Sarrak

From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe

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Sarrak
Player: Aku
Origin:	Natural
Archetype:	Corruptor
Threat Level:	50
Personal Data
Real Name:	Captain Sarrak
Known Aliases:	"John Sarkus" ('Human' Name/Identity)
Species:	Executor
Age:	248 Earth Years
Height:	6'0"
Weight:	190 lbs.
Eye Color:	Red
Hair Color:	Black
Biographical Data
Nationality:	First Imperium
Occupation:	Captain of the Sovereign
Place of Birth:	3rd Moon of Dawn
Base of Operations:	Second Metropolis of the Gods
Marital Status:	Single
Known Relatives:	None
Known Powers
Cosmic Energy Control
Known Abilities
Hypermathematics, Esteemed Galactic Naval Officer, Artist, Practitioner of Bada-Ar
Equipment
Various Armors and Uniforms
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Origin of the Executors

The Executors are a highly advanced race of humanoids who achieved capable space flight well over a few millenium ago. At first described as little more than savage children, they warred with each other mercilessly on the planet known as Dawn. Dawn was home to a Binary Star system, both stars orbiting each other. Due to the extreme levels of heat and radiation of having two suns, Dawn was a scorched, desert planet with little in the way of resources. Because of the harsh conditions, it was little wonder the Executors were savages before the age of "Enlightenment". The Executors compensated for the never-ending daytime as a result of several biological abilities. First, and foremost, their skin was a dark blue color. Similar to melanin in human beings, the blue tinge of their skin allowed them to absorb 90% of their suns' energy without physiological damage. And second, they were effectively born blind, and their eyes would gradually begin to function as the first few years tolled by until their bodies became accustomed to the extremely bright environment. As sunlight is absorbed, their eyes would function as 'radiators' and begin expelling unused energy to keep the rest of their bodies from burning out. This had two important functions that would serve them later in history... their eyes were naturally protected against their suns' harsh light, and they had excellent visual perception, even able to look into the ultraviolet spectrum, as well as have perfect night vision (as their eyes essentially provided their 'own' light in order to see when it was otherwise dark). Their ears were also highly sensitive from birth (to compensate for their blindness), and were pointed to pick up even the faintest whispers in the distance. This made them excellent hunters, and as they warred... the ability to overcome one's hearing made them excellent assassins.

It wouldn't be until a thousand years later that the ancient Executor known as Bada would discover a spiritual journey known as "Enlightenment", and that he could actually create and distort his own internal reserves of energy for a variety of uses. At first described as a 'witch doctor', after traveling the entirety of Dawn as a nomad, he picked up a cult of followers who described Bada as the First Prophet of the Gods, who was given his abilities by them... in order to teach others and bring order to the planet. The Cult of Bada would force the rest of the planet into subservience with their new 'abilities' in only a decade, and Bada was proclaimed the first Emperor of Dawn. A benevolent, kind man... Bada ushered in the "Enlightenment Era", where Dawn became unified in their goals, and after 'adjusting' their planet... they would go out into the stars as the chosen Executors of the Universe, as the Gods willed. Though Emperor Bada would eventually pass away, his descendants would continue on his ideals and teachings, and the modern Executor martial art known as 'Bada-Ar' and its variants were named after him. The Executors had a deeply spiritual link to "the Gods", who they believe existed outside of both time and space, and chose their race to have custody over the universe.

The first space explorers were hardy, adventurous men and women whose solar voyages led them to the edge of their solar system, where over the first 100 years they terraformed and colonized every planet and moon around both of their suns. The era of Imperiums followed soon after, with each subsequent invasion and settlement of a planet would become a new Imperium. Dawn was always hailed as the First Imperium, with the next planet settled called the Second Imperium. Each planet afterwards would become a new Imperium, and it was the most esteemed accomplishment to become one who claimed a planet for the Executors. Thus, over the centuries the Executors began advancing rapidly in science and technology, as well as starship engineering to build bigger and better ships... and talented and versatile crew members to man them. As of Earth year 2008, the Executors had colonized their last planet within their own galaxy. And their massive ships which acted as unstoppable floating cities began to leak outwards to neighboring galaxies... and beyond, each ship Captain wanting their own planet... and usually far more after that. The Executors had become so efficient at both invasion and colonization that Imperiums began to shrink in number as seasoned Admirals and Commodores began taking not only single planets, but entire solar systems -- or groups of solar systems by themselves. These enormous territories were thus far more prestigious, and unified under one name. These 'top brass' of the Executors were thus the most influential of their species, and essentially hailed as spiritual 'successors' of Bada.

It was every Executor's childhood dream to become the next "Admiral Lasha", and conquer the unenlightened savages of the cosmic frontier, or to become the next "Commodore Melana" and carry the Emperor's favor directly to his twenty wives. Very few became commanding officer material, in actuality. Most often than not, an Executor would find themselves enlisted in a 'favored' commanding officer's ship, usually depending on family accomplishments. This social class was more often than not the deciding factor for duties, but not always. The lowest-class were the menial laborers. Asteroid Miners, Sanitation Engineers, Maids, and Servants. Their families would have no accomplishments in their entire history, or actually disgraced the Emperor or their species in a humiliating or treachorous act... and thus were determined to 'serve' the ruling class. Their own innate abilities were non-existant, or meager. But there was always legends speaking of a menial laborer who would overcome his family's stupidity and usurped the command of a Star Eclipse mining cruiser and settled a planet, thus becoming a part of the 'ruling class', or the story of a descendant of the shamed Admiral who sought to overthrow the Emperor of the First Imperium... who toiled away in the steam pipes of his ship, scrubbing slime off of the walls to pay off the debt of his 612 year old ancestor... only to find himself the last living member of the ship as a radiation storm killed the entire crew... and crashing into an uninhabited world -- and whose distress call hailed him as the new ruler of that planet, which was found to be loaded with natural resources begging for exploitation. These stories were mostly legends, of course... stories to keep the hopes up of the serving-class, but with some truth to them. Any Executor could become a ship Captain in theory, but like any advanced society... it was often due to backstabbing and manipulation rather than the heroic and noble acts described in legend. As a result of this space-faring culture... it was little wonder that most Executors in the universe were positioned in some way, shape, or form... weren't even on their home planet, but stationed on massive ships miles and miles long.

Origin of Sarrak

Sarrak is the first and only son of Noble Sakka, who served the Emperor as a tax collector before his untimely death at the hands of the now-exiled 659th Imperium who refused to pay their dues to the Emperor. Sarrak was brought up in the proper ruling-class household on Dawn. Dawn had since been transformed from a lifeless desert into the royal capital and pinnacle of the Executors' civilization, and was almost exclusively home to the most prestigious members of society, such as politicians and entertainment stars. Sarrak had been groomed to become a naval officer from an early age. Born on Dawn's 3rd Moon, Sarrak spent his childhood racing Moon-Bikes through the shining metal canyons of his home with his friends, and was enrolled in the Temple of Bada-Ar, a prestigious school of the martial arts. In school he was an excellent student, and participated in several extra-curricular activities such as the Society of Future Astronavigators, and the Council of Royal Artists. He had little time for a social life, and after becoming of age, he enrolled in the First Imperium's Naval Academy. Described as extremely bright, he was also feared by some of his rivals for his quiet demeanor -- but obviously extraordinary tactical abilities. His cool attitude and ruthless skills in combat -- either behind a firing console, or in a Bada-Ar Tournament made him to be a natural choice for advancement into the Officers' Wing.

After attaining the rank of Lieutenant, Sarrak was hand-picked by Captain Samla when the Star Juggernaut Sovereign was completed in the orbital shipyards above Dawn. Captain Samla was a capable officer, her tough demeanor and unwillingness to surrender or negotiate gave her the nickname in the fleet as the Star Wolf. Her reputation as the Star Wolf came with it a degree of intimidation, as many galactic species would find out later. She had engaged the Insectoid Hive Mind a few years prior with her Nova Frigate the Bova Nika, and was expected to be defeated. Though the Bova Nika was destroyed in the ensuing battle, Samla had planted a psychic bomb when she was taken captive by the insectoid barbarians and had rendered the entire species catatonic when it went off. Casually conquering such a brutal species after a defeat earned her the rank of Captain... and she was first in line to command the next Star Juggernaut off the line by the Emperor himself. Sarrak was eager to serve his new captain, and upon leaving the spacedock, Sarrak was assigned as the Chief of Weapons, and was responsible for ensuring the thousands of plasma cannons and other weapons were functional. The Sovereign began a course towards the fringe of the galaxy, where only a small sector of space remained unconquered. The Alliance of Heroes, as the faction was called... was made up of other species who fled their planets as the Executors conquered them and banded together against the blue-skinned tyrants. Using a captured Star Juggernaut renamed the Liberator, they held their last few solar systems for decades as the Executors continued to send ship after ship, fleet after fleet to conquer the last corner of their galaxy. Captain Samla and her crew were on their way there, and during the 3-month voyage through the artificial wormhole to get to the other side of the galaxy, Sarrak and the rest of her officers began making preparations for full-scale war against the band of savages who struggled against "enlightenment".

Captain Samla, however... had taken a liking to Sarrak. In their private conferences, she would often tell Sarrak that once the last few patches of planets were conquered, she would go to the next galaxy and start a new Imperium with her crew, and wanted Sarrak to become her first husband, and subsequent father of her children who would inherit the Imperium she would build. While Sarrak appeared to be intrigued, in secret he was plotting against her. While they began a romantic affair during their voyage to the battlefield, Sarrak began prying information out of his commanding officer. He discovered a few of her weaknesses, and set them aside for later. After all, he had a battle to win soon enough... but afterwards? He would start a new Imperium. Captain Samla told him of the 'uncharted' galaxy in the distance. The oracles on the Bova Nika told her there was a lush blue planet in that galaxy, and that the star sprites had even migrated there. The Star Sprites were described as energy beings, and those who could dominate them were considered to be demigods. These Star Sprites were in actuality the Kheldians -- and they had evaded the Executors for eons, seeing them as a 'cancer' to the universe. If an Executor ship would appear near a Kheldian... it would flee from sight, and were considered 'mermaids' of the universe. Rumored to exist, but none had been captured. Sarrak listened to Captain Samla's plans to follow the oracles' instructions before their death on her previous ship, and to become the first Captain to capture a Star Sprite. She would then use their wish-granting powers (as legend states) to become the new Empress of the Executors. Sarrak believed her to be little more than religious fanatic, but pandered to her ideas. Pledging his loyalty and devotion to her, they were seemingly in an agreement before the final battle.

The war against the Alliance of Heroes was fierce. The Sovereign had spearheaded the effort against the savages of the frontier, and despite having to eject their starboard engine after attaining critical damage... had helped beat the Alliance of Heroes back to the planet of New Bastion, a weather-worn fortress world whose winds and precipitation prevented any lesser ships from entering the atmosphere safely. Captain Samla held the massive ship in orbit around New Bastion, while other Executor ships finished off the weakened forces. Samla, Sarrak, and the rest of her officers prepared for ground assault, and they donned their space-faring armors and entered the atmosphere. While Samla and Sarrak survived, the other officers were killed by the horrendous wind torrents, lightning bolts, or acidic rain. It was actually Samla and Sarrak's own skills in harnessing their own energy into the martial art Bada-Ar that allowed them to survive the plunge to the surface, and after they established a teleportation beacon on a platform, they began allowing the Space Marines to funnel in. Samla and Sarrak lead the Marines into the fortress city, where they laid the insurgents to waste, and fought their way to New Bastion's council chambers, just as the crews of the Formidable and the Infinity breached the other council doors. Three Captains converged on the last planet's doorstep, and each of them wanted to go down in history as the one who conquered New Bastion -- last planet of the unenlightened. Though Samla and Sarrak had both led their marines to the surface and did the lion's share of the work... the Infinity and the Formidable had hacked into their teleportation network and summoned their own crews down below -- without risking the deaths of their senior staff. Admiral Fasla of the Infinity would arrogantly assume his prestigious war record would carry intimidation into the hearts of the council members, but upon striding up to their table with his senior staff... they triggered a bomb which killed them all -- as well as the Admiral and his crew. It would appear Captain Samla of the Sovereign and Commodore Beckhasa of the Formidable were at a standstill over who would claim the planet. Though the two of them could easily overpower the Commodore, it was Sarrak's treachery that would be the deciding factor. He would use his own tactical prowess and his skill in Bada-Ar to summon a bolt of energy into the ceiling of the chambers, and buried their compliment of space marines in razor-sharp debris, killing them instantly. Samla's eyes widened at Sarrak's treachery and moved against him -- only to be shot in the back by the Commodore. Sarrak was now outnumbered, and outmatched. Feigning surrender... he offered Beckhasa the planet in exchange for his life. That by allowing him to kill his commanding officer... he has shown loyalty to Lord Beckhasa of New Bastion. Beckhasa's ego was satisfied, and he claimed his new planet. Sarrak would return to the Sovereign, and become known as a hero of all Executors of the Universe.

The celebrations lasted for nearly an entire Earth year. Captain Sarrak's heroic acts were chalked up to Commodore Beckhasa's capability, and while Beckhasa was now set for life, Sarrak had his own agenda ahead of him. While the Sovereign was repaired and re-crewed... Sarrak was given audience with the Emperor himself in a private meeting. He told the Emperor that he wished to go out and explore other galaxies. Not conquering them... but being the first of the new scouting parties. Through his manipulative ways, Sarrak convinced the Emperor he would pick out the prime candidates for colonization, and send the information to the Royal Fleet, allowing the Emperor to usher in a new age of his lineage as he not only dominates this galaxy... but others as well. The ploy worked, and Sarrak was pronounced an expeditionary member in a highly-publicized ceremony, and the Sovereign would be sent to the far-off reaches of the universe to receive custody of the cosmos as their Gods decided in ancient history.

After the ceremony, Sarrak took command of the Sovereign and opened a wormhome towards our Solar System. Appearing near Saturn, Sarrak started the slow trek towards the blue 'jewel' in the distance, going entirely by mathematical coordinates and the 'prophecies' of the deceased Samla's oracles. Scouting parties delivered a wealth of information of this planet, known as Earth. Sarrak, however... was not yet convinced he could invade the planet. It was, after all... unlike anything ever encountered before in Executor history. He would seek the Emperor's guidance, who instructed him to ascertain the 'threat' of the Earth personally. Sarrak acknowledged the command, and set the Sovereign into a stationary orbit around Earth's moon. Sarrak and a few of his crew members would take their shuttles to Earth, where he landed in Galaxy City. It reminded him of a lush paradise... but upon murdering an attacker with a cosmic bolt, he was declared an alien 'invader' and quickly shuffled into the same threat ratings as the Rikti and Nictus. Placed into Brickstown's prison, Arachnos sprung him, and he journeyed to the Rogue Isles where he established diplomatic ties with Lord Recluse who wanted access to Sarrak's technology. Upon refusal, Lord Recluse ordered his execution, but Kalinda the Fortunata divined that Sarrak was to be one of the Destined Ones... Sarrak was spared -- if he could survive.

He did. And continues to send and receive information to the Sovereign regularly about Earth, in the hopes that in the future... the Executors will take rightful control over the planet, with Emperor Sarrak taking control of the Milky Way Galaxy soonafter.

Powers

Cosmic Shaping (Bada-Ar): This alien martial art is unlike anything the universe has seen before. Similar to the Earth concept of 'Chi', Bada-Ar takes the ambient cosmic energy absorbed by an Executor, and allows the Executor to use it to perform a variety of feats. A very difficult martial art to learn, most Executors simply don't have the willpower to use it to any great extent, and mastering it takes decades of constant devotion and study. Physical Combat revolves entirely around the concept of using a being's energy fields (electric, psychic, chi, heat, etc.) against themselves. A human being might find their own kinetic energy used against them in combat, or they might find the electrical impulses of their nerves cut off momentarily. Described as a coldly efficient method, fighting is not extravagent, and in reality most fights consist of only one or two moves. Bada-Ar requires the application of an exhaustive level of mathematical calculations in one's head as they figure out the 'frequency' of their opponent's energy mentally, and a simple touch to particular area will render them unconscious as a result. Thus, it is not the fastest physically, but the fastest mentally that is ultimately the victor. Bada-Ar is more than just physical combat, however. An Executor can summon energy in a variety of ways around him, if only they have the discipline. The species naturally absorbs massive levels of energy that floats through the cosmos, and that energy can be redirected outwards as well. Normally this is through their eyes... but Bada-Ar masters can do so much more, the ways to harness the energy are nearly limitless. It's simply called using Bada-Ar to them, and these energy feats are simply called 'shaping'. Sarrak chooses a style of shaping the reflects his spiritual philosophies. He's able to conjure thunderbolts of plasmic energy like the Demon Riders of Jol-Har, the God of the Second Sun in order to inflict damage on his opponents and drain some of their own energy in the process. To a human, this appears to Sarrak throwing bolts of lightning from his hands. He also prefers to shape in other ways. Weather is a very strong spiritual property in Executor society. It is said that Dawn was a tempest of chaos before the Sun God brothers of Jol-Har and Nol-Dar blasted away the clouds and ushered in the Trial of Suffering on the Executors to test their worthiness to dominate the universe. It is through the belief that Bada -- the first one to shape... was a prophet of the Gods, and brought weather back to Dawn through his body. He created water and rain for the nomadic tribes of Dawn simply by pointing his hands at the cloudless skies. This created a surplus of food and gave Bada his first followers. Though he claimed he was not a God, he did claim he was enlightened by them, and was thus the Prophet, who foretold the future of their race and ultimately united the planet under his guidance. He was not without enemies, though. The jealous, envious, unenlightened Executors plotted against him. An assassin could easily be felled by Bada, so the nomads sent entire armies after him. Gusts of wind, torrents of lightning, freezing cosmic rains from the heavens above, whirlwinds and more were at Bada's fingertips. Entire armies were flung to the distant dunes, and he conquered their leaders and enlightened them as well. Sarrak adopts this relatively common style of shaping as well, seeing himself in the spiritual vain of Bada. He's able to guide his crew through the cosmic 'weather' of the universe as a Captain, thus his art of Bada-Ar mimics the cosmic weather itself. Cosmic winds, celestial rains, and more can be summoned as Sarrak channels his reserves of cosmic energy and shapes its power into a tempest of universal forces against those who oppose him. Oftentimes, Sarrak does not even need to enter into hand-to-hand combat... his ability to calculate numbers inside his mind at blindingly fast rates allows him to perform multiple feats of shaping almost endlessly without exhaustion.

Psychic Shielding: As a natural phenomenon, Sarrak's mind cannot be read by psychics. Upon brushing past his mind, they find a veritable waterfall of numbers, algebra, and calculus willing to 'sweep' them away in the current. Psychics who continue to push against his mind should be a supergenius when it comes to understanding calculus -- or else they risk losing their minds to insanity as their own 'primitive' human minds are unable to cope with the logic bomb that explodes inside their head. Even psychics who are able to comprehend the data stream inside Sarrak's head are unable to make heads or tails out of his thoughts. It's the equivelant of trying to use Math to understand English. ("2 + 2 = Couch.")

Limits

Mental Shutdown: This is the achilles heel to any Bada-Ar practicioner. Bada himself was described as being the sole exception, but that is more than likely a myth perpetrated by the Executor society rather than fact. Executors do not use computers or calculators to crunch numbers. They are taught practically from birth to master math mentally. As adults, they are able to chart courses through the vaccuum of space through mental thought alone. Their starships do not have traditional computers as one might think in regards to navigation. The coordinates to get from one place to another is decided only by the Captain's numbers. Captains who make a miscalculation often find themselves marooned at best, as they launch their ships into an unknown area and summarily 'demoted' for their embarassing mistakes. At worst they might send their ships into a sun, asteroid field, or other cosmic 'iceberg' that results in the destruction of their ship and crew upon arrival. Captains who do not have a high mental stamina often die in this fashion, as the days and weeks of constant number-crunching wear down on their minds and a tragic mistake looms ever closer. This is usually why space travel takes so long for the Executors... many Captains are unwilling to travel large distances in a 'timely' manner due to the odds of a mistake weighing against them, and this is simply a result of their society's culture. The best Captains are those who get somewhere quickly and alive. Like any Executor, Sarrak is prone to mental shutdown, whether behind the helm or using Bada-Ar. Miscalculations are extremely rare, but they can happen. As a result, the wrong 'shaping' feat can result in a fizzled attempt... which normally results in Sarrak entering a trance-like state while his mind 'reboots' on the subconscious level. This is normally expressed through full-body paralysis and catatonia.

Equipment

Sarrak has access to armors and uniforms used by the Expeditionary Force of the Sovereign. These highly advanced armors are self-repairing and self-sustaining. Designed to provide a modest amount of protection, they also come with various technology such as teleportation devices, communications frequencies, and scanners to identify the environment around him.

Personality

Cold, calculating, and logical. Like any species of Executor, Sarrak prefers to be logical than moral. He views humanity as 'infants', and considers himself 'above' the rest of the universe's species. Most Executors are arrogant, and Sarrak is no different. He has no problems with murdering a rival or opponent, and lacks compassion. It's likely because of this apathy that many view him as 'evil'.

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Category: Character