Meet Captain Alian Murdhrée.

While there is a running joke in the military that everybody with a pulse will make Captain one day, Murdhrée made the rank one year early on special recommendation since his platoon won intraservice competitions for organization and quick deployment, with his soldiers shining by flawless discipline.

While Murdhrée has only just turned 30, the Umbaran-Human hybrid looks about a decade older - whether this is a result of his mixed genetics or the rigors of an exemplary military life is unclear. His peak-jawed, angular face with beaked nose and watery blue eyes always seems pale in contrast to his regulation-short dark hair. Yet although he is merely 1,75m tall, his ramrod straight posture and measured mannerisms make him appear taller, somehow.

Alian Murdhrée is a charismatic high-key pragmatist, low-key opportunist and dangerously ambitious, although his natural talents and generally smart acting cover up his aspirations - in other words, he is a highly functioning psychopath. He has signed on with Clan Taldryan upon the conquest of Kasiya, intent to not just be on the winner's side but also payroll. When the Clan transitioned into the core entity of a republic, Murdhrée recalled the history lessons from officer school and that prestigious guard commands like the Cohors, close to the seat of power as they were, often grabbed for the reigns and not rarely with success.

Now he is watching, analysing and biding his time while keeping the Cohors in top shape and good graces as an effective, reliable force. Maybe one day he will leverage his resume into a seat on the Senate, or shoot for the stars.