Post by syndrias on Nov 26, 2009 1:56:20 GMT -5
Faction: Mandalorian Military
Department: Special Forces
Rank: Captain
Name: Cassandra Tannan
Race: Human
Age: 21
Height:5’4
Weight:127
Appearance:
The picture below is Cassandra in her Mandalorian armor given to her by her father after she survived a sever training test that was forced to complete. It resembles her father's armor, purposely made like that out of respect. But beneath the armor and Mandalorian helmet is a beautiful girl with long brown hair which is usually braided. She bares no scares on her face but has many battle wounds around her arms and neck, mostly from blaster fire.
Birth place: Concord Dawn
Skills:
Stealth
Demolitions
Awareness
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 4
Intelligence: 6
Speed: 8
Leadership: 7
Unarmed: 5
Melee Weapons: 5
Ranged Weapons: 8
Alignment: -1
Bio:
An Unforgiving Birth
Cassandra was the daughter of a brave Mandalorian named Trask Tannan. Trask was a heartless barbarian who killed what he wished and when he wished. His only alliance was to his Mandalorian clan and to Mandalore! But he never ever stayed in one place for long. He traveled from planet to planet, most of them being control by the Mandalorians, ensuring that all went well according to Mandalore’s standards. When Trask came upon his home world, Concord Dawn, he met a beautiful woman whose name was Aida. Aida fell in love with the deadly, strong Trask and soon married him. But Trask did not have love in mind when he made Aida his wife. He wanted her to bare him a son that would carry on his name and become a strong Mandalorian.
A year after they were married, Trask was angry and disappointed to be given a daughter, Cassandra, instead of a son. And even worse, Aida died soon after. Even though Trask was short on feelings, he could not help but feel like he had lost someone important in his life. But, like any other Mandalorian, he accepted it and moved on. Despite that he was given a daughter instead of a son, his plans remained the same. He needed someone to carry on his name. So when Cassandra turned three, he immersed the little girl in the knowledge of death and combat.
Trask’s teaching were harsh and unfair. It was easy to see that he had some hatred for his daughter. No doubt he blamed her for the death of Aida, and the fact she was not his son made him dislike her even more. He did not even keep his hatred a secret from Cassandra. He used it to keep her strong and hard hearted as he was. In fact, the only reason he was teaching his daughter the ways of a Mandalorians was due to one of the Six Actions all Mandalorians must live up to, which was “All my children will be raised as Mandalorians.”
At age three, Cassandra grew familiar with blaster weapons. She did not train in them just yet, she simply learned their names and uses. Trask thought it wise to know what a weapon was at an early age and how well it would work in combat. At age four, Cassandra began training with small blaster pistols, learning how to aim, shoot, and concentrate on her target. The young Mandalorian child seemed to understand blaster weapons quite well and became very adept at using them. Laser weapons weren’t the only things Trask educated his daughter in. Soon she moved onto sword fighting. Time proved that she was not as skilled in fencing as she was with a blaster, but she was talented with a blade nonetheless.
Years continued to pass as Cassandra grew stronger and tougher and even more cold hearted than her father. She learned the skills of stealth and how to move around her environment without being seen. She learned the uses of explosive weaponry and how to activate/disarm them. But despite all of her successes in her training, Trask’s hateful feelings towards her did not change. She was still a weak female who was lucky he didn’t leave her to die as a small babe. He did not believe she deserved the gift killing, and so he was never merciful while submerging her in his teachings. Failure was always punished, even for the simplest of things. And successfulness was rewarded by continuing to live the next day. It was such a terrible and harsh life that hardly any girl could endure. But Cassandra was different. Despite how much she looked like her mother, she was exactly like Trask through and through. Heartless, determined, and a machine bred to kill.
A True Mandalorian
As Cassandra became twelve years old, only one year short of being old enough to fight alongside Mandalore and the other Mandalorians, Trask was beginning to realize that in order for her to truly be ready as a Mandalorian, he would have to push her father than he had ever before. More so, in fact, than he would if she was his son. As a female Mandalorian, many things were expected of her. She would endure everything a male Mandalorian would, perhaps even more just to assure her father that she was ready. So at age twelve, Trask embarked her on the most dangerous training mission he had ever put her through.
He took her on his ship to Duxn, also known as the Demon Moon. The forest moon was full of cruel, dangerous creatures that tried eating any they came across. The forests themselves were dangerous! Everything about the moon would severely challenge anyone who tried to make rest there, which was why some Mandalorians used it as a base to train young ones. Trask left her there, alone. But he gave her a heavy blaster rifle, two weeks ration of food, and his best hunting knife. The odds that an eleven year old would survive were very slim, and Trask liked that. If he couldn’t kill her himself, he’d let the Demon Moon do it for him. For the first time in his life, Trask felt extremely happy as he left Cassandra to fend for herself, not planning to return until the day she would turn 13. He hoped she would be killed by one of the local bomas by then, and he would finally be rid of her.
As she watched her father blast away into space, not returning till a year‘s time was up, Cassandra’s survival mode kicked in. Everything she had learned from her father, everything she had endured from training would be tested on the moon, and she needed to be ready for it. She would not accept defeat, or the disrespect her father constantly showed her. If she made it through this last test alive, she would most likely prove her worth to Trask and earn his respect. However, this was easier said than done. The first month proved impossibly difficult to stay alive. Every one of her actions had consequences. If she walked too long without taking notice of her direction, she’d get lost. If she rested for too long, cannoks would catch her scent. If she didn’t find a good way to get food, she would starve. Luckily it rained a lot on the moon, and so Cassandra was able to keep herself hydrated. That was the one thing that kept her alive until she finally discovered the secret of survival on Duxn.
First, she finally was able to gain a sense of direction in the forest by not only marking certain trees but by staying in a very small area. After a week or so of staying in that area, she would of memorized everything nearby and then move to a different spot. Second, she learned to make traps such as causing vines to entangle a cannok if it got too close without her notice. And, for her source of food, she found that cannoks held the most nutrition. Not only in their meat, but in their stomachs. Cannoks ate a lot of things, sometimes stuff that wasn’t food and it would sit in their bellies for long periods of time. She found things like rusty knifes, broken equipment, and sometimes even clothing.
After two months had passed, Cassandra was already beginning to look like a peasant who lived on Corusant. Her clothing was torn around her legs and lower torso, her hair was sweaty and stuck to her head, and cuts and bruises lay all over her body from cannoks attacking her. Soon she realized cannoks weren’t the only creatures living on the moon. Bomas, drexls, maalraas, skreevs, and even the incredibly dangerous zakkegs made the forests their home. The zakkegs were one of the beasts that caused Cassandra a lot of trouble, so she stayed away from them. Apart from zakkegs and drexls, almost nothing was able to best Cassandra in battle. Although there were some close calls when she was caught off guard. However, she was always able to take get herself out of the most dangerous situations.
She was nearly killed in the third month. As she was sleeping in a small grassy hut she had made (mainly from large sticks and leafs), a group of maalraas were looking for an easy meal. As they entered Cassandra’s camp site, a few of them were caught by the traps she had laid out for them, but the rest got through. They immediately attacked the hut, finding Cassandra sitting up and reaching for her blaster rifle. She gunned three down just before a forth tore through her shelter and tried to bite her arm off! Fortunately, Cassandra was quick enough to evade the bite, but her gun was not so fortunate. The maalraas’s teeth crunched down on the weapon, immediately destroying it and then jumped towards its prey for a killing blow. Cassandra unsheathed the hunting knife, which was strapped to her thigh, and stabbed the beast through the neck. She had plenty of food after that battle took palce, but no more blaster weapons to defend herself. Only the hunting knife remained. This made things incredibly difficult for her. Without long ranged weapons she would become an easy target. From here on out, she would have to rely on her stealth abilities to stay alive longer.
The forth month proved to be much more difficult than any of the others before it. Stealth was not an easy thing to accomplish when her enemies could smell her a mile away. Most assassins who were skilled in stealth used stealth fields of some sort to hide their entire body in an open area. Cassandra had no such equipment, and was forced to learn stealth the harder way. The one animal she always had trouble hiding from were the pesky cannoks. During the first month, they were very aggressive and hard to kill for the twelve year old, but now they were just annoying and popping up everywhere she went. After she dispatched a group of cannoks that caught her following them, trying to improve her stealth abilities, she realized something. The cannoks were detecting her mainly by her human stench, which seemed to be very strong and appealing to them. In order to be invisible to their senses, Cassandra needed to smell like something else, or find a better way to track them. And she did. The forest trees were incredibly strong and had long sturdy limbs reaching out and stretching over each other. Cassandra learned that climbing the trees was a good way to track cannoks without them retaliating against her, even if they did catch her scent. This proved useful, and she was able to find several cannok nests. Whenever she found a nest, she made sure never to go near that area again, and soon she mastered every way imaginable to kill/hide/track cannoks.
After figuring out everything about the cannoks, the bomas began causing trouble right around the seventh month. Bomas were a bit larger and much more dangerous than cannoks. And Cassandra’s knife would never be able to bring one down, even if it was already weakened. She needed something else. After killing a cannok and searching its stomach for things useful, she found a way to kill a boma. Inside the dead cannok’s stomach was a shatter sword. The shards from the blade were dull from rotting in the beast’s stomach, but Cassandra had ways of sharpening them. She used several smooth rocks to sharpen the longest and widest shard, turning into something that looked like a spear tip, which was exactly what she wanted.
After finding a very sturdy, strong stick, she tore off a long piece of her clothing and used it as rope to firmly tie the blade onto the stick. After making a slot at the end of the stick for the shard to rest in, and after firmly tying it on, she had a perfectly good spear. She got the chance to test it one day when hunting for food. She had never trained with a weapon like a spear, so it was difficult to kill the boma, but she soon was able to stick it good through the head. After that, things got easier as she practiced using the spear.
The tenth month had finally rolled around. Cassandra had conquered everything on the moon by this time...everything except the zakkeg. She wanted very badly to be able to kill the beast by the time her father got back. That would surely make him respect her. When the tenth month was halfway over, Cassandra spotted the large creature for the first time. Looking at the creature, she knew that she did not have the means to kill it, let alone harm it. A small spear and hunting knife would prove useless against such a foe. If only her heavy blaster rifle hadn't been destroyed by those maalraas she might of been able to do some damage to it. So instead of killing it, Cassandra wanted to at least bring back proof she had encoutered it once. So she stalked it for weeks and weeks until the twelve month came around. She had been waiting for the right moment to strike and take off a part of its tail. While it was sleeping, and the time for Trask to return had come, she sneaked up behind the beast in its lair, hunting knife in hand. With one quick jerk and a slice, the end of the beast's tail was severed and Cassandra bolted up a tree, dodging a few attacks as she did.
By the time Trask had landed, Cassandra was waiting for him. The forest had completely changed her both physically and mentally. Her skin was no longer smooth and shiny, but rough and filthy looking. Her eyes had the look of experience and determination in them, not like the frightened pair of blue eyes Trask had seen before. Extremely surprised that Cassandra was still alive, Trask took her back off of Duxn, and made a course for the planet called Mandalore.
Carrying on the name
When they arrived on Mandalore, Cassandra received her armor that her father had made for her. It looked incredibly similar to his. It was light weight and covered in red and black paint. When she pulled that helmet over her head for the first time, she almost couldn't hold back her tears. She was thirteen, finally, and was now considered old enough to fight in Mandalorian battles. But, she seemed to be the only one who was proud of this moment. Her father's feelings, surprisingly, never changed. He still wished she would of died on Duxn. "You're not fit to carry my name, girl. You're just lucky to be alive." he would say to her. But Cassandra didn't let that bother her though, not anymore. She was a Mandalorian, and that was all she had wanted.
Now living in the same camp as Mandalore, Cassandra's training increased. She moved on to hand to hand combat, and advanced fencing and shooting kills. The other Mandalorians had never seen a female shoot as well as she did. She fought like a young male Mandalorian, and this impressed several of the others. However, she did not yet of any honor or glory on the field, so appreciating her skills did not matter. She needed a real battle to fight in if she wanted to truly prove her skill.
Despite her advanced training, Cassandra was sent on very easy missions, just to give her a small taste of the battles yet to come. Occasionally, two other young Mandalorians would go with her. Each one needed to be able to stand on their own, but in the field, team work was required as well. This was why most of her missions consisted of up to three Mandalorians working together. Missions like securing a new campsite in a nest full of flying beasts, or even killing intruders who found their way onto Mandalore. She was extremely exceptional when she had a team with her, and over time she built up great leadership skills with the other young warriors that fought with her. Most of the younger Mandalorians accepted her as a stronger warrior and soon began following her lead on their missions. She was definitely her father's daughter.
At age sixteen, one of the things she was best known for as a Mandalorian was the battle circle. She was constantly competing in the circle, fighting hand to hand, with blasters and with swords. No matter who she went up against, or what weapon she was using, she always found a way to make things difficult for them. She used her speed to her advantage for dodging blows or even dishing them out. Most were surprised to see a young girl fight so violently. She gained very small bits of honor in the circle for winning her battles from time to time, but she never made it to champion. The three top dogs were too advanced in war and combat that they easily over took her. It made her want a war to break out so that she could fight and actually kill something challenging like a humanoid being. Then she would have the experience to perhaps pose a threat to the stronger warriors in the battle circle. At age 20, she was given a chance to gain real war experience. A strong Mandalorian clan named Clan Toran, lead by Daros Toran, arrived on the planet seeking out Mandalore's main camp. Once they had found it, they attacked without warning, gunning down countless young Mandalorians. He wanted to be the new Mandalore, and to command larger numbers underneath his clan.
Cassandra happened to be with her father, helping train some new recruits in hand to hand combat when they heard the blaster fire. They saw Daros Toran taking over the camp in his white armor and gunning down many Mandalorians all around him with his clan covering his back. They were making for Mandalore's personal quarters, and were preparing to blow it up with him inside. Trask and Cassandra charged in, Trask using his double pistols and Cassandra using her rifle. Their enemies fell all around them as Mandalore emerged from his quarters, fully armed and ready for battle. As he watched the father and daughter fight side by side, and their enemies falling around them, he realized it was a beauty he had never seen before. "Glorious!" was all he could say as he charged in beside them. The three warriors seemed almost unstoppable together as they vanquished every foe that challenged them. All of them, of course, except for Daros.
Daros was an extremely large Mandalorian and could quite possibly be described as a giant. He carried a long sword only, no blaster weapons. He liked to see the blood leave his enemies' veins. As the rest of Clan Toran's members attacked Mandalore's fighters, the four Mandalorians prepared themselves for battle. Daros charged in first, and Trask stepped forward to greet him as Cassandra laid down cover fire. But it wasn't enough, Daros had incredibly strong armor which deflected the bolts of energy. His sword gleamed in the sun light as he swung it, piercing Trask through the chest. A cry escaped Cassandra's lips as she leaped forward, taking aim with her rifle, and firing at Daros' helmet. The bolts remarkably punched through the helmet's visor and continued through the enemy Mandalorian's head. Daros fell to the ground, vanquished, as Cassandra, Mandalore and the other remaining Mandalorians finished off Clan Toran.
Once the battle was over, Cassandra knelt down by her father who was obviously dieing. He had lost too much blood to survive. She pulled off her helmet so that he could see her face, and how incredibly sad she was. She was disappointed in herself, for not being able to protect him. Surprisingly, Trask took his helmet off as well. But he did not wear the hateful expressions he always did for her. This time, he wore a smile. "I have trained you all your life for this. You have done well, and you have completed your training. I only have one last request, my daughter." He struggled to keep breathing and his eyes narrowed as he exhaled. "Carry the name."
Cassandra watched as her father's eyes dimmed, and felt his body go limp. Though she was crushed by his death, Cassandra did not let her it affect her emotionally. She accepted it, just as Trask had accepted her mother's death. And that day, Mandalore named her Captain Tannon. As a mark of her rank, she was given Trask's cape and dual pistols, which of course Trask had recieved when he became a captain. Ever since that moment, Captain Tannon would never leave Mandalore's side. She would give her life for her Mandalorian brothers. She would fight in the place of her father. She would carry on the name.
RP Sample:
The night air filled Cassandra's lungs as she bent down over the newly covered grave which resembled a large mound of dirt. She picked up a Mandalorian helmet, broken and rusty, and placed it on top of the dirt mound. Brushing back her braided hair, she bowed her head, paying her respects as did two other Mandalorians, who were the rest of her scouting party.
Cassandra's eyes looked up to the sky, scanning the stars and the moonlight. How did it come to this? She asked herself as her mind raced backwards over all that had happened. Clan Toran was becoming more of a nuisance than Cassandra had expected. Hiding in the day and killing at night, such were the tactics of cowards.
Suddenly, a massive explosion pulled Cassandra back to the real world, shattering her thoughts to pieces. She pulled her helmet over her head, armed her plasma rifle and commanded, "On my six." to the other two warriors with her.
Smoke rose up to the north east as blaster bolts fired from two separate directions nearly a mile away from Cassandra's position. They've gotten through... As they got closer to the battle ahead, she could see Mandalore's forces beginning to fall back. They were holding a small base that was mainly used to store weapons and food. She raced across the sands and finally caught up to the defending forces. Surprisingly, it was her father that was the first to greet her.
"Done playing in the sand?" Trask asked as his daughter and the other two Mandalorians took cover beside him.
"Why are we retreating? We have the larger force!" Cassandra shouted, firing into the crowd of enemies.
"They have strong armor and stronger blasters. They can't be stopped and their charging right through us."
"Perhaps their backs will be easier targets." Cassandra thought quickly as one of the enemy warriors fired a rocket into the side of the base. Fire and explosions filled the air and the base as the enemy began to pile in. "Let them take the base.We work around behind them, unseen, and take it back."
"I'll call the others to follow." one of the Mandalorian scouts said, activating his comm link.
Trask stopped him by grabbing his wrist. "No, the others will need to distract them. We can do this on our own. Follow me and stay close!"
The four Mandalorians rose to their feet and darted out of the base as more enemies piled in. "Turn and hold this area!" Trask shouted to the other Mandalorians that had just retreated out of the base. "When I give the signal, charge in!"
Leading Cassandra and the other two, Trask pulled out two twin pistols and ran around the corner of the base. The enemy was up ahead, but could not see him and the others waiting in the dark, watching them pile into the base. One after the other, members of Clan Toran entered the base, thinking they now had the upper hand. Trask suddenly charged forward shooting, taking down three enemy targets who were just outside the base. "The rest should be easy now. Stay close to me."
Cassandra and Trask were the first to enter the base. Every single enemy had their backs turned to them, unaware that they had been flanked! "For Mandalore!" Cassandra shouted, unleashing a round of plasma bolts into a large group of enemies as her father picked off a couple of hostile snipers. Bodies fell all around as Cassandra and Trask plunged through the enemy ranks like a spear! Now the enemy knew they were there. All of their targets turned around and prepared to fire. Trask pulled a flare from his belt and fired it into the air, "CHARGE!" he screamed as loud as he could.
Their fellow Mandalorians charged in the second they saw the flare, guns blazing. Their enemies were now unmatched and overwhelmed. Some of them gave up and dropped their weapons, but they still were not spared. Every enemy that surrendered felt the sting of Cassandra's plasma bolts and soon the base was retaken.
Trask smiled at their success, raised his fist and screamed, "Mandalore Victor!"
Department: Special Forces
Rank: Captain
Name: Cassandra Tannan
Race: Human
Age: 21
Height:5’4
Weight:127
Appearance:
The picture below is Cassandra in her Mandalorian armor given to her by her father after she survived a sever training test that was forced to complete. It resembles her father's armor, purposely made like that out of respect. But beneath the armor and Mandalorian helmet is a beautiful girl with long brown hair which is usually braided. She bares no scares on her face but has many battle wounds around her arms and neck, mostly from blaster fire.
Birth place: Concord Dawn
Skills:
Stealth
Demolitions
Awareness
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 4
Intelligence: 6
Speed: 8
Leadership: 7
Unarmed: 5
Melee Weapons: 5
Ranged Weapons: 8
Alignment: -1
Bio:
An Unforgiving Birth
Cassandra was the daughter of a brave Mandalorian named Trask Tannan. Trask was a heartless barbarian who killed what he wished and when he wished. His only alliance was to his Mandalorian clan and to Mandalore! But he never ever stayed in one place for long. He traveled from planet to planet, most of them being control by the Mandalorians, ensuring that all went well according to Mandalore’s standards. When Trask came upon his home world, Concord Dawn, he met a beautiful woman whose name was Aida. Aida fell in love with the deadly, strong Trask and soon married him. But Trask did not have love in mind when he made Aida his wife. He wanted her to bare him a son that would carry on his name and become a strong Mandalorian.
A year after they were married, Trask was angry and disappointed to be given a daughter, Cassandra, instead of a son. And even worse, Aida died soon after. Even though Trask was short on feelings, he could not help but feel like he had lost someone important in his life. But, like any other Mandalorian, he accepted it and moved on. Despite that he was given a daughter instead of a son, his plans remained the same. He needed someone to carry on his name. So when Cassandra turned three, he immersed the little girl in the knowledge of death and combat.
Trask’s teaching were harsh and unfair. It was easy to see that he had some hatred for his daughter. No doubt he blamed her for the death of Aida, and the fact she was not his son made him dislike her even more. He did not even keep his hatred a secret from Cassandra. He used it to keep her strong and hard hearted as he was. In fact, the only reason he was teaching his daughter the ways of a Mandalorians was due to one of the Six Actions all Mandalorians must live up to, which was “All my children will be raised as Mandalorians.”
At age three, Cassandra grew familiar with blaster weapons. She did not train in them just yet, she simply learned their names and uses. Trask thought it wise to know what a weapon was at an early age and how well it would work in combat. At age four, Cassandra began training with small blaster pistols, learning how to aim, shoot, and concentrate on her target. The young Mandalorian child seemed to understand blaster weapons quite well and became very adept at using them. Laser weapons weren’t the only things Trask educated his daughter in. Soon she moved onto sword fighting. Time proved that she was not as skilled in fencing as she was with a blaster, but she was talented with a blade nonetheless.
Years continued to pass as Cassandra grew stronger and tougher and even more cold hearted than her father. She learned the skills of stealth and how to move around her environment without being seen. She learned the uses of explosive weaponry and how to activate/disarm them. But despite all of her successes in her training, Trask’s hateful feelings towards her did not change. She was still a weak female who was lucky he didn’t leave her to die as a small babe. He did not believe she deserved the gift killing, and so he was never merciful while submerging her in his teachings. Failure was always punished, even for the simplest of things. And successfulness was rewarded by continuing to live the next day. It was such a terrible and harsh life that hardly any girl could endure. But Cassandra was different. Despite how much she looked like her mother, she was exactly like Trask through and through. Heartless, determined, and a machine bred to kill.
A True Mandalorian
As Cassandra became twelve years old, only one year short of being old enough to fight alongside Mandalore and the other Mandalorians, Trask was beginning to realize that in order for her to truly be ready as a Mandalorian, he would have to push her father than he had ever before. More so, in fact, than he would if she was his son. As a female Mandalorian, many things were expected of her. She would endure everything a male Mandalorian would, perhaps even more just to assure her father that she was ready. So at age twelve, Trask embarked her on the most dangerous training mission he had ever put her through.
He took her on his ship to Duxn, also known as the Demon Moon. The forest moon was full of cruel, dangerous creatures that tried eating any they came across. The forests themselves were dangerous! Everything about the moon would severely challenge anyone who tried to make rest there, which was why some Mandalorians used it as a base to train young ones. Trask left her there, alone. But he gave her a heavy blaster rifle, two weeks ration of food, and his best hunting knife. The odds that an eleven year old would survive were very slim, and Trask liked that. If he couldn’t kill her himself, he’d let the Demon Moon do it for him. For the first time in his life, Trask felt extremely happy as he left Cassandra to fend for herself, not planning to return until the day she would turn 13. He hoped she would be killed by one of the local bomas by then, and he would finally be rid of her.
As she watched her father blast away into space, not returning till a year‘s time was up, Cassandra’s survival mode kicked in. Everything she had learned from her father, everything she had endured from training would be tested on the moon, and she needed to be ready for it. She would not accept defeat, or the disrespect her father constantly showed her. If she made it through this last test alive, she would most likely prove her worth to Trask and earn his respect. However, this was easier said than done. The first month proved impossibly difficult to stay alive. Every one of her actions had consequences. If she walked too long without taking notice of her direction, she’d get lost. If she rested for too long, cannoks would catch her scent. If she didn’t find a good way to get food, she would starve. Luckily it rained a lot on the moon, and so Cassandra was able to keep herself hydrated. That was the one thing that kept her alive until she finally discovered the secret of survival on Duxn.
First, she finally was able to gain a sense of direction in the forest by not only marking certain trees but by staying in a very small area. After a week or so of staying in that area, she would of memorized everything nearby and then move to a different spot. Second, she learned to make traps such as causing vines to entangle a cannok if it got too close without her notice. And, for her source of food, she found that cannoks held the most nutrition. Not only in their meat, but in their stomachs. Cannoks ate a lot of things, sometimes stuff that wasn’t food and it would sit in their bellies for long periods of time. She found things like rusty knifes, broken equipment, and sometimes even clothing.
After two months had passed, Cassandra was already beginning to look like a peasant who lived on Corusant. Her clothing was torn around her legs and lower torso, her hair was sweaty and stuck to her head, and cuts and bruises lay all over her body from cannoks attacking her. Soon she realized cannoks weren’t the only creatures living on the moon. Bomas, drexls, maalraas, skreevs, and even the incredibly dangerous zakkegs made the forests their home. The zakkegs were one of the beasts that caused Cassandra a lot of trouble, so she stayed away from them. Apart from zakkegs and drexls, almost nothing was able to best Cassandra in battle. Although there were some close calls when she was caught off guard. However, she was always able to take get herself out of the most dangerous situations.
She was nearly killed in the third month. As she was sleeping in a small grassy hut she had made (mainly from large sticks and leafs), a group of maalraas were looking for an easy meal. As they entered Cassandra’s camp site, a few of them were caught by the traps she had laid out for them, but the rest got through. They immediately attacked the hut, finding Cassandra sitting up and reaching for her blaster rifle. She gunned three down just before a forth tore through her shelter and tried to bite her arm off! Fortunately, Cassandra was quick enough to evade the bite, but her gun was not so fortunate. The maalraas’s teeth crunched down on the weapon, immediately destroying it and then jumped towards its prey for a killing blow. Cassandra unsheathed the hunting knife, which was strapped to her thigh, and stabbed the beast through the neck. She had plenty of food after that battle took palce, but no more blaster weapons to defend herself. Only the hunting knife remained. This made things incredibly difficult for her. Without long ranged weapons she would become an easy target. From here on out, she would have to rely on her stealth abilities to stay alive longer.
The forth month proved to be much more difficult than any of the others before it. Stealth was not an easy thing to accomplish when her enemies could smell her a mile away. Most assassins who were skilled in stealth used stealth fields of some sort to hide their entire body in an open area. Cassandra had no such equipment, and was forced to learn stealth the harder way. The one animal she always had trouble hiding from were the pesky cannoks. During the first month, they were very aggressive and hard to kill for the twelve year old, but now they were just annoying and popping up everywhere she went. After she dispatched a group of cannoks that caught her following them, trying to improve her stealth abilities, she realized something. The cannoks were detecting her mainly by her human stench, which seemed to be very strong and appealing to them. In order to be invisible to their senses, Cassandra needed to smell like something else, or find a better way to track them. And she did. The forest trees were incredibly strong and had long sturdy limbs reaching out and stretching over each other. Cassandra learned that climbing the trees was a good way to track cannoks without them retaliating against her, even if they did catch her scent. This proved useful, and she was able to find several cannok nests. Whenever she found a nest, she made sure never to go near that area again, and soon she mastered every way imaginable to kill/hide/track cannoks.
After figuring out everything about the cannoks, the bomas began causing trouble right around the seventh month. Bomas were a bit larger and much more dangerous than cannoks. And Cassandra’s knife would never be able to bring one down, even if it was already weakened. She needed something else. After killing a cannok and searching its stomach for things useful, she found a way to kill a boma. Inside the dead cannok’s stomach was a shatter sword. The shards from the blade were dull from rotting in the beast’s stomach, but Cassandra had ways of sharpening them. She used several smooth rocks to sharpen the longest and widest shard, turning into something that looked like a spear tip, which was exactly what she wanted.
After finding a very sturdy, strong stick, she tore off a long piece of her clothing and used it as rope to firmly tie the blade onto the stick. After making a slot at the end of the stick for the shard to rest in, and after firmly tying it on, she had a perfectly good spear. She got the chance to test it one day when hunting for food. She had never trained with a weapon like a spear, so it was difficult to kill the boma, but she soon was able to stick it good through the head. After that, things got easier as she practiced using the spear.
The tenth month had finally rolled around. Cassandra had conquered everything on the moon by this time...everything except the zakkeg. She wanted very badly to be able to kill the beast by the time her father got back. That would surely make him respect her. When the tenth month was halfway over, Cassandra spotted the large creature for the first time. Looking at the creature, she knew that she did not have the means to kill it, let alone harm it. A small spear and hunting knife would prove useless against such a foe. If only her heavy blaster rifle hadn't been destroyed by those maalraas she might of been able to do some damage to it. So instead of killing it, Cassandra wanted to at least bring back proof she had encoutered it once. So she stalked it for weeks and weeks until the twelve month came around. She had been waiting for the right moment to strike and take off a part of its tail. While it was sleeping, and the time for Trask to return had come, she sneaked up behind the beast in its lair, hunting knife in hand. With one quick jerk and a slice, the end of the beast's tail was severed and Cassandra bolted up a tree, dodging a few attacks as she did.
By the time Trask had landed, Cassandra was waiting for him. The forest had completely changed her both physically and mentally. Her skin was no longer smooth and shiny, but rough and filthy looking. Her eyes had the look of experience and determination in them, not like the frightened pair of blue eyes Trask had seen before. Extremely surprised that Cassandra was still alive, Trask took her back off of Duxn, and made a course for the planet called Mandalore.
Carrying on the name
When they arrived on Mandalore, Cassandra received her armor that her father had made for her. It looked incredibly similar to his. It was light weight and covered in red and black paint. When she pulled that helmet over her head for the first time, she almost couldn't hold back her tears. She was thirteen, finally, and was now considered old enough to fight in Mandalorian battles. But, she seemed to be the only one who was proud of this moment. Her father's feelings, surprisingly, never changed. He still wished she would of died on Duxn. "You're not fit to carry my name, girl. You're just lucky to be alive." he would say to her. But Cassandra didn't let that bother her though, not anymore. She was a Mandalorian, and that was all she had wanted.
Now living in the same camp as Mandalore, Cassandra's training increased. She moved on to hand to hand combat, and advanced fencing and shooting kills. The other Mandalorians had never seen a female shoot as well as she did. She fought like a young male Mandalorian, and this impressed several of the others. However, she did not yet of any honor or glory on the field, so appreciating her skills did not matter. She needed a real battle to fight in if she wanted to truly prove her skill.
Despite her advanced training, Cassandra was sent on very easy missions, just to give her a small taste of the battles yet to come. Occasionally, two other young Mandalorians would go with her. Each one needed to be able to stand on their own, but in the field, team work was required as well. This was why most of her missions consisted of up to three Mandalorians working together. Missions like securing a new campsite in a nest full of flying beasts, or even killing intruders who found their way onto Mandalore. She was extremely exceptional when she had a team with her, and over time she built up great leadership skills with the other young warriors that fought with her. Most of the younger Mandalorians accepted her as a stronger warrior and soon began following her lead on their missions. She was definitely her father's daughter.
At age sixteen, one of the things she was best known for as a Mandalorian was the battle circle. She was constantly competing in the circle, fighting hand to hand, with blasters and with swords. No matter who she went up against, or what weapon she was using, she always found a way to make things difficult for them. She used her speed to her advantage for dodging blows or even dishing them out. Most were surprised to see a young girl fight so violently. She gained very small bits of honor in the circle for winning her battles from time to time, but she never made it to champion. The three top dogs were too advanced in war and combat that they easily over took her. It made her want a war to break out so that she could fight and actually kill something challenging like a humanoid being. Then she would have the experience to perhaps pose a threat to the stronger warriors in the battle circle. At age 20, she was given a chance to gain real war experience. A strong Mandalorian clan named Clan Toran, lead by Daros Toran, arrived on the planet seeking out Mandalore's main camp. Once they had found it, they attacked without warning, gunning down countless young Mandalorians. He wanted to be the new Mandalore, and to command larger numbers underneath his clan.
Cassandra happened to be with her father, helping train some new recruits in hand to hand combat when they heard the blaster fire. They saw Daros Toran taking over the camp in his white armor and gunning down many Mandalorians all around him with his clan covering his back. They were making for Mandalore's personal quarters, and were preparing to blow it up with him inside. Trask and Cassandra charged in, Trask using his double pistols and Cassandra using her rifle. Their enemies fell all around them as Mandalore emerged from his quarters, fully armed and ready for battle. As he watched the father and daughter fight side by side, and their enemies falling around them, he realized it was a beauty he had never seen before. "Glorious!" was all he could say as he charged in beside them. The three warriors seemed almost unstoppable together as they vanquished every foe that challenged them. All of them, of course, except for Daros.
Daros was an extremely large Mandalorian and could quite possibly be described as a giant. He carried a long sword only, no blaster weapons. He liked to see the blood leave his enemies' veins. As the rest of Clan Toran's members attacked Mandalore's fighters, the four Mandalorians prepared themselves for battle. Daros charged in first, and Trask stepped forward to greet him as Cassandra laid down cover fire. But it wasn't enough, Daros had incredibly strong armor which deflected the bolts of energy. His sword gleamed in the sun light as he swung it, piercing Trask through the chest. A cry escaped Cassandra's lips as she leaped forward, taking aim with her rifle, and firing at Daros' helmet. The bolts remarkably punched through the helmet's visor and continued through the enemy Mandalorian's head. Daros fell to the ground, vanquished, as Cassandra, Mandalore and the other remaining Mandalorians finished off Clan Toran.
Once the battle was over, Cassandra knelt down by her father who was obviously dieing. He had lost too much blood to survive. She pulled off her helmet so that he could see her face, and how incredibly sad she was. She was disappointed in herself, for not being able to protect him. Surprisingly, Trask took his helmet off as well. But he did not wear the hateful expressions he always did for her. This time, he wore a smile. "I have trained you all your life for this. You have done well, and you have completed your training. I only have one last request, my daughter." He struggled to keep breathing and his eyes narrowed as he exhaled. "Carry the name."
Cassandra watched as her father's eyes dimmed, and felt his body go limp. Though she was crushed by his death, Cassandra did not let her it affect her emotionally. She accepted it, just as Trask had accepted her mother's death. And that day, Mandalore named her Captain Tannon. As a mark of her rank, she was given Trask's cape and dual pistols, which of course Trask had recieved when he became a captain. Ever since that moment, Captain Tannon would never leave Mandalore's side. She would give her life for her Mandalorian brothers. She would fight in the place of her father. She would carry on the name.
RP Sample:
The night air filled Cassandra's lungs as she bent down over the newly covered grave which resembled a large mound of dirt. She picked up a Mandalorian helmet, broken and rusty, and placed it on top of the dirt mound. Brushing back her braided hair, she bowed her head, paying her respects as did two other Mandalorians, who were the rest of her scouting party.
Cassandra's eyes looked up to the sky, scanning the stars and the moonlight. How did it come to this? She asked herself as her mind raced backwards over all that had happened. Clan Toran was becoming more of a nuisance than Cassandra had expected. Hiding in the day and killing at night, such were the tactics of cowards.
Suddenly, a massive explosion pulled Cassandra back to the real world, shattering her thoughts to pieces. She pulled her helmet over her head, armed her plasma rifle and commanded, "On my six." to the other two warriors with her.
Smoke rose up to the north east as blaster bolts fired from two separate directions nearly a mile away from Cassandra's position. They've gotten through... As they got closer to the battle ahead, she could see Mandalore's forces beginning to fall back. They were holding a small base that was mainly used to store weapons and food. She raced across the sands and finally caught up to the defending forces. Surprisingly, it was her father that was the first to greet her.
"Done playing in the sand?" Trask asked as his daughter and the other two Mandalorians took cover beside him.
"Why are we retreating? We have the larger force!" Cassandra shouted, firing into the crowd of enemies.
"They have strong armor and stronger blasters. They can't be stopped and their charging right through us."
"Perhaps their backs will be easier targets." Cassandra thought quickly as one of the enemy warriors fired a rocket into the side of the base. Fire and explosions filled the air and the base as the enemy began to pile in. "Let them take the base.We work around behind them, unseen, and take it back."
"I'll call the others to follow." one of the Mandalorian scouts said, activating his comm link.
Trask stopped him by grabbing his wrist. "No, the others will need to distract them. We can do this on our own. Follow me and stay close!"
The four Mandalorians rose to their feet and darted out of the base as more enemies piled in. "Turn and hold this area!" Trask shouted to the other Mandalorians that had just retreated out of the base. "When I give the signal, charge in!"
Leading Cassandra and the other two, Trask pulled out two twin pistols and ran around the corner of the base. The enemy was up ahead, but could not see him and the others waiting in the dark, watching them pile into the base. One after the other, members of Clan Toran entered the base, thinking they now had the upper hand. Trask suddenly charged forward shooting, taking down three enemy targets who were just outside the base. "The rest should be easy now. Stay close to me."
Cassandra and Trask were the first to enter the base. Every single enemy had their backs turned to them, unaware that they had been flanked! "For Mandalore!" Cassandra shouted, unleashing a round of plasma bolts into a large group of enemies as her father picked off a couple of hostile snipers. Bodies fell all around as Cassandra and Trask plunged through the enemy ranks like a spear! Now the enemy knew they were there. All of their targets turned around and prepared to fire. Trask pulled a flare from his belt and fired it into the air, "CHARGE!" he screamed as loud as he could.
Their fellow Mandalorians charged in the second they saw the flare, guns blazing. Their enemies were now unmatched and overwhelmed. Some of them gave up and dropped their weapons, but they still were not spared. Every enemy that surrendered felt the sting of Cassandra's plasma bolts and soon the base was retaken.
Trask smiled at their success, raised his fist and screamed, "Mandalore Victor!"
