Breek Zagrev

HH Princess Breek Zagrev, Lady Sakaros, was a Human Centurion of the Order of Keltrayu, Royal Guard, and Legate in the Golden Empire. After The Tribulation, she became an Empire-wide war hero for her leadership in the Ssi-ruuvi Incursion and the Battle of Shest Minor in particular. She became a close counselor of Queen Rin Sakaros and married Rin's brother Tariun.

Early life
Born in 113 ABY on the planet Sanduluc in the Unknown Regions, Breek grew up in one of the world's frequent civil conflicts. With three different political parties vying militantly for control of the world's capital, law and order began to break down when Breek was still a toddler, and by the time the girl was five the planet had degenerated into a civil war that had consumed the main continent and most of two others. The daughter of partisan guerrillas, Breek grew up in a series of safehouses and shelters in the care of the rebel community.

In 121 ABY, however, Breek's parents were killed in an explosion and she was left an orphan in the care of her parents' allies. Shuttled from one hiding spot to another, she was treated mostly as a burden, a mouth to feed when food was not in great supply. Though the guerrillas were willing to keep up the habit out of respect for the dead Zagrevs, Breek could discern their annoyance and reluctance. Hurt, embittered, and feeling alone, she snuck away from the rebels when they were switching safehouses yet again; when they discovered her absence and made only minimal attempts to find her, Breek's suspicions were confirmed.

The girl took to living on the streets, stealing and fighting for what she needed, learning to use and improvise weapons. At one point she was captured and on her way to a government detainment center, but her fear and desire to escape were so great that the soldier escorting her found himself momentarily confused, and Breek was able to snatch his blaster and shoot him in the chest. Surprised by her luck, she began to slowly discover some of her supernatural gifts, experimenting with the ability to move things with her mind or distract people by thinking it.

A new life
In 124 ABY, when Breek was eleven, everything changed. The Royal Army of the Golden Empire, under the command of the Sith Lord Tariun Sakaros, invaded and forcibly pacified Sanduluc, unifying the world under the rule of Rin Sakaros. In the process of slaughtering his way through a resisting army, the Sith Lord was diverted by a disturbance in the Force and discovered Breek observing from an alleyway. The startled girl shot at the Sith, and was initially alarmed when he not only deflected the blasts easily, but plucked the gun out of her hand with the Force. However, intrigued by the anger and power he sensed in Breek, Tariun left the battle to his soldiers and spoke to the girl, explaining who he was and offering her a place in the Order of Keltrayu. Though she scoffed at the idea of some new group accepting her, Breek had nothing to gain by remaining on Sanduluc, so she accepted the offer.

Rin Sakaros could easily sense Breek's deep-seated anger and ferocity, but she also saw potential in the girl and sensed a connection between Breek and her brother. After Rin gave her blessing to Breek joining the Order, Breek became a Novice. Initially she fit in very poorly with her fellow Novices, guarded, sullen, and aloof. Her only real connection was to Tariun, who continued to have a great interest in her development and took a far greater hand in her training than he did with any other Novice.

With Rin's cautious approval, Tariun taught Breek a heavily Sith-influenced approach to the Force, emphasizing a cold control and detachment from emotions, harnessing their power to enhance her own without being controlled by them. It took many years for Breek to truly separate herself from her lingering emotions, but she practiced often with Tariun, who also personally taught her most of her lightsaber technique. Between her quasi-Sith training and her natural aggression, Breek found an easy home in Djem So, sparring endlessly with both Tariun and her fellow Novices. Her constant practice led her to quickly develop superior fighting skills, becoming one of the finest bladesbeings among the Novices. In the field, she spent several assignments with the Army and Navy, learning the operations of the military and basic tactics.

With time and the help of Tariun's training to control her emotions, Breek gradually opened up to her fellows in the Order, beginning to accept them as a real family. She also developed a great respect for Rin, not only because of the Sith queen's patient instruction, but also for the peace she had brought to Sanduluc, ensuring that terrible circumstances like Breek's would not befall anyone else. Despite entering the Order slightly later than the average, Breek's relentless dedication to her training led her to pass her Centurion examinations after only eleven years, becoming a full officer of the Order at the age of twenty-two in 135 ABY.

Centurion
As a Centurion, Breek participated in several peacekeeping operations in the Empire, but truly came into her own during the brief but intense conquest of the Chiss Ascendancy. Fighting in the Battle of Naporar, she served alongside Sato Raltharan, Rajj-Yo, and the Massassi Cohorts, breaking enemy formations with her ferociously aggressive fighting style.

In 138 ABY, respecting Breek's skill and in the interest of expanding her experience, Rin appointed Breek to her Royal Guard. Frequently serving as a bodyguard for Tariun, Breek began to cultivate closer friendships with some of Tariun's other regular guards, especially the Mineti pilot Tamlok and the Kasci Jira Seezhli. Along with Tamlok, Jira, and Khoro`ly`ooho`sh`lyhoo, Breek was one of the first officers of the Golden Empire to meet Nagarian Sakaros, accompanying Tariun on a visit to Nar Shaddaa.

Having bonded with Tariun even despite his brutal training methods, Breek grew closer to him during her time as one of his Guards. Their quasi-affectionate relationship turned to flirtation and eventually became an on-and-off sexual relationship. Neither felt beholden to the other, and Breek took several casual lovers. Even then, however, the seeds of something deeper were planted in her heart.

In 140 ABY, Rin sent Tariun, Breek, and Chindal to to rescue Andromeda Keane, making Breek and Chindal the first Centurions to visit the galactic capital. Later the same year, when Rin invited Souv Tanake to a parley at the, it was Breek who tracked down Odala Van Meer (Souv's apprentice and another of Tariun's former lovers) on and convinced her to attend.

Shocks
In addition to their private relationship, Tariun continued to tutor Breek in military command, and took her with him for the Battle of Lebyool. Anticipating no real danger, he gave Breek command of his strike force, leading from the Star Destroyer Assassin while Tariun himself flew his Hadrago with Tamlok and Maliya as his wingmates. When the Empire was ambushed by a much larger fleet of Star Destroyers, Breek watched in helpless fury as Maliya was killed and Tariun captured. He ordered her to retreat and, knowing there was no alternative, Breek bitterly gave the order.

Sensing a danger to both her brothers, Rin sent Breek, Khoro, Jira, and Vem to Nar Shaddaa while searching for her Tariun. Still feeling bitter, she nonetheless battled the Dark Lord Tulak Hord, managing to survive until Rin arrived to reinforce her. When Tariun was finally rescued, Rin sent Breek and Tamlok with him to Nar Shaddaa to recuperate. Breek's relief at seeing him alive and relatively unharmed went beyond what she had expected of simply seeing a friend and mentor, and she began to realize that her casual relationship with the Sith Lord was less casual than she had thought.

On Nar Shaddaa, Breek ran into Shaydow Tynblade, grandson of Rin's friend Jadian Star. Shaydow's open references to Rin did not sit well with Breek, who wondered whether it might be safest for the Empire to kill the young Drakonus discretely. However, she was utterly floored when Shaydow casually mentioned that Tariun had been married years before.

Strain
Tariun, Breek, and Tamlok were summoned back to the Empire, which had been attacked by the. Tariun could sense Breek's conflict, and tried unsuccessfully to pry the reason out of her on the way back. When she finally, angrily called him out on his having deceived her, however, he reacted with anger in turn. The two argued viciously before storming away from one another.

Feeling hurt and aggravated, Breek welcomed her assignment to Sorrik's command at the onset of the Ssi-ruuvi Incursion. She carried on ship-to-ship boardings in early conflicts, but was eventually made a Legate subordinate to Sorrik himself as the Umdal tried to spread out his forces and intercept the wherever they might attack the Empire. Breek's fleet experienced several successes, and those in her command began to trust her. It was during the Ssi-ruuvi Incursion that she first took the Firebird-class war cruiser Valkyrie was her personal command ship.

Shest Minor
In mid-142 ABY, Sorrik's Royal Intelligence Detachment found the Ssi-ruuvi facility on Shest Minor. He gave Breek an invasion fleet of two hundred capital ships and directed her to take the system at all costs. Resources were strained, but Breek managed to round up seven Centurions to aid her attack: her old commander Sato Raltharan, Makashi master Terran Saul, Syuug, Cora Convarion, Genn Sudime, Kyzk, and newly commissioned Atrelle Sovex.

Breek launched her invasion, leaving the space battle to Commodore Rensi Shal-Shatir and his flagship, the Star Destroyer Keltrayu. Breek commanded the ground assault, assisted by Raltharan and her logistical advisor, Colonel Veersh. On the first day of battle, four of her siblings and thousands of her soldiers were killed, though they managed to drive under the. Atrelle Sovex, frightened and scarred by what she had seen and done in her first day of battle, tried to talk to Breek about it, but Breek told her to wait until the battle was done, trying to focus on tactical concerns and keep her men alive.

Kyzk died the following morning, driving Breek to a more aggressive strategy. It worked, and an entire division of Ssi-ruuvi battle droids collapsed, but as evening fell, quavering soldiers brought Atrelle Sovex's body to Breek too. Heartsick as losing such a young Centurion, Breek felt especially bitter as she remembered Atrelle pleading for her attention the night before. Raltharan convinced her to take a nap—she had not slept in two and a half days—and volunteered to take over tactical command himself. Breek agreed, but when she woke, it was to discover that Raltharan had been killed during the night.

Left as the lone Centurion on Shest Minor, Breek personally took the field the following morning, leading her soldiers in a charge on the outskirts of the entechment facility. A mortar struck near her, and the explosive shrapnel lacerated the left side of her face and neck, cut her left arm, and blinded her left eye. Despite her injury, Breek struggled to her feet, wrapping a shred of cloth around her maimed eye. Expecting to die, she quoted lines from "The Fall of Keltrayu" to herself, then led a renewed charge. With her soldiers providing cover fire for her, she found within herself the strength to reach out with the Force and tear down a communications tower.

Aside from crushing the units beneath it, the loss of the tower threw enemy communications into chaos. The Royal Army finally broke the Ssi-ruuvi lines, and succeeded in capturing the entechment facility and liberating the few surviving Weyock. By the end of the third day, Shest Minor was taken.

Cost of victory
The Royal Army suffered fifty thousand fatalities at Shest Minor and even more non-fatal casualties, along with the deaths of the seven Centurions. Nevertheless, Breek was hailed as a hero throughout the Empire, and the soldiers who had fought under her command spoke highly of her to others. Breek herself was deeply affected by her experiences on Shest Minor. She had forged a bond with her soldiers, and when awards were authorized for the campaign, she personally presented the seventeen Stars of Valor earned in the battle.

The seven fallen Centurions became known as the "Shest Minor Seven", and their deaths weighed heavily on her. When the distinctive tattoo design in their memory came into vogue, Breek got one herself, although she had the words "Shest Minor" changed to "My Family". She also requested and received permission to contact the families of the seven dead Centurions herself, rather than having the Prefect perform the duty. Though she had respected Sato Raltharan and been on good terms with some of the others, it was Atrelle Sovex's death that haunted Breek. She could not get the memory of Atrelle's face after Breek brushed her off out of her mind. While she eventually developed control over her grief, Breek had nightmares for years over the memory.

Heartbreak
When Rin allied with the s and drove the Ssi-ruuk out, Breek and the fleet returned to the Vagaari front. Though she was still angry with Tariun, the long separation between them on bad terms was getting to her. Breek fought in a few exchanges during the end of the Vagaari war, but saw relatively little action.

She avoided Tariun until the war was concluded, but sought him out once it was. Still worried about her heavy casualties at Shest Minor, she asked him to review the battle data and was relieved when he observed only minor, incidental things he would have done differently. Encouraged, she asked to speak to him privately.

Breek apologized for asking Tariun about Lorelai, though he angrily told her to just drop it. She pressed him, finally admitting that she was in love with him. She had expected him to crack and admit the same thing, but was stunned when he replied, "Zagrev, you're a good commander and a great killer, but that's it. And that's all." He had not called her by her surname in private since the time she was a Novice, and his rejection stung so badly that her own temper erupted. The argument quickly became a physical fight, and both had their lightsabers out when Tariun's Royal Guards came through the door. Although assaulting a member of the Royal Family was grounds for an automatic death sentence, and even though Breek had broken his nose, Tariun pardoned her on the spot, but angrily commanded her to get out.

A bad year
Angry and sick at heart, Breek threw herself into her assignments to prevent herself from thinking about Tariun. She accompanied Rin to Nar Shaddaa, taking out her temper on Vos'elk'eetash until her friend Jira finally called her on her attitude and coaxed out the story of her fight with Tariun. Jira offered some hope, telling Breek how obviously distraught Tariun had been when he sensed Breek's near-death on Shest Minor, but Breek angrily dismissed the suggestion, not wanting to be duped twice. Breek apologized to Selkee, and shortly after took her to to help her find a.

Using information from Reiko Kaytana, Breek began teaching and  to Novices and other Centurions as the Empire placed increased emphasis on teamwork in battle. She was made a Praetor at the Citadel and assisted in teaching Djem So and Var Shek. She participated in a special mission on behalf of Rin in 144 ABY along with Tarzg Sav'lir and Rajj-Yo, going undercover as mercenaries to distract the s from hunting Reiko Kaytana. During the same mission, she assassinated an Imperial governor to cover Reiko's attack on one of 's Knights.

In late 144, Jira married Wyro Zaffrod on Iomis and asked Breek to serve as her maid of honor. Breek agreed, though she was uncomfortable when Tariun was also present to give Jira away. Seeing Jira, who was blissfully happy with her husband, stung too, although she was happy enough for her friend's joy to experience some measure of happiness herself.

Hope after all
Breek was assigned to root out pirates operating near what had once been the, and retook the Valkyrie as the flagship of her battle group. Only days later, she had a distinctly uncomfortable feeling, worrying for Tariun, though she suppressed it quickly after. She had been on the assignment for only a few weeks, however, when Tariun showed up in her quarters one evening. She instinctively tried to stab him with her lightsaber until recognition kicked in, then demanded to know why he was there.

His answer floored her. He had nearly died of a heart attack on Nar Shaddaa, and in coming back to himself had been forced to examine his feelings. Breek irritably rebuffed his casual flirtation, but was thunderstruck when he suddenly became serious and showed her a holo of Lorelai, his late wife. With obvious effort to remain in control of his emotions, he told Breek all about their relationship, including her death and how it had led him to serve Rin.

When he finished, Tariun told Breek he had realized on Nar Shaddaa that he was in love with her, and had simply been lying to himself and her. He apologized for his treatment of her and asked for a second chance. Though skeptical, Breek decided to take the risk, and the two renewed their relationship.

Being totally open and honest with each other was awkward for both Breek and Tariun, who had gotten used to emotional control and detachment. As they opened up to each other, however, they realized how much they truly did value one another. In early 145 ABY, Tariun proposed, offering Breek a ring with a, and she accepted.

Not long after her engagement, Breek and her task force began to encounter operatives from. Sent by Rin to a particular location, Breek and the Porén twins rescued Rayne Turgachia from the Force-adept pirates. Breek was one of the only beings in the Empire who initially knew Rayne's relationship to the Queen, and personally escorted her to the Sith Star.

The princess
Tariun and Breek were married in late 145 ABY on Sanduluc. Breek chose Jira and Kylaea Porén as her attendants, and agreed with Tariun's invitation of his brother Nagarian and extended family. She also agreed to invite Selkee, for whom Tariun had a soft spot. After a sendoff gun salute from the Sith Star, Tariun and Breek took a honeymoon through the known galaxy and spent a week on Queen's Garden.

Returned to the Empire, Breek endured the oddity of being the first former Royal Guard to now have Royal Guards of her own. Still feeling like a Centurion, the arrangement made her uncomfortable for some time, and she ordered her siblings to continue calling her by name, rather than "Your Highness".

Tariun and Breek had their first child in 146 ABY, naming the boy Delliak Marquand Sakaros. Breek continued to serve the Order in various roles even after the birth of her son. She was deeply upset over the death of her friend Khoro in 147 ABY at the hands of Shalach Hal-Razab, and applauded the Queen's decision to send Te`net Organi to kill him.

Breek and Tariun had a daughter, Nike Sakaros, in 148 ABY. Breek gave her the middle name "Jira" for her best friend.

Back to the battles
At the onset of the Nightmare War, Sorrik gave Breek command of the Romasi Sector Fleet. With Delliak and Nike safe in the Citadel, Breek took her fleet out to hunt the enemy. After Aria Nikina killed Sacco Vyrak on Daispin, Breek became the second Centurion to defeat one of the Reawakened after defeating Kasavo Shei in a duel on Mandos. The Romasi Sector Fleet invaded and captured Awpierh after the Porén twins were rescued from the Dark Jedi facility there, and participated in the battles of Keliso and Quadia. Breek was given command of a squad of Shadow Massassi and several dozen Anzat hounds and deployed them in both battles.

In preparation for the Battle of Dolomir, Breek returned to the Sith Star, leaving her fleet in the command of Captain Salin Tesshir. As the battle erupted, Breek led a strike team of a dozen Centurions to Ador Hentral's flagship to assassinate the, backed by the 11th Massassi Cohort. Only Breek knew that the Zeyot assassin Zahyr was among their number. Breek dispatched several Vyrak clones before Zahyr succeeded in slaying Hentral. With the Sith Star out of contact, Breek gave the order for the Massassi to take no prisoners aboard the enemy ship.

Consulship
In the aftermath of the Nightmare War, Breek was appointed Consul of Baes, taking Nike and Delliak there with her, along with her Royal Guards Zeth Kezzerek and Benzeel Rikos. Shortly after her appointment, Jade Star left the Empire, leaving Kyriel Windrunner without a master. Rin briefly had the young Drakonus train with the Order of Keltrayu before she and Prefect Kaartinen sent Kyriel to Baes to train as Breek's student, hoping the experienced Centurion would be able to teach Kyriel self-control and help her overcome her fears.

Shortly before the Consular Assembly of 150 ABY, Nike and Delliak were the targets of an assassination attempt by members of the Human Unity Front. Breek, Zeth, Benzeel, and Kyriel successfully defended the children and hustled them to safety, though Breek was briefly disconcerted when Zeth ordered her to retreat as well, unused to being protected. At Rin's order, Breek allowed Kyriel to participate in the investigation, and the young Drakonus successfully apprehended the assassins.

After Rin proposed the 65 Reforms at the 150 Assembly, Breek secured the support of her former subordinate Rensi Shal-Shatir, and covertly negotiated more rebuilding funds for Dolomir in return. Later that year, Breek became pregnant with her third and last child. Amina Sakaros was born at the 151 ABY Consular Assembly.

Powers and abilities
Trained in a distinctly Sith style by Tariun Sakaros, Breek had a pronounced control of her emotions, able to detach herself from the effects of almost any strong passion on command. Like all Centurions, she had strong telepathic and telekinetic skills, and her time in the Royal Guard heightened a danger sense already honed by growing up amidst war and chaos. She was capable of conjuring, controlling, and, and could  others.

With regular, relentless, and unforgiving practice, Breek became one of the best fighters in the Order of Keltrayu, demonstrating a marked affinity for both Djem So and the Sith martial art Var Shek. By 143 ABY, Blademaster Kieran Sapphire considered Breek one of the top swordfighters in the entire Order and the greatest dedicated master of Djem So. When she dueled the spirit of Tulak Hord possessing Reiko Kaytana alongside Alluria Quinn, Jarek Solios, and Jira, only Breek was still standing by the time the Dark Lord fled from Rin Sakaros. By 149, she was equal to her husband Tariun and Sapphire himself.

Trained by Tariun and mentored by Sato Raltharan and Sorrik, Breek was a successful military commander. She was widely respected by her men, particularly rank-and-file soldiers, who felt she genuinely cared about them and was willing to share their suffering.

As a Centurion, Breek could speak Orhyo and. She spoke fluently as well, although with a pronounced Sandulucian accent. After she married Tariun Sakaros, Tariun and Rin taught her.

Appearance and personality
Tall for a Human woman at 1.78 meters (5'10"), Breek was fit and muscular, built like an infantry soldier. She had curly brown hair, which she usually wore in a ponytail or bob when in combat or training, and had stormy gray eyes.  She usually wore the standard uniforms of the Order or the Royal Guard, but preferred black when off duty and wore armor when in combat.  Considered fairly attractive by humanoid standards, Breek nonetheless devoted little attention to her appearance, and might have been more attractive still had she cared to be.  She made no cosmetic repairs to her face after she was scarred on Shest Minor, and opted for a simple black eyepatch rather than a cybernetic replacement.  She carried a single straight-hilt lightsaber with a Sith red blade, chosen as an homage to Tariun.



Many people who encountered Breek for the first time found her cold and detached, and she did not make friends easily, having been conditioned from youth not to trust. Her fellow Centurions considered her remarkably unemotional and stoic, even for a Centurion, though it was more accurate to say that she did not usually allow her emotions to influence her behavior. However, she did consider her fellow Centurions family.

Tariun Sakaros
Breek credited Tariun with rescuing her and bringing almost everything good into her life, and once she came to trust him, in her youth she had a great affection for him, viewing him as a mix of master and best friend. Even as she grew and matured, Tariun remained her friend, and was the only person with whom she was totally open; while she would always answer Rin Sakaros honestly and completely if asked a question, she would volunteer the information to Tariun.

At some point, Breek's feelings for Tariun began to change from daughterly love to romantic love. By the time she became a Royal Guard, she was falling in love with him, though she kept the fact to herself, afraid to reveal her feelings and not have them reciprocated. The two became sexually involved, which only complicated Breek's feelings, and Breek was one of very few beings Tariun slept with more than once, as well as being one of even fewer for whom he had deep and lingering affection.

Breek looked with general indifference on the Sith Lord's numerous other sexual conquests, viewing them as merely physical and not really meaningful; she had several of her own. However, upon discovering in 141 ABY that Tariun had been married, she was deeply hurt, not as much because he had loved someone else but because it was the first time she had really been confronted with the notion that, while she was totally open and honest with the Sith Lord, he might not have been with her. When Tariun dismissed her, she grew embittered and resentful.

Tariun's apology a year later surprised her, but while she had suppressed her feelings for him and the hope that accompanied them, she had not eradicated them entirely, and so she gave him a chance. With both of them open about their feelings, their relationship fell into place naturally. They were playful and sarcastic with one another when they married, though they were generally professional in public and reserved affection for private moments.

Rin Sakaros
Breek had deep respect and gratitude for the Queen of the Golden Empire, crediting her with bringing peace to her homeworld, to which lasting peace was almost a foreign concept. Like all Royal Guards, she was devoutly loyal to Rin, willing to risk injury or even death in her service.

Due to her own uncommonly acute telepathic abilities and the deep psychological bond she intensely forged with her Centurions, Rin was aware of Breek's love for her brother. However, she elected not to discuss the matter with Tariun or Breek, concerned that it would not end well. When Tariun came to her to ask permission to marry Breek, Rin was pleasantly surprised, but agreeable.

Rin treated Breek like a sister after she married Tariun, insisting that Breek call her by name in private, which took Breek some time. Rin loved Breek and Tariun's children and was very protective of them. Breek increasingly became Rin's counselor, as well as her Var Shek sparring partner.

Centurions
In general, Breek considered her fellow Centurions family, but she had a skewed enough concept of the word that she was not particularly affectionate or open with most of them. However, she did nurture some close friendships, including Tamlok and Jira Seezhli. She also had respect for the swordfighting skills of Kieran Sapphire and Tarzg Sav'lir, and was perpetually fascinated by the battle ferocity of the Zyked Centurion Rajj-Yo, whose combat fanaticism surpassed even her own. Breek also studied tactics and military command under Sorrik. Breek herself was something of a mentor to younger Centurions, including the Porén twins and Vos'elk'eetash.

The Shest Minor Seven had a special place in Breek's memory, though the death of Atrelle Sovex haunted her.

Military personnel
Breek was widely respected by both officers and enlisted personnel in the Armada, who felt she was a capable tactician and leader and admired her willingness to share their hardships. Her refusal to accept a cybernetic eye or bacta for her facial scarring after Shest Minor, in order that more seriously injured personnel could receive the limited resources, escalated respect for her among the rank-and-file even further. She considered Salin Tesshir, the captain of the Valkyrie, a personal friend, and was on good terms with both Augu Pentag and Veersh. Her recommendations secured Veersh his promotion to brigadier in the Royal Army's High Command and influenced Sorrik to make Rensi Shal-Shatir a Vice Admiral and Rin to make him a Consul.