Count Veger

Count Veger is the secondary antagonist of Jak 3 in the Jak and Daxter series, also appearing in Daxter. As his title of 'count' implies, he is a high-ranking councilman in the Grand Council of Haven City. Unlike the game's primary antagonist, Cyber Errol, Count Veger is more of a personal enemy to Jak than a villain, exercising what he believes is best for Haven City in attempting to eliminate any peril of Dark Makers or Metal Heads, and considers Jak a threat; prejudiced against him due to his imbuement of dark eco.

Daxter, before Jak 3
Veger appeared briefly in Daxter, debating with Erol, Krimzon Guard commander, on the subject of the Dark Warrior Program. Count Veger insisted that light eco would be the key to destroying the Metal Heads, while Erol, in hand with Baron Praxis, insisted that fear is key, and that they must use dark eco to create the supreme warrior. Veger deduced that four prisoners were killed by dark eco in the program already, though Erol returned with saying that Onin stated Jak, a new inmate, is special and could potentially handle the dark eco. Count Veger then ended with truthfully predicting that dark eco would be their downfall.[1]

What happened between the events of Daxter and Jak 3 remain unknown as he did not appear in Jak II. Nor was anything revealed about his early life. He apparently had some affiliation with the Precursor Monks, and also managed to kidnap past king Damas' son, named Mar. Veger was obsessed with this boy as he harnessed the purity required to awaken ancient Precursor technology, and pursued such technology as to protect the planet and become revered.[2] He eventually lost young Mar to the resistance movement known as the Underground who wanted to reestablish the House of Mar as the ruling dynasty in Haven City.

Jak 3
Veger appeared in the opening cutscene of Jak 3 as he personally saw to Jak's banishment to the Wasteland, "by order of the Grand Council of Haven City, for heinous acts and crimes against the city."[2] Veger had a prejudice against Jak, citing that "this dark eco freak [Jak] is dangerous."[2] Throughout the rest of the game, Veger is seen closely associated with the Precursor Monk order in Spargus, and appeared to be obsessed with opening the Precursor Catacombs, up to the point where he bombed the Palace and framed the Metal Heads for it (which in turn reflected on Jak since many suspected Krew was the reason for the metal head invasion, and Jak was found guilty in association).

When Jak reached the Eco Mine and was about to enter back into Haven City, Veger attempted to stop him by setting a Precursor robot on him in the mission "Defeat Veger's Precursor robot", though Jak managed to destroy it and enter the city. Veger is again encountered during a meeting at the Freedom HQ when he tries to sway the members in supporting him in his quest to find the Catacombs, saying he would save them only if they begged. The group decides to follow Jak, where after Ashelin Praxis stripped Count Veger of his title and command, and dissolved the city council.

Veger eventually found the Catacombs in the Palace Ruins. He met Jak at the entrance of the Catacombs to reveal that he kidnapped him when he was younger, separating him from his father Damas, whom now lied dead in his arms after a crash in the preceding mission. They then raced each other through the Catacombs to the Precursor Core. When Veger arrived at the Precursor Core, just after Jak was being offered to evolve into a Precursor, he stopped Jak from receiving the gift and stepped into the beam for himself. After realizing that the Precursors are ottsels, he was transformed into an ottsel as well. Towards the end of the game, he appeared fairly dismayed, and was forced into being a sidekick to Kleiver in resemblance to Jak and Daxter's duo.

It is unknown what happened to Veger after the events of Jak 3, as he was not seen with Kleiver in Jak X: Combat Racing. Although Kleiver made remarks about wanting to eat Daxter, this seems an unlikely fate for Veger.

Appearance
Veger is a tall, slim human male, with a drawn face, balding head, and fair skin. He carries himself with a traditional behavior and indignant posture. He wears a waistcoat, cravat, spats, and a long, blue coat, giving him a dignified look. He also carried a Precursor staff which he used to activate Precursor technology, namely a Precursor robot in the Eco Mines.

As an ottsel, he resembles his former self but in rodent form. His fur is a brown-orange, opposed to a bright orange typical to ottsels, with dark brown spots resembling his liver spots from when he was human. His long coat and pants were also not present in this form.

Personality
Count Veger is best known as the arrogant power broker of Haven City's Grand Council, who feels he is superior to his enemies and to his allies. This superiority complex causes him to often be mocked by other main characters. In some ways he means well, but he has immoral methods and motives (such as destroying the Dark Maker Ship but only to become a Precursor himself and demanding the others plead for his help). Count Veger is quite cruel and sadistic and shows despicable glee towards Damas dying in the hands of Jak without knowing the truth.

Veger also seems to be a very religious man and is very devoted to the Precursors. In turn, he seems to be disgusted with dark eco, viewing Jak and Daxter as abominations. He bears all the traits of a religious fanatic and is horrified when the Precursors reveal themselves as ottsels (even more so when he realized what he was about to become). It is uncertain what exactly became of his former religious stance but it would seem he was willing to forgo his initial prejudice and dismay in an effort to make the best out of what he viewed as an awkward, rather than bad, situation (based on his sigh and following statement of "this is going to be a long trip.")