Dejaa Dite Ror

"The test of a life isn't whether it ends well, but how well it was conducted, how well it was lived. Dying a hero isn't the same as living as one."

- Dejaa Dite

Admiral Dejaa Dite Ror (DEYja DIE-tay ROR) is one of the most notorious and popular officers in the Jade Worlds. Until recently she held a dual commission in the armed forces and Sho, the Guard's intelligence service; she was, at one point, senior officer of the latter. Now she maintains only her naval rank. Her personality has been charitably described as blunt.

History
Niece of Shau'ghun Keito Kaijus and daughter of Mashono Di'té (Dee-TAY) and Kihira Kaijus Di'té, she was born and raised on Varunda IX, which was then the capital of the Jade Worlds. She had two younger siblings: a sister named Jalice and a brother named G'shan, who chose to use the original form of the family name. Because she hated the formal hypocrisy of court politics, and indeed wanted nobody to know of her connection to the royal family, she changed her last name to Dite. Nevertheless, she maintained a strong connection with her parents and siblings throughout her life.

She enlisted in the Guard at a young age and distinguished herself as an officer who was not afraid to take risks. A Guard urban legend held that she had been born without the genetic capacity for fear. Whether facing down rogue Daimyos or outwitting merchant lords, almost every mission she went on ended with another chapter added to the legend. Unlike other members of the extended royal family, she earned her commission without the aid of nepotism. Her first command was the patrol craft Jaybird; her second was the Nunchaku-class Corvette Tana. In 12 ABY, Commander Dite was sent to represent the Jade Worlds in the ISA Council, where she struck immediate but minor sparks with just about everyone. Nevertheless, through a combination of excellent advice, good will and work ethic (she was instrumental in drafting the ISA Charter), the Jade Worlds became a solid presence in the Council. Later, she was recalled to help hunt the Black Nova pirates, working alongside Captain Jack Deuce.

In 13 ABY, the Tana was orbiting Varunda IX when the Uul'ba-Rai Crusade swept through. The corvette rammed an Uul'ba-Rai cruiser, and Dejaa was believed dead. In reality, however, her second-in-command had knocked her out and stuffed her in an escape pod, where, with the remainder of her crew, she was picked up by Uul'ba-Rai ships. She was put to work in the salt mines on Trevel'ka, along with tens of thousands of humans, Joyites, Raka Kiri and other slave races, notably the Bahuji and Kabeen. Later, she was one of the principal leaders of the revolution that formed the Rai Republic. The so-called 'Salt Mines Gang' - her unit of captured Guard and Clan soldiers, Raka Kiri martial artists, and other miners - fought several crucial battles to capture Trevel'ka from the priest caste. She buried many friends and allies in the huge war cemeteries on Trevel'ka, and forged a lifelong bond with the Rai, the Raka Kiri, the Joyites, Bahuji and Kabeen.

Over the year and a half she spent in Rai space, her black hair turned partially gray.

"All I have is my blaster and the hope that someday, ancestors willing, I'll be something more than just a soldier, no matter how good the cause I'm fighting for."

- Dejaa Dite

Along with thousands of freed slaves and a few hundred Rai children, she arrived at Salvadda in 15 ABY in command of a Rai fleet. Her joy at her return was overcome by the discovery that her parents and sister were dead, her brother was in prison in the Black Star Confederacy, and of her extended family only Halla Kaijus remained. She became one of the greatest advocates of the Rai Republic and her cousin Halla, and co-sponsored many reconciliation efforts while returning to active duty in the Guard.

Only days after her arrival in the Jade Worlds, however, she elected to lead an all-volunteer task force to participate in the top-secret Operation Ghosthammer. She was promoted to Captain and given the Ashigaru-class Light Cruiser Heian. It was, perhaps, worry about her return that prompted the Black Star Confederacy to turn her brother G'shan over to the Shau'ghunate. Even before that, however, she served faithfully and well in the combined fleet operation, bearing no ill will towards the Confederacy in general. Joran Thorn's apology and acquittal of her brother helped considerably in that respect.

Dejaa led her task force in the Battle of Reecee, the Second Battle of Bilbringi and the Battle of Vortex, working with First Admiral Eshtemoh Cosimo and Lord Admiral Marius Campos-Rapa. On her return, she became the head of the Guard's Intelligence branch; later, she was promoted to Admiral and became a member of the Twelve, the military junta that ruled the Jade Empire in its first months of struggle towards stability.

The Kaloskagathia Mission
"I can’t believe the assertion that I made a mistake by getting involved. Thousands have died, but it’s better than the alternative. I couldn’t have walked away.  If the Xenovores hit the Jade Worlds in a couple of years, I’ll be vilified.  I don’t care.  I did what I had to do."

- Dejaa Dite

In mid-17 ABY, the Empress selected Dejaa to command the exploratory ship Kaloskagathia. Her first mission took her through the barrier of hyperspace turbulence around the galaxy. The unstable hyperspace window would open again six weeks later. However, the extragalactic star cluster was discovered to exist within a spacetime anomaly. Dejaa discovered that the six weeks of galactic time would equate to eight years, fifty-eight days. As the Kalos only held two years of consumables, she set out to ensure that her crew would survive in the region of dead stars until the hyperspace window opened again.

A few years into the voyage, the Kalos encountered the Xenovores and entered a war that would see refugees commissioned in the JEAF, Xenovore Hunter Ships captured, and the Xenovore military machine destroyed.

Upon returning to the known galaxy, Dejaa retired. She became friends with Colonel Karak Ror, then his paramour, just before he left on the Sojourn. He convinced her to return to active service and end her boredom. She returned as a naval officer alone, leaving the intelligence service behind her and marrying Ror at the age of forty-five. She commanded fleets against Ebruchi pirates, Vagaari nomads, and Cold incursions.

Fate of an Empire
When the Empress took the combined fleets of the Jade Empire to fight in the Battle of Mon Calamari, Dejaa's presence was refused; the line of succession had to be safeguarded, and as first cousin of the Empress and sister of the previous Shau'ghun, Dejaa was second only to the children of Halla and Braily Terrablade. Her mastery of small-ship tactics was useful, as every ship of corvette and patrol craft size had been left behind to watch over the worlds of the Jade Empire. Dejaa was also given charge of the Jade Empire's contingency option: in the event of Charon victory and Cult supremacy, she was to lead as much of the Jade Empire's people as possible through the dangerous hyperspace route to the star cluster where she had spent much of her career. This plan, Operation Kaguya, involved moving many of the Jade Empire's huge space settlements through hyperspace and colonizing the sparsely inhabited, largely pretechnological worlds of the Warp.

Dejaa waited in fear - waited to know whether to take the Kaguya expedition through the tiny breach in the hyperspace barrier around the galaxy, and to know if Karak Ror was safe.

Distinctions

 * Joywar Campaign Tab
 * Uul'ba-Rai Invasion Tab
 * Uul'ba-Rai Rebellion Tab
 * Isen Civil War Tab
 * Bandit Kingdoms Campaign Tab
 * Operation Ghosthammer Tab
 * Kaloskagathia Tab