Nikolai Knight

"He's hiding something but all test show he's not hiding anything." Taiidan Inquister. 
Nikolai Knight is a Taiidan officer, and military trainer typically known for being given the most unwilling trainees, and making them miraculously into the best trained, most honorable officers, dedicated to the service.  He is infamously known for his excuses for trying to avoid being given a promotion. 
==Early Life==
One of the greatest mysteries is related to Nikolai Knight. He was born either on Carpathia or on Earth, the mystery remains. He is the first Taiidan to be born with Nanites that were not functioning, yet some medical records hold that they were indeed active. 
He was sent to, by his parents, to UGI War Academy. There he struggled with his studies and his active duty but he continued to persevere despite frequent injuries, both physical and to personal pride. 
An investigation was held concerning his non existent parents, revealing him to be an orphan and that the records department got that wrong. He was said to focus on studies and military exercises even during holidays. 
He graduated in 5207 AD (earth time) and was pressed into military action. 
==Military Career==
His active duty was as described to be hell. But he coped with it. Without complaint. His fellow troop took at first to him as a weakling but when even they felt like giving up he kept persevering. His actions in active duty ended with an early promotion, and he was given the job of training trainees, and advanced training's for the Black codex III. He held this position for the next 1000 years, and in that time he quoted with mild humor, "pestered non stop by superiors to promote me to whatever would keep me from developing the finest soldiers and officers from the worst scum they could send me." 
Eventually he conceded with promotion to captain in the UGI Star Navy while achieving Major in the remaining other corps. He was given a ship much to his dismay and requested that he be given a small ship to which he was given instead the largest ship in the navy. 
=== U.G.I.S. PhantasmCategory:UGI Personnel ===
Being the Captain aboard put more stress on Nikolai Knight than he had received during his entire training and instructing career. His troops proved to be respectful at first to him, but as time wore on they almost began to pity him more than respect him. 
As one crew member wrote in her personal log. 
"Our captain was said to be the best instructor and best fit for whatever position he was given despite his adamant reluctance for taking higher promotions. Our Captain came aboard as man who looked like in the prime of his life, but now he looks like he could be my grandfather. It has been but 9 months and he has aged 90 years, his hair was once brown and now it is gray. His face once smooth and determined is now wrinkled, and his eyes which once shown with confidence are filled with stress and a parinoia of failing as a commanding officer. He was a wonderful person, check that is a wonderful person, our crew could not be more privileged to be given such a captain, he follows orders to the detail and disobeys them only when the resulting outcome saves more lives than it takes. But unlike most Taiidan's each life he takes he keeps has a tally of the pain and misery he has caused rather than rejoice in the victory represented. I wouldn't be surprised if he has Calderia Syndrome. I honestly think along with much of the fellow senior staff that we should report that maybe the Phantasm is to much for him, because he won't go down to the infirmery any more, we are all worried, he rarely eats, and never sleeps, once I walked into his room while he was trying to sleep and behind a locked door I could hear him ranting about something. ""I cannot fail, not like I had on the Firestorm, not like when in my ignorance and arrogance, I cannot fail this, I must make this new life worth while, I cannot fail, I have done so much to humble myself, to change, but I must succeed, I must prove myself worthy of command, I must prove that I could be deserving of the command I once had now."" 
Some months later the commander of the ship, Knight's second in command, wrote in his own log. 
I have this horrible feeling he's going mad, he's pushing himself to the brink of ruin, a week ago he came in to the bridge with deep cuts vertically from his forehead down to his chin, lately and some hair is missing from his head. He was bleeding profusely but refused medical treatment, and when we pressured him to at least call for a medic to come to the bridge his normally green eyes literally changed before our eyes to red and he let out a rage filled scream for us to let the matter go. His eyes have never returned to normal. The blood eventually dried but his entire face in now permanetly scarred with those vertical deep cuts, and tommorow is the annual Admirals meeting and I am worried because he was ordered to be there." 
=== Decent into madness: ===
At the admirals meeting his appearance largely went unnoticed, his senior staff largely kept there captain away from peering eyes by grouping around them, when came to award ceremony his name was called for promotions to Rear Admiral. While he took the promotion he spoke no speech nor did he try to mention persuade the Admiral not give him promotion, this caused a bit of stir in the crowd. Especially when the light shown on him to reveal his new scars. But one thing was really off key, his pupils didn't dialate after the light dimmed they stayed small, and from that point on they never changed. 
Being rear admiral didn't land him a desk job rather it added more stress to him managing the ships he was put in charge of. But after the helinochi virus breakout on Mandar 7, which the orders were to bombard the planet to keep any infected from suriving, the act of killing 200 billion people did it in for him. Emerging from his cabin crew members were all over the ship reporting of a ghastly specter walking toward the bridge in the Admirals uniform. But when he entered the bridge as the medical officer wrote a letter to high command about him finally snapping. 
"The moment he entered the bridge and we all turned to announce his presence on the bridge, the man if you can even call it a man who stepped out onto the bridge, was faceless, his head was derexium skull with its red eyes glaring out of it, stained on the skull was black blood oozing everywhere and around his neckline blood continued to ooze down his uniform shirt. No sooner he saw us staring agape, when what we expected to be a rageful voice was calm, and emotionless response. ""Is something the matter? Didn't command order the planet to be exterminated of all life, wouldn't that include its moon? What are you waiting for open fire."" When nobody moved from the shock he punched in the codes and the ZR 57 was launched smashing the moon and swallowing the planet. 
He was removed from command a few days later. He escorted to Taiidan for Psychatric Treatment. For reasons unknown he was put back in command but he was different from then on, he was ruthless, without restraint, it won him higher commands but he was never the same again. He never looked the same again, all that was left of his face was a gleaming derexium skull. 
Prior to his Current appearance General Aric Solra held him in high esteem, as did Captain Nikolai Knight likewise held a deep respect for him, however following his current appearance, General Aric Solra said after seeing him one time afterward. 
"The man I once knew, a man I enjoyed light conversation with, as become distant and cold, he is a man trying to balance on the pole between sanity and insanity, his face is now unreadable, and despite everything i have endured, seen, and the people I respected and lost, he made me feel scared, not just for myself but for him, he should be respected and avoided, this is the last time I will speak about him in my lifetime." 
General Aric Solra died a few days later of Old Age. But all who had respected him took his words as a warning and good advice, Captain Nikolia Knight should be respected, but also pitied, because he walks a line between sanity and insanity, and high command as realized it might not take much more to push him over the edge.