Mordecai

Mordecai is the ruler of Gibel and supreme leader of the Death Vigil mercenary faction. Under his control, the Vigil had not only overcome the hurdles of it's homeworld of Gibel, but rapidly expanded to become a force to be reckoned with in the Southern quadrant.

## History

### Life before the Vigil

The son of a love affair between a foreign spy and a Las Vegas prostitute. Mordecai grew up in the city of sin during mankind's rise to the stars. Despite his parent's backgrounds he was left wanting for nothing. Like many before him, he joined the academy at age 18 and quickly showed his skills in combat.

He continued his career until 2224 when his home was struck by tragedy. A sign of the times, Las Vegas was set ablaze by religious militia that took control and crippled the city. Taking it's citizens hostage. Mordecai's unit was deployed among other to give them a way out. His commanding officer was killed in action and the burden of leadership fell on his shoulders. For a week straight, he led his men, retaking the city building by building and clearing the way for people to evacuate. By the end he was forced to retreat due to a sniper shot severing his arm. He would leave, but his unit would fulfill their mission. Their actions had earned them the nickname of the "Spectral protectors" on account of their black and white uniforms. As for him, his arm was replaced with a robotic prosthetic and his will to serve only strengthened.

A year later he was placed in a black ops unit comprised only by members that had undergone augmentation, willing or otherwise. Once again, he would be second in command. This time to captain Samantha StClaire. The next eight years they would operate in secret, striking out against inner and outer threats to Sol. In that time, Mordecai and Samantha would become close. But there was tension between them and other units in the military. Often being referred to as the 'Frankensteins' or the 'Cripple crew' by others This tension would culminate in the group's findings of a conspiracy within being ignored and discredited, which led to the unit being decimated. Leaving Mordecai and one other as the survivors. This would lead to his disillusion with Sol.

### Formation of the Vigil

Along with another survivor of the unit, Loren Artoa, Mordecai began to form his own group of disillusioned veterans. To Sol they were as good as dead, so might as well take their life into their own hands and would set on a journey across the galaxy to answer the call for wetwork, becoming more machine as time went on, hidden under a layer of synthetic skin. Each new upgrade increasing their effectiveness and cohesiveness. This planted the roots of what would become his ideology of transcending organic barriers using mechanical augmentation. An ideology that would begin to spread among his followers. The mercenary crew began growing as more members kept coming in. Eventually they would need to settle on a world for their base of operations.

In 2239 the group landed on the planet Gibel, it having already suffered through nuclear armageddon and society had began to slowly rebuild itself. The native people formed tribes, many choosing to ignore the leftover technology from the era that nearly brought their extinction. Save for a few that would utilize it. To their kin, they were outcasts and marked for death.

Seeing in them kindred spirits, Mordecai and Loren united the more advanced tribes under a common banner and would lead them to conquer Gibel. The name meant to invoke their own origin. Those discarded and left for dead, coming back not only to prove they are alive, but to protect their own. The Death Vigil was born.

### Becoming a major player.

By the 2270s the Vigil had not only modernized Gibel, but had began to expand it's work to neighboring planets and systems. During the expansion Mordecai had undergone many operations and further augmentations to his body to expand his lifespan further and further. To this day it is unknown how much of him is still human and at what point the machine starts. This only cemented his ideology further. At this point in time it's safe to assume that ideology had began to take form more of a religion.

In 2345 Gibel had grown to be a capital of it's own galactic nation. The unorthodox method prompted to adopt and unorthodox title. In late June that year, he proclaimed himself Executor for life. But a unique crown was not what really pushed him and the Vigil in the spotlight in the Southern Quadrant.

In 2357, the planet of Zverstva, located between Vigil, Upiry and Sol space was conquered by pirates. The planet was rich in resources, had many factories and was a strategic jumping point for many invasions. A fight to retake said planet would mean a pyrrhic victory at best for whoever decided to assault it as the pirates had started to not only converge upon it but utilize its manufacturing capabilities as well. The Death Vigil fleet amassed over the planet in early 2358 and began bombarding it once the blockade was broken through. Although their targets weren't the traditional targets one would have. The bombardment had targeted the many volcanoes that had dotted the landscape of Zverstva. Soon the planet was engulfed in molten lava, destroying anything and everyone on the surface. The following day Mordecai released a statement. "The fools on the surface of that planet thought they could make sport of me and my neighbors. Let it be known that whatever game my enemies wish to play, I will oblige, but play by my own rules. This is your first and final warning."

The fallout for the Vigil suffered was surprisingly light. Only having to deal with damage to their PR. But it was easy to spin the story in their favor and soon it was forgotten to the many, but the Vigil had made itself known and soon it's ranks swelled and Mordecai's power grew.

### Starpath

The following decades would proceed as normal until 2373 when the Trixina incident led to the creation of the Union. A government body created to control the mercenary faction and to make sure further incidents don't happen. The Vigil easily took it's spot as one of the big players in it and Mordecai began to manipulate the other factions. The Union would hold for a decade until it's collapse after the UGC was in no condition to keep it together.

Having gained newfound freedom, Mordecai began to settle scores and grudges that were formed in the preceding decade. He would later join the massive fleet above Zeruel intending to collect the reward offered by Harken Saw. On the planet however he saw what the power of the Crimson sun had to offer. The level of synchronisation between organic and machine was beyond him. He needed to know how they achieved it. He needed that knowledge. But despite his best efforts, whatever their secrets, the Sun took them to the grave.

Worth noting that on Zeruel he met Yanim Sidikan. A meeting that he would consider insignificant at the time, but would turn out to cause a domino effect that would plague him years later.

By 2385, Mordecai had started plans to reform the Union with mostly the same major players sitting at the table, send the Vultures to track down and find what the Archius had found and begin research on an ancient artefact only known as Starvis among the many projects that began to take shape.

The distractions had allowed for his enemies to gain up on him and would launch two assassination attempts on his life. Both ending terribly for the perpetrators. The first was organized by members within his own government which prompted a violent purge. The second attempt came after he had acquired a piece of the Archive from Argus.

There was little doubt that the Argus were behind the second attack and so would give him justification to go after them. But before he launched the attack, he would spend time with the Archive itself. Learning whatever he could from it. The knowledge he gained about Starvis and about what it could mean for his goals were staggering. A war with Argus was a small price to pay for what it meant for the Galaxy at large.