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My name is Bahadur.
I am a Knight, tasked with safeguarding the Elder of my Clan.
I was selected for this purpose when I was but a child, no more than seven years of age. My shoulders were broad, my back strong, my mind sharp as a knife’s edge and my heart as pure and innocent as fresh snow. It is for those reasons that my kin’s elder hand-picked me to become a Knight for the clan.
My training began as I reached my eighth year of life. It was difficult, but simple. Mental drills to strengthen my mind and teach me all that I would have to know in order to serve my Elder, and physical drills to fortify my rapidly growing body. Day in, and day out, I trained. I drew strength from the words of the priests, who promised me that what I was being prepared for was the greatest duty I could aspire to.
I did not, and still do not, doubt the veracity of their word.
With every year that passed, my training grew more intensive. I began training with hand to hand combat and melee weaponry in my tenth year. In my twelfth year, I was taught to fight with and maintain blasters, slug throwers, and other ranged weaponry.
By my fifteenth year, I had mastered both skills. My trainers then became little more than sparring partners; men with whom I fought and further refined my skills. Because of this, the Elder saw fit to have his current Knight take me in under his wing. Thus, I became a Squire, and served alongside the Knight in his duties. As the duty of safeguarding the Elder demanded the Knight’s full and undivided attention, the task of guarding the Elder’s young daughter, Vashti, fell to me.
I admit, I greatly enjoyed guarding Vashti. She was a soft, slender girl. No more than five feet and six inches in height. Her voice was like that of an angel, and her features were just as beautiful as those of an angel. Her personality was equally pleasant, and she spoke eloquently and confidently; I could have easily spent hours listening to her speak. It was unfortunate that my position prevented me from having anything more than a simple friendship with her. But I knew my place, and I did not step outside it.
In my sixteenth year, a group of human scientists came to the Clan upon the request of my Elder. These humans specialized in cybernetic implants and genetic alteration; they infused my blood with millions of microscopic machines to enhance my natural attributes and implanted what they called a ‘Direct Neural Interface’ into the base of my skull. My adrenal glands were stimulated to triple in size, and modified so that I could control them with but a thought. My right adrenal gland was replaced with a synthetic gland that produced a powerful blend of combat stimulants far more potent than simple adrenaline, that I could use to give myself a short-lasting but significant edge in any fight. The scientists also utilized extensive gene and steroid therapy to accelerate my growth, while I still had several years of growth left.
By my eighteenth year, when the therapy ceased along with my body’s growth, I had grown to a height of precisely Seven Feet. As the therapy had made my bone and muscle much denser than the normal Cathar’s, I weighed no less than Three-Hundred and Sixty Pounds, and my sturdy frame was packed with rippling muscle as a result. To further bolster my strength, a custom suit of power armor was forged for me at the behest of my Knight. The suit took six months to complete, but was tailored to be a precise fit to my body. The power armor was neither the most advanced suit in the galaxy nor the most agile, but it was one of the most robust and practical.
It was vacuum-sealed and crafted to survive for extended periods of time in harsh or toxic environments. Magnetic plates in the boots ensured that I would never be ripped out of a ship in an explosive decompression. The powerful and highly responsive servomotors that enhanced my strength enabled me to tear a man limb from limb with my bare hands. The left gauntlet was equipped with a thin layer of pure cortosis plated atop the armor, enabling me to disrupt a lightsaber simply by blocking a blow with my hand.
The helmet was designed to accommodate my muzzle comfortably, and was equipped with a HUD and hands-free communications system. The suit was hardened against EMP, and no computer virus or hacker could attempt to take control of it thanks to many safeguards built into the armor’s software, one of which was the lack of any form of datalink between the comms gear and the armor’s computing systems, which made accessing the armor‘s computer impossible.
My only complaints about the armor are thus: First, it hampers my natural agility and makes a stealthy approach all but completely impossible. Secondly, as durable and powerful as it is, I can't help but feel that the power-pack on the back is - like the gaps in the armor over my joints and the flexible plates covering my stomach- not sufficiently protected. While it shrugs off light weapons fire just like the rest of my armor, I fear that a sufficiently powerful weapon or a heavy blaster bolt to the cooling slots on the back could disable or destroy the power pack, making the armor a burden rather than an asset. And finally, donning the armor is... Difficult. It takes three minutes and considerable effort to equip it, and another seven minutes for the armor to completely power up and reach a combat-ready state.
Along with the armor was the gift of weapons. Two swords, one based off the design of a vibrochainsaw, the other, a unique power sword that crackled with pure energy, and was weaved with cortosis to make sparring with a lightsaber possible. Two ranged weapons accompanied my melee weapons: A heavy automatic slug-rifle and a equally heavy automatic slug-pistol. The rifle is chambered to fire a .60 Caliber round, whilst the handgun fires a .75 Caliber slug. Each one can use many different types of ammo, from incendiary to solid slug to explosive. I prefer a semi-armor-piercing-explosive round. It pierces enemy armor, then explodes.
Very messy, but undeniably effective against enemy personnel and moral.
Enough of weapons and armor, though.
After I received my armor, I was no longer a mere squire. My knight, having reached his senior years, retired. And thus, I took his place as my elder’s protector. I was content; I was serving what I truly believed to be my life’s purpose. But at the same time, I secretly desired Vashti’s hand in marriage. My desire meant nothing, however. I still knew my place, and it was not at Vashti‘s side.
I served faithfully for a full ten years, each year of which was blessedly simple and without challenge. Yes, there were some times that a fool or a group of fools would attempt to do harm to my clan’s Elder or Vashti, but I never failed to ward off their evildoing, nor did I fail to bring punishment to those who had intended my Elder and his daughter harm.
At least, I did not fail my Elder until three years ago.
It was a simple trip to Coruscant. We were to jump to our destination aboard a Clan-owned Yacht, touch down at a spaceport, and then I was to escort my Elder to the office of a corporation that my kin had business with. What manner of business, I do not know. It was not my place to ask.
Everything went very smoothly. We arrived on schedule, and I departed the vessel first, as per our procedure. I greeted the corporate officials who had come to meet us and escort us to their facility. After ensuring that the two men were harmless - they were simple humans and both were unarmed. I could kill both in a single breath with ease. - I motioned for the Elder and his daughter, who had accompanied us at her fathers request, so that she could learn how to conduct business so that she would be better prepared to take his place one day.
The negotiations with the corporation took the better part of the day. Halfway through, Vashti tired of all the legal terminology being slung back and forth across the meeting room, and departed with the excuse of using the lady’s room. As there were two clan honor guards with the elder along with myself, I decided that I could escort her to the restrooms myself, and so I did just that.
As had become the norm for the scant few times we had to speak alone, we chatted idly all the way to the bathroom, even going so far as to ‘accidentally’ lose ourselves in the corridors several times to prolong the time we had to speak. Eventually, we couldn’t put off returning to the meeting room any longer, and so we cut short our conversation and returned.
By the time we got back, the elder had finished negotiations, and it was time to leave. We made our way to the building’s lobby to leave the way we had come in, but just as our lift reached the marble-floored lobby, something went wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong.
As it had turned out, the corporation we had visited was a bank, the same one responsible for the financial services rendered to my kin. And the bank was close enough to the lower levels for one of the more brazen swoop gangs to make an attack on it.
A great explosion tore through the lobby just as we stepped out of the elevator, and in moments, a flood of gang members poured in through the blackened and twisted main entrance. I opened fire with my slug pistol, tearing apart a cluster of the brutes with a single volley of explosive shells. The roar of my weapon made me a target, but it mattered not. Their holdout blasters and slug pistols bounced harmlessly off my armor, making naught but scratches and small pockmarks. I continued to fire on the group, loosing off short, controlled bursts while my Elder and Vashti tried to get the lift operation again.
The explosion must have severed all power lines to the lift, as their efforts were ineffectual. With more swoop gang members pouring in, and my ammo running low - I only carried two spare magazines for my sidearm, as I had hardly expected to have to wage a small war - I did the only thing I could think of. I had the Elder and Vashti get between me and the wall, and we attempted to escape by skirting the wall of the lobby and trying to reach one of the rear exits, rather than fighting our way back through the main entrance.
That plan… Failed.
I could not have predicted that the swoop gang would breach in through the rear emergency exits as well. Just as we approached the door, it was blown off its hinges by an explosive charge. Luckily, the door landed right in front of us, but that was but a small blessing. A small group of bandits rushed in through the smoking entrance, blaster pistols blazing wildly the moment they spotted our silhouettes through the haze.
I returned fire as I attempted to place myself between my charges and the incoming blaster bolts, but it was too late.
A heavy blaster pistol bolt caught my Elder right in his left eye, instantly boiling through the soft tissue and creating a tiny explosion when it hit the bone, ripping apart his skull and destroying his brain.
He was dead before he even hit the ground, with half of his face scorched away.
I roared in equal parts anger and pain as I returned fire and charged at the bandits responsible.
The looks of terror on their faces as I stormed out of the mist with their bullets ricocheting off my armor was a sweet sight; their screams music to my ears as I drew my sword and dashed them to pieces.
In my haste to slaughter those responsible for my Elder’s death, I had left Vashti unattended. But I naively assumed she had followed me, and so expected to see her standing there when I turned around. But I did not. I saw her racing down the corridor I had just exited, her long legs carrying her as fast as her dress would allow as yet another thug appeared in the corridor behind her, wielding a spherical device.
I bellowed for Vashti to drop to the ground as I lifted my sidearm and depressed the trigger, sending forth my final round… A moment after that man had lobbed that device down the corridor towards me.
I still do not understand what happened. My round flew straight and true, headed directly for the man’s shoulder. But somehow, the slug caught that sphere just as it was flying over Vashti’s position.
I saw a bright flash of light inside the corridor, then a blast wave knocked me clean off my feet and onto my back.
Even my helmet’s padding was unable to prevent me from fading into unconsciousness from the force with which I struck the ground.
Some time passed before I awoke. Perhaps fifteen minutes, according to my HUD. When I came around, I immediately scrambled to my feet, ignoring the ringing in my ears and the taste of blood in my mouth as I did so.
Panic gripped me for a moment as my eyes surveyed the damage to the hall.
Where once Vashti had stood, there was nothing but a perfect spherical hole in the corridor,
still glowing and smoking from the blast that had consumed it.
At first I was afraid. I feared that I had lost not only Vashti’s father, but that I had lost her as well. But then I realized that the blast that had knocked me over backwards, had most likely propelled Vashti out of the corridor! She could have survived, no, she had to have survived. Losing her father was hard enough for me, I could not lose her as well.
I looked around the platform I had landed on. There was a impact mark several feet from where I had landed, where someone or something had scuffed the well-polished platform floor. While it could very well have been debris, I also knew that it could have been Vashti. She might have landed there; she might have woken up faster than me and the blast could have addled with her memory, so she might have fled in fear.
I had to find her, that became my new objective. I found a pattern of footprints in the fine layer of dust and debris coating the platform, and followed them down a flight of stairs leading into Coruscant’s underworld.
It is there that my search for Vashti began. A search that has lasted for three years, and has spanned the galaxy as I have searched for her, for that beautiful angel of a cathar that I first met over fifteen years ago. I know she is in this galaxy somewhere, I can feel it. I can feel her.
Sometimes, I am even granted visions of her in angel-form, with beautiful white wings of silken feathers emerging from her back. When I see her, I can hear her whispering, I can hear her beckoning me, leading me across the galaxy, drawing me ever-closer to where she now hides.
I will retrieve Vashti, I will set things right with her. I will bring her back to the Clan and I will restore the honor I lost when I failed her and her father, and I will once again have at my side the only true friend I have ever known and the only woman I've ever cared for;
Vashti.
HISTORY UPDATES
-Coming Soon-
General Information
Faction: Jedi Order
Rank: Knight [Trained by Knight Valena Cross and by Knight Jamall Mohatu, Jr.]
Homeworld: Cathar
Full Name: Bahadur Kodaji Riyaz
Nicknames: "Big B"; "Kody"; "Daji"
Height: 7'00"; 7'4" with Battle Armor
Weight: 360Lbs; 1,860 with Battle Armor
Species: Cathar
Gender: Male
Age: 32.5 Years
Weapons and Equipment
Weapons
The RB60 is a heavy assault weapon that blurs the line between assault rifle and automatic rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Classified as a 'Bolter' by its manufacturer, the esteemed Praetor Corporation, it fires the highly powerful .60 Caliber rocket propelled armor defeating explosive warhead. Fired by a small kick charge to impart its initial velocity, the explosive round is then propelled by a small rocket motor with offset thrust vectoring ports that impart spin to the round, stabilizing it.
The .60caliber round -like its brothers, the more powerful 23MM and .60 caliber- is boosted along by its rocket thruster to its combat velocity. Its muzzle velocity is a meager 500 feet per second; however, less than a yard out of the muzzle it attains an admirable 1300 feet per second velocity, granting the heavy round admirable combat capabilities. Upon penetrating the armor of its target, the round will detonate; this post-penetration explosion is facilitated by a very slight delay in the charge's fuzing mechanism.
Unsurprisingly, the effects of this round are devastating and approximate the impact of a very heavy shotgun slug, such as a 10 gauge shell. Needless to say, the immense stopping power offered, combined with the low recoil, makes this a seemingly ideal cartridge. However, it has its defects. It is horrendously expensive, and does not have the explosive punch of the .75, or the raw armor defeating power of the 23MM.
Despite its relatively low stopping power and armor killing ability when compared to its counterparts, the RB60 is vindicated by its ability to lay down a veritable wall of fire; the weapon can empty its 25 round magazine in the blink of an eye, with a fire rate of 700 rounds per minute. With each round packing enough punch to defeat light infantry armor, this is one assault weapon nobody wants to get in front of. Unfortunately, its power is tempered by the amount of ammo available; due to the large dimensions of the magazines, Bahadur is limited to carrying only 5 magazines; one in the weapon and the other four in pouches.
-Praetor Arms PB75
A .75 Caliber handgun based on the technology used in the RB60, the PB75 fires from a pair of 8 round magazines, for a total of 16 rounds of the immensely destructive .75 caliber ammunition utilized by the weapon. Each round, while slower and possessing none of the anti-armor characteristics of the 23MM and .60 Caliber, packs an explosive wallop unrivaled by its brother rounds. Capable of messily removing limbs and severing torsos in a spectacularly efficient manner, the .60 Caliber effectively gives its operator the firepower offered by a heavy machine gun, but scales it down into a pistol-sized package.
The weapon fires in either single shot or two round bursts; the latter of which causes both barrels to fire simultaneously. Recoil is far higher than the .60 Caliber, as each round has no rocket motor; the space saved by omitting this part and relying upon traditional gunpowder allows for a much more powerful explosive warhead. Incendiary and buckshot warheads are also available; Bahadur usually carries 8 rounds of each, each in their own individual magazine, thus giving him additional tactical options.
Bahadur usually carries 4 extra reloads for this weapon, for a total of 8 magazines; not counting the 2 magazines in the gun or the 2 magazines of incendiary/buckshot munitions. He never goes anywhere without this trusty sidearm at his side, for the mere appearance of it is usually enough to quell a dispute before it gets out of hand.
-Lahau Arms Chainsword
Perhaps the one weapon in his arsenal not manufactured by Praetor or himself, the Lahau Arms Chainsword is a massive, wicked weapon that is essentially a weaponized vibro-chainsaw. Reinforced with Cortosis weave and crafted from the finest of durasteel, this Chainsword will easily hold its own in even the most vicious of melee fights, and its blood-curdling roar is often enough to send his opponent running for the hills.
This weapon no longer carried by Bahadur, but is mentioned as it was used in several old threads he was involved in.
-Praetor Forge Power Sword; 'Reconciliation'
Presented to him as a gift by the Knight he trained under, this Power Sword is the finest blade Bahadur has ever had the honor of carrying; even the Lightsaber he built pales in comparison to the perfection of craftsmanship and fine attention to detail present within the contours of this blade. Similar in design to a Claymore, but on a massive scale in order to compensate for his physical size, this blade -named the Reconciliation- is created from the finest quality of carbon nanotube reinforced durasteel, woven carefully with cortosis.
Sharpened to a razor's edge and hardened via the same process used to make molecularly bonded armor, this blade possesses fantastic strength; however, its owner is nearly a match for it, as Bahadur's vicious strikes have put many a notch in its cutting face as it has been forced through sword, armor, and flesh alike. Careful maintenance has prevented the blade from incurring serious damage, however. The blade is further enhanced by the addition of a powerful, albeit crude, vibro-generator. This generator lends to the blade the same infamous cutting power accredited to vibroblades, while running arcs of energy across the blade in a cascade of power. This creates a highly visible, audible indicator that the weapon is not drawn to defend; it is drawn to kill.
The blade's sheer weight and size makes it impossible to be wielded by a man smaller in stature and lesser in strength than Bahadur. Its impressive weight also makes it very difficult to block; if a defender does not have the strength to outright stop a blow from this weapon, he may well find that the blade will smash aside his defenses and carve into him! However, there is a downside; the blade's weight forces Bahadur to commit to all but the lightest of attacks. He must therefore be far more mindful and patient in his fighting strategies than any other opponent of his class, lest a foolhardy lunge leave him open to a stinging counterattack.
-Custom-built Lightsaber, Green blade, hull designed for his oversized hands and titanic physical stature. Much longer, larger blade than traditional lightsabers. Operable underwater. He prefers his Power Sword, though he carries this lightsaber in the event that he needs a light, fast weapon with which to alter his combat style and create unpredictable fast, and vicious patterns.
-Blue-bladed Lightsaber, taken from deceased Force User
A second blade, designed for a human of relatively average size and stature. Bahadur jokes that it 'feels like a toothpick' in his hand. Kept primarily as a cutting tool and throwing weapon.
-Grenades
3x Fragmentation w/adjustable fuze; 5M kill radius
1x Concussion w/adjustable fuze; 5M kill radius
2x Flashbang; 2 second fuze
2x White Smoke; 3 second fuze
2x 1M long baradium blast strips; remote or timed fuze
Armor
-Praetor Forge Combat Hardsuit; 'Iron Spirit'To produce this suit, the Praetor Forge was personally contracted by the Elder of Bahadur's Clan. Armor and weapon master smiths alike visited and carefully measured Bahadur's vast frame, factoring his species, body build, and physical strengths into their design as they produced the powered combat hardsuit that would come to be known as the 'Iron Spirit'.
Like its owner, it is simply massive in scale. Rather than attempt to build a muscle suit that would hug tight to its wearer and make Bahadur fast and nimble whilst boosting his strength, the Master Smiths decided to take a more archaic approach to his armor. They built an exoskeleton designed to interface with a matching bodysuit; this exoskeleton was to be powered by a unique hybrid of highly responsive servomotors and powerful hydraulics. In this system, the servomotors allow the rapid application and amplification of his strength, allowing natural, agile movement. When tremendous strength is needed, the servos work together with the slightly slower but more powerful hydraulics; the two systems usually work in tandem only during combat situations.
It has no advanced shields or alloy composition, save for both gauntlets and forearms being plated in a thin layer of pure cortosis; it is made of a heavy, case-hardened durasteel shell with ablative ceramic laminated over the surface, while joints are covered by highly flexible segmented metal plates. In total, the suit's rigid plates can tank through assault rifle and blaster rifle fire, while the joints are proof against handguns. The suit also protects against concussive blasts and shrapnel, though any sufficiently powerful blast -such as a demolition pack or the direct impact of a grenade- will certainly overcome its defenses.
Last but not least, it is insulated and hardened against EMP weapons and vacuum sealed, with an on-board air scrubber and emergency oxygen supplies enabling the user to survive in toxic atmospheres or in vacuum. A tactical HUD displays weapon data and targeting information, along with very basic navigational data.
For all its advantages and powers, the Iron Spirit has several serious flaws. Firstly, it is very slow and heavy, and presents a large target. Load bearing equipment is difficult if not impossible to use with the hardsuit, which limits the number of munitions that can be brought into battle. Its armor, while tough, can be whittled away through sustained or focused fire. And last but not least, it is powered entirely by a backpack reactor; although this is armored, any hit to its cooling intakes will sharply limit its operational abilities, which will force Bahadur to withdraw or to shed his power armor before the reactor overheats and the armor shuts down.
-Praetor Forge Combat Bodysuit
A simple bodysuit, made of armorweave and lightly reinforced with armor panels over the vital organs. It is vacuum sealed and is capable of sealing with any helmet that utilizes a standard neck collar coupling system. There is nothing unique about this suit, save for it being immensely comfortable and precisely tailored to fit Bahadur. As it is made from armorweave, it is somewhat resistant to attacks from pistol-grade weaponry, and the armored plates are proof against standard pistol-grade weapons. However, it does not dissipate kinetic force; as such, a single bullet strike will still cause injury to Bahadur regardless of whether or not it penetrates the bodysuit.
[Yes, this is Snake's OctoCamo suit from MGS4. It was too perfect not to use. T_T]
Equipment
-Toolkit
Hydrospanner, fusion cutter, various spare parts for his Battle Armor, other miscellaneous tools, diagnostic datapad.
-Small windproof high-temperature lighter [Zippo ftw]
-100M spool of high-strength cable capable of supporting his weight inside his armor. Comes with grappling hook capable of being fired from a Bolter-type weapon or with a specialized grappling gun.
-Medical Kit
-Praxis Industries MK310 Battlefield Datapad. Normally used to play Solitaire when bored.
Ship
The Sanguine Spirit
A heavy gunboat utilized by Bahadur during his time as a Knight of Cathar, this ship is relatively slow and roughly as nimble as a brick -just like the power armor so often worn by its owner. However, it boasts thick armor, powerful shields, and enough armament to shame any other ship in its size category. A balance of heavy railguns, laser cannons, and missile launchers -all tied to a central fire control computer- serves as her armament, with the bulk of her firepower coming from her two quad-cannon 40MM railgun turrets and her chin-mounted dual 40MM railgun turret.
A handful of smaller twin-laser cannon turrets dot the underside and topside of the hull; these high-ROF weapons are accurate but quite weak, and as such their control is delegated entirely to the ship's fire control computer so that their pinpoint accuracy can be used to gun down incoming missiles and mines. For use as an anti-ship weapon, however, these point defense guns are virtually useless.
While powerful, the Sanguine Spirit was designed as a combat dropship; as such, she is geared towards anti-ground combat. In a ship-to-ship fight, it would be frighteningly easy to simply outmaneuver this vessel and get behind her, where only her relatively weak point defense lasers can cover.
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