Giovanni Palermo is a Dark Jedi Knight in the Dark Jedi Brotherhood. A native of Commenor, he spent his early years as a lawyer before being initiated into the Emperor's Hammer. Years later, he fled to the Yridia system and joined Tarentum, where he stayed for nearly a decade before traveling with his master to Arcona space.
Origins
Life as a Lawyer
Giovanni did not grow up in the best or most optimistic of conditions. He was born in 11 BBY and raised in a relatively poor household, his father a struggling chrysopaz gemstone merchant and his mother a waitress at a local pub famous for its brandy. His many siblings did not make his living situation easier, and in order to find some privacy, Giovanni would go into the basement and read the many tomes stored away there. It was when reading those books that he became interested in literature, history, and most of all, law.
Using over ten years worth of savings, Giovanni traveled to Coruscant and began attending school, eventually becoming a lawyer just as he wanted to be. He worked primarily on corruption cases, serving as a young, promising prosecutor. However, his youth was seen as reckless by some of the veteran lawyers, and several of them convinced legal officials to stifle Giovanni's chances of taking part in cases of a larger scale. Feeling as if he were being toyed with by the judicial system, Giovanni looked to the military for furthering his legal career.
The Emperor's Hammer
Giovanni worked as a pilot in the Hammer before working for the Command Staff.
By the time Giovanni turned twenty-five, he had grown tired of the Coruscant scene. He began work in more local districts as a defense attorney, but his prospects were growing dimmer. However, in his attempts to become involved in the military forces of the New Republic, Giovanni found himself straying to the other side of the spectrum. A member of the Emperor's Hammer approached him and invited him to become a part of the TIE Corps within the isolated unit, where he would work as a starfighter pilot.
While first taken aback by the change of work and scenery, Giovanni took the situation to his advantage. He sought out positions based on his skills in law and was offered the job as an assistant to the Security Officer of the Command Staff. His work paid off and he was ultimately selected as Command Attache, and he worked diligently on all proceedings regarding the security of the Hammer and its members. Being the legal assistant to the Security Officer gave him sound opportunities to deal with judicial matters within the unit he served in, and he relished in his suitable workload and his lawful presence.
However, life would take another twist for Giovanni. He soon discovered many abuses and signs of repression when serving in his capacity, finding that the Command Staff's propaganda campaigns intended to smear any and all perceived "enemies to the state." Sickened by the proceedings of the Staff, Giovanni protested these abuses, and though he was largely ignored by his superiors, they did not let his complaints go unnoticed. Soon, the young assistant reached his breaking point, feeling that his freedom of thought was hitting an invisible wall because the enemies he had made due to his dissent would not let him progress in his job.
Feeling that he had no other option, Giovanni began looking toward what was once the Hammer's sister unit for guidance: the Dark Jedi Brotherhood. His study of the Brotherhood brought him close to expulsion by the Command Staff, and his squadron commander threatened to expose his alleged treachery if he continued to observe the proceedings of Antei. In 21 ABY, Giovanni decided to leave the Hammer once and for all, rather than be expelled from it. He fled to the Yridia system and resided in Taras, the capital of Yridia II, and attempted to start anew.
DJB History
Becoming a Dark Jedi
Giovanni's sudden involvement with the dark side was accidental at best. He never considered himself a dark or evil man, instead believing that wherever life took him was a chance to partake in what he loved: Law. Therefore, he was increasingly fascinated by the twisted legal proceedings in the Yridia system, as the courts were influenced by Clan Tarentum. Eventually, he became involved in judicial cases as a defense attorney hired by the figurehead Principality.
What Giovanni didn't know was that he was a Force sensitive, and in many ways, he wished that he wasn't. The flickers of superhuman insight, especially when it came to unintentionally perceiving his clients' thoughts, frustrated him greatly. However, he soon discovered that it proved advantageous in court, as he could sense when defendants or witnesses were lying. He was able to unveil several conspiracies and corrupted motives with his power, even going as far as to have judges disbarred when he sensed injustice from them.
Toward the end of 21 ABY, Giovanni raised Hell in court when he revealed that a prosecutor on Taras was purposely tampering evidence for a crucial murder case, probing the man's mind in order to find the truth. The lawyer hightailed it when the public grew crazy and was pulled aside by a Tarenti, who stated that he could prove useful in the clan. Giovanni hesitantly agreed and was initiated into House Tridens of Tarentum as a Sith. There he met a powerful yet aloof Dark Jedi named Merlance, who agreed to take the new recruit under his wing and teach him the Force.
Giovanni divided between his identity as a Tarenti and his identity as a lawyer, circa 22 ABY.
Early Career
Despite his protests, Giovanni was forced to participate in rigorous exercises that would strengthen him as a warrior rather than a lawyer. He ascended the Journeymen ranks incredibly quickly, learning how to use a lightsaber and practicing a select number of martial arts. However, Giovanni wished to return to law, and he felt stifled by his master's attempts to craft him into what the Battelord considered to be a true Dark Jedi.
Giovanni bit the bullet and endured various deployments inside and outside the Yridia system, dealing with rebellions and outside strikes. He witnessed the Incursion in Antei and later the Reclamation, and he escaped death several times in the process. The turmoil on the battlefield only served to negatively impact Giovanni's physical and mental health, and as a result he grew disinterested in his studies and abandoned his Dark Jedi Knight trials.
Years passed. While conflict still rocked the Yridia system, Giovanni did not wish to be a part of the clan's proceedings. Even when he was forced to transfer to House Reinthaler on Yridia III and was indoctrinated into the battle team Zurhidon, he would not return to his darker studies. Merlance attempted to bring him back to the fold and make him a powerful Dark Jedi, but Giovanni was not interested. His hopes of continuing to work as a lawyer continued to fade - that is, until the year 27 ABY, when the Yridian Kratocracy was born.
Back to Court
Ronovi Tavisaen, Giovanni's master, circa 27 ABY.
It was with the reformation of the Tarentum government over the Yridia system that absolute control over the legislature became crucial to the clan. Influence on the judicial system was especially important, as Tarentum's leaders wished to hold sway over local courts as well as upper courts. Therefore, Consul Ronovi Tavisaen Tarentae desired Dark Jedi who were adept in law to take part in the trials of the citizenry. In her search, she found Giovanni.
While Giovanni had lost faith in ever having a true job in law again, he still read about judicial matters and kept a watchful eye on the changes in the system's government. He had cut ties with Merlance, deciding to seek out a new mentor who would better understand and work with his desires. When an attempt to become a student of Archean Erinos Tarentae fell through, he was summoned to Castle Tarentum to meet with Ronovi. The Prince of Yridia had grown interested not only in Giovanni's legal knowledge, but also in his Brotherhood-related plight - the fact that he had been stuck as a Jedi Hunter for over five years.
Ronovi took on Giovanni as one of two apprentices, the other being Syrna Valkiss, and sent him to Eden City on Yridia IX to work as a defense attorney. While Giovanni's job was technically to convince the Yridians that the judicial system was fair, he still carried out the law as righteously as possible. When he felt that his clients were innocent, he fought for them, refusing to participate in purposely corrupted trials. Despite this, Tarentum honored his work, as he helped them achieve control over court proceedings regardless of the fact that he was fighting for justice. Giovanni later changed to the Obelisk Order, as the Sith Order no longer proved relevant to his work, and went through a brief stint as a member of Reinthaler before the battle team's closure.
Knighthood
Upon the devolution of Tarentum into a house, Giovanni saw his master work laboriously over keeping the unit strong while Quaestor. The hold that the Dark Jedi had on the courts was beginning to deteriorate, and Giovanni found it difficult to hold sway as a servant of the Ethnarc. When a plague of Rakghoul threatened the system until sister houses Naga Sadow and Taldryan arrived, the masses, instead of clinging more to their kratocracy as any other populace would have done, decided to retaliate.
Ronovi resigned from the position of Quaestor after being summoned to Lyspair to serve the Shadow Academy, and for a long while, Giovanni's training did not progress. He began to isolate himself once again when the courts began to crumble, using his books and studies as a familiar comfort that he had relied on in his earlier years. Tarentum became further withdrawn from Yridia politics at that point, but the Hunter still felt a sense of quietude and ennui from its members. It wasn't until after the Independence Games that he saw Ronovi more and more frequently in the castle halls, angrily dissenting against Sith Bloodfyre's decisions to revert or ignore many of her projects. At last, Ronovi arrived in Giovanni's quarters one night and asked if he would depart with her to Dajorra space.
Giovanni agreed to travel with Ronovi and former Ethnarc Stanson Rend, while Ronovi's other apprentice refused to go and wound up being killed on Yridia IX. The two Dark Jedi were both sent to House Qel-Droma of Clan Arcona, and Giovanni continued his law work in the courts of Estle City. At long last, he completed his Dark Jedi training, becoming Dark Jedi Knight in 29 ABY, shortly before the Tenth Great Jedi War. In response to this honor, he focused his entire energy into being a lawyer once more, finally accomplishing what he had always wanted.
Characteristics
Physical Appearance
Giovanni is a middle-aged man, tall but holding a professional aura about him. He wears his brown hair long yet has it well combed and usually tied back, and he keeps himself well maintained. While occasionally he will grow out a mustache or beard, he finds that stubble is unbecoming and facial hair bothersome, and he will normally keep his face clean shaven. His eyes are an emerald green, bright and piercing as if he is staring into the heart of each person giving testimony.
Only wearing armor or robes when it is required of his occasional deployment as a Dark Jedi, Giovanni prefers three-piece suits. He is a man of fashion and taste, something he developed as a lawyer. His financial success after being raised in a poor environment allows him to dress well and comfortably, and while he is not gaudy, he leaves quite an impression on those who view him in court.
Combat
In truth, Giovanni does not enjoy fighting, though he does hold some skill in martial arts. He has practiced in grappling and Hapan Boxing, using the moves as self-defense mechanisms when necessary. Giovanni will occasionally carry a hold-out blaster with him in court, in case his life is threatened. He has also wielded blaster rifles when deployed on certain missions, though he despises having to kill anyone and merely prefers to threaten him or her.
Giovanni has built a lightsaber, a simply constructed one with a green plasma blade. However, he rarely activates it, and he does not carry it in courtrooms for fear of revealing the fact that he is a Dark Jedi. He will only use his saber as a last resort, should someone attempt to take his life.
Personality
Giovanni, in reality, is not exactly a true Dark Jedi - while he is a Force sensitive, he remains in the Brotherhood in order to have a safe place to live and a good job in law. He is in fact a sweet, kind, and gentle man, though he can be short-tempered. Many of his fellow legal partners and fellow Dark Jedi claim that he is firm and always honest, as he does not like to sugarcoat his own thoughts and opinions. Giovanni has a major penchant for literature, history, trivia, and law.