Kodek Vonn

Authored by James Sinclair

Character Biography

Parents: Unknown
Siblings: Unknown

Languages Known (F = Fluent, no accent; PF = Partially Fluent, accent noticeable to native speaker; P = Passable, Can convey moderately complex ideas, Can read / write, accent discernable and minor errors in grammar; P2 = Passable, Can convey simple ideas and emotions, Can read /write with effort; P3 = Can convey simple ideas, cannot read / write without assistance; L = Limited, can recognize less than 25% of spoken words, cannot read / write):

Breen - F (6 Dialects)
Federation Standard – F
English – F
tlhlngan Hol - F
Vulcan – P
Romulan – PF (2 of 3 dialects)
Andorian – P2
Ferengi - F
Cardassian - PF
Orion - F

Kodek Vonn was born into a guild of bounty hunters and mercenaries. This particular guild gave little allegiance to the Breen Confederacy, and when that government joined the Dominion the guild didn’t send a representative to the signing. When a Confederacy delegate came to the guild house on it’s remote frozen world; the Guild Master, Kodek’s Grandfather, listened as the politician berated the Breen for not sending a dignitary to the treaty signing with the Dominion. He listened as the delegate slandered the Guild and it’s members, knowing full well that some of the finest Breen fighters and hunters came from this place. Once the delegate finished, the guild master stood, walked to the delegate, and shot him in the forehead. The Guild Master put his corpse on his shuttle, a note attached to his chest with a long knife plunged through it. It simply said “We resign from the Confederacy.” Throughout the war, these Breen served both sides; acting as mercenaries, saboteurs, whatever anyone wanted to pay them to be.

Vonn’s guild had a long and storied history, and that history was taught to all of the children born of a parent in the guild; that, and an almost religious reverence for weapons and hunting prey. Kodek was a good student, exceptional even, and took to the lessons well. They became more than adept at tracking, Close Quarters Combat, a myriad of ranged and bladed weaponry, and was a proficient-and-then-some pilot. When they came of age they began working for the guild as a bounty hunter and mercenary. But something was missing. Kodek did not feel fulfilled. So, they left the Guild with his Grandfather’s blessing and made their way into more populated areas of the quadrant.

The appearance of a Breen in most places was met with shock and fear. Their people were known to be violent, aggressive, and quite capable of inflicting a great deal of damage. Kodek was no exception of course; but tended to be more thoughtful, and would anticipate rather than simply react. On a remote station, they met a ‘retired’ (dishonorably discharged) Star Fleet officer and the two struck up an unlikely friendship. Together, Kodek learned several languages and they modified the helmet they wore to be able to speak Federation Standard. This simple ability led them to a plethora of opportunities, both legitimate and otherwise. The two worked together for over three years, when suddenly it all changed.

They were escorting an arms run from a supplier to a buyer. The Breen was (of course) the muscle and the former Star Fleet officer was the negotiator. The deal went perfectly until, right when the transfer was made, Star Fleet Intelligence appeared and arrested everyone. Kodek was thrown into a cell, stripped of all but their cooling suit. They were there for several days when the door opened and their friend, dressed in the uniform of a Star Fleet Captain, told him to step outside. Vonn was very wary but their friend, identifying himself as Captain Grant Marshall of Star Fleet Intelligence, told them everything was fine. He took Vonn to a room filled with several members of Star Fleet; admirals, captains, and a few Federation senators. Marshall briefed them on their operations for the past three years, and extolled Vonn’s contributions to the endeavor. Upon completion of his briefing, Marshall and an Admiral conferred privately while Kodek simply stood and waited, confused, and a bit angry. But they were at a tactical disadvantage, so they waited. When the two finished, they both approached Vonn.

The Admiral spoke first. “Look. You are in a precarious spot. Your species is not on good terms with us. You government does not recognize you, and you are currently on a station that is not listed on any database in the Federation. But Marshall here vouches for you, so that’s something. So I am willing to give you a shot at making something useful of yourself. We have a ship. A special ship. Its used to transport highly unstable and dangerous cargo from point to point, and sometimes to… hold onto it for a while. It has an open spot for someone of your… abilities. You work there, we may have more work for you down the line. If not, we send you back home. Not the planet, but to the Confederacy. I don’t know what they would do with you, but the Breen aren’t known for being forgiving.” Vonn didn’t even bother pretending to think about it. It wasn’t that they were scared, they just simply didn’t want to die right now. “I’ll take the job.” were the only words they spoke. Marshall smiled and walked Vonn away from the Admiral. “Kodek, we are gonna still do great things together…” he said with a smile.

Ten days later, re-equipped, refreshed, and with a rank of Major, Vonn boarded a runabout headed for the USS Swift to take over as the Head Guard of the prison ship. Under Vonn… ‘supervision’… violent incidents dropped by eighty percent, and there was no successful escape.

Vonn stayed with the Swift until it was decommissioned, and at the unloading of the last prisoner, Marshall appeared again. Smiling he put a hand on the armored shoulder and said “Heya buddy. Ready for round 2?”

A month later, after being briefed and undergoing additional training and testing, Vonn was assigned to the USS Leviathan as the Commander of the Recovery Task Force of the Anomaly Recovery Unit. Oddly, Vonn refused to take a commision as a Starfleet officer for the role; instead requesting and being awarded the official rank of Chief Warrant Officer.