Vos'elk'eetash

Vos'elk'eetash was a Centurion of the Order of Keltrayu. She was usually referred to by her core name, Selkee, except by other Chiss.

Early life and family
Born on Naporar in 130 ABY, Selkee was a child of the Vos Family, a lesser but formerly influential Chiss. She was the younger sister of Vos'yru'sadan. A precocious and intelligent child, Selkee was very close with her big brother and a source of great pride to her parents. She was popular among her school friends, and exhibited unusually quick reflexes early in life. She also had a peculiar gift for knowing when she was being lied to, even by adults. Her parents were traders who sometimes ventured out of the, and as a result Selkee learned to speak not only her native , but also , , and some.

Selkee was seven in 137 ABY, when the was conquered by the Golden Empire. She and her family watched in disbelief as the Chiss forces at Naporar were defeated by the Prime Fleet, and the Ruling Families at surrendered to Rin Sakaros. Several Centurions were dispatched to oversee the change of government. Though the Vos Family did not provide armed resistance, they were cold, condescending, and entirely unaccommodating, necessitating a visit from the Centurion Sato Raltharan.

Selkee's father was in the midst of an argument with the Basca Centurion when Selkee herself joined them and Raltharan was distracted completely. He could sense the Force in the child; moreover, he perceived that her potential power was greater than any living Centurion, almost comparable to that of Rin Sakaros herself. He offered the girl a place in the Order of Keltrayu on the spot without even referencing the matter to Prefect Tariun Sakaros. Selkee's family were resistant to the idea, but Sato persuaded them with true observations of the girl's staggering potential and notions that the Vos Family might have one of its own serving in close proximity to the Queen of the Empire. Selkee herself was reluctant, especially since her brother seemed so opposed to the idea, but her parents reminded her to place duty before her own desires—they felt that by agreeing to this "duty", Selkee would be in a position to both advance her family and influence the Queen in favor of the Chiss. Coupled with Sato Raltharan's kindness and gentle persuasion, the young girl finally consented.

Stranger in a strange land
"The Order is your family now, Vos'elk'eetash. Trust them as such, because they will be your strength when even your incredible power would fail you."

- Rin Sakaros to Selkee

The somewhat reluctant Chiss was taken to the Sith Star and presented to the Sakaros siblings, both of whom were startled by Selkee's potential and impressed with Sato Raltharan's work in recruiting her. Rin welcomed the child graciously to her flagship, and Tariun took her personally to the Citadel.

The first years of Selkee's life aboard the Sith Star were difficult for her. Raised in Chiss society and taught to control and hide her feelings, she felt distinctly uncomfortable when her fellow Novices openly shared their hopes, dreams, and petty frustrations, and even more so when they expected Selkee to do the same. Though she took quickly to the study of the Force, she disliked failure, especially in front of others, and would become easily frustrated when she could not accomplish a task. Many Novices found her cold and unfriendly.

Eventually, Selkee made the acquaintance of the Abstalian Ozkeot Vanil, a Novice two years her senior, but who had been with the Order since infancy. Though his potential was nowhere near Selkee's, Ozkeot was friendly and patient in the face of Selkee's rebuffs. Very slowly, he began to draw her out of her shell, providing her a much-needed friend in whom she could confide. It was Ozkeot who nicknamed Selkee "Bright Eyes", a moniker quickly adopted by Tariun Sakaros and most of the Order. Though initially annoyed by it, Selkee gradually took to it, sensing affection rather than mockery behind it.

Potential
Many of Selkee's teachers took particular interest in her, sensing her incredible power and aware that she could be either Rin's greatest servant or a terrible enemy if mistrained. Eskol Kaartinen took an active role in her Force training, and Kieran Sapphire pushed her hard in lightsaber exercises, aware that she might some day be the best of the Order. Even Rin Sakaros herself occasionally took Selkee aside for additional training.

It was Rin's tutelage that helped Selkee unlock the first ability that clearly marked her apart from others. While training to understand the connection between the Force and the body, Selkee began to experiment with manipulating the bodies of others. Rin allowed her access to holocrons detailing, an obscure but useful Force power which allowed a Force adept to use someone's bodily functions against him, causing nausea and disorientation. Though Rin was delighted with the girl's development, she did eventually intervene to prevent Selkee from practicing on spacemen serving aboard the Star.

As she became more comfortable with life in the Citadel, Selkee began to accept that the Order's values were not as different from those of the Chiss as she had imagined. Both factions stressed duty, self-control, stoicism, and courage in the face of adversity. Though still resentful that her people had been conquered, Selkee grudgingly conceded that Rin's conquests had been relatively bloodless, markedly different from the merciless slave raids conducted by the.

The decision
In 141 ABY, those same Vagaari attacked what they thought was still the Chiss Ascendancy, only to be drawn into war with the Golden Empire. Little changed for the Novices, although they could occasionally feel the vibrations as the Sith Star, usually present in battle, was struck by turbolaser fire. Rin visited the Citadel often to reassure the Novices that the Armada would do everything possible to keep them safe. Selkee found herself suddenly the target of many questions from other Novices, both older and younger, who wanted to know about the Vagaari. Though initially surprised and a bit put off, she eventually began to reassure the youngest children herself, remembering the nightmares she had had as a child about the Vagaari and how her parents and brother had made her feel better.

Later in the year, the attacked the south of the Empire, and Tariun Sakaros was forced to divide his Armada, sending Sorrik south with Rin, Vem, Breek Zagrev, hundreds of Centurions, and more than half the Armada to repel the invaders. As a result, things became much more dangerous aboard the Star, and the absence of the Queen weighed heavily on the hearts of the Novices. Eskol Kaartinen had replaced Tariun as Prefect of the Order so Tariun could concentrate wholely on the war effort, and though his presence was calming and kind, he did not carry quite the same aura of invincibility that the Queen did. Selkee and Ozkeot took to tapping into the Sith Star's security feed (Ozkeot was a talented hacker and computer specialist) and reading reports from the front.

In 142 ABY, while both fronts were still grinding away at their respective enemies, the Chiss rebelled. With the Armada divided, the Chiss rebels felt the Empire was at its weakest and open to defeat from within. Selkee found herself conflicted, unsure who to support. She knew her family would expect her to be loyal to the Chiss first, but that the Order unequivocally demanded first loyalty to Queen and Empire. Before she could resolve even that, she and Oz discovered that Vos'yru'sadan, Selkee's brother, was serving with the Chiss rebels.

Thoroughly torn and conflicted, Selkee withdrew from her friends, spending all her free time alone and wrestling with her loyalties. She knew the ship her brother served aboard, and that Tariun Sakaros had sent part of his remaining forces to pacify the Chiss. With her connection to the Sith Star's computer, she could track the movement of the Armada, and with a communication suite she could send it to her brother. Selkee suffered over the decision for a week before finally making one.

Employing all the self-control she learned from both the Chiss and the Order, she kept a straight face as she suggested to Oz that he write a program which would allow them to leave the Citadel undetected. Though initially reluctant, he was persuaded by Selkee's coaxing of the adventures they could get into. Taking the datacard, Selkee snuck out of her dormitory one night and left the Citadel. Using her burgeoning Force powers, she knocked out the two Massassi on guard, then hurried through the ship to a communication suite, using her abilities to avoid guard patrols and her datacard to access restricted sections.

Accessing the terminal, she found the codes to access her brother's ship, and prepared to send the data. As her finger hovered over the transmission button, though, she had an attack of conscience. The Order had taken her in and her "siblings" really did treat her that way. Moreover, even after the Chiss rebelled, she had not been treated with any suspicion or hostility by Centurions or Novices. And though the Empire had conquered her people, Selkee was coming around to the idea of Rin's inevitable victory, and even that her victory should be inevitable. Sobbing and shaking, she deleted the message and turned to go.

She made it a few steps before Tariun Sakaros stepped from the shadows. Startled, Selkee thought he was going to execute her, but the Sith admitted he had been monitoring her security breach for some time and known what she was planning. The terminal she had used had been blocked from outward transmissions; even if Selkee had tried to send the message, she could not have succeeded. But because the girl decided of her own free will to be loyal to Rin, Tariun simply escorted her back to the Citadel, confiscated her datacard, and let her go. While he did inform Eskol Kaartinen, Tariun felt strongly that Selkee's potential and demonstrated loyalty had earned her a second chance. Kaartinen was skeptical, but agreed to withhold judgment until Rin returned to resolve the matter personally.

Thoroughly humbled by her experience, Selkee continued to train in the following months, using only official news channels to receive word on the Chiss Rebellion. She was deeply relieved and grateful when the news made a point of mentioning that her brother's ship had been taken intact with crew alive, suspecting that Tariun had made it a point to keep him protected.

When Sorrik and his Legates crushed the Ssi-ruuk and returned to the Prime Fleet, Tariun and Kaartinen took Selkee before Rin for final judgment. The Queen agreed with her brother, that the anguish of having to choose between two families was more than punishment enough, and that Selkee had made the right choice. She warned the girl sternly that any other act of disobedience, completed or not, would be punished as treason, but let Selkee go at that. Relieved to be alive and touched by the Queen's kindness, Selkee returned to the Citadel and rededicated herself to her studies.

Later novitiate
In 143 ABY, when the Vagaari had been exterminated, Selkee accompanied Rin to to visit her brother Nagarian, along with Jira Seezhli, Breek Zagrev, and several other Centurions. There Selkee met Senesha'rae, a Chiss who had been a lover of Rin's father, Tak Sakaros. Eagerly sharing information with her new acquaintance, Selkee felt she could admit what she had almost done, and Sen was an understanding and sympathetic friend.

When they returned to the Empire, Rin instructed Kaartinen to allow Selkee to build her own lightsaber. Honored by the confidence shown in her, Selkee dedicated herself to her project for nearly a month. Breek Zagrev took her to to find a crystal for her weapon. Scavenging through a series of mineral caves on one of the world's high peaks, Selkee finally found a violet crystal. When she returned to the Star, she completed her weapon.

Taking his cue from Rin, Kieran Sapphire began to increase pressure on Selkee in her lightsaber training. She was able to match or defeat her peers, so he placed her in an accelerated lightsaber training class with older, more experienced Novices, including Nairasho. Struggling for a long time to even avoid being hit in practice duels, Selkee grew frustrated, feeling nothing she did was enough for her teachers. However, as time went on she began to acquire tricks and skills from her sparring partners, incorporating them into her own increasingly dangerous style.

At some time late in her Novitiate, Selkee met the Zeyot Centurion Zahyr, Rin's personal assassin. Though Zahyr was reticent about his duties, Selkee managed to piece together what he did. Each was intrigued by the other, Selkee by the Zeyot's abilities at camouflaging his presence and Zahyr by Selkee's gift for swordsmanship. In commemoration of their meeting and new friendship, Zahyr gave Selkee one of his small lightsabers, which Selkee kept as a.

In 145 ABY, Selkee was invited to attend the Wedding of Tariun Sakaros and Breek Zagrev on Sanduluc, taking Ozkeot Vanil as her guest.

Dromund Kaas
"I am Vos'elk'eetash, scion of the House Vos, servant of Queen Rin the Invincible and heir of Keltrayu. And I do not surrender."

- Selkee, facing death against Saarai

In 148 ABY, Rin Sakaros received a frightening vision of her allies Alluria Solios and Odala Kass`l at the mercy of her own nemesis,. She traveled to with Tarzg Sav'lir, Vem, Rajj-Yo, Aria Nikina, Axelia Solios, and Selkee to investigate. On the way, the Sith witch searched the Force for answers, but it was only upon arrival at Belsavis that she finally determined the Sith had their captives on.

Taking Jarek Solios and Reiko Kaytana in addition to her team of warriors, Rin led the party to the. Selkee initially went with Jarek and Reiko, but a strong compulsion in the Force led her to depart from them and follow a different path through the fortress. She came upon the Sith  in the process of hurling her brother Rajj-Yo through a wall. Incensed, Selkee attacked, but was quickly overpowered by Saarai's telekinesis. Saarai twisted and contorted Selkee's body, torturing the young Chiss as Rajj-Yo lay incapacitated.

Selkee attempted to counterattack, mustering enough power to release herself from Saarai's grip, but she was disarmed and her shoto destroyed. Saarai offered her the chance to join the or face death, but Selkee refused to surrender. Saarai proceeded to attempt her telekinetic torture again, but now Selkee felt her way through the Force into Saarai's own body, using her knowledge of Malacia to trace the feel of the Chagrian before breaking her index finger with the Force. Incensed, Saarai tried to press the attack, but Selkee lowered herself out of Saarai's levitation, reached into the Force, and broke the Chagrian's neck.

Elsewhere, Alluria was saved while 's poison killed Odala, before Axelia and Aria slew the Sith. Tarzg and Vem killed several Sith acolytes while Rin personally destroyed Darth Nihl. Though devastated at the loss of Odala and the pain it would cause Azalyn Kass`l, Rin was not so consumed with her pain that she failed to appreciate Selkee's feat of skill, willpower, and Force ability. Selkee's friend Rayne Turgachia healed her body of the damage it had endured under Saarai's torture, and when the party returned to the Empire, Rin commanded Eskol Kaartinen to allow Selkee to take the Centurion exam.

Unlikely partners
Selkee was commissioned as a Centurion in the first weeks of 149 ABY. Shortly thereafter, she went with Aria, Jade Star, and Zahyr on the Mission to Dolomir, where they nearly died and where all four first saw the Dark Jedi Sacco Vyrak. Shortly after, she was dispatched under the command of Luna Raquelsei on the Mission to Irestego to rescue Jira Zaffrod and her family from Veracht assassins. After Irestego, Selkee had one of her first solo missions, taking four Massassi with her to a Chiss world where a Chiss had been convicted of sexual assault on several children, the youngest three. Selkee oversaw Rin's personal sentence—death by crucifixion. She carried out the duty with composure, although she confessed to Rayne that she was shaken when she returned.

In the following weeks, Rin commanded Selkee to tutor Kyriel Windrunner in lightsaber combat. The two women were deeply distrustful of one other. Selkee, like several other Centurions, did not approve of a Force-sensitive being trained outside the Order, especially not one of Kyriel's power–alone among living beings in the Empire, she was equal to Selkee's potential. Kyriel, for her part, was insulted and hurt by Selkee's cold attitude. Nevertheless, Rin ordered them to train together for an hour every week.

In one session, Selkee applied a to Kyriel. Losing her control, the Drakonus switched to her dragon form, and a startled Selkee was forced to use to incapacitate her. Selkee burned her hands in the process, though they healed over time. She was shaken by the fight, and in the aftermath she and Kyriel both apologized to one another, trying slowly to resume their work.

Alchemy
Midway through the war, however, Rin sent Selkee to Kavez Massass, instructing her to board the long-abandoned Vengeance and read its copy of . Selkee was a bit repelled by some of the techniques described, but fascinated with the potential power. When Rin arrived on the jungle planet with a cargo of s and, a corpse, and a pair of  prisoners, she informed Selkee of her plan to forge new and deadly  to combat the Reawakened and their army of Vyrak clones.

The following month scarred Selkee. Using the Force, the two women forcibly molded and mutated the vornskrs and tuk'ata into a new breed, the Anzat hounds. They took samples from the flesh of the captive Anzati, programming the hounds to genetically respond to the scent of Anzati blood. Numerous Massassi volunteered for the second stage of the project, being alchemically transformed into the Shadow Massassi. To give them an added weapon, Rin imported a small group of Leik terrorists and murders. The two alchemists removed their barb-lashes and artificially reproduced them, introduing them into Massassi flesh.

Selkee used her hatred of her enemies and her long-stored bitterness over a number of hurts to provide her with the fuel to complete her tasks. She learned to harness and control several dark side powers, including a sudden and complete improvement in her ability to conjure Force lightning. When their labors were completed, the two alchemists took their creations and the Vengeance back to the Prime Fleet.

Isolation
Selkee was deeply conflicted over what she had done on Kavez Massass, filled with pride and victory that warred with self-loathing, shame, and rage. Her contempt alternated between Rin for asking the actions of her and herself for complying. Whenever she became frustrated in that way, her anger turned inward again at the idea that she simply lacked the fortitude to do what was necessary, and she wondered whether she was willing to let innocent people die for her own sense of self. Even worse, a part of her had reveled in the power, the ability to defy nature and reshape living beings the way she saw fit. That part of her frightened her the most, and she wondered whether she had become a monster, or whether she had always been one and now simply had an outlet.

The concerns went back and forth in her head and heart, and she descended into a brooding melancholy. Selkee became short with her friend Rayne, rebuffing her attempts to comfort her friend's obvious misery. The Chiss spent most of her time alone, brooding or sparring with the Citadel's droids until she had reduced them all to scrap metal faster than they could be repaired and Kieran Sapphire ordered her to stop.

When Rayne and Te`net Organi were infected with the Sickness, Selkee was still too distraught to even be near them. After a week, however, she began to feel a new surge of guilt. Her friend had been dying, and Rin had been unable to help Tillandra heal her for fear of contracting the disease herself. Selkee, the next most powerful being in the Order, had been obsessing over her own problems and thinking about herself rather than doing anything helpful.

Thoroughly ashamed of herself, a penitent Selkee went to see Rayne the same night Rin Sakaros destroyed Kizav. Sensing the destruction, Selkee was the first to realize what had happened, having read the old stories of while she was on Kavez Massass. She apologized to Rayne for failing to help her, although Rayne did not blame her and refused to even consider the apology.

Guarding the door
When the Sith Star was boarded during the Battle of Dolomir, Selkee was late responding to the call to arms. She was making her way to join the fight when Azalyn Kass`l called to her, sitting on Ozkeot's shoulders. The girl shared a vision she had received: the Citadel in flames, with Anzat clones and Dark Jedi killing the Novices. Realizing the enemy had sent an attack force for them, Selkee sent Azalyn and Ozkeot to hide (despite Oz's protests), then informed Kaartinen of the impending attack.

They braced themselves outside the Citadel's door, supported by a squad of security droids and the pair of Massassi guards. At the last second, a half-recovered Te`net Organi joined them. Knowing he needed all the help he could get, Selkee let him borrow her shoto. The Empire's party faced off against Voara Culee, Charg, and a squad of Vyrak clones. Selkee personally dueled Charg, fighting the in the midst of the melee of battle. Feigning weakness against his aggressive strikes, she allowed him to batter her into a crouch, then leapt over him in a sai cha vault and chopped off his head in midair.

As Selkee, a wounded Kaartinen, and a half-dead Organi struggled to hold off the surviving Anzati, Tariun Sakaros and Jira Zaffrod arrived to reinforce them, and Tariun called on Selkee to deploy a. Though she had never done it before, with her siblings in such acute danger, Selkee summoned the focus and unleashed lightning which knocked every Anzat to the ground and even killed two. She was drained by her efforts, but Tariun, Jira, and Kaartinen quickly slaughtered the survivors.

Looking in the mirror
"Now, Vos'elk'eetash, you are slowly destroying yourself. And if you don't stop, you will become the monster you dread that you are now."

- Rin Sakaros

After the Nightmare War ended, Rin began to think more on Selkee. She believed the girl was still vulnerable to confusion and corruption from her time on Kavez Massass, and resolved to take a more personal hand in her training. She invited Selkee to join the Royal Guard, and even with her lingering dark emotions Selkee was excited by the invitation. She formally joined the group in the first days of 150 ABY.

Knowing Selkee's emotional state, Rin spoke with her privately, deliberately baiting the young woman's temper to make her lash out. Pushed beyond endurance, Selkee unleashed an emotional tirade, admitting she hated both Rin and herself for what had transpired on Kavez Massass. In a tense and dangerous standoff in the Sith Star's arboretum, Rin forced Selkee to acknowledge and confront the many emotions she had long repressed: her pain and bitterness at her brother Syrus's rejection, her desire for power, and her feeling that she should be the greatest of the Centurions.

The conversation was brutal for Selkee, but Rin slowly guided her toward a Sith state of calm, cool reflection; she acknowledged her emotions, no longer hiding from them, but that very acknowledgment robbed them of their power over her. Rin offered to take Selkee as a personal student, and the still-stunned Chiss agreed. First, however, she made a point of finding Ozkeot Vanil and Rayne Turgachia, admitting to them that she had a brother and that she had feared exposing her weaknesses to them, as she suspected they would be less trusting of her in situations which demanded leadership. Bolstered by their response of solidarity, she found a reawakened eagerness to continue her training.

Juyo
Not long after beginning Selkee's quasi-apprenticeship, Rin had the Chiss spar with Jextar Star. Selkee's Djem So skills were enough to keep the Drakonus Jedi Master on the defensive, but even adding her shoto to the mix was not enough to pierce his Soresu defense. Though frustrated, Selkee was forced to concede the stalemate. It was with awe and no small amount of surprise that she watched Rin proceed to defeat Jex in a second spar, using her Juyo style to force a way through his defenses. Rin offered to teach Selkee, and the Chiss eagerly agreed.

Selkee found Juyo a perfect fit for herself; it was a style entirely built on a calm, controlled outer shell concealing a cascade of emotional power just barely below the surface. Coupled with her new and ongoing lessons in emotional control and Sith technique, her fighting skills increased dramatically. By mid-151 ABY, Selkee had improved enough to defeat Selish Anteran in a sparring match.

Powers and abilities
After Rin Sakaros, Selkee possessed the strongest connection to the Force in the Golden Empire in terms of midichlorian potential, equal to such beings as and. As a result, she was capable of many feats of the Force which her fellow Centurions could not equal.

Selkee was considered by other Centurions to be among the most powerful masters of telekinesis in the Order of Keltrayu, capable of lifting great weights and the bodies of others. She demonstrated atypical mastery of the power early in life, killing the similarly powerful Sith by breaking her neck with the Force when Selkee herself was only eighteen. She could conjure and control Force lightning and even lightning storms, though by 150 ABY she was still working to control the latter to strike only her intended targets.

Even in her youth, Selkee displayed a gift for. Mastery of this ability also helped her develop a strong understanding of how the Force and the body worked together, and she was able to channel the Force through herself to increase her strength and. She was also adept at s, able to distract others and divert them from noticing or dwelling on her presence, and eventually able to control minds entirely.

Though she initially favored a high-speed, Selkee was capable of and Force-powered gymnastics, and sometimes incorporated the whirling techniques of  into her personal style. After she began training with Rin privately, she adopted as her favored style, although she continued to work in elements of other forms. She was also an adept of, training to use a shoto in her off hand in addition to her lightsaber. By the age of twenty-six, she was the greatest swordfighter in the Order of Keltrayu, able to defeat even Kieran Sapphire and Tariun Sakaros. She could hold her own against Rin Sakaros longer than even groups of other Centurions, and was the only person in the Empire apart from Rin who could defeat Eskol Kaartinen. Aside from Rin, eventually only Kyriel Windrunner could match Selkee in single combat with a blade.

On Kavez Massass, Selkee learned Sith alchemy and successfully assisted Rin in creating the Anzat hounds and Shadow Massassi.

Appearance and personality
Selkee possessed the blue skin and glowing red eyes of all Chiss, and shiny black hair. She stood 1.70 meters (5'7") tall; in youth she was somewhat lanky, though as she matured she acquired a more athletic build. She carried a standard lightsaber with a violet blade, as well as a shoto.  Her first shoto, a gift from Zahyr, had the same blue blade as all of his weapons; when it was destroyed by  and Selkee built her own shoto, she gave it a red blade as an homage to Tariun Sakaros and Breek Zagrev.

Fully aware of the high expectations placed on her for her incredible power, Selkee spent much of her time as a Novice stressed and frustrated, feeling her mentors demanded the impossible of her and were unfairly asking more of her than other, even older trainees. As time went on, she began to see that the intense pressure placed on her forced her to improve and become more skillful.

Quick-witted and intelligent, Selkee had a gift for seeing patterns and putting pieces of information together to interpret or identify the whole. She was brave in battle and committed to doing her duty, even when she had private reservations. Though she normally tried to present the stereotypical Chiss appearance of cool, stoic reserve, she was more open with her friends in private. She was also more open than most Chiss in general, due to being raised largely in the Order of Keltrayu.

A bit hot-tempered, Selkee could become angered if she wasn't careful. Like most Chiss, she was deeply xenophobic; though the fair, patient, and welcoming aura of her siblings in the Order eventually eased her Chiss-centrism, she wound up instead adopting an Order-centrism, and was instinctively distrustful of those outside the Order, especially other Force users, such as Kyriel Windrunner.