Scion Altera is a Sith Battlelord in the Dark Jedi Brotherhood and a renowned member of Clan Tarentum. Formerly known as V-Scion on his homeworld Kegan and later known by his callsign Firebird, Scion served honorably within the Emperor's Hammer before joining the Brotherhood several years after the Exodus. A hardened pilot, captain, and commander, Scion is seen by his fellow Tarenti as an example of true power and leadership.
Childhood
- "If he wants to act like a Sith-spawned animal O-Serrah, he can bloody well live on the street like one! I will not have his kind of behavior in my home."
- ―V-Scion's father, V-Orian
V-Scion was born on Kegan in 13 BBY. Local tradition held that males add a "V" to the front of their names, while females add an "O". The law requiring this name prefix had been repealed some thirty years before, but V-Scion's parents were very traditional and chose to continue its use.
When he was very young, Scion did well in school. His attention turned to the stars when he hit his teens. He was becoming aware of the situation around him, and it didn't suit him. He considered himself trapped on a backwards world in the middle of nowhere, and he promised himself he would get out.
In his early teens, his hope waned. He stopped going to school, and began to drop the V from his name. He resigned himself to living an unremarkable life on an unremarkable planet. In the next years he got in trouble repeatedly for truancy, shoplifting, robbery and other petty crimes. At the age of 15, Scion's closest friend hanged himself. His family members said it darkened his view of the world, and he simply withdrew from everyone. Later that year, his parents disowned him and kicked him out because they, too, had lost hope for him.
After two hard years of wandering from city to city on Kegan, Scion met a man named Vampire outside a bar. Vampire was a squadron commander in the Emperor's Hammer TIE Corps. The SSSD Sovereign had been in orbit above the planet to procure supplies. Seeing his ticket off planet, Scion begged Vampire to let him enlist.
Emperor's Hammer
In the Navy
- "I said no, kid. The Empire is not in the business of rescuing vagabonds and castaways."
- ―Commander Vampire
In the Navy, Scion showed great aptitude both as a pilot and a leader. He had originally been stationed on the SSSD Sovereign in Wing III's Beth Squadron under Vampire's command. He was given the callsign "Firebird" by his fellow pilots because of his "rebirth" from dirty street rat into a respectable fighter pilot. He was soon promoted to the commander of Beth Squadron as Vampire rose in rank.
The TIE Corps underwent significant changes after Scion received his first command, consolidating several wings together. Firebird was moved into Wing VI and combined with Koph Squadron. The former commander of Koph was demoted to Flight Leader and Firebird was given command of the new, nearly full squadron. Scion served the majority of his time in the TIE Corps as the commander of Koph, flying nearly 100 missions.
During this time Scion also became involved with the Emperor's Hammer Intelligence Division. He completed a number of classified missions during this time, eventually rising to become a Bureau Director, and the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Several years later, the position of Wing Commander for Wing VI opened up. Certain he would receive the promotion due to his outstanding performance as Koph commander, he had his office packed up and ready to move. To his dismay, the commander of the largely inactive Resh Squadron was promoted to fill the position. The two never saw eye to eye after that point.
It turned out that Admiral Proton, the Commodore of the Sovereign, had other ideas for Firebird. He had managed to keep it relatively quiet, but the Wing Commander of Wing I had gone missing under curious circumstances. Proton appointed Firebird to the position and charged him with repairing the damage done to a wing after enduring so long without a commander. Scion went to work straight away, and Wing I once more became a strong force in the TIE Corps.
Eventually the day came when Firebird felt it was time to retire. He saw strength in those serving under him, and the thought of filling out more paperwork was becoming tiresome. He submitted his resignation to the Commodore, recommended a replacement, and made his way to the retirement frigate for a well deserved rest and a stiff drink.
Uneasy Retirement
- "Things are... different now, FB. How the hell did you find me?"
- ―Hades
Rest was not forthcoming. Years of drinks with little paper umbrellas and countless lazy afternoons of shuffleboard aboard the M/FRG Phoenix only turned the Colonel's vision toward the stars. He felt his muscles going slack and his mind becoming dull. He longed for the adventure he had left behind, and finally inquired about the possibility of returning to active duty. After a futile search to find any of his old companions, he learned about the Exodus. Not having been a member of the Dark Brotherhood himself, the news had been of little importance to him when it happened. Only now did he realize its significance.
Making use of an old contact within EH Intelligence, Scion managed to locate and contact Hades. A former Admiral in the TIE Corps, Hades had also been in the Dark Brotherhood and had left for Antei during the Exodus.
Dark Brotherhood
The Firebird Reborn
- "You sold me out, Hades! You scum sucking, nerf herding drunken son of a bitch! Better hope these goons aren't friends of yours..."
- ―Firebird
The Colonel stole a TIE Defender from the retirement frigate's hangar using credentials he had "borrowed" during a brief stint working with Hades in the Emperor's Hammer Reconnaissance Office. He was nearly caught when a security force responded to the use of the outdated credentials. With uncanny good timing Hades rescued him, but not before he had sustained a severe injury to his left knee. The pair stole TIE Defenders and made the journey to the Brotherhood. Following the nav coordinates Hades had given him, he made his way into a Tarentum owned shipping lane where was confronted by a squadron of TIE Advanced and forced to stand down. His craft disabled and confiscated, he was bound and blindfolded and deposited by a shuttle at the Shadow Academy. Scion stood out as one of the most aged of the new Initiates, but his lifetime of prior experience both in the military and on the streets served him well during his trials. He now stands a proud member of the Brotherhood where many other, younger candidates failed.
After Scion had risen to the rank of Acolyte, Hades offered to take him as his apprentice.
Early Adventures
- "You’re lucky I like you, Firebird."
- ―Hades
Scion once substituted in for the flight leader of flight two in Hades' Super Second Squadron of TIE Defenders. The space superiority squadron was scrambled to help deal with a set of coordinated attacks in the Yridia system.
Shortly after following his master from House Tridens to House Gladius, Scion helped a small Gladius team lead by Telona Murrage to a backwater smuggler's planet to capture a pair of Dark Side Dragons. The mission went well overall, but events became more complicated when the team arrived back at the The Sword's Sheath. The occupants of the base had been infected by droch parasites, including Scion's master, Hades. The only remaining personnel were Troutrooper and Ziltopia who had barricaded themselves in. Telona's team was able to fight their way in and relieve the two Dark Jedi, but Telona was severely injured in the fighting. She was forced to go into deep hibernation hidden deep in Castle Tarentum in order to heal. During this time, most of the Tarenti thought she had died.
It was Scion's Master, Krath Archpriest Hades, who took over from the hibernating Telona Murrage as Quaestor. Dralin Fortea was appointed Aedile, and Scion was given an opportunity to serve as Rollmaster of the House. He took to this new position with zeal because filing paperwork, delivering reports, and welcoming new members had been the bread and butter of his career in the TIE Corps, and this was hardly any different.
Taking the Helm
- "I haven't been in the House long, and I haven't even been in our esteemed organization long. One thing I have been doing for a long, long time however, is giving reports."
- ―Scion Altera
After serving the position of Rollmaster in House Gladius faithfully, the day came that Dralin Fortea stepped down from his position as Aedile. Hades bestowed the vacated position on Firebird. At the rank of Guardian, Scion was seen as somewhat under-qualified for the position. His work as Rollmaster, however, spoke loudly enough for the Clan Summit to give him the opportunity to serve.
Scion participated in a raid of a secret research facility at Prakith, posing as a New Republic second lieutenant. The raid itself went fairly smoothly, and several interesting technologies were recovered. However, on the trip back to Yridia the Clan's ship encountered a derelict MC80 called the Renegade which had supposedly been destroyed. It was filled with ghosts and the spirits of seven Jedi who had been sealed within the Crystal of Tears by Clan Tarentum Elders with the assistance of Trevarus Caerick. Scion's role in this encounter was relatively minor, although he assisted Hades and Troutrooper in holding back Rekio Corsair after he had been possessed by one of the seven Jedi spirits.
The Crystal of Tears had been destroyed when the Yuuzhan Vong had taken control of the Antei system, but fragments of it remained. The fragments retained a portion of the original crystal's power. Rumors of war had begun to trickle through the Brotherhood, and Clan Tarentum was preparing for the worst. Anshar sent House Gladius and House Cestus to Samur, a planet in the Antei System where fragments of the crystal were believed to exist. The Houses were sent independently of one another. After some initial conflict between the two Houses, the attention of the Vong was attracted. The bickering groups had to work together to escape with their lives.
After performing well in a Navy recruitment test, Scion was given a commission as a Lieutenant in the Tarentum Navy. He was assigned as the Executive Officer aboard the B/CR Cocytus with his Master and long time friend, Hades.
After serving his friend and Master, Hades, faithfully, Scion completed his training and was elevated to the rank of Dark Jedi Knight.
Ashes to Ashes
- "It is difficult to come up with adequate words for someone who executes their offices with very little pomp and circumstance. But, I find that this sums up Scion Altera to a tee."
- ―Maxamillian von Oberst-Tarentae
House Gladius was drawn, along with the rest of Clan Tarentum, into the Ninth Great Jedi War. Scion and his House fought well, but their battle was complicated by defections and betrayals. Despite the problems, Scion received a rare battlefield promotion to the rank of Sith Warrior, enabling him to join the Equite class. Gladius was hit harder than the other Houses by casualties and attrition. By the end of the war, the roster had been cut down to a mere 13 members. In the aftermath of the war, Hades and Scion decided to swap administrative positions, making Scion the Quaestor and Hades the Aedile. The two quickly set to work rebuilding the House under Scion's direction.
During the Ninth Great Jedi War a new Apprentice joined the House. Scion had been called away briefly on a mission to Trandosha. During the course of his mission, Scion bore witness to the slaughter of an entire family of trandoshans by a rival clan. The sole survivor of the attack was a young warrior who seemed to have a heart full of rage and a modicum of skill to back it up. Sensing an opportunity, Scion offered Mechronage Saltherion a ride and delivered him to the Shadow Academy, much like Hades had done years earlier.
In the following months the members of House Gladius, and Scion in particular, became less and less trusting of the Dark Council and the Tarentum Clan Summit. When the Dark Council sent an Auditor to The Sword's Sheath to take stock of their supplies, Scion and Hades devised a cunning plan to stockpile the asteroid's supplies aboard Hades' ship, the B/CR Cocytus. With help from Severon Vercingetorix and Scion's new Apprentice, Mechronage Saltherion, the Auditor appeared to believe the base's supply stockpiles were as low as they appeared.
Scion was later involved in a conflict with the Keepers, ancient nemeses of Tarentum. It began as the MC80 Renegade, under the control of the Keepers, entered the Yridia system System and headed for the Aegis on a collision course. The platform was destroyed in the conflict, as was the Renegade. During this conflict, Scion was given command of the MJHC Corsair and elevated to the rank of Commander.
As the months passed, Hades became more and more withdrawn and reclusive as he delved deeper into the enigmatic studies of the Krath Order. Frustrated with his friend's uncharacteristic seclusion and under constant pressure from the Clan Summit to replace him, Scion eventually asked Hades to step down if he wished to focus on his studies. To fill the position, he appointed the newly minted Dark Jedi Knight Severon Vercingetorix as Aedile of the House. At the same time, he asked Raiju Kang to come over from House Tridens and fill the role of Rollmaster.
Tarentum was once again summoned by the Dark Council in 32 ABY to the planet of Salas V for a Rite of Supremacy. Soon after joining the brutal conflict on the planet, Clan Tarentum's forces were routed by those of Independent House Revan. The surviving Tarenti regrouped to lick their wounds. Grudgingly, the Dark Jedi of House Gladius came together with those from House Cestus and House Tridens to form a cohesive unit. Their cooperation was rewarded when they discovered Clan Plagueis and Clan Scholae Palatinae almost simultaneously. The three rival Clans battled for days, but Tarentum emerged the clear victor, scattering the enemy forces to the bitter winds. Scion was awarded a Grand Cross of the Dark Side for his leadership on the ground during the fighting, and promoted to the rank of Sith Battlemaster shortly thereafter.
The war forged Gladians would not be allowed to return home to The Sword's Sheath for long, however...
Flashes in the Pan
- "This House has no history. There is no precedent. There are no long-fabled members who did great things a decade ago. You and I are the ones who will do the first things to make House Kaerner great."
- ―Scion Altera
Shortly after the Rite of Supremacy the Clan Summit came to the conclusion that a major reorganization was necessary. House Gladius had become too distant from her parent Clan, House Tridens was struggling to maintain its strength after being decimated in the Rite of Supremacy, and House Cestus was powerful. The only solution that the leaders of each of the three Houses would grudgingly agree to was to shut down all three Houses and open two new ones with rosters pulled from each of the three Old Houses: House Reinthaler and House Kaerner. Saitou Tarentae would head House Reinthaler, and Scion Altera would command House Kaerner.
The aging Quaestor would view this new assignment as a puzzling dichotomy. His loyalty lay with House Gladius and he had spent years building it into a powerful, proud House. Yet, he had sworn an oath to Clan Tarentum that could not be ignored. The uniqueness of the opportunity to be the first Quaestor of a brand new House was unquestionable, and he felt certain that it would cement his place in the history of Tarentum. He met with his new Aedile, Tyyravis Nami Dantes for the first time in his new office on their ice base on the moon Joran. The two men pledged at that time to make House Kaerner into a fierce pirate band to rival the glory of Tau Squadron.
Shortly after the opening of House Kaerner, Scion was called away from Joran with the Clan's fleet. During a devastating engagement while on an exploratory mission, nearly every ship in the Clan's fleet was destroyed. The lone surviving vessel was the ISDII Magnus Kaerner. Fortunately, both Scion and Hades' escape pods were recovered despite their ships, the MJHC Corsair and the B/CR Cocytus both having been destroyed.
House Kaerner would unfortunately be short-lived. Indeed, Scion was to be its only Quaestor. Shortly following the Clan's conflict with the Church of Infinite Perception, the Dark Council decreed that all Clans would become Houses and all existing Houses must be disbanded. Clan Tarentum became House Tarentum and the ice base was again sealed. Ronovi would become Quaestor of the new House, Ji became Aedile, and Scion was tapped as the new Rollmaster. Before too long, Ji sought her fates elsewhere and Scion became Aedile of House Tarentum.
Scion's tenure as Aedile of House Tarentum was uncharacteristically uneventful. Many of his colleagues are known to have commented to Ronovi, the House's Quaestor at that time, that the Aedile appeared distracted and even disinterested in his work. Ronovi herself even confronted him at one point, reminding him that she needed his help to keep the House running smoothly. Only a few weeks later, the leader of five years tendered his resignation both as Aedile and from his position as an Operator in the Antei Combat Centre. The specific reasons for his sudden withdrawal are known only to a select few, but the only story he has ever told publicly was that he simply needed a well deserved vacation. During this time, Scion spent the majority of his time on Tarentum's flagship, the ISDII Magnus Kaerner, of which he remained the captain. Within weeks of Scion's resignation, Ronovi resigned as Quaestor and was replaced by Sith Bloodfyre-Tarentae.
Princeps Yridia Rex Gratia
- "Raken and I have decided to bring you onboard as the new Quaestor for Tarentum. Your work is definitely cut out for you."
- ―Muz Ashen
Shortly before the Independence Games in 37 ABY the Brotherhood was continuing its Crusade against the One Sith on the ice planet Khar Delba. During the conflict, Scion joined a small strike team of Tarenti to investigate the tomb of Naga Sadow. The team's shuttle was sabotaged, and the tomb's dark energy began to influence the minds of the Tarenti to turn on one another. To add to their difficulties the team fell under constant attack from Behemoths, giant mammoth-like animals twisted by the Dark Side and under the control of the One Sith.
By the time the group returned to the Magnus Kaerner Jason Hunter was near death and several others were severely injured. Throughout the mission Anshar seemed to be suffering from some form of Force-related malady, but he did well to keep it hidden from all but the most experienced other team members.
Following the Independence Games, Anshar stepped down as Quaestor of House Tarentum. Jason Hunter as Aedile was considered the likely candidate to succeed him but it was not to be. Grand Master Muz Ashen personally appointed Scion as Quaestor instead, inaugurating the long-time leader's first experience as a member of the Dark Council.
When Scion ascended the throne as Prince, Tarentum was about to enter the second chapter of the Dark Crusade. This second conflict would occur on the planet of Ashas Ree, where Tarentum's forces faced off against Taldryan and Scholae Palatinae. The next battles of the Dark Crusade would take place on Kalsunor against Plagueis and Arcona, and several others followed after that until ending up at the final One Sith stronghold on Korriban. Tarentum fared poorly in general during this conflict, suffering defeats on nearly all of the battlegrounds and coming away with a dearth of prizes compared to the other units. It was a crippling blow to the House's economy, morale, and to Scion himself. In the aftermath of the Dark Crusade the disappointments would continue further as his long time friend and Aedile, Raiju Kang would defect from Tarentum, leaving the seeds of rebellion in his wake.
The cause of Raiju's defection was not what it first appeared to be. The team had investigated the abandoned Gulon Station, searching for relics left over from Darth Vitus' experimentations there in the distant past. Unbeknownst to the rest of the Tarenti, Raiju was infected by a mysterious parasite that controlled his mind. The hive-minded parasite drove him to make attempts on other Tarenti lives, and to make Scion think that it was Altheseus Levathan whose mind was slipping. Ultimately the mind-controlled Raiju was unable to achieve its goals and so he left the House rather than incite violent retribution.
The Dark Crusade reached its conclusion, with Grand Master Darth Ashen defeated and control of the Brotherhood relinquished to Darth Pravus. A short time after taking control of the Brotherhood, Pravus fired the leaders of House Tarentum and House Odan-Urr, replacing them with leaders of his own choosing. At the same time he raised all Independent Houses up to full-fledged Clans. Scion has been deeply bitter about losing his place as Prince ever since. Even Tarentum's rise back to Clanhood was tainted by circumstance for him. On one hand he had indirectly achieved his original goal to get Tarentum back to Clanhood. On the other hand, it had been due to the Grand Master's decree rather than by his own success.
One thing shone brightly positive for him, however, and gave him the strength to stick with his beloved Tarentum despite all the other failures. In the days following Tarentum's return to Clanhood, a gathering of the Tarentae elected to bring Scion into their ranks. He accepted, and became known as Scion Tarentae. It is a name he wears proudly, in defiance of everything that is not Tarentum.
The House of Death
- "I still think I should have been able to hurt him... at least take an ear."
- ―Samael Ozriel
It wasn't long before the Clan called Scion to service once again, to fill the position of Quaestor in the newly formed House Mortis. Dubbed "The House of Death", Mortis was the home of Tarentum's practitioners of the banned arts of necromancy. Given his attitude toward recent events, it turned out to be a perfect fit for him. He was again the master of Castle Tarentum in all but name - the Clan Summit and most of the rest of the Clan had vacated it in order to create more operational mobility and to maintain the Summit as a moving, unpredictable target. Only House Mortis remained there with a skeleton crew to keep it well maintained.
The House fended off several attempts to discover Castle Tarentum. In one such incident a mercenary named Corvus Tanian landed on a nearby archipelago and set up a fortified base camp. House Mortis ran several patrols of the encampment before finally sending Darth Aeternus to scope it out for attack. Contrary to his orders, the Sith Lord took Corvus hostage and did a great deal of damage to the encampment in the process. Scion chose to execute a gambit with Tanian: he staged an escape for the imprisoned mercenary, letting him escape with his life in the hopes that they would be able to track him and discover his group's true motive.
For quite some time it was believed that the old House Kaerner base on Joran was abandoned and sealed up. In truth, Raiju Kang and his compatriots had been siphoning supplies away from the Clan in order to plan a mutiny. Meanwhile, a smuggler named Kadne Jax had chosen to inhabit the rarely used location as a personal hideout in the Yridia System while she ferried goods in and out of Eden City and Taras. While there she met up with C-6A3, a protocol droid, when hiding from Raiju Kang in a closet. She and C-6A3 managed an unlikely escape from the base only to be captured by Hades at The Sword's Sheath and brought before Scion Tarentae. It was revealed that Scion had left the protocol droid dormant in the base as a makeshift alarm system. Uncertain of the loyalty of key members of the Clan, he had instructed the droid to notify him of unusual activity in the base. Unfortunately the droid had been powered down and moved into a closet without his knowledge, only activating when Kadne accidentally disturbed it. The Tarenti ultimately agreed to allow Jax to live, acting as an agent of the Clan.
A religious organization called the Seekers of the Light began to attract Scion's attention in Eden City when they started aggressively recruiting people off the street. He sent Kadne Jax to investigate, but unfortunately for her she was captured and tortured before completing her investigation. She declined to reveal any information to her captors, but House Mortis was obliged to send a team led by the Knight Thanadd Mawgath to free her. It was in the process of her extraction that she and Thanadd learned that the Seekers had developed the capability to grant Force powers to non Force-sensitive personnel.
Career Summary
Personality
Scion has seen much in his life, from the hardships of living on the street to losing close friends in battles in space. In his command he is fair and tries to be a calming force in the lives of his pilots. He always encourages them to work and train as hard as they can, especially encouraging training exercises against other units. He is patient, calm and calculating. To solve a problem, he gathers the required information and takes the most effective action rather than wasting precious resources with rash decisions and emotion. In all his pursuits he aims to be the best. He does not take defeat lightly.
Joining the Dark Brotherhood at such an old age was a difficult decision. It essentially meant starting over. After weighing the benefits and drawbacks of joining, the Colonel decided to approach it with the same vigor he had when he first began in the TIE Corps. He would keep a mind open to learning new things, and work as hard as he could on any task set forth by his new masters. He would bring the full benefit of his life experience to bear and take this new "career" as far as he could.
Real Life
The man behind "The Colonel" is a software engineer from Oregon. He is not actually 50 years old. He loves games (creating and playing them), skiing, camping, listening to heavy metal and being a smartass. Scion was in the TIE Corps in the Emperor's Hammer for more than 10 years and served with many of the older members of the Brotherhood. After 5 years of retirement, he discovered that everyone he had known in the EH was over here... so here he is.