(Art by the lovely and wonderful @eldstunga)
Character Dossier - Captain Ela Kira. Pirate, Smuggler, Thief, Lover, PITA.
Name - Ela Kira (Possibly not born name)
Age - Unknown, Approx late twenties to early thirties by Galactic Standard Calendar.
Birthplace - Unknown (Possibly space born. Paperwork has conflicting statements. Possible forgery.)
Citizenship - Iridonian and Republic citizenship. Unconfirmed Imperial Citizenship.
Occupation - Transport Hauler Captain. Former military service, possibly Republic, but unverified.
Affiliation - Neutral and largely independent, but unconfirmed Imperial connections.
Hair colour - Silver gray
Eye colour - Orange
Skintone - Tanned and light orange
Height - 5'8
Weight -
Build - Strong and toned figure.
Tattoos - Iridonian Zabraki facial tattoos, star system right forearm, tech styled left forearm.
Augmentation - Minor eye modification. Unknown purpose - eyes have noticeable glow to iris with faint visible black lines, sclera darker and more grayish in colour.
Other notes - Scar lines on right cheek
Ela Kira is a pirate, a thief, a smuggler, and a criminal by all accounts and definitions under the Republic. A trail of boarding actions, heists, contraband and broken laws follow her across her over a dozen major systems, along with as many small bounties often placed by corporations seeking reprisal.
The oddity lies in the fact that while she fits all those descriptions - Ela does not fit them. Of all 47 confirmed piracy raids linked to her - only 6 had cases of minor bodily harm to sentients, with the situations being either someone attempting to surprise her or otherwise. Ela either seems to convince her targets into cooperation or stuns them and leaves them safely out of the way. It has been noted several crews report 'extremely annoying behaviour' from her, such as singing over the ship PA or playing Hutt Opera music, but otherwise no abusive or hostile behaviour to them.
Ela's preference for non-violence and non-lethal even extends to rivals and foes, with reports collected by several saying she famously doesn't hold grudges - even against repeated attempts on her by some of them. Most of her direct rivals seem annoyed by her at worst, but lack the usual murderous ill will found amongst most pirates. The limit of this ‘no grudges’ rule isn’t clear, as most of the ones we spoke to were unaware of anyone pushing her too far, though rumours exist.
Many bounty hunters we spoke to also reported this, some even remarking she seemed happy to see them, flirting and providing banter to 'regular' hunters who arrested her. She has even been cooperative at times out of familiarity.
It should be noted that several hunters confirmed her attitude has worked to some degree. A few admitted to successfully catching her, only to release her on, to quote a specific hunter; "very good and happy terms until round two for usual fun" - they refused to clarify further. One commented in passing that Ela is, using an exact quote, 'A better snuggler than she is smuggler' but also refused to clarify on this.
Further inspection into her piracy reveals a pattern and motive that helps explain this unusually friendly attitude towards her.
Ela focuses largely on stealing either credits or raiding corporate transports carrying very specific cargo. Twelve of her raids all involved her stealing medical equipment and supplies that had been sent for disposal and destruction - despite being functional and useful still. The fact said equipment has been tracked to sentientarian aid vessels and work only adds to the unusual behaviour of Ela.
To put it simply, she seems to steal from the rich corporations to give to the poor and in need of aid. Most credits she takes have been tracked to funding relief and medical efforts, as do most things she steals. The rest of the credits are seemingly dispensed across a dozen cantinas, clubs, and bars.
It has even been noted that several transport captains in the sectors Ela operates know of her and, like her rivals and hunters, treat her as a frustrating nuisance at worst. Some have been accused of aiding her through leaking the contents of their cargo, but this has been proven false on all accounts. They have been accused of being ‘overly cooperative’ as well, which is an unusual accusation and often dropped after the captains and crew point out they’re still being held at blasterpoint or stunned by the pirate.
It is, however, very clear she has supporters and sympathisers who do leak such things as her as the method and nature of her methods are too organised not to have such intel given to her.
Ela largely works alone, with the exception of making use of various droids to assist her larger or more complex operations. The few instances of her working with other sentients has seemingly always via her being hired, and only when the job follows her interests.
The pirate is often described as an open and energetic character, with a cheerful friendliness that can easily be mistaken as naiveness and innocence. Ela is neither, having proven herself as cunning and intelligent, but seems more than happy to play dumb for fun or her own odd amusement at times. Combined with her martial skills and piracy experienced, she is proven very capable of holding her own as needed, or outdoing opponents in other manners.
Overall, Captain Ela Kira is something of a decent person who's taken to piracy and heists for her own goals and excitement, with no apparent care to enrich herself on a financial level. Whilst she is still very much an issue and a criminal, it's of a better class than most of the more murderous characters. Attempting to get her to work towards our own goals and as an ally might be possible, if not for an apparent backer who already has the strings to pull her out of most arrests and prisons without too much fuss.
Additional note - She dislikes Kowakian monkey-lizards (and some sister species) with some passion and has been known to be openly hostile towards them. Given the nature of Kowakians this isn't a large surprise, however she is seemingly struck with very bad luck when dealing with them. Several escalations involving the creatures have gone poorly for Ela, which only furthers her negative views on them. This only powers the cycle of behaviour towards and from them.
It isn't clear what has caused this dislike to occur beyond the abrasive nature of the average Kowakian, but it seems to be going well in their favour more than Ela's.