Tobias Jonah Ulixes was born to Julius and Claudia Ulixes in a small fishing hamlet in the Jharkand Basin on Sagittaron. The hamlet was so small that it didn't warrant a name, because it didn't appear on maps and the people who lived there just knew it as home. For the first ten years of his life, Tobias knew next to nothing of what lay beyond the Jharkand Basin and his only thoughts of the other colonies were that they were so far away he'd probably never get to see them. Of course, none of that bothered him because there was always work to do and his uncle's fishing trawler roamed up and down the Jharkand and allowed him to see all sorts of things he didn't see at home.
The way things worked in the 'town' that Tobias came from was that most sons carried on the traditions of their fathers. Julius Ulixes had owned a trawler of his own in his younger years, but when a particularly rowdy storm tore it apart he went to work on his brother Kimon's boat. When Tobias was old enough, he went to work on his uncle's boat as well although his mother was still a forceful-enough personality that he had to spend his evenings in study. He might have been destined to be a fisherman, but Claudia would not have him destined to be a dumb fisherman.
When Tobias was fifteen, chaos erupted along the shores of the Jharkand. On a trip downriver to sell some of their catch at Aigosthena, Tobias and the rest of the crew stopped at a refuelling station to perform some maintenance on their trawler and refuel. Unbeknownst to them, the station had been housing resistance fighters on the run following the overtures of the Colonial suppression of such groups. While they were unharmed and passed a cursory inspection by the marines, Tobias recalled for years after the sight of captured insurgents being lined up against the wall - armed marines waiting nearby. He also remembered the sudden, short burst of gunfire as they rounded a bend in the river and the refuelling station fell out of sight.
The suppression of the resistance fighters did not last long and Tobias was quietly grateful for the ceasefire that came the following year. In the months that passed since the incident at the refuelling station, Tobias had seen all manner of Colonial aircraft flying overhead and he'd been enamoured with them. He even began to think about leaving and possibly signing up with the Colonial Military. It wasn't as unheard of as it had been when the resistance groups were all over the place and he had brothers who could take over for his father when he got too old.
His parents were very agreeable to the notion, although his mother put in a great number of 'as long as' and 'only if you' clauses which mostly involved his coming back to visit them as often as he could. His father was not at all like most fathers, and rather than forcing Tobias into a profession he did not want he encouraged him to pursue one he did. His Uncle Kimon was a different story entirely, however.
The years that had passed since the ceasefire had angered him and he had come to believe more and more in the cause of the SSLF. Although it was not spoken of, Tobias believed his uncle may have even joined them - his father made it clear that he should never bring it up, however, fearful of what kind of reprisal knowing too much might bring upon his son. Kimon ranted and raved at length about how Tobias' parents were sending him off to serve murdering, oppressive tyrants and they would only see him again when he was back there to kill them.
Tobias left soon after and without fanfare. He said goodbye to his parents and his brothers and sister and boarded a small boat bound for a convoy that would take him through the desert to Sthenoi.
Tobias left Sagittaron to attend the Colonial Fleet Academy, and he scarcely expected to return. His career was off to a very good start when Sagittaron's Quorum delegate gave him and several other Fleet Academy hopefuls a personal recommendation as a show of good faith and a way to encourage other Sagittaron youth to become a more functioning and peaceful component of Colonial society.
His time at the CFA was rather typical in many respects. He exchanged letters with his family as often as he could, but the remoteness of his home meant that replies were often months away and he only once managed to secure a trip home during a semester break and even then it only lasted a week.
But he'd made new friends. He'd learned to play Pyramid (something he quite enjoyed) and he had a natural talent for flying. He was sharp, his education at his mother's knee having served its purpose well, and he seemed set for a bright and promising career in the Colonial Military. On the verge of graduating from flight school, however, Tobias learned of the turmoil that had engulfed his homeland. Rather than accept a more prestigious position, he took a billet aboard Assaultstar Victory as a Raptor Pilot in an effort to help his people.
Tobias had little love for the SSLF. He considered their actions reprehensible and, having seen both Picon and Caprica during his time at the CFA and flight school, he had come to believe that a close and non-violent relationship with the Colonies was required in order for Sagittaron to prosper. He flew a number of combat missions as part of the Cavaliers, seeing firsthand the havoc that the fight with the SSLF had wrought on the Southern Continent. However, unlike other natives of Sagittaron he did not feel it was the fault of the Colonials - on the contrary, he blamed it squarely on the resistance fighters.
His posting aboard CA-33 was not a pleasant one. He made a number of friends but lost just as many to combat on the surface of Sagittaron over the course of his years there. He became more than a little guarded, unwilling to become too close with anyone lest they die on their next mission. He became hardened against the constant and often unwinnable nature of war, sparing little more than a passing glance at the letter that told him his family had moved to Aera Yazd. When his parents were killed only a few months later in a suicide attack he mourned for them, but it only strengthened his resolve and his willingness to keep fighting until Sagittaron was free.
And then, as is common in almost all military stories of this era, everything came crashing down.
The Cylons attacked and Sagittaron was no less a target than any of the other Colonies. The nukes fell and so did many of his fellow pilots aboard the Victory as they faced an unwinnable battle against technologically superior enemies. When a missile clipped his Raptor en route to drop off a detachment of marines he lost control and spun out, tumbling down towards the ground thoroughly convinced that these were his last few moments of life. It was almost comforting, then, to see that the place he was crashing into was the Jharkand Basin.
And that's the last word there is on him.
Where did he end up? What happened to him?
Those are questions one would just have to ask themselves.
