Kauss'om Nierli

Kauss'om from his time as a Cartel Member

Kauss'om Nierli is an upstart Nikto who has made his way to the Imperial Stormtrooper Corps.

## Appearance

Kauss'om is a Green Nikto thus sharing many similar traits, such as a present nose, shorter fins and horns, and a long climbing claw on his hands. Thanks to his origin he also lacks the ability to make many facial expressions or even blush thanks to their being purely green pigment in his skin. He is on the stockier side as all Kintan Nikto are, the cartels don't accept the weak.

## Personality

Kauss'om is tenacious and unrelenting when it comes to his Imperial service, he is starkly loyal to the Empire and Anakin specifically. Greatly relishing the ability to be treated as legally no different than anyone else, a luxury not so oft afforded in Hutt Space. He tries to make friends where he can, and values each one above pretty much all else. He's always relaxed in conversation when in casual company, but is regimented when demanded of him. However Kauss'om Nierli does not quickly become willing to confide his secrets in others, as all his life has been spent with Nikto on Kintan. A place of birth that has not fostered easy given trust in young Nierli.

## Biography

### Early Life on Kintan

Kauss'om Nierli was born to a Kadas'sa'Nikto Father and a M'shento'su'Nikto Mother. Though like many half-breed Niktos he exclusively shares one of his parents' traits, specifically his father, both appearing to be Green Nikto. Kintan had been Hutt Occupied for centuries, and that didn't look likely to change in his youth. Kauss'om's parents were caring as the average Nikto adult usually was, Nierli learned quickly to do what he was told and to do it well. Unfortunately as was the case for a vast sum of Nikto on Kintan, he was born and raised in poverty. Money was hard to come by with domestic businesses, so one wanting to have enough money for a family often had to resort to foreign employment. The only foreign employers on Kintan were the Hutts, Kintan was safe from the Republic, both due to their refusal to mess with the Hutts, and their preoccupation with the Separatists. That meant Kintan was used as a trade center for all kinds of illicit goods, most were employed as low-skill laborers. Doing jobs that would be much better done by droids is they cared to pay the upkeep. The rest protected from attacks committed by Nikto hired by other members of the Hutt Cartel, infighting as always. Both of Kauss'om's parents worked for the cartel, moving goods mostly. In order to help the family make money he joined in the work at the young age of 13. Moving cargo for the Hutts made him grow up strong physically, and the rough conditions made him mentally resilient as well. He was often involved in firefights that took place during skirmishes between the Hutts, though he rarely participated.

After a year in service to the Cartels, Kintan would learn of the Declaration of a New Order, as well as the First Galactic Empire. With that came the word of the Imperator's acceptance of equality, and the war on the Hutts, still too young to do anything he became inspired that maybe his life would amount to more of this. The Hutts announced their military would defend their slaving operations. But the Nikto an enslaved race, and large quantity of the military, eventually realized that they could have a say in this. Rebel cells quickly formed on Kintan, nationalism broke out among the Nikto rekindling many lost pieces of Kintan Culture. One such object was the religious organization, The Cult of M'dweshuu, a belief system that Nierli was drawn into in his adolescence. Kauss'om was a supporter of the Nikto rebel cells, he remained under the Cartel's employment to act as an agent for the rebels, repeatedly causing the Cartel to lose hundreds of thousands. Nierli was never found out, so at the age of 18 he finally saved up enough money, he gave his parents a hug and a promise to return. Then he bribed his way off the planet escaping Cartel service, hiding with an exotic animal shipment to Onderon.

### Imperial Academies of Onderon & Lantillies

Kauss'om Nierli spent all he had left on making himself an official Imperial Citizen after his bribes got him to Onderon. While roaming the streets he got came face to face with the realization the galaxy was not all loyal followers of Imperator Skywalker's sentiments. Onderon was fiercely prejudiced towards non-humans. After all his money went dry feeding him long enough to get the papers he needed, he went to join what he hoped was the dream he'd been waiting for, the Imperial academy. Kauss'om was used to taking orders as much as physical exertion, it's like his youth was leading him to this point. He faced relentless mocking, no matter how much the law said he was equal, men are cruel, his broken Galactic Basic being a particular laughing point. Though capable of making good tactical decisions he was rarely given the chance as none would take orders from a brutish Nikto. Soon after being given their uniforms, Kauss'om began always keeping his mask on, as a way to get people to listen to him not knowing he was a Nikto. This rarely worked his accent was hard not to recognize. More distressing for Kauss'om was the fact he had not been able to learn how to read basic, however, he found compassion in a Zeltron recruit who had come from his home planet to enlist. The Zeltron named Torlan stayed up late with Kauss'om reading the Imperial handbooks to him, and trying to help teach him to read them for himself. Torlan made Kauss'om genuinely happy, something he had not felt since Basic Training began. Torlan and Kauss'om became close friends during their weeks in training, Torlan's much nearer human qualities helped him act as a shield for some of the comments so commonly meant to strike at Nierli. After 10 weeks graduation was upon them, and Kauss'om was elated to find that through his efforts, Kauss'om was second in the class, behind a native Onderonian, luckily both the valedictorian and salutatorian were offered the chance to move to the Elite Stormtrooper Corp. Kauss'om eagerly accepted before he shipped off he confided in Torlan that he wishes they could stay, but he made a promise to his parents and this is his best chance to keep it.

The Imperial transport came just a few days later, Kauss'om and the Valedictorian were begrudgingly forced to sit together. The transport took off and headed to the city world of Lantillies. The base felt unnaturally empty once the ships landed, unknown to Nierli at the time the Twelfth Army usually stationed on the planet had been deployed to Randon by order of the Imperator in the continued War of Emancipation. It turns out Kauss'om was not the only alien present, but they were few and far between. As with most of the civilized galaxy, Human recruits outnumbered them, turning them into a minority. Thus as always when the drill instructor was not punishing them all for choosing this path in life, Kauss'om was bullied by his fellow recruits. Kauss'om found no compassionate soul like Torlan in this Academy which meant his biggest weakness holding him back was simply memorizing the reading material given to them. Stormtrooper Academy taught Kauss'om literally everything through its several-month training program, lucky for him after time had gone on for long enough his fellow recruits left him alone, though he was always an outcast to the humans who had formed their own cliques independent of most aliens. By graduation, Kauss'om had improved in many areas, but fell short, he was almost last in his Class, barely making it to Graduation without removal from the Academy. This did not dampen Nierli's happiness, he was now a member of the elite and maybe it would only be a short time before he could help protect his race.

### Deployment

Kauss'om has been disappointed with his place of assignment on the Formerly Separatist world of Telos IV, but he holds out hope that he may be able to fight the Hutts as the empire sends many others to do.