Post by Karl the Unfettered on May 9, 2018 3:36:32 GMT -5
 Tajima Full Name • Tajima Yasaotoko Nicknames • Taj, TJ Race • Epicanthix Birthplace • Tatooine Age • 35 Gender • Male Sexuality • Bi Faction • Jedi Concept • Rank 3 - Senior Jedi Knight, could be a Master except he refuses to take students. Languages • Basic, Epicant, Huttese, Ancient Sith Assets • Lightsaber- Tajima's lightsaber is unique, perhaps one of a kind. The hilt, fashioned from the tooth of a Krayt dragon, is just over a foot long, with a simple metal cross-guard serving as both a protective measure and a shield for the emitter; a lanyard of silk is attached near the other end of the weapon, both a decorative touch and a means of securing it to his belt. This bottom end, also known as the pommel, is still sharp from when the dragon used it for eating and attacking, and it can serve as a surprise when the foe gets too close. The blade itself, the result of a Krayt dragon pearl and a rare Durindfire gem, is a wonder to behold, nearly four and a half feet long, bright silver with a distinct pearly sheen. This isn't the least of its wonders, though; the blade actually appears to be two, fused and slightly overlapping at the sides and emanating from the same hilt. As might be expected, Tajima employs a bold, powerful fighting style to match the bold, powerful weapon; he combines Ataru and the basics of the powerful Juyo form to devastating effect. Perhaps unexpectedly, Tajima has modified it for non-lethal damage when necessary, useful for subduing opponents without causing them undue harm. Other Weapons- Tajima learned the hard way that a lightsaber could be a liability more often than not; wearing one openly was a good way of immediately identifying yourself as a Jedi or some other Force-user, which could sometimes be very bad. For this reason he has trained himself extensively in more mundane fighting techniques, to the point that one could easily argue he is better with these than with the lightsaber he so lovingly crafted. Most of these are one-off weapons, used for a mission and discarded, but two he has kept throughout the years: a modified blaster, and a dark, ancient sword. The blaster is little more then a cut-down assault rifle, crafted of the rare mineral Zersium which accelerates energy dissipation and safely allows for much more powerful blasts when used as the primary component in weapon craft. As mentioned above Tajima's weapon was once an assault blaster; in his possession it had been cut down, the barrel shortened and stock removed (but modified to be re-attachable), various unnecessary elements and extraneous safety features removed and some of the guts rearranged to balance the thing out again. It still has terrible recoil, but is surprisingly accurate provided one takes the time to stabilize and aim one's shots; it should go without saying that it also handily exceeds many larger guns in destructive force and sheer stopping power. The blade is old, almost ancient, a relic of much darker years; Tajima found it while investigating a cult of Dark Jedi in the Unknown Regions, in the hands of their leader, and after disbanding the cult and taking the leader alive he kept the sword. A falchion in shape and balance, it is much sharper than modern metal-craft can produce, and given the inherent dark aura it is easy to imagine some ancient Dark Jedi, maybe even a Sith, focusing his will into the very metal as he forged and beat it into shape, molding the atoms themselves into a viciously sharp, serrated edge. The blade itself is about four feet long, and the hilt just under a foot and wrapped in bloodstained leather; a ruby was once set in the pommel, but Tajima replaced it with a sapphire of superior cut and beauty. A simple S guard protects the hands, and the whole thing is crafted of an alloy difficult to reproduce today, although analysis indicates quantities of ultrachrome (at odds with its inherently shadowy appearance). Tajima has spent countless hours meditating over the thing to drive out the Dark Side taint and deepen his own understanding of the shadows in the Force, and by now it bears little of the taint it once held; this comes at a price, though, as the edge dulls slightly for every increment of darkness and taint driven out of it. It is still wickedly sharp, of course, just not so sharp as to cut at the atomic level. He has worked since his Padawan days to combine the sword and blaster into a single chaotic system of combat, and by now has certainly succeeded. Utilizing the principles of Juyo and Jar'kai to incredible effect, as well as swordplay and marksmanship learned from all corners of galaxy and his own natural ambidexterity, the resultant style capitalizes on Tajima's insane speed and intimate command of physical Force powers (and quite a bit of raw luck!) for a wild, haphazard fighting style many have called him crazy for ever attempting, but none would dare decry as ineffective. Appearance Height & Weight • 6'7" 165lb Overall Looks • Tajima is a tall, unnaturally thin man with a haunted look in his muddy brown, slanted eyes. He has dark brown hair and tanned skin, ruddy from much time outdoors and scarred from a great many close brushes with death. His face is particularly marred: a cross-shaped mark from a pirate droid's vibroblade on his left cheek, and two very ugly scars running from both corners of his mouth to his ears in a grisly parody of a smile. His jaw is often covered in stubble, since he rarely shaves, and he is much stronger than his sinewy frame might lead one to believe. Regarding wardrobe, he disdains typical Jedi outfits, instead favoring rather more casual clothing. Loose orange robes are his usual thing, with the right-hand sleeves left unworn and hanging down his back; presumably this is so his sword arm can be left free, though it is often speculated that he just doesn't care. About his neck is a necklace, made of teeth taken from various creatures he has slain throughout his career; among these trophies is a Firaxan shark tooth and a Terentatek claw. Beneath the orange outer robes is a pair of black shorts, and the robes themselves are modified with a variety of extra pockets for holding various handy items; wrapped several times around his narrow waist is an old leather belt, brown in color and held in place with a simple steel hasp, from which he keeps his weapons and a few small pouches of equipment. When expecting battle he merely adds a few extra layers; a suit of Nagai heavy electromesh armor, an extra couple pouches and some heavy grenades to his belt, and a cloak of armorweave that hangs down his back. Personality Profile Tajima has seen much of what the galaxy has to offer, and every experience has left its mark on both his body and his mind. He is a jaded and somewhat dour man, ruthlessly cynical, slow to laughter or anger, and quick to believe the worst in people at first glance. He takes an extremely dim view of traitors and betrayal, and will not hesitate to recommend the harshest punishments possible for such beings (or execute such himself, if no one else is around). Oftentimes he comes across as uncaring and apathetic, leaving others with an unfavorable impression of the embittered man. In his actions as a Jedi, he tends to stretch the Code to its limits, without crossing over into the Dark Side. To say he is unorthodox would be a massive understatement, as he outwardly flaunts the usual standards from his speech to his preferred mode of dress; he firmly believes that the ends justify the means, and as long as the goals of the Light and the Jedi are served it doesn't matter at all how you go about getting there. Countless times he has been accused of being a maverick, not without cause, but he has consistently upheld the spirit of the Light, if not the letter, in every action he has ever taken as a Knight of the Jedi Order. Background Overall History • Born to hunters on Tatooine, Tajima's first four years were rough and hungry, and he could never get enough to eat or drink. He was also a very difficult child, so when Jedi Watchmen arrived at Anchorhead seeking students he was gladly given over to them; his parents could barely feed themselves, let alone the starving would-be Jedi. As for Tajima, he didn't much care where he went as long as there was food! Coruscant had food in abundance, but it also had other kids like him, and he was quickly singled out for torment and teasing due to his voracious appetite. He was also a little slow-witted, studying only reluctantly, but when it came to combat and physical activity he stood out as one of the best. Clearly destined to be a Jedi Guardian, but his teachers kept any premature judgements to themselves. When it came time he was chosen as Padawan by an old Jedi named Torvus, who was one of the elite Jedi Shadows tasked with understanding and hunting down the corruption of the Dark Side, wherever it chose to appear. Together, Torvus and Tajima went on several missions together, from Bakura to Naboo to Nar Shaddaa, and places in between too. Tajima refused to carry a lightsaber of his own, feeling that until he could build one for himself he was unworthy of the noble weapon; in its place he wielded a blaster and a vibrosword, often at the same time after an accidental victory one time. But he had many more victories with the esoteric style, and none of them were accidents. He faced down many a rampaging beast as well, and claimed a trophy (usually a tooth or fang) from each one that he began adding to a necklace he would wear for the rest of his life. His first solo mission came when he was nineteen, when he had to penetrate a fleet of pirates that were unusually well informed about Republic shipping. He was chosen because he was very un-Jedi-like even after so many years in the Temple, so it was theorized that he would fit in easier than someone else. He left for Alderaan on a ship he could barely fly, with a cargo of expensive artwork, and right on schedule a huge corvette came out of nowhere and locked on with their tractor beams; he put up no fight, and was captured without ceremony. A little Force Concealment helped him fool the captain and the Dark Jedi who were in charge, and soon had the run of things; he quickly learned that they had Sith sponsorship, which was doubtless where their intel was coming from. A little more snooping confirmed it, and he confronted the Dark Jedi one night; she fought back of course, and his face was scarred by her droids, but in the end he subdued her with a smart blow to the back of her head. He turned up an encrypted datapad while searching her quarters, and on the way out he managed to subdue the captain as well! Two for the price of one, as they say. He took his ship back and put them under extended sedation, then flew back to Coruscant, where the prisoners were taken away and the datapad was decrypted; it had names, places, dates, appraisals... everything the investigation needed to shut the pirates down for good. After that, Tajima undertook the Trials of Knighthood. A jacked-up obstacle course was made immensely more difficult when his master said he had to maintain Force Concealment throughout the whole course, preventing him from using his refined physical Force powers to enhance his reflexes, but he came out on top in the end. A call for help from his native Tatooine had him enduring sand and heat to track down a massive Ancient Krayt Dragon, and after narrowly slaying the beast with help from his parents he carved out three priceless dragon pearls; before leaving he gifted one of them to his parents, knowing they would have more use for the credits than he ever would. He kept the other two to use in the lightsaber he'd soon build, along with several huge teeth from the beast and a rare gem he'd found in its cave. With these priceless components he soon had a fine lightsaber put together, and at last he could call himself a Jedi and not feel like a fraud. He and his master sparred for hours after that, and he proved to be a skilled duelist indeed, especially once he could bring his blaster to bear. Finally a dark mission took them to Nivek, where reports indicated something was driving the native Shadowman insane with bloodlust; upon their arrival they determined a massive tomb was the source of the madness, and they boldly penetrated its depths with lightsabers blazing away, not only at the Shadowmen but at the explorers and mercenaries who had also been driven insane. Apparently an ancient Sith Warlord had awakened, somehow, and was trying to come back to life by possessing anyone within range; acting without thought Tajima charged at the sarcophagus, shoving the lid away and reaching in. His fingers grasped a gold medallion with a fell red gem at the center, and no sooner did he raise it aloft but a great darkness overcame him and he fell into a stupor. Somehow that released their attackers from her grasp; the Shadowmen fled in disarray, and the off-worlders took one look at the lightsaber in Torvus' hands and surrendered immediately. He ordered them to gather up anything else from the tomb and carry it to the Jedi vessel, and he himself picked up his student and bore him out of that tainted place. He couldn't do much but watch as Tajima's condition grew worse en route to Coruscant; of course he took the boy straight to the Council when they landed, leaving the warlord's treasures to be sorted by other Jedi and the men and women rescued to be assessed and treated in their own way. The Council set some of their wisest to meditating over Tajima's body, guiding the Light Side through him as best they could, and three days later he awoke, stiff and grumpy and very, very hungry. After eating and recuperating he went back to the Council, and explained what had happened from his point of view; the ghost of the Warlord had plunged into his mind when he seized her talisman, and all the while had been eating away at his willpower, offering him temptations and visions of power. The Council had helped drive her back into the thing, but some scraps of her presence remained; he could speak the ancient Dark tongue, for one thing, and he felt some remnant of Dark Side power still lurked within him as well. He resolved to make use of it, try to vent it outward instead of letting it fester and boil over. All taken together, his master and the Council determined he had passed all his tests, and he was conferred Knighthood without delay. He was happy not to have that braid any more, and took the opportunity to grow his hair out as wild as he liked. Being a Knight carried more responsibilities, but also more freedoms, one of which was tailored robes; he took full advantage of this particular perk very quickly, as one could imagine. He also explored the darkness left over from the Warlord, and was able to express it in violent blasts of electrical energy; a powerful technique, but draining and indiscriminate in what was harmed by its tendrils. A year after Tajima's promotion, his master Torvus passed away, becoming one with the Force after a long career in the Light. There was a ceremony, and his body was cremated; afterward the lanky Knight was approached by another Jedi, an older Twi'lek woman. She had also been a student of Torvus, long ago, and now served as a Shadow as he once had, and she wanted to know if Tajima was interested in the same service. After a few days to think on it, he accepted, and spent months training in the advanced techniques of the Shadows; although in truth, Torvus had done a fine job training him already. His first mission was to infiltrate and dismantle a large gang that had moved in from the Outer Rim, and was threatening to overrun the lower levels of Coruscant. The police were unable or unwilling to stand against them, and they could not be infiltrated through normal means. In secrecy the Council appointed Tajima to the task, and he put aside his Jedi things in preparation for what would possibly be a months-long operation, one where he could not rely on the Force and had to keep his very presence within it hidden. He felt he could handle it however; he had to, it was his first mission as a Jedi Shadow! In time he went down to the gang's headquarters, bluffed his way through the outer gate and on in, to where the leaders of the gang were holding a meeting. The undercover Jedi breezed his way inside, sensing right away that at least two of the bosses were Force-users; he focused on his Concealment and made his pitch, about being a bounty hunter who needed steady work for a while. He insisted he wasn't a killer or murderer however, which didn't seem to bother them; good hunters brought their quarry alive, after all. They tested him first, and after passing he was allowed in on a probationary status. Months went by, and he managed to prove himself and rise up in their ranks while sabotaging various raids and criminal operations. The few times he was forced to take a life were in self-defense, when the gang was moving against smaller criminal groups. Nonetheless, thanks to his efforts the gang was being squeezed in on, although they never suspected Tajima until it was too late, when Coruscant Underworld Police at last staged a daring raid in coordination with heavy Jedi support. Tajima happened to be in the inner meeting chambers, and it was a simple matter to shoot a stream of stunning blasts into their backs, causing intense pain and knocking them down without lasting harm. And just like that, the gang was smashed to bits. Interrogation of the leaders and a thorough search of their personal effects turned up enough intel to take the rest of the gang down, on and off Coruscant. He gave his report to the Council, detailing the efforts he had gone through to ensure his cover remained, the few times he had been forced to kill, the results he had obtained. They were especially curious about the energy attack he had used, but the evidence showed it was non-lethal and only useful for pacification; on the whole it was mostly a success, and he was commended for another successful mission. After that he found himself watching the youngling trials, and one day a Zabrak female caught his eye. She was a week from being expelled for her age, which seemed strange; he could sense potential in her, why had no one accepted her as a student? He felt compelled to take her for himself, no doubt to her great relief; her name was Vinyaya, and she was a thin girl with a strong curiosity. Both of them preferred to handle things physically, and they got along with that much in common. But they were different in other ways; Tajima had little patience for academics and abstract study, least of all when it had no immediate, practical impact on a mission, whereas Vinyaya was insatiable and wanted to learn everything, combat or otherwise. Their first mission together took them to Ralltir, where a hacking attempt into the Archives had been traced. With assistance from a dour local detective, the two Jedi followed a trail of clues to an apartment complex swarming with thugs. The detective called upon more police and attacked the thugs from the front while Tajima and his student went around the back; they caught the slicer trying to escape, and easily subdued him. With their employer taken out the thugs surrendered or fled, and they were all taken in custody while the slicer was extradited back to Coruscant to face justice at the hands of the Jedi. Later on, another mission took place on Bakura, similar to one Tajima and his old master had once tackled. Slavers had landed and were terrorizing several cities, and they were too strong for local authorities; intelligence was conflicting regarding the slavers, so the two Jedi were chosen to head out and scout the threat directly. Moving undercover as two of many aboard an old passenger shuttle, they had the opportunity to observe a starfighter landing soon after they arrived, and watched as heavily-armed thugs went to greet the pilot with several young slaves in tow. Tajima frowned as he recognized the pilot as a fallen Jedi, and his frown deepened when he took note of the sadistic way he grinned at the youngest of the slaves. Vinyaya wanted to attack then and there, and get away with killing the creep in the heat of battle. But that wouldn't do any good, they were heavily outnumbered. Their first move was to free the slaves they had on site, so they followed the slavers to a warehouse; peering inside they found a light guard and dozens of would-be slaves, so they boldly moved in and subdued the thugs before they could raise an alarm. Then they released the prisoners and allowed those who were capable to arm themselves with the compliance weapons of the slavers, then they moved onto the next target; an apartment complex, crawling with more thugs. There was no time to summon the police, so Vinyaya led the slaves in an all-out attack while Tajima quietly made his way around and into the complex, relying on the noise from outside to mask the sound of his own stunning shots. He met the fallen Jedi partway through, and after a fierce duel subdued the sadistic creep and took him into custody. Outside, Vinyaya and her forces had prevailed, just in time for the local police to arrive at the scene of what they were told was a massive shootout. But it was just the Jedi being Jedi, so they helped process the subdued thugs while they took the ringleader back to the Temple; as a fallen Jedi, he deserved the special justice only the Council could hand down. Disaster struck the pair of them, however, during Vinyaya's Knighthood trials. Tajima had been away handling an assassination attempt on a prominent nobleman, a tense and delicate affair he could not bring his Padawan along on; of course things went sour, and he was forced to reach into himself for depths of power he didn't know he had in order to prevail. Later on he would realize he had achieved a rare state of Force ability, but many things got in the way of this revelation before he could have it. Chief of which was the news that his student had died in a fire, saving dozens of civilians from burning to death themselves. The news hit him much harder than it should have, and he suffered a great crisis of faith. After her cremation, he felt empty and useless, resigning from the Jedi Shadows and losing himself in training. For months he did nothing but spar and eat and go on strenuous, draining missions; anything to avoid the dark chasm of despair that the loss of his student had opened up within him. The remnants of the Warlord's darkness hadn't been totally purged, after all. Eventually he worked through it, and managed to reaffirm his dedication to the Jedi Order. But he refused to become a Shadow again, and would never take on another student. And if that meant he would never reach the rank of Master, oh well. Titles were useless to a man like him, anyway. |
