Maliya

Maliya (//) was a female Leik Centurion of the Order of Keltrayu and an pilot of the Royal Starfighter Corps.

Recruitment and training
Born on Mir Kaldu`uz in 114 ABY, Maliya was recruited into the Order of Keltrayu at the age of five, slightly younger than normal for a Novice. Her parents had begun to suspect she was something more than normal due to her lightning-quick reflexes, an early sign of the which was to become one of her most dominant powers. Tested by a Praetor-Recruiter of the Order, she was able to block a dozen foam balls he threw at her from as many angles, and the impressed recruiter took her to Tariun Sakaros for judgment.

Equally impressed with Maliya's obviously strong connection to the Force, Sakaros admitted her as a Novice to the Order. She quickly fell in with a group of talented young Novices, including Tamlok, Kyzk, and the Porén twins. Competitive and assertive by nature, she quickly became the toughest of the group, though Tamlok was its social center. Maliya and Tamlok became close friends, though their nearly identical ages made them somewhat competitive with one another as well.

Electing to specialize in, Maliya trained to use her Leik barb-lashes in combat as well, flicking them at her opponents to sting or poison them when they were focused on her blade. After one sting nearly killed a student from a more sensitive species, Tariun ordered her to wear caps on the stinging barbs to prevent envenomation, though he conceded that the caps could still have small spikes so some effect remained.

Maliya and Tamlok also took to training on, spending hours at a time practicing piloting. Noticing their interest, Tariun took the two under his wing, giving them extensive training and even allowing them to fly real Hadragos from time to time. The two Novices competed extensively in this training, constantly comparing their kill counts from simulated dogfights and challenging each other to fighter duels.

Centurion
Maliya was commissioned as a full Centurion in 136 ABY, a year before Tamlok. She served in law enforcement duties until the Conquest of the Chiss Ascendancy, when she was assigned to a Royal Starfighter Corps Hadrago squadron. Distinguishing herself in battle, she became an before the end of the conflict, scoring more kills than any other pilot in her unit. She was sent back to the Order with great praise for her skill, but the recommendation that she improve her teamwork.

Recognizing that he had trained his Centurions to be excellent pilots but not team members, Tariun sent Maliya and Tamlok to the RSC's officer training, though he sent them to different classes to avoid them competing again. After completing the training program, Maliya was given an officer's commission and dispatched to a Hadrago unit to apply her leadership training. Given her exceptional skill and patronage from the Prime Legate himself, she rose quickly to a position of leadership, serving as second-in-command of her squadron by 139 ABY.

Tariun had Maliya transferred to the Sith Star and into a more seasoned combat unit in 140 ABY. She had begun to dream of (and hint at) joining the elite Redblade Squadron, and a new contest had sprung up between her and Tamlok (now a Royal Guard) to see who could make the unit first. Tariun was indulgent of the competition, and took both Centurions as his wingmates when he flew his own Hadrago.

Death
In late 140, the Empire began to experience pirate raids in its northern regions, just inside the border of the former. Tariun was dispatched to deal with the issue, and he took several of his military protégés with him, including Maliya, Tamlok, and Breek Zagrev. Opting to fly rather than command what was supposed to be a minor engagement, Tariun took to the space battle with Tamlok and Maliya on his wings.

Shortly after the forces met, however, the "pirates" received their reinforcements in the form of a fleet of warships, including several. Totally outmatched, the Royal forces struggled to survive. As Tariun and the Centurions flew to cover the retreat of other fighter squadrons, a Star Destroyer opened fire toward them. Caught in a turbolaser blast, Tariun's fighter was fried beyond flight capability. But Maliya's caught the worst of the shot, and her fighter was incinerated, killing her instantly.

Legacy
"You fired on our brother, endangered the heir to our Empire and our most dedicated servant. But we see him before us, relatively safe and unharmed, and that we could forgive. But you also killed our servant Maliya…and that we do not forgive!"

- Rin Sakaros, sentencing the gunner who killed Maliya to death

Maliya's death was incredibly painful to both Tariun Sakaros and Tamlok, both of whom felt responsible for it. Rin Sakaros was furious at the loss of such a talented, promising Centurion; when she and her forces captured the enemy fleet, she extended a general amnesty to those who surrendered, but made an exception for the gunner who fired on Maliya, having him torn apart piece by piece by the Fyaar Vem. Some of Rin's inner circle believed that the Sith Queen had planned to appoint Maliya to her Royal Guard.

At the onset of the Vagaari War shortly after Tariun was rescued from captivity, Rin asked her brother to step down from his role as Prefect of the Order of Keltrayu to focus solely on the war. When it was won two years later, he also stepped down as Prime Legate, succeeded by Sorrik, expecting to retake command of the Order. However, Rin refused to reappoint him as punishment for getting Maliya killed by taking the field himself when he should have remained in command on his Star Destroyer, where he belonged.

Powers and abilities
As with all Centurions, Maliya received extensive training in and. She was also famous even among her siblings for her lightning-fast reflexes; her powers allowed her to respond to nearly any danger, and her extensive combat training enable her to quickly gain the upper hand against attackers.

Trained in Ataru, Maliya had a style fast enough to match her reflexes, preferring speed over power and often switching between one- and two-handed strikes. She also used her barb-lashes in combat, and especially in her brief career in law enforcement, stinging and subduing criminals who opted to fight rather than come quietly. Coupled with both, she used elements of Var Shek in her combat style, although her fast-moving style precluded some of the harder, slower techniques. She was able to overwhelm many slower swordsmen, although she was unequal to the best fighters of the Order, who could match her speed without sacrificing power.

Maliya was one of the best pilots in the Order of Keltrayu, with her reflexes enabling her to weave through cascades of laser fire unscathed, and her Force senses allowing her to target enemies with uncanny accuracy. At the time of her death, she was a better pilot than her friend Tamlok, and many Centurions speculated that Tariun Sakaros had been actively grooming her for appointment to Redblade Squadron, ranking her among the finest military pilots in the entire Empire.

Appearance and personality
Maliya was 1.68 meters (5'6") tall and had a fit physique. Her skin was dull gray, which made her bright blue eyes stand out.  She preferred to dress in her Centurion's uniform, though she wore the cape only when on duty and often rolled up the sleeves of her tunic.  She kept her light brown hair cut short, apart from a short phase during her teenage years when she wore it in a mohawk.  She carried a single, violet-bladed lightsaber.

Unlike most Leiks, Maliya wore her barb-lashes loose, usually draping them over her shoulders. She had her uniforms specially tailored with holes in the shoulders to thread the barb-lashes through. Though wearing barb-lashes in this fashion was considered a sign of aggression among Leiks, Maliya did not wish to spare the time uncoiling them if the need for them arose in combat.

Though not as flashy and show-offish as her friend Tamlok, Maliya was fiercely competitive and took failures to win as personal failings. She was relentless in pushing herself to improve. She could sometimes hold grudges or feel bitter about losing to someone else, although chastisements from Rin and Tariun Sakaros gradually led her to see the benefits of helping her teammates, and she eventually learned to channel her annoyance into helping herself get better rather than retaining bad feelings. With practice and training with the Royal Starfighter Corps, she also became a good team member, learning to anticipate her comrades' weaknesses and capitalize on their strengths.