WIP
Zeibura Al’Shem Kal’Nett
27 :: Human/Mandalorian/Dxun Mandalorian Covert :: Bounty Hunter/Mercenary
Currently in: Hidden Mandalorian Compound, Dxun, Onderon System
Character Background
--- Early Life on Concord Dawn ---
Zeibura was born into Clan Kal'Nett, a small but honorable clan on Concord Dawn, known locally as both warriors and scholars. At the time, the clan consisted of Zeibura's father and mother, D'jarr and Orla, his sister, Ina, and D'jarr's four brothers and their families. Their clan had made their home on Concord Dawn barely a decade before his birth, seeking to distance themselves from the pacifist movement that dominated Mandalorian society. Many Mandalorians still held true to the old ways, but any who spoke out were often ridiculed or suffered such significant defamation that they felt like outcasts on their own homeworld. When Mandalore came under the control of the Empire, it became clear that the Kal’Nett Clan’s exodus from the planet had been just in time. Despite growing up in these troubled times, Zeibura never questioned his upbringing. Trained from an early age by his parents, aunts and uncles, by his mid-teens he was already a capable fighter and had joined some of them on Hunts several times.
The Clan was later attacked by a rival clan, the Lo’marr, on the day that Zeibura turned sixteen years old. The Lo’marr had been at odds with the Kal'Netts for years. In a cowardly move, they chose to take advantage of the impending celebrations and attacked, killing more than half the Clan before they could be driven off. With D'jarr and three of his brothers dead and the fourth wounded and unable to fight, Zeibura and his cousins armed themselves with their parents beska'garm and weaponry and took their surviving relatives into the jungle.
With his clan in tatters after the attack, the mantle of leadership fell to Zeibura, along with the responsibility to both provide for and defend them. Their life was tough, having to hunt increasingly scarce game and grow crops in the secluded valley in which they had erected their new dwellings, far from unwelcome attention. The law on Concord Dawn was absolute and, having been blamed for the violence that had befallen them, the Kal'Nett's were outlaws. Thankfully, for whatever reason, they were presumed dead, meaning they had little to fear in terms of being hunted, although they were unaware of this fact, which helped them remain vigilant and focused on their survival. Though his wounds rendered him unable to fight, Jalen, Zeibura's uncle, was able to train the young Mandalorians for the next two years, preparing them to take their revenge.
On his eighteenth birthday, Zeibura, Ina and their cousins emerged from the jungle, burning acres of Lo’marr’s crops and letting the smoke cover their escape. The enemy pursued them, but were cut down by the young Kal'Netts, who had doubled back and hid among the smoke and charred farmland.
Emboldened by this early victory, the Clan continued using guerrilla tactics against their enemies for several months. By the time their war was over, nearly all of Clan Kal'Nett had been lost in one way or another. Zeibura's surviving Uncle had died of his earlier wounds, sickness had taken two of his aunts and all but three of his cousins had died in battle. Lastly, Zeibura's mother had died in her sleep, a weak heart finally giving out after all the Clan had been through. Only his sister, two aunts and his three cousins remained. The remaining Kal’Netts, now in possession of a VCX-100 light freighter ‘liberated’ in one of their raids, took to the stars in search of a new home.
--- Preparing for the future ---
In the early days of their exodus, the Clan lacked any clear destination. Zeibura spent many days in silence, brooding and one could easily make the assumption that he was lost in grief, like they all were. While this was partially true, there was a greater, more powerful reason behind the young hunter's ruminations; determination. One evening, he called for the Clan to gather.
Quote:
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"Any idea why he's called a meeting?"
"Patience, Viktor. He'll tell us himself soon enough."
"No harm in being prepared, Mom... you taught me that."
The camera turned to frame Viktor's helmet in silence for a few seconds.
"Okay okay I'll shut up..."
The camera panned back as Zeibura walked into the cargo bay. He said nothing for a moment, bowing his head in greeting to each of the assembled Kal'Netts.
"I know things haven't been easy for us, but we've endured it all. We've beaten everything the Galaxy has thrown at us and we've done it together."
Some of the assembled hunters nodded in agreement.
"The truth is, we're going to have to beat a hell of a lot more."
"This is the Way," Dielle spoke up.
"This is the way," Zeibura replied, echoed soon after by the others.
"Living on the move is only going to work for so long. We need to establish a base of operations; a home we can call our own, hidden from prying eyes. I have somewhere in mind but we'll get to that later," he explained, "Before we even think about settling, there are things we'll need. Ba'vodu'se, who do you know that deals in jamming tech?"
"Dielle, what about that Toydarian on Sullust?" Lora asked, coming into frame a second later.
"That di'kut? Dead, apparently, someone iced him when he tried to stiff them," she replied, before turning back to Zeibura, "But there are a couple of others I can talk to."
"Where are they?" he asked.
"Closest one's at Junction."
"Then that's where we're going. Any objections?"
Silence and shaking of heads were the response.
Then let's do it. Ina, Freya, prep the ship for take-off. Viktor, do a diagnostic on the turrets. The younger Mandalorians nodded and left the bay.
"You're sure about this, Zeb?" Dielle asked.
"Yes, Ba'vodu."
His aunt nodded before glancing across at her sister-in-law, who did the same.
"Then tell us what you need us to do."
"You know it doesn't feel right me giving you both orders..." Zeibura replied, the usually well-maintained mask of confidence in his voice dropping.
Lora spoke up now, her hand coming up to rest on the cheek of her nephew's helm.
"Zeibura. We trust you. You are our leader by rights. If you were not capable of doing so it would not be so."
"Mandokarla, Zeb. We're behind you. So why do we need jamming tech?"
"Thank you, Ba'vodu'se," He said warmly, taking a deep breath before continuing.
"What do you know about Dxun...?"
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There we complications along the way, but Clan Kal'Nett spent the next few years preparing themselves for their destination. Zeibura knew it would be hostile to them at first, so making sure the younger members of the Clan were prepared was of the greatest importance. True to their nature, they hunted, earning even more in experience than they did in credits.
With his aunts' guidance, Zeibura lead the resurgence of their family. He struggled greatly with a lack of faith in himself, but Lora and Dielle were there to remind him of his potential.
Eventually, having gathered the funds they would require, they took possession of the jamming technology that would keep their new home hidden from their new planetary neighbours, who were reportedly already hostile to another Clan of Mandalorians. With the limited information they had on the Onderon Mandalorians, the Kal'Netts decided it would be safer not to make contact.
--- Establishing the Covert on Dxun ---
The jungles of Dxun might seem like an odd choice of sanctuary. Between the ceaseless jungle rains and the many varieties of vicious predators that inhabited the so-called “Demon Moon”, it was not a place for the faint-hearted. This, however, suited the Kal’Nett’s purposes. It took several days, thanks to only being able to operate on the opposite side of the moon from Onderon's surface, of low altitude scans to find a suitable location to establish themselves.
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“Why’d you bring us down here Zeb?” Ina asked, the helmet’s camera scanning the dense jungle around them while her brother hacked through undergrowth with his blade.
“You’ll see soon enough,” came the reply from the older Mandalorian, “I need our best pilot’s opinion.”
That got a chuckle from Ina.
“Don’t let Aunt Dielle hear you say that. She still thinks that title is hers.”
“Fair point, but after this, I don’t think she’ll dispute it.”
“Always so cryptic, ori’vod…” Ina laughed with a shake of her head that sent the recording out of focus until the camera managed to compensate for the momentum.
After a few more minutes of the pair trudging through the jungle, the holo showed them emerge into a large clearing around the base of a huge waterfall.
“Wow…” Ina said, clearly in awe, “That’s impressive… but what’s it got to do with piloting?”
“You see how the water is smoother about three quarters of the way up?”
“Yeah but what’s that g- wait, you’re not saying...?”
“Seventy-seven metres across, forty-one tall at it’s narrowest. I noticed it on one of the scans.”
“I can’t do that, or’dinii! Are you mad?!”
“Aunt Dielle could…” came the obviously baiting reply.
“Hey! Careful, ori’vod…" she growled back, although with a tinge of amusement in her voice, "Hmm. I guess I could do it. Might need a couple of people guiding me in with flares.”
“I’m sure Kaleb and Freya would relish the opportunity to climb those cliffs. They’ve always had a thing for heights.”
“Okay, let’s get back, I’m gonna need to study those scans.”
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Establishing themselves on Dxun was not an easy task, but the remaining Kal'Netts were no strangers to loss and hardship and their convictions were strong. Having set up the sensor scrambling hardware and turned the caves behind the waterfall into a comfortable base of operations, they began to venture out into the Galaxy once more; collecting bounties, honing their skills, even encountering other Mandalorians in the process. Over time, the Covert grew until there were just as many Kal'Netts as there were others. Deciding to step back from the growing responsibilities of leadership, Zeibura resolved to merely represent his clan within the greater organisation.
Often, members of the Covert would journey deep into the jungles of the Demon Moon, seeking to test themselves against the harsh environment and the even harsher creatures that inhabited it. On one such hunt, Zeibura was almost killed by a small pack of Maalraas, a species often thought to be extinct, when he fell through the earth into their subterranean den. Their fangs punctured his flesh through the gaps in his beskar and he quickly learned his pistols were useless against their tough hides. Losing blood rapidly, Zeibura managed to send an emergency signal back to the Covert before ripping his vibroblade free from his boot. He was later found unconscious, surrounded by five of the dead creatures. It took him many months to recover, but he had earned his Sigil in the process and eventually repainted his armour red to match the creatures' hides.
Quote:
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The camera feed showed a curtain being drawn back as the helmet's owner shouted out.
"Su cuy'gar Zeibura!"
"Ke'pare! Gotta put my lid on."
Viktor immediately withdrew, letting the curtain fall once again. He waited patiently for Zeibura to put on his helmet, knowing the consequences for his cousin if he did not.
"Come on in."
"Cousin! You're one tough son of a bitch you know that? Only you could kill something already extinct."
Zeibura laughed, then immediately regretted it, doubling over in pain and wracked with a hacking cough.
"Urgh, haar'chak... that hurts. Don't make me laugh, Mir'osik... for extinct things they sure did do a lot of damage."
"You'll be fine mate. Mishuk gotal'u meshuroke, pako kyore. Here, some Tihaar from the new shipment. Should take the edge off."
"Vor'e, ner vod. Look away, will you?"
The camera then panned to stare at a blank wall for a few moments, presumably while Zeibura lifted his helm to take a drink.
"Damn that's strong... it's been a while since I had good Tihaar. Okay you're good."
Viktor's gaze turned back to his cousin, who had laid back flat on his bed, still clutching the bottle.
"Is everything set for the Sullust job?"
"Yes, Zeb, for the tenth time," Viktor chuckled, "You get some rest, cousin. We got this. I'll see you in a week."
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--- Present Day ---
In recent years, the Covert has been growing in strength and prosperity. Now Zeibura and his fellow Mandalorians stand ready to begin a whole new set of adventures...
Raw Material
- Gunslinger, warrior, scholar, leader: Zeibura grew up enduring many hardships, but that has not dampened his spirit. He acts, always, in the best interests of his family and his people. Though often brooding and thoughtful, he's charismatic and not without a sense of humour. -will expand on this as I write him and learn more about him-
Physical Appearance
- Like the rest of Clan Kal'Nett, Zeibura never removes his helmet except when alone. Only the other members of the clan know what he looks like beneath the Beskar and, even then, they have not seen his face for many years.
Equipment
- Beskar'garm -
His most prized possession, as it is with many Mandalorians, is a full cuirass of Beskar armour.
Attachment 3260
- Custom blaster rifle -
3-bolt burst, designed for close quarters engagements
Attachment 3261
- Custom heavy blaster pistols -
Semi-auto
Attachment 3262
- Beskar Khukri -
Pattern-welded beskar blade, Maalraas fang handle
Attachment 3263
Plot Ideas
Existing Relationships
Current Plots
- "Cin Vhetin" - Zeibura and his Aunt Lora have arranged a surprise hunt for her daughter, Freya
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