Vem

Vem was a male Fyaar Centurion and Royal Guard of the Golden Empire.

Early life
Born on Waldragos in 111 ABY, the same year the planet fell to the forces of the Golden Empire, Vem was the third child and third male born to his family. As a cub, he frequently tagged along with his older brothers, practicing jumping and clawing techniques with an aptitude that seemed to exceed his age. His parents were reluctant to be seen as supportive of the Golden Empire and refused to submit him for examination for the Order of Keltrayu. However, by the time Vem was nine, he was beginning to consciously manipulate his surroundings with the Force and asking why others could not do so. Conceding to his request, they contacted a Praetor-Recruiter of the Order, who examined Vem and determined quickly that he was indeed strong in the Force. Vem's parents grudgingly allowed him to join the Order in 120 ABY.

Already over six feet (1.83 meters) tall when he joined the Order, Vem tended toward an intensely physical and overpowering style of lightsaber combat. Tariun Sakaros fully expected his new pupil to specialize in Djem So. Though capable of battering smaller Novices into submission in practice duels, Vem would still lose to more talented Novices who evaded his ferocious attacks with speed and precision. Rin Sakaros had already had an eye on Vem's training, hoping his membership in the Order would help build trust and ease dissent with the Fyaar. When Vem still had not found a style which satisfied him after four years of training, Rin took him under her wing and taught him Juyo. He also relished training in Var Shek, although as he grew ever larger, eventually only Rin's Massassi would agree to fight him.

First roles
Vem became a full Centurion in 134 ABY at the age of twenty-three, and was often dispatched on law enforcement or peacekeeping missions, where his size (he had grown to seven feet (2.13 meters)) and ferocious appearance often inspired his quarry to surrender without a fight. However, he truly came into his own during the Conquest of the Chiss Ascendancy, participating in most of the ground engagements and often accompanying the victors to receive surrender from the Chiss. Recognizing Vem's achievements and the intimidation value of having him nearby, Rin installed him in the Royal Guard the same year.

Vem served as a Royal Guard for four years, often accompanying Rin herself to meetings with her subordinates or vassals. When he was not performing these duties, he sometimes helped Kieran Sapphire train Novices, using his intimidating experience as a lesson to help them move beyond fear and focus on what needed to be done. When Rin sent four Royal Guards to the Merquise Syndicate in 140 ABY, sensing danger to her brother Nagarian, Vem was among them, along with Jira Seezhli, Breek Zagrev, and Khoro`ly`ooho`sh`lyhoo. Rin felt the normal fourth member of the quartet, Tamlok, was too distraught over his imagined culpability for the capture of Tariun Sakaros at Lebyool to be of use, and she was relying on Vem's awesome physical power and combat skills to counter any dangers. While he and Khoro actually missed the subsequent duel, both were in position to defend Nagarian if it became necessary.

Special duty
In 141 ABY, at the suggestion of both Tariun and Eskol Kaartinen, Vem was rotated out of the Royal Guard to serve on the front lines of the Vagaari War. When the attacked the southern front of the Empire, Vem was assigned as a subordinate Legate under the overall command of Sorrik to lead the counterattack. With Sorrik and Breek Zagrev, he succeeded in repelling the invaders.

Following the defeat of the and the final extermination of the  species, Rin assigned Vem to a less pleasant task. Over the course of The Tribulation, thirteen Centurions had abandoned their duties and fled the Order, meriting an automatic death sentence. Due to both his detached self-control and his ability to use the Force for hunting and tracking, Rin charged Vem and Rajj-Yo with hunting down and exterminating the traitors from the Order. They succeeded in their mission, although Vem killed only three, with Rajj-Yo killing nine and the thirteenth voluntarily surrendering to Rin and committing suicide.

Defending the prince
Vem continued in law enforcement work for the Empire, but was sent back to Nar Shaddaa in 144 ABY when Rin became aware that the were targeting Nagarian. It was on Nar Shaddaa that he first encountered Azalyn Kass`l, who took to calling him "Kitty" and of whom he became very fond. Along with Rajj-Yo and Aria Nikina, he helped the Queen's "extended family" fight the Sith Lords who arrived. During a duel in the Entertainment District, he succeeded in killing one of them, but as the catwalk they were standing on began to fracture, another of the Sith attacked Aria. She was already dueling another enemy, and Vem feared the two-on-one fight would be too much for her. As the catwalk collapsed under his feet, Vem grabbed the from behind, dragging her down with him into the darkness and saving Aria from her attack.

Both Vem and the Twi'lek were seriously injured in the fall; Vem broke his left leg, and the shattered bone stuck out of his thigh. He also broke several ribs and fractured one arm. Despite his injuries, he fought on against his equally damaged opponent, finally succeeding in amputating one of the Sith's arms. As the Twi'lek howled, Vem used the last of his strength to impale the Sith Lord through the chest.

Hemorrhaging blood, Vem drifted in and out of consciousness, trying to use a to keep himself alive. He was barely clinging to life when a rescue party led by Rajj-Yo and Odala Van Meer found him and transported him back to the ziggurat for medical attention. Bacta patched up most of his injuries, but though his leg was put back together, it was weakened, and he walked with a painful limp.

Pride and duty
Vem returned to the Empire, but refused a prosthetic. He considered his inability to defeat the Sith without injury a personal failure as a warrior, and the suffering he endured as a result the just punishment of that failure. Numerous other Centurions tried to talk him into the surgery without effect.

When Reiko Kaytana and her family visited the Empire in 145 ABY for the Wedding of Tariun Sakaros and Breek Zagrev, Rin asked Reiko to speak to Vem. Reiko herself had long resisted getting a prosthetic replacement for her weak left arm until the arm itself was damaged beyond repair, and since Reiko was also Nagarian's mother, Rin felt she was the only person to whom Vem might listen. Reiko found the Fyaar in the underbelly of the Sith Star. Vem was initially disinterested in her argument despite his respect for her personally, but began to consider the idea when she not only related her personal experience, but pointed out that Vem would be less able to protect Nagarian in the future with his crippled leg.

Unwilling to leave the prince he loved in danger for what he had come to view as pride, Vem finally consented to the operation. His new cybernetic left leg was coated with and given artificial fur to match his real leg. He initially experienced difficulty adapting to the limb, and was helped along by the patient guidance of Tillandra Moraes despite his irritability. Once he became used to the limb, Vem recovered his previous skill in lightsaber combat.

Azalyn Kass`l formally joined the Order of Keltrayu in 147 ABY. Whenever he was aboard the Sith Star, Vem stopped in to see her, sometimes helping her with lightsaber basics and other times just visiting with her.

The rescue
Later in 147 ABY, Vem was sent with Khoro and a small strike force of s to find Axelia Solios, who had gone missing in the Unknown Regions. They at last located her on Kachee and went to the planet together to find her. Instead, they found the Dark Jedi Shalach Hal-Razav, who had taken Axelia and a fellow prisoner. Both Centurions sensed the Dark Jedi's Force powers were beyond their own and attempted to retreat, but Hal-Razab attacked them with. Vem caught the burst on his lightsaber, but Khoro was struck and killed.

Knowing he would do nothing but die too if he attacked, Vem retreated to his ship and returned to the fleet. Leaving ships in orbit as a blockade, he journeyed to the Sith Star, providing the whole story to Rin and Tariun. Vem was deeply embittered over what he perceived as a failure to save or avenge his brother, but Rin agreed that he had done the right thing. Vem was sent back to Kachee along with Aria Nikina to rescue Axelia, while Te`net Organi was added to the mission to kill Hal-Razab. The Fyaar overcame his desire for vengeance and stuck to his duty, liberating Axelia and Tarash Grainer. In the process, he and Aria also recovered Khoro's remains.

Deeply pleased when Organi killed Hal-Razab by smashing a boulder on his face, Vem transported Khoro's remains back to the Sith Star. He was one of the Centurions who accompanied the Wooshlyhee for burial in Keltrayu's Tomb.

The orphan
In 148 ABY, Rin received a vision of Odala Kass`l and Alluria Solios being held captive by. Vem was among the Centurions who went to to rescue the women, fighting alongside Tarzg Sav'lir inside the. The two Centurions succeeded in killing at least a pair of Sith Lords, but though Alluria was saved, Odala died in captivity.

A brokenhearted Azalyn Kass`l was brought to to be with her family as they buried Odala. Though surrounded by people who loved her, Azalyn especially sought comfort from Vem, bringing them even closer.

The Nightmare War
"Anzatis should have known they were in trouble. Vem used his outside voice. Come, Vem, more bugses to kill!"

- Rajj-Yo, after he and Vem saved Tillandra and Rayne from Anzati

When the Reawakened attacked the Empire and began the Nightmare War in 149 ABY, Vem was assigned to assist Noelle in the Defense of Rykar. Given his greater military experience, Vem acted as Noelle's primary tactical advisor and took command of the main force while Noelle coordinated overall defenses within Rykar's capital city. When Tillandra and Rayne Turgachia were attacked by three of the Vyrak Legions, Vem and Rajj-Yo came to their aid. Vem was wounded with a lightsaber blow to the side while briefly dueling two of the Anzati at once, but he kicked one attacker away and defeated the other by seizing its wrists and kicking it with his cybernetic leg; the Anzat's body flew back while its arms remained in Vem's grip. As the clone shrieked in agony on the ground, Vem stomped its chest hard enough to shatter its sternum and spine.

Vem took only a bacta patch for his wound before returning to the field. He sustained a few more mild injuries, but was merely exhausted by the end of the battle. He advised Noelle before she made a speech to Rykar.

During the remainder of the war, Vem served with the Xoquon Sector Fleet. When Te`net Organi contracted the Sickness and had to return to the Sith Star for treatment, Vem replaced him as Praetor, the senior Order member and advisor to Legate Tarse Medrego.

After the war, Vem and Jira accompanied Tillandra, Rayne Turgachia, and Rin to Belsavis, taking Azalyn and Seeg-Til along.

Powers and abilities
Like all Centurions, Vem was extensively trained in telekinesis and telepathy, though he preferred the former in engagements, being a predator by nature and a man who relished physical combat. He had some skill at the use of Force lightning, but employed the power infrequently, preferring physical victory. He demonstrated at least a measure of ability at entering a during his fight with the One Sith on Nar Shaddaa.

Tutored by Rin Sakaros personally, Vem became proficient in the use of Form VII, though by the time of the Vagaari War he was still not a full master of the complex discipline. Despite his bulk, Vem could spring into the air with great agility, and he would consequently employ some Djem So and Ataru techniques as well. He was one of the greatest Var Shek artists in the Golden Empire, and not simply because of size; he could usually overcome even the Massassi, who were his own size and sometimes even larger, with superior fighting technique.

Vem usually kept his claws retracted, though he would extend them when frustrated or to intimidate someone. His voice was a deep, growling bass. He spoke Orhyo, Sith, and his native Frall fluently, and was approaching conversational level in Basic, though he tended to speak the latter tongue slowly.

According to Rin Sakaros, Vem was the best hunter in the Order of Keltrayu.

Appearance and personality
2.13 meters (7'0") tall and heavily muscled, Vem towered over nearly everyone he encountered who was not a Massassi. He had fur in shades of gray, white, and black, and wore a double mohawk of longer hair from the crown of his head down to his shoulders.  He wore a variation of the standard Order of Keltrayu uniform, removing the sleeves of his tunic and eschewing boots altogether.  He carried a lightsaber which, while proportionate to his large paws, was both longer and thicker than a standard weapon and considered enormous by his Human-sized comrades.  His weapon had a violet blade.

Vem was stoic and reserved, rarely speaking unless absolutely necessary. Rin Sakaros had no problem with this habit, as the two would simply communicate telepathically, but some of his fellow Centurions found his regular silence unnerving. Vem was fully conscious of his ability to intimidate smaller sentients, and was not afraid to do so to further the goals of whatever mission he happened to be on.

Vem had a complex relationship with Rin Sakaros. On one hand, the Sith queen was conscious of the barely-contained mutiny possible among her Fyaar subjects, and used Vem's presence in the Order of Keltrayu as a public relations tool, giving him a public presence on the Royal HoloNet during the war with the Chiss Ascendancy and keeping him at her side in public as a Royal Guard, hoping that the idea of a Fyaar advancing to her right hand would pacify some lingering resistance. On the other hand, Rin had true affection for Vem, and even taught him Juyo, a style she was usually hesitant to share with her disciples given its intense physical and emotional demands.

Behind the scenes
Vem's deep voice and some aspects of his appearance were based on the Cave of Wonders in Disney's .