Dracule Mihawk History

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Dracule “Drac” Mihawk’s Personal History[edit]

Pre-Vast Imperial Service[edit]

Drac was born to Juracule and Namobi Mihawk on the Mon Calamari homeworld of Dac. He spent most of his childhood years studying and playing alongside his twin cousins, Cortan and Dartan, in the kelp fields near his home in Coral City. His intelligence and solid, reliable personality helped place him on a road toward an eventual role in government, like his father, or law enforcement. Given his family's connections, there was even a relatively decent chance he might have eventually found his way into the Rebellion's navy.

Then the plague wars happened. Word of Imperial atrocities almost pushed him into the service of the New Republic, but before he could take that step he found a file of his father's detailing the aftermath of some of the New Republic's biological warfare tactics and found himself as disgusted with his own government as with the enemy's. Several weeks later a news report caught his eye regarding an Imperial splinter faction that had held itself above the fray, refusing to use biological weapons in any fashion. Intrigued, he began researching the group and found himself agreeing more and more with their principles, primarily the emphases on order, justice, and honor. Their abandonment of the official Imperial ban on females and non-humans in military service also earned them credit in his eyes.

Dac, Drac's home planet.

And so Drac eventually left his family on Dac with hopes to train as a fighter pilot and possibly fly for the Vast Empire. He’d chosen piloting mostly because he was naturally not a fan of running around on various, mostly dry, worlds. As a pilot he could do more simply because he wouldn’t be constantly gasping for breath. Fortunately for him, several Mon Cals were gaining fame at the time due to their strategic genius, Admiral Ackbar of the Rebellion being prominent among them. Knowing he’d likely face a multitude of extra challenges due to his species, Mihawk decided to learn to get a leg up on his training by learning to fly before he joined the Empire's military. Drac was able to find a teacher in Chama, an old fighter pilot turned freighter captain who still owned his Republic-era snubfighter. For several years Drac trained every chance he could get in his friend’s old Eta-2, flying as escort on Chama’s more dangerous runs and awaiting the day he could finally find some new place to call home- a place he could defend from the cockpit of a starfighter. It was not just his dream, but also something he was good at. Flying came naturally to him… more naturally than anyone would expect of an amphibian at least.

Eventually the time was right. Chama was retiring, and selling both his freighter and the Eta-2. He offered it to Drac, but the Mon Cal politely declined. He didn’t want to be a mercenary escorting freighters- no, he wanted to fight for a cause. With a fond farewell Drac gathered his few possessions, booked passage to Lotaith, and left for the Vast Empire.

Training & Early Adventures[edit]

When he walked into the Naval Academy Drac was met by a large wookie wearing an Ensign's tabs. The officer looked him over, then barked out a question. Drac replied, acknowledging that he could understand the mammal's language. He had befriended a wookie, Ruwe, several years before and had learned to understand -if not to speak- the language then. The Ensign introduced himself as StOrMz and proceeded to direct the young Mon Cal to his new quarters. He also served as Drac's main instructor throughout his time at the academy. Drac thoroughly enjoyed his new surroundings and excelled at the academy, even earning the Star of the Academy award after graduation. He passed his Aviator's Exam with a perfect score as well, earning the distinction marks on his ribbon. Drac became friends with StOrMz during his time in the Academy, and often contacted him afterward. Some time later he would return to the Academy as an Instructor, allowing him the opportunity to work alongside his former mentor.

Upon graduating from the Academy Drac was promoted to Senior Crewman and assigned to Nazgul Squadron as Nazgul Two. He would be flying wing for the squadron commander, Ensign G'schlecc "Driver" Atrasin. It didn't take long for a familiar face to appear in the form of Ruwe, the Wookie Drac had met and befriended several years before coming to the Vast Empire. Ruwe had completed his training not long after Drac and was placed into Nazgul as Nazgul Six.

Drac's first mission was quite different than he expected. Upon joining the squadron he'd imagined himself flying alongside Driver, blasting enemy snubfighters, and going back to the Atrus for a well deserved rest and a meal. What he got instead, was the unwelcome duty of escorting Driver (who was in his yacht) to his father's funeral. They were attacked by snubfighters, but Drac followed his orders and stuck by the Ensign's yacht. He watched as the rest of the squadron dispatched the enemies. They continued on then, encountering problems and surprises left and right. In the end it came down to Driver, Drac, and Goth as they pursued and slaughtered the Ensign's traitorous uncle in a dogfight over Ator. Drac never expected to gain his first kill while still bloody from ground fighting, much less to do it in a craft that wasn't his. But he was soon to find out that greater surprises were yet to come.

Within a few missions the young pilot found himself promoted to Petty Officer 2nd Class and put in charge of his own flight. Now as Nazgul 9 he was to help plan and lead the squadron's missions. Before long the enterprising your pilot completed his Senior Aviator's Exam and was promoted to Petty Officer 1st Class. Soon further events would conspire to hurl the young pilot into battles not only for the Vast Empire, but for the Mon Calamari Knights as well. The wisdom of having so many loyalties tends to be questioned by others, but Drac is happy to remind such questioners that the galaxy is a big place. But if these organizations do come into conflict with each other, the results would be impossible to guess before the explosions end and the dust settles over the battlefield.

Having proven himself to be a skilled pilot, and one who had the basics down pat, Drac applied to and was accepted on the staff of the Vast Empire Naval Academy. As an Operator at the Academy, he would help train new pilots for the Vast Empire. Other tasks this new job led into included the development of improved training techniques and the improvement of the Naval Academy's teaching resources.

Drac went on to fight many battles alongside his friends in Nazgul Squadron. When the Navy was reorganized he inherited his friend Hunter's post as Executive Officer of Nazgul when the other became the Squadron Commander. Drac would remain in that position for only two missions, though. In the first, the debacle at Sarek, he was shot down along with most of the squadron and lost the Avenger he'd flown in for so long. His second and final mission as the squadron's XO was the route at Lehon. Phoenix Wing, Nazgul included, was transfered away after that disaster and Drac was reassigned to Tuk'ata Squadron, a unit he'd helped design. All was not well, however, and Drac retired from the Navy under mysterious circumstances shortly before the new squadron launched on its first mission.

Resignation, Return, and A New Opportunity[edit]

Much happened in a short time after that, and hardly anyone but Drac knows what he truly did during the days and weeks after his departure from Imperial service- and he isn't telling. What is known is that he returned to service with the Vast Empire after a period of time, rejoining Tuk'ata Squadron. Originally assigned as Gamma Flight Leader, he almost instantly gave the position over to an old friend, Stewart-Power, in order to give the other pilot his chance at leadership. This left Drac as a Flight Member in Gamma Flight for a few days until Rutian stepped down as Squadron Executive Officer. Tuk'ata's Squadron Commander, Hunter Morrell then offered the Mon Calamari the SXO position, which he quickly accepted.


A Command of His Own[edit]

Dracule Mihawk, Naval Officer.

Drac looked forward to serving under his longtime friend in Tuk'ata, but it was not to be. Another squadron in Javelin Wing, Nightshrike Squadron, found itself without a leader not long after Drac took up his position as Tuk'ata's SXO. Rear Admiral Denethor, the Naval Commander in Chief, approached Drac with the opportunity to command Nightshrike, which the Mon Calamri accepted. Life is a labyrinth, though, with many a false passage. Nightshrike was closed before it ever made it off the ground, victim of a slump in numbers in the Navy and a pall of bad luck that seemed to follow it. The squadron was shuttered permanently, with all active members being moved to Tuk'ata.

Drac, not sure what to expect upon his return to Tuk'ata, was shocked to find himself put in command of the squadron while Hunter moved on to other duties. He quickly warmed to the challenge, though, relishing the opportunity to lead a unit he had designed personally. Following him over from Nightshrike, the Falleen WO2 Slasher became his Executive Officer while Stewart-Power, a Tuk'ata original, filled out the squadron's command staff as the leader of Gamma Flight.

The re-structured squadron's first real mission together was one of training. It took place in the asteroid ring near Abrae, at a little-known facility designated Asteroid 19. Facing off against their sister squadron, Rhegent's Reign, the Tuk'atans participated in one-on-one duels in that most challenging of environments.

Shortly thereafter, amid great changes and reconstructions in the Vast Imperial Navy, Drac recieved word that he was urgently needed back home- a summons to duty from the secretive Mon Calamari Knights. Knowing the squadron would be in good hands, he chose to retire and answer the call. Drac departed Vast Imperial space not long after, handing the reigns of Tuk'ata over to his old friend and teacher, Captain StOrMz. He went on to lead a successful campaign for the Knights against a Hutt crime cartel headed up by Delgra the Hutt.

Ship Command & Chief of Naval Warfare[edit]

Upon returning to Vast Imperial service from his stint leading the Knights' taskforce, Drac was given command of the Warden Class Light Cruiser LCR Cerulean as part of Taskforce Resh in the 2nd Imperial Fleet. The fighter pilot was one of many pressed into service as a new generation of ship Captains due to the mass assasination of many of the Vast Empire's current Captains at the Annual Naval Review. Another result of the attack was the elevation of Stormz, now a Rear Admiral, to the post of Naval Commander in Chief and the subsequent elevation of Driver, Drac's first Squadron Commander, to Chief of Naval Operations. In line with his orders, Drac immediately ordered the Cerulean out of the system, following Line Captain Jaden Khaar's VSD Dead Gun to Mangol in the Rheagent System for refit. While meeting his crew and getting to know the ship Drac met Crewman Kora Weasse, a female Mon Calamari medical officer, and struck up a friendship. From Mangol the Cerulean accompanied the Dead Gun to the battle in Epsilon System.

Drac nearly died in the battle when the Cerulean, damaged and locked onto a ballistic course, rammed into a DP20 after taking out several other enemy ships. Though it took several days in a bacta tank to save his life, he did survive along with most of his bridge crew. When he got out of the tank he was met by Commodore Geordi Atrasin. Driver recounted the details of Drac's crew's disposition to him -half of them dead and almost half of them wounded- and then delivered three things to the Mon Calamari: a promotion to Lieutenant, command of 2nd Fleet, and the position of Chief of Naval Warfare and elevation to the Naval High Command that came with it. After recovering from the shock at this turn of events, Drac set about getting his new house in order. He split 2nd Fleet into several taskforces and, once they were organized, repaired, and prepared, ordered Regents Squadron to strike the communications array on the shipyards above Belgaroth. When they accomplished that Drac arrived with the rest of 2nd Fleet and engaged the shipyard's defenders to see just who would control the system.

At the successful conclusion of the battle Drac began to consolidate his forces' hold on the system and began repairs to the crown jewel of the ships they'd managed to steal: the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Skyhawk, which he claimed as his new flagship and rechristened the Halcyon Warrior. After ensuring everthing was settled, Drac embarked on a NC-enforced Leave for a few weeks.

Upon returning, Drac led the invasion of Montitia. Soon after he gathered 2nd Fleet at Belgaroth to organize their next strike, but the fleet suddenly found itself under attack by two enemy fleets: one New Republic and on Imperial Remnant. Thus the second battle for Belgaroth began. Though long and bitterly fought, the battle ended in a Vast Imperial victory after the arrival of reinforcements from 1st Fleet. Belgaroth was saved and Drac, though he retained his role as CNW, afterward became a Taskforce Commander in 1st Fleet when the tattered remnants of his Fleet were folded into it in the aftermath. Now he faces the daunting task of rebuilding his troops.

Chief of Naval Operations[edit]

Admiral Denethor, once he recovered from the poison, stepped in as Chief of Naval Operations to fill the gap left by the disgraced Commodore Atrasin. However, after a relatively short stint in the position, Denethor retired from the Navy. With the CNO position empty, Drac was the logical choice to fill the void. His string of hard fought battles and penchant for pulling through a victory had served him well. The Naval Commander in Chief, Admiral Stormz, offered him the post and he accepted. All in all, it was a bit surreal for Mihawk. His rise from simple fighter pilot to fleet commander and then to executive officer of the Navy had taken only a couple years- remarkably fast as such things went.

His replacement as Chief of Naval Warfare, Lieutenant Wyl Trykon, was another such rising star. A former student of Drac's and the hand-selected XO of his taskforce, the Kuati was extremely well suited to the position. The two had, and still have, their issues with one another in connection to Trykon's actions as the Chief of Naval Intelligence during the Second Battle of Belgaroth, but Drac respects his abilities and loyalty. At the time of his appointment as CNW, the Lieutenant had been serving as the Chief of Naval Training.

Disappearance, Return, & Current Role[edit]

After a relatively brief tenure as Chief of Naval Operations, Drac mysteriously disappeared for several months. Rumors have circulated that the Imperial Jedi Order may have been involved in it, but no concrete evidence of any such incident has been documented. Drac simply disappeared from his office one day, leaving both his ship and his duties, only to return just as quietly months later. Those closest to him have noted brief moments of emotional instability- relatively speaking -since his return, the only evidence of whatever he went through during that time.

Drac's return coincided with the opening engagements of the war with Corellia, and upon returning he immediately boarded the mothballed Halcyon Warrior and put together a skeleton crew. He arrived at the battle as part of Admiral Stormz's interdictor taskforce and employed some classically aggressive maneuvering to bring his ship into the heat of battle. The Warrior, suffering from some maintenance lapses, found itself dueling the New Republic's flagship, the Consensus. Drac was forced to personally lead the defense of his ship against a last ditch boarding maneuver by the new Republic, but he and his ship prevailed and managed to limp back to the Nuisuu docking facility despite moderate damage.

Currently Drac serves as an independent ship captain in the Vast Imperial Navy, since (now) Admiral Trykon had moved up to Chief of Naval Operations in his absence and Commander Serpent succeeded the Kuati as Chief of Naval Warfare. While it is unusual for a senior officer such as Drac to be outside the normal chain of command, such things aren't unheard of and Drac personally does not seem to mind. As ever, his focus has remained on serving however and wherever he's needed.