- "You’re one of the few Odanites I’ve met capable of stringing a sentence together without getting all holier-than-thou. It’d be a wasted experience to kill you."
- ―DA Teroch Erinos Arconae while facing Turel on Begeren
Turel Sorenn is a Human male and a Jedi Guardian of House Odan-Urr. Turel grew up on Nar Shaddaa and spent most of his adult life working for the Hutt Cartel rising from low-level enforcer to senior lieutenant. After betraying his employer in 33ABY the Hutts placed a sizable bounty on his head. Turel evaded Hutt bounty hunters for 3 years until crash landing on Haven. Tired from years on the run and wishing to atone for his checkered past, Turel agreed to join House Odan-Urr and train as a Jedi. Turel currently resides on New Tython where he serves as Knight-Commander of the Knights of Allusis.
Character History
Early life {2 ABY - 20 ABY}
Turel was born on Nar Shaddaa as the youngest son of a Hutt Lieutenant and a cantina owner. His family was not wealthy by galactic standards but was relatively well off by Nar Shaddaa standards. Turel was immersed into the underworld at a very young age as he spent a lot of time helping in his mother's cantina. His mother tried to keep him away from his father's unseemly work but as Turel grew into a teenager he grew increasingly curious about the darker side of the family business.
As a teenager Turel began to learn how to fight and shoot from his father and older brother. He would try to apply his fighting lessons in the streets of Nar Shaddaa with mixed success.
The 'Family Business' {20 ABY - 32 ABY}
After Turel turned 18 his father felt he was ready to start working in the lower echelons of the Hutt cartel. He started out as extra muscle on simple jobs like protection rackets, spice deals, and smuggling. As he proved himself an effective foot soldier he graduated on to bigger tasks like raids against rival gangs, high value asset security and complex heists.
By 24 ABY Turel had accumulated a voluminous criminal record and thoroughly proven himself to his Hutt superiors. He was elevated to his father's former position as chief enforcer for the Hutt Underboss Vreecha Anjiliac. He excelled in this position as he was the chief of security and de facto commander of the organization's muscle.
File:Vong vs Hutts.jpgTurel fighting for the Hutt underground c. 28 ABYTurel was forced to evacuate Nar Shaddaa during the Yuuzhan Vong War. The destruction of Nar Shaddaa by the Yuuzhan Vong in 27 ABY had a profound impact on Turel as nearly everything and everyone he knew in his life now lay in a smoldering ruin. Turel and the surviving members of his organization relocated to Tattoonie and joined the Hutt underground to fight the Yuuzhan Vong. While his prior experience in the underworld had made him an adept guerrilla fighter, his war record contains little of note beyond a few successful raids against the Vong.
After the war Turel resumed his position in Vreecha's organization and played a large role in reestablishing it on the recovering Nar Shaddaa. Despite his nominal return, the war had changed Turel. The Yuuzhan Vong had shown him the true face of evil. Fighting the Vong had given temporarily given Turel a higher purpose than simply expanding a corrupt criminal enterprise. The destruction of Nar Shaddaa had also placed Turel in the role of victim. For the first time in his life he began to seriously question what he was doing. The destruction of his own life had forced him to confront the times where he had destroyed the lives of others. At this point he did not know what he wanted to do with his life, but he knew he did not want to continue down the path he had been on.
Turel continued to work for the Hutts but switched to a more physical security focus after a particular job in 30 ABY had a tragic ending. Vreecha discovered that his longtime book keeper, Jonas Nost, had been embezzling funds and providing sensitive information to a rival Hutt clan. Knowing that Turel had once served on the bodyguard detail for Nost, the Hutt boss ordered Turel to assassinate the corrupt book keeper. Turel planted an explosive on Nost's personal speeder set to explode when the speeder door was opened. He observed from a nearby building to ensure the explosive did its job. Turel stood powerless as Nost's five year old daughter, Viera, entered the speeder to retrieve a toy trigger the bomb. Viera's death had a profound impact on Turel and burdened him with crippling guilt that he still wrestles with to this day.
In 32 ABY he was secretly approached by his brother Zephon and asked to provide critical information on Hutt security protocols and procedures. Turel provided the data which Zephon used to conduct a successful raid against a Hutt Crime Boss on behalf of the splinter Imperial Remnant faction Emperor's Hammer. The Hutts found out that Turel had provided the insider information and quietly ordered his assassination.
The bounty hunter hired to kill Turel opted to use a firebomb in his apartment. The bounty hunter was sloppy as he failed to verify that Turel had actually died in the bombing. Turel narrowly survived, but only because he got a "bad feeling" as a result of his force sensitivity and was on his way out of the apartment when the bomb exploded. Turel lost most of his right arm in the attack and bears heavy scars to this day along the entire right side of his body from the incident.
Turel spent 6 months under an alias recovering from his injuries. He contacted Zephon after his initial stabilization who used his connections to get Turel off-world and into better medical care in the Aurora Sector. Zephon also funded the fabrication and surgery installing Turel's prosthetic right arm. Turel was grateful for his brother's assistance and for a chance to reconnect with the only real family he had left. This renewed affection made Turel's decision to refuse Zephon's offer to join him in the Emperor's Hammer strike fleet that much more painful. Turel was still unsure of what he wanted to do and was very hostile to joining up with Imperials, who he viewed as agents of oppression. Turel said his goodbyes to his brother and left to pursue his own path in the universe.
The one thing Turel was sure of was his personal need for vengeance against his former employer. Turel returned to Nar Shaddaa and set about locating his former employer Vreecha. It didn't take long for Turel to find Vreecha and to realize that little had changed in the organization during his absence. Using his inside knowledge of the organization security protocols Turel was able to successfully plant a bomb in the Hutt's audience chamber. Turel planted a small, yet sufficient, amount of explosive in Vreecha's throne. The small explosive detonated during Vreecha's morning meeting with his lieutenants. The Hutt's corpulent form absorbed most of the force of the blast thus saving the witnesses from serious injury. Vreecha's massive body exploded covering every inch of the audience chamber and its occupants in Hutt entrails.
The Anjiliac Clan spared no expense in determining the identity of Vreecha’s assassin, hiring an expert slicer to recover an image of Turel planting the bomb from holo footage Turel thought he had deleted. The fact that the assassin was Vreecha’s own former chief enforcer further incensed the clan leaders. The bounty on Turel was reposted for one of the highest amounts ever seen on Nar Shaddaa bounty board.
On the Run {33 ABY - 36 ABY}
Turel began travelling Galactic Alliance space as the Corellian citizen “Adrian Summers” in an attempt to distance himself from the wrath of the Hutts. He had taken various odd jobs for a number of months to eventually land himself a position on the Selonian Shipyards toward the end of 33 ABY. The fugitive worked at the shipyards for three months until he was arrested attempting to flee from a passing bounty hunter. Turel had erroneously believed the bounty hunter had identified him and attempted to steal a small freighter to escape the station.
The Selonian authorities denied “Adrian Summers’” request for extradition to Corellia and transferred Turel to Galactic Alliance Detention Center #42 on Solenia with a 6 month sentence for attempted ship theft and resisting arrest. “The Nest,” as the detention center was commonly known as, was a joint project of the Alliance and Solenian governments staffed by Corellian and Solenian guards. During his time at “The Nest” Turel met his future teammate Edgar Drachen.
View from Turel's apartment in Coronet CityAfter serving his six month sentence, Turel moved to Coronet City and found work as a bouncer in a spaceport Cantina. He lived and worked as Adrian Summers in Coronet City for almost three years. During that period Turel put his prior work experience to good use, rising to general manager of the Cantina. He had also developed a close relationship with the owner of the cantina, a Twi’lek named Tara Prower. For the first time since nearly losing his life on Nar Shaddaa, Turel began to feel happy and at ease.
This period of relative happiness was relatively short lived as a bounty hunter had gone through extraordinary lengths to track Turel to Coronet City. Coronet City was Turel’s mother’s home city and where she settled and eventually passed on after she was widowed. In 36 ABY Turel had sent a poorly encoded message to Zephon to meet him their mother’s grave. The bounty hunter observed the meeting and stalked Turel for days afterwards to confirm his identity.
The bounty hunter attacked Turel as he left the Cantina in an attempt to capture him. Turel was narrowly able to kill the bounty hunter, but knew more would soon follow if he did not leave. He said his goodbyes to Tara, who was the only person who knew his true identity, and fled the planet in the dead bounty hunter’s ship. One of the bounty hunter’s droid had sabotaged the ship’s hyperdrive during flight and Turel found himself thrown out of hyperspace in the Haven system with the ship minutes from self-destructing. He barely made it into an escape pod which he had aimed at the only settlement he could find in the system.
The Path of the Guardian {36 ABY - Present}
A Harakoan hunting party had found the wreckage of Turel’s escape pod and brought the unconscious fugitive to the Odan-Urr Jedi to figure out what to do with him. When Turel woke up he was alone in a room with Liam Torun, the leader of the Jedi on Haven. Liam sensed Turel’s strong, yet latent, Force sensitivity and after coaxing out most of the fugitive’s story, offered him an alternative to running. Liam offered Turel a chance at a new life as a Jedi in House Odan-Urr.
Turel was apprenticed under the Gungan Kah Manet who, recognizing Turel’s aptitude for combat, conducted most of his Force training on missions. Turel joined his master on the Knights of Allusis strike team and served with distinction onBosthirda, Begeren and the liberation of Purity Rock. Turel and Edgar Drachen played a pivotal role in the liberation of Purity Rock as they infiltrated the prison to break out their teammates.
Following Purity Rock, V’yr Vorsa relinquished command of the strike team to remain behind on New Tython to aid the Harakoan tribes in their resistance against the Thuron Monarchy. For his valor in the Battle of Purity Rock, Turel was knighted and appointed to succeed V’yr as Knight-Commander of the Knights of Allusis. Turel’s first act as Knight-Commander was to lead the space battle over New Tython in Operation Daybreak. Following the success of Operation Daybreak Turel lead KoA and K.U.D.F. units into battle during the ground campaign to topple the Thuron Monarchy.
Physical Appearance
File:Researcherguardiancloak.jpgTurel's Professor regalia for the Shadow Academy which are surprisingly more comfortable than they lookTurel is a human male of average height. Standing at five feet and eleven inches, he weighs in at around one hundred an seventy pounds and possesses the svelte build and muscle tone of a welterweight fighter. Turel keeps his salt and pepper hair in a short, military style cut. Turel hates shaving so he usually has stubble or a short cut beard in the same salt and pepper color as his hair. His bright green eyes and cocksure smile convey the confidence of a man who has beaten the odds multiple times and knows it. Despite his outward confidence and initial warmth Turel also has the face of a man for whom the passage of time and countless fights have taken their toll. He has light scarring on the right side of his face, heavy scarring on the right side of his torso and a cybernetic right arm from a failed attempt against his life. His prosthetic right arm extends from the elbow down. Turel opted for a reinforced metal finish as opposed to a skin graft making his prosthesis plainly visible when he doesn't wear long sleeves and gloves.
Turel prefers function over form when it comes to attire. He typically wears dark colored clothing of a utilitarian, yet stylish, nature. He wears a form-fitting jacket, gloves, pants, and boots. He also wears a functional belt containing his lightsaber, grenades and two holsters for his blaster pistols. He also has a set of formal professor robes in Guardian teal he wears for special occasions at the Shadow Academy or whenever the Headmaster assigns him to hall monitor duty.
Personality
Turel is very much a man shaped by his environment. Above all he is a survivor, which is not to say that he is disloyal, only that he is very selective about who he gives his loyalty to. Turel is the type of person one either loves or hates, there is little room for a middle ground. He is direct, almost to a fault, which combined with his mastery of sarcasm makes him initially abrasive to those with delicate sensibilities. His swagger and self-confidence almost reach a level of narcissism, whether it is situationally justified or not.
If one can get past Turel’s bravado and impertinence, he is generally pleasant to be around. He employs his warped sense of humor to try to keep his and his companions’ spirits high. Turel is a valuable friend to have, provided you can earn his loyalty. He tries to keep more allies than enemies though his inner circle of true friends is very small. His non-traditional background makes him far more open-minded and accepting of differences than some of his more traditional Jedi peers.
Prior to joining the Odan-Urr Jedi, Turel struggled with substance abuse, post-traumatic stress and bouts of self-loathing brought on by a series of traumatic events, most notably the death of five year old Viera Nost at his hands. The Jedi order and the new lease on life he gained by joining it has helped him a great deal in keeping his personal demons at bay though he still wrestles with them from time to time. He is extremely private about these struggles and too proud to ever discuss them with anyone else.
Turel regrets many of the terrible things he did during his time in the underworld, specifically the times when he hurt or killed innocents. He did what he had to survive in the world of the Hutt cartel but many jobs took a toll on his psyche. In many ways his journey as a Jedi is a journey of redemption, not so much to any outside entity but to himself.
Philosophical Views
- "I dislike the terms 'Dark Side' and 'Light Side.' Sure, the simplicity of it looks nice on a holopad or sounds great in a lecture hall but the universe, the real universe, operates in shades of gray. I can't imagine any all encompassing Force is any different."
- ―Turel Sorenn, interrupting one of his first lessons as an apprentice
Turel’s views on the Force are almost straight grey and more in line with the new Jedi order than the old. He views the galaxy in shades of grey and views the Force no differently. He dislikes extremes at both ends of the Jedi and Sith spectrum. Traditional Jedi are too restrictive and he’s generally skeptical of Sith teachings as unrestrained passion is often self-destructive. Turel is fascinated by the late philosophies of Revan and ancient Force philosophies that seek balance between what is now called the Light side and Dark side.
As a new Knight his views on the Force are still evolving.
Trivia