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Zurrak Vakaniz
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Physical Characteristics
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| Species | Gorn |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | 2.5 meters (8′2″) |
| Weight | 157 kilos (345 pounds) |
| Eye Colour | Green |
| Hair Colour | None |
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Demographics
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| Date of Birth | November 25th, 2395 |
| Place of Birth | Nimbus III |
| Marital Status | Single |
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Biographical Information
Growing up
Zurrak was born as the son of two Gorn Workers and lived in a lower class economic status on Nimbus III. However this didn’t put a damper or ruin his mood, known for his independent, fiery and strong attitude along with a surprisingly sharp mind, Zurrak had all the makings of a great warrior even at such a young age.
During his early childhood, he made a deep friendship with a Ferasan named Lor’Zeon and an Orion named Lilith. These three formed an incredibly strong bond, thicker than blood, truly an inseparable trio of troublemakers.
Often having adventures of their own in their home city, whether that be pretend adventures or as they grew up, some very interesting ones. Their adventures, as they grew up, became more and more dangerous. Getting gigs from various fixers, working for various crime lords.
They never strayed from their dream, to one day have a ship of their own and travel the stars looking for battles and adventures. And to achieve this dream meant to go to the Klingon Academy on Qo’Nos, become warriors in the Klingon Empire and find adventures and battles across the galaxy itself.
Zurrak often found himself as the leader and the muscle of the trio, especially given his immense size and muscle, but despite that they always viewed each other as equals. They always had each other’s backs and weren’t afraid to stand up for each other regardless of the odds.
When they left Nimbus III for Qo’Nos, it was on their terms. They got the same shuttle, the same course, the same time and of course they sat right next to each other.
The Academy
While they did take different classes, they all aimed for a tactical career. Zurrak particularly chose more command and heavy assault classes, allowing him to fulfill the niche he achieved in the trio. While he wasn’t the absolute top of the class, he still was in the top 3 overall highest achievers.
Zurrak of course received a few discriminatory peers and comments, often thinking he was some dumb brute to his immense size. It always brought Zurrak incredible joy to prove his discriminators wrong in absolutely hilarious ways.
Of course, the Trio always met whenever they could and discussed their classes and how they were doing during the day. As one has expected at this point, they also have shared dormitories.
Zurrak’s impressive work on his classes gained him a bit of fame but also did impress his teachers. It made his achievements all the more impressive as he had a consistent performance.
The Trio’s performances and eventual graduation had led them to be stationed on a Negh’Tev ship known as the Heghqul, and their lives would change for the better.
on board the Heghqul
Zurrak served as Second Officer on board the Heghqul, his duties were what one would expect. Especially in making sure everyone did their jobs. Of course he wasn’t in the second officer position for long given what fate had in store for him and his friends.
The Expedition
What originally was going to be an expedition to a strange volcanic world was in fact, the set up for a betrayal of the Klingon Empire and the Dominion would reap the spoils of this betrayal.
The Captain was named Akat Zec, a Klingon warrior who has had a controversial rise to power especially in his house. But his effectiveness allowed for his greed for power and general scheming to be overlooked, especially when it granted major gains for the KDF.
It was these reasons that led to Akat being captain of a Negh’Tev and it is also why a fresh batch of the Academy’s upper tiers were given to him and his ship. This of course included Zurrak, Lor’Zeon and Lilith.
Arriving at the Volcanic world and a massive temple, Akat and his senior staff met up with a dominion crew. This would be the first step of Akat’s plan with the Dominion.
Akat wanted to test the loyalty of his new and hopefully impressionable senior staff. Not loyalty to the Empire or the KDF but to him. He wanted to break away from the Empire and become a renegade warlord, and the Dominion would grant him a massive glut of resources and his own fleet if he handed in the Heghqul.
The plan would be to stage a battle where the Dominion would ambush the Heghqul and then in the chaos, Akat and his senior staff, equipped with environmental suits, would cut off the life support of the entire ship, and then escape from the ship on lifeboats.
Then the dominion would easily pick up the Heghqul and then Akat would have his prizes and perhaps even more if things go exceedingly well.
Of course, Zurrak, Lor’Zeon and Lilith didn’t agree with it. Along with a Vorta doctor amongst the dominion ranks, whose name is Eileen, the 4 were swiftly overwhelmed and with their backs against the walls, death seemed inevitable but instead they were saved.
To Akat and the others, it looked like they were incinerated by some sort of ancient security system. But in reality they were rescued, brought to a sublevel section of the temple and the origin of the ancient signal itself.
A terrifying Fek’Ihri AI named Zhak’Trel, the Demon of Ankharik VIII.
The Deal
Zhak’Trel is an ancient Fek’Ihri AI and an extremely powerful one at that. He didn’t diverge much about his past, but he enjoyed the chaos and defiance Zurrak and his friends displayed when they fought back against their enemies.
They proved that they were worthy of his deal, a deal he gave to many other worthy candidates but was refused and thus they had to be “disposed” of because they went hostile on him.
The deal is thus:
They get his loyalty, the massive cache of Fek’Ihri technology he has, his knowledge and even a set of custom weaponry for them. Forged right here in this dark lair, powerful weapons that signify their covenant with him. The power of a being like him, under Zurrak’s command.
However, in exchange, Zhak’Trel would be given the HeghQul as his physical body, integrated into the ship which would mean that the ship would become sentient.
Furthermore, Zhak’Trel would ask them a favour. It can be at any moment, any time, any place and for whatever reason. Regardless of the circumstances and demands of the favour, they MUST comply with this favour.
Zurrak, Lor’Zeon, Lilith and Eileen agreed to this deal, with no time to negotiate due to the fact that Akat’s plan could begin at any moment.
As such, the contract was sealed with blood and Zhak’Trel gave out newly forged weapons for the four.
Zurrak gained a fearsome Khopesh-like flaming sword, and given his size? It was a large fearsome blade.
Lilith gained a shotgun, forged and made in the style of the more classical combustion based, pump action shotguns.
Lor’Zeon gained a pair of brutal pistols, complete with bayonets made out of flame.
Eileen gained a muzzle loading coilgun in the shape of an archaic crossbow.
The Mutiny
With Zhak’Trel’s help, the four friends were able to beam back aboard the Heghqul. Zurrak was able to tell the crew what Akat was really planning, and with the help of Eileen to validate the claims, they caused a full-blown mutiny that only grew like a raging wildfire. A microscopic civil war broke out on the ship, Akat’s loyalists on one side and Zurrak’s rebels on the other side, this entire battle ripped out across the ship.
During the chaos, Zurrak ripped out a disruptor cannon from a shuttlecraft and repurposed it into a heavy assault cannon for his personal use. A weapon that he still uses to this day with surprising efficiency.
This chaotic uprising eventually culminated in a one-on-one battle between Akat and Zurrak. Zurrak had the upperhand which resulted in Akat trying to get his other loyalists to try and kill Zurrak in his name which proved how much of a coward he really was.
Zurrak personally killed him with his new sword before assuming command of the Heghqul, he then coordinated with the crew and they caught the Dominion ship off guard and destroyed it.
Zurrak then announced that they will break free from the empire and become freebooters, which are lawless adventurers, and traverse the Galaxy. Looking for new battles, adventures and of course, new loot to claim for themselves.
As a signifier of the new command, Zurrak changed the name of the ship from the Hegqul to the name of Burning Dawn. He further said that their group shall be called the Furnace Skulls.
After picking up Zhak’Trel and the large stash of Fek’Ihri technology and installing all of it and Zhak’Trel into the ship, the Burning Dawn warped out of the system.
First Steps
Zurrak’s first few years of command were a true test of his leadership skills and his tactical prowess but he proved how effective of a commander he can be.
These early years involved fulfilling many contracts but also Zurrak establishing a voting system amongst the senior officers on the contracts themselves to make sure that everyone is clear as to the terms and conditions of said contract.
In addition, Zurrak wanted to ensure that they could fall back on more than just Nimbus III as a means of sanctuary and sources of income and repairs, and instead struck out a privateering contract with the Klingon Defense Force.
In short, it was a government commission and authorized for use in armed conflicts which includes war. This meant that (unless told otherwise by the Klingon Empire themselves) they were to remain on neutral terms with any and all Klingon Empire holdings. It also meant that they were to prioritize assignments/contracts from the Klingon Empire above others ESPECIALLY when it comes to contracts that might impede on the interests of the Klingon Empire.
This ensures that Zurrak and the Furnace Skulls have a reliable faction to come to during more difficult times as well as a place that wasn’t Nimbus III to reliably acquire repairs and supplies. This also ensured better loyalty from the crew as many of them came from Klingon Empire related territory.
Career Highlights
Commendations
