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| == Youth ==
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| Born on the Emperor's retreat planet of Byss, Kir was an accident born of a nomadic freighter pilot and a lazy, abusive mother. Kir survived as a child with his mother in the destitute portion of one of the many small "cities" that bordered the Emperor's massive palace. Most of the inhabitants were either employed by or indentured to the palace for unnaturally long hours, Kir's mother included. Alone for a majority of the time, Kir developed a strong sense of self-reliance. He was gifted with a quick mind and an independent spirit, which would help him survive to use these gifts as an adult. He was a favorite at several of the local cantinas, where off-duty soldiers considered him a good luck charm. Constantly surrounded by a strong Imperial presence and longing for a father-figure, Kir was effortlessly indoctrinated at a young age.
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| As a teenager, Kir fell in with one of the local gangs, who would often follow local Stormtrooper squads while they were on patrol, partially as idol imitation, and also to make sure their less-than-legal deeds went unseen. One day during their routine patrols, Kir developed an odd anxious feeling throughout his entire body he had never before experienced. He stopped the group, explaining that something just didn't feel right and sitting to catch his breath. Moments later a munitions cart the Stormtroopers had with them exploded, killing most of the squad. His fellow miscreants looked eerily at Kir for quite some time, but from that point on they paid attention when he spoke up, making Kir their de-facto leader. Several weeks later, Kir received notice that his father had been killed in a Rebel hit-and-run. Never having met his father, Kir wasn't particularly hurt by the loss, although the Imperial officer who brought the news made sure the already-indoctrinated youth was pushed even closer to the Empire.
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| When Kir turned sixteen he was hired by the Emperor's palace on Byss to serve as a technician's assistant. The work was routine and quickly became dull for the overly ambitious boy. Kir waited until his eighteenth birthday and immediately proceeded to the local recruitment station, and days later he was on a shuttle to the Imperial Academy on Carida to begin his new life.
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| == Imperial Career: Stormtrooper ==
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| Basic Stormtrooper training was the best part of Kir's life thus far. His natural athleticism coupled with an incredible ability to soak up information, led him to excel, and he was quickly given a warrant officers commission. After training he was attached to the ground forces of Darth Vader's elite Imperial Death Squadron, where he was commanded by General Veers. After a year of various small engagements, Kir served with distinction in the Imperial Victory on Hoth, which earned him a promotion to Master Sergeant, and the command of a Stormtrooper platoon. Throughout his service Kir was plagued by the anxious feelings he had experienced as a teenager. He learned to use them to his benefit, knowing that they usually indicated a serious situation was in his near future. These feelings in combination with his martial skills and leadership ability had him unknowingly on the fast track of the Imperial army ladder.
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| His progress was very nearly ended by an incident during an engagement with Rebel SpecForce troopers. Kir's platoon was caught by surprise as the much smaller Rebel squad struck swiftly, killing two-thirds of his force in the first minutes. Kir formed a defensive perimeter while attempting to flank the Rebels through a nearby accessway, but was outdone by the Rebel commander. Kir himself was hit and fell unconscious, while his remaining troopers were forced to flee. Several dragged their injured commander while others managed to set charges that destroyed the installation and the enemy force. Punishment for such command failures is swift in the Imperial Army, and Kir emerged from the Bacta tank weeks later expecting to be greeted by Intelligence officers. He was surprised to find several of his former commanding officers had covered for him, blaming the entire incident on several "traitorous" subordinates. Kir's life had been saved, but his high-flying career had come to a screeching halt at Master Sergeant.
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| By the age of twenty-three, Kir's childish curiosity and daring had blossomed into a brutal commitment to training and a charismatic yet serious presence. He was the Imperial recruitment poster version of a soldier yet he yearned for more, his burning ambition ate at him every time he remembered his past failure. His commanding officer knew of his desires, and managed to find an alternative Kir didn't even know existed.
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| == Imperial Career: Storm Commando ==
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| While out on field exercises with his platoon, a naval officer arrived and informed Kir he had been reassigned. Given one hour to gather his belongings and prepare to depart, he boarded a transport and was returned to Carida, specifically to a secret training facility used for Imperial Storm Commandos. Originally led by Crix Madine, Storm Commandos are elite special force units used for a variety of missions. Kir's training focused on stealth and close combat techniques to be used for infiltration and assassination. The Commandos had proven very successful as a response to Rebel hit-and-run techniques, and therefore the Empire had increased their resources for development. It was Kir's great fortune that the Emperor had ordered several men from his Guardsmen training center on Yinchorr to join the Commandos; these instructors taught Kir the deadly art of Echani. The aggressive and brutal nature of this art came naturally to Kir, as did use of the twin knives associated with the style.
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| Upon the completion of his training, Kir was constantly at work against the Rebellion. Mirroring the hit-and-run tactics of their enemy, the commandos would quickly enter a system and hit their target, be it a manufacturing center, enemy base, or most often in Kir's case…a person. The highlight of Kir's career as a commando was as a part of the Dankayo team. The most dreaded command given to an Imperial Officer is known as a 'Base Delta Zero', which is the systematic and complete destruction of all assets of production, including factories, arable land, mines, fisheries, and all sentient beings and droids. Such operations were very rare and required a coordinated ground effort to gather targeting information and ensure the destruction of hardened targets. Kir led the commando team tasked with these missions on Dankayo, which was home to an Alliance administrative base. Kir's team preformed amazingly, and the Imperial fleet blasted the atmosphere off the planet, atomized the topsoil, and left the planet a cratered wasteland.
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| Upon his return to Carida, Kir learned he would soon be attending Imperial Officer Training Courses as a precursor to Imperial Command and Staff College. Given a months leave for his work on Dankayo, he was expected to arrive fully prepared for the challenges ahead. It was during this month that Kir was approached by a familiar face, a man named Krazo who had been his Echani instructor in Commando training. Krazo told Kir he was more than a mere martial arts instructor, that his training had included instruction in the Dark Side of the force. He had come to Kir because the 'anxious' feelings the young man relied upon were in fact unknowing uses of the force. Kir spent a month with Krazo learning how to use the Dark Side to increase his Echani abilities but left frustrated, wanting to learn more of this power he had tapped into.
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| A day before he was scheduled to return to training, tragedy struck the Empire. The second Death Star had been destroyed above Endor, and the Emperor had been killed along with Lord Vader. Panic and disorder spread like wildfire through the Imperial command, and all assignments were put on indefinite hold until new orders could be drawn up. For four years Kir was ordered around the galaxy with his commando team on a series of ragtag and often ill-advised missions against Rebel and eventually New Republic targets. Kir's world was crashing down around him as his much-beloved Empire was falling to pieces without steadfast leadership, when a savior arrived.
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| == Imperial Career: Thrawn ==
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| Thrawn, the last of the Emperor's Grand Admirals, returned from the outer rim to lead a blistering campaign against the New Republic. Given the Admirals often subtle means of command, he required Storm Commandos for his operations. As one of the most experienced commando officers Kir was attached to the Admirals flagship, the Chimaera, directly under the command of Captain Pellaeon. There he participated in several commando raids and intelligence operations before the Battle of Bilbringi. During the battle he was on the Chimaera's bridge and was an unfortunate witness to Thrawn's assassination by his bodyguard. Kir's own blaster joined that of the Stormtrooper guards in bringing the Noghri down, but it was too late.
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| With the loss of Thrawn the Empire again fell to ruin, with rival warlords competing for territory. Kir remained with Captain Pellaeon for a year more, and served during the brief reign of the Emperor Reborn. When he was again defeated, Kir informed Pellaeon that he would be returning to Carida and seeking a new assignment.
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| == The Emperor's Hammer ==
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| Upon his return, Kir was surprised to find his former instructor, Krazo, had left instructions for him. He was to seek assignment with the Emperor's Hammer Strike Fleet, currently serving in the Minos Cluster. Krazo did not explain the instructions, but Kir's desire to learn more of the Dark Side than the mere sampling he had felt before lead him on.
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| Kir obtained his assignment with the fleet, and after a brief stint as a desk officer with the TIE Corps, he was recruited by the Intelligence Division, where he used his special abilities to serve as an Infiltration agent, eventually rising to the rank of Major and commanding an entire Bureau. While in station, Kir was contacted by a representative of the Dark Brotherhood, who questioned him extensively on his background. Soon thereafter he was invited to Eos told the Hammer would need a strong bastion of Dark Jedi if they were to reunify the Empire, and that his talents would be best used by serving the Brotherhood. So Kir took a sabbatical from the Intelligence Division and began his training in the Shadow Academy.
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| == Dark Jedi Brotherhood: The Beginning ==
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| Having spent much of his life in various training academies, Kir took well to his time at the Shadow Academy, then located on Aurora Prime. He found that it was quite easy to channel his anger through the aggressive Echani techniques and thus become particularly in-tune with the force. Kir was an obvious choice for the Obelisk Order, and always found his best connection to the Dark Side when in conflict. He left the academy as a Guardian, and at the age of thirty found himself once again starting anew.
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| After a short stint in Arcona directly following his training, Kir transferred to Clan Taldryan. His previous leadership experience allowed him to quickly became Aedile, and soon after Quaestor of House Dinaari. He served with relative distinction for quite sometime, and was decorated for his service. However something was always nagging at him from the back of his mind, a sense that he wasn't quite meeting his potential. Eventually this led Kir to resign as Quaestor of Dinaari, and his position in the Intelligence Division. He spent months searching for his former instructor, eventually finding an elderly Krazo hidden amongst the rabble of Nar Shadda. During their time together Krazo helped Kir fine-tune his Echani and provided him with Vaapad instruction authored by Mace Windu himself, which had been a gift from the Emperor. Krazo also gave more practical direction in the arts of war, giving him the tools to be a great strategist and leader of men. After six months Kir felt fulfilled, yet Krazo insisted he was not yet ready for the road ahead. The disagreement turned into a screaming match, and in his anger Kir drew his lightsaber and killed his instructor. He instantly dropped the blade as he realized the old man had given his life to teach him a final lesson; while the Dark Side is a powerful tool, its impulsiveness must be tempered by the mind if you are to succeed.
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| Returning from Nar Shadda, Kir rejoined the Brotherhood and the Intelligence Division. Kir decided that if he were to fulfill his ambition, he would have to gain a deeper understanding of the Brotherhood as a whole. This lead him to switch orders and become a Krath, thereby a member of Ektrosis. Kir worked diligently and served with honor during a Great Jedi War, in which Taldryan and Ektrosis performed exceptionally. He had positioned himself to again take the reigns as a leader, not he just had to wait for the opportunity.
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| == Dark Jedi Brotherhood: Split and Beyond ==
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| He would not wait long, as turmoil between the Dark Brotherhood and the Emperor's Hammer, soon boiled over into full-out war. The leaders of the Brotherhood declared their intentions to separate completely from the Emperor's Hammer, and fled the Aurora system. These events happened quickly, and Kir was caught on the Intelligence Divisions Flagship, the Dungeon Ship Lichtor V, when the split occurred. Kir met up with the Brotherhood as they established a new base of operations, and changes came swiftly. Taldryan's Consul resigned, and Proconsul Sharad was made Obelisk High Commander. With the support of the former Proconsul and the Dark Council, Kir was made Consul of Clan Taldryan at the rank of Priest, he was only thirty four.
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| After becoming Consul Kir returned to his roots in the Obelisk Order. He worked with the High commander on the construction of the new Obelisk Headquarters on Antei, and taught Obelisk classes in the Shadow Academy. He continued to train and became a true master of the Echani arts and the Vaapad lightsaber style.
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| Kir continued to serve as Consul of Clan Taldryan, carrying the Clan back to its former heights once again. After many months of faithful service, the Grand Master and the Emissary of the Brotherhood endowed Consul Katarn with the hard-earned reward of the Clan name and title. Thus he was named a Son of Taldryan, and given the addition name of Kir Taldrya Katarn. The coronation of Jac Cotelin to a second term as Grand Master has brought Kir's career onto the fast track. Moving beyond Clan duties, Kir served as the Magistrate to the Grand Master and Praetor to his Deputy. These positions provided Kir with an important voice in Brotherhood decisions. Kir was also appointed Left Hand of Justice, again proving his commitment to the Brotherhood.
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| Finally, after many years of service to Clan Taldryan, Grand Master Jac Cotelin asked Kir to become his Deputy. Kir left Taldryan at the pinnicle of his career, and left the Clan ready to conquer any challenger.
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| To be finished some other time...
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