Professor Arthur Sunrider
From TFC Galactopedia
Categories: Rebels | Chandrilians | TFC Episode 1 | TFC Episode 2 | Mouse
- Full Name: Arthur Cornelius Augenstine Sunrider
- Alliance: Alliance to Restore the Republic (Rebel Alliance)
- Title: Theoretical Physics Advisor
- Species: Chandrilian (Muridae)
- Age (Ep1): 26
- Sex: Male
- Assignment or Location: Head of Project "TDR16" ; Rikta-sect, under the command of General Kithain Tiharr, Sullust
- Born: 1774 (Janus Ager Calendar)
- Location of Birth: Chandrilla
- Parents: Cornelius Sunrider, Augenstine Sunrider
- Education: Chandrilian Theoretical Physics Academy, University of Coruscant, Corellian Association for the Advancement of Galactic Technology, Imperial Theoretical Research Department
- Marital Status: Single.
- Created By: Marc Xavier
Background:
Arthur Cornelius Augenstine Sunrider was born the younger child of two parents on Chandrilla. A social outcast since his first days at the local elementary education institution, Arthur learned how to be a recluse at a very early age. Most of his time was spent huddled quietly in his room, reading books about theoretical sciences, or watching recorded holovids of long winded professors spout off their theories about time and space. By the age of eight, Arthur knew more about theoretical physics than most of his teachers at his local secondary school. He earned high marks in his classes, especially math and science, but often found himself on the receiving end of scorn and ridicule from other students.
His parents, Cornelius and Augenstine, were both distressed by their boy's lack of social prowess. Unlike his sister, Judy Sunrider, who was often proclaimed as the center of attention by her schoolmates, Arthur did his best to avoid people altogether. As his years progressed, Sunrider became more and more recluse, even cutting off communication with his own family. His parents made several attempts to have him psychologically evaluated, but young Sunrider was intelligent enough to fool the head doctors.
When Arthur turned fifteen, he abandoned his secondary education to study theoretical physics at the local academy. There, an Imperial professor named Lance Forrest taught him the basic theories and principles on which the Empire based its warship designs. Often times, the two would be seen roaming the halls of the academy, bantering back and forth about space folds, quantum flexures, and other ideas that would give any ordinary person a splitting headache.
As the years progressed at the Academy, Lance began to regard young Arthur as his protégé, and gave him access to material and equipment kept secret from all but the innermost circle of Imperial technicians and engineers. But before Arthur could learn much about these secret systems, a local rebellion against the mistreatment of a student at his old secondary school turned his life around.
Elam Otoo, a young man who had attended Arthur's old school, was charged with assault after accidentally colliding with one of the new teachers who had begun work there the year Arthur left. The young man accidentally bumped into her backside and caused her to drop a stack of papers onto the ground. The woman became furious, and filed a complaint directly to the Imperial Palace. A request was sent for the young boy to come to Coruscant, where he would face charges of Assault Against a Servant of the Empire; the sentence of which would be certain death. The local student body rallied behind the boy, accusing the Imperial bureaucracy of going too far this time. When the Imperial transport came to pick up the boy, a group of protesters led by Arthur's sister Judy attacked the shuttle and drove the Imperials away. Elam Otoo was saved, but the victory was short lived.
A week later, another Imperial detachment was sent to the school, but this time their mission orders were not to deliver anyone, but rather to kill Otoo and any protesters who stood in their way. Judy and her group, ignorant of this and spurred on by their previous victory, stormed the shuttle to suddenly find their numbers being cut down by Storm Trooper blaster fire. Three dozen students were killed, and among their numbers were Otoo, and Judy Sunrider.
Arthur left the Academy and spent a year home with his family to ease the loss his sister. From that day forward, Arthur determined to learn all he could about the technology of the Imperials, so that some day he would be able to make them pay for the atrocities they committed. He attended the University of Coruscant, took several classes at the Corellian Association for the Advancement of Galactic Technology, and finally was hired on the Imperial Theoretical Research Department in order to advance the Empire's technological prowess.
Several years later, the Rebel movement under the original Admiral Ackbar staged a raid on a supply convoy leaving Chandrilla for what was later revealed to be a base somewhere in the vicinity of the Maw Black Hole Cluster. This battle, called The Skirmish at Chandrilla, cost the Imperials a supply of rare materials and hard-to-construct devices that were part of a DEATH STAR's reactor casing. During the course of the battle, Arthur was able to get to one of the escape pods on the Lancer frigate he'd been stationed on and jetison himself. He then piloted his pod toward the Rebel armada, transmitting a "white flag" signal and successfully defected to the Rebel Alliance.
After his introduction into the actual Alliance, Arthur was overcome with eagerness to hurt the Imperials in whatever way he could. Indeed, it was Arthur's expertise that helped the Alliance capture several Imperator I Star Destroyers, and use some of the captured technology in Rebel designs. But as the battle dragged on and the Rebellion's numbers began to fall, Arthur became acutely aware that trying to get revenge against the Empire was folly. He would never feel his sister's death avenged unless he helped bring about the total and complete eradication of the Empire, and that was far from possible.
The next few years saw a crestfallen and stricken young man, unsure of his place in the universe, and who had lost faith in his own abilities. That was until he met another physicist by the name of Isao Aduki, who had some interesting basic theories on inter-dimensional travel. Both Arthur and he became good friends and researched exhaustively on the principles, theories, and probabilities of making contact with other dimensions.
When the Rebellion was shattered after the Massacre of Endor, Isao and Aduki became part of the "Rikta" splinter group under General Kithain Tiharr. Kithain was a young and brash individual, set in his ways and stubborn at first. When Aduki and he first brought the idea of trans-dimensional technology before him, Kithain dismissed it as pure fantasy. But a few demonstrations of the potential of this technology soon convinced Tiharr that there was credence to the idea after all. Kithain and his men, who had been considering setting up base on the planet of Sullust, gave the final nod to the project and constructed Sullust Base in one of the underground ruin cities of the extinct Sullustians. The intense geothermal energy of the planet was more than enough needed to power the experimental trans-dimensional gateway, but in the final weeks of the scheduled testing plan, the Imperials got wind of the base's existence, and sent no less than a DEATH STAR out to exterminate the Rebel infestation. The Sullust Device was accordingly rushed into the testing phase. But an anomalous energy beam, later revealed to be from a simultaneous transwarp experiment by the USS FELIX on the opposite dimensional plane, caused the device to overload. There was a subsequent energy dispersion that engulfed the approaching DEATH STAR and tossed it into the other dimension, leaving a torn rift in its wake.
Escaping from the base with the last group of Rebels from Kithain's sect, and ignorant of the events that took place surrounding the rushed experiment, Arthur was brought to Mon Calamari, where he met the son of Ackbar, Admiral Sonchu. As before, the Admiral dismissed the trans-dimensional idea as fantasy and set Arthur to work on developing super-weapons to be added to the New Rebellion's arsenal. However, Arthur secretly kept work on his project and analyzed his experiment from every angle he could think of, but there were still variables he could not pin down. The Ambush at Imatia shed some light on the results of the experiments, with the spotting of a mysterious starfleet beyond the edges of the battle zone, but still the motives of these supposed extra-dimensional visitors is unknown.
Character Notes:
Arthur is amazingly intelligent and his ease of working with numbers has earned him the title "furry calculator" among other, less affectionate names. He still suffers remorse from time to time about the loss of his sister, because if Arthur hadn't left school early, he might have been able to save her. He is incredibly shy around people, and completely clueless about women, mostly because they didn't give him the time of day when he was younger.
TFC Canon
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