Nomi Amersu

History
Nomi is a 19 year old Twi'lek and identical twin sister of Somi Amersu. She was born and raised on Ryloth until she was 14 years old. Nomi and Somi never could get a straight answer as to which was the older twin; the answer depended on who was in favor at the moment. It is possible that their beleaguered parents truly did not remember.

Their parents were Teeubo (mother) and Darap (father) Amersu. They had six older siblings Chom, Boc, Rol and Yuned (brothers) and Jiljuu and Oola (sisters) and two younger Pampy and Firith (sister and brother respectively). Nomi and Somi were raised as part of the clan with Jiljuu and Oola providing much of the caretaking in the stead of their actual parents.

The Amersus were low in the caste system on Ryloth owing their employment, security and allegiance to varying up-caste lords depending on the tide of power and influence. Nomi and Somi learned that they needed to fend for themselves from a young age and adopted a viewpoint pitting themselves as a duo against the world.

Nomi learned she had a knack for playing certain roles that could get them things. By pretending to be hurt by or around a kind-hearted up-caster she could win them food. By playing a distraction she could help her sister who found herself to be skilled in relieving up-casters of their extra property. Nomi drew attention to provide distractions: she spooked pack and ridden animals, she performed for pennies, she begged (loudly), she complimented, she even took on jobs at up-caste homes to gain access for Somi to the riches inside.

It all started with pickpocketing, which is when the twins met Lilikai Singan. Somi was the first to meet her. Lilikai caught her attempting to take from the human Jedi, to whom she was inexplicably drawn. Somi gave Lilikai the name Kissa, one the girls had taken to using as a third persona. Lilikai sensed a possible force user in Somi, but was on a mission that did not allow for her to pursue this observation at the moment. She decided to observe "Kissa" the next time she came to Ryloth and the relationship was born.

Nomi and Somi rarely went out in public together. They always knew where the other was, but never stood next to each other- the better to keep their double identity secret. Thus, when Lilikai visited Ryloth and looked for Kissa she'd always find only one of the twins. The nature of this Twi'lek child was a mystery to Lilikai. Sometimes Kissa appeared to have a strong connection to the force and other times this seemed to have ebbed. Lilikai would pay Kissa to run errands for her and Kissa would happily perform such errands, often getting them done faster than the average person could (due to two people working on it at once). Lilikai knew Kissa for 9 years before things on Ryloth started to get dangerous around the time of the formation of the Federation of Independent Colonies. It looked like Ryloth was going to become a contested area so Lilikai told the Kissa she found at that time that she wanted to take her away. Tearfully, Nomi admitted to Lilikai that she and her sister Somi were actually the two girls she knew as Kissa and though Nomi and Somi were not both force sensitive, Lilikai decided to save them both. She purchased the two girls from their parents and took them to Coruscant.

Nomi and Somi had many adventures growing up. One involved a Toydarian merchant who had a set up on Ryloth, Swor Gatto. Swor was extorting money from the twins' father and this was causing a lot of stress in the already strained household. After using their sneaking skills to listen to their parents discuss what was going on, the twins broke into Swor's estate to find and steal something very important from him in order to sell for money. They weren't sure what it would be going in and they got caught while skulking about his estate. However, when Swor brought then home intending to use this as one more chip against their father, the girls revealed some intelligence on Swor that immediately turned the tides. Their father was able to use the information to get them and the family out of the current situation. Relations were hairy ever after and father occasionally got the twins to do stuff for Swor which he then paid for, but it was not really optional since there was "I know this about you, you know this about me, do this and I will pay you, but if you don't shit will go bad."

They were 14 when Lilikai took them to Coruscant. On Coruscant the girls went into training at the Jedi temple. Somi began Jedi training and Nomi was found a place with a mechanic servicing the Jedi temple and thus able to maintain her proximity and relationship with both Somi and Lilikai. Her job as a mechanic has occasionally taken her off planet acting as the mechanic on one non-combatant ship or another. Most of her trips are short, but one notable time she was gone for months when she was caught on the other side of a Separatist blockade. When she returned she found out about the short and bloody occupation of her home world and subsequent liberation and she was very distraught. None of their family was killed during the occupation.

Misc details
Nomi's true love remains performing and she takes every opportunity to go out with Somi and her Padawan friends if those adventures include music venues, plays or other performance art. While she likes to watch others dance, however, she refuses to dance herself out of principle. She finds it tacky and distasteful to the point of outrage to be a "Twi'lek dancer."

Nomi loves flowers and is almost always wearing flowers, either real ones tucked into her clothes or a flower patterned head wrap, etc. A gift of something with flowers is guaranteed to be well accepted. Her favorite place in the temple is the large garden called the Room of a Thousand Fountains and she can reliably be found there if not in the mechanic shop or out of the temple on a flight as the active mechanic. She has a stringed instrument called a Dotaesivar she very much likes to play. It is shaped like an earth lute with a big belly, and has 20 strings. They are originally from Ardennia and played with 4 or more hands, but can be used to a two-handed player.

Besides dancing, Nomi has an intense dislike of Toydarians and Hutts and is fiercely loyal to the Jedi Order- more specifically Master Lilikai Singan- as well as the Republic.

For the past few months Nomi has been a bit out of sorts and keeping to herself more. She doesn't really want to talk about it. She hasn't been off-world in that time and has been focusing on her mechanic work.

Note that their history in petty crime prior to Coruscant is not generally known except to Vesper.



Important Connections
Somi Amersu: Somi and Nomi have very different duties and spend much of their days apart, but are still very close. If they are both in the temple it is rare for their leisure time to be spent on separate things, the exception being some outings with Vesper in which Nomi does not partake.

Lilikai Singan: While Lilikai's main duty is to the Jedi and teaching her classes and Somi, Lilikai still remains important to Nomi who will often take a meal with the Master, duties permitting.

Tal Pillo: The crew chief at the Jedi temple who took Nomi in as a 14-year-old arrival to the temple and agreed to teach her a trade. He's often been frustrated over the years with her disinterest in actually learning what he's tried to teach her, but allows her to stay on the crew knowing she has no where else to go.

Description
Nomi and Somi have the tall slender body shape typical of Twi'lek females. They are 5'9" tall with periwinkle colored skin and lips and bright green eyes. Their Leku are of average length and unmarked save for a few "freckles".  Nomi is muscular and lithe as a dancer despite insisting she doesn't dance. She wears slim fitting pants and zippered jackets with long sleeves and high collar.  More often than not she has a flower on her person, tucked into her head wrap or as a design on the fabric of her clothing.

Nomi Amersu Character Sheet
Career (Specialty): Colonist (Performer)

Characteristics: Brawn 1, Agility 2, Intellect 3, Cunning 3, Willpower 2, Presence 4

Skills: Charm (Pr) 2, Coordination (Ag) 1, Deception (Cun) 2, Melee (Br) 2, Negotiation (Pr) 1, Ranged light (Ag) 2, Streetwise (Cun) 1, Xenology (Int) 1

Attributes: Wound 2 (13), Strain 0 (14), Defense 0/0, Soak 1

Career Talents
Convincing Demeanor Remove ■ per rank of Convincing Demeanor from deception or skullduggery checks.

Smooth Talker When first acquired choose one skill... deception...when making checks with that skill spend 1 Triumph to gain additional success equal to ranks in smooth talker.

Dodge When targeted by a combat check may perform a Dodge incidental to suffer a number of strain no greater than ranks in Dodge, then upgrade the difficulty of the check by that number.

natural athlete Once per session may reroll and 1 athletics or coordination check.

grit gain +1 strain threshold.

toughened gain +2 wound threshold.

Twi'lek Talent
Skill Twi'lek may begin the game with one rank in charm

Environmental Arid/Hot Environments: when making skill checks, Twi'leks may remove ■ imposed due to arid or hot environmental conditions.

Gear
Heavy Clothing

Musical Instrument (Common)