Thanks for the nudge, still super busy on my end, super stressful and it's also really really hot here! I'm hoping to get a little time to sit down and sort out my post tomorrow though it might be a bit tight. Sorry to hold y'all up, especially as you're all so on-the-ball with this!
@BCTheEntity Yeh, it's a little tough on the Calanon front, and I guess that's partly why this has slipped my mind a bit. Everything going well on your end?
Just saw concept art of a Dug firing a blaster with its feet and now a small part of me wants to make a Dug medic for no reason other than imagining the look on peoples' faces as my character commences life-saving battlefield surgery by picking up a scalpel between his toes.
The look would be horror and immense pain, but people under heavy anaesthetic and shock seldom quibble
The Captain's little pre-speech drew more ears then she might have noticed, people took especial note of "Enjoy yourselves because tomorrow’s a big day.” Amélie took a deep breath from her seat near the edge of the gathering upon hearing that. The hard work was never behind them, always in front. Taking a quick swig of champagne Amélie remembered to smile, and kept smiling through the nerves. Dr. Amélie Sellens was the 'USS expert' on Nautrias and she was here on an advisory role, even if she'd only stepped foot on the planet a few times before now. And besides, who needed an expert when you had locals?
Amélie had made her move before anyone higher up the pecking order asked that same question. She exerted her influence to join the expedition so she could write her next grand text on the whole ordeal, this time it would be political. And now she was here, by choice she reminded herself. But she had a hard time putting her heart into it. Now she was down on the planet the magic she had known when she was studying the eco-sphere back when she was writing her two previous texts was gone, choked by apprehension. Instead of the excitement of discovering new things she was instead fussing over what she might have to admit to have gotten wrong, and was too anxious to begin corrections by meeting and greeting the locals.
So instead Dr. Amélie sat by the wall relatively alone, nodding at a few passers by. She had briefed many of the people in the room right now, though she wasn't close to any of them and felt too awkward to spark up conversation. New planet, same old anti-social me...
The image above shows Ashti in her youth, back when she was a knight during the clone wars and still called Nerinni. Although she is a bit greyer around the cheeks these days she has managed to maintain the mighty physique the Cathar are known for through rigid training, something that is immediately noticeable. Also notable are a number of well-earned blaster burn scars across her abdomen and limbs, something normally hidden by clothes and armour.
Her combat wear doesn’t differ greatly from the normal green rebel fatigues, with the exception being a camo-cloak with hood common amongst forest-fighters. Amongst a squad she takes on the role of ammo and bits carrier so is also seen sporting a heavy pack and much-laden pockets
Out of combat she takes off the hood and gear, normally stripping back to her under-shirt provided she’s in the right company.
Background
Born in 54BBY Nerinni never really knew a life before the jedi order, and has never really investigated. She knows through rumour she was born to affluent senators on Coruscant but little else. She was inducted into the order at an early age during the height of their power and during peacetime, and as such was given an opportunity.
Most Cathar get shipped off to the Agricultral Corps and with good reason, as they struggle to master their 'savage' nature, but the Jedi council took a special case with young Nerinni. Whether it was an experiment or as a diplomatic chip against her parents will likely never be known, but she was given special and careful attention by various prominent Jedi masters of the time. It was a successful effort, even if she would be held back compared to her peers due to her difficulties.
She ascended to Padawn status under the tutelage of Master Laan Tik at the age of 14 and would learn from him as the seperatist conflict escalated. The pair of them would be shipped around the galaxy as tensions mounted to try and keep a failing republic together. It was a shock to most of the order when the council instigated the war on Geonosis and Nerinni would be recalled back to Coruscant. Laan Tik would be put in command of the 224th 'Mud Jumpers' Division of clones and sent swiftly to a flashpoint that would quickly spiral into 'The Battle of Mimban'.
Originally sent on an advisory role to train up a local garrison militia things quickly escalated. The 501st moved quickly to assist and Laan Tik sent his padawan away to search for further re-enforcement, backup that would come too late for Nerinni's master who would fall in battle before the first year of the clone wars was up. Nerinni would be promoted to Jedi Knight, General of the republic army, and given command of the Mud Jumpers and battlefield at the age of 32, though this would far from bring peace to the sector.
The Warstalkers, a mainly Trandoshan mercenary army lead by the notorious Oshka the Red, landed on Mimban and sowed terrible destruction wherever they went, claiming hundreds of clone and militia lives wherever they decided to operate, despite Nerinni's best attempts to handle the situation. Eventually The Warstalkers were withdrawn to other fronts, though the impact they made in the hearts and minds of the republicans in the rim needed to be addressed.
After a brief petition period Nerinni was given command of a new battlegroup built specifically to hunt the Warstalkers and aid republic forces where the mercenaries were present. The Task-Force, dubbed "The Core's Riposte," Consisted mainly of 224th 'Mud-Jumpers', given marine and vehicle support and training, persistent fleet support and a small detachment of Arc Troopers. The latter of which would prove invaluable, being the only non-Jedi members of the task force who had a chance of standing toe to toe with the Trandoshans.
The Senate's hopes were two-fold with this Task-Force. Firstly they hoped that just it's formation it would help bolster the morale of the rim, at least in the short-term, and secondly they hoped for quick results as they didn't believe mercenary's could stand up to a dedicated group of the republic's finest. The former expectation was well met, and everywhere 'The Riposte' went they would be well supported, but the latter proved much more difficult to attain.
It would take dozens of clone lives to take down even one Trandoshan, an problem exacerbated by the foe's natural regeneration rate meaning The Warstalkers would often be at full strength long before 'The Riposte' would ever be. It became obvious that Nerinni could not wear down the mercenary group, so instead she settled on shadowing them, thwarting them and awaiting a definitive strike where she could hopefully capture of kill their leader, Oshka, which in turn would likely dissolve the group.
And so the war raged on, The Core's Riposte and The Warstalkers developing a natural rivalry, claiming trophies from one-another, calling to each other by name and looking for members of the other unit on the battlefield. Oshka and Nerinni clashed several times across the conflict, gaining a new respect for the other every time they each had to limp away from the fight, and already planning for the next one.
The ultimate clash would come with the decisive battle above Coruscant. Oshka's flagship, The Blood Cannon, would become immobilised towards the end of the conflict, allowing Nerinni a window of opportunity to board with support from many neighbouring ships. The two clashed once more, scoring devastating hits on one another and were she not supported by the force it is likely Nerinni would have fallen many times over. In the end, it was the ship that gave out before The legendary Trandoshan, a nearby transistor went critical and struck him unconscious. With the ship's reactor going critical the wounded Nerinni managed to secure and drag him to an escape pod, steering it down to the planet below. Mission accomplished.
The pod had ejected too far into the atmosphere, and suffered a hard landing in the underworld of Coruscant. The pair managed to come to an understanding and work together to get out of the situation they found themselves in. Nerinni would appeal in favour of Oshka when his trail was brought before the senate and he would help her escape, wounded as she was. The truce wasn't that spur of the moment as Oshka had stuck entirely to the republic's rules of engagement, much to the respect of the Jedi Knight, and Oshka had enough respect for Nerinni that he wasn't about to abandon a fellow soldier to Coruscanti gangers and the like. Oshka also had very little will to escape; he'd been captured alive and thus, according to Trandoshan religion, had forsaken all of his Jagganath points. His life's work up to this point had become meaningless.
Eventually the pair reached the surface, flagging down a clone escort to fly them to a more secure location. Upon realising they had been contacted by a Jedi the clones dispatched several gunships, and would have been wholly successful at eliminating Nerinni had Oshka not intervened, holding them off with his bare hands until he found a weapon. After a heated battle the pair managed to escape once more into the lower sector.
It wasn't long after that Nerinni received a transmission from the Jedi temple, informing surviving members of the order about recent events and to stay far away. She decided to let Oshka go free. Her respect for the Trandoshan, gratitude towards him saving her life earlier and relative powerlessness and want to bring him to trail meant the two parted on good terms that day though they would only meet fleetingly a few times after that.
Nerinni would change her name to Ashti not long after and work odd-jobs out in Hutt space, somewhere even the empire struggled to watch at all times. She'd do jobs like protection, muscle or even just manual labour to make ends meet and help keep her in fighting form. Despite the risk she knew possessing a lightsaber would pose to her, she kept it anyway, although she did modify it to look much more mundane; covering the identifying parts like the lens and emitter while also keeping a very similar looking grenade next to it.
The civil war would find Ashti with the destruction of Alderaan, an event so cataclysmic even many without Jedi training felt something. It would take several days for news of what had happened to filter through to Ashti but when it did she knew what must be done. Rebel recruitment was barely hidden in Hutt Space, and she would join up to fight the Empire before the year was up. She wouldn't be fighting as a Jedi this time, but she knew that she was doing the right thing by going to war.
The war would rage on, and Ashti would gain prestige as a fine heavy weapons specialist. She would fight as a basic infantryman across the stars, gaining some brevet rank and medals as she went. She even served amongst the ground forces on Endor, at the climax of the war. With the destruction of the second Death Star Ashti expected to hang up her blaster and retire from conflict once everything settled down, and maybe investigate the propaganda that Luke Skywalker was a Jedi himself (as unbelievable as that was). As her tour of duty was coming to an end, however, her unit received orders to provide several hundred members as reinforcement to a semi-isolated resistance cell. This cell was the Scarlet Moons, who were relatively unhospitable to humans and didn't give a frak about your prior rebel rank.
With a recruitment spiel like that very few people volunteered themselves to sign up, but Ashti did after some deliberation. She had a good feeling about this one, and joined up to keep an eye on the unit for rebel high command. Having completed the two-week orientation, despite mockery at her advancing age, she is now ready to deploy to her first mission as a Scarlet Moon, on it's way to capture Ord Thoden...
Outlook and Motivation
Protector: Ashti sees herself as a guardian for civilians and soldiers with less experience than her, and will do what she can to help them even at personal sacrifice
Informant: It's no big secret Ashti is keeping the greater Rebel command briefed in the current goings on, and although this isn't too much of a big deal it certainly provides some tension with the higher ups
Capabilities
Characteristics
BRAWN, Primary Characteristic: What Cathar are famous for Ashti provides in spades. Whether it’s hauling cannon and ammo or overpowering a foe with vibroblade. Ashti trains nearly daily to refine her body and core out of habit and it goes to show. Even as a female of the species her strength is comparable to the strongest of humans.
WILLPOWER, Secondary Characteristic: Even a blunted tool can strike true with a bit of luck. Jedi training has a way of conditioning the mind and body that lasts even without the touch of the force, and even after many years Ashti has a level of patience, endurance and tolerance that is well respected by any that know her.
Fluent Languages
Galactic Basic Huttese Catharese
Passing Languages Rodian Mimbanese Dosh Twiese Durese Umbarese
Skills and Connections
Jedi Trained: Ashti is not totally blind to the ebb and flow of the force, nor have her powers totally waned. She can still wield a lightsaber if required and, should the force will it, reach out with her powers.
Veteran: Ashti fought in many of the major theatres in the clone wars, becoming particularly adept at countering ambush forces and enemy heavy infantry. This experience manifests itself most readily when it comes to positioning herself on a battlefield, striking the weak points of foes and remaining unshaken in the face of danger.
Heavy Weapons: Built like a Rancor with something to prove Ashti was a shoe in for this role, even with her advancing years. In the last few years since she joined the rebellion, she has operated anything from ship-to-ship batteries to anti-aircraft to missile launchers to infantry-borne blaster canons; the latter being her specialisation. She has a knack for setting up at just the right angles and has tutored more than a few of the Rebellion’s recruits in the past few years, earning her the callsign ‘Longtooth’ out of respect.
Flaws
Weak in the force: Though perhaps not especially considered to be a weakness for others, years out of practice combined with the Cathar’s savage nature has left Ashti on a level that could be considered lower than most padawans. Blocking blasters and sensing ambushes was something she could do back in the war, but certainly no longer. Her physique leaves her still quite a skilled duellist but not talented enough to stand toe to toe with another force-user for long at all.
Arrogant: When the bombs are falling and enemy fire raining it can be easy to forget you’re nearly thirty years away from your previous glory-days. Whether this means Ashti over-extends herself or tries to skip chain of command doesn’t matter; it’s a trait that’s likely to get someone hurt and maybe even killed
Inventory
Credits and Valuables
-250 credits kept on person
Clothing and Jewelry
-Rebel Fatigues -Dog-tags -Flak armour
Tools and Weapons
-Laser entrenching tool -2x Thermal Detonators -T-21 Light Repeating Blaster and enough ammunition to blow a new crater in this tiny moon -A short Vibroblade -Vibroknife -1 small metal tube that kind of looks like another grenade (nudge nudge)
Consumables
-Rations -Water -Small utility power-pack
Bags and Containers
-Large backpack, nestled over cloak
Misc
-A distinct lack of miscellaneous or personal effects
