Unreviewed Dr. Ghast Hark

[Glar Ulchtar]

Dr. Ghast Hark holding his antique slugthrower pistol.
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: To expand on and repurpose a character mentioned in a past codex submission, who I may eventually spin off into his own PC depending on how I feel.
• Image Credit: Here
• Role: An antagonistic biologist working for the Pyke Syndicate and potentially other employers in the future.
• Permissions: N/A
• Links: Zendack Peak HQ, Spice, Bota, H'nemthe

PHYSICAL INFORMATION

• Age: 51
• Force Sensitivity: Non-Force User
• Species: H'nemthe
• Appearance: Dr. Ghast Hark is a lean H'nemthe of roughly average height. His face has features typical of his species; deep wrinkles, sunken icy blue eyes, and a thin beak. He typically dresses in a black lab coat; a black, wide-brimmed hat, and a metal respirator mask which allows him to speak and breathe more easily after toxic spores damaged his voice box and lungs. This mask gives his voice a raspy, metallic quality to his voice which sounds very much unlike the squeaky voices typical of his species. His voice does however maintain a distinct accent that is a trademark of upper class H'nemthe. He almost always smells of minty disinfectant.

SOCIAL INFORMATION

• Name: Ghast Hark
• Loyalties: Pyke Syndicate
• Wealth: Dr. Hark is considerably wealthy, though all his financial assets are stored in accounts under pseudonyms in banks that do not ask too many questions.
• Notable Possessions:
  
  • A variety of scientific equipment and machinery.
  • A collection of chemicals with both common and rare items.
  • An antique slugthrower pistol and bullets.
• Skills: Dr. Hark is one of the galaxy’s most gifted biologists and developed many pharmaceutical products which have improved the galaxy’s quality of life. After his fall from grace, he has refocused onto developing more potent forms of spice for the Pyke Syndicate as well as a “super-soldier serum” using a combination of spice and bota. Additionally, Dr. Hark is capable of using both typical blasters as well as antique slugthrowers, but prefers the more tactile and mechanical feeling of the latter.
• Languages: H'nemthe (primary language), Galactic Basic (fluent), Pyke (fluent), Kaminoan (conversational), Binary (understands)
• Personality: Dr. Ghast Hark is a strong believer in his own genius and by extension the superiority of himself and others of his caliber over both the natural world and those of “lesser aptitude”. As such, he carries a sense of entitlement to be respected and catered to by others which makes him difficult to deal with on a personal level. Despite this, most who get to know him do develop at least a grudging respect for him once they see his genius in action, assuming they are not repulsed by his lack of scientific ethics. Despite his ruthlessness and superiority complex, Dr. Hark is not quite a psychopath in the truest sense of the word. He is capable of respecting and forming genuine friendships with others, but only those he deems as similarly “exceptional” as himself, which in practice tends to be members of his family and fellow scientists.

COMBAT INFORMATION

• Weapon of Choice: Although primarily a non-combatant, Dr. Hark owns an antique slugthrower pistol which he has managed to become fairly adept with. He is also capable of using a standard blaster when he needs to.
• Combat Function: Short-range shooter
• Force Abilities (Force Users Only): N/A

Strengths:

• Brilliant Biologist: Dr. Hark has both a natural talent and years of experience in the field of biology, and is also significantly knowledgeable in related sciences.
• Ruthless: Dr. Hark is willing to sacrifice whatever he needs to in order to advance his mastery over the natural world, whether or not it is his to sacrifice.
• Well-funded: Dr. Hark’s employers in the Pyke Syndicate make sure he well-equipped in his work.
• Slippery: Dr. Hark has an uncanny talent for slipping away from any negative consequences of his work.

Weaknesses:

• Unempathetic: Dr. Hark has little to no patience for the feelings or concerns of others that he views as being of “lesser aptitude” than he is.
• Entitled: Dr. Hark’s sense of entitlement towards those he deems beneath him does not win him many favors.
• Respiratory Damage: A accident involving toxic spores left Dr. Hark with respiratory damage which makes breathing difficult and speech impossible without a special mask.

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Ghast Hark hatched on his species’ home planet of H'nemthe. He was the first to hatch out of a nest of six brothers, and seemed to have an unusual drive to break free from his egg which immediately marked him as different from most of his kind.

The Hark Family was wealthy and well-known on H'nemthe for historically producing some of the planet’s most renowned scientists, a path which Ghast’s mother (herself a molecular biologist of some note) raised him and his brothers to follow. Out of all his brothers, Ghast embraced this path the most zealously, and organized them into a well-oiled team under his direction. By the time they had earned their PHDs, the Hark brothers under Ghast’s leadership had devised a highly effective drug against the previously untreatable Fendusea Disease, earning them (especially Ghast) great acclaim on H'nemthe and even enough attention from the wider galaxy to be hired by the prestigious Chiewab Amalgamated Pharmaceuticals Company.

Ghast and his brothers would go on to make more useful pharmaceuticals for the galaxy and earn greater acclaim under Chiewab. However, the Hark brothers died off one by one until only Ghast remained by the time he turned 40. This was due to the deadly mating rituals practiced by the H'nemthe species in which females instinctively kill males immediately after mating is complete. Most H'nemthe, including Ghast’s brothers, view this as a worthy sacrifice to achieve true love and a lasting legacy. Ghast however saw mastery of the natural world as his true love and the advancements his work would create as his lasting legacy. The time he spent off of his home planet for work-related trips reinforced this notion, as he learned other species viewed this practice as backwards and barbarous. He had previously mate-killing as a regrettable fact of life, but realizing that his brothers died for a cultural custom the rest of the galaxy considered savagery led to the start of a growing disgust for his own people and planet.

In addition to putting him in a darker emotional state, the loss of his brothers also presented a practical concern to Dr. Hark. He was now the only member of his research team and was expected by his employers to operate at a similar output as he previously had. Chiewab tried to provide him with new team members to work with, but he found that they were able to work with him nearly as effectively as his old team. After some time, Dr. Hark decided that the most efficient way to accelerate his work would be to circumvent the ethical constraints scientific work is bounded by. One thing led to another, and a few years later HNN published a massive story detailing Dr. Hark’s purchase of slaves from Zygerria to be used in unsanctioned live experiments.

Dr. Hark was arrested by the Galactic Alliance and placed on trial for his crimes, but thanks to mishandling of key evidence it was ruled a mistrial and he was released. But with his reputation in tatters, Chiewab had washed their hands of him and his activities and no other legitimate employer would hire him. He temporarily returned to his home planet of H'nemthe where his reputation was relatively intact before he received an offer from the Pyke Syndicate (specifically its director of science and industry, Posati Eriats) to work for them on a long term project on the planet Drongar to create a stable form of bota which posses the same “miracle serum” qualities it once did in the distant past. An additional, theoretical goal if the first turned out successful was to synthesize bota and spice into a single compound to create super-soldiers with enhanced strength and speed, extreme regenerative healing, and force sensitivity

Dr. Hark accepted this offer, and set off for the Pyke Syndicate’s secret facility of Zendack Peak to begin his new work. He was accompanied by a lab assistant named Lytyl Iondith. Iondith was the daughter of one of his deceased brothers and a promising biologist in training who rather naively believed that her uncle’s unethical activities must have been exaggerated or taken out of context if he was not in prison for them. She would learn otherwise the hard way. She reluctantly assisted her uncle in his twisted experiments at first, but grew increasingly uncomfortable with his blatant disregard for both sentient rights and scientific ethics which was not only allowed but encouraged by his employers. Eventually, she reached her breaking point and attempted to leave to expose the existence of Zendack Peak and its twisted experiments to the general public. Unfortunately for her, she was caught attempting to stow away onboard a leaving supply ship, and returned to an infuriated Dr. Hark. Iondith was executed on her uncle's orders. The only mercy granted to her was a quick death by firing squad, rather than the extended ordeal of acting as a live test subject. A fate which he did inflict upon at least one Pyke at Zendack Peak who turned out to be disloyal.

After extensive work, Dr. Hark was eventually able to recreate the medicinal properties of bota in a stable form, but was not able to produce it at an industrial scale. Using the stable bota he was able to create, he did manage to devise a rough formula that would theoretically be able to create the bota-spice synthesis the Syndicate desired for its super soldier program. However, his research was derailed by the unexpected invasion of Drongar by the Empire of the Lost. Dr. Hark was able to escape Imperial capture by the metaphorical skin of his teeth, but was forced to hide in the noxious jungles of Drongar for several days. During this time, he inhaled a dangerous amount of toxic fungal spores in the atmosphere which damaged his lungs and voice box. Once the majority of the Imperial occupiers had moved on though, Dr. Hark was able to sneak back onto the base and commandeer an RZ-565 Starfighter to escape.

Dr. Hark has since resumed working for the Syndicate, now working in a safer laboratory on the Pyke capital planet of Oba Diah. The bota-spice project has largely been sidelined though. Now, Dr. Hark has begun work on a new secret project, the nature and results of which only time will tell.