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Post by Glatisant on Nov 25, 2019 20:31:04 GMT -5
Here it is Gold. I'll get a starter up soon but do you think we should give a short character description first?
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Post by Glatisant on Nov 25, 2019 22:05:20 GMT -5
Well here's a description of my character:
Ro'Viren Karath - Ro'Viren (Ro for short) was born just as the Clone Wars started and as such had spent most of his life under Imperial rule. Along with the rest of Clan Karath he fled Manda'yaim during the Great Purge and hid until the eventual fall of the Empire. He sports a full suit of typical Mandalorian armor colored black and using the natural color of the beskar underneath to provide highlights. His vambraces are equipped with a flamethrower, a grappling line, a repulsor, and paralyzing darts. He uses two heavy blaster pistols and an sniper blaster capable of piercing lightly armored vehicles. He also sports a Z-6 jetpack that has been slightly up armored. He has yet to receive a signet.
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Post by Glatisant on Nov 25, 2019 23:21:18 GMT -5
From the room Ro'Viren was resting in he could hear the sound of chatter between the members of his clan. He was in a large complex that his clan had found abandoned. It was perhaps a small outpost from the Clone Wars. Wincing a little he lifted a bacta patch from a cut on his bicep to see that it was healed. He had recieved the wound while out on a bounty. While it wasn't too unusual to be wounded the way he received was embarrassing. He had failed to notice his quarry hiding in the shadows and allowed them to get the drop on him. Getting up Ro quickly put on his armor and walked into what was once a large mess hall that now served as the place that members of the clan would come to mingle.
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Post by Gold on Nov 26, 2019 18:22:17 GMT -5
I tend to introduce new characters as I feel like when in a freeform roleplay like this, lol)
Kaivhen Karath, the last Karath blacksmith
The story of this Mandalorian is the story of the Karath Clan, one of long glory and depletion. Born a few years before the Invasion of Naboo ten years before the Clone Wars, Kaivhen witnessed the clan at its peak, before it got involved in with the Death Watch in an attempt to keep old traditions alive. While, simply put, events between the Clone Wars and now lead to the decline of the Karath clan's fortunes in no small part due to the former Republic and the Empire, Kaihven nevertheless admired what the original Death Watch stood for and his armor attests to that, sporting blueish gray beskar steel with blue highlights among its shoulder guards, legplates, and helmet, with a Y-shaped stripe down the cuirass. Kaivhen's signet is a Krayt dragon skull -- the kill was not wholly his, and the signet is shared by precious few other surviving Karath clan members. He wears a shroud composed of the knobby, scaled skin of the Krayt, worn and scorched after so long. During the Rise of the Empire, Kaihven had decided to pick up the skill of artificing weapons and armor after the former apprentice died. However, his tutelage remained incomplete once his master died during one of the most damaging raids the clan ever experienced at the hands of the Empire. As such, a fair bit of Kaivhen's skill is self-taught through inference, but he knows well enough how to build some of the Mandalorian's most deadly and feared weapons and gadgets. Kaihven knows that he is one of the clan's last lines to survival and independence, but believes that it is important that he, too, must be honed with the Way.
Kaihven possesses two blaster pistols, somewhat small in size and resembling Lugers. Sheathed along his back is a special kind of dirk partially of his own design, called a Takahjean arcblade and named after his mentor. While this loadout seems underwhelming, there is more to it than meets the eye. The pistols are exceptionally powerful for their size, possessing enough 'oomph' to penetrate most grades of personal armor. The arcblade is named for its ability to conduct electricity through its guard and pointed thrusting blade, leading to painful strikes and another means of subjugation. Kaihven also does not let his brothers and sisters use new gadgets before he can test them, and has kept a few -- his armor has a flamethrower, sabredarts, a grappling line, and a variety of microexplosives both lethal and disorienting.
. . .
Kaivhen entered the ersatz communal area through a haphazardly-functioning automatic door, carrying behind him netting holding together a vast sum of what appeared to be useless technological junk. The room was very empty, filled with possibly only a dozen and half so souls, so he recognized Ro'Viren when they walked in at the same time. As he made his way to the room's exit, he gestured at Ro'Viren to join him.
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Post by Glatisant on Nov 26, 2019 19:05:41 GMT -5
Having seen Kaivhen's gesture to follow Ro'Viren decided to do just that. He did not know what the blacksmith wanted of him but Ro would accompany him regardless. Following behind the more senior Mandalorian he tried to guess what he wanted. Perhaps it had something to do with the netting and what it contained? Ro did not bother to ask as he knew he would soon have his answers.
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Post by Gold on Nov 26, 2019 20:01:16 GMT -5
Kaivhen spared only a single glance behind to see if Ro decided to take up his offer. "You were on a hunt," he rumbled, taking heavy footsteps as they walked through a long-disused corridor that lead to the compound's entrance. "How did it go?"
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Post by Glatisant on Nov 26, 2019 20:13:20 GMT -5
Ro took a moment to decide how to answer. Making his mind up he replied "I did not return without injury." He elected to not tell how he recieved the injury. Matching pace with Kaivhen he continued "It went without complication otherwise. I hesitate to even label it as a hunt."
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Post by Gold on Nov 26, 2019 20:30:21 GMT -5
Kaivhen led the him to the door, which opened barely halfway before the hydraulics caught. "You hide pain well," he remarked, giving the door a firm whack with his fist, loosening the pressure and allowing the door to open all the way. "But we all do." There was a hint of suppressed sadness in his voice.
In the outpost's courtyard, was a speeder bike, an old, heavy-duty model, loaded down with netted bags filled with technological debris similar to the one that Kaivhen was hoisting. "Scavenging is beneath the Mando'ade," he said, finally deigning to explain what he was doing. "But if it gets me the material I need for our gear, then I will do what I must."
He tied the bag to the side of the speeder bike. "There is a sandcrawler heading Southeast, sighted an hour ago. I don't care how Jawas got one to this world, but I am going to investigate what they have." He tightened the knot, and stood up, satisfied. "If you want, come with me. Those rats might be less likely to fleece two Mandalorians instead of one."
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Post by Glatisant on Nov 26, 2019 20:45:53 GMT -5
Ro did not take long to reply "Of course, I have no problems accompanying you." He walked over to another speeder bike. Pulling his rifle off his back he put onto a rack located on the side of the speeder. Having it located on the side would make it easier to grab in the event he needed it. He then lifted one leg over the bike mounting it. Looking over to Kaivhen he stated simply "I will follow."
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Post by Gold on Nov 26, 2019 21:03:53 GMT -5
"Good man," Kaivhen remarked, mounting his weighed down speeder bike. He gave Ro'Viren a salute, kicked the jumpstart mechanism, and accelerated through the dilapidated gate.
. . .
At some point, a lookout on the sandcrawler must've seen them coming, because the giant machine had stopped in its tracks. In truth, the Jawas had assumed them to be raiders, but Kaivhen's junk-laden bike clued them off. By the time they arrived, the industrious little creatures had began to set out some junk like some sort of ugly mixture between a space garage sale and a refuse yard.
Kaivhen pulled up a few dozen feet away from the menagerie, roughly pulling away three of the five bags of his own junk off of his bike as he dismounted. "Ro," he called. "I can handle the negotiations. Keep the vermin from pilfering our vehicles, take a look around." He gave the heavy load a hoist. "And... the backup is appreciated."
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Post by Glatisant on Nov 26, 2019 21:22:20 GMT -5
Getting off the speeder Ro simply nodded in response. While his actions were guided by the Resol'nare he did truly care for the clan and all its members. Ro kept a close eye on their belongings shooing off any Jawas that came too close. For such a small and weak species they were rather audacious. They would steal the armor off his back if they got the chance.
While keeping an eye on their belongings Ro also used the scope on his rifle to check their surroundings. Jawas were most vulnerable when they came out to trade like this and no doubt any raiders that followed them would be sure to strike at a time like this. Despite this he could not pick out any threats in the distance. He was still cautious however as he had no way to search for thermal signatures - something that he needed to get his hands on.
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Post by Gold on Nov 26, 2019 21:39:52 GMT -5
In the corner of Ro's vision, Kaivhen approached a gaggle of Jawas that waited expectantly for them and dropped the bags of technological junk at his feet. Immediately, he was assaulted by the high-pitched squawking speak of JTL.
"No. Weapons are a part of my religion. I will keep them," Kaivhen replied. That got another round of screeching.
"I won't use them if you don't give me a reason to. Do you understand?"
"Utinni!"
"No. You have to take my word for it, and my word is my bond, scavenger. Now, I am looking for something specific..."
If there were any raiders looking to hit a Jawa sandcrawler, they were well-hidden. However, nearby Ro was Jawa jibber-jabber. What little that could be deciphered from their faster-than-JTL natural tongue could be inferred about some sort of argument, about "special-jetpack-fighter-iron..."
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Post by Glatisant on Nov 26, 2019 22:06:40 GMT -5
Ro only knew a few phrases in JTL and so was oblivious to any sort of conversation the Jawas were having. He listened in on Kaivhen's negotiations with the Jawa curious to discover what he was looking for. This diverted his focus somewhat and he only occasionally glanced at their belongings or scanned the distance for any signs of raiders.
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Post by Gold on Nov 26, 2019 22:15:06 GMT -5
(Hah I'm bad at this)
"No. If it has a bad actuator, then it's worth one, not three," Kaivhen rumbled. The Jawa screeched at him again. "No. I can fix the damnable thing myself."
There was a glint in the junk as Ro shifted his sights between their bikes and the hills, placed conspicuously there by the Jawas as if to get the Mandalorians' attention sooner or later. The shape, form, and material was unmistakable.
A worn beskar cuirass, forged in the iconic chestplate fashion common to Mandalorian design. The paint had since worn away, but the beskar held true.
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Post by Glatisant on Nov 26, 2019 22:29:48 GMT -5
If you're bad then I'm worse lol))
Ro continued to listen in on the negotiations while keeping lookout when something caught his eye. A glinting metallic object that looked very familiar. His heart began to speed up as he approached the object to confirm his suspicions. Standing in front of it he couldn't deny what it was. A Mandalorian cuirass; worn but still in perfect condition. His attention was now solely fixed on the cuirass as he wondered how they would bargain for it.
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Post by Gold on Nov 26, 2019 22:50:54 GMT -5
Hurriedly, a pair of Jawas rushed in-between the cuirass and Ro'Viren, jabbering at him. Or each other? They repeated again, then pointed over at Kaivhen and the group of Jawas negotiating with him. "Utinni!"
At that point, Kaivhen looked over, noticing that Ro was no longer taking his guard position. "What? Did you find something--"
The older Mandalorian froze, then stood straight up, flicking down his scanner. "Pure beskar. Th-the... pattern-weave..."
The forging pattern of the cuirass was familiar. It wasn't Karath, but Kaivhen knew it was important. "That cuirass!" he declared. "We are leaving with it."
The Jawas chittered excitedly, as the two scavengers in front of Ro retrieved the precious armor to bring it to the negotiators. Kaivhen heard a few of them cheering -- clearly, some of them thought they were being very clever, putting it out, guessing correctly that the Mandalorians would want it.
They had no idea.
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Post by Glatisant on Nov 26, 2019 23:03:12 GMT -5
Ro watched as the Jawas took the cuirass and brought it towards Kaivhen. As he watched he suddenly remembered what he was supposed to be doing and returned to his task of keeping lookout. He had heard Kaivhen mention something about the pattern-weave and from his reaction it seemed to be something important but he decided to hold back his questions on what it meant. He feared it could cause the Jawas to demand more if it was of special significance.
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Post by Gold on Nov 26, 2019 23:34:11 GMT -5
"Ro'Viren. Prepare yourself," Kaivhen called out in the harsh intonations of Mando'a. "Expect trouble very soon. Do not suffer their foolishness, do not show any hesitation. Our history is on the line today."
The Jawas chittered uneasily -- they did not understand the Mandalorian language. Tentatively, their chieftain began to name new figures, driving up the cost of the bargain with the addition of the beskar armor piece. As he squawked, Kaivhen interrupted it, returning to Basic.
"No," he rumbled neutrally. "This is part of the heritage of Mandalore. It belongs to us."
The Jawa instantly objected, launching into a tirade. Kaivhen patiently waited for it to finish.
"And I will pay for it. But only half of your inflated, perceived worth," he said. "Consider it your finder's fee."
Again, the Jawa garbled at him angrily. Kaivhen knew what it was asking: What do you possibly have that can discount half the price of one of the sturdiest pieces of personal armor in the galaxy?
"The lives of every Jawa here," Kaivhen stated flatly. Within a second of uttering those words, a pistol practically materialized in Kaivhen's right hand, aimed directly at the Jawa chieftain. "It belongs to us," Kaivhen reiterated. "I am being polite. This is your one chance to walk away paid instead of burning in a pyre."
The Jawas chittered uneasily, dangerously. A few of them pulled out ion disruptors, nonlethal weapons meant to disable equipment that nonetheless could fry an organic nervous system. Seconds that felt like hours passed by.
Kaivhen knew what was going on: The little scavengers were trying to figure out the worth of the weapons and armor, the gear, the junk and speeder bikes the Mandalorians brought, and weigh the value they would get out of them against the lives they might lose bringing them down.
"You have 30 seconds to accept," Kaivhen growled dangerously, dropping all pretenses, his aim true and unwavering. Today was a terrible day to not wear the jetpack, he thought.
Apparently, the Jawas came to their conclusion. A trio of them rushed across the roof of the sandcrawler, bringing to bear long rifles down at Kaivhen, seemingly unnoticed by the older Mandalorian...
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Post by Glatisant on Nov 26, 2019 23:52:39 GMT -5
As Kaivhen switched to their native Mandalorian tongue Ro'Viren snapped to attention. At Kaivhen's orders he brought his rifle to bear on the Jawas. His heart began to beat faster as a trickle of adrenaline began to enter his bloodstream as he anticipated the possibility of battle.
While Kaivhen was focused on the Chieftain Ro made sure to watch the other Jawas. As Kaivhen issued his final ultimatum Ro noticed a group of Jawas moving to a position on the roof of the sandcrawler and taking aim at Kaivhen.
Swiveling his rifle towards the Jawas he shouted in Mandalorian "Engaging!" and loosed three bolts into the Jawa rifleman causing one to fall from the roof onto the ground.
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Post by Gold on Nov 27, 2019 0:40:41 GMT -5
Kaivhen didn't deign to look as the Jawa fell down to earth behind him. Out of the corner of eyes, he saw two of the disruptor-wielding Jawas on either side of him ready their weapons. His right arm aimed to the left, and his left arm retrieved his other pistol and aimed to the right in the quickest and least amount of movement possible, firing both shots at the same time. As both of the Jawas cried out in pain, Kaivhen whipped both pistols out towards the chieftain again. "Ten seconds now."
There was no way that twenty seconds had passed between his last proclamation and now. This was escalation on his part.
The Jawa chieftain began chittering at him for a few seconds, before Kaivhen fired both guns into the creature's hood. None of those hyper-pitched words had been a "yes".
The Jawas began howling and screeching in terror as the late chieftain was thrown back by the blast, scurrying away and garbling curses at Kaivhen. The warrior hooked the beskar cuirass with his foot, and kicked it behind him, towards the speeder bikes while walking backwards and holding his weapons out at any Jawa that could even be possibly looking in his direction.
"Ro," he called out in Mando'a. "We're leaving." With that said, he scooped up the beskar cuirass under one arm and mounted his speeder bike, leaving behind whatever junk he had brought. Perhaps that would cover their 'finders fee', not that he particularly cared for the wellbeing of these Jawas anymore.
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Post by Glatisant on Nov 27, 2019 0:47:40 GMT -5
Ro walked towards the speeders with his rifle still pointed in the direction of sandcrawler. If any Jawas attempted anything he would be able to take them out. He lifted a leg over to the other side of the speeder and settled into the seat as he waited for Kaivhen to lead the way back.
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Post by Gold on Nov 27, 2019 0:53:34 GMT -5
Kaivhen kicked the jumpstart mechanism, but the bike sputtered out. With another kick, however, it managed to stay on this time. "Go!" he called out, accelerating to top speed within seconds. At this point, the Jawas began to start firing back, bolts kicking up rocky dust from the barren environs around them.
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Post by Glatisant on Nov 27, 2019 1:05:52 GMT -5
Ro quickly took his bike up to top speed to follow closely to Kaivhen's. While most shots hit the ground around him one shot managed to hit his shoulder but was deflected by his pauldron only managing to damage the paint.
It wasn't long until they were outside of the range of the Jawas' blaster. Normally he would wait for an explanation but Ro was far too curious about the cuirass to wait to recieve one. Speaking loudly he asked "Why did you react so strongly to this cuirass? Your reaction seemed to go beyond what was necessary for a mere cuirass - even for as rare as beskar is now."
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Post by Gold on Nov 27, 2019 1:25:41 GMT -5
Kaivhen debated for a moment whether to answer. In hindsight, holding up a Jawa sandcrawler might come to bite the Karath coven in the behind later.
"The - the beskar weave," he yelled back over the engines, dodging a rock. "Each Mando'ade clan has its own forging techniques. Takahje - she taught me a few patterns besides our own. I need to know which clan made this cuirass. I've seen it before."
After a few more minutes of riding, they came across their home on this world. Kaivhen could not help but feel like, perhaps, it was more vulnerable than it was before, but he blasted the doubts from his mind. Even a clan as destitute as theirs could defend themselves admirably.
Kaivhen dismounted, flicking down his scanner again and holding out the cuirass to be analyzed again, picking apart of the pattern and weave of the beskar armor. It seemed so familiar, so important...
The scanner failed to match the pattern with anything in the clan's database. Likewise, Kaivhen's memory failed him as well. It was decades ago...
"Thank you, Ro," he rumbled. "Even Typh-ants can take down a gundark, if there are enough of them."
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Post by Glatisant on Nov 27, 2019 2:46:37 GMT -5
Sorry for not responding sooner. A storm came through and knocked out the power))
Ro was unaware of the difference between the production methods of each clan. From what Kaivhen said it seemed that may have been from a particularly important clan.
Arriving at the complex they now called their home he dismounted the speeder. Ro grabbed his rifle from the rack and replied to Kaivhen "I am doing my duty to the clan as the Resol'nare dictates." Walking up to the entrance to the complex he entered a code into a panel next to it causing it to open. "I suspect the elders would like to see the result of our excursion."
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Post by Gold on Nov 27, 2019 17:54:17 GMT -5
"Later, when I know exactly we have gotten," Kaivhen replied, eyeing the armor piece warily. "I am going reach out to some of my contacts, perhaps the Wrens. See if they might recognize the pattern..."
Kaivhen remembered that it was rare for another clan to have access to another clan's forging patterns, and were shared under specific circumstances -- such as when a dying clan in the verge of extinction wished to have at least some part of their legacy live on in another.
Or, perhaps more likely, their clan had been at war with another, and the old Karath forge artisans managed to discern this pattern after capture of a piece and intense study to find its weaknesses.
"At the very least, what few foundlings we have will have their beskar iron when they are ready to forge their own armor," Kaivhen declared, satisfied that they have gained at least that much. "At this rate, I was worried that I would have to give up my own."
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Post by Glatisant on Nov 30, 2019 2:07:59 GMT -5
Sorry I haven't gotten a reply up until now. I ended up getting dragged around the last 3 days by my mother.))
Ro nodded in agreement knowing how important the foundlings were to the future of the clan. "I will be retreating to my quarters soon. I need to rest a little." As he began to walk into the building ahead of Kaivhen he paused to make one last request "If you discover anything about the cuirass... be sure to let me know. I'm eager to know its origins." With that he proceeded towards his quarters. (Want to do a little time skip?)
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Post by Gold on Nov 30, 2019 19:57:13 GMT -5
(Lol it's fine, I assumed it was holiday stuff.)
Kaivhen nodded warily. "Then that would make two of us to disappoint," he rumbled neutrally.
The forge artisan actually did have an idea of who made this armor, but his own archives were incomplete and lost over time. Kaivhen needed to be sure that his suspicions were correct. If he was, then the implications could be astronomical.
(yep let's do a skip)
(also, got to apologize because I know it kind of looks like I'm taking control of the story because that's honestly what it kind of is, but I actually do have quite a few ideas in how to develop our plot further so that's kind of what's going on)
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Post by Glatisant on Dec 1, 2019 9:54:48 GMT -5
I don't mind! It's good to keep the plot moving along))
Ro awoke from his sleep refreshed. It had been a long time since he had slept on a proper bed and not the cramped bunks of a ship. He quickly put on his armorweave jumpsuit and began attaching his beskar armor to it before putting on his jetpack. Now fully dressed he left his quarters and entered the commons. As usual there were few members of the clan inside with most being out on bounties or other tasks.
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Post by Gold on Dec 1, 2019 20:12:42 GMT -5
Kaivhen had been in the room just long enough for Ro to catch a glimpse of him carrying a small canister of parts, his leathery shroud disappearing through the door leading to his forge. The forge artisan appeared to be in the midst of some kind of project, judging from the urgency he went along his business, a project that with no doubt also involved the recovered beskar cuirass.
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