Ardran Kasido

**Ardran Kasido**, often addressed simply as **Kasido**, hails from the Imperial throne world of Dromund Kaas.

Coming from a wealthy family, he pursued a career in the criminal justice system after studying law. Displaying a talent for litigation, Kasido earned an appointment as chief prosecutor for the capital district in the Imperial superior courts. He served in this capacity for several years.

Kasido abandoned the Empire after the disappearance and presumed death of Darth Marr.

After spending several years advising the business magnates on Nar Shaddaa to reestablish his personal finances, he was recruited into the Midnight Order. Returning to litigation, he earned a place in the Ministry of Justice and served in the ministry's law department until the Order was reformed. Kasido was among those selected by Empress Si'alla Va'lenn to head the new major noble houses that would form her new ruling council.

## Biography

### Childhood and Early Life

Kasido was born the only son to accomplished dignitaries; his father was ambassador to the Chiss Ascendancy and his mother served as special counsel to the Minister of War. He spent the bulk of his childhood on his family estate, where his parents saw to his education personally. In his adolescent years he received advanced combat training from an Imperial Intelligence operative who was a close friend of his father’s.

### Imperial Career

Kasido studied law and received his license to practice in the municipal court in his early twenties. His mother arranged for him to work in the office of Kaas City’s prosecutor. His aggressive style of litigation saw many criminals not only convicted, but also given particularly harsh sentences. However, he earned true distinction after successfully prosecuting a Sith Lord and her apprentice who had been accused of misappropriating military funds and arranging the deaths of several prominent officers. Kasido cleverly played on the apprentice’s emotions throughout the trial, and the young man finally broke under a tense cross-examination. The tribunal of Sith Lords overseeing the trial found the pair guilty, and, impressed with Kasido’s performance, took his recommendation of sentencing the Sith and her apprentice to death. After five years in the municipal courts, he was promoted to senior counsel and responsible for prosecuting defendants brought before the Imperial superior courts.

Sometime during the Cold War, Kasido was appointed chief prosecutor of the capital district. Despite his status as a political figure, he did not refrain from litigating cases personally. A few years before the Treaty of Coruscant was dissolved, a group of overzealous Mandalorians unintentionally set fire to Kasido’s father’s estate while pursuing a target outside Kaas City. The subsequent disaster ended with the death of a majority of his family, his parents among them. Driven to the brink of madness by his rage and grief, Kasido pushed relentlessly for a policy of zero tolerance toward mercenaries operating in Kaas City. Aware that he was not capable of forcing the Mandalorians from Dromund Kaas entirely, he settled to defame the clans in the eyes of the Imperial leadership the best he could. Although the mercenaries provided more than enough opportunity for Kasido and his subordinates to prosecute them, it is rumored he facilitated the conviction of countless Mandalorians on falsified charges.

### Departing Imperial Space

Kasido continued to serve as chief prosecutor on Dromund Kaas into the renewed war with the Republic. However, after the emergence of the Eternal Empire and presumed death of Darth Marr, he became disillusioned with the Imperial cause.

He left Imperial space before Zakuul’s initial assaults began, settling on the desert world Tatooine. He waited out the bulk of the conflict in the Outer Rim, and during that time he came into contact with several Hutt crime lords who ran rackets and black markets off the planet. Though initially disgusted with the idea of doing business with the sort whom he would have been at odds with in his past career, he ultimately decided in favor of working with them as a way of recovering some of the finances he had left after abandoning the Sith. Through the Hutts, Kasido became acquainted with many prominent figures in the underworld. After the Eternal Empire had established itself as the new dominant power in the galaxy, he relocated to Nar Shaddaa. There, he advised the business magnates who operated the major casinos of the Smuggler’s Moon. Proving himself invaluable to them, he regained, and quickly surpassed, the wealth he possessed during his time in the Empire.

### The Midnight Order

At some point, Kasido crossed paths with the Midnight Order, and, intrigued by their cause, allied himself with them. He was recruited into the Ministry of Justice and returned to his career in law. His experience earned him a place as chief prosecutor under High Justice Nimma’cetha’ura.

During the crisis that erupted as a result of Darth Nostrem's attack on Acheron, Kasido assumed a leadership position among others such as state director Akesi'va and Major Frannik of the Order's military. His led most of the operations against the invaders, most notably the successful rescue of Wrenn Va'lenn from Nostrem's minions, which earned him favor with Empress Si'alla Va'lenn.

Several months afterward, the Empress offered Kasido the chance to form a noble house as part of her reformations to the Order. Along with the heads of the now-defunct ministries, he would comprise the new governing council of the Order.

## Personality

Kasido is of an overall calm temperament and will take a pragmatic approach to most situations.

As he was born into wealth, he is a cultured man and is not afraid to wallow in the opulence of high living — frequenting lavish resorts, dining in premier restaurants, and indulging in luxury cuisine such as the lipana berry.

In his years as an Imperial prosecutor, Kasido had a strong resentment of the criminal element of the galaxy. However, his disposition towards them would change after he departed Imperial territory. He even came to ultimately admire the craftiness of underworld spies and assassins. As Zakuul's conquests had left him convinced that one must sometimes be willing to let go of the limitations of morality in order to persevere, he began to recognize the underworld as a source of many potential allies.

Although Kasido's sense of humor is quite crude, but he will not conduct himself inappropriately in professional settings.