Varintha was a male Ssi-ruu who became an admiral in the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium. Born on Lwhekk as a member of the blue-scaled noble class, Varintha's father was killed by his political opponents after being accused of treason, and his son was transferred from his position to the Ssi-ruuvi Fleet. His father's enemies on the Elders' Council wanted to humiliate Varintha and hoped that he would be killed in action. However, contrary to their expectations, the disillusioned Ssi-ruu proved himself to be a capable tactician and rose through the ranks of the Fleet during the engagements on the edge of the Unknown Regions with the Fel Empire.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Varintha was born on Lwhekk, the capital of the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium, into the blue-scaled elite caste of Ssi-ruu society around 97 ABY. The blue-scales were the nobility and political class of the Imperium, sharing power with the gold-scaled religious caste and wielding a lot of power. However, Varintha did not enjoy the privileges of the upper class for very long, due to the fact that his father was accused of treason by a rival in the Elders' Council (one of the Imperium's two ruling bodies) and executed. The clique that accused Varintha's father of treason because they viewed him to be a threat to their power, due to the fact that he called for reforms in the "outdated" caste system, which would lower the influence of the blue-scales. The ruling Shreeftut at the time was a weak-willed puppet of the Elders' Council who gave in to their demands and had Varintha's father executed.
That was the young Ssi-ruu's introduction to political corruption in the Lwhekk imperial court, and since then, he came to loathe the rest of the nobles on the Elders' Council. Parents had very little actual interactions with their offspring in Ssi-ruu society and left them alone for the most part, so it was not his father's death itself that troubled Varintha, but the corrupt actions on part of the Elders' Council and the Shreeftut.
And they did not stop there. The clique, which was led by High Elder Nis'k, made sure to get Varintha moved from his position into the Ssi-ruuvi Fleet as punishment for his father's "treason." The Fleet was dominated by the red-scaled military caste and his transfer was viewed by the rest of society as a shaming. Nis'k and his followers viewed him as a potential threat in the future and hoped that Varintha would get killed in combat. The young Ssi-ruu became the laughingstock of the Imperium's nobility for this transfer to the status of a lower caste, and at the same time, he was largely detested by many of the red-scales since they viewed him to be an inexperienced outsider. Shamed as he was, Varintha was still technically a noble and received the rank of captain in the Fleet as a result. Getting an officer's commission without having done anything to prove his worth intensified the red-scales' dislike and distrust of him.
Excursions into known space[]
As a captain of the Fleet, Varintha continued to give the appearance of a loyal subject of the Imperium and follower of the Ssi-ruuvi religion. But, internally, he had become disillusioned with both the government of the Imperium and the gold-scaled priest caste. Varintha still believed in the religion itself and kept a copy of the sacred text, the G'nnoch, in his cabin. He thought that the establishment had become corrupt and betrayed their religion, using it for their advantage, and believed that it was his duty to "correct" the current state of affairs. In the meantime, Varintha was given the captaincy of the Shree-class battle cruiser Kiralwir. The crew of the Kiralwir had a generally negative view of their captain and viewed him to be an ignorant noble that did not deserve his rank. Those included his first officer, Commander An'vek. Varintha was aware of this, and did his best to try to change that position.
In 123 ABY, the Elders' Council decided to spread the Imperium's influence by once again attempting to invade the Outer Rim Territories. A large task force of several fleets was devoted to this mission, including the Kiralwir. The sectors they planned to attack were under control of the Fel Empire. Captain Varintha got his first taste of combat at the Battle of Gymelo. The Ssi-ruuvi Fleet took the Imperials by surprise and forced them to abandon the system, claiming a new world for the Imperium in the Outer Rim. The Kiralwir and her crew later took part in the Battle of Kammia. The Imperial fleet at Kammia outnumbered the Ssi-ruuvi forces and it appeared as though the battle would be lost. However, after the death of Vice Admiral Okra'siv, Varintha took command of the remaining ships and tricked the Imperial fleet into getting encircled. The Ssi-ruuvi then proceeded to annihilate the remaining Imperials.
Their victory at Kammia earned Varinta a promotion to commodore and the respect of the red-scales aboard the Kiralwir. Back in the Imperium, news of the defeat of numerically-superior Imperial ships in the Drynn system was spread to boost morale. High Elder Nis'k took note of Varintha's success, having doubts as to whether transferring the Ssi-ruu to the military was a good idea. The Commodore later arrived at the Battle of B'Knos to assist High Admiral Ethinus, whose fleet was taking heavy casualties from the Imperials, and helped them break out of an Imperial encirclement to escape. The act of saving the High Admiral's fleet earned him praise from the newly-elected Shreeftut, Mor'gar'wir. Varintha received a promotion to rear admiral, while An'vek became the captain of the Kiralwir, their flagship. During the campaign, Varintha proved himself to be a capable tactician, but Nis'k and his clique believed that it was the result of luck.