Lamin Zykara

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Member Profile
Lamin Zykara
Member Information
Full RS NameLamin Zykara
Call SignZyke, Zee
Past NamesLamin Fresca
Current RankRear Admiral
Date JoinedMarch 2000
StatusReserve
Current SquadronReserve
Other Current PositionsReserve
Past Noteworthy PositionsRebel Squadrons Fleet Commander
Minister of Justice
Alderman of the High Command
Rebel Squadrons Chief of Staff
Character Information (Fictional)
Status Medical Leave
HomeworldSluis Van
SpeciesHuman
GenderMale
Age35
Height1.77 meters
Weight76.1 kilograms
Hair colorBlack
Eye colorGreen
Personal Information (Real Life)
GenderMale
LocationUnited States
OccupationData scientist

Rear Admiral Lamin Draconi Zykara is a reserve officer in the Rebel Squadrons. He served as the 22nd Rebel Squadrons Fleet Commander, from March 11, 2014 through February 1, 2015.

Career History

Early Career

Lamin joined the Rebel Squadrons in March 2000 under the name Lamin Fresca, requesting postings in the Renegade Fleet and Rebel Squadrons Commando Division. After graduating with honors from the Academy, Lamin was assigned to Wyvern Squadron in the Renegade Fleet and Talon Squad in the RSCD. Eager to move up in rank, then-First Lieutenant Fresca began work on Operation: Hammerblow, a squadron-level X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter ITOD. Through this work, Lamin impressed his CO, Cole Landfarer, who promoted him to Captain. Cole eventually assigned Lamin as Wyvern Squadron XO, and subsequently promoted him to Major.

Soon after this, Lamin was appointed Guardian Wing CO. While serving as Guardian Wing CO, Lamin developed the Operation: Viper ITOD, detailing the efforts of his wing to free the Ynia Cluster from Imperial control. These stories and missions would later be integrated into canon Rebel Squadrons fiction by David Vaughan. Lamin served as Guardian Wing CO until December 2001, when he was promoted by Gavin Cantorph Kravis to the post of Renegade Fleet Second Officer. For his service as Guardian Wing CO, Lamin was promoted through Lieutenant Colonel. During this period, Lamin also began serving as part of the Aurora Force.

Lamin greatly enjoyed his time as Second Officer, working with Trate Daxson as XO and Gavin as CO. He continued Operation: Viper by turning it into the Zodiac series of missions, helped in pioneering the Renegade Flats Imperative, and competed in ORWI and ORWII. During this time, Lamin was also becoming a prominent writer within the Aurora Force, where he served with Trosa Aldair as a member of Redstar Squad. He would later be selected as Redstar XO and then CO. By the end of his service as Renegade Fleet Second Officer, Lamin had been elevated to the grade of Brigadier General. While serving as Second Officer, Lamin resigned his position in Talon Squad and left the RSCD.

Joining the Executive Staff

In November 2002, as Taan Ronar left the office of Minister of External Affairs, Lamin approached Fleet Commander Rahj Tharen regarding the position. Rahj selected Lamin for the position and welcomed him to the Executive Staff. In preparation for his new duties, Lamin resigned his position as Renegade Fleet Second Officer. This move began Lamin's ascent towards club-level prominence, but he later told others that he regretted not staying in his Fleet position, where he could have eventually achieved a Fleet Commanding Officer role.

As MoEA, Lamin quickly established himself as a hard worker who brought energy back to the once-dormant Office of External Affairs. Rahj expanded Lamin's duties as he demonstrated his strong work ethic, leading to the Office of External Affairs absorbing responsibilities for recruiting and publicity as well as formal external affairs. As Minister of External Affairs, Lamin presided over a renewal of formal diplomatic relations with the Emperor's Hammer and also spearheaded efforts to establish an "umbrella organization" to assist with ORW and other inter-club activities. Although these efforts were ultimately in vain, Lamin was recognized for his work by promotions through the rank of General. While serving as MoEA, Lamin also rejoined the RSCD for a short time at the request of Rahj Tharen. He served as RSCD SO and Recruit Orientation Center Commanding Officer (ROC CO) during a period of rebuilding for the RSCD.

In 2003, Rahj Tharen stepped down as Fleet Commander and Gavin Kravis was elected to succeed him. Lamin spoke to Gavin, advocating for the creation of a position he originally suggested to Rahj Tharen: the Chief of Staff. Gavin selected Lamin as the first Rebel Squadrons Chief of Staff and appointed him as Rebel Squadrons Second Officer, directly behind the Fleet Commander and Executive Officer. Lamin suddenly found himself in a very senior position without having ever served as a Fleet CO. This would ultimately prove to be challenging for the young officer.

Rebel Squadrons Chief of Staff

Lamin made several contributions to the club while serving as Chief of Staff. He directed the implementation of several key features found in the modern RS Roster Database, such as the tracking of award and promotion history. He oversaw the creation of the Celestial Fury competition, the successor to the Minos Conflict, the Outer Rim War, and the Outer Rim War II. Celestial Fury expanded on the original concept of these events by including a strategic component; clubs competed for control of sectors throughout a game map, based on the performance of their members in combat during the regular competition. In this way, the individual performance of each member also translated to a grander "campaign" than the previous "killboard"-style competitions. Lamin also coordinated and conducted a public chat with Star Wars author Aaron Allston, who he subsequently inducted as an honorary member of the Rebel Squadrons.

Lamin's time as Chief of Staff was not entirely successful, despite these contributions. His promotion to Chief of Staff coincided with his first year of college, and increasing real-life pressures added challenges to serving in a club position. In addition, Lamin had little experience as a member of the High Command, and had never served as a Fleet CO, limiting the amount of relevant RS experience he could bring to his position. Finally, Lamin's personality, along with the fact that he lacked experience as a Fleet CO, led to some friction with members of the High Command. Nonetheless, Gavin felt that Lamin's service merited a promotion to Rear Admiral (before the reintroduction of the grade of Commodore). While serving as Chief of Staff, Lamin remained active in other parts of the RS. He served as Commanding Officer of Twilight Squadron in the Renegade Fleet and continued to write in the Aurora Force.

Lamin served for nearly a year as Chief of Staff. He resigned in August 2004 and requested a demotion back to the grade of General, feeling that he did not deserve the grade of Rear Admiral in light of his performance as Chief of Staff. While Gavin Kravis disagreed with this assessment, he bowed to Lamin's wishes and reduced him in grade to General; he also decorated him with the Fleet Commander's Medal of Execllence. In addition, Lamin was awarded the Tatooine Suns and the Kessel Cup by incoming Chief of Staff Licah Fox.

Advisory Service

Lamin was granted a position on the Honorary High Command shortly after stepping down as Chief of Staff. He continued to serve in the Renegade Fleet and the Aurora Force. Within the Renegade Fleet, he served as Twilight CO, XO, and then eventually as a regular member. He eventually left the Renegade Fleet entirely in 2005, though he continued to write in the Aurora Force until late 2006, when his character was killed in a freak accident. After several months in reserve status, Lamin returned to active duty with the Vigilance Starfighter Group in July of 2007 once he learned that the new VSG CO was his longtime friend Kirghy Lommax. Shortly thereafter, Kirghy convinced him to also join up with the Zealot Special Operations Unit.

After the election of Kaz Falcion as Fleet Commander in 2008, Lamin was asked to step down from his seat on the Honorary High Command. He continued as a pilot and writer, but his activity levels waned throughout 2008. By January of 2009, Lamin had resigned from the Zealots, though he continued as a member of Ragnarok Squadron. Upon the election of Sienn Sconn as Fleet Commander, Lamin was invited to return to a newly constituted Honorary High Command. Lamin accepted Sconn's offer and served as a member of Honorary High Command until May of 2009, when Sconn appointed him as an alderman.

High Command and the Council of Justice

Lamin served as a voting member of High Command from May 2009 through June 2012. During his time on the High Command, he was promoted to Commodore in recognition of his work on revising the bylaws, and was recognized with the Excellency of Service for his long-standing and steadfast support of the club. In June 2012, Fleet Commander Joshua Hawkins nominated Lamin to replace Phil DarkFire as a Minister of Justice. Lamin's appointment was confirmed by a majority of the High Command and by both remaining Ministers of Justice, Dave Trebonious-Astoris and Gavin Cantorph Kravis. He was replaced on High Command by Cyrel Vandroth. Lamin served as a member of the Council of Justice until March 2014, when he was elected as the 22nd Rebel Squadrons Fleet Commander.

22nd Rebel Squadrons Fleet Commander

After his election as Fleet Commander, Lamin's biographical data was adjusted during a retcon that allowed for the use of his character as RSFC in the new fiction storyline developed by Fleet Admiral Michael Raven. This adjusted narrative is below, along with the original narrative.

At the start of his tenure as Fleet Commander, the club had languished for months with very low levels of activity. Lamin faced the task of both jump-starting the club's activity and modernizing it to better serve member needs. Lamin proposed that the core strength of the RS was community, and that the organization and technical infrastructure of the club needed to support and nourish community. This meant designing a system where small groups of members could organically communicate and participate in shared interests, without a rigid set of directives from a distant command hierarchy.

This concept became the core of the Task Force system, where small groups interested in a single activity or game could form when enough RS members expressed interest. Unfortunately, Lamin's ability to fully implement this vision was limited, as the club faced a dearth of experienced and technically proficient IO personnel. He attempted to lay the policy groundwork to support this initiative and even sought to develop his own programming skills to build the needed infrastructure, but the demands of the role of Fleet Commander kept him stretched thin. Ultimately, little progress was made on the technical infrastructure for the Task Force system during Lamin's tenure as Fleet Commander.

As Fleet Commander, Lamin was privileged to promote three officers to the rank of Fleet Admiral (Cody Qel-Droma, Sienn Sconn, and Licah Fox), which is the most Fleet Admiral promotions performed by a single individual in club history. He was also privileged to serve as the Fleet Commander presiding over the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Rebel Squadrons.

Lamin tendered his resignation to High Command on January 14, 2015, citing both professional and personal issues. He formally transferred command to Cyrel Vandroth on February 1, 2015. As of that date, Cyrel promoted Lamin to the rank of Rear Admiral in recognition of his service as Fleet Commander.

Current Status

Lamin entered reserve status for the majority of 2015 to recuperate from serving as Fleet Commander and to address real-life concerns (including relocating his home and taking a new job). He briefly returned to service in December 2016 as Assistant Rebel Squadrons Internet Officer under Cyrel Vandroth, working on special projects, but elected to return to reserve status in June 2016 due to other personal and professional obligations.

Selected Roles and Assignments

Partial List of Command and Staff Roles

Note that the below is not in chronological order.

Partial Unit History

Note that the below is not in chronological order.

Platforms and Activities

Current

  • Reserve

Former

  • TIE Fighter
  • X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter
  • X-Wing: Alliance
  • Fiction Writing
  • Jedi Knight
  • D6 RPG
  • The Old Republic
  • Minecraft

Fictional History

Updated Version

Lamin Draconi Zykara is a human male who was born on Sluis Van on 14:04:28 GrS. He was the only child of Jarvin Zykara and Keyan Draco. In 29:08 GrS, a fugitive Jedi Master named Ianc Zinod, fleeing the Imperial Inquisition, sought refuge with Lamin's family. Lamin's family was discovered harboring the Jedi Master, and both of his parents were killed. Zinod managed to fight off the Empire long enough to take Lamin and flee. An orphan at age 15, Lamin was left even more alone a few weeks later when Zinod himself was killed by an Imperial Inquisitor while trying to rendezvous with someone claiming to be a fellow survivor of the Jedi Purge. Zinod gave his life so that Lamin could escape.

Because of his affiliation with a known Jedi Master, Lamin was unable to seek help from the government. Without any support, he drifted to Dantooine, where he tried to eke out a life and remain in hiding. At age 17, he was hired onto a freighter crew, and spent the next four years working in a number of roles, learning to pilot and traveling the galaxy. Shortly after the Battle of Yavin in 35:03 GrS, Lamin's crew voted to officially begin supporting the Alliance. In 37:09 GrS, an Imperial ambush took out most of Lamin's crew and left him near death. After being rescued by the Alliance, he made the major commitment of signing up with the Alliance as an officer. The newly-appointed Flight Officer Zykara was assigned to an X-Wing squadron and flew in several battles, though he did not participate in the major battles of Hoth or Endor.

Lamin was promoted to Lieutenant in the Alliance and later the New Republic. When Task Force Republic Shield was formed, Lamin was transferred to the new unit, where he was assigned to Wyvern Squadron. He was appointed Wyvern Squadron Executive Officer in 40:04 GrS and promoted to Captain. In 40:10 GrS, Lamin was selected by New Republic Intelligence to assist in a mission in the Imgandru Asteroid Field. Though most details of this mission remain highly classified, Lamin is known to have encountered and neutralized a powerful Sith artifact. Many attribute Lamin's development of Force sensitivity in 41 GrS to his participation in this mission.

In 41:02 GrS, Lamin was moved up to Guardian Wing Commanding Officer and promoted through Commander. It was as Guardian Wing Commanding Officer that Lamin first met Sienn Sconn and Licah Fox, two fellow pilots who would become close friends. By the start of 42 GrS, then-Colonel Zykara was the Renegade Fleet Second Officer. He was promoted to Brigadier General in 42:04 GrS, but requested a transfer to a ground combat role in the Aurora Force in 42:07 GrS. As a condition of his transfer, Lamin was reduced in grade to Commander.

In the Aurora Force, Lamin established himself as an excellent infiltrator and skilled spy. He served in Redstar Squad and formed an intense bond with Commander Trosa Aldair, the Redstar Squad Commanding Officer, who eventually appointed Lamin as his Executive Officer. Over the next year, Lamin conducted several operations with Redstar Squad. During one, he was captured, held in Imperial captivity for 132 days, and brutally tortured both for information and as a spectacle for the other New Republic prisoners. Though he was eventually rescued, the experience left him a changed man.

In 43:05 GrS, Lamin was appointed as the Redstar Squad Commanding Officer, and appointed then-Lieutenant Commander Walex Partija as his Executive Officer. Lamin and Walex led Redstar through several additional operations, including infiltrating the planet Kamicolo, bringing down the rogue Griffon Fleet, and putting down a rebellion on Xenen. In this time, Lamin formed a strong bond with Walex, considering him one of the best friends he had in Task Force Republic Shield. Lamin also became fast friends with Kirghy Lommax, then serving as the Aurora Force Communications Officer.

In 44:02 GrS, the Battle of Blerthmore shook Task Force Republic Shield to its core. Kirghy Lommax was transferred to lead the newly formed Vigilance Starfighter Group; Redstar Squad was split into two units, with Darik Klivan and several other members being assigned to a new special operations unit in the Redemption Fleet known as the Zealots. Lamin and Walex led the remaining Redstar members through the rise and fall of Grand Admiral Thrawn and the Subterrel Conflict. By 44:09 GrS, Lamin had been promoted through Colonel again and was enjoying a period of relative peace in the Aurora sector.

However, personal tragedy struck in 45:01 GrS, when Lamin was grievously wounded by a power coil overload in his quarters. In his absence, Lieutenant Commander Partija became acting Redstar Squad Commanding Officer, while Lamin fought to survive his wounds. It was not until 45:07 GrS that Lamin was able to resume his duties. Only a few months into his return, he found himself thrust into battle again, when his trusted Executive Officer, Walex Partija, revealed himself as Colonel Walex Partija of the Imperial Special Forces. It became apparent that Lamin's accident had actually been arranged by Walex, allowing him to assume command of Redstar Squad and gain access to the Aurora Force Command Staff.

Lamin took the remaining members of Redstar Squad after Walex, fighting side by side with the Zealots under the command of Admiral Cody Qel-Droma. Together, the Zealots and Redstar pursued Walex through a two-year campaign that ended in 48:05 GrS with the pacification of the Aurora sector and the assassination of Walex during his trial for war crimes. Redstar Squad was disbanded and the remaining members were absorbed into the Zealots, while Lamin, a shell of his former self, refused several offers for command positions in both ground and air units and tried repeatedly to resign his commission. It was only the intervention of Kirghy Lommax, named Fleet Commander in 48:06 GrS, that kept Lamin in Task Force Republic Shield at all. Kirghy appointed Lamin as Minister of External Affairs, tasked him with interfacing between the Republic and the sector and planetary governments under Republic Shield control, and promoted him to Lieutenant General.

Lamin accepted the sunset posting of Minister of External Affairs as a request from his friend Kirghy, intending to serve for a few years and then retire. However, in 49:09 GrS, Kirghy, along with Sienn Sconn and Licah Fox, approached Lamin and prevailed upon him to serve as the next Fleet Commander of Task Force Republic Shield. Lamin refused at first, wishing to retire and having no interest in combat operations, but ultimately, Licah's arguments persuaded him to accept one more posting before retirement. Upon his appointment, Lamin accepted a promotion to Commodore and began serving as Fleet Commander of Task Force Republic Shield.

Several months into his command, Lamin was selected for promotion to Rear Admiral. In response to an uptick in pirate activities and concerns from several planetary governors, a public awards ceremony was planned and hosted in the city of New Moria on Tarsonis. Contrary to standard protocol, both Lamin and his Executive Officer, Kirghy Lommax, were in attendance at the event. During Lamin's acceptance speech, several explosive devices went off throughout the event venue. Thanks to the bravery and quick thinking of his Executive Officer, Lamin survived the assassination attempt. However, despite Kirghy's valient efforts, Lamin was severely injured in the attack. Doctors on Tarsonis placed him in a medically-induced coma, with serious doubts as to whether he would ever awaken. With both Lamin and Kirghy unable to carry out their duties, Cyrel Vandroth was appointed as Fleet Commander of Task Force Republic Shield.

Original Version

NAME: Zykara, Lamin Draconi

RANK: Brigadier General

SERIAL: 417722341-AXC

STATUS: Deceased

BRANCH: Rebel Squadrons / Task Force Republic Shield

CLEARANCE: TS/SCI

PREVIOUS NAMES: Fresca, Lamin Draconi

HEIGHT: 1.77 meters

WEIGHT: 76.1 kilograms

SPECIES: Human

HAIR: Black

EYES: Green

BLOOD: O+

QUALIFICATIONS AND AWARDS

  • Command Pilot Badge
  • Instructor Pilot Badge
  • Bomber Qualification Badge
  • Qualified on all major Republic starfighters
  • Jedi Knight and Member of the Jedi Council of the Aurora Force

DUTY HISTORY SYNOPSIS

  • Joined Rebel Squadrons at age 24, entering Renegade Fleet Academy as Lamin Draconi Fresca

FIRST TOUR OF DUTY: RENEGADE FLEET

  • Graduates as Master Cadet with Honors from Renegade Fleet Academy
  • Posted to Wyvern Squadron, Renegade Fleet, Rebel Squadrons; promoted directly to Second Lieutenant
  • Promoted through Captain
  • Assigned Wyvern Squadron Executive Officer by Commander Cole Landfarer
  • Receives promotion to Major
  • Travels to Sith artifact with Jedi Pasco Nervan; is imparted with Jedi powers
  • Friend and former commander Janus Arcadia is killed by an unknown assailant
  • Offered position of Guardian Wing CO by Renegade Fleet Commanding Officer, Doth Raandu; accepts and is transferred to HQ, Guardian Wing
  • Promoted through Commander
  • Requests transfer to Aurora Force; transfer approved after Commander Fresca accepts demotion to Major

SECOND TOUR OF DUTY: AURORA FORCE

  • Begins serving in Redstar Squad, Backlash Wing, Aurora Force under Major Trosa Aldair
  • While serving in Operation: Storm, captured by rogue Imperial elements; believed KIA by HQ, Aurora Force
  • Receives posthumous promotion to Commander
  • During Operation: Damocles, rescued by elements of Redstar Squad and Tigress Squadron; other Redstars rescued include Trosa Aldair
  • Officially changes name to Lamin Draconi Zykara; Zykara based off Sluis Van word 'zykaarai', meaning "he who is born again"
  • Assigned by Trosa Aldair to infiltrate the upper society of Kamicolo in pursuit of Alec Jaggers
  • Defects with Alec Jaggers under the orders of the Aurora Force CO, Indiana Bridger, beginning deep undercover assignment
  • Unable to maintain his legend, reports back to Commander Thuku and requests transfer back to Renegade Fleet

THIRD TOUR OF DUTY: RENEGADE FLEET

  • Appointed Renegade Fleet Second Officer and promoted through Colonel
  • Leads forces of the Renegade Fleet to free the planet of Dantuk IV
  • Receives promotion to Brigadier General; meets with Fleet Commander Rahj Tharen at promotion ceremony

FOURTH TOUR OF DUTY: AURORA FORCE

General Zykara served with the Aurora Force during the events surrounding the rise and fall of Grand Admiral Thrawn

  • Requests transfer back to Aurora Force
  • Transfer approved, contingent upon demotion to Lieutenant Commander
  • Appointed Redstar Commanding Officer by Trosa Aldair and promoted to Commander
  • Appointed Backlash Wing Second Officer and promoted to Lieutenant Colonel
  • Accidentally killed by power coil malfunction on Xenen, age 28
  • Posthumously restored to rank of Brigadier General

Characters

The Real World

In the real world, Lamin is a healthcare data scientist.