Titus

Titus was an Imperium general who turned on the world he once defended and left to live a sad life fighting in a coliseum. He appeared in A Child of Fire and will appear in The Scargiver, portrayed by Djimon Hounsou.

Biography[]

Titus was from a world that was conquered by the Motherworld when he was a child. They took him in and raised him in their schools, training him to fight for them. It was here that he developed his military genius and eventually became one of their top generals.^[2] He commanded the eastern ranks for King Athander Carathon.

Titus witnesses the deaths of his men on Sarawu.

After the assassination of the royal family, Regent Balisarius formed the Imperium and became more brutal in his mission for conquest. When Balisarius commanded Titus to attack Sarawu, Titus instead turned his soldiers against the ways of the Imperium and caused the Battle of Sarawu. He was forced into submission by the superior forces of the Motherworld and surrendered in exchange for the lives of his men, only for the Imperium to kill all of his men. Titus broke free from his restraints and survived to live as an outcast, forever haunted by his mistakes.^[3]

The Imperium later put a bounty on his head and Titus found himself on Pollux, where he chose to spend his days fighting to the death in an arena. When he wasn't fighting, he was drinking himself into a stupor. This was how the burgeoning Veldt resistance found him just outside the arena. They came seeking his genius military mind so that he could lead Veldt to victory against the encroaching forces of the King's Gaze. Initially reluctant, Kora managed to convince him to join their cause on the promise of revenge against the Motherworld.

Gondivalian unregistered trade depot — The group arrives on Gondival.

The only thing the crew needed once backed by the mind of Titus was the power of the Bloodaxe insurgents. The crew made their way to Sharaan, where the Bloodaxes were last known to reside. They were met by Devra and Darrian Bloodaxe, and while Devra was opposed to fighting a battle against a dreadnought-class battle cruiser, Darrian felt responsible for the impending attack on Veldt due to his past business with Gunnar, whose grain fed Darrian's people. He agreed to join with a subset of the Bloodaxe forces. One final stop before returning to Veldt to prepare was to resolve Kai's need to uphold past agreements, or so he said. As the crew helped him unload the cargo from his ship, the crates unfolded and revealed themselves to be ecto-restraints, which quickly snagged each of the most dangerous members of the group. After an overconfident mistake from Kai, the constraints were released and Titus joined the others in a gunfight with the Imperium soldiers and Hawkshaws present, which the former managed to conclude in their favor. Titus returned with the others to receive his payment from Veldt, having presumably sent whoever remained of The King's Gaze back to the Motherworld.^[4]

"The time has come. For all that you love, for your home. Protect each other and show them no mercy!"

Titus, The Scargiver

Arriving back in Veldt village, Kora's group quickly learned that the Imperium was still on its way. Titus presumed that their need for food outweighed their other priorities and decided to meet with the villagers immediately to prepare them for the coming battle. The villagers enacted Titus' plans and Titus joined them to lead the charge, successfully taking out multiple dropships and many soldiers. Things didn't go according to plan as the Imperium wasn't as interested in the wheat as initially thought, but Kora and Gunnar managed to destroy the dreadnought, and with Devra Bloodaxe's support, the rest of the Imperium soldiers were taken down.

The village held a funeral for those lost in battle, which were notably few due to Titus' plans. Titus revealed to Kora that Princess Issa was still alive and encouraged her to find the princess to continue the fight against the Motherworld.^[5]

Abilities[]

Leadership: General Titus famously turned his men on the unstoppable forces of the Imperium and those men followed him to their deaths. Regent Balisarius referred to Titus as the genius battlefield commander, noting that it was not good news to hear that he had joined forces with Arthelais, the Motherworld's most decorated soldier.
Weapons mastery: Titus was an expert in several forms of combat, decorated as one of the Imperium's finest soldiers.
- Hand-to-hand combat: Titus was capable of dispatching soldiers with his bare hands and was famous for his skill in the Pollux arena, defeating many opponents in gladiator matches along with the bounty hunters that arrived at the arena for his head. He was also strong enough to break through his handcuffs at the Battle of Sarawu.
- Marksmanship: Accustomed to the weapons of the Motherworld, Titus was able to accurately aim and eliminate targets during the battle of Veldt.

Equipment[]

Battle rifle: Titus used a Motherworld battle rifle during the battle of Veldt.
Dreadnought-class battle cruiser: When he was a general for the Motherworld, Titus commanded a fleet of Motherworld ships, including his dreadnought. It was capable of razing planets, which he was tasked with doing to Sarawu.
Old kingdom armor: When he was still a general of the Realm, General Titus wore one of these suits of armor when fighting against the new Imperium with his troops. He was wearing his armor during the Battle of Sarawu when he was captured and became a fugitive.

Relationships[]

Kora was a fellow soldier of the Motherworld armies who had similar experiences to Titus and had heard stories of his exploits. Though initially angry and bitter, Titus was willing to join her after Kora suggested an opportunity for revenge. By the time they made their final preparations for the battle of Veldt, they had mutual faith in each other's abilities. Titus was also willing to keep her true identity a secret after she was uncomfortable sharing the details of her past.