Ruze

I was born in a little colony called Ahsha.  This is a domed colony that is partly devoted to mining planet-grade ores from beneath the surface of Ghishul II, which is in the Tsamshatel constellation, in the Tash-Murkon region. 

It wasn't much to me growing up, but my father was the colony's Holder.  The colony was my families only holding, and it always seemed to me as if there were more uncles and cousins in the place than commoners or slaves.  We did most of the administration ourselves, with little money to pay for more than basic miners and repair technicians.

We knew our family wasn't rich, but we managed.  To meet the production requirements of the colony, oftentimes the cleanup of our estates were divided as 'chores' amongst the lower family members.  This was unorthodox, I later learned, but it was something I grew up with.  We always hid our actions from visiting members of the Ministry or during stopovers by wandering priests.

From an early age I knew that my position would be limited.  My oldest brother would inherit the colony of our father, as was the way of things.  He left at a young age to recieve formal training as a holder, just after I was born, and so I barely knew who he was.

Two of my brothers joined the priesthood, one quickly rising in the ranks to become a well respected minister, the other joining the order of the Speaker of Truths.  The rest of us were soon accepted into the major schools of the Empire, two through the Imperial Navy and one though Hedion University.

I left home as a teenager, beginning my training in the Imperial Academy to become a sailor.  I quickly proved that I was capable of training as a pod pilot, which raised my future potential considerably.  Capsuleer technology was still not well accepted within the Empire, and there were many restrictions as to who was accepted for the training.  My life was beginning to look up.

My marks in the Academy were never the highest, but I eventually graduated and proceeded into the Imperial Navy.  I was a frigate captain, given command of a Crucifier-class frigate.  I was assigned to a taskforce which patrolled the Amarr border, spending my waking hours in a monotonous routine of system scans. 

Very rarely were we diverted from our route, and these more often than not were to respond to some uncharted colony or station.  We'd proceed to destroy any raiders or pirates in the area (a couple times, I honestly believed we destroyed relief ships 'accidentally'), and then we were often ordered to make ground side landings in order to rectify any lapses in system records or to investigate for unauthorized holdings.

I quickly realized that many of these landings were nothing more than raids, and when I made an official report stating such to my commander, I was reprimanded for 'questioning the will of the Emperor' or some such.  Though it was only a reprimand, it was a permanent part of my record, and I never saw much in the way of promotions or advancement.  Ten years I served in the Imperial Navy, and after my tenth year, I got out.

Communication with my family was minimal while in the Academy, and despite a short visit after graduation, my Navy career kept me out of contact with 'home.'  When I finally left the service, I received some very bad news:  my youngest brother, who joined several years after I did, had been charged with heresy, and was taken and executed.

The specifics of his crime where never released, but from what I could gather from various contacts and one of my brothers in the priesthood, he had grossly disrespected a commanding officer, had spoken treasonously about the Empire, and supposedly disavowed the faith.  And in the Imperial Navy, this was a high crime. Apparently, his actions had also had an effect on my career, and was the major reason why I was kept in 'an uncompromising status', though that was the least of my worries.

Another of my brothers, the one who went to Hedion, left the system and apparently got wrapped up in the Angel Cartel.  He became a drug user, lost a lot of money, and backed my family into having his record cleaned.  As a trade off, he was allowed back into Amarr space, and is restricted to live out the rest of his life in Ahsha.

So what did I do?  I was hurt and disenchanted.  My love for my brothers drove me to see what I didn't want to, that the corruption of the Empire was from within.  I left, buying myself a frigate with the years of pay I'd collected in the service.  I flew into Ammatar, seeking something, which I didn't know.  And I found a people who loved their Empire, who loved their religion, and who were forgotten.  The Ammatar people were driven to the edge of secure space, left to defend against the ravages of Amarrian hate, and Matari revenge.

But it wasn't enough.  I caught work with a corporation that eventually drew me into the Republic.  By this point I'd worked and saved and bought a Battlecruiser, which was christened the Hubris.  I worked for many organization as an independent contractor.  I performed a number of jobs, from being an instructor to pod pilots to low sec convoy defense.

And one day I came home.  Not home as in Ahsha, but home as in the Empire.  I returned.  I was quickly collected up by agents of the Theology council, who held me in suspicion for my employment record with the Republic.  I even had a fairly unpleasant visit with an Inquisitor, which was thankfully interrupted by one of my brothers.  My faith was proven, anyhow, but the pain was intense.

The rest of my 'history' I'm not allowed to discuss.  My name is Ruze Ashkor'Murkon, and I am a loyal Amarrian.