Thaaros Klopp

[Thaaros Klopp]

Thaaros Klopp​

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NAME: Thaaros Klopp.

FACTION: Republic Remnant.

RANK: Captain (Navy).

SPECIES: Human.

AGE: 50.

SEX: Male.

HEIGHT: 1.91m / 6ft 1in.

WEIGHT: 72kgs / 160pounds.

EYES: Silver/Grey.

HAIR: Brown, greying on sides.

SKIN: White, Pale.

FORCE SENSITIVE: No.




STRENGTHS:
ü Loyalty – It takes a lot to earn Thaaros’s loyalty and respect but once it has been earned it can rarely be lost. For example, he is in unswerving in his dedication to the ideals of Freedom and Justice that were set down by the Republic.
ü Experience – Thaaros has always had a gift for planning and organization. His years of experience have only increased his tactical and organizational prowess.
ü Determination – Thaaros is known to be dogged and determined. Once he has decided his course of action, Thaaros will see it through to the bitter end.

NEUTRAL:
- Sarcastic – Thaaros can not let a moment go by without making some off-hand comment if it crosses his mind.
- Befuddled – Despite presenting himself as a stern, organized and intellectual individual Thaaros is actually in a perpetual state of internal disarray. Though he has learned how to conceal this quite well.
- Space Wizards – After spending the first part of his life in an Imperial setting, Thaaros is suspicious of Force Users. He does not necessarily dislike them, he is merely concerned by their potential for destruction.

WEAKNESSES:
û His Age – While not an old man he is starting to feel slightly past his prime. Thaaros has never been the fastest or strongest physical specimen and this is only becoming more obvious with age. Mentally Thaaros has begun to grow a little weary, a lifetime of services with little success has take its toll.
û Stubborn and set in his ways – Once he has made his mind up about something Thaaros is very reluctant to change it. Thaaros does not take instruction very well if he disagrees with it. He knows this is why he has not reached a higher rank, like many of his contemporaries.
û Difficult / Guarded Personality – His experiences have made Thaaros a guarded individual, he is unwilling to ‘let people in’. This has lead to many people describing him as stern and difficult to get along with.




APPEARANCE:
Thaaros is a tall and thin man, he is by no means athletic and only does the bare minimum about of exercise to keep himself in some sort of shape. He has a gaunt and angular face with sharp cheekbones and a pointed nose. His eyes are grey and make him look like a stern and serious individual, this has become something he tries to use to his advantage. His hair was once a thick quiff of Brown but age has thinned it and there are ever growing streaks of grey on the sides. In the last few years there have been an increasing number of wrinkles forming around his eyes and forehead, they are beginning to make him look slightly older than he is. Thaaros is almost always dressed in his uniform, even when off duty; some suspect he does not own any other clothes.

BIOGRAPHY:
Thaaros Klopp was born into a well-respected and well-off Imperial family. Most members of his family served as mid-ranking Military Officers or Politicians toeing the Imperial line or Petty bureaucrats ensuring all the Imperial cogs kept turning. The Klopp family were by no means zealots but they had benefitted very well from Imperial life and they were steadfast in their service to and defence of the Galactic Empire. Like everyone else that he knew, Thaaros was given the choice aged 18 as to which form of service he wished to undertake; he did not fancy scrambling about in the mud so he did not join the Army, he was not cunning enough to be a Politician nor dull enough to be a Civil bureaucrat so he joined the Navy.
Once he had join the Naval Officer Training Academy, Thaaros quickly realised that he excelled at planning, organization and naval tactics. He was almost always top of the class when it came examinations in these more academic subjects. Equally he always scored well when it came to battle tests, that is when these simulations involved him being in charge of ship during war game exercises. When it came to actually piloting smaller craft such as Starfighters and bombers he was at best mediocre, he much preferred telling the Pilots what to do. In situations such as these he often got into trouble when he disagreed with the plan of his Superior officer and would try and implement his own ideas. Thaaros only just managed to pass all of the physical fitness tests that were required of him, when it came to any sort of arms training he was usually bottom of the class. However, he was not a bad shot when it came to using small blasters. As Thaaros reached the end of his time in training it was decided that he was not best suited to serve in any form of direct combat role, his skills lay in planning, tactics and strategy. He would be most useful as a sort of Intelligence Officer, aiding his Commanding Officer by providing all the information that they might need to succeed. Though it was also quite clearly understood that he should probably not be in direct command of a ship much less a fleet. Perhaps one day, if he proved himself Thaaros might get to serve as some form of Adjutant to a great Admiral or Moff. His life seemed to be laid before him. He graduated from the Academy with the rank of Lieutenant Second Class.

After graduating from the Academy Thaaros was placed on to a series of small Naval vessels mostly tasked with escort duties and peacekeeping missions. Thaaros also quickly learned that most Imperial officers do not like to be told how to run their ships by newly graduated 2nd Lieutenants, most of the time he was tasked with inconsequential duties of administration. His Naval career continued on this rather dull path for around two years until he found himself serving under an ambitious Captain called Siennar. Captain Siennar had grand ambitions and even grander ideas about himself but he had found himself stuck in the same position for a number of years and kept away from the truly consequential duties of the Empire because he was not well connected. Siennar recognised something in Thaaros that he could use, he recognised that this so far ignored 2nd Lieutenant actually did have some fairly good ideas when it came to planning and strategizing for the battles ahead. By some quirk of fate, the two were quickly put to the test, whilst on a fairly standard peacekeeping mission their ship received a distress signal from a nearby convoy, carrying a top priority cargo, that had been attacked by a group of Pirates. All ships in the sector had been called to assist, by the time Thaaros’s ship arrived the convoys escort had been neutralized and the convoy itself was being boarded. Siennar had wanted to immediately dispatch the Marines to counter and defend the cargo ships and then blow any Pirate’s, trying to retreat, out of the Solar System but Thaaros suggested something else. Thaaros had realised that all they had to do was stop the pirate ships from retreating, once they could not escape they could be killed or captured with relative ease. Although reluctant, Siennar followed Thaaros’s advice and simply shot out the engines of the Pirate ships and then boarded, taking as many of them captive as possible; meaning they could be interrogated by Imperial Intelligence. The gamble paid off, they never found out exactly what the cargo was but one Moff in particular was happy to learn it was safe; so happy in fact that both Thaaros and Siennar received promotions. Thaaros was immediately made a Lieutenant and Siennar was given what his heart desired, a larger ship with more responsibilities and an actual combat role. They had both seemingly found their places in life.
This all continued for around another two years, the ambitious Captain Siennar winning battles and honors because of the advice from his young Intelligence Officer. Thaaros would eventually be called ‘Chief Operations and Tactical Command Officer’ and further promoted to Lt.Commander. This unusual setup did not go unnoticed and caused a great deal of bad feeling amongst other, often more senior officers serving with the pair. Thaaros did not help things by constantly questioning and undermining whoever he wanted, by this point Siennar did not care what Thaaros did as long as it benefitted him. Eventually all the success led to Siennar being promoted to Commodore but it also led to an unintended consequence, as Naval High Command had learned of Lt.Commander Thaaros Klopp and they wanted to use him for their own means. He was to be transferred to Naval High Command and he was then to serve away from the front lines, serve as a ‘back-room player’ as they put it. This of course put even more noses out of joint as Thaaros was only 28 and being promoted to Commander after no real direct leadership experience. Little did he realise that the trip back to Naval Command would change his life forever.

It was during that journey that, soon to be, Commander Thaaros Klopp witnessed what would soon lead to his defection from the Imperial cause. He was travelling on a Medical Frigate, it was the easiest way back for him as the only other option was to fly himself and he tried to avoid that whenever possible. About halfway through the journey an urgent message came through calling all ships to a nearby, neutral, Civilian Space Station; the medical frigate had been specifically requested as there must have some injured Imperial forces that required attention or evac. When they arrived Thaaros was asked to oversee those who were coming on to the ship, this meant he had to board the Space Station. When the doors from the shuttle to the Station opened he could not believe his eyes, it was utter chaos. From what he had gathered Imperial Intelligence had heard a rumour that the station was harbouring Rebel Terrorists, Intelligence had demanded access to search the station and take anyone they believed to be wanted. The Station Controller had refused. The Imperial forces wasted no time in assaulting the station after that, the trouble was the people in the station resisted. The Imperials showed no mercy and gave no quarter, the people aboard were brutally dealt with and were all assumed to be guilty. As Thaaros arrived summary executions were taking place randomly, he was overcome by a feeling of utter revulsion. Was this the Empire that he had spent his life serving? The next few hours remain a blur to him, he remembers that some Intelligence Officers came and hurried him back onto his shuttle and told him that the medical frigate was no longer needed. He was also instructed that what he had seen was not to be mentioned, it turns out that there were no terrorists onboard that Station, just people who were trying to defend themselves from what must have seemed like a random unprovoked attack. Thaaros spent the rest of the journey fending off questions from other people aboard the Frigate about what had happened but he refused to answer them. He was trying to justify what he had seen in his own head but he could not. He had always believed that the Empire stood for order amongst the chaos, that they were fighting for peace in the galaxy and that those they were fighting against wanted anarchy. He thought the Empire stood for justice but how could that be so after what he had witnessed? Over the next few days he remained in a haze, not quite knowing what to do. Thaaros went to all the meetings and interviews and debriefings that were scheduled for him at Naval Command, he answered all the questions in the way he knew he should but for the first time in his career he did not want to be there. He did not want to fight for a system that did those awful things, he wanted to rail against it. He was no stranger to violence and death, he had been in enough battles and he had seen the consequences. The attack on the Space Station was different though, it was not justifiable as collateral damage it outright cruel, it was wrong. During his last meeting he was sat in front of a panel of three members of Naval High Command and just as he was dismissed from the room he found himself asking about what he had witnessed a few days before. At first, he was told that they did not know what he was referring to but he persisted, they then reminded him that Imperial Intelligence was dealing with it and it was nothing to do with him. Thaaros refused to let the matter drop and was told by the Commodore leading the panel that “You should not interfere with matters that do not concern you. You would do well to remember your place. We do not answer to the likes of you, persist in this action and there will be consequences. You are dismissed Commander.” It was those words that lit the flame of rebellion within him. There was no going back, ever, there was nothing else to do. He had to leave. From what he remembers Thaaros took a transport shuttle and flew into Republic space and surrendered. You would have thought that he could better remember such momentous events but he simply cannot, either that or he simply refuses to remember things more clearly. Thaaros now wishes his memories of the next chapter in his life were not so clear but they remain emblazoned on his psyche.

After Thaaros had effectively defected to the Republic he began to realize what he had left behind, he realized that he had left everything behind. His family, friends, possessions and career were all gone because of a few insignificant civilians on a random Space Station. Yet what he had done still felt right. It felt as though he was seeing what the Empire was for the first time clearly, he was realizing that his life and success had been built on fear and the suffering of others. Thaaros had a lot of time to think about all of these grand philosophical ideas as being an Imperial defector was not all that much fun. He spent months in isolation undergoing a series of interrogations, tests and tribunals. He was never harmed or mistreated but he was clearly not being welcomed with open arms. Perhaps the Republic was not that different after all, it seemed to function on basically the same plane as the Empire, just without the constant threat of violence or sense of oppression. It was eventually decided that Thaaros was not a spy or double agent and it was also decided that he might be of use to the Republic. After all he had in-depth knowledge of the workings of Imperial Naval Forces, he knew what their strengths and weaknesses were. He could play them at their own game. Although he was put to work, life as a defector did not improve much. He had to undergo a period of re-education, he had to attend meeting with Republic Intelligence officers and he had to follow a strict set of rules to prove his loyalty. He did this willingly, he had already spent his life under one oppressive regime so there was no harm in having to prove his loyalty to a new and fairer regime. Thaaros spent the next few years settling into this life in the ‘goldfish bowl’, he worked hard providing the Republics Navy with information and tactical support. Occasionally he was even allowed to take up positions aboard Ships and actively serve once again; he had not realised how much he enjoyed being on the bridge of a ship and in a position of command until it had been taken away from him for a time. He could even make friends for short periods, most people turned on him when they found out he was a former Imperial Officer. It was as if they thought something about him was tainted slightly; perhaps it was. Thaaros had been held as an effective prisoner for two years and had then spent five years doing whatever he was told to by either the Republic’s intelligence services or Naval Command. During this time, he proved to be good at his job and eventually his rank was restored and he was given a position in the Republic’s Navy. At 35 years of age, Thaaros Klopp began his second life.

The next fifteen years were marked by destruction and disappointment. Thaaros watched as the Republic fell and he moved from splinter group to splinter group trying to find a way and a place to serve the ideals that he had come to love. At 50 years of age he was getting ready to spend the rest of his life serving aboard a ship and perhaps occasionally help make a change for good. By this point he had been made a Captain but it was a more a ceremonial title really, he had never been in command of ship and did not really want to be in command of one. He was happy serving and advising people with greater abilities and ambitions. However, the spark that was lit when he defected still burned within him somewhere and he hoped that there were others like him out there trying to change things for the better. Thaaros had come to serve in the Navy of the Republic Remnant. Here he hoped that he would be able to help in the rebirth of the Republic, a Republic that remained true to the ideals that it had originally been based on.




SHIP:
N/A

KILLS:
None.

BOUNTIES COLLECTED:
None

ROLE-PLAYS:
None. Yet.