| Owen Serrus
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Shintera
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21 BBY (age 63)
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Human
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Male
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1.88 Meters
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Bald (White)
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Brown
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Plagueis
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Naval Officer (Captain)
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Captain of the Ascendancy
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Plagueis
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Captain Owen Serrus is the current captain of the Ascendancy, the flagship of the Ascendant Fleet. He has served Plagueis loyally for decades and continues to distinguish himself through his service.
History
The Young Gambler
Owen was born on the planet of Shintera in the city of Alsvem. The human was fortunate enough to be born into a wealthy family, the eldest son and heir of his father. While the Serrus family was not among the most elite of the city, they were wealthy enough to rub shoulders with the right people and remain in the upper crust. Given his status, Owen was given a proper education and never wanted for much. For his entire childhood, just about anything he could want was quickly made his.
While such a childhood was certainly enough to satisfy Owen, as he neared his adolescence he began to grow bored with life. Never having to work to achieve anything and always being coddled was pleasant, but far from interesting or challenging. In his teenage years he started sneaking out of the house to visit the seedier underbelly of Alsvem. He became entangled with some seedier characters and discovered a love for gambling and card games. He seemed to have a natural luck and talent for them, so he never ended up deep enough into debt that his parents would notice any missing money.
Striking a balancing act between his role as a proper heir to a wealthy family and a serial gambler proved more difficult as Owen neared adulthood and had to start taking on more responsibility. This culminated when one of his lower city contacts started some aggressive debt collecting tactics. This led to the collector’s death at the hands of the Serrus family private security and the resulting investigation into the incident forced the truth out of Owen.
Owen’s father was furious at his son’s disgraceful behavior and demanded that Owen shape up before he graduated from school. Owen promised to shape up and recommit himself to his more proper lifestyle, but his natural talent and practice had honed his skill with lying to a fine degree. He continued his gambling habits, this time going out of his way to ensure his family could never discover the truth. That being said, he hadn’t counted on his father hiring a bounty hunter to eliminate any ties that Owen had left behind when he promised to leave that life behind.
A comedy of errors when the two encountered each other led to Owen nearly dying at the bounty hunter’s hands. His secret was once again discovered, scarcely a year after he’d promised to leave it behind. Owen’s father was done trusting Owen and so he sent his son off to boot camp, hoping to instill some discipline into Owen. With the risk of losing access to his inheritance hanging over his head, Owen had no choice but to play along with his father’s wishes and try to straighten himself out.
Becoming a Military Man
The military on Shintera was influenced by the currently ruling Empire, which meant conformity and order were the norm. Even with the influence Owen’s family provided, the expectations heaped upon him were entirely new. Owen had a rough time adapting to the new lifestyle of hard work and physical exertion and, in that degree, it successfully forced his focus away from the habits he was there to forget. He ended up developing a score of new friends and contacts while he was there and came out the other side with a new perspective on his role in life.
Upon returning home, Owen requested that his father allow him to join the military. His father, while happy that Owen seemed more responsible, was not keen on the thought of his son being put in harm’s way. After several serious discussions on the matter, they came to a compromise. Owen’s father would allow him to attend officer’s school with the aim of becoming an officer in the military if Owen promised to do his best to avoid actively dangerous work. Of course, the Serrus family would be pulling the strings as much as possible to ensure Owen followed through, but this was a promise Owen intended to keep regardless.
Owen excelled at the officer’s school thanks to his natural charisma and educated intelligence. He also had a talent for manipulation that he was able to use to his advantage and found himself much more at home there than he had been at boot camp. He was a natural leader and became well known amongst the student body and faculty. Owen rose to the top of his class and graduated with honors, further cementing his confidence that this was the direction he wanted to take his life in.
When the opportunity arose for Owen to begin his service, he jumped at it. He was still young but had a reputation thanks to his family and his performance at the officer’s school. While this assisted him in his efforts to excel, it also made him some enemies and bitter rivals. Owen felt comfortable working in the military as an officer, but he also felt alone. With his former social circle now distanced from him and his new social circle often at odds with him, Owen turned his attention to networking and finding peers that he could trust.
A Shift in the Paradigm
Owen’s relationship with his family was now on solid ground and his reputation was on the rise. Owen’s father took advantage of the opportunity to further his own social rank by arranging a marriage between Owen and another wealthy elite’s daughter, a young woman named Kieri. Kieri was a pensive young woman who had a serious interest in philosophy and literature that often distracted her from the going-ons of the world around her. The two did not get along well at first, Kieri refusing to come out of her shell and Owen frustrated at his father’s meddling. Eventually, however, as they were forced to spend more time together, the couple managed to find common ground and form a friendship.
Owen and Kieri eventually decided that they did not mind going through with the marriage. They were far from smitten with each other, but their friendship was well on its way towards blossoming into romance. In 1 ABY they were officially married and moved into a small mansion together. Kieri continued her studies, slowly writing up books and papers on her thoughts and discoveries, while Owen continued working in the military, working his way up the ranks while avoiding the bulk of the more dangerous deployments.
In 4 ABY, Kieri and Owen were graced with their first child, a boy who was named Owen Serrus II. However, that was not the only major change to come in that year. With the fall of the Empire, a wave of change swept over Shintera. While Alsvem didn’t fall into rioting like the decades past, the transition was not entirely stable. It was during this time that one of Owen’s rivals in the military, an officer named Ramil Weddrow, decided to take advantage of the disruption to knock Owen down a few pegs. Ramil made sure that Owen ended up on the front lines of the peacekeeping efforts in some of the seedier neighborhoods of Alsvem. As chance would have it, they were some of the same places Owen snuck off to in his youth.
While Owen was on the ground working to pacify the rowdiest of Alsvemites, he encountered more than one of his former acquaintances. Sometimes he managed to talk them down and sometimes he had to turn to more permanent methods. More than once he came close to finding himself seriously injured or worse. All the while, this gave Ramil the chance to discover enough of Owen’s sordid past to begin digging deeper to find all of the dirt he could. When Owen eventually returned from his deployment, things were only going to get worse.
The Gambler Returns
Once Alsvem was properly pacified and the transition was all but complete, Owen returned home for some time off. He was surprised to discover just how much the experience had affected him. He wasn’t a broken man, but he was certainly much less sure of himself. Owen started to fall into his vices to distract himself, particularly drinking and gambling. Unlike before, however, he was now free and legal to gamble properly in a casino, which was an entirely different experience from what he’d had in his youth. He was happy to lose himself in it.
Owen’s want for distraction only became more severe when Ramil leaked out the story of his childhood escapades to Owen’s military peers. Some of them knew already, of course, but Owen’s past going public put renewed strain on his relationship with his father and his relationship with Kieri’s family. Rather than an upstanding military officer with a high pedigree, he was now a formerly irresponsible delinquent falling back into his old habits. Kieri tried her best to be understanding and help him through, but patience had never been a strong suit of hers.
Things came to a head when Owen had a particularly harsh shouting match with his father. His father once again threatened to take away Owen’s inheritance, but rather than try to appease his father, Owen called his bluff and challenged him to do it. The two parted on very bitter terms and it was a few days later that Owen’s younger brother contacted him. It was official: Owen had been disinherited.Kieri decided to stick with him despite what had happened, her father distancing himself from them as well.
It was only when one of Owen’s friends in the military leaked to him that Ramil had been the one behind everything that Owen felt ready to take matters into his own hands. He thought long and hard about what he could do to get Ramil back long and hard, but he knew there was only one way he wanted to settle this. Owen kidnapped Ramil and took him to a private room. There, he forced Ramil into a very high stakes game of sabacc. Ramil resisted at first, but eventually realized there was no way he was going to get out of this without beating Owen. After hours of play, however, Ramil was driven into a corner and forced to play the ultimate bet. A life for a life. Owen, of course, had been angling for this the entire time and was happy to put his own life on the line. One hand of cards later Ramil took a blaster bolt to the brain.
Picking Up the Pieces
Owen’s experience with Ramil had helped him uncover a new truth. He had the power and freedom to take matters into his own hands. He was free from any expectations now, free from what his father wanted for him, and free from the fear of death. He now had the reins of life in his hands for what felt like the first time. So now, he had to steer unless he wanted to drive off of a cliff. The first order of business was covering up what had happened with Ramil. It took some time and effort, but by putting his trust in a few close confidants, Owen made it happen.
Owen then worked on getting his gambling habit under control. Kieri actually convinced him to not give up the hobby entirely. While getting as lost in it as he had certainly wasn’t a good thing, having an outlet for his frustrations was. So, Owen toned down his spending and the time he spent at the casino, slowly trying to wean himself to a healthy level. At the same time, his relationship with Kieri rapidly returned to a robust health, symbolized with their daughter born in 9 ABY. They decided to name her Freya, in reference to the feeling of freedom that had given Owen his epiphany.
Another child soon followed in 11 ABY, a boy whom they named Ronell. By that point, Owen had returned to work in the military, working to restore his wilting reputation. He had built up enough of his own prestige in the organization that the separation from his father and the rumors of his past allowed him to make a quick recovery in that regard. With Alsvem’s isolationism and relative stability, there weren’t many dangerous deployments that he needed to worry about. Owen’s life became fairly regular and comfortable, even with the addition of two more children; Deotri his third son in 13 ABY and Kaya in 14 ABY.
The Arrival of Clan Plagueis
When Clan Plagueis came to the Jusadih system things began to change. Alsvem was not one of the cities that was greatly influenced by their presence at first, but the Clan quickly became a presence that was impossible to ignore across the planet and the system. Owen had never encountered a Force User before, let alone an entire organization full of them, and he had no interest in rocking the boat. So, when it came to interacting with the Clan, he was always amicable, friendly, and diplomatic. However, along with the Clan came some of the Dark Brotherhood’s problems.
In 21 ABY, a war came to Brotherhood space in the form of an invading alien army. This included Shintera and the Jusadih system as a whole. Alsvem was spared much of the direct fighting and, due to their isolationist nature, Owen saw very little of it himself. Until refugees from other nearby regions started arriving at the Sanscrit Isles seeking refuge from their destroyed homes. The governing body of Alsvem decided that they did not want to be flooded with these destitute peoples and so called on the military to repel them.
Most of the military was called upon to protect the Isles from the wave of refugees, including Owen. The fighting wasn’t clean or organized, guerilla warfare preparing as the Alsvem military tried to root out the small, desperate groups of people that were fighting tooth and nail for somewhere to stay. Owen began to develop a true distaste for the fighting, recalling the similar battles that had taken place on a much smaller scale after the fall of the Empire. Things only get worse with the formation of the Jusadih Independence Coalition. While Alsvem neither took up arms against or joined forces with the JIC, the war that occurred between the organization and Plagueis drove more refugees to the neutral city’s borders.
After Plagueis defeated the JIC, a new government came to the system, the Jusadih Military Regime. Months of fighting had finally come to an end and Owen had fallen into a dark place. He loved being in the military, but fighting like this was not what called for him. After a very long and serious discussion with Kieri, Owen turned in his resignation to the Alsvem military and transferred into the Jusadih Naval Command, hoping this would allow him to avoid the dirty fighting that brought him distress.
Building a New Legacy
Transferring to a different branch of the military left Owen with a lot to learn. He was happy to commit himself to it once again, however. This shift in career had breathed the spark of hope back into him and he wanted to excel. Owen was assigned to the Instigator and wasted little time in establishing himself. Remnants of his old reputation carried over, but he had to establish himself anew in this new organization and field. In a few years he had managed to work his way up to Executive Officer of the Instigator.
Owen loyally served Plagueis across many conflicts, feeling much more comfortable with the cold vacuum of space between him and his enemies. However, tragedy struck in 30 ABY with the Horizons Crisis. The Jusadih system was under attack and Kapsina, Plagueis’ base of operations, was decimated. In the ensuing battle, the Instigator was destroyed. Owen managed to escape on an escape pod along with a portion of the crew, but Plagueis had decided to retreat completely from the system.
Owen rushed back to Shintera to evacuate his family before the enemy forces destroyed them. The battle on Shintera wasn’t going well, but Owen managed to get his family out. His youngest son, Deotri, perished in the fighting and chaos. Once the Serrus family was safe and out of the system, they took the time to mourn Deotri. The Serrus family moved with Plagueis as they sought out a new home and worked to rebuild their life. Owen was soon assigned to the Ascendancy, the flagship of the Plagueian fleet.
Over the course of the next few years, Owen’s experience allowed him to rise up to become Captain of the Ascendancy. The Serrus family resettled in Aliso City, where they are living happily under Plagueian rule. Many of Owen’s children took up notable jobs working within the Brotherhood Clan, becoming one of the more prominent families among the Willing. Owen is happy to command the Ascendancy in honor of the Dread Lord and still visits Aliso’s most prominent casinos when he’s on shore leave.
Appearance
Owen is a tall man with a large frame. He is in shape, though has lost some of his musculature thanks to his advancing age. His eyes are still bright, however, despite their dark color and his dark skin helps in hiding most of his wrinkles. He keeps his head shaved bald, but sports beautifully maintained facial hair. His white beard is long and thin, hanging down over his chest, while his moustache is clean and crisp, framing his upper lip. He would likely be considered handsome by most assessments, with broad, masculine features, but is still relatively approachable.
Owen maintains a neat appearance and an aura of confidence radiates from him. While he can turn up the intimidation if he feels the need, Owen usually keeps his body language open welcoming. A slight smile on his face is not a rare sight, but his face is not the most expressive of faces. That being said, it is usually easy to infer what he is thinking or feeling through the way he carries himself and his mannerisms. At least, it is easy to infer what he wants you to infer.
Personality
Owen is a charismatic, friendly person. He is always happy to talk and interact with people and share in a conversation. He has a very open and welcoming demeanor and is often smiling. He can be empathetic when it is called for, but is usually fairly laid back. Although he mostly comes off as pleasant, that is not always the truth of his feelings. He has an excellent poker face and has great control over the minutiae of his expressions and body language. He can easily slip on a mask befitting the situation and is happy manipulating people to maneuver them into a more amicable position. He would much rather keep everyone on good terms even if he does not particularly like them.
Owen makes an effort to keep any truly negative emotions he feels under wraps. He has a distaste for fighting in the physical sense. He has no problem with warfare and issuing battlefield commands, but when it comes to actually fighting or shoot-outs, he’d prefer not to get involved. Despite this, Owen has a bit of a thrill-seeking edge to him, willing to push the envelope and take risks. This has developed into a gambling habit that he uses primarily to blow off steam. He doesn’t take offense easily, but also prefers to avoid offending others.
Although he may seem approachable and friendly, Owen still has a wizened aura that has come with his age. He demands respect from those below him, but doesn’t treat them harshly. He would much rather manipulate them with carefully applied friendly words than through intimidation. He holds respect for his superiors and for Plagueis as a whole, but not an undying loyalty. While he wouldn’t betray Plagueis for his life, he likes to keep his cards close to his chest. He has a strong love for his family and his wife and desires to leave behind a legacy that can surpass that of his father’s.
Skillset
Owen is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, marksman, and commander. He has also more recently become acquainted with naval warfare and piloting, but has proven more than competent in those fields. His primary skill is with people, in diplomacy and manipulation. He is excellent at reading body language and habits and extrapolating their connection to the mind. Owen has also displayed a talent for subterfuge and applies this skill in his day-to-day use. His myriad of skills makes him a potent fighter, naval commander, and gambler. Although some of his more physical talents are beginning to wane with age, his mind is still as sharp as ever.