1st Recon Battalion was selected for deployment to the politically troubled world of Fenves, I felt a curious mixture of anticipation and fear in my heart. Here I at last had the chance to go into battle against the Emperor's foes, but I suppose in hindsight, it's only natural for young men to feel a sense of uncertainty before going into battle of the first time. It was on Fenves, during a deployment that would later come to be known as 'Operation: Exorcist', that I demonstrated in a true combat zone my innate skill with a Nightstinger Rifle didn't reside solely in the Academy, and Sergeant Perry was impressed with my potential for leadership when I rallied 1st Section's Bravo Squad to keep fighting after their Squad Leader got fragged... so impressed that he promoted me to Corporal, and gave me command of Bravo Squad, right then and there. The appointment made me 2iC of the Section, and put me on the fast track to a promising Army career.
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| − | The engagement on Fenves lasted only about a standard month, as the Rebs there seemed to lack the stomach for an open engagement after we assassinated the core of their leadership on the planet. Their desperate situation had only become more hopeless when Navy elements had succeeded in effectively cutting off the planet from the rest of the Galaxy in the form of a blockade. Following the inevitable Rebel surrender, 1st Recon was rotated off the planet, having been replaced by indigenous pro-Imperial forces. Personally, I hadn't had enough of the dusty, barren world yet, since I found I could kill people so artfully (and lead others to do it well too), but I realized soon enough that, the threat of escalating rebellion and dissent neutralized, our mission to Fenves was complete.
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| − | ===Defense of the ''Protector''===
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| − | We were passengers onboard the Imperial Star Destroyer ''Protector'' while en-route to our next assignment. While plying the hyperlanes, my men and I, as all Army men do at one point or another while aboard Navy warships, took advantage of the transit time for a little R and R. Of course, the Rebels, having a keen sense in knowing how to provide as much of an annoyance as possible, chose this time to mount a surprise attack on our ship. I remember it clearly: for much of the trip, we were travelling through hyperspace, the familiar thrum of the artificial gravity generators and atmospheric processors of the Imperial warship a reassurance that, here at least, we were safe. That sense of security evaporated when the chaos of the attack broke out... and we soon determined a Rebel saboteur had infiltrated the ship, and had blown himself up in the primary hyperdrive power regulator, causing the ''Protector'' to hurl back violently into realspace.
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| − | I have to give the Rebs credit, this attack was bold, calculated, and vicious. We dropped out of hyperspace in deep space, about halfway between Fenves and Chandrila, our destination. The enemy must've been tracking our movements, or their suicide bomber must've supplied them our precise heading and ETA, since two enemy vessels, a Nebulon B and a Dreadnought, escorted by a squadron of enemy starfighters, pounced on us just moments after we'd dropped out of hyperspace. Fortunately for us, the enemy had miscalculated the damage we had sustained, and the ability of the ''Protector'''s officers and crew to reroute emergency power to the warship's gun batteries and communication systems. Reinforcements from Chandrila were already en-route, we only had to fend off the attack until they arrived.
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| − | With Imperial fighters scrambled into action, and the ''Protector'''s turbolaser and ion cannon batteries already baring down on the enemy vessels, it seemed the Navy was handling itself well enough, at least until news of a dozen incoming enemy assault shuttles reached them. My men had already armed and were on standby at this point, and I knew that if we were going to survive, we would have to do our part to repel the enemy boarding action, and prevent them from seizing control of the ship.
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| − | When the enemy engaged us in combat, my squad and I were impressed with the tenacity with which our Naval comrades stood their ground; all that was needed was for us to provide long range fire support, conduct ammo runs, and administering first aid to casualties. Despite operating outside of our element, we seemed to be doing well enough... until things got interesting. Realizing now that the only way they'd be able to win this engagement was if they could seize control of the ''Protector'', the Rebs made another determined push from the Flight Deck to the warship's Bridge. Fortunately, the Bridge was the first area I had sent men to defend, and realizing their intent, I was able to make it to the conning tower before the enemy.
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| − | What followed was the real fight of the day; despite their losses, if the Rebs were able to break our defense of the Bridge, it'd be all over. When they finally came at us, we met the enemy's savage assault with grim determination, discipline, and a tenacity of our own. Placing special emphasis on the defense of his Bridge, the ''Protector'''s Captain summoned all available ground troops to converge on the command decks, and counterattack the enemy in the rear.
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| − | The line held, in the end. The Rebs realized the tactical error they had made by putting themselves into such an untenable position, but like cornered animals, they were determined to take as many of us down with them. Even I wasn't spared from the desperate ferocity of their attack, as I learned after fighting off a blood-crazed Nikto armed with a vibro-knife. I hadn't noticed while I was using the butt of my rifle to cave in his face after I'd pounced on top of him, that the bastard had managed to nick me in the side, and I was losing blood at a rather alarming rate. My vision began to swim, but before I lost consciousness, I was able to make out the last of them being gunned down by our reinforcements. Thoughts of death ran through my head, but rather than fall into despair, I accepted it with a certain calm. I'd been ready to die since before I left the Undercity, and dying in the Emperor's service, dying in victory, was a good way to go.
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| − | However, as it turns out, the fates did not agree. I awoke, several days later I was told, in a tank, immersed in bacta solution, in the ''Protector'''s Medical Bay. Upon regaining consciousness, I was informed I would have to remain suspended in the tank for another fortnight, and that I was on the mend. Resigning myself to remaining within the tank for the next two weeks, I took advantage of the opportunity to enjoy some involuntary R and R, with sleep and the occasional visit from my Squad to break the monotony. Understandably, I was more than happy to get out of that damned bacta tank and away from those bloody Doctors when the time came, and I hope to never find myself in the same situation for any meaningful length of time ever again. To this day, even the sickly sweet smell of the bacta after getting out makes me shudder.
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| − | ===The Raid on Elandorea===
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| − | Sure enough, before I had gotten out of the tank, we had arrived at our destination, Chandrila, and there was no shortage of things for us to do. Sector Command had recently made a shocking discovery, when a TIE Scout Fighter patrolling the Lytton Sector, a region adjacent to our current location in Bormea, had detected a clandestine Eidola Pirate base under construction on the planet of Spira, the principle world in a system of the same name, right under Sector Command's nose. The TIE had been detected by the pirates, but before it was captured, it had sent out a coded SOS to Sector Command. We knew the unfortunate TIE pilot assigned to the patrol would be as good as dead by now, but SCOMD wanted an Army unit to be deployed to Spira, to retrieve the Fighter, which they feared contained highly sensitive, encrypted intelligence in its databanks, to put the base out of commission, and, if possible, to rescue the pilot if he was still alive.
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| − | The mission fell on 1st Section, and SGT Perry and I developed a plan of attack, a Raid on the base, codenamed 'Elandorea' by our superiors, that would accomplish the objectives we had been given. Alpha Squad would go in advance, landing beyond the base's sensor range under cover of a meteor storm, infiltrating the base on foot. Once inside, they would sabotage Elandorea's sensor grid and main power generator by planting remote detonation charges at critical locations. Bravo Squad would remain on standby to aid Alpha in the task of securing the captured TIE after the sensors were out of commission, and searching the base's main computer to determine whether or not the Naval pilot was still alive. If he was, it'd be our job to rescue him. It seemed like a good enough plan at first, but it was one that relied too much on chance. Alpha Squad was a good unit, but every seasoned soldier knows that the saying 'No plan survives contact with the enemy' undoubtedly carries an element of truth.
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| − | Perry was a good man, an excellent soldier, but he was also a risk-taker. He was a man whose confidence in his unit's ability to perform up to his lofty expectations had enabled him to do some incredible things in the past (and I'd witnessed it on Fenves myself). I urged him to be more cautious, to have more respect for the enemy's capabilities, but he judged me as a man who overestimated the enemy. I wanted to believe him, but fate, it seems, judged me to be correct, to my horror. I urged caution because I saw in Eidola what I had seen in myself, in the dark of the Undercity: a viciousness driven by a cold, volatile hunger to see everything decayed or destroyed.
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| − | We lost contact with Alpha Squad after 48 hrs, after they had infiltrated the base. We received no signal from Perry that the sensor array had been disabled, and so we were flying blind. Worse, the enemy now knew we were in the region, and that we knew where they were. Without clearance from Command, I readied Bravo Squad for deployment. When we ourselves entered the facility, we found that Perry and his Squad had fallen into a trap. Instead of ourselves walking into a trap ourselves, as I suspected we certainly would, the Pirates, it turned out, remained true to form, celebrating the massacre of Imperial soldiers by overdrinking and partying to an excessive degree, thus justifying my seizure of the initiative in deploying my squad. We found the Pirate scum wasted and spent, most of them unconscious. We also soon found the remains of our comrades, who had been quite gruesomely tortured, mutilated, and executed, when they ceased to provide a source of enjoyment for their captors. The manner of their deaths was not enough; they had been displayed by the scum for all their fellows to see, like trophies of some grim hunt. Carrying out the grim duty of completing the remainder of this operation, and avenging the deaths of our fellow Legionaries, I appointed myself Acting Sergeant and, as Perry's 2iC, I took command of the Section in his stead. We dealt with most of them quietly, but I knew the period of dispatching our foes by opening up their throats from ear to ear wouldn't last long, so I ordered Bravo Squad to diverge into 2 equal halves. Team 1, led by myself, would continue to dispatch the Pirates quietly, and if necessary, provide a distraction for Team 2 to locate and secure the TIE Scout's datacore. True enough, one of the Pirates who still remained conscious stumbled into the barrack that we were in, and roused what was left of his fellows. In the ensuing firefight, Elandorea awakened like a nest of angry firewasps, and we held our ground, hoping our stand would only have to last a few more minutes, for Team 2 to secure the core.
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| − | Fortunately, my hopes were answered, and Team 2, having found the TIE/sr completely disassembled and the encrypted datacore still being painstakingly decrypted line by line by a team of Pirate slicers, had no trouble gunning down the enemy techs and securing the core. Now, all that remained was for Bravo to rendezvous and hold a position until extraction. The Pirates, in a state of disarray and general confusion as to how many Imperial units were in the fray, were disappointingly easy to deal with. With the benefit of our superior training, Bravo Squad soon consolidated at the base's landing pad, and I called for extraction. After bunkering down for the time needed to wait for the Landing Craft to arrive, I got my Squad aboard, myself boarding last. And so, while under fire, we blasted off to orbit, leaving Elandorea and Spira behind forever. As soon as we docked with the Navy warship that had brought us to the system, I formally requested, on behalf of the Imperial Army and my Battalion, that the Navy execute a protracted bombardment of the enemy installation, a request which I'm pleased to say they granted. And so, I offered SGT Perry and his men a funeral pyre to be envied by all, a pyre upon which I cast their killers, avenging their murders. I watched from a viewport the green barrages of turbolaser fire, directed at the site where so many of my comrades had died. In one swift stroke (albeit a bloody, costly one), the Empire's awesome might swept away the cancerous taint of Piracy in the Sector, ending a potentially great threat to the Oversector's security before it could manifest itself. But, to no great surprise, I felt no elation, no satisfaction for the completion of our latest mission; we had won but a small battle, the war's end was still beyond our sight... and there were still more than enough good men whose blood had yet to be spilled.
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| − | ===Section Command===
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| − | My time as a humble Non-Commissioned Member was at an end. For my actions on Spira, LCOMD saw fit to promote me from Acting-Sergeant to full Sergeant, making me a Non-Commissioned Officer, and I was given the option to take command of 1st Section myself, in recognition of my 'success'. Despite my initial misgivings due to the fact that the all the accolades fell on my shoulders when I had merely cleaned up after my predecessor led his squad into a bloodbath, I decided to honor the memory of the late Sergeant and my fallen former squad-mates by accepting the position. As it turns out, the date of my promotion to Sergeant and appointment to Section Commander, Y12 D327, was the same day Emperor Cherokee abdicated the Throne, having proclaimed his Executor and right-hand, Guinar Ndengin, as his successor and rightful heir. Further changes were felt in the highest echelon of the Army as well that day: Lord General Seele became the new Executor and heir-apparent to the Throne, and General L`Annan was once again made Army Commanding Officer in his stead. For every Imperial citizen, the coming weeks would be full of uncertainties, but there were undeniably glorious possibilities for those who were ambitious enough to seize the opportunities presented to us by our new ruler.
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| − | For me, the opportunity to serve the Empire in a greater capacity came when Santiano Salazar, the 1st Legion's Signals Officer, was appointed to ACOMD as the Army Signals Officer, leaving a vacancy in LCOMD. The new ASO noted my interest in reading, writing, and history whenever I was off duty, these interests having been fostered during my time at the Academy, and so he approached me with a proposition: to become 1IL's Signals Officer in his stead. I accepted, of course, considering that I would have an active role to play in regulating communications and having an even greater role to play in the Legion, becoming Signals Officer on Y13 D37. To this day, I still occupy the position of Legion Signals Officer, but I never allowed my administrative duties within LCOMD to deny me a place alongside my brothers-in-arms in the field.
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| − | ===Return to the Homefront===
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| − | About a month after the Raid on Elandorea, while my men and I were engaged in a training operation on the borders of the Oversector, we received priority orders from ACOMD, summoning us back to the capital world of Coruscant, my home planet, without delay. Initially assuming we had been summoned to return to provide protection for a Throne event or some sort of secret training exercise to keep us on our toes, our innocent assumptions were however dashed when we at last received word of our next assignment. As it turned out, a fanatical pro-Republic suicide cult, calling itself "The Hand of Judgement", had succeeded in slipping through the capital's defenses, and now held an entire district of the planet-wide city at their mercy with an unknown number of hidden explosive devices.
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| − | While en-route back home, Intel managed to give us greater details of The Hand's modus operandi. What was worse was the fact that these terrorists weren't amateurs, their leaders had received New Republic commando training and funding in the past, and their specialty was spreading general chaos to destabilize governments, allowing the Rebels to simply move in and consolidate their hold on the spoils. For whatever reason, the Hand and the NR had had a falling out several months before, and their most recent attack on Coruscant seemed to be one of a grim, fatalistic nature. As it turns out, they had managed to infiltrate our 'impenetrable' planetary defenses and customs crews by masquerading as a private construction and maintenance firm, contracted by the Imperial Government to overhaul utility and infrastructural foundations in the Meetra District, where the Hand's soldiers now held the lives of countless Imperial citizens hostage. When Army Command was made aware of the threat, they dispatched us to deal with the enemy with all necessary force, and without delay. I was a Sergeant at the time, a fresh-faced NCO with a Recon Section, consisting of 32 troopers divided into 4 squads, under my direct command. The Hand struck us fast and with ferocity, not discriminating between civilian targets and military ones, but for all their tactics, subterfuge, and the terror they had inspired, they were out of their element. This was no backwater world, where all that stood in their way was a poorly drilled planetary militia... this was Coruscant, the beating heart of the mightiest power the Galaxy had ever seen, and they were going up against the finest soldiers, and the most stalwart citizens in the Core. Due to my familiarity with the streets and the environment in which we found ourselves, as well as counting on local support, my Section swiftly proved to be instrumental in rooting out and excising the terrorist cell in just over a standard month, I myself having the pleasure of executing the cult's deluded leader, the man who had brought so much misery and fear to my home. Our performance, specifically the efficiency and aptitude with which I had led my Section, earned me a promotion to Master Sergeant, and I was made 2iC of my Battalion. It wasn't much longer after that, that I was appointed Executive Officer of the 1st Assault Brigade, 'the Immortals', securing my place in the 1st Legion's Chain of Command.
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| − | ===Battalion Command===
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| − | On making Master Sergeant, I was simultaneously bumped up the chain of command by being appointed to the position of 2iC of the Vanguards by LCOMD, putting me directly under the auspices of the current Battalion Commander, Command Sergeant Victor Hellebore. Hellebore was, like Sergeant Perry, a career soldier, and it was Hellebore who had served as Perry's mentor back in what he called 'the glory days'. The CSGT was best described as a 'hard-boiled egg', in that he was the same consistency through and through, and he had gotten to become the way he was by having directed a lengthy career through the hardships of Army life. He was the sort of man that struck me as being resentful and wary of Officers, having never understood their 'gentleman's-club' method of thinking. Hellebore preferred to get his hands dirty alongside his men, and he deemed only the officers who were willing to do the same for reasons other than self-aggrandizement were worthy of his respect. When I first began working alongside him as his 2iC, I could tell he didn't quite know what to make of me, a street-kid who had climbed the ranks surprisingly quickly after entering the service.
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| − | I knew that this position would mean I would start to spend less and less time on the battlefield, and so, on top of my work in the Battalion and as Legion Signals Officer, I began exploring opportunities to serve the Empire under entities such as COMPNOR. Within about a week, the applications I had submitted to the IIS and the ICR (the Imperial Information Service, and the Imperial Centre for Recruitment, respectively) were warmly accepted. And so, on a word of recommendation from 2LT Ai, I became both Kol Seraph, Archivist, and Kol Seraph, Recruiter. I still work in a part time capacity in COMPNOR's Coalition for Progress to this day.
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| − | With my aptitudes and skill with command being noticed, my candidacy for the position of 1BDE XO was again called into consideration. ACOMD had grown dissatisfied with 2LT Erinith's conduct as BXO, and when he had resigned from the Imperial Army after having been charged for Conduct Unbecoming by ISB, a short meeting between myself, 2LT Ai, and CPT Drayson, the Legion CO, was called, on Year 13 Day 73. After that conversation had concluded, I was the 1st Brigade's new Executive Officer, joining LCOMD and making headway in my quest to one day earn an Officer's Commission from the Enlisted Ranks.
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| − | A month later, on Y13D108, I received word that CSGT Hellebore had retired from active duty, but before doing so, he had recommended me to assume command of the Vanguards in his stead. The news only got better when, along with the appointment to Battalion Commander, I was to be promoted to Command Sergeant myself. At that point, it seemed that my home unit, the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, was solely mine to command for the foreseeable future, and my climb up the chain seemed to show no signs of stopping.
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| − | ===Operation: Eagle Eye===
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| − | When it was discovered, the until-recently hidden Ralltiir System in the Darpa Sector was deemed a target of strategic importance for Imperial forces. The Oversector Regional Government and ACOMD both concurred that if an enemy uncharted action should claim Ralltiir, not only would the enemy have challenged our capital territory's integrity and the Empire's honor, but that they would have established a forward base of operations for future offensives against us, as Eidola had attempted to do on Spira with Elandorea. It was therefore decided that nothing less than a swift, decisive strike to secure the system was in order. We then received our newest tasking... our training exercises were to be immediately put on hold, and the Ralltiir Operation was to be given top-priority. Therefore, along with elements of the 1st Imperial Fleet, 1BDE was immediately dispatched to Ralltiir with the explicit purpose of firmly planting the Imperial flag in the Sector. I realized then and there the important role the Vanguards would play in this Operation, designated 'Eagle Eye' by the JTF command, being the only Battalion of its kind in the theatre.
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| − | We arrived in Ralltiir and discovered 5 worlds in the system: rocky, barren Pauc'on, the gas giant Ockbur, frigid Clascvoria, tiny Inwil, and last but not least, the temperate world of Ralltiir Prime. I knew right away that we'd have our work cut out for us. In the early stages of the Operation, we conducted ourselves in complete secrecy, so as not to initiate an enemy incursion. With the Navy providing overwatch and interdicting the system, 1BDE's job was to construct a series of military installations to secure the system from a potential attack. Fortunately, due to our industry, superior training, and Naval support, we were able to secure the majority of the system, thus placing it under Imperial control, in little under a fortnight. Although some unscrupulous characters eventually learned of Ralltiir's position as well, and attempted to stake a claim for themselves, our ability to detect and disrupt the enemy's activities more than ensured the New Order's success in the system. For his efforts and skill in leading the ground contingent in the Ralltiir theatre, Lieutenant Ai was promoted to Captain and awarded the prestigious Achievement Medal, and the Immortals as a whole were given official recognition by ACOMD and the Throne itself, marking one of the proudest moments of triumph in my own career. When the system was at last secure, 1BDE was rotated out, and we passed on the baton of its future defense to the newly-established Ralltiiri Militia. If anyone were ever a doubter of the 1st Brigade's ability in the field, they would simply need to go to Ralltiir to witness the legacy of our victory to put their doubts to rest.
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| − | ===Operation: Andromeda===
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| − | Our next tasking, and as it turns out, the final Operation I would be undertaking as an Immortal, was another Joint Operation of us working alongside elements of the Imperial Navy, this time the 4th Fleet's 5th Group, under Commander Jorn Stones. Our orders were to assist the 5th Group in a punitive advance against renegade forces in a seditious Imperial Sector by establishing a Forward Operations Base, from which Imperial forces could launch further strikes against the enemy. 1BDE was hastily transferred to the 5th Group's flagship, the Imperial Star Destroyer ''Majestic'', which was already stationed on the new frontline, and from which we would launch our Operation, designated 'Andromeda' by the JTF CO, Fleet Admiral Titan.
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| − | Our target would be a military-grade XQ-class facility that doubled as a hospital station. It would be a simple matter for us to board the station, secure it, and establish the FOB, while the Naval element kept the traitor forces off our backs. I took the initiative and drew up the plan of attack for the boarding action, where a token force, led by myself, would create a diversionary foothold on the station in its main hangar bay, having been transported there via a flight of a half-dozen Lambda Shuttles. The main advance, led by Captain Ai, would be launched from the ''Majestic'' herself, after she had docked with the station directly and we had created enough of a diversion for the enemy to divide their forces, or commit their forces to defend against only one advance.
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| − | As it turns out, the plan went better than expected... when the 5th jumped into the system, we met only token resistance from the enemy, who had only a single wing of TIE Bombers with fighter escorts on patrol to defend the station itself. The 5th immediately scrambled their own TIE Interceptor squadrons to deal with the enemy threat, which, due to the advantage of surprise being on our side, were swiftly dealt with. Suspecting the situation not to remain as fortuitous for much longer, I seized the opportunity to push on the offensive and launched the boarding operation, which went of mostly without a hitch. The few Lambdas the automated gun batteries managed to shoot down on our approach were decoys I had launched as part of the first wave to screen our advance. When at last we were in, my men and I made short work of the enemy soldiers, hangar crew, and defenseless pilots, attracting the attention of the station's command, who sent wave after wave to try and repel our boarding action, only to be gunned down in droves. Under my direction, despite facing an enemy with overwhelming numerical superiority, my men held their ground, not surrendering a bloody meter to the traitor scum.
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| − | Our strategy seemed like it would be endangered when enemy reinforcements (the renegade ISDs ''Basilisk'' and ''Tyrant'') arrived in the system to engage the 5th's ships, the ''Majestic'' and her sister ship, the ''Impervious'', however this assessment proved premature, when the ''Tyrant'' was disabled and heavily damaged by friendly fire, and the 5th had succeeded in completely obliterating the ''Basilisk'' by successfully targeting its main reactor with a turbolaser barrage, annihilating the enemy ship with all hands lost. Their capital ships out of the equation, the enemy's surviving fighter craft were also soon eradicated. The way now clear, the ''Majestic'' advanced on the Station under cover provided by the ''Impervious'' and docked with it, disgorging the remainder of the 1st Brigade onto the installation. Within minutes, the engagement was over, and with the enemy's fleet completely obliterated, we claimed a decisive victory for the New Order. With their military wiped out, the renegade splinter government soon surrendered to Imperial justice, thus rendering a FOB on the station unnecessary. However, in recognition for my initiative and leadership in Operation: Andromeda, Captain Ai, with authorization from Army Command, gave me a field commission and promoted me to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant, effective immediately. My dream of one day becoming an Imperial Army Officer had at last come true, due in no small part to my own efforts, and that of the fighting men and women of the 1st Brigade and the Navy's 5th Group.
| |
| − | <br>
| |
| − | <br>
| |
| − | | |
| − | ===Brigade Command===
| |
| − | Ever following in the footsteps of Captain Salazar, who had become Signals Officer of the Legion before becoming a Brigade XO, as I had done, I filled in the vacancy created by his rise up the chain of command yet again. When Captain Morcha Drayson, our Legion CO, stepped down and retired from the service, Captain Salazar, who had proven his quality for command during his tenure as 4BDE's CO, was promoted by ACOMD to the rank of Major, and was thereafter given command of the entirety of the 1st Imperial Legion. Now, one would expect his Executive Officer, Captain Carinae (a faithful and long-serving Officer involved in not only the Imperial Army, but also in RADIA and the Department of Military Intelligence), to assume command. However, for reasons which I was assured were personal, Captain Carinae refused the command, instead deciding to remain aboard as 4BDE's XO. However, ACOMD would not find me so complacent.
| |
| − | <br>
| |
| − | <br>
| |
| − | The opportunity to command my own Brigade was certainly most appealing to me, but I always figured I would one day assume command of the Immortals from Captain Ai. Therefore, accepting this new post would not only involve greater responsibilities to accompany the honor, but it would also demand that I leave the Brigade that had become my home, and say farewell to the comrades with whom I had served alongside and through so much. The decision wasn't easy, but I knew that an opportunity like this may never come again, so in the end, I decided to seize the initiative and accept command of the Spectres. On Year 13 Day 202, in the presence of Major Salazar, our new LCO, formal command of the 4th Reconnaissance was signed over from Acting-BCO Captain Carinae to myself in a ceremony marking the occasion in the history of the Legion. Henceforth, I became the third and current Commanding Officer of the Imperial Army's 4th Brigade, and my new home for the foreseeable future would be the Deep Core Sector, and more specifically, the Brigade's mobile headquarters, the Victory Star Destroyer ''Draconic''. While en-route to the ''Draconic'''s position, I discovered that my replacement as 1BDE's XO would be 1st Lieutenant Joao Apa, who had made a name for himself in the 4th. I was most pleased and relieved to learn that I would be leaving the duties I had carried out in the 1st in good, capable hands. That definitely made the transition a little easier for me.
| |
| − | <br>
| |
| − | <br>
| |
| − | Upon meeting him in person, I judged Captain Carinae to be a good, hard-working, highly knowledgeable man, and I made every effort to (despite being his superior in the CoC) treat his superior rank and experience with the respect I felt they deserved. The soldiers of the Brigade themselves were an impressive sort, but (with all due respect to my predecessor) I felt some changes were in order, changes that better complemented my style of command. I instituted greater rewards, and therefore incentives, for demonstrated devotion to duty and initiative, and I soon made it quite clear that I would not tolerate anything less than the best from my men. After a short amount of time, I felt the Brigade, with the discipline and integrity that distinguishes an Imperial Army soldier from all the rest, made the transition.
| |
| − | <br>
| |
| − | <br>
| |
| − | | |
| − | ==Description==
| |
| | | | |
| | ==Commission== | | ==Commission== |
| Line 232: |
Line 75: |
| | <br> | | <br> |
| | <br> | | <br> |
| − | ''To Koltan Seraph'' | + | '' To Koltan Seraph'' |
| | <br> | | <br> |
| | <br> | | <br> |
| Line 238: |
Line 81: |
| | <br> | | <br> |
| | <br> | | <br> |
| − | ''With Seniority of the One Hundred and Ninety-Ninth Day of the Thirteenth Year of the New Order'' | + | ''With Seniority of the One Hundred and Ninety-Eighth Day of the Thirteenth Year of the New Order Calendar'' |
| | <br> | | <br> |
| | <br> | | <br> |
| Line 244: |
Line 87: |
| | <br> | | <br> |
| | <br> | | <br> |
| − | ''IN WITNESS Whereof our Rightful Hand and Imperial Executor hath hereunto set his hand and Seal at Our Government House in the Imperial Palace of Coruscant this One Hundred and Ninty-Ninth Day of the Thirteenth Year of the New Order CXCIX XIII and in the First Year of Our Reign.'' | + | ''IN WITNESS Whereof our Rightful Hand and Imperial Executor hath hereunto set his hand and Seal at Our Government House in the Imperial Palace of Coruscant this One Hundred and Ninty-Ninth Day of the Thirteenth Year of the New Order Calendar CXCVIII XIII and in the First Year of Our Reign.'' |
| − | <br>
| |
| − | <br>
| |
| − | ''By Command of His Excellency the Imperial Executor.''
| |
| | <br> | | <br> |
| | <br> | | <br> |
| | + | ''By Command of His Excellency Lord Seele, the Imperial Executor.'' |
| | | | |
| | ==Imperial Personnel Profile== | | ==Imperial Personnel Profile== |
| − |
| |
| | ===General Information=== | | ===General Information=== |
| | Surname: Seraph <br> | | Surname: Seraph <br> |
| − | Given Name(s): Koltan, 'Kol' <br> | + | Given Name(s): Koltan, "Kol" <br> |
| − | Race: Coruscanti, Class A Citizen <br>
| + | Age: 25 <br> |
| − | Gender: M <br>
| + | Species: Class A Citizen (Human - Tarisian) <br> |
| − | Rank: 2nd Lieutenant, Imperial Army <br> | + | Branch: Imperial Army <br> |
| − | Service Number: IACO-B52-693-665 <br> | + | Rank: Lieutenant Colonel [O-5] <br> |
| − | Education: Imperial Academy Graduate <br>
| + | Service Number: IACO-K17-665-S89 <br> |
| − | Age: 20 <br>
| + | Security Clearance Level: Top Secret <br> |
| − | Homeworld: Coruscant, Sah'c Town <br>
| + | Formal Education: <br> |
| − | Family: Garran Seraph (father; deceased), Lasha Seraph (mother; deceased), no siblings
| + | *Imperial Basic Training (Army), <br> |
| | + | *Imperial Army College (Brigade Command, Reconnaissance Specialization), <br> |
| | + | *Imperial Intelligence Agent Certification <br> |
| | + | <br> |
| | + | <br> |
| | | | |
| | ===Psychological Profile=== | | ===Psychological Profile=== |
| − | Personality Type: '''Rationalist''' <br>
| + | [UNDER CONSTRUCTION] |
| − | Rationalists are motivated by a desire to understand and gain power over their surroundings. They seek to control, predict, and explain reality, to be seen as competent, and to most of all possess competencies, capabilities, abilities, capacities, skills, and ingenuity pertaining to their field of concentration. They seek to do things well under varying circumstances, to constantly improve, to be free of errors, to increase their store of knowledge and to learn as much as they can, to rearrange their environment to suit their needs, to speculate about the possible motivations and thoughts of those they associate with, and to attempt to fit their experiences into some sort of system. They tend to be adaptable, impartial, tenacious, and uncompromising leaders.
| + | <br> |
| | + | <br> |
| | | | |
| | ===Physical Description=== | | ===Physical Description=== |
| − | Height: 6'2 <br> | + | Height: 6'0 <br> |
| | Weight: 165 lbs <br> | | Weight: 165 lbs <br> |
| − | Build: Lean <br> | + | Build: Fit <br> |
| − | Skin Color: White <br>
| + | Complexion: Fair <br> |
| | Eye Color: Green <br> | | Eye Color: Green <br> |
| | Hair Color: Blond <br> | | Hair Color: Blond <br> |
| | | | |
| − | <table><tr><td>
| + | ==Imperial Service Record== |
| − | {{ImageBox
| + | ===Army Ranks=== |
| − | | width =
| |
| − | | float = none
| |
| − | | image = http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r590/Kol_Seraph/Shade.jpg
| |
| − | | description = Kol Seraph, 16.}}
| |
| − | </td><td>
| |
| − | {{ImageBox
| |
| − | | width =
| |
| − | | float = none
| |
| − | | image = http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r590/Kol_Seraph/RCT.jpg
| |
| − | | description = RCT, Academy.}}
| |
| − | </td><td>
| |
| − | {{ImageBox
| |
| − | | width =
| |
| − | | float = none
| |
| − | | image = http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r590/Kol_Seraph/PVT.jpg
| |
| − | | description = PVT, Alpha Squad.}}
| |
| − | </td><td>
| |
| − | {{ImageBox
| |
| − | | width =
| |
| − | | float = none
| |
| − | | image = http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r590/Kol_Seraph/CPL.jpg
| |
| − | | description = CPL, Bravo Leader.}}
| |
| − | </td></tr>
| |
| − | </table>
| |
| − | | |
| − | <table><tr><td>
| |
| − | {{ImageBox
| |
| − | | width =
| |
| − | | float = none
| |
| − | | image = http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r590/Kol_Seraph/SGT.jpg
| |
| − | | description = SGT, 1SCMDR.}}
| |
| − | </td><td>
| |
| − | {{ImageBox
| |
| − | | width =
| |
| − | | float = none
| |
| − | | image = http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r590/Kol_Seraph/MSGT.jpg
| |
| − | | description = MSGT, 1Bn2iC.}}
| |
| − | </td><td>
| |
| − | {{ImageBox
| |
| − | | width =
| |
| − | | float = none
| |
| − | | image = http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r590/Kol_Seraph/ArmyOfficer1.jpg
| |
| − | | description = CSGT, 1BnCMDR, 1BXO.}}
| |
| − | </td><td>
| |
| − | {{ImageBox
| |
| − | | width =
| |
| − | | float = none
| |
| − | | image = http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r590/Kol_Seraph/KolSeraph1.jpg
| |
| − | | description = 2LT Seraph, 4BDE CO.}}
| |
| − | </td></tr>
| |
| − | </table>
| |
| − | | |
| − | ==Imperial Army Service Record== | |
| − | ===Ranks=== | |
| | {| cellpadding="4" style="border:3px solid darkgray;" rules="all" | | {| cellpadding="4" style="border:3px solid darkgray;" rules="all" |
| | |- style="background:#B80000; color:white" align="center" | | |- style="background:#B80000; color:white" align="center" |
| | ! Grade !! Insignia !! Rank !! Time held (Combine Time) !! Time held (Real Time) | | ! Grade !! Insignia !! Rank !! Time held (Combine Time) !! Time held (Real Time) |
| | |- style=background:#CCCCCC; align="center" | | |- style=background:#CCCCCC; align="center" |
| − | |[E-1] || http://art.swc-empire.com/images/ranks/military/ME-1.gif || Recruit || Year 12 Day 189 - Year 12 Day 191 || June 6th, 2011 - June 8th, 2011 | + | |[E-1] || http://art.swc-empire.com/images/ranks/military/ME-1.gif || Recruit || Year 12 Day 187 - Year 12 Day 189 || June 6th, 2011 - June 8th, 2011 |
| | |- style=background:#CCCCCC; align="center" | | |- style=background:#CCCCCC; align="center" |
| − | |[E-2] || http://art.swc-empire.com/images/ranks/military/ME-2.gif || Private || Year 12 Day 191 - Year 12 Day 284 || June 8th, 2011 - September 9th, 2011 | + | |[E-2] || http://art.swc-empire.com/images/ranks/military/ME-2.gif || Private || Year 12 Day 189 - Year 12 Day 283 || June 8th, 2011 - September 9th, 2011 |
| | |- style=background:#CCCCCC; align="center" | | |- style=background:#CCCCCC; align="center" |
| − | |[E-3] || http://art.swc-empire.com/images/ranks/military/ME-3.gif || Corporal || Year 12 Day 284 - Year 12 Day 327 || September 9th, 2011 - October 22nd, 2011 | + | |[E-3] || http://art.swc-empire.com/images/ranks/military/ME-3.gif || Corporal || Year 12 Day 283 - Year 12 Day 327 || September 9th, 2011 - October 24th, 2011 |
| | |- style= background:#CCCCCC; align="center" | | |- style= background:#CCCCCC; align="center" |
| − | |[E-4] || http://art.swc-empire.com/images/ranks/military/ME-4.gif || Sergeant || Year 12 Day 327 - Year 13 Day 43 || October 22nd, 2011 - January 11th, 2012 | + | |[E-4] || http://art.swc-empire.com/images/ranks/military/ME-4.gif || Sergeant || Year 12 Day 327 - Year 13 Day 43 || October 24th, 2011 - January 13th, 2012 |
| | + | |- style=background:#CCCCCC; align="center" |
| | + | |[E-5] || http://art.swc-empire.com/images/ranks/military/ME-5.gif || Master Sergeant || Year 13 Day 43 – Year 13 Day 108 || January 13th, 2012 – March 17th, 2012 |
| | |- style=background:#CCCCCC; align="center" | | |- style=background:#CCCCCC; align="center" |
| − | |[E-5] || http://art.swc-empire.com/images/ranks/military/ME-5.gif || Master Sergeant || Year 13 Day 43 – Year 13 Day 108 || January 11th, 2012 – March 17th, 2012 | + | |[E-6] || http://art.swc-empire.com/images/ranks/military/ME-6.gif || Command Sergeant || Year 13 Day 108 - Year 13 Day 198 || March 17th, 2012 - June 15th, 2012 |
| | |- style=background:#CCCCCC; align="center" | | |- style=background:#CCCCCC; align="center" |
| − | |[E-6] || http://art.swc-empire.com/images/ranks/military/ME-6.gif || Command Sergeant || Year 13 Day 108 - Year 13 Day 199 || March 17th, 2012 - June 15th, 2012 | + | |[O-1] || http://art.swc-empire.com/images/ranks/military/MO-1.gif || 2nd Lieutenant || Year 13 Day 198 - Year 13 Day 273 || June 15th, 2012 - August 29th, 2012 |
| | |- style=background:#CCCCCC; align="center" | | |- style=background:#CCCCCC; align="center" |
| − | |[O-1] || http://art.swc-empire.com/images/ranks/military/MO-1.gif || 2nd Lieutenant || Year 13 Day 199 - PRESENT || June 15th, 2012 - PRESENT | + | |[O-2] || http://art.swc-empire.com/images/ranks/military/MO-2.gif || 1st Lieutenant || Year 13 Day 273 - Year 13 Day 315 || August 29th, 2012 - October 10th, 2012 |
| | |- style=background:#CCCCCC; align="center" | | |- style=background:#CCCCCC; align="center" |
| | |} | | |} |
| | | | |
| − | ===Awards=== | + | ===Intelligence Ranks=== |
| | {| cellpadding="4" style="border:3px solid darkgray;" rules="all" | | {| cellpadding="4" style="border:3px solid darkgray;" rules="all" |
| − | |- style="background:#008000; color:white" align="center" | + | |- style="background:#C10C00; color:white" align="center" |
| − | ! Ribbon!! Name !! Date Awarded !! Awarded by | + | ! Grade !! Insignia !! Rank !! Time held (Combine Time) !! Time held (Real Time) |
| | + | |- style=background:#CCCCCC; align="center" |
| | + | |[O-2] || http://art.swc-empire.com/images/ranks/intelligence/IIO-2.gif || Agent || Year 12 Day 315 – Year 14 Day 185 || October 10th, 2012 – June 2nd, 2013 |
| | |- style=background:#CCCCCC; align="center" | | |- style=background:#CCCCCC; align="center" |
| − | |http://www.swc-empire.com/images/awards/IABG.jpg || Imperial Academy Basic Graduate [IABG] || Year 12 Day 191 (08-06-2011) || Rik Zoidic
| |
| − | |- style= background:#CCCCCC; align="center"
| |
| − | |http://www.swc-empire.com/images/awards/ISM.jpg || Imperial Service Medal [ISM] || Year 13 Day 101 (10-03-2012) || Zhaff Orikan
| |
| − | |- style= background:#CCCCCC; align="center"
| |
| − | |http://www.swc-empire.com/images/awards/ICM.jpg || Imperial Campaign Medal [ICM] || Year 13 Day 101 (10-03-2012) || Zhaff Orikan
| |
| − | |- style= background:#CCCCCC; align="center"
| |
| − | |http://www.swc-empire.com/images/awards/IMM.jpg || Imperial Monthly Meeting [IMM] || Year 13 Day 101 (10-03-2012) || Zhaff Orikan
| |
| − | |- style= background:#CCCCCC; align="center"
| |
| − | |http://www.swc-empire.com/images/awards/CMM.jpg || COMPNOR Member Medal [CMM] || Year 13 Day 186 (03-06-2012) || Zhaff Orikan
| |
| − | |- style= background:#CCCCCC; align="center"
| |
| − | |http://www.swc-empire.com/images/awards/ISM-1.jpg || Imperial Service Medal - 1 Year [ISM-1] || Year 13 Day 189 (06-06-2012) || Akai Ai
| |
| − | |- style= background:#CCCCCC; align="center"
| |
| | |} | | |} |
| | | | |
| − | ===Appointments=== | + | ===Army Ranks=== |
| − | '''[Legion Signals Officer]''' <br>
| + | {| cellpadding="4" style="border:3px solid darkgray;" rules="all" |
| − | Appointed 1st Imperial Legion Signals Officer <br>
| + | |- style="background:#B80000; color:white" align="center" |
| − | Year 13 Day 37 <br>
| + | ! Grade !! Insignia !! Rank !! Time held (Combine Time) !! Time held (Real Time) |
| − | January 5th, 2012
| + | |- style=background:#CCCCCC; align="center" |
| − | <br>
| + | |[O-2] || http://art.swc-empire.com/images/ranks/military/MO-2.gif || 1st Lieutenant || Year 14 Day 189 - Year 14 Day 296 || June 6th, 2013 - September 21st, 2013 |
| − | | + | |- style=background:#CCCCCC; align="center" |
| − | '''[Archivist]''' <br>
| + | |[O-3] || http://art.swc-empire.com/images/ranks/military/MO-3.gif || Captain || Year 14 Day 296 - Year 14 Day 337 || September 21st, 2013 - November 1st, 2013 |
| − | Appointed to the Imperial Archives Staff <br>
| + | |- style=background:#CCCCCC; align="center" |
| − | Year 13 Day 58 <br>
| + | |[O-5] || http://art.swc-empire.com/images/ranks/military/MO-5.gif http://art.swc-empire.com/ranks/MO-5.png || Lieutenant Colonel || Year 14 Day 337 - Present || November 1st, 2013 - Present |
| − | January 26th, 2012
| + | |- style=background:#CCCCCC; align="center" |
| − | <br>
| + | |} |
| − | | |
| − | '''[Recruiter]''' <br>
| |
| − | Appointed to the Imperial Centre for Recruitment Staff <br>
| |
| − | Year 13 Day 59 <br>
| |
| − | January 27th, 2012
| |
| − | <br>
| |
| − | | |
| − | '''[Brigade Executive Officer]''' <br>
| |
| − | Appointed 1st Assault Brigade Executive Officer <br>
| |
| − | Year 13 Day 73 <br> | |
| − | February 10th, 2012
| |
| − | <br>
| |
| − | | |
| − | '''[Brigade Commanding Officer]''' <br>
| |
| − | Appointed 4th Reconnaissance Brigade Commanding Officer <br>
| |
| − | Year 13 Day 202 <br> | |
| − | June 19th, 2012 | |
| − | <br>
| |
| − | | |
| − | ===Commission===
| |
| − | '''[Commissioned Officer]''' <br>
| |
| − | Promoted to Army 2nd Lieutenant <br>
| |
| − | Year 13 Day 199 <br>
| |
| − | June 15th, 2012
| |
| − | <br>
| |
| − | | |
| − | ==Memorable Quotes==
| |
| − | | |
| − | {{Quote
| |
| − | | 1 = Welcome to MY world, where we do things MY way... | |
| − | | 2 = Kol during his time as leader of the Undercity Shades}} | |
| − | {{Quote
| |
| − | | 1 = A great people can be killed, but they cannot be intimidated. | |
| − | | 2 = RCT Seraph, on the Empire's citizens, at the Imperial Academy}} | |
| − | {{Quote
| |
| − | | 1 = There is no room in an Army uniform for second thoughts. | |
| − | | 2 = PVT Seraph, having heard the news of the desertion and arrest of his former classmate and friend, Kaylin Shen}} | |
| − | {{Quote
| |
| − | | 1 = Come on, you Rebel DOGS! You want to live forever?! | |
| − | | 2 = CPL Seraph, participating in the defense of the ISD ''Protector''}}
| |
| − | {{Quote
| |
| − | | 1 = Only fools go into battle looking for a 'glorious death'... I don't command fools, I command SOLDIERS! A soldier's duty is to live and keep fighting! | |
| − | | 2 = CPL Seraph, addressing his men before deploying on the Elandorea Raid}} | |
| − | {{Quote
| |
| − | | 1 = All three Corps give something to make the Imperial Army the greatest organization of its kind in the Galaxy. Armored with its superior firepower, the Infantry with their inexhaustible numbers... but Recon, gentlemen, is where you will find the finest soldiers who have ever lived. I'm sure you'll soon see you've made the right choice. | |
| − | | 2 = CSGT Seraph, addressing the newest additions to the 1st Recon Battalion}} | |
| − | {{Quote
| |
| − | | 1 = In war, there are heroes on both sides. The victor is determined by who is more willing to gamble losing everything they hold dear. | |
| − | | 2 = 2LT Seraph, to his XO}} | |
| − | <br>
| |
| − | <br>
| |
| | | | |
| | [[Category:Individuals]] | | [[Category:Individuals]] |
| | + | [[Category:Featured Articles]] |
Kol Seraph was born on Taris, on Y-11 D232 to Garran and Lasha Seraph, who were refugees from a war in the Outer Rim. Although educated, as Kol’s parents were refugees, the Seraphs were forced to live in poverty in Taris’ Lower City, a violent place made infamous by its swoop gangs and ever-present signs of urban decay. Unwilling to spend the rest of his life in hardscrabble poverty and squalor under the great spires of his segregated urban homeworld, Kol ran away from home during his adolescence and joined one of the Lower City’s swoop gangs: the “Undercity Shades”, vowing never to look back.
After several years, Kol, whose blond hair, slim, lanky frame, and emerald-green eyes belied an uncommon cunning, ambition, and willpower, eventually rose to become one of the Shades’ ranking lieutenants, known for planning and leading many daring and successful raids against rival gangs in the Lower City, and attacking vulnerable commercial interests in the slightly less troubled Middle City. This lucrative state of affairs began to change for the worse, however, after the Galactic Empire claimed Taris and took over Taris’ Upper City, installing a planetary governor and garrisoning the planet with large numbers of well-disciplined foreign troops. The Shades, along with their fellow gangs, began making plans to defend the Lower City from Imperial attack, and each attempted to unite all the gangs under their banner through strength of arms, leading to a vicious gang war. This vicious, internecine conflict eventually spilled into the Middle City, forcing the Empire’s hand to intervene. Realizing that the war against the Empire was lost before it had even begun, Kol abandoned the Shades and went into hiding, knowing that he could not return home, as doing so would put his innocent parents’ lives in jeopardy, and committed to stay true to his promise to never turn back no matter what, no longer for his own sake, but for theirs now as well.
While in hiding, however, Kol was discovered and caught by his former comrades, who nearly beat him to death, and would have finished the job, had it not been for the intervention of a squad of Imperial soldiers conducting a reconnaissance patrol of the Lower City, in advance of the main assault force. His tormentors killed by the Imperials, Kol was rescued and brought to the Middle City for medical treatment, a turn of events which convinced him to re-evaluate his views on the New Order, a society he had been taught to hate and distrust by his treacherous former peers.
After Kol had recovered in the Middle City (the traumatic experience of first awakening fully submerged in a bacta tank developing into a lifelong phobia of confinement in close quarters, and a distrust of doctors and medical treatment in general), Kol made up his mind to join the Imperial Army, and to leave Taris behind for good. At the time, however, he was 16, being a year too young to enlist. So Kol instead joined COMPNOR’s Tarisian Imperial Youth Militia, a local paramilitary organization of youths devoted to ending the gang violence that, it was said, had plagued the Lower City for untold generations. His experience as a gang leader of no small repute serving him well in the Youth Militia, Kol soon distinguished himself and swiftly climbed up the organization’s ranks. By the time of Kol’s 17th birthday, his prior service in the IYM had earned him passage off-world, to commence Basic Training in the Imperial Army.
Kol trained as an IBT Recruit under Captain Rik Zoidic, then CO of the 3rd Imperial Legion, who recognized Seraph’s ability to grasp fieldcraft, specifically a heightened perception of his surroundings and ability to move about unseen if he wished, as well as his affinity for piloting ground and air repulsorcraft, traits that had more than earned Seraph a place in the Army’s Reconnaissance Corps. After graduating from Basic Training, Seraph was promoted to Private, and made a Legionnaire of the 1st Imperial Legion, being assigned to the 1st Brigade, “the Immortals”.
It did not take long for Seraph’s superior officer, Lieutenant Akai Ai, to recognize the leadership potential in the young Private, who soon promoted him to Corporal, swiftly followed thereafter by a promotion to Sergeant (making Kol a Non-Commissioned Officer), which in fact took place on the same day of Emperor Guinar’s ascension to the Throne. This last promotion was earned during an operation which saw Seraph and his squad infiltrate an Eidola-controlled installation, code-named "Elandorea", to retrieve a stolen Imperial starfighter and take into custody the defector who intended to profit from making it over to the Pirates. This mission, although costing the lives of several of Seraph’s squadmates, was concluded successfully, with the defector executed on-site, and the starfighter recovered.
Upon returning to Brigade HQ (at that time the Army Victory-class Star Destroyer Immortal), it became clear that Seraph, whose abilities and leadership skill were recognized, was being groomed for command of his own at a later date, which suited the young Sergeant just fine. Seraph was appointed Signals Officer of the 1st Legion, succeeding Santiano Salazar, CO of the 1st Brigade’s sister unit, the 4th Brigade, in this position. Embracing the duties that accompanied an administrative position with the same zeal that he had demonstrated on the battlefield, Seraph soon earned his promotion to Master Sergeant, and an accompanying appointment as Captain Ai’s new 2iC. As a Master Sergeant, Kol also applied for adult COMPNOR membership, and successfully joined both the Imperial Archives and the Imperial Centre for Recruitment on a part time basis, as an Archivist and Recruiter, respectively. His devotion to duty, not only to the Army, but to COMPNOR as well, duly paved the way for Seraph’s eventual promotion to Command Sergeant.
Having reached as far as he could go in the Army while remaining a Non-Commissioned Officer, but unwilling to relinquish his ambition of one day having his own command, Seraph made clear his intention to undertake the rigorous training and studies necessary for him to earn a commission and become an Officer. With his CO’s support, Kol enrolled in the infamously exclusive Imperial Army College on Carida, source of the Army’s finest commissioned Officers and located in the immediate vicinity of Army HQ. Applying his practical experience garnered both during his adolescence on Taris and after enlisting in the Army, Seraph excelled in his studies, surpassing many of his higher-class peers. Several months after enrolling in the Army College, Seraph graduated and earned his commission to 2nd Lieutenant, returning to 1BDE as an officer whose area of expertise, Brigade Command – Reconnaissance Specialization, earned him the coveted Brigade Command Medal. Lieutenant Seraph concluded his tenure as 1st Brigade Executive Officer by co-ordinating leadership of the Immortals with Captain Ai, helping lead them to a resounding victory against a determined Rebel incursion against the 5 worlds of the Ralltiir system, located in the Darpa Sector. In recognition of the Immortals’ decisive triumph in the Ralltiir theatre in mid-Year 13, the Immortals received the praise and adulation of the whole Empire, and the ACO, Lord General L`Annan herself, awarded each and every member of the 1st Brigade with the Unit Distinguished Service medal. Captain Ai himself was also promoted to Major and awarded with the Achievement Medal for his leadership, accolades which Kol was proud to have helped his CO earn.
With the subsequent appointment of Santiano Salazar as the new Commanding Officer of the 1st Legion, the vacancy in the chain of command Seraph had long awaited finally presented itself. Before his appointment, Salazar had been CO of the 1st Brigade’s sister unit, 4BDE, better known by their nickname: “the Spectres”. ACOMD was now looking for a promising young officer to assume command of the premier Reconnaissance Brigade in the Army, and Lieutenant Seraph put his name forward, confident that his credentials and record of service among the Immortals would earn him his own command. He was not disappointed, as the reins of command were bestowed upon him, along with the honor of an accompanying promotion to 1st Lieutenant. Seraph commanded 4BDE with Icarus Carinae as his 2iC, and Redme Schwarz as his Sergeant Major, and during his tenure as BCO, the Spectres contributed much to the Army-wide initiative known as [Operation: Isolated Axiom], which sought to modernize various aspects of combat doctrine in the face of increasing aggression against the Galactic Empire and its allies from the belligerent, renegade states of the Galactic Alliance.
[UNDER CONSTRUCTION]
This article has been an Imperial Archives featured article.
