- "I'm no hero."
- ―Zentru'la
General Zentru'la, the One Man Army, was one of the most decorated soldiers in the history of the Imperial Scholae Army and the father of Tonal'la, Empress Elincia Rei, 'The Disgrace'. Zentru'la abandoned Tonal'la at a very young age, as he lacked the time or resources for another child after his wife died giving birth to her. When Clan Scholae Palatinae came to conquer his homeworld of Judecca, he was enrolled in the Army, as his daughter joined as a special agent and later Dark Jedi.
As he progressed through the Scholae Army ranks, he would have no contact with Tonal'la, who would go on to hate him for what he did, until he saved her life from Darth Fallax some thirty years later. He was on the verge of proving his worth to his daughter when her apparent defection to the Collective resulted in her death at his hands, a plan of her own making to save Scholae Palatinae at the cost of her life and honour.
Zentru'la, then aged 62 and of the rank of General, commandeered the Harbinger, Elincia's ship, and embarked on a personal vendetta against the Collective for their role in his daughter's death. He mostly left the Imperial Scholae Army, seeing that he could accomplish more by choosing his own battles, and assembled a team of the best he could find. He was dishonourably discharged from the Imperial Scholae Army after participating in a Taldryan raid of Sentinel Station. His team, now known as Gundark Squad, works as a band of mercenaries at the head of the Taldryan-funded Vornskr Battalion.
Character History
Early Life and Family
Centuries after a now-forgotten twi'leki refugee ship crash-landed on the near 100% human, forgotten world of Judecca, very few of their descendents remained. Zentu'la was born into a world hostile and prejudiced against the strange alien race in an uncivilised, turbulent time as warlodes waxed and waned, gods rose and fell, technology was scarce and only the fittest survived.
Zentru'la was born into this world and was immediately hated by the people of Ohmen. He was forced to learn to fight from a young age as a result of the hostilities towards the remaining twi'leks. And he was good at it. As a child he could defend himself from teenagers, and as he grew older, stronger and more experienced, his reputation alone kept him safe in the streets
Aged 20, he married Fernal'la, one of the few other twi'lek's left in Ohmen, who had carved out her own niche in the world as a nurse, bringing modern medical knowledge passed down through the twi'leki refugees. Not accepted into any warrior clans due to distrust of the alien, Zentru'la put his talent for combat to use as a security guard at various taverns across Ohmen. With Fernal'la, he had three children, all sons. But aged 25, with the family already struggling to survive on their combined income, it would be the fourth child, a daughter, that would change his life forever.
Fernal'la died giving birth to Tonal'la. The death of Zentru'la's beloved wife left him with an extra mouth to feed and half the money to do it with. He hated Tonal'la since she was born, and blamed her for killing his wife.
He failed to realise the genius of his own daughter, who had mostly left the home to fend for herself as a child.
Military Career
Scholae Invasion
Zentru'la was 39 when Scholae Palatinae came to Judecca seeking a new home, by which point he had lost all contact with Tonal'la. Zentru'la fought against the foreign invaders along with the rest of Ohmen, but with a combination of technology and magic, Clan Scholae Palatinae conquered the entire system in days, subjugating the people to their will. His eldest son died fighting in the battle.
The invaders demanded absolute loyalty to the Empire, and to their Emperor, and decided that Ohmen was to be their new capital. The new empire brought significant improvements to the quality of life, but with that came the oppression of military rule. But the invaders were in a weak position themselves, with their forces depleted by previous battles and having recently lost their own home. They came to Judecca not to pillage and plunder, but to conquer and subjugate. They needed new warriors for their army and Zentru'la fit the bill perfectly.
He was enlisted as a Stormtrooper, but due to his age, talent in combat, and self-discipline from years of survival on a hostile world, he was promoted to Sergeant as the Imperial Scholae Army attempted to rebalance their rank structure. He started to develop a reputation as a talented commander of troops and had a keen eye for military strategy
The War against The Cause
While Scholae Palatinae had officially unified the Cocytus System under its rule, peace on Judecca had always been fragile at best. Many of the citizens embraced the new technology and improved quality of life in the spacefaring world Scholae Palatinae were moulding Judecca into, but this was not unanimous, as dissent grew among the people, frustrated with the oppressive nature of the empire, and a succession of short lived Emperors, each one dethroned by the next cutthroat usurper did nothing to ensure stability.
10 years later, civil unrest manifested itself in 'The Cause', a group of rebels aiming to overthrow imperial rule. Zentru'la was shocked to learn the leader of the cause, his estranged daughter Tonal'la. The Cause battled Imperial Scholae Intelligence and caused a rift in the population. Zentru'la took the side of his employers, the Empire. His two remaining sons died fighting each other in the battle on opposite sides, leaving Tonal'la as his only surviving family member.
Little did he know, Tonal'la was commanding both sides in this war, as head of Imperial Scholae Intelligence under the codename Impetus, and was responsible for destablising the system as part of her plot to elevate her ally Xen'Mordin Vismorsus to the imperial throne.
Commander
Both Tonal'la and Impetus mysteriously vanished from the face of the galaxy shortly after, with it being rumoured Tonal'la was assassinated by Imperial Scholae Intelligence. Zentru'la was 53 when Xen'Mordin ascended to the throne, and he truly started to find his place in the Empire.
In Zentru'la's eyes, Xen'Mordin was the first true Emperor of Cocytus. He was a born leader, charismatic and professional, with a keen military mind as well as diplomatic skill. Although they never actually met, he was a leader that Zentru'la would charge through durasteel walls for.
Under the command of Xen'Mordin, Zentru'la grew in rank, and eventually reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, commanding the 102nd Imperial Battalion of the Imperial Scholae Army. His numerous achievements in battle led him to be a celebrated war hero within the army.
Elincia's Enforcer
Fallax
- "You risked your life to save mine. You defied a Dark Lord of the Sith. Why?"
"Tonal'la... I'm your father"
- ―Elincia Rei and Zentru'la
Everything changed in the Cocytus System, and especially for 59 year old Zentru'la, when Xen'Mordin's body was possessed by Darth Fallax, who assumed control of the military, ousted the Clan Scholae Palatinae members and captured Xen'Mordin's second in command, the enigmatic new Grand Vizier, togruta scientist Dr. Elincia Rei. Zentru'la was stationed in the capital of Ohmen, leading the guard regiment.
Elincia Rei escaped prison but was caught by Darth Fallax in the courtyard of the Ohmen palace. She dropped her disguise, revealing herself as Tonal'la, then duelled the Sith Lord, unarmed but for a web of illusion powers. Finally, she got through to Xen, who shouted at her to run before Fallax regained control and held her in a Force Choke.
It was at this moment Zentru'la, encased head to toe in heavy armour, recognised it was his long-lost daughter that Fallax was choking the life out of. He broke ranks, hitting the Sith Lord with a grenade and helping her to escape his clutches to regroup with the clan.
Safe in a hidden passage underneath Ohmen, Zentru'la revealed himself as her father. She almost killed him then and there, stating that she hoped he had died in the Scholae invasion. However, upon being reminded that he did save her life, she finally had a change of heart and used her authority as Grand Vizier to promote him to the rank of Colonel.
Fire and Smoke
- "You will travel planetside to Nancora, to Hydra, and eliminate this Sparks character"
- ―Elincia to Zentru'la
Elincia never trusted or forgave her father for the years of neglect as a child, but he was a useful tool. Zentru'la wanted nothing more than to prove his worth to his daughter before he died, and was still an exceptional warrior, making him both a loyal and powerful ally, especially after she ascended to the throne herself and dependable allies were hard to find.
While Zentru'la was a powerful ally, Elincia still resented her father, and didn't care whether he lived or died. She would regularly throw him into suicide missions, but he always came back alive. In the Twelfth Great Jedi War, he was sent to assassinate crazed Collective bomber, Gwendolyn Sparks.
The fight on Nancora went on for several days, ravaging the city, before Zentru'la destroyed the tower block she had taken as a vantage point with a thermal imploder. He killed hundreds of civilians, men, women and children, but nothing else mattered other than accomplishing the missions given to him by his daughter.
During this time, Zentru'la built up a productive working relationship with bounty hunter Bale Andros. Despite Bale's hatred of Zentru'la's daughter for kidnapping his own daughter, Kaela, they had a common link in that they both fought for daughters they cared about, and Zentru'la's military precision with Bale's wild chaotic approach was a successful mix in many battles. Tensions rose between Elincia, Bale, Zentru'la and Kaela as Elincia took Kaela on as her apprentice, sensing raw power within her and wanting it for herself.
The Meridian Incident
- "Our orders were to reclaim the artefact. His fate was not one of our mission parameters. But keeping him alive is too big of a risk."
- ― Zentru'la on Daggo Mouk
Zentru'la's next major mission would be in the Scholae Palatinae invasion of the Collective Meridian Prime space station, along with Bale Andros, his daughter Kaela Val, explosives technician and sliver Aylin Sajark, and legendary sniper Zehsaa Hysh, Bale's partner. Zentru'la and Bale unleashed a barrage of pure firepower as soon as they touched down on the ship protecting it, the Akan, and blasted a path to the elevator. However, the elevator was trapped, occupied by cloaked Collective operatives that disarmed the team and held them hostage. Zentru'la ordered the team to throw down their arms, although Bale refused. The argument was stopped by Kaela, who mind tricked the guards in front of the team and told them to bring them to the captain.
Kaela had the squad completely under her control, until Bale, driven mad by his distrust of the Force, and of Elincia, now seeing Kaela use the powers Elincia had taught her, killed the squad, stunning the team into silence and Kaela into shock seeing her father kill them in cold blood. Bale's unpredictable nature threatened to throw the team into disarray and derail the mission many times. Eventually, they blew up the Akan and returned to Elincia for a debreifing before launching the raid on Meridian Prime.
They proceeded to the AI core room, with Zentru'la and Zehsaa shooting Collective guards with surgical precision. Aylin released the prison security, allowing Brotherhood-imprisoned Force Users loose on the station, many mad from captivity. Eventually, they took control of the station, and apprehended Daggo Mouk, one of the three highest authorities in the Collective leadership. Zentru'la and Bale both agreed that he was too dangerous to be kept alive, and killing him was the only sure way to eliminate him once and for all.
Kaela protested against Zentru'la and her father, begging them not to kill an unarmed man in cold blood. Elincia didn't really care about Mouk's life, but encouraged telepathically Kaela to use her power, knowing it would widen the void between her and Bale, giving herself more control. Kaela mind tricked both Bale and Zentru'la into letting her take Mouk alive. Zentru'la was promoted to the rank of General following the incident.
Elincia's Final Plot
The Illusionist's Deception
- "I've heard many stories about your talents. You almost took out one of my best Generals on Nancora. I'm sure I'm not as good as you, but this one has to be me."
- ―Elincia to Sparks before firing a warhead at a civilian Lyra Colony block, while flying Scholae colours
They grew more and more dangerous with each passing day, posing a major threat to the Brotherhood compounded by intelligence reports that they were converging on the completion of a super-weapon relying on crystal fragments from an ancient AI. Further, the Dark Brotherhood had established contact with the Severian Principate, and the Collective had been making moves to sabotage the negotiations and bring the Principate to their side in a two-pronged war against the Brotherhood. Elincia put her plans to conquer the Meraxis capital on hold. The Severian Principate were allied with the New Republic, and such a war would cause the end of the Scholae Empire. The Dark Council tasked Scholae Palatinae with stealing a crystal shard found on Lyra Colony, belonging to the Severian Principate, and Elincia took on the task herself, believing she was the best one to trick the Collective into accepting her into her ranks, so she could learn where the crystal was and steal it.
Rath Oligard oversaw the defection of Elincia to the Collective, but immediately sought to make the most of his new asset to strike against the Brotherhood. Collective leaders Captain "CC" Crimson and Gwendolyn Sparks (having survived the battle with Zentru'la) were tasked with launching a false flag attack against Lyra Colony, framing the Brotherhood and plunging them into war. Oligard had Elincia herself launch the attack using LAAT/i shuttles and experimental warheads stolen from the Imperial Scholae Navy. Refusing would blow her cover, but she couldn't abandon the mission to steal the crystal shard.
Elincia Attacks
- "You're strong. And you're quicker than you look"
- ―Amara Cirrus on Zentru'la
Prior to her defection, Elincia had sent Zentru'la on a diplomatic mission. While he wasn't well versed in diplomacy, Amara Cirrus, head of Lyra Colony security, valued competence above all else. He was to engage in a joint training mission with them and demonstrate the skill of Imperial troops. It was just as Zentru'la defeated Amara in hand-to-hand combat that a giant explosion rocked the area. Zentru'la ordered his men to secure the colony, hoping for a chance to impress Amara, when he saw his daughter firing warheads from a Scholae Palatinae LAAT/i Gunship at a civilian district. He fled with his men immediately.
The Severian Principate accused Scholae Palatinae of sanctioning a terrorist attack against their colony. The civilian news sources painted Scholae Palatinae as a threat to the Principate, and called for war. Elincia quickly hatched a scheme to both steal the crystal shard and avoid war with the Severian Principate, communicating what everyone needed to do across the most secure channels available. Freewoman demanded proof that Scholae was not involved in the attack, and the only proof they would accept was if Scholae Palatinae eliminated Elincia, to prove she was not working on their orders. Elincia was broadcasted all over Scholae news channels as a traitor and a defector. Zentru'la was chosen for the job, and given the order by the Legacy of Palpatine. He was given the Silencer, Elincia's old Sith Dagger, and told to return with her lightsaber.
Elimination of a Traitor
- "Prove your loyalty! Finish your mission soldier!"
- ―Elincia to Zentru'la
Zentru'la, unaware of Elincia's plan to steal the crystal, believed her to have genuinely defected to the Collective. He accepted the mission to give him a chance to speak to his daughter and talk her out of betraying the Empire and bring her home. He assumed control of the ISN Amedda and used it to land an entire regiment of troops on The Moon of Thillon, her last known location. Zentru'la single-handedly took out hundreds of Collective troops on the way to her, breaking into a warehouse and learning her location from a guard. Feeling an oddly powerful wave of energy course through his veins, he defeated Captain Crimson in single combat before reaching his daughter.
Zentru'la could not keep his emotions in check upon meeting his daughter, who he had been sent to kill after spending so long trying to rekindle their relationship. Elincia herself was unmoving, stating if he defied his orders, he would be killed as a deserter, and if she went back, she would be killed as a traitor. Only one of them could leave the room alive. When Zentru'la refused to kill her, Elincia attacked him with her lightsaber, triggering his survival instinct to block with the Sith Dagger. He eventually countered and threw his daughter Tonal'la to the floor, pointing a pistol at her, ordering her to come home. She seemed oddly at peace. When she whispered 'For the Empire', Zentru'la suddenly understood what he had to do, although he could never understand why. He repeated 'For the Empire,' and pulled the trigger, shooting his daughter through the heart.
Tonal'la's ghost returns Zentru'la's salute to her unmarked grave
Bittersweet Redemption
- "She will be forever remembered as a monster. Scholae will know her as the traitorous Empress who sought to destroy the Empire... and the Principate as a war criminal who killed thousands of innocents. This is what she will be remembered for... bloodshed and deceit... and no-one will ever understand her. This was to be her final, greatest plot. She sacrificed her life, her legacy, and her honour for her clan.
She told me that when it was over, she wanted you to know the truth... it was her that chose you for the mission. You were the only one she trusted. And most of all, she wanted you to know that she loved you"
- ―Mune Cinteroph relays Elincia's final wish
Dishonour and disgrace would follow Elincia to the grave. She was recognised by official history as a traitor to the Scholae Empire, the false Empress that defected to The Collective and tried to destroy the Empire. To the Severian Principate, she was known as the terrorist that killed tens of thousands of innocent civilians of Lyra Colony. All reference to her accomplishments throughout Scholae history under the name Elincia had been wiped from the books. Citizens of Scholae territories would use Elincia as a synonym for the word traitor.
Zentru'la, however, was celebrated as a war hero for killing her, and awarded the Legacy of Palpatine title after handing over her lightsaber, which contained the crystal shard. He was seething with rage as Kell Dante officially awarded him the title for taking down the traitorous Elincia Rei. He left without saying a word, ignoring the outstretched hands. The voice of Mune Cinteroph, one of Elincia's closest allies, echoed in his mind, the only one that knew the whole truth. The entire incident was her plan to prevent war between the Principate and Scholae. She had personally picked Zentru'la for the mission, knowing full well what would happen. She had chosen Zentru'la because he was the only one she truly trusted. In the end, the only task that would truly cement his redemption in his daughter's eyes... was killing her.
A small, dull, nondescript gravestone in a military cemetery bearing no name and the words 'TO A HERO WHO SAVED THE EMPIRE' was the only recognition of her achievements. When Zentru'la visited the grave and saluted his daughter one final time, a shimmering figure of her saluted back, appearing as Tonal'la in her natural form.
Zentru'la Rising
The Pilot
- "We assemble the best team we can find and deal as much damage to the Collective as we can."
"I'm not one for protocol... but who sanctioned this mission?"
"I did. We won't be flying with the Navy or fighting with the Army. We'll be fighting with our own team, picking our own missions and our own battles, fighting how we want, and when we want."
- ―Zentru'la recruits Rohla Trugaim
Zentru'la experienced recurring nightmares of the moment he killed his daughter. He fired the shot that killed Tonal'la. The Palpatines sent him on the mission to assassinate her. Mune Cinteroph negotiated the terms with the Severian Principate. He did so on her orders. But he knew who was truly responsible. The Collective, and their leader Rath Oligard. Shadow Nighthunter had taken the reins of Empress. He bore Shadow no ill will, but she was an assassin with no military credentials and was not fit to give him orders. Fearing stagnation in the Scholae Empire without Xen or Elincia at the helm, he decided to take matters into his own hands and launch his own personal crusade against The Collective. He had been awarded Elincia's ship, the Harbinger, a heavily upgraded Upsilon-class shuttle. But first he needed a team.
He had heard of an immensely talented pilot that was court-martialled for flying drunk over Lyra. He had stopped playing by the rules. Captain Rohla Trugaim was exactly what he needed. While Imperial Scholae Army soldiers wanted to talk to the war hero that killed the traitor, he simply pushed them aside, then called rank on the prison guards to get Rohla out of her cell on the Retribution, and promised her all the drink she needed if he join in his mission to deal as much damage as possible to the Collective. She initially refused to pilot the Harbinger, fearing the stories it was possessed by a demonic AI, but the only other option was to return to her cell.
Rohla was only half-wrong, as the Harbinger was inhabited by Elincia's AI assistant: G14-D05, an ancient, corrupted AI with psychotic tendencies. However, as G14 was amenable to the mission of hurting the Collective, she agreed to help Zentru'la assemble a team. However, his most dependable partner in combat, Bale Andros, was believed dead. G14 produced a long list of potential candidates to join the team. He eventually settled on Masakado, once a Collective infiltrator but was last seen working as a mercenary on Coruscant, marketing himself as a slicer, spy and assassin.
The Cyborg Ninja
- "I'm dying, General. The Cybernetics. The Collective turned me into the ultimate assassin... but their tampering has a cost. A sickness has taken over. My body is a machine, but my mind is dying. Cell by cell. Find me a healer that can reverse this sickness, and my sword is yours. No charge"
- ―Masakado joins Zentru'la's team
Zentru'la and Rohla took the Harbinger to Coruscant to look for Masakado, playing the role of a bounty hunter sent to take down crime boss Mae Draven. Despite barely being able to walk through intoxication, Rohla's familiarity with cantina life proved a lot more useful than Zentru'la's direct approach in getting information out of people. She had chatted with someone that worked for Draven, and heard about a butcher that killed 5 of her men with only a sword. The description fit Masakado's dossier.
Zentru'la decided to just go after Draven for real, suiting up in heavy armour with big guns and assaulting her base of operations single-handedly. He made his way to her office, holding her hostage, but claiming he was not there to take her bounty, but that he was looking for someone. It was at that moment that Masakado struck, killing Draven's guards and slitting her throat in a couple of seconds before turning to Zentru'la.
He already knew everything. His name, his ship, G14's attempt to hide him as a bounty hunter... his mission to build a crew and his desire to recruit Masakado. It was the cyborg ninja that had set up the meeting in the first place. He had already proven himself as an excellent slicer and assassin to Zentru'la. However, he was dying. His cyborg body was built by the Collective, but had resulted in a neurodegenerative disease that no doctor could fix. He had as much reason to hate the Collective as anyone. He joined Zentru'la's team for free on the condition that Zentru'la would recruit a healer that can prevent his death.
The Healer
- "All life is sacred. We are all one with the Living Force. But the Collective wish to destroy that, the fabric that holds all life together."
- ―Lilina Mirin joins the team
After a few victories in skirmishes against Collective forces, they learned of the healer, Lilina Mirin. However, she was last seen on Chyron, in the Caelus System occupied by Clan Taldryan. The presence of an iconic Scholaean War Hero in Taldryan territory unannounced could start a war, so Zentru'la was hesitant. However, Masakado grew impatient, and after threatening Zentru'la with his sword if he didn't agree, he decided they couldn't pass up the opportunity. They landed on Chyron in the dead of night, using the Harbinger's stealth countermeasures, and Rohla returned to orbit.
Groundside, they learned Lilina had been taken captive by Collective, and assaulted the prison camp, finding that Lilina was the only thing keeping most of the prisoners alive. She was unlike any Force user Zentru'la had known, as Scholae Palatinae did not accept followers of the light in its rank. However, Lilina could sense Zentru'la's allegiance was changing. She joined his crew, as she felt the Force must be protected against the Collective who wished to destroy it, and offered to help Maskado recover from his sickness.
Shortly afterwards, the Taldryan Army attacked the Collective camp, and mistook Masakado as a Collective agent. The team ended up on the run from the Taldryan Army, and Zentru'la's main gun was destroyed in the attack. He ordered Rohla to escape back to the Cocytus System. While Rohla refused, wanting to pick them up, G14-D05 took over the controls to ensure the safety of the ship. Lilina informed him of a blacksmith that might be able to repair his weapon.
Bale Andros
The blacksmith turned out to be the thought-to-be-dead bounty hunter, Bale Andros. Upon seeing Zentru'la, he initially thought he had been sent to kill him by the Empress. It was only during the fight that ensued Zentru'la was able to inform Bale of what happened. Bale had already been assembling his own crew, including Aylin Sajark and Zehsaa Hysh, and was about to attack a space station on behalf of Taldryan.
Zentru'la and Bale joined forces to attack the station. While neither really cared about Taldryan, Bale was well paid by Taldryan and Zentru'la saw it as an opportunity to avoid further skirmishes with them. Zentru'la temporarily served under Bale's command during the attack, although the two strong personalities with different operating methods would often clash heads.
The Vornskr Battalion
- "We're done with following clans and brotherhoods. We follow no leaders except ourselves.
"Oh no, you misunderstand. I'll offer contracts, not give orders. And pay handsomely for them, with funding for your own battalion, and the honorary title of General, but You can't take any contracts against Taldryan or its allies."
- ―Zentru'la and Erinyes, Taldryan Consul
After the raid was successful, and Rohla was able to bring the Harbinger back into Taldryan space, Zentru'la received a formal message from the Imperial Scholae Army. He was to stand trial for participating in military oppositions of a rival clan. Failure to follow the summons would result in being discharged from the Army, and the loss of all ranks and titles. The crew agreed that they had no further need of support from Scholae Palatinae, and officially declared themselves rogue.
Lilina, a long term member of Taldryan herself, suggested the new Consul, Erinyes, may be able to offer assistance. She had been looking into commissioning a mercenary army that would operate on behalf of Taldryan, and was looking for a leader for them. While Zentru'la did not want to be part of another clan, preferring to pick his own battles, Erinyes assured him that he would be free to take his own contracts, and not fall under the chain of command, as long as he didn't take on any contracts against Taldryan. She gave Zentru'la the task of eliminating an underground group of anti-Taldryan terrorists on Chyron.
Zentru'la agreed, and the mission went without incident. However, the extent of how far Masakado's mind had degraded became apparent when he had a sudden absence seizure, only kept alive by Lilina's quick reactions and ability to keep him in a state of stasis. Following the mission, Erinyes stayed true to her word, and Zentru'la began to form a band of mercenaries, the Vornskr Battalion.
The Vornskr Battalion
Physical Description