- Joined
- Nov 20, 2012
- Messages
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Vernon Hala
Alias: V / Vern
Age: 35
Home: Iziz, Onderon
Species: Human - Onderonian
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 183 lbs
Eyes: Brown
Skin: White
Hair: Brown
Faction: Indie
Rank: N/A
Level: 1
Force Sensitive: Positive
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[fancybox4="http://31.media.tumblr.com/16fa92dbf86aeda9fb418a4c7fc9edb0/tumblr_mfgg0aPmJA1rsatnpo1_500.gif"]When Vernon Hala was three years old, his father and mother made the decision to leave Onderon.
Janala ne Moolk Hala was a successful business woman on Onderon. His father a member of the noble class, although the third son of the younger brother of the head of the House Hala, and thus completely and wholly without relative political power. It was a simple and obvious decision for the family of three to leave their homeworld when Janala received a significant offer to serve as Quartermaster for an intergalactic caravan. There could be no political future for them on Onderon, and so whereever they could find the money for a comfortable living was the place best suited for them.
Somewhat hesitantly, but nonetheless happily, they said their farewells and took up a new life on the Starscrapper. Life aboard the ship was exciting for the young Vernon, and in addition to the strict Onderonian education he received from his parents from age 3 to 12, he was well versed in the wonders of the known galaxy. From a young age, V demonstrated a unique connectedness to the people and greater story around him, a characteristic which his parents were quite fond of. They enjoyed a simple life within their trading caravan, his parents well respected within it and their life together more often happy than not.
Shortly after Vernon's 12th birthday, however, tragedy struck the caravan and young Vernon's life. Janala was killed while meeting with the Captain of a small ship petitioning to join the caravan, an apparent malfunction with their pulse-wave cannons. The death of his mother was a huge blow to the 12-year-old Vernon, but even more so to his father. The devout husband was struck with a terrible quietness, the light lost behind his once vibrant eyes. Eventually, he became recluse, refusing to interact with anyone other than his son, and eventually refusing to eat. He passed away in his sleep six and a half months after Janala's death.
Being an orphan among a traveling caravan of merchants was not uncommon, but Vernon had a very difficult time surviving without the guidance of his parents. A few months after his father died, and after a run in with the Exiles of the Jedi Order, Vernon found himself a second family and a source of familiar guidance that he had always known. A Jedi sent to investigate the run-in with the exiles felt young Vernon's presence in the Force. Recognizing his aptitude with the rather mystical connectedness of the galaxy, and the lack of family and real connection to the regular world, the Jedi took him in to the Order. In quite the odd turn of events for the Onderonian noble, young Vernon would become a Jedi at the climax of the Hundred Years of Darkness.
Vernon excelled at his pursuit of studies within the Jedi, with a seemingly insatiable thirst for knowledge. He subscribed heavily to the dogma and teachings of the Jedi, including their rejection of the exiles and their signature experimentation with the darker aspects of the Force. His master, a Kel Dor named Makko Takur, was a stern but warm-hearted Jedi whose firm hand kept Vern on the "right path." In time, Vernon's power within the force and skill with a lightsaber would become quite withdrawn. Makko was a well known mediator and negotiator, and Master Takur and his Padawan traveled throughout the known galaxy in pursuit of their missions. For this reason, Vern developed few connections within the Jedi themselves, and little attachment to their home on Jedha or elsewhere.
Vernon Hala became a fully-fledged Jedi Knight at the age of twenty-two. Master Takur's teachings and mission specialty had apparently rubbed off on the newly minted Knight, as Hala was often given assignments which took him to distant worlds in search of peace and mediation. The war with the Exiles during this time was particularly brutal as it reached its bloodiest days. No Jedi could escape the conflict, and to his increasing dismay, Jedi Knight Hala was more and more called upon in his capacity as a warrior.
While Vern was deeply devoted to the teachings of the Jedi Order, he sensed in himself a disconnect between this internalized dogma and the vicious fighting with the Exiles. He struggled to see how the Jedi could on one hand hand mediate disputes between warring factions, and then in the next moment rip open an entire planetary system in the pursuit of the Exiles' destruction and death. The inherent incapability for these two realities two co-exist came to point in the year of Vernon's 28th birthday.
While mediating a dispute between two Jedi - a former master and apprentice team - Master Takur was killed. The two Jedi had apparently been corrupted by the exiles and their teachings while still within the ranks of the Jedi, and had been assigned to kill the mediator. The death of his master, much like the death of his parents, had a striking effect on the Jedi Knight. At first, Vern blamed the Exiles. For the next two years, he worked tirelessly for the Jedi Order, even brushing with the more aggressive Jedi Shadows, to pursue and extinguish the blight of the exiles. He volunteered for the most dangerous assignments, faced death a sense of false peace and security, and locked the emotional struggle of the loss of Takur behind his duty.
At the end of these two years, Vernon Hala arrived on Ilum. However, the world had already been devastated by the Grandmaster's betrayal. Walking on the still smoldering surface of the planet, one of the first to arrive in the wake of the destruction that was borne there, Vernon felt the pain and suffering of the countless lives that had been destroyed there. Jedi, Exiles, and regular people alike had been consumed by the Jedi Order's devices, and the Jedi Knight came to realize that this was not the ways of the Jedi Master Takur had so carefully taught him. Reigning back from the front-line battles and mission, Vernon tried to return to his former duties as an ambassador and mediator for the Jedi. The Order was growing to become split into two camps, however, those that wished to fight and those that wished to recuse themselves from the galaxy in order to reconnect to basic Jedi teachings.
Neither of these positions worked for Vernon. He realized the error in the Jedi's total war with the exiles, but the Jedi were first and foremost guardians and protectors of the Force and the galaxy in which it connected all life. He could hardly hide behind the temple walls on Jedha and pretend as if the galaxy was not in turmoil.
Seeing no other option, Vernon slipped away from the Jedi while a rare outer-rim mission. He left his lightsaber at the temple, no longer wishing to bear the tell-tale Jedi paraphernalia. While he was unsure if he would be labeled an Exile or what, he knew that the Order was not the institution he had believed in or subscribed too. For a year the ex-Jedi wandered among the galaxy, exploring and meeting people and doing small acts of everyday, common place peacekeeping. Eventually, his longing to belong to an institution took hold of him. He decided that his next chapter should be written where his life had begun, a world he knew an incredible amount about, but one that had never really felt like home.
Onderon.
It was well known that Onderonians were no friends of force users, their tradition deeply steeped in superstition that rejected the teachings of the Force. His lifetime as a Jedi would earn him no friends, and after all, he didn't exactly want the Jedi tracking him down. Assuming a story of business and captaincy since the untimely death of his parents, Vernon Hala returned home for the first time since he had left all those years ago.
To his surprise from what he knew about his family's personal history, he received a warm welcome from House Hala. Apparently labeled the noble house of misfortune, some dozen relatives had been met with an untimely death since the death of his own parents. For that reason, there were only three members of the house in front of him in the house's line of ascension. When Vernon's family left Onderon, the Head of the House was a man named Shulks Hala, Vernon's great-uncle. He had one son and a daughter. Shulks and his two children had been killed in a terrible accident while viewing some of Onderon's wildlife, apparently insufficiency caged by their handlers.
That left two uncles and each of their families. The older brother, Peyat, had one son, named Peyat Junior. The middle brother, Handi, had three boys and a daughter. Peyat and Vernon's cousin had both passed away, but Peyat Junior's own son, Peyat, was 17 when Vernon arrived at age 34. He was due to become the Head of the House the next year, on his 18th birthday. Handi had suffered a heart attack about eight years prior to Vernon's return, but the Jedi's four cousins would have all been in line before him - Jerold, Shulks, Albeen, and Clarissa.
Jerold had served as a top military adviser within the Onderonian military. However, he had been murdered outside of the palace gates one late evening on his way to the cantina. The perpetrator was never found, but it was widely believed to have been an enemy from within the military. Jerold had never married and had no children. Shulks - the younger one - had married a nice Alderaan girl and moved there. He had foregone all rights to the House, and lived happily there as a professor, his wife and children all safe and unharmed by the house's apparent curse.
Albeen, now age 42, was alive and served as Head of the House until Peyat (the third and youngest) reached the age of 18. Although House Hala was small and somewhat inconsequential, he was well respected within the courts of Onderon, and served as the Governor of Iziz and a member of the King's court for several years. His wife, Sarie, had died during childbirth along with their unnamed baby girl. Clarissa, three year's Vernon's junior, had married up in Onderonian society into a far more powerful house. While her oldest son, Abeai, was destined to lead that house, her second son Pic, was technically in line after Peyat.
Thus, Vernon Hala was fourth in line for the Head of the House. More distant cousins who had proven integral in the function of the house were no doubt hoping that further series of unfortunate events might throw their own lineage into line. They greeted Vernon warmly, but with some small amount of thinly veiled disappointment. If he had a family, it would greatly reduced their chances of heading the house.
Nonetheless, Vern was met relatively warmly by his family and the greater Iziz community. Continuing his fabricated story, Vernon was able to solicit a job as the Vice President of Development and Research at Twombly, a local Iziz business. The work was, relatively speaking, pretty easy. V oversaw a staff of a dozen to develop new systems of catching and caging the wild and dangerous animals of Onderon. It was an exciting job, and he led the department with guile and a hands-on approach. Few other VP-level executives in Twombly or any of its competitors that were out in field getting their hands dirty.
A year after his return, Vernon was appointed by the Onderonian Monarch to serve as an Advisor to the City Court of the City of Iziz, representing House Hala. While he was required to scale back his business, it was a significant honor to serve as an official Advisor. The position held distinct political and military power, as the City Court of Iziz was one of the most political bodies on the planet, despite it's domain over only the capital city. It was more often than not a stepping stone into the Monarch's Court or the military's highest echelons of officers. With reverence of the military so intertwined with Onderonian society, either avenue would serve the ex-Jedi well. He was appointed as an officer of the Peacekeeper and given duties there, as well.
Perhaps to his detriment, however, VP of Twombly and respected Alderman was not all that Vernon had done since returning to Onderon. Besides keeping his dietary, physical, and meditative regimes from his days as a Jedi, Vernon sometimes donned his cloak and performed what he might refer to as his "jedi duties." When he heard of a significant incident on a nearby planet or, perhaps with more risk, an incident that had escaped the harsh Onderon penal procedure, Vernon would not hesitate to steal out in the dark of night to seek his own form of justice.
Force Users were nearly universally mistrusted on Onderon, and some went so far as to hate them on principle. While Vernon was playing with fire, quiet word spread about the vigilante Jedi who was stalking the night. Onderonian military and security forces put out warnings in a few sections of Iziz, but the vigilante - who most agreed should be caught and stopped - turned few heads. While that was true, Vernon was safe. If the changed, he could find himself, his job, and his house in serious jeopardy.
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[fancybox4="https://ewedit.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/5.gif"]"Log, day thirty seven. Takur, Makko. This mission has been everything short of what I expected. Vern and I were following up on our investigations into the missing transport when we received a distress call from, at least to local knowledge, an uninhabited planet in a nearby system. It was a group of settlers, a mixed group of species from different places. When they saw us and heard me speak, they pulled weapons. Apparently there problems were born out of a conflict with the Corellian smuggler who left them there, a human trafficker, and they assumed I was with him. Vernon took the lead, somewhat naturally, and was able to convince them not to gun me down. Nice of him.
These people had been dealt a tough set of cards, and they opened right up to V. All refugees expelled from a a nearby planet, the Corellian offered them a cheap one-way flight by a freighter captain. The fella apparently had his own designs on enslaving them, which they didn't figure out until they were already in hyperspace. The attacked the crew and managed to negotiate with the Captain to set them down on the rock and continue on his way.
He ended up setting them down alright, and it had been three months. They had managed to construct basic shelters and survive. They didn't warm to me, but they gave us a tour, and took right to Vern. Showed him every house and tool they had fashioned from the planet and what little they had with them. There wasn't much we could for them, though, our ship only held four and there were eighty of them.
Since there wasn't really much we could do, I was anxious to get back on the already cooling trail of our mission. Vern really twisted my arm on this one. We ended up taking two of them, an elderly woman who was sick and needed medical attention and one of their leaders, a young man named Bukuko.
We dropped them off at the nearest spaceport and V made sure they got to the right officials. I followed up on another dead lead. Waste of time. Vern said the local government didn't seem to care much at first, but when they realized he was a Jedi, they apparently needed even less arm twisting then me. I'm not sure what he hoped to accomplish in helping those poor folks, they didn't have the money or connections to do anything, and we could hardly force the locals to help save them in the poverty they themselves lived in...
But that was Vernon. He even exchanged information with Bukuko. Promised he'd follow up. Crazy kid. He's going to get me killed one of these days, and he'll be sorry when he has Master Vaana as his new master."
-- Makko Takur, Jedi Knight
Mission Log
Dear Diary,
Vernon came home today. I've written about this day some many times before in my life, but never imagined that it might actually come true. We were only 3 when he and her parents left Onderon, and of course I have only pictures from shared birthday parties and the likes. But growing up, I was thought of him as my bestfriend. The com calls, the electronic letters, the small trinkets from where he and his family were at that time. I didn't hear from him after his parents died, of course... But he just isn't wasn't what I expected... I guess we aren't 8 anymore. I have Brandon and the kids, and life is so different, but mostly I really think Vernie is different too.
I mean, really, it's been almost two dozen years. He should have stories of his life out in the galaxy. A new home, exploring on a ship, maybe even a wife and some children of their own. But he doesn't. It's so strange.He doesn't have any stories, or at least none he'll share. I mean, hell, your best friend shows back up home after 24 years and he's pretending as if he never left. And all he has to say is that he has been working ever since. "Business," whatever that means. "A starship." Where are the stories of wild worlds and people, savage and civilized, humanoid or something... not.
It's strange. But don't get me wrong, it's really nice. He is still so sweet and kind to me, just like he always was, really as if he never left. He found a job really quickly, and I'm happy for him, even though Brandon has been trying to get a job ever since he got laid off and he hasn't been able to find anything. We're managing, of course, but I guess that's just strange too. Vice President at Twombly Enterprises and he's barely even back. Running a whole department, my best friend, little Vernie! Development and Research. I have no idea what that means, but it must be something like what she has done for the last how every many years.
Goodness.
Maybe tomorrow I'll see if he can find a place for Brandon. Keep an eye on him. It would be nice to have a stable income from him again. Why, just the other day he..."
-- Jane Rhea, Onderonian
Selected Diary Entry
"Hello ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Iziz Nightly Daily. I'm your host, Boli Scotti. Tonight we have a special segment from you to go where no Onderonian media has yet gone. Into the life and work of Iziz's newest Alderman, Vernon Hala.
Born on Onderon 35 years ago, Mr. Hala moved with his parents across the known galaxy, living a life of traders before his parents' tragic and untimely death. Since then, Vernon has led a successful life as a businessman, traveling the galaxy and working for a half dozen prestigious companies. Returning to Onderon a year ago, he was employed at our very own local Twombly Enterprises, serving as their Vice President of Development and Research.
This autumn he was appointed by the House Hala as their Alderman, to serve as their representative in the city court. He replaces Tanner Hala after the 25-year court veteran was arrested for possession of and trafficking of spices. The appointment came as a surprise for many who follow both the court's political maneuverings and those of House Hala. It was widely expected the noble house would put forward 87-year old Manu Hala, who served on the council some 50 years ago, and would have been a much safer bet than the newcomer. Over the next 30 minutes, we will introduce you to Iziz's newest Alderman, explore the unknown life of one of Iziz's newest bachelors before he returned to Onderon, what vision he has in store for the people of Iziz, and the underlying question on ever Izizian's mind:
Who IS Vernon Hala?
-- Boli Scotti, Onderonian
Iziz Nightly Daily
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[fancybox4="https://media.giphy.com/media/qxTJlk2FKQg8M/giphy.gif"]Relationships
Blue indicates NPC. NPCs specific to this character may be used with permission from @TAC. All other NPC relationships are not controlled by the writer unless special circumstances indicates otherwise.
- Jedi Knight Makko Takur - Fifteen years Vernon's senior, Jedi Knight Makko Takur instructed him during his training as a Padawan. Makko was asked to serve as a mediator for a dispute between two Jedi during the early days of the Exile's schism. The Corellian was attacked by a bounty hunter after leaving an apparently successful mediation meeting. The bounty hunter was killed, but Makko succumbed to his wounds while in the local hospital. Neither of the Jedi having the dispute were ever heard from again.
- Raydo - @Raydo is a great guy. Big fan!
Assets
- Blue Lightsaber
- Blaster Pistol
- Comlink
- Creditz
- Jedi Robes
- Onderonian Garb
- Three-bedroom apartment in North-Central Iziz
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[fancybox4="http://24.media.tumblr.com/5c9500d818faf23e5b4aa8bf0680eb76/tumblr_mf82bdUmE01rsrc7no1_500.gif"]Listed in IC chronological order.
[OND] develops Onderon interests. [JEDI] develops relationship with the Jedi Order. [OTHER] falls outside either category.
[YELLOW] indicates ongoing threads. [GREEN] indicates completed threads. [WHITE] indicates abandoned or incomplete threads.
[OND] - Vigilante Justice - Vernon seeks his own form of justice for some local criminals.
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[fancybox4="http://cimg.tvgcdn.net/i/2017/04/19/8ac92349-42f3-447d-a766-f9ecfd10e94a/giphy.gif"]Interested in writing with me? Listed below are submitted plots or idea for development I am considering/interested in. Feel free to contact me @TAC to discuss any of these ideas OR a fantastic idea of your own! New players and friends welcome.
- Onderonian characters visiting "home" and somehow meeting the local Councilman in a political setting
- Jedi on or near Onderon pursuing a Jedi-esque lead, running into the "Hooded Jedi" who has been running around Onderon pursuing justice themselves
- Characters who can be an "old jedi friend" of Vern's, with whom V can explore his relationship with the Jedi and the Force
- Political characters from other places/also from Onderon looking to write
- Both neutral and more staunch Exiles, to establish contact with V (as a known jedi exile) to see if he is interested in joining their fight / teachings
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