Gender: Male
Age: 33
Species: Mirialan
Homeworld: Mirial
Born: Mirial, 20 ABY
Occupation: Galactic Alliance Intelligence Service Operative
Force Alignment: Non-sensitive
Affiliation: GAIS
Near-Human in all ways save color, Veren sports a rich shade of kelly green for skin tone, and auburn hair often pushed back or to the side for simplicity's sake. He stands at just shy of 5'10" in height, and is of an athletic build, as his work demands physical fitness.
Veren sports the intricate, symmetrical tatoos of his species across his face and down his arms from his shoulders. The facial pattern is little more than a whorled line down the forehead, and two similar markings running horizontally beneath the eyes. The left side of his face, in contrast to his kempt appearance, is incredibly disfigured by three, long, vertical scars running near from hairline to jaw.
For dress, Agent Eks will adopt whatever is necessary for his assignment. Normal attire for him when not on a mission is typical of relaxed wear seen in the Core.
Born on the ancestral world of his people shortly after the end of the Galactic Civil War, Veren Eksereun lived simply for his young life. His father was a member of the Temple Priests, his mother the owner of a small construction company, and his older sister would eventually go on to become an engineer for Harkness craftworks on Coruscant after the Yuuzhan Vong War. For his part, Veren spent more time with his Father, Sasha, and delved deep into the Mirialan understanding of The Force as it pertained to their religion.
The horrors of the Vong War passed by the Mirialan homeworld, and though a large group of the population evacuated as a precaution, the Eksereun family would not. In fact, they helped when the populace returned at the war's end, aiding in expanding communities and healing worn and weary spirits.
Teenage Years sparked a restlessness in Veren that the Temple could simply not sate. With his sister leaving University for her job on Coruscant and the passing of his father to sickness, Veren was expected to continue the family's role as a Priest. The young man, however, wound up on the tales of Jedi Knights fighting for the lives of others throughout the terrible conflict nearly a decade ago, wanted to look at a way to spread the knowledge and truth of The Force in a more direct manner, rather than in the frozen deserts of Mirial. As soon as he was 18, Veren bid his mother goodbye and asked his sister to pay his passage to Coruscant, where he enlisted into the Galactic Alliance Defence Force. It was a year of basic training before Veren was officially posted on Coruscant as a Trooper.
In the year before the Second Galactic Civil War, Veren was approached by members of Internal Security about a member of his training group, a Corellian named Risha Drell, whom was suspected to have ties to a Corellian seditionist cell. Though placed under intense questioning, Veren knew nothing of such involvement, but was forced to admit that he and Risha were close enough that Veren still associated with her off-duty. Intrigued, Veren's detainers asked the Mirialan to prove his innocence by helping them gather information on his friend and whatever group she was working with. If he could gather nothing, both of their names would be cleared. Veren, seeing little alternative, agreed.
For the next several weeks, when not on-duty, Veren saw Risha more and more, eventually coming to learn that she did, indeed, support Corellian separation from the Alliance. At the time, this was still not a crime, worrying though it may have been. It took nearly half a year, but Veren was invited to a meeting of her friends, a group calling themselves "Bhesj Doaba", the "Restless Peace" in the Old Corellian tongue. Whilst clearly dissenters, Veren did not figure any of them for violent, as their agenda remained political. He reported all of this dutifully to GAIS, keeping himself and Risha out of prison, and so continued to ingratiate himself to his new career.
This relatively innocent period was shattered swiftly once terrorist acts were committed on Coruscant in the name of Corellian Independence. Almost overnight, GAIS was supplanted by the Galactic Alliance Guard, led by Jedi Knights Jacen Solo and Ben Skywalker. Veren's assignment was quickly ripped away from the Intelligence Service's scope and given to the GAG, who took a keen interest in this "Bhesj Doaba" and what threat they could pose in the future. The Mirialan's normal Handler was quickly replaced by Lon Shevu, Second-In-Command of the GAG who reported directly to Solo himself. Lon impressed upon Veren the dire need to capture these dissenters, as they may have been connected to a violent terrorist cell within the city.
Realizing he was now working indirectly for a Jedi Knight, Veren did not want to disappoint. He set about arranging a trap for the Corellian sympathizers, Risha included, under direction from Captain Shevu. What was supposed to be a protest act of painting pro-Corellian sigils on a commemorative statue from the end of the Galactic Civil War quickly turned into a bloodbath in Monument Plaza. Veren was not present for the ordeal, but was informed later that several members of the Restless Peace resisted, and were in turn "subjected to violent detaining". Risha was amongst them. Though congratulated on his efforts, Veren felt hollow, even as he was informed that one of the dissenters truly was connected to a radical cell, which the GAG intervened on and managed to stop before they destroyed a Water Recycler for 500 Republica.
Overnight, Veren's role changed. No longer merely an informant, the GAG set Veren up to look as though he was pursued and wanted by the Guard. This allowed him to gain the trust of and infiltrate other possible rebel groups, whom were treated to much the same solution as the "Bhesj Doaba". With each success came more accolades, one even from Jacen Solo himself. The recognition was enough to convince Veren that perhaps they were doing the right thing - several of those they detained were plotting violence against The Alliance - though there was always a nagging doubt in his head. The GAG eventually increased Veren's responsibilities, arming him properly with weaponry, tools, and a support network. The Mirialan used all of them to continue his hunt for traitors, now authorized to kill in the name of the Alliance.
The Second Galactic Civil War dragged on for Veren Eks. He no longer spoke to his sister or mother, nor did he keep anyone close. His web of informants, spies, and rogues were treated as disposable, and the Mirialan continued to be showered with praise, quickly becoming one endeared to 967 Commando: The most elite of GAG Stormtrooper Squads. When the Jedi rescinded their support of Jacen Solo, it was enough to make Veren pause and begin to question. His adult life had been dedicated towards serving what he had assumed was the Jedi Way: a Jedi told him to commit attrocities in the name of peace and order. Was that not the Jedi ideal of sacrifice for a better galaxy?
The hesitation led towards failed assignments, with Veren's zeal abating as more doubt started to surface. Questioning his loyalty, Solo personally orchestrated the event that truly pushed Veren over the edge: An order to plant explosives in a civilian district of the Lower City, which would then be blamed on further Corellian Terrorism and allow the GAG to expand their authority even more. The Agent had been asked to kill before, and he did so. He had committed several previous acts of sabotage and crime that were blamed on others. This was no different from any previous act, but it was the last thing Veren would stand for as an operative for the Galactic Alliance Guard. With no allies to turn to and no way to easily get offworld, Veren fled down, descending to Coruscant Level 1313 where he hid amongst the scum and villainy of the Undercity where he belonged.
His flight did not go unnoticed, however, and the order was sent to have Veren brought in, dead or alive. For his part, the Mirialan kept on the move and struck back at his pursuers where possible. Where once his rifle had been used to silence traitors to the Alliance, now it cut down the true enemies of peace. Veren continued to stalk through the Undercity, keeping one step ahead of the GAG and murdering them with each opportunity presented, each kill filling the Mirialan with a righteous fury as he thought back to all he had done in the name of a Jedi Knight, now turned dictator. The last member of the Guard to find him was his former handler, Lon Shevu, who stayed Veren's hand by admitting his own desire to defect away from what the Alliance had become. Veren assisted in getting Shevu offworld, and in return was aided by the Jedi Coalition in making his own escape. He did not serve in the final battles of the War, but instead gave the locations of as many Guard bases, operatives, and prison camps as he could possibly remember to the Alliance-In-Exile, personally leading raids against them wherever the chance arose. It was in these haphazard assaults that Veren received his facial scars; a Vornskr kept at a political prison for Force Sensitives caught the Agent off-guard, leaving its claw marks behind to scar fiercely.
When the war ended, Veren was tried as a war criminal, but was only lightly sentenced due to the forced nature of his service to the GAG, as well as his defection and assistance in defeating Darth Caedus's forces. He served 5 years in a maximum security prison, where he was made to instruct fresh GAIS recruits via Holo on the techniques and sciences of infiltration and intelligence gathering. When his sentence was up, Veren was asked to reenlist with The Intelligence Service. Though hesitant at first, he eventually agreed, taking a tour in the quickly unraveling Hutt-ruled Sectors along with new operative Carrie Stonewilde, after her induction.
Veren's last assignment was to retrieve a certain Jedi Master named Ronan Starflare from Bastion, where he was on a deep cover mission to hunt another rogue enemy to the Galaxy. Against his wishes and advice, Veren Eksereun now finds himself on Yavin IV, trapped by the Mandalorian Siege. For the time being, he lends his extensive knowledge and combat skills to the defense of the Praxeum and the Jedi that inhabit it.
Veren is often distant from those around him, though not unfriendly. He tries to look through problems logically, and prefers the simple and effective to the elaborate if the result is the same. Though a professional, Veren still tries to look at his orders through an ethical filter, and has been known to adjust his approach or outright refuse certain assignments after he saw where blind obedience brought him with the GAG. The Intelligence Service notes this, and notes Veren's usefulness, and has weighed that his occasional balking at an order is well worth his success at more important tasks.
Of note is Veren taking his distrust gained within service during the Second Galactic Civil directly towards the Jedi in many cases. Their abandonment of the Alliance into the hands of Jacen Solo, the Grandmaster's own son being involved in torture sessions and assassinations, and the cold detachment with which Veren received assignments from Jacen himself at times has left Veren with a less-than-supportive view of The Order. Having been taught from a young age about The Force in the Mirialan tradition, and himself on the path towards Priesthood at one point, Veren saw his ideals of what a Jedi Knight could be, and should be in his mind, shatter on both sides. Jacen Solo was certainly no Jedi by war's middle, but Veren also saw the rest of The Order as not doing enough to stop the man when they had the power to do so. To the Mirialan, this was a sharp contrast from the stories he grew up on of the Yuuzhan Vong War, of heroes like Horn and Rhysode, and especially Anakin Solo - those who fought even in the face of absolute defeat to protect the Galaxy.
Regardless, Veren is still a loyal soldier to the ideals of peace and justice, and still carries his father's belief and trust in The Force. His time in prison gave a small amount of introspection to convince himself that retreating entirely from working with The Alliance was not the answer, and would have made him just as culpable as he held The Order for not doing enough. To this end, the youngest Eksereun goes above and beyond where he can to protect the average, everyday people of the Galaxy, though the murky world of covert ops often has him making similar choices as he did during the early 40s. To this end, a weight of guilt for his acts often strikes Veren when reminded of the sacrifices necessary against so much chaos within the Galaxy, causing him to come off as callous or zealous when trying to make a decision in which he knows something will have to be lost.
As far as prowess, Veren rose quickly within the ranks of GAIS due to a combination of a desire to impress and enough training to become well-rounded in a variety of techniques. Initially, combat training from the Alliance Defense Force was augmented by the natural Mirialan dexterity, giving him a grounding of how to soldier. When initially asked to become a part-time spy by The Service, Veren had to learn on the fly how to ingratiate himself into suspicious groups, which strangely he found that the roles of Priest-in-Training and Spy had enough of a crossover in trying to gain people's trust. At first hesitant, by the time the GAG took over his department, Veren was slowly coming into his own as an infiltrator.
The GAG helped grow the rest of his talents, placing him on more dangerous assignments each day while also taking the time to instruct Veren in the use of more weapons and combat techniques, as well as familiarizing him with a variety of technology. Assignments to record conversations and gain data gave Veren a deep understanding on just what a savvy owner of a pair of 'binos and a datapad could do, as well as an appreciation for the tools of a slicer. When asked to murder confirmed terrorist leaders, Veren took his marksmanship training from the GADF and raised the bar to become a potent sniper, or was given a vibroblade and enough tips on how to not be skewered to survive long enough to develop competency. The darker his missions became, the more Veren learned how to hurt, destroy, and kill. It was these talents as scout, slicer, saboteur, and assassin that Veren eventually turned on the GAG towards the war's end.
Prison lead towards more development of the mind, with Veren sharing his experiences as a spy with new GAIS recruits while he delved into as much knowledge as could be provided. He picked up a few languages throughout his early years, and polished them where he could now that he had nothing but time. Veren studied political science and ethical theory, electronics manuals, etiquette and galactic cultures, different takes on The Force as well as finishing his own lessons on the Mirialan Religion and even being finally ordained as a Speaker for his species, earning his forehead tattoo. Freedom lead towards reenlistment with GAIS and therefore the continuing of his education and training, honing Veren Eksereun from a raw, yet talented agent into a sharpened Operative with enough invested time that The Intelligence Service feels comfortable deploying the Mirialan on a variety of assignments across the Galaxy.
Veren has had a large degree of training and experience over the past ten years with a range of weaponry and tools. Of note, the Mirialan is an expert with ranged weaponry, his species' natural strengths of agility and coordination bolstering his aim and turning Veren into a highly competent sniper when the need arises. While drilled on melee weapons and close combat techniques, Veren notes that he does have less of a grasp of fighting with blade or shockglove. If necessary to not use a ranged weapon, Veren much more prefers stealth and ambush.
With this in mind, Veren is generally issued his equipment for his assignment by GAIS, with his kit being tailored towards what is necessary: weaponry and explosives where taking a life is necessary, supplanted by surveillance and communication devices, tracking tools, slicing 'pads, and stealth implements for missions where discretion is paramount.
For noteworthy implements, Veren has a fondness for Sound Dampeners and sonic weaponry, allowing a large degree of freedom in when and where to kill, but also allowing him to avoid combat altogether if it proves unnecessary.