Volith

Volith
Species: Durugh
Age: 39
Drive: Scientific Inquiry
Warpside Assignment: Communications Officer
Groundside Assignment: Security Officer


The other races were fools, blundering blindly into a galaxy full of dangers. There are entities out there that are older and more powerful than can be comprehended, and a single misstep can bring devastation down on a whole species. The durugh expanded slowly, cautiously, hiding in the shadows to escape notice by something more powerful. The Combine races went where sensible beings fear to tread, and the result was the half-remembered Mohilar War.

Before the war, you were part of the Insight Cadre, a secret organization that reported to King Ukshqa himself. Your mission was to identify and avoid existential threats to the durugh people. You studied billion-year old relics of long-dead civilizations, gathered data on black holes and cosmological phenomena, and watched the other young races from the dark places between the stars.

The alliance between the Mohilar and the durugh was one of necessity – the Insight Cadre deemed it better to join forces with the inevitable victors than risk annihilation at their hands (assuming they had hands – the Bogey Conundrum makes your own past a matter of speculation). On a world called Hades, the Mohilar arranged for you to capture a Combine survey team led by Vaon Sors, the right-hand man of Captain Aze Hawk.

For six months, you interrogated Sors. You grew to admire his determination, his refusal to give in, and his keen intelligence. He tried to manipulate the interrogators, to outwit them even as they burned him out, nerve by nerve. Finally, the order was given to abandon the outpost, and the only surviving prisoner was left to die on the surface. Secretly, you programmed a distress beacon to activate after the durugh left the planet, in the hopes that Sors would be rescued by a passing ship.

Ironically, the Bogey Conundrum prevents you from remembering what secret you were trying to extract from Sors. The information is right there, at the tip of your mind. You know only that it is still important to you.

With the death of King Ukshqa, the Insight Cadre's method of operation changed. Members of the secret organization spread themselves out into the Combine, still looking for threats to the durugh. You joined a laser crew, led by Aze Hawk himself. You have unfinished business on board...

The Crew:

• Aze Hawk: One of the greatest captains of the Combine navy, he was one of the most dangerous foes ever faced by the durugh. Now, he's just another laser.
  
• Revenant: You knew him as Vaon Sors. He was rescued by a cybe ship and turned into one of them. You do not know how much of Sors survived, or if he remembers you. Still, you saved his life, and that links your fates together.
  
• Francine Dare: A talented human pilot, in need of guidance. Cultivated, she could become a useful asset for you.
  
• Tim Zaren: He comes from the human synthculture of Eumelus, where they tried to engineer perfection. The durugh have learned since the war that a perfectly controlled society is impossible. Like Dare, potentially useful.
  
• Dr. Fairfax: According to human records, he is just an unremarkable medical professional. These records are forgeries – the Insight Cadre knows him as the Bloody-Handed Man, the manipulative warlord of Calyce. What is this butcher and weapons dealer doing on board – and who else knows they have such a serpent in their midst?

Plot Arcs:

• Known Unknowns: Your tangled history with the crew threatens to tear the lasers apart as dark revelations come to light.
  1. The crew pursue a traitorous durugh who knows of your involvement in the interrogations on Hades. How will the other crew react to the knowledge that you interrogated Revenant?
     
  2. An alien artifact temporarily alters your phasing, giving you the power to walk into the memories of your crewmates. Which of their memories do you visit?
     
  3. You begin to suffer from nightmares related to Hades. The memory blocks on why you interrogated the humans are breaking down! What did you want from Vaon Sors?
  
  
• The Insight Cadre: The secret group dedicated to preserving and advancing the durugh is still out there, and still counts you as one of their agents. Can you balance this loyalty with your duty as a laser?
  1. While investigating a renegade scientist, the Cadre secretly contacts you and orders you to obtain a copy of the scientist’s research. You discover the scientist was working on something terrible – do you follow your orders, or destroy the research?
     
  2. A victim of the Insight Cadre tracks you down, and wants revenge. Can you justify your involvement with the sinister group to your fellow lasers, and do you continue your association with the Cadre?
     
  3. You find evidence of a potential threat to the whole Bleed. If you warn your people first, they could be better prepared to survive than the other Combine races, and so come to dominate the future after the threat recedes. Where do your loyalties lie?