Arelim Seron


 * "From order comes life; from life, chaos; from chaos, death; from death, order."
 * — Arelim Seron

Arelim Seron (born 24 BBY) grew up around the Republic and trained as a soldier; when the clone army came in and took over the Republic military, he started freelancing as a mercenary and bodyguard.

Biography
Arelim was a normal person, by all accounts: born on a certain day, to certain parents, on the planet Ord Mantell, he led a normal life for his formative years. He went to school, studied hard, but he could not stand life on Ord Mantell - he found it dull and lacking in intrigue, despite its roots in underworld culture. After ten years of hunting wild game - what little could be found on Ord Mantell was difficult enough to hunt that Arelim learned a great deal of technique - he left the planet, with his parents' funding, to join the Old Republic military. Over time, he became an exceptional combatant and pilot, but left the military at the arrival of the clone army. Resenting the fact that he was replaced by little more than fleshy 'droids, he turned freelance and returned to Ord Mantell for several years, learning the criminal mind. He worked for several crime lords, leaving each on peaceful terms, until he went to Nal Hutta, looking for more work. Several Hutts disliked him, and he accumulated several small bounties, but ultimately, most were dropped over time. Those that were not were never large enough to bother a soldier like Arelim. He became something of a pirate, even joining the Knights of Piracy: they were as close to honest pirates as any you could find, following a strict code of conduct, just trying to make their way in the Galaxy. There, he met Vweeq, a young, ambitious, blue-skinned Rodian, and found a liking for the high-powered DL-6H blaster, a recent addition to some markets, as well as to some planetary restriction laws. During his time with the Knights of Piracy, a doctor named Walter Tegrin had implanted an experimental chip into his and Vweeq's minds, allowing them to have telepathic communication within a small star system, but no further.

As the Civil War grew larger, spreading throughout the Galaxy, Arelim decided it was time to return to the fight. He knew that the Empire, despite its admirable goals of order and peace, was going about achieving them the wrong way: he believes the old aphorism, "the ends do not justify the means". He signed on with the Rebellion and instantly gained rank. The Rebels obviously needed all the help they could get. He went on dozens of missions throughout the Mid Rim, taking out strategic targets, but he managed to keep the bulk of his men alive. Still, Lady Luck is fickle. His first real leadership role took him to the remote planet Kynd, to an Imperial research facility. Their informant, a scientist by the name of Necrate Deqra, sold them out to the Defrannok's League, a renowned pirate group. Of the twenty-three soldiers under Arelim's command, only four made it out alive; the dead included Dave Raiz, Arelim's best friend in the Rebellion to date. Raiz was killed by Deqra's own blaster.

Disheartened by the loss, Arelim left the Rebellion and re-joined the Knights of Piracy, who were beginning to grow in renown themselves. He stayed among their ranks for several years, until the destruction of the first Death Star. He decided then that he had accumulated enough credits to go freelance, and he and Vweeq left the Knights of Piracy for good. They took with them the Trader's Delight, a YT-2000 freighter, with which they plied their trade. They worked mostly as smugglers and mercenaries, with the occasional delve into piracy and even bounty hunting. The next several years passed relatively uneventfully, until shortly after the Battle of Hoth.

The Rebellion contacted Arelim and requested his leadership on a mission to the planet of Lidrad. Lidrad was in the Unknown Regions, but the Empire had discovered it several years prior to Arelim's mission. Its surface contained many minerals used in armor construction, especially starship hulls. The Empire took it over, controlling its government to allow the planet to be mined extensively. The Lidrans requested liberation by the Rebellion; the Rebels went out of their way to help, as they, too, wanted the minerals. Even a Hutt clan had gotten involved in trying to take some of the precious ores. Shortly into the mission, leading a squad of mercenaries that Arelim had known in his piracy days - including his old friend Vweeq, the crew was pinned down as they tried to access the main computer terminals in Kintan, capital city of Lidrad, to deactivate the planetary communication grid for the planet. He called in for reinforcements from the Rebel Alliance; they sent two of their best, two Twi'lek Jedi named Sparisca and Benve. The two Jedi created enough of a diversion for Arelim and his dwindling crew to infiltrate the base. To protect themselves from advancing Stormtroopers, they inadvertently locked themselves into the computer room - they hacked the computer and deactivated the communication grid, but they were trapped.

Lidrad was home to many large creatures, and very few small ones. One such larger creature, the size of a Hutt, but all muscle, covered with fur, armed with fangs and claws, had taken to living beneath the Imperial base. It made its way into the base and, eventually, at the bidding of its dark master, attacked the computer room where Arelim and his squad were trapped. After injuring the creature and sending it running, Arelim and Vweeq headed for an alternate exit, hoping they would find the way clear. The master of the beast, the spirit of Sith Lord Mirkai, attacked and killed Arelim's remaining three mercenaries, back in the computer room. Arelim later encountered this spirit in a cave beneath the base, and found it impervious to blaster fire. The Twi'lek Jedi that had rescued Arelim before came to his aid again, along with another pair of Jedi and a local Lidran, and sent the spirit back into the Force, where it belonged. Arelim and Vweeq, going through the extensive caverns, encountered another beast, probably once under the control of Mirkai - this one was a large, leathery, winged beast with dangerous claws. Arelim and Vweeq split up, trying to lead it off so the other could kill it more easily. Arelim was trapped by the beast in a corridor, but set his DL-6H to maximum power, overloading and destroying the weapon, but simultaneously sending an unstoppable blast down the beast's throat to kill it. Over the course of the next few hours, Arelim and Vweeq found their way off the planet, and returned to Tatooine to work for Jabba the Hutt.

Over a month later, a bounty placed on Zhakiri and Benve - two of the Jedi responsible for defeating Mirkai - brought him back to Lidrad. He was surprised to find Sparisca, the third Jedi, alive and well, despite rumors to the contrary. He offered to take her daughter to safety until the entire thing blew over, but found Stormtroopers all over his Z-95, tearing it to pieces, and was forced to return to the Jedi. They lent him a speeder, and he took the child to the spaceport and ... borrowed a ship from a pair of smugglers. He kept her safe on Tatooine until the bounties became less impressive and things calmed down a bit, even though the Lidran which had become involved with the Jedi was killed by agents of the Empire.

Arelim proceeded to take over a small town called Protection, on Tatooine. It served as a place where anyone who wanted to escape from the authorities (or anyone with a blaster and a prejudice) could hide out, but Arelim was the law and he enforced that law without fail. Anyone who broke the rules was banned from Protection under pain of death. Vweeq visited from time to time, but mostly, the Rodian had his own businesses to run, and the two friends lost contact over time. Arelim held onto the Trader's Delight and did his best to avoid the Empire. He had acquired a rather large bounty, but it was not large enough to attract the greats, like Boba Fett or even Bossk. Regardless, it kept him on his toes. Vweeq and Arelim had their "telepathic circuits" removed for comfort and as a more official break-up of the old partnership. The town of Protection flourished in its purpose, but Arelim was generally displeased by the work. He hated such close proximity to criminals, but he was being paid well for the operation, and he had nothing better to do, so he stuck with it.