Belmer Kattun

Belmer Kattun was a Keshiri thoughtcrier who was stationed at Point Defiance. He worked alongside the signal officer Jogan Halder before the Lost Tribe of Sith's invasion of Alanciar in 2975 BBY. He preferred fermented beverages over romance. On the very night that an advance Sith reconnaissance force led by High Lord Edell Vrai arrived above Point Defiance, Belmer was given a one–week work leave after his "relief" thoughtcrier Quarra Thayn arrived. In reality, Quarra had forged her travel signature in order to spend a night with her secret lover Jogan Halder. Belmer departed to have a few drinks at the officer's club at a military base in Garrow's Neck. As a result, Belmer was not present when the Sith arrived and thus escaped being captured or killed by the invaders.
==Biography==
===Thoughtcrier===
As with all Keshiri living in Alanciar, Belmer Kattun was raised from childhood to defend his homeland from a possible invasion by the Lost Tribe of Sith from Keshtah Minor, one of the other two known continents on the Wild Space planet of Kesh. In 4975 BBY, the Keshiri geologist and Herald Adari Vaal had fled to Alanciar following a failed uprising against the Sith Tribe, which had taken over Keshtah by claiming to be the Protectors, powerful gods in ancient Keshiri religion. She and her followers warned the Alanciari of the threat posed by the Sith. As a result, the Alanciari had developed a highly militaristic society. Over the next two thousand years, the Alanciari created an intricate defense system consisting of ballistae, forts, uvak patrols, a large, well-equipped citizen army, and a continental-wide network of semaphore signal stations and thoughtcriers.
The southern region of Alanciar known as the Six Claws was well-fortified with six seaside towers which served as advanced warning signal stations. The Alanciari were also led by a centralized military government known as the War Cabinet, which was based in the capital Sus'mintri's Vaal Hall. Due to his Force-sensitivity, Belmer Kattun was selected by the Induction Board to become a thoughtcrier, individuals who were able to send messages through the Force by thought projection. By 2975 BBY, Belmer was the thoughtcrier who was posted a Point Defiance, a small two–man fort that was situated at the edge of Garrow's Necks, the southernmost of the Six Claws. To cope with the boredom of being posted in the frontier, Belmer developed a taste for alcoholic beverages. By contrast, his colleague Jogan used the semaphore machine to send romantic messages to various lovers including Quarra Thayn, a married wardmaster with three children who lived in the city of Uhrar.
===Meeting his Relief===
After three years of secret correspondence, Jogan and Quarra agreed to meet each other in person. Under the pretext of conducting a tour of the industrial towns of the Northern Slope, Quarra traveled down to Point Defiance. She also forged a transit letter and a relief order for Belmer to provide her with a legal reason for being in Point Defiance. After going through a military fort and checkpoint in Garrow's Neck, Quarra was allowed to proceed to Point Defiance. Upon arriving, she was greeted by Belmer Kattun who commented that the fog was moving in and that there could be a storm coming. Quarra initially mistook Belmer for her Jogan. However, Belmer told her that Jogan was in the tower and that he worked with him. Quarra was relieved that this fat elderly man was not Jogan and quickly asked Belmer if he was the signal station's thoughtcrier.
Belmer sent a telepathic response confirming that he was Point Defiance's thoughtcrier to the Alanciari woman, who in turn revealed that she also had the "gift" of Force sensitivity. When Belmer noted that he had barely heard her "thought–cry", Quarra explained that she was exhausted from a long journey. When Quarra offered to show him her travel documents, Belmer assured her that he did not need to see it since his friends at the nearby fort had already allowed her this far, the farthest military outpost in Alanciar which overlooked the Western Sea—the main barrier separating Alanciar and Keshtah. Assuming that Quarra was the relief thoughtcrier, Belmer then prepared to depart for the officer's club at the fort where he intended to order a few drinks.
Following Belmer's departure, Quarra finally met her lover Jogan Halder in person. During their conversation, Jogan briefly asked Quarra if she had met Belmer on the way out. Quarra confirmed she had indeed met Belmer and expressed his relief that the unattractive Belmer was not Jogan. Jogan then joked that he had sent romantic messages out for Belmer under his name before commenting that Belmer loved alcoholic beverages instead of women. Quarra then sarcastically replied that an alcoholism was not a desirable trait in a thoughtcrier who was posted at the front. Jogan then assured Quarra that his colleague did not drink while on duty. He then took Quarra on a tour of Point Defiance's facilities before discussing Quarra's "family situation." Prior to their "romantic liaison", Jogan Halder also transmitted a semaphore message indicating that Belmer Kattun had left to sleep on the floor of a tavern for a week and that his relief had already arrived.
===Sith rule===
Due to his absence from Point Defiance that night, Belmer was not present when a Sith scouting fleet led by High Lord Edell Vrai arrived above Point Defiance. Jogan and Quarra witnessed the arrival of the Sith and quickly alerted the Alanciari military who launched ballista projectiles and armed uvak-riders to destroy the attackers. During the Alanciari attack on the Sith airships, Quarra confessed that she had forged her travel supervisor's seal and that Belmer had not actually received a relief order. Quarra then attempted to escape from Point Defiance using the cover of night and the ongoing chaos to cover her tracks. However, her muntok steed had escaped from its tether during the fighting. Shortly later, Jogan was crushed and seriously wounded by a fallen uvak known as Starboard, which had been attached to the Sith airship Candra.
Despite the destruction of the Sith airships, several Sith including their leader Edell survived and succeeded in capturing Jogan and Quarra, whom were later coerced into assisting the Sith war effort. Following a "grand deception operation" designed to highlight the "benevolent nature" of the Tribe, Jogan Halder became the Tribe's "ambassador" to the Alanciari and succeeded in convincing them that the Sith did not pose a threat to them. Instead, he claimed that the Sith were the Protectors and had already purged the "servants" of the Destructors from among their number. Meanwhile, Quarra became Edell's guide and accompanied him on a ground reconnaissance mission into Alanciar's interior and capital Sus'mintri. Following the Sith "unification" of Alanciar, Belmer Kattun presumably submitted to the Sith as with the rest of his countrymen.
==Personality and traits==
Belmer Kattun was an elderly Keshiri man who had waxy hair growing on his ears. He was also a fat man and could barely fit into his uniform, which consisted of a buttoned waistcoat. He also had several missing teeth. As a thoughtcrier, Kattun was one of the few Keshiri who had the ability to wield the Force, a mystical energy field. This ability was also shared by the Lost Tribe of Sith, a group of Human Sith who had colonized the neighboring continent of Keshtah during the Great Hyperspace War.
==Behind the scenes==
Belmer Kattun first appeared as a minor non-point-of-view character in John Jackson Miller's novella Lost Tribe of the Sith: Pandemonium, the last story in the Lost Tribe of the Sith short story series, which was released in July 24 2012. Pandemonium was included as part of the mass paperback Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith: The Collected Stories. This marks his only known appearance in the Star Wars Expanded Universe.
==Appearances==
*Lost Tribe of the Sith: Pandemonium 
==Notes and references==
Category:Force-sensitives
Category:Keshiri
Category:Males
Category:Soldiers