Captain Tesserian

Captain Tesserian is an experienced freighter Captain plying the spice trade across the known galaxy. Captain Tesserian's "Spice fleet" currently maintains 37 ships trading in various spices, exotics and sundries from the unknown regions to Kessel space.

Captain Tesserian was born on Ekazi at the edge of the unknown regions near New Kashi space. Indentured into the spice fleet by his mother at an early age, Tesserian is accustomed to a nomadic existence, including long periods in transit on the galactic hyperspace runs.

After becoming an officer on the Nomad, a Z-35 type Questor-class freighter, then navigator second-class Tesserian saved the Nomad over Tatooine after coming under fire by trigger happy Imperial tie-fighters. Unfortunately, the Captain of the Nomad was killed in the attack, and the Nomad rendered inoperative.

After living a hand-to-mouth existence in Mos Eisley, Tesserian joined the very Imperial Fleet that had killed his own Captain aboard the Nomad.

Tesserian rose quickly through the ranks, becoming an Avenger-class tie-fighter pilot and participating in many battles under the command of Moff Ravyn Rayn.

His nerves shattered by constant fighting in the southern regions, Tesserian began to partake of various spices, at first to develop forbidden visionary and telepathic powers, and then out of pure addiction. The situation was made worse when Tesserian was pulled off of combat status after an increasing number of "incidents" and assigned as an undercover Imperial Agent investigating the very spice fleet he had been a part of several years before.

Little is known of Tesserian's supposed undercover activities- "Captain" Tesserian reemerged several years later when he is recorded making a multi-lateral agreement with rogue imperials, the xenophobic KamRain, and the Black Sun Syndicate- an agreement giving the spice fleet exclusive shipping rights to glitterstim red spice being mined in the asteroid field formed by the remains of Kessel's Garrison moon after it was destroyed by the Death Star prototype during field testing.

By this time Captain Tesserian was in command of nearly a dozen vessels in the spice fleet and seems to have secured a great deal of backing from unknown sources.

Seeking a veneer of legitimacy, Captain Tesserian became a Trade Representative in the Imperial Senate on Coruscant, but was ejected due to his involvement with a shadowy movement dedicated to restoring the Galactic Republic.

After his ejection from the Senate, Captain Tesserian joined forces with the Court of Velmor, loaning out ships of the spice fleet to rescue refugees from Vjun during the Vjun War, as well as transporting strategic supplies to Velmor, and later to House Onderon when the Queen of Velmor, Hyacinth Janick, ended the dynastic dispute on Onderon by selflessly taking the throne for herself.

It is rumoured that Captain Tesserian received several highly lucrative trade deals for services rendered.

After the Fall of Onderon, Captain Tesserian disappeared once again, along with many members of the Royal Court of Onderon. A "Royal Court of Onderon in Exile" surfaced briefly, only to collapse into factional strife over issues of accomodation and resistance to the Empire.

Rumours continued to build that Captain Tesserian had begun to parlay revenue from the spice trade into hiring commerce raiders to attack merchant ships and cargo freighters bound for the galactic core, while simultaneously financing numerous independent freighters and small shipping groups to carry much needed fuel and food supplies to planets all along the outer rim.

Captain Tesserian also became the target of several criminal investigations sparked by InterGalactic Banking Clan allegations that the Banking Guild financial computer network had been sliced by operatives from the Black Sun Syndicate. Many mercantile groups expressed concern that the allegations were part of a campaign by the Empire to discredit former members of the Court of Onderon who had not bowed down to the Empire, as well as extend Imperial control over the Banking Clan's financial apparatus. These charges were abruptly dropped following a sudden rise in the stock of the Coruscant Sector-88 Intergalactic Banking Clan Group.

Third Trade Expedition

While achieving certain successes through commerce raiding, Captain Tesserian was forced to watch the erosion of his personal fortune following Imperial investigations, loss of part of his nascent hyperspace drive fuel business to his unscrupulous business partner, the Toydarian "Reecko," continued reverses of the rebellion on Onderon, and a rumored loss of standing in the Black Sun as his core interests were cut into by gangster Klugga the Hutt and the Black Sun pirates.

In a desperate gamble to reverse his losses, Captain Tesserian gathered elements of the Spice Fleet at the fuel depot on Ord Mantell. With significant backing from the Coruscant Sector H-88 Banking Clan Group, Captain Tesserian set off into the Unknown Regions.

The fleet departed in three squadrons of four Aurochs class freighters each. Arriving first, Captain Tesserian personally led several spice harvesting forays into the desert of a planet known only as "the dancer," deep in the Unknown Region. After achieving limited success with heavy loss of equipment, Captain Tesserian sent the four lead ships back to the known galaxy, with small loads of spice and various local trade goods. Captain Tesserian and several companions stayed behind to await the next four ships carrying additional supplies, equipment and personnel.

During the lay-over, Captain Tesserian and his companions explored the ruins of several ancient desert cities, as well as solidifying trade contacts with local merchants and smuggler groups.

With the arrival of the additional ships, Captain Tesserian led two further forays into the deep desert. On both these expeditions, Captain Tesserian incurred further losses of equipment due to violent weather and raids by xenophobic desert tribes. Several crew members lost their lives or disappeared into the unforgiving desert.

Running out of time and equipment, Captain Tesserian led yet another foray into the deep desert, following a chart to a promising sand basin near several sheer rock cliffs. It was on this foray that Captain Tesserian himself and several of his close companions disappeared.

The Lost City of Nak'Mal Muh'a-Ruk-Debaran Mua'Afania

Nearly a week past before the main expedition received any word from Captain Tesserian's survey team. Sandstorms and strange atmospheric disturbances prevented full communications, but it became clear that Tesserian's team had stumbled upon a city long lost to the desert, filled with strange artifacts and ancient symbols. Crude but servicable translators determined that the city had been known as "Nak'Mal Muh'a-Ruk-Debaran Mua'Afania," meaning, "Those that Dance in the Moonlight."

Nakmal Mu-Aruk seems to have flourished as a cult center in the Ancient Spice Empire as far back as 4000 BBY. The city itself had reverted to desert by 2800 BBY as civilization in the entire region succumbed to a wave of spice addiction and collapsed. Excavation and analysis of many artifacts led some members to conclude that Nakmal Mu-Aruk and other cult centers had been part of a primitive force using cult. As the region began to develop the hyperspace drive and holonet transceiver, the local cultures succumbed one by one to addiction driven cults, and fanatical bands of proto-force users. A total demographic collapse soon followed; the region today is sparsely populated.

A number of archeological treasures were recovered by the expedition, including artifacts carved from latinum gold and featuring inlays of rare emerald force-crystals. These crytals seemed to be the source of at least some of the communications difficulties.

Following their rescue, the nav beacons left in the city failed one by one. Forced by massive sandstorms to spend another week sheltering in tiny and ill equipped smuggling outposts, the location of the ancient city was lost to the expedition.