Tannu Tuva

Tannu Tuva was a human outlaw and adoptive sibling of Erik Tuva. Born deep within the Seat of the Empire on the Sith planet Ziost, Tuva escaped Imperial clutches at a young age and made a name for herself as a notorious bounty hunter, smuggler, and assassin during the Galactic War, regularly carrying out lucrative jobs for both sides under an array of false identities.

After committing to full Imperial service, she married the pilot Amelia Kall.

Biography
The Tuva family blended in well with the Imperial loyalists in New Adasta; purportedly, their patriarch had descended from a long line of soldiers, bankers, and even one or two Sith Lords, and, while their family name was relatively well known, Eros and Vala Tuva kept the details of their lives and those of their many children under close guard for the entirety of their residency on Ziost, the so-called gateway world to Imperial space. The most anyone knew of Eros Tuva was that he had once served in the Imperial Military and had been one of the few in any generation to successfully retire.

Eros and his wife, however, were not secretive out of timidness, rather, for the safety of their family. Part of the Strategic Information Service, the Galactic Republic's espionage branch, their mission was to infiltrate the inner workings of Sith society and gather any information that may be vital to future war efforts; both worked in the planet's local government and thus had a direct link to the highest echelons of the Imperial war machine.

To disguise themselves as a typical working family, the two bore numerous children; several hyperactive boys who regularly fought and two girls who did their best to keep to themselves, regularly confiding in each other for comfort. Tannu and Evaoshi were close friends who vowed to stick together no matter what happened. The family dynamic was shifted, however, when Eros and Vala brought home one final adopted child - a boy named Erik.

A year or two their senior, Erik was close with his two adoptive sisters, whom he took an almost immediate liking to, unlike his brothers, who taunted and abused him. He was quite secretive of his past, only stating that he was from elsewhere in Imperial space and never knew his parents. Erik defended himself from his brothers to the point of violence and was eventually cast out of the home due to his combative nature.

Evaoshi possessed special talents that were strange yet fascinating to Tannu. She could move objects with her mind and had a tendency to unconsciously pacify her brothers into relenting. These talents grew by the day, much to Eros and Vala's concern; if the Sith were to discover Evaoshi's powers, they would certainly detain her and then investigate the two of them for their refusal to turn her in for training on Korriban.

Evaoshi was taken offworld by a strange man in brown robes when Tannu was 16. Hours later, cloaked Sith inquisitors, accompanied by Imperial inspectors, arrived at the Tuva household and rounded up the children one-by-one; knowing the fate that would surely befall her should she be arrested by the Sith, Tannu packed her things and escaped out of a secret hatch out into the freezing city. Immediately, she went about seeking the whereabouts of her lost brother Erik, to little success.

Instead of Erik, Tannu happened upon a stranger whose face had been completely warped by cybernetics, promising her credits and a way offworld in exchange for work. As her face was now adorning every "wanted" holo in the sector, she accepted his offer and left for the grotesque planet of Nal Hutta that night.

Hutta was the adopted homeworld of the Hutt species, who were predominantly a culture of crime lords and creditors. The most powerful Hutt gangster on the planet was Nem'ro, who operated out of the smog-choked city of Jiguuna. Though Tannu was quite out of place on the rugged swamp world, she was liked by Nem'ro, who respected her willingness to work. In truth, her meek and subservient disposition was merely a front for her indefatigable drive to escape Hutta, just as she did Ziost, and make a name for herself in the galaxy.

Tannu did regular jobs for Nem'ro across Hutt Space and the wider galaxy in exchange for a steady flow of unmarked credits and comfortable housing in his palace. Her travels in his servitude awakened in her a keen wanderlust, and she particularly enjoyed jobs in which her travel expenses were handomely paid for by the gangster, allowing her to prowl local cantinas and watering holes in search of simple pleasures. Under the Hutt's payroll, Tuva became a remarkable shot with a blaster and learned how to operate a variety of deadly tech.

By 25, Tannu had amassed a comfortable fortune, enough to purchase her own modest starship and pay off any lingering bills. With no outstanding debts, Nem'ro begrudgingly relieved Tuva of her service to his criminal empire and wished her well, promising her good work whenever she needed it.

Now an independent bounty hunter, the name Tannu Tuva became increasingly known throughout the dark underbellies of the greater galaxy, and her exploits attracted the attention of the Sith Empire and Galactic Republic, both of whom were obviously gearing up for another full-scale war; she did unsanctioned jobs for both sides prior to and especially after the commencement of the Galactic War, which began suddenly and with a bang.

Her biggest contract up to that point came from the Republic. Her mission was simple: assassinate the Imperial pilot Amelia Kall, codenamed the Durasteel Dragon, last seen commanding the infamous Naga Squadron on Corellia. Her bombers were known for their contribution to the Imperial war efforts on Corellia and beyond, and she herself was an unrivaled ace pilot.

Tuva and a squad of hired guns arrived on Corellia in the midst of a bloody skirmish culminating with the slaughter of a dozen Jedi Knights at the hands of a one Lord Benthamic and a cadre of his nefarious minions, their victory cemented through air support from Naga Squadron. Ducking through the urban trenches and artificial barriers, Tannu and her gang navigated the dangerous streets of the city and infiltrated the Imperial encampment in search of Kall; the commander and her squadron had already departed for the eastern front, where violent partisans relentlessly resisted Imperial occupation.

Upon the arrival of the bounty hunters, Kall and several of her pilots had been shot down by partisan missiles, leaving them separated and lacking proper communication. Tuva split up with her allies and hunted down the pilots in search of their elusive commander; after several minutes of searching, Tannu was assaulted from the shadows and her com-link disabled with a well-placed kick.

Amelia Kall was evidently a fierce combatant even without her fighter - or blaster, for that matter. Armed with a vibroknife, the bounty hunter did her best to keep up but was sorely outmatched at best. She landed a single cut on the pilot, directly through her right eye; in anger, Kall retaliated with a debilitating kick to the shins, which left her immobile. With both severely injured, neither were able to gain the upper hand and were forced to cooperate for mutual survival, as approaching partisans were likely to kill them both indiscriminately.

Kall gave the bounty hunter two options: leave and search for her cohorts, who were most likely killed by partisans in the area, or come with the pilot to the nearest Imperial base where she will be arrested and brought before a "fair" trial in Dromund Kaas. Begrudgingly, she took the commander up on her offer, and two limped back to Imperial base camp with arms slung around each other.

Upon their arrival at the base, instead of turning her in, Kall introduced Tuva as a sympathetic and skilled local who saved her from the brink of death at the hands of encroaching insurgents. Thanks to Amelia's good word, Tannu was given food and shelter at the camp and, the very next morning, offered a handsome Imperial contract by Commander Amelia Kall and overseer of Sith forces in the sector Darth Benthamic. Asking only for the hunter's loyalty, the offer would provide Tannu with a steady stream of lucrative contract work from the Ministry of War, effectively making her an irregular field operative of Imperial Intelligence. Partially out of fear for the alternative but mostly because of the incredible pay, Tuva accepted the contract, and all prior records of her existence were wiped clean by the Empire.

Before departing Corellia, Benthamic requested a brief private audience with the hunter. He coyly questioned what Amelia saw in her - the untrustworthy mercenary who had likely killed dozens of high-ranking Imperials - but conceded that he trusted the commander's judgment above all else; he removed his helmet and was immediately recognized by his sister, who was at once overjoyed and slightly mortified that she had finally reunited with her long-lost brother, the Sith Lord.

Apologizing for the bravado, Erik - who kindly asked that he be called Benthamic from then on - regretted to inform her that Evaoshi was nowhere to be seen but that he was "keenly interested in locating her." The two caught up briefly before the Lord departed, but not before suggesting she speak with the pilot.

When asked why she had decided not to call for Tuva's arrest, Amelia simply said that she had reckoned her background as a mercenary would make for an invaluable Imperial agent, though Tannu suspected differently. The two found they were kindred spirits, and as Tuva was fascinated by Kall's stories of the inner workings of the Empire, Amelia admired the former bounty hunter's carefree disposition. While maintaining a consistent relationship would be difficult at best on account of their careers, they remained in constant correspondence for several years, often meeting at Amelia's Kaas City apartment. Two years after meeting on Corellia, Tannu Tuva and Amelia Kall were married in a clandestine ceremony on Ziost.

TBC