defy the tyrannous stars
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To submit an NPC archenemy for use in an upcoming ORC faction storyline.
- Image Credit: The Chosen, XCOM 2
- Role: Varex Zal is the Overseer of a military expedition dispatched from the Sharukan Empire to annex the local powers of the Kathol region and surrounding Outer Rim space, bringing them into compliance with Imperial law and order.
- Links: /
- Age: 62
- Force Sensitivity: Non-Force User
- Species: Sharukan
- Appearance: An almost regal figure, Zal is often adorned with an ornate suit of Sharukan power armor which adds considerable bulk to his already robust frame. Electric purple eyes belie a lifetime of martial discipline and fervent nationalism. Tall for his species, the Overseer stands a full two meters in height outside of his combat exoskeleton.
- Name: Overseer Varex Zal
- Loyalties: Sharukan Empire
- Wealth: While Zal's personal wealth is modest by the standards of his fellow elite Sharuka, as the appointed Imperial Overseer of Kathol space and its surrounding subsectors he is able to call upon the immense manpower and resources of all Sharukan assets in the region he has been assigned. This level of power and influence within his people's hierarchy is comparable to a regional moff in the Galactic Imperial style.
- Notable Possessions: Ceremonial Sharukan Vibroblade, Patriotic Zeal.
- Skills: A lauded veteran general of the Sharukan military caste, Zal has been fighting in power armor since young adulthood. While the past several decades of his career have been spent in command positions, he is still in peak warrior condition and an expert marksman with his people's tensor rifle technology.
- Personality: Overseer Zal lacks none of the arrogant xenophobia that is the typical hallmark of his species, but he is not an excessively cruel man. For now he views his compliance efforts in the Kathol region with a grim sense of annoyance, nevertheless fully committed to carrying out such a dutiful obligation to his people. Zal values honor as his people perceive it, and while fundamentally at odds with the rest of the Outer Rim, he has a personal code which he will not break even at the risk of personal harm or worse, failure in his charge.
- Weapon of Choice: Sharukan Tensor Rifle/Disruptor Sidearm
- Combat Function:
(+) Iron Fist: As Overseer of all Sharukan Imperial occupation forces within the Kathol region, Zal has immense power and influence among his people and rules over their mission of annexation with a militant, authoritarian vigor. - (+) Warmaster: Appointed to his current position from the Empire's military caste, Varex Zal is a seasoned veteran warrior who previously held command over the entire Testoran Guard. An experienced battlefield commander, the Overseer is no stranger to leading his people in wars of subjugation and conquest.
- (+) Ruthless Cunning: Zal did not get to where he is now through mediocrity. He rose through the ranks of the Testoran Guard on the merits of his skill at advanced battle tactics and outwitting his opponents.
- (-) Arrogant: The Overseer is a classic example of predominant Sharukan attitudes towards other sentient species. Believing his own race to be fundamentally superior, there is no particular racial malice in his heart, but Zal's stubborn overconfidence in any given situation no matter the odds can be used against him.
- (-) Tech Dependence: Practically always seen in Sharukan power armor, Overseer Zal relies heavily on his species' advanced technology to level the playing field like all his warriors. Out of their armor most Sharukan are weaker than humans, and while Varex is in peak physical condition for his kind to fight unarmored against a species like a wookiee he would be easily torn apart.
- (-) Death Before Dishonor: Although bizarre by most galactic standards, Zal has a strict personal code which we will not break no matter what. He would rather die than do a disservice to the Sharukan Empire, and although he cares little for the lesser species he is not wholly without compassion for the needs of alien life.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Varex Zal is an uncompromising figure of martial renown within Sharukan society, before his elevation to Overseer of the Empire's compliance efforts throughout the greater Outer Rim he served for decades in the Imperial military climbing the ranks from enlisted man all the way up to flag officer, at one point attaining overall command of the elite Testoran Guard.
The Overseer is no stranger to his people's campaigns to enforce order among their more unruly neighbors, species which the Sharukan consider lesser and detrimental to their people's ideals of rigid adherence to cultural protocols deemed necessary for the greater good. Having served in many such theaters over the course of his lifetime, Zal has helped bring entire worlds to submission in preparation for the upliftment of Sharukan oversight.
This new responsibility will test him like no other, for not only is Varex being asked to prosecute military campaigns, but he is now being asked to supervise their administration and ensure long term adherence to the rule of Sharukan law.
