Aearbo Manitani was a female Loreskus Centurion of the Golden Empire.
Biography[]
When love is gone[]
Nairasho was very promising; we all thought she would grow to be a legend of the Order, like Organi has. Her death was a terrible, brutal shock, but worst of all for Aearbo. She's a realist, she's seen siblings die, but I'm not sure she ever really embraced that it could happen to Nairasho. And when it did, it broke something in her...and I don't think it's ever been put back together.
—Zeth Kezzerek to Jinyx Windrunner, speaking about Aearbo
Born on Urs Azza in 127 ABY, Aearbo was taken to the Order of Keltrayu young. She became a close friend of the Laq Novice Nairasho, and the two often sparred and trained together. They were both part of an elite sparring group in the mid-140s which the Chiss Vos'elk'eetash joined, and Aearbo and Nairasho both tested Selkee to her limits regularly. Aearbo realized only gradually that she was a lesbian, and she came to the realization from her appreciation of Nairasho's beauty. She quietly fell in love with Nairasho, but never told her, knowing Nairasho was straight. Aearbo chose to specialize in Ataru; although Nairasho was more powerful and the superior bladesbeing, Aearbo learned a number of unique defenses to incorporate in her swordplay, and was much better at preventing sun djem than many of her fellow Ataru specialists. She also trained regularly under Te`net Organi, and Zeth Kezzerek would later remark that Organi's hand was obvious in Aearbo's style.
Aearbo was commissioned in 148 ABY and immediately took the field for law enforcement work on newly incorporated planets. When the Nightmare War began in 149 ABY, she was recalled to the Sith Star to be ready for deployment when needed. She was still there when Malyri and Kylaea Porén brought back Nairasho's body from Awpierh. Crushed by the loss of her friend and secret love, Aearbo turned her anger and heartsickness inward, forcing herself to constantly excel. She also developed a deep and lasting hatred for the Skavik. She was part of a strike force of Centurions including Selish Anteran and Aria Nikina which battled invaders in the Sith Star's hangar bay during the Battle of the Sith Star.
After the war, aware of Aearbo's lingering anger toward the Skavik (with the Reawakened and their Veracht henchmen dead, the Skavik were the only remnants of the enemy force allowed to live), Eskol Kaartinen assigned Aearbo far from worlds which had Skavik laborers or settlers, sending her to the other end of the Empire to patrol newly-admitted member worlds and help sector defense fleets guard the borders. She succeeded in these posts, continuing to refine her combat abilities in regular sparring sessions with any of her siblings she passed even as she grew more and more isolated from them. Aearbo was finally recalled from field duty in 154 ABY, when she replaced Benzeel Rikos in Breek Zagrev's Royal Guard. Her appointment came only weeks before Breek was appointed a Royal Executor, and Aearbo and Zeth Kezzerek moved into a converted officers' quarters aboard Breek's flagship, the Valkyrie.
Isolation and rescue[]
Selkee: “When I was thirteen I was struggling with Faalo's Third. I was so frustrated, so angry that I couldn't get it right. You and Nairasho came and said you'd practice with me all night. Do you remember? Do you remember what I said?”
— Selkee confronts Aearbo
Aearbo: “I...no...Selkee, it was years ago—”
Selkee: “I said you weren't my friends, you didn't even like me. I asked why you were helping me. And what did Nairasho say? It was twelve years ago, but you've done everything you can to commit every word she ever said to memory so you never forget. What did she say?'”
Aearbo: “...she said, "Sisters help each other".”
Selkee: “You're my sister, Aearbo. Let me help you.”
Zeth was replaced in 154 by Serasuna Yun. Aearbo had already developed a competitive relationship with Breek's apprentice, Kyriel Windrunner, and Sera's competitive nature only exacerbated the contest. When Selkee was assigned to Breek's command, she fell naturally into the group, though she remained the clear frontrunner. With Selkee usually aboard the Assassin and Sera and Kyriel forming a bond, Aearbo felt increasingly isolated and focused on training all the more.
After the Battle of Chimet, Aearbo nearly murdered three Skavik workers. Breek stopped her, but her concerns about Aearbo grew. After the Battle of Renthiv, while Breek and her party were aboard the Sith Star in preparation for Assayr's funeral, Aearbo cornered Rayne Turgachia. She had heard of Rayne's eidetic memory from Selkee, and convinced Rayne to telepathically share memories of Nairasho. When they interred Assayr, Aearbo visited Nairasho's grave for the first time, and the hollowness of her Force signature disturbed and unsettled Selkee and Jinyx. Not long after, Aearbo pushed herself relentlessly in a sparring session with Jinyx, refusing to yield, and wound up with a broken leg and kneecap.
Having put the pieces together, Selkee visited Aearbo in the medbay, hinting at her knowledge until Aearbo shouted her away. Not long after she recovered, though, a nervous Aearbo sought out Selkee, and the two spoke on the windswept battlements of the Garjo citadel the Empire was occupying. Selkee eased Aearbo into admitting she had been in love with Nairasho, and though she was terrified to admit her secret to anyone, Aearbo also felt an odd sense of relief. She and Selkee became cautious friends afterwards; when Selkee was temporarily relieved of duty after she was accused of conduct unbecoming a Centurion for carrying on a covert relationship with Sak'anto'nussos, Aearbo was visibly disturbed at the potential of Selkee being punished.
Carrying on[]
Aearbo had never really connected with Breek, though she was a dutiful Guard, but their relationship suffered greatly when Breek told Jinyx to goad Aearbo about Nairasho's death as a means of demonstrating the boomerang effect of Dun Moch. A livid Aearbo beat Jinyx to the ground and nearly smashed her with a tool chest until Breek intervened. The two sisters argued later, with Breek saying it was essential for Aearbo to inure herself to emotional manipulation before a real enemy attempted it, and Aearbo calling Breek heartless and suggesting she had no true understanding of what it meant to be sisters. Though Aearbo eventually consented to remain Breek's Guard, their relationship was strained from then on.
In late 156 ABY, Breek commanded the Battle of Cheff to repulse the Lugubraa invaders, and Sera and Aearbo accompanied her to battle. Aearbo grudgingly obeyed an order from Rin to intentionally leave Breek in danger as a means of awakening Jinyx's battle fury, though she was less reluctant than Sera. After the battle, Rin rotated Aearbo out of the Royal Guard, assigning her to Selkee's command, along with Hataphri Rahn Kazot and Rajj-Yo, as Selkee was sent to prosecute the Empire's war in the First Stratos Contention. Though each battle was dangerous, Aearbo felt more relaxed being with her friend, and she was often at Selkee's side. She feared for Selkee's safety during the Battle of the Scouring Star, when Selkee strained herself almost to the breaking point to cause a solar flare, and stood protectively over her sister until Selkee recovered.
When Selkee and her battle guard colonized Ord Vos, Aearbo inadvertently inspired the name of Kruycheefeos, a grass plant. After Aearbo experienced a severe allergic reaction of sneezing, red eyes, and hives, the Garjo named the plant for a word in their language meaning "little sneeze".
Aearbo continued to serve in field assignments over the next few years; she often visited Selkee when she returned to the Sith Star, and the two stood side-by-side at Eskol Kaartinen's interment in Keltrayu's Tomb. In early 159 ABY, Rin sent Aearbo to deliver a message to Jira Zaffrod, newly installed as Consul of Iomis. Aearbo was confused by the simple assignment, but obeyed nonetheless, and accepted Jira's invitation to join her family for dinner. At dinner, Aearbo found herself attracted to Jira's younger sister Kyra, who made no secret of being a lesbian, although Kyra's flirtation left Aearbo feeling somewhat wrongfooted. She returned to the Star more than a little confused.
Powers and abilities[]
Aearbo was trained in all the arts common to Centurions, including their particular emphasis on telekinesis and telepathy. Through regular sparring with droids and her siblings, she became proficient in Ataru, and her early friendship with Nairasho gave her extra knowledge of Makashi to protect herself in duels against those who trained more specifically for lightsaber-to-lightsaber combat.
Aearbo learned a number of techniques from Te`net Organi, notably Force Valor, and could channel the Force through her body to speed her reactions and increase her Force acrobatics. She also honed a variety of skills in Royal Guard training, including Force Sight and hand-to-hand combat.
Appearance and personality[]
Aearbo's skin was blue, gray, and green; the green and gray patches were darker, but the blue was bright, almost sky blue. She also had green markings around her large bronze eyes, connected by a wave of green that gave her the appearance of wearing goggles. She was 1.65 meters tall and had seven hair fronds; three rows of two, plus a seventh at the back of her head. Her single, straight-hilt lightsaber had an olive green blade.
In her early life Aearbo was friendly and lighthearted, though she trained hard to keep up with Nairasho as best she could. She was passionately in love with Nairasho, and though it bothered her to keep her feelings to herself, she did not want to ruin her friendship with Nairasho and so kept it a secret. Nairasho's death wrought a stark change in her personality, and she became much harder and more demanding, both of others and herself. She trained relentlessly, believing that if even her very powerful best friend could fall, nothing less than the best could guarantee victory. She shied away from close friendships after Nairasho's demise, causing some stress and friction with her siblings in the Order of Keltrayu, though eventually Eskol Kaartinen called her on it and tried to encourage her to open herself up to her siblings more. It was not until Selkee realized the truth that Aearbo finally connected with one of her siblings again.