Karesan Stralbane

Blood Raven

Kaleso (brother in law)

Purifier Brigade

Defiance Crew

*”With this sword and gun will I fight until my last breath."*

Karesan Stralbane is a broken soul, one that raised in captivity to be mere livestock for the Ragons that have conquered the home of his people. However, he gained a chance to become much more than food, and has now become a warrior of great renown. Foul mouthed for a Jokari yet as soothing as the sea, he is sure that his fight in life will never be in vain.

## Strengths and Weaknesses

Skills

* Master Combatant: Karesan is highly skilled in both melee and ranged combat due to dedicating his entire life to the arts of war. He is the tutor of Nathaniel Carter in the way of the sword, and is said to be just as good as Kaleso, his brother in law.

Weaknesses

* Emotionally Driven: Highly impulsive when faced with what he hates. He is too quick to draw the sword, and slow to sheath it.

Unknown to most, Karesan was also deemed the weakest of the Purified, being the only one that lacked any offensive or defensive psychic ability that the others gained. He may also be a skilled fighter, but he is still mortal and a well placed blaster bolt is enough to bring him down just like any other man. Being partially cybernetic, he is also vulnerable to EMP bolts. He also has periodic attacks of PTSD, which should be noted to be much more extreme in nature due to the heightened consciousness that the Jokari universally possess.

## Background

Role on Ship: Close quarters combat specialist

Crimes Committed: Trespassing Command space.

### Personality

*"Reason for signing up? Debt! HAHAHAHA!"*

Karesan Morkova is proud, unrelenting, and perhaps vicious at first glance, as he wields his sword with not a single drop of mercy or hesitation. However, beneath this facade of cold blood is a heart that fears death and failure all the same. He does not hesitate to kill, but such hesitation is also absent should he decide to give mercy. Karesan possess a strong sense of humor even when in the cusp of battle and death as evidenced by the light nature he described the horror of a jungle Death World to his peers; in truth, however, he uses his joking as a façade for his terrible past. He also jokingly impersonates his friends behind their backs with mixed receptions from them. He is also obsessed with Earth culture to the point of using human terms in conversation. Out of all the aliens in the crew, he is by far the most knowledgeable about human history and culture due to devoting hours upon hours of studying it.

He does not like being called Karesan as he has observed that it causes confusion due to the similarity between his own name and Kaleso.￼

Strangely enough for a Jokari, he is extremely foul mouthed when confronted by the enemy; as a species, the Jokari are quite stoic and unflinching even when stared down by Ragon warriors, always steeling their resolve for the inevitable slaughter that will come. However, Karesan will call his enemies all kinds of heinous names while cutting them down, earning him the title of the “Great Insulter” amongst his peers.

Karesan holds quite a bit of affection for those he considers to be friends, though he doesn't usually show this side to others. However, he will do so when drunk or intoxicated with psychedelics.

## Backstory

Karesan Morkova Stralbane was only named "Jalan" when he was born in captivity. He was raised alongside millions of other Defiled to be livestock on the mineral rich planet of Madnilia, where the former glorious cities of the Jokarun have been turned into massive farming settlements by the Ragon conquerers.

At ten years of age, when he was to be culled as part of the latest stock of food by Ragon settlers, Rebel forces attacked the facility where he and several hundred others were being held in cages that hung on the ceilings like chandeliers of death. The Rebellion were able to get 500 out of the 1,300 Jokari Defiled within that facility while taking light casualties due to the surprising nature of their attack.

Within a year, Jalan would grow to have a bond with his liberator, Kirasa Stralbane. Over time, they were friends,and then went beyond that. Despite the fact that he was a genetically mutilated Defiled, Kirasa was still perfectly willing to be his… bride. After their marriage, Jalan changed his name to Karesan Stralbane after his wife's deceased brother.

After five years of fighting as part of the Rebellion, he was given a chance to be restored to an Untainted… or whatever semblance of it was possible. He and eleven others were subjected to the psychic and cybernetic rituals of Purification, eventually turning him into one of the first of the Purified; Jokari Defiled that were restored to a semblance of being an Untainted. Soon, a hundred Purified were serving as officers and generals for the Rebellion. However, he alone failed to be brought to the full potential of a Purified, never regaining the wings or the psychic powers of his brethren. For this, he was deemed the weaker of them, though the other Purified made it clear that he was still their brother in arms.

From then, he and his fellow Purified were deemed to be aces in the hole of the Rebellion. Whether they were piloting mighty robotic walkers or fighting on the ground, they were devastatingly effective in their war for liberation in conjunction with the rest of their forces, no matter how seemingly futile this fight has become after nearly two centuried. However, their victories would be made hollow ten years after their purification. Karesan and his fellow Purified, Trajan, were nearly surrounded in a mission and managed to escape onboard the Heritage Class Cruiser Vengeance, but its Skrim Drive was damaged and the Vengeance was sent straight unto the fringes of Command territory. As soon as they came out of hyperspace, they were harassed by Kiellar destroyers and corvettes, eventually crippling the Vengeance with strength in numbers. A brutal boarding action followed, with the Purified being disabled by EMP bolts to be subdued.

Now, Trajan and most of the thirty crewmen were killed, but Karesan survived, and was placed in a pod in a certain ship called the Defiance. He had lost one of his hands in the ordeal before that, but the mind within thirsts for vengeance.

## Relationships

### Kaleso Stralbane

As his brother-in-law, Karesan Morkova treats Kaleso with respect and friendship. However, they bicker a *lot;* Kaleso is nearly ten times as old as he is, and he often either jokes on Kaleso's accent or on his abilities as a Sorcerer, which understandably offsets the much older Kaleso. They often throw insults at each other, but that only reflects how much they are willing to give for one another.

### Nathaniel Carter

The Captain is Karesan's student in martial arts, as Carter needed someone to train him in using the plasma sword that Kaleso gave to him. By the times of Burning, they had trained for six months, giving Carter a fair proficiency with the weapon. It also just happens that Carter knows him better than anyone else in the crew, as during their time together, Karesan had shared his past and the fact that he uses humor as a coping mechanism.

## Quotes

* *"Screw your own mother!"*
* *"You will never, you son of a prostitute, make subjects out of us!"*
* *"Slaves? You mean warriors waiting to be liberated?"*
* *"This is my oath, not because .."*
* *"You damnable Makureste."*
* *"Kids these days!"*
* *"Kiss our arse!"*