Post by Kuhblam on Dec 8, 2010 17:19:35 GMT -5
Character Permission: Talau
Character Number: #5
----
What a man thinks of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate.
-Henry David Thoreau
Name: Dulgan Dowell Pryde
Age: 34
Race: Human
Birth Place: Kuat
Height: 6'
Weight: 180 lbs.
Eye Color: Emerald Green
Hair Color: Jet Black
Appearance:
Generally, Dulgan keeps himself in good physical shape and likes to keep his appearance up for the ladies. He’s no holonet actor, but the man prides himself in making a suave introduction to start an interaction and a suave exit to end it. He buzzes his jet black hair constantly, but when he doesn’t it’ll be observed as a short and neat 50’s style wave reminiscent of classic gangsters from Coruscant’s early days a hub of mob crime; as per his portrait, he’s generally smoking when he has the chance. There’s a confident air to his walk, like he knows exactly how something is going to go down and how the conversation will pan out. A seductive woman here or there can fix that, however, and leave him weak in the knees. There’s a trick to this though, in that it has to be the right woman.
Usually he wears a nice-fitting white t-shirt and black cargo pants, matched by a nice synth-leather jacket trimmed with neon-blue in various places that give a sort of modern Core World aura to him. Inside the jacket is Dulgan’s concealed shoulder holster, and on his belt his lightsaber swings, neatly disguised as a hydrospanner that would fool lesser men. When he’s on the hunt, his sword scabbard and katana is tied to the back of his jacket for quick drawing right over the top of his shoulder. Both hands are covered up in black synth-leather gloves as well for traction when he’s holding his sword, lightsaber, pistol, etc. Also, one other thing: he never, ever takes off those damn sunglasses. Reasoning for this? It’s a Dulgan thing, simply put. Many have tried to remove them, and all have failed. Talk about poetic irony and drama, right?
Personality:
The man is quick and smart with his words but a little rash when nerf dung hits the fan. He’s persuasive as a silver-tongued devil with an incredulous sense of humor (he’s always wise-cracking jokes) and he knows how to get what he wants, but sometimes Dulgan doesn’t know when to be serious. There’s a reason why the Hutts have a price on his head; he doesn’t quite think his actions through and how the repercussions can affect him later on. Despite all that, Dulgan still has swagger and confidence beyond the rational level of any human being; he’s cocky and invincible as far his mind has him thinking. No woman except every woman is beyond his boyish charm and affection, although it takes a special woman to garner his affection in the first place.
Underneath all the bravado, there’s a surprising ounce of doubt. Guilt and remorse, maybe? He doesn’t really like to talk about it. As a former Jedi, Dulgan stuck to a strong sense of chivalry and morality; his master, Shate, taught him everything he knew. But he started playing fast and loose with the law, started taking justice into his own hands. When the Dark Side came calling, he answered, and although he now uses those powers for good, it still tugs at his conscience every time he thinks about it. Thus, Dulgan has begun to bury his past by following new pursuits. He rarely touches his lightsaber although he won’t hesitate to use it, and if someone wants to earn his trust and learn about his life they’ll need to work for it. Dulgan understands that to give up knowledge easily to betray weaknesses about one’s self.
Profession: Freelancer/Mercenary/Whatever He Feels Like
Ship: Concord Blade
Droid: Terren: HK-51b
Sword: Tion's Tear
Primary Weapon: 1x Anduran SAB (Usually remains aboard his ship)
Pistol: 1x Corvlic 44 Heavy Blaster Pistol
Inventory (Other):
Skills:
Previous Faction: Jedi Order
Mastery Level: Master
Lightsaber: Single Blade, Dual Phase; Disguised as a Hydrospanner
Color: Icy Blue
Practiced Lightsaber forms:
Shii-Cho 5
Makashi N/A
Soresu N/A
Ataru 5
Shien / Djem So N/A
>>Sub-form Backhanded N/A
Niman N/A
>>Sub-form Jar-kai, or Dual Wield N/A
Juyo N/A
Double Bladed Combat N/A
Force-Sensitive Abilities or Practices:
Specialized Skills:
Telekinetic: 5
Telepathic: 5
Body: 8
Sense: 5
Protection: 3
Healing: 2
Destruction: 5
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 6
Intelligence: 6
Speed: 7
Leadership: 5
Unarmed: 5
Melee Weapons:
Regular Long Sword: 7
Everything Else: 3
Ranged Weapons: 5
Force Attunement: +2
Bio:
Birth and Childhood
Dulgan's father was a man known as Reed Pryde, a poor immigrant from Metellos who immigrated to Kuat in the hopes of living on a slightly less crummy core-world with more work opportunities. His father, mother, and brothers killed as a direct result of gang violence and inadequate security in the lower levels, Reed had no longer seen any extra reason to stay on Metellos, and at first opportunity cashed in his savings to buy a ticket for a transport headed to Kuat, where he had a cousin working at the orbital shipyards who had immigrated earlier that year. Having always been good friends, Reed's cousin was more than happy to provide temporary shelter while he looked for work. As fate and luck would have it, Reed found a similar line of work like that of his cousin and most other lower to middle class Kuati denizens; orbital shipyard worker for Kuat Drive Yards.
Having been a starship mechanic on Metellos, Reed found himself well at home in Kuat Drive Yards. Although his role was a heavily minute job since almost everything was robotic machinery, Reed worked hard to maintain his position, which was installing navigation computers with the aid of machinery into small snubnose military fighters for the Republic. Possessing a strong work ethic and interested in his job although it did not pay much, he was eventually noticed by his boss and given a junior overseer-type position over the same assembly line section he had initially been working on. It was here that he first met his future wife, Daina. A Kuati herself, she was the disgraced daughter of a Kuhvult noble. After having refused an abortion, she had been cast out of her home with nothing but the clothes on her back. The shipyards had jaded her outlook of the world around her, and the raising of her son Johan on the side didn't help.
Initially, Reed annoyed Daina with his repeated comical jokes; a sort of seriousness had been instilled in her after suddenly being thrown out on the streets. However, Reed's continuous jokes and comical relief eventually convinced her to go out on a date with him. This short meeting would blossom into a full friendship and relationship; however, as Kuat Drive Yards maintained a strict policy on employee relationships, the pair was forced to keep it a secret for the four year tenure they remained unofficially married. Eventually, Reed had rose to the full overseer position of his assembly line sector, and, convincing Daina to quit her job due to the money he was now earning, proposed to her. She quickly accepted, and soon later they were married. Daina conceived, and initial testing suggested a boy. After a shuffling of names, a single one was decided; Dulgan, which was shared by Reed's grandfather who was a former Republic veteran.
Nine months passed, and in a topside hospital in Kuat City, the planet's capital, Dulgan was born to the happy couple as a healthy infant ripe for the world around him. Of course, his destiny did not lay with his family. The system's Jedi watchman was conducting midi-chlorian count testings in the hospital's infancy ward that day, and automatically identified Dulgan along with two other possible candidates for training. His conversation with Dulgan's parents was quick. Although they loved their new son, it was unanimous that although Reed had a solid position he could never provide the type of life his son might be afforded amongst the Jedi in their temple on Coruscant. Kuat Drive Yards was experiencing constant job fluxes do to the quaking intergalactic economy, and layoffs were becoming more and more common. Daina was not nearly as willing, but understood what Reed was saying; their new child would be better off with the Jedi. The pair agreed together with the Watchman, and in the next week he left with the infant boy and one other infant for Coruscant after supply preparations had been made.
Youngling
Initially cared for by the Jedi Medical Corps until the age of four moving on five, Dulgan exhibited a natural ability for all aspects of initial testing in the Force; for the Masters, it was apparent that with the right guidance he would make a fine Jedi but would not stick out in his lessons. Moving into the age of eight, it was around that this time that Dulgan began to really shine, most specifically in physical reflexes and force ability related to the body. Although just a youngling and simply a child, Dulgan showed high reaction time for his age and it appeared that his interest was oddly but mainly perched in Force ability. Unlike the other younglings in his clan, Dulgan gave only mild medium indication that he was majorly interested in the lightsaber.
Although his training progressed with promise like many of his classmates, Dulgan's teachers noted that he was heavily sociable by nature. It was not something they were particularly worried about as it was natural children would make acquaintances and form friendships, but noted that it was beginning to distract him somewhat from his studies. They decided to intensify his workload somewhat so he would become more focused on physical and force-related training. Although his masters did not try to discourage Dulgan from making friends, they did make a noticeable attempt to get him back on track with emotional ties a distant secondary objective.
In relation to physicality, it was an easy transparency by his eleventh birthday that Dulgan possessed great natural dexterity alongside a few other younglings. Dulgan's teachers were not entirely sure why, but with all good things encouraged it further. His classmates, both older and younger, were hard-pressed to keep up with him in sparring matches and inter-clan tournaments designed to show off the more talented younglings to prospective masters. Not the best lightsaber duelist by far and still often bested during pure sparring matches, Dulgan made up for it with speed; few other younglings could match him pace for pace, and since he didn't have the raw skill or a logical nature in combat, he could wear them out long enough to turn the match in his favor. Out of all the younglings, Dulgan was one of the few students to focus the most on physical training excluding heavy lightsaber repitition in his spare time, and during physical education classes he was also the most hard-working. He would continue this as a part of his training regimen with his future master.
Eventually, Dulgan attracted the attention of two to three different Jedi, a Master and two Knights. In the end, it was the Jedi Master, a maverick human from Empress Teta named Shate Farh known for his sociability and physical combat-ability. A weapon-master who was also well-versed in body-related force abilities, his favored avenues would fit Dulgan well in accordance with his interests; although he would not become inherently attached with the romantic novelization of wielding a lightsaber all the time, Dulgan did enjoy the prospect of roaming the galaxy with his new teacher and becoming a famed Jedi Knight. Even for his young age, Dulgan knew he shouldn't have been craving adventure; however, he figured that as a child he was allowed some leisure of desire, however small. The night of his master's announcing to take Dulgan as his padawan learner, Dulgan went in one of the Temple rotundas as was custom and meditated for hours. The next morning, he arose energetically to start something new; the real beginning of his training.
Padawan
Dulgan sonly had his already sociable personality encouraged by his new master. Shate was by nature friendly, and told Dulgan from the first day that in his opinion friends were amongst the greatest assets a Jedi could call upon in times of struggle or strife. Contrary to his teachers from his time spent as a younling, Dulgan's new master was lively but old, energetic but decaying, and most of all loose; although Dulgan was young, he nearly felt as if Shate was too loose. He still maintained all the ridiculous metaphors in his statements that Dulgan had come to expect, but his mannerisms bordered on that of an untrained civilian greeting old friends in casual attitude. Dulgan had no objections, however; he liked the idea of a teacher who could relate to his student and keep him interested but also teach and direct him as necessary at the same time.
In time, Dulgan learned more and more about his master. Shate was a Jedi weapon-master; he was experienced with all forms of weapons, be it the infamous blaster, the lightsaber, or the weapon that intrigued Dulgan the most; the sword. Shate carried an ornately-crafted weapon upon the back of his brown traditional robes that Dulgan, from the first time seeing it, had almost automatically become entranced by it. When he probed Shate about it's origins, he explained that he had received it from friends on the planet Daalang whom he had saved from a pirate attack on the way to Coruscant for an emergency Senate assembly. It was this weapon which Dulgan became fascinated with; although he mildly enjoyed lightsaber training, Shate's beautiful sword made his mind spin. Dulgan made a mental note that he would train with such a weapon. His curiosity did not go un-rewarded; Shate noted the young boy's peaked curiosity, and decided it would wise to train him in the art of the natural sword alongside regular lightsaber training once he was older. To further augment his future combat abilities, Shate also began to teach Dulgan at once the tenets of Tae-Jitsu as an added plus for Dulgan to be capable in unarmed combat as well.
The pair focused on force-abilities concerning the body for most of Dulgan's initial training. Shate took the boy's progression in pieces, dividing the day evenly between the Force, lightsaber combat, lessons, and meditation, although not necessarily always in that order. Too young to go on any real missions with Shate, Dulgan took these days as seriously as he would any formal class on Coruscant. Shate encouraged Dulgan's natural reflexive prowess and his speed, and helped to incorporate it into Dulgan's fighting style. Early on, he encouraged Dulgan's already basic knowledge, something he felt would be useful for the boy in the future. Although every youngling was taught this core concept, Shate recognized the potential for advancing his new student in this skill as much as possible. Dulgan was extremely fast and athletic; why not make him faster? If the boy could not overcome a great threat, he could simply outrun it. Intelligence was something he was gifted with, and Shate could trust that Dulgan knew there was no dishonor in running. If he could overcome the obstacle, his speed would be no less an asset in finishing the fight.
Diplomatic missions became the sole extent of Dulgan's experience in the galaxy before his sixteenth birthday. Shate's focus all his life had been combat, but he was nothing short of an adequate, knowledgeable negotiator. His friendly personality allowed him to relate more easily than in the philosophical pig-latin most Jedi spoke in, and Dulgan became heavily influenced by his style of dialogue. Shate was a jolly man of sixty, but still in his prime in all aspects. In between diplomatic tours to resolve simple economic issues and the like, Dulgan began to learn more aspects of Ataru, his master's first and most beloved lightsaber form; in combination with his speed factor and natural body-related force ability, its offensive styled moves would be a fitting match. Although not heavily interested in lightsaber combat, Dulgan maintained his master's opinion it would be useful no matter what combat situation.
On the day of his sixteenth birthday, Dulgan traveled with his master to Ilum, where they resided in the Jedi Enclave complex for several days of meditation before Dulgan left for the cave systems, intent on finding the perfect crystal for his weapon. Although he had not focused as much on Shii-Cho and other lightsaber related aspects as much as he had with his training on the Force, the creation of one's lightsaber was a major part on the road to becoming a fully-fledged Jedi Knight. Journeying through the caves for nearly two days, Dulgan finally came upon a great find; a single, bright blue Pontite crystal, multi-faceted with no blemishes, which reminded him of a sparkling fresh-water ocean's colors or the skin tone of a Selkath. Deciding it had to be for his own weapon, Dulgan took the crystal as well as a few other non-remarkable backups. Traveling back to the compound, Dulgan took a good month to ensure the lightsaber was in complete order, slowly and meticulously putting it together with the crystal at the hilt's center. When it was complete, a new sense of pride had rooted itself in the teenager. He may have not always been so interested in lightsaber combat, but his creation of an actual lightsaber perked his interest in Ataru more so than before.
By now, Dulgan had become an accomplished apprentice. He had created his lightsaber, learned up to a medium-level the Force Speed technique, and also improved his Shii-Cho form and technique to a proficient level. At this time, Shate also began to teach Dulgan another body-related technique, the 'Force Weapon' ability. A relatively unique power, Shate did not immediately begin to teach Dulgan it like Force Speed but rather taught its concepts as well as the kind of power and skill needed to pull it off; as it would require immense concentration of energy to keep up the weapon's temporary lightsaber-blocking ability. When Shate began to get Dulgan into its actual practice, he allowed him to use his sword as the object in question, something Dulgan deeply admired. Shate also began to teach Dulgan non-lightsaber sword forms; as he was a weapon-master, he had a profound knowledge of the sword and its related aspects, and made a heavy effort to encourage Dulgan's development with it.
By eighteen, Dulgan had begun to gain some real combat experience, if unintentional in all meaning of the word. On Balosar, while uncovering leads to a major glitterstim distribution cartel, they were attacked by a group of well-equipped but sloppy mercenary thugs hired by the cartel in question to eliminate them. Targeted while heading for their quarters in the capital city, Dulgan engaged the lower ranked members as his master attacked the leader and his body guards. Although not nearly as skilled as his master, Dulgan had been training heavily as of late with his lightsaber to beef up his proficiency with Shii-Cho and Ataru; as his master had also given him some training with a blaster as of recently, Dulgan was able to utilize both weapons at once. Initially shooting but not killing two mercenaries who had stupidly rushed forward, Dulgan proved a small display of future dexterity with shots to the lower body before holstering the pistol and engaging more assailants. Unable to get them to engage him up close however because of the presence of his lightsaber, Dulgan made use of Force Speed to quicken his pace, dodging blaster bolts in the process and moving too fast for them to accurately target them. Dulgan disabled one more mercenary, but could not continue the offensive on his own due to Ataru's basic nature, and dropped into a more defensive posture after realizing his foolish rookie mistake. Forced to use Ataru against rapid firing blasters in close range, Dulgan became heavily exhausted as the battle progressed longer, and when he started to become sloppy, a blaster shot hit him in the side and another grazed his right leg. On the ground and writhing in pain, he was kicked repeatedly by the now closed in mercenaries and beaten severely before his master could finally neutralize the leader, a Herglic, and save Dulgan who by this time was nearing unconsciousness. Dulgan would need to spend a long period of rehabilitation in a kolto tank, with several ribs broken and his right arm shattered as a result of his foolish decision to close in so quickly. This would later be considered his Trial of Flesh. Dulgan would spend a heavy amount of his time in the latter parts of recuperation building up his usual physical training regimen in order to regain his strength and speed.
It wasn't long after that he suffered another defeat, this time while aiding his master in apprehending a Dark Jedi and his apprentice on Boz Pity after driving him off the planet of Malastare. It was his first encounter with a dark-side adept, and initially Shate had been hesitant to bring along Dulgan so recently after his rehabilitation. Still, Dulgan persuaded his master to let him on the mission, and he had agreed reluctantly. On Boz Pity, it was proved that Dulgan still had much to learn. In his hate to improve himself after his performance on Balosar, he had forgotten the one thing he should have taken away from the experience; don't be headstrong and rush in. As the pair engaged their polar opposite couple several dozen miles away from the nearest space-port, Dulgan again foolishly rushed forwards, his lightsaber flashing as he flipped through the air and landed in an Ataru stance to face the apprentice. However, he hadn't taken time to gauge the possible skill level, nor even think about a strategy for the fight.
In tandem with his master engaging the Dark Jedi, Dulgan attacked in a whirl of Ataru despite his lacking in lightsaber skill. Still, despite all his practicing, he was sloppy compared to the apprentice, who was about his age but easily the better lightsaber duelist. Utilizing a rapid form of Makashi, he quickly put Dulgan on the defensive and drove him back farther and farther away from before essentially man-handling Dulgan, forcing him to use his speed to his advantage. It was clear he was an exceptional swordsman, much better than Dulgan. Had it not been for Master Shate's once again timely presence. The apprentice's master had been neutralized by Shate, and it didn't take long for Dulgan to move back on the offensive, although exhausted, with his master at his side until they disarmed the apprentice and managed to bring him down for capture and transport. This would serve to remind Dulgan that he still had too much to learn; his negligence of his lightsaber besides practicing Ataru maneuvers had nearly cost him.
By his twentieth birthday, Dulgan had spent a heavy amount of time with blaster training, specifically small pistol sidearms. Shate was a practical teacher, and just as when he had identified Dulgan and his body-related force ability, he identified Dulgan with his very good reflexes that could be used with aiming a blaster for ranged combat. The Council obviously did not approve of Shate teaching Dulgan how to use such an uncivilized weapon, but otherwise did not object further; Shate was a capable and distinguished member of the Jedi Order, and he had already produced two other capable Jedi Knights. Dulgan had also begun to develop a slightly better than average sense ability amongst other things, with Shate wanting Dulgan to be able to sense the threat and react with his body accordingly at the same time.
His training nearly at an end with Shate, Dulgan had now become proficient in Force Weapon, Tae-Jitsu, and the usage of both the sword and blaster. He had become an accomplished acrobat, and his studies which he had not abandoned all those years, he could safely say he was knowledgeable in the history of the Jedi Order. It was at this point, right before his twenty-second birthday, that Dulgan began to slightly question the usage of the Force and the Jedi's philosophy. He felt as if he were more or less deserving of being allowed to use his training for his own benefit instead of being dictated what he should and shouldn't do. However, it was a mere philosophical question, and he decided to push it out of mind. At twenty-two, it was time he face the remainder of his Trials. Shate had decided that, although Dulgan was still a bit rough around the edges and could use more work in lightsaber training, he could manage the Trials.
Back on Coruscant, Dulgan entered the Jedi Trials Chamber to face the Trials and become a Knight. His first encounter, more or less, was a duel between himself and a series of Sith Simulacrums. The holograms, however, were also creating a ring of more Sith around him and those he was about to engage in an effort to get him unfocused and keep him too preoccupied to fight effectively. Unlike himself, Dulgan nearly allowed the un-nerving that so much evil created to get to him. Initially, the battle went fine. Facing at most four Sith of equal or better skill, Dulgan soon realized he possessed not the stamina nor the ability to maintain a straight up fight for even a few minutes, even with all the training Master Farh had given to him over the years. The chanting of the Sith ring that formed around him did not help Dulgan one bit, and he quickly lost focus and nearly quickly failed when he lost his step deflecting a strike to his waist.
Forced to slow himself down, Dulgan drew in a deep breath and attempted to concentrate on what he could do to survive the tide. It was blatantly obvious once he succeeded in slowing down the battle; ironically, the choice was to speed up. If he could not defeat the Sith in pitched combat, he could focus on doing what he did best; outrunning the enemy. Shaking his head and dodging another powerful strike, Dulgan began a series of runs and jumps, bouncing off the walls and using his surrounding terrain to his advantage. Granted, these tactics were taxing on Dulgan and exhausted him; it was only through great renewed mental perseverance created through strong, sheer willpower that he maintained the adrenaline necessary. Looking inwards, Dulgan visualized his master and every teacher he had ever had. Failing was not something he wanted to honor their past teachings with. He had reinforced it in his mind until now as a back-thought, but now it surged through his brain like an electric jolt. This fueled his willpower to keep up the running. Eventually, after a lengthy amount of time, the projectors ended and the holograms of the Sith finally faded away; Dulgan had completed his Trial of Courage. The feeling was exhilarating, and the energy he received when the holograms faded away was enormous, almost pleasuring.
Beyond t his left, a door slid open and revealed itself from the wall. The inside was of complete pitch black, with no adjoining light sources, but none the less he entered inside, his footsteps carrying him lightly as he let the darkness engulf himself. Dulgan continued walking further... about eight feet before he slammed nose first in permacrete. Behind him, the door slid closed, and the only slimmer of light was that of the main chamber, with a single solitary slit illuminating just a horizontal centimeter on his brown field boots. He did not bother to attempt to re-open it; it would remain sealed for now. Realizing this must have been some sort of test related to the Trials, Dulgan promptly sat down, feeling his way to the floor and closing his eyes as their perception would be useless here. His breathing slowed concurrently, and he reached out with the Force to calm him further from the battle before hand. It took a moment or two, but eventually he had deepened his connection to the Force so much that he could feel every vibrating beat inside the small chamber, every syllable reverberating around him. Dulgan continued to meditate, simply taking in the Force and keeping in a state of perpetual calm from before. Finally, a vision hit him as he sat, and his mind drifted to scenes of himself, dressed in armor as he struck down a mirror image of himself swathed in the robes of a Jedi. The weather about was of chaos and calamity, but otherwise it was too blurry for him to see. Regardless, it lasted but a few seconds. When Dulgan dropped from the vision, he shook his head from the immense aching and pondered about what he had seen. It occurred to him from reasoning and logic that the adrenaline he had felt moments ago would lead him down a path he desired not to follow, that it would open him up to darker emotions and ultimately cause him to question his role in the Order. Dulgan realized the Force must have been telling him of the dangers he would face from such feelings; quietly, he resolved that he would remain steadfast in the light without hesitation. Standing up and stretching, he turned about to the door, which was still shut. Reaching out with the Force, he slid back it back open and returned to the chamber; it occurred to him that perhaps the door had never been locked to begin with.
His next trial, the Trial of Skill, was similar, but of a different caliber. It was a member of the Jedi Council he faced this time, specifically the Battlemaster. Limited to his knowledge of Ataru's specific moves and patterns, Dulgan knew he would again not be able to overcome his opponent. However, this was different. This adversary was real, tangible, concrete; most importantly, he had regained his composure after a too real experience. The Battlemaster wielded two lightsabers, both deep golden yellow, and wasted no time in attacking Dulgan. He could feel her ferocity radiating off her persona, and he remained hard-pressed to block her strikes. He could see trace faints of Juyo in her step; although he was not a practitioner, he had seen Shate use the style and to devastating effect. As the duel progressed, he found it increasingly harder to adapt to her unpredictable attacks. Still, Dulgan had several good moments; he was noticeable faster. Even though the Battlemaster was more experienced, she was older by a long shot as well. Age had affected her more than it had Shate, and she was tiring, although much slower than Dulgan, who had just finished fighting numerous Sith simulacrums. Still able to outrun her through methodical pacing, Dulgan managed to get a single, light graze on her robes before she suddenly de-ignited her lightsabers and bowed to him. Dulgan immediately returned the favor. He had completed his Trial of Skill. With this, his trial ceremonies were complete.
Shortly afterward, Dulgan's padawan braid was severed by the Grand Master, his master in attendance as well with the same jolly old grin on his face as usual. Ecstatic, Dulgan hugged his master joyfully after the knighting ceremony. However, he was surprised when Shate presented to him an object swathed in the same brown material of a Jedi's traditional robes. After un-wrapping it, Dulgan's jaw dropped to find his master's sword, still as beautiful as he'd remembered it... almost a day ago. Shate explained that he was starting to become too old for field duty, and was taking on a permanent position at the Temple to teach lightsaber training classes. He would have no further use for the sword, and knew that Dulgan admired the weapon's grace. Speechless, he hugged his master again another time before parting ways to head back to his quarters. It was time for another chapter of his life to begin.
Jedi Knight
Now a newly christened Knight and eager to get himself into the galaxy, Dulgan found himself sweeping up assignment after assignment, craving adventure although he knew he shouldn't. The young man enjoyed traveling; he liked the things other planets had to give, what they had to offer. For him, it was like a smorgasbord of free trips; he got to do the Jedi thing while still being happy at what he did. Life was good at this point; nothing could have been better. He could do without the medium-amount level occurrences of being attacked by corrupt thugs or stopping a slaver gang from taking more prisoners for their trade, but otherwise it was alright. Secretly, he liked the adrenaline rush as well; action had never been a mainstay of his travels with Shate, and it renewed his energy. Although no longer under the tutelage of his master, it didn't take Dulgan much to figure out he had his mind in the wrong places. Craving action and materialism were not something to be focusing on, especially with a now surfacing adrenaline addiction. Still, he didn't like being restricted to Jedi teaching, and this time there was no one to tell him otherwise.
One mission had him running off to Metellos, his father's home-world, to investigate corruption the disappearance of prominent Senator, Israel Shabaal, who had long championed the Jedi's involvement in intergalactic affairs. Dulgan took on the role of a Jedi aide at the Council's suggestion to the planet's interim Senator, a human called John Oreth. However, this was not to give counsel to him, of course; it was to stick close too and watch over him. Senator Oreth was corrupt, a well-known fact. He had been the one in line to replace the missing Senator Shabaal in the event this very thing happened, and it had been suggested through leads that perhaps he had something to do with the Senator's disappearance. Dulgan watched and investigated quietly for a month, following the interim Senator as he did the politician deal and grew fatter by the day. For a time, it seemed as if the Senator's disappearance had gone cold; the Republic intelligence officials working with him were equally stumped.
On the verge of giving up, Dulgan caught a break when a member of the planet's internal security division offered to exchange information for immunity from harm. Dulgan, somewhat weary, still pounced on the offer with no other option. Meeting in a rundown lower level warehouse, Dulgan was surprised not to find the rendezvous a trap. The leak was indeed legitimate. The man proclaimed how he was paranoid he would be revealed; how had helped in the kidnapping and killing of the elderly Senator, how he had disposed of the body in tandem with three other henchmen all in the employment of now Senator Oreth. The guilty conscience of the man further rendered sealed documents, communiques between his group and Oreth as well as copies of the Senator's schedule around the time of disappearance. After everything had been turned over, Dulgan promised the man immunity although he could not guarantee it. The next day, Dulgan and local security in tandem with Republic Marshals arrested Oreth in his office and seized a plethora of his operatives at the same time. However, Dulgan could not secure the protection of the man, who was tried equally at the insistence of Republic intelligence operatives. With the man sent off to Ord Vaug for life in prison, Dulgan was wracked with guilt somewhat for breaking his promise. However, he quickly broke through it with reasoning; the leak had been a criminal, scum.
Over the next year, Dulgan found himself running all over the place, balancing assignments with his continued training. Tae-Jitsu and the usage of the sword had become second nature to him, although he still needed a lot of work if he was to perfect his form and technique. Ataru had worked itself into his regular techniques; he commonly found himself employing its maneuvers even without a lightsaber in his hand. Dulgan also began to train with the 'Inertia' technique, something he could use in tandem with 'Force Speed' to propel him at a fast speed to pull off impossible maneuvers and take more unconventional paths instead of having to follow the established corridors of an impromptu escape route. It was a dangerous technique, and Dulgan knew the risks; if he lost his concentration or suddenly found himself at a lacking with the Force, he would most likely break his back or any other myriad numbers of limbs; these would also be the least of his worries. Regardless, it fit into his style of physicality, and he trained in its usage relentlessly.
In order to further his blaster pistol training, Dulgan would often attempt to test the limits of his reaction time and dexterity by usage of homemade targets put at various ranges; he had been an accomplished shooter, and could now easily place a non-lethal shot on a target provided it wasn't something unnatural or in too extremely difficult a position to fire at. For a time, he began to engage himself under the cover of a freelancer in several shooting competitions, finding it exhilarating to test the limits of his ability. His connection to the Force (which he kept secret), however, often gave him suspicious looks from other contestants, and for worry of the Council possibly disapproving and reprimanding him, he decided to quit. With this, he began to think that it was rather stupid he needed to follow a set of codes dictating what he used the Force for. However, Dulgan buried these feelings shallowly for a time. He needed something to occupy him more... what he needed was a student.
At the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Dulgan investigated into the youngling clans for a Padawan, someone's personality might match his own character trait-wise. He succeeded in his probing, coming across a young Togorian with storm-grey fur with cream white stripes in irregular intervals on his back. The boy's name was Carver, an oddly human name. However, after some curious record-hunting, Dulgan discovered he had been adopted by human parents from Ralltiir, and raised in a human farming community until the age of four when he was discovered by a Jedi on planet to discover the source of threats to bio-attack the planet. Further reports from Temple teachers suggested he was unruly and unfocused, but possessed great potential if he could only be disciplined. Dulgan pondered for a moment, but otherwise did not think further. He had seen the young Togorian in action and careful evaluation had been made on his part already.
Dulgan took the young wolf-boy for his own almost automatically with the Council's somewhat apprehensive blessing. The records had indicated correct; Dulgan had a hard time trying to get his student focused and on a right mind of thinking. Eventually, after a few years of traveling together, Carver had opened up to Dulgan and made a noticeable effort to maintain composure. Although their adventures often made focus on Carver's training, it did not mean that Dulgan stopped to continue improving himself; rather, he bumped it up several notches. Still, Carver remained the center of his attention. Much like Shate had done to him, Dulgan turned Carver into a mobile machine. His strength, like Dulgan, was speed but with combined strength. Being Togorian, Carver had the muscle mass and the dexterity to boot, something Dulgan was not as gifted in. 'Force Speed' was brought up several times after Carver had seen Dulgan as nothing but a blur during their sessions. Dulgan obliged Carver and taught him how to effectively use the technique.
By Carver's seventeenth birthday, Dulgan had taken him to Ilum to craft his lightsaber. It was a year later than he had done it during his learner years, but Dulgan felt Carver had needed more time to understand the importance of a lightsaber as well to continue more technique training. It had taken a long time to get Carver focused, almost too long than Dulgan would have liked; still, a master had to take as long as needed when teaching a student about the tools of the trade and he wanted to make sure Carver was ready for such a momentous occasion. The pair spent a long time on Ilum. Dulgan remained mostly in meditation while Carver was in the cave system, searching for the right crystal and creating his lightsaber. When the teenage Togorian finally did come out, he presented proudly to Dulgan a lightsaber honorably reminiscent of Dulgan's own weapon, which he had taken to using more as of late for his student's sake. Dulgan was even more proud as a teacher when the blade ignited and an icy blue blade shown forth in the artificial light of the room, just like his own. It was a good moment, something Dulgan could cling to to know his teaching was in the right place. This did not stop his questioning of the Order, however. In the archives on Coruscant, he began to dig for what info he could find on the Dark Side. Realizing the implication that destructive force-powers were controlled through emotion, Dulgan began to use his formerly buried adrenaline-addiction to teach himself about the dark arts. It was his own right to do with the Force as he pleased; no tenets or codes should be allowed to bind him. Dulgan wasn't drawn to the Dark Side, but simply wanted to learn. Was there anything wrong with that? Rationalization proved to be his ally as usual, and Dulgan easily concealed his side-dabbling from Carver as their training progressed together.
With Carver now an elder teenager and moving into a position of capability, Dulgan began to bring his student on more risky missions. One of their various missions involved the pair headed off to the Tapani Sector, where one of the Tapani Noble House's split-offs was attempting to split the aristocracy and seize rule from House Melantha. Arriving initially as simple negotiators on the capital world of Procopia in the like-wise capital city of Estalle, Dulgan and Carver spoke first to the Tapani Emperor, a pompous man called Yhesus VII, who explained that the rogue nobles, split-off members of House Cadriaan, were forming an army of other rebels from four various other Noble Houses and were intent on usurping his rule and turning the Tapani Empire to the side of the Sith Empire. However, Dulgan could sense deceit and nervousness in his tongue that he was lying and not doing a good job of it. Briefly, he made a mental note to keep an eye on this 'Emperor'.
A subsequent visit to the House Cadriaan Noble split-offs off the coast of Davla, however, revealed a different story; the Tapani Emperor had deceived them. He was actually the one working to join the Sith Empire, and after their attempts to remove him and replace him with another House Melantha member, he had ordered their assassinations and neutralization. Dulgan and Carver had to decide who was telling the truth; the rebels, or the Emperor? Either way, if they chose wrong, one side's secret plans to switch Tapani allegiance would turn an entire sector against the Galactic Republic. In a clear conscience of judgment, he decided that they would side with the rebels, and immediately returned to Estalle to report from his ship to the Council on the situation. On their way through the city, it had become obvious that there were moles inside the rebels working for Yhesus VII's pro-Sith government; royal guards from House Melantha surrounded Dulgan and Carter, demanding their immediate surrender to Estalle's security forces. The order was fallacy at best; using their speed, Dulgan and Carter engaged three specific guards directly in front of them before the leader's statement could be finished. Dulgan quickly sending two men flying with a telekinetic blast and Carver disarming the leader, they quickly broke through the circle via the element of surprise, and used force-augmented speed to book it back to their ship. From here, they reported back to the Council, which in turn notified appropriate Republic officials; Dulgan and Carver had been in an negotiating capacity for observation and war was not in their agenda. Although he wished he could have stayed behind to fight the good fight, Dulgan knew it was better that they left.
With Carver now at a ripe age of twenty-two and full of Togorian primacy in him, Dulgan felt his student was ready for the Trials. He was no longer the undisciplined lion Dulgan had first seen back in the Temple. After spending a few months at the Mustafarian Enclave for some heavier meditation and to get Carver a bit more knowledgeable with Jedi history due to a lapse in the amount of lessons Dulgan had been giving as of late, the 33 year-old took his student to Coruscant, where at the Temple he presented him to the High Council for the Trials. Dulgan had every ounce of faith that Carver would succeed; this over-took the annoyed feelings he had created before at being restricted. His student did in fact succeed at the Trials a day later, and with this happy occasion, Carver became a fully-fledged Jedi Knight while Dulgan in turn was promoted to Master.
Master, Then Drifter
It was almost immediate, a month later, that Dulgan left the Order. He was on a mission to Dac (Mon Calamari), heading there to investigate the sabotage of various sectors of the shipyards deemed vital for retrofitting the types of transports used to evacuate refugees from the Outer Rim and away from the Sith Empire. Taking a public transport to the planet, the transport was attacked by a pirate ship on the far outskirts of the system just as it exited slipspace and was disabled with an ion cannon, short-circuiting everything but auxiliary life-support and cutting off even minimal repulsor-power. Dulgan had had experience with pirates before, and he didn't need any Force-guided judgment to know that action was required. Up to this point and since Carver's graduation, his annoyance at the Order for its restrictions had begun to boil, and his reputation as a maverick was beginning to become dangerous.
When the pirates boarded, Dulgan wasted no time engaging them along with the tiny security team of the transport. Not dressed in traditional Jedi garb and wearing the clothes of a civilian explorer, he displayed his exceptional dexterity, dropping the first three pirate thugs to come aboard with lethal shots, where he worryingly decided not to aim for non-lethal opportunities. He continued firing in blind adrenaline, dropping more pirates, until finally the trickle of thugs stopped. In his haste for a fight, Dulgan had killed eleven pirates with his blaster fire over the course of seven minutes. Not having brought a lot of ammunition, he drew his sword momentarily and moved through the airlock into the pirate ship, a corvette. With the security guards and a few brave civilians taking up fallen weapons, he carved his way through a small number of disorganized pirates who were not expecting to be reverse-boarded on a direct path to the bridge. Dulgan knew that there would be too many total, and a course of attacking the bridge and locking off parts of the corvette would be the best option.
Jaws dropped at the sight of this sword-wielding mystery man, they failed to stop Dulgan's righteous vengeance as he used his force powers to shove them aside easily. Easily able to defeat them with medium-level effort, he went straight for the bridge, putting away his sword and drawing his lightsaber where he carved through the blast doors, burning his way through to the crew who had sealed themselves inside. Finally breaking through, Dulgan waved off his compatriots as he entered inside to find four unarmed bridge crew members and an armed but wide-eyed captain. Dulgan wasted no time in attacking, leaping for the command chair and slicing down the leader before drawing a pistol and shooting his crew-mates frantically trying to surrender. When he had finished locking off the remaining parts of the ship he had not fought through, Dulgan suddenly realized that, although he had only enjoyed the adrenaline rush before, he had completely given into it. He had killed men in cold blood, not tried to neutralize or stop them through capture. It was very worrying to him, but Dulgan rationalized it as usual just like he had when he had started dabbling with destructive force powers; the Jedi Order had no right to decide one man's conscience in justice. These pirates were going to kill or maim innocent people; they deserved no less.
Never even getting to start his mission on Dac, Dulgan cut off connections with the Order after his double-edged hero moment, only leaving a brief and short communique to his former master and Carver that he would be gone for awhile under personal reasons. With no apparent direction, he boarded the first transport out of Dac for Nar Shaddaa, where he presumed he could find some work while sorting things out. On planet, he arrived at the space port and was working his way out into the city when his senses picked up another force-sensitive, a powerful one. Curious as to its presence, he followed the cookie-crumb trail of force energy to an old man sitting alone at a cantina bar, swathed in old brown robes not unlike those of a Jedi Knight. His interest somewhat piqued, Dulgan engaged in conversation with the man, and in this odd occurrence/occasion, Dulgan's intuition appeared to be correct. The man did not make any attempt to hide his former occupation, and even gave Dulgan a name; Allen. When Dulgan inquired further as to his story, the former Jedi regaled him the tale of how he, too, had had a falling out with the Jedi Order after being exiled for looking into destructive force-powers and dis-obeying commands not to utilize or seek knowledge about them further. He also stated he was not worried about other force-sensitives finding him; it rarely happened and when it did the moment proved interesting.
The words destructive rang like a bell to Dulgan, and he asked this Allen if he might trade something for lessons into these powers to further his own knowledge. Allen was initially hesitant, but gave Dulgan a task in exchange for the lessons; acquire for him an ancient proto-saber in possession of Taklur Anjiliac the Hutt. He gave Dulgan further information that it was being transported along with a number of the Hutt's personal belongings onto a non-descriptive light-freighter bound for Nal Hutta in thirty minutes. When asked why he had not done it himself, Allen proclaimed he was too old for that kind of shenanigans; plus, with Dulgan here, he now had someone to do it for him. Dulgan received some contact information on Allen's location for when he accomplished the goal. Leaving immediately due to a distinct desire not to pass up the learning opportunity, Dulgan headed back through the spaceport, where he found the light freighter being loaded as he arrived. Only a few guards with the loading crew were present to ensure a low profile rather than attract attention, and they were completely unsure what to make of this random human trespassing on their boss's private landing pad, but none the less fired on him after giving several warnings. Too fat and too slow to bring their weapons to bear, Dulgan easily dodged their fire with speed and knocked their large pig bodies aside like dominoes with strong telekinetic waves before heading for the ship, where the loading crew stood aside quietly as Dulgan "persuaded" them not to arouse attention. Sure enough, the protosaber was located after a few hasty minutes of perusing the somewhat empty and few-numbered cargo crates, but that wasn't the hard part. As local gang forces in lieu of organized police converged on the blaster fire, Dulgan had to make a hard-pressed escape by bounding to the top of the freighter and onto the open air roof of the spaceport, running full speed from roof section to roof section in between landing-pad openings. After jumping from the first to the second portion, he really didn't need to keep up the speed and just had to maintain a low profile, but Dulgan liked the adrenaline; it felt good to him. Of course, he had to get back to Allen ASAP. There was no doubt in his mind that the Hutt's employees would be looking for the man who raided one of her ships.
Sure enough, Allen was true to his word. Although he never answered Dulgan's question as to why the old lightsaber was important to him, and although he seemed to Dulgan as a bit too willing to train a complete stranger dangerous force-powers, Allen kept his promise, and showed Dulgan the basics of powers like conjuring blue-white lightning to electrocute adversaries. Among other things, Allen was a proficient free-runner. After learning of Dulgan's speed and his capacity for maneuvering about, he agreed to teach Dulgan for a price articulate free-running and how to incorporate it into his force-augmented maneuvers. The streets of the urban city provided a perfect playground to try out such crazy stunts, and with 'Inertia', Dulgan could safely say he was an accomplished acrobat, if such a word fit into the type of things he was doing, as he continued to pay Allen for more and more lessons.
Dulgan spent three years on planet learning off and on from Allen, paying him for later lessons as well. This time on the Hutt-controlled planet further loosened and weakened Dulgan's chivalry code. He was still not inherently drawn to the Dark Side, but felt that these powers would be useful; extremely useful, in fact. Although he could have left earlier, Dulgan had no other occupation as of late besides returning to his love of shooting contests and training with his three weapons. Primarily training in the Force as well as combat and physicality were all that occupied him until eventually he began to become restless. Allen's extent of knowledge only ran up to a medium level, and after a 'thank you' for the thousandth time, Dulgan packed up and left Nar Shaddaa. Where he was going, he wasn't exactly sure. Of course, anywhere was better than a planet that killed your lungs off fifteen years early, and he didn't exactly have a preference to his travels.
Password: Vornskr
RP Sample:
Single shot.
Curled smoke.
Heavy breathing, followed by nothing but ceiling.
Why did I do that? Why the hell did I do that?! Sithspit!
The custom blaster pistol fell from his gloved hand onto the bloodied permacrete as the corpse of the human pirate toppled backwards onto his back, his mouth gaping open with his eyes wide open headed for a collision course for the durasteel above. A neat blackened hole had formed itself on his torso, and his arms lay out to either side of him. In front of him, a horrified Dulgan fell backwards on his rear end, the palms of his shivering hands pressing heavily against his temples. He was exhausted, tired, and most of all troubled.
There was no question the man had deserved it. He and his now deceased colleagues had just killed five civilians, with the intention of capturing and selling the rest to slavery. The thing was, what Dulgan had done was wrong in every sense of the word. What was worse was that he had done the same thing before! It wasn't how anyone, especially a former Jedi, was supposed to act in this kind of situation. Granted, it was a familiar occasion, but that didn't change anything. His hands were numb, and Dulgan couldn't take his eyes off the dead man. Behind him, a soft hand gripped his shoulder. It was one of the passengers, a woman. Behind her, several more civilians of various species and gender.
"You did the right thing. He would have been tried and sentenced anyhow. I'm sure the Republic would have punished him the same way."
Dulgan rubbed his forehead before shaking the feminine hand and standing back up. He looked down at the blaster pistol, one of two he owned. Almost reluctant to pick it up again, he bent down to grab it by the handle before sliding it; no, dropping it in its leg holster with an inward sigh. He turned to face the woman, who looked rather ragged from the experience. Even though his sunglasses covered his eyes, they were no less full of regret as they had been when he killed the pirate.
"No... no, I didn't do the right thing. You're never supposed to kill an unarmed man. Especially when you're a... no, I'm not one of them anyway. But that besides the point. I shouldn't have killed him."
He looked deeply into the woman's eyes; briefly, he scanned the growing number of passengers revealing themselves now that the fighting had died down.
"If you hadn't decided to come when you did, we'd all be in major trouble. You did a good thing."
Murmurs of agreement arose quietly from some of the small crowd around them. Dulgan shook his head almost automatically. The statement was still true, though; the security personnel had been finished by the time he'd boarded the ship. It didn't make any difference to him though; he could take his mind off of the man he had just killed. Dulgan didn't care he had killed about 90% of the man's allies; they had been unarmed and with vicious intent. But this guy... he was wounded. Dulgan had shot him literally as the last of his other friends fell in a like manner. It had been an execution, not an honor-kill; it was murder in every degree.
He turned away from the woman, turning to the corpse of the Weequay pirate captain. Planting a boot on his chest, Dulgan pulled free his sword, wiping the blood away and sliding it back into its sheath. The corpse jiggled somewhat as more blood came forth from the wound. He made a quiet mental note to clean it more adequately later on once Terren finished clearing out space in the cargo hold for the civilians to stay until he could get them to another planet. The transport was trashed saved life-support systems and minimal repulsor-power. Dulgan was guessing right on the fact that these men and women had no idea how to pilot a small pirate corvette; thus, free airfare was in store.
Character Number: #5
----
What a man thinks of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate.
-Henry David Thoreau
Name: Dulgan Dowell Pryde
Age: 34
Race: Human
Birth Place: Kuat
Height: 6'
Weight: 180 lbs.
Eye Color: Emerald Green
Hair Color: Jet Black
Appearance:
Generally, Dulgan keeps himself in good physical shape and likes to keep his appearance up for the ladies. He’s no holonet actor, but the man prides himself in making a suave introduction to start an interaction and a suave exit to end it. He buzzes his jet black hair constantly, but when he doesn’t it’ll be observed as a short and neat 50’s style wave reminiscent of classic gangsters from Coruscant’s early days a hub of mob crime; as per his portrait, he’s generally smoking when he has the chance. There’s a confident air to his walk, like he knows exactly how something is going to go down and how the conversation will pan out. A seductive woman here or there can fix that, however, and leave him weak in the knees. There’s a trick to this though, in that it has to be the right woman.
Usually he wears a nice-fitting white t-shirt and black cargo pants, matched by a nice synth-leather jacket trimmed with neon-blue in various places that give a sort of modern Core World aura to him. Inside the jacket is Dulgan’s concealed shoulder holster, and on his belt his lightsaber swings, neatly disguised as a hydrospanner that would fool lesser men. When he’s on the hunt, his sword scabbard and katana is tied to the back of his jacket for quick drawing right over the top of his shoulder. Both hands are covered up in black synth-leather gloves as well for traction when he’s holding his sword, lightsaber, pistol, etc. Also, one other thing: he never, ever takes off those damn sunglasses. Reasoning for this? It’s a Dulgan thing, simply put. Many have tried to remove them, and all have failed. Talk about poetic irony and drama, right?
Personality:
The man is quick and smart with his words but a little rash when nerf dung hits the fan. He’s persuasive as a silver-tongued devil with an incredulous sense of humor (he’s always wise-cracking jokes) and he knows how to get what he wants, but sometimes Dulgan doesn’t know when to be serious. There’s a reason why the Hutts have a price on his head; he doesn’t quite think his actions through and how the repercussions can affect him later on. Despite all that, Dulgan still has swagger and confidence beyond the rational level of any human being; he’s cocky and invincible as far his mind has him thinking. No woman except every woman is beyond his boyish charm and affection, although it takes a special woman to garner his affection in the first place.
Underneath all the bravado, there’s a surprising ounce of doubt. Guilt and remorse, maybe? He doesn’t really like to talk about it. As a former Jedi, Dulgan stuck to a strong sense of chivalry and morality; his master, Shate, taught him everything he knew. But he started playing fast and loose with the law, started taking justice into his own hands. When the Dark Side came calling, he answered, and although he now uses those powers for good, it still tugs at his conscience every time he thinks about it. Thus, Dulgan has begun to bury his past by following new pursuits. He rarely touches his lightsaber although he won’t hesitate to use it, and if someone wants to earn his trust and learn about his life they’ll need to work for it. Dulgan understands that to give up knowledge easily to betray weaknesses about one’s self.
Profession: Freelancer/Mercenary/Whatever He Feels Like
Ship: Concord Blade
Droid: Terren: HK-51b
Sword: Tion's Tear
Primary Weapon: 1x Anduran SAB (Usually remains aboard his ship)
Pistol: 1x Corvlic 44 Heavy Blaster Pistol
Inventory (Other):
- 1x Medium Military-Issue Backpack
- 2x Glowrods
- 2x Serrated Edge Combat Knifes w/ Vibro-Emitters
- 2x Companion2000 Datapads
- Survival Gear (1x Each): DuraShelter, Thermal Cape, A99 Aquata Breather, Water JugFilter Canteen, High Grade Field Kit
Skills:
- Persuasion
- Martial Arts: Proficient in Tae-Jitsu
- Proficient Piloting Ability
- Free-running
Previous Faction: Jedi Order
Mastery Level: Master
Lightsaber: Single Blade, Dual Phase; Disguised as a Hydrospanner
Color: Icy Blue
Practiced Lightsaber forms:
Shii-Cho 5
Makashi N/A
Soresu N/A
Ataru 5
Shien / Djem So N/A
>>Sub-form Backhanded N/A
Niman N/A
>>Sub-form Jar-kai, or Dual Wield N/A
Juyo N/A
Double Bladed Combat N/A
Force-Sensitive Abilities or Practices:
Specialized Skills:
- Force Speed
- Force Weapon
- Force Burst
Telekinetic: 5
Telepathic: 5
Body: 8
Sense: 5
Protection: 3
Healing: 2
Destruction: 5
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 6
Intelligence: 6
Speed: 7
Leadership: 5
Unarmed: 5
Melee Weapons:
Regular Long Sword: 7
Everything Else: 3
Ranged Weapons: 5
Force Attunement: +2
Bio:
Birth and Childhood
Dulgan's father was a man known as Reed Pryde, a poor immigrant from Metellos who immigrated to Kuat in the hopes of living on a slightly less crummy core-world with more work opportunities. His father, mother, and brothers killed as a direct result of gang violence and inadequate security in the lower levels, Reed had no longer seen any extra reason to stay on Metellos, and at first opportunity cashed in his savings to buy a ticket for a transport headed to Kuat, where he had a cousin working at the orbital shipyards who had immigrated earlier that year. Having always been good friends, Reed's cousin was more than happy to provide temporary shelter while he looked for work. As fate and luck would have it, Reed found a similar line of work like that of his cousin and most other lower to middle class Kuati denizens; orbital shipyard worker for Kuat Drive Yards.
Having been a starship mechanic on Metellos, Reed found himself well at home in Kuat Drive Yards. Although his role was a heavily minute job since almost everything was robotic machinery, Reed worked hard to maintain his position, which was installing navigation computers with the aid of machinery into small snubnose military fighters for the Republic. Possessing a strong work ethic and interested in his job although it did not pay much, he was eventually noticed by his boss and given a junior overseer-type position over the same assembly line section he had initially been working on. It was here that he first met his future wife, Daina. A Kuati herself, she was the disgraced daughter of a Kuhvult noble. After having refused an abortion, she had been cast out of her home with nothing but the clothes on her back. The shipyards had jaded her outlook of the world around her, and the raising of her son Johan on the side didn't help.
Initially, Reed annoyed Daina with his repeated comical jokes; a sort of seriousness had been instilled in her after suddenly being thrown out on the streets. However, Reed's continuous jokes and comical relief eventually convinced her to go out on a date with him. This short meeting would blossom into a full friendship and relationship; however, as Kuat Drive Yards maintained a strict policy on employee relationships, the pair was forced to keep it a secret for the four year tenure they remained unofficially married. Eventually, Reed had rose to the full overseer position of his assembly line sector, and, convincing Daina to quit her job due to the money he was now earning, proposed to her. She quickly accepted, and soon later they were married. Daina conceived, and initial testing suggested a boy. After a shuffling of names, a single one was decided; Dulgan, which was shared by Reed's grandfather who was a former Republic veteran.
Nine months passed, and in a topside hospital in Kuat City, the planet's capital, Dulgan was born to the happy couple as a healthy infant ripe for the world around him. Of course, his destiny did not lay with his family. The system's Jedi watchman was conducting midi-chlorian count testings in the hospital's infancy ward that day, and automatically identified Dulgan along with two other possible candidates for training. His conversation with Dulgan's parents was quick. Although they loved their new son, it was unanimous that although Reed had a solid position he could never provide the type of life his son might be afforded amongst the Jedi in their temple on Coruscant. Kuat Drive Yards was experiencing constant job fluxes do to the quaking intergalactic economy, and layoffs were becoming more and more common. Daina was not nearly as willing, but understood what Reed was saying; their new child would be better off with the Jedi. The pair agreed together with the Watchman, and in the next week he left with the infant boy and one other infant for Coruscant after supply preparations had been made.
Youngling
Initially cared for by the Jedi Medical Corps until the age of four moving on five, Dulgan exhibited a natural ability for all aspects of initial testing in the Force; for the Masters, it was apparent that with the right guidance he would make a fine Jedi but would not stick out in his lessons. Moving into the age of eight, it was around that this time that Dulgan began to really shine, most specifically in physical reflexes and force ability related to the body. Although just a youngling and simply a child, Dulgan showed high reaction time for his age and it appeared that his interest was oddly but mainly perched in Force ability. Unlike the other younglings in his clan, Dulgan gave only mild medium indication that he was majorly interested in the lightsaber.
Although his training progressed with promise like many of his classmates, Dulgan's teachers noted that he was heavily sociable by nature. It was not something they were particularly worried about as it was natural children would make acquaintances and form friendships, but noted that it was beginning to distract him somewhat from his studies. They decided to intensify his workload somewhat so he would become more focused on physical and force-related training. Although his masters did not try to discourage Dulgan from making friends, they did make a noticeable attempt to get him back on track with emotional ties a distant secondary objective.
In relation to physicality, it was an easy transparency by his eleventh birthday that Dulgan possessed great natural dexterity alongside a few other younglings. Dulgan's teachers were not entirely sure why, but with all good things encouraged it further. His classmates, both older and younger, were hard-pressed to keep up with him in sparring matches and inter-clan tournaments designed to show off the more talented younglings to prospective masters. Not the best lightsaber duelist by far and still often bested during pure sparring matches, Dulgan made up for it with speed; few other younglings could match him pace for pace, and since he didn't have the raw skill or a logical nature in combat, he could wear them out long enough to turn the match in his favor. Out of all the younglings, Dulgan was one of the few students to focus the most on physical training excluding heavy lightsaber repitition in his spare time, and during physical education classes he was also the most hard-working. He would continue this as a part of his training regimen with his future master.
Eventually, Dulgan attracted the attention of two to three different Jedi, a Master and two Knights. In the end, it was the Jedi Master, a maverick human from Empress Teta named Shate Farh known for his sociability and physical combat-ability. A weapon-master who was also well-versed in body-related force abilities, his favored avenues would fit Dulgan well in accordance with his interests; although he would not become inherently attached with the romantic novelization of wielding a lightsaber all the time, Dulgan did enjoy the prospect of roaming the galaxy with his new teacher and becoming a famed Jedi Knight. Even for his young age, Dulgan knew he shouldn't have been craving adventure; however, he figured that as a child he was allowed some leisure of desire, however small. The night of his master's announcing to take Dulgan as his padawan learner, Dulgan went in one of the Temple rotundas as was custom and meditated for hours. The next morning, he arose energetically to start something new; the real beginning of his training.
Padawan
Dulgan sonly had his already sociable personality encouraged by his new master. Shate was by nature friendly, and told Dulgan from the first day that in his opinion friends were amongst the greatest assets a Jedi could call upon in times of struggle or strife. Contrary to his teachers from his time spent as a younling, Dulgan's new master was lively but old, energetic but decaying, and most of all loose; although Dulgan was young, he nearly felt as if Shate was too loose. He still maintained all the ridiculous metaphors in his statements that Dulgan had come to expect, but his mannerisms bordered on that of an untrained civilian greeting old friends in casual attitude. Dulgan had no objections, however; he liked the idea of a teacher who could relate to his student and keep him interested but also teach and direct him as necessary at the same time.
In time, Dulgan learned more and more about his master. Shate was a Jedi weapon-master; he was experienced with all forms of weapons, be it the infamous blaster, the lightsaber, or the weapon that intrigued Dulgan the most; the sword. Shate carried an ornately-crafted weapon upon the back of his brown traditional robes that Dulgan, from the first time seeing it, had almost automatically become entranced by it. When he probed Shate about it's origins, he explained that he had received it from friends on the planet Daalang whom he had saved from a pirate attack on the way to Coruscant for an emergency Senate assembly. It was this weapon which Dulgan became fascinated with; although he mildly enjoyed lightsaber training, Shate's beautiful sword made his mind spin. Dulgan made a mental note that he would train with such a weapon. His curiosity did not go un-rewarded; Shate noted the young boy's peaked curiosity, and decided it would wise to train him in the art of the natural sword alongside regular lightsaber training once he was older. To further augment his future combat abilities, Shate also began to teach Dulgan at once the tenets of Tae-Jitsu as an added plus for Dulgan to be capable in unarmed combat as well.
The pair focused on force-abilities concerning the body for most of Dulgan's initial training. Shate took the boy's progression in pieces, dividing the day evenly between the Force, lightsaber combat, lessons, and meditation, although not necessarily always in that order. Too young to go on any real missions with Shate, Dulgan took these days as seriously as he would any formal class on Coruscant. Shate encouraged Dulgan's natural reflexive prowess and his speed, and helped to incorporate it into Dulgan's fighting style. Early on, he encouraged Dulgan's already basic knowledge, something he felt would be useful for the boy in the future. Although every youngling was taught this core concept, Shate recognized the potential for advancing his new student in this skill as much as possible. Dulgan was extremely fast and athletic; why not make him faster? If the boy could not overcome a great threat, he could simply outrun it. Intelligence was something he was gifted with, and Shate could trust that Dulgan knew there was no dishonor in running. If he could overcome the obstacle, his speed would be no less an asset in finishing the fight.
Diplomatic missions became the sole extent of Dulgan's experience in the galaxy before his sixteenth birthday. Shate's focus all his life had been combat, but he was nothing short of an adequate, knowledgeable negotiator. His friendly personality allowed him to relate more easily than in the philosophical pig-latin most Jedi spoke in, and Dulgan became heavily influenced by his style of dialogue. Shate was a jolly man of sixty, but still in his prime in all aspects. In between diplomatic tours to resolve simple economic issues and the like, Dulgan began to learn more aspects of Ataru, his master's first and most beloved lightsaber form; in combination with his speed factor and natural body-related force ability, its offensive styled moves would be a fitting match. Although not heavily interested in lightsaber combat, Dulgan maintained his master's opinion it would be useful no matter what combat situation.
On the day of his sixteenth birthday, Dulgan traveled with his master to Ilum, where they resided in the Jedi Enclave complex for several days of meditation before Dulgan left for the cave systems, intent on finding the perfect crystal for his weapon. Although he had not focused as much on Shii-Cho and other lightsaber related aspects as much as he had with his training on the Force, the creation of one's lightsaber was a major part on the road to becoming a fully-fledged Jedi Knight. Journeying through the caves for nearly two days, Dulgan finally came upon a great find; a single, bright blue Pontite crystal, multi-faceted with no blemishes, which reminded him of a sparkling fresh-water ocean's colors or the skin tone of a Selkath. Deciding it had to be for his own weapon, Dulgan took the crystal as well as a few other non-remarkable backups. Traveling back to the compound, Dulgan took a good month to ensure the lightsaber was in complete order, slowly and meticulously putting it together with the crystal at the hilt's center. When it was complete, a new sense of pride had rooted itself in the teenager. He may have not always been so interested in lightsaber combat, but his creation of an actual lightsaber perked his interest in Ataru more so than before.
By now, Dulgan had become an accomplished apprentice. He had created his lightsaber, learned up to a medium-level the Force Speed technique, and also improved his Shii-Cho form and technique to a proficient level. At this time, Shate also began to teach Dulgan another body-related technique, the 'Force Weapon' ability. A relatively unique power, Shate did not immediately begin to teach Dulgan it like Force Speed but rather taught its concepts as well as the kind of power and skill needed to pull it off; as it would require immense concentration of energy to keep up the weapon's temporary lightsaber-blocking ability. When Shate began to get Dulgan into its actual practice, he allowed him to use his sword as the object in question, something Dulgan deeply admired. Shate also began to teach Dulgan non-lightsaber sword forms; as he was a weapon-master, he had a profound knowledge of the sword and its related aspects, and made a heavy effort to encourage Dulgan's development with it.
By eighteen, Dulgan had begun to gain some real combat experience, if unintentional in all meaning of the word. On Balosar, while uncovering leads to a major glitterstim distribution cartel, they were attacked by a group of well-equipped but sloppy mercenary thugs hired by the cartel in question to eliminate them. Targeted while heading for their quarters in the capital city, Dulgan engaged the lower ranked members as his master attacked the leader and his body guards. Although not nearly as skilled as his master, Dulgan had been training heavily as of late with his lightsaber to beef up his proficiency with Shii-Cho and Ataru; as his master had also given him some training with a blaster as of recently, Dulgan was able to utilize both weapons at once. Initially shooting but not killing two mercenaries who had stupidly rushed forward, Dulgan proved a small display of future dexterity with shots to the lower body before holstering the pistol and engaging more assailants. Unable to get them to engage him up close however because of the presence of his lightsaber, Dulgan made use of Force Speed to quicken his pace, dodging blaster bolts in the process and moving too fast for them to accurately target them. Dulgan disabled one more mercenary, but could not continue the offensive on his own due to Ataru's basic nature, and dropped into a more defensive posture after realizing his foolish rookie mistake. Forced to use Ataru against rapid firing blasters in close range, Dulgan became heavily exhausted as the battle progressed longer, and when he started to become sloppy, a blaster shot hit him in the side and another grazed his right leg. On the ground and writhing in pain, he was kicked repeatedly by the now closed in mercenaries and beaten severely before his master could finally neutralize the leader, a Herglic, and save Dulgan who by this time was nearing unconsciousness. Dulgan would need to spend a long period of rehabilitation in a kolto tank, with several ribs broken and his right arm shattered as a result of his foolish decision to close in so quickly. This would later be considered his Trial of Flesh. Dulgan would spend a heavy amount of his time in the latter parts of recuperation building up his usual physical training regimen in order to regain his strength and speed.
It wasn't long after that he suffered another defeat, this time while aiding his master in apprehending a Dark Jedi and his apprentice on Boz Pity after driving him off the planet of Malastare. It was his first encounter with a dark-side adept, and initially Shate had been hesitant to bring along Dulgan so recently after his rehabilitation. Still, Dulgan persuaded his master to let him on the mission, and he had agreed reluctantly. On Boz Pity, it was proved that Dulgan still had much to learn. In his hate to improve himself after his performance on Balosar, he had forgotten the one thing he should have taken away from the experience; don't be headstrong and rush in. As the pair engaged their polar opposite couple several dozen miles away from the nearest space-port, Dulgan again foolishly rushed forwards, his lightsaber flashing as he flipped through the air and landed in an Ataru stance to face the apprentice. However, he hadn't taken time to gauge the possible skill level, nor even think about a strategy for the fight.
In tandem with his master engaging the Dark Jedi, Dulgan attacked in a whirl of Ataru despite his lacking in lightsaber skill. Still, despite all his practicing, he was sloppy compared to the apprentice, who was about his age but easily the better lightsaber duelist. Utilizing a rapid form of Makashi, he quickly put Dulgan on the defensive and drove him back farther and farther away from before essentially man-handling Dulgan, forcing him to use his speed to his advantage. It was clear he was an exceptional swordsman, much better than Dulgan. Had it not been for Master Shate's once again timely presence. The apprentice's master had been neutralized by Shate, and it didn't take long for Dulgan to move back on the offensive, although exhausted, with his master at his side until they disarmed the apprentice and managed to bring him down for capture and transport. This would serve to remind Dulgan that he still had too much to learn; his negligence of his lightsaber besides practicing Ataru maneuvers had nearly cost him.
By his twentieth birthday, Dulgan had spent a heavy amount of time with blaster training, specifically small pistol sidearms. Shate was a practical teacher, and just as when he had identified Dulgan and his body-related force ability, he identified Dulgan with his very good reflexes that could be used with aiming a blaster for ranged combat. The Council obviously did not approve of Shate teaching Dulgan how to use such an uncivilized weapon, but otherwise did not object further; Shate was a capable and distinguished member of the Jedi Order, and he had already produced two other capable Jedi Knights. Dulgan had also begun to develop a slightly better than average sense ability amongst other things, with Shate wanting Dulgan to be able to sense the threat and react with his body accordingly at the same time.
His training nearly at an end with Shate, Dulgan had now become proficient in Force Weapon, Tae-Jitsu, and the usage of both the sword and blaster. He had become an accomplished acrobat, and his studies which he had not abandoned all those years, he could safely say he was knowledgeable in the history of the Jedi Order. It was at this point, right before his twenty-second birthday, that Dulgan began to slightly question the usage of the Force and the Jedi's philosophy. He felt as if he were more or less deserving of being allowed to use his training for his own benefit instead of being dictated what he should and shouldn't do. However, it was a mere philosophical question, and he decided to push it out of mind. At twenty-two, it was time he face the remainder of his Trials. Shate had decided that, although Dulgan was still a bit rough around the edges and could use more work in lightsaber training, he could manage the Trials.
Back on Coruscant, Dulgan entered the Jedi Trials Chamber to face the Trials and become a Knight. His first encounter, more or less, was a duel between himself and a series of Sith Simulacrums. The holograms, however, were also creating a ring of more Sith around him and those he was about to engage in an effort to get him unfocused and keep him too preoccupied to fight effectively. Unlike himself, Dulgan nearly allowed the un-nerving that so much evil created to get to him. Initially, the battle went fine. Facing at most four Sith of equal or better skill, Dulgan soon realized he possessed not the stamina nor the ability to maintain a straight up fight for even a few minutes, even with all the training Master Farh had given to him over the years. The chanting of the Sith ring that formed around him did not help Dulgan one bit, and he quickly lost focus and nearly quickly failed when he lost his step deflecting a strike to his waist.
Forced to slow himself down, Dulgan drew in a deep breath and attempted to concentrate on what he could do to survive the tide. It was blatantly obvious once he succeeded in slowing down the battle; ironically, the choice was to speed up. If he could not defeat the Sith in pitched combat, he could focus on doing what he did best; outrunning the enemy. Shaking his head and dodging another powerful strike, Dulgan began a series of runs and jumps, bouncing off the walls and using his surrounding terrain to his advantage. Granted, these tactics were taxing on Dulgan and exhausted him; it was only through great renewed mental perseverance created through strong, sheer willpower that he maintained the adrenaline necessary. Looking inwards, Dulgan visualized his master and every teacher he had ever had. Failing was not something he wanted to honor their past teachings with. He had reinforced it in his mind until now as a back-thought, but now it surged through his brain like an electric jolt. This fueled his willpower to keep up the running. Eventually, after a lengthy amount of time, the projectors ended and the holograms of the Sith finally faded away; Dulgan had completed his Trial of Courage. The feeling was exhilarating, and the energy he received when the holograms faded away was enormous, almost pleasuring.
Beyond t his left, a door slid open and revealed itself from the wall. The inside was of complete pitch black, with no adjoining light sources, but none the less he entered inside, his footsteps carrying him lightly as he let the darkness engulf himself. Dulgan continued walking further... about eight feet before he slammed nose first in permacrete. Behind him, the door slid closed, and the only slimmer of light was that of the main chamber, with a single solitary slit illuminating just a horizontal centimeter on his brown field boots. He did not bother to attempt to re-open it; it would remain sealed for now. Realizing this must have been some sort of test related to the Trials, Dulgan promptly sat down, feeling his way to the floor and closing his eyes as their perception would be useless here. His breathing slowed concurrently, and he reached out with the Force to calm him further from the battle before hand. It took a moment or two, but eventually he had deepened his connection to the Force so much that he could feel every vibrating beat inside the small chamber, every syllable reverberating around him. Dulgan continued to meditate, simply taking in the Force and keeping in a state of perpetual calm from before. Finally, a vision hit him as he sat, and his mind drifted to scenes of himself, dressed in armor as he struck down a mirror image of himself swathed in the robes of a Jedi. The weather about was of chaos and calamity, but otherwise it was too blurry for him to see. Regardless, it lasted but a few seconds. When Dulgan dropped from the vision, he shook his head from the immense aching and pondered about what he had seen. It occurred to him from reasoning and logic that the adrenaline he had felt moments ago would lead him down a path he desired not to follow, that it would open him up to darker emotions and ultimately cause him to question his role in the Order. Dulgan realized the Force must have been telling him of the dangers he would face from such feelings; quietly, he resolved that he would remain steadfast in the light without hesitation. Standing up and stretching, he turned about to the door, which was still shut. Reaching out with the Force, he slid back it back open and returned to the chamber; it occurred to him that perhaps the door had never been locked to begin with.
His next trial, the Trial of Skill, was similar, but of a different caliber. It was a member of the Jedi Council he faced this time, specifically the Battlemaster. Limited to his knowledge of Ataru's specific moves and patterns, Dulgan knew he would again not be able to overcome his opponent. However, this was different. This adversary was real, tangible, concrete; most importantly, he had regained his composure after a too real experience. The Battlemaster wielded two lightsabers, both deep golden yellow, and wasted no time in attacking Dulgan. He could feel her ferocity radiating off her persona, and he remained hard-pressed to block her strikes. He could see trace faints of Juyo in her step; although he was not a practitioner, he had seen Shate use the style and to devastating effect. As the duel progressed, he found it increasingly harder to adapt to her unpredictable attacks. Still, Dulgan had several good moments; he was noticeable faster. Even though the Battlemaster was more experienced, she was older by a long shot as well. Age had affected her more than it had Shate, and she was tiring, although much slower than Dulgan, who had just finished fighting numerous Sith simulacrums. Still able to outrun her through methodical pacing, Dulgan managed to get a single, light graze on her robes before she suddenly de-ignited her lightsabers and bowed to him. Dulgan immediately returned the favor. He had completed his Trial of Skill. With this, his trial ceremonies were complete.
Shortly afterward, Dulgan's padawan braid was severed by the Grand Master, his master in attendance as well with the same jolly old grin on his face as usual. Ecstatic, Dulgan hugged his master joyfully after the knighting ceremony. However, he was surprised when Shate presented to him an object swathed in the same brown material of a Jedi's traditional robes. After un-wrapping it, Dulgan's jaw dropped to find his master's sword, still as beautiful as he'd remembered it... almost a day ago. Shate explained that he was starting to become too old for field duty, and was taking on a permanent position at the Temple to teach lightsaber training classes. He would have no further use for the sword, and knew that Dulgan admired the weapon's grace. Speechless, he hugged his master again another time before parting ways to head back to his quarters. It was time for another chapter of his life to begin.
Jedi Knight
Now a newly christened Knight and eager to get himself into the galaxy, Dulgan found himself sweeping up assignment after assignment, craving adventure although he knew he shouldn't. The young man enjoyed traveling; he liked the things other planets had to give, what they had to offer. For him, it was like a smorgasbord of free trips; he got to do the Jedi thing while still being happy at what he did. Life was good at this point; nothing could have been better. He could do without the medium-amount level occurrences of being attacked by corrupt thugs or stopping a slaver gang from taking more prisoners for their trade, but otherwise it was alright. Secretly, he liked the adrenaline rush as well; action had never been a mainstay of his travels with Shate, and it renewed his energy. Although no longer under the tutelage of his master, it didn't take Dulgan much to figure out he had his mind in the wrong places. Craving action and materialism were not something to be focusing on, especially with a now surfacing adrenaline addiction. Still, he didn't like being restricted to Jedi teaching, and this time there was no one to tell him otherwise.
One mission had him running off to Metellos, his father's home-world, to investigate corruption the disappearance of prominent Senator, Israel Shabaal, who had long championed the Jedi's involvement in intergalactic affairs. Dulgan took on the role of a Jedi aide at the Council's suggestion to the planet's interim Senator, a human called John Oreth. However, this was not to give counsel to him, of course; it was to stick close too and watch over him. Senator Oreth was corrupt, a well-known fact. He had been the one in line to replace the missing Senator Shabaal in the event this very thing happened, and it had been suggested through leads that perhaps he had something to do with the Senator's disappearance. Dulgan watched and investigated quietly for a month, following the interim Senator as he did the politician deal and grew fatter by the day. For a time, it seemed as if the Senator's disappearance had gone cold; the Republic intelligence officials working with him were equally stumped.
On the verge of giving up, Dulgan caught a break when a member of the planet's internal security division offered to exchange information for immunity from harm. Dulgan, somewhat weary, still pounced on the offer with no other option. Meeting in a rundown lower level warehouse, Dulgan was surprised not to find the rendezvous a trap. The leak was indeed legitimate. The man proclaimed how he was paranoid he would be revealed; how had helped in the kidnapping and killing of the elderly Senator, how he had disposed of the body in tandem with three other henchmen all in the employment of now Senator Oreth. The guilty conscience of the man further rendered sealed documents, communiques between his group and Oreth as well as copies of the Senator's schedule around the time of disappearance. After everything had been turned over, Dulgan promised the man immunity although he could not guarantee it. The next day, Dulgan and local security in tandem with Republic Marshals arrested Oreth in his office and seized a plethora of his operatives at the same time. However, Dulgan could not secure the protection of the man, who was tried equally at the insistence of Republic intelligence operatives. With the man sent off to Ord Vaug for life in prison, Dulgan was wracked with guilt somewhat for breaking his promise. However, he quickly broke through it with reasoning; the leak had been a criminal, scum.
Over the next year, Dulgan found himself running all over the place, balancing assignments with his continued training. Tae-Jitsu and the usage of the sword had become second nature to him, although he still needed a lot of work if he was to perfect his form and technique. Ataru had worked itself into his regular techniques; he commonly found himself employing its maneuvers even without a lightsaber in his hand. Dulgan also began to train with the 'Inertia' technique, something he could use in tandem with 'Force Speed' to propel him at a fast speed to pull off impossible maneuvers and take more unconventional paths instead of having to follow the established corridors of an impromptu escape route. It was a dangerous technique, and Dulgan knew the risks; if he lost his concentration or suddenly found himself at a lacking with the Force, he would most likely break his back or any other myriad numbers of limbs; these would also be the least of his worries. Regardless, it fit into his style of physicality, and he trained in its usage relentlessly.
In order to further his blaster pistol training, Dulgan would often attempt to test the limits of his reaction time and dexterity by usage of homemade targets put at various ranges; he had been an accomplished shooter, and could now easily place a non-lethal shot on a target provided it wasn't something unnatural or in too extremely difficult a position to fire at. For a time, he began to engage himself under the cover of a freelancer in several shooting competitions, finding it exhilarating to test the limits of his ability. His connection to the Force (which he kept secret), however, often gave him suspicious looks from other contestants, and for worry of the Council possibly disapproving and reprimanding him, he decided to quit. With this, he began to think that it was rather stupid he needed to follow a set of codes dictating what he used the Force for. However, Dulgan buried these feelings shallowly for a time. He needed something to occupy him more... what he needed was a student.
At the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Dulgan investigated into the youngling clans for a Padawan, someone's personality might match his own character trait-wise. He succeeded in his probing, coming across a young Togorian with storm-grey fur with cream white stripes in irregular intervals on his back. The boy's name was Carver, an oddly human name. However, after some curious record-hunting, Dulgan discovered he had been adopted by human parents from Ralltiir, and raised in a human farming community until the age of four when he was discovered by a Jedi on planet to discover the source of threats to bio-attack the planet. Further reports from Temple teachers suggested he was unruly and unfocused, but possessed great potential if he could only be disciplined. Dulgan pondered for a moment, but otherwise did not think further. He had seen the young Togorian in action and careful evaluation had been made on his part already.
Dulgan took the young wolf-boy for his own almost automatically with the Council's somewhat apprehensive blessing. The records had indicated correct; Dulgan had a hard time trying to get his student focused and on a right mind of thinking. Eventually, after a few years of traveling together, Carver had opened up to Dulgan and made a noticeable effort to maintain composure. Although their adventures often made focus on Carver's training, it did not mean that Dulgan stopped to continue improving himself; rather, he bumped it up several notches. Still, Carver remained the center of his attention. Much like Shate had done to him, Dulgan turned Carver into a mobile machine. His strength, like Dulgan, was speed but with combined strength. Being Togorian, Carver had the muscle mass and the dexterity to boot, something Dulgan was not as gifted in. 'Force Speed' was brought up several times after Carver had seen Dulgan as nothing but a blur during their sessions. Dulgan obliged Carver and taught him how to effectively use the technique.
By Carver's seventeenth birthday, Dulgan had taken him to Ilum to craft his lightsaber. It was a year later than he had done it during his learner years, but Dulgan felt Carver had needed more time to understand the importance of a lightsaber as well to continue more technique training. It had taken a long time to get Carver focused, almost too long than Dulgan would have liked; still, a master had to take as long as needed when teaching a student about the tools of the trade and he wanted to make sure Carver was ready for such a momentous occasion. The pair spent a long time on Ilum. Dulgan remained mostly in meditation while Carver was in the cave system, searching for the right crystal and creating his lightsaber. When the teenage Togorian finally did come out, he presented proudly to Dulgan a lightsaber honorably reminiscent of Dulgan's own weapon, which he had taken to using more as of late for his student's sake. Dulgan was even more proud as a teacher when the blade ignited and an icy blue blade shown forth in the artificial light of the room, just like his own. It was a good moment, something Dulgan could cling to to know his teaching was in the right place. This did not stop his questioning of the Order, however. In the archives on Coruscant, he began to dig for what info he could find on the Dark Side. Realizing the implication that destructive force-powers were controlled through emotion, Dulgan began to use his formerly buried adrenaline-addiction to teach himself about the dark arts. It was his own right to do with the Force as he pleased; no tenets or codes should be allowed to bind him. Dulgan wasn't drawn to the Dark Side, but simply wanted to learn. Was there anything wrong with that? Rationalization proved to be his ally as usual, and Dulgan easily concealed his side-dabbling from Carver as their training progressed together.
With Carver now an elder teenager and moving into a position of capability, Dulgan began to bring his student on more risky missions. One of their various missions involved the pair headed off to the Tapani Sector, where one of the Tapani Noble House's split-offs was attempting to split the aristocracy and seize rule from House Melantha. Arriving initially as simple negotiators on the capital world of Procopia in the like-wise capital city of Estalle, Dulgan and Carver spoke first to the Tapani Emperor, a pompous man called Yhesus VII, who explained that the rogue nobles, split-off members of House Cadriaan, were forming an army of other rebels from four various other Noble Houses and were intent on usurping his rule and turning the Tapani Empire to the side of the Sith Empire. However, Dulgan could sense deceit and nervousness in his tongue that he was lying and not doing a good job of it. Briefly, he made a mental note to keep an eye on this 'Emperor'.
A subsequent visit to the House Cadriaan Noble split-offs off the coast of Davla, however, revealed a different story; the Tapani Emperor had deceived them. He was actually the one working to join the Sith Empire, and after their attempts to remove him and replace him with another House Melantha member, he had ordered their assassinations and neutralization. Dulgan and Carver had to decide who was telling the truth; the rebels, or the Emperor? Either way, if they chose wrong, one side's secret plans to switch Tapani allegiance would turn an entire sector against the Galactic Republic. In a clear conscience of judgment, he decided that they would side with the rebels, and immediately returned to Estalle to report from his ship to the Council on the situation. On their way through the city, it had become obvious that there were moles inside the rebels working for Yhesus VII's pro-Sith government; royal guards from House Melantha surrounded Dulgan and Carter, demanding their immediate surrender to Estalle's security forces. The order was fallacy at best; using their speed, Dulgan and Carter engaged three specific guards directly in front of them before the leader's statement could be finished. Dulgan quickly sending two men flying with a telekinetic blast and Carver disarming the leader, they quickly broke through the circle via the element of surprise, and used force-augmented speed to book it back to their ship. From here, they reported back to the Council, which in turn notified appropriate Republic officials; Dulgan and Carver had been in an negotiating capacity for observation and war was not in their agenda. Although he wished he could have stayed behind to fight the good fight, Dulgan knew it was better that they left.
With Carver now at a ripe age of twenty-two and full of Togorian primacy in him, Dulgan felt his student was ready for the Trials. He was no longer the undisciplined lion Dulgan had first seen back in the Temple. After spending a few months at the Mustafarian Enclave for some heavier meditation and to get Carver a bit more knowledgeable with Jedi history due to a lapse in the amount of lessons Dulgan had been giving as of late, the 33 year-old took his student to Coruscant, where at the Temple he presented him to the High Council for the Trials. Dulgan had every ounce of faith that Carver would succeed; this over-took the annoyed feelings he had created before at being restricted. His student did in fact succeed at the Trials a day later, and with this happy occasion, Carver became a fully-fledged Jedi Knight while Dulgan in turn was promoted to Master.
Master, Then Drifter
It was almost immediate, a month later, that Dulgan left the Order. He was on a mission to Dac (Mon Calamari), heading there to investigate the sabotage of various sectors of the shipyards deemed vital for retrofitting the types of transports used to evacuate refugees from the Outer Rim and away from the Sith Empire. Taking a public transport to the planet, the transport was attacked by a pirate ship on the far outskirts of the system just as it exited slipspace and was disabled with an ion cannon, short-circuiting everything but auxiliary life-support and cutting off even minimal repulsor-power. Dulgan had had experience with pirates before, and he didn't need any Force-guided judgment to know that action was required. Up to this point and since Carver's graduation, his annoyance at the Order for its restrictions had begun to boil, and his reputation as a maverick was beginning to become dangerous.
When the pirates boarded, Dulgan wasted no time engaging them along with the tiny security team of the transport. Not dressed in traditional Jedi garb and wearing the clothes of a civilian explorer, he displayed his exceptional dexterity, dropping the first three pirate thugs to come aboard with lethal shots, where he worryingly decided not to aim for non-lethal opportunities. He continued firing in blind adrenaline, dropping more pirates, until finally the trickle of thugs stopped. In his haste for a fight, Dulgan had killed eleven pirates with his blaster fire over the course of seven minutes. Not having brought a lot of ammunition, he drew his sword momentarily and moved through the airlock into the pirate ship, a corvette. With the security guards and a few brave civilians taking up fallen weapons, he carved his way through a small number of disorganized pirates who were not expecting to be reverse-boarded on a direct path to the bridge. Dulgan knew that there would be too many total, and a course of attacking the bridge and locking off parts of the corvette would be the best option.
Jaws dropped at the sight of this sword-wielding mystery man, they failed to stop Dulgan's righteous vengeance as he used his force powers to shove them aside easily. Easily able to defeat them with medium-level effort, he went straight for the bridge, putting away his sword and drawing his lightsaber where he carved through the blast doors, burning his way through to the crew who had sealed themselves inside. Finally breaking through, Dulgan waved off his compatriots as he entered inside to find four unarmed bridge crew members and an armed but wide-eyed captain. Dulgan wasted no time in attacking, leaping for the command chair and slicing down the leader before drawing a pistol and shooting his crew-mates frantically trying to surrender. When he had finished locking off the remaining parts of the ship he had not fought through, Dulgan suddenly realized that, although he had only enjoyed the adrenaline rush before, he had completely given into it. He had killed men in cold blood, not tried to neutralize or stop them through capture. It was very worrying to him, but Dulgan rationalized it as usual just like he had when he had started dabbling with destructive force powers; the Jedi Order had no right to decide one man's conscience in justice. These pirates were going to kill or maim innocent people; they deserved no less.
Never even getting to start his mission on Dac, Dulgan cut off connections with the Order after his double-edged hero moment, only leaving a brief and short communique to his former master and Carver that he would be gone for awhile under personal reasons. With no apparent direction, he boarded the first transport out of Dac for Nar Shaddaa, where he presumed he could find some work while sorting things out. On planet, he arrived at the space port and was working his way out into the city when his senses picked up another force-sensitive, a powerful one. Curious as to its presence, he followed the cookie-crumb trail of force energy to an old man sitting alone at a cantina bar, swathed in old brown robes not unlike those of a Jedi Knight. His interest somewhat piqued, Dulgan engaged in conversation with the man, and in this odd occurrence/occasion, Dulgan's intuition appeared to be correct. The man did not make any attempt to hide his former occupation, and even gave Dulgan a name; Allen. When Dulgan inquired further as to his story, the former Jedi regaled him the tale of how he, too, had had a falling out with the Jedi Order after being exiled for looking into destructive force-powers and dis-obeying commands not to utilize or seek knowledge about them further. He also stated he was not worried about other force-sensitives finding him; it rarely happened and when it did the moment proved interesting.
The words destructive rang like a bell to Dulgan, and he asked this Allen if he might trade something for lessons into these powers to further his own knowledge. Allen was initially hesitant, but gave Dulgan a task in exchange for the lessons; acquire for him an ancient proto-saber in possession of Taklur Anjiliac the Hutt. He gave Dulgan further information that it was being transported along with a number of the Hutt's personal belongings onto a non-descriptive light-freighter bound for Nal Hutta in thirty minutes. When asked why he had not done it himself, Allen proclaimed he was too old for that kind of shenanigans; plus, with Dulgan here, he now had someone to do it for him. Dulgan received some contact information on Allen's location for when he accomplished the goal. Leaving immediately due to a distinct desire not to pass up the learning opportunity, Dulgan headed back through the spaceport, where he found the light freighter being loaded as he arrived. Only a few guards with the loading crew were present to ensure a low profile rather than attract attention, and they were completely unsure what to make of this random human trespassing on their boss's private landing pad, but none the less fired on him after giving several warnings. Too fat and too slow to bring their weapons to bear, Dulgan easily dodged their fire with speed and knocked their large pig bodies aside like dominoes with strong telekinetic waves before heading for the ship, where the loading crew stood aside quietly as Dulgan "persuaded" them not to arouse attention. Sure enough, the protosaber was located after a few hasty minutes of perusing the somewhat empty and few-numbered cargo crates, but that wasn't the hard part. As local gang forces in lieu of organized police converged on the blaster fire, Dulgan had to make a hard-pressed escape by bounding to the top of the freighter and onto the open air roof of the spaceport, running full speed from roof section to roof section in between landing-pad openings. After jumping from the first to the second portion, he really didn't need to keep up the speed and just had to maintain a low profile, but Dulgan liked the adrenaline; it felt good to him. Of course, he had to get back to Allen ASAP. There was no doubt in his mind that the Hutt's employees would be looking for the man who raided one of her ships.
Sure enough, Allen was true to his word. Although he never answered Dulgan's question as to why the old lightsaber was important to him, and although he seemed to Dulgan as a bit too willing to train a complete stranger dangerous force-powers, Allen kept his promise, and showed Dulgan the basics of powers like conjuring blue-white lightning to electrocute adversaries. Among other things, Allen was a proficient free-runner. After learning of Dulgan's speed and his capacity for maneuvering about, he agreed to teach Dulgan for a price articulate free-running and how to incorporate it into his force-augmented maneuvers. The streets of the urban city provided a perfect playground to try out such crazy stunts, and with 'Inertia', Dulgan could safely say he was an accomplished acrobat, if such a word fit into the type of things he was doing, as he continued to pay Allen for more and more lessons.
Dulgan spent three years on planet learning off and on from Allen, paying him for later lessons as well. This time on the Hutt-controlled planet further loosened and weakened Dulgan's chivalry code. He was still not inherently drawn to the Dark Side, but felt that these powers would be useful; extremely useful, in fact. Although he could have left earlier, Dulgan had no other occupation as of late besides returning to his love of shooting contests and training with his three weapons. Primarily training in the Force as well as combat and physicality were all that occupied him until eventually he began to become restless. Allen's extent of knowledge only ran up to a medium level, and after a 'thank you' for the thousandth time, Dulgan packed up and left Nar Shaddaa. Where he was going, he wasn't exactly sure. Of course, anywhere was better than a planet that killed your lungs off fifteen years early, and he didn't exactly have a preference to his travels.
Password: Vornskr
RP Sample:
Single shot.
Curled smoke.
Heavy breathing, followed by nothing but ceiling.
Why did I do that? Why the hell did I do that?! Sithspit!
The custom blaster pistol fell from his gloved hand onto the bloodied permacrete as the corpse of the human pirate toppled backwards onto his back, his mouth gaping open with his eyes wide open headed for a collision course for the durasteel above. A neat blackened hole had formed itself on his torso, and his arms lay out to either side of him. In front of him, a horrified Dulgan fell backwards on his rear end, the palms of his shivering hands pressing heavily against his temples. He was exhausted, tired, and most of all troubled.
There was no question the man had deserved it. He and his now deceased colleagues had just killed five civilians, with the intention of capturing and selling the rest to slavery. The thing was, what Dulgan had done was wrong in every sense of the word. What was worse was that he had done the same thing before! It wasn't how anyone, especially a former Jedi, was supposed to act in this kind of situation. Granted, it was a familiar occasion, but that didn't change anything. His hands were numb, and Dulgan couldn't take his eyes off the dead man. Behind him, a soft hand gripped his shoulder. It was one of the passengers, a woman. Behind her, several more civilians of various species and gender.
"You did the right thing. He would have been tried and sentenced anyhow. I'm sure the Republic would have punished him the same way."
Dulgan rubbed his forehead before shaking the feminine hand and standing back up. He looked down at the blaster pistol, one of two he owned. Almost reluctant to pick it up again, he bent down to grab it by the handle before sliding it; no, dropping it in its leg holster with an inward sigh. He turned to face the woman, who looked rather ragged from the experience. Even though his sunglasses covered his eyes, they were no less full of regret as they had been when he killed the pirate.
"No... no, I didn't do the right thing. You're never supposed to kill an unarmed man. Especially when you're a... no, I'm not one of them anyway. But that besides the point. I shouldn't have killed him."
He looked deeply into the woman's eyes; briefly, he scanned the growing number of passengers revealing themselves now that the fighting had died down.
"If you hadn't decided to come when you did, we'd all be in major trouble. You did a good thing."
Murmurs of agreement arose quietly from some of the small crowd around them. Dulgan shook his head almost automatically. The statement was still true, though; the security personnel had been finished by the time he'd boarded the ship. It didn't make any difference to him though; he could take his mind off of the man he had just killed. Dulgan didn't care he had killed about 90% of the man's allies; they had been unarmed and with vicious intent. But this guy... he was wounded. Dulgan had shot him literally as the last of his other friends fell in a like manner. It had been an execution, not an honor-kill; it was murder in every degree.
He turned away from the woman, turning to the corpse of the Weequay pirate captain. Planting a boot on his chest, Dulgan pulled free his sword, wiping the blood away and sliding it back into its sheath. The corpse jiggled somewhat as more blood came forth from the wound. He made a quiet mental note to clean it more adequately later on once Terren finished clearing out space in the cargo hold for the civilians to stay until he could get them to another planet. The transport was trashed saved life-support systems and minimal repulsor-power. Dulgan was guessing right on the fact that these men and women had no idea how to pilot a small pirate corvette; thus, free airfare was in store.
