Full Name: Senator Morden Odari-Mosora
Nickname: Morden
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Homeworld: Bakura
Light Side/Dark Side Ratio: 7/7
Age: 59
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 160lbs
Morden is played by Sam Neil
DESCRIPTION:
Mature yet handsome, Morden Odari-Mosora stands at 5’10” in height with an agile, yet substantial build. He has short, dark brown hair and a well-groomed beard and moustache which display only a slight scattering of grey, and equally dark eyes. His stern looking face and rigid posture give him a general air of authority, which few would dare to dispute. His strict demeanour is also reflected in the clothes he wears: pristine shirts with high starched collars, snugly fitting neck ties, waistcoats, and heavy coats made of dark, sombre coloured fabrics.
BACKGROUND:
Growing up on Bakura, Morden was the oldest of the three Odari children and destined to take over his father’s position within the Galactic Senate upon his coming of age. Such was the legacy of the Odari family and although Morden had a relatively happy and frivolous childhood, preparing the young boy for his impending duty was always in the minds of his parents.
At the age of twenty-five he finally ascended to the position of Senator, after assisting his father in his duties from the age of eighteen. In the years that followed, Morden built up a solid reputation both on Bakura and Coruscant for his diplomacy and negotiation skills by combining effective management with unprecedented moral character. Over the years, Morden moulded himself into the perfect archetype of everything that a politician should be – honest, decent and fair, while dividing his time equally between his home planet and the Galactic Senate.
Morden was in his mid-thirties when he met and fell in love with young noble girl Niham Amaya Mosora, a dark-haired beauty with pale skin and fawn-like eyes. The two were soon wed, Niham travelling with Morden to and from Bakura and Coruscant as and when his schedule dictated. Their marriage was a relatively happy one, with few disruptions or disagreements. Niham being a gentle and virtuous soul with little inclination for personal aspirations, was happy to walk in her husband’s shadow and attend to all his needs. Moderate and even-tempered, she never thought to oppose Morden’s decisions even if she did not always entirely agree with him.
However, when it came to children, the couple were less than blessed. Niham suffered through several miscarriages, never able to carry a child to full term. Though desolate, she was determined not to be defeated for Niham harboured a strength of will unparalleled when provoked. Six years after their union, she finally fell pregnant and together Niham and Morden made preparations to move their family permanently to Coruscant.
Complications on Bakura delayed their final journey, and Niham was heavily pregnant – due to give birth any day, but also determined to return to Coruscant for the delivery. However, fate was to intervene when Niham went into labour prematurely, still on board the transport ship. Her birth was difficult, putting the woman under tremendous strain. Niham lost a lot of blood and subsequently fell victim to a post-birth infection. She only briefly held her baby daughter in her arms before death claimed her.
Morden was distraught but knew that he must find the strength to carry on if only for his new born baby. He poured all of his love into the child, naming her Arica Niham Odari-Mosora after the mother that she would never know. However, Morden found the pressures of being a single parent and continuing his duties within the Senate particularly burdensome. Though he had much love for his daughter he never seemed to have the time he needed to devote to her upbringing and so, while regretting his decision, Morden knew he had to solicit extra assistance.
Taking advice from several friends, Morden hired experienced nurse and nurse’s aid, Naimai and Evie Yasenia to take care of the daily toil and complications of raising an infant while he attended to his other duties.
Morden was adamant however, to still play a part of his daughter’s upbringing. Though his responsibilities of office often took him off world for months at a time, he made sure to leave strict instructions with her various governesses and the Yasenia’s upon how to raise daughter. When on Coruscant he took a more ‘hands on’ approach, determined to impart upon the young girl a sense of discipline and restraint – the kind of qualities that Morden had instilled within himself.
But amongst such strictures, Morden also allowed himself to indulge his daughter’s innate sense of fun. She reminded him so much of Niham, and felt his wife’s loss so keenly when in Arica’s company that he found it impossible at times not to indulge her every whim. He taught her to dance and cultivated her appreciation of music. When stationed on Coruscant they would often frequent the opera and afterwards would dance up a storm in their front parlour until they were both exhausted and could hardly draw breath.
He also taught her to swim, fostering a confidence in the water that seemed unfathomable at times to others.
But it was clear to all that Arica had a deep love and respect for her papa and missed him terribly when he left her behind on Coruscant. Yet Morden was adamant that space travel had been the cause for Niham’s untimely death, putting her under unnecessary stress and strain, and would not take any chances with his only daughter.
However, the growing corruption within the Senate soon forced Morden to remain on Coruscant permanently. He was against the vote to give certain considerations to Chancellor Palpatine but was well aware that many of his fellow Senators had been bribed or coerced into doing so. When General Grievous and the Separatist Droid Army waged a violent battle in the upper atmospheres of Coruscant’s capital, kidnapping Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and slaughtering thousands of Coruscant’s inhabitants, Morden only just managed to survive with his life and that of his daughter.
As the Clone Wars came to an end, Morden had already decided to send his daughter away but it was Palpatine’s proclamation of a New Order that finally settled the issue. Morden had his reservations about Palpatine’s transformation of the Old Republic and worried about Arica’s safety should his opposition be discovered.
Anxious to secure a place of safety for his precious daughter, away from the reaches of the growing Empire, Morden called upon an old friend of the family – Baron Oldrak Bertrayn. Their two families had been close for years, having many related business dealings, and Morden was well acquainted with the problems facing the House of Bertrayn. It was thus decided between the two old friends that Arica would go live with the Bertrayn’s on the distant planet of Vorgrell and, should anything befall Baron Bertrayn’s present wife and, provided that all parties were amenable, Arica would take her place in order to provide Oldrak with a son and heir who would preserve the family line.
Arica was not told the true reason for her sudden removal to Vorgrell, a fact that Morden was adamant about should their arrangement prove to be no longer favourable. Convincing Arica that she would be safer on Vorgrell proved to be a challenge in itself and until that moment Morden never realised what a headstrong girl his daughter could be – just like her mother.
However, with much persuasion Arica finally agreed and it has now been two years since she departed Coruscant for Vorgrell. Morden misses her terribly, even though his position within the Imperial Senate manages to keep him occupied. He employs his days in the futile task of trying to reverse the damage to the Senate created in the wake of the Clone Wars. Morden knows that his task is an impossible one, the amendments to the Constitution that ceded powers of government to Palpatine heralding the beginning of the end for the Senate. But he must try regardless.
His work continues.
POWERS & ABILITIES:
Intelligent and well-educated, Morden is a skilled negotiator with years of experience and training within the Galactic Senate. He is also very accomplished in various other pursuits: he can play several musical instruments with particular skill and is able to speak fluently in many languages including Huttese, Rodian and Ithorian. Morden is also a strong swimmer – a skill that he insisted his daughter also learn.
ITEMS:
Morden has few positions of what he would consider any real worth, he puts little value upon material possessions and as such does not feel the need to participate in the needless acquirement of objects. The few things he does own make up the furnishings of his merge yet comfortable home plus various books, musical instruments and other equipment necessary in the cultivation of an educated mind.
His one exception is his daughter Arica, a beautiful and charming girl in her late teens. Though he would dispute the fact, Morden could often be accused with treating his daughter as a possession rather than a person in her own right – although this is more the product of an overprotective and demanding father than any real desire to control the girl.
- Login to post comments
Post to Twitter
