Raff Berik

Raff Berik
Biographical Information
Race	Human
Homeworld	Spira
Mother	Myra Cardan
Father	Reymet Berik
Spouse	None
Siblings	Elara Berik
Children	None
Born	Y0 D63
Galactic Involvement
Faction	unknown
Positions	none
Prior positions	* Writer Gaming Coordinator
Affiliation	unknown/rebels

Raff Berik (full name Raffyel Anton Berik) who served as a Lieutenant Commander in the Imperial Navy before defecting.

Character History

Early Life

Childhood

Raff Berik (Y0 D63) spent his formative years on the idyllic planet of Spira, celebrated for its tropical beauty. Born to Reymet Berik and Myra Cardan, proud owners of a meiloorun farm, his upbringing leaned on the wealthy echelon of Spiran society.

Berik Homestead, Spira

From a young age, Raff Berik's infatuation with flight became evident, his family's airspeeder representing a gateway from mundane tasks. The clear Spiran skies held a unique allure, and he found himself captivated by the grace and freedom of the avian creatures that soared above.

The Beriks own lands that produce several sorts of crops from meiloorun, the staple of their farm, to boontaspice.

Despite the family's thriving meiloorun farm, young Berik's ambitions far exceeded the terrestrial boundaries of Spira. His yearning for uncharted exploration and thrilling escapades soon overshadowing his initial fascination with his life on a farm.

His younger sister by two years, Elara, emerged as a musical prodigy at the age of ten. Her extraordinary talents were not only nurtured but also celebrated by their parents, who wholeheartedly supported her artistic aspirations, often leaving Raff to find himself shouldering the responsibility of tending to the farm alongside his parents without investing into his passion. Despite this, helping his mother tending to the farm's equipment, repulsorlift engines primarily, quickly caught his interest and served both as excuse and distraction from his other, more tedious tasks.

The conspicuous contrast between the opportunities Elara was afforded and the expectations placed on Raff to manage the family business fueled his burgeoning sense of ambition.

Teenage Years

By the age of fourteen, he was known to quietly take the family airspeeder on what began as a few minutes worth of joy rides under the Spiran moon's company, a hidden defiance that would become both his source of exhilaration and a clandestine passion he concealed from his parents for years to come.

A Life-Altering Accident

At the age of 16, Raff while roaming through the sunlit coastal expanse of his homeworld, the clear skies suddenly turned tumultuous, and his path took an unforeseen turn.

The climate conditions deteriorated rapidly as a typhoon approached his home island with ominous intent, descending with unrelenting fury. The storm began an hour and thirty minutes after his take off in the family airspeeder on his nightly maneuvers, and as the tempest raged on, the airspeeder's sensors were fried, leaving Raff flying blind.

Before he'd realized what was going on, Raff became unwittingly ensnared in the eye of the storm, a maelstrom of chaos where visibility was obliterated, and only instruments could guide him. In the darkness of the storm's heart, he narrowly escaped a calamitous collision with a towering mountain, his evasive maneuvers pushed to the limits, but despite his desperate efforts, the airspeeder's repulsorlift drive and left wing were irrevocably crippled, sending his craft into a spiral of chaos in the process.

Airspeeder's remains.

The catastrophic descent culminated in a crash landing amidst the wilderness of a jungle. Trapped in the wreckage, Raff went missing for two harrowing days, ensnared in his seat by its unforgiving web harness.

The accident left Raff in a coma for a month, with a subsequent three-month-long journey through surgery. The odds were scaringly against him; in one of the five possible scenarios provided by the medical team, survival was the least expected outcome. Remarkably, he defied the bleak prognosis and emerged from the ordeal, his unwavering spirit shining as he dedicated himself to the arduous process of gaining control over his own body once again.

The accident would leave Berik in coma and recuperation for several months. Despite his family's request, he refused treatment to correct his scars, the one by his right temple being his drive to self determination.

The aftermath of the accident disrupted the placid rhythm of his life with profound trauma. His parents, consumed by grief and concern, tightened their grip on their son, becoming increasingly preoccupied with his well-being. They imposed restrictions, notably forbidding him to pilot any sort of vehicle until he reached the age of eighteen, where they'd only lift the restriction so that he could drive landspeeders. This restrictive liberty only intensified Raff's longing for adventure, which had been long ignited by the stars above Spira.

A New Life Under The New Order

Enlistment

Over the next few years, and against his parents' wishes, Raff would eventually make the resolute decision to answer the call of the stars. Raff's initial encounter with the Empire was through Recruitment Officer Nyla Barrett, a Coruscanti woman who provided guidance and assistance throughout his enlistment process with kindness and respect, easing his anxieties about the process and leaving a lasting impression on the young recruit.

Having enlisted in the Imperial Academy, he set his course on a path far removed from his previous life as a civilian the day he boarded the shuttle to Prakith.

Imperial Academy

His shuttle arrived at Prakith on YD24 D297, where, under the stern guidance of Training Officer Surizal Jakohr, he underwent the extensive basic training. Raff would immediately learn that TO Jakohr was known for his unwavering commitment to excellence, and his guidance played a pivotal role in shaping the young cadet's expectations of his career and service to the Empire as an Officer.

The Academy instilled in Raff an intense sense of discipline, honing his knowledge in a diverse array of areas, such as logical thinking, basic close-quarters-combat, marksmanship, and so on. This phase of his life represented a stark departure from his civilian upbringing on Spira. As a cadet, he experienced a transformation that was both physically and mentally demanding, but it prepared him for the challenges that lay ahead in his service in the Imperial Navy.

Cadet Raff Berik's graduation, Y24 D319.

Raff would go on to graduate with honors at the top of his class on Y24 D319, enjoying his last week at the Academy celebrating with members of his class until his shuttle arrived on Y24 D324. This well deserved time off duty before being transported to his post was pivotal for Raff and his family to make amends. Mr. Remyet Berik, Raff's father and the most skeptical member of the Berik family, admitted his pride for his son's achievements and decided to surprise him with a family visit to Prakith, where the family reunited for the last time in the foreseeable future.

Imperial Navy

[CLASSIFIED]

Imperial Service Record

Rating	Insignia	Rank	Time Held (Combine Time)	Branch
[T-1]		Recruit	Y24 D297 - Y24 D324	Imperial Academy
Grade	Insignia	Rank	Time held (Combine Time)	Branch
[O-1]		Ensign	Y24 D324 - Y24 D333	Imperial Navy
[O-1]		Flight Officer	Y24 D333 - Y24 D360	Imperial Navy
[O-3]		Flight Captain	Y24 D360 - Present	Imperial Navy
[O-4]		Lieutenant Commander	Y25 D88 - Present	Imperial Navy

Awards

Ribbon	Name	Date Awarded	Awarded by	Citation
	Imperial Academy Honours Graduate [IABG-H]	Y24 D319	Training Officer Surizal Jakohr	For graduating from the Imperial Academy with honors.
	Imperial Activity Medal [IAM]	Y24 D345	General Alexander Darthmoor	For superior activity during our latest operation, providing detailed new strategies to implement, and engaging positively with the Empire across all channels.
	Mentioned In Dispatches [MID]	Y25 D6	Lord Admiral Hatori Hoorl	For excellent activity during [REDACTED]. From keeping the ship disabled and holding off additional bandits in the AO.
	Imperial Activity Medal x2 [IAM]	Y25 D41	Fleet Admiral Cataldo Blackstar	For putting in hours of work, both behind the scenes and in front of the wider Empire, to present the Imperial Winter Celebration. This long and challenging work has reflected great credit upon himself and the Imperial Military.
	Mentioned In Dispatches x2 [MID]	Y25 D51	Lord Admiral Hatori Hoorl	For consistent volunteering and going above the call of duty to assist with [REDACTED]. Including the rescue of 4 stormtroopers from dangerous territory.
	Tactical Essay Contest	Y25 D85	Grand Vizier Marcus Elensar	Imperial Military Tactical Essal: Winner - Military Winter Celebrations Yr 24/25.
	Letter of Commendation	Y25 D97	Rear Admiral Viv Curtana	For outstanding ingenuity, creative acumen, and the ability to adapt and overcome any hurdles placed before you in Operation: Exodus Revised and Operation: Vapor Cosine.
	Unit Distinguished Service	Y25 D97	Lord Admiral Hatori Hoorl	For excellent performance, dedication, and service during Operations CELESTIAL DOMINION and EXODUS REVISED, having conducted yourselves as a group of Imperial Officers of the finest standards as deemed so by Military Command.