A picture of Tainogi as a chieftain, taken by CARD scouts before his species was enslaved.
Autobiography of Tainogi Craerk, First Transmission: My name is Tainogi Craerk. The planet I come from is far, far away from what you people call the ‘civilized world’. I couldn’t tell you exactly where it is in relation to here, because I don’t know… But I can give you a little bit of information about my old home, to help you understand myself a little bit better. That’s the point of this whole thing, correct?
Very well then…
On my homeworld, there was no central government, as most planets here seem to have. We were divided into many tribes, all contesting one another for the planet’s resources, and for glory. History is written by the victor. Heroes were remembered for generations, while their mutilated rivals were soon forgotten. We were not ‘advanced’, either technologically or socially, as the people of the Republic and the Hutt Empire are. We had no guns, no ships or vehicles, not even written word. But while we were primitive, I would call you a fool to think us unintelligent. For I am living testament that we are a people who learn and adapt to their surroundings very, very quickly.
I was the chieftain of the Craerk tribe. Like most of my race, my people were nomads, wandering the lush forests as skilled hunters and gatherers. We would often raid our rival tribes’ camps, and in turn we would often be raided, and life seemed difficult. We had no idea how easy we had it, how much of a paradise our quiet planet truly was.
Then they came. You people - or at least, people like you. They came in their loud flying machines, with their loud weapons and their arrogance. Forests that had stood for ages beyond living memory fell before them in mere weeks, and the very mountains shook under the weight of their land-walkers’ metal feet, and grinding treads. And as the trees that had defended us began to disappear, so did my people disappear. We who had thought ourselves master hunters became the hunted, helpless in the face of this extraterrestrial intruder, and the horror was greater then any of our apocalyptic myths could have imagined.
My tribe was a proud one, and I personally was a proud man. We fought as much as we could. But bit by bit, our hiding places were rooted out, and we were overcome. The greatest tragedy was that our enemy did not allow us to fall gloriously in battle… their weapons were designed only to sedate, to lull into dreamless sleep so that their victims could be dragged off as spoils of war. The abomination that is slavery was unheard of on my planet, but we learned about it soon enough.
We were all taken off-world, along with our planet’s strip-mined ores and clear-cut forests. Just another commodity, the planet’s denizens… The people who took us also took some of our planet’s larger beasts. At that time we had no idea what they wanted to do with us. We were in shock, thrust into a foreign and cruel world, but also a wondrous world… none of us had ever thought that we could be able fly up among the stars. Of course, those of us who had dreamed of doing so, probably dreamed of going willingly. It wasn’t until we had been taken into the enemy’s camp, a space station (though we didn’t know that it was called that, then), that we realized what we were to become:
Experiments. The awful things that I saw being done to my kind in that place, I will not describe here… Suffice to say, our captors were heartless people. Unfortunately for them, their attempts to enhance our bodies with weaponry and other augments did not take… I don’t know why. It was something to do with our inner physiology being unique, especially our muscles… or, so I overheard them saying, after I had learned to decipher their speech. Fortunately for myself, I was contained and left untouched for the entirety of my stay… Apparently, I was one of the ‘most promising specimens’ for the purpose that they had in mind for us, and it wouldn’t do to risk wasting me.
For years I was encaged, poked and prodded and stuck with needles. It was a challenge just to maintain my will to survive. But just when I thought my mind would surely snap under the pressure, I was rescued… by the most unlikely creature imaginable.
He looked a little bit like me. Certainly more like me then my human captors. He was slightly smaller, however, and held feline characteristics rather then canine. He wore thick armour, of the sort that those who guarded my cell liked to wear, but he was no guard. He was the saviour (or, one of the saviours, I should say… but I saw him first, and I will always associate his face with my freedon) of the remnant of my people. His name was Bahadur.
The events that followed after he came bursting into my cell passed as a blur… There were two other felines, identical in appearance and even smaller then Bahadur (about human-size)… I think they were brothers. With their help, we fought our way out of the compound and were then extracted by a ship. I later learned that it belonged to an organization called Phoenix Corp, who had sent Bahadur and the twins to rescue as many of the captives in that space station as possible… I also finally learned the name of the organization that had ruined my life and the lives of all my people. It was a corporation called CARD… and from what I have heard, they simply excel at ruining lives.
Now, my first worry was that I had merely gone out of the fire and into the frying pan. But Phoenix Corp was run by good men. After I gave them all the information I could about CARD and what they had done with my people, I was allowed to go my own way. As payment for the information, they even gave me some very high-tech equipment… I felt like I should have been paying them, since they rescued me! But, I wasn’t going to turn down more help.
Of course, I had no idea what I would do, but Bahadur taught me how to live out here… he taught me the basics of operating these ‘starships’, taught me the use of ‘power armour’ and ‘guns’. With his help, I adapted to my fate. Now I am a man with no ties, nothing to lose and no purpose. I have few friends, and I am adrift in an uncaring Galaxy, searching for a meaning to my existence… We will see what I find. End transmission.
Second Transmission: I've become personal bodyguard to a 'Senator' in the Galactic Republic. The pay is good, and the benefits are even better... Bluntly, I met a beautiful girl through this job: the Senator's daughter. Hopefully it doesn't give him a hot head, because I heard through the grapevine that he's going to be promoted sometime soon. 'Chancellor', or some-such. It sounds important.
I'm getting more and more used to the 'modern world'. I have to try not to forget the lessons I learned back home... I was cruel, then, and I have to be cruel now. Morality doesn't get me results in war, and war is my life.
Third Transmission: Senator Mohatu is now Chancellor Mohatu, and it means a lot more then I thought it did... he leads the entire Galactic Republic. His daughter is a dream, and the pay was fantastic, but... I don't want to live with Hutt assassins hounding me.
I joined up with a group called the Sovereign Guard this afternoon. They've been building a reputation as freedom-fighters across the Galaxy. I know it sounds like a bit of a charity, but I believe in their cause. Perhaps that makes me naive, or perhaps I was naive on my homeworld: it doesn't much matter.
I'm stuck on a desert planet (serving out my time as a Lieutenant) for now, but with all the fascists out here in 'civilization', I should be seeing some action soon.
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NAME: Tainogi ‘Tai’ Craerk.
FACTION: Sovereign Guard.
RANK: Lieutenant.
SPECIES: Unnamed lupine species from uncharted space.
GENDER: Male
AGE: Late twenties.
FORCE-SENSITIVITY: Yes, but not aware of it.
HEIGHT: Nine feet, one inch, without armour. Eleven feet, six inches, with armour.
WEIGHT: 450 lb., without armour. Approximately one ton, with armour.
FUR: Dark Gray.
EYES: Dark Green.
GEAR:
An image of regular MK-IV Crusader power armour.
Tainogi’s battle suit is a customized Phoenix Corp Crusader MK IV-A1, one of the most advanced types of power armour in the Galaxy. Eleven and a half feet tall and extremely heavy, the hulking mechanized armour basically makes him an extraordinarily mobile war machine. It syncs straight to his nervous system, has a highly advanced HUD, can take an ungodly amount of damage, and is equipped with a variety of life support functions including compressed oxygen tanks, body temperature regulation for extreme environments, round-the-clock basic nutrition, and even body waste management. Combining ultra-dense synthetic muscle with nearly silent jetpacks, the Crusader is a very fast and quiet suit of power armour. It is perfect for quick responses in any combat situation, whether terrestrial or in vacuum. Its most significant weaknesses are its vulnerability to Force attacks and to EMPs.
In regards to weapons systems, Tainogi wanted his power armour to pack the heaviest punch possible, while still being versatile enough to get out of tight spots. The good folks at Phoenix Corp did their very best to make it so. On the back of the power armour are several missile launchers, their heat-seeking projectiles strong enough to take down the average tank or starfighter in between one and three hits. The left arm is equipped with a plasma cannon for quickly incinerating enemies at close-quarters, as well as an additional missile launcher that packs three, more powerful plasma-loaded rockets. The right arm has a rotating, extremely high-calibre machine gun that is perfect for crowd control or anti-air.
((Comments and criticism always appreciated!))
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