Zhaven Rel
- There are no problems: only solutions.
- —"Zhaven", The Tale of Zhaven Rel (2006)
After the NGE struck Star Wars Galaxies, the ability to have a second character per server became available. When I returned to the game, I used my second slot to make a spy: Zhaven Rel.
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| Zhaven Rel | |
|---|---|
| Biographical information | |
| Homeworld |
Ryloth (?) |
| Born |
26 BBY (Approximate) |
| Physical description | |
| Species |
Twi'lek |
| Gender |
Male |
| Height |
5'10" |
| Mass |
79 kg |
| Eye color |
Yellow |
| Skin color |
Red |
| Chronological and political information | |
| Era(s) |
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| Affiliation |
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Personality
Zhaven oozes confidence. If he puts his mind to it, he feels he can do anything. Even when he's wrong, he still manages to figure it's because he simply missed something. His sharp wit keeps him ahead of most of the consequences of those actions.
What is less known is that tremendous strength of will Zhaven possesses. He won't betray a client, even under torture. He does have a sense of honor in that respect. However, it's important to understand that Zhaven defines "client" as "someone who's paying me". In that light, his actions concerning the betrayal of the city of Horizon doesn't fall under his definition of the city-and the rebel cell, the Hyperspace Outlaws-as being a client.
Abilities
Zhaven would tell you that he is a master spy, capable of hacking into any system, capable of breaking into any fortress, capable of fooling even Force-users. This, naturally, would be a pack of lies.
However, he can break into many systems, has infiltrated many fortresses, and has fooled Force-users, so if he isn't a master spy, he's at least a pretty good one. He's a so-so pilot, an adequate shot with a blaster, and he might not embarass himself entirely in hand to hand combat. But he's not a fighter-in his view, if it comes down to a fair fight, he's already screwed up. Zhaven's goals are to make things favor him, and will go to great lengths to prepare a situation so that when the time comes, he can't help but win.
Weaknesses and Limitations
That self confidence of his? That's a weak point, too. He firmly believes that there is no problem so big that there isn't a way to solve it. This occasionally puts him in over his head.
Zhaven is also, by the nature of his profession, not the most trusted soul. The Rebellion (and later New Republic) tended to hold him at arm's length, and the fact that he'd done work for crime lords and Imperials in the past didn't help. He's perfectly willing to play a double or triple game (or worse) to convince his targets that they can trust him.
Equipment
Zhaven prefers to use blaster carbines-weapons with a bit of range, but small enough to carry unobtrusively. He'll also carry a vibroknife for the occasions when he needs to reach out and touch someone. The blade is almost always poisoned with whatever neurotoxins he can get his hands on.
Zhaven also carries the tools of his trade; smoke bombs, flash bombs, toxic bombs, a toolkit and a datapad.
He owns several safehouses under the label "Rel's Shipping (Condemned)"; his primary operational safehouse is on Tatooine near Mos Entha, which contains his computer databanks, holoterminals, and other essential equipment for an industrious spy. The interior is also relatively luxurious, since he believe in living in style. That said, his safehouses on Naboo and Corellia are less exotic, but equipped with a fair amount of medical supplies.
Zhaven owns a Sorosuub luxury yacht, which he stole from an outpost on Rori while running for his life. It is finely furnished, even more than his Tatooine home-he spends more time in it, after all.
Character History
Zhaven doesn't talk much about his past, and honestly, nobody might believe him if he did. He has a younger sister named Zha'lindrea who is an exotic dancer (who uses the stage name Zalindria) and is fascinated by her brother's career choice; for his part, Zhaven tries hard to keep her away from that part of his life.
By the time of the Galactic Civil War, Zhaven was dedicated to playing off both sides, plus taking in credits from the fringe as well. He was known as Handler to Black Sun, Asset P3X3347 to the Empire, and Saber to the Rebellion. (At a later point in life, he also used "Skyhook" when he was out-of-favor with the New Republic.) Few people originally knew his appearance, and he would sometimes use an image designer to help change his appearance enough to throw off those watching for him. Zhaven was responsible for getting Star Core data off of Rori into the hands of General Vernan; he assisted the Empire in preventing a large cache of thermal detonators from falling into Rebel hands, and later selling the location of that shipment to the same Rebels. He became known to the Hyperspace Outlaws, a rebel cell on Corellia, and interacted with a number of their more espionage-driven members. After a friend was killed in the Battle of Restuss, he threw his support fully behind the Rebellion.
During this time, he made an enemy of Arnotha the Hutt, a crimelord who was rivaling Lady Valarian until Zhaven destroyed his power base while stealing some information on the Clone Wars from the Hutt. He later sold this information to Black Sun, who was looking for information on the man Darth Vader used to be. He also made an enemy from the dark Force-user Coroth, a clone of Coreth Landwalker; Zhaven spent several years wearing a prosthetic over an eye to presumably replace one lost in a conflict with Coroth, but this was later revealed to be a lie put into place for when Zhaven would face Coroth again.
After that encounter, Zhaven attempted to infiltrate the Empire's military, and got in their good graces by revealing the secret location of the Hyperspace Outlaws cell to the Empire-information which, years later, would lead to the bombardment of the city by Imperial forces; the city, fortunately, had mostly evacuated thanks to Zhaven's timely warning of the attack. Zhaven would still carry the guilt of this action for years, and it hurt all the more because-in the end-he was unable to strike at his targets: Darth Vader and the Emperor. He was aboard Executor during the final battle against the Death Star, and got out before it crashed into the station's surface-with a large number of highly placed Imperial codes, which he turned over to the victorious Rebellion.
Ultimately, after the War, Zhaven got his chance at Coroth in the company of Landwalker and Eryn Skiesdottir. Zhaven came upon information on activities by his old foe, Arnotha, and fed the information to New Republic Intelligence. He helped infiltrate an Imperial outpost for a data raid, and managed to get a knife into Coroth during the final battle on a mysterious world. After that, he slipped out of public view.
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