Licah Fox

(Redirected from User:Licah Fox)
Jump to navigationJump to search
Member Profile
Licah Fox.jpg
Licah Fox
Career Information
Callsign Sheddah
Full RS Name Licah Fox
A.K.A. Fox, Licah
Rank Fleet Admiral
Join August 2001
Current Status Active
Current Station Minos Cluster
Current Offices Internet Office
Current Command Positions none
Other Current Positions Internet Officer
Past Positions of note tbd
Recruited by Juho's website
Personal Information (fictional)
Era(s) Late Imperial
Homeworld Valruudd
Species Mixed human
Gender Male
Age 35
Height 1.78 m
Weight 69.83 kg
Hair color Reddish and white
Eye color brown
Distinguishing features Foxlike
Personal Information (Real Life)
Name not disclosed
Gender Male
Location not disclosed
Age not disclosed
Occupation not disclosed

Fleet Admiral Licah Fox currently serves as the Rebel Squadrons Fleet Commander, the leader of the Rebel Squadrons. In the past, he served in a variety of roles in the Rebel Squadrons, all the way up through Fleet Commander in 2006. He has contributed many project ideas to the club, such as Beginner's Path, MrBot, the Council of Justice, Aldermen, the Missions Database, the RS Gallery, and this wiki itself. He has a hand in all administrative details of the club, and primarily does gaming with X-Wing Alliance.

Biography

Early Life on Valruudd

At a very young age, Licah Fox already had a penchant for hacking authorities' computers. At the age of eight, he managed to override the boot process of all of his school's computers with an infinite loop of the Valruudd national anthem. His flair for the theatrical showed itself at the moment when he walked into the administration's office just after he rebooted every computer. Nearly kicked out of school, he only received reinstatement after testaments on his behalf from his parents and a local bartender named Snappleguy who served him Snapples several days a week.

As a teenager, Licah explored the distant recesses of the HoloNet in an attempt to learn more about the universe. Deep into a message board devoted to starfighter combat tips, he came across an advertisement by Juho Taskinen for the Rebel Squadrons. Though in admiration of the autonomous frontier style of the RS, and the name itself (Licah considered himself anti-authoritarian in many ways), he gave it little further thought until he happened to run into Snappleguy at a local bar a couple of years later. He hadn't seen Snap for almost four years, and asked him where he'd gone. To Licah's surprise, Snap had spent his time commanding a squadron and even a wing of the Rebel Squadrons. Licah always remembered Snap's words afterwards: "It'd suit you, Licah. That little stunt you pulled at school a long time ago? They'd recognize your talent and give you important work to do." Along with Snap's stories of the flying ability of his squadmates, Licah suddenly felt a strong urge to get off his planet for the first time and join the Rebel Squadrons.

First Assignment: FireClaw Squadron

Upon arrival at the Academy, Licah received an assignment to share a bunk bed with Dev Azzameen, a fateful pairing of pilots that would continue for many years and induce terror into enemies' hearts. After they both completed their training with distinction, they received a transfer to FireClaw Squadron under the command of Menshk Vrei'Sik. After getting used to the pace of the Patriot Battle Fleet, Licah and Dev soon put FireClaw on the map. When Menshk received a promotion to Wing CO, Licah took over command of FireClaw and turned it into the cream of the crop in the PBF. For an entire year, FireClaw pilots continually destroyed more Imperial ships than those of any other squadron, and led all twelve squadrons on the leaderboard. Licah convinced Snappleguy and Nefo T'chir to rejoin squadron stalwarts such as Jairo Pantoja and Jack "Blazer" Barnes, amongst others. Even Kirghy Lommax flew with the squadron at its height. Knowledge of FireClaw's fabled history, including stints as CO by Jack Stewart and Mike "MacMan" McEwen, kept Licah motivated to make FireClaw the very best of the Rebel Squadrons.

Special Operations: Ace Pilot

As Licah's time in service grew, he received many requests from command to assist with special operations elsewhere on the frontier. Licah eventually made the decision to leave his full-time position in FireClaw and fly with Skull Squadron, Jedi Squadron, Red Dragon Squadron, Stinger Squadron, and Phantom Squadron, among many others. He developed a reputation as one of the top five pilots in the Rebel Squadrons, able to complete any mission which had a remote probability of success. In one particularly famous mission, Licah allowed the Empire to disable him and begin boarding his ship before he secretly repaired it, powered up, and destroyed the whole strike force arrayed against him. Along with a few other pilots, he flew most of the RS's reconnaissance missions, as the elite group always ended up taking down a whole host of enemy fighters while collecting data on capital ship movements.

Hacking into Command

After almost two years of service, Licah had grown dissatisfied with always taking orders from the top brass, even when the leadership seemed unable to divine the necessary actions that seemed obvious to him. He used his computer expertise already displayed on Valruudd to gradually hack into the RS's mainframe, and eventually gained access to the very core of the database, including all internal messages beyond the official communiques, and the ability to mimic the identity of any officer. He kept his abilities under wraps until a particularly frustrating moment, when due to his access, he saw that the RSXO had falsified documents relating to his performance in previous missions. Immediately filing a grievance about it without any thought of consequences, but only out of a sense of righteousness, the top command staff quickly discovered Licah's illicit activities and not only dismissed his case against the RSXO, but FC Rahj Tharen very nearly expelled him from the RS with a dishonorable discharge. Only the private appeal of Dave Trebonious-Astoris, who saw Licah's potential, kept his career alive. Rahj, with misgivings, decided to take Dave's advice, and appointed Licah as provisional RS Internet Officer, which had largely lain vacant since the departure of Shikkie Kaaran many years earlier. The special skillset required for the job, along with its high-pressure nature, had meant the total absence of anyone qualified and willing to fill the position properly. Embracing his new set of tasks, Licah set about updating the whole communications network of the Rebel Squadrons, a task which would take him many years.

Tactical Developments

The ascent to the Executive Staff proved pivotal in Licah's career. Though technically confined to undertaking others' tasks, he soon tackled fundamental structural issues in the whole fleet, and suggested small and large solutions that made the top brass take notice. His experience in solving problems as a pilot transferred well to a broader picture of the whole war front. Licah began to receive appointments to lead major strike forces and soon found himself in charge of Retribution Fleet. At this point, a peculiar flaw in Licah's character first revealed itself fully. While extremely enthusiastic and hard-working, he could only remain in command of a particular operation so long before detrimental health effects overtook him due to failing to address basic needs. So vigorously did he approach every new task that the requirements of a constant maintenance of command over time eluded him, and indeed almost jeopardized the very operations he had undertaken. He led R2F to several victories, but then abruptly resigned and returned to working on the HoloNet and flying with various squadrons, where he felt more comfortable due to a much smaller public profile.

Ascent to Fleet Commander

The call to command followed Licah relentlessly, despite his attempts to remain a regular officer. Several more times he received requests from the RSFC to lead major units, including Patriot Battle Fleet, Renegade Fleet, and Talon Wing in the Intrepid Battle Group. He served all of these units well, but gave up command of each after a relatively short time due to the inevitable situation already outlined. Finally, FC Gavin Cantorph Kravis asked Licah to serve as Chief of Staff, third-in-command of the entire Rebel Squadrons, which gave him a taste of the incredible demands and boundless possibilities offered by service in the top echelons. He performed his duties in an exemplary manner and with much aplomb, but after several months, including a stint as acting RSXO, reluctantly stepped aside, sensing an impending health crash, which had grown worse each time he took a high responsibility.

Two years passed, during which time Licah accomplished an incredible amount in rewriting the entire Rebel Squadrons HoloNet, and enjoyed a golden age of successful RS missions. But stirrings had arisen from the fleet, making their way to High Command, of dissatisfaction with Gavin's replacement as FC. Licah found himself taking on more and more work behind the scenes, quietly putting out logistical and tactical fires as top brass established a pattern of assuming the status quo would work, and ignoring new threats. Matters reached a head when HC decided to remove the leader of the Rebel Squadrons in a rare vote of no confidence, and the fleet found itself in immediate and dire need of active leadership. Knowing that he had the knowledge and ability to lead the RS effectively, and suppressing his instinct that he would lose all ability to take care of himself in that role, Licah accepted the nomination and HC elected him as the next Fleet Commander.

The Fateful FCship

Finally able to implement many of the ideas he had had for so long, Licah went into overdrive. The FC position consumed him: he spent as many as twenty hours each day working to create new possibilities for the officers and refine the current fleet operations. He laid out the groundwork for Outer Rim War III, studied the intimate details of every single officer's tasks, and filled positions that had lain vacant for seemingly forever. He personally visited the main officers' mess hall every day to make sure he heard everyone's concerns regularly. During one of these visits, an encounter happened that made a permanent impression on him. He broke up a fairly nasty verbal fight between two high-ranking officers, instigated by MGN Randy Starkiller, whom he had considered a friend. Randy followed Licah out of the mess hall and gave him every piece of his mind. In particular, he accused Licah of selling out and turning into an oppressive authority figure. While this accusation seemed unjust to Licah, nonetheless it struck him with great force: in the eyes of this officer (and possibly many more), he had turned into the very entity that he had opposed so deeply most of his life. In summary, this simple and seemingly trivial argument with Randy broke Licah's motivation to provide the central authority of the Rebel Squadrons. Perhaps it could have happened at any point with anyone else, who can say? He continued to serve in his position as best he could, but grew somber and morose, and all of the command staff began to remark on his new reluctance to provide direction and make decisions. Eventually, one of the few officers who could match Licah's energy, and a close personal friend, FA Michael Raven broached the topic of Licah starting to fail at his position. Immediately chagrined by his recent performance and confronting the situation, Licah abruptly sent his resignation to the entire fleet, shocking the command staff and forcing Indiana Bridger to take command of the fleet on short notice.

Further Endeavors

FA Dave Trebonious-Astoris, having studied Licah's career (and indeed having launched it in a certain way), had anticipated this eventuality better than anyone. Licah had accomplished a great deal in his short tenure, including the institution of Aldermen onto High Command, representing general officers' interests for the first time. As one of the first Aldermen, Dave knew in detail all of the current RS operations, and HC elected him as FC following Licah's departure. He continued the work Licah had started, and brought the RS to a level of coordinated operations that still exceeds any other period of fleet history, in many ways. After taking a long leave of absence and spending time with his family on Valruudd, Licah quietly returned to active service and resumed his work with the HoloNet and flying occasional missions. Indeed, through his work behind the scenes, many projects came to light during this time, including Beginner's Path, a full-scale training program for all new recruits; MrBot, a personal assistant used on the RS HoloNet; and the Mission Database, a simulator containing hundreds of historical missions.

Licah returned to command eventually as Operations Officer, Alderman and, later, head of Tactical Developments. As one of the longest-tenured officers in the Rebel Squadrons (16 consecutive years and counting), Licah maintains an institutional memory matched only by the six officers who have served longer than he has: Codyman, Kaz, Kirghy, Cyrel, Spokes, and Gavin Kravis, as well as IronMan and Raven. Licah still flies missions as needed, and continues to maintain the HoloNet.

Appearance and Personality

Licah is descended paternally from the Vulpes species, and as the only member of that species serving in the RS, all officers immediately recognize him due to his fox-like humanoid appearance. Due to copious shedding during the stress of battle, his personal fighters have a special filtration system to ensure clean air. From his Vulpes heritage he has below-average strength, but excellent reaction time, and fantastic senses of hearing and smell.

For most of his life, Licah had the easygoing, relaxed attitude of a creature who knew he could match any rival in combat or intellectual wit, took all assignments with aplomb, and especially enjoyed the hardest tasks that few accepted. Towards recent years, however, the pressure and responsibilities of long years of difficult leadership have made Licah much more serious, and an extensive list of lost squadmates has kept Licah from stepping into the cockpit except in cases of sore need. The loss of so many good officers in Command also has placed a heavy burden on Licah. He and Joshua Hawkins alone share the responsibilities of maintaining the HoloNet, with a list of duties that remains the same as in years past, but without the help of dozens of other officers.

Gear

Though capable of basic combat skills, Licah now only engages the enemy behind the controls of a starfighter or from a tactical map. He possesses only a standard-issue blaster and only borrows other gear in special cases. As the second-most decorated officer in the RS (214 medals) behind ADM Tyrell "Spokes" Borran, Licah almost always foregoes his formal dress uniform, preferring a sleeker, lighter version for daily work. Licah has a unique link to the main RS database implanted in a chip in his wrist that enables him to access every single piece of information on the network, far more than even the FC can easily access. With such a risk of compromise if captured, he has set up the chip to operate only under very specific conditions, which he refuses to share with anyone.

RS Career

Positions Held

History

External Links