Keitan Yun

Keitan Yun had a career as a respected lecturer and Minmatar historian at the Republic University before he was approached by Karin Midular's cabinet to be the Matari representative at the CONCORD Assembly in Yulai. His ardent introductory address saw him dismissed from his first session, with the possibility of subsequent removal from politics. He soon returned to Yulai asking that CONCORD and the DED not interfere with the justice that the Minmatar sought from the Amarr, backed by the threatening presence of a significant portion of the Minmatar fleet that spearheaded the Elder War.

Early Years

Keitan Yun was born on Eygfe III to itinerant labourers who travelled seasonly looking for work. Due to his parent's struggles gaining a steady income, he was initially home-schooled until his parents came to realise that he had an intellect that was beyond their abilities to nurture. He started attending public schools but struggled to reach his full potential as his family could not stay in one area for too long, and he was often bullied by the students of most of the schools he attended. Keitan developed a slight stutter that only really manifested itself when he was particularly stressed, but as soon as this was discovered by his peers it often became the goal for his tormentors - to make the usually erudite Yun start to stumble. Also thin and possessing the same white pallor as other Sebiestor, he was a popular target for the largely Brutor and Krusual youths of the rural communities that his parents joined. Academically brilliant and possessing a maturity that was demonstrated by an ability to easily associate with teachers, he quickly gained a reputation amongst fellow students, regardless of where his family settled. As a result Keitan spent a great deal of his time in the library of the various schools he went to, growing to love books and the escape that they often afforded him. While he was clever and articulate enough to get his way out of situations when he wasn't struck by nerves, it was usually the physical confrontations that he was defenseless against. Keitan attests that he has always retained a deep-seated resentment of oppression and persecution as a result of these early years.

As a teen he started to demonstrate his flair for public speaking, strengthened as he tried to master his occasional stutter, and also established a love of history. Fortunately, as his peers started to gain maturity they began to recognize Yun's worldliness. While he was still a target from time to time, he also started getting elected to student councils and as a representative for the classes he joined. At home his own personal library started to grow beyond the confines of his room and on his desk he started a collection of scale models of Minmatar warships, becoming a fan after studying the Vindication Wars.

Academic Career

Yun flourished when he started attending Republic University, scoring a substantial financial grant to attend after he submitted a paper to a reputed journal on The Battle of Tears while he was still in High School. Finally he had a place that recognized his talents. After completing his PhD he was offered a position as a lecturer at the Republic University, initially in a campus in Nakugard. He quickly established himself as a popular teacher, and student feedback listed his passionate and thought-provoking lectures as one of the singular reasons. Students across the campus started to attend, regardless of their disciplines, to the point where his classes were moved to the largest hall on campus to accommodate capacity crowds. While he lectured on Minmatar history, Yun often spoke of the need to keep the oral traditions and beliefs of his people alive, particularly in light of the attempts to quash Minmatar cultural heritage that had taken place during their subjugation by the Amarr. He repeatedly told students that there was a need to repair the damage that had been done and that older stories and practices needed to be revisited and retold in order to preserve and enrich them. In the years that followed, Yun started traveling from campus to campus across Metropolis and Heimatar, attracting audiences that often resulted in the doors of many venues being locked to prevent overcrowding.

While lecturing, Yun not only obtained other degrees by coursework, but as honorary presentations from universities he visited. His reputation also meant that he started gaining a political reputation, particularly after he was almost arrested attending a protest at a heritage site in Malukker developers were trying to clear for development. Keitan Yun has several photographs of himself shaking hands with prominent political figures, which usually take pride of place in his quarters alongside his models and the rarer books in his collection.

Minmatar Ambassador in the CONCORD Assembly

At the age of 42, Keitan Yun was approached by Midular to be the Ambassador for the Minmatar people in the CONCORD Assembly. Reluctant at first to leave academia, he decided that he would enter politics to advise political figures as to how history had judged their predecessors, and ensure that the developing government was aware of the various ways that history often repeats itself.

His introductory address before the Assembly in the CONCORD Bureau station above the ninth planet of the Yulai system was intended to be a statement of truth and a declaration of his passion and understanding for the plight of the tribes. Initially he received applause as he began, calling for objectivity in a post-humanistic era that was continuing to develop, though he then went on to state that amidst the progress the "efforts to rise and conquer the fundamental challenges of universal quality and human rights have failed". He made particular reference to the "blatant hypocrisy" of having Amarr present at the same Assembly - where all attendees were supposed to be talking about "the alleged betterment of New Eden" - while they continued to enslave Minmatar. Many were taken aback, particularly Larik Saal, the Amarr Ambassador, who lambasted the "novice" and the "corrupt, spineless leadership" of the Minmatar, calling for an immediate apology when the moderator granted him right of reply. It was the moderator that ended up excusing the comments, and when Yun himself chose to try and make a counter-argument instead of concede, he was banned from the rest of the session and threatened with expulsion from the Assembly.

Disgraced, Yun returned to the Republic to meet with Karin Midular and Maleatu Shakor in Illuin. Midular was exasperated with him but did not call for his resignation, instead wanting to wait to see how the Amarr reacted. As he left the Prime Minister's office, Shakor followed him and continued to express his admiration, stating that whatever he'd said at the Assembly would not have been well-received, even by the Minmatar contingent, as he believed most of them were being bribed or threatened by Dochuta Karsoth and his agents.

Ambassador of the Elders

"You will be our voice, to both your government, and to the Assembly powers." - The Elders

Soon after his fall from political grace he was met by the mysterious Ameline who, to Keitan's surprise, quoted parts of the conversation he had just had with both Shakor and Prime Minister Midular. She escorted him to the Great Wildlands region, which he noted were guarded by Thukker, maligned by the other tribes at the time. Here he was shown one staging area for the armada of the Elder Fleet, spearheaded by a Ragnarok that was still under construction and the 12 Nalglfar that guarded it.

Aboard the titan he met the Elders, who commended him for speaking publicly of the indignation of the Minmatar and the hypocrisy that existed in the governance of the Empires. They believed that the Republic would fail as it was a reinvention of the other nations, and did not reflect the nature or beliefs of the tribal Matar. They also revealed that the Starkmanir still existed under the protection of the Nefantar, before they designated him the Ambassador of the Elders. While Yun took issue with the use of funds for rebuilding the Republic being used to create the Elder Fleet he had just seen, he was honoured to represent the seven embodiments of the Minmatar tribes, who he himself had lectured about the realities of on many occasions, despite skepticism amongst his audiences that they actually existed.

On Yun's return to Illuin, Shakor revealed that he was aware of the Elders, and that he had been tasked with ensuring that Yun was the Ambassador they were looking for. He stated that during surveillance he had noted that Yun had accepted no women, stuck to routine, made no travels apart from lectures and, most importantly, had a genuine loyal devotion to the Minmatar. A singular obsession.

A Person of Interest

Yun was ordered out of Midular's office during the deliberations that surrounded the Angel Cartel's occupation of the Skarkon system, and on returning to his quarters survived an attempt on his life by agents of Karsoth. On his return to Midular, who was now facing a vote of no confidence initiated by Shakor, he requested that he be allowed to contact CONCORD for permission to retaliate against slavery, though he did not reveal this was at the behest of the Elders. She threw him out.

Yun took this as a sign that his time with the Republic was over, and now he was free to act on his own initiative to fulfil the will of the Elders. He contacted Chair Speaker Pauksuo at CONCORD, indicating that he wished to discuss the diplomatic and military options of the Republic in advance of the declation of a state of emergency now that Midular was facing a vote of no confidence. He also requested that DED representation was also required, and so DED Admiral Kjersidur Elladall was in attendance for what followed.

Yun took the opportunity to issue both authorities a warning. He indicated that Karsoth had made an attempt on his life and stated again that Minmatar had a right to defend themselves from Amarr subjugation, especially now that they were sponsoring assassination. He asked both representatives if they would interfere with Matar seeking justice. He was about to be dismissed in response when a large section of the Elder Fleet jumped through a cynosural field in Yulai, surrounding the station. For several tense moments CONCORD ships mingled with the intimidating presence of fifteen Nalglfar-class dreadnoughts and their cavalry of battleships, cruisers and assault frigates. Keitan took the opportunity to stipulate that CONCORD and the DED would have thirty days to reconsider their intention to intervene if Minmatar started fighting against the Amarr. Following this the threatening fleet departed, and Yun was soon announced by CONCORD Chief of Staff Kivas Odakaas a "person of interest" in the investigation that followed. For a time, Yun returned to the Sanctuaries of the Elders, under the watchful eye of his Starkmanir protector, Ameline.

The Elder Invasion

Despite being ousted from government, Yun returned to Matari space as part of a small assassination team with the express purpose of extracting Karin Midular and bringing her to the Sanctuaries following the collapse of her government. It was also to protect her from the shooting that was about to take place. Especially trained troops, armed with evidence of the corruption of various politicians and staff within Republic Parliament, were mobilizing to systematically remove agents of Karsoth or those that had committed crimes against the Republic. As Yun and his team made their way to the office of Karin Midular, they arrived in time to intervene as two of her guards assaulted her. As the team spirited the former Prime Minister to safety, Yun once again contacted CONCORD.

30 days after Keitan Yun had presented his initial ultimatum, backed by a show of force from the Elder Fleet, and spurred by the news of the Starkmanir found on Halturzhan, he now contacted Yulai once more and asked for their final decision as to whether they would intervene in an Amarr-Minmatar conflict. When CONCORD and the DED decided to use the opportunity to announce their intention to arrest him, Keitan shed a tear. One of the Elder's theatre fleets jumped back into the system, and as hostilities were initiated, pursued their sole purpose of knocking out CONCORD's communications network so that they could not effectively police New Eden. Without anyone to intercede, the Elder's fleet started to invade Amarr with the intention of recovering the enslaved.

As Minmatar ships deserted their posts to fight in response to word of what was happening, and as a flood of refugees fled a chaotic Republic for Gallente space, borders were increasingly patrolled by the Republic Fleet. Criminal groups had been targeting the civilians leaving the beleaguered Republic, and many had been fired on during what came to be known as the 'Day of Knives'. Yun, Midular and troops entering the Republic against the tide were initially stopped at the border by Grand Admiral Kasora Neko, who saw Yun as personally responsible, but she eventually allowed them to pass. After her brief exchange with Keitan and the former Prime Minister, Neko instead sent the majority of the fleet to the borders of Derelik, anticipating a backlash to the upheaval taking place.

As conflicts escalated throughout New Eden, and as assassination teams killed corrupt guards, parliamentarians and dignitaries in the Republic, leaving the evidence of their crimes on the bodies, Yun took Midular to safety amidst the Elders. From the Wildlands, they monitored the activities of the strike into Amarrian space , until the moment that Jamyl Sarum decimated the Sarum theatre fleet with her superweapon. The order to retreat was given, and as Republic ships made their way back to Matari territory, CONCORD came back online.

For some time afterwards, still speaking as their representative, Keitan Yun gave voice to the efforts of the Elders as they provided aide and advice to a Republic seeking to rebuild, and welcome back thousands of rescued Matari.

Current Status

Most recently, Yun has made contact with the leadership of the Tribal Liberation Force on behalf of the Elders, congratulating them in their efforts against the Amarr in regions such as The Great Wildlands, but also asking them to ensure that they monitor the capsuleers and ensure that they are indeed advancing the Minmatar cause and not just "being belligerent".

See also