Bio
Name: Jerek Navras
Callsign: Jerek
Age: 32
Race: Human
Place of Birth: Emerald, Cemiess System
Residence: Lives on board Ship
Base System: Vaka, Zenbei Orbital

Occupation: Trader/Explorer
Allegiance: Empire
Rank:  Imperial Viscount

Specialties: Aikido, Krav Maga, and Kendo.
Accomplishments: Imperial Viscount, Distant Worlds Veteran, Crab Nebula Veteran/Flagship, Small Worlds Expedition Admin, Ghost Squadron Squad Leader

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Not much is known about Commander Jerek's early life, other than him being born into an Imperial family in the Cemiess system.  It's speculated that he grew up working the docks of the local starport until being recruited as a crewman for a rare goods trader operating out of Coquim.  

Eventually, Jerek earned enough money to buy his own vessel, and thanks to the training provided to him by the goods trader, he took to the controls almost naturally.  He started small - his first ship was a rugged old used Adder, purchased from the Xihe system.  He operated as a trader, working fairly profitable routes between systems near the Empire's core worlds.  Slowly and surely, he built up enough reserves to afford a better ship.  It was around this time that Jerek's ability to turn a profit caught the eyes of representatives from Ghost Squadron.  Surprised at their offer, he accepted and was placed into their Spectre trading division.  

Many months passed - Jerek, thanks in no small part to the influence and training from his new Ghost Squadron allies, went from being a small time merchant to a rather well known entrepreneur.  It was around this time that the Empire formally recognized Jerek's ability as a member of the Pilots' Federation, inviting him to the Capitol in Achenar for an audience with the Imperial Family and Senate.  Jerek brought the Imperial Family a generous gift - a cargo hold full of gold.  In recognition of his service to the Imperial economy and show of fealty to the Emperor, Jerek was gifted the title of Knight and Baron of the Empire.  Senator Denton Patreus offered Jerek a place in Vaka - a station called Zenbei Orbital, from which to begin his new career as Imperial Baron.  

From Zenbei Orbital, Jerek launched into his Imperial career with a flying start.  His first mission, in order to prove to the First Imperial Fleet that he was indeed capable of bringing the Vaka system into order, was to launch a daring assault on a Federal outpost.  Flying an unassuming hauler into the war torn system of Udihikoja, he managed to land inside Invanshin Enterprise starport.  Inside the station, he met up with Lady Jabitha, an Imperial Baroness running espionage from within Federation lines.  After learning that the Federals were onto them (and having impounded his hauler), Jerek decided to raid the starport's shipyard.

Taking Lady Jabitha with him, he managed to overcome the station security and boarded a shiny new Federal Assault Ship.  Together, in what is arguably Jerek's most unique feat - he and Jabitha stole the Assault Ship and blasted their way out of the station.  Jerek decided to keep the ship as his own, giving it the name of Nova, most likely in reference to the explosive nature of it's acquisition.

Some time passed, with Jerek taking the Nova on many small adventures - including driving pirates out of neighboring systems and helping the Sovereign Justice Collective gain territory in Jera.  During this time, he met and recruited two more crewmembers:  Dak (Ship's mechanic) and Soko (Gunner).  

Then came the decision that changed his life.  On a whim, looking for something unique to do, Jerek signed on for the Distant Worlds Expedition in January of 3302.  He registered an Asp Explorer named Laura Marie, in honor of his mother's memory and vowing to cross the Milky Way in the name of Ovarian Cancer Awareness.  

Taking over 78 days, Jerek and his crew succeeded in crossing to Beagle Point, checking in at all 23 waypoints of the Distant Worlds trip and propelling his name and piloting skills into Legend.  Upon his triumphant return to Zenbei Orbital, the Emperor herself congratulated Jerek by bestowing on him the title of Viscount, along with a very generous monetary payment in exchange for his exploration data.

Jerek used this money to purchase an Anaconda class vessel.  Originally meant to be a trading vessel, he named her the Lucky Venture, as a homage to his success of the Distant Worlds trip as well as the ship's capabilities as a profit generator.  

His trading days were cut short when he was recruited to participate in the Crab Nebula Expedition.  Jerek accepted the offer, and registered the Lucky Venture for the trip.  Refitting the Lucky Venture for long range exploration, he took her on a short shakedown cruise just weeks before the Expedition was set to launch.  The administration team held a public contest for which ship would become the official flagship vessel for the CNE.  On a whim, hoping that his experience in Distant Worlds would serve as a great guide to new explorers, Jerek entered the contest.  To his shock, the Lucky Venture
won in a landslide victory.  

The Lucky Venture and her crew proudly flew the banner of the Crab Nebula Expedition for the duration of the journey, marking Jerek's second successful major exploration trip of 3302.

Upon his return to civilization, Jerek was recruited to join on the Small Worlds Expedition, to which he accepted.  Due to the rules of the trip, Jerek registered a newly bought hauler (perhaps a subtle nod to the ship that propelled him into his piloting career?), which he named Yellowjacket.

Jerek plans to depart with the Small Worlds fleet in September 3302.

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Current Ships:
Nova - Federal Assault Ship (Main Vessel)
Lucky Venture - Anaconda (Trader/Explorer)

Crew:  

Chief Gunner - Soko



A native to the Alliance's fringe systems and fiercely independent, Soko's attitude channels well into her role as the Chief Gunnery Officer on the crew.  
When she's not shooting something, she's usually in the galley playing cards, or drinking.

Navigation - Jabitha



An Imperial Baroness with a suspected secret agenda.  While not openly hostile to the crew aboard the ship, her quiet and mysterious demeanor sometimes put everyone in a state of vague unease.  Despite this, Jabitha's skills as a Navigational expert have proved her invaluable to the group - it was thanks to her that the crew completed the Distant Worlds Expedition without once getting lost!

Ship's Mechanic - Dak Haaze



Dak's early career in space started out with some less than exemplary roles.  Originally serving aboard a pirate vessel near Federal borders, he got fed up with the highly abusive lifestyle and fled during a skirmish with a Federal Assault Ship.  Stashing himself into a stasis pod, he ejected just moments before the pirate vessel was destroyed.  The Assault Ship Nova recovered the pod, and Commander Jerek was surprised to find Dak still alive.  Dak was intended to be turned in to the authorities, but his mechanical skills saved the Nova (which was damaged from the battle) from being stranded in deep space.  Jerek offered him a job, and since then, Dak has been turning his life around while working with Jerek's crew.  

Cargo Handler - Gerrard Karath



Hailing from Xihe, Gerrard is a man who knows how to calculate trade values on hundreds of different goods.  Whenever Jerek and the crew are looking to earn some good extra money, Gerrard never fails to point out highly lucrative trade routes.

Prospector - Saul



Saul knows rocks.  Saul knows how to dig for said rocks.  Saul can also make those rocks do some pretty interesting stuff, like boosting FSD jump range, or even restocking ammo reserves!  He also enjoys driving the SRV on planet surfaces.

Ship AI - G.H.O.S.T



G.H.O.S.T (which stands for Gutamaya Hovering Omnicore Sentry Tracker) is Jerek's Shipboard AI.  Jerek acquired the AI from Ghost Squadron after being enlisted and promoted to Squadron Leader for the Spectre trading division.  G.H.O.S.T is quite useful, able to transfer his programming to and from Jerek's various ships thanks to his Gutamaya engineered frame.  While he is responsible for monitoring the various ship systems that the crew can't normally keep up with, his personality traits leave much to be desired.  G.H.O.S.T apparently came engineered with extreme sarcasm, often to the point of being just plain rude.  His more common responses to important inquiries include, but are not limited to - "Perhaps.", "You don't pay me enough for this.", and "Nope."