Halon

"Answer me. Or you'll die right here!"

- Halon

Halon of Clan Turak was a maverick Ubese warrior who served the Old Republic in various capacities in the years leading up to the establishment of the Galactic Empire. He was notable for becoming the first of his race to join the Judicial Starfleet after the catastrophic Battle of Uba IV. Later, after many adventures as an agent of the Secret Galactic Intelligence Service, Halon assumed leadership of the Turak Clan, and led his people into battle during the Clone Wars.

Early life
"I was wounding myself with practice blades at the age when most sentients were learning to walk."

- Halon

Halon was born in Foundation City, Ubertica, the eldest son of clan chief (vellux) Halor, a skilled warrior who managed and led the "family business", a professional mercenary organization known as the Turak Galactic Security Corporation. Expected to follow in his father's footsteps, young Halon accompanied him all over the Outer Rim Territories, to whatever dangerous hot spots Halor's work took him. Throughout his childhood, Vellux Halor and the other senior Turak warriors vigorously trained Halon in the deadly arts of hand-to-hand combat, survival, and weapons use.

Unlike most xenophobic Ubese, however, Halon found himself drawn to the other worlds and cultures he encountered in his travels and grew aware of the somewhat sinister image that the Ubese people had developed in the Galaxy at large. He began to dream of another life, one dedicated to forging stronger links between his own people and the rest of galactic society. But before Halon could act on these dreams, he had to face his first trial by fire. In 53 BBY, Halon was inducted into the Turak Clan as a full-fledged warrior (vell) and soon after saw his first action at a small engagement during the Mandalorian Civil War. Hired by a remote colony of terrified settlers, Turak Security decisively repulsed an incursion by Mandalorian raiders fighting under the Death Watch banner. Despite his fear Halon performed well, proving his years of training had not been in vain.

Halon subsequently continued with the mercenary life for a few more years, carried on more by the obligation he felt than any real passion for the work. At the age of twenty however, he abruptly announced his intention to leave the clan and work for the Republic, much to the chagrin of his father.

Naval Career
"Lieutenant Halon reporting as ordered, sir."

- Halon

Drawn by the opportunity to do good and attracted by its traditions and discipline, Halon opted for a military career and enlisted in the Judicial Fleet, a stunning decision given the Republic Navy had nearly wiped out the Ubese species around the time of the New Sith Wars. Quickly demonstrating both ability and experience, Halon drew the attention of Fleet Intelligence, who realized Halon could be an invaluable asset in infiltrating certain circles of the galactic criminal underworld, where Ubese were often employed. In the years that followed, Halon worked undercover as an intelligence officer, helping to root out and destroy many pirate groups and slaving guilds. It was during this time that Halon began to develop a deep hatred for the Hutts for what he saw as their seemingly limitless capacity for evil.

When the Stark Combine began to step up its attacks on the Outer Rim in 44 BBY, Halon was quickly dispatched to investigate. For the duration of the Stark Hyperspace War Halon remained behind enemy lines, working tirelessly to sabotage the Combine's war effort any way he could. Disturbed by the Stark Veteran Assembly's anti-alien past, however, Halon would shun the organization in the years to come.

With the war's conclusion, Halon began to consider a permanent return home. Before his military career ended though, Halon received an offer to join MI5, an elite, covert agency tasked with battling non-Sith related organized crime. Honored (and intrigued ) by the invitation, Halon accepted.

Dr. Noah
"My name's Pandolfo Taproot. Are you, uh, just as lost as I am?"

- Agent Taproot to Halon on their first mission

Agent Halon's first mission for MI5 put him in hot pursuit of the mad genius Dr. Noah, a fugitive with links to the evil SMERSH organization. Attached to Green Team, one of three squads formed to track down any leads, Halon and other agents traveled to Corellia, investigating Noah's last known place of employment, CorSec Academy.

Along with Agents Pandolfo Taproot and Salmakk Neot, Halon spearheaded the CorSec assault to take back the doctor's lab, strongly defended by forces under the command of Noah's ruthless Noghri enforcer, Wivern. Working together, the agents cleared the laboratory and subdued Wivern. Further investigation by CorSec officers revealed a disturbing holovid, which seemed to indicate an imminent attack on the planet Kiffu. Halon promptly sent the newly acquired intel back to headquarters and received orders to head out for the Kiffar homeworld on Agent Neot's ship, Healing Speed. It was during this time that Halon was able to interrogate Wivern and expose the corruption of CorSec's Captain Puss-Feller.

Uniting with agents from Blue Team, Halon and his colleagues met with Sheyf Tinté Vos, the Kiffar ruler, just as Dr. Noah arrived in orbit above the planet aboard his massive ship, Noah's Ark. Heedless of the danger, the MI5 agents set off from Kiffu in a small flotilla of vessels to confront the villain. Drawn in by the Ark's powerful tractor beams, however, most were captured by Noah's forces as their ships were dragged into the docking bay and then escorted to the bridge.

Recalling his years aboard similar smuggling ships however, Halon and Pandolfo managed to hide out on the Healing Speed in secret compartments built for just such a purpose. Biding his time, Halon emerged from the ship under the cover of smokescreen and used his helmet's thermal vision and the Turak Clan's sacred vibrosword to ruthlessly cut down an entire squad of goons guarding the docking bay. Meanwhile, the agents in Noah's custody had been freed and managed to turn the tables on the madman, ending his threat to the system for good.

Casino Royale
"I am Serik, at your service."

- Halon, using his alias

Three years later, still working for MI5, Halon was part of a small team of agents working undercover to board the the Empress of the Stars, a glamorous luxury liner whose maiden voyage intelligence indicated was drawing the unexpected focus of the criminal underworld...

Returning home
Halon's missions had kept him away from Ubertica for long stretches of time and all the while Halor had appealed to his son to return for good and take up the mantle of leadership. Finally submitting sometime after the Casino Royale assignment, Halon headed back to Foundation City. The fact that he faced an arranged marriage to Kyta of Clan Kytus had played no small part in his reticence to leave MI5. A large wedding was soon held in Turak Castle but although the parring had been hatched as a purely political maneuver long before Halon was even born, it soon blossomed into a successful and loving marriage.

Having taken a wife, Halon was finally ready to assume the title of clan vellux from his father, much to Halor's delight (and relief). Halon declined to head Turak Security, instead letting his oldest brother Halikk take command while he devoted his time toward philanthropy and raising a family.

The Clone Wars
"You're men are good." "They're Ubese."

- Clone Marshal Commander Gree and Colonel Halon, conferring after a battle.



After so many years of conflict and danger, Halon had hoped to settle down on Ubertica and lead a peaceful life. The galaxy had other plans. As the Separatist Crisis grew steadily worse, the "True Ubese" of Uba IV seized their long-sought chance for revenge and joined the Confederacy of Independent Systems in 22 BBY. The so-called True Ubese were the unfortunate descendants of the survivors of the great cataclysm that nearly destroyed the Ubese race centuries ago in the first Battle of Uba IV. Mutated by the now-toxic conditions of their planet, they despised the Republic and those survivors that had escaped their fate by settling on Ubertica.

Having tangled with the True Ubese in the past, Halon knew they would use their newfound power to attack Ubertica. Using his MI5 connections, Halon learned that the Separatists were constructing a major droid foundry and biological weapons facilities on Uba IV. Although Halon urgently presented this evidence to the Council of Elders, Ubertica nonetheless remained a neutral world as the Clone Wars began. The Council had disagreed with Halon, reasoning that entering the war would cost more lives than it would save.

Undeterred, Halon joined with a small number of like-minded chiefs. Realizing the fate of their planet was now at stake, they agreed to form a paramilitary army to support the Republic's war effort. The result was the Ubese Volunteer Force (UVF). Because of his previous military service, Halon became the liaison between the UVF and the Grand Army of the Republic which readily incorporated the unit and attached it to the 9th Assault Corps. Proving themselves in several early campaigns, the UVF soon became renowned for their prowess as elite commandos. It was during this time Halon befriended Clone Commander Gree (CC-1004).

Weaponry
Extensively trained in their general use since childhood, Halon gradually developed a strong preference for certain weapons in particular:



Behind the scenes
Halon has been featured in two award-winning RPGs on the TheForce.Net Role Playing Forum and may yet make further appearances on it in the future.

Originally, the character was going to go by the name "Haxul."

Appearances

 * Dr. Noah
 * Casino Royale