Darron Larcoon

Darron Larcoon was born in 2503 UST into a family with a long history of game-keeping, his father worked on the Traquia reserve, a vast expense of protected ocean several kilometres from Traquia city. Larcoon spent much of his early life underwater, attending an underwater school in the city itself. Larcoon was a quiet, hard-working boy who acheived very high grades at school through a combination of intelligence and intensely hard work. Darron considered everything very carefully before making a decision, but he was by no means slow. Decisive and focused, Darron showed many traits that would someday make him a great starfighter pilot. At high school, Darron went to a well-renowned boarding school in Cophris City, returning to the reserve over the holidays where he helped out in the running of things, piloting a small underwater vessel, for which he quickly gained an affinity.
 * Callsign: Phantom 2, Virus
 * Race: Cophuranee
 * Home planet: Cophuran
 * Gender: Male
 * Skin color: Blue
 * Eye color: Ice-blue
 * Hair color: blue/black
 * Age: 43
 * height: 191cm
 * Marital status: Single
 * Ship: XT-25B Raptor, GT-5000 Nighthawk
 * Quotes:
 * "I have betrayed the one person whom I looked up to all my life."
 * "My service record is messed up anyway. Might as well add some sugar."

Whilst accompanying a shipment of creatures to be relocated on a colony world, the freighter on which they were travelling came under attack form pirates. The Cophuran Fighter Corps came to the rescue though, and young Darron watched the brief space battle from a viewscreen, and became determined to join the Corps. At the age of 17, he left the Traquia reserve and signed up with Hunter squadron.

Assigned to hunter squadron Darron, going by the callsign 'Virus', and another new pilot, the Briceran Mryna Qhalic were chosen as wingmen of the squad's commander, a Cophuranee Cha'Lynh warrior named Vince Trageton, who tutored the two far beyond standard training lectures. Soon the three by themselves became a formidable strike team within their squadron.

(...)

While Vince decided to search his luck with what he called a associates of his family, Darron and Mryna traveled to Bricera, Mryna's homeworld, where they signed up for the royal starfighter corps. While assigned to the same squadron, their groups were split up for a while, guarding the Briceran borders towards the hostile Khisar territory. When they were reunited, Darron noticed the first changes in his friend. The keen and cheerful girl he had met had grown up, mature, serene, solemn. It wasn't until much later that he'd learn what had caused these changes.

Shortly after the foundation of the United Planets things changed dramatically: Vince was back, coming to settle on Bricera and, whatever twist of fate had acted in his favour, tasked with the creation and command of the new Phantom elite starfighter squadron. Given their long background and experience it was no surprise that both Darron and Mryna found themselves put on the squad roster. Once again, the trinity was united.

From then on, Darron would stick to Mryna and Vince and once again a deep friendship between the three developed. Mentored by the experienced Cha'Lynh warrior, Darron would follow Vince through thick and thin. Their community was sort of broken, when Vince was called to aide in developing and executing strategies against the Dhilani, who had started another conquest crusade, this time against Bricera and its neighboring systems. While Vince stepped up to finally become UPMF supreme Commander, Darron stook with Mryna leading Phantom Squadron into battle, even temporarily taking command of the squadron, while Mryn awas once again tasked with special missions during the course of events. Nonetheless, their friendship preveilled, even during the shocking events of the Briceran Crusade and the ensueing stalemate in the Barjin cluster, which should change their lives forever.

Mutiny, treason, murder. Those were the crimes Vince and former Briceran First Lady Shiromy Vaylon were charged with after the Death of Overlord Jarris Vaylon. Even though the actual course of events could not be resolved until much later, Darron kept believing in some snaky scheme and without hesitation joined the SBCR Warrior's captain George Blexton to mutiny against the newly self-proclaimed UPA monarch, Phlic Aelhoc. It was also Darron who convinced Mryna to join them and bail Vince and the widdowed First Lady out of their detention cells and make a run with allies they could gather.

The following years, though challenging and full of privation, strengthened their bond again and Darron eventually found himself on level with Mryna as the two sort of shared command over Phantom squadron. During the final battles over Cophuran and Khetaris Darron would finally lead Phantom Squadron into combat and help the rebels to their ultimate victory over the UPMF.

Yet peace and rest were far off as Vince and his loyal followers decided there was no place for them with the United Planets and chose to go into exile, searching for a new place to be. Once again Darron followed Vince into an uncertain future, driven by stalwart faith in his mentor. The unfolding course of events Darron would ultimately lead to the foundation of the Empire of the Seven Suns.

In the years after the ESS foundation, Phantom Squadron was subsequently restocked with younger pilots, while the older veterans took over higher ranking positions in fleet and military. It was then that Mryna's and Darron's ways ultimately parted. While Mryna proceeded to work for ESS Intel - and later became the Emperor's hand, Darron's tactical skills and experience eventually earned him the position of one of the ESS' Supreme Commanders, a career similar to that of his idol, mentor and friend - Vince.

Things began to change, howerver. Vince's course turned more aggressive and suddenly Darron, at the age of 47, found him allying himself with pirates and warlords - criminals, which Darron had spent his life fighting against. Slowly the gloriosity of his leader and the ideals he had stood for seemed to crumble. Yet he willed himself to stay faithful and do his duty, hoping for brighter days to come.

However his beliefs were ultimately shattered when he learned that Vince plotted to topple the United Planets on one side, while on the other side headlessly going on a futile crusade against an enemy that couldn't be defeated - the Keepers. By the time he made his decision he had already had made preparatiosn for this day. A Moff of the Galactic Empire had offered to help him with his 'transition'.

When Vince was caught up in a battle with the Keepers Darron took the opportunity and defected, taking along his flagship SSD2 Red Star II and a group of Predator Star Destroyers, whose crews had become disillusioned and bitter due to long periods of inactivity and - being honest - insignifficance.

Despite all preparations his defection didn't go as smooth as he had planned for it. Mryna Qhalic, his former wingman and friend, now the Emperor's hand and Grand Executor of the Empire had long since surpassed the level of an ordinary special agent and thus managed to foil a major portion of his efforts. In the end Darron and his imperial allies had to flee the Red Star II in a pair of starfighters.

Left with only a small number of defected ESS ships Darron went forth to start a new life with the Empire, ultimately turning his back on Vince, Mryna and the ESS - and swearing to himself that the next time he'd meet Mryna, he would kill her.

His vow would soon turn into obsession as Darron would seek out any leads on Mryna. Thus he was equally worried and enticed about the news that she might have been captured. Driven by the thought to euthanize his old friend disregarded the warnings from his new comrades and agreed to arrange a meeting with the bounty hunter who had supposedly captured Mryna. He should have listened, as Mryna, too, wasn't one to let go and had worked towards a 'meeting' herself. Upon accepting the captive he sprung the trap that Mryna laid out herself. Dispite his own preparations, Darron lost this round.Darron's view upon life was turned upside down once again, as he was facing execution by order of Empress Shiromy, now a Sith Lady. In blind rage she accused both Mryna and Darron traitors. It was only due to Vince's sacrifices that both of them were able to escape and were once again stuck together. The unfolding events gave him a chance to understand both Vince and Mryna in their thinking, not least at Mryna's honest confession of love to him. Whatever happened, he would not let any harm come to her.

Trivia
 * Like Vince Trageton Darron was first portrayed as a Xenomorph-like alien.
 * His character originally had a much smaller role and would only be introduced as a marine in the Shadows over Bricera novel.