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Description
Preferred Weapon: Words
Occupation: Photographer for a Nature conservation organization
Status: Not loyal to the Irken Empire

Bjorn was originally adopted from here: And here's his incredibly long backstory!

Like most vortians growing up, Bjorn had a childhood filled with hatred for the Irken Empire, the overwhelming force that betrayed and enslaved most of his species. His parents and two siblings were one of many families who were forced from their homes, and spent years shuffling from planet to planet trying to find a place to call home. Bjorn lived in shelters, cities, forests, mountains, all over the place as his parents searched for a stable place to raise their children. One of Bjorn's few joys in this chaotic young life was taking pictures of nature with a small, low-tech camera one of his siblings salvaged for him from a junkyard. Something about photographing nature and animals, so disconnected from his own chaotic life, was reassuring for him. This little hobby helped keep his spirits and personality strong; his family was fond of him for his upbeat personality and enduring optimism, even his older sibling looking to him sometimes for a smile or a laugh. Bjorn could always get a few of those out of people.

When he was 16, his family finally, tiredly, settled on a multi-cultural planet, taking up residency on the outskirts of a large city. His parents found work and were happy to finally be somewhere stable.

Bjorn on the other hand remained restless, doing odd jobs and idly continuing his photography hobby. It got some attention as he made some supportive friends, and eventually he scraped enough money together (along with some encouraging financial and emotional support from his other family members) to take some photography classes at a local college. By age 20, he had graduated with top grades, praise from his professors, and plenty of networked connections. Using those connections, he snagged a high-paying job in the heart of the city taking photos of models for fashion magazines.

It was a rough industry though, filled with pettiness, inflated egos, backroom deals, and fluctuating pay, and it didn't help his growing feelings of restlessness and bitterness, especially toward irkens, who dominated the fashion industry, and media in general, and treated him none too kindly. Over the next year or so, he migrated to darker subjects of photography...famine, war, prisons, terrible working conditions, abuse.

He stayed on this darker and darker path until age 24, by which time he was constantly angry, jaded, and pessimistic. His concerned family stepped in for an intervention, pointing out how much he had changed...how he wasn't their cheerful, supportive brother/son anymore. Bjorn's simmering emotions finally spilled over at that point in an eruption of rage at his family members. Rage for not being angrier at how poorly the irkens treated vortians, for not being righteously furious at how they'd been forced to move around so much, for not being indignant and jaded at the terrible acts of irken- and vortiankind over the centuries.

His explosion made him, and his family, realize he needed some time away from home to...think.

So off Bjorn went, using his savings to buy a ticket aboard a ship that was traveling to a mountain range where records pointed to evidence of an Irken-made concentration camp, long ruined and disused. He wanted to photograph that place, with all its painful memories and bitter history, spurred on by the righteous anger that had taken over his mindset.

Upon coming ashore, facing only a small town between him and his two-week trip into the massive, snow-capped mountain range, Bjorn set off with just a backpack of camping supplies.

But as he continued his journey, his progress got slower and slower. He became distracted by the untouched wildlife around him, and found himself photographing animals, insects, and plant life. He caught amazing moments on camera...animals fighting, mass migrations, rare flowers blooming. At the end of a week, three days longer than it should have taken, he finally arrived at the desolate ruins. As they came into view, he realized how good he had been feeling over the last week, taking pictures of things he actually enjoyed...because the old, heavy feelings of crushing unhappiness were dredged back up at the sight of the concentration camp.

And that's when he had an epiphany.

Like a light switch flicking on, he knew he didn't want to feel like that anymore, and that he hadn't photographed the things he loved for a long time. So he turned away from the ruins of bitter history, and with them, his built-up feelings of exhaustive hatred and racism.

A couple of weeks later, he returned home to a relieved family, and changed the course of his life. He found a job as a nature photographer for a nature conservation organization (think National Geographic) and settled in well at it, traveling to other planets with a clear understanding of who he was and what he loved.

Bjorn (c)

Other character references:
Yazzie
Nuic Zerna
Fibra Sadi
Ayule Tex
Zeith Sanavava

Description
Preferred Weapon: Words
Occupation: Photographer for a Nature conservation organization
Status: Not loyal to the Irken Empire

Bjorn was originally adopted from here: And here's his incredibly long backstory!

Like most vortians growing up, Bjorn had a childhood filled with hatred for the Irken Empire, the overwhelming force that betrayed and enslaved most of his species. His parents and two siblings were one of many families who were forced from their homes, and spent years shuffling from planet to planet trying to find a place to call home. Bjorn lived in shelters, cities, forests, mountains, all over the place as his parents searched for a stable place to raise their children. One of Bjorn's few joys in this chaotic young life was taking pictures of nature with a small, low-tech camera one of his siblings salvaged for him from a junkyard. Something about photographing nature and animals, so disconnected from his own chaotic life, was reassuring for him. This little hobby helped keep his spirits and personality strong; his family was fond of him for his upbeat personality and enduring optimism, even his older sibling looking to him sometimes for a smile or a laugh. Bjorn could always get a few of those out of people.

When he was 16, his family finally, tiredly, settled on a multi-cultural planet, taking up residency on the outskirts of a large city. His parents found work and were happy to finally be somewhere stable.

Bjorn on the other hand remained restless, doing odd jobs and idly continuing his photography hobby. It got some attention as he made some supportive friends, and eventually he scraped enough money together (along with some encouraging financial and emotional support from his other family members) to take some photography classes at a local college. By age 20, he had graduated with top grades, praise from his professors, and plenty of networked connections. Using those connections, he snagged a high-paying job in the heart of the city taking photos of models for fashion magazines.

It was a rough industry though, filled with pettiness, inflated egos, backroom deals, and fluctuating pay, and it didn't help his growing feelings of restlessness and bitterness, especially toward irkens, who dominated the fashion industry, and media in general, and treated him none too kindly. Over the next year or so, he migrated to darker subjects of photography...famine, war, prisons, terrible working conditions, abuse.

He stayed on this darker and darker path until age 24, by which time he was constantly angry, jaded, and pessimistic. His concerned family stepped in for an intervention, pointing out how much he had changed...how he wasn't their cheerful, supportive brother/son anymore. Bjorn's simmering emotions finally spilled over at that point in an eruption of rage at his family members. Rage for not being angrier at how poorly the irkens treated vortians, for not being righteously furious at how they'd been forced to move around so much, for not being indignant and jaded at the terrible acts of irken- and vortiankind over the centuries.

His explosion made him, and his family, realize he needed some time away from home to...think.

So off Bjorn went, using his savings to buy a ticket aboard a ship that was traveling to a mountain range where records pointed to evidence of an Irken-made concentration camp, long ruined and disused. He wanted to photograph that place, with all its painful memories and bitter history, spurred on by the righteous anger that had taken over his mindset.

Upon coming ashore, facing only a small town between him and his two-week trip into the massive, snow-capped mountain range, Bjorn set off with just a backpack of camping supplies.

But as he continued his journey, his progress got slower and slower. He became distracted by the untouched wildlife around him, and found himself photographing animals, insects, and plant life. He caught amazing moments on camera...animals fighting, mass migrations, rare flowers blooming. At the end of a week, three days longer than it should have taken, he finally arrived at the desolate ruins. As they came into view, he realized how good he had been feeling over the last week, taking pictures of things he actually enjoyed...because the old, heavy feelings of crushing unhappiness were dredged back up at the sight of the concentration camp.

And that's when he had an epiphany.

Like a light switch flicking on, he knew he didn't want to feel like that anymore, and that he hadn't photographed the things he loved for a long time. So he turned away from the ruins of bitter history, and with them, his built-up feelings of exhaustive hatred and racism.

A couple of weeks later, he returned home to a relieved family, and changed the course of his life. He found a job as a nature photographer for a nature conservation organization (think National Geographic) and settled in well at it, traveling to other planets with a clear understanding of who he was and what he loved.

Bjorn (c)

Other character references:
Yazzie
Nuic Zerna
Fibra Sadi
Ayule Tex
Zeith Sanavava