Kratus Vahillus

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Kratus Tigellus Vahillus
Biographical Information
Homeworld:	Coruscant
Date of Birth:	2 ABY
Physical Description
Species:	Human (Cyborg)
Gender:	Male
Height:	1.758 metres
Weight:	165 lbs
Hair:	Black
Eyes:	Ice Blue, Artificial Red
Cybernetics:	46% of Body Right half of head Vocal Cords Right pectoral, arm, hand Lungs
Personal Information
Allies:	Celevon Edraven
Lightsaber Color(s):	Blue blade, red trimmed hilt
Lightsaber Form(s):	Form II, Makashi Form III, Soresu
Chronology & Political Information
Profession:	Pirate Warlord Dark Jedi
Era(s):	Dark Brotherhood Era New Republic Era New Jedi Order Era
Affiliation:	Clan Arcona House Galeres
Dossier:	9117
[ Source ]

"My face will be the last thing you see in this life, and the first you see in the furnace of the one after!"

―Kratus Vahillus

Kratus Tigellus Vahillus was a Pirate Captain who lead one of the largest Pirate Armadas to date within the Corellia System. He is best known for his daring raid on the Corellian Finance System and his massacre of all hands aboard the transport liner Phylex. Vahillus is fifth on the top ten most wanted criminals in the Corellian Sector, and has a government bounty in four other systems. He was formerly married to Xathia Tugrina though their marriage dissolved due to mitigating circumstances. He is now a Obelisk Templar within House Galeres of Clan Arcona.

Early life

Birth and Rise of a Pirate

Kratus Vahillus was born to a pauper family in the lower city of Coruscant. He was not born in a proper hospital, instead he was born within the orphanage where he would spend most of his young life. His mother, alone as his father had been killed by one of the many gangs roaming the area, died in childbirth, leaving the young Vahillus in the care of the orphanage keeper.

Vahillus proved to be clever and tactical even as a young child. He often stole credit chips from the orphanage’s owner, leaving the place in debt, but keeping himself at the forefront of happiness. Vahillus often terrorized the other children, using certain of the stronger and smarter children as bodyguards and minions respectively. There were more of the former, rather than the latter.

At the age of fifteen, Vahillus aimed for larger bounties of wealth, by attempting a particularly daring theft from one of the leading Coruscant gangs, the Cavern Wyverns. The Wyverns had long been rumored to have impressive wealth hidden in their heavily defended base, enough to keep the team fully furnished for at least 50 years. Vahillus, along with is orphanage criminals, concocted a plan. Two years before, Vahillus had discovered a drain pipe while exploring the Lower City. This drain pipe happened to be connected to the Wyvern’s base, via the sewer systems. Vahillus, being small in stature, was easily able to slip into the base through the pipe along with some of his smaller minions. Once inside, Vahillus raid was shortlived; they made it as far as the armory before being discovered and though they managed to penetrate the armory and gather weapons, they were overpowered.

Vahillus was lucky; the Wyverns were impressed by him. He was made an honorary member and aided the team in defeating their most hated rivals, the Broken Suns. Vahillus stayed with the Wyverns for two years, before deciding to move on to bigger and more prosperous tasks.

Vahillus bought himself a ship, a YT-1700 series freighter called the Crimson Dagger. Together with his minions, Vahillus began a pirating operation mostly focused on minor trade routes. For five years, Vahillus and his crew raided ships and accumulated a massive amount of wealth. With this wealth, Vahillus was able to purchase seven more ships with half crew for each, though he made sure the captains were his loyal subordinates who followed him from the orphanage.

Path of a Warlord

One of Vahillus' Acclamators before the Corellia Raid

Vahillus continued to raid the trade routes for several more years, developing a reputation in four of the minor systems which he frequented. Once he had acquired enough credits, the young Coruscanti decided to invest in two of the antiquated Acclamator-class assault ships. After several more years, Vahillus grew tired of raiding the small and inconsequential systems that he was then pirating, and decided to try something far more advanced and daring. Uniting all of his forces, he pushed into the Corellian system, deciding to penetrate a far larger, and far wealthier, system. After less than a year in system, Vahillus concocted a very daring, and foolish, plan to invade the Corellian Finance System. Vahillus himself, trapped by dreams of grandeur and wealth, believed himself invincible and his plan fool-proof. Dividing his crew in half, one attempted a straight forward raid, intending to distract the security to allow Vahillus and a specialized team to infiltrate the Treasury building. The plan worked, though not as fully as Vahillus had hoped, but he and the team did manage to take and hold the building with minimal casualties.

Vahillus, together with at least sixty men, occupied the Corellian treasury. The Corellian Security Force, with eighty officers plus fifty New Republic reinforcements, surrounded the building. Through the stiff fighting, Vahillus and his men held the building for three days before they were forced out. Vahillus and twenty of his men escaped, though in the process Vahillus was caught in a grenade blast which destroyed the right half of his upper body, leaving him in a comatose and semi-alive state. The raid, though failed, did manage to yield Vahillus a shocking fifteen million credits, although most would be spent re-acquiring what the raid had cost, and repairing Vahillus himself.

Vahillus’ crew managed to flee to Nar Shaddaa, where they contacted a cybernetics surgeon. The doctor, Nicholas Vorrhous, worked with clients of all types and agreed to meet with Vahillus, who’s name was now known throughout the criminal underworld. He applied the cybernetics, and it is rumored that when he held a mirror in front of Vahillus repaired face, the man laughed maniacally.

From that moment, Vahillus became one of the terrors of the galaxy, raiding ships along major trade routes and butchering all of his victims, leaving their ships dead in space. All of his victims had their right eyes cut out, and tied about their wrists, a symbol of Vahillus’ lost right eye.

The most famous of Vahillus’ massacres happened aboard the passenger liner Phylex. Vahillus, aboard the Crimson Dagger, disabled the massive passenger ship in route to Coruscant as it began to leave Corellian airspace. In the short space fight, Vahillus’ fleet disabled the ship's engines along with destroying their comms tower. Vahillus then boarded the ship, and, moving from room to room, began to slaughter each passenger and took every credit chip on board.

He personally cut the ship captain’s eye out while the man was still alive, laughing maniacally. The security footage the Corellian Security Force recovered from the ship showed Vahillus, covered in blood, savagely cutting down man and woman alike, then carving out their right eyes, tying them to the right wrists of their owners. Corellia discovered the dead Phylex when it appeared above the old Imperial shipyard of Kuat about three weeks after the incident. They immediately issued a massive bounty for the capture or killing of Vahillus and pirate watches were increased dramatically within the sector.

After the massacre, Vahillus took his stolen gains and, through an agent, purchased ten more ships ranging from cruisers to fighters, increasing his fleet size dramatically. Vahillus kept the Crimson Dagger as his flagship, heavily modifying the freighter until it matched the firepower of a medium frigate. Vahillus continued to roam the galaxy, raiding ships and massacring hundreds to satisfy both his bloodlust and desire for increased riches.

Marriage

Even though he was a successful pirate warlord, Kratus also enjoyed having some down time in one of the many cantinas on Nar Shaddaa. The Smuggler's Moon reminded him slightly of his past in the lower city of Coruscant. As he was enjoying his drink, he noticed the entrance of a very unusual patron. The woman was of good height, and her body was one that rivaled even the famed dancers of the former Hutt crime lord, Jabba.

Kratus, intrigued, introduced himself to the younger woman and offered her a drink. He came to learn, after flaunting his wanted status, that she was a Dark Jedi named Xathia. The pair, alike in their mental instabilities, formed an almost instant, but fragile, bond. Kratus, eager for action and to enjoy more time with the woman, partnered with Xathia on a mission that would rid her of her father. After helping the Krath Archpriest track down and eliminate her demented father, the duo discovered how close they had become and decided to elope.

The pair were married in a quiet ceremony on Coruscant, before they traveled to Naboo to have a relaxing honeymoon.

Adopted Father

Kratus' Adopted Daughter, Alyssa Vahillus

Shortly before his marriage to Xathia, Kratus was introduced to the Krath's daughter Alyssa. To the surprise of both Kratus and Xathia, the girl took an immediate liking to the insane cyborg, even going to far as to inquire about his relationship with Xathia. Kratus immediately took fondly to the young girl, and a bond was formed.

After the marriage, Alyssa was quick to assume the Vahillus name, her love for her new step-father clearly apparent. Kratus and Alyssa are generally inseparable, except when 'Uncle Celevon' comes to visit.

Many believe that the silver stripe in Alyssa's hair comes from Kratus, who has a similar stripe of silver in his own black hair, a result of his failed raid on Corellia. Though they are not related, Kratus and Alyssa both remain very close to one another, close enough for Kratus to have been her biological father.

Within the Dark Brotherhood

Embracing the Darkness Within

Vahillus, while roaming the galaxy, came upon word of a shadowy organization existing primarily in the Anteian system. On Nar Shaddaa, as Vahillus stopped for a customary drink, he ran into Clan Arcona member Xathia, and the two began to work clandestinely. Eventually, Xathia decided to invite Vahillus into the brotherhood, recognizing the cyborg’s force potential at many points during their first adventure. Vahillus temporarily turned over command of his fleet to his second-in-command, and readily joined the Brotherhood as a member of Clan Arcona.

Upon joining, Vahillus proved very easy to train, picking up a much of the Force learning in an instant. He maneuvered his way through the Journeyman ranks with little difficulty, though he spent several weeks at each stage. When his promotion to Obelisk Templar arrived after a year and a half of training, Kratus accepted the position with gratitude.

Revenance Virtuom

Upon joining House Galeres, Kratus was offered an initiation into the prestigious battleteam Revenance Virtuom, commanded by Cethgus Entar. Kratus and Cethgus seemed to mesh well, as the ex-Pirate proved to be quite an effective weapon against opponents, something the Zabrak came to respect.

An Unlikely Alliance

During Operation Ad Infinitum, Kratus began to show a restlessness that Xathia couldn’t help but notice. The next day, Xathia introduced Kratus to Soulfire Strike Team’s sniper and youngest member, Celevon Edraven as Kratus’ new sparring partner. For the first several weeks, Kratus was subtly teaching the Assassin the basics of Makashi. Upon the younger man’s ascension to the rank of Dark Jedi Knight, Celevon confronted a grinning Kratus about it after discovering that he already knew the first tier of maneuvers to the Duelist’s Form.

After this, the duo developed an odd friendship, despite the fact that the two were members of House Galeres' rival Battleteams. Over time, the cyborg invited his wife to spar with them to teach the younger man how to duel against multiple opponents simultaneously. Celevon and Kratus can be found sparring against one another in the training areas while Xathia is otherwise occupied with her duties.

Great Jedi War X

Vahillus, along with the rest of Revenance Virtuom participated in the conflict which would be dubbed, Great Jedi War X or Unification. Vahillus would spend most of the time prior to fighting standing at the side of then Aedile of House Galeres, Talos Erinos as one of the man’s trusted associates. Vahillus journeyed to the surface of New Tython in the company of the Erinos and aided him in dispatching a few Jedi before being forced back with his team by leader Cethgus.

Vahillus would join the offensive on Menat Ombo with Revenance Virtuom. He was present when the city ‘fell’ to Brotherhood forces.

Breaking Marriage

Before the war, Vahillus had learned, along with his friend and Xathia’s half-brother Celevon, that Xathia was pregnant with twins. He and Xathia had then conferenced about what would happen during the war, when it was decided that she should participate but remain aboard one of Arcona’s vessels. Kratus then left her to meet with Talos Erinos to begin war preparations.

Vahillus had fought in the war believing that when it was over, he would return to the newly born twins and his wife. What he received when he returned was his wife mysteriously absent and news arrived that the couple’s twins had died in childbirth. Vahillus, distraught, attempted to find his wife, only to discover that Xathia was purposefully avoiding him, over the delay in him returning home from the war.

Vahillus finally moved to confront his wife, only to be confronted by his step-daughter Alyssa instead. Alyssa, passionate about her mother’s mental state, instantly attacked Vahillus, determined to make him pay for what he had done to Xathia. Kratus, in self-defense, drew his lightsaber, though he had intended to intimidate only.

When Xathia appeared, Vahillus knew that it was over. Their lightsabers clashed together, and Xathia told Kratus to leave, and never return. Vahillus, though angered at what had happened, did so, but remained bitter and dispassionate towards romance and relationships for ever afterward.

Departure and Return to Galeres

For a brief time after the split, Vahillus transferred from House Galeres to House Qel-Droma, though remaining in Clan Arcona. Bitter, despondent, and utterly disillusioned, Vahillus did not aid the house he had come into. Instead, he would leave for long periods of time, attempting to lose the bitter memory of the divorce.

About a year passed before Vahillus would attempt reconnecting with the Brotherhood in more form than just a check-in. He decided to return to his former home of House Galeres, when word reached him that Xathia had departed from it. Once re-established, Vahillus began to devote himself to his Brotherhood activities, burying any memories of his marriage behind in his desire to prove himself, and acquire power.

Psychological Profile

Left to right:Celevon Edraven, Xathia, and Kratus

In his early life, Vahillus was a cold, calculating individual, using his eyes and handsome looks to intimidate his inferiors into service. He spoke in a clipped tone as if trying to get his point across quickly. He walked with an assured gait, and never second-guessed himself.

After the raid on Corellia and subsequent cybernetic replacement, Vahillus changed. He became cold and displayed varying degrees of aggression towards anyone, even crewmembers. This trait only deepened with his divorce, as he refused to trust anyone save those who displayed loyalty towards him, in varying forms. He remains loyal to his leaders, if only because they are leaders, though most find him to be a willing and cheerful member, if only because they keep him busy.