Star Fighter
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Star Fighter | |
| Player: @NeverBorn | |
| Origin: | Natural |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Scrapper |
| Security Level: | 22 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Keldun |
| Known Aliases: | Mr. Keldun Ludella |
| Species: | Ludella |
| Age: | 27 |
| Height: | 6' 3" |
| Weight: | 275 lbs. |
| Eye Color: | brown |
| Hair Color: | white |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | Not of terrestrial origin |
| Occupation: | Entrepreneur |
| Place of Birth: | Prio, 4th from the star Xzn. |
| Base of Operations: | Paragon City, adopted |
| Marital Status: | single |
| Known Relatives: | Nooit and Mour of the Ludella Clan |
| Known Powers | |
| Martial Arts, Super Reflexes, teleportation | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Business sense, combat leader | |
| Equipment | |
| Jump pack | |
| Prefers his given name of Keldun to his official title of Star Fighter | |
Star Fighter is a gladiator-themed character inspired by pulp alien adventures, ala Flash Gordon. Over time, I developed quite an extensive backstory for him, which means he's here to stay.
Contents |
Affiliations
Former member of the Gods of the Golden Age, currently a member of StormForce.
Origin
A Diabolical Family
The Ludella Clan is a tyrannical, incestuous family that controls their corner of the galaxy through violence and manipulation. Part of the Ludella Clan’s strategy involves the annual staging of the Star Fighter Tournament, a gladiatorial contest that keeps the public’s focus on the arena and away from the squalid living conditions within the sector.
Keldun was one of the youngest Ludellas, and a physical aberration. The Ludella Clan only breed within their numbers and are often twisted and deformed. Keldun, however, appeared to be of fresh genetic stock – strong, vibrant, and handsome. He quickly became an outcast in his family, forever shut off from an active role. Left on the outside, Keldun developed different values and ideas than the rest of his family.
The Son Seeks Glory
Keldun was uninterested in the matters of politics and conquest. Instead, as his physical prowess improved, Keldun set his sights on entering the Star Fighter tournament. This was strictly prohibited. The Ludellas sponsor and support the tournament, but never participate. Keldun ignored their protests and prepared for the tournament anyway. He craved the honest combat of the arena, a far cry from his family’s sticky backroom wars. Despite repeated warnings, Keldun entered his name.
The Gauntlet
The Star Fighter tournament is, by design, the most grueling competition in the known galaxy. Hundreds of combatants from as many worlds enter and engage in single-elimination combat matches. When a victor is declared, he is immediately placed into suspended animation to halt all chance of recovery. Therefore, while the tournament actually takes place over a series of days, to the warriors it is one long and unending battle.
Keldun entered the tournament as a gifted warrior, but found hidden strength in combat. He improved with each fight, providing a strong villain for the people to root against. The public had never seen a Ludella compete in the tournament, and this rare event brought out the worst in them. They booed Keldun mercilessly, hoping to see the hated clan humiliated. But as the tournament wore on, Keldun continued to eke out victories against far superior opponents. The crowd shifted. The cheers began softly, then grew to a deafening roar. Every match became a phenomenon as Keldun barreled towards victory. When the last of Keldun’s opponents lay broken at his feet, the crowd saluted and chanted his name, pleading for him to become Emporer of the Ludella Clan and their new leader. Keldun had become the Star Fighter, but more importantly, he had become a symbol of hope for a subjugated people.
Betrayed!
The Ludella Clan could not stomach the thought of Keldun becoming Emporer, and they knew the danger his popularity presented. Keldun’s own mother and father betrayed him, had him drugged, beaten, and exiled from their space. Using rare portal technology, Keldun’s craft was warped to a random part of the galaxy, far outside of Clan space. His ship was in descending orbit around the gas giant known as Jupiter when Keldun awoke from his haze. He fought back the controls and escaped the planet’s crushing gravity, only to discover he was lost and more than a three-million year trek from home.
A New Battleground
After an area scan, Keldun found a nearby planet teeming with sentient life – Earth. After taking time to learn Earth languages and customs, Keldun came to settle in a city filled with the bravest warriors he could find. Following the code of the Star Fighter tournament, Keldun fights to protect his new planet from her enemies while also searching for a way to return home. Keldun has vowed never to rest until he has defeated his family and given power back to the weary subjects.
Powers
Keldun is a gifted, exceptional fighter and a perfect physical specimen, but he does not have “powers” as defined in Earth culture (save his Ludella “birthright”). He’s currently in the process of relearning and adjusting his skills to Earth-standard gravity and atmosphere.
Martial Arts
Keldun’s fighting style is an evolving blend of various combat arts from across the galaxy, and his ability to adopt new styles contributed to his dramatic tournament victory. Since his arrival on Earth, Keldun has studied and meditated on the fluid and graceful Eastern fighting styles. Once combined with his own, these skills created a unique and unstoppable super-discipline. Keldun is always on the watch for holes in his combat abilities and learns from every defeat. His eventual goal is complete mastery over physical combat.
Super Reflexes
Keldun’s reaction time and reflexes are at peak conditioning from years of study and physical training. As a result, he moves in anticipation of his opponent’s attacks and dodges way more than he takes. Some have suggested that his reflexes indicate a kind of “sixth sense”, but Keldun dismisses this theory. He claims that most sentient beings can achieve this prowess with intense dedication.
Teleportation
Keldun’s one ability that humans would consider “superhuman” is the power he refers to as his birthright. As a natural part of their genetic makeup, every member of the Ludella Clan can teleport short distances or, with concentration, teleport another. It is this ability that helped the Ludella Clan rise to power in their sector of space, as their armies constantly change position on the battlefield to counteract their enemies’ moves. Keldun uses his birthright primarily for transportation, as he finds combat applications of the power to be distasteful and too reminiscent of his family.
Equipment and Finances
Despite Keldun’s distance from the rest of his family, he cannot completely deny their influence. Keldun is a cunning businessman and has acquired a small fortune in US dollars since his arrival in early 2006. Using technology salvaged from his ship, Keldun introduced “jump pack” technology to the heroes of Paragon and worked with the founders of the acclaimed night club Pocket D to outfit the club’s VIP members with direct teleportation access to the club. Despite some setbacks in his business (an unknown corporate spy stole both designs and freelanced them to the villains in the Rogue Isles), Keldun’s investments have soared.
Personality
Although Keldun studied extensively before settling on Earth, the finer points of human interaction still elude him. Keldun is stoic, either uncomfortable or unwilling to engage in humor and small talk. He is polite to a fault, however, and always puts the needs of his teammates in front of his own.
Keldun fights by the Star Fighter code, a complex set of moral guidelines that the winner of the tournament is expected to live by. A Star Fighter is expected to fight to the very end if the protection of his homeworld is at stake, fight honorably always, and stand proud in the face of a superior enemy. Fleeing is honorless.
Recent History
When Keldun first arrived on Earth, he sought out the Gods of the Golden Age, identifying them as an honorable and brave coalition of warriors. Soon after Keldun had gained membership on the Gods’ roster, he became obsessed with Portal Corp. and the possibility that he might return to his home sector by using their technology. His extended time away forced him to abandon his membership with the group, so as not to drag down the team as a whole.
In the course of his business enterprises, Keldun crossed paths with Paul Grant and the Arinad Corporation. Although he's never personally met Grant, the reclusive billionaire took an interest in Keldun and greased the wheels for a particular project with Portal Corps. Out of mutual admiration, Keldun offered his limited services to Grant's covert team, StormForce. Although the majority of StormForce accept monetary rewards for their hero work, Keldun does not and uses the organization simply as a method of finding wrongs that must be righted.
Trivia
- The tournament is an annual rite in the Ludella sector of space so, no, Keldun is not the last Star Fighter.
- While a member of the Gods of the Golden Age, Keldun softened his look and discarded his gladiatorial gear. He has since returned to his original look as a reminder of his title and his quest to return home.
