Character History
Christien Hoff was an young Imperial Fleet commander from the Core world of Anaxes. However, he was a member of the Dolucian species, as were his parents. Christen was a skilled fleet commander, though he was not a good pilot and was blind in one eye from early on. This disability prevented him from seeing correctly, thus hindering him in space combat. This was one of the reasons he did not take up or become a skilled starfighter pilot.
Early Life
Shortly before he was born, his parents Lian and Phae Hoff moved from their homeworld on Doluc II to Anaxes, hoping to make a better life for themselves. Therefore, Christien was born on Anaxes. His parents were prominent supporters of the Empire, as were most of his neighbors and friends.
When he was young, his parents decided that if he was going to live on Anaxes, he would have to make some friends. Though his neighbors were not often friendly, one stood out among them. Christen made good friends with Edge Raltor, another Anaxsi child who was raised about the same time he was. He and Edge would often go play by the river or run though the grass fields outside the capital; Pols Anaxes.
One of his favorite times as a young boy was watching the annual Imperial parades that dominated Pols Anaxes' cityscape. As Imperial Star Destroyers and TIE fighters loomed above the capital, and people cheered and marched through the streets, Christen stood in awestruck wonder amongst the citizens. He loved seeing the Star Destroyers hover over the planet, and wished that he could one day pilot or command one of these massive starships.
At one of these festivals he also met a young girl about his age, by the name of Jenna Linn. She was quiet shy, and Christien felt uncomfortable around her for some reason. Though he initially tried to talk to her, she ignored most of his questions, so Christien left her alone.
Workman's Life
Because of his mother's bad leg, she was unable to do many kinds of work. The work she could do, did not pay well. So his father was forced to talk two jobs, and he often returned home upset or stressed. After Christien became old enough to start working, he immediately took up a job to help his family.
His first job was rather simple. Christien took up one of his father's jobs, and flew civilian transports around the planet about the time of the Battle of Yavin.
His second job included running errands for local farmers and planters on Anaxes, and these jobs began to annoy and stress out Christen as well. After he grew tired of running around the planet to accomplish his work, he started to pilot civilian transports again.
While he was flying these ships, his skill at flying was noted by the Emperor's Hands, and he was taken from his home and sent to an Imperial Naval Academy.
Imperial Training
Immediately after joining the Naval Academy, he was pitted against all odds to train every part of his body and will. Forced to endure the elements nearly all day every day, the training was described as 'barbaric'. Many of the weaker students died during this intense training, while others were simply physically and mentally enhanced by the regimen.
During his time at the Academy, he made many friends, most of whom would go on to become respected Imperial pilots and Naval commanders in their own right. Despite this, he was forced to watch a large number of his classmates and a few friends die to the harsh training of the Corulag Academy.
He was trained under Imperial Colonel Gogo Babae, a veteran of the Clone Wars and a pilot for the veteran but aging Avenger Squadon. Gogo put Christien under harsh training, as well as the other cadets, and explained it was for their sakes alone he trained them this way. He told them that real war was not like training simulators, and that they needed to experience pain firsthand if they were going to survive.
After two years of stressful but rewarding training, Christien was finally deemed worthy to graduate with the Academy and become a Midshipman with the Imperial Navy. Honored, Christien Hoff prepared his things and finally left the academy after the two long years he had endured. Out of the 200 or so cadets that had enlisted with him in the Academy, only he and about 110 others survived.
Imperial Servitude
Christien started his work on a Acclamator Cruiser, apprenticed to the famous Imperial Captain Corinthian Stargazer. Christien learned much from this veteran fleet commander, and began his first steps on the way to manning his own Imperial vessel.
He learned quickly, and Captain Stargazer suggested that Christien attempt to join the starfighter corps, then continue his work with the Naval forces. Sounding like a relatively good idea, Christen took private lessons from his old teacher, Commodore Cabesa. With a few weeks of starfighter training under his belt, he was thrown into his first battle as part of Captain Stargazer's fleet.
Captain Stargazer's fleet had received reports of a small rebel convoy heading from the Outer Rim to Corellia. Not willing to allow the convoy to reach its destination, it was intercepted between hyperspace lanes. The two fleets, as well as their respective flagships, both engaged each other almost immediately.
The Rebels had more firepower and manpower than originally assumed, granting the Rebels a slight edge. During the heavy firefight between the large capital ships, the starfighters on both sides were sent to engage each other midspace. As the dogfights ensued, Christen's TIE fighter had taken heavy damage after a Y-Wing fighter had achieved a direct hit on his left wing. Christien issued a signal warning to Stargazer that he was returning to the hangar for emergency repairs.
Upon reaching the hangar, his TIE fighter gave way, and the weakened left wing broke off the fighter, sending it spiraling out of control. Slamming into the hangar's walls, the TIE was reduced to smoking wreckage. As engineers struggled to pull Hoff out of the heap of debris, they eventually found his body, half dead. Quickly getting him inside a bacta tank, he was forced to sit out the rest of the battle.
Though he returned to full health within a week, he discovered that his limbs were significantly weaker due to his accident, and would require time to return to normal. In addition to this problem, the crash had left him blind in one of his eyes after shrapnel tore through the eyelid and destroyed the lens on his eye. Permanently blinded in this eye, he decided to wait until his body returned to full health before he got a prosthetic eye as replacement. Due to his accident, the Imperial Military issued that armed forces under the age of 16 could no longer fly starfighters.
Despite his inability to fly starfighters, his commanding skill was noted, and he was promoted through Ensign and became a Sub-Lieutenant under Stargazer. After Stargazer was promoted to Captain of the Line, he was sent to the Outer Rim, and Hoff was transferred to a new fleet.
He proceeded to join a new fleet, and his commanding officer was very impressed with his skills. He petitioned to give him his own ship, but his ruling Moff would not allow it. He proceeded to rise the ranks under this new commander, and rose to the rank of Commander.
After the fall of the Emperor, he was transferred around numerous times. With no stability in his stationing, he soon grew frustrated. When a man known as Sashar Arconae offered him a position in a fleet protecting some cultist group known as Arcona, he accepted. Due to his immense experience and past track record, Sashar saw that he was made the XO of the NSD Invicta under more experienced Ban Quell.
Trivia
- Voden created the character biography and background.