Tor Kajan

Tor Kajan is a character in The Grand Battle S3G1.

Weapons/Abilities
The Telpori-Han are relatively unique among species, delineated primarily by their "rebirths". Over time, their metabolism generates a toxic, combustible chemical that builds up in their bodies. After a certain amount of time (usually a ten-minute absolute minimum), they begin to be capable of igniting the compound, which causes their entire body to burst into flame. It then reforms, resulting in the healing of minor or moderate injuries and an overall changed appearance. As the concentration of the chemical rises, its toxic effects become more pronounced. The instinctual urge to combust rises as well, making it difficult for a Telpori-Hal to go over an hour and a half without regenerating their form. (The official record for maintaining a single form is, as of Tor's abduction, three days. Certain tales and legends refer to Telpori-Han resisting the change for five or six days, but such claims are unverifiable.)

Because their physical forms are unreliable for recognition, the Telpori-Han developed the ability to identify others based on their hal. (Both hal and ganel translate to "a person". The distinction becomes clear when considering the question "Are you the same person you were when you were twelve?" You are the same continuous life form, the same hal- you are still attached to the same name, you still have the same family, that sort of thing. But your motivations are different, you have new memories, and you are physically different- you are a different ganel.) Most species interpret this as an ability to see one's soul, but it does no more than a physical look would, just operating on what some would term a "spiritual" plane- a Telpori-Han can identify a person, get a general feel for their emotional state, or perhaps see the general shape of some emotional scars, but it doesn't extend to the typical "mind-reading and past-probing" that most outsiders assume.

Description
As a Telpori-Hal, Tor's appearance is always changing. Generally, though, the Telpori-Han are humanoid. Due to a high overall iron content, they possess a brownish, rusty skin tone. It also leaves their hair stiff and wiry, common colours ranging from silver to a near-black brown.

Tor's clothing are typical Telpori-Hal fare. The fabrics themselves are composed of finely woven strands of metal, smooth and sleek but extremely cold to the touch. His steel-fabric overjacket, which hangs down to just above his knees, has three straps that buckle across the front to secure it shut. Underneath, he wears a standard shirt and slacks, both standard steel-fabric as well.

At the moment of entry into the competition, Tor's face is sharp, angular, and vaguely hawkish. He stands at about 5'10" but is thin enough that he appears taller. His silver-flecked light-brown hair sweeps straight back from his face, developing a few waves before ending mid-neck, and his skin is a shade darker than usual, falling definitively into the "rusty red" category.

Biography
Tor Kajan, age 53, was born July 3rd, 2382 aboard the Niri-Duntul Nulhu, a diplomatic vessel en route to Bertrand City, the second largest city-ship in the Human Federation and the closest to Telpori-Hal space. His mother was one of a dozen diplomats sent to negotiate a permanent agreement between the Telpori-Hal and the Inter-Species Confederation, and his family was one of the first to make their homes on a human city-ship.

Tor and the few other young Telpori-Han were taught well enough by the tutor brought by the diplomats, but their differences in age meant that they had to do most of their studying on their own. Tor did well enough in the assigned curriculum, but he found himself especially drawn to his parents' fields- his mother, the diplomat, was always happy to help him develop his skills working with other people and cultures, and his father, the engineer, would let Tor join him in the engine room and show him the ins and outs of their ship whenever they went on trips to other cities.

In his late teens, Tor got a job at a store fairly near his home, but was soon fired because his employer didn't like him taking breaks every 45 minutes or so to regenerate, simply telling him to "tough it out a while longer." The official justification was entirely fabricated, and had it not been for the risk to the delicate diplomatic process of joining the Inter-Species Confederation, his family might have launched an equality lawsuit. Similar things happened several more times until, in his mid-twenties, he was fed up. He'd had it with uncaring bosses telling him to just "suck it up", he'd had it with explaining his species over and over to every person he dealt with for any significant period of time, and he'd had it with having to always check that there was a fireproof place within a few minutes of wherever he was. He wasn't going to deal with it any more, and he had just the plan to manage it.

After a fair amount of research, he eventually found an opportunity on a small shipping company- a single ship, a crew of about 10 or so, and no more than four people of the same species. The captain, a Hattallan by the name of Glenn Ternell, valued inter-species cooperation quite highly, and when Tor approached him about the opening as the assistant engineer, his situation endeared him to him just as much as his skill with a wrench.

After about five years, the ship's primary engineer left, leaving Tor the sole person responsible for the ship's upkeep. As the years went on, the crew changed and grew, Tor eventually moving his way up to second-in-command.

When Captain Ternell passed away in 2419, the crew broke up. Tor hadn't spent much on luxuries over his career up to that point, and he had a fair amount of money saved up. Taking out a loan, he bought a ship of his own, and on August 15, 2419, the Phoenix was launched. Several of Ternell's old contacts immediately took up contracts with him, and that was enough to get him started.

He never stopped studying human culture, but he never really forgave them either. He'd met very few humans who had been open and accommodating to his species, and he never stopped having to explain things, and he could always see that momentary expression of "whoa, that's freaky" cross their face. He learned more about their history and culture so that he could conduct business better, but he always preferred doing his business with other nonhumans.

It was 2436 by the time he was abducted, and he'd made a decent life of it. He'd done a few things he regretted and a few that weren't quite legal, but he'd made his life as best he could.