Straik

Straik is the main character of Corsairs: Straik. He is mated to Ruth. He was first mentioned in When She Belongs and was first seen in Corsairs: Adiron

## Appearance

Lord Straik tends to wear primarily black clothes. He would normally wear traditional, long flowing robes of family nobility in order to show off his lord status. Ruth would refer to his clothes being reminiscent of Gandalf. As time progresses, he tends to wear more form fitting clothing due to Ruth wanting to show off his muscular form. He had waist length hair fitting of messakah nobility, but he later cuts it short in order to distance himself from his sociopath mother

## Personality

Lord Straik starts off as someone very closed off and stoic, He has a commanding nature and hates being seen as weak or flawed; often focusing more on his appearance as a Lord and bringing honor to his family name to the point of not showing much of a personality other than guarded. Straik eventually learns open up to others after months of being with Ruth who tends to be equally commanding as him and shows him genuine care when she learns how lonely he was. He has a strong sense of right and wrong when it comes to others. He was disgusted by the discovery of his families ties with slave trading and feels morally obliged to do what’s right by the people hurt by his family. He treats his a’anni clones as equals and their own person, freeing them and giving them pay and shore time during Corsair runs. Straik is absolutely devoted to Ruth and loves to be playfully challenged by her “naughty” behaviors whenever he’s with her. He resents his mother who tried to kill him and Ruth multiple times in order to hide the truth about The Buoyant Star; sending him on a crusade against her

#### History

Lord Straik was a very lonely child growing up. His father died before he was born and he was often ignored by his uncaring mother; Lady Naasi sa’Rin. His upbringing was left up to servants who would just do his bidding while keeping their distance from him. This cold upbringing made him feel utterly dejected and felt no reason to want to create lasting relationships.

In adulthood, he was expected to participate in more social circles like politics and parties since he was the second head of the family behind his uncle; Lord va’Rin, though he felt hallow doing so. After Lord va’Rin legally married a human; Milly, she would eventually gave birth to his child who would inherit the va’Rin name and fortune. This meant that Straik was no longer in line for the inheritance; causing his family great embarrassment. In order to seek validation and to restore his title as a lord, Straik decided to become a corsair, hired a crew of freed a’anni clones to work upon his ship known as *The Darkened Eye* and go search for his family’s missing cargo ship; *The buoyant Star*. His search lasted for a year with no real leads to The Stars whereabouts This led him to unwillingly ally himself with The Va Sithai brothers who had a map to the ships location.

**Corsairs: Adiron**

When Straik found *The Buoyant Star*, he was horrified to discover that the cargo onboard was over a hundred odd something slaves; this including Ruth, Alice, Jade and Helen. He was even more horrified to learn from the women that the crew of The Star committed a mutiny onboard, pulled three human women and a female quara’aki clone out of stasis in order to “play” with them and then abandoned the ship after a second mutiny; leaving the awakened women to die. He learns that the women; however, spent three years surviving on the ship by using the distress signal to bring in unsuspecting aliens in order knock them unconscious with sleeping gas and then take provisions for themselves. Straik was unsure what to do with this new information and sought the advice of his uncle. During the middle of the night while the women and Adiron were asleep aboard *the Star,* Straik dropped off the unconscious remaining brothers onto the other ship and took off for Risda III in order to figure out what to do. He unknowingly had Ruth aboard *The Eye* after she snuck into the duct system of his ship in order to spy on him.

**Corsairs: Straik**

A week after leaving *The Buoyant Star*, Straik discovered that Ruth was hiding in his ship. He found her taking a bath in his private quarters believing him not to return until much later. After a confrontation with a naked Ruth stabbing him in his shoulder, he manages to restrain her with handcuffs to his bed. Believing her in charge of a possible and demands for her to give him names of everyone working with her. He tries to pull information from Ruth by turning down the temperature in his room and withholding food, but he finds himself unable to break her stubbornness and finding himself growing more attracted to her.

The next day, Straik decides on the tactic of getting her guard down by befriending rather than interrogation. He later gets a vid call from his mother telling him to launch *The Star* into the nearest sun with its occupants with it in order to hide their involvement with slave trading. Straik tells his mother he refuses to murder innocent people. Ruth, overhearing the conversation; is relieved by Straiks refusal of his mother’s murderous demands and begins to slowly trust him. Before Straik could land on Lord va’Rin’s farming planet; Risda III, his ship gets attacked by bounty hunters which causes him to retreat and go into hiding. Over the next few days, Straik and Ruth start to share an unlikely bond while also avoiding assassins and bounty hunters sent by his own mother to kill him. The distrust and scorn between Straik and Ruth fades; replaced with more playful banters and attraction for each other.

While making a stop at Prefalon Space station to get more supplies for *The Eye,* he takes Ruth; disguised as a “naughty” pet, on a shopping spree for clothing and treats; bringing the two even closer. After they leave the station, Straik is horrified to discover Ruth was given poisoned sweets by someone on the station and was on the verge of death for almost a week. During that agonizing time frame of watching Ruth slipping in and out of consciousness; Straik comes to the realization that his mother was the one who sent the poison and that he was completely in love with Ruth. As she slowly begins to recover, Straik and his crew track down and take down the all but one of the bounty hunters who slipped in the poison; the last one willingly surrendering when he learned he harmed a female. When Ruth is almost fully healed from her ordeal, Straik decides to take her to the beach planet; Jirri IV, in order to give her a little vacation and to hide out from his mothers assassins for a while. While on their vacation, Ruth and Straik consummate their relationship and legally marry.

Straik stays in hiding with Ruth for three months until it was safe enough to return to Risda III. When Straik goes back to Prefalon to get his ship refueled, he’s shocked to discover a human woman named Ruthie who looks just like his wife; possibly a clone of Ruth. He takes Ruthiie onboard his ship; causing a horrified Ruth to realize she or the other woman might be a clone. Straik then reassures Ruth his love has not changed towards her and that it doesn’t matter to him if she’s a clone or not. Moved by his words, Ruth decides to have a test done to see if she or Ruthie is a clone. After the testing is completed; both women being clones, Straik is pulled aside privately by his medic and is shocked to learn his wife is two months pregnant with his child. The fact that he’s going to be a father both elates and terrifies him. He later tells Ruth about her pregnancy and both are happy about the news.

Days later, Straik and Ruth arrive at Risda port and are shocked to see that *The Buoyant Star* is in the port and that Mathiras and Kaspar are there to greet them. Straik is then taken to Lord va’Rin’s home in order to be interrogated by the brothers. Straik tells the brothers everything that’s happened onboard *The Darkened Eye* and reassures them that he’ll do whatever it takes to make sure everyone on his family’s ship will not be killed but will have a chance to live their lives. This and the fact that Straik has no issues taking down his own mother in order to end her illegal slaving and cloning ring appeases the Va Sithai. He’s later reunited with Ruth in Lord va’Rin’s dining room where everyone; including the Va Sithai and Ruth’s friends; eats dinner and is toasting to taking down Lady sa’Rin.

A few days later, the two groups split up again with the Brothers returning to *The Little Sister* with their mates and Straik returning to *The Eye* with Ruth. Both groups agree to meet up in a week on Jerrok’s junk asteroid belt. Straik, knowing that he has true family in Ruth, his crew and the brothers; now looks forward to the future of happiness as well as taking down illegal slavers and cloning labs along with his evil mother

### Later

Straik is seen again in Corsairs: Mathiras and is successful in exposing his families dealings in slave trading and his mother building an illegal space casino. He stays away from public appearances so that Ruth and their unborn child will stay out of danger of being discovered by the authorities