Laphisto
High Commander of the Lilaste Order
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Establish a persistent Lilaste Order NCO for Ash Dogs operations, spun up from the Serenno (Mystral Canyon) thread to recur in frontline infantry and urban push narratives.
Image Credit: Chat GPT
Role: Frontline squad leader of Greysnouts
Permissions: N/A
Links: Lilaste Order • Tarain's Sword • Serenno: Mystral Canyon ambush (Caelin vs. D4; Tarain vs. Breska)
PHYSICAL INFORMATION
Age: 29
Force Sensitivity: Force Dead
Species: Human
Appearance: 6'0", wiry-strong build. Close-cropped dark hair, with a clean jaw scar from the canyon blast. Both arms have been replaced with combat-grade cybernetics—matte-finished, ruggedly utilitarian, and integrated with his LO-58A assault armor. Usually in Ash Dogs orange-marked kit with Grey Snout squad identifiers.
SOCIAL INFORMATION
Name: Sergeant Caelin Varik (callsign: "Grey Snout Six")
Loyalties: Lilaste Order → Tarain's Sword → Ash Dogs Company (Grey Snout Squad)
Wealth: Standard NCO pay; no corporate stakes.
Notable Possessions:
- LO-58A personal kit (issue) with Grey Snout identifiers
- Dog tags of Keldo and Verik
- Cybernetic arms, modified for infantry utility (enhanced grip stability, recoil compensation, and short-burst strength for breaching)
- Squad leadership under fire; battle drill execution and re-tasking mid-contact
- CQC/room-clearing with rifle/knife/sword integration
- Adapted cybernetic arm use: increased control in sustained fire, stronger melee strikes, hasty breaching maneuvers
Languages: Galactic Basic (fluent); serviceable Huttese slang
Personality: Quiet, steady, duty-first. Protective of his people, blunt on comms, and ritualistically respectful of fallen foes—he'll talk about remembering their faces so "they aren't lost to the dust." Not a braggart; lets his squad's survival rate do the talking. Still carries survivor's guilt from Serenno, often looking at his arms when recalling the canyon.
COMBAT INFORMATION
Weapon of Choice:
- LO-20D battle rifle
- LO-12S sidearm
- LO-10M sword for CQC pushes when ordered
Strengths:
- Cybernetic Arms (Enhanced Functionality):
Increased grip strength, recoil stabilization, and breaching power. Allows him to manhandle heavy weapons or ram through obstacles other soldiers would need charges for. - Battlefield Adaptability:
He can take in chaotic situations quickly and adjust his squad's positioning and firing lanes. Doesn't freeze up when plans collapse. - Loyal to the Line:
Absolutely committed to keeping his squad alive. Troops under his command tend to trust him instinctively because they know he'll throw himself into fire before abandoning them. - Calm Under Fire:
Rarely rattled; his voice stays level even when pinned down. This steadiness has a contagious effect on younger troopers. - Close-Quarters Lethality:
He's not flashy, but with knife, sword, or rifle butt he's brutally efficient. His cybernetics give him extra force behind those strikes. - Moral Compass in War:
Despite the carnage, he still believes in warrior's honor. This can win respect—even from enemies—when word of his actions spreads.
Weaknesses:
- Honor Bias:
Prefers a fair fight, even when ruthlessness would be safer. His duel with D4 nearly killed him and left him permanently scarred. - Phantom Pain & Glitches:
Cybernetic arms sometimes spasm under extreme strain or when EMP interference hits, causing dangerous lapses in precision. - Survivor's Guilt:
Haunted by Vika's death and the blast that destroyed his arms. Sometimes overprotective of squadmates, putting himself at unnecessary risk. - Not a Strategic Thinker:
Brilliant in the moment-to-moment of combat, but he's a sergeant, not a commander. He struggles when tasked with long-term planning outside the immediate fight. - EMP/Ion Vulnerability:
His arms are rugged but not invulnerable—ion weapons or EMP fields can disable them, leaving him half-crippled in the middle of battle. - Reluctant with Authority:
He's better with soldiers than with officers. He has a habit of speaking plainly, sometimes bluntly, to superiors, which can rub higher command the wrong way. - Lingering Trauma:
Loud concussive blasts (like grenades or mines) can trigger flashbacks to the canyon explosion. He hides it well, but the hesitation exists.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Caelin Varik was born into the Lilaste Order's ranks like many of his brothers and sisters, raised under its strict doctrine of balance, discipline, and martial strength. From the time he could walk, he was drilled in the Order's ways first as a recruit, then a line trooper of Tarain's Sword. His early aptitude with breaching tactics saw him placed in the Crater Fangs Company, where his tenacity earned him a reputation for never hesitating at the mouth of a breach, even when heavy fire spat out from the other side.
Varik's most defining moment came on Serenno, where Tarain's Sword was deployed against Sith forces entrenched in Mystral Canyon. Caelin fought in the brutal infantry engagements against Sith troopers, one of whom
Jacen Breska
(D4) nearly killed him in single combat. Their duel ended in an explosion that cost Caelin both his arms. Despite being maimed, he survived long enough to be dragged to safety, refusing to give up the fight even as blood poured from his wounds. His resilience became a rallying story within the Order.After extensive surgery and cybernetic replacement of both arms, Caelin not only recovered but returned to the front lines, his new limbs making him a living testament to Lilaste endurance. His survival in the canyon earned him battlefield promotion to Sergeant, and he was reassigned to the Ash Dogs Company (Grey Snout Squadron), where his scars and reputation for grit made him a respected leader among the Order's assault troops.
Caelin's first operation as a Sergeant came on Daro, during a mandalorian skirmish, where Lilaste forces stormed the Azlanti Tower against possible Mandalorian snipers. Leading Grey Snout on the upper floors, he was directly in the room with High Commander Laphisto when waves of broken, scrap-forged droids poured out of hidden compartments. Varik's squad fought shoulder-to-shoulder in brutal close-quarters combat until the tower's demolition sequence began to unravel the structure.
It was then that Laphisto made the call no soldier could forget: throwing nearly ninety men Caelin among them bodily out of the 54th floor as the tower came down. Their LO-ADS descent systems carried them safely to the streets below, though many were unconscious or battered from debris. Caelin landed hard but alive, immediately rallying surviving elements of Grey Snout to form a defensive perimeter as the Mandalorians descended with jetpacks to finish the wounded. He held that line until reinforcements consolidated, earning the respect of both peers and subordinates for keeping order amid disaster.
Legacy and Current Service
Now firmly established as Sergeant of Grey Snout, Caelin Varik is a living reminder of the Order's creed: survival, discipline, and brotherhood above all. The scars of Serenno mark him in both body and spirit, but he wears them not as symbols of weakness, but of duty. His cybernetic arms precision-crafted replacements give him greater endurance and weapon handling, though he insists they are nothing compared to the men who fight at his side.
Among the Ash Dogs, he is respected as a steadying figure: a soldier who has looked death in the face twice, and returned both times with his loyalty unbroken. His men know him not just as their Sergeant, but as someone who has bled, fallen, and risen in the same dust they tread.