OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Make use of soul stones that were recently subbed for Eldorai. This character also expands on the Eldorai exodites and especially the Shadow Knights, showing a greyer side to the rebel group.
Image Credit: Here.
Role: Quasi-undead Shadow Knight squadron commander, soldier.
Permission: Blanket permission for anything made by Val here. Can use Archangel and Firemane stuff because I own the companies. Permission for all ArmaTech gear and all other subs made by Laira Darkhold's writer here and here.
Links: Eldorai, Eldorai Exodus from Kaeshana, Yohara Taenasi.
PHYSICAL INFORMATION
Age: 64.
Force Sensitivity: Non-Force User.
Species: Eldorai. Her soul has been transferred into a Spirit Gem.
Appearance: In terms of appearance, Kytara's life essence is encased inside a blueish gem. It has metal setting, electronic components and a power source. However, this is safely nested inside an HRD or a starship. So most people will see the mechanical construct she happens to pilot. Her HRD body looks like a slender Eldorai female with blue eyes, pointed ears and short black hair. Its skin is cloned, and the blood and other organic materiel is synthetic. The organic exterior conceals a machine. Its skeleton is a mix of metal and high strength polymers. Her gem can be plugged into a specially modified X-Wing when she wants to make use of her abilities as a combat pilot. Or she can utilise her droid body to fly such a craft.
SOCIAL INFORMATION
Name: Kytara Valon.
Loyalties: Shadow Knights, Court of the Shadows, Banshee Squadron, Exodite Asurans She has ties to the Chapter of the Black Trade
Wealth: Low. Kytara had some loot stashed away from past missions, but she is not rich. She has access to the resources she needs to fulfil her duties. Her transmutation has largely freed her of organic needs.
Notable Possessions:
- Spirit Gems. The gem contains the trapped essence of Kytara. Her spirit is trapped inside it, but can be interacted with like one would do with a Shard or an enteched being. The transmutation is permanent and cannot be reversed. The nested gem can be plugged into a ship, vehicle or droid, enabling Kytara to affect the world around her. Obviously she is limited by the capabilities and weaknesses of her 'host'.
- X-Wing (modern equivalent). In life Kytara was skilled as a pilot. She has continued to make use of these skills in her unlife. To this end, she has a personal X-Wing.
- HRD body. Kytara possesses an HRD body. She can be installed into it in a similar manner to a Shard. This allows her to move around and interact with the world. The HRD was originally built by Archangel, the machine cult that is responsible for killing Kytara in the first place. It was stolen by the Shadow Knights. When Kytara uses this body, her gem is implanted inside the chest cavity.
- YT-1300 light freighter: Kytara's old smuggling ship. It represents one of the few connections she has left to her old life, so she has held on to it.
- Renegade Model 557
- Hypnogaze.
- Hold-out Bolter
- Various mementos from Kaeshana and the planets she has visited. These are keepsakes that connect her to her old life and her dead parents.
In life, Kytara acquired a considerable knowledge of the inner workings of the underworld, knowing how to traverse it and having connections in several organized crime syndicates. She also has knowledge of how to research patrols, fake papers and ship identifications, and bypass security. She possesses knowledge of hyperspace routes and the ability to manoeuvre around and through treacherous space, avoid patrols, pass through inspections and run blockades. These qualities make her a good smuggler, privateer and insurgent. Her quasi-undead self still possesses these skills and uses them for the benefit of the Eldorai renegades.
Languages: Due to her species, Eldarai, which is the Eldorai language, is her mother tongue. She also knows Basic, Huttese, and speaks Zandri, the main Qadiri language, Xio, and Twi'leki fairly well. Kytara did not have an academic education, but is an autodidact. As a soulstone being she can learn very fast since she does not get tired or need to eat.
Personality: The Shadow Knights regard themselves as the champions of the common Eldorai people and their cousins. When Kaeshana was devastated by a huge asteroid, they banded together to defend the Eldorai who had been left behind by the Eldorai Matriarchy - the Forsaken. They kept watch over the post-apocalyptic wasteland until foreign invasion forced them to retreat to the stars. Now they have evolved into a paramilitary organisation of renegades and exiles that seeks to build a fairer, more just society based on merit rather than privilege. That is the official party line. There is some truth to it, but it is not the whole truth. Well-intentioned they might be, but they are also militant survivalists who represent a faction among many in a deeply scarred, fractured race. Life in their nomad fleet is harsh and threats are never far. Their laws are strict. The Shadow Knights do what is needed to survive, while ignoring more tender moral questions.
Kytara is a product of this society, though she was originally not a member. Certainly not a zealous believer in their cause. Young in years and lowborn, she was robbed of her life long before her time had come. After being mortally wounded in a battle with Archangel's droid legions, the renegades recovered her body. Deeming her skills as too valuable to lose, they transferred her essence into a spirit gem. As a result, Kytara's life force has been allowed to continue beyond death. But she is not truly alive. Rather she is stuck in limbo, not quite alive, but also not truly dead. The process is irreversible, meaning she can never return to true flesh.
In terms of personality, Kytara is a bit of a jokester and prone to sarcasm, even in death. She has retained a bit of her original persona, but is now fully on board with the cause of the Shadow Knights. Kytara is by no means a mindless, brainwashed drone who must obey without question. She stil possesses free will and is capable of emotional responses to situations. Despite her irreverent persona, she cannot escape the nature of her existence. Her life has been extended, but her time is still finite. One day her essence will fade away, assuming she is not destroyed in battle before. She has been robbed of true sensation. Perhaps humour is one way for her to deal with her rather grim existence. There is a part of Kytara that believes she wasted her short organic life and that it is now up to her to make her unlife count. This includes devoting herself to something greater than herself.
Kytara is lowborn and feels strong resentment towards those who were born to wealth and privilege. The fact that the Eldorai upper class abandoned people like her during the Exodus has only increased her disdain. Contact with them causes a rather wicked streak in her personality to manifest. If she finds herself in a situation where she has power over a blue blood, she enjoys humiliating them. She is loath not to exploit an opportunity to get back at the great and good of society.
Without the birthright of noble ancestry or the fortune of the upcoming business elite she was never able to get the best education or material possessions. This did not make her stupid, just lacking in formal education. Indeed, she has always been very observant. While she lacks a classical education, she has a very practical form of intelligence and good street smarts. Ironically, Kytara has a lot more time to learn now since she does not need sleep or nourishment. She is an autodidact and has made good use of her off-hours to educate herself about a variety of subjects that extend beyond what is needed to be a soldier.
Because she grew up in poverty, her old self was rather materialist. She does not have much use for material possessions in undeath though. Even before her transmutation, Kytara was capable of ruthless action. Her life was never an easy one and she grew up on the fringes of the Matriarchy's authoritarian, classist society. Her views on gender roles are more egalitarian than those of many Eldorai females. Her big hero was her father and she put her life on the line to try and rescue him from the Matriarchy's gendarms. While not a member, Kytara has ties to the Black Traders, a network of smugglers and spies who work for the Shadows. Some of her old comrades have ended up there.
COMBAT INFORMATION
Weapon of Choice: Starfighter. In her HRD form she is capable of using various ranged and melee weapons.
Combat Function: Kytara's primary combat function is that of a pilot. In life she was capable of piloting small craft such as starfighters, interceptors, blockade runners and freighters. She could conduct assault, recon and infiltration operations. She has retained her piloting skills in unlife. Indeed, they seem improved. She can use her droid body to pilot a ship, but her gem can be plugged into a starfighter, which allows allows her to interface directly with the craft's systems. Freed from organic constraints, she can perform manoeuvres that would be beyond the ability of an organic pilot. She is talented in small team leadership, gunslinging and slicing.
Her secondary combat function is represented by her HRD body. She uses this body to interact with the world outside of her cockpit and participate in combat if needed. While piloting it, she has the traditional strengths and weaknesses of an HRD. Her droid host makes her incredibly strong, fast and resilient. In addition, it allows her to blend in among normal organics. She also does not tire. However, though she uses a mechanical body, Kytara is not a droid. She can feel fear and have other emotional reactions that could cause her to act irrational or make ill-advised decisions. Moreover, while tough, the droid body is vulnerable to ion, EMP and electrical discharges. This obviously extends to electricity-based Force powers such as Sith Lightning and Disable Droid. Attacks of this nature can damage vital systems even if the body is not destroyed.
Kytara's spirit gem is protected with a small shield generator and reinforcement. This makes it difficult to destroy - but not impossible. Powerful attacks or ion blasts can disable or destroy the gem. Should it be destroyed, her unlife will come to an end. If this were to occur, her spirit would be released into the Netherworld. Kytara's gem cannot move itself, so she will be extremely vulnerable if she is not plugged into a machine, vehicle or ship - or if the construct in question has been disabled. She is unable to leave her host on her own. Rather she needs to be plugged out and removed. This means she cannot just leave a damaged droid or starship she has been plugged into without external aid. This is obviously a problem if say her starfighter crashes or her HRD body is disabled. Force-Users are more common among the Eldorai than humans, but Kytara cannot use the Force herself. She can observe the effects of the Force and counter it as far as tech allows that, but she may have trouble assessing potential dangers if she goes up against someone who is actually Force-Sensitive.
Kytara does not operate in a vacuum. She will usually work with Banshee Squadron, a special unit of elite pilots and commandos. Like her, all of the Banshees have had their souls transferred into spirit gems. The team works well together and has excellent coordination, but they are a small unit and thus suited for sabotage, raids and hit-and-fade attacks.
Force Abilities (Force Users Only): N/A.
Strengths:
- Kytara is an extremely skilled pilot and squadron commander. Her soul gem is able to interface with starships, further augmenting her piloting skills. She specialises in piloting small craft such as starfighters and freighters.
- Use of her HRD body gives her impressive strength and resilience. This allows her to act as a commando, making use of her skills as a gunslinger and melee fighter. She can also use it to blend in among normal organics.
- Her soul gem is sturdy, but can be destroyed by powerful attacks or potent ion blasts. Destruction of it will cause her spirit to be released to the Netherworld. Kytara requires external aid to move her soul gem to a different host if the one she is presently occupying is disabled or severely damaged.
- Has the usual weaknesses of the host she happens to occupy. The HRD body is vulnerable to ion, EMP and electrical discharges. These can damage or destroy vital systems.
- Kytara is, to all intents and purposes, in a limbo between life and death. Her near-death has given her a fair share of trauma. A strong mentalist could exploit this to disorientate or torture her mentally. Though she can use a droid's body or be plugged into a ship, she is no machine and can have emotional reactions such as fear.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Today, the Eldorai are a scattered people. Once they were isolated from the rest of the Galaxy, but now they have been thrust onto an infintely greater stage than they could have possibly imagined. They have lost their homeworld twice and now most of them live a nomadic existence on ark ships. Conservative Eldorai had a tendency to romanticise the good old days, when Tirathana VI ruled with an iron fist and Kaeshana was free of foreign rulers.
As is so often the case, this nostalgic view is deceptive. The ancien régime could only be maintained through propaganda and repression. Kaeshana might have been independent, but the Star Queen's refusal to modernise Eldorai society left it vulnerable to foreign predators. Kaeshana remained backward and when the Eldorai could not deny their weakness any longer, they were forced to play catch-up by relying on foreign patrons such as Firemane, who soon came to vassalise them. Her merciless repression of reformist or dissident group only ended up radicalising them. Moderates who supported peaceful change were swept away by extremists who believed that only secession or violent revolution could achieve success. With the benefit of hindsight, the seeds of the Great Scattering had been sown a long time ago.
Kytara was one of the Eldorai who were born in this time period. She would live through an era that turned the Eldorai's once orderly world upside down. She was born far away from the gleaming city of Santaissa, capital of Kaeshana and seat of the Star Queen. Raised by the sea, she lived on the fringes of Eldorai society. The Eldorai had a clear notion of where everyone's place in society was. Their class barriers were rigid and only a select few managed to penetrate them. The Star Queen was on top, being both a temporal ruler and the High Priestess of the Goddess Ashira. Then came the nobles and the clerics. Women came before men, Force-Users before Non-Force-Users. Commoners were expected to know their place and defer to the highborn. To raise a hand in protest or opposition to the established order was regarded as heresy, for it had been ordained by the Great Goddess. The church preached that rebels would suffer eternal torment in the hellish pit of Illyria, and grew rich by through the sale of indulgences that promised remission before the Goddess of the punishment due to sin.
In the stratified society of the Eldorai Matriarchy, many families had an assigned vocation that was passed down from generation to generation. There was very little social mobility in Eldorai society. Kytara's distant ancestors had braved the seas, but then became pilots. By galactic standards, the aeroplane was extremely primitive. However, the Eldorai's tech level was early-hyperspace. Piloting is rather dangerous on Kaeshana due to the planet's unusual, tempestous climate. Vast storms forms because of the large mountain ranges and canyons. This creates great turbulences, flooding and menacing lightning storms.
Maintaining, let alone possessing, an aircraft was expensive and so her parents were indebted to a minor noblewoman, acting as her on call pilot. In addition, they ferried cargo and performed aerial surveying. Her mother Lasina was the pilot, while her father Kaeshel acted as navigator. The hours were long and though it was better than toiling the fields out in the sun, their income was small. Moreover, they lacked social status. While the lady they served was from a minor family, she was still a highborn and she made them feel it.
Kytara's earliest memories are of the first time her parents took her into the sky with them. It did not take long for her to become enraptured with idea and the stars. For a while she was a servant girl for the noble family. However, her time as a maid was an unhappy one for her. One of the noblewoman's daughters conceived a strong dislike for her and accused the young girl of stealing. While the accusation could not be proven, she received a beating. Her parents managed to keep their jobs because their piloting skills made them difficult to replace. Kytara soon felt strong resentment towards the aristocrats that lorded it over the common folk.
Her time as a house servant was a short one. Her parents tried to educate her about the need for discretion. To give her some practical knowledge, they taught her how to navigate, use a compass and eventually pilot. The girl eventually learned that her family smuggled to supplement their income. It was convenient that they had access to an aircraft and few highborn paid attention to people they considered to be on the same level as servants. Kytara was initiated into the underworld, but her parents tried to keep her away from anything too dangerous. She helped hide contraband, organise shipments and be on the lookout for patrols.
Sadly, tragedy struck while she was still very young. Her highborn mistress wished to attend a festival in Santaissa. Kytara's mother warned her of a storm and advised her to delay the journey, but the noblewoman insisted that she could not be late and that they would fly immediately. Inevitably there was a crash. Kytara's mother Lasina died along with the noblewoman. The noblewoman's eldest daughter took over the estate. She blamed Kytara's parents for the calamity. To punish them, she had Kaeshel flogged. Young Kytara was physically chastisted for being 'uppity'. Then the grieving father and daughter were banished from the noble family's lands.
The events were a black mark on their record, depriving them of legitimate opportunities. They were also embittered against the nobility. So the pair turned to the criminal underworld. The Eldorai Matriarchy was far less united than its leaders would have liked. Beneath the surface of unity and obedience, criminal gangs and rebel terrorist groups flourished. All those who defied the laws of the Crown were lumped together as 'Dark Eldorai' by the ancien régime, notwithstanding their often highly divergent ideology. It was a world of secrecy, conspiratorial intrigue and glamourised violence. Kytara would find it meshed well with her. The duo put their skills as pilots to good use. The family had some smuggling on the side, but now it became their main occupation.
In the process they found employment with an Eldorai smuggler, crime lord and political dissident called Varisanthra Lycaeni. Once Varisanthra, or Vari as she preferred to be called, had been a civil servant in the employ of a minor Eldorai noble. Her attempts to improve local infrastructure and introduce a more equitable form of taxation had put her in opposition to vested interests. Her patron had been banished for seeking the help of offworlders to thwart pirate attacks. Charged with treason, Vari had been able to escape. Feeling vengeful against the Matriarchy, she had decided to undermine it through crime. Kaeshel and Kytara became pilots in her smuggling organisation. The first time Kytara left Kaeshana in a freighter and saw the stars, she was entranced.
Vari was an aloof but fair boss. She was also less sexist than other Eldorai females and thus treated Kaeshel decently. At first Kytara served as her father's co-pilot and navigator. To protect herself, she learned how to use a gun, knife and blade. They were introduced foreign weapons that were a great innovation for the Eldorai: Blasters. Eldorai soldiers were still using Stasers, a primitive slugthrower/blaster hybrid that was long out of date. She learned how to cheat and fool inspections.
The duo made a good team. Among other things, they smuggled commodities, electronics, forbidden literature and spice. Her father was a bit troubled by smuggling narcotics. However, beggars could not be choosers. Ironically, many of Vari's customers were Eldorai nobles, since only they could afford spice. Here and there they also smuggled Eldorai revolutionists. One such job proved to be their undoing. A mole leaked information to the Investigators of Ashira's Truth, the dreaded secret state police. Pursued, they tried to flee. Kytara was injured in the pursuit but managed to get away. However, her father was captured by the government enforcers. Most of the shipment was lost.
Angered and feeling guilty for, as she saw it, abandoning him, Kytara demanded to speak to the boss. This was highly unusual. She and her father were good pilots, but still low level and so they obviously mostly dealt with Vari's lieutenants. Vari was very reluctant to carry out a rescue operation. Leaving aside the fact that it was just one employee, the government had initiated a large scale crackdown. It had hit her organisation hard. Thus she intended to leave Kaeshana. However, because she sympathised with Kytara - and saw an asset she could cultivate - she provided her with information about the prison he was probably being held in and gave her some money. Kytara used it to purchase equipment and hire some Dark Eldorai terrorists with a grudge against the government.
The team managed to infiltrate the facility. Unfortunately, the rescue operation was a failure. The government soldiers were under orders to do whatever was necessary to prevent the escape of 'foreign collaborators' and 'heretics'. Kaeshel was murdered. Kytara shot her father's killer, but there was nothing she could do for him. She had to be forced to leave the building instead of throwing her life away fighting the Crown's enforcers. She could not bring her parents back - but she could avenge them. As a result, she set her sights on the noblewoman who had been the cause of their misery. Most of the Dark Eldorai she had hired were understandably unwilling to sign up for another job after this one had gone south. However, the failed rescue attempt had resulted in some other political prisoners being able to flee. Some were very eager for revenge and decided to join her cause.
By now the noblewoman had moved up in the world, having been rewarded by Tirathana VI for her zeal in combating malcontents, heretics and uppity peasants. Kytara was hungry for revenge, but had learned from her mistakes. Her father had died because she'd acted impulsively. So rather than go in guns blazing, she followed the advice of her more experienced comrades. She took time to study her target's schedule and habits. After concocting a plan, the team boarded the noblewoman's atmospheric luxury yacht. Gas was used to dispose of several of the guards. Not used to fighting herself, the noblewoman was easily overpowered. Then Kytara shot her. Indeed she unleashed her anger by riddling her with blaster bolts.
Then the group made their escape, taking the yacht with them. At this stage the Eldorai by and large did not have space-worthy vessels, save for military fighters. Thus the yacht could only travel in the atmosphere like an aeroplane. However, the ship made a fine prize and so Kytara delivered it to Vari's agents. By now the crime lord had written her off, so she was pleasantly surprised and impressed. She later had her agents modify the ship to make it capable of travelling in space. It became her personal transport. Kytara left Kaeshana behind her. There was nothing for the young orphan on the Eldorai homeworld. She was given her own freighter and a place in Vari's organisation. Now she explored the space ways and saw a Galaxy most Eldorai knew virtually nothing about. She was soon at home in the criminal underworld.
Eventually Vari legitimised her business ventures. For a while Kytara stuck around, transitioning into the role of a combat pilot. She flew escort missions to protect cargo ship convoys and participated combat operations against tin pot dictators who needed to be convinced to repay their debts to the Eldorai banker. But then Kytara took her leave. The loss of her family had left wounds and she wanted to settle down, desiring some peace and quiet. She used her new-found freedom to travel before settling down in Republic space. Putting down roots on Alderaan, she found a teaching position as a flight instructor at a local academy. She maintained sporadic contact to the Eldorai exiles, but did not want to commit to hare-brained schemes for revolution on Kaeshana. Meanwhile, changes were taking place back home. Kaeshana's new rulers had joined the Omega Protectorate and were trying to transition from a totalitatian theocratic monarchy to enlightened despotism. Some dissidents returned to Kaeshana, encouraged by a general amnesty for those who disavowed violence. Some believed they could bring about change through peaceful means. Others continued the struggle, insisting that no peace could be made with the ancien régime and that change could only be achieved through the barrel of a gun. However, Kytara felt no desire to return.
Her peaceful, quiet life came to an end when the One Sith began their campaign of conquest. Alderaan was one of the worlds that became a battleground and fell to the Sith, who let their Vong minions Vong-shape it. Kytara managed to escape the devastated planet, granting some refugees passage on her freighter in return for coin. Embracing her role as a pilot, she returned to her roots. The Netherworld Event threw the Galaxy into chaos and so there was high demand for her skills.
However, she felt purposeless. The destruction they had wrought on Alderaan had left Kytara with a feeling of strong disdain for the One Sith. So she loosely associated with rebel groups that opposed them. However, she was no idealist and would obviously not work for anyone who could not pay her. Then she learned of Kaeshana's desolation. The planet was devastated by a huge asteroid. Firemane had been able to evacuate the ruling class and the vast majority of the population, but some Eldorai had to be left behind. Most of these Forsaken were dissidents or low class Eldorai. They struggled to survive in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Resources were scarce, so various warlords and Dark Eldorai groups competed fiercely. One of them was a group called the Shadow Knights, a paramilitary organisation that had been founded by rebels and ex-soldiers who had deserted from the Eldorai army. The young Eldorai could not deny the call of the motherland. It was still her homeworld, after all. Moreover, the people who had been left behind were the 'dregs of society'. Those who had been deemed non-essential by the Eldorai upper class she so despised. At first Kytara smuggled supplies to Kaeshana and helped refugees leave the planet for a price.
Eventually she became a privateer and smuggler on call for the Shadow Knights, though she also worked for other Dark Eldorai groups. This caused a number of Shadow Knights to distrust her. Resources were scarce, and so the rebels had to obtain many supplies through raids or deals with criminals. She made herself a name as a blockade runner, smuggler and raider. When the combined forces of the Galactic Alliance, the Tygaran Alliance and Firemane clashed with those of the First Order on Kaeshana's surface, the Shadow Knights sided with the former. There was no love for Firemane or the Matriarchy in their ranks, but their estranged cousins promised to help the Forsaken leave or rebuild the broken homeworld.
Kytara had not been on Kaeshana when the first shots were fired, having been away on a mission. However, once she heard about events, she put her life on the line to deliver weapons and munitions to her beleaguered allies. She was able to pierce the First Order's blockade. Though damaged, she used her ship to deliver air support to allied forces. However, eventually the Galactic Alliance was forced to withdraw its forces from the planet, leaving Kaeshana under First Order occupation. Until the end of the battle, the allied forces had maintained a safe haven for Eldorai refugees at the ruins of the Citadel of Dusk. These were evacuated during the retreat. The Shadow Knights managed to escape. Rather than submit to the Crown or accept Kaeshana's new rulers, they pooled their resources into the creation of a nomad fleet. Their goals were to build a new future for their people beyond the old tripartite order of crown-altar-nobility and one day liberate the homeworld.
Stay-behind cells remained on Kaeshana to resist its new rulers. For a while Kytara supported their efforts, delivering ammunions, weapons and supplies to them. She also helped political dissidents escape. It mirrored the days when she had opposed the Matriarchy. She and other Shadow Knights acted in support of the Alliance during its war with the First Order. However, the end of the conflict put an end to these efforts. This also put an end to any notions of liberating Kaeshana any time soon. Her relations with Shadow Knight leaders were not always. Kytara was notoriously independent and did not take well to military discipline. She also had contacts with other groups of Eldorai rogues, some of which were in competition with the Shadows.
Over time she became more of a combat fighter pilot and less of a smuggler. She made herself a name as a daring - and sometimes reckless - fighter. She flew escort missions for the nomad fleet and participated in raids. Her greatest success - and downfall - came when the Shadow Knights clashed with Archangel. The machine cult had already menaced Kaeshana during the Long Night after the cataclysm, attacking pockets of survivors to process them into machines. Now they threatened the nomad fleet by attacking colony ships and independent Eldorai settlements.
Kytara lost friends during one such Archangel attack. Forced to flee due to their superior numbers, she vowed revenge. Her moment came when the Shadow Knights launched a joint attack with Enyo Typhos' insurgency. Ironically, Enyo was an Archangel experiment - and a clone of Firemane's leader - but had turned on her genocidal creators. The battle with Archangel's forces was a fierce one, for the machine cult had been able to gain access to technology of the Contingency following the failed Incursion. In addition to its droid legions, Archangel had powerful warships. Kytara fought in the battle alongside Banshee Squadron, a Shadow Knight unit.
At one stage, enemy interceptors attacked her, but the Eldorai pilot did a 180, so that the enemy flew past. She blasted them then swiftly took out another. However, casualties were mounting on the side of her allies. Archangel had employed a reverse-engineered Contingency fear weapon to terrify organic pilots. Kytara herself was affected by it. Terror threatened to grip her, but it intensified her anger when she remembered all those she had lost. The loss of control drove her to daring - and possibly reckless - action. The pilot carried out an attack run on a large enemy capital ship, diving into the superstructure of the repurposed Contingency vessel to torpedo it. However, this also paved the way for her downfall. She was heading back after her trench run and the detonation of the enemy vessel smashed her attack craft and destroyed its life support systems. Her allies were able to recover her, but it was too late to keep her from suffering mortal wounds. Medical treatment could not save her. Not the conventional kind of treatment at any rate.
However, the Shadow Knights had other options. In the aftermath of the downfall of her creators, Enyo took control of Archangel. Her alliance with the Eldorai renegades was short-lived. However, the Shadow Knights had been able to get their hands on some Archangel technology, including entechment. They had suffered heavy losses in the battle and needed to preserve what resources they had - and their most important resources were the bodies and minds of their operatives. So Kytara was subjected to an experimental medical procedure to preserve her in unlife. It would be a shame to let her skills go to waste and allow Illyria to claim her. So her essence was transferred into a new version of the soul stones that had been used by the Eldorai for centuries. Its use had always been controversial among the elves because death was a natural part of life to them and using such artificial means to avert it was treated as troubling. Especially since it amounted to a dark parody of life. However, some people were too useful to lose. An Eldorai scientist called Yohara Taenasi was responsible for the procedure. She had invented the next generation of spirit gems and Kytara was one of her first candidates.
When Kytara awoke from her slumber, she no longer had an organic body. Instead her soul had been trapped inside a crystal. She was later given the body of an HRD. This was darkly ironic since the droid had been designed by Archangel. Undoubtedly it was a massive shock for her. She had difficulties adjusting, and spent some time under observation before she was cleared for active duty again.
Then she was assigned to the reborn Banshee Squadron. The squadron had been all but wiped out in the battle, but like her the pilots were trapped in soul stones. Like her, the pilots now reported to duty in unlife. Shadow Knight propaganda depicted them as heroes, who had made the ultimate sacrifice yet continued to serve their people even in death. Indeed, there are propaganda posters depicting the squadron, along with the words: "For them death is no excuse. Is it for you?" Some Shadow Knights were troubled by these measures, fearing that it was too close to the methods of the enemy and denied their comrades the final rest they deserved. But most of their leaders justified it as an unfortunate necessity to ensure the survival of their people.
Kytara has remained with the Shadow Knights since her rebirth. Her anger seems to have abated, though she is still capable of emotional reactions. She seems more committed to the cause. However, though her life span has been extended, she is not immortal. One day her essence will have dissipated from the gem and entered the Netherworld. Until that day comes, she wants to make every day she exists count.
While not an atheist, Kytara was never pious in life. However, recently she has sought out the Congregation of the Holy Barrier, a new religious movement that caters to soulstone beings. It means she is among people who share her struggles and trials. Moreover, they can help her address her fears about the new nature of her existence and the trauma she has suffered. The faith has given her a sense of community, and solidarity that mainstream Shadow Knight society cannot. As a result, she is loyal to it, though prone to irreverence.
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