Maardok Onasi

"If you kill us, you'll never get out of here alive. If you slaughter the rest of the Tuskens, you'll never get out of here alive. If you go with the Imperials, you'd get out of here alive, but knowing those shady bastards in prisons on Dathomir...and in some way that I could only describe as deeply pornographic...you'd be begging for death. So how's about you take a long walk in the desert right now, help us finish off your friends, or you can have this bright blue blaster bolt. Your choice."

- Maardok Onasi

Maardok Onasi was a mercenary and Rebel soldier during the Galactic Civil War.

Maardok was born on Telos IV but was marooned on Tatooine as a small child. There he was raised by Tusken Raiders. After expressing wishes to see the universe unfolding around him he was banished from his tribe and spent time traveling across the desert world. Maardok witnessed the cruelty of the Galactic Empire firsthand and decided to join the Rebel Alliance, which he would ultimately leave after suffering the loss of his many good friends.

His time away would be short-lived however as he entered service in the Alliance Navy roughly a year after leaving the ground forces. As a pilot on board the Liberty he let his own "Bantha Squadron" in countless engagements against Imperials from the Battle of Hoth to Endor when the ship was destroyed. Maardok and most of the starfighter wings survived, however, and were transfered to other ships to continue war effort.

It is quite possible that both Onasi brothers were the descendants of Carth or Dustil Onasi. However, no solid proof was ever recovered from any records.

Early Life
Born one year after the formation of the Empire on the planet of Telos, Maardok enjoyed a simple life with his parents and brother, Ilnrard. Both brothers excelled in their early education; Maardok could speak Basic with clarity at the age of four. These were the first inklings of the true talent of the boy. Neither Maardok nor his brother knew much about their parents, for tragedy struck early for them. In 13 BBY, the starship carrying the Onasi family was attacked by an Imperial Star Destroyer over the planet of Tatooine. The brothers were sent in seperate escape pods to better their chances of survival. Ilnrard's pod landed in the outskirts of the city of Bestine and Maardok's landed in the Jundland Wastes.

Shortly after the crash, Maardok was picked up by a Tusken Raider tribe. For ten years he learned to become one of them and became a member of the tribe. At the age of fifteen, Maardok completed his rite of passage and officially became a Raider. Because of the time spent with the Tuskens, he developed a certain veracity and untamed wildness in him which would sometimes lead to altercations later in life. However, this style of living was not for him. Maardok knew there was an entire galaxy around him, and he wished to be a part of it. Of course, this did not bode well with his tribal elders. The ensuing debate earned Maardok banishment from the tribe. Several years before the Battle of Yavin, Maardok took his pet Bantha and set out for Mos Eisley.

Seeds of Rebellion
The injustices of the Empire were not difficult to spot on the backwater desert world. During his travels through the Dune Sea Maardok encountered moisture farmers spending nearly all they earned on Imperial taxes. In the cities, especially Mos Eisley, stormtroopers would arrest random street urchins or non-humans and execute them without being accused or tried of any crime. It was in Mos Eisley that Maardok decided to start his war against the Empire, and his first step in doing so was doing odd jobs for Jabba the Hutt. Though not all of the work was benevolent in nature, much of the work he offered Maardok stopped up the plumbing of Imperial operations. Though after the Battle of Yavin, the Empire cracked down more on underground operations and Jabba could no longer offer jobs with Imperial targets, so Maardok went right to the source.

Maardok entered Anchorhead and met several members of the Rebel Alliance who officially inducted him into their ranks. Working missions for the Alliance was Maardok's calling. He felt anything he could do that would undermine the Empire was worth a try. He participated in several minor skirmishes and events during the early years of the Galactic Civil War. He also became very proficient in piloting, and took great pride in his skills.

New Republic Army
Maardok joined the 44th "New Republic Army" Corps on Dantooine shortly after joining the Rebellion. Under the command of an enigmatic colonel by the name of Gravedigga, the NRA as they came to be called employed indirect combat skills. Maardok learned to hunt and train creatures long before adorning his Rebel uniform and spent months in training under his veteran superiors. He befriended many in the group, including a fellow soldier named Fizban. After six months with the NRA, Maardok was finally sent out to become a Rebel pilot for the NRA's standing fighter squadron. He graduated from Alliance flight school fourth in his class with a rank of Lieutenant. From then on he remained running supply missions for the 44th Corps and hit and run skirmishes. His fellow soldiers teased him endlessly about him not engaging Imperials on the ground, but could never compete with him in space and he quickly rose through the ranks to Major. During R&R, Maardok would go hunting with Fizban and Gravedigga on Dantooine. For once he felt that he belonged somewhere. Of course, all of it would come to an end.

In 1 ABY, Maardok was conducting a surprise attack on Imperial Tibana gas platforms when he received the news about his friends. The Empire had intercepted a transmission revealing the location of several Rebel bases, one being the city that housed the New Republic Army's base of operations. Two Imperial Star Destroyers struck the base from orbit, leveling the city around it and killing thousands of innocent civilians along with the majority of the New Republic Army. The handful of survivors, including Maardok, were all offworld at the time. Of that group, Fizban was the only one of Maardok's friends to survive the attack. With Gravedigga missing in action and their home base decimated, the remainder of the New Republic Army was ordered by Alliance High Command to the wild planet of Talus.

Regulators
Maardok and the surviving members of the 44th Corps spend several months on mandatory leave on Talus. Survivor's guilt was a burden on them all, and relaxing did not come easy. Before they reentered service, three of Maardok's fellow soldiers committed suicide. Being out of battle made him twitchy and uneasy. The loss of so many friends and the deaths of the innocents tainted him. During his time on leave, he got acquainted with his new surroundings and began hunting again to ease his mind. It was months before he was certified "fit for duty" again.

Upon returning to active duty, Maardok was assigned to the 4th "Regulator" Division of the Alliance Special Forces under Generals Neoshadow and Chronepsis. Before his first week, they saw enough promise in him to be commissioned as a SpecForce Field Commander at the rank of Colonel. The small group tactical focus allowed him to get to know his fellow men and his superiors well. Most of Maardok's work was concentrated in the Outer Rim, performing surgical strikes on Imperial garrisons. During this time he unknowingly met his own brother in battle. It is also known during this period that Maardok served as a Senator in a makeshift Senate based in Corellia between many of the factional houses in an attempt to keep many conflicts diplomatic situations. Though he was not the original choice to represent the Regulators, he was seen as an exemplary politician at the Senate floor, and was quickly asked to help his division in representing their home planet of Dantooine.

But like the New Republic Army before them, it was not long before the Regulators fell in battle as well. The entire Corps was involved in a major operation evacuating Alliance sympathizers and civilians from the war-torn moon of Rori. Maardok was in charge of a team overseeing transport from Naboo off-world to the Outer Rim when Imperial troops landed in the outskirts of Theed. In order to save the civilians, Onasi and his men would have to fight a pitched battle to hold just enough ground for the evacuation to complete. By nightfall, the unit suffered more than sixty percent casualties, and there were still ships to be sent off. Maardok ordered a retreat to the ships, but had the alleyways and buildings on the way booby trapped to cut down on the quickly advancing stormtroopers. One last firefight ensued outside of the starport before being extracted.

Twelve men including himself made it off the planet of the original compliment of three hundred that were dropped. The young colonel had three broken ribs, burns on his torso, and a torn up leg from a thermal detonator. Once he was properly taken care of, he learned that the rest of the Corps had been annihilated in in the energy explosion during the Battle of Restuss. Yet again orphaned by the atrocities of the Empire, Maardok resigned his commission shortly after being rehabilitated.

Noble-Savage
After the massacre at the hands of the Imperials, Maardok retreated back to Tatooine and became a regular patron at the Mos Eisley Cantina. He had had his share of the War and the broader picture and sought to avenge his fallen comrades. He wasn't out to help the Rebel cause anymore, but to slaughter Imperials on his own accord. He earned a reputation as a skilled hunter and a drunkard, drowning his sorrows in Vasarian Brandy. This did not exclude him from good-will work however, as he would readily aide any good-natured person who solicited his help. Maardok Onasi became a relatively familiar name in the Mos Eisley area when he returned to working for Jabba the Hutt, but for far less heroic work. Though he refused to take the more heartless deeds, he willingly performed unmentionable acts to punish enemies of Jabba whom Maardok personally deemed had it coming...and was compensated greatly for it.

This trend continued on for the better part of a year, to the point where his appearance in the cantina and on the sands was a staple of the desert ambiance. Most knew of his connections with Jabba and his friendship with Wuher the bartender, but his distant past was hidden from all but a privileged few. Novim Onasi met his younger half-brother during this time when they were both assigned the same bounty. The pair worked together to take the mark out and learned of their common heritage shortly thereafter. Novim became involved in the Rebellion after hearing some of Maardok's stories and tried to persuade him to re-join to no avail. Maardok remained extremely bitter about his experiences as a soldier and vowed to stay out of the conflict.

Incident at the cantina
"Let's face it: I'm related to Imperial officers that outrank you. Sure, we all hate each other's guts, but we'd never wish death upon one another. And I'm sure the last thing that the good colonel needs to hear in his cozy little office in Bestine is that his blood relation got shot in the back by a newbie looking to make her way up the paygrade ladder. But you know what? Let's wait for the rest of your friends to show up and we'll see what happens."

- Maardok Onasi during an argument with an Imperial.

It was only a matter of time before Maardok was going to get into more trouble than he bargained for. Roughly a year after leaving the Rebellion, he was sipping his favorite vintage of vasarian brandy when questioned by then-officer candidate Jan Alexi. With a sandstorm raging outside, Maardok had no choice but to play into the Imperial's hand and hope that nothing went horribly wrong. Unfortunately, a Zabrack temp musician for the band playing in the cantina started a fight, and Alexi took measures to arrest them. He tried to make a quick exit but was halted by the Imperial, leading to a standoff of sorts. He touted his relation to his brother, who was a colonel at the time serving in Bestine, and promised to wait for the storm to blow over and Imperials to arrive.

While Jan did not know who Maardok was at the time, she was eager to have him detained and interrogated. His capture would have meant her promotion to a full lieutenant. Knowing full well what would happen in the event of his incarceration, Maardok broke his promise and started a gunfight with the aid of another mercenary by the name of Orarzo. Inexplicably, the Zabrack temp aided the Imperial and the four of them were forced into a close-range firefight. The mercenary pair had managed to inflict some damage and hide behind the bar before the end of the storm, but both had been injured and wouldn't last much longer. Both tried to pull for a truce but the Imperial would have none of it. She would not stop until she had both of them either dead or in her custody. Thankfully Maardok's knowledge of the cantina's floorplan allowed them to escape through a trap door and make it out of the cantina just as Imperial reinforcements arrived.

Orarzo took Maardok to a local medical facility via his speeder and the two recuperated together becoming friends along the way. Orarzo decided to take more jobs for the Rebels and Maardok learned that while he had survived the encounter, he was much further off his game than he once was during his soldier days. It was obvious the Imperials wouldn't be taking a break from enslaving the Galaxy; he thought it irresponsible in retrospect to abandon his duty to prevent it. Once he was fully healed he placed Spike in the care of Novim and joined the Alliance once again, but this time as a pilot.

Bantha Squadron
Maardok's expertise and previous experience allowed him to be speedily shuffled out of regular training and onto a starship. All his time as a soldier a year prior gave him the rank of commander and a position as squadron leader on board the MC80 Star Cruiser Liberty under Admiral Yamarus. Holding a little more clout and leeway then the average pilot ans squadron leader, the capable commander renamed the squadron assigned to him "Bantha Squadron" in honor of his favorite animal.

Bantha Squadron along with the rest of the Liberty's task force was involved in various hit and run attacks on Imperial installations following the Battle of Hoth. Maardok and his men earned their keep many times over and proved themselves to be a valuable asset. During their detatched service in the Vilonis sector, all of the star cruiser's squadrons saw excessive combat, fighting products of the Empire's TIE Experimental Project. After weeks of defending convoys and tracking leads to the masterminds behind the project, Bantha Squadron was accredited in assisting with the kills of XQ1 Platform Obsidian and Imperial Research Ship Sardis. The resulting leave time for R&R allowed him to take his men on a short trip to Tatooine to celebrate. When the returned to the front, Bantha Squadron had gained its reputation as "the hardest working, hardest drinking, and biggest partying squadron in four sectors".

Maardok was then involved in all the Liberty's operations leading up to and including the Battle of Endor. During the battle, his squadron was given the task of anti-fighter support which became capital ship defense shortly after the Imperial trap was sprung. When the Liberty was destroyed by the second Death Star's superlaser, Bantha Squadron was then charged with joining the assault on the assembled Imperial fleet. Maardok helped knock out several star destroyer deflector generator domes resulting in subsequent kills. At the end of the battle, Bantha Squadron assisted in blasting hazardous debris from the Death Star away from the forest moon.

Post-Libre
Maardok represented the fallen men and women of the Liberty during the funeral ceremonies after the battle alongside Ace Azzameen before being transferred to Home One. The next few years he headed Bantha Squadron until the Siege of Coruscant where he opted to start his track to starship command.

His first command, if it could be called that, was on board a YKL-37R Nova Courier named Galactica. Assigned to small convoy escort, special transport, and smuggling missions, Maardok led the crew of five men for several years until his full promotion to captain in 10 ABY to help combat the resurrected Emperor and his fleets. While the Galactica became his personal ship, he was given command of a Liberator-class cruiser by the name of Preserver. For the next five years, Maardok participated in several campaigns such as the Battle of Onderon before being transferred to the Fifth Battle Group in command of the Majestic-class heavy cruiser Liberty under General Etahn A'baht. The Liberty was involved with most, if not all of the battles during the infamous Black Fleet Crisis and was present at the signing of the Bastion Accords, effectively ending the Galactic Civil War.

Not long after these events did the now-seasoned captain earn recognition as one of the foremost commanders in the Navy. Reluctantly, he accepted a promotion to commodore and was given command of a new vessel.

Grk'kkrs'ar
"You named her...the Grk'kkrs'ar?" "Here we go...yes, she's named after a Tusken, yes, they aren't well-liked by most of the sentients in the Galaxy, and no, it wasn't my first choice but they wouldn't let me call her the Maardok Onasi."

- Ilnrard and Maardok Onasi on the basis for naming his own ship.

In 20 ABY, things seemed like they were finally settling down. The New Republic had made peace with what was left of the Empire, the jedi were flourishing again, and Maardok had been given command of a small task force in the Outer Rim. To accomodate his new position, he was given command of a new Nebula-class Star Destroyer which he was allowed to name as a courtesy for his years spent in the service of both the Alliance and the Republic. In a surprising turn, he named her the Grk'kkrs'ar after a legendary Tusken Raider. While unorthodox, he was allowed the name and shortly thereafter took command of Task Force Krayt under the Fifth Battle Group. The difficulties in pronouncing his ship's official name led to many not linguistically inclined to refer to the star destroyer as the "Unpronounceable". Based in Tatooine, it allowed Maardok to make frequent trips planetside to visit friends and family. After decades of feuding, he finally managed to patch up his relationship with Ilnrard and was reunited with both Novim and his trusty bantha Spike.

Task Force Krayt patrolled the Arkanis Sector for five years and left the area only once during that time in 21 ABY to investigate the destruction of SSD Intimidator. The Grk'kkrs'ar was sent on detached duty to investigate the hulk of the dreadnaught when she was found floating adrift near the Unknown Regions. Maardok led the team of marines that boarded the derelict and searched for any clues to her demise. Aside from bodies and wreckage, Maardok and his team couldn't find anything. While they could determine the Intimidator was destroyed by a vessel of fleet with twice her fire power, this created more questions than it answered. The ship logs provided no help as they were purged from the computer core along with any other valuable information. Maardok's official report to the admiralty stated, "it is possible we may be facing a new, dangerous threat to galactic safety that knows enough of our capabilities to destroy our best ships and cover their tracks." When no discernible cause for her destruction was found, the Grk'kkrs'ar returned to regular duty and the Intimidator was left to be salvaged by Republic engineers.

During this time, Maardok regularly drilled his men to keep them fresh, and rotated shore leave to allow crews to rest at home. He himself spent time hunting and visiting on his adopted homeworld. Rumors even circulated of the commodore resigning and retiring to the planet surface, but when asked were quickly dismissed. These years of relative peace were fleeting, however, as the Galaxy would soon be plunged yet again into interstellar war.

Personality and traits
"Welcome aboard Jundland Starlines, I'll be your captain this evening. If you have a destination in mind please immediately voice it so we don't get BLOWN UP BEFORE WE GET THE CHANCE TO TAKEOFF!"

- Maardok Onasi during a regular operation

Maardok was a man of many cultures. His parents were unknown but both presumed to be from very different backgrounds, then he was raised as a Tusken Raider and returned to the civilized galaxy. In most cases, he was a loner, not caring for anything or anyone outside of his personal beliefs and small circle of trusted individuals. He was not without a sense of humor, dry and dark as it was. Often in combat he'd make sarcastic and wry comments about whatever situation he was in. Being a pessimist, he never expected the best to come out of anything, and was a firm believer in Murphy's Law.

He had a penchant for Tusken tribal music, which he had learned as a child. His favorite pieces were very bellicose, favoring the drums heavily. Most of the songs were in his memory since childhood and he played them in his head to calm him or drive his mood whenever the situation called for it. He knew only one piece that did not have an aggressive tone to it, but rather a somber piece usually played with the Tusken equivalent of a flute. It was the only song he knew how to play. Eventually, he managed to carve a flute out of Krayt bone and played the song whenever he was in a somber or reflective mood. It was considered a private tune, however, and only his closest friends would ever hear him play it.

As a commander and leader, Maardok proved to be capable in most capacities. He hated the bureaucracy and never held aspirations to enter the political sphere of the military required to rise to any rank higher than commodore. He could develop friendships with the men and women under his command and was a more than competent tactician. Much to his superior's dismay, his dry humor and dark wit carried over to his command style. He also made a point to learn at least the last names of whoever served under him for a more familiar environment.

Equipment and tools
Maardok's usual attire consisted of Tusken gloves, boots, and mask along with camo pants and a Desert Command jacket. He was regularly seen in these clothes, but sometimes disguised himself in full Tusken garbs. Even despite his banishment, spending his childhood in the presence of the Sandpeople left an impression on him. He would rarely, if ever, remove his helmet in public or the general presence of strangers. Only in the company of trusted friends would he reveal his face. It was not until after returning to the Alliance prior to the Battle of Hoth that he left his helmet as an ornament on a wall in his quarters on the Liberty where it was subsequently destroyed along with the ship. Later in his career he insisted on wearing his Ace Pilot jacket because he felt it looked better than "whatever those koochoos in tailoring could come up with as uniforms". He merely wore his rank pin over the jacket along with the padded armor belt he had worn since his days working for Jabba.

On the ground he always carried his prized DE-10 blaster pistol, the mark of a talented pistoleer. Occassionally he would sport a gaderfii stick which he could easily weild in a close-quarters situation. As far as armor went, he was familiar with most heavy types. Composite armor was one of his favorites; a customized suit of which he carried with him in the event he ever needed it. The stint Maardok did as a mercenary allowed him to pick up several talents associated with smugglers and the like. In his belt were the tools required to splice weapons and hack computers. While he was more competent with cracking codes and modifying small arms than he was with infiltrating intricate computer networks, Maardok still found the items useful enough to keep around.

Fighting style
In all intents and purposes of the word, Maardok Onasi was a dirty fighter in some of the worst ways. During combat, he would unleash pent up rage and funnel it through his skills learned from the Tuskens. His goal in fighting an opponent was not only to defeat them, but to make sure they would not be in a position to attack twice. As a mercenary this made him an effective killer, but as a Rebel he found himself having to hold back in many situations when not directly confronting the Empire. While this kept him from going too far and becoming bloodthirsty, he was not above the occasional low blow blaster shot or gafii spike to the knee.

While his favorite weapon was his pistol Maardok learned to dual-wield with his gaderfii in his left hand, creating an effectively lethal combination and a close-combat nightmare for opponents.

Starfighters
Having a fancy for anything having to do with spaceflight, Maardok owned a small collection of ships including:
 * X-Wing-"Blue Leader"
 * YKL-37R Nova Courier-"Galactica"
 * ARC-170-"Old Painless"
 * Y-8 Mining Vessel-"Nostromo"

Behind the scenes

 * Maardok Onasi was created by the user KypFisto in Star Wars Galaxies. This character could be found on Kauri server during his playing years.
 * It is intended that Maardok and his siblings be the descendants of Carth Onasi.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided
 * "A Tatooine Night"
 * "The Adventure"
 * |"A Day in the Life"
 * |"Turned Tables"
 * |"Thin Ice"