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Character History
Early Life
A child of Corporate Sector Authority exceutives, Arden lived a relativly comfortable youth on Etti IV. Despite this though, Arden was always a bit of a troublemaker. His parents, veterans of the cutthroat life that was CorpSec politics, didn't seem to mind but those tasked to look after the young man were somewhat terrified to be around him. Despite somewhat above average intelligence Arden never really succeeded at the standard academic pursuits that would have led him to a good career with a corporation. Though a lucrative business career behind a desk was not in the cards for young Arden, there was one skill that he had even at a very young age.
One day when Arden was slightly short of the age of six his father caught him viewing Old Republic propaganda holos that detailed the exploits of a unit of clone sharpshooters. Despite being chastised for watching something so inappropriate for a boy of his age Arden continually pestered his father about wanting to learn to shoot. Eventually his father relented and to get it out of the boy's system made an arrangement where in exchange for arranging for his disability leave not to be terminated an Espo captain would teach his son to shoot. Arden was amazed at the training range at the Espo academy and marveled at the training blaster that was put in his hand. After getting a cursory lesson on safety and proper sighting Arden was told to line up the training target and squeeze the trigger. A bullseye was the result. The amazed troopers in the range all stopped and turned to watch the kid, some even placing bets as to whether or not he could hit the target again. One lucky Espo walked out of there a hundred credits richer as the 6 year old Arden shot just short of the mark needed for basic weapons qualification.
Finally showing some skill at something, his father stopped holding Arden back and fully embraced his new talent. By the age of seven Arden was shooting in and placing well in sector competitions with kids twice his age. When simple targets weren't enough, Arden's father arranged exotic hunting trips for his son on planets all over the Galaxy with the best guides money could buy. These trips though came to an end when the then twelve year old Arden was mauled and nearly killed by a Corellian Sand Panther. Arden still bears the scars of that encounter.
Espo Career
File:ArdenEspo.pngArden in his Espo days
Once he became old enough, around the age of sixteen in 30 ABY, his parents arranged an officer's commission for him in the Corporate Sector Authority Security Police or as they were called locally the Espos. In his time in brown he quickly garnered quite the reputation as a marksman often making seemingly impossible shots without the aid of any more than a simple optical scope which baffled his fellows as well as his superiors. The legend even grew that he had taken out an escaping smuggler from a kilometer away with his eyes closed. The distances were a bit exaggerated and the smuggler had already been wounded but the story was at it's core true.
As it turned out though Arden really wasn't cut out for Espo work. Despite the rather harsh reputation the security police had Arden turned out to have a streak for brutality that shocked even them. His unit had the highest percentage of prisoners that died in custody. His commander, a hawk nose Courscanti named Vosque seemed overly determined to run off Arden and kept sending his unit into situations that were likely to provoke him into doing something stupid. Eventually it worked and Arden was discharged from the Espos in 33 ABY for an incident that even he doesn't talk about to this day
Mercenary Life
Without a steady source of income for the first time in his life, Arden turned to the one thing that he could still do to earn a living. The hard knock life of a mercenary. As it turned out Arden was far more natural in mercenary work than he ever was during his time as an Espo. Working for himself was something he'd always dreamed of always living in the shadows of his successful parents and the constant supervision every law enforcer (if you could call the Espos that) generally chafes under. As it turned out one of his first missions was to help take down Commander Vosque who it turned out was too corrupt even for some of the corporations. Arden took great pleasure in placing a blaster bolt though his skull.
He started out as a freelance corporate "troubleshooter" but eventually fell in with a mercenary company operating out Nar Shaada known as the Jade Dragons. They were the right hands of some corporations that occasionally needed things done that required a bit more muscle then was considered appropriate in polite company. Arden was put in charge of their recon squad and frequently was the first boots on the ground in a combat situation. It was during one of his jobs with the Dragons that he ended up being set on his current direction in life.
Personality Profile
Arden Karn is best described as a cool and calculating individual. As a rule he likes to analyze situations and plot out the best solutions to them. Sometimes that can lead him to costly moments of indecision but only occasionally. He does have a habit of sometimes over thinking a situation but he usually ends up picking the most direct option to solve a problem, especially when it's one his rifle can solve.
Another key personality trait of Arden's is that he doesn't show much external emotion or reaction. This is not to say that he doesn't have strong emotional responses, it's more that he prefers to internalize them rather than act them out. A side effect of this internalization is that he has been known to have a very violent temper which while it proved a curse most of his life now serves him well as a Sith. He a tends to have less expressed reactions to physical pain as well. It would take the most severe forms of pain to get much more than contorted expression or suppressed groan out of him.
Equipment
Rifles
- "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun."
- ―Mao Tse-tung
- "All sorts of power grows out of the barrel of a blaster rifle."
- ―Arden Karn
Arden's E11-s
Instead of taking up the more traditional Sith weapons like a lightsaber, Arden has instead has been trained to use the Force to enhance his already developed skills with a rifle. Thus Arden will most frequently go into battle carrying some variety of longblaster. Over time he has acquired quite a collection of rifles for use in various situations. His standard weapon is the Blastech E-11s which he prefers in general purpose situations. For cases when something with a bit more penetration power is required Arden will generally resort to the somewhat heavier Blastech A280. He's also been known to carry a Xerrol Nightstinger or even a slugthrower in cases where extreme stealth is required. It's also rumored that he owns a sniper modified DXR6 Disruptor Rifle, but he's never actually been seen with the weapon.
Arden's A280
Pistols
When forced into close range combat, which Arden defines as anything under two hundred meters, Arden does reluctantly carry shorter range blaster pistols. Normally he carries a matched pair of Blastech SE-14C pistols that have been colored in green and silver, the colors of the Jade Dragons. Since they both have a scope mount and can be fired in full automatic mode they are useful tools at "short range". Depending on the circumstances he might also carry an additional hold-out pistol, just in case.
Melee Weapons
As a hold back to his Espo days, Arden sometimes carries a stun baton into battle. However this is only in cases where he expects that he'll actually want to take someone alive. More frequently he'll carry a vibrodagger or the like.
Armor and Other Gear
In battle Arden generally prefers not to draw attention to himself and especially doesn't want to draw attention to the fact that he is a force user. Thus he generally wears simple armor similar to that of a normal scout trooper. Given his usual role in combat he prefers either armor or other gear that allow him to blend into his surroundings.
Trivia
Arden has an unusually intense allergy to many forms of mold spores and similar microorganisms. While treatable with antihistamines and other drugs he tends to avoid them since they seem to affect his aim. In order to maintain the peak physical condition for his work as a marksman he generally wears some sort of mask over his nose and mouth in all but the most arid environments or aboard a starship. Simple cloth masks can suffice in most temperate environments though as a general rule Arden prefers to wear something with more sophisticated filtration systems as well as those that are more intimidating in appearance.